#i saw the lyrics before i knew who/what dj crazy time is or the video | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dracoignisworld · 4 years

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From the 2 - 6 Word Starters: “Dance with me?” I wonder what your muse does with it. I’m excited to find out! 💙

Last dance

Daenerys had danced with all of them; Theon, and Tyrion, and Gendry, and Robb. She had even danced with the old science teacher Jorah whose sweaty hands stuck to her waist like tape. By the time the song came to an end, he could barely drag his fingers off of her, and his bow was one of awkwardness rather than courtesy.

But, Jon thought bitterly as Daenerys joined hands with Margaery, and he watched how her pink skirt twirled and fluttered as they jumped around to the upbeat tune of Pharrell Williams’ ‘Happy’, she hasn’t danced with me.

Jon knew that his sixth form prom was never going to be the event that would change the course of his life. Despite Robb insisting on it being ‘the most awesome thing to happen in Liverpool for decades’ - something Jon heard the graduating students say every year - he sensed that it would be just another night to forget.

Now, sat amongst downtrodden confetti and deflating balloons, watching some DJ Daario trying to hide behind the stage as he filled a soda bottle with vodka, Jon knew that only one thing could make these past hours of pain worth it. Only one person could make him stand up from the plastic chair and rock his hand-me-down tux to the ‘UK Top 40’s. And she was currently busy teaching Margaery how to do the dance from the music video, complete with shoulder bouncing and clapping.

“They look stupid,” Theon said as he collapsed into the chair next to Jon. He was panting, droplets of sweat running down his forehead to his wisp of a moustache. He grabbed a napkin off the table and wiped himself down.

“You look stupid,” Jon frowned, “you’ve got cake crumbs on you.”

“I do? Ah shit - someone’s used this napkin already.” Theon threw the paper aside and grabbed another. His pale eyes were focused on Daenerys. “She’s something else, isn’t she?”

“Is she?” Jon asked. “I hadn’t noticed.”

“She’s a fucking tease. Do you know what she said while we were dancing?”

“I don’t care,” Jon said whilst looking very curiously at Theon.

Theon leaned closer to him. As he spoke, there was a smirk on his lips: “She said, I’m going to kiss someone tonight. Just like that. Now what do you think that means, Jon?”

Jon stared at him blankly. “I think it means that she’s going to kiss someone tonight, mate.”

“No shit - but why would she say it to me?”

Jon chewed on his inner cheek and shrugged. “I don’t know, man,” he mumbled, dragging his gaze back to Daenerys, “I don’t know.”

In truth, there were many things about Daenerys that Jon just couldn’t understand. He didn’t get how she could study Latin, French, and Chinese at the same time and still be caught up on Love Island. Or why she was now friends with the same girls who’d bullied her in primary school. Or why, whenever she looked at him with those bright, violet eyes, his face would glow red, and she would smile and talk as if she didn’t even notice.

It’s because she’s nice, Jon decided, and she doesn’t want to embarrass you by pointing out how hopelessly in love you are. But he was hopelessly in love. Not that he was ever going to admit it to Theon, or Tyrion, or any other lad likely to tell him about how the sight of Daenerys’ ass drove them crazy. No, Jon thought, watching the girls collapse in a giggling hug as the song ended, their feet red from dancing, what’s the point of being hurt.

“Oh my God!” Margaery panted as she reached their table, her face as pink as Daenerys’ dress, “That was phenomenal.”

“Actually,” Theon quipped, “phenomenal indicates a one of a kind experience, something extraordinary.”

“What’s your point?” Margaery asked, crossing her arms as she sent him a bored look.

Theon waved at the moving crowd. “Whatever you guys were doing out there was maybe okay at best. Definitely not phenomenal.”

“Mhmm, and I bet you could do better?”

“I never said that,” Theon replied, but he was already getting to his feet.

Jon scooted closer to the table to make space for him to move around, his grey eyes focused on Daenerys. She was standing at Margaery’s side, coyly scratching her arms as she watched her friend being dragged back onto the dancefloor. “Go have fun,” she urged Margaery.

“I think I’m suddenly growing two left feet,” Margaery winked, “I hope he has thick shoes.”

As the two of them disappeared into the crowd, Daenerys pointed to the chair next to Jon and asked: “Is that seat free?”

“It’s empty,” Jon replied sarcastically before he could stop himself. He suckled on his cheek and averted his eyes, but Daenerys just smiled at him and slipped in to sit down.

As she filled a plastic cup with water from the jug, she breathed a lock of sweaty hair out of her face. “I don’t think I’ve ever danced so much,” she said. “My feet are killing me.”

“You were the first girl on the floor tonight,” Jon said and leaned back in his seat. The plastic groaned under him as he balanced the chair on its back legs. “Bet you’ll be the last one home too.”

“Mhm, I think I’ve danced to every song,” Daenerys said around the cup.

“And with every man,” Jon replied. The moment the words left his mouth, he imagined sucking them right back in and swallowing them into the pits of his stomach never to be spoken again. But it was too late, and even Daenerys’ kind face twitched.

She popped the cup back down and peeled at the tablecloth. “Something like that,” she replied quietly. Then, her face perked up as she asked: “I haven’t seen you dance?”

“No one wants to dance with me,” Jon said dismissively.

“That’s not true. I’ve seen girls ask. Jeyne was upset in the bathroom.”

“She was?” Jon tried to recall who Jeyne was. A blurry image of a brunette flickered before his eyes, but he wasn’t quite certain he was remembering the right girl.

“Not into dancing?” Daenerys pressed. When Jon looked at her, she cocked her head to the side, her straight, silver locks falling down over her shoulder to reveal a golden earring. It was shaped like a star.

Jon thought he’d like to gaze at it all night. But he dragged his eyes away and replied: “Something like that,” before picking up his fork and stabbing at a random slice of cake that someone had left behind.

For a moment, they were quiet. Then, DJ Daario’s voice boomed over the speakers: “Alright boys and girls - I mean, ladies and gentlemen - are you ready to party!” A few girls cheered. Then, to Jon’s chagrin, some techno remix of ‘Who Let The Dogs Out?’ filled the room, and he sunk his head down between his shoulders as he tried to let his secondhand tux swallow him up.

Daenerys laughed. “Come on - it’s all about having fun.”

“Yeah, the fun guy. That’s me.”

“I mean it, Jon,” Daenerys continued, and she sent him an earnest look, “it’s the last time all of us will be together. Who cares that the DJ is shit? It’s Liverpool. Everything is shit.”

“Not everything.” Jon glanced back at her. Something about the smile on her face was making his pulse quicken. The longer he stared at her, the longer he looked into those violet eyes, the more rapid his heartbeat was getting. If I don’t look away, he thought, I’m going to have a heart attack right here in the gym hall. But he couldn’t look away - all he could do was reach out, cup Daenerys’ cheek, and-

“Let’s dance!” Sansa’s arms dropped around Daenerys’ shoulders, and Jon watched with quiet frustration as his sister dragged her up standing. “I love this song!”

Daenerys sent Jon one last, longing look, but then she let Sansa pull her onto the dancefloor to join Margaery and Theon who were throwing their hands about as if they were at the Electrik Warehouse.

Jon, feeling bile fill his mouth, scrambled to his feet, grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair, and headed outside into the cool evening air.

In a quiet corner of the empty car park, Jon lit a cigarette and let the smoke clear his mind. He watched the stars above as he thought about the past few years. He had spent all of sixth form longing for Daenerys; staring at her in the hallways, watching her nape in class, sitting at her table during lunchtime. He even played the flute for a short stint, just to join the orchestra where she played the violin. He had watched guys date her on and off, and he had dated too, not as much out of interest as to appear normal.

What a waste of time, Jon thought, watching a cloud slipper past high above, hiding the full moon from sight, to never tell her how I feel. Now, it was likely too late, he realised. She was going to kiss someone tonight, that much she’d told Theon, and Jon could imagine a handful of guys she could fulfil that promise with.

Somewhere, a door slipped open. The dull sound of music playing inside was scattered by the cool breeze. Jon could hear ‘Story of my life’ echoing in the building, girls screaming along to the lyrics, guys loudly proclaiming how One Direction is stupid.

“Jon,” someone said.

Jon looked up and saw Daenerys. Against the grey backdrop of concrete, her pink dress appeared even brighter. As she walked, the skirt swayed around her hips like fluffy strands of cotton candy. She looked silly. She looked great. Jon swallowed and said: “Weren’t you dancing?”

“I told you - my feet hurt.” Daenerys paused next to Jon and nodded at his cigarette. “May I?”

“You smoke?” Jon said surprised, but he handed it over and let her have a drag.

As smoke escaped her plump lips, Daenerys sighed to the sky. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”

Jon feigned interest in the zipper of his windbreaker whilst watching her out of the corners of his eyes. She was rolling his smoke around her fingertips, lifting it to her lips now and again to have another drag. “What don’t I know?” he finally asked.

Daenerys tapped ashes off the end of the cigarette. They fluttered away with the breeze like dust. “Why haven’t you asked me to dance?” she returned the question.

“What’s that got to do with anything?”

“I don’t know.” Daenerys rolled her head back as she watched the moon reappear from behind a cloud. “It’s weird, don’t you think? How we’ve known each other for years.”

“Mhm,” Jon replies, kicking a stone, “I guess.”

“We’ve gone to the same classes, the same parties. We’ve chatted rubbish.”

“Mhm,” Jon replies again, unable to come up with something smart to say. He was just watching her, wondering where she was heading with her ramblings.

Daenerys looked down at the cigarette before handing it back to him. As his fingers closed around the filter, she asked: “Why do you hate me?”

Jon blinked and dropped the smoke to the ground. “Fuck.” He stepped on it to kill the light before kicking it into a nearby drain. He suddenly needed a smoke then more than ever. “Fuck, what do you mean, hate you? I don’t hate you.”

“Then why do you always talk crap to me?”

“I don’t.”

“Oh yeah? The seat is empty,” she said, imitating his grumpy voice.

Jon could’ve laughed if it wasn’t for the situation. He sent her a perplexed look. “That’s just how I talk.”

“It’s not. I’ve heard the way you talk to other girls. That’s why Jeyne was crying tonight - she thought you were in love with her, Jon. Way to upset her.”

“She did?” Once more, Jon tried to recall who she was, but he gave up after a few seconds of wrecking his brain. He shook his head. “I don’t hate you,” he said again, “of course I don’t.”

“I used to think you didn’t. You were always nice to me in school,” Daenerys said. She kicked her skirt out and settled on the asphalt, her feet nestled on the curb. After a moment’s pause, Jon sat down next to her. “When everyone else bullied me, you talked to me and played with me. I remember. I was so lonely.”

“Why are you friends with them?” Jon asked. “Margaery and all of those girls. They were horrible to you.”

“Life’s too short, Jon,” Daenerys sighed, resting her chin in her hand as she watched him tiredly. “Life’s too short to hold stupid grudges, and not to wear stupid clothes,” she tugged at her skirt, “and not to dance to stupid songs. Don’t you think?”

“I don’t really do stupid,” Jon mumbled, silently thinking that everything in his life he’d ever done was, in fact, really dumb. Like playing the flute.

“What changed?” Daenerys asked. She cocked her head, her earrings glimmering in the dim light from the moon as she watched him with care. “Why did you start pulling away?”

Jon thought back to secondary school. He thought back to the day he fell in love with Daenerys. It was a Sunday, he remembered it clearly. He was riding this bike around the park when he saw Daenerys and Margaery huddled up beneath the swing set. As he approached, he could see bruises on Margaery’s knees, and the girl was weeping as Daenerys explained how she’d fallen off the swing and scraped herself bloody.

“Can you help me get her home?” she’d asked, and of course Jon had let them use his bike. Side by side they walked, Jon quietly holding on to the handlebars as Daenerys whispered words of comfort to her bully, and it was in that moment that he felt something inside of him twist and turn. That day, he realised that he loved Daenerys for how gentle and kind and forgiving she was - and he hated her for the same qualities.

Jon cleared his throat. “It’s complicated,” he replied.

“Only if you make it so,” Daenerys said. She suckled on her lower lip, then continued: “I really like you, you know?”

Jon’s eyes snapped up to meet hers. “Don’t,” he asked. He wasn’t sure why - it just slipped out of his mouth before he could give it a second thought. But he repeated: “Please don’t,” and sent her a sorry look.

“Why?” Daenerys asked. Her voice was clear and proud, but there was nervousness in her eyes. “I do, though. I have for years. Is that so wrong?”

“You love everyone.”

“Life’s too short for grudges.”

“So you say.” Jon looks down at his feet. Despite shining his shoes that morning, the leather was now looking dull. Feeling the need to do something with his hands, he started rubbing the tips shiny with the tips of his fingers. “Look, I don’t like being played for a fool.”

“Then you better stop acting like one. I just said I like you - can’t you even reject me?”

Jon scrubbed his shoes harder, biting his teeth together so harshly that he started tasting blood on the tip of his tongue. “You love everyone,” he repeated, “even people who’ve treated you wrong, people who’ve hurt you.”

“Please just say you hate me. I can’t stand this.”

“But I really like you too.” Jon turned to look at her, and he felt his cheeks redden as he saw the tears on her cheeks. He could feel them too - wetness escaping his eyes, rolling down his cheeks, settling in the few hairs on his chin. He swallowed. “I like you too,” he said again, as if admitting it to himself out loud.

Daenerys took in a deep breath. He could see her nostrils flare. When she breathed out, her cheeks seemed more red than before. “So what’s the problem?” she asked. “Why are you acting like this?”

“I don’t want to be loved out of pity,” Jon said.

“Who said anything about pity?”

“Don’t you get it?” Jon shook his head and smiled a smile of disbelief. “You love everyone, you’re kind to everyone, you’re good to everyone - am I just another charity case? Am I just another ‘life is too short’ situation?”

“I don’t know what you mean,” Daenerys replied, but the hard tone to her voice told Jon that she did.

He stood up and started pacing the ground around them. “Theon said you’re going to kiss someone tonight.”

“That was the plan,” Daenerys said. She too stood up. Her hands were twisted around the fabric of her skirt as she watched him. “So what?”

“So what?” Jon stopped in front of her. He looked at her with a headshake. Everything inside of him was jumping around, clenching, squeezing, kicking him, making him feel sick. “So… everything! You’ll kiss a guy to make him feel better, too? I don’t want to be loved because you feel you have to embrace the world.”

“My love is not measured,” Daenerys replied. “Do you think a woman with ten children loves the last born less than the first born?”

“I think,” Jon said, staring into her eyes, his own quivering, “that you’re in love with Theon.”

Daenerys’ hands closed at Jon’s cheeks as she pulled him in for a kiss. Her movement surprised him so much that he felt himself gasp in the kiss, staring at her, not blinking even once as she pressed herself to him. Only when she let go did he wish that he’d held her and kissed her back. “All I ever wanted,” she whispered, looking into his eyes with a quiet sob, “was for you to love me like I have loved you. All of you.”

“But I do,” Jon said, stunned.

