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jimmyflemion · 3 months

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Well Done

Well, 4 everyone paying attention,

we’ve served up :

Rare

Medium-Rare

Medium

Medium-Well

& 2day

07/07/2024

Well-Done

U learn. U practice. U rehearse.

U get dressed up. U take the stage.

U play your best. U give it your all.

U bow. U thank . U reflect. U put your best heart forward. The new album “Well-Done” has been released from its cage 2day. Its sounds can be relished on Sunshiny Spotify, Tittilating I Tunes, Angelic Amazon Music, Dynamite Deezer & all the other pleasing, pleasant, dignified, digitalized world leaders in sonic excellence. & as always my heartfelt thanx & love goes out 2 my brother Dennis 2day.

Love,

Jimmy

Hell Patrol - 2000-12-08 North Star Bar, Philadelphia PA

Dennis & I drove down 2 The Smashing Pumpkins rehearsal space in June of 1999 where they were either rehearsing or recording. In their work area on a desk were 2 sheets of paper. They were projected song titles 4 songs being pitched 2 b in 2 different motion pictures for Billy Corgan 2 write. When Billy was asked about these ideas, he stated wasn’t interested in the idea or projects. Dennis said 2 Billy, Jimmy will write those songs. The next day after coming home on June 15, 1999, I wrote “Eat Me Alive” & “Hell Patrol”. The demo version on “Damaged Goods/Sinned In Reverse” is myself on acoustic guitar with distortion & this 1 live features the whole band IC (in control) & Double OC (out of control).

Written by Jimmy Flemion 06/15/1999

Negro On Fire - 2001-01-20 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis MN

3rd time attempted was a charm playing & scoring 2 a warm 7th Street crowd basking in a wonderful winter wonderland weather wind chill of minus 7.

Written by Dennis Flemion 11/06/2000

Enter I - 2001-03-30 The Five Spot, Philadelphia PA

This show was moved 2 a different venue at the last minute. It was a nightclub with velvet-lined booths & beaded curtains on the top floor of a building. There was an R&B dance party after the show & every one needed 2 exit quickly. The building burned down a few years later. The white van broke down 4 good on the way 2 this show. As the van was being towed away, I said 2 the van in Bob Uecker’s words, “Goodbye old friend”. Original demo was written as a slow ballad. Thinking of songs 4 inclusion on “Hopscotch Lollipop Sunday Surprise”, Dennis liked the song but knew we could use another rocker & suggested we sped it up uptempo. Speed it up we did & 2 & a half weeks before the album’s release we debuted the sped up stylized version at 7th Street Entry. 3 days prior 2 this show on 03/27/2001 we played The Skinny in Portland, Maine. We met Bebe Buelle who attended the show & I believe that is what influenced Dennis introduction at this show 2, “Send this out 2 Liv Tyler’s lips”.

Written by Jimmy Flemion 06/26/1990

Going To California - 2001-04-05 40 Watt Club, Athens GA

Closing time at the club, we had been given the 2 minute warning by the club, 2 minutes more 2 play as it was curfew. I dropped my Univox 2 D tuning, Brian “Beezer” Hill, followed suit & we did a 1 time, 1 night only version of “Going To California”. Growing up, I’m gonna put it out there but I did worship Led Zeppelin. To the point where I bought $40 bootleg albums recorded in the back row where I had to crank the stereo to 10 to hear anything & Dennis would awaken in the morning 2 1 of these & tell me 2 turn it off. Loved Jimmy Page’s guitar playing, thought it was just so advanced, couldn’t figure out how the hell does he play like that. Dennis would try & help me by recording & playing back “Heartbreaker” at half speed 4 me to decipher. When I lived in Austin, Texas I was at HEB, the local grocery store & I was walking in & I said 2 myself is that him, & I could tell 1 guy outside had the same thought & I didn’t say hi, I guess I was awestruck but it was, u guess ed it or u didn’t, Robert Plant. I remember Kevn Kinney ( a Milwaukee native) from The Prosecutors & Drivin’ & Cryin’ was at this show & afterwards went on about how great “Going To California” was. Was nice of him 2 say.

Written by Jimmy Page & Robert Plant

Enjoy - 2001-09-28 The Knitting Factory, New York NY

Brian “Beezer” Hill was 2 play bass 4 this show but his flight was cancelled post 9/11. Ben Lee filled in on bass as we ran over some songs at his apartment before the show. This is the last song of the evening I play solo on acoustic. Unbeknownst to the audience Dennis was chatting with Ben Lee offstage, backstage behind the curtain during the song & then stops talking 2 Ben long enough with his microphone 2 add his backing harmonies.

Written by Jimmy Flemion 09/05/1995

La, Da, Da, Da, La, Da, Da, Dee, La, Da, Da, Dum, Dum - 2001-09-29 Middle East, Cambridge.

Josh Silverman was recruited on bass 4 this show at Johnny Busher’s urging & ended up adding a 2nd acoustic guitar on this song, a rare occurrence. Josh had thought he had failed the audition but was asked to join on bass 4 future shows. An enthusiastic crowd member Britany, requested this song, the only time performed live & was given a close up seat smack dab right next 2 me on stage.

Written by Jimmy Flemion 04/04/1987

She Loves You - 2001-11-09 Khyber Pass, Philadelphia PA

The sound man shut off the sound system & ended the show early because he had better things 2 do. He had thought Dennis had insulted him earlier in the show, when he was really talking 2 me. A girl yells out, “I love u”, a guy then responds, “She loves u”, prompting Dennis 2 get the, “She Loves You” train rolling.

Written by John Winston Ono Lennon & James Paul McCartney

Copyright Capitol Cmg Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Songtrust Ave, Sony / ATV Music Publishing LLC, Tunecore Inc.

Whisper - 2001-11-29 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis MN

Just so happens Britney Spears was just a whisper away, performing down the street this night. I begin playing the opening riff before throwing in some funk flavored rhythms & mention 2 Dennis, it’s like he’s playing with Ike Turner which prompts later in the set a cover of “Proud Mary”, which in turn prompts a drunk Billie Jean King doppelgänger 2 take off her top & take the Tina Turner vocal, which prompted me 2 take the Ike Turner backing vocal.

Written by Jimmy Flemion 12/30/1996

New York Shitty - 2002-01-12 Bowery Ballroom, New York NY

Headlining gig with The Moldy Peaches opening & The Strokes in attendance in the balcony. 2nd show after 9/11 so Dennis sings his rewritten, reworked lyrics & poetry 2 suit the song, the city & the aftermath.

Written by Dennis Flemion 06/06/1999

Come With Me - 2002-01-24 Southgate House, Newport KY

Only show ever in Newport KY, an 1866 church turned over 2 rock music, good lord. Part of the ending, u will recognize as “Come W/ Me ll”from “Damaged Goods / Sinned In Reverse” where Dennis moves over from drums 2 keyboards.

Written by Jimmy Flemion 09/02/1999

(ASCAP)

I’ve Got Drugs - 2002-01-31 Echo Lounge, Atlanta GA

4 the live version we added the exciting instrumental passage walk down chord progression that resurfaces on “Love Me Anymore ll” off of “Damaged Goods/ Sinned In Reverse”.

Written by Dennis Flemion & Jimmy Flemion 08/16/1986

Devil Blues - 2002-04-13 Cactus Club, Milwaukee WI

Previously, the night before we opened 4 zany Zwan in chic Chicago. This night the crowd was denied an encore unknowingly courtesy of a noise complaint.

This is the version that would have possibly been the version on “Damaged Goods / Sinned In Reverse” unless we could have matched the electricity by giving it a shot recording in Dennis’ home basement.

Written by Dennis Flemion 01/01/2001

The Rubble & The Priest - 2002-12-20 Knitting Factory, New York NY

Festive NYC Christmas show & as luck would have it I was sporting a rare full beard, full on. Enthusiastic clapping from start to finish inspiring an inspired performance.

Written by Jimmy Flemion 11/03/1991

Fuck Off - 2003-05-14 Launchpad, Albuquerque NM

The only show in old or New Mexico. The finger picking version.

Written in a state of confusion, sadness & loneliness, opting 2 take the low road in song 2 heal the heart.

Written by Jimmy Flemion 02/04/1986

Homos - 2003-05-16 Knitting Factory, Los Angeles CA

A rare welcoming rendering with Dennis providing keyboard theatrics 4 punctuation & exclamation!

Written by Jimmy Flemion 08/16/1986

Where’s Jerry Lewis? -2003-11-13 Village Tavern, Mount Pleasant SC

Unexpectedly successful & heavily attended show in a Charleston suburb. A non-descriptive sports bar ill-fitted 4 a rock show with no stage. A moving keyboard deluxe rendition guaranteed 4 u & friends alike 2 get the search party out 4 Jerry Lewis.

Written by Jimmy Flemion 08/16/1986

A Holy Story - 2004-01-29 Blind Pig, Ann Arbor MI

Good but sparsely attended show because of a snowstorm that blew in. A drunken fan in the room provided much amusement & banter with Dennis. Some confused college students walked out in disgust at the start of this track. Legendary club where Nirvana & Pearl Jam cut their teeth in their early days. Autobiographical tale composed under composure by yours truly, evoking feelings of love, guilt, shame & regret with the sincere vocal melody continuously attempting 2 climb out of the quicksand all the time captured with a look of a Milwaukee buck in headlights.

Written by Jimmy Flemion 02/20/1989

Follow The Yellow Brick Road - 2004-03-06 Gabe's Oasis, Iowa City IA

Ginormous gathering. Johnny Busher’s last show on bass.

Instrumental “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” follows “Follow The Yellow Brick Road”.

Written by Harold Arlen & E.Y. Harburg

Magical - 2004-05-22 Lime Spider, Akron OH

C Major/ A minor / F Major/ G Major, the majestic, magnetic, 50’s chord progression that will send u through the roof catapulting u into another world. A magical song slated 4, “Damaged Goods / Sinned In Reverse” that only Dennis could conceive, create, imagine, prescribe, deliver & gift. As a former megalomaniac, my favorite line from the audience during the breakdown is, “Best band ever”.

Written by Dennis Flemion 03/05/2004

Stargirl - 2006-04-22 Cactus Club, Milwaukee WI

The buildup, the strumming, the drumming, the dynamics, drama fills the air, & here it is the final Milwaukee, Wisconsin hometown song ever performed by The Frogs.

Written by Jimmy Flemion 09/27/1994

Bass Players :

Brian “Beezer” Hill

Tracks : (01-04)

Josh Silverman

Tracks (07-15)

Additional Acoustic Guitar

Track (06)

Johnny Busher

Tracks (16, 19)

Jay Tiller

Track (20)

Remixed by Johnny Busher with assistance from Kelly Kerr

#jimmyflemion #dennisflemion #thefrogs #welldone #spotify

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paulisded · 2 years

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The Ledge #543: Power Pop, Pt. 1 (The Past)

On a fairly regular basis I'm asked what type of music I most enjoy. It's a pretty tough question to answer, to be honest. The standard answer I hear in return is "I love all kinds of music", which to me is code for "I only like what's popular". Sorry, but having a playlist on Spotify that includes both Drake, Meghan Trainor, and Luke Bryan isn't the proof of versatility most of these poeple believe it is.

So what is the genre or sub-genre that is closest to my heart? "Punk" is a little too confining, and honestly there is a lot of shitty music under that moniker. "Alternative" doesn't mean the same today as it did 30 years ago since maintstream rock radio has co-opted it. "Garage rock" is indeed getting closer but still doesn't feel right.

I think deep in my heart the term power pop, or at least my version of the term, best describes my music taste. I was, after all, born the day The Beatles recorded their first single, and the first two rock and roll albums I owned just out of my toddler phase was the first Monkees record and theA Hard Day's Night soundtrack.

My teen years coincided with the rise of punk rock, and the initial blast of punk was primarily sped up power pop. Catchy tunes played fast, and that is where my description of power pop may be a little bit different from what others consider power pop. There's a lot of bands in this genre that, honestly, sound a little too wimpy for me. I emphasize the "power" portion of the term.

Tonight's show is not only a remembrance of bands and records from that time, but is also a reaction to reading a couple of great books that I recently acquired.Go All The Way: A Literary Appreciation of Power PopandGo Further: More Literary Appreciations of Power Pop are collections of essays on the genre compiled by Paul Myers and S.W. Lauden. This led me to dig through my iTunes archives to reacquaint myself with some long lost fave, and also asked for some suggestions on Facebook.

This show is part one of a two part series. Here's almost 2 1/2 hours of my favorites from the past. Next week will be a show devoted to current (or somewhat current) bands continuing to carry the torch for guitar-driven pop songs. Do you have some favorite current power pop bands or songs? Please let me know!!!

I would love it if every listener bought at least one record I played on either of these shows. These great artists deserve to be compensated for their hard work, and every purchase surely helps not only pay their bills but fund their next set of wonderful songs. And if you buy these records directly from the artist or label, please let them know you heard these tunes on The Ledge! Let them know who is giving them promotion! You can find this show at almost any podcast site, including iTunes and Stitcher...or

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE SHOW!

1. The Replacements,September Gurls

2. Big Star,The Ballad Of El Goodo

3. Chris Bell,I Am The Cosmos

4. Dwight Twilley,I'm On Fire

5. The Flamin' Groovies,Shake Some Action

6. Cheap Trick,He's a Whore

7. Shoes,Boys Don't Lie

8. The Real Kids,All Kindsa Girls

9. 20/20,Yellow Pills

10. D.L. Byron,Listen To The Heartbeat

11. The Nerves,Hanging On The Telephone

12. The Breakaways,Walking Out On Love

13. The Beat,Rock N Roll Girl

14. The Plimsouls,Hush, Hush

15. The Records,Starry Eyes

16. Eddie & The Hot Rods,Do Anything You Wanna Do

17. The Only Ones,Another Girl, Another Planet

18. Wreckless Eric,Whole Wide World

19. Tommy Keene,Places That Are Gone

20. The dB's,Black And White

21. Game Theory,Make Any Vows

22. Let's Active,Every Word Means No

23. Ill Bill and the Spinal Chills,Play With Me

24. Pointed Sticks,Out Of Luck

25. The Bats,Not My Girl Anymore

26. The Letters,Nobody Loves Me

27. The Neighborhoods,No Place Like Home

28. The Shivers,Teenline

29. Nikki & The Corvettes,Summertime Fun

30. Juliana Hatfield,Everyone Loves Me But You

31. The Muffs,Everywhere I Go

32. Teenage Fanclub,The Concept

33. Matthew Sweet,Girlfriend

34. Velvet Crush,Hold Me Up

35. Material Issue,Valerie Loves Me

36. Guided By Voices,Glad Girls

37. The Exploding Hearts,Modern Kicks

38. Paul Westerberg,As Far As I Know

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moonlightwritesdisney · 4 years

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YOU. — Wyatt Lykensen

Pairing: Wyatt Lykensen X FEMALE! READER

Requested: Yes / No

Warnings: vulgar swearing. descriptions of blood. unhealthy behavior. mentions of rape.

Author’s Note: please note that you (the reader) and wyatt are both adults in this image. Just to clear up any confusion!

Summary: The first time he saw you he couldn’t keep his eyes off of you. He follows you everywhere. He gets jealous when he sees you invite a friend over for old times sake. Things go way to far. You will be his.

HE ALLOWED THE LOUD CHATTER and birds song in the bright summer square of ZombieTown to be slowly drowned out by all his pulsing thoughts. He stood in the distance observing you. Out of all the people that passed by blocking his view, he kept his hard eye on you.

The way your soft brunette curls laid untouched just inches away from your descending chest. Echoes of your honey dripping laugh rang through his twitching ears. The jealously and anger only grew worse.

Unbeknownst to you, not aware of the wolf watching you had just finished a few hours of shopping, you were making your way down towards the central parking just by ZombieTown’s large water fountain before you were stopped by an old school friend — who was male.

He was so surprised to see, he complimented you and watched you laugh in sweetness. Both of you stood their for at least 20 minutes catching up on old burnt out memories he was trying to re-flame. He could read your mind. He felt the same as you. He knew you were uncomfortable and wanted to make a fast escape. You didn’t trust this guy but.

“Hey uhm- i was actually wondering if you’d like to have dinner and a movie tonight?” Was this guy serious? After a twenty minute conversation?! You weren’t one to be rude because of your passive personality. “Oh — uhm sure! I’d like that. I’ll be there at seven o’clock”.

