#my favorite band is releasing a new song in like 5 minutes I AM NOT ALRIGHT

[dollarbin]

Dollar Bin #4:

Emmylou Harris's Angel Band

I visited four different Iowa record stores while dropping my second born off at college last week and I have much to report. 

Yes, there are at least four record stores in the state.  The mystery is how they stay open. 

Emerson, Lake and Palmer records are deemed worthy of plastic protection in Iowa, and $25 Yes records come with handwritten stickers that say things like "Side 1 Skips!" followed by a frownie face.  These stores are convinced - convinced! - that newly printed Guns and Roses records deserve places of high honor up on the wall and that Jerry Jeff Walker belongs in folk rock. After all, the Country section is behind a wall of dangling beads and George Jones fills an entire crate. 

A rotund, nose-ringed salesdude nods when you enter, drops the store's diamond needle on Bad to the Bone, then ambles over to offer you a tour "of their whole set up" while bragging about the minty, clear vinyl, limited edition Blink 52 record they just scored for $75 even though it's worth $300, easy.

I was happy for the dude, I really was, but I shook them off, strode past a pickle barrel of still cellophaned tapes (4 for $5!) and found that their Neil Young section was - I swear to god - entirely empty.  

Is that even legal? I mean can you really own a record store and not have a single Neil Young record? And how, you ask, are such stores even in business?

I'll tell you how: at one of them I found, after 30 years of earnest hunting, my first ever copy of Henry the Human Fly (it was an original Reprise print no less, and even though I could really give a flying turd about such things - this is the Dollar Bin after all, not Nathan's VGG++ Nerd World - I was still pretty damn fired up and almost hugged the salesdude). Anyway, I snapped up that little blue number for the very non-Dollar Bin price of 37 bucks, thereby keeping that store in business long enough for them to blast George Thorogood for another glorious day. B-B-B-B-Bad!

All kidding aside, the people of Iowa are amazing. At stop signs drivers wave to one another! Please pack up all spare copies of your favorite records, drive to Iowa, and donate them to those lovely people.

I don't know about you, but every time I enter a new record store for the first time I head straight to Young, Neil and start judging the place.  I don't really expect to find anything by Neil that I don't already have - but please, God, please help me find a copy of Ragged Glory someday, and please make it cost less than $50; I don't ask for too much God but this one favor I do of you most humbly implore - but Neil's section is an easy and effective way to find out if the store is worth my time. Or yours. 

If there's nothing to be found other than a $22 copy of Comes a Time, or even worse, nothing but an already dusty, year-old copy of Noise and Flowers for $65, I know I'm better off at Chili's eating a bloomin onion alone; if they have nothing but copy after copy of Re-ac-tor, Time Fades Away and Journey Through the Past, I stay open minded - maybe ten minutes earlier they sold a crunchy old copy of On The Beach; and if they have Old Ways or Trans for $8-10 it's time to get excited and explore the store.

Stop #2 for me in any new record store is always Emmylou Harris. I submit for your consideration the following thesis: a good record store should have on stock most, if not all, of her records between Gliding Bird (1970) and Bluebird (89). We're talking about something like 15 titles between those bookends, and all of them should be in any good record store for under 8 bucks a piece.

Don't get me wrong: these records should not be cheap given their quality. I am hear to tell you that Emmylou Harris does not make bad, or even mediocre records. Like Paul Simon (well, there is Songs from The Capeman...), she only releases good albums. The same cannot be said for Neil or Bob, though I love them dearly. I defy even my famous brother to find an argument for Down in the Groove or The Monsanto Years.

(For those at home taking notes: I did indeed make the statement in an earlier post that Neil can do no wrong. I stand by that statement! Dylan and Young alike put out crap intentionally. It's what genius's do, people! Come to think of it, that's why some (maybe all!) of my posts are gonna suck. Neil, Bob and I are simply shaking off any fair weather fans.)

But back to Emmylou: why, you ask, should every record store worth its salt have all her records cheaply in stock?

Consider:

A) between 75 and 89 she put out a record a year, all of them good, and sold them consistently to my mother and all my mother's friends and all my mother's friends' friends and... you get the idea: that's a lot of records;

B) all those women have, since they made those purchases, got a life. Unlike me. They don't need their records anymore and they've told their loser sons to put down their bongs and go out and do something with all their old vinyl in the hopes that the sons will learn entrepreneurship and decency in the process. Those loser sons have, in turn, not ignored their mother and listened to the Emmylou Harris records (like they should have!) but instead taken them to their local Treasured Vinyl and exchanged them for autographed copies of Roll the Bones, or some other comparable crap;

C) unlike her friend Dolly Parton, Emmylou has no amusement park to call home, nor any lifetime movies made in her honor; and, finally,

D) unlike Fleetwood Mac, no boyband applicant on a skateboard drinking juice has destroyed the internet with one of her songs as a soundtrack, thereby unleashing hoards of hipster kids to demand of all the local rotund record store dudes copies of Rumors.

Put all that together friends, apply a little supply and demand, and what do you get? Record stores should be full of cheap and outstanding Emmylou Harris records.

So let's focus in on one of my favorites and one that I bet none of you have ever listen to, Angel Band.

There's no getting around it, I have to tell you: Angel Band is a Jesus record.

Don't panic! You haven't been lured in here to be told that He Gets You. Instead, it's time for this entry's second thesis: Angel Band is The Best Jesus Record (by a white person, anyway).

That's right, it's better than Saved, Jesus Was a Capricorn, My Mother's Hymn Book and everything Van the 80's Jesus man ever put out. By far! Indeed, I'd even go so far as to argue that while listening to Angel Band you will forget altogether that the man from Galalee is even involved.

Before I preach the word of Emmylou, let's listen to the opening track.

I kinda feel like I could just end this entry right here. What can anyone possibly say other than Jesus Christ! The barely there but perfect band creates simple and delicious space around Harris' aching goddess of a voice. If some jerk doctor ever tells me I need to stop drinking beer (dear God, I'm back! Never mind my earnest appeal for Ragged Glory. Rather, God, please avert that hateful beerless future!), then I'm gonna have to listen to this album every day just to calm the hell down.

My prime hobby in life (good news everyone: as of this morning this blog is my day job because, thanks to my famous brother, I now have like 16 followers and surely that means cash money is coming my way, yes? Isn't that how the world wide web works? Siri, where's my paycheck?!) is teaching High School English and History; in that role I teach a four week block each year on The Holy Books.

The class is easy to teach even though I'm not a regular church goer; tell cool teens about Muhammad getting seized by the Angel Gabriel, back that up by showing them that Abraham is everyone's mythical great-grandad and they are all in. But, given the fact that Donald Trump and Samuel Alito continue to exist and threaten all our lives, Jesus is a tough sell to teens. (See that? Right there I'm not shaking off any new fair weather fans; I'm telling any Trump people reading this to go away and stop acting like shitheads.)

I do what I can in my Holy Books course to salvage Christianity: we get to the good stuff within the Sermon on Mount and St. John's Prelude and we separate St. Augustine's hateful nonsense from the essence of Christ. But the turning point, the moment when smart, open-minded kids realize that Jesus is about love without exception, not hate, often comes not through the texts or through my earnest lectures, but instead when I play them them The Stanley Brothers Angel Band or The Louvin Brothers I See A Bridge. No spiritual teaching that leads to such beauty could be altogether with merit, and kids get that.

Just about any song on Angel Band could win that same argument, including Harris' version of the title track. Covering a song that is perfect to begin with is either a brilliant move (see Dark End of the Street, originally by James Carr, and the versions by Linda Ronstadt and Richard and Linda Thompson), shrugable (Neil Young singing If You Could Read My Mind) or intolerable and gross (Stephen Stills' version of The Loner - I curse thee Stephen Stills!). But as far as I'm concerned Emmylou Harris could cover anything, from Will to Love to Love Shack, and make it great.

So get over your fear of Jesus, dive into your local dollar bin and relax while listening to Angel Band. God, if we are lucky, exists. And she sings just like Emmylou Harris.

[highly-opinionated-art]

I wanna share with you guys some traditional art I've been making recently- since November I've been doing this album-of-the-week thing, and a few weeks into the year I started picking out my favorite line from the album of the week and doing a little illustration for it. If you can call it that- they're just quick, rough little pictures, more experimental than polished. Some are better than others. But I have some watercolors and acrylic paints that I never used before this project, and a hell of a lot of markers and gel pens and colored pencils that need to be used, too. I've been learning a lot and getting some use out of what I have at the same time, so that's good enough for me! Here's the first quarter of 2024 done:

Albums/artists/lyrics under the cut, plus some additional commentary because why not.

(2024 part 2)

Week 1: "I wanna be what my body wants me to be" is from the song Townie, from the album bury me at makeout creek by mitski. I actually kinda hated this whole album, but Townie is a tolerable song.

Week 2: "it never hurts to give thanks to the local gods, you never know who might be hungry" is from the song Younger, from the album In League With Dragons, by the Mountain Goats. Mixed feelings about the album. Mostly just mad that I can't just put a mostly transparent blue layer over everything when I want it to look like night with watercolor the way I can with digital art.

Week 3: "that we won't run, and we won't run, and we won't run" is from the song King And Lionheart, from the album My Head Is An Animal by Of Monsters And Men, which is a meh album but I love this song.

Week 4: "Make it a dirt dance floor again" is from the song Bleed It Out, from the album Minutes to Midnight by Linkin Park. GREAT album. The art looks just like poop but I swear the paint came out of the tube like that, I didn't mix it with anything or anything!

Week 5: "gotta be more to life than just try, try, try" from the song Half A Mile Away, from the album 52nd Street by Billy Joel. This was actually the first one I made, I went back and did the first 4 a little later.

Week 6: "I'm gonna keep on dancing" is from the song Pink Pony Club, from the album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess by Chappell Roan. The album is ok, I guess? Not my favorite but this track is a really good one.

Week 7: "maybe they'll love me when I finally get out of this town" is from the song Made For This, from the album Built To Last, by Arrows in Action, which is a FANTASTIC album, like DAMN.

Week 8: "together, Wendy, we can live with the sadness, I love you with all the madness in my soul" is from the song Born To Run, by the album of the same name by Bruce Springsteen. It was really hard to get a picture of this one for some reason. Metallic gel pen might have something to do with it.

Week 9: "inside, everybody's hiding something" is from the song Slide, from the album No Angel by Dido. I LOVE Dido. I meant to add more masks in the picture, ok. I got lazy. I should have just made the other ones bigger...

Week 10: "tomorrow's just another day" is from the song Don't Cry 2020 (which was released in 2017), from the album How Will You Know If You Never Try by the band COIN. Forgettable album, but the art is of my room, but I didn't get up and walk 10 steps to get a reference, just did it from memory. The window is too small and not in the right place, and I just changed up the patterns on the blanket because I didn't feel like checking.

Week 11: "if it's ever gonna happen, it's gotta happen here I am" (which seems like it should be missing a comma, but it's like that on purpose) is from the song Shine On Me, from the album Pure Fiction by Eric Hutchinson (not his best work I fear).

Week 12: "make new symbols, make new signs" is from the title track from the album New Beginning, by Tracy Chapman. AMAZING album, I loved it. I'm completely pissed that I messed up the art, though. I thought I had it going for me. Boo.

Week 13: "I don't look important, so they're telling me to wait" is from the song WaldorfWorldwide, from Good Charlotte's self titled debut album. Self portrait of me, a teacher, being mistaken for a student at an event, which is a frequent and frustrating occurrence. This album is ok, but I think they were pretty clearly still developing at this point in their career.

[db-reviews]

#107 - Night - Gazpacho (2007)

Dreams are so interesting and odd to me. The idea of journeying to the inner corners of your mind and imagination with no rhyme or reason, yet some form of meaning is something that feels almost like fiction. This real-world phenomenon has been researched from point a to point z, and I feel like we might never get a grasp of what they truly mean due to people’s different psyches. Our psychological understanding of what is and isn’t, the false truths bleed into dreams and our minds mustn’t be deterred from reality or our sanity will go away. In all honesty, I am surprised this phenomenon would make an amazing concept for an album, especially in the realm of progressive rock, but sadly I never see any such a concept explored to its fullest potential. We may get albums where a part is a character’s delusions in their minds or being stuck in their mind, but never dreams themselves. There may be two reasons for this. 1. It’d be very hard to pull off effectively. 2. Night by Gazpacho is already a thing, so why attempt what they mastered once in their career?

Gazpacho is a contemporary progressive rock group from the early 2000s. Formed by Jan-Henrik Ohme, Jon-Arne Vilbo, and Thomas Andersen they take a page from the popular, more Radioheadesque art rock of the time, however with their spin on the whole style that is most closely related to Neo progressive rock. Their name comes from the Marillion song off of their Afraid of Sunlight album. At this point in their career they had released 3 albums, Brave, When Earth Lets Go, and Firebird. During this period they experimented and improved on their melancholic sound, utilizing alternative rock atmospheres that allowed them to create a unique, inspired sound. Since their conception they have always been a progressive rock band, however, they never fully smothered deep dished themselves in the bread, sauce, cheese, and grease of the progressive rock pizza. That was until 2007 when the band had created their 50+ minute conceptual piece. This was an album where they fully delved into the concept of dreams, creating one giant song in the process, however, they split it into 5 different songs that all fit together.

Unlike most albums that do something similar to this in the vein where it is one song that is split up (IE Colors or Tower of Silence) where I genuinely feel like each part intertwines in such a way that it makes every part feel essential for the listening experience. However, the fact each part is separated allows this album to never get boring, which I feel is one of the biggest hurdles any band making this kind of album has to go through. It may be one long song but I do not feel as though I ever get bored near the end, or that some parts do not mesh well with others, which were some of my complaints for stuff like Dopesmoker or Mirror Reaper.

The sounds on this album are something to behold. Everything around each part has a consistent theme and leitmotifs that you can notice, which I think is a good thing. I am a sucker for this kind of thing, especially when it comes to leitmotifs. Heck one of my favorite video games is packed brim with leitmotifs, and when it applies to a progressive rock context I am always happy. It is like a fun spotting game where after each song you can have a new motif to search for. While in most cases this would be boring, in the grand scale of the piece these motifs happen fairly rarely, however they happen often enough to fit every piece to this dreamy puzzle. Not only that but the main contributor to this album’s greatness is the instrumentation. I just love how it perfectly captures the feelings of dreams and nighttime. The energy that resonates from this album speaks home to the feeling of being in a dream. The strums of the guitar, the drumming, and Ohme’s vocal works on this album are the cream of the crop. Speaking of Ohme, his singing is downright beautiful. I cannot express how truly lovely they can get, sometimes to where I feel like he turns into a completely different singer.