“Then show me,” she asked, blinking tears out of her eyes. “I have been waiting for years, you know. I don’t know where we will all be going after tonight, and I don’t care. I mean it, Jon - life is too short. I will not hate someone, but I will love someone dearly. Will you do the same?”

As Jon looked back into her violet eyes, he felt his heartbeat quicken. A fool, he thought, I’ve been a fool. He closed his hand at her waist. He took her other hand in his. As the sounds of music from inside simmered in the air, the lyrics indistinguishable, he begged: “Dance with me?” and Daenerys laughed through her tears as she replies:

“I thought you’d never asked.”

In the concrete car park, under the full moon and to the booming voice of Liverpool’s worst DJ, Jon and Daenerys danced slowly, and they danced closely. And Jon thought: maybe it’s not so bad being loved by a girl who can love everyone. Maybe it’s the best thing in the world.

Thank you for the prompt @burninghecate! I hope you liked it!

#jonerys #jonerys fanfic #jonerys fanfiction #quick writing

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solar3lunar · 3 years

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2.᯾𝔼𝕟𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝔼𝕩𝕒𝕞᯾

Ayama POV

I heard my alarm going off. "Welp today the day. I better get ready." I touch my head to take my bonnet off. But it wasn't there. "You what. I might as well look in the closet. Because it not going to be on my bed."

Well at least I have silk pillows cases. I'll look for it later. I go to my closest to get out my old dress. Then went to the bathroom.

After 5 minutes I put my uniform and went back to my room I got all of my things and put them inside my bag.

I then walked downstairs and went towards the kitchen. I was just going to pour me some cereal. But I saw pancakes on the table.

I walk closer to see they were homemade fluffy cat shape pancakes. There was a note beside it.

"Do your best Lyric."

-Love, Dad

"Thanks dad." I can't help but smile at the note. After a few minutes of eating. I clean my plate and cup. And went to put my shoes on.

"Meow." I look back and saw Leo. "You have crumbs on your face." I giggled as I brush them off. "You two be good alright?" I asked. He nods. "Okay, I'll see you later."

I headed out the house. Locking the door from behind. I was only 6:25 when I left the house and the exam at the hero academy didn't start until 7:15. I really wish I some music on me. Oh well. I would only take me 5 minutes to get there getting on the train today.

I saw Izuku getting on the train before me. I would've spoken to him but he seems out of it and look deep in thoughts. I just stood close to him about 4 feet away. The digital clock on the bus said it was 6:30.

He got off before me. I got held back by the crowd making me 10 feet away from him. "Jeez." I finally got to the school building. "Stupid Deku." That voice.

"Kaachan." 'I haven't heard that name in a while.' "Get out of my way, now, before I set you on fire." Bakugou spoke angrily. He hasn't changed one bit. Then Midoriya started to freak out a bit. I wait until Katsuki was about 6 feet away from him. Although, I notice that his voice got deeper. Just sayin'

"Midoriya! Wait!" I shouted he turned his back around to me. I finally caught up to him while some people were waiting outside.

"Oh hey Ayama." He waved at me. "Oh you change your hair?" He asked. "Well kinda. You see my hair can change it curl pattern whenever I wash it. And I forgot to put on a shower cap this morning when I took a shower." I sighed.

"The style really looks good on you!" He said blushing a bit. I ignore the blush not knowing what he's blushing for or at. But he looks cute.

"So have you got it yet?" I whisper. "Yeah he said it going to hurt though. I had to eat his hair, before leaving to get here. I've may have eaten but I don't feel any stronger." He said while sulking. I just pat him on the back.

"I'm sure it'll sink in" I reassured him. "Right. But, bring it all you got, Ayama!" He said. "You too, Deku!" I said giggling a bit. He so cute.

"Hey! Are you guys ready for the exams?" A girl ask us. We turned around. Izuku went full on pink. She was about 5'1 I think. "Of course. Right Izuku! Izuku?" I asked him. He started to stutter a lot.

"Oh, y-yeah." He was a mess. I wonder if I would see Momo here. I went to middle school with her. She was my only friend there to be honest.

"Call me Uraraka." She spoke holding her hand out. I shook it. "Nice to meet you Uraraka-san. I'm Ayama." I said. "What your last name?" She asked. "Umm. I rather not say." I told her. " Oh and this is Midoriya." Introduce her to him.

"Nice to meet you." She said nicely. She was so cheerful. "Y-yo-you t-to!" He shouted. "We better get inside now. Don't want to get lock out." Uraraka said. "Oh your right it's 6:55." I said. "Oh and Midoriya you got this. You as well, Uraraka." I said. "Right let's do our best." She said as Midoriya nodded.

She goes ahead of us as I had to help Midoriya to get it together which took a minute. Once we got in we had to put our things in the open lockers. Their was security so nobody had to worry about getting there's things stolen.

Everyone was assigned seating. I was sitting way far from the others. I was on the 5th row to the front. Lord know how far from Izuku or Katsuki. I was sitting next to Momo. Turns out she was wondering if I was going to be here as well.

God this is going to be embarrassing. If I just look at my paper. Maybe I won't have to see my uncle.

Bakugo, Katsuki POV

"Midoriya wait!" A voice call out. Who would want a loser to wait for them. I didn't even turn around, because whoever called his name is probably also a loser or nerd.

"Oh hey Ayama." Deku said. Wait what. I turned my head around. The last time I saw Ayama her hair was down into a ponytail. This girl hair was very very curly, but I knew Ayama could do that as well. I couldn't tell what her skin look like because I only saw a glimpse of it. But even that was too damn fast.

I couldn't see what's the girl looked like so I just kept walking. I didn't think Ayama would be here. Whatever it's not like she'll beat me anyways. Wether she's here or not.

Midoriya, Izuku POV

"What's up, UA candidates? Thanks for tunin' in to me, your school DJ. Come on and let me hear ya!" Present Mic shouted. It was silence when he asked, but I was fan boying over it.

"Keeping it Mello huh. That's fine I'll skip straight to the main show. Let's talk about how this practical exam is gonna go down, okay?" He said.

"Are you ready? Yeah!" He shouted. Still silence

"Oh my goodness, it's the Voice Hero, Present Mic. So cool!" I said whispering. "I listen to his radio show every day of the week. It's so crazy nuts that all the UA teachers are pro heroes-" " Will you shut up." He said.

"Like your application said, Today you rockin' boys and girls will be out there conducting ten-minute mock battles in super-hip urban settings." Present Mic continue.

"Gird your lion, my friends. After I drop the mic here you'll head to your specific battle center, sound good?" He asked still silence. As everyone was looking at there card.

"Okay?" He shouted. "I see. Their splitting us up so we can't work with any of our friends." Kaachan spoke. I jumped a little terrified. "Yeah you're right." I said as I look at both of our card. I was put into center B while he had center A.

"Our examine numbers are one after the other, but we're assign different battle centers." I said still looking at our cards. "Get your eyes off my card." Kaachan said angrily. And I moved away a little from him a bit frightened.

"Damn. I was really looking forward to crushing you." He said as I just laughed nervously. Maybe he'll get Ayama in his battle center.

Ayama POV

"Okay, okay, let's check out your targets. There are three types of faux villains in every battle center. You'll earn points based on their level of difficulty. So better chose wisely.

Your goal in this trial is to use quirk to raise your score by shredding these faux villains like a mid-song guitar solo. But check it! Make sure your keep'n things heroic. Attacking other examine is a U.A big no-no, ya dig?"

This is too embrassing to watch, but I do hope that Izuku can get through this. He just got his quirk. And it going to bruise him. I got center B. I wonder what he and Katsuki got.

A student then spoke up about the robots. Which my uncle quickly answers that saying it was a bonus villain. Although he decided to point out Izuku who been muttering this whole time.

It kinda gets me upset, but yet again it's not like he knew why he doing it in the first place. Geeze this whole thing might as well be a video game that they put out. Big million dollars idea.

"That's all I got for you today. I'll sign off with a little present." My uncle said. "Oh God please no." I whisper knowing it would be a tough crowd. "A sample of our school motto." Then he continued on to speak as I just said the words in my head. Turns out. I don't have Momo with me, sadly.

"You ready go beyond? Let's hear a Plus Ultra!" My uncle shouted. I just put my head in my hands. "Good Luck!" He then continue to go on something about books.

We a got changed into out own gym wear. I was just wearing a black sweat shirt that was short sleeve. And long black sweat pants.

I seen Izuku was going up to Uraraka, so I decided to start going towards the robots. "Hey what's is she doing!?" I heard one student asked. "They didn't even say go yet!" Another shouted.

"She on the right track! There are no countdowns in real battle! Run run listener you're wasting air time here!" Uncle present Mic shouted. I could hear everyone running up towards me.

By that time all of the robots came towards us. I quickly use my voice to scream damaging them by a ton. That should be about 56 points. The robots got up again unsurprisingly. And the other students got a turn.

I got to see of their quirks as my uncle mic pointed out each of their quirks, but mines not that I care considering my situation.

Suddenly the whole battle center started to shake. I look towards Uraraka, Ochako she also notice it after throwing up.

"The fourth robot." I mutter. The robot made it first punch which had a incredible force. Although I kept my feets on the ground. On foot in front of the other and making an X with my arms. I was standing about 5 feet from it. "Less than two minutes!" Uncle mic shouted.

All the students started to run away. Something told me to stay put and look at my surrounding. That when I notice Uraraka was stuck. My eyes widened. Instead of running from danger I ran towards it to help Uraraka out.

"Ayama what are you doing you'll get crushed!" She told me. "I know but it worth it." I said and it confused her. I have a feeling that Izuku power would snap in any moment by now.

And I was right. I had to quickly sing something, so I did. (Ocean eyes.) Making my eyes water and form a protective barrier around u. I saw Izuku use the one for all power in his arm punching the robot away and making it fall down.

I stop singing, bringing the barrier down then look at Uraraka quickly to use her power to lift of the hard cement rock above her leg.

"Hey you okay?" I asked her she nodded. But I had to help her up. I felt really bad about Izuku. He knocked down the robot, but it was zero points.

We heard the students whisper all round. His eyes were dull in shock. I don't think he could've felt the pain in his arm. With the adrenaline running.

Recovery girl well, I call her Nana. She kissed them both healing them. Me and Uraraka look at each, both agreeing on what do to about Midoriya.

We went towards the judge's room to ask them if we could give Izuku our points, but surprisingly they said the judges already did something for him. So we left. "It's nice knowing you Uraraka." I said. "You too Ayama. Hopefully I'll see you at this school." She said.

"You too." I wave at her goodbye. I knew I was getting in regardless. I turned my phone on walking towards the train station. Once It's stop at the 3rd stop I saw Midoriya getting off. He look sad but I only smile knowing he'll get in.

I got off at my stop. Walking home I just sung a song that was in my head. I knew people could hear, but I closed them out. Although I'm careful to sing around my dad. Knowing how my mother death affect him. He said he likes to hear me sing more, but I feel like it's only going to hurt him. I notice my dad was home because of his car.

I walk in the house to have the smell cheesey spicy noodles up my nose. When it comes to food. I just know what it is. I took my shoes off. "I'm home." I said while taking my earphones out.

I saw my dad in front of me. "I would open this first." He said handing it to me. Then went to the kitchen. So much for bonding. Don't get me wrong we bond a lot, but I mostly lock myself away in my room.

I rush up to my room. Putting my bag on my bed. I put the envelope on my desk and sat down on my chair. I open it only for a virtual screen pop up. "Hello Ayama!" It was Uncle Might."This gotta be a joke." I said in shock.

"I know you would be shock, but you see I didn't come to this cities just to fight villains, but I'm the U.A newest faulty member!" I'm not too surprised that this

"I would like to say that's you have an amazing voice and power. You know what I love to hear it again." Uncle all might spoke. Don't tell me..

"Roll it!" He shouted then move out of the way. "God, please no." I heard my voice. It's sounds wonderful and calm, but I get embarrassed of it. Once it ends I lookup again.

"Wow what a wonderful voice. You have. Now that over with let's look at your scores. "No way! I got second place!" I shouted happily. I was just happy, but I had to look again for any of my others friends.

I see Izuku got 7th place at least they gave him a chance. Ochako was in 3rd place, while Katsuki was....1st. it didn't show my last name on there. I had 58 villain points and 47 rescue points.

"We are looking forward to having you here at U.A see you there!" Then it shut off. I had taken all in. I heard a knock on my door. It then open.

"I heard good job Ayama. Your mom would be proud of you." My dad said. I went to him and hug him. I think he was a bit shock by it. "Thanks Dad." I said. "You work for it." He said kissing my head. He proceeded to hand me my uniform outfit.

{Brain and Heart~Melanie Martinez}

‘False lovin, when was illogical. Didn't know they held each other hands as they made one whole’

The same melody. "Alright dinner ready. Let's eat." He said. I nodded. While we walk down stairs look at my mother picture. I smile at it. I won't let you down. "Hey do you mind if I walk to school on the first day?" I asked.

"How come you don't wanna ride in the car with me?" He asked I was scared he would asked that. "It's just I wanna walk to school on my first day that all." I said. I just really felt like walking on the first day while singing.

"Does this have to do with your singing?" He ask. Dang. "No. I just really feel like walking to school on the first day." I said. I felt a bit of tension, but it drop as soon as he sighed.

"Fine." He sighed. "Dad you worry to much." I said as I gave him a kiss on the forehead then told him good night. He has so much concern in his eyes.

We talked about how uncle All Might going to be teaching the students and that lead to a lot of laughs. He then turn it into something serious as in what to do if someone ask for my last name. I gone through my whole life with nobody knowing what my last name is. Well except for pro heros.

I decided to turn in, because it was getting late and this is the first week of a school week. I guess you could say. I did my nightly routine. I then put my bonnet on and went straight to bed.

Ugh what a day.

Aizawa, Shota POV

She just like her mother. The only time I she her like me is when something serious or she just at home. God, what if one day she runs into Khessō.

And I know I can't keep this " Your mom died when you were born." Up forever. Eventually she'll find out. I got up from the table to walk up stairs. I stop to look at her picture that Ayama was looking at.

The last thing from I saw from Khessō was that note. 'I'm been kidnapped don't come looking for me keep Ayama safe. I love you both.' I put the picture down and turn the lights off walking up stairs. It's was when Ayame just turn a month old.

I look into my daughter room who was sleeping peacefully. Reminds me of her mother. I know Ayama think her singing hurts me, but does the opposite.

I closed my daughter door and went towards mines. The room was clean, but missing her things. The bed was always missing a person.

Taglist: @mypimpademia

~Luna Lyric~

~Wishlist~

~Universe navi~

#Spotify #supanova #my hero academia #oc #aizawa daughter #bnha #black oc

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fyexo · 4 years

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200512 Raiden, Changmo & EXO’s Chanyeol Drop ‘Timeless�� Collaboration ‘Yours’ With LeeHi

While the K-pop scene is hotter than ever, more of its artists are looking to combine their star power to create new kinds of records to impact the market.

