#arrows uk rock

[stevenvenn]

Ladytron - Faces (from Time’s Arrow out Jan. 20) The newest release from the great Ladytron drops tomorrow! Love the synths on this one. Great to hear them back at it. I was a big fan back in the day.

[earlycuntsets]

mcr shows on youtube pt. 1 (2002 - 2005)

-> pt. 2 (2005 - 2007)

-> pt. 3 (2007 - 2011)

-> pt. 4 (2011 - 2023)

02/16/2002 american legion garfield nj – sarah lewitinn

03/01/2002 loop lounge passaic nj – ATØMIC JĒY

06/14/2002 club krome south amboy nj – spaceyrayrun

06/29/2002 harmony grange hall no. 12 wilmington de us – spaceyraygun

07/05/2002 american legion – camp merritt post 21 cresskill nj usa – spaceyraygun

07/19/2002 loop lounge passaic park nj – spaceyraygun

08/03/2002 rexplex elizabeth nj – spaceyraygun

08/16/2002 maxwell’s hoboken nj – george koroneos

08/17/2002 alissas basement kinnelon nj – spaceyraygun

09/14/2002 electric factory philadelphia pa – spaceyraygun

12/02/2002 fireside bowl chicago il – brad nolan video on plentyoflegs

12/18/2002 trocadero theater philadelphia pa – spaceyraygun

12/23/2002 factory 324 roanoake va – panterathrashfan13

1/11/2003 fireside bowl chicago il – brad nolan videography

02/20/2003 mississippi nights st louis mo – brad nolan videography

02/21/2003 beaumont club kansas city mo – brad nolan videography

02/28/2003 boonton elks lodge boonton nj – user: random stuff

03/23/2003 club krome south amboy nj – douglas carl

05/14/2003 north star bar philadelphia pa – deadhoarse

05/23/2003 imusicast oakland ca – skyline studios – oakland

06/08/2003 bloomfield avenue cafe montclair nj – spaceyraygun

06/26/2003 the knitting factory nyc ny – luxlillian

07/26/2003 the chameleon club lancaster pa – spaceyraygun

08/18/2003 9:30 club washington dc – TEPMIHATOP_HvH

08/19/2003 trocadero theater philadelphia pa – spaceyraygun

10/23/2003 downtime nyc ny – spaceyraygun

10/31/2003 south amboy nj halloween show – user: MCR stuff and things

11/14/2003 university of connecticut-stamford stamford ct – user: random stuff

12/14/2003 irving plaza nyc ny – spaceyraygun

05/17/2004 des moines iowa house of bricks – 515 archive

06/02/2004 manchester university manchester uk – TEMIHATOP-HvH

06/08/2004 vintage vinyl fords nj – spaceyraygun

06/09/2004 newbury comics shrewsbury ma us – punkstermann

06/10/2004 north star bar philadelphia pa – spaceyraygun

08/08/2004 summer sonic festival tokyo japan – dusted out on route guano

11/08/2004 hard rock live orlando fl – ryanninja

11/13/2004 unknown venue orange ca – TEPMIHATOP_HvH

12/12/2004 universal amphitheatre universal city ca – andrea amador

01/17/2005 trl nyc ny – patty8239

02/03/2005 la boule noire paris – the academy is my beautiful romance

03/04/2005 arrow hall mississauga ontario ca – the academy is my beautiful romance

03/05/2005 john labatt centre london ontario ca – the academy is my beautiful romance

03/29/2005 arco arena sacramento ca – moranestes

05/21/2005 kroq weenie roast irvine ca – the academy is my beautiful romance

05/27/2005 wxdx summer kick off chevrolet amphitheater pittsburgh pa – neeeeonafterglow

06/06/2005 le trabendo paris france – the academy is my beautiful romance

06/10/2005 download festival donington park castle donington uk (interview) – TEPMIHATOP_HvH

06/25/2005 warped tour reliant park houston tx – ibanez27

06/27/2005 hard rock live orlando fl – ATØMIC JĒY

07/02/2005 32/20 warped tour pier san francisco ca – the academy is my beautiful romance

07/12/2005 warped tour thunderbird stadium vancouver ca – kristi haubrick

07/30/2005 warped tour molson park barrie ontanio ca – loveorsympathy

07/31/2005 warped tour silverdome pontiac mi – nightrain5565

08/01/2005 warped tour post gazette pavilion burgettstown pa – price family homestead

08/05/2005 warped tour vinoy park st. petersburg fl – rogo117

08/10/2005 warped tour nissan pavilion bristol va – the academy is my beautiful romance

08/11/2005 warped tour ford pavilion montage mountain scranton pa – the academy is my beautiful romance

08/12/2005 warped tour tweeter center camden nj – katemcilwaine

08/13/2005 warped tour randall’s island park randalls island nyc ny – the academy is my beautiful romance

08/14/2005 raceway park englishtown nj – readydeady

08/23/2005 the underworld london england – leila vardar

08/31/2005 melkweg the max amsterdam netherlands – user: random stuff

09/01/2005 abart zurich switzerland – mychemrock1

09/03/2005 idroscalo segrate italy – nacho en tour

09/15/2005 promowest pavilion columbus west ohio – andreaflowers

09/17/2005 eastern michigan university convocation center ypsilanti mi – amanda

09/27.2005 mesa amphitheatre mesa arizona – mark zeta

10/02/2005 event center arena san jose ca – jason is lost in japan

10/08/2005 gwinnett center duluth ga – living with ghosts

10/10/2005 revolution live ft lauderdale fl – natnizzle

10/14/2005 tweeter center camden nj – decoemergency

-> pt. 2 (2005 - 2007)

-> pt. 3 (2007 - 2011)

-> pt. 4 (2011 - 2023)

[riaaanna]

Hard Rock Cafe: Vienna and Barcelona (5 and 10 Dec 2023)

Wow it's been a hot minute as I'm now much busier with work but I'm coming back to some of these - here's a short one!

