#80's garage rock

[possible-streetwear]

[andrewckeeper]

LIDMF AI "Fr-Eddie Krueger"

[randomvarious]

The Boners - "Stupid Jail" Motor City's Burnin', Volume 2 Song recorded in 1980. Compilation released in 1998. Punk Rock / Garage Punk

Good morning 🌅

[dankalbumart]

Some Lyres by Lyres Taang! Records 1994 Garage Rock / Garage Rock Revival / Indie Rock / American Underground / Punk

[apocalypta-secundus]

What was Akina's first guitar?

"I actually still have it and keep it in the best condition... because it's never played anymore. My first guitar was a 1948 Gibson, none of the music I played then sounds like what I play now. The rock scene didn't start for me til the 1960s. Now I carry a red stratocaster around on my back, even when fighting hollows."

[musicarenagh]

Air-Ik sends the prompt Says Call Me

Air-Ik sends the prompt Says Call Me

Air-Ik is a certified alcohol and drug counselor, he battled alcohol and drug addiction for over 20 years and but due to his determination, now he has been clean for 11 years. He is a songwriter and produces his own songs. When asked in an interview with Mister Styx of Musicarenagh about his style of music, this is what he had to say about it I’m never really fond of having to put a label on it…

[chasingcomets222]

I got bored and decided to decipher Rodrick Heffley's music taste to close this years-long debate once and for all.

This post will be on the lengthier side, but a TLDR is attached at the end of the post if you want the basic cliff-notes.

Disclaimer: this is a dissection of the film adaptation of Rodrick rather than his source material counterpart. Comparisons to the books are welcome but irrelevant to this analysis.

Soundtrack

During the roller-rink scene in the opening of Rodrick Rules, Rodrick and Bill take over the DJ table to sabotage Greg's moves on Holly. The song they play is "Cut Throat" by the all-female heavy metal band, Kittie. Aside from Löded Diper's music, this is the only song in the series explicitly used to establish Rodrick's music taste.

However, there's many songs off of the Rodrick Rules soundtrack alone that can be reasonably assumed to fit his music profile as well — for example, those used during the party sequence.

I wouldn't doubt if one or two tracks were intended solely as crowd pleasers, but let's not rule out the entire playlist.

In order of appearance, Rodrick's party mix includes: "Heart Heart Heartbreak" by Boys Like Girls, "Electric (feat. Miss Amani)" by The DNC, "Wait Up (Boots of Danger)" by Tokyo Police Club, "Shake" by Bikini Machine, "Move Like This" by Hammerwax, and "Jump In The Line" by Karl Zéro & The Wailers.

There's additionally three other, albeit more subtle, uses of background music to nod toward Rodrick's preferences.

The first instance is during the scene in Rodrick Rules in which Greg confides in Rodrick about his embarrassment from his failed "100 Years Ago" assignment. It's so quiet that it's easy to miss without a keen ear, but "Light Love" by Free Energy plays in the background, mixed to fit in with the ambience of Rodrick's bedroom.

The second is directly before the Löded Diper band rehearsal scene (somebody farted btw), in which Frank pulls into the Heffleys' driveway. "Rock and Roll Slob" by The Boneless Ones can be heard from the garage, once again mixed as part of the ambience.

The third again utilizes The Boneless Ones' discography, and is inserted during the opening sequence of Dog Days at the municipal pool. Rodrick explains it's "time to sell some CDs" for Löded Diper, and turns on his boombox (more on this later), blaring "Miss Fresno."

With the last two points in mind, one can assume the film universe is some twisted version where Löded Diper originally wrote and performed The Boneless Ones' discography (or something closely resembling it).

Band Tees

Rodrick mostly wears seemingly thrifted or upcycled shirts and graphic tees with witty/edgy prints, but there are outliers at times. For example, there's not one, not two, but potentially so much as five moments in Dog Days that he's seen wearing merch from Dead Kennedys, The Who, and Ramones.

While most of his band tees simply include the band's logo or iconography, the latter design takes it a step further by being specific to a particular song title: "Rock 'n' Roll High School" by Ramones.

There's another moment which this may be the case, but it's purely speculative on my end. The Ramones also have a song named "I Don't Care," which is a phrase featured on one of Rodrick's shirts. It's not an explicit reference, but likely a reference nonetheless.

Room Posters

Guns N' Roses, Brutal Truth (Evolution Through Revolution), Stars (The Five Ghosts), Buried Inside (Spoils of Failure), and Decibel are the most notable.

I assume Decibel is in relation to the 70's/80's Italian punk rock band, although I can't find any association between them and this particular artwork. If not connected to them, there's a possibility it may be to the metal magazine of the same name, but I have my doubts.

In this image giving an alternate perspective to Rodrick's room, just off-screen is a Metallica poster, based on the stylization of the ending A. Beside it is a Hanson Brothers poster, which was later replaced in Rodrick Rules with a duplicate of the Stars poster for some reason.

Among his collage of Löded Diper flyers, there's Danny Echo posters as well as Denounce and Billy Talent stickers receiving the Hidden Mickey treatment (also a cameo from the iconic cheeseburger phone on the table).

Of course, there are many other pieces of memorabilia scattered across Rodrick's room, but several of them are blurry from the camera's depth of field or are seen at angles which make them difficult to read or for reverse image sites to identify. So for now, this is the best possible analysis of Rodrick's room in regards to music.

Miscellaneous

An easy-to-miss detail lies in the infamous Löded Diper van. Within the final few moments of Rodrick Rules as Rodrick drops Greg off at school (01:31:52), there's a semi-clear shot of the van's dashboard. On it are a set of stickers, including one referencing Huevos Rancheros, an instrumental rock-and-roll group from Canada.

In Dog Days, Rodrick brings a personal boombox with him to the municipal pool. Along the top is a large sticker for Street Machine, a Czech hardcore/metal band.

Cut Content

In the second studio draft of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, on page 23, scene 43, more of Rodrick's favorite artists are revealed.

The nature of this may be written off as not canon, as it was added into the script while it was still a work in progress and the posters themselves didn't make it into the final product.

What sells it to me as remaining "silent" canon though is that TOOL and Slipknot are often lumped together with Kittie (previously mentioned) as they share an overlapping fanbase. This was more prevalent during the early 2000's within the mall goth subculture, but it's remained fairly consistent for other variants of metalheads over the years too.

TLDR

To recap, the various genres across all of the bands Rodrick is canonically into include indie rock, pop rock, punk rock, hardcore punk, hard rock, industrial, thrash metal, heavy metal, nu metal, death metal, sludge metal, and grindcore.

His musical preferences are punk, rock, and metal-centric but quite broad and inclusive of countries of origin and lesser-known underground artists (some don't break even 100 monthly listeners on Spotify). This leaves the door open for endless possibilities in terms of headcanons.

He's not emo despite popular fan belief, but I still think there's a chance some of his musical leanings could cross over with bands considered emo adjacent for their presence in the community. August Burns Red and The Devil Wears Prada come to mind with his music taste accounted for, but that's just my headcanon.

EDIT: 9/9/24

I've since made two Spotify playlists from my findings: one being what I imagine would be Rodrick's regular rotation, and the other being an extension of his party mix. I feel I've channeled him well, since a lot of his music taste is basically mine circa 2008/2009.

If you've read this far, thank you so much for your patience, and I appreciate any and all interactions left on this post. Happy listening!! <333

[differentclasss]

Hardcore - Neil Lewis x Reader (smut)

summary: You and Neil watch an old porno together and you give him a blow job.

a/n: i'm not going to go into the ethics of pornography. do what you gotta do. thanks!

warnings: smut, porn, female reader, and not too much else.

