#you know the ono was a fever dream

[ghost-of-you]

them doing the final bow at the ono while the choir goes "when you love somebody" 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

[moneflower]

Of Voices and Songs

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Part I: BSD Characters and Casts

-----------------

They say first impressions are important, but what if it were to be skewed or influenced by an outside force. This is especially true to actors and actresses who played specific characters people like to associate with - and even more so with voice actors.

So here’s my run down of thoughts, odd associations, and observations while watching Bungou Stray Dogs for the first time. First up is a character by character outline to help organize some thoughts. By voice actors this time around focusing on the ADA and PM.

—-----------------------------------

Dazai (Miyano):

This was unexpected because when I first heard him I was like “Light is that you, please tell me you left your notebook,” and clear enough it was replaced by a suicide manel - kind of ironic if you know how Death Note ended. But my god, I can only envision Mario now. Miyano range is insane. 

—

Atsushi (Uemura): 

Is it kind of sad I thought of Grisha Yeager first. The contrast between a sweet little boy to unhinged man confused the heck out of me whenever Atsushi showed up. There was a little bit of Porlock from Moriarty the Patriot, too, but at least it didn’t give me that shock factor.

—

Ranpo (Kamiya):

What can I say, this one was an easy one. Between Levi and Yato it was clear Ranpo was closer to Yato’s personality than the stoic badass man we all know and love. They’re all lovable characters, by the way. 

—

Yosano (Shimamura):

You know what I realized: most of the JVA from BSD is also in big series like AOT or JJK. Annie, trapped in an ice stone for most of the series, got the sleeping beauty treatment - woke up when shit was about to get real. Even snow white got more screen time than her. We don’t talk about Dead Apple here. It was nothing more than a fever dream. 

—

Kunikida (Hosoya):

As always, Danganronpa holds a special place in my heart: Kazuichi, that dude wasn’t my favorite, but he did know how to leave an impression. I think his JVA starred in Death Parade, but I’m not sure. If so, then the Death Note saga did come full circle. Don’t forget Reiner, another blonde who was traumatized. 

—

Chuuya (Taniyama):

This doesn’t come as a surprise, but Jean Kirstein - another ginger. Honestly, I can hear bits of the PM executive whenever he raises his voice. Maybe they can get along. Or, what if, hear me out, he became him when he was trapped in Poe's book. Living that AOT life I see, bet it’s no different from his usual job. 

—

Akutagawa (Ono):

I mean, our boy Floch is here along with Yuri Briar, and now I can’t unsee it. Don’t Yuri remind you of another dark-haired Russian man. It’s sad that his character info can be used to describe both of them: ‘Yuri is popular with girls due to his face, but they leave when they discover his personality.’

—

Tachihara (Hayashi):

If you can consider the PM as a gang affiliated group, then Mikey from Tokyo Revenger is here to stay, this time as the deurtologist of the group. Similar to Dazai’s role but different in subtle ways. 

—

Higuchi (Seto):

Well, the protagonist of Death Parade is here: Kurokami, along with another strong female lead: Nobara Kugisaki. I feel like female characters are underutilized at this point. *Sighs*

—

Kouyou (Koshimizu):

This is going to be a short one, but Kallen from Code Geass, an interesting mix I see.

—

Mori (Silverstein):

A bit different from the rest, but all that comes to mind with his English VA is ‘that osmanthus dude who used to be a god.’ I don’t personality play Genshin impact but the people around me do, plus, there’s the memes how can we forget that. 

—

Oda (Suwabe):

Here comes a controversial reaction: for some reason, I wheezed so hard during Oda’s and Dazai’s farewell scene when he was giving his last words. All that came to mind was: “Sukuna this isn’t you.” 

“Undertaker, has your background story come out yet? The fandom needs answers. Was this it all along.” 

Sorry I just thought of a random scenario where Oda isekaied into JJK and now was Sukuna because he had enough of this ‘good guys never win’ type of crisis or Black Butler as a shinigami because he didn’t want to relive being human again. Two equally tragic possibilities, but that’s the beginning of a series for writers.

—------------------------------

A/N: This is what I get for being an auditory learner, catching some odd things that otherwise most people wouldn’t have noticed. For your information, I watched all of these shows un

[kipaparappa]

There has been a lot of things going on in my life. I am quitting my job (again) for health reason, both physically, and mentally. I have been severely feeling agitated and entangled with my own emotion. I feel horrible about myself, about everything. My emotional capacity is overload, and now I'm just feeling like a zombie. Last week, suddenly I got a very bad ulcer like I never had before. It was so terrible that I still experience symptom to this moment. That 's why I decided to put an end to the source of agony. I want to stop hoping that things would get better, or cursing on that person that someday things will turn their back at him. I want to let go. I'm not going to let myself die in the pit of the darkness.. that's why I decided to quit and prioritize my health first. It's been a battle with my self esteem on who is going to lose more over my decision. I want them to repent, regret of what they did, regret treating me with slavery, mockery, savagery but then all I ever wanted is just to be freed and find a better place, community to surround myself in.

I have been struggling a lot with motivation. I think it's been 2 years since the last time I felt truly giddy about leveling up my design skill. It's difficult to stop the impostor syndrome. Moreover, people's comment "Is this all you got? is this everything you can do?" is still piercing in my broken heart. It truly feels like people have been neglecting all my past effort. I mean I can't completely blame them as I am struggling in the slump of emotional burnout, both from creative side, and human relationship side. I truly... truly feel exhausted from this life.

I want to feel loved. I prayed a lot about ending my life before things get more complicated. Before I have regret over leaving this world. But I don't know when my time will come.. It hurts a lot right now... that I don't have anything that is keeping me away from that knife to cut my vein.. I want to feel like I deserve a place in the earth. My selfishness... screams for a reason. Because I truly don't have one and day by day feels like wasting time.. I want to have someone who will hold my hands when they get cold from the cruelty of the world..

Recently genshin casted kamiya hiroshi and ono daisuke and the news has been dragging my mind to take a trip down the memory lane. During my time active in tumblr, they were literally the household name of the industry, even now still. But before the current generation emerges, they were literally everybody's sweetheart. My memory about them revolves around the time when I was 14-18, those times were very intense as I ponder about the future a lot. I desperately dreaming about living in Japan, experiencing life in Japan, marrying a handsome and caring Japanese man, while being able to live an independent life, being happy, and establishing my own sanctuary in this world where I can be surrounded by people I truly care for. I carefully studied about japanese way of thinking, language, culture, as if I was truly going to live my dream life there lol. I was willing to work hard, through my depression as long as I could keep my dream alive, even just in my mere delusion. Those times were blazing hot, like a fever, like an eternal summer of my life. It was hard to breathe, but it was exciting. It was bright to the point of it was difficult to see what was in front of me.

The two mentioned voice actors voices have always been nostalgic to me. Even when I firstly got myself to know about the industry, I immediately looked for their old stuff and started living in the past. Thinking about how was it back then before the craze happened. They have always been the top in their game but all I could think about were what was it like when they were still surrounded by seiyuu that are much older, when they were still juniors in the ladder. That's why their presence alone would successfully take me back to the time I wasn't even there, every single time. The act of reminisce bolster to my entire life back in the day, when I still feel like I got a lot of time to make my dreams come true. When I was 16, and filled with a lot of hope. Even though I am much older now, I think I was much stronger back then. Listening to old CDs, Songs, time was priceless.. so does dreams and hope. Now I just live day by day because my breathe hasn't stopped. Aimlessly, hopelessly..

[whilereadingandwalking]

At the Edge of the Woods by Masatsugu Ono, translated from Japanese by Juliet Winters Carpenter, is a creepy book that catches you at its edges. In it, a mother has left to prepare to give birth at her parents' house. Father and son stay behind in their house beside the dark, strange woods: a place of imps and strange scattered coughing noises. The father does his best in this unusual place to get by through moments of childhood trauma and heartache, feeling helpless in this new-ish place where streams of refugees move through the woods and his son bawls, missing his mother. 

It's a strange novel that gave me the shivers. It reminded me of Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin—eerie, ambiguous, you're never quite able to pin it down, but the goosebumps and dread build the further in you get. Climate horror and displacement lurk between the lines, flashing across the tv screen, winding through the trees. The father feels helpless in his attempts to understand the world around him, let alone understand his son's reactions to the scenes they're exposed to. He doesn't know if he's doing anything right with his son. He doesn't know how to explain things to him. He makes the wrong choices, gives him too much freedom, drags him away as he throws a tantrum. That isolation builds into the dread of the story, the weird things that come out of the woods and then vanish, leaving nothing but an afterglow, disorienting and troubling.

I was disappointed with Ono's use of fat people. I wasn't troubled with the first fat person who had strangeness hovering around them, since the whole book does, but when a second fat person appeared and was described as huge in a monstrous and dehumanizing way (she's first described as "a great lump of white flesh"), I confirmed a pattern. It was unnecessary and took away from a good novel. 

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. At the Edge of the Woods is out April 12. 

Content warnings for xenophobia, animal cruelty and death, fatphobia

[binderclipdocs]

Review of Understanding Lennon/McCartney

I’m sharing this terrific post on ULM from Facebook user Mark Humphreys

(pictures and links added by me)

63 years ago today - right about now (afternoon in Her Majesty's realm), a mutual friend introduced Paul McCartney to John Lennon at a Quarrymen gig at a church fete in Liverpool. Like. Wow.

I can't remember ever posting the same thing twice on Facebook.

I'm doing it here because I've now finished watching the 10 hour, 3 minute, 37 second entirety of the weird, poetic, dazzling, spellbinding and emotionally draining "Understanding Lennon/McCartney" documentary series on YouTube - and I can't think of a more appropriate way to celebrate the moment the most influential songwriting team in the history of popular music first met than to STRONGLY recommend it...

...with the qualification, once again, that if you weren't alive when the Beatles were active (or perhaps just afterward) - or if you've never really followed or been interested in their story, the series is likely not for you.

But if, like me, the influence of Lennon and McCartney's absolutely magical, electric connection and the strange, sometimes vitriolic public post-Beatles feud portrayed in the press (and often played up by both men) have been part of your own internal history, "Understanding Lennon/McCartney" will captivate and move you beyond anything you could possibly expect.

This is a love story. Beyond friendship - beyond even romantic love (barely) - beyond the comprehension of both men, who clearly struggled to live with its primal force within them, and which McCartney clearly struggles with right now, and will until the day he dies.

But - and this is crucial - you have to commit to watch the entire thing to get the full impact. It's frustrating as hell to say this, but I can't tell you why - you just do.

It takes probably the first hour before the pace and the groove of the thing really catches the psyche. I'll be honest - I almost gave up on it within the first 30 minutes - it was like biting into an apple (pun intended) and tasting every rich, delightful, sweet, salty, bitter, tart flavor I'd ever experienced all at once.

In other words - it's freaky.

Originally posted on YouTube a few years ago by someone using the handle "breathless345," it was quickly removed due to copyright issues. Somehow these issues were resolved (I have no idea how, because Beatles music and lots of other artists' music is constant) and the series was re-posted last year. I found out about it last month when a friend pointed me to it.

The fact that I can't find anything about "breathless345" or anything else about the "who" in the "who made this?" question makes the whole thing even freakier.

It's a ten-hour fever dream in five volumes (there are six videos - for some reason Volume 5 is broken into two parts).

The soundtrack is often bathed in a heavy, almost mind-numbing reverb that contributes to the feeling of being inside a haunted memory - perhaps a longer version of seeing one's life pass before one's eyes before taking that last breath.

There is no narration. There are many written quotes (one must be willing to read a lot of on-screen text). And there are many, many - A LOT OF - interviews, most of which I'd never seen or heard, with both men over the years, as well as George Harrison and Richard Starkey, all detailing, in very clear relief, the fact that John and Paul NEVER (I repeat, NEVER, through ANYTHING) stopped being friends. They never lost communication with each other. They were like twins - completely attached to, and reliant upon, each other, a fact that quite demonstrably set Lennon into deep depressive fits and McCartney into becoming more driven to find his own independent success.

The one qualm - if I can call it that - with the series is that Yoko Ono once again gets painted too much as a calculating villain, which (who knows?) she may have been - but she also may not have been - and a fuller examination of Ono's quotes and interviews would have been helpful to fill out Lennon's behavior in the final decade of his life.

As a whole, the time passes like a hot knife through butter when viewing the series - I promise, you will not notice how much time you've spent watching it until you stop. It's simply mesmerizing. But you've got to commit when you start.

That's because the pacing, at first, seems incredibly haphazard and even lazy - the installments are set in a strict timeline, yet each episode drifts back and forth in time. At first, this was incredibly frustrating to me...

...until I got to Volume 3 - "The Seventies," which examines the decade after the Beatles split, and McCartney's rapid, determined rocket ship to a second wave of superstardom with a solo career while Lennon took a decidedly slow, decade-long slide into depression and even mild paranoia despite his continued output of recorded works. At the conclusion of Volume 3, any remaining sense of confusion or haze lifted, and the presentation became clear to me as a beautiful pastiche of facts cobbled into a permanent memory of something beyond description - a physical manifestation of what it feels like to live with a Great Love that can never be fully explained because it's impossible to fully consummate.

The ten-minute (!!) trailer is posted here. It'll give you a feel for what it's like to watch the whole thing. But you know what? Don't watch the trailer. Just dig in. All you need is love - and 10 hours you'll be glad you set aside.  

[365days365movies]

March 14, 2021: The Holy Mountain (Review)

Ow. Ow. Owwwwwww. My goddamn MIND.

This movie is...OK, I know I use the term “a lot” a lot, but...it has a new meaning now. Because The Holy Mountain really is a LOT, in a whole new and terrifying way. I’ll be honest here, I don’t even know HOW exactly to review this movie, but I’ll definitely goddamn try.

I remember saying that I wasn’t sure I was qualified enough to judge Orpheus, but this is entirely different. I KNOW that I’m not qualified enough to criticize this movie. Oh, but everybody has the ability to judge films in their own way, because movies are for everyone, right?

BULLSHIT THIS MOVIE IS FOR DOLPHINS ON ACID

OK, OK, this movie really was meant for anyone, I know. But...goddamn, man. It’s definitely changed the way I view film as an art form. And I home you’re ready for June, because THIS is just a goddamn PREVIEW for that. Oof. FUCKIN’ OOF.

Let’s get this review over with. Recap, for what it is, is here and here, knock yourself out.

Review

Cast and Acting: 7/10

Real talk, the acting here is fine...but not great. Like, for the absolute fever dream that this movie is, I don’t really have any complaints, but it’s still awkward at times. In truth, I’ve only got one real standout here: Alejandro Jodorowsky. Yeah, the director managed to be the standout actor for me as well. This was definitely a personal project for him, so his direct involvement definitely makes sense. Hell, that comes into play even more with the ending, and it WORKS. Jodorowsky’s Alchemist definitely pulls off the role, even if the whole movie, acting-wise, is...stiltedly awkward. This one’s hard to truly judge.

Plot and Writing: 9/10

This film is crazy...and also makes sense? I KNOW, I’M SCARED TOO. But, yeah, the plot to this movie is...strangely straightforward. Seriously, outside of the various oblique symbolism, this is a film about true enlightenment, and the quest for true immortality. And, when you really think about it, this film is also fifty, and we’ll ALWAYS be talking about in in film studies. It’s a movie that’s managed to achieve immortality, which was the entire point of the main cast of the film. It’s...amazing? It was written by, surprise surprise, Alejandro Jodorowsky. Which means that AJ was the director, writer, major actor, and producer of this movie...making this the Bizarroworld version of The Room by Tommy Wiseau. Which...YEAH, FUCKING ACCURATE, LEMME TELL YOU. The fact that a film this abstract and oblique actually makes some perverse kind of sense is...admirable. And for a movie that’s 2.5 hours long, it really doesn’t feel like it. Well-paced, plotted, and written. And hell, probably not that hard to interpret in some instances. In...some instances. Credit where credit’s due.