After teaming up with superstars across the dance and pop world, Raiden delivers “Yours” as the latest genre-crossing attempt from the rising DJ/producer. With an all-star team that includes the rapper-singer Chanyeol of sensational K-pop boy band EXO, rising “Meteor” rapper Changmo as well as Korea’s soulful songbird LeeHi, “Yours” is a soothing, feel-good synth-pop gem. With a focus on Chanyeol and LeeHi’s playful back-and-forths, “Yours” is as adorable of a love song as it is wishful as the singers croon “Love me, don’t hurt me / Just kiss me, don’t burn me / And I’ll be yours.”

Raiden says the release of “Yours” is particularly special in this current time of coronavirus concerns and social distancing. “If there was one thing I wish for this song to do, [it] is to spread the feeling of warmth and positivity around the world,” Raiden says in a statement. “During this crazy time of confusion and isolation, I wanted to present the feeling of love and care for each other and we really poured our hearts out with that message here.”

Chanyeol adds that he’s been itching to find the right song and “Yours” ended up being the perfect match for his next release to not only feature as a singer and rapper on, but also brush up his production skills.

The EXO member says, “I’ve been wanting to release new music for some time now—something that can bring smiles to people. I've been writing a lot, but I could not find the ‘one.’ Raiden and I have been wanting to do a collaboration for some time now, despite which song it was, I would have trusted his music. But when he played this for me, I knew that this was what I was envisioning. It was cool to be involved in the production process and seeing how Raiden works. Producing is what I’m very much focused on now so it was a cool learning and sharing experience. Everything feels new with this release; but we are all very happy about the release. We all met through “Yours” first, but now we became close friends, we hang out at his studio or mine, casually share our new music, inspiration. I call Raiden ‘my hyung’ which translates to big bro.”

Meanwhile, Changmo—who has one of Korea’s biggest hits of 2020 with his breakout track “Meteor”—also saw “Yours” as an opportunity to showcase a new musical side.

“With Ambition [Musik] as my home ground, my exposure for music is mainly in hip-hop but my basis was piano and music production even before my rap [career],” he says. “Raiden and Chanyeol knew that and we instantly connected after I expressed that I wanted to be a part of the song. It was a cool moment to connect with artists from such different styles of music, but I have respect for all artists involved in this project. It was a cool process to write lyrics for the song that is not typically similar to my own music. Thankfully, Chanyeol and LeeHi both loved my direction and the music video concept is even inspired from that.”

Despite some major tracks with the likes of Fedde Le Grand, Girls’ Generation’s Yuri, Bright Lights and Irene of Red Velvet, Raiden says his vision with this new song is to be “timeless.”

“I had this vision of creating a timeless record about three years ago,” Raiden adds. “At the time, I was mainly focusing on my DJ/producer career in dance-electronic music scene, but this song was exactly what I was dreaming of; being able to create ‘good music’ with talented artists from different styles of music. In my opinion, good music does not need to be labeled as any specific style or genre. I am happy and so blessed for Chanyeol to create this with me along with LeeHi and Changmo...we all spent many days and nights on this to create the perfect synergy between us, to make sure every artist on this stands out with his or her vision on each part. Now we’ve become really good friends on personal level and we are already talking about what we want to do next.”

Jeff Benjamin @ Forbes

#exo #chanyeol #t: interview #album: yours

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dailyexo · 4 years

Text

[NEWS] Chanyeol - 200513 Forbes: “Raiden, Changmo & EXO’s Chanyeol Drop ‘Timeless’ Collaboration ‘Yours’ With LeeHi”

"While the K-pop scene is hotter than ever, more of its artists are looking to combine their star power to create new kinds of records to impact the market.

Meanwhile, Changmo—who has one of Korea’s biggest hits of 2020 with his breakout track “Meteor”—also saw “Yours” as an opportunity to showcase a new musical side.

Despite some major tracks with the likes of Fedde Le Grand, Girls’ Generation’s Yuri, Bright Lights and Irene of Red Velvet, Raiden says his vision with this new song is to be “timeless.”

Photo link: 1

Credit: Forbes.

#EXO #EXO K #Chanyeol #200513 #exo im #exo k im #chanyeol im #p:news #t:news #fs:forbes #comeback:Obsession

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dippedanddripped · 4 years

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A Q&A With Keary Kase On Pioneering Hip Hop In Portland

Trenton, NJ born rapper Keary Kase is now pioneering hip hop from Portland, Oregon. After having been involved in a Nike ad campaign that featured him on Billboards across the US, Keary’s singles began to top the radio charts. He began to work with artists like The Wutang Clan and producers Bosko and Non-Stop Da Hitman. Most recently, he partnered with Adidas designers in Portland to develop ‘Reder’ – an athletic apparel brand with focus on CBD delivery systems for athletes who are recovering from injuries.

We had the chance to sit down with Keary Kase to talk about Portland’s thriving hip hop scene, his Nike campaign, and what fans and followers can expect in 2020.

Tell us a little bit about the hip hop scene in Portland. We’d love to know more!

Portland hip hop has so many facets, I’m not sure where to begin. We do have a solid foundation of originals, like Mic Crenshaw, Cool Nutz, Mellenium (Kenny Mack), Maniac Lok, Bosko, Vursatyl, X-Kid, DJ Wicked, Pete Miser and myself, who are still active.

Having strong artists, who have made careers in Hip Hop, as role models and idols allows the kids to aspire to become musical artists. Without these examples, the endless call to normalcy and job security (which we all now know is B/S) by pretty much EVERYBODY, would lead these young Ore-guns to self doubt and failure.

Mike Capes, Swiggle Mandela, Drae Steve’s, JR Patton and Keith Canvas are a few Portland artists to check out.

Right now, a lot of artists are showing support to the BLM movement using their voices to speak, rather than rap to those participating in protests, rallies and such.

How do you feel being originally from the east coast has affected your musical style?

In my embryonic years, I saw myself as an east coast rapper. I felt like, with the exception of rappers like Ice T, Too Short, NWA and The DOC, west coast rappers were mostly basic compared to east coast rappers. They had KRS, Big Daddy Kane, Slick Rick (my favorite golden era rapper), Special ED, Kool G Rap & Polo, RAKIM!!! Plus WBLS used to play all the hot new shit off the block.

I was enamored by east coast swagger and tone. The slang and accent was natural for me because my entire family spoke with it. My ability to slip in and out of the style made me different in Portland.

In the early 90’s I started spending time in LA. I was slanging FIMO beads to tourists at Venice Beach in the daylight and going to clubs and shows at night. I met this dude named Self Jupiter at this summer festival called The African Marketplace, where I was selling jewelry and celebrating my black youth. Jupiter was a member of a rap group called Freestyle Fellowship. He gave me a tape. After I listened to it, my entire opinion of west coast hip hop was turned upside down. I witnessed west coast rappers like Volume 10, WC, Divine Styler, Cypress Hill and E40 change the game. I became influenced by them and my style was set free. I became open to all influences, no matter if they came from the east, west, northwest, midwest or south.

Tell us more about the Nike ad campaign you were featured in. How did that come about?

One day I was leaving my boy Tommy Hestmark’s studio in downtown Portland. I was walking down the street with my back straight and my chest and chin up, as all men and women should. This guy approached me and said “excuse me, can I talk to you?” I looked at him sideways and he says “no, no. It’s just…. Your face is CRAZY!” I squinted as if to say “do you hear yourself fool?” He pulls out a card and explains that he owned a modeling agency and he thought my look was money. He asked me to call to schedule a test shoot. I called and scheduled the shoot. When I went there, he asked me if I was wearing boxers. I confirmed, then he asked me if I would take some test shots in my boxers. I’m thinking this dude is either going to proposition me for sex or he wants to see if I can be the next face of Calvin Klein. I gambled on Calvin Klein and agreed to take the pics. We walked into a hall and he said “you can get undressed here,” then walked away. So there I stood baring all that my boxers would not cover, with my clothes in a small pile on the floor. I heard footsteps, then an attractive woman appears holding a camera. It was his wife. She told me where to stand , took a couple quick pics and said “Keary, you’re a machine,” then allowed me to get dressed and walked me out.

A few weeks later they called me back and said a photographer knew of me and wanted to do a martial arts shoot. There was no pay, but the photographer was well known and really good. I had no portfolio, and no published work so this was an opportunity to do TFP to add to my comp card.

The photographer, Marcus Swanson, wanted me to do a flying sidekick, which is a classic taekwondo photo kick. When I got there, there was nowhere to get a running start so I improvised and pulled it off. While I was there, a Nike scout was lurking. As I was leaving, Marcus’ assistant, Amber Geiger, mentioned a potential shoot for Nike and asked if they could do a quick polaroid. Snap snap and I was out. A few months passed by before I got a call back from my agent about the shoot. In those few months, I became a black belt, won a gold medal at the the regional national qualification tournament in the black belt dividion, then a silver medal at the US National Championship, and was leaving in a few days to go whoop everybody’s ass at the invitational US Team Trials. It didn’t play out that way but I believe being so active in the few months between the martial arts test shoot and the paid shoot is what influenced their decision to go with me for the ad campaign. We agreed on a date and time, after my return, for the shoot.

When I got back, we did the shoot. I thought it was going to be light work but it was brutal. Modeling is hardcore. I remember seeing myself on a billboard for the first time. It felt like a distant relative to masturbation. I also remember it taking forever to get my money. Agencies can be gangster. I had to make some very firm promises before I got the check. After that, our relationship became square.

You have worked with several platinum artists and producers. Do you have any memorable stories about your experiences that you’d like to share?

Hmm. I don’t like to deride or D-RIDE anyone, but there was an interesting encounter with a Wu-Tang Clan member named Cappadonna. Cappadonna, Killa Priest and a small crew they were touring with were staying at my house when they stopped through Portland. My roommate, MyG, was helping them do some business in Portland while they killed time before their next tour date. At the time, we had a lil 5 bedroom spread with 2 recording studios in it, so we let their whole crew crash at the spot. The house was already like a revolving door for whoever was on tour in the NW. Artists could come through while in town and collab, get local pub through us and be blessed with some Oregon grown greeneries for the road.

So this was the first time we met (Cappadonna & I). I was taking acting classes at the time so I was gone when they pulled up. When I got home after class, Cappadonna was in the booth. I walked in the room and he started talking wild like “aye yo break that nigga watch!…stab that nigga!” I’m standing in a room full of dudes, with New York energy, that I don’t know, so I assumed he was talking about me. I dip out to my room and get a screwdriver just so I have something in my hand incase things go left. A few minutes pass, then MyG tells Cappadonna to move on to the next part. At this moment I realize he’s in character and not talking about me at all. Killah Priest enters the room. We introduce ourselves and dap up. He asks me what I do and I tell him that I’m in acting school. When Cap comes out, KP says “this is Kase, he’s an actor.” They gave each other a look that, to me , expressed what he spoke as “this is Kase, he’s a fake nigga.”

Granted, I’ve been a skater since day 1, so I understand that some black people (especially at the time) associate being a black skater with being less black or more white. With that in mind, I let what he said breeze by.

After we blessed up, we got to the business. Bosko had let me hold a beat that I wrote a sticky verse to; Cappa liked it so I let him put a hook on it. Me and KP did a DOPE song on a track that this dude named Smoke produced. It sounded like some official Wu-affiliate shit. MyG lost the session so none of that material was ever released.

The next day the energy still felt suspect. Like they thought I was a suburban negro, lol. I took them to the block, which is now gentrified, but was still hood at the time. Cappa called my whip a 666. It was the same Denali XL with the same 26” Trump Spinners that was in the video for the song he was promoting at the time, but mine was cleaner. It seemed like he felt a way about it. We went to my mom’s restaurant, where Cappa requested a Psalms verse from my mother. She said “how about a Revelation,” and laced all of us.

I dropped them at the barber shop to get faded and bladed. When they came out, the energy was different. Cappadonna got in and said “you know your hood and your hood knows you. He said you put your moms in that restaurant, didn’t you?” I just looked at him and put my hand out. We dapped up and the respect, which was first being given by me and received by him, suddenly felt mutual.

Cappadonna is a wise dude and a beast MC. I asked him questions related to his lyrics. He explained to me what “God Degree” and “7:30” meant and told me the story of the origin of his name. You might be able to detect that I’m most definitely still a Wu-Tang fan, although I liked his earlier work. KP knows what I mean by that.

Tell us about your involvement with the CBD industry and your views on how it can be a therapeutic tool for people?

CBD is my go-to treatment for a number of conditions. If I am anxious, I use a non-psychoactive tincture. This gives me a general sense of well-being, without making me feel altered or high. I feel like myself on a good day. If I need to restful sleep, I employ a cannabinoid rich CBD blend that allows me to drift off into REM without jumping up 100 times to make sure the garage door is closed (or whatever). Using CBD is like taking premium vitamins.

In 2019, I started a company called Nina Botanica with a material designer who works for Adidas in Portland. I began researching how to use compression technology as a CBD delivery system for athletic injury rehabilitation. There are some products on the market that offer a similar product, but none that fully address the issues of muscle strains, tears and associated pain that can knock an athlete off of their game. What sets us apart is, our CBD compression system has a lifetime guarantee. You can use it until you’re tired of using it.

We also designed a pod based delivery system, called the NINA , with Shenzen based technology company Smoore. The smart hexagonal pod + cartridge system uses inductive charging in place of the industry standard USB to power up.

Due to COVID-19 and our current bout with systemic racism, the techy products will be in preliminary production until mid-late 2021.

Tell us about your latest project “Craze”. Who is involved and what inspired it?

I was a week back on after being off music for years. Just getting my lungs back, not planning on dropping anything yet; just warming up. An artist named Uneek, who had been my mentee for several years, reached out. He was talking about how he blew all of his savings on medical expenses for his seed and how William, Lil Willi and Big Bill were all coming for him at once. He had just got robbed in Atlanta, so he was shy about who he could trust in Portland.

Uneek asked me to help him to rebrand himself and act as a manager, as I did in the beginning of his career. Since he had just found the strength to come out about his sexual identity, he wanted to look to the LBGTQ community for support. Since that was outside of my sphere of influence, I decided to help him generate some traffic in his home studio, offering tracking and mixing as an engineer. I told him we could put out a mixtape to re-introduce him to his followers and the rest of the world. I got 15 tracks from producers, Sixteen and J Doe. I wanted to see how serious he was about his career so I told him to put hooks on all 15. He would send me a rough lyric or melody, then I would write or rewrite the lyrics then massage the melody and coach him on how to execute it. After he did it, I would chop it and arrange it in a Logic, while I was on the road.

Once the mixtape concepts were in the bag, I told him we needed a real record to kick it off. There was a lot of material in his catalog, but nothing that sounded like a hit single to me.

He got a track from this lil dude named 64 and put a hook on it that had us laughing. He was like “yeah this track sound like something Da Baby would get on.” It wasn’t my style, really, but I kept getting drawn into the drums. I let the first line go off the top then it seemed like the rest of the lyrics were just there. We called it “She A Thot.” It dropped on all platforms back in April of this year.

Craze, the follow up single, manifested itself off of the vibe we were on after “She A Thot” dropped. 64 had sent us a 3 pack of beats so it had some of the same feel as the others, however, the “Craze” beat was much more elegant than the other two.It was like the bigger, sexier, more mature and pondering sister of the “She A Thot” beat.

