#I watched velvet goldmine? I remember wanting to I think but I don’t remember a god damn second of the movie

[autopsytableromance]

Found my list of movies I’ve watched this year bc I moved phones so I’m trying to update it and I’m really glad I did (although I wish I had done it sooner so I don’t have to try to remember or like. Find references to every movie I watched between march and September) bc I don’t remember watching a lot of these movies.

[stylecouncil]

any biopics you’d recommend?

I still think Love and Mercy was really good and a great example of focusing on a particular aspect of a persons life / a specific time (or in this case alternating between two)! also an example of doing a music biopic and still making it worth while as a film and not totally about spectacle / soundtrack (although if we’re being honest that can be fun too in certain doses/context! I already talked about how I think the elvis movie was fun even if it was a hot mess, i’m human lol. also in this zone, say what you will about rocketman but I still think it was done fairly well and kind of gets an unfair rap for helping start the recent music biopic avalanche). I have somewhat mixed feelings about Control (2007) myself but it’s an interesting watch that feels like a movie not just a blockbuster if that makes sense? Walk the Line, also very good! 24 Hour Party People is fun and a little different than your usual approach. Coal Miners Daughter! Funny Girl!

Also oh my god Amadeus! I almost forgot about it. and Litsztomania ! (also two films where it’s like…a good story / presentation matters so much more than strict adherence to every fact with biopics because like you’re never gonna be able to achieve that)

and in the realm of general biopics, I mean Lynch’s The Elephant Man is always a classic / good example of what I mean about vision! and I mean onto my point about a lot of great films being biopics, goodfellas, raging bull etc etc are all technically biopics (based on memoirs) even if that’s not always the first throught / genre distinction that comes to mind. I also love I, Tonya… I don’t have concrete reasoning I just think it’s a fun watch and well done. I know maybe some think it was approached too lightly probably and there are some things that could have been done better, but I personally really enjoyed Pride (2014). Fruitvale Station also technically falls into the biographical film category and I’ve only watched it once but I remember thinking it was fantastic. some others that I liked to varying degrees: Mishima: A Life In Four Chapters, Serpico, In the Name of the Father, The Favourite, Chaplin, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, 12 Years a Slave…and do I even need to bring up The Social Network on this site? also death 2 woody allen and it hardly counts but I still think Midnight in Paris was a fun approach to showing a snapshot of a few real peoples lives in a very particular moment in time through a very fictional lens….could have been done better but I like the concept

(also Persepolis is great and I always end up forgetting about it because it’s animated)

also lmao it barely counts but in the realm of imaginative takes on the biopic format of course velvet goldmine (also on this topic, I’m literally one of the only stardust defenders that exists, but I think if you’re bored of big loud flashy biopics and like a more slow paced road-trip / character study, it’s honestly worth a watch for the parts that are well-done) is one of my favorite films of all time, here’s some good stuff from an article (although I don’t agree with the article in full necessarily) about its biopic-ness that I think is a good addition to this:

(X)

it’s like, I think my point about biopics is that it’s more about having a view point on your subject / something to SAY about your subject etc.

you didn’t ask for that digression but it was on my mind lol

I’m sure there are SO MANY more I’m missing, wasn’t sure if I wanted to put them (like for example I think Wilde is pretty good as well, but I watched it when I was like 12?? for the first time so it might be nostalgia googles / a heavy interest in the subject. I also have such a soft spot for made for tv boy george biopic Worried About the Boy because I think there are some like genuinely great scenes in it and it actually presents the main subject?? a lot more fully / is a better character study imo than some much bigger budget things, I don’t know maybe that’s a weird one, I just think it’s good!) but! those are a few

[i-watch-too-many-movies]

5 Favorite First Viewings of July 2021

Quick note: Hi everyone, I'm back, things have honestly been getting better for me, and I'm glad to be on this site full of cinephiles, people that are too horny, and cinephiles that are too horny. I'll be more active on here. But anyway, let's talk about some movies.

Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970) (dir. Russ Meyer)

CW: Abortion mention

What a picture. What a gorgeous, sexy, horrifying slice of what Hollywood and star life can do to a bunch of bright-eyed young people looking for success. Also is a critique of how macho nature can ruin friendships and romantic relationships with total ease. I was obsessed with the scene transitions, like Pet pouring pancake mix onto a plate after the abortion scene, or Kelly singing after someone screams before their murder in the opening scene.

Great, campy flick with exceptional music too.

Deep Cover (1992) (dir. Bill Duke)

Laurence Fishburne plays Russell Stevens, a Cincinnati police officer who hopes to do well by the community, to make a difference. He’s traumatized by the death of his substance-abusing father, and wants to make sure that he can help the people of his own town. He goes undercover on assignment as a drug dealer, where his boss orders him to take down the kingpin. Stevens realizes the police’s own failings while on assignment. The racist abuse he takes from Agent Carver, and the realization that the police department is protecting drug kingpins like Gallegos and Barbossa. Giving drugs to Black kids and Latinx kids so there will be less of them. The cops are no different than the drug kingpins looking to make filthy amounts of money.

Fishburne’s performance is excellent, as Stevens feels he has to maintain a stone face so he doesn’t get caught by Jason or Barbossa or any of his cronies, but also he maintains a stone face to try and hide his emotion, his trauma. But when he gets pissed, Fishburne acts it beautifully, as is when he has to deliver a funny quip to counter Jason’s douchebaggery. And the production design, holy fuck, the sets and the lighting.

A perfect neo-noir for the HW Bush years, arguably one of the most timeless commentaries on the era, as well as the police as a whole.

Fast Five (2011) (dir. Justin Lin)

I was torn between including this or Furious 7, but I ultimately went with Fast Five because it felt like an important turning point in the series, it's a great heist film, and it reached the same chaotic highs and genuinely excellent filmmaking that I had been waiting for since 2 Fast and Tokyo Drift.

Fast Five opens where Fast & 4ious left off. Dom is hauled away to prison on a bus. Mia and Brian drive in their high-tech cars and knock the bus over, helping Dom escape. The title drops. Fast Five. It’s such an intense yet short action scene, and dropping the title immediately after it lets the viewer know that this movie is not fucking around. It’s arguably gonna be more intense and insane than the previous one.

And it is. The filmmakers made the decision to use a lot more practical stunt work for the film, and as a result, it leads to, so far, the best action in the entire series, since 2 Fast and Tokyo Drift. It’s not just how it’s shot or edited, it’s the geography of the locations, the rooftop chase echoes the rooftop chase of Jackie Chan’s masterwork Police Story, particularly the way each character bounces from top to top.

And of course, there’s the silliest moment in the movie, the one that matches the intensity and kineticism of a film like 2 Fast, which is driving the Reyes’ bank vault throughout the street, getting chased by corrupt cops.

I know we make fun of Vin Diesel for saying “family” all the time in these films, but there’s a reason we remember him saying all of these impassioned monologues. Because he’s unbelievably sincere, and has so much love in his heart for every single person in the room. Anytime he delivers a speech to any of them, it’s genuinely heartwarming.

This is the film that finally shows La Familia in their best environment, which is working together, in a movie genre that allows them to work together, which is a heist film. And a great one at that.

Last Days (2005) (dir. Gus Van Sant)

CW: Mention of suicide

Several films have been made about legendary rock artist Kurt Cobain, and for good reason. He is one of the most tragic figures in rock and roll. A tortured genius who has written and performed classic song after classic song with his band Nirvana. He was called the voice of a generation, and helped change the face of mainstream alternative rock music as we know it. But with that fame, and all of those expectations came a worsening depression and further drug abuse, and his eventual death. But most of the films about Kurt Cobain ask one question which gets under my skin way too much:

“Who REEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLY killed Kurt Cobain?”

It was him. He did. And it’s okay, I’m sad too. Thinking that Kurt Cobain was murdered is completely ignoring the depression that he faced. And despite Last Days being more inspired by the death of Cobain rather than actually about it, it feels much more honest than the conspiracy documentaries on his death, wanting to leech off of his dead body.

This is the last installment of Gus Van Sant’s “Death Trilogy”, the previous two installments being Gerry (2001), and Elephant (2003). While I have not seen Gerry, I have seen Elephant though, and love that film for its minimalist, raw nature, and its boldness for not romanticizing the school shooter or the lives they had taken. Last Days falls into that trap once, as I don’t agree with the shot of Blake’s soul climbing up a ladder, that always struck me as cheesy in a film that is anything but.

Last Days is similar to Elephant in terms of the way it is filmed. Its usage of long takes, and still shots of characters doing various things, such as Blake playing his guitar behind a drum set. The way these moments are shot is similar to a Chantal Akerman film, particularly Jeanne Dielman. Where the acts of the mundane are the stars of the film. Blake wanders around an empty house, and the viewer can feel the pain, not just through Michael Pitt’s acting, but from the house itself. Its decay, its paint peeling from the walls, from the soft glow of the lamp that lights his face.

I say this is the most honest film about Kurt Cobain, because, despite the characters technically being fictional (the main character who looks, walks, and acts like Cobain is named Blake), this film focuses on the mental state of a person before they eventually take their own life. They’re still working, still making music, still trying to talk to friends and bandmates, but the depression lingers on. Not once does this film try to make you believe that someone else killed him, because you can see the signs of his own suicide taking place just through the film’s excellent cinematography by Harris Savides, showing his mental state only growing worse through the production design.

And it’s empathetic with him. There’s no judgement for leaving rehab, there’s no finger-wagging at him or the people he was with, there’s just a silent prayer at the end of the film, hoping that he is in a better place than he was.

Sometimes you don’t need to show every event that led you to where you are, all you can show is the moment, which also makes this better than most biopics as well, as it never feels messy or muddled, just showing one moment of Blake/Kurt’s life.

I really loved this film, and I’ll be writing about it in full soon.

The Village (2004) (dir. M. Night Shyamalan)

The Cracked.com/Channel Awesome audience stuck in 2012 will tell you that this was the beginning of the end for Shyamalan. That this was when people stopped taking him seriously, that this was when he became more of a punchline because of his twist endings.