And with that you were off and on your way home. Wyatt watched as you retreated towards the silver Cadillac you owned in the parking lot. He watched all around him. He glared at the young man who was walking the opposite way. That dumb human. He couldn’t stand a chance against him.

Nonetheless, he knew you’d be his one day. He’d let you have the little amount of happiness this human could spare for a while. He’d imagine you helpless crying and running straight into his arms. The way your head laid on his shoulder while he rubbed your back in a calming manner.

Leaving little kisses on our neck when he was in the mood, the warm feeling of both your sweaty bodies pressed together in pure erotic euphoria. Tingles ran down his spine as he imagines your soft smile in his mind. His heart raced at the thought of your body. Every curve and edge. All the imperfections you could name he’d find absolutely exhilarating.

“Hey man, curfew’s almost up you have to leave”. Another voice snapped him out of deep personal thoughts, he eyed a stern looking officer dressed in a blue SeaBrook uniform, who was very tired and just wanted to go home. He nodded his way respectfully and exited the shopping plaza. The walk to your house wasn’t long.

The city had separate ZombieTown’s main housing and shopping lot so you had to drive at least a small distance to venture for a desired shopping day. He had taken the path towards your small apartment plenty of times, along with being a wolf came with advanced speed so he made due time. The sky swirled with light pinks and oranges making a beautiful sunset in the small town.

The crunching of grass under his feet made his anxious as he took a deep breathe, his footsteps became silent in worries of you discovering him. He stood calmly in your background his ears twitching hearing you humming to yourself softly — he figured you were in the shower getting ready for you date.

A scoff left his red lips in jealousy, he hated that it wasn’t him. ‘in due time’. He thought to himself confidently as he caught attention to light fogs of steam arising from the running shower. Now, Wyatt was no prude but he absolutely couldn’t resist. His curious brown eyes peered above the brick ledge.

A gasp hitched in his throat. His heart could explode at any moment. Their you stood, pampering yourself in the shower. Looking ever so beautiful. The water dripping down your pale dark skin. Your green textured hair soaking up the moisture from the water.

He bit down on his lip as goosebumps shot up his back. You were marvelous. Your beautiful voice flowing through his ears as you sung. His eyes grew yellow, his animalistic nature taking full control. Fangs flashed from his mouth.

He tightened his fist in frustration. He wanted to take you right then and there. ‘All mine’. He thought as he found himself skewing up dirty — unholy images in his mind of him senselessly fucking you, clinging to him as you screamed his name. He knew it was wrong. The tightening he felt in his boxers was painful. Too painful to even bear. He wanted you, every inch.

To him you were everything. All his. After having to agonize through his painful boner he regained composure after zipping up his pale brown pants and moved stalkingly towards the right his eyes casting view into your bedroom window, the soft white shades slightly parted allowing him to see through.

Different collages and pictures of close friends and things you adored plastered all over your walls. Small shelves that held small knickknacks and small plants lightly attracting ray of sunlight bent at the wall. Your bed, freshly made with the soft maroon red and pillows with the dark hues of blue designed with golden tassels laid neatly, untouched.

You were somewhat messy, but very articulate and decorative. Which he adored. Small white bookshelves filled to the end with large literature of your liking. Pushed up against your light grey accent wall. Posters and cute pieces of art made by yourself were taped just above your bed post.

He adored your room. It was full of positivity, light, and all things that you adored. The sweet vanilla and shea scent from your body streamed into his nose like a running river. Licking his lips in anticipation he closed his eyes and exhaled your delectable scent.

You walks into the small atmosphere the cold air hitting your bare legs, missing the warmth of the water and steam capture your body in a relaxing shower. It was a sewer green like color to which your full cheeks spread into a large smile ‘perfect’.

After reaching for a pair of distressed and ripped jeans that you had seen in the corner of your eye you pulled down the chain to your light which shut off you quickly threw your clothing on your bed and sat down on the edge freeing the sparkling red cap on your lotion squeezing the lotion onto your hand.

It smelt amazing, ever since zombies had fought for more equality from the humans. Zombies from everywhere where now able to walk into any store much to the similar human version of their Victoria Secret and others. To which they could by all sorts of cute lipglosses, lotions, night wear, and clothing. The sweet deep smell of cinnamon and rose entered your nostrils as you rubbed the lotion into your calves working your way up to the top of your thighs.

The black pupils widened in arousel and wonder as he stared into the inside of your window without your knowledge — your hands slowly rubbing the white substance on the curve of your plush butt. He was awe stricken, so captivated by the goddess he had known as you. His heart thumped wildly in his chest he couldn’t get enough of you.

Your finger pulled up the red belt loops of the maroon jeans your legs fitted around, securing the gold buttons of your jeans into the red holes in front. You sighed and fumbled with the thin green fabric you scrunched up the material and pushed your head through, then your arms.

You stood in front of the large white rimmed body mirror that leaned against the back wall with a cute colorful tapestry laid over it with pictures of close friends and fun stickers plastered on the corners of the glass. You loved the way your outfit looked. You felt very satisfied. A huge smile spread across your cheeks. The left of your head swung towards the opening crack of your door — the ring of your front doorbell.

You drowned in confusion, your eyes reached over to read the square alarm clock on your night side table. ‘6:24’. ‘He is only twenty minutes early’. Which you thought was very weird. You had just met back with your old elementary friend hours ago , and only after having a seemingly awkward conversation for twenty minutes you agree to go on a date but he’s twenty minutes early?!

You pondered at the all the possibilities as to why he suggested this. But nonetheless you shook the feeling away and picking up your towel placing it in your pale green clothing hamper. Stepping out of your room and down into the wide hallway your fingers wrapped around the chilling gold door handle and yanked it open.

There he stood, bouncing eagerly on his toes. His hair slicked back with hair spray, the clothing he wore was doused with heavy calogne — the foul heavy smell of the body spray stung at your nose the second you opened your front door. Which was something you didn’t find attractive at all. The wide smile he wore seemed like it was too toiled. Like he was trying to hard. His clothes. Ew.

He wore a bright blue and white plaid buttoned, with a black lambskin jacket over it unbuttoned, dark blue low waisted jeans and light brown flats. Yikes. How human of him. You absolutely hated what he was wearing. You knew he was being desperate. You could see it in his body language and his expression. You spotted bright red roses — in front of him you would have scoffed and sent him away.

If he truly remembered you he would have remembered you like sunflowers instead of basic red roses. How bland. But instead, you gave him the benefit of the doubt. You knew the crippling and heart breaking sorrow of rejection, you were a zombie of course so being cast out was something you knew all to well. Instead you tilted your head to the side and forced your cheeks into a great smile.

“Are these flowers for me?” You asked clasping your hands together. He looked down then up at your a small smirk plastering on his thin lips — ‘ABSOLUTELY NOT SIR PLEASE GOD SO DISGUSTING’. These thoughts screamed in your mind as you watched him with pure unattractive as his licked his lips “yes they are actually”.

He said with a very man-ly chuckle “they reminded me of you so I picked them up at the zombie market in town on my way here”. As if this dude wasn’t trying hard enough. He truly had to glamorize the fact that he picked the flowers up at a zombie store instead of the regular human one. So he was racist and trying to hard. Great. You let out an awkward laugh and stepped aside allowing him in before the air became filled with his disgusting aroma.

You had retrieved the flowers from his hand and immediately threw them carelessly on the counter. He didn’t question it but instead following closely behind you. ‘I’ll burn them later’. You thought with a pleasing smirk that played on your face. He had already sat down in your living space his flats sprawled on the floor and his feet kicked up on your glass coffee table. Dog behavior. You rolled your eyes he was stupid and too dumb to even understand basic manners.

Football was playing on your small flat screen, you had taken a seat next to him your feet flat on the floor, your toes curling in the soft plush carpet. “Would you like something to drink?” you asked politely, the man turned his attention towards you, a curl in his lip “hm sure, the finest wine you’ve got?” He requested you stood up and went into the small kitchen opening the oak cabinet next to the sink you had set both wine glasses down on the marble countertop.

The dark brown hues in your eyes scanned out the closed window above your sink watching the bright pink sky combine with beautiful colors of orange and red cascading over the oval clouds. You twisted the cork out of the bottle of white wine you had just bought from ‘Z’s Gruesome Groceriez” in ZombieTown.

You wondered if this human had tasted zombie issued wine before, since well zombie wine was a lot more bitter than regular human liquor / wine. It had a hint of brains. You shrugged with a ‘hmp’. ‘He’s too dumb to even notice anyway’.

After filling both glasses to the half point you held both of them in your hands and carefully walked back into the living room where the human sat on your white leather couch his eyes and full attention soaking into the fourth quarter and a fumbling ball.

You cleared your throat to catch his attention, he smiled towards you and took the wine glass from your right hand and thanked you focusing his content back on the television. “So .. what are you doing for work now?” you asked trying to break the awkward tension to which he perked up after taking a small sip and setting it down.

“Oh well I’d never thought you’d ask, I work as SeaBrook patrolman, you?” You ignored the sting in your gut “I work as a journalist and a proud activist for the Zombie’s and Werewolves’ against discrimination movement, or ZAWAD, it supports the bright culture of both werewolves and zombies and brings everyone together.

We try to unite the communities in SeaBrook instead of pushing away and we absolutely do try our best too peacefully speak our thoughts and have mindful conversations without violence.”

You spoke proudly watching his intense expression burn into your eyes. He nodded slowly and pursed his lips which confused you nonetheless you still tried to ignore the screaming inside your head and gut ‘make him leave’. ‘this is going to end badly’. Chills scattered down your back in anxiousness.

“That’s interesting and ... very sexy actually, your very passionate about it i can tell”. You internally cringed at that word coming out of his mouth. ‘Sexy’. He definitely wanted something, and it wasn’t a genuine conversation. You froze with disgust his nimble tender cold fingers resting on your knee. “oh uhm, thanks i guess”.

You spoke trying to give him the hint, you weren’t interested even if he was the last person on earth you wouldn’t. His hand inched closer towards your inner thigh a evil smirk plastered on his face. “god your so sexy”. He then leaned his lips towards yours capturing you in his grasp. You didn’t give an inch, you squealed in protest.

You moved your arms to his biceps and tried to push him way from you , he refused now he was on top of you. His rough calloused hands slide up towards your collarbone, you groaned in anger “can you please just stop-- STOP!” You shouted, his breathe was hot against your neck his left hand slide up towards your neck and pressed down onto your windpipe.

You gasped gritting your teeth, you used your right hand to try and push him off but his strength held your arm down. You felt helpless, weak, worthless to know that you had somehow allowed this disgusting being to get ahold of you. That is, until you felt him grasping the metal of your Z-band.

You knew that taking it off could potentially be a very dangerous action, which was only to be taken off in emergencies only. This was a very big problem and it needed to be stopped. His hand gripped the clasp of your band, you felt the dark veins pulsating throughout your body.

Using the strength to lift your left hand which caused a small chime from your Z-band to sound, it unclasped from you wrist and fell somewhere on the floor. In just a few seconds the light around your eyes had turned a deep purple cracks plunging from under them. A low growl erupted from your stomach then submerged to your throat.

The man felt you vibrate from below him, he had suddenly noticed you had changed. He gasped and stood up as you growled and snarled, you inched closer towards him as he took steps back defensively. “Stay the hell away from me you bitch!” He shouted sternly but the anger was hot and boiling inside of you.

Turning into a zombie was something you couldn’t control. It was coded in your genes. Once your Z-band was ripped from you the monster took over inside you, just as it did for anyone. Your vision had turned completely red. The low grumbles and growling roared within you, this is what you were. A monster, and damn, were you proud of it.

You stepped closer to the cowering man as he flared his arms towards you, which unfortunately, only agitated you more. In this moment you were gone, the zombie inside you was controlling you, and you smelt fear. Which was a bad thing. “Your a waste of human life”. Your normal quiet spoken speech had transformed into a lower deep growl. Using your zombie strength you grabbed the human by his leather collar and bite deeply into his neck, the loud scream leaving the dry of his throat.

The blood seeped out of his neck like a river, you lifted him to meet eyes with a demon like growl “next time you better stop”. You seethed before letting him drop to the ground, the now scared human scrambled towards his feet holding the gushing wound his hand covered in red. He disappeared out of the living space and out of your life forever. Or at least you hoped he did. Grunting you walked over towards the crack between the couch and the pale wall, getting on your hands and knees you reach down for the metal bracelet.

After securing it in your grasp you immediately push the clasps together around you wrist. ‘Online’. You let a content sigh slumping back beside the wall the dark veins in your arms slowly recoiled from your arms and legs. Your back ached and your head pounded. The sweet tasting blood of the humans still resting on your lips and along your cheeks.

Finally, after about a few seconds you steadily returned to your feet. Ignoring the few blood spatters that were now fresh on the floor. ‘I’ll clean it up later”. You let a deep sigh release from your lips as you picked up the two wine glasses and brought them to the kitchen and discarded of the waste in the sink.

You were fashioned in the bathroom taking a warm cloth and bringing it towards your face wiping off the dried blood. You sucked in a breathe the sound of your beating heart filling your ears. You didn’t feel at all ashamed for what you had done. That bastard human deserved it.

The overbearing of your anxiety flared, you were worried you might get in huge trouble, since unfortunately, the human is never to blame. You had gone to bed that night in hopes for a better day the next morning -- the only problem was, he saw everything.

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holyhikari · 4 years

Text

Okay. Okay. It’s 2020, most of the world is shut down and the first episode of Digimon Adventure aired yesterday, missing a ‘Butter-Fly’ and with a colon to spare. Life sure is something.

Gotta say I’m relieved. (For now, at least.) Sure, yeah, I got into the hype train for the reboot from the get-go and determined to just have fun, but. If I can picture all the ways something can go wrong — go BORING — down to excruciating details right from the first episode, why not? That’s what brains are for. So that’s what I did.

Should have saved all that energy.

I want to share with all of you my thoughts on this episode, break it down a little bit; how it made me feel, the few character introductions we got, the pace, the plot and its possibilities.

As much as I want to approach this series keeping the idea of authenticity in mind, it is a reboot. They chose a certain set of (popular!) pre-existent characters to explore, to work with; a balance between creating and adapting. And I’m very interested in seeing how they’ll combine the core elements of Digimon Adventure with all there is unique to this generation of kids, teens and, you know it, adults who stuck around.

Since all we’ve got is the introduction to the series, I’ll be contrasting TOKYO DIGITAL CRISIS to how the original Adventure kicked off back in 1999 with ADRIFT? THE ISLAND OF ADVENTURE!

I did try to keep this as coherent and review-like as possible, but there’s a fair amount of fan-girling and it’s all seen through my very biased Adventure-stan-colored lens. Don’t say I didn’t warn ya.

‘99 starts with an image of our planet, and ‘20 starts almost the same. This time, though, we can see we aren’t alone. ‘The Digital World affecting the Earth’ is something that happens, I believe, in every Digimon reincarnation. In ‘99, it’s deeply affecting our climate. Now, the issue doesn’t seem so drastic that it’s able to reach influence organic matter and mess up many Nature’s cycles across the globe, but it’s still not looking so good for our kids. (It’s the first episode and Hikari and Yuuko almost get train-sandwiched, but I suppose that almost having your head chopped off, courtesy of Kuwagamon, isn’t lovely either.)

Anyway.

I think this Digital World/Network shot isn’t actually part of the episode? I think it’s part of the opening (I mean, not the OP sequence with the song, obviously), and that we’ll be seeing it before each episode starts. Still, it’s an interesting juxtaposition, isn’t it?

A Glorious World is upon us! I wasn’t actually expecting Butter-Fly or anything similar to it, don’t worry. I’m glad the new OP is its own thing! I want Digimon Adventure ‘20 to be as authentic as possible without losing the original’s heart. The song is nice enough. I don’t want to compare it to Butter-Fly, but I’m only human. Give me a few episodes. Gotta let go.

The OP has way more Taichi than the others. No surprise there. He’s our goggle boy. (Still, since they went for a quick throwback to the original opening, it’s a shame only Taichi was shown falling down towards the Digital World).

Everyone got a part, though. Shout out to Takeru and Hikari for being yet again the ominous, powerful baby-faced duo that is definitely up to something.

It’s so interesting that, while the other crests are shown very clearly and surrounded by sparkles, Light and Hope are only shown briefly shining in their partners’ shadows. Why is Takeru so far away from us, why is this so sinister-looking. Hi, mysterious plot. Nice to meet you.

