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fl3shm4id3n · 11 months

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Bₑᵢₙg ₐ ₛₚᵢdₑᵣ Gₒₜₕ ₐₙd dₐₜᵢₙg ₕₒbᵢₑ Bᵣₒwₙ

ᴘᴀɪʀɪɴɢ: ꜱᴘɪᴅᴇʀ ᴘᴜɴᴋ/ʜᴏʙɪᴇ ʙʀᴏᴡɴ x ꜰᴇᴍ! ꜱᴘɪᴅᴇʀ ɢᴏᴛʜ! ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

Tw: goth and punk culture, mentions of religion, kissing, couples doing couple stuff.

A/N: I needed to refresh my memory on some things, so I looked up like two things. I hope you like this.

Masterlist

You're a Spider woman from Earth- 666 (See what I did there), just like every Spider Man and Woman, you got bitten by a radioactive spider and you had then become Spider Woman, also known as Spider Goth.

Even before you were a Spider Woman, you were a Goth, since you were younger, you had a huge interest in the Goth culture and now you were a full goth, plus Spider Woman.

Not long after, you were a part of the Spider Society, you were invited in by Miguel and that's how you met your boyfriend, Spider Punk, also known as Hobert/Hobie Brown.

Hobie already had an interest in you as soon as he saw you, in your Spider Goth suit, also when he heard your name 'Spider Goth' it was obvious to him that you were a goth in and out of your suit.

He had heard of Goths and how they were somewhat similar to Punks. You and Hobie got a long from the start, then you both began to date. You dated in secret since you didn't like that much attention. Specially being from two different universes and stuff.

You and your boyfriend share a lot in common, you both liked music, dark aesthetic and had almost the same beliefs.

Since you wear makeup under your mask, Hobie is impressed by it. He likes how your makeup goes against beauty standards. He liked how different it is.

If you want to experiment on him, he'll let you, what he really liked is when you apply eyeliner on his waterline and proceed to make the pencil liner messy around his eye. He also wouldn't mind wearing black lipstick.

Also, if one of your favorite colors is Pink or any kind of soft color, Hobie isn't the kind of person to tell you that 'You're not a real Goth' for liking pink, he knows that being a goth/punk is more than just style. If anyone tells that you're not a goth for liking pink or any other non dark color. They're getting their ass chewed by him. (Also, If you're a goth who liked pink, you're still a goth :) )

He is a fan of your hair, if you have a tendency to dye it and style it. He has seen the many times you had changed your hair color and how you'd style it. If you want to cute your hair or try a new look, he'd help you.

You both have similar music tastes, but also share other kinds of music with one another. You really got him into The Cure, Joy Division and Los Prisioneros. Hobie got you into Sex Pistols, The Clash, and U.K. Subs. You and him had made a mixtape together in which you listen for hours and hours.

One thing that Hobie noticed was how you'd wear a Rosary and an Ankh. When he asked about it, you explained that the rosary represents the rejection of conservatism and is a way to mock the fakeness of religion (I think). As for the Ankh, you told him what the symbol means. Which means the Symbol of Life. You also wore them because they looked cool to wear.

When you both have nothing to do at Headquarters, you'll both go to an under ground Goth Club from your universe. Hobie has been to goth clubs before back in his universe, but he seems to like the clubs he goes with you. That's were he met your other goth friends.

Since you're both a private couple, you're not a fan of PDA, so you do that lovy dovy stuff alone together. You'll give each other looks and hold each other's pinkies in public, but in private, you'll be smooching and cuddling for hours.

When it comes to a mission, if you get hurt or nearly die, Hobie is worried AF. He doesn't care if you both are being watched by the others, he'll pull you into a tight hug and asks if you're okay. He could not lose you too, he had already began to love you more than anything.

#spider punk x reader #spider punk x you #spider punk x y/n #hobie brown x reader #hobie brown x you #hobie brown x y/n #hobie brown x goth reader #hobie brown x fem reader #hobie brown x spider woman reader #hobie brown fic #female reader #female y/n #goth reader #goth y/n #spider woman reader #spider woman y/n #aphrodite's writing #aphrodite's headcanons

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isimpfortoomanypeople · 2 years

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The photo of you- Eddie Munson x Female Reader

Eddie loves you more than anything in the world, he keeps a photo of you in his wallet everywhere he goes. It’s because of his love for you he decided to keep your relationship a secret, sharing small glances across the halls and date nights at one of your houses, whatever he can to stop the torment he was receiving to be thrown upon you. Till one day he photo gets discovered and Jason decides to humiliate Eddie for it.

