#best resistance bands uk

[road-tosuccess]

Best Fitness Gear for Your Home Gym: Amazon Recommendations

TOP 10 HOME GYM ESSENTIALS Building a home gym is a smart move for staying fit and healthy. Whether you’re just starting or looking to upgrade your current setup, having the right equipment is crucial. In this blog post, we recommend the best fitness gear for your home workouts.

[tooneys-russo]

I Write Songs About You All The Time

Summary: Wren is the lead singer of a band who happens to serenade Alessia leading to a fun night between the two.

Warning: Smut 18+

Chapter 1

Wren was her family’s biggest disappointment, she was meant to go to Oxford University but refused to go. Instead she and her band, Highland Nightfall, worked hard on their music, they were selling out smaller venues after a year of hard work and their album rocketed to number 1 on the alternative charts. Wren was the lead singer and she also played guitar, it was a given that she was the most popular member of the band. Wren had long brown hair with blonde highlights, she had bright green eyes that had speckles of blue scattered and a large sleeve tattoo on her right arm that had intricate designs of geometric animals, plants and some text  scattered through. Girls at shows would throw bras on stage especially when Wren would wear their favourite outfit combination, backwards cap, tank top with an open short sleeve button up shirt, skinny jeans and converse. 

She had come back to the UK after a tour in the US, her first show was in Manchester to a sold out crowd of 10,000. “Good evening everyone. We are Highland Nightfall, it’s so lovely to be back in England we have missed home so much. We thought we’d play a few songs for you if that would be alright?” The crowd screamed loud as the first song started. In the crowd were some of the Manchester United women’s players who  had taken the night to go enjoy one of the best British acts going around. Alessia was particularly interested more in the lead singer rather than the music itself. She had studied Wren’s setlist making sure she knew the words, during the show the players videoed each other singing along. 

Wren could hear the crowd singing back to her, she glanced up and saw a gorgeous group of girls all singing along to her song. She smirked as she continued singing, in a small break Wren spoke to her stage manager about getting the blonde from the upper seating to come down so she could sing to her. Her stage manager Claire immediately headed towards the United group who were clearly having an amazing time. Alessia followed Claire down to the stage nervously, when Claire requested her to come down to the stage she was shocked but couldn’t resist. A chair was placed in the middle of the stage and Wren walked over to the side where Alessia was standing. “Hi, nice to meet you my name is Wren.” She held out the game and the blonde shook it. “Hi I am Alessia.” Wren smirked. “I know. You play for United I’m not the smartest person in the world but I know football.” Alessia blushed at the girl’s words. “So I brought you down because it seemed you knew the words to my songs, which is exactly what I need for my next little bit. I am going to have you sit in the chair and I will sing to you. Two taps on the side of my thigh if it is too much or you want to stop, you are in control okay?” Alessia just nodded. “Alrighty beautiful lets get this going.” Wren grabbed Alessia’s hand and led her out to the stage. 

“A lot of you know this next part of my show. Those edits on TikTok are phenomenal. I have with me the gorgeous Alessia Russo, if you have been living under a rock she is a striker for Manchester United.” The crowd roared at the mention of the player and the football team. “Yeah, yeah bloody Manchester United, got nothing on the mighty Arsenal.” The crowd booed and she gave them the finger with a smirk. Wren sat Alessia down and winked at her. “Now Alessia, you and I are going to have a little fun, clothes on princess don’t worry.” 

The music started and Wren stood behind Alessia, sliding her hand down the blonde’s arm as she sang in her ear. “Well, come and get it now. Come and get it now” She walked to the front of Alessia and bent over, her hand on her leg holding her up keeping eye contact with the girl. Alessia could feel her heart racing, knowing exactly where this song was leading. 

“Baby, show me what you're doing. Come and turn around.” Wren spread Alessia’s jean clad legs and dropped to her knees right in front of her. 

'Cause it's not just a figure of speech. You got me down on my knees. It's getting harder to breathe out.” Alessia’s breath caught in her throat looking at the green eyes now between her legs. She couldn’t glance up at the United girls but she knew that there would be many videos of this moment and them laughing about the situation she had found herself in. 

'Cause it's not just a figure of speech. You got me down on my knees. It's getting harder to breathe out.” Wren slid her hand up Alessia’s thigh, feeding off the girl’s reaction to her touch. Alessia held back a moan as Wren stood up and straddled the striker’s lap, her hands immediately placing themselves on the singer’s thighs. 

“We only met each other just the other day. But you already got me feeling some type of way. Now, if I could figure it out. I'd take you back to my house. So we could meddle about.” Wren smirked at Alessia who bit her lip holding Wren onto her lap. 

“We could meddle about. Whoa-oh-oh-oh. We could meddle about. No, whoa-oh-oh-oh-ooh. We could meddle about. Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh. We could meddle about.” Wren knew that there were other people around but at that moment it felt as though it was just them alone on the stage. Slowly Wren tested the waters with a slow and gentle grind on Alessia’s lap, the striker’s mouth fell open as she moved her hands to Wren’s ass. 

“Girl, just scream it out. Tell me what you're thinking. No, I wanna see you undress now. I wanna hear you confess now, oh-oh, oh, whoa.” Wren leant in so only the microphone was keeping their lips from connecting. Wren swallowed as she stared at Alessia in front of her, staring at her lips wanting so badly to know how they taste. Wren missed her next line, hearing the crowd singing the words. “You are distracting me gorgeous.” Wren said into Alessia’s ear as she turned around so her back was on Alessia’s chest. 

“We only met each other just the other day. But you already got me feeling some type of way. Now, if I could figure it out. I'd take you back to my house. So we could meddle about.” Wren grabbed Alessia’s hand and moved it from her chest, down her breast, further down her stomach to her inner thigh. Alessia gripped onto Wren’s thigh and moaned into her ear as the singer leant back further against Alessia so her chin could rest on the brunette’s shoulder. 

It was easily Wren’s favourite performance for more than one reason. Wren made sure to stay pressed against Alessia for the whole song, once she finished and the band was playing the outro she turned to the girl and smirked. “That was hot. Guess that is why they call you guys the red devils.” Wren grabbed Alessia’s hand and led her to the front of the stage. “A massive thank you to Alessia Russo for putting up with me for that song. Tag me in those TikTok edits too, wouldn’t mind reliving that one.” Wren kissed Alessia’s hand as the crowd screamed, she led the blonde off the stage.

“Thank you for that.” Alessia said with a blush painting her cheeks. “No, thank you. That was better than sex.” Wren kept a hold of Alessia’s hand and ran her thumb over her knuckle. “Come to The Ivy after, I will be there with the band and I want to have a little dance with you.” Alessia could only nod watching Wren’s green eyes. Wren took her chance to kiss Alessia’s cheek as Claire came over. “Wren can you please get back on stage, Alessia I will take you back up to the girls.” Wren groaned and nodded. “Fine. See you later gorgeous, this isn’t over yet.” 

Wren rushed off the stage at the end of the show to shower and get ready for The Ivy, and maybe to see a particular blonde who she had unfinished business with. She put on blue skinny jeans, white high top converse, and a black short sleeve button up. Once she entered the club she asked the hostess where the Manchester players were and was shown to a booth where she immediately saw a blonde in black skinny jeans and a white crop top. Wren went up behind the blond and slid her arm around her waist. “Long time no see.” Alessia turned when she heard the voice and smirked. “About time you showed up.” Alessia had already downed two drinks to give herself some liquid courage for when she saw Wren. 

Wren wasted no time in catching up to the level of buzz that Alessia had and pulled her onto the dancefloor. There were people all around them pressing them closer to each other, Wren gripped Alessia’s hips making them move in sync. Alessia wrapped her arms around Wren’s neck. “My god you are so hot.” Alessia said in her ear, making the singer smirk. “Have you ever looked at yourself?” Wren slid her hands lower onto Alessia’s ass making the girl moan. 

They were both beginning to sweat as they danced, grinding against each other unable to stop themselves needing more contact from the other. Wren gave in and pressed her lips against the blonde’s. There was nothing gentle about the kiss, it was desperate and wanting. Their tongues ran along the other, Alessia’s hands gripping onto Wren’s shirt. “Come back to my place?” Wren moaned into Alessia’s mouth and the girl just nodded. Wren grabbed her hand and led her out the back of the club not bothering to tell each of their groups that they were leaving. 

Their make out session continued in the side alley of the club where Alessia was pushed up against the wall, one leg wrapped around Wren and the singer pressing her body against the blonde. Their Uber was a few minutes away which was perfect for Wren to get more of Alessia. The blonde kissed down Wren’s neck and sucked a dark hickey onto her neck. “Fuck Alessia.” Wren gripped onto Alessia tighter, now hungrier for the girl in front of her, she felt her phone buzz as their Uber pulled up. The whole drive to the hotel Wren kissed Alesia a little calmer than what it had been, trying not to piss off the Uber driver with their fun. 

