#wow i love spooky month!!!! (its february)

[opikiquu]

spooky month scene redraw!!!! :D

[youremyonlyhope]

Starship Rewatch

10 years ago today (well, yesterday since I’m posting it a day later), 15 year old Hope curled up on her couch to watch a new StarKid show called Starship right as it dropped. This was the first time I got to watch a show when it was posted since I didn’t become a StarKid fan until a months earlier. I was so excited.

And now, I’m rewatching Starship for the first time in full in at least 5 years I think. I listened to the soundtrack twice earlier today, singing along at my desk at work (thank god no one else was here tonight to judge me). I still know so many of the lyrics. And so many little jokes and stuff were flooding back. Starship was my favorite StarKid show for a long time, so I’m so excited to watch this again to see if it’s still my fave.

This post ended up being really long, so you’ve been warned. But it also includes pictures of the crocheted Roach and Bugette plushies that I made as a teen.

OH. THE OLD LOGO. AHHH. I already have so many feels. The future is now! I can’t handle this. The nostalgia! The Galactic League of Extraterrestrial Exploration. My facebook account to this day says I am a Starship Ranger at the G.L.E.E. because I’ve never bothered to change it. Also, shoutout to anyone from the StarKidPotter FB and EFST days if you’re reading this. AHHH IT’S CHRIS AND ERIC. Ok I might have to pause 20 thousand times during this Starship Ranger ad to acknowledge all the StarKid cameos. Tyler! “We come to conquer... in peace!” Tyler I love you. Brian and Richard! I forgot they painted Richard BLUE. Britney and Ariel! Nicholas Joseph Stauss-Matathia! I see that StarKid’s website has shortened his name to just Nicholas Strauss but remember the days when we’d purposefully say his full name? Anyway, I literally just screamed “NICK” when I saw him because he was always one of my faves. The Old Snatch was and still is iconic. Devin and Lily! The Wizard God himself, AJ Holmes. God... remember those AJ Holmes appreciation days where we’d make Chuck Norris-like memes about AJ? So much is rushing back from the depths of my mind oh my god... It’s been so long yet it feels like yesterday... “Someone really *static* F- *static* -ucked up big time” Love it.

2 minutes and 22 seconds in. I’ve written so much. I had to pause before Joey started singing to take a moment. I love this show so much. I love these goofballs so much. And they’re all so young. Most of them are younger than I am now. This is insane.

Ok I have to promise myself not to pause as much now. *Spoiler, I failed*

“I’ll fight off this gamma radiation if it’s the last thing I ever do!... We’re going down! This is the last thing I’ll ever do!” Oh my god. Look at baby Joey. He hasn’t even graduated from college yet. And that Bug puppet! Someone remind me to dig up the pictures of my crocheted plushies of Starship puppets since I made Roach and Bugette and gave them to the StarKids at SPACE and Apocalyptour. (I also did Rumbleroar, but the bugs were my own pattern I made so I was more proud) The camera is focused in on Bug instead of Joey’s face. I love it. So much. Brannnttttttt. My god. Am I gonna freak out over every single entrance? Roach pretending to die, he’s the best friend ever. “The needs of the many bugs outweigh the needs of the few bugs.” “Or the one bug, I know.” Oh man, when that line comes back... “Dirt eater” “Exoskeleton polisher” “I wanna build honeycombs” “The bug that ruins your picnic” “A fly on the wall!” That line came back to me earlier today and I died. Remembering that line was like 50% of the reason I listened to the soundtrack today.

Nick Lang! Julia! LAUREN LOPEZ. THERE SHE IS. Lovebugs, I can’t. *Sentimental music* “You could come over to my nest and I could... tear off your head and let my larva devour your body?” How did I forget that line? The way Lauren has to kick Bugette’s larva sack to walk. But the way that it also works so well with the character. I can’t. The Mosquito Brothers!! I forgot they show up so early. “This is our sister, Sweetheart” “...YO.” I CANNOT HANDLE JIM POVOLO. The “zzzz”s like buzzing as backing vocals instead of the usual “ahs” and “oohs.” The things you don’t appreciate until years later. Darren, you genius. That is such a good detail. For a second I couldn’t remember who the Overqueen is played by. 99% sure it’s Jim (It is). Also. Overqueen like ovary... and it looks like a giant vagina. That had to be pointed out to me later. “FLATTERY WILL GET YOU... everywhere.” Why did I forget that line too? “I’m a starship ranger” “Quiet you, you’re drunk” “No I’m drunk!” I remembered that line probably like... 2 minutes earlier when I noticed Joe huddling in the background and realized that line was coming up. The way Joey lets go of the puppet so both he and the puppet walk away with their arms limp... so cute.

Before even pressing play on part 3, I can hear February saying “Let the record show I am super ahead of schedule.” and I’m dying. I forgot about Brian as the escape pod. Denise Donovan! That Star Trek prop. I’m dumb so I can’t remember if it’s a communicator or what. But I know my Uhura Barbie had a mini one that I lost within a month probably. “OxyGen” “Schience” I can’t. “Mission Log... I think I just heard a spooky noise.” How am I forgetting all of these amazing lines? “Pika-pi!” AHHH I JUST SCREAMED. “My stars, I seemed to have landed in a field of these aMiNals!” I can’t. “Can I tell you guys something?” *port de bras and falls gently to the ground* “Hello!” “TOTORO!” I’m dead. The balloon mechanism on the mosquitos! I forgot about that! “HOLY SHIT IT’S A BUUUUGGGGG” Ok something I noticed but didn’t mention earlier. The bug puppet that Joe uses when he says “I had my heart set on nourishment” is the same one red and pink one that Julia used when talking about wanting to be nourishment. When Julia actually gets eaten, she’s using a different bug puppet, the green and pink one, but the same character voice. So, I can’t tell if they intentionally had her play 2 bugs so Joe could be one of them later, or if it was a mistake. I might also just be overthinking things. “ME THINKS IT WENT THAT-A-WAY” I cannot handle Jim Povolo. That scream Joe does as he slimes her. Woah I originally wrote “There seems to be no signs of intelligent lifeforms anywhere” earlier and then deleted it since I don’t know why I found it remarkable. And then looking at the comments of this part I see someone mentioned a Toy Story reference. So that’s why that line stuck out to me. Aww StarKid. There are so many Disney references in this show.

THERE SHE IS. THERE’S MY GIRL TAZ. The pew pew effects how could I forget that!  “Hey Taz. You’re pretty tough for a chick.” “I was just going to say the same thing about you.” “Woahhhhhhhh” JoMo oh my god. “My spectrometer readings are off the wazooooooo” That line kills me. Why am I JUST NOW noticing, 10 years later, that Tootsie enters this scene with his gun facing the wrong way. Oh my god. “I saw the empirical proof that science killed god. It’s comforting to know he was once alive though. I like to think that when he died, he went to heaven.” Oh Tootsie Noodles. “...What the hell kind of name is that?” “He’s got bear hands??” Why do I forget all of these lines??!? That record scratch and freeze frame to go “BOOOOOO” oh my god I forgot that. “Like the other day, he was in the cafeteria, just cah-rying in front of everybody.” BOOOOOOO. Here we go, Taz’s amazing Up monologue. “And when Up, cuts an onion, the ONION is the one who cry.” HELP. Also 99% sure I used that joke for AJ appreciation at least one year. “Now take a walk off my knife” What a line. So awesome. I remember having a profile pic on FB that was the text of that monologue and the image of Lauren screaming “WALK IT OFF” I’m still convinced that first “WOO” from the audience that we hear when Up enters is Darren. “I do not peepee sitting down” “Huh??” JoMo’s face as if he’s trying his hardest not to laugh and I can’t tell if that’s him breaking character or if Krayonder is actually trying not to laugh. “I peepee like big boy, deadgoddamnit. So stop making fun of me because it hurts my feelings” I’m dying. Also, deadgoddamnit is amazing. “if you don’t go out there and die for something, then I will kill you for nothing.” I remembered the mirror scene, just seconds before it started and already started laughing. “You’re not a failure, overall.” “Allow me to introduce you to the final member of your team. MegaGirl!” I forgot how DRAMATIC that was. I also forgot that’s how MegaGirl comes into the story.

I need to stop pausing every 5 seconds oh my god I’ll never finish this tonight if I don’t.

“All hail AstroBoy” That was the funniest line. “MegaGirl, can you kill humans?” “No. But I’d like to.” I can’t handle it. “A horse ate my cousin! Me and horses got a feud.” #1 MegaGirl doing the “I’m watching you” hand sign. I can’t. “Hey. Miráme. *Slaps* NOW ESCHUCHAME” amazing. “Or that time. You taught me calculus... CALCULUS WAS TOUGH.” I never went past pre-calc. Nope. Ah. Get Back Up. One of my fave songs. “And now we dance.” Dylan’s “OW” as they lean back. “Ok Idiotas. Say something nice. Or I will kill you.” It’s all so iconic.

