#but also fuck brian slade

[didntyoubelieveinme]

word vomiting for the 25th about the scene ever that i will forever care about till the end of time

A big idea in velvet goldmine is that we’re seeing everything from an outside (arthur stuart) perspective. We will never fully see from these characters perspectives because we are not them and never will be. If you’re not really paying attention to the movie, it becomes easy to interpret curt and brian’s relationship as superficial but with these short moments, you see how that might not be the case.

Everytime curt and brian have some form of genuine intimacy, the movie makes it a point to take it off screen, almost to preserve the privacy of their actual relationship. Them leaving the orgy to somewhere more private, us only getting two momentary scenes of their holiday together, and their fight being private up until the last second. Jerry makes them have this public image, but their actual relationship is just for them and no one else.

Bringing the conversation back to the holiday, this scene actually kills me. It’s this small short moment of them just standing there together, holding each other. It’s not for show, no one else is there, it’s just them, this is just for their own comfort. This scene solidifies their relationship in concrete. We don’t need to see the whole thing to see how visibly tender they are with each other. This is their private little getaway together, we only get a few seconds because this isn’t ours to see, this isn’t ours to ruin.

Another thing i think is important about this scene is that it shows that this relationship isn’t one sided. Even though brian was the one that gave up on the relationship, there was a point in time where he loved curt. and while people may not agree with me on that, i think it just makes everything a whole lot sadder, because his fame did truly take everything from him. I also find this crazy because he has a whole wife????

and obviously the most important part, THEY DYED EACH OTHER HAIR!!!! THEY GOT HAIRCUTS AND HAIRDYEE!!!! THEY CHNAGRD THEIR HAIR TOGETHER!!!! 😭😭😭😭😭😭😪😪😪😪

[loplainlointhemorning]

i fully believe mandy becomes a fashion photographer/designer (remaining underground), jack keeps doing his weird cabaret gay shit & making ambient albums & all that, the flaming creatures actually are a gothrock STAPLE & are “wildly underappreciated” (but still very successful in musician terms), & then ofc you have Brian who’s like making millions and everybody hates him but I love him. also he never goes conservative on us bc he can’t do that. he just doesn’t openly talk abt being bisexual anymore and then when shit opens up in the 90’s he’s like i love men so jot that down. I think the group wouldn’t want to reconnect with Brian bc they don’t want to be associated with his level of success but everybody still wants to hang out with Curt so lowkey they get way more exposure than they want & Brian can only apologize via favors & gift-giving so he’s like Mandy let me get you New York Fashion week. and how can she say no to that. and then it slaps

[unalivejournal]

imagine a tumblr simulator set in the velvet goldmine universe lmfao

2 notes

🎹 wilderatz Follow

DNI if you still support br*an sl*de after the shooting hoax. what he did was fucking unacceptable and pathetic. the panic and heartbreak on the dashboard that day was absolutely traumatizing. and the fact that it was all for cheap publicity makes it even more despicable. if you HAVE to listen to his records the least you could do is buy them secondhand

#so glad curt never cut that record with him

186 notes

⭐️ glittersisgay

i got new boots! seeing the flaming creatures tonight :-) life is good

4 notes

👨🏻‍❤️‍💋‍👨🏼 wildemons Follow

sorry but the sladewild narrative is CRAAAAZY. like imagine you start off as a nobody performer and becoming enthralled by this rockstar after he shows up your act and you end up becoming famous by being inspired by his stage presence AND YOU BECOME FAMOUS ENOIGH TO GO TO AMERICA AND MEET THIS GUY AND YOUR LABELS START FABRICATING A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN U TWO TO GENERATE PUBLICITY FOR YOUR NEW ALBUM BUT THEN YOU ACTUALLY FALL IN LOVE AND HAVE TO KEEP IT A SECRET BUT THEN THE PAPARAZZI FINDS OUT AND YOU HAVE A HUGE FALLING OUT BUT THEN A FEW WEEKS LATER YOURE SPOTTED IN THE CROWD AT THE DEATH TO GLITTER SHOW

♻️ 🦷 roxytunes Follow

lmfao WHAT are you talking about. swear to god i’m sick of you invasive freaks trying to make things up about real peoples lives. the part about the labels trying to market slade and wild as a couple isn’t even true. yes they were heavily publicized as close friends but they never admitted to being in a relationship. also receipts on brian being at the death to glitter show???? stop spreading false information

♻️ 👨🏻‍❤️‍💋‍👨🏼 wildemons Follow

anyways watch out for my new sladewild maxwell demon tour era fic that will be published in my next zine 💋

#my mutual was literally next to him in the crowd.