They were clumsy all the way up to Wren’s room, using every hard surface as an opportunity to press one another up against. Wren took off her shirt and shoes easily not letting her lips part from Alessia’s once they got into her room. Alessia’s shirt was removed with ease even if Wren hated having to pull from the blonde. She pushed Alessia onto the bed with a smirk and took her spot on top of her, undoing the striker’s jeans and pulling them down to reveal a pink g-string. “You expecting me or something princess?” Wren smirked and Alessia shoved her gently. “They are just comfy.” Wren took off her jeans to expose her Scooby Doo briefs and Alessia put her hand on the girl above her’s chest. “Um were you expecting me?” Wren looked down and groaned. “Fuck.” Alessia laughed and pulled her back on top of her. “Cute as.” Wren rolled her eyes and kissed the girl again. 

Their bras were the next casualties of their encounter, they were thrown somewhere in the hotel room as Wren began exploring the Italian English girl under her. Her lips kissed down her collarbones, down the valley of her breasts then across to her right nipple where she wrapped her lips around the bud. Alessia let out a loud moan and tangled her fingers into Wren’s hair, the singer slid her hand up Alessia’s inner thighs to gently rub her covered clit. Wren bit down gently and Alessia gasped and clenched her legs together. “Naughty girl.” Wren looked up at Alessia. She pulled Alessia’s g-string off and threw it across the rom, teasing the girl with her tongue along her wet pussy. “Wren please.” Alesssia begged. “Only because you asked so nicely.” Wren finally gave Alessia what she wanted, she ran her tongue along Alessia’s clit. The blonde girl threw back her head and pushed Wren further into her. Wren gently slid a finger inside Alessia, “Oh oh my god Wren!” Alessia stuttered. Wren moved her finger slowly, curling it to rub along the spot Alessia wanted it the most. Wren kept a steady pace, licking her clit and fingering her in time. Alessia could feel herself getting closer, she pushed against Wren’s mouth and fingers trying to reach her orgasm quicker, desperate for the release. Wren could feel Alessia getting wetter and grinding against her face and finger. She picked up the pace of her fingers and her tongue, Alessia couldn’t hold it in anymore, she screamed out as she came against the singer’s tongue and fingers. Wren slowed down her movements as Alessia came down from her high. 

Before she could work out what was happening Wren was on her back and Alessia was straddling her hips. “Now I get to have my turn.” Alessia kissed Wren, tasting herself on the singer’s lips. Alessia pulled at Wren’s briefs and threw them off the bed to land somewhere near her discarded g-string. Alessia began grinding against Wren as she reached back to rub the brunette’s clit slowly. Wren gripped onto Alessia’s ass watching her movements on top of her, she had never seen such an incredibly gorgeous girl before. Alessia’s finger slipped inside Wren making the girl moan loud, she spread her legs wider giving Alessia more access. Her fingers sped up as Wren gripped onto Alessia’s breasts, she moved against Alessia’s fingers quickly. Wren moaned out Alessia’s name, it was the greatest thing Alessia had ever heard in her life. Wren didn’t last long once Alessia curled her fingers and arched her back giving her the perfect view of the striker. “Alessia fuck!” Wren moaned out loud as her orgasm came in waves over her body. She wrapped her arms around Alessia and pulled her down into a bruising kiss, the blonde giggled against her mouth as they kissed. The two laid in each other’s arms, Wren rubbed along Alessia’s back tracing shapes with her fingers. 

“You are something else. I would not have expected that from someone as sweet as you.” Wren said and kissed Alessia’s head. “Guess that is what happens when a really gorgeous girl serenades me.” Alessia kissed Wren gently and cuddled more into her. “Goodnight Wren, thank you for tonight.” She said softly. “Goodnight Alessia, sweet dreams.” The two fell asleep cuddled up in each other’s arms. 

Chapter 2

[olympeline]

Alfred is usually a big ol’ golden retriever in my headcanon of him, ever trying to be good and do the right thing with his responsibility as the world’s premier superpower. He’s young and brash and has an ego on him the size of Texas but still, his need to be the hero comes from a genuine desire to help. Even if he doesn’t always succeed, his heart is in the right place. That’s how I usually see Alfred F. Jones

HOWEVER, I’d be lying if I said some very dark, one-sided USUK isn’t a delicious indulgence sometimes. A slow build where Arthur can never see Alfred as anything other than his little boy, and that just drives Alfred crazy

Every time Arthur rebuffs him, every time he makes it clear that what Alfred wants will never happen, every time Arthur’s beautiful green eyes pass over Alfred and his gaze wanders to the damn frog, that love gets darker, more twisted. Becomes tinged with obsession, gets tangled up with Alfred’s ego, gradually starts to morph into something terrifying

Arthur wouldn’t budge no matter what Alfred tried: the old man is one of the most stubborn nations to ever live. So, Alfred had to change focus or go mad. In the end he’d start to wonder if Arthur’s cooperation is really necessary at all. Does someone need to give consent when you’re obviously only doing what’s totally best for them? Does like, a firefighter need permission to rescue people? No, of course not! Arthur is so lonely, so unhappy, and he has been for years and years. Centuries, even millenia. Alfred is a hero. He’s the hero. What kind of hero would leave a poor, hurting soul to suffer when he has exactly what they need? When he is exactly what they need?

He’s the greatest country in the world! Everyone loves America. If they don’t, then there’s just something wrong with them

Arthur can will learn to love him! And the way Alfred wants this time. The right way! He just needs persuasion. Just needs to see Alfred is right

Alfred is always right. He’s the strongest, he’s the world’s hero, he’s pure and good. So everything he does is good, right? A hero can’t be bad

And if anyone objects, it won’t matter. Because soon they’ll see how happy Arthur is and they’ll realize it was all a big, silly misunderstanding. And even if they don’t, it still doesn’t matter because Alfred is America. Arthur raised him to be strong, so strong. Arthur was always proud of how strong Alfred became, even if he rarely said it while sober. Now Alfred will use that strength to save Arthur from himself. He’ll be happy, so, so happy with the new life Alfred will give him

Alfred is America. The leader of the free world. America always asks first, America is good and fair. And because he’s good and fair, he doesn’t let unfairness stand in any form. And Arthur was unfair to him. So Alfred is totally justified in his actions. Absolutely, positively. He asks, but also takes when he gets a wrong answer. Arthur gave a wrong answer. So now, Alfred will take

He’s America

Who’s going to stop him?

(Hope you enjoyed my ramblings. This scenario has two potential endings: first, the very dark one where the USA attacks the UK, Arthur is brutally overpowered, body and soul, and all the will to resist is crushed out of him. In the end perhaps even losing his identity as a nation and becoming Alfred’s 51st state. Totally repressed and utterly treasured: America’s pride and joy, the star that shines brightest on his flag. All the other nations were too terrified to object just as predicted, and Alfred now lives a life of ecstasy. Everything turned out perfect, and he gets exactly what he wants. Just like he always knew he would. From sea to shining sea, God bless America

Or, alternatively, a sudden shocking swerve happy ending where the other nations do step up, despite the risk, and give Alfred a big old “fuck you” when he starts his antics. They band together to keep their tantrum throwing superpower neighbor at arm’s length away from Arthur across the Atlantic. Because even Alfred couldn’t fight them all at once. And a narcissistic, unstable nation declaring war on a long held ally just for being romantically scorned has shown Alfred to be a danger to the whole world. Extra salt in the wound when the nightmare pushes Arthur and Francis together and finally gets them to admit their centuries held feelings for each other. From the threat of forced USUK comes sweet, consensual FrUK. As they (absolutely don’t) say in France: le go fuck yourself, America. Also don’t talk to me or my new husband ever again)

[cherrylng]

MUSE Trivia and More [INROCK (December 2018)]

Three all the way The three members - Matthew Bellamy (vo./keys./g.), Chris Wolstenholme (b.) and Dominic (Dom) Howard (dr.) - have remained the same since the band formed in the early '90s.

Discography Muse have produced eight albums to date. The eighth is their latest, 'Simulation Theory', due for release on 9th November 2018.

● Debut album 'Showbiz' (1999) Released in '99, it reached a top ranking of 29 in the UK charts and sold 700,000 copies. It did not chart in the USA.

● Second album 'Origin of Symmetry' (2001) Number 3 in the UK, 1.5 million copies sold so far. Top 10 in seven European countries. Not released in the USA until four years later in 2005. This delay was caused by the band's then-owned label in the US, Maverick Records, deciding that Matthew's falsetto was not suitable for radio, and the band parted ways with the label as a result of the discussions at the time. It did not chart on Billboard (#161) until February 2010, another five years after its release in the USA.

● Third album 'Absolution' (2003) Number one in the UK and France. Top 10 in 10 European countries. Has sold 3.5 million copies worldwide to date.

● Fourth album 'Black Holes and Revelations' (2006) Number one in the UK, Australia, Ireland and Switzerland. It was the best-selling album of the year in Europe. It was the band's first ever Top 10 album in the USA. It sold nearly 4.5 million copies worldwide.

● Fifth album 'The Resistance' (2009) First album produced by the band themselves. It reached No. 1 in 14 countries, including the US Billboard Alternative Chart. It also sold around 4.5 million copies worldwide.