Warnings: just Jason being an asshole and that’s about it

A/N: I’ve written an angsty Eddie fic so I decided to be nice to everyone and release the happier fic first. I haven’t abandoned my other works in progress it’s just that stranger things oneshots have been flooding my brain. I may have portrayed D&D wrong but I just joined last term (semester) at my uni (college) so I’m still a newbie so sorry if I get somethings wrong. Im Also from the U.K. sorry if it sounds overly British in some parts. Apologies for all spelling and grammatical mistakes as I’m super dyslexic, enjoy

Eddie sighed massaging the stress out of his temples. Tonight was and dare he say it, the worst campaign of hellfire he has ever had the displeasure to DM!

He had to call the campaign off half and hour into the game. Sinclair had a stupid balls and laundry basket game, Erica was sick so she couldn’t be his sub, Mike was spending time with El as he was visiting her for the week. The campaign crumbled the second it started especially without some of its most promising players, so he had to call it quits. Which of course was met by complaints and grumbles from the remaining players as they got out of their seats to leave. Honestly some people think that dungeon master is easily the most laid back role in the campaign but it couldn’t be further from the truth. You have to spend hours perfecting the next instalment so it continues on from where the game ended last time, making character sheets, remembering what has happened to each character and so on and so forth.

Being an dungeon master was no easy feat but Eddie does love it, he loves seeing the engrossed faces of all the players as they’re lead into battle to defeat orcs or dragons, he loves how electric the atmosphere gets when someone has to roll to get a critical hit it’s as if all time stops together and you’re truly there, it blurs the lines between reality and fiction for 2 hours, it’s truly a sight to behold. But most importantly Eddie for 2 hours is able to not be Eddie the freak Munson but rather someone who people regard with respect and admiration, yes he has learnt to grow thick skin just to survive day to day and has learnt to let all the insults and sneers not to get to him. But even the most toughest people deserve that small window of respite.

“Jesus H Christ!” He jumped as he felt a pair of arms circle around his waist pressing their body into his.

“Sorry baby, I didn’t mean to scare you” you giggled, pressing a kiss to his messy curls. You felt him melt into your touch, rubbing small circles into your forearms letting out that sigh he’s been holding in all night.

“What’s wrong?” You questioned not use to seeing him so stressed out especially after hellfire, resting your chin on his shoulder. Inhaling his signature sent of cigarettes which you’ve grown to find comforting, it was the smell of him, it was the smell of home.

“2 members dropped out of tonights campaign, and one of their subs was sick. So I had to deal with the shit of having to cut the campaign short which made the others pissed off at me, if they think that being a DM is easy they’re more than welcome to take over hellfire” he spat out with a mixture of frustration and exhaustion.

You both knew he didn’t mean that, he adored hellfire and all of the members. You sometimes joked to Eddie that he loved Hellfire more than you, which always ended up with you squealing as he peppered your face in kisses till you couldn’t breathe, him proclaiming how much he loved you more than anything in the world.

But you knew he was stressed, you could feel the knots in his shoulders turning to steel as frustration took a hold of every nerve in his body. So you didn’t try to crack your usual jokes as his mind was already burning in a fiery rage.

You placed another kiss to his temple

“How about you come to mine later? My parents are out of town for the week, I can get a six pack and we can watch that film I rented from family video?” You suggested, laughing as you heard his breath hitch in excitement

“You mean nightmare on elm street?” you mumbled in agreement, he sounded like Christmas has came early to him.

“What did i ever do to deserve a girl like you sweetheart” he smiled, turning you to face him, placing a tender kiss on your lips.

It felt good to give him that distraction that he needed, that his sour mood sweeten in a matter of moments. But that’s Eddie for you, he’s like a puppy, he gets excited and distracted by the smallest of things. It makes your heart swell seeing his big toothy grin emerge from the deep frown his face held just moments prior.

“Let’s go Eds” you smiled lacing your fingers through his

——————————————————————————

Yours and Eddie’s relationship was kept a secret, only reserved to giving small waves across the room to each other, when you were both certain no one else was looking. You would kill to be able to kiss your boyfriend like every couple in Hawkins, though kiss wasn’t the right word, sometimes it felt like they were trying to swallow each other’s faces. To be able to go on a date that wasn’t reserved to the four walls of each other’s rooms. You loved Eddie with all your heart, that you make yourself sick with the fluffy nauseating way he never exits your mind, you feel like you’re a freshman all over again .

It was rather Eddie’s idea to keep your relationship a secret, not that he doesn’t love you. He loves you to the point of insanity, that his band has questioned why they’ve recently started to learn ‘I was made for loving you’ by kiss to add to their hideout set list. Eddie couldn’t love anyone other than you, the boy has favoured you over his guitar, if that isn’t the biggest declaration of love from Eddie he doesn’t know what is. He did this all to protect you.

Eddie can handle the insults that is hurled at him without any regards to how vulgar they are, he can handle the way the jocks try their hardest everyday to make his life a living hell.

