#and all of their other albums but mostly fanfare

[ritzcrackee]

thx renshi <3333

#absolutely was NOT expecting lie cheat steal to be number 3???? what the hell????? #ig i went through a moment #oh we all saw dorian electra being number 1 tho #fanfare has been GETTING ME THROUGH every single dishwashing shift #and all of their other albums but mostly fanfare #misc #eurgh

[innytoes]

for the A/B/O prompts 6 for the OT3,4,+ that you are feeling the most.

Okay but you also prompted 'A/B/O prompts Heat caught them by surprise for the Reggie ship of your choice.' and this combines so well.

Willie was chilling out in the studio when the door slams open. It did that often, because let's be real, his boyfriends were all a little dramatic. But this time there was no fanfare about how they had a new song idea or they found Willie’s favourite KoolAid Burst flavour on sale. This time, Alex carried Reggie inside, making soothing noises, while Reggie clutched at his back, his flushed face pressed in the crook of Alex’ neck.

“Off, off,” Luke waved at Willie frantically, and he hopped up and helped Luke pull out the sofa bed part of the couch. “Sorry, hi babe.”

“Hey,” Willie said, looking between the three. “What’s going on?” Was Reggie sick? He didn’t look too hot. Alex also looked flustered and a little stressed, but that wasn’t particularly unusual for Alex. Luke, for some reason, had the bandana he usually had tied around one belt loop up around his face, like he was about to rob a saloon in an old western.

All three of his boyfriends stared at him, before Luke slapped his hand to his forehead. “You can’t smell him!” he said, and the other two went ‘oooh’ like it was a great revelation.

Oh, Reggie wasn’t sick. He was in heat. Which Willie, as a Beta, couldn’t smell.

Alex carefully sat down on the sofa-bed, because Reggie refused to let go of him. “Reggie’s dad lost his job and with it their insurance,” he explained, and Reggie hid his face back in Alex’ neck. “He’d been trying to stretch his suppressants to last, but clearly that hasn’t worked.”

“Oh, baby, why didn’t you say so?” Willie asked.

“Too expensive,” Reggie whimpered. “I didn’t want to hurt the band fund.”

Oh, man. Between Luke going back to his folks’ house, and therefor back to school, he’d had to quit his job at the diner to catch back up. Which meant the only person actually working was Willie (who may or may not be living in the studio ever since he aged out of the system and his foster dad had unceremoniously kicked him out). And they were saving all the money from gigs and playing the beach mostly to record an album.

“Baby, I would have stolen some for you,” Willie said gently. Alex twitched, but honestly, what other options did they have right now? Heat suppressants were expensive, and yeah, while schools weren’t allowed to count heat absence against someone, they weren’t exactly compelled to help those students with the stuff they missed out on either. That’s why most Omegas were on suppressants during the school year.

Reggie had been, ever since he started showing signs of pre-heat at fourteen. Which meant this was probably his first full-blown heat.  

“Well, it’s too late for that now,” Luke said, pulling down his bandana. Immediately, his nostrils flared, and his face flushed. Oh man, no wonder he’d been covering his nose. His Alpha senses must be going crazy right now, cooped up in a car with an Omega in heat. Speaking of which…

“How the hell did you guys get here, anyway? You didn’t take the bus, did you?”

“We kind of stole Bobby’s car,” Luke said, even as he scooted closer to Reggie, almost transfixed. Whatever Luke’s scent was doing in response to Reggie, it was clearly working, because for the first time, Reggie lifted his face out of Alex’ neck, sniffing.

“Don’t worry, he caught a whiff of Reggie and basically stumbled back, throwing his keys at us,” Alex said. Bobby was a good bro and a great pack mate. But of course his ace ass wanted absolutely nothing to do with any kind of heat.

Slowly, Reggie migrated from Alex’ lap onto Luke’s, pressing his nose against Luke’s neck, nuzzling at his scent glands and making happy little noises.

“What do we do now?” Alex said, a little freaked out.

“I mean,” Luke said, very distracted by the needy Omega in his arms. “Have sex? That’s what you do when someone’s in heat, right?”

“Why is there a question mark at the end of that sentence?” Willie asked, bewildered.

“I was kind of dropped out of school during the time they covered this in sex ed,” Luke admitted.

“My parents wouldn’t sign the permission slip, all I got was ‘if you have sex before you’re married you will go to hell’,” Alex said.

“Skipped class because we had a gig,” Reggie muttered, even as he started rocking against Luke’s thigh a little. Willie could see the damp patch in his jeans start to form.

“Fuck me,” Willie muttered, before realising no. Fuck Reggie. “Okay, in a second, we’re going to help Reggie out of those skinny jeans because if he gets any more slick on them they’re going to be hell to take off.” He realised that as soon as they did, Luke’s brain would probably go offline entirely. “Alex, you’re gonna check if we have enough drinks and snacks to last a few days.”

Alex nodded, grateful for something to do. He rolled off the bed and Reggie whined a little. Willie slid into Alex’ spot, running his hand up and down Reggie’s back. “Reggie, baby, do you want us to stay with you and take care of you?” They’d had sex before, all four of them together, and also in smaller configurations. But heats were something much more personal, more vulnerable. “Or do you want just your Alpha there?”

Luke looked a little panicked at that, but Willie squeezed his shoulder. If Reggie wanted just Luke, he’d talk Luke through the whole thing, and then take Alex and go get them extra supplies. Maybe after a shower and a change of clothes, because Alex probably had Reggie’s heat scent all over him.

Reggie’s hand shot out, grabbing at Willie’s sleeve. “Want all of you,” he said, big eyes teary. “Don’t leave.”

“Of course not,” Willie soothed, pressing a kiss to his forehead. Beta pheromones were supposed to be calming, so he hoped that worked. “We’re a pack, right? We’ll do whatever makes you most comfortable.”

“Yeah,” Reggie settled down, and Willie smiled, carefully helping him out of his flannel and tank top. With every layer of clothing removed, Luke looked more flushed, which made Alex look more flustered where he was counting granola bars. He’d have to ask Alex what Luke smelled like, because it was clearly doing something for him, even on suppressants.

By the time Reggie was naked, Luke had also flung his shirt off and was wrestling out of his pants. Alex had rejoined them, a row of granola bars and different drinks placed along the edge of the bed. Willie gave him a kiss, and he relaxed a little.

“Okay, Reggie, you just lie down and relax,” Willie said, his heart giving a little pang when Reggie immediately did, full of trust. God, he loved them all so much. Maybe it wasn’t the most conventional thing in the world, the Beta running the show. But Willie seemed the only one who had any experience with heats, so it would have to do. Besides, their little pack wasn’t particularly conventional anyway.

He just hoped Luke’s stamina would hold out, because there was no way they’d be able to talk Bobby into getting him or Alex a Knot Ring and bringing it to them. Or at least, not without some heavy, heavy bribery.

#julie and the phantoms #a/b/o dynamics #lukexreggiexalexxwillie #fanfic #I wrote a thing #Bobby is also part of their pack but he's very ace and probably also aro and he really really doesn't want anything to do with sex #please take his car but don't get anything on the seats #something something that post about how american a/b/o aus are more dystopic because of the health care system

[coldplayfeels]

Congratulations on 3000 posts!!! We all love you! Here’s to 3000 more ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Ok super controversial opinion- I’m sorry please don’t judge but I feel like after Ghost Stories the band has gone from Coldplay as one unit to Chris and the producer of the album just featuring the rest of the boys in the background. You could feel all of them as the heart of the album before. It doesn’t seem so much now :/

I’m sorry it feels horrible to say out loud please don’t judge 😭😭

-leg!

Thank you, love!

Now onto your opinion, don't worry, this is mostly a no-judgement zone… I can kind of see what you mean by that. Before, their albums seemed larger than life, though some songs weren't like stadium worthy and were a lot mellower. You could feel the boys were all in it together. They were the essence of the band. Now… they are alright songs, but the other guys are kind of hidden in the tracks. You can hardly distinguish them? Only when they uploaded snippets of Jon, or Guy playing around and practicing the songs without all the fanfare could you distinctly hear how beautiful the instrumentals are. They still make bangers but they are not what they used to be. And that's fine! That's just the direction they chose for the band to go forward.

#Replies #Leg Anon

[leaderbanana]

Selena gomez revival album art work

Selena gomez revival album art work tv#

"But just who I am, and I can’t pretend to be anything other than that."Ĭovered mostly by a white backdrop, Gomez's Revival artwork saw the star appear naked as she sat down with her legs and arms covering all her appropriate spots. I’ve tried, you know, like my last album cover, and you know, things like that I thought I could do, working on songs that didn't really add up to my story," she says in an audio recording atop a montage from her photoshoot. "I can’t be anybody else, so that’s the truth. In her new shoot for Dazed, the chart-topper, 27, reminisced about the album in a behind-the-scenes video. Her two best singles during the Revival era are also her most morose: nocturnal promotional single “The Heart Wants What It Wants” (from last year’s greatest hits compilation For You) and now “Good For You,” a presumably confident track in which Gomez, goaded by A$AP Rocky’s guest leching, makes looking good for her man sound like searing a part of herself dead.Selena Gomez's 2015 LP, Revival, was a blockbuster hit, but components of the project weren't exactly true to the superstar. Gomez’s greatest strength may well be, surprisingly, sadness. The album itself is something else, and something more interesting. Top 10 single “Good For You,” she claims, is about confidence “Same Old Love” is presumably not about a breakup but-no joke- a healthy relationship with one’s parents. In almost every interview around Revival, Gomez has claimed it’s a “fun” record the talking points are plentiful and conspicuously angst-free. Gomez has cited Christina Aguilera, specifically on Stripped, as an inspiration it’s tempting to imagine what a Latin crossover record from her, like Aguilera’s, might be like.) (Reversing the equation, Gomez handles the reggaeton-tinged “Body Heat” considerably better than her producers, who contribute a thudding outsider’s try. It’s a strength of her contemporary Charli XCX, who co-wrote Gomez’s single “Same Old Love” built on a rickety piano sample, backgrounded Italo synths and post-breakup feelings, it aims for spitfire and lands on vaguely pained. Where she falters most is what Revival is ostensibly about: bratty confidence. “Revival,” from the spoken-word intro to the tiptoeing synths and vocalise, is New Age in that way that’s increasingly crept into the charts. “Me & the Rhythm” is the sort of lite-disco that’s ruled the charts since 2013, but other songs are a little more au courant, like “Kill ‘Em With Kindness,” which stirs a tropical-house breeze not dissimilar from Bieber’s recent “What Do You Mean,” or “Hands to Myself,” whose stop-start sass recalls Ellie Goulding’s recent “ On My Mind.”Įven the less foregrounded singles are easy enough to categorize. Like Stars Dance, it serves nicely as a snapshot of mid-decade pop production trends and producers, with powerhouses Max Martin and Stargate making appearances, as well as frequent Disney collaborators Rock Mafia. The answer, it turns out, is pretty much what it’s always been-she’ll become whoever pop needs her to. Revival, Gomez’s second solo album without former backing band The Scene, addresses this question outright, on the title track: “Who knows what I’ll become?” she asks. This makes for a reliable worker, but for a pop star it’s fairly low-key, resulting in a little bit of an identity crisis.

Selena gomez revival album art work tv#

Like many former TV stars, Gomez has a malleable, unshowy voice, the kind that can sound a little pop-rock or a little alt-R&B or a little Rihanna without ever settling on one. Indeed, Gomez has spent several albums now shedding her Disney trappings to a couple hits but relatively little fanfare. Gomez in particular comes across as hardworking and almost impervious to scandal even turns in Harmony Korine’s teensploitation film Spring Breakers and a well-publicized relationship with pubescent heartthrob turned tabloid scoundrel Justin Bieber have left her relatively unscathed. Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez, meanwhile, are lower-key but reliable hitmakers. Miley Cyrus became famous by running off the Hannah Montana moral-clause rails, then remained famous by finding whole new sets of rails to run off. Of the four, Ariana Grande is the most familiar personality: the Britney Spears teen coquette, with a bit more stage-kid showmanship from her days on drama-school sitcom Victorious. These things always seem to come in fours: first Britney, Christina, Mandy, Jessica now Ariana, Miley, Demi, Selena. Not only do they enter the major-label world with pre-existing, devoted fanbases, they’ve had the equivalent of several seasons of character development. Pop fandom is all about characters and storylines, so it makes sense that Disney and Nickelodeon alums do well.

#Selena gomez revival album art work

[pingutats]

be this close, forever and ever

you and harry have been together for a while. your nights at home are quiet and comfortable, and, well, you’re both just so in love.

warnings: sexual content (soft giggly sex), mostly fluff

word count: 2.5k

.                               .                           .                               .                           .

Living with Harry, the two of you start to fall into the same rhythm. It’s not easy with his schedule as chaotic as it often is and your lives so profoundly different, but the nights when he’s home are the quiet sanctuary you need from all of those stresses. His little rituals seep into your own. The evenings are for being together, enjoying each other’s company without distraction or pressure. It’s just you and him, and the routine you’ve constructed so delicately together.

It starts with a face mask. Just because he’s so famous, he receives packages from different companies hoping for endorsements. He doesn’t really do those but he keeps the boxes anyway and most nights the two of you pick out one to try. He reads through the ingredients while you wait for the prescribed fifteen minutes to pass: pumpkin extract, baobab oil, a white flower extract.

“Which white flower?” Harry asks, looking up at you. 

His mask is wrinkled between his brows where he’s frowning and you reach up to smooth it out again, your hands coming away sticky. You wipe them on his sweatpants, which just makes him frown again. “Dunno,” you say, “but it must be a pretty powerful flower if it—” you snatch the packet out of his hand “—de-puffs, hydrates, and brightens our skin.” You scan the printed text for a moment. “I think this one’s supposed to be used in the morning.”

“Oh, fuck. The moon’s out. Was this all for nothing?”

After peeling off the masks carefully in the bathroom, you coo over each other’s soft skin ridiculously and move back into the living room for the next unspoken event of your night. Harry is borderline religious about meditating, somehow possessing the discipline to do it for twenty minutes day and night. You aren’t like him, but sometimes you join in. It is good for you, after all.

