#Derek comes from the era of iconic music

[invisible-storyteller]

*Derek lying on the ground, unmoving* Isaac: Is he dead?! Peter: Wait! *crouches next to Derek* You've been hit by, you've been struck by~ Isaac:... Erica:... Boyd:... Stiles:... Derek, gurgling around blood: A smooth criminal

[my18thcenturysource]

Portrait of Vivienne Westwood by Christian Shambenait

It took me a few days, but with the death of icon-goddess-genius Vivienne Westwood, I had to make a post here about her work and how massively influential she was during her lifetime, and why her influence will remain for years to come.

"I take something from the past that has a sort of vitality that has never been exploited – like the crinoline – and get very intense. In the end you do something original because you overlay your own ideas." Vivienne Westwood

Born in 1941 in Tintwistle, Cheshire, Vivienne Westwood (nèe Swire) did not have a "traditional" path into fashion and design, even though she took a course of jewellery at the Harrow Art School (she thought it was not for her, being a working-class girl), she became a primary school teacher and got married with Derek Westwood, had a kid... But she was a maker of things and a creative mind, and made her own wedding dress and jewellery that she sold at a stall.

Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood at the Let It Rock store (London, January 1972).

But all of that was about to change when she met Malcolm McLaren. She got divorced, moved with him and had another son. McLaren became the manager of the Sex Pistols and with Westwood, they became a creative duo who dressed the band and became VERY influential during th punk era. We must add the after that they opened a store called SEX, which was the meeting place for the punk scene in London in the 1970s. So, yeah. punk wouldn't look like it does without Vivienne Westwood.

"Vivienne and Malcolm use clothes to shock, irritate and provoke a reaction but also to inspire change. Mohair jumpers, knitted on big needles, so loosely that you can see all the way through them, T-shirts slashed and written on by hand, seams and labels on the outside, showing the construction of the piece; these attitudes are reflected in the music we make. It's OK to not be perfect, to show the workings of your life and your mind in your songs and your clothes." Viv Albertine

This era of Westwood's design has a lot of collaboration, especially with McLaren, and they produced under the Worlds End label until 1985. These collections have each a theme and a name, and here is when we star seeing Vivienne Westwood's eye and curiosity for historical fashion, as well as nods and details especially from the 18th and 19th centuries. Of course, it was the 80s and all was way more colourful than what we thing of more contemporary Vivienne Westwood, but you can see that EVERYTHING was already there in the period which she dubbed as "New Romantic" with collections like Witches, Punkature, and Pirate.

Raincoat and belt, from the 1983 Witches collection, Victoria & Albert Museum.

Ensemble from the 1982 Pirates collection, Victoria & Albert Museum.

Knitted top from the 1983 Witches collection, featuring Keith Haring's graffiti.

The 1988-1991 era is called "The Pagan Years", and we can see the change of the main looks from punks to girls in clothes that parodied the upper class. And it is then that I think the ultimate Vivienne Westwood is seen: corsets, crinolines, tartan, colourful stripes... Here is when we begin to see the historical references taken to a extreme, mixed with the modern word and sense of humour, while always being perfectly made and patterned and fun for all genders.

Here some of my favourite ones:

Vivienne Westwood black satin corset with metallic gold pattern, ss 1992 Stays, late 17th-early 18th century, Met Museum.

Vivienne Westwood autumn/winter 2020.

Fashion illustration on L’Elegant, 1853.

Carmagnole Jacket, France, c. 1790 / Sans-culotte Trousers, France, c. 1790, Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Vivienne Westwood, autumn/winter 2021.

"Watteau" evening dress, 1996, Vivienne Westwood, Victoria & Albert Museum. "L’enseigne de Gersaint" (detail), Jean-Antoine Watteau.

Vivienne Westwood, autumn/winter 2022.

Portrait of Madame X, 1884, John Singer Sargent.

Madonna in her Fever video, 1993, wearing Vivienne Westwood. Gold leather corset, sleeves and mini skirt, 'Time Machine' ss 1988, Vivienne Westwood.

Always a creative force and a punk at heart, Vivienne Westwood was also an activist, putting front and center important causes like climate change, or sustainability and transparency in the brand's supply chain.

Rose McGowan walking the autumn/winter 2019 Vivienne Westwood catwalk.

Designer Vivienne Westwood looks through the glass toward the media during a photocall at a retrospective exhibition to celebrate her 30 years in the fashion industry, at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, Tuesday March 30, 2004.

What is your favourite look/garment of this iconic designer? And does it have an historical reference? Let us all know!

[the-diabolist]

Damn, i have so many things to ask but I'll stop on this one question(originally i wanted to do a request tbh, but saw that requests are kinda closed). What songs do you think tpof characters would listen to? Maybe btd and btd2 characters too if you have time, don't wanna bother, yk

Hmmm I don't think I can narrow it down to songs, but I can give you genres and maybe some bands :)

Derek - probably really eclectic. Hip hop, EDM, pop -> pop punk via, like, Marianas Trench or Panic! at the Disco, and maybe even a bit of alt rock like I the Mighty. Unfortunately I think our tastes would overlap quite a bit 😒

Celia - I mean come on. She definitely blares death metal and screamo in the car. I could also see her enjoying stuff like In This Moment or Icon for Hire.

Mason - the sounds of nature xD or like. Music from eras past? Oh god he doesn't even like music does he?? I cannot live like this. Maybe, if you could get him into modern music, he'd like stuff like Mumford and Sons or Of Monsters and Men. Idk man.

Jack - modern rock like Shinedown and Seether or dad music like Matchbox Twenty (no offense btw, I like Matchbox Twenty myself). I thought maybe classic rock too but idk... maybe classic metal like Metallica instead.

Strade - I'm pretty sure Gato has said what kind of music he likes but I don't remember her answer. And I'm kind of at a loss xD vaporwave? Medieval folk rock? He doesn't seem like he'd listen to normal music lol

Sano - listens to classical music like a nerd (prefers classical period). Also likes emooo xD Hawthorne Heights especially.

Rire - probably likes a bit of everything, but if it's up to him, he'll play some kind of classical or jazz music, anything chill and easy on the ears - or, if he wants something really peppy, electro swing.

Cain - listens to classical music like a snob (prefers romantic period), but also enjoys moody rock like Three Days Grace, Evans Blue, and Breaking Benjamin. Show him Apocalyptica, he'll be thrilled.

Vincent - tough dude rock like Five Finger Death Punch and Avenged Sevenfold. Probably also likes punk/metalcore like A Day to Remember.

Lawrence - difficult to say. Chill, kinda moody, less-than-mainstream alt rock like Dayshell and Anberlin? Synthpop? I bet he'd like indie bands. Death Cab for Cutie?

Ren - I just know he's got a playlist full of upbeat pop songs (think Katy Perry, etc) and anime openings... mixed with absolute screamo death metal at a ratio of about 20:1.

[derekklenadaily]

Dani’s Review/Synopsis of ‘Moulin Rouge’

Moulin Rouge on Broadway - May 21, 2022

I had opportunity to go to see Derek as Christian and Ashley Loren as Satine on Saturday night. As the audience was settling their velvet seats, all around the stage - we see elegant of tying into the French culture and the rich and vibrant colors of red and blue, not only that they had big pieces on each side such as the elephant and the iconic windmill. Across the stage, the outlines of the letters of "Moulin Rouge" is being displayed so brightly. Before the show starts, we see the ensembles walking around the stage in their respective costumes; men wearing suit/skirts with black top hat and women in their corsets, long skirts that had bustle and stockings. They were interacting with several audience members, it's like we are inside of their club. Then the lights dim into this blue hue and from stage right, we see Derek as Christian strolling along the walkway in between the can-can seating area and the orchestra seats, on his face - we see this expression of wonder and nostalgic of him coming back to 'Moulin Rouge'. As he reaches to stage left, he turns slightly to the audience and on the beat; he raises his arms up in sort of motion to raise the "Moulin Rouge" lights up to begin the show.

From there, we were greeted with several ensembles with an iconic medley of "Lady Marmalade" (remember that MTV music video with Pink, Christina Aguilera, Mya and Lil' Kim back in the early 2000s??) and "So Fresh, So Clean/ Money (That's What I Want)/Let's Dance/Burning Down The House/Because We Can"). It was raunchy, sexy, playful, fun. It truly felt like we as audience were brought back much more into 1890s era and being in the women's entertainment club.

Then we see how Christian becomes involved with working at 'Moulin Rouge', he meets two men Toulouse and Santiago (who needed help with its writing and songs for the play). There were really cute moments of Christian impressing them by his musical and songwriting talents by singing various songs from "Hills are Alive With The Sound of Music" by Rodgers and Hammerstein, "I Don't Want To Wait" by Paula Cole, "Every Breath You Take" by The Police, and "Never Gonna Give You Up" Rick Astley). From this sequence to where they go to Moulin Rouge; you see Toulouse, Santiago and the men bonding with Christian and taking him in with their wings. You see the fun and brotherly chemistry in between Derek, Sahr and Julius! They are loud, boastful, encouraging.  

Ashley's entrance to the stage was absolutely magical, and definitely an ode to the original movie where she descended from the ceiling, sitting on a swing. She was adorned in a black shiny/sparkly skirt, top hat and in several amounts of jewelry. She sings a medley of "Diamonds Are Forever'/'Girl's Best Friend'/Single Ladies" . She completely wows the audience by her performance, especially having such a quick amount of time with costume changes onstage! Her voice is absolutely stunning and powerful. Throughout this particular scene, both the Duke and Christian are entranced by Satine.

The scene where Satine brings Christian forward, mistaking him as the Duke while Toulouse and Santiago distract Harold Zidler, (Shut Up And Dance/Raise Your Glass/I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)). I could definitely see that Derek and Ashley along with the cast are just having a blast on stage! Just letting go of the reins and being themselves!

When Ashley sings Katy Perry’s "Firework", it comes off as a heartfelt ballad but it's so powerful at the same time because she reflecting on her life and trials. She tries to stay strong for her fellow performers, but also knows she will struggle more with each day with her declining health with consumption or tuberculosis (coughing up blood from the lungs - which we do see through the show).

Derek and Ashley's chemistry on stage was absolutely lovely to see! Derek brought the idea of Christian being so incredibly smitten with Satine, especially the very first glance he sees her arriving to the stage and had really cute moments of him trying to make her laugh and smile in a couple scenes. Ashley's Satine was more endearing and protective towards Christian than the movie's version with Nicole Kidman. "Your Song" was absolutely STUNNING. I have heard Derek sing this part of the song several times at his previous solo concerts. And seeing him sing this song on Broadway was heartwarming because he had some ties with this song with his personal life and career life as well.

When the Duke suddenly interrupts them; Christian and Satine claim they were practicing lines for a new show, "Bohemian Rhapsody". With Zidler's help, Christian, Satine, Toulouse-Lautrec, and Santiago pitch the show to the Duke ("So Exciting! (The Pitch Song)"), which is very similar to the original movie with a slight change with the lyrics but we wind up with a comedic moment at the end of the song!

When Satine and Duke got together after that scene, I just had the feeling that this relationship in between them isn't going to end up well especially Christian is going to be added in the mix, and even falling hard for Satine within first glance which leads me to this scene where Toulouse and Christian talks about Satine and how they both feel about her. Sahr Ngaujah's "Nature Boy" is absolutely gorgeous, which evidently describes the show perfectly and paralleling with Christian’s character. Toulouse’s recent history with her, he encourages Christian to fight for Satine.