● Sixth album 'The 2nd Law' (2012) Sales fell to 2.5 million copies, but it reached number one in more than 10 countries. The stadium tour that accompanied the album recorded the largest attendance in the band's history, generating revenues of $103 million (approx. ¥11.551 billion) from 79 shows. The show at Rome's Stadio Olimpico, which attracted more than 60,000 spectators, was later released as the live album 'Live at Rome Olympic Stadium'.

● Seventh album 'Drones' (2015) The band reached number one in 15 countries and number one in the USA for the first time. The footage from the Drones tour was turned into a film, which was screened for one night only around the world on 12th July this year (note: there was also an encore screening in Japan). No DVD release date has yet been announced.

Funny memories Dom cites the Zepp DiverCity Tokyo show on 13th August 2013 as his funniest memory ever. During the last four songs, a group of people wearing headgear (presumably roadies and friends) stormed onto the stage. The footage was filmed, but the full story has not yet been released. [T/N: It has since been released on Muse's YouTube channel on April 2020. It was for Panic Station, Supermassive Black Hole, Can't Take My Eyes Off of You, and Starlight. You're welcome.]

Father George Bellamy Matthew's father, George Bellamy, is a rhythm guitarist best known for his '60s band The Tornados. He still plays in local Devon bands.

Metallica are also fans of Muse! The band played at the Big Day Out rock festival in Australia and New Zealand in 2004. At the time, there were no rehearsal trucks available, so the main act Metallica set up a rehearsal tent right next to the main stage. As Muse exited the stage after their turn, Metallica were often heard warming up with 'New Born', a song from their second album Origin of Symmetry.

Rise to prominence When they played Glastonbury Festival for the first time on 25th June 2000 [T/N: Technically, this is their second time performing in Glastonbury. Their first time was actually on 25th June 1999], they were ninth out of 11 on the Other Stage. They parked an old Volkswagen van in the guest/artist campsite, pitched a tent next to it and cooked breakfast outside. Four years later, in 2004, they became the headlining artist on the Pyramid Stage. They no longer needed to camp in tents.

Temporary bedroom The songwriting for third album 'Absolution' was done in a warehouse in East London. Chris therefore set up and slept in an air-inflated bed there, which he bought from IKEA.

Where are the first performance recordings!? They are still very embarrassed about their demo tapes 'This is a Muse Demo' ('95) and 'Newton Abbot Demo' ('97) and their first performance as a band when they tried out for the Battle of the Bands contest ('94). Whenever a copy of "This is a Muse Demo'' was put on an auction site, someone would sell it for an unbelievable amount of money. The "someone" is thought by fans to be the band members themselves.

Poker face!? The three of them like to play poker. When they played with Robert Smith (The Cure, vo./g), they won a lot of money. At one point, they played almost every day on tour, and as a result Matthew owed his crew and band members thousands of dollars. He likes to go to the Bellagio Casino in Las Vegas to play poker with betting limits, because it's not so easy with restrictions. He still plays on the tour bus, but there is also alcohol involved, so at the end of the day it's all about throwing chips at each other.

Jetpack For their show at Wembley Stadium in June 2007, the band planned to appear on stage with jet packs, which would allow them to fly using the jets on their backs. However, the stadium's health and safety team refused permission. Matthew's guitar was allowed to be carried onto the stage by a remote-controlled robot. Incidentally, Matthew actually bought and owns the jet pack for £10,000. He was addicted to such gadgets for a while, but woke up one day when he lost his mobile phone and realised he could still live without it.

Avoiding the 9/11 attacks On 10 September 2001, Muse were due to play a showcase gig at the Mercury Lounge in New York. But when that was cancelled, they flew early to their next destination, Boston. If they had stayed another night at a hotel on New York's Lower East Side as planned, they might have been caught up in the attacks on the World Trade Centre.

A row with Celine Dion In 2002, there was a row with Celine Dion. She revealed her plans to name her long-running Las Vegas show Muse. Matthew commented, "I don't want people to think we're Celine Dion's backing band." Celine insisted on the title Muse and proposed an offer to pay them £32,000 (approximately JPY 4.7 million), which Muse refused. Celine's management then pushed to go ahead with the plan anyway, and Muse considered filing a lawsuit. In the end, Céline relented and the title changed to 'A New Day'… and began its extended run the following year in 2003.

Matthew, you're about to get killed! Matthew likes scuba diving, but thinks he was nearly killed by an instructor once. The instructor liked Matthew's girlfriend at the time and tried to kill him by putting only half the oxygen in his oxygen tank when she got in the way. As well as scuba diving, Matthew has also tried squash, but he always ends up crashing into the wall and getting hurt.

Personal life ● Matthew Matthew was engaged to Italian psychologist Gaia Polloni until December 2009 and lived in a mansion in the village of Mortolazio on the western shore of Lake Como in Italy until 2010. The mansion was put on the market last year for just under USD 2 million (approximately JPY 224 million). It is approximately 250 square metres in size. It was built in the late 1820s, when the Italian composer Vincenzo Bellini lived there and Winston Churchill was invited to visit and paint. Neighbours include George Clooney and Sir Richard Branson. Matthew made the album 'The Resistance' here. After his breakup with Gaia, he started dating actress Kate Hudson in the spring of 2010 and got engaged the following year. Their son, Bing, was born in July of the same year. He and Kate ended their engagement in December 2014. He started dating model Elle Evans in 2015 and they became engaged in December 2017. Matthew now lives in the USA and owns at least three mansions in the Los Angeles area. Two of them are in Malibu. One was purchased from radio personality Adam Carolla in late 2014 for $3.6 million. The other house was purchased in 2016 for $2.6 million (JPY 291 million). The third house was bought last year for $7.25 million (approximately JPY 813 million) on a green lot in Brentwood, between Westwood and Santa Monica, from former tennis player Pete Sampras. In addition to this, he also owns mansions in his hometown of Devon and in London. In addition, in Malibu, he is neighbours with Chris Martin (Coldplay, vo./g. / piano), with whom he occasionally exchanges dirty-talking emails. In jest, of course.

● Chris Chris has six children with his wife Kelly, whom he married in 2003. His alcoholism deteriorated to the point of vomiting blood at one point, yet his bass playing skills remained undiminished and those around him were slow to realise the gravity of the situation. However, during the making of The Resistance, he finally entered rehab and underwent treatment. He has been sober ever since.

● Dom There is no mention of Dom getting married. Last autumn, he adopted a dog named Floyd, who appears to be a Boston terrier.

Guitars smashed Matthew entered the Guinness World Records in 2010 for smashing 140 guitars on tour in 2004. But he didn't actually break that many, and the guitars he smashed on stage usually just split the body and neck in half. Even if they look broken, they are actually repaired and returned. He has only broken about four guitars before he really broke them again, and one of them was a Gibson Les Paul that he didn't break on stage, but smashed into a cupboard. Counting his entire career, he has destroyed and replaced roughly 20 necks. But it's not just the guitars that suffer from Matthew's act. Dom is also a good nuisance. He has been injured three times so far because of the guitars Matthew has thrown around.

China tour When the 'Drones' tour visited Beijing on 9th September 2015 and Shanghai on 21st September 2015, 'Uprising' and 'Revolt' were removed from the set list. This was because they were deemed excessively political by the Chinese government.

'Twilight' series of romantic films Stephenie Meyer, author of the popular Twilight novels, is a big fan of Muse. Therefore, the soundtracks of the film trilogy 'Twilight' (2008), 'New Moon/Twilight Saga' (2009) and 'Eclipse/Twilight Saga' (2010) contain the songs 'Supermassive Black Hole', 'I Belong To You (+Mon Coeur S'Ouvre A Ta Voix)' and 'Neutron Star Collision (Love is Forever)', respectively. Neutron Star Collision was written specifically for Eclipse.

Impressions of Kanye West Matthew likes rap music and is a big fan of Kanye West. He describes Kanye's music as "It's already thoroughly me, me, me." However, one time Kanye came to say hello to Muse backstage, and instead of being "me", he just talked about T-shirts and left. Matthew found it so funny that he later named his cats Kanye and Kim (Kanye's wife Kim Kardashian).

Translator's Note: Okay, so I already knew a good majority of these trivia information as a long time fan, but I do acknowledge that some are new to me. Mostly, given that all of this information was up until late 2018, some of the information written in there can be considered as outdated.

[borninwinter81]

Quick and simple t-shirt mod

My Subspecies shirt arrived, and thankfully its a good quality one, not a dropshipper or an Ali Express resell. It actually despatched from the UK in spite of the pricing being in dollars, so I think it might be print to order and they just send the order to a printer in whatever country the customer is in. Link for the site here, they have a few other horror shirts but seem to mostly sell merch for the Australian extreme metal band, Portal - I would highly recommend this band to anyone who likes bizarre, avant-garde, experimental or just fucking weird extreme music.