Early December last year I went on a mini European holiday with my mom just before my schedule for graduation. As I do whenever I go to new places I always try to spend time to check out their Hard Rock Cafe. Two of the places we went to were Vienna and Barcelona, which both have Hard Rock Cafes with a Queen/Freddie memorabilia on display!

5 Dec 2023: This was at Hard Rock Cafe Vienna, on the second floor which has one of the nicest sets of memorabilia collection out of the Hard Rock Cafes I've been to. It wasn't very crowded when I got there so there was plenty of time and space to take photos!

There's a display of Freddie's outfit, one of the occasions it was worn during the Works Tour in Rio de Janeiro 1985. It's one of my favourites too, I'm a sucker for this and any of his arrow pattern outfits. Great to have the chance to take a look at it!

10 Dec 2023: This one was from Hard Rock Cafe in Barcelona, which sits right on an incredibly crowded street. It was also quite full inside but how lucky was I that the table on the display I wanted just happened to be empty!

This is Freddie's Japanese bowling shirt that says "Ethel" on top of the front left pocket. It apparently also says "Strikers, Tokyo Japan" on the back. No photo of him wearing this particular shirt as far as I know, but I remember seeing him and the other boys in similar bowling shirts. And as an aside I love the completely unrelated but top quality choice of two photos that the cafe decided to put up next to it lol.

Again, this was short but it truly satisfied my need to see as many Queen memorabilia at Hard Rock Cafes as possible. There used to be a website specifically for their memorabilia but it doesn't exist anymore. I think I might start mapping the ones I haven't been to and make them a list... Also, I've still got some more UK/Europe posts in the works, much slower these days but I'll do my best to get them out!

[maryhall]

I wonder why the West US is never used for fantasy stories. The UK is familiar, I suppose. But a tired trope. I am bored of snow-topped mountains and green valleys.

Here the mountains have a reddish tinge to them. It is like viewing Martian mountains. Birds scrabble up the red rock to naturally-formed holes they nest in. Trees stubbornly root between rock. They do not thrive, but they are not dying, either. They simply are.

Here a wet desert stretches for miles on end. Sand broken by little ponds of shallow water. Small ponds broken by banks of sand. The sand is the only source of entertainment for the youth here, as evidenced by stacked bottles and words written with rocks. “Hello,” the bored children write in the mushy sand. “Fuck”, “Hate here.” Glass bottles aligned in the shape of an arrow point to nowhere.

Here antelope nibble on stout, half-alive bushes. The bushes are sturdy and mostly bark. Yellow grass struggles to grow alongside them. This almost-desert is interrupted by a pristine golf course. Green. Lively. But the gazelle prefer the dead and dying.

[miashyperfixations]

HONEY REVENGE

07.12.2023 @ Camden Assembly, London (220 Capacity)

Written Dec 2023

I started listening to Honey Revenge at the start of 2023, caught in the promo of their single ‘rerun’ & after seeing other artists I follow repost their content, I went back to listen to their discography & was hooked. Their debut album ‘Retrovision’ is one of my favourites of 2023 and all time (see review here). They never fail to miss with banger after banger - not just at first listen but the songwriting & production is amazing too. Naturally, as soon as this show was announced, tickets were bought. The band itself is made up of Devin on vocals and Donny on guitar, but are accompanied by their touring members, Tay Kincaid (bass) & Matt Arsenault (drums). They have played numerous tours this year alongside The Home Team & Broadside, Loveless, Finish Ticket & Arrows In Action. a US headline tour in the fall, and now The Home Team & The Used, here in the UK, with plans to open for Meet Me @ The Altar across the United States in the new year.

The fist opener was a rock band hailing from Leicester called Mouth Culture, taking inspiration from a range of musicians from Bring Me The Horizon to The 1975 to Harry Styles. THeir music is a mashup of all genres with a distinct heavy, edgy vibe. The second openers were a Scottish band called happydaze who are label buddies with Honey Revenge (Thriller Records). Their set was much heavier and had everyone hyped up for Honey Revenge’s set afterwards with heavy rock tunes that have a clear pop influence.

Seeing my favourite songs live was an unreal experience. I’ve been a fan of this amazing band for so long now and with all their concert content online, it’s safe to say that my expectations were high. But that didn’t matter because they were blown out of the park anyway. Due to the fact that this was a headline show, they were able to play every single song in their discography with no breaks, meaning that everyone in the crowd was able to hear their favourite Honey Revenge song. I never realized until I listened to the retrovision album in full, but Devin’s vocals are phenomenal and being able to sing so many belters back to back AFTER having rushed through London from an opening set down the road to this headlining gig is a real show of her talent - I know many of today’s new up-and-coming singers wouldn’t have been able even think about it, let alone actually doing it. Based on where we were in the crowd Ami & I watched both Donny & Devin kill it in real time and it was clear that everyone in the room enjoyed themselves the entire night.

