#they can bond over that /jjj

[martisno]

I like to think they would be amazing besties

[hollowsart]

I’d love to know more about your Electra, sandwoman, and lady Octopus spidersonas. They’re all so cool I can barely limit myself to three!

yes!!! okay!! lemme relay what I have:

(long post incoming!!)

All names given by The Daily Bugle, JJJ.

Lady Octopus:

There was some kind of testing for technical aids for people who have acrophobia and other issues like that that can cause problems, it was free testing, and Acedia was like.. one of the volunteers for one such device that looked more fun and enticing. and something obviously went wrong.

Actuators aren't fused to her, but they refuse to release her. there's a little special pad thingy that sticks to the back of her neck just at the base of her head, a neural reader that isn't invasive (aka, like a needle jabbed & directly tapping into her brain), and that little pad sends little signals to and from her so she can control the arms how Otto instructed when he hooked her up for a volunteer demonstration. (it went fine for a while, but then something went wrong with the actuators. Otto panicked and tried turning it off, shutting the whole thing down, but it was too late)

Luckily Spider-Hero!Beck was there to help her.

unfortunately, due to the fact the neural reading can send signals TO and from her.. the actuators latched on and can use that to hack into and control her for themselves. temporarily, but they can find power sources to keep their control going for a bit longer.

Acedia is puppeteered against her will and completely unaware of what the actuators are making her do. eventually they learn to speak through her and that becomes one heck of an experience for Otto, the creator of the actuators. on one hand he's amazed by how the coding and """"ai"""" has managed to do this remarkable feat of learning and evolving-- but on the other he is absolutely horrified by what this entails for the future and he needs to reprogram them, remove these features and prevent them from learning further and causing harm to others and especially harm to Acedia whom he is having to take care of and watch over.

Beck, the resident superhero, is helping care for her, too and bonding with Otto via helping Acedia be eventually freed from the actuators. They're all learning a lot, about each other, and about the actuators themselves. and through this learning, Acedia eventually gets the hang of it and learns to control the actuators herself.

the actuators still have control over her, but the battle is slowly becoming a losing one for the arms. Otto & Beck are slowly winning by working together!

if Otto tries to use force to remove the actuators from Acedia, like using drills or whatever to cut through the device.. it could hurt her and cause worse harm. which is why the harness with the arms stays on.

eventually, when full control over the actuators has been regained.. they can safely remove the actuators from Acedia. Finally free from the waking nightmare

Electra:

Me as Electro but my origin story is I touched a plasma ball while it was active inside a lab during a cool free tour and in my panic I instinctively and reflexively yanked my arm back, but I smashed into something else and ended up getting zapped unconscious. the plasma ball exploded in the process and didn't help with the electricity.

Can you blame me tho when it looked like this?

most realistic origin story: I did something dumb

she has "powered up" and "powered down" forms. powered down is just her looking completely normal, the neck piece to the full-body (minus the head) suit is also latched/clicked together. it helps keep her powered down and contained.

Sandwoman:

I don't actually have anything for Sand!Acedia.. (forgot to list her on the post oops) I just really liked the green sand. but I think Sand!Acedia would probably have been in the wrong place at the wrong time as a few of these sinistersona designs are in how they became what they are.

Lol I'm just really unlucky

green sand is real and very beautiful:

[kudosmyhero]

The Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 1) #52: To Die a Hero!

Read Date: January 07, 2022 Cover Date: September 1967 ● Writer: Stan Lee ● Penciler: John Romita ● Inker: Mike Esposito ● Colorist: {uncredited} ● Letterer: Sam Rosen ● Editor: Stan Lee ●

**HERE BE SPOILERS: Skip ahead to the fan art/podcast to avoid spoilers

Reactions As I Read: ● JJJ is not having a good day ● they've got 5 minutes for Spider-Man to wake up and get them out of there before they drown ● that would be a terrifying way to die, ngl ● (pg 3) heheh, I love the Silver Age declarations of "I did it!" whenever a hero is successful at something ● new character: Robertson the city editor with his pipe and chiseled good looks ● ohhhh I see what Spidey is doing! He's being a diving bell spider

● Aw, Spider-Man is going to keep talking to JJJ to help him from being too scared ● then he had to pretend to threaten him to shock JJJ into making his escape; of course JJJ took it to mean that Spidey is even more of a menace than he thought--someone who will attack anyone ● ha! but JJJ runs right into a pipe and knocks himself out ● (pg 10) a little late for scruples, Foswell ● (meanwhile at the Silver Spoon) oh hey, it's Flash! in a blue uniform? I thought he was Army… But I'm not an expert on military dress uniforms, so nevermind

● I love how everyone finally warmed up to Pete after Ditko's run. Flash still puts in a jab or two, but Harry defends him with, "C'mon, Flash… Pete's a good egg, and you know it!" ● it's also refreshing that M.J. and Gwen are friends, when previously any time two girls or women were in a scene together, it was so they could be snippy with jealousy at each other over the main male lead ● (pg 14) Foswell runs off to do Foswell things while Spidey and Kingpin fight ● secret passage behind the bookcases! #goals ● (pg 17) a redemption arc for Foswell ● R.I.P. Foswell 🪦

● Kingpin escaped ● 👏👏👏👏👏

Synopsis: Knocked out by the Kingpin, Spider-Man and J. Jonah Jameson are brought into the villain's basement. The Kingpin decides they should both be eliminated and has them placed in a giant water tight chamber and begins to have the chamber filled with water. Jameson pleads to be let free but to no avail. As the water rises, Spider-Man finally awakes and manages to break free from his bonds. However, there is no way to break free in time.

Meanwhile, at the Daily Bugle, Ned Leeds and his fiancee Betty Brant discover that their boss has gone missing as well. They are joined by city editor Joe Robertson. Joe tells them that he discovered the damage and called the police already. Joe tells Ned to get ready to cover the story. Betty pleads to him to not go, but Ned says this story is important. As he and Joe take off, Betty worries that her relationship with Ned will turn out like the same as her failed romance with Peter Parker. Back at the Kingpin's hideout, Spider-Man creates an airtight web bubble so that he and Jameson can breathe while the rest of the room floods.

Figuring his captives to be dead, Kingpin has the water drained, and Spider-Man goes on the attack. After defeating the Kingpin's goons, Spider-Man then frees Jameson and they try to find a way out of Kingpin's base. As they make their exit, more of the Kingpin's men arrive. Spider-Man tells Jameson to run for it while he takes care of these new attackers. Jonah complies but ends up knocking himself out when he runs into an overhanging pipe. Thinking that Jameson got away safely, Spider-Man webs up the crooks and goes looking for the Kingpin. Upstairs, his enemy informs Frederick Foswell that Spider-Man and Jameson are dead. Foswell is unhappy to hear this, as this was not his style. The Kingpin doesn't take kindly to being called a murderer and is about to eliminate Foswell as well when Spider-Man suddenly bursts into the room.