Anyway, I almost always mod my shirts to make them a little more interesting. I crop them because although I'm pretty slim I have hyperlordosis (a slight inward spinal curvature) that makes certain clothing including long shirts look really unflattering on me. If I crop a shirt to my natural waist it looks way better, though sometimes if the design is large I have to make a decision between losing part of it, or having it look unflattering. Not a problem with this one thankfully, the design is printed pretty high on the shirt.

I also usually cut out the neck and cut the sleeves off. Partially to show more of my tattoos but also because I prefer the way it looks. If I leave the sleeves on it, it tends to be a skinny-fit shirt.

After that I would usually cut and weave the sides or the back (there are many tutorials for different ways to do this online), but for this shirt I had the idea to add eyelets and laces. The shoulder stitching tends to come undone when you cut out the neck and sleeves of a t shirt so I needed some way of securing that part back together anyway, and they're nice and visible there.

Eyelets are cheap, and inserting them is super easy - just make a hole with something sharp. Though I have a leather punch, for this kind of thin stretchy fabric I usually use my scratch awl, but you can easily do it with scissors. Eyelets come in a pack with a tool for setting them in place, and you need a hammer to hit them a few times. Make sure you're on a very sturdy surface as you need plenty of resistance to get them nice and secure. A concrete floor is best.

I just folded the fabric in half to get the middle ones in the right spot but you can measure the spacing if you have more to put in.

I had boot laces to hand because I always save them if I get rid of a pair of old boots, but you could use pretty much anything you have available- ribbon, lace, even long strips of the t shirt fabric that you cut off.

I laced them up, tied them very tightly and then covered the knots in fabric glue to make sure they don't come undone. Then I trimmed them to the right length, and as they're synthetic (so, plastic) I used a lighter to melt the ends slightly to make sure they won't fray.

I had the bright idea to also singe the knots, forgetting of course that the glue would be flammable so the whole knot caught fire, but thankfully I reacted quick and blew it out straight away! At least they're very unlikely to come undone now, but please be extremely careful if you choose to do anything involving a naked flame!

I was going to add more eyelets down the sides to make it tighter, but I don't have enough left, and actually it's fairly tight already. I also may do something to the back as there's no print there and it looks a little plain, but for now I'm very happy with this.

[burningchandelier]

How to be Punk; A History

My very talented and wonderful nibling has a birthday coming up and is, perhaps, doing a bit of soulsearching. With that, they wrote to ask me "how to be punk" and I wrote this back. It is longer than they probably bargained for, but anything less would have been a disservice. Please enjoy.

The most important thing about Punk is that it is a frame of mind. A person can be the most teeshirt-and-jeans-wearing, "normal"-looking person on the planet, but if they are devoted to justice for the underdog, anticapitalism, antiracism, feminism, queer rights, and genuinely making the world a better place through action and resistance, then that person is punk as hell.

Punk is about resisting authority, first and foremost. It is about taking labels that are used to hurt us and reclaiming them, turning them into our armor. It is about making your own impact in the world in the way that suits you best, and yes, of course, to a degree it is about fashion and music.

The best way to know where you are going is to know where you have been. You have to understand the history, at least a little, in order to know why things are the way they are.

With that in mind, here is a summary of the past fifty years of Punk. I hope I do okay.

The very word "Punk" itself used to be a slur used against effeminate men perceived to be gay. Back in the early 1970s, a bunch of dudes in England got called punks for wearing tight clothes with lots of safety pins. They turned around and said "Yeah, I am a punk. What are you going to do about it?"

This caught on incredibly fast.

Originally, the punk scene-- that of the early 70s, was a response to the commercialization of Rock and Roll, which had become pretty hack and overproduced, and to Disco, which was just taking off and was not appealing to everyone (I'll get into that another day).

Early punk (Sometimes called "Proto-punk" by people who want to sound like they know a lot, but it's pretentious) is a lot more accessible than people expect it to be!

Check out Iggy Pop and the Stooges, The Velvet Underground, and the New York Dolls for a taste of this era.

But WHAT ABOUT THE SEX PISTOLS!?

Okay. So here's the thing. The sex pistols are garbage. Yes, you have got to listen to Anarchy in the UK and God Save the Queen in order to know anything about anything when it comes to punk, but they were essentially an advertisement for a clothing shop, so they were automatically shills.

The important thing is that they created the Punk Aesthetic that we still know and love. Johnny Rotten was and still is a right-wing piece of shit. Sid Vicious was a garbage human. They wore clothes and made one good album, but I'm willing to admit that they did matter.

So then what happened?

Well, let me introduce you to Joey, Johnny, Dee dee, and Tommy.

The Ramones are where Punk took off and it took off like a bat outta hell.

You still see Ramones logos everywhere and that's for a good reason. It's because they rock. In this era, you also got Black Flag, The Misfits, The Dead Kennedys, The Damned, the list goes on and on (and it's awesome).

The 80s were a tumultuous time, politically and Punk got harder, more intense, more guitar-driven, and the bands had figured out that all you needed to make some incredible music was 4 chords and a message.

Sometimes, that message was awesome. Sometimes that message was total bullshit. Sometimes that message wasn't really a message as much as it was "I want to wreck stuff" but that's still kind of a message, isn't it?

It is worth noting that during this time, Punk was fighting for it's identity and a lot of that fighting included issues of race and gender-- some bands were total fascists and some bands were all about making fun of them. So you have to kind of understand that in order to get what was going on.

This is part of why fashion is SO important in the punk scene. Everything, everything, everything, down to the color of your shoelaces used to mean something specific. A bandana in your pocket could mean how you liked to have sex (and if you were Queer). Your boots could signal if you were a Nazi. Sometimes it wasn't a big deal, but sometimes it was important.

Wait. Nazi Punks?

Oh yeah, honey. There were a lot of Nazi punks in the scene, especially back in the 80s and 90s. That's the whole reason for the song "Nazi Punks Fuck Off."

We had to fight really hard, and continue to fight hard, to keep them out. They have no business in our spaces and in our music.

This sounds bad. I'm not sure if I want to be punk.

That's fair, but here's the thing. Being punk is so so so incredibly worth it (remember that part at the beginning about being anti-authority?) The community and the music and the beliefs are why we do it.

To be fair, if you've made it this far, you're probably in too deep already. Good for you! Keep going!

Okay, so then what happened after the 80s? Well, I know you can count, so you know what's coming next.

Punk took a backseat in the 90s. Grunge happened and Punk became kind of passe. The diehards were out there, slugging it out as always, but things had calmed down. In the West, politics weren't as dire, things seemed kind of hopeful. Punk was still important, but it wasn't what people needed.

That said, there was a rise in more pop-punk sounds that are, let's face it, fucking delightful. This is where we get Greenday, as well as a slew of bands that came into their own a little later on.

This was also the time of Riot Grrrl music, which I will happily tell you all about another time, but for now, we can say that it was the incredibly necessary, fantastic response to the "boys only" sign that alternative music, especially punk, had been hanging for years.

It is also worth noting that Punk, just like most art, is full of hypocrites who don't see their own blind spots. This doesn't make people bad, it just makes them people.

Punk has a long, crappy tradition of ignoring the contributions of women/people perceived as women and people of color even though it would not exist without those individuals.

It is getting much better, but god damn, it has taken a long time.

So then the 2000s happened and shit. went. nuts.

It doesn't really matter if you call it punk, pop-punk, emo, mall-goth, or anything else, but the alternative music scene of the 2000s went off like a bomb and there was no stopping it.

Like the 80s, the political landscape of the West was toxic to self expression, especially for young people who were suffering under the Bush Administration, the culture war against gay marriage, and the real-life wars that America had taken to the Middle East. Punk came back with a vengeance because the kids were not alright.

This punk, though? This punk was a different kind of fun.

This punk was the kind of punk where you were a lot less likely to get beat up and a lot more likely to get a sunburn at Warped Tour.

Making Punk accessible to more people with a broader appeal meant. for some, a watered down message, but for many others it meant being exposed to those messages at all. In my opinion, a net positive.

Did the DIY ethos of anticapitalism that bands like Thursday and My Chemical Romance, and even Fall Out Boy touted in their early days survive being brought to MTV? You have to be the judge of that. I am probably too biased to say, myself.

Into the future we go!

I believe that you need about 15-20 years to reflect on history with a proper degree of distance. It is too hard to pick out trends and important events when you're examining something that happened five to ten years ago, so I won't get into the 2010s or '20s yet.

Just remember that Punk has staying power and adaptability.

So. What makes a person punk? That's up to you.