Not only is the instrumentation excellent, but so is the emotion that drips off this album. Everything here feels melancholic, and where in some cases I feel like the band is missing out on something greater if they expressed more emotions on the emotional spectrum in their music, I feel like here it works well, since what is the night without the lack of light? The night is the darkest time of each 24 hours, because of this it is befitting for the band to be more melancholic.

What is more melancholic is the entire concept of this piece, which is of course about dreams. While the lyrics feel more like a story about something coming to an end, it is actually about where dreams end and reality begins. It is not simply about dreams as in something our brain conjures up when we sleep, it is about what happens when the dream ends. Where do all those little brain characters go and so forth? Each part does contribute to this narrative in some way, with Dream of Stone and Upside Down being about a blind prince who gets engulfed by the sun; Chequered Light Buildings is about growing so high to go to space; Valerie’s Friends is about a girl named Valerie having a nightmare about going to a dangerous party; Massive Illusion being about how dreams end. All such have that intrinsically implemented inconsolable nature the band always loves to pull.

For a progressive rock epic, not only is this a masterpiece, there truly is no other album like it in the grand sea of albums. For anyone who loves that atmospheric, melancholy progressive rock from bands like Marillion, The Pineapple Thief, or even Pink Floyd, this album deserves its highs in spades. An amazing modern progressive rock record deserves its five stars.

5/5

[akwardlyuncool]

Sitting To Know Your Collection April Roundup

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Sitting To Know Your Collection: Week 14 (April 1st - 7th)

Album: Ceilings by (2008) Alive In Wild Paint Play Count: 2 Top 2 Tracks: - Everywhere An Ocean (Track 9) - Ceilings (Track 1)

I got this cd randomly with a different Equal Vision purchase I had made years ago and never got around to listening to it, so this week was truly something new to me. Not gonna lie, based on the cover art and it being from ‘08, I thought I might be getting metal or post hardcore. Now it might give a little post, but all I could really think was long winded emo. I would look up and realize a song was still going and the runtime would have been like 4 minutes lol. That’s probably not that long, but when the songs are already so “soft,” things just dragged a little. (There are 5 and 6 minute songs on there, so I’m not totally off.) It got better the more I listened so to be fair it probably just needed more than 2 run-throughs. This is a mood record for sure, so maybe down the line when I’m in the mood for something Emo/hardcore without the screams, I’ll revisit it. (I’m sorry and I don’t hate it, it just gives black skinny jeans without the screams lol.)

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Sitting To Know Your Collection: Week 15 (April 8 - April 14)

Album: The Upsides Deluxe Edition by (2010) The Wonder Years Play Count: 4 Top 2 Tracks: - I Was Scared and I’m Sorry (Track 13) - Hey Thanks (Track 10)

Part of me feels like I had more than 4 runs of this album, but that’s what the notes said, so I’m going with that. Honestly I was just geeked to get The Wonder Years, so of course they were gonna get a high play count. At my big age of 32, a simple pleasure of mine is singing, or screaming if no one’s home, pop-punk in my bedroom. I also needed more time with this album anyway. A lot of the songs I’m more versed in their Burst & Decay versions, than I am the original so I have to relearn some flows when I play the OG’s, but I get there in the end.

The opening track (My Last Semester) is a little funny to me only because I look at the band and think of course they wouldn't fit in with these gross, misogynistic frat boys. Hey Thanks is a new favorite, but the staple still hit just as hard.

Any week that reps The Wonder Years is a good week.

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Sitting To Know Your Collection: Week 16 (April 15th - April 21st)

Album: The Shadow Side (2016) by Andy Black (Andy Biersack) Play Count: 3 Top 2 Tracks: - We Don’t Have To Dance (Track 2) - Break Your Halo (Track 10)

This is my favorite of Andy’s solo releases and I played it a lot when it first came out. Upon the current binge session though, the conclusion is that it was fine. There were definitely songs that my brain had and still has on repeat but overall it wasn’t as poppin as I thought it would get. Maybe I just didn’t have as strong of attachment to the album as I used to. That’s not me saying I don’t like the album, just that it didn’t hit as hard this go around. Still good though.

PS: Again with another save from library trash.

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Sitting To Know Your Collection: Week 17 (April 22nd - April 28th)

Album: [A ---> B] Life (2002) by mewithoutYou Play Count: 4 Top 2 Tracks: - Gentlemen (Track 6) - Silencer (Track 11)

Not gonna lie this one was hard to consume as in the comprehension took me a minute. I got 4 runs and still felt like I needed more time. That being said I’m glad I took a chance on this album/band. I've heard of mewithoutYou before but I never really listened, so when my boss was getting rid of some CDs I said okay. I’m also a Tooth & Nail fan which definitely played a part in that pick up. If you’re unfamiliar though, note that they are on the heavier side of the label. I don’t dislike heavy music, I just didn’t realize how much was featured on the label. I did find some standout tracks, however my ultimate favorite part of the album was (SPOILER) the bonus hidden track. Those will always be my favorite part of any CD, simply because I love the surprise of finding it after I realize that the album isn’t in fact over. CHEFS KISS!

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Sitting To Know Your Collection: Week 18 (April 29th - May 5th)

Album: Bry (2016) by Bry Play Count: 5 Top 2 Tracks: - Your Life Over Mine (Track 5) - Pieces (Track 10)

Listening to this album again gave me similar feelings to when I first bought it. I was hella attached to the original versions of many of these songs because I had been following Bry (The artist) on YouTube for so long and the full album was just a little bit of a let down. This album is so overproduced and I could tell immediately. I don’t know, I could just hear the differences and even though I got 5 runs in, I wanted to go pull up the OGs the entire time. The album isn’t bad, still very much listenable, but knowing the history of where these songs came from and even the “lore” of the bad contract Bry got into with this record, just doesn’t make it hit like I want it to.

PS: I encourage a listen of the original works, just for comparison.

.

.

April was a little more Emo, a little more heavy, but nothing terrible. Good month.

Note: Trying a different set up for April let's see how I like it.

[concerthopperblog]

Big Dumb Tour 2024: Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol Live @ The Earl

Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol (RBBP) is a rock/doom wop/groove metal/heavy metal/metal/party metal trio from Austin, Texas. RBBP consists of Leo Lydon (vocals/guitar), Sean St. Germain (drums), and Aaron Metzdorf (bass/backing vocals). RBBP has released three (3) LPs, four (4) singles/EPs, two (2) compilations, and one (1) cassette. Their latest release is entitled Big Dumb Riffs, and I am stoked for this new release to arrive in the mail so I can add it to my RBBP collection. I randomly stumbled upon RBBP one day scrolling through Bandcamp and came across their album, Burger Babes… From Outer Space! Then a few years later, I was surprised that they were announced on the Shaky Knees Music Festival lineup in 2022 among some other wicked bands/artists.

My first time seeing RBBP at Shaky Knees was all that I expected. Loud, heavy, fun, energetic, and full of big dumb riffs. Just the way I like it. This tour stop on the Big Dumb Tour 2024 was also full of meaty big dumb riffs, but this time RBBP gets to play The Earl in the East Atlanta Village on Flat Shoals Rd. One of my favorite smaller venues in Atlanta is The Earl because it is so intimate, and you can get up close and personal with your favorite artist/band while they perform. When RBBP announced the Big Dumb Tour 2024 via their socials, I was ready to get another opportunity to see them perform again but this time with local Atlanta favorites NAW and Pretty Please as opening support at The Earl.

Starting this evening’s festivities was the Atlanta band Pretty Please. Pretty Please is a three (3) piece rock/grunge/noise rock band from Atlanta, GA. Pretty Please was formed as a band in 2012 and consists of Robee Whitmire (guitar/vocals), Brian Martinez (bass), and David Bair (drums). I think the best way to describe Pretty Please is by comparing their earsplitting sound to (the) Melvins, Whores., and very early Nirvana. Also, I think that when you attend a show featuring Pretty Please (or any band on this bill), it is safe to say that you should wear some ear protection because it gets LOUD! That is exactly how we like it. Loud and crunchy. Pretty Please was the perfect choice to start this evening with their deafening and vivacious set of songs from their five (5) LP discography. I cannot wait to check Pretty Please out again at a future show, and you should also. Check out the setlist from Pretty Please below:

·         “Vulsella”

·         “Lowered Expectations”

·         “Wormy”

·         “X-Mas box”

·         “White Castle”

·         “Rock is Dad”

·         “It Pays to Complain”

·         “Brick Shithead”

You can support and listen to Pretty Please over on their Official Bandcamp page today.

NAW is a four (4) piece noise rock/post-hardcore/noise metal/grunge/rock band from Atlanta, GA. NAW consists of Amanda Sherman (vocals), Jared Singleton (guitar), Kevin Stokes (drums), and Dave Sherman (bass). I did not know what to expect from either NAW or Pretty Please, as I wanted to be surprised with both bands especially since they were Atlanta artists. NAW came onstage to many people in the crowd screaming their names, so I knew something special was about to transpire. Within the first few minutes of their set, I knew why the crowd was going berserk while they were taking the stage. NAW’s raw energy and passion while performing are quite evident and unbridled. Like Pretty Please, I was blown away by NAW’s intense set with some crowd interaction by Amanda sprinkled in for good measure.

The most random part of this evening came from the fact that Dave Sherman recognized me from my stint working at Sam Goody in the Augusta Mall in Augusta, GA. many moons ago. It makes me happy knowing that music can bring people together and over time they can reconnect. Music makes the world a much better and happier place. You can see NAW’s setlist from this evening’s show below:

·         “You’re a Coward and This World Will Remain Unchanged Without You”

·         “Weed Them and Reap”

·         “Meat”

·         “I Against I” (Bad Brains cover)

·         “Null”

·         “Ugly”

·         “Cope Atypical”

Head to NAW’s Official Bandcamp page or their linktr.ee/nawatlanta and show them some love!

When it came time for RBBP to take the stage, you could feel the excitement with many folks in the crowd. I overheard some people talking about the previous times seeing them perform live and how they were stoked for this evening. Once Leo had added his setlist to the stage, I was over the moon to see four songs that I hoped they would play made this evening’s setlist. And two of the songs on my list kicked off their unforgettable set. I highly recommend seeing RBBP do their thing if they come to your favorite venue if you like your music thunderous and full of big dumb riffs. Check out this wicked setlist from RBBP from The Earl (04/20/2024) in Atlanta, GA below:

·         “I’m the Fucking Man”

·         “1-800-Eat Shit”

·         “Body Bag”

·         “Peanut Butter Snack Sticks”

·         “Whip It Around”

·         “Blue Collar Man”

·         “It’s A Jar”

·         “The Worm”

·         “Sister Militia”

·         “Fly Super Glide”

·         “Shoo-in”

·         “Baby Man”

·         “Gravy”

You can listen to and support RBBP on Bandcamp by following this link. Also, do not forget to preorder the new LP, Big Dumb Riffs, when you visit their Bandcamp page.

Curious about Concerthopper? You can find more music-related articles, interviews, various photo galleries, indie music reviews, our ‘Bars & Bites’ section, our exclusive “She Said, She Said” column, or become a Concerthopper at www.concerthopper.com. Sign up for our monthly newsletter by following this link: The Setlist! Please ‘Like’ our page on Facebook and follow us on Instagram to stay up to date in 2023, on all music-related events/festivals such as Tour of the Valedores: John Garcia Live at The Masquerade, High on Fire: Live at The Senate (Columbia), Shoot For The Moon Tour: Sierra Ferrell Live at The Eastern, Seasons World Tour 2024: Thirty Seconds to Mars & AFI Live at MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre, Mr. Bungle: Live at The Tabernacle, Ashes of Leviathan Tour: Mastodon & Lamb of God @ Ameris Bank Amphitheatre, An Evening with Goose (Night 3) @ The Fox Theatre (Atlanta), Least Anticipated Album Tour: A Day To Remember @ Outer Harbor Live at Terminal B, S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival w/ SLASH, Larkin Poe, ZZ Ward, and Robert Randolph – Live @ The Orion Amphitheater (Huntsville), Doyle & Otep Live at The Ranch (Ft. Myers), Leftover Salmon, The Infamous Stringdusters, & The Kitchen Dwellers: Live at The Eastern (Atlanta), Weedeater w/ Telekinetic Yeti & Restless Spirit: Live @ Grantski Records, Blackout Tour Pt. 2: From Ashes to New Live @ Water Street Music Hall (Rochester), Is For Lovers Tour (Fox Summer Stage), We Legalized It 2024: Cypress Hill, The Pharcyde, & Souls of Mischief: Live at Tabernacle, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard: Live at The Fox Theatre (Atlanta), The Godmode Tour: In This Moment Live @ Landmark Theatre (Syracuse), Hawthrone Heights: 20 Years of Tears Tour (Sound @ Coachman Park), Catalyst 20 Years Later - New Found Glory: Live at Buffalo Riverworks, Underoath “They’re Only Chasing Safety” 20th Anniversary Tour: Live at Buffalo Riverworks, and Pallbearer w/ Rwake & The Keening @ The Masquerade (Atlanta) by following us on all social media formats: Concerthopper on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.  You can also follow my concert hopping on Facebook and Instagram.

[aaronafgash]

10 NEW SONGS - 3/22/24

What a fuckin’ week! Full album releases from Waxahatchee, Good Morning, SiR, Matt Champion, Future & Metro Boomin, Adrianne Lenker, LOONY, and TYLA, on top of some incredible singles as well. I have been listening to new music quite literally all day and I’m not mad.

1. Cinderella - Remi Wolf

Remi Wolf really has never missed, and this fantastic lead single from her upcoming album Big Ideas continues that trend. It may be snowing here in Milwaukee, but at least I get to experience 4 minutes of spring every time I bump this. Funk-infused pop? Bright, punchy guitars paired beautifully with a brass section? Remi’s wacky, carefree, powerful vocals on top of all that? It all just works perfectly. Also - “Me and the boys in the hotel lobby!” is such a classic Remi line that I legitimately looked it up to see if she’s ever sung that before.