Direction and Cinematography: 10/10

Yeah, it’s beautiful. Director is, of course, Alejandro Jodorowsky, but the cinematography was done by somebody else, Rafael Corkidi. He’s a Mexican director and cinematographer who did a lot of work with Jodorowsky, before breaking out on his own and becoming fairly successful in his own right. Yeah, he was pretty amazing, not gonna lie. And of course, Jodorowsky was perfect here. This film was his vision, his baby, and you better goddamn believe he directed the HELL out of it. Push back camera.

Production and Art Design: 10/10

Um...yeah. Duh. It’s amazing. The GIF above, by itself, looks amazing, and you can’t even see all the intricate details throughout it. Art design here is ridiculous, and EXTREMELY good, and exerts itself powerfully through the production design as well. And, this category comes with two fun facts!

The Producers: So, other than Jodorowsky himself, this film was produced by ABKCO Music and Records’ Allen Klein, after being asked to do so by JOHN LENNON AND GEORGE HARRISON of the Beatles, WHOM HE MANAGED. YEAH. THIS MOVIE IS LITERALLY BOUGHT BY MONEY SUPPLIED FROM LUCY IN THE SKY WITH DIAMONDS. WHAT IN THE FUCK. Apparently, Harrison and Lennon were huge fans of Jodorowsky’s previous film, El Topo, and convinced Klein to fund this film as well. In fact, John Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, actually put up money for the production of this film! What the hell, right? That’s somehow the craziest, yet most fitting thing I’ve heard about this movie. Well, that and...

The Budget: OK, I did the math. I think. It was a little tricky, navigating around production costs and rates of inflation for both countries, but I’m pretty sure I got it. See, this film cost $750,000 USD, right? If the film was to be made today, accounting for inflation, that would be (in Mexico), $91,050,589 MXD. Average budget for a Mexican film today? According to The New York Times, about $1.5 million. YEAH. THIS FILM WAS EXPENSIVE AS FUUUUUUUUUCK TO MAKE. And the crazy thing is...they slashed the costs IN HALF. The originally were planning on spending double that amount, and somehow managed to cut it in half. Goddamn. Well, it was worth the money, at least.

Music and Editing: 9/10

Music is basically perfect, and was composed by Don Cherry, Ronald Frangipane, and, OF COURSE, Alejandro Jodorowsky. Eat your heart out, Tommy Wiseau. And said music is, again, fantastic. It’s crazy, but it is good. Editing is...a little sketchy, at times. It was done by Federico Landeros and, SAY IT WITH ME NOW, Alejandro Jodorowsky. I am impressed; dude wears many weird rounded-cone-shaped hats. But yeah, editing was pretty good, with some dodgy effects work here and there.

90%. And I’m not sure I understand myself at this point.

Despite the absolute no sense that this movie made at a cursory glance...I can’t even begin to call this movie anything but great. It’s a great movie. It makes no goddamn sense (WHY THE FUCKING OCELOTS), but that doesn’t make it bad by any means AT ALL. I mean it, because this is, by all accounts, an amazing film that’s also amazingly weird. But in terms of recommending it...watch it with friends. It’s easier to watch with friends, and probably more fun that way. I watched it with the GF, and we had a good time. A crazy time, but a good one nonetheless.

And now that that’s finished...I need a break. Is there anything I could watch that’s...I dunno, familiar? Something I can really sink my teeth into? Something comparatively far simpler, that won’t make me feel like the movie’s trying to talk to me, a metaphorical rock?

March 15, 2021: Clash of the Titans (1981)

[kimberly-spirits13]

For Wandering Dreamers (Bonus Story & Not Technically Part of the Series Just Same Universe It’ll Make Sense)

Synopsis: You had a chance to watch Spoilers for Justice League Dark Apokolips War and it ended it angst and fluff

Notes: This is taken from the same concept as my For Wandering Dreamers series and is just what would happen if you watched the movie in that set universe since you still have access to your old phone. This is also a bit angsty at the beginning and fluff at the end.

Warnings: Spoilers for Justice League Dark Apokolips War, language

Word Count: 1770

You were sitting on your bed in Wayne Manor, phone in hand, now connected to your computer. It was the release day of the new movie back home where you were from and you were pumped for the movie. The only issue for you was seeing Damian and Raven together on screen what with you dating him and all. It was a bit weird but you weren’t going to let that stop you from watching the movie.

           Damian was going out for patrol and had just left. You didn’t really know how violent this movie would be but there were rumors that it would be pretty hardcore. It was just a movie though, and you were sure to teleport into a universe that wasn’t as... doomed as Flashpoint.

           Damian walked out of the room after one last kiss before you started up the movie and sat back to embark on whatever was supposed to happen. You watched as the movie started getting kind of intense.

           “A bit early dontcha think DC?” You muttered arms crossed.

           The film continued and eventually you stumbled across some of the bloodiest and most violent scenes that you’d ever witnessed. Would it have kind of messed you up watching it without knowing that this stuff was real? Yes. But now, knowing that this thing really happened, it hurts in a new kind of way.

           You watched as your favorite heroes died one by one. It was the most antagonizing thing that you’d ever seen in so long. Babs, eaten alive, Hawkman having his wings ripped off, it was like watching everyone that had raised you as a kid be killed off one by one. It broke you seeing what happened to the heroes as the casualties started sky rocketing. What really made you sick was the Titans dying.

           Star was split in half, her blood everywhere and spine showing through, Conner’s neck was snapped and then you saw it, Dick being stabbed to death. The sound made you feel queasy you felt sick to your stomach and then your heart dropped when the parademon saw Damian. You felt tears well in your eyes on anticipation only breathing when he was just knocked into the water seeing as there was a chance of his survival.

           It was hard going on, but know you were glued to the screen watching in anticipation of what was to happen. Eventually after sticking your nose up to what you knew as the DamiRae parts of the movie in jealousy, you got to one of the last battles. It was Damian vs Bruce and you knew it was not going to be pretty. If there was anything that you would never show him besides this entire movie, it was going to be this part and you knew it. You grimaced at the words that Bruce said. They echoed in your mind, his voice sticking there for a few seconds.                  “Your mother mentally broke me.” He continued, “You’re a burden.”

           “Damn B, I know you’re brainwashed and crap but what happened to Batdad?” You said getting a bit mad at the dialogue.

           After a little while, you watched in absolute horror as Damian jumped in front of Bruce. You were at a loss of words watching him shrivel into what looked like an ancient version of himself. Words clumped into the back of your throat as you started to cry hearing Raven screaming and then the climax of the movie hitting. It was terrible seeing him like that. You didn’t stop crying when he was revived either, you didn’t stop until the end of the movie where finally you went to the bathroom for a second.

           Damian wasn’t due to be home for a bit. It was an amazing movie, but seriously? You thought you’d be sick seeing the outcomes of Dick and everyone else. Yes, Flash would hopefully fix everything running into the Speed Force, but it costed everything. You went to the shelf in your bedroom, grabbing your character guide to flip through it. Tears only really came for those with the worst deaths. You didn’t know what happened to some of the characters but you were sure it either wasn’t good, or they weren’t in the movie at all. It was weird seeing everyone in this light and really didn’t affect you too terribly until you thought of Diana. She was the mother you never had and your childhood hero. Watching her become this cyborg version of herself, losing everything was something you didn’t take well.

           You flipped the page to her four pages and cried looking down at the now broken hero, seeing her in a whole new way of defeat and near death. You didn’t realize how much time had passed when you got a knock on the door and a voice that was certainly Damian’s.

           “Beloved?” He asked before you said he could come in, “Are you alrig-“

           Damian stopped dead in his tracks looking at your tear stained face with much concern and then saw the book open in your hands and the black screen of your laptop, it turning off automatically.

           “What happened?” He asked scooping you into his arms and sitting on your bed.

           “E-everyone d-died.” You choked up, “A-and Diana, she, I just, she was completely broken." “Y-you...” You trailed off not wanting to continue, the look on your face being very evident too Damian that that was the case.

           “Y/N, it doesn’t happen here, you know that. It was you who told me that this kind of thing would have already happened since it just got made into a movie.” Damian said, “Everyone is fine.” “I’m fine, I’m here with you, and you’re fine.”

           You looked up at him and shut the book before deleting the file of the movie, “Do not go watching that Damian.”

           “I won’t beloved, you have my word.” Damian promised tucking you two in and shutting off the lamp, “Remember, I’ll always be right here with you. I love you.”

           “I love you too.” You said not falling asleep as quickly as typical.

           It was a few hours later when a dream came on about the movie. You were there in some kind of clear box watching from afar. Damian was bleeding looking up at Bruce before it forwarded more and you saw the league in ruins once more. Damian was strapped into a machine and you were trying to get to him. There was no use in this however. He looked at you and pleaded for help before suddenly, without a moment’s notice, he shriveled into the grey corpse you had seen him in previously.

           “Y/N! Beloved wake up!” Damian was shaking you awake gently before you shot up, sweat covering your face and tears starting to stream down your face as you latched onto Damian, his arms wrapping around you tightly.

           “You’re okay Y/N, it was just a dream.” Damian said tenderly.

           “Please don’t stop talking.” You whimpered feeling him start to trace patterns ono your back as he started talking again, his hot breath dancing on your shoulder.

           “My love, when we first met I couldn’t believe that you were from a different universe.” Damian chuckled some, “To think you were so accustomed to Gotham and fought that man with such pride, I could have thought you had lived here your entire life. After I- you took me back to the cave, I thought you would have demanded to become a vigilante along with the rest of us.”  “I’m glad that you didn’t, it makes me feel better knowing that you’re safe but can also handle yourself at any given time. I’m so sorry that you had to see what you did in this kind of context.”

           His touch became still on your back before he took a long, drawn out sigh as if he was thinking about what he was going to say, “I love you like I love the stars, they are a small light of mystery and beauty in this world.” He smiled some kissing your shoulder.

           “I love you like the ocean, your thoughts and it infinitely deep and everchanging.” He kissed your other shoulder.

           “I love you like I love stories, complex and an escape from reality.” He kissed your jaw.    

           “You are my sun, the light of my life.” He kissed your other cheek”

           “You’re my rest and comfort” He kissed the tip of your nose, “My first love, not just a meaningless relationship.” He kissed your forehead, “My eyes, seeing the beauty in the world.” He then kissed your eye and smiled as you grinned some, “You are my beauty, something that I adore every day.” He lightly kissed your other eye.

           “But most importantly,” Damian paused as you opened your eyes some, “You are my last love, my beloved, and my entire world.” This time he pulled you in for a real kiss, something that felt like it lasted for days or even centuries.

           “I love you Damian.” You smiled as he fell back onto the pillow, taking you down with him and holding you closely still to his chest as you literally laid on top of him.

           “I love you Y/N.” He smiled running his fingers through your hair and fell asleep quickly after you did.

           You awoke from your sleep, light pouring into the bedroom.

           “Good morning beloved.” You heard Damian mutter, a smile in his voice now with an accent.

           “Good morning Dami.” You replied yawning some.

           “Did you sleep well after everything?” He questioned running his fingers through your hair.

           “I did, thank you.” You laughed, “That is the last time I watch that movie.”

           “I’m glad you’re doing better, it sounded like a terrible thing to see what with now knowing it’s relevancy.” He explained, an arm still wrapped tightly around your waste as he sat up.

           You laid in his lap before sitting up, facing him. You were straddling him, your feet pressing against his hips but only because you had socks on. He kissed you lightly smiling into it. You laid your head on his chest and sighed.

           “Last night felt like a fever dream.” He chuckled at your comment.

           “I assure you beloved, it was not a dream.” Damian said, “The good parts especially weren’t.”

           “I’m glad for that.” You smiled, “Anyways, we should probably get breakfast now.”

           “But what if we stayed in bed?” He asked.

           “What if we quickly ate something and had a relaxing weekend?” You asked.

           “That sounds wonderful.” Damian said as you guys got up to head downstairs and start your weekend.

[hearteyes-for-killmonger]

One Night Only 2, Part 6

A/N: This one is a flashback from ONO 1 only it's from Erik's perspective. For @muse-of-mbaku

---

Twenty-three days had passed since Erik had seen Y/N and he was in Ontario, Canada backstage with a cup of hot water, lemon, and honey as he listened to the crowd of thousands. A cough drop rolled on his tongue as he waited. The opening act was a young duo who needed exposure. They definitely had the talent. They performed their asses off living in their moment and he smiled at the energy they brung. The crowd was really feeling them.

(Y/N) I miss you

The message on his phone screen was the same one that had been there for the past twenty days. It may as well have been his screensaver at this point. For the eighteenth time in the day alone, he re-read the three small words in the nearly empty text thread. He could imagine Y/N's voice in his head telling it to him. He could still hear her, thinking of when she yelled after him in the airport. The memory always made him smile.

Don't respond, he told himself. She needs this time to develop who she is and you'll only become her crutch if you respond now.

The truth of the matter was usually enough to get him to put the phone down.. This time, however, despite his best efforts, his thumb hovered on the screen ready to respond. He typed four words before he stopped himself, deleting them character by character. Be strong. You can make it.

Whether he was thinking about her or himself, he wasn't sure, but he knew if he texted her now, they'd never stop talking. She'd never get the opportunity to move on and to grow alone. She'd gone from relationship to depression to relationship. She needed time to live with just herself so that she could discover herself without anyone else's input and find out what it meant to live for only one person, chasing her own dreams and desires.

For her own good, he had to ignore her.

The performance ended with a howl of screams and applause for the duo. The dramatic shift occurred where the music for Erik's set came in and the crowd went wild. It was time for Erik to go on, they were calling for him.

This is for you, he thought darkening the phone screen and running out onto the stage jumping with the mic in his hand.

From now on, everything I do is for you.

---

Ontario, Montreal, Vegas, New Orleans, Atlanta, Houston, Chicago, London, Bucharest, Rio, Lima, Brasilia, Lagos, Accra, Nairobi, Cape Town, Johannesburg, LA, Detroit, Anchorage.

Another stop, another city, another set with him pouring everything out on stage and exhausting himself, sweaty but satisfied. More nights with women throwing their bras and thongs onto the stage and coming backstage.

He's sure to wink at a few women when their eyes meet as he's performing. Their cameras are on him and he knows they'll go back and look at the footage later especially if they plan to post it somewhere. He gives one young lady with long blonde braids the mic watching her finish his lyrics as he bobs his head along with her. The moment in the car with Y/N when his song came on the radio comes to mind as he grins throwing the girl a t-shirt. He must've done that in four different cities. Everytime.. he had to smile because he couldn't stop seeing and hearing Y/N in those girls. He kissed one girl on the cheek and she almost passed out. He had to catch her and hold her for a second until she was okay.

Backstage meets were full of loyal fans, some down to earth and some a little crazy. He could always pinpoint the ones who felt entitled to him simply because they paid for a backstage pass. He was cordial with them, but he refused to put up a front to satisfy their expectations of him. He was Erik Stevens, a nigga from Cali.. and this puffed up image of him that the media sold was just that, puffed up. The ones who could vibe without demanding a performance of a character were the ones he preferred to mix with backstage.

He gave handshakes, dapped up, and hugged those who came on equal footing as souls connecting to the music. He fucked the ones who came as groupies, their love for his music so strong it transferred onto him. Some of them had been attracted to him from day one to the point they actually started listening to his music because of it. Some of them, their intentions from the very beginning were simply to have sex with someone famous. He gave them what they wanted. He fucked them all.. if they were attractive. 

He didn't fuck the women with those bright hopeful eyes though nor did he fuck the ones with sad eyes. There could only be one of those for him now. Every time a woman looked up at him like he was her hero it only served as a reminder of that fateful day that forever changed the way he thought about love.

---

"It's been five months... The fuck is she doing," Erik snapped.

He'd long been off tour and yet Y/N hadn't come. He clearly recalled asking her to come to him when they were together. He thought she would. He'd hoped that she would. He wanted her face to be the one he saw once his tour had ended. He wanted her in his bed and in his house. Alas, she had not arrived.