Wherever Hikari is by the end of the OP, it reminds me of Vamdemon’s castle. Maybe she feels connected to Tailmon and follows her somehow? Angemon wasn’t shown in the OP with the older six children’s partners, just Patamon. I wonder if they’ll try to make us grieve for Angemon a second time. It’d work with me. Either way, I imagine we’re in for another last-minute Patamon evolution when everything looks hopeless.

This time, though, we’ve got Hikari from the beginning (yes, I am VERY excited about this, thank you for asking, THIS IS WHAT I DESERVE), and, while I think Patamon is more powerful in regular conditions (as in, Angemon can probably take Angewomon in a fight despite the level imbalance, but as soon as Hikari starts glowing you know who’s winning), he will now be sharing the spotlight with another Archangel evolution… as his friend or as his foe, considering that Tailmon might be a double agent of some sorts in the beginning. Welp.

Anyway. Toei isn’t fooling around, in the OP we can see MetalGreymon in a very scary-looking, glitchy fashion that I’m LIVING for, WarGreymon’s silhouette and, good grief, there’s even a glimpse of Omegamon. Talk about too much information. Maybe chill out a little? (I say this, but the adults already know all of their evos, and the kids just want MOOOOOOORE monstahhhhhrrrrrrsss….which is fair.)

MetalGreymon looks dope here. The others, though, are only shown up to their Adult evolution, even Gabumon. I don’t think they will have only Gabumon and Agumon reaching their Mega forms, and then fusing into Omegamon while everyone else only gets as far as Perfect. Again.

They wouldn’t do this to us. Right? Yeah, they would. Maybe we can have Holydramon/Ophanimon and Seraphimon later on, as a treat. Aaaaaand, depending on how many episodes — how many seasons — this new timeline gets, I’m not giving up hope just yet. Let me have Phoenixmon, Toei, you heartless thing.

Moving on to the actual episode… The first non-Digimon character to show up is the true protagonist. Our queen is back. Our little Digivice thief, Miko herself.

Just you wait, you ain’t gonna be Hikari’s favorite cat-like creature for long.

Speaking of Hikari, LOOK AT THIS WITTLE BABY GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2020 Taichi right off the bat was Taichi for me. He’s talking to Yuuko and yells “Hikariii~” so loudly Hikari hears it from where she stands, the short cutie. Their mom just hands down the phone for her without missing a beat so Taichi can comfort her through whatever she’s worrying about (her summer classes, probably). Such a sweet, natural little moment that flashes both characters out. I want more of that, please.

We’re then introduced to Koushiro! I’m not gonna lie, I cringed the first time I heard him speak. I thought the voice didn’t fit him very well. This impression faded quickly enough, though, and I’m already attached to his new voice. Later, I realized that part of the reason he sounded off to me was because of how nervous he seemed — around Taichi, of all people! In this version, they’re just meeting for the first time, so it’s very in-character for him. Guess I was kinda shocked seeing Koushiro not feeling at ease talking to Taichi. Poor thing is Anxious! And he’s overthinking about Summer Camp! And he’s happy Taichi is his neighbor! That certainly would’ve helped during the Vandemon arc back in ‘99.

Koushiro gets a little bit over his awkwardness upon hearing the news regarding the cyber attack, something he’s curious about, and finally steps towards Taichi instead of away, which is spot on. These two fall into an easy camaraderie, as they SHOULD, and they head to the train station together, where Taichi decides to, I don’t know… run like crazy on the tracks until he gets to the rogue train where his family is and stop it with sheer force of will? Yeah! Sounds like him!

And now to one of the most interesting parts of this adaption, is that they’re showing us the Crests early on and HOW they’re doing it.

Taichi is able to meet Koromon because he’s being brave.

I mean, the first time, he was chosen because of his courage, too, but they all go in together. They’re taken. They’re washed off the Earth. And while Taichi had no idea he was going to be pulled into the Net, he chose to try to save Hikari and his mom (and, a few moments later, he chose to dive in towards Koromon). This time, it feels so much more personal. The screen switched back and forth between the Crest of Courage, Taichi and Hikari, who I believed called his name. The scene worked so well! (Following this pattern, Koushiro gets his Digivice when expressing curiosity, the will to pursue an explanation for what was happening!!!!)

On the other hand, it’s sort of bittersweet they weren’t pulled in together. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad they didn’t try to introduce all of them AND the Digital World at the same time again. But… ‘99 established them as a ‘team’ within seconds. It’s interesting, though. I’m VERY curious to see how their bonding will go this time around!

Taichi and Koromon meeting was beautiful. I was worried the soundtrack wouldn’t even stand a chance against the masterpiece that is the original one, but the musing playing was so delicate, so majestic. I felt I was witnessing a precious moment. Also, Koromon’s ears twisting into how we represent the DNA while he was evolving was!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!SUCH A GOOD DETAIL!!!!!!

It cracked me up when Koushiro said that what was happening was very surprising while not sounding surprised at all. I wonder how long the kid has been looking into the cyber attacks. Oh, and the Network is pretty. Prettier than I had anticipated, though not that different from Appmon’s style, I think? I can’t wait to get a look at the actual Digital World and see if it has that unique feeling and that odd, watercolor painting aesthetic. I hope I can trust the OP:

Did you notice that Agumon giggled a few times? He looked at Taichi with such love, familiarity and devotion and like he knew something. It felt… right. My heart. My poor, poor heart. (I know this Agumon probably has met Taichi before inside of this very Universe, like the Hikarigaoka incident in the original version, but I like to think about Universe-hopping platonic soulmates.)

Overall the sound work was fantastic, but this scene deserves a highlight. The noise of the Kuramon lookalike moving after evolving was genuinely disturbing. And look at how pretty this is:

Speaking of evolution, AGUMON EVOLVING INTO GREYMON WAS THE SHIT. I loved how straight-up FERAL it was, while still keeping the “Digital” part of “Digital Monster” very much present. It reminded me a bit of Hosoda’s Greymon (most amazing Greymon to this day!) in the Digimon Adventure Movie and, now that I think of it, of him fighting in some Tri. Reunion scenes. Scary Greymon is the best Greymon. Yes. I like it when the Digimon manage to disturb and scare me, okay? They aren’t called monsters for nothing.

I mean we got to see his horn literally bursting out of his skin. This is low-key terrifying. 10/10.

BUT WHERE IS THE EVOLUTION THEME SONG

I am: deceased. Cause of death: Hikari’s soft smile when she realizes her big brother managed to help them.

Alternatively, this first pic had killed me on the spot.

FINALLY, we get to see Yamato, and of course, he’s staring down dramatically at Taichi on top of Garurumon like the intense person he is. And, no big deal, there’s a cyber attack in a U.S military base and, uh, apparently the next episode is the 2020 version of Bokura no War Game?!

I— WHAT?!

No pressure, am I right? I don’t know about you, but I’d rather be falling off a good ol’ cliff with my camping buddies.

To be honest, if they intended to end it like this, it felt like this should’ve been a special episode. Maybe one-hour-long or so? Why……….HOW……….. They wanna go from the pilot straight to a Bokura no War game tribute?! The very movie that introduced Omegamon. I swear, if Omegamon’s debut is the SECOND episode, I’m gonna break. How is this gonna work. Well, at least they have us… intrigued?

The ED is so Yamato-focused it’s almost weird that his voice actor isn’t the one singing lmao. That amount of Yamatoness got me by surprise. Some of the pics look like a PowerPoint presentation of CD cover ideas for his yet-to-exist (or not) band… and I say this lovingly, okay? I love him so much.

This is my favorite one!

I lost count of how many times I listened to this song!! It also got me hooked up. What’s up with Takeru and how the writers took the whole Angel aesthetic to a whole new level?! Is he sick? Is he dying? Is this why Yamato is so sad and lonely throughout the ED?????? EVERYONE GO BEFRIEND HIM. I heard he’s a good friend.

Be right back, I’m gonna tattoo this pic to my face.

Bonus commentary!

I bet I wasn’t the only one looking for random cameos whenever they showed us crowds. Didn’t find anyone we know, but I’m sure this will change. 02 characters cameos, I’m ready for you.

Soooooooooo the Tachikawa own a tech company this time?? For all we know they own Japan. That’s scarier than the Diablomon-like virus giving Trump a headache. If so, Mimi is gonna be way more spoiled than before. Oh, dear.

I HOPE WE SEE MORE OF THESE PIXEL BABIES! That was a perfect Easter egg.

If none of these icons at the bottom is the Digimon Analyzer, then what’s the point of my entire existence?

I can’t wait for next Saturday! Even if solely to yell “WHY??????” at my screen.

I can’t thank you enough if you read this far!

#digimon #digimon adventure psi #psi spoilers #bea with the tea #I SPENT THE WHOLE DAY WRITING THIS AND........ IT'S NOT EVEN GOOD.......... OK #long post

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demonsdarling · 4 years

Text

folklore first listen thoughts

the 1: CATCHY from the start. HIT THE GROUND RUNNING sweeter than fiction rights. very sweet heartbreak song. “in my defense i have none” NEVER LEAVING WELL ENOUGH ALONE. i like it a lot, so much metaphor and imagery. i definitely wanna feel this

cardigan: catchy, very much the type of song that would sound good loud in the car at night. “a friend to all is a friend to none, chase two girls lose the one”. i really can’t wait to figure out what this one means. so far this feels very heartbreak heavy, even though i’m only two songs in. “tried to change the ending, peter losing wendy”. obviously young love WHY DO I WANNA FEEL THESE SO BAD. someone better take one for the team and break my heart while i’m still a teenager. someone to make me feel better about myself and then to look back on losing that. wow

the last great american dynasty: rebecca as a character being introduced, i really like the idea here. like gossiping at a wedding like that. “maddest woman this town has ever seen”. i feel like rebecca is a character taylor relates to and put herself into her. TAYLOR BOUGHT THE HOUSE WOW. so it’s about the woman who lived there before her i love that. if i hadn’t lived in my house for my whole life, i’d totally romanticize the people who lived here before.

exile: off the bat reminds me of the last time. i like the film/story/ending theme that continues throughout the album. it really connects it all and i feel very immersed into it. lyrically this song is very beautiful and it just sounds so very good. sounds very red & speak now which i obviously LOVE. also i love that it’s so long. “you’re not my homeland anymore” WOW WOW. so beautiful ily this song

my tears ricochet: sounds very haunting right off the bat. weeping in a sunlit room hurts me so much i just know this will be the best crying song. loveD till my dying day?? is this from the perspective of a dead person STOP that’s heartbreaking. i have chills what the fuck. it’s so BEAUTIFUL “you wear the same jewels i have you to bury me” i said wow out loud like. i have nothing else to say but wow. stolen lullaby <3

mirrorball: sounds very young and sweet. reminds me of starlight for some reason, which i love so much. it sounds like a really sweet first love and learning about the other person and yourself and falling into that and learning from the experience. i might be obsessed with the idea of first love lately, so that’s perfect for me. this is a favorite i love it so much.

SEVEN!: so i claimed this song earlier because i say seven as a response to everything and thought it was funny. but this is a missing childhood anthem, which is so fearless. childhood best friends, this is everything to me. i was worried i wouldn’t love it this much. “just like a folk song, our love will be passed on” PLEASE PICTURE ME IN THE WEEDS BEFORE I LEARN CIVILITY. i’m literally crying. growing up was always my biggest fear, i always want to go back to being little and this wraps it up so well. “passed on like folk songs, our love lasts so long”

august: back to a love song! young love! OH ITS SO SWEET AND HAPPY SOUNDING. kind of an imaginary love, taylor at my age, and i’m inserting myself here because it feels so right. i had a trio of songs on fearless at age 7 and these three songs feels like that again. yeah i’m gonna need a summer romance like i’ve been dreaming of since i was 15. this sounds like every daydream i have about the people i have crushes on and i love that so much. i love relating to taylor so much.

this is me trying: this is so beautiful wow. it has the energy of a sweet and soft version of hygtg but this time taylor is chasing? i think this is one those songs everyone can adapt to their story. “so i got wasted like all my potential”. this one feels so real to me. i really am relating to this one and i might fall apart to this song. second cry of the album.

illicit affairs: I THOUGHT THIS WAS GONNA UPBEAT AND LOVER-ESQUE but it’s a beautiful sweet secret love story. this love here seems crushing and painful. it reminds me a little of 1989 in the vocals i think? which is so cool. i really love the bridge on this one. this love story is so obviously so unique and all-consuming and yet it’s secret at the same time. i fucking love it.

invisible string: of course she says 16 again!!!!! why does she romanticize 16 so much? for me it’s 17. but i’m 19 now. i would dance barefoot in the grass to this one. something pulling two people together like an invisible string no matter how far apart they get. SOULMATE SONG!!!! wow!!! all along we were destined. IT MAKES ME SO HAPPY. the dive bar! something pulled her to him! i love that so much.

mad woman: SHE REALLY DID SAY FUCK YOU FOREVER WHAAT. i went OOH! but this is very ~the man~ and reputation vibes but SOFT and so it feels very taylor, lyrically and emotionally, like this feels like a side of her we’ve seen before but painted in a different light. “women like hunting witches too” “every time you call me crazy i get more crazy” WHY ARE PEOPLE MEAN TO HER I WILL BEAT UP EVERYONE WHO IS MEAN TO HER. there’s no need to tear people down to get to the top.

epiphany: another super long song!! i’m being told betty is incredible and i’m itching to listen to it but this sounds so beautiful. take a shot whenever i say beautiful or wow! this feels like another soulmate song but i hate to be wrong so if i am wrong, don’t mention it. this sounds so very classical and fresh for taylor but also it has such a taste of taylor. something new she’s doing here but her flavor is always there and i love that. only 20 minutes to sleep but you dream of some epiphany 💜💜💜💜

betty: i have high expectations. oh harmonica very folksy sounds very like the beginning. hehe she said fuck again THE SUMMER THING hi august! i suppose this is from the perspective of the other person? i like this very much, i love the idea of young stupid love and first loves. james. james and betty i love them very much. this is like when i make a playlist and say someone should send me these songs. “i’m only 17 i don’t know anything” i just wanna be seventeen again BITCH. SHE SAID CARDIGAN CAR AGAIN i love thattt.

peace: “our coming of age is coming and going” OKAY HIT ME I GUESS? this one is making me feel things. if i could sing, i’d never stop singing this. her fears within her relationship and the chaos her life brings to his. it’s very showing of her love and worries within what seems like a solid relationship.

hoax: what i want to do right now is drive to a literal cliff / scenic overlook and sit in the car and cry to this song. “i am ash to your fire” did she not say that in another song? i don’t remember which. but i hear the struggles she went through in herself and how hard it was to get through, not just on her own but with someone else. i hope taylor is happy and safe in her relationship. in any relationship she enters into, its all i want.

this album was beautiful and lovely and everything i needed and wanted i only cried three? four? times. it’s so stunning and beautiful and i’ve said beautiful way too many times but there’s no other words. it’s incredible. i haven’t felt this much in so long. and if i’m wrong about anything here, never mention it again <3.

i love you, taylor.

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komorebirei · 5 years

Text

The Water Was Never Afraid - Chapter 20: Kettle

(AO3)

“I was wondering if you’d come by.” Marinette closed her sketchbook and straightened up, crossing her legs like a pretzel in her lawn chair.

Chat Noir found it incredibly cute how she could still fit comfortably in the chair, sitting in such a childish way.

“We’re becoming good friends now, aren’t we, Chaton?” Marinette grinned.

“The best of friends.” He winked and flashed a winning smile, hoping to make her blush… she didn’t. Ah well, worth a try. “By the way, how’s learning the piano going?”

“Heh… not going, really. I’ve been busy with work lately, so I haven’t had time to practice. And I’m not taking lessons or anything, so… still as lame as ever.”

“Don’t sweat it, Princess.” He perked up as an idea hit him. “Hey, how about I play for you?” That was a friendly, non-flirty thing to do. His guilty conscience could be okay with that.

Marinette quirked an eyebrow. “Didn’t you say you couldn’t?”

“Not while transformed.” Chat tilted his head, chasing a wink with his cutest kitty smile as he let the implication set in.

“Chat Noir…” She leveled him with a warning look that reminded him of the way Ladybug got when he pushed the line with their identities.

Chat laughed off her seriousness. “C’mon, Princess, don’t be like that. You think I’m trying to reveal myself to you? I know better than to play with fire. We’ve got eyelids for a reason. Go ahead, make yourself comfortable on the couch and close your eyes.”