2. Like That (feat. ******** *****) - Future & Metro Boomin

I was already excited to hear this after some previews were floating around recently on social media, but holy hell, absolutely nothing could prepare me for the secret guest verse on this. It already would have been one of my favorite hip-hop songs of the year - a sensational Metro Boomin beat and Future sounding more locked in than he has in years - but the verse really took things to another level. (And yes, I am intentionally keeping it a secret for anyone who hasn’t heard it yet!)

3. So Sick Of Dreaming - Maggie Rogers

This is lovely. Some country / twang vibes, but still very much so a Maggie Rogers song. I particularly love the little breakdown where she talks about getting stood up for a dude who got tickets to a Knicks game. My sister described this as “HAIM x Shania Twain” - accurate!

4. The Lake - Good Morning

Good Morning has quietly become one of my favorite bands over the years, but they really stepped things up with their new album, Good Morning Seven. Basically all of their previous projects have sat somewhere between 15 to 30 minutes, consisting of some iteration of lo-fi songs with guitar, keys, bass, and drums. And they really perfected that formula, crafting gorgeous albums that connected deeply with their fans (aka me). But THIS is different. Running at 50 minutes, this 17 track album just feels more alive than anything else Good Morning has ever put out. Suddenly, the band is utilizing strings and synths and samples and background choirs. I couldn’t believe my ears when I got to this song, “The Lake” - it almost sounds like something off of the last Vampire Weekend album. Big, booming, almost tribal drums, layered guitars, airy synths … this rocks. Sorry, that was a lot of words about a small indie band, but I love seeing their growth!

5. Shotput - Still Woozy

I saw Still Woozy live in Madison in 2021 and he was straight ass. Not ass? This song. I still love all of Still Woozy’s music, and after a lengthy 3-year hiatus, he’s back with another slapper. He also continues his trend of having truly stunning album artwork.

6. Crowbar - Waxahatchee

This sounds like something you’d hear at the end of a movie, when the main character decides to drive out to one of the coasts, excited about the opportunities ahead. Waxahatchee kicks ass - every line I pick out of these lyrics is so well-written. “I move awkwardly at the speed of light” - same, dude.

7. POETRY IN MOTION (feat. Anderson .Paak) - SiR

SiR is a smooth dude. Anderson .Paak is a smooth dude. This is a smooth ass song. SiR is excellent at these R&B/rap hybrid type songs, and .Paak matches his energy perfectly. Many great tracks on this album, but “POETRY IN MOTION” stood out to me the most.

8. Steel (feat. Dora Jar) - Matt Champion

This song renders me speechless. This is basically me just writing what I’m hearing as I start the song over repeatedly, because I don’t know how else to describe what’s happening. A.G. Cook-esque electronic weirdness? Piano keys that sound like Bruce Hornsby? Sped up vocal samples? Dijon / Mk.gee textures? Dora Jar SLIDES on this - I love how she’s layering her vocals, and I love that little laugh she gives during her verse. I really appreciate how bouncy this is. You’re constantly on the edge of your seat thinking about where it’s going next, but there’s still that constant groove driving the song. 

9. No.1 (feat. Tems) - Tyla

I never got into “Water” by Tyla, but I was impressed by her debut self-titled album, and this was a clear standout. Upbeat (but still laid back), she and Tems trade verses, floating over the highly percussive beat. I dig it. 

10. No Machine - Adrianne Lenker

Adrianne Lenker is an old soul, and she makes that old school folk music, the type of thing you feel like you should be listening to around a campfire. Her tone is honest and pure - just her singing over a guitar is captivating enough as is, but the subtle background production / vocals happening on this really elevate the song. Big fan of how she hits the last note on “Don't know where I'd go without you” and the chords change around her while she sings the same thing.

[greensparty]

Album Reviews: Sleater-Kinney / U2

This week I got to review the 11th album from the always reliable Sleater-Kinney. The Pacific Northwest indie rockers have been on my radar since 1997's Dig Me Out (got my copy on vinyl). They've done some great albums, but that still stands as my personal favorite. I saw Sleater-Kinney headline the Siren Music Festival in Coney Island in 2002 and they blew me away. After the band took an indefinite hiatus in 2006, they reunited in 2014. It’s funny that the masses now know Carrie Brownstein for Portlandia and didn’t even know her as the singer/guitarist for Sleater-Kinney. But I digress. The band’s 2019 album The Center Won’t Hold was a polarizing album that was so polarizing drummer Janet Weiss left before its release, but I actually really dug it and I even named “The Future is Here” my #1 Song of 2019. Their first post-Janet Weiss album was Path of Wellness, which I named my #6 Album of 2021. There are purists who feel it's not the same band without Weiss. But Corin Tucker and Brownstein have kept the band going and their newest album Little Rope drops from Loma Vista this week.

album cover

This is an album that came out of tragedy after Brownstein's mother and stepfather died in a car accident. Similar to how Foo Fighters' recent album But Here We Are was Dave Grohl working through the passing of bandmate Taylor Hawkins and his mother, much of this album is about grief and resilience. I am happy to say this is the First Great Album of 2024!

Sleater-Kinney at the 2002 Siren Festival in Coney Island

After Weiss left the band, there were some fans who felt it wasn't Sleater-Kinney without her. That is not true, but it does need to be said that with Path of Wellness, as much as I liked the album - it is a band trying to figure out how to go from being a three-headed monster to a two-headed monster. But with this one, Brownstein and Tucker are clearly past that transition and diving back into the indie rock sound they perfected over the course of the last 30 years. There's some serious standouts on this album like "Say it Like You Mean It" and the epic closer "Untidy Creature"! This is the definition of aging gracefully in alt-rock. All Hail Sleater-Kinney!

For info on Little Rope

4 out of 5 stars

U2 Zooropa 30th Anniversary Vinyl

In October 2023, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of U2's album Zooropa a limited edition yellow vinyl was released. This review is a little late, but better late than never! Coming off the success of 1991's Achtung Baby, their 8th studio album was something of a surprise album. They had planned on recording an EP that turned into a full album, which was very much an extension of the electronic sounds they were experimenting with on Achtung Baby. They only announced the new album a few weeks earlier. This also marked the fastest U2 album ever recorded, they did it in only six weeks in early 1993. I happen to be at Newbury Comics on the day it was released and bought it immediately. It is an excellent U2 album that rarely gets mentioned, but its one of their best. One of their finest moments is the album closer “The Wanderer”, the band’s duet with Johnny Cash! The album went to #1 on the charts and won a Grammy.

the 30th anniversary edition of Zooropa

In the past few years, I have been lucky enough to review a number of U2 re-releases including the 2017 Super Deluxe edition of The Joshua Tree, the 2020 Super Deluxe edition of All That You Can't Leave Behind, the 2021 30th anniversary edition of Achtung Baby, as well as last year's album Songs of Surrender. The thing with the aforementioned Deluxe Editions is they remastered the original album, included some B-sides recorded during those sessions and a live concert (for the most part). This re-release is a little different. Let me back up for a minute: in 2018 there was a vinyl re-release that included 2 remixes of "Lemon" and "Numb". This 2023 vinyl release is basically the same release on yellow vinyl (in honor of "Lemon" I'm guessing) and a new photo of the band from 1993 in the gatefold. It would've been cool if they had padded this with more bells and whistles but I get that it wasn't as robust of a recording session as Achtung Baby was. The 2 remixes are alright, but not worth re-buying if you already have this. The yellow vinyl is cool as is the picture, but in the end it's really just a reminder of what a solid album this was. As we all await U2's first original album since 2017 (last year's Songs of Surrender was re-recordings of older songs), this is a reminder of how prolific the band was during a break from the Zoo TV tour to knock out an incredible album that still holds up today!

For info on Zooropa

4 out of 5 stars

[mchi22]

i was tagged by @artificialpawsertives but somehow forgot 2 actually mention that when i posted this !! anyway hi bestie!!!

Name: alex or mchi (-: i dont really prefer being called one over the other

Star sign: scorpio but idk shit abt astrology lol

Height: i legitimately dont know but im taller than my 4′ 8″ chain of soda can tabs so. somewhere above that

Birthday: 11/15, which is 2 days before the anniversary of the release of the star wars holiday special. btw

Favorite Band/Artist: uuuuh lol idk. i like 100 gecs and a lotta stuff released by emma essex but i dunno that id say either of those are my favorites

Last Movie: ok so ive been thinking on this for like 5 minutes and i have no idea lmao i dont usually watch movies bc my attention span is Bad<3

Last Show: i once again dont know i dont watch tv shows HGJNKHGF

When Did I Create This Blog: early 2015 i think.. dark times

What Do I Post: i just be posting shit my dude ! the 2 constants u can count on me posting are rtvs and half life/hlvrai, but i also post abt video games i like and also my best friend fin fin (-:

Last Thing I Googled: i almost always google stuff in incognito for some fucking reason but the last thing in my actual google search history is “vrchat sdk”

Other blogs: mchi-art which is my art blog, w-e-b-k-i-n-z which is. my webkinz blog lol and xx-kandicore-xx which is my scenecore/old web/general aesthetic blog. i have other blogs i dont usually use like colorpicked-flags which is bc i love making pride flags colorpicked from various things, and then i have some urls im just keeping as a treat like dj-y0nd3r, leisuresheetthatbecomesabag, and piki-seal but i dont really plan 2 use any of those lol

Do I get asks: not usually unless i explicitly like, reblog an ask game or smthn lol. also sometimes random questions on my webkinz blog

Following: 328 ppl (-:

Average Hours of Sleep: uh uhhh lol uhhhhh like. 3-5 hours? but then i also nap sometimes

Instruments: like.. musical? i played clarinet for 3 years in middle school but i Hated it

What I Am Wearing: camo pants, the walking dead t-shirt (i dont even like twd anymore but i Have the shirt so i might as well wear it yknow), and sneakers. yes im wearing shoes in the house leave me alone

Dream Job: id say entomologist but like i literally have no idea what thatd entail.. am i making new bugs? new bugs just dropped? look forward 2 it.. but aside from that hear me out. i think itd be fun 2 be like someone who wears a silly mascot suit (-: i already like, want a fursuit and its basically just the same thing but u get paid, right? anyway this WILL be me

Dream Trip: if not just Go Visit All My Friends, oh my god i want 2 go 2 west virginia and go 2 billy bob’s wonderland

Nationality: american 😔

Fav Songs: this is too broad and is putting too much pressure on me so instead im going to offer some of my favorite songs that i have maps of in osu

lagtrain, lapfoxed forever, energy synergy matrix, guitarmass

Last Book I Read: i dont read stuff !!!!!!! i guess the handmaid’s tale? which i read over a year ago for english class?

Top 3 fictional universes I'd like to live in: i can Not think of 3 so im just gonna say pokemon bc i wanna see deoxys.. silly guy

Tagging: no one bc i dont wanna give ppl notifications!! just do it if u want!!!! yippee!!!!

[simp-for-mha-men]

𝕚 𝕨𝕒𝕟𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕓𝕒𝕕 𝕣𝕠𝕞𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖 (𝕜𝕒𝕥𝕤𝕦𝕜𝕚 𝕓𝕒𝕜𝕦𝕘𝕠𝕦 𝕩 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕣)

Request by @loxbbg: Drummer Bakugo x Lead singer Reader (ngl saw a TikTok and couldn’t help it) and they have a really lowkey relationship and the reader is singing bad romance and she goes up to Bakugo and is basically like singing to him he like drops his sticks mid play and kisses her sending the crowd crzy and there other band mates (the rest of bakusquard) are like called it

A/N: If anybody asks, this isn’t one of my biggest fantasies. Also, no, I didn’t listen to Bad Romance a couple times before this to try and nail the ‘ole Tik Tok high note. Anywho, I love this idea! Enjoy this trainwreck of a concert!

Genre: female reader, musician/band au, swearing cause it’s Bakugou, established relationship, pg-13 due to some vulgar-ish things and a suggestive ending, the fans losing their minds over you and Bakugou 💥❤️

Word count: 2.8k

♥*♥*♥*♥*♥*♥*♥*♥*♥*♥*♥*♥*♥*♥

“You are such an asshole,” you groaned, pushing your boyfriend on the couch.

“You are such a bitch,” he growled, pulling you onto to his lap to engage in a messy make-out session.

It was the U.A. International Music Festival, and your group, known as The Chaos Crew, was headlining the event. Today was the first performance, ushering in the exclusive guests who paid extra for V.I.P. status. To say the least, Katsuki Bakugou, your boyfriend and drummer, was a lot more annoying than usual. Some examples were how the kisses you shared were rougher, the hand holding was almost painful with how tight he squeezed, and the mic checks were filled with intense staring. However, the band didn’t know you two were together, making the situation much worse.

Somehow, your other friends turned bandmates Eijirou Kirishima, Denki Kaminari, Hanta Sero, and Mina Ashido agreed to pursue the dream with you when you first offered up the idea. Bakugou took more convincing. He thought you were the most idiotic person on the planet. His superiority complex only became worse when you asked him if he could be the drummer for your new group. He agreed after hearing you beg for a couple weeks straight, which began the slippery slope of flirtatious tension. 

Despite you two being together all the time, the flirting wasn’t obvious. Bakugou would notice your skirts when they were just a bit shorter, and you would notice when his shirts when they got just a bit tighter. Neither of you ever let the other one know, though. Both of you despised each other so much that it would be the death of either of you for your secrets to get out.

One day, this changed during a photoshoot for your first magazine article. A rival band, known as The Pros, was at the shoot, and their lead singer, Deku, was asking you questions whenever you weren’t working. You didn’t mind it. You actually found it flattering how interested he was in your vocal range. However, after watching Deku “flirt” with you, Bakugou dragged you to the green room.

Slamming the door, he turned around and asked, “Are you fucking blind, (y/n)?”

“Excuse me?” you scoffed.

“You heard me. He’s flirting with you for fuck’s sake! Tell him to just leave before I knock it into him.”

His overprotectiveness shocked you. You were more than confused. You weren’t that pretty, so Deku couldn’t be flirting with you. Your hair was well put together, your makeup was done nicely, and you were dressed with just a tad bit of sexiness, but you still looked average. It didn’t add up.

“Deku is not flirting with me,” you replied, rolling your eyes. “He’s just assessing the competition.”

“He’s staring at your tits and waiting for your little skirt to flip up,” Bakugou replied, clenching his fist.