Meanwhile, back at the Silver Spoon, Gwen and Harry are happy to see that Flash Thompson has returned on leave from the military. He is warmly greeted, and when he asks where Peter and Mary Jane are, he learns that neither has been seen in a while. Flash is surprised to hear that Mary Jane is still dating Peter. As he begins telling them of his experiences in the military, Mary Jane arrives. The group then decides to throw a party to celebrate Flash's return. Back at the Kingpin's, Spider-Man is surprised to discover how powerful his foe really is. While the two men struggle, Foswell steals a gun from a nearby desk drawer and tries to escape. Seeing that this is a losing battle, the Kingpin makes his retreat through a secret escape tube hidden behind a bookshelf. When Spider-Man tries to follow after him, he just narrowly avoids getting a blast of toxic gas used to prevent people from following the Kingpin. Spider-Man decides to make his departure. Elsewhere, Jameson wakes up and panics when he thinks he is bleeding and flees down the hallway. His cries for help alert the Kingpin's men, but Jameson is found by Foswell before they can catch him.

Trying to defend his former employer, Frederick is shot by one of the Kingpin's goons. It's then that Spider-Man arrives and takes the thugs out. Although Jameson is safe, Foswell's wound proves fatal and soon dies from blood loss. Jameson can't understand why Foswell betrayed him to the Kingpin but vows to let the world know that he died a hero. Later, when the authorities arrive, Jameson informs Ned and Joe what happened. He becomes determined to continue crusading against organized crime in the city, as well as Spider-Man. Hearing this from the rooftops, Spider-Man is upset to hear that Jameson still intends to carry on his crusade against him. The wall-crawler has had enough, but he checks his temper, as he would do everything the same way all over again, and thinks that he and Jameson aren't really all that different.

(https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Amazing_Spider-Man_Vol_1_52)

Fan Art: J Jonah Jameson by TeamSmithy

Accompanying Podcast: ● Swinging Through Spider-Man - episode 52

● Let's Read Spider-Man - episode 32

[hellyeahheroes]

Dylan is a Mary Sue

*look I know that the symbiote has a name and Venom is both it and Eddie. So I hope you don’t get annoyed when I refer to the symbiote as Venom because writing symbiote 100 times gets annoying and I hope you get what I mean when I call it that.

I’ve been trying to write this like nine times because I don’t want to bash this character. When I wrote the post about how I didn’t want Dylan Brock near Miles, I intentionally left out the reason why because I like the character. I hate the purpose and narrative mind behind him. And plus I don’t want to seem like I bash white cis het male characters when the characters I do trash on are bad because writers tend to make them intentionally bratty. I don’t like Spider-kid, Damian Wayne when written without consequence(he is white passing), Jason Todd,or Alpha. Like giving a character a shitty attitude doesn’t make him endearing especially on a male, I’m sorry. Characters like Tim Drake, Alex Power, and Dick Grayson work because there is something genuine in them that they want to be the good of the world.

Anyways, Dylan is fun to me because he has this precocious roguishness that isn’t malevolent nor out of place. His abuse is actually abuse that isn’t made to serve as his training or whatever nor does it warps his views. And his fandom in Eddie/Venom actually makes sense because he is a kid that was abandoned by his mother and left with an emotionally and physically abusive man who would cut him down. A dark passenger like Venom appeals to him because Venom is like the codifier of misguided anger for misguided teens.

But there is a reason why he is written that way: he is a Mary-Sue. Now I don’t care about the gender preconceptions of Mary Sue vs Gary Stu nor do I try to prescribe to reclaiming Mary Sue in some vain attempt at liberal feminism. Mary Sue is bad writing unless everyone gets to play(Mary Sues work in video games). Mary Sue is something writers in most mediums that tell stories should avoid if they want said character to succeed or evoke if you want said character to be disliked. And Dylan Brock is an example that doesn’t work and is largely getting away with it because he is cute.

1. The Immaculate Conception of Dylan Brock

This is when I knew some Sue shit was unleashed on Venom fans. I don’t have to google it but I can guess that Cates has a Catholic background. Whether he is one or raised one, it is apparent in whatever meaningful writing depth he provides outside of meaningless action. And it works because Eddie Brock, being anti-Peter Parker, is Catholic. Hence the brooding and self-loathing and abusive paternity and motifs of redemption and suffering and shit. But this was not only fucked up, but a little too on the nose.

Dylan wasn’t conceived naturally. In fact, Anne Weying was raped by the symbiote and impregnated with Eddie’s DNA. So Dylan is actually the child of the Venom and Eddie Brock. “But Anne is his mother.” Look, Cates didn’t actually consider Anne so I won’t either. Outside of the fact that it doesn’t make sense chronologically since Peter was like in his early 20s when he had the Symbiote and is at most 29 now, Anne is just a vehicle for Cates’ to necessitate the purity of Dylan Brock. Dylan is the pure child of Venom, born from the womb of Eddie’s first girlfriend/fiancé/wife/whatever and the first human woman to wear a symbiote, I think. I mean she didn’t even have sex with Eddie and boom, mini Eddie Brock is wrapped in cloth and left at the meager doorstep at the sacred house of Eddie. Praise Venom, y’all.

Jokes aside, I don’t know how Venom fans just didn’t go, “Iight, Imma head out” after reading this page. Just shows the conviction of fandom.

But I digress. Now let me regale you just how improbable this is which again only serves to ordain Dylan is the truest son of Venom in all the ways possible and also highlight the very unfortunate implications of this fuckery. Symbiotes bond is how they reproduce. When they reproduce with their host, the end result up to this point has always been a symbiote. For Mass Effect fans, it’s the Asari thing except with goo. Before you ask, yes Symbiotes sexually satisfy their hosts unlike the majority of human men*cough*. Point is that Dylan should be biologically impossible but somehow he is a human symbiote hybrid. And the unfortunate implications of such of incident shouldn’t go unnoticed either. Venom and Eddie have several children and prior to this, all of them have been symbiote. Cletus and Red also have children too and again symbiote. In fact, all symbiote bonds produce symbiotes as far as male hosts are concerned...except for the brief bond of Ann Weying and Venom Symbiote. Gee I wonder why she got a different result? Well there are a few female hosts and surprising none of them have spawned a symbiote child. So logically it can be assumed that woman + symbiote = forced impregnation of symbiote. Well this shit got dark. The symbiotes just became the Jeffrey Epstein alien species. But since Cates swears up and down that is not what is happening, he is going for the God/Virgin Mary angle for some reason.

It’s almost like he is the descendent of the Symbiote God. If only there was such a thing.

Welllllll shit.