But something Eddie couldn’t handle was if the insults and occasional punches was targeted towards you. It would crush Eddie in all the ways those insults were supposed to crush him, he wouldn’t allow that to happen to the girl he loved. Even if you were limited to small glances across the cafeteria so be it as long as you were safe.

——————————————————————————

You sat next to Nancy and the rest of the people who formed the school newspaper. Nancy and you became inseparable since you joined the newspaper, she admired your hardworking attitude and that you stuck up for her when no one else supported her idea to write an article on the fires of starcourt mall. The others believed the idea too dreary and bleak especially as Hawkins has a habit to move on as if it didn’t happen last month, you argued that we needed to remember those who we lost so their names will never be forgotten. And ever since then you became close friends.

Nancy was one of the reasons you and Eddie started dating, unbeknownst to her but if she did know she wouldn’t let you forget that it was because of her, so maybe it was best that you Eddie kept it a secret?

She gave you the task to make a small article on hellfire for the schools newspaper, ‘don’t worry about it, it’s going to be a small article as I doubt many people will be too interested in the club’, it did very little to calm your nerves but you were thankful that she gave you a report despite only joining two weeks prior.

For your report all you needed to do was note down about the club and what they did, it sounds simple enough? It would of been an easy write up but you got so distracted by the campaign that it completely erased the reason why you were sitting in the hellfire room in the first place.

Your nerves took hold of you making your stomach contort into knots. Fuck! Your first report and you didn’t write a single thing down! Yep you’re definitely getting kicked out of the newspaper!

“Are you okay?”

You looked up from your notepad, your eyes met by a pair of chocolate brown ones slightly closed in confusion.

“I’m fine, why?” you squeaked your voice failing to hide the rising anxiety that coursed through your body, as your words came out so fast making the pitch become higher with each syllable.

You cringed after realising how your own throat cracked your facade, you darted your eyes towards the floor already feeling the shameful crimson blush creeping it’s way across your cheeks.

“It’s just that everyone else left 10 minutes ago and you’ve been staring into a blank notepad that you’ve been shaking frantically” the brunette stated, his voice heavy in confusion as he packed away the remaining figurines of tonight’s campaign.

“Oh” was all you could muster to say, the temperature of the room increased rapidly, your tongue felt like it doubled in size making your speech incredibly difficult to understand

“You didn’t write any of it down did you?”

You swallowed thickly, weakly shaking your head. Praying to whatever was above to allow the earth to swallow you whole.

Great now he thinks that you’re unfit to be a reporter because aren’t reporters supposed to be good at their job?!

You couldn’t stop your mind from racing, the contents of your stomach slowly rising, you felt like you were on a hellish carousel with no sign of the ride stopping anytime soon.

“It’s only because I was too engrossed in the game, i forgot that I was supposed to write about it”

The room went silent after a few seconds went by, Eddie finally processed what you just said in your anxiety fuelled outburst. The deafening silence was met by a loud thud of Eddie’s book dropping upon the floor.

Did he just hear you right? Y/N Y/L/N seriously just told him that she thought hellfire was entertaining? No surely that can’t be true? Right?

Eddie was so dumbfounded about what has just exited your mouth. All sentences he tried to form broke upon exit, leaving his mouth agape and his eyes wide.

“I’m sorry, you found hellfire entertaining?”

You nodded, still trying to find the words to speak. You’ve never really observed Eddie till this moment in time, how his eyes were rich in its chocolate tone, that his sharp jaw captured his face beautifully or how his hair look soft and luscious-

No no no! You weren’t supposed to find the “freak of Hawkins” attractive, this was far from the plan. Why did you agree to do this article?

“I didn’t write anything down, I wanted to ask some questions and hopefully I can actually write this article” you suggested to Eddie, the subtext of your suggestion was heavily applying that he suggested you should meet up again and hopefully one on one.

Eddie picked up the book from the floor and looked you in the eyes to see if he hasn’t read the situation wrong. But the way you blushed when he looked at you made him realise that the impossible was true, someone in this wretched town actually liked him.

“Well sweetheart how about you ask me these questions next Thursday, say 6?” He bit his lips and looked at you, his confidence fuelling him to make the first move, as the girl he secretly admired from a distance may finally want him back

Eddie carries your photo in his wallet, it’s his most prized possession. He carries it on him at all times not daring to part with it. He took it the night he finally had the guts to ask you to be his, still not believing his luck that the hottest girl in Hawkins is now officially his girlfriend.

It captured you wearing his famous hellfire shirt that he allowed you to sleep in, you were holding a big smile on your face, your hair messily tied up, with one of his rings looped through a necklace around your neck.