But why?

The Village was released in 2004, deep in the Bush administration, during the early stages of the Iraq War. The leaders of the time were talking about imaginary boogeymen, terrorists that would attack the civilians if they could. Because of 9/11, politicians could get away with these false ideas with the majority of Americans fully believing them. The boogeymen in The Village are “The People We Don’t Speak Of”, monsters attracted by the color red. Yet we find out that they are all costumes made by the Elders of the land, designed to prevent people from going outside the land. They rule by fear disguised as love. They’ve gone through their own traumas through the deaths of their family members, but they’ve decided to completely abandon the lives that they’ve had and have their children living lies.

9/11 impacted American life by teaching citizens to live primarily by fear, to not trust anyone but their own people. And yet, post-9/11, all that increased was not “coming together”, but hate crimes against South Asian people. The rage white Americans had felt led to conservative politicians pushing fear-mongering agendas, and said white Americans blindly accepted. The outside world was progressing, but too many people were fine with living with further conservative politics only regressing American life further and further back, all for the illusion of safety. Meanwhile, the only threats to them were not the brown citizens outside of America they were so afraid of, but the white elders, the white politicians.

The Village explores these fears so eloquently, all while having a terrifying atmosphere, an enchanting score, and brilliant sound design. I enjoyed this movie very much.

Other viewings I enjoyed:

Beavis and Butt-Head Do America (1996) (dir. Mike Judge) (re-watch)

Blow Out (1981) (dir. Brian de Palma) (re-watch)

Clueless (1995) (dir. Amy Heckerling) (re-watch)

Furious 7 (2015) (dir. James Wan)

The Long Goodbye (1973) (dir. Robert Altman)

Lupin III: The First (2019) (dir. Takashi Yamazaki)

Unbreakable (2000) (dir. M. Night Shyamalan) (re-watch)

Velvet Goldmine (1998) (dir. Todd Haynes)

The Visit (2015) (dir. M. Night Shyamalan)

[hackedmotionsensors]

Movie Meme

No one tagged me but I love talkin movies!! Even though I remember maybe 1/3rd of the movies I’ve watched. I probably won’t even have actual favorites just favorites I remember at the time.

Favorite movie: Impossible to decide. At the moment Thor: Ragnarok or What We Do in the Shadows 

Movie that makes you remember your childhood: Rock-a-Doodle or The Little Mermaid maybe

Favorite Tom Hanks movie: A League of Their Own

Movie that makes you cry: APPARENTLY GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY 2. But I cry fairly easily lately?? I don’t like the Pixar cry because its a moment they’re aiming for rather than an organic moment that overwhelms my emotions. But Yondu’s funeral fucking gets me everytime.

Favorite 80s movie: I LOVE 80s MOVIES???? I HAVE NO IDEA WHICH ONE TO PICK. Probably American Werewolf in London or Back to the Future.

Favorite comedy: Another one impossible to narrow down since Comedy movies are my wheelhouse. What We Do in the Shadows, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, The Nice Guys, Clue, Trading Spaces, Coming to America, Due Date, Ragnarok. To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything. The Birdcage. Too many!! 

Favorite sports movie: A League of Their Own lmfao

Favorite courtroom movie: Liar Liar . I liked the Devil’s Advocate when I was younger but I really only remember the animated Gates to Hell so I don’t remember much more.

Favorite war movie: 300. No one said it had to be ww2

Favorite animated movie: Into the Spider-verse. Mulan. Hercules. Vampire Hunter D. I’d name a Ghibli movie but frankly I don’t watch them very often. Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Favorite horror movie: The Shining and American Werewolf in London. I also really like The Omen. I H A T E slasher films(i don’t really consider them horror) so they’re never my favorites but I love the story behind Jason and what they wanted to do with Jason?? So honorable mention for Friday the 13th (which isn’t actually jason but yknow). 

Favorite gangster movie: Casino!!!!!!!! It has so much of Las Vegas’s actual history in it including Mayor Oscar Goodman playing his younger self as a Lawyer (Mayor Oscar Goodman’s wife is the current mayor and was the lady who was like WE SHOULD OPEN UP CASINOS. ITS NOT MY JOB TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO IT THO LOL) Also Carlito’s Way but mostly because I loved saying Benny Blanco from the Bronx. Does Sukiyaki Western Django count?? lol

Most overrated movie: The Hangover. I think its dumb. And not funny dumb. 

Movie with the best soundtrack: Velvet Goldmine, A Life Less Ordinary, Moulin Rouge, Black Panther, Knives Out, honestly??? The star wars compilation is a really good soundtrack to work to.

Movie you can watch over and over: You throw a popcorn movie at me and I can watch it a ton of times. But usually while doing other stuff. So the entire MCU (yes even the bad ones) are really good to watch over and over. Star Wars is the same way.

Most embarrassing movie you love: PROBABLY SOAPDISH lol Or Back to School lmfao. or Suicide Squad. I also love terrible movies lmfao CATS 2019 I HONESTLY HAD A HILARIOUS TIME???

Favorite Christmas movie: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Iron Man 3

Favorite sequel: Batman Returns. I don’t even CAAREE! COME FIGHT MEEE I LOVE CATWOMANNNN

[sitnorelle]

20 Facts for 2020 i was tagged by @juhele, thanks!<3

1. Do you make your bed?

i used to do that before, now i don’t..

2. Favourite number?

25, i guess

3. What’s your job?

i’m currently looking for a job but i’d love to do some translation

4. If I could would I go back to school?

no. definitely not high school, that one was hell

5. Can you parallel park?

i can’t even drive

6. A job people would be surprised I had

no idea, probably smth super straight and serious? my hair’s pink so ppl could assume i can’t do serious? but every time i tell ppl i write they’re surprised

7. Do you think aliens are real?

i mean.. the universe is fucking giant, there must be some life in there

8. Can you drive a standard car?

nope

9. What’s your guilty pleasure?

i don’t feel guilty about much, but probably the fact that i sometimes get lost on tiktok? like i downloaded it because of adore but she posted 2 vids then disappeared and now i keep it to watch plastique, trixie and venus, but sometimes i get lost in other stuff

10. Tattoos

i don’t have any but i really want a tattoo of medusa 

11. Favourite colour?

black and purple.. or like rainbow

12. Things people do that drive you crazy

uhh.. probably when they yell, it makes me feel really overwhelmed..

13. Any phobias?

i don’t really like spiders.. and idk if this is a phobia, but i get really uncomfortable when i’m not in control of stuff, like if i go somewhere w friends i need to know exactly when our trains or buses leave, otherwise i can’t focus cause then i always worry if we can make it on time

14. Favourite childhood sport?

uhh.. i never really like any sports i think

15. Do you talk to yourself?

in my head all the time, out loud not that often

16. What movie do you adore?

pride (2014) and velvet goldmine (1998)

17. Do you like doing puzzles?

i do actually

18. Favourite type of music

drag music.. is that a type of music? or rock mostly

19. Tea or coffee?

tea, i don’t drink coffee

20. The first thing you remember you wanted to be when you grew up?

i wanted to be a police officer and everyone in my family told me i couldn’t if cried every time i got hurt.. which is like kinda messed up when you realize most kids cry when they get hurt..

-- idk many ppl here but if you wanna do this: @thegayestbi @whcksstuff

[msbiddles]

The rest I can do without: 18 months with The 1975 

The first show is in Glasgow, the day after I break up with my boyfriend. After I Like It When You Sleep… is released I find myself spending more time with The 1975 than I do with him. The record feels like a reflection, but also like a catalyst for a huge change that I can’t identify yet. It shows me myself and I’m scared and embarrassed but I’m ready to go where it takes me.

I down three vodka tonics at the venue bar and push to the front, and the rectangle lights glow and the band come on and I see Matty and it’s like seeing myself, and he’s telling me – I’m telling me – that something inside me is moving and rearranging. ‘If I’m lost, then how can I find myself?’ I feel like every bit of me has suddenly become temporary.

As soon as the show is over I go home, drink most of a bottle of wine, and book tickets to see The 1975 in Amsterdam, the soonest show in a city that’s easily accessible and isn’t sold out. I’m not alone in Amsterdam – I go to the show with three friends and it feels good to be sharing this thing I’m feeling. I can’t articulate the brand new emptiness inside me so I hope they understand that when Matty sings ‘Somebody Else’, it’s actually me explaining myself to them.

After the show in Amsterdam I get a phone call telling me I have to leave my rented flat in four weeks. I’m on a train somewhere in Holland, and the wristband from last night’s show is still hanging off my arm. Two weeks after that I get a phone call telling me that my grandfather is dead. I listen to a playlist of instrumental 1975 songs on repeat on the train to his funeral, not wanting to hear words but wanting to feel a presence. “These things always come in threes,” a friend of my mother’s says, like everyone else is able to handle this better. A few days later I buy a ticket to see The 1975 at a London festival in July because I can’t handle the blank space in front of me, or the increasingly blank space where my sense of self used to be.

I spend the next few months checking Matty’s tagged photos on Instagram more often than I text my friends. Where I used to have plans and emotions and personality, I now have an ever-updating list of where they’re playing, which city he’s in, places in America that I’ve never even heard of. I stare at grainy front-camera fan photographs trying to locate something visceral in myself.

After a summer that I can barely remember, I see The 1975 play with a philharmonic orchestra at the Blackpool Tower Ballroom at the end of September. When they play ‘A Change of Heart’ their lightshow turns the golden interior pink and teal, and my sequin dress send bursts of light onto the ceiling above me. I’m with my friend Miriam and we both cry a couple of times, holding each other tight during ‘Please Be Naked’. We spend the next day in amusement arcades and on ferris wheels and I don’t check Matty’s instagram once. I feel like I’m playing out my own life for the first time in months. I feel less alone, in a certain way. I get the rectangle from their lightshow and their album cover tattooed on my arm as a reminder.

