#all soft rock songs feel kind of templated at the end of the day so u just have to pick up the tempo based on whatever the drummer is doing

[urbanfiltered]

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[nexyra]

RWBY's Love Language - Part 2

Hello friend ! I'm back at it with a second part and whatever character I can think of ! (Among which best boy Oscar because he deserves it, and also more adults)

Let's go !

***

Oscar Pine

So ! While I love Oscar with my whole heart, honestly guessing his Love Language is no easy feat. One thing for sure : touch isn't is thing even if it's how everyone else chose to communicate their love.

I saw a post a while back detailing how Oscar is always putting his hands up as a barrier when he's scared or uncomfortable and that makes me cry a little instead but it's true TT. Anyway...

In the latest volumes we've got quite a bit of comforting Oscar-talks but I have to wonder how much of that is due to Ozpin's influence really. As a result I've decided to settle on... Acts of Service or Quality Time ! This is based on a few details : when people are upset with him in one shape or form, Oscar was always very eager to prove himself useful, give some aspect of concrete help (such as cooking a Casserole, ringing any bell ?). Plus I imagine that's the exact brand of help his Aunt would have needed most on a farm. Added to that, he always seems fairly happy to be included, be with the others no matter what's going on. Training ? Yay ! A movie with Jaune & Weiss ? Smiling puppy look. Fancy party ? Shenanigans together ! So yea, I love seeing my boy loved and hugged but please everyone settle for the loving he's most comfortable with <3

“She made a choice! A choice to put others before herself! So do I.”

“Oh, uh, yeah. I thought you guys would appreciate a hot meal after... spending all day looking for me, apparently.”

“No, it's okay. These past few days, I've been scared of the same things you were. I don't know how much longer I'm going to be... me. But I did some thinking, and I do know that I want to do everything I can to help with whatever time I have left.”

- - - - - - - - - -

Ozpin

For our favorite immortal wizard aka not quite dead Headmaster... I think the answer is rather obvious. When you're so careful with your words, but also so fiercely devoted to humanity, Words of Affirmation is a must. Ozpin constantly does his best to calm, to reassure. He's good at controlling the conversation and getting people where he wants... Except he more often than not use it to make them think and help them reach an healing ore motivating conclusion. This man is so insisten on giving and cultivating hope, so painfully aware of just how much words can change... There's no doubt in my mind that it's through these very same words that he tries to fight the darkness in others' mind, even when they don't want to let themselves be persuaded. And with some help from the farmboi, Ozpin is gaining in honesty and earnestness. And that can only help in giving comfort.

But to be honest... If you offer him a hug I doubt he'd refuse, and he definitely deserves one. Also therapy. For Oscar too. Everyone in therapy 2k21.

“Ruby. I've made more mistakes than any man, woman, and child on this planet. But at this moment I would not consider your appointment to leader to be one of them. Do you?”

“It's not every day that friends are able to come together like this. Time has a way of testing our bonds, but it's nights like these that can help keep them stronger than ever. Nights like these are ones we'll never forget.”

“Don't worry, Mr. Arc. Your journey is far from over, and the same might be said for all of you. Unlocking your Semblance isn't the end. It can still grow and evolve. Providing you are willing to put in the work, who knows what could happen?”

- - - - - - - - - -

Emerald Sustrai

Now here I'm gonna go ahead and say that the way Emerald has been taught to express her love and the way SHE would rather preffered to be loved most likely do not align. At the side of someone like Cinder, and even Mercury who isn't exactly the most emotionally vulnerable person; the only brand of love that gets an easy pass is Acts of Service, and that's probably what Emerald is the most used to. I can go on a mission with you. I can help. We go right back to the "I can be useful" mentality and I'm not sure she's been shown any other way honestly. Let's be real though : if someone offered a hug or some gentle words ? She'd probably pout & fuss but I hardly doubt she'd object.

“I don't care about Salem! But I owe Cinder everything. You want to fight her that bad? Be my guest.”

“I just... Cinder was the only family I ever had. She cared about me, taught me things... But without her here, I don't know if what we're doing--”

“I've been working on my Semblance. I can help. I won't tell anybody.”

- - - - - - - - - -

Pyrrha Nikos

What's with everyone and dedicating their whole love toward just helping their teammates anyway they can ?! Stop ! But any way, you guessed it. I'm pretty sure one of Pyrrha's top way of showing love is Acts of Service, and nothing means quite as much to her as Quality Time. For someone who's been put on a pedestal and has a hard time relating to people; both touch and words can be a bit awkward. But if they're wrapped up neatly in a training session or semblance explanations ? Well that's already a more familiar area. Pyrrha gives her whole to her friends and those she cares about. And in exchange, if anyone can simply... be there and spend time with her... May it be at the ball or simply sitting in the courtyard... I'm sure our girl would be delighted.

“Jaune, you know if you ever need help, you can just ask.”

“I'm constantly surrounded by love and praise; but when you're placed on a pedestal like that for so long, you become separated from the people that put you there in the first place. But thanks to you, I've made friendships that will last a lifetime.”

“I'll do it. If you believe this will help humanity, then I will become your Fall Maiden.”

- - - - - - - - - -

Qrow Branwen

If I say Gift Giving for the corvid, is someone gonna hit me ? Come on it's fun ! Okay, more seriously... I think this kind of love conversation is kind of a necessity for Qrow. With a semblance such as Bad Luck, making everything complicated... Qrow tries to keep his distance from those he cares about. And since he's an emotionally repressed (but caring) asshole on top of it... Well that kinda narrows down his option. You know what DOESN'T put anyone at risk but can still bring smiles on their face ? GIFTS. Shiny things, souvenirs from his missions all over the world to give to 2 smol nieces. Sounds safe right ? That said, as any good emotionally unavailable character in this show, I gotta say Qrow probably has a thing for helping out and making himself useful in relation to Oz, Tai or the rest of the inner circle. So you know what that means *whisper* Acts of Service.

That said ! When it comes to receiving some love back... Qrow probably likes everything he doesn't allow himself to have. Soft touches, loving & comforting words, spending time with a friend without his semblance making everything complicated... We know that's all he wants.

“You idiot. I know you didn't do this.”

“Look, pal, I'm not sure who you are, but you need to leave my niece alone.”

“No one wanted me... I was cursed... I gave my life to you because you gave me a place in this world... I thought I was finally doing some good...”

- - - - - - - - - -

Clover Ebi

And among our newbies (and gone too soon) friends we have Clover ! Clover was a very good contrast to our dusty old crow but also a great help. Kind-hearted, perceptive and honest; he knew just how to put Qrow's self-loathing in his place and push him to give himself some credit. He always had a nice word or a joke for everyone, and visibly the rock of the Ace Ops : an expert a keeping the moral up and the mood companiable. Evidently, Words of Affirmation was his expertise. Had things gone differently, I'm sure we'd have had time for many more earnest and helpful conversations with this teal-eyed fisherman.

“It's a good thing they had someone to look up to and get them through it. Not everyone is so lucky.”

“I meant deflect a compliment. Those kids wouldn't be where they are without you. You've had more of an effect on them than you realize.”

“We don't have to fight, friend.”

- - - - - - - - - -

Winter Schnee

And today in the "emotionally unavailable" category we have... Winter Schnee ! TALK ABOUT YOUR FEELINGS PEOPLE ! Just - I would say look at Ruby but even she doesn't talk about her bad vibes... Nor does any of the "Words of Affirmation" peeps. Honestly what's wrong with y'all people ? Anyway Winter cares so much. Is it hidden behind professionalism and a stern *big sister* demeanour ? Sure. But it doesn't negate just how much she loves her closed ones. She's fiercely loyal, and even if she doesn't let her personal feelings get in the way of her duty and doing what needs to be done, no one is allowed to say she doesn't care. Countrary to Weiss, Winter doesn't seem as good nor as aware of the love that exists in simply *being* with people. Rather, she's dutiful and ready to help any way she can when given the chance. You guessed it, yet another Acts of Service kind of love... Maybe I'm doing this wrong XD. I'm on the fence about Words of Affirmation as well. Despite her standoffish looks, Winter has always been very open & reassuring during her discussions with Penny. But she's more stern when it comes to Weiss so I dunno x)

“I don't recall asking about your ranking, I'm asking how you've been. Are you eating properly? Have you taken up any hobbies? Are you making new friends?”

“You've grown up a bit, haven't you? You're not the little girl clinging to the family name anymore.”

“You can't just buy trust like everything else! You have to earn it!”

And that's it for Part 2 ! I might do some other characters if people suggest some but I don't have a pressing need to right now. I have many ideas of songs to apply to various characters however so that's prob what my next posts will consist of (or fun templates)

If anyone has tips to create RWBY gifs or links to download the eps in good quality I'll take it ! Good day everyone !

[junnie133]

Linked Universe Pokémon AU

Bc i’m a damn nerd. These are just my headcanons, feel free of using the images and the clean template in the end. I’d love to hear suggestions about changes on their teams since I filled some of them rather forcefully to get a full 6 Pokémon team. 