While you couldn’t bare to part from the silver around your neck, it feels like he’s always close to you in moments when you can’t be. It’s a way of you saying that your his and you always will be. You have the chain tucked underneath your shirt allowing the cold metal to rest upon your heart.

Eddie was sat at hellfire’s usual table, shovelling pretzels into his mouth rolling his eyes at the sickening posters that decorated the cafeteria, each one advertised the upcoming prom night. All these brightly coloured posters covered the walls, it infuriated him. How dare these couples be allowed to show their love freely while he can’t hold his girl’s hand in fear of her being hurt.

“So are you going to ask Y/N to prom?”

Eddie choked on the pretzels he was just about to swallow. He looked at Dustin wide eyed as if the 15 year old has just lost his mind

“Dude! We’re on about Y/N here, there’s no way” Gareth laughed, dismissing all possibilities that Eddie could get someone so well respected with in the school to go out with him.

“Yeah, she’s friends with Nancy and not once has she mentioned him” Mike added further proving how ridiculous Dustin sounded

“Why would you even think that?” Eddie nervously laughed filling his face with more food, hopefully if his mouth is full he won’t be able to answer Dustin’s pestering and would be able to keep the relationship a secret

“Because when you was stressed the fuck out during the last campaign, you dropped your wallet packing up and I saw her photo inside and she was wearing his hellfire shirt”

If Eddie could strangle Dustin he would, he buried his hands into his face covering up his embarrassment

The table echoing in a series of “whats!” By all the members, all in a serious state of shock that Eddie has been secretly dating you out of all people

“Yes, I’m dating her. But it’s a secret so I swear to god if any of you say anything I’m kicking your asses out of hellfire without mercy”

“Why don’t you ask her to prom?” Dustin question still not letting this go

“The freak is asking who to prom?”

Great! Eddie thought just what he fucking needs right now is Jason to over hear this conversation

“Non of your business Carver” Eddie said his voice laced with sarcasm rolling his eyes at the jock

“Who is this unlucky girl” he smirked, leaning into Eddie in hopes to intimidate him.

Jason cupped his hands over his mouth to amplify his voice, to broadcast what he had to say to the whole room

“Hey everyone, the freak wants to invite a special girl to prom, so go on Eddie ask her?” He mocked as the whole cafeteria erupted in laughter towards Eddie’s humiliation. All eyes glued upon him, willing him to ask this girl out for their sick twisted amusement

Fuck it! Standing from your seat you started to walk towards Eddie’s direction

“Y/N, what are you doing?” Nancy hissed trying to get you to sit back down and avoid the same humiliation Eddie is facing. Yes she can’t stand Jason and his shitty attitude but she understands he’s Hawkins royalty and someone not to be messed with. She didn’t want you to be on the receiving end of Jason’s sick and twisted entertainment

Ignoring your best friend’s cries you still continued your walk towards the hellfire table. You felt nearly everyone eyes upon you, but let them stare. You are done, done with watching your boyfriend being treated like the jocks punching bag, how Hawkins treats him like a laughing stock with no regards to the person that he actually is.

“Aww cat got your tongue? Well that’s okay you don’t need to ask her as any self respecting girl in Hawkins would laugh in your face” he sneered, grabbing Eddie by his collar to face him “you’re nothing but a-“

“Hey asshole” you called towards the blonde who dropped Eddie the moment he heard your voice. This can’t be? Right? No way would Y/N call him an asshole and try to defend the freak?

“The answer from the mystery girl is yes, yes she will go to the prom with him” you snarled giving the jock the worst death stare you could muster

The whole room went silent, no one knows what was more shocking you standing up to Jason? or you saying yes to Eddie to prom?

Jason looked at you in utter shock, his jaw nearly on the floor. You swear that you could see the cogs turning in his brain trying to conjure up a response to what you just said

“Sweetheart what are you doing?” Eddie whispered at you, his voice slightly cracking in fear for what is to happen to you. Could you lie and say this is some form of prank just to save your reputation?

You placed your lips upon his, kissing him with so much force hoping that you could make him believe that this is how much you love him. Sure receiving insults and jokes made at your expense maybe hard to deal with but not being able to be close to the person that you loved was worse, it was worth the sacrifice

“Just so everyone is clear, me and Eddie are dating and I love him so if anyone has anything to say about it well I simply don’t care, so try your worst ” you announced sitting next to Eddie.

The whole room looked at you with wide eyes, still in shock trying to process what they’ve just witnessed

Placing another kiss to Eddie’s lips to help to close his gaping mouth . He blinked back in disbelief

“Did I ever tell you how lucky I am to have you?”