I book a week off work and go to four shows on their December arena tour. It feels different to be immersed in the show when I feel closer to a whole person. Matty is triumphant and put-together on stage and I want him to see me and know that I am, too, sort of. I go home for a night between the Newcastle and Glasgow shows and watch Velvet Goldmine on my clunky early 00s television. “That’s me that is!” exclaims Christian Bale’s character when he sees Brian Slade on stage. It’s always been my favourite part.

Sometime after the December tour Matty announces that he’s in love onstage and my chest feels empty, but it’s not jealousy, it’s something like betrayal. We were supposed to be in this together, fuck that get money, right? I download Tinder for half a day, like that’s going to help.

I get better, then worse again. I’m still adjusting to my new medication when I see The 1975 in Belfast in June, then again at a couple of shows in Germany a week later. In between the shows I have an appointment with my new psychiatric nurse who asks me what I like to do in my spare time. I look down at my chipped pink nails in the airless magnolia-painted room and tell him I like watching bands. He thinks it’s a good sign that despite everything I can still manage to get out and do things that I enjoy. ‘Enjoy’ feels like such a small word, but I don’t tell him that.

At the show in Munich I become aware of something I’ve felt every time. It comes during ‘Sex’ in the breakdown before the final verse, when the lights start strobing and everyone around me is jumping, shoving, screaming, but I stay still, the only still person in the pit. I’ve felt particularly at home in this moment for the last 18 months and I understand why now: It’s the feeling of continuing when it’s impossible to continue. The muscle memory of that moment when I realise I have to stand up, be present, even though everything around me tells me I should be breaking down. I have no choice because I’m alone. Nobody is going to hold me up. I have to be upright and still in the face of everything.

I feel it again two weeks later, on the last date of tour, but even more so with the rain plastering my hair to my forehead in a festival field. The finality doesn’t hit me at the show but it does half an hour later when I’m walking home through an empty car park, listening to ‘Medicine’ as even more rain soaks through my denim jacket to my shirt and my skin. I feel it then, when I’m alone with nobody to help me. Matty’s left the stage. I have to be the protagonist now.

[2weeksfromnow]

long ass questions tag

tagged by @fightmelight <3 love you~ 

Rules: Answer these 92 statements and tag 10 people! If there are questions that are too personal or you don’t want to answer, skip them or make a new one :^)

tagging: @nitrochlorobenzene @ask-the-wammy-twerps @long-tanned-and-handsome @milkbready @sybilius and whoever else wants to i’m too tired 

THE LAST (1-5)

* Drink: water

* Phonecall: my mother

* Text: ‘i think you have the dog’s lead in your car’

* Song you listened to: 'there are worse things i could do’ by stockard channing <3

* Time you cried: a few hours ago

HAVE YOU (6-11)

* Dated someone twice: no

* Kissed someone and regretted it: uhh i think so

* Been cheated on: doubt it

* Lost someone special: depends what you mean by ‘lost’

* Been depressed: past tense?

* Gotten drunk and thrown up: no

LIST THREE FAVOURITE COLOURS (12-14)

* fuck

* this question 

* i like every colour fight me

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU (15-21)

* Made new friends: yep!!

* Fallen out of love: nah

* Laughed until you cried: yep

* Found out someone was talking about you: no??

* Found out who your friends are: um

* Kissed someone on your facebook list: no

GENERAL (22-34)

* How many of your facebook friends do you know in real life: most of them

* Do you have any pets: one dog!

* Do you want to change your name: legal name yeah probably, i feel totally disociated from it now but changing your name legally is a long process taht i’m not even sure is worth doing fr myself

* What did you do for your last birthday: went to london for three days

* What were you doing at midnight last night: trying to draw and failing very much, as well as chatting on LLP.

* When was the last time you saw your mom: this evening

* What’s one thing you wish you could change in your life: just the one? lol skip

* What are you listening to right now: computr noises, outside noises, my dog snoring

* Have you ever talked to a person named Tom: yeah

* Most visited website: tumblr, youtube or discord

LOST QUESTIONS (35-64)

* Moles: a few, including a sideboob one lol. also i’m not sure if it’s a freckle or a mole but i’ve got this monroe thing that’s been there for as long as i can remember

* Marks: i have a weird discolouration on my knee from cutting it does that count

* Childhood dream: i don’t remember

* Hair colour: brown

* Long hair or short hair: short but i’d like to grow it out

* Do you have a crush on someone: nope.

* What do you like about yourself: nothing i like that i’m decent at drawing, and that i have an okay sense of humour i think maybe

* Piercings: used to have my lobes done but they closed up. kind of want more but the effort of taking care of them lmao

* Blood type: idk

* Nickname: don’t think i have any that’ve stuck

* Relationship status: single

* Zodiac sign: scorpio

* Pronouns: she/her

* Favourite tv show: uh i don’t have a favourite but the one i’m most actively watching rn is game of thrones. also MPGIS if you want to count that

* Tattoos: no

* Right or left hand: right

* Surgery: none

* Hair dyed a different colour: it’s been pink, red, purple, blonde, peachy, and blueish. i want to do more tho

Sport: i used to play hockey and ballet but don’t naymore

Vacation: have i ever been on one? yes

MORE GENERAL (57-73)

* Eating: no thanks last thing i ate was lasagna

* Drinking: that good water

* I’m about to: either sleep or try to draw we’ll see lol

* Waiting for: myself to get my shit together

* Want: too much

* Get married: uhh

* Career: fuck 

WHICH IS BETTER (65-73)

* Hug or kisses: both are good but i feel like hugs can be nicer

* Lips or eyes: ???

* Shorter or taller: i’m guessing this is in relation to preferences in people you date? i like taller but i also like people who are close enough to me in height

* Older or younger: older. 90% of my friends are older than me lmao

* Nice arms or nice stomach: the hell is this

* Hook up or relationship: bye

* Troublemaker or hesitant: both in moderation

HAVE YOU EVER (74-82)

* Kissed a stranger: yeah, ish

* Drank hard liquor: no

* Lost glasses/contact lenses: these things are on my fae all the time unfortunately so no

* Turned someone down: yeah

* Sex on the first date: lol

* Broken someone’s heart: possibly?

* Had your heart broken: mm yeah

* Been arrested: no

* Cried when someone died: yes

DO YOU BELIEVE (84-89)

* Yourself: ehngh

* Miracles: uhh proabbaly not

* Love at first sight: nah. superficial attraction yeah

* Santa Claus: no

* Kiss on the first date: yes please

* Angels: i like the mythlogy and art surrounding them but no

OTHER (90-92)

* Favourite thing to do when you’re bored: listen to music

* Do you wear socks to bed: no

* Favourite movies: velvet goldmine maybe

[ahsoaka]

🌻rules: once you have been tagged, you are supposed to write 92 truths about yourself. At the end, choose 25 people to tag.

my babe @obiwanenobi tagged me in this ! thanks jordan!!!

🌻 I’M TAGGING…

i’m not sure if any of you have already been tagged so i apologize ! 

@bodhirookes @thatonejedi @galacticdroid @forcebodhis @geocachingunicorn

and also, you’re not obligated to do this at all !

answers under the cut :^)

🌻LAST…

[1] drink: water for once

[2] phone call: jo aka @bodhirookes

[3] text message: “sounds good to me”

[4] song you listened to: no clue tbh

[5] time you cried: yesterday when i cried tHREE TIMES DURING MOONLIGHT

🌻 HAVE YOU EVER…

[6] dated someone twice: no

[7] been cheated on: nope

[8] kissed someone and regretted it: yes, both of the only two people i’ve ever kissed if that makes any sense

[9] lost someone special: no

[10] been depressed: yea...unfortunately

[11] gotten drunk and thrown up: no, but man did i come close once

🌻 LIST 3 FAVOURITE COLORS…

[12] forest green

[13] rust

[14] mustard

🌻 IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU…

[15] made new friends: some keepers, for sure

[16] fallen out of love: nope

[17] laughed until you cried: definitely

[18] found out someone was talking about you: yea, but for good reasons

[19] met someone who changed you: yes, in a weird sort of self-discovery way

[20] found out who your true friends are: not really, i mean i kinda knew already

[21] kissed someone on your Facebook list: no

🌻 GENERAL…

[22] how many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: maybe 90%

[23] do you have any pets: yee, my cats murray and avery

[24] do you want to change your name: a lil, but i won’t

[25] what did you do for your last birthday: watched velvet goldmine and long way round, and danced to careless whisper with my cardboard cutout of anakin (wild right? this year -- saturday actually -- i think i’m drinking)

[26] what time did you wake up: like 11:30

[27] what were you doing at midnight last night: fucking around on tumblr and texting some friends

[28] name something you cannot wait for: a relationship

[29] when was the last time you saw your mother: last night as she was heading to bed

[30] what is one thing you wish you could change about your life: that i wouldn’t procrastinate so much

[31] what are you listening to right now: i just got back into the greatness of ‘death of a bachelor’ so

[32] have you ever talked to a person named Tom: yea, i used to “““date””” one in middle school

[33] something that is getting on your nerves: just my mom not letting me have my quiet time

[34] most visited website: tumblr probs

[35] elementary: was not fun

[36] high school: was also not fun

[37] college: is kind of fun

[38] hair colour: dark-ish brown

[39] long or short hair: long

[40] do you have a crush on someone: not at the moment

[41] what do you like about yourself: how happy i am now

[42] piercings: my ears, and i actually just got my doubles done on monday

[43] blood type: i don’t know, but i’ve always wanted to know

[44] nickname: mal

[45] relationship status: single

[46] zodiac sign: pisces

[47] pronouns: she/they

[48] fav TV show: probably stranger things

[49] tattoos: none yet

[50] right or left handed: right

🌻 FIRST…

[51] surgery: oh gross y’all don’t wanna hear that...

