#i love this loud bleep bloop music

[luminari-mc]

In that case, I’d love to see some Lucifer character analysis! Anything honestly works, he’s such a fascinating character in the way he displays his care for his brothers, the particular way his pride manifests...

Lucifer Character Analysis: Relationships

Anon. I know I told you that analysis wouldn't be long... But I got way too into this.

I'm gonna try to do this with the memories I have of the info we've received from Devilgrams, the canon story and events because yes, Lucifer is probably the most complicated character in Obey Me apart from Barbatos (but that's only because the latter doesn't reveal much about himself) and there would be a lot to cover up on him but I'll try to keep to several topics instead and keep them short. Be mindful that I'm probably going to go all over the place with this because there's a lot to talk about him lol.

While I really want to talk about stuff that happens in season 3, I'll try to remain as vague as possible (especially for Diavolo's part).

This analysis will cover the following relationships: Lucifer's brothers, Diavolo, Simeon, MC, and finally, Lucifer himself.

Lucifer: With His Brothers:

We all know that Lucifer cares very deeply for his brothers. Not a single day passes where he doesn’t think about them, or where he doesn’t make sure they aren’t doing anything risky for themselves/the rest of the family and others. There is always a genuine fear to lose them, and that is why he acts the way he does with them: strictly, and with punishments that luckily, demons can withstand. This affection he already displayed when he was still a seraphim in the Celestial Realm, where he would try his best to get them all out of trouble, Mammon most of all.

Mammon:

If I remember correctly, we are actually told that Mammon was getting in trouble way too often for an angel, and in order to avoid him getting punished or casted out for his antics, Lucifer would always be there to help him, eventually turning him a throne/his personal assistant. That way, he was able to keep an eye on him, and keep him under control, all while continuing to act as the older brother that he was. He continues to do this as a demon, because now that Mammon isn’t restrained by the “angelic” attitude he had before and has to suffer the effects of his sin, he acts much more wildly and carelessly. And as a result, Lucifer keeps him in check the most, because he knows Mammon is more prone to suffer the consequences of his recklessness than his other brothers.

Fun fact, it's canon that Mammon once called Lucifer "dad" on accident, and Lucifer genuinely felt apologetic after realizing that Mammon didn't want this to be known by anyone (after Lucifer accidentally talks about it during dinner). He was genuinely upset that Mammon gave him the silence treatment, to the point where he appears unusually open and affectionate with him (even so far as telling him he thought Mammon was "the most adorable" out of all his little brothers). They really have a father-toddler relationship lol.

Leviathan:

So this one is pretty chill compared to Mammon. Levi gets in trouble from time to time, Lucifer puts him in his place, Levi stops for a few days, copy-paste and repeat. Luci and Levi are a duo we don't see interact very often, but it's probably because apart from Lucifer's occassional demands for Levi to lower down his "bleep-bloop" music, to not play cursed video games that place the entire house in a timeloop, or to not sing so damn loud all the time, not much else happens between the two of them. But Lucifer WAS the one to introduce Levi to anime, which is now Levi's biggest form of comfort and happiness. Levi probably seeked refuge in fantasy novels and literature before manga and anime were invited. I wonder if Lucifer expected him to like anime so much?

Satan:

I've said it before in my bunch of anon replies about Satan regarding his own birth, but throughout the canon story, their conflict gets resolved little by little with the help of MC, to the point where it's almost entirely gone by the end of season 3. Thank you MC! Lucifer spent so many centuries not knowing how to deal with his little brother, to the point where I'm pretty sure he just abandoned all hopes of seeing it disappear one day and decided to just deal with Satan's anger towards him as if that was a normal thing. Luckily during the story, Lucifer was able to be more open towards Satan regarding how he viewed the Avatar of Wrath, and had to tell him multiple times that he is a great demon, that he isn't just a cheap/pale copy of his older brother, until Satan finally understood that he wasn't lying. You gotta love the development of their relationship.

Asmodeus:

This one is pretty funny is the sense that Lucifer does not give a single fuck about Asmo being a major simp for him. To Lucifer, Asmo has always been Asmo, the pretty, self-centered demon of the family, and he is fine with it. That's why when I see people hating on Asmo because he is "too feminine", I'm always here going "Sad to hear, Lucifer is literally smarter than you because he doesn't see a problem with him wearing dresses, putting on makeup and such". The only little bit of rivalry we've ever seen between them was during season 2 for the Bloody Moon popularity competition, and even then, Asmo was the one who initiated the rivalry because he wanted to beat Lucifer for once (the old man doesn't even mean to win ever year lol). Might actually be one of the nicest duo in the family? At least because they don't get at each other's throats at all times haha.

Beelzebub:

This one. Probably the best relationship between the brothers because of its lack of conflicts between each parties. Sure, there's the occasionnal scolding from Lucifer because Beel destroyed the kitchen for the upteenth time after Mammon stole the last strawberry shortcake from the fridge, but apart from that? Not really anything, if we forget that Luke incident from early season 1. Lucifer knows how Beel works, and doesn't even hesitate to bribe him with food when he needs something done, but all in all, it's never with malicious intents. At least, not towards the sixth-born himself lol.

Beel used to serve as a cherubim during the Celestial Realms days, and it is said (or headcanoned? can't remember) he protected Lucifer during their rebellion. One of Beel's homescreen lines is "I have a duty to protect Lucifer", which clearly shows his loyalty, respect, and affection towards the eldest. Beel loves his family, and actually does not mind the way Lucifer punishes his brothers, because he respects his leadership as the eldest. For Beel, there is a reason Lucifer acts the way he does, and it's to make sure his brothers stay on track, even more so now that they are handicaped by their sins and overall demonic attitudes. Beel knows Lucifer cares, even if he doesn't outright say it, and that's why he doesn't oppose to his rules.

Belphegor:

Let us deepdive (pretty deeply) into what we know best occured between these two at the beginning of the story: the attic.

Before MC even arrived in the Devildom, Diavolo proposed the idea of an exchange program with the Celestial Realm and the Human World to the student council. Belphie, still consumed by his hatred towards the human race, his gried for losing his sister, and still thinking they are the main cause for her death (even hundreds of years later), strongly opposes to the idea. Later on, him and Lucifer have another fight while at their house where Belphie makes the mistake of freely saying that if he were to go rampant on the human world, there wouldn't even be use for an exchange program anymore. In front of Lucifer.

Of course, as the eldest, Lucifer not only cannot allow his own brother to go against Diavolo's choices, but has a responsibility of protecting the human race from his brother's thirst for revenge since he was the only one at that moment to have heard Belphie say these words. So, he does what he thinks is best: trapping Belphie not only from actions he might regret later, but from being labelled as a rebel if word of his intentions came to Diavolo's and Barbatos' ears. In that moment, Lucifer thought of only one thing: protecting his little brother until the first year of the exchange program finished, else he might be casted from the Devildom, or worse, executed. It's interesting to note that in season 1 and by doing what he did, Lucifer knew that Diavolo wouldn't hesitate to punish his brothers if they ever did something as drastic as what Belphie had planned. NO sympathy whatsoever. Doesn't matter if he's the prince's official right man, Diavolo won't let anyone interfere with his plans for peace between the three realms (even at the cost of destroying the family of his "best friend").

That is also a reason why Lucifer was so angry to hear MC had been talking with Belphegor all this time. Because they unknowingly put themself at risk of being tricked by Belphie and potentially killed (as we know, that potentiality becomes real in the other timeline MC visits later), and unknowingly put the whole exchange program and peace between the realms at risk. Because of one nosy human, Lucifer almost lost not only his little brother, his boss' trust, but also the stability of a family he's been desperately trying to keep in one piece for hundreds of years after their fall. Upon writing this, I understand his actions during season 1 a bit better.

But Lucifer trapping Belphie in the attic also showed that he cared. Yes, maybe isolation for a few months wasn't the best idea he could have had, but I can only assume he wanted to minimize the risks and not involve his other brothers in the matter. Because that's how Lucifer views any problem: he HAS to take care of everything himself. Mammon might be Lucifer's favorite, but Lucifer definitely adores Belphie. Heck, he might even be a close second after Mammon.

Lucifer: With Diavolo

Oh boy... Okay, so after playing season 3, my view on these two has definitely changed from "haha look at Diavolo teasing Lucifer and creating mayhem, that's really funny!" from "oh... one of them might not view the other as a friend as much as I thought". And I'm not talking as something more than friends lol.

It's always important to remember how these two met. Lucifer got sent on behalf of Michael as the representative of the Celestial Realm to meet the Devildom prince. During most of their first exchange, Lucifer is very wary of Diavolo's intentions. As a seraphim and an angel, he thinks demons as wicked, tricky creatures who are not to be trusted. Diavolo is able to install some form of trust, enough so that Lucifer actually enjoys their tea time together by the end of the Devilgram story showing this interaction. After probably a couple of other meetings that are off-camera, Lucifer rebels to protect his sister, but Lilith gets badly injured, and the two end up falling in the Devildom. There, Diavolo makes a good show of reminding Lucifer that he is a demon by offering him a deal he cannot refuse: "Vow your eternal loyalty to me, and I'll save your sister". I've seen a lot of people use this as proof that Lucifer hasn't and never truly will trust Diavolo entirely. And I'm enclined to believe it.

During season 3, a very shy, silent rivalry settles between the two- although it's more on Lucifer's side for the moment. Like I said previously, I won't talk about what happens to avoid spoilers, but I'm pretty sure you can guess the kind of rivalry I'm talking about and why Lucifer would suddenly view Diavolo as a rival. If you want to know more and you don't care about season 3 spoilers, I'll redirect you to this post I made about Lucifer in lesson 48.

