#and the same will go if I see anything about eurovision in the coming months

[gravesaint]

unfollowing and blocking left right and center because y’all can’t do something as simple as boycotting and leaving your shitty shows at the door

[because-its-eurovision]

i love how after everything that has happened, he STILL somehow thinks people won't turn up to his gigs. what a guy

Here's the thing: he hasn't actually seen everything that's happened. He hasn't had time to take that all in.

Before UMK, some dozens or tens of people came to his shows and he has made fun of it, saying that his gigs never have a back row because there are so few people attending. He even organized a joke contest in his IG stories, and the winning one was along the lines "I don't like crowds, that's why I only go to Käärijä's gigs". Then after UMK his gigs were suddenly sold out, but most of them were still on small venues and nightclubs that could fit maybe a few hundred people. He got big hype before UMK and even bigger after winning that of course, but he really didn't have time to react to anything as he was doing as many shows as possible and doing hundreds of interviews and podcasts and challenge videos and what have you, and practicing singing and dancing and performing before leaving to Liverpool.

Then he was in Liverpool for two weeks without almost any time off, again every day filled with interviews and promotion videos and parties and rehearsals, and the hours he had off he didn't spend on social media but with Joker Out and other contestants, just to relieve the stress and pressure. So he wasn't in Finland, and he wasn't on social media that much, so he didn't see the actual craze that took over this country. Kids dressing in green and practicing Cha Cha Cha on music classes, stores running out of piña colada and Malibu and pineapple juice and everything green including grapes, all landmarks and statues in every city either dressed up in green boleros or lighted up with green lights, people dying their hair green and getting bowlcuts, people getting Käärijä tattoos, people sewing so many green boleros and other outfits that the biggest fabric store chain ran out of all green fabrics, people with green make-up and nails, the fan art everyone was making, even the government offices and political parties changing their logos Käärijä green on Instagram and Facebook, the support messages and posts, literally every store from clothing chains to grocery stores and art supply stores putting their neon green and pink stuff on display in the window - hell, even my local pet store had their neon green fluffy cat toys on the prime spot!

He said in an interview that he heard rumours of all that happened, but of course he hasn't seen it. He said that he has around 100.000 notifications unread and he won't have time until maybe autumn to start checking out what has actually happened this year.

When you think about it from his point of view, six months ago he was a broke-ass musician with a day job, living in a tiny apartment. Some dozens of people used to come to his shows, and then suddenly after Cha Cha Cha he was selling out venues, small ones, but still. Then he left for Eurovision with the single goal of winning, and he didn't achieve that, so he thought himself as a loser, that he had disappointed everyone who supported him. From his point of view he is still the same broke-ass musician living in a tiny flat, but now he's unemployed and Eurovision loser so even more of a failure. So why are there thousands of people suddenly coming to the shows and wanting to see him? Of course it would be baffling to him. He wasn't there when he became a national hero, and he doesn't yet understand that he is no longer a failed musician, he is an international phenomenon.

[erikandersonsspouse]

hello! I saw that your ask box is open and was wondering if you have some platonic headcanons or short general scenarios for the brothers with mc. like gardening with James for example.

Platonic headcanon's my beloved! Yes I do have some platonic headcanons for the boys with mc and I'll list as many as I can think of below!

~~James~~

~James and MC love to garden together, as you've pointed out! Just taking time to weed, prune, and water the garden. Whether they work in silence, put on some music, or chat about anything at all, they love taking the time to be in the garden together. It's also quite soothing for both of them, a stress reliever from the worriers of the world

~ If they do put on some music, they absolutely dance around the garden together and occasionally fall over and just have goofy silly fun and it's so cute and platonic. (I personally adore dancing with my friends, slow dancing or otherwise doesn't matter)

~They'll also go shopping for seeds and gardening tools and that is how they now have an inside joke about the gnome in the front garden. No one understands why James and MC crack up every time it's mentioned or even see the ugly thing

~James and MC also love to just read quietly in the library together. Sometimes they'll read the same book and have like a mini book club with snacks and drinks and it's great fun for them.

~Sometimes Damien joins them and they help teach him how to read better.

~Other times, if MC has college homework to do, they'll sit in the library to either both do work or they'll work while James reads. It's normally a quiet time. James also helps MC is they need it.

~~Erik~~

~Erik loves to play the piano, and MC enjoys listening to him play. Sometimes they'll sing, sometimes Erik will teach them how to play the piano.

~They also enjoy just putting on music and dancing, it's fun and goofy and they can just be themselves.

~Erik will also rope MC into fashion shows. Whether they raid the mall and find things they feel like modeling for each other, or Erik has a few designs he was opinions on and convinces MC to try, they absolutely have put on mini fashion shows and have an absolute blast

~From those mini fashion shows come hundreds of goofy pictures saved to both of their phones, and MC very often cycles through them as their lock screen. Erik has a photo album of them saved to his phone.

~I also think MC and Erik would love to watch fashion shows or shows like Eurovision and make fun of everything together. Just two best friends being absolutely petty and making fun of people who will never know and won't care anyway. (This is mostly when one of them has had a bad/stressful day)

~They have spas days planned weeks in advance, at least once a month. Just a day they take to hang out and treat themselves.

~~Sam~~

~100% one way they hang out and show they care is MC asks Sam to teach them self-defense (or better self-defense). Which Sam is only too happy to do, even if he pretends to grumble

~These also spend a lot of time on the roof, doesn't matter what they're doing. Listening to music? On the roof with the music coming from one of their phones speakers. Taking a lunch break? Yep they're on the roof. Truth or Dare? You guessed it roof top

~They both have fallen asleep on the roof before and worried the hell out of the James, and the boys at first. Now they're used to it and will either leave them there or fetch them if they have too.

~There are also a number of hilarious photos/videos of the absolutely stupid stunts Sam and MC will pull while on the roof. Mostly Sam because he's less likely to get hurt by being an idiot on the roof.

~If one of them has had a bad day, the other will drag them to just sit up on the roof and watch the clouds. Eventually whoever is having a bad day will open up about it.

~The roof is Sam and MC's space, everyone knows that. Like a club house for the two friends only.

~~Matthew~~

~Matthew and MC love playing games together. Board games, video games, card games, doesn't matter, they love it.

~These two started a Youtube Channel where they play games together. Their videos of playing scary games are the most popular because both Matthew and MC get so freaked out and it's hysterical.

~They also have TikTok, and post the stupidest content ever. But it's always funny.

~MC and Matthew enjoy cooking together. They'll find a recipe they want to try and go shopping together. And when they do cook they often have music playing in the background. On more then one occasion a spoon has been used as a microphone as they sing and dance while cooking/baking together.

~Simon Tabby often makes an appearance when Matthew and MC play games together to mess with Matthew by stealing pieces pieces or jumping at poor Matthew during tense and or scary parts in games. Just anything to rile up Matthew and make MC almost bust a rib laughing.

~MC and Matthew also prank Matthew's brothers sometimes, never anything super mean but ya know. Water bucket over a doorway and other mundane pranks.

~~Damien~~

~MC absolutely teaches Damien how to read. Makes it their personal mission to give Damien something he was denied for so long as soon as Damien makes a comment about wanting to learn.

~They love making blanket fortes together with lots of pillows and cozy stuff and watching a movie marathon. Doesn't matter what movies, but they marathon them!

~They also both enjoy taking walks together during the warmer months.

~MC took Damien and his brothers apple picking for the first time and Damien thought it was really cool. He even put MC on his shoulders to help them pick apples really high up.

~When it snowed for the first time MC took Damien outside and told him all about snowball fights and making snowmen and snow angles. He was fascinated and found them to be a lot of fun. The Hot Chocolate MC made when they got inside afterward was really good too. They make it a tradition to have at least one day every winter where they go outside to play in the snow like they're 5 years old with no cares in the world.

~MC is the one to introduce Damien to a lot of music, due to playing music on their walks. He finds he's not really picky about what music he listens to but does enjoy when MC dances to it, and sometimes he'll join them in their dancing.

[euroquision]

Creative or Copycat: The SloMo Dancebreak

Three countries came to the 2023 competition with a SloMo-inspired dancebreak to share with the world. Whether you're a fan or not of these songs, my question applies to all of them: Are these dancebreaks a creative take on Chanel's trend? Or are they lackluster copycats? Let's find out in the latest EuroQuision essay!

Written and Researched by Beatrice Quinn

They say imitation is the highest form of flattery. I, for one, consider large sums of riches or compliments about my cheekbones more flattering, thank you. In Eurovision, however, sharing truly is caring as it is no secret to anyone that trends, ideas, staging elements, and even songs themselves are imitated amongst countries the following years – for better and for worse. Should any country pull off anything impressive that manages to have a lasting impact on the viewers, be prepared to see redo’s, redux, and remixes of that very same idea. If you thought the visuals of Mans’ ‘lil balloon child army was “neat,” be prepared for one loud Russian man to get sent hurtling through the depths of space while somehow still inside an arena in Sweden. If this reference means something to you: cool! Please stick around for a later edition of this series where I talk about how 2016 was plagued with “Heroes”-VFX ripoffs. For this first edition of “Creative or Copycat,” we’re gonna watch some dance moves in slow mo-mo-mo, and decide whether the decadent dancebreaks of Eurovision 2023 were creative or copycats.

Where were you when Chanel first performed “SloMo” at Benidorm Fest on January 26th, 2022? After having had access to the songs for Spain’s golden goose egg of a National Final since Dec. 21st, 2021. In that month, fans were treated to early standouts like Tanxugueiras’ “TERRA,” Rigoberta’s “Ay Mama,” and Rayden’s “Calle de la lloreria.” Of the 14 total songs, there was a dembow pop gem called “SloMo” by debut-artist Chanel. Previously a regular face in the Spanish musical theater scene, the Cuban-born singer’s song was catchy, fun, and quite the earworm. However, the song itself sonically didn’t stand out as other selections. Without visuals, it was easy for many fans to overlook Chanel’s potential. By no means did people hate her song – until she did well in Eurovision, but that’s a different essay – but it simply didn’t get as much “hype” as some other songs did. That was, until the first live show…

Chanel takes to Havana-esque stage and begins what can only be described as a meticulously staged, choreographed, and executed ensemble dance routine to what is still just a solo female pop song. As she interacts with the drop-dead-gorgeous dancers around her, we launch into the first chorus. As we’re hit with the “mo-mo-mo” of the chorus, the lights strobe to create an attempt at a “slo-mo” effect before the dance resumes with impressive synchronicity. Chanel continues to dominate all corners of the stage, letting her hair down and repeating the same dance routine as the second chorus hits us. Now remember: for the last month we had only been hearing this song where the second chorus just repeats the same words identically once more; not a very creative direction, but it’s fine, I guess. So as the song gears up to continue as expected, Chanel’s jacket comes off and the music drops. Before you have any moment to prepare, Chanel and her dancers whip their entire upper bodies to the floor and back up as the most impeccable, well-oiled, show-stopping dance break captures our attention and doesn’t let go until Chanel has gone from shaking every angle of her body, collapsing to the floor, high-kicking, flipping her hair some more, and getting back up before singing the rest of the motherfuckin’ song.

So. It was unsurprising when Chanel won the jury vote and ended up winning Benidorm Fest and taking “SloMo” to Eurovision. But now there was an issue presented: Chanel surprised us by saving the dancebreak until the last minute, ensuring that people who had already been listening to the song were surprised with something new, while the dancebreak on its own was still thrilling enough to capture the attention of first-time viewers. But now everyone has seen the dancebreak, and really I mean seen it. Every ESC Pre-party, on Instagram, TikTok, Chanel’s publicity team was going nutso in the buttso with this dance. How was it still going to impress come the night of the Grand Final? Surely would it not have worn itself out? Lucky for the viewing audience, Chanel proved to still have more to give on the night of the final. No, it sadly wasn’t a super-secret-surprise 2nd dancebreak, but there were sparks falling from the ceiling, a fan being tossed across the stage, a new vocal run, and new choreo for Chanel herself where she proceeds to do another vocal run while being dipped.

Naturally, this impressed juries and televoters alike and placed it right up on the podium with a flashy bronze medal. And the success didn’t stop there: on Dec. 31st, 2022, “SloMo” dethroned “Euphoria” [SWE’12] at #1 on the Eurovision Top 250 – the annual radio show where everyone around the world votes on every ESC song in existence – which hadn’t placed lower than #1 since its victory in 2012. So why am I using two full pages and some change of my article to sing the praises of Chanel like she was the second coming of Christ? Because she may as well have been! Spain went from colonizing the Americas to colonizing the Bottom 5 of Eurovision finals ever since they started qualifying for said-final. Out of the 19 editions of ESC Spain has been in since the introduction of semis, 12 of those were in the Btm. 5, with one being dead last in ‘17. Compare that to their Top 10 finishes: a whopping 3. Then: in a brand new National Final format, a Cuban-born singer takes her debut single to ESC and get Spain on the podium. Spain couldn’t even get back in the Top 10 for nearly a decade without getting an artist from a land they colonized, performing a song in a genre of the country Spain colonized–

"Hello!"

"My name is Lynda Woodruff, and I’m the official spokesperson of the EBU. I’m here to remind you all, along with Ms. Beaches Quilt, that Eurovision is a non-political song contest. Now, back to EuroQuizzin– EuroQuestion– Quision! EuroQuision."

Sigh.

Lynda, you get a pass because you’re universally loveable. But we’re not gonna pretend that an international song contest with audiences and artists from countries that have significant histories of geopolitical conflicts, while also at most times actively having geopolitical conflicts, sometimes with other competing countries, is somehow “apolitical.”

However, Spain and colonization isn’t what we’re here for. We’re here to remind ourselves why this is called The SloMo Dancebreak. This is by far not the first dancebreak in this contest’s history, but this song’s dancebreak is associated with a legacy, a redemption after taking a risk and crafting an amazing live performance featuring a stellar new artist. And on top of that, what did we get in 2023? A whopping three acts that contain what we can qualify as a SloMo Dancebreak, and thus we get to decipher: was it creative or copycat?

Ok I promise: I’ll shut up about SloMo after this and talk about 2023. You’ve been so great and so patient, get yourself a treat. I’ll give you a sec.

*waits patiently*

Got a snack?...Great! So the last thing we need to get in writing is what actually “characterizes” the SloMo dancebreak. Like I said, people have danced here before. Other than the legacy and why people like it so much, what’s unique about the SloMo dancebreak/what rules a SloMo or non-SloMo dancebreak? And this is what I love about the concept of “rules” in Eurovision is that there are none – other than the legal ones and ones the producers make up and other rules thereof. But in a spiritual sense, there are no “rules.” Therefore, some rules can be bent and reconstructed. Anyway, my general rule about what makes a SloMo Dancebreak is its essence, and the execution of said dancebreak is up for interpretation. If we were to look at the SloMo dancebreak structurally and how it works in the song, the break itself occurs around the metaphorical 3/4ths point of the song. That is, typically: after the 2nd chorus and either during/part of or in place of the bridge, all occurring before the final chorus. Performance-wise, a SloMo dancebreak is when the lead artist is the unobstructed focal point of the dancebreak. Additionally, the dancebreak is intended to be a noticeable break from lyrics/lead vocals, as Chanel performs no “vocals” during her break. Another important note is that the SloMo dancebreak was not a solo, even though Chanel was the focal point. She had her heavily-involved backup dancers all up in her business from start to finish; her dancebreak was like the one moment where it was just mostly Chanel herself in focus. What comes with this is a certain attitude about the dancebreak – remember how this is more essence than execution. SloMo’s dancebreak commands attention, performing choreography that at minimum looks very impressive to the Eurovision audience, and typically carries a sense of “Should I stunt on the hoes? I think I’m gonna stunt on the hoes.”

So! Are we all agreed on why this dancebreak is significant and what qualifies it? Amazing! Then let’s get to our three acts in question. The SloMo Dancebreaks of Eurovision 2023 are, as I’m sure you already know:

“Solo” [POL] by Blanka

“Unicorn” [ISR] by Noa Kirel

“Future Lover” [ARM] by Brunette

And while I hope this reminder goes for every article I publish, keep in mind I will genuinely attempt to be as objective as possible. In theory, that’s what all of these articles are about: objective deconstruction of Eurovision songs/acts. While I can and will happily share personal opinions where I think appropriately/most comically advantageous, the topic at hand is one that I think merits detail, context, and scrutiny no matter my personal preferences. With that being said, we’ll start by going alphabetically by country. So let’s all decide to be good, do good, and look good with “Future Lover.”