That's where the iconic "Elephant Medley" comes in, Christian sneaks back to Satine to convince her that they should be together despite the difference of classes/work as the "Sparkling Diamond" and the "writer". Derek and Ashley's chemistry becomes way, way more vibrant and undeniable in this scene. It makes us audience to root them on.

Beginning of Act Two - we see Christian coming back onto the stage, walking down the pathway in between the can-can seats and the orchestra seats. He narrates what happened in the past two months since Christian and Satine got together.

Throughout the "rehearsal process" of the show 'Bohemian Rhapsody' we see moments of Satine and Christian's relationship evolving more than we see in the first act. We definitely see several highs and lows moments of being in Moulin Rouge. Especially Satine struggling to keep her secret about her illness from anyone she knows, the Duke's infatuation with her and keeping 'Moulin Rouge' cabaret club thriving.

I really loved the scene of "Come What May"! Oh my goodness, the scene transition from Christian's apartment to the dreamy atmosphere of Paris/Moulin Rouge was just stunningly gorgeous and how it really paid an another nod to the original film with so many sparkles coming down from the ceiling, Christian holding the pink umbrella and waltzing with Satine. (And I wonder if the mini eiffel tower prop set piece came from 'Anastasia' when they were doing out of town run before coming to Broadway?) I couldn't believe how magical this scene was! Not only this scene, but almost every scene in the show, there was a set change, like there were multiple facades coming in and out from each side of the stage, several beautifully painted backdrops coming down from top or pulled up to the ceiling. It was like I was going through such an amazing pop-up book.

Jessica Lee Goldyn is absolutely incredible as Nini! Wow! She's so fierce! She shares her fiery moment with Santiago ("Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga) as they fall in love as well. I love how she is protective of Satine and warns her about the Duke.

**I want to note on here that they had several replacements; like Julius Anthony Rubio as Santiago and Bobby Daye as Harold Zidler that were placed in at the last minute in the middle of the show due to illnesses such as laryngitis and covid related. I wouldn't never known that swings and understudies joined in, because the show was running so smoothly!**

The Green Fairy scene (”Chandelier”) was so mystifying and interesting! Especially there were so many different lights (strobe lights and green spotlights - I loved how they did the light-up bottle!) to showcase the weird effects of drinking absinthe. Throughout the scene, there were more of ballet-sque movement across the stage from Christian and the ensembles as Christian hallucinates Satine as the Green Fairy. It was really cool to see more of that dance technique come out of Derek. He does it so incredibly beautifully and gracefully even though it was a weird scene.

Declan Bennett played the Duke. He was absolutely amazing! He definitely reminded me of Cal from 'Titanic'. He is a very possessive, ruthless, cunning, and dangerous man. He truly wants everything like in his specific way with money, clothing or just interjecting orders out of nowhere. Also, he acts like he owns Satine as a prized possession and wants to keep her in the high society with him (living in a lavish castle). Especially there was a "lovers" triangle moment in the show, where the Duke, Christian and Satine are in one room together. It was a very heartbreaking to see how this scene went.

When Derek sang "Roxanne", my mind was literally blown and with no complete words could come out of my mouth, well I should say that my jaw was dropped to the floor - unable to be picked up until the following scene with Satine at her vanity which led me into tears. But seriously, Derek had shown how Christian felt. He was so angry, sad, and so desperate to fight for love towards Satine in all one facial movement throughout the song. It was so incredible that I wanted to give him a standing ovation or even throw all the awards at him right at the end of the song!

I absolutely loved the little moment in between Satine and Toulouse towards the end of the show, despite the difference of how their relationship went and the history in between them in the show but they remain close like a supportive brother and sister. Throughout the scene, the more conflicts with Satine's health and strains of Christian and Satine's relationship.

The final scene was slightly different from the film, they sing their song "Your Song" (Reprise) together (whereas in the film we see McGregor and Kidman sing "Come What May (Reprise) on stage together. But there's this moment in between Christian and Satine that was so beautiful, haunting, heartbreaking. And I really loved how they staged this scene; the big light only on Christian and Satine on the floor and we see only the silhouettes of the ensembles behind them. Christian finished the show by singing "Come What May" (Reprise).

Then for the encore/curtain call, the show brings back this feeling of vibrancy. The ensembles came back out onstage, reprising their dances - entertaining the audience once more as if the club was back and thriving. Derek and Ashley returns to the stage again, the crowd becomes like a huge concert with its loud cheering and screaming as we rise to our feet to give them a standing ovation. They take their respective bows and the cast comes together to do the can-can dance. The ensemble men shoots the colorful confetti up the air from their cane, letting it snow on us audience. What a way to end the show! Wow!

For me to see Moulin Rouge for the first time, was absolutely amazing. It's slightly different from the movie for sure. I loved the way the ensembles and each of the characters in the show; it's like they swooped you with their arms and jumped into each page of the story from start to finish. Especially when Christian narrates in the beginning, the middle and the end of the show. It's so incredibly breathtaking! I'm so incredibly that Derek had an opportunity to step in as Christian, right after Aaron Tveit left (he was the original principal of the show). 

Around the announcement when he was going to be in the show, I saw few tweets like saying "Oh Derek will be Dmitry all over again with the red cravat and going back to Paris again". I have to say no to this. Derek was absolutely NOTHING like Dmitry's character. He brings the idea of Christian's character more of a smitten, endearing, charming, and witty while being around with Satine whereas in 'Anastasia', Dmitry was sort of butting heads with Anya upon meeting her then throughout the show, he lets his guard down a tiny bit and falls in love with her, (like friends to lovers for example). Derek really steps up to the next level of his acting, singing and dancing especially only being in the show for two weeks. I truly believe this is role is the one of the best and top roles that he has ever done than the previous roles that he has done in the past. His voice has grown so much more mature over the past two years and his dancing skills in the show are off the charts. I'm so glad that he gets to let out more of his dancing in the show than the previous shows in the past and we know how much he loves to dance off stage. He's just so damn good! I cannot wait how much he will grow and evolve with the character of Christian as his run goes on! And his chemistry with Ashley.. *inserts chef's kiss*  They are truly superstars! To the rest of the cast, I can’t say enough words on how amazing they were especially holding up the show despite the challenging times of COVID. I completely urge everyone to go see Derek, Ashley and the cast in 'Moulin Rouge'! You will leave the show, wanting to see it more and more.

[piratewithvigor]

My first thought in regard to every band that gets played on my radio station

ACDC: Every dad’s favourite band

Adams, Bryan: Every mom’s favourite singer until Michael Buble came along

Aerosmith: haha they thought Vince Neil was a lady

Alice Cooper: he’s a Game Of Thrones fanboy and I have proof

Alice In Chains: my sister doesn’t like them because she decided AC were Alice Cooper’s initials ONLY

Allman Brothers Band: good music for dropping acid to

Allman, Gregg: That’s too many Gs for one name

Animals: House Of The Rising Sun, or who even cares

Argent: Sometimes Hold Your Head Up is really catchy

Asia: Tuesdays

Autograph: one of the members went on to be a pharmacist

Bachman-Turner Overdrive: There are just so many pop culture jokes about Taking Care Of Business that whatever I say won’t be as funny

Bad Company: with their song; Bad Company, off their album; Bad Company

Benatar, Pat: Always getting her confused with Patti Smith

Black Crowes: I like them for Lickin, but it doesn’t seem to exist outside of one shoddy video on youtube and my old CD

Blackfoot: this band name feels kind of racy

Black Sabbath: Dio was not better or worse than Ozzy; just different

Blondie: I like Call Me, but Blondie confuses me stylistically

Blue Oyster Cult: MORE COWBELL

Bon Jovi: Hello, childhood trauma, I missed you

Boston: ONE GUY. ONE GUY DID IT ALL AND NO ONE KNOWS

Bowie, David: Don’t let your children watch The Man Who Fell To Earth, or David Bowie’s will end up being the third penis they see in life

Browne, Jackson: Another musician ruined by Supernatural

Buffalo Springfield: Jack Nicholson was at the riot they sing about

Burdon, Eric: no ideas, brain empty

Bush: ditto

Candlebox: ditto once more. Who are these people?

Cars: This band feels so gay and so straight at the same time, I can only assume they’re the poster children of bisexual panic

Cheap Trick: I played Dream Police on Guitar Hero so fucking much because it was the only song anyone who played with me could keep up with

Chicago: Chicago 30 exists, but they do not have 30 albums. Fucking riddle me that

Clapton, Eric: 6 discs in one Greatest Hits is too many. That’s called “re releasing your discography”

Cochrane, Tom: For some reason, everyone thinks Rascal Flats did it better

Cocker, Joe: Belushi did it right

Collective Soul: who?

Collins, Phil: If his biggest hits were done by MCR, they would be emo anthems, but because he’s 5′6″ and from the 80s, they’re not

Cream: *Vietnam flashbacks on the hippie side*

CCR: *Vietnam flashbacks on the war side*

CSNY: David Crosby; meh

Deep Purple: THEY’RE SO MUCH MORE THAN SMOKE ON THE WATER

Def Leppard: the only music for when you’re a heartbroken bitch but also a sexy one

Derek And The Dominos: Clapton and ‘Layla’ broke up

Derringer, Rick: Tom Petty if he was from the midwest

Dio: You thought it was an anime reference, but it was me, Dio

Dire Straits: You can tell how bigoted a radio station is based on how much of Money For Nothing they censor

Doobie Brothers: I have yet to smoke weed, but I listen to the Doobies, and I think that’s pretty close

Dylan, Bob: I take back everything I said about him in my youth

Eagles: Hotel California isn’t their best song, but the memes that come from it are second to none

Edgar Winter Group: @the--blackdahlia

Electric Light Orchestra: Actually an orchestra and sound a fuckton like George Harrison

ELO: I really hesitate to ask what happens with the 7 virgins and a mule

Essex, David: no prominent memories of him

Fabulous Thunderbirds: cannot spell

Faces: Who on earth thought that was a good album name?

Faith No More: I got nothing

Fixx: One Thing Leads To Another is a damn bop

Fleetwood Mac: I ain’t straight, but I’m simply not enough of a witch to enjoy them to full potential

Fogerty, John: He got sued cause he sounded like himself

Foghat: Slow Ride slowly becoming less coherent feels like a drug trip

Foo Fighters: He was just excited to buy a grill

Ford, Lita: deserved better

Foreigner: dramatically overplayed

Frampton, Peter: a masterful user of the talk box

Free: dramatically underplayed

Gabriel, Peter: leaving Genesis changed him a lot

Genesis: if someone likes Genesis, clarify the era, because yes, it does matter

Georgia Satellites: sing like you have a cactus in your ass

Golden Earring: Twilight Zone slaps, but it doesn’t slap as hard as this station thinks it does

Grand Funk Railroad: Funk

Grateful Dead: I like their aesthetic more than their music

Great White: there are so many fucking shark jokes

Greenbaum, Norman: makes me think of Subway for some reason

Green Day: the first of the emo revolution

Greg Kihn Band: RocKihnRoll is literally the most clever album name I’ve ever seen

Guns N Roses: They have more than three good songs, but radio stations never recognize that

Hagar, Sammy: I’m still trying to figure out where he lived to take 16 hours to get to LA driving 55 and how fucking fast was he driving beforehand?