"She doing her.. Ain't that what you told her to do," Corey replied smartly over the phone.

He did, but he ain't expect it to take this long. It had been TOO long. She should've found him when his tour was over. He could've been helping her right now instead of talking to this nigga over the phone. Well, he could still help her... and matter of fact, he would.

He floated her name to a few people in his circle in hopes that they could scout or create opportunities for her. Anything that he could do without overstepping or making it obvious.

---

Nine months and he was still waiting on the woman who'd come into his life and turned it inside out. He read her text message again. It was starting to feel like a fever dream, their time together. It was like living months without his heartbeat. He'd been reduced to checking her social media accounts that he'd gotten hold of regularly just to get glimpses of her, making sure she was doing well. He'd created a separate account just do he could follow her and lurk without her knowing. This way, he didn't have to sweat over accidentally double tapping or hitting the heart. He could also view her lives without his name appearing. This eased his mind because he felt closer to her, but it still was not close enough. He was happy to see her coming into her own gradually and he loved the glimpses into her life, but he wanted to be part of it.

The day finally came when he saw her pictured with another nigga, light skin with freckles like an old banana. Who was that nigga? He dug through the comments and looked for any tags following them until he found the profile. James Porleau.

Porleau. His lip twisted in irritation scrolling through the man's account... also known as Jimmy.

Well fuck you, Jimmy, he thought as he scrolled. He went back to the photo of them together. They'd both posted it and it set off red flags in his mind. Stop it, he told himself. She needs this, and how many women have you fucked? Let her get it out of her system. 

That was until a week later he saw that her IG account was suddenly on private and that blew him. Wrong move, babe. Luckily his fake account was already following her so he could still see her posts.

"Corey tell her take her Instagram off private. Can't nobody like or enjoy her shit if they can't access it."

"I ain't even know it was on private.. how'd you know? Damn you a stalker for real, huh?"

"I'm just checking on her."

"Riiight," Corey drags, "... You musta seen Jimmy," he chuckles.

"Who is he anyway?" It wasn't worth pretending he hadn't.

"A placeholder.... She misses you but she need dick to keep her warm at night and you not here. I keep telling you to just pop up on her. That nigga would disappear real quick."

"I can't. She's in her zone right now, growing, and if I pop up she might get distracted. This is all healthy for her...I just don't like that nigga." Looking at the two of them together made him uneasy. "I'm a look into him to make sure. Just to be safe."

"Nigga," Corey laughed on the other end.

"I'm serious."

"They not. They just fuckin around."

---

Fuckin around. Who fucks around like this for months? Y/N and Jimmy seemed to be going strong and there was nothing in Jimmy's past that Erik could hold up or frown on. He was a lawyer and a decent guy it seemed. Inside, he was conflicted. He didn't want them together because it made his heart burn, but at the same time she WAS his heart and he was glad she wasn't alone. There were five photos with him and Y/N together. He swallowed his emotions and continued to scroll.

He could see pictures posted at Corey's engagement party. The shoes he'd bought. He rolled his eyes still not believing he'd bought a grown man's shoes. Mostly, he'd scrolled the feed to get glimpses of Y/N. She looked as beautiful as ever and despite the turmoil boiling in his gut due to the fact that she was still too far away, he was glad to see she had a big smile on her face where she was. 

He felt like a fan.

---

"She quit her job," Corey blurted when Erik answered the phone. Erik had just left a meeting with his manager and PR person to discuss some of his most recent behavior. He'd cussed out a white guy who'd bought backstage passes and wasn't satisfied because Erik didn't cater to him. The guy tried to force Erik to pay more attention to him but Erik refused to be treated like a toy. The guy deserved worse than the few choice words he got and Erik made that known when he refused to apologize or do anything to make the situation go away. He simply didn't care. 'Figure it out. I'm not doing shit,' he'd told them before storming out.

"She q-.. Is that good or bad? She need money?"

"Nigga. Who don't need money?"

"I'll say it like this.. Is she in danger of losing her apartment or not eating?"

"Nah nah.. Nah, never that. She getting money from her social networking. She one of them influencers now."

"Oh damn.. Is she happy?"

"Oh yeah. She happy as hell, her lil pickle head ass dancing all over the living room right now."

"She don't know you talking to me right?"

"She in there with Anaya not thinking about my ass. See, “BIG OL FREAK, BIG BOOT BIG OL TREAT.. see they ain't paying no attention."

"Nigga, I slid you that track in secret because you were a Megan fan, damn! Don't make me regret it! It ain't out yet... I gotta get my verse together."

---

The day came where Y/N finally released her own original music, music she'd written and arranged herself. He sat in his Ferrari 488GTB with his phone connected by bluetooth and the music playing through his speakers. He'd been waiting a year to hear her song and now that the time had come,  he rested his head against the headrest and let the sound caress his ears. Her soulful, smooth, and angelic voice rode the beat with precision. With the volume up and the sound enveloping him, it felt like she was there and singing directly to him. This about me, he thought with a lazy smile listening to her words. That nigga couldn't make her feel like this.. and I know it ain't about her ex.. Nah, it's definitely about me. The thought had him replaying it and for the next week it was his go to song. He knew every word and could sing it. He often did when he was alone.

From singing covers to her own original music, she'd taken large strides. He was impressed and proud that she'd worked hard to carry out her vision to accomplish her dream. He could not stop grinning whenever he heard her song... and then he heard it in public. He was out and about and he heard it, it was brief, but enough for him to recognize it. His stomach was leaping. He looked around for the source, but it had been so quick. That's my baby. His chest was swelling, heart full. That's when he knew for a fact she'd made it.

---

Erik witnessed the success of her EP and bragged on her where he could, of course not to the point of it being loud or widespread enough for it to get back to her. He was careful not to tempt her into cutting off her progress for some haphazard reunion. Of course, he was still fuckin groupies left and right.

He saw the explosion in her social media for himself, her verified side account so that her main could be reserved for her inner circle. He saw all the plays she got on Pandora, Spotify, iTunes, and YouTube. He could finally Google her and see her on multiple platforms. She was linked to him. Their names were still used together, but she was standing alone as well.

She'd gotten fans and followers. Lotta comments and likes. Aight now.. Drake.. back the fuck up. Along with her fame came the thirst. Hella niggas were liking her pictures and leaving random emojis.

"Ayo Corey, tell me something. I need an update. What's she doing? What she need?"

"I remember her saying she need a signed jersey from Steph Curry. She's really been into basketball lately for some reason. She'd love that."

"How bout I send this size 12 foot up ya ass?"

"You still violent as ever, I see. Ornery... You been getting any cheeks?"

"Groupie pussy don't hit the same."

"Not when you've had that number one superfan pussy!"

"Don't remind me. That bitch was crazy."

"But her pussy was fire wuh'nit?"

"She was fuckin crazy. You almost got sniped for that, sending me crazy bitches. You lucky I been in therapy for so long."

"How was I supposed to know the bitch was nuts, she seemed normal to me, I just thought she was a nice lady."

"Nah. I knew something was off. Shouldn't have fucked her."

"Can't unfuck her, but you can hire extra security."

"Nah. If she come around, I'm a handle her."

"Careful E... you soundin like the old you. I know you wanna keep control n'shit."

"Oh I'm in control. I got security, but if she push me they can't protect her from me but for so long."

"Remember she a woman. Though she a bitch, she a bitch with titties.. I guess you supposed to be more gentle.. because of the titties..."

"Yeah well she ain't finna have no titties fuckin wit me. I was taught to believe in equal rights of the sexes."

Click.

Hm? He hung up. Must've been Anaya or someone who walked in.

---

Erik had seen Corey's wedding photos and short clips and through he didn't comment, he congratulated him ans sent a gift. He lurked Y/N's social media catching up on her photos and videos. He was beginning to forget what she tasted like, but when he stared at her through his screen ge could imagine. He was a ghost haunting her pages. He'd become the very thing he'd warned her against. He was stuck on her.

She hadn't posted yet. Every time he scrolled, it was like Russian Roulette. He had to continuously remind himself to check that he was using the lurking account and not his actual account. Also, he was never sure what he'd find. Sometimes the content filled him with intense pride and joy, but sometimes it hurt. That nigga still seemed to be close to her and it got under his skin. She was supposed to fuck around with him and move onto another one, but this nigga was consuming ALL the time that Erik was sacrificing.

He wanted to get on her live.. it was an impulse whenever he visited her page and she had one. THE NIGGA WAS IN THE LIVE. Given, he wasn't the only one there, but still. Erik's jaw tightened and his eyes shut tightly putting the phone against his forehead before putting it away. He needed to think of something different. He needed to go on with his busy ass day.

---

Another year had officially passed.

Pictures posted of Y/N with her and the Corey's baby smiling and glowing living their best fuckin life. Erik didn't want to be bitter, but he couldn't hello that part of him felt bitter. He was lonely. He could see Corey was happy and flexin with Anaya. He'd found a good thing.

Erik wanted to be happy like that, but he couldn't and it wasn't for lack of trying. No matter how many models he went through, how many groupies he fucked, he was still lonely. He laid in bed with other girls as they were passed out from all the sex, scanning through Y/N's pictures. He still had that photo he'd taken when they were in bed together and he was flipping off the camera. It felt like ten years ago instead of two, but emotionally it still felt like yesterday.

Don't know what you're doing off camera.. Wonder what you're doing and if you really moved on..

I sound insecure right now.

Put the phone down. Turn the phone off.

24 hours. Erik kept it off.

The next morning when Erik turned him phone on, his manager had a lot to say. The main thing being, "You ain't answer your phone."

Erik laughed dryly having just gotten chewed out. What could he say?

"It died," he lied. "What'd you wanna say tho?"

---

Typically, Erik could distract himself and push his feelings aside, but he'd seen something this time that he couldn't push aside in his mind. It was a photo of Y/N and that nigga kissing on the lips, the caption: 'I love this man.'

She'd dropped the L word and Erik couldn't breathe. He looked at the phone staring from the word to the picture. It was a punch in the stomach. Had he been waiting on her in vain? Had she chosen this banana faced bitch? Had she really decided to be with him?

Erik had to sit down. He laid down the phone and gripped at his face which was hot, dragging his cheeks down with his palms, fingers sliding down his face. Facepalm. Her with this nigga AGAIN. He wanted to cry.

They ain't look bad together and that seemed to be a popular consensus based on the comments. It made his eye twitch.

He sighed deeply, his jaw tightening. His head felt like it would pop. She was raising his blood pressure and he had to breathe, blinking as he stared at nothing to calm himself. It didn't look like they were just fuckin. They were entirely too close, spending too much time together to say there were no feelings and now he knew. She loved him.

He stood abruptly pacing the floor of his living room. His ear itched at the entire situation and he scratched wildly in irritation releasing his frustration in a loud, "FUCK."

He needed to jog. Stopping short, he decided fuck jogging, he'd hit the bag. In his home gym, he paced and punched the body bag until his fists went numb with pain to match the confusing and excruciating feeling in his heart. He fell to the floor onto his back, sweat covering his face as he tried to shut down his racing mind, chest heaving.

One time. He'd allow himself to see her one time. He had to see her up close even if it was a goodbye. He looked her up to see her next performance. It was at a club called Sapphire. He laid there on the ground thinking of her song and all the times he'd played it. He was starting to think he was wrong about who she was singing to all along.

---

The performance went without a flaw while Erik stood in the back of the crowded club with his hood pulled up, listening with his ears and saying goodbye with his heart. If she wanted him, he'd fight, but if she wanted that other nigga and he truly made her happy, he'd let her go.

The entire performance, he wished her the best, still more excited for her than anyone when she got nothing but applause and positive feedback. He wanted badly to walk up and grab her hand just to confirm that his eyes still held power over her, her heart, and her knees... but he resisted. He'd have stayed longer, but when he started to get recognized, it became a problem

The first woman to recognize him gaped, her mouth and eyes wide. He signaled for her to be quiet with his finger over his lips. When the third person recognized him, it was time to go. He had to leave before word got out that he was there.

---

"Nigga, you are dumb as hell. Them pictures don't mean shit. They ain't even together no more. You depressed for what?"

"I'm not depressed, I'm working."

"This would all be solved if you'd bring ya ass over here then you'd see for yourself... You should've approached her at the club. She'd have lost her fuckin mind and been with you right now, but y'all both wanna be stubborn."

"Well then if that's true... I'm not gonna rush her or or cut off her relationship. I've BEEN ready. I'm just waiting on her. When she's ready she'll come."

"You finna be waiting a decade."

"Aye.. So be it."

There was a strain that Erik could hear. Corey was the middle point and he was trying hard to keep the two of them connected but there was only so much he could do. Erik felt his frustration, but his resolve was strong.

"..UUUUUGH, Y'ALL GET ON MY DAMN NERVES," Corey groaned.

---

3 months passed and Erik was with his lawyer, manager, and producer reworking contracts that would be re-signed. Apparently, his lawyer was peeping shit he missed, earning his check. Erik figured he'd need a new producer soon. This one was sheisty and he didn't wanna have to threaten him or worse. It was best to work with someone else and this lawyer seemed to be doing well with determining the producer's breach of contract making it void.

"One second," Erik put a finger up walking out of the conference room. Typically, he would never walk out of a meeting that serious, but he saw a name on his screen with a new message from a number that hadn't contacted him in two years.

Holding his breath, he opened it.

(Y/N) I'm in Cali can we meet

@imaginewhoever @goddessofthundathighs @panthergoddessbast @thadelightfulone @misspooh @marvelmaree @youreadthatright @forbeautyandlife @theunsweetenedtruth @bidibidibombaclaat @myboyfriendgiriboy @dameshaemonique @blackpantherimagine   @vikkidc @hidden-treasures21 @mysidefanting @hold-me-like-a-heart-beat @syndrlla97 @winteroflife @thotyana-in-this-hoe   @texasbama @gingerylimonte @princessstevens   @magic-madness-heavensin @wawakanda-btch @scrumptiouslytenaciouscrusade @wakanda-inspired @blackgirloneshots @thegucciwaffle @thiccdaddy-mbaku @drsunshine97 @purplehairgawdess @trevantesbrat @indigoxsummers @cccccx1   @dynastylnoire @iamrheaspeaks @blowmymbackout @fonville-designs @they-call-me-le @theblulife @raysunshine78 @sheisexcellent @blackpinup22

[simmersdioxide]

was tagged by @etct

1. nicknames: simmers/ simmerson, I have a real name but its fucking stupid i wish it were simmers 

2) zodiac sign: Gemini scorpeepo rising

3) height: around 5 inches

.4) hogwarts house: dont make me...! hufflepuff

5) the last thing i googled: harry potter house test, pictures of people screaming

6) favorite musicians:  Lauren Bousfield, Mr. Kindhoover, Steve hackett, Kraftwerk, ENYA, Dengue Fever, goreshit,  JAMES FERRARO, OMD and many more

7) song stuck in your head: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1T6QFpd0J4&list=FLMrXA2N-Eu20qO6ZukD4x1Q&index=2&t=4s

and also john lennons imagine, but mostly the video, like i cant stop thinking about the moment ono and john dissipated to enter the imagine house and he goes ahh ah- aaaah, but cant remember the tune itself at all 

8) following: i pray its not more than my follower count

9) followers: 1154

10) do you get asks?: on occasion, usually after i post something like fanart or completed originals. and other times its like: “ let me activate your vertebrate simmers”. though i have some pretty genuine ones in store regarding my concepts... im still thinking about how i should reply to them

11) amount of sleep: 12 hours in summer, 5 hours in school

12) lucky number: 180 or 1001, 180 because of geometry, and i always felt satisfied when the triangle became 180, then the other corresponding numbers, that added to, 180. god. 1001 because i think its reasonable to strive for symmetrical!