“So you still think being an egg planter is lame?” “...Yes.”  The larva oh my god. I forgot we see one before the end. That’s Jaime playing the larva I think. Life is definitely one of my all-time favorite StarKid songs to this day. I wish it was longer. I love it so much. And I love that its instrumental is scattered as a motif throughout the show. “It’s a short, small thing we lead. With so much potential, pointless or essential, which one can I be?” Wow. Near Pippin levels of giving me an existential crisis. Also wow Joey improved his singing so much between AVPS and Starship. “My name’s Bug” “*Gasp!* Like a bug??” “Uh... no.” “Good. I’m February, like the month, but a person.” I should start saying that honestly. “I’m Hope, like the concept, but a person.” “You boldly go where every man -hey- woman -bark woof- or data dog has ever gone before! Sorry K9DX” Adorable. Joey’s subtle little double nod he makes the Bug puppet do when he’s shocked she thinks he’s a Starship Ranger. Amazing. Ah he said goddamn not deadgoddamn! February should have known right then he wasn’t human! “Take my claw” that too. "The only thing that needs to rest are your jokes, because they are so tired.” “Woahhhhhh” No but like... why don’t I use that line in everyday life... “Now I am slightly less weak.” “Ok. I’m going to shoot this metal bitch!” I’m dying. How did I forget the Taz/MegaGirl rivalry?? “That thing is a R-O-B-O-T man” “Can’t fool me with numbers, Krayonder.” I’m dead. “The stack of hay was my cousin!” #2 The way Meredith says “barometric pressure” is great. And Tootsie saying “Well you must take real good care of it, because I never would have guessed.” He’s such a sweetheart. “Nobody shoot dammit, nobody shoot.” “KILL KILL KILL” I never really liked Hideous Creatures but it’s so cute to see MegaGirl do the choreo robotically. I love that the Gap hasn’t changed. “Cool it skank, you do not know me.” Another line that I forgot until a split second before it was said. I’m so glad whoever edited this added some pews going in the wrong way for Tootsie’s gun. I know I definitely noticed Tootsie’s gun was backwards during this part, but I don’t know if I noticed it was backwards in that very first scene too. I forgot about MegaGirl tossing out Specs. That “MEGAGIRL!!!” scream from Joe though.

“Never in my 6 long days of life.” Underappreciated joke. Also, I think this is the 4th unique upright bug puppet. We got red/pink, green/blue, green/pink, and now red/blue. Also, Nick Lang is a great puppeteer. “Yes, I helped her escape. But I swear, never in a million years, did I think I’d be caught and yelled at for it!”  Oh I forgot Bugette is the witness. Jaime’s angry face behind Joey is killing me. “He didn’t know the humans were evil.” “Oh, they’re not.” “Shut up!” Humoons and hoomans. “And no more singing or dancing” *gasps of horror* “The Overqueen has overspoken.” “Well, that’s not gonna help your chances with Bugette” Oh Roach. “PERHAPS.” Jim destroys me.

God the 4-person Pincer puppet. Amazing. Dylan’s arms being strong enough to be above his head for 10 minutes straight. Amazing. Also, Nick Lang is so emotive as a claw. It took me a sec but yeah JoMo is the tail. “There were? Where are they?” Joey’s face. “Tell me all about her” The claws under the chin I can’t. Hey StarKid, I see you throwing in an ad mid-video before Kick It Up a Notch. You’re lucky I love and support you guys. “Put ‘em together and what have you got?” bibbity boppity boo. More Disney references! This scene is full of them. Man, remember when we were all blown away by Dylan’s voice in this song the first time? Like we could tell he could sing in AVPM/S, but his songs were just so jokey and only his long “Welcooooooooooome” showed us his talent. But then Kick It Up a Notch happened. And we FINALLY appreciated Dylan’s beautiful voice. “I pushed it to the limit.” and “To coin a phrase, be a man.” more Disney. I might be overthinking this and will have to rewatch Life to confirm, but I think the camera zooming out as Pincer reprises Life is just like the camerawork when Bug sang it originally. If so, then wow even when filming their shows StarKid really thinks it all through. (Update: It totally is referencing the original zooms for Life and that’s amazing. Except it’s zooming out instead of in. I LOVE the attention to detail even in filming the show. I’m gonna guess that’s Liam’s doing.) All I can see when I hear Bug’s chorus of this song is Jaime and her SPACE tour dancing, which they incorporated in Apocalyptour as actual choreography. Because they’re goofballs. The kick line. Love it. God. Even though it’s not my favorite song from Starship (just because I love Life and Beauty more), Kick It Up A Notch is one of the best StarKid has ever done. I really has everything. Dylan’s gorgeous voice. Not one but two reprises of earlier songs to throw Bug’s own words back at him. Jim’s bass line. Awesome puppets. Disney references. It’s so amazing. I love how all the comments are either about Dylan’s voice or Dylan’s ability to hold his arms up for a 10+ minute scene or both.

"Gameover man, gameover!” “I feel like cutting open your belly, and filling it with jelly” *Gasps* Oh my god, I put on the captions for a second, and  the caption said *Sad spayed puppy noises* “I am in charge of this mission now.” How did I forget about the mustache until 2 seconds before it happened? “She’s got the mustache now. *Kisses head* I love you” Oh my god Tootsie. I FORGOT ABOUT THE SECOND STACHE. There’s an ad right when we see Bug’s human form and I can’t even care because look at him! Ahhh. And the blue headband! Ahhhhh. Joey you’re so adorableeeee. “Bug? Well that’s a fine name.” His concerned face then the relief. Adorable. “Thank you sir. I am a tough bitch.” “Getting nothing but bug muff?!?” I love the slight delay the audience has before laughing as they realize what was just said. “Bug. You hard, ese. You flame.” I die. “Up there. In Space!” *dramatic pointing* No I totally didn’t just do the dramatic pointing with them... no that’s not in my muscle memory from 10 years ago... why would you think that. I’ll rave about Status Quo after it’s done. “But, what if I miss you?” Awwwwwwwww. And that “Just look up.” screenshot was used for “This.” memes in the fandom for years.

Oh Joey. Status Quo is such a good song too. And he really did improve as a singer to sing it. Earlier this week I remembered that this week is also the 10th anniversary of that time Darren was hopping from city to city every single day to promote the Warblers album. And at one point in that week he did a livestream that I remember rushing home to watch. In that livestream, I am 99% sure he sang Status Quo as a little sneak preview for Starship being released later that week. (Just checked, yep he sang it in a livestream on April 20 2011) God I love this song. Then the version the boys all sang for SPACE Tour was beyond beautiful too. Ahhh I love this musical.

Ok. It’s almost midnight. I started this 3 hours ago. I’m probably not finishing the show until 2am at the rate that I’m pausing and stopping to comment. But OH WELL.

“Dr. Spaceclaw” wow. “Leaving them behind was of little consequence, but a pleasure.” Oh Megagirl. “You did a very good job today too, son.” “*Gasp* Thanks dad.” That Star Wars fake-out though. Speaking of Star Wars, I really need to rewatch Ani now that I’m actively a Star Wars fan unlike last time when I still wasn’t invested in the movies I just watched them. How did I forget about Jaime playing Junior’s new mom?? ...Does Junior get an alien incubating in his chest... is that foreshadowing... I can’t remember. (This was like... half a foreshadow) This scene is funnier now that Breredith is married. The way Junior says “Phew” I’m dead. I remembered how they restrain MegaGirl once again 2 seconds before it happened oh my god. “We deserve bubbles on our skin.” An iconic line. “Well thank the long dead god you made it, Bug!”  The crunching of the handshake, I can’t. Oh someone in the comments pointed out that Bug and February are doing the Tarzan hand thing while Up’s asking Taz to see a movie. Adorable.

Get yourself a man like Tootsie who won’t stand for you talking down about yourself. “Maybe this was all part of God’s plan. He made before he died.” I love the dead god jokes. I remember years ago some kid on facebook was like “The dead god jokes are offensive” and I was like “It’s a sci-fi musical about a bug in a human body but sure worry about god being dead.” but probably in an even more immature answer. I’m just mesmerized by Tootsie and MegaGirl’s verses. God. The first Dylan and Meredith duet. Amazing. And MegaGirl’s confused face is great. “Don’t press that button, or we’ll all be sucked into space.” So... Can anyone tell me what foreshadowing is? Oh shoot... ok wait no I’ll comment on that when we get there. God that is such a cute love song. I wrote barely anything just because I love that song so much. Would love to know where Tootsie’s taking her though.

Oh my god this scene! I forgot about this. How could I forget this. “Well the world always looks a little bit brighter, from on top of a lap.” I had remembered Bug sitting on Up’s lap, but not Specs. This is the part I forgot. Adorable. Ahhhh so cute. The Specs/Krayonder relationship was apparently cut from the filmed version, but was present if you saw it live. These moments are adorable. And I love how this is the second person JoMo’s had to carry in this show since he also carried Denise earlier. “Why if it isn’t Bug, my oldest friend.” and “Don’t say that, my dear.” are adorable. Oh wait. Up sat on Bug’s lap. Not the other way around. Ok. I didn’t remember this scene as well as I thought I did. I’m dying. I didn’t want to write anything during this, but oh my god “That son of a bitch Optimus Prime” I forgot that. I love the audience’s reaction to “The entire right side of my body, it’s a robot” because they all gasp, and then laugh at themselves for gasping. I knew there was something he couldn’t do without crying. I didn’t remember it being “Sir I Wanna Buy These Shoes” Christmas Song. It’s ok Up, I haven’t listened to that song in full in years. I can’t handle it. But Christmas songs in general make me cry too. Oh Up said goddamn instead of deadgoddamn too. Hmm... Aww the mother spider story. “I think the old you was just killing out of hate.” “Oh I was.” I’m dying. Awwww the nose kiss. I definitely remembered that. “Deadgodspeed soldier!” The way Joey misses catching the keys and also Darren’s “Woo!” in the audience again. So great. That 12 minute scene is just adorable and the Up story is so dramatic and hilarious.