She tapped her lips with a finger and hummed, feigning deep deliberation. “I don’t know, Chat… seems a little risky.”

“What’s risky about it? You’ll be nice and safe on the couch, temptation-free. Unless I’m so good that you can’t resist taking a peek.” He grinned his trademark Chat Noir grin, more wolfish than catlike.

Marinette shot him a look that could curdle milk.

Chat deflated. “Okay, you’re a warrior princess—I respect you. I know you’d never cave and look. That’s why I trust you!”

Marinette’s expression was still dubious, but her lips quirked up at the corners, showing that her resolve was crumbling.

Chat gave another push. “Don’t you want to hear me play? I’m willing to bet you will love these songs I have in store for you.”

“… All right, fine, you win. I really do want to hear you play.” With a smile, she stood up and unlatched the door, holding it open for him. “After you, Minou. No funny business.”

“Thank you, Princess!” He bounded inside excitedly. He knew Marinette would be squealing in minutes. He slid into the piano bench as Marinette followed him in and settled into the couch. “Tell me when you’re ready.”

“Ready—Wait, hold on. Let me heat water for tea.”

“Go ahead.”

While Marinette put on the kettle, Chat Noir ghosted his fingers on the keys, brushing up his memory.

“Okay, you can detransform.”

Chat glanced over and took in a side-view of Marinette curled up on the couch, sunken into the cushions, her lips peacefully upturned.

“Don’t do anything shocking,” she warned. “I might accidentally look.”

“The only thing that would shock you is how stunningly handsome I am,” Chat joked.

“Don’t make this hard for me,” Marinette teased back.

He blushed, abandoning the sinking ship.

He realized he felt very nervous. He was about to detransform in front of Marinette. There would be nothing but two paper-thin layers of skin separating this moment from the utter chaos of Marinette finding out it had been Adrien Agreste, her boss’s son and a taken man, visiting her home all along.

Terror clawed at his chest, and he was about to call it off, when Marinette called out quietly, “Minou?”

He took a deep breath and glanced at her, waiting patiently with her eyes closed, her forehead furrowed with concern due to his lack of response. She had felt reservations about doing this, but she trusted him enough to let him. He decided that he trusted her.

“Claws in.”

As the magic left him, materializing in the form of a tiny floating cat beside him, and the world didn’t implode, a mad grin swept across Adrien’s face.

Plagg shot a questioning look between him and Marinette.

“All in good fun,” Adrien assured him quietly. Yes—this was fun, not terrifying. “Marinette knows about kwamis, so you don’t have to be too subtle.”

Letting a momentary silence clear the air in preparation for the music, Adrien pressed the opening jazz chords of the first number, butter-smooth. Since the style was different from the original arrangement, it took a moment for Marinette to recognize what he was playing, but her reaction betrayed the exact moment when she did.

“Oh my gosh, Minou!!!” Marinette squealed, sitting up in excitement with her eyes still closed.

Adrien smirked. He had expected this reaction. He knew her favorite Ghibli films and which songs she played on repeat while stitching for hours.

“Merry Go Round of Life—a jazz version? I love it!! You’ve watched Howl’s Moving Castle, Chat?”

“Of course, Princess,” Adrien answered without stopping. I’m the one who recommended it to you, after all. “It’s my favorite. Don’t you think I’m as charming as Howl?”

“Much more charming,” Marinette replied slyly, and Adrien’s heart skipped a beat. “If by charming, you mean over-the-top and ridiculously dramatic.”

He chuckled. “Ah, but Princess, you’re far too kind.”

Marinette snorted and settled back into listening. “The jazz style sounds so cool! You’re really good, Chaton.”

He soaked up the praise, feeling on top of the world. Plagg jumped on the keys, dodging Adrien’s fingers, a game he often played to make his chosen’s practice sessions more fun. Adrien laughed when Plagg was too slow and he felt the odd sensation of his finger going through his kwami.

“Ouch, speared me, kid!” Plagg teased and fell dramatically onto the keyboard, letting the keys buffet his little body, tossing him here and there.

Adrien laughed again at Plagg’s antics.

“Is that your kwami?” Marinette asked. “You guys are cute.”

Plagg flew over to say hello.

The kettle started to whistle.

“Chat,” Marinette nudged.

Right, she couldn’t get up and walk around while he was detransformed.

He stopped playing. “Got it.”

“The tea bags are in the top drawer to the left of the stove… take your pick.”

Adrien switched off the kettle and opened the drawer to find a variety of colorful boxes neatly nestled together like a Tetris board. “And for the Princess?”

“Plum for me, please!”

“And cheese for me!” Plagg piped up.

He found the box labeled ‘Plum Tea’ in Chinese.

“It’s the pink box in the front,” Marinette guided him unnecessarily.

“Found it.” He knew where she kept the mugs, so he took two out of the cabinet, selecting for her the red one he’d seen her use before.

“Ah, and there’s cheese in the fridge.”

There was only Gruyère, but Plagg liked it well enough.

“Just to let you know, my favorite’s Camembert,” Adrien heard Plagg tell Marinette in a stage-whisper. Funny how well they seemed to be getting along. Nothing seemed to faze Marinette. What an admirable girl.

“Which tea did you pick, Chaton?” Marinette asked curiously.

“Plum.” He smiled to himself. “So we can share the experience, to make up for the fact that you can’t see me.”

Marinette snorted. “What a sap.”

Once the tea had finished steeping, he brought the mugs over and placed Marinette’s on the coffee table by her knees. “Careful with your fingers—it’s hot.” He set his own on a round mini-table by the piano, beside a photo of Marinette posing in the bakery with her parents. He missed the bakery.

“Any requests?”

“Finish Howl’s first. It’s my favorite!” Marinette gave him a pleading smile, eyes squeezed shut adorably. “Actually, could you start over? Please?”

“Anything for you, Princess.” He started over.

She listened in contented silence, and Plagg came to dance on the keys some more.

After finishing, she gave him enthusiastic applause. He moved on to another Ghibli jazz number, this time from Spirited Away, smiling at the appreciative noises she made.

In the middle of playing, she stopped him. “Okay, pause.”

“Hmm?”

“Your tea’s getting cold! Why don’t you drink some before you continue?”

“As the Princess wishes.”

He stopped and took a sip. It was pleasantly warm, instead of hot—the perfect temperature to drink. She must have known because hers was that temperature right now, too. Adrien smiled, savoring their shared experience more than the tea.

“How did you know I would like this music?” she asked.

“Just a hunch.”

The transient perfection of this moment—drinking tea with Marinette, the memory of Ghibli jazz lingering in the air like a fragrance—made his heart ache. It was like freshly fallen cherry blossom petals on their last breath before decay. He sighed, watching her eyelids tremble with the effort to stay shut.

This moment didn’t belong to him, Adrien Agreste. It belonged to Chat Noir. Chat Noir, who could be anybody. Or nobody.

He could run into Marinette at the office tomorrow. Unlikely, but possible. If he did, she’d give him her usual professional greeting, and the same smile she gave everyone.

That thought felt like a punch to the stomach.

He placed his hands on the keys and started to play again, shifting his mind away from these distressing thoughts. The chill, whimsical notes that filled the air seemed laced with melancholy this time. Maybe only in his own ears, though.

As he played, he watched her longingly. She and Plagg were talking in voices too low for him to overhear over the piano. A sad smile tugged his lips when she doubled over, giggling. The pain settled deeper into his chest, the longer the moment wore on.

“Want to watch one together when you’re done, Chat?” Marinette asked in a small voice.

“‘Watch one’?” He stopped playing and stared at her incredulously. “A Ghibli film?”

“Yeah, whichever one you want—I have the collection. You put me in the mood.”

His chest warmed. Marinette hadn’t watched any Ghibli films before he introduced them to her, and now she loved them enough that she had the whole collection? He counted this as a conquest, as proof that they were two peas in a pod.

There was work waiting for him at home, but nothing he minded losing sleep over if it meant a couple more hours basking in Marinette’s presence. “I’d love to, Princess. How about now?”

“One more song, please?”

“How could I refuse?”

He played one last, an upbeat, jazzy version of the Totoro opening theme song. Marinette wiggled her shoulders in a playful accompanying dance, Plagg doing the same in the airspace around her.

Cute.

Smiling at her fondly, he beckoned Plagg and called his transformation back on.

“Open your eyes, Princess.”

When Marinette opened her eyes, she was bursting with glee and enthusiasm to convince Chat Noir of his talents. “Chat, you’re amazing! I can’t believe you play so well.”

He gave her a lopsided smile. “Only because a beautiful girl was listening.”

This time, she did blush, which did something to soothe the ache in Chat Noir’s chest.

“Want to watch Howl’s Moving Castle?” Marinette asked. “You said it’s your favorite, right? Or—whichever one you want.”

“Sure. But next time, Kiki’s Delivery Service. It’s about you and me.” He winked. “Though, honestly, Jiji acts more like Plagg.”

Marinette laughed. “You got it, Minou.”

Next time—the words echoed in Chat Noir’s mind like a dangerously enticing promise.

How had they fallen into this?

—

In the middle of the film, Marinette suddenly slid an arm behind Chat’s back and draped her other arm across his stomach, nestling her head in the dip between his shoulder and chest.

Melting against her, Chat wrapped his arm around her. “Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for my charms, Princess,” he joked, the line falling from his lips as naturally as an exhalation. He barely even felt guilty for flirting with her anymore. It was inevitable. She was irresistible.

“This is your hug of the day.” Her voice sounded more serious than he would have expected. “I can tell when you’re sad, Minou.”

“Wow, Princess. Are you sure you don’t have super powers?” He tightened his grip and rested the corner of his mouth on her head, inhaling her scent—rose shampoo and something sweetly Marinette—wishing to press a kiss to her hair if that weren’t crossing the line.

Marinette didn’t answer, but she hugged him tighter, taking his response as confirmation that he was feeling down.

They stayed like that for the rest of the movie, then Chat Noir went home, feeling like a moth whose wings had been crippled by the flame.

#Miraculous Ladybug #Miraculous Ladybug Fanfiction #Marichat #Adrienette #Adrigami #The Water Was Never Afraid #Adrien Agreste #Marinette Dupain-Cheng #Chat Noir #Cat Noir

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subtlehysteria · 6 years

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I’m busy watching the Jeremy stream so here’s a “basic” summary as I go along

Question 1: What would each of the paladins get Lance for his birthday?

Pidge - a new video game

Shiro - something practical like a new weapon

Allura - handmade Altean necklace

Hunk - he’s birthday cake duty because he’s the best chef in the universe

Coran - some weird disgusting Altean treat

Keith - “not really affectionate” so his presence would probably be enough

Question 2: What would Lance and the paladins do for his birthday?

Lance is “all about himself” so probably throw a big-ass birthday bash, maybe go back to the mermaid planet and hang out there, or any water-related planet because Lance is a surfer/beach boy. Overall just have a beach party

Question 3: Do the paladins ever wash their clothes seeing as they only have one outfit each?

Yeah, they have to have had some kinda washer/dryer on the castle or maybe they just have seven copies of the same outfit, or maybe Altean tech is so advanced your clothes are washed and dried in 2 seconds. But yeah, they don’t have a change of clothes

Question 4: If Finn (Jeremy’s other character from Adventure Time) and Lance had to switch places what would their reactions be?

Finn would kinda be like woah, what is happening but then pick up a sword and go for it because there’s evil that needs to be dealt with. Lance would probably deal with it worse because he wouldn’t like things changing suddenly and things being out of hand for no reason. He’s comfortable with his life and the people he’s around so he’d probably be a little more freaked out.

Question 5: Which character would Lance play as in SuperSmash Bros and Mario Kart?

For SuperSmash: Link (that’s also who Jeremy plays as) and for Mario Kart: maybe Mario. (Jeremy likes playing as Toad)

Question 6: (this is a long one so gonna try to condense it) What’s the sitch with Lance’s dad and did Lance try and step up as a role model for his younger siblings? How did this affect his interactions with the rest of the team?

Jeremy is “pretty sure” Lance’s dad is still in the picture (welp) and that he probably has a lot of little siblings/nieces/nephews who looked up to him. He’s always wanted to try to be responsible and seen as a role model. This also affects how he treats everyone else as well as his personality, how he's always like “Hey, look I can do it!”.

His definite character arc is him starting out as a little immature and wanting to be The GuyTM but throughout the show, we see that Lance is capable and does have a sense of responsibility. He ends up being very loyal and realises that other people are better leaders at times. He’s learning to know when to follow and when to lead.

We’ll get to see how Lance interacts with his family in season 7 and 8 (!!!). We’re gonna see another side to him. We’ll get to see another side to a lot of characters, their more fun, sensitive and casual sides around their families and loves ones.

Question 7: What was your favourite thing to do at comic con?

The Adventure Time and Voltron panels were scheduled at the same time so Jeremy pretty much Naratu ran to the Voltron panel halfway through. He enjoyed seeing the Star Wars stuff and also riding around San Diego on a moped (whilst trying not to knock people off the sidewalk. Jeremy please honey, wear a helmet)

Question 8: How would each Paladin react to Lance’s birthday. Would he even mention it?

The team takes the small moments to chill. Off-screen there’s probably been a lot of downtime being spent in boredom. They’d probably have a party, cake the whole shebang. It also depends on whether they have a mission. Keith would probably say happy birthday. They don’t have a bad relationship, they’re all friends, practically family. “Probably get a little Keith nod like hey, happy birthday” (imagine Jeremy attempting a Keith impression its adorable). That’s all that Keith would say. He’s “a man of few words”.

Question 9: Lance has always kinda been the second choice, starting with only bumping up to fighter class when Keith got expelled. Will he ever get the chance to be someone’s first choice and not a rebound?

In some areas, Lance has been the first choice e.g. the first paladin of new to pilot the Blue Lion. As he grows as a person he’s become more dependable. Going forward, people would choose him for different types of missions. “I think he’s gonna be somebody’s first choice, not just a rebound. He’s a funny guy, a good-looking funny dude, he’s got lots of skills so yeah, he’d be someone’s first choice. Heck yeah!” (insert adorable smile)

Question 10: if the members from Make Out Monday (Jeremy’s band) were paladins which lions would they pilot and why?

Zack - Black Lion, he has a good vision for everything, the backbone, creative and smart, “the leader”

Jeremy would still pilot red. He’s the right-hand man kinda guy

Seth - probably pilot yellow, he’s the drummer, he holds everything together

John - maybe the green lion. He’s smart, has to be precise with his guitar solos

Question 11: We’ve seen Lance isolating himself a lot by playing video games and training alone. Will he have some time to bond with any of his teammates like Keith or the Real Shiro? And will there be any Garrison flashbacks for Lance like there was for Keith in season 6?

This season as they’re travelling back, there’s gonna have to stick together. They’re gonna be cramped and having to spend a loooot of time with each other whether they want to or not, so some of the comedy will come from that. There’s a lack of resources since they no longer have the caslte, so they need to bond with each other and become a tight-knit group again. There’s gonna be interactions “with Real Shiro, Keith (now that he’s back), Allura, pretty much everybody.”

As far as flashback go, there are a lot of flashbacks with Shiro and Keith. There are flashbacks with a few of the characters, whether they feature a lot or a little Jeremy can’t say. Jeremy can’t really remember off the top of his head. You will at least get to see Lance with his family a lot when they get back to Earth.

Question 12: Out of everyone on the team, who takes Lance the most seriously? Who would give him the strength and room to grow into who he truly is? Who do you think is the best person to help him realise his full potential?

Shiro is a good leader and can see potential in all of his teammates, even if they and others don’t see that themselves. He would be a good candidate to help Lance see his strengths and hidden abilities and help him grow. And as Keith becomes more of a leader, he’ll start getting some of those leaderly qualities as well. Allura as well will also be a really close friend to help Lance reach his full potential and visa versa.

Question 13: Have you learnt more about Cuba since voicing Lance?

Jeremy’s tried to expand his knowledge on Cuba. He thinks their food is awesome and loves the culture.

Question 14: What drew you to Lance as a character and made you want to be his voice?

He’s a very fun character, to have funny one-liner’s and be the comic relief somtimes is great and its a blast to make the rest of the cast/crew laugh. He was attracted to the project because it was Dreamworks, Netflix and also the makers of ATLA and LoK which he loved watching. He looked at the profile and was like “Yeah, I can do this. He’s basically Space Sokka soooo”

Question 15: What would Lance’s favourite meme be?