When I started writing, I felt the beat asking me to confess. It was saying “tell your truth, Kase.” The melody in my head was so balanced that I just let it drive through the first verse. I remembered, as a young man, being so caught up in hustling that I lost my compassion for people. I reflected on how I had spent the last decade, since my first daughter was born, re-approaching life with more compassion.

Whatever you have done in your past does not define you. But sometimes it’s good to talk about it. Black people have traditionally been afraid of counseling or therapy. Mostly because of our trust issues with the people providing those services. I strongly suggest talking to someone about the things that trouble you. My uncle Jeff calls it “dumping.”

Music is my therapy. Dumping is my new craze.

What artists are you listening to right now and why?

I like listening to new music. I’m listening to Lil Durk, Pop Smoke, Amine, Jack Harlow, etc. But that’s like research for me. I like to see and hear what the big dogs are investing in. But right now, I’m developing a K-Pop artist, so I’m listening Big Hit Entertainment’s people. I’m about to go over there and liberate some musical slaves. (*artists)

But I still listen to Sade.

What’s next for you in 2020? What can fans look forward to?

I’m dropping a mixtape later this month. I may be doing a record + video with Compton artist, AD in the next few weeks. We’re still working out the details, but he’s doing real good right now.

Other than that, I’m developing a young K-Pop idol named Kiari. That genre is making big waves. I’m also looking at television as a next play. I have a pocket ace in the Chinese market that I’m keeping tucked. Oh I’m doing business with China. Sorry Chump…I mean, Sorry Trump. No, wait, I had it right the first time.

#keary kase #pdx hiphop artist #pdx artist #portland oregon #music blog

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selfcallednowhere · 4 years

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March 4, 2018, San Francisco, CA

I was really excited about this show, the second at the Fillmore in as many nights, because I knew they'd be changing the setlist up a fair amount, as they always do when they play more than one show in a row in the same place. I was even more excited when a bit before the show Flans posted on Facebook that there would be fifteen new songs, which was practically a full half of the show!

They opened with "Pencil Rain"--that one was definitely a surprise. I think the only time I've seen that song outside of the two Lincoln shows I've been to was at one of the Brooklyn New Year's Eve shows a few months before this. I don't think it's one of the absolute best songs on Lincoln, there are definitely other songs I'd rather see, but any song from that album is gonna be some degree of amazing, so it was definitely cool to see it.

Afterwards, Flans said that they know it's disappointing when bands play too many new songs (WRONG--or at least, wrong when the new songs in question are as fantastic as the ones on I Like Fun!), so when they said they were going to play a new song we should pretend it was our favorite song, and they will accept fake emotion.

They played "All Time What," then John said they should introduce the next song by talking about "what makes this song so this song-y."

The song was "Why Does the Sun Shine?", once again with JF singing and JL talking. The heat and light of the sun were caused by the nuclear reaction between "things made out of stuff, microscopic dust, the feelings that separate us, and death." (The last couple made it a very Linnellian list.) There was also some adorable spazziness from him.

After that Flans said half the show would be different than the night before and the other half would be "mind-numbingly the same." He said we'd see that the banter we thought was improvised wasn't (he was joking, but I did see them recycle some banter on this tour, to my slight disillusionment). Then John said that they wouldn't be playing the songs we came back for, and Flans said they were all about "delivering disappointment" and were like General Tso's chicken.

Then Flans said he'd just gotten Netflix and so has been watching a lot of Netflix, including a documentary he'd just watched about the czars. He said that also today "I went to a restaurant where everything was fried, because who wants to live forever?" and that he was "just living my vampire life." Then he said, "We have a day off in Eugene, because who would want a day off in San Francisco? And you wonder why we're bitter." Then he asked John, "How are your problems?" "My problems are awesome."

Next they played "Mammal," which was quite exciting, and then came the next episode in the continuing saga of "Will John Linnell ever manage to successfully sing 'Mrs. Bluebeard' without screwing up the lyrics somehow?" This time he managed to get very close to the end smoothly, and I was trying to somehow send him some sort of mental encouragement ("Almost there! I believe in you!"), but then he messed up the very end, siiiiigh. At this point I pretty much gave up and resigned myself to the fact that he was never going to manage to get it right.

Next they played "She's Actual Size." I've seen this song a ton, but outside of a couple of Apollo 18 shows in the past few years it's almost all been contained within the confines of the very very first shows I went to on the Mink Car tour, back when it featured the epic Dial-A-Drum-Solo bit with Dan Hickey, which made this another surprise. It is a good song both on the album and live, but I've never been a fan of part of the arrangement they've used all the times I've seen it, where towards the end it gets way slowed down and Flans is singing in falsetto and all that (I'm fine with his falsetto at other times, it just bugs me in this one specific instance). But up until that point seeing it was fun.

Next was "The Statue Got Me High," to my great disappointment on keyboard again, but this time I managed to push myself past that disappointment and still really dig the performance, which was good because it's very close to the top in my list of all-time most-beloved songs and I do want to actually be able to enjoy it.

After that John got his accordion on ("Oh now you do," I couldn't help thinking). He introduced the next song as being "one of our tired old songs." When they started playing I saw that was an assessment I most definitely would not agree with, as the song was another one of my all-time favs (it was in fact my favorite song way back when I started getting more deeply into TMBG when I was in high school): "Turn Around"! So I was thrilled about that, of course!

Next they played "When the Lights Come On," which remains my favorite of the new songs they've actually been doing live to see. Afterwards, Flans said that it was from their new album I Like Fun, "available on Bar/None records and tapes." Then he said they really do have it available on vinyl, and that the vinyl was made in the Czech Republic, which is where they make the good stuff. John said if you want "the flat ones that actually play" you have to go there. Then Flans said that records look like calendars, and then was joking about someone in the audience who made a noise like they thought that was "a cruel burn."

Next they played "The Mesopotamians." I'd actually managed to enjoy it the night before after feeling burned out on it for some time, but this time I felt sick of it again.

Afterwards, Flans pointed out that the Oscars were currently happening (I actually didn't know that until he said it--I don't pay much attention to that sort of thing), and that we were all "out of the loop about something that's going to be appalling everyone." Then he was talking about when they announced the wrong winner for Best Picture last year--"What a shitshow. That was the ultimate 'you had one job.'"

They played "This Microphone," and then another surprise that I was really excited to see: "Cyclops Rock"! That's one of my favs on Mink Car and it's totally kickass live (I am an eternal sucker for really high-energy rockin' Flansongs live), and it had popped up a couple of times at other shows I'd been to recently, but not much, so yeh it was a lot of fun.

Next they talked about how Dial-A-Song is back. Flans said some of the songs have had "startling" videos that have gotten Youtube comments just saying something like "Fuck." John said, "That's the response we've been hoping for for 35 years." Then he said his favorite comment they've received is "What sorcery is this?" He asked Flans if he objected to the "Fuck" cos it needed a parental advisory (this amused me cos Flans swears like crazy), and Flans said not at all.

Then they returned to the previous night's discussion of this Tony Robbins guy. Flans said, "He's not an evangelist cos he doesn't have a soul," and told us again that he'd just watched a "fake documentary" about him. John said their conversation wasn't accurately conveying how "completely crazy" he is. Flans said that he "uses disruptive language to break down barriers of communication," which basically means saying "fuck" to "someone who looks related to my great-aunt." John said that was disruptive, and Flans agreed that it was "like being slapped in the face is disruptive." Then John said that if they tried they could be "the Tony Robbins of rock bands."

They closed out the first set the same way they did the night before: "Hey, Mr. DJ, I Thought You Said We Had a Deal" straight into "Birdhouse in Your Soul," which is seriously SO MUCH ROCKIN' OUT AT ONCE, it's almost too much.

The second set started with the Quiet Storm contra-alto clarinet version of "Older" like usual. Then Flans made Marty play part of some Phil Collins song again (or maybe it was a Genesis song and not him solo, I don't even know, I hate Phil Collins and did not recognize it).

They played "I Like Fun," and then Curt got out his euphonium. Flans said the euphonium is what they give you in band when you're too small to play the tuba, and John said euphonium isn't the real name of the instrument, it's a euphemism (a joke that made the word nerd in me happy).

So next they played "Shoehorn with Teeth," which is always a ton of fun live, and I really loved it on accordion (what, as opposed to all the songs I don't love on accordion?). Marty was playing some big bell, and Flans was trying to figure out what it was. Then, he said it wasn't what he thought it was, and he was just confused cos he was getting high from the pot people were smoking. John said it was particularly stinky pot (I'm reasonably bothered by the smell of pot just as a general rule, but I can confirm that whatever people were smoking here seemed to smell even worse than usual), and Flans said it's what they say is "the good stuff" on cop shows. Then John said something about a character played by Tony Roberts in Serpico, who's supposed to be the cool cop but isn't really. Then they were saying that their cultural references are going to be very specific now--they're only going to talk about him, Tony Robbins, Tom Robbins, and Tom Robinson.

Next they played "A Self Called Nowhere," and I know I'm writing some variation of "it was so incredibly special for me" in every single one of these reviews, but that's because it's always true. I know the first time is always going to be the most special time, just because it was the first and I'd been wanting this so intensely for such a long time, but something really great about the times I've seen it since the first couple is they've included Curt on trumpet (since he wasn't with them for the early part of the tour), and I always think he adds so much to the songs he appears on.

Next they played "How Can I Sing Like a Girl?" I saw that one on accordion a ton when they were doing it duo a lot on I think it was the Join Us tour, and it was great that way--I preferred it duo just cos my heart is now and forever all about duo stuff, but this arrangement was fantastic too.

Next they played "Istanbul," the duo version with them being really silly. During the part where Flans is saying "Take me back, please take me back," in falsetto and John's saying "Nooooo" in a really deep voice, John said "Even Tony Robbins says no" one of the times. Like the other times I've seen them do it duo on this tour, the full band came back for the crazy jam session at the end.

They played "Particle Man," then did another awesome big surprise song: "Dig My Grave"--GOD is that song fun live. (It's only just now occurring to me how many of the songs that I was happily surprised by during this run of shows are from Apollo 18, and having the thought that they would've needed to rehearse them for the Apollo 18 show they'd done the previous month, so that's probably why they were sprinklig them into the set here and there.) There were strobes during it, and afterwards Flans said they should've mentioned that there were strobes, but they'd forgotten, and John said that after there were strobes they couldn't remember anything (they'd had roughly the same exchange at the aforementioned Apollo 18 show). Flans said it was like how the kick drum gives you a heart attack, and then recessitates you, and John said Marty always has to play the kick drum an even number of times or they'll die. Flans said "Clear!" (all dramatically like they do on medical TV shows), and then said he doesn't even understand why they say that, and John said "I think that's a Scientology thing." Then Flans said maybe it's just a blessing.

They played "Wicked Little Critta" (as usual the best part about the song for me was watching the closeups of John's hands on his Kaoss Pad and keyboard that were being projected on the screen on the back of the stage--that's about the only time I actually like the screen being there, normally I just find it unpleasantly distracting), and then another big surprise song: the title track from that album. That stirred up a lot of Feelings for me, as it was the very first song they played at my very first show.

They played "I Left My Body," then Flans said that they'd someday figure out a way to do a three-night stand. He said they'd probably have to become a jam band. John said people didn't seem very enthusiastic, and Flans said they'd be drawing an entirely different crowd. John asked if people were yelling "Gross," but then he figured out that they were yelling about the Black Crowes, and Flans explained (like the day before) that there was a poster in their dressing room from a time they played five nights in a row here at the Fillmore and that the poster was "mocking" them.

Someone was yelling out for "Spider" and Flans said that they'd play it even though they're from New York, where the rule is you're not allowed to play requests. He said he'd gone to a sandwich shop where a woman asked the guy to heat up her sandwich and he said "We believe you'd prefer it cold." They actually did play it, but John looked so unenthusiastic when Flans said they were going to. But I mean he didn't really have much choice, he would've looked like a jerk if he'd refused to after Flans already said they were going to. Anyway it was an interesting version of the song, particularly since he played it on accordion (he just happened to already have it on for the following song).

The next song in question was "Subliminal," my reaction to which can be summed up by the "Oh fuck yes" that popped into my head as soon as they started playing it. As my friend Ant put it "That song is better live than it has any right to be," and it's another classic I've only seen a handful of times. I was disappointed by the lack of fake backwards singing at the end, but otherwise it was perfect.

Next they played "Let Me Tell You About My Operation" (my current fav Flansong and absolutely amazing live, so always a welcome addition to the set!). Then there were band intros and the main set wrapping up with "Doctor Worm."

The first encore started with "Spy." During the improv part (which is really what makes that song live), John was playing a sample I heard him employ at several other shows, but I'm not sure what the source is, it's just a woman singing "Now the night has gone."

Next they played "Fingertips," which I've always really loved live but I'm sorry to say I've been getting into burnout with it just recently due to overexposure. However, this particular performance did feature a notable variation: During "I Walk Along Darkened Corridors," Dan appeared up in the balcony and finished the song there! (He actually might've shown up there earlier than that, I'm not sure, but that was when I noticed him.)

The second encore started with "Ana Ng," so between that and "Everything Right is Wrong Again" the previous night I got both my tattoo songs in San Francisco. And they closed the show with "New York City."

So all in all this was a most excellent show. After my prior frustration on this trip with having no variation in the setlist between the first show and the second, it was really exciting to get so many different and exciting surprises between these two Fillmore shows.

The final and really not very exciting JL wardrobe report: the long-sleeved black shirt made another appearance.

#tmbg #show reviews

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mirkwoodshewolf · 5 years

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Shallow; Roger Taylor x reader x oc male

*Author’s note*

Okay folks here is the next part I have for you all. Now I do NOT WANT ANY HATE FROM THIS CHAPTER. Cause I am aware of the fued between Bohemian Rhapsody and A Star is born (I personally love them both so if you asked me which to choose, I just can’t both stories are beautiful and it was good to see Bradley Cooper’s directorial debut and it’s sad he’s not getting credit as a director for the movie for the oscars)

Now I’ve decided to include some real facts based off the real Roger Taylor so I hope that’s okay but you all can still imagine Ben Hardy!Roger if you all want, or if you’ve been imagining the real members of Queen that’s fine too :) okay the next two chapters are coming up and they are a 2 parter so they literally go back to back and then that’s all for now afterwards. Hope you all enjoy this fic and listen to the song as well.

Taglist *always open*:

@onebigfangirlworld

@mr-badguymercury

@phantom-fangirl-stuff

@labessieisallama

@starswin

@5sos-wdw

@isabella-bby

@dj-lowkey

@naturalswifty89

_____________________________________________________

*July 20th, 1983*

It was yet another concert. The crowd, the lights and everything a Rockstar craves for. I smiled and I said into the microphone.

“Thank you Kansas, now this next song I wrote with a very special friend of mine. And you all will be the very first people to ever hear this song. Now I would like to welcome to the stage; you all know him as the drummer from Queen.” With that the entire crowd screamed hysterically. I smiled as I cried out, “Please give a warm Kansas welcome to Mr. Roger Taylor!”