Gumshoe Video had its fair share of slow days, some days you and your boyfriend Neil would just sit on the couch watching whatever movie he picked out. Other days were spent going through whatever videos you hadn’t had the time to catalog yet. Today was one of the latter. You had gotten lucky at a garage sale and found a massive milk crate of old video tapes. The whole thing was only ten bucks and was filled with tapes. You bought it from a guy who sheepishly explained his wife had sold the VHS player at their last garage sale and didn’t have any use for them anymore. Whatever his reason was, you were just happy to arrive at Gumshoe the next day with a bunch of new tapes.

Neil was already there when you arrived with the crate in tote. You greeted him with a kiss on the cheek after you put the milk crate on the front desk. 

“Only ten bucks!” You explained while gesturing to the crate. 

“Anything good?” He asked with an amused smile as he picked up a tape and quickly looked at it.

“Haven’t had the chance to go through it yet.” You told him. “I think I saw a copy of Titanic.”

“Just what we need,” Neil teased. “Another copy of Titanic.”

You two go through the tapes on the couch, it’s all pretty normal stuff. A few good ones here and there but mostly the typical VHSs you would find in any family collection. You check each tape for any visible damage and have to chuck a few out. After an hour or so, you start to see the bottom of the crate through a few old tapes. You spot a collection of pornographic tapes at the bottom, purposefully hidden from anyone who would’ve seen it. You giggle a little when you pick up a copy of some raunchy erotica called Passion Toys. Neil looks over at you as you hold it up to him. The cover was of a girl standing in front of the movie's title holding her hands over her breasts. It’s probably from the 1980s, based on the girl's hair and dated look to it. Neil laughs a little too. 

“I think we’ve reached the old guy's old porno stash.” You joke as you place the tape on the table in front of you. “I’m nervous about touching these.” You add with a little laugh.

Gumshoe had a very small selection of pornographic films, most of the ones the store did have were the garden variety art house ones. You know, ones that wouldn’t be considered that pornographic in current times. Think Andy Warhol’s Blue Movie. Most of the time, when someone did rent these movies, you assumed they had to be pretentious even when getting their rocks off. These tapes on the other hand were full-blown pornos. Raunchy ones by the look of it. 

“Jesus,” Neil laughed and picked up one. “At least they seem pretty normal. Typical pornos from the 80's.”

“Yeah, still pretty funny though.” You tell him and look at the back of one and read through its vague plot, only promising the best and totally real orgasms on screen.

“You ever watch one of these?” He asks and looks at you curiously.

 

“Have I watched porn?” You ask and look up at him with a small grin.

“No, like have you watched, I don't know what you would call these, classic porn.” He asks. “Like on a VHS.”

“No, why?” You look at him with an eyebrow raised and a small grin still on your lips. “Have you?”

You wondered what he was getting at. It was true though, you never watched porn on a VHS tape. It seemed rather impractical considering the current modes of watching it. You felt a little embarrassed even talking about it with him, even if he was your boyfriend. Porn wasn’t what you wanted to talk about with him, it was a pathetic private thing. Not something you felt like you could freely talk about it. 

“No.” He shook his head. “Do you want to?”

“Neil!” You gasp, a little shocked at the proposition. “You can’t be serious…”

“Oh c’mon!” He tells you with a laugh. “It’ll be funny. We can’t put this out for rent, so we might as well just see what it’s about before we put it away in storage.” He offers. 

“You’re gross.” You tease and then pick up the copy of Passion Toys. “But since you’re twisting my arm, then fine. Put this in and we’ll watch it.”

Neil smiles and takes the tape from your hands. He goes to the VHS player and inserts it in. You feel a little weird watching it out in the open of the store but remind yourself that the door is still locked. The film starts with a woman at a party who is talking to a few men. She pulls one of the men aside to a small room. They kiss and have some very moving dialogue. You can’t help but giggle at the cheapness of it all. She gives him an overly enthusiastic blow job.

“God!” You exclaim and look over at Neil. “This is terrible, they’re not even fucking and she’s acting like she’s coming.”

“I don’t think people watch these for the plot…” Neil responds.

“Obviously!” You laugh.

The film continues and she moved on to another guy in the film, fucking him in a different room. You and Neil continue to laugh and make a few jokes about it. It’s a little weird to watch together but you try to move past it. During a drawn-out scene where the woman and a man are fucking each other in doggy, you laugh a little awkwardly. The scene seems to go on way too long like it’s the finale or something. From the corner of your eye, you see Neil shift in his seat, crossing his legs ever so slightly. 

“You good?” You ask, looking over at him, he nods quickly. “Why are you sitting like that?”

“Just more comfortable.” He responds with a red face. 

“More comfortable?” You ask and turn yourself to him. 

“Yeah…” He says and looks forward. 

You have a sneaking suspicion he’s hiding an erection. You stifle a laugh and look at him with a teasing smile. You get closer to him and he blushes when you move to have your thigh against him. 

“Is this great piece of film giving you a hard-on?” You ask teasingly. 

“Shut up.” He says with an embarrassed look. "It’s a normal bodily reaction. I’m watching something that’s made to turn people people on.”

“And this is so very erotic.” You reply sarcastically while putting your head on his shoulder and lightly tracing his arm with your fingertips. You do it mostly because you know that any sort of touch is torture for him right now. 

The film continues but now it feels like it’s painfully long. Neil feels like he’s going to explode right then and there with you giving him the lightest of touches. The movie starts to wrap up, the woman is lying in bed now and the man pulls off of her. You look over at Neil again lifting your head and giving him a little kiss on the neck. 

“I take it that you liked it?” You ask with a giggle.

“You’re killing me here,” He says and looks over at you. His hands drift over to you and he brings you on top of him. “That was torture.”

“Oh yeah,” You giggle and can’t help but tease him more. “It’s so very hot hearing a woman go, ‘Oh, yeah, just like that! Just like that!’ Over and over again…”

“It’s pretty hot hearing you say that.” Neil chuckles and moves his hands under your shirt. 

“You’re disgusting.” You laugh and then kiss him. 

You hardly think you were that turned on by the cheap porno that was playing, you were under the impression that you were turned on by Neil’s neediness. You kissed his lips and then moved to his neck, rutting yourself against his clothed crotch as he whined. His hands moved to the tape of your neck and lightly held you there. 

 His moans and whimpers turned you on more than you wanted to let on. You ground yourself against him again, causing another whine to come from his lips. He muttered how bad he wanted you and you obliged. Your hands moved to his belt and you unbuckled it. Shimming off his pants, you lowered yourself down to face his crotch. You pulled down his boxers and could see how hard he was over this whole thing. He cursed when you gave his dick a slow stroke before putting it in your mouth. 

You took him fully in your mouth as he looked down at you. His hands moved to your hair and he gently pulled on it, causing you to slightly choke. A bit of drool escaped the corner of your mouth. You bobbed up and down, your jaw aching ever so slightly when you increased the speed of your bobbing.  You didn't think he was going to last long, given the circumstances.

“Fuck,” Neil whimpered overhead. “Gonna come…”

You continued to suck him off, your speed increasing as he got closer to his climax. Without another warning, he bucked his hips into the back of your throat as he kept a strong grip on your hair and came. You choked ever so slightly on his come but swallowed anyway. As he came off his high, he kept you there for a moment before letting go of your hair and watched as you straightened yourself out. He tucked himself away and zipped up the zipper of his jeans.

“Sorry,” He responded with a soft blush to his cheeks. “I uh… I guess I just have a strong appreciation for all types of film...”

“Or you’re just a pervert.” You giggle and sit back down with him and lean against him.  

“You were into it!” He teases.

“Maybe…” You say and then sit up. “We gotta open the store sometime today, come on.”

Neil shakes his head and sits up with you before looking at you with a small mischievous grin.