Having come directly from their show with The Used, the band came on after happydaze had packed up their stuff and with Camden Assembly being such a small venue, the entire crowd was able to see them set up their equipment. Not just the drumkit and guitars, but the pedalboards, multicores & mic stands too - everything. Being a sound engineering student, I loved seeing this with a different lens than most people in the crowd, watching the team set up as quickly as possible just like how I’ve been doing in college with my classmates tells me I’m not too far from a professional standard within the industry and I can’t wait to be doing just that someday. Security was pretty tight at the venue (as one would expect in London). I wasn’t able to meet the band after the show due to me being underage and the band wasn’t able to come out of the bar but Ami was able to go in and get them to sign my ‘are you impressed?’ postcard & their CD lyric booklet that I had bought with me, so all was not lost and I was still able to buy a t-shirt from their tour manager, Em.

It's rarely heard of for a band like Honey Revenge to be able to come and do an international tour (even if it's as a support act) within their first year of touring. To be able to do a show as a headliner is unheard of outside of viral success and them being able to both so just proves that they’re here to stay and take over the music industry. Camden Assembly is an iconic venue with multiple star acts of the music scene such as Ed Sheeran, The Strokes & Adele starting out there and to be able to see my favourite band was a perfect close to the year.

[lycomorpha]

Eivor's Herbarium - P3: Silver Birch

WIP posts for this page are here and here. See a video of mounting the pressed birch here]

Page text:

"Silver birch from Grantebridgescire

In the fens, where we first met with Soma, stand ghostly birches"

"It gives many gifts

this familiar friend;

paper, sap, wood,

tar that mends"

Silver birch (Betula pendula)

This is a common tree here in the UK, but it would have been familiar to Eivor from Norway too. Around the world, including in Scandinavia, birches of many kinds have long a history of use in many forms. Birch makes an excellent firewood and a strong timber, but other uses of birch include;

Use of birch tar extracted from bark as an adhesive e.g. in fletching arrows and making boats, as waterproofing to treat leather, and as a chewing gum (according to ~5000 year old finds from Finland and Denmark)

Birch sap can be drunk as birch water, and a syrup made from boiled sap has been used for thousands of years and is still in use today across Europe

The peeling bark has long been used as paper - key historic examples include Sanskrit texts from Afghanistan and East Slavic birch bark letters found in Russia

Extracts of buds, leaves, and bark have been used in traditional medicines for wound healing and as antiseptics; extracts contain betulin and betulinic acid, and there's one EU approved topical treatment for wounds, Episalvan, which contains birch extract

Birch bark was used in making a variety of textiles, and the inner bark is also edible, though most references seem to suggest it was eaten as a famine food (and as with edible lichens like rock tripe, this usage doesn't suggest it tastes great... 😬)

So I've no doubt Eivor would know this tree well. It's found all over the landscape of AC Valhalla, but I noticed it most in the Grantebridgescire (Cambridgeshire) arc on the riverbank looking across to Duroliponte, and in the marshy fens of Middletun where we first meet Soma. A quick look around the encampment in the fens shows trees of various ages. Stumps bearing turkey tails, bracket fungi, and lichens can also be found all around the place. This is a nice touch - I see similar fungi growing on birch often, so it helped make the environment seem realistic to me.

Birch stumps/trunks with various fungi and lichens in ACV

Bracket fungi and lichens on birch IRL

Other beautiful places to find birch looking good in game are the autumn woods of Ledecestrescire (Leicestershire), the Forest of Denu (Dean), Glowercesterscire (Gloucestershire - sorry, but it's weird AF just using the Olde names when you live here lol.) There's some nice examples in and around Ravensthorpe too.

Birch trees in Ravensthorpe

~

Other pages in Eivor's herbarium

Front page: small plants - yarrow

Page 1: Oak - the Ravensthorpe marker tree

Page 2: White clover

[randomvarious]

Today's compilation:

After the Hurricane 1989 Pop-Rock / New Wave / Pop / Soca / Calypso / Hard Rock / Progressive Rock

Yikes, folks; this one was *pretty* bad. Back in 1989, a devastating hurricane named Hugo had managed to strike the tiny Caribbean island of Montserrat, and one of its foremost ambassadors, UK super producer and legendary 'fifth Beatle' George Martin, decided that he would try to raise funds in order to help rebuild it, in part by having a benefit comp put together that consisted of songs that had been recorded in his own famed recording studio there, AIR Studios. A whole lot of starpower had passed by AIR in the decade prior, and so here we get a comp that's chock-full of immensely popular names.

But these selections end up leaving a whole lot to be desired. So much of this album, despite the undeniable talent that's featured all throughout it, seems to suffer from an excruciating level of listless and generically disposable, radio-friendly 80s malaise 😒. I mean, I personally love a lot of 80s music, but I'll be damned if most of this doesn't just somehow strike me as "songs to close the garage door and turn your engine on to." So many of these tracks just feel so devoid of any soul or meaning. It's brutal.

And while most benefit comps come packed with previously unreleased, hard to find, and exclusive material, nothing on this comp was actually anything close to being rare, with only one of its songs having not appeared on any studio album: The Rolling Stones' "Fancy Man Blues," which was on the B-side of their 1989 single, "Mixed Emotions." So, while most people know in advance that when they're purchasing a benefit comp, they're probably not getting something that's very good—because why would an artist contribute some of their best material to a release that's not even their own?—this comp can't use that defense, because every single song on this thing had already been previously released by its respective artist, and all of these songs were pretty easy to access by the time this comp had come out too.