The crowd went nuts as Roger came out from backstage holding an acoustic guitar. I smiled gratefully at him, remembering back to when I had asked him to do this song with me.

It was about a month ago, Roger was doing some of his solo stuff when he came over by my flat one day just to catch up and that’s when I told him of a song that I had in mind that I wanted to do for my upcoming show in Kansas City, Kansas.

I told him that I wanted this song to be a pure duet, no backup vocals just two people singing this song with raw passion and I asked if he was willing to help me out. Without question, he agreed and together the two of us got to work on how this song should go. As we worked on the song in my studio he approached me at one moment and said.

“Alright (y/n) I have a question for you, of course you don’t have to answer it. I feel like you don’t answer anything though but I—”

“What Rog?” I asked stopping his rambling.

“This song wouldn’t happen to be about you and Jack would it?” he asked me. I stopped the track and my fingers paused from the controls.

“What are you getting on?”

“Nothing I just—it feels like a love song and lately you and Jack have been getting pretty close.”

“It’s not a love song!” I snapped.

“Really?” He takes the sheets of paper and continues, “‘Tell me something boy?’ ‘Tell me something girl?’ ‘Crash through the surface where they can’t hurt us?’”

“It’s a metaphor Roger!” I tried to reason.

“First of all that’s my line and second I’m not judging love. You seem a lot happier with Jack than you did with that tosser Adam.”

“Oh I don’t know—you think?”

“Yeah. Look, I know that I haven’t been easy on the kid but now I’m starting to see the impact he’s made on you. Your eyes glow after hanging out with him, your smile actually reaches the corner of your eyes.” I looked down bashfully and I said as I tried to brush off my blush.

“Well it’s still not a love song.” Roger said not another word but kept smirking softly at me as we kept working on the song. Tightening up any lose rifts, making sure the lyrics were just right, until finally the song was perfect.

Now back to the current time frame, Roger came up to me and we both hugged each other and he tuned up the guitar before finally playing the chords and then finally singing.

Play Video

I knew I wanted Roger’s voice specifically because he has this rawness that some country singers have so I thought Kansas would love to hear his voice along with mine for this specific song.

*Roger*

Tell me somethin', girl Are you happy in this modern world? Or do you need more? Is there somethin' else you're searchin' for?

I'm falling In all the good times I find myself Longin' for change And in the bad times I fear myself

Roger played the instrumental break and then I picked up the song. At the chorus, I raised my voice with such passion as the crowd cheered for me before the two of us did the duet, sharing the same microphone and occasionally smiling at each other as we sang the duet.

*Me*

Tell me something, boy Aren't you tired tryin' to fill that void? Or do you need more? Ain't it hard keeping it so hardcore?

I'm falling In all the good times I find myself Longing for change And in the bad times I fear myself

I'm off the deep end, watch as I dive in I'll never meet the ground Crash through the surface, where they can't hurt us We're far from the shallow now

*Both*

In the shallow, shallow In the shallow, shallow In the shallow, shallow We're far from the shallow now

As the song picked up with the electric guitar as well as some other accompaniment, Roger handed me the guitar and I began playing as he raced up and began playing the drums. The crowd continued screaming and cheering as the song continued on and as I vocalized before continuing to sing.

*Me*

Oh, oh, oh, oh Whoah!

I'm off the deep end, watch as I dive in I'll never meet the ground Crash through the surface, where they can't hurt us We're far from the shallow now

*Both*

In the shallow, shallow In the shallow, shallow In the shallow, shallow We're far from the shallow now

Once the last note was played the crowd cheered and I smiled as I gestured toward Roger who stood up and took a bow. He also directed towards me and applauded for me before he raced off stage.

By the end of the concert after a few more songs, I ran off the stage with all my helpers coming over to me handing me towels and water bottles telling me what a great concert I gave out. At that moment Roger came over to me and picked me up in a hug and spun me around.

“Oh love you were great out there!”

“So were you, thank you so much for recording the song with me.”

“I’m happy I could help you love,”

“(Y/n)!” We both turned around and we saw Jack running towards us. Roger grinned down at me and shoved me forward a bit before stepping aside but still keeping a watchful eye. “You were amazing out there.”

“You think?”

“Yeah, everyone was going crazy. And is that really the first time you ever performed that song what is it called? Shallow?”

“Yeah Jack I just—thought I’d give you Kansas folk a song you all could enjoy. Do you think the other southern states will like it?”

“Even if they don’t Kansas will always love it, how did you come up with a song like that?” he asked. My heart skipped a couple of beats and I heard Roger cough something out and I sent a glare at him telling him to fuck off.

“Oh it was just—on a whim. I’m really glad you decided to come to this concert Jack.”

“Me too.” He said with a soft smile.

Ohh if only he knew, maybe if Adam didn’t fuck our relationship, then maybe one day I could confess to Jack telling him that this song was truly about us. With me being the Rockstar and him the modern boy and the two of us hoping to escape the deep end of fame and be in the shallows so that a relationship can truly blossom between us.

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mistakesandmixtapespodcast-blog · 5 years

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Episode 1 & 2 - Show Notes

So here’s how Mistakes & Mixtapes works: Each month you get two mixtapes an our podcast is like the extended liner notes! Links below for both Orono’s and Adrienne’s mixtapes (Spotify playlists), and some extra notes on some of the songs we don’t get to in the first two episodes!

Orono’s Mixtape for December:

Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1 - Kanye West - Epic drive across Vancouver

We’re so Lost - Princess Chelsea

Springtime - Jeffrey Lewis - Walking around Kitsilano, listened to this song. It was getting dark, I was out to get some groceries… vibey as hell song, you’ll get it when you listen to it

Ghost Town - Kanye West Ft. PARTYNEXTDOOR

Femme Fatale - The Velvet Underground

You’re so Cool - Jonathan Bree - S-A-R-C-A-S-M (but also a poignant truthfulness to the whole song)

I Can’t Stop Your Memory - Of Montreal - Very emo, very relatable, ;-(

Say It Ain’t So - Weezer

Ottoman - Vampire Weekend - When I was going through my Vampire Weekend (tumblr indie child) phase, I watched this music video for Kid Cudi’s remix of this track, where he just raps over the instrumental of this song. It’s a really lowkey video, he’s just rolling a blunt and rapping to the camera. Put in this song cos my whole week reminded me of this song, also Kanye-Cudi

All Mine - Kanye West

Who Loves The Sun - The Velvet Underground - Didn’t mention this in the podcast but alongside Ye I listened to Loaded a whole lot. Great record, great song. I specifically remember daydreaming about listening to this song in the car on a sunny, cozy afternoon, but pretty sure we were just going to the supermarket on a gloomy day lol

Man On The Moon - R.E.M. - I love the movie with the same title as this song, starring Jim Carrey. It’s about Andy Kaufman, who’s an absolute legend. Also watched the Netflix documentary about the movie, “Jim and Andy,” which is really fascinating as well. I watched the two while we were on tour and I loved them so much I ended up rewatching them a few times… made my mom watch them with me as soon as I got back home

Wii Tennis - Splash Daddy - A very catchy, very lols song that YouTube recommended me

No Mistakes - Kanye West

Time - Pink Floyd

Comfortably Numb - Pink Floyd

Heroin - The Velvet Underground

Cortez the Killer - Neil Young, Crazy Horse - I found out about this song because of one of my favorite bands, Slint--on the deluxe version of Spiderland there’s a cover of Cortez the Killer that they did at some Battle of the Bands type event when they were teenagers, it’s so sick. The lyrics are trippy and spooky as fuck

Hound Dog - Big Mama Thornton - Somehow went down an Elvis Presley wormhole. This is the (apparent) original of his hit song Hound Dog

Mo Bamba - Sheck Wes - How the fuck did I not know about this song. One of the biggest songs of 2018 with over 250 million listens on Spotify, didn’t recognize it at all. Thanks YouTube recommendations, I was hooked instantly

Here - Pavement - I’ve been trying to read Infinite Jest for a very long time now (lol), I have 2 copies of it now (one in London, one in Japan) so that I won’t have to carry this hefty ass book around. Anyway I think I tried to read it again on this day, and I was reminded of the movie about DFW, The End of the Tour, starring Jason Segel and Jesse Eisenberg… when the credits roll they play this sweet cover of Here, so yeah

Happy Just Bumming Around - Voom - The title says it all

Wrecking Ball - Miley Cyrus - I just had this song stuck in my head for some reason, guess I relates to some of the lyrics for the first time??? lmao

Two Broken Hearts - Rivers Cuomo

She Fucks Me - Ween

Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana - Another YouTube one, came across a video titled "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana Re-Mixed in a Major Key.” It’s sick, sounds like Weezer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVehv_LDWaE

Satellite - Guster - One of my favorite YouTubers Drew Monson did a cute cover of this song so shout out to Drewwwwww

Mistletoe Fixing You - GibiASMR

Angie Baby - Helen Reddy - Stumbled upon this song on Tumblr. It was a #1 in December of 1974, sung by Australian Singer Helen Reddy but I remember reading that it was originally written for Cher to sing. The lyrics are super cryptic and fun

Holiday - Weezer - I am on holiday.

Sweet Caroline - Neil Diamond - ‘Tis a sports game classic. Was talking to a friend about drunken, glorious singalongs to this sweet tune

Adrienne’s Mixtape for December:

No Mistakes - Kanye West - Couldn’t remember what the song was that we listened to when Kuba drove us home from the Mint party, but knew it was Kanye so...NO MISTAKES.

Mint - Dumb - Dumb played at the Mint Records’ Ridiculously Early Xmas Party

Eyes Without A Face - Billy Idol - Urban Outfitters & the Space Jam Soundtrack, Cindy Crawford workout videotape) // Music Video that made his eyes fucked for three days.

Chinatown - Luna - the scene from the bus with the guy in Chinatown

Steely - Marnie Stern - “I always hear that song at the right time”

Beautiful Blue Sky - Ought - Orono brought sunshine to Vancouver

Seer - Woolworm - Vancouver’s sweethearts

This is America - Childish Gambino - we almost went to the show

Means That Much - H. Hawkline - Cate Le Bon affiliate, she’s my fave.

Say It Ain’t So - Weezer - It was a donut shop miracle

Thinning - Snail Mail - listened to this song a lot in 2018, including this particular day

Cold Blooded Old Times - Smog - Garbage Dreams covered this at Kat Gardiner’s “Little Wonder” book launch, and she told me that this song was originally part of the book but that part got edited out! I love little coincidences like that.

1880 Or So - Television - Just a real catchy guitar riff that I keep getting stuck in my head!

Girl You Want - Devo - Songwriting inspo song

Only You - Yazoo - We had a band practice and it turned into a sweet night of DJ “Cheffica” (Jessica Delisle from fellow podcast Retail Nightmares) cranking out hits and trivia, including this one.

Greyhound - Calpurnia - Garbage Dreams opened for Calpurnia the night before Finn Wolfhard’s 16th birthday. I like this song cause it talks about taking the Greyhound to Seattle, which is a very Vancouver thing to do.

Melty - Milk - MUSIC VIDEO! Milk played the Calpurnia show. *At the time of the podcast, there was no Milk on Spotify but now there is so I did a switcheroo! The song I played a million violins on is here.

Baba O’Riley - The Who - Covering the Who is the best thing I’ve ever done

Wrong Song - Nashville Soundtrack - I watched so much Nashville in a very short span of time. I did not become a better songwriter as I’d hoped.

Tame - Pixies - Supermoon covered this song on tour in August and I love the drum fill at the end, and that drum fill keeps haunting me in songs this month!

Nevermine - Forth Wanderers - Band writes songs like pen pals, made me think of us trying to make this podcast! And how we’ll have to write our theme song!

Permanent - Carla Sagan - Montreal band who are very cool. I was reminded of them because I re-watched this film the Voyagers, which is about Carl Sagan, and the ULTIMATE MIXTAPE // also this.

Destroyer - Lala Lala - listened to this song a lot in 2018 and on this particular day.

Postpartum Party of One - Dim Wit - Family xmas card from Dim Wit’s singer & guitar player Jeff - very sweet that he sent it to me, and also they are a very cool band! They wear wigs and lab coats and one time the drummer played the drums with his feet while he did a handstand and maintained it for like, a while.

Flickering Lights (Will Likely Fail You) - The Luyas - Big windstorm in Vancouver!

Twin Falls - Built to Spill - Christmas, etc.

Some Time Alone, Alone - Melody’s Echo Chamber - (Alone, Alone in a cabin)

Deep Red Bells - Neko Case - Saw Neko play live for the first time this year. She played this song from the album Blacklisted, which was one of my faves probably when I was 19!

Local Sports Drama - The Lentils - (Canucks RIOTS - a lil local sports drama every decade or so in Vancouver. This was mentioned in the bonus sports section of the podcast that did not make the cut.)

Satellite of Love - Lou Reed - My friend’s cabin has a pretty big record collection and every time I go there we have listened to Lou Reed’s “Transformer” in its entirety and it’s great.

Ploughing Out Part 1 - Cate Le Bon - “On the last day of the year, I’m just happy to be here”

#mistakesnmixtapes #mistakes #mixtapes #podcast #shownotes #spotify #playlist #music #indierock #sports #pals #vancouver

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chichichobits · 7 years

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All tea B.A.P in NYC

Hey I’m going to try to make this as short as possible and will omit real names for privacy purposes. Myself I will call Twix and my sister Skittles. Friday after work and school we decided to meet up to line up early for a spot for B.A.P since we had P 1 tickets. We were ready to go and packed a suitcase, snacks, and a tent while we headed to the venue Terminal 5. I had scouted a day before and knew we would be near the water so wanted to be prepared for the chilly winds. Most people on Facebook said they would start lining up around 12-1 in the morning so we took an Uber and got there around 11:20pm. We were so shocked when we saw that a line had already formed. Some people that were P 2 and P 3 had got there early Friday morning—talk about dedication. We were still in pretty good standing since there were about 14 people in line. We decided to set up shop and put up the tent, but the thing was we had never set up one before. Luckily there was a former Girl Scout in the group ahead of us that started to help. As we were clearly struggling trying to put up the tent, Almond Joy comes out of nowhere, and sets up the tent with us. Low key I just thought she wanted in on the tent because it was so cold; but, after we invited her in she politely declined and went back to laying under her blankets. There was an event going on at the venue and around midnight security comes out to tell us to disperse and we can’t stay there. They give us red tickets and tell us to come back in the morning. People converse for a little bit and post on the B.A.P NYC facebook for people not to line up until 9:30 am because of the special tickets.