So while Lucifer pretty much acts like a secondary father figure towards Diavolo because the prince is a man who's never got to have a proper childhood and has only had Barbatos by his side before Lucifer arrived, there is still a wall between the two that has been there since Lucifer's angel days. Will it ever break? Unsure. The more their mutual feelings for MC grew, the more bricks have been added to that wall, and there's no sign of this growth stopping. Only future lessons will tell if they'll ever have a proper talk with each other on how they view the other, especially Lucifer towards Diavolo.

With Simeon

This one is a bit tricky in the fact that it's hard to guess why Lucifer puts as much distance as he does with Simeon. Simeon tries to act with his former brother as if nothing had ever separated them, often telling him how he is still as majestic as he was as a seraphim and wanting to renew the friendship and brotherly love they once had, but Lucifer puts strict limits to how much Simeon can get involved with his private life. One might say "well it's normal, one's an angel and the other is a demon", but what is the exact reason Lucifer limits his friendly interactions with his former brother?

Is it by fear of getting attached again to an angel? Was Simeon on the other side during the Celestial War, or did nothing to help the brothers at all, thus resulting in Lucifer seeing him as either a "traitor" or simply as a brother who didn't even try to lend a hand in their cause to protect Lilith? There has to be a reason why Simeon got demoted from a seraphim to a lower-tier angel... and my little finger tells me it might be linked to something that either happened pre-fall, or after the brothers' fall from heaven. Might even be related to his unusual, powerful anger that is unfitted for an angel. Only season 4 will be able to tell us what really happened to him, and if they'll ever talk to each other (Lucifer really needs to open up more huh).

Lucifer: With MC

Their relationship started out pretty... tumultuously. Lucifer at first couldn't care less about MC, viewing them as a simple human he had to keep alive for an entire year, and after that, he could go back to his daily life. Except that MC was probably the most curious human they could have chosen for this exchange program, and as a result, not only a bunch of problems got thrown in Lucifer's face, but also feelings he had never meant to catch. The main reason? MC getting along with his brothers. While Lucifer never knew that MC's main reason behind making pacts was to free Belphegor from the attic, he was able to see how much happier his brothers got around them, a mutual happiness he hadn't been able to witness ever since their days in the Celestial Realm. I'm pretty sure Lucifer felt attracted to MC very early on, his pride getting in the way and probably making him think that it wasn't love but just mere curiosity, and that is why he reacted so wildly upon discovering MC and Belphegor had been talking in secret while his brother was trapped in the attic. 'How could I have been so blind and so foolish as to think this human really enjoyed their time around me and my brothers', he probably thought in that moment, feeling played and betrayed by someone he viewed as trustworthy.

I won't dive too much into the Lilith reveal because heeehhh I'm still a bit confused at how quickly everyone seemed to forget about MC dying in that moment or their past conflicts... But we see Lucifer becoming more and more possessive of MC from this point on. At the end of season 1, MC even gets the choice of sleeping with him (by kissing him or not), something that not only surprised me and made me laugh, but it's also a way of showing us how their relationship either turned from enemies-to-lovers, or that Lucifer felt done with hiding his own feelings, and let his demon side speak for himself to "claim what's rightfully his" by making a pact with MC (and sleeping with them and then teasing them about it the next day).

Lucifer turns softer the more the story progresses, only revealing this weak side to MC because he feels comfortable around them and trusts them to the point where he can drop his prideful image when they are alone together. For Lucifer, MC's presence is the first time in probably a millennia or more he could consider a blessing, no offense intended towards Lucifer for that word. I think what attracted him to them so much was their humanity and overall human nature, which he had found interesting from the beginning, along with their kindness. When you consider how quickly MC was able to befriend the seven most powerful lords of Hell, it's hard not to be intrigued by someone like that. And Lucifer was no exception.

It was MC's uniqueness that made Lucifer realize that this warmth in his chest was more than simple affection. That not only did he want to spend as much time as possible with them, but to protect them, even if it's at the cost of his own life. The final chapters of season 2 hold the most powerful scenes for Lucifer I had ever seen in this game, and we got to see a very selfless side of him who not only allowed him to express his emotions without shame (and yes I know about the reason why he was able to tell them in the first place), but who also showed a part of his pride where he felt proud to protect MC.

MC is the freedom he never thought he could find again. One that is far beyond any freedom he could have felt in the Celestial Realm, beyond any sort of comfort he could ever find with all of his brothers beside him.

MC is truly the light and love Lucifer desperately needed in the dark pit that is the Devildom.

Lucifer: With himself

This should come as no surprise that Lucifer resents his former angel self. Whenever the subject is brought up, he gets distant, demands to cut the conversation short, or his answers are relatively vague, and you can sense that he simply does not want to talk about it- pure and simple. It brings up memories he'd rather forget, this old life now far behind him, one with white wings and a family he'll never get back.

Little is known about how he views himself, however. Lucifer is a man that doesn't express his inner feelings easily, if at all, even to MC. He still finds it difficult to talk about his positive emotions and rarely vents, at least from what I remember in the canon story. He is open enough to express whenever he feels jealous, or when he wants MC to be with him, yet his sin always gets in the way and blocks any words that might make him appear as "weak" towards others.

But in my opinion, despite often saying how there's nothing that scares him, how he is always perfect and excels at everything, Lucifer definitely has weaknesses and fears he wants to keep to himself. Or rather, that he can't talk about because of his sin and responsibility as an older brother. After all, he's always lived with such a burden placed on his shoulders, with being among the strongest Seraphims of the Celestial Realm. Lucifer has always been a figure of perfection, someone others were supposed to look upon, and when you've lived with an image like this for thousands of years... it was only bond to turn worse once he became the embodiment of Pride.

[iotaarcane]

XnationalZ

BUSY BLOW TORCHING DABS

Door doesn’t open it glides on rails like the entrance impales tracks leave scabs

They pick at them like a flurry of energy inertly imperil and in peril while sterile the enemy isn’t at his post busy blow torching dabs

Laughing gas to a mass of brain cells that might as well been in cell or for sale to sell for the fact of not being usable like loud theater patrons at musical

Stomping footsteps upsets the stairwell, Hercule as security

picks you up and while airborne you get the farewell.

A good bye of sorts a great try physically the body with a little help contorts but spiritually its dormant in hibernation protected in a fort.  The outside winds set him to the maximum miles per hour bumping over the welts.   Swelling is mainstream never go underground.  A golf club waving at lightning

A day filled with bad decisions.   A perfect life a nocturnal health freak who is slowing dying because of the hours he choose to sleep.  North of the sauna lives out of water a piranha gills with chankla….  Flip flop the hip hop to this mantra….   They got Bin Laden but the tomatoes slices cut au gratin and their insides just by general principal all rotten every good deed all but forgotten.

They attempted because it looked great on camera to have caughten Sadam but the madam of the ministry secretly had  many a body double dangling feet from noose corpse of course wasn’t who they thought they had bad DNA tests fail when not given. You’ll just straight believe without any thought or thinking in a closed space trying to identify who is stinking. This planet in that galaxy is sinking below where it once orbited and your whole existence is defined of what you afforded how toxins are absorbed y’all point the finger iota morbid.

As blood dripping on everything like a loop of hemoglobin training goblins to run tasks on apps.  Hairless ape with only a little fur missing - hand and the wrist  slice is still fresh magenta pink placenta veiny underwent chef prep,  impractical to prevent a story to end like this begin as it went, we muster the emotion to climb street curb like step, tentacle suction cup girlfriend tales like cotton swab on bunny ear manifesto.  One piece bikini transacting - posts no bill.  Open register the creditor turned into a collector, an editorial of breadwinner meanwhile back in the western hemisphere sky is too clear - cuts retina sundries colander fluid filter an array of enemies attacked the command post.  The mid morning foray angrily adjusted.  You could totally notice the moment the ward went kaleidoscope twist 33 degree.  As the crow fly viewpoint saw the west wing extend and to what seems like an elbow bend but they aint drinking consuming much of nothing except orders from the chief who dictates the whereabouts and you gotta be down cannot have doubts they don’t come in shouts - illest hand signals in the game it’s an artistic beauty to see the tic for tac counterattack he who gets the most vagina must be the Mack.  Diesel easel drawer no undies they were left in dresser drawer and if it don’t work out oh no the lawyer is not pro bono yet the retainer fixed the teeth apprehended the beef no more issues.

Him whose piss poor planning continues will be facing the sultry seductress Miss Hughes 4 feet 6 shoes opposite of the elephant of Hindus infamous for the pop ins on miscues So real was breakfast cereal mammal sauce from cashews.   Nipple hula hoop sports car aficionado drop top in the coupe where they kept the chickens.   Jumpy trampoline mouth fortune reader foreseen vulgar obscene potty lips unclean that contingency of the attorney of where wonder land on a poca dot which marks the spot.  Accuracy solar hot, lift off broke apart space shuttle heat pads over hot not matter if they were chosen or not.  Nudity not as bad as could be frontal, wide opening little exit funnel so many come backs you can’t shoot down every rebuttal.  We double as secret agents where birds are fowl and flagrant evil as the vortex in control of this spaceship.  I got it plannded see use that ladder granted to climb into the zoo – carefully pinpoint were from the top we landed snag a handful thus huck right between their eyes candid close to the nose as possible rancid so they go crazy - ape shit

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++NOTHING and LIKE it

You’ll get nothing and like it. No matter how much you despite it.

Like you wanted that new whip but you were too good for the bus so you bike it. 