Harrison, George: He went from religious to rock, and if he had continued rocking, he would have gotten too cool 

Head East: I respect people who use breakfast foods as album names

Heart: Magic Man and Barracuda are played at least once every goddamn day. They’re not even the best songs!

Hendrix, Jimi: I have both a cousin and a sibling named after Hendrix references

Henley, Don: Dirty Laundry gives me too much inspiration

Hollies: Somehow sound like they’re both from the 60s and the 80s at the same time

Idol, Billy: he’s doing well for himself

INXS: Terminator vibes

Iris, Donnie: knockoff Roy Orbison

James Gang: too many funks

Jane’s Addiction: if TMNT had a grunge band representative

Jefferson Airplane: *assorted cheers*

Jefferson Starship: *assorted boos*

Jethro Tull: The only band to make you feel not cool enough to play the flute

Jett, Joan: icon

J. Geils Band: I requested them on the radio once and it got played

Joel, Billy: he really did just air everybody’s business like that

John Cafferty And The Beaver Brown Band: literally wtf is that name

John, Elton: yarn Elton sits in my basement, unstaring. Please someone take him from me

Joplin, Janis: Queen

Journey: Stop overplaying Don’t Stop Believing. It takes away from the rest of the repetoire

Judas Priest: literally started the gay leather aesthetic

Kansas: another fucking band Supernatural stole

Kenny Wayne Shepherd: the man confuses me to the point where he isn’t in the right place alphabetically

Kiss: Mick Mars and I will simply have to disagree on the subject

Kravitz, Lenny: runaway vibes

Led Zeppelin: Fucking fight me if you don’t think they’re the most talented band (maybe not the most talented individually, but collectively, no one comes close)

Lennon, John: My least favourite Beatle for reasons

Live: I got nothin

Living Colour: slap a decent amount

Loverboy: do you not get TURNT the fuck up to the big Loverboy hits? Who hurt you??

Lynyrd Skynyrd: Sweet Home Alabama is a Neil Young diss track

Marshall Tucker Band: no opinion

Manfred Mann’s Earth Band: VERY STRONG OPINIONS THAT THEY AREN’T GOOD

McCartney, Paul/Wings: Power couple

Meatloaf: I have nothing but respect for a man who willingly named himself Meatloaf

Mellencamp, John: voted cutest lesbian of 1987

Metallica: I liked their appearance on Jimmy Fallon

Midnight Oil: I get them confused for Talking Heads a lot

Modern English: who?

Molly Hatchet: Hollies vibes, but also Georgia Satellites vibes

Money, Eddie: DAN AVIDAN, IF YOU SEE THIS, COVER TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT

Motley Crue: Stan Mick Mars and John Corabi. They’re the only ones who deserve it

Mott The Hoople: no one loves them except for David Bowie

Mountain: props for naming an album ‘Climbing’

Nazareth: I want to make a John Mulaney joke here, but I can never come up with one

Nicks, Stevie: witch queen

Night Ranger: I get them confused with Urge Overkill

Nirvana: Kurt Cobain was the ally grunge needed

Nova, Aldo: he’s Canadian, at least

Nugent, Ted: *serves a ghost as jerky*

Offspring: nothing here

Osbourne, Ozzy: this bitch crazy

Outfield: Your Love is kind of a sketchy song, but it slaps hard

Palmer, Robert: low quality Eddie Money

Pearl Jam: *grunts in Eddie Vedder*

Petty, Tom: I have so many feelings about Tom Petty and they are all good

Pink Floyd: which one is Pink?

Plant, Robert: solo career is a crapshoot, but his voice is unparalleled

Poison: I want them to write a song called ‘Alice Cooper’

Pretenders: I want to say good things, but I have nothing to say

Queen: A doctor of astrophysics, a screaming girl, a disco queen and a diva walk into a bar. It’s Queen; they’re there to play a gig

Queensryche: neutral opinion

Quiet Riot: they got big because of a song they hated. I love that

Rafferty, Gerry: the second-sexiest sax opening in all of music

Rainbow: Ritchie Blackmore created something very magnificent

Ram Jam: one good song and they didn’t even write it

Ratt: I’m sure they have more than Round And Round, but I don’t know it

RHCP: funky, but if you have paid money to hear them, you’re going to The Bad Place (I don’t make the rules)

Red Rider: basically Golden Earring

Reed, Lou: Walk On The Wild Side would be such a cool song if it wasn’t so dull

REM: American Tragically Hip

REO Speedwagon: Props for having a dad joke as an album title

Rolling Stones: Never in my life could I imagine the drummer being named anything but Charlie

Rush: How to make being uncool the coolest fucking shit

Santana: The world needs more Santana

Scandal: There’s something really funny about The Warrior being my brother’s “song” with his girlfriend

Scorpions: Was Wind Of Change written by the CIA? Only the spotify podcast I got an ad for once could say

Seger, Bob: A different variety of Eric Clapton (frankly a better variety, but that’s just me)

Simple Minds: we ALL forgot about you

Skid Row: Sebastian Bach is prettier than all of us

Soundgarden: music that makes you feel like you dunked your head underwater

Springsteen, Bruce: my arch-nemesis. Maybe someday, he’ll find out about it

Squeeze: according to my friends, the stupidest band name ever, but they’re theatre kids, so you know

Squier, Billy: If he can make it through 1984 alive, you can make it through whatever bad day you’re having

Stealers Wheel: Yet another band who I always mistake for George Harrison

Steely Dan: my house’s nickname for the Robber in Settlers Of Catan

Steppenwolf: Either makes me think of Jay & Silent Bob, Jack Nicholson, or that time I had to cut 6lbs of onions

Steve Miller Band: when you’re in the right mood, they slap hard

Stewart, Rod: my soundtrack to summer 2015

Stills, Stephen: Love The One You’re With Is Catchy, but the lyrics are questionable

Stone Temple Pilots: the only band to write a song about goo you smear on yourself

Stray Cats: an obscene amount of merch is available for them

Styx: Supernatural would have ruined them for me too if I hadn’t been into them previously. 

Supertramp: I hunted for Breakfast In America for two years and it was worth every hunt

Sweet: I will never understand my two-month obsession with Ballroom Blitz when I was 15, but it was legit all I listened to

Talking Heads: you may find yourself in a pizza hut. And you may find yourself in a taco bell. And you may find yourself at the combination pizza hut and taco bell. And you may ask yourself; ‘how did I get here?’

Temple Of The Dog: I keep confusing them for Nazareth

Ten Years After: somehow still relevant

Tesla: not the car or the dude

The Beatles: Evokes a lot of opinions from people. Mine is that I love them

The Clash: I showed my sister the ‘Lock The Taskbar’ vine ONCE and it still kills her

The Doors: evokes teenage terror from deep within my soul

The Guess Who: Canada’s answer to confusing question-themed band names

The Kinks: kinky

The Police: wrote the theme of 2020 and everyone somehow forgot it was about a teacher resisting becoming a pedophile

The Ramones: playing all of their songs in a row wouldn’t take more than 2 hours

The Romantics: you don’t think you know them, but if you’ve seen Shrek 2, you have

The Who: If someone can explain Tommy to me, I’d be glad to hear it

The Zombies: I think they happened because of the 60s

Thin Lizzy: Could the boys maybe leave town?

Thorogood, George: blues, but make it modern

Toto: the most memed song behind All Star

Townshend, Pete: just makes me think of the end of Mr. Deeds

T-Rex: Mark Bolan is an icon

Triumph: The no-name brand of Rush

Tubes: like the yogurt

Twisted Sister: they did a christmas album and my mom does NOT hate it

U2: U2 Movers; we move in mysterious ways

Van Halen: RIP Eddie

Van Morrison: honestly, who’s named Van?

Vaughn, Stevie Ray: Steamy Ray Vaughn

Walsh, Joe: The Smoker You Drink The Player You Get

War: Foghat, but even groovier

Whitesnake: the most successful band to be named after a penis

Wright, Gary: the 90s thanks him for writing the song every movie used for the “guy sees cute girl and it’s love at first sight” scene

Yes: To Be Continued

Young, Neil: The best part of CSNY

Zevon, Warren: the album cover of Excitable Boy makes me deeply uncomfortable for reasons I don’t understand

ZZ Top: has been the same three guys since 1969. Lineup unchanged. 

3 Doors Down: They feel a little modern to be on a classic rock station, but whatever

38 Special: Why 38?

[niallloverontheloose]

Come Collect Your Trash, Scott McCall Defense Squad

https://scintalla.tumblr.com/post/650969366685515776/some-tw-positivity

@scintalla:

Okay, I know my previous posts were all focused on negative aspects of Teen Wolf and its fandom (which were all TRUE!) and I don’t regret them but to remind myself why I begun to like the show in the first place, here are some of my favorite things on Teen Wolf. Once again, this is my personal opinion and not an attack on anybody individually.

1) Will I ever stop stanning Scott McCall? Never. He is one of the best male protagonists I’ve EVER seen in a teen show; I said what I said. In an era of Damon Salvatore, Chuck Bass who ruled the tv while their problematic actions were ignored by the fandoms; we got Scott McCall who has zero per cent toxic masculinity in him. He is a bi-racial teen who not only lives with his single mother, but respects her and emulates many of her traits like compassion and a sense of adventure. He starts out as a typical, somewhat immature teen who is thrust in a world he never knew existed and becomes a leader and a true alpha. I’m so glad I got to be part of such a kind, empathetic, heroic character’s journey. Yes, he’s made mistakes, yes he’s not perfect, but in the end he overcomes all of his ordeals, saves everyone and proves exactly why he is THE true alpha. I could go and on about why I love Scott so much, but I think for now it’s enough. (Also, anti-Scott people DO NOT interact with me or try and fill my inbox with your unsolicited opinions, just like I don’t engage with you people. Like if you hate Scott (I can’t genuinely think why), it’s your choice.)

2) Teen Wolf has the most ICONIC comedic lines. I don’t need to elaborate on why everyone loves the show’s humor. Lines like ‘My mom does all the grocery shopping’, ‘You’re not gay. I could be!’, 'You’re the hot girl’, 'I’m worth five dollars?!’ etc.. will always live rent free in every TW fan’s minds.

3) This show is every multishipper’s dream come true. Everyone has chemistry with everyone. Like if I don’t like a ship, it wouldn’t be because the characters didn’t have chemistry. It helps that the cast irl are such great friends.

4) The friendship of Scott McCall and Stiles Stilinski. Ik, season 5 sort of ruined their dynamic and a part of me still dislikes Stiles for his assholish behavior towards Scott (again, I’m not anti Stiles just because I called him out on his jerkish behavior) but still it is one of the best relationships in TW. Their adventures, their bickering, them always sticking together, I loved it all. And obviously, Motel California remains on my all time favorite episodes because of how strong their bond is.

5) The friendship of Scott and Lydia. Okay, I know they’re sort of underrated but I love their dynamic. Like Lydia literally went from 'I don’t know him’ to 'Not all monsters do monstrous things. Like Scott.’ They were both abused by Peter (he non-consensually bit them both, so yes ABUSED!), they both have great character arcs. Bonus, there is never any storyline where Allison (albeit, after confronting Lydia for kissing Scott during full moon, which was fair enough), Kira or even Malia doubt if the scydia friendship is 'anything more’ because their friendship and dynamic in general is just pure and wholesome and you know they’d do anything for each other.

