#armand baby you can never fool me!!!!

[vampyrfisk]

me when rashid began taking his gloves off:

[apoptoses]

dungeon anon, look what you made me do 😔

“Tell me about the first time you realized you enjoy sleeping with other men,” Daniel says, his voice a low rumble behind Armand. His fingertips trail so feather light over his skin Armand shudders with it. It’s a struggle to sort through the archives of his memories when Daniel is tracing little circles over his rear, his bare hips. He’s got a bit of soft flesh just beneath his waist on either side. Baby fat that never left his young body before he died, and Daniel keeps grabbing him there, massaging at it like it’s the very best part of Armand’s body. “I was sixteen, I believe. I had a friend at the time, sometimes we would share a bottle of wine and become intimate-“ Armand begins. “Fool around,” Daniel interrupts. “You would fool around.” Ah. And here the lesson begins. Armand nods and notes the phrase in his mind. “Yes. Anyhow-“ “No, say it the right way.” Daniel’s tone is gentle but it offers no room for argument, no crack to wriggle through and avoid his demand. Armand licks his lips (another useless mortal gesture he’s picked up from Daniel, when will this boy stop infecting every aspect of his life-) and tries to focus, to remember what he’d been saying. It’s so difficult with Daniel rubbing at his hips. “We would drink and fool around,” Armand manages to say. The words feel like marbles in his mouth. He’s aware of his own accent, the sharp way he hits his consonants, how the syllables float as they roll off his lips. There’s a musicality to his speaking, something that betrays his time speaking Greek and old Venetian, and part of him hates that he doesn’t say it exactly as Daniel would. That he still sounds different. Other. “Yes. Good,” Daniel murmurs before Armand can spiral too far. Warmth spreads through his dead chest at the word. “And what did you do with him, the very first time?” Armand thinks back to old Venice, to the palazzo bathed in morning light. He’d dragged Riccardo, handsome Riccardo with his proud nose and dark eyes, from his bed once his master had gone, whining to him about how he couldn’t sleep. Led him down the halls and into that great red velvet bed, where Riccardo had dropped the blanket wrapped around himself and revealed that he’d been sleeping bare. Armand’s mouth had watered at the sight of him. The blood burned in his veins, lighting up those parts of his brain that produced all the hormones of youth. He’d set upon Riccardo like a tiger, just about attacked him with his hands and teeth and- Heat blooms in his backside when Daniel’s hand comes down upon it. The crack of flesh meeting immortal flesh echos in the room. Armand jerks his head up and looks back over his shoulder in surprise.

[desertfangs]

You know how Armand and Daniel are described as being over court and just wanting to go home and then during his big BC speech Armand tells Lestat how he absolutely can’t stand seeing his sycophantic hanger-ons because he wishes he were then? Well now I can’t stop thinking about Armand and Daniel walking around the castle and Armand being like “LOOK AT THEM DANIEL 😤 horrid little creatures 😡 following him around like wretched baby ducks 🤮” while Daniel rolls his eyes and makes an off-handed groupie joke and Armand actually laughs and starts seeing the humor in an otherwise humiliating situation (for him) and then all of a sudden court isn’t so bad anymore and making fun of Lestat’s groupies becomes A Thing for them. Daniel’s impersonations are next level (Lestat eventually finds out about them and even he agrees but shh don’t tell his fans) and that’s how Armand Learns to Cope

Oh my gosh, anon, I have so much to say to this I don’t even know where to begin. So let me just start with the premise of this is amazing and it should be a fic! I love it and I want to read the heck out of it.

Armand pining for Lestat is one of my favorite things and Armand and Lestat’s relationship in the series is easily one of the mostly fascinating and the most relatable. Armand is immediately taken with Lestat even as he yells at him that vampires can’t live like humans (‘you baffoon’ is not said aloud but heavily implied). Lestat represents something Armand doesn’t have at that point: agency and freedom. He’s just being a guy who happens to be a vampire which goes against everything Armand has been indoctrinated to believe. He shakes his world apart, literally. 

Armand spends centuries wanting to be someone important to Lestat. To be seen by him and to matter to him. They have love between them but it’s fraught and confusing and Lestat pretty much rejects him at every turn. And still, he protects Lestat and watches over him. It’s not until TVA, when Lestat allows him to drink from him when he’s comatose on the church floor, that they finally have some closure and connection there. It’s a beautiful moment!  

But then they go their separate ways and so later, at Court, Armand still harbors a little bitterness and sadness that he’s never quite been in a closer place with Lestat. And that’s relatable AF, right? We all have those people in our lives at one time or another whom we wish we could be closer with but for whatever reason, we don’t make the cut or it just doesn’t happen. And sometimes when you find yourself in that position you look at those people who are in their inner circle (or sucking up to them trying to get close) and think “Wow, what fools!” (BTW can we delight in how often Armand calls Lestat a fool in that speech? LOL!) But it ends happily! Armand is there at the end clapping in support, standing at Louis’ side. They exchange a look, Armand nods at Lestat in approval, all seems right in the world.

So back to your thing! I do think one thing Daniel offers Armand is a refuge and a place to have those feelings openly and unjudged. Armand can be his worst self around Daniel and vent those feelings and Daniel doesn’t love him any less. He gets it! I mean, President of the Vampire Lestat Fan Club Molloy over here and he's not even mentioned in the last book or the mural at the end?! So surely he understands the allure of Lestat and he definitely gets Armand’s frustration. 