Like it ever mattered – your best bud did the same inebriated on the way home dump truck made him splattered we identified the body basically because only thing left the t-shirt he wore that night tattered.   I want a hamburger – with a vegan patty in the current state of Armageddon it doesn’t look good brethren Xnational that’s why I rock the same hairdo as a Tibetan.  No a cheese burger yall overreacting on this meat is murder so is a relentless ethic of work especially when exhausted and it hurt. We’ve been threatened by a heavy weapon.  I was reading about Reagan and outline seems Pagan that’s as good for you as dippin Copenhagen spittin telling the surgeon do not beckon the question I love when my gummies are redden.  Cancer of the embouchure is more than a Horoscope sign I concur.   I want a hot dog.  Smothered in mustard covered in meat trimmings ground up chemicals as the fixings.  Bought my rhymes with a great bargain from Groupon.  Even added a discount photoshopped counterfeit coupon. Creating to the beat the loops on.  I don’t know is a Bentley a Rolls Royce because in the back seat the window lowered and I was offered grey poupon do you happen to have another choice.  Already had condiments on my weenie.  Get off my computer don’t you dare peep my documents.  My sentiments exactly the conference in regards to arguments approximates Many inter-nationalities at least 3 continents. Ancestor occupants with these words I’m a biochemist marketing guerrillas in the midst of this mist.  We the tapestry of ornaments via the internets correspondents it’s like I’m studied on my own no paperwork to show my doctorate of rocking it.  I want a milkshake mixed extra thick so it actually improves my life.  Massacre in the streets.  Soul gets fasten to the beats.  Emotion in a drum pattern.  Puts the spirit at ease changes lives makes memories.  We reminisce lacking candor look back in retrospect kinesis situational intensity convince myths as the centripetal force drifts making you cause conflicts with the dame you caressed whose early departure has you dismissed flailing arms is a fit temper tantrum get nothing and like it anthem in this for the marathon and beyond whereupon such a large portion of our population is related to Genghis Khan.  What was going on?  Mating a savage motivation bondage of ancestral astral projections.  In a succession of going with aggression. Talking too much now I’m a witness to this confession.  I didn’t want to know that nor should you want to share it - in your heart bear with it. I need to check up on what era that was. I want potato chips crisper than a whisper in a dark room embracing solitude twiddling a whisker brisker than podcast radio transistor, he was very bad only did one movie but he was a fister, turned that lifestyle around and became a wonderful listener, except after he kissed her, she fiddled his zipper, polished half handle of liquor, hand cuffs cutoff circulation like a prisoner, as she moved towards his waistline she announced OK noodle, his phone screen lit up he couldn’t get up - his unit wouldn’t get up, Here is the kicker, she addressed yours is so much pinker, than red shade of a swisher, Oh yes it is sir right when she was about to go to town cell phone screen with the rear camera face down accessed a video Oh yes Mister Fisher.  Vid featuring a debutante with oily wrist smash grab a sphincter.   Homegirl peeped it out the corner of her eye.  Jeez Louise Guy, you think she liked it, those are screams of terror why did you video tape and mic it?  Payback is real He said no no stop she said you will get nothing and like it.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Bloop Didn't Match Bleep

Flat line monitor they filed with the manufacturer to get truth because bloop didn’t match bleep

Was she dead or deep asleep it takes a large leap of courage to surpass milestones when laid out flat on  back thick as a board bright as feather totally do laps passing my stone counting per mile our style lashes out flashes of the bang - boom go sky.  They hope when it’s over something changes dramatically like a star fall macho man bar brawl telekinetic script to anyone one whom you bonded importance of existence is something you cannot deny.  

Fly by the seat of pants, advance like cash flow, difficult to rap slow, I wanna run it like you need it get roller pinned and kneaded, Hebrew jui-jitsu submission look at what his knee did.  Star of David on his playlist we turning off tech on Satur no matter bribery or how you flatter your condolences belated along with ski masks raided should of seen them coming the porch was shaded driveway isolated doctrine confirmed over something we traded urine peptide beaker foggy but perplex this –  His best amigo did too much acid like amino so when he was at cathouse heard a whore moan he could only cognate behavior to influence mood balanced hormone as the counterpoint feline payment never transacted fee to wait in line.   What skill or excellences are you pursuing how can you portray without any cueing.  Hit your marks.  Spit in pitch black fire mouth out sparks.  

It’s your energy that relay tend to take opposition and sway.  Assists their dishin’ drug addicts spinning to get spun on a mission in addition to addiction they act like they don’t lie this is no audition you’re grown why you want permission to ruin your life You see in LA a Bruin cub a forty niner in Long Beach data gets scrubbed unit information placed out of reach.   Look what the cat drug in, breeze blew in you could have been somebody a shoo in.  Migrated to Peru in a mobile pyramid amongst doubters, its like the shouters are first with inside out lower lip pouters claim to be ballers all they are is browsers knickerbockers shirtless with trousers waving a give me a freebie voucher so I roll with moon howlers now does this overwhelm like towers stimulates give us powers of the third kind and our encounters.  

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Gun Laws

-  No fun wit dem laws especially when encountering rough edges grainy surface with gun laws

-  The cause is mass hysteria because amendments put both sides into a predicament

-  Wing of the Eagle into action Xnational Activist after a sour apple up spring the people Active Fist raised above the forehead concurrently nobody wants more dead.

-  Not even the gunman but what about that run in my states Capitol Sacramento

-  Odd… Cell phone is not a weapon 20 trigger pulls the Police can act like a beast, On tempo protest Florida mad man rampaged blood everywhere escorted in handcuffs away facial expression wonder struck departed campus quad

-  Dem our rights in dat bill but that bill was proclaimed before our land fell ill Overdose of fluoride oxygen intoxicants horrible supplements processed food and diabetes from too much sugar in condiments

-  Now to fix your country don’t be chicken like poultry spend love to arrange a redeeming elixir

- This is precise calculation when you are overcrowded too many people in population the hypertension trying to keep up with what you commercially demonstrating sort of like an exchange of demon trading evil for evil soul grasp tool sickle--- Concise to arbitration overcrowded too many people in population the hypertension trying to keep up with what you commercially demonstrating sort of like is regal viper fang retention seek help contemplating like gleaming shovel off moonshine fickle.  

-  Everything even your status is the status materialism is the apparatus zero the sum on the abacus but yet the ability to function not be bullied or tempted to destroy yourself or others can be uncontrollable

-  Mental health doesn’t have a look so why they judge based on the cover texture ink print of book

-  No civilian needs an automatic machine gun.  Home protection can be accomplished with 20 gauge is plenty.  

- There are more guns in the US than people.  So agree with March for our lives.  I disagree with anything I’m not feeling and if we all could be a Democracy and meet in the middle we all should be fine with the compromise.

- First person liver body organ problem corking, ostrich keeping dome piece dipped into land chunks hoping not to get things out of proportion

-  News was sidetracked Porn Star had protection less sex with President along with a dry cleaner hanger abortion clinic minute men attacking those who look immigrated

- It’s a circle of blood you been initiated.  We do not exist in a dystopia but these large organizations can paint whatever portrait they want to fit into an agenda

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++You Can Be Anything

You are where you at in fact you could go where you want to be and you can be anything

So easy to feel like nothing complain and become doubtful with a mouthful of evil they walk in a horrible path of negativity and self-destruction same time place continuum hurting others while they just trying to get through the same as you do.  What is this reasoning?  Who created the outline?  Why if I don’t play ball can’t I get a pass down on the baseline? Appeasing you either got to be a mover and shaker or to the sideline your thrown and labeled a space waster.  Money identifies so much.  Status class how your friends and family eat continuous and fast.  Totally empty posthumous till those on top of the power structure find those beneath humorous.  Better teeth greater smile success is subjective.  I took the elective to be me why don’t you be you. Underneath all the bogus ideas and understandings  I breathe near the 14th of the month only to inhale and not exhale for another 30.  If you do business justified you can really be wealthy if you lied play dirty. Landing around the 5th I derail in a matter of moments look sick and pale living again for less than allowed.  Now the natural lines in my face is  scowled. I want to be an xnational not into whats in or rational I’ve never admired reality TV or what is force fed to me. The world is very fluid with whats not allowed how you make your bread and weather you get a box or become dust when dead.  They never said it would be like this but they never stated it wouldn’t or couldn’t I’m tired of the chosen getting a vote I never balloted giving me basically 2 options on major decisions unanimously untalented more than perfected for the future while living slithering past the masses until something so major happens to a loved one a ugly ungloved one frozen in the headline archived content someplace indefinite it is about time.  Dig through scorched Earth.   Charred ground far fewer giblets in the stew to see self in mirror the spoon is wooden and sipping left a splinter too difficult to survive this nuclear winter.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++To Get Bye

Chatted with an annoying carcass inverted in Caracas on an apparatus and we agreed about this

You’re all I need to get buy

-  The voice don’t know but like a bass line I record in mono Remember before I kissed a girl I got mononucleosis and this in general gave me a neurosis if I haven’t kissed how the heck did I get mono

-  Punctuality arriving pronto seconds click nimble with the fingertips pulling a combo characterized in metabolic state ketosis

-  Fasting near or around roses favorite floral Lotus.  To get by stay fly no aeronautics my aerobics consists of verbal trampoline pounce the guardrail carine upon the jet strip Don’t Trip.

-  Landing gear engaged to get by clearance from the air traffic controller, just this style is me high roller tip toeing soldier avoiding ebola maintain employment meeting or exceeding quota.

-  To get buy you need straight cash homie loads and loaves of bread cheddar or whatever Hamilton greenbacks, paper guap of franklin will do

-  To get by Your Blessing will be thee necessity sky beautiful.   Open heart to keep it plain and simple more than the crease unfolding the ripple

-  To get by clean water fresh air healthy food the ability to create mobility infinitely friends family meditation agility stretching.