[skinks]

I got tagged by @rockcandyshrike to do a wee music meme post and I’m gonna follow her example and do my top 10 most RECENT repeated songs because that’s more interesting than just my top 10 repeated songs. gives it a lil summer snapshot. I find that I mostly listen to metal and prog in the winter whereas as soon as the sun is actually warm I remember funk and classical exists lmao

1. Breakwater - Release the Beast

However hard you might imagine this song goes, you’re not ready for it!!! Heard this for the first time before the Coheed show the other night, immediately recognised a part of it being the origin sample for the entire daft punk song “robot rock”. This is so insanely good, and my discovery of it coinciding with actual summer weather means I’ve been blasting it while driving around with my windows down nonstop lmao. You’re welcome fellow citizens. The beast is fucking released

2. Bilmuri - BOUTTA CASHEW

Just because it’s summer doesn’t mean I stop listening to metal and post-hxc… Bilmuri have never failed me except for the fact that they never tour the UK. The danciest tongue-in-cheek bangers this side of dance gavin dance

3. Halogen - U Got That

SPEAKING OF DANCE!! Who among us can resist a house drop when it’s this chonky. I heard this on a tiktok meme shared to tumblr that I had to do like 3 levels of googling to understand because I’m an old woman. But this song makes me actually want to go to a club for the second time ever in my crone life

4. Caroline Polachek - Caroline Shut Up

I had heard a snippet of one of her songs ages ago and it didn’t wow me, but I gave her new album a try and holy moly!! Really interesting acrobatic vocals plus lush dense intricate dramatic varied production… im in love. Even though this is actually from her first album, it’s the best example of what I like about her stuff. She’s like a mix of Bjork and 90s Madonna and Enya and Imogen Heap. And brother I’m nothing if not a Heaphead. Caroline pls come to Scotland

5. Maria Callas - O Mio Babbino Caro

I got this song stuck in my head and of course it’s so hard to sing along to a soprano aria, but I specifically love this Callas version because the way she really takes her time with the phrasing emphasises the longing of it and it makes me cry

6. bel canto - A Shoulder to the Wheel

Recently discovered there’s a name for an artistic aesthetic I have VIVID memory and nostalgia for from the mid-late 90s - the name of the aesthetic is Global Village Coffeehouse. I found a 50 hour gvc playlist on spotify and have been finding banging new music one of which is this song!! I love the propulsive synths and drums and the DRAMA… let it wash over u

7. Chris Rea - On The Beach

It’s got to be this specific single version not the slower album one! My whole life I only knew Rea as the singer of a pretty great xmas song until this April when my beloved pal added this to our Highland roadtrip playlist. If this doesn’t get you feeling like a neon-soaked sweaty lounge-lizard having a hallucinatory tango under a palm tree with a sexy extra from Miami Vice idk what will

8. Aviations - Coma

Is it really a joe skinks music post if there’s not a 10 minute prog metal song………….

I’m hoping their last two singles this year mean we have an imminent album incoming and it’s gonna SLAP as hard as the rest of their output! Aviations embody everything I love most and seek out in my prog metal; super agile clean AND harsh vocals interacting with the extreme amount of syncopation and intricacy in the instrumental arrangements. Aviations use piano in their compositions better than any other prog band I enjoy. I mean listen to this shit it’s beautiful

9. Stereophonics - Pick A Part That’s New

I had a really fun time making a playlist of songs I remember my parents always playing in my childhood, it’s full of a lot of 90s soul and electronic music and also this… whiny britpop. But it surprised me how much fantastic whiny britpop there is

10. Sumerlands - Force of a Storm

My brother introduced me to this album and it truly fucks how much they sound like an old-school Heavy Metal band while being fully contemporary. Like they truly sound like Sabbath or Iron Maiden but with modern production sensibilities. I LOVE the strength of this guy’s voice. Like if this doesn’t make you feel like a barbarian riding a winged steed and brandishing a massive sword against a dragon drawn by Frank Frazetta idk what will. Can u tell fantasising is how I process music

I will tag @shrikestrike @acuzena @lungtile @kitsune-sam @wordssometimesfail @kelsey-arts @erebones and whomstever else wants to… of course nobody has to if they don’t want

[kuwdora]

January 11 - What your three favorite vids you've made (and why)? @aurumcalendula

I can’t do just 3, so you’re gonna get 6, because I’ve made well over 200 vids since I started vidding and it’s very hard to do just 3!

I’m sorting this list into two groups—first favorite group features vids that are my faves that emphasize my love/skill of vidding and love of filmmaking/television, and themes. My favorite vids that execute my vision. And the other favorite group is a small selection of My Fannish Joy.

All I Know (original vidpost) - Aliens films - Xenomorphs POV

This is my collaboration with jb_slasher who brought me the concept of a Xeno POV vid idea and had a few songs/bands in mind. We spent months rewatching and having long email exchanges about the visual elements across all the movies, xeno biology and human survival. It was a really really enriching experience to toss the ideas ball back and forth before I had even made my first clip for the vid. Vidding, like writing, can be a very solitary hobby so yeah, this was really great to work through with lyrical associations and debating the merits of each song and how to create pacing for the vid. How to make all the directorial/lighting differences from the various movies work in one vid. I love this vid, it’s definitely one of my favorites.

Warnings for some flickering lights, lots of violence and mutilation/gore.

This is a very lyric-driven vid, so here is Karnivool's All I Know lyrics here.

Watch on YouTube

Rhythm of the Night (original vidpost) - Paul Verhoeven’s 90s sci-fi films

90s euro club music set to Paul Verhoeven’s 90s films: RoboCop, Total Recall and Starship Troopers. I had been obsessed with all these movies when I was a kid and I really wanted to think about his visual style and the themes he was giving us: militarism and fascist society, the corporatization of people, institutions, and the the commons. Ronny Cox and Michael Ironside playing incredible dickbags. Our protagonists trying to survive.

I wanted make a tribute to the films but also make it dancey because holy fuck might as well because the movies are visually ripe for that (in my eye).

So it’s all stylized and edited with my flair for internal motion and mindful pacing. I love the similarities and parallels across these films, I rewatch this vid a lot. I’m so happy with it turned out. Yes, Total Recall has a woman who has three tits and I’m sure there’s a ton of essays out there about Arnold Schwarzenegger performance in this film but damn. The screenplay went so hard about what life would be like on Mars run by a CEO. Augh, everything about the othering of people, class, and labor. The surveillance state. This was in 1990, ya’ll. It’s so good. And everything with RoboCop and Starship Troopers. Ahhh I love it.

My vid’s YouTube quality is really shitty so download: right-click save as or still stream below.

Warnings for body horror, gore, violence, fascism.

I love my editing in this so much.

Watch on YouTube

Hook Shot (original vidpost) - action heroines fanvid. Multi-source (original vidpost)

Hook Shot is my action tribute to a bunch of women across… I think it was over 60 films? Western films, a few European films, HK action goodies. An instrumental track which I don’t do a lot of because I wanted to focus on action elements instead of lyrical associations. And see how much I could make something flow with so many different films. I love this vid. It was an ordeal to find, download, watch, assess, clip and put this vid together but it was really great to get it to work and flow.

Onward to the action heroines vid!

Fannish Joy favorites:

New Best Friend (original vidpost) - Being Human UK/Good Omens/Killing Eve/Ted Lasso/The Untamed/The Witcher Netflix.

The Sunshine One Loves the Grumpy One. My grab bag of shows/pairings that I have loved and could not resist. Especially the fact that I had three sources where the grumpy one was taking a bath and the sunshine one was present!

This is my heart’s joy okay and I love it a lot. I have hearts in my eyes for my vid. This features my humor, my fannish proclivities for these kinds of dynamics. Plus I have been wanting to vid Neon Trees music since I first heard them live. I had an inordinate amount of fun playing with the Wei Wuxian and Jaskier parallels, lmao. And also accidental child acquisition tropes. Did I mention the NUMEROUS bath scenes??

Wild Green Yonder (original vidpost) - Shrek/The Witcher Netflix/Hexer. Also on tumblr.

I love trying to put together disparate pan-canon sources. So this is The Witcher Netflix and Hexer (the 90s Polish TV show based on the Witcher books). As well as Shrek because I was inspired by a ton of gifsets on tumblr and I had to go the extra mile for a Yennefer/Geralt/Jaskier thing to parallel with Fiona/Shrek/Donkey. Using The Amazing Devil song Wild Blue Yonder. (For the non-witcher people the male vocalist is the babyfaced bard character in the vid, aka the Live Action Donkey of the OT3 fantasy/fanon-y trope dynamic). These are all nominally the same kind of characters and I just couldn’t resist playing with this fun take on them.

I like what I like, and love what I love. And I love the Witcher Netflix and yes what Hexer does with its own take on the books too. And this is my own take on all of it, fannish joy and squee. Also my secret agenda to get Yennskiers on the Donkey/Fiona shipping bandwagon.

Favorite things about this: everything, but especially Donkey and Jaskier watching Shrek/Fiona and Yen/Geralt mid-coitus, and starting at 0:49 sleep-deprived Geralt fishing for a djinn while Shrek is literally pulling out a make-a-wish calling card. C’mon. I love. It.

I also love playing with two vocalists for the POV in the same vid. I’d never done that before so it was great to play with Madeline and Joey’s voices for Yen/Fiona and Jaskier/Donkey.

Also curly haired Yen, my beloved. Mmmm.

Bright Star (original vidpost) - Jupiter Ascending

Jupiter Ascending was certainly A Movie. I’m not sure 13 year old me would have truly free enough to embrace it like I wish I could have at the time. But I was not 13 when I made this. I used the 1999 VMA performance of Britney Spears and NSYNC which I really loved at the the song came but. I kind of feel like I fannishly ascended with my love for this vid. I am Beyond Cringe and am now Harbinger of Squee and the Things I Enjoy. The comments on the original vid post are really the best and some of my favorite. I love everyone who joins me in this bar, even if it isn’t your thing, lmao.