58 notes

🪩 girlboydragdemon

at the Sombrero Club with the glamrocktuals YAYYYY

♻️ 🪩 girlboydragdemon

Hangover.

#we may have made. mistakes. #also we think brian slade’s former manager was in the booth behind us

11 notes

🌟 venusinpurrs

♻️ 🎸 balladofmaxwellsemen Follow

WHY ARE WE PITTING THREE BAD BITCHES AGAINST EACH OTHER

♻️🌟 venusinpurrs

better question WHY ARE VENUS IN FURS LOSING GUYS CMON ITS OBVIOUSLY THE RATS

♻️🌟 venusinpurrs

do you people hate dykes

244 notes

💋 jack-fairy-fan51 Follow

Anyone else feel like this Tommy stone guy showed up out of nowhere?

6 notes

❇️ 20th-cxntury-bxy

Well…. it’s been a fun time on the road with Malcolm & co. (@/theflamingcreatures) but in the months following the hoax and the death to glitter tribute I’ve been feeling more and more inclined to move on. idk. i know there’s still an active tumblr community but in the real life scene it feels like everyone’s just…. given up. I’ll be starting a new job soon and won’t have a lot of time to post. Might delete this blog in the near future. remember to support local shows and keep being yourself

#a.journal

0 notes

👨‍🎤 lipstickkissedelbowglove

word on the street is that mandy slade divorced brian???? lmao get his ass

♻️👨‍🎤 lipstickkissedelbowglove

[#finally i have a chance with her]

you’re funny if you think any of us on this site have an inkling of a chance with her

2,658 notes

🎸 balladofmaxwellsemen Follow

Just found this on the sidewalk. does anyone know what it is?

7 notes

[mangle-my-mind]

Thoughts on Curt and Image

(taken from conversations I had with @holy-loki and @silverfactory forever ago)

Part of why Curt is my favorite character in Velvet Goldmine is because of how complicated his identity with fame, image, and the glam concept of artifice is in the film. Curt's relationship to the glam movement is not straightforward. He has as much to resent about the scene as he does to be grateful for it. A quote from @holy-loki: "That space that helped you fucking fly is the very thing stranding you up there."

Curt has Brian (and the glam scene, by extension) to thank for helping him out of the "skids" his career was in. He was struggling professionally, "between management", and working through addiction recovery. Brian swooped in and gave him a lifeline, a purpose, and security as a musician. Who knows what would've happened to Curt's trajectory without Brian's help?

The glam scene in general was also the one community where his crude, loud, sexual, bright self has been accepted and celebrated. Hippies aren't throwing bottles at him anymore; instead, the glitter kids are clamoring to reach out and touch him. But this celebration is a double-edged sword.

Curt's "claim to fame" is not just his music, but his performance, his image, his mythology. He's known for his onstage antics, his "wildness", the "raised-by-wolves" legend as well as the abuse and EST that traumatized his childhood. He's celebrated for actively destroying himself: jumping over fire, throwing himself onto the stage, flying into the crowd. All these things are the parts of him the public is enraptured by. It's what Brian was enraptured by when he first saw him. And it sets up impossible standards to live up to.

How do you deal with a scene that can only accept one ultra-heightened specific version of yourself? In Curt's case, he bristled at it. He didn't wholly buy into the fantasy. When Brian "saved" him, he brought him into a fanciful, stylized glam world, one that Curt wouldn't mold to. And Brian was confused that this person, well-known for doing whatever the fuck he wants, wouldn't model himself after a mannequin ideal Brian had of him.

