#Currently listening to THE GREATEST by Billie eilish

[itwasntimethatdidit40]

Hey there!

I wanted to post that for a while so, here we are.

Wondering who’s behind this blog?

Here’s something about me under the cut:

• I identify as a woman, my pronouns are she/her

• Born and raised in Italy, I still live there.

• I’m 141 LOL but according to people I still look like I’m in my 30s so let me indulge in that, thank you very much.

• I don't think there's anyone who makes me more feral than Joel Miller. I just can’t help it. My (un)holy Pedro characters triad is Joel, Oberyn and Peña 💕 (immediately followed by Frankie)

• I have a little elephant pendant that I always wear, no one knows what it's about *wink*

• I’m Leo Sun, Libra Rising and Aries Moon. You scared? I promise I don’t bite, unless explicitly requested 😏

• I’m Bi/Pan as fuck, always been obviously but I realized only last year. LOL, better late than never i guess. I only have problems with cisgender white males because I mean… they’re the worst, okay, I don’t make the rules.

• Single, unmarried, not interested in having kids even a little bit, I prefer to be the cool auntie.

• I love cooking and I'm quite good at it, I had good genes from my Italian grandmas 😌

• I can’t function without coffee, especially in the morning. I take my coffee bitter with just a little bit of milk.

• I can’t stand lies, the phrase “oh I didn't tell you so as not to make you suffer” (UGH, no you didn’t tell me ‘cause you’re a fucking coward and that’s it, my friend), misogyny, racism, fascism, homophobia, bi-erasure, any other form of verbal or physical violence towards LGBTQIA+ people, injustice in general, if you are any of the above you are not welcome here or in my life.

• I love dogs. I have a poodle named Brienne after the GOT character, she’s 5 years old so that means she got me through pandemic and she’s my love and joy. Isn’t she adorable? Yes, she is.

• I’m unfortunately allergic to cats (yep, like Pedro) and can’t pet them unless I wish for an asthma attack. That sucks, I know.

• I have deep brown curly hair, brown eyes and I’m short (158 cm).

• I have a lot of freckles, you could go on a treasure hunt following them.

• I’ve been to more than 100 concerts in my life including some festivals abroad.

• I currently listen to Hozier and Chappell Roan on a daily basis. I also love Billie Eilish, used to be a big Muse fan (listen, their first albums were great, okay) plus I’m a sucker for ‘90/‘00 music ‘cause that’s the music I grew up with.

• I love beer more than wine.

• I love reading, I used to read all the time, I have less time to do it now and it bothers me so much. I’m still reading fanfiction though. 🤭

• I’m a sucker for True Crime Podcasts, I only listen to Italian ones for now so unless you’re Italian you don’t know my faves and it’s a pity ‘cause they’re really good.

• Cults scare the shit out of me but at the same time they’re one of the things that makes me more curious ‘cause my mind can’t really comprehend what happens in people’s mind when they get sucked into them.

• Some tv series I love in no particular order: The Last of Us, Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, Lost, The Handmaid’s Tale, Bojack Horseman, GOT (until seasons 7 & 8 happened 💀), Sense 8, Jane the Virgin, Grace and Frankie, Narcos, Only Murders in the building, The Bear, Succession, The Morning Show, Friends, Stranger Things (mostly because Jim Hopper is there, certainly not for those z*onists, you know), Mad Men, Gilmore Girls (Luke Danes *cough*), Mindhunter, Peaky Blinders (huge Tommy Shelby’s slut, don’t look at me like that, okay), My Brilliant Friend, The Affair, Black Mirror (until last seasons happened but it used to be one of the greatest things ever), The Walking Dead (got bored halfway through season 9, I recently started a rewatch and I hope to get to the very end of it lol), Fleabag, Normal People, When They See Us, Hill House, Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, Chernobyl.

• Films I love in no particular order: Parasite, Aftersun, Past Lives, All of Us Strangers, Brokeback Mountain, Almost Famous, The Goonies, Stand By Me, The Breakfast Club, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, The Lobster, The Neon Demon, Midsommar, One Day, When Harry Met Sally, There’s still tomorrow, Strange Way of Life, Prospect, The Banshess of Inisherin, Coco, The Emperor’s New Groove (so underrated), Mommy, The Virgin Suicides, Girls Interrupted, Saltburn, Promising Young Woman, Little Women (1994), Gone Girl, Shoplifters, Bin-Jip 3 Iron, Love Me If You Dare, The Piano, Fried Green Tomatoes, Notorious, Some like it Hot, Rear Window and you can ask for my Letterboxd account for more.

• Bad weather makes me sad and melancholy.

• I obviously love Italian cuisine with all my heart but I also love to try new dishes especially when I’m abroad. I love chocolate and I have a sweet tooth in general but there’s nothing I crave more than good carbs (I can be happy with a slice of good bread or focaccia). I love spicy food but I can't handle it when it’s very very spicy.

• I love bags, I have so many bags and I still want more lol

• When I was a kid I wanted to be a writer or a journalist. What do I do now? I’m a secretary LOL (I also have a second job not related to writing as well)

• As a friend, I’m loyal to the bone, I could do anything for you if I love you. If you betray me real bad though don’t expect a second chance, I mean I could try but I know i can’t ‘cause you’re changed forever in my eyes.

• I have so many kinks, you can ask if you want to know, okay. Also, so many authors here are responsible for giving me new ones. I love you deeply.

If you want to know more my asks and dm are open!

Here’s a little bit of me, byeeeee.

[thepaladinstrait]

✮  IN  TRENCH  I'M  NOT  ALONE  ✮

✮  ALEX  /  FINN  ━━━ they/he/xe/it ⋆ non binary ⋆ demisexual ⋆ pansexual ⋆ minor ⋆ infp-t ⋆ type 2w1 ⋆ south aus ⋆ dog person ⋆ black cat ⋆ depressed but sometimes i'm funny ⋆ fanfiction reader and writer ⋆ purple is my favourite colour ever ⋆ permanently dehydrated ⋆ sleep deprived ⋆ hot chocolate addict ⋆ music is everything to me ⋆ angst writer ⋆ headphones on 24/7 ⋆ i live here ⋆ spotify loml ⋆ clikkie ⋆ theatre nerd ⋆ amethysts are my favourite ⋆ crystal queer ⋆ grammar nerd but i type in only lowercase ⋆ green belt in karate ⋆ slytherin ⋆ pinterest whore ⋆ i leave unhinged tags on your posts ⋆ i can rap the entirety of hamilton ⋆ fnaf obsessed ⋆ mentally ill ⋆ #1 leave the city fan ⋆ rpf writer ⋆ autistic ⋆ i infodump way too much ⋆ professional oversharer ⋆ otter lover ⋆ reputation and ttpd stan ⋆ winning at the game of dyscalculia ⋆ poet (in theory) ⋆ perpetually curious ⋆ dreamer ⋆ stargazer ⋆ high schooler ⋆ i vent a bit too often ⋆ choker and necklace wearer ⋆ procrastinator ⋆ an absolute loser ⋆ horror movie lover ⋆ true crime podcast listener ⋆ asmr defender ⋆ victim of the spelling curse ⋆ black jewellery is superior ⋆ dark chocolate defender ⋆ uno bully ⋆ i overuse exclamation marks ⋆ scaled and icy defender ⋆ i hyperfixate way too easily ⋆ sleeps with stuffed animals ⋆ free palestine

✮  MUSIC ━━━ twenty one pilots ⋆ my chemical romance ⋆ sleep token ⋆ billie eilish ⋆ lyn lapid ⋆ ed sheeran ⋆ bmike ⋆ alec benjamin ⋆ maddie zahm ⋆ taylor swift ⋆ sabrina carpenter ⋆ we three ⋆ olivia rodrigo ⋆ xana ⋆ kelsea ballerini ⋆ conan gray ⋆ finneas ⋆ lewis capaldi ⋆ boygenius ⋆ harry styles ⋆ cavetown ⋆ gracie abrams ⋆ waterparks ⋆ dove cameron ⋆ semler ⋆ paramore ⋆ chappell roan ⋆ birdy ⋆ anson seabra ⋆ mxmtoon

✮  MY SONGS ━━━ achilles come down (gang of youths) ⋆ leave the city (twenty one pilots) ⋆ oldies station (twenty one pilots) ⋆ matilda (harry styles) ⋆ family line (conan gray) ⋆ illicit affairs (taylor swift) ⋆ the anonymous ones (dear evan hansen) ⋆ hurricane (hamilton) ⋆ slipping through my fingers (abba) ⋆ hope ur ok (olivia rodrigo) ⋆ another love (tom odell) ⋆ photograph (ed sheeran) ⋆ that's on me (ed sheeran) ⋆ the light behind your eyes (my chemical romance) ⋆ astronomy (conan gray) ⋆ love in the dark (adele)

✮  BOOKS ━━━ the song of achilles ⋆ nevermoor ⋆ keeper of the lost cities ⋆ the dictionary of lost words ⋆ if he had been with me ⋆ the help ⋆ girl in pieces ⋆ a good girls guide to murder ⋆ hunger games ⋆ divergent ⋆ the dead poets society

✮  MUSICALS ━━━ hamilton ⋆ dear evan hansen ⋆ six ⋆ mean girls ⋆ wicked ⋆ the addams family ⋆ in the heights ⋆ the greatest showman ⋆ jesus christ superstar ⋆ legally blonde ⋆ mamma mia ⋆ mary poppins ⋆ newsies ⋆ matilda

✮  MY CHARACTERS ━━━ charlie spring ⋆ patroclus ⋆ alexander hamilton ⋆ katniss everdeen ⋆ pippa fitz amobi ⋆ tao xu ⋆ remus lupin

✮  ALT BLOG AND LINKS AND OTHER SOCIALS

@emailsicantfuckingsend - poetry blog

discord - conjectureandgloom

pinterest

spotify

ao3

dm for personal instagram if we are close

✮  MY TAGS

me :) - random posts about me and my life

personal - personal vents. will be tagged appropriately with triggers if necessary. format for triggers will be '#tw ___'. common tw's will be self harm (tagged as sh), discussion of suicide (tagged as both sui and suicide), eating disorders (tagged as ed), and panic attacks (tagged as panic attacks)

finncore - posts that are mecore

alex /pos - daily positivity posts (currently not being done)

arch 🐾 - my dog and loml and baby, archie

five nights at finn's - fnaf posting

tag games - self explanatory

asks - self explanatory. tagged with url of asker or anon dearest

little guy clancy - my beloved little guy, catboy clancy <33

crop top ty - tyler joseph in the tulip crop top

the chronicles of crop top ty - visit this post for explanation

finn irl - photos of me :)

✮  NOTE ━━━ dms and discord are always open!! i love talking to new people, and i love getting new mutuals!!!! my ask box is always open to random vents or for advice, or if anyone just wants to pop in to say hey, by inbox is here!!!!! i might come off as slightly awkward though, and this is my formal apology for that. i also tend to forget that i have things in my inbox? so i'm so sorry for that too

credit to @svnflowermoon for the intro post format

[watchoutforthefanfics]

achievement unlocked 🔓 (part nine) || Streamer AU! Reddie (IT)

Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

AVAILABLE ON AO3

Inspiration: this prompt + BIRDS OF A FEATHER by Billie Eilish

Summary: Richie liked to play video games, and by some stroke of luck, it became his job. Being primarily known as Trashmouth on stream, he found his own little group of streamer friends and they became intertwined: The Losers Club. It never did feel quite complete, though. Well, until, he got his very own backseat gamer in chat.

TWs: innuendos, lots of talk of sex (it's Richie), cursing, brief mention of toxic relationships, and shameless flirting.

[[A/N: Yes, that is the Snoop Dog Affirmations Song and L'AMOUR DE MA VIE by Billie Eilish, what about it? I recommend streaming both. Although the Billie song is probably ranked like 3rd or 4th out of the entire album (BIRDS OF A FEATHER and THE GREATEST obvi). Also the parasites possessed me and made me write this. Enjoy :))]]

Richie was not above treating himself like the main character. Honestly, he thought everyone should. It's like self-love or whatever.

Steve told him he should, so he allowed himself some passes.

Currently, he was blasting a song -dancing around his kitchen as he cooked some chicken dish. He was actually stalking Gordon Ramsay's account and found it, and then, he convinced himself he could do it. And to be fair, he had a prevalent interest in cooking (maybe because he had to do it a lot growing up but still), so he might actually be able to make it. Plus, it was the simplest he could find (just chicken and a list of ingredients).