“Lance is like a living meme.” “Probably anything that has stupid flirty cheesy humour”, or the Drake meme (that’s Jeremy’s favourite as well)

Question 16: What song would Lance sing to impress a significant other?

One of his favourite songs is Sexy Back by Justin Timblerlake (Jeremy why), but he would probably sing something more like a serenade song. All Of Me by John Legend is a great song, so if he tried to impress someone that would be it.

Question 18: Seeing as the paladins have been in space for at least a year, do you think Lance’s family have stopped looking for him/think he is dead? How did Lance and Hunk’s family find out they were missing? Did the Garrison send them a message or was it through a newscast?

People have definitnely noticed they’re gone. Both Hunk and Lance’s families are very loving and caring, so they’d continue to search for Lance and Hunk until they got a definite answer, they probably don’t assume they’re dead.

They probably would have gotten a message from the Garrison.

Question 19: What was your favourite song you wrote for Make Out Monday (Jeremy’s band)?

His favourite to write was Bullet For Your Sweetheart and Kissaphobic (both are really awesome, they’re definintely worth a listen!)

Question 20: Have you watched Voltron in any other langauge? Seeing as every voice actor for the different dubs has their own version of Lance, if you had to meet any of the other Lances, what would you ask them?

Voicing the character, you have to have a good understanding of them and what they would like/think of things so that when you peform the lines they feel more natural. You also work with the writing team and creators because they also have their own ideas of who the character is, its very much a collaboration.

Jeremy’s never met anyone who’s played the dubbed versions of his characters. He heard a Finn dub the one time and its interesting to hear how they interepted his voice.

He thinks the most interesting question to ask would be what their first impression was when they heard his performance.

Question 21: Would you associate any Singing At Last songs with Lance? What songs would you attribute to Lance?

Jeremy’s favourite song is Turning Page. He doesn’t really know any other songs so he asked the questioner what she would reccomend. She answered Venus and Mercury (she was really sweet).

Question 22: If you were stuck out in space without a fast way back to Earth, what would you do on your trip back?

First off he’d panic, but hopefully try get some communications device to let people know he’s alive like, “Houstin there’s a problem, I’m stuck in space.” If he couldn’t figure out a way to get home, he’d make the best of it, settle down on a nice planet, enjoy the local delicacies. He reccomends trying to crash down on a beach planet and hand out with the locals.

FINALE - everyone from the livestream sang happy birthday to Lance (there was a bit of a time delay but its the thought that counts!)

Jeremy’s parting words: I never cease to be amazed by the passion and love you have for all the shows I get to be a part of, the characters and me as a person. I’m really thankful to have such great fans and that you love the work that I do. If it was not for you guys I wouldn’t be able to do the work that I do. So I’m very thankful for you guys and I think you guys are just awesome. You guys make me happy and put a smile on my face and you guys are just a great bunch so thank you.”

#i did this instead of working on my project #hehe #but seriously jeremy is such a sweetheart #jeremy shada #voltron #lance #lance birthday #vld interview #voltron interview #voltron legendary defender #vld #vld cast #voltron cast #voltron livestream

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the-lesbian-writer-81 · 6 years

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Ya’ll!

I wanna conversate with all 42 of you!! (when did that happen, last I checked, I had 20 lol thank you for the follows btw!)

But let’s discuss some things!

Reblog this with your favorite song(s) in general, and tell me why! I wanna hear what kind of songs you all enjoy!

(This all ends up being just a list of my favorite kpop songs, just warning you all)

I’ll start~

1. 144340 - BTS

This song just spoke to volumes to me. I was gonna go with The Truth Untold, but this one has been on my mind a lot lately. I love the sound, how chill it is, and listening to it a first time, you’d think just that. It’s chill. And it is. But listening a second time, you notice something in their voice in which you missed the first time. Is it anguish? Pain? But you feel something different. Then reading the lyrics, it came together.

THEIR VOICES OMG OKAY- So I love me some vocals. I love me some raps. The rapping was amazing, it flowed so nicely. I love how the raps, and vocals alike, started with softer tones, and as it went on, they got stronger. But the strong was accompanied by the soft, and it complimented the sound as a whole. I just really love this song and I can go on about how beautiful this song is don’t @ me.

2. Tempo - EXO

OKAY LISTEN

FIRST OFF, I linked both the Korean and the Chinese on there

Second...

BIIIIIIIIIIIIITCH

BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITCH

BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITCH

SEHUN WENT OOOOOOOOOOOFF

I’M SO FUCKING HAPPY I LOVE MY TALENTED SON

Okay now that I got that out of the way

The song wasn’t what I expected, but I was pleasantly surprised, because... I wasn’t sure what I was expecting. But I loved it.

The music video is so aesthetically pleasing, the song as a whole is just so- I can’t explain it. The song seems easy vocal wise, and I love it, because it allows room for them to focus on the dance when performing live. The adlibs in the back are so good. Chanyeol and Sehun’s rap was amazing, Kai’s dance it on pOINT- vocal line really fucking making me second guess my sexuality tbh

I love Suho going “Baby girl~” he just sounds cute- and the way he says “Morning Call” during that one dance move with his shoulders doing some version of the shimmy shimmy and i died, Suho’s so cute

Minseok with that hair though boi pls (I kid pls don’t hurt me--)

Lay didn’t sing in the Korean, and I was gonna fight SM myself if he wasn’t on the Chinese version.

3. One Of These Nights - Red Velvet

Okay, this song is hella emotional. Like, the first time I heard it, I cried. So hard. I had no idea what the song was saying, but the imagery of the music video told a story I understood, but didn’t at the same time.

Then I looked at Theory videos, and the song just impacted me more in a way that just crushed my soul. The song is beautiful, their voices are so melodic and blissful, yet pained and full of longing. This is a song that’s really stuck in my heart, and just- Ugh, I can’t with this song. Wendy’s voice is so strong, Seulgi is a good blend of soft and strong, Irene is very angelic, and both Yeri and Joy have a very sweet tone. I love the production of the song so much. Their voices are beautifully complimented by the hauntingly beautiful instrumental. I just really fucking love this song.

4. Siren - Sunmi

So, Sunmi. Sunmi is a very beautiful being. Her solo songs have been wonderful, and I love each and every one of them.

Siren, though. Siren really snatched my heart.

Powerful vocals with an 80s vibe to the song?? SIGN ME THE FUCK UP--

I love the concept this song took! Took me a while Siren being a play on words for both the aquatic being and the ringing noise from police cars and shit lol I was slow

But the imagery of the video was astounding, Sunmi looked like a goddess, vocals on point as always, and just- ugh- I love her so much I can’t--

5. Hann - G-Idle

The biggest Fuck You song I’ve heard in a while. And I love it so much.

First off, I really think Shuhua should get more lines. But I love the way the song worked. It’s so powerful, and strong, and SOOYEON’S RAP SLAYED ME COMPLETELY

Out of all of them, I believe YuQi has a very unique voice. It’s rare to hear someone in kpop to have such a deep voice like that, and I love it so much. She shocked me when she sang in Latata, and the shock came again in Hann. I hope the best for these girls, honestly.

6. What Is Love? - Twice

Okay...

There is so much gay in this, my lesbian heart couldn’t handle it.

The concept was so fucking cute! I love that the girls played each other’s love interest when they could have easily hired men to play the parts. But no, they went with this approach, and I love it. The movie references were amazing, the girls had such a sweet and sincere longing for true love to find them, it attacked my heart--

Also, Jihyo slayed me- She’s my ult bias, and I just ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

BONUS

The Last Blossom - Yanan and Jun (Originally by Faye Wong)

What I picked up from the song is that idols are merely human, and us idolizing them the way we do now is futile, because, again... they’re humans. And at some point, they could end up disappointing us standard-wise, and that we shouldn’t hold them to such high standards.

The original is so raw, and emotion inducing. Faye has such a impacting voice, so genuine and harsh with these lyrics. Her message comes across so clear, and it’s what everyone should hear.

Yanan and Jun’s take on the song is so breath taking. Maybe because I associated it immediately to Yanan’s breakdown, and how Jun comforted him, but I could really feel it in their voices how this song just screams out a message to let us know that they’re merely human. They fall, they hurt, they cry, they mess up. Sometimes, they’re overwhelmed with their own success and making sure they better themselves to please an audience that’s probably gonna grow over them after some time, for a reason over the other.

Both versions scream this message. One’s raw vocal wise, and the other sounds sad and on the verge of wanting to give up. And I love every bit of both versions.

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fandomchild24 · 6 years

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Summary: I’m just giving some examples of Bruce songs I particularly like/think reflect his style, and some thoughts on his usual performances compared to his Tony performance. Love Bruce? Okay, you might agree/disagree with my list, feel free to put your favorites in the comments. You don’t like Bruce? That’s okay too, when it comes to music and bands people will have a lot of differing tastes. I’m mostly making this list for people who have only seen his Tony performance and are wondering why there’s so much hype surrounding Bruce Springsteen

After the Tony Awards last Sunday, I scrolled through the trending stuff concerning the awards and saw really polarizing viewpoints. People either seemed to love his work or hate on him. Even in the camp that loves his work, there were mixed reactions to the Tony performance itself. In my opinion, it was......okay. I liked the song he chose, and while hearing what he had to say was interesting, the monologue really should have been shorter. He didn’t grab people’s attention like he usually does.

But it was so different from the way he usually performs his stuff. He’s more than the “old guy banging out the same four chords” impression I’ve seen on Tumblr. For all of the praise he gets from adults, he’s the musician who’s earned it.

But if you’re a person who’s willing to even give a casual listen to a song or two, you’re facing a discography spanning 40 frickin years. As a one-off listener, that’s something you don’t hurry into.

So here, I’ve put together a list (off of the top of my head) of songs I feel shows the best qualities of the Boss. For the love of all that is holy don’t think the Tony awards performance is his work in a nutshell.

So you want to listen to Springsteen.....

1.) Songs that emphasize lyrics

One of the best qualities about his music is that they tell a story. Even in the long Tony Awards monologue, he used descriptive language that brought his story to life. You can SEE the things he’s talking about.

Examples: Jungleland https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JR_0nbEzVdY; Thunder Road https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdhkaPZtQF4; Born to Run https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3t9SfrfDZM

2.) Songs about political issues

Another thing that I like is that he writes songs that talk about

American Land https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtzdawPC2eM This song is about immigrants coming to America, and the lyrics start off with the myths surrounding life in America (diamonds in the sidewalk, gold just rushes into your hand) and segways into the things immigrants had (and have to face). The most powerful lyric to me was “the hands that built the country, we’re always trying to keep down.” My favorite version is off of his Live in Dublin album, but it originally is from Wrecking Ball ;Born in the USA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZD4ezDbbu4 This and Dancing in the Dark are songs even non-fans have heard, and it’s a testament to how much people ignore lyrics. I’ve heard this at football games and basketball games as a supposed song of patriotism, and me and my dad positively cackle at how ironic it is. If anything, it’s the opposite. Primarily about veterans, but it can cover a lot of other people too. No particular lyrics here, because all of the verses need to be heard. ; Youngstown https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GaFUOQWi9A This song is a good example of his focus on the working class, particularly people that have done the work their fathers and grandfathers have done but been fired or faced hardship after the world starts to seep in. The Ghost of Tom Joad https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhZF6tldTAw The focus here is the people living homeless on the streets, represented by the titular ghost.

3.) EVERYTHING ON HIS RIVER ALBUM

Among longtime Springsteen fans, this is one of his most popular albums along with Born to Run and Born in the USA. I’m offering what I like, but just listen to the whole thing if you only listen to one album, please.

Jackson Cage https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mak1f7kWq2o&list=PL_TA8jiNGHYasdQfnih3dn39vG5oiFAvh&index=3 ; Wreck on the Highway https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-MthLm7_m0&list=PL_TA8jiNGHYasdQfnih3dn39vG5oiFAvh&index=20 This song in particular is chilling to hear. Just listen to the lyrics. You’ll see what I mean; Independence Day https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GggK3Sn258&index=6&list=PL_TA8jiNGHYasdQfnih3dn39vG5oiFAvh&t=0s

4.) Stuff I like, you may not

Murder Incorporated https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyvQWZwN-pw I almost put this on the first bullet point, but I felt like it fit better here, particularly because the instrumental is amazing as well.; Prove it All Night https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DXlOHUSnAw; High Hopes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOPDhoZH91g; Mr. Outside https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6JtueIXl5U ; Atlantic City https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-LIEr43_wk

-One of the odd things I noticed about his Tony Performance was that he was sitting in one place the whole time. Logically, it makes sense, because he was just one man who had to play a piano. But it was weird because 90% of the time he’s performing he will be moving around or standing up at a mic. Even when he’s playing the piano or playing on his own, that only makes up a fraction of his blocking in that song and in about 5 seconds everything explodes with energy. When I went to see his 2016 River tour show in D.C. there was one point where he fucking sprinted across the length of the stage. At 70 years old he predictably was hyperventilating, but he straightened up 30 seconds later and continued for about an hour or two.

- It’s not a comparison thing here, but I wanted to talk about his set lists for those concerts. He may have a planned opening number or two but for the majority of his three hour concerts he goes over to the edge of the stage and collects about 5-10 posters at a time from the people there, and plays whatever songs are written on the sign. This means that him and his band (the E street band) have to know his 40 year discography front to back because they have no idea what they will be playing on a given night. I can’t think of any other musician that does that.

Thank you and good night

#bruce springsteen #tonys 2018 #tony awards #springsteen on broadway #springsteen discourse

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hellopro-go · 7 years

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[Album Review]: ⑮ Thank you, too - Morning Musume’17

So the heavily anticipated Momusu album was officially released yesterday-ish! I hopped on my computer immediately after classes to snatch it and get a taste of more modern post Tsunku-makes-everything Morning Daughter fakeness realness. Click through the read more to get more juicy details.

Tracklist-

1. Jealousy Jealousy (Album Ver.) 2. Romance ni Mezameru Mousou Joshi no Uta 3. CHO DAI 4. Watashi no Nanni mo Wakacchanai 5. Jama Shinai de Here We Go! 6. Style of my love 7. Narcissus Kamatte-chan Kyousoukyoku Dai 5ban 8. Seishun Say A-HA 9. Wakaindashi 10. Mou Gaman Dekinai wa ~Love ice cream~ 11. Dokyuu no Go Sign 12. Koi wa Toki ni 13. Joshi Kashimashi Monogatari (Morning Musume '17 Ver.) 14. BRAND NEW MORNING 15. Ai no Tane (20th Anniversary Ver.)

1. Jealousy Jealousy (Album Ver.) Coming right back in our faces with the tune that captured our hearts is Envy Envy, but SPARKLIER! Jealously is a tune with the funk-ish tune that would usually be gifted to a group such as Ju=Ju, but Tsunku-papa decided that it was time for a switcharoo. The vocals this time are much more clear, is the first thing I noticed of the Album Version, which is odd because usually albums from Up-Front are very over-mixed and muffled. This lets us know that there was a lot of effort put into the cleaning of this wonderful piece with a break down of an early-underground j-rap vibe. One thing that will always fascinate me about this sound is how the string instruments used here brings such a feeling of elegance, that it makes me feel like I’m rich while listening to it. Surely Tsunku understands and executes luxury in his spot on composition this time around.

2. Romance ni Mezameru Mousou Joshi no Uta My first impression was a woah! from the beginning instrumentals. Immediately I was thrown back into the early 2013-2014 EDM songs that Tsunku used to produce for Momusu such as [What is LOVE?], and I fell in love until.... They started to sing. One thing I’m not crazy about is when management pitches this intense, powerful instrumental and then they break it into this... childish, “I’m a kindergartener playing at the park” kind of melody. It’s done so much that it’s almost expected, but they got me this time, I’d say. Around the 3-minute mark, the melody gets very enjoyable for me, with more opera in the BG and a ballad reminiscent of The Vision. The fact that Morning Musume isn’t afraid of using soft high notes nowadays is great too.

3. CHO DAI Bitch I love fart-sounding electronic noises in my songs and it sounds like sarcasm but it’s high key not. One pattern that I’m starting to notice and it’s starting to irk me is the constant use of “one word” LONG REST “one word”. It was very refreshing with [Seishun Kozou wa Naiteiru], but after being repeated about a hundred times, it’s just boring and needs to go. This song is a good example of what me and my friends call “Scrapped Melodies” because at some parts it just sounds like Narcissus but slightly different. If you want a clearer example of a scrapped melody, think of Brainstorming(@0:37) and Wakuteka(@1:00) with that one farking melody that’s like... the same melody.

