#c: armand

[oldwitchsleep]

i love how the context of every scene we've seen so far between louis and armand just has lestat stood there like🧍🏽

[freddyfreebat]

Shazam! Fury of the Gods

[newplaces2drown]

Armand Hammer - Shrines

Signed by billy woods and E L U C I D

[hekateinhell]

"I saw no reason to talk endlessly, as Aristotle did, about things that were made. The lives of the ancients that Plutarch told with such spirit made excellent stories. I wanted to know people of the now, however.

Even the books I read reflected this new realm in which I had been so securely fixed that nothing could take me back to the world of confusion and suffering that had gone before.

I learned to play little songs on the Virginal. I learned to strum the lute and to sing in a soft voice, though I would only sing sad songs. My Master loved these songs." ~ Armand, TVA

It's always fascinating to me how Armand describes himself in his own voice. Like his narrative tone is so strikingly different from Lestat's; it's still very rich, but much simpler and matter-of-fact. These are the facts as Armand sees them at this point in his life, and that's that.

But I love how even as a five hundred year old vampire, Armand can look back on his human self and say: "I wanted to know people of the now." This thirst for knowledge and desire to not only connect with the present, but to understand it, has always been a fundamental part of him -- long before Daniel, before Louis, before the cult.

The second, "nothing could take me back" quote is definite foreshadowing for what's to come, but "confusion and suffering" is what stands out to me as having already become the established baseline in his psyche due to the traumas that led him to Venice. It's not conscious, but it's something even Marius notes in B&G, and the subsequent behaviors Armand then used to distract himself.

I saw in Amadeo a growing confusion as memories tried to make themselves known to him and he would deny them, sometimes waking beside me as we dozed together, and tormenting me with kisses when I would rather dream.

It's not until the very end of canon that we see Armand reach a place where he genuinely seems like the person free of confusion and uncertainty that he never got to be -- even as a child, even in Venice.

I'm so glad AR gave my boy that closure at least.

[mirrorbreaks]

been listening to a lot of billy woods recently

[slaygentford]

This is why every time I see Louis/Armand /Lestat I’m like just admit you want to see the knock down drag out screaming crying biting brawl of the millennia bracketed on both ends by tearful monologues and poetry recitations

[romanticizingmurder]

I need Marius complaining about ecclesiastical latin to Armand and/or Daniel

[shivcodedkendall]

just smoked and listened to @bitingfaggotry’s amazing iwtv disco reunion playlist x so I am very inspired and just imagining….imagining that Jacob’s beautiful Raleigh Ritchie talents must not go to waste and how I can not be held responsible for the things I will do if they do not write something where Louis gets to sing…imagining that maybe Louis was in the church choir ( I don’t think the catholic church we see Louis going to in ep 1 would have a children’s choir but idk I’m not catholic…sorry if this is wrong) when he was very young but eventually falling away from this activity bc he enjoyed it too much-maybe Jonah was in the choir as well 🤷🏽‍♀️. But Louis saw singing as something that he loved and could get lost in and that is very dangerous to Louis. Lestat never knowing about this because Louis never told him (maybe Louis felt like his voice was nothing special compared to Lestat’s fucking theatrics and was embarrassed. or maybe Louis just wanted to keep this one thing to himself) …I just find it very illogical that Lestat would be aware that Louis has a beautiful singing voice and not bring it up all the time.

But anyways, imagining 70s Louis bored and depressed and willing to do just about anything to pass the time and distract himself, moonlighting as a singer. Armand just mind tricks the manager at some bar with live music and forces them to let Louis sing whenever the mood fucking strikes him - mostly Sunday nights tho. Idk Armand that well but maybe he would be v supportive and recognize that singing is a healthy way to express feelings of great melancholy so this is good for Louis, really…

just think about Louis singing sensual disco songs once a week to a mesmerized crowd…Omg Louis crooning with his sexy sad eyes and some bell bottoms?? please.… also these two specific songs are crowd favorites from Louis

[trapped-in-jasper]

@eilon-krovs

Armande was having to work harder than usual maintaining the security in the castle. In truth, there was no way to fully secure the place. It was too large and too many people came and went. Someone, if they wanted to badly enough, would get in eventually. And whoever these assassins were, they seemed to want it quite badly. So Armande had to assume that violence would happen and make traps for the assassin so that once they'd killed their prey, they could at least be held accountable. It would probably do the council good to lose a member or two, like culling old dead wood.