The two of you sit on the carpet, legs crossed and backs straight, side by side and within arms reach. The itch to reach out and touch him or lean over to put your head on his shoulder is strong, but you know it annoys him when you do that. He is so serious about it — “It doesn’t work if you keep poking me, the point is to be completely focused” — and even if you’ve never reached his fanaticism about the practise, you respect it so you keep your distance. Two minutes in, though, you’re starting to get bored. He can meditate for ages: twenty minutes is his standard, and you simply don’t have it in you to sit still for that long. Quietly, so as not to disturb him, you uncross your legs and stand up, padding across the soft carpet into the kitchen to turn on the kettle.

When the soft alarm he’s set on his phone rings and brings him back to reality, he blinks open his eyes to see you in front of him, holding two steaming mugs. It’s the tea he buys especially to have before bed, something a friend recommended to relax him. You aren’t sure if it really does anything, but it tastes good so you always have a cup too. When you think about it, you do almost always have a good sleep the nights that you drink it. Those nights are the ones you’re sleeping with Harry, though, so maybe it isn’t the tea. You set the mugs on the table nearby. 

“Thank you, love,” he says softly. He reaches to take hold of your hand and then suddenly drags you down to the floor, a tangle of limbs as you collapse on top of him. 

You giggle and then shriek as his fingers find the ticklish spot along your ribs. “Harry! Get off!”

His attack ceases very quickly when you accidentally elbow him in the stomach in your attempts to escape.

“Sorry, H.”

“’S alright. Probably deserved it.”

“You did.”

But he’s mostly quiet in the evenings — doesn’t like to talk too much as he decompresses from the busy-ness of his days, so he shows his affection more through his actions. As the two of you sip your tea (still on the floor, because with the plushy carpet he has it’s just as comfortable down here as on the couch) he reaches out to drum his fingers over your knee while he tries to remember all the things he needs to do tomorrow. He’s always written himself to-do lists and he got you hooked on them too. You were sceptical at first, but they do make life easier. The little thrill of ticking off boxes in your black notebook with your initials monogrammed on the bottom right corner (Harry’s gift) is a bonus. He’s less driven by those superficial rewards, so he chooses to keep his on his laptop, which is rose gold. His hand leaves you only to type the next line of his to-do list, then he’s back to tracing patterns over the fabric of your borrowed sweatpants. He emails the list to himself when he’s finished. You’ve always found that funny, and you tease him for being grandpa-ish, but it’s just another one of his eccentricities that makes him more endearing.

You probably wear his clothes just as much as you wear your own. He loves seeing you in his stuff. He’s practically throwing t-shirts at you as soon as you walk into the house. He’ll take your stuff, too, sometimes. Dating Harry comes with an unspoken agreement to merge your wardrobes. There are a couple of pieces — a hoodie or two, sweatpants that are too big for either of you, a pair of extremely fluffy socks — that have been passed between you for so long that you can barely remember who owned them first. The sweatpants you’re wearing right now (paired with just a sports bra) are his. The old band tee he has on is yours.

He carries the empty mugs back to the kitchen and loads them into the dishwasher while you finish the last of your planning. There’s no discussion around it, just like no one asked you to make the tea in the first place. The two of you just now how to work together now, with all the times you’ve practised this routine. Sometimes it’s him who makes the tea, sometimes you finish your list first, but you never really have to talk. Harry usually picks out an album to play in the background over these moments, and that’s the only thing you need to listen to. It’s good. It makes you feel more connected to him, like you understand each other on a deeper level than just being able to talk.  You know Harry like the back of your hand. He knows you almost as well as you know yourself. It’s a quiet kind of euphoria, to love and be loved back. You don’t need the fanfares and the grandiose displays. You just need each other.

Later, you pull faces at each other in the mirror while you brush your teeth, bumping hips as you giggle around your toothbrushes. He’s finished in the bathroom before you are, so he lies in bed  in just his boxers and watches you through the open doorway while you do your last couple of skincare and hair rituals. Satisfied, you switch the bathroom light off and enter the bedroom that you share, decorated with framed artworks you both chose, a bedspread that you picked out together. You quickly change into just a long loose shirt, then collapse into bed with him and crawl under the covers, his greedy arms pulling you to nestle into his side while he presses a kiss to your forehead. He likes to read before he sleeps, but you aren’t in the mood for that. You shuffle down until your head is at his chest and you throw your arm and leg over him, letting him rest his paperback against your bare thigh while he reads with you wrapped around him.

After a couple of minutes of just the sound of pages turning and your soft breaths, you start to sponge kisses over his bare chest. He ignores you at first, but you hear his breathing stutter as you move up to his collarbone.

“Let me just finish this chapter,” he murmurs. “Just a couple pages left.” His eyes don’t leave the page, but he gropes around until he finds your hand and brings your fingers to his mouth, kissing them before he lets your intertwined hands drop.

You don’t reply. You pull your hand out of his loose grasp and run your fingertips up the subtly defined lines of his abs, softened by the way he’s sitting. You trace the wings of the butterfly tattooed over his stomach, then draw a constellation between his four nipples — he chuckles and pulls your hand away, holding it tighter this time.

“Baby,” he says, a little firmer this time.

You kiss his shoulder again.

He sighs, closing the book (he doesn’t tear his eyes away from the page until it’s fully closed and you almost feel bad for distracting him until —

He throws the book on the nightstand and reaches over your body to plant his hand on the mattress, pushing himself up so he’s hovering above you. “You’re a pest,” he says, leaning down to nudge his nose against yours. 

You giggle and bite your lip, wrapping one leg around his hip and pulling him closer to you. “Kiss me?”

He obliges, pressing his lips against yours. “That all you wanted?” His tone is slightly teasing. He’s always liked to see you squirm.

You shake your head, wrapping your other leg around him. You can feel the bulge underneath his boxers against your crotch and it sets a fire in your core. You thread a hand into his hair and pull him down to kiss him again, less chastely this time. You roll your hips against him, just slightly, and smile against his kiss when you feel him twitch.

He breaks away from the kiss and smears his lips over your cheekbone to your ear. “Tell me, angel, tell me what you want you want and I’ll give it to you,” he whispers.

You barely contain a whimper at how deep his voice has gotten. “Fuck me,” you say, gasping as he starts to place hot openmouthed kisses down your neck. When you first slept together, you were too embarrassed to ask him so openly. You don’t get embarrassed around him anymore. “Harry, please fuck me.”

He pulls back suddenly, smiling down at you. “See? All you had to do was ask nicely.”

“Harry!”

He’s laughing as he pulls his boxers down to free his cock, but his giggles fade into a low moan as he takes hold of himself and strokes a couple times. “Ready for me, baby?”

“Yeah.”

He pushes into you with one fluid motion, making your eyes roll back. He fills you so perfectly. Every single time he’s in you is better than the last, it never gets old — there’s no feeling that’s as good as how he feels. Sometimes it’s explosive, sometimes he’s brutal in how he fucks you, or passionate and needy, or the both of you get caught up in the roles you make up to play, but you treasure the times like this. The times where he’s on top of you, face-to-face, alternating between kisses and whispers and little giggles — this is where you feel the most love for Harry.

He takes his time, in no hurry to end this moment. The pace he sets is slow but he reaches deep into you on each thrust, his breath coming out increasingly ragged every time he buries himself to the hilt. You have your hands in his hair and splayed across his back — he has one clutching the pillow beside your head to hold himself up, the other roaming over your chest. It’s like he can’t decide what he wants to do with his mouth: he’ll kiss your lips, then along your jaw, down your neck, then back up to your ear where he whispers all the sweet little nothings he can think of.

“So pretty, baby, love you so much, taking me so well, always my good girl, my best girl, my girl, always feel so good…” He chants it like a prayer, his words taking on a firmer tone each time he thrusts in, starting to pick up the pace a bit. “Touch yourself for me, darling, want to see you cum underneath me.”

You moan and reach down between your legs, rubbing little circles around your clit while he starts to fuck you at a faster pace. “Feels so good, Harry,” you say, your words choked slightly by the intensity of what you’re feeling right now.

“I know it does,” he replies, kissing you again, swallowing your moans. That edge of cockiness, the way he knows how to take care of you, when you just need his mouth on you and he can’t keep off you — you love all these little traits. You love him. And he loves you. That’s maybe the feeling to triumph over all the others.

“I’m close, I’m close,” you chant, the hand on his back digging fingernail marks into his skin as the warm feeling in your core rises, threatening to explode.

He thrusts into you faster, his rhythm growing slightly sloppy. “Yeah? Let go for me, baby, let go, I’m right behind you.”

You cum, legs shaking around him and brows pinched as you stare up at him, while he watches you cum undone with an intensity behind his gaze that wasn’t there before. You say his name, over and over, trying to put all you want to say into just that one word. You hope it’s enough. You think it is. He gets you.

“I’m gonna cum,” he says, words cut off by a pant, as you feel the aftershocks of your own orgasm and the growing over-sensitivity. “You feel so good, baby, gonna cum so hard…”

You feel him spill into you as he cries out, his body collapsing over yours so his entire body is pressed against yours. You thread your fingers through his hair until he starts to come down from his high and rolls off you, his cock slipping out and you hiss at the slight friction.

“God…” he murmurs into the air. “That was so good.”

You giggle, twisting around and propping your head up with your hand so you can look down at him. “You say that every time.”

“It’s good every fucking time,” he says, a smile spreading across his face.

You poke his dimple and he tries to catch your finger with his mouth, biting the air playfully, but you pull it away. “You’re such a weirdo.”

He pouts for a second, but then his features soften. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” You drop your head back down to the pillow, watching him stretch his arm out to turn off his bedside lamp. After a couple of swats at the switch, he finally manages it, and brings the same arm back over to drape over your body. It’s totally dark now. “Love you so much,” he tells you, kisses your forehead.

“Love you more. Goodnight, H. Sweet dreams.”

“Night, angel. Sleep well.”

.                               .                           .                               .                           .

hope you enjoyed -- let me know if u did, i like reading ur replies/tags !! i rlly loved writing this fic, it’s just so domestic and sweet and happy. the meditating and the to-do list (including the emailing !! ) is from the real harry. 

btw !! my ask box is open for requests & general chatter, so come say hi :D

#harry styles smut #harry styles fluff #harry styles x reader #harry styles imagine #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles #fic

[celeste-fitzgerald]

ELO 2 - ELO (album review/fangirl session)

To continue my series of ELO album reviews, here's their second album! Same disclaimers as before, this is all my super subjective opinions and I'm super down to discuss the songs with anyone, especially if you disagree with my thoughts on them!

In Old England Town (Boogie No. 2): 7/10 You know, I was fully prepared to give this one a low score - I didn't remember it standing out to me very much, and I previously thought that it dragged on for too long. But now that I'm listening again, the cellos go SO HARD and I am digging it. I still think the song is maybe a little too long, but I don't mind too much anymore. Also, Jeff's voice sounds super intense in it and I like it. (Side note: does anyone know why Boogie #2 is before #1?? It bothers me lmao.)

Momma (or Mama depending on the version I guess): 5/10 I'm all flip-flopped today, I thought this had been my favorite on the album but now I'm feeling bored of it haha. Mostly I really like that one recurring part that shows up for the first time at 0:33 (sounds like trombone to me but I don't see that on the list of personnel so I'm not sure). Anyways, it's a very simple little motif, but I enjoy it every time it shows up.

Roll Over Beethoven: 9/10 NOW we're talkin! I love their version of Roll Over Beethoven, so many brilliant uses of the string section in it. Also, my god, every live performance of this is the perfect combo of talent and chaos, I can't stop watching.

From the Sun to the World (Boogie No. 1): 4/10 It's got a nice, grandiose fanfare-y sound at some parts, and I enjoy that, and the melody of the vocal line is pretty interesting, but again, it's very long. Though the piano at 4:18 is GREAT.

Kuiama: 5/10 This is another one I've gone back and forth on. Musically, it's beautiful. Lyrically, heartbreaking. And I like the use of tri-tones in that motif that keeps coming back (0:07). But, since I'm a broken record now, it's so long. So very long.

---

Overall: 5/10 If it's not obvious, this is my least favorite album from the group. A lot of my "critique" of it is just "the songs are too long uwu" but...as far as I'm concerned, they are. Every one of the songs on the album has some great stuff going on in it, but when they go on and on for that long, they lose the impact for me. There are definitely some long songs by other artists that I enjoy (All Too Well 10 Minute Version, my beloved), but for me, long songs work when 1) they keep introducing new elements (like All Too Well), and/or 2) they have a strong driving energy that keeps me engaged (like this version of Roll Over Beethoven). And the majority of this album reeeeally didn't have that, in my opinion. That's really the main reason I've rated these songs low.

(If you want to see it, here's my review of their first album.)

#elo #electric light orchestra #jeff lynne #bev bevan

[arterrorist]

If there was something I didn't see comming it's me becoming an Alice Copper fan. It hit me by surprise. I mean big time. I knew Alice since his 90's hit „Poison”, which I liked, but checked the album it was on, called „Trash” and I thought to myself: what an appropriate name for this hair metal garbage! and didn't bother to check anything more.  So I've come quite a long way from regarding him a pedestrian rocker to become an acolite fan. I've accumulated all these records within last month or so. It's my top ten of AC. It happens to contain five Alice Cooper band albums and five from Cooper solo period, mostly from the 70s, Dada being the only 80s album.  

Now, getting to know all these records, I consider Alice Cooper (as a band and solo), as one of the most unique artists in the 70s and it's the era full of brilliant bands.

When they rock, they outrock The Who and are equal to Stones, but they are much more than that. Take those unbelivable theatrical arrangements – all those cheesy, or rather kampy choruses, vaudeville inspirations, strings, brass, along with bluesy harmonica and creepy passages with Alice many times being more of an actor than singer with his incredible interpretations of particular lines. Broadway shmaltz mixed with rock played with swager  – brilliant, catchy and provoking mixture!

And then there are all those wonderfully weird and wacky covers with billion dollar bill in the wallet, pants in the schooldesk, callendar with the hangman, cartboard package, book cover, face being the door to assylum and what not!  