My favorite example is the circus press conference scene. Curt has an incredible (and very hot) fourth-wall break, turning over his shoulder to stare at us. I just imagine him saying "Are you guys seeing this?" He recognizes this glam scene for the artifice and ridiculousness that it is, and he won't subscribe to it. So even though glam gave him a place to shine, it also only wanted one version of his authentic self. He can't be a wholehearted part of it, because it doesn't care about every part of him.

Brian found stardom specifically through legend. He's twice-removed from his public image (Maxwell Demon isn't his original name, and neither is Brian Slade; in the 80s, he becomes three-times-removed). He has a gaggle of employees specifically crafting a public persona for him. His on-stage performances are just that: well-crafted, meticulous performances. I imagine them to be similar to the Ziggy theatrical concepts. He is giving a show.

Meanwhile, Curt got famous on a combination of truth and legend, and now his public persona is a caricature of himself that's too closely tied to his actual identity. The loudest, most "primal" parts of him are what the public wants from him; they don't want his softer side. Meanwhile, he's too bold and self-assured to fit in neatly with the Bijou clan; they want him to be outrageous, but not to misbehave. And Curt's performances are distinctly more "human" than Brian's, because they're raw and off-the-cuff and interactive. He's not giving a show; he's communing with his audience. They're as much a part of his performance as he is.

So - Curt is both lifted up and torn up by the glam scene. How would this manifest for him in the future? Specifically: how would this manifest in his relationship with Arthur? Arthur, whose most joyful years happened because of the glam movement, who found himself and could celebrate who he was through the glam scene, has a lot to be thankful for and a level of nostalgia that Curt probably can't relate to. They each were in such different places in the 70s, and it's interesting to consider how that would affect their relationship in the 80s.

[transmascpetewentz]

Here are a few of my thoughts on Velvet Goldmine after my first watch:

The Maxwell demon is definitely symbolism for the discovery of treatments for HIV. Maxwell's demon is a thought experiment who how you can reverse the constant chaos of the universe, so it seems obvious that a bisexual Maxwell's demon from a 1990s movie would have such symbolism. Also, "six feet down at age twenty five" sounds a lot like young deaths.

Curt was insane in a good way. I liked his character arc, actually. Gimme Danger was such an emotional moment because this victim of torture who was abused for showing desire, finally got up there and screamed to thousands of people in the crowd what his desires were. His support of Arthur, a younger MLM man, at the end shows how much he actually cares about other people despite his almost un-human portrayal at the beginning with TV eye.

Brian Molko is unbelievably hot in that film especially. But more seriously, Placebo's appearance in the film was particularly unique. I liked it a lot and 20th century boy is a fucking banger.

I liked the Oscar Wilde plot point, actually. I think it very much ties into the "from an older gay to a younger gay" theme in the film, which shows up when Brian Slade gives Arthur the courage to come out, when Curt and Arthur have sex, and many other times. It goes all the way back to over a hundred years before the events of the film.

The film didn't make sense for the first 3/4. Then the last 30 minutes were some of the most emotional parts of a film that I have witnessed. It is truly incredible.

[autumnsup]

🌊 Slash Ships to Get to Know Me ⚓️

Discovered via open tag (thanks @sliebman10!)

**Rules**: Name at least five (no upper limit) slash (M/M) ships you love. Each from a different fandom.

OK, so this little exercise took longer than I expected, because for me, there are many different categories of ship-love. The list I've compiled below is a reflection of my discovery journey with M/M ships, in order of significance. Some of them I have outgrown but left on the list as a mark of how deep of an impression they left on my psyche. I've only written fic for a few of them, but who knows, maybe others will pop up on my AO3 master list in the future.

Harry Potter - Drarry

This was the OG slash ship for me, although I would come to discover Wolfstar many years later. Both ships are significant for me, but since I can only give one ship per fandom, Drarry it is! The majority of my fic efforts have been in this fandom, in case you couldn’t already tell. 😉

Velvet Goldmine - Arthur Stuart/Curt Wild

This was another OG for me, being one of the first films I watched that centered gay relationships in a meaningful way (in my young adult mind, anyhow). I probably started as a Brian Slade/Curt Wild shipper, but I’ve since come to realize that I identify way more with Arthur/Curt. I also wrote a fic for this ship.