I love the idea of Daniel making a groupie joke that lands and finally Armand can see that his feelings of envy are sort of silly. He has a centuries of unresolved feelings for Lestat, but of course, he’s better than a groupie could ever be to him. He means so much more to Lestat and Lestat does listen to him (even if he tries not to let Armand know that…). 

And listen, this is just my personal headcanon, but I think Armand and Daniel can run a joke into the ground. I can totally see them whispering to each other when Lestat’s gaggle of groupies passes or making crude jokes about sexual favors after meetings. Daniel doing impersonations that crack Armand up until he feels ridiculous for ever wanting to be part of that crowd. “You make a better heckler, boss, and Lestat needs more of those,” Daniel might tell him. And it’s true! Armand offers a viewpoint no one else does. Lestat needs that and the vampire court needs that!

I also love the idea of Lestat catching them out one night as they walk through the village, Daniel mocking someone in an exaggerated voice and then Lestat is in front of them. “Is that supposed to be who I think?” Daniel is abashed by Armand confirms it is, and if Lestat wants to surrounded himself with yes men that’s none of their business. Lestat smiles faintly at Armand and asks Daniel to repeat the impression. Daniel feels strangely self-conscious and tries to explain that they’re just having fun. Lestat admits the impression is spot on and really, Daniel should do more impressions. So Daniel does another and then the three of them are laughing and walking back to the Chateau and you know, maybe they could hang out there for a few more months… after all, Armand doesn’t want to leave Lestat ‘unsupervised.’ (Lestat pretends to be annoyed but you know he’s thrilled!)

WOW I am just going off on tangents! Tangent city! But thank you for the ask, anon!! Daniel and Armand having private in-jokes to cope with things is one of my favorite things. I feel like they had a lot of those on Night Island, too, and Court would be no exception!

[little-smartass]

THE VAMPIRE LESTAT COVER ALBUM - the legendary Vampire Lestat is back and bigger and badder than ever, this time bringing a whole album of song covers ranging from classic bangers to newer fresh takes on chart hits! get your copy now, complete with a transcript of the artist's commentary on each song!

(songs I think Lestat would cover and release as an album in an attempt to re-kickstart his career and/or make some sort of dramatic statement to Louis. tracklist and "artist commentary" under the cut)

Survival - Muse

“And I’ll reveal my strength, to the whole human race, yes I am prepared, to stay alive, and I won’t forgive, and vengeance is mine, and I won’t give in, because I choose to thrive! Yeah I’m gonna win!”

Oh, I wish this song had been around back on that opening night at the Cow Palace - how apt that would have been! What a fucking anthem! They would have been rioting all night. I mean, they already were, but, like, because of the music. Not because vampires were being immolated in the middle of the crowd. Different kind of riot.

The Bitch Is Back - Elton John

“I’m a bitch, I’m a bitch, oh the bitch is back, stone cold sober as a matter of fact, I can bitch, I can bitch, ‘cause I’m better than you, it’s the way that I move, the things that I do!”

One day I want to have this play as I walk into Night Island. I’ll time it perfectly so that I throw off my coat - my denim jacket, or- oh, no, a fur! Maximum drama! - just as the chorus starts. Armand will know that I’m coming of course, but I think that’ll just make it even better. And I have good memories to this song... [muffled question] Sorry, gentlemen don’t kiss and tell, bébé. [laughter]

Everybody Loves Me - OneRepublic

"Oh my, feels just like I don’t try, look so good I might die, all I know is everybody loves me, head down, swaying to my own sound, flashes in my face now, all I know is everybody loves me”

Look, do I even need to explain this one? Didn’t think so.

Bad Reputation - Joan Jett

"I don't give a damn ‘bout my reputation, I've never been afraid of any deviation, and I don't really care if you think I'm strange, I ain't gonna change - and I'm never gonna care bout my bad reputation"

This one's fairly self-explanatory again. It could have been my personal anthem when I was mortal quite honestly. And it's an awful lot of fun to jump about and headbang to, don't you think? That's a new thing I've found out about, headbanging. People have been hopping about to music looking like fools for centuries but now there's a name for it. Fantastic.

bad guy - Billie Eilish

"I’m that bad type, make your mama sad time, make your girlfriend mad type, might seduce your dad time… I’m the bad guy. Duh.”

Creepy? Check. Sexy? Check. Tongue-in-cheek? Check check. This song was great and a lot of fun to cover.

Lover to Lover - Florence + the Machine

“I believe there’s no salvation for me now, no space among the clouds, and I feel I’m heading down, but that’s alright, that’s alright, that’s alright”

I don’t know, this one just felt very relevant. Also the piano was great to do. You might have noticed that I’ve picked a lot of songs with piano, and that’s because I bullied the studio into getting me a goooooorgeous grand piano for the recording space and I wanted to use it as much as possible!

Feeling Good - Muse

“Stars when you shine, you know how I feel, scent of the pine, you know how I feel, oh freedom is mine, and I know how I feel”

I just really like this song - I’ve done a cover of an excellent cover! Can- can you put emojis in this? Do people still use emojis? Well imagine I’ve put the shrug one. Wait, isn’t there- Daniel, Daniel, come here, isn’t there a shrug emoji made up of keyboard- [muffled words] yes! The shrug one! Yes, put that in the transcription. [ ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ] I just like this song.