2. Dylan is incorruptible and all-powerful without knowing why or how

Okay, backstory time because I never properly explained Knull, another of Cates shoddy creations. Knull is the galactic god emperor of the Symbiotes who created the Symbiotes as a weapon to rule the galaxy. Aside of the fact that his existence retconned the previous backstories of the symbiote, he has the ability to domesticate the symbiotes and make them subservient to him.

Guess who else has this ability.

Dylan is symbiote Jesus, hallelujah. This explains the Church of Carnage/Knull/Grendel/who gives a shit. He is the true son of Abraham and Carnage is the false prophet of Venom. It’s what Christianity considers Islam to be or some shit and both Dylan and Sleeper are about to nail the 95 thesis on the door of Carnage in the form of the greatest mixtape you ever heard.

Look, I too am astounded of the sentences my mind comes up with when I so thoroughly hate a writing like I hate Donnie Cates’ Venom.

Dylan goes beyond being just a special snowflake that was forcefully and crudely implemented. He is the pre-ordained established opposite of the nature of corruption that Knull created the symbiotes for. To Knull, the symbiotes are his thralls. To Dylan, the symbiotes are his pets. To Knull, the symbiotes are a tool to become omnipresent. To Dylan, the symbiotes are individuals who need to be liberated if good. To Knull, there is no such thing as a good symbiote. To Dylan, there is and it’s Venom or sleeper or what have you. Dylan is the forgotten son and the New Testament for symbiote kind.

And he doesn’t know yet.

Okay, this is a common Mary Sue trait to absolve culpability of a Mary Sue character. It’s to say that they are not to blame for being special. It’s like the writing form of don’t hate me because I’m beautiful except somehow more obnoxious. Dylan’s obliviousness to this what is essentially an entire alien species religious revelation is like trivialized because their prophet is a 12 year old. It’s like waiting for a savior only to be told he is a carpenter.

Imma let that last one just marinate for a minute.

Look, Cates did a lot of rewriting and retconning just for his self-insert to become his favorite series and hero to be the second coming. He created this lore for Venom only for his avatar to be the prophet. The intentionality of his obliviousness to how important this is just glazed over the fact like it isn’t a big deal. Just like Cates glazed over the whole rape and forced impregnation thing because somehow that doesn’t warrant a follow up.

3. Dylan Brock is fanboy Cates

Okay before I begin, self-inserts aren’t bad nor are they inherently Mary-Sues. Kong from Ultimate Spider-Man is Bendis’ self-insert. Boomerang from Amazing Spider-Man was rewritten to be Spencer’s self-insert. JJJ is a self insert for Stan fucking Lee like...self-inserts are great. To the degree that they aren’t unnatural to the narrative or overbearing.

Dylan Brock’s previously stated precociousness comes from the idea that Donnie is writing the inner teenager that he was as a kid reading Maximum Carnage for the first time. And I get it, man, live your truth and all. Like yeah, force and subjugate other fans of this series to your childlike inquiries like how Symbiotes poop, I mean it’s not like their fandom is important or anything.

First Dylan is a fanboy of Venom just like he is. And while that makes sense meta-wise, in-narrative it doesn’t because...okay Venom fans are about to tear me apart for this but it’s like someone being a fan of Ted Bundy. His heroics usually came with a body count is all I’m saying and I doubt it would be praised but then again Wolverine has an in-universe fandom so what do I know. Back on topic, Dylan’s fandom and praise of Venom to get him out of the dark place that is his father’s abusive household.

And this is why it’s so hard to hate him because of all the fucked up shit Cates put in this book, Dylan feels like the one character that is genuine and pure in that innocent kind of way. No one hates Dylan and how could you? We all get it. And it helps that Dylan has a completely different voice than every other Cates has written from every other character. Like I can hear the excitement in his voice when he pesters his hero for questions and I’m reading his words. The idolization is pure when he meets Normie, the god son of Spider-Man, and it creates this dynamic of Spider-Man fans vs Venom fans. It’s fun in a way.

But it’s just that. When Cates writes Eddie, he is not only writing to retell Cates own personal past demons but also in the lens of how he viewed Eddie as this tortured soul who just got the wrong interview from a copycat that costs his job. The second banana of a greater and more prominent hero. Born to the wrong person. That none of what happened to Eddie was his fault or really his doing even when he was at his worst wearing Venom, it was Venom who tempted him.

Dylan is that pre-teen who sees the best in everything Venom is: The dark avenger of the abused and neglected. And I don’t want to speculate whether Cates fits the category or not because that ain’t my business, I can see why Dylan would be a compelling self-insert if it weren’t compounded on top of Cates’ forceful insertion into Venom and subsequently Spider-Man lore.

Like you remember Carly Cooper? Dylan is exactly like Carly Cooper. And this is why I like to think of Cates’ run as the equivalent of One More Day. Cates’ retconned a crucial element of Venom to make Dylan necessary to the core of Venom. He retconned the one thing that made Venom and subsequently Eddie go beyond just being a twisted revenge story.

The erasure of Mary Brock, Eddie’s sister and Eddie’s cancer. One is the motivation and the sole good Eddie has ever known. It’s his motivation to move past is mistakes. And Cates then turns the one bond in the series into something...horrific.

Okay, Dylan replaced his sister and Venom itself. His being becomes Eddie’s motivation to be a better person rather the struggle to see himself as more than his upbringing. It’s like reading Spider-Man and finding out Uncle Ben was on crack. Uncle Ben didn’t die. He faked his death. Yeah, that is what this was. So he could evade taxes or some shit. This is exonerated Eddie in the worst way and turned him into a manipulated pawn of Venom. Let’s completely retcon the marriage of MJ and PeterVenom and Eddie, Cates pitches to editorial.

Dylan becomes more than just some kid who idolizes Eddie. He becomes the sole motivation of Eddie himself now. Eddie’s past is now completely erased or made irrelevant to uplift Dylan’s importance to Eddie. It’s too a point that the Symbiote kids of Venom aren’t Eddie’s kids anymore. It’s like Eddie was in an interracial relationship and the one non-brown baby with blue eyes is his one true kid and others are mulatto chocolate eugenic mishaps or some shit that his ass don’t want to deal with anymore. I mean disowning Carnage I understand but come on?

Cates’ self insert changed the entire nature of the series. And for what purpose? To give Venom a legacy just as Peter has one. And that is the problem with Dylan.

@ubernegro

[hellzyeahwebwieldingreviews]

Untold Tales of Spider-Man 14: My Enemy, My Savior – by Eric Fein

Meh

This story’s title page features a great John Romita, Sr. illustration of J. Jonah Jameson sweating it out as he watches Spidey fighting the Scorpion on a viewscreen, with Alistair Smythe gaping at him from another screen. (We don’t know where Jonah is but will soon find out that he’s inside a spider-slayer.) That’s a good way to start.