Since he was depleted now, he needed a source to recharge. And that meant blood or sex. Preferably both. There was a new slave, a Seelie fae. Perfect for his needs. Armande sent out a message to the guards that he would pick up the slave on his own. They knew enough to not try to stop him or object. He always sent the slaves back in one piece. Physically, anyway.

His prey was out and about, so Armande left a heavy pitcher of purest cream near his playroom door. Freshly skimmed and practically glowing. A fae, newly arrived and craving all sorts of things, should at least linger nearby to debate drinking it. That was all he needed. When the man walked by, the cream crying out to be drunk, Armande let the portal beneath the spot open and his victim fell through into the playroom, held up by the winding shadows that trapped him. "How kind of you to drop by."

[late-night-programming]

Armand Hammer - We Buy Diabetic Test Strips

[thegothicarchitecture]

Track Reviews (Aug 22 -> 29)

Best

Armand Hammer, billy woods, E L U C I D, JPEGMAFIA - Woke Up and Asked Siri How I'm Gonna Die

As somebody who enjoys JPEGMAFIA's production immensely this song is an absolute treat. JPEGMAFIA handles production while E L U C I D and billy woods take the center stage with lyrics and delivery.

The highlight here is billy woods' verse, which has some clever wordplay involving steak and raw meat and some equally inventive rhyme-schemes (e.g. "brain fog" and "chainsaw"). However, billy's verse is as descriptive and immersive as it is technically advanced (reminiscent of his work on Maps earlier this year), and this alone sets him apart from other rappers who only focus on technical ability. Good shit.

Meh

Earl Sweatshirt, MIKE - Sentry

Earl Sweatshirt comes back with a pretty standard song aping the minimalist charm of Some Rap Songs and Feet of Clay. The Alchemist beat contains a stripped down, repetitive loop not dissimilar to that on Shattered Dreams, but Earl's pen game leaves a lot of room for improvement.

I say this as a fervent Earl Sweatshirt defender, who loved every album and EP up through Feet of Clay, but his underwhelming return with SICK! left a bad taste in my mouth. Maybe I began noticing the cracks in his facade, as his esoteric style of rapping and the symbolism in his lyrics started to feel more lazy than despondent and reflective.

MIKE's verse felt more substantive upon the first few listens, but between the two rappers there are very few quotables or memorable moments on this cut. The full project has been released as an NFT, which also isn't the best look in 2023. Still I'll save my judgement until I hear the project in its entirety.

Jake the Underdog, Glitch Gum - FRIEND REQUEST

Glitch Gum's style of hyperpop infused pop punk is beginning to sound less novel and cutting edge and more like a rehash of 2000s pop punk. This song would fit snugly on an early Wonder Years record, as the synth lead and power chord guitar riffs are as saccharine as anything you'd hear off of Get Stoked on It!

If Glitch Gum wants to work within the confines of the genre that's not a bad idea on paper, I absolutely adore the Get Up Kids and Motion City Soundtrack and they have somewhat similar styles. The distinction for me is that Justin Pierre and Matt Pryor are much better lyricists. The nasal vocal affectation used and the cheeky lyrics consisting solely of video game references do absolutely nothing for me on this song. Maybe it'll do more for you.

Worst

N/A

[songandflame]

“i’ve been worried sick! where the hell were you!?”

@covrroucer || thank you!

Fantine wasn't expecting to meet Chauvelin outside the building she called "home". In fact, if it was anyone Fantine was more prepared to meet there, it would be her landlord. More often than not she could sweeten his rage a little by offering herself in exchange for the money she owed, but that only went so far.

Bewildered, she couldn't help but trip, only able to catch herself against the wall. What did it matter where she was?