"There is no one better to be than myself," he sung, doing some sort of shuffle, before raising his voice, "-there is no one better to be than myself."

He slid along the floor with his socks, leaving the chicken on the counter with the seasonings mixed beside it in a bowl. Doing something very similar to the cha-cha in the Cha-Cha Slide, he moved toward the middle of his kitchen.

"Today is gonna be an amazing day," he repeated, "-today is gonna be an amazing day."

He moved back over to the counter, grabbing the bowl and dumping it onto the chicken.

"My feelings matter," Richie hummed along, busying himself with the other ingredients, "-my feelings ma-"

There was a buzz against the counter. Richie popped out of his thoughts, nearly instantly, and stopped singing. He skipped over to his phone to the beat.

e.kaspbrak is trying to videochat

Richie grinned.

"Hello, Spaghetti-" he called out (adjacent to a 'Hello, Vietnam!' impression), setting up his phone against the paper towels. The song continued to play on his home speaker, he did turn it down to hear him, though, "-what's up?"

He scanned over him, noting the much messier hair and peek of some sort of pastel t-shirt. Maybe a polo, actually-

Eddie scrunched up his nose (Richie thought it might be his favorite thing ever when he did that), a betraying little smile slipping onto his lips, "What the fuck are you listening to?"

🎵 'I choose to be happy, I cho-' 🎵

Richie faux gasped, fully turned to his phone, "Eds, you're breaking my heart."

"What?" Eddie laughed a little, "-I've never heard that shit in my life."

He placed a hand on his heart dramatically, as Richie Tozier does, "-You've never heard Doggyland's Affirmation Song?"

"No," Eddie answered -flatly, but still smiling.

"Wow," Richie shook his head, tsking, and moving to focus on his chicken, "-you have a lot to learn, Spaghetti. Luckily, I'm a great fucking teacher-"

Eddie decidedly ignored him, brown eyes smoothing over his hands (lingering for a second) -which were currently busy with his food, "What are you doing?"

Richie grinned, "Ah, my dear Eds, you have a front-row seat to Chef Tozier's famous chicken-"

"There's no fucking way you can cook," Eddie cut him off.

Richie pursed his lips, acting offended, "Why not?"

"You're fucking Trashmouth Tozier," Eddie pointed out, "-You ate Chef Boyardee last stream."

"SpaghettiOs, actually, if you're gonna insult me, get it right," Richie chimed, playfully, "-and I don't have the attention span to cook all the time. Plus, it's kinda boring cooking for myself. What am I supposed to do? 'Compliments to the chef', that's fucking me-"

"Fine," Eddie relented, teasing really, "-What are you making, Chef Tozier?"

"Uh," Richie pursed his lips, thinking back to the post, "-chicken...? Gordon's post didn't really have the name of the dish, other than like 'This is an amazing dish for your family!'. You know internet recipe type shit."

"Gordon?" Eddie asked, and Richie almost heard a little jealousy. It was cute.

"Ramsay," Richie clarified, smiling just a little bit.

"You're cooking a Gordon Ramsay recipe?!"

"Uh, yeah...?" Richie laughed, turning to the phone -raising an eyebrow, "-You know he posts those, right?"

Eddie puffed out his cheeks (in that cute little way he did when he was flustered), "Is it not like... fancy shit? Like fucking... gold leaf?"

"Eddie baby, it's not fucking escargot," Richie leveled, grinning (a little like he didn't want to be anywhere else), "-it's chicken."

"No, I fucking get that, asshole," Eddie clarified, a blush flickering up his cheeks (Richie wanted to know why so he could do it again), "-it's just Gordon Ramsay. He has like Michelin stars and shit."

"You think Gordon is snooty?" Richie questioned, voice in something like a salesman, "-You think he only caters to the fanciest of the fancy? No, my friend, he's for the underdogs, the average person-"

"Alright, alright," Eddie laughed, trying to play it off as frustrated, "-I fucking get it, Richie. You can stop now."

Richie snickered a little, before his mind buzzed over -entirely focused on the meal. That was his thing, he was either intently focused or literally in another dimension -absorbing fuck all. Now, though, he moved instinctively -brain lowered to a gentle hum. It always made him feel better, doing shit. Usually as a distraction (maybe when it all felt too loud), but still. It was nice.

Somewhere in his head, he noted that the song had changed.

🎵 'But I need to confess, I told you a lie-' 🎵

"I said you, you~" Richie hummed, busying his hands, "-were the love of my life-"

"Do you do this a lot?"

"Shit," Richie jumped, letting out a breath, "-I forgot you were there, Eds."

Eddie ignored it, thoughtfully looking at him -Richie couldn't quite label what exactly he was seeing in his eyes, "Do you?"

"Cook?" Richie questioned, to which Eddie nodded, "-Sometimes. I used to cook a lot when I was growing up, so I like to do it. It's just, isn't really, uh, fun when you're by yourself."

Richie watched Eddie's lips purse for a moment, brown eyes gently smoothing over his face. It made Richie roll his lips together, before ducking his head and making sure everything was mixed together -properly. Was it was the oven or the stove top-

"Well," Eddie finally spoke -leaning against his hand and just staring (Richie wasn't sure how to take it), "-you're not by yourself this time."

"I am not," Richie smiled at Eddie, tilting his head slightly -heart caught up in his throat a little, "-That is true, Eds."

Eddie paused, eyes smoothing over Richie (if he was honest with himself, in admiration). It made Richie want to do that thing where people jump in the air and snap their heels together (a heel click maybe?). Every time Eddie looked at him, he'd honestly do that -if he had a little less dignity, that is. Which he was kinda threading the needle honestly (especially since that would probably make Eddie laugh).

Which was, in retrospect, probably his favorite sound in the world. It made him woozy, sometimes, with just fucking... affection. And Richie wasn't sure how to like handle it, other than slipping out incredibly genuine compliments. He'd always been more of a touchy person, and acts of service (he really fucking liked doing things for people). So, he really couldn't like fully express his... feelings for Eddie. Not until he was like here, which he would be relatively soon. That's kind of fucking sick, actually-

"I can't cook for shit."

Richie spun to him at the words, tilting his head curiously (not unlike a puppy), "Seriously?"

"Yeah," Eddie breathed out, "-my Mom used to always cook for me. Something about being fucking healthy, I guess, and maybe... maybe controlling me. And then, the girlfriend she made me have did the same."

Richie stepped over to the phone now, leaning slightly on the counter, "What about boyfriends?"

Eddie pressed his lips together into a thin line, not quite looking at Richie. It looked a little like he was debating something.

Richie wanted to ask, and he almost did.

"Richie, you're like..." he started hesitantly, puffing up his cheeks like he was a little embarrassed -red bubbled up his face, "-the first boyfriend I've ever had."

Richie stalled in place (for two reasons: what he was saying and Eddie calling him his boyfriend), "What?"

"I've had my first kiss and shit like that," Eddie clarified, "-but I've never like officially went on a date-"

"What the fuck."

Eddie was fidgeting, maybe a little flustered, "I have no fucking clue why you're so surprised."

Richie didn't process those words, instead choosing to ask again, "You've never had a boyfriend, Eds?"

"I just fucking said that dumbass," Eddie answered, before rambling -maybe a little embarrassed, "-and it's really not that fucking surprising, some people don't even have their first kiss until their 20s-"

"No, Eddie, I'm not fucking judging you," Richie quickly clarified, stopping what he could easily see was a Kaspbrak spiral, "-You're just... You're so fucking cute, how have you never had a boyfriend?"

Eddie pressed his lips together, failing to hide a smile, "Just because you think I'm cute doesn't mean everyone does, dipshit."

"Eds, I'm so serious," Richie leveled, "-If I asked the groupchat right now, if they thought you were cute, they would all say yes."

"You're fucking ridiculous, Richie," Eddie shook his head, smiling.

"I'm gonna fucking do it," he grabbed his phone, closing out the call for a second, "-just you fucking wait, Kaspbrak."

"Richie, don't-"

trashmouth.tozier ✔️

do u guys think eds is cute ?

objective opinions

reddy.bevvy ✔️

oh I know the answer to this one !!!

yes 😘

mike.me.up ✔️

hell yeah

big.bill ✔️

I don't know what he looks like?

benny.boy.official ✔️

of course ☺️

stan.the.man ✔️

@/big.bill Ditto.

Richie had a photo he'd screenshotted once in one of their photo wars. (It was where they sent pictures back and forth until someone stopped. Richie particularly liked using haunting fucking filters.) This one though, was maybe the cutest, or maybe most beautiful thing in the world (to Richie at least).

He had his nose shriveled up, assumedly in response to Richie's selfie (which was probably some kind of fucked up) and he had like a half smile half frown. His hair was a little messy and his freckles were fairly obvious in the sun, and his brown eyes were the particular kind of shiny that people posted about. (Golden hour, he thinks.) So, they shimmered a kinda orange. Richie had been debating making it his phone background for like weeks.

trashmouth.tozier ✔️

attached image

The replies were almost instant.

stan.the.man ✔️

Yeah, and I'm very surprised he's dating your shitty ass.

Patty also says yes.

big.bill ✔️

What the fuck? He's dating you?

He's like one tick away from a fucking puppy. Or maybe one of those grumpy little cats.

trashmouth.tozier ✔️

fuck u guys

but also thanks for backing me up 😘😘😘

Richie grinned, eyes lingering on the photo for a second. My boyfriend, his mind chimed, and if he did an embarrassing dance that was for his eyes only, He's my boyfriend.

He let that word thrum under his skin for a few moments, before silently moving to go back to the call. Eddie wasn't back yet, probably scrolling through the responses. Or maybe off being a little flustered. Richie loved it when he got flustered, in the cute kinda way.

Humming along with a new song (one about shitty exes, he's pretty sure), Richie grabbed the chicken -was it stovetop or oven? On the spare thought that he might’ve written it down, Richie spun back to the other counter -eyes peering along the surface. He could try and find the post again, but then he'd have to stalk his fucking account and he posts so much-

"You're such a dick," chimed out through the air.

Richie spun on his toes, toward his phone, which he'd set in the same spot it was before.

"Whatever do you mean, Edward?" Richie playfully questioned, in a fancy (posh, if you will) British accent.

Eddie was smiling, but his face was a few shades redder at the moment than it was before. Richie wanted to pinch them, and maybe kiss them, so much that Eddie would get sick of it. Fuck long distance-

"You're a shithead," Eddie chimed, "-Are you almost ready to fucking cook that? You've been prepping for so fucking long-"

"Yeah, yeah," Richie confirmed, before skimming over the counter -eyes snagging on a sticky note, bingo. Snatching it up, he read it (oven) and the instructions before turning and grabbing his phone, "-save the dirty talk for the bedroom, yada, yada, etcetera, etcetera."

Eddie rolled his eyes, as Richie focused on putting the chicken in the oven (turned out he had forgotten that he had already fucking preheated it, sometimes he was truly a lost cause). With practiced hands, he slid on the oven mitts (a little like he was a surgeon in a medical drama). Which he decided to run with.

"My god, he's unresponsive! We must put him into the incubator," he dramatically opened the oven, sliding the chicken into it (all the while lowering his voice), "-so as to preserve his life-"

Turning to face the other side, he made his voice higher, "But, doctor, he's allergic to incubation!"

He turned back the other way and spoke, with a low voice, "It's the only way, Violet. We mu-"

"You do that a lot?"

Richie blinked again, turning to the camera -his glasses fogged up from the heat (he's pretty sure he heard some screenshotting). Taking off his glasses, he brought them to the end of his shirt and wiped them clean -situating them right back onto his face. And with that same breath, set the timer on the oven.

Finally, he faced his phone, "I told ya, Eds, I used to do skits by myself when I was like 12. Of fucking course I do it a lot."

Eddie was smiling at him with soft kinda eyes (it made Richie's heart flutter), "So, it's something you don't really show people?"

"Uh," Richie was suddenly incredibly embarrassed, "-no. It's kinda a personal thing that I just... sometimes do. I didn't even think about the fact that you'd see it-"

"It's cute," Eddie chimed, before Richie could get very far -his head tilted and leaning on the palm of his hand (his elbow against a table, assumedly) and Richie nearly fainted, "-Reminds me of your streams."

He almost asked what part of his streams were cute, of all things, but then he remembered the celebrity crush thing. Eddie just fucking watching him and liking him and his stupid face and his shitty jokes. God, he really needed to fucking focus-

"My streams?"