Hmm finishing before 2am might be ambitious... “Hahaha. Then I’ll shoot him!” “Taking care of my business down on the planet is that cool with you?” Brian’s delivery of that line has always intrigued me. “How much I care about my MegaGirl unit’s survival is also a percent equivalent to zero” Rude. “You are nothing like my boyfriend, Tootsie Noodles.” “Yes, well - wait WHAAA” This scene is so different now that they’re married. “Ha. Ha. It was cute.” “You’re... a toaster.” *Slaps* Ok 1) I used to use that insult all the time and only half ironically. I was a strange teenager. 2) She just hurt a human... isn’t that against programming, or can she just not kill humans? Evil angry Brolden is something we need more of. I love Brian as a villain. More please. “You stupid goddamn robot” So I guess they say goddamn and deadgoddamnit. I’m overthinking the evolution of language in this universe. Also Brian’s screams while being choked are amazing. I’ve never forgotten those, if anything they’re better now.

AHHHH I REFRESHED AND DELETED ALL OF MY STUFF FOR BEAUTY. Kill me. I’m so mad. Let me try to recreate it but I hate myself. I was saving this draft after every part but OF COURSE I don’t save after my favorite song and then refresh.

Oh poor Meredith. Her white wig doesn’t let her blend in as much when she’s in the hoodies playing a bug. “Oh hey Bugette, we’re just trying to get Bug laid!” That bug had to know about Bugette’s crush though? That’s just cruel. “The ending is killer” ruuuuuuddddddddddeee. I know I had at least one more point, but that’s lost to the ether. Beauty is probably my fave, if not tied with Life. When I was listening to it earlier, I was overcome with emotion because it’s just such a joyful song. These days I cry over happy stuff almost as much as I cry over the sad. And these lines just hit so hard... I love it. I love this song so much and this scene so much. “Bug. She excreted her filth for you. WE DID IT!!!!!!!!” Brant Cox is so good. It really is a shame he’s not in anything else besides AVPSY and the 10th Anniversary with everyone else. “I do accept you for who you really are. A genius.” Well February, you’ll be glad to know that you thought of that, so you’re the genius. Wow. Junior’s 25, Brian was 25, and now I’m 25. This really was perfect timing for the 10th anniversary. Also I do not feel 25. “Suck off!” amazing.

I’M SAVING THIS TIME.

Ok next part. Luckily I was only 1 minute into the next part when I refreshed. Still so mad at myself... “Someone really firetrucked up big time” (Dead)God I love that line. I also used firetruck unironically. Once again, I was a strange teenager and I didn’t like cursing and I still don’t. “This is so weird, I’m so used to the scrambly version.” (It was while writing this line the first time that I refreshed and lost Beauty....) Ok as I watch AJ, it’s hitting me that he almost definitely came to the set during rehearsals and filmed his part since it’s not a green screen like the rest of them. “The hunters have become the hunted, and it’s wabbit season.” “That was a good video, until the end when it got sad.” Thanks Bug. “I think, I just had a think” See February’s smart. “I’m in a weird situation” Love that line. “Bug is a BUG!? I DON’T BELIEVE IT” Oh Junior. Dylan’s insulted face at “I am not... a dumbass.”  So I can’t tell if Brian forgets he’s trapped when he moves his arms into a more relaxed position to lean on the column and then puts them back, or if it’s purposefully staged that way. Brian’s acting while he pretends to be shy and embarrassed about his evil plan is amazing and adorable. Brian has a good evil laugh, why don’t we get him as a villain more often? Also I was gonna make some sort of joke about Nick as Pincer’s left claw vs. Robert as Snarl’s left paw, but I’ll leave it be.

I FORGOT ABOUT THAT WEIGHT TAZ WAS LIFTING JUST FLOATING UP TO THE SKY WHEN SHE LETS GO. I just laughed out loud. “Damn that G.L.E.E. They’re always making twisted abominations of everything!!” I cannot handle it. And the wink. Poor Darren but also not poor Darren at all. I was just now WRACKING my mind for who could possibly be playing Pincer’s tail if JoMo was being devoured by mosquitos. It’s Brant. Literally the entire cast is currently onstage. Ok Krayonder’s been getting his blood drained for 3 minutes, why is he alive? OH I FORGOT KRAYONDER GETS UP AND SHOOTS THE BUGS. Ok and he gets chopped by Pincer’s claws too so HOW does he survive? StarKid answer!!! I forgot how dramatic this musical gets when you got both the bugs and MegaGirl coming after the humans. Aww the Vulcan salute from Specs. “I changed my name. To Tootsie... MegaGirl.” I love the reactions of the people in the audience who immediately realize what that means. I hear at least one “oh my god” that sounds like sobbing. Awwwww Tootsie’s “that’s real” speech and “I’d love you if you was the horse that ate my cousin.” (#3) just... get yourself a man like Tootsie MegaGirl. He is perfection. God the downloading love scene is so cute. I can’t handle it.

The Up saving Taz scene is so dramatic. Then Brian and Jim just calmly walk offstage. It kills me. Also why did Jaime just continue to lie there? “I just needed to learn how to kill with my heart.” Not exactly what Bug meant, but it works. God Taz climbing onto Up’s back is still the most hilarious thing ever. Whoever thought of her climbing that way was a genius. So funny. I always wanted to try it. Holding the gun up to her head like a blowdryer always gave me anxiety. Making the door out of a scrim that can be backlit was genius. Oof and bringing back “The needs of the many bugs outweigh the needs of the few bugs. Or the one bug.” just hurts. Poor Bug. My heart. This is probably the line that sticks with me to this day and I do think about sometimes.

Ok it’s now 2am and I still have 2 more parts.

I sorta love that Joey didn’t have the time to change into his blacks so he’s still in the Starship Ranger suit while playing the Bug puppet. “Save the Overqueen. I love her.” Awww. “Roach, I’m gonna get the job done if it’s the second last thing I do.” Love it. That Kick It Up A Notch Reprise though. Brian, you should play villains more often. Also remember all of us being like “LUPIN CAN SING?!?!?!??!!” “Lucky for me, God is dead. When you see him in hell, tell him Junior sent you.” Deadgod I love that line. This whole deadgod thing was just leading up to that amazing line. Oh no Bugette! Bug saying “maestro” oh my god. “DFSDSJFDSJKFDS... I’m dead.” I forgot that part! Oh my god the way Brian flicks the glasses back down on his face. Ok so I saw Lauren wiggle her way behind the mucus sac, but I didn’t see Nick come onstage. I rewinded, and I guess the zoom in shots on Brian and Joey were timed so we can’t see Nick join Lauren to be the first larva to come out. Oh well. And I love the crowd cheering as Junior dies. “And bingo was his name-o” That callback though. I forgot that the Overqueen eats Bugette’s body while crying. “Or Bugette! Oh...” Also god Roach is adorable.

Last part. 2:21am. Here we go. Krayonder got his blood sucked out by giant mosquitos and was cut up by a giant scorpion, but all he needs is a bandage around his head. Awwww the soft “I Wanna Be” playing the background as Bug begs the team to accept his bug form. Bug being so mad “It’s that bastard Pincer isn’t it?” and then being so happy that Joey does the little nose scrunch thing. So cute. JOEY’S FACE WHEN DENISE KISSES THE BUG PUPPET. Cannot believe I forgot that until 2 seconds before it happened too. “I now pronounce you man vs. machine. Fight!” WOAH. Why in the WORLD did “eep op ork ahah” come back to me. I was able to say it WITH Joey. That was straight from the DEPTHS of my teenage brain oh my god. I forgot about that oh my GOD. THAT’S INSANE. I FORGOT SO MUCH STUFF BUT I REMEMBERED HOW TO SAY “I LOVE YOU” IN BUG.

And the Beauty reprise.

God I love this musical. It’s still my fave StarKid show I think. And I’m horrified to see that it has only 500K views for the last part, so only 500K people have watched it all the way through after 10 years. That’s disgraceful. It’s amazing. Watch Starship.

It is 2:32am. I started at 8:50pm. Got sidetracked when I had to rewatch the Beauty part of Act 2 again to make sure I got my notes back in the post. Took a few bathroom breaks. But this is mostly because I paused every like 10 seconds to make a comment, so it took 5 and a half hours to watch a 3 hour musical. This why I take forever to watch things while liveblogging. I take too long to writing notes.

I’ll probably just post this in the morning. Gotta proofread for mistakes before posting.