“Just one more movie?” He asks. “I swear this time only for educational purposes.”

You laugh and stand up, ruffling his hair as you start to walk to the front door.

“You’re something else.” You call out to him. “Maybe later though…”

[la-guns]

An about me post that’s probably too long ♡ feat. my room ^^

I finally fully embraced my true love this year with the 80’s, and its rock/metal music scene. I’ve always loved the decade and its music, but have jumped between interests that didn’t hold me for long for most of my life. But now I’m here, and it feels right. And I can thank my dad.

He’s a metalhead. He had the classic long, shaggy hairstyle in the 80’s. I always remember him blaring his favorite Metallica and Alice in Chains albums from the garage, where he worked on cars and occasional motorcycles. He still does that.

Every morning before elementary school, he’d have the huge box tv playing music videos. My favorites were AC/DC. And while I watched, I had Pop-Tarts, but little me never had the heart to tell my dad I didn’t like them toasted when he brought them to me 😅

Growing up, he introduced me to the best classic movies from the 80’s. Back to the Future, Spaceballs, the Goonies, the Lost Boys (my dad loved vampire stuff, and I do, too), National Lampoon, Princess Bride, so much more. I grew up pure classic. And I like staying that way. It’s a huge comfort.

Now, not much has changed. I prefer 70’s, 80’s, and VERY early 90’s music (like Hollywood Vampires. I can’t do the grunge stuff, sorry! 80’s metalhead heart ♡). I rarely listen to modern music, and when I do it’s mostly for the novel I’m writing to get in the zone. I love Vlad Dracula (the historical Vlad), and have been writing a historical novel about him, and using the real facts in my research from Romanian sources (on here, I love the user @/vladdocs for info about Vlad).

L.A. Guns…the love I have for them came out of nowhere, and that kind of love is usually the best in my experience. I love their style. It’s glam metal but…L.A. Guns glam. Bluesy, unique, invigorating, rockin’. I wish they got to reach stadium level like Mötley Crüe.

I love the “classic” lineup of L.A. Guns. Mick, Phil, Tracii, Kelly, Steve. Love each them to bits, and miss Steve. Kelly is my comfort person, I’d say. I share common interests with him, and from what I’ve watched and read about him, I love how goofy and true to himself he is. Like he embraces his inner child, and I love that. He’s a cutie pie for sure, but his personality is what gets me most. He’s not afraid to be bold with what he likes (like pirates! I LOVE pirates. My dad raised me on Pirates of the Caribbean, and I love the overall history of pirates). Sometimes I wish I could just talk to Kelly about graphic design. That’d be so cool. I’ve been dabbling in it since middle school, and am now going to college for it.

So, my room is my safe space and I like to really have it just scream me. It’s full of original stuff, down to the cassettes, magazines, ‘89 Mötley concert bandana, and magazine pinups. The only original thing I DON’T own is the shirt. It’s a reprint. I love it all so much, and I’m still getting more. My favorite piece is the original Cocked & Loaded vinyl signed by the classic lineup ♡

The bands I love most are L.A. Guns, Mötley Crüe, Cinderella, Dokken, Danger Danger, Def Leppard, KISS, AC/DC, Billy Idol (got to see him in May!), Bulletboys, Poison, Van Halen, and so many more it’s a lot 😭 ♡

This definitely isn’t everything about me, but it’s a taste of the main part. I’d love to get to know others who love the 80’s scene. My inbox and dm’s are always open for polite chat. ♡

[dutiful-wildcraft]

Task Force 141 Music Headcannons

Price

-He has some significant influences from 70s/80s heavy metal, mostly influenced from his mum who was a rebellious metalhead (and a feral KISS fan) herself, but toned down her partying when John was born. That didn't stop her from showing him the good stuff. 

-John’s earliest memories are of him and his mother going on roadtrips, radio blaring. His mom giving him little music “tests,” urging John to guess the artists of the song before they ended. Being so proud of him when he got them right.  His mom had a huge stereo system, an outrageously pricey thing compared to the rest of their meager home. It could play both CD’s and tapes and it was his mom’s pride and joy. 

-They had “cleaning” days where they would deep clean the house. Taking turns between swapping songs as they danced and dusted. A trend that extended well into his teenage years until he joined up.

-John would later pick up more thrash and progressive metal influences from his older CO’s and later by his own team. John is a radio kind of man, and other than the stuff he got from his mum he doesn't bother much with collecting, but he usually can find a radio station or two that plays what he likes. He still blares music when he cleans or works out.  

-John also dips into a bit of blues, folk and country.  He’s fond of the acoustic elements, it’s easy listening and some of them tell a good story.  

-Absolutely owned a “Frampton Comes Alive” CD. 

-Price was a bit petty about it at first, but the rest of the 141’s music tastes aren’t terrible…he still shoves the foam earplugs in on the truck ride home once Soap gets ahold of the aux cord. Though it gives him one hell of a laugh to see Soap cut a rug.  

-Gaz downloaded a huge playlist for the man and crammed it on his phone. Price was tickled pink over the selections, and now this is the only mix he fusses with, throwing it on shuffle and letting it play while he smokes and does his paperwork. 

-Man actually loves to dance, he doesn't just bop around like Soap does but he will take you by the hand and groove a bit with you. He loves to feel a warm body moving with his, letting the music move them together. This is actually how he woo’s ladies at the bar. A bit of liquid courage, and smooth song. He has someone giggling in his arms in no time. 

Soap

-His library is mostly made up of funk/groove metal, metalcore, pop, disco and electronic. He can party to really anything really, he just loves anything that is fast. Something that has a bounce to it.  There is never a wrong setting for this. Has nearly slipped and busted his head open having a one man mosh in the shower.  

-Used to have several piercings, his tongue and eyebrow namely, as well as a couple more pieces in his ears and nipples. They unfortunately had to go when he joined up. But he will still throw the earrings in when it's time to party. Some thicker captive bead earrings from where he had them stretched just the slightest. 

-He's actually pretty solid with a guitar. Doesn’t talk about it because it makes him feel like a douche. But he and his friends did have shitty garage band as teenagers. (Anyway..here's Wonderwall).

-Tries to keep it heavier when hangin with the boys but don't buy his tough guy bullshit, the next song is Madonna. His shuffle will give you whiplash. 

-He and Gaz vibe the most, both crowding into the front seats to put on a concert the whole ride. Having a jam session while they cook together or having heated arguments on whether something is a cover or not (Gaz is always right). 

Gaz

-The most eclectic out of all of them. Pretty similar to Soap, he tends to gravitate toward alt rock/indie, r&b, pop, and psychedelic. While he enjoys the upbeat electronic stuff that Soap enjoys, he prefers the groove. Something a bit slower and well…sexier.  

-He is actually pretty knowledgeable (special interest you could say) about music. The man is like an encyclopedia for music. Can name songs by the first 2 seconds alone. He is a menace on trivia nights for this reason. 

-Has started collecting records in his free time. He has favorites sure, but sometimes he'll just snag a few with interesting covers and give them a spin. He has found some gems this way…and also some straight *trash*. These songs have turned into memes between he and Soap.

-Makes playlists as a love language.

-Always trusted as the trip DJ, takes his job very seriously and considers all his teams tastes to carefully weave a mix everyone can vibe too. 

-Sung in the church choir as a kid, absolutely hated every minute of it. He was always the star of the christmas cantatas until he quit going as a teen.

-He and his sisters would have knock down drag out fights over the sole CD player they had as kids. Genuinely can't stand boy bands due to his big sisters obsession with them at the time. (The shit was on repeat for months.)

Ghost

-absolutely uses the balaclava to hide a earbud when he's just doing paperwork in his office.