13) what you’re wearing:  sublime shirt with the funny sun and dont make fun of me but, velor sweatpants, not sure where they came from

14) dream job: if thinking reasonably: to be happy as an artist, if we are thinking if the world goes to shit one day, and we will be needing more secret agents, then secret fucking agent .and or someone who is hired to kill people worse than someone who kills people

15) dream trip: uninhabited mountains, isolated shelter in Antarctica 

16) instrument: I can improvise piano, but its been a while. and i do not know the notes on paper except G

17) languages: english french tagalog, all currently at extremely shitty levels

18) favourite songs: there are many currently siphoning

ridiculously obscure, but found it by accident when looking for a liquid television short

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSSBQIvTkAs&list=PLJdBBa910tnUywdWeXwdFDIVVQUd_mFsg&index=51&t=0s

found kraftwerk in my dads cd s and i almost exclusively listen to this particular song on the cd player, because i think there are certain things you can detect when playing it on the cd player and not through headphones. currently inspiring me to world-build from my characters and concepts, and begin my writings on sub categorizations branching from said concepts. mainly the classic robot philosophy cogitations if i were to directly connect from the song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFZWtJCni7k&list=PLJdBBa910tnUywdWeXwdFDIVVQUd_mFsg&index=59

fuck its enya 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etSWnMGL8Ww&list=PL1437E54EAA1D24E0

19) random fact: i cannot grow armpit hair

20) aesthetic: it really depends, many things appeal to me in certain moments, but i think i gravitate to the aesthetic of extreme detail. and things like faithcore, kiddie looking things, indiscernible objects, whatever teletubbies had, that very particular aura surrounding shitty stock photos, robotics, atom science and the horrors of capitalism. 

I tag every single individual who sees this 

[natsthinkitythinkthinkthonk]

Happy 32nd Birthday Nobuhiko Okamoto!

Personal Note:

I’ve been preparing for a while because I wanted to make this with a lot more thought. Sorry for the length of this post. I spent quite a bit of time on it, but I didn’t realize it would get so long! He is one of my top favourite voice actors (both English and Japanese) ever. To me, he’s a relatable, awesome, and passionate inspiration. He puts his all into every role he does, and he never gives up no matter who tells him to. 

I could probably go on about how much I like many of the roles he’s done, but that would be a whole other essay in itself. I even considered watching Corpse Party (the scaredy cat I am) because I heard he was in it. Yeah, I’m one of those people who gets drawn to anime when I figure out certain studios and voice actors are attached to it. I have watched a few episodes of some really bad anime because I heard he was in it. No regrets! Okay, maybe I have a few... I still haven’t watched them all though! I plan on watching a ton more, and that includes a few bad apples here and there.

Despite all the hurdles and adversity he faces, he overcomes it! He has had so many amazing roles, he sings, he’s good at shogi, and he’s just a good person. I respect him a lot. Honestly, I can’t word stuff too well, but I sincerely hope he continues working, maybe gets married and has kids (since he said he wanted to), and experiences all the happiness he deserves.

Table of Contents:

Top Roles (+ clips)

Trailblazer arrangement

Facts + Q&As

Music Recommendations

Additional Sources + other cool posts

Top Roles:

I watched to include even the ones that I didn’t watch entirely, so I put together a whole list. It’s generally not too strict in order, but I went from his good to his best. If I wanted to put a few words, I just included them in square brackets. In those, there will also be recommended clips if I feel the need to add any in.

* = ones that I haven’t watched completely (or up to its current point)

Rui Tatsumi* - Starmyu

Ivan Karelin* - Tiger and Bunny

Shin-ah - Akatsuki no Yona

[This character didn’t talk much, so he actually got to play a MOB character as well. I found this character kind of charming though.]

Mitsuo - Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou

[He’s the one who dropped the hot dog. Rest in Pieces. This anime made me laugh, and even though this character barely appeared, he made me laugh every time he did. Recommended clip: “Glasses”]

Gladion* - Pokemon Sun & Moon

[He’s actually the perfect choice to play this edgy boi.]

Yumeji Fujiwara* - Yumekui Merry

[RIP the can]

Makoto Kashino* - Yume-iro Pâtissière

[I just started this one]

Mizuki* - Kamisama Hajimemashite

[I watched six episodes of this one.]

Rei Ogami - Code:Breaker

[This wasn’t a very good anime, it’s a mediocre manga, but I still enjoyed it.]

Nikaidou Harunobu* - 3-Gatsu no Lion

[I watched around 6-8 episodes of this one. This character is a pure round boi, and I like the way Nobu portrayed this character. Recommended Clip.]

Io Otonashi* - Acchi Kocchi

[I watched around 5 episodes of this one. His bishounen game is very strong.]

Takeru Fujiwara* - Prince of Stride

[These anime characters run like how I run from my life responsibilities and problems. His bishounen game is also very strong. The strong and silent type is always popular. Sadly, I’m the quiet and extremely frail and weak type.]

Shouta Kisa* - Sekaiichi Hatsukoi

[According to Tumblr, he has never done an R-rated (18+) BLCD, but he has been in some shounen-ai anime.]

Issac Foster - Satsuriku no Tenshi

[My reaction to this anime. Don’t worry, I’m following this to the end.]

Ryousuke Kominato - Diamond no Ace

Ryou Kurokiba* - Shokugeki no Souma

Age - Sakasama no Patema

[Yeah, that’s his actual name. If you name your child something that stupid, I would personally like to have a word with you. This movie was really nice though.]

Accelerator* - Toaru Majutsu no Index

[I had to include his laugh to this]

Jurai Andou - Inobato (Inou-Battle wa Nichijou-kei no Naka de)

[And jail is just a building you live in! I can’t remember the context of this line.]

Kiyoharu Hyoudou - Welcome to the Ballroom

Yoichi Saotome* - Owari no Seraph

Eiji Niizuma* - Bakuman

[Recommended Clip]

Obi - Akagami no Shirayuki-hime

[When he looks into the mirror and realizes he’s missing his eyebrows.]

Takumi Usui* - Kaichou wa Maid-sama

Yuu Nishinoya* - Haikyuu

[Recommended Clip: ROLLING THUNDER!]

Rin Okumura - Ao no Exorcist

[He’s such a likeable protagonist. Recommended clip: Rin x Shiemi because they’re adorable]

Mikoto Mikoshiba - Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun

[This character made me laugh so much. He and Seo are my favourites. I haven’t seen another amazing anime with both Miyuki Sawashiro and Nobu. They’re my two favourites. I hope to see them acting together eventually (even if Mikorin and Seo never really communicated). Thanks to Nobu, we have a voice to this madly embarassed bishounen. Recommended Clips: Mikorin Clips, Mixer Clip]

Katsuki “Kacchan” Bakugou - Boku no Hero Academia

[Bakugou might not always be my cup of tea as a character, but his voice made me like him somewhat anyway whether he’s an asshole or not. There are a few scenes in season three that hit me with mad feels,, but even during season one and two, Nobu aced this role. This role is what shot him up to one of my favourite voice actors. Recommended Clips: Rage moments, Kacchan vs Deku audio segment (scroll down a little for this Tumblr post), Salty Bakugou S1]

Karma Akabane - Assassination Classroom

[While Bakugou is one type of crazy, Karma is another. Honestly, he’s such a sly, cunning, and mischievous character, but that’s what we all like about him, right?]

Trailblazer Arrangement:

This is my first time transcribing a song and arranging it! I improvised and made up some stuff (mostly guitar solos that just didn’t fit as well logically on piano). I usually don’t like (actually, I kinda hate) transcribing because it’s basically like trying to copy down a book that someone reads aloud (and you can’t look at the text). But it was worth doing this! He’s definitely not my favourite singer, but I’d still listen to him.

I didn't want to go with an original score for this one because I felt like I wanted to improve a lot more as a composer and artist (as if I'm qualified enough to be called those terms). When I make one for him, I want to go all out.

Facts:

I found some other interesting facts online. There are quite a few different sources. I’ll try to list them below all the facts (but I might link them to the actual facts as well. There are a lot, so there’s that.

All [Nat Notes] will be put between square brackets “[these]”.

These are all from THIS POST:

After graduating from secondary school, he entered some voice acting training courses associated with his agency (Pro-Fit) to pursue his dream as a seiyuu.

To be able to pay for his training, he worked at a 7-Eleven and a post office.

His family is very strict and conservative.

He was into video games when he was younger, but his parents were against letting him play video games and ended up limiting him to a one-hour per day time limit [THIS POOR BOI]

[Regarding his gaming] his parents told him, “If you want to play games, you can play shogi.” This ended up being the reason he started playing shogi.

He is a practicing Catholic [ironic since one of his most iconic roles is playing the son of Satan]

He’s a 3rd dan ranked shogi player, and he once aimed to be a professional shogi player.

He has a huge love for sweets. I follow his blog, and a lot of his posts involve sweets.

“His favourite [candy bar] would be Black Thunder chocolate bars (same as Kamiya Hiroshi and Ono Daisuke), and at one point, he always ends up buying Black Thunder by the box, stocking up on it, and eating up to 10 bars in one day, that his agency decided to restrict him into eating just one bar a day.” [let the poor guy eat his chocolate]

He is easily bullied by other seiyuu [check out the original post which has gifs of his mishaps]

“[While recording] …he ran away from the mic, forgetting that he was wearing headphones connected to the mic and ended up messing up the recording room, and the staff had to rearrange everything.”

He’s a big fan of Pokemon [He now plays Gladion in Pokemon Sun & Moon]

These are from “More Nobu Facts”

“As a student, he used to fall asleep on the train and miss his destinations sometimes. He thinks that it’s really comfortable to take a nap there.” [Yeah, you say that until you somehow end up in the middle of nowhere and wonder where you are and why you even exist.]

“He suffers from hay fever in the spring. Said that the symptoms kill him.” [You and me both except mine are year-round and gradually getting worse.]

“He played with Lego bricks when he was a kid.” [If he’s the type of person who left out the bricks and made people experience pain because of it, I will personally leave Lego bricks outside his door. Those things hurt when they’re unexpected.]

“He loves the indoor life.” [don’t we all…]

“He read the Harry Potter series.” [I did too! Not that I remember any of it.]

“His cute, foreign Furby only speaks English. Noburin stated, “English is very hard.”” [HOW DO PEOPLE SLEEP KNOWING THEY OWN ONE OF THOSE? I WOULD BURN IT IF I GOT ONE.]

“In elementary school, the girl he liked gave him chocolate on Valentine’s Day. He said he felt like crying from the shock.” [I haven’t experienced that. Was he happy because it was that girl who gave him chocolate or because he got free chocolate?]

“He was hospitalized before when he was a child due to a bad cold (or maybe the flu).” [Well, that diet sure doesn’t help, and I doubt screaming all the time is good for you. Weirdly, I can’t say anything more than that because I do both too except I scream internally while he does it as his profession.]

He tends to get sick within the first two weeks of October, right before his birthday. [I wish you luck!]

He likes to watch lightning and thinks that it’s cool. [I’M SO SCARED OF THUNDER]

During the summer as a kid, he liked to catch cicadas and dragonflies, and play with water guns. [SAME DUDE]

He was in the badminton club during secondary school.

These are all from his Q&A! [Part 1], [Part 2], [Part 3], [Part 4]:

I’m not going to include quotation marks for this one for the most part. I changed some awkward phrasing. I left out some questions from the original posts as well. Check the sources out!

Nickname: Pikorin

Favourite animal: Dog [Same. I love my dog, Penny. She’s my little sister. I have no shame.]

What are you fond of?: Squirrels [why?]

Description of your personality: Moody [Same.]

Favourite Colour: Black

Health and Beauty Routine: I drink two cups of milk in the morning and do squats two times a day. 

First thing you do in the morning?: Rinse your mouth

First thing you wash in the bath: Face

Amount of sleep you get: 4 hours on the weekdays, 10 hours on the weekend  [I wouldn’t live with that kind of schedule.]

Rain or sunshine: Rain!

What did you play as a child?: I slid down the slide and got many scratches. [I ran up slides a lot in elementary school]

Something you’re proud of: “I have a shiny legendary Pokemon.” [I ALMOST NEVER GET SHINIES. LET ALONE LEGENDARY ONES. THAT’S AN ACCOMPLISHMENT RIGHT THERE. The chances of getting one kinda vary, but it’s less than 0.1% I think.]

Favourite school subject: Math [Can’t relate. I’m dumb.]

Least favourite school subject: Civics

Best school memory?: I won a badminton tournament. [Can’t relate. I’m a blob.]

Previous part-time jobs: [...]post office, fast food, convenience store and then accounting, I’ve done different jobs.

If you could be reborn, would you be a man or woman? A woman!

Who was your first love?: We were in elementary school, in the same class. [Related post]

Any gesture of women unnerving to you?: My heart skips a beat when ousted or “shooed” by hand.  [He gets shooed like a bug XD]

Where would you go for a date?: Tokyo Disney Sea.  [You know you’re at the height of luxury when you can afford to take someone there. I want someone to take me to Disneyland or Disney World, or a Disney Cruise.]

Morning person or night person?: Morning person.  [Can’t relate.]

If you could drive to any time period, what would it be?: Jurassic Period! [If it just so happens you do, *pats* it was nice knowing you (even though he doesn’t know me). He’ll get eaten by a dinosaur.]

If you were stranded on a deserted island, what would you want there with you?: My Nintendo DS or PSP.   [Good luck without a charger or electricity. What games would he bring though?]

Favourite music genre: Anime songs [Me too fam.]

Do you play any instruments? No, playing the F chord on the guitar is my limit. [I like playing and creating music. I’m just not any good at it. XD He should try learning though!]

Favourite sports: swimming and badminton [I’m not good at swimming. I’m not good at badminton. I’m not good at sports.]

Sweets you usually eat: Macarons and chocolate-related sweets [AYE, that’s pretty much my taste too, so we pretty much have similar taste.]

Something you’re self-conscious about: The thickness of my eyebrows. [If his eyebrows were ugly, I would’ve commented on that already. XD (I usually say something along the lines of, “Is that a caterpillar on your face? It’s so thick and bushy! It looks like you took hair from your head and put it on your eyebrow! Maybe you can’t grow facial hair because all of it goes to those eyebrows.”)]

What will you do when and if only you became an invisible man one day?: Secretly observe Sugita Tomokazu-san. [Well, alright then. Fangirls have some competition? More importantly, Nakamura has competition!]

What’s the scariest thing to you?: In a sense, the most intimidating people. [All people are intimidating for me O^O’]

What is the title of the first game you’ve ever played in your life?: “Super Mario World”. [For me, it was Pokemon Pearl]

What would you be if you went into the fantasy world?: A witch. [Nobu, defying gender barriers. He’ll be a fabulous witch. I would similarly want to be a mage.]

What if I want to use a weapon to fight monsters?: Bow, crossbow. [I would want to use magic or a sword!]

Favourite season?: Spring. [I like winter because plants are dead (I have extremely bad allergies), snow, Christmas, my birthday, and New Year’s!]

At what spot do you like to linger around?: Starbucks. [Again, the height of luxury is when you’re able to afford Starbucks regularly.]

How’s your tolerance to alcohol?: I can’t drink much. [I don’t drink]

What good books do you usually read?: Original works that are adapted into anime. [I don’t read a lot. I’m an illiterate fool.]

What do you buy at convenience stores?: Fresh premium caramel roll cake. [I wish they had those in Canada…]

Favourite place in the country?: Okinawa. [I gotta go there someday!]

What countries do you want to go abroad?: Italy. [He recently said he wants to go to Italy for gelato and to be honest, I relate. Europe has good chocolate and cheese from what I hear.]

What are the challenges to your trip destinations like?: Pickpockets like to snatch! [He better watch out for those vans that say “Free Candy!” They might be meant for kids, but he might just stumble in.]

Are you nervous in public?: Recently it’s been okay; still nervous during events. [I’m always nervous in public. I would like to attend an event by the end of my life though.]