The Man - The Killers

“I got gas in the tank, I got money in the bank, I got news for you baby, you're looking at the man, I got skin in the game, I got a household name, I got news for you baby, you're looking at the man”

I feel like this one speaks for itself too. Can you put that shrug emoji thing in here again? [ ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ] Yes!

J'ai Pas Envie - MIKA

J'ai pas envie, de faire comme si, comme les maris, qui disent oui, j'ai pas envie, j'ai pas envie, j'ai pas envie d'te faire plaisir, j'ai pas envie, j'ai pas envie, si tu m'aimes viens me le dire"

Look, I'm not going to translate the whole song for you, because it has all this clever wordplay you just totally lose in english… but the gist of it is that these two lovers are… at odds a lot. It's… it's maybe a little spiteful [laughter] but in a fun way! It's a fun song! Louis won't even be mad about it, it's MIKA.

Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy - Queen

"When I'm not with you, think of you always (I miss those long hot summer nights), when I'm not with you, think of me always, always"

[Long pause] God, I miss Freddie.

Let 'Em Talk - Kesha

Ah, full disclosure - I put this song in purely because of the expression Louis made when I played it in the car and it got to the line “can suck my dick” and she did that popping noise… it was incredible, and I just knew I had to cover it so I could see his expression when I said that. I can’t wait to play it to him. [laughter]

So What - P!nk

"So so what, I'm still a rockstar, I got my rock moves, and I don't need you, and guess what? I'm having more fun, and now that we're done, I'm gonna show you tonight, I'm alright, I'm just fine, (and you're a tool, so)"

I'm actually a big fan of nineties and noughties female stars - all that grrrrrrrl power, it's great fun, you know? I'd say this one is fairly self-explanatory, because I am still a rockstar! This is my new album! Fuck you EMP and your sniffy little article calling me "washed up"!

Little Lion Man - Mumford & Sons

"But it was not your fault but mine, and it was your heart on the line, I really fucked it up this time, didn't I my dear?"

This one could be self-deprecating, but it's also very vindictively angry at the same time, and that's a combination I definitely get. Like, oh, it's my fault, isn't it? It's my fucking fault again, what a surprise. Perhaps "learn from your mother or you'll spend your days biting your own neck" is a little on the nose… [muffled words] you've read my books, right? [muffled words] Good, good.

Missy - The Airbourne Toxic Event

"But I swear there's still some good in me, I think if you'd stuck around you'd see, all the botched attempts at integrity I once had"

Oh, I was feeling philosophical when I picked this one. No, philosophical isn't the right word… melancholy? Do people still use that word? "I swear I swear I swear I'll never get sad" is both furiously defiant and yet so self-defeatingly ironic. [Exasperated noise] Enough of that. Next!

Please Don't Leave Me - P!nk

"I don't know if I can yell any louder, how many times have I kicked you out of here, or said something insulting? I can be so mean when I wanna be, I am capable of nearly anything, when my heart is broken… (please, please don't leave me)"

Oh, we’re… we’re getting to this section now. [clearing throat] Well, I have to make up for that sucking dick line, don’t I? Get a bit vulnerable. Oh God, why did I decide to do this bit? [muffled words] [bad chicago accent] But why buy the cow? Because you love him, you really do. [sigh, laughter]

Next To Me - Imagine Dragons

"Oh, I always let you down, shattered on the ground, still I find you there, next to me, and oh, the stupid things I do, I'm far from good it's true, still I find you, next to me"

Why did I- I don’t remember putting so many of these ones in.

Run To You - Pentatonix

"I've been settling scores, I've been fighting so long, but I've lost your war, and our kingdom is gone... how shall I win back your heart which was mine? I have broken bones and tattered clothes, I've run out of time"

[Sigh] [clears throat] Yeah. I think we can move onto the next one.

Love of My Life - Queen

“Love of my life, don't leave me, you've stolen my love, you now desert me, love of my life, can't you see? Bring it back, bring it back, don't take it away from me, because you don't know, what it means to me”

I play this one sometimes on my baby grand when we've had a fight, and it's impossible for him to stay angry. He's a sucker for this sort of… formality in romance. God, I wish I'd realised that earlier. If I'd written him a letter in fancy copperplate script with scented paper and enclosed rose petals politely requesting him to bend me over his desk back in the day, it might not have taken two centuries of mutual blue balls for us to figure our shit out. Ah well, live and learn… as it were. [muffled words] Look, I did a whole bunch of vulnerable songs! Now I get to make sex jokes! [laughter] oh fuck off.

[blackmuzak8484]

nortey dowuona’s best of 2020

to be completely honest, I decided to do this entirely for TSJ. otherwise, I wouldn’t have bothered at all. Best end lists are for music nerds and billboard chart nerds and industry vultures, and i happen to be subscribed, in the discord and in the comments of the youtube vids of these folk. so, i decided to pick 10 out of random from the big best of 2020 i was compiling for the whole of the year, which I was gonna post to this Tumblr at the end of the damn year, but I guess I can just post the link to the playlist in the bottom of this post. Here, i’m gonna write about 10 songs I personally love, and pick out a few artists i specifically loved:

artist of the year.