After a few hours of sleep we decide to head back to terminal 5 dressed to the nines with our sleeping bags and blankets. Almond Joy arrives at the same time and we go find our spots next to the other red ticket holders. Everyone starts to make small talk about biases, dramas, and the big 3 while trying to keep warm but it’s so brick outside. My sister finds a kindred spirit in a baby we will call Jolly Ranchers and they are so cute with each other. Next to us is another duo with a crazy girl with a big personality named Sweet Tarts, and her bubbly bestie Twizzlers. Near the front of the line by the entrance this petite girl starts screaming “ Stop It Just Stop It”. It was loud and she starts spazzing out saying people are skipping the line. She argues that it’s not fair because she has been there all morning lined up since 3:00 am and how people have been freezing in the cold and it’s not fair about the red tickets. She is pissed and storms off to join the line with her banners. At about 9:30 am security comes out and moves the line closer to the venue and separates the red tickets holders from the regular ticket holders and directs us to the other side of Terminal 5 where we wait behind barriers. We take turns going to the bathroom and some people go to change or pick up some food---those chicken nuggets though delish! Another member of our crew Kit Kat bust out the card games which include the classic Uno and Cards against Humanity which is so hilarious. During this time the event staff were checking the lines and handing out wristbands for hi touch . We were later joined by my sisters friend named ChocoPie who actually came with plenty of snacks including Poki Sticks with ChocoPies and put the rest of our stuff in her car for storage.

We go off to the nearest deli to charge up all our devices and come back just in time to get our photo op packages and wristbands. The packages are totally random and I ask people what they got and most got Daehyun. I look at mine and initially I thought I received a signed album from Jongup but the group ahead of us told me it was Yongguk. I didn’t even have a chance because Skittles pounced on me lol. I traded her signed album for Daehyun and my Zelo cards I traded with someone else. Closer to the time of the concert people started getting hyped up and there’s press going around asking questions about the group and the fandom. You have people dancing, rapping, and singing. Our group the Velvet Rope (inside joke) is doing the most---you have Sweet Tarts and Chocopie busting out lyrics for Wake Me Up, Jolly Ranchers on the side with Kit Kat cracking up, Twizzlers is freaking us out with her trivia skills like how do you know what stuff animals everybody sleeps with lol all and all the interview was funny af. There’s these cute korean girls in front of us that start talking to ChocoPie that just so happen to know the same people. One of the girls actually has the same name as Jolly Ranchers so we’ll call her Juicy Fruit. Fast forward to it’s time to go into the venue and there’s this commotion near the front of the line. Apparently a lot of people in the front did not have the red tickets because security told them otherwise. Also there were not P 1 but were P 2 and P 3 anyway the guy in charge came and sorted everything out and they were allowed to stay on the line. Sweet tarts crazy self makes a last minute dash to a bathroom nearby and comes back right on time before we start heading in.

We make a mad dash to inside after getting our bags checked but barricade is gone ~ le sigh, but we still get pretty close. Our group is on the right side of the stage. The korean girls with ChocoPie are on my left and on my right is Kit Kat with the rest of the group. Everybody started coming in at once filling all the space around us in no time. The concert didn’t even start yet and on my back I could feel this girl super close and was laughing with her friend. I know that in the pit it gets crazy and packed. In my head I’m thinking to myself does she not feel my butt on her or does she not even care. So I’m listening to them and there’s three of them. One on my left had bright fire engine red hair, the one on my butt kind of reminds of Hyme from Rania, and there was another shorter girl to my right but behind Kit Kat. She tells the one in the middle I’m not staying here. Music comes and they start playing some old school 80′s or 90′s songs, like songs you would hear in karaoke. Everybody start singing Sweet Dreams by the Eurythimics. All of a sudden the lights dim, the countdown starts, and the babyz start chanting B.A.P. the dj comes out and starts mixing. As soon as they came out we started screaming and everybody went nuts! I have to say that our group well the whole section was lit! There was so much energy yo it was crazy and I really didn’t that would enjoy it like I did here! One thing was that the girls behind us kept pushing us non stop and I turned to see who it was and it was the girl from before that was spazzing out let’s call her blowpop because she was acting up lol. She pushed KitKat and elbowed me in the sides. Her friend pushed Juicy Fruit but she locked arms with me and told me not to let go of her hand it was real in the pit omg like so bad. After blowpop knew she couldn’t push past us she bumrushed Jolly Ranchers but it did not work. The whole concert blowpop was like a little angry dog with the pushing it was pretty brutal. After awhile eventually the red headed friend stopped but blowpop never did until the very end. I’m trying to upload videos to this but yeah it’s a no go I think my files are too big or something I don’t know. I can talk about the interactions that we had. I came for Daehyun he is my bias but the maknaes came for me at this concert. Jongup is so fine like I couldn’t stop looking at him like what where did you come from? When I tell you he’s a bias wrecker that’s an understatement. He was all over the place pop locking and grinding all in your face lmao and gets an automatic invite to the cookout. He was looking at Kit Kat and she has the receipts. Youngjae was caught staring at her too. Mmh okay. Jolly Ranchers told me that she was dancing and just happened to look up to see Jongup staring at her like what and talking to Yongguk about it O_O he was definitely feeling the black girls that night I’ll say that. Blowpop was such a hater. That girl is straight crazy. Jolly Ranchers was so surprised that he was looking at her because she was so quiet and Blow Pop was screaming her head off. She told me everytime he came over to our side she kept elbowing her and Blowpop would try to mess up her videos when Zelo was in front of her. Yo that is so not cool. Jolly Ranchers got so mad at her she knocked the phone out her hand. Zelo was another dark horse that I was not expecting to go all out for the concert. If Jongup is invited to the cookout he sure is bringing Zelo with him because that boy was not playing. He has such great stage presence and was so cute the whole night and was interacting with us the whole night I see you over there Zelo <3 It was so cute hearing him sing for his solo and I love his little dance he did with this giraffe headband on his head again I would upload the video but yeah. He fell down and was like I’m so tired of his dancing he was so cute. Coming for me?

I’m starting to get sleepy so I’m going to try to wrap this up real quick. Dae dae killed me with his vocals I was like liquid. In general all the songs were good but the songs that I could listen to were Fermata, I need You, Body & Soul I was done. Not to say that I didn’t like the upbeat songs like That’s My Jam, Bang x2, Spy, etc it’s just I love how they arranged those all together. Feel so good was great too. Youngjae solo was good too and I was surprised that he danced in the very beginning. Gukkie was a shy little turtle on our side and reminded me of a painting artist, or recluse and he was so happy I was just like awww. Skittles was losing her mind over how good he looked especially with the white shirt. Jongup solo was so damn sexy. The end. Himchan was so cool and I love how he interacted with people. Lisa the girl he picked was so cute and shy. I think when they did the love shot she just about died. He also got a real kick out of the pink sign someone made for him. I was so mad at him with that damn watergun. He would low key try to squirt you if you had your phone out. Skittles ducked out of the water and he laughed. He caught me I was too thru and ChocoPie started screaming at him playfully informally lol. Near the end of the concert people thought it was over but they came back out and people lost their minds again bad thing nobody wanted to leave because they thought it still wasn’t over lol. Hi touch was right after and the line was ridiculously long but what I didn’t like was how they was rushing people and screaming hurry up. KitKat told me that her, Jolly Ranchers, Sweet Tarts and Twizzlers had a plan.They rolled up to the table saying “ Ayeeee” with Youngjae and Zelo was like “ Ayeeeee”. There were some technical difficulties at the the table lol I’m not obligated to say what exactly lol but it gave Kit Kat a chance to have a moment with Youngae. For my high touch I made a mistake but it kind of helped me out a little bit in the end. I had my phone out in my hand not even paying attention really and I’m on my way walking to the table when the security screamed go back no phones no phones you will not be able to take a picture so I had to double back and put my phone in my pocket in the mean time two girls went in front of me flying by me. I almost missed Youngjae because he was the first one so I did a quick tap and hi with him and Zelo, but I had to slow down for Daehyun and held his hand told him I loved him all the while the lady is screaming at me to hurry up like excuse me lol and Jongup is laughing because I’m holding up the line XD no fucks were given I don’t remember Himchan too much after hi five because I was being rushed and Gukkie had the biggest smile on his face when I hi touched. I almost left by mistake because you had to make a left to go back into the main hall. They grouped you by 10 with me and Skittles being on the end. We got lucky because I was the only one that wanted to take a picture with Daehyun and Skittles wanted Yongguk. I didn’t go when I was suppose to because it was suppose to be 5 at a time and I was number 6 but I did the numbers in my head. I noticed that 5 would stand in front and the others would kneel. I didn’t want to be on my knees so I just kept walking and just in time because I guess the girls didn’t figure out what was happening. The other four weren’t walking up either. So I stood right in front of Daehyun turned around and he started smiling, I didn’t know what to do so I gave him another hi five and then I waved to Jongup and the rest. Then we took two quick pictures and I said bye to him my heart. I was so high after that. It was so good I didn’t even care about the picture honestly. truly. It was all about the interactions and talking to them. The night was filled with so much drama but would I do it again? Yes in a heartbeat.

#bap in nyc #blackgirls #party baby 2017 #fan account

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djrelentless · 7 years

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“The Little School On West 39th Street”

And the page turns on another piece of New York City history as Escuelita closes its doors. From what I heard (since I no longer live there), the owner just disappeared. No warning, no clue that he had decided to abandon one of the last urban nightclubs in Manhattan. I'm not surprised, though. Big Ben as he was called on the flyers was just that kind of person. Unpredictable and definitely not concerned for anyone but himself.

I saw a blurb about the closing that said the change of the neighborhood (as in renaming the area South Time Square) and the new hotels on the block said that scary club with all the black and latino kids outside was an eyesore. Honestly….I totally could see that happening. With all the other gay bars and clubs popping up in Hell-sea (Chelsea crowd in Hell's Kitchen), Escuelita would look threatening to white tourists in town to see Hamilton. But Escuelita was not really innocent in that critique either. Many fights and altercations spilled out into the street. The crowds waiting to get in sometimes were rowdy and loud. And security corruption was legendary. I worked there for almost 13 years. I was a part of one of the best Sunday Tea Dances that New York City has ever seen. It was more than a weekly party. It was a movement. A movement that started on Christopher Street in a little corner bar called Two Potato.

I remember when the owner of Escuelita came to Two Potato to see Harmonica Sunbeam. He had been a few times and I believe he had booked her at Escos (as it would be shortened later). He was smitten with her wit and the way she could control a room. He offered a permanent slot on Sundays. At the time, Kevin Aviance was the Sunday night headliner. Harmonica and I went in to see the space and check out Kevin's show. I always like checking out a space before spinning there.

Ben's complaints about Kevin were that he had a huge entourage that was comped to get in and the numbers and bar sales were down. The night we went to see Kevin he was a little late starting the show and when he did he opened with Donna Summer's "MacArthur Park Suite" (and I'm talking the entire thing….all 17 minutes of it). When the show started there were about 25 people there. By the time Kevin finished that performance there were about 7 people left in the audience. I loved the energy and look that Kevin brought to the club scene, but somehow it did not translate as a cabaret show.

I think it was a couple of weeks after that we started Sunbeam Sundays. At the time, I was working almost 6 days a week. Between Two Potato, The Hangar, J's Hangout, The Break, The Works and any guest spots I could grab I had a lot going on. I believe it was 1997. I was Harmonica's DJ at Two Potato and she decided to take me with her to Escuelita. This was my first official club residency. A couple of DJs were disappointed that they weren't her selection for the new night, but I worked really close with her to create mixes and edits to develop what would become the makings of a legend. Harmonica’s classic bedtime story:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRR...

Typical opening of the show with the latest hot topics:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZw...

When the Tea Dance started doors originally opened at 5 pm (like a traditional Tea Dance is supposed to). And my introduction to Ben was in what would become his normal fashion…..rude and untrusting. There was no need for there to be two DJs for Sunbeam Sundays, but Ben didn't know me or trust me. So, he had one of his Saturday night Latin DJs (Oscar Perez) come in and work with me (basically keeping an eye on me so I didn't steal the equipment). I wish I had a dollar every time I broke a color line in the DJ field. I wouldn't be rich but I'd have some nice pocket money for sure.

It took about 6 months for us to get the timing right for the crowd's arrival, the show time and peak hour for dancing. The brilliance of Sunbeam Sundays was the following that Harmonica had developed in the West Village. We were like The Jeffersons… moving on up. After squeezing as many as she could in Two Potato, Harmonica had finally found the right venue with space and a great sound system (although I use that term "great" loosely…..Escuelita's CD turntables were pretty beat up and used - often would take a few seconds to read discs). It wasn't until a very suspicious break in at the club in 2002 that we got some better CD players.

A lot happened in our early years. Harmonica's catch phrases and stand up had become a private lingo that was spoken all along the East Coast of the United States. Between her bookings in Atlanta, Philly and Florida, her budding following brought in a few celebrities and gay cultural icons. But the thing that was most magical about Sundays was that it was the largest gathering of Urban Gays (Black and Latino) in the city. This would influence other clubs like Splash in Chelsea who had a really racist reputation to change their format and loosen their dress code when Chelsea started losing its core audience to the new gay scene popping up in Hell's Kitchen. It's funny how a demographic change could open doors to the minorities in ways they had not even paid attention to before. It all seems very clear now. But at the time after Escuelita had become a mainstay, this move would help Splash stay open for a few more years.

Meanwhile back on Christopher Street, the hipsters and baby carriages were taking over the neighborhood. Suddenly there were cops everywhere on the weekends with flood lights and lots of attitude. The Urban Gays who were unable to go up to midtown were left on the street or what was left of the piers while the city revamped and remodeled them. Two Potato hung in there for a little while. Before Chi-Chi's popped up, it was The Bulge. I hosted a weekly talent show there as my alter-ego, Jade Elektra during their very short time in the space next to the Path Train. But eventually, Two Potato and Keller's (which were known as NYC Black Gay Bars) would close leaving the West Village with The Hangar and The Monster as stomping grounds for the Urban demographic. I spun for The Hangar from 1995 to 2000. Part of my following came from the retro formats and House music that I spun when I was a resident there. But Escuelita gave me the opportunity to build a dance floor following. And even though the pay was quite shitty, I stuck with it because I knew in the long run it would be a big part of my legacy in The Big Apple.

It sorta makes me reflect on my DJ years in New York City. At one point I was spinning for the Urban Gay crowd, I had a great following at The Hangar, I supplied the music for Boots & Saddles, I was the first DJ to spin at J's Hangout, I also spun for a fetish party at CBGB's called VYAGRA. I was the resident for a tranny party hosted by Gloria Hole. And I even spun for the lesbian bar called Crazy Nannies. That was when New York City was very diverse and had a thriving nightlife. And cross sections of events with Lady Bunny to chatting with Lawrence Fishburne while spinning in The West Village with Escuelita having visitors like Christina Aguilera, The Pet Shop Boys, Sting and Pink. Those were the great years for me.Sheila Noxema’s Pump Service:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XE7...

And remember that time Gina Divine co-hosted with Sugga Pie...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4u...