What would you tell your past-self (10 years ago)?: “Don’t give up and eat your dinner properly!” [I tell that to myself now XD If I were to send a message to myself, it would be something along the lines of, “What you feel, what you think, and what you believe is important. Listen to yourself. At the end of the day, you will figure out what to do. Don’t be afraid of being alone, and don’t be afraid to wander. Loosen up.”]

What would you message to your future-self (10 years from now)?: “The you in his twenties is having lots of fun. Are you having fun?” [Message for me ten years from now: PLEASE TELL ME YOU AREN’T AS DEEP INTO VOICE ACTORS AND ANIMATION. I BEG YOU, GET A LIFE.]

If the world was going to perish in 24 hours, what would you do? Gather all my friends and family, and have a BBQ party. [I would just write something in case it resurfaces. I would want to write my thoughts, opinions, and experiences along with the people around me.]  

Where do you want to work?: A place where I could grow. [Same!]

What are your thoughts when you look back at 2010? I issued a sex appeal to play [Usui], and worked hard to reach the targets! [From the amount of screaming fangirls, I think you did just fine.]

What is your current aim?: To be more playful and get more out of acting.

Finally, a message to the world: I’ll work hard from now on to make a voice that everyone will not have a hard time to listen to. Thank you for your support! [Thank you Nobu! You inspire a lot of people (including me) everyday!]

Additional Facts! [SOURCES WILL BE LISTED BELOW!]

He likes watching horror movies (especially with his friends Ryouhei Kimura, Kouki Uchiyama, and Yoshimasa Hosoya. Kouki is a scaredy-cat.) When watching a horror movie, he experienced scary unknown noises and used salt to ward away ghosts.

His birthdate is October 24, 1986

He is 168cm tall

He is affiliated with the agency Pro-Fit

He won: - Best New Actor Award at the Third Seiyu Awards for his roles as  Shin Kanzato in Persona: Trinity Soul, Ryuji Kuhoin in Kurenai, and Accelerator in Toaru Majutsu no Index (along with Yuuki Kaji!) - Best Supporting Actor Award at the Fifth Seiyu Awards for his roles as  Takumi Usui in Kaichou wa Maid-Sama, Eiji Niizuma in Bakuman, and Accelerator in Toaru Majutsu no Index II

He loves sweets... a lot: - He’s a qualified patisserie - Where his love of sweets came from [I can also say that is a good portion of his blog]

He tried to be rebellious as a kid but got “clobbered” by his mom.

He would purposefully wear long-sleeves while in the hot recording room for “My Hero Academia” so that he would be agitated enough to play Kacchan!

He adds chocolate to his curry sometimes

He gave Ayane Sakura the nickname “Ayaneru”

He often celebrates fictional characters’ birthdays on his blog for series that he’s involved with!

He was once told to give up on being a voice actor!

Thank you for not giving up Nobu!

Music:

月刊少女野崎君-俺の手でSPARKING!! 御子柴實琴(CV:岡本信彦) - Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun: Mikorin Character Song

Kamisama Hajimemashita: Mizuki Character Song

Welcome to the Ballroom: Kiyoharu Hyoudou Character Song

『 サクラメント』By Okamoto Nobuhiko Ending for Vatican Miracle Examiner

Promise - Kaichou wa Maid-sama: Takumi Usui Character Song

Restoration to 0 - Code:Breaker: Rei Ogami Character Song

Tiger and Bunny: Character Song

スタミュ Starmyu S2 Shadow & Lights 「沈黙のディアローグ」Ver. Tatsumi Rui

Blue Flame - Prince of Stride: Takeru Fujiwara Character Song

99.9% Noisy - To Aru Majutsu no Index: Accelerator character song

Oikaze ni Tsugu - Diamond no Ace: Kominato Ryosuke

Trailblazer - Ao no Exorcist

Kimi wa Hitori Janai

List of Links (Sources and other cool stuff!):

Some of the links were included in the actual facts themselves! If a source and other stuff is missing, they’re included above!

Voice Compilations:

25 Anime Characters That Share The Same Voice Actor as Boku no Hero Academia's Bakugou Katsuki

Voice Compilation [ 1 ], [ 2 ] 

Wikipedia:

Nobuhiko Okamoto

3rd Seiyuu Awards

5th Seiyuu Awards

Haikyuu Stuff:

Haikyuu Awards Basically, they got the fans to nominate for awards like “Who’s the best dressed?” Then the cast got to comment (and maybe get praised by the two female cast members)

“Imagination Game” - Seiyuu Event Long story short: to win a pair of Karasuno boxers, the voice actors must answer all the same character when asked something like, “Out of the Karasuno team, who’s the most likely to [blank]”

Cast Pictures

Drama CD: Why Noya isn’t popular with women (This one is because I fricking relate because I’m too short for this tall world)

“Who’s Best Girl?” - Cast Comments + Nobuhiko’s comments [video with cc]

Nobuhiko Okamoto & Yuuki Kaji being bros [ 1 ], [ 2 ], [ 3 ], [ 4 ], [That time they challenged a Guinness World record], [Nobuhiko’s message for Yuuki Kaji’s 30th birthday]

Nobuhiko’s athletic ability

Kouki Uchiyama, Daiki Yamashita, Nobuhiko Okamoto: [Comic] BNHA Cast Comments

Daiki lending Nobuhiko his jacket (this can potentially fuel Bakudeku fanfics. I can feel it.)

Nishinoya and Bakugou at Jump Festa

[arnostskvrdleta]

Rock

★ The Beatles - Abbey Road ★ The Beatles - White Album ★ The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper ★ The Beatles - Revolver ★ The Beatles - Rubber Soul ★ The Beatles - Help ★ The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour ★ The Rolling Stones - Beggar's Banquet ★ The Rolling Stones - Exile On Main Street ★ The Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed ★ The Rolling Stones – Sticky Fingers ★ The Rolling Stones - Hot Rocks ★ Tom Waits - Blue Valentine ★ Tom Waits - Bone Machine ★ Tom Waits - Frank's Wild Years ★ Tom Waits - Mule Variations ★ Tom Waits - Rain Dogs ★ Tom Waits - Swordfishtrombones ★ Tom Waits - The Heart Of Saturday Night ★ Paul Simon - Paul Simon ★ Paul Simon - There Goes Rhymin' Simon ★ Paul Simon - Hearts and Bones ★ Paul Simon - Graceland ★ Paul Simon - Still Crazy After All These Years ★ Paul Simon - The Rhythm Of The Saints ★ Talking Heads - Fear Of Music ★ Talking Heads - More Songs About Building And Food ★ Talking Heads - Remain In Light ★ Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense ★ Joni Mitchell - Blue ★ Joni Mitchell - Hejira ★ Joni Mitchell - The Hissing Of Summer Lawns ★ Neil Young - After the Gold Rush ★ Neil Young - Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere ★ Neil Young - Harvest ★ Neil Young - Ragged Glory ★ Neil Young - Tonight's the Night ★ Bob Dylan - Blonde On Blonde ★ Bob Dylan - Blood On The Tracks ★ Bob Dylan - Oh Mercy ★ Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - 4 Way Street ★ Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Deja Vu ★ Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - So Far ★ Van Morrison - Astral Weeks ★ Van Morrison - Moondance ★ Van Morrison - His Band and the Street Choir ★ Sting - Nothing Like The Sun ★ Sting - The Dream Of The Blue Turtles ★ Sting - Bring On The Night ★ Sting - Soul Cages ★ Peter Gabriel - 1 ★ Peter Gabriel - 2 ★ Peter Gabriel - 3 ★ Peter Gabriel - So ★ David Bowie - The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust ★ David Bowie - Hunky Dory ★ Lou Reed - Transformer ★ Lou Reed - New York ★ Lou Reed - Songs For Drella ★ Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms ★ Dire Straits - Love Over Gold ★ Dire Straits - Making Movies ★ Jethro Tull - Aqualung ★ Jethro Tull - Benefit ★ Jethro Tull - Stand Up ★ Jethro Tull - This Was ★ Jimi Hendrix - Axis Bold As Love ★ Jimi Hendrix - Electric Ladyland ★ Jimi Hendrix - Experience ★ Pink Floyd - The Dark Side Of The Moon ★ Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here ★ Red Hot Chili Peppers - Blood Sugar Sex Magik ★ Red Hot Chili Peppers - Californication ★ Patti Smith - Horses ★ Carole King - Tapestry ★ Tracy Chapman - Tracy Chapman ★ The Police - Synchronicity ★ Simon & Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water ★ U2 - Achtung Baby ★ U2 - The Joshua Tree ★ U2 - The Unforgettable Fire ★ John Lennon - Imagine ★ John Lennon - Plastic Ono Band ★ Kate Bush - Hounds Of Love ★ Kate Bush - The Sensual World ★ Laurie Anderson - Big Science ★ Laurie Anderson - Mr Heartbreak ★ Leonard Cohen - I'm Your Man ★ Leonard Cohen - Songs of Leonard Cohen ★ Leonard Cohen - Songs From A Room ★ Leonard Cohen - Songs Of Love And Hate ★ Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run ★ Bruce Springsteen - Darkness On The Edge Of Town ★ Bruce Springsteen - Nebraska