In the story itself, J. Jonah Jameson has just won the Humanitarian of the Year Award, chosen by the citizens of New York City. After working late at the office on his acceptance speech, he climbs into his limo, heading for home. But suddenly, the limo swerves out of control, running up on the sidewalk. The driver claims he can’t release his foot from the gas and the car is not responding to his actions. When he tries to turn the ignition off, he convulses and falls unconscious. The car drives into a dead-end alley and crashes into the wall. JJJ, bloodied and dizzy, crawls out of the car. Before falling unconscious, Jonah sees “the form of a large man approaching him.”Like that scene? Here it is again from a different perspective. A man “at a control console in a dimly lit lab” watches JJJ get into his limo. He presses a button and a “spiderlike droid” attaches to the car’s rear bumper. The man pushes another button. The spider-droid shoots out “a bundle of fiber-optic tendrils.” Some of them attach to the steering column. Others bore “through the floorboard: where they grab “the driver’s right foot, attaching it to the gas pedal.” These tendrils contract, forcing the driver’s foot down on the gas. After the limo crashes, the man speaks “into a commlink,” saying, “Mr. Gargan, our prey has been subdued. Please, take the necessary action.” Those of us in the know recognize Gargan as the real name of the Scorpion. Of course, those of us who looked at Johnny’s opening illustration already know the Scorpion and Smythe are the villains in this piece.Meanwhile, Spider-Man webs his way to the Daily Bugle. He drops down into a nearby alley, changes to Peter Parker, and takes his latest pix of Spidey battling the Rhino to the city room. There he finds all sorts of frantic activity. Robbie Robertson tells him that “Jonah’s missing” and presumed kidnapped “or worse.” Kate Cushing sends Peter to the crime scene to get some photos. “I’m sure Jonah will be all right,” Peter says, “He’s a tough old goat.”Just then, JJJ wakes up, chained down on a hospital gurney in a lab. He sees “a large mechanical construct twenty feet tall and ten feet wide, surrounded by scaffolding and held up by suspension cables.” “Several smaller robots” service it. The lab’s resident reveals himself as Alistair Smythe, which makes Jonah realize that the robots are spider-slayers. Smythe tells JJJ that he has “inherited my father’s journals and his lab equipment. And I have inherited his crusade. My father’s enemies became my enemies.” And, for Jonah’s pressuring of Spencer Smythe into making more slayers, Alistair blames the publisher for his father’s death.

Then Mac Gargan joins the conversation. Smythe says he and Gargan “recently crossed paths and he explained to me how he was another victim of your crusade,” of how Jonah financed Gargan’s transformation into the Scorpion with “no thought to the psychological damage the treatments had done to Gargan.” (These guys sort of have a point.) When they learned of Jonah’s Humanitarian of the Year award, “the hypocrisy [was] too much…to swallow.” So Smythe built a giant spider-slayer designed to carry Jameson as a helpless passenger. “I’m going to arrange for you to finally be the hero you’ve spent years saying you are, by letting you destroy your favorite public enemy, Spider-Man,” Smythe tells Jonah, “Of course, there is the chance that Spider-Man will finish you off first.” With that, the Scorpion loads JJJ into the giant slayer.Some time later, Spidey is on the Daily Bugle building’s roof expecting an attack. He has received a tip from a “street source” about an event at the Bugle. “And the guy behind it was the Scorpion.” When the giant spider-slayer attacks, Spidey knows that Smythe is also involved. He grapples with the robot. 

Just when he thinks he has won, the slayer jettisons four legs. One of them wraps around Spidey’s leg and administers an electrical shock. Ignoring the pain and further shocks, Spidey rips it away from his leg. Whereupon the slayer blasts a hole in the roof.Inside the slayer, JJJ winces at the destruction to his building. As the slayer burrows from floor to floor, attacking innocent people, he starts to wish that Spidey would stop the robot. “What a revelation,” says Smythe over the radio, “Rooting for your greatest enemy to succeed.” And, sure enough, Spidey yanks on some wiring and circuitry and stops the slayer, only to have a voice announce, “This mechanism will self-destruct in sixty seconds.” Hearing this, Spidey picks up the slayer, takes it to the roof, and throws it toward the East River. As soon as he does, the Scorpion attacks him. But the Scorpion also opens his big mouth, saying, “First you knock off Jameson for me, then I kick your butt.” Realizing that Jonah must be inside the slayer, Spidey puts a spider-tracer on Scorpy, snags the robot with his webbing and climbs onto its back.Even as Smythe taunts Jonah, Spidey rips the top off the slayer, climbs in and frees JJJ from his bonds. 

But then the slayer lands in the river. Spidey drags Jonah, who is “unconscious and very pale” from the wreckage and brings him to shore. Just as he is about to administer mouth-to-mouth, Jonah comes to. Spidey promises to bring help and tries to web-sling away, only to find his shooters clogged up with “river muck.”The Scorpion is ready to celebrate the deaths of his greatest enemies but Smythe tells him both Spidey and JJ are still alive. “I saw you disobey my direct orders by making yourself known to Spider-Man before Jameson was dead. As a matter of fact, because of your big mouth, they’re both alive,” Smythe says, adding, “You’ve ruined everything, you thickheaded lout! I should kill you, but I have more important things to do. So just get out.” Scorpy doesn’t take well to this and attacks Smythe with a “stinger-blast.” Smythe sics his mini-slayers on Gargan. Then Spidey shows up, having followed his tracer (and he had extra web-fluid in his belt) and defeats both foes. 

Rather too easily, unfortunately. As he does so, he says something that may well be the theme of this story, “Oh, here we go again, another chorus of ‘My life stinks and it’s all your fault.’ Well, let me tell you something, bug-boy, I’ve had it with you idiots. Neither one of you can admit to the fact that you’re both responsible for the shambles that your lives have become. Yeah, Jameson helped by making the offer or funding the projects. But you dopes embraced his cause all the way.”The next night, at the Humanitarian of the Year dinner, JJJ gets up and refuses the award. “It would at this point strike me as hypocritical to accept it,” he says, “having just come face to face with two villains whose origins in a small part can be traced to me.” Still, he promises to “continue to crusade against the costumed vigilantes and other superpowered crazies that they attract. Especially that menace Spider-Man, who I can assure you exacerbated the problem with Smythe and the Scorpion.” Jonah gets a standing ovation for his speech but Peter doesn’t take a photograph. He has changed to Spidey to stop “a band of heavily armed men about to break into the banquet.” And so it goes.

This story was merely okay. Pretty much every story has strived to represent an aspect of Spidey’s mythos and this story zeroes in on Jameson. What’s a bit more baffling is the story’s placement. The prior story was set in the very early 80s during O’Neil’s run on Spidey before Roger Stern. This story though could only occur after ASM #373 as that was when Spidey first encountered Smythe after he became the Ultimate Slayer.