{+}{+}{+}

A mostly Flying/Water based team for our little Sailor! I got some of the basic Water Pokémon we usually see in the games and the anime, mixed up with some Ghost types (bc Phantom Hourglass).

Gyarados (★): Water/Flying. I wanted to reference the King of Red Lions with this one. His main transport while traveling through the big Great Sea.

Mantine: Water/Flying. Maybe captured when it was only a Mantyke, a fun pokémon very common on the seaside. I bet Wind would like it.

Lapras: Water/Ice. Another common chose for traveling, a very kind pokémon easy to train for its calm behaviour.

Dhelmise: Ghost/Grass. A badass pirate-based pokémon for a badass pirate boy. Maybe a gift from Tetra after they set sail?

Drifblim: Ghost/Flying. Captured as a Drifloon, a cute little guy.

Wingull: Water/Flying. Aryll’s pokémon, she lent it to her big brother and it often delivers letters between both siblings. 

Warriors’ team was pretty easy for me, there’s a lot of pokémon that fit him very well (unlike with some of the others *sigh*). I focused on some of his personality traits and the knight trope.

Aegislash: Steel/Ghost. Captured as a Honedge and evolved to this point, a very loyal pokémon who hates traitors almost as much as War does. His best pal.

Gallade: Psychic/Fighting. Abandoned as a Kirlia, War took him on his team. A complete gentleman, almost as flirty and skilled in combat as his owner. 

Bisharp: Dark/Steel. Captured as a Pawniard, a very serious fella. Likes to act like the leader of War’s other pokémon.

Silvally: Normal. War rescued him from the enemy’s lines, it was very wary of everyone but got a confidence booster when evolved. Loves War and gets somehow overprotective with him.

Corviknight: Flying/Steel. Every Captain of the Royal Guard owns one. He’s a wise, old bird who has seen lots of trainers go down in combat. It became attached of War.

Rapidash: Psychic/Fairy. Honestly, I was very unsure to give him a Galar version, however, I think it’s kind of fitting with his flamboyant attitude. She gets jealous when War flirts with someone.

Ah, my favorite team. It has a lot of Eevees, that’s all I need in life. This one was the easiest of all for obvious reasons. Also, Four is tiny, Eevee is tiny, and they both can easily adapt to any circumstance. Soulmates.

Leafeon: Grass. Green’s Eevee, the other eevelutions (except Umbreon) follow him like a leader. He has an easy going nature and takes care his fellow eeveelutions. They’re all siblings.

Vaporeon: Water. Blue’s Eevee. A little shit. Likes to bother Blue and the other Colors, but it gets soft with Red. She’s jealous of Flareon.

Flareon: Fire. Red’s Eevee. Always sleeping, likes to rest on Red’s lap after tough battles. Completely oblivious of her surroundings most of the time. She’s Red’s spoiled little girl.

Espeon: Psychic. Vio’s Eevee. A very capricious boy. Likes to be Vio’s center of attention and likes to hang out with Umbreon. Can’t stand Vaporeon but gets along very well with the others.

Umbreon: Dark. Shadow’s Eevee. Depressed girl. Misses her owner, although he likes Four and the colors just fine, sleeps with Flareon very often and likes Espeon’s company. 

Eevee: Normal. Came out from Espeon’s and Umbreon’s egg. It refuses to evolve.

I had some trouble choosing for Wild. I wanted to add a poké for each region on BotW and Champion, but decided against it. He had a team pre-calamity, but only a few pokémon manage to live 100+ years. Like Golurk.

Decidueye: Grass/Ghost. Captured as a Rowlet. Evolved quickly to his final form after lots of dangerous battles, he and Wild have the same fashion style, and have archery contests rather often. They’re close.

Sawsbuck: Normal. One day Wild decided he was tired of walking and mounted her in the wild. She didn’t take it kindly so they kind of got into a fight. Later that day Wild fought her with Decidueye and won, adding her to his team. 

Mudsdale: Ground. Wild heard of the existence of a gigant Mudsdale somewhere near the Faron Grasslands and went to capture it. She’s very gentle for her size, but can and will protect Wild and the others.

Heracross: Bug/Fighting. They fought over a honeycomb they found at the same time. Wild won, and since then he has never stopped following him. Beedle has tried exchanging him for any pokémon he has with no avail. Wild always cooks things with honey for him.

Ursaring: Normal. Same story as Sawsbuck, but in Tabantha. Wild feeded her with berries and got along since then. They often fight as practice, but Ursaring always wins.

Golurk: Ground/Ghost. Before the calamity Wild and Flora found a Golett on the Sheikah ruins they explored. He doesn’t exactly remembers it, but Golurk is happy by just watching over him like he did for it 100 years ago. It keeps its trainer at bay when trying to do something reckless.

For my boy Hyrule I choose to make his team based on the spells he uses in his second adventure. They’re all mostly babies, like him.

Cleffa: Fairy. For the ‘Fairy spell’. Baby, often gets into trouble without meaning it, and Hyrule swore to protect him no mater what. He found his egg abandoned somewhere and took care of it until it hatched. Cleffa thinks he is his mother.

Magby: Fire. For the ‘Fire Spell’. Another baby. The only one who likes his cooking. Also they look alike a lot, I couldn’t not add him on ‘Rule’s team if I had to choose a fire type. 

Ampharos: Electric.  For the ‘Thunder Spell’ A good girl, lights up the caverns Hyrule explores with flash and it’s his strongest pokémon. He found her full evolved and injured. She has saved his ass more than once.

Wobbuffet: Psychic. For the ‘Relflect spell’ An asshole. Not really, but Hyrule has never been able to tame him. He does whatever he wants, and ‘Rule only uses him for battle as a last resort. He loves him anyway.

Audino: Normal. For the ‘heal spell’ The softest girl ever. Always heals his and the team’s injuries, eats his food even if she hates it and gets along with everyone. An angel.

Bunnelby: Normal. For the ‘Jump Spell’. Tiny, chill boy. Tagged along with ‘Rule after he gave him an apple, now he follows him everywhere.

Sky pokes for a Sky, bird lover boi. Honestly that was my only standard while doing this one. Also Sky is the best trainer among them all, don’t ask why it just seems like it. (he actually went to school so...)

Talonflame: Fire/Flying. Crimson in this AU, has trained him since he was a baby Fletching. They’re best buddies, he hates Groose and loves Sun.

Sirfetch’d: Fighting. I wasn’t sure if I should have give this one to Warriors, but then I realized Sky is a trained knight too, so he may have trained this boy in the Academy. He gets along with Warriors pretty well tho.

Pidgeot: Normal/Flying. Captured as a Pidgey. Skyloft is a town in the sky, what did you expect.

Honedge: Steel/Ghost. A poke the Academy provided. Jealous of Fi. Admires Sky.

Braviary: Normal/Flying. He actually caught him once he got off from Skyloft. A very prideful bird, confident and smug. Likes to prove himself in front of Sky.

Altaria: Dragon/Flying. She was Sun’s, but when Sky began his adventure she accompained him to search for her owner. She stills consideres Sun her trainer, but wants to protect Sky since he’s so important for Sun. Also, he’s nice.

ughhh i’m not really happy with this one. I think Legend is the kind of trainer who only has like, two pokémons for all his life, but I wanted to add some ideas too.

Lopunny(★): Normal. Captured as a Bunneary when he was a kid. He lived with Legend and his Uncle until That Day™. Legend had no idea he was a shiny until he met some other Bunneary on his adventures. Can and will murder you if you do something to his trainer.

Wingull (★): Water/Flying. Got her after Koholint. Her name is Marin and will get defensive if someone asks why. He cheerish her, and doesn’t make her fight, but can’t stand watching her a lot.

Primarina: Water/Fairy. A gentle girl. Marin’s. Legend’s not sure how she made it out of Koholint.

Togekiss: Fairy/Flying. His name is Moosh.

Kangaskhan: Normal. Her name is Ricky.

Ryhorn: Ground/Rock. His name is Dimitri. 

As I said, I’m not sure about it, since I haven’t even played the Oracle games.

Another hard onnnneeeeeeee. Is the same as Legend, I think Time is the kind of guy who it’s fine by having one or two (or no) pokémon. I wanted to add a wolf poké but I didn’t :C

Phanthump: Ghost/Grass. The Lost Woods are filled with those little guys, Time never knew where they came from until he was older and no longer a Kokiri. He knows how to comfort them from his eternal sadness, so when he founds one as an adult near Lon Lon Ranch he lets him stay with them. Talon is scared of him.

Miltank: Normal. Malon’s, a very sturdy lady who sometimes overprotects him. She gives nice milk.

Yamask: Ghost. Do I have to explain it? it tagged along after Termina.

Noctowl: Normal/Flying. He’s a very annoying Old Man who helped him on his adventure with his Fly move. He can call him with his Ocarina with a song.