RAP Ferreira put out his best album and best verses in a year everybody either stagnated, fell off or got rendered irrelevant by the world at large. He was ebullient, hilarious, thoughtful and even surprisingly honest. I enjoyed the fact that now he’s begun to create a real platform for many talented folx, and I hope he continues to do that in the margins and make even more beautiful music in the years to come.

rookie of the year.

Enny by a mile. Everybody else who debuted this year got hamstrung by the pandemic but she created 3 great songs, each thoughtful, insightful and a joy. Apparently she just started publicly releasing music to a large audience, and I hope she gets better and better, and even gets bigger than J-

most pleasant surprise.

Vic Mensa’s V Tape. An artist who I though had no more moves left completely turned around his whole career with a fantastic performance at Lollapalooza, a fantastic fleet of features and tis gorgeously produced EP which had some of his most brilliant songs on it. I love it all, Vic Mensah is well and truly back. Welcome back bro. (ALSO, DROP THE DRILL TRACK.)

GREAT THING A GHANAIAN ARTIST DID.

Strongman Burner, Amarae, Okunta Kinte, Vic Mensah in general.

cool things my friends and classmates did.

Justine Darcenne’s #4TheBaeless. Valencia Rae’s Siren thyhomebodies’s Coming of Age. (Phil, a producer in the group, made his own studio!) Brad built his own computer. petit abri put a track on APT9 Record’s compiliation album Volume II. khaalid anderson’s transitions. (khaalid will also be performing at Beats & Brunch on January 23, 2021 at 11 am.) Yannick Paul’s Bear Fruit. The Big Climax’s This Is Ya Boy kxng jetson’s Waves (ft. Kokko Williams & Mike Mezzl) Nicole Gonzalez performed in The Composer’s Melody. Victoria Marie released a bunch of beaufiful covers on her Insta, @toriiii_marie @ph0ssy_jaw works as a counselor online. Pay her at her PayPal. Johnny Aperano Yoba was on People AND Vogue. Dalitso is a wonderful pianist at his church back home in Zambia. Kobina is a fantastic drummer at his church. Kayla graduated with a BS in Music Technology and Industry! Damian been cookin on his insta. Travis graduated! (Look out for Clan of Dragons.) Rorghino Flores made a documentary! Francis (and Animax FYB) put out Mmofra on AmaLexPrime! (play it with yo kids.) A Hype has been dropping crazy all year, roll by his SoundCloud and check out Persistence Of Memory. Reina H been doing great covers on her Insta, @challenges_inlife. Hannah placed music on C. B. S.

best albums of the year (that nobody’s written about).

Maya Huyana -1991 DaWeirdo - Broke and Ugly $ilkMoney - Attack of the Future Shocked, Flesh Covered, Meatbags of the 85 VI Seconds - Because Why Not/Never Knows Best Erik Cain - Heart & Soul Vol. 2 Dimitri & the Scarecrow - Messenger is Sender (from 2015, finally got released onto streaming this year, still pretty great and another great Zimbabwean rapper for us to all fawn over, just like billy woods) Flowking Stone - Gifted 1 The Hoodies - Incommunicado Jayy Grams - Every Gram Counts Domo Genesis/Mike and Keys - Just in Case1/2 Madwiz - God’s Gold Teeth Maez301 - Hasaan Daara J Family - Yaamatele Dai Burger - Dessert EP TeePhlow - Road To Phlowducation II Tef Poe/Blvck Spade - Preacher in the Trap Terrell Hines - Portal One: The Mixtape redveil - niagara Nyukyung - Trap Harmonix AdrianXpression - Sucka Deante Hitchcock - Better (Deluxe) maassai & jWords - ve.loc.i.ty tobe nwigwe - cincoriginals everything Kelsey Lu did this year.

strangest things happening in music in general.

vic mensah actually making a great record. goldlink going through a narcissistic collapse and winding up making the best music of his career. redveil blowing up off Fantano calling him wack. pharoahe monch finally making a rock pivot and it actually works. meet me@the garden coming 10 years too late for my 14 year old self. RAP Ferreira being in the NYTimes, selling a vinyl record for $72, creating an actual nostrum grocers in a video game so we can listen to his next record. The entirety of the playboi carti phenomenom. The entirety of the lil uzi vert phenomenom. The entirety of Chance’s instagram EP being far more money worthy then the entirety of the Big Day and yet being released on Insta and not immediately monetized. Deante Hitchcock releasing a great album and being completely forgotten armand hammer releasing their underground kings wayyy too early. my ass continually not actually looking into amapiano despite always loving it when I review it. several good songs needing to be tacked on to a prior youtube vid as an ad for me to find them instead of actually listening to the artists. santan dave still releasing good verses after he made his illmatic. (expect his new album to suck.) slowthai becoming cake. (we let that go way too far.) Guapdad and BfB Packman being wonderful. Finding out BfB PAckman is a better rapper than Sada Baby. John Boyega putting on Ego Ella May. Having to admit Young Dolph was good all this time and i missed out like a fool.

best tv performance.