4. Watashi no Nanni mo Wakacchanai This is the song I’d been anticipating the most on this album. After watching the recent Budokan footage of the song and my friend drilling me about how “Maachan fucked Sakura’s shit up here like do you not see that??!!”, The song grew on me to the point where I’d listen to the concert performance like it was an official track. It was also a great decision to keep this song behind bars until 2017 because in 2015 Riho sang some lines that were just... not her strong point... honestly (@1:17 & 3:45). But other than the lack of charisma that lives bring to this song, this is a good put!

5. Jama Shinai de Here We Go! Here We Go... again with the “one word” LONG REST “one word”. Even though this song is a bop. There’s something about the subtle nature of this song that drew me in, despite it being a tad bit on the plainer side of a Momusu song. Though I’m still a bit thrown off by Chiichan, she knows how to blend well to the point of merging with the background. The dance, might I add, is just basically Angerme’s Ai Sae but slightly different, pffft.

6. Style of my love Very stylish! Brings me back to something akin to [Senobi] in a way. With a melody of an early action anime opening (I’d say Inuyasha, or a classic fantasy-shoujo anime,) This song knows how to advertise itself. With Haruna having a few solos in this, it really shines and radiates a glow to the instrumentals. The dance break was a bit underwhelming, but do I hear Maria??? Wow, she’s really growing into her voice. I have very few qualms about this song, and I’m generally pleased.

7. Narcissus Kamatte-chan Kyousoukyoku Dai 5ban Shamefully, I found myself whispering “Motto, Mitsumete...” multiple times through the day. And finally we don’t have those classic Momusu heavy harmonies on like 99% of the darn song, and they lowered it to a 97%, but I’m tapping my foot, waiting y’all. This song is nearly as stylish as Style of my Love, but theres some feeling of living luxurious, yet lonely and discontent. I’m digging the story in it, even though I know the lyrics must be some irrelevant diarrhea.

8. Seishun Say A-HA Gonna get this out here first: I didn’t like the song when I first heard it a few times. Then it grew on me a bit and I can generally say I have a love-hate with it LOL. LIKE IM SORRY, BUT this song sounds like a pirate song. Like everyone in momusu is a stank ass pirate with scurvy and they’re having a sailing montage to find treasure. But it’s... it’s catchy for some reason. ugh. why @ Tsunku

9. Wakaindashi Damn do I love Duu and this song in general, but the soft EDM is bothering me for some reason?? We are back with the “I’m a kindergartener playing at the park” melody and I’m still unnerved by “You can get fatter or skinnier” line like... why.... But this song is CUTE for Duu and therefore I support it. I also like the choreo in many ways. Duu controlling the wave is so cute. The dance break was pure.

10. Mou Gaman Dekinai wa ~Love ice cream~ Me while reading that Haga’s gettin a lot of lines cause its a quartet: AYYYYY Me listening to the song finally: wtf this is Like ok I like the fact that it’s more rock orientated but it’s like... a lil boring. Especially the whole “Mougamandekinaiwa” all fast and shit.. It didn’t fit. I feel like this is a early rock vocaloid song. But I enjoy the fact that Tsunku is experiementing with different genres. He really loves his job. #come back papa

11. Dokyuu no Go Sign I love this song wtf... It’s like a near perfect combo of rock and EDM. Maybe if momusu would stop with the heavy ass harmonies it’d show a little more of it’s capability. The style of the song makes momusu seem more united despite the crazy battle for center currently going on. And Miki getting more lines is chill af (They’re realizing Mizuki is gettin old lol). The blend of musical elements along with the message of the song makes more a good pick-me-up, hype yourself up tune! PLUS THE LAYERING OF HARMONIES INTO THE HOLIEST DANCE BREAK TUNE IS MY ACTUAL SHIT. The bridge after that is so celebratory and invokes a feeling of greatfulness, I love it.

12. Koi wa Toki ni It goes from a video game level to where you gotta sneak around characters to the classic “I’m a kindergartener playing at the park” melody... again. I’m really trying to get into this song but it’s very hard. It’s very plain and barely has any shine to it. One good thing I can say is that during the instrumental break, I’m reminded of early Kikuo songs and uh... I’m a whore for Kikuo so I fell for the break like a klutz. The use of unusual sounds here gives it a spacey vibe.

13. Joshi Kashimashi Monogatari (Morning Musume '17 Ver.) NGL Joshikashi gets more and more cringey each time (especially Nonaka Miki’s verse), so this is a song on the album I’ll rarely indulge in. I love the fact that Maria incorporates her love for baseball to her verse even though she’s not my oshi. I value her a lot LMAO. But other than that, it’s a good song to familiarize yourself with the girls’ voices.

14. BRAND NEW MORNING god I hate this song, So Jean Luc Ponpon is deemed worthy enough after Mukidashi was released and gained popularity, and they bring him back for another round of Tsunku vs. Ponpon and this time, in my opinion, he flops. Brand new morning just isn’t my cup of tea no matter how many times I listen to it, and usually I can make my brain like an H!P song if I listen to it a bunch of times. Something about this song is very lacking and monotone, and doesn’t really get the feeling of a new Era across to me. If anything, this is the Jealousy Era to me (because everyone in Momusu is salty rn).

15. Ai no Tane (20th Anniversary ver.) I still really like this song, even with the updated singers. It’s much more fine tuned than back in the day, which really shows how music production has changed over just a span of 20 years! Amazing how fast the world progresses, isn’t it? All I can say as a closing note for this updated piece is that I’m glad Tsunku didn’t turn it into some crazy ass dubstep wub-wub version of the original. Thank you Tsunku papa.

OVERALL: I’d rate this album a 7.2/10. I feel like there could have been much more style variation in the music, track by track, especially because Momusu is so “highly esteemed”. These girls need to tackle other genres with how far they’ve come, especially since the older eras would bounce between stuff like [Memory~ Seishun no Hikari] all the way to [Onna ni Sachi Are] back in the day.

I’m also hoping that next time around, it isn’t Mizuki, Oda & the Backup Dancers. That’s one thing that bothers me the most out of his album.

Till next time!

#morning musume #morning musume 17 #thank you too #album review #tsunku #gossip #review

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chaos-and-recover · 7 years

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ALL OF THE ASKS 🖤

EVERY TIME.

Alright let’s do this.

1: Favorite band?

AFI and/or July Talk

2: Favorite song?

Of all time? I think I realized recently that it is in fact Falling Slowly. The fact that I have like 7 different versions in my music library was a solid clue that I fucking love it.

3: What’s a band/artist you loved as a child but can barely listen to now?

My brother and I loved Kris Kross when we were little. That’s some cheeseball rap right there. Also when I was 12 I was super into Prodigy. But then, Firestarter is still a good fucking song.

4: Did you ever see a band/artist live?

Yes? A lot? Many times?

5: Are you going to any gigs soon?

I was supposed to go to Chicago next weekend to see my boys the Plain White T’s but they cancelled the show and I’m bummed.

I’m seeing Jimmy Eat World on December 5th and I’m stoked about it.

I’m also seeing July Talk three nights in a row on the 20th, 21st and 22nd because I have no self control and I love them.

6: Ever been to a festival?

Yes, several. I used to love them and now I’m too old for that shit and there’s too many of them and the bands are spread too thin and no one festival has enough bands I like to justify it lol.

8: A song with a number in the title?

Green Day - 21 Guns

9: A song that gets you through shit?

AFI - Narrative of Soul Against Soul

10: A good song for long bus rides?

Anberlin - Autobahn

11: A song you’d have sex to?

Take That - Pretty Things (I mean it’s kinda weird but uh I’m into it)

12: A song to shut everything out?

36 Crazyfists - Slit Wrist Theory (like 90% sure this song almost got me sent to therapy given how many times my 17 year old self blasted it)

13: A song for when you’re lonely?

The entire “Cities” album by Anberlin is my security blanket. I’ll saw The Unwinding Cable Car though.

14: A song that’s become a joke between you and your friends?

Jack’s Mannequin - Dark Blue ( @sinceubeenjon knows why)

15: A song to jam out to at 4AM?

The Used - The Taste Of Ink. Because it literally references 4:00 in the morning lol

16: An album you could listen to for days on end?

I’m pretty sure I did listen to Decemberunderground by AFI for days on end in 2006. And like… constantly ever since.

17: A song that punches you in the gut every single time?

Anberlin - Atonement. Fuuuuuuuck me :)

18: A song for when you’re crazy angry?

I wanna saw Slit Wrist Theory again but I’m also trying not to repeat songs so uhhhh The Used - Box Full Of Sharp Objects. I have a lot of angst apparently.

19: If you had to pick one song to represent what you’re feeling right now, what would it be?

It’s not actually Christmas but it is a holiday in the US and I have a cold so “It’s Christmas And I’m Sick” by MxPx. Honestly, I have nothing else. I have no feelings right now lol.

20: A song that calms you down?

The Used - Bllue & Yellow

21: A song that makes you feel alive?

Anberlin - Dismantle.Repair

22: A band with an insane fandom?

Are Twenty One Pilots fans still bonkers? That’s one. Or a certain segment of 1D fandom. You know the one (the Larries. Jesus christ people.)

23: What are some lyrics you love to pieces?

There are so many. Here are some of my favourites:

“It’s not about the money we makeIt’s about the passions that we ache forWhat makes your heart beat fasterTell me now what does your body long after?”-Time & Confusion by Anberlin

“And as the days go onThe love, the lust, the buzz that wasReduced to dust, could be becauseIt never was something moreThan just a void filling feeling”-FL,GA by The Rocket Summer

“I saw you every time I closed my eyesIn the Hughes film I had scored, produced and starred in in my mindI could recite you, well I’d written every lineBut you strayed far from the flawless script on which I’d spent a lifetime”-Veronica Sawyer Smokes by AFI

“I tried, but it rang and rang, I called all nightFrom a payphone, remember those? From another lifeIf everything I meant to youYou can’t lick and seal then fold in twoThen I’ve been so blind.”-Dizzy by Jimmy Eat World

“Let it out, let me in, take a hold of my handThere’s nothing like another soul that’s been cut up the sameAnd did you wanna drive without a word in between?I can understand, you need a minute to breatheAnd to sew up the seams after all this defeat.”-Handwritten by The Gaslight Anthem

I’m gonna stop there.

24: Would you ever get any song lyrics tattooed? If so which ones?

I have some! I have “Just point to the light that casts out the dark” from White Fireworks by The Rocket Summer in Bryce Avary’s handwriting and I’m pretty damn pleased with it. I’d probably get more. He also wrote “Be reckless, be bright” for me from The Rescuing Type that I wanna get done.

25: What’s a band/artist you’d addict your children to from an early age?

Kids? Gross. I’m gonna try to get my niece into some good shit. When is an appropriate age to get her into AFI?

26: A vocalist you love?

I’m perfectly neutral and rational about Davey Havok, tbh, I’ve never been extra about him a day in my life.

I also love me some Adam Lambert and have very strong opinions about him fronting Queen (they are all variations of “he’s great at it fight me.)

27: Has a band/artist ever inspired you to do something?

Yes, usually dumb shit, like travel across a country/continent/ocean to see them.

28: A band/artist you love but no longer exists?

MOTHERFUCKING ANBERLIN.

29: What was your favorite band/artist when you were 12?

The Backstreet Boys, lol.

30: A band/artist you can’t stand?

Twenty One goddamn Pilots. Also ask me how I feel about Metric some time. (I FUCKIN HATE METRIC.)

31: What’s your favorite genre?

I honestly don’t have one. The music I like is all over the goddamn map.

32: Can you play any instruments?

I played percussion for 6 years in school and was self-taught on bass, though I haven’t pulled mine out in literal years. (One day I’m gonna get it out again and learn Pink Eyes by AFI. It’s gonna happen.)

33: Do you sing?

Hahahahahahhahahaa not so anyone can hear me.

34: If you could be a member of any band for one show, who would it be?

I would Jordan Pundik from New Found Glory because I still maintain that he only has to sing like half of every song and the crowd does the rest.

35: Do you have a favorite piece of merch?

My current favourite merch item in the world is my 36 Crazyfists hoodie. It’s so soft, so warm, so comfy. My Anberlin carabiner has served me very well over the years too.

36: What’s the first album you ever bought with your own money?

I always tell people it was the first BSB album but it was actually a Raptors promo CD released ahead of their first season in the NBA. BSB just sounds more like it’s a real thing that existed.

37: Do you prefer buying physical copies of albums or do you download them on the internet?

Physical. Digital versions just… I don’t connect with them as well? I don’t know, I don’t feel like I really own them if I can’t touch ‘em.

38: CDs or vinyls?

Vinyl. Also, not to be a pedant, but the plural of vinyl is vinyl.

39: Do you play your music out loud or with headphones?

Headphones. Used to be out loud all the time back in the days of desktop computers when I’d be alone in a room on the computer and could do that without annoying everyone lol.

40: A band/artist a friend showed you?

I guess I can blame Raven for how much I love Eric Church, does that count?

41: A song that gives you the chills?

Anberlin - The Unwinding Cable Car, but like, a very specific recording of it. This one, in fact, starting at 3:08 when Stephen is singing the bridge and the crowd comes in with “this is the correlation between salvation and love” part completely unprompted and it builds up until he’s holding “heart” and we’re holding “dark” and it’s fucking magical and you know what’s not captured on the audio recording? The look on Christian’s goddamn face when that happened. That was a hell of a show.

42: A song to play at your funeral?

I mean, you could go ahead and play that version of Cable Car linked in the last answer because it’s probably what killed me anyway, but if you wanna be more cliche just bust out Hear You Me by Jimmy Eat World.

43: A band/artist with amazing an instrumental but really bad lyrics?

I listened to BedLIGHT for BlueEYES for the first time in a few years the other day so um. Them. The lyrics have not held up super well but my GOD they’re catchy. (Although “But I guess I shouldn’t hat you you, in fact I oughtta thank you for helping me write this song / If this album tops the Billboard I think I’ll save the quarter to call you and let you know” from Too Late still fucking kills though.)

44: A love song?

Any love song? 200,000 by my sweet baby boy The Rocket Summer, it’s the cutest fucking song in the world.

45: A song you love to sing to yourself?

I don’t sing to myself, that’s embarrassing (it’s probably like, Raise Your Glass by Pink or something, though)

46: What do you listen to when you go for a run?

When I did run more often it was to movie soundtracks. 127 Hours had some really good running tunes. Also there’s a song on the Inception soundtrack that was perfect for a good sprint.

47: A song that represents a deserted city at night?

The Taste of Ink by The Used kinda gives me that feeling, I guess.

48: A wild song?

Wild? How about Wild by AFI, is that good enough lol.

49: An upbeat song with grim lyrics?

Motion City Soundtrack - Everything Is Alright.

50: What are some song titles you love?

Okay so I can’t really think of any but it took me until entirely too recently to realize that “Lying Is The Most Fun A Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off” and “But It’s Better If You Do” by Panic! At The Disco fucking… they go together. They’re supposed to be read together. Years that took me. That album was my second most-played in iTunes and I didn’t… figure that out. I’m dumb as hell.

51: If your life ended today, what song would you chose to represent it?

One song, to represent my entire life? Hell if I know. Probably like, Tonight by NKOTB though, let’s be honest.

52: Can you give me a 5 song playlist on ___?

ON WHAT I NEED A TOPIC.

53: Do you listen to instrumental music?

Sometimes, sure.

54: Weirdest band/artist you know of?

Foxy Shazam were weird as hell. We put their album on at work years ago because the sticker… I can’t remember what the sticker compared them to now but it was a mix of bands that made us say “that can’t POSSIBLY be right” and then it was? (one of them was Queen, I remember that). They were fucking weirdos and I miss them TERRIBLY.

55: A song about drugs?

You know who I haven’t mentioned in this yet? Lucky Boys Confusion. They have a lot of songs about drugs. 40/80 comes to mind. What a jam. What a band.

56: A heart-wrenching song?

This might seem like an odd choice but 11.24.11 by 36 Crazyfists. It goes hard as hell but then “don’t plan to live forever but I wanted her to,” and it’s about his mother, it just fucking wrecks me.

57: A band/artist you’re proud of?

July Talk. They deserve to be bigger but they’re doing so well and I’m so proud of them and if they were any bigger I would absolutely be insufferable about it.

58: A band/artist who’s music could bring you back from the dead?

If I had been dead for like five years but you told me Lucky Boys Confusion were going on tour I would be up and at every single show in a snap, I want to see them again SO BADLY.