Impidimp: Dark/Fairy. A goddamn gremlin. She appeared making trouble at the Ranch one day, pranking Talon and their animals mercilessly, until Time outpranked her and gained her respect. She likes Malon a lot. (it also reflects Time’s inner gremlin).

Mimikyu: Ghost/Fairy. A shy boy. Was abandoned in the Ranch by some asshole and scared Malon the first time she saw him. It remained hidden in the barn for weeks until Time could get him out. He was as alone and desoriented as he was on his first adventure, so he may have a soft spot for him.

Goat boy. If he could be would have a team full of goats. not really happy either but it’s better than Time’s and Legend’s.

Mightyena: Dark. Captured as a Poochyena in the Twili Real By Midna. He hated her at first, and she hated him back, but after their adventure she got stuck with Twi. The both of them were sad because Midna’s departure and became friends soon.

Absol: Dark. Honestly, I only thought it fitted him. She always appeared before something bad happened on his adventure, and at first he was wary of her, but Midna explained him Absols only appeared as a warning for future disasters. She accompained them on their adventure after some point.

Lycanroc: Rock. Captured as a Rockruff near Ordon Village. A good boy. Twilight loves him. He loves him back. Twi spoils him rotten.

Mudsdale: Ground. I though of her as a replacement for Epona, but I’m not sure about it. Still, Twi would absolutely have a horse on his team.

Dubwool: Normal. A grumpy girl, also a goat, also another spoiled poké. She’s old and strong, has been part of his life since he has memory. Only lets Twilight to brush her wool and trim it when necessary.

Gogoat: Grass. An old guy. Pretty chill and patient, also had been with Twilight since before his adventure. Big boy too, he lets Twi and the other Links mount him.

aaannnnd we’re done! here’s the template i made for this occasion. Feel free to use it. If you have any more suggestions or you own headcanons you can tell me! I’d like to get some feedback about this. Sorry about the quality of the images but my pc is shit. If you want them in better conditions you can PM me.

[missjosie27]

Hogwarts Mystery Ship Questions- David x Merula

This post is somewhat ironic given that I just posted the chapter of my story where Merula attempts to lock David in a room with Devil’s Snare haha. But I promise, the two were meant for each other. Here’s a full detailed list of their relationship. Thank you to @hogwartsmysterystory for the template once more.

1. How does their relationship develop in tandem with the Vaults?  Are they a hindrance or do they bring them closer together?

A: During their first three years at Hogwarts, David and Merula were in constant competition to find the vaults, with the former always coming out on top. This infuriated Merula to no end, and she always tried to one up or undercut him in some way by almost any means necessary. Ironically, it was Madam Rakepick who altered that rivalry, as she saw the talents in both of them and used them to her advantage. By the time they enter the portrait vault during fifth year, the two are already more or less dating.

2. What’s something that they really bond over together?

A: Dueling is a favorite pastime of both teens. Merula caught David by surprised during their first year, but David’s natural talent along with his own unique determination usually give him the edge. Once a means to harm or maim each other, by sixth year it becomes a way for them to let out their frustrations and relax. Both are avid Quidditch lovers, with David joining the Gryffindor team during Year 6 as a beater and Merula joining Slytherin in Year 5 as a chaser. Each love to talk to discuss the sport. Finally, each has a sharp wit and are rather fond of sarcasm, leading to considerable banter between them, which David and Merula quietly enjoy.

3. How do they flirt with each other before dating?  How does it change after they start dating?

A: David doesn’t start to seriously ‘flirt’ with Merula until late fourth year, early fifth year when he realizes her feelings for her. He enjoys teasing her, making jokes, and finds her reactions highly entertaining. For her part, Merula, not the best at public social interaction, begins a habit of glowing pink when they have an intimate or flirtatious moment together, but tries to brush it off with indifference or empty threats. After they begin dating, their flirting is more private, as David does not want to push her too hard, but during their alone time, Merula does not hold back letting him know her mutual attraction, touching him, rustling his hair, and sitting in his lap.

4. What does the rest of the Mystery Crew think about them?  Do they even know about it?

A: The reactions vary. Some catch on rather quickly that the two have the hots for each other, Tulip being the first, and she is surprisingly supportive. Rowan and Ben were mortified at the prospect of their best friend falling for Merula. Rowan in particular does not understand and it drives a small rift between him and David’s friendship. The Weasley brothers, though shocked at first, encourage him to pursue Merula if it makes him happy. Ismelda struggles with the relationship in a similar fashion to Rowan, worried that David is trying to steal away her only friend. Though David and Penny kissed once, she also was quite happy for him when she found out, agreeing that the two lost themselves in a moment of vulnerability.

5. Do you think any of the Hogwarts staff ship them or think they’re cute together?

A: The staff generally don’t pay attention, though some are surprised when they happen upon the news.

6. What rumors do you think would float around Hogwarts about their relationship, if any?  How would your MC react to them upon learning about them?

A: Much of the students are dumbfounded seeing the two former enemies fall for each other. Gryffindors and Slytherins in particular disapprove but Bill and Barnaby intervene to prevent any open hostilities. David, in general doesn’t care, but knows Merula’s reputation is much more at stake than his and so takes most of the hits and questions that come their way.

7. Did your MC or the character(s) you ship them with date anyone else before them? What were those relationships like?

A: Merula secretly started to crush on David after receiving a gift from him during Year 4 at Christmas. However, she had no prior boyfriends, given that most boys feared her. David, on the other hand, found himself sought after quite frequently. Girls find him quite handsome. He kissed Penny at the beginning of Year 5 while comforting her over Beatrice, however, nothing came of it and the blonde became too focused on rescuing her sister to pursue a relationship. During Year 6, David and Merula enter a rocky period as her torture at the hands of Rakepick lead her to push her boyfriend away and they break up. Tulip, whom David has always felt an attraction to, comforts him and they end up having sex. Being the ever free spirit that she is, Tulip acknowledges that she’s not a relationship person, and knows David will eventually go back to Merula. In both instances, the two remain good friends.

8. Does their relationship have a rocky start?  Or is it smooth?

A: During their formative years, David and Merula hate each other’s guts. But as they grow closer, that hatred turns to love. Even so, Merula is highly insecure internally, and has a hard time accepting her own feelings, as well as the conflict she has about her own beliefs. Public displays of affection are rare, and the two did not kiss until Year 5. In Year 6, with David still angry over his brother leaving him and Merula still suffering PTSD from torture at the hands of Rakepick, the two break up, though they get back together later in the year.

9. What’s their primary love language (words of affirmation, gifts, acts of service, quality time, or physical touch)?

A: For Merula, saying ‘I love you’, is highly difficult but she has her ways of showing affection, most of which are physical: making out, cuddling, sex, etc. David, however, knows what she likes and will often buy gifts of sentimental value. Merula, once committed to changing her previous ways, does try and reciprocate. David loves it when she runs her soft fingers through his hair. Merula melts when David runs his hands up and down her legs. When going on more formal dates, Merula will wear a bow for David, something he comes to love.

10. How good are they at compromising?

A: As fifteen year olds, they’re awful. David is generally easy going and feels like he has to bend over backwards for Merula many times over, while she never does due to her stubbornness and unwillingness to open up. This leads to many shouting matches between them. But after they get back together during Year 6, an effort is made by the Slytherin to try and talk more about the problems they face. By the time they are married, both know how to hash their problems out without fighting (most of the time haha).

11. How often do they go out on dates and where do they like to go?

A: After the disaster of their first date, they agree never to frequent Madam Pudifoot’s establishment ever again. Quidditch matches, trips to Hogsmeade, and even the occasional beer at a muggle bar are all places the two like to frequent. However, by far their most favorite destination are concerts. As a graduation gift, David takes her to see Motley Crue. 

12. What are their favorite ways to be physically affectionate?

A: Merula secretly loves butterfly kisses and when David touches her legs up and down. David loves the way she rubs her hands through his hair and the method she uses to nibble on his neck.

13. What’s the dumbest or most ridiculous thing they’ve seen each other do?

A: David always reminds Merula of the time a broom hit her squarely in the face during first year. She on the other hand points out the time a fire crab set his pants on fire.

14. Do they like to cuddle?  Who’s the big spoon and who’s the little spoon?

A: In private, the two usually can’t get enough of each other. Merula will usually consent to be the little spoon, but one of her preferred sex positions is the cowgirl. Both will switch off depending on the circumstances. Sometimes, sex becomes as big of a competition as dueling and the vaults.

15. What position do they sleep in when they share a bed?

A: After sex, the two will usually fall asleep facing each other.

16. How do they comfort each other when they have bad days?

A: In her most vulnerable moments, Merula will cling to David or sit on his lap, never letting go. For David, he enjoys resting his head on her bosom.

17. What hobbies or activities do they like to do together?

A: Going to concerts, Qudditch matches, a nice dinner now and then, sex, and even muggle Karaoke nights.