-  Concept of these scriptures stacks all the to the back of literature willingness be the finesse all this and that’s success

-  To get by why try easier to complain make it artificial cause others through the tidal waves stress and strain

- Sitting on your knees sneaker heels tap the back of your button ups Long Barrel at temple.  Imagine the thoughts before you’re executed.   That process of it’s over.  Can you fanaggle?   Use communication for survival last chance come at them sideways like a tooth that snaggle

-  This snag will either end your current existence begin into a newish dimension an entrance how did these doors swing open? Never let them see you moping. Laugh in the face danger many elements to this for coping.

-   Change is a guarantee and you can’t get much of anything so constant.  Who can adapt the fastest?   Chip up as soon as society is cashless.  Global position the system while mapless.  I’m going to flow more rap less.

-  Concubine colorful sword edge dull, The Ktown market I copped it at in the China shop bull.     Tea party porcelain porcupine alarm module.

-  iota needs some soda caramel color cola so the bubbles can fix my upset tummy stay scummy my friend is a sin and not funny Lowest on totem pole that explains the mischievous grin

-  Never find work attitude be the jerk stay going bizerk at the store with the clerk make it impossible for them to accomplish the mish undertone a smirk relentless and abscessed until they fail find out it all evolved from silly little games your repercussions wrong answer given to test

-   Well rounded knew how art felt, Chemicals were spilt and the fumes of the 2nd story would melt.  Heartfelt never dealt a hand like that patience is all precious up til you are the doctors patients and he truly evil terrorize a boll weevil wore wild long tail lab coat crazy colors of crayon except no cotton all rayon and he would lay on the guilt deprive of medication till the truly ugly wanted to be killed subconsciously the whispers You’re all I need to get by…..

[sobtanian]

On how I really tried to love the Nuraphone

I was really excited when I found out about Nuraphone headphones. Combining both over-ear (for bass/haptic feedback) and in-ear technologies, as well as customising the music to suit your particular hearing profile (something that the brilliant AKG N90Q did with great success), it was a combination that was too good to resist.

They arrived yesterday, and I was really eager to give them a spin!

Build quality is really very, very good. They feel solid, not cheap and plasticky, with nice soft over-ear pads that are made from a velvety plastic. The in-ear portion of the cans are nice and flexible and not intrusive at all. These don’t feel like IEMs in your ears, more like you’ve gently inserted a small finger :)

To customise the listening experience you have to use the Nura app, which couldn’t be simpler. Wear the headphones, pair them with your phone, be quiet, and listen to various bleeps and bloops for a few minutes while it calibrates to your ears.

After that’s done, you’re given a demo song that plays using the generic profile. The app tells you to swap to your calibrated profile when you’re ready. It is here that I noticed something not right...

You see, the generic profile sounded unbelievably crap. We’re not talking about cheap ear buds crap, but actually like it was intentionally fucked up with so much DSP: tinny highs, muddy lows, hardly any mids. It really was rubbish, and felt as if it was intentionally made that way, to make the customised profile sound even more amazing.

I was ready to switch to my calibrated profile, which I did and WOAH! What a difference. Everything sounded just right, and really quite good. Exciting!

I fiddled about with the “immersion” setting: what this does is change the degree of vibration on the over-ear parts, as well as how loud the bass is. The idea is that you can be “front row” with bone-ratting base, or turn it off completely, and anything in between.

Again, with the demo song, fiddling with this was quite unique, with true shaking bass at the most extreme setting, and smooth bass to accompany that, and none of that when it’s off. I settled for a setting in between.

Finally, the app told me to customise the buttons on the headphones. There’s one on each side and they’re (very) touch sensitive. By default, the left one toggles the immersion setting, while the right one plays/pauses. I left them as they are.

I switched over to my iPhone’s music app, and started listening to lots of different genres of music, and this is when it all fell apart :(

The main problem was that the Nuraphone was applying a huge amount of inconsistent DSP to the music, without any real consideration to what it was actually doing. In other words, if my calibrated hearing profile meant that the bass needed to be boosted and the treble lowered, it did that blindly, regardless of what that actually did to the listening experience.

To best highlight what I mean, I’ll list some example songs I listened to and what happened:

1\ Superman Theme - John Williams. The whole of this recording sounded like it was playing through a cheap bluetooth speaker, sat around 50 metres away from me. My assumption was that the mids were dampned down so much by the calibrated profile that the whole song was fucked.

2\ The Louvre - Lorde. This was a bit better. The bassy start sounded quite pleasant, but then Lorde sang, and when she went higher up on the scale her voice became sibilant and almost tinny. She drops down the scale and sounds like Lorde again. It was a really weird experience.

3\ I Want To Break Free - Queen. The best of the experiment, in that at least it was consistent throughout. However, still, Freddy’s voice sounded so artificially out of line with the rest of the song as we know it.

4\ Oxygene 17 - Jean-Michel Jarre. Again consistent throughout but it had the same problem as Superman, it sounded like it was playing through a cheap speaker.

5\ Human - Rag and Bone Man. This was the straw that broke the camel’s back. When it starts and he sings, all low and that, it sounded really quite good. Then when he sings the chorus and goes up an octave or two, it immediately sounded all tinny and harsh. It was like someone had spliced two versions of the song, or like a different singer had come along to sing the chorus. A thoroughly unpleasant experience.

Another issue I noticed was with volume changes. The above songs were played via bluetooth on an iPhone 10. If I had the volume on 80% or so, some parts of the music were almost completely missing/low. If I went up to 100%, they suddenly appeared and were really quite loud. Drop the volume down and again they disappeared suddenly.

This issue, along with all the songs above, made me come to the conclusion I mentioned above: the DSP was changing everything with no consideration to what it was actually doing. It had decided that some frequencies had to be very low, and some very high, and so on. It was doing this regardless of context, so very-low-rag-and-bone-man was fine, higher-pitched-rag-and-bone-man was boosted beyond recognition. Very unpleasant.

To ensure this wasn’t an issue with bluetooth or MP3, I repeated the songs again but this time with a 3.5mm connection to my AK Jr, and FLAC sources. The exact some issues were replicated.

Sadly, by then I had come to the conclusion that these just aren’t for me. They way the same piece of music was changing as if a child was tweaking the DSP dials was just unpleasant, and I now have an RMA code to return them.

Finally, these headphones have gained great reviews on the interwebs, which does make me wonder whether the main issue is with my ears, or to be more precise with my hearing profile. I cannot see how professional reviewers can have the same listening experience that I had and still come back with a positive review. Or it could be that I was perhaps unfairly comparing them to my AKG N90Q and Sennheiser HD800S cans, both absolutely amazing at what they do. 

Saying that, however, Apple’s AirPods are a much more pleasant, and consistent, listening experience, so there’s also that.

Try as I might, I couldn’t enjoy the Nuraphone. Obviously YMMV, but at £349 I wouldn’t risk it.

[newmusicmonthly]