However, given how he went into custody this makes one wonder how Jonah didn’t know about Alastair’s upgrade? I can let that go since it’s by no means the first or most egregious fo continuity errors in this anthology thus far. What’s more problematic is that we’ve jumped from like 1981 all the way to 1993. Which is doubly baffling when you consider this book was put out in 1997. For a book titles ‘Untold Tales of Spider-Man’ why would you skip over 10 years worth of material in favour of an era less than 5 years old? Surely there would be plenty of great tales to tell during the Alien Costume Saga alone, which would in turn represent the symbiotes, another iconic aspect of the Spidey mythos.

Beyond that there isn’t much to say about this story. it was kind of cool to check out Smythe and Scorpion teaming up as they are the two villains most associated with Jonah. But other than that...I mean we’ve kind of seen this before haven’t we?

It’s not that it’s poorly executed but it’s just pretty ‘same old same old’. I suppose you could say the same of ‘Livewires’ but at least that told a typical Spidey story set during an oft forgotten era with oft forgotten supporting players. This story is something we’ve seen before since the 1960s.

At the end of the day this is a story that’s skippable as far as entertainment goes but sort of necessary in terms of representing a key component of Spidey lore. From that POV it would’ve been conspicuous by it’s absence.

[survivorreelsmagicwithin]

Episode 3- “Y'all wanted magic within and we delivered- case closed”-Autumn

Another super fun challenge! I want to shout out to the hosts for just doing a great job so far. This is making this quarantine just a little less terrible. So happy we have immunity and getting our first reward is so exciting! I’ve been trying my best to connect with members outside of my tribe in the great hall chat and get close with my tribe mates. For the most part I really trust all of them. And that’s horribly scary. I really love being on hufflepuff. But I have a feeling a swap is gonna happen. Kevin told me he thinks it’s going to be 2 tribes of 8. We will see. GL to slytherin and ravenclaw! 

HOES MAD 

https://giphy.com/gifs/lifeminute-birthday-rihanna-3fihINg62RNynS9cbY 

I'm so dead and drained rn but I look forward to reading this round and seeing how heated people are over this. And this will definitely follow me the entire game but you know what I'm glad. Don't let the 16 month hiatus fool you: when I show up I show out. Everything is mind over matter in a way and y'all caught me on a good day so I was just like fuck it I'll do this all day if I have to. So I walked into that challenge at 11:30 am and deadass my phone never left my side... for 9 1/2 hours. Also y'all know I'm at my best when I'm an underdog? So of course I went all out, please tell me you didn't expect anything less. And can I just say Gryffindor legitimately and collectively earned that because everyone participated and put points up. So yes I am that girl but I do it for the squad because I know they'll do it for me. BIG ups though to Vi and Jess- I don't care what their alliances were before today they better have each other's backs and I'll riot if they don't both survive. Literally do the right thing and send a man home. And the same goes for Ravenclaw! I wanna know what's going on over there and I'm not picky but send a man or inactive home if you can. Let it be known that I literally came into this game to raise hell for Dan and Owen lmaaaaooo. I mean I don't want them to go (yet) because that's not what good frenemies do and where's the fun in that. We make each other's arcs better and if we're cast, there will be a fight to the death sooner or later. But until then! Yes I am absolutely living for them sweating it out for a full round. Can y'all believe it? They finally lost at something God is so good. Would've loved to make Hufflepuff sweat too but hey. There's always next round

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14 minutes later

Also I just wanna say that 6:00 hour was chef's kiss. In my entire org career, I have never been on a tribe that pulled off a shutout like that and that was ICONIC. Hoes mad but did your entire tribe come together and get a streak of points nonstop for upwards of an hour?? No ma'am you did not. I kept us alive all day but that hour was THE hour that took Gryffindor from 4th to 2nd and that's how you win immunity. Y'all wanted magic within and we delivered- case closed

I don't trust Nick at all. I know in the back of his mind he's thinking i'm gonna play like our previous game which I wasn't exactly loyal to him because I was loyal to some bitch ass alliance that ended up... ANYWAYS. So he seems like the type of player to keep that into consideration because he happened recently and he's sort of a newer player. So I have to be mindful of this all and as much as i'm STRESSING the fact that obviously there were external factors in that game.. that won't impact this game kind of a deal. I know this all could just be my paranoid little brain and thinking that he's out to get me when he's not.. but I haven't played any back to back games in FOREVER and when something THAT FRESH happens.. it's hard for me to not have the after thought of: Wow Nick must think i'm an loyal person who won't tell him my real thoughts. 

 But Nick gonna be a scary player down the line. He's already in my pm's bragging about how him, Landen, and I think his name is Matt? idk one of the "Weebz" (still don't know what that means) and how he will have those potential relationships moving forward.. I just... don't.... understand..... him. ANYWAYS

 The thing is... I think? I can trust Jacob fully. I think this vote SHOULD BE EASY.. but I can't help but feel really fucking bad. Like terrible. Like extremely heart broken about voting out VI. She's put her all into everything and honestly I would be so mad if i've given my all and these two dweebz didn't even show up to the comp. I know she's gonna be upset and I hate knowing that. So i'm TRYING to take emotions out of this decision and make this all strategical and within the game environment because if I was voting with my HEART i'd keep her. BUT then I have that voice in the back of my head that is saying "But if you save Vi.... she'll be loyal to you!" BUT ALSO... I know from HOSTING VI... is that Vi is only loyal to... the fun she has. If she gets bored she fucks around. She's a crackhead. But I obviously can't VOICE THIS TO ANYONE because they could flip this and reverse this on ME. 

I'm scared that if I cast any form of doubt about the vote to Jacob he will relay the message to Nick and well I become more threatening than Vi at this point because I pointed the gun at him... SO I was fucking around with the idea of... using my idol on myself, causing a 2 to 2 tie.. and well.. unless Jacob wants to go to rocks by himself... and basically get voted out.. Mr. Nick goes. But it's LITERALLY FINAL 18............ If this was final 11, sure i'd do this in a heart beat... but this is such a bad bitch move i'm scared people will see I got something on my resumé already. They'll see I went against an alliance for VI. It's just so risky.. but I told myself i'd have FUN in this game.. I just don't want to make a move purely on a past game or purely on emotion. I want to be making moves that move me forward in the game..

I LOVE JOANNA!!! THIS IS A JOANNA APPRECIATION POST!!!!!! and dan has the idol. 

Unsurprisingly, we lost the challenge. I worked my lil booty off as best as I could (I did give up but that is beside the point at this current moment) and I have been friendly, fricking nice as all hell, and then Miguel wants to vote me out. And honey... I think that sealed your fate. I am working on being a little more ruthless I guess because I really want to win this game, so if you come for me, you bet I'm coming for you. I've always made jury and I don't think that this is the season I'm getting stuck with pre-jury. Miguel is the only relationship I don't feel confident in so... bye sis. 