When I think about all the celebrities and performers that have graced that stage or walked down those stairs, it kinda boggles the mind. But just like me meeting David Cole (of C+C Music Factory), Rick Donavon (80s Gay Pornstar) and Lady Miss Kier (of Deee-Lite) at Sally 's II back in 1992, I think Escuelita's biggest star sighting was Pop diva Rihanna. But our Sunday nights introduced many to new talents like Princess Janae, Jennifuh Leathuh, Jiggly Calente, Sahara Davenport, Manila Luzon, Amanda Roberts and Britney Houston. And who could forget the hilarious Sophia Mackintosh and poetry of Alize Jenkins. And I wish I had video of all the I played the Jaws theme during Gina's constant attention whore moments during Harmonica's opening monologues. Or the birth of Harmonica's drag daughter, Eumosha Sunbeam (who was originally called The Impersonator for her impersonation of the classic tip pump). And even though I was usually stuck in the booth, occasionally Jade Elektra made a cameo here and there. And my verbal feuds with Sugga Pie fueled all kinds of rumors that we actually hated each other (which couldn't be any further from the truth…..I love her and miss our banter).If Gina Divine wasn’t asking for a drink, she was normally trying to steal stage time as seen here in this classic battle between her and Harmonica:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztw...

I think the thing that also made Sunbeam Sundays was not only the comedy but we also celebrated Urban Holidays that most other gay bars glossed over. Martin Luther King Weekend was a big deal for us. And we even had competitions to see who could recite the "I Have A Dream" speech. I even wrote a Black History Trivia Game show for Black History Month one year. Plus we in our own way we addressed minority issues that effected the Urban Gay Community. And everyone remembers the humanity and sadness Harmonica expressed when Eumosha passed away. We had become a family and people had grown to love one another (at least one day of the week).Harmonica spoke about losing her gay daughter:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy9...

Now….like most employees at Escuelita we all had run-ins with Ben. I must have quit at least 6 times during my residency at Escuelita. The first time was over a song. "Chi Chi Mon" by the TOK Crew to be exact. This hateful Reggae song about burning down the local gay bar was all over NY radio and the Urban Gays didn't give a damn about the lyrics. I refuse to play it. And Ben threatened to fire me because customers were complaining. I quit one night and left. It was that important to me. I couldn't understand why everyone else didn't feel the same way. But most of the times I quit it was because of my pay. It's a shame when you have to quit your job in order to get a raise. But I had enough work elsewhere that I could do that. And Ben hated that. He liked to control his employees by dangling their jobs over their heads. Usually I would only miss a week or two before I would be asked to come back. Ben had to accept that I was part of the formula for Harmonica's show. By the time Sugga Pie Koko was added to the show, we had the perfect chemistry for a great night. Go Go Boys, local showgirls, new talents, and out-of-town guests…. we were the gay variety show live every Sunday night. Harmonica had become a gay mix between Ed Sullivan and Flip Wilson.

For anyone who was backstage, they knew how hard I worked on that show. The problem when other DJs tried to fill my shoes was that they were too concerned with what they wanted to play after the show. Ben even went out of his way to book guest DJs that he thought would be better replacements for me. They didn't realize that if you didn't have a good vibe and energy during the show nothing was going to happen afterwards. The show dictated the energy of your floor. There were a few DJs that came in with the agenda of taking Sundays away from me. Thank God my many years of working with Harmonica back in the early 90s built the working relationship that we had. There was a trust and an allowance of creativity that doesn't really exist with most DJs and drag queen relationships. But I guess because I am a drag queen as well, I understood what it took to do the show.

Ben being the opportunist that he was also saw a chance to build a brand out of Harmonica Sunbeam. Often I was not mentioned in the ads or even on the flyers because his main concern was his new nightlife star. I watched him sell memorabilia of the late Lady Cateria (one of the original cast showgirls at Escuelita) after she died. Most people didn't know that I took Jade Elektra's track, "Bitch You Look Fierce" to him first before signing it to a UK label and he turned it down. Ben really did not like me and often said that I was the worst DJ he had. He did however pay to produce the two Harmonica tracks "Ready To Pump" and "I'm Here To Work". It was definitely a good marketing tool to sell and promote Sunday nights. Now, I am glad that he rejected my track. He would have owned it like he owns Harmonica's tracks. But Ben did go all out to get her name out there. He even got a local energy drink company to put Harmonica on the product. As Octavia St. Laurent would say "I want to be a household produkt." And Harmonica had become a "produkt".

Watching her become the New York legend was moments of her brilliance on the mic….her signature walk for tips to my mash-up of "Wonder Woman vs. The Ha"…..and the cultivation of her lingo. It was a pleasure and an honor to be a part of that. We had something special that I don't think will ever be recreated. It can't be. The reason why was it was the timing and the rise of technology. Just as many club and bar owners are finding out, social media, phone apps and sex sites are how young people meet today. So, like when porn went from film to video, it changed the whole business. This is the NOW generation. They want it NOW whether they deserve it or not…. whether they have earned it or not. Harmonica would make you wait on a joke. Those moments during Sunbeam Sundays that you just had to be there to see and experience can't happen now. The attention span of today's club-goer is beyond short. You can't tear them away from their phones long enough for them witness the nuances of Harmonica's comedy. Today…. the person would be watching the whole thing through the camera on their phone. A cell phone can't capture those moments…..only your eyes and hears can. It just falls flat on a YouTube screen.

Towards my exit, I don't think that Harmonica actually believed that I would leave. But I kept telling her that I was going to. By 2009 New York City was already changing. The shift from Chelsea to Hell's Kitchen had already started. A new crop of laptop DJs were replacing the more seasoned ones since they traveled so light. Hell…even Harmonica had threaten to leave plenty of times over the years because Ben was not the nicest person to work for. He liked to pit employees against each other all the time. The puppet master enjoyed controlling his puppets. But the problem was that Harmonica, Sugga Pie and myself were independent contractors. He had nothing dangling over us and he hated that. So when we fought with him it was a stalemate.

After I left I noticed that suddenly there was a "Vogue Knight". I found that kinda odd since Big Ben used to argue with me because he felt that I played too much of that kind of music. He didn't like when the kids would battle on the floor. "The people are not dancing! They are just standing around watching two people falling on the floor. It doesn't look good!" he would say at the end of my shift. As far as I knew, Ken Terry, Vjuan Allure and myself were the only ones who regularly included Bitch Tracks and Cunty Beatz in their playlists. But by the 6th year of Sunbeam Sundays, Ben saw that there was money to be made and allowed mini balls to be held once or twice a month for late night on Sundays. The customers never knew how I fought to keep that part of our scene alive at Escuelita.

I came back a couple of times and Harmonica and Sugga Pie had moved over to Splash. It was good, but not the same as that basement on 39th Street. It's like when they have reunions for clubs that closed years ago. It's nice, but it could never compare to the original space and energy. We had magic in that basement. Ben knew it and we knew it. And I guess that's why we stayed as long as we did. I was happy after I left to see Lady Bunny using the space for her Off-Broadway shows. That really brought a lot of attention to the venue. But unfortunately Ben's decisions to take the actually sign down for the space so that he could rent it out to promoters and book straight stripper shows was a bad move. His decision to cater to the gay youth (in my opinion) was the beginning of the end. Kids don't have money and kids aren't supposed to drink. He was just asking for trouble and Escos quickly began to get the nickname of Romper Room from its older patrons. But whether you loved the place or never set foot in it, Escuelita was a major part of New York City's Gay History. And the Sunday night Tea Dance was an animal all on its own. It made an icon out of Harmonica Sunbeam. It made Sugga Pie Koko a star. And it made me a better DJ.

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lizwontcry · 7 years

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Axl’s Birthday!

I have posted this before but whatever, I do what I want.

Someone asked me a few years ago why I love Axl/what my Axl history is. So here it is, in honor of our lord and savior’s important 55th birthday.

It started in December of 1991. I was 12 years old. I don’t know the exact moment or the reason why it happened, but I found myself drawn to Axl’s awesome voice and amazing hotness. I think it might have been the video for Don’t Cry? But I don’t remember. It was a long time ago. But something about the lyrics and Axl’s voice and the way he existed as a human and carried himself and had so much fucking passion for everything, that inspired me. It made me who I am as a person today. Without the lyrics and the voice and the way I can count on him every single time I need him, I would be a completely different person. Who knows if that’s a good thing or not, it just…is.

I’m also very proud and excited about his last year. He finally let the reunion happen, and it’s been a huge success. I don’t think he and Slash are braiding each other’s hair and sharing hotel rooms or anything, but at least they get along well enough to put their differences behind them and rock out onstage. Not to mention Axl taking over as singer for AC/DC and what a badass he was during those tours.

So as for my history with GNR? It goes way back and gets complicated. Here’s a list for your enjoyment.

I’ve seen them live seven times, once in 2001 in Vegas, three times in 2011 in Houston, Dallas, Vegas, 2013 at the House of Blues in Dallas, once in Houston and once in Dallas in 2016. My Vegas concerts were exactly ten years apart, in the same place at the same time.

I won tickets on the radio to the GNR/Metallica/Faith No More show in 1992, but my parents said I was too young to go and I had to sell my tickets to my neighbor. They consoled me by saying GNR would be back soon. If you count 19 years as “soon”, then I guess they were right.

I also had tickets to the show in 2002. It was my graduation present. And of course the tour was canceled and everything sucks.

In 2000, Axl finally broke his 6 year silence and played a show in Vegas. I was IN Vegas and I didn’t know this happened until a few days later. This broke my heart and it took me a year to recover.

I’ve stood in the front row of a Velvet Revolver concert and was sweat on by Slash, Duff and Scott Weiland. I also saw Slash with Ozzy in 2011.

My dad played Blackjack for hours with Axl in Vegas in 2006. He didn’t know who he was at first but then someone told him. He still did nothing. No autograph. Not even an acknowledgement that I existed. It’s been more than a decade and he still has not been forgiven.

GNR and Axl both got themselves a twitter in December of 2009. For most of 2010 and part of 2011, they replied to me and retweeted me all the time. Tommy Stinson and I basically had a twitter relationship. I did this to get their attention and be acknowledged as a fan but I also did it to get some kind of advantage when they would eventually tour the US. To that effect, I asked them basically every single day to come to Texas.

And it worked, because they came to Texas, and I was acknowledged. They gave me after party passes and I met Fernando, Beta, Del James, DJ, Bumblefoot, Tommy, Frank, Chris…basically everyone but Axl. It was really top five best nights of my life and I am so grateful that they gave me the opportunity to experience it.

In 2010, Slash had this DM relationship with people on twitter. I would have many interesting conversations with him about Axl and about his life and my life in general. It was fun.

In 2011 I got a tattoo on my ankle that says “Baby, maybe, someday” from Don’t Cry. The song is beyond important to me. It is everything. It defines me as a human being.

On that note, in Houston, the show where I met everyone, Axl came out to sing Don’t Cry and then told the story of what the song was about, how he and Izzy knew this girl who broke their hearts, etc. etc. I am 93% sure he told that story because he knew I was in the audience and I have many reasons why I believe such things.

In my opinion, Axl’s voice was better than I’ve ever personally heard in Houston of last year. It was a pretty bad ass show.

That’s it, really. I just love this band. I think Axl has reasons for all the crazy shit he does. I think his passion for the goal he set out to reach in 1985 with this band is so admirable. He persists even though the media and critics and even his own fans give him so much disrespect. His voice and his band give people spiritual concert experiences even after all these years. He puts his heart and soul into every performance, even though he must hate singing WTTJ for the 8,991st time in his life. I think he has problems and he’s misunderstood and is prone to temper tantrums, but overall, I admire everything he has done for me, and for music in general. I also feel that Chinese Democracy is an amazing album, my favorite of all time in fact, and is a misunderstood masterpiece. I loved the CD-era line-up and thought they did their best to represent what Axl had envisioned for the band, but I also realize that the band is at its peak with Duff and Slash back in it. Axl and Slash have magical chemistry, I truly believe that now.

Also, Axl’s really hot and ever since I’ve started this thing with him, I’ve had a thing for redheads with blue/green eyes. My boyfriend even matches this description. Late 80s, early 90s Axl is still the hottest man to ever exist in the whole spectrum of human beings to me. And while he’s older and his neck is weird, there ain’t nothing wrong with current Axl, either. So happy birthday to him and his hotness, and thank you for asking me this important question.

#axl rose #guns n' roses

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blancagriswold · 7 years

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Real Weddings: Happy Anniversary – Tammy and Dan’s 1950’s Americana Wedding

Todays Real Wedding is a throwback as it is Tammy and Dans anniversary! Today I saw a massive vintage american car and it just reminded me of this amazing wedding that we featured last March. I absolutely adored it. Seen at it is the New Year, I thought I would take a little look back on a firm favourite of 2016, and here it is. Tammy and Dan’s 1950’s Americana Wedding. Its just superb! And not just because it was shot by our very own Maria Farrelly!

So without further ado, you’re about to be overloaded with inspiration! Enjoy!

I’ve been looking forward to sharing this wedding for AGES!

As well as running Cwtch The Bride, some of you many not realise I’m also a professional photographer. This here blog was initially a little side project for me which has now snowballed into Wales’ best wedding blog EEK! Anyhow, besides having a great team now working with me on this blog, I still photograph weddings. And the one I’m sharing with you today is flipping awesome!

I had the privilege of photographing Tammy & Dan’s 1950’s Americana style wedding last July and hand on heart, it was probably one of my all time favourites! It had everything I love about a great wedding. An awesome Welsh venue, wonderful friends and family, loads of laughter, fabulous music, drinks flowing and bucket loads of love.

So grab yourself a cuppa, get comfy and enjoy!

Oh…and before I forget… this brave couple commissioned me to return the morning after and photograph all their guests hungover (some of which hadn’t slept!). it was great fun and i’ll be sharing those images with you all tomorrow morning! don’t miss that, they are hilarious!

Lets hand you over to the beautiful bride Tammy to tell you all about her awesome wedding!

Maria x

All images by Maria Farrelly Photography

What was your budget?

Our budget was whatever we could save over 3 years including any gift money from Christmas & birthdays, think it amounted to £20,000 which included our dream honeymoon. It was hard work trying to be strict and save but totally worth it the end and not without a lot of help from family too!How would you describe your wedding theme?

50’s Rock & Roll with a splash of Americana :) We love America (especially Florida) and the closest available date for the venue we wanted was 4th July – Independence Day… how could we not add some American touches to the theme :) We had sparklers and chocolate pretzels for the favours and went all out with American style food such as hot dogs, pulled pork, sweet potatoes and waffles with syrup and ice cream for dessert.What was your favourite part of your wedding?

My favourite part of the wedding was walking out as Mrs Hagerty back down the aisle and halfway down realising it wasn’t a CD playing ‘All You Need Is Love’… it was a surprise full brass band booked by my father in law and to top it off one of our groomsmen Nathan was singing along with Scott on the drums who plays in a band with Dan – ‘Eric Unseen’. The BTM Brass band sounded amazing and technically our first dance ended up being straight after the ceremony right there in the aisle.