“Ugh, stop being so vulgar!”

“I’m being honest, princess.”

Marching over to him, you met his gaze. Waiting for him to continue with another statement, you stood in front of him and didn’t cower under his stare. Instead of getting an earful, you felt pressure on your lips. He kissed you, and you loved it. You loved it too much. He was like a drug, and your first hit left you wanting more.

You ended up spending the next 30 minutes in the green room making out and telling each other how much you hated it. It was true love, and after this experience, you began dating each other in private. Your family knew and so did his, but your bandmates didn’t. At least, you both were in agreement about that.

As time went on, The Chaos Crew began rising in the charts. After releasing 3 number one singles, you started touring and gaining a much bigger fan base. The Chaos Children, or what your fanbase called themselves, began doing every celebrity’s nightmare in a matter of weeks: shipping. The most popular ship within your band was, you guessed it, you and Bakugou. This was a running joke between Denki and Sero, but little did they know it was already a sailing ship. This only made you keep your relationship even more private.

Now, back to the U.A. International Music Festival. The feverish kiss ended, leaving you and your hot-headed boyfriend panting messes. Leaning into him, you nuzzled your face in his neck. You pressed a kiss to his collarbone before stopping to just inhale his scent.

“Since when are you so needy?” Bakugou joked, mocking you.

“Since when did you start acting like a child?” you snapped back.

You yelped, realizing Bakugou had slapped your exposed thigh. Whenever you both were performing, he felt the need to have his hands on you at all times. The band and fanbase, however, couldn’t know about you two. It would be too detrimental to your career.

“When am I gonna see you in my room?” Bakugou asked, rubbing where a red mark was forming due to his slap.

“Tonight,” you coyly replied.

“Oh really? Will you be wearing my favorite little outfit?”

“Of course, I will.”

Suddenly, a loud knock interrupted your rendezvous. Brushing yourself off, you leaped off of Bakugou’s lap and stood up as formally as possible. Of course, you two had snuck off together. You couldn’t just tell everyone you were going somewhere with Bakugou alone. However, you were relieved to hear a familiar voice on the other side.

“Bakugou? (y/n)?” Mina called, waiting for either of you to reply.

“Come on in, babe,” you replied, saying it a little too quickly.

Mina opened the door and smirked when she saw you two. She had her suspicions about the two of you, but they were never confirmed nor denied. She knew she might never get her ship to sail, but she would never tell either of you that.

“What do you want, Bug Eyes?” Bakugou grumbled.

“Not much,” Mina shrugged, “but I have news. We have a schedule change.”

At this, Bakugou exchanged a look with you. A schedule change during the U.A. Festival was like waiting outside of a store for days for a limited-edition item then leaving and never buying it. Someone dropped their act for later that night. There was no other possibility.

“Sero got an update from Shinsou,” Mina stated, “and it looks like Deku broke his ankle from a stunt during their last show. They can’t perform tonight.”

Bakugou smirked, and you punched him in the arm. Ever since the photoshoot, he despised Deku. It was as if they were born to be rivals, which made you laugh a little.

“What’s the plan?” you questioned, knowing that Shinsou, one of the event directors, had already made one.

“We’re taking half of their slot,” Mina smiled, shoving a set list into Bakugou’s hands. “The other half is going to Itsuka Kendo, the new solo artist. She’s going first, and then we’re up.”

“We planning on singing from a particular era?” Bakugou asked, focusing more on the set list rather than the conversation.

“They don’t want us singing our songs,” Mina replied, causing both you and Bakugou to choke on air. “They want us to cover popular music.”

“We have no idea why, though. It’s kind of stupid, if you ask me,” Denki complained, walking in with Kirishima and Sero hot on his tail.

Upon their entrance, the boys came over to give you a hug and congratulate you on the earlier show. It went off without a hitch, and they insisted they give you credit since it was due. However, when a question about you and Bakugou running off came up, Bakugou immediately stepped in and said he wanted to jot down some lyric ideas. A game of playful banter began and went on for about 5 minutes before Shinsou entered the room.

“Well, it’s good to see that our fill-ins are ready for tonight,” he chuckled, walking over to place a hand on Denki’s shoulder. “You guys ready?”

“Obviously,” Bakugou grinned. “How bad can it be? We’re just performing covers. It’ll be just like the old days.”

Immediately, your first performances and venues came to mind. Run-down bars and covers were normal for a few months before getting signed on by Shouta Aizawa, president of 1-A Records. After that, you were able to write your own music and live your dream.

“Yeah,” you chimed in, moving closer to Bakugou, “we can perform the last cover set we did before we got signed.”

“Hell yeah!” Kirishima yelled, pumping his fist in the air. “The Bad Romance Set was always my favorite.”

Everyone was in agreement. Shinsou trusted you all enough to bid you farewell for a few hours before you were called back on stage. The Bad Romance Set was, simply, the best cover set The Chaos Crew ever played. It was a tribute to Lady Gaga, and it celebrated her amazing career. Mina was the Beyoncé to your Gaga on Telephone. Kirishima was the killer guitarist during Shallow. Bakugou was the best drummer on the planet during Bad Romance, the huge finale piece of the set. It was the perfect set to get the crowd hyped and into the show.

Soon enough, the show was about to start. Itsuka was on her last song, a personal tribute to her ex-boyfriend. You were gussied up in all black, sporting a short mini skirt, a low-cut shirt, and a leather jacket. It was perfect. You looked like you could kill anyone that crossed your path, and you probably could. It only attracted your boyfriend even more to the prospect of getting handsy before the show.

“Come on, sexy,” he growled, kissing under you ear. “Let’s do it. We’ve got a few minutes.”

“No,” you responded, pushing him away. “We have to stay focused. You know our ground rules.”

Rolling his eyes, he kept trying and trying and trying. After denying him multiple times, he smacked your ass before sulking away to sit at his drum set on the dark stage. Once he did that, the rest of your bandmates followed his lead and walked on stage. The lights went up, causing the crowd to lose their minds over your presence. Glancing back at your boyfriend, you nodded your head to signal him to start the first song.

The act went wonderful. When you sang to the audience, you could tell the hardcore Gaga fans from the fakes. However, no one seemed disappointed in the set. Everyone thought it was fun and easy to dance to. It was very clear, though, that everyone was waiting on one song: Bad Romance. After 25 minutes of Gaga hits, you glanced back at Bakugou and nodded your head again.

Once the drums began for the final song, the rest of the band chimed in to start the melody. Immediately, the crowd recognized it and sang the opening verse with you. Mina chimed in with her amazing voice to layer your vocals. Sero and Denki had the electric guitar and synth timed perfectly with one another, which only added to Kirishima’s bass. Bakugou, of course, played his drums with passion and never took his eyes off of you.

Once the first bridge of the song arrived, your bandmates began growing with excitement. Your singing ability was always incredible to them, but the first time you nailed the added high note in the final chorus of Bad Romance, they knew you would be their lead vocalist. The moment was fast approaching, and you took the mic from the stand. 

Finishing up the second bridge, you walked around to personally serenade each of your bandmates. First, Mina and you made sure to twirl each other, causing her to chuckle just a bit. You sauntered over to Denki, jamming out on an air guitar to compliment his real one. Next, Sero was graced with your presence, and he added a riff to impress the crowd. Kirishima was surprised, and you both exchanged flirtatious winks at one another. However, these actions annoyed Bakugou to no end. His blood was boiling, and his jealousy was rising. He needed to show these extras exactly who you belonged to.

The final chorus began, and you arrived at Bakugou’s drum set. To tease the fans just a bit, you decided you were going to belt the high note right next to your boyfriend. Besides, this entire song was about him and you. This song was the most important one in the whole set because of that. You knew it would give the audience the best reaction and moment to capture on film.

I want your love, and all your lover's revenge You and me could write a bad romance Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh Caught in a bad romance

The crowd went wild. A constant chant of “(y/n)” was repeated over and over again and filled the venue. The end of the song was close, and Bakugou’s patience was running thin. You didn’t move, stuck next to his drum set. Whether you were trying to prove a point or your affection for him made his brain hurt. All he knew was that he couldn’t keep it a secret anymore.

“Want your bad romance,” you sang, finishing off the song as dramatically as possible.

Leaping out of his seat, Bakugou threw down his sticks and bounded over to you before wrapping his arms around you. He pressed his lips to yours, claiming you in front of everyone watching. You fumbled with the mic before successfully flicking the off switch and let it fall to the ground. You wrapped your arms around his neck, melting into him. He tapped your hip, signaling you to jump. You happily obliged, basking in the way his calloused hands gripped your thighs.

Screams filled the venue. Fangirls cried about the way Bakugou held you while others cried because he was holding you and not them. Paparazzi snapped as many photos as possible, hoping to capture the best photo that could be put up on TMZ. Parents tried to cover their children’s eyes because they thought the scene was so vulgar. Oh yeah, you guys were definitely going to be trending on Twitter.

In a flash, the lights went dark across the entire venue. The screams didn’t cease, even when an announcement came over the loudspeakers. It wasn’t heard the first time, probably since you and Bakugou broke everyone there. However, speaker volume could be raised, and the announcement could be heard through the crowd on the second try.

“Attention festival guests,” the lovely voice began, “tonight’s performances are over. Thank you for attending the V.I.P. exclusive day. We hope to see you all tomorrow for the first official day. Have a wonderful night and stay rockin’!”

Before groans of protest could be heard, your band was escorted off stage and immediately into your limousine. Your were able to successfully avoid paparazzi, but that didn’t mean you and Bakugou were safe. You had your friends, and they were all nosy in their own ways.

“It was the photoshoot,” Kirishima began.

“Yeah! Come on, you wouldn’t stop glaring at Deku, Bakugou!” Mina grinned.

“We knew you both were together,” Sero smirked.

“Yeah, come on! You think we didn’t notice when you guys would run off to lock lips and do who knows what else?” Denki added on.

Bakugou was more than pissed off. After the onslaught of statements brought to the table, Bakugou effectively shut them up by yelling, “If any of you touch my girl, I’ll your kick your asses. Got it?”

“Whatever you say,” Kirishima replied, flashing a grin and a thumbs-up.

“Just use protection!” Mina reminded, forcing some questionable hand gestures and noises from Denki and Sero.

After 15 minutes of torture, the limo arrived at the five-star hotel. In a matter of seconds, Bakugou had opened the door and picked you up bridal style so he could carry you up to the room. You had all booked the penthouse, since the U.A. Festival was such a big deal. You each had your own room, but you figured you two might have free reign of the whole place for while due to Mina’s previous innuendo.

Once you arrived in Bakugou’s room, he plopped you down on the bed. Smirking at you, he removed his shirt and went to get something a bit more comfortable out of his suitcase. You couldn’t help but look at the beautiful muscles that adorned his body. It made you feel hot and a little flustered.

“Go change,” he commanded, turning around to face you again.

You chuckled and replied, “Oh, come on. You know me.”

You slipped off your leather jacket, bending forward just a bit to let him gaze at your cleavage. He licked his lips and threw down the extra shirt he had grabbed. Walking over to you, he roughly grabbed your hips and pulled your body into his.

Leaning forward, you smirked and whispered in his ear, “I already have the set on. Wanna help me get out of it?”

[thelegendofjenna]

A couple days ago @honeysucklepink made this playlist meme, so I spent too long crafting a playlist instead of, like, doing my job. Here are the results:

1. A song from at least ten years before you were born: I Don't Want to Know - Fleetwood Mac No particular reason behind this choice - it's just a very good song.

2. A song from the year you were born: Head Over Feet - Alanis Morissette I actually didn't know that Jagged Little Pill came out in my birth year until I was googling songs for this playlist!

3. A song you remember from elementary/primary school: I Feel Fine - the Beatles My childhood was rife with Beatles music, since my parents both like them and we had a lot of Beatles CDs. I specifically remember frequently dancing around the living room to I Feel Fine with my little sister.

4. A song you remember from high school: Tightrope - Walk the Moon I was introduced to Walk the Moon the fall of my senior year, when I went to a small show of theirs with some of my closest friends. It was maybe one of the greatest nights of my life up to that point, and this whole album continued to be the soundtrack of that last year of high school.

5. A song you remember from college/your early twenties: Favorite Liar - the Wrecks This was a song that I found through Spotify, and it wouldn't be until after college that I got into the rest of the Wrecks' music (all of which I enjoy, and much of which was frequently on replay while I was writing my novel in 2020). The ending of the song, with the lyrics "you made me love the rain," always reminds me of this moment over spring break my freshman year of college, where my friend and I woke up in the late morning quietness of our friend's house in Ohio and admired the rain.

6. A song an older sibling/friend introduced you to: We Are Young - fun. feat Janelle Monae This one stumped me a little - as the eldest sibling, I don't have a lot of experience getting music recommendations from people older than me. But this particular song was shown to me on the bus home from high school when I was a junior, by this guy who was a grade ahead of me and whom I was totally besotted with. He sat next to me and said, "hey, check out this song," handing me one of his ear buds, and played me We Are Young. Then like a month later, the song was covered on Glee and I was like, "wait a minute, I know this song!"

7. Favorite Glee cover: Somewhere Only We Know I can't actually pick a single favorite Glee cover, there are so many that I adore and that are hard to compare. I chose this one because it's excellent and worked pretty well with the vibe of the other songs on this list.

8. A song you associate with a good summer memory: Lovebug - the Jonas Brothers I went to my first concert the summer before eighth grade, seeing the Jonas Brothers with my two cousins, who were also my best friends. Lovebug hadn't been released yet, but they played it at the show, and we instantly fell in love. It is still, arguably, the greatest Jonas Brothers song. And the music video is fantastic.

9. A guilty pleasure song: Guilty Pleasure - Cobra Starship Okay I KNOW this is cheating but I couldn't resist. I was originally going to put a 3OH!3 song in this slot, because some of them are bangers despite some deeply questionable content in the lyrics, but thinking about 3OH!3 just made me think about the kind of trashy pop punk (I say with love) that I was into as a teen, which made me think of Cobra Starship, which reminded me of this song. I am not actually guilty about loving it because it SLAPS.

10. A song you like that was released in the last three months: Flip Me Upside Down - the Wombats Another band that was on heavy rotation while novel-writing! The Wombats just released a new album this month, much of which is good, and this song is particularly catchy.