But what's more is that some of the white acts on here really took the whole island vibe of Montserrat to heart, and then they either tried to incorporate it into their own sound (😕),  or they just straight-up tried to play Caribbean music (😩). And let's just say that white people, for the most part, should've really, at the very least, stopped doing the latter in the early 70s, after Harry Nilsson's "Coconut." The law firm-sounding prog rock outfit of Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe, who were an offshoot of Yes, deliver "Teakbois (The Life and Times of Dread)" on this album, and I *really* don't think that that song has aged too well. And sure, there was plenty of embarrassing music to go around in the 80s, but one of the cringiest fads of that entire era had to be the deluge of tunes that came courtesy of pop and rock acts who decided to temporarily adopt a Caribbean style. Remember how non-disco acts tried to cash in? Well, people did it with Caribbean stuff too! And almost none of it was good in hindsight! 🥴

Still though, credit where it's due: although AIR Studios served as a destination for a who's who of UK and American 80s pop, George Martin still afforded its space to Montserrat's own biggest native star too, Arrow. And in 1982, Arrow would record the album, Hot Hot Hot, whose eponymous title track would end up serving as his own magnum opus, and quite possibly the most famous soca/calypso song ever made. But don't confuse that actual very good original version with the far more famous cover by former New York Dolls frontman David Johansen's tongue-in-cheek lounge-singing alter-ego, Buster Poindexter, because that version, even though it was all the rage at plenty of weddings, was made with a huge dose of silly irony. And Johansen himself has come to hate it too!

So, overall, I think something that's wholly reinforced by this album here is that while there was a ton of great music in the 80s, there was also a lot of it that's completely regrettable as well; moreso than there was in either the 70s or 90s. Musically, the 80s were a fantastic decade for a lot of reasons—as all decades are—but I also think that, as of right now, in our history of contemporary music, it also tended to churn out some of the most insufferable stuff that we've ever heard. And even a whole lot of the most popular acts of those very years, who we'd all nearly unanimously agree were undoubtedly talented, weren't spared from some of its worst indulgences either 👎.

Highlights:

Cheap Trick - "Just Got Back" The Police - "Invisible Sun" Arrow - "Hot Hot Hot"

[hyunlixwife]

Neolithic vs Paleolithic - Chan and Minho

This was for a history assignment lol

He told me to write a dialogue for them and I asked if it could be a fanfic and he said yes as long as it follows the guidelines.

Chan, the king of the Neolithic people, discovered agriculture and domesticated areas which let them settle down in one area. They set up homes using wood, straw, and rock. They used the straw as the roof of their homes and used the rocks to build the structure of it. They used the wood to hold up the straw roof. The homes were round, the roof was a cone shape, and there was an opening as big and as tall as a normal door that you would see today. They settled down in Salisbury Plain, UK. They built tools like an axe head that's made out of polished stone and put on a stick. They also built canoes. They used bows and arrows as weapons.

It's a normal day in the kingdom as usual, doing their everyday routines. They feed the pigs that they use to populate so they can have food and they also eat wheat that they grow. 

Minho, the leader of the Paleolithic people, were hunters and gatherers. They never stayed in one place for very long because they needed food and when their food migrated, so did they. They also moved because sometimes they would hear from their messenger that they were going to be attacked and they were coming closer. The homes they made had to be easy to build and easy to take down meaning they may have built it fast but it looked as if it would collapse at any moment. The homes were round and also had an opening as wide but not as tall as a door from today. They were made out of sticks and animal hides. They had spears and clubs as weapons, which could also be used to hunt their food. They made these spears out of sticks, stones, and bones and used cord to wrap it with. They made tools like a hammer out of the same material that is used to make their weapons. They are currently living in central Europe constantly migrating every so often.

One day their messenger tells Minho that they need to leave because they need food and the animals are migrating towards Salisbury Plains. They take down their houses, pack their things, which is very little, and start their three day move. They gather and eat berries, nuts, and fruits that they find. They collect some and save them for the journey. They eat meat from the animals they hunt. 

Three days pass and they arrive at the Salisbury Plains. They walk a bit further and they come across a village. They find out from their messenger, Seungmin, that there is a village not far from them. Minho asks Seungmin to lead the way. Maybe an hour or so later they arrive and see the nicely built city of working people. They pick a place not too far away but not too close to the city either. They gather the tools that they need to build their home and they start. Minho however took his assistant, Han with him to go see the city and who rules it. 

They walked to the entrance of the city and there were guards that asked them who they were and why they were there. They said that they wanted to see who rules this city. The guards looked at each other and nodded that it was ok to let them in after checking them for weapons in case they were lying and wanted to kill the king. The guards let a messenger know that there was a visitor and to let Chan know.

A different guard leads them to where Chan sits in his wooden and stone throne. They greet and have their assistants stand side by side in case they need them. 

“I wanted to see who's the best tribe in this land. I live for the blood of my enemies and you might be one of them, just like your poor poor father.” Minho says. Chan gets up from his throne and walks in front of him, furious, his anger raging. “So you were the one that killed my father many years ago?” Chan said to him, motioning for his assistant, Jeongin, telling him to prepare the arena so they can fight to the death. 

Chan's workers set up the arena and Minho and Chan prepare for battle, getting their weapons ready and heading to the center of the circle. They stare at each other dead in the face and Chan and Minho's tribe were there to support their leaders. 

“I am Chan Bahng and you killed my father. Prepare to die!” Chan says, stepping away, holding his bow and arrow, loaded and ready to shoot at any moment. Minho with his spear held it so it was pointed directly at Chan's chest. The announcer counted down from three and that's when the battle began. Sounds of arrows being shot and hitting the ground, the spear missing by just an inch but close enough to cut some of Chan's cloth on his shoulder. The battle goes on and they have both been hurt, Minho has been shot in his shoulder and leg, Chan was cut from the elbow down to his wrist. Both not ready to back down yet, their enemy still alive.