6) Melissa’s iconic 'Be your own anchor’ speech. It is so inspirational and is for every teenager out there. This is for anyone who’s undergone a breakup, have unrequited feelings for someone, or are afraid that they’re going to end up alone. I love this speech and it should be talked about more, dammnit!

7) The music. Enough said.

8) The acting. Tyler Posey, Dylan O'Brien, Crystal Reed, Tyler Hoechlin, Holland Roden, Shelley Hennig, Arden Cho, Dylan Sprayberry,Daniel Sharman, Ian Bohen, etc.. everyone gave their 100 percent to their characters and it totally shows.

9) The ending. It was great, positive and reinforced that it is Scott’s journey, the importance of friendship, everyone’s ship even though not endgame, got some screen time and just perfect, somehow.

10) The agency given to female characters. Like, I’m still sort of pissed of about Kira’s departure, but you gotta hand it to the show for its multi dimensional portrayal of female characters. Almost all of its episodes pass the Bechdel Test, the female characters don’t have to give up their kindness and sweetness in order to be 'strong’ (a.k.a the idea perpetuated by our toxic patriarchal society that 'strong’ people are cold hearted, unkind and it is used to excuse assholes); they’re already badasses and they are assets, rather than burdens to the pack. Each one is unique in their own way and a breath of fresh air from Elena Gilberts (who are defined by their romantic storylines) or Bonnie Bennets (perpetually ignored and mistreated and only there to progress the white men and women’s storylines while her own are put on the backburner). Bonus, there are zero scenes where they 'fight’ or 'compete’ for men. There aren’t any stupid, unnecessary love triangles.

11) The show is addictive. Even if TW has its plot holes and unexplained story lines. It is written so well that you can’t help but binge watch the hell out of this show.

Feel free to add reasons as to why you like the show that I’ve somehow missed.

//

@scintalla Okay, but… what’s the point of posting your delusional anti Stiles pro Scott garbage in the Stiles Stilinski, Derek Hale and Sterek tags? No one gives a shit about your shitty personal fav Scott McCall/Tyler Posey here

[dippedanddripped]

One cannot look back on 2001 R&B/hip-hop without paying homage to the fits, the fits, the fits! Designer monogrammed wigs, bedazzled denim from head to toe, the occasional inexplicable trend (Nelly, looking at you), and, of course, Destiny's Child never leaving the house without three glamorous variations of the same fabric.

"[Hip-hop fashion] was creative and custom," says Derek Lee, former stylist to R&B icon, Aaliyah. "It wasn't driven totally by designers, you could still show up with some street stuff and it'd be acceptable." Lee, who styled the beloved singer from 1996 to 2001, pioneered the "sensual tomboy" aesthetic, central to today's fashion landscape, and evident in the wardrobes of R&B stars like Ciara, Teyana Taylor and Rihanna.

Lee recalled his own customizing experiences, adding glitz to streetwear pieces for the late singer. "We were flying to Paris and I'd be bedazzling Enyce sweatsuits for Aaliyah," he explains. Lee paid homage to fellow stylist June Ambrose for her work with Missy Elliott in further establishing the craze surrounding bedazzled pieces.

Ambrose, who styled over 200 music videos, was Missy's right-hand woman, costume designing for every major Missy Elliott production including "Get Ur Freak On," "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)," "One Minute Man," and "Lose Control." She was a go-to designer for R&B/hip-hop heavyweights including Diddy, Jay-Z, Mary J. Blige and Mariah Carey, and currently works as a creative director for Puma.

"We didn't have a point of reference that came before us," explains Ambrose. "We took the risk for the future." The "Rain" designer discussed the role of late '90s to early '00s designers as trailblazers, bursting through barriers between high-end labels and R&B/hip-hop culture. "I bridged high fashion with urban music," says Ambrose, "What felt so rebellious was taking a high fashion piece, and still keeping the same demeanor and swag that you wore in your neighborhood."

Dionne Alexander, the hairstylist behind Lil Kim's monogrammed wigs and Mary J. Blige's '90s updo's, agrees. "Look how free we are here," Alexander says. "It was very exciting, we were able to be extremely creative and we had to pull it from within. We didn't have Instagram, we had to go out and get magazines.

Tre Major, hairstylist to legendary celebrities including Aaliyah, Mary J. Blige, Patti LaBelle and Naomi Campbell, says the early '00s was "the best" era for fashion and hip-hop. "I was like an architect on the outside," Major explained. "Building the visuals, landscaping and making it gorgeous." Major was responsible for ushering in the lace-front wig into the world of R&B/hip-hop. "[The other stylists] were just geek because they never seen anything like it," says Major. "Now you can find a lace front wig on every corner, every boutique, every website."

On the 20th anniversary of this iconic, enduring year in fashion, Billboard caught up with the architects of the era, June Ambrose, Derek Lee, Tre Major and Dionne Alexander, to discuss some of the most memorable looks in '01 R&B/hip-hop and how these moments shaped the culture for decades to come.

Missy Elliott's Rhinestones, "Get Ur Freak On" Courtesy Photo Missy Elliott "Get Ur Freak On"

Missy Elliott's "Get Ur Freak On" bedazzled denim

In '01, rhinestones were all the craze, and we have June Ambrose to thank. "It was all about making Missy a rock star," says Ambrose. "I got her hooked on rhinestones -- and once that happened, forget about it." The 200-time music video stylist says the glittering look from Missy's Dave Meyers directed video was meant to create a dichotomy between Elvis-like glamour and sportswear. "The jean jacket silhouette was very comfortable and relatable to her, but taking a Bootsy Collins over the top approach is what made it really tangible and special."

Aaliyah's Catsuit, "More Than A Woman" Courtesy Photo Aaliyah "More Than A Woman"

Aaliyah's "More Than A Woman" Chanel catsuit

Aaliyah's Dapper Dan-designed faux Chanel catsuit from the "More Than a Woman" video is one of the late singer's most iconic moments. "I knew that it was going to be a feature, that it would be striking, if it was different from anything she has done before," says Lee. The decision to choose Chanel was a step away from edgier brands like Dolce & Gabbana and Roberto Cavalli, which the sweet singer was typically dressed in. But why not have Chanel design the piece themselves? "[The major brands] didn't want to be associated with rap music and this street culture," explains Lee, "That's why we had to create our own stuff or have it knocked off by [Dapper] Dan." When Aaliyah saw the design, Lee says she was feeling it. "I had decided to move Aaliyah into almost a cartoon character," he tells Billboard. "I was going down to Little Tokyo and getting all these anime books and had this entire idea."

Lil Kim Steve Wood/Shutterstock Lil Kim photographed at the Versace Haute couture show, Spring /Summer 2001 in Paris, France.

Lil Kim's monogrammed wigs

Monogrammed tresses have popped up on the heads of the rap's most iconic first ladies, including Nicki Minaj and Cardi B -- but similar to countless other signature hip-hop trends, it started with Lil Kim as the blueprint, and hairstylist Dionne Alexander the architect. "The inspiration totally comes from [Lil Kim] and who she is," says Alexander, the mastermind behind Lil Kim's Versace wig and equally iconic blue Chanel wig. "It was such a flow of creative energy, like a power that was coming through."

Alexander recalls coloring the Chanel wig Lil Kim wore for Manhattan File Magazine late into the night, until 5:00 in the morning. "I went to the art store and got trace paper and created the logo, then I cut it out." And her secret? Black magic marker. "With the Versace wig," Alexander says, "She called me and left this message on my machine that I literally kept for years. She went nuts, and it was the same with the Chanel."

Alexander says the present-day response to both wigs is surprising. "It's more of a buzz now than it was then. I'm so shocked at how many people call me about it now."

Outkast "So Fresh, So Clean" Courtesy Photo Outkast "So Fresh, So Clean"

Outkast's 'So Fresh' and 'So Clean' looks

The evolution of men's fashion in hip-hop is inextricably linked to the genius duo best known as Outkast. The pair defied longstanding tropes of how rappers were expected to present themselves and sent the media into frequent frenzies, with their delightfully shocking red carpet looks. In the "So Fresh, So Clean" music video, the eccentric Georgian duo rock a myriad of hairstyles, from a sleek, flipped perm, to a combed out, asymmetrical afro.

"That's some Southernplayalistic s--t right there," says Lee, in reference to the pair's '01 look. Alexander says Andre 3000 and Big Boi "revolutionized male confidence" through their unapologetic expression of creativity. Of Andre 3000, Major says, "He took a real gamble and went for it, just being his true artistic self and everyone loved it."

Macy Gray Frank Micelotta/ImageDirect Macy Gray arriving at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center in New York City on Sept. 6, 2001.

Macy Gray's Vocal Dress at the MTV Video Music Awards

It was the dress seen (and read) around the world. Macy Gray, a performer known for her unconventional style and music, decided to transform her award show dress into a walking billboard. "That was totally Macy's idea, I just had to execute it," says Ambrose, the designer of Macy's immortal dress. "Working with Macy Gray was so much fun because she was an anomaly," Ambrose remembers. "In that moment, it was important that she sold albums, and she had she wanted to capitalize on the moment. It's like, where's the return on the investment? I'm getting hair and makeup and spending money on wardrobe. Is it gonna help me sell records? We wanted to just make sure that it did."

Destiny's Child "Survivor" Courtesy Photo Destiny's Child "Survivor"

Destiny's Child's coordinated camo

There are few things more memorable about the late '90s and early '00s than DC3's coordinated looks. Whether it was award shows, music videos or MTV appearances, you caught the trio out and about without perfect coordination. "Tina Knowles strikes again," says Ambrose, of Beyonce's mother and the group's resident designer. "Utilitarian was such a celebration of being tough and dominant," Ambrose explained. "It showed females in military can be sexy, that it's not just a man's game." Major drew comparisons to another always coordinated, ever-influential girl group. "Every time I looked at them, I saw the modern day Supremes," he said. "Everyone wanted to follow the camouflage trend."

Nelly Charles Sykes/Shutterstock Nelly photographed on Sept. 7, 2001.

Nelly's inexplicable face band-aid and double headbands

There are countless rumors circulating the World Wide Web about the explanation behind Nelly's little white Band-Aid and criss-crossed headbands. But regardless of the backstory, Nelly's creative face accessory was all people could talk about. "He created his own thing, like a left-eye kind of moment," says Major, who remembered considering rocking a Band-Aid himself. Ambrose says the bandage symbolized a "thug badge of honor," as iconic to Nelly as eye black is to football players.

Alicia Keys Anthony Barboza/Getty Images Alicia Keys photographed in New York in 2001.

Alicia Keys' beads and cornrows

Before Alicia Keys arrived on the scene, cornrows and beads were seldom seen in mainstream music. Ambrose, who styled Alicia in the early years of her career says the pianist extraordinaire's team always kept her identity in mind. "We wanted to always keep a sense of that New York girl and celebrate all the things that that spoke to her Blackness," says Ambrose. Not only was Alicia's hair aesthetically striking, it also played a roll in representation of Black women's natural tresses. "Universally, it told other young Black girls and it's okay to wear your braids and your beads," explained Ambrose. "That this isn't a Bo Derek moment, this is an African moment."