-It's his ritual after an op. Simon pops his earbuds in, leans his head back and rests. You don't talk to Simon during this time. He'll take them out when he's ready to talk. 

-He also keeps one in while on leave, focusing on his music in the grocery or doing mundane errands. But just one earbud, he keeps the other out to listen for anything sus.

-Simon's music is pretty precious to him, and something he's actually pretty protective of. He never listened to his music out loud, even kept it turned down low with his headphones to prevent any accidental overhearing. 

-He picked up a lot from his brother that he used as a springboard after that. Lyrics that gave him goosebumps, words for feelings he could never articulate. To him, there was music for anything. Anger, sadness, elation. 

-Simon Riley who's favorite past time was rooting through old used CD's with his big brother at old video rental shops.

-Tommy who would usher him into the bathroom, putting big clunky headphones over his ears to block the sounds of their father's abuse. Clicking play and mouthing a “Stay here” as he clicked the door shut behind him. 

-Simon Riley who scrawled his favorite lyrics onto the soles of old dingey converse. Colored them into the skin of his forearms in a mock up of the tattoos he would later get.

-And he would, Gaz finds them later, inky poetry weaved into the images along his arms, and on his collar. He subtly looks up the words later. Smiling as lyrics of old grungey 90s songs fill his screen. 

-Tool enjoyer, literally just plays the albums start to finish, he is actually really fond of the instrumentals

BONUS!! Alex

-very similar to Price though he leans away from some of the heavier stuff. He loves the easy yacht rock type vibes with some classic rock. As well as some 90s and outlaw country. 

-He is an absolute crooner when he’s drunk. He actually has a gorgeous singing voice, low and rich, reminiscent of Tracy Lawrence.

-He does know the dance to Copperhead Road, tried to teach Farah who does not have rhythm to save her life. 

Actual Playlists

Price Soap Gaz Ghost Alex

I'll be adding to all these mixes as time passes, I would love to hear what you have in mind too <3

[brucewaynehater101]

What music genres do you think the batfam members listen to?I ask this because of how little Alternative music fan headcannons there are. I personally think Tim enjoys grunge and or nu metal(Specifically bands like limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, Korn, and System of a Down)

I'm not too familiar with genres, so I'll be giving this my best shot. I typically listen to music by the vibe it gives. My playlists include music that makes my brain go brr (the nice dissociation), songs for muses, ones to scandalize my mother, music a garage band would play, songs that make God fear me, and a long playlist for pleasant company.

Anyways, I've seen a few fics where people say that Bruce and Tim share a love of those genres. I could definitely see Tim listening to the ones you mentioned. He probably plays it through his preferred headphones as he fixes electronics, codes, or plots destruction. He also, because he suppresses his anger a lot, probably listens to music like Ghostemane, Kim Dracula, and Freddie Dredd.

Jason definitely enjoys musicals. Dick as well, but Jason isn't as vocal about it. Instead, Jason will listen to 80's rock and 2000's girl bands if others around (he ofc listens to TLC).

I like to think that they all enjoy music in different languages. For Dick and Damian, they especially like music they grew up listening to in their respective cultures. The others, because the batfam is multilingual, just enjoy all kinds of different tunes in multiple languages. The batfam playlist, especially for hanging out in the cave, is chaotic. Bruce nearly had an aneurysm the first time he heard Touch You (Yarichin Bitch Club) over the speakers. The only reason the kids didn't get in trouble was because Damian was out with Colin at the time.

I hc that Cass likes lofi hip hop music. She typically enjoys all songs but prefers those without words (because understanding words still requires energy from her and can prevent her from fully relaxing). She does listen to a lot of classical music, a passion she shares with Alfred.

Alfred, the man the myth the legend, enjoys swing music the most. He'll put on a variety of music in the kitchen (different classical eras, opera music, the occasional musical, jazz, some more modern instrumental music, and some movie background tracks), but the whole fam knowns he's in a really good mood if swing music is playing.

Bruce is the type of person to just listen to what's on. Unless he dislikes the music, he will be fine with whatever his kids or Alfred have playing. He particularly enjoys alternative rock and old country music (like Garth Brooks), but he doesn't usually fight for the aux cord.

Barbara has playlists depending on her mood. Birds of Prey mission prep? Bruce being a dick? Dick being a dick? Batfam drama she has to once again intervene in? Coding nights? Can't get out of bed days? She also has a few playlists for each person she regularly interacts with. For calm or bad nights, she'll put the playlist in that person's comm. She also likes to hack speakers around Bruce and play her revenge music when he's being a petty asshole. Some of her revenge music includes "They're Coming to Take Me Away" by Sloppy Jane, "OoOo1" by galen tipton, "All I see is Poop" by Hobo Johnson, "I Swallowed Shampoo" by Soupy Garage Juice, "I am now going to bark at you" by thquib, and "I hope You Die in a Fire" by Grand Commander.

Duke is most definitely a Mitski, Hozier, Crane Wives enjoyer, and you can pry that hc from my cold, dead hands. He probably also likes songs similar to "Ancapistan" by Jreg or "The Fine Print" by The Stupendium.

Dick's music is either super high in energy or sad as fuck. He loves the songs "Has Anbody Seen My Will to Live" by The Tin Knees and "Copacabana (At the Copa)" by Barry Manilow because they are both sad and happy :) I hc that he likes songs by TV Girl, Yot Club, Joji, and Cosmo Sheldrake. He also has a few playlists he follows of Zumba music. The song "The Masochism Tango" by Tom Lehrer is one of his favorites.

This is already a pretty long post, so feel free to reblog with more ideas! I didn't get to Steph or more in depth with Damian :(

[possible-streetwear]

Poison Ivy

[rabbitechoes]

wow!!! august was a pretty stacked month for new releases and it seems like september will be pretty busy too. there were quite a few great records this month - one being my current album of the year. also trying out a new format so these posts will be easier to navigate. i've started linking to the full reviews on my rym page instead of just pasting them over here. i figure it's much easier to get through that way!! to check out my thoughts on some of the songs that dropped this month click here!!! also feel free to follow me on rate your music and twitter <3

Imaginal Disk - Magdalena Bay

🥇 BEST ALBUM OF THE MONTH

◇ released: Aug. 23, 2024 ◇ genres: neo-psychedelia, synthpop, chillwave, dance-pop

to call it a triumph would be an understatement, the sophomore album from Magdalena Bay is a delicately detailed experience that doubles as an immensely enjoyable pop record. to put it simply, i'm feeling diskinserted 💿

my review of Imaginal Disk

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Sky Hundred - Parannoul

◇ released: Aug. 3, 2024 ◇ genres: shoegaze, noise pop, emo, indietronica

on his strongest album yet, Parannoul further refines his sound without sacrificing the scrappiness that made his music so endearing in the first place. my review of Sky Hundred

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NO NAME - Jack White

◇ released: July 19, 2024 / Aug. 2, 2024 ◇ genres: garage rock revival, hard rock, garage punk

Jack White has crafted a staggering garage rock record that perfectly soundtracks a world on fire. my review of NO NAME

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Wild God - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

◇ released: Aug. 30, 2024 ◇ genres: singer-songwriter, art rock, gospel, baroque pop

unlike the more meditative approach of 2019's Ghosteen, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds return with a renewed sense of urgency and a striking crop of songs that are sure to make u feel something. my review of Wild God

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cheshire days - ashley ninelives

◇ released: Aug. 10, 2024 ◇ genres: glitch pop, neo-psychedelia, synthpop

the long-awaited new album from ashley ninelives is filled to the brim with exciting ideas and vibrant production that's easy to get lost in.

my review of cheshire days

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I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU - JPEGMAFIA

◇ released: Aug. 1, 2024 ◇ genres: experimental hip hop, hardcore hip hop, rap rock

JPEGMAFIA is here to stay … whether u like it or not. my review of I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU

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Romance - Fontaines D.C.