Brokeback Mountain - Jack Twist/Ennis Del Mar

This film quite literally broke my heart when I saw it in the theater as a young adult. So much so that I haven’t been able to watch it since, although I did later read the short story it was based on. I am glad that media representation of non-traumatic gay relationships has improved since then, because man, this one was tragic. Not to mention Heath Ledger dying just a few years later.

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda - Simon/Bram 

On the flip side, this is the most adorable, positive depiction of young gay love that I’ve read so far. Possibly my favorite YA high school age ship to date, at least as far as the books go (I haven’t watched the TV series yet).

Our Flag Means Death - Stede Bonnet/Ed Teach

This TV show endeared itself to me in so many ways, but I think the most enduring love I have is for these two pirate lads. Can’t wait to see what the next season brings for them!

Hannibal – Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter

This ship fucked me up in a few different ways, not least because one of them likes to snack on people. However, the sexual tension is undeniable, and I wish they’d done this ship more justice than they ultimately did in the TV series.

Kill Your Darlings - Lucien Carr/Allen Ginsberg

Speaking of getting fucked up by ships… this one had the added layer of being based on a murderous true story, although I would say the relationship between these two college students was highly embellished, and to simmering effect. I also love that this was the first film project Daniel Radcliffe dived into while finishing up the Potter series, after honing his theater chops in Equus.

Amadeus - Mozart/Salieri

And now speaking of Equus and drama based on historical characters… I don’t think I picked up right away on how intimately linked these two characters were, but I think it was a big reason why I loved this film/play so damned much when I was growing up. The final scene between them is so utterly *chef’s-kiss*, I don’t think I have a choice but to ship them now.

Dark Is Rising series - Will Stanton/Bran Davies

Like Amadeus, this ship snuck up on me, probably because I was quite young when I first read this YA fantasy book series. As an adult, I love the idea of these two besties getting together years later, so much so that I wrote a fic for them.

Call Me By Your Name - Elio/Oliver

I have mixed feelings about this one. The film gutted me, and I tore through the book, but ultimately I feel like it was more the coming-of-age and fleeting-summer-romance angles that got to me than the actual characters, as compellingly portrayed as they were. I’m not holding out for a sequel film, given the controversy surrounding Armie Hammer, but I might eventually read the sequel book.

Heartstopper - Charlie/Nick

Pure, adorable fluff. I don’t have quite as many feels over this one as Simon/Bram, but watching the first season and the development of their romance was sheer delight.

And that's my list for the moment, although I intend to continue expanding it. Open tag for anyone else who wants to hop onboard, but just for the heck of it, I will tag @mangle-my-mind and @silverfactory! ⛵️

[gothiero]

wow! velvet goldmine movey!

[beatle-capaldi]

Not an album but the vg soundtrack

actually!! a decent amount of the songs were compiled and released in album form, and it’s available on CD and vinyl, the latter of which i have. it’s blue and orange and hooo i love it

in terms of songs in the film overall though i think i’ll go with that bc it does give me more freedom to pick film exclusive tracks or versions of tracks.

3. the film version of bitter sweet by roxy music where the flaming creatures have a part. LOVE those fuckers. also i sing along to brian slade’s part every time i watch the movie

2. GIMME DANGER CURT WILD. IDK WHY THIS ISN’T ON THE OFFICIAL SOUNDTRACK BUT WE WERE FUCKING ROBBED, EWAN IS SINGING HIS HEART OUT AND CURT IS IN SO MUCH PAIN,,,,,

1. jack fairy’s version of 2hb. i love them with all my heart and this song’s overall place and purpose in the film is so fucking good. i like that jack bookends the story and their performance is Great even though ik it’s not actually micko singing

[satanfemme]

im desperately trying to think of ANYTHINF coherent but uhmmmmmm goop in my brain. .... curt wild 🌆👾🪞 for tha hc emoji part of the ask game ?

gonna combine these emojis all into one (1) headcanons cause my brain is also goop and I have the best idea

I think!!!! that curt wild plays videos game at a local video games arcade. the city and mirror emojis r like, the aesthetic of the arcade so please imagine it in ur minds eye right now, thank u.