And those clever, witty lyrics, sometimes provokingly schocking, sometimes pointing out important social problems, sometimes achingly honest, horror-themed (often in burtonesque way) or speaking directly to the mind of adolescents and sometimes utterly bizzare. Like the one song which is a dental horror, complete with the drilling noises with the story about pulling the teeth, being druged to the point when you halucinate being in a spy movie, with the triumphant fanfare moment of pulling the teeth out. All perfectly accompanied by evershifting musical soundtrack: bombastic when needed, sparse when necessery, cinematic at times and rocking hard when it fits the purpose. And it's only one song of the album, on which others are no less adventurous, but in it's own different way and still remain cohesive. And it's only one album with at least ten others full of their own intricacies to discover and complement the picture of this versatile phenomenon know as Alice Cooper.  

Of course there are more, I just happen to like those ten here the most, but there may be some others comming. I seem to geting like the so called blackout period. „Flush the fashion, Special Forces, Zipper catches skin” - they all have some good material plus I'm still digesting the first two albums by the band, so who knows. I'm not much into later (to this day) Alice period as I think he kinda dwarfed himself to this hard rock/metal persona abandoning most of his uniquness in the process. I mean it was always a rock band of course, but also something more than just it and I feel all the rest is gone now. Anyway those early Cooper stuff is amazing and in constant rotation on my turntable for about a month, and I'm sure, for many years to come.

#alice cooper #vaudeville #broadway #glam #rock #Vinyl #records #vinyl records #vinyl collection

[omahasnakes]

2006: The Hot, Fresh Sounds of 15 Years Ago

One of my students made a joke in class this week, the entire joke consisting of saying the name of the band Nickelback. It got a chuckle. I decided that the correct analogy was for someone in my college freshman class to yell “disco sucks!” Of course lazy, top-of-mind jokes will always work no matter what decade it is, but it really reminded me that the chart I’m listening to now is the rough equivalent of college-age me listening to the chart from 1983. I wasn’t listening to much hip-hop in 2006, so a lot of it sounds really fresh to me, while the most popular pop songs sound extremely fifteen years old.

Song of the year: “Hips Don’t Lie” Shakira. This is the answer to the trivia question I posed way back in 1998, when Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz used the same famous fanfare before a fairly mediocre song.

According to Wikipedia: “The song samples a salsa trumpet line from the song "Amores Como el Nuestro" which was written by Omar Alfanno and performed by Jerry Rivera for his album Cuenta Conmigo (1992).”

Forgotten gem: “Dance, Dance” Fall Out Boy

I will swear that I’ve never heard any songs by several entire bands: Fall Out Boy (despite the fact that (see 2005) I know at least one Fall Out Boy song well enough that I’d karaoke it,) Panic! At the Disco, and My Chemical Romance. Can you imagine a future version of me, one who knows what MCR sounds like?

“I Write Sins Not Tragedies” Panic! At the Disco. This is just awful. No thank you.

Another song that I will insist I have never heard, despite it being a cultural touchstone that I have heard 1,000 times: “Sexyback” Justin Timberlake. Seriously, it doesn’t sound like anything to me, other than the “yeah!” sounding like it was sampled from Tig Notaro’s “impression of a woman who has been married for 35 years.”

Song that I was actually really into in 2006: “Crazy” Gnarls Barkley (and the whole album, and I stand by 2006 me for having acceptable taste in this particular matter.)

“Ms. New Booty” Bubba Sparxxx, Ying Yang Twins, Mr. Collipark: I am mostly familiar with this song from Girl Talk remixes, so the tempo here feels nightmarishly slow.

I have one of the Forbidden Songs stuck in my head. When an artist gets “canceled” people sometimes like to say “I never liked them anyway.” This isn’t the case here. It’s truly a sacrifice not to listen to some of these absolute bangers, but I haven’t forgotten what he did to Rihanna.

Speaking of Rihanna, I have a shameful memory of telling Amy that I didn’t care for “SOS” circa 2006-2007, and I apologize for my hurtful statement. But I still don’t think much of “Unfaithful”- I think she needs to calm down on this one.

Finally, like all white people, I love Weird Al. I can’t decide whether he did Chamillionaire dirty or not. What I keep coming back to is that “White & Nerdy” could never have been the song it was if “Ridin’” didn’t slap so hard. I beg you to go listen to both right now. Key and Peele are in the video! Also: what’s going on in Houston?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9qYF9DZPdw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtwJvgPJ9xw

Country music barometer: 5% (low, but rising.)

#billboard #2006

[bananaofswifts]

Taylor Swift’s music has always been the most interesting thing about Taylor Swift, and she’s rarely more interesting than when she’s talking about her music. You would think this would be obvious, considering she’s one of the defining singer-songwriters of her generation, but for large portions of her decade and a half career, the conversations around her have focused on just about everything else: her romances, her feuds, her aesthetics, her strategic alliances, her business calculations, her imagined politics, her actual politics, her role as a feminist icon, her role as an avatar of white fragility, her authenticity, her inauthenticity, her videography, her numerology, her cats. Last winter’s Sundance documentary “Miss Americana” allowed her to tackle most of these issues head-on, often with a frankness that we rarely saw out of the increasingly private star, but even there, Swift’s music sometimes risked getting lost in all the noise. Perhaps that’s why “Folklore,” the decidedly low-key album she recorded during quarantine and released with zero fanfare in July, felt like such a breath of fresh air. It also didn’t hurt that it was one of the best things she’s ever done. Working remotely with veteran collaborator Jack Antonoff and new producer/co-writer Aaron Dessner (best known as the guitarist for sad-dad-rock mainstays the National), Swift used “Folklore” to cast off the spectacle, the commercial calculations, and the meta-framing of her last few albums and focus instead on the fine-tuned intimacy and incisive turns of phrase that made her such a singular voice to begin with. The one thing that album was missing, however, was the immediacy of a studio setting, and so for this week’s Disney Plus release “Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions,” she’s assembled Dessner and Antonoff in person to play through each song live. Aside from some brief home videos of Swift recording the album earlier this year, the entire film takes place at the titular studio in New York’s Hudson Valley: a cozy, exposed-wood cabin situated on a picturesque piece of waterfront real estate, surrounded by chairs, string lights and fire pits where the artists can retire to sip wine and tea while discussing the day’s progress. (Frankly, the most succinct way to describe the setting would be “extremely Taylor Swift-like,” even though the studio is actually Dessner’s.) It wouldn’t be a Swift project without a few strategically teased Easter eggs — in this case, some hints about the love-triangle narrative that pops up irregularly throughout the album, and a revelation about the identity of her mysterious collaborator “William Bowery” — but the remote getaway vibe of the location mostly allows the focus to stay on the music. Directed by Swift herself, the film is handsomely mounted though never flashy, and follows a simple repeated structure: We get a drone shot of the surroundings, then a brief interlude discussing the next song, and then a performance. The discussion sections are of highly variable quality, at times offering fascinating glimpses into Swift’s creative process, and at others sounding suspiciously like the sort of rehearsed banter she might have offered from the stage of an arena tour. As the newcomer to Swift’s circle, Dessner tends to draw the most out of her in conversation, offering his own interpretations of Swift’s lyrics and opening up about his personal struggles with depression during a chat about the song “Peace.” Longtime associate Antonoff is more likely to simply “yes, and” whatever Swift is saying, which can be slightly frustrating. When she mentions that “picking a track five is sort of a pressurized decision,” you want someone to ask her to elaborate, instead of knowingly nodding. Naturally, the film’s main attractions are the performances, as the three run through each of “Folklore’s” tracks — bonus ones included — in order. None of the live renditions here are radically different from what’s heard on the record, though one can easily imagine Swiftian scholars endlessly debating the merits of each, the way Dylanologists still fight over which take of “Idiot Wind” is the canonical one. But it’s obvious that these three are enjoying the chance to once again exchange ideas in person rather than over email and Skype, and it’s impressive to watch just how thoroughly Dessner and Antonoff manage to re-create the record’s sparse yet carefully textured soundscapes with just a few guitars, a piano, some light drum machine and a solitary snare. (“Folklore’s” lone guest star, Justin Vernon, does Skype in his performance for the duet “Exile” from his own home studio, and adds enough improvised touches to keep the song from feeling overly familiar.) Perhaps the most striking element of the film is its deep focus on Swift as a singer. Back in her “Fearless” days, Swift was subject to substantial criticism for her limited vocal prowess, which was always unfair. Swift was a lyrics-first singer-songwriter long before she was a pop star, and she deserved to be considered in the company of the former rather than contrasted with the Mariah Careys of the world. Nonetheless, the control she has developed over her instrument in the years since is remarkable to behold, and Swift’s vocals sound simply lovely here. She still never allows a flourish or a tricky run to compromise the clarity of a lyric, but she knows exactly how to work wonders within her register, and she’s perfectly comfortable exploring its further reaches. On “My Tears Ricochet,” Swift gives her voice a husky edge that almost calls Chan Marshall to mind — this is probably the oldest she’s ever sounded, and it becomes her nicely. Meanwhile, she can still summon the old wide-eyed “Teardrops on My Guitar” innocence when a song calls for it, and she’s practically bouncing off her seat when “Betty” hits its big key-change at the end. Once again, it seems as though Swift envisions every album release or career move as another chapter of an elaborate, neverending bildungsroman, and “Long Pond” doesn’t give much indication of what the next one might look like. (Although she does note that “Folklore” taught her the value of songwriting that looks outward, rather than plumbing exclusively from her own experiences — for those of us left somewhat cold by her more tabloid-baiting “Reputation” period, that’s certainly a welcome note.) With this film, she just does the two things she does best: making excellent music, and giving people a new reason to talk about Taylor Swift. But at least she’s made sure that this time we’re talking about her for all the right reasons.

#Taylor swift #folklore #review

[aflyingcontradiction]

The Magnus Archives Relisten: Episode 42 - Grifter's Bone

The end is always the same, though: his music is so grating, so gut-churningly awful, that he, or sometimes his band, have to sneak into gigs to play unannounced to any audience they can find. And the music is dreadful, a grim cacophony of discord and noise, too much to bear. - Statement of Jennifer Ling

This is a solid concept for an urban legend, but the actual thing ends up being SO MUCH BETTER, no?

Whenever someone was listening to some sub-par submission, or even just some music of their own that wasn’t well regarded, one of the old timers, usually Mike Baker, would shout over, “I see you got the new Grifter’s Bone album!” or “I didn’t know Grifter’s Bone reformed!” or something like that. It was annoying as hell, but I never really brought it up.

This reminds me so much of my stepdad who also likes to take jokes that weren't really all that funny in the first place and actually a little mean and then BEAT ANY REMNANT OF HUMOUR OUT OF THEM! And yeah, Jennifer is correct: It is annoying as hell.

His official title is ‘Submissions Editor’, though we call it something a little more vulgar

I wanna know what you call it, though!

I’d kept my watch maybe an hour when I saw someone staring at me from the doorway of a small shop. The sign above didn’t have an obvious name, simply reading “Crystals. Books. Tarot”. (...) A chill ran over me as I realised he was staring at my ears.

Oh fuck, that's Oliver Banks, I only just realised that. And he must've seen the vines of death crawl up Jennifer's ears in a dream, which would be enough to make anyone stare!

It was beautiful. It was some of the most achingly beautiful music I had ever heard. Then the screams began.

As I said above, "Band so bad it injures people" is a solid urban legend but "Band so unbelievably fucking good they send everyone who listens to them into a violent frenzy" is SO MUCH BETTER. (Also, as I may have mentioned before, I don't know exactly why but I find the relationship of the Slaughter and music highly intriguing. I mean, there is something to that, music certainly has been used to get people pumped up for war...)

The one in the brown suit, who I assumed to be Alfred Grifter, looked up. He gazed straight into my eyes and said, “Encore?”

Oooh, there's static behind that "Encore"!

It’s impossible to match the details of all of them based on the information in Ms. Ling’s statement, but one of the victims, Mr. Albert Sands, 67 years old, and beaten to death in his own home. Although it happened two weeks before the events of this statement, according to the police he was wearing a silk dressing gown when he was brutally murdered. - Jon

Maybe I'm easily satisfied but I ADORE THIS TWIST!

I’ve been watching Martin. He’s been very attentive to my needs and recovery since I returned to work, almost to the exclusion of his own tasks. (...) Is he playing the fool? Purposefully failing in his tasks to delay or hinder my investigations? It’s possible.

Yeah, or he's genuinely worried about you, Jon. That's ALSO possible, you paranoid jackass!

but there is an unfinished letter addressed to his mother in Devon, in which he mentions that he is worried about “the others finding out I’ve been lying”.

I was pretty sure Martin was hiding something that was harmless or at the very least not dangerous and murder-related. To be honest, at this point in the narrative, my guess was something like "He's gay but lied about being with a specific woman because he was worried about somebody's reaction and now it's awkward". I hadn't quite grasped how much TMA just does LGBT+ characters without much fanfare.

My impression of this episode

I know this is one of those episodes that the fandom (at least on tumblr) keeps referencing in "TMA is secretly hilarious" posts and I admit that the concept could sound a bit silly when summarised, but ... like, this is genuinely creepy. Not anywhere close to top 10 TMA episodes creepy, but enough to make me shiver a bit and come away from this episode with my urge to be unsettled mostly satisfied.

#tma relisten #the magnus archives

[fanfiction4thesoul]

Dreams

Pairing: Roger Taylor x Reader

Word Count: ~3.4

Warnings: Smut (18+ only), fluff, angst-ish

Summary: Queen’s tour gets extended. And your plans get put to the backseat.

Request: Ooo, saw your requests are open ❤️ please can I have something angsty with Rog with a bit of smut and fluff thrown in?  Thank you

A/N: Thank you @jennyggggrrr​ for this request. I’m not quite sure how angsty this turned out but it’s still there at least ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Hope you like it! My requests are still open for anyone interested and I’ve started a taglist so if you want to join just comment or message me. Thanks to anyone that comments/likes/reblogs!