2020

Hello. I hope you and yours are well. As is tradition, below are my selections for albums and songs of the year. As I have yet to receive a reply from you, dear reader, sincerely asking to unsubscribe, you are therefore the proud recipient of the list once more! I’ve altered the format from 5 tracks each month because, as I suspect many of you did, I went into a nostalgic hole for large chunks of this year (for me this consisted of at least two months of nothing but Funkadelic, which does mean my personalised algorithm is now ace), but also when I looked back at when many of these tracks were released it was front heavy for the first half of the year – another body blow to the supposed “monthly” mailer. I even considered not writing my one-liners, but where is the fun in that? Furthermore, trying to keep the long list to 60 tracks in total (equivalent to 5 per month) proved overly frustrating, so I’ve included some extras, especially as this year felt 13 month long. Notwithstanding said excuses, enough preamble, on with the list! Let me know what you think and do send me your own selections. Lots of love xx TOP 10s TOP 10 ALBUMS Baxter Dury – The Night Chancers Mildlife – Automatic SAULT – Untitled (Black Is) Alice Boman – Dream On Kanaan – Odense Sessions Lightning Orchestra – Source And Deliver Yves Tumor – Heaven To A Tortured Mind The Strokes – The New Abnormal Woods – Strange to Explain Erland Cooper – Hether Blether TOP 10 TRACKS Malena Zavala – En la Noche Caribou – You & I Yves Tumor – Kerosene! Puscifer – Apocalyptical Mildlife – Automatic King Hannah – Meal Deal SAULT – Wildfires // Bow [yes, there are two tracks there] Kanaan – Urgent Excursions To the Tundrasphere Frazey Ford – Golden Jessie Ware – What’s Your Pleasure? NEW MUSIC ‘MONTHLY’ MAILER Spotify Link Here Holy Fuck – Near Mint What better way to kick off a retrospective look at 2020 than with ‘Holy Fuck’ Alice Boman – It’s OK, It’s Alright Really love this album and this pick is a real downer, spectral and haunting but also touching Smoke Fairies – Out Of The Woods Jessica and Katherine still delivering a decade on, the chorus guitar riff is tops Nicolas Godin – The Border Air’s Nicolas Godin doing his best detached friendly robot, mais bien sur Moses Boyd – BTB Vibrant, propulsive, energetic, gotta move! The Men – Wading In Dirty Water Avid readers will know I’m a fan of these guys and this one rides a familiar Crazy Horse choogle Tame Impala – Breathe Deeper Funky bass, piano flourishes, solid synths, all groove Kanaan – Urgent Excursions To the Tundrasphere Ok, here it is, there’s always going to be at least one – this is the 14 min space rock jam – skip/enjoy! Frazey Ford – Golden This production is right up my street, soulful vocals swoop around tight rhythm section and hammond keys, an analogue dream Caribou – You and I From the analogue to a digital master, man this beat is catchy Pulled By Magnets – Cold Regime People Die File this under terrifying experimental jazz Jonathan Wilson – Riding The Blinds JW doing that 6/8 minor ballad thang Baxter Dury – Say Nothing Another album I loved this year and could have picked any number of tracks, so here’s a quote from Baxter: “My craft and in a sense a certain style has been perfected and it’s easy… I don’t have to do it again basically. I don’t want to hear another man talking over an orchestral background.” Ha! U.S. Girls – 4 American Dollars Slick funky, soulful, classic strings, building into a brilliant outro with great lyrics Deeper – Lake Song Detached vibe ala Joy Division / The Cure done through a Pavement lens with serious downer lyrics Pretty Lightning – Voo Doo Boo Swampy dirge guitar grooves Tamikrest – Anha Achal Wad Namda Another mailer favourite, Touareg guitar wizards Tony Allen, Hugh Masekela – Never (Lagos Never Gonna Be the Same) Master drummer who sadly passed away earlier this year just after this release, and two years after master trumpeter Masekela’s own passing, this track is a buzzing tribute to Fela Myrkur – House Carpenter Danish black metaller does Scandinavian folk: bright and beautiful Sufjan Stevens, Lowell Brams – The Runaround A weird album, even by Sufjan standards, but I found these electronic ambient sounds strangely comforting R.A.P. Ferreira – ABSOLUTES Rhythm & poetry The Weeknd – Blinding Lights What can I add to the smash of 2020? Catchy af Porridge Radio – Long Indie banger, with a decidedly angry, bitter, playful lyrics Cleo Sol – Her Light If online research is to be believed Cleo is part of the collective in SAULT with producer Inflo, but this album is standalone brilliance without knowing that, this is pure vintage soul vibes Malena Zavala – En la Noche I returned to this track more than any other this year, the rhythm, the vocals, the melody, the production, even if I have to use google translate to fully understand the lyrics Tom Misch, Yussef Dayes – Lift Off Molten guitar, groovy arrangements, and plenty of business from Dayes Yves Tumor – Kerosene! An absolute belter, amazing vocals, groove and crescendo perfection Warm Digits, The Orielles – Shake The Wheels Off (feat. The Orielles) Immediate synth pop, indie dancefloor (with some solid cowbell) EOB – Brasil First solo venture for Ed, acoustic folk gives way to rumbling bass banger, would very much like to experience this in a field Other Lives – Hey Hey I Grand rocking orchestral aural assault with hints of Morricone Elephant Tree – Sails Fulfilling the heavy dirge quota, that hit at 2:33 is a proper head in the speakers moment The Strokes – Why Are Sundays So Depressing This album snuck up on me, and then I found myself listening to it non-stop, this track such an ear worm Houses of Heaven – In Soft Confusion I think the right descriptor is darkwave – insistent drum machine, reverb soaked vocals, industrial production, gloomy pop hooks Joel Sarakula – Don’t Give Up on Me Operating in a dangerous space between homage and pastiche, groove and parody, this is smooth easy yacht rock Donny Benét – Second Dinner Following hot on the heels of pastiche, this time with tongue firmly in cheek, The Don and his 80s reverence lolz Perfume Genius – Whole Life Completely arresting, the lyrics an absolute gut punch, yet still gorgeous Jake Blount – Beyond This Wall From the press release, this album “features fourteen carefully chosen tracks drawn from Blount’s extensive research of Black and Indigenous mountain music. The result is an unprecedented testament to the voices paradoxically obscured yet profoundly ingrained into the Appalachian tradition” – this contemporary instrumental is a superb banjo and fiddle tune Holy Hive – Broom Formed by the drummer from the Dap Tones and inspired by being on tour with Lee Fields, this gentle soul, complete with tremolo guitar and horns, really floats Woods – Where Do You Go When You Dream A welcome return to form, this mellotron infused number is beautifully catchy Erland Cooper – Linga Holm Dramatic piano and strings from an altogether wild and wonderful album Mystery Jets – Screwdriver Loud / quiet dynamic, bombastic riffs, seething verses, the Jets turn it up to eleven to fight with love Jehnny Beth – Flower Another track where hushed verses give way to chorus explosions, serious tension and intensity Hinds – Good Bad Times Love that thudding bass drum, big stomping pop Norah Jones – Were You Watching? Smooth but haunting, with added Celtic flavour Braids – Young Buck Bleeps and bloops, melancholic poppy vocals, and the damnedest catchiest chorus Jessie Ware – What’s Your Pleasure? Is it getting hot in here? No further questions LA Priest – What Moves Quirky strutting electro, sleek yet squelchy SAULT – Wildfires + SAULT, Michael Kiwanuka – Bow Double billing because I couldn’t make a choice (plus when I realised the rhythms flow perfectly into one another it’s like it’s one song) Run The Jewels – a few words for the firing squad (radiation) Again, difficult to choose which track on this album; this is pure fire with sax and all GUM – The Thrill Of Doing It Right Turn this feel good banger up! Such a big hit when the horns drop at the start The Vacant Lots - Fracture Catchy, icy, synths (and Desert Sands label mates by the by) A.A. Williams – Melt Enchanting slow-burning, stirring post-rock, with a wonderful, soaring crescendo Lightning Orchestra – For Those Who Are Yet To Be Born A late discovery, but immediately catapulted to the top, self-described “psychedelic booty-shake” Kamaal Williams – Save Me Almost chose ‘Pigalle’ but the tight push drumming on this won out, hard funky jazz stylings of the Herbie variety Victoria Monét – Dive Lavish and groovy, and as Monét puts it: “They say most humans are about 60% water, but I believe women must be 69% so dive in baby." Secret Machines – Talos’ Corpse Genuinely so happy to see Brandon and Josh back and still with the big sounds All Them Witches – Enemy of My Enemy Relentlessly heavy, all the chops and described by one reviewer as the love child of TOOL, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Kyuss; I love this band Fenne Lily – Birthday Beautiful and bruised Mildlife – Automatic Another new discovery, in the pocket cosmic goodness and much as it pains me to quote from NME I can’t think of a better description than ‘Mobius strip funk’ Puscifer – Apocalyptical Maynard in the video for this track is an indelible image; massive swaggering Intruder-esque drums, angular menacing guitars, Carina’s ethereal edgy vocals, Maynard’s gritted teeth whispers, and apposite apocalyptical lyrics Matt Berninger – Loved So Little Confessional moody acoustic conjuring up Western-esque vistas Goldensuns – Denandra Moore Californian sun-drenched lo-fi groove, for fans of Conan Mockasin and Night Moves Frankie and the Witch Fingers – Cavehead F*cking excellent west coast garage psych melange and the B,D,E ascend at 3:10 is nod central King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – The Hungry Wolf Of Fate Genre bending brilliance once again from down under, this cut a heavy, doomy Sabbath assault King Hannah – Meal Deal Ominous drone opens into an acoustic tale of buying a flat with a spider in the bath, Hannah’s sinister smoky sultry vocals draw you in, before some menacing low frequency dirge guitar and drums kick in at 1:30… By this point on first listen I was already hooked, but then comes a great walloping Angel Olsen ‘Sister’ style crescendo, a glorious find at the end of the year (props to Manuel) HONOURABLE MENTIONS Elephant Stone – I See You Sam Lee, Elizabeth Frazer – The Moon Shines Bright Priscilla Ermel – Martim Pescador Rheinzand – Blind Dogleg – Fox The Flaming Lips, Deap Lips – Home Thru Hell The Heliocentrics – Hanging By A Thread Midwife – 2018 Chicano Batman – Color My life Trace Mountains – Rock & Roll Peach Pit – Shampoo Bottles Buscabulla – Vámono Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever – Cars In Space Jess Williamson – Wind on Tin Thiago Nassif, Arto Lindsay – Plástico The Vacant Lots – Endless Rain Nubya Garcia – Stand With Each Other (Feat. Ms MAURICE, Cassie Kinoshi, & Richie Seivwright) Juanita Stein – L.O.T.F. Carlton Melton – Waylay Paul McCartney – Long Tailed Winter Bird

[brooklyndrinksandgoeshome]

It’s embarrassing, the last three written entries on here have mostly been about people passing away as if I’m surrounded by the all-encompassing grim reaper everyday at every turn. I mean, this is what happens when you write about the past and naturally the people who are no longer with us will get a bit of extra space because all we have from them now are memories, but for fuck sake, I’m not mister doom and gloom all the time. If anything, it seems as if I’m surrounded by a self-contained bubble of early 90s Japanese wrestling, 70′s power-pop, Radio Garden, this Oliver Sacks book that I’m hoping to finish before the end of the week and curling. No really, curling. Seriously, curling rules.

I haven’t written that much about music in the last several years mostly because of burnout and if I’m not careful, it’ll start to feel like a job and I’ll want to put it off until my non-existent deadline creeps up on me which I can push back to infinity without any consequence (hell, it’s taken me a week and a half to finish this pointless exercise anyway). Besides, critiquing music as a serious profession, I’ve come to realize as the years have past is, well, kind of stupid; like if you don’t have anything nice to say, just ignore it and all the bad music will all hopefully vanish, right?  

That being said, I do wonder why a lot of bands from yonder past never never got the credit or recognition they deserved. Usually from a DIY perspective, I’m quick to blame poor distribution deals from a company run out of their mom’s basement, or a local band who never played beyond the same 20 people at the same club for their entire existence, (this plagued almost every Detroit band from the early-80s until the late-90s) or just plain old self-destruction that still bites people back, whether if it’s drug addiction or a fear of failure/success. My personal favorite --and I can’t find it on the internet to save my life right now, was when a jilted ex destroyed all but a hundred copies of her boyfriend’s first and only EP of his band, thus making it an instant collector’s item with their tracks being discovered fairly recently on a Killed By Death bootleg.