and curt just plays one of the games on repeat cause he’s neurodivergent king and he’s Really good at it (because of practice), and usually high as fuck while he’s there cause it’s That kind of arcade so he’s allowed to do that (<- also this gives timeframe for this; I’m imagining a younger pre-sobriety curt here).

he hangs out with the stoner skaterboys and sometimes people walk up to him and r like “uhmmmmmm lol hey r u?? curt wild???” and he’s like “no I’m brian slade” and he and his skater friends keep a tally on the side of the video game machine of how many of these fans believe that lie at face value and then he and the skaterboys high five and kiss probably. and that’s my story! the end. this is all 100% canon btw, source: me

[fuckdamn]

implicit in velvet goldmine’s ending is a happy ending for arthur. what we see is arthur resolve to ALLOW himself that freedom. the way he smiles is a way we have not seen him smile since his youth. his expression contains the same freshness and exhilaration that it did when he walked out in that cherry shirt for the first time, when he was about to watch the flaming creatures perform for the first time, and when we see that clip of him with curt the morning after on the rooftop looking absolutely joyful. he has the same glint in his eye that he did watching brian perform, that he did drawing brian in class, that he did when he was applying his eyeliner. it’s back. his smile is back

and the pin is in his hand— what that also gives us is arthur “killing his heroes” and becoming his own. the anger and betrayal on his face after the tommy stone concert, that look of pure “i was right! oh.... fuck i was right,” there is some fire returned to him when he says “what’s your response to the rumors connecting you with BISEXUAL POP SINGER BRIAN SLADE” and the way he lingers so knowingly on “bisexual pop singer” is GORGEOUS. meanwhile the closing scene (and their sexual rendezvous to an extent) breaks the Celebrity Fan Barrier between him and curt. curt tells him what he needs to hear, that a lot of their lives are bullshit now, but arthur hears the meaning in between that and that look he gives us at the end, that smile out the door after curt, that shows us he has latched onto what isn’t bullshit. nothing wrong with changing yourself if you don’t look at the world.... but arthur is changing the world BY changing himself, just like brian did over a decade ago. but in a meta way— because arthur is a symbol for the Repressed LGBT Person watching the film. arthur truly is the heart of the movie. OBVIOUSLY any negative press surrounding the film when it was first released can be attributed largely/entirely to homophobia, but i think one specific iteration of homophobia here is that it’s difficult for someone who’s never felt the way arthur has to identify with his arc. but everyone who DOES identify with his arc, everyone who can SEE his pervasive drive and thirst for more underneath all of his present day repression, everyone who wants to cry when we watch him crying in the mirror, heck everyone who feels giddy along with him when he walks out in that cherry shirt, it means so goddamn much to us. so goddamn much

[didntyoubelieveinme]

the gimme danger analysis just for you @mangle-my-mind 🫶🫶

One of the most important things to me about this movie is how they paint curt and brian’s relationship. We see their entire relationship from an outside perspective. The most we get is clips of more private moments (such as their vacation). While we can get an idea from certain details, we will ultimately never truly know how their relationship was (and maybe that's why they make me indescribably sad).

With that context in mind, I can talk about the scene itself. In this performance you can see just how upset curt is. It's ultimately a message to brian, and my god they picked the song so well with lyrics like “there's nothing in my dreams/just some ugly memories/kiss me like the ocean breeze” it reflects their relationship so well ughh.

A detail I noticed is that near the end of the song, while curt is physically grieving, the crowd still cheers and dances. And it's not like I expect them not to dance to music but it almost adds to how private this moment is meant to be—the crowd is seemingly unaware. They take this as a performance and entertainment, the true message is only understood by those it was meant for, giving you this sense of intrusion.