59: A band/artist with a sick aesthetic?

Listen, I fucking love July Talk’s black/white, light/dark, sweet/rough contrasting aesthetic. It is everything. It is so well-executed. Talk to me about the first album and how well they played into it. I love them. I love everything they choose to be. I FUCKING LOVE JULY TALK.

60: A song that has a lot of meaning to you?

Plain White T’s - Radios In Heaven is a bit of a thing for me.

#nikkihorrorxx #ALL THE ASKS #who's gonna read this nikki #this is so long #long post

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kvndeathmusic · 5 years

Text

THE BEST RECORDS OF THE 2010S PT 2 (THE TOP 10!!!!!!)

if you thought the last post was long, you just wait. ive also decided to actually number this list, but pls keep in mind my opinions change often and drastically so dont think anything is set here.

please read my other post too if you want to know about the records i like a little less than the ones here as well as some honorable mentions

#10: Some Rap Songs - Earl Sweatshirt (2018)

This record is a perfect fusion of rap and lofi hip hop. Nobody makes a beat like Earl, and this record is a perfect example. Earl uses his samples to create layered soundscapes of distorted vocals and sounds, paired with his emotionally blunt flows. It’s short, but it really doesn’t feel that short, and frankly I could re-listen to it a handful of times in a row and probably not care that much. Not to sound like Todd Howard, but it just works dude.

#9: ゼロコンマ、色とりどりの世界 - Mass of the Fermenting Dregs (2010)

According to Google, this record’s title translates to Zero Comma, Multicolored World. Which is interesting. I wish I knew Japanese just to understand this kind of stuff to be honest. But that’s besides the point.

Zero Comma, Multicolored World is a fantastic collection of tracks from my personal favorite J-Rock band, Mass of the Fermenting Dregs. Like for context, I got into this band around the same time as I got into Nirvana. I spent the entire summer of 2016 crying to In Utero, playing Overwatch while listening to MF DOOM, and jamming to Mass of the Fermenting Dregs. I managed to find a copy of their fantastic self-titled EP when I was in Tokyo a few years back. Anyways I’ve gotten off track.

This record is a breathe of fresh air for those tired of American “alt-rock”, incorporating elements of shoegaze, post-hardcore, pop, and more to create a totally unique and explosive record. Every member of this band is playing out of their minds on some of these tracks, and lead singer/bassist Natsuko Miyamoto’s vocals are powerful and blend so well with everything else this record offers. At this point in most paragraphs I’d gush about some specific tracks but I don’t have a Japanese keyboard to write the track titles and I’m lazy, so just trust me and go listen to this record, their self-titled EP, the reunion record No New World from 2018, and their EP World is Yours if anything I’ve said interests you.

#8: Fetch - Melt-Banana (2013)

This record melts my fucking brain dude. Melt-Banana is some of the most eccentric and weird music I’ve ever heard, blending noise, punk, and just plain absurdity to create music that I want to simultaneously describe as cursed and blessed. From the wailing walls of pure volume coming from the guitars to the sporatic and often manic vocals, this record sounds like no other I’ve ever heard. My personal favorite tracks are Hive, Candy Gun, Zero, and Schemes of the Tails. Seriously, if this sounds interesting to you, set aside 32 minutes to just appreciate this record. It’ll be worth your time.

#7: Joy as an Act of Resistance - IDLES (2018)

On Joy as an Act of Resistance, British band IDLES offers up some of the best punk of the decade in a package that is full of hope, anger, and love. From singer Joe Talbot’s cries for unity in tracks like Danny Nedelko and Great, to self love anthems like Television and I’m Scum, Joy offers an alternative to their much angrier and sad 2017 debut record Brutalism, which I now realize I forgot to include on my fucking honorable mentions god damn it. Anyways, this record isn’t all sweet. IDLES tackles some heavier topics on this record as well, with songs like Samaritans dismantling toxic masculinity, Rottweiler tearing into sensationalist news and media, and the introspective June seeing Joe speak bluntly about his experience being the father of a stillborn. It’s also some of the unique punk out there at the moment, with jangly guitar “riffs”, Joe’s accent heavy shouts, and noisey drums. IDLES is definitely a band to pay attention to going into the 20s.

#6: Adults!!!... Smart!!! Shithammered!!! And Excited By Nothing!!!!! - Bomb the Music Industry (2010)

Adults!!! is short, coming in at 21 minutes over the course of 7 tracks. And yet, this EP contains some of the catchiest and refined ska punk of the decade. The record acts almost as a condensed summation of BTMI’s entire career, featuring some of the repeated themes that has defined Jeff’s whole discography. Not only that, but some of BTMI’s best tracks are on this EP, from Jeff’s strained vocals on You Still Believe in Me?, to the peppy and depressing Planning My Death, to the defiant Slumlord and the explosive penultimate track, The First Time I Met Sanawon. I could wish it was longer, but I’ll be honest, with the quality of tracks here, I don’t care. It’s a near flawless EP that represents everything I love about one of my favorite bands ever.

#5: The Money Store - Death Grips (2012)

Like Fetch, The Money Store is similarly mind melting in completely different ways. This record is brutal. MC Ride’s “vocals” are like no other, with some describing them as the shouts of a drugged up homeless man. Paired with ear bursting, stereo busting beats, and esoteric dark flows, the picture this record paints is one of filth and primal violence. And I love every minute of it. And despite the harsh nature of this record, some of these beats fucking slap. This record features some of the weirdest uses of sampling, like seriously who the fuck finds Arabic Nokia ringtones and thinks “yeah let’s sample these in like half the tracks on this record” and make it sound this good. And at times I have no clue how they even managed to make some of the sounds they did. All of this is backed with Zack Hill’s extremely technical and wild drumming. I contemplated putting other Death Grips records in this spot, but The Money Store is the complete DG package. It also has Hacker on it. im in your area

#4: Teens of Denial - Car Seat Headrest (2016)

I’m a fucking moron and I’ll tell you why. When I initially heard the first few tracks from this record when I was 17, I wasn’t that blown away. Like, I added Fill in the Blank, Vincent, and Destroyed by Hippie Powers to my big ass shuffle playlist and didn’t bother digging much deeper. Here I am now, 20 years old, kicking myself in the ASS for overlooking Car Seat Headrest for this long. I only gave this album a proper listen to back in January! And I LOVE it! Teens of Denial is a fantastic record, full of complex, multilayered tracks that are not only incredibly catchy, but full of heart and passion. Lead singer and songwriter Will Toledo has voice that sounds equally uneasy and leaking with confidence, and that confidence spills over into every aspect of this record. While not as emotionally intense as their only other studio LP as of February 2020, Teens of Denial is just track after track of some of the greatest indie rock made this decade. Including the songs I mentioned before, you’ve also got Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales, 1937 State Park, and the powerful Cosmic Hero. And if you like reading, the narrative of this record is interesting to follow. And while I was working on this list they literally just announced a new record so like I’m fucking hyped dude.

#3: To Pimp a Butterfly - Kendrick Lamar (2015)

Ok. Look. I know everybody is putting this at their #1 spot. And they probably have even more to say about this record than I do. There’s probably nothing I can say that hasn’t been said a million times by literally everyone. But that’s just a testament to the quality of this record. This is one of the greatest hip hop records ever made, if not the best depending on who you ask. Some of my favorite rap songs are on this record, Wesley’s Theory, King Kunta, Alright, The Blacker The Berry, and more. TPAB offers detailed glimpses into one of the biggest rappers in the world’s psyche and pain, mixed with profound social and political messages. The beats on this record are beautifully mixed with jazz and gospel influences, starting a trend many artists have since continued. And Kendrick’s signature flow from gkmc are at their absolute finest on TPAB. There is something to enjoy out of this record no matter your background, which would explain this record’s near universal appeal. To Pimp a Butterfly is just full of life, energy, and passion. It’s weird to think this record is only 5 years old, because it feels just as powerful as it did when it came out.

#2: Twin Fantasy - Car Seat Headrest (2018)

Twin Fantasy is a rare kind of record. The emotions expressed on this record are intense and laid flat out for you to hear, dissect, and empathize with. The entire record being structured around the idea of reflection works both as a fun way to organize a diverse and varied track listing, while also playing into a handful of the record’s motifs and themes. Speaking of which, each song on this album has a unique identity, both in terms of sound and feeling, and how it plays into the larger narrative of this record. Some songs have multiple tonal shifts, such as the epic Beach Life-In-Death, split into three distinct parts making it a song that, despite its 13 minute run-time, is a song I never grow tired of listening to. What each track shares, however, is the same fantastic songwriting, with layered instrumentals and some of Will’s greatest vocal performances. It also helps that all the tracks are just flat out catchy, like the fantastic Bodies, the chill Sober to Death, and the energetic Nervous Young Inhumans. While the 2011 original is great, the 2018 rerecording adds so much new complexity and clarity to this record. In addition to the original themes, the 2018 version adds new perspectives and meta commentary to the 2011 original, with Will reflecting on the feelings he was experiences at the time he wrote the original record, 7 years afterwards, adding an additional layer to this record’s larger narrative. The final 22 minutes of this record provides a strong emotional climax to the record, sending off a fantastic and absolutely classic record. There’s a good chance that, in 10 more years or so, I may look back at this record and put it above my #1 record. Hell, while I write this I really question whether or not I should do it. What I’m trying to say is, take that #2 with a grain of salt, because I love this record just as much as my #1 at this point. No record has managed to leave such a profound and strong impression on me this quickly after my first listen a few months ago, besides Twin Fantasy. Because Twin Fantasy is a rare kind of record. It’s a perfect record. And now it’s time for my favorite record of the decade. It’s probably obvious what it is considering some of the things I’ve said on this list, so without any more delay...

#1: WORRY. - Jeff Rosenstock (2016)

WORRY. is my personal favorite record of the decade and of all time. It is an absolutely triumphant record. Every song here is a classic. WORRY. radiates pure, unfiltered energy that I haven’t been able to shake for the nearly 4 years this record has been out. Songs like Festival Song and Wave Goodnight to Me still get me pumped, and the so called “WORRY. medley” that spans the back half of this record rivals the medley of Abbey Road. And the opening track, We Begged 2 Explode, fuck man it’s a hell of an opener. Hell, I know every line spoken on this record. This record is a product of a man who has spent over 20 years perfecting his music, never compromising to trends or demands. Jeff has always been open about what he loves and what he believes in, and it’s no more apparent than on this record. Trying to describe every way in which this record works for me leaves me grasping for the right words to describe the feeling. It’s a record that makes you wanna chant along to it, move your body to it, and tell everyone you love about it. So just listen to it. I don’t care if you don’t like punk, or ska, or ska punk, or just garage/indie rock in general, or if my enthusiasm hasn’t sold you. This is one of the best records out there and you can either realize it now, or regret it later.

I know the record literally says that the perfect sound doesn’t exist. But it does. And it sounds like this.

And that’s it for this list. I’m excited to see what the new decade brings. If my mind ever changes about these records, or I get around to listening to a record that deserves to be on this list, maybe I’ll do an updated version, but like right now? This is how I feel.

#music #top 10 albums #2010s

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notprincehamlet · 7 years

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tecklenburg misadventures & meeting pia again: a post

August 13.

11 am. I come to the Düsseldorf train station to leave for Tecklenburg.

11:15 am. Turns out my train, of all trains, is five minutes late. Interesting.

12 am. Someone kicks me out of the seat because they booked it. After that I start realizing I will probably miss the second train because this one was late in the first place. Mild fear begins to settle in.

1 pm. The train arrives. I jump out and see that my other train has not left yet. I sprint down and up the stairs with my heavy-ass suitcase in two seconds. I make it to the train. Some guys are laughing at me. Then I see the info board. Turns out this train was also late. It doesn't leave the station for the next ten minutes. I begin to get the jokes about Deutsche Bahn.

2 pm. I arrive to Lengerich. Now I only need to catch the bus to Tecklenburg. I see two buses approaching but I'm not sure if any of them is mine. I have to check. By the time I finish checking, both of the buses have left. One of them was definitely mine.

2:30 pm. I find the bus schedule on the wall. Apparently, the next bus will only come in two hours because it's Sunday. I want to punch myself in the face. The station is eerily quiet. I sigh, sit down and start rereading Rebecca.

2:45 pm. A taxi drives by to the taxi parking. The driver and I exchange glances. I'm not sure if I should do this and spend the money on a taxi. But what if the bus doesn't come and this guy also leaves?

3 pm. My anxiety and I approach the driver. "Sprechen Sie Englisch?" I ask hopefully - hope is always the last to die, after all. "No". Hope dies in agony. "Können Sie mich nach Tecklenburg fahren?" He can. We drive.

3:15 pm. The hotel door is locked. This can't be happening. I start pushing every button I can find on the wall because I’m smart like that.

3:16 pm. A man parks his car nearby and comes to the door, carrying some boxes. I ask him if he knows how to enter, adding the shameful "Ich spreche aber fast kein Deutsch" at the end of my sentence. Turns out he works here.

3:20 pm. The key to my room is missing. I love adventures. The room, however, isn’t locked, so I can at least come inside and get ready for Rebecca. "Der Schlüssel kommt später," says the guy. Cue nervous laughter.

4 pm. I come down to ask if anyone has found the key. Nope. Someone, however, is gonna come in an hour, and that someone apparently has the key. I start googling mild German insults, just in case.

6 pm. I come down to leave for Rebecca and see the key hanging on the board behind the counter. The girl (she speaks English) hands it to me. "Sorry, I found it too late", the woman next to me says, also in English. She is beautiful. I'm gay and not angry anymore. She tells me to open the front door with the same key because it will be late when I return from the musical. She asks me if I would like to have breakfast tomorrow from 8 to 10. Maybe I would but I’m too gay to think about it right now. On that bright note I lock my door and leave.

***

I did manage to come earlier, which was nice after all the nightmares I'd had about being late to Rebecca (yeah, I guess being a bit late to Elisabeth in June took a toll on me). It was such a nice weather and I'm SO grateful for it, especially since it had been raining so hard the night before. Tbh I’d been kinda skeptical about the production at first becase it looked so different from the Stuttgart one and I thought the costumes looked ugly but my friends told me I’d definitely like it (especially if I didn’t rewatch the Stuttgart production - which I didn’t). AND SURPRISE, I LOVED IT. Let me just say I will never doubt open air productions again. Everything was so cleverly done imo and I loved the changes made to adapt to the demands of an open air stage and the costumes didn’t look so ugly in person :”) I would’ve loved it even if it hadn’t been Gay™ and that’s huge because Gayness was my main criteria for this show (i know.... i know)

We all know the main reason I came there for (Gay Icon Mrs Danvers aka Pia Douwes aka Actual Light of my Life etc etc) but I was really excited to see the rest of the cast. I was curious about Milica since I’d only heard like.. one song of hers. And I loved her (d u h I almost cried during Zeit in einer Flasche), though her Ich seemed a bit too mature for my liking. As for Jan Ammann, I still can’t believe I saw and heard him live, I love one man ;~~; and I don’t know him personally but I.... trust him. Also! He looked more like Laurence Olivier than usual, 10/10 would recommend 😍 I was very much looking forward to Roberta Valentini as well. I love Kerstin Ibald’s Beatrice with all my heart but Roberta was wonderful too, and I think I would’ve picked her Beatrice if I ever had to choose. I’m glad I don’t actually have to choose though C: I also really liked Thomas Hohler, which was a surpise since I’ve never given much thought to him. Guess I gotta check him out in Elisabeth or something.

(there was also this one guy in the ensemble whose face was dead serious the whole time he was dancing and it was h i l a r i o u s. also #mood. and he reminded me of Thomas from Downton Abbey)

Now, to the Love of my Life. Mrs Danvers was Extra Gay in this version, I would like to thank everyone involved in making the gayness happen ;~; the Gay Subtext™ was palpable and I loved every second of it. Pia was amazing and killed it in every song, and by it I mean “IT but also ME”. The stage was pretty big and I died a little every time Pia was upstairs or in Rebecca’s bedroom because I couldn’t see her properly then. Good thing I have a strategy for such cases; it’s called “press glasses as close to your eyes as you can and squint as hard as possible”. Now to (some of) the songs and general moments.