“All the time Eds”

“I love you sweetheart”

“I love you too eddie”

A/N: I hope this was good, I’m super self critical lol

#stranger things imagine #stranger things fanfic #stranger things fanfiction #stranger things eddie #eddie the freak munson #eddie munson fan fiction #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson x yn #eddie munson x female character #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x y/n

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cripple-punk-dad · 10 months

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you have probably been asked this a billion times already, but do you have any punk music recs? I feel I do a search myself I get more watered down stuff.

Yeah! My favorite punk punk band is Pure Hell, I fucking love their stuff, my favorite album is noise addiction (idc if people say that's basic it's a good album lol) and also Streetlight Manifesto if you want something a little more funky. SLM is technically a ska punk band. I love ska punk but it's def not for everybody. if you do wanna listen I recommend their album The Hands That Thieve or Everything Goes Numb

Those are my favorites. But the 70's-80's (Don't jump down my throat I'm listing these off the top of my head) classics are bands like the Misfits, Green Day, Joy Division, Rancid, The Descendents, NOFX, The Romones etc. I can't vouch for the behavior of a lot of these bands and the artists in them, pretty much all of them have a history of being racist/ok with Nazis/bigoted in general so take with that what you will, these are just the bands that most people seem to agree are punk rock.

There's like three different generalized eras in punk, you've got proto-punk (60's-70's) (the stooges, the pink faeries etc) which were garage bands that played stuff that kind of hinted at punk before it became commercially recognized, there's early punk (early 70's) which was when punk started gaining momentum, then you've punk rock (80's- late 90's-arguably present day) and after that a whole bunch of sub-genres popped up and mixed together an all that. That being said I'm not a music historian and this is all very generalized information that I've heard and gotten from the internet. This is also focused on the U.S and the U.K. I hope this is somewhat educational, as always do your own research and all that, rock on!

#punk #punk rock #cpunk #punk history #punk music

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toshkakoshka · 11 months

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The one thing i will say is when you listen or make a hobie playlist dont use sex pistols there are a mid hypocritical British punk you want a good British punk band choose crass especially the song Big a Little A as most of their songs are about how bad systems are and how bad the UK is. Crass and U.K Subs top tier UK punk bands Hobie would most likely listen to or have seen since there all from the 90s

Some other songs i reccomend you check out! (for hobie not in general)

I hate School - Ruben the Undertander

We'd have a riot doing Heroin - The Queers

The Price of smokes - The Chats

Pray to Cum - Bad Brains

Anything by throbbing gristle

Bmbmbm - black midi

Damaged Goods - Gangs of four

i'm scum - IDLES

Fucked up state - icons of filth

Wotz Funny -slowthai

I Live in a car - U.K Subs

YOOOOO SAVING THIS FOR REAL IM ACTUALLY EXCITED AND IM PROBS GONNA BUILD THIS PLAYLIST IF U HAVENT ARLEADY ANON OMFGGG

#ASK #OH MY GODDDD #hobie brown #AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

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jkflesh · 5 months

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TECHNO ANIMAL "BROTHERHOOD OF THE BOMB" remastered reissue

1521x forest green & blood red vinyl

100x clear vinyl (Friends of band and label only)

T-shirt

www.relapse.com exclusives:

352x milky clear with custom splatter vinyl

242x forest green, mint green, swamp green tri color merge with forest green, mint green, white splatter vinyl

Release date: February 16, 2024

Bandcamp: LINK Relapse store: LINK

Relapse Records is proud to announce the reissue of the highly influential TECHNO ANIMAL album, The Brotherhood of the Bomb. The album, fully remastered by Broadrick, is available on LP for the first time ever! Prior to The Brotherhood of the Bomb having even been conceived, TECHNO ANIMAL had already been championed/released by The Beastie Boys, collaborated with Alec Empire and the then-fledgeling Dälek, but still remained in almost total obscurity. TECHNO ANIMAL had barely found an audience, yet on The Brotherhood of the Bomb, the duo had definitely found their sound. "The Brotherhood of the Bomb had a lot to do with myself and Justin's obsession with Dillinja's bass sound, and the love of playing No-U-Turn drum & bass records at the wrong, slower speed." Kevin Martin comments. "It was also nourished by our addiction to the new breed of independent rap that had emerged, as we were paid up junkies for the likes of Company Flow, Anti Pop and Cannibal Ox's consecutive classics. Hence why we had approached them all to guest on our album, and flatteringly. all of whom thankfully agreed to appear." The album was made by punishing studio speakers with overdriven synths through analogue hardware, and dub mixing the lot through Justin's desk, which the two fought over who could get to the parametrics fastest, to do the bassline filter sweeps. "We were both just loving tweaking the fck out of the tunes and going mad on the aux sends/returns" Martin comments. "It was fueled on the atonality of mutating electro acoustic found sounds, and fcking with the stereo field as much as possible, whenever possible." Inspired by Public Enemy's Bomb Squad to bring the noise, Jah Shaka/Aba-Shanti, to brutalise rigs, and filtered those indelible influences through their musical past notoriety. Whether they were known for pioneering industrial metal with Godflesh, or peddling grinding noise rock with GOD, the different aspects of TECHNO ANIMAL are palpable throughout The Brotherhood of the Bomb. The seeds for this album had been sown by making the transition from playing back rooms of pubs, and other dubious squalor venues into playing in sub heavy clubs with their monolithic, low end friendly sound systems. Considered too noisy for hip hop heads and too hip hop for noise heads/metal fiends at that time, TECHNO ANIMAL were truly ahead of their time. Once dubbed "the future of Rock 'n' Roll!" by Alan Mcgee from Creation Records, TECHNO ANIMAL helped pave the way for contemporary, explosive, cutting edge groups like Death Grips, Backxwash, and Clipping, all of whom were inspired by the U.K. duo's furious take on beats, bass and sonic weaponry, and all whom have cited The Brotherhood of the Bomb as an influence and a personal favorite.