There's something about seeing how distraught curt is that reveals just a bit more about the two of them. It could be easy to dismiss their relationship as shallow or something purely sexual but the details we’re given makes that a bit harder. When you see them hugging on the vacation clip (and brian giving him the pin), curts genuine shock and disgust as the cameras start flashing after they kissed, curt still going to tommy stone’s show, or at the very least buying a ticket (which is such a devastating detail), brian and his emo montage after curt leaves, brian coming to watch curt perform one last time, and other things i'm too tired to name

Some other details I loved was how on the roof with arthur, if you look closely at curt’s chest you can see the marks where curt scratched himself when singing. As well as after the show when mandy goes to hug curt (which is the cutest thing btw trauma buddies 😋) mandy lies when curt asks if she saw brian. I always wondered why, but simply assumed she was attempting to spare his feelings somehow (though i'm not 100% with that one)

I got a little carried away with this but i hope it makes sense 🫶🫶

[loplainlointhemorning]

also brian slade is so real and he would rather be infamous than forgotten and he would rather ruin everything than accept praise and I love him for that ohhhhhh my god I love him I am him that’s my arc. and I get to get fucked to hell and back before I ruin everything yes bitch that’s so sick

[the-breath-in-air]

If you like Rocketman and want to watch other biopics about queer musicians...

Velvet Goldmine (1998) is a highly stylized, somewhat surreal movie about fictional glam rock star, Brian Slade. It stars Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Brian Slade, Ewan McGregor as Curt Wild and Toni Collette as Mandy Slade. It pulls heavy inspiration from the lives of David Bowie, Iggy Pop and Lou Reed.

The story’s also actually told from the perspective of fictional character, Arthur Stuart (portrayed by Christian Bale). He was a teen during the glam rock era of the 70′s. In the movie’s “present” (1980′s), he’s a journalist and he’s tasked with writing a retrospective about Brian Slade. 

It’s not technically a biopic, but fuck it. It’s good. It’s very gay. If you liked Rocketman, you’ll like Velvet Goldmine. You should watch it.

Here’s a 2016 review from the AVClub.

(See also: Bessie, De-Lovely, Behind the Candelabra, Worried About the Boy, Bohemian Rhapsody)

[gossamergore]

I want you to know that I know that I fucked you up, I've accepted that now. I wish I could go back and save you from that teenage monster, that I could've been kinder, wiser, know what I know now so I could've been a positive lover instead of a toxic one and I wish that our both our parents gave us what we needed. being my first intense/long relationship, you'll always stay with me and some part of me will always love you. I know that satisfies your rockstar Brian slade sentiment somehow. I still have the cigarette holder even in my apartment- I kept my promise. I've probably said all these things before: shouted them into my own little void. but each time I say them, it's from a more level-headed, grown up view. also I watched I'm Not There tonight and I wish I could talk to you about what the fuck Haynes was trying to convey with this?? (Part of it might be that I actually despise Bob Dylan so I know nothing about him)

I'm saying these things to the person I was in love and such good friends with all those years ago, cuz tbh they're a part of me and I think the versions of people we carry with us are beautiful. and I can both feel grief and pain for the both of us, and also be grateful for what I learned, and the innocent admiration and affection I did hold for that person I knew.

[r3nton]

tagged by @britneyshakespeare 💗💗

Name: zuki

Nickname: so many. uhh some r zooks, zed bed, zucchini, zookster, the zookmeister, and more

Zodiac Sign: aries

Hogwarts House: slytherin

Height: 5'4" hhhh diana why r u so tall

Orientation: bi

Ethnicity: english as fuck hhh i listen to morrissey every day

Favorite Fruit: mango

Favorite Season: summer!!

Favorite Book: the picture of dorian gray💕

Favorite Fictional Character: mark renton,, surprisingly. also curt wild, brian slade, lord henry wotton, like every person in pride (tho that is based on real events) and many more

Favorite Flower: roses im a basic edgy romantic bitch

Favorite Scent: mmmm dunno, sounds weird but maybe my sister

Favorite Color: pink (but i like them All)

Favorite Animal: people. or like deer. or cats

Favorite Band: nirvana, the smiths, smashing pumpkins, guns n roses (+morrissey)

Average Hours Of Sleep: probs like 6 (my mum would kill me if she knew hjggk)

Number Of Blankets: one duvet, 2 blankets but recently only the duvet

Dream Vacation: america or something!! and italy!!

Blog Created: 2014.. dont remind me

Blogs Followed: too many like 3k i never go on my feed and i hate 14 yr old me

Follower Count: 2000 and something

What I Post About: a whole lot of Cool Shit

i tag @gaysonata @wonderatmywoman and @thegeminiclub :)

[heartyearning]

depression whom i have only two emotions happiness and waiting for american gods