PART I: FUTURE LOVER

After 2022, where a simple folk pop song that finished 20th landed on the fast track to soon hit a billion Spotify streams, Armenia had quite the shoes to fill. Instead of trying the same thing twice, “SNAP” and “Future Lover” are jarringly different songs, especially in the case of composition. Even compared to the 2023 line-up as a whole, Brunette’s dynamic ballad about the anxieties, insecurities, and passionate wants about love is scored with an orchestra that creates a truly dynamic journey through just three minutes. Chilling vocals over a solitary piano soon becomes a soundscape of strings, light percussion, and a noticeable build that ends up thrusting us into a spoken-word verse. Not only is this a unique song for 2023, this is unique in comparison to many Eurovision songs of recent years. On top of this, Brunette is alone on stage while singing atop of a flat, angled, white pane as projected lights and graphics transform the pane into a morphing panel or lights and images. All of this put together creates a truly unique and memorable Eurovision entry, but I know what you’re thinking:

"Where's the dancebreak?"

Well don’t worry! Even though the song in studio/the music video was released without any such dancebreaks, so when Brunette put down her microphone and the song momentarily dropped, audiences were in for a surprise as she began what I personally describe as an abstract contemporary dancebreak. Important note: while I do my best to take it upon myself to research the cultural relevance behind many Eurovision entries, I am not an expert on everything! So, if there’s any cultural context behind Brunette’s choreo, anyone who knows more than myself is free to let me know!

Whether or not you were wondering, hoping, or jonesing for a dancebreak, we got one! Let’s compare and contrast, shall we? Brunette’s dancebreak is similar to Chanel’s in its location in the song, at about the 3/4ths marker. It contains no lyrics (other than amorphous “Oh-oh’s” we’ve already heard) and served to us by Brunette with a distinct “Stunting on the hoes” vibe from her commanding eye-work and fluidity in her routine. Her moves also bring her from standing positions, down to the floor, and back up by the end, similar to Chanel’s choreo. Taking another page out of the dancebreak handbook, Brunette’s dancebreak was kept a secret until the live performance, which we didn’t see until Eurovision itself as opposed to Spain’s NF. The dancebreaks of each song are even the same length: 8 measures of music/8 counts of 4. Of course we can’t overlook the glaring differences. Noticeably, Brunette is all by herself on stage with her emotional-support ambiguous white panel. No sexy backup dancers are there to lift Brunette off the ground and perform other such tasks that Chanel’s team did for her. Brunette’s dance also does not come after a 2nd chorus; “Future Lover” has a slightly unique form in that the song goes Verse - Chorus - Verse - Dance/Bridge - Final Chorus, so simply there’s no 2nd chorus to be found. In my opinion, putting a dancebreak into a song that already has an unconventional structure and exists in a genre that’s much more ethereal ballad than pop power is a risky move, despite it being an enjoyable dancebreak regardless. Another risk Armenia took was the fact that there’s multiple instances during the dancebreak where the screen goes dark and obscures Brunette’s dancing; something that “SloMo” does not do.

Perhaps this is what kept Armenia away from a higher result overall. Coming 12th and 13th in the jury and televote, respectively, this may not have had the same success as Spain had the year prior because “Future Lover” by all accounts is just so much more unconventional for the choices it’s making. It already exists as a song that’s hard to dance to, and doesn’t seem like it would be enhanced by a dancebreak. This is one of the biggest factors as to what makes this dance creative or copycat: does it enhance the performance in any meaningful way? It’s also very important to note that something doesn’t need to be “necessary” to enhance the act. This is Eurovision, people; if we start asking “But is this necessary?” we’ll undo the very fabric of Eurovision. Australia has a DeLorean on stage, Austria is singing about Edgar Allen Poe, and I have seen more elderly Croatian men in their underwear than I ever anticipated seeing in my life; none of this is “necessary,” and that’s why we love Eurovision. Moving on.

“Future Lover” is a very hard one to decipher. A good result does not make one dancebreak better than the other if we’re just trying to judge the dancebreak itself and how it functions in the song/performance. In the case of Armenia, I would argue Brunette’s dancebreak is a creative interpretation of the SloMo Dancebreak. Nothing about Chanel’s performance felt like it was copy-pasted into “Future Lover,” and Brunette herself is clearly a capable and confident dancer. The song already being unconventional can be a risk to appeal to juries and televoters for different reasons, but that didn’t stop Brunette from adding some creative and unexpected flare to the performance. In my thoughtful opinion, I could’ve seen Armenia finishing Top 10 with juries, but alas, the points given have been given. Ultimately, what I think saves “Future Lover” from being a copycat dancebreak is the fact that it is a song that attempts to create a dancebreak unique to the song and performer; there aren’t many other songs and dancebreaks that sound/look like “Future Lover.”

RESULT: CREATIVE!

PART II: UNICORN

Free Palestine.

Anyway! With the important business out of the way, let’s talk about Israel’s song. And no, I’m not gonna waste your time asking you if “you wanna see me” talk about my Eurovision hyperfixation for another essay. You’re already here, you’re already on part two, I know you wanna see me talk about Eurovision. However, if I were to ask you three times if you wanted to read my article, I wouldn’t be surprised if you just said no. Anyway, I’ll touch on this lil bit soon. Let’s talk about the song!

I need to begin by talking about the musical horse in the room which is the fact that “Unicorn” is clearly three different songs stitched together, three songs I call “DNA,” “Watch Me,” and finally “Unicorn.” These songs exist within three different parts of the song. “DNA” are verses one and two, including the earworm of “Phenomen- Phenomen- Phenomenal.” “Watch Me” is my nicer name for the dancebreak section, as the first draft name “Black Pink Is Calling Their Lawyers” was too wordy. Lastly, “Unicorn” itself exists in the chorus where the lyrical simile of “stand[ing] like a Unicorn” occurs. While the dissection of “Unicorn” could/probably will be an essay all on its own, I promise you this is important. To give you the SparkNotes edition, here’s what makes me think “Unicorn” is three different songs:

Musically: the instrumentation of the verses, choruses, and dancebreak are all almost completely different. The verses have an electronic composition beat with crisp, punchy music that has no connection or transition into the sudden power ballad it becomes in the chorus. This difference is especially jarring considering that “real” instruments are used in the chorus primarily, whereas the verses have some percussive string instruments here and there as embellishments. The dancebreak is the most egregious offense where this sudden electronic build comes out of nowhere and uses a meter/beat that we haven’t yet heard and could not sound more different from the chorus if it tried. The song jumps genres and compositions with no connecting motifs or callbacks.

Lyrically: We start by singing about our DNA and if you’re gonna do it (spoiler: don’t do it). Then we start singing about…unicorns? And how they stand? And the power of said unicorn? My point here being: the lyrics of the verses and the chorus literally have nothing to do with each other. In verses about writing a new book and how phenomenal it will be, we go back to these comparisons to a unicorn that don’t really mean anything. “I got the power of a unicorn.” What “powers” does a unicorn have? Jesus I’m tired.

So what does this have to do with the dancebreak? I’ll finish explaining once we do a quick compare and contrast. These two dancebreaks are more similar than “Future Lover” was to “SloMo.” No main vocals, a small costume change/reveal, lead act supported by attractive and skilled dancers, the hoes and their impending stunting, and many dance moves that involve impressive stretching and posing of various limbs. However, “Unicorn” goes to numerous lengths to differentiate itself from “SloMo” by doing things such as announcing the dancebreak before it begins; again, the offer seems pretty hollow given the fact that you’re probably gonna start dancing even though I’ve given you a clear “NO” in response. The dancebreak also falls at a notably different point in the song: the end! When you look at the time stamps of the song, Noa stops “singing” at 2:15, meaning the last 45 seconds of that 3-minute Eurovision window has her not singing at all. 45 whole seconds! So where the SloMo break lasts 8 counts of 4, “Unicorn” (starting from “Watch me” and not “You wanna see me dance” because, well, she’s not dancing yet) lasts a whopping 16 counts of 4; literally twice as long as the break in “SloMo.” The routine itself, once you’ve watched it upwards of twelve times like I have (because I take my research seriously, dammit!) you begin to notice these dance moves are more akin to…poses?

Roll with me here: the dancebreak starts, Noa hits that impressive backbend into a frontwards drop, bringing her to the stage floor. So naturally, her next set of moves consist of a backwards roll, some yoga-like poses where she continues to impress with her control by lifting her legs and kicking, then whipping her hair in time with the beat of the song. Up to this point, I’m genuinely impressed. Then, she hits what is literally a downward-facing dog position, and then goes back down onto her knees and slides to the floor to do the splits over her own body. So I don’t think it’s totally unreasonable for a viewer to at this point start to think “Yeah this is really cool, but like, there’s not so much dancing going on.” Then once poor Noa is finally allowed to stand upright, her dancers join back in and they perform a series of synchronized moves to the “U-NI-CORN!” blasting into our ears. So why are we suddenly in this new genre with a new rhythm, new instrumentation, and new pacing while Noa performs a series of admittedly challenging moves but are ultimately glorified “poses.” Also: an assisted backflip at the end? Another thing I didn’t ask for.

So as you can see, “Unicorn” is not an easy one to pin down. Going back to my analysis of the song and how disjointed it feels, I think the dancebreak itself is the most alienating way to end this song, especially because we don’t hear Noa sing literally anything else after she starts dancing. The fact that we’ve just dealt with two sets of verses and choruses that sound like two different songs, this Black Pink homage dancebreak looks flashy but doesn’t actually provide character or flavor to the song as a whole. It brings ah flavor, yes, but I don’t know what I’ve been tasting for the last 2 minutes and 15 seconds, I don’t know what I’m tasting now. Therefore, I shall be labeling “Unicorn” as a hybrid creative copycat. It is definitely creative in the sense that it didn’t attempt to do the same exact thing “SloMo” did in terms of execution, song style, dance style, etc etc. However, what makes it also part copycat is the fact that I don’t know why or how this dancebreak even made it into this song. To me, it almost feels as if the dancebreak was something they knew they wanted to do from the beginning, but then wrote a song that didn’t have natural space for a dancebreak. So they then compressed the verses and choruses to the first 2/3rds of the song and slapped the dance in at the end and called it a day. This reads as fairly inauthentic and ill-considered. Compare this to “Future Lover” and how yes, that song also didn’t “need” a dancebreak, but remember: necessity does not dictate something working or not working. “Future Lover” carved out a natural space and time within the song to create a dancebreak that sonically fits in with the rest of the song and provides a solid build of momentum to the final chorus. “Unicorn” and their K-Pop-influenced dance (which was more posing than anything) sticks out like a sore thumb and attempts to distract from that by being incredibly flashy.

RESULT: CREATIVE COPYCAT

Anyway, creative copycat is what I’m stickin’ with. I’ve already wasted enough of my own time listening to and watching this song several times over. Please tell me I don’t have anything worse waiting for me after this song—

PART III: SOLO

Son of a BITCH--

“Solo” is a song. By definition. And I too found myself asking the wrong question of “Why is this dancebreak here? Was it really needed?” a couple times. And in full transparency, yes: Poland is 37th in my ranking of 2023. However! Let the record here and now show that I will attempt to give this dancebreak a fair shot just as I did for the two prior. In fact, let’s start with a guessing game! I’m going to list out some key characteristics about a dancebreak, and it’s up to you to guess if I’m talking about “SloMo” or “Solo”! Ready? Go! GUESS! THAT! DANCEBREAK!

This dancebreak in question starts with a costume change/reveal and the lead performer flips her hair vivaciously. The music of this dancebreak is nearly entirely percussion; drums, rhythmic clapping, and maybe including one or two musical highlights that exist elsewhere in the song. There’s a quick one-two beat where the dancer thrusts a part of her body in time with the beat, the dancebreak lasts for 8 counts of 4, and it ends with the lead performer being handed her mic from a backup dancer. So now you guess: which dancebreak am I talking about?

…Got a guess? WRONG, it’s: both of them. Here’s the thing: initially I was going to start with a compare and contrast list like I’ve been doing, but I quickly realized that this is all “compare” and no “contrast.” The only thing that might noticeably be different is that Blanka is doing significantly less dancing than Chanel was. This is not an attempt to say that Blanka can’t dance or wasn’t dancing at all. I saw her up there in those heels hitting some moves, she definitely danced. But did she stunt on them hoes? While Chanel was going from upright and down to the floor and back up again, Blanka had no moves that were anywhere near as complex or physically demanding as Chanel. Meanwhile, everything else seems lifted right out of “SloMo” and given an off-orange coat of spray paint and messily slapped together. For fuck’s sake, one song is called “SloMo” and the other is “Solo.” The names literally rhyme and use the same letters, minus a singular “M.” I know, I promised I would be fair and objective about this analysis, but I’m also genuinely just working with the information I’ve been given. If I close my eyes and just listen to the dancebreak, it sounds like I’m listening to a demo of “SloMo.” And if I open my eyes to the onslaught of on-screen effects Poland is treating me to, I see what I interpret as an intermediate backup dancer version of “SloMo.” This dancebreak is almost unapologetically a copycat of “SloMo.”

RESULT: COPYCAT

I’m almost sad that this is the shortest section of the three analyses, but sadly it’s just the most obvious offender. I’ll end this section by sharing two things. First: I don’t harbor any hatred or resentment towards Blanka, she’s just a performer doing what I’m sure is her best. My disappointment is at the greater picture of Poland in Eurovision and how I feel they have incredibly unique things to offer, just like they have in the past. We don’t need this kind of thing from Poland or any other country for that matter. Second: in the second verse, I had always heard the lyric “Bet you regret how” as “Bet you’re a Grey Hound” and I didn’t realize that until the writing of this essay. In my defense, the next line goes “What goes around comes around” which actually rhymes. Whereas “how” and “around” are near rhymes, “hound” is a perfect rhyme, that’s all I’m saying.

PART IV: CONCLUSION

So there we have it. Three different dancebreaks, three different results. I think it would be most helpful to end this essay with re-examining why this question of “creative or copycat” exists, specifically in relation to something like the SloMo Dancebreak. Trends and the recreation of them have always been and forever will be core to the essence of Eurovision. In the process of uniting Europe through music and participating in a cultural exchange, countries trying to put their own spin on successful trends will be inevitable. So let this certainty be a reminder that simply trying to emulate a trend or anything of the sort is never an inherently bad thing. It is not something to be looked down upon or just labeled as unoriginal without thought or consideration. Inside every Eurovision song and performance exists artistic value and intention, to varying degrees, and that is what should decide whether emulating a trend is a positive or negative thing.

If I could somehow magically communicate this message to the artists and delegations of not only Armenia/Israel/Poland, but to all Eurovision competitors, it would be this: Following a trend will simply never be enough. What proves most effective is doing something that elevates and enhances the performance. Despite the fact I think Israel’s dancebreak is a “creative copycat,” I also can’t deny that it objectively did its job the best out of the three we’ve discussed here. But this is also another flawed line of thinking: If a song got a good result, that must mean it did everything creatively, right? Not always! One day when I make a “Unicorn” deconstruction essay, I’ll elaborate on my theory that the song did so well because it’s the most “Eurovision Movie”-sounding of all the 2023 songs, but I digress. Until that essay, thank you for joining me in another EuroQuision think piece! Truly hope this one was phenomen- phenomen- phenomenal for you all to read.

[sparkles-oflight]

Conspiracy theories (Alternative ending)

Idk who read this fic but here's the alternative cutesie version of it :)

(I really didn't want this "prompt" to go to waste)

Disclaimer: Please think of these as characters and not the actual people. I don't encourage anyone to send this to any of the actual JO members nor do I encourage people to force any type of relationship between anyone.

As the tall and slim man Jan messed around with his guitar, he thought about his little kitten back at home.

It has been now two months since they arrived to London and Jan couldn't wait for the opportunity to go back to his beloved pet. He knew his family would take good care of him, but, to him, Igor was like a son and he could not not think about him.

- How are you feeling, man? - another tall man showed up to his room and sat next to him. Jan couldn't help but look at the man who placed his hand on his shoulder...Jan wanted to analyze each of his tattoos and intertwined his fingers in this man's.

He didn't reply though. He just shrugged.

- Thinking about Igor again? - and once more, Jan just shrugged - Look, I'm sure he's fine, and if you really want we could always call your home to see how's doing.

- Ah... - Jan stretched his whole body and smiled - I know he's doing great.

Jan let his head rest on Nace's shoulder...then his chest. It was nice hearing his heartbeat. It calmed him down.

- Where are the others? - Jan asked curiously.

- Grocery shopping.

- Really? How come you didn't go?

- Kris is trying to make them more organized and helpful and that they "need to stop relying" on me.

- Fair.

Jan rested there for a while longer...but he felt as if Nace's heartbeat was accelerating.

- What are you thinking about? - the guitar player looked up at him

- Olie. - Jan could tell that was a lie.

Truth be told, Jan could guess what it was...Nace had told him a couple of times that he hadn't been so close with someone since he was with his ex.

It's one thing when they are on stage and they try to please the fans with conspiracy theories. It's another thing entirely when the two of them are alone...who are they trying to please?

Maybe it's themselves. That's what Jan believed in.

- Can I ask you something? - Nace lifted the guitarist's chin to look him in the eyes.