[themusicview]

We woke up one morning and fell a little further down - a Godspeed You! Black Emperor retrospective - Pt. 4: Yanqui U.X.O.

It’s difficult to imagine now, what with approaching two decades of continuous fighting, but the missile that launched Operation Iraqi Freedom was the shot heard round the world for many years. The American news cycle was choked by references to terrorism, the public could not stop talking about it, and the consequences are still being felt. Point being, if Madonna couldn’t resist talking about the war, how could Godspeed.

Perhaps the most interesting part of this album is that Godspeed were largely left to do their own thing. Produced by the great Steve Albini, who famously produced In Utero, the result is one of the rawest records Godspeed has ever released. The samples and mixing are gone, in their place is a wall of noise.

09-15-00, the album opener, begins quietly and sedately. A guitar and harpsichord slowly fade into audibility, followed by drums and guitar. The cinematic qualities of the previous effort aren’t exactly present here, instead there is the presence of noise. Noise and the crescendo. The usual array of instruments are present, guitar, bass, drums, but the band also makes use of a few curious additions: timpani, harpsichord, and The album notes connect the song to the start of the second Palestinian intifada, in which the state of Palestine fought against the oppression of the Israelis. This is where a curious theme is brought into the Godspeed discography - the revolution. Being anarchists, Godspeed has always been about change, but this is one of the only times that they have been so blunt and open about it. This is music about the oppressed and the downtrodden, those left behind in the wake of capitalism. They will return to this theme later in their discography, but for now just keep this in the back of your head.

Rockets fall on rocket falls, the second track, is much the same. The track opens with an ascending guitar lick that will get stuck in your head in some form. The best way I can describe this track in its entirety is the Rite of Spring as written by early 2000s emo kids. The drums do a ton of work when they do come in and allow the track to accelerate into the build. Distorted guitars disintegrate into an almost classically composed section. If you told me that this track was actually a section from a late Beethoven piece I would have believed you. Woodwinds and guitars fill out the atmosphere of the track to the point where it feels the most soundtrack like without being fully cinematic. However, when the guitars do come back in, it is nothing short of cataclysmic. It feels earthshaking in a way that is difficult to explain. One more build takes us out of this track. It is easily the highlight of the album and one of my personal favorites that the band has ever put out.

Motherfucker = redeemer, the final two part track, has the quietest introduction ever. It feels like a pit orchestra warming up. A lone glockenspiel sounds an A as the rest of the band noodles around. It gives the listener an opportunity to catch their breath before the insanity that is to come. The guitar, when it does come in, builds quickly, augmented by tremolo violin and a rapidly tapping drum section. This is part of the reason why I love Godspeed so much, why so many people love them; even on albums that don’t necessarily have a concept, there is no mindlessness. Every instrument is perfectly placed, every sound has a purpose, nothing is wasted. For as long as these songs are, for as indulgent as they can be, the craft here is nothing short of immaculate. The end of the first build is filled with these stabs of noise that fall from thousands of feet up. This dies away quickly, and is replaced with an atmospheric western section that wouldn’t sound out of place on f#a#. Another reprieve, a moment of tension building to allow the track to rocket back up again. And while it doesn’t immediately, we are given this almost weeping, contemplative section to close out the first part. It is incredibly impactful.

The second part kicks off with a drone that honestly wouldn’t sound out of place on one of Trent Reznor’s many projects. Human voices, are augmented by what sounds like bowed guitars. The drone begins light, but evolves over the course of 5 minutes into something dark, angry, and deranged. This is broken by a baseline that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Tool song. Of course, the more obvious comparison would be Mogwai, another contemporary of the band, but with far less grand ambitions. The build up is similarly intense, but swung to give it a more accelerative feel. The most interesting choice they made was the sudden cut to silence. Literally, it feels like the band unplugged their amps, there isn’t even reverb. There is a hidden track on this album, that takes quite a bit of doing to find. It was released later on Adrian Girt’s sound collage album Droopy Butt Begone as George Bush Cut Up While Talking. It is here that the band’s politics most completely reveal themselves in their music. It is a terrifying collage of sound. Clapping that sounds like static, a George bush speech cut up into something unrecognizable and apocalyptic. It is a lambasting of Bush’s nonsense politics, and the people who bought into it. The man could literally say, “I am against kindness” and you would still cheer. It is a critique that has only grown more and more apt with the current era of American politics.

Yanqui U.X.O is powerful noise rock with a powerful message and, though it wasn’t the most well received upon its release, the shadow of this album has only grown not just due to its compositions, but because, though nobody would know this at the time, this would be the last thing we got from Godspeed for 12 years.

Yanqui U.X.O (CD)

I have to say, for all of the incredible releases Godspeed has put out, this is the one that I have the least fondness for. Part of the reason why Yanqui U.X.O. is still regarded as Godspeed’s worst is, I feel, due to the press receiving the CD version rather than the Vinyl version. It is not bad, godspeed has no bad album, rather it is incomplete. To borrow a comparison from video games, it is the handheld port of the console release. The only track that remains untouched is rockets fall on rocket falls, the remainder of the album is split up or heavily truncated. Motherfucker = redeemer loses the ambient intro and plunder phonics outro that helps to form the thesis for the entire album, and 09-15-00 loses its monolithic nature. In total, over 8 minutes of music is cut from the cd release.

Honestly, I would rather listen to a vinyl rip as opposed to the CD version. You can skip this one.

[rhys-writes-sometimes]

Music Worth Making Part 4: The Hollywood Ghost Club

Requested: sort of

Warnings: mentions of death, bad writing

Series Summery: When the reader’s life is ripped away from them, they’re distraught. But with her two best friends and three certain ghosts, maybe the afterlife isn’t so bad after all. 

Chapter Summery: The boys learn about Bobby, and drag you along to haunt him. They also drag you along to the Hollywood Ghost Club

Words: 4310

A/N: sorry this took so long, I didn’t write for a few days, and I didn’t expect this chapter to be so long. I think this is the longest fic I’ve ever wrote! please tell me if you catch any mistakes, because once again, i did not edit this. also please tell me (on anon or not!) if there is a trigger warning you want tagged. hope you enjoy! (side note: i did a little research and gentlefolk is in fact the gender neutral term for gentleman)

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 5 | Masterlist

______________________________________________________

“You’re…… a ghost,” Flynn said, her face morphing from confusion, to surprise, to something that looked like regret.

You nodded glumly. 

“So that’s why you weren’t in school today? Because you died?” she shook her head. “I can’t believe this. I- I need a minute.” She ran out of the garage. 

Your face fell out of the expression you didn’t realize you had been putting on for Flynn. Taking a deep breath, you sat down on the couch, not knowing what to do.

“Hey, Y/N, I-” Julie stopped when she saw you. “You okay?”

“Huh? Oh, oh yeah, I’m fine,” you lied. You could tell that Julie didn’t believe you, but she didn’t push. You were thankful. You didn’t even know what was off.

“Okay, well, I just wanted you to know that Danny’s staying in Carlos’s room now.”

“Really?” you asked, standing up. “Thank you Jules!” you went to hug the girl, but then remembered you were made of air. 

“Yeah, no problem,” Julie said, trying to make what you had accidentally created a bit less awkward. “Well, I gotta go do homework. I guess that’s one perk to being dead, you don’t have to do school anymore.” She laughed a little as she waved goodbye. 

That was true. You had a lot more freetime now. Maybe even time to sing?

Looking around to make sure no one was there, you closed your eyes and could practically hear the start of your favorite song. You started singing along, quietly at first, but soon you were belting it out at the top of your lungs and dancing all around the room, passing through the furniture that was in your way. 

The song ended, and you smiled, happy for the first time in a while. Before you could continue on to the next song, your moment of bliss was interrupted. 

“I didn’t know you could sing,” Luke said from his spot in the doorway. You jumped slightly. You had been so caught up in the music that you didn’t notice him watching you. 

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said, stepping into the studio. “That was really good.”

You felt your face heating up. “Thanks,” you said quietly. It was the first time you had been complimented on your voice, never having the guts to sing anywhere outside of the school choir. 

“Do you sing much?” he asked, moving to sit on the couch. 

“Um, not really, no.” You sat next to him. “My parent’s wouldn’t let me. I only sang in the ensemble for the school choir.”

“Wow. That was amazing for someone who doesn’t sing much.” You felt yourself blush slightly. He smiled at you. 

“Hey, um, would you wanna join the band?” he asked, fidgeting with his rings. 

Your eyes widened. “Join- join Julie and the Phantoms? I, I’d be honored to, but what about Alex and Reggie?”

“What about them?”

“Well, shouldn’t they get a say in it? Julie too? I mean, it’s their band, too.”

Luke waved his hand dismissively. “I’m sure once they hear you sing, they’ll agree with me.”

You bit your lip. “Even if I did join, there’s a risk of someone recognizing me. How are you going to explain that the dead kid is singing on stage with Julie?”

“I’m not. Julie would explain that,” Luke smirked, earning a playful glare from you. “Seriously though, you could wear a disguise or something. I mean, you said you just moved here a few years ago and you’re pretty shy, so most people don’t know you, right?”

“Maybe….” You knew that someone was bound to recognize you, but decided that it was a problem for Future You to figure out. “Alright, I’ll join.”

Luke bounced up. “Yessss!” he exclaimed, pumping a fist in the air. You squeaked slightly when he pulled you into a tight hug. “Sorry,” he said, loosening his grip. You smiled at him, letting him know it was fine. “Welcome to the band.”

-----

“We’re playing a school dance? Sweet!” Reggie said, looking at the poster Julie had shown you. 

“It’s not exactly the Strip,” Luke muttered, making you roll your eyes slightly.

“And you’re not exactly alive, so you should be happy we have our first gig,” Reggie retorted. 

“I wasn’t in love with the idea at first either,” Julie admitted, “but it could be a great way for us to build a following, right?”

“Yeah, we need to play wherever we can, whenever we can,” you said, nodding at Julie. 

She raised an eyebrow at you. “We?” 

You felt your heart start to speed up as you realized you had accidentally told her you joined the band. Luckily, Luke saved you from having to explain yourself. 

“Ye- yeah, we. I invited Y/N to join the band earlier. I hope that was okay,” he said, throwing an arm around your shoulders and hugging you to his side. 

Julie nodded hesitantly. “It’s fine, I just wish you had asked us first.” Reggie nodded his agreement. 

“I know, and I’m really sorry-” you started, but Julie cut you off. 

“It’s fine, Y/N, really.” She smilied at you. 

Luke smiled. “Let’s rock those kid’s faces off! And then play the clubs.”

“And then record a single that gets a billion streams?” you said hopefully.

“I don’t know what that is, but hopefully it gets us a manager and a tour,” Luke said with a smirk.

“And then we release a bunch of hit albums!” Julie said excitedly. 

“Put out a country album that does surprisingly well.” You all stared at Reggie. “I shred on the banjo,” he shrugged. 

“Then I’ll learn how to fiddle,” Julie said, fist bumping him. 

“And before you know it, we’re being inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall Of Fame!”

“But one of us isn’t there,” you said somewhat ominously. “Because we had a blow-out in 2032.”

“My money’s on Alex. He’s just so sensitive,” Reggie said, making you laugh slightly. 

“What are we waiting for, let’s get rehearsing!” Luke said eagerly. 

“Uh… where is Alex?” Julie asked just as he poofed back into the room. 

“Oh, hey Alex. Where’ve you been?” you asked the drummer. He looked slightly out of breath, and had a faint glow of happiness to him. 

“We need to start practicing,” Luke said, slightly annoyed.

“Yeah? For what?”

“Dance news!” Flynn called out as she walked in. “I don’t have a date. But I don’t care because I’m so psyched to see you guys perform.”

“Oh man, we’re playing a dance?” Alex asked, his disappointment evident in his voice. 

“Of course dude. That’s how we get a following nowadays.” Luke sat in the chair behind him. You laughed quietly. 

“Yeah, get with the program, Alex,” Julie laughed along with you. 

“What? The guys are here? Hey guys!” Flynn waved in the wrong direction. 

“Other way, sweetie,” you chuckled. “They’re sitting over here, with me.”

“Oh, yeah.” Flynn said quietly and waved in your direction. Reggie waved back.

“Okay, well, now that Alex has graced us with his presence, can we start working?” Luke asked, impatient.

“Yes! We’re gonna rehearse, you wanna stick around?” Julie asked Flynn, who frowned slightly. 

“I’m supposed to blow up 500 balloons for the school dance, but this sounds way better.”

Just then, Carlos burst into the studio and accidentally walked through Alex. “Hey Julie! Remember those orbs in dad’s pictures? I…. I think they’re ghosts.”

You, Julie, and the guys all shared a look. 

“But don’t worry,” Carlos continued, scanning the room. “This room is…. Is….” You sat forward slightly, waiting to hear his verdict. “This room is clear. I’m not getting the ghost tinglies.”

“Wrong again, little dude,” Reggie laughed. 

“Have no fear. If they come back, I will protect you because I am the man of the house.”

You laughed. “Isn’t Ray supposed to be the man of the house?”

“Isn’t dad supposed to be the man of the house?” Julie asked, echoing you. You smirked. 

Carlos crossed his arms. “There can be two,” he muttered, causing you to laugh again. “Dad needs all the help he can get, right?”

He held up a salt shaker. “According to the internet, this burns their souls out. A little sprinkle will keep them from ever coming in here.”

Your eyes widened with fear. It couldn’t possibly be true, could it? Taking no chances, you pulled your legs up into the chair you were sitting in as Carlos threw some salt your way. 

“No!”Alex screamed as some salt hit him. “Nooo! Oh god, I’m…. I’m fine. I’m totally fine,” he said when nothing happened to him. You sighed in relief.

“Flynn, could you…?” you asked, nodding your head to indicate taking Carlos out of the studio. In times like these it was useful to be a ghost that only some people could see. 

“Hey, Carlos, you know who’s hungry? Me,” she said, taking your hint. “Um, salt me a path to the kitchen.”

“Shall we try this again?” Julie asked once they were gone.

“Yes please, but remind us later. There’s some Sunset Curve songs that we wanna show you,” Luke said, standing up again. 

“Oooo, show me now,” Julie said, pushing away her microphone. 

“Yeah, okay!” Luke said, putting down his guitar and walking over to his journal. He took a paper out of it and read the title of the song: “‘Home Is Where My Horse Is’. Reggie, stop putting your country songs in my journal.”