[52] piercing: ears

[53] best friend: jo ((previously mentioned like 10 times @bodhirookes))

[54] sport: soccer

[55] vacation: fuck if i know

[56] pair of trainers: again, idk i was probably like 2, who’s gonna remember that

🌻 RIGHT NOW…

[57] eating: nothing, but i should rlly eat something...i’ve been bad about eating lately

[58] drinking: water

[59] I’m about to: watch the ‘san junipero’ episode of black mirror

[60] listening to: the worrying whir of my macbook like it shouldn’t be doing that but ok

[61] waiting for: someone to sweep me off my feet

[62] want: a relationship // money

[63] get married: uh no, i don’t ever really want to get married

[64] career: my dream job is a model, but i want to be an artist

🌻 WHICH IS BETTER…

[65] hugs or kisses: based on past experience, hugs, but i’ve only ever kissed guys and since i’ve discovered i’m gay, that’s probably why i used to think kissing was so gross

[66] lips or eyes: eyes

[67] shorter or taller: taller bc i am small

[68] older or younger: i’m weird with age differences and prefer the same age tbh, but older if i’ve gotta pick

[69] romantic or spontaneous: both would be A1

[70] nice arms or nice stomach: stomach, i don’t give a shit about arms

[71] sensitive or loud: more sensitive

[72] hook up or relationship: relationship

[73] troublemaker or hesitant: troublemaker bc i’m more of the hesitant type

🌻 HAVE YOU EVER…

[74] kissed a stranger: kind of, in a way

[75] drank hard liquor: hell yeaaaA

[76] lost glasses/contact lenses: my contacts

[77] turned someone down: fucknnfksdjf almost every guy who’s ever asked me out i wonder why

[78] sex on first date: i’d be up for it

[79] broken someone’s heart: for sure

[80] had your own heart broken: nope

[81] been arrested: no

[82] cried when someone died: yea

[83] fallen for a friend: HELL yea

🌻 DO YOU BELIEVE IN…

[84] yourself: yea, i just need to get through some things first

[85] miracles: kind of

[86] love at first sight: no

[87] santa claus: i mean, not anymore

[88] kiss on the first date: sure

[89] angels: yes

🌻 OTHER…

[90] current best friend’s name: still jo...wowee

[91] eye colour: brown

[92] favourite movie: i rlly love brokeback mountain tbh, but i also love studio ghibli films, idk there’s too many good movies to really pick from

[olderthannetfic]

There’s a meme floating around in fandom that hordes of impressionable “children” in their 20′s read nothing but slash fanfic and are, therefore, developing a warped view of what it means to be a gay man. Thus, goes the meme, it is the duty of those evil, exploitative “straight yaoi fangirls” to write very dull slice-of-life slash full of PSAs about condom use and a realistic treatment of sexual orientation. As a queer woman who did grow up reading fic from the age of 13, I have to ask:

What kind of fuckhead gets their entire queer education from fanfiction?

Queer media has existed forever. As a teen, in the 90′s, I avidly consumed the oeuvre of Pedro Almodóvar, freely available at my local video store. I remember when Velvet Goldmine came out and fandom just about wet itself in joy. It’s a movie largely focused on men, though as an adult, I definitely appreciate Toni Colette’s put-upon character. I have no idea how that character would identify by the later eras in the movie, but she loudly proclaims herself bi in the flashbacks.

Maurice set a precedent in the 80′s for being the first Merchant Ivory gay film. It’s a gorgeous (if kind of slow) costume drama with all the usual repression and longing of one of their films. I’ve been amused to see fandom rediscover it in recent years, probably by googling “Lestrad naked”. [A pause while all of you who haven’t done so run to google...]

Growing up in the Bay Area, I was surrounded by people who were massive fans of Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City series, including my straight mother. Those books chronicle entire eras of my hometown and all the many varied orientations and types of people found therein. But when I wanted something more exclusively female-centric, my local bookstore carried Alison Bechdel’s Dykes to Watch Out For anthologies. I have to say, I always found Almodóvar’s nutso characters more personally relatable than Bechdel’s banally neurotic lead, but it was nice to have both. Around this same era, riot grrrls were producing all kinds of female-centric media, lots of it about queerness, though I wasn’t aware of it at the time.

Now, in the era I’m talking about, many people didn’t have the privilege of easy internet access or living near bookstores with gay sections or video stores that carry peculiar European art films. I’m talking about 20 years ago.

In the modern era, however, internet piracy is rampant, half the people I know subscribe to Netflix, and even people who can’t afford to leave a trail on the family computer can watch racy gay art films illegally uploaded to youtube--and that goes for people in many countries, not just mine. I have mentioned a tiny sampling of the media I was personally aware of as a teenager and personally a fan of. There is an entire world out there to explore!

There is no excuse for limiting your media consumption to slash fanfiction.

If you prefer slash to other media, great. You do you! But if, as I keep seeing, you are offended that slash fandom is largely women writing things that appeal to themselves and not constantly stopping to Think Of The Men, then you are in luck: the vast majority of queer media caters directly to queer men, especially gay men. The internet abounds with forums and recs lists aimed at gay men. There is no need to feel like an outsider in girl cootieville. Go where the men are if you prefer that!

Tumblr provides a skewed view of what’s out there, and that goes whether it’s mlm whining about “fujoshi” or people who ship het pairings honestly thinking they’re an oppressed minority.

If you want amateur, free m/m erotica that is most likely written by and for men (just as slash is most likely written by and for women), try Nifty.org. No, it won’t be sweet or nice or well-labeled. It’s trashy free erotica. Fandom doesn’t have a monopoly on that. And if you think Hydra Trash Party fans are the most sadistic or tasteless people on the internet, a day on Nifty should disabuse you of that notion. (Or, conversely, if you’re disappointed by HTP, Nifty is your new best friend!)

If you want writing with central queer characters that actually addresses homophobia in a non-fetishistic way and that is not just about romance or sex, look to a queer press. I don’t mean a publisher of ebook m/m romance novels: I mean a real, traditional, oldschool indie publisher of queer books that are not genre romance. Any recs list of mid-20th C. queer lit will net you plenty of books that are by queer people, for a queer audience, about queerness. Most of this stuff will be either gay or lesbian if it’s pre-90′s, but bisexual and trans* literature saw a big upswing then. It’s not exclusively written by people of the identities the books are about, but there’s a very strong correlation--vastly more so than you find in ebook romance novels.

There’s an entire world of queer media out there. So when I see men on the internet whining that slash fandom is not All About Me, I know that they are choosing to shit on a place women have made for ourselves instead of seeking something they would enjoy more. It’s not a legitimate complaint, even if the women they’re directly attacking are straight. It’s a sign of entitlement, male privilege, and an inability to lift a single fucking finger to help themselves.

I ain’t your Mommy, and I don’t owe you the free labor of my fanfic writing.

I don’t owe you a story in your fandom. I don’t owe you a story about your OTP. I don’t owe you a story with your favorite headcanon. I don’t owe you comments on your own fic--and, conversely, you don’t owe me comments on mine.

I used to be an economic moderate, but the last ten years have made me keenly aware of how much free labor women are expected to do. Well, enough! That kind of entitlement is the worst kind of capitalist exploitation coupled with a steaming dose of misogyny. To top it all off, it won’t work. Yelling at women that they don’t belong in their hobbies won’t make more men join those hobbies. Yelling that you feel alone because slash fandom isn’t about queer identity categories won’t make that any less true.

As a queer person, you do yourself a disservice if you only read slash. Slash and queer media that is intended as queer media have different aims. I have found both valuable in different ways at different times in my life.

[oscopelabs]

Personality Crisis: The Radical Fluidity of Todd Haynes’ ‘Velvet Goldmine’ by Judy Berman

[This month, Musings pays homage to Produced and Abandoned: The Best Films You’ve Never Seen, a review anthology from the National Society of Film Critics that championed studio orphans from the ‘70s and ‘80s. In the days before the Internet, young cinephiles like myself relied on reference books and anthologies to lead us to film we might not have discovered otherwise. Released in 1990, Produced and Abandoned was a foundational piece of work, introducing me to such wonders as Cutter’s Way, Lost in America, High Tide, Choose Me, Housekeeping, and Fat City. (You can find the full list of entries here.) Over the next four weeks, Musings will offer its own selection of tarnished gems, in the hope they’ll get a second look. Or, more likely, a first. —Scott Tobias, editor.]

Like the glam rockers it gazes upon through the smoke-clouded lens of memory, Velvet Goldmine is most beautiful when it descends into chaos.

Stolen, the way great artists do, from Citizen Kane, the skeleton of Todd Haynes’ 1998 film is a chain of interlocking reminiscences of Brian Slade (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), a David Bowie-like glam rocker who fakes his own onstage death in the mid-’70s. A decade later—in that most dystopic of years, 1984—his ex-wife Mandy (Toni Collette) and former manager Cecil (Michael Feast) relate their bitter tales of betrayal to a journalist (Christian Bale) whose assignment has him reluctantly reliving his own teenage sexual awakening under the influence of Brian’s music. Between the interviews, musical numbers, and onscreen epigrams, there’s also a mysterious female narrator who sometimes surfaces, like a teacher reading a subversive storybook, with dreamy exposition that reaches back a century to invoke glam’s patron saint, Oscar Wilde.

The film climaxes with a propulsive sequence of scenes that are exhilarating precisely because they merge all of these points of view, subjective and omniscient, into one collective fantasy. Brian and his new conquest, the Iggy Pop/Lou Reed composite Curt Wild (Ewan McGregor), ride mini spaceships at a carnival to Reed’s “Satellite of Love.” Two random schoolgirls, their faces obscured, act out a love scene between a Curt doll and a Brian doll. In a posh hotel lobby, Brian’s entourage, styled like Old Hollywood starlets on the Weimar Germany set of a fin-de-siècle period film, recites pilfered sound bites about art. Then Brian and Curt are kissing on a circus stage, surrounded by old men in suits. They play Brian Eno’s “Baby’s on Fire” as Haynes cuts between the performance, an orgy in their hotel suite, and Bale’s hapless, young Arthur Stuart masturbating over a newspaper photo of Brian fellating Curt’s guitar. Stripped of narration—not to mention narrative—the film seems to be running on its own amorous fumes, its story fragmenting into a heap of glittering images as it hurtles from set piece to set piece.