The Beatles - With The Beatles The Beatles - Please Please Me The Beatles - Let It Be The Beatles - For Sale The Beatles - A Hard Day's Night The Rolling Stones - Steel Wheels The Rolling Stones - Voodoo Lounge The Rolling Stones - Some Girls The Rolling Stones - Now! The Rolling Stones - Aftermath Tom Waits - Small Change Tom Waits - Nighthawks At The Diner Tom Waits - Brawlers Tom Waits - Closing Time Tom Waits - Foreign Affairs Tom Waits - The Early Years (1) Paul Simon - So Beautiful Or So What Paul Simon - Songs From The Capeman Paul Simon - You're the One Paul Simon - Surprise Paul Simon - Live Rhymin' Paul Simon - One-Trick Pony Talking Heads - Speaking In Tongues Talking Heads - Little Creatures Talking Heads - 77 Joni Mitchell - Night Ride Home Joni Mitchell - For The Roses Neil Young - Live Rust Neil Young - On The Beach Neil Young - Freedom Neil Young - Comes a Time Neil Young - Rust Never Sleeps Neil Young - Time Fades Away Neil Young - Zuma Bob Dylan - Time Out Of Mind Bob Dylan - Desire Bob Dylan - Bringing It All Back Home Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited Van Morrison - Blowin' Your Mind Van Morrison - Tupelo Honey Van Morrison - Saint Dominic's Preview Van Morrison - Hard Nose The Highway Van Morrison - T.B. Sheets Van Morrison - Veedon Fleece Van Morrison - Into The Music Van Morrison - Poetic Champions Compose Van Morrison - Enlightenment Van Morrison - Brown Eyed Girl Van Morrison - Beautiful Vision Van Morrison - Days Like This Sting - Ten Summoner's Tales Sting - Mercury Falling Peter Gabriel - Up Peter Gabriel - Us David Bowie - Diamond Dogs David Bowie - Station to Station David Bowie - Black Tie White Noise David Bowie - Blackstar Lou Reed - Berlin Dire Straits - Communique Dire Straits - Dire Straits Jethro Tull - Heavy Horses Jethro Tull - Minstrel in the Gallery Pink Floyd - Animals Jimi Hendrix - The Cry of Love Red Hot Chili Peppers - Mother's Milk Keith Richards - Main Offender Deep Purple - Machine Head Led Zeppelin - 1 Led Zeppelin - 2 Led Zeppelin - 3 Led Zeppelin - 4 Led Zeppelin - Houses Of The Holy U2 - War U2 - Rattle And Hum Paul McCartney - Ram Paul McCartney & Wings - Band On The Run Kate Bush - Lionheart Kate Bush - Never For Ever Kate Bush - The Dreaming Kate Bush - The Kick Inside Kate Bush - 50 Words For Snow Suzanne Vega - 99.9 F Suzanne Vega - Days Of Open Hand Suzanne Vega - Solitude Standing Suzanne Vega - Suzanne Vega Leonard Cohen - Ten New Songs Leonard Cohen - Various Positions Leonard Cohen - New Skin For The Old Ceremony Bruce Springsteen - Born In The U.S.A Bruce Springsteen - Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. Cassandra Wilson - Belly Of The Sun Cassandra Wilson - Blue Light Til Dawn Cassandra Wilson - Glamoured Cassandra Wilson - Loverly Cassandra Wilson - New Moon Daughter Cassandra Wilson - Thunderbird Cassandra Wilson - Traveling Miles Beck - Morning Phase Beck - Mutations Beck - Odelay Beck - Sea Change Billie Holiday - Body And Soul Billie Holiday - Lady In Satin Billie Holiday - Lady Sings The Blues Billie Holiday - Velvet Mood Bjork - Debut Bjork - Homogenic Bjork - Post Bjork - Telegram Bjork - Vespertine Bjork - Volta Bob Marley & The Wailers - Legend Bon Iver - 22, A Million Bon Iver - Blood Bank Bon Iver - Bon Iver Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago Bonnie Prince Billy - The Letting Go Bonnie Prince Billy I See A Darkness (L) Brian Eno & David Byrne - My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts Brian Eno & John Cale Wrong Way Up {, Reissue} Buena Vista Social Club - Buena Vista Social Club Captain Beefheart - Safe as Milk Captain Beefheart - Clear Spot Captain Beefheart - The Spotlight Kid Chet Baker - Chet Baker Round Midnight Chet Baker - Chet Baker Sings Chet Baker - Chet Baker Sings- It Could Happen To You Cream - Disraeli Gears Curtis Mayfield - 70 Curtis Mayfield - Superfly ★ Emmylou Harris - Wrecking Ball Emmylou Harris - Pieces Of The Sky Emmylou Harris - Red Dirt Girl Emmylou Harris - Luxury Liner Eric Bibb - Rainbow People Fairport Convention - Unhalfbricking Frank Zappa - Joe's Garage Frank Zappa - Over-Nite Sensation Frank Zappa - Sheik Yerbouti Frank Zappa - You Are What You Is Funkadelic - Maggot Brain Genesis - Invisible Touch George Harrison - All Things Must Pass Gil Scott-Heron - I'm New Here Gil Scott-Heron - Pieces of a Man Grace Jones - Nightclubbing Gram Parsons - GP Gram Parsons - Grievous Angel Guy Clark - Old No. 1 - Texas Cookin' Harry Nilsson - Nilsson Schmilsson John Cale - Black Acetate John Cale - Fear John Cale Vintage Violence Johnny Cash - American Recordings Kanye West - Late Registration Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy Kanye West - The College Dropout [Remastered] mp3@ vtwin88cube Kanye West - The Life of Pablo Kanye West - Yeezus Kendrick Lamar - Good Kid, M.A.A.d City Kendrick Lamar - Untitled Unmastered Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp a Butterfly King Crimson - In the Court Of The Crimson King King Crimson - Larks' Tongues In Aspic King Crimson Discipline King Crimson - Thrak Living Colour - Biscuits Living Colour - Stain Living Colour - Time's Up Living Colour - Vivid Lynyrd Skynyrd - (Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd) Lynyrd Skynyrd - Nuthin' Fancy Lynyrd Skynyrd - Second Helping Marianne Faithfull - Broken English Marianne Faithfull - Strange Weather Nick Drake - Bryter Layter Nick Drake - Five Leaves Left Nick Drake - Pink Moon Nina Simone - Nina Simone At Town Hall Nina Simone - The Amazing Nina Simone Nina Simone - Folksy Nina Nina Simone - Baltimore Nina Simone - Little Girl Blue Nina Simone Sings The Blues Nirvana - Nevermind Prince - Emancipation Prince - Love Symbol Album Prince - Parade Prince - Purple Rain Prince - Sign Of The Times Prince - The Gold Experience Prince - The Truth R.E.M. - Automatic For The People Richard & Linda Thompson - I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight Richard and Linda Thompson - Pour Down Like Silver Richard and LInda Thompson - Shoot Out the Lights Robbie Robertson - Storyville Robert Plant - Band Of Joy Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Raising Sand Robert Plant - Lullaby and... The Ceaseless Roar Roxy Music - For Your Pleasure Roy Orbison - Mystery Girl Ry Cooder - Paradise & Lunch Ry Cooder - Ry Cooder Sarah Vaughan - After Hours At The London House Shirley Horn - Here's To Life Shirley Horn - I Remember Miles Solomon Burke - Don't Give Up On Me Stevie Wonder - Music Of My Mind Stevie Wonder - Songs In The Key Of Life, Vol. 1 Sufjan Stevens - Carrie & Lowell Sufjan Stevens - Greetings From Michigan, The Great Lake Sufjan Stevens - Illinois T-Bone Burnett - The Criminal Under My Own Hat T-Bone Burnett - Tooth Of Crime The Band - The Band The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds Tom Petty - Wildflowers Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers - Echo Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers - Self Titled Tom Petty - Full Moon Fever Tom Petty - Hard Promises Townes Van Zandt - High, Low and in Between Townes Van Zandt - Live At The Old Quarter,Houston,Tx Townes Van Zandt - Our Mother The Mountain Townes Van Zandt - Texas Troubadour Townes Van Zandt - The Late Great Townes Van Zandt ★ Velvet Underground - Loaded Velvet Underground - Velvet Underground Willie Nelson - Phases & Stages Willie Nelson - Stardust Willie Nelson - Teatro Willie Nelson - Shotgun Willie Willie Nelson - Red Headed Stranger Antony & The Johnsons - I Am A Bird Now Arcade Fire - Neon Bible Arcade Fire - Funeral Arcade Fire - Reflektor Arcade Fire - The Suburbs Arctic Monkeys - AM Bee Gees - Odessa Beirut - The Flying Club Cup Beirut - The Rip Tide Bert Jansch - Black Swan Beta Band - Beta Band Beth Gibbons & Rustin Man - Out Of Season Beth Orton - Central Reservation Beth Orton - Comfort Of Strangers Beth Orton - Trailer Park Beyonce – Beyonce Beyonce - Lemonade Big Star - Complete Third Bilal - A Love Surreal Bilal - Airtight's Revenge Bill Fay - Bill Fay And Time Of The Last Persecution Bobby Charles - (1) Boz Scaggs - Boz Scaggs Brandy Clark - 12 Stories Cat Power - Moon Pix Cat Power - You Are Free Cat Power - Sun Chuck Prophet Age Of Miracles Citizen Cope - Citizen Cope Coldplay - A Rush Of Blood To The Head Coldplay - Parachutes Creedence Clearwater Revival - Willy And The Poor Boys Curtis Stigers - I Think It's Going To Rain Today Curtis Stigers - Let's Go Out Tonight Curtis Stigers - Lost In Dreams D'Angelo & The Vanguard - Black Messiah D'Angelo - Brown Sugar D'Angelo - Voodoo Daft Punk - Random Access Memories Damien Rice - O Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi - Rome David Sylvian - Brilliant Trees Dayna Kurtz - Another Black Feather Dayna Kurtz - Otherwise Luscious Life Deep Purple - Come Taste The Band Diana Krall - Wallflower Dr. John - The ATCO/Atlantic Singles ' Dresden Dolls - Dresden Dolls Elbow - Build A Rocket Boys Elbow - Cast Of Thousands Elbow - Leaders Of The Free World Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid Elliot Smith - An Introduction To Elliott Smith - Roman Candle Elliott Smith - Elliott Smith Elliott Smith - Either Or Elliott Smith - Xo Elliott Smith - Figure 8 Elliott Smith - From A Basement On The Hill Eric Clapton - Backtrackin' Erykah Badu - Baduizm Esperanza Spalding - Chamber Music Society Esperanza Spalding - Emily's D+Evolution Espers - The Weed Tree Fatboy Slim - You've Come A Long Way, Baby Father John Misty - I Love You, Honeybear Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine Fiona Apple - The Idler Wheel... Frank Ocean - Blonde Frank Ocean - Channel Orange Frank Ocean - Nostalgia, ULTRA Frank Sinatra - In The Wee Small Hours Freak Power - Drive-Thru Booty Freak Power - More Of Everything For Everybody Fun Lovin' Criminals - Come Find Yourself Giant Giant Sand - Tuscon Gil Scott Heron - Nothing New Gillian Welch - The Harrow & The Harvest Gillian Welch - Time (The Revelator) Glen Campbell - Ghost On The Canvas Gogol Bordello - Transcontinental Hustle Gotye - Boardface Gregory Porter - Liquid Spirit Grizzly Bear - Shields Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest Ida Sand - Young at Heart Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - Keep Me In Mind Sweetheart Isobell Campbell And Mark Lanegan - Ballad Of The Broken Seas Jack White - Blunderbuss Jack White - Lazaretto Jakob Dylan - Seeing Things Jakob Dylan - Women And Country James Blake - Overgrown Jamie Cullum - Twenty Something Janie Monelle - Archanoid Janis Ian - Between The Lines Janis Ian - Billies Bones Jason Isbell - Something More Than Free Jason Isbell - Southeastern Jeff Buckley - So Real Jen Chapin - Revisions Jerry Jeff Walker - Mr. Bojangles Jerry Jeff Walker - Viva Terlingua Jim White - Wrong-Eyed Jesus Joanna Newsom - Have One On Me Joanna Newsom - Ys Joe Cocker - With a Little Help from my Friends Joe Ely - From Lubbock To Laredo Joe Ely - Honky Tonk Masquerade Joe Ely - Joe Ely Joe Henry - Civilians John Frusciante - To Record Only Water For Ten Days John Frusciante - Shadows Collide With People John Frusciante - Smile From The Streets You Hold John Hiatt - Crossing Muddy Waters John Hiatt - Hangin' Around The Observatory & Overcoats John Martyn - Bless The Weather John Martyn - Solid Air John Martyn - Sunday's Child John Mayall - Blues From Laurel Canyon John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers - Bare Wires John Mellencamp - Plain Spoken John Prine - Bruised Orange John Prine - John Prine John Prine - Sweet Revenge John Vanderslice - Pixel Revolt Jose James - No Beginning No End Jose James - The Dreamer Jose James - Yesterday I Had The Blues Joy Division - Closer Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures Justin Townes Earle - Absent Fathers Justin Townes Earle - Harlem River Blues Justin Townes Earle - Single Mothers kd lang - Watershed Kacey Musgraves - Pageant Material Keb' Mo' - Keb' Mo' Kris Kristofferson - The Silver Tongued Devil And I Kurt Elling - Nightmoves Kurt Elling - The Beautiful Day Kurt Elling - The Gate Kurt Elling - The Messenger Link Wray - 3-Track Shack Little Axe - Champagne & Grits Little Feat - Dixie Chicken Lorde - Pure Heroine Loretta Lynn - Van Lear Rose Los Lobos - Kiko Los Lobos - The Town & The City Lucinda Williams - Car Wheels On A Gravel Road Lucinda Williams - Sweet Old World Lucinda Williams - World Without Tears Lucinda Williams - Self-Titled Lyle Lovett - I Love Everybody Macy Gray - On How Life Is Madeleine Peyroux - Half The Perfect World Madeleine Peyroux - Standing On The Rooftop Manu Chao - Clandestino Mary Gauthier - The Foundling Massive Attack - Blue Lines Massive Attack - Mezzanine Matt Sweeney & Bonnie Prince Billy - Superwolf Mavis Staples - One True Vine Melody Gardot - Currency of Man Melody Gardot - My One And Only Thrill Meshell Ndegeocello - Peace Beyond Passion Meshell Ndegeocello - Comfort Woman Michael Chapman - Window Moby - Play Muddy Waters - Electric Mud Neko Case - Blacklisted Nellie Mckay - Pretty Little Head Neneh Cherry - Blank Project Nick Cave - Henry's Dream Nick Cave - Murder Ballads Nick Cave - No More Shall We Part Nick Cave - The Boatman's Call Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Push The Sky Away Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Skeleton Tree Okkervil River - Black Sheep Boy Otis Taylor - White African Otis Taylor - Pentatonic Wars And Love Songs Otis Taylor - Clovis People Vol.3 Otis Taylor - My World Is Gone Otis Taylor - When Negroes Walked The Earth Parquet Courts - Sunbathing Animal Patricia Barber - Mythologies Patricia Barber - Originals Patricia Barber - Pop Songs Patricia Barber - Standards Patricia Barber - The Cole Porter Mix Patricia Barber - Verse Patti Smith - Banga Paul Weller - Saturns Pattern Paul Weller - Sonik Kicks Paul Weller Stanley Road Pearl Jam - No Code Pyeng Threadgill - Sweet Home R.E.M. - Green R.E.M. - Out Of Time Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool Radiohead - Kid A Radiohead - Ok Computer Randy Newman - Good Old Boys Randy Newman - Sail Away Randy Newman - Songbook Vol 1 Randy Newman - Songbook Vol. 2 Raphael Saadiq - Stone Rollin Ray Charles - A Message From The People Rebekka Bakken - Little Drop Of Poison Regina Spektor - Begin To Hope Richard Hawley - Truelove's Gutter Rickie Lee Jones - Balm In Gilead Rickie Lee Jones - Pop Pop Rickie Lee Jones - The Other Side of Desire RL Burnside - Bothered Mind Robert Randolph - Walk This Road Robyn Hitchcock - Spooked Rodney Crowell - Ain't Living Long Like This Rodney Crowell - The Houston Kid Roky Erickson - True Love Cast Out All Evil Rosanne Cash - Black Cadillac Rosanne Cash - The River & The Thread Santana - Supernatural Sarah Jarosz - Follow Me Down Scott Walker - Scott 4 Seth Avett - Seth Avett & JL Mayfield Sing Elliott Smith Silje Nergard - Port of Call Smog - A River Ain't Too Much To Love Smog - Dongs Of Devotion Smog - Rock Bottom Riser Solange - A Seat at the Table Songs Ohia - The Magnolia Electric Co Soundgarden - Badmotorfinger Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga St. Vincent - St. Vincent Stephen Malkmus And The Jicks - Mirror Traffic Steve Earle - Train a Comin' Steven Wilson - Hand. Cannot. Erase Steven Young - Switchblades Steven Young - Long Time Rider Sturgill Simpson - Metamodern Sounds In Country Music Sturgill Simpson - A Sailor's Guide to Earth Tame Impala - Lonerism Tanita Tikaram - Ancient Heart The Beta Band - Heroes To Zeroes The Beta Band - Hot Shots II The Beta Band - The Beta Band The Beta Band - The Three E.P.s The Black Keys - Attack And Release The Black Keys - Brothers The Black Keys - El Camino The Black Keys - Turn Blue@ The Book Of Knots - Traineater The Byrds - Sweetheart Of The Rodeo The Dirtbombs - Ultraglide In Back The Doors - L.A. woman The Dresden Dolls - Yes Virginia The Fireman Electric Arguments The Fugees - The Score The Jeff Beck Group - Jeff Beck Group The Magnetic Fields - 69 Love Songs The National - Alligator The National - Boxer The National - The Virginia Ep The Raconteurs - Consolers Of The Lonely The Streets - A Grand Don't Come For Free The White Stripes - De Stijl The White Stripes - Elephant The White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan The White Stripes - Icky Thump The White Stripes - White Blood Cells Thom Yorke - The Eraser Tim Buckley - Goodbye And Hello Tim Buckley - Happy Sad Tim Fite - Gone Ain't Gone Tim Fite - Over The Counter Culture Tom Jones - Spirit In The Room Tony Joe White - The Train I'm On Tricky - Maxinquaye Ty Segall - Twins Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City Vampire Weekend - Contra Viktoria Tolstoy - My Russian Soul Wilco - The Whole Love Willie Nelson - Songbird

[skvrdleta]