18. What kind of gifts do they give each other?

A: David is aware Merula secretly likes muggle rock music, and often buys her CDs of her favorite bands. He once rigged a radio to play muggle stations so she could listen to the songs in the privacy of her room. He buys her nail polish brands, boots, tights, and also once fixed a damaged family heirloom. In return, Merula will buy him t shirts of his favorite Quidditch team, accessories for his wand, and even bought him a new broom when his old was destroyed by one of her house mates.

19. What’s their favorite thing about each other?

A: David falls head over heels for Merula without realizing why at first. He comes to the conclusion that there is a better person underneath her perpetual nastiness and wants to see more of it- her kindness, willingness to be brave, and using her unlimited ambition for better and higher purposes. Merula never gives up and has a spirit that cannot be broken even by her Death Eater parents. On the other hand, Merula adores David’s sense of humor, his quiet confidence, and his relative fearlessness. Though she never openly admits it while in Hogwarts, she also loves the fact that he challenges her not just in skill but as a person. Both, also find each other quite physically attractive. Merula happens to think David is quite handsome, and David witnesses her become a beautiful young woman.

20. What’s their LEAST favorite thing about each other?

A: Merula, despite softening over the years, still carries a nasty streak in which she can become petulant, angry, and even violent. David gets frustrated with her stubbornness and her need to make everything either a competition or an argument. He wants to get to know her better and be a person she can rely on but more often than not she refuses and pushes him away. As for David, Merula hates that he often surpasses her in talent and skill in most things. She often thinks of him as a hypocrite and as too willing to rush into things head on without taking into consideration the possible consequences. She becomes frequently annoyed when he uses jokes and humor to deflect or get around questions he doesn’t want to answer.

21. Do they keep secrets from each other?  Or are they very open and communicative?

A: David and Merula are not the talkative types at first. Neither one likes to divulge feelings all that much. Merula, given that she has trust issues, hides many aspects of her past, though she tries to refrain from outright lying to her boyfriend.

22. What do they think of each other’s choice in career and how supportive are they?

A: David becomes an Auror while Merula becomes the manager for the Weird Sisters. Both are supportive of each other in adult life, though Merula initially feels awkward given that her parents once murdered an Auror in front of her.

23. Do they have a relationship song for each other?  Do you have one (or more) for them?  If so, what are they?

A.    ‘Every Rose Has Its Thorn’ by Poison was the song sung by David to get onto the Frog Choir. It sparked Merula’s interest in rock music and it came to symbolize how they felt about each other. The song played at their wedding, much to the chagrin of Merula’s aunt. Other songs they enjoy together are ‘Dance the Night Away’ by Van Halen, ‘Come As You Are’ by Nirvana, and later ‘When I Come Around’ by Green Day.

24. If they move in together, when does it happen?  What’s that transition like?

A: They move into a flat together in London during the year 1993 after David is hired full time as an Auror. The transition, though messy at times, occurs without much hiccup, given that both have largely worked through their issues by now.

25. Do they adopt any pets or magical creatures?  If so, which ones?

A: Neither David nor Merula are fond of pets.

26. If they get married, who proposes to whom?  And how do they do it?

A: David is spurned to propose to Merula once he figures out Voldemort has returned. He knows that the risk is high that the war will split them apart so he proposes one day after a concert in a park in London. Though overwhelmed, Merula says yes.

27. If they get married, what’s their wedding like?

A: Medium sized. David has much more family than Merula does, given that she has no living grandparents, her parents are in jail, and her aunt is unmarried. However, the Grant family, despite initial misgivings, welcome her as one of their own. David’s best man is Charlie Weasley while Merula’s maid of honor is Ismelda, who is being recruited by the Death Eaters at this time, unbeknownst to everyone else. Almost all of the old Mystery crew returns, except for Rowan, who is abroad with his studies to become a Professor.

28. Do they have and/or adopt any children?  What are their names and what’s their relationship with their parents?

A: David and Merula do end up having children, three in fact- Joseph, Thomas, and Sarah. Joe inherited most of Merula’s traits and gets along better with his mother, while Sarah inherited her father’s tendencies, but is something of a daddy’s girl. Thomas is the quiet one, usually settling sibling fights and is highly independent. Joe is a Slytherin, Sarah is a Gryffindor, and Thomas is a Ravenclaw. Despite the personality clashes, the family is generally very happy, buying a house in Lincolnshire, living a peaceful existence.

29. What’s the biggest hurdle they have to overcome in their relationship?  Do they ultimately succeed or fail?

A: Merula and David both have internal problems that take time to solve during their Hogwarts years and after. But the ultimate obstacle is the Second Wizarding War. Merula’s parents are freed from Azkaban in 1995 and rejoin Voldemort. They also go out of their way to try and win back their daughter and sway her to their side once more. David knows this, and recognizing the danger, frequently moves them from place to place in the hope they will not find them. That, ultimately fails, but in the end, Merula and David remain together.

30. Do they participate in the Second Wizarding War?  Or do they keep to themselves?  How do they each feel about it?

A: David, being an Auror participates in the war, but suffers under the corrupt administration of Cornelius Fudge, and the incompetent, overwhelmed one of Rufus Scrimgeour. He must balance his duties with what he knows is right and the survival of his family. When Voldemort takes over, he ends up leaving the Ministry knowing full well the atrocities he would be forced to commit if he were to stay on. For Merula, the war is much more problematic. Despite their best efforts, her parents locate her once more and David nearly has to physically remove them from the premises. But they don’t give up, eventually kidnapping her in late 1997, forcing her into the Death Eater ranks, attempting to brainwash her once more. David then makes it his full time mission to find her and destroy those who work for Voldemort, becoming something of a vigilante bounty hunter.

31. If one of them were to die, how would the surviving party react?  Who would take it the worst?

A: Equally. Merula knows that David was the only person to truly believe in her redemption and value as a person. David on the other hand, feels he could not live functionally without his wife.

32. Have they ever said anything hurtful to the other during an argument?  If so, how do they go about apologizing?

A: Plenty of times. But this was during the formative years of their relationship. When the make up in Year 6, Merula formally apologizes while David swears he will never let her go again.

33. Is there any circumstance in which you could see their relationship falling apart? If so, what and how would they handle it?

A: It did, briefly, but the situation was not their fault. Initially, teenage angst, bumps, bruises, insecurity, and misunderstandings were the biggest impediments to a happy relationship. But when Merula was kidnapped by the Death Eaters, she was shanghaied, forced to commit horrible acts, branded with the Dark Magic, though she resists in small ways (such as secretly sparing numerous muggle families and passing information to spies). It is only during the battle of Hogwarts, that David is able to break through and rescue her. Due to this, and testimony from Lucius Malfoy, Merula avoids jail time, though it takes a long time for her to recover from the ordeal. Afterwards, they renew their vows and go on to have a family.

[stereostevie]

Jazz musicians have always placed a premium on “saying something.” Technique, training, and theory will only get you so far, and may even lead you in the wrong direction; what matters is the ability to hit on an emotion or an idea that feels at once familiar and revelatory—to speak a common language in a decidedly uncommon way.

From this standpoint, few musicians have said more than the saxophonist Pharoah Sanders. Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, the son of a school-cafeteria cook and a city employee, Sanders moved to New York in 1962, at the height of jazz’s postwar avant-garde—also known as “free jazz” or “the new thing”—which was spawned by the late-fifties experiments of the saxophonist Ornette Coleman and the pianist Cecil Taylor. Sanders’s début album, recorded in 1964 for the ESP label, garnered little attention, but his playing caught the ear of John Coltrane. Coltrane invited Sanders to join his band in 1965. The following year, Impulse!, the label that had been exhaustively documenting Coltrane’s evolution, gave Sanders another chance to record as a leader. The result was the surging and expansive “Tauhid,” an album that positioned Sanders as both Coltrane’s foremost disciple and an artist with ideas of his own.

Coltrane died in 1967, and Sanders recorded some with his widow, Alice Coltrane, a multi-instrumentalist and composer, before returning to the studio for Impulse! two years later, with his own group. The resulting album, “Karma,” set the template for a remarkable five-year run. While remaining as fiery as ever, Sanders had developed an interest in soaring, magisterial melodies, and the rhythms of his recordings, while dense and multi-layered, often hewed toward a steady groove. He also incorporated unexpected elements: non-Western instruments, yodelling by the sui generis vocalist Leon Thomas. As the title of “Karma” suggests, Sanders, like Coltrane, felt that music had a spiritual dimension. “The whole musical persona of Pharoah Sanders is of a consciousness in conscious search of a higher consciousness,” Amiri Baraka later wrote.

Subsequent Impulse! releases, such as “Jewels of Thought,” “Thembi,” and “Black Unity,” extended a musical quest that has now, in one form of another, lasted more than fifty years. But for someone who has said so much through music, Sanders has said very little to the press, doing only a handful of interviews in the course of his career. I spoke with Sanders earlier this fall, in Los Angeles, where he had just celebrated his seventy-ninth birthday by playing two shows in the area. Sanders still projects a distinctly Southern brand of soft-spokenness, one that’s equal parts humility and aversion to fuss. Although he is an acknowledged master who has been honored at the Kennedy Center, he speaks of himself—and seems to sincerely regard himself—as just another working musician trying to make a living.