“That was a gift,” Reggie said, winking at you. 

“Thanks, buddy.” Ignoring Reggie as he tried to get Luke to look at the song, he walked over to Julie and handed her his journal. You walked over to look over her shoulder. “I dog-eared the ones I think you would slay.”

“Who’s Emily?” You asked, the name catching your eye as Julie flipped through the pages. 

“That one’s not dog-eared,” Luke said, frantically trying to get the journal back. Julie held it to her chest. You mouthed “sorry” at him as he looked at you.

“‘If you could only know that I’d never let you go’,” Julie read out loud. “Wow Luke, I didn’t know you were such a romantic.”

“He’s not,” Alex said, walking over. “That one’s actually about-”

“No one.” Luke cut him off. “Uh, that’s just something that I tried…” Was it your imagination, or did his eyes flicker over to you? “B- but if you go to the next dog-eared page, I got a tune that’s just…. It’s got a killer beat.”

He started playing the song on his guitar. You tilted your head to the side, sure that you had heard the song before. 

“So you wanna sample,” Julie spoke up, cutting Luke off. You realized where you had heard it before. It had been one of Rose’s favorite songs. 

Luke scoffed. “What do you mean, ‘sample’?”

“Sample someone else’s music,” you chimed in. 

“My mom and I used to sing that song at the top of our lungs in the car all the time.” 

“It’s a classic Trevor Wilson song.” 

Julie nodded, thankful that you knew what she was talking about.

“Nope.” Luke picked up his notebook. “It’s a classic our song.”

“Pure Sunset Curve,” Reggie said with a smile. “I’ve never even heard of Trevor Wilson.”

“Yeah, maybe you’re mixing it up, you know, with another song,” Alex said. 

“Julie doesn’t mix up songs,” you said. “Trust me.”

“Yeah, me and his daughter used to be best friends. We used to hang out at their place all the time! I know that song.” You looked at Julie. Having moved to Los Angeles after Julie and Carrie stopped being friends, you forgot sometimes that they used to like each other. 

“Here,” she said, pulling out her computer. “I’ll prove it.”

“His first album had a bunch of hits, but none of his later stuff is as good,” you said while Julie searched his name.

The boys gasped as she turned the computer around. You looked at her in confusion. 

“That’s Bobby,” Luke said.

“Seriously? I just told you his name is Trevor,” you said, slightly concerned for his memory. 

“Okay, so he changed it, alright? That’s definitely Bobby. He was our rhythm guitarist.” Alex spoke up. Reggie stood still, clearly in shock. 

Julie scoffed. “Trevor Wilson was in your band?”

“I can’t get over how old he looks…” Reggie finally said. 

“Oh, he looks like a substitute teacher,” Alex said in disgust. 

You looked at Julie in confusion again. Sure, you had had a few bad substitutes, but you didn’t think it was enough to be an insult. 

“Julie… what were his other hits?” Luke asked hesitantly. 

“”Get Lost’.”

“Yeah. I wrote that.”

“‘Long Weekend’?”

“Yeah, Luke wrote that one too,” Reggie spoke up. You and Julie looked at him, the surprise evident on her face. 

“‘Crooked Teeth’?”

“And that,” Alex said. “It was about Reggie.”

“What?” Reggie exclaimed, shocked and slightly hurt. “I thought that was about you! I don’t like that song anymore.” You held in a laugh. 

“Wait… this is freaking me out. Trevor’s songs are kind of big to me,” Julie explained as Luke picked up some darts. “He’s the one who introduced me to rock.”

“Yeah, and Julie introduced me to rock using his music,” you said. You were freaking out a little too. You loved Trevor’s songs, so it was pretty weird to think that the ghosts standing in front of you had actually written them. 

“Yeah, Luke introduced you to rock,” Alex scoffed. 

“So this whole time, I thought you were connected to my mom. But instead, you’re connected to Carrie’s dad? Out of all the people, it had to be the one girl who had it out for me.”

“All right, well, add it to our list of questions,” you muttered. 

“Back when Carrie and I were friends, the three of us used to talk about music all the time.” Julie looked at the guys. “He never mentioned you guys.”

“And that’s unbelievable!” Luke said, throwing another dart at the board. “He can take all the credit and he doesn’t even mention us?” Reggie shook his head slightly. 

“And he’s rich,” you said. The boys all looked at you. “He has his own helicopter.”

“With his face on it,” Julie added.

“And he parks it in front of that hotel?” Reggie asked in shock. 

“No. He gets to park it in front of his mansion.” You rolled your eyes. 

“Mansion?” Reggie’s voice cracked. 

“Dude, we live in a garage,” Alex spoke up.

“It’s not about the money, it’s about the music!” Luke said, but it sounded like he was trying to convince himself as much as anyone else.

“It’s a little bit about the money though!”

“A little bit about the money!”

“He could have shared it with our families! Maybe then my parents wouldn’t have had their house turned into a bike shack!”

“What he did is steal our legacy.” 

You felt really bad for them. You couldn’t even imagine how it would feel if you had worked that hard on something, and then someone stole it. 

Luke turned to Julie. “Where does he live.”

She sighed. “Above the beach in Malibu. 

“Let’s go teach him a lesson,” Reggie said. The boy’s face was usually so kind and bouncy, but now it was stone cold. 

“Wait, what? Guys! We have to rehearse for our dance! This is our first gig, and Y/N’s first time singing with us!” Julie said frantically, standing up. 

Alex glanced at you in confusion, and you remembered you hadn’t told him yet about you joining the band. 

Before you could say anything, however, Luke grabbed your hand and poofed out. 

-----

“Bobby’s house is ridiculous!” Alex exclaimed as you looked around.

“Have you seen these platinum records?” you asked.

Reggie turned and looked at them. “Platinum?”

Luke was staring at a different set of records. “He recorded ‘My Name Is Luke’...” he muttered. “My name is Luke!”

Just then a man walked in wearing sunglasses and a leather jacket.

“It’s him!” Reggie said. 

“Hey, Carrie! I’m gonna meditate!” Bobby called out. 

“He wears sunglasses indoors,” Reggie said, disgusted. 

“I’m in the den!” Carrie called out. 

“Cool!” Bobby called out before going upstairs. 

Reggie shook his head. “I can’t stand him!”

“Time for his past to haunt him,” Luke said, a scowl on his features. 

He started up the stairs, with Reggie following him and you following a bit more hesitantly.

“Wait!” Alex called out, making you all turn around. “You know, it’s my…. It’s my first time haunting someone. I wanna make it special.”

You looked at him, confusion written on your face. “Okay, Alex,” you said before turning around and continuing up the stairs, Luke and Reggie joining you. 

“Yeah, that was weird, okay,” you heard him mutter as he followed you. 

You made your way into Bobby’s room, where he sat with candles lit. 

“Agh!” you said as you felt another jolt of pain flair through your ankle. The boys looked at you, concerned. You shook your head to let them know you were fine. It was the weirdest thing, it’s like it flared up when it was the most inconvenient….

You watched the boys giggle as Luke gave Bobby a wet willy.

You and Alex snuck over to the candles, forgetting for a moment that no one could see you, and blew them out. 

Reggie turned on the music player, which started playing a rock song. Bobby walked over and turned it off, but Reggie just turned it back on, causing Bobby to unplug it. 

You hadn’t noticed Luke sneaking away, but he was gone when the shower turned on a moment later. 

“Carrie?” Bobby asked. You giggled with the boys.

Bobby walked into the bathroom to see the shower running just as Luke turned it off. The mirror across from the shower was now foggy, and perfect for a ghost to write on.

“Ooo, Luke, you should write ‘Hello, Bobby’ on it!” you suggested through a fit of giggles. Reggie pointed at you to show his agreement. 

Grinning, Luke wrote on the mirror in his best creepy handwriting, which also happened to be his best handwriting. 

Bobby tried to run out of the bathroom, but Alex held the door shut.

“Let… Me…. Out!!” he shouted. Alex finally let go of the door and Bobby practically fell out of the room, causing all of you to laugh.

Luke grabbed your hand again and you poofed down to the patio just as Bobby was leaving. You watched as his helicopter flew over your heads. 

“Oh! Quick, let’s moon him before he gets too far away,” Reggie said, causing you to roll your eyes. 

“He can’t see us,” you reminded them.

“Oh it’s not for him, it’s for us,” Luke said as he pulled down his pants. You averted your eyes. 

“So, did you guys have fun in there?” Julie asked, storming outside. 

“Okay, you’d do the exact same if he stole all of your songs,” Luke defended them. 

“But you guys have new songs. With me. The best way to get back at Trevor is for this band to do great. And to do great, we have to play at dances, then clubs-”

“And tours, I know.” Luke walked up to her. Julie still looked mad.

“I’ll see you guys at the school. We go on at nine. Please don’t be late. There’s gonna be a lot of people there.”

“We got it, alright? Don’t worry,” Alex said. 

Julie sighed as she headed back inside. 

“I don’t care what Julie says! I’m glad we scared Bobby,” Reggie said with a small grin. “We should’ve done more! Like… like written ‘thief’ on his forehead.”

“And Alex, how did you shut the door earlier? You could barely open a garage door,” you asked, confused. 

Reggie looked at his friend, proud of him. “Learned that from your new friend Willie, didn’t ya?”

Alex blushed slightly. “Yeah, well, he taught me some things, we screamed in a museum…” he caught the look of confusion on your face. “It’s a long story.”

Luke smirked. “You think he has a few other tricks up his sleeve?”

“Let’s find out,” Alex said with a shrug. 

-----

You landed near a beach, a boy on a skateboard coming to a stop in front of you. 

“Hey, what’s up man?” he said to Alex, doing a short handshake. “You brought friends.”

“Yeah, these are my bandmates, Luke, Reggie, and Y/N.”

“Cool, I’m Willie. So, you guys here to learn some tricks?” He waved his hand in the direction of two police fourwheelers, making their sirens go off. 

Reggie’s mouth hung open. “Do it again!”

“Actually, we were thinking a little bigger,” Luke said. “An old bandmate stole from us and we wanna confront him, face to face.”

“Alright, is this, uh, friend of yours a lifer?” Willie asked. 

“Oh, that’s fancy ghost lingo for the living,” Alex said before you could ask. “Little something I picked up.”

You caught Willie smiling at Alex. 

“Ah! Then yeah, he’s a lifer,” Reggie said, using the fancy ghost lingo he had just been taught. “Too much of a fancy-pants for street dogs.”

You snorted. “Wait, that’s how you guys died?”  Julie had never told you, and you had just never discussed it with them. 

“Uh, that’s not important-” Luke started to say, but Willie cut him off.

“Wait, you didn’t die with them?”

“Uh, no,” you said, trying to stop laughing. “Some guy killed me.”

Willie winced. “Ouch.” You nodded. 

“Anyways,” Luke said, trying to get the conversation back on track. “Can you help us?”

“Yeah, I’m sorry,” Willie said, shaking his head. “Speaking to lifers is even out of my lead.” The guy’s faces fell. “You know, but there is one ghost who might be able to help you guys. He’s kind of a big deal…”

“Literally, anything would help,” Luke said. 

“Oh, alright. Well, um, I gotta take care of some things, but I’ll meet you where Alex and I met, eight o’clock. See ya.” He skated away. 

-----

“Right this way,” Willie said, leading you into a huge ballroom-type room.

“Whoa,” Luke muttered. “So this is where your hot-shot ghost lives, huh?”

“Yeah, we’ve walked past this hotel like, a million times. How come we’ve never heard of it?”Alex asked. 

“That’s because this area has been sealed off for decades,” Willie said with a grin. “I mean, you wouldn’t even know this place exists unless you’re invited. Alright, I gotta go make sure everything’s cool, but I’ll be right back.” He turned and disappeared into the crowd.   

You inhaled sharply as the pain in your ankle flared up again. Luke looked over at you, confused, and you pointed to your ankle. He nodded, understanding.

“‘The Hollywood Ghost Club’?” Reggie asked, oblivious to what had just happened between you and Luke. “Man, this place is creepy.”

“Yeah, well, so are we.” Alex smiled.

“I don’t know about this,” you muttered. 

“Well, if you get scared, you can always hide behind me,” Alex said. “I’ll be hiding behind Luke.”

“You guys need to grow up, okay?” Luke said as Alex moved behind him. “We’re gonna get back at Bobby. He needs to pay for what he did to us.”

“Yeah.” Alex said. Then he whispered to you: “I’m still gonna hide behind him.”

Just then, Willie came back. “We’re all good!” he said with a smile. 

“Oh, uh, cool,” Alex said, flustered. “Hey, just so you know, we have like, an hour. We’ve got a gig with Julie.”

“Oh yeah, no worries.”

“Cool.”

“Let’s go.”

You all walked down the stairs, taking in all the fancy clothing people were wearing. Well, the four of you walked. Willie slid down the railing. 

“I think we’re a little overdressed,” Luke said. You smirked.

Suddenly a woman walked through Alex. 

“Whoa! I thought these people were all going to be ghosts,” Reggie said. 

“Nope. These are all lifers.” Willie gestured to the entirety of the club. 

“Oh, uh, lifers are actually-”

“Alive people, I was listening,” Reggie said, cutting off Alex with a smirk. 

“But this is a very exclusive crowd. Everybody here has uh, paid a lot to get a sneak peak at the afterlife.”

“I always knew rich people did weird stuff like this,” Reggie muttered, making you laugh. 

A ghost appeared behind you. 

“Gentleman, my lady,” he stopped and looked at you a moment. “I have a table for you.” Your heart sank as he misgendered you, but you didn’t correct him. 

“Oh, uh, Y/N here is actually non-binary,” Luke said. You beamed at him. 

“My apologies, gentlefolk. Right this way.”

You followed him to a reserved table in the front, right in front of the stage. 

Luke pulled out a chair for you to sit. You blushed. You also squealed internally when you noticed Willie do the same for Alex. 

“Okay, so who’s gonna make us visible so we can confront our old bandmate?” Luke asked Willie once everyone was seated. You looked around in wonder at the club.

“Oh, no, no. None of these lifers have the power to do that.” Dramatic music started to play out of nowhere. You thought you recognized the melody, although you couldn’t quite place it. “Oh, but here comes the ghost who does!”

“Ladies and gentleman,” boomed a voice from nowhere and everywhere at the same time, “back from the dead by popular demand, Caleb Covington!”