"Just you genuinely fucking enjoying yourself," Eddie clarified, still staring at him -dreamily somehow (Richie Tozier? Dreamy? Yeah, somebody fucked something up-), "-it's really fucking cute."

Richie thinks for a second about the fact that other people would maybe call him a dork, or a nerd maybe. How his old boyfriends would tell him to stop, that he was acting weird, and it was embarrassing them. That he was embarrassing. And then, he thinks about Eddie. Who was smiling at him (in a way that made Richie want to maybe lie down and daydream every physical scenario that he could about the guy) and softly complimenting him for shit that other people would hate. Had hated before.

Richie just grinned, red splotchy patches climbing up his face (and something in his stomach swirling), "Thanks, Spaghetti."

Now, it was a day later, and Richie was trying to call Bev. An emergency. But not like an actual emergency, but an emergency-

He rolled his eyes at himself -tapping the pencil along the paper he'd brought out. At the current moment, he was sat at his counter (on a barstool), pursing his lips together, and listening to the phone ring. Bev was taking a little long to answer, Richie had a running theory that it was because of Ben.

Well, his theory wasn't just that Ben was distracting her. It was a wider-scale thing, he had the running theory that something was going on between them. That maybe they didn't even recognize.

The funny thing about the Losers Club is that a lot of them, weirdly, already knew each other beforehand. Like previously said, Mike and Ben grew up together and by fucking impossible chance met back up through Twitch. And now he guessed with Eddie, he was connected to the two of them and Richie (being in his chat in the first place). Another example of this phenomenon (that Richie was still in the process of naming, it had to be fucking good) was Bev and Bill.

Stanley, after finding Richie, did some sleuthing and found Bill. He was actually bigger than both of them (even though at the time they were on the up and up, and now Richie, surprisingly, was the biggest of them all) and brought something to the table neither of them properly had. Skill, or just general knowledge of the game. He always knew what he was doing, whereas Stan didn't want to waste his time learning video game shit, and Richie didn't even look at fucking tutorials (balls to the wall kinda shit). He was number 3. Gaining a Mike, you move on to number 5: Bev. Richie actually found her. He guessed because Bev was local, she was in his recommended on Twitch. He'd taken a shot and joined her stream, shooting off some oneliners, being himself, you know. She'd bounced off him with poise and grace, Richie was fucking fascinated.

All that to say, they all met each other and then boom, turns out Bev and Billy had some fucking history. High-school sweethearts, who had amicably split, thank god. (The Losers Club still had fucking training wheels, that drama could've ruined everything.) As far as Richie knew they never tried to reconnect in that way. (He couldn't be completely certain, he guessed.) But he knew they weren't now, at the very least.

But Ben and Bev?

The floor is yours, it is possible, my friend.

Ben was physically in Bev's chat, hence the founding of his theory. It didn't take a genius to see that one Ben Hanscom was deadly into one Beverly Marsh. (There was actually this whole fucking movement on the internet about it. Which Richie distinctly was not sure how to feel about.) And Ben, sweet Benny boy, was always writing poems about a muse (more often than not with fiery hair). Bev, noteably, watched his streams. It was very reciprocated though, and Richie had been watching it unfold for almost a year now.

He was pretty fucking invested-

"Hi, this is Bev! Leave me a message and I'll get back to you."

Richie groaned, throwing himself back against the pillows. Time for plan B.

With a quick flick through his contacts, he clicked the one he needed and waited -impatiently, if anyone was asking.

"Hello?"

"Billy!" Richie burst out with a big grin, "-How's the high life treatin' ya?"

Bill was plan B because he lived in LA, closer than any other loser (other than Bev) and he needed location help.

"It's... okay, too hot to leave th-the house," Bill laughed, "-You n-never fucking call me, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, Billiam," Richie explained, "-I just need some help. It's kinda like a question, honestly-"

"S-Shoot," Bill echoed out -certain. He was headstrong as shit, it was really fucking scary on the right day. (Richie was impulsive/brave, and Bill was impulsively brave. If that made any sense.)

"Best date ideas you can think of, go," Richie announced like he was covering a race or something.

"In g-general, or what?"

"I was gonna ask specifically for San Francisco, but Bev isn't answering her fucking phone," Richie whined, letting out a deep breath, "-So I figured you might know something, somewhere nearby."

"Rich," Bill leveled, "-L-LA is six fucking ho-hours away from San Francisco. Do you w-wanna drive six hours for a d-date?"

Richie honestly debated driving to New York every day (Eddie hated planes), so six hours was entirely doable. For him anyway.

"Uh, maybe," he offered, awkwardly, "-if the idea's good enough."

"Th-This is for Eddie, r-right?" Bill clarified, and Richie could hear the clicking of his keyboard, "-Stanley t-told me he's moving in k-kinda soon."

"Yeah, a little under 3 months now, maybe close to 2 and a half, actually," Richie confirmed, mind wandering on the thought for a second. Eddie... coming to live with him. He was still totally normal about it. Completely fucking normal-

"I can tell it's s-serious," Bill added, before questioning, "-What's w-with the pr-preplanning though?"

"I'm Eddie's first boyfriend," it rumbled out of his chest (he still couldn't fucking believe that shit, what the fuck), "-and he's never been on an actual... date. So, ya know, I just wanna..."

"Give it t-to him," Bill finished, thoughtfully, "-Well, I'm g-gonna help you th-through this. We're gonna f-figure this shit out."

Richie fucking believed him.

"O-Okay, so I don't know s-shit about San Francisco, an-and neither do y-you," Bill started, "-but, the f-fucking internet d-does."

And the internet did, in fact, know.

His conversation with Bill had to be pretty quick, he had an interview or meeting or something. He'd taken to writing books recently, and somebody wanted to give him a shot. Hear him out. But they did narrow down some options, which was better than where he started. And Bev still hadn't called him back, so it was kinda all he had.

trashmouth.tozier ✔️

eds

edsssss

edsssssss

eddie baby

spaghetti 🍝

I'm ur boyfriend stop ignoring me

e.kaspbrak

What the fuck do you want, asshole?

You know I'm with Ben right now.

Right, Ben also lived in New York. Which was also kinda lucky, and definitely added to his proclaimed "phenomenon". So, he noted it somewhere in the back of his head.

trashmouth.tozier ✔️

wow ur boyfriend can't want attention ???

I see how it is 😤

also I know for a fact he's on a call with Bev so

e.kaspbrak

How do you know that?

Bingo, another piece of evidence for his theory.

He paused a second, reflecting. He should seriously go outside more often-

trashmouth.tozier ✔️

she wasn't answering her phone

and I have a theory they are madly in love w each other

e.kaspbrak

Huh.

You might actually have a fucking point, moron.

trashmouth.tozier ✔️

awe, my boyfriend called me stupid 🥺

He could practically see the eye roll, all the way in New York.

e.kaspbrak

Shut the fuck up.

You know I like you.

Now, what do you want?

Richie smiled, kicking his feet a little, and wished he could fly. He felt a little like that Rudolph scene where the girl deer thought he was cute (that made him fly, right?). So maybe flying would do the trick to represent the flutter in his heart.

trashmouth.tozier ✔️

how do u feel about trampoline parks ?

or picnics in a botanical garden

or mini golf

e.kaspbrak

Richie, what the fuck are you talking about?

trashmouth.tozier ✔️

date ideas

I'm planning out dates which u should be proud of me for

or impressed I'll take either

e.kaspbrak

Seriously?

Richie paused for a second, not sure how to take that. But, it was Eddie so he didn't think it would be bad. Not really.

trashmouth.tozier ✔️

uh yeah

I'm ur first boyfriend

and u have never been on a date

so I figured I'd be a good fucking bf and plan that shit out

bc u deserve them

e.kaspbrak

I think that is the nicest shit anyone has ever done for me.

Brownie points, his mind chimed. But, still it was a little upsetting. Eddie was like... worth the fucking world to him. Why did he have such a shitty life?

trashmouth.tozier ✔️

well I'm gonna be ur best boyfriend ever sooooo

e.kaspbrak

Maybe my only boyfriend ever.

Richie froze, not in the bad kinda way, and his heart skipped a beat. Maybe the drive to New York really wouldn't be that bad? I mean, it's a long time and Richie would get so fucking bored that he'd be insufferable. But, Eddie would be at the end of it. That would make all the shit worth it-

e.kaspbrak

Which could also be because you fuck it up so bad that I swear off dating forever.

Or you were so shit as a boyfriend that I become straight.

Richie laughed, before carefully typing.

trashmouth.tozier ✔️

but the other way too ?

e.kaspbrak

Yeah, the other way too.

Richie grinned, feeling so woozy that he might fall out of his chair. He wanted to twirl his hair, and write in a diary. Or maybe skip (literally skipping) through the streets of San Francisco, smiling too big.

e.kaspbrak

I think the trampoline park would be more for you.

Which I wouldn't mind because I like seeing you happy.

Dipshit.

Richie laughed again.

e.kaspbrak

The garden thing actually sounds really nice.

If you can stay still for that long.

trashmouth.tozier ✔️

I just need something to focus on

and I can def focus on u eds 😉

e.kaspbrak

You're such an idiot.

And I like the idea of mini-golf.

But I am so fucking competitive that you should physically take that into consideration.

trashmouth.tozier ✔️

I'll let u win

don't worry your pretty lil head about it spaghetti

e.kaspbrak

You better fucking not.

And I'll win fair and square anyway.

Richie almost typed out a response, ready to keep the bickering going-

e.kaspbrak

I've always wanted to see the Golden Gate Bridge.

If we could do that.

trashmouth.tozier ✔️

oh fucking course we can do that eds

I'd buy it for u if it was in my budget

rename it the eds bridge

or maybe eddie baby's bridge

e.kaspbrak

I like that one.

trashmouth.tozier ✔️

what

my hypothetical bridge name ?

e.kaspbrak

Just the name.

trashmouth.tozier ✔️

what eddie baby ?

e.kaspbrak

Yes, dipshit.

Do you have any kind of reading comprehension?

Richie laughed a little, a smile still spread across his lips. Eddie baby. Yeah, okay, he could work with that.

trashmouth.tozier ✔️

idk eddie baby

my teacher always said I was troubled 🤷‍♂️

e.kaspbrak

You're not going to let go of that, are you?

Richie grinned.

trashmouth.tozier ✔️

oh no fucking chance eds

[wrongcaitlyn]

I'm currently rereading talk your talk, its so good! And I've forgotten if you've posted a concise list of Nico's songs anywhere?

I saw you mentioning that you kind-of based Lou Ellens youtube channel on hthaze, and watched his reactions for the Nico songs. I thought that sounded really fun to do! -but to do that myself I would need a track list (and look up the albums since I'm not very well-versed in Taylor Swift)

Keep up the amazing work(no pressure)! and i hope you have a nice weekend :)

i actually only have the first album all listed out in the fic, so i'll be writing out a tracklist for you anyway!! i also have all of the playlists for the talk your talk verse linked in the beginning notes of greatest of luxuries, so they're all in playlists there if you'd like to listen to it then - and then i think when eventually, nda3 is released, i'll add it to the end notes of the fic!

so, here's nico di angelo's discography:

(btw everything that says taylor swift, if there is a taylor's version, listen to the taylor's version!!)

haunted

haunted - taylor swift i know it won't work - gracie abrams till forever falls apart - ashe, finneas lovely - billie eilish, khalid renegades - x ambassadors best friend - conan gray team - lorde labyrinth - taylor swift difficult - gracie abrams the very first night - taylor swift gold rush - taylor swift long sleeves - gracie abrams motion sickness - phoebe bridgers overdrive - conan gray out of the woods - taylor swift

in between albums, there were two promotional singles

getaway car - taylor swift

mess it up - gracie abrams

doomsday

doomsday - lizzy mcalpine glory and gore - lorde tennis court - lorde this is me trying - taylor swift everything i wanted - billie eilish mess it up - gracie abrams for real this time - gracie abrams 400 lux - lorde block me out - gracie abrams graveyard shift - jonah kagen the exit - conan gray decode - sabrina carpenter getaway car - taylor swift eyes open - taylor swift the story of us - taylor swift

after doomsday, there is one single

new romantics - taylor swift

that's all there is for now! let me know if i should make a playlist of his entire discography that's updated every now and then, bc as of now i just have playlists of his singles and the individual albums! thank you for the ask :)

[aswrm]

My Chemical Romance in ‘Negatives’ by Amy Fleisher Madden

transcript/ID below the cut

My Chemical Romance

Est. 2001

Belleville, NJ / Kearney, NJ

You can't discuss emo now without mentioning My Chemical Romance, but the early days of the band were fraught with unintentional mystery.