We talked about his beginnings as a musician, his approach to recording over the years, and his collaborations with jazz legends. But Sanders was more inclined to reflect on the challenge of finding a good reed than to dilate on his legacy. What really mattered, it seemed, was his feeling that he could never get it right. Over the course of the conversation, it became clear that he wasn’t being compulsively hard on himself or willfully oblivious. Rather, he was still searching, possibly for something that he knew he would never find.

The interview has been edited and condensed.

You just had your seventy-ninth birthday—happy birthday!

Thank you.

What keeps you going, musically? Why are you still out there touring?

Well, I still try to make a living. I haven’t retired. I’m not working that much, but, you know, jobs come through.

What are you trying to accomplish artistically at this point?

Right now, I don’t even know myself!

Your sets these days touch on all the different things you’ve explored in your career. I saw you play in Portland earlier this year, and you played some standards and ballads as well older, more open-ended material, like “The Creator Has a Master Plan,”1 from “Karma.”

I just play whatever I feel like playing. It’s hard to keep a band together these days, so I never know most of the time who’s going to be in the band. Whoever I decide to use, if I can use them, well, that’s it!

Let’s go back to the beginning. Before you took up the saxophone, you played the clarinet in church?

I started playing drums first.

Oh, I didn’t know that.

Then I wanted to play clarinet. I went to church every Sunday, and there was this memo up in church that someone had a metal clarinet. That person just passed away maybe a few days ago. He was about ninety-three or ninety-four. That’s how I got my first instrument. Seventeen dollars!

When did you switch to saxophone?

Well, in high school I was always trying to figure out what I wanted to do as a career. What I really wanted to do was play the saxophone—that was one of the instruments that I really loved. I started playing the alto. It’s similar to the clarinet—if you can play the clarinet, you can play the saxophone.

Why did you switch to tenor from alto? What did you like about the sound?

Tenor was the most popular instrument at that time to get work. I would rent the school saxophone. You could rent it every day if you wanted to. It wasn’t a great horn. It was sort of beat-up and out of condition. I never owned a saxophone until I finished high school and went to Oakland, California. I had a clarinet, and so I traded that for a new silver tenor saxophone, and that got me started playing the tenor. The minute I bought it, I wanted an older horn, so I traded my new horn for an older model.

I read that you went to Oakland because you were studying art and you were going to go to art school.

I was painting all the time, pictures. I got into music very late. I used to do all that kind of work.

Have you painted at all since then?

No, I haven’t done anything for many, many years. I’ve wanted to go back into it, but I just haven’t.

After just a couple of years in Oakland, you moved to New York. Had you decided to focus exclusively on music?

I had to get it all together. I didn’t know enough about lots of things—basic things. I knew I needed to get some studying in, in order to get into playing saxophone, because I wanted to play jazz. So I had to cut out a lot of activities that I was doing and spend more time practicing scales and stuff like that.

Is it true that you were homeless when you first moved to the city?

I didn’t have nowhere to stay. Everybody was talking about, “You should go to New York.” They said, “That’s the place to go!” So that’s the reason I went to New York. I hitchhiked a ride to New York.

What year was this?

1962.

So, when you get there, the avant-garde—or whatever you want to call it—is in full swing. It’s been three years since Ornette Coleman’s residency2 at the Five Spot.3 Sun Ra has moved the Arkestra4 from Chicago to New York. Were you following all of this?

I didn’t know what was going on. I was trying to survive some kind of way. I used to work a few jobs here and there, earn five dollars, buy some food, buy some pizza. I had no money at all. I used to give blood and make fifteen dollars or ten dollars or whatever. I had to keep eating something.

But you managed to establish yourself as a musician.

I always wanted to work with my own band, so I got some guys together and started working down in New York, in Greenwich Village. I could pick up a few little weekend jobs. You had to do something to survive.

Who was in that band with you, your first band?

I would ask around for some musicians, and we played—I didn’t even hardly know their names.

Was Billy Higgins5 in that band? I read that you two knew each other—and that he was homeless, too.

Billy Higgins, he would come around in that location a lot, in the Village. I met him, and I heard him play. On occasion, we kind of talked a little bit about the music, and I found out how great he was. I started listening to some of his recordings. Like I said, all the time, I was still trying to find some type of job or work—it didn’t matter whether it was playing music or whatever it was. There was one time I got a job being a chef, cooking, in order to survive.

You started working with the Arkestra in 1964, and then, in September, 1965, you joined Coltrane’s band.6 That was a lot of people’s first exposure to you. Do you know why he chose you?

I don’t even know the reason myself. I don’t feel like he needed me or another horn. I think he just felt like he was going to do something different.

What was it like to work with him? There’s an idea of him as this saint-like figure.

His whole demeanor reminded me of a minister. He didn’t act like a lot of musicians that I’ve met in my life. John, he was always extremely quiet. He didn’t say anything unless you asked him something. I never asked him anything about music.

Really?

Never.

But he was making a conscious choice to work with younger musicians.

He always had some kind of a way of looking to the future, like a kaleidoscope. He saw himself playing something different. And it seemed like he wanted to get to that level of playing—I don’t know if it was a dream that came to him, but that’s what he wanted to do. I couldn’t figure out why he wanted me to play with him, because I didn’t feel like, at the time, that I was ready to play with John Coltrane. Being around him was almost, like, “Well, what do you want me to do? I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”

He always told me, “Play.” That’s what I did.

What was your relationship with him like?

I loved being around him because I don’t talk that much, either. It was just good vibes between us both. We were just very quiet. All the time that I’d been listening to John, I’m hearing something else, just being around him. He would never start some kind of conversation—he would say something, but it wouldn’t last that long. He never would elaborate, or go deep into it. He said a few words, and that was it.

Was he funny at all? Did he ever joke around?

He had a sense of humor about him, I think. One time, Jimmy Cobb was playing with him, and his stick got loose, and it went across to John and hit him, or something. John said, “Yeah, he’s just trying to get back at me.”

His sense of humor was in his music. Sometimes he’d remind me of Monk.7 John would play things Monk would play, but it was a little bit different, faster. I’d turn around and look and say, “Oh. O.K.”

Monk’s music is definitely humorous, but I don’t think many people hear that in Coltrane.

He got a lot of stuff from being around Monk. He didn’t sound like Monk, but he understood the humor.

After John passed away, you continued recording with Alice Coltrane.8

You know, her playing was amazing. I loved what she was doing. But I always felt like what I was doing wasn’t good enough. Maybe I was playing a little bit more dominant than what she wanted—she seemed more intellectual than I was. But I tried to play something close to the concept that she was doing.

At one point, I had told her, “I don’t know if you like the way I’m playing or not. I don’t know whether this fits, or what.” She said, “You’re doing O.K. Just keep on playing. Keep on blowing.”

Around this time you also start leading your own bands, and you start recording for Impulse! as a leader. Did you feel like you knew what you were doing then?

No, I don’t think I was really ready. But I had to go on anyway, and study while I was trying to get it all together. I knew I had to be better than what I was. I had to keep moving. I learned a lot from John. I remember I used to talk to Philly Joe Jones.9 I talked to a lot of different people.

On those Impulse! records, you’re experimenting a lot with non-Western instruments, finding ways to use vocals in a freer context, and getting into more groove-oriented rhythms. Were you thinking through things in advance or just figuring them out in the studio?

We just worked it out while we was there. That kind of spontaneous move.

You started working with some musicians who people didn’t know well at the time, like Leon Thomas,10 Lonnie Liston Smith,11 Sonny Sharrock.12 What were you looking for when you heard them?

I was looking for musicians who played with lots of energy. I wanted to be able to play that way myself. In order to do that, I had to find musicians to work with who had that kind of energy.

You were making incredibly intense music during this period, on albums like “Jewels of Thought” and “Thembi.” Was that just where your head was at that time—constantly in a kind of heightened state?

I don’t know. I was still trying to reach for something, I didn’t know what.

Today people call this music “spiritual jazz.” But it wasn’t like anyone sat down at a table and said, “Let’s invent this whole new kind of music.”

It just happened. That’s the way I look at it. It just happened. I was never satisfied with my playing, for a long, long time. Still sort of have problems like that.

Still? Do you feel like you’ve ever had a moment, or a record, where you’ve been, like, “I got this one right”?

No.

Really?

I used to hear other bands, other groups, when they were making a recording. And a lot of musicians I’d hear would be working on one song maybe for, could be a week, or a few weeks. Make sure everything is right.

You, on the other hand, were recording two or three albums a year with Impulse! Was that how often the label wanted you in the studio?

Well, they wanted a certain number of records a year, being signed with somebody. The thing you don’t want to do is make them too close together, playing the same way as you were before. You’ve got to do something fresh. Some people like to wait for that kind of thing to happen.

But that’s not how you approached it.

I just felt like going in there and doing what I wanted to do.

Would the label give you any direction, or were they hands-off?