I also think my own opinions on music have always a been a bit left of center as I get bored way too easily and I quickly turn into a crotchety old man whenever Pitchfork creams their jeans over another Garageband produced dance track that sounds as boring and milk toast as any song put together from laptop bloops and bleeps.* Feeling this old out of touch makes one resort to the jazz or country section of any used record store, or when anyone asks me what I listen to these days, I usually say “podcasts.” But something about the aforementioned 70s power-pop obsession has arrived after a brief yet expensive summer of Northern Soul collecting that got put on hold as I have a hard time paying more than $20 for a 45; yeah, this phase didn’t last very long. Before that, it was Sun Ra who has literally hundreds of releases under his always spotty discography and after awhile, it became overwhelming search through scores of, I’m sorry, no disrespect, bin fillers, to eventually find a reissued gem like Sleeping Beauty or Lanquidity. Before that, it was electronic, sci-fi synth soundtrack sounding 70s prog made by the guy who use to drum for The Shadows. Did I mention that I get bored way too easily?

Even by record nerd standards, I know I have some unpopular opinions on popular unpopular music: Big Star weren’t going to be next Beatles ever and they probably have five good songs top. As much as I love The Jam, Style Council have a handful of tracks that blow away anything else Paul Weller’s ever done (oh snap, fighting words). With a few exceptions, The Yellow Pills comps are wildly overrated with a lot of tracks sound more like a second rate Rick Springfield --even if it was the point for a band to be the next Rick Springfield. Also, it still bothers me that The Fastbacks, mostly ignored for their entire 22 year career, got more recognition when they opened for The Presidents of The United States of America when “Peaches” was in heavy rotation. Seriously, I’ll take Answer The Phone Dummy over any 90s Sub Pop release any day.

The Keys: I Don’t Wanna Cry

Produced by Joe Jackson and still managed to have only found a recent audience from the depths of obscurity thanks to a Youtube hero. Not bad, but probably too nice and squeaky clean as The Buzzcocks and Undertones already did this way better and louder. Still, the singer hits those high notes with ease and could have easily been a hit if it was written for, I don’t know, Elvis Costello or someone else a bit more angsier. 

The Letters: Nobody Loves Me

Again, way too wussy and self-hating even by pop-punk standards, but I still love this track as it’s bouncy pogo energy and raw production more than make up for the shitty lyrics. One and done, never heard from again until a 2002 CD reissue of their mostly unreleased discography, or is it a reunion record? I don’t know.

The Tours: Language School

Another one and done from the UK who got plenty of hype from John Peel, signed to Virgin and imploded within a year never to be heard from until Cherry Red reissued their unreleased album a few years ago which is now also going for a steep price on Discogs. Nice short, poppy number here that if anything, makes you realize how much (again) the Buzzcocks influenced a generation of UK bands in the late 70s-early 80s.

20/20: Remember The Lightning

I first remember hearing about these guys from the well meaning Radio Heartbeat Records who reissued a single that quickly went out print along with the rest of the labels discography --some moved on to form Captured Tracks who eventually went on to re-release all of Milk ‘n Cookies output on a (sorry) completely unnecessary 2xLP box set, huge picture book included. 20/20’s first album got lost in the shuffle of another busted label (notice a trend here) that got swallowed up by Epic Records, which is a shame because we could have had a punkier younger brother of the Knack.

De Cylinders: I Wanna Get Married

Spontaneously heard a live set of these guys on the always fantastic, very missed Cherry Blossom Clinic on WFMU and rushed to see their record release/only American show ever in front of a dozen others at a random Brooklyn bar. The wonderful Sing Sing Records reissued this single and naturally, there’s a way out of print CD discography compilation  that’s only available in Japan for like $40 bucks on Discogs. Uh, I have to find a job first.

Nasty Facts: Drive My Car

God, I love the internet. This gem would have never been discovered if it wasn’t for some Youtube hero who posted a vinyl rip of a bootleg as the original pressing is long gone --cheapest one I found on Discogs going for $70 and it’s tough being a cheapskate and a record collector at the same time. Anyway, punky rocky from New York with a singer who sounds like less gruff but equally badass Joan Jett; America’s answer to the Rezillo’s! Get on it, weirdo!

Ail Symudiad: Garej Paradwys

Probably never made it farther out than Cardiff because everything’s in Welsh, but they put out a surprising number of singles that were all pretty consistent throughout the 80s --I’m pretty sure this is their third one. Full of energy despite the weird guitar effect pedals used throughout the song and if you’re curious, they’re called Second Movement and according to Google Translate, this songs about partying in their garage. I don’t know, I didn’t go farther than their “Paradise Garage” song title.

The Elevators: Your I’s Are Too Close Together

The least punky song on here, but it did make me laugh out loud the first time I heard it. I mean, of all the reasons why he won’t go out with her, and he lists everyone one on here, her facial structure was the final straw. Probably a wee mean spirited, but the lyrics go perfect with the chorus, high notes on the lead guitar and all.

The Records: Starry Eyes

Saving the best for last. There’s no excuse, this should have been a huge hit. I mean, it’s great that we have our own song to share with our closest friends --for example, a heartbreaker of an ex or whatever it was you want to call it when we had an on and off again thing in 2012 introduced me to this and well, all it did was prolong some coulda-woulda-shoulda feelings that lasted a bit longer than it should have. Anyway, this song’s a power-pop masterpiece that, unintentionally or not, sounds like an unreleased Big Star track and it makes me angry that these guys got swept under the rug for whatever reason.

I’m tired and I’ve run out of adjectives, just like how I use to back when I (barely) made a living writing about music, no benefits, no thesaurus. Will try to write more about something like Atsushi Onita or how much I love The Great British Bake Off or something. 

*Nothing made me feel more out of touch with underground/contemporary music when I had a hard time understanding what the big deal was with The Fiery Furnaces, but when I couldn’t get away from Animal Collective, that’s when I get up and settled into a WFMU k-hole. I can tell you the exact moment sometime around the end of 2007, on the 7 train heading into Long Island City for work, reading The Metro --I’m a sucker for free daily newspapers no matter how badly written, and came across their best album of the year list with Strawberry Jam being number four or something. “This album rules” the brief review started and once again, I just didn’t get it. I don’t always take part in any schadenfreude, but I’m glad significantly less people give a shit about them these days.   

[zeroviraluniverse-blog]

Apple HomePod, Amazon Echo, Google Home and more: We put 7 speakers to the test

Visit Now - http://zeroviral.com/apple-homepod-amazon-echo-google-home-and-more-we-put-7-speakers-to-the-test/

Apple HomePod, Amazon Echo, Google Home and more: We put 7 speakers to the test

Image caption Amazon’s Alexa director Daren Gill has called voice “the next great interface”

For the last four weeks, I’ve been living in an Orwellian nightmare. One in which I have to watch every word I say because “they” are always listening. And by “they”, I mean Alexa, Siri and Google.

It seemed like a good idea – get seven smart speakers and test them in a real house to see how they affected our listening habits and daily routine.

At times, they’ve been pretty helpful. If we’re running low on biscuits, one of us can bark, “Hey Siri, add Hob Nobs to the shopping list” and a reminder appears on our phones.

During Storm Emma, Google kept me up-to-date on train cancellations, while our kids amused themselves for hours by asking Alexa what noise a cat makes.

Thankfully, none of the devices started spontaneously laughing in the middle of the night – but they were all prone to bouts of madness.

I once asked Alexa “what’s the weather in Yemen” and got the reply: “‘Das wetter’ is German for ‘the weather’.”

And when I told Google to “play music in the kitchen”, it responded by streaming Lee Brice’s Songs In The Kitchen to a speaker in the dining room (congratulations, Lee, on your new royalty stream).

To find out which smart assistant was the smartest, I put each of the speakers to the test – posing 50 random questions on music, sport and general knowledge. Like all good quiz show hosts, I only accepted their first answer.

Alexa fared best, with 37 correct answers, followed by Google on 32, and Siri, which scored a lowly 27.

Apple’s assistant was hobbled by its lack of integration with other apps – meaning it couldn’t read my calendar or look up recipes.

When it came to music-related queries, however, Siri had more success.

For instance, the HomePod was the only speaker that could parse the command “play the James Bond theme next”. Its competitors all tried to find a song called “James Bond Theme Next”, failed, and gave up.

You can find the full list of questions, and how the speakers responded, here.

As you’ll see, none of them are perfect (never ask for music by Haim in an Northern Irish accent) but smart speakers look set to replace the smartphone as the tech giants’ biggest growth products.

Choosing the right one can be tricky. So here’s our guide to the speakers, and how they might fit into your lifestyle.

Apple HomePod (£319)

Image copyright Apple

Apple has arrived late to the smart speaker market, but not through laziness.

The HomePod has been in development since 2012, and boasts a unconventional design – with seven tweeters (the speakers that produce treble) arranged in a circle to project music into every nook and cranny of your house. The bass is also punchy and well-balanced, even at low volumes.

I found it worked better with acoustic, singer-songwriter material. Playing Regina Spektor’s Samson, the HomePod championed the singer’s vocals without losing the detail in her piano work. On a busier song like Stevie Wonder’s Superstition, however, it struggled to pick out the star’s intricate drumming.

It’s also an incredibly insistent speaker – demanding your attention with a very “forward” soundstage. We found that was great in the hustle and bustle of a family kitchen, but less attractive when listening to music in bed at night.