Sie ergibt sich nicht: gay, upstairs, the orchids are red, nice Die lieben Verwandten: ROBERTA AND HER PLAID TWEED LOOKS The scene after Bist du glücklich: the way Danvers asked Ich what she did with the remains of the statue made a Danvers-shaped hole in my heart (and I don’t even like Mrs Danvers l o l)

Danvers: *lurks at the back of the stage looking pensive* Me: *clutches chest* oh my god (was she realy somewhere on stage during Hilf mir durch die Nacht or did I imagine it? or was it during another song? I honestly can’t tell anymore)

Was ist nur los mit ihm: I just listened to it again and almost cried, I love Roberta so much and I loved her in that green dress Sie war gewohnt, geliebt zu werden: THIS IS MY FAVOURITE SONG FROM THIS MUSICAL NO JOKE and I loved the whole setup with Rebecca’s bedroom. Not sure what to think of the whole Favell on top of Danny thing but I had to try very hard to block every association with amateur porn from my mind because EWWWW. In other news: this song is still gay and I l o v e it. Rebecca: I REALLY ACTUALLY HONESTLY HEARD IT LIVE CAN YOU BELIEVE IT. ICONIC. Obviously, this song became 198776542x times more gay (I thought it wasn’t possible but here we are) because of that Rebecca shadow thing and Danvers putting the nightgown on her. I had vaguely heard about it and I’d heard it was controversial so I didn’t really know what to think at first. It’s hard to overestimate my undying belief in not having any physical representation of Rebecca at all, and I feel like this wasn’t really necessary, but on the other hand the production didn’t suffer one bit because of it. Plus the Rebecca/Danny shipper in me says YES PLEASE THAT WAS AMAZING. Yeah, I’m pretty biased here (BIased!!!!! get it????/?). Finale erster Akt: I got chills.

Then came the intermission and after an hour of sitting on a wooden bench my lower back was Not Happy.

Rebecca (Reprise): I felt like someone was cutting my heart out of my chest thanks to Pia, plus goosebumps all over Nur ein Schritt: I live for creepy!Pia tbh. And the rocket was real! Have I mentioned I love open air now? Mrs Danvers bin ich: Danvers looked so hurt, m*rder me right now :”) and I was looking forward to hearing Pia shout “Nein” but I got distracted right before it l m a o. Life is hard when you have the attention span of a goldfish. The court scene: I live for this kind of symbolism!!!!!!! The scene where they found out Rebecca was sick and it was like someone stabbed Mrs Danvers when she heard it.... that moment ended me. I thought that was IT. But I knew nothing yet. Ich war ihr nah: WOWZIES. I’m always a sucker for some suffering!Pia, especially when she’s alone on stage. Just. Wow. Her voice. Her acting. She really did THAT. Also...... gay. Jenseits der Nacht & Manderley in Flammen: I LOVED the way they handled the fire!!!! That was the thing I was looking forward to the most. Everything looked so good. Besides, the weather was really cooperating which only added to the atmosphere. My friend had told me I would die and I *was* dying, but then The Scream happened. THAT was when I truly died. The Scream & Rebecca taking Mrs Danvers with her: DID SATAN CREATE THIS? IS THIS A FANFIC OR?? I’M???? #DEAD #SHOOK #SHOOKETH Tbh I was about to crawl to the nearest cemetery, dig my own fucking grave and just lie there. Then again, that moment was absolutely unnecessary from the rational point of view but I enjoyed it SO much and I felt SO emotional that I don’t give a single shit. THAT WAS AMAZING.

***

After the show and multiple bows (I love these people) it was over. And when you leave, you have to walk up the stage and towards the entrance. May have screamed a little when I saw the set up close, may have taken a blurry selfie (or three). Anyways, I found the stagedoor, I found my friends, I managed to burn my finger on some vile stingy plant all within the scope of 30 minutes, and THEN She came out. And She was the sweetest. As always. I just. Talent aside, I will never get over how genuinely NICE and GOOD Pia is. She took her time to talk to everyone, she posed for pictures, she signed everything and she was very excited about her gifts :”) she is such a good person and I honestly can’t deal with the way she radiates that energy.

I wanted to give her a book of translated Russian poetry as a gift, I’d even wrapped it up in craft paper and stuck a “thank you” sticker on it. I wish the book was thinner but it was the only one I found that had most of my favourite poems lol #priorities. I had A LOT of doubts about it but then again, I’m pretty sure it’s not the weirdest gift she’s ever got. So I finally came up to Pia, said hi, gave her the gift, pointed out the “thank you” sticker and explained that it meant “thank you for your work” (her face was so close holy shit). Honestly, I keep saying sorry and thank you every time I meet her lmao but I’m thankful!!! and I’m sorry!!! and I want her to know that!!! what else am I supposed to do!!!! And I *think* I said something about the show being great and her being great in it, but I’m not sure.

Then she was like “and you’re from...?” “Russia”, I told her, not expecting her to remember anything about me. Then she went “Of course! We’ve met before, right?” “We did, yes” “I was gonna say Russia!” WHAT KIND OF FACE MEMORY DOES SHE HAVE OH MY GOD. Well, probably the selective kind, let’s be real here, but this is still unbelievable. As of August 13 it has been a little over a year since our last brief meeting - a year, three months and 12 days but who’s counting? - and after all this time there was something that made her go "wait, I know her” when she saw me ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ And it’s the SECOND time she remembered me so we’re practically married at this point, right? Right??? I replied with something generic like “oh, you remember me? That’s so nice!” yeah, “nice” indeed :“”“) I will be raving about it forever because I honestly can’t believe it keeps happening to me. What have I done to deserve this? Could it be possible to love this woman more? At that particular moment I thought not, but the evening wasn’t over yet. Then this happened:

Me: thank you 😍 Pia, taking the gift: thank you! Me, distracted by her closeness: thank you 😍 Pia, pointedly: thank you for the gift Me: Oh. You’re welcome. (jesus fucking christ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Then she signed my programme and then I almost left without a picture because I was THAT awestruck :’’’’’’’) As we posed, she was standing THIS close to me and she was touching my elbow behind my back all the time we were posing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You can see how hard I’m trying to conceal my emotions in the pics because um ??? an actual Goddess is touching my arm right this second???? And then she said she appreciates my coming to see her again ♥ I’m sorry but I’m pretty sure being this precious is illegal, I’m gonna have to alert the authorities. Oh, and I’m tattooing every single generic phrase she said on my forehead.

Then I just hung around for a while and even took a good enough picture of my friends and Pia! My hands weren’t shaking like they always do when I feel Emotions!!! I am truly growing.

After a while the crowd started to dissolve a bit and I spontaneously decided to try and ask if I could give her a hug. Yeah, I know, I don’t recognize myself either. And I did ask her, with countless “I’m so sorry”s and “I understand it might be intrusive”s (her face was so close and she was looking at me so intently i’.m!!! dying!! I was Not Prepared) because making her uncomfortable is my worst nightmare.

And then

she DEADASS GRABBED THE BARE PART OF MY ARM (my sweater covered my elbow but not my forearm so it was a skin to skin contact with the goddess!!!!! I’m a normal person with a normal life and zero obsessions I swear), looked me in the eye and started explaining why she doesn’t normally do it - because, quote, “then she *nods at someone* would wanna do this, and she would wanna do this and I would be here till 3am”. Somehow my brain didn’t shut down completely: all I could feel was her hand on my arm, but I was actually registering what she was saying and I was even ANSWERING stuff like “that’s totally fine, yes, i understand, everyone would want to do this, that’s absolutely fine, thank you so much”. But she honestly has THE SOFTEST hands, it’s literally like touching a cloud, what kind of magic is this (and what kind of hand cream), I couldn’T COPE. SO SOFT. AND SHE WAS SO CLOSE. HER PERFECT FACE. CLOSE TO MINE. SAYING THINGS. SMILING. I LOVE HER. And it seemed that explaining the reason was very important to her and she wasn’t letting go of my arm the whole time 😭 honey….. you don’t have to explain anything to me…. I’m just happy to be here…. And she was looking me in the eye the whole time too. Anyways, I FINALLY timidly put my other hand on top of hers (!!!!!!!!! living that self-insert fanfic life) and told her it was absolutely fine again while trying very hard to conceal my emotions (hahaha who’s freaking out? not me lmao hahaha lol). I LOVE HER SO MUCH WHAT A GODDESS WHAT AN ICON. Not to be dramatic, but I can still feel her calming touch :”) she may have cured my anxiety or something. And yeah, well, I told her it was absolutely fine and she told me to take care and that was it.

Did I sound like a complete tit? Certainly. Did I still sound more coherent than the other two times I met her? Absolutely. I’m SO proud of myself. Am I still #shook? You bet! I can’t believe life is this good to me. And I’m still very sad I don’t know when I will see Pia again :/ certainly not next year because it’s my final uni year and I’m gonna be busy as shit, plus all these trips are getting expensive. I hope she doesn’t do anything HUGE next year and saves it for the time I can travel again ~

Oh, by the way, it was pitch black almost the whole time I was walking back to the hotel and I even had to pass by a church graveyard. Fucking T*ckl*nburg.

#the great pia meltdown 2k17 #~

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swan1974-blog · 8 years

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Swan and Sam

Willy Carefully Breaks The Hug and lets swan sit in his spot. Willy says,I believe I have said enough. Now it's your turn to speak. Willy stands over swan and Sam. Swan says,Why, thank you. I appreciate all all you said. Sam says to swan,Hey, daddy, I listened to the song touch,and I have a question about it. Is 'Touch' supposed to be one or the other? I mean the feelings of it. Happy or sad? I find it's a bit of both. Or is it designed to be ambiguous? Since I said it is a bit of both happy and sad? The beginning starts off kind of ominous (0:00-1:50), then the start of Paul Williams' lines sound kind of sad, but still sort of upbeat at the same time (1:51-2:31), the second half sounds more happy, as does the bit with the horns (2:32-4:12), then the vocoder lines with the child chorus return to being sort of ominous, yet still sad (4:13-5:48), the second child chorus section sounds happier (5:49-7:42), and then Paul Williams' ending sounds ominous and sad again. Please explain. Swan says,I sure can and will explain. The creepy vocoding in the beginning is a shout out to Phantom of the Paradise as when the creepy vocoder turns into Paul Williams. In one part of the movie, the Phantom is hooked up to a modular synthesizer, allowing him to talk and sing. In the beginning of the scene, his voice is distorted, creepy, and hard to understand (inspiration for the intro of Touch), but as Swan (Paul Williams) works with it a bit, it finally creates an actual voice Phantom can sing with, Swan's. You see, if you watch the movie, you will find out why Swan's voice can't be recorded. It is not complicated. also why the "kiss, suddenly alive...etc" part is Paul Williams, with not modification. After that, Swan gives Phantom a voice box to talk with, but is also sounds robotic and vocoded (inspiration for the vocoded "hold on, if love is your answer, you're home" chorus). I interpret the song is about me and you because I feel dead without you. Sam says,Oh, that was beautifully said. From sounding carming to funky, to melodic to even at times sad, it just goes everywhere and clearly shows that Paul's still got it. The sense of touch I mean. It's Such a very well built song. I absolutely love it, so beautiful, just the piano, bass guitar, clarinet, trumpet, tuba, drums, violins, just all out make a beautiful crescendo. All the instruments in great harmony, It's like an emotional journey. And this is what I mean by that: At first it's like the idea of "touch" is something completely alien to you, the effect reinforced by the distant robotic effects and voice, Since robots don't have a sense of touch, right? you're like a robot with barely any recollection of what touch or feeling is when I died. Then longing arises expressed in a very emotional and human singing voice. Then the fast, fun, melodic bit is like experiencing the near forgotten emotion, possibly falling in love. But that's not all. Then near the end you experience the beauty of love, expressed by the angelic children's voices and in the very end it says "you've given me too much to feel", which is a complete contrast to the beginning. I absolutely love this interpretation. And there's also the idea of belonging, home and peace going through the song. This world is not our home. It is but a foreign land. Love is home. Amazing composition. Amazing song. I cannot stop talking of it. Swan says,I agree. But seriously, Touch is incredible. I can't stop talking about it either. I can listen to it over and over and over and over. I can never get bored of it. It just elicits so many emotions and feelings. It is absolutely charming. When the audio and chanting stops, i get immediate chills and crazy feelings about you. They never cease. The amazing thing about this song for me is how easily I'm able to imagine and be in the song. sometimes when I listen to this song my mind goes to a totally different place than reality. It sends me on a emotional trip, gives me deja vu from reliving the memories of you in the song. It is my number one song. I listen to this song at midnight for a reason,imagining you being here with the song playing, with completely dark and silence. You brighten my life. I always watch our tapes muted with the song playing on repeat because it goes so well with the memories. Sam says,Well spoken, Daddy. Swan says,And lets not forget, Paul showed me the music video for touch. I was immediately attached. It was about how I feel lost without you. Paul wrote it just for me. Sam says,That's wonderful. Swan says,And also, When I listen to the song with my eyes closed, I picture you in all your beauty, Then I picture you singing love is the answer you're home hold on because that is something you would say to me. Sam says,I absolutely would. Swan says,Thank you. Sam says,I suddenly remembered something. So, last night around 2 am, I decided it was time I get off my computer so I put my noise-cancelling headphones on and turned up the volume. At the beginning, my mood was tampered with; like my body was being taken over by the ambiance. My body started to twitch and it soon became a battle to keep my eyes closed but once I heard Paul's voice, my body just completely relaxed. I then began to feel the music and drift off. Around 3:20 I started to hallucinate, like I was in space. It felt like some sort of trip I have never been on before. It's wild what the mind can perceive. I thought of you, of course, only I saw our past memories fly by and remembering and regretting but also smiling upon and when the song ended, I had tears on my face when thinking about you. I can never stop thinking of you. Swan says,Ever. Sam says,Awe, Daddy. Swan says,It's true. How do you feel when you listen to the song? Sam says,I'm glad you asked. here's what I imagine as a music video when I listen to this. This could be long, so just bear with me. Picture the shore of a beach, and you walking down beside the waves, all whilst the intro is playing. By about 1:00 you turn around to face the horizon, then collapsing on their knees to the sand, trembling. At 1:45, everything zooms into your eye and into your memories. A sepia version of our happy memories is playing as Paul Williams starts to sing. At 2:35 there is a montage of happy memories, birthdays, weddings, Christmases, then showing school memories and the development of a love of music, specifically Paul Williams. 4:16 We get increasingly picked on by mom for this love of obscure music, worst still you and her are having difficulties, serious ones, dangerously close to a divorce, with shots of us coping with the ridicule and mom is strife. 5:35 As we are about to return from school by our normal transport, we instead walk away and start to run. After running,we slow down when we get to the beach. by the choir part everything zooms out to a tear coming from the eye that was zoomed in on, you breaking down. 7:45 Weeping, we wait as the tide comes in, enveloping our legs and ever rising faster. Now crying, thinking about what has happened, everything fades to black... Swan says,I never thought of doing a music video like that before. Sam says,Well, you came up with one I never thought of before. Swan says,Your ideas are always better. Sam says,Why you say that? Swan says,Because you, my child, are a genius. Sam says,Why, thank you. Swan says,I never want to stop hearing your ideas. Sam says something that made swan smile,Awe, Daddy. Well, I don't want to stop hearing your genius ideas either. They smiled at each other and swan feels Sam's real touch on his cheek. Sam Gently caress swan's cheek. Swan says with tears,You are an angel. Sam?,there's so much I need to say. All the time since you were gone I spent grieving, crying, anger outbursts, depressed, and now I see you. Is it really you? All those terrible feelings go away when I see you. Sam says with tears,Oh, Daddy, I'm sorry you had to go through that. Yes. I never could imagine living without you, either. Swan says,You know what? I dreamed about you a lot since you disappeared. I couldn't stop thinking what happened to you. Sam says,Are you going to say more? What did you want to tell me? I'm am all ears, Daddy. Swan's glassy eyes glistened with tears forming in his eyes. Swan says,This is what I have to say, Sam,Don't Forget What Happened To The Man Who Suddenly Got Everything He Always Wanted? It is a line from Willy in the elevator scene. Sam Says,I don't recall. What Happened? I'm excited to hear the answer. Swan Says,I can't wait to say it. He Lived Happily Ever After. What do you think of that? At this point when she heard swan's touching words, Sam too had begun to cry. It remained quiet for a few more minutes as they held each other tight. She didn't fight back, or want to resist what was happening, which told swan that she knew as well one day she would reunite with swan . Sam says,I love you daddy... Swan says,And I love you too, my Sammy. They separated, as she lowered herself to the ground.

#swan #sam puckett #paul williams #phantom of the paradise #jennette mccurdy

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