There were rumors that it was a side project of the already established band Thursday, that they were vampires, that they were a death metal band. Only some of those rumors were true or. maybe partly true. What was definitely true, however, was that after releasing an ambitious first album that felt like an emotional hybrid of Ink & Dagger and the Murder City Devils, as well as signing to a major label, the band was on the tip of every scenester's tongue. At the time, it was noted that there was this palpable feeling that something big was going to happen. What no one knew was just how big, and that this band would break out globally and achieve rock star status around the world.

In 2004, when the video for "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" was released, there were so many emotions and even more opinions. Some took the stance that this was emo exploitation; others celebrated that the music that had been bubbling up for years had finally broken into the mainstream. At first the band rejected the emo label, but after years of their fans waving the emo banner all over the place (and in their faces), they accepted it and gave into the title of reigning champs of third wave emo.

Regardless of which side you were on, My Chemical Romance's success was big. Big, like your parents who had never understood the kind of music you listened to (or why your hair or pants looked the way they did) could now see it front and center on the cover of Rolling Stone, kind of big. And to say

that the band and their music changed the scene forever would be accurate. Some of the polarizing attributes of third wave emo that tend to agitate die-hard first and second wave fans were made abundantly popular by this band and their fans-and often the outright popularity of the band infuriated other emo fans who tend to gate-keep.

You can't have it both ways, though. You can't only want certain friends within the scene to be successful, but be upset when others experience that success instead. That's a rough double standard and I can't get down with it.

My Chemical Romance risked everything to be successful and "make it" -and I fucking love and respect them for it. And listen, it is impossible for me to decide whether I love Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge or The Black Parade more, so please don't make me choose a favorite. Numerically speaking, My Chemical Romance is not the biggest emo band of all time.

That honor is currently reserved for Fall Out Boy.

But in my opinion, they are the most influential third wave emo band. It's no surprise to see Billie Eilish and her brother, Finneas, citing them as one of their greatest influences. No other band has had such an indelible impact on pop culture, the scene, and the future waves of emo.

[photo id: black and white photo of gerard. they’re bending forwards and singing into a microphone. they’re wearing a leather jacket, black tshirt and jeans]

[photo id: the whole band. L-R: frank, ray, otter, mikey, gerard.]

[theaawalker]

You mentioned using playlists to inspire writing... any song recs? Pref with autumn vibes? 🍂

Thanks for your query!

Song recommendations for writing are a breeze. Some of my best writing has come from listening to tunes 🎶. Music has the word 'muse' in it for a reason, I suppose. My taste is versatile: alt pop, pop punk, party pop, y2k bangers, 80s classics, hard rock, musical numbers, grunge, ballroom, folklore, rap... the list really is endless.

[ ~ that i call my own ~ ]

My current WIP is fantasy, philosophy, and fiction, so there are a lot of whimsical + adveturous + sad but motivational bops on my playlist. Perfect to close out 2023's autumn. 🍂

Without further ado, here are my song recommendations for any starting writer!

Soldier, Poet, King by The Oh Hellos

Off to See the World by Lukas Graham

Warrior by Chloe x Halle

Dirty Paws by Of Monsters and Men

On Our Way by Royal Concept

Love Me Not by Whitney Woerz

Shine Your Way by Owl City ft Yuna

Hideaway by Karen O

Exploration by Bruno Coulais

Glitter by Benee

Runaway by Aurora

Kids by OneRepublic

The Greatest by Sia ft Kendrick Lamar

Run Boy Run by Woodkid

Still Don’t Know My Name by Labrinth

Pompeii by Bastille

Find Me by Sigma ft Birdy

Running Up That Hill by Kate Bush

Night Changes by One Direction

Story of My Life by One Direction

My Future by Billie Eilish

Graveyard by Halsey

Campus by Vampire Weekend

Want to Learn More About Writing?

Follow me here (theaawalker)

...On Instagram (_.sincerelyme._)

...On Twitter (theaawalker)

...Or Tiktok (@.the.aa.walker)

I post my fandom imagines, too. Check out my masterlister (pinned), and my latest one here.

Did I mention I'm publishing a book soon?! If you're interested in YA fantasy, fiction, and philosophy, then see my website, newsletter, or email me at guardiansofcamoria@yahoo.com for updates.

[littlemissclandestine]

Thank you so much for the tag @littlemissemeritus !! <33

Rules: answer and tag 10 people you want to get to know better/catch up with.

Favourite colour: Teal

Last song I listened to: THE GREATEST - Billie Eilish

Currently reading: Just history books. Mainly on war history.

Currently watching: Nothing at the moment. Might rewatch a few of my faves.

Currently craving: A BANOFFEE WAFFLE ALWAYS -> banana doesn't even agree with me oops

Coffee or tea: Tea. I mean i'm a Brit. Gotta have one small, level teaspoon of sugar with a few drops of milk and mix by moving the spoon back and forth, not stirring in a circle. -> I love the smell and taste of coffee but my stomach says no so i settle for coffee-flavoured things :(

No pressure tags: @alexxmason @alypink @eccentrcks @iamcautiouslyoptimistic @adlersoldspice @h-a-unted @kitty-mactabbysh @imagoddamnonionmason @justasmolbard @ingenuine-80s & anyone else who wants to join in!

[asyouleft]

✨🐝🌸🍃🍂💒🎶🍒🎥

SARAH! I miss you. :-*

✨which fictional character (book, show, or movie) do you relate to most?

Hm, I think I relate to Dean Winchester in a lot of ways (abandonment issues, self loathing) and also Charlie Spring (eating disorder history, anxiety, thinking I'm a burden to everyone whose ever talked to me lmao). I wish they could be happier characters, tbh. Oh and Rodney McKay, the whole humor to hide self loathing and sometimes being looked at as someone whose a bit prickly or mean. Boy do I know how to pick characters, don't I?

🐝describe your aesthetic in emojis

I don't honestly think I have an aesthetic? lol I've never been able to answer this question. I just like things? Maybe just books and rain, lmao. 📚☔

🌸what is your favorite flower?

I do like sunflowers a lot!

🍃would you rather live in a sea with mermaids or a forest with fairies?

Sea with mermaids! I love the water, I'd have fun. But I mean like if I was a mermaid too. If I wasn't then I'd drown lmao

🍂what’s your middle name?

Colleen! I have a very Irish name, Megan Colleen :D

💒which show would you want to live in?

Doctor Who. I would do whatever it took to be a companion lol Like, I will find that TARDIS or I will be ~mysterious~ or whatever. Just let me go on adventures, please!

🎶 favorite song right now?

I've been listening to Billie Eilish new album a lot lately and I really like The Greatest.

🍒how do you act when you have a crush?

Like an idiot! I usually just act like a lost puppy and always try to be around the person. I have no idea how people don't know immediately because I am not good at it. On the flip side, I apparently have no idea if someone's crushing on me (or in one case, taking me on dates lmao).

🎥what show are you currently binging on?

Joe and I just finished Taskmaster NZ! And I just finished Traitors NZ as well. I think I'm going to fall back on some old school Survivor!

[ear-worthy]

iHeart & Rolling Stone Release "500 Greatest Songs Of All Time" Podcast Series

Last week, iHeartMedia and Rolling Stone, announced the release of a new iHeartPodcast series, which explores the brand's acclaimed “500 Greatest Songs of All Time” list. Hosts Brittany Spanos and Rob Sheffield dissect Rolling Stone's iconic list and dig deep into the magic and mythology behind the songs. From classics like Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” to The Ronettes “Be My Baby,” and modern-era hits like The Killers “Mr. Bright Side,” and Britney Spears' “Baby One More Time,” the hosts talk to artists and insiders about what makes these the greatest songs of all time. The series is available now on the iHeartRadio app and everywhere podcasts are head. Additionally, a companion playlist of the “500 Greatest Songs of All Time” is also available to stream exclusively on the iHeartRadio app.

“We are excited to join forces with Rolling Stone to help bring a whole new audience to this carefully curated list,” said Will Pearson, President of iHeartPodcasts. “Having the opportunity to take amazing journalism from Rolling Stone writers into audio and bring it to iHeart’s millions of podcast listeners is a winning partnership. Plus, offering a music playlist of the ‘500 Greatest Songs of All Time’ on the iHeartRadio app makes it even easier for fans to enjoy the full list while taking a deep dive into the music that has mattered so much to them.”

“We’re thrilled to launch the 500 Greatest Songs podcast, bringing the stories behind some of the greatest music ever made to life on a new platform,” said Jason Fine, SVP of Rolling Stone Films. “Brittany and Rob bring deep knowledge and enthusiasm for music to these conversations and help the listener understand each song's relevance. iHeartMedia’s audio expertise has given this list a new format and platform, bringing the 500 songs to an entirely new audience. We look forward to seeing the opportunities in store for this partnership.”

The “500 Greatest Songs of All Time” list was first published in 2004 and completely updated in 2021 with more than 300 voters, including artists from Beyoncé and Stevie Nicks to Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish, along with top executives, critics, producers, journalists, and industry professionals. The current list has received more than one billion page views since publication. 

While this is a worthwhile and comprehensive music history podcast, I highly recommend A History Of Rock Music In 500 Songs by Andrew Hickey. With many episodes running over two hours due to Hickey's exhaustive research skills, this podcast investigates the music, the culture surrounding the tunes, and the powerful social forces that impact musical trends. Season One of “500 Greatest Songs of All Time” consists of 25 weekly 30-minute episodes airing every Wednesday. “500 Greatest Songs of All Time” is distributed by iHeartPodcasts. Listen HERE

[joshpeck]

I need to know what are your top 3 albums of the year so far

ok i’m honestly one of those people that doesn’t really listen to full albums i usually just cherry-pick my fav tracks and then don’t download the rest 

BUT with that being said the albums I have probably listened to the most (or at least the most tracks from them) are as follows:

“Ungodly Hour” - Chloe x Halle

“Petals for Armor” - Hayley Williams

“Chromatica” - Lady Gaga (i know I KNOW just listen to Babylon and shut up)

“Fetch The Bolt Cutters” - Fiona Apple (I had to listen to it a few times to get it, but it’s just art like actual poetry also sorry had to pick 4 i’m indecisive) 

BUT BUT with that being said i normally listen to albums like years later i’m so bad at keeping up with current music so the albums i have been listening to the most so far that have NOT come out this year are

“HOMECOMING: THE LIVE ALBUM” - Beyoncé

actually i’ve gone back and listened to all of Beyoncé’s discography so you should too (”Dangerously in Love”, ”B’Day”, ”I Am... Sasha Fierce”, ”4”, ”Beyoncé”, ”Lemonade [truly one of the greatest albums of all time i’ll say what needs to be said]”)

“Krystal” - Matt Maltese

“Cuz I Love You” - Lizzo

“The Voyager” & “Little Ghost” - Moonchild

“WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP WHERE DO WE GO?” - Billie Eilish (i’m a normie i get IT)

“PANG” - Caroline Polachek

“Heard It In A Past Life” - Maggie Rogers (stream ‘Say It’ NOW)

“Mary Magdalene” - FKA Twigs

i took a lot of time on this please validate my taste......actually you know what no, please be honest about my taste i need to be told if i’m too much of a normie or not.....put me out of my misery......

[x--daughters-of-darkness--x]

Amy Lee Reveals How New Evanescence Album The Bitter Truth Helped Her Heal After Brother's Death

Amy Lee opens up about Evanescence's first album in 10 years

Evanescence is back with their first album in a decade.

Ahead of the Friday release of The Bitter Truth, frontwoman Amy Lee spoke to PEOPLE about the new album and its influences, reflected on the rock act's legacy and opened up about how she's spent time in quarantine with her family.

"A lot's changed, from perspective, to life experience, to the lineup itself," Lee, 39, tells PEOPLE of her headspace going into creating the LP with current bandmates Troy McLawhorn, Jen Majura, Tim McCord and Will Hunt. "We wanted it to be raw and visceral, and it relates so much to the lyrical content and experiences that I'm drawing from. We're talking about being human, being broken and starting from that place before you claw your way back out."

As on past Evanescence albums, like breakout Fallen and follow-up The Open Door, The Bitter Truth tackles some heavy subjects.

"This whole thing has been very much about facing your fears and facing the things inside myself that aren't easy to admit. On a personal level, the biggest bitter truth is that life is short; we're not going to live forever," she says. "And in these moments, when we do have a moment where there's love and peace and good things — live in it and enjoy it, and embrace it, because it's not going to last forever. That can be a challenge when you're grieving, to not let it suck the joy out of the moment you could be living right now."