#techno animal #justin broadrick #kevin martin #the bug #jk flesh

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paulinedorchester · 3 months

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Downton Abbey Rewatch Project: Not-so-Random Notes on S5 (mostly)

Actually, to begin with, a question:

Molesley and Daisy talk about taking “the matriculation exam.” Matriculation where? For what sort of institution would passing this exam qualify them? (I realize that we may be talking about something long since obsolete here.)

Now then:

Cora: Lord Sinderby, I would point out that we never changed our name.

That’s probably my favorite line in the entire show! I remember quite well how excited I was by this storyline back in the day (so was my mother) but, looking back on it now, it seems to me that it could have been better done.

Firstly, while you all know by now that I’m opposed to any of this “lived experience” hoo-hah as a mandate in casting, the decisions made here look a little careless. Matt Barber was fine, Penny Downie was acceptable, but I was never able to buy into James Faulkner at all. Wasn’t Anton Lesser available? The character would have fit him like a glove — Lord Sinderby is even keeping a secret!

And while I was and am glad, actually, that Lord Sinderby was such a flawed individual, some of his flaws are pretty bizarre, especially his extreme aversion to divorce. Judaism takes a very matter-of-fact attitude to divorce (although there are multiple perspectives on the issue, to be sure), and there’s certainly no stigma on the remarriage of divorced persons.

Moreover:

Renting a house in the middle of nowhere for a family vacation is one thing. Doing so for shooting season is quite another! Hunted mammals or birds are by definition treif (not kosher); we’re not told to what extent the Aldridges keep kosher (although it seems to me that if Daniel is “a leader in that community” then they’d have to do so at home, or they wouldn’t be able to receive most other Jewish leaders as guests), but in any case hunting and shooting are profoundly un-Jewish activities. (That’s why it was such a big deal when a supply of kosher venison from Europe was briefly available in the U.K. several years ago.)

The blind support for Britain’s actions in India also seemed a bit overdone — although to be sure I have no idea what Anglo-Jewish views on this subject were likely to be. (Ah, another thing to research!)

Annoying dinner guest (Susan Flintshire?): Do you have any English blood? Lord Sinderby: We only date from the 1850s, but Lady Sinderby's family arrived in the reign of King Richard III.

Really? Their presence in England between 1290 and about 1656 would have had to have been pretty much sub rosa. Lord Sinderby’s question to Cora about whether Martha ever thought of converting to Judaism — in the 1850s or 1860s, this would have been — also demonstrates a lack of historical knowledge. One is surprised by such a lapse on Julian Fellowes’ part.

But now we come to it:

Lord Sinderby: Your children will not be Jewish! Don't you understand that? Their mother will not be Jewish and neither will they! Atticus: They may choose to convert.

Why didn’t Atticus complete that statement? He should have gone on, “as may Rose, if she is given a warm welcome.” (Admittedly, I have an agenda here.)

However:

Rose: Can't we use Christian names? Lord Sinderby (Daniel): My name is not a Christian name. Rose: You know what I mean.

No, Rose, dear, on this point your father-in-law is absolutely right. That’s a really annoying usage, and I hope it’s dying out.

#downton abbey

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sweetdreamsjeff · 4 months

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Jeff Buckley in the U.K.

JEFF BUCKLEY loved British music; the nervous energy in British punk, the wired consciousness of the Clash, the way Siouxsie and the Banshees went from gun-metal moodiness to skies full of fireworks.

He adored the Cocteau Twins, of course, especially Liz Fraser's "impossible voice". He loved how the Smiths called to outsiders and nerds. He loved the textures of Johnny Marr's supple guitar and the mordant presence of Steve Jones's guitar in the Sex Pistols.