The immunity challenge was a hard-fought battle, but we managed to pull out a win near the end. It was the most stressful time of my life. Honestly, I felt that if we lost then I would get voted out next. Thankfully, that did not happen. However, this is a huge wake up call for me to get my ass into gear and start being more social with my tribe. Otherwise, I might find myself in the bottom and that is not a position I want to be in.

AHHHH so my tribe won immunity and reward and things are great!  Someone mentioned yesterday (Kevin?? Maybe) that this means we are the last tribe to have to see tribal council and that is a GREAT THING!  I really wonder who is going to go home- I just hope it isn't Owen.  I also really hope he still wants to work with me if we end up on a tribe together. In other news, I'm curious to see if a swap is about to happen.  With a double tribal happening tonight it seems as though it would be a big maybe! Also I'm still irritated that my glee shirt didn't count as a band tee, when everyone asks what kind of music I like the first thing I always say is 'anything by the cast of glee' xD I don't feel like I was much help in the challenge but I was there and got points for wine and sequins if that means anything. 

doing this ON TIME.. anyways chile. WOO WE DID IT! finally not coming in last hehe. god the amount of i was just frantically running around my house.. well thank god my family didn’t question it for the most part hehe. overall this challenge was super duper fun and i’m HOPING we can continue to win some because the stress of my tribe wanting to go against me.. yea it’s there. hopefully my paranoia is just that and i have nothing to worry abt ✨

Hey all you cool cats and kittens! It’s Dan, not Carole Baskin, but with the same crackhead energy. So Miss Miguel should be leaving tonight! It’s not anything personal at all. He’s a really sweet guy, but he’s just not around. I work mad hours a week and still make time for this stuff. Joanna is worried because she knows her name is going around so as long as she doesn’t try to pull something, everything is good. I think the chances of that happening are slim to none honestly. I feel like had I been able to compete in the comp I could have helped way more than others. I have a ton of random shit in my apartment that was asked for!!! I was a little shady toward Jacob in the Great Hall chat so lettuce pray that he doesn’t act like a petty fool if we swap together. I am kinda anticipating a swap after this tribal but we’ll see!!! 

we won immunity and nothing has changed on my tribe for me since my last confessional woo consistency yay c:

im sad. we have to vote out vi which is so sad. i love her shes so sweet but i have suhc a tight bond with jess and nick that like there isnt another option. but ugh someone hold my hand

Darn, we were so close to winning, yet so far. Always remember, the unintentional matsing is just as mighty as the intentional, so 3 of us making swap or merge is much more advantageous than a unit of 4. I love my tribe, I do, and I genuinely feel I may be in danger! I trust Jess and Jacob though (JJJ: Jess, Jacob, Jay), so I’m hoping for another unanimous decision. (I will probably be asleep at tribal since I have 1 hour of sleep today)

So out tribe basically gave everything they could in a 12 hour challenge of Hell. I tried especially hard thinking I would be voted out if we lost because no one really talks "game" with me. I know that side seasons are 'Survivor Lite' but typically people at least talk game. I know I wasnt the target from last vote because everyone assured me they want to work with me and Josh said to vote him out in the tribe chat. Apparently though Josh wanted to do a blindside and reached out to Autumn to let her know asking me if he had asked me. So honestly Autumn is the truest! The other two notnvoting me inlobe seeing but if Josh talked to them then... hm Anyway I cant play a perfect game anymore :( Also I have officially dug through all of Hagrids things and he has no idol for me. I thought he might have something in could take and use somewhere else since he is a keeper of keys. But naw.

Guess who lost by two points!! Fricking Nicholas and Jacob leaving us for 7 hours. Then nick only showed up for the last 3ish but he didn’t even submit anything. Wth? We’re gonna try to kick him out.

i love my tribe so much we keep having more and more fun each time :D i definitely think after max's april fools prank i'm even more inclined to want to vote him if we lose, but i'm also grateful he's not really gone because mayhaps a weeb alliance in the future is possible.... !!! i also always utilize the great hall segments to make myself known and thought about even if people also think i'm a bit annoying, idc, the main thing is they remember me and when we meet on a swap or something i am one of the first they choose to talk to! it is always an important strategy of mine, people don't realize that in big games, one of the most crucial things you can do is leave a big first impression on people on the other tribes, you have the lucky opportunity to get some spaces where you meet them in ORGs unlike in the real world - USE it to let them form an idea of you in their head and decide they like you before they even meet you, it's a weird phenomena but i've found it's one of my most consistent strategies, when i actually decide to employ it (flashback to me being so lazy in 2020 i barely even used one world.. eep) hufflepuff is cute and we WILL be continuing to make marshmallow moves, until i get to make my own independent marshmallow moves to win

Soooo we finally lost a challenge kfjahsdj time to put this alliance to the test! The answer seemed pretty clear to me though - everyone kinda just wants to do Miguel. I feel bad, because I do think these competitions have NOT played to his strengths at all and I know he can be a great competitor. And I really wanted to get to know him again this time around. For a second, Dan and I considered saving him as a loyal number... but I just can't do that to Joanna, who has rlly busted her ass lately. So tonight it's a harder choice than it seems, but ultimately, I'm going with Miguel, and I told him that. I really wish he would've put more effort into our conversations before he was in trouble lmao. Also, DAN FOUND THE IDOL HEHEHEEH so that's great :) Glad to know he trusted me enough to tell me about it! I think he's probably going to be pretty loyal this time to me? And I feel like I have to give that same courtesy back to him. Someone will probably take one of us out eventually. I rlllly do not want to stress. If for some reason they blindside me tonight or Miguel has another idol or something, it has been fun <3

[louderthanbombsus]

Song notes for Chestnuts – Neil Sims.

Cold Chisel, Khe Sanh (1978): basically the Australian National anthem. Cold Chisel are absolutely one of Australia's best ever pub rock bands. Lyrically brilliant, with a proper alcoholic fighting frontman, wonderful guitarist from Alice Springs (desert - smack bang in the middle of Aus). I absolutely dismissed this band in my youth largely because this song has somehow been adopted as an anthem by Aussie bogans (footy playing meathead types). I cannot fathom why this song has become so anthemic. The lyrics are about a guy returning from the Vietnam war and wanting to get back to Hong Kong to shag Chinese whores! If you go to a pub, and it's choc full of bogans and this tune is played, they will, en masse, yell every word of this song in your face while spilling some of the world's worst beer down your front. It's a kind of bonding thing. Cold Chisel have many other very beautiful songs. Flame Trees is another that often gets mentioned. Check out their album 'East' if you like this kind of thing. 