Visual pleasure aside, it’s a perfect way of translating into cinematic language the argument that underlies Haynes’ script—that glam’s revelations about the radical fluidity of human identity go far beyond sex and gender. As the apotheosis of teen pop audiences’ thirst for outsize personae, fictional characters like Ziggy Stardust (who Velvet Goldmine further fictionalizes as Slade’s alter ego, Maxwell Demon) melded the symbiotic identities of artist and fan into a single, tantalizing vision of hedonism and transgression. Kids imitated idols they didn’t quite recognize as pure manifestations of their own inchoate desires. Musician and fan became each other’s mirror, and both could become entirely new people simply by changing costumes or names.

But it’s pretty much impossible to imagine Velvet Goldmine’s distributor and co-producer, Harvey Weinstein, appreciating this as he watched the film for the first time—or seeing anything in it, really, besides an expensive mess.

Haynes and his loyal producing partner, Killer Films head Christine Vachon, had already been through hell with Velvet Goldmine by the time they delivered a cut to Miramax. Bowie had refused Haynes’ repeated requests for permission to use six Ziggy-era songs in the film, claiming that he had a glam movie of his own in the works. And in a production diary that appears in her book Shooting to Kill, Vachon points out one unique challenge of making a film about queer male sexuality: “The MPAA seems to have a number of double standards. Naked females get R ratings, but pickle shots tend to get NC-17s. Our Miramax contract obligates us to an R.” She also mentions that an investor pulled $1 million of funding just weeks before filming.

The shoot was even more harrowing than the two veteran indie filmmakers could’ve predicted. As they fell behind schedule, a production executive started nagging Vachon to make cuts. “Todd is miserable,” she wrote in her diary the night before they wrapped. “He says that making movies this way is awful and he doesn’t want to do it.” In an interview that accompanies the published screenplay for Velvet Goldmine, Oren Moverman asks Haynes, “Was the making of the film joyful for you?” “I’m afraid not,” he replies. “We were trying very hard to cut scenes while shooting, knowing that we were behind and we didn’t have the money for the overloaded schedule. But there was hardly a scene we could cut without losing essential narrative information.” It’s remarkable that he managed to capture 123 usable minutes’ worth of meticulously art-directed ‘70s excess (and ‘80s bleakness) in just nine weeks, under so much external pressure, on a budget of $7 million.

When the film finally reached Harvey Scissorhands, after months of editing, Weinstein told Haynes it was too long and the structure didn’t work. “He made suggestions that I didn’t follow, and then he just buried it,” the director told Down and Dirty Pictures author Peter Biskind. What happened next comes straight from the Weinstein playbook: “Even afterward,” Haynes remembered, “they threw out a DVD, they didn’t ask for a director commentary, my name wasn’t on the cover of it, it was buried in the minuscule billing block. He can’t even do the really small things that don’t cost anything—he never shows any respect.” (That Haynes never found a distributor he preferred to Weinstein, with whom he reunited for I’m Not There and Carol, speaks volumes about the way Hollywood treats ambitious filmmakers.)

After it failed to blow audiences away at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival, Miramax effectively dumped Velvet Goldmine. It debuted on just 85 screens that November, ultimately grossing about $1 million stateside. Its ridiculous theatrical trailer might well be a glimpse at the movie Weinstein was expecting: a “magical trip back to the ‘70s” with 100% more murder mystery and 100% less gay sex.

Critics were just as ambivalent about the film as festival audiences. While forward-thinking reviewers wanted to love it for its visual beauty and openly queer aesthetic, many lamented that its plot was slight and its characters hollow. David Ansen of Newsweek complained that “Haynes is unwilling to get too close to his characters. Slade, in particular, is a blank”—failing to see that Brian is a cypher by design. Like the Barbie-doll Karen Carpenter of Haynes’ debut feature, Superstar, and the fragments of Bob Dylan diffused across I’m Not There, Velvet Goldmine’s Bowie is less a portrait of the real person than a screen on which fans project their own fantasies about him.

At The Nation, Stuart Klawans rightly identified Arthur, not Brian, as the film’s protagonist. But he also wondered why he grows up to be such an unhappy adult. “Why is Haynes so tough on Arthur?” Klawans wanted to know. “Why, through the character, is he so tough on himself? It’s apparent everywhere in Velvet Goldmine that Haynes, like Arthur, loves Glitter Rock. He, too, fell for a mass-marketed product, which was no more likely than Mr. Clean to carry out a world-transforming promise. But instead of honoring the truth of his enthusiasm, so that he might look back on its object with a smile and a sigh…Haynes does penance for being a sap.”

Others found the film’s collage of ideas and allusions cumbersome. “Velvet Goldmine is weighed down with self-important messages, but it’s also splashily opulent,” Stephanie Zacharek wrote at Salon. “It’s as if Todd Haynes had plunged his hand into a pile of clothes at a jumble sale and come out with a handful that was half velvet finery, half polyester rejectables.”

All of these reactions make sense, coming from adult critics who had probably seen the film just once, after reading months’ worth of reports about its troubled birth, in the sterile environment of a press screening. But what’s clear from a distance of nearly two decades, during which Velvet Goldmine has become a low-key cult classic, is that few films are so poorly suited to be judged on the basis of a single dispassionate viewing. If you’re looking for tight plotting and complex characters, you’re not going to find them in this mixtape of music videos, aphorisms, and waking dream sequences. There is no actual murder mystery, and Arthur’s investigation into Slade’s disappearance isn’t a source of suspense so much as an excuse to keep contrasting an incandescent past with a dull, gray present.

I’m lucky enough to have first encountered Velvet Goldmine under what turned out to be ideal circumstances: at age 15, on premium cable, late enough at night that it easily bypassed my rational mind en route to my adolescent subconscious. I had no idea how many details it cribbed from the biographies of Bowie and his contemporaries, or how much of the dialogue was quoted from their (and their heroes’) most memorable utterances. I bought the soundtrack without realizing that it put ‘70s originals side-by-side with contemporary covers and new songs by younger bands like Pulp and Shudder to Think in yet another glam pastiche. It wouldn’t have occurred to me to find the 1984 scenes unsatisfying because I got so instantly immersed in the ‘70s spectacles that they barely existed for me.

Not that the film only works on an emotional level. Haynes’ ideas about fandom, politics, sexuality, and identity become even more profound once you can see the organizing principle behind what might initially seem like a jumble of indulgent images. Like the death hoax Brian Slade uses to escape a fantasy life that’s grown too real for comfort, Velvet Goldmine’s loose plot is classic misdirection, obscuring a tight and purposeful structure that delays the resolution of the ‘80s storyline until it’s primed you to feel the loss of the liberated ‘70s viscerally. But you’ll never get that far into dissecting the film if you don’t fall in love with it at first viewing. And that’s easiest to do when you’re as impressionable as young Arthur, who watches Brian Slade flaunt his queerness in a televised press conference and imagines himself shouting to his parents, “That is me!”  

Revisit it as you grow older, though, and you might discover that the disillusioned 30-something characters now feel as rich as their idealistic former selves. Velvet Goldmine is often called a gay film, but that obscures the universal resonance of its queer coming-of-age narrative. Better to think of it as a bisexual film that uses non-binary sexuality as a metaphor for the boundless possibilities of youth—the promise of a future constrained only by the limits of one’s own ambitions and appetites. Its characters can’t achieve permanent liberation by “coming out”; to maintain lifestyles that match their desires, they would have to reject the monogamy that defines adulthood for most people. Particularly amid the AIDS crisis of the 1980s, which haunts the film’s dreary present on a purely subtextual level, it’s obvious why they (like the real glam rockers they’re modeled after) retreat from the liberated lives they staked out for themselves.

But you don’t need to buy in to the incendiary claim Brian makes at his press conference, that everyone is bisexual, to see how this storyline reflects the many kinds of disappointments that await most starry-eyed fans in adulthood. Klawans’ objection to Haynes’ treatment of Arthur feels naive because it assumes people should be able to peacefully coexist with their shattered dreams. Why shouldn’t he feel bitter about having joined a sexual revolution that didn’t, finally, set him free? “It gets better” for Arthur when he leaves his homophobic family to move in with a latter-day glam act in London, but sometime after he hooks up with an unmoored Curt Wild at a tribute concert called the Death of Glitter, “it” just gets boring as the world gets worse.

And the world really does sometimes get worse, though audiences in the relatively peaceful, prosperous late ‘90s might have forgotten about that. Watching Velvet Goldmine for perhaps the 25th time, two weeks before Donald Trump’s inauguration, at the end of an era that has brought unprecedented freedom of sexual and gender expression, I was struck by how vividly Haynes captures a culture’s flight from progress, and how rare it is to see that kind of transition depicted on film. His argument about fluidity turns out to be even more potent when applied to societies than individuals (or, at least, it seems that way in 2017). Our capacity for transformation may be infinite, but that doesn’t mean those changes are always for the best.