The Bitter Truth was party born out of grief. In January 2018, Lee revealed that her younger brother had died after a years-long battle with severe epilepsy; he was 24.

"Our music has always been a very sacred place for me to really just bare my soul. On the grief and everything, it has been really healing for me, having that outlet, to not only be able to pour my pain into, but also to be able to listen back, and reflect back, and see that something good was coming out of something so painful that honors the people we've lost, to still be able to stand back up and be your best self, and remember," Lee says.

"Not to throw it away and let it go and try to tune it out and pretend like it didn't happen — that's not what he would want. He would want me to be the best me I can be. And I know if he can see me right now, he's totally banging his head to this album and so proud of it."

Evanescence also waded into politics on the new album. With the track "Use My Voice" — which was released as a single last August — Lee urged listeners to vote in the election between Donald Trump and now-President Joe Biden. For the anthem, Lee teamed up with her peers Taylor Momsen (The Pretty Reckless) and Lzzy Hale (Halestorm) to make a statement.

"I've always relied on women in my life. I've always had good, strong, grounding, wonderful women in my life that are and are not, rock stars. Being backed by supportive men is important too, and been a big, positive thing in my life as well — but there is something to be said for sisterhood. It's real," Lee says. "My actual sisters and my friends sang on the song, too. It is a beautiful thing that having the thought of, 'Hey, I want to express that we're many, that we're stronger together.'"

There's another young woman who Lee hasn't worked with (yet) but whom she says inspired her in the making of The Bitter Truth: Billie Eilish.

"I think she's just really, really good. [Her music is] dark and real and raw and authentic and bad-ass — and the spookiness, for sure. I hope she keeps making music for a long time. I would love to meet her sometime. She's at such a crazy high point. This is her big moment happening all around right now, so I'm sure she's just flooded with all kinds of people wanting to get a hold of her," Lee says, before adding with a laugh: "I'll wait until she's tired and has more time on her hands. Like, 'Hey girl, what's up? Come over.'"

Lee admits she wasn't always so open to collaboration because she felt she had to prove herself in a male-dominated industry.

"I used to be a lot more guarded about not having somebody [else] sing but collaboration with people. I had to prove myself as a creator, not as a singer. Anybody can imagine a sweet young girl as a singer, but prove to myself as a creator, and a writer, and the driving force and leader of the band. This time I'm so beautifully free from all of that," Lee says.

She didn't necessarily feel that way when debut album Fallen dropped in 2003 and shot her to fame.

"There were just so many older, more experienced dudes all around me who would stand to benefit and profit so much if they could write my next song for me. I had to fight that fight for way longer than that one moment, and way longer than I should have," Lee says. "Working with people, and surrounding yourself with people that believe in you — and really support you and get what you are capable of — is really important."

March 4 marked the 18th anniversary of Fallen, which, with hits like "Bring Me to Life" and "My Immortal," catapulted Lee and the band to the mainstream charts.

"It was a dream come true in a lot of ways. As far as the music and being received like that, I can't tell you how much it meant to me. I was the kid in school that was definitely not the one getting the lead in the school play, and definitely not the one with all the friends going to the football games. Not to be a jaded or whatever; I wasn't always putting myself out there. But I didn't think I was somebody who was going to be recognized for my talent," she says.

At the 2004 Grammys, though, Lee and Evanescence won two awards: best rock song for "Bring Me to Life" and best new artist.

"It really set me on a path, and enabled me to have a career in music. That we had that time in the mainstream to let something that was different — and not just because I'm a girl — something that was different for a lot of reasons, something that was exposing some of the darker realities of life and growing up..." Lee says. "Taking pain and challenges in life and turning them into something that helps others is one of the greatest things I've been able to do…to have that be accepted by so many people."

Lee says her greatest accomplishment, though, is Jack, her 6-year-old son with husband Josh Hartzler, 43, a therapist. Last March, the rock-star mom was gearing up to go on tour when the coronavirus crisis hit the U.S. Lee immediately embraced her newly cleared schedule.

"The bonus is I got to spend a lot of extra time with Jack," she says. "We made slimes of every type. He's into science experiments and messes — huge messes. So we made some things explode."

Still, Lee is looking forward to playing music live again when it's safe to do so — and so is Jack.

"He thinks it's cool. He'd be on tour with us [pre-pandemic], and he gets that 'those fans like my mom,'" she says. "His favorite thing was going out onstage at the end every night and getting some applause. But at the same time, if I'm like, 'Want to listen to my song?' He's like, 'No!'"

[bangtan]

BTS’s “Map Of The Soul: Persona” Named 2019’s 2nd Best-Selling Physical Album In The US

BTS had a huge year for album sales in the United States! Nielsen Music recently released its 2019 Year-End Music Report for the United States, with the success of BTS’s April 2019 mini album “Map of the Soul: Persona” reflected on its charts. “Map of the Soul: Persona” comes in sixth overall on the chart for Top 10 Albums (Total Sales) in the United States in 2019, with 454,000 in sales. This chart is based on physical and digital sales of the album and not overall equivalent album units (which in addition to album sales, also includes album equivalent songs from downloads and song streaming volume). Top 10 Albums (Total Sales) 1. Taylor Swift’s “Lover” — 1,085,000 2. Billie Eilish’s “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” — 676,000 3. Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper’s “A Star Is Born Soundtrack” — 486,000 4. Jonas Brothers’s “Happiness Begins” — 469,000 5. Harry Styles’s “Fine Line” — 458,000 6. BTS’s “Map of the Soul: Persona” — 454,000 7. Tool’s “Fear Inoculum” — 388,000 8. Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody (The Original Soundtrack)” — 366,000 9. Post Malone’s “Hollywood’s Bleeding” — 357,000 10. Beatles’s “Abbey Road” — 333,000 In terms of physical albums alone, “Map of the Soul: Persona” reached 415,000 in sales, second only to Taylor Swift’s “Lover” with 699,000. Top Physical Albums 1. Taylor Swift’s “Lover” — 699,000 2. BTS’s “Map of the Soul: Persona” — 415,000 3. Billie Eilish’s “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” — 395,000 4. Jonas Brothers’s “Happiness Begins” — 379,000 5. Harry Styles’s “Fine Line” — 354,000 6. Beatles’s “Abbey Road” — 306,000 7. Backstreet Boys’s “DNA” — 303,000 8. Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper’s “A Star Is Born Soundtrack” — 294,000 9. Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsoy” — 293,000 10. Queen’s “Greatest Hits 1” — 227,000 Included in the report is Nielsen Music’s statistics related to K-pop in the United States, which state, “K-Pop fans skew male and are more likely to be nonwhite than the general population.” The report states that K-pop fans in the United States are outspending the general population on total music spend across digital, physical, and live music. It also shares that K-pop fans spend more hours per week listening to music than the average music listener. It was also revealed on January 10 that Gaon recorded physical album shipments of 3,718,230 copies of “Map of the Soul: Persona” in 2019, making it the top-selling physical album on Gaon last year. BTS is currently gearing up for the February 21 release of their new album “Map of the Soul: 7,” and they kicked things off with Suga’s comeback trailer “Interlude: Shadow” this week.

Source

[umaficwriter]

Hey guys! I updated my Kalijah playlist and below there’s a explanation for why this songs were chosen. Enjoy! Xx

Enchanted (Taylor Swift) - they feeling Katerina had when she first met Elijah

Dancing With Our Hands Tied (Taylor Swift) - the sensation creeping in that they wanted to be together, although there was something in the way, still their stolen moments made them not give up

Give Me Love (Ed Sheehan) - Elijah tries to keep Katerina interested in him instead of his brother, even though he knows the reason she’s there and that they can’t be fully together, still he wants her to fancy him, not Niklaus.

Mercy (Shawn Mendes) - Elijah já overwhelmed by her presence, he tries to deny it and escape her presence with no success.

hostage (Billie Eilish) - Katerina is bestowed to Klaus, although all she wanted was for Elijah to take her away

Run Away (Cary Brothers) - Elijah discovers Katerina flew. He can’t blame her. He fears for her safety and is broken that another attempt in love of his went wrong.

Decode (Paramore) - now Katerina understands why Klaus always had blood on him without ever being hurt, why Elijah had such an odd behavior. They’re vampires.

Find You (Nick Jonas) - Elijah starts looking at Katerina around the world. He knows he has to take her to his brother, although he also knows that once he does find her, he won’t.

Fool’s Gold (Niall Hiram) - with every day that passes, Elijah is closer to the conclusion he won’t find her unless she wants too. Still, he doesn’t let any stone interned. He’s a fool for her.

In My Veins (Andrew Belle) - they can’t escape each other. Elijah was always close to her, no matter where she went. It was like running from your shadow.

How You Remibd Me (Nickelback) - he sees her once. She’s so close, he could smell her, almost feel her skin, she’s nothing but pure sin now. Katherine Pierce was her name now. He was in love with the devil, after all.

Take Me To Church (Hozier) - she lets him approach her. He asks the Gods he believes in to save his soul when his brother finds out. She was his downfall.

Bend the Rules (Niall Hiram) - she does not stay for long. For she knows Klaus is gonna find out about them. She doesn’t want Elijah to suffer his wrath, so she flees.

Just In Love (Joe Jonas) - Elijah ia willing to sacrifice his family for her. He does not though.

Gravity (Sara Bareilles) - they gravitate to one another again, for a short time though.

Only Forever (Demi Lovato) - he’s gonna wait for her, only forever.

Tomorrow Never Came (Lana Del Rey) - she wants to run with him again. She’s doesn’t.

Cruel Summer (Taylor Swift) - they have their last summer together before the end.

august (Taylor Swift) - Katerina arrives in Mystic Falls, without knowing that Elijah kept tabs on her. Turns out, she falls in love with the Salvatore brothers, alluding them to believe she’s good for them. Maybe they weren’t meant to be.

The Last Time (Taylor Swift) - its the last time he tries and reaches for her. She does not choose him.

Stuck (Imagine Dragons) - he goes and tries to find a replacement for her. He cannot.

Meet Me In The Hallway (Harry Styles) - both try not to compare their parters to one another. They caught themselves thinking about their relationship multiple times.

exile (Taylor Swift) - Elijah receives word of her playing with the Salvatore. He feels sad for them, although jealous, because he wasn’t the one holding her attention.

Arms or a Stranger (Niall Horan) - he sees her with the brothers. He feels stupid for still Cary such feelings for this façade.

Cherry (Harry Styles) - Elijah knows is foolish this sentiment of possession he has for her, still he selfishly cultivates it.

Jealous (Nick Jonas) - why would Katerina want this humans? These projects or men, when she could have him?

Dancing With a Stranger (Sam Smith) - they blame each other for their current relationship situation.

From the Dinning Table (Harry Styles) - Elijah nurses the possibility of her coming back into his arms.

Everywhere (Niall Hiram) - he receives word of her death and shuts off every emotion towards her that was still left. Although, everywhere he goes, he sees her.

Chainsaw (Nick Jonas) - he wants to forget everything they had. He hates the places they’ve been together.

Almost (DNCE) - he contemplates what he could’ve done differently. They were an immense amount of “what if’s”

Let Me Go (3 Doors Down) - he finds out she’s alive after all. She faked her own death. Elijah is livid. He wants vengeance.

What A Time (Julia Michaels) - he comes to conclusion all they have lived was a beautiful lie. One only he believed in.

I Don’t Wanna Live Forever (ZAYN) - they almost stumble on each other. Life seems to make no sense if they’re not close.

False God (Taylor Swift) - he tried to rescue her from herself. Elena tells him his brother has Katerina. His plotting something to free her. He still loves her. Stupid.

All I Want (Kodaline) - Katherine thinks Elijah is still daggared. And when he wakes up, he thinks she’s dead.

Set Fire to The Third Bar (Snow Patrol) - they start to look for each other again, in spite the terrible odds for them to stay together this time again.

My Heart Will Go On (Celine Dion) - they still have issues they need to attend to before being together.

Treacherous (Taylor Swift) - the familiarity is still there, but they need to be careful regarding their hearts.

Don’t Forget (Demi Lovato) - there’s a cure and they almost spilt up again regarding it.

Call It What You Want (Taylor Swift) - everyone knows they’re together now. Call if whatever. Katherine and Elijah are a thing!

You And Me (Niall Horan) - they take a time away to contemplate their relationship.