Jeff, whose own nervous energy was considerable, became even more wired whenever we went to the UK; he was stimulated by its variety. He also appreciated its compactness – the lack of eight-hour drives between cities was refreshing.

Sony had passed on Live at Sin-é in Europe. We were understandably disappointed, but there was a solution close at hand: Steve Abbott, known to everyone as Abbo, who ran the eccentric indie record label Big Cat and had picked up on many of the promising un-signed bands playing in New York: Pavement, Mercury Rev, Luscious Jackson. He had approached Jeff after Gods & Monsters and Sin-é shows and asked him if he'd like to record with Big Cat, but then Sony stepped in. Jeff felt that he owed Abbo a record, so when Columbia UK passed on Live at Sin-é and Michele Anthony instigated a funding deal with Big Cat, it seemed the perfect opportunity for them to become involved. Abbo jumped at the chance.

Big Cat's small team – Abbo, co-owner Linda Obadiah, Frank Neidlich in marketing, and Jacqui Rice in press – did such a good job that the week it was released in Europe, Live at Sin-é sold over four thousand copies, which was amazing for a complete unknown.

After a Sony conference, where it was clear that a lot of the affiliates were bemused by him, Jeff had a warm-up show at Whelan's in Dublin. By the time he came on, the crowd, several drinks into its evening, had become a little boisterous. Jeff said hello softly, as usual, but no one was really paying attention. Jeff just stood there, waiting. People started to quieten down and watch to see what he would do. There was a pint of his favourite beer, Guinness, sitting on the stool next to him. Jeff lifted the glass to his lips and downed it in one hit. Everyone on the room cheered, and he began the Irish show with the crowd completely on his side.

The audience was more blasé the next night at his London debut at The Borderline, a Western-themed venue under a dubious Mexican diner in Soho, right in the heart of London, a group of local reps for hip American indie labels like Sub Pop and Merge yacking away rather disrespectfully at the bar. In the age of grunge, a lone guy with a guitar softly singing Edith Piaf covers was baffling for some.

"It was an epiphany for me," says Sara Silver, Sony's European head of marketing. "There are some shows where it just feels like you're a voyeur, looking into someone's soul. This was one of those. He was charismatic, but also haunting, and I think because of my particular situation at the time, still suffering from the [loss of my husband], he resonated hugely. This haunting sound was a powerful force, and it was my job to work out how we took it to the world."

A gig the next night in Glasgow meant an early-morning flight back to Heathrow the following morning to catch a session with GLR, London's local BBC station, a slot designed to alert people to the next couple of gigs at the Garage in Islington and at Bunjies, a cute little basement folk club in Central London that dated back to the early 1960s and made Sin-é seem generously proportioned.

Abbo was accompanying Jeff on this run.

"We'd meet regularly at a bar called Tom & Jerry's in New York, hang out and drink Guinness together," Abbo says, "I suppose I became a friend of his, and he didn't seem to have many real friends. I'd only discovered I liked the blues since living in New York, so it was great hanging with him, because he was a huge blues and jazz fan and if there was a guitar around he had to pick it up and show off. He knew every Robert Johnson song, every Muddy Waters tune, Bessie Smith; he introduced me to the physicality of the blues, watching it at close quarters. Everybody talks about his voice, but he was a brilliant guitarist. The guitar was an extension of his body.

"Tim Buckley hadn't really entered my line of vision growing up listening to black music. Singer-songwriters with fluffy hairstyles were not currency on my council estate in Luton! We were in Tom & Jerry's and someone said to Jeff, 'I've been listening to your dad,' and I said, 'Who's your dad?' and he said, 'Tim Buckley.' I knew the name from record shopping; I'd seen the sleeves in the racks, but that's it. But when he came over to Britain there were loads of Tim Buckley fans. And it was a real problem early on, because he really didn't like talking about him."

The traffic from the airport to the GLR studios just off Baker Street was awful. A road accident had slowed everything to a standstill. Jeff's slot on the mid-morning show was fast approaching. "Of course, this was before mobile phones, so I had no way of communicating with the radio station that we were stuck in traffic," says Abbo. "For the last few days on this tour, everyone who'd interviewed Jeff had been asking about his dad. How did Tim write 'Song To The Siren'? Was there stuff in his lyrics that he might have related to? Things Jeff couldn't answer.

"We were listening to GLR while we waited in traffic and the presenter kept saying, 'We're supposed to have this artist, Tim Buckley's son, turning up, but he's late....Will he or won't he turn up?' This went on and on. She must have said 'Tim Buckley's son' about four times and didn't mention Jeff once. Suddenly, he just kicked my car radio in with his big DMs [Doc Martens], just smashed the fascia and then sat back sulking all the way there. I could get another radio, of course, but I was mostly worried he wasn't going to do the performance.