But as they looked, neither said anything. Instead, they only looked at each other's eyes. Maybe hungry...? But for each other?

Nace was trying to find something there...a support. Jan was thinking about their first meeting...

It took him a while to accept him into the group but during Eurovision things between them got so much better...and that's how this situation came to be.

Jan really really wanted something with Nace... and maybe, right now it's time to take another step forward.

Jan got closer... close enough so that their lips touched.

But then he felt hands on his chest...telling him to stop.

- Sorry. - the younger one was at a loss for words.

- Don't be. I... - It seemed like the bass player was just as confused.

- I didn't know you were straight. I really thought -

Before Jan could finish the sentence, Nace also slowly kissed his lips. He looked into his eyes and reached for his hair to kiss the guitarist again, who reciprocated that feeling.

- Why did you assume my sexuality? - the bassist smirked at him.

- I... because I don't know it.

- Is it even important?

Jan smiled at the older one, giving him the heart eyes that are present at all of their concerts. It felt safe to be next to Nace right there - in a different country...away from their families and pets... It was the same sensation he had when he rested his head on Nace's shoulder during Novi val - indescribable.

Nace's big hands on Jan's hands felt so reassuring.

- What are you looking at? - Nace smiled at Jan.

- Nothing...

- "Nothing"? - the older one laughed - It can't be anything! You are smiling like an idiot!

Jan could only smile.

- What? - Nace asked while Jan investigated his hands - What are you laughing at?

- Wait... - Jan was holding in his laughter - What happened to your hands?

Jan touched Nace's palms...they were full of calluses.

- Oh, it was from helping out with the groceries.

- Really? Your skin is very thick though, I wouldn't expect it to get calluses so easily.

- I don't know how I get them so easily either - he paused before smirking at Jan - But you think my skin is thick?

- I don't know. - Jan smiled, grabbing Nace's hands and investigating them with his own fingers - But I do know what is.

- Oh? Tell me more about it.

- I can show you. - Jan's hands found their way to Nace's tights - If you let me.

- Straight forward like that?

- I guarantee you there's nothing straight about it.

Jan didn't need to say that twice because before he realized Nace's lips and tongue were in his. Nace got the memo. After all: why would he hold back? Wasn't that what they wanted? To be with someone who makes them feel complete? That makes them feel comfortable and protected from the world? Perhaps the world is fucking dark, but if they are together, things can become a little less scary....

- So...what are we? - Nace asked.

Jan stopped in his tracks. He was analyzing Nace's tattoed arm carefully until the question arose. He didn't think things through.

- I thought you didn't care about labels.

- No, I asked if sexuality was that important.

Jan looked at him as he pondered what they were.

- I don't know what we are.

- I wasn't convincing enough? - Nace held the guitarist's head and softly smiled at him.

Jan smiled at him... definitely ready for round two, but then...

- Is anyone home? - Jure yelled from the entrance.

♫♩♫♩♫♩♫♩♫♩♫♩♫♩♫♩♫♩♫♩♫♩♫♩♫♩♫♩♫♩♫♩♫♩

Afternote: I know...it was slightly shorter than the angsty one. I ran out of ideas. (This is like my 5th attempt at uploading this, pls work)

Also, happiness is not real

MASTER POST | Recommended next: Sunny Side Of London

[deantvlove2018]

DEAN TV LOVE VIII: EPISODE 14: APRIL 2024

Hello and this is episode 14 of Dean Tv love 8, on the 5th of April. It April 2024, only 3 months left till the 2024 Olympics in Paris France on the 26th of July 2024.

Everything is set for another episode of the 8th season for the Dean Tv love series. The title sequence starts off the same with the main theme. The lift doors are open as Dean and the trio of presenters entered out of the lift. They walked into the studio surrounded by a loud cheering audience. “Hello everyone, welcome to the 14th episode of Dean Tv love season 8” said Alec. “Episode 14 is here” said Kaden. The audience cheered. “It’s April” said Zara. The audience cheered, an audience member put up a sign that says April. The guru appears on the screen. “That’s the episode, April 2024” he said. They all watch the episode.

The episode takes place inside the Dean Tv mansion, the residents heard that the summer games will be in June 2024. “Not long now, only two months to go” said Dean. “One month before our concert” said Louise. Dean nodded. “The rehearsals need to be booked next week” said Dean. “Remember last year’s concert?” asked Jason. “Yeah it was on at the same time as the Eurovision song contest” said Aaron. Dean checked that last year’s eurovison song contest had 9.9 million viewers on Channel 1 and The Dean Tv love concert on Dean Tv has about 10.0 million viewers.

They all the Tv, they were all ready to watch their favourite Tv series the D girls. The Tv series is on it’s 13th season no doubt. “It’s starting” said Dean. But before the episode started, a film trailer appears. Saying that the D girls are going to be in a new movie. To celebrate the 13th anniversary of the Tv series. “Wow another movie for the D girls,how many movies are there with them in it?” said Shirley. “Not sure” said Winona. Dean shows the list of D girls movies. 

D girls the movie (2012)

D girls: How did it began (2021)

D girls in space (2023). “The 3rd movie is in space” said Dean. The voice over says that the movie will be out in U.K. cinemas on the 26th of July 2024. “Hey that’s the same date as the olympics” said Dean. “What a coincidence” said Shirley. They all watch the episode.

The episode starts off with the D girls fighting their foes. Some of the D girls were been subdued by the bad guys but a member of the D girls, Georgina (the 25th D girl) comes to the rescue. She uses her accessories to blow the foes away. The first scene turned out to be a flash back. Hollie explains that Georgina has been saving the team’s lives many time since season 12. Dean says that he know. “She has grown in the D girls team” said Dean. Rosie with Rhian inside the D girl house joined the conversation. “She has more accessories than us, we are powerless against these foes” said Rosie. Rhian agrees with her. “How come we don’t have things what she has?” asked Rhian. Dean did not answer but knows the idea. So Dean went into the lab, he had a plan to make more accessories for the girls to fight off their foes.The robots helped Dean to make it, till Georgina steps into the lab with her lab coat. Dean look at her. “Hope I’m not interrupting anything?”  asked Georgina. The robots responded saying no, Dean says no too. 

After hours of working, the accessories were completed. 

Till one day the bad guys were causing trouble in the city of 360. The D girls went out to fight the foes with their accessories. The foes were been subdued by the D girls. The members of the D girls like Hollie, Rhian and Rosie are happy about that they have the same accessories like Georgina. After that the D girls celebrate their victory. The episode ends with the theme tune and closing credits. “Wow what an episode, the d girls were all happy” said Louise. “Yeah, some of the girls were jealous of Georgina” said Louise. “Yeah I guess so” said Calla. They see the film trailer again. “Can’t wait to see this film” said Winona. “Well we might see it” said Louise. They all left the living room to their own thing.

The episode ends and the audience cheered. “Wow an episode of D girls is cool” said Kaden. “which is your favourite D girl?” asked Zara. “Hollie” said Kaden. “I like Georgina” said Zara. “Mine is Kelly” said Alec. 

The guru smiled. “Well that is episode 14, next week episode 15. Bye” said the guru.

End of episode 14

1:31:37.48

[dodgebolts]

hiiii lysssss I’ve been mostly offline for the last week but I finally managed to get most of my python code to work but now I can’t figure out how to plot it and I still need to introduce a resetting rate and I have no idea how so I’m loosing my mind a little but it’s fine everything is fine <- said through gritted teeth

also I found a masters program I really love but I would have to pay wayyy too much money to go there (here I would have to pay a few hundred a semester and there it would be almost 30,000 in just tuition fees) and also my average seems to be too low by exactly 0.1 to get in anyway so now I’m feeling kinda shitty…I have a backup plan but it still kinda sucks

in much more fun news eurovision is in a month and having all of the songs to listen to I have to say thats its a pretty decent year overall but I don’t think there’s one song that really stands out across the board for both juries and televoters….I think finland is gonna be the televoters favourite and sweden is gonna sweep the jury vote (they love sweden anyway and they adore loreen) but I still think france could do really well with both but we’ll see. I just hope we won’t be last again

-🌻

YAYYYY THAT'S SO EXCITING I'M SO HAPPY FOR YOU! I tried looking up resetting rates but I have 0 experience in either finance or physics so I'm not sure how to help on that but for plotting I would recommend using plotly!! It's a really clean looking data viz library, the same one I used for the MrBeast/Dream data and it's relatively intuitive! Good luck though it sounds tough but I believe in u 🫡

I hope everything works out on the masters' end though, I have to start thinking about that soon and I'm LOST rn trying to figure out exactly where I want to go/what to do so I get the struggle—private universities are annoying when it comes to tuition and it's rough ngl (like my uni's sticker price like $85k a year which is nuts who the fuck would be able to pay that without aid???? why do universities hate us smh) <333

I haven't even thought of esc in a hot minute, I still need to get onto listening to sm but I've seen salty say the year isn't anything special and I trust her on that since she's the resident escposter around dtblr LOL I do hope France does well bc the song fucking slays

[literallymitch]

𝐉𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐲 || 𝐃.𝐃

requested: yes

summary: The reader and Damiano have been flirting for while now. When Damiano catches the reader talking to a cute finish boy he gets jealous

pairing: Damiano David x Fem!Reader

word Count: 960

what kind of content: fluff, maybe a tiny bit of angst

warnings: brief mention of alcohol

a/n Please keep in mind english isn’t my first language!

Damiano and I met through his friend Leo. Just like the band, I was invited to his graduation ceremony and of course to the party, that was planned for later that day. From the moment we met, the singer and I got a long very well. We became drinking buddy’s for the night and everyone was amused by our drunk selves. Since then, we became really good friends.

Over the time we became a bit more flirty with each other. It was nothing serious since I wasn’t interested in a relationship and neither was he. At least that’s what he told me.

Now I sat with Leo in the big backstage era of the Eurovision Song Contest, waiting for our friends to finish their rehearsal. It still felt surreal to actually be here. I’m glad they asked me if I wanted to come with them.

I looked around me trying to process that this was actually happening. My best friends are participating in the biggest music competition in the world. A proud smile appeared on my face.

“I’m gonna grab some food. Do you want something too?” Leo asked me while getting up from the couch.

“No, thank you. Except they have y/f/f (your favorite food).” he just playfully rolled his eyes at me and then left.

“Do you mind if I keep you some company?” I looked up and saw one of the Finland guys standing in front of me.

“Yes you course! I’m y/n, by the way.”

“Thanks, I like that name. I’m Olli. Since your not one of the contestants, who are you here with?” he asked me while he sat down next to me.

“With Måneskin. They’re rehearsing right now, that's why I’m sitting here all alone. Oh, and because my other friend is getting food.”

“Ah Måneskin they seemed cool when we met them yesterday. How are you related to them?”

“We’ve been friends for a while now. So Olli tell me how did I get the honor, that you came over here.” I actually was curious why he did so.

“Well the other guys are playing table Tennis and since I totally suck at it I don’t play with them. Usually Joonas doesn’t play either, but he’s busy flirting with Kateryna right now. Then I saw you sitting here alone as well and decided to come over.”

We talked a bit more and turns out we have the same humor. We laughed a lot, my stomach was actually hurting from laughing so hard after Olli said something I found a bit too funny.

“Y/n you and Leo really missed something. The rehearsal was amazing!” Damiano interrupted our conversation. He let himself fall on the sofa right between Olli and me.

“Apropos Leo, where is he at?” he continued talking.

“He went to get some food, I think he should be back any moment now.”

“I’m sorry y/n they didn't have y/f/f. Oh, guys you’re back how was the rehearsal?” speaking of the devil.

Damiano wrapped his arm around my shoulder before he answered Leo’s question.

“I just told y/n how good it went, you have to watch it later when they post it on YouTube! By the way y/n did I already tell you how good you look today?” he now was checking me out.

This wasn’t the first time Damiano gave me a compliment or flirted with me. As I said, we have been flirty around each other for a while now, but he was acting really weird right now. I also could see how Olli got a bit uncomfortable by Damianos actions.

“I’ll go back to the boys now. It was nice talking to you y/n.” Poor boys just wanted  to get away from his bandmate flirting with the beautiful Ukrainian singer, and now he had to watch Damiano flirt with me.

------

Back at the hotel, I grabbed Damiano and dragged him somewhere, we could talk without anyone interrupting.

“You know if you wanted some alone time with e you could’ve just asked, amore”

I gave him a put-on smile. Normally I would just act along, but the way he acted at the arena today was extremely rude towards Olli.

“What was that back at the arena?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“I mean that you were unnecessarily rude towards Olli. He seemed so uncomfortable!” Damiano rolled his eyes.

“Since when do you care about how I act?” he sounded annoyed now.

“I care since Olli is a nice guy, and he didn’t do anything to you”

“Oh so he’s a nice guy I understand. So you changed your mind and relationships are an option now?” What was wrong with all of a sudden?

“What no I never said-” then it hit me. “Oh my god, you’re jealous!”

“No I’m not, I couldn't care less about whom you’re with. The flirting is just for fun” I did not believe one word he said.

“Oh yeah? So I can ask Olli for a date tomorrow? I’m pretty sure there is a beautiful park somewhere in Rotterdam.”

“No, y/n wait. Maybe I’m a bit jealous. It’s just you said you weren’t interested in dating, that’s why I haven’t crossed the friend line yet.” Now he was telling the truth.

“So you’re saying if I’d say I would start dating again, you would ask me out?”

“Yes, to be honest I’ve wanted to ask you after the first month we knew each other.”

“Do it then” he looked at me in surprise, but then a smile appeared on his face”

“Well y/n y/l/n (your last name) would you like to finally go on a date with me.”

“Yes, I’d love to.” I said, now also having a huge smile on my face.

[warmau]

☆ [nostalgic] summer romance!au jaehyun exactly on time for the valentine boy! ........well....... find others here: johnny | haechan | taeil | taeyong | mark | jaemin | yangyang | yuta | sicheng | chenle | kun | yukhei | doyoung

how you end up here, you don’t know, but you blame johnny suh because when things get weird it’s usually his fault anyway

johnny’s smile is a thousand and one watts - he reaches out to pass you the beat up guitar case and again, you don’t even take it by choice, it’s nudged into your hands before you can really even say a word

“im not joining your band.”

“it’s not mine - it’s ours.”

jungwoo twirls a drum stick between his fingers and grins from his spot on the garage couch

“no johnny - we all know it’s yours.”

your lips thin and the only reason you don’t fling the case to the floor is because you actually like the guitar that’s inside. 

granted you haven’t seen it since middle school and it probably still has that horrible sticker on the back of it that you remember picking at until all the little pieces you got off were uncomfortably stuck under your nails.

“guys - it’s summer. we have nothing better to do.”

“says you, i got an engineering internship at samsung.” 

jungwoo chirps again and you try not to roll your eyes

we all know about the damn samsung internship dude.

“yeah - and i have to work at the family bookstore.”

mark lee walks in, holding as many redbulls as he can fit between his elbows, they spill out and onto the space beside jungwoo

you listen to mark open one and johnny groan

“ok you all have something to do, but we-” he motions behind him at you “don’t have anything to save us from the boredom that is about to take up two months of our youthful lives!”

“hey-”

you cut in and all three sets of eyes focus on you

“i have something i want to do this summer.”

johnny’s long figure straightens in anticipation while jungwoo cocks an eyebrow and mark gives you an encouraging smile

“im not going to tell you what it is, but it’s definitely not starting a band with you guys.”

you lean the guitar case against a nearby wall and add a half-hearted shrug

“sorry.”

the walk from johnny’s house to yours isn’t long, it takes about fifteen minutes if you’re really going slow. 

plus you’ve done it so many times, you basically set your body to autopilot.

you think about it - the thing you want to do this summer before you go away for university and home becomes a new place and a memory at the same time.

you’re not known for being sentimental, johnny has even gone so far as to label you as a bit ‘apathetic’ . but still you know this is your last chance to really enjoy the place you grew up in.

you turn the corner at the street that leads down to where you live and in the hot evening air you hear something

it’s the sound of a bike, the pedaling is light but the frame must be old because it creaks a little when it slows down slightly to maneuver to the left and pass you.

you look up and see a boy

brown hair still wet from the pool or a shower maybe, dimples at the corners of his smile, the two sizes too big white shirt fluttering behind him in the breeze

for what seems like longer than a second - you lock eyes - his match the color of autumn leaves and teddy bear fur 

and for some weird reason can’t stop thinking about them even well after you get back home

is he new in town? i’ve never seen him before?

finally managing to shake off the curiosity, you fish the shoebox you’ve been keeping under your bed out and open it.

inside there’s only three things so far: 

a copy of your graduation photo, a copy of johnny’s graduation photo, and the prom invite ticket that has jungwoo’s chicken scrawl on the back (he was technically your date, because johnny got proportioned by half the seniors and mark was too nervous to ask if you’d take him)

this is what you were talking about. this is what you want to spend summer doing.

you want to spend it remembering, gathering fragments of your life so far in your hometown with your bestfriends, so that when you move on you have a tangible piece of the memories

the reason you were keeping it a secret though was because.....even you had to admit.......this was a little much 

and you had built yourself a little bit of a hard shell so imagining telling the people you knew that this was your summer plan 

well, you could already hear johnny’s voice saying something like ‘hey, this isn’t a hallmark movie you sap and facetime exists. do you think im not gonna call you at 3 am from across the country like i do now anyway?’ 

you close the box and tap your fingers on the top.

tomorrow, i’ll start visiting all the important places.

your phone pings and it sound echoes through the otherwise empty library. 

a harsh shushing sound comes from the front desk and you quickly answer it, sliding down against one of the bookcases

you’d come here to see if you could find that old series you loved as a kid, the magic treehouse, it’s the books you and johnny fought over when you first met each other years ago

you abandon that though because poor mark sounds like he’s having a panic attack over the phone

“hey, you need to get over here - johnny is holding auditions for a guitarist since you said you didn’t want to do the band”

“ok, so what? it’s just auditions?”

mark’s pleading gets louder, “it’s auditions with JOHNNY - he thinks this is eurovision or something i don’t know please i can’t reign him in and jungwoo’s at his internship - i am dying here!”

you sigh, making it long so mark knows how annoyed you are

“put him on.”

mark’s voice drowns and johnny takes the phone from him

“what did i say with conspiring with them? we are shunning them for quitting on the band! what do you mean you had no other options? what do you mean my egomania is coming out? - anyway hey whats up?”