The YouTube stream is kind of shitty so here’s a download link to the mp4 file.

This one is my favorite because it makes me grin for how silly it is and how perfect it is in my heart.

And there you have it, 6 of my favorite vids. Ask me again in six months and I can probably give you a different set of vids, ahah.

January posting meme + claim a date - prompt me.

[sunburnacoustic]

1, 16, 19, 21, 34, 35, and 48 😊

Hi @domwhoreward!! Thanks for this, it was fun, it was hard! It gave me an excuse to think about Muse a lot :P

1. What's your favourite live performance?

It’s so hard to pick… I will try answering this as favourite live shows in general, and specific songs I thought were freakishly good at a particular gig. I can't say any one is my one-and-only favourite because as soon as I hit publish, something else will land into my head and I won't be able to pick 😅

I think New Born live at the Mayan in 2015 is contender for one of the best recent live performances of the song, and the Mayan for one of their best live gigs overall! Pitch perfect. That show took my breath away. It’s also got the coolest outro on Assassin that is so heavy and just bonkers good, and Chris' backing vocals on Apocalypse Please (!!). Good gig. Everything about this gig was great. Madness live in the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge, 2012! Popcorn on Taratata, just because they’re having so much fun it makes the performance 25x more fun to watch! Space Dementia live at Pinkpop 2002! One day I will go digging and find that clip again, but Matt had the smuggest grin on his face having nailed that piano chorus outro. Showoff lol. They were excellent at that show! And of course, Glastonbury 2004. Wembley 2007. Unmatched quality. They're an excellent live band; like 97% of their gigs are of the quality that most bands would clamour to call the pinnacle of their own careers. It's a normal night for Muse. No one comes close.

(This Warchild UK performance is a strong contender too)

[This isn't technically a live gig but an in-store signing session, but I can see the raised eyebrows coming if I don't mention it because it is literally in my url for a reason - 1999 HMV Bristol in-store acoustic set. Sunburn, Cave, Muscle Museum. So good.]

16. Favourite Chris pic?

Ooh, this q is just asking for a Chris photo dump!

Some silly and cute baby era pics I really like!

Chris goth girl era from when Muse were in school (from the Origin of Muse booklet!)

Look at Chris swinging about!

Babysitting Matt with an NME award, what a sweetheart. Just want to mention what the article reviewing one of these gigs said: "While many gigs have ended with the guitars being thrown into the drums, this is the first time I've seen the bassist throw the guitarist at the drums." He big.

And just generally, smiley Chris pics are the best! Some other assorted pics from gigs and such that I like:

The drama in the first two! And Chris looking out for Dom, and just chilling with the band ♥️♥️

One of my absolute favourites though, and I’m biased towards this because Time Is Running Out at Wembley was one of the earliest Muse performances I saw when I first got into the band— this cemented my love for them! It’s got to be the moment at the end of the extended improvised Jimmy Jam riff intro to TIRO where Chris lifts his bass and points it to the crowd. Instantly changed my life. Infinitely cool. You want to be him. So that (series of image frames put into a gif) is my favourite picture of Chris!

Honorary mention: your pictures of Chris from this tour, which are excellent!!

19. Favourite photoshoot of the band?

I am a little crazy about most of their Black Holes era promotional work! That coordinated black-and-white shirts and coat jackets with braces look was such a vibe:

One of my favourites out of those is this surreal artsy photoshoot they did where they all pretended to have died (Dom probably did the most realistic job of it… Matt and Chris just looked like peacefully sleeping angels lol)

This Q photoshoot, of course:

Pink shirt photoshoot:

This one photoshoot, I don’t know when it’s from exactly but I loved the composition of it. Blue skies overhead, band unbothered, Matt in aviators. Lovely vibe, I had it in a folder of pictures I meant to print as posters for the longest time when I was younger!

And this one Resistance era photoshoot (that ended up on the album sleeve). I so badly wanted this as the full-length poster, but I was one era too late to the band. This one's my favourite!

21. Favourite wtf moment in an interview?

A few lol. The whole entire 2011 NME awards drunk interview (he's heading for gweatness, he's getting there but it's an uphill stwuggle), "pair of pink fluffy handcuffs" interview, "come to our gigs, anything could happen, I could kill Dom, I could get naked and fuck Chris" interview, "Dom's still doing lines of coke off models' tits" interview, deflated balls interview, fan interview where Matt insisted on having the socks the fans gifted them, and on the topic of socks:

(I have hit the 30 image limit, incredibly; I answered this last)

All the shit he said in Black Holes-era interviews... ([On being asked if the Queen was hot] "You know, when she was younger, in her prime. She might not look great on the £50 note, but she had her glory days.")

There are so many with this band!

34. Have you met any of the band (/if not, any favourite fan interaction/gig stories)?

Haven't met the band unfortunately, I'd be a changed person if I did I think. Meeting Muse will fix me (<- lies; it will break up and shake up my entire core I think).

But the gifts fans give them are always a favourite moment of mine! The fan giving Dom the Slipknot mask that gave us "sit the fuck down!" (well, she actually gave it to Matt, but he passed it on to Dom). The various shirts with edits of Dom fans have gifted Matt that he's worn on the road.

My favourite live interactions: when Muse interact with the crowd, play to them, smile at them (especially when Matt sings Starlight straight to fans in the front!), when they come down to the barricade. Chris going crowdsurfing at Glastonbury 2004.

These moments:

This last one isn't an interaction per se, but while we're on the subject of fans I must add this because it melts my heart into a puddle on the floor:

35. Favourite Muse moment that's overused in the fandom to literal meme status (e.g. fuck off you cunt, Soldier's Poem was on Absolution, anything at all from Panic Station, Hey You Crazy Kids!, etc.)

I am not immune to a bit of

To this day I still use Matt/Chris/Dom from Muse as my tag for all their silly moments and shenanigans because it still cracks me up, every single time. I've never been able to watch this video with a straight face, it'll never be overused to me 😅

48. Have you made friends through Muse fan communities?

😊😊😊😊😊♥️♥️♥️ yes, I have! I met all of you, had the best gig of my life, and made some amazing friends that have stuck by me outside of just Muse fan-ning together!

[noweverybodysdead]

ABOUT BFIAFL (to spare you the time to look for people saying the same thing over and over again)

Matty Healy taps Jack Antonoff to help produce a concise, meaningful, pop-focused album about love. It’s cliché, it’s obvious, it’s slyly profound—it’s the 1975. (Pitchfork)

The band have given up irony and bombast in favour of heartfelt snapshots of millennial life – though, as ever, frontman Matty Healy can’t quite resist going too far. (the Guardian, 4/5 stars)

Finally, an album that leaves us wanting more. This new record is half the size of its messy 2020 predecessor, and all the better for it. (Evening Standard)

There’s also a feeling that the band have less to prove this time around, and this combination of nonchalance and unapologetic earnestness shapes a considerable chunk of the album. As such, Being Funny… offers the closest thing you’ll find to a definitive snapshot of The 1975: multifaceted, self-analytical, occasionally hyperactive, but through it all, disarmingly sincere. (Hot Press, 7/10)

The 1975 ‘Being Funny in a Foreign Language’ review: a true return to form. Generational rallying cries are replaced by dick jokes and tender romance on the band’s most straight-forward album yet.[...] They make the funkiest, catchiest pop songs they could write, set over Healy’s increasingly natural and comfortable lyricism. (Rolling Stone UK, 4/5 stars)

Combining the band’s slightly sidelined knack for writing huge, immediately memorable pop bangers with the more complex, neurotic lyrical voice of The 1975’s more recent releases, ‘Being Funny In A Foreign Language’ feels like the right next step after pushing experimental excess to its logical conclusion, and is comparatively lean with just eleven tracks to its name. The 1975: At Their Very Best – the lofty, and slightly tongue-in-cheek title they’ve given to their upcoming tour – might be infuriatingly, brilliantly cocky, but let’s face facts: it’s also pretty accurate. (NME, 4/5 stars)

[gerogerigaogaigar]

B-52's - s/t

Is there anything more sincere, unfettered by societal norms, and relentlessly fun that the B-52's debut album? So much of the lyricism is extremely esoteric, almost certainly in jokes between the band members. The album makes no effort to explain and it's better to just lose yourself in the nonsense. Like what the fuck is Planet Claire about? Who cares? There's a moon in the sky and it's called the moon! Analyze that! Fred Schneider and Kate Pierson have the most iconic vocals of all time. Pierson has like a million octave range and Schneider's uh wikipedia calls it sprechgesang which is very funny to me, but his delivery is so beloved that I don't think anyone can resist giving it a go from time to time. The album is a manic daze the music bounces around stuck between hyper modern (for the time) new wave and deeply anachronistic 50s and 60s throwbacks like the surf rock on the monster hit Rock Lobster. Unfettered, unhinged, this album is pure and perfect camp.