They tried to let you know how many songs to play. I just kind of ignored it. Sometimes, I would just play one tune for the whole side. I just kept on playing, like it was a suite. Looking from one thing to another. If you’re in the song, keep on playing.

Did you rehearse?

No, we never rehearsed.

Did you ever do more than one take?

Maybe on a few things we did, something where I didn’t really like the way I first got started up and started out playing. But whenever I heard it back, I kind of liked it, so I said, “Well, I should have kept it.” Anyways, it’s too late now.

It kind of taught me something else. It made me think, Why do I have to do it this way? Let’s keep on playing until it all comes together. That’s what we did. That’s what I always do. You know, try to keep on creating.

You’ve mentioned several times now having not liked how your playing sounded—this seems tied into the idea of your always searching for something new. Is there any recording where you’re happy with your sound?

I haven’t made it yet. Sometimes on my horn, a couple of notes, I’m feeling satisfied with it, but the rest of the notes just is not sounding right. So I’m still working on that.

I have a problem with finding the right reeds, and the right mouthpiece, the right horns. I used to buy boxes of reeds, and if they don’t play right I’d just throw them right on the floor, put them in the trash. Maybe a box of threes, or a box of fours. They never sound the same.

Do you think most musicians think this way? Are you all just perfectionists?

I don’t know. I know when I listen to other musicians, they sound beautiful to me. When I hear myself playing, I sound like… They sound beautiful. I just wonder, what are they all using?

What do you listen to these days?

I haven’t been listening to anybody.

Not even older stuff?

I haven’t been listening to anything.

I listen to things that maybe some guys don’t. I listen to the waves of the water. Train coming down. Or I listen to an airplane taking off.

Have you always been listening for sounds like that?

I’ve always been like that, especially when I was small. I used to love hearing old car doors squeaking…. Maybe it’s something you’re really into, then maybe you’ll get a sound like that. I just wondered, Would that be a good sound?

Sometimes, when I’m playing, I want to do something, but I feel like, if I did, it wouldn’t sound right. So I’m always trying to make something that might sound bad sound beautiful in some way. I’m a person who just starts playing anything I want to play, and make it turn out to be maybe some beautiful music.

When you were first in the public eye, with Coltrane, people didn’t get that.

I don’t know if I got it myself.

Do you go back and listen to your recordings?

Yeah, I look at them sometime. I’ll change it up if I’ve been playing something that I’ve maybe played before.

The goal is to never repeat yourself?

I try not to, but it seems like I do at times. Then I stop playing and catch myself and say, “Let me try something else.” It’s almost like I play one idea and then I just try to look at it, like, “O.K., I’m going to try to see if I can play it backward.”

People still associate you with the kind of music you were making in the sixties and seventies. But over the years you started doing a lot more traditional playing.

Well, I was trying to do a lot of things—like ballads. I was playing a lot of those before I came to New York, before I started recording. Maybe I just kind of slowed down a little bit. A whole lot.

What are your favorite ballads to play?

I like “Berkeley Square.”13 I feel like I haven’t played enough on it. Every time I play it, I try to play something different.

It makes me think of Coltrane’s “Ballads.” People were surprised by that record, because they didn’t think of him as that kind of player.

John always loved to play ballads. He played some ballads when I was working with him, when he kind of opened up more freely. On some jobs I did with him, he played a ballad every now and then. Then he got back in his spaceship and took off again.

That’s where he was. You never knew what he was going to do next until he did it. He just started playing himself, and we all just start coming in. Whatever time we felt like we were needed, we came in.

Do you still feel like that? Like you have no idea where you’re headed and are just going to see where the music takes you?

A lot of time I don’t know what I want to play. So I just start playing, and try to make it right, and make it join to some other kind of feeling in the music. Like, I play one note, maybe that one note might mean love. And then another note might mean something else. Keep on going like that until it develops into—maybe something beautiful.

[screamingforyears]

BEST OF 2017: TOP TEN

The TOP TEN, a collection of my 10 favorite albums of the year. These were the albums that demanded the most of me and the ones I found myself repeatedly going back to again & again…

CIVIL LUST

‘CONSTITUTIONS’

SELF-RELEASED

CIVIL LUST combine, then blend, all the aesthetic pleasures that make a great Goth Pop record on their debut LP ‘CONSTITUTIONS.’

The Salt Lake City based duo (Christian Riley and Isaiah Michael) are masters of their craft, who nail the details to a tee. 'Constitutions’is an exercise in classic post-punk tropes, but ones that have been further refined by years of study and more than capable craftsmanship.

The Cure bass lines, the Ian Curtisian vocals, to the Tears for Fears exuberance, Civil Lust create art that is sinewy yet soft (take one listen to “Receive” and tell me I’m wrong).

“Even Further” literally pulls you further into Civil Lust’s majestic ways with an echoed drum machine beat, tingled guitar lines, and Riley’s longing while the slow groove of the sensual “A Man You Will” is the type of sound the group perfect. The devil’s in the detail.

‘Constitutions’ and its able bodied creators construct a seamless 7 track album and further enrich an already fertile modern goth landscape...

DEATH BELLS

‘STANDING AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD’

BURNING ROSE / FUNERAL PARTY

DEATH BELLS, the Sydney based group of: Maurice Santiago (Bass), William Canning (Vocals), Aron Postolovic (Guitar), Rimas Veselis (Guitar), David Gauci (Synth), and Luca Watson (Percussion) seem to understand the power of gloomy guitar based indie, the kind that held court throughout the genre’s most influential decade and like many of the amazing groups mining these fields, they seem to understand the importance of detail and the need to move beyond mere homage.

DB’s beautifully bleached William Canning is a frontman to be reckoned with, as he parlays the looks, voice, words, and bravado into a force that demands attention, but not at the expense of working as an important cog to his band’s sturdy wheel. A singer is only as good as the foundation that surrounds him, so luckily for us the rest of the Bells are a top-notch unit.

‘STANDING AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD’ is a pure guitar record through and through, one that borrows equally from paisley jangle, arena reaching grandness, and moody post-punk while being executed with aplomb by Veselis & Postolovic’s dual attack. 

“Only You” finds guitars loudly pinging over a steady rhythm section, allowing the coldly effervescent vocals to take center stage. The group hold court and have once again presented a lively, yet somber piece of buttoned up pop with “Only You.”

Death Bells sound hopeful yet weary on their engaging debut album, coming together as a cohesive & bold unit unafraid to reach big while retaining all the detached cool of their forebears...

DRAB MAJESTY

‘THE DEMONSTRATION’

DAIS

DRAB MAJESTY, the project created and fronted by premiere goth alien Deb Demure, returned in 2017 with their second proper LP.

‘THE DEMONSTRATION’ sees Drab Majesty doubling down on what they do so well, finely tuned new wave goth, but better. Demure’s former LA based bedroom experiment (which has morphed into a two-man group with the addition of Mona D) has seen its profile & popularity rise, after successful tours supporting the likes of King Dude and Cold Cave.

Drab Majesty are the torchbearers for a certain strain of Goth, where the dark wave crashes full on into brooding Reagan era new wave pop. Demure captures a specific sound, whereas every production trick is precise and aesthetic rules the land. This attention to detail, along with Deb’s unique and heavily treated guitar style, is what sets Drab apart from the sea of Goth indebted groups.

The guitar tones captured throughout the album are phenomenal, as witnessed on the sci-fi waltz of “Not Just A Name.” Reminiscent of Duran Duran’s more subdued moments, only way fucking spacier.

Drab Majesty are masters of ethereal Goth, steeped in dated production tricks, while literally reaching towards the cold vastness of space. What was once a solo affair has morphed into a full fledged entity, and as the popularity grows, so to does the quality of the Drab output....

FEARING

‘A LIFE OF NONE / BLACK SAND’

FUNERAL PARTY

The kind of dark, brooding, and equally booming rock music that FEARING create on their EPs ‘A LIFE OF NONE’ & ‘BLACK SAND’ has been sorely missing in recent years. 

Fearing are exactly what I look for in a great gothic rock band, they capture a mood & essence that rings true while blowing past any attempts at modesty. And while I enjoy when things are minimal & low-key, I can’t help but gush when a band, especially one steeped in gloom, comes along sounding all huge. Which is precisely how fearing Fearing operate, they create big sounding rock songs that take elements from post-punk, 90′s Alt-Rock, and deathrock and combine them into one brutalist take on Goth.

“Beyond Light” sticks to the aggressively dark template of chiming guitars, thick bass, and wallowed out vocals while “Other Life” opens up with big thunderous drums, rolling bass, and moody synths before linking with a pinging guitar and layered vocals. “Other Life” shows a growth in Fearing’s songwriting, with sprinkles of piano notes adding new depth and has easily become one of the finest entry’s in the group’s catalog.  

The EP format is surely the way to go in our modern times and the Oaklanders have taken full advantage of our attention-deficits by breaking us off a nice four track stretch, as they satisfy our itch and keep us wanting more….. 

