#drew this while listening to disco music

[cornkernelcorp]

Taking a break for a little bit because I burnt myself out- have random cookies dancing together

#drew this while listening to disco music #this was fun for no reason #lobster cookie #dark cacao cookie #butterbear cookie #alchemist cookie #cookie run kingdom #cookie run #crk #cookie run fanart #my art #crk fanart

[fl0ydzie]

Mona Lisa, you’re guaranteed to run this town

#I Drew this while listening to panic at the disco lol #I forgot how crazy their old music goes like wtf #izanami hoshimiya #danganronpa #danganronpa heartless deceit #drhd #fanganronpa #my art

[culturenosh]

Is Róisín Murphy transphobic?

On Wednesday, the Twitter feeds of internet-pilled LGBTQ+ people across the world lit up with a dismaying piece of information:

Róisín Murphy had gone full transphobe.

It's not clear yet if this is real - as of this writing, Murphy hasn't commented, and this kind of screenshot is pretty easily faked. Still, the screenshot was enough to send certain segments of social media into overdrive. Her comments and replies have been inundated with disappointed, angry fans and transphobes who are thrilled to have found a new public figure to latch onto.

For at least two decades, Murphy's musical output and public persona have been centered on campy performances of diva-dom. Her voice communicates arch, haughty reserve even at her most emotional, and her work fits squarely within a post-disco dance-pop tradition that has been pioneered by queer people; her aesthetics play with superficiality, glamour, and gender in ways that feel particularly attuned to queer culture. The video for her song "Movie Star" literally shows her strolling around town with an entourage of drag artists.

Aside from the dismay, this comment seemed like unbelievable self-sabotage. She's spent her entire career cultivating a fanbase of people who do not fit within gender norms, pulling inspiration from the work and lives of queer people. Where did this come from? How could she have missed the point so spectacularly?

Yet, while I'm on record as a fan of hers, I watched this all unfold and felt... nothing. A little disappointed, but mostly numb - and, somehow, totally unsurprised.

In 2020, much was made of the supposed "disco revival." Artists like Dua Lipa, Kylie Minogue, Jessie Ware, and - yes - Murphy released records that nominally played with the sound and imagery of disco. I'd argue that, as a whole, this moment was more indebted to house and techno and turn-of-the-decade electropop - and, above all, the postmodern distance that characterized French touch. It wasn't disco; it was "disco." Rather than reflecting the physical thrill of real disco, it drew on the flattened, 2D aesthetic that has come to characterize that musical movement in online spaces. It was about nostalgia, not euphoria; and nostalgia is not depth.

While Murphy's Róisín Machine was easily the best album of this mini-wave - the most considered, the most well-written, the most sonically playful and experimental - it was still, at its core, backwards-looking. It was less interested in updating its influences than it was in projecting Murphy into an imagined past where her arch posture could still scan as transgressive. To her credit, the record did this very successfully! But while she took inspiration from queer music of the past, she also gracefully elided the need to pay attention to queer people of the present. Her allyship only ever extended as far as an aesthetic feature in a music video. She is a pop musician, not an an activist. She is not that deep.

In the past, I've been an enthusiastic booster of the gay-pandering-popstar-industrial complex. (I am, after all, a longtime Charli XCX fan.) This mode of listening encourages a parasocial connection between me and my chosen diva - I imagine that, because of our shared aesthetic taste, we must also share the same values and experiences. But aesthetics are just surface level, and pop stars lie. Their job is to appear the way their audience desires them to appear - to anticipate and direct those desires - so that the audience will give them money.

I'm tired of diva worship and popstars and glamour and beauty. I'm tired of rationalizing a good feeling in my body - the bouncy, stomach-dropping thrill of a four-on-the-floor beat and a catchy hook - as moral rectitude. I'm tired of idolization, tired of the music industry, tired of these predictable outrage cycles where everyone must grandstand on the internet. I'm tired of finding out, over and over and over again, that some famous musician that I will never meet thinks that I should die. But I'm never surprised. Surprise requires faith, and I have no faith in popstars.

[burlveneer-music]

The Soft Pink Truth - Was It Ever Real? - 4-track EP from Drew Daniel of Matmos, including a cover of Coil’s “The Anal Staircase”

Was It Ever Real? Is a super juicy, super limited CD and cassette-only release from The Soft Pink Truth, otherwise known as Drew Daniel, one-half of the iconic experimental electronic duo Matmos. This limited mini-album (a harbinger of where The Soft Pink Truth is headed) is part of Thrill Jockey's 30th anniversary special limited releases. Four new songs kick off where Shall We Go On Sinning So That Grace May Increase? left us, hitting us with the aching vocals and throbbing beats of the Dark Room Mix of "Is It Going To Get Deeper Than This?", a space age, super sexy, nearly 8 min banger. The EP also features a cover of Coil’s immortal queer classic “The Anal Staircase”, reinterpreted here with slinky hi-hats, a horn section and psychedelic vocal treatments. The closing title track is a slow-burning post-soul instrumental number with twanging lead guitar from Acetone’s Mark Lightcap and harpsichord by Tom Boram. The entire mini-album moves the listener across the genres of disco, minimalism, ambient, and jazz, sliding onto and off of the dancefloor.