[chorusfm]

Adam Turla of Murder By Death

Writers, much like normal human beings, have a bucket lists. The difference is, our bucket lists contain people – personalities, creators, and yes, other writers that have inspired, comforted, and confounded us with their talents. Many of these them will likely remain names on our lists until the day we type our last words, but occasionally, we’re lucky enough to spend a little time with the artists who have influenced us most. Murder By Death, the Indiana-based kings and queen of gothic folk-rock, have been on my bucket list since I first discovered their catalog a decade ago. I was 14 then, a freshman in high school stealing his older brother’s CDs  based on album artwork alone, and the idea of an album telling stories about devils and deserts was already inconceivably cool to me; the fact that this same album featured guest vocals from both Gerard Way and Geoff Rickly only cemented its importance in my mind. Now, nearly 20 years into their career, Murder By Death exist in the kind of vacuum that contains a dedicated fanbase and a fearlessness to tell any tale they can conjur. It was then my great pleasure to speak with frontman Adam Turla about his penchant for Western-influenced storytelling, the band’s songwriting process, and of course, Murder By Death’s eighth, glam-rock inspired space opera (of sorts), The Other Shore. Did you start writing The Other Shore knowing you wanted to follow 2015’s Big Dark Love with a concept album? No, definitely not. It starts with me kind of collecting over the touring cycle of the album before, just taking notes for songs, ideas I have that I’m not necessarily sure what I’m going to do or how I’m going to approach them, and we just end up sort of trying them out. I wait to see what happens, what directions they’re going to go in, and then, if there seems to be a common thread, you start pulling on it and follow it. In this case, we found that there definitely was a thread. I had presented a bunch of songs to the band, and we had been rehearsing them, and I told them, “Oh, I’m kind of thinking about this as a theme, it might be a concept record, it might be a longform narrative,” and they were like, “Yes, yes, yes…” [Laughs] They liked the idea, and they liked the songs that pushed in that direction, so ultimately, it just went that way. It was a happy accident because I think if you try to force something — like a concept record — it’s gonna stink. [Laughs] And you’re no stranger to concept records, but this one varies slightly from the gothic storytelling of the band’s early catalog. Were there certain things that inspired the space-centric themes of the new album? Yeah, I think that we all have an interest in science fiction, and we’ve always had a bit of a spacey element to some of our songs, but we’ve never really played it up fully. So when you’re writing your eighth full-length album, as a creative person, you’re always trying to find new ways to express what your style is. We started to put these ideas together, and I’ve always had a huge love for David Bowie and 70s glam, so I was trying to say, how can we use elements of that through our Murder By Death filter and make it feel natural, and these songs are the result. And basically, the reason I think it works is that we overwrote. We wrote way more songs than necessary. [Laughs] And then there were ones where we’d say, okay, this song’s fine, but we need a song that pops more, we need a song that sounds really spacey, or we could say, that song’s too spacey, or that song’s too glammy. We just kept adjusting until we found the right collection of songs that told the story that we wanted to tell. Something that interests me when I’m listening to the album is that, despite space playing such a large role in it, a lot of the instrumentation is still organic. I think there’s a juxtaposition there that really makes it work. Yeah, there’s a lot of thought that went into that. We’re not trying to reinvent our band in a completely new way and throw the past under the bus, you know? We’re trying to expand on the universe — pun intended — for the opportunity to give a new look to something we’ve been doing for a long time. One of the ways we approached the record, and one of the ways it’s sequenced, is that the album starts on Earth, so the first four tracks are way more rootsy, and they start to introduce themes of spacey instruments coming in as a metaphor. And then, as it goes on and on, the record tends to use more keyboards, there’s more open, longer instrumental parts to simulate the idea of a journey, and the ‘being alone’ quality of the narrative. And so we were each talking about, like, what does this song mean, what’s happening in the story, what is this person feeling as the narrator, what are they trying to accomplish. Honestly, we do that partially so it has continuity, and is good, but also, it’s fun. It’s a fun way to write. Do you feel your storytelling has been a reflection of the kind of film and literature you enjoy? Yeah, I think so to some extent. I think part of it was just that, when we started the band, I hadn’t really thought of myself as a songwriter yet. We were so young when we started the band that I just wasn’t sure what my role was, who I was, what I was good at, so I learned how to write along the way. And I think what happened was that I just knew I didn’t want to write pop songs. I just don’t care about pop music, I don’t care about “the hook.” That music just…when you approach it from that angle, it just feels so unimportant, and it feels like you’re trying to write something just so it will get popular. So for me, it was like, how do I write something that makes me happy, and in a lot of ways, it was the idea of writing a longform story where each piece matters, or the idea that a song is a vignette, and it’s a fable, where hopefully there’s a lesson, or maybe there’s growth in the song. So the important part for me is, maybe this song can help someone by presenting a difficult circumstance and giving it some hope. Do you happen to remember the first song you wrote for The Other Shore and whether it set a tone for the songs to come? That’s a great question! So the thing is, I had been writing a bunch over the span of two years, and I just started taking notes on my phone where I’d have a vocal melody, and I’d have maybe a couple words, but not a lot. But I do know that for the song “New Old City,” I had a couple of lyrics, and I had the basic melody for the keyboards inside of my head. And at the same time, I had the song “I Have Arrived,” and that was the song that blew it wide open because the whole story was kind of told in that song. That song is definitely the pivotal point where…it’s the most narrative. The other ones are a little more subtle in their delivery of arc, and “I Have Arrived” is just like a punch in the face. [Laughs] It’s definitely an outlier. It’s the most upbeat song on the album. Oh yeah. My goal was to write something manically happy. One of my favorite things The Cure does is that they write those songs that are dark, but that are so freaking happy that you’re worried about the singer. [Laughs] So I was going through that. There’s a little glam rock there, and I’ve always loved The Velvet Goldmine soundtrack, so I was thinking about those two things when I was working on that one. I love the delivery of the story through this glossy-eyed narrator. Earlier, you mentioned presenting songs to the band. Is that how the writing process usually goes? How collaborative is it? I would say it’s collaborative, but I definitely present [songs]. I have, like, printed out chord sheets, but the thing is that anything can change. I have a pretty big start where I write a song and play it for them, but then sometimes we’ll cut huge sections, or we’ll replace sections, or we’ll change the time signature, you know what I mean? It can change a lot when you try to fill it out with the band. So it’s important to note that I can have something and play it for them, and the first time I actually hear it out loud, it’s like, “Well this isn’t right,” and we’ll completely modify it. You’ve been using Kickstarter to crowdfund your records since Bitter Drink, Bitter Moon. What is it about the platform that works for you and how do you feel it has affected the band’s dynamic with fans? Honestly, it’s fun and it works. That’s why we keep doing it. There’s something exciting for both us and the fans to watch it grow and give it a little transparency. It’s a little crazy because it’s very out of context. When you see those huge numbers, there’s no way that any person looking at that number understands what goes into fulfilling [rewards], so it’s a little skewed, but that being said, we don’t really get negativity from people. The fans just seem happy that we are still doing this, and that they can be a part of it, and that they can contribute to the art. I like it because…you have to sell records, once the record’s out, one way or another. And that’s what records are, they’re a way of funding an act so you can move forward. But I think the positive is that this makes it a little more interesting. There are options that are a little outside the typical fulfillment realm, and I think that’s what makes it a little more exciting than just saying, “Okay, it’s on sale now.” I see Kickstarter campaigns for musical ventures all the time, and it really seems like you have a lot of fun getting creative with those rewards. I think that shines through and allows fans to really feel like they’re bringing the album to life. Yeah. And by the way, we’re actually filling orders as we speak. You can hear the tape guns in the background. Our house is just a fortress of boxes. [Laughs] Some bands have a tough time revisiting their early work, even if it has a cult following. How do you feel about the band’s first few recordings, and do you ever revisit them? Well I don’t listen to any of our records because, you know, we play them. [Laughs] But…I’m actually really proud of everything we’ve done. I don’t really think we have a record that is a stinker, because honestly, I think we’ve just always tried hard. And some work better than others, but we never just phoned it in, and we never just tried to write singles. I think the records that end up being bad records are usually when a band tries to go for it, so to speak, and like, get that record that will take them to the next level. And then, they thought they wrote singles, but it just turns out they wrote boring songs. [Laughs] We’ve never tried to do that. Instead, we would always just be like, “What’s interesting to us? I hope it’s interesting for other people!” And that’s worked for us. In that case, having released eight studio albums, is there a period of the band that is your favorite? Or an album was most fun to write, record, or tour on? Hard to say because they’re such different points in my life. I mean, we were just talking today about when we first started this band and how we toured in the beginning. And it was just comical. I mean, we were in a mini van with a cello between our legs, resting between the two front seats. [Laughs] It’s ridiculous. It was not a comfortable thing. It was outrageous, but we just didn’t care because we were young and we were on the road and it was fun. Like, it was a totally different time than it is now, but the nice thing about doing something like this is that you do have a lot of different experiences. I’ve had a great time playing a basement with 50 people in it, and I’ve had a great time playing Red Rocks to 9,000. I like them all because they’re different. There are no salad days; they’re all salad days. Something that’s always fascinated me as someone who plays music and writes about music is the relationship between artists and journalists. Do you care about reviews of your own work? Do you ever seek them out, or are they something you avoid? I usually read the first couple, just to make sure that somebody said the right thing. [Laughs] [To make sure] somebody understood it or listened to it for real, but as long as a couple people put the time in to not just search for a single or a summer jam…we’re hoping someone actually listens to it the way you should listen to something. We have a funny critical response in that, we’ve never been, like, critical darlings, but we don’t really get panned either…we just have fine reviews. It’s kind of funny because it’s what I expect. A great compliment we get all the time is that nobody sounds like us. We’re a unique band and we just do our own thing. And I like that. Some reviewers, we’re their favorite band, they just don’t notice us because they’re looking for something else. And we don’t expect more. We don’t need more. Do you have a favorite song from The Other Shore? That’s tough. I really like this record. This is kind of a favorite from the band’s perspective, everyone’s really excited about this one – I love the song “Only Time.” I really like how it came out. I like it because when I first wrote it, I was trying to write it to be almost like a Bowie song, and then we totally changed the way that we presented it. And I basically dropped the vocals down an octave, and we just said, “What if it never gets big? What if it’s just slow and sort of a slow burn?” And we thought it had sort of a…Leonard Cohen vibe. And suddenly it just became this really beautiful little moment on the record. I think that might be my favorite. You’ve played in caves, haunted hotels, and boats. If you could play anywhere else in the world, where would it be? You know, I wanna do more international right now. I think that’s sort of where I’m at right now, that I want to get to the places we’ve never been. We really want to get to South America. I’d like to get to Japan and Australia. We’ve never done those, and so many bands do. I think being sort of…not a genre band, it’s a little harder to promote. [Laughs] We’re sort of just this weird band. Right now, my sights are set on getting out to new places. Like, I have never been to Japan. I would love for the band to take me there. [Laughs] I really like Japanese food. I go for the food. It’s all for the food. Countries are great, but…I’m there to eat. What artists have been catching your ear recently? Saint Seneca. I really like their new record. They’ve been stuck in my ear for a while. Thanks again for taking the time to chat about the new album. I think the second review I ever wrote for AbsolutePunk was for Like The Exorcist, But More Breakdancing, and it’s still one of my favorite albums. Is there anything else you’d like to add? Woah. [Laughs] Thanks a lot, man. I think that’ll do it for me.   The Other Shore will be released on August 24th via Bloodshot Records. --- Please consider supporting us so we can keep bringing you stories like this one. ◎ https://chorus.fm/interviews/adam-turla-of-murder-by-death/

[his-catness-tchalla]

I was tagged by @twissyy​. Thank you!!