Chance The Rapper’s “A Chi-Town Christmas.” IDK’s “Change The Channel.” Sa-Roc’s Tiny Desk Concert. Chika in general. Robert Glapser’s “This Changes Everything (ft. Denzel Curry).” SZA at the Roots Picnic. Sampa The Great at the Roots Picnic. RAP Ferreira in general. Umi’s “Introspection Live Show.” Alexa Esperanza’s cover of “Is It A Crime.” Bad Bunny in general. the jwords, nappy nina and MIKE performances at Satellite Syndicate

most embarrassing piece of music i love with all my heart

Logic’s No Pressure. In all sense of the words I should not love this album like I love my siblings but I do. It is beautiful.

best 10 songs of this year objectively

1 - RAP Ferriera - An Idea Is A Work Of Art (ft. Mike Ladd) [prod. by Kenny Segal, mr. carmack and Mike Parvizi]

I know, I know. In all honesty Doldrums should be here. Then Noz put it on his best list and I had to be all ChiTown Go-Getter and pick the next better thing: this. And in all honesty, it has the best lyric RAP spits on the album: “we build better answers.” But it’s not just that, it’s RAP’s most animated performance, the most dexterous piece on the whole album and the most gorgeous beat, a loping bassline sliding behind the flatfooted drum, allowing Mike Ladd, his musical father, to gently drift through, saying, “what if royalty depised us?” and knowing the only gold is soul and giving it to all of us, all us maggots and vultures and locusts and weevils, to hold to the light so we can finally see. On the quest to get open and free, we continue.

2 - Chika - U Should [prod. by Lido]

I heard this the night it dropped and shot 2 insta videos playacting as it played. But apart from that, it’s a intimate, beautiful song about getting to know a new lady love, so tenderly sung it might melt and disappear if not held gently, with a sweeping guitar lick and purring trumpets sliding all over the place, Chika softly holding each frayed piece together into a considered, gorgeous piece - wait, she’s talking her shit.

3 - Issa Gold - Boys Don’t Cry [prod. by Kingjet & Sherwyn and Matt Zara]

The only reason this isn’t number one is because it dropped on Christmas Eve. But otherwise, it’s a openheart letter to us all. “it’s a lonely path being different,” Issa says, swimming in the melted ice caps as he once danced happily on the edges of melting glaciers that failed to drown him, looking at the world that keeps hurting his heart, yet he still opens his eyes and smiles, and dances. The heavy drums are so bouncy the whole song suddenly flies, formerly a hidden murmur becoming a bright sunlit flight across the sky so we can all see. I can’t wait to see Tempus, if it’s anything as good as this was.

4 - Deante Hitchcock - Growing Up/Mother God [prod. by Brandon Phillips-Taylor]

In all honesty, “Growing Up” is really not the best song on Better. It’s a sweet, happy song with a smooth, crackling bassline with soft, ghostly synths, but still kinda ok. It’s the song added at the end, “Mother God”, that has warm, sizzling piano chords and gorgeous singing in the back. It’s one of the few time I’ve ever heard a man pay homage to the woman in his life and to the God above while being entirely sincere and not faking the funk. The way he praises his mom, his lady, remembering the women in his family taking care of him and him foolishly neglecting Breonna due to his overburdened mind feels full of details, remembrances, explanations and praises. Plus, it actually makes sense that God, if she exists (she does) is a woman since -

5 - Yana Perrault - whiskey and weed [prod. by slate]

Apparently, Yana Perrault is verified now. Excellent. {YES YES MY GOD YESS}, It means more folks know about how great this song, and Yana herself is. If I had any sense, I would’ve written up 12:21 as the best song of 2018, but such is life. Anyway, we have this smooth, bass heavy slinker with shimmering percussion and lumbering drums about hooking up with a former flame who’s “sober” yet keeps on calling Yana to break their sobriety, “know we ain’t talked in a while but you still know my address,” she wryly mentions. As the beat sprints away under a warm cocoon of accapella echoes, it mirrors a relationship so tenuous it might disappear into the wind. Yet still strong enough to have whiskey on call.

6 - Marlon Craft - Culture Sick Freestyle [prod. by Cormill]

Apparently this was supposed to be a shot at Flex. And since Flex is a woman beater and a lame, good for him. Shouldn’t have even gone on Flex to be honest, but then again neither should Jay Critch or Tyler or Black Thought and besides, I watch those freestyles too. And on the freestyle, Marlon frankly put things in perspective. “You don’t want us to better, you just want to be cool still.” This describes all of rap media to be real. And tellingly, it only has 310,000 views. Methinks nobody really wants real. But I do. Thank u Marlon, you continue to be the best white rapper alive. (Nowhere near the best rapper tho, and if Token hadn’t fell off -)

7 - Miah - Cascades [prod. by Cedes]

I’m sideeyeing the boy Miah cuz I had to search up his Audiomack to find the producer’s name (it’s Cedes, and they have a really great avalanche of Drake Type Beats is you like that kind of thing). Were you trying to trick folk into thinking you produced it yourself? You don’t need to do that shit. Especially since you’re writing stuff like “back in high school all my peers were tryin to hit the league / until the league too far from reach so they tap dancing over beats.” When you can frankly break down life that clearly, don’t be trying to hide producer’s names unless you actually learn to produce too. Plaster your name all over that shit.