One important note: You can’t set up the HomePod unless you have an iPhone or an iPad. The speaker is then tethered to that device and certain functions, like updating your shopping list, only work when they can “see” each other.

HomePod is also completely loyal to Apple Music. You can’t ask Siri to stream from Spotify or Deezer – although you can access them on your phone and beam them to the speaker.

Best for: Apple enthusiasts; audiophiles

Amazon Echo Plus (£139)

Image copyright Amazon

If you want a speaker that comes with a free light bulb, then Amazon’s Echo Plus is your only choice.

The speaker aims to be a “home hub”, controlling all sorts of connected devices, from your lights to your kettle. I wasn’t able to test those abilities, though, as the BBC budget didn’t stretch to buying me remote control curtains.

As a music player, the Echo Plus is competent but unspectacular – but it’d make an ideal replacement for a kitchen radio.

Alexa will happily stream from Spotify and Deezer, as well as Amazon’s own Music Unlimited service – which you get at a discount if you purchase an Echo device.

It’s particularly good at finding the music you want, even if you have a terrible memory. I managed to get Alexa to cue up Girls Aloud’s Love Machine by asking, “What’s the song that goes, ‘Let’s go, Eskimo?'”

One word of warning: Amazon’s streaming service doesn’t have a parental filter, so you’re stuck with the explicit versions of the songs in their catalogue.

And now that Amazon has leased Alexa to other speaker manufacturers, there are better devices in a similar price range.

Best for: Casual listening, smart assistant abilities

Ultimate Ears Megablast (£199)

Image copyright Ultimate Ears

The Megablast is a long, tall cylinder of fun, available in a range of colours (our review unit was a lurid yellow, which I became weirdly fond of).

It gives out a bassy, fulsome sound; which goes up really, really loud without losing any finesse. You can use Alexa to play songs from Amazon Music Unlimited (but not Spotify yet), or simply use it as a bluetooth speaker to stream music directly from your phone.

Best of all, you can unplug it and take it to a party, with a generous battery life that means you won’t be left tuneless when the clock strikes midnight. And it’s waterproof, so it won’t go kaput if you spill your drink.

On the downside, the microphone is poor at picking up your voice commands – especially when music is playing. And the charging port is awkwardly placed at the bottom of the speaker, meaning it has to be laid on its side when its plugged in, ruining the sound. (Ultimate Ears sells a separate charging dock, pictured above, for £35 if this is a deal-breaker).

Best for: Portability, volume

Sonos: One (£199)

Image copyright Sonos

Sonos are masters of multi-room audio, but the One is their first foray into smart speaker territory.

There’s an intriguing set-up, where you’re asked to wave your phone around the room while the unit emits a series of sci-fi bleeps and bloops.

This helps the speaker adapt to its environment and, to be fair, it performed admirably in our cluttered bedroom, with a weighty, dynamic delivery that belied its tiny size.

Superstition, which confounded Apple’s HomePod, sounded bright and lively, with a deep, funky bass and plenty of breathing room for Stevie Wonder’s vocals.

Best of all, Sonos welcomes all music streaming services – with 49 currently available in the UK, including Apple Music (not all of them can be controlled by Alexa, though).

You can also chain two Sonos speakers together to get stereo, while the Sonos app is the only one that allows you to tweak settings like treble and bass to tailor the music to your tastes. And if you buy multiple units, you can scare your family by playing ghost noises in the attic while you’re in the kitchen.

One small niggle: Sonos has programmed Alexa to speak over the start of your music, so you constantly miss the first five seconds your favourite album.

Best for: Stereo, choice of streaming services, multi-room audio

Google Home (£129)

Image copyright Google

It looks like an air freshener. An air freshener on the Starship Enterprise, but an air freshener nonetheless.

Still, I was quite enamoured with the Home’s sleek, matte white finish and the easygoing, friendly voice of its virtual assistant.

It transpires that her dialogue was written by Emma Coats, a former Pixar employee who drew up the film studio’s 22 rules of storytelling – which explains why Google feels more engaging than its competitors.

There are a few neat touches to the AI, too. When you ask Google to “flip a coin”, for example, you hear the sound of a coin being tossed before learning the result. Even better, the Google Home enables you to make voice calls to any UK landline or mobile number – for free.

Sadly, though, the device isn’t up to much as an actual speaker. It had the worst sound of all the units we tested, and was prone to distorted bass even at low volumes.

Best for: Personality, design

JBL Link 300 (£249)

Image copyright Harmon Kardon

Luckily, fans of Google’s voice assistant have some alternatives. Sonos are promising a Google-enabled speaker later this year and JBL will release their Link 300 in the next couple of weeks.

It’s a chunky little device that works best on pop and hip-hop, with an eloquent sound that emphasises the low end thanks to a circular resonator on the back that pumps out the bass.

One neat feature is a wi-fi light that shows the strength of your internet connection (something I’d like to see on more devices, given the patchy wi-fi in our house).

In the end, this became our go-to speaker in the living room and kitchen, despite an infuriating five-minute fight to make it play the Hamilton soundtrack.

It turns out you had to say “OK Google, play ‘Hamilton: Original Broadway Cast Recording'” – a command that’s as intuitive as a lead wetsuit.

Best for: Google smarts with better sound.

Amazon Echo Show (£199)

Image copyright Amazon

The Echo Show has a 7-inch screen, which displays song lyrics while you listen. It’s a bit of a gimmick, but it was a big hit with our kids.

The device also came in handy in the kitchen, where we used it to display recipes and set timers without having to touch the screen with our sticky fingers.

All this functionality comes at the cost of sound quality, though. Don’t expect anything beyond your average clock radio.

Best for: Karaoke night

Secret option eight: Don’t buy any of them

Image copyright Getty Images

Here’s the thing: With the possible exception of Sonos: One, you’re not getting true hi-fi sound with any of these devices.

If you’ve already got a good home stereo, it’s much cheaper to buy an Amazon Echo Dot (currently £39) and hook it up to your existing set-up with a simple cable.

Similarly, if you’ve got £300 to spend, you can get a decent hi-fi system and an Echo Dot with money to spare.

That way, you get all the benefits of voice control and music streaming without breaking the bank.

Best for: People who’ve already got speakers and have privacy concerns about this whole thing.

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[scottielambchop]

My Review of The Summer Set Festival (1/2)

You know, as a 32-year old man, I don’t really feel like I’m all that old. I’m hip, I still have that old devil-may-care attitude, I’m in pretty good shape, I play video games and don’t have many responsibilities. I love music, and I certainly feel that I’m more than open listening to new music and giving it an honest shot.

Then I started my security job at a Minneapolis bar called Psycho Suzi’s and got to know (and befriend) many people in their early 20s. Now, I’ve now come to realize that I don’t know shit. One such coworker recently posted the flyer for Summer Set (a local EDM festival), and only three names sounded familiar to me: Run the Jewels, Die Antwoord, and Zeds Dead—and that last one was only because it’s a Pulp Fiction quote.

So, as an attempt to fit in with these wacky youths, I’ve decided to listen to one song by each band (group) in the order it was written on the flyer and post my initial thoughts on each. It’s like a stream of conscience from hell. Let’s see how this one goes.

Zeds Dead - Frontlines (ft. GG Magree): This girl’s voice is okay, but musically who gives a shit? Oh, never mind; now it’s turned into a goddamn dubstep song. What in the holy fuck have I gotten myself into? It would be a lot cooler if this featured G.G. Allin — and I really hate G.G. Allin

Zedd – Clarity (ft. Foxes): This song sounds like every song played at my gym. It’s fine. I probably would have liked it in, like, 2001 when I went through a bullshit Paul Oakenfold phase. Do you think this guy has a beef with that Zeds Dead group? I guess that would make this festival kinda neat to see how they hash that shit out.

GRiZ – Hard Times: I’m really hoping this is about Dusty Rhodes, but I think I need to get that out of my head right away. This song starts off kinda cool, like a hip hop version of a Reservoir Dogs-type movie intro. Oh, now the dumb bullshit dubstep kicked in and ruined it — should have figured that nothing stays gold in the context of this miserablelittle adventure I’m on. Also, watching this video, you need to understand this this dude is the most stereotypical white guy trying to be a hip hop DJ. It’s like if Edward Snowden put on a hockey jersey and shitty glasses.

Run the Jewels – Run the Jewels: I’ve heard this before. These guys are cool. But then again, I’m a white guy who casually listens to NPR, so of course I like Run the Jewels. My only problem with this song is that I think only Angel Witch and Minor Threat should have titular songs.

Die Antwoord – Ugly Boy: I don’t know how two people can look so much like juggalos but not be lumped into that group. Instead they’re like the best thing to happen to graphic designers since the Adobe Creative Suite. I used to really like these guys but, then again, I used to be really fucking stupid.

RL Grime – Core: This is building up to something that I’m probably gonna hate. Not to be a self-fulfilling prophecy, but holy shit was I right. It has buildups that I felt like will have a significant payoff, but then it just does fucking nothing. It’s like audio edging. For fuck’s sake, this song goes nowhere. Well, at least I can say that I also really hate their name.

Datsik – Redemption (ft. Excision):  Oh great, I found the official background music to every YouTube vape video. When they inevitably remake the Matrix movies, I fear this is all they’re going to sound like. The track says it features another artist, but the only thing I can hear is some random audio clips. But then I did some research to find out it took TWO separate DJs to make this bullshit.