Rules: answer these 85 questions and tag 20 people

What Was Your Last…

1. Drink: Tea 

2. Phone Call: From online shop, to confirm my order 

3. Text Message: Text from my friend, about hanging out later 

4. Song You Listened To: Imagine Dragons - Believer 

5. Time You Cried: I can’t remember, but it shouldn’t be long, I cry awfully easy.

Have You Ever…

6. Dated Someone Twice: No 

7. Kissed Someone And Regretted It: No 

8. Been Cheated On: I hope not 

9. Lost Someone Special: as in ‘we never see each other again’ yes. As in ‘someone died’ no. 

10. Been Depressed: clinically? I think not. 

11. Gotten Drunk And Thrown Up: No

Fave Colours

12. Dark Blue 

13. Violet 

14. Dark Red

In The Last Year Have You…

15. Made New Friends: No 

16. Fallen Out Of Love: No 

17. Laughed Until You Cried: Yes 

18. Found Out Someone Was Talking About You: No 

19. Met Someone Who Changed You: No                                             

20. Found Out Who Your Friends Are: No 

21. Kissed Someone On Your Facebook Friends List:  No and I don’t use Facebook

General

22. How Many Of Your Facebook Friends Do You Know IRL: See above 

23. Do You Have Any Pets: I did.  

24. Do You Want To Change Your Name: I don’t like my name, but it’s too much trouble and kinda late at this point. 

25. What Did You Do For Your Last Birthday: I was at work 

26. What Time Did You Wake Up Today: around 12:30 (pm) 

27. What Were You Doing At Midnight Last Night: Probably fooling around in internet 

28. What Is Something You Can’t Wait For: Nothing special at this moment 

30. What Are You Listening To Right Now: Nothing 

31. Have You Ever Talked To A Person Named Tom: This is foreign name, so no. 

32. Something That’s Getting On Your Nerves: Obnoxious conservative people 

33. Most Visited Website: Probably Tumblr 

34. Hair Colour: Chestnut 

35. Long Or Short Hair: Long 

36. Do You Have A Crush On Someone: No 

37. What Do You Like About Yourself: I’m stubborn, I like to get things done.   

38. Want Any Piercings: I kinda old fot this 

39. Blood Type: A+ 

40. Nicknames: Not really 

41. Relationship Status: Single 

42. Sign: Taurus 

43. Pronouns: She/Her 

44. Fave TV Show: Black Sails, Doctor Who, Gotham 

45. Tattoos: No 

46. Right Or Left Handed: Right 

47: Ever Had Surgery: No 

48. Piercings: One in each ear 

49. Sport: No, I’m terribly lazy person 

50. Vacation: I love travel. Vacation at home is the wasted vacation.  

51. Trainers:  Depends

More General

52. Eating: I’m eating tomato with mozarella right now 

53. Drinking: And drinking Earl Grey tea 

54. I’m About To Watch: How To Get Away With Murder 

55. Waiting For: When it’s fucking winter ends already 

56. Want: See above 

57. Get Married: God forbid! 

58. Career: I’m satisfied with my job right now.

Which Is Better

59. Hugs Or Kisses: Both-are-good.gif 

60. Lips Or Eyes: Eyes 

61. Shorter Or Taller: Taller 

62. Older Or Younger: Older 

63. Nice Arms Or Stomach: Arms 

64. Hookup Or Relationships: Hookup 

65. Troublemaker Or Hesitant:  Hesitant 

Have You Ever

66. Kissed A Stranger: No 

67. Drank Hard Liquor: Yes 

68. Turned Someone Down: Yes 

69. Sex On First Date: No 

70: Broken Someone’s Heart: I hope not 

71. Had Your Heart Broken: Not really 

72. Been Arrested: No 

73. Cried When Someone Died: Yes 

74. Fallen For A Friend: It happens

Do You Believe In

75. Yourself: Not really 

76. Miracles: No 

77. Love At First Sight: I’m not sure if I believe in love, general  

78. Santa Claus: No 

79. Angels: No

Misc

80. Eye Colour: greenish brown 

81. Best Friend’s Name: Natalia 

82. Favourite Movie: MCU films, Star Wars films, LOTR , Pulp Fiction, Interview with the Vampire, Mr & Mrs. Smith, Pirates of the Caribbean (first three), Interstellar, Velvet Goldmine, The Devil Wears Prada 

83. Favourite Actor: Johnny Depp, Tom Hiddleston, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers. 

84. Favourite Cartoon: Some local, you don’t need to know them :) 

85. Favourite Teacher’s Name: I just spend good five minutes trying to remember his name and I’m still not sure I got it right

[tomakeitbeautifultolive]

Tagged by @violet-eyes-silver-hair

last (1-5)

drink - Water

phone call - My sister or my mom. Everyone else knows how to call me 'cause I won't answer!

text msg - "Your Peapod Driver has arrived!"

song you listened to - A Perfect Circle - The Doomed

time you cried - Can't remember

ever..? (6-11)

dated someone twice - Unfortunately. Do not suggest.

ever kissed someone and regretted it - Ew, too many times!

been cheated on - Oh, by pretty much everyone. I hate men.

lost some1 special - My father in 2012

been depressed - I actively have depression, which is really strange when you have no complaints in your life.

gotten drunk/thrown up - I've never been drunk and hope to continue on never knowing

fav colors (12-14)

Green, but, honestly? All of them.

-> Uh, where are 13 and 14? Hmm! <-

Two more colors, perhaps? Chartreuse and Indigo!

in the last yr have you.. (15-21)

made new friends/ mutuals - Tons! So many awesome people.

fallen out of love - Nope

laughed until you cried - Pretty often!

found out some1 was talking about you - I doubt it, I'm too secluded

met some1 who changed you - Hmm. I don't... think so...

kissed some1 on your FB friends’ list - Quite a few.

general (22-51)

how many of your FB friends do you know irl - I have 78 and I know most of them. I have a FB account strictly so I don't have to sit on the phone with any of them! xD

have any pets - Two gorgeous kitties. One who is currently laying across my arms and getting annoyed as I type.

do you want to change your name - I'd like to get rid of my last name because my family is fucking crazy.

what did you do for your prev. birthday - Probably nothing. I've been apathetic about birthdays for at least a decade.

what time did you wake up today - 12:30pm

what were you doing @ midnight last night - Freaking myself out with YouTube conspiracy videos.

what is something you can’t wait for - My husband to go back to work :P

what’re you listening to atm - Kendall Rae

have you ever talked to a person named Tom - Ew. The person I hate the most on planet Earth is named Tom (think rampant sexual predator).

something that’s getting on your nerves - My cat. He's been relentlessly stalking me all day.

most visited site - Tumblr, YouTube, Ao3, Peapod

hair color - Mousy brown

long/ short hair - Very long. Probably past my butt when straightened.

do you have a crush on some1 - Infinite fictional characters

what do you like about yourself - Uh, that I'm nice to a fault. Sure, other people walk all over me but that's way better than being haunted by your own actions at 3am years down the road.

want any piercings - Nope.

blood type - I have no idea. But I do know my haplogroup! xD

nicknames - I've retired them.

relationship status - Married.

zodiac - Pisces. (No, I don't believe space dictates your personality)

pronoun(s) - Oh, Tumblr...

fav tv shows - Game. Of. Fucking. Thrones. (Oh, and Stark Trek TNG & DS9!)

tattoos? - None now. I'd like to get an apology letter to my future mortician.

rightie or leftie - Right-handed

ever had surgery - No, and I hope I can continue the trend

piercings - Had my nose pierced before. I got it out of my system.

sports - No thank you

vacation - Centralia! (Silent Hill) Which could actually happen because I only live a couple hours from it.

trainers - Um, hwhat?

more general (52-58)

eating - Nothing at the moment.

drinking - Water. Wasn't there already a similar question?

i’m about to watch - More live Motown performances on YouTube, probably?

waiting for - Winds of Winter, I suppose.

want - Jon, Daenerys, Arya, Bran, Davos, and Gendry to all survive season 8.

get married - I hope not. I'd like to just stay married.

career - Maybe writing? Maybe more design.

which is better (59-65)

hugs/kisses - Hugs

lips/eyes - Eyes

shorter/taller - Both have perks

older/younger - Older - Youth is wasted on the young

nice arms/ stomach - You can live without arms but not without a stomach.

hookup/relationship - Relationship

troublemaker/hesitant - Can only think about how weird this pair of words is!

have you ever (66-75)

kissed a stranger - Unfortunately, hoping to get out of a weird situation where I didn't want to become a corpse by offending someone much larger and scarier than I. Oh, to be a woman!

drank hard liquor - Ew.

lost glasses - Not for more than a few minutes.

turned someone down - Yes

sex on 1st date - >.> Okay but what if it's the first date with someone who's been a friend for years? Still bad? Oh well.

broken a heart - Maybe a few times.

had your heart broken - Countless.

been arrested - Never as an adult! xD

cried when some1 died - I'm not a sociopath, so yes.

fallen for a friend - Only type I fall for, to be honest.

do you believe in.. (76-81)

yourself - Not really. I DO believe in my anxiety!

miracles - Coincidences that appear miraculous, sure.

love @ first sight - Lust at first sight.

santa clause - Never had the opportunity.

kiss on a 1st date - Life's too short not to if you’re feelin’ it.

angels - Gods, no.

others (82-85)

best friend’s name - I have about 4 but their names are too original to post here.

eye color - Dull blue/grey - Very Stark.

fav movie - Lost in Translation, Amelie, Secretary, Waking Life, Once, Velvet Goldmine, The Crow, The Virgin Suicides, Gattaca, Prometheus, Let the Right One In, Before Sunrise, Blade Runner 2049, I'm a Cyborg, but that's Okay, etc etc

fav actor - Scarlett Johansson, Humphrey Bogart, John Malkovich

tagging: @winterfells-targaryen @geekyfeminist-love aaand @daisystargaryen

[sodomyordeath]

A ton of random ass questions

Chi figured I’d be bored so she sent me this thingy she found.