Picture from Queen in 3D by Brian May

“You’re… extending the tour?” You weren’t quite sure you heard Roger right. He was so excited, he was talking almost too fast for you to keep up.

“Yeah! Management is adding nights at some stops on top of bringing on whole new locations. It’s gonna be great! They said wer--”

“Roger!” you cut him off. “How long is the extension?” You twisted the phone cord around your finger nervously. This was great news for his career but you were supposed to--

“It’ll tack on about four weeks. And then--”

“And then you have the studio in L.A. booked three days later.” You finished for him, your heart sinking.

“Well, yeah, that’s been the plan, love.”

Your heart dropped straight to your stomach with that. He didn’t remember. “What about our plans, Rog?” Maybe it was just a momentary lapse. He was on tour for months now and it’s not like you talked about it since before he left.

“Wha… what plans?”

Even as you felt your eyes burn, you felt your anger rise. “Yes, Roger. Our plans. The ones where we were going to try and start a family after the tour and before you head to L.A.” 

Roger started fumbling on the other end, stuttering over his words, but you were barely listening. You stared at the fireplace in your big, empty house and all you could think was that it would stay empty. No family to fill it. Not even Roger because he’s always out gallivanting across the globe. But he’s living his dream. There’s no way you could ask him to give that up. Not even for your dream.

You sighed, talking over whatever Roger was trying to say. “Just… just forget it, Rog. It doesn’t even matter. Talk to you later.” 

“Wait, (Y/N), don--” You hung up the phone with a click. Closing your eyes, you leaned against the head of your bed, not sure what to do. The next moment the phone was ringing again. You reached over, lifting it up and clicking down the receiver, putting the phone on the table. You couldn’t deal with Roger right now. Not with the amount of hurt he left you with. 

Children had always been a promise for the future and right before he left, it finally felt like you wouldn’t be waiting anymore. Roger laid out the plans for the band, their tour, the break, the time in the studio with a projected time it would take to make the album. With a rockstar for a husband, there was no good time to start a family. It was mostly just finding out how to fit it in and hope it coincided well with his schedule. 

Sighing, you laid down in bed, back turned to the cold side behind you, and tried to go to sleep. 

The next few days passed in a blur. You kept the phone off the hook, almost afraid to put it back on. Half because you thought Roger would try to keep calling but also half afraid that he wouldn’t bother. You weren’t sure which made you more apprehensive. Work was a simple distraction but not a big enough one to stop your mind from wandering back to Roger.

Finally, after four days, you put your phone back together.

And nothing happened.

You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding and forced yourself to walk away from the phone. That didn’t stop you from jumping to attention when it rang ten minutes later.

“Hello?”

“(Y/N)?”

“Fred?” You asked, confusion replacing the tension in your mind.

“My God (Y/N). What have you been doing? Roger’s been calling the house for days and he says it’s been busy.” Freddie said, worrying lacing his voice.

You felt slightly embarrassed, not thinking your behavior would cause such a problem with everyone. “I, uh… took the phone off the hook after… well after Roger and I talked.”

“Well we gathered that much, darling. Rog won’t say anything about what happened. Just that he fucked up and needs to make it right. Honestly, I’m always cleaning up after his messes. Now. Tell me. What did Blondie do.” 

“Fred… I don’t… If Roger--”

“Nuh-uh. Nope. (Y/N), tell me now or so help me.” Freddie said sounding rather irritated. He paused and sighed a moment later. “He’s been moping around like a lost fool, (Y/N). I just want to help if I can.”

Freddie’s words were soft and you knew he meant it. He was often the mediator between you and Roger when your fiery tempers became too much. Fred was always there as the go between. But you weren’t just angry this time. No. You were far too disappointed and hurt for your anger to rise up.

“Rog and I… well we were gonna try for a baby,” you started out softly.

“Oh (Y/N) that’s wonderful news! What’s the problem then?”

“Fred. We planned everything out before the tour. We talked over when he’d be back, when he’d leave again. He even said how excited he was!” Your voice was rising but you couldn’t help yourself. “And then you extended the tour. Which is-- it’s fine-- great! But… he forgot.” You paused as your throat closed a little and tears well again. “He just… forgot. Which makes me feel like he doesn’t care at all. Or, if we have a child he’ll get so wrapped up with the band that we’ll just be… left behind.”

“Oh, (Y/N)...”

“Tell me my fears are unfounded.” You choked up a little. “Tell me, Fred.”

Freddie stayed silent.

“That’s what I thought.” You let out a small sob before you compose yourself a little bit. “Tell Roger I’m alive, but I don’t want to talk to him. Not yet. Maybe not ‘til he gets home. If he even comes home. Okay?” You repeat yourself when Freddie didn’t answer right away.

“Okay, okay. I will. Take care of yourself darling.” He sounded tired.

“You too, Fred.”

Freddie hung up the phone and turned to the other person in the room. Roger was staring intently at him, waiting.

“You fucked up.” Was all Freddie said.

“Well, shit Fred. I fucking know that. What did she say?” Roger wasn’t sure whether to be angry or not. Sure, (Y/N) disconnected the line. And then answered for Freddie. And Freddie wouldn’t let him on the phone. But he messed up so he kept quiet and waited patiently for their conversation to be over.

“She was crying.”

“Fuck,” he swore, his heart breaking a little bit. He closed his eyes, bracing himself. “What else.”

“She doesn’t think you care.” Another blow. “And she thinks you might forget about her and your child.” Straight to the gut. 

“Shit.” Roger collapsed on the end of the bed, pulling at his hair. “Shit, shit, shit. I really messed up Fred. Shit. What am I gonna do?” He felt like he was at his wits end. It’s not like he meant to forget. On the contrary, it was always on his mind. But touring can get crazy. He often doesn’t have time to think about through the day until he’s laying in bed. And suddenly he remembers your promise until he feels all giddy before falling asleep. And the news about selling out shows and getting more venues was so exciting that it just slipped while he was on the phone with you.

Freddie didn’t look too impressed from where he sat. His lips were pressed into a thin line as his eyes held Roger’s. “You’re going to fix this, darling. And we’re going to help”

“We?”

The date Roger was supposed to come home came and went without much fanfare. Freddie must have delivered your message because you never got a call from Roger. The longer it went, the more guilty you felt. It felt like you were putting your own dreams before Roger’s. And getting angry at him for being excited over a great moment in his career just feels like a shitty thing to do. 

You went back and forth in your mind over being indignant and upset or guilty and worried. The two of you could talk it out when he got back. But then again, he might not even stop in and rather just head straight to their studio appointment. 

This was all on your mind on your drive back from work. So preoccupied with your thoughts, you didn’t realize you weren’t alone until you’d already taken your shoes and coat off at the door. The lights were on in the house and someone was clattering around in the kitchen, making something that smelled really good.

Carefully making your way to the kitchen, your spirits lifted when you saw Roger hunched over a book on the island, hair sticking up everywhere like he’d run his hand through it a million times.

“Rog?” You broke the silence.

He spun around wide eyed with his glasses on that he quickly discarded. “(Y/N)! I- I thought you were off later?”

His nervousness was unusual and it made you a little nervous as well. What was he doing home? And why wasn’t he angry? “I… got done early.” You tried treading carefully to figure out what exactly was going on.

“I, uh. I made dinner. It’s jus--keeping warm in the oven, yeah?” His eyes darted around, looking everywhere but you.

You walked up to, still not catching his eye until you forced him to look at you with a hand on his cheek. “Rog.”

“I’m sorry,” he blurted out, startling you. “I didn’t mean to forget, love. You have to believe me. Our promise was most of what I thought about on the tour. But--but I got caught up in the moment and didn’t even think when we were on the phone. God, I feel awful.”

He kept rambling, grabbing your hand on his cheek to bring to his chest while gesturing wildly with his other hand. “--Fred helped too and it was such a pain. Management didn’t want to do it but Bri and Deaky kicked up a fuss as well and--”

“Roger!” He stopped wide eyed again, looking at you in alarm. “Again. But slower, yeah?” You tried to be gentle.

He took a breath before starting again. “I’m sorry. I can’t tell you that enough. And I want to make it right with you. So with the help of Fred and the others, we told management we were ending the tour a day ago and that was that. And we called the studio and rebooked our time there. So… so I’ll be home… if you still want to start a family, that is.”

He squeezed your hand tight, almost pleading you with his big blue eyes.

“Roger… “ you started, and immediately saw him dim. “I’m not going to lie. It hurt. It felt like--like you didn’t want this.”

“I know, love,” he whispered. At your confusion, he continued, “Freddie told me about what you said. And I know how it looks. But I want it. God, of course I want that. I want a little one running around here that’s half of me and more importantly, half of you. Let me show you.” He tugged you forward, bringing you flush against his front.

This wasn’t over. You’d still have to talk more. But for now, you could be happy that he made the effort. That he was here with you now.

“I’m not gonna let you off easy,” you murmured, angling yourself up towards his lips.

“Wouldn’t dream of it, love.” He leant down and captured your lips with his, sealing them with such sweetness, you melted under their warmth. 

Your anger faded away, and your worries quickly changed into feelings of happiness. Roger was quick to swipe his tongue against your lips, demanding entrance.

After all, it had been months since he was home.

As you let him devour your mouth, his hands came around to your ass, pulling you more securely against him so you could feel his growing bulge. You tangled your fingers in his hair, urging him on, only for him to pull away.

“Roger, what are you…” you started to ask, but he was already tugging you along and out of the kitchen.

He laughed as he was guiding you up the stairs and towards the master suite. “I don’t think you want to tell the kids they were made in the kitchen, now do you?”

You giggled along with him up until he pulled you into another kiss. He turned you around and backed you up until your knees hit the bed. Collapsing back, you grabbed onto his shirt to pull him with you, never breaking the kiss. 

His hands found their way under your shirt, smoothing up your sides and back, making you shiver. They eventually reached your bra which he was eager to unclip. Roger moved away, tugging your shirt and bra off in one go, exposing yourself to him. 

You felt a blush rise up on your cheeks as his eyes roved over you before meeting yours. “You’re stunning, love. Better than I remembered. I missed you so much.”

Your heart tightened at his sincerity and any lingering doubt vanished completely. “Rog… I missed you, too.”

He smiled down at you before disposing of his own shirt and pressing down onto you. The kiss he gave you was sweet and chaste and so full of love. But it quickly turned into more when he trailed down to your neck with open mouthed kisses while his hands ghosted up your sides to tease your breasts. Sucking a mark right below your ear, Roger grinded down into your core making you moan.

Your hands were trying to find purchase on his back, tracing over the defined muscles Roger always seems to get after a tour. He grinded down again, pulling noises from the both of you. “Roger, hurry up,” you commanded, though the desperation in your voice took away from it.

“Shit. Yeah, alright.” His hands found their way into the waistband of your pants, yanking them down along with your panites. Roger trailed kisses down your legs as he pulled them off before moving back to shed his own. He hissed as his half hard cock was released, pumping it a few times to bring it to full hardness.

You licked your lips, a little involuntarily, thinking about getting your mouth around him. But that would defeat the purpose of everything. When you draw your gaze away from his movements to look at him, he was staring back with such hunger. You reached out for him and he leaned down to capture your lips again. 

Before you had time to process, Roger had pulled away and flipped you over on your stomach, leaning over you.

He moved your hair to the side, nibbling your ear. “I did some research on the tour,” he mumbled.

“Yeah?” you breathed out.

“Yeah.” His hand smoothed over the globe of your ass, dipping between your thighs and skimming your folds. Roger teased the area, dipping in enough to gather your wetness to smear around but not going farther. You wanted to clench your legs together and give yourself some much needed friction, but Roger’s legs held you wide open. “Do you want to know what I read?”

“Tell me,” you whispered biting your lip.

His fingers slipped into your core, jolting you slightly. It felt slightly strange; he never fingered you from behind and it felt… well backwards.

“It’s all about gravity, love,” he said while trekking his mouth across your neck towards your collarbone. “The deeper I go and the downward angle of your hips-” a hard thrust of his fingers and a whimper from you “-helps with conceiving.”

You clutched the sheets underneath you as his fingers rocked against you hard. “Th-then get on with it, Rog and put a baby in me!”

He froze, fingers stilling inside you and mouth stopping on your shoulder. You turned to try and look him but your movement spurred him into action. His fingers left your core, smearing wetness on your thighs and his other hand brought your face around for a bruising kiss. 

You moaned into it when you felt his shaft rub against your folds.

“God, I love you,” he whispered against your lips. “Ready, love?”

He gazed at you for a moment, waiting for your nod. Moving back, he guided the head to your entrance and pulled your knees up, pushing gently on your back to keep your chest on the bed. In one smooth motion, he hilted himself completely, making you both groan.

Roger was right. This position put him so deep inside you, it felt like he was trying to make a home for himself. The ache of the stretch burned in the most delicious way as your body relearned what it was like to be filled. After a moment, Roger pulled out slowly almost all the way before pushing back in, just as measured. 

You squeezed your eyes shut, moaning into the bed at the sensation. Roger’s grip on your hips tightened, moving you along with his thrusts, drawing little groans from him as well. 

He gradually picked up speed, growing impatient with the pace, ramming into. On one thrust, he swiveled his hips, grinding into your sweet spot and making your back arch. “You like that, love?” he panted out, repeating the action and prying another loud groan from you.

Everything he was doing to you was adding to the building heat in your gut, but you needed more to get you there. Snaking a hand underneath you, you found your clit, rubbing in tight circles bringing you closer.

“God, that’s hot,” Roger’s hips stuttered. One hand left your hip and your opened your eyes when you felt it grip the top of your free hand, interlacing your fingers together. “‘M close, love,” he panted above you.

“M-me, too.” This was going far quicker than you imagined in your mind, but then again, that was how it was everytime Roger returned to you.

“Then come with me, (Y/N),” Roger managed to plunge into you a few more times before he held himself deep inside of you, hand tightening on yours and released with a groan. The feeling of him filling you up spurred your movements on, grinding back against him and working your clit faster. 

Roger’s hand knocked yours away, though, and quickly brought you to completion, your orgasm rocketing through you. You clenched around him as you rode out your high, drawing his seed farther into you.