Mary J. Blige "Family Affair" Courtesy Photo Mary J. Blige "Family Affair"

Mary J. Blige's avant-garde "Family Affair" wigs

It's hard to say what part of the "Family Affair" experience was most unforgettable. Was it the futuristic outfits? Iconic choreographed moves? The fact that Mary basically invented three new words? In the world of fashion, it was most definitely the wigs. Tre Major, Mary's long-time hairstylist, says the chart-topping singer was ever-evolving, setting trend after trend along the way.

"I gave her edge and femininity," says Major. "I named that wig the Marvin Martian," Major says of Mary's salt and pepper avant-garde wig, a nod to the Looney Tunes character. Major says he custom made the wig on the R&B diva, since her head was "so small" compared to the mannequins. "She was the best muse because she was so daring," he explains. "She trusted me."

[ventingbouto]

Going through those funky reveals

I’m not sure why I want to write this, but I wanted to look at those little reveals- you know the little bit at the end when our boy is out of whatever bullshit disguise he’s been in and is shimmy-ing around? Because these scenes are some of the most interesting, tense, memorable scenes in all of the modern era.

So.

The Derek Jacobi reveal sort of takes place around five minutes before the episode ends. I say it like that because that’s when he’s revealed to be The Master, specifically. But we do know before this mark that he’s an evil Time Lord and series three does build up to this reveal.

This regeneration is only (consciously) on screen for about two-and-a-half minutes, but he’s very fondly remembered as being sinister, comparatively calm and quite angry. He improvises his plan, for the most part, but always gives the impression that he knows exactly what he’s doing.

Obviously this doesn’t last, and we get the Simm Master cropping up. He is the one who actually has a conversation with The Doctor and seems to be a lot more energetic than his previous regeneration. The conversation seems spiteful, on The Master’s part, and as if he’s bragging.

At the end of the day (or the episode) The Master holds all the power (aka the TARDIS) and, even to new viewers, this seems like a very not-good thing.

Next…

I wanna talk about Missy. We’ll get back to Simm later.

Now Missy’s appearances are built up throughout series eight and it’s clear she’s planning something. She seems quite elegant, if not a bit eccentric. In Dark Water she has quite a few scenes with The Doctor- kissing him, claiming she’s a droid, obviously not being a droid, mocking The Doctor and the actual reveal scene.

The reveal itself takes place a minute, if not less, before the episode ends and Missy says nothing for the rest of the episode. So why is this so memorable? At least, in my opinion…

The music, the filming and The Doctor’s face are probably all good candidates as to why. Though I personally think the lack of speaking is what makes this scene so great. Missy’s reveal is unique to her; she has spoken quite a bit before the reveal (both in the episode and the ones beforehand) so she purposefully doesn’t. The lack of speech, just letting her words truly sink in and letting the meaning of them- just how much shit The Doctor’s in- really be understood. As nice as a monologue would be, it weirdly suits her.

Shall we get back to Simm?

Oddly enough, he is revealed at about two-and-a-half minutes before the end- though because he was in the trailers, I’m sure many people guessed who he was the second he started talking to Missy. But I digress.

He spends years, more than we even see clips of, in disguise- playing the long game and plotting. We come to really like him, really become attached to the façade he puts on. But the person he loses that façade for? Himself. And no, I’m not talking literal. Around Missy, he doesn’t remotely bother pretending to be nice or funny, he begins his build up to his reveal. It’s obvious he takes great joy in all of this scene.

The unique-ness of this reveal is who it’s to. It’s a reveal to Missy, who seems concerned (if not scared) of her past. His response to her is to say he’s “worried about his future” which, in my opinion, is clearly him trying to upset her more. He’s also quite calm, wanting to appear sinister to himself, and seems to be trying to impress Missy.

It’s very interesting, if not confusing to anyone who hadn’t seen previous episodes. I mean, this has got to be the reveal that makes the least amount of sense to new viewers… Regardless, it’s a very memorable moment.

Onto the new guy!

Now this wasn’t set up, it came right in the first episode of the series which automatically makes it unique. He officially says he’s our man at about four minutes before the end, and he spends most of that time monologuing. He flaunts just how evil (and wonderful) he is, taking in The Doctor’s horror and the companion’s shared confusion.

New viewers can relate to the confusion of Graham, Yaz and Ryan while older fans can feel the shock that The Doctor feels (if not with a bit more excited squealing).

What is so good about this reveal is the fact that O is someone who The Doctor trusts, and even insists that they employ the help of. This isn’t The-Master-without-his-memories or Missy-not-exactly-trying-to-be-quote-on-quote-“friendly”, it’s someone who has been texting The Doctor, has many files, is someone she genuinely likes. It’s playing the long game, but more directly so. It’s classic undercover and classic Master.

Simm went undercover as Razer primarily to hide from the people he fucked over and bring about the rise of the cybermen, The Doctor and co turning up was just a plus. This is well-planned and specifically aimed at The Doctor. And it really fits- mostly because Thirteen is such a warm, friendly, trusting, benefit-of-the-doubt style Doctor. This makes it such a gut punch, to the point where The Doctor doubles over.

Overall, Master reveals are truly iconic. They are usually the greatest scenes from that series, or even that Doctor’s run. They’re the first impression of a brand new regeneration of one of the most memorable characters in TV history. Dhawan is no exception and, if he had never appeared in any other episode (Derek Jacobi style), we would still hold those four minutes of jokes, threats, sinister-ness, mind-blowing-ness, flaunting and monologuing up as a great iteration of this character.

So wow! This was long as anything, but I needed to post it or I would’ve just screamed at my family about it and they’re getting so bored at this point.

[invisible-storyteller]

The most awesome mindfuck is to realize that Derek was raised on songs from the 90s and early 2000s.

Add to this the fact that I headcanon Laura to be around 3 years older than Derek, so when Derek started high school in 2003, Laura was a senior there.

Now imagine Laura driving Derek to school in the morning and then Hey Ya by Outkast comes on the radio and Laura tries to get her baby bro to sing along.

Laura: I can't hear ya! I say, what's cooler than being cool?!

Derek, finally breaking: ICE COLD!

Laura&Derek: Alrightalrightalrightalrightalrightalright...

[sagehaleyofficial]

HERE’S WHAT YOU MISSED THIS WEEK (11.27-12.3.19):

NEW MUSIC:

·         Former Black Veil Brides bassist Ashley Purdy broke his silence on Twitter by announcing he has new music in the works. The musician began teasing the new songs last Tuesday, following it shortly with an Instagram link.

·         A Day to Remember revealed the reasoning behind delay of the release of their seventh record You’re Welcome. Guitarist Kevin Skaff went on to state the reasoning for the album delay, saying they want every aspect of the LP to be just right.

·         Following the release of I Don’t Know How but They Found Me’s Christmas Drag EP earlier this month, “Oh Noel” marks the second offering after “Merry Christmas Everybody.” Just like its jolly predecessor, “Oh Noel” is filmed in purposefully low-res quality. 

·         YouTube icons Rhett & Link, Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal, performed a Christmas collaboration on their show Good Mythical Morning over the weekend. They gave Blink-182’s “All the Small Things” a new meaning with their holiday-themed lyrics.

TOUR ANNOUNCEMENTS:    

·         Hey Monday’s Cassadee Pope held her much-anticipated #HeyItsMonday pop-punk night in Nashville. The night had several appearances from members of Mae, the Bigger Lights, the Audition, Brighten, A Rocket to the Moon, Lit, and the All-American Rejects.

·         Motion City Soundtrack revealed their main support for their upcoming reunion tour, as well as a slew of other opening bands. Currently, the main support consists of The Sidekicks, Mat Kerekes (Citizen), Mom Jeans., White Reaper and Treaty of Paris.

·         YUNGBLUD was set to perform a private concert at Hanford High School in California, but the show has since been canceled due to request. The singer took to Instagram today to ask people not to judge others, and to assure his fans at Hanford High School that he will still be there.

·         Blink-182 performed a new song with the Chainsmokers when the duo invited them onstage at their stop in Los Angeles at The Forum for the World War Joy Tour. The set comes months after the electronic duo revealed on Twitter that both bands were working on a new song together.

·         Following their first show announcement in September, WhoHurtYou took to the stage for the first time last Tuesday in Los Angeles at the Moroccan Lounge. Their live debut was supported by FRND (aka producer Andrew Goldstein).

·         Slam Dunk announced the third wave of artists joining the lineup for next year’s festival, including Movements, Reel Big Fish, Comeback Kid and more. Fit for a King, Deez Nuts, Refused, Young Guns, Free Throw, Mom Jeans. and more also round out the lineup.

·         Gwen Stefani appeared on last week’s episode of The Voice, where she was tearing through three of the big hits off her debut solo record. Stefani kicked off the performance with the intro to “What You Waiting For?” before sliding into “Hollaback Girl” and “Rich Girl.”

·         Derek Sanders and Alex Garcia of Mayday Parade performed some classic hits with former member, Jason Lancaster, at a Defining Moment and Kid Named Chicago charity show. Recently, Lancaster’s band Go Radio announced their reunion and released a new track.

·         Five Finger Death Punch kicked off a new era with the release of a new song “Inside Out.” With the new track comes an epic spring tour with Ice Nine Kills, I Prevail and Papa Roach supporting.

OTHER NEWS:  

·         Twenty One Pilots drummer Josh Dun is approaching one year since proposing to longtime girlfriend and actress, Debby Ryan. One of the drummer’s guests won’t be able to make it, as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson hit him back with some advice on Twitter.

·         Fall Out Boy lead singer Patrick Stump and bassist Pete Wentz will be making an appearance on the popular morning game show The Price is Right on CBS in 2020. Starting in 2019, the show featured a different music genre every day for Music Week with guests leading up the Grammys.

·         Vans threw it back to the days of Volkswagen Buses, flair jeans and 8-track tapes with the all-new tie-dye pattern for their Old Skool and Style 53 slip-on styles. The shoe features re-enforced toecaps, padded collars for flexible support and signature rubber waffle outsoles.

·         My Chemical Romance guitarist Frank Iero is participating in a charity auction to win a signed, smashed guitar that he played at some point in the early to mid-2000s. Donated to the Innocent Lives Foundation, the bidding ends this Saturday night.

·         SWMRS shared new photos and an update on guitarist Max Becker, following the accident back in October. The band account shared a photo of Becker on Instagram, along with the countless get well letters and cards hanging on the wall.

·         Emo Nite LA are dropping a holiday collection of merchandise with a portion of proceeds being donated to the American Society for Suicide Prevention. The new limited-edition line includes a holiday sweater, mug and Christmas ornament with their “Holidays are Emotional” tag.

·         Fall Out Boy fans are in for quite the holiday treat as the band unveiled a limited edition Pete Wentz bass. Featured as part of their holiday merch drop, the bass comes in two epic color options and is limited to 50 units each.

___

Check in next Tuesday for more “Posi Talk with Sage Haley,” only at @sagehaleyofficial!

[onestowatch]

Neon Gold Records Celebrates 10 Years as NYC’s Premier Tastemakers

It’s hard to believe that it’s been 10 years since NYC-based label Neon Gold first came onto the scene, boasting a roster that at one point housed the likes of The Naked and Famous, Passion Pit, Foxes, and more. Formed by MSMR front woman Lizzy Plapinger and close friend Derek Davies in 2008, Neon Gold Records quickly asserted itself as the tastemaker label— whether it be via discovering an artist or signing them. 10 years older and wiser, Neon Gold shows no sign of slowing down; to kick off this new chapter the label held the star-studded Neon Gold X celebration at The Knockdown Center in Queens, NY, that featured performances by artists of all sizes— from the newly signed Your Smith, to pop sensation Marina (formerly Marina & The Diamonds).