GRIZZLY BEAR

‘PAINTED RUINS’

RCA

Grizzly Bear, survivors of: the Brooklyn Sonic Boom, side projects, Indie Rock’s halcyon days, expectations, New York Magazine spreads, NYC itself, personal turmoil, indie labels, adulting, Taylor Swift, and most improbably…..themselves, have triumphantly returned with their first album in 5 years titled ‘Painted Ruins.’

‘Painted Ruins’ shows the no-longer-in-one place based group of Ed Droste, Daniel Rossen, and the two Chris combo of Taylor & Bear expanding on their already impressive sonic palette, while turning the focus inward. Grizzly Bear is the perfect example of “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts,” and for a group consisting of 4 very distinct musicians/personalities it’s really saying something. As corny as it sounds, when these four get together in a room, something special happens.

Album standout “Mourning Sound” is the straight ahead rocker we’ve been waiting for, a no BS thumper filled with gorgeous guitar work per Rossen. Truly one of the best things the group has ever penned as it manages to combine wistful regret (”I made a mistake….”) with a thick groove while deploying a goosebump inducing twinkle of synth.

Like most great albums, ‘Painted Ruins’ is a grower, with each subsequent listen revealing a new hidden nugget. The foursome known as Grizzly Bear have ended their 5 year absence with something meaningful, powerful, and refreshing…

HUMAN LEATHER 

‘LAZY KARAOKE’

CERCLE SOCIAL 

HUMAN LEATHER, comprised of Adam Klopp (Choir Boy) & Chaz Costello (Sculpture Club), are a self described “shitty version of Tears for Fears mixed with Depeche Mode,” but don’t let the humble self-deprecation fool you, because the duo tap into something so pure and unfettered that you simply have no choice but to succumb. 

And I hate to be the bearer of bad news to those who feel the need to cling onto originality, but everything’s been done already, so get the fuck over it and stop missing out on some truly great modern acts.

The Salt Lake City duo aim to break your fucking heart on their debut LP ‘LAZY KARAOKE’ which is chocked full of Reagan era bangers and aesthetically dripping odes that nail every aesthetic detail. 

“Ugly Sister” is a pure synth-pop ditty cloaked in the aforementioned Tears for Fears (who at this point are impacting this generation on some Joy Division type levels) influence. The devil is in the detail, something Klopp & Costello clearly understand, as the intricate production alongside the airy & emotive vocal courtesy of Adum (who recalls Wild Beasts’ Hayden Thorpe) is something to behold.

‘Lazy Karaoke’ was easily the most talked about album within the goth/post-punk community and with good reason.  

“Everything is fucking scary……”

JOHN  MAUS

‘SCREEN MEMORIES’

RIBBON MUSIC

  Well……..the wait is officially ended as JOHN fucking MAUS returned in 2017 with the long awaited album ‘SCREEN MEMORIES.’

The Minnesota (by way of the the World) based project never ceases to capture the imagination and does this by creating unfuckable with Goth Pop. Maus is the undisputed master of the deconstructed gem, and will remain so by adding the aesthetically pleasing extra mile in everything he touches.

‘Screen Memories’ is a fluid & fantastic listen proving that Maus hasn’t lost a single step since we last heard from him years ago. Maus, ever the pop-deconstructionist, is so well adept at creating nuanced pop songs, steeped in goth, that you almost take him for granted at this point.

While a melancholic crop of songs litter the album, the taut “Walls of Silence” allows Maus’ reverb drenched chant to roam free atop a bed of driving bass, eerie synths, and compressed snare snap. Limber, yet driving, this slice of gothic minimalism benefits from not only its creators expertise, but gains so much power from its brief 2 minute and 23 second run-time. 

If you’ve been sleeping on Maus, well shame on you, it’s time for you to wake the fuck up, press play, and soak up his mile-a-minute brilliance…

NEW TODAY

‘BETTER THAN DEATH’

SELF-RELEASED

Goth comes in many shapes and sizes, from cold wave to guitar driven gloom rock and everything in between. NEW TODAY, the under the radar post-punk duo of Dante Palomba (Casuistry) & Daniel Srungaram (Two One Six), fall into the latter camp with their latest LP ‘BETTER THAN DEATH.’

The group bring the big 80’s post-punk ala the Sound, the Chameleons, and Love & Rockets, while pairing it with minimalist detail. Taking Interpol-like guitar work, which at its best has always been minimal yet evocative, while juxtaposing it with substantial movements and huge vocals that take their place in the front. Dante Palomba’s voice is a viable instrument and the group treat it as such, which is exactly why New Today fall into the Romance/Trad Goth grouping.

All the preceding beauty culminates on “The Years” in the form of an icy synth that reaches for the ether, while being reminiscent of Interpol’s slower moments (which is basically how the XX got paid) but with far greater feeling and veiled optimism. “The Years” is an emotionally moving piece, the kind that builds yet sustains, and revels in its stark beauty.

At an even 10 tracks, New Today seem to know that leaving us wanting more is the key and ‘Better Than Death’ is one of the most fully realized and expertly executed albums I’ve heard in quite awhile.

It’s good to be goth….

PROTOMARTYR

‘RELATIVES IN DESCENT’

DOMINO

PROTOMARTYR triumphantly returned in 2017 with a new Long Player titled ‘RELATIVES IN DESCENT.’

This is a guitar rock record, which I know sounds like an oxy moron, but holy fuck the standard 4-piece is done proud throughout‘Relatives in Descent.’ This is the sound of an already great band furthering their footing and flexing their well defined muscle. Each member is in supreme control of their respected instrument: from the sharp lyrical prowess and spot on vocal take of Joe Casey, to the skeletal guitar riffs that blot entire song stretches via Greg Ahee, down to the powerful rhythm section courtesy of Scott Davidson’s driving bass and the chaotic (beyond time keeping) pace of Alex Leonard’s thunderous drums.  

The groggy “My Children” takes its time with a slow build of doomed kinetic energy, before opening up and falling into a rangy Proto groove of guitars, rhythm, and wordsmith diatribes. “My Children” builds and builds into a melee of guitars/drums/bass until the clouds part and the song opens up offering a chill inducing moment while Casey commands the room. The track’s guitar work in the final third is awe inspiring and note worthy.

By doubling down on what’s made them so great, while stepping out of their comfort zone, ‘Relatives In Descent’ finds Protomartyr at their finest, proving once again that the sons of Detroit are in it for the long haul....

SEXTILE

‘ALBEIT LIVING’

FELTE

The Los Angeles based death-squad known as SEXTILE have triumphantly returned with the pristinely raw ‘ALBEIT LIVING.’

Sextile are the teeth, the brute truth, the harsh reality, the gritty glitz, and the creators of the mad mad world party record we need. The harbingers of bleached catharsis, consisting of the ridiculously attractive & stylish group of: Brady Keehn (vox/guitar/synth) Melissa Scaduto (drums), LA Eddie Wuebben (synths), and the newest addition Cameron Michel (guitar/bass), are trending upwards and with great reason.

That primal drive comes from Melissa Scaduto, not only through the floor shaking beats, but through her guidance, visual appeal, and aesthetic vision. Simply put, she’s the beating heart of the group, one that’s rounded out by Brady Keehn’s Cobra Kai-like bad-boy charisma, and Eddie Wuebben’s art damaged cool.

“Sterilized” is sinisterly delightful. A manic & breathy beast, where deathrock and new wave meet late at night to perform unspeakable acts upon one another. I found myself demonstrably head bobbing upon every listen (“can’t shake it”) while looking for the nearest dance floor thanks to the boogie down bass & drums. “Sterilized”allows Keehn to do what he does so well, that uptick coda (think “Can’t Take It.”), the melody of which is so fucking strong that I find myself walking around panting “Come on and sterilize me.”

Sextile have raised the bar for everyone on ‘Albeit Living’ as they establish themselves as Felte’s flagship group through hometown-hero sincerity and a cohesive album that never overstays its welcome...

***BONUS***

DEATH OF LOVERS

‘THE ACROBAT’

DAIS

2017 closed out with a tender aesthetic bang thanks to DEATH OF LOVERS’ ‘THE ACROBAT.’

The New York based group, boasting no less than three members of the emotional-gaze band Nothing and keyboardist CC Loo, create timeless New Wave ran through a gothic dream-pop portal. It’s not a disservice or slight to say that Death of Lovers created the long lost John Hughes soundtrack that we’ve been waiting on, it’s simply that good, that infectious, and that sugary. 

“The Absolute” exudes a feeling of warm nostalgia, yet teeters with an anxiety inducing nervousness that’s coyly deployed over an upbeat arrangement of giddiness. The compressed echo beat, airy synths, and razor sharp guitar lines create a solid foundation for Domenic Palermo’s up in the clouds vocal (with a harmonious assist from drummer Kyle Kimball). 

Death of Lovers are keen architects of the smooth delight, as “The Absolute” is five minutes of pure stylized bliss and that’s long before the sound of an aesthetically pleasing saxophone buries it’s reedy goodness into your brain which slides in well next to yearning moody bummers like “The Lowly People” and “Divine Song.”