◇ released: Aug. 23, 2024 ◇ genres: indie rock, alternative rock, post-britpop

Fontaines D.C. shed their gothic veneer in favor of warmer sounds on their new record, while unfortunately stumbling into style over substance territory amidst a few incredible tunes.

my review of Romance

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Flight b741 - King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard

◇ released: Aug. 9, 2024 ◇ genres: boogie rock, roots rock, blues rock

the refreshing collaborative spirit of this new King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard record is its biggest strength, but not enough to make this an essential project in their vast discography. my review of Flight b741

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Paradise State of Mind - Foster the People

◇ released: Aug. 16, 2024 ◇ genres: synthpop, nu-disco, chillwave

the fourth album from Foster the People, my favorite band when i was in 6th grade, is an existential ode to synth funk and disco of the 70s/80s that sounds great, but doesn't leave much of a lasting impression.

my review of Paradise State of Mind

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Quantum Baby - Tinashe

◇ released: Aug. 16, 2024 ◇ genres: alternative r&b, trap soul, pop rap

the second installment in Tinashe's BB/ANG3L trilogy is a substantial step down from the first primarily due to its reliance on more mainstream pop/r&b sounds.

my review of Quantum Baby

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Cellophane Memories - Chrystabell & David Lynch

◇ released: Aug. 2, 2024 ◇ genres: ambient pop, ethereal wave, ambient, drone

David Lynch always has a strong vision for what he wants to convey in his art, but unfortunately, this new collaboration with Chrystabell isn't one of his most worthwhile endeavors. my review of Cellophane Memories

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Short n' Sweet - Sabrina Carpenter

◇ released: Aug. 23, 2024 ◇ genre: pop

Sabrina Carpenter's new album should be a bold statement priming her to be the next big thing, but instead it just falls into the same exhausted clichés we've all come to expect with big mainstream pop releases.

my review of Short n' Sweet

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Aghori mhori mei - Smashing Pumpkins

◇ released: Aug. 2, 2024 ◇ genre: alternative rock

Smashing Pumpkins' surprise new album isn't as horrible as their garish rock opera ATUM, but it's just as self-indulgent and outright boring as what we’ve come to expect from the band.

my review of Aghori mhori mei

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F-1 Trillion (Long Bed) - Post Malone

◇ released: Aug. 16, 2024 ◇ genres: contemporary country, country pop

Post Malone sticks out like a sore thumb in every genre he inhabits and that continues to be the case with his first full-length country album - his worst record thus far by a considerable margin.

my review of F-1 Trillion (Long Bed)

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Vultures 2 - Ye & Ty Dolla $ign

◇ released: Aug. 3, 2024 ◇ genres: pop rap, trap, alternative r&b

Ye and Ty Dolla Sign return with a disastrous album full of anthems for divorced dads who were most certainly in the wrong.

my review of Vultures 2

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Popular Monster - Falling in Reverse

◇ released: Aug. 16, 2024 ◇ genres: alternative metal, trap, rap metal

no.

my review of Popular Monster

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this section will be used on occasion to briefly discuss projects i didn't write full reviews for, but i still think are worth checking out. beginning with ...

Sophcore - Moses Sumney

A decent EP, but I would be lying if I said I was a little letdown. Still very pleasant on the ears, just lacking in substance. Sumney still has a very striking voice. Here's hoping the next project is a bit more substantial.

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Some Songs I Wish I Wrote Vol. 1 - This Is The Glasshouse

I didn't have high expectations for a covers EP, but this one really floored me. I really loved his album from last year, As Small As Ants, and it seems as though he's only getting better. He has a really good ear for layered instrumentation, it's certainly this EP's strongest aspect. The arrangements for his cover of Xiu Xiu's "Sad Pony Guerilla Girl" and Steve Reich's "Clapping Music" were big highlights in particular. Definitely give this a listen!

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The Vault - Maruja

A few months after their Connla's Well EP, Maruja surprise dropped a compilation full of improv jam sessions. It's a bit of an undertaking, but for those who are fans of the band this is definitely a treat. There are so many cool instrumental passages here and it brilliantly showcases how many brilliant ideas are swarming around when the band is in the studio. Their chemistry is off the charts. Here's hoping we get some weird jam stuff on their full-lenght debut, whenever that comes out.

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[dankalbumart]

This Nation's Saving Grace by The Fall Beggars Banquet 1985 Post-Punk / Punk Rock / New Wave / Alternative Rock / College Rock / Art Punk / Garage Punk

[elliespuns]

What bands do you think Ellie would listen to living in modern day and age?

I think she'd still listen to the good old classics. For some reason, I can't see her listening to nowadays commercial music. She'd prolly say it's stupid; people singing just to milk money out of something as cool as music. She'd definitely be one of those people who thinks this all used to be better when musicians made music spontaneously with raw feelings and passion.

She'd definitely indulge in making fun of modern pop music, even though she would still love a lot of 80s and 90s pop songs herself.

Her favorite genre of the 70's, 80's, and 90's would probably be rock (alternative, electronic, garage, gothic), grunge, new wave, lounge pop, instrumental, acoustic, etc. Musicians like New Order, Joy Division, Pearl Jam, INXS, The Clash, Nine Inch Nails, The Cure, Tears For Fears, A-ha, The Smashing Pumpkins, Oasis, etc.

And I can definitely imagine her liking some folk and country music too; something like a guilty pleasure to her. Like Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash or Joni Mitchell.

And she would definitely love Elvis Presley and David Bowie if she ever got her hands on their music.

[rip-quizilla]

Your Leather, My Lace ~ Part 2: Better Not Touch

*This fic was co-written by curlyfry23, whom you can find on AO3 here

Pairing: Rockstar!Eddie Munson x Rockstar!fem!Reader

Summary: You see a familiar face at the next show you attend, and he makes it very difficult for you to keep your eye on the prize.

Word Count: 5.1k

Tags for Entire Fic (from AO3): Enemies to Lovers, Rival Bands, Tension While Singing, Leather, 80's Rock References, Song Lyrics, Slow Burn, Sexual Tension, Thinly Veiled Hex Girls Inspiration, Eddie Munson Lives, 1991, Porn with Feelings, Shameless Smut, Mutual Masturbation, Hate to Love, Oral Sex, Consensual Sex, Smut, Eddie Munson Has No Sense of Personal Space, Cunnilingus, Nipple Licking, Catholic Guilt, brat!reader, Dom/sub Undertones, light degradation, Car Sex, The Lord of the Rings References

Part 1

The next day was spent sorting out your setlist for your first performance, which was scheduled to take place in four days on Thursday night at a club called Steve’s. Since you would likely get kicked out of your hotel due to noise complaints if you all practiced there, you had called ahead of time to secure a place for you to rehearse. Your uncle and his family lived close, so you convinced him to allow you, Lana and Denise to practice in his garage for the duration of your stay. This is where you stood today, staring at the list of songs in your notebook and tapping a pencil to your chin. 

“We should open with something familiar to get people’s attention.” Denise said. She sat at her drumset, arms crossed over her chest and eyebrows pulled together argumentatively. “That’s why starting with Bonnie is our best bet.” 

You shook your head as if doing so would make the idea go away. “You want the only all-girl group competing to open our set with a pop cover? We might as well hand in our resignation right there.” 

Denise sighed, rolling her eyes exasperatedly. “It doesn’t sound like pop, the way we play it! I know you think we need to play more heavy stuff if we want to be taken seriously, but I’m telling you, if we kill that song on stage the way we have been in rehearsal, they’ll forget Bonnie Tyler ever sang it.” She looked over to Lana, as if hoping she might back her up. Lana shrugged, looking at you. 