rock

★ The Beatles - Abbey Road ★ The Beatles - White Album ★ The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper ★ The Beatles - Revolver ★ The Beatles - Rubber Soul ★ The Beatles - Help ★ The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour The Beatles - With The Beatles The Beatles - Please Please Me The Beatles - Let It Be The Beatles - For Sale The Beatles - A Hard Day's Night ★ The Rolling Stones - Beggar's Banquet ★ The Rolling Stones - Exile On Main Street ★ The Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed ★ The Rolling Stones – Sticky Fingers ★ The Rolling Stones - Hot Rocks The Rolling Stones - Steel Wheels The Rolling Stones - Voodoo Lounge The Rolling Stones - Some Girls The Rolling Stones - Now! The Rolling Stones - Aftermath ★ Tom Waits - Blue Valentine ★ Tom Waits - Bone Machine ★ Tom Waits - Frank's Wild Years ★ Tom Waits - Mule Variations ★ Tom Waits - Rain Dogs ★ Tom Waits - Swordfishtrombones ★ Tom Waits - The Heart Of Saturday Night Tom Waits - Small Change Tom Waits - Nighthawks At The Diner Tom Waits - Brawlers Tom Waits - Closing Time Tom Waits - Foreign Affairs Tom Waits - The Early Years (1) ★ Paul Simon - Paul Simon ★ Paul Simon - There Goes Rhymin' Simon ★ Paul Simon - Hearts and Bones ★ Paul Simon - Graceland ★ Paul Simon - Still Crazy After All These Years ★ Paul Simon - The Rhythm Of The Saints Paul Simon - So Beautiful Or So What Paul Simon - Songs From The Capeman Paul Simon - You're the One Paul Simon - Surprise Paul Simon - Live Rhymin' Paul Simon - One-Trick Pony ★ Talking Heads - Fear Of Music ★ Talking Heads - More Songs About Building And Food ★ Talking Heads - Remain In Light ★ Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense Talking Heads - Speaking In Tongues Talking Heads - Little Creatures Talking Heads - 77 ★ Joni Mitchell - Blue ★ Joni Mitchell - Hejira ★ Joni Mitchell - The Hissing Of Summer Lawns Joni Mitchell - Night Ride Home Joni Mitchell - For The Roses ★ Neil Young - After the Gold Rush ★ Neil Young - Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere ★ Neil Young - Harvest ★ Neil Young - Ragged Glory ★ Neil Young - Tonight's the Night Neil Young - Live Rust Neil Young - On The Beach Neil Young - Freedom Neil Young - Comes a Time Neil Young - Rust Never Sleeps Neil Young - Time Fades Away Neil Young - Zuma ★ Bob Dylan - Blonde On Blonde ★ Bob Dylan - Blood On The Tracks ★ Bob Dylan - Oh Mercy Bob Dylan - Time Out Of Mind Bob Dylan - Desire Bob Dylan - Bringing It All Back Home Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited ★ Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - 4 Way Street ★ Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Deja Vu ★ Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - So Far ★ Van Morrison - Astral Weeks ★ Van Morrison - Moondance ★ Van Morrison - His Band and the Street Choir Van Morrison - Blowin' Your Mind Van Morrison - Tupelo Honey Van Morrison - Saint Dominic's Preview Van Morrison - Hard Nose The Highway Van Morrison - T.B. Sheets Van Morrison - Veedon Fleece Van Morrison - Into The Music Van Morrison - Poetic Champions Compose Van Morrison - Enlightenment Van Morrison - Brown Eyed Girl Van Morrison - Beautiful Vision Van Morrison - Days Like This ★ Sting - Nothing Like The Sun ★ Sting - The Dream Of The Blue Turtles ★ Sting - Bring On The Night ★ Sting - Soul Cages Sting - Ten Summoner's Tales Sting - Mercury Falling ★ Peter Gabriel - 1 ★ Peter Gabriel - 2 ★ Peter Gabriel - 3 ★ Peter Gabriel - So Peter Gabriel - Up Peter Gabriel - Us ★ David Bowie - The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust ★ David Bowie - Hunky Dory David Bowie - Diamond Dogs David Bowie - Station to Station David Bowie - Black Tie White Noise David Bowie - Blackstar ★ Lou Reed - Transformer ★ Lou Reed - New York ★ Lou Reed - Songs For Drella Lou Reed - Berlin ★ Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms ★ Dire Straits - Love Over Gold ★ Dire Straits - Making Movies Dire Straits - Communique Dire Straits - Dire Straits Jethro Tull - Aqualung ★ Jethro Tull - Benefit ★ Jethro Tull - Stand Up ★ Jethro Tull - This Was Jethro Tull - Heavy Horses Jethro Tull - Minstrel in the Gallery ★ Jimi Hendrix - Axis Bold As Love ★ Jimi Hendrix - Electric Ladyland ★ Jimi Hendrix - Experience Jimi Hendrix - The Cry of Love ★ Pink Floyd - The Dark Side Of The Moon ★ Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here Pink Floyd - Animals ★ Red Hot Chili Peppers - Blood Sugar Sex Magik ★ Red Hot Chili Peppers - Californication Red Hot Chili Peppers - Mother's Milk ★ Patti Smith - Horses ★ Carole King - Tapestry ★ Tracy Chapman - Tracy Chapman ★ The Police - Synchronicity ★ Simon & Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water Keith Richards - Main Offender Deep Purple - Machine Head Led Zeppelin - 1 Led Zeppelin - 2 Led Zeppelin - 3 Led Zeppelin - 4 Led Zeppelin - Houses Of The Holy ★ U2 - Achtung Baby ★ U2 - The Joshua Tree ★ U2 - The Unforgettable Fire U2 - War U2 - Rattle And Hum ★ John Lennon - Imagine ★ John Lennon - Plastic Ono Band Paul McCartney - Ram Paul McCartney & Wings - Band On The Run ★ Kate Bush - Hounds Of Love ★ Kate Bush - The Sensual World Kate Bush - Lionheart Kate Bush - Never For Ever Kate Bush - The Dreaming Kate Bush - The Kick Inside Kate Bush - 50 Words For Snow Suzanne Vega - 99.9 F Suzanne Vega - Days Of Open Hand Suzanne Vega - Solitude Standing Suzanne Vega - Suzanne Vega ★ Laurie Anderson - Big Science ★ Laurie Anderson - Mr Heartbreak ★ Leonard Cohen - I'm Your Man ★ Leonard Cohen - Songs of Leonard Cohen ★ Leonard Cohen - Songs From A Room ★ Leonard Cohen - Songs Of Love And Hate Leonard Cohen - Ten New Songs Leonard Cohen - Various Positions Leonard Cohen - New Skin For The Old Ceremony ★ Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run ★ Bruce Springsteen - Darkness On The Edge Of Town ★ Bruce Springsteen - Nebraska Bruce Springsteen - Born In The U.S.A Bruce Springsteen - Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. Cassandra Wilson - Belly Of The Sun Cassandra Wilson - Blue Light Til Dawn Cassandra Wilson - Glamoured Cassandra Wilson - Loverly Cassandra Wilson - New Moon Daughter Cassandra Wilson - Thunderbird Cassandra Wilson - Traveling Miles Beck - Morning Phase Beck - Mutations Beck - Odelay Beck - Sea Change Billie Holiday - Body And Soul Billie Holiday - Lady In Satin Billie Holiday - Lady Sings The Blues Billie Holiday - Velvet Mood Bjork - Debut Bjork - Homogenic Bjork - Post Bjork - Telegram Bjork - Vespertine Bjork - Volta Bob Marley & The Wailers - Legend Bon Iver - 22, A Million Bon Iver - Blood Bank Bon Iver - Bon Iver Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago Bonnie Prince Billy - The Letting Go Bonnie Prince Billy I See A Darkness (L) Brian Eno & David Byrne - My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts Brian Eno & John Cale Wrong Way Up {, Reissue} Buena Vista Social Club - Buena Vista Social Club Captain Beefheart - Safe as Milk Captain Beefheart - Clear Spot Captain Beefheart - The Spotlight Kid Chet Baker - Chet Baker Round Midnight Chet Baker - Chet Baker Sings Chet Baker - Chet Baker Sings- It Could Happen To You Cream - Disraeli Gears Curtis Mayfield - 70 Curtis Mayfield - Superfly ★ Emmylou Harris - Wrecking Ball Emmylou Harris - Pieces Of The Sky Emmylou Harris - Red Dirt Girl Emmylou Harris - Luxury Liner Eric Bibb - Rainbow People Fairport Convention - Unhalfbricking Frank Zappa - Joe's Garage Frank Zappa - Over-Nite Sensation Frank Zappa - Sheik Yerbouti Frank Zappa - You Are What You Is Funkadelic - Maggot Brain Genesis - Invisible Touch George Harrison - All Things Must Pass Gil Scott-Heron - I'm New Here Gil Scott-Heron - Pieces of a Man Grace Jones - Nightclubbing Gram Parsons - GP Gram Parsons - Grievous Angel Guy Clark - Old No. 1 - Texas Cookin' Harry Nilsson - Nilsson Schmilsson John Cale - Black Acetate John Cale - Fear John Cale Vintage Violence Johnny Cash - American Recordings Kanye West - Late Registration Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy Kanye West - The College Dropout [Remastered] mp3@ vtwin88cube Kanye West - The Life of Pablo Kanye West - Yeezus Kendrick Lamar - Good Kid, M.A.A.d City Kendrick Lamar - Untitled Unmastered Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp a Butterfly King Crimson - In the Court Of The Crimson King King Crimson - Larks' Tongues In Aspic King Crimson Discipline King Crimson - Thrak Living Colour - Biscuits Living Colour - Stain Living Colour - Time's Up Living Colour - Vivid Lynyrd Skynyrd - (Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd) Lynyrd Skynyrd - Nuthin' Fancy Lynyrd Skynyrd - Second Helping Marianne Faithfull - Broken English Marianne Faithfull - Strange Weather Nick Drake - Bryter Layter Nick Drake - Five Leaves Left Nick Drake - Pink Moon Nina Simone - Nina Simone At Town Hall Nina Simone - The Amazing Nina Simone Nina Simone - Folksy Nina Nina Simone - Baltimore Nina Simone - Little Girl Blue Nina Simone Sings The Blues Nirvana - Nevermind Prince - Emancipation Prince - Love Symbol Album Prince - Parade Prince - Purple Rain Prince - Sign Of The Times Prince - The Gold Experience Prince - The Truth R.E.M. - Automatic For The People Richard & Linda Thompson - I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight Richard and Linda Thompson - Pour Down Like Silver Richard and LInda Thompson - Shoot Out the Lights Robbie Robertson - Storyville Robert Plant - Band Of Joy Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Raising Sand Robert Plant - Lullaby and... The Ceaseless Roar Roxy Music - For Your Pleasure Roy Orbison - Mystery Girl Ry Cooder - Paradise & Lunch Ry Cooder - Ry Cooder Sarah Vaughan - After Hours At The London House Shirley Horn - Here's To Life Shirley Horn - I Remember Miles Solomon Burke - Don't Give Up On Me Stevie Wonder - Music Of My Mind Stevie Wonder - Songs In The Key Of Life, Vol. 1 Sufjan Stevens - Carrie & Lowell Sufjan Stevens - Greetings From Michigan, The Great Lake Sufjan Stevens - Illinois T-Bone Burnett - The Criminal Under My Own Hat T-Bone Burnett - Tooth Of Crime The Band - The Band The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds Tom Petty - Wildflowers Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers - Echo Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers - Self Titled Tom Petty - Full Moon Fever Tom Petty - Hard Promises Townes Van Zandt - High, Low and in Between Townes Van Zandt - Live At The Old Quarter,Houston,Tx Townes Van Zandt - Our Mother The Mountain Townes Van Zandt - Texas Troubadour Townes Van Zandt - The Late Great Townes Van Zandt ★ Velvet Underground - Loaded Velvet Underground - Velvet Underground Willie Nelson - Phases & Stages Willie Nelson - Stardust Willie Nelson - Teatro Willie Nelson - Shotgun Willie Willie Nelson - Red Headed Stranger Antony & The Johnsons - I Am A Bird Now Arcade Fire - Neon Bible Arcade Fire - Funeral Arcade Fire - Reflektor Arcade Fire - The Suburbs Arctic Monkeys - AM Bee Gees - Odessa Beirut - The Flying Club Cup Beirut - The Rip Tide Bert Jansch - Black Swan Beta Band - Beta Band Beth Gibbons & Rustin Man - Out Of Season Beth Orton - Central Reservation Beth Orton - Comfort Of Strangers Beth Orton - Trailer Park Beyonce – Beyonce Beyonce - Lemonade Big Star - Complete Third Bilal - A Love Surreal Bilal - Airtight's Revenge Bill Fay - Bill Fay And Time Of The Last Persecution Bobby Charles - (1) Boz Scaggs - Boz Scaggs Brandy Clark - 12 Stories Cat Power - Moon Pix Cat Power - You Are Free Cat Power - Sun Chuck Prophet Age Of Miracles Citizen Cope - Citizen Cope Coldplay - A Rush Of Blood To The Head Coldplay - Parachutes Creedence Clearwater Revival - Willy And The Poor Boys Curtis Stigers - I Think It's Going To Rain Today Curtis Stigers - Let's Go Out Tonight Curtis Stigers - Lost In Dreams D'Angelo & The Vanguard - Black Messiah D'Angelo - Brown Sugar D'Angelo - Voodoo Daft Punk - Random Access Memories Damien Rice - O Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi - Rome David Sylvian - Brilliant Trees Dayna Kurtz - Another Black Feather Dayna Kurtz - Otherwise Luscious Life Deep Purple - Come Taste The Band Diana Krall - Wallflower Dr. John - The ATCO/Atlantic Singles ' Dresden Dolls - Dresden Dolls Elbow - Build A Rocket Boys Elbow - Cast Of Thousands Elbow - Leaders Of The Free World Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid Elliot Smith - An Introduction To Elliott Smith - Roman Candle Elliott Smith - Elliott Smith Elliott Smith - Either Or Elliott Smith - Xo Elliott Smith - Figure 8 Elliott Smith - From A Basement On The Hill Eric Clapton - Backtrackin' Erykah Badu - Baduizm Esperanza Spalding - Chamber Music Society Esperanza Spalding - Emily's D+Evolution Espers - The Weed Tree Fatboy Slim - You've Come A Long Way, Baby Father John Misty - I Love You, Honeybear Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine Fiona Apple - The Idler Wheel... Frank Ocean - Blonde Frank Ocean - Channel Orange Frank Ocean - Nostalgia, ULTRA Frank Sinatra - In The Wee Small Hours Freak Power - Drive-Thru Booty Freak Power - More Of Everything For Everybody Fun Lovin' Criminals - Come Find Yourself Giant Giant Sand - Tuscon Gil Scott Heron - Nothing New Gillian Welch - The Harrow & The Harvest Gillian Welch - Time (The Revelator) Glen Campbell - Ghost On The Canvas Gogol Bordello - Transcontinental Hustle Gotye - Boardface Gregory Porter - Liquid Spirit Grizzly Bear - Shields Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest Ida Sand - Young at Heart Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - Keep Me In Mind Sweetheart Isobell Campbell And Mark Lanegan - Ballad Of The Broken Seas Jack White - Blunderbuss Jack White - Lazaretto Jakob Dylan - Seeing Things Jakob Dylan - Women And Country James Blake - Overgrown Jamie Cullum - Twenty Something Janie Monelle - Archanoid Janis Ian - Between The Lines Janis Ian - Billies Bones Jason Isbell - Something More Than Free Jason Isbell - Southeastern Jeff Buckley - So Real Jen Chapin - Revisions Jerry Jeff Walker - Mr. Bojangles Jerry Jeff Walker - Viva Terlingua Jim White - Wrong-Eyed Jesus Joanna Newsom - Have One On Me Joanna Newsom - Ys Joe Cocker - With a Little Help from my Friends Joe Ely - From Lubbock To Laredo Joe Ely - Honky Tonk Masquerade Joe Ely - Joe Ely Joe Henry - Civilians John Frusciante - To Record Only Water For Ten Days John Frusciante - Shadows Collide With People John Frusciante - Smile From The Streets You Hold John Hiatt - Crossing Muddy Waters John Hiatt - Hangin' Around The Observatory & Overcoats John Martyn - Bless The Weather John Martyn - Solid Air John Martyn - Sunday's Child John Mayall - Blues From Laurel Canyon John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers - Bare Wires John Mellencamp - Plain Spoken John Prine - Bruised Orange John Prine - John Prine John Prine - Sweet Revenge John Vanderslice - Pixel Revolt Jose James - No Beginning No End Jose James - The Dreamer Jose James - Yesterday I Had The Blues Joy Division - Closer Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures Justin Townes Earle - Absent Fathers Justin Townes Earle - Harlem River Blues Justin Townes Earle - Single Mothers kd lang - Watershed Kacey Musgraves - Pageant Material Keb' Mo' - Keb' Mo' Kris Kristofferson - The Silver Tongued Devil And I Kurt Elling - Nightmoves Kurt Elling - The Beautiful Day Kurt Elling - The Gate Kurt Elling - The Messenger Link Wray - 3-Track Shack Little Axe - Champagne & Grits Little Feat - Dixie Chicken Lorde - Pure Heroine Loretta Lynn - Van Lear Rose Los Lobos - Kiko Los Lobos - The Town & The City Lucinda Williams - Car Wheels On A Gravel Road Lucinda Williams - Sweet Old World Lucinda Williams - World Without Tears Lucinda Williams - Self-Titled Lyle Lovett - I Love Everybody Macy Gray - On How Life Is Madeleine Peyroux - Half The Perfect World Madeleine Peyroux - Standing On The Rooftop Manu Chao - Clandestino Mary Gauthier - The Foundling Massive Attack - Blue Lines Massive Attack - Mezzanine Matt Sweeney & Bonnie Prince Billy - Superwolf Mavis Staples - One True Vine Melody Gardot - Currency of Man Melody Gardot - My One And Only Thrill Meshell Ndegeocello - Peace Beyond Passion Meshell Ndegeocello - Comfort Woman Michael Chapman - Window Moby - Play Muddy Waters - Electric Mud Neko Case - Blacklisted Nellie Mckay - Pretty Little Head Neneh Cherry - Blank Project Nick Cave - Henry's Dream Nick Cave - Murder Ballads Nick Cave - No More Shall We Part Nick Cave - The Boatman's Call Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Push The Sky Away Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Skeleton Tree Okkervil River - Black Sheep Boy Otis Taylor - White African Otis Taylor - Pentatonic Wars And Love Songs Otis Taylor - Clovis People Vol.3 Otis Taylor - My World Is Gone Otis Taylor - When Negroes Walked The Earth Parquet Courts - Sunbathing Animal Patricia Barber - Mythologies Patricia Barber - Originals Patricia Barber - Pop Songs Patricia Barber - Standards Patricia Barber - The Cole Porter Mix Patricia Barber - Verse Patti Smith - Banga Paul Weller - Saturns Pattern Paul Weller - Sonik Kicks Paul Weller Stanley Road Pearl Jam - No Code Pyeng Threadgill - Sweet Home R.E.M. - Green R.E.M. - Out Of Time Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool Radiohead - Kid A Radiohead - Ok Computer Randy Newman - Good Old Boys Randy Newman - Sail Away Randy Newman - Songbook Vol 1 Randy Newman - Songbook Vol. 2 Raphael Saadiq - Stone Rollin Ray Charles - A Message From The People Rebekka Bakken - Little Drop Of Poison Regina Spektor - Begin To Hope Richard Hawley - Truelove's Gutter Rickie Lee Jones - Balm In Gilead Rickie Lee Jones - Pop Pop Rickie Lee Jones - The Other Side of Desire RL Burnside - Bothered Mind Robert Randolph - Walk This Road Robyn Hitchcock - Spooked Rodney Crowell - Ain't Living Long Like This Rodney Crowell - The Houston Kid Roky Erickson - True Love Cast Out All Evil Rosanne Cash - Black Cadillac Rosanne Cash - The River & The Thread Santana - Supernatural Sarah Jarosz - Follow Me Down Scott Walker - Scott 4 Seth Avett - Seth Avett & JL Mayfield Sing Elliott Smith Silje Nergard - Port of Call Smog - A River Ain't Too Much To Love Smog - Dongs Of Devotion Smog - Rock Bottom Riser Solange - A Seat at the Table Songs Ohia - The Magnolia Electric Co Soundgarden - Badmotorfinger Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga St. Vincent - St. Vincent Stephen Malkmus And The Jicks - Mirror Traffic Steve Earle - Train a Comin' Steven Wilson - Hand. Cannot. Erase Steven Young - Switchblades Steven Young - Long Time Rider Sturgill Simpson - Metamodern Sounds In Country Music Sturgill Simpson - A Sailor's Guide to Earth Tame Impala - Lonerism Tanita Tikaram - Ancient Heart The Beta Band - Heroes To Zeroes The Beta Band - Hot Shots II The Beta Band - The Beta Band The Beta Band - The Three E.P.s The Black Keys - Attack And Release The Black Keys - Brothers The Black Keys - El Camino The Black Keys - Turn Blue@ The Book Of Knots - Traineater The Byrds - Sweetheart Of The Rodeo The Dirtbombs - Ultraglide In Back The Doors - L.A. woman The Dresden Dolls - Yes Virginia The Fireman Electric Arguments The Fugees - The Score The Jeff Beck Group - Jeff Beck Group The Magnetic Fields - 69 Love Songs The National - Alligator The National - Boxer The National - The Virginia Ep The Raconteurs - Consolers Of The Lonely The Streets - A Grand Don't Come For Free The White Stripes - De Stijl The White Stripes - Elephant The White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan The White Stripes - Icky Thump The White Stripes - White Blood Cells Thom Yorke - The Eraser Tim Buckley - Goodbye And Hello Tim Buckley - Happy Sad Tim Fite - Gone Ain't Gone Tim Fite - Over The Counter Culture Tom Jones - Spirit In The Room Tony Joe White - The Train I'm On Tricky - Maxinquaye Ty Segall - Twins Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City Vampire Weekend - Contra Viktoria Tolstoy - My Russian Soul Wilco - The Whole Love Willie Nelson - Songbird Alabama Shakes - Sound & Color

[joementa]

Night Vision.