1: when you have cereal, do you have more milk than cereal or more cereal than milk? I don’t eat  cereal 2: do you like the feeling of cold air on your cheeks on a wintery day? Nope. I hate cold. 3: what random objects do you use to bookmark your books? Bobby Pins 4: how do you take your coffee/tea? Hot 5: are you self-conscious of your smile? Nope 6: do you keep plants? Nope 7: do you name your plants? Nope 8: what artistic medium do you use to express your feelings? Music/Blood 9: do you like singing/humming to yourself? Yep 10: do you sleep on your back, side, or stomach? Yes 11: what's an inner joke you have with your friends? experts and professionals  12: what's your favorite planet? Mars 13: what's something that made you smile today? A NAZI fuck getting punched in the face 14: if you were to live with your best friend in an old flat in a big city, what would it look like? a cross between a library a computer lab and a vampire lair 15: go google a weird space fact and tell us what it is! Not gonna use google for that one but Gravitational waves have two important and unique properties. First, there is no need for any type of matter to be present nearby in order for the waves to be generated by a binary system of uncharged black holes, which would emit no electromagnetic radiation. Second, gravitational waves can pass through any intervening matter without being scattered significantly. Whereas light from distant stars may be blocked out by interstellar dust, for example, gravitational waves will pass through essentially unimpeded. These two features allow gravitational waves to carry information about astronomical phenomena never before observed by humans. 16: what's your favorite pasta dish? I hate pasta 17: what color do you really want to dye your hair? Black and red is fine thank you 18: tell us about something dumb/funny you did that has since gone down in history between you and your friends and is always brought up. Do you want that one about setting the stage on fire or the one where the club got flooded with cow blood? 19: do you keep a journal? what do you write/draw/ in it? You look at it 20: what's your favorite eye color? Red 21: talk about your favorite bag, the one that's been to hell and back with you and that you love to pieces. Oh my old gucci bag? Someone figured he’d be funny and offerd to by me a handbag of my choice. The tears of regret were sweet to me :-) 22: are you a morning person? Fuck no 23: what's your favorite thing to do on lazy days where you have 0 obligations? Answering dumb questions on the internet. 24: is there someone out there you would trust with every single one of your secrets? No, I signed a ton of NDAs in my life. 25: what's the weirdest place you've ever broken into? a underwater cave 26: what are the shoes you've had for forever and wear with every single outfit? Oh my Krokodile Skin boots

27: what's your favorite bubblegum flavor? N/A

28: sunrise or sunset? Sunrise because it say’s it’s time to go to bed 29: what's something really cute that one of your friends does and is totally endearing? Does eating pizza all the time count? 30: think of it: have you ever been truly scared? Nope 31: what is your opinion of socks? do you like wearing weird socks? do you sleep with socks? do you confine yourself to white sock hell? really, just talk about socks. I have black socks. End of story. 32: tell us a story of something that happened to you after 3AM when you were with friends. Be more specific 3AM sounds like 2 hours before I stop  DJing 33: what's your fave pastry?  Kürtőskalács 34: tell us about the stuffed animal you kept as a kid. what is it called? what does it look like? do you still keep it? Peter, a blue rabbit. No he left this world decades ago 35: do you like stationary and pretty pens and so on? do you use them often? Nope/Nope 36: which band's sound would fit your mood right now? Pentagram or  Project Armageddon 37: do you like keeping your room messy or clean? yes 38: tell us about your pet peeves! I hate people that’s about it 39: what color do you wear the most? Black 40: think of a piece of jewelry you own: what's it's story? does it have any meaning to you? Nope it’s just stuff 41: what's the last book you remember really, really loving? Was re-reading  Demon Download by Jack Yeovil earlier today. That one is fun. 42: do you have a favorite coffee shop? describe it! Nope 43: who was the last person you gazed at the stars with? Chiara 44: when was the last time you remember feeling completely serene and at peace with everything? Never 45: do you trust your instincts a lot? Yep 46: tell us the worst pun you can think of. follow Mrs. Kasha Davis twitter for bad puns 47: what food do you think should be banned from the universe? That industrial garbage that fast food chains sell all of it 48: what was your biggest fear as a kid? is it the same today? I had none 49: do you like buying CDs and records? what was the last one you bought? No I like owning ‘em. The last one I bought was 45 Grave “Pick your Poison” for Chiara 50: what's an odd thing you collect? Lovers 51: think of a person. what song do you associate with them? Moonskin by Samal reminds me of Chiara 52: what are your favorite memes of the year so far? a NAZI getting punched in the face 53: have you ever watched the rocky horror picture show? heathers?beetlejuice? pulp fiction? what do you think of them? I’ve seen all of ‘em Pulp Fiction is overrated 54: who's the last person you saw with a true look of sadness on their face? N/A 55: what's the most dramatic thing you've ever done to prove a point? Cut a bitch 56: what are some things you find endearing in people? Creativity, salty and bitterness in combination with charm and wits  57: go listen to bohemian rhapsody. how did it make you feel? did you dramatically reenact the lyrics? You watched too much Wayne’s World 58: who's the wine mom and who's the vodka aunt in your group of friends? why? Me and Me 59: what's your favorite myth? Go read about Hel 60: do you like poetry? what are some of your faves? I’m so cliche I like  Shelley, Byron, Goethe, Blake

61: what's the stupidest gift you've ever given? the stupidest one you've ever received? I don’t do stupid gifts and the “stupidest” was by a acquaintance who presented me with a very unremarkable bottle of blended scotch. 62: do you drink juice in the morning? which kind? Nope 63: are you fussy about your books and music? do you keep them meticulously organized or kinda leave them be? I take good care of all items in my collection 64: what color is the sky where you are right now? Black 65: is there anyone you haven't seen in a long time who you'd love to hang out with? Haven’t seen Lily Tombstone in person in a long time 66: what would your ideal flower crown look like? Next 67: how do gloomy days where the sky is dark and the world is misty make you feel? Happy :-) 68: what's winter like where you live? Cold  69: what are your favorite board games? Go! 70: have you ever used a ouija board? yep 71: what's your favorite kind of tea? Black and Green Tea 72: are you a person who needs to note everything down or else you'll forget it? Nope 73: what are some of your worst habits? Nothing comes to mind 74: describe a good friend of yours without using their name or gendered pronouns. They love pizza and play a mean guitar. 75: tell us about your pets! I have none 76: is there anything you should be doing right now but aren't? nope 77: pink or yellow lemonade? I don't care as long as there’s enough vodka in there. I really loved Bikers Farm 78: are you in the minion hateclub or fanclub? Banana! 79: what's one of the cutest things someone has ever done for you? The one time I got my enemy’s head on a silver ... oh  wait nope that never happened 80: what color are your bedroom walls? did you choose that color? if so, why White because everything else in there is black or silver 

81: describe one of your friend's eyes using the most abstract imagery you can think of. Not now maybe later 82: are/were you good in school? yep straight A's School is boring 83: what's some of your favorite album art? Everything by H. R. Giger 84: are you planning on getting tattoos? which ones?  85: do you read comics? what are your faves? Yep Sandman and The Crow 86: do you like concept albums? which ones? I’m not gonna list each and every concept record in my collection but Alice Cooper’s The Last Temptation is one that’s way underrated 87: what are some movies you think everyone should watch at least once in their lives? Metropolis, Blade Runner, Casablanca, Only Lovers left alive, The Hunger, The Rock Horror Picture Show, Velvet Goldmine, This Is Spın̈al Tap, Paris is Burning,  88: are there any artistic movements you particularly enjoy? Dada & Neo-Dada, Transgressive art, Shock art, Bauhaus,  Vienna School of Fantastic Realism, Pre-Raphaelitism 89: are you close to your parents? Yep 90: talk about your one of you favorite cities. Look here 91: where do you plan on traveling this year? All over, as usual 92: are you a person who drowns their pasta in cheese or a person who barely sprinkles a pinch? I hate pasta I hate cheese 93: what's the hairstyle you wear the most? A mohawk for the last 24 years 94: who was the last person you know to have a birthday? My sister 95: what are your plans for this weekend? Stay at home and finally get over that dame flu 96: do you install your computer updates really quickly or do you procrastinate on them a lot? Security fixes are instant 97: myer briggs type, zodiac sign, and hogwarts house? google it 98: when's the last time you went hiking? did you enjoy it? not by itself it’s pointless but walking from a to b in nature is fine 99: list some songs that resonate to your soul whenever you hear them. More by Sisters of Mercy, Sweet Soul Sister by The Cult, Because the Night as covered by Beki Bondage 100: if you were presented with two buttons, one that allows you to go 5 years into the past, the other 5 years into the future, which one would you press? why? Future. Year one after Trump should be interresting