“stop torturing mark and all the poor kids that showed up to audition.”

“first of all, im not torturing anyone. that would be illegal and distasteful, im just giving my constructive criticism. second of all, if you want to give orders like that then let’s make this a fare trade off. come over and help me judge - i mean hold the auditions and then i will cease my so called ‘torturing’ ala my ‘criticizing’.”

you huff - fine, it’s one day out of the whole summer.

“ok. but you better have snacks.”

“do you think i wouldn’t provide refreshments? what kind of monster do you think i am?”

there’s more people than you expect showing up to audition for this band. half of them are just there to sweet talk johnny or mark,  but the others are all just. bad. 

you never knew how bad someone butcher playing an instrument, let alone a guitar, but you’ve had that eye opening experience today

“how many people left?”

you mutter, face first into your palms and looking up with happiness when mark says only one!

“hey, im jung jaehyun.”

you turn and see the boy from the bike, the one with the softest eyes you’ve ever seen, standing in the entry to johnny’s garage

he’s carrying his own guitar case - black leather and well worn but loved

“well jaehyun dude, i hope you can at least play the damn thing because i feel like no one in this town can!”

johnny groans and you straighten up a little as jaehyun comes closer

he sets himself up and you feel something inside your stomach turn when he bends down and you see a bit of the tanned skin of his back

“im not amazing, but i can play some of the classics.”

“wonderwall?” mark asks and johnny snips at him as you try to think of something to say, but suddenly....your brain is fuzzy

“play anything!” 

so jaehyun does, he plays, and he even sings and the fuzziness in your brain turns to white noise and the little drop in your stomach is a whole bundle of butterflies

you barely realize the johnny is already befriending jaehyun and mark is staring at him with those big, impressed eyes

when you get up and jaehyun smiles at you

“so what do you play?”

johnny throws an arm around your shoulder older brother style and rolls his eyes before you get a word in

“you’re actually taking their spot because they’re too busy to be in the band.”

something seems to cast a sad shadow over jaehyun’s features - “oh, you’re not going to play with us?”

words float through your head, none of which you can grasp onto, so you just shake it instead and let johnny ramble on about your so called betrayal

you look at your phone and of course it’s nearing ten and there’s no way you can go to any of the other places on your list so you motion to mark that you’re going to head home

“oh - i have to go too.”

jaehyun slings his guitar case over his shoulder, “but ill come by tomorrow for practice?”

johnny shoots him a big grin and then haggles all the social media jaehyun has out of him

you don’t know why you just don’t start walking - but somehow you end up leaving with jaehyun, making that left turn where you first passed each other

“do you live on this street?”

you jump a little as you nod, “yeah - i think i actually saw you yesterday. you were on your bike so you probably didn’t notice me.”

there’s a polite distance between you two, but jaehyun is smiling when he answers

“oh no, i definitely noticed you.”

you end up thinking about those words the same way you couldn’t stop thinking about his eyes 

except this time, instead of it lasting a day, the thought lasts nearly two and a half weeks

it seems jaehyun is doing a good job fitting in with your friends, considering you don’t get anymore calls from mark 

and you actually start to make progress on your summer project

you manage to get some ticket stubs from old movies, an old science project you did that’s still hanging on the walls of the highschool (open for summer classes), and pressed flowers from ontop of a hill where you almost break your elbow back when you were a freshman

you’re plunging yourself into your past, but weirdly enough every now and then you’ll remember that 

oh no, i definitely noticed you

the six little words make you feel giddier than whatever memento you’re seeking out to tuck into your shoebox

you try to tell yourself it’s just because jaehyun is new - he’s new and the memory of him isn’t old enough to try and find anything to represent him by 

and he kind of represents everything you’re nervous about - new places, new people, new friendships ...... the prospect of a new love

love? 

you look up at the sky as you swing back and forth on the playground you’ve come to collect something from for your memory box 

that’s ridiculous. i’ve had one conversation with him!

you swing your legs back and forth, slowing down and you think twice about jumping off when suddenly you feels someone gently push your back

the swing goes a little higher and you turn your head in surprise to see

“j-jaehyun?”

he smiles and his dimples greet you before he does

“i saw you on my way back from johnny’s.”

he gives you another soft push and you hear that fuzzy noise that always turns the gears in your brain when you try to say something around him

“is - is johnny being nice?”

is all you can muster and jaehyun laughs, the sound melodic but low, just the way the baritone of his voice is when he sang

“very nice, but he is a lot to handle sometimes.”

you kick your legs down and dig your heels into the grass a little, jaehyun grabs the two chains of the swings to help you stop it

when you turn you notice his bike is laying a couple of feet away and so is his guitar

“what about the band stuff?”

“johnny is trying to write songs and stuff, but actually mark is the one that i think has the talent for it.”

you can’t help but feel the corner of your mouth lift up a little, he already knows the two of them pretty well.

“what about you - do you write songs or music?”

jaehyun lifts his bike back up and you take the guitar case to help him

before you know it - you and him are walking side by side again 

“a little, but it’s more about playing the guitar for me. that’s the part that makes me happy.”

you play with your fingers behind your back, old nervous habits rising to the surface

“by the way - why did you not want to be part of the band? johnny said you were busy with something but you didn’t say what.”

you stop 

i should lie, make something up.

jaehyun stops too and the sounds of the bike wheels and footsteps float off into the air

but for some reason, i don’t want to lie. not to him.

“im......leaving after the summer, going to school in another place. so im spending my summer kind of.....im kind of cataloging this place. this town. i’m doing the whole put your memories in a shoebox thing which is so-”

“awesome! i think it’s awesome that you want a part of your home with you, sometimes people are way too excited to get away from their roots.”

you look at jaehyun, who returns the look with a comforting warmth you’ve never experienced before.

it’s a different comfort than the one you get from your friends or your family, it makes your heart beat flutter - slow for a second, then so fast you think your body can’t keep up

he starts walking again and you do too

the silence isn’t weird. it’s a conversation in it’s own way between your two bodies.

when you get to your house - you look at jaehyun again and you have two thoughts

one is that you should kiss him. because he looks so.....kissable.

the second, the one you ultimately choose, is to widen your eyes and go:

“promise you won’t tell the others about it though, they would not let me live it down.”

jaehyun laughs and hooks his pinkie with yours - his skin soft under the setting sun - “i promise.”

and after being caught up in thinking about jaehyun’s eyes, or the way he speaks, you find yourself in the same repeating cycle again

this time. it’s your regret. 

you should have chose option one, because it’s looking like another opportunity to kiss jung jaehyun is not coming any time soon.

and like the two times before, you throw yourself into your summer project to try and not think about it 

(although you do, multiple times throughout the day, at one point blushing at the image of what could have happened if you DID kiss him and then getting snapped at by the angry man at the local deli)

another couple of weeks pass and you swing by johnny’s because it’s a location on your summer memory list and also....

you are curious about how the band is going ...

and you kind of a little want to see jaehyun again......

you arrive and hear jungwoo’s voice to your surprise, followed by the sound of drums and johnny’s sharp “stop, stop, STOP!”

“jungwoo, what is going on - did working at samsung make you into a robot who can only produce code and not drum to save his life?”

“what do you know about drumming johnny? or coding? or anything in general?”

“hey watch the attitude, you’re embarrassing me in front of jaehyun.”

jungwoo snorts and you try to hide your own laugh but everyone turns to you just in time for you to hiccup it back

“ah - the traitor is here!” 

johnny sings and jaehyun gives him a soft elbow to the ribs

“what’s up?” 

mark smiles from his place at the keyboard and you cross your arms

“nothing, hows it going - book any shows? write an album yet?”

“actually, we did book a gig for your information”

johnny waltz his way from the microphone and to a stack of flyers from his couch

he hands you one and this time you do burst out into laughter

the flyer, pink and way over the top, is an invitation to johnny’s end of the summer party

well it’s actually his going away party his parents have planned for him, since he’s also leaving for school

“johnny - you didn’t book a gig. you’re playing your own party.”

“the parents are shelling out twenty dollars to each of us so money makes it a gig.”

you look at jaehyun who secretly rolls his eyes

“sure, sure. can i keep one of these?” 

you fold the flyer and slip it into your pocket, this will make a good addition to the shoebox

“oh are you going to put it in-”

jaehyun starts and you rush over, hand flying over his mouth as the three other people in the garage stare

“going to put it in......the trash. yes. going to throw it right out because really johnny did you use paint-”

johnny flips you off in the kindest, best friend way possible

you let go of jaehyun and throw him a look that he mouths an apology too

somehow, instead of leaving, you end up staying and listening to them practice

you consider it a break from your project and the day is filled with what you’d expect from all of them, laughter and jokes and banter that is only ok between the closest of people

when they finally finish practice and jungwoo and mark accept a gracious ride home from mr. suh 

you say you’ll be off too and jaehyun trots up right behind you, “ill walk with you.”

this time, you hear less of the fuzz in your head and can actually keep up a decent conversation without staring at jaehyun’s lips

you feel closer because of the time you spent today and you almost walk past your house until jaehyun points to the porch

“oh by the way. can i see what you have in the shoebox?”

you look over your shoulder at him, “like right now?”

he gives a casual shrug

“is that ok?”

and now jung jaehyun is standing in your room. well he’s standing in it and then he’s sitting on your bed and rummaging through some of the most personal memories you have.

his long fingers pulling out ticket stubs or notes you passed in class

he chuckles at the graduation photo of johnny and dangles yours over your head when he refuses to give it back 

you tackle him for it and he falls down against your sheets and you make the worst (or arguably best) mistake of your life

when you straddle his hips and rich out to grab it

only to look down and see him splayed open like the pages of a beautiful book

and you remember your regret

it makes your head spin, but you watch in slow motion as the photo falls from between his fingers and you lean down to catch it, but jaehyun presses up and catches your mouth with his.

it’s sloppy, awkward - but only for the first few seconds - until you can both adjust yourselves from your position and do it right and then it is 

astonishing

because it feels like you’re kissing someone you’ve been kissing for years. decades. millennia's. eons. 

it feels like you and jaehyun have been doing this since the big bang.

since humans first came to exist. 

since, gosh you don’t know, since pangea freaking broke apart.

you make out for so long that you lose track of time and it gets late to the point where the darkness of the summer almost makes you ask him to stay over

but jaehyun is just so mannerly that he slips out the back door of your house with a final kiss and a promise to call

which he follows up on earlier than you expect, showing up on your doorstep to take you out for breakfast

only to end up with you two back in your room an hour later, kissing again, and again, and with more hands and less of his shirt or yours.

the only thing that unglues you from him is his phone ringing for what must be the tenth time

“it’s johnny”

you breath against jaehyun’s neck finally

“how do you know?”

“only he calls ten times in a row.”

and like your summer project, you don’t tell your friends about what’s going on between you two

jaehyun says it’s kind of hard to hide the obvious evidence on his body - but you tell him to say it was your other neighbor, or someone from another town

jaehyun agrees just because you pull the doe eye trick on him and he really is learning he can’t say no to that or to you in most situations

but everytime before and after band practice - he’s with you

sometimes he joins you on your little visits to the places still on your lists

when you tell him the sentimental value behind them, you get a little fidgety because being vulnerable is hard 

but jaehyun listens and he says that each memory of yours he gets to watch you relive, helps him learn something about you

you don’t say it out loud - but hearing that makes you want to cry and kiss him and cry again 

an other times, you two don’t do anything heartwarming or special, you just roll around with him, tangled up in one until he has to go

with each day, summer comes closer to 

and end but you fall deeper into each other at a pace that might be alarming if it was any other two humans but the both you

and before you know it - it’s the day of johnny’s end of summer slash going away party 

jaehyun is supposed to be there from like nine in the morning but he stops at your place before he bikes over

kissing your forehead he drops something in your palm

you open it to see his guitar pick 

“won’t you need this for when you play?”

“i’m using my backup. i just thought you might want to put that one in your shoebox........since it could remind you of me......”

he flushes and you bite back your lip, part of you is happy because he’s just so cute it isn’t fair but the other is coming to the daunting idea that 

soon enough - im leaving too, will jaehyun just be another memory to me?

instead of dwelling on it, you peck him again and ask, 

“ill see you at the party?”

the party is most definitely a johnny suh party

the food is amazing, everyone on the planet is invited, and johnny is wearing something so bright it beats out the sun

when you arrive, his mother spends half an hour asking you to take care of him when he finally leaves and you don’t remind her that you’re going to two different places

you don’t see jaehyun or mark or jungwoo around - you assume they’re practicing somewhere for the performance while johnny is juggling both front lead singer and host

the party is fun - it really is - but the words “going away” somehow still make you a little sick

you’re about to escape to somewhere a little quieter, when you hear someone tap the mic on the makeshift stage in johnny’s backyard

you see him - and the rest of the band - gather on as johnny introduces them and shouts excitedly that this song they’re going to perform, written by keyboardist mark, is all about new beginnings!

jaehyun finds you in the crowd, a secret little smile on his lips before the music starts and to your surprise - and probably everyone elses - they actually do pretty good

the lyrics are so very mark, but johnny brings a flare to the way he sings it

jungwoo seems to have remembered how much he adores drumming again and the way jaehyun looks playing guitar is so enticing that you can’t help but feel a little pride in the fact that you’ve been tasting all of that for most of the summer

the sick feeling in your stomach turns into excitement which turns into just pure enjoyment as you watch your friends and your boyfriend up there having fun

when it’s over and they hop down to mingle back into the rest of the party, you really can’t help yourself and throw your arms around jaehyun

you kiss him - which earns a gasp from mark, a half smirk from jungwoo, and a loud clearing of his throat from johnny

you and jaehyun admit what’s been going on and when johnny just whistles you ask him if he’s not mad

“even if i was mad, you would still keep liking each other right - so what’s the point?” 

you hug johnny, and mark, and jungwoo, and like nothing has changed you all fall back into the swing of it

the comfort of being around each other

when you five are the last people in johnny’s messy background you finally decide to tell them all about your summer project

“i knew you’d all say it was lame so i-”

“hey hey hey - it isn’t lame. it’s not what i expect but i get why you’d want to do it.”

johnny pats your shoulder and you feel jaehyun’s hand on the small of your back

it’s the kind of moment you want to never end. 

really, you just want this summer to never end.

but when it does - when the day comes for the temperature to drop and for you to be on your way to a new place

you feel the sadness come in a big wave

johnny, mark, jungwoo, and jaehyun all come to say goodbye and you hold the shoebox in your hands - now heavy and filled to the brim with all your memories

before you say it though, each of them adds something

jungwoo drops his samsung internship ID into it

mark places the paper he wrote the draft of the lyrics to the song they performed at the party into it

and johnny chucks a burned CD version of it into the mix

finally, turning to jaehyun, you take in a deep breath

“i know the distance will be big so if you want to break up and-”

he kisses you before you can finish your sentence and slips a small box that you don’t open until you’re already in your new dorm

inside is a small bracelet, engraved on the inside are the words

“i definitely noticed you. it was love at first sight”

years later - jaehyun says those words again

as he’s reading his vows 

and you’re feeling the fuzziness, the butterflies, the comforting warmth, everything like a tsunami of all the things that are you and jaehyun

and when johnny shows up to present the rings to you two

they’re in that old shoebox 

two little bands at the bottom of all those memories

at the reception, you lean over and whisper to your now husband

“where did you find that old thing by the way?”

jaehyun nuzzles his lips against the cusp of your ear as you watch jungwoo and mark make fools of themselves on the dance floor 

“under the bed, where you put everything you care about.”