Ok it’s the next afternoon. This post is literally 5,000+ words and takes 20 minutes to read according to a online word counter. I’m sorry to whoever read this entire thing. Your reward is the pictures of the Starship plushies I crocheted when I was 15 and 16.

(Ignore the bad lighting and my horribly chipped paint. That’s the only picture I have of the Bugette one since I gave it to Lauren Lopez a day later. I started making another for myself shortly after but never finished. Maybe I should finally finish the second one... hmm...)

[callunavulgari]

YEAR-IN-BOOKS | 2019

So. Last year I read 89 books. The year before that I read 39. The year before that I read 23. This year I have (thus far) read 110 books out of my goal of 100 and will likely finish both The Secret Commonwealth and The Library of the Unwritten before the end of the year. I may even finish another depending on which audiobook I go for next. So I’m gonna talk a lot. Again.

1. a book you loved?

Again, I read a lot of books this year. It was a great year for books. I discovered Brandon Sanderson, which has been amazing. I reread at least two different favorite series, some graphic novels, a few books that would ordinarily be outside of my typical genre. But I’m going to pick Red, White, & Royal Blue, which was probably the one I loved the most. Casey McQuiston, for those of you who weren’t in The Social Network fandom, wrote a really fantastic RPF in like 2011 or so. It was gorgeous and while I’m sad that it was never finished, I can still appreciate the crap out of it. RWARB is a story about the son of America’s first female president falling for the Prince of Wales. It is everything I loved about fics like The Student Prince and Drastically Redefining Protocol and more. It’s best universe 100% and I will probably be rereading it within the next few months because I loved it to pieces. Also, it won both best romance and best debut novel on goodreads by a pretty large margin, which is amazing! 

2. a book you hated?

I think the only book that I absolutely hated this year was The Gunslinger. Which sucks because a lot of people recommended that one pretty highly, but I either reluctantly enjoy Stephen King’s books or I outright loathe them. My review, directly from goodreads, with a rare one star rating:  

“Thing number 1: same guy who did the audiobook recording for The Stand did this one as well. Bad enough. Thing number 2: I forgot how badly Stephen King writes women. I got to listen to this narrator read a scene where a woman has an orgasm because the main character is exorcising a lust demon out of her by shoving a gun into her unmentionables, and then I got to hear someone described as "falling whorishly." DNF at 75%. Sorry. I just could not do it. Falling whorishly was the straw that broke the camel's back.”

3. a book that made you cry?

I definitely cried when I finished The Hero of Ages, which is the third of the original Mistborn trilogy by Sanderson. Without spoiling things... I was definitely crying by the end of it. Might have been crying at the end of the first in the series too. The only other ones I can think of that may have made me sniffle are Everything I Never Told You and To Be Taught, If Fortunate. 

The first because it’s a wonderfully crafted little tale about a family getting torn apart when their daughter dies tragically. The whole thing is pulled wonderfully taut with tension, and each of the character’s snippets into Lydia’s life before her death leads you to more and more discoveries until finally everything comes together seamlessly in the end.

The second because it is a little, little book about a big, big universe and is just so achingly beautiful and big inside that it hurts.

4. a book that made you happy?

I mean, I’m tempted to Red, White, and Royal Blue again because it is 100% the one that made me happiest. I was grinning like an idiot half the time I was reading it. But, because answering the same book for two questions seems cheap when I’ve read over 100, so I’m gonna go with King of Scars, which is the sequel to the sequel of the original Grisha trilogy by Leigh Bardugo. It took the best things about the original series and combined it with the best parts of Six of Crows and left me with a super riveting, fun read.

5. the best sequel?

Gah, I read so many series this year, so this is kind of hard. I have two answers!

The Well of Ascension, which was the second of the Mistborn novels and probably my favorite and The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy, which in my humble opinion was leagues better than The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue. Not that it was bad, I’m just starved for stories about smart sexy ladies who become pirates and flirt with other pretty pirate ladies.

6. most anticipated release for the new year?

Return of the Thief by Megan Whalen Turner is still my answer to this one. The release date got pushed back to August of next year instead of March of this one, so provided it doesn’t get pushed back again - that is 100% my answer. Some others I’m excited about: The Nobleman’s Guide to Scandal and Shipwrecks, which I found out about two minutes ago, the as yet untitled Stormlight Archive #4 which is apparently coming out in November next year, and like six books that don’t have release dates yet so probably won’t come out until 2021. Oh, oh, oh, and The King of Crows, the fourth in The Diviners series, which I forgot was coming out in February!

7. favorite new author?

Easily Brandon Sanderson. Most of my other favorites that I really loved were all authors I’ve read before. Sanderson was my Rothfuss of 2019. Discovering his books changed my whole damn year.

8. favorite book to film adaptation?

I didn’t reread the series this year, but HBO put out their adaptation of His Dark Materials and it has been absolutely amazing so far! I’m blown away by every single episode and can only hope that the second and third seasons will be this good.

9. the most surprising book?

Okay, so there’s this book that I picked up randomly at the library because I liked its cover. It’s called The Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard Morais and it’s about an Indian boy who grows up to become a world famous chef. It’s so, so rich. The detail is wonderful. You can taste the food, feel the sun, be a stranger in a market somewhere in France. It was a true delight of a book and definitely one of my favorites. 

10. the most interesting villain?

I read Codename Villanelle shortly after I got into the TV show, and it was actually a surprisingly good book. She’s a great villain. However, I also read Forest of a Thousand Lanterns, which you don’t even realize is about the evil queen until you’re like halfway through the book. That one was really, really well done and I need to get around to reading its sequel.

11. the best makeouts?

I’m tempted to say Chilling Effect because there’s just something about a sassy space pirate making out with her alien crew member whose skin can make her go into anaphylactic  shock that really appeals to the part of me that shipped Sheppard/Garrus from Mass Effect, but there were two really steamy ones in The Hating Game (elevators) and Ninth House (slightly dubcon-y bit because one character is drugged, but super searing anyway?). 

Also the bit in Red, White and Royal Blue where they make out against a painting of Hamilton in the White House will probably get me every time.

12. a book that was super frustrating?

Again, But Better was a pretty decent book over all. But there were slightly too many pop culture references and listening to an audiobook where the characters are signing along to Blink 182 along with several other songs was a little cringey because the narrator did not actually sing, just kind of singsongy shouted. It was weird.

The Alchemist was also really slow going for such a short book but was over all pretty good.

13. a book you texted about, and the text was IN CAPSLOCK?

I have no real life friends who really read and it is fucking tragic, so the closest I got was recommending a bunch of books to my mom and going off on tangents about how good they were. I think I might have ranted to Nick about a couple of them too.

14. a book for the small children in your life?

I reread The Bartimaeus trilogy again this year and it’s a kid’s book series that I would recommend to literally anybody because it might be my favorite series ever? I also read Lockwood & Co, a kid’s series by the same author who did Bartimaeus, which was fantastic because I didn’t even know he’d written anything since Bartimaeus? It didn’t quite compare, mostly because I adore Bartimaeus way too much, but was still highly entertaining. Spooky kid detectives hunt ghosts! 

15. a book you learned from?

While I did not read a single non-fiction book this year (again, whoops), a lot of books are informative even if they’re fiction. Hell, I learned more about cooking from The Hundred Foot Journey than I have in any cookbook out there.

16. a book you wouldn’t normally try?

Maybe Challenger Deep? I’ve been branching out more, so it’s getting harder and harder to tell which books I wouldn’t normally try. I did read like three exclusively romance novels this year, which was a bit odd for me.

17. a book with something magical in it?

I still say all books are magical. And definitely a lot of the books I read were magical, but probably the one with the most magic was The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern, which was a meticulously crafted love letter to all stories and fairy tales. It was really magical and definitely lived up to The Night Circus. If she keeps up like this, I won’t even mind the decade between publications, because she has a hell of a way with words.

18. the best clothes?

Maybe either The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (the descriptions of her gorgeous silky green dresses made me deeply envious) or Three Dark Crowns (which had neat food and clothes from what I remember)

19. the most well-rounded characters?

All of Sanderson’s stuff has great characters, but Everything I Never Told You is still probably the one with the best. Celeste Ng is really, really good at making you feel each of her characters down to their marrow.

20. the best world-building?

To Be Taught, If Fortunate was very much wow when it comes to the world building. But so was Ninth Gate and The Alloy Era of the Mistborn novels (sequel series to the original series that takes place hundreds of years after the first series). I also read Saga this year, a graphic novel series about a man and his wife on the run from their governments with their baby daughter because their species are in a long standing war and nobody wants anybody to know that they can procreate. That has some fantastic world building.

21. the worst world-building?

Maybe What If It’s Us? I found that one largely boring.

22. a book with a good sidekick?

Definitely any of the Alloy of Law books. Wayne is a wonderful sidekick and all of the other “side characters” in that series are fantastic.

23. the most insufferable narrator?

Ugh, the Gunslinger. Both the character in the book and the person who narrated the audiobook.

24. a book you were excited to read for months beforehand?

I think the only ones I was really excited for head of time were the two Folk of Air sequels by Holly Black and The Starless Sea. I still need to read Call Down the Hawk, and I’m currently reading The Secret Commonwealth, the sequel to His Dark Materials which I’ve been excited about since I learned that it would be a thing.