As you both came down, Roger collapsed on top of you with a groan before rolling to the side, dragging you with him. He was panting in your ear and you weren’t doing much better, still clenching around his softening length.

The quiet was interrupted by Roger, “Shit. (Y/N). You stopped your birth control, right?

You laughed breathily. Normally it was the guy making sure you were on birth control. “Yeah. Yeah, I stopped the day after you left.”

“Thank God,”

“What, don’t want a repeat performance?”

“Not at all. But it would kind of throw a wrench in the plan, yeah?”

“Yeah…” You gazed across the bedroom, staring at the bathroom door.

Roger, sensing your change grabbed your hand and brought it to your chest, pressing you tight against him and moving his cock inside you. You felt a squelch of cum against your insides but didn’t it pay it much thought.

“What… what are the plans now, Rog?” He said he pushed back the time in the studio, but he didn’t say for how long.

“Well we’ve got about four weeks before we have to head to L.A. and I was thinking…”

“Hmm, what is it?”

“Why don’t you come with?” His voice was soft as he asked, almost hesitant. “I’m sorry I got caught up in the moment. That was… well it was just bad. I know it’s not a perfect fix, but it gives us more time together. And that way I can be there for you.”

“Roger…” you started, not wanting to disappoint him. “What about my job? What about when you have to go on tour, or even a press tour beforehand? I knew, marrying you, it wasn’t going to be easy. But I can’t fathom doing this without you and there’s so many ‘what if’s’ going on. Your plans for touring changed so easily. What if it happens again?”

You felt near tears again despite everything.

Roger released your hand to tilt your face up to him. His blue eyes were soft and sincere. “It’s not easy, love. You’re right. But we’ll figure it out, yeah? Together.”

Yeah. With Roger, you’re sure everything would turn out okay eventually. “Together.”

#roger taylor fanfic #roger taylor x you #roger taylor smut #roger taylor imagine #roger taylor #roger taylor x Y/N #roger taylor x reader #queen fanfiction #Queen #fanfiction

[alectoperdita]

Where is the rest of that Joukai movie AU? Please consider writing in full. 😭 I loved itttt!!!! Hooked by the first paragraph.

Thank you for your enthusiastic ask! Oh, I also wish I knew where the rest of this fic was. Haha. 

I’m slowly figuring out the beats/narrative for this AU, but it’s pretty low on my priority list (I will finish you, Side Deck!). I don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up and promise anything. 

In the meantime, have some rough character notes I put together for this AU under the cut. Details are subject to change as I do more research and such (because timelines are hard even when you write them down 🤦).

Jounouchi Katsuya (27)Jounouchi is a singer-songwriter known for his boyish charms, heartfelt performances, and not being afraid to experiment with different musical styles. In high school, he served as the vocalist for a band he was in with several friends. They started to gain recognition in live venues across Tokyo and the music festival scene. Around the same time though, Shizuka was diagnosed with a severe case of retinitis pigmentosa. Jounouchi became determined to break out as an artist in hopes of earning enough money to pay for an experimental procedure. Through hard work and perseverance (and no small amount of failing), he signed with Avex Trax when he was 19. The featured single for his first album, which was later revealed to be dedicated to Shizuka, topped the Oricon weekly “Singles Chart” for four consecutive weeks. (The earnings paid for a majority of Shizuka’s surgery.) He has been a mainstay of Japan’s music scene ever since. He cites his musical influences as including the likes of B'z, Mr.Children, and Ken Hirai. Over the last year and a half, he began to branch out into other talents, most notably modeling and acting. A Stranger’s Homecoming will be his first feature-length film.

Select notable achievements:- Seven singles that topped Oricon’s weekly “Singles Chart”- Two albums that topped Oricon’s monthly “Album Chart”- Winner of the FNS Music Festival Award for “Best New Artist” (2013)

Kaiba Seto (28)Kaiba is the scion of an acting dynasty, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather before him. His grandfather served as one of the leading figures in the post-war revival of kabuki theater. Although Seto’s father, Kaiba Gozaburo, was also trained in kabuki, Gozaburo made his name on the silver screen as a titan of Japanese cinema in the Showa era. Seto himself is now a veteran after more than a decade of experience since his first television appearance at age 13. Ever since returning from his studies in the UK, his body of work is mostly concentrated in cinema (though he has done a few notable guest spots on several dramas). His no-nonsense and workaholic reputation has earned him both admirers and detractors within the industry. 

Select notable achievements:- Graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (2010-2013)- Winner of the Blue Ribbon Award for “Best Newcomer” (2010)- Winner of the Blue Ribbon Award for “Best Actor” (2015)Tenjouin Kisara (27)Kisara has grown up around music all her life. Her mother is a famous concert violinist, and her father an eminent conductor that headed the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. After seeing her play the violin on several music shows, the producer of a popular primetime drama was so impressed by her demonstrated poise and grace that he created a guest character spot tailored to her violin talent. The popularity of her character caught everyone off-guard, Kisara included, and her character returned the following season to great fanfare. Bitten by the acting bug, Kisara started a slow but steady transition into show business. Today, she is colloquially known as “Nadeshiko of the silver screen.” There are persistent rumors that she and Kaiba Seto are in a relationship, which Kisara vehemently denies, citing they are “close friends.”

Select notable achievements:- Graduated from the Tokyo University of the Arts, Faculty of Music (2011-2015)- An accomplished concert violinist through her early twenties- Winner of the Japan Academy Prize for “Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role” (2018)

#replies #showbiz AU #puppyshipping #violetshipping #Anonymous #I literally modeled Jounouchi as a musical artist after Vickeblanka #he has that playful and dorky and lovable energy that screams Jou to me #but all subject to change #because plotting is hard #also because I know nothing about music #my fanfiction #yugioh

[borhapstyles]

Headcanon: Birthday Celebration with Freddie

Ah I lost the original message for it but the request was celebrating your birthday with Freddie, I believe :) Although not sure if you wanted Freddie himself or Rami!Freddie, imagine either one.

Actually loved writing this one, hopefully you guys enjoy it just as much xx

oh you just know Freddie dear would spare no expense on your birthday

he made you feel special everyday of course, but for your birthday?

the man wanted to make sure every single second of the day was happy for you

he started out by waking you up the fun way

if u get what i mean, in between yo thighs

and after you two had your fun

when you were lying in his arms

he reached over to the side desk to pull out a box

it was a necklace with a star as a charm, and Freddie’s initials were engraved on it

“So that you’ll always have me with you, even when I’m on tour.”

and you cried a little bit

to which Freddie said “no, no! you’re not supposed to cry, darling. this wasn’t supposed to make you cry.”

and you’re like Freddie they’re happy tears

and he goes “still, i don’t like seeing you cry.” before proceeding to wipe the tears away

“i love you too much to see you cry.”

and then kissed your forehead and told you he had Phoebe, Freddie’s personal assistant, make your favorite breakfast

because let’s face it

we all know the man couldn’t even use a microwave and as much as he wanted to be able to make your favorite foods

you two valued your kitchen too much to see it burnt down

so he called Phoebe in the night before to make sure your favorite breakfast was ready once you two went downstairs

you had a few phone calls from family and friends to greet you happy birthday

all while Freddie was setting the table

it was a rather peaceful morning, just the two of you at the kitchen table

Freddie was across from you, the biggest smile on his face

he looked like a dork really, a happy dork

and you said “you seem even happier than I am today and it’s my own birthday”

to which he replied “you just don’t know how happy I am to be able to have today with you, and how happy I am for this exact day. the love of my life was born today, years ago and I really couldn’t be more grateful.”

you’re kinda overwhelmed cause Freddie hadn’t ever really been this cheesy before

but hey you’re not complaining

and he held your hand across from the table as you two discussed the new album Queen was working on amongst other things

and these were your favorite kinds of moments with Freddie, and his with yours

apart from all the fanfare of being on stage, he loved this little times with you

when he felt like he could be himself and not who everyone wanted him to be

“so what do you have planned for me today?” you teased

“sex, lots of sex.”

part of you was wondering if he was actually kidding, another part of you kinda wished he wasn’t

but then he said “only joking, darling. unless you want to.”

for a moment you’re tempted

but then you’re like “no, we’ll save that for tomorrow. consider it a, post birthday celebration. just the two of us.”

Freddie laughed and said “that’s my girl.”

then he added “but I can’t tell you what’s going on for the day, it’s top secret. not allowed to.”

soon after breakfast, the two of you got dressed and headed out

paparazzi swarmed your guys’ residential area in Kensington

which annoyed Freddie greatly

because the last thing he wanted was for sleazy things to be said to and about you on your birthday, especially by the press

so he flipped them off and you two went about your way

“Freddie, you didn’t have to do that.”

“But I did, dear! Fuck ‘em, it’s your day.”

then you two were driven out to the shops of London

and to your surprise, Freddie had closed down a couple of your favorite designer stores for the day so you two could enjoy a peaceful round of shopping

you hated the idea of Freddie spending thousands on you but he didn’t care

in fact you knew he might’ve been a little insulted if you didn’t

he himself picked out a couple things he thought would look lovely on you

and got some things for himself, the fashion king

“this one’s for tonight, Y/N”

“should I be worried about tonight?”

“possibly. but mostly excitement.”

and then you two were off again

he had booked a sweet little table in one of your favorite restaurants

and of course made the wait staff sing happy birthday to you just cause he loved seeing the blush of embarrassment on your cheeks

then you two strolled around the streets of London for a bit

a few fans stopped the two of you, which you didn’t mind

Freddie happily signed things for them and to both your delight,

they wished you happy birthday, having remembered that it was

you felt warm knowing you were loved by most of the Queen fandom

then back at the house, your boyfriend explained to you that you two had a couple of hours to get ready before going to another mystery location for the night

of course Freddie had booked someone for your hair and makeup

and out came the beautiful outfit he had helped you choose to wear tonight

and when you were all finished and dolled up, Freddie’s jaw dropped

“you’re so perfect, my love.” he said, and he really couldn’t get enough of you

with that, you sped off and to another venue in London

and when you went in, you were delightfully surprised to find all your friends and family inside

Freddie (with the help of Phoebe and the band) had organised a surprise party for you

and though Freddie knew crazy parties weren’t your scene, he made sure to only invite people you really cared for and who really cared for you

so it was a rather perfect event

you all had dinner and danced along to the 70s / 80s rock of the night

at one point in the night

Elton John came onto the makeshift stage and sang Tiny Dancer and Rocket Man

and you were really only expecting him to sing those two

that’s until he spoke into the mic, “and by special request of Mr. Freddie Mercury, this last song I’ll do is dedicated to the love of his life, the beautiful birthday girl, Y/N.”

Elton then proceeded to sing Your Song

Freddie held you close and you two swayed to to Elton’s voice

at one point, Freddie pulled away from the close embrace you two were in and looked you in the eyes

he was humming along to the song the whole time

but he stared into your eyes and sang the last line “how wonderful life is, now you’re in the world”

then kissed your forehead and tugged you back into his chest

it took a lot in you not to cry because of how much you loved him and how perfect the day turned out to be

and later that night, when it was well past midnight and not quite your birthday anymore

you and Freddie got into bed, exhausted from all the festivities

“thank you, Freddie.” you whispered

“of course, darling. anything for you.”

“i felt so loved today, best birthday ever.”

he kissed you and told you again that he loved you

then he reached his arms back

and for a moment you thought he was going to write a new song right then and there

he tended to do that around you, just because you were his muse

but then Freddie started to play your song, Love Of My Life

“When I grow older, I will be there at your side to remind you, how I still love you...”

Freddie leant over afterwards, gripped your cheeks which were of course tearstained from all the happiness

“You’re the love of my life. Happy birthday, darling.”

When’s your guys’ birthday? Mine’s October 20th :) Lots of love xx

#freddie mercury #rami malek #rami malek x reader #freddie mercury x reader #freddie mercury one shot #freddie mercury imagines #freddie mercury headcanon #rami malek headcanons #freddie mercury headcanons #rami malek smut #freddie mercury smut #rami malek imagine #rami malek fic #freddie mercury fic #lucy boynton #gwilym lee #joe mazzello #ben hardy #roger taylor #brian may #john deacon #bohemian rhapsody

[fmdtaeyongarchive]

headcanon #019: hair through the eras

word count: 1,375 1,501 1,555 words

updated august 8, 2020 february 13, 2021 !

Mama (2012)

Ash debuted with what I would like to call shaggy emo hair.  It was a little longer and wavier than he’d had normally in the most recent times pre-debut, but Ash quite liked this style for his hair at the time and had no complaints.

Wolf (2013)

It took over a year for Knight to comeback and during that time Ash had mostly kept his hairstyle from Mama era. It was only when it came time to shoot the music video and promotional photos they he was given a new hairdo for the era, which was a reddish-brown coif. The aim was to make him look a little older and a little sportier without making him look too mature since he was still one of the younger members of the group. Though he was only seventeen, he began to earn more attention for his visuals this era than he had in debut. Despite his negative opinions on nearly everything else about this era, he once again didn’t have any major complaints about his hair style, though he was attached to his debut era hair.

Growl (2013)

Growl was the first time Ash had an obviously unnatural hair color, as he was styled with a red bowl cut with angular bangs. As was the styling of the era, the style was chosen to look youthful and easy to style with a backwards baseball cap if they chose to put him in one. He went back to a natural color very quickly after this era finished, as he found the hair dye made his hair more brittle due to being particularly sensitive to it.

Overdose (2014)

For Overdose, Ash went back to an unnatural color with dark purple hair, usually styled in a comma hairstyle. It was a popular look for fans at the time, but Ash wouldn’t personally consider it one of his favorite hairstyles he’s ever had and he went back to a normal dark brown halfway through promotions due to the hair dye irritating him again. It was one of the more popular eras for him visually again, though. Fans seemed to like his hair styled to show his forehead.

Call Me Baby (2015) 

For Call Me Baby, Ash’s hair was somewhat similar to the previous era with dark brown hair, though his bangs were shorter. He didn’t have much of an opinion on his styling this era, to be honest.