[thompsonstessa-moved]

'Teraz Rock' Interview - english translation

A well know polish magazine about rock music 'Teraz Rock' (Now Rock) had an interview with Måneskin, and since one of the polish fans on FB shared pictures of the magazine, I decided to translate the interview, because I loved some of the stuff they said there! :D

As always, the whole thing is under read more. ;)

Maneskin is not only ‘Zitti e buoni’ and their winning performance in Rotterdam during the recent finale of Eurovision Song Contest. Italian band fits perfectly into the trend of rock restorers, and at the same time fights with the mental narrowness, prejudices and homophobia. On August 19th they will play In Park Kolibki In Gdynia.

I: You started by playing on the streets of Rome…

V: Unfortunately, there is not a lot of possibilities to debut in Rome. Rome is lacking the appropriate places, there are almost no rock shows. So we couldn’t find a place where we could show ourselves to the people. So we decided to play on the streets to gain the following, the listeners. We did that for good few months. And we had a lot of fun doing that. We think it really helped us, too. Because when you play on the streets, you don’t play for someone who came to listen to you. You need to attract people’s attention. So it was a great lesson on stage skills, to keep the attention. And we played many hours each day, so we also evolved as musicians, as a band.

I: Is it true that you had issues with police? V, D, T, E: Yes, that’s true!! (laugh)

D: It was all because of this old lady, that lived on the first floor, near the place where we used to play. She snitched on us! And sometimes police came and tried to get us to leave.

I: They didn’t arrest you?

D: No, it wasn’t that bad.

V: We were 16 back then. We just went all ‘We swear we won’t do it again!’ (laugh). We hid somewhere for 10 minutes….

D: Went around the block….

V: And played again (laugh).

I: You admited that at first you were shy. How did it happen that you gained so much self-confidence? Do you think one has to be self-confident if they want to show the world that they have something to say in music, in art?

V: It is important, but its more about feeling good with yourself and having fun doing what you do, rather than confronting the world. I think that if you lack confidence, you can’t fully enjoy creating, because you keep thinking ‘What the other will think about it?’. But everyone has to go through this phase. In my opinion, self-confidence is not something you’re born with. Everyone has the moments of hesitation and doubt. I have them too, still. And I think that’s perfectly normal. But you need to learn to appreciate yourself, accept yourself the way you are, because you can’t run away from yourself. We have whole life with ourselves, until the day we die (laugh).

I: Damiano, in one of the interviews you said ‘What we say, can change someone way of thinking’. Do you want to influence your audience? Artist like Chuck Berry or AC/DC just had fun on stage.

D: We also have fun on stage. But now, when we’re well known, we can get to many people, especially young ones. And there’s a chance, that if we say something positive to them, we could help them with their problems, that they can’t fight on their own. For example – like Vic said – we can help them gain more self-confidence and make them feel safer in the world around them. I’ll say this: if as a musician you have something to share with others, do it. But if you just want to have fun playing, that’s OK too.

T: Exactly.

I: Your behaviour on stage is often the reason for homophobic attacks. What would you say to homophobes here in Poland?

V: Fuck them!!!

T: Fuck them!

E: Fuck them, fuck them! (laughing)

D: Maybe not so vulgar.....

T: Fuck them!

D: For sure they should open up more, get rid of prejudices. Make a step forward. Free themselves from the old way of thinking. Let the others live however they want.

I: You debuted in 2017 with EP ‘Chosen’ with two of your own songs and few covers. Even tho you were so young, you already came off as mature musicians with a set style…

V: Thanks, but I don’t think so (laugh).

D: I don’t think we would agree with that.

E: We wouldn’t agree with that, definitely.

V: My bass playing skills definitely left much to be desired.

D: 'Chosen' definitely has its advantages, but… we were still looking for our sound back then. That EP is so much more different than our other albums. But it is a part of our career, our journey, and we don’t regret anything that has to do with it. We had a lot of fun recording it and… its something we did in the past and we’re happy that people loved it.

V: Still love it!

D: Exactly, still love it. Even tho we changed so much since then.

V: The most important and coolest thing about that EP is that even tho we were really young and our skills weren’t as good, you can still hear that we already had charisma and knew what we wanted. And even tho most of the EP consists of known songs, we changed them, played them in our own way, our own style. And that’s really cool because it shows us as a band with their own personality. Of course, now that we listen to that EP, we have lot to complain about…

D: We would do the songs much better.

V: But we like the attitude we already had back then. Even tho we were so young.

E: Our sound really changed since then, but you need to remember that when we we’re recording it, it was already a huge accomplishment for us.

D: That’s true.

I: On ‘Chosen’ Damiano sung in english. On your first album, ‘Il ballo della vita’ from 2018, you had songs in italian as well. Did your songs get more personal because of that?

D: I wouldn’t say that. We started writing songs in italian out of necessity. If you’re an Italian artist and want to reach Italian audience, you need, you have to sing in italian, because not a lot of people speak english there. Now it’s different, we managed to reach international audience, so we can make more songs in english. But we won’t resign from italian, we like to write in italian as well.

I: While recording ‘Il ballo della vita’ you made documentary ‘This Is Maneskin’…

E: They will never forget it! (laugh)

I: You can see there, that during that time you argued a lot.

D: We were young!

I: Did the conflicts threaten your band’s future?

D: No! We were just starting out...

V: Conflicts were inevitable. We were very young and suddenly tabloids were writing about us. And recording an album required a lot of work. And we never experienced that before, we had issues dealing with work in the studio. Because creating and recording together isn’t easy. You need to make many decisions, everyone has their own opinion. Now we’re more mature, we know how to deal with those situations. We can discuss with each other in a constructive way. We were much more childish back then and yeah, we fought sometimes. But even then nothing happened that could threaten our band.

I: ‘Il ballo della vita’ is a concept album of sorts. You have there Marlena, who, like you said, is personification of the concern a lot of you have – that we’re not able to be yourself…

D: The album was supposed to share a message to our fans. We wanted to tell them how important for us is the freedom to be yourself. The ability to love someone, that was chosen by our heart. Freedom to wear the clothes we like. Et cetera, et cetera… We realized that the album would speak to people more, and will be easier to understand, if we gave that idea a name. Of course it’s an idea that we still share to this day, just maybe a bit differently.

I: Your last album, ‘Teatro D’Ira Vol. 1’, you recorded live in studio. Did the way you worked on it was much different from the way you recorded ‘Il ballo della vita’?

D: Oh yeah! It definitely took us less time!

V: Definitely much faster. It was very exciting. We wanted to keep in studio the energy we have when we play concerts, which meant playing together. Which is of course much more difficult than recording separately. But we told to ourselves: let it be, we should at least try. And we loved the result.

D: You know, at first you work on the material in rehearsal room. And you’re full of energy. But then you come into recording studio, where you divide the song into parts, and you loose that power, that magic. So we realized that we should change the way we work, so we could keep the emotions from rehearsals.

I: ‘Teatro D’Ira Vol. 1’ is another concept album. You said its all about the rage, that plays the role of catharsis sometimes. Can you say something more about it?

V: Anger is mostly seen as something negative. And we think that classifying emotions as positive or negative is stupid. Especially in art. When you’re creating, anger can make you give more from yourself, say more. And that’s what our album is about, talking about the world of theatre. We show that something that’s seen as bad, can – especially in the world of art – become something good. And those songs, that are so full of rage, can bring relief to our listeners, which only confirms what I’m trying to say.

I: In the lyrics to 'In nome del padre’ and ‘Vent’anni’ you’re talking about mistakes you made in the past...

D: They are very different tracks, even if they seem to talk about the same topic. Vent’anni is all about our age, because we think it’s a very special moment in your life: you become an adult, but you’re still too young to be considered as such, and they don’t treat you seriously. We wanted to share that with our fans, because maybe they think the same. And In nome del padre is about the battle we had to fight, the mistakes we had to make, to get where we are today. Of course we’re still young, we still make mistakes. But I’m singing about the mistakes from the past, because they made us the way we are today. And I’m saying: don’t be afraid to make mistakes, because they are a part of your journey, your life. What’s important is how you react to those mistakes.

E: It’s not a mistake to make mistakes.

I: The next album, continuation of ‘Teatro D’Ira Vol. 1’ – is it already recorded?

D: No, no.

V: Indeed, our next album will be continuation of ‘Teatro D’Ira Vol. 1’, but we’re still working on it. We don’t want to record it in a hurry, we want to take our time making it.

D: We have a lot of songs already, but we want to have plenty to choose from. We want the album to have the most representative songs, the best ones.

[studyvibes]

Another new translation of Maneskin interview

I planned on translating the interview last week, but the day I was free the whole area where I lived had an issue with the WiFi, so through out the week, when I had a bit of free time I translated the interviewer piece by piece.

The translation is of this video: https://youtu.be/4Meslb_X9Fg

I thought it was best to include the video of the interview because there are videos and images relevant to their answers.

So this interview is by the VK which is basically like Russian Facebook.

In the original video the host speaks in Russian and Maneskin reply in Italian with Russian subtitles shown.

(Text which is bold and in brackets during the translation are some notes I added, to add come context)

Interviewer: For the first time, Maneskin is visiting Moscow, who are the winners of Eurovision. And today we are welcoming them in our studio. Guys, hello. (If you translate exact its: Guys, big hello to you)

Maneskin: Thank you very much

[0:17] Interviewer: The site Kontakte is one of the biggest sites in Russia and also one of the biggest music platforms in Russia, where people listen to your music. In our top charts of most listened songs you are one of the very few international musicians/bands that are included in the chart. In general the chart includes mostly songs in Russian language, so this shows how very popular you are in our country.

Maneskin: That’s very nice!

Interviewer: Please tell me - your international success just happened in 3 months: charts in Russia, charts in Billboard, I think this is the first time ever since ABBA that a musician/band became famous even in America after Eurovision. How did your life change in this span of 3 months?

Damiano: yeah there was a big difference/change.

Damiano: We could say that it was sudden and how we saw everything explode after Eurovision, but we are very happy

Damiano: Ofcourse this means a lot of work is expected because everything that we did before for Italy, we do now around the world. But we are very happy: this what we wanted and why we worked so hard -we are very, very happy/lucky.

[1:30]Interviewer: Going back to Eurovision, I was present at backstage and at the final, sharing happiness about your winning. I’d like to ask, did you know and how did you react to the fact that all artist for the past two weeks were saying that you were the obvious winners, even though the genre of your performance is a complete contrast to most competitor’s songs. How confident were you.

Interviewer: To solidify my words (about being at Eurovision) I have a photo *shows a photo on iPad of Interviewer and Maneskin on the night they won Eurovision*

Maneskin: oh it was you!

Victoria: We weren’t exactly confident. When we went to Eurovision, we thought only about being able to carry our music to a very wide auditorium, but we didn’t expect that we would be able to win - especially with the type of genre we play and sing in Italian - it is not something that appears often in this competition

Thomas: Yeah, that’s true, it was very unexpected and even the people - in Eurovision - were saying “You will win, you will win” - of course to us it was nice, but we completely didn’t expect it. And same with what happened after.

Ethan: (he said something, but they didn’t add a translation to what he said)

[2:45] Interviewer: I’d like to say a few words about our Manizha - Russian Woman (she represented Russia in Eurovision 2021) - were you able to meet her and chat with her? And are you planning to see her in Moscow

Victoria: yes yes, she even sang an Italian song

Damiano: it was something “Ti amo, ti amo”

Thomas: No, no, no, not that one!

Damiano: “Felicità”?

Thomas: No, no. I don’t remember.

Interviewer: (I didn’t hear him but I think he agreed with Damiano)

Maneskin: “Felicità”, yes, “Felicità”!

Damiano: They even sang in multiple voices! (Manizha had back singers with her, who joined her for Eurovision)

Interviewer: So after you won Eurovision, you were congratulated by Eros Ramazzotti, Royal Blood, and Franz Ferdinand. Which congratulation towards you was unusual and unexpected? And what did it mean to you

Victoria: Probably the big groups, which we always listen to, which always inspired us. It was also really nice, already the fact, that they talk about us - it was unbelievable. And because, of course, for us it was very important, that they liked us/valued us. And what most wild/unusual out of is that we got to collaborate with Iggy Pop.

Rest of Maneskin: *agreeing with Victoria’s answer*

Victoria: He is one of our main idols, he is one of the people who created/established punk-rock.

Thomas: Yes, of course, support from big musicians, from people who we listened to from the very start - it’s really wonderful and important/valuable recognition

Interviewer: tell us about your work with Iggy Pop. How did it happen, did he contact you or you were able to reach out to him?

Victoria: We were always huge fans of him. And when everything so well, he saw who we were and what type of music we have, and we asked him, if he would’ve want to produce something together. He said, that he really likes the song “I wanna be your slave.” and wanted to make a collaboration.

Interviewer: I saw that Miley Cyrus made a repost video of where you are performing a cover of her song and said you are her friends. Is there a possible collab with Miley?

Maneskin: Anything is possible.

Damiano: (in English) Who knows

Interviewer: with who would you want to collab?

Victoria: with many, with many! Arctic Monkeys, Foo Fighters, I don’t know.. with so many!

Interviewer: An interesting thing - the group BTS became the symbol of South Korea, making kpop genre popular. You are becoming...you became, the symbol of Italy. Do you feel any responsibility and are you planning on promoting Italian language/ making Italian language popular?

Damiano: We are thinking about making our music, and if our country will choose us to be their representatives, we would be happy. But no, we don’t feel this responsibility, we are thinking of own work/ business.

Interviewer: I can’t not ask very important question which is interesting for the fans - are you preparing an album, can you share some hints/ secrets? Because everyone is waiting for it. And the fact that in one of your songs which was released years back reached the top world wide charts, now we all can’t wait.

Victoria: Its all secret!

Damiano: We can say, that we are preparing new music - this is the secret which we can reveal.

Thomas: Yeah, and we are trying to find time, to write, to work on music. Certainly/undoubtedly, you can expect multiple surprises.

Interviewer: you are a unique group - from the point that your centre/focus is towards all of the members, which is different to other bands where bands are seen as the frontman and the rest of musicians. But each member of your group is seen a big celebrity. Did this happen accidentally or is this the concept you made, and how does your friendship help you with you work?

Damiano: We always tries to avoid the stereotypes of bands/groups, where only the vocalist is recognized/known. We always tried to push not only the group as whole, but also the 4 individuals of the group. And this is probably also happens because of our close friendship. Luckily, nobody feels like they are in the shadows pushed by others.

[7:38] Interviewer: It’s really cool that you change/ remove the stereotypes and create new trends.

Maneskin: We try, We try. We carry our little contribution.

Interviewer: Damiano, I would like to ask you personally a question - from what I am aware of, at the start, the band didn’t accept you into the band, something didn’t work out, could you please tell us in more detail?

*Maneskin laughing at Damiano*

Victoria: He became older, and his voice became magically/suddenly different!

Interviewer: what I understood was that it happened was because you originally sang more pop music, not rock with the band.

Damiano: In reality/to be honest, nothing changed, I stayed pop. Let’s say, I grew, and my voice changed, and I started to sound more earnest/persuasive.

[8:22] Interviewer: How did the band form? You first place of performance was at the street of Rome?

Maneskin: Yes, we started to play in school

Victoria: and since then everything went with the flow. We started to play on the streets, at small establishments, at school - anywhere where we could have an opportunity to perform

Interviewer: what was the hardest in those performances?

Thomas: To find a place where we can perform

Victoria: Yes, exactly, where to perform. And later, it was very small establishments and the audience at the start didn’t take us too seriously. But together as a band we supported each other - in the end, it was our dream, we even liked to perform in front of just a few people, which is why we continued.

Thomas: Exactly, yes. At the start we sometimes performed to an auditorium with a few people, but even then you had to stay convincing/conclusive. Over some period of time, in the crowd, people start to appear who valued our music, what we did. But for me, it was probably, the main challenge was to see, play, perform well and stay yourself in front of 2 or 3 people.

Ethan: Yes, there were times when we performed in front of an audience in which there were only parents. We gave out the same level and the same energy.

Interviewer: I think it is common thing to happen when a musician/ band performs at private party, where Russian musicians performed for one person in the hall.

Maneskin: oh this is something very very private

Interviewer: I think I’ll get in trouble for telling you this, but Little Big told me this story.

*Maneskin recognizing the bands name*

Maneskin: Aaa, Yes!

Interviewer: Ed Sheehan, in his time, took a challenge, he also started from street performing, to make 300 performance in a year. Are you ready to start your world tour and to perform nearly every day?

Thomas: Of course, definitely. The other way it won’t happen.