The sun starts to go down and they stop, neither one wanting to give up but too tired to continue. “You are a strong fighter,” Minho says. “Where did you learn how to fight like that?” Minho looks at Chan, laying down beside him. “My father taught me. But once he died, my fathers assistant continued to teach me.” Chan says, wiping the sweat from his forehead. “I think it's kind of stupid how we are meeting again and now we decide that we're going to fight. That night your father died, you could have easily killed me, but you didn't. Why?” Minho asks. “I have no idea. I guess I was too scared. I had just seen my father get murdered in front of my eyes. It all happened so fast I didn't know how to act.” Chan says regretfully, tears welling in his eyes. “I say this, how about we start over? Become the friends that we may have missed the chance to be. I know our fathers were friends but why can't we be? Forgive each other of what we may have wrongfully done to each other and start over?” Minho says, getting up, taking one of Chan's hands in his and shaking it. “I'll start. Hi Im Minho, leader of the Paleolithic people. We are here because we were about to be attacked and our food was walking away, literally.” He laughs a bit at what he said. Chan stands up, with the help from Minho, and he shakes his hand back. “Hi, I'm Chan and I'm the king of the Neolithic people. We found this land and decided to build on it. It has nice weather and great food, and plenty of water.” He says. “I hope we can be good friends.” Chan says smiling. Their assistants help them to clean and treat the wounds. Thankfully they are not severe. 

A few weeks pass and Minho and his tribe think that a couple more weeks they'll stay and then they will migrate where their food is headed. Minho has visited Chan everyday since they became friends. Talking and laughing with one another, even having meals together and teaching each other things that the other doesn't know how to do.

One morning they lay on the grass in a field looking at the clouds and talking together, the sunlight on their faces. “Minho, before you leave, I want to show you something.” Chan says as he touches the wet grass beneath them with his hand. “What is it?” He asks. “Come with me and you'll see.” Chan says with a smile on his face, standing up. Minho follows Chan and he leads them to a field of large stones. “I want to build something with you and your tribe if you're willing to help?” Chan asks. “Yes. I will.” Minho says getting Han to go and grab his tribe's strongest men and Jeongin grabs their villages strongest men.

They arrive and they start to build, stacking stones on top of stones. Just before nightfall they are done and they stand back to look at the work they made. “This will forever be here for generation after generation to find. This is a symbol of our peace with one another and our great friendship.” Chan says. “I hope we can one day tell the rest of our friends and family about this. And before you even ask , yes I will come visit you when the animals migrate back to this area.” Minho says, laughing. “I guess we just basically read each other's minds now. We should name it.” Chan says, looking at Minho for name suggestions. “The tower of stones?” Minho asks. Chan shakes his head no. “How about Stonehenge?” Minho suggests, Chan agrees. “Then it's settled. From now on our friendship is called the Stonhenge friendship.” Chan says, wrapping his arm around Minho, walking back to their own homes to sleep. 

Every year around the time the animals migrated back to Chan's place they had a yearly celebration and hung out until it was time for them to leave yet again, knowing that they'll be back next year, and every year after. 

[theninjazebra]

As someone who has watched too much tv for a long time i thought i should share with the group.

TV recs for the upcoming drought:

Some of these are harder to find, the tone and quality vary wildly, they're in no specific order. I tried for not too obscure, but not too obvious. Some are still airing, some are 20 yrs old. I swear I have a life.

Slings and Arrows. Early 2000s Canadian dramedy about theatre and shakespear. Fun without being shallow, aged ok, lovely performances, great writing. nuclear grade comfort watching.

Halt and Catch Fire. 2014 - 2017, US drama. Follows four characters through the 80s tech industry. First time I got the hype around Lee Pace. S1 is ok, but nothing special, s2 is a lot more interesting but kinda goes round in a circle. S3 and 4 and some of the best tv I've ever seen.

Somebody Somewhere. This is actually a new show, but has 2 seasons out if u want a gentle but never shallow comedy. Fills my sad gay heart with joy. And if want more new tv with middle aged gays Deadloch is streaming on amazon atm.

The Expanse. Finished recently. The sci fi I've always wanted. Big and scary and wonderful and pew pew pew space battles and adventure. Balances the grim with a surprising amount of hope? Has repeated themes of redemption. Also a whole book series should u need more.

This Is England. UK drama. A film and 3 mini series set from 1983 through to 1990. Grim, sad af, also funnyand sweet? And characters that I love. The start of my undying love for Vicky McClure. Big ol CW for violence, sexual violence, and era specific racism (esp the first film). Very good, but very hard tv.

Kingdom. 2014. Can be a pain to find because so many shows are called Kingdom. About MMA fighters having drama. Also families, mental health, addiction, etc. Excellent performances. Both a very dumb and very sweet, painful show.

Animal Kingdom. Legit only watched it because I was searched Kingdom posts and AK was out around the same time. Awful family having drama and heists. Adaptation of an Aussie film into a southern California TV show. Kind of a mess? but very compelling mess.

Obligatory Succession (Kardashians for annoying people, aka me. I am the annoying person. this is my perfect tv show), The Bear, (hospo stress and family grief show) and Severance (people talk about workplace horror, but tbh it also gives big mega church horror vibes too)- new shows that live up to the hype, esp if you like sad people. I don't think they really need recs, but i really liked them.