Courtney Barnett, Avant Gardner (2015): Courtney is something of a superstar nowadays. This song comes off the album before she struck it big. Courtenay writes beautifully about life in Melbourne's suburbia. This is the most beautiful song ever written about having an asthma attack. The lyrics at the end "I'm not that good at breathing in" - fantastic. 

Saints, I'm stranded (1977): Punk was invented in Australia! This tune pre-dates the Sex-Pistols and appears to have evolved independently. Apparently these guys were shipped to the UKL as Punk was exploding and they didn͛t really like it, so they came back. The guitarist, Ed Keupper, continues to play throughout Australia. In the saints he used a PA for a guitar amp and his sound was based on extreme volume. I like that kind of thing. Anyway, another affirmation of Australian musical heritage. 

Black Cab, Heart's on Fire (2007): Melbourne band. We are super lucky to have some of the world's best radio stations in Melbourne - 3RRR and PBS - these funded entirely by subscriptions, and they command a much larger share of the listening audience than they should for their income. Uncensored, very left wing, catering to true music lovers (funny story - Sydney has these right wing shock jocks that basically control our politics through terrifying the public and politicians - same as everywhere. Some super wealthy conservative bastards heavily backed a similar thing in Melbourne and it went bust in a couple of years because we just all ignored them- yay!). Anyway - there is one particular radio show on a Friday afternoon with 'the ghost' who has been on radio for about a thousand years. Somehow, on many occasions, he has played tunes that have been absolutely perfect soundtracks for what I was doing at the time - really quite remarkable. I remember driving in my VW beetle back into Melbourne from some interstate place, and there's this part of the highway coming into town where you get this amazing view of Melbourne City. I was kinda feeling odd about being in Melbourne at the time, and the ghost played this tune at exactly the point where you this amazing view emerges from the highway and open fields. It shaped my feelings about Melbourne. Good tune, too. 

Warumpi-band, Black Fella, white fella (1985): Like every country that has been colonized by white people, there is a strong movement in Australia to recognize and respect our indigenous (aboriginal) cultural heritage. I strongly support our indigenous aspirations. This was one of the first tunes by an indigenous band that I can recall hitting the record charts. Bit of a classic. 

The Drones, How to see through fog (2013): Another Melbourne band - This is just one of the best summer tunes I know. I always think of being in a shabby apartment in the stinking heat with light curtains waving in the gentle breeze. This tune also has one of the best Lo-fi guitar solos I know. I've been playing guitar for a million years and I still can't harness whatever wildness Gareth Liddiard is channelling here - awesome stuff. Gareth is becoming a ͚figure͛ in the Australian arts scene now. He͛ ll get really big soon. 

Australian Crawl, Beautiful people (1980): Aussie Crawl were super popular in the early 80s though I never really got into them. Aussie Crawl always seemed to be playing as I was spewing into the sick bag at the back of the coach heading to school camp. Now every time I hear them I have to lie down. This band is also famous for having virtually unintelligible lyrics courtesy of James Reyne. 

Civil Civic, the Gift (2016) – this is one of three instrumentals I͛ve selected. The guys I played with in my first band in high school turned out to be some pretty amazing people. The drummer is just a remarkable character who is now a band manager (Boy & Bear, Airborne, Paper Kites etc) - one of the key figures in the music industry in Australia. At 12 years of age, the Keyboard player was the smartest guy I have ever met - still is. Now the head of a significant finance company. Our singer and bass payer, Ben, was the most creative person I have ever met - beautiful artist and writer, and a great muso. We would be taking a break, mid-set, and he would just pick up a guitar and do a solo show, singing passionately and beautifully - the chicks and the parents loved him. An absolute talent. He plays bass in this band which is comprised of two ex pat Melbournites; Aaron living in London and Ben in Barcelona, and ͞The Box͟ which is a drum machine and few other bits of kit with some flashing lights on the front. Ben is a super smart guy and the intricacy of the bass playing on this album reflects the massive size of his brain. I can't even comprehend some of the stuff he plays, let alone remember what the heck happens from one section to another throughout most of the songs. Anyway, big ups to Ben and Aaron - much luck. 

Bat Piss, Weatherboard man (2017): I like this recent tune from another Melbourne band. The lyrics cover a lot of ground. The weatherboard thing refers to his background and ambitions etc. But houses are also more expensive in Australia than anywhere else on the planet (except Hong Kong - true) so any lyrics mentioning some housing thing stirs the ire of the people. Anyway, I just like the tune. 

Grinderman, No pussy blues (2007): I bloody hate Nic Cave, but he͛s something of an Icon for emotionally challenged people. I like his side project with Grinderman more than any of his other stuff. This tune is kinda rockin, and has a sense of humour which is bloody rare for Nic. Nic has lived in England for most of his life now, but somehow we maintain him on the register of Australian artists. While we are on this issue, I'd like to apologise for Rupert Murdoch. 

Slim Dusty - Pub with no beer (1957): Slim Dusty has more gold and platinum records than any other Australian Artist. He was the first Aussie recording artist to have an international #1 with this song. Slim Dusty was also the first artist broadcast from space when astronauts played his rendition of Waltzing Matilda from Space Shuttle Columbia as it passed over Australia on its maiden flight in 1981 (Wikipedia - could be wildly incorrect). Everyone knew Slim and this song (and Khe Sanh) when I was growing up. Part of Australia's musical history to be sure. The other good news is that if you hate the song, it's over pretty quickly. 

Ball Park Music - Nihilist Party Anthem (2016): We, DJ Chestnuts, became acquainted with one another via the very awesome Maux, whom I met at the greatest conference I will ever attend in Corvallis, OR. Maux and have I kept in touch via facebook ever since and we've shared a few tunes. This is one I sent to Maux some time ago and I think she liked it. These guys are from Brisbane. They͛re all music Nerds so you get a mix of some decent groove (like this track) and some overintellectualised slow stuff that I immediately ignore. 

Leader Cheetah - Bloodlines (2009): We have a national youth radio station called JJJ There's a running joke that it's run by 50 year olds, which I think is not that far from the truth. Still, some great shows and DJs. This station holds the Hottest 100, which is where people vote for the best songs of the year. They reckon it's the world's largest popular vote thing of its kind. They also have an 'Unearthed" thing which gives new bands a chance to play their stuff on radio, and I think this is where I heard this song first. These guys are from Adelaide, which along with Canberra (Australia's capital), is the butt of more Australian city jokes than any other. People who don͛t live in Adelaide hate the place. I kinda like it – many beautiful women riding bicycles and excellent Indian food is my main impression – it͛s like the Indian Amsterdam of Australia without the canals. Anyway, apparently Leader Cheetah have toured with Interpol, Dinosaur Jr. and Elbow. They've been pretty quiet lately and I've got no idea what they're up to. This song struck me with the very beautiful chorus and lyrics - totally channelling Neil Young here. 