[10:25] Interviewer: I’d also like to know/ask, if you often spend your time together, as friends, if you have any common hobbies, and what do you do as a break/rest?

Victoria: We practically don’t have any life outside the frame of music, we spend all our time in work. But when we do find spare time, we just go somewhere to relax and have fun.

Interviewer: What simple tip/advise would you give to young musicians which at the moment are street performing but dream to perform in big stadiums?

Victoria: I think, you should continued with your journey and don’t change due to other people’s opinions.

Ethan: Yes, that right. Be always yourself.

Interviewer: your time of fame happened in Italy a few years ago from the show X Factor when you performed the cover from the band the Four seasons on their song “Beggin”. Did you expect that your cover would become a world hit in a few years? And a lot of people associate the song more with you (like more than the original band)

Ethan: Yeah. It’s.... weird!

[11:33] Interviewer: I’d like to show you an interesting photo. The photo illustrates when it was the last time Russia saw Italians. It’s a movie from the year 1974 which is called “the unbelievable journey of Italians in Russsia” do you see any similarity?

*at [11:48] you can see the image of four people: on the left two men happily hugging each other, in the centre a woman, and on the right a tired looking man*

Maneskin: Nooooo *laughing*

Ethan: Wow (the exact words that were written in subtitles were “Да ты что!” Which in Russian is used as an expression of surprise )

Ethan and Thomas point at which person they think they are in the left

Ethan: I am the one in the left

Interviewer: This is actually a very popular Soviet comedy and the movie is about Italians which travelled to Russia in search of treasure, which left was by one of the main character’s grandmother. I would like to know after which treasure did you go after in Russia?

Victoria: I think, our fans, possibly perform, and play in concerts. All the love and affection.

Interviewer: It would be nice if you could watch the movie, maybe during your flight, and share your opinion on social media.

Ethan: ok, will do.

Interviewer: I’d also like to show you a very popular video which was spreading in Russia. Where it was comparing your lyrics from “I WANNA BE YOUR SLAVE” and lyrics from a Russian musician Alla Pugacheva. Both songs have same repeating words: “master” and “gangster”

Maneskin: (idk who said it) I saw it in Tiktok

Interviewer: just in case, I’ll show you the video

*[11:58] shows the video which interviewer talked about*

Thomas: You already saw it.

Interviewer: Your Russian fans, went further, started to look for famous Russian performers who wore similar outfits that you wear. But it turned out that all the similar outfits were worn by on person, his name is Valery Leontiev. I’d like to show you the pictures to show you just how similar his outfits are.

*[13:35] you can see the image comparisons, in the background you can hear Damiano laughing and say “no no”*

Thomas or Ethan: Unbelievable! This is crazy, this isn’t possible.

Interviewer: Yes the similarities are on point/ are exact.

Interviewer: I’d like to conclude the interviewer with genuine admiration because for the past 3 months you exploded the whole music industry, which didn’t happen for ages. And to be honest, it is true what you said about saving your authenticity and believe in yourself. We are very proud of you, Russians love Italians (ik that a lot of old Italian movies and songs are very popular in Russia). Please continue to grow and make wonderful music.

Maneskin: Thank, thank you very much.

————————————-

Hopefully you enjoyed the interview and the translations made sense

[lunawritingspaceoxoxxx]

Unresponsive II

Three months

Three

Three months

Y/N thrived in the art world, their first displayed piece expressed the raw feeling of losing a love that was so exciting and heart racing and trying to manage in this bland, cold world. They glanced out towards the concrete jungle, watching people hustle and bustle around; single mothers, business men, ladies of the night, etc. They sighed, walking towards the canvas, rubbing their face as they tried to create anything from this creative funk. They knew this was coming from the trip to the falling out with Jennie, suppressing it until they couldn’t anymore, breaking down from just feeling absolute shit from just everything, they cried for their lost friendship, for Damiano, for everything that they sacrificed to get her. When they first started dating Damiano, they were in college for communications and journalism and for the most part, they enjoyed it for the most part and they thought it was going to stick for the most part and then they met Damiano. He came through like a hurricane, tearing through their world and showing them more than just their little small town as he sent pictures of places that he toured at, sending love letters and expensive jewelry.And they cherished every single one, keeping them in a small box underneath their bed, unable to stand even looking at them. Y/N rolled their neck as they pulled off their shirt, tossing it to the side as they grabbed a paint can as they stared at the blank canvas in determination.

TWO WEEKS LATER

“‘Up and coming painter,Y/N L/N, has been hospitalized at New York’s mental hospital. They’ve been experiencing vivid hallucinations and long periods of mania, breaking the glass of their high rise apartment. One theory is giving a little bit of insight to why they’re acting like this, some say she hasn’t been sleeping well or sleeping at all. They recently did a painting stream and you won’t believe this, for almost 30 hours. Some say that they didn’t move either, to eat or relieve themselves, so they potentially have an eating disorder as well.’'

Ethan scoffed as he changed the channel, tossing the remote to the side. “Lo sa ancora (Does he know yet)?” Ethan questioned as he opened a bottle of liquor, pouring himself a glass along with Thomas and Vic. “No, but he’ll probably know soon, you know he kept tabs on them. I don’t know why though, I’m pretty sure that they’re over with.” Damiano stepped through the door, looking worse for wear as he stomped through the room, taking the swing of the bottle. “Damiano….” “Just don’t. I don’t want to hear it, I know they’re in the hospital and-” “Dude, we’re just wondering if you’re okay, we don’t care about them-” Damiano stopped as he glared at Thomas, bending down in front of him. “I don’t give a shit how I feel, but you’re not going to disrespect Y/N in front of me. You can do it anywhere else, but around me.” Ethan quietly watched him as he slammed the door shut. “Maybe he’s onto something, he knows them better than us, maybe they’re nice.” Vic spoke up after a while, rubbing her neck as she felt an insane amount of guilt. She knew that Y/N knew that, and the rest of the band didn’t like them. They were so different from Damiano’s partners, none of his partners were foriegn, Y/N was an American and they did things differently than they do. “Are you okay, Vic, you look like you have an idea that none of us are going to like.” Vic was going to make this right and help these two useless lovebirds. “Pack all of your shit, we’re going to America.”

“What do you mean they’re not here? Where could they go?” The receptionist stared blankly at three before grabbing the phone. “If I knew that, I still couldn’t tell you because of HIPAA, if you don’t leave, I will call security.” They quickly stepped out of the building, disappointed as they looked at themselves. “Okay, so we’re going back home right?” Ethan looked done with everything, glaring at the paparazzi that made their way down the street. “We’re going to look for them, I’m not giving up, Damiano is close to shutting down completely and leaving the band. We owe it to him to at least help him either get back together or help him move on.” Vic realized during the ten-hour flight how well Damiano was doing much better with them in his life, they actively made sure that he was eating and remembering important small details. They were a match made in heaven and according to Vic, everyone needed someone to manage in the cruel world. “I know that they have a friend named Jennie, we just have to find where she’s at.”

“The world hasn’t been too kind to you, hasn’t it?” An older man glanced towards the backseat, frowning as he occasionally watched his child sleep. They looked exhausted and ready to throw in the towel from this brutal boxing match. He remembered them, crying into the phone, on the verge of a panic attack as they tried to form a coherent sentence and the next thing he knew, he was on a flight headed to New York. He knew that after the death of their mother, his wife, that they weren’t okay, but it was their senior year of high school and they got into a very prestigious school. They just kept going and going, no time to grieve and he was surprised that it took them so long to do so. As a father, he wanted to protect them from the outside world and yet, he couldn’t be there for them and it frustrated him so much. He pulled into a dirt road, sighing as they made their way down that familiar path. “I just want you to be happy again, just have this snarkier, larger than life attitude, and enjoy yourself. If you didn’t know, I’m proud of you and I’ll make sure that you know that for the rest of your life.”

“So you’re that Måneskin? Not going to lie, I thought Y/N was lying about him, you know? They seem a little...off the rails.” Ethan furrowed his eyebrows at Jennie as she basically walked around naked. “Is there another Måneskin band that we don’t know about? I’m getting sidetracked, where is Y/N? I know they had a breakdown and I thought in America you had to stay there for three days so?” Jennie just looked at the other woman, shrugging her shoulders as she walked into her kitchen, dancing to trashy pop music. “I really don’t know and I really don’t care, I didn’t consider Y/N as my friend. When they came to New York, I just took advantage of that, they were from the South. They came here and wanted to make all of the friends, wanting to get close with everybody and you know what? I could see them, slowly crack and not be their cheerful self and -” “God, no wonder they acted like that, they have you in their right ear, being a negative bitch and making themselves feel like shit.” Thomas spoke up as she pouted, making Ethan and Vic wear a puzzled look on their faces. “How are you making this about yourself? They’re obviously not in a good mental state, don’t make this about you.” Ethan shuffled uncomfortably in his seat as he looked around, coughing awkwardly. Jennie raised her eyebrows at them before she opened the door, pointing out. “Get the fuck out of my apartment and never come back. You’re lucky that I became friends with that hillbilly freak, no one else would ever deal with them.” Once again, they were stumped, they had no leads and they were pretty much ready to give up and call it a day. “...Vic, why are you doing this? Be honest with us, why do you feel this urge to help them? What have they done for you to help them?” “Because Damiano..has become a better person because of them, he’s been worse than this before. He would sleep around, not caring about who he hurt in the process and he was just sinking further and further. Then Y/N came along, they became friends and it took months of Damiano being called out for him to change and during that time frame, he fell in love with Y/N. ...I was jealous, he was more open with them than me. I’ve known him longer than anyone else and it was painful for me to hear him express his dreams and feelings to someone else. I wanted him to express himself with me instead of trying to act like he’s okay with whatever he was dealing with. That’s why I despised them, my jealousy got the best of me and it clouded my judgement.”

2 MONTHS LATER

Y/N watched the fields of corn as they seemed to continue on, never ending as the days went on. They were mounted on their childhood horse, Luna, as they explored the unchanging surroundings around them. Everything was the same, albeit, it really wasn’t, people passed away and some left to bigger and better things and the town that they grew up with just faded away. It was a ghost town, hardly anything stayed in town, all of the mom and pop shops shut down as the older generation retired and their children didn’t want to run a store. Y/N was lucky to have such great parents and allowed them to explore and learn everything they wanted to know. They never held that against their parents, they knew that just being the weird kid would have been sheltered because they knew how society treated children who didn’t fit into the norm. ”Whatca thinkin about?” “Nothing really, just relaxing, thinking, I don’t know what else to do, I don’t want to go back to New York quite yet. I don’t want to paint..it just reminds me of him, and losing him was the second worst pain that I've dealt with. I remember when mom died and I just pushed myself through, buried myself in my college work and...Damiano helped me decompress, I lost my rock and I’m pretty sure that he doesn’t want to see me. His group just won Eurovision and they’re getting international attention…” Their father watched them carefully, walking next to them. “Let me ask you a question, why did you and Damiano fight? Let’s start from there.” Y/N stopped Luna as they spun around to face the older man. “We fought because I traveled all the way to Rome and got drunk for two weeks. I thought we were going to spend time together and he would take me to see his favorite places-” “Did you tell him that? Before you confronted him?” Their father gave him that same look that they loved to give. Y/N had this bad habit where they'd daydream about important conversations and not have those said conversations in real life, they looked away shamefully. “No...I didn’t” “You know men are dumb as rocks, you need to tell us everything or we won’t pick up on hints that you drop. When your mother was pregnant with you, she would constantly get mad when I didn’t do things which led her to getting a chalkboard to let me know what I needed to do. Good communication makes a relationship thrive and survive, you can’t be silent and expect him to come to you. Now, do you want with this information, there’s someone who would love to speak to you.” A car sped down the dirt path, unfamiliar with this terrain, stopping as they rushed out of the car. “How did he even..” They urged Luna to slowly make their way back inwards, nervously glancing back towards their father, he only nodded as he urged them to continue on.

“Excuse me? I’m looking for…” Damiano trailed off as he watched them slowly trotted over to him. “..How did you even find me?” “Honestly, I spent hours upon hours looking through our facetimes and I just wanted to see you...I have so much to say and I just….Ti amo e voglio essere con te(I love you and I want to be with you), I’m hurting when you are and I realized that I can’t imagine myself without you. You’ve been there when I was at my lowest and you know me so personally and I don’t want to lose you.” Damiano grasped their waist as he pulled them into his chest. “Damia-” “No, let me talk first, you were absolutely right, we should’ve talked about what we should’ve done when you visited. I was stupid to think-” Y/N covered his mouth, shaking their head, “No, I’m partially to blame as well, I didn’t communicate what I wanted and I ended up causing a scene and I embarrassed you in front of everyone and your bandmates probably hate me even more.” Damiano wasn’t even listening to what they were saying, unable to focus on anything else but them, he quickly took their face in his hands, eagerly kissing as he ran his hands along their body, gripping their hips. “You weren’t listening to a word I said, did you?” “Diavolo, no(Hell no), you’re too distracting for me to focus.” He chuckled, pulling them closer to him, smirking when they gasped. “Don’t give me that look, I’ve always wanted to sleep with my amore on their childhood bedroom, let’s make that into a reality, shall we?”

[water-dance]

In case anyone's missed it, here's the Metamoro reunion during Ermal's showcase at Radio Subasio. Translation under the cut.

I: We have your [Ermal’s] fans at home. There’s one more, we are moving to Rome where there’s Fabrizio. Fabrizio? Are you there?

F: Here I am

I: Fabrizio? I can’t see him and I can’t hear him. Will he be there or not? This listener, fan of Ermal Meta.

F: Just a moment…

I: [laughs]

E: Who’s that? I’ve already recognized his voice.

I: You can’t let yourself get caught like that!

E: BIZIO! Let us see you!

I: There he is, hi Fabrizio! We wanted to surprise him but he recognized you just with one word! Welcome Fabrizio.

E: As soon as I heard- He doesn’t even have to talk, I heard a “huh” and I understood.

I: You understood immediately.

E: Yeah, sure.

F: I’ve just entered the call and as soon as you said “There’s a fan from Rome”-

I: You didn’t expect it to be you?

F: I thought “what is she doing? Is she just putting it out there like that?”

I: You’re not only a friend of Ermal Meta, you’re also a fan of his, right?

F: Don’t exaggerate now. Can I ask him a question?

I: Sure you can, that’s what I wanted to ask you. Ask Ermal Meta a question.

E: Careful or I’ll beat you up.

F: A question for Ermal Meta…

I: Yes, let’s hear it.

F: But let me see him though, or I can’t do it, I see my face. Here he is. So, first of all, who does your hair?

E: First of all…?

F: Who does your hair?

E: Who does my hair? I do it myself! I pray for my hair. I pray and they do their thing.

I: Well but he’s lucky, he’s curly, no?

F: [randomly can be heard saying “my love” to Ermal for no reason]

E: He is obsessed with my hair, it’s something terrible, since the day we met [he’d say] “what about this hair?”. Just mind your own fucking business! Right?

I: Listen, is it true that at first you didn’t really like each other?

E: No, that’s not true.

I: No? I had read this, you didn’t like each other at first and then thing was born…

E: No, always [liked each other]

I: Right from the start?

E: I don’t know about him [Fabrizio], cause he’s a bit of a little shit, but I’ve always liked him.

I: Fabrizio, do you confirm that or…? Is it true for you too? Or at the start-

F: You know what, jokes aside, I think that there are, especially in this world of ours, let’s call it like that, in the entartainment, music world, there’s a lot of mistrust, especially when you don’t know each other, and also a lot of jealousies. But there are cases, like with me and Ermal, in which people smell each other and immediately recognize each other. I remember I already heard talks about Ermal, before he arrived in Sanremo with “Vietato Morire”, I already heard people talk about him because I indirectly followed him through some people we have in common. When I saw him, for the first time, appear on that stage with that song, I immediately recognized a soul similar to mine and so I wanted to get to know him in person, that year, because I was also competing with “Portami Via”, and I was the one who walked up to Ermal to compliment him, hug him and tell him “I want to be friends with you, I want to be friends because you are a person I like” and Ermal can confirm it.

E: I confirm.

F: I’m a really introverted person so I rarely make friends with people…

I: So it was something immediate, you liked each other

E: Yes, absolutely

I: There’s something more I want to ask you, I don’t know if it’s fake news, there’s many to be read, but there’s a 12th song that you did not put in your album because rumors say it should have to do with Fabrizio Moro and his movie project, is it false?

E: No, look, not his movie project. I mean, he didn’t ask me for anything so…

I: See, Fabrizio? It’s your fault. There was a chance and you didn’t ask him.

E: No, no, I mean…

I: Look, he [Fabrizio] is hiding!

F: It’s not true! It’s been 6 months of me asking him to come and watch the movie!