The Thick of It. 2000s UK political comedy? Tragedy? Though these days it looking fuckin utopian compared to UK politics now. Feels a bit like a partial villain origin story for Succession. I like how sad and broken hearted it is.

Outrageous Fortune. 2000s nz dramedy that is the source of my love of family crime drama. Aged badly in places, but still very good character drama. Also, for The Boys fans, Antony Starr at his absolute best. It's a big nostalgia fest for me now. Cheryl West is a forever fav.

Justified. 2010 - 2016ish. i'm lazy i'm not looking stuff up. Yes a cop show, yes a dad show, but also rock solid tv writing and timothy olyphant in a hat. I've watched it so many times, and every time it rewards. and yes, am watching Justified City Primeval atm.

White Collar. A dumb, total fantasy art crimes and capers show. Shit, but if you need to not think and also have Matt Bomer do a shirtless painting montage for vague plot reasons then oh boy there is no other.

Being Human UK. A ghost, a vampire and a werewolf share a flat. it's sweet and agonising and 10+ years later I still love these characters so much.

Legion. 2017 - 2019. Why make tv comic adaptations that are trying for realistic and boring? When they could all be like this? Why make anything that isn't as visually interesting as this?

Doom Patrol - same for doom patrol - superhero tv that cut out the boring bits and just went for the weird and painful. I read a couple of random doom patrols years ago and was so surprised and delighted and loved them. the tv show has the same effect.

The Boys. new, and still going, as far as I know. but two kiwi leads means under nz law i have to be a fan? also it's awful, pulpy vicious popcorn viewing. appeals to the shithead 12 yr old in me. yes, it's vicious anti corporate thing is deeply ironic for an amazon show, but considering amazon saved the expanse with no sense of irony at all I figure take all their money and keep yelling.

Preacher. Another comics adaption. The Boy's weirder, less obscene, more disturbing cousin. Tulip is another forever fav tv character.

Banshee. Continuing the tradition of heth and i starting dumb Dude TV and then getting overly attached. kinda pulpy trash, but if you can stomach the violence it's surprisingly good.

All Star Treks. I love them so much. They're so weird, and uneven, and dumb, and they're all the best and I love them.

One season wonders -

Trust. about the John Paul Getty III kidnapping. also about italian countryside.

State of Play. UK. the tv show, not the film.

I dunno. I could do a whole separate post for sit coms and brit coms and the weirder, more obscure shows and movies, but ffs this is so long.

[ilearnedthistodaysblog]

#1067 Why are so many arrowheads made of flint?

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hampshire-34573230 Why are so many arrowheads made of flint? Flint wasn’t the only material, but it is a fairly common rock, easy to break into flakes and it can be sharpened fairly easily. The oldest arrowhead that has been found has been dated to 74,000 years ago. They were found in the lowlands of where northwest Ethiopia is now. They are made from a number of different types of rock, but their function is obvious. They are too small to be attached to the end of spears, so they are most likely arrowheads. The fact that these arrowheads have been found fully formed means that arrows were in use for a lot longer than this. It is also safe to assume that larger versions were used on spears far before they were used on arrows because throwing a spear is more natural than inventing a bow to fire an arrow. It is very difficult to guess at when the bow was invented because unlike the stone arrowheads, wooden arrow shafts, wooden bows, and whatever was used for the string, biodegrade pretty quickly. It is also probably safe to assume that the first arrows were sharpened sticks, followed by sticks with naturally sharpened rocks fastened to them, before people worked out how to make arrowheads. Flint is not the only material used to make arrows. Early arrows were sometimes made of pieces of sharpened animal bone as well. However, flint and other similar rocks do appear to be the most common. Obsidian, a volcanic rock, is often found in places where it is common. The reason flint is so common, comes down to some of the properties that it has. Flint is a sedimentary rock, which means it was formed from compressed sediment at the bottom of the sea. Hundreds of millions of years ago, plankton called cocolithophores lived in the sea. They had calcium skeletons and when they died they sank to the bottom of the sea, becoming chalk. Bottom dwelling sea creatures dug holes through this chalk making burrows or looking for food. There were also sea sponges at this time and they had a skeleton made of silica. When they died, the silica became a gel that sank into the holes made in the chalk and hardened. This became flint. Because it is encased in chalk, which is very quickly eroded, flint stones are very commonly found lying on the ground in areas that used to be under the sea, making them very common. Another property is that flint is very hard, but it is also very fragile. When struck, it can shatter like glass, leaving sharp shards that can be razor sharp. Before it was used for arrows, flint was probably used as a cutting tool. It was hand held, perhaps wrapped with something to protect the hand. Then it was probably used as an axe. Early humans would have realized that tying it to a stick increased the leverage and made it a more efficient cutting tool. Then probably came spears, and finally bows and arrows. Bows and arrows are very useful tools, but they demonstrate a huge leap forward in technology and society. To have a bow and arrow, early humans needed to understand the ability of a bent branch to store energy that could be used to catapult an arrow. They had to be able to make rope and tie nots. They had to have some understanding of aerodynamics. And one person probably didn’t make everything, so it would have required group interaction.   How did they make the arrowheads? They made them through a process called knapping. There are several parts to making an arrow head. The first step is to find a suitable piece. If one is lying around, great, if not, a larger piece of flint needs to be shattered to leave the shards that will become arrowheads. To shatter the flint into arrow head sized pieces, it first needs to be broken in half to expose the core. This can be done by hitting it at an angle with a harder stone. It has to be at an angle because the force continues out in a cone shape from the impact site. Once the core is exposed, it can be hit from above to shatter off a splinter. The second step is something called pressure flaking. You can’t make the sharp shaped edges by hitting the flint with a rock because it will just smash. To make the edges, a hard surface, such as the tip of an antler, is pressed very hard against the flint and then pulled forwards, taking a flake of the flint with it. By repeating this process. the flint can be shaped. Finally, it can be sharpened by sanding it with a rougher rock. Once the arrowhead is sharp, the base is shaped so that it can be tied to the arrow. And this is what I learned today. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hampshire-34573230 Sources https://www.facebook.com/story.php/?story_fbid=834763358695551&id=100064856825782&paipv=0&eav=AfZWaCjwbLipfWYw_8zezbZTaE-ZOZH71ZosZ5OQP1ROWdJGlv7A2w_yeIeLJllMUi4&_rdr https://phys.org/news/2024-03-toba-supereruption-dispersal-modern-humans.html#google_vignette https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/History-of-Arrowheads https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrowhead https://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue26/5/1.html https://www.wildernesscollege.com/making-arrowheads.html https://kentdowns.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/What-is-Flint.pdf https://en.natmus.dk/historical-knowledge/denmark/prehistoric-period-until-1050-ad/the-mesolithic-period/the-stone-age-hunters-bow-and-arrow/the-transverse-arrowheads-of-the-stone-age Read the full article