"We finally arrived about forty minutes late and they were all so rude to us, and yet they knew what the problem was, as they were broadcasting traffic updates and warnings of delays themselves. If I were him, I'd have walked out. The female presenter was a typical local radio DJ, a bit gushy and knew nothing about him and his music. I had a word with the station manager to ask her to stop mentioning Tim Buckley, and he handed her a note to that effect. Jeff just sat there silently and she said, 'What are you going to play?' and Jeff said, 'A song.' I'm thinking, 'Oh god, here we go.' And he started to play "Grace." He did this long guitar introduction, went on for about a minute, like he needed to calm himself down before he got to the actual start of the song, and then he launched into the most electrifying performance. The best I ever heard him do it.

"There were about six phones in the control room, and they all started lighting up. 'Who is this? Who is this? It's amazing!' And all the time, Jeff's getting more and more into it. The presenter went from being this standoffish woman to...I swear she would have thrown herself on him given half a chance, the second he finished singing. You could see she was totally enthralled."

Presenter: "You looked quite exhausted at the end of the song."

Jeff: "I was getting a lot of anger out. Something happened on the way here..."

"The phones didn't stop throughout the next song. The station manager said that in all his twelve years at the station, he'd never seen a reaction like it."

Abbo thinks this performance sparked Jeff's breakthrough. There were certainly plenty of people in line outside the Garage in North London that night. Inside, the first stars were taking note. Chrissie Hynde and Jon McEnroe were in the audience. Chrissie had been a big fan and a friend of Tim's, had actually interviewed him while she was briefly a music journalist with the NME, and she was obviously curious to see how his offspring compared. They struck up a conversation after the show and she clearly said the right thing, because he went off with her to jam with the Pretenders in a nearby rehearsal room. I wasn't carrying anything heavy because of a recent lung collapse, and I didn't want Jeff to pull any important muscles, so I asked McEnroe if he wouldn't mind. He happily hauled Jeff's amp downstairs to the car. The Pretenders' jam with special guests Buckley and Mac went on all night.

Bunjies, as I've said, was tiny, a basement folk club and coffee bar on West Street in Soho, along from the Ivy, with gingham tablecloths and melted candles in wine bottles on the tables and a performance area tucked into a couple of arches in what must have been a wine cellar at one point. It looked unchanged since it had begun in the early 1960s, and had seen a couple of folk booms come and go. It was more of a cafe with an open-mic policy by this point, which felt like a good place for Jeff. There wasn't really any need for amplification, so when we arrived for a sound check there was very little to do but see where Jeff was going to stand in the cramped space and gauge how his voice reflected off the nicotine-stained ceilings. While Jeff did that, I went outside for some fresh air and was stunned to see a line of people already waiting to get into the show.

I took a look at the guest list and realised we'd be lucky to fit twenty of this assembling crowd in the tiny space. Every time I looked up, the line was getting further down West Street. I went back into the venue and found Jeff talking to Emma Banks, the agent. He was saying how great the venue was and that he'd like to do something like hand out flowers to everyone before he went on.

"Jesus, you won't believe what's happening out there," I said to them. "The line goes about four blocks. There's no way these people are going to get in. Is there any way we can do two sets?" Jeff was happy to. Emma spoke to the club owner and was told they had some regular club night happening later on. She came back and said, "They can't do it but I've had an idea!" She disappeared up the steps onto the street, and I spoke to Jeff.

"What flowers would you like?"

"White roses," he said.

"I'll get them," I said, and went back up to the street, where the line had grown even longer.

I walked around looking for a florist and bumped into Emma. "I've booked Andy's Forge," she said. "It's a little place just around the corner in Denmark Street. He can go on at 10:30."

I bought as many white roses as I could find. Jeff handed them to people waiting outside and those lucky enough to get into the club, as he squeezed himself into the corner that passed for a stage. He sang upward, listening to his voice reflect off the curved ceiling into this hot, crowded, and attentive space. There must have been a hundred people stuffed in there.

When the show was over, Jeff walked up the steps to the huddle of patient people that Emma had gathered, plus anyone from the first show who wanted to tag along, and led this crowd like the Pied Piper toward Andy's Forge. Abbo was alongside me. "Have you ever seen anything like this before?" I said.

"Never!" he said. And we laughed liked idiots at the wonderful absurdity of hanging out with Jeff.

Jim Irvin, 'From Hallelujah to the Last Goodbye' (Post Hill), May 2018

Excerpted from Jeff Buckley: From Hallelujah to the Last Goodbye by Jeff's former manager Dave Lory and former MOJO man Jim Irvin (Post Hill Press).

#jeff buckley #jim irvin #dave lory #from hallelujah to the last goodbye

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