E: Shut up! Let me speak! He is an amazing singer-songwriter, so when an amazing singer-songwriter works on a movie, you don’t walk up to him and tell him “let’s do something together for your movie”

I: Obviously

E: He doesn’t need me, he’d do it himself. Why do I hear my echo? I’m getting confused, if I hear my own voice it’s going to be a mess.

I: You seem like the Pope.

E: But there is a song we were supposed to do together! But he does not hurry up and write his part of the lyrics! So, I mean, Fabrì! I’m getting white hair while waiting for you! I’m starting to look like you! Just some tattoos [more]…

I: So, Fabri, when are we doing this thing?

F: But if you do remember, you sent this thing to me while I was on the set…

E: [hand gesturing] I sent it during the prehistoric era.

I: You sent it when he wouldn’t answer your calls? I read on Instagram that you wrote “You don’t answer my calls!”

E: He has a problem with his phone, even when we were in Lisbon, we were there for Eurovision, if you called him, he would not answer and I’d wonder “what’s wrong with him? Why doesn’t he pick up the phone?”

I: And how do you two communicate?

E: When he feels like it, he’ll answer the phone.

I: Fine, Fabrizio, how is the movie doing?

F: We started the mixing…

E: Mixing? Is it an album?

F: Movies get mixed too…

E: The editing, you mean?

F: No, the mixing, the editing is done already.

E: The audio mixing? Ah right, right.

F: Yes, the audio. We started this week and I think that by the end of May we’ll be done with this whole project and I’ll get a break because this has been quite stressing. It started in May, last year, and we’re finishing now, so I’d like to have some time for new songs, also with Ermal’s help, I’ve already asked him.

E: And in the meantime, he’ll move houses again. He did not tell me but I’m sure he’s going to do it again.

I: No, I can’t believe it, again? Fabrizio, stop it!

E: He moves every 5 months. What’s your problem with the houses you buy bro? What’s the matter? You buy and sell, buy and sell…

I: He’s soon going to get a Guinnes World Record

E: It’s always the same [house], he buys it and sells it, buys it and sells it…

I: For real, Fabrizio, thank you! Thank you for being with us!

E: No, wait, wait! Don’t hang up on him, look at him, he’s suffering.

I: Where are you? What position is that?

E: Otherwise he might feel lonely, he’s a panda cub.

F: I’m in the house that I’ve just sold.

E: [laughing] See? I knew it!

I: I can’t believe it!

E: He does it every year! It’s incredible! He does so every year, this kid can find no rest. But it’s better like this, bro.

F: I’ll be waiting for you!

I: We’ll wait here for you too, as soon as possible

E: Let’s do this: I’ll come to you and you’ll come here, and, still, we’ll end up not seeing each other.

I: Bye Fabrizio!

F: Bye, I’ll wait for you!

E: Bye brother, love you!

F: Bye Ermal!

E: Bye!

[borisbubbles]

Character analysis: Vivienne de Fer (Dragon Age Inquisition)

So, if you’ve wondered where I popped off to the past two months or so, I’m going to give you an answer - I finally bought Dragon Age Inquisition (legit on my gaming wishlist since its 2014 release) and I’ve been obsessed with it ever since. 

The main draw to this game however, isn’t so much the gameplay (if you want a game that feels similar but has better gameplay - Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is what you’d want instead), but the storytelling and particularly the character development are top notch. All nine companions are fascinating and fleshed out in such a realistic manner I’m still gasping in awe on my fifth playthrough.  Thus, a post on it is in order. It’s a bit different from my usual content, but don’t let that discourage you - clearing my head from Dragon Age will allow me to let Eurovision back in and continue my unfinished 2020 ranking.  In this post, I will be analyzing one of DAI’s most interesting characters - none other than Madame de Fer herself, Vivienne.  Now, I’m under the impression that this is a rather unpopular opinion but I absolutely love Vivienne. And no, I won’t apologize for it. As a Templar-thumping elitist with a icy, sardonic demeanor the sheer ‘Idea Of A Vivienne’ is meant to make your head spin. Dragon Age has always been a franchise in which mages are a socially surpressed group and to be confronted with a socially confident enchantress who likes Templars and seemingly supports the social shunning out of her own ambition is the walking embodiment of flippancy. 

and yet, I feel a lot of sympathy for Vivienne. 

Yes, she’s a bitch. She knows she’s one and she’s a-ok with it. I won’t argue with that. Sadly, the “Vivienne is a bitch” rhetoric also drastically sells her short. Vivienne is highly complex and her real personality is as tragic as it is twisted. 

Madame de Fer

So let’s start with what we are shown on the surface. Vivienne is a high-ranking courtier from an empire notable for its deadly, acid-laced political game. She seemingly joins the Inquisition for personal gain, to acrue reputation and power, and eventually be elected Divine (= female pope) at the end of the game. She presents herself as a despicable blend of Real Housewife, Disney Villain, and Tory Politician, all rolled into one ball of sickening, unctuous smarm. Worse, the Inquisitor has no way to rebuke Vivienne’s absurd policies and ideas. You can’t argue with her, convince her to listen to your differing viewpoints or even kick her out the Inquisition. She has a way with words where she can twist arguments around in such a fashion that she lands on top and makes the other person look like the irrational party.

“Thus speaks the Inquisitor who has made so many mature and level-headed choices so far. Such as releasion malcontents upon the population without safeguards to protect them should they turn into abominations. Very wise. I rearranged some furniture. Lives aren’t thrown into jeopardy by my actions. Perhaps a little perspective is needed.”

She’s Cersei Lannister on creatine, Dolores Umbridge on motherfucking roids. If you look at merely the surface, then yes, Vivienne looks like the worst person ever created. I love a good anti-villainess however, and she’s definitely one. 

Yet, she never actually does anything ‘evil’? Yes, she is ‘a tyrant’ as a Divine, but 1) the person saying this is Cassandra, whose dislike for mage freedom is only matched by her dislike of being sidelined 2) Divine Vivienne isn’t bad to mages either? (hold that thought, I’ll get to it). She never actually sabotages the Inquisition, no matter how low her approval with the Inquisitor gets. She never attempts to stop them, no matter how annoyed she is. She’s one of the most brutally honest companions in the cast, in fact. (It always surprises me people call her a ‘hypocrite’ - you keep using that word and it doesn’t mean what you think it means.) The ‘worst’ display of character is when she attempts to break up Sera and the Inquisitor and even then - are we going to pretend Sera isn’t a toxic, controlling girlfriend with a huge chip on her shoulder? I love Sera, but come on.  

Vivienne is a character where the storytelling rule of Show, Don’t Tell is of vital importance. The Orlesian empire is an empire built around posturing and reputation. Nobody really shows their true motivations or character, and instead builds a public façade. It’s like how the Hanar (the Jellyfish people) in Mass Effect have a Public name they use in day-to-day life, and a Personal Name for their loved-ones and inner circle. Vivienne’s ‘Public Visage’ is that of Madame de Fer - this is the Vivienne who openly relishes in power, publicly humiliates grasping anklebiters with passive-aggressive retorts, the woman who is feared and loathed by all of Orlais, and this is the Face you see for most of the game.

The real beauty of Vivienne’s character and the reason why I love her as much as I do (which is to say - a LOT) are the few moments when - what’s the phrase DigitalSpy love so much - Her Mask Slips, and you get a glimpse of the real woman underneath the hennin.

This is the Vivienne who stands by you during the Siege of Haven and approves of you when you save the villagers from Corypheus’s horde.

This is the Vivienne who comforts you when you lament the losses you suffered.

This is the Vivienne who admires you for setting an example as a mage for the rest of Thedas.

This is the Vivienne who worries about Cole’s well-being during his personal quest, momentarily forgetting who or what he is. 

This is the Vivienne who, when her approval for the Inquisitor reaches rock bottom, desperately reminds him of the suffering mages go through on a day-to-day basis because of the fear and hatred non-mages are bred to feel towards them and how this can spiral into more bloodshed without safeguards. 

This is the Vivienne who shows how deep her affection for Bastien de Ghislain truly is, by bringing you along during his dying moments. I love this scene btw. This is the only moment in the entire game where Vivienne is actually herself in the presence of the Inquisitor - needless to say, I consider anyone who deliberately spikes her potion a motherfucking psychopath ^_^)

“There is nothing here now” fuck I *almost* cried at Vivienne, get out of my head BioWare, this is WRONG -- people who delude themselves this is an irredeemable character. 

So, who is Vivienne really?

Understanding Vivienne requires recognizing that the mask and the real woman aren’t the same person. I think her relationship with Dorian is the prime example of this. I love the Vivienne/Dorian banter train, obviously - an unstoppable force of sass colliding with an unmovable wall of smarm is nothing short of a spectacle. However, there’s more to it than their highly entertaining snipes. As the incredibly gifted son of a magister, Dorian represents everything Vivienne should despise, and should be a natural enemy to her. And yet, she doesn’t and he isn’t.. Their gilded japes at each other are nothing more than verbal sparring, not dissimilar to how Krem and Iron Bull call each other names when they beat each other with sticks. In what I think is one of the most brilliantly written interactions between characters in DAI, I present Vivienne’s reaction when the Inquisitor enters a romance with Dorian:

Vivienne: I received a letter the other day, Dorian. Dorian: Truly? It's nice to know you have friends. 🙄 Vivienne: It was from an acquaintance in Tevinter expressing his shock at the disturbing rumors about your... relationship with the Inquisitor. Dorian: Rumors you were only too happy to verify, I assume. 🙃 Vivienne: I informed him the only disturbing thing in evidence was his penmanship. 🙂 Dorian: ...Oh. Thank you. 😳 Vivienne: I am not so quick to judge, darling. See that you give me no reason to feel otherwise.

Madame de Fer can never be seen directly expressing approval to a relationship between the Herald of Andraste and an ‘Evil’ Tevinter ’Magister’. By this subtle, subtle conversation, Vivienne indirectly tells Dorian that she considers him a good match for the Inquisitor and approves of the romance. It’s one of those reasons why I could never truly dislike Vivienne - between the layers of elegant poison lies a somewhat decent woman who never loses sight of the bigger picture. Not a good person maybe, but not one without some redeeming qualities.

The crux of Vivienne’s personality is that she, like all DAI companions, is a social outcast. She’s a mage in a fantasy setting where mages are psionically linked to demons, and grew up in a country where the majority religion has openly advocated the shunning and leashing of mages (’Magic exists to serve man’ - the Chantry is so, so vile in this game.). Vivienne’s “gift” was discovered so early in her life that she can barely remember her parents. Vivienne grew up in a squalid boarding school, learning from a young age that she’s dangerous and her talents need to be tamed and curbed. She is also terrified of demons, as her banters with Cole point out:

Cole: You're afraid. You don't have to be. Vivienne: My dear Inquisitor, please restrain your pet demon. I do not want it addressing me. Inquisitor: He's not doing any harm, Vivienne. Vivienne: It's a demon, darling. All it can do is harm. Cole: Everything bright, roar of anger as the demon rears. No, I will not fall. No one will control me ever again. Cole: Flash of white as the world comes back. Shaking, hollow, Harrowed, but smiling at templars to show them I'm me. Cole: I am not like that. I can protect you. If Templars come for you, I will kill them. Vivienne: Delightful. 😑

Vivienne’s Harrowing is implied to have been such a traumatizing event to her that she’s developed a pavlovian fear of demons ever since. (Hence her hostility towards Cole.). Vivienne is fully aware of the inherent dangers of magic, and projects this onto all other mages. 

Besides, given how Dragon Age has a history with mages doing all sorts of fucked up shit, ranging from blood magic, murder, demonic possession and actual terrorism (yes, *ElthinaBITCH* had it coming, but let’s not pretend like Anders/Justice was anything other than a terrorist), Vivienne’s policies of controlled monitoring and vigilance are actually significantly more sensible than the options of ‘unconditionally freeing every mage all over Thedas’ and ‘reverting back to the status quo before the rebellion’. They’re flawed policies, obviously. When Vivienne says “mages” she pictures faceless silhouettes foremost and not herself. Regardless, unlike Cassandra and Leliana, Vivienne is aware of the fear others harbour for her kind, and how hard it is to overcome such perceptions.  

Additionally, Vivienne’s a foreigner. She is an ethnic Rivaini, a culture associated with smugglers and pirates (Isabela from DAO and DA2 is half-Rivaini). This adds an additional social stigma, again pointed out by Cole:

Cole: Stepping into the parlor, hem of my gown snagged, no, adjust before I go in, must look perfect. Vivienne: My dear, your pet is speaking again. Do silence it. Cole: Voices inside. Marquis Alphonse. Cole: "I do hope Duke Bastien puts out the lights before he touches her. But then, she must disappear in the dark." Cole: Gown tight between my fingers, cold all over. Unacceptable. Wheels turn, strings pull. Cole: He hurt you. You left a letter, let out a lie so he would do something foolish against the Inquisition. A trap. Vivienne: Inquisitor, as your demon lacks manners, perhaps you could get Solas to train it.

This is the only palpable example of the casual racism Vivienne has to endure on a daily basis - Marquis Alphonse is a stupid, bigoted pillowhead who sucks at The Game, but remember - Vivienne only kills him if the Inquisitor decides to be a butthurt thug. She is aware that for every Alphonse, there are dozens of greasy sycophants who think exactly like he does, and will keep it under wraps just to remain in her good graces. 

Finally, there’s the social position Vivienne manufactured for herself, which is the weak point towards her character imo. Remember, this woman is a commoner by birth. She doesn’t even have a surname. Through apparently sheer dumb luck (or satanic intervention) she basically fell into the position of Personal Mage to the Duke of Ghislain. Regardless, ‘Personal mages’ were the rage in Orlesian nobility, and the prestigious families owned by them like one may own a pet or personal property. By somehow becoming Bastien de Ghislain’s mistress and using his influence, "Madame de Fer” liberated herself from all the social stigmata which should have pinned her down into a lowly courtier rank and turned the largely ceremonial office of “Court Enchanter” into a position of respect and power. This is huge move towards mage emancipation by the way, in a society where, again, Mages are feared and shunned and are constantly bullied, emasculated and taught to hate their talents. Vivienne is a shining example of what mages can become at the height of their power. Power she has, mind you, never actually abused before her Divine election. Vivienne’s actions will forever be under scrutiny not because of who she is, but because of what she is. The Grand Game can spit her out at any moment, which will likely result in her death. 

Inquisitor: “You seem to be enjoying yourself, Vivienne?” Vivienne: “It’s The Game, darling. If I didn’t enjoy it, I’d be dead by now.”

Whether Vivienne was using Bastien for her own gain or whether she truly loved him isn’t a case of or/or. It’s a case of and/and. The perception that she was using Bastien makes Vivienne more fearsome and improves her position in the Grand Game, but deep down, I have no doubts truly loved him. Remember, Vivienne’s position at the Orlesian court was secure. She had nothing to gain by saving Bastien’s life, but she attempted to anyway. That Bastien’s sister is a High Cleric doesn’t matter - Vivienne can be elected Divine regardless of her personal quest’s resolution. She loved him, period. 

No, I don’t think Vivienne is a good person. She treats those she deems beneath her poorly, like Sera, Solas, Cole and Blackwall (characters I like less than Vivienne), which I think is the #1 indicator for a Bad Personality. But I don’t think she qualifies as ‘Evil’ either and I refuse to dismiss the beautiful layering of her character. I genuinely believe Vivienne joined the Inquisition not just for her personal gain, but also out of idealism, similar to Dorian (again, Cole is 100% correct in pointing out the similarities between Dorian’s and Vivienne’s motivations for joining, as discomforting it is to her). 

In her mind, Vivienne sees herself as the only person who can emancipate the mages without bloodshed - her personal accomplishments at the Orlesian court speak for themselves. Vivienne isn’t opposed to mage freedom - she worries for the consequences of radical change, as she believes Orlesian society unprepared for the consequences. Hence why she’s perfectly fine with a Divine Cassandra. Hence why her fellow mages immediately elect her Grand Enchanter of the new Circle. 

Hence why Vivienne is so terrified by the Inquisitor’s actions if her disapproval gets too low. The Inquisitor has the power to completely destroy everything she has built and fought for during her lifetime. Remember: Vivienne’s biggest fear is irrelevance - there’s no greater irrelevance than having your life achievements reverse-engineered by the accidental stumbling of some upstart nobody. This is the real reason why she joins, risks her life and gets her hands dirty - the only person whose competence Vivienne trusts, is Vivienne’s own. 

Even as Divine Victoria, I’d say she’s not bad, at all actually. Vivienne has the trappings of an an Enlightened Despot, maintaining full control, while simultaneously granting mages more responsibility and freedom, slowly laying the foundations to make mages more accepted and less persecuted in southern Thedas. Given that Ferelden is a feudal fiefdom and Orlais is an absolute monarchy, this is a fucking improvement are you kidding me. (Wait did he just imply Vivienne is secretly the best Divine - hmm, probably not because Cass/Leliana have better epilogues - but realistically speaking, yes, Viv should be the best Divine and it’s bullshit that the story disagrees.) 