Fans quickly filled the transformed warehouse venue after doors were opened at 4pm— while some chose to stake out the main stage for the larger acts, those looking to experience someone new chose instead to first see Your Smith’s performance on the smaller side stage. Your Smith’s set of indie-rock twinged pop was the perfect start to the day, and her bubbly energy on stage was contagious. Fans danced around the stage as Your Smith, accompanied by an all-female band, played tracks from her recently released EP Bad Habit, including “The Spot” and “Debbie.” The set might have been early in the day, but Your Smith made a lasting impression on the evening— showing those who saw that she has more than what it takes to make it big.

Following Your Smith was Pop act St. Lucia on the main stage— performing a stripped back set for the evening. The band, primarily consisting of Jean-Philip Grobler and Patricia Beranek, perfectly transformed their layed sound to a more stripped back setting without losing any of the danceable nature. Performing a mix of hits from their vast discography, St. Lucia worked the crowd into a frenzy by the time they played their mega-hit “Dancing on Glass”— and left them wanting more.

Returning to the side stage, the following two acts were all about giving fans an unforgettable experience. Alex Winston’s set mixed smooth vocals with party-like energy that exemplified the Neon Gold spirit. While Winston impressed on the stage, she had no reservations about joining the crowd in front of her before finishing her set. 

Then there was LPX— the solo project of Neon Gold co-founder herself Lizzy Plapinger. All about energy and a punk rock spirit, Lizzy quickly declared her set was dedicated to icons such as Shirley Manson of Garbage before quickly diving in. Dancing around the stage and getting in fans’ faces, Lizzy’s performance was all punk wrapped in a dynamic pop package. LPX, as an artist, delivers a grittier side of pop currently unseen, and is certainly one to take note of.

Returning to the mainstage, we had Broods really get the party started. Back with a new era, the brother-sister duo now of the Neon Gold Family performed a set sure to please fans new and old. Playing tracks “Bridges” and “Free” alongside their latest track “Peach,” Broods were electrifying on stage with singer Georgia Nott commanding everyone’s undivided attention through a magnetic performance that took over the night. 

Even when label-mate Marina took the stage after them, her devoted fans showed the same intense passion when Nott joined Marina on stage to perform the new track “Emotional Machine,” which Nott co-wrote. The combined force of Broods and Marina stole the show, and ultimately, fans’ hearts. 

After Marina’s comeback performance in which she sang popular tracks such as “Blue” and “Primadonna,” it was time to close out the show with two final acts. 

On the side side stage Matt Maeson gave those who stuck around a heartfelt set based in his sheer talent as both a singer and guitarist. Maeson’s impeccable songwriting and ability to touch a nerve with listeners was reflected by the intense crowd of fans shouting his lyrics and recording his set. Chances are, his set was the one they’d been waiting for all night. 

Finally, closing the MainStage was The Knocks, whose album, New York Narcotic, had just come out the day before. Playing a melody of hits such as their collaboration with Sofi Tukker, “Best Friend” as well as tracks from the album, The Knocks turned the final hour of the event into an insane dance party and laser show for the ages. The Knocks certainly ended the show on a euphoric high note— making for the perfect end to the perfect night celebrating 10 years of great music.

[curmudgeonly-reader]

The Wrecking Crew

The Wrecking Crew: The Inside Story of Rock and Roll's Best-Kept Secret, by Kent Hartman

From the time that the Do-Wop and Brill Building sounds of New York filled most radios through the Beatles and the English Invasion, there was a persistent drive in pop music percolating in the Los Angeles area. Some of this was driven by producers like Phil Spector, others by musicians with a unique California perspective like The Beach Boys and Jan and Dean.

Riding behind this music was a loose group of studio musicians who came to be known as The Wrecking Crew. Many were extremely inventive musicians in their own right, a few who were working toward their own stardom while others preferred the regular lifestyle and salaries that came from recording jobs in the LA area.

These musicians provided their own musical creativity to everything from recordings by Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin to massive productions by Phil Spector and albums like Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys.

This book reads like an oral history of those rich years, sharing stories from recording sessions along with some gossip by many of the people who were there. Some went on to their own careers. Glen Campbell was one, who worked as a studio guitarist on scores of records as well as Leon Russell who had a phenomenal career (and went on to support and nurture artists like Tom Petty) following his Wrecking Crew days.

The stories here give the artists' perspectives on what they brought to the recordings. These were guitarists, bass players, drummers, and keyboard artists who would be expected to create the perfect bit of fill at just the right moment. More than that, they were often the recording studio version of several bands, including the first two albums by The Monkees, mostly actors chosen for their TV personas, and groups as well known as The Byrds, where producers convinced the artists that stage performances could be loose but recordings had to be perfect.

Some of the stories are amazing or horrifying ... or a bit of both. There's the story of the multi-talented Jim Gordon, a long time member of The Wrecking Crew who was hired as the drummer for Derek and the Dominoes. Gordon was already suffering from undiagnosed schizophrenia when he signed on. The group was looking for a way to round out the sound of the song Layla. Between takes Gordon was at the piano playing a piece he'd been working on that the rest of the group was sure would bring the song to a perfect end. So, with Gordon on piano, they recorded the long piano exit for the song. However, given the drug fest the whole band was on they only recorded one album and never toured. Gordon later, in a drugged and/or schizophrenic state, later drove to his mother's house and bludgeoned and stabbed her to death. He still resides in a psychiatric facility in California.

It's an interesting picture of careers rising, stalling, and collapsing over 20 or so years. Some of the stories are interesting, like Frank Sinatra improvising the "doo-be-doo-be-doo" during the second take of Strangers in the Night. Some less-so, like Mama Cass Elliot of the Mamas and the Papas forgetting the lyrics to a song and calling a local music store to dictate the the lyrics over the phone.

It's an atmosphere, in a digital age where any den or garage can become a recording studio, that will probably never happen again. At the time The Wrecking Crew had competition in other regions, such as the studios at Mussel Shoals and Nashville. One of the book's more insightful moments comes when actor Richard Harris used some of the musicians to record MacArthur Park, a song originally rejected by radio stations as too long but eventually received extensive radio play. Hartman notes that this song, in some ways, had the musicians writing their own epitaph. As longer songs began to fill the airways the call for studio musicians began to fade, no longer needed to fill the constant market for three-minute classics.

It's a fun book for anyone raised in that era. Hartman says he still finds out about new recordings backed by Wrecking Crew members through union records of studio sessions. It's also an interesting look at the rise and fall of musical icons from the heart of the rock-and-roll era.

[thereallygoodblogshow]

MA Fashion and Textile Practices Major Project Path - 5th September

Punk and Vivienne Westwood

The punk scene in both the UK and America was of course to continue long after the demise of the Sex Pistols, they were just the catalyst to project the punk sound into the mainstream. In the US bands such as; The Stimulators, Bad Brains - significant for being the first all black punk band, Black Flag - my brothers favourite band, Dead Kennedy’s, Agnostic Front, Minor Threat and more had all drawn inspiration from the like of Iggy Pop and The Stooges, the Ramones and the Sex Pistols and carried punk forward into the future. Bands like Nirvana, Rage Against the Machine and Green Day are bands we know today because they were inspired by those earlier punk pioneers. Billy Joe Armstrong (2010), lead singer of Green Day spoke to Rolling Stone magazine about the Sex Pistols impact on him as a writer:

“The Sex Pistols released just one album … but it punched a huge hole in everything that was bulls*** about rock music, and everything that was going wrong with the world, too, no one else has had that kind of impact with one album. Never Mind the Bollocks is the root of everything that goes on at modern-rock radio. It’s just an amazing thing that no one’s been able to live up to.”

In the UK The Clash and The Damned continued with chart success’s and other bands grew from punks influence such as; Joy Division, Siouxsie and the Banshees - who had been around for some years but were now getting noticed, The Cure, The Fall, Caberet Voltaire and many more. The sound was categorised as alternative and independent music. Johnny Rotten himself was soon to fall foul of Malcolm McLaren who left him stranded in San Francisco without money or a flight home, McLaren was off to forge his own career in pop and to manage other bands such as Adam and the Ants and Bow Wow Wow - both of which were dressed by Vivienne Westwood. Eventually finding his way home to London, Rotten formed his own band called Public Image Ltd, a sarcastic reference to the media machine that McLaren had so desperately pushed the Sex Pistols towards.       

Public Image Ltd [PiL Official, Public Image Ltd]. (2013, Oct 10). Public Image Limited - This Is Not A Love Song (Official Video) [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Az_GCJnXAI0

Malcolm was to go on and achieve relative chart success with songs such as ‘Buffalo Gals’, ‘Double Dutch’ and ‘Madame Butterfly’ which is one of my favourite songs. Growing up in the 80′s I had no idea who Malcolm McLaren was but I liked the songs he produced. His sound had taken influences from hip hop culture and electronic sounds and mixed them together, much like his attitude towards collaboration amongst bands in his punk days. I get the impression from my research that he wasn’t well liked on the punk scene, The Damned lead vocalist Dave Vanian (2019) once described him as “a Fagin type character”, and we all know how Johnny Rotten felt about him before and after the end of the Sex Pistols. He doesn’t come across as overly likable, but you cannot deny his ability to see the potential in people and the way he utilised his instinct for business.      

Malcolm McLaren [Sherry Wallace]. (2012, Dec 22). "madam butterfly" malcolm mclaren [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JN8o8-ZK5s

After the breakup of the Sex Pistols in 1978, Vivienne Westwood had already renamed her and McLaren’s shop SEX on The Kings Road to Seditionaires, and had been selling clothing inspired by fetish and bondage clothing into wearable fashion, utilising zips, pins and straps within her designs. This of course was a huge hit with the punk youth and bands McLaren adorned. In 1980 Vivienne was left disenchanted with the collapse of punk in the UK and renamed the shop Worlds End, as that’s how it must have appeared to be. This name was to be the last incarnation of the shop and is still called Worlds End today.     

Westwood, V. (1977). Anarchist Punk Gang – The 1% ers shirt from Seditionaries,1977. [Clothing]. Retrieved from https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/185218.

In 1981 Westwood and McLaren showed their work for the first time on the major catwalks, this was The Pirate Collection based on a romanticised vision of the pirate. This look was to be seminal in the New Romantic aesthetic, showcased especially by bands such as Visage and Adam and the Ants. Vivienne pioneered her own cutting techniques based on rectangles and taking inspiration from historical cuts. She would make a toile of the garment in smaller scale on a reduced sized dummy, once the fit was correct it was then scaled it up to actual size. Throughout the 80′s Westwood continued to be inspired by different cultures and times, her collection in SS'82 was Buffalo Girls, in AW that year it was Peruvian women, SS’83 was Blade Runner and so on. It was to be what she called her Pagan years. By 1984 her collaboration with Malcolm McLaren had ceased. 