8 - Justine Darcenne - Off Days [prod. by Mikhail Miller] / Enny - Peng Black Girls (ft. Amia Brave [prod. by Paya]

Justine is indeed my classmate, but that’s not why this song is here. it’s here because it’s a nice little guitar driven song with a spellbinding bridge that’s the best thing I’ve heard her do yet. And I’mma keep it short cuz I already wrote this up at the Singles Jukebox.

Enny released this soft, cushiony record with washed out synths over bulky drums and floated FLOATED over them without even trying to run in the tar, saying frankly, “He said to me, 'they put guns in the streets, that’s what they wanted for me.’ And I said, ‘G, someone can fix you a plate but no one can force you to eat.’” After all, why not try to live for something greater than what the world has expected you to be. And Amia sings, “We’re gon be alright, ok?” with the joy and excitement of someone realizing the words coming alive on their tongue. One of the best songs of this miserable year, and it’s kinda funny watching Jorja accidentally Drake out Amia and even Enny (and by funny I mean irritating.)

9 - Tobi Lou - okay (ft. Dreezy) [prod. by Matteo Woods & Dilip]

Fun fact: Dilip did some great songs with Otxhello, a producer who recorded and mixed 2 records on my first album. That again is not why this song is here. The warm, swinging synths and heavy, bouncy drums are why this is here. Oh, and Tobi’s goofy, silly lyrics and his surprisingly effective Missy Elliott tribute are great too. But obviously, the verse that vaulted this into top 10 was Dreezy, which opens with such a openhearted line, “i can’t help it, it’s too hard to say I’m sorry.” And every line is harder than the last, until she closes with “and I ain’t talkin frontals but we got the city sown up.” Absolutely amazing.

10 - Strongman Burner - Pilolo (ft. KelvynBoy) [prod. by Nixie]

The sweet, gooey synths are poured over the soft, zipping and smooth drums as the wiry bass whirls between Kelvyn’s soft, thin crooning as Stoneman tap dances over the drums, both desperate and defiant, trying to salvage a sinking relationship that he knows is already gathering coral and snappers. It’s the best afropop song of the year and yet it still has a Nigerian on it (well, I put 4 Nigerians on here, next year I’m rectifying that.) And they even did a song together last year , not as good as this. At all. (still pretty good tho.)

best 10 songs i love (but not enough to write full paragraphs for, I already put 10 in and this is already 5 goddamn pages)

11 - Logic - Heard ‘Em Say

best song on the project that isn’t Dadbod but at least it isn’t tempting fate.

12 - Deqn Sue - Creep

I already love this for having a gorgeous bridge, and is cute af. Yes Sue, you can creep.

13 - Quelle Chris & Chris Keys - Sudden Death/ka - i love {moms, mimi, kev}

QUELLE CHIS CAN SANG SANG./ka can heart heart write.

14 - IDK - Square Up (ft. Juicy J)

I don’t know why this is here either but this slaps regardless.

15 - Nappy Nina - Modestly (ft. Maassai)

Maassai is creating some of the best raps out here. so is Nappy Nina.

16 - Kehlani - Lexii’s Outro (ft. Lexii Ajaii)

Let’s celebrate our great rappers when they’re alive (and this includes me. Pls Chika, don’t win Best New Artist.)

17 - Samad Savage - Goodnight

What Travis Scott should’ve tried to be instead of what he is now. Samad still dope af regardless.

18 - Bad Bunny - Si Veo Tu Mama

The way Bad Bunny actually hits that last note makes me feel so excited and alive.

19 - Fat Tony - Back In The Saddle

I fucked up. But I’m getting back in the saddle, back in the saddle next year. NO NIGERIANS ALL NIGERIENS. #ENDSARS tho.

20 - Lady A - the truth is loud

Why am I the only one who has this on a best list? I have 34 bot followers. Vibe, step it up.

best of 2020 music right here folxs.

worst music things of the year:

The Pop Smoke album. Just in all areas. (Better win that Grammy tho.) Travis Scott in general. (So loud and empty and boring.) Big Sean’s Detroit 2. (why does this exist? Just put out Deep Reverence and Detroit Night Cypher and leave everything on the cutting room floor fo the next album.) Remembering all the great rappers who are dead or incarcerated. No Kendrick album (just leaks. Not good enough.) J. Cole and Noname beefing and Noname getting strung up by twitter. Jay Rock pushing being anti-vaccinations. The realization that Normani might never drop a single record ever again. Tory Lanez in general. Joyner Lucas making actually good songs and falling off almost immediately. Cardi B in general. Anything positive being said about steven Universe songs. Luzamity shipping (until it’s canon please stop! Willuz is RIGHT THERE!)

[waters-and-the-wilde]

vivez (you have 1 life let it Be Gay)

woo okay Fools and Angels stalled out a bit because all the later stuff wants to happen but the in between stuff still won't get its shit together and the later stuff is relying on that for at least some semblance of coherence (also i went on a road trip and went to a wedding and ran away to a farm on the west coast so it was a busy month)

so i'm going to hash around my dumb gay fic headcanons to get back in the swing of things pls enjoy

first of all, i recognize that canon Percy and Marguerite are textbook dumb heteros who just need to talk to each other and fuck knows why i like them so much, but i also used to think queer people were just better at that sort of thing (bc you know I thought that the self-knowledge and courage and ability to see through dumb cisheteronormative expectations that came with the territory would give one an edge) and honestly it's been a bit of a trip to constantly discover the extent to which we're all complete disasters

anyway all this to say, Percy and Marguerite are a matched set of distinguished-disaster bisexuals and peak mlm/wlw solidarity. they both went to boarding school and Mrgt was in theatre so like. they Know what they're about.