Tell us about your Wedding Dress

I saw a dress in a wedding magazine that was a short 1950’s style with lace sleeves, the dress was by Ellis Bridal. I wanted to get my dress from the same place that my best friend Kate got hers as they were always very friendly, Sentiments in Bridgend. I heard that Sentiments had a trunk show for Ellis Bridal so booked myself an appointment. The dress that I wanted to try on wasn’t there so I tried on a beautiful fishtail version of the dress and it just suited my curvy figure so well! I tried on plenty of other dresses including shorter styles and as fab as they all were I knew the fishtail style was the one and still in keeping with the 50’s style. Lots of people commented on my look being very Priscilla Presley which I was over the moon about! Who did you pick as your bridesmaids &/or best man and why?

We had 6 Bridesmaids and 6 Groomsmen.All of them crazy in their own way and we loved having our best friends, sisters and brother by our side! Dan couldn’t choose just one best man so he had two … Carl & Rickwood, I think they are now taking bookings as compares! They really were a double act on the day and kept everyone entertained.As for the bridesmaids they really helped me keep calm getting ready and then once their duties were done got up to their usual antics including photo bombing our professional pictures haha!

Why did you choose your venue?

We really wanted a barn venue, and once we saw the Barn at Brynich with its beautiful on site cottages we knew we didn’t need to look any further. The team at Brynich were brilliant, especially Simon who really looked after us from start to finish of the wedding planning and made sure the day ran smoothly! Having the venue for the full weekend was perfect as we really got to make the most of spending time with the family and had plenty of help the day before with making sure everything was set up! The sunday after the wedding was then time to unwind laugh and reflect! Oh and take morning after shots of the bridal party just for the fun of it! :)Tell us about your photographer

Our photographer was Maria Farrelly, I was at a wedding fayre in the Millennium Centre (Cardiff) and after seeing quite a few portfolios I came across her stand and knew that I needed to book her straight away! The work on her displays and portfolios were the exact style I was after and after speaking with Maria, she was so lovely and genuinely excited about our ideas so far!

I think after the venue, Maria was the next big tick off the list as it was so important to us that we had a great photographer. We are so happy with how the pictures turned out! Every moment was captured!

How did the proposal happen?

Dan took me to Cardiff bay to where he had asked me out 5 years prior, he was so nervous and I was just thinking about what steak I was going to have in Cafe Rouge… then he popped the question! I was over the moon and ended up too overwhelmed to eat my food!The following week we jetted off to Venice which was absolutely amazing! No cars from the moment we got off the plane, it was just fascinating.

Any DIY stories/tutorials you’d like to share?

As we both love music we had an idea for a lyric aisle backdrop to hang from the ceiling to the floor and with flowers either side. It would have been too expensive to have real flowers but thanks to ebay there’s always an option to re-create a similar look cheaper. The end result looked fab!I also made my own american style menu with vintage pictures of celebrities stuffing their faces! The idea just popped into my head and it may have taken me a couple of hours to create it but it looked fun and quirky on the tables. We bought lots of sparklers on ebay and then used a template on Pinterest to print out and use as sparkler tags. Its definitely worth seeing what you can find online if you are trying to stick to a budget as all these little things could add up!

What was your first dance & why?

Our first dance song was Elvis Presley ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’… its one of our favourite songs and we didn’t want anything too modern. Even though its a slow tempo song, everyone loved to join in swaying around the dance floor and singing the song at the top of their voices :)In hindsight, was there anything you would have done differently?

I do wish we had more video footage of the day but our budget couldn’t have stretched any further. We have had a few video’s sent to us of the brass band surprise, our first dance and lots of our friends at the end of the night singing in the tipi around the campfire so we will be putting it all together and make our own video mixed in with some of the amazing photo’s we have from the day.

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Do you have any advice for future couples?

As much as I love Pinterest, try to remember what is unique to you as a couple and how you can incorporate it in to your day. The little things really do pay off! Once all the handwork has been done upfront, when it comes to the actual day… what’s done is done and what isn’t, you just need to forget about! The most important thing is getting married with all your loved one’s surrounding you.I had bought a lovely personalised cake topper but when we were decorating the tipi the day prior it had gotten lost… still haven’t found it to this day so I am glad I didn’t spend any time stressing out about it on the wedding day.

What’s the best piece of marriage advice you received?

Never go to sleep without resolving an argument :) What was your favourite thing about planning a wedding?

Our favourite thing of planning the wedding was shopping for the last bits and pieces like table decor, balloons, bunting and sweets!

The Suppliers

Photographer: Maria Farrelly Ceremony Venue:The Barn at Brynich Reception Venue:Wedding Tipi (Placed at Barn at Brynich) Bride’s Dress:Sentiments Bridal Bride’s Shoes: Schuh Bride’s Headpiece: Veil by EnVogue and Flower Crown by The Flower Shop Bride’s Jewellery: wedding ring handmade from Etsy Groom’s Outfit: Next and Mrs Bowtie Bridesmaid’s Dresses: JJ’s House (online) Cake: By my bridesmaid’s aunty :) Flowers: The Flower shop Hay On Wye inc my flower crown Hair: Bella’s Hair Boutique – Styled by Jess Davies (A friend) Make Up: Amy at Dollybirds Beauty Band: Jammy and the dodgers – go see them at The Brewhouse DJ: None – We hired a jukebox Stationery: Be Our Guest (Etsy) Caterers: Five Star Chef Any Reception Decor/Props: Bunting & Balloons – Not on the high street/hobbycraft , favours – ebay , pretzels – Holland & Barrett Other:Ceremony Band – BTM Brass Band

Our Wedding Album

Liked this? You might also like these! :)

Tammy and Dan’s 1950’s Americana Wedding at The Barn at Brynich by Maria Farrelly

The Morning After The Wedding. By Maria Farrelly Photography

Easter Flash Sale: 50% off Cwtchfest Tickets!

Valentines Day Offer: 50% off CWTCHFEST Tickets

Real Wedding: Aled & Caroline by Smith Imaging

The post Real Weddings: Happy Anniversary – Tammy and Dan’s 1950’s Americana Wedding appeared first on Cwtch The Bride.

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suerusselldj · 7 years

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Don Cheadle Talks Kendrick Lamar’s “DNA.” Video, Being the Original Kung Fu Kenny

Spoil me - I'm a DJ and I'm cute!

After releasing his new album DAMN. and delivering a huge headlining set at Coachella, Kendrick Lamar dropped the stunning new video for “DNA.” The clip, directed by Nabil and the Little Homies, stars Don Cheadle as a police officer who interrogated Kendrick before rapping the song. Throughout the video, Kendrick is dressed in a Kung Fu Kenny costume—an homage to Cheadle’s character from Rush Hour 2. Today, Cheadle spoke to Pitchfork over the phone about his appearance in the video, how he had two days to learn the lyrics, the ad-libbed dialogue from the video, his text conversations with Kendrick, the time he offered Kendrick an acting job, and how he only just figured out that he’s the inspiration behind Kung Fu Kenny.

Pitchfork: You obviously learned the trumpet for Miles Ahead. How did you prepare to rap in a Kendrick video?

Don Cheadle: Well, it was a very different process. I didn’t have to figure out how to play anything like I did for Miles Ahead. As opposed to about eight years to try to figure out the movie and get ready for that, I had two days to get ready for the video. Kendrick just hit me out of the blue and just said, “Hey man, I’m going to do this video, do you wanna be in it?” And I said, “Yeah, sure.” And then he said, “Do you want to know what the part is?” He was like, “Yeah, you’re gonna come in and play a cop, and you’re interrogating me, and then you’re just gonna spit my rap.” I was like, “Uh OK, you know you’re like the best rapper in the world, so what are you talking about.” He sent me the lyrics and was like, “You just have to get this much of it down,” which was like half of it [laughs]. I was like, “Are you gonna have a teleprompter?” And he said, “No, it’s gonna be fine.”

So I crammed like we have to do as actors. It’s tricky, because it’s not a linear process. His thought process is not linear. That was probably the trickiest part of it—to figure out how thoughts led to each other. As a human being, he’s pretty normal and straight ahead, but when you listen to his rhymes, he’s constructing ideas in ways that are not immediately understandable. It takes a deep dive to kind of figure out why one verse creates the other verse and what it comes out of and all of that. So it’s tricky to memorize because it’s so specific to the way he thinks. But then when we got in there, we really just started playing. We just started improvising, really.

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It’s crazy that you only had two days, I wondered if you had this album weeks before everybody.

No. I literally had that song. They sent me that and said, “Can you do it?” And they sent me a couple of video clips of him literally just sitting in a trailer, just kind of moving. They said, “We want you to get his movements, ’cause you’re kind of going to be mirroring him at some point.” So they sent me a couple clips of the way he moved and him doing the rhyme, just really casual and laid back. And then we showed up and it happened really fast because they had the entire rest of that video they had to shoot with cars and all of that stuff. So we just kind of improv’d it. The cameras moved around a lot. Nabil, who directed it, was just really clever about how to cover it. We did it like five or six times and that was it.

The part where you ask if he knows what “DNA” stands for—was that something you came up with or was that Kendrick?

That was me. He just said, “You’re a cop, and you’re going to be messing with him and getting in his face. So just fuck with him.” So I said, “OK, well this would be a pretty fucked up thing to say” [laughs]. So I just improv’d all the dialogue, everything I said. I did it once, and after we finished it, Kendrick was like, “Yeah, say that again. Say exactly that. Do that one again.”

Did you see that Geraldo criticized Kendrick again?

Kendrick sent that to me. It’s just hilarious. It’s like, “Wow dude, you don’t have anything better to do? That’s not your lane, bro.”

You introduced Kendrick’s amazing performance at the Grammys last year. What was it like being right there?

It was amazing, and again, it was a complete surprise. I was walking the red carpet and everybody was saying, “Have you seen it? Do you know what he’s going to do?” And I was like, “No.” It did not disappoint. Right before I announced it, they stuck me somewhere—I had to go stand somewhere before I walked on stage—and Robert Glasper just happened to be standing in front of me. Neither one of us knew, and as soon as it was over, he just turned around and looked at me, and we just stared at each other for 10 seconds. Like, “What did we just see?” Incredible.

Did you already know Kendrick before then?

Dre had connected us because I wanted to use Kendrick in some project I was doing—his music, for sure. I maybe wanted him to try his hand at acting, which he was very reticent to do at that time. He didn’t feel like that was his lane and said he wasn’t ready. I really appreciated that, because a lot of people are like, “Yeah, I’ll do it,” just because they want that shine. He was like, “Nah, I don’t do anything unless I know I can do it.” But we just stayed in touch from that point on. We texted, “Hey what’s happening,” he’s like, “oh I’m on tour, I’m working on this music.” I’d be somewhere and I’d get a text just out of the blue saying, “what’s up big bro, what’s happening.” So we just kind of stayed in touch like that over a couple years, and then a month ago, he said, “Oh I’m gonna do this video, do you wanna do it?”

What’s your take on the second half of the video? It shows this much more varied life than Geraldo or whoever is saying Kendrick represents. What’s your take on what the video means?

I loved it. I love the whole video. Like I said, to me, he is real. He’s just real and straight-up and honest and truthful and generous to the degree that he lets you in. He lets you see the cracks in the armor. He lets you see his insecurities and all that stuff. It’s just rare to have any kind of artist do that—especially a hip-hop artist. He’s kind of the anti-hip-hop artist in that way.

What thoughts do you have about the rest of the album?

I haven’t heard it! I didn’t even know that I was the Kung Fu Kenny model. I didn’t know that until the next day. He got that from my character in Rush Hour 2. He was like, “Duh!” He texted me like, “Dude are you serious? You didn’t know that?” I totally forgot about that. I’ve been working too long, I didn’t even remember that.

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He’s dressed like your character, right?

Yes! When he hit me, before the video, he said, “The video, it’s gonna be here, and I’ve got a little surprise for you.” I was like, “Cool.” So I showed up, I did the thing, then I left, and I did not put it together. Then I went to Coachella and saw him perform, and I saw the video before the thing and still didn’t figure it out. And then I went on Twitter and someone had randomly tweeted, “Don Cheadle is the original Kung Fu Kenny.” I went, “Wait a minute, I did play a character named Kenny who did kung fu and spoke Chinese.”

And I texted Kendrick and was like, “Hey man, am I the inspiration for Kung Fu Kenny? Because I’m going to say I am whether I am or not.” He was like, “Fam, that was the surprise. So, surprise!” Oh shit! I feel stupid now. I wonder what he was thinking the whole two days when we were together and I hadn’t said anything about it. He was like, “What’s wrong with this dude? Is he senile? Does he hate it? Is he not a fan?” It was obvious. Now, when you say it, it’s obvious.

You talked about Kendrick and Kamasi Washington while you did press for Miles Ahead, and you worked with Robert Glasper. How do you find new music?

Through them. It’s kind of like how Joseph Campbell talked about how he became a scholar. I’m not saying I’m a scholar, but he’d read all the people he liked and then he’d go and read all the people that they read. Then he’d read that person and see who that person read. That’s kind of how it is. I look at the people that Rob has worked with. You look at the tracks and see who the people are. You find them and what their music is and who they’ve worked with. It just kind of works like that. Christian Sands, Christian McBride, Walter Smith III, Kamasi Washington—all these young cats that are really doing it now. And the guys who have still been doing for a long time. I still listen to Wynton [Marsalis], who I love.

Are we going to see you rapping again anytime soon?

[Laughs] I have no plans, but never say never.

[Read More ...]

IN MY Dreams

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blancagriswold · 7 years

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Real Weddings: A 2016 Favorite – Tammy and Dan’s 1950’s Americana Wedding

Todays Real Wedding is a throwback one. Today I saw a massive vintage american car and it just reminded me of this amazing wedding that we featured last March. I absolutely adored it. Seen at it is the New Year, I thought I would take a little look back on a firm favourite of 2016, and here it is. Tammy and Dan’s 1950’s Americana Wedding. Its just superb! And not just because it was shot by our very own Maria Farrelly!

So without further ado, you’re about to be overloaded with inspiration! Enjoy!

I’ve been looking forward to sharing this wedding for AGES!

So grab yourself a cuppa, get comfy and enjoy!

Lets hand you over to the beautiful bride Tammy to tell you all about her awesome wedding!

Maria x

All images by Maria Farrelly Photography

What was your budget?

Tell us about your Wedding Dress

Why did you choose your venue?

How did the proposal happen?

Any DIY stories/tutorials you’d like to share?

What was your first dance & why?

youtube

Do you have any advice for future couples?

What’s the best piece of marriage advice you received?

Never go to sleep without resolving an argument :) What was your favourite thing about planning a wedding?

Our favourite thing of planning the wedding was shopping for the last bits and pieces like table decor, balloons, bunting and sweets!

The Suppliers

Our Wedding Album

Liked this? You might also like these! :)

Tammy and Dan’s 1950’s Americana Wedding at The Barn at Brynich by Maria Farrelly

The Morning After The Wedding. By Maria Farrelly Photography

Easter Flash Sale: 50% off Cwtchfest Tickets!

Valentines Day Offer: 50% off CWTCHFEST Tickets

Real Wedding: Aled & Caroline by Smith Imaging

The post Real Weddings: A 2016 Favorite – Tammy and Dan’s 1950’s Americana Wedding appeared first on Cwtch The Bride.

0 notes