25. a book you picked up on a whim?

You already know about The Hundred Foot Journey. We Are Where the Nightmares Go and The Monster of Elendhaven were also both randoms that I picked up during the Halloween season that I really enjoyed.

26. a book that should be read in a foreign country?

The Hundred Foot Journey. 100%

27. a book cassian andor would like?

I still don’t know what to make of this question.

28. a book gina linetti would like?

Probably any of the steamy ones? I honestly don’t know.

29. your favorite cover art?

Probably The Ten Thousand Doors of January. It’s very pretty and flowery and the book itself is fantastic. I also really like the cover of David Mogo, Godhunter.

30. a book you read in translation?

I think The Alchemist was the only book I read that was translated from another language.

31. a book from another century?

Ha! North and South was first published in 1854. Other than that the oldest ones I’ve got were written in the 80s (Shards of Honor, Ender’s Game, and The Alchemist) or the 50s (The Two Towers).

32. a book you reread?

This year I reread the Bartimaeus Trilogy, the Temeraire novels (and then finished the last two I hadn’t read yet), Sabriel, and The King of Attolia.

33. a book you’re dying to talk about, and why?

I have clearly talked enough at this point. I think the only one that I loved that I didn’t get a chance to talk about already was Horrorstor, which is a book about haunted Ikea (basically). It’s fantastic and hilarious and spooky and now that I think about it Gina Linetti would probably like it. Oh, and The Bear and the Nightingale trilogy, which was a retelling of an old Russian tale. It was great. 

TLDR; Read Sanderson’s books, Leigh Bardugo’s books, and whatever Casey McQuiston writes for the next 30 years.

[austinpanda]

The Spokane Diaries 03.30.2019

A lot has happened to the moving plan. And currently the plan could best be described as a vague, amorphous thing, with no clear destination, and too many tear-stained exclamation points. So I think it wise if I pause for a minute to summarize everything that’s happened up till now, with all its context, the choices we made and events which befell us.

When the plan was first formed, we immediately picked the city of Spokane, Washington to move to. It was just the right size; big enough to have everything we need, small enough not to have traffic. Decent amount of snow each year. Not next to a mountain, but a river with a gorgeous waterfall runs through it, and you can take a cable gondola ride across it. It hosted a world’s fair in the 70s, and some of those constructions remain. It has very friendly pot laws--just go in, show your ID, buy your pot.

Then, cause I’m such a genius, it occured to me that we’d picked Spokane kind of quickly, and mostly because we’d just visited Seattle, and this seemed an affordable Seattle. Perhaps, I wondered aloud, we should take a moment to consider the possibility of non-Spokane, of a different city entirely. Surely we didn’t pick the perfect place on the first attempt without even considering the rest of the lower 48, right? What might happen if we think outside the Spokane box?

A good deal of the filtering and decision-making about possible places for relocation occurs quickly and automatically. We don’t want to live anyplace that doesn’t get a decent amount of snow each year, so the bottom half of the country is therefore immediately discarded. We don’t want to live in a state that doesn’t allow recreational weed. We want natural beauty, or at least some sort of geographical or geological feature that makes it a winner. And it had to be affordable; we want to be able to afford living there and save for our dreams simultaneously.

For a period, Bangor Maine ruled the roost. It’s cold. It’s got New England natural beauty, and touches Canada, America’s hat, that country full of nice people who will never shoot you. Stephen King lives part time in a mansion in Bangor; you can take a picture of yourself standing at its spooky wrought-iron gates. It’s affordability was so-so, but it was on the eastern seaboard, less than a day’s drive to places like Boston, which was incredible! And hey, there’s always a chance you might be getting drywall screws at the hardware store and bump into Stephen King and get a selfie with the best-selling horror author ever! No mountains nearby, but...New England! Think of being there in the fall, when the leaves change color. Find a highway that’s not too heavily travelled and go driving in October and take pictures of the red, orange, and gold trees.

Problems began cropping up. The fact that the affordability was “so-so” didn’t help, and while Maine has legalized pot, political wrangling (and the endeavor’s own inherent complexity) have created a situation where dispensaries are not open for business yet, and I can’t tell when they will be.

And if anyone reading this doesn’t know about my relationship with pot, here it is: I have one, and I don’t particularly like living someplace where it’s banned for foolish reasons, such as:

It’s a gateway drug! (Then so is milk, and watching TV, and breathing air. Post hoc ergo propter hoc, dumbasses. You can’t even make that argument with alcohol, which actually can kill you.)

It robs you of your ambition! (Kinda, in that it softens the effects of certain unpleasant realities which I determine can’t be changed, and makes them easier to live with.)

It’s bad for you! (So are bacon and lethargy. That’s my decision to make, not someone else’s.)

It feeds a system whereby people are enslaved, brutalized, and killed! (No, the fact that it’s illegal feeds it. Make it legal, and no one ever shoots anyone over it again.)

Think of the children! (To quote George Carlin, fuck the children. Or possibly give them weed, too. You know how much less trauma I’d have suffered in high school if they’d had a weed club? I could have been networking in high school, for chrissakes. I might even have gone to a better college.)

Pardon that diversion. So, when last we checked, the husband and I were considering Bangor, Maine to be a possibility, but not necessarily the front-runner. What other places could we consider? Friends made suggestions; we checked them out. An early favorite was Marquette, Michigan.

Ah, lovely Marquette. It’s a picture postcard lakeside beauty. It sits on Lake Superior, and has the largest wooden dome--The Superior Dome--in the (country? known universe?). It was a small town, but it had a university and a pride parade, so it wasn’t that unfortunate squalid reactionary kind of small town. It’s beautiful in the fall, even though the fall only lasts a week. And it has that natural beauty/interesting feature we wanted, Lake Superior. With a lake that big, it’s just as good as living on the ocean, in that you can’t see anything but water all the way to the horizon, but without hurricanes. And Marquette was very affordable, best affordability of all considerations so far.

Couple of problems. Weed was just made legal by vote, but no dispensaries yet, and that could take a couple of years. And because Marquette is such a small town, with a population south of 21,000, we grew worried about our ability to find jobs. And then there was the snow.

Marquette gets about 200 inches of snow per year. One may immediately think, “Okay, well, then at least it’s less than 200 most years, right? Like 150 some years?” This year, Marquette had over 200 inches before the end of February, and they have snow as late as May. Let’s say they don’t get much more this year, and end up with 215 inches of snow per this year. That’s EIGHTEEN FEET of snow. I would sum up the first year of such conditions with, “Wow, cool! That’s a ton of snow!” And years two through infinity would be, “Holy fuck, please make it stop snowing!”

By this point, we had started with Spokane, changed our minds to Bangor, changed our minds again to definitely Marquette, then to maybe Marquette, and then all the wheels came off.

The year 2019 began, and it began poorly: the government was shut down, and because he was deemed essential, Zach was forced to continue working (for the IRS!) for no pay. Then he had a traffic accident--for him, a mountain of trauma, stress, and unwanted interaction--and his car was deemed a total loss. And the title wasn’t in his name. And his parents had to sign and notarize things, and he wasn’t close with them at the time, and they live in Montana.

All this stuff results in many extra hours of Bad Brain, lots of anger, and self-recrimination, and stress, and paperwork and interacting with potentially unpleasant people who may give you the help you need, and may not! Meanwhile, we have to keep working. Have to keep paying the bills. Have to keep making music (him) and trying not to subconsciously steer every moving plan we formulate into the rocky, prickly pear-studded embankment of failure with depressed second-guessing (me).

This brings us to a couple of weeks ago. We still have not been paid for Zach’s car by our insurance company, because of the many steps required to get the car titled in Zach’s name, all of which require signing and notarization, some here, some in Montana. And then, my brain decided to throw this out there: We’ve been to Denver. They have weed. They have mountains. They have snow, and jobs, and they’re closer! It’s under a hundo to fly there, and the flight is just over two hours. Easier to move to; easier to visit. In fact, specifically we chose Boulder. It features more snow and fewer traffic jams than Denver, though we could commute to Denver, if necessary for work.

Then, would you believe, problems. Boulder (and Denver, to a lesser extent) are not very affordable at all. It’s just right in every other aspect, but in price, it’s ungood. We’d have to spend maybe $100 less per month on rent there than here in Austin. In Marquette, with a little luck, we could spend $500 less. Think what we could do to Zach’s student loan bills with that shit! Think of the medical care and dentistry and car repairs and utility bills we could afford with that! None of that happens if we choose Boulder. We get mountains, but we pay dearly for them.

Now, to step back a smidge, consider this: I know that there will be problems with any choice we make. We’re not going to make a choice that results in us driving a U-Haul from our microscopic apartment in Austin to a mansion in Shangri-La. And I figure there’s pretty much one thing that’ll soften this transition: money. How much sounds like enough? Here’s how I tend to think of it: I’m about to do something that will involve me hanging from a rope tied to a loose branch over a thousand-foot chasm, and the only thing I’ll be able to influence is how good a rope it’s going to be. How much am I willing to pay to make sure the rope won’t fail? What if a $100 rope isn’t nearly as good as a $1,000 rope? What if the best rope you can get costs $10,000. Are you willing to spend less than that, if there’s even a chance you could save it up? ($10,000 is what we’re aiming for, by the way.) 