Underneath the countless layers of smarm, frost and seeming callousness, lies a fiercely intelligent and brave woman, whose ideals have been twisted into perversion by the cruel, ungrateful world around her. Envy her for her ability to control her destiny, but know that envy is what it is.  

The flaw in Vivienne’s character isn’t so much the ‘tyranny’ or the ‘bitchiness’ or the 'smarm’. Her flaw is her false belief that she is what the mages need the most. Her belief that her competence gives her the prerogative to serve the unwashed mage masses... by ruling over them. For all intents and purposes, Vivienne is an Orlesian Magister and this will forever be the brilliant tragedy of her character. She was created by a corrupt institution that should, by all accounts fear and loathe her but instead embraced her. It’s that delirious irony that makes Vivienne de Fer one of the best fictional characters in RPG history.  the next post will be Eurovision-related. :-) 

[totallypathet]

UK Episode Five

UK Hun?

I know I haven't at all talked about Drag Race UK this season, but I have ~opinions~ and my flatmate is getting bored of me so here we are.

First episode back after lockdown! I feel so bad for these queens, started filming, get sent home for seven months, have no idea if/when they're going to start filming again, lose income for 7 months, it must have been so awful. But I'm glad they're all back! Except poor Veronica who got covid - I hope they do a Eureka and invite her back for season 3, I feel like she had so much more to show!

Of course they brought someone back to replace her, typical drag race gag, but nice that someone else got another chance! Having said that, it should have been Astina. She didn't deserve to go home in the first place, imo. I do think it was kind of harsh to throw that at everyone first thing though! Like the eliminated three didn't get to do anything to even fight for it, and for all the remaining queens, like its been seven months! Who remembers things that long?? Not me, that's for damn sure. I think that was kind of harsh, and I think a lot of people did go for Joe maybe as a safe choice, like there's always an argument for the queen who went home first, they didn't really get to show much. You know what I wish, I wish those three had been a group for the Eurovision (I refuse to say Rurovision) challenge, and then everyone got a chance to vote someone back. That would have felt fairer somehow.

Anyway. I was initially really glad we got Joe back, because I really felt like she did have more to show. I was soon to be disappointed, however 😂

I do love the music challenges, and I adore MNEK, I hope he is like the permanent music judge. One of my favourite moments was him, I think it was after Bimini's first take, going "well...its good that we have that..." very like Chrissy Teigen 😬 that was so funny to me, I loved it.

1. A'Whora

Before the covid break I really didn't like A'Whora, but I feel like she's come back a bit more relaxed, a bit more open, and I liked her so much more this episode. I feel like maybe when she came back she was a bit more relaxed because she knew (kind of) what she was walking into, so she felt a but more at home, maybe. Anyway, I think she did really well this week! She's not a singer, but she leaned into this moany sexy thing that some people do do at Eurovision, and hey, sex sells! I think it was a smart choice for her.

Her look as well... amazing. You guys it was a bag of chips! She had wooden forks as her earrings! The font of the newspaper was to scale! She was carrying a salt shaker! It was so sick, I loved it. I loved seeing her be fashion and polished and beautiful, but also whimsy and funny at the same time! Great week for A'Whora.

2. Bimini Bon Boulash

We LOOOOOOOVE Bimini Bon Boulash! For me, she was the absolute stand out this week, I just adored her! Her verse was amazing, her lyrics were great, her very East London attitude was everything, I just loved it. And her outfit! That mad pink cowboy barbie? Incredible! Also, so Eurovision. And the jump off the stool! That lives in my head rent free. "Somebody do a death drop or summing!" Perfect. The whole performance was amazing.

Also her runway looooooook! It was so beautiful, so fashion, I was getting Gautier from that lace and the umbrella... everything about it to me was so perfect. I know it was a team win, but to me Bimini absolutely killed it, and she was my winner 🥰🥰

3. Ellie Diamond

I love Ellie, but honestly I think she's too young for this competition. She's so great, but if you give her just a couple more years, she's going to be absolutely unstoppable. I think she did pretty well this week, her lyrics were fun, she is a dancer, she performed great! I do agree with Michelle, she did look a little bit like she was in her head for a lot of the performance, but that just comes with confidence, and when you've not performed for 7 months and then suddenly you're on the main stage, that's got to be super nerve wracking!

I also think Ellie was a victim of a bad group this week. I think the group as a whole didn't have a lot of direction or focus, the choreography wasn't that great, they didn't really feel like a group. It was unfortunate. I feel like she did the best she could.

I kind of loved her runway, I think the seagull thing was hilarious! She was a human size seagull! That's hysterical. The only thing I kind of wish is that she'd had ridiculous padding on. Like, what's funnier than a giant seagull with huge tits in a bikini. I think that's so funny.

4. Joe Black

Oh Joe. I was excited for Joe to come back, but as soon as she walked out to the Eurovision challenge in that dress with that wig and a belt, I knew it was over.

I'll get into the dress H&M/Primark drama in a second, but first let's talk about the actual challenge. Joe's lyrics were pretty good, but the way she performed them was just so at odds with the track. It's cheesy Euro pop, you know? I just feel like she could have done things differently. And then with the choreo...look I don't expect anyone to walk in being a great dancer and doing flips and splits and all that, but I just felt like she didn't even really try with the moves Ellie and Tia wanted to do. Maybe that was the edit, I don't know. I also feel like, as team leader, she could have found some solutions, like they could've had Tia & Ellie doing these amazing moves, and Sister & Joe could have done something more simple, or they could have found some comedy Joe could lean into while the others were dancing, but it just seemed like they didn't even try and find a way around it? It was just a bit weird to me.

And then she came out for the runway, and it was like chalk and cheese. Joe Black had by far and away the best runway look of the night. That's one of my favourite things that's ever been worn on UK Drag Race, it was amazing. But it was also like girl if you can do that, why were you wearing H&M during the main challenge? And like, I'd get it, if that dress was beautiful, or bold, or she'd used it as a base and done something to it, but it wasn't. It was so basic, and she even said she knew it was basic, and it didn't even fit her right. It was just so disappointing.

Honestly, I understand what Ru was saying about not wanting to see off the rack. I can't believe I'm about to be defending Transphobia Paul, but I actually kind of agree. And it's not about money, I don't think anyone has to spend loads of money to be a good drag queen, I think its just about it being a Look. A Moment. Like this is internationally available TV. And you're going to come out to perform in a dress off the sale rack that you just threw on and belted? I just find that disappointing. And I get what people are saying about Astina in week 1 winning with an off the rack outfit, but at least she did something with it. I mean, first of all it at least was a cool jacket. But then she built this outfit, and sold a character, she gave us an East London Moment, and it didn't matter that the jacket was from ASOS.

Joe didn't give us anything with that dress. She did nothing with it, and she didn't give us a character or a presentation, it was just an ugly dress. But then she came out in that incredible runway look, why such a disconnect? And I know that it was covid, and everyone had a loss of income, but girl the filming started before that. Like Joe should have already had the wardrobe for the season all ready before the lockdown. And if she didn't, she had 7 months to do literally anything with that dress. Stone it, glitter it, paint it, dye it, wreck it with bleach, make it a top, make it a jacket, do SOMETHING! You know? Also, that runway look? Idk if she made it or commissioned it, but baby that was not cheap. That took time, and energy, and effort, and money, so I'm calling bullshit on "maybe she could only afford a sale rack H&M dress 😔". Bullshit, Vivienne.

I was just so disappointed in Joe. I'm glad she went home.

5. Lawrence Chaney

I was worried for Lawrence this week! She's not known for being a singer or a dancer, and she was the only plus size girl in her group. As a big bitch myself I know it can be intimidating to be surrounded by thin people, especially when you're doing things you're not confident in.

But bitch she fucking turned it out this week! She wrote good lyrics, she kept up with the choreography, but most importantly, she performed the song. Like she leaned into not being a good dancer, she didn't look unsure or awkward, she just did it. I love that about Lawrence, she always just gives it her best, and I respect the hell out of it.

Her day at the seaside look was cute. It was a little bit obvious, a little bit literal, but it was well made, it fit her beautifully, and she looked fantastic. She did the assignment, and tbh I'm happy with that. She did a good job, and I'm proud of her!

6. Sister Sister

Honesly, the fact that Tia Kofi was in the bottom two when Sister Sister was right there is a fucking hate crime.

I genuinely forgot Sister Sister even existed. Like the only memorable thing she has done all season is her Morning Talk Show goth, and that was painful to watch. And she spends all her confessionals just bitching and moaning about other people! She spent the whole Talk Show episode complaining about Veronica and saying she didn't wanna work with her, but bitch what did you do?? If you think someone else is boring, you should have no trouble out shining them! And then she didn't!

I'm over it with her. Her performance wasn't that good, her lyrics weren't that good, and then her runway look was like the Wish version of A'Whora's.

I'm not totally certain that I buy that Sister stole it as a concept from A'Whora, but... maybe? Like, if Sister had really seen A'Whora's when they were filming the first time, and Sister had something totally different back then... I can see that maybe she thought "oh, thats a way better idea". All I know is, if you're gonna do the same look as someone else, you better leave them in the dust; and she didn't. She should have been lipsyncing this week.

7. Tayce

Tayce really pulled it out this week! Her rap was one of the best performances in the whole show, she killed it! Her lyrics were great, she really delivered them like a rapper, and them she performed the hell out of the song! Loved it. The only things I had to say about Tayce was that she seemed like the odd one out in the group in terms of outfits? Like everyone else went very Eurovision, cheesy pop pink, and she went with a very cool, edgy, darker look. Like, she looked stunning, and I looooved her hair, but it just didn't quite fit with the rest of the group. But that's a real nitpick, in terms of the actual performance, she was amazing!

Tayce's runway look. It was okay. It was a little bit literal for me, she went for shells and netting. It was cool, she looked beautiful, but it wasn't like a knockout for me.

8. Tia Kofi

Tia got a raw fucking deal this week. She was the best performer in her group by a country fucking mile, she had the best lyrics, she was the best rapper, and I think she looked the best out of the four in that group (during during challenge). I could not believe they put her in the bottom two.

Okay, her runway look was not great. It was a long way from great. But at least she had a unique concept (*cough* Sister), and she gave us some form of presentation. It could have been a lot better, but there was potential! I really wish that she'd had a much more defined look, I wish the skirt had been a high waisted pencil skirt, with some kind of cone-like texture somehow, really fitted and beautiful. And then I wish the top had been really big and over the top ruffles, maybe tulle, just something BIG. And that wouldn't have had to be expensive, you can buy cheap pencil skirts, she could have dyed one brown herself, and then she could have bought that cheap mesh that looks like tulle and made a really big rounded ice cream top out of it - I'm just proving my point about Joe Black and the off the rack thing now btw. But I wish it had just been a bit more considered than it was. And I also wish she'd had a flake head piece instead of a cherry, because when you buy those ice creams at the beach it's always a 99.

One thing I will give Tia's runway this week is that her face was stunning. I think that's the best her face has looked all season, the makeup was beautiful.

There was kind of a lot of drama this week with the whole off the rack thing, and then the A'Whora vs Sister Sister conspiracy, and I kind of loved it! I also really enjoyed this challenge, I feel like they've had much better and more interesting challenges on the UK series than the American one. Also UK Hun is going to be in my head for weeks.

I'm picking my top 2 of the season as Lawrence Chaney and Bimini Bon Boulash. Veronica Green would have been up there for me as well, it's a real shame that she got sick and couldn't finish this season! I really really hope they bring her back for season 3!

[hatari-translations]

This interview with Klemens and Anna Hildur (director of A Song Called Hate) appeared in Fréttablaðið the other day. Translation below.

"Really this is a documentarian's dream, working so closely with the subject," says filmmaker Anna Hildur Hildibrandsdóttir. She produces and directs the documentary A Song Called Hate, which will premiere at RIFF later this month. The film is about Hatari's participation in the Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv in Israel in 2019, with Anna Hildur and her camera crew following the Hatari group to Israel and Palestine.

Klemens Hannigan, one of the members of Hatari, says the idea of a documentary in connection with Hatari's Eurovision participation came about early in the process. "When we decided to go ahead and participate in this contest and as we were shaping the performance and the message we wanted to convey, we already had the idea of documenting this process somehow ourselves," Klemens explains.

He says originally, though, the idea was to create a staged documentary, or 'mockumentary'. "As Hatari we want to stage everything, but then it dawns on us, when Anna has been brought in and starts to propose that this should just be a documentary, that the subject was both so fascinating and so important that a mockumentary wouldn't have done it justice," says Klemens.

Anna, who recently entered the film industry after over twenty years in the music business, proposed the idea of the film to her collaborators in Britain and began to look for a director for the project, which she was only planning to produce. "I contacted Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard, who directed 20000 Days on Earth with Nick Cave, and I told them I needed people like them for this project. Then I searched and searched for a director until they told me I'd just have to step in and do it myself, which I did," says Anna. "They promised to help and are executive producing the film."

Hatari vulnerable

Hatari's Eurovision participation was shrouded in mystery and neither the Icelandic audience nor the international one could predict what was coming.

Anna and Klemens say that in the film the audience gets to experience the contest and everything that came with it in a different way. The members of Hatari appear vulnerable and out of character. "There was a lot of vulnerability in being the subjects of a documentary, for us, because up until this point we had never opened up as Klemens, Matthías, Einar or the others, but it was much harder to maintain that silence and stage every moment during the contest," says Klemens.

"It was really important to catch them vulnerable and out of character, and it was a very close collaboration. We were out there with them for 18 days and it was a really unique time," says Anna. "I was very conscious that I had to stay a bit outside it all and keep my head screwed on straight, because it was a lot of work and no day was the same," she adds.

The message as the primary objective

Klemens says there was a lot of pressure on Hatari during the contest as well as in preparation for it. They were part of the Eurovision-bubble, as he calls it, part of the RÚV team and the subjects of the documentary, but their primary objective was to spread their message and take a stand against the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

Before Hatari's participation in Eurovision last year, opinions were divided on Iceland's participation. According to a poll by the Zenter research group for Fréttablaðið in May last year, a quarter of the population wanted to boycott the contest to support Palestinians.

"The reason we participated in this contest was that Iceland was going to participate, there would be some participant going to Tel Aviv on Iceland's behalf, and we felt that given that was happening, that participant should try their best to raise awareness of the horrific situation going on there. We wanted to show our stance in action," says Klemens.

"I thought it was very interesting to make a documentary about how they did, and it was not at all clear what would happen on this journey, there were so many unknown variables the whole time," Anna says.

"We hadn't planned anything one hundred percent but we had certain ideas about how we could support Palestinians and raise awareness of the occupation. It was always like we were jumping off a cliff because we never knew what would happen next," says Klemens. "All we knew was that the further we got, the more attention we would get and the more people would hear our message."

"For the documentarian, what mattered most was that they'd stay in the contest as long as possible, and we knew the stunt wasn't going to have any real impact unless they made it to the grand final," says Anna.

Important to use the airtime

They say that the collaboration went well and that the making of the film went smoothly. "There was basically no tension between us. We always got to know as much as possible about what would happen next, but it was frequently very exciting and even stressful. For instance, the electrified atmosphere in the green room after the final when the Palestine banners had been shown, the camera crew didn't know that ahead of time," says Anna.

Asked whether the stunt had been planned ahead of time, Klemens says it wasn't. "There were a lot of ideas going on. Whether we should get expelled from the contest, or just be completely silent on stage, say nothing at all, and then we had the banners under our clothes. When we saw we weren't getting any points from the juries and were not about to win, we realized that these would be the only seconds we'd have on camera, and we had to use that airtime."

The members of Hatari have spoken about the importance of using their agenda-setting powers and giving a voice to those who lack it; Hatari interviewed many Israeli and Palestinian activists and artists while creating the film and during the contest. Many of the connections they formed are still going strong, perhaps especially their relationship with Palestinian musician Bashar Murad.

"He was our connection to Palestinian culture and the suffering that they've been through and is still ongoing today," says Klemens. "Our collaboration with him and other Palestinians was a huge part of passing on our message," he adds.

"The art of taking a stand is the theme of the movie, as well as seeing the role of art in a social context. It can be controversial to participate and not boycott, but the dialogue between people is important. I wonder if cultural and academic boycott is truly effective in the fight for change," Anna says, adding that the journey to Israel and Palestine and the creation of the film will without a doubt be among the most memorable in her life. "I think the whole group that went there shares a life experience that we'll always keep with us, and the message will live on in the film," she says.

"We communicated the message primarily through the provocative act and our collaboration with Bashar and other artists, but now the documentary will follow up, give the act an ongoing life," says Klemens.

A Song Called Hate will premiere at the international film festival RIFF on Friday September 25th in Bíó Paradís. It will then become available on the website riff.is, as the festival is in an unusual format this year because of the coronavirus pandemic.