C.W.Stoneking - Get on the floor (2015): This is the music they should have played in The Heart of Darkness, and I imagine a big white wooden boat going up a slow river on a still hot day, heading towards a raunchy drugged-up pagan festival of some kind every time I hear it. CW was born in Katherine, which is absolutely in the middle of bloody nowhere (NT, Australia). I think he only has one set of clothes, which is an impeccable white suit and shoes with spats. He records in a very beautiful and old fashioned way as far as I understand, which is to basically place a microphone in a room and play! They move instruments back and forth to get the mix right. Fantastic stuff. 

The Bamboos - Eel Oil (2006): The Bamboos are the elder statesmen of Aussie funk. They command a heap of respect in the industry and they get all the cool guest artists. The outfit is basically led by their guitarist, and when you see them live you get the impression that all the other (very capable) musos are in awe of this guy and playing to his beat. Very cool guy. I like some of their darker tunes, and you needed a couple of instrumentals, so here's another one. 

The Bee Gees - You should be dancing (1979): Believe it or not these guys are somewhat Australian. We like to own anything that once visited our shores and has since done well. Russel Crowe (NZ), Crowded House (NZ), Mel Gibson (USA), AC/DC (England/Scotland) etc etc... I think these guys parents moved to Australia at the dawn of time for about 6 months and so now we own them. I hear that sometimes you like to dance, DJ Chestnuts, and dancing is Disco! I wish I could rock skin tight white flares, high heels and a shirt tucked in so tight you couldn't get a cigarette paper into the inherently low friction gap between nylon shirt and gaberdine trouser if you tried. Alas I am too fat. 

Gold Class - life as a gun (2016): Good Melbourne fellas, essentially the embodiment of modern Joy Division. I dig this tune. They launched this album late last year and it sold out on vinyl in about a second. There's a couple of other goodies on the album too. 

Fractures - Low Cast (2017): Melbourne band. Don͛t know much about these guys but I dig the layered harmonies and smooth feel of this tune. A newey and a mellow goodie. 

AC/DC - Have a drink on me (1980): What would an Aussie playlist be without AC/DC, who have graciously accepted being considered Australian despite not having resided in Australia for many many years. This is from the Back in Black album, which was a tribute album to Bon Scott, their first singer who died choking on his own spew. That is so cool. It͛s the only AC/DC album that I really got my teeth into, and it was the soundtrack to a phase in my life where my buddies were getting their first cars, beer (we can drink at 18), some very dodgy parties, and experimentation. I listened to this a lot on cassette in my old mans car. I didn't know which song to pick from this album, but I support the inclusion of alcohol in all facets of life so this one jumped out at me. These guys are basically on their last legs these days, but luckily they have an almost direct replacement in the form of Airborne, who are much more famous in Europe than they are in Australia, and who happen to be managed by one of the guys I played in that band with: Greg, the drummer. 

Rocket Science - Burn in Hell (2000): THIS is the kind of music I like to wake up to - fast, groovy, and reminding you that you are damned either way. Fucking inspirational. There's a fantastic line in an LCD Sound System song about 'your favourite music helps you sleep'. To me, that is the wrong way to use music, and it signals a deficiency in the human organism for which this is true. We should pity people like that. Another Melbourne band. 

Peter Sculthorpe - String Quartet # 14 (1998): Peter Sculthorpe died recently, and was probably amongst the most famous residents of Canberra (our Nation's capital), along with Jackie Chan (no shit). I like this kind of whacko classical gear - it conjures up all kinds of landscape features, which helps me sleep. People who don't have music to sleep to should be pitied. 

Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever - Julie's Place (2017): Greater Melbourne is split in two by the Yarra River and there's a saying that "you're either on one side of the river or the other". The southern suburbs are salubrious and expensive. Things are green and tidy and everything is organised by accountants and lawyers and school mums in black Range Rovers. North of the river is where there are still lots of live music venues, young creative people and nobody ever cleans their front yard. The film clip to this song ("A time to mow") is pretty funny and nicely encapsulates a typical home situation in Melbourne's North. The tune itself is one of the best implementations of excellent song craft over the "we have no musical skills and made this song up in 7 minutes" sound. I dig it (and so does Maux if I recall correctly). 

Eddy Current Suppression Ring - Which way to go (2008): These guys are described as Punk. A good (Melbourne!) guitar band. They basically started from a jam at the record pressing plant where they worked, with vocals improvised over the top. Good riff. Good lyrics. Good clip - what's not to love. 

A.B.Original - January 26 (2016): January 26 is "Australia Day" and we get a public holiday for it. Nobody actually knows specifically why Jan 26th is the holiday. I could probably google it, I guess. But nobody knows. It is being increasingly seen as a celebration of European invasion, and many people are even calling it Invasion day. This song says a lot about how indigenous people feel about Australia Day. These guys recently won an Australian Recording Industry Award (ARIA) for their album, "Reclaim Australia", which, just like it says on the box, is full of protest. This song caused a bit of drama in the press - it rated top 20 in the Hottest 100 but the Murdoch press had a field day and said something like ͞song denouncing Australian values wins award͟ - surprise surprise. I'd like to apologise for Rupert Mordoch again. 

Science Fiction - Divinyls (1983): I never really got into this band, but I like this song's cool groove and flowy bass runs. Their singer, Chrissie Amphlet was an icon for many young Australian women. She had this really sexy look and she shoved it in your face. Great voice, too. Not sure how well known this song is outside of Australia. 

Good boy - Poverty line (2016): another of my morning music favourites and another JJJ Unearthed find. These guys are from Brisbane, which is in Queensland in Australia͛s north east. Queensland is affectionately known as the 'deep north', in reference to the US Deep South, as it is chock full of mosquitos, terrible beer, and all of the very worst of our politicians (Tasmania, that shitty island just off the bottom of the mainland runs a bloody close second for political retards). Only real estate agents and corporate criminals wear closed-toe shoes in Queensland, which makes it easy to spot the remainder in their board shorts and thongs (which is the correct name for 'flip-flops'). 

 Something for Kate - Captain (million miles an hour)(1997): Something for Kate are one of those bands that everyone in Australia and especially the music industry knows and greatly admires, but have never really broken it huge. These guys are another Melbourne band, and somehow I manage to see their singer, Paul Dempsey, all over the place around town - supermarket, laundromat, Chinatown. My brother had the same thing (”Did you see Paul Dempsey again today?””Yeah, WTF?”) and so we think that maybe he is stalking us. That's cool - being stalked is a like a compliment from an introvert. This song is an oldie. There's been many excellent Something for Kate newies, but I just love this one. I dig the straight ahead guitar and bass working together, and the lyrics send me to some dreamy place when I was very young.