Something tells me there’s an easier solution to this conundrum, but it may be prohibitively difficult to find. Like...the perfect mate exists, but unfortunately, he/she/whoever lives in Turkmenistan and there’s absolutely ZERO chance that you’ll ever be within a thousand miles of ‘em, literally or figuratively. But! There’s always the chance that someone reading this may think, “Well, the solution is obvious; you just need to ignore concern X and move to city Y, and you’re kind of a dumbass for not figuring that out yourself.” The choices, then, are to ignore our concerns about weather, jobs, weed, ease to relocate to, distance from Austin, etc. and just move to Boulder, Colorado, Marquette, Michigan, Bangor, Maine, Spokane, Washington, Rapid City, South Dakota, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan (its capital!), or someplace else. Bam. Book it. Done.

This is a lot of the reason why I’ve been depressed recently: because I had a big, fat, beautiful GOAL for a while, and it got turned into a big, distressing, confusion. The best idea we’ve had so far to decide how to approach it? We’re going to save up and visit Boulder. Then we’re going to save up and visit Spokane or Marquette or Bangor. We’ll go to the places. We’ll observe our reactions. We’ll try to smart-decide instead of dumb-decide. We’ll be open to suggestions.

Marquette, Michigan

[b-sidemusic]

THE B-SIDE BUMPER BACKTRACK 2017 - PART TWO

Whoever you talk to, and whatever they're into, the consensus seems to be that 2017 has been an incredible year for the East Anglian DIY music scene. For Part Two of our Festive Retrospective Extravaganza, we spoke to yet more promoters, writers, DJs and artists from around the region about their favourite albums, tracks, gigs and moments from the last 12 months, including Fightmilk, The Interesting Times Gang, Kyanos, Graceland, Desperate Journalist, Sophie Mahon, Kulk, Clown Smash Everything, F.O.X and more...

LILY RAE

The Tyler Durden of Fightmilk club. www.fightmilkisaband.bandcamp.com

Album of the Year: ‘Juniverbrecher’ by The Indelicates. It’s spooky, furious, and you can dance to it. In other words, an ideal album. Track of the Year: ‘Prom’ by SZA. You can just put it on repeat for about an hour and not get bored of it. Lovely. Gig of the Year: I’ve got two: Julien Baker at (London’s) Union Chapel, for my favourite super sad telecaster porn or Tundra at The Hunter Club (In Bury St Edmunds), which was the most fucking amazing thing I’ve ever seen in my life. You could make beer-glitter angels on the venue floor after the set. Moment of the Year: Princess Nokia throwing soup at a racist. More throwing soup at racists in 2018, please. Turns out it’s a very versatile food. Tip for 2018: This is the year you go to the dentist, pal.

HANNAH CUTLER

Leader of The Interesting Times Gang. www.facebook.com/interestingtimesgang

Albums of the Year: ‘Superman’ by Wednesday Campanella. Also, ‘A Deeper Understanding’ by The War On Drugs and 'Every Valley' by Public Service Broadcasting. Tracks of the Year: ‘How Do You Sleep?’ by LCD Soundsystem. Moments of the Year: Not sure if I have any.  To be brutally honest, my absolute favourite album I’ve listened to this year is ‘Power Windows’ by Rush.  But it was released in 1985. 

KYANOS

AKA Seth, Sam, Zach and Fintan: a four-headed psych beast who answer as one.  www.kyanosbaby.bandcamp.com

Albums of the Year: ‘Flower Boy’ by Tyler the Creator; ‘The Ooz’ by King Krule; ‘Sketches of Brunswick East’ by King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard with Mild High Club; ‘Drunk’ by Thundercat.

Tracks of the Year: ‘Rolling Stone’ by King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard with Mild High Club; ‘For the First Time’ by Mac Demarco; ‘Call Me Up’ by Homeshake; ’Moment I Feared’ by Snoop Dogg.

Gigs of the Year: Homeshake; Chic; Yung Lean; Jamiroquai; King Krule.

Moments of the Year: Being mentioned in NME.  First headline gig in London. The release of (debut EP) ‘Elevator to Japan’.

Tips for 2018: Treat 'em clean, keep it mean and have a sweet dream.

MATT CATLING

Ipswich Smokehouse’s Freakverbrator. www.freakverbration.blogspot.co.uk

Albums of the Year: Alvvays - ‘Antisocialites’; Slowdive - ‘Slowdive’; Cigarettes After Sex - ‘Cigarettes After Sex’; Frankie Rose - ‘Cage Tropical’; Fever Dream - ‘Squid’; Thurston Moore - ‘Rock n Roll Concussion’; The Gluts - ‘Estasi’; Kamikaze Girls - ‘Seaform’; Anne Hart - ‘Impossible Accomplice’; Idles - ‘Brutalism’.

Tracks of the Year: No Vacation - ‘Mind Fields’; Hazel English - ‘Fix’; Softer Still - ‘Company’; Major Leagues - ‘Good Love’; Lowtide - ‘Alibi’; Desperate Journalist - ‘Hollow’; METZ - ‘Cellophane’; Diet Cig - ‘Tummy Acre’; Is Bliss - ‘Into A Dream’.

Gigs of the Year: Part Chimp at Cambridge Portland Arms, 13th April; London DIY Pop Fest 2017, 28th-30th April; Desperate Journalist at Bury St Edmunds Hunter Club, 17th June; Kamikaze Girls at Ipswich Smokehouse, 23rd June; Indietracks 2017, 28th-30th July; Liverpool International Festival of Psychedelia, 22nd September; Pinkshinyultrablast at London Hackney Oslo, 20th October; Cambridge Indie Pop all-dayer at The Blue Moon, 18th November; Amusement Parks On Fire at London Borderline, 25th November. 

Moments of the Year: Covering festivals like DIY Popfest, Indietracks and Liverpool Psych Fest.  Interviewing bands I love such as pinkshinyultrablast, and getting myself an AAA pass. Putting on gigs at The Smokehouse. Getting back into blogging.  

Tips for 2018: Keep on plugging away with what you’re doing.  Get into covering gigs and festivals. Create your own blog or do your own radio show about your own interests.

MAXIE GEDGE

Graceland sticksmith and PRS Foundation guru.  www.soundcloud.com/graceland_band

 Albums of the Year:  1. Nubya Garcia - ‘Nubya’s 5ive’ 2. Hannah Peel - ‘Mary Casio: Journey to Cassiopeia’ 3. Lana Del Rey - ‘Lust for Life’ 4. Princess Nokia - ‘1992 Deluxe’ 5. The Big Moon - ‘Love In The 4th Dimension’

Tracks of the Year: 1. Flohio - ‘SE16’ 2. Superorganism - ‘Something For Your Mind’ 3. Charli XCX - ‘Boys’ 4. Sink Ya Teeth - ‘If You See Me’ 5. Goat Girl - ‘Crow Cries’

Gigs of the Year: Mykki Blanco - Meltdown at Southbank Centre; Hannah Peel and Mary Epworth at Norwich Arts Centre.

Moments of the Year:Ray Blk speech at Women in Music Awards and (documentary) ‘The Ballad of Shirley Collins’. 

Tips for 2018: Flohio; Soeur; Bonzai; IDER; Maya Law. 

NEIL JONES

Bringer of rock thunder to Cambridge 105fm and KLFM; Operations Manager at Cambridge Live.  www.cambridge105.co.uk/shows/neil-jones

Album of the Year: Wayward Sons – ‘Ghost Of Yet To Come’.

Tracks of the Year: ‘Play’ by Marmozets. 

Gigs of the Year: Subterranean Festival at Cambridge Corn Exchange; Marillion at the Royal Albert Hall; Iron Maiden at Nottingham Arena.

Moments of the Year: On a personal level,  launching the new Subterranean one-day festival at Cambridge Corn Exchange, which is back for 2018; a (partially) reformed Guns ’n’ Roses playing the UK; and Prophets of Rage slaying Download. 

Tips for 2018: Milk Teeth’s 2017 EPs showed a promise that should be delivered upon in 2018, and Cambridge bands Hollowstar and False Hearts are great bands with a bright future. 

PAUL JENKINS

Our man in Norwich. www.outlineonline.co.uk

Albums of the Year: In order: Peter Perret - ‘How The West Was Won’; Madonnatron - ‘Madonnatron’; Jay Ducker - ‘Country Sober’; Mogwai - ‘Every Country’s Sun’; Amadou & Mariam - LA CONFUSION’; Wooden Arms - ‘Trick Of The Light’; British Sea Power - ‘Let The Dancers Inherit The Party’; Wire - ‘Silver / Lead’; The Jesus & Mary Chain - ‘Damage And Joy’; Ho99o9 - ‘United States of Horror’. (I’ve not included compilations. If I had, ‘This Was The Sound of Sugar Town’, ‘This Is The Sound Of Sugar Town Volume 2’ and ‘The Best of Chris T-T’ would have been in there.)