Delicate (Taylor Swift) - Elena informs him that Katherine killed Jeremy. Her reputation have never been worse, still he stands with her, in spite of his brain telling him not to.

Hands to Myself (Selena Gomez) - Katherine plans to show Elijah why he’s the luckiest man to have her all to himself.

Wildest Dreams (Taylor Swift) - they have a getaway. She can’t believe she’s with him again.

I Know Places (Taylor Swift) - they have to hide in order to be together.

Getaway Car (Taylor Swift) - they have to part ways again. Or at least, pretend.

I Think He Knows (Taylor Swift) - Katherine assumes Elijah knows everything that runs in that pretty little head or hers. And when he doesn’t, he’ll discover in the most delicious way possible.

I Love You (Little Mix) - she tells him.

Afterglow (Taylor Swift) - she can’t handle him going back to his brother again. But she can’t see him down either.

This Love (Taylor Swift) - once again they decide it’s better ifcthwy part ways. He kisses her forehead and she watches him leave.

Holding Us Back (Katie Herzig) - maybe they weren’t meant to be after all. There was always something holding them back. Maybe she just liked the song of “I love you” when said to him.

Battlefield (Lea Michele) - they keep hurting each other even though they love each other. It’s like q war they’ll never win.

this is me trying (Taylor Swift) - Katherine is human. And even though she knows going to NOLA is walking into the Lion’s den, she has to look Elijah in the eye and ask him for them to try again.

Why (Shawn Mendes) - she’s his disease.

Love Me Or Leave Me (Little Mix) - he tells her it’s complicated and that he can’t, not right now.

Stay (Gabrielle Aplin) - so she’s going away.

Who Knew (P!nk) - she was such a full for believing he would help her now she was human. Living him was her greatest mistake.

I Have Questiona (Camila Cabello) - although, she would not leave without a conversation. He would listen to what she had to say.

All too Well (Taylor Swift) - she felt like a crumpled piece of paper. Seemed like she wasn’t important enough. Stupid human emotions.

Between the Lines (Sara Bareilles) - Katherine saw the way Hayley looked at him. We’re they an item? Oh foolish Katerina, it appears like ‘Lijah is over you, came Klaus grin as he inserted the needle in her vein.

Don’t Make me Choose (Nick Jonas) - he just wanted Katerina to understand that although she was priority in his life, family was always and forever.

Dress (Taylor Swift) - they have no idea about them. Nor Klaus, nor Marcel or Hayley, not even the witches. She would die to keep them in secret. He would too.

Slow Dancing in a Burnibg Room (John Mayer) - and when they do find out, they take bets on how long’s gonna last.

Don’t Blame Me (Taylor Swift) - even though human, she kills for him, for his family. She’s one of them now.

Cross Your Mind (Niall Horan) - she wants him to turn her. He won’t budge his strong opinion against it.

See no More (Joe Jonas) - Elijah should’ve known Katherine Pierce would strike again.

Rare (Selena Gomez) - she thought she meant more for him than that.

Oceans (Seafret) - they’re distant.

Too Good At Goodbyes (Sam Smith) - “we say goodbye so many times around, Katerina, that it doesn’t surprise me anymore, nor hurt me that much.I’m numb.” The look on her face is uterly hurt.

the 1 (Taylor Swift) - she leaves him.

Say Somwthing (A Great Big World) - otavthwir ultimatum.

Samson (Regina Spektor) - she was his weakness. She explored her knowledge of him in all the ways she knew of. She’d hurt him. He has her as well.

hoax (Taylor Swift) - their love was their hoax. No other sadness in the world would do.

Poison & Wine (The Civil Wars) - “I don’t love you, but I always will”

Young and Beautiful (Lana Del Rey) - she confronts him on why he doesn’t want to turn her. “Will you still love me, when I’m not young and beautiful anymore, Elijah?”

Goodbye (Avril Lavigne) - she dies in his arms. Without knowing if she’ll come back as a vampire.

Make It Without You (Andrew Belle) - Elijah does not think she’ll come back anymore. So he asks for the witches help.

The Night We Met (Lord Huron) - things were so much esier back when they first met. Because now he had none of her.

Never Let me Go (Florence & The Machine) - Katerina wakes up as a vampire again after days. Elijah promises he will never let her go.

Be my Queen (Seafret) - Klaus can be king all he wants. The Queen of Elijah’s kingdom was Katerina Petrova.

Forever And a Night (Little Big Town) - they wanted to be together forever and always. Armors down.

Daylight (Taylor Swift) - “And I can still see it all in my mind, all of you, all of me intertwined”

Fine Line (Harry Styles) - they were going to be alright.

For Katherine and Elijah

With love: umaficwriter

[john-taylor-daily]

Full text of the article:

Want to feel really old? Oh, go on then. Duran Duran turn 40 this year: the band, that is, not the members. For them it’s worse: Simon Le Bon is 61, John and Roger Taylor, each 59, and Nick Rhodes, the baby, 57.

As you would expect of a pop group who always appeared happiest hanging off a yacht in ruffled Antony Price suits, accessorised with a supermodel and a cocktail, they intend to celebrate in style, coronavirus permitting. So the plan, announced this week, is that on July 12, exactly 40 years since their first gig at the Rum Runner in Birmingham, they will perform in Hyde Park, headlining a bill that includes Nile Rodgers & Chic and their pal Gwen Stefani. Four of the original five will be there: the guitarist Andy Taylor, 59, left the band in 1985 and, after rejoining in 2001, walked out again five years later. In the past, the guitarist Warren Cuccurullo has filled in; this time Graham Coxon from Blur will take his place.

Then in autumn Duran Duran are releasing a new album, their 15th, which they are halfway through making.

Growing up in the West Midlands, I was a Duranie; my first gig was theirs at the NEC in Birmingham. To give an idea of the level of devotion, I had house plants named after each of them. John, his initials “JT” written on the pot in nail varnish, was a begonia; Rhodes, a busy lizzie; Le Bon, a rubber plant; Roger and Andy Taylor were cacti. My memory, foggy on so much, still holds the name of Nick Rhodes’s cat at the time (Sebastian). The household appliance “JT” would choose to be? “A refrigerator, so I would stay cool.”

But despite previous opportunities, I’ve avoided them bar an awkward backstage handshake with Le Bon. In the meantime, they have notched up record sales of 100 million, had 21 Top 20 hits in the UK and, unlike many bands who came to fame in the 1980s, they produce different, exciting, if not always lauded albums, working with new producers and musicians. They’ve had top five albums in each of the four decades they’ve worked. Their last album, Paper Gods (2015), produced by Mark Ronson and Rodgers, was their most successful for 25 years.

Now 46 and with no desire to anthropomorphise greenery, I meet Rhodes, the keyboardist, and John Taylor, the bass player, once described as having the squarest jaw in rock. Rhodes suggests his “local”, Blakes hotel in Chelsea, near the home he shares with his Sicilian girlfriend, Nefer Suvio (he and Julie Anne Friedman divorced in 1992; they have one child together, Tatjana). Taylor, just in from Los Angeles, home to his second wife, Gela Nash, who runs the fashion label Juicy Couture, invites me to his flat in Pimlico. Le Bon, still happily married to the supermodel Yasmin Le Bon with three grown-up daughters, is busy in the studio and Roger Taylor, four children and with second wife Gisella Bernales, is otherwise occupied.

Rhodes, who joins me in the bar at Blakes, has the same peroxide mop and alabaster skin that were always his trademark. He wears black trousers by the English designer Neil Barrett and a Savile Row jacket dressed down with a rock T-shirt from the Los Angeles company Punk Masters.

Four days later, I arrive at Taylor’s flat in a garden square where he greets me at the door dressed in black jeans and T-shirt, with sculpted bed-hair. I’m reminded of the time my brother splashed Sun-In on his to emulate Taylor’s bleached New Romantic fringe.

It’s good to have them back. They started on the new album in September at Flood Studios in Willesden, northwest London, and, as well as Coxon, have been working with three producers: Giorgio Moroder, Ronson and the DJ Erol Alkan. “The whole place is filled with analogue synthesizers, so it’s just joy for me,” says Rhodes, who began life as Nicholas Bates but renamed himself after a make of electronic keyboard.

Rhodes met Moroder — the “godfather of electronica” and the man behind Donna Summer’s I Feel Love — through a mutual friend of his girlfriend. “We talked about music and what had happened to us,” Rhodes says. “He is as sharp as a razor, 79 going on 45.” They worked with Ronson, who has produced Amy Winehouse and Adele, in LA. “The first thing Mark always says is, ‘Let me hear the rest of it,’” Rhodes says with a laugh. “He is quite competitive.”

Taylor, who leads me into a room that’s more gentlemen’s club than rock-star pad with an open fire, armchairs, brown furniture and bad Victorian paintings, says the break of five years has refuelled them. “We have to starve ourselves of creativity long enough that when we do show up we have something to say,” he says. “[The studio sessions] are quite exhausting because we have been down this road. We can finish each other’s sentences and I guess, to some extent, we can do that musically as well. We are working with the same cast; it’s like a soap opera. That’s why collaborators become so important as you need to keep the spirit lively.”

Rhodes, who says the new album is more “handmade” and “guitary”, explains the working dynamics: “John and Roger’s rhythm section often drives a track. Simon, the lyricist, gives all the songs our identity; it’s his voice that tells you it’s Duran Duran. My part has more to do with sonic architecture.” That may be the most Nick Rhodes phrase yet.

We move on to Andy Taylor. “Forty years ago we had Andy in the band and he was a strong flavour and a northerner and brought a rigour,” says John Taylor. “Filling that vacuum has always been one of the major challenges of version two of the band; we did it with Warren Cuccurullo and with Graham on this record. But it’s not the same. Andy didn’t mind telling people what they were doing wrong.”

He pauses. “We had a reunion with Andy [in 2001] and that was enormously difficult, actually.” How so? “That’s a book really,” says Taylor, who has written about the saga, along with his struggle with drink and drugs, in his excellent 2012 memoir In the Pleasure Groove. “Or it’s a mini-series.”

“It was very uncomfortable for us,” Rhodes says of Andy leaving in 1985. “For sure, it had become stressful over the previous year — we were all burnt out from not having stopped for five years — but we didn’t see it coming at all.”

What are relations with Andy like now? “I don’t really have any,” says Rhodes. “I haven’t seen him for many years since he left the last time. I was not even slightly surprised when it did fall apart. I was relieved. As much as Andy is a great musician he is not an easy person to play with.”

I mention to Taylor that Andy has just announced his own UK dates in May, playing Duran songs. “Uh-ha,” he says. He didn’t know. Does he mind? “I don’t mind at all. All power to him,” says Taylor. “I would rather he be out playing.”

Taylor has the sanguine air of someone who has spent decades nuking his demons (he’s currently working on guilt; he had a Catholic mother). He has been sober for 26 years after an addiction which in part led to the break-up of his marriage to the TV presenter Amanda de Cadenet in 1997. Was it hard at first? “It was like turning round an ocean liner,” he says, his voice posh Brum with a California chaser. “I work a daily programme and that’s what keeps me sober. It’s not something that just happens; it takes a lot of attention.”

We move on to the themes of the new, as yet untitled, album. Le Bon lost his mother recently, so we can expect songs inspired by loss. Taylor says he took inspiration from “the challenges of long-term relationships . . . Take a song like Save a Prayer, which personally I think is one of the greatest ever songs in praise of the one-night stand,” he says. “It comes to the point where you can’t write something like that. It’s not age-appropriate; yet it is sexy. So how do you write from the perspective of someone who is trying to keep a long-term relationship together? That is the challenge of any late-age pop star. How do you make it chic, to use one of Nick’s favourite words.”

It is hard to forget how impossibly chic Duran were in the 1980s: from their beginnings in Birmingham (Nick and John, anyway), where they met when Rhodes was 10 and Taylor 12, to a world of famous friends, beautiful partners and exotic travel. Le Bon married Yasmin after seeing her in Vogue, Rhodes was with the shipping heiress Friedman and Taylor the teenage de Cadenet. Andy Warhol was a close friend of Rhodes.

While others were singing about the dark side of Thatcher’s Britain, they were . . . more opaque. “In the 1980s a lot of what we did was somewhat misunderstood because we were living in the same gloomy years with high unemployment and miners’ strikes and civil unrest as everybody else,” Rhodes says. “But our answer to it was we have to get away from this and make it a little brighter because it didn’t seem like a particularly promising future.” Don’t expect that coronavirus torch song any time soon.