“She’s right, we make that song sound fucking metal.” Denise smiled thankfully at Lana, who went back to practicing a particularly tricky chord progression on her keyboard. 

You smiled at them, still not quite sure about their proposal but eager to reach a decision so that you could move on. “Okay, you guys are right about that- I never denied how great we sound, just whether that’s the right song to open with.” You gasped excitedly as an idea came to you. “What if we make that our closing number? Start with something we know the audience will love, then once we have their attention, finish with a bang?” 

Denise and Lana looked at each other, both nodding their heads in agreement. “Yeah,” Denise conceded, “I think that would work pretty well, actually. So what’s our opening number, then?”

You smiled devilishly. “We could do Master of Puppets-” a loud groan immediately erupted from the girls. “We are not starting our set with a nine-minute song.” Lana whined. 

You chuckled. You hadn’t been serious… okay, you had been half-serious. “Well technically it’s only eight and a half.”

Lana deadpanned. “Oh sorry, my bad.” she scoffed sarcastically. “No. No way in hell.”

Denise idly tapped out little rhythms on the shiny metal edge of her snare. “You’re the only one of us that actually enjoys that song- playing it feels like a punishment. No song should be that long!” 

You were outright laughing at this point. That was the easiest way to deal with your love for Metallica being shot down by your best friends yet again- laughing it off. You should have known better than to suggest it, even if you had been (mostly) joking. 

“Calm down, I wasn’t serious. What about Barracuda?” you suggested, “It’s punchy, we get to show off a little, but it isn’t too much right out the gate.” 

“Oh I like that!” Denise nodded excitedly, “Barracuda always does a good job of setting up a Joan Jett song, so we could follow with one of those-”

You smiled to yourself as you scribbled your tentative setlist into your moleskine. Denise continued tossing song ideas into the air, which you and Lana took turns catching, playing with the order of songs and making rearrangements until you were all happy with your song choices. 

“So how was last night?” Lana asked as you prepared to run through Barracuda a couple of times. “They get better, or did they suck from beginning to end?” 

You got to work tuning your guitar after a few days in its case. You shrugged, “Yeah, they pretty much sucked from beginning to end. But if I’m ever craving a goth rock cover of I Will Survive, I’ll know who to call.” 

Lana cackled. “Oh my god, did they really?” She shook her head, orange tresses shining in the sunlight flooding in through the open garage door. She undid the clasps on her bass case, abandoning her keyboard for yet another instrument that she’d mastered over the years. That was Lana- your band’s jack of all trades. “Wow. That’s a bold move- and I normally respect bold moves, but that’s just bad.” Lana’s bass guitar rang out in a low humming baritone as she joined you in tuning her own instrument. “Anything else interesting happen? Any tall, handsome strangers offer you a drink?” She accompanied her question with a wag of her eyebrows. 

You avoided her eye contact, thinking of your encounter the night before- the conversation had flowed between the two of you so easily, it was hard to forget about him. “Well, I did have one guy hit on me at the bar, but obviously I turned him down.” you glanced at Lana over your shoulder, smiling placidly. “No distractions, remember?”

Lana rolled her eyes, bored that you didn’t have something more juicy to spill. “You really are perfect, Ace.” With that, she began practicing the opening chords of Barracuda, while your mind wandered back to red stage lights glistening off a pair of big, brown eyes.

***

That evening led you to yet another smoky bar in the city, the first of two venues you planned on visiting to get a feel for your competitors. The drinks were cheap, seating was sparse, and the crowd was much more amped up than last night’s. You hoped that the energy would be the same at Steve’s on Thursday. 

After spending a good few minutes trying to grab the bartender’s attention, you ventured into the main space with a drink in your hand to search for a place to stand- or sit, if you were lucky. You smiled when you found a spot by a staircase where a couple of beer kegs had been stacked atop one another. You tested the kegs with a small shake of your free hand; the stack seemed sturdy enough for you to sit on. Carefully balancing your drink in your hand, you braced yourself on the top of the keg stack and gave a little hop to bring your bum high enough to take a seat. Unfortunately, the stack was not as stable as you’d thought. 

The top keg slipped to the side once you shifted your weight onto it, toppling both of them and in turn, flinging you towards the ground and sending your drink sloshing over the side of your glass. You prepared to hit the ground, but luckily you never did. Instead, you collided with a person, their arms wrapping around your middle in an effort to stabilize you. Momentum launched the glass in your hand around until it too hit your savior in the chest, and you had barely registered the brown curls in front of your eyes before your drink crashed into them, turning them darker and making them shine in the blue stage lights. 

Stunned and beyond mortified, you grabbed a beverage napkin from a nearby table and scrambled to dab at the stranger’s soaked shirt.  “I cannot believe that just happened-” you stuttered, “I’m so sorry, thank you for catching me. Let me buy you a drink… again, I’m so sorry-”

“You had me at ‘buy you a drink’.” 

The familiar voice that came from above the soaked T-shirt was enough to freeze you in your tracks. You paused your dabbing, slowly looking up into the eyes you hadn’t stopped thinking about since last night. 

A wide grin stretched across your face. “If it isn’t my stalker.” you said, pleasantly surprised to see Big Eyes again, as if thinking about him all day had summoned him. 

He smiled back down at you, arms still wrapped around you with every intent of staying there. “If it isn’t Rapunzel, falling from her tower.” You raised an eyebrow at the comparison, to which he cringed and glanced away. “Yeah, that was bad wasn’t it?” 

You laughed, giggling down into his chest- which reminded you about his arms still wrapped around you. Awkwardly, you gave his alcohol-soaked chest a little drum with your hands. “You can let go now.” you prompted. 

Arms flying off of you and finding purchase in his hair and on his hip, he stifled a laugh as you giggled at his antics. “Now, about that drink-?” he said, embarrassment clear on his face while he clearly hoped you would find his awkwardness charming.

You did. 

Giving him a small smile, you nodded. “It was Eddie, right?” He gave you a broad grin upon hearing that you’d remembered his name. He remembered yours too, and the way it tumbled from his lips sounded like something reverent the way he said it. You walked with him to the bar and waved down the bartender once more, ordering yourself and him a round of whatever Eddie wanted. 

Drinks ordered, Eddie turned and leaned against the edge of the bartop. “Taking more notes tonight?” he asked. You pulled your small notebook from your bag and showed him. “Guilty.” You said, “I know I should probably be hoping this next band is just as awful as yesterday’s, but honestly I’m in the mood to be entertained tonight so I have my fingers crossed for a good show.” 

Eddie took your drinks from the bartender, handing you a glass and raising an eyebrow. “In the mood to be entertained, she says…” he mused, “Careful, or I might start acting out for attention.” His gaze left yours, feigning distraction as his drink touched his lips. “I can make myself quite entertaining given the right motivation.” Almost as if on cue, you noticed a dribble of beer escape his mouth and land directly onto his shirt. You snorted as he mumbled an “Aw shit” and swatted at the new wet spot, struggling to save face.

You couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up from your chest, snidely watching him pat at his shirt. “You were right, that was entertaining.” He was completely soaked now, the combination of your mixed drink and his cheap beer mingling on his band tee and making it lay over his torso like fresh paint. Eyeing him up and down, you smirked, “I think you’re a bit early for the wet t-shirt contest, I’m pretty sure that’s not supposed to happen until three drinks from now.” 

 “I think I’ve got a shot at the title, sweetheart” a chuckle rose out of Eddie as he looked down at his sopping shirt. “Think I’d emerge victorious?”

You ignored the urge to laugh, as well as the way your heart raced when he called you ‘sweetheart’. “Easy there, tiger.” you murmured into your cup. “You’re distracting me.”