(side note back in the day i wanted Scarlet Pimpernel but Lesbians nd it was gonna be Pimpernels and Violets w/ Gwendolyn Christie for Percy and Gugu Mbatha-Raw for Mrgt.)

but honestly while we're here with my old headcanons I rly want POC Mrgt and Armand especially knowing what I know now about Alex Dumas and how many multi-racial folks from Haiti were knocking around Parisian society being wealthy and fabulous

(whole other set of reasons to stand back and sip champagne while letting Crowley loose on Thomas Jefferson)

this adds some whole other considerations that I would need to research mostly because of England being weird and whether Percy and Mrgt could have gotten married in the first place. but like if you were black, France basically was the only promise for freedom. you didn't have other places to go. how much more weight does that lend to Mrgt's decision to condemn de St. Cyr? being willing to make that call because the idea of royalist invasion and having that first lick of freedom snatched away is intolerable? having to struggle with watching those real possibilities get corrupted and torn away but really truly knowing what it was worth to begin with and never quite knowing when to break away from it?

and Armand, who's all in for the same reason, Armand who's smart and passionate and idealistic who gets to help shape the new government only to realize it's becoming a monster and swallowing him up while he's stuck on the inside

whoops i made myself sad

anyway i can have trans guy Sir Percy, as a treat. he's gottn away with it bc he was like four years old and wanted to be a knight and his father needed an heir and he said 'well why can't I be a boy? I want to be a boy I want to be Sir Percival' and his mother was sick and old Algernon Blakeney thought bout it and he went and fudged some things and bribed some nurses and raised bby Percy with private tutors, and Percy managed to make it through boarding school by virtue of being six foot odd of gorgeousness and good at getting people to see what he wants them to see so i guess that makes him bisexual in both the archaic and the modern sense

due to Percy's charisma stats he became the center of the Eton queer penguin huddle, starting with Andrew Foulkes when he realized he wasn't terribly interested in women except that he just thinks they're neat (thought maybe he was gay before realizing men weren't really his thing either, aromantic, now platonically devoted to Percy and the league and Marguerite)

Tony Dewhurst had an entire blazing crush on Percy that eventually settled into a platonic devotion, (okay but have you seen 80s Tony Dewhurst and the way he looks at Percy? it’s like he was taking lessons in Gay Babey from Aziraphale) now in a close relationship with his 'valet' (actually a bf from France who they rescued nd is now in England disguised as Dewhurst's valet so they can be close w/o raising eyebrows)

half the league is their Eton queer penguin huddle tbh, hence the sense of discretion and willingness to risk danger bc life already be like that

fuck it they're all queer except Armand, i'm not sorry and i do make the rules

poor Chauvelin, repressed disaster bisexual, loses half his braincells in Sir Percy's presence because the man's so goddamn infuriatingly attractive and he doesn't know how to process it except as pure loathing and contempt for his enemy and rival, and while we're on the subject, Crowley's slinkiness and conflicting gender cues and background noise aura of temptation also make him feel an awful lot of things he doesn't want to look at too closely, and while we're on the subject, so does Mrgt in a soldier's uniform

(it doesn't help that like queerness was, if acknowledged, thought of as a vice of the aristos in France whereas England's molly community skewed more middle class, and Chauvelin was a marquis' son who's trying desperately to fit in and prove his loyalty to the Republic and Max Robespierre's purity culture so that's a whole extra layer, boy he and Aziraphale need to have a talk)

baby lesbian Suzanne de Tournay had an entire blazing crush on Mrgt but she was a few years older so it was more of a senpai notice me thing. genderfluid awakening from that time she got to go around in disguise as a soldier. marriage of convenience with Sir Andrew? that way Maman approves and isn't constantly overseeing her and they can both hang out with Mrgt on the regular who can introduce her to all the London debutantes. ya girl is french she doesn't give a heck she's gonna be mistress to half the unhappily-married women in London whose husbands have bad teeth

Armand is... straight. it happens. however instead of being the token dumb hetero, Armand is not only a good bro and ally but he's actually pretty emotionally astute, he's just not a schemes-and-layers thinker like literally all the others, and he's reasonably in touch wth his feelings and acts on them which just gets him in a lot of trouble with 'rational' society and furthermore he's the one who reminds people to actually talk instead of playing mind games and that friends is why Armand has the brain cell

the song Killer Queen is heavily based on Marguerite and Mme de Serpens bc of Freddie Mrc hearing Crowley ramble about his time in France thank u for coming to my ted talk

[boiledleather]

16 Years of Unpopular Pop

from Matthew Perpetua’s fluxblog.org:

This is a collection of the finest non-hit pop songs from the 16 year history of this site. (Well, actually, one legit hit made it through because it fit in nicely.) It’s basically nothing but world-class bangers.