Willie cheered along with the rest of the club’s members as a man appeared floating above the stage. 

“Did you miss me?” he asked.

You gasped, your eyes widening.

“What?” Luke asked you. “What’s wrong?”

You turned to him with fear in your eyes. “That’s him.”

“Who?”

“The man who killed me.”

tag list: @sunsetcurvej @ifilwtmfc @xplrreylo @phantompogues @caitsymichelle13 @yagorlemmalyn

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Whats your favorite song at the moment

Hey Nonny!

Ooof Too many, hahhaha! Because I don’t leave home anymore, I’m not looking constantly for new music to add to my Playlist, so mostly it’s stuff that I come across on Tumblr and is living rent-free in my head on repeat, or me digging on my harddrives for a nostalgia kick.... currently, these are the top 5 cycling in my head, no particular order:

(EDIT IT’S NOW TEN. I COULDN’T CHOOSE. LISTEN TO THEM ALL. THEY’RE ALL AMAZING)

(EDIT 2 SORRY IT’S NOW 15!! NONNY I’M SO SORRY. I know no one cares, but I LOVE sharing my Music with people)

(EDIT 3 *SIGH* Now 20. :| HELP. Stopping before I get carried away. No one ever likes my music so I love when people ask me for my songs with genuine interest)

Nathan Evans - The Wellerman (220 Kid X Billen Ted Remix) (flashing images CW in video!) – Got into the original of this one during the sea shanty trend, and then this dance remix came out... those of you who know me well, know that I am HOOKED on remixes, especially dance remixes. So I was so happy about this official one.

The Kiffness - Ievan Polkka ft. Bilal Göregen (Club Remix) – This one I got into because I think, again, the original with the blind man was trending, and then I found this remix artist on YouTube from his remix of The Wellerman, and his is SOOOO good!! I loved this song back in the early noughts when it was popular as “Leek Spin”. But then these young folks had to go and make it amazing again!!

ZHU, partywithray - Came For The Low – (LOTS OF FLASHING LIGHTS IN VIDEO CW!) Thank Falcon And the Winter Soldier for this one! It took me a WEEK to find out what song they’re playing in the club in Episode 3 when Zemo’s dancing, and YAY I found this finally (not the one hour one, sadly, still trying to find the song D+ Marvel used for that one). I LOVE IT. LISTEN TO IT. SO good if you like heavy club beats

Sim Gretina - A Friend Like Me (Electro Swing Remix) – This is SATISFYING. I LOVE IT. Found it years ago after that homemade Aladdin carpet video was going viral, and every time it comes up on my playlist, I replay it like 6 times.

Linkin Park - Numb (80′s Remix) – That tumblr meme song that went around years ago? HERE YOU ARE!!! :D This is TOO SHORT and it’s also on repeat when I listen to it. Y’all, this is what depression feels like when you’re trying to pretend to be happy all the time LOL. It’s a whole MOOD. This one is great to blast in the car and have people confused at you singing at the top of your lungs. Like, “I AM NUMB AND AN EDGELORD BUT READY TO PARTY!!!”.

One Ton - Supersexworld – Okay, this is an OLLLLLLDDD one by a one-hit wonder Canadian band that I stumbled upon recently when I was going through my hard drives to find new stuff to put onto my iPhone. I was OBSESSED with this song when it first came out, forgot about it, and NOW... SHIT I can’t STOP. This one is BLARING when I hear it, and am so happy I found it again. It’s simple, amazing, and AWESOME. LISTEN TO IT. You will love it. Please. It’s got one verse and one chorus over and over, and it’s catchy as hell. It’s on my personal Johnlock playlist :D

Deorro - Rise and Shine – GUYS. This song. Also on my personal Johnlock Playlist, this one is SOMETHING. First heard it in my BodyPump class, I NEEDED it. It’s SO GOOD. Jazzy Club Music??? YES PLEASE! Video is all kinds of amazing? YES PLEASE. PLEASE listen to this. I LOVE IT SO MUCH.

Bloodhound Gang - The Bad Touch (Eiffel 65 Remix) – Is this song a decade old? YES. Has it been on my iPod since it first came out? FUCK YES. Y’all, Eiffel 65 is SO underrated for their remixes. This is one of their best remixes, and it’s the PERFECT walking song. YES I look like an idiot walking to it, but I love it SO MUCH. It’s better than the original, imho.

Gotye feat. Kimbra - Somebody That I Used To Know (Bastian Van Shield Remix) – LOL I KNOW: sacrilege to remix Gotye, but Y’ALL. This is the DEFINITIVE remix of one of his best songs. Six minutes of pure club beats, and just... ANOTHER perfect walking song that you need to SCREAM at the top of your lungs. Also on my personal Playlist, John POV, that I will share eventually.... it makes sense in the song order on the list, I promise LOL)

Tee Lopes - Marble Zone '12 – Tee Lopes is the official composer for Sonic Mania, hired because of all his AMAZING Classic Sonic remixes he did as a hobby on his YouTube channel. This one has a Tango flavour, and it’s SO good and not long enough. There’s an extended version here. Also love his Flying Battery and Ice Cap remixes. If you love video game music remixes like I do, check out his YT channel. There’s a TONNE there and it’s GREAT music to write to.

Aaron Smith - Dancin’ (KRONO Remix) – I dunno where I first heard this one, but I LOVE it. It’s like trancey club music. It’s beautiful, and WORTH a listen.

Pet Shop Boys - I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind Of Thing [Extended Nude Mix] – Ooooof this one has been on my faves for a LONG time. Originally heard this on the PSB’s album Disco 2, back when their remixes were this good and long and clubby. I miss these so much. If you want a good club beat to thump your car, this is it my friends.

Informätik - A Matter of Time – FUCK ME I love this song. This is the song that made me want to start a Johnlock playlist. I talk more in length about it on this post here, but yeah, I still just.. MM. It’s just so beautiful and is what got me into EBM music in the first place. I listened to this and a lot of their music quite often in college when I was pining over people. Always the pining and never the requited, LOL. I just really love it. 

Pride and Fall - Paragon – GUYS. This one is SO good. Trancey EBM and just, UGHGGHHGHGHHHG It gives me so many feels. I’ve loved this song for SO many years, and just, still has to be on every iPod I own. It’s beautiful, and the lyrics are beautiful and I wish I was as beautiful as this song, LOL. Please listen and enjoy. Best bit is a 3:11 :D <3

Rammstein - Mein Teil (Pet Shop Boys Remix) – GUYS. This is one of the greatest collabs of all time. I love both Rammstein AND Pet Shop Boys, and was SO EXCITED when they remixed this song for the single. This is the better of the two remixes PSB did for them, and YOU NEED TO LISTEN TO IT. PURE CLUB BLISS. This is the PSB in their remixing best!!!! <3 Plus, it’s SUPER WEIRD to hear these angry Germans backing a club beat, I LOVE IT. Also, it’s literally a song about a true story of literally eating a dick, so.... *shrugs*

Pet Shop Boys - Love Etc. (PSB Mix) – Y’ALL. This is 6 minutes of LITERAL dance music BLISS. A fantastic remix of one of my fave songs from the PSB, which is essentially shitting on the materialism of relationships. And I love this one, it’s a great work out and car song. Honestly PLEASE listen to it.

Apoptygma Berzerk - Kathy’s Song (Beborn Beton Remix) – GUYYYYYYYYYsSSSS I love this song so much. The original is much slower, and I discovered Beborn Beton FROM this song (another great artist, check them out). This song is just, a great dance song, and just makes me scream out when I hear it. Full volume, beautiful song, beautiful lyrics. It’s my Android!lock headcanon song, but it is also on my JL Personal Playlist, LOL.

Darude vs. Robert Miles - Children of the Sandstorm – One of the BEST MASHUPS in the world, and I am CERTAIN it is an official one; I was obsessed with mashups when I was in college so I have a TONNE of them, but this one has always been a fave, and I still jam to it over a decade later. Seriously, these songs SEAMLESSLY blend together, it’s fantastic. Classic club and trance? HELLS YES. 

Eminem - Nobody Listen to Techno (Deep Dish Mix) – Another nostalgia hit for me. Is it pointless? Not if I enjoy it!! I LOVE this song. Deep Dish mixes were THE JAM in my college years, and like, this is just 9 minutes of PURE techno with some of his song “Without Me” sampled throughout. I LOVE IT. SO MUCH. This is a banger, and just, if you need music to listen to while driving or writing, this is one for you!!

Rammstein feat. Sharleen Spiteri - Stirb Nicht Vor Mir (Don't Die Before I Do) – And to bring the mood WAYYY down, did you know Rammstein did a love song? A beautiful, moves-me-to-tears love song? Because I did and it’s one of my FAVE songs by them. It’s SO beautiful, and the Till’s harsh voice WORKS for it. It’s gentle and soothing. It’s a German/English duet, and it makes me nearly cry EVERY TIME. Because I imagine John and Sherlock and then I die inside LOL. It’s so beautiful and I listen to this one years after it was released. Look up the translation, it is so beautiful.

AND if you guys happen to like any of these songs, copy the youtube video link and use this :)

Most of these that aren’t silly are on my Johnlock playlist, so do give the latter songs a listen! <3 I’m sorry for adding more than five... I just really love sharing things with you guys I like because I’m so lonely, LOL.

If any of y’all are playing these and trying to pick me up, *finger guns* Let’s go get cake and jam :D

AHH I like when I get asks like this! Sorry I took so long Nonny, but I just kept ADDING to it, as you can see. Had to stop because I could keep going.

[db-reviews]

#183 - This Strange Engine - Marillion (1997)

Out of all the releases Marillion had made over their 40+ years of music, I am quite surprised that This Strange Engine is so underrated and ill-appreciated within the sheer volume the band has crafted, especially in their current H-era. I want to hopefully get more people to see how good this album really is. I cannot say it is a perfect album the band has made, but I think the hate it gets is undeserving.

I think the biggest complaint I have seen within this album is that it is too poppy, or a bit more mainstream, and I can definitely see why people might have quite the stinge for that type of stuff within prog rock, but I feel like Marillion has always been a little more poppy and accessible. Look at songs like Kayleigh or The Great Escape, which are rather big pop hits for a prog rock band, and while you could argue The Great Escape is a lot more prog than pop, Kayleigh cannot be denied from it being it’s very pop status, so I feel like This Strange Engine more or less just continues the more pop nature Marillion naturally already have, and I personally think it sells this more prog pop aspect really well. Songs like 80 Days, Estonia, and Hope For The Future are all excellent songs that feel very vibrant and lively, but contain Hogarth’s signature moody poetry that creates a divergent boundary in mood and feelings that pay off really well.

I also feel like the critique of this being a lot more acoustic and not filled with enough complexities never quite made sense to me. I feel like even more acoustic albums can be quite complex, I mean look at some folk bands out there like Current 93 and Harmonium, which are groups that create very endearing and rather long songs that contain quite the bit more spice needed to keep things interesting. The complexities, to me, are pretty front and center, and even if they are not the main focus, I think the music as a whole makes up for it, especially on the 15 minute long title track, which I think in of itself is a very strong prog rock epic. I actually feel like the focus on Hogarth’s singing and lyrics work in favor to this album, and while I do think not every lyric hits hard, I think at the end of the day this is some of the best Hogarth vocals on an album; definitely comparable to some legendary scores on Brave and Marbles.

Now, personally, really truly justly personal, I think this is a very great album. I never feel dissatisfied with these songs, and what is on here is really stellar in the grand scheme of things. However, I think it is a very front loaded album, with the exception of This Strange Engine. Unlike most Marillion releases which have a very good handful and mixture of songs that are spread out meticulously, the first half kinda has the better songs in my mind compared to the second half. While I do enjoy moments from An Accidental Man and Memory of Water, I do not think they compare to stuff like A Man Of A Thousand Faces or 80 Days that have some brilliant elements that truly make H-era Marillion my favorite era the band is held in. The exception is This Strange Engine, which I think holds some stellar, almost Ocean Cloud rivaling scores that keep me wanting more. Truly one of Marillion’s best songs.

If you might be a new or old Marillion fan, I think you should really check this album out, or revisit it. I think a lot of people need to relisten to this one, as it is where we get some of the best Hogarth moments, some of the best–more moody songs the band has made, and one of the band’s best prog epics. Do not turn down this album, it really is a special gemstone, and an underrated one at that.

4.5/5

[alwaysfeelingsaintlike]

About Time [G.W] - Part 3

pairing: George Weasley x OC

series description: On an unexpected night out, George meets the love of his life. And then suddenly loses her. What lengths will he go to in order to find her?

word count: 2.7k

warnings: slight language

taglist: @p0gues4l @amourtentiaa @305weasley

series masterlist

X

“Ready George?” Fred called. George had been fixing his hair for the last 20 minutes. He wanted to make sure he looked perfect.

“Just a few more minutes!” he called to his brother. Fred popped his head into the bathroom where George was running his fingers through his hair. “Do I look okay?” George asked.

“You look as handsome as always. But perhaps a little over-styled…” George’s hair was gelled into place, an unusual look for him. Fred ruffled his auburn locks, releasing his hair from the hold of the gel. “Much better,” he stated. George looked polished, yet casual with his newly messy hair. He looked good without looking like he was trying too hard. It was perfect.

George thanked his brother and they gathered their things to head to the concert. George had immediately bought them tickets to the Weird Sisters when he saw the poster. Not only was Fred excited for his brother to meet up with his soul mate, but he was happy to have a night out.

“So, do you have a plan for tonight?” Fred asked.

George shrugged and said, “I hadn’t really thought about it. I’ll know what to do once I see her.”

“Do you need a wingman? You know I’m terrific at that,” Fred stated.

“I actually feel perfectly charming tonight. I think I’ll be alright on my own, but I will happily fix you up with whatever friend she’s with.”

“Ah, how kind of you Georgie.” The two reached the crowded club and headed straight to the bar for a drink. George immediately had his radar on, searching for Molly. He wanted to spot her first, and then he would figure out how to talk to her. Being tall was certainly advantageous in this situation, but there were still a lot of people to sift through and it was rather dark.

Fred handed George a brew and they found a spot near the door, keeping an eye on concertgoers still filtering in.

“Remind me what she looks like again?” Fred asked, scanning the crowd.