Westwood had been with McLaren since her break up from her first husband Derek in 1965. She already had son Ben, whom she’d had with Derek when they moved into a flat in Clapham. They then went on to have son Joseph together in 1967. Prior to meeting Derek she had been a primary school teacher and had made her own jewellery, which she sold on a stall on Portobello Road. Westwood has said that although he was a driving force behind her, she felt he was controlling. Westwood (2014) said of their meeting; 

“Malcolm chased me, I didn’t want him for my boyfriend. He didn’t look after himself. And I started trying to cook for him a bit and stuff like that. And, well, that’s how it started. The point is, I didn’t want Malcolm at first, but I did, in fact, end up getting pregnant by him, even then, I didn’t really want him."        

Westwood, V. (1977). The Pirate Collection. [Clothing]. Retrieved from https://blog.viviennewestwood.com/the-story-so-far/.

In the late 80′s Westwood’s style changed again, this time her girls were seen sporting fashion which parodied the upper classes. Westwood’s 1987 Harris Tweed collection was inspired by a young ballet dancer she had spotted on the tube wearing her hair up in a plaited bun, ballet shoes in bag and wearing a Harris Tweed jacket. For this collection she used fine wool tweeds and velvet’s -  fabrics that the aristocracy would have used. This air of luxury continued to be a feature throughout most of her collections in the 80′s, her signature corsets becoming pieces to aspire to. Her model muse at the time was Sara Stockbridge who had the perfect look to carry Vivienne’s signature aesthetic. I always remember the cover of I-D magazine Sara was on, she was just so quirky and different compared to other models at the time.    

I-D Magazine, n.d. (1987). Sara Stockbridge 50th Anniversary Issue. [Editorial]. Retrieved from https://www.brennan-and-burch.co.uk/blogs/b-and-b-blog/45795267-sara-stockbridge-iconic-muse-of-an-era.

Ryan, D. (1987). Harris Tweed Collection. [Photograph]. Retrieved from http://worldsendshop.co.uk/lips-print/.

The 90′s decade sees her Anglomania years, Westwood’s take on the connection in fashion between the UK and France. She said (1993) of the collection:

“On the English side we have tailoring and an easy charm, on the French side that solidity of design and proportion that comes from never being satisfied because something can always be done to make it better, more refined.”

She took inspiration from Gainsborough’s paintings, country charm and France’s obsession with English tailoring. And in the winter of that year she went all out for tartan - a look we probably most associate with Westwood’s post punk collections. The collection was created in conjunction with her new husband Andreas Kronthaler. They had met previously in 1988 when Westwood was teaching for Fashion Design at the Vienna School of Applied Art. He moved to London to work for her company in 1989, and their first joint collection was the Cut and Slash collection in SS’1991. They married in 1993 and have been married ever since. Whilst he is essentially a silent partner in her business she has since acknowledged him as a major contributor to her Gold Collection for the last 25 years.    

Westwood, V. (1993). Andreas Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood. [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/fall-1993-ready-to-wear/andreas-kronthaler-for-vivienne-westwood.

From 2000 to present Westwood has concentrated on what she calls her Exploration years. She has been fascinated by the properties of different fabrics and what they can bring to her designs, one has fed the other, she has been treating fabric like a living entity. Since her early days on The Kings Road she has been incredibly successful as a designer. She has 12 Vivienne Westwood stores in the UK and another 63 outlets worldwide, as well as a comprehensive e commerce website. 

Of late Vivienne has become concerned about the sustainability of her fashion business and ‘fast fashion’ within the fashion industry as a whole. Her new mantra is ‘quality not quantity’ and has no qualms about using her name as leverage to get ethical fashion into the mainstream. In 2014 she put a halt on expanding her business further - despite her business in China doing so well - to concentrate on seeing how her own business was effecting the environment and to work hard to ensure that her own standards of sustainability were met. Westwood (2014) said of this decision:

“Do I feel guilty about all the consumption that the fashion world promotes? Well, I can answer that by saying that I am now trying to make my own business more efficient and self-sustaining. This also means trying to make everybody who works in it happy, if I can."     

That same year she launched her ‘Save The Arctic Campaign’ which featured no less than 60 celebrities sporting a specially designed T-Shirt with all proceeds of the sale going towards the charity and climate activists Greenpeace. The campaign featured celebrities such as George Clooney, Chris Martin, Grayson Perry, Kate Moss to name but a few, who were photographed by award-winning celebrity photographer Andy Gotts. Vivienne, along with some of the celebrities traveled the London underground to promote the campaign, and were pictured on the long escalators - lined with the remaining celebrity photographs - which lead up to the main head quarters of Shell Oil.

Gotts, A. (2014). Paloma Faith Save The Arctic. [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://www.viviennewestwood.com/en/westwood-world/save-the-artic-campaign/.

Zimbio, n.d. (2015). Vivienne Westwood, Sadie Frost, Leebo Freeman and Andy Gotts attend the Save The Arctic Collection launch at Waterloo Station on July 13, 2015 in London, England.. [Photograph]. Retrieved from http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Vivienne+Westwood/Andy+Gotts/Save+Arctic+Collection+Launch+Photocall/57Ugwti3R73.

The T-Shirt design featured a heart shaped globe with a flag marking the Arctic region. Vivienne (2014) felt the help of celebrities was beneficial to the campaign:

“Andy is popular with celebrities because he makes it all a pleasant experience. I also really relied on the help of Jerry Hall and Georgia May to do this. Celebrities are often the key to getting a message across, public opinion is very responsive to celebrity.” 

The logo for Save The Arctic was also used to launch her SS’14 Gold Label collection show. The campaign has gone part way in ending Shell Oil’s interest on the area. After three years of constant campaigning by Greenpeace and with the support of over 7 million people, Shell Oil have quit drilling in the Arctic. There is still has a long way to go before the pressure is off this magnificent region, which supports human life and animal life not found anywhere else on Earth. 

Westwood wasn’t content to leave campaign there however, and in 2019 at London fashion week John Sauven, executive director of Greenpeace UK, along with Vivienne herself took to the catwalk to conduct a climate protest catwalk spectacular. London fashion week was the ideal platform for Westwood, already a seasoned fashion aficionado and Greenpeace to push the need for large fashion brands to start taking sustainability and climate change into consideration, before it’s too late. John Sauven referenced Greta Thunberg - the school girl who made a stand against climate change by sitting outside the parliament building in Sweden, but then had the incredible support of 1.5 million school children around the world when on the 15th March came out of their schools in support of her. Sauven (2019) said of her actions:

"Greta is that shy girl sitting at the back of the classroom, she’s not a leader, she doesn’t see herself in that way. She sees herself as a very shy, quiet girl who doesn’t usually say very much. And you think, wow, that’s immense power, and it gives you immense hope. You need all these different types of people to create change. The people that shout the loudest, they maybe aren’t the people you’re going to see coming forward in the next generation.”    

In the last few years Vivienne Westwood has concentrated more on using her fashion and status for campaigning and activism. She has gone on to look at how businesses can reform their policies, looking at climate ecology, looking at the effect of fracking and supporting to anti-fracking campaigns, and giving support to Cool Earth - a charity which helps indigenous communities to halt deforestation. She has her own Climate Revolution website which she fills with information on her campaigning and current fashion related items. She often designs T-Shirt graphics and donates the designs to be used by charities, her latest T-Shirt is for the charity magazine Big Issue. Here Vivienne (2019) explains her reasoning why her new Tao T-Shirt is priced at £120:

Vivienne Westwood [Vivienne Westwood]. (2019, Aug 19). IoU - Cotton and the Fashion Industry [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evSoIaootlE

I totally support Vivienne’s attitude on why we should be paying more for our fashion - paying more and buying less. I had to think about the last time I actually bought something new, most of my purchases are from eBay or charity shops, being poor certainly helps you budget for fashion! I also love her mantra of ‘Buy well, choose well and make it last’, which applies to us as the consumer and also to fashion industry brands who need to look at the materials they are using and the way they are manufacturing their products. £120 is a lot for a T-Shirt but I can see the reasoning behind the price tag, you are paying for a more sustainable product which should have the longevity to be worn for many years, and the skilled workers who are paid fair wages to make it. As well as the proceeds going towards the Big Issue -  a charity which has helped homeless people in the UK for many years.  

The Big Issue, n.d. (2019). Vivienne Westwood's exclusive design just for The Big Issue is available from her store for £120 with all proceeds going to The Big Issue. [Fashion]. Retrieved from https://www.bigissue.com/latest/why-vivienne-westwood-collaborated-with-the-big-issue-on-a-limited-edition-t-shirt/.

The T-Shirt is really nice actually, it’s a call to the younger generation to build their characters, because it’s their characters which shape them as human beings, they are the ones who are going to create the future. I based my practice work on Vivienne’s Climate Revolution T-Shirt because I liked the simple sleeveless shape and raw edges, clearly based around the use of the rectangle that she has used in many of her collections. 

Vivienne Westwood has always used the T-Shirt as the affordable and accessible way of buying her fashion, as with many high fashion designers, it is the one product which enables the consumer to purchase a piece of them. It’s the one product which is wearable by so many, it’s a unisex item which appeals to a broad range of people - and the more the merrier if it’s promoting a good cause.     

https://www.viviennewestwood.com/en/women/clothing/t-shirts/square-t-shirt-climate-revolution-white-nat-white-CLA305AW550168.html?cgid=women-clothing-tshirts#page=1&start=5

Vivienne Westwood became a Dame in 1992 when she received her OBE from Queen Elizabeth II. Always the one to make a statement, she went commando to the awards ceremony and apparently forgot her lack of underwear when twirling in her skirt for the photographers! Making a statement has been a way of life for Vivienne Westwood, from her early designs in her shop Let It Rock and then SEX to showing her support for numerous campaigns as a charity activist - she is the ultimate fashion queen of punk and long may she reign!   

The Big Issue, n.d. (2019). Vivienne Westwood is making a fashion statement with the Big Issue. [Editorial]. Retrieved from http://climaterevolution.co.uk/wp/hero-post/vivienne-westwood-is-making-a-fashion-statement-with-the-big-issue/.

Websites:

Pavarini, M.C. (2014). Vivienne Westwood designs logo for Greenpeace. Retrieved from https://www.sportswear-international.com/news/stories/Vivienne-Westwood-designs-logo-for-Greenpeace-7945.

Thorpe, V. (2014). Vivienne Westwood: climate change, not fashion, is now my priority. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/feb/08/vivienne-westwood-arctic-campaign.

Alexander, E. (2014). Vivienne Westwood 'didn’t want' to have a relationship with Malcolm McLaren: 'I thought that maybe he’d got the wrong idea and it was my fault. Retrieved from https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/vivienne-westwood-didn-t-want-to-have-a-relationship-with-malcolm-mclaren-i-thought-that-maybe-he-d-9746980.html.

Westwood, V. (n.d). The story so far. Retrieved from https://blog.viviennewestwood.com/the-story-so-far/.

Westwood, V. (n.d). Climate Revolution. Retrieved from http://climaterevolution.co.uk/wp/hero-post/vivienne-westwood-is-making-a-fashion-statement-with-the-big-issue/.

Hall, H. (2014). Vivienne Westwood launches star-studded Save the Arctic Campaign. Retrieved from https://www.stylist.co.uk/life/vivienne-westwood-launches-star-studded-save-the-arctic-campaign-featuring-kate-moss-naomi-campbell-and-david-gandy/60901.