A rueful grin tickled Eddie’s lips as he lifted his hands in a small surender. “My apologies, I can behave.”

 You scoffed incredulously. “Oh really? Can you?”

Eddie splayed his free hand out over his chest, feigning grave offense at your suggestion. “Lil’ ole’ me?” Sarcasm and shock were thick in his voice, and you couldn’t tear your gaze from his giant brown eyes even as the audience began to cheer on the band taking the stage. “Sweetheart, when I make a promise to a lady, I intend to keep those promises. There will be no distracting coming from my general direction.” he thought for a moment before adding, “At least no intentional distracting.”

You squinted at Eddie through the flashing stage lights. “I don’t remember you making any promises, actually.”

A mischievous smile snuck out through the mock seriousness on his face. “Didn’t I? Hm… I could’ve sworn I promised not to be a distraction. What a shame…” 

You shook your head, unable to stop yourself from laughing now. The band had started up their set, and even though you knew you should be paying attention to whatever might give you an edge when competing against them, you couldn’t think of anything worse right now than ending this conversation with Eddie. 

As the crowd grew louder, you had to lean in closer than normal for Eddie to hear you. Your lips moved beside his ear, and you could smell the masculine scent of men’s soap mixed with worn leather. “Okay, well the way I see it… if you’re helping me take notes and evaluate the band, then it’s not a distraction, right?” You opened your moleskine to a fresh page and clicked your pen as Eddie’s smile bloomed across his face. “You’d just be helping me stay on task.”

Instantly, Eddie was shoulder-to-shoulder with you, denim vest brushing against the bare skin of your right arm. Crossing his arms over his chest, he leaned toward you conspiratorially, as if the two of you were spies gathering intel. “An excellent suggestion, I’d be happy to lend you a well-trained ear.” Even though he was close enough to speak directly into your ear, the room was ringing with the electric sound of guitars and shrieking voices that could rival Brian Johnson. Eddie’s lips hovered over the top of your cheekbone, yelling above the din in order to be heard. That was a pleasant sensation to say the least. 

“Well-trained, huh?” You yelled back, keeping your eyes forward so you didn’t accidentally touch your cheek to his lips… Lord knows what that might do to you should it happen. “Okay, tell me what you think, if you’re such an expert.” You scribbled the band’s name at the top of the page- Banshee Boys. 

Eyeing the drying ink on your page, you felt a puff of breath across your skin. It sent a rush of goosebumps over your shoulders. “Appropriate name.” Eddie chuckled, “I’m worried the bottles at the bar are about to explode from this guy’s damn frequency.” You nodded in agreement, wincing at the nearly imperceptible song lyrics ringing out from the stage. “Can’t argue there.” you said, scrawling Singing ≠ Shrieking on the first line of the page.  

You both fell into a focused sort of trance as you watched the band play, assessing the music they made like seasoned critics. After about a minute, you offered another critique. “I think if the bass was a little heavier, it might balance out the screechiness of the vocals. Like, that might even everything out and give some drama to it?” You lifted your chin to glance over at Eddie, and your heart stuttered surprisingly when you saw that he was staring at you with an intensity that you definitely had not been expecting. You told yourself that he was only glancing down at you since you were talking to him… but something in his gaze gave you the impression that he hadn’t been watching the band for a solid chunk of time. 

“I think you’re right, actually.” Eddie said, nodding slowly as he imagined your proposed changes to the way the band was playing. Your eyes were looking so unwaveringly into his that you jumped when his hand covered yours, taking the pen from you. He wore heavy silver rings on every calloused finger, and they were cold against the skin of your knuckles.

You felt Eddie chuckle again at your jumpiness. “Sorry, sweetheart, didn’t realize you had an issue giving up control… of the pen.” You looked back at him, eyebrow raised and your expression a tad more heated than before. 

“Are you saying I have control issues?” you asked, plucking the pen from his hand. Eddie smirked in response. You frowned. “I’m not sure you know me well enough to make that assumption, Eddie.” 

Smirk still going strong, he moved behind you and- to your horror- draped his arms over your shoulders, one hand cupping over yours that held the notebook, the other resting over the pen in your writing hand. You became acutely aware of the fact that there was more of his body touching yours than what wasn’t touching yours. 

“A little experiment in letting go of control then, hm?” his lips were right next to your ear now. 

Good God. 

You cleared your throat. “I would… uh…” licking your lips around the nervous words, “I would consider this distracting, for the record.” 

“Like you said, I made no promises.” The smile in Eddie’s voice made you feel… some type of way. You barked out a breathy laugh as he took the pen from your hand, writing Heavier bass would balance out vocals. 

“See?” he yell-whispered near your temple. “You can trust me.” 

You shook your head, smiling despite your instinct to hide his effect on you. “I was just concerned about a senior-year-triple-repeat thinking he was going to take better notes than me.” 

The baritone of his voice buzzed from the back of your head to the nape of your neck, “Well this Repeat can be a good student with the right teacher, princess.” 

Geez…if he kept this up, you might cease to function.

You exhaled, slow and heavy. “All of these nicknames…” you sighed, struggling to make sure your voice didn’t come out as a whine. “You need to stop with that sweetheart, princess shit…” 

“Well then, what would you prefer?” Eddie’s retort was immediate. You felt the pad of his finger on your bare shoulder, toying with the velvet strap of your top. You were wearing one of your favorites tonight- the wine-red velvet tank top hugged your curves just perfectly, and the sweetheart neckline was lined with soft black lace that matched the onyx lacquer on your fingernails. You felt perfectly vampy- and Eddie seemed to be a fan of the buttery-soft fabric as well. 

His fingertip slipped under the strap, taking it between his thumb and forefinger to stroke the soft velvet material along your shoulder blade. “I can call you ma’am, or maybe your majesty. Dressed like this, I think Elvira might be appropriate.” 

You giggled at the comparison, his warm lips spoke directly behind the sensitive skin below your ear. How was it possible to simultaneously feel your temperature rising as he’s sending shivers down your spine? It was pure infuriating bliss. You started to nuzzle into the touch like a cat before snapping out of your trance as applause thundered through the room. It seemed the Banshee Boys were about to start their next song.

Get a hold of yourself, you mentally chided. With every stroke of his finger on your upper back, you felt control slipping- damn whatever control issues he might be right about; you couldn’t be letting your guard down right now. It wasn’t fair to your girls.

Taking a small step forward sent your shirt strap snapping off of his fingertip and into your skin. The soft sting sent a jolt through your system, clearing your senses as you spun to face him. “What,” you yelled over the raging applause as the guitar onstage rang out into the smoky air. “You don’t like my name or something?” Your expression betrayed nothing as you smacked a mask of cocky condescension over your eyes. 

“Oh I like your name.” Eddie replied, arms crossing over his chest as he matched your confidence effortlessly. You could have sworn he even puffed out his chest a bit as his eyes darkened when he continued, “I just enjoy the way you have to take a deep breath every time I call you something else.” 

Crap. You weren’t as slick as you’d hoped you were. 

Huffing out a heavy breath, you grabbed his wrist and pulled him through the crowd until you reached a somewhat-quieter corner by a set of stairs. You should be focusing on the band onstage, but fuck it- this needed to be done. Ducking under the staircase, you yanked Eddie by the sleeve of his leather jacket until the two of you were both crammed into the dark closet-sized corner. 

Eddie looked even more pleased than he had before. “Hey, if you wanted me all to yourself we could have just gone back to my van out back-”

“Quite the opposite, actually.” you bit back. Eddie’s smile faltered upon hearing the irritation in your voice. Suddenly, his eyes shifted from that flirtatious confidence you’d learned to expect to an expression that was so gentle it nearly broke your heart. “Hey, did I…” His voice had also changed drastically- any trace of flirty innuendo gone and replaced with delicate concern. “...I’m not making you uncomfortable, am I?” 