The Beatles - Meet The Beatles

Why on earth would you choose the US version instead of the obviously superior UK release? Listen I'll compromise by listening to the three songs from Meet that aren't on With but then I'm just going to listen to With The Beatles because fuck you I like their covers. Their version of Please Mister Postman is great and so is their Money (That's What I Want). With The Beatles is basically just a slightly more polished and more consistent take on the sound of their first album. I think they fell off a bit with A Hard Days Night too so the inclusion of more covers and more rock and roll style shit is exactly what I want. Basically fuck the haters early Beatles is camp I like it.

Robyn - Body Talk

A lot of people really vibe with this kind of glossy candy-coated pop but all I hear is a lot of thumping with little meaningful artistic direction. The least interesting parts of Ke$ha and Lady Gaga distilled into a slurry of commercially viable pop music whose sole redeeming feature is a handful of good beats.

Leonard Cohen - Songs Of Leonard Cohen

Already an established poet by the time he decided to pick up the guitar it could be argued that Leonard Cohen was a little too literate to be a successful musician. His debut definitely gives that impression, although his evocative language and simple but effective guitar work definitely won over listeners in the end. Suzanne, the first track from his first album was his largest hit until hallelujah in the 80s and I think that's largely because it has a melody that you can hum. To me the best of it is when Cohen is allowed to just sing and play guitar with little to no embellishment. The lyricism is the main draw after all. The songs of isolation, of lovers having to say goodbye, of people lost in a large world. Cohen is a masterful songwriter but certainly a perpetual downer and might scan as pretentious to some. This is one of those albums that fantastic within it's niche but might not be for everyone.

Michael Jackson - Bad

Man I know Thriller is gonna be like super high on this list but Bad is absolutely my favorite Michael Jackson record. It's just banger after banger. The hits alone are bonkers Bad, The Way You Make Me Feel, Man In The Mirror, Smooth Criminal. But oh man the deep cuts are great too, in fact Speed Demon might be my favorite just for that goofy little synth bass run. The album is just bubblier and sillier than his previous work. It's extremely 80s with synths everywhere never trying to hide from what it is. There is simply no way to avoided bopping along to the whole album, it's just so goddamn enjoyable.

[novumtimes]

Robbie Williams cant resist Noel Gallagher jibe as he praises Oasis reunion

Robbie Williams thinks Oasis’ reunion will be a “healing moment” for the UK – but couldn’t resist taking a swipe at Noel Gallagher. The ‘Angels’ singer famously fell out with the guitarist and his brother Liam Gallagher in the late 1990s, but he is still pleased the pair have reconciled and will put on a great show. However, the 50-year-old star believes it Liam that will make the concerts memorable. He wrote on Instagram: “As ‘Namaste’ as it may sound Oasis getting back together is going to be a healing moment for our country. “Liam Gallagher reading his phone on the toilet would be more charismatic and intriguing than 99.9% of the world’s population at their most enigmatic. All he has to do is stand there and sing for the audience to be guaranteed their money’s worth. Noel will be there too.” Oasis split in 2009 due to the rift between Liam and Noel, with the brothers subsequently exchanging numerous public jibes over the years, so Robbie has predicted the pair getting together again will make for a fascinating “soap opera”. He mused: “What do I think? I think it’s f****** brilliant. I also think it’s fascinating. The soap opera alone will either be exciting and or ghoulish to watch. “For start off, how do you insure that tour? Is it uninsurable? And is there a clause for unresolved childhood trauma rearing its head and making the space between and around the boys untenable? “Are the insurers rubbing their hands or s******* themselves?” And while the ‘Candy’ singer expects the gigs to be “incredible”, he believes a large part of that is due to the band’s fans. He continued: “As for the shows? They’re gonna be incredible, off the scale special, the audience will make sure of that, they have pre-booked an experience. And they will do all of the heavy lifting. They ARE the experience. “It will be more about the audience than the band and the songs, the band and the songs already did the work. The band could be inanimate objects and it wouldn’t matter.” Robbie and Liam were once the best of friends in 1995 after the pop star quit Take That, and they spent a weekend of soul-searching together at Glastonbury festival in Somerset, South West England. However, that didn’t last long after Noel called the ‘Let Me Entertain You’ hitmaker “the fat dancer from Take That”. Robbie soon got his own back and sent a wreath to the Oasis brothers after his concerts in 2003 at Knebworth, Hertfordshire beat their record for the venue by selling out three shows in a row. A few years later, Liam started dating Nicole Appleton – who was Robbie’s ex-girlfriend – and during an appearance at the BRIT Awards in 2000, his former friend offered to fight the ‘Wonderwall’ singer for £100,000. And it seems the drama will feature in Robbie’s upcoming biopic ‘Better Man’. He concluded: “PS. Oasis are in my new movie. I think they come over well in it.” Source link via The Novum Times

[boxstepfitness]

Discover the Best Gym Equipment Deals with Box Step Fitness

Are you on the hunt for the best gym equipment deals? Look no further! Whether you're outfitting a commercial gym or upgrading your home workout space, finding the right equipment at the right price can make all the difference. At Box Step Fitness, we understand that quality and affordability should go hand in hand, which is why we are proud to offer some of the best gym equipment deals in the UK and Europe.

As a Liverpool-based company specializing in both residential and commercial gym equipment, we’ve made it our mission to provide top-tier products that meet the diverse needs of our customers. From seasoned fitness enthusiasts to beginners, our range of high-quality equipment ensures that everyone can find something that suits their fitness journey.

Why Choose Box Step Fitness?

When it comes to gym equipment, quality is non-negotiable. At Box Step Fitness, we don’t just sell gym equipment; we manufacture it. This gives us full control over the quality and design of every piece, ensuring that our customers receive nothing but the best. Whether you're looking for durable commercial equipment or something more compact for your home gym, we have something for everyone.

But it’s not just about quality – it’s also about value. We offer some of the best gym equipment deals you’ll find anywhere. By cutting out the middleman and selling directly to you, we can provide top-quality equipment at unbeatable prices. Plus, with our extensive range, you can be sure to find exactly what you need to create the perfect workout space.

Explore Our Extensive Range

At Box Step Fitness, we pride ourselves on offering a comprehensive selection of gym equipment. Our collection includes everything from the basics like dumbbells and resistance bands to advanced machines like spin bikes and multi-gyms. Here’s a quick look at some of the must-have items available in our store:

Dumbbells: A staple in any gym, our dumbbells come in various weights and styles, perfect for everything from strength training to aerobic exercises.

Spin Bikes: Looking for a high-intensity cardio option? Our spin bikes are designed for durability and performance, providing a smooth and challenging ride every time.

Treadmills: Whether you’re a sprinter or a long-distance runner, our treadmills offer the latest technology and features to keep you motivated and on track with your fitness goals.

Weight Benches: Essential for strength training, our weight benches are sturdy and adjustable, allowing you to perform a wide range of exercises safely and effectively.

Multi-Gyms: For those who want an all-in-one solution, our multi-gyms offer versatility and convenience, enabling you to perform numerous exercises without needing multiple machines.

And that’s just the beginning! Our collection is constantly evolving, with new products being added regularly. We are committed to bringing you the latest innovations in fitness equipment, all while ensuring you get the best gym equipment deals possible.

Why Our Deals Are the Best

So, what makes our deals the best? It’s simple – we combine quality, variety, and affordability like no one else. We understand that investing in gym equipment can be a significant expense, which is why we work hard to offer products that not only meet the highest standards but also come at prices that won’t break the bank.

Whether you're a personal trainer looking to outfit your studio or a homeowner wanting to create the ultimate workout space, our best gym equipment deals make it easy to find what you need at a price you’ll love. Plus, with our easy online shopping experience and fast delivery across the UK and Europe, getting your hands on top-quality gym equipment has never been easier.

Final Thoughts

At Box Step Fitness, we’re more than just a gym equipment supplier – we’re your partner in achieving fitness success. Our commitment to quality, coupled with our unbeatable prices, makes us the go-to choice for anyone looking for the best gym equipment deals. So why wait? Explore our collection today and take the first step towards creating the perfect gym setup, whether it’s in your home, your studio, or your commercial space.

With Box Step Fitness, you're not just getting equipment – you're getting the best deals on the best products, guaranteed.