[thoughtswordsaction]

As Living Arrows To Release New Album "Hope & Ruin"; Band Shares New Single And Video "Our Meridian"

Photo courtesy of the band. As Living Arrows is a band from the UK and “Hope & Ruin” is their second album as a group, yet their first release after they changed their name from Dead Bird in early 2024. The music can be flagged under post-emo, as the group is blending atmospheric post-rock elements into their 2000’s post-hardcore and screamo tunes. It is heavy, it can crawl under your skin and…

[allthemusic]

Week ending: 9th February

I'm noticing that I'm getting fewer and fewer weeks that are completely unknown, and I suspect that will only become more common as we head towards the modern era - the days of pre-rock and roll popular music are slowly but surely fading, and so weeks like this, with two unfamiliar artists, are increasingly feeling quite exciting!

Pickin' a Chicken - Eve Boswell (peaked at Number 9)

I have genuinely no idea what this is going to be about. Well, I guess choosing a chicken for dinner? But I do not know how that's going to turn into a compelling song, unless it's a sort of domestic fluffy thing.

Ooh, we start with some very jolly flute and hand claps, and some cheery-sounding "doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo" bits, I like it! It's a bit cheesy, but not in a bad way. It's got a sort of echoey quality that feels very vintage.

And then the lyrics begin and it's about going to a barbecue? Turns out "pickin' a chicken" is about eating a chicken off the bone, I think? And so we're getting lyrics exhorting Eve's love to Come to the barbecue and sit by my side, or about how Pullin' a wishbone with someone you love / Is almost certain to end with a kiss. Honestly, I didn't put "go to a barbecue" high on the list of romantic date activities, partly because they're usually done with a much larger group of people, but Eve makes it sound lovely.

Eve Boswell was an unknown before I heard this song, and I think I assumed from all the barbecue talk that she was American, but apparently not! She was instead a Hungarian-born South African singer, educated in Switzerland, formerly part of a family juggling act, and now working mostly in the UK. Barbecues aren't famously romantic occasions in the UK - far too much rain - but I can imagine them being a more romantic affair in South Africa. Also, apparently this was a South African tune, given new lyrics, so that's kind of fun - that bright, cheery flutey sound is apprently an African folk sound! Cool stuff!

Robin Hood - Gary Miller (10)

Before hitting play, I got quite excited, as I thought this might be the music from Disney's Robin Hood. Never mind that that film came out way later in 1973. I guess I was thrown off by the music being by the similarly-named Roger Miller. Oops.

Oh, I think this is film music, though. Which is fun, and actually has a solid link to the 1973 film, at least in its general vibe and maybe the Robin Hood, Robin Hood, riding through the glen opening lyric. It's riding through the forest in the Disney film, but it's not a million miles off, right?

Okay, so apparently this was from The Adventures of Robin Hood, a British TV series broadcast from 1955 to 1959. Some episodes used traditional Robin Hood stories, and some were original stories, and so this just kind of sets up who the gang are - it's a solid conceit, and honestly, not a million miles from things you'd see nowadays, except with some extra exposition. I think nowadays you'd just assume people knew the setup. I remember watching a Robin Hood TV series on BBC in like 2006 and I think the theme there definitely didn't have lyrics.

Which is a shame, because there's a real charm to a tune outlining how Robin and his gang handled all the trouble on the English country scene / And still found plenty of time to sing, or how Robin's bow was already ready and he kept his arrows sharp / He used them, fighting for what was right. It sets up the premise well, and is just some good, swashbuckling fun, complete with drum rolls and fanfare brass. Exactly the sort of sound you expect from a Robin Hood song.

It's also not escaped my attention that this is very much the British equivalent of The Ballad of Davy Crockett, with a song outlining the life and times of a popular folk hero. Not much to note about that, except that I find this one less conceptually distasteful. Also, I guess worth noting the influence that TV is beginning to have. We've seen American medical drama themes in the charts, and now these two adventure themes. It's only a couple years since the coronation, when famously a lot of British houses finally caved and bought a TV, and TV is already blazing trails in the UK charts. Huh.