Whitehouse, M. (2019). vivienne westwood and greenpeace talk staying angry and finding hope. Retrieved from https://i-d.vice.com/en_uk/article/ywy4gg/vivienne-westwood-greenpeace-john-sauven-climate-crisis.

Whitmore, G. (2013). Vivienne Westwood: Her life and career so far - in pictures. Retrieved from Whitmore, G. (2013). Vivienne Westwood: Her life and career so far - in pictures. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/gallery/2013/nov/30/vivienne-westwood-sexpistols.

Petrusich, A. (2016). Where Punk Rock Begins. Retrieved from https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/where-punk-rock-begins.

Chick, S. (2017). MC5 – 10 of the best. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/aug/17/mc5-10-of-the-best.

Uhelszki, J. (2018). MC5 on ‘Kick Out The Jams’: “We weren’t on a meth power trip… just a power trip”. Retrieved from https://www.uncut.co.uk/features/the-making-of-mc5-s-kick-out-the-jams-33061.

Gibson, C. (2016). What happened in Chicago in 1968, and why is everyone talking about it now?. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2016/07/18/what-happened-in-chicago-in-1968-and-why-is-everyone-talking-about-it-now/?noredirect=on.

BBC News. (2018). 1968 Democratic National Convention: A 'week of hate'. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-45226132.

Ramone, M. (n.d). Marky Ramone. Retrieved from http://www.markyramone.com/biography/.

Rowley, S. (2017). The Damned: an epic tale of fast living and faster music. Retrieved from https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-damned-an-epic-tale-of-fast-living-and-faster-music. 

Phillips, S. (2013). Robert Golden's best photograph: the 1976 Notting Hill carnival riots. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2013/mar/13/robert-golden-best-photograph.

Song Facts. (n.d). White Riot by The Clash. Retrieved from https://www.songfacts.com/facts/the-clash/white-riot. 

Ward, O. (2019). British politics is (Johnny) rotten—no wonder punk music is making a comeback. Retrieved from https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/arts-and-books/british-politics-is-johnny-rotten-no-wonder-punk-music-is-making-a-comeback. 

Lauderdale, B. (2015). A Brief Political History Of The United Kingdom. Retrieved from https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/a-brief-political-history-of-the-united-kingdom/. 

BBC News. (2011). Smashed Hits: Is London Calling the best anthem for a city?. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-14324385.

Welch, J. (2016). Sex Pistols: Anarchy in the UK and the tour they tried to ban. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-38165091. 

Serena, K. (2018). The Short, Tragic Romance Of Sid Vicious And Nancy Spungen. Retrieved from https://allthatsinteresting.com/nancy-spungen.

Alt Press. (2018). WAS THE SEX PISTOLS’ FIRST US TOUR AS DESTRUCTIVE AS REPORTS SAY?. Retrieved from https://www.altpress.com/features/sex_pistols_first_u-s-_tour_destructive_1978/.

Wawzenek, B. (2017). Influence and Infamy: How the Sex Pistols Impacted the Future of Music. Retrieved from https://diffuser.fm/sex-pistols-influence/.

Perry, A. (2018). The end of the Sex Pistols: how punk died 40 years ago today, and John Lydon rose from its ashes. Retrieved from https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/what-to-listen-to/end-sex-pistols-punk-died-40-years-ago-today-john-lydon-rose/. 

Documentaries:

Miller, J.J. , MacDonald, E. , Barbisan, J. , Tabata, S. (Writers) & Miller, J.J. (Director). (2019). Punk: Part 1 [Television series episode]. In D. Murray (Producer), Punk. Canada, North America: Sky Arts. 

Miller, J.J. , MacDonald, E. , Barbisan, J. , Tabata, S. (Writers) & Miller, J.J. (Director). (2019). Punk: Part 2 [Television series episode]. In D. Murray (Producer), Punk. Canada, North America: Sky Arts.

Miller, J.J. , MacDonald, E. , Barbisan, J. , Tabata, S. (Writers) & Miller, J.J. (Director). (2019). Punk: Part 3 [Television series episode]. In D. Murray (Producer), Punk. Canada, North America: Sky Arts.

Miller, J.J. , MacDonald, E. , Barbisan, J. , Tabata, S. (Writers) & Miller, J.J. (Director). (2019). Punk: Part 4 [Television series episode]. In D. Murray (Producer), Punk. Canada, North America: Sky Arts.        

[thefavouritechild]

BEY-ONE-GET-ONCE-FREE

ALBUM COVER WORKSHOP

PROJECT PARTNER: LARRY

RESEARCH POWERPOINT

PRESENTATION POWERPOINT

How do you make a queen more iconic than she already is? You demonstrate that she’s not perfect, and accidentally make everyone think she’s even more perfect by doing so.

The worst thing you can do a student is give them a list of phrases that get their mind racing with the obvious and then tell them they can’t do the obvious - it’s basically torture and a breach of safeguarding. It becomes especially hard when you’re given an artist that’s been around since before Youtube was a thing and you’d watch Destiny’s Child music videos on the TV in your neighbours/best friends living room and ‘bagsie’ outfits that you’d pretend to wear when you adopted famous singer personas and danced on top of an abandoned washing machine in the alley behind your house. She’s been there, done that, and literally got the t-shirt (for sale on her website).

It becomes even harder when her interviews are sparse and in-between because she’s so famous that so many people want to interview her that she doesn’t do it anymore. And then becomes even HARDER when there’s so many perceptions of Beyonce already in the world that a million things come to mind that you could do but none of them are what you SHOULD do because you thought of them before you could even google her name.

Scrounging for information on Beyonce that wasn’t world knowledge was near impossible, so we had to take a different approach - look for the information that’s world knowledge, and then look for the aspect of it she hasn’t put on an album cover yet. This made the task significantly easier due to the fact that her album covers kind of suck (sorry Beyonce) as they’re just her face over and over again, because who needs anything else when even an outline of her nose is so recognisable people will be it thrice over.

Whilst pretty and some really sexy photography, Beyonce’s album covers thus far are nothing particularly outstanding or special - it’s just her, because she sells, but it’s her millions of personas each specially altered for the type of music she’s producing in that instance. So is it really her? This trail of thinking - who IS Beyonce - led us to research into challenging the perception of her unchanging sex appeal, and the impact this notion of her has had on the Queen herself.

Our research led us to a rare interview that she’s had with Vogue following her recent birth of her twins - she talks about the societal pressure she felt to get back into shape, and get rid of her Mum Body immediately post surgery, and the conclusion she’s come to regarding her body. She’s embracing it, even if the results of her pregnancy leave her different to the perception the world has of the amazingly perfectly sexy Beyonce.

Choosing the phrase became a toss-up between two - Everything Must Go, and Buy One Get One Free.

‘Buy One Get One Free’ -

INSIGHT: ‘Buy motherhood, get the body free.’

Highlighting the bodily changes women face when going through pregnancy, and how the choice to have a baby comes with some baggage (literally).

‘Everything Must Go’ -

INSIGHT: ‘Take away the aesthetic, leave us only with the necessary.’

Viewing the body in it’s most natural state and demonstrating what a real body looks like, without the changes society imposes.

To decide between both these ideas, we initially explored imagery pertaining to both, looking at examples of post-partum bodies, be it the excess skin after a natural birth or the scars from C-sections. One reference we used within our research is an instagram mum who photographs herself in her natural mothering environment, not only showing the pretty pregnancy photos and the newborn pictures, but the actual duty of care that goes into raising a child, as well as the toll it takes on her; the painful breastfeeding, the stretchmarks, etc.

This included one particular image of the father caring for the child with the mother in the background sporting a rather fetching nappy, and bringing to light one of the less favourable after-care processes of having a baby - the continued bleeding, and sometimes the really nasty shits.

https://docdro.id/ltHGFfe <-- Research Imagery

Motherhood, tis a beautiful thing.

ARTIST RESEARCH

Before settling on a phrase, we conducted further research, looking at magazines and photographers and artists on instagram to inform the creative direction possibilities - as both our ideas were similar in initial research, we thought that looking at the creative possibilities out there could help us determine which was the most exciting route to take that still retained our insights garnered from our research.

We looked at many artists (which you can see HERE), but Larry referenced this one particular artist who’s aesthetic not only linked to some of Beyonce’s previous work, but also promoted the idea of idealising the human body, with posing and styling that could easily be adapted to extenuate the body of a pregnant or post-partum woman.

The imagery is beautifully edited, shot and styled in a manner that denotes an almost historical oil painting, looking at women as a subject to be studied and carefully crafted. The nudity is also tasteful in how it’s handled, not sexualising, but rather glorifying the body. The historical aesthetic is something we further linked back to our insights about loving the natural body, as the notion of beauty is always shifting, and in a lot of old artwork you see women depicted to be heavier set, with tummy rolls and skin dimples - we saw this imagery as taking us back to an era where what women try to hide now was once what was found to be most beautiful.

The use of lingerie in some of the imagery also still refers to Beyonce’s reputation - she’s still sexy, even as a mother, she’s just essentially now a MILF.

Following the conclusion of our research, we decided to go with ‘Buy One Get One Free’ as our route, as it was the phrase that we could most easily argue our creative proposition for, and justify it the best through our artist imagery and previous research into Beyonce and motherhood.

FURTHER REFERENCE POINTS

When speaking to Steve, he pointed us in the direction of a music video by Jay Z and Beyonce that took place in the Louvre, merging our concept of historical imagery and Beyonce’s beauty into one reference point.

This reminded me Vogue’s video for the Met Gala in 2018, Heavenly Bodies, which was also filmed in an art gallery, capturing the religion inspired attire of the celebrities cast against the imagery from which the designers drew their inspiration, and further providing reference for possible styling for our own outcomes.

MOCKUPS

We used collage to mockup our idea, and create a rough visual to help ourselves understand the direction our photography would go by splicing the reference imagery of pregnancy and post-partum onto the artist imagery that we found to be the focal point of our creative direction.

https://docdro.id/ePr0e5n <--- COLLAGES

These images are intended to be a guideline for the posing and styling of any possible imagery we produce, roughly made as a first visual in our process. However the feedback from Steve and Derek was that the imagery is rather garish and grotesque, so when mocked up in Photoshop it shouldn’t be as jagged, and should be handled more delicately to really encapsulate the idea of beautifying these traits.

LARRY’S COVER

Larry took charge of the album cover, getting the all clear from Steve to feature Beyonce despite the initial rules of the brief. Larry’s cover attempted to merge Beyonce during her pregnancy with the oil painting-esque background of the reference imagery.

Though no typography has been implemented yet, the decision was collaboratively made to use a modern font as opposed to an in-era font to provide contrast between the historical referencing and the modern age the imagery was produced in - by using a modern font, you are bringing history to the present, and bringing back the beauty standards that were lost. This isn’t in the past, it’s the future, it’s the now, and the typography would be used to demonstrate this.

DEVELOPMENT OF COVER

Following our feedback from our formative assessment, me and Larry both worked on addition covers for this project. 

We worked on these individually - here is my two initial mockups, the latter one I went on to develop. The text was ugly, to be blunt, and read like the memed door from The Walking Dead of ‘Don’t Dead Open Inside’, instead of ‘Don’t Open, Dead Inside’. The fix this, I reorganised the lettering as shown below:

I then altered the placement of the text so it more closely aligned with the edges of the album.

Following these adjustments, I pictures the album cover in situ by editing it onto a sleeve:

Larry also independently developed a new cover of his own: