#I love this band so much but no fanbase on this site.

[iero]

Oh, to meet you again To pass you on the stairs To see you everywhere In my dreams

EXITS BY FOALS (2019)

#foals #exits #everything not saved will be lost #everything not saved will be lost part 1 #yannis philippakis #jack bevan #my edit #musicedit #foalsedit #Watched this video like three times and I still don't get it (because I'm a dumbass) but it's a vibe. #I love this band so much but no fanbase on this site. #I'll try at least this once though.

[thesoftboiledegg]

What makes JKR's shitshow even harder to process is that she didn't just ruin a book series. Harry Potter was an entire subculture. Like Star Wars and Star Trek fans, Harry Potter fans dedicated their lives and careers to the series. I don't know if I'd call it "underground," but liking Harry Potter got you beaten up when I was in school, so it was more of a dedicated indie culture than a mass-appeal fanbase.

Harry Potter was so huge that fan works developed their own followings. Potter Puppet Pals racked up hundreds of thousands of followers and was nearly as relevant as the series itself. For fanfiction, Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality got so big that it has a Wikipedia page. The band Harry and the Potters spawned the wizard rock music genre. A Very Potter Musical developed a fanbase and launched Darren Criss's career.

Harry Potter also has extensive ties to fandom history. Everyone in my generation (millennials) remembers coming home from school to read Harry Potter fanfiction on the Internet. Today, most people just post their stories on Wattpad or Archive of Our Own. But at the time, the fanbase was splintered between fanfiction.net and dozens of individual websites and forums, some made for specific ships. Since they all had individual hosts, a lot of those sites have been lost to time.

And there's the infamous My Immortal fanfiction, which is an Internet legend with people still searching for the author. Everybody read that one (and laughed at it) in middle school.

Pre-social media, fan sites like The Leaky Cauldron and Mugglenet had massive followings because they were one of few sources for news, theories, essays and fan content. Some of these sites still exist after being around for over a decade and building their own legacy.

Before Deathly Hallows came out, fans were so desperate to know what happened that Mugglenet published a book called What Will Happen in Harry Potter 7: Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Falls in Love and How Will the Adventure Finally End? Yep...Harry Potter was so big that people wrote separate books about what would happen in an upcoming book.

And that's not mentioning all the book release parties, Harry Potter-themed events, monuments, fan films, restaurants and even a theme park. A lot of fandoms have those, but Harry Potter infiltrated every aspect of popular culture.

Today, there's a thriving culture of "Harry Potter adults" with themed weddings, baby showers and Etsy stores. Putting your Hogwarts house in your Instagram bio is pretty much a prerequisite for joining the "bookish" community. Warner still produces new content, like the Fantastic Beasts series, although we've all seen what a disaster that's been.

Everyone has at least a few memories associated with Harry Potter even if it's just watching the movies. I had great memories associated with Harry Potter. But looking back at the subculture, history and thousands of fan works, it doesn't seem fun anymore. Studying the fandom or being part of it comes with an awkward tension because you don't want to seem like you're condoning JKR's bigotry but can't divorce her from the series. This subculture was spawned by a woman who turned her legacy of magic and wonder into one of abuse and hatred.

I don't expect people to write paragraphs about how much they hate JKR every time they post about Harry Potter, but it's still uncomfortable to see people make new content or wear their Harry Potter Etsy tote bags like nothing happened. Even if they clarify that they don't support her, it's just a weird, tense situation for everybody.

People dedicated years of their lives to running Harry Potter fan sites, writing fanfiction, cosplaying characters and making fan movies. If I were in that situation, I'd have a mild identity crisis. I'd ask myself "Did I waste all those years? Should I delete my content? Where do I go from here?"

So ultimately, JKR didn't ruin "just" a book series or even "just" a fandom. She tanked an entire culture, which inspired people to look at Harry Potter more critically. The issues that people brought to the light tainted the series's legacy even without JKR's personal issues.

Once, Harry Potter was a series for generations. Now, former fans hope that the series fades into irrelevancy. Unfortunately, JKR didn't just tarnish her legacy--she took decades of history, millions of fans and a worldwide subculture along with her.

#anti harry potter #anti jkr #anti jk rowling #harry potter critical #anti hp #text #jk rowling

[orbleglorb]

hey not to start shit this long after blaseball ended. but im still pissed at how tgb treated its fans, especially the creatives.

there's the entire blaseball tcg thing. which isn't strictly tgb, a different game studio made it, but it really highlighted how tgb treated the fan creations as their own. they said "we just gave them summaries like 'nagomi mcdaniel is a japanese woman with a claw arm' so they're not copying from an artist" but like... that version of nagomi mcdaniel was MADE by the fanbase. NOT tgb. someone pitched the idea of nagomi being a japanese woman, and someone pitched the idea of crabs players carcinizing, and someone pitched the idea of nagomi having a claw arm. and all of those people were fans.

and, this is a much smaller gripe, but like, TGB has always relied on word of mouth to get people interested in blaseball. so like. those "stretch goals" at the beginning of fall ball relied on word of mouth. and they were pretty ambitious! considering how little marketing they have (from my perspective, anyway), a lot of that pressure was put on fans. so like. of course we only hit one of those goals. lmao.

and the "final goodbye" concert just really pisses me off. they couldn't even be assed to make anything as a proper farewell! they used FAN-MADE MATERIAL in their OFFICIAL goodbye party. fan-made material. they didn't consult the creators before using it. idk how all garages members felt about it, but i know some were pissed. because tgb is using something they made to give a sendoff instead of putting any fucking amount of effort into a goodbye. like, no final entity appearance? you couldn't have binky say goodbye? YOU COULDN'T HAVE PARKER TWEET GOODBYE? just rting the game band's announcement? that's lazy as fuck and a huge fuck you to the fans that made blaseball what it is, because it IS the fans that made blaseball what it is. fans made the lore. fans made the wiki. fans created plotlines like the shelled one. fans took site bugs and glitches and made them into huge events through the sheer power of storytelling and passion. fans have poured so much time into this game. developing strategies, loring players, loring TEAMS, setting up whole separate websites just to help newcomers and store info (including but not limited to the wiki and houstonspies.cyou), moderating and paying for those websites, analyzing stats, delving into fk, writing fanfiction, drawing fanart, donating money, roleplaying on twitter, REVIVING SALMON MODERATING SOFTWARE TO TRACK ILB WEATHER PATTERNS, writing research papers, writing songs, creating discord bots, AND MORE. fans have been the backbone of the blaseball community. and to not do anything to honor these people besides just using their own creation as a last-minute goodbye party? fucking pathetic.

tgb has just been so fucking terrible towards its fans. i'd go as far as to say that some creatives got taken advantage of. i love blaseball and i am forever grateful for this experience. i also wish tgb didn't fucking throw it away one afternoon. they announced blaseball was ending, shut down the server for the weekend, then re-opened it to have a pitiful goodbye party of fan-made material (that the keepers put on for us) that they used without permission. like how the fuck are we supposed to feel appreciated in any way? again, would it have fucking killed them to have parker tweet on his own? they say it was a long and hard decision but it really just feels like they decided they were done with blaseball and never wanted to touch it again, and it feels like nothing but a huge "FUCK YOU" to all of the fans that cared.

#blaseball #usually i do not put rants in the maintag but ive been stewing on this one for a long long time #and i just keep getting angrier and angrier #'we hope you support us in future projects :)' i hope you sorry mfers give us an incentive to come back #because this is bullshit

[honeythispodcast]

hi! i just listened to your affect theory episode and it reminded me so much of this beautiful review i read of my mcr show, and i wanted to share it! it so totally understood my experience of the show, as one of the 'fervently-devoted fans' up front, and it was really touching to have that understood from the perspective of an 'outsider'. this is the link to the full article in rolling stone australia, by conor lochrie (https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-live-reviews/my-chemical-romance-auckland-concert-review-45753/) but here is the section that i loved: '[For] all of their rock opera magnificence and exquisite conceptual brilliance, what, I think, really makes My Chemical Romance a generational band is the sense of intrinsic and invaluable community. At Tāmaki Makaurau’s Outerfields on Saturday night, that was there for all to see: a mass of worshippers arrived passionately but patiently, mostly gathered, unsurprisingly, in black garments, waiting to offer adoration to four people who meant the world to them.

And “waiting” was what they’d really had to do, with Saturday’s concert taking place after several years of COVID-induced delays. Many fans went so far as to camp outside the venue 24 hours before the concert in order to secure the best view. It’s a narrative that again lends itself to some semblance of “spirituality”, for many of the people I spoke to had approached the Outerfields site from the breadth and depth of Aotearoa. One girl, who later disappeared into the huddled masses near the front of the stage, described arriving on a flight from Christchurch that very morning alongside several dozen other MCR acolytes, all already wearing their concert clothing despite the youthfulness of the day. 

Huge screens beside the stage urged the crowd to treat everyone beside them with kindness, but it was a superfluous message, because this was thousands of people united by a shared purpose. Again, one is loath to use the word “spiritual”, but on Saturday night, as soon as Gerard Way took to the stage, he occupied the role of leader, healer, idol, whatever form each person in the crowd needed him to take.

He performed both within and outwith himself, silent at intervals, a shrieking mess during songs, a wholly unblushing artist committed to everything he was doing. On such a massive stage, in front of such an expectant crowd, Way’s way didn’t feel ingratiating; instead, this was a man seized by his music, overwhelmed by his mission. ...

I stood in the middle of the crowd as it all unfolded, behind what I thought were the truly fervently-devoted fans (a lesson from my late Catholic grandmother: always sit in the back at church if you know the people in front need it more than you) and ahead of those probably there for just a good time. Where I stood, looking at people of all ages on the verge of tears, singing lyrics like their life depended on it, I felt pangs of regret, visions of teenage years that could have been so much different if pretension and cultural constriction hadn’t forcibly collided. 

But mostly – I promise – I felt happier for those around me who had waited so long for this moment, and who would never forget this Saturday night. Because, really, it could be an inordinate amount of time until My Chemical Romance perform in Aotearoa again, even if the band themselves will still exist in the minds of those at Outerfields for a while longer: “How wrong we were to think / That immortality meant never dying”.'

I (EJ) remember reading this article when it came out. It kicked my ass then and it kicks my ass now. Absolutely gorgeous incredible music journalism that really honors the fanbase.

We talk more about this at 1:04:06 in the new episode!

#asks #honey this podcast #mcr #my chemical romance

[newmusickarl]

Being Funny In A Foreign Language by The 1975

There is probably no bigger Marmite band around than The 1975. Ask someone their opinion of the Manchester indie-pop darlings and the response will likely either be scary levels of adoration or rage-inducing blind hatred. Now whilst I don’t obsess over them like a good portion of their now enormous fanbase, I would be lying if I said I don’t fall firmly onto the “love” side of the band’s ever-present divide. Having followed The 1975 since their early EPs, it’s been quite incredible to see them steadily become one of the biggest acts in the world. The catalogue they’ve forged in that time has been nothing short of sensational, with at least one modern classic in the form of A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships.

However, when it comes to the criticisms and general loathing of the band – I do also get it. Firstly, frontman Matty Healy’s instinct is to be an irritating provocateur, with one skim through his recently recovered Twitter evidence to this fact. He is always going to rub people up the wrong way and relish in it, which fairly turns people off him and his output. Also, despite working their way up through the live gig and festival circuit, they are very much still a pop band. As a result, I think their ongoing success does them no favours with the indie diehards who see them as imposters in a scene dominated by traditional rock and roll outfits.

Then just when you thought The 1975 couldn’t be anymore controversial, in 2020 they released an album that divided even their own fanbase – their hugely misunderstood fourth album, Notes On A Conditional Form (NOACF).

Plagued by delays, NOACF was a 22-track odyssey that dove headfirst into everything weird and wonderful, ultimately proving too much for some listeners and diehard fans. Upon its release, I saw fair criticisms that the record was too long, too self-indulgent, too erratic, non-cohesive and generally a bit of a mess. However, I personally loved all the album’s imperfections and always saw these as part of the band’s intention for that particular record.

It has long been said that the traditional album format is dying, with people today preferring to create their own playlists on streaming sites made up of their favourite tracks. What I believe The 1975 aimed to construct with NOACF was in fact a deconstruction of that traditional album format. This was their playlist-like record that would often jarringly jump between musical genres that would normally have no place on the same album, let alone coming from the same band. From punk rock to ambient pop to UK garage to 90’s house to country to R&B to gospel to alternative indie to electronica - to pretty much everything else in between, it was all showcased on NOACF. So despite some of their best work coming out of that project, I think ultimately the deliberate abstract nature of the formatting flew over a lot of heads.

So, now back with their fifth album Being Funny In A Foreign Language, The 1975 are seemingly out to appease the public. Not just the fanbase that was turned off by their last record, but also maybe win over some of their harshest critics that have never enjoyed or given time to their music. Aiming to please, the result is an album that may not be as daring or even (for me anyway) as interesting as its predecessor – but is more joyous and, in moments, utterly timeless.

Matty Healy has previously been on record to state that All My Friends by LCD Soundsystem is his favourite song of all time, so it makes sense that he interpolates this song in the album’s eponymous opener to help appeal to the masses straight out the gate. Lyrically it’s a hard-hitting start too, with Healy exchanging the care-free heart of LCD Soundsystem’s track for one that’s dejected and apologetic about modern teenage life. However before things can get too heavy, funktastic single Happiness arrives to bring along exactly what it says on the tin. Still one of their finest tracks to date, it’s impossible not to get swept away by the vintage 80s style guitar groove, wonderfully polished production and instantly catchy chorus of “Show me your love.”

The strong 80s influence then continues on songs like Looking For Somebody (To Love) where the band channel their inner Huey Lewis & The News, whilst Oh Caroline has more than a few nods to Peter Gabriel. Personally whilst these songs will no doubt please hardcore fans, they don’t do as much for me as I already know The 1975 have mastered this sound, inside and out. Therefore, I can’t help but think in these moments that it all feels a bit safe.

That said, when the band do eventually deviate from their typical sound, that’s where the album really shines for me. Part of the Band is an artsy, string-tinged and quietly understated track, with some impressive lyrical gymnastics like the tongue-twisting line: “I know some Vaccinista tote bag chic baristas, sitting in east on their communista keisters.” Recent single All I Need To Hear also remains a firm favourite, a stripped-back and classic-sounding love song that is carried by Matty Healy’s poetic songwriting and the raw, live production. Reflective, bluesy piano ballad Human Too then dazzles in a similar manner, before Robbers-sequel About You serves up the album’s biggest emotional gut-punch. When We Are Together is then a delightfully folky and beautifully orchestrated climax, bringing the album to a close at a concise 43 minutes in length (a whole 50 minutes shorter than its predecessor) and with a full circle call back to the LCD Soundsystem interpolations right at the end.

Supposedly the working title for Being Funny In A Foreign Language was The 1975 At Their Very Best, further solidifying the notion that this is a make-good record for the mixed reception to previous effort NOACF. Whilst personally I still prefer their more experimental and eclectic side, there is also no denying that the cohesiveness has been refined, with several of the songs here also some of their richest and most expertly crafted to date. Most importantly though, it’s another excellent addition to their discography, further solidifying them as - for me at least - one of the most fascinating acts of the last 10 years. Is this indeed them At Their Very Best? That’s for you to decide.

Listen here

#the 1975 #happiness #being funny in a foreign language #matty healy #album review #new music #best new music #best of 2022

[1ddiscourseoftheday]

Thurs 23 July pt 1

(1DHQ content in Part 2! A separate post!)

FOR THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY of One Direction we got... lovely thoughtful posts from Liam, Niall, Louis, and, yes, Harry, about how much they love and value the band and the other boys, all posting OT5 photos! Niall and Louis both tagged all the other four, Harry and Niall thanked the crew, all thanked the fans (from Louis: "your unmatched level of loyality is something that makes me really really proud"), and Harry finished his long heartfelt message with "to the boys, I love you so much, and I couldn’t be prouder of everything we achieved together." Louis said he "spent the morning watching old interviews and performances" and thanked "ALL" the others then backed up that ALL by FOLLOWING HARRY! I'm just gonna repeat that: LOUIS PUBLICLY FOLLOWED HARRY. No action from Harry on that but it was noted that he publicly follows a few hundred accounts... and privately follows a small number of hidden ones. And then, many hours later, Louis came back online and retweeted Niall and FOLLOWED ZAYN! Niall and Liam liked and commented cute hearts on and retweeted the others' posts but Louis stole the show with his dramatic signals to the fanbase.

Liam's much anticipated radio interview this morning was the first clue that nothing too astonishing was going to come through any official channels, like it was a very nice interview but didn't contain any breaking news, and then Niall's interview started, while Liam was still on OF COURSE, and then that site crashed but it turns out it didn't matter anyway because Niall wasn't even ON, all the "Niall interviews" were OLD!! Yes, only Liam actually was on the radio today. He talked about how much he loves Once In A Lifetime and says it's his go-to to play in Ubers when drunk because it takes him back to a time when he felt safe, in the band, and said "we all love a bit of tommo" and gave the usual "yeah eventually for sure" about a reunion, oh and he said he's been in the studio the last couple weeks!

JoJo the pap posted unseens, with cute stories, and Rolling Stone posted an unpublished Narry interview from 2012 (intended for a 1D cover story that didn't happen, damn) that actually has some new information in it about like their childhoods and stuff. Ben Winston posted a new pic from inside the cursed bread van, Niall posted cool from-the-stage pictures, and a cousin of Zayn's posted a few old pics. A lot of old interviews popped up and X Factor footage in HQ was posted, fetus moments gif quality is about to go through the roof around here.

Endnotes: a fan sighting of Harry in Italy (masked), the green vinyl Fine Line is back in the HSHQ store, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge used TPWK in a charity announcement, and Harry's Instagram post broke the record for getting a million likes fastest. Louis didn't unarchive anything, error message pages are always part of website HTML, and the 1D site said Louis is 5'7" LOL. Best part of the unseen footage, not one but two bits of Louis filming Harry, especially the one of him still in a bed recently vacated by a second person. It wasn't twin beds, but why would it be: rather, we see once again that they always had rooms with a double to share. But most importantly of all, a wild Jeremy Joseph appeared! Not the twin Jeremy Joseph, the other one popped up like he knew we were talking about him and posted about the G-A-Y show.

#one direction anniversary #to be fair they never did say they were going to do anything for the anniversary #liam #zayn #louis #harry #niall #well he got mentions anyway even if he did not say anything #god i was really hoping he'd drop a song today i was gonna laugh so hard #if it wasn't such a busy day i might comment on the immense amount there is to unpack in Liam's few words but TBH maybe not #what's the point it's all right there. oh Liam babe #Louis following Harry and Zayn so far apart: possibilities #to place emphasis on the Harry follow #the Zayn follow was damage control #or what i believe is likely he came back on and saw the discourse and was like i will follow Zayn too because i did mean ALL #best quote from unseen old footage I've seen today 'WE ALL LIKE WOMEN' lol okaaay thank you Liam. no no one asked 😂 #23 july 2020 #Jeremy Joseph #height discourse #JoJo the pap #who did it better: as usual‚ Danielle #shall we lay bets on how many posts Niall makes about the new Taylor Swift album? he is gonna LOSE HIS MIND LOL #my drinking game says gushing plus something something classic songwriting something hearkens back to old style something something

[lily-the-leopard]

hermitcraft and thirdlife get a fandom tag and not dsmp bc dsmp fandom cant be trusted to fandom tag properly, like genuinely can’t be trusted with its massive scale and young users

(also dsmp fans need to stop puts dts to tag wranglers in the tags for “doxxing the creators”, maybe then they’d get a fandom tag)

"last anon was /lh kinda, but genuine reason why dsmp doesnt have a fandom tag bc it fits ao3’s pre existing conditions for rpf. plus the fandom specifically for dsmp? its fairly new and peaked during this time ao3 has been making big changes to the site, like they’re creating a blocking function + more things and that takes more than a couple of months to plan and roll out this versus hermitcraft having a tag, hermitcraft fandom has been established for multiple years with a decent size fanbase to warrant it"

Oh boy nonny, this was certainly a take to wake up to, I'll be honest. I'll take you at your word and assume you really meant this to be light-hearted, so instead of throwing out the whole suitcase, lets unpack some of this! I think it's a conversation that's a bit overdue in my little corner of the internet. I am gonna put it under a cut though, because I had a lot to say and it got kinda long.

Right, so here's the thing. I get where you're coming from. This fandom is pretty young, you don't trust them. But if you've been on dsmpblr at all, you'd know this fandom is actually pretty good about tagging things! Like- better than some other fandoms I've been in! And I think it's funny that you'd bring 3rd life into this, because from what I know they lost their tag when ao3 realized it was being used for minecraft rp, it redirects to RPF just like the "Dream SMP" tag now.

I know it's frustrating when people use posts in the archive to complain. I've actually sent a ticket about this, which is the proper way to get ahold of staff, but I'm so tired of seeing real names thrown into the Dream SMP. You don't tag MCU fanfic with "Steve Rogers | Chris Evans" do you?? No, there's separate tags for RPF on so3 because we understand that characters are not their actors.

And I don't think the DSMP qualifies as RPF personally! I think if anything Hermitcraft should. I'm glad they got their own tag, don't get me wrong, I'm an HC fan as well. But the DSMP has an ongoing plot with characters that are different than the people playing them, moreso than HC where they largely play themselves. (This isn't to discount someone like Xisuma btw I think his lore is great, but as a whole they tend to do smaller plots, if any).

Also, the DSMP fandom is huge! I've been in fandoms much smaller than DSMP who have fandom tags. You know what got a tag before it had a major online presence? The Mechanisms. Had like five whole fics and it got a fandom tag. That's a band, by the way, doesn't use the RPF tag either because it's cabaret and they're playing characters.

Not to bring mechs fandom into this (god I hope this doesn't crosspost into your tags, I apologize), but nonny why does a band and another mc server get a tag, but a mc server that has established storylines spanning over a year get shoved into RPF with character tags sharing the real names of creators who only go by an alias??

And lastly. I know we've got a lot of kids here. But I'm not a kid. I was one, back in the day, pre-ao3. And I love the archive! It has its problems, this being one of them, but as a whole I'm glad we have a corner of the internet for ourselves.

I just wish I could actually filter RPF because I don't personally read it, and I can't do that unless we have a fandom tag.

#dsmp #dream smp #mcyt #discourse #ask to tag #I think that's all the things #sorry if this came off as aggressive #it's just frustrating to me #man I come from naruto and ygo #two fandoms that at least back then had huge amounts of child presence #so I'm a bit biased on the 'theyre all kids why does it matter' front #not sure if you're in the fandom or not nonny #but there's my two cents #ask the leopard #also another thing I couldnt make fit so going in tags #in fandoms like this we really depend on self regulating #same as in ygo #and I feel like even if you don't trust the kids there's enough of us older fans to kinda lead them #in the right direction if that makes sense? #god I sound like a fandom mom #but I tend to answer questions people put in the tag about how tumblr works so I guess that's just how it is #this is also totally okay to reblog btw

[captainlouisuniverse]

It's amazing to see how much project defenceless has worked and is still working. More radio stations are playing it, it seems that so many people are watching the video on YouTube and streaming it on sites. Team Louis news on Twitter reported that the album Walls has gained 1.7 million new streams in 24 hours. That can't just be Louie's streaming cause we've been streaming, a lot of those have to be new ears paying attention.

A lot of Louis' fanbase seem to be built in from the One Direction days, and that is amazing. But so many people just don't know who he is.

I didn't pay attention to One Direction when they were big, all I knew of them was

• my (now) sister in law loves them

• what makes you beautiful

• everyone loves Harry

• Niall is blonde and Irish and the second favourite

• Zayn left

It wasn't until this year that I figured out that no one in the band is named Larry, that the other two are Louis and Liam. (Yes I heard the name Larry in relation to the band more than the names of two very vital members)

Things like what we are doing right now are bringing more attention to Louis, and bringing in new people who don't have preconceived ideas about who or what he is. It brings a freshness to his fanbase which will only help him grow, and hopefully, hopefully help bring him out of this weird place he's been pigeonholed into.

It was Niall's carpool karaoke that got me listening to Niall, and YouTube then prompted Walls, and I fell in a Louis Tomlinson hole which I have no desire to dig myself out of.

#louis tomlinson #louis #tomlinson #louies #louis tomlinson walls #solo louie #solo louis

[azpartygirlz]

MAGDALENA BAY

performing Monday, November 1st with George Clanton, and Negative Gemini (DJ set) at Club Congress (info/tix)

“Watching Magdalena Bay’s videos is like stumbling on hyperactive, neon-lit Angelfire Web sites buried deep in the Internet. The band’s cyber-art aesthetic is stuffed with manic, homemade graphics that underscore the catchiness of its bubblegum-bright pop and hooky nineties-inspired sound. It’s not all nostalgia, though: blithe lyrics about contemporary anxieties are thrown in with a wink.“ - The New Yorker

“Mica Tenenbaum and Matthew Lewin are at the center of their own internet multiverse made up of surreal TikToks, Y2K-style websites, and sticky-sweet synth-pop songs.“ - Pitchfork (Rising feature)

“Over the past four years LA-based duo Magdalena Bay have released a wave of great singles and EPs, slowly establishing their unique and intelligent take on pop in the streaming era.“ - Fader

“..their music is about creating an experience that is both audible and visual, fully immersing listeners in the song.“ - V Magazine

Few artists are at once artful and savvy enough to transcend the endless scroll, but over the past 18 months, LA-based indie-pop duo Magdalena Bay have used social platforms to dispatch their music, and what you might call their philosophy, in hypnotic, ephemeral bursts. A long trip through their feeds produces music videos in miniature, irreverent pontifications on the state of the music industry delivered via home video VHS aesthetics, and existential meditations on everything from International Women’s Day to the clone craze of the early aughts to the indefinite lifespan of plants. To Mica Tenenbaum and Matt Lewin, reality can be unmade, manipulated beyond all recognition; their project is as much musical as it is an experiment in pop persona and visual aesthetics.

On October 8th, Magdalena Bay will release their debut full-length LP, Mercurial World, via Luminelle. Entirely written, produced, recorded, mixed and mastered by the duo, Mercurial World proposes an abstract theory of time and explores the staggering “what ifs” that make up the human experience. Approaching reality as a construct allows Magdalena Bay to enact their own, one that is committed to nothing but expanding the possible. Even the album’s sequencing hints at the eternal: the first track is titled “The End,” the last is “The Beginning,” forming a perfect loop when you listen to it straight through. “Matt, Matt, wake up!” Tenenbaum whispers on the introductory track. “I was thinking about how there’s no true end to anything/ Everything comes from and goes to the same place: NOWHERE.”

“Mercurial World has a lot of outsized themes on it, like destiny, death, and doing the impossible,” Tenenbaum explains. “It’s not exactly a concept album, but we love prog-rock, so we love a concept.”

Tenenbaum and Lewin met over a decade ago at an after-school music program in their hometown of Miami, where they bonded over a shared love of Genesis and King Crimson, eventually starting a prog-rock band together that lasted until they moved away to college. The two reconnected after freshman year and decided to continue their teen rock project, this time in a radically new form that would come to be Magdalena Bay. “We started discovering all of this experimental pop music that pushed the boundaries of what ‘pop’ really means,” Lewin says.

Bleeding-edge producers like Charli XCX and Grimes were a gateway, and by 2019, Magdalena Bay self-released their debut collection, mini mix vol. 1, followed soon after by a slew of one-off singles, all of which arrived accompanied by tricked-out videos. “Those early references have gotten more and more dissolved as we’ve come into our own sound,” Tenenbaum says. “Our philosophy was just to throw things at the wall. I like to think that our music lives between genres.” In 2020, Magdalena Bay debuted A Little Rhythm and a Wicked Feeling, an EP that included the song “Killshot,” which went viral when anime communities on YouTube and TikTok created fancams and choreographed dances to it. When the band’s growing fanbase demanded a slowed down version of the track, the duo obliged.

The EP landed them opening slots on sold-out tours with Kero Kero Bonito and Yumi Zouma, but when the COVID-19 pandemic arrived stateside, they were forced back into isolation, a state they fortunately thrive in. The pair met the moment; they upped their online presence and began streaming sets on Twitch, organically building a following while much of the world was stuck inside. “We spend all of our time together, and in some ways Mercurial World is about that particular sense of madness in containment,” Lewin says. “We live together and make art together; this immerses you in our creative, insular universe.”

On the title track, Tenenbaum sings directly to her bandmate against a glitzy backdrop punctuated by chiptunish blips: “You’ll be around always/ Holding me down/ Living in a mercurial world.” The Madonna interpolation contributes to the sense that Magdalena Bay operate on a space-time continuum that is uncanny, at once familiar and not. “Many of the lyrics express anxiety about losing time,” Tenenbaum says. The high dramatics of “You Lose!” align with the penultimate, throbbing club track “Dreamcatching” as both reflect on the terrorizing realization that everyone eventually runs out of it. More specifically: “‘You Lose!’ is about the industry, and the anxiety that comes with trying to be a musician and maybe not quite making it,” Lewin says.

Words like “anxiety” and “paranoia” come up regularly when Magdalena Bay describe their debut, but the production is beyond confident. Tracks flit between genre trappings with the ease of a band who reject the need to present any one way. “Hysterical Us” is propelled by sweeping instrumental flourishes that recall the blown-out aesthetics of a closing number in a way over-budget stadium set, while a snare snaps like a funkified house song on the bass-heavy “Secrets (Your Fire).” Their confidence overwhelms midway through “Chaeri,” when Tenenbaum pleads for forgiveness while a soundscape so vast and thunderous threatens to consume her. But even as they dabble in darkness, Magdalena Bay do so without ever dragging you down into it. You can hear the band’s reverence for Electric Light Orchestra in it, who they describe as “grandiose, but still cheeky.”

The same descriptor can be applied to Mercurial World. On this album, Magdalena Bay offer the listener a prismatic experience, one that is built on a desire to simply believe in something beyond the finitude of our lives. It’s not religion, it’s not spirituality; it’s this music, this moment. The album closes with “The Beginning,” a discotheque ready call-back to “The End” that momentarily resolves all of Magdalena Bay’s late-night philosophical questions. “Matt, go back to sleep. I think I’ve finally got it all figured out,” Tenenbaum whispers. “Like a butterfly floating in amber, we’ve made this moment eternal.”

- Website - YouTube Page - Bandcamp Page

#magdalenabay #vaporwave #tiktok #georgeclanton #negativegemini

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #383

“the big bully try to stick his finger in my chest  /  try to tell me, tell me he’s the best  /  i don’t really give a good goddamn ‘cuz i got my lunchbox & i’m armed real well”

Ever had a friend online for a long time without seeing a photo of them? Well yeah. Most of my friends are online, and while I've seen pictures of most at least once or twice, some I still haven't. The last time you threw up, what caused it? It was a side effect of a mood stabilizer I started. Any foods from other countries you would like to try but haven’t yet? I'm sure there's something, idk. Do you think the world would be more peaceful without any religion? Yes. Have you ever had a stalker? No. Does it hurt your feelings when people talk shit about things you love? It makes me self-conscious way more than anything. I start to obsess over whether or not the person things poorly or weirdly of me for liking what I like. I just feel judged for liking it, but that's my problem. Do you like it when people give you nicknames? I do, actually. It feels kinda affectionate to me. Do you often find yourself checking out people’s butts? Haha I'm not gonna say it's never happened, but it's not something I make a habit out of for sure. What fandoms are you in? MEERKAT MANOR IS BACK BAYBEEEE, Markiplier, Silent Hill, Shadow of the Colossus, World of Warcraft, Spyro, Wings of Fire, and lots more, honestly. I'm into a lot of stuff, and I don't love in moderation, haha. Are there any fandoms you used to be in, but left? Yeah, like Supernatural, Good Mythical Morning, or Warriors, but it wasn't out of "I don't like it anymore" or anything, I just drifted away. Anything the fans in your fandoms do that pisses you off? World of Warcraft if particular has one of the most toxic fucking fanbases. There are so many goddamn elitists and people who whine about "boohoo WoW is dying" and "omg this game has been trash since Wrath" and yada yada yada and it's annoying as hell. They always find some shit to complain about. Then Silent Hill... ugh. I think people just hop onto the "the series sux after 1-4" bandwagon to fit in with a certain crowd, but that's not the main thing that annoys me; rather, it's the fact the former main admin of the SH wiki made a fucking joke out of us there. He was clearly having personal issues and made a HUGE and utterly ridiculous deal of Silent Hill 4 having heavy symbolism to the main character being obsessed with the bullshit idea of him being circumcised, and it led to a maaaassive thread of us members trying to talk some damn sense into him as he abused his power. He was finally banned by the Wikia staff, but not in time for some gaming websites to publish "news" stories about it because it was just that ludicrous. Now, YEARS later, we still get trolls coming onto the site to try and revive the drama by inserting absolute rubbish into pages or making new ones. Nowadays I'm the main administrator there, and it's fucking embarrassing sometimes. I'm supposed to keep the wiki under control and respected, you know? Ugh, I'll stop. I could rant for a very long time about this. Do you prefer ruffly or regular potato chips? Ruffly. Do you write down your own recipes, or just commit them to memory? I don’t cook. What color do you want to dye your hair? My top three are pastel pink, lilac, and a light creamsicle orange. I REALLY want to dye it SOMETHING. :( How do you like your chicken? Of course breaded (like nuggets, tenders) is my favorite, but I also enjoy is broiled and seasoned well. There's other ways, but because I don't cook, I, uh... don't know how a lot are made lmao. Do you enjoy cheese fries? UUUUUUUGGGGGGHHHHH YES. Do you eat refried beans? I absolutely hate beans, so no. What is a food you enjoy, but don’t have very often? A whole lot because a lot of it is from restaurants and we don't eat out all that much. As well, my diet is very narrow just because of how picky I am. Marilyn Monroe or Audrey Hepburn? Why? I mean, what are we comparing them for? I think Audrey is fucking gorgeous, though. Marilyn is also beautiful. Favorite fictional world? Uh, I dunno. Do you use lint rollers often? No. Do you carry pepper spray? No, but I want to. Has your power ever gone out for more than a day? I think so. Other than a dislike button, what’s something you wish Facebook had? Hm, I dunno. What time do your parents normally get home from work? Mom can't work right now, but I think Dad gets off around 5PM. Are you afraid to ask people out on dates? Yep. Do you think it’s better to look for love or let it find you? Both can work, but I definitely prefer to let it find me. I feel that *in general* that usually has better results. Have you ever found yourself worrying about commitment? No. I'm a very committed person romantically. Would you get involved with someone if they had a child already? No. Have you ever had a rash from poison ivy? I don't believe so, no. Do you have any chairs in your bedroom? No. Did you watch Elmo as a child? Some, yeah. Do you know anyone who doesn’t eat meat? I don't think so, off the top of my head. When you throw up, do you cry? No, but I'm a whiner and will also shake from fear because I have such a phobia of vomiting. Doing it totally turns me into a baby. Who was the last person to carry you? I couldn't tell you the last person to full-on carry me, but back when I tore a ligament in my foot, my mom kinda had me lifted when she would help me walk. Is it easy for you to accept loss? Absolutely not. I handle it very, very poorly. Have you done anything sneaky lately? No. Have you ever had a rolling back pack? Yes. Who knows you better than anyone else? My mom, probably. Would you ever want to go to Brazil? Sure, if the opportunity came up. Are there any medical conditions that run in your family? A lot, mostly heart problems. What band has the best guitar solos? Metallica imo. Who is the biggest jerk you've ever met? She was somehow my former best friend. Have you ever swerved off the road to avoid hitting an animal? I've never been in that situation, thankfully. What's a charity you would never donate to? I'm really not familiar enough with charities and their practices to know which ones are sketch or not. Have you ever grown your own herbs? No. Do you have any exes you'd consider dating again? Yes. What were some of your favorite classes you took in high school? Art and German. Mythology was fun, too. Do you know anyone with a profession in law? Yeah, I have a cousin that's a lawyer. Have you ever Googled yourself? Yeah, outta curiosity. What's the shortest amount of time you've had between relationships? Like, two days. Part of the reason I left Girt was because I liked Sara. As a child, what comfort foods did your parents make for you when you were sick with a cold or flu? Chicken noodle soup. What's a movie series where the sequel was better than the original? Ha, for some reason Inspector Gadget came to mind. I guess from mentioning my childhood. I was FUCKING OBSESSED with that movie as a kid. The first one's fine, but I love the second one. Does your car have heated seats? Mom's doesn't. What is the strangest pizza topping you've ever eaten? Nothing strange, really. Describe your hometown. What’s it like there? Small and dangerous. Lots of run-down areas. A gang nearly broke into our house once, if that helps you get the picture. What was the last video game you beat? I replayed Silent Hill 2 forever ago. What did you learn from your last failed relationship? It really just taught me that you need to take care of your own mental health before you can effectively handle another's properly and strike a healthy balance. What country does your favorite band hail from? Britain. What’s something on your to-do list that never actually gets done? Finish decorating my room. -_- Have you ever been really passionate about something but then lost interest? If so, what was it? Good Mythical Morning, I suppose. I used to be OB-SESSED. I still adore Rhett and Link as people, they are fucking wonderful human beings and excellent entertainers, I just drifted away from their content. I don't really know why. Do you sleep with the TV or the radio on? No. What’s the worst thing about being male/female (whichever you are)? Menstrual cycles, I'd say. It affects your mood so much, and as someone who's bipolar, it can be very confusing. I like to know why I'm feeling a certain way. What movie has the best special effects? /shrug How many work hours per week is too much for you? I wouldn't know, I've never really worked long enough to figure this out. Can you remember your first day of school? I think I have the faintest memory of it. I know I was very scared to leave my mom (I had absolutely awful separation anxiety from her) and I MIGHT have cried, but I don't really recall with certainty. Have you ever entered a modelling competition? Would you? No thanks. Did you keep any drawings/stories from when you were younger? Most, no, because the level of cringe is LITERALLY unbearable for me. Do you have a safe? Mom does somewhere. What’s the scariest thing to happen to you so far? The breakup. That night was just fucking terrifying. I was so certain my life was over, like the situation was so, so impossible in my head. What was your last dream about? (or your daydream if you don’t remember) My memory's faint, but I just remember I had a nightmare where a LOT of my bones were totally snapped in half. When was the last time you saw a relative? Excluding my immediate family, I last saw my now-departed grandmother and my uncle a while back at a hotel as they were passing through. Have you ever been in a TV audience? No. Are you in any way close to reaching a personal goal? Not really... Do you prefer crosswords or word searches? Word searches. Do you like making collages? Not really. Do you remember any inside jokes from childhood? No. What would you love to learn to do? Digital art, like drawing on a tablet. Do you prefer monkeys or lemurs? Lemurs. Do you watch movies based on the actors or the movie plot? The plot, 100%. Are you more shy in real life or on the internet? I am WAY more shy irl.

#survey #surveys #questions #lyrics: ''lunchbox'' by marilyn manson

[iero]

The mcr fandom confuses me so much, I never know/understand if people are upset with the guys for something or if it’s just a joke. Nothing in particular just things like “i hate [member] for ... “ and I’m like is this real or not?? So many fandoms I’ve been in lately have turned out to be not so good so I’m just hypersensitive/aware because I don’t want to be disappointed again and it’s making me so anxious :( (not you though, I really like your blog!)

Did we ever figure out why the return symbols represented each band member? Why is Gerard clarity/candle? Why is ray Devotion/the sun, etc etc the implications of frank being sacrifice/drop of blood and Mikey being courage/the hand I kind of get but what does it mean? What does it all mean?

I’m sorry I just needed to vent, because I like to know if someone’s done something genuinely bad or if it’s just “I hate them as a joke but really I do like them”. Sorry I’m rambling I know, I just don’t have anyone to talk about this with. Again sorry for bothering you, I hope you have a good day, you do deserve it 💛

So sorry that this is so late! I got off Tumblr to watch a football game, ha. I’m gonna answer all your asks as one big one if that’s okay? 

WIth Tumblr and people saying “I hate *this member* for...” I find that it’s usually a joke. Unless it’s for something that is genuinely bad then yeah, I don’t doubt that they actually hate them. That or they (the person saying it) just sound like they’re really serious. It’s really hard on a website like this to figure out if someone is being disingenuous or not. I do find that people LOVE to say they “hate” a person even though they are a big fan of them on here and a bunch of social media. I do it sometimes myself with Frank. I’ll be like, “I hate him. 😌” because he posted something silly or whatnot, and in reality, he’s, like, one of my favorite human beings in the world. I hear you on bad fandoms though and I’m sorry you’ve had your fair share of them. Some can be really toxic and I usually distance myself from stuff like that personally. Every fanbase definitely has their bad (or downright cringey, full of drama, etc.) side and I always try to stay away, especially on this site. I come on here to blog about stuff I love, not get in fights or stir up drama with people with the same interests. But, as long as you’re able to actually distance yourself from that while still being respectful to others, you should be fine! Thank you though! I appreciate that last part! 

About your second ask, I actually don’t recall seeing any fan theories that did suggest that every symbol stands for a band member. That’s honestly new to me! I always just thought that the symbols stood for the band as a whole. I’m honestly the worst person to ask about that because I truly did not know that. I cannot be of any help whatsoever there. I’m sorry. I hope someone sees this and actually can link a post or say something in the replies because now I’m curious too, ha. 

Oh no, don’t be sorry at all! That’s what I’m here for and I’m down for anyone to vent in my ask anytime! I appreciate you coming to me too. Like I said, it usually is a joke, but sometimes, it’s not. It’s just one of those things you have to use your better judgment for and even if you have to send a reply/ask like, “Do you actually hate them?” because you just don’t know then you should! I’m sorry that you don’t have anyone to talk to about all this. That’s a shame. If you want to talk more about this, feel free to send me a DM/another ask if you’d like! I’d be happy to answer! Don’t apologize for anything you’ve sent me up to this point at all. I love talking to people. I hope you’re having an amazing day/night yourself! You deserve it too! ❤️

#answered #long post #Anonymous

[quickspinner]

I’ll Give You the Stars - Ch 3 Share Your Dreams with Me

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4

Luka was about ready to nominate Penny Rolling for sainthood. It had become crystal clear over the past couple of days that while Jagged could put his name in the spotlight for a brief flurry of publicity, it was Penny who could actually get his foot in the door of the industry. It was Penny who had sent Luka a list of classes and private tutors he should consider, not only on musical subjects like composition and performance, but on business and publicity as well. It was Penny who gave him tips for handling the media attention his unexpected performance had temporarily garnered, and asked for his approval on the press statement she had prepared for Jagged. 

It was Penny who kept him from being completely overwhelmed and paralyzed with her prioritized action item list, and included with that list were applications for music scholarships Jagged sponsored—both for his age group and Juleka’s. Because chasing your dreams costs money, after all.

She’d also suggested he consider selling some of his compositions, and implied that Jagged Stone would love to have the first chance at whatever he came up with.  

Luka had to take a long walk to calm down after she’d suggested his music might actually sell. That Jagged Stone might be willing to perform something he wrote. Rose was going to flip.   

Finally, while Penny explained that she herself couldn’t represent him as repping Jagged alone was a full-time job, she had also sent him a list of agents she knew and trusted and promised to get him a meeting when he was ready.

So when Penny sent him a release form for his unscheduled appearance and begged him to have his mother sign it before her legal team paraded her corpse down the Champs Elysee for letting Jagged pull a minor onstage without parental consent, he gladly went to bat with Anarka, who despised paperwork in general and legal documents in particular, and pestered her until it got done. His mom would probably be extra contrary for at least a week, but that was fine, he could handle it. At this point Luka was so grateful that he was pretty sure he’d donate a kidney for Penny if she needed it.

Now, she told him, it was just up to him to keep the ball rolling until he was musically and emotionally ready to try for the big time—to keep his name out there and build his fanbase. 

Fanbase.  Like he was ever going to be emotionally ready for that.  

Luka coped with his sudden crushing case of imposter syndrome by focusing on the band. He saw no reason why keeping the ball of his popularity rolling, as Penny put it, couldn’t include bringing the rest of Kitty Section along for the ride. After all, none of this would be happening if Marinette hadn’t done the same for him. He’d asked Penny to include Kitty Section’s Instagram in her press release, though he’d cringed at her insistence on the wording “Kitty Section featuring Luka Couffaine,” as if he was any more important than any other band member, and their number of followers had tripled overnight. Rose had posted pictures and a short clip of him on stage with Jagged, and she’d been calling every club and venue she could find to pitch Kitty Section.

It was a beautiful madness that was at the same time overwhelming and so far removed from his daily life that it didn’t quite seem real, and finally he decided to give himself a break from trying to figure it all out, and he took his guitar out on the deck.

Luka was staring dreamily into the sunset, singing softly along with his guitar, when suddenly his view was blocked by a curtain of black and purple hair with lace sleeves. 

“Okay,” grumbled a familiar voice from within the curtain. “What the hell happened when you walked Marinette home?”

Luka sighed as Juleka came to plop herself down in the other chair.

“What do you mean?” he asked. 

“You haven’t sung in ages.”

He eyed her suspiciously. She was speaking in full sentences so something was up. “You didn’t want me too.”

“Not while you sounded like a cat in heat, but that’s been over for a while. Why now?”

Luka shrugged. “Why not?”

“Luka.”

He said nothing.

“Do you realize that ever since the concert you sound like you’re putting together the soundtrack for a heavy metal romcom?”

“I do not,” he grumbled. Yeah, smooth. God, nobody could get under your skin like a sibling. Especially his. 

Juleka was silent for a minute. “She has a crush on Adrien Agreste.”

Luka’s jaw tightened and he turned his pick in his fingers, pressing into the hard edges. 

“Like a super-mega-nearly-stalker crush, Luka.”

He said nothing.

“You know that stuttering, word-scrambling thing she does that you think is so cute? She’s a million times worse with him. It’s a small miracle that he hasn’t decided she’s a complete psycho.”

Luka sighed. “You’re telling me this why? And why now?”

Her face screwed up the way it used to when she was five and he wouldn’t let her play with him. “Because you’re my stupid brother and you’re getting in over your head, and I hate you and I’m scared you’re going to keep me awake with your sobbing when she breaks your heart.”

Luka had to smile at that. “I love you too, Juleka,” he said, with more sincerity than he’d intended. “And I already knew she had a thing for Adrien.”

“Has  a thing, Luka. A big thing. Eiffel Tower big. The Great Wall of China, visible from space big.”  

Luka plucked at a string, pretending to tune it. “Does he have a thing for her?”

“Luka.”  

Luka groaned and rolled his eyes. “Look, I know the score. It’s fine. I’ll be fine. I’m just...we had a nice moment, okay? We don’t have to be destined soulmates for me to enjoy her company. Now get lost so I can watch the sunset without your mopey goth doom and gloom.”

Juleka sighed gustily. “I’m going to have to smother you with my pillow, aren’t I?”

“Tell me about Lila,” Luka said abruptly, and Juleka tilted her head. 

“Why do you want to know about Lila?”

“I don’t know, I just kind of got a weird vibe that night while you guys were talking about her.”

“Marinette doesn’t like her.”

“Why?” 

Juleka rolled her eyes. “Because Lila is pretty and confident and wealthy and well-connected, and Marinette’s insecure and jealous. She thinks Lila wants Adrien and it makes her act crazy.”

Juleka’s words were so discordant with Luka’s reality that he almost felt nauseous. “That doesn’t sound like Marinette at all,” he said cautiously.

“I told you, Marinette loses her mind when Adrien’s involved.”

“Yeah...so much so that she agreed to help him ask out another girl.”

“She probably did that so she could spy on his date. She’s as threatened by that Kagami girl as she is by Lila, only nobody actually likes Kagami, so she’s a tiny bit less crazy about it.”

“I was there, Juleka,” Luka reminded her sharply. “Nothing like that happened.”

Juleka leaned her chin in her hand and looked at him. “You’re biased, Luka.”

“Biased, not blind, and Marinette’s not exactly hard to read.” Luka put his guitar aside and turned in the chair to face her. “Juleka, you know me. I’m not wrong about this. I was there. She told me when she asked me to go that we were going to support Adrien, and that’s what she did. I watched her smile at him and encourage him when he was nervous. I gave him advice myself right in front of her. And yeah, she looked at him like a sad puppy whenever he couldn’t see, but she didn’t even give him a hint at how upset she was.” He sat back, studying his sister. “I thought Marinette was your friend.”

Juleka started. “She is.”

“Are you even listening to the things you’re saying about her? Does anything you’ve said actually make sense with what you know about Marinette? Look, I believe you when you say she’s crazy about Adrien, that makes sense, and I can believe she’d come up with some crazy convoluted things to get his attention, but do you really think she’s that jealous and petty? And if she were, that I’d be so crazy in love that I couldn’t tell?”

Juleka chewed her lip. 

“Marinette’s done a lot for us...and for you, Jules.”

Juleka lowered her eyes. Luka just shook his head and reclined back on his chair, picking up his guitar. “Look, I think I’m done talking about this, forget I asked. Tomorrow’s the first day back at school since the concert and to be honest I’m kind of freaked out about how things will go, so…” He made a little shooing motion with his hand. “Can I just get some space please?”

Juleka didn’t move or speak for a moment. Then she said, “Are you going to be up here singing more sappy barely-rock love songs?”

“Vocal practice was on Penny’s list. I’m more marketable if I can perform my own vocals.” 

“Right,” Juleka drawled. “Penny’s list.”

Something about her tone made him put down the guitar again to look her in the eye. “Juleka, anywhere I go, you go too, for as long as you’re up for the ride. I promise.” 

She held his gaze for a moment, and then stood up, and started to walk off. “Whatever. Enjoy your quest for the perfect rock ballad to serenade Marinette. Just don’t call me to bail you out of jail when Officer Roger arrests you for public disturbance.”

“It’s not for Marinette.”

“Sure.” She waved over her shoulder. “Try not to be a total cliché or I’ll disown you.”

Luka just smiled and shook his head as he picked up his guitar.

***

The first day back in class after the crazy fever dream of the concert night was as surreal as he expected it to be. Some of his schoolmates were at the concert, enough to whisper and point and spread the news around the school. The weight of his guitar on his back was steadying, but it marked him. There were a lot of awkward conversations with people he barely knew. 

The attention he got from girls who were suddenly giggly and handsy was what really threw him, until his best friend took pity and passed Luka his phone, open to a news site that had a photo of Luka playing at the concert. Luka stared at the photo and covered his mouth to keep from...something. He wasn’t sure if he would laugh or swear. 

It was clearly a professional photo, not like the slightly hazy ones that Rose had taken from the pit. They’d caught him mid-riff, his arms flexed as he played, his hair flying about his face, his eyes focused and a smirk on his lips. He understood now why girls kept grabbing onto his arm or cuddling up and slipping their hands under his jacket. The picture made him look hot, and there was a lot of muscle on display in that custom-fitted MDC Original shirt that was totally hidden in his usual layered look.

Luka passed the phone back and put his head down on his desk while Evan tried to smother his laughter.

He wondered if Marinette had seen the picture. Maybe he should see if Penny could send her a copy. For her portfolio. 

***

A week after the concert Rose texted that she had big news and asked if he could meet the rest of the band at the collège after class.  

Rose and Juleka were the first band members out, walking with a red-headed girl Luka didn’t recognize. He’d expected Rose to be bouncing, bubbly, excited after the tone of her messages, but instead Rose looked a little uncomfortable, and Juleka...Luka’s eyebrows rose. Juleka had her murder face on. 

“That’s so great, I knew Gustav would come through,” the redhead giggled to Rose. “He and I are such good friends ever since I grabbed that fire extinguisher and saved his club from burning down. I knew I could convince him to book Kitty Section!”

“Um, that’s really sweet of you, Lila,” Rose was saying. “When I called, you know, he said that he saw Jagged Stone’s press release and—“

“Oh, yes, I sent that to him as soon as I got it!”

“You...got it?”

“Of course, I get all of his press releases. You know we’re like this.” She held up her crossed fingers. “And honestly, I felt bad for you guys! I’m sure Marinette meant well but singling out one person to meet Jagged, it just seemed so unfair! You all deserved that chance, but maybe she just didn’t know him as well as she said—I mean, as well as she thought she did! I wish I’d been there like I planned, I could’ve done something. It’s too bad that I had to cancel to go help Prince Ali with that emergency at the children’s hospital.” She dropped her voice so that she was only barely audible to Luka. “Honestly I’m surprised Marinette would use her connections like that just to impress a boy, I would never dare, but I guess we all know how far Marinette will go when she has a crush!”  

Juleka’s eyes lifted from the ground and met Luka’s. 

He realized he had his murder face on too. 

The two siblings smirked at each other and then both looked at their feet. Luka breathed, reminded himself of little black butterflies, and when he looked back up his face felt more normal.

“W-well, I understand why you might think that, but you haven’t heard Luka play, he really was the best choice and—“ Rose began, then Juleka caught Rose’s chin and turned her face toward Luka. Rose brightened. “Oh, there he is!”

“Oh!” Lila slipped ahead of them to plant herself in front of Luka, hands wrapped around the strap of her bag as she looked up at him from under her bangs. “You must be Luka, I’ve heard so much about you,” Lila gushed, batting her eyes at him. “Juleka talks about you all the time.” Juleka gave her a sidelong look, which made Luka want to laugh. Juleka hardly talked about anything, and never talked about Luka if she could help it. “Rose and Juleka and I were just talking about this gig I booked for Kitty Section at L’Accord d’Or!”

Luka smiled over Lila’s head at Rose. “That’s great Rose, I know you’ve been trying to get us in there for months.”

“Yeah,” Juleka said flatly. “Who knew that all that time all Lila had to do was make a phone call.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Rose fluttered, not seeming to know where to look. “What’s important is that we got the gig now!” Her face brightened with genuine excitement. “And it’s not at the open mic, we’re the headline act. And it pays!” She bounced on her toes, hands clasped together. 

“That’s great news, Rose. I know you’ve worked really hard to make it happen.” Luka said, giving the girl’s shoulder a little squeeze. No wonder Juleka was pissed, if Lila was trying to take the credit. 

When he looked back at Lila, Luka could practically see the calculations appearing over her head as she looked him up and down. He gave her a bland look back that was part disinterest and part warning. He knew that look, he’d seen it over and over in eyes the same blue as his own. It wasn’t even any special kind of insight that told him this girl was selfish and self-centered, just cold, hard experience. 

Maybe he’d done too well at shielding Juleka if she couldn’t see it too. Luka turned his attention back to Rose.

“I thought we should get together and talk about it right away,” Rose was saying, “since we only have a couple of weeks to get ready. He wanted to do the gig soon while people are still talking about Luka. And I thought maybe Marinette could help us make up some T-shirts and things we could sell.”

“You’re so forgiving, Rose,” Lila said with admiration. “Even after Marinette ditched you guys to be with Luka.”

“Marinette’s done a lot for all of us,” Luka said mildly. “But Rose, If we’re getting paid, we need to make sure Marinette is too. She’s already done all of our costumes and the backdrop.”

“Wow,” Lila cooed, curling her hand on Luka’s arm with that slip-squeeze move girls had been pulling on him all week. “She did all of that? She must be so into you.” 

Luka didn’t even hear her, gaze suddenly focused on the door. “Here she comes now.” He tried to keep his expression neutral, but he knew he hadn’t entirely succeeded. It was kind of impossible, given the rush that flooded his system. He hadn’t seen her since he had kissed her in the hall at the bakery. He pulled his arm away from Lila absently, plucking her hand off when she didn’t let go, and reached for the guitar pick in his pocket, pressing the edges into his fingers. He’d promised her when they kissed that it wouldn’t change anything and he was going to keep that promise if it killed him. Marinette caught sight of them, blushed, waved, and tripped on the steps. 

Luka moved without thinking, even knowing he was too far away to help. Suddenly there was a flash of white and blond in front of them and Adrien was lowering a red-faced and stammering Marinette carefully to the pavement.

“Adrien,” Lila squealed, bouncing over to them. “Oh, it’s so good that you were there, that was a really bad fall, Marinette. I know you must be excited to see Luka but you should be more careful.”

Marinette’s face turned even redder as she got to her feet. Lila pushed in between them, and linked her arms through both Marinette’s and Adrien’s, pulling them with her back over to Rose, Juleka, and Luka. “I was just telling Luka about the gig I booked for Kitty Section!”

Juleka growled at Luka’s side and he put his hand on her shoulder. He got an elbow in the ribs for his trouble, but then she folded her arms and huffed out a sigh. 

“Hey Luka, good to see you!” Adrien waved, trying to discreetly pull his other arm free of Lila’s. Marinette was less delicate, shoving the girl’s hand away with a disgusted expression. Undeterred, Lila simply wrapped both hands around Adrien’s arm as he continued. “I saw the clip of you on stage with Jagged, it was awesome! You looked like you were born for it.”

Luka ran his fingers through his hair. “Thanks, I’m just glad he picked that song since I’ve played it so many times at home. I thought I was going to pass out just meeting him, but he was really cool, and it was really funny watching him tease Marinette.” She blushed slightly when he smiled at her, and his heart did a little flip. 

“Really?” Adrien chuckled. “I know he’s a fan of her work. She signed my copy of his last album cover.” He grinned and nudged Marinette with his elbow.

“Yeah, it’s adorable actually, he treats her like she’s his favorite niece or something.” Luka kept his attention on Adrien but watched Lila out of the corner of his eye. “And he brags about her like a proud grandpa.”

“Wow,” Lila said, opening her eyes wide. “Marinette must really have wanted to impress you to use her connections like that. That’s so brave, Marinette! I mean, I would never have dared to bother Jagged Stone just to impress a boy. Oh, isn’t it sooo cute that Marinette likes Luka so much, Adrien! They make such a cute couple!”  

Marinette flushed from her hairline to her collar. “We’re not a couple! It wasn’t like that! I only know Jagged because I was in the right place at the right time and he happened to like my work. It was crazy lucky and Luka’s so talented, I just thought he should have the same chance that I had. And he did great and now he’s opening doors for Kitty Section. I think it’s awesome that we can all help each other succeed in our dreams. After all, what good are all these ‘amazing connections’ if you can’t use them to help your friends?”

Something ugly flashed across Lila’s face but Adrien spoke up before she could bite back. “You’re right, Marinette,” Adrien agreed brightly. “It might have been luck that you met Jagged but you’ve definitely made the most of it, and paying it forward to help Luka and Kitty Section is really cool.”

“Y-you think so?” Marinette nearly whispered, still red in the face. 

“Yeah, it makes me think I should be more active thinking of ways I could do the same,” Adrien rubbed his neck. “I never really thought about it before, but there’s got to be more I could be doing.”

“Oh, Adrien, it’s so like you to think that way,” Lila purred. “Maybe we could have coffee sometime and we could talk about it? You know I’m involved in so many charity projects, I have tons of experience at that kind of thing.”

Marinette looked like she might explode. Adrien laughed uneasily and finally managed to get his arm away from Lila. He started backing away from the group, glancing back towards the silver car waiting for him. “Some other time, maybe, I have uh, somewhere to be right now. Bye guys, and congrats again on the gig!”

“Bye Adrien,” Lila waved cheerfully, and then turned to Marinette. Luka felt a physical pain at the way Marinette tensed up. “Oh, Marinette, it’s so good to see you’ve finally moved on from your hopeless crush on Adrien. I hope that means we can be friends now since there’s no more need for you to be jealous.”

Marinette folded her arms and gave Lila a look that Luka had last seen aimed at Bob Roth. “I think we both know that’s not going to happen and why.”

“Oh, Marinette, it’s really not fair for you to lead Luka on if you’re still hung up over Adrien,” Lila returned, sugary sweet, and Marinette went from red to white, and Luka felt his own face heat. “Or,” Lila lowered her voice to a perfectly audible stage whisper. “Don’t tell me that you went to all that trouble for him and he still turned you down. You poor thing, that’s so…” she paused, as if looking for the word, and then smirked. “Pathetic.” 

Lila whipped around as Luka began to laugh. “You can’t be serious,” he managed to get out between chortles. Beside him, Juleka was smirking. “You’re not taking anyone in with that one.” 

“Yeah,” Juleka drawled. “He’s been stupid over Marinette since they met.” Rose giggled, though she still looked uncomfortable.

“All right guys, are we having this meeting or what?” Luka stepped around Lila and put his arm around Marinette’s shoulders to guide her away. “Anybody know if Ivan is coming?”

“Oh, he asked me to tell you he had to stay and talk to Miss Bustier for a little bit,” Marinette said. “He’ll be along in a few minutes. Um, if you want, we could have the meeting at my place? It’s not big but at least we wouldn’t be standing in the sun. Plus you know Maman and Papa will feed us.”

Rose and Juleka both perked up. “Sounds like a plan,” Luka grinned. “Lead the way.” 

“Don’t worry, Marinette,” he heard Lila purr behind them. “I’ll take good care of Adrien now that you’ve moved on. You couldn’t have gotten in at Gabriel even with Adrien’s help, anyway.”  

“Ugh, she makes me nauseous,” Luka said softly to Marinette as they approached the crosswalk. “I see what you meant, now.”

“Oh my God, Luka, I’m so sorry, that must have been so embarrassing for you,” Marinette whimpered. 

“Not really. It was the truth, I’m crazy about you and I’m not ashamed of it.” Luka tightened his arm around her, and then reluctantly let her go, pretending not to see her radiant blush. “She wouldn’t be so threatened by you if you weren’t so amazing. People like that, you almost have to feel sorry for. How lame must her life be to make her so bitter?”

Marinette was silent for a moment, her blush fading as her expression fell. “So you think I should just let it go?”

“What? No!” Luka said, surprised. “Feeling sorry for her doesn’t mean putting up with her crap. Whatever’s going on in her life, she has a choice about how she treats other people. And I can tell you from experience, people like her will take everything they can get and then burn down the rest just out of spite.”

“Adrien knows how she is,” Marinette said quietly. “But he didn’t want me to say anything. He said making a bad guy suffer has never turned them into a good guy.”

Luka snorted softly. “All that is required for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing.”

Marinette’s head whipped around to look up at him. He met her eyes got a moment and then focused on the sidewalk ahead of him.

“Look, it’s to Adrien’s credit that he is the way he is. In a way he’s proof of what I was saying. He has a crappy home life and he still chooses to be optimistic and compassionate, and maybe that means he has a weak spot for people like Lila and Chloé. Maybe if he admitted to himself that some people are beyond redemption, then he has to admit that there’s no hope for his own father. That his dad will always be cold and calculating and manipulative and Adrien will never be good enough for him.” Luka paused and took a deep breath. “It’s a hard thing to admit to yourself. It’s even harder to admit that the reason those people won’t change, is because they don’t care enough to try.” He glanced back at Rose and Juleka, glad to see they were trailing far enough behind that they wouldn’t overhear. “I get it, you know? He still has hope. I just…” He lowered his voice without really meaning to and she swayed a little closer to hear. “I remember how it felt when there wasn’t any hope left, just all of us exhausted and used up and tossed away, and all I can think about is how much time we wasted believing the lie that if we just tried hard enough we could make him want to stay. So no, I can’t agree with Adrien. Giving in to selfishness never turned it into generosity either.” 

Marinette stopped walking and put her arms around Luka’s middle, squeezing tight. He patted her arm, and then pulled away, a little uncomfortable with having said so much. “Anyway, you do what you think is right, Marinette. Protect yourself and trust your instincts. You might not always get it right the first time, but I know you will in the end.”

“Thanks, Luka. I think I needed to hear that.”

They waited in silence at the crosswalk for a moment for the others to catch up. Luka chuckled suddenly. “You know, she made a mistake today.”

“What?” Marinette blinked at him. 

“Lila screwed up. She pissed off Juleka.” Luka grinned. “Rose has been spinning her wheels for months trying to get us into that club, and Lila just up and claims it was all because of her that Rose finally got through. I’m not sure whether Juleka believes Lila and is mad that she didn’t do anything sooner, or if she knows Lila didn’t do anything and is mad at her for lying, but either way, she’s mad that Rose is unhappy. So that’s one less person on Lila’s side anyway. That’s how I know you’ll come out on top no matter what you decide to do.” He didn’t even try to hide the affection in his face when he looked at her. “You can call it karma or whatever, but I’m sure you’ll always have people on your side. Maybe there will always be a Lila out there, taking the credit and name-dropping and looking out for number one. But you...you’re always lifting up the people around you. You don’t let pursuing your own dreams stop you from caring about everyone else’s.” 

As he said the words, the world seemed to stop for a heartbeat, and suddenly he knew what he wanted to sing for her.  Her pink cheeks grew a little pinker as he smiled a slow, secret smile, but before she could ask any questions, Rose and Juleka joined them and they all crossed the street. “You’ll come to the gig, right?” he asked, trying to keep his tone casual. “We wouldn’t even be playing a place this big if it weren’t for you.”

Marinette sighed. “I wish you’d stop saying that. You’re the one who impressed Jagged. You’re the one who played in front of all those people.”

“You’re the one who gave me that chance. But I’m sorry, I’ll try not to bring it up anymore if it makes you uncomfortable. Anyway, will you come? I’d really like you to be there.” 

Marinette waved her phone. “Already on my calendar. Actually I was thinking I might try to get there when you guys do so I can help you get ready, if that’s okay? I want to make sure your costumes are perfect for this!”

Luka smiled. “Better make sure your website is ready for all the traffic you’re going to get. Rose said people are already asking about T-shirt’s and things.”

“I’m not surprised, you did make it look good.” Marinette slapped her hand over her mouth and Luka looked away and coughed to hide his laughter. 

***

Kitty Section worked harder than they ever had for the next couple of weeks. It was a scramble to finish the new song Luka and Rose had been working on, and then they had to figure out what else they were going to play and practice that. (Penny said covers would be a good way to pad their setlist, Luka had informed the group.) Fortunately all of the band members were extremely motivated, so once they got over the hurdle of agreeing on which songs to play (which turned out to be a very high hurdle indeed), they worked relentlessly to get them down, meeting every chance they got to practice.

Marinette had to miss a lot of those rehearsals, but that was fine--that was actually good as far as Luka was concerned, since he had to get the band on board with his plan and then teach them the music he had reworked to suit Kitty Section's metal sound. 

He tried to frame it as platonically as he could, but he still spent almost as much time ignoring teasing comments (and Rose’s overly romanticized fantasy world where he and Marinette had a wedding officiated by Jagged Stone before honeymooning during Luka’s first international tour) as he did practicing. As he lived with Juleka, he was accustomed to blocking out things he didn’t want to listen to, so he let most of it roll off his back. 

Luka was surprised when Ivan stopped after practice one day to lean against the rail next to him.

“Hey,” Ivan said, rubbing his hand over his hair. “You um...okay? We were kinda giving you a really hard time today.”

“Yeah, you were.” Luka shrugged. “But it’s okay. I know I’m an idiot.”

“You’re really in love with Marinette?”

Luka sighed. “Head over heels, man.”

“Wow,” Ivan mumbled, and then was silent for a moment. “So you think the song’ll work?”

“Nope.” 

Ivan blinked. “Really? But…”

“Rose’s romantic fever dreams aside, I’m not doing this to try to win Marinette over. I know she loves somebody else and—well, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t wish for something different, but that’s her choice to make, you know? I just…” He paused, automatically beginning to play his feelings as he tried to find words. 

“I owe Marinette a lot,” Ivan said after a moment. “She was the one who really encouraged me to confess to Mylène. I might never have gotten up the guts of it weren’t for her.”

Luka grinned, looking up at him. “Yeah?” 

“Yeah, I was the first akuma victim, you know. Yay me.”

Luka huffed. “I feel you on that one.”

“I was so in love with Mylène but every time I tried to get close to her, I scared her. I was feeling super down about it. Marinette gave me a pep talk. I mean, things still kinda got worse before they got better, but it turned out all right.”

Luka shook his head, smiling to himself. “She’s something else. You know I was impressed with her before we even met. You wouldn’t believe how much money I’ve spent on ice cream and nail polish every class photo day for years. I was all set for Juleka to come home crying yet again, and instead she comes home with a smile on her face. Even having been akumatized that same day, she was so happy. I asked her what happened and she just smiled and said, ‘Marinette.’” 

“She’s always helping out, huh?” Ivan rubbed his hand over his head again. 

Luka slid his hand over the fretboard thoughtfully. “I just...want her to know how special she is, you know? Like I said, it’s not about winning her over, just...letting her know.”

“Yeah, I think I get it.” Ivan punched him lightly in arm and Luka tried not to wince. “Still...good luck, man. You and Marinette, you both deserve good things.”

“Thanks, Ivan.”

Even though Marinette couldn’t always be at practice, she was still working for them. She presented them with three new t-shirt designs, all of them simpler than the ones she’d originally made for the band so they could be easily sourced out to a printing company. She’d teamed up with Marc and Nath (names Luka only vaguely recognized) and they’d created posters and fliers featuring comic-book style drawings of the band playing on the back of a winged cat unicorn. Luka had to admit, once he stopped laughing, that they were pretty awesome. The band plastered them all over their schools, in as many local coffee shops and music stores as they could get to, and Luka had to smile when he passed one proudly displayed in the bakery window. 

And somehow, the image, including the gig date and time, got passed to Jagged Stone, who tweeted it out to his billions of followers. “I thought we were going to have to give Nath oxygen when we told him,” Marinette giggled. 

By the time the gig night rolled around, it was no shock to anyone that the club was packed.

***

“Are you nervous?” Marinette asked as she helped Luka lift the breastplate into place and began to fasten the ties. 

“If you’d asked me that yesterday, I would’ve said yes, totally, but tonight? Honestly, I’m stoked,” Luka told her, tilting his mask in his hands to admire the play of the glitter under the club lights. “This place is amazing, the set list is sick, the crowd energy is amazing, and your costumes look unreal under these lights. We’ve worked really hard and I feel like we’re ready for this. I can’t wait to get out there.”

Marinette shook her head. “You guys are amazing, if it were me I’d pass out. Is this okay, can you move?”

Luka moved his arms experimentally. “Good as gold. You’re amazing in plenty of other ways, Marinette.” 

He wasn’t even sure she heard him. She bounced and squealed. “You look so great, you’re right, this is gonna be awesome! You’re gonna knock ‘em dead!”

She leaned forward and kissed his cheek. He blinked at her but Marinette just flashed him a shy smile, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, and turned away to help Rose. 

He took a few minutes to himself to just close his eyes and breathe, and when he opened his eyes again the rest of the band was ready, and Marinette was passing him on her way to the door. “Hey,” he caught her shoulder. “Can you try to get a spot up front? I want to be able to see you.”

Marinette smiled. “I’ll be there. Adrien’s already out there and he has his bodyguard holding space for me and Nino and Alya.”

“Great,” he said, letting his hand fall to catch hers and squeeze it. “Hey guys, all in real quick before Marinette leaves?”

The band crowded together to slap a high five. “Kitty Section!” They yelled together. Marinette and Mylène went to find their places. 

Luka slipped his mask over his face. “All right guys, let’s do this.”

The crowd roared as the band walked on stage. Luka took a deep breath as he slipped his guitar over his head.  Remember the plan.  He played a short riff to get the crowd’s attention as the others took their places. He stepped up next to Rose at the center mic as she welcomed the crowd, and then handed off the microphone to him. There was a cheer as he took off his mask and waved to the crowd.   

“Thanks for coming out to hear us tonight,” he began. “Let me introduce the members of Kitty Section, first on lead vocals, Rose Lavillant!” Beside him Rose lifted her mask, waved, and held up a victory sign. “Rose is also writes our lyrics, runs our Instagram, and books our shows, she’s amazing and her hard work and persistence got us here tonight.” Eat that, Lila. “Next, if you didn’t know, I have the coolest kid sister in Paris and she’s here on bass, Juleka Couffaine.”  Juleka left her mask in place and her wave looked more like clawing the air. “And last, he plays a killer set of drums but he’s also one of the greatest friends any of us could ask for—especially if you have furniture to move—ladies and gentlemen, Ivan Bruel.” Ivan stood up behind his drum set and punched his arms in the air as the crowd cheered.  “Alright, let’s get this place rocking, I’m Luka Couffaine and we are,” they all bellowed together, “Kitty Section!”  

Ivan counted them off as Luka slipped his mask back on and relinquished the mic to Rose, her own mask back in place as she belted, “Oh I love unicorns…”

The energy in the crowd was amazing and it definitely fired up the band. Luka didn’t think they’d ever played better. They went through the first half of their set flawlessly and Luka felt incredible. 

Then it was time, and for the first time that evening the chill of nerves wound down Luka’s spine. 

“Thank you!” Rose hollered into the mic. “And now we have something special for you tonight, so ladies and gentlemen, kittens and unicorns, give it up for Kitty Section’s own Luka Couffaine!”

The audience erupted as Luka took off his mask, handing it to Rose as he took his place at the mic. 

“Wow, thank you,” he said, grinning out at them and hoping his nerves didn’t show as he raised the mic stand to a more comfortable height. “Really, thank you, I’m so humbled and grateful to have all your support.” Chants of Luka, Luka broke out and he laughed. “Wow, seriously, you guys. Thank you so much.” He cleared his throat. “So this next song is maybe an odd choice for a rock band, but I hope you’ll like what we’ve done with it. I’ve been thinking a lot about hopes and dreams lately. I think you can probably guess why,” he grinned as laughter rippled across the audience. “It’s been a pretty surreal experience. And it’s got me thinking a lot about dreams and life and just...potential, you know? I think about how lucky I am to have gotten the opportunities I’ve had. But, at the same time it feels disrespectful to call it luck, because it was intentional. It was a very special person taking the opportunities she’s been given and passing them on. If you ask her, she’ll tell you she didn’t do very much, but that’s not even remotely true. For one thing, she designed our awesome stage gear,” he tapped the sparkling kittycorn on his breastplate. “And if you could have been there in the band meetings and listened to what the poor girl had to put up with while we were tossing ideas around, you’d be even more impressed.” There was another ripple of laughter, and Luka chuckled, turning his pick in his fingers. “You know, some people think you have to be ruthless to follow your dreams, that you’ll never get anywhere without stepping on the people around you.” His eyes locked on Marinette, who was gaping at him, mouth open and one hand locked on Alya’s arm. “But then there are some people who aren’t afraid to share their dreams and who are excited to share yours, and that’s what Marinette has been for us. I don’t have time to tell you half of the things she’s done for Kitty Section and also for me personally, or to tell you how she’s encouraged and inspired a lot of people in this room, and if I tried she’d probably pass out.” He grinned and winked at her. “So instead I’m just gonna say, this one’s for you, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the girl with a million dreams, and a heart big enough to hold all of ours.” There were scattered cheers from Marinette’s friends, but for the most part the room seemed to hold its collective breath.  

Luka closed his eyes for a moment, gathering himself. When he felt ready, he began to play what he’d been working on for weeks. He took a deep breath, and stepped up to the mic, eyes still half-closed as he began to sing, his voice low and mellow despite the metal sound of his guitar beneath. “I close my eyes and I can see a world that’s waiting up for me, that I call my own…Through the dark, through the door, through where no one’s been before, but it feels like home…”

Luka opened his eyes, and smiled down at Marinette, who now had both hands over her mouth. “They can say, they can say it all sounds crazy, they can say they can say I’ve lost my mind...I don’t care, I don’t care if they call me crazy...we can live in a world that we design…”

Luka tore his eyes away from her, scanning across the crowd, feeling Ivan’s rhythm through his feet and Juleka’s bass thrumming behind him and Rose’s voice coming in to support his. “Cause every night I lie in bed, the brightest colors fill my head, a million dreams are keeping me awake…I think of what the world could be, the vision of the one I see, a million dreams is all it’s gonna take...a million dreams for the world we’re gonna make.” He was starting to see faces in the crowd, now, friends that had come out to support them, faces with dreams for their own. He wanted every one of them to have the same gift Marinette had given him. He sang on, and his already racing heart tripped and stuttered, and he closed his eyes again to keep back the tears trying to spring up as he poured his heart into his hands and voice. 

“However big, however small, let me be part of it all...share your dreams with me...we may be right, we may be wrong, but I wanna bring you along, to the world I see, to the world we close our eyes to see, we close our eyes to see…”

He dropped his hands from the guitar and held the microphone instead.

“Every night I lie in bed, the brightest colors fill my head, a million dreams are keeping me awake.” He barely remembered to pick up his guitar in time to catch the crescendo. “I think of what the world could be, a vision of the one I see, a million dreams is all it’s gonna take, a million dreams for the world we’re gonna make…”

His voice caught on the last line. “For the world we’re gonna make.”

There was a beat of total silence, and the crowd exploded.  Luka could only raise a hand to acknowledge them as he stepped back, and accepted his mask back from Rose, who hugged him impulsively before coming back to her place at the microphone. He settled the mask back over his face, breathing hard, and tried to remember what they were supposed to play next. It was several minutes before he felt composed enough to look at Marinette.

Her face was in her hands, but she looked up just as he looked down and caught his eyes, and though her face was tear-streaked, the smile she gave him was blinding.

#quickspins #backlog #i'll give you the stars #lukanette #i am lukanette trash i admit it #luka couffaine #marinette dupain-cheng #miraculousladybug #miraculous ladybug #mlfics

[mychemicalficrecs]

Any frerard fics where either Frank or Gerard gets caught reading frerard fanfiction?

Hi Nonny!

Not everything on this list follows that plot, but they’re all about fanfic

Frank/Gerard and Fanfic

A Dip Into the Dark Side by totallyinnocent, 4k, Teen And Up Audiences. Gerard meets a fan who gives him an odd link to a site called 123Fic, he reads an interesting fanfiction of him and one Frank Iero.

What The Fuck Is This? by Pretty_Emo (SnowBazIsLife), 851 words, General Audiences. Gerard discovers frerard onshots in this frerard oneshot.

Stucky by snowpuffle, 634 words, General Audiences. “I thought you said you weren’t emotionally attached to the characters, Gee.” “I’m not!” Gerard crossed his arms and stared at the laptop in front of him. “But I refuse to kill Bucky.”

I Google You (Or, How Gerard Made His Peace With Fanfiction) by ketamine_queen, 619 words, Teen And Up Audiences. Gerard discovers fanfiction

Brevi/Tell by v0ltaire, 4k, Not Rated. "It's porn," Mikey says dryly, "He wrote gay vampire porn about you."

"Read All You Want" by MerthurIsMyOTP, 23k [WIP], Explicit. Gerard is in love with Frank. He doesn't tell anyone. Frank is in love with Gerard. He doesn't tell anyone either. They cope with their feelings so different but yet all the same. Fanfiction. Gerard writes a lot of Frerard fanfics. He's actually a very well known "fangirl" in the MCR fanfiction fandom. Frank however, loves reading Frerard fanfiction and does it all the time. Little do they know that Gerard writes the fanfics that Frank reads.

Mikey Reads A Fanfiction by kiemitsu, 2k, Not Rated. “Friend sent me a fanfic,” said Mikey, still rubbing his eyes. “About what?” “Yeah Mikey,” chimed in Frank, “is it a sexy Star Wars fic?” He had that asshole grin on his face that Gerard hated but really kinda liked at the same time. “Or is that more Gerard’s area of expertise?” Gerard huffed, his cheeks burning despite himself, “Ass.” So what? So he’d written fanfiction before, big deal. He was just hoping that Mikey would never read any of them. Not like he’d use his real name when he wrote them. So it’s safe to assume that whatever fic Mikey’s friend sent his wasn’t Gerard’s...right? Oh fuck. “No,” said Mikey quietly, “it’s about us.” There was a small silence in the room before Frank spoke up, “Huh. So that’s a thing now.”

In Which Gerard Is Us And It Ends Up Getting Him Laid by SeraphStarshine, 4k, Explicit. Frank didn't understand why everyone disliked Gerard so much, because okay - he was a bit odd, but he was also the most wonderful person Frank had ever had the pleasure of spending time with, and he wished that everyone else could see that so they would learn to appreciate Gerard's existence as much as he did. Or the fic in which Gerard writes fanfiction and Frank just so happens to stumble across a more risque section of his works.

Dead Moonlight by BloodyRoses (orphan_account), 6k [WIP], Teen And Up Audiences. Gee Way. Writes fanfic, is an ex-superhero/part time Riot Grrrl and a trans* woman. Frank Iero. Gee's boyfriend until the government wiped his memory. Lindsey Ballato. Cyborg who uses her steampunk fashion to hide her mechanical-ness.

Married In My Mind by cellphonecharm_au, 83k [WIP], Explicit. Gerard Way thought he'd found the best way to cope with his unrequited love. He stumbled upon the world of MCR fanfiction after googling his best friend's name a few months ago. Since then he's written a handful of popular works of fiction under a cryptic pen name with hundreds of subscribers and comments. No one is exactly sure who originally found out (or how) but does that really matter now? The entire fanbase knows about it. The band knows about it. Frank knows about it. Gerard has to save his band and the most important friendship he's ever had.

What's a LiveJournal? by lizibabes, 5k, Explicit. Fill for the prompt Insomnia on Dark Bingo and the other: fanfiction prompt for MCR Bingo. Gerard's cravings get worse when he gets a bad bout of insomnia, he's desperate for something to distract him, to keep him from wanting a drink or anything else he shouldn't have. He has his laptop and porn seems like a good idea, only instead of watching videos? he ends up reading fanfic, mainly about him and Frank and masturbating a lot, it makes him feel guilty, but not enough to stop, what happens when Frank finds out?

Honorable mention (even though it's Gen) because I love it: Give Me Sight Beyond Sight by akamine_chan, 786 words, Mature. Gerard writes fanfic.

#frank/gerard #frerard #fanfic #fic rec list

[alightwhendarknessfell]

I've been a fan since post wretched and divine era and I remember there being so much everything: Twitter, facebook, fanfiction, instagram, tumblr, pinterest... I think they started disappearing around late 2017 because the guys weren't really as active, they also postponed the album release (Jake had said it would be out in September or sth in one of the interviews and then they announced it for January). Also many fanpages I used to follow, turned into kpop 1/2

2/2 or pop punk fan accounts. I'm happy they run pages for whoever they enjoy listening too. It's just sad to see the post hardcore fanbase slowly disappearing because most of those bands have broken up or changed their sound since then and that's fine, people should evolve, but you can't really find many new post hardcore bands and how long can you have "Smile In Your Sleep" on repeat? :(

Reply: I have noticed that, there’s been a decline in post-hardcore/Alt-rock/rock/metal fan bases. I remember around 2012-2015 that stuff was all over social media. But even bands who are still together and putting out music don’t seem to have the same level of fan driven media presence. It’s by no means only Black Veil that has seen a decrease in ‘fan chatter’

I’ve seen the trend too of people (especially the young fans who were behind most of the fan accounts) switching to K-pop bands or pop stars. It’s sad because I miss the ROCK community that used to exist online. I’m hoping that 2021 brings a resurgence of interest in this genre again. Maybe after live shows start back there will be. I think the death of things like MySpace, Warped Tour, rock festivals, and Tumblr (not the same since Yahoo bought it) the fans kind of lost their places to interact. Even Hot Topic has changed from music/band driven merch to comic/fandom shit. Tiktok/IG/Twitter really aren’t showing the alt-rock scene the love that the old sites did.

[iuinspires]

Love Poem in Singapore: My Second IU Concert

On 6 Dec 2019, I was blessed with the opportunity of seeing IU perform live for the second time at her Love Poem concert tour in Singapore.

I must confess that in some ways, things didn't go smoothly for me: ticketing was somewhat traumatic, because the tickets for the original 7 Dec Saturday show sold out within an hour of release, even before I had logged on to the site (sorry for underestimating your popularity, IU!); after I secured a Friday ticket, I couldn't help fretting about whether I could get to the concert venue from work on time; when I reached the concert hall, I realised I had missed out on collecting the SG Heart IU fan support items and the free IU postcard from the concert organizer; and towards the end of the show, my phone ran low on storage and battery so I couldn't take further audio recordings.

Yet there was a silver lining to everything: getting a Friday ticket turned out to be blessing in disguise because of a family commitment cropping up which would have made attending the Saturday show a challenge; my day at work turned out to be fairly peaceful and productive, so I did leave work on time; not having the fan support items prompted me to initiate a conversation with a fellow uaena; and not being burdened with the need to record everything allowed me to focus purely on enjoying the show. Above all, no number of minor obstacles could detract from the wonderful experience of seeing IU again. So let me try once again to document my precious memories, before they slowly fade with the passing of time.

Pre-concert

So on the fateful day of 6 Dec, I woke with a feeling of great joy and anticipation; all day at work, it took supreme discipline to rein in my feelings of excitement to concentrate on my tasks. Thankfully, I left on time and rushed down to the concert venue from my workplace by train. As I walked from the train station to Star Vista, I was quite amused to spot a number of people selling (selfmade?) IU posters and merchandise along the roadside, but  refrained from stopping to avoid the risk of being late. It seemed that everyone around me was making their way to the concert as well, for they were all holding IU concert tickets or knick knacks.

As I was queuing to get to the concert hall, I took the chance to observe the profile of my fellow uaenas again. I noticed that compared to last year, where the nationalities of the concert goers were distinctly varied, this year's crowd seemed to be predominantly Singaporean - probably a direct result of IU having more Southeast Asian stops in this year's tour. It made me glad that IU did have a sizable Singaena fanbase after all, that was sufficiently large to sell out two days !

When I was seated in the hall, I realised that everyone except myself was holding on to IU postcards and fanchant guides. I was also puzzled about where the SG Heart IU fingerlights were, which I had assumed would be at the seats. I plucked up the courage to ask the fellow uaena next to me where she had got hers, and she said she had picked them at the bag check area (sorry SG Heart IU, for not reading admin instructions properly!) I spent the next few minutes feeling dismayed at the thought of not being able to being able to do my part for the fan support - but the feeling of disappointment was soon replaced by excitement when the IU band members made their way to the stage to screams from the crowd. There was no sign of IU yet though - until the fellow uaena next to me nudged me excitedly and said, "Look, I think that's her!" From our circle seats we had a fairly good view of the whole stage including the curtained areas, and there, indeed, was a familiar, petite figure peeking out from backstage. I don't think anyone else noticed though, or there would have been wild screams! My heart skipped a beat, and I was too dumbstruck with excitement to respond. (To my fellow uaena, if you are reading this, I'm sorry - I didn't mean to be rude!)

Opening segment

Before we knew it, the lights dimmed, and IU emerged on an elevated platform under a spotlight in the middle of the stage, singing the upbeat, cheery opening line of "unlucky" in her clear, sweet voice. She looked lovely and girlish with a white flower in her long, flowing tresses, clad in a soft, frilly yellow dress speckled with blue flowers (an image which for some reason was reminiscent of Lee Soon Shin to me.)

I guess for me, the opening is always one of the most emotional and special moments of an IU concert. For overseas fans like myself who hardly get to see IU, there is something incredibly surreal about seeing that familiar figure and hearing that familiar voice in person. I can still recall how overwhelmed I was when I saw IU for the first time at last year's concert - in fact I now associate the opening song "Red Shoes" with the feeling of euphoria, and for the same reason, "unlucky" will have a special place in my heart as well. The audience shared my joy too, for it went absolutely wild with rapturous screams at the sight of IU, and kept up with this energy level throughout the concert.

IU moved on to a lovely acoustic rendition of Palette, before greeting the audience in a mix of Korean and English. She introduced herself as "IU who loves so much Singapore" - an awkward turn of phrase, but all the more adorable because of that! She expressed her happiness at being in Singapore for a second time, and talked about how this was her favourite venue (because of the "atmosphere, sound, mood...and the colour of the chairs - very red"). She also made us raise our hands to indicate whether we were here last year, and when most of us did so, she marvelled at how we have "so much loyalty here in Singapore".

For the rest of the segment, she sang "Autumn Morning", "Friday" and "Secret Garden". I recall IU had mentioned in one of her concert stops in Korea that for the opening segment, she had deliberately chosen songs that would allow the audience to focus on her vocals. And indeed, the songs were perfect for showcasing the light and mellow side of her voice. Before singing Autumn Morning, she told us to imagine the following: "blue sky, the children, lovely family, lovely mum, lovely dad...lazy son" (to which everyone burst out laughing). And when she started singing the first two lines of the song acapella, her voice pure, clear and gentle, I did feel as though I had been transported to a temperate country on a crisp autumn morning with fresh air and bright sunlight.

The theme of nature continued with "Secret Garden", where IU stood in front of a gorgeous projection of lush greenery, and behind three panels of silvery light that seemed like cascading waterfalls. It was a breathtaking sight that complemented the beauty of the song and IU's voice, and created an enduring image which will always come to mind whenever I hear "Secret Garden" now. It was also a fitting end to the first segment with its mix of sweet, uplifting and lyrical ballads.

Segment two

One of things I admire most about IU as an artist is her versatility, and she demonstrated this in the second segment with a setlist that had a completely different mood and vibe from the first. If the first segment was about showcasing IU's light and sweet voice, the second part was a chance to show off the sultry and husky side of her vocals. She kickstarted the segment with "The Visitor", a slow but groovy number with edgy and sensuous vibes. It's my favourite song in IU's latest album, and hearing it live was absolutely thrilling! IU was dressed to match the mood as well, clad in a blouse with bold prints matched with a short black skirt, hidden teasingly beneath a loose, draping coat, and with a sparkly black beret and boots to complete the look.

For the rest of the segment, IU performed a mix of her more groovy tracks and lively dance numbers: "Jam Jam", "Twenty-Three", "BBIBBI", "Hold my Hand", "Last Night Story" and "Blueming". I generally gravitate towards IU's ballads, but I actually found myself enjoying this segment the most. Other than IU's charismatic and energetic stage presence, I was  buoyed by the audience's infectious enthusiasm; even for a reserved person like myself, it felt exhilarating to be singing and cheering along with a huge crowd, bound by our shared love for the little bean onstage. IU commended us for our high energy level as well, commenting a number of times on how passionate and "high-tensioned" Singaenas were and how enthusiastically everyone was waving their lightsticks. At some point she teased someone for waving her lightstick at two times the speed of everyone else - "Maybe your hand will be less painful if you sway it together with the audience". Our deafening fanchants for BBIBBI also prompted her to declare Singapore as "the hometown for BBIBBI".

Another notable moment was during "Blueming", where the the SG Heart IU fan event was pulled off successfully. The audience in the stall seats turned on their colour-changing rose-shaped lights, turning the concert hall into a beautiful illuminated field of multi-coloured flowers - a perfect tribute to the million blooming roses referenced in "Blueming". IU commented later that she had initially thought that the audience was waving her official lightstick, before realising that it was a fan event, which she described as "the cutest" ever, and very pretty. Even though I was a little sad that I wasn't part of the fan event, I felt really happy seeing how nice it looked, and how it brought a smile to IU's face.

Segment three

IU started off the third segment with the heartwarming singalong favourite Meaning of You, which the audience sang with great gusto. She looked elegant in a long-sleeved, ankle-length white dress that was old fashioned but classy - my favourite outfit for the night.

The highlight of this segment came when IU announced that she had a present for us - an idea which came to her only two days ago, and which the team had to prepare in a rush. The audience stirred with excitement, and I was filled with anticipation too, expecting a local song which IU typically prepares for her overseas concerts. But we were all in for a bigger surprise when IU said: "Please don’t think of me as a singer, but think of me as Jang Man Wol". She proceeded to seranade us with a medley of Hotel Del Luna OSTs ("Lean On Me", "All About You", "Remember Me", and most notably, "Happy Ending" with her self-written lyrics) while a video montage of Jang Man Wol and Goo Chan Sung moments played in the background. I was swooning internally, and I'm sure in the rest of the audience was too - especially the few ahjummas and ahjusshis I spied in the audience, whom I guessed might have been new fans from the drama!

After the medley ended, IU said her Korean fans would be really sad as she had never sung "Happy Ending" for them even when she requested it, and made us promise to keep this a secret from her K-uaenas. (Nice try, IU!) She also shared how close she was to the HDL team, whom she had watched Frozen 2 with recently, as well as her love and respect for Gummy (singer of Remember Me) - which hilariously created some confusion with the translation initially as the Korean pronunciation for "Gummy" also sounds like "spider".

IU then wrapped up this segment with two sentimental ballads - "Lullaby", and "Through the Night", another crowd favourite which I enjoyed singing along to as well. Before the last line - "I hope its a good dream", IU gently murmured "Singapore" - and for some reason that triggered a sudden surge of emotions in me. It brought to mind how two years ago, as a new fan, I wasn't sure if IU was even aware that she had fans in Singapore, and seeing her seemed all but a distant dream - and reminded me how lucky I was to have her here now, acknowledging our presence as fans.

Segment Four + Encore

IU returned in a sparkly dark coloured dress for the fourth segment, which began with "Sogyeokdong". IU commented that this was a song with underlying sadness, but Singaenas were still so excited that she coud not help excitedly waving her hands too - "I'm not a pro...Even when I'm singing ballads, I can't control myself". (It's ok to be slightly unprofessional at times IU, it makes us even happier when you are happy!)

"Sogyeokdong" was followed by "Red Shoes", which evoked a wave of nostalgia in me as it brought to mind the exciting opening for last year's concert. IU then said she would have to move on to the last song -  eliciting loud groans from the audience - to which IU chuckled and teased us for our "pro reaction". The purported last song was "Above the Time" - a song which I didn't like immediately when it was first released, but which I grew to love the more I listened to it. I have to add too, that it's a song that sounds absolutely amazing live, and gave me goosebumps listening to it then!

After IU left the stage, the audience promptly began to chant "encore" repeatedly. IU returned shortly after in a long gem-studded pink dress, laughing at how she didn't even have time to go to the washroom because of our immediate chants. She ended off with "Good Day" and her titular song "Love Poem", before leaving the stage.

Re-encore

A few audience members began to leave, but the vast majority were clearly seasoned fans who knew what to expect, for the loud chants for encore started again. After a brief interlude, the IU band members returned onstage, followed by IU, to wild cheers from the crowd. Being used to seeing IU's characteristically baggy shirts and oversized sweaters for her re-encores, I was surprised to see her dressed girlishly in a sweet cream-coloured sweater pulled over a pretty floral dress.

The re-encore started with "Heart", which IU sung with the audience, in keeping with uaena tradition. IU quipped that at overseas concerts, she enjoyed hearing the imperfect pronunciation of her international fans, but Singaenas were just too good in Korean. IU continued asking for song requests thereafter - but the screams were so loud I couldn't hear a thing! She settled on "Sleepless Rainy Night" (which I was delighted to hear), "Night of the First Breakup", before wrapping up with "Someday".

Post-concert reflections

The 2018 dlwlrma concert will always have a special place in my heart as my inaugural IU concert, but I think this year's Love Poem concert experience was even better.

For one, it felt more fun and intimate because IU was even more interactive with the audience this year. There were many hilarious moments - like when she teased a male fan for dancing very animatedly throughout the concert, and pronounced him the cutest guy in Singapore - or when she laughed at how a female fan responded to her in Korean when she spoke in English. The rapport between IU and the audience also felt even stronger this year - the audience demonstrated an energy level that seemed to surpass last year's - and you could see how IU in turn radiated with joy to see our enthusiasm. She regularly teased us about how loud we were, and at one point, also commented on how there seemed to be "no shade" in Singapore - meaning that everyone here seemed really happy. My heart was also full hearing her express her love for Singapore - she talked about her family holiday here in January this year, and how her brother liked it so much that he was seriously considering doing his exchange studies here (please do so, IU's brother!)

But above all, what I found most moving and meaningful was IU's introspective musings on sadness, happiness and love. She spoke of how during this year's concert tour, there was a bit of underlying sadness during each of her concert, but in today's concert, she was laughing all the way even for the sad songs, and there was no single space for sadness to come in. I felt a sense of relief hearing that - for prior to the concert, a part of me was worrying about how IU was coping with recent events - and whether she would be reining in her sadness to deliver the smiles and energy expected from her as a performer.

But I guess IU has always been a strong and resilient  person, and one to give love and provide healing words of comfort, as she did during my favourite part of her concert talk. I think paraphrasing her words might not do her justice, so let me just reproduce her words here:

"I come here only once a year so I don’t know in detail what kind of troubles you’re living with and what makes you sad, but I think that all people live with similar problems, similar troubles. Right? Anyway, when you feel dispirited and want to end everything, I wish that you think of our promise today: to meet me here next year. You have to remember! We promise. To meet here again next year, we will right? All promises are truly important right? Keep your promise! Day by day, if you live on breathing slowly, it will soon be next year, right? And I’ll come back again to make another promise, to meet here next year, and we keep our promise again, and again, and again, and again. Right? This will be easy. I’ll do it as well. Promise. I hope that today was a good day. I.. (hesitantly) love you."

IU went on to say that this was her first time saying I love you in English, and added, almost bashfully: "I adore you. I cherish you." When she said this, I felt my heart expand with a warm, fuzzy feeling of peace and joy.

Perhaps it was because of these uplifting words and IU's repeated reassurance that she would be back - and perhaps because the adrenaline from the infectious enthusiasm of my fellow uaenas had yet to subside - the post-concert blues didn't hit me immediately after the concert ended. I recall last year I had remained in my seat, feeling lost and empty, but this year, I left beaming as I made my way out of the concert hall with the rest of the crowd.

The post-concert blues did sink in a little the next day, as I relived my memories looking at other fancams - but mixed with this was a feeling of gratitude and joy at how blessed I had been.

Thank you IU, for giving love through your Love Poem concert, and I look forward to seeing you again next year.

#iu #Lee Jieun #iu concert account #uaena #love poem #iu in singapore #iu singapore concert #love poem concert

[kpoptimeout]

Top 10 Most Underrated K-pop Songs of 2019 (Artist Edition)

2019 has come and gone before we knew it.  

Continuing with the K-Pop Timeout Tradition (see 2018 Ver) of listing the Top 10 Most Underrated K-Pop Songs because all the other sites are just bothered with the Top 10 that pretty much everyone will have heard of/have fan wars over, below are our top 10 picks of songs that did not rank high (and with MVs just around or below 1 million views too) but deserves your attention! 

This is the list for artists’ tracks, so the Top 10 underrated non-idol tracks. Click here for the Top 10 underrated idol tracks of 2019. Unlike usual years where there is a separate post made for Top 10 underrated K-Drama OSTs, this year there is instead posts for the Top 20 most underrated K-Pop songs of the decade.

Some of the non-idol artists have escaped the list in recent years to stardom (for example DPR LIVE, CRUSH and MAD CLOWN) so hopefully, it happens again!

This is in alphabetic order NOT in the order of awesomeness because all of them are awesome. Also, all MVs are linked in the song titles because Tumblr won’t let me share that many videos in one post.

ADOY “Lemon”

It is strange that this song somehow did not make ADOY more well-known in South Korea and among K-Pop fans. They have such a laid-back and fresh sound perfect for CFs and fan edits but somehow this indie electronic rock band still only has 9609 likes on Facebook and their song “LEMON”, has less than 200K views at the point of writing this. “LEMON” is a refreshing and soothing indie rock track with an 80s synth melody loop. It is basically if ice lemon tea was a song and it was a great song. If you like chill 80s-inspired music, you would love ADOY’s “Lemon”!

Colde “Control Me”

One half of RnB duo offonoff and a member of DEAN, Crush and Punchnello and more’s artist collective Club Eskimo, Colde provides an amazing solo song in the form of “Control Me”. The song is a smooth RnB track that hits all the right spots - the somewhat conversational like singing building up to the chorus, and the chorus itself which is extremely catchy. Colde’s rapping is also just as fire as his singing. The MV only just surpassed 1 million views but it really deserves so much more since it complements the song so well, with everything filmed like it was done in one shot as different versions of Colde appear to serenade you on the screen. If you are already a fan of DEAN and Crush, you should also check out this amazing song by their friend Colde!

Crispy Chae “A letter from Wendy” ft. Gato Ray

With how popular lofi study playlists are, it is surprising how little love Crispy Chae’s “A letter from Wendy” received because it would fit perfectly in such a playlist. Maybe it is because this song does not even have a proper MV besides the video made by Mellowbeat Seeker. However, this does not stop this song from being an extremely underrated quality indie track. Crispy Chae has a beautiful voice that is both husky and child-like at the same time, making the transitions between skilled harmonies and the conversational chorus all the more memorable. Additionally, this song was sung predominantly in English and should really be making more rounds in the increasingly global K-Pop fanbase. If you love Suran’s music, you would really enjoy this song by Crispy Chae!

dosii “lovememore.”

City pop is definitely making its comeback in 2019, with Takeuchi Mariya’s “Plastic Love” finally getting its much deserved MV, western city pop acts like PREP gaining more popularity and veteran K-pop stars like Sunmi and Yubin trying out this sound. dosii, an R&B duo comprised of Choi Jonghyuk and Jeon Jihye, also dives into city pop in “lovememore.”, which is definitely one of the best and most underrated indie K-pop tracks of the year. The song sounded both like an authentic 80s city pop jam but also includes distortion effects and producing techniques used more often in current music. Honestly, it is an absolute masterpiece and the less than 800K views the MV has received since February is ridiculous.  If you loved Sunmi’s “Black Pearl”, you would fall in love with “lovememore.”!

ELO, PENOMECO “LOVE?” ft. GRAY

While this song did only come out in early November, I am still confused why such a great hip-hop collaboration has less than 500K views. Like all GRAY involved works, this is classy and catchy. What makes this song stand out from a lot of great K-Hip Hop collaborations is the way ELO, PENOMECO and GRAY’s voices work together. They have three very distinctive vocal colours - ELO has an extremely melodic voice, PENOMECO has a breathy and high-pitched way of singing and rapping while GRAY’s tone is deep and relaxed. This makes for a very colourful and fun song. If you like a strong K-Hip Hop collaboration, “LOVE?” by ELO, PENOMECO and GRAY is the song for you!

Jung Jinwoo “Nowhere”

Ever since K-Pop Star Season 5, Jung Jinwoo has proven to be a phenomenal RnB singer-songwriter and have continued to improve after his signing to Planetarium Records. It is shocking that he and the other PLT boys are still relatively unknown, even though they have only dropped bops. His newest song “Nowhere” is arguably one of the best Korean RnB tracks of 2019 and showcases his further honed production and singing skills - his voice is super light, clear and smooth with a mild tinge of huskiness. Just 71K views for such a superb song makes no sense. If you are a fan of DEAN and Crush, you would be obsessed with this song!

LEEBADA “ㅎㅇ (High)” ft. PENOMECO

This is another K-RnB masterpiece that seemed to have completely flew under the radar to K-Pop fans. Playing on the Korean internet abbreviation for Hi (ㅎㅇ) and High, this song has classy drinks lounge music vibes but is also playful at the same time, fully showcasing LEEBADA’s high-pitched and airy vocals. PENOMECO’s addition in the song is perfect, as his voice and LEEBADA’s work together so well, like the male and female counterparts of the same singing style. If you are a huge fan of HEIZE’s music, you would really enjoy LEEBADA’s “ㅎㅇ (High)”! 

LIM KIM “YELLOW”

Back in 2015, every K-Pop fan knew Lim Kim for her quirky electro-pop sound as she dominated charts and was Mystic Entertainment’s it girl. However, her return after 4 years received little to no attention for unknown reasons. Not only is Lim Kim back but she returned stronger than ever, taking on a much more aggressive and edgy persona while singing and rapping about female empowerment and fighting against the objectification of Asian women. “YELLOW” combines traditional East Asian orchestral instrumentals with electronic beats and Lim Kim’s unique mixture of chanting, singing and rapping, creating a powerful anthem in the process. If you are a fan of Lim Kim from before or is a fan of artsy and experimental music in general with a strong message, you would love Lim Kim’s “YELLOW”!

PRIMARY “Bad High” ft. Jade

PRIMARY is definitely one of the best producers in K-Pop, with ground-breaking and beautiful collaborations with Zion.T, Hyukoh, Beenzino etc., oftentimes before the acts are even known in the mainstream. PRIMARY continues this in “Bad High”, working with Jade, the main vocalist of virtual girl band XGirls. This song is phenomenal not only because it sounds good, but also because it goes in directions you never expect it to go. Starting off, the song sounds like the emotional and slow-paced folk-pop/rock works of Lucid Fall and Hyukoh, then it switches up to a satisfying drop in the chorus, where the aggressive use of hi-hat loops changes the slow-paced song to an exciting ethereal art-pop sound of the likes of Grimes. The MV is also beautiful and unsettling simultaneously. Why this masterpiece has only 97K views at the time of writing this is beyond me when PRIMARY has so clearly outdone himself yet again. If you enjoy PRIMARY’s past works and also experimental art-pop, you would love “Bad High”!

RAD MUSEUM “Dancing In The Rain” ft. Jusén

After Hyukoh and Jannabi’s rise to the mainstream, one would expect more attention to be given to indie artists with unique vocals. However, RAD MUSEUM seemed to have flown under the radar even though the vocalist is all sorts of unique with his piercing and emotional vocals which seems to combine soul, alternative RnB, and indie rock all in one. Maybe it is the lack of an MV and big label promotions but this live performance video would show you the charms of this phenomenal artist who is also a part of Club Eskimo and his amazing song “Dancing In The Rain”. This song is simply art - it feels pop-rock like Sting’s “Shape of My Heart” but the way it is delivered also feels like soul and RnB. If you want to be blown away by talent, you should check out RAD MUSEUM’s “Dancing In The Rain”!

Which non-idol songs do you think were underrated this year? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below and let the song sharing begin!!!

#kpop #k-pop #kpop 2019 #k-pop 2019 #kpop underrated #k-pop underrated #k indie #k-indie #adoy #adoy lemon #colde #colde control me #crispy chae #crispy chae a letter from wendy #dosii #dosii lovememore. #elo #penomeco #gray #jung jinwoo #jung jinwoo nowhere #leebada #leebada high #lim kim #lim kim yellow #primary #primary bad high #rad museum #rad museum dancing in the rain #club eskimo