Love Me Right (2015)

For Love Me Right, Ash’s hair was lightened to a light brown with long bangs and some blonde highlights. Ash quite liked the longer bangs looks

Sing For You (2015)

While this is one of Ash’s favorite era’s musically, he probably couldn’t tell you what his hairstyle had been for it, but he had brown hair with asymmetrically parted bangs. His hair was pretty healthy at this point and it would continue to be saved from bleach for several more eras.

Monster / Lucky One (2016) & Lotto (2016)

His first two eras after his scandal brought one of his fans’ favorite hairstyles of all time, and Ash was happy that they had something to talk about other than his recent bad press. For Monster/Lucky One promotions, as well as the repackage promotions with Lotto, Ash had black comma hair.

Fanfare (2016) & Gorilla (2016) & Hey Mama! (2016)

The next three eras came incredibly close together with almost no break for Ash, so his hairstyle remained the same throughout all three — a brown wavy style that was easy to maintain.

Can You Feel It? (2016)

This time around, Ash got a medium brown bowl cut. Ash wasn’t a huge fan, but it was a popular style at the time that many other idols had and he didn’t say anything to stylists since he was just grateful he hadn’t been punished for his scandal with outrageous hairstyles.

Roar (2017)

Roar brought the first major hair color change for Ash since Overdose three years prior  —  a light brown/dirty blonde color generally styled with a wavy texture. The bleaching required to lighten his hair had taken a toll on it again, so the color didn’t last long past the end of music show promotions.

Easy Love (2017)

His hair was back to a light brown for Easy Love, one of his favorite eras musically, but again pretty forgettable as far as hairstyle. Stylists did sometimes give him pink highlights this era, namely for the music video and a select few music show performances and fan signs early in the promotion period.

Ko Ko Bop (2017)

For Kokobop, Ash’s hair was pretty much the same as it had been for Easy Love, light brown, though they had long ago given up on the pink highlights by this point. He was also on We Got Married’s special summer season during this time, so they wanted him to have an approachable and friendly look.

365 Fresh (2017) & Power (2017)

For these two eras, which included the first round of promotions Ash had ever done outside of his group, he went slightly darker with the brown and had some highlights to add texture. Unlike the past few eras, his hair was finally styled to expose his forehead again and was often styled for a wavy coif of bangs to frame his face. It was, again, a more popular era for him visually, as most eras where his bangs are styled out of his face tend to be.

I’m Young (2017) & O Sole Mio (2018) & Blooming Days (2018)

For his solo debut as well as the Knight era and the White Knight era following it, Ash ditched the shades of brown to go for a solid black that was generally styled with his bangs parted in the middle to show his forehead again. It could be argued this was the beginning of a more mature styling for him.

Critical Beauty (2018)

For Critical Beauty, Ash kept the black, though it was styled with his bangs to one side and out of his face and he had a bit of an undercut. Compared to his usual middle part, he had a side part this era. Ash liked this style, but it only lasted as long as music show promotions before he changed it again.

Tempo (2018) & Untitled, 2014 (2018)

Ash’s hair was initially dyed pink/red for the filming of his BC Portal “New Heroes”, but due to an overwhelmingly positive response, he kept it through the end of the year. By the time he was promoting Untitled, 2014, it was more of a faded pink or even simply blonde to spare his hair from all of the dye on top of the bleach.

Love Shot (2019)

After the damage his hair had suffered in the back half of 2018, it was obvious Ash would need to go back to a dark brown for Love Shot era. It matched the dark and sexy but sophisticated vibes of the song, anyway.

Troublemaker (2019)

For Troublemaker, Ash’s hair was still dark brown or black, but he had begun letting it grow out.

Now or Never (2019) & Now (2019)

For Knight’s next comeback as well as his second release with Yoona, he had continued letting his hair grow out and it was now dark and curly. Ash was really loving growing his hair out longer than he’d ever been allowed to have it be and if he hadn’t been so exhausted at time time, he would have been really feeling himself. As it hair got longer, it got more divisive, though, and there was a vocal minority of fans (and, even more so, anti-fans jumping on the opportunity to hate) who absolutely hated the new look and were more than happy to make it known in online comments and to his face.

Romanticism / D (Half Moon) (2019) & Enough (2020)

For his third solo album through now, Ash’s hair has been black and wavy, and at its longest. He’s not a very vain person, but he really does like how he looks these days and thinks he’s the closest to how he’d choose to look if he wasn’t an idol and had more of a say in how he presents himself.

Woo Ah (2020)

Ash cut his hair shortly before the release of his song. It was far more BC’s idea than his, but he sported a shorter hair style with blue-green ends for the short promotions of this song, often in a forehead-exposing, comma hair style. For several months after, as his hair began to slowly grow out again, he would still make appearances with green ends.

How Can I Love The Heartbreak, You’re The One I Love (2020)

The sound of this song was more of a classic sound, so Ash lost the dyed ends and instead stuck with dark brown/black hair that had grown out to a similar length as it had been around the same time the year before and generally styled wavy.

Bittersweet (2020)

For this comeback, Ash kept the longer dark hair that he’d had in his viral fancam a month prior, which was pretty similar to his hair from the previous solo album. His hair was permed during this time and throughout this period, he often styled his hair up in buns or ponytails.

#i love stealing i'm a stealer ♥ #this is really just the beth tries to find ways to describe slightly different variations on brown hair challenge #*of brown hair #this is a good time for this though.... i hate to say it but this era of ash's hair will be ending... i know it pains me deeply too #&& holding on to something | headcanons #&& queued

[dustedmagazine]

Dust Volume 5, Number 9

Tropical Fuck Storm

Just like that, summer’s over and we face a growing pile of late 2019 records. But before that, before we drag ourselves like kids to school into the second half, a moment to appreciate what’s accumulated.  This month’s Dust touches on groovy jazz tuba, punishing hardcore, a bracing industrial reissue, altered percussion and an OG Tuareg guitarist.  Contributors this time around include Isaac Olson, Ian Mathers, Jennifer Kelly, Jonathan Shaw, Bill Meyer and Andrew Forell.  

Joseph Allred — O Meadowlark (Feeding Tube) 

O, Meadowlark by Joseph Allred

 Plenty of people get the tag American Primitive Guitarist stuck on their rump these days. It’s not always appropriate and it’s not always welcome, but it adheres to Joseph Allred with the fastness of the truth.  Allred, a Tennessean who currently pursues higher learning at Boston College, understands that whether you use mountain music or raga-derived form as your framework (and he uses a bit of both, alternating between skeletal banjo figures and rushing guitar fantasias), the music has to project something beyond the notes. O Meadowlark not only evokes a cascade of emotions, some explicit and others allowed and bent until they’re beyond name, but he exerts an opposite pull. Like Robbie Basho or Steffen Basho Junghans, he draws the listener through the sound hole and into the tones and overtones that carom about the insides of his guitar.  Climb inside; like a Tardis, it has room for all.

Bill Meyer 

Caterina Barbieri — Ecstatic Computation (Editions Mego)

Ecstatic Computation by Caterina Barbieri

The title of Caterina Barbieri’s third LP suggests a congress of emotional states and cognitive processes; total neural action, you might say. The sound of the thing suggests another, maybe more personal integration. She favors massive, echo-haloed electronic sounds, the sort that would set off all manner of madness in the disco if only she’d subordinate them to a sufficiently clubby beat. But instead she juxtaposes them with wordless female vocals (not her own) and switched-on harpsichord sounds which lock together with a structural logic that probably comes natural to a person who grew up studying classical guitar. And while the sounds promise abandon, the way they lock together requires submission to a Bach-like allegiance to order. Promise delivered.

Bill Meyer

Theon Cross — Fyah (Gearbox Records)

Fyah by Theon Cross

Tuba player Theon Cross was the secret weapon of last year’s excellent Your Queen is a Reptile, by The Sons of Kemet. Fyah is Cross’s debut as a band leader, and  if the melodies occasionally sag, Cross and company generate more than enough energy to keep you, if not intently listening, grooving. Like many in the London jazz scene, Cross has no qualms about pulling in sounds from everywhere, and while not every experiment works (the synths and trap beats on “Panda Village” don’t add much), it keeps Fyah feeling fleet and admirably populist. Cross’s commitment to bring the tuba back to our attention and good graces is admirable, and he’s certainly the right guy for the job, but for better or for worse, he suffers the fate of all lower register players: disappearing when played back at anything less than high volume. As such, the real MVP on Fyah is tenor saxophonist and fellow London hotshot, Nubya Garcia. Fyah is a good record. It gets better the louder you play it.

Isaac Olson

 Drugs of Faith — Decay (Selfmadegod Records)

Drugs of Faith have been making records like Decay, their new EP, for quite a while now. The record is full of crossover hardcore that pushes on the pressure points of crust and sludge. It’s grimy, gritty, sweaty stuff and it’s really good. The focused truculence of a song like “Anonymity” sharpens rather than overwhelms the tune’s tendencies toward melody, and what a frigging breakdown. The whole 7” — all ten minutes of it — is terrifically punishing. Or maybe it’s punishingly terrific. Whatever it is, it goes by quick. But that’s cool, you’ll just flip it and play it again. And like a live hardcore set, music this intense is best enjoyed in small, gut-thumping doses. Toward the end of the excellent track “Nihilists,” singer Richard Johnson (who also plays guitar) growls, “If I go down, I’m taking you all with me.” Sure sounds like he means it.

Jonathan Shaw

Help — Help (Self Released)

Help by Help

One advantage to keeping songs short and lyrics anthemic is that you can throw a whole lot of sludge into the works and still end up with tunes that folks will remember the next day. Portland noise-punk band does this six times on their quite good debut EP, Help. No surprises here, just grimy, coruscating punk that sounds amazing when you’re reading the latest update on our slide into oligarchy/kleptocracy/kakistocracy/planet death/what have you. Best of all is their theme song, which softens up a traditionally macho genre with some very welcome, very 2019 vulnerability (Complete lyrics: “Help!/I fucking need it!/You know I’ve battled but it’s all I can take!”) and the closer, “Class War Now” which is about… well, you know.

Isaac Olson

 HTRK – Nostalgia (Fire Records)

Nostalgia is the self-released 2004 debut EP by Australian experimental trio HTRK (Hate Rock Trio). Nigel Yang (guitar, programming, electronics), Jonnine Standish (voice, percussion, samples) and Sean Stewart (bass, programming, samples) produce seven tracks of heavy, noise intensive electronica with echoes of Throbbing Gristle, Pan Sonic and Suicide. Physically and psychically crushing, the tracks move at a funereal pace with waves of static and feedback crashing against bottom end bass, percussion and drum machines as Standish’s voice intones from a cave, a cross between Lydia Lunch and Alan Vega. Instrumental opener “Hate Rock Trio” begins quietly with the ticking of a clock, a time bomb with crashes of distorted percussion. Thereafter the song titles tell the story of the EP. Run together they form both a record of, and a demand to acknowledge, damage inflicted: “Look What’s Been Done/Look Down the Line/Look At That Girl/Look At Her/You Injured Me/I’m All Broke Up.” The intensity builds with each track as feedback and samples scratch atop thickening layers of black sludge. Re-released by Fire Records, Nostalgia is a bracing experience with a palpable sense of menace.

Andrew Forell

 Max Jaffe — Giant Beat (Ramp Local)

Giant Beat by Max Jaffe

If a curious listener was told Max Jaffe only used one instrument to make Giant Beat, they’d be forgiven for guessing something like a modular synth. Instead, it’s drums, but in a way that makes the question maybe a little bit of a cheat; Jaffe, drummer for JOBS, Elder Ones and others, was also a beta tester for something called Sensory Percussion that allows percussionists to use their instruments to trigger sounds and samples in a way that feels analogous to the chromatic, sometimes abrasive playing Ian Crause and Disco Inferno did with sampling. Of course, with a drum kit and that kind of setup, Jaffe can generate a whole album just by himself in a different way than you might get with, say, a singer and an acoustic guitar. Giant Beat dips its toes into various experimental waters, jazz here, electronics there, noise and musique concrete there, but always with the steady pulse of Jaffe’s one-take percussive playing behind it. The result feels like anything but a product demo; if anything, it feels like a new type of voice articulating itself.  

Ian Mathers  

Ocean Fanfare — First Nature (Barefoot)

First Nature by Ocean Fanfare

Whether you take the words First Nature as a prescription of priorities or a stern reminder of who is best equipped to play the long game in the battle between humankind and its environment, this is a record with a message. But since that message is being relayed via horns, bass, and drums, which play melodies that wind and ascend, one must exercise one’s emotional antennae to decode the vibe. Both trumpeter Tomsz Dabrowski and alto saxophonist Sven Dam Meinild are equally facile with post-bop tunes and extended technique explorations, and the shuttles between these poles gives the music a questing quality. They’re methodically seeking, not giving up hope, and the inventive ways they maintain balance on the fly suggests that they’re conscious of what tools will come in handy if people are going to survive.

Bill Meyer

 Abdallah Ag Oumbadougou — Anou Malane (Sahel Sounds)

Anou Malane by Abdallah Ag Oumbadougou

One of the original Tuareg guitar heroes, Abdallah Oumbadougou recorded these dreaming, droning, melancholic-with-a-swagger tunes in Benin in 1995 with the West African producer Nel Oliver. It was a step up for Oumbadougou, who had previously recorded mostly on boom boxes in encampments during breaks in the Tuareg rebellion, but the songs, even embellished with electronics and studio effects, have a raw, lonely power to them.  “Thingalene” drifts towards funky pop in its syncopated drum machines and squealing synths, but Oumbadougou’s voice carries over time and distance with a bracing authenticity. Other tracks, like “Tenere” splice the echoing snap of gate-reverbed drums to a beat that sways like camel caravans; the guitar work here is particularly fine. On its original release, Anou Malane introduced the world to the Tuareg’s keening, ambling desert blues; now it reminds us that artists like Tinariwen and Terekaft and Mdou Moctar are interpreting and extending — not inventing — a vibrant art form.