Their association with Bond — they wrote the 1985 theme A View to a Kill — only added to the glamour. What do they make of the new one by Billie Eilish? Rhodes admits that he mostly listens to classical music these days but “was thrilled to hear Billie Eilish. I think it’s by far the best Bond song since ours.”

But not better than yours?

“I am very happy that she reached No 1.” Duran’s got to No 2.

Taylor is more critical. “I thought it was lacking in a bit of Billie Eilish to be honest. It could have been madder. It was a little bit too grown up,” he says.

Is it as good as A View to a Kill?

“No!” says Taylor, theatrically. “Although,” he admits, “it was the most difficult three mins that we have ever produced.”

It had a great video, in which the boys slunk around the Eiffel Tower. Taylor frowns. “I hate that video. So stupid. I can’t watch it.” One for the fans, then.

A secret of their longevity, Rhodes says, is not bowing to nostalgia. “I like to keep my blinkers on and look forward.” Having said that, he sounds ready to write his own memoir. “I would do a book yes,” he says. “I haven’t read John’s on purpose. I even wrote a foreword for it for the US version without reading it, but I did own up to it. I think mine would be very different from a lot of the rock biographies. The one that sticks with me is David Niven’s.”

Rhodes featured in Warhol’s diaries and Warhol, the subject of a show at Tate Modern in London that opened this week, would surely feature in his. He “invented the 20th century”, Rhodes says. “Andy was making reality TV in the Sixties. Can you imagine what he would have thought about the internet? It was all his dreams come true, but he would never have got any work done.” Rhodes says he stays off social media for that reason. “It’s not that I don’t like it; I fear it. I am going down a rabbit hole I may never get out of.

They’ve spent twice the time being famous as being unknown. Are they the same people they were in Birmingham 40 years ago?

Rhodes nods. “Yes, yes,” he says. “There have been big changes — marriages, divorces, kids, moving countries in John’s case — but when we are all together we have known each other for so long there is no room for anyone to behave in a way that would be unacceptable. There is no room for divas. We have lasted longer than most marriages; it is like being married to three people but we each get to go home on our own every night.”

Taylor tells me: “Without getting into recovery talk, a lot of that is about scrubbing away the masks that you tend to accrue to cope, so I think I am as close to that person as I was 40 years ago.”

Rhodes says tolerance is the key. “Sometimes when I arrive at the studio it is really bright, maybe someone is writing, and so everyone accepts I can’t cope, and so the lighting comes down.” I tell him I once read he always wears dark glasses before noon. He laughs. “Pretty much. That’s funny. I am hyper-sensitive to light. It’s not just pretentiousness. “

They appreciate they will have to prepare physically for the dates. For Rhodes, a terrible insomniac, that means “fruit and vegetables and grains” and lots of walking. But no workouts (“I am not a big fan of gymnasiums”). Taylor says he needs to start practising bass and the need to get back in shape is “keeping him awake at night”. “I like to run, I do Pilates, I do yoga and I think about everything that enters my mouth, everything. I am 90 per cent vegan. I don’t drink, take mind-altering chemicals. I am on and off sugar.”

Perhaps the greatest sign that they still have it is that their children want to see them play. Taylor just heard from his daughter, Atlanta, who lives in New York and is soon to be married to David Macklovitch from the Canadian band Chromeo.

“It’s a surprise when you get a text from a child and they say, ‘You’re playing Hyde Park — my boyfriend and I want to come.’”

[glamrockqueen]

incoherently written music history #1: billie eilish is the gen z taylor swift and here’s why

don’t laugh at me for making my first history rambling start from 2006 okay i promise i’ll be taking these further back eventually

this particular claim was made in a conversation i had with a friend a few weeks ago and i figured what better way to start off my new tumblr experience right

these pictures of almost identical scenes were taken almost exactly ten years apart. how did both of these ladies become mega-stars and redefine their respective genres as teenagers and what do they have in common? let’s discuss.

for starters, female singer-songwriters are not a new phenomenon. alanis morissette, tori amos, annie lennox, kate bush, the list goes on. so why were taylor and billie good representatives of the late 00s and late 10s respectively?

taylor swift released her self-titled debut album in 2006 as a country singer/songwriter at the age of 16 which is pretty impressive! and billie eilish released her debut album WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? last year in 2019 at the age of 17.

although there are plenty of young singers/songwriters, not many of them can reach this level of success. and at first glance (just look at the covers of taylor’s lover and billie’s album, for example) they seem like opposites. but they actually have quite a bit in common!

both started their careers with an audience that is primarily composed of young girls

both wrote or cowrote the songs on their albums

both perfectly capture the mood of the time periods in which they became popular

while taylor debuted in 2006, in my opinion, she didn’t become a superstar until the release of fearless in 2008. considering this was now 12-14 years ago, the process of becoming a superstar was different than it was just last year. taylor was originally signed as a songwriter with sony/atv (the youngest EVER to do so at age 14) and literally built the big machine label with her success when she signed with them. with the rise of streaming and widespread usage of the internet for listening to music (which didn’t exist in 2006-2008 when all music was individually purchased), billie entered the public eye when she released ocean eyes on soundcloud and rose to megastardom within a few years, with a pretty astonishing speed. the picture of taylor swift with her grammys was taken in 2010, a full four years after her debut album was released while billie won all those awards for her debut album in the same year it was released. the rise of such platforms can certainly accelerate the path to superstardom, and it certainly did in this case.

the important note here is that for both, the audience heavily relates to the emotions in the music and the authenticity of the songwriting. taylor’s music suits the early 00s and the young millennials/zillennials well. in the mid to late 2000s, music was upbeat. pop punk and emo pop/rock like fall out boy, panic! at the disco, and my chemical romance were at their peak (just remember early tumblr), and a lot of pop and pop adjacent music was generally happy and fast paced. taylor brought country music to the previously untapped market of teenage girls (and eventually other young female country singers like kacey musgraves, kelsea ballerini, maren morris, etc became popular, almost certainly because taylor proved young women could be successful in the genre) even as she transitioned into a pop artist. she succeeded as a teenage girl in an extremely male dominated genre (in fact, to this day, many country stations are not allowed to play two songs by female artists in a row).

taylor’s greatest strength is still considered to be her songwriting, and many of her lyrics are second to none in terms of modern mainstream artists. her fans appreciate the vulnerability and pure emotion of songs like all too well and dear john, even though they’re generally less well known than many of her hits. even through multiple genre shifts, her storytelling still shines through and feels authentic even if occasionally interspersed with more lighthearted moments like me! or we are never ever getting back together. in fact, the recent folklore album appears to be a return to the very thing that brought her to prominence in the first place, with its focus on lyrics and real instrumentation rather than her recent more synth-heavy pop sound.

people related to her music because it felt like they were getting a glimpse into her diary, and that authenticity wasn’t necessarily present in pop music at the time. she appealed to the hopeless romantics (especially during the fearless and speak now eras) and was definitely relatable to the teenage girls of the 00s. taylor captured the hope and heartbreak of teenagers in such an elegant way, and many of her fans still feel closely connected to her and have a sense of “growing up with her”, even if they’ve never met her in person because of the evolution of her persona and storytelling (and also her former use of tumblr). her songwriting talents are what initially drew fans to her and why she has a such a loyal base of fans even fourteen years after the release of her first music.

however, things are different now than they were even ten years ago. young people are sad and angry and billie captures these emotions in her music. today’s teenagers are not interested in sparkles and ball gowns or sundresses and cowboy boots, but would rather wear oversized tshirts/hoodies and march in protests. they were looking for someone who dresses uniquely and who takes pride in being different. it’s clear to see even through gen z humour that happiness is generally a thing of the past. pop music has gotten slower, more melancholy, more indie-oriented, and hip hop/rap and edm-inspired music is currently topping the charts rather than bubbly pop or rock. billie represents and possibly started the trend of “bedroom pop” (as her album was quite literally recorded in a bedroom) and its more relaxed, lofi sound. with this in mind, taylor has been and continues to be a master of trends and versatility, including releasing the 1989 album before retro nostalgia became popular, as well as including elements of every conceivable genre, including hip hop (throughout all of reputation), pop punk (paper rings is essentially a pop punk song, and i will defend this claim), rock, indie, and even folk and funk in her music. 

this shift almost resembles the way punk and grunge were rejections of mainstream rock at the time; people are looking for something new and “fresh”, and for many young gen z girls, that took the form of billie eilish, since she captures the emotions they’re feeling just like taylor did for millennials. in fact, billie can almost be seen as the punk to taylor’s classic rock. the way billie can speak to this audience is remarkably similar to the way taylor spoke to the underserved market of teenage girls who like country music and fairytale romances (and reminiscent of early rock’s roots in genres that were neglected by mainstream pop radio at the time until being succeeded by activist punk music that rejected the theatrics and fancy production of 70s rock in favour of a DIY ethos). both were appropriate for their target audience.

in short, taylor’s brand wouldn’t have worked in 2019 and billie’s brand likely wouldn’t have worked in 2006, but they suit the atmosphere of their actual time periods. we can no more expect a star of the 00s to represent the teenagers of the current era any more than we can expect a star of the 80s to do the same. however, their popularity comes from the same sort of energy - young people wanting something outside of the contemporary mainstream that feels new and expresses the emotions they may not have been able to express themselves. while taylor represents teenage dreams, billie represents teenage rebellion and loneliness.

in addition, both have been politically active, as well as advocating for change in the music industry. taylor has a long history of fighting for artists’ rights, including not releasing her music to apple music until they agreed to pay artists during the three month trial period, the feud with spotify, and now her struggle to gain control of the masters for her first six albums. she has also expressed support for democratic politicians and social movements like black lives matter, despite people close to her expressing concerns that it would cause damage to her image or career. billie has also been vocal in supporting progressive causes, which again shows that she is a perfect representative of gen z stardom as young fans expect the celebrities they support to use their platform to speak about important issues.

the most important thing that links these two artists together is the impression of being genuine and relatable, especially for an audience of young women who feel as if their voices have not been heard or are not valued by the mainstream. another interesting note is that fans of both artists are/were mocked for being fans, which is almost certainly rooted in misogyny and the dismissal/trivialization of things that are enjoyed by teenage girls. neither of them are taken as seriously as they deserve to be.

for years, taylor’s music was generalized as only being about her ex boyfriends, and that opinion is still widespread, despite the fact she has incredible songs that weren’t written about romantic relationships. since the beginning, taylor and her fans have been relentlessly mocked and dismissed. taylor was bullied online to such an extent in 2016 that she disappeared from the public eye and released the reputation album in order to take back the narrative after being accused of lying and being a “snake” even though it was later shown that she had, in fact, been truthful about the situation. billie’s fans have also been mocked in the past, even though both artists have been revolutionizing pop music and will likely continue doing so. they have also expressed their strong support for each other in the past!

it’s truly past time that people recognize the power of young women to change the music industry and society as a whole. taylor and billie are good examples of a constantly changing music scene, and how the “faces” of music can be drastically different depending on generations and the demands of society and the industry. taylor and billie are both trailblazing trendsetters who have successfully tapped into the unique energy of youth in their own ways, and the way they seem almost like night and day shows just how different millennials and gen z are as teenagers.

[theswiftarmy]

#30 - The 13th Song On The Playlist

William didn’t say a word, he just walked along with a small smile on his face.  Billie shared a glance with William and then watched as William and Justin caught eyes.  Billie found herself also smiling, unable to stop it.  Then Justin smiled too, it spread contagiously.  Everyone smirked and then stifled a laugh.  They felt giddy out of the blue while they walked. The giddy feeling ran through them like a potent potion.  The potion taking hold with each step they took down the street.  While they walked Billie Eilish sang Dreams by Fleetwood Mac.  This odd feeling overtook them.  They all felt strangely fine.  A little too fine.

“Billie.  We need to go back for Billie!”  Justin suddenly screamed out breaking the song.

“Justin, let her go.  She’s been Swifted.”  Billie said with a smile.  It sounded like she was joking but, on second consideration, she seemed disassociated from her Billie serious self, like she was talking about herself as another person.  Or as though thoughts were traveling through her brain from elsewhere.  They all momentarily felt like conduits for thoughts that weren’t their own.

“No!  I had to leave my cat on the roof of Big Machine, I’m not leaving Billie.  If I hadn’t left my cat, Taylor never would have catnapped Sushi and we’d still have Taylor’s master recordings, and none of this would have happened.  We wouldn’t be in this situation.  Billie wouldn’t be—”

“I’m right here.  Justin, I’m right here.”