[cherrylng]

100 Albums To Understand Muse - Part 5 [STYLE Series #004 - Muse (August 2010)]

GONG Flying Teapot (1973) French progressive band led by David Allen. The trippy sound developed on a grand scale is often described as ‘space rock’. This album also features Steve Hillage's skillful guitar playing. A sound attraction aptly described as ‘music to be experienced’. -M

INTERPOL Our Love To Admire (2007) Pioneers of the post-punk revival of the 00s, hailing from New York but strongly influenced by UK new wave (Joy Division, Echo and the Bunnymen, etc.). This third album is based around a conventional sharp sound that blends dark wave and neo-psychedelic music, but with Rich Costey as producer, the overall grandeur and glamour of the band is amplified. -I

JANE'S ADDICTION Nothing's Shocking (1988) The style of Jane's Addiction, which is based on heavy rock and sprinkled with extreme colour psychedelia, is similar to Matthew's, including Perry Farrell's outlandish metamorphosis. The music, the staging, every part of the band is just sparkling and flashy. No wonder Matthew used their eccentricity as a reference. -J

JEFF BUCKLEY Grace (1994) A New York singer/songwriter who disappeared into the Mississippi tributaries at the young age of 30 with only one album to his name. His father was singer Tim Buckley. Matthew cites him as the one who removed his resistance to singing in falsetto, and even played the intro to the title track on a French radio programme. -H

THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN Psychocandy (1985) A fusion of sweet pop melodies and distorted, eardrum-pounding, violent guitar noise. The debut album from the Glaswegian band led by the Reid brothers, who caused a stir at the time with their innovative approach. A historic work that influenced many later bands and movements such as shoegaze and grunge. -I

JIMI HENDRIX Axis: Bold As Love (1967) As a guitarist, Jimi was a tremendous influence on Matthew. A ‘genius’ who has never existed before or since in rock history. Of Jimi, Matthew says: "He was a genius, but he wasn't afraid to fail. I think that sincerity is a lot better than just playing perfectly". This is his second album as part of the trilogy of the Jimi Hendrix Experience. -K

JIMMY EAT WORLD Bleed American (2001) Arizona four-piece who have supported Muse on tour. Although the band is often introduced as emo, it should be pointed out again that, along with the Foo Fighters, they became the template for rock in the 2000s. Their third album is one of their best-known works, and is packed with great songs such as ‘Sweetness’ and others that are both fast-paced and poignant! -T

JOSE CURA, OLGA BORODINA, COLIN DAVIS & LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Saint-Saens: Samson Et Dalila (1998) Inserted in ‘I Belong to You’ is the famous aria from the opera Samson et Dalila, ‘Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix / My heart opens at the sound of your voice’. Matthew, a romanticist, has a typical sense of humour. Delilah is a hit role for Olga Borodina, and Samson is a profound listening experience with Jose Cura, who is very popular in Japan. Highly recommended. -M

[builderblast22]

What is Sign Banding and What's the Best Way to Use It?

Sign banding, often referred to as strapping or banding tape, is an essential material used for a variety of applications across different industries. It comprises a flexible strip made from durable materials such as steel, nylon, or polyester, which is employed to secure items together or affix them to surfaces. This detailed blog provides info about what sign banding is, its various uses, common mistakes, and the proper techniques for its application. I'll also go through the benefits of sign banding and introduce BS Fixings, a prominent supplier in the UK that offers a wide range of building and fixing materials.

What is Sign Banding?

Sign banding is a versatile and robust material designed to hold objects securely or attach signs to various surfaces. It comes in different forms, such as:

Steel Banding: Known for its strength and durability, often used in heavy-duty applications like bundling large items or securing signage in construction.

Nylon Banding: Lightweight and flexible, ideal for lighter-duty tasks and indoor applications where corrosion resistance is crucial.

Polyester Banding: Offers a good balance of strength and flexibility, commonly used in packaging and logistics.

Each type of sign banding material has its unique properties, making it suitable for specific tasks and environments.

What is Sign Banding Used For?

Sign banding serves several critical functions across multiple industries:

1. Securing Signs

Mounting: Banding is used to fasten signs to posts, walls, or other surfaces. It ensures that the sign remains in place even in adverse weather conditions.

Temporary or Permanent Fixtures: Depending on the project, sign banding can provide either a temporary or permanent solution for displaying signage.

2. Bundling Items

Pipes and Cables: Sign banding is effective for bundling pipes, cables, and other materials together, making handling and transportation more manageable.

Building Materials: In construction, it helps keep materials like timber and metal pipes neatly bundled and organised.

3. Packaging

Secure Packaging: Banding is used to secure packages and pallets for shipment, ensuring they do not come apart during transit.

Load Stabilisation: It can also stabilise loads to prevent shifting and potential damage during transportation.

4. Temporary Fixes

Construction Applications: Sign banding is frequently used in construction to temporarily hold materials in place while permanent fixtures are being installed.

Incorrect Ways of Using Sign Banding

Incorrect application of sign banding can lead to various issues, compromising both safety and effectiveness. Here are some common mistakes:

1. Insufficient Tension

Loose Banding: If sign banding is not tightened adequately, it may become loose over time, causing the sign or bundled items to shift or fall. This can result in damage or safety hazards.

2. Sharp Edges

Cutting Errors: Improperly cut banding can have sharp edges that pose a risk of injury to those handling it. Sharp edges can also damage other materials or surfaces.

3. Over-Tensioning

Damage Risk: Applying too much tension when securing items can lead to deformation or damage of the objects being secured. It can also cause stress on the banding material, leading to potential failure.

4. Inappropriate Material Use

Wrong Type: Using the wrong type of banding material for a specific application (e.g., using nylon banding for heavy-duty tasks) can lead to inadequate performance and possible failure.

How to Use Sign Banding Properly

To ensure optimal performance and safety when using sign banding, follow these detailed steps:

1. Preparation

Surface Check: Ensure that the surface where the banding will be applied is clean, dry, and free of debris. Any dirt or moisture can affect the adhesion and performance of the banding.

Material Selection: Choose the appropriate type and size of banding for your specific application. Consider the weight and nature of the items being secured.

2. Cutting

Tools: Use proper cutting tools designed for the specific type of banding you are working with. For steel banding, a band cutter is required, while nylon or polyester may require heavy-duty scissors.

Smooth Edges: After cutting, ensure the edges are smooth to prevent injuries and potential damage to other materials.

3. Installation

Wrapping: Wrap the banding around the item or surface evenly. Ensure it is centred and aligned properly to distribute tension uniformly.

Securing: Use a buckle or clamp to secure the banding in place. Make sure the buckle is correctly positioned to prevent slippage.

4. Tensioning

Tool Use: Employ a tensioning tool to apply the correct amount of tension. Follow the manufacturer’s guidelines for tension levels to avoid over-tightening.

Checking: After tensioning, check to ensure that the banding is snug and secure, with no loose areas.

5. Safety

Edge Handling: Trim any excess banding carefully to avoid sharp edges. Consider using protective tape or covers for added safety.

Wear Protective Gear: When handling sign banding, wear gloves and other protective gear to prevent injury.

Benefits of Sign Banding

Sign banding offers numerous advantages across various applications:

1. Strength and Durability

Robust Hold: The strength of banding materials like steel ensures a secure hold for heavy items and signage.

Long-Lasting: Properly applied banding provides long-term durability, making it ideal for both temporary and permanent installations.

2. Versatility

Multiple Uses: From securing signage to bundling materials and packaging, sign banding’s versatility makes it a valuable tool in many industries.

Adaptability: Available in different materials and sizes, it can be adapted to suit a wide range of tasks.

3. Ease of Use

Simple Application: Banding is easy to apply with basic tools, making it accessible for both professionals and DIY enthusiasts.

Adjustable: Banding can be adjusted and repositioned if necessary, providing flexibility during installation.

4. Cost-Effectiveness

Affordable: Sign banding is a cost-effective solution compared to alternatives like welding or adhesive solutions. Its affordability makes it a popular choice for budget-conscious projects.

BS Fixings Overview

BS Fixings, a sub-group of BS Stainless Ltd., is a leading supplier of a broad range of building, fixing, painting, and decorating materials in the UK. They offer an extensive selection of products, including stainless steel banding, fixings, sealants, and tools, designed to meet the diverse needs of construction professionals, decorators, and DIY enthusiasts.

BS Fixings prides itself on providing high-quality materials that ensure durability and reliability in various applications. Their knowledgeable team is dedicated to assisting customers in finding the right products for their projects, whether large-scale construction jobs or small home improvements. For more information and to explore their product offerings, visit BS Fixings.

End Note

Sign banding is a crucial tool for securing items and mounting signage across multiple industries. By understanding its proper use and benefits, you can ensure effective and safe application. BS Fixings, with its extensive range of building and fixing materials, provides valuable resources for all your project needs. Investing in high-quality sign banding and using it correctly will enhance both the safety and efficiency of your tasks.

[kickmag]

Throwback: Bob Marley and the Wailers-Lively Up Yourself

Bob Marley and the Wailer's "Lively Up Yourself" first appeared on their 1974 album, Natty Dread. The song was first recorded in 1973 and reflected the band's political and spiritual growth as they got deeper into Rastafarianism. The religion refers to God as Jah and the followers call the customs livity hence the title "Lively Up Yourself." The reggae ska beat and Al Anderson's bluesy guitar lick kicked off the celebratory feeling of community, cannabis, and resisting colonial rule. Natty Dread did well in the UK before reaching other parts of the world and it was the first album Marley recorded without Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer. "Lively Up Yourself" also appeared on their 1975 Live! album and many fans have argued that it is the best version. Natty Dread was remastered and re-released with a bonus track in 2001. The Reinaldo Marcus Green-directed biopic Bob Marley: One Love will be released in theaters on February 14, 2024.