Tracks of the Year: In order: Zero UK - ‘Things You Love’; Gaffa Tape Sandy - ‘Beehive’; Ho99o9 - ‘United States of Horror’; Janet Street Slaughter - ‘The Sensitive Side of Bill Sykes’; Mega Emotion - ‘Sick Burn’;  Charlotte Gainsbourg - ‘Deadly Valentine’; Jim Jones & The Righteous Mind - ‘Something’s Gonna Get Its Hands On You’; Madonnatron - ‘Mother’s Funeral’; Marc Almond - ‘Something Bad On My Mind’; Peter Perret - ‘Troika’.

Gigs of the Year: Almost every gig I have been to this year has had at least one excellent act on the bill so picking highlights is tougher than ever but here goes (in date order): Ho99o9, Norwich Waterfront, January; Nightingales and Graceland, Norwich Arts Centre, February; Horse Party and Claws, Bury St Edmunds Hunter Club, April; Melt Banana, Mega Emotion and Algae Bloom, Norwich Arts Centre, June; Magoo, Norwich Arts Centre, July; Dowling Poole and Last Great Dreamers, London Borderline, September; Gaffa Tape Sandy, Norwich Arts Centre, October; Bad Apples, Norwich Owl Sanctuary November; Wonk Unit, Owl Sanctuary, November; Icicle Works, Norwich Arts Centre, November.  Honourable mentions also to British Sea Power, Subhumans, Wire, The Lovely Eggs, Rainbow Girls, Hot Raisin, Tubes and the four Quireboys/Last Great Dreamers dates I managed to get to.

Moments of the Year: Driving, crewing and doing merch for Last Great Dreamers when they supported Quireboys in Aberdeen, Glasgow, Newcastle and London; chatting to Alex from Wonk Unit before their Owl Sanctuary gig about addiction and being sober - anyone else would have been dull as chuff but Alex was his usual entertaining, engaging self (haven't paid any attention to him, though); meeting the various members of The Tubes - albeit briefly – after their show at the Waterfront.

Tips for 2018: Charlotte Carpenter, Bryde and Tibetan Night Terrors should break through to some mainstream success. The next She Makes War LP and Last Great Dreamers’ LP number four will be absolute belters. I have not seen New Scientists yet but everyone I know who has seen them says they are destined for big things. Ooh, and I’ve had sneak previews of the next Lovely Eggs and Hookworms albums, and they are crackers. 

RICHARD HAUGH

BBC Introducing in Suffolk’s other lovely chap.  www.bbc.co.uk/radiosuffolk

Albums of the Year: Dingus Khan - ‘Dunce Kap’. The wait had been too long, but I’ll let them off for that. Sadly, it’s so far only been available at two gigs, but a full release early in the new year [our spies tell us it’ll be out in April - Espionage Ed.] should be celebrated. 

Tracks of the Year: Bessie Turner, ‘Words You Say’ – just wow. It never gets boring. And Gaffa Tape Sandy’s ‘Water Bottle’ and ‘Beehive’. It’s really hard to be a stand out indie band but Gaffa Tape Sandy have managed to do just that.

Moments of the Year: My memory is terrible, so I may well be overlooking things, but earlier this week I went to Maida Vale with Bessie Turner and spent the day being stunned by her talent and how much she’s achieved this year. She only released her debut single in April but went on to play at Latitude and has become a firm favourite of Jo Whiley’s. It’s refreshing to see that good things can happen to artists who are doing everything on their own terms, without the reliance of industry connections or a large pile of cash.

Tips for 2018: Hopefully the momentum behind Bessie Turner and Gaffa Tape Sandy will result in further nice things for them both. I’ll also be eagerly awaiting new music from Leaone, Amy Milner and Radio Orwell, who are now a very good live band.

RICHARD ROSE

R*E*P*E*A*T Records’ lone honcho. Does his lists a little differently.  www.repeatfanzine.bandcamp.com

Loves: Idles – ‘Brutalism’ Bury St Edmunds #RockCity (and Sugar Town records) International Blue Tories eating themselves Superglu at Washing Machine You Flexi Things SIAH and Saltfen, Beverley Kills and The Baby Seals Relevant Records The Graffiti on Gilbert Rd – JC for PM / I “heart” Catalonia‘ Flawed Is Beautiful’ – These Animal Men / S*M*A*S*H DVD Desperate Journalist – ‘Grow Up’ Introducing ten year old punks on stage (Sound Wave) Vinyl Joanna Gruesome Hardcore Hobbies Strongbow Gaffa Tape Sandy green vinyl The A14 The Batts’ debut EP Finally seeing The Skids live, 40 years on at Cambridge Junction Jeremy Corbyn – kids singing for him at gigs, millions voting for him at the polls, Tories running from him, despite the shit spreaders Badges Badgers My new and lovely red 'entry level' turntable Damage and Joy Janet Street Slaughter Vanilla Coffee Leon Britton (the footballer not the politician) S*M*A*S*H at The Portland Arms Spiders God's Favourite Band Swansea Bay The Virtues at Washing Machine Goldblume

Hates: Lists Football Lads Alliance Retweets of Fascists by fingers on buttons The job you hate but are too scared to pack in Hedge Funds wrecking our clubs The A14 Punctures POP STARS and anyone else without an opinion Fancy cider Punk rock nostalgia Originality Handwriting

SEYMOUR QUIGLEY

B-Side news editor; Washing Machine operator. www.washingmachinebse.co.uk

Albums of the Year: The Baby Seals - ‘The Baby Seals’; Gaffa Tape Sandy - ‘Spring Killing’; Slowdive - ‘Slowdive’; Underworld - ‘Beaucoup Fish’ (re-mastered); Janet Street Slaughter - ‘Janet Street Slaughter’. 

Tracks of the Year: Fightmilk - ‘Pity Party’; Gaffa Tape Sandy - ‘Beehive’; Songhoy Blues - ‘Bamako’; Charlotte Gainsbourg - ‘Deadly Valentine’; Bicep - ‘Glue’; Blue Mean Eyes - ‘Escapade’; Desperate Journalist - ‘Hollow’; Goat Girl - ‘Cracker Drool’. 

Gigs of the Year: Desperate Journalist at the John Peel Centre, Stowmarket, February; SuperGlu at Bury Fringe Festival, May; Ryan Jordan at The Rehearsal Rooms, Bury St Edmunds, November; Gaffa Tape Sandy at The Hunter Club, Bury St Edmunds, December. 

Moments of the Year: Playing 'What I'd Do' at [former band] Horse Party's final gig, at The Hunter Club in April - still not sure how I managed not to weep the tears of horrible sadness. 

Tips for 2018: I’m really excited about Sun Scream, The Glitter Shop and Lemondaze. If Slowcoaches release a new album, I will be so so happy. Also: Grimes.

SIMON BAKER

Green Mind’s perennial thrill-monger.  www.greenmind.co.uk

Album of the Year: Waxahatchee – ‘Out In The Storm’.  Lyrically superb demolition of an abusive relationship coupled with some of the best indie rock I’ve ever heard.  So many hooks.

Tracks of the Year: The whole of ‘Out In The Storm’.

Gigs of the Year: Too many to mention, but here’s a short list:   Melt Banana at London Highbury Garage – always earshredding and just incredibly fun. 

The Jesus & Mary Chain at Cambridge Junction – one of mine and a show I’m incredibly proud of.  Bucket list band, coupled with an “all killer, no filler” set list.  Nearly exploded when the really chiming bit in ‘Some Candy Talking’ kicked in.

Waxahatchee at End Of The Road – horrible rain all day, but they managed to cut through the rain and were essential.

Car Seat Headrest at End Of The Road – “KILLER WHAAAAALE, KILLER WHAAAALLE!”

Idles – superb live band, but I put them on twice while I was dealing with a recurrent brain condition, so never saw a whole set due to being tired all the time.  I need to rectify this in 2018.

Fickle Friends at Junction 2 – straight up pop band with no pretensions.  Seeing 350 kids having a brilliant and unpretentious time made this jaded old bastard smile.

Tips for 2018: Idles are clearly going to be the band of 2018.  There are so many tedious trench coat wearing post-punk revivalists and Idles just destroy all of them, by being wittier, cleverer and funnier and having their own ideas.

SIMON DROWNER

Desperate Journalist mover, shaker and bass-wielding groove-maker.  www.desperatejournalist.co.uk

Albums of the Year:  Peter Perrett - ‘How The West Was Won’; LCD Soundsystem - ‘American Dream’; Dexy - ‘Tear It Down’; IDLES - ‘Brutalism’; Moon Duo - ‘Occult Architechture Vol. 1’.

Tracks of the Year: Makthaverskan - ‘In My Dreams’; FEWS - ‘LaGuardia’; Sheer Mag - ‘Just Can't Get Enough’; Ride - ‘Charm Assault’; British Sea Power - ‘Bad Bohemian’.

Gigs of the Year: LCD Soundsystem at Alexandra Palace; Paul Draper at Scala; Ezra Furman at The Barbican; Peter Perrett at The Electric Ballroom; Moonlandingz at The 100 Club.