Well, those were definitely two songs. I do enjoy these unknowns, and both of these were both lively and quite charming in their own way. I've not actually got a huge preference between them, so I'm going to go with my gut for my favourite.

Favourite song of the bunch: Robin Hood

[parkerbombshell]

The British are Coming #667

The British are Coming Tuesdays 10:00pm -11:30 pm EST bombshellradio.com Repeats Wednesdays 8:00am - 10:00am EST Matt plays 20 of the best up-and-coming indie, alternative, and rock artists in the UK, some of which you know, but many more that will be new music discoveries. Matt’s deep knowledge of UK music scene and his ear for a banger make The British are Coming a must-listen on Bombshell Radio. #TheBritishAreComing, #Alternative, #Indie, #Rock, #NewMusic, #BombshellRadio Matt Dalzell @britdjmatt Chloe Slater - Death Trap Arabella - Dumb Lovesong Teenage Waitress - Cry Cry Cry Dutch Criminal Record - Now or Never Honeyglaze - Don't Magnatas Court - A Feeling You Can't Shake Off About Faces - Learn To Surf Alexandra_Leaving - These Scars James Leonard Hewitson - Disco In August Daughter Of A Drum - Hippy Small Black Arrows - Voices In The Static Antelope - Beliefs The Dead King Company - Faith Lazy Day - Killer By The Waves - Eyes Jody And The Jerms - Unraveling Skanger - Debris Pocket Sun - Hidden Places His Father's Voice - Forgot to Feed  Black Market Karma - Puddle Eyed Sponger Mouses - Huckleberry Swim Deep - Don't Make Me A Stranger               Read the full article

[rockzone]

Big Wolf Band - Rebel's Journey

Release Date: 19 Apr 2024

Hailed by music pundits as most highly anticipated album collection of songs of their career, "Rebel’s Journey" is Big Wolf Band’s second instalment of the Rebel’s trilogy of albums. The new album is about the growth of the band and frontman’s Jonathan Earp’s personal journey.

Big Wolf Band have built a reputation as being one of the best live bands on the circuit, delivering dynamic shows with an expansive range of self-penned songs that cover all flavours of blues rock that truly makes them unique. Rebel’s Journey reinforces this bands creativity, musicianship, and delivery. Each song having its own identity but still that unmistakable Big Wolf sound. The band’s ability to drift between genres while keeping their own sound is a big selling point amongst followers of the band.

Vocalist and guitarist Jonathan Earp says, “Rebel’s Journey highlights my own personal battle with my mental and physical health. I have a connective tissue disorder called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (HEDS) which affects everything. I had surgery in mid-2019 during our 'Be Free' tour to repair damage to my right shoulder, dislocations, and nerve pain. Unfortunately, the operation caused more pain and numbness and for nearly 2 years I struggled to play, some days to even hold a plectrum."

"Songs like 'Standing in the Rain', 'Black Dog Blues', and 'Living on Borrowed Time' are about the battles I had during those dark days. My condition will always be a challenge but one I live with and continue to prove doubters wrong.

"The album isn’t all doom and gloom, despite being in the blues genre. 'Empire and a Prayer', my first co-written song with Justin Johnson, as well as 'Got Me Reeling' and 'Living on Borrowed Time'. We have had many a joke with my dark writing style, Justin brings the light and love. 'Rise Together' is one of the songs on the album I am proud of and is all about the power of love, rising together and that anything is possible.”

Big Wolf Band were recently nominated for “UK Blues Band of the Year” at the 2024 UK Blues Awards.

2024 Tour Dates 29 Mar - The Bear, Luton 31 Mar - Nantwich Jazz and Blues 5 Apr – Temperance Leamington Spa. 12 Apr - Arlington Arts Centre, Newbury 14 Apr - Bromley Blues Club 20 Apr - Blues at the Barleylands, Billericay 21 Apr - Hope Tavern, Market Rasen 26 Apr - Bosworth Blues Festival 11 May - Macclesfield Beer Festival 24 May - Saltburn Blues Club, Redcar 25 May - Booze and Blues Leicester. 7 Jun - Lamp Tavern, Dudley 13 Jun - Red Arrow Music Club, Ramsgate 16 Jun - Blues Weekend at the Toorak Hotel 23 Jun - Bluefunk Rhythm and Blues Club, Poynton (double Header with CBO) 5 Jul – Alfold Rock and Blues Festival, Alfold 9 Aug – Darlington R&B Club 16 Aug Warrington Blues Club 17 Aug - Old Bush Blues Festival 23 Aug Colne R&B Festival 24 Aug – Rory Gallagher Festival, Nantwich 25 Aug - Congleton Jazz and Blues 6 Sep - Nene Valley Festival 15 Sep - Red Lion, Stevenage 20 Sep - Joe Joe Jim’s Birmingham 4 Oct - Backstage at the Green – Kinross 5 Oct - Calendar Jazz & Blues 12 Oct – Boat shack, Upton Warren 1 Nov - Colne Delta Blues and Americana Club 23 Nov - Giffard Arms, Wolverhampton 13 Dec - Emsworth Music Club

[olafsings]

Music History on this Day: March 20, 2024

March 20, 1982: Joan Jett And The Blackhearts topped the Billboard Hot 100 with “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll,” a cover of a 1975 single by the UK band The Arrows. It spent seven weeks at No. 1 and reached No. 4 in the UK.

[arrowsofthesun]

A new track by Arrows of the Sun, only on soundcloud https://on.soundcloud.com/DeYyPzfYydJEbECB8