Jennifer Kelly

Savage Republic  —Gods  & Guns (Mobilization)

Savage Republic doesn’t pack the band schedule very tightly nowadays. The band, currently a quartet (Thom Fuhrmann, Ethan Port, Alan Waddington, Kerry Dowling), took the whole of the 1990s off and has made just two albums in this century. But when they do make a record, it hits hard. In days gone by they sounded like Rhys Chatham fronting the Ventures on an album of Aegean surfer themes, but now they sound just a bit like Michael Gira fronting Echo & the Bunnymen in some Bladerunner-like hell of a dark hole. “God & Guns,” sung in dire and reverb-swaddled tones by Fuhrmann, articulates understandable dismay at the twin lumps of stinky meat that are being held in front of the vast heard of fascism-embracing Americans. The instrumental on the flip is named “Tranquilo,” but you won’t rest while they’re charging you, driven by chain-gang shouts, oil drum lashes, and epically massive bass. Heavy shit for heavy times.

Bill Meyer

Sleeping Ancient — There Is No Truth But Death (Viridian Flame)

There Is No Truth But Death by Sleeping Ancient

In any number of ways, black metal and the horror fiction of H.P. Lovecraft are a good match. The overweening interest in darkness and unnamably horrific, indecipherably complex forms; the highly abstruse mysticism; the tinge of troubling racism and anti-Semitism — it’s sort of uncanny. Sleeping Ancient aren’t the first black metal band to express a deep appreciation for Lovecraft’s weird fictions. Heck, they probably aren’t even the tenth or the fiftieth. But if they’re not breaking any new ground, thematically or musically, at least they’re making good songs. Check out the grand dirge of “Akeru,” or the slow but assured drift, from frigidly delicate melody to batshit intensity, that forms “Taphephobic Hallucinations” (taphephobia, by the way, is crippling fear of the grave—not death so much as the gravesite itself). The songs are typical of Sleeping Ancient’s mannered but powerful playing, which the band sustains across the whole of There Is No Truth But Death. It’s a good record to play as we wait for Cthulu. Judging by current conditions, we won’t have long to wait.

Jonathan Shaw

 Sore Points — Not Alright (Slovenly)

SORE POINTS "Not Alright" EP by Sore Points

If you miss the Marked Men, how ‘bout some hard, fast punk rock from Vancouver? This four-song 7 inch, following a 2018 self-titled on Deranged, snarls and stomps with feverish fury, making the most of its double drummed, guitar stabbed, bass whomped basics. You’d infer a few battered Ramones records in the rec room, but also punks both harder core and more melodic—Black Flag on one end and the Buzzcocks on the other. “Not Alright” rampages at blur speed. The drummer, whoever he is (Sore Points are not big on self-promotion), gets a monster workout here, but really everybody is pushing about as hard as it goes. “Not Coming Back,” is likewise accelerated, but in an anthemic, memorable way. As a non-professional, you’d kill yourself trying to keep up playing these songs, but you can sing along, no problem, after just one or two spins.

Jennifer Kelly

 Tropical Fuck Storm — Braindrops (Joyful Noise)

Braindrops by Tropical Fuck Storm

“Braindrops,” the title track from this second Tropical Fuck Storm album, slinks and rattles and backpedals, its rhythm complicated and syncopated, its stream-of-consciousness lyrics about dreams and waking (“But you gotta get up because time is nagging like a dog humping your leg”) as tangled as the polyrhythmic beat. There’s a slant of ska in the bass, a dissolute hint of post-punk in the cracked vocals and a baroque inclination to stuff things to the gills in the overload of just about everything. Tropical Fuck Storm tilts recognizable forms so far over that they always seem to be careening into chaos. A hip friendly bump of bass and drums is just a landing pad for guitar noises that crash, still burning, to the ground. Even the ballads (“Paradise” both “Marias”) teem with noise and dissonance. Braindrops is never an easy listen. It verges, fairly often, on the unpleasant. But in a world where everything spins down to a grey Spotified entropy, it’s a prickly, fascinating, mess of bright colored wires; go ahead cut one and see if it explodes.

Jennifer Kelly

 Various Artists — Greys (Anachronisme)

Greys by Field Guides

In this day and age, if one even wanted to put together a new “We Are the World,” where would one start? Leverage Models’ return to music last year with the phenomenal Whites was partly so that previously-shelved record could raise money for the Southern Poverty Law Center, and here the band and Anachronisme Records are at it again. Raising money for the Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees this time, instead of trying to rope everyone they know into one big aesthetically-dubious singalong, they’ve put together with any number of friends a smorgasbord of 21 tracks all somehow ‘in conversation’ with the music on Whites. There are plenty of intriguing covers, remixes, and other deconstructions, from Field Guides’ glowing, pastoral version of “If I Let You Stay” to the menacing buzz of DOV’s remix of “Dark Pools,” to Concierge Records and The Working Elite’s “transatlantic meditation” on the feeling of the first song on Whites with “Day Two,” as well as two unreleased tracks from Leverage Models. Then there are the contributions that just engage with the emotions and stories of the original album, like Courtship Ritual’s haunting “Uncle Incision” and William Tyler’s gorgeous “She Swims in Hidden Water.” There’s a lot here to absorb, but even if you’re not familiar with the source material it all stands on its own, even as it’s still one of the most intriguing expansions of an album in recent memory. Not to mention hopefully a more effective way to help a good cause.

Ian Mathers

 avery r. young—Tubman (FPE)

tubman. by avery r. young

avery r. young brings the sizzle in this paean to African-American musical traditions from skanky funk to body-moving R&B to soul-on-fire gospel, complete with a full choir. The multi-talented Chicagoan took inspiration from his own book—Neckbone: Visual Verses—from Nina Simone and from the singer Jamila Woods, whose superlative pipes provide the uplift of many of these cuts. “Maasai” slouches so far into a smouldery blacksploitation groove as to be nearly horizontal, all evil wah-wah’d twitch and rumbling bass and slashing lightning bolts of disco strings, while “go'head mary & weep” takes things to the church with a massive harmonized swell. young himself has a fine, fluttery, emotionally nimble tenor, shades of the Reverend Al Green in his supple phrasing, but his songs take flight when they’re sung by a crowd, as on the spiritually stirring “lead in da wattah” and especially, the monster highlight “get to know a nina simone song” which rolls on like a doo-wopping, gospel-quarteting freight train right on to Mississippi. God damn, indeed.  

#dusted magazine #dust #theon cross #isaac olson #drugs of faith #jonathan shaw #htrk #andrew forell #max jaffe #ian mathers #Abdallah Ag Oumbadougou #jennifer kelly #sleeping ancient #sore points #tropical fuck storm #leverage models #avery r. young #help #savage republic #bill meyer #joseph allred #ocean fanfare #caterina barbieri

[shinwhoohoo]

Contract Megapost

My Honest Thoughts ✍️

With the dozens of asks I’ve received following the initial news that B1A4 was: firstly, extending their 7-year contracts by two additional months, followed by, secondly, WM Entertainment (WM) announcing that Jinyoung and Baro would be leaving the company while CNU, Sandeul, and Gongchan were re-signing to stay with WM, I’ve always tried to remain as neutral as I possibly could when writing my responses, even when I’ve personally felt, and wanted to say, more.

This was done purposely on my part-- with the news still so fresh, I wanted to try and create a ‘safe space’ of sorts, where people could come and fully express how they felt without judgement. Also, I didn’t want to contribute any additional negative thoughts or energy then what was already out there, since many were so sensitive, hurt, and confused by the entire situation. I was certainly part of this crowd, but I did my best to keep (most) of my feelings at bay, instead just answering or commenting on what was directly submitted in my asks.

With months having passed, each of the five boys involved in their own projects, and the fandom seemingly much more calm about what transpired, I’d like to now actually take the time to fully write out my thoughts and opinions without feeling like I need to hold back. This isn’t to say what I had previously written wasn’t what I felt, but now it is just... complete.

(likely unnecessary but putting it here anyway #1) DISCLAIMER: Everything from here on out is 100% my opinions and thoughts and by no means accurate. While I appreciate many of you coming to me for my opinions, I by no means am more qualified than anyone else here-- in other words, my guesses as to what happened are as good as yours.

(likely unnecessary but putting it here anyway #2) WARNING: Major, MAJOR word vomit ahead. So, apologies in advance for those who aren’t able to make it all the way through 😅

I’m going to attempt to write this in the most chronologically-sound way, since that format makes the most sense in my mind. With that said, let’s start at the beginning (or at least, the beginning of what matters in relation to all of this):

One side of the equation we need to look at was WM’s management. From B1A4′s debut up until WM debuted Oh My Girl (OMG), 100% of the attention was given to the boys. And it showed in the appropriate choices management made, allowing the boys to promote in a timely manner without ever overdoing it, giving them health breaks when needed if they were sick or injured (for example, when Baro injured his leg during What’s Happening promotions-- they decided to cut promos short), as well as allowing them to individually try out acting, composing, and guesting on variety shows, and having the boys star in their own variety shows. The timing seemed great when they ventured into the Japanese market, putting a focus on just releasing translated versions of their Korean singles before expending the resources to actually create new J-songs/singles.

Another side that is important to note in this is the boys’ inner relationships, not only with WM but amongst themselves. B1A4 were never shy in describing how good their communication with one another were. They detailed about their meetings they conducted the end of each week, to go over the ups and downs of what transpired. They admitted that this was a big contributor in preventing them from having legitimate arguments vs. normal disagreements that everyone has. And this closeness showed-- I know many non-fans who would comment (to me or otherwise) on how real their relationships seemed, that it wasn’t just a ‘show’ for the fans or for ‘business’. The boys would even comment about how they wanted to last a long time and be like ‘Shinhwa’. So with these two main points addressed, what happened to cause a shift? When did these shifts actually happen?

Let’s look at WM’s management first, because in all honesty it’s the easier of the two and I’ve admittedly already ranted a good deal about it, so my thoughts are more organized and collected.

To quickly go through my thoughts about the downfall of good management choices at WM, I’ll summarize points I find note-worthy from the last few years:

Following ‘Solo Day’ in 2014, the boys go on their longest hiatus (up until that point in time) of a full year with no real news of updates on the next comeback cycle.

With the debut of OMG in 2015, it is noticeable that there is a lack of focus with B1A4′s next promotional cycle of ‘Sweet Girl’. This is reflected in basically no promotions leading up to it, as well as little to no appearances during the actual promotional cycle.

Not specifically related to management in an of itself, but also at this time, the boys find themselves in a bit of a conflict regarding their stage and concert outfits; they had resembled SHINee’s outfits too much.

When it came time for their 5th anniversary celebrations in 2016, WM makes the choice to host a venue in Korea but specifically only for J-BANAs to attend (with a guest). K-BANAs start boycotting. 

Issues arise with Pony Canyon, and how their Japanese promotions are seemingly given precedence over their Korean promotions (fans were also complaining that their Japanese albums looked cheaply designed and made).

Sandeul is announced (with very short notice) to be given a solo album in October of 2016. Shortly into his promotion cycles, he falls ill and has to skip scheduled shows and appearances. Jinyoung helps fill in, as he has been involved with his biggest tv-role to date, along with producing songs for other girl groups (OMG, I.O.I).

Announcements that B1A4 are coming back with extremely little warning occur in the midst of Sandeul’s promos; their comeback begins at the end of November 2016. While the promotional cycle for ‘A Lie’ is fairly short, it seems to be a bit more organized than what we saw during ‘Sweet Girl’ (which was over a year prior at this point).

The following hiatus between ‘A Lie’ and when ‘Rollin’ is released in the Fall of 2017 sees the least amount of schedules for the boys as a whole. Little to nothing is done as a group following their ‘Four Nights in the US’ and 'Live Space’ concerts; CNU is involved in ‘Hamlet’, Sandeul in ‘Thirty Something’, Jinyoung dabbles more in producing for other groups (such as for the ‘Idol Drama Operation’ team), Baro does a short web-drama and acts in ‘Manhole’ (the latter being not well-received or popular) and Gongchan... chills. Oh! Gongchan did that virtual dating game... thing.

Again, much like with ‘A Lie’ and ‘Sweet Girl’, the comeback for ‘Rollin’ gets announced in a rush, with the boys having not even filmed their MV yet when the news gets dropped this time. They take the flight to Australia, film for the next 48-hours, then fly back. The lack in production quality is evident, myself being witness to many commenting on the seemingly low budget and little to no creativity involved in the MV-- I still agree, it leaves a lot to be desired. Teasers are literally released by the boys themselves, on their instagrams. (And look tacky as hell lmao).

With barely a week into promos, Jinyoung falls ill and has to sit out of promotions and appearances. The promotional cycle ends almost as quickly as it started, with a couple appearances (very few with all five however-- Jinyoung or Baro seem to be absent for some), and very little fanfare as a whole.

Following the end of this last comeback cycle, again we seen very little appearances with all five. They don’t have any concerts for fans (something they did following almost every promotional cycle since their first BABA concert), instead just guesting for a few random concerts. 

During this hiatus, we hear the same comments from the boys that we’ve been hearing now the last few years: That they have been working on new music, and that they’d like to comeback as soon as possible.

During one of their few vlives as five, they play a game where they guess what different words are. Confused at one of the hints, a staff behind the camera makes a tasteless joke of the word involving around ‘loli’ or ‘lolita’. This gets picked up by a few news sites. 

Other, larger controversies arise when Sandeul’s name get’s wrapped up in a sexual assault conflict which WM (luckily) quickly denies. However, when Baro gets involved in a ‘lovestagram’ conflict, WM stays mostly silent, and Baro instead has to release two letters himself denying it, along with apologizing for his ‘attitude controversy’ that seems to keep resurfacing.

No fan meeting is scheduled for their 7th anniversary when April 2018 comes around; instead, WM announces that their contracts have been temporarily extended for two months and talks of renewals are still up in the air. 

A vlive is held. Sandeul cries when he makes his ending statement about their 7th anniversary and ‘moving forward’ as a group. He makes a point to comment that “[B1A4] will always be with you”.

A compilation album of their Japanese singles is released with no promotions or appearances by the boys.