“She’s small, maybe 5’ 2” or 5’ 3” and she has straight dark brown hair that’s about shoulder length. And she has light eyes and freckles and the most amazing smile. It’s like-“

“I can work with that,” Fred said, cutting him off. George decided to take a lap around the venue to see if he spotted Molly. Fred would stay by the door and watch to see if she walked in.

George took his time walking around, studying anyone that showed even the slightest resemblance. But he knew as soon as he saw her, his heart would skip a beat and that would be the indicator he needed. He circled the place once more but still couldn’t find her. George made his way back towards Fred and noticed he was engaged in conversation with a woman. It should have annoyed him that Fred was distracted, but oddly enough it didn’t. He joined his brother and was briefly introduced to the new dame before they quickly parted ways.

“Sorry mate. I promise she came up to me, I was focused on finding your girl,” Fred said.

“Don’t worry about it. You’re allowed some fun. Besides, I don’t think she’s here yet.” The two of them eventually migrated toward the stage, as the opening act came on. Every so often Fred would nudge George and point to a short brunette, to which George would shake his head. He was starting to get nervous that she wouldn’t come, but he held out hope. After all, she had said she never misses a show. George tried to relax and enjoy the concert. He had plenty of time to find her.

As the opener’s set was coming to a close, George made a trip to the bar for another round of drinks. The bar was essentially empty and he easily placed his order and waited for the bartender to pour a round of fire whiskey. His order finished the bottle, so he had to wait a few moments as the barback went in back to grab a replacement. He leaned on the bar to wait and suddenly there was someone next to him.

“Can I get two fire whiskeys please?” the voice said. George froze, recognizing the sweet American accent.

“It’ll be just a moment. We’re waiting on a new bottle,” said the barkeep.

“I suppose I should apologize for that,” George said, turning to her. She looked up at him and he was immediately struck by her piercing green eyes. George smiled at her and she smiled back.

“Finishing all the fire whiskey and making me wait for a drink. How dare you,” she joked.

“I know. I’m surprised they haven’t kicked me out yet.”

“Oh I can make that happen, do you want me to get the bouncer?” she said sarcastically.

“Careful love. If you do that, I won’t be able to pay for your drinks.”

“I am perfectly capable of buying my drinks,” she said.

“I know you are, but I want to buy your drinks. It’s the least I can do.”

“The least you can do?”

“I believe I owe you for a night of wonderful conversation in complete darkness.”

George smiled at her and something in her expression changed slightly, like she was putting everything together.

“Oh shit,” she said, looking him up and down, “George Weasley. You really need to have your storefront redone. It doesn’t do you justice.”

“Oh, that’s Fred out front. If it were me he’d be much more handsome.”

She laughed, “How’d you know it was me?”

“Not many people in London with an American accent.”

“Ah of course. That is my giveaway.”

The bartender placed four glasses in front of them and George quickly paid before Molly could protest.

“Are you here with Angelina?” she nodded and he added, “Fred and I are standing right over there if you’d like to join us. I will make sure that Fred is on his best behavior.”

“What about you? Are you going to be on your best behavior?”

“I can’t make any promises,” he smirked. She smiled and said, “I’ll grab her and we’ll come right over.”

George returned to Fred as the crowd started to migrate toward the bar for a refill before the Weird Sisters came on.

“I found her,” George said with a stupid grin on his face.

“I never doubted you for a second.”

“And she’s coming over here. With Angelina. So please don’t ruin this for me.”

“I will be the perfect gentleman,” he said.

“I don’t believe that for a second,” George replied.

Fred shrugged as Molly and Angelina joined them.

“Well, well, well…if it isn’t Fred Weasley,” Angelina said.

“Ang! Darling, how are you?” He said, kissing both her cheeks. She rolled her eyes but smiled. Molly fell into place next to George and said, “Is he always like this?”

“More or less.”

“Then they should get along great,” she joked.

“I have to say Molly, I am a little offended that you haven’t come into the shop yet. You claim to be a troublemaker.”

“Oh I am. I just don’t need cheap tricks to play pranks.”

George dramatically put his hand over his heart, “Ouch.”

“Are you that fragile? I have so much more to dish out.”

“I can take it, as long as you can take it back.”

“Do your worst,” she said.

“I didn’t want to have to bring up Kenmare this early, but if you insist.”

She shook her head and smiled, “Damn, hit me where it hurts the most.”

“How about we call a temporary truce. You don’t insult me, I don’t insult you, and we enjoy the concert.”

“Okay, but just until the concert ends,” she held out her hand and George shook it.

The lights went down and the crowd started cheering as the band came out on stage. Molly cheered and a huge smile spread across her face as the music started. George shifted his attention between the band and Molly, as she mouthed every word and moved to the music. Fred and Angelina took turns bringing them drinks and George realized he was feeling a little more than tipsy. And by the looks of it, so was Molly.

Towards the end of the set, Molly turned toward him and grabbed his hand, saying “This is one of my favorites!” She then pulled him forward and started dancing with him. It started out innocent enough, with the two of them facing each other and moving to the music. And then Molly took George’s hand and turned around so that she was dancing in front of him, her body pressed ever so slightly against his. The height difference between them was almost comical, with him at 6’3” and her barely at 5’3”.

The song came to an end and the mood shifted as the Weird Sisters played one of their few slower songs. Molly took George’s other hand and lightly wrapped his arms around her shoulders. She leaned her head back into his chest as they swayed to the music, watching the band the whole time. George was trying to suppress the butterflies that were currently in his stomach and simply enjoy the moment. Soon the music ended and it appeared the concert was over. Molly turned around and gave George a small smile. She motioned with her fingers for him to come closer and he bent down. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and George took her hand and squeezed it as they separated.

People started filtering out now as the lights came back on. Molly and George were still holding hands as they followed Fred and Angelina, who were bantering back and forth, and George sighed in relief when they felt the cool spring air hit them. The four of them walked about a block and stopped, determining their next move. Molly and Angelina were talking to each other when Fred said, “Would either of you care for a pint at the Leaky Cauldron?”

Angelina looked toward Molly for an answer and she replied, “I wish we could, but we should get back. Rain check?”

“Sure,” George said. The four of them stood there awkwardly for a moment when Fred broke the silence.

“Well my lady, it has been a pleasure,” Fred said, kissing Angelina’s hand. She rolled her eyes and Fred gently pulled her away from George and Molly. George heard her say, “What are you doing?” and Fred replied, “Shhh…I’m giving them some privacy.”

“That was subtle,” Molly commented.

“For what it’s worth, I had a great time tonight,” George said.

“Me too,” she nodded.

“Listen Molly, would you like to go out sometime?”

“Oh, so now that you know what I look like, you’re suddenly interested?” she challenged.

“Ah that’s actually not it at all,” she waited for further explanation. “I was interested that night in the dark. And I tried to tell you before we walked out, but you stopped me.”

“You certainly didn’t seem interested.”

George sighed, “I know. I’m still trying to figure out what happened to me that night. I was nervous and I froze up.”

“You don’t strike me as the nervous type.”

“I’m usually not, but you were perfect and I didn’t want to say the wrong thing and screw it up.”

She ran her fingers through her hair and said, “Shit George, I really wish you would’ve told me that when we first met.”

“Why’s that?” he asked.

“Because I liked you, but now I’m sort of seeing someone.”

“Oh,” he said, disappointed.

“It’s new, but it’s been going well.”

“How’d you two meet?”

“It was at a Prophet party a few weeks ago. I met him towards the end of the night and we went out for a drink afterwards.”

George looked down at his feet and nodded, “Sure, got it. I…uh…I hope it goes well.”

“I’m sorry George,” she said sincerely.

“It’s fine, really. I hope you had fun tonight,” he said, making his way back toward Fred. Molly stood there and watched him tread back to Fred, with a look of uncertainty on her face. Angelina rushed back towards her and the two took off.

“How’d it go?” Fred asked.

George just shook his head, “She has a boyfriend.”

“You’re joking,” Fred said. George shook his head again, “Well she certainly wasn’t acting like she had a boyfriend in there.”

“I should’ve told her that first night. Things would’ve been completely different.”

Fred consoled him as they apparated back to the apartment. George sat down at the table and Fred immediately opened two butterbeers for them.

“I never thought I could go from feeling so happy to so sad in such a short period of time.”

“Alright mate, before you get carried away in the dramatics, let’s go through the facts. Molly likes you. As evidenced in the way she was acting around you tonight.”

“Maybe she’s just flirty. And we had been drinking a lot.”

“I don’t buy that. The way Molly was looking at you, she wasn’t just flirting. And she told you to your face that she likes you.”

“No, she said she liked me. As in past tense.”

“Don’t get hung up on that. The way I saw it, she was more than interested in you tonight.”

“What does it matter,” George stated, taking another sip of his drink.

“Stay with me here. We know that she started dating someone only a few weeks ago. It’s a new relationship. Things could happen.”

“Sure, but I don’t know that I have the patience to wait for something to happen.”

“Have you thought about just trying to be friends with her for now?”

“The last thing I want to do is put myself in the friend zone. I don’t want to see her with someone else who makes her happy.”

“Fair enough,” Fred said as he took a big sip from his drink. Seeing George hurting was killing him, and he knew he had to take action to help him. “Did she tell you how she met this boyfriend?”

“Yeah, she said they met at a Prophet event a few weeks ago,” George replied.

Fred got up and started sifting through the pile of mail sitting on the table. “Could it be this Daily Prophet Fundraiser we were invited to about two weeks ago?” Fred asked with a grimace, holding up an invitation they had received.

“Fuck, Fred,” George said, putting his head in his hands. Fred always went through the mail, and truthfully he didn’t think anything of this invitation. The Prophet was always inviting them to events since they often took out advertisements in the paper. Fred hadn’t put two and two together. He recalled George saying Molly worked for the Daily Prophet but they never attended the events they were invited to it. Out of habit he pushed the invitation aside.

“I’m sorry, I never even thought about it.”

He sighed, “I know, I know. It’s not your fault.”

“But we can fix this,” Fred said, a smile spreading over his face.

“We can?” George asked.

“We can. With the time turner.”

“Fred…” George said, concerned.

“Don’t argue with me. We can totally do this. You know she likes you. We just have to find her before this other guy does.” George was considering the offer when Fred added, “Do you really think she’s the one?”

“Yes.”

“Then we need to do this. Or else it might never happen for you two.”

“I want to, more than anything, but it’s risky Fred.”

“I know it’s risky, and this decision is up to you. But just know I will be there with you if you want to go.”

George was weighing the pros and cons in his head. He knew messing with time could be dangerous, but this might be a once in a lifetime opportunity. He chugged the rest of his butterbeer and said, “Let’s do it.” Fred finished his butterbeer with a smile and the two planned out how exactly this would go down.

[aaronafgash]

10 NEW SONGS - 3/1/24

1. Von dutch - Charli XCX

After a full month of teasing on social media, Charli XCX has finally released her lead single for her upcoming album, Brat, and it does not disappoint. This song sounds like drugs and I mean that in the best way possible. The girls and the gays will love this, and who am I to disagree with them?

2. Thinking About You - Faye Webster

Didn’t love some of the singles so I was a bit nervous to hear what Faye Webster’s new album, Underdressed at the Symphony, would sound like, but those concerns were immediately extinguished as soon as I heard this intro. Faye’s band has always been a secret strength behind her music, and that proves to be true yet again on “Thinking About You”. The Wilco-esque groove leaves you in a trance, so much so that you might not notice that she sings “I’m thinking about yooooooou” about a thousand times!

3. Wanna Quit All the Time - Faye Webster

Again, Faye and her band sound incredible here. I love the kind of tropical, twangy vibe we’re getting on this one - it reminds me quite a bit of Molly Lewis, to the point where I actually checked to see if she had any writing / production credits (she doesn’t). Per usual, Faye keeps it real lyrically. “Overthinking in my head again / I’m good at making shit negative / Right now I hate the color of my house” elicits the same feelings I get when I hear her sing “I’m losing my mind / Why the hell did I paint these walls white?” on “Jonny” from her debut album. I could listen to this on repeat for hours.

4. Excalibur - Good Morning

One of my favorite indie groups of the last decade, Good Morning comes correct with a new single from their upcoming album Good Morning Seven. As someone who had a strange, partially isolating, semi-existential Vegas experience a few years back, and as someone who also happened to stay at the Excalibur a few years before that, it’s safe to say that I can personally relate to this song. Vegas as a concept is pretty bizarre, and lyrics like “And over there by the pyramid, right next to the fountains and the Empire State Building / Could have sworn that I was present for the minute” beautifully encapsulate what it can feel like at times.

5. ecstasy - Public Library Commute

Just a nice, chill, catchy, easy-to-listen-to song. I’ve been a fan of Public Library Commute’s previous work and this continues that trend. Lovely harmonies and I’m a fan of his vocal tone.

6. Sometimes - Mannequin Pussy

Mannequin Pussy rocks so hard. I Got Heaven feels like their most cohesive and accessible album to date, and “Sometimes” is a clear highlight for me. Love the grunge, but I appreciate their softer moments too - those two aspects of their sound fit perfectly together.

7. THank god 4 me - ScHoolboy Q

I didn’t love the new album Blue Lips, but it’s always good to see ScHoolboy Q back, and I did enjoy this song a ton. Starting with the chill, vibey sample, switching to an horn-blaring trap beat, and then combining the trap drums with the intro sample is brilliant producing, and Q sounds great over it all, adjusting his cadence and flow to each section.

8. Need Nothing - Katie Tupper

Had to dig pretty deep to find this one, but Katie Tupper sounds excellent on this jazzy, simple, upbeat track. I’ve heard her featured on a few songs on vbnd’s Daughter of the Sun, but my exposure to her is pretty limited outside of that. May need to familiarize myself with her game considering how much I fuck with this one.

9. Slug - Matt Champion

I haven’t followed Matt Champion’s career too closely post-BROCKHAMPTON days, and the bits and pieces I've heard haven’t left much of an impression. But this hits. A fast paced beat, and unexpected, textured, and layered vocals bring this together.

10. Cinnamon Crush (feat. Lindsey Lomis) - Jacob Collier

Jacob Collier is hit or miss for me for sure, but I tend to be into his more R&B-leaning songs, which is exactly what we have here. Beautiful harmonies - I appreciate how well he and Lindsey Lomis’ voices blend together. Lindsey crushes her voice, floating and running over the thumping, understated beat.