“Oh.  That was weird.  I really thought you were still in there.  In that place, with the sound walls.”

“Nah.  I’m right here.”  She said with a small smile.

“Yeah, we’re out of the ‘Tunnel of Lover’ and we’ve entered some sort of new land of folklore.”  Kymmie joked with a laugh.  “And what comes next is anyone’s guess…  Right dad?”

Carl Lyle Lawyer looked down at her.  “I wouldn’t be surprised if leprechauns come out of some giant shamrock holding us hostage.”

‘Watch out for Shamrock Holdings.’ Kymmie Lawyer jotted down in her journal as a note.

They began walking towards the helicopter.  Right now there was no real plan, just get back to the helicopter, return back to Oak Felder’s studio, The Spaceship, figure out what to do next.  Get some sleep.  With no other means of transportation, no taxi, no Uber, not a single other soul in sight, they set on foot back to the downtown LA bank where the helicopter hopefully sat parked waiting on its helipad on the rooftop of the building.

“Hey dad.” Kymmie asked after a minute of walking in silence.

“Yeah?”

“What’s the song that mom likes, the one about having a fast car.”            “You mean Fast Car?”

“Yeah!  Fast Car… you got a fast car…”            “Yeah that’s her favorite song.”

“Who sings it?”

“Why?”  He questioned.

“Because I’m going to put it on my playlist.”

“Tracey Chapman.  One of the greatest songwriters of all time.”  Carl reminisced.  “You know I met her once.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.  Before you were born.”

“Oh, so in the olden days.”

Carl laughed and shook his head.  “Yes, the olden days.”

Billie Eilish and Justin Bieber laughed, but then stopped when Carl turned a lawyerly stare in their direction.

“You know, you laugh, but it’s only a matter of time my friend, you too will get old.”  He said.

“We’re not gonna get old.”  They said back, “We’re too cool to get old.”

“Uh, it doesn’t work like that.”  Scott retorted back to them.  “Unless you’ve got some magic trick the rest of us don’t know about.”

“Maybe that is what is going on, maybe Taylor figured out a way to change time so she wouldn’t age!  Like, change the tempo of the world to slow down time.”  Billie thought out loud. “Or MAYBE she just wants more time for a specific reason?”  Billie replied to her own question.

“We all want more time.”  Justin replied.

“Yeah.  I guess.  Or to go back in time.”  Billie said back.

“Why would YOU want to go back in time?  You’re on top of the world right now!” Justin asked Billie.

She shrugged.  “I have my reasons.”

Kymmie wrote ‘Fast Car’ by Tracey Chapman in her playlist as she listened to Justin and Billie’s conversation while the group walked towards the helipad where the helicopter was hopefully still waiting.  She wrote down her entry in the number one spot on the playlist.  Although, she was pretty sure she had already filled the number one spot, but now she wasn’t so positive, “Why is the first spot blank?” she thought “Was the first spot blank?”, maybe she started on number two and not number one.  She wasn’t sure of anything at the moment.  It was a bit like that scene in the movie Labyrinth, the one with the two doors, someone keeps changing the arrows around, but for Kymmie, someone changed the songs around, she was sure of it.  But, pen and paper doesn’t move, it’s not like a computer screen, it’s not like a phone, or a tablet.  PEN WRITTEN ON PAPER CAN’T JUST CHANGE ALL ON ITS OWN!  That’s just not possible, she told herself.  It’s not possible, right?  Then she thought for a moment and forgetting she was walking down the street with a group, said to herself out loud.  “Oohhh, I’m going to put a Post Malone song after that song.”

“What?!  You can’t put a Post Malone song after a Tracey Chapman song.”  Carl shook his head.

“It’s my playlist, I can do whatever I want!”  Kymmie beamed back.

“Well, alright.”  Her dad let her have the win.  He wasn’t about to argue her on her own playlist.  If it were his playlist, he’d have it differently.  Start it off with a little bit of Stevie Wonder, nothing like singing along to Superstition.  That song never gets old!

Who was going to question Kymmie’s playlist, it’s her playlist now, she found the notebook, finder’s keepers.  She smiled at the journal in her hands, she inspected the front cover, worn brown leather, zodiac symbols in a circle around a young woman, long flowing hair, as though the young woman’s hair were being blown by a gust with the wind.  As she shifted the journal in the light, it looked as though it moved, the leaf shapes around the woman seemed to move past her.  She flipped it over to inspect the back of it.  Then she inspected the inside front and back cover.  She noticed at the very bottom of the last page “ME”.   ME?  Why is the E backwards?  Kymmie thought.  Then she flipped it upside down.  EW?  Hmmm… Weird.  Maybe they’re someone’s initials… EW.  Hmmm… EW….  Well, ME with a backwards E or, she flipped the diary around again, EW, or ME-EW, whoever you are, this journal is mine now.  If you come looking for it, you can have it back, but for now, it’s mine.  She pulled out her pen holding it just above the paper.

1) Fast Car

2) Wow.  

“I would probably say wow to having a fast car, if I had a fast car.”  She said aloud as she wrote on her playlist, she continued talking,  “And then Billie and Justin go after that, so let’s see Billie and Justin and everyone else are driving in the fast car saying wow.”

Will B walked beside Kymmie as she wrote in the journal and talked.  No words, just a grin.  He took one big giant step for every two of her tiny steps.  His legs shooting out far in front of him.  His tall lanky body nearly twice the height of Kymmie.

“Hmmm and then I’ll put a Pedro The Lion song after that.  What do you think Will?”

Will smiled as she showed him the book.

1) Fast Car

2) Wow.

3) Billie + Justin + Everyone else

4) Pedro the Lion

“Wait, timeout, you know who Pedro The Lion is, but you didn’t know who The Beatles are?”  Billie asked.

“Well, there’s this boy I like in one of my classes, and he really likes Pedro The Lion, and I really like the boy, so I like his music.”

“You shouldn’t like music that people like just because you like them.”  Someone said, but Kymmie wasn’t sure who said it.  Maybe she said it to herself.  Or maybe it was Billie.  It was like hearing your own voice in a recording.

“I don’t know, I mean, it’s a good way to get introduced to new music.  Plus, you always have the music.  You may not always have that person.  But you’ll always have the music.”  Justin said to Kymmie, like he was replying to her.  Maybe she did say that.  Maybe she was trying to convince herself not to like the boy in her class.  Or maybe it was the music she liked, and not the boy.  How do you know you really like someone or something… or is it that you just like something about that someone or that you like something about SOME thing?  Did you fall in love with the person in the moment, or did you just fall in love with that moment you spent with that person?  What’s the phrase my ex once said to me, ‘You were just in love with being in love.’  Perhaps.  I had no witty response to her, what else could I say, she started the phone call with ‘I’m hanging up if the next words out of your mouth are anything but goodbye.’  All I could do was listen to what she had to say or say goodbye, so I listened.

“Let’s see, so then after Fast Car, then Wow. with Post Malone, then there’s a lion!  Maybe his name is Pedro.  I don’t know.”

“Are you making a story out of your playlist?”  Billie asked Kymmie.

“Maybe.  That’s just how I make my playlists, I connect the songs together from one to the next by thinking out loud.  Oooo, I like that song too, I’ll put Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran on my playlist.  So, let’s see, there’s a lion, then I have to think out loud about the lion.  And someone yells ‘There’s a lion!’  Why is there a lion?  And everyone is like, WHY IS THERE A LION? And it’s just like, I don’t know, there just is.  Because that’s what song is currently on.  Just shut up and dance with me.  Ooooo, I like that song too, but I don’t know if I want it on this playlist.”

           “You’re so weird.”  Billie said to Kymmie.

           “I mean, we’re all a little weird.”  She replied.

Billie smiled, “Okay let me see your playlist so far.”

           She held up the notebook. “How come we can’t each get our own line?  If this were an actual playlist on a streaming device we wouldn’t all just be one song.”

           “What’s wrong with a song with a whole bunch of people in it?”  Carl asked.  .  “One of the best songs of all time had LOTS of people in it!”  He reminisced to the day that song was released.  “We are the world…. We are the children…” He began to sing.  “We are the ones who make a brighter day, so let's start giving.”

“Father, are you singing another song from the olden days?”

“Yes, daughter.  And it’s a good song too!”

She rolled her eyes, “Fine, I’ll put everyone on their own line.”  She added everyone to their own line on the playlist.

Billie thought of something as she looked at the list.  “Kymmie, can you add Finneas beside my name?  I just, don’t know where he is, and…  It would just feel better if you could add him.”

           Sure, Kymmie shrugged.  “I don’t see why not!”

1) Tracey Chapman - Fast Car

2) Post Malone - Wow.

5) Justin Bieber +friends (“+friends” is crossed out so it’s just Justin Bieber)

6) Billie Eilish

7) Oak Felder

8) Scott Borchetta

9) Kanye West

10) Lizzo

11) Will Way

3) Pedro the Lion – Yellow Bike

4) Ed Sheeran - Thinking Outloud

12) Lady Gaga - Paparazzi

6B) Finneas

“So, there’s a fast car, then everyone is like WOW!  Then we’re all in the fast car and then there’s a lion on a yellow bike and we’re all like, let’s think about this, and we think outloud and then, the paparazzi show up.”

Billie and Justin laughed.  William Way’s grin grew larger and he let out a good sized chuckle.  A full belly laugh.  His tall and lanky frame shaking from the belly outward.

“Sounds like a good story.”  Carl said to his daughter.

“They’re kind of out of order, but I’ll just make a new list later on a fresh page once I get the playlist right.  Paper is so weird.  You know, like I have to make a WHOLE NEW LIST on ANOTHER PAGE, I can’t just drag and drop and reorder.”  Her dad laughed.

“It’s a tough life you have to live.”  Carl smiled.  “You should try being a lawyer.”

“What?  Why?  Isn’t everything like, online, or whatever?”  She replied to her dad.

“How many times have you been in my office and seen stacks of paper?”  Carl quizzed her.

“Ummmm… I don’t know, I always thought you just did that to impress mom.”

“Yes, that was the key to your mother’s heart.  All my boxes of legal paperwork.  She married me because she’s attracted to guys who file lots of paperwork.”

Kymmie rolled her eyes again then thumbed through the pages some more and found a doodle of a cardigan.  “That’s weird.”

“Well, like you said… We’re all a little weird.”

“No, dad, not what you’re talking about.  This.”

“What?”  Billie asked.

“That’s the same…”  She started to tell Billie about the cardigan wearing cat in the smoke shape tree from the Regina Spektor echo chamber.  “Nevermind.”   No one else had seen it.  She was sure she was the only one who had seen the cat in the tree wearing a cardigan, then she noticed the peacock.  The same one from the echo rooms.

“You okay?”  Billie looked at her with a concerned look.

“Yeah, just, this… book… or journal, or whatever, is weird.  I wonder who it belonged to?”  She turned the page and two cardigans were drawn in the margin, no, make that three, or four?  She turned the page again; the whole page was full of them.  She held the book up to the light again, lots of cardigans showed, faded, but they were there.  If you look at it from an arm’s length you can only see just one, but as you look closer, there’s more, then a whole bunch of them… It’s like they were multiplying, out of nowhere, more and more cardigans… cardigans taking over everything!

She looked back at her playlist.  A thirteenth song had appeared.

13) Jack Leopards & The Dolphin Club – Look What You Made Me Do

“What?  I didn’t add that.”  Kymmie whispered to herself.  “This playlist is adding songs on its own, that’s not fair, this is supposed to be my playlist.”  She tried to scratch out song number 13 on her playlist with her pen but the markings quickly faded away.  “WHAT!  This isn’t fair!!!  This playlist is changing on its own—”

“Ummm… guys there are some people following us.”  Lizzo announced to the group.  Kymmie looked up from her journal.  Everyone looked back.

Instinctively the women pulled out their car keys and held them between their fingers.  Kymmie held her dad’s pen, ready to poke an eyeball out.  The guys did nothing different.

They turned around to see a small group had appeared in the distance on the same street behind them.  The group had one oddly specific commonality:  They were all wearing cardigans.  The women lowered their makeshift weapons, feeling that their lives were not in immediate danger.

“Who ARE they?”  Kymmie held up her journal book and spoke to it as she matched up the cardigans on the pages with the cardigans in the street, “Who ARE you?”  She asked the book… a small heart appeared on the page—a tiny hand drawn outline of a heart appeared in the middle of the page surrounded by hand drawn cardigans.

@taylorswift