"I-." she had slept the most of the day away in a dingy, barely ventilated opium den. And what of it? Everyone had their sins, even him. "I was out."

Her words still came slowly despite having been greeted the fresh, evening air; it seemed her brain remained foggy as she tried to keep it together in front of Chauvelin.

"I'm sorry if I worried you, but I can assure you I'm fine."

Why did he care anyway? That's what puzzled her the most. Why did he care?

[sinceileftyoublog]

billy woods & Kenny Segal Album Review: Maps

(Backwoodz Studioz)

BY JORDAN MAINZER

The prolific billy woods’ second album with beat mastermind Kenny Segal is centered around touring, inspired by the idea that the road--or the lack of home--is, in itself, home. On Maps, places where people reside are as constantly changing as the landscapes that pass as you’re on the highway. It’s the perfect fodder for woods’ neuroses and pessimism, the low thoughts that occur when you have too much time on your hands but still can’t make sense of your surroundings. He’s constantly searching for stimuli--weed, food, drinks--to distract himself from the human condition. Like the titular “Houdini”, Woods escapes, even if temporarily.

Segal’s hazy production is, often by way of contrast, the perfect complement to woods’ spirals, and the two work beautifully in tandem. Segal interpolates gorgeous strummed guitars and Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good” as woods looks at the birds, sun, and breeze on “Soft Landing”, lamenting that their magnificence doesn’t match his own mood. He’s more straightforward on the beat-switching “Babylon By Bus”, distilling his ethos into a declaration that, “People don’t want the truth, they want me to tell ‘em grandma went to heaven.” It often feels like he’s playing tug of war with himself, on one side his perceptions--feeling pastoral dread on the devastating “Agriculture”--and on the other, the objective, bleak truths of the world, from colonialism to police brutality. The two sides, along with Segal’s intelligent contributions, come to a head on “The Layover”, a paranoia-addled tale of no fly lists and surveillance. “Finally got it to where lies is the truth and the truth is a ruse,” woods raps over a piano line, the song sporting an ever-steady groove as if to emphasize the eternal nature of his internal struggle.

Of course, and perhaps thankfully, it’s not all dark, and Maps wouldn’t be a great album without some fun. Segal’s production from track to track feels like a road trip, passing the aux cord between friends with related, but unique tastes, the piano-looped “Rapper Weed” followed by limber free jazz bop “Blue Smoke”, the industrial “Year Zero” by the gentle, lilting “Hangman”. The guest verses include woods’ usual jaunts with Armand Hammer bandmate E L U C I D, and an unexpectedly soulful chorus from Future Islands’ Sam Herring on “FaceTime”. Yet, it’s Quelle Chris and Danny Brown that steal the show, boastful, hilarious, and intense in what ironically brings moments of levity to the record. Chris brags on “Soundcheck” that he’s so good the audio engineer should have to pay for a ticket, while Brown hasn’t sounded this manically dialed in since Atrocity Exhibition. Of course, woods himself shines alongside them, as plainspoken in his sorrow that his “taxes pay police brutality settlements” as he is uproariously confident in the adage that “You can’t fix stupid.” That Maps is filled with more than just variance, references within references, synaptic, weed-influenced connections among society’s ills, is a feature, not a bug. 

woods’ modes of thought all seem to be influenced by death, the lurking presence of it, the survivor’s guilt he feels, that his son, too, will die one day. “No need to ask who sent you, it was always just a question of when,” he raps on “Hangman”, accepting even a premature fate. It’s a desolate attitude, sure, but it’s ultimately an acceptance of the chaos of the world, one that allows him to seek out and enjoy expensive Vietnamese food and cocktails even when their very existence is a product of a losing class and racial struggle. “Death in a top hat dance a jig in the street / Don't get it twisted boy, the city wicked, it'll crush you with its feet,” woods raps on “NYC Tapwater”. With Segal behind him and a Mezcal Negroni in hand, Maps is the sound of woods dancing back.

[ardl0]

HAPPY NEW ARMAND HAMMER DAY TO ALL WHO CELEBRATE