Moments of the Year: Desperate Journalist playing Scala.  Releasing, and eventually selling out of, our album ‘Grow Up’ on vinyl. When the General Election exit poll results came in and half the country (and media) had egg on their faces.

Tips for 2018: Calva Louise, Gaffa Tape Sandy, Bad Nerves, White Trash.

SOPHIE MAHON

Your new BF.  www.soundcloud.com/sophie-mahon

Albums of the Year:  One which deserves a mention is an instrumental album by one of my bucket list session musicians. Admittedly I don’t normally go for instrumental albums but ‘Trigger’ by Jacob ‘Quist’ Quistgaard is fun and good for when you don’t know what lyrics you need to hear.  An album I only discovered this year after reading Nile Rodger’s autobiography is his solo album ‘Adventures In The Land Of The Good Groove’. Yes, it was made in 1983, but it’s Nile experimenting at his peak. David Bowie liked it so I think it deserves a mention. 

Tracks of the Year:  These questions are much harder to answer than I thought! I’m quite fond of Tears For Fears recent single ‘I Love You But I’m Lost’, very catchy chorus; you’ll wake up at two in the morning with it on your brain.  Bryan Ferry’s jazz reworking of his songs for the German TV series ‘Babylon Berlin’ are beautiful (a continuation from his album The Jazz Age’ if you’re interested), particularly ‘Bittersweet’, which he recorded new vocals for too. The song becomes ten times darker, melancholy and weary; I had to listen to it on repeat for at least an hour.  Lastly an old track, which I discovered recently, is Etta James’s cover of ‘It’s Alright’ by Curtis Mayfield. The snare is like machine gun fire; give it a listen, that’s all I’ll say. 

Gigs of the Year: Chic at The BBC, ABC with Kid Creole and The Coconuts as support and Bryan Ferry at Hampton Court. So much I could say about these, but all it boils down to is that they’re legends for a reason, which is why I will always try to see them whenever possible.For my own gigs, playing The Hunter Club for the first time was awesome - such a great crowd and the first time I have seen strangers dancing to my music, which has always been my aim so it felt great. The second would be playing the Inbetweeners Stage at Latitude - while neither the stage nor the audience were massive, just to be part of something so big was incredible.Actually another band to mention was Divine Comedy, they were at Latitude and I went to watch because they were the only band on that day that I vaguely knew. Best decision I ever made, Neil Hannon is eccentrically English [Actually he’s Irish, but you wouldn’t know it from his singing voice - Lineage Ed.], his lyrics are witty and clever and the performance was so light hearted it made a nice change. I didn’t stop listening to his music for about two months afterwards. 

Moments of the Year: Releasing my first single ‘2BF’ and it getting played on BBC Introducing in Suffolk, bit daunting but the feedback on the whole has been pretty positive, thanks to everyone who liked it.Tony Hadley leaving Spandau Ballet; I am still upset. 

Tips for 2018: Start as you mean to go on; I live by this and it seems to be working so far. Also just do what makes you happy, the music, image, brand and performance will naturally be more genuine and original, plus you feel happy too.  Finally, invest in a bigger car - there is, I find, only so much you can fit in a Ford KA. Or go acoustic; it’ll fit in nicely.

THOM LONGDIN & JADE ASHLEIGH SQUIRES

Together, they are Kulk.  www.kulk.bandcamp.com

Albums of the Year:  One of our albums of the year is Ty Segall’s self titled album. We discovered Ty through the band Fuzz (who encouraged the purchase of the Fuzz War guitar pedal, which has been a huge impact on our sound).  We bought the album as it was engineered by Steve Albini and has a classic rock and roll/garage fuzz feel. Well worth a listen, especially ‘Break A Guitar’.   Our other album of the year would be Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile’s ‘Lotta Sea Lice’, this is their first collaboration of hopefully many. This is on the lighter side of our listening, but is poetic and beautifully bluesy. Highlights of this album include ‘Over Everything’ and ‘Untogether’ . 

Tracks of the Year: Our first track of the year is ‘Tasteless’ by Shame. We first discovered Shame supporting Slaves; their sound is best described as indie but in a punk way, the music is heavy and the lyrics are angry but not distorted. If you like ‘Tasteless’ you will love ‘Gold Hole’ and ‘Concrete’.   We are also huge fans of Sunflower Bean, so naturally their new single ‘I Was A Fool’ would be on this list. This song is a homage to classic rock with still a hint of psychedelia from their previous album sound. We look forward to this new album next year and seeing them live again. 

Gigs of the Year: Our best gig of 2017, which could possibly be the best gig of our lives so far, would have to be in Brixton on Hallowe’en this year: Melvins and Red Kross. Melvins are an inspiration to our music and it was amazing to see them live, with an even heavier sound than on record. For us, the highlight was ‘The Bit’.  They’re a must-see for any heavy music fan.  The Wytches at Norwich Waterfront studio was another best gig of 2017: the psychedelic riffs and heavy drums with the grit of Christian Bell’s vocals makes for an amazing live show. Their cover of Misfits ‘Cough/Cool’ (from their home recordings) live was particularly exciting. Their support acts - We’ll Be Detectives and The Weirds - created a great sense of what was to come. 

Moments of the Year: One of our best moments was our first gig, at The Smokehouse Ipswich, which we organised with our friends Con Party and Jessie Ingate. The night was terrifying but it was amazing to play amongst friends for the first time.   We were also amazed after being asked by John Peel’s wife, Sheila, to play on BBC Radio Suffolk for the unveiling of John’s BBC Music Day Blue Plaque award - it was a huge opportunity and we really enjoyed every moment.   One of our biggest achievements this year would be the amount of awareness and money raised for the mental health charity Mind, through a gig we organised at The Smokehouse and an online campaign supported by the East Anglian Daily Times, in tribute to our friend Cameron Ray. It was co-organised with Cameron’s friend and celebrated his life through the connection we had with him through music. This moment sadly came from tragedy but it was everyone coming together that made it special.   Finally, re-recording our first single with Jamie Robertson has been a massive highlight of the year, the whole process has been great and Jamie has really helped us create something that sounds like it should. When we met Jamie for drinks to discuss the recording it was high on the list that it sounded like “you are in the room with us and can’t get out”, and he has done us proud. It’s very likely that we’ll be able to release it early 2018. 

Tips for 2018:  We’ve decided to direct our tips at people who want to start bands and want to start gigging: 1. If you want a start a band but there’s only you and a mate who plays bass, go for it and jam together. Basically, start a band with what you’ve got not what you want. Even if you’re not Grade 8, if it sounds good to you it will to others. 2. One of the best tips we can give if you want to start gigging is to support local artists and go to gigs. Enjoy local music and it won’t be so scary to become part of it. Support the scene and it will support you. Speak to people and don’t be afraid to send promoters your stuff. 3. The most important tip of all is keep playing, even if you only have three songs. You want to be able to play them backwards with your eyes closed. Make the most of the one song support at your local pub, no gig is beneath you. 

ZAK WHITTAKER

Drum punisher, Clown Smash Everything/Janet Street Slaughter. www.clownsmasheverything.com

Albums of the Year: My album of the year is Slowdive's self-titled comeback, followed closely by ‘Stubborn Persistent Illusions’ by Do Make Say Think and Von Spar's 'Garzweiler' EP.

Tracks of the Year: My tracks of the year are 'Anthem For No State (Pts 1-3)' by Godspeed You! Black Emperor, 'No Longer Making Time' by Slowdive, and a special mention to the 3 unreleased gems that cropped up on Radiohead's 'OK Computer' reissue.

Gig of the Year: Best gig has to be Shellac at London’s Electric Ballroom back in October.  Also, I almost forgot about Part Chimp's triumphant and deafening live return at Cambridge's Portland Arms in April.

Moment of the Year: My moment of the year: Probably Theo (Morris, former Janet Street Slaughter guitarist) spectacularly stacking it off the stage at the final JSS gig in November!

ZOE KENT

F.O.X’s singing stadium superstar. www.foxtheband.com

Album of the Year: Lana Del Rey - ‘Lust For Life’.  I love everything she does, her voice is so haunting and powerful and I love the visions she creates in her lyrics of broken surburbia. Always takes me somewhere else.

Tracks of the Year: ‘Cover Me’ by Depeche Mode. The first time I heard this song it was like a lightning bolt, I always knew it was incredibly powerful and then when we supported them on tour it became almost their new anthem. A song of two halves. It's beautiful. 

Gigs of the Year: It has to be Depeche Mode in Bucharest: it was the most beautiful stadium and the most perfect day. I've never seen them so on fire as I did there, the energy could be felt the entire way round the stadium and I just watched in in awe of it all. I'll never forget the thousands of lighters and phones lighting up the stadium - magical! 

Moments of the Year: When we were invited to fly with Depeche Mode on their private jet to Leipzig. It was a true rockstar moment and I totally forgot my fear of flying! 

Tips for 2018: My tip would be Amethysts, from Suffolk. I think they've got great songs and star potential - plus they're very nice people. 

Click here to read Part One, featuring SuperGlu, Gaffa Tape Sandy, The State, The Glitter Shop, Blue Mean Eyes, Sun Scream, Young States, Lemondaze, Druids, Italian Books and more! 

Words & Collage: Seymour Quigley