Post Malone – White Iverson: First of all, this guy needs to land on his basketball references. Second of all, this video has 276,473,194 views—a number I wish I were joking about. This song just sounds like every other modern hip hop song, minimal beat and some dude inaudibly saying dumb shit without a rhyme. Now that I’ve established how milquetoast this song is, I’d really like to comment on how this guy looks. He’s the missing link from Riff Raff and James Franco’s character in Spring Breakers. Seriously, if they were to make a reboot of Malibu’s Most Wanted, casting had better snatch this honkey up QUICK! He seems like an exaggeration of someone trying to appropriate black culture, and it’s heartbreaking no one is calling him on this shit. I can’t wait until we’re in a time of post-Post Malone.

Seven Lions – Worlds Apart (feat. Kerli): Honestly, this starts out okay. Kerli has a pretty voice, the electronic beat isn’t overbearing and the video features bloated images of outer space that you’d probably find on the wall of a “worldly” teenage stoner. I’ve heard way worse. Granted, this could also be my old “techno” fan coming out. There’s a middle dubsteppy part that I could do without, but whatever. Yeah, I didn’t mind this one.

Zomboy – Like A Bitch: Right from the get-go I’m told to, “stop acting like a (woop) and get my hands up.” Here’s the deal, Zomboy: you only get one chance to make a first impression. And you insulting me for not doing what you want isn’t going to make friends with anyone. So, no, I won’t stop acting like a bitch.  The mere fact that you keep repeating it, isn’t going to motivate me to do it any faster—if at all. With that said, musically, this also sucks.

Audien – Something Better (ft. Lady Antebellum): Hey! This has a structure of a legit pop song! I don’t know if this project has been beating me down, or if this is actually decent. Don’t get me wrong, it has the really annoying electronic hooks that most modern music has, but compared to some of the garbage I’ve already put in my ears, it’s pretty alright.

Bakermat – One Day: Man, what a progressive song. Nothing says, “heartstring cash grab” better than mixing samples of MLK’s “I Have A Dream” speech and sexy saxophone with generic dancy electronic beats. It honestly sounds like the backing beats to Marky Mark’s “Good Vibrations.” Oh well, at least it was short.

Big Wild – Aftergold: This song sounds like it was tailor-made to be used in the opening narrative of an “inspirational” teen movie. Imagine an opening shot of an urban high school with the main character doing a voice over explaining his life and school, now think of the music that is playing in the background. Yeah, you’ve got it. It’s light and floaty with an array of unique instruments (strings, Taiko drums, etc.) and then sample in some record scratches and electronic noise and that’s it. It’s not offensive. It’s not anything. It’s just a thing.

Bleep Bloop – Slippin: Before I start, I want you to know that it was THIS band that made me venture into this masochistic assignment. It all started when a group of younger coworkers posted the flyer for this festival on social media and expressed their sincere excitement. Now, being the complete asshole I am, decided to shit all over their good time by stating that it sounds like the worst time imaginable. (I was essentially being facetious because I really don’t care what they listen to. But for the record: I’m right). Anyway, after skimming through the names, my eyes caught the name “Bleep Bloop” and everything in me laughed and cried all at the same time. I voiced my opinion about this band without ever hearing them, stating that this just sounds like a generic EDM placeholder until these assholes can figure out something dumber to call themselves.

Cut to a few days later. It’s a Saturday and once we were finished closing up, I decided to invite some coworkers over for drinks. While everyone is over, I take it upon myself to throw on a record that I figured would appeal to many. So I put on my copy of T-Swift’s 1989 (it’s solid pop-gold, fight me). I throw on the record, and it’s mostly well received. At this moment, the person I was giving shit to about Bleep Bloop made his opinion heard by stating that he can’t believe that I would listen to/enjoy 1989, but refuse to open myself up to Bleep Bloop. Now once he said “Bleep Bloop” out loud, I couldn’t help by throw myself into maniacal laughter. I mean, just think about how goddamn stupid that sounds. Imagine your favorite band of all time. Then imagine their name is fucking Bleep Bloop. Now try and defend that band to someone who hasn’t heard them before. It turns into the biggest, most useless uphill battle you’ve ever waged upon someone else. It’s also just really funny for the other person, if you’re dead serious about them.

Okay, now that I’ve got the backstory of this shit-ass band, it’s time to dive into the music.

This is just a series of dumb sound effects. It honestly sounds like it was created on the Playstation version of MTV Music Generator. Then they have remixed versions of a guy saying the same damn thing. It’s seriously giving me a headache. I don’t know why anyone would want to listen to this for enjoyment. It’s really fucking confusing. All in all, it’s exactly what I expected out of a band named Bleep Bloop.

Destructo – Higher: Have you ever seen an action movie from the late 90’s/early 00’s where the protagonist has to kill a mafia boss in the middle of a douchey club? You know, those scenes where in which shit really escalates into a full-blown gun fight and the fire alarm goes off making everything wet creating a unique aesthetic? Yeah, this is the shitty music playing at the beginning of the scene that lets the viewer know that the location really sucks. The video is blatantly alluding to straight-up heroin/sex addiction—it’s pretty glamorous. And then she dies at the end from a broken heart while some guy repeats, “get higher, baby.” All in all, better than other stuff already reviewed on this godforsaken list.

Ghastly – We Might Fall (ft. Matthew Koma): This video started out by saying “Dubstep Electro House” which is weird because I can almost guarantee it should just say “whiny dude singing over bullshit.” It started off slow with dumb vocals, then it slowly built up to a techno climax (which is also a medical term for when you ejaculate lasers) with a high-pitched autotune. And then it repeats. Whatever, it sucks, but it’s fine.

Well folks, that’s it for the first half. I’m currently waiting on edits for the second. I’m sure you’re waiting with baited breath. Trust me, it fucking sucks.

[luminari-mc]

im super excited that your requests are open Vel! i hope you get some that inspire you! 💗 as you know i love your writing so much!!

i actually have a request for you myself if that’s okay :)

would you be up for headcanons of Mammon, Levi, and Satan with an mc who laughs loudly? purely asking for my own self insert because i have a loud laugh hehe i also will get to laughing so hard ill get tears in my eyes and fall over or off of my seat 💀

-@barbabetos

I actually love it when people laugh loudly because it makes me want to laugh along with them and makes me more comfortable too! :)

Mammon, Leviathan and Satan with an MC who laughs loudly ☆

___________________________________________

Mammon 💛

Our local second-born demon is no stranger to being loud when it comes to express his happiness. So it's not too far-fetched to think that Mammon wouldn't be either weirded out or annoyed if you turned out to do the same!

He'd probably act annoyed by it at first and asking you to tone it down, but truth be told, it only lasts for a day or two. He falls pretty quickly, and is willing to admit defeat soon after.

Once you two become close enough, you can guarantee Lucifer will get even more gray hair because oh seven hells you're the most loud bunch in the entire house.

Even Levi's "bleep-bloop" music sounds relaxing compared to the constant cackle he hears in the hallways now.

Each time you laugh, it sounds like an invitation for Mammon to continue doing or saying what made you laugh in the first place. Your laughter is the equivalent of hearing coins bounce inside a heavy purse, if not more addictive to hear.

You'd actually have to tell him to stop making you laugh otherwise you might just pass out. It's just hard for him to do so when that big wide smile on your face is sending him tingles all across his scalp.

He'd remember each and every thing that sends you off just so he can hear you try to contain your laugh in the middle of a class because he whispered about some dumb stuff from a show. Good luck trying not to get the teacher's attention (and Lucifer's wrath).

Leviathan 🧡

Upon first hearing your laugh, he'd be surprised. Despite him being quite loud when he's happy or excited, he's also an anxious and socially awkward boy whose anxiety bubble needs to be popped! And what better needle to pop that bubble than a good loud laugh from his own player 2?

But once he realizes that the reason you're laughing is because you're hanging with him, he'd actually try to make you laugh as often as he could. Anything to see that wide smile spread across your face, and of course, he'd make sure you do that only when he's around.

Be prepared to receive some jokes and memes on your phone while you're hanging in the same room just so he can catch you off guard. Everytime your laughter bounces off the walls of his bedroom, he lives.

It would actually encourage him to laugh more often as well! Laughter is contagious, and yours is no exception. You were already making an effect on him, but seeing you being at your happiest makes him happy too.

He'd receive the occasional complaints from his brothers because they keep hearing the two of you laughing in his bedroom and jealousy would grow by a tenfold. He loves it.

Lots of wheezing and stomach cramps from the two of you while laid down on the floor from how much laughing you did. Stop it MC! He can't resist joining you if you're laughing that loud, he almost can't breathe himself (he secretly never wants you to stop).

He couldn't be more glad that you turned out to be this expressive, and to let him see this wild array of colors spread across your face all because of him.

Satan 💚

Due to having to restrain his wrath on a daily basis, Satan is usually appearing as a composed individual H24. While he's usually one to prefer silence, especially when it comes to reading books, he wouldn't mind your loud laugh.

Of course, he'd still require a silent environment when he needs one, but if you're laughing and he has the chance of being in your presence, he can only smile and literally bask in the happiness you're projecting.

Soon enough, he starts to actually crave your laugh more and more. He finds that it calms him down, and eases the wrath and need of destruction that swirls within him constantly. It becomes his best medicine.

You were already a source of comfort, but the melodious sound of your laugh entering his ears is a powerful way of making him drop all focus on something that angered him, and turn his frown into an enamored and pleased smile right on the spot.

Somedays he would try and purposely make you laugh, whether after collecting knowledge on what you find funny, or simply tickling you. And when he's feeling more chaotic, he'd come up with interesting tricks to pull on Lucifer or any of his other brothers to get a laugh out of you.

You become the only person he wouldn't get annoyed with for simply being loud while laughing. Satan's favorite thing is the beautiful, and a loud laughter isn't going to ruin the perfect image that you are in his eyes. If anything, it renders you even more beautiful.