You weren’t sure exactly how to react; you felt like you had whiplash from the complete one-eighty you had just witnessed. One minute this guy was all hot breath and smirking lips, poking fun at your breathlessness each time he came up with a new pet name, and the next minute he was wide eyed, gentle, and concerned with nothing but your comfort in his presence. You were reeling… but it wasn’t necessarily in a bad way.

It was a little perfect, actually.

You shook your head, trying to clear your thoughts and tell him what you’d dragged him all the way over here to say. “No- no, I’m very comfortable. Around you, I mean.” He seemed to relax a bit, which you were glad to see but didn’t help the message you were trying to convey here. “But I told you last night that this-” you gestured between the two of you, “-is not happening. You are a nice guy, and I feel comfortable around you, but I need the flirting to stop, because it’s very frustrating when you get all flirty and I can’t do anything about it.” 

You paused finally to take a breath, and when you took a moment to take in his reaction, you noticed that same intensity from last night when you’d had a conversation quite similar to this one- his eyes were wide, fixed on you and taking in every word you said with dedicated fixation. You got the feeling that there was a whole lot of thinking going on behind those big brown eyes- which was why it infuriated you when his response came in the form of a one-word answer.

“Alright.”

And with that, he turned around and began to walk back into the throng of onlookers beneath the stage. Taken aback by his terse response, you reached out without thinking, grabbing him by the elbow. “Wait, wait, wait,” you stuttered, and you felt your brow wrinkle as you tried to make sense of his behavior. “What does ‘alright’ mean?” You asked, noting the edge in your voice, but you didn’t care. “Are you going to stop it or not?”

To your surprise, Eddie turned back towards you, cocking his head ever so slightly to the side and stepping up so that he was only inches from you, looking down through his curtain of brown, wavy locks. “Do you want me to stop?” He asked.

Your lips hung open, grasping for words to construct a response with but coming up empty. Eddie didn’t wait for you to respond. He smirked open-mouthed for a moment, looking around as if he were searching for words that wouldn’t come across the wrong way- but stopped caring a moment later when he dropped his gaze to meet yours.

“You’ve told me twice now that you’re avoiding ‘distractions’,” Eddie took a step forward, backing you into the space underneath the stairway once more. “Merely interacting with you seems to be, in itself, a distraction, the way you see it, so tell me-” your name tumbled off his tongue as he addressed you and it sent lightning down your spine. “Do you want me to leave you alone? Or are you just scared of what you’ll do if I don’t?”

You gaped at his brashness, amazed that he would just come out and ask the question instead of letting it hang in the air like an unacknowledged storm in the distance like you had been perfectly content to continue doing. 

Jaw hanging open incredulously, you crossed your arms over your chest and pretended not to notice the split second that his eyes flicked down to your chest when you inadvertently smushed your breasts together. “You’re being awfully presumptuous, considering that you barely know me-”

Eddie cut you off, taking one step further toward you and bringing your back in contact with the exposed brick wall behind you. “Be honest princess, every time I flirt, you flirt back.” Eddie said, hands in his pockets and looking at you as if he had caught you with your hand in a cookie jar. “And personally-” he splayed a hand across his soaked t-shirt, “-I believe that any two mature, consenting adults should be able to flirt and have fun without any expectation of things getting serious unless otherwise specified.” 

His silence after finishing his sentence indicated to you that he wanted to know if your sentiments were the same. You had to think about it for a moment- were you afraid of what you might do if he kept flirting with you? Had you been flirting back this whole time? You thought about the way you couldn’t help but smile when he cracked a joke, how you’d thrown a smirk his way to match his own on several occasions, how you didn’t pull away when he’d pressed his body against you while taking notes… crap. You had been flirting back. 

And you liked the way it felt to flirt back. 

You didn’t want his big brown eyes to leave yours. You wanted him to keep looking at you the way he was now- curious, appraising… a little hungry. It wasn’t until he began speaking again that you realized your gaze had fallen to his barely-parted lips. Which were smirking. Because he’d noticed. 

“Look, while you think of an answer-” he gestured to his still damp shirt, “-I need to change. And I have a spare shirt in my van, so...” He cocked his head a little to the side, as if he were about to share a secret. “If any… consenting adults were to follow me out,” he began backing away with his hands back in his pockets, eyes alight with meaning as he wove hidden messages into his words. “I certainly wouldn’t be opposed to whatever flirting and/or… extracurriculars were to go on out there.” 

You choked out a laugh. “Extracurriculars??”

A grin mingled with a cringe on those fascinating lips as he shook an accusatory finger at you. “That.”  he bit out, “That smile is why I won’t stop with the name-calling, princess.” He quirked an eyebrow and added, “It’s damn distracting.” You couldn’t help but giggle at his reference to the very thing you kept accusing him of. 

And then he was gone, out the door and strolling down the sidewalk into the smoky night air until he had disappeared from your line of sight. 

You stood there under the stairs for a good minute or so, still reeling from the way he had spoken to you- like he could read your goddamn mind and knew exactly how much you enjoyed the way you felt around him. He had heavily insinuated that he was going to be waiting for you out by his van. Your brain went wild as you wondered what he expected to happen out there. 

Did he just want to talk? No, he had used the phrase extracurriculars and in this context, that sounded anything but innocent. If you followed him out there, you were openly admitting to him that you were not only okay with the flirting, but whatever the flirting might lead to. 

Your fingers slid as you absentmindedly stroked your sweating glass with your thumb. Everything in your brain yelled- practically begged- for you to simply wait out the band’s set, take a few more notes, and catch a cab back to your hotel. To look your bandmates dead in the eye and tell them no distractions, then mess around with a stranger at a bar? It would be hypocritical. 

The more you thought about it, though, Eddie had been clear that he had zero expectations of anything other than what might happen tonight. He didn’t ask for plans tomorrow, nothing next week- just a little sweetness to round out the night. That wouldn’t lead to any future distractions, right? And there was no way Lana or Denise would find out… 

You should have thought about it further. You really should have waited until enough time had passed that there was no way Eddie would still be out there waiting. Unfortunately, however, your glass was quickly placed on a nearby table, your moleskine shoved into your purse, and your Doc-clad feet marched through the threshold of the bar without nearly enough thought thrown into your decision. 

The cool air of the night enveloped you, and you instinctively began to rub the goosebumps away from your bare arms. Cigarette smoke from patrons lazily draped against the windows looking into the bar wafted around you as you strode with purpose down the sidewalk. Eyes snagging on a clunky-looking Chevy van peeking out from around the corner behind the bar, you noticed the familiar silhouette of a man leaning against the driver’s side door. Amber light from the street lamps glowed at the edges of his curls, playing on the plumes of his own cigarette smoke which he blew upward into the air through those lips that had somehow hypnotized you beyond rescue tonight. 

He didn’t look up at you until you were leaned up against the brick wall parallel to the side of his van. Eddie kept his eyes trained on your pristine black leather boots as he smiled around his cigarette. Slowly, he brought his gaze up to meet yours, a silent question in those mesmerizing eyes. 

Your breath turned to vapor in the brisk night air as you huffed out a frustrated sigh, wanting very badly to not let on just how hard your heart was pounding out of your chest.

“Alright.” you muttered, feeling awkward now that you couldn’t  count on blaring guitars to fill the silence between you two. 

Eddie nodded, practically smiling ear to ear. “Alright?” he queried, and you could hear the unspoken question he was really asking. Are you sure?

You stuck your hands in your pockets, and before you could chicken out you nodded back in response, flashing him a matching smile. 

“Alright.”

Part 3