You can experience it as an Apple Music playlist, a Spotify playlist, or as an expanded download version featuring 16 extra songs that are not available on streaming platforms. I’ve marked the bonus songs in the track listing for the download set below.

DOWNLOAD PART 1

Scissor Sisters “Paul McCartney” / In Flagranti “Genital Blue Room” / Spektrum “Don’t Be Shy” / Goldfrapp “Ride A White Horse” / The Silures “21 Ghosts” / Basement Jaxx “Cish Cash” / Rachel Stevens “Some Girls” / Klanguage “Never Over” / Kylie Minogue “Sweet Music” / Annie “Chewing Gum” / Pleasure “Out of Love” * / Architecture in Helsinki “That Beep” / Out Hud “It’s For You” * / Matthew Dear “Don and Sherri” / Bossanova “Rare Brazil” / Enon “Daughter in the House of Fools” / Katy Rose “Rosemary” * / Fox N’ Wolf “Youth Alcoholic” / The Knife “Heartbeats” / Revl9n “Walking Machine” / AG Cook feat. Hannah Diamond “Keri Baby” / GFOTY “Don’t Wanna/Let’s Do It” / Poppy “My Style” / Grimes “Artangels” / White Hinterland “Chill and Natural” / Von Sudenfed “Fledermaus Can’t Get It” / Björk “Innocence” / Justice “DVNO” / Kate Nash “Pumpkin Soup” / Yelle “Tristesse/Joie” / Girls Aloud “Black Jacks” / Veronica Maggio “Gammal Sång” * / Kimbra “Madhouse” / Hemme Fatale “Animal Lover” * / Alphabeat “Heatwave” / Ellie Goulding “Anything Could Happen” / Sissy Wish “Float” / Fight Like Apes “Pop Itch” / Carly Rae Jepsen “Tiny Little Bows” / Brown Eyed Girls “날아갈래” / Junior Senior “We R the Handclaps” / Gameboy/Gamegirl “Sweaty Wet/Dirty Damp” / Muscles “Chocolate, Raspberry, Lemon, and Lime” / Crossover “Extensive Care”

DOWNLOAD PART 2

Sleigh Bells “Crown on the Ground” / Maria Magdalena “CVMC (Cada Vez Mas Cerca)” / Friendly Fires “Hurting” / The Rapture “Whoo! Alright – Yeah… Uh-Huh” / M.I.A. “URAQT” / Ce’cile “Rude Bwoy Thug Life” / Redinho “Playing with Fire” / CSS “Let’s Make Love and Listen to Death From Above” / Spank Rock “Sweet Talk” / Stazi “Love Is Lethal” * / Yellow Note vs. Pukka “Naked, Drunk, and Horny” / Armand Van Helden feat. Spalding Rockwell “Hear My Name” / Cut Copy “Saturdays” / Quarks “I Walk” + / QT “Hey QT” / Peaches “Dumb Fuck” / Heloise and the Savoir Faire Dancers “Odyle” / Tracy and the Plastics “Henrietta” * / Junesex “Gets Close to Mine” / Mouse on Mars “Mine Is In Yours” / LCD Soundsystem “Yeah (Crass Version)” / Ladytron “Destroy Everything You Touch” / Of Montreal “The Party’s Crashing Us (I Am the World Trade Center Remix)” / Futon “Gay Boy” + / Dog Ruff “Jon E Storm” * / Chicks on Speed “Shick Shaving” * / Avenue D feat. Cazwell “The Sex That I Need” / Gene Serene “Electric Dreams” / Vanessinha & Alessandra “Gira” * / United State of Electronica “La Discoteca” * / Planningtorock “I Wanna Bite Ya” / Nouveau Riche “Take Me Home” * / Hilary Duff “Danger” / SEVENTEEN “Change Up” / Britney Spears “How I Roll” / MNDR “Cut Me Out” / Skrillex “Stranger” / Sophie “Lemonade” / Saint Pepsi “Better” / Sky Ferreira “I Blame Myself” / Lolita Storm “Dancing with the Ibiza Dogs” * / Chairlift “I Belong In Your Arms” / Au Revoir Simone “Through the Backyards” / La Big Vic “All That Heaven Allows” / Rework “Not Quite Like Any Other”

* = Not on either Spotify or Apple + = On Apple, but not Spotify

My friend Matthew pioneered music blogging waaaaaaaaay back when, and for over a decade and a half he’s brought his vision of pop music to the masses. This two-disc retrospective is Matthew’s Mirror Mirror II, basically — it sums up the Fluxblog aesthetic and declares it worthy of consideration the same way me and Julia’s anthology did for our aesthetic. I think you’re going to see more and more of these kinds of efforts from people with singular visions (or double visions in our case, I guess), as a combination of factors — media contraction, layoffs and job insecurity, and the ongoing transformation of entertainment journalism and criticism into boosterism for the products of the world’s largest corporations — drives veteran critics and writers toward the same kinds of independent expression that helped them get their start in the first place. It’s a bit like what our mutual friend Chris Ott encouraged in one of his very earliest Shallow Rewards video podcasts/jeremiads: “Declare victory and leave the playing field.” When the work you value can’t find purchase, be confident in what it and you have to offer and plant your flag on your own.

(FWIW those playlists really are full of bangers. That opening run on Disc 1 will kick your ass)