If you recall last month, I asked my Mom to curate the playlist for Mother’s Day weekend given how much her love for music has influenced mine.  What…you think just my Mom loves music?  No way.  MY ENTIRE FAMILY LOVES MUSIC.  And both my Mom and my Dad were instrumental in establishing my love for music.  Like I said last month, I didn’t really have a choice.  Music was ALWAYS on when I was growing up.  And it’s something that’s always on in my own house now.  So consistent with last month, I asked my Dad to curate this week’s playlist for Father’s Day weekend.  

There were no rules at all, it just had to be limited to 20 songs.  I was a little surprised by the theme that my Dad went with.  Although in terms of the musicians, nearly all of these were played very heavily when I was growing up.  Can you guess which one wasn’t?  Hint: he was born in the 90s.  Anyways.  This is just a small slice of what my Dad likes to listen to.  You’re probably thinking things like, “wow.  It’s so cool that his Dad listens to both Hong Ting AND Michael Jackson.” (yes, it is cool)  “Who puts Glenn Miller and The Waterboys in a playlist together, let alone back-to-back?” (my Dad, that’s who).  So if you were ever wondering where I got my love for music…my passion for music…my desire to listen to basically any music ever made…I think it’s obvious who influenced that with this playlist.

Oh, and if you know my Dad, you might be wondering where’s all of the Dylan.  My Dad said it would be too obvious for him to put Dylan on this album.  Like my Mom got me into Bruce, my Dad got me into Dylan.

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/night-vision/pl.u-kv9llr5IX46JEq

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4lq1dIVrvpNhBxh7YczFb7?si=GfqL1huZQ_Szw_UOSxHcJA

Judy Garland – “Over The Rainbow (Live)” (The Essential Capital Collection)

Hong Ting – “The Fisherman’s Song At Dusk”

Matthew Parker – “Night Sky” (Adventure)

Bee Gees – “Night Fever” (Saturday Night Fever)

Bruce Springsteen – “Spirit In The Night” (Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.)

Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band – “Night Moves” (Night Moves)

The Beatles – “Mr. Moonlight” (Beatles For Sale)

The Waterboys – “The Whole Of The Moon” (This Is The Sea)

Glenn Miller – “Moonlight Serenade”

Miles Davis – “Moon Dreams” (Birth Of The Cool)

Van Morrison – “Moondance” (Moondance)

Frank Sinatra – “Fly Me To The Moon” (It Might As Well Be Swing)

The Police – “Walking On The Moon” (Reggatta de Blanc)

Dolly Parton, Kris Kristofferson, Jeremy Jordan – “From Here To The Moon And Back” (Joyful Noise)

Dion & The Belmonts – “When You Wish Upon A Star” (Wish Upon A Star)

David Bowie – “Starman” (The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars)

The Moody Blues – “Dawn: Dawn Is A Feeling” (Days Of Future Passed)

Michael Jackson – “Break Of Dawn” (Invincible)

Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band – “Watching The Dawn” (Take Me To The Land Of Hell)

The Beatles – “Sun King” (Abbey Road)

[losingsleepoverthisrightnow]

It’s day ??? of the quarantine, I don’t know about y’all but I’ve gone absolutely mad, everything is closed or postponed, I’m not working, and school is online. But hey, what can ya do? “Time’s arrow neither stands nor reverses. It merely marches forward,” that’s a little Joseph Sugarman quote for all you Bojack fans out there. My cabin fever aside, hope everyone is doing well and adjusting smoothly to our viral overlords.

This week’s reading is “Deciphering Pocahontas: Unpackaging the Commodification of a Native American Woman” by Kent A. Ono and Derek T. Buescher. In general, the essay is about the relationship between media and the material world, but it specifically addresses the impact this relationship has had on Native American women through Disney’s Pocahontas. Ono and Buescher introduce the idea of a cipher as a “blank-slate, or an empty container,” furthermore, they say that Pocahontas is a cipher, except its container has been filled with commodity culture first by Disney and then by the consumers of its time, taking the place of the meaning that was already there, the things Native Americans placed in it. The essay goes about deciphering Pocahontas, unpacking the meaning in the container.

When you think of Pocahontas, what do you think about? Whatever it may be, consider that it’s probably not of your own volition but rather that image has been constructed by Disney and various other corporations that own either the intellectual property or distribution rights of Pocahontas. Unfortunately, the bastardization does not stop there, the image is then taken by costume manufacturers where their goal is to make anything conceivable “sexy,” furthering the fetishization of non-white women for their “exoticness.” This is the purpose of commodification, to boil things down to its smallest so it can be sold off. Commodification eliminates whatever meaning an object had and replaces it with whatever sold best for it.

And so, we reach the crux of what a cipher is and what commodity has to do with it. Think of it as a simple cow; it doesn’t do much but its proud, and you’re a soulless corporation—I mean farmer. Now some farmers are content to raise cows, I’m sure, but not you, you have dreams of a Scrooge McDuck gold vault. So, what do you do? You milk that sucker dry, you make cheese and all kinds of stuff, and when the milk’s run out you butcher the cow and sell what you can get out of that. That’s what a cipher is, a cow and commodification is seeing what parts can be broken up and turned into a physical good. In the example of Pocahontas, she was the cipher and the commodities that arose were toys made in her likeness, costumes that strip her already untraditional garb of any semblance of meaning leaving only an outfit for Halloween. Not only does this ruin the meaning previously held by Pocahontas, but it ruins everything connected to it by proxy; Native people are made into victims that needed a white man to save them, women into literal objects of spectacle, raccoons into dogs, trees into grandmas, and most egregious white men into good guys.

We’re back on the grind y’all, see ya next week.

[jeffreyrwelch]

Dug Up at Dogster: ‘Isle of Dogs’ Movie Premiere

Over the next few months, several dog-themed movies premiere, beginning with Isle of Dogs on March 23, 2018, a Wes Anderson picture that should be completely unlike any other dog movie if it follows in the paw steps of other Anderson movies, such as The Grand Budapest Hotel, Fantastic Mr. Fox and Rushmore, to name a few.

What Is Isle of Dogs About?

Isle of Dogs takes place 20 years in the future on an island where dogs have been abandoned. Photography courtesy Isle of Dogs.

This stop-motion animation film stars a slew of canine puppets. Puppet pups?! You can’t ask for more than that! But there’s more, because Anderson hired a bunch of very familiar names to do the voices, like Scarlett Johansson, Courtney B. Vance, Tilda Swinton, Ken Watanabe, Bryan Cranston, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Jeff Goldblum, Frances McDormand, Harvey Keitel, Yoko Ono, Liev Schreiber, Fisher Stevens — and the list goes on.

The story is a dog lover’s worst nightmare. It’s 20 years in the future in Japan and an outbreak of Snout-Fever rushes through Megasaki City. Of course, dogs are blamed and cast out to an island with the telling name of Trash Island by the corrupt Mayor Kobayashi. The mayor’s 12-year-old ward refuses to be parted for long from his bodyguard dog Spot, so he flies a Junior-Turbo Prop to the island where he gets help from a pack of abandoned dogs to find his buddy. Adventures ensue and conspiracies are revealed.

Although Isle of Dogs isn’t officially out yet, it currently scores a 97% on the Tomatometer, which is pretty darn good. And better yet, Dogster got a chance to talk to the Head of Puppets — Andy Gent.

Q&A With Isle of Dogs Head of Puppets, Andy Gent

Puppets modeled after real-life dogs were used in Isle of Dogs. Photography courtesy Isle of Dogs.

DOGSTER: How many puppets and puppet masters were involved in the making of this film? ANDY GENT: We counted 1,105 puppets, and it took 68 makers to complete the task.

D: What was the most challenging part of shooting the film? AG: The ambition of the film was unparalleled, so the sheer weight of numbers as much as the technical challenge of scale replacement [for] faces and fur.

D: Did the puppet masters spend time studying dog body language or do any kind of canine prep for the roles? AG: My dog Charlie was on site all the time to be watched, moved and studied. He liked it as much as the puppet masters needed to study him and, yes, several other dogs helped make the reality come true.

D: What did creation of the dog puppets entail? AG: The dogs had to start the whole process. They were the deciding factor in the scale of everyone else due to their mechanics, especially in their heads. We studied lots of types and sculpted hundreds of different breeds and shapes. Wes combined, refined and selected “those” dogs to be the ones. We would re-sculpt in a pose that would be good to mold, then from the mold we are able to position the limbs and build the mechanical skeletons we call armatures. That’s the bones, if you like, from which we add silicone and foam latex to make the skin flesh and muscle. Meanwhile, a team is perfecting the fur — its color length and backing to make it stretch. And another team is making eyes and another collars. Then, everything is combined and we hand them over to the animators, who breathe life into the little things. It’s all absolutely magic to see your sculpt come to life and then you eventually, after months of work, see and hear your dog talking back to you. It’s a dream come true.

A final word on Isle of Dogs

I honestly don’t recall another stop-motion animated movie that involved dogs. (Our senior editor Annie tells me that I’m forgetting Wallace and Gromit!) The only television program that even comes to mind is the old television show Davey and Goliath (the dog) from the 1960s. I’m sure there must be others (please feel free to list any you know in the comments). I’m looking forward to seeing this one and to seeing how much the pup puppets remind me of my own dogs. And I know I’ll be rooting for Atari and his doggie cohorts. After all, nobody puts doggie on an island!

Thumbnail: Photography courtesy Isle of Dogs.

Read more dog news on Dogster.com:

Dug Up at Dogster: March 2018 Dog Events

Could Grain-Free Diets Cause Issues for Dogs?

Stem Cell Study Aims to Heal Your Dog’s Allergies

The post Dug Up at Dogster: ‘Isle of Dogs’ Movie Premiere appeared first on Dogster.

[stiles-wtf]

Dug Up at Dogster: ‘Isle of Dogs’ Movie Premiere

Over the next few months, several dog-themed movies premiere, beginning with Isle of Dogs on March 23, 2018, a Wes Anderson picture that should be completely unlike any other dog movie if it follows in the paw steps of other Anderson movies, such as The Grand Budapest Hotel, Fantastic Mr. Fox and Rushmore, to name a few.

What Is Isle of Dogs About?

Isle of Dogs takes place 20 years in the future on an island where dogs have been abandoned. Photography courtesy Isle of Dogs.

This stop-motion animation film stars a slew of canine puppets. Puppet pups?! You can’t ask for more than that! But there’s more, because Anderson hired a bunch of very familiar names to do the voices, like Scarlett Johansson, Courtney B. Vance, Tilda Swinton, Ken Watanabe, Bryan Cranston, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Jeff Goldblum, Frances McDormand, Harvey Keitel, Yoko Ono, Liev Schreiber, Fisher Stevens — and the list goes on.

The story is a dog lover’s worst nightmare. It’s 20 years in the future in Japan and an outbreak of Snout-Fever rushes through Megasaki City. Of course, dogs are blamed and cast out to an island with the telling name of Trash Island by the corrupt Mayor Kobayashi. The mayor’s 12-year-old ward refuses to be parted for long from his bodyguard dog Spot, so he flies a Junior-Turbo Prop to the island where he gets help from a pack of abandoned dogs to find his buddy. Adventures ensue and conspiracies are revealed.

Although Isle of Dogs isn’t officially out yet, it currently scores a 97% on the Tomatometer, which is pretty darn good. And better yet, Dogster got a chance to talk to the Head of Puppets — Andy Gent.

Q&A With Isle of Dogs Head of Puppets, Andy Gent

Puppets modeled after real-life dogs were used in Isle of Dogs. Photography courtesy Isle of Dogs.

DOGSTER: How many puppets and puppet masters were involved in the making of this film? ANDY GENT: We counted 1,105 puppets, and it took 68 makers to complete the task.

D: What was the most challenging part of shooting the film? AG: The ambition of the film was unparalleled, so the sheer weight of numbers as much as the technical challenge of scale replacement [for] faces and fur.

D: Did the puppet masters spend time studying dog body language or do any kind of canine prep for the roles? AG: My dog Charlie was on site all the time to be watched, moved and studied. He liked it as much as the puppet masters needed to study him and, yes, several other dogs helped make the reality come true.

D: What did creation of the dog puppets entail? AG: The dogs had to start the whole process. They were the deciding factor in the scale of everyone else due to their mechanics, especially in their heads. We studied lots of types and sculpted hundreds of different breeds and shapes. Wes combined, refined and selected “those” dogs to be the ones. We would re-sculpt in a pose that would be good to mold, then from the mold we are able to position the limbs and build the mechanical skeletons we call armatures. That’s the bones, if you like, from which we add silicone and foam latex to make the skin flesh and muscle. Meanwhile, a team is perfecting the fur — its color length and backing to make it stretch. And another team is making eyes and another collars. Then, everything is combined and we hand them over to the animators, who breathe life into the little things. It’s all absolutely magic to see your sculpt come to life and then you eventually, after months of work, see and hear your dog talking back to you. It’s a dream come true.

A final word on Isle of Dogs

I honestly don’t recall another stop-motion animated movie that involved dogs. (Our senior editor Annie tells me that I’m forgetting Wallace and Gromit!) The only television program that even comes to mind is the old television show Davey and Goliath (the dog) from the 1960s. I’m sure there must be others (please feel free to list any you know in the comments). I’m looking forward to seeing this one and to seeing how much the pup puppets remind me of my own dogs. And I know I’ll be rooting for Atari and his doggie cohorts. After all, nobody puts doggie on an island!

Thumbnail: Photography courtesy Isle of Dogs.

Read more dog news on Dogster.com:

Dug Up at Dogster: March 2018 Dog Events

Could Grain-Free Diets Cause Issues for Dogs?

Stem Cell Study Aims to Heal Your Dog’s Allergies

The post Dug Up at Dogster: ‘Isle of Dogs’ Movie Premiere appeared first on Dogster.