At the end of the two month extension, WM announces that Jinyoung and Baro are leaving the company, not before Jinyoung posts the emotional lyrics of ‘Together’ to his instagram. Jinyoung, and eventually Baro, release statements confirming their departure. Sandeul releases a statement making clear his confusion of what’s going on, and CNU takes almost two months to make his statement, again expressing confusion and a lot of emotion over what happened-- but this we’ll get into more next when talking about their relationships.

So... wow. It’s a lot to take in, isn’t it? I’m of course not remembering every single detail of what happened that was questionable in the last few years. In fact, I’m sure there’s still quite a few moments going back to 2015 and early 2016 that I’m leaving out. But, the point in laying it all out here like this is to show that there has been a decline in the company’s management, and it’s been occurring over the last 3~4 years.

This isn’t out to paint WM as the enemy here, either. They didn’t want this to be how things ended with B1A4. B1A4 was their money maker, their source of income, their ability to purchase a seven-story building. And, looking at it in a less cynical way, B1A4 was the boys that WM founder Wonmin and director Jimni took in as teenagers, having been there since the beginning-- likely acting as foster parents to the boys that moved away from their actual families. Why would they want to disappoint them? Why would they want to do anything but give them all they could to succeed? 

It’s in these questions where the real tragedy lies surrounding WM and the boys: WM didn’t want this to happen, but in their goals of continuing to grow, expand, and debut more groups, they let it happen unknowingly. I believe they even tried to right some wrongs towards the end, such as finally dropping Pony Canyon and signing with the more revered Universal for Japanese promotions and productions, literally giving the boys an entire floor to themselves to freely produce, and attempting to extend their contracts in a last-ditch effort to get them all to stay. I could only imagine how hard it was for Wonmin, Jimni, and other senior-leveled staff (as well as their day-to-day managers) to see Baro and Jinyoung walk out the door after 9+ years. 

But the fact of the matter still stands that WM dropped the ball. To dive into my own personal opinions of what happened behind the scenes, nothing seemed more apparent regarding the lack of management when looking towards appearances and gigs outside of the company. I feel that a good majority of the acting roles that Jinyoung and Baro landed (barring maybe their initial roles) they got based on their own merit and networking. I have a hard time believing that they had the support of the company behind them in helping them land these jobs. If they had, I think there would have been more articles and interviews lined up helping them promote their roles. I point out these things particularly that WM could have done and not necessary more roles because I also can believe that WM didn’t have that much pull in being able to do that (i.e., land them bigger roles). Which just subtracts another point towards them, especially where Baro and Jinyoung would be concerned. But in other words, WM did have the power, and could have, promoted them better in the roles they did land.

Additionally, it was apparent that there was some unhappiness with the organization surrounding comebacks, and the planning for their comebacks. To have the boys themselves point out so often how they wished they could comeback sooner, and that they were always in the studio making more songs-- what happened to prevent these comebacks from happening (or happening sooner)? Where did all these songs, and the time spent on them, go? With a group as involved in their productions and compositions as B1A4, I’m sure this was a big annoyance to them, and Jinyoung, in particular. With Jinyoung, he quickly was given charge in the groups’ musical sound and direction. Initially, I’m sure this was seen as a huge gift to him that would not likely have been allowed if he had been in a larger company; But what happens when the same company that once gave you the freedom to compose the groups’ songs now makes it a challenge to let these songs see the light of day? I bet there was a bitterness that began to build up, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he began to question how much more more well-off he could be if WM backed him up more in composing (and going back to my prior paragraph, in his acting).

Jinyoung got his first tastes of popularity when his songs ‘What’s Happening’ and ‘Lonely’ became hits. This coincided with his movie ‘Miss Granny’ doing quite well, but following ‘Solo Day’, seen in the events listed above, he (along with the others) fell into a bit of a lull for a while. I personally think this could have been a bit of a turning point for Jinyoung, catalyzed even more when he did get back out there with ‘Moonlight Drawn By Clouds’ and guesting/producing for ‘Produce 101′. I think once he saw that the public was interested in seeing what more he could do, it was a no-brainer for him to begin reaching out and drafting what would soon be the beginnings of ‘LINK8 Entertainment’ (LINK8). He wanted the freedom to do what he wanted, on his own terms, and he created that with LINK8... which I’ll talk about more later. 

Moving on to Baro, admittedly his shift was a bit harder to pin down. While I may be going out on a limb here, I wouldn’t be surprised if Baro’s true interests never quite lied with rapping, or even being part of an idol group. While he was a natural from the very beginning at being on stage, his always seemed to shine brightest on shows or acting. I’ve always felt that Baro was actually the best actor out of the boys, and would at times find myself questioning why WM wasn’t putting him in more roles. Looking back, and like I already mentioned, it was just likely because they didn’t have the pull to get him roles. But I also think that Baro would have really benefitted from WM at least promoting his roles more than they did. When we found out Baro was moving to an acting-centric company (Hodu&U Entertainment (Hodu) ), I wasn’t surprised at all, and in fact, thought that this was what Baro likely wanted from the beginning.

Something I’d also like to point out about Hodu is that they seem to be a bit of a mystery, kind of like a fortress in a way compared to WM. And I think this is important because they seem like they’ll offer a bit of ‘protection’ compared to WM from critics/trolls. And I think this is important because I feel that Baro was deeply affected by all the comments that were made about him and his ‘attitude’, and the fact that those comments seemed to resurface every few months with WM not releasing a statement that was good enough to quell them. Add to this that WM literally said nothing when his next ‘controversy’ broke about his alleged girlfriend with his own ‘fans’ attacking him... I’m sure this was a last straw. When I read the letters he posted, I can remember how sad I was, with his disappointment and pain quite tangible. At the time, I thought it was just disappointment in himself, but looking at it now from a broader perspective, I think he was just 100% ready to move on and shed his past image (and company).

In discussing the relationships between Baro and Jinyoung (Bayoung) with the others, I’m going to begin by making the (possibly polarizing) statement that I do not think they let CNU, Sandeul, or Gongchan know ahead of time that they were planning on leaving WM. I believe this is apparent in the tidbits of information that was hinted at in Sandeul’s statement to the fans immediately following the news, and later reiterated by CNU when he finally made his post weeks later, in that they were surprised, confused, and overall upset over the whole situation.

Going back to what I said in the introduction, this is an alarming shift from the group that would hold their weekly meetings to discuss and air everything out between one another. I can’t say I have an exact idea of what lead Bayoung to not openly discuss it, but I’m sure relationships started to shift and change going back to when they first moved out into their own apartments by the end of 2015. Factoring in the mismanagement of what I explained in the previous section, I’m sure this also caused possible issues between the members, particularly when it came time for recording together. I don’t think any actual fights happened, but I could see possible strains between Jinyoung and CNU over what, and when, they wanted to record (with CNU pushing to try to get into the studio more, whereas Jinyoung starting to focus on producing for other groups and being involved in ‘Moonlight’ around this time); And of course with Baro, his natural progression of falling out of interest with the lifestyle would affect his relationships with likely all the members, to differing degrees. 

I’d like to think Baro still keeps in some contact with Sandeul-- I don’t think for a second that their relationship was nothing but a true friendship. I’ve talked about all the member’s strongest points before, with Sandeul’s being forgiveness, and this above all else is likely what would allow him to see past the secrecy of Baro’s final few months with the company and not let it get in the way of their friendship. As far as Baro with Gongchan or CNU, I’ve also said before I never personally felt that he was particularly that close with Gongchan, so I’d doubt if they keep in regular communication. As far as with CNU, I think time will be their biggest helper in moving past this awkward rift they probably feel. In an older post I made a comment that Bayoung possibly spoke to each other in the weeks leading up to contracts ending, but as time has passed, the more I feel that this was not likely either, with instead them both just announcing it for the first time to each other, and everyone else, during negotiations back in April.

Jinyoung’s current relationships are a bit trickier for me to try and guess... honestly, I could see him trying to stay in touch with them all, even if it’s just a text here or there, but I also could see the communication being severed, which, if true, would be unfortunate and I know very upsetting for us to accept. But the relationship between Jinyoung and the rest of the members wasn’t quite the same as Baro’s was. Jinyoung had his role as their leader, which always put him on slightly different grounds than the rest. Plus, as the main musical composer of their sound, it also followed that he was very important to the group’s central style and vibe. Which would be why, if he did not say anything to the others, it’d be all the more shocking and hurtful for the members to swallow. As someone who had always acted as the pillar of the group, it of course would be upsetting for them to comes to terms with, and accept. If I had to pick between the two, I’d hate to say it but I don’t think Jinyoung is in much contact with them at this point in time.

Also worth mentioning here is CNU’s newest comments he made during the BANA 5th fanmeet about the situation-- he made it clear he felt a lot of blame in not being able to keep all five together. While we know he was always one to shoulder the responsibility, being the eldest member and titular ‘mom’ of the group, I think it’s worth questioning if there’s a bit more to it. I think CNU knows he’s not really to blame in regards to the split... but, I think, maybe reading between the lines a bit, that it was possible that when Bayoung announced their disinterest in staying with WM back last April, CNU may have tried to personally talk with them, to get them to reconsider. Obviously, I think Bayoung’s decisions were already made and the extension as I had mentioned in posts before was likely just due to the release of their final Japanese album; But, CNU maybe had seen this extension as a true last chance to keep B1A4 together, and with Bayoung going their separate ways in June, saw this as a failure on his part.

I feel like at the time of the split, and when I was receiving the bulk of messages regarding the event and Bayoung, I was legitimately more optimistic of them all still being communicative and on decent terms. But as the months have passed with not so much as a mention of each other (admittedly, I don’t think WM would be mentioning Bayoung, but I also don’t think WM would prohibit A3 at this point from doing so, even if it was just liking or commenting on each other’s posts) my optimism has waned. I suppose it’s realistic after all; I’m sure none of us would be too happy if someone we’ve known for 10 years and shared such hardships and memories with decided to leave so suddenly. Gongchan’s recent instagram erasure (and unfollowing of everyone) could be something that hints of this.

To take it a step further in my thoughts, I’d also have to be honest and say time has not been as kind to Jinyoung for me as it has been to Baro. By this I mean, initially I felt equally supportive of them both, and respectful in their decisions and paths they chose. While I still respect their choices, and understand full well that they had every right to choose what they did, I suppose my support now, particularly for Jinyoung, has started to falter. I guess the reasons that I felt Baro may have left (i.e., sick of being an idol), seem to coincide with his choice to sign with a non-idol, acting company. Jinyoung’s reasons... don’t seem quite to fit as much. At this point, it seems that he just wanted the power and control that starting and heading a new company would bring. He wants to be able to create the music he wants, without having to necessarily confer with four other members and staff, plus the ability to choose what acting projects he wants, when he wants them. Is it a bit selfish? Yeah, if I’m being honest, I do feel that it is. There was a good possibility he could have haggled with WM enough to be given what he wanted instead of just leaving. But again, he fulfilled the duties he had under his contract with WM, so it is his every right to do what he wants, even if it comes off as transparent.

I think this ‘transparency’ is where my main issues with Jinyoung come in. With every post of his or LINK8′s, every video, every ‘#wewillnotstaysilent’, I just find myself reading right through it. Their motives seem to be very obvious, in wanting to make sure they make it known that they are pushing Jinyoung every single day as much as they can, e.g., giving him the fanmeet very soon after he officially left WM, making him a Season’s Greetings, all the acting gigs he’s been a part of in the few short months they started, the whole ‘J.GROUND’... It’s A LOT. Almost so much, that it can come across as a bit competitive towards WM and A3 in what they post and do. While I hope this isn’t the case as this would just eventually cause more of a divide, there has yet to be any reaching out between the two parties to placate any thoughts over this. 

One last point I’d like to make towards Jinyoung and LINK8 is that companies just don’t sprout up (excuse the BANA pun) overnight. Jinyoung didn’t decide to finally leave WM in June, and in the span of a week (or however short of time it was before it was announced he ‘joined’ LINK8) create this new company; he had to have been putting this in the works for months, if not the better part of a year prior to leaving WM. He had to find staff to work with, find a building, create a whole image/vibe he was going for, create and file the name and logo... and a lot more. Even giving him the benefit of the doubt that people approached him, he still would have been involved in getting LINK8 off the ground for quite some time. And, pairing this with the likely idea that he hadn’t told the other members? ...Imagine not only find out your leader has decided to leave the company, but has also been putting all his time and resources into creating this entirely new company behind the scenes instead of working to try and keep B1A4 together. I can only speak for myself but shit, I’d be hurt. Again, it is a striking contrast to Baro, who just cleanly left and joined an already established company (whom had likely just approached him around the time of contract negotiations).

It’s difficult still for me to quite wrap my feelings around Jinyoung in the months that have passed. I am hurt by his actions, and the possibility that some shady things may have went down behind the scenes. While this hasn’t (or may never be) confirmed, I think the fact that a good majority of us feel the same way, speaks for itself.

That being said, I do support him. I always will. Jinyoung will always be the goofy, dorky leader that I first stumbled upon seven and a half years ago. Nothing will change those soft feelings I hold for him. He did a great job as a leader, just as Baro did a great job as their rapper and mood-maker. I’ll always adore them, and wish them nothing but the best as they venture into their new life paths.

As for the remaining members that stayed to carry on B1A4′s legacy, my heart goes out to them. To CNU, Sandeul and Gongchan, I am so grateful that they continued on. It is heartbreaking in many ways to see that this was the outcome after seven years: two members leaving, with three staying to try and continue on, except another member suddenly getting pulled away via a draft sentence from the army. But it’s also important to note that this isn’t the end. Regardless of how long I still stay in kpop, I always know that I’ll be able to come back and see these three together. And of course, I’ll always be able to look back at the years that I did spend with them, together as five, as some of the fondest memories I have. I’ll always be so thankful and appreciative to them all for making me happy each and every day.

At this point, I’d like to thank anyone who took the time to read this. It’s been a difficult past couple months, with the recent news of CNU’s draft notice not making anything easier. But I’m proud we have such a tight unit here that we can turn to each other during hard times, and discuss our feelings so freely and openly. So as always, I encourage anyone to share their thoughts, and look forward to hearing from you all~ ♡

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