This is what it sounds like when Hardcore vets find their inner New Romantic (take notes Head Automatica).

Seriously, that sax tho….

[projectalbum]

First 100 down. 96. “Rockin’ the Suburbs,” 97. “Ben Folds Live,” 98. “Songs for Silverman,” 99. “Way to Normal,” 100. “Stems and Seeds,” 101. “Lonely Avenue,” 102. “So There” by Ben Folds

I owe Nick Hornby for the introduction.

The High Fidelity author’s collection of essays on pop music, Songbook, made the case for Ben Folds’ contributions to the canon in a chapter on “Smoke.” Hornby writes so persuasively, in a deceptively casual style that I’m perhaps a bit too pretentious to ever approach with my own pop culture writing. There’s a lot of music covered in his book that I failed to investigate on my own. But that particular passage must have triggered something in the back of my mind, some residual impression of “Brick,” perhaps, which sent me to the Web for those first BFF tracks (none of which were “Smoke,” by the way, though I agree with Hornby’s appraisal of its lyrical strength).

It quickly became a total fandom— I now have all the official LP’s, band and solo, and the EP’s are floating in the digital ether of hard drives and burned discs. I even bought the soundtrack to the little-remembered Dreamworks quirky CG animal picture Over The Hedge, to which Folds contributed several original tracks (a soundtrack that marked his most recent collaboration with William Shatner, a pairing that also yielded a full-length, Has Been, which is a simultaneously ironic AND unironic great listen.) No one is going to bestow the crown of ultimate Ben Folds fanboy on my head— I’ve ONLY seen him live twice, and neither time was even with a symphony orchestra! Nevertheless, I’ve been following his output for a good decade, and my record is solid.

His records are also solid (as is this excellent segue), exploring the outer limits of musical flavors available to a largely pop-oriented guy with a piano and an ear for harmony. Rockin’ the Suburbs (#96), his first post-Five record (exempting Fear of Pop: Volume 1, an experimental doodle from the era of the Messner recordings, which I only mention to smugly show off my bonafides yet again), incorporates synthesizer squeals, a Korn-parody guitar breakdown, treated keyboards, and strings, but his ivories are still at the forefront. His lyrics here are the ultimate template for the rest of his career, featuring: the irreverent humor of a class cut-up (like “Rockin’ The Suburbs’” self-aware chorus or the climactic, harmonized shout of “Motherfucker!” that ends “Fired”), the incisive character sketches of a short story author (“Fred Jones, Pt. 2” is a mini-masterpiece of well-observed details, but I think “Carrying Cathy” is downright shattering), and the delicate balance of sentiment any memoirist must strike (“Still Fighting It” hits the bullseye, but “The Luckiest” is a bit too goopy for me).

I have always had a big soft spot for Songs for Silverman (#98), which has been painted by some critics and BFF fans as a turn into mopey adult contemporary. There are a couple of skippable tracks, for sure, but it doesn’t sound as far from the old days as the doubters believe. After handling most of the instruments on Suburbs by himself, and doing a quite literal solo tour- just the man and his Baby Grand- as documented on the superb Ben Folds Live (#97), Folds missed the sonic chemistry that came from having a band in the studio. Though Jessee and Sledge had followed their own paths (the former touring with Sharon Van Etten, the latter adopting an existence of a lower key than the music business), Folds assembled a more than capable bass/drums duo to pump up the jazzy breakdown in “Bastard” and the chorus of “You to Thank.”

“Landed,” even without the orchestral strings that he later decided overwhelmed the melody, has rightfully earned its place in the classic Folds firmament. Hearing the introductory notes at my first Ben Folds show was enough to conjure a lump in my throat. Seemed weird for me to get unduly emotional about it: the chorus is upbeat (complete with signature “Ba-ba-ba-ba”s) and the story of a man emerging from a controlling relationship is not something I’ve experienced or even witnessed, so I can only interpret this as a reaction to the beauty of hearing a masterful pop song.

As the Web became more of a presence in daily life, and piracy was taking huge bites out of the music industry, Folds ably kept pace with the evolving relationship between an artist and his fans. That included embracing the nascent social media networks- which by the mid-2000s meant MySpace- and posting new music before it hit the streets. During my first couple years of college, I had one of these tricked-out profiles myself. This may have been the way I first heard, in 2008, the “fake” tracks.

Alternately crude and tremblingly earnest, they were a collection of “leaked” songs ostensibly from Folds’ forthcoming album, Way To Normal (#99). There was “Bitch Went Nutz,” a 1st person narrative about a Republi-bro scandalized in front of his peers by his Anarcho-Socialist fuck buddy that plays like the most profane “Weird Al” Yankovic pastiche ever. And “Cologne (Piano Orchestra Version),” a stunningly pretty concerto-ballad that gets absurdly overblown with a chanting male chorus and a dozen keyboards playing at once. And a handful of winkingly self-serious social justice ballads. All written and recorded, it was later revealed, in about a day, and launched into the bootleg blogosphere as a prank.

These were eventually officially released on Stems and Seeds (#100), alongside alternately-mastered versions of the “real” songs. The legitimate tracks found on the official LP are only slightly more tasteful, with a somewhat explicit Divorce Record vibe on kiss-offs like “You Don’t Know Me” (with Regina Spektor lending her magic) and “Brainwascht” (about the battle lines that can be drawn between mutual friends of split couples). When the lyrics are slightly regrettable (like the stereotype-mining “Bitch Went Nuts”), the melodies usually carry it. Exceptions would be the intentionally-grating “Errant Dog,” and the limp celebrity satire “Free Coffee” (skippable on record, but in live shows, Folds illustrates how he gets the treated piano sound by placing Altoids tins on his strings, which is a bit of nerdy fun).

Things came pleasingly full circle when it was announced that Folds was co-writing an entire album with Nick Hornby. The mutual appreciation society of these two artists had become a collaboration outlined right on Lonely Avenue's (#101) cover art: “Ben Folds Adds Music and Melody to Nick Hornby’s Words.” It’s a magical working relationship mirrored in their biographical tribute “Doc Pomus,” about the irascible musician who penned classic rock standards like “This Magic Moment” and “Save The Last Dance For Me” alongside Mort Shuman. This sense of pop history permeates 70’s-influenced arrangements like “Password” and “Belinda,” the latter about a Manilow-esque crooner reflecting on the love that inspired his greatest hit, who he callously abandoned for a fling with a flight attendant sporting “big breasts, a nice smile, [and] no kids, either.”

My 2 favorite tracks are a study in tonal opposites: “Claire’s Ninth,” a delicately affecting portrait of a young girl in the middle of a chilly but courteous divorce, and “Saskia Hamilton,” a gleefully nerdy ode to the most phonetically pleasing poet’s name ever. Their musical commonality is that neither one is a slow-tempo plaintive ballad, which have their place, but are the Folds tunes that I tend to skip in his later releases. “Claire’s” chords are jazzy and gently driving, with gorgeous vocal harmonies in the chorus; “Saskia” is frantic, driven by old school Moog synthesizer, with quirky flourishes like the female opera singer making a vocal cameo in the breakdown— it feels like a mutual homage between the song’s authors to “Weird Al”’s more esoteric original compositions.

So There (#102), while technically reaching full-length status with the inclusion of a real-deal “Concerto For Piano and Orchestra,” feels oddly slight. It was hyped by the artist himself as a unique new collaboration: pianist and new classical ensemble making pop songs together. He had experience with performing full-orchestra arrangements of his older songs (as on the excellent DVD “Ben Folds and WASO Live in Perth”) and overdubbing strings on new recordings, but this he advertised as a from-the-jump co-written project with yMusic, a sextet of players bringing strings, woodwinds, and brass. The Chamber Pop tracks that result have their delicate beauty, but the album resists falling into a snoozy easy-listening trap by alternating the ballads with the kind of sprightly, pazz and jop numbers that similarly kept Silverman moving.

It’s all just so… pleasant, and it seems to slip out of my mind and soon as I’ve heard it. If you were to strip-mine it for a Ben Folds playlist, I would pick out the title track for one, with its trilling strings, burbling brass, and father/daughter harmonizing. The instrumental section after the first chorus- what it might be appropriate to call the 2nd Movement- gets closest to fulfilling the promise inherent in the album’s Chamber Pop experiment. I might sound overly harsh on this release— re-listening to it while writing this post, there’s nothing that’s a huge turnoff, or a waste of time (except maybe the metaphorically one-note novelty track “F10-D-A,” which, granted, doesn’t outstay its welcome, running a second under 2 minutes). However, nothing there really sets my heart on fire like the first time I heard the swirling arpeggio of “Zak and Sara” (first through the raucous solo piano version on Live, then the filled-out studio recording on Suburbs), or the chorus of “Landed,” or first “ba ba BA ba ba ba!”ed my heart out as a human “Army" trumpet in the crowd of my first Ben Folds show.