Crossfading from hedonism to reverie as it remembers past pleasures and imagines a future yet to come, the EP is also a noticeably social affair, with guest contributions from Matmos' M.C. Schmidt, Daniel Clarke, Id M Theft Able, Rose E. Kross, Tripp Trapp Trull, Koye Berry, and Andrew Bernstein (Horse Lords). The resulting music is not retro kitsch but pays homage to highly personal interpretations of disco such as Arthur Russell, Don Ray, Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band, and Mandré, or the jazz funk of Creed Taylor and CTI Records. The cassette and CD both feature artwork by Robert Beatty (Oneohtrix Point Never, The Weeknd, The Flaming Lips). Released in editions of 500 for the CD. Grab them while you can because these will not be around long!

#The Soft Pink Truth #baltimore #drew daniel #matmos #2022 #thrill jockey #electronic #house #covers #coil

[honeyblair]

i'm bored so here's a list of yuri on ice headcanons that i have concerning attachments to

yuuri studied music in college. doesn't matter if he majored in it or minored with a more "realistic" major but i refuse to believe that music hasn't played a part in his life (also there's a lot of evidence that he's a pianist.)

victor is an avid literature enjoyer. in the blu ray version of the show the scene with victor's home is changed to have literally wall to wall bookshelves filled to the brim. you cannot tell me that man hasn't read every single one backwards and forwards.

when phichit and yuuri met in detroit, phichit immediately attached himself to yuuri. at first, yuuri probably didn't understand phichit's extroverted insistence. but eventually phichit drew yuuri out of his shell and got him to actually socialize like a normal college student.

to add on to the last one, yuuri actually was pretty well known at his college but he himself thought he was invisible. little did he know, he was actually pretty popular but many people thought he was intimidating or scary to approach when, in reality, yuuri thought that of everyone else.

yuuri arrived in the united states already fluent in english. it is really REALLY common in the skating world that camps and coaches teach you english as a second language if you're competing internationally. also, it would make sense for the katsuki's to know at least a little english as they run a one-of-a-kind inn in a town popular with tourists.

yuuri never really was into anime as a child/teenager but was formally introduced when phichit forced him to watch a handful of shows after learning his friend had little anime knowledge. yuuri responded well and took interest to various soundtracks and anime composers.

phichit introduced yuuri to vocaloid and yuuri's life has not been the same since. phichit almost regrets it as yuuri became obsessed with the technology behind the vocaloid software but is glad he's obsessed with the music aspect rather than the anime girls.

yuuri has attended a hatsune miku concert. do i really need to elaborate.

yuuri hated wearing warm and super bright colors for the longest time. if it wasn't blue, purple or black, get that shit out of here. victor slowly opened him up to the idea of other colors though.

victor isn't fond of teenagers. i mean, i think we all know how close he was to snapping at yurio multiple times throughout the show. he's fake nice to their faces but is probably fucking tired of teenage angst.

victor's had some sort of major injury in his career. it's been alluded to in the show but i seriously wouldn't be surprised with his work ethic and constant training since he was a teenager.

yurio knew of yuuri before the sochi gpf. maybe he was even a fan of yuuri's.... but he'd rather be six feet under than admit it to his face.

victor and yuuri don't get married until a few years after their barcelona engagement. while i feel like victor would want to rush into marriage, yuuri would most defiantly push back and need more time to adjust to the new state of their relationship. they went from strangers to fiancés in the span of only 8 months after all.

yuuri and victor don't stay in russia for long. depending on in-universe laws and stuff, same sex marriage might not be legal in russia and, to be honest, i don't know if i could see yuuri or victor happy in russia for the rest of their lives.

yurio absolutely hates the faux parental roles yuuri and victor have adopted and pisses them off on purpose. he grows to appreciate it eventually and values their commitment to him even while he was an angsty dick of a teenager.

yurio has a handful of bands he listens to in secret and would murder anyone who found out. these bands consist of my chemical romance, panic at the disco and other emo classics.

victor eventually takes on more students in addition to yuuri and quickly realizes that he has no idea how to properly coach younger skaters because how are you supposed to train children when your only coaching experience is the unprofessional methods (literally just flirting) you used on the man you crushed on

#yuri on ice #yoi #god help me #yes most of these will be in my fic #and yes i have thought about yuuri being into vocaloid a lot #his favorite producer would be kikuo fight me

[onedesertrat]

How did u first start listening to the music u listen to now?

damn that's a bit of a story. I had a varaiety of music i was introduced to as a kid. my mom would play her disco and funk tunes and my dad would play his corridos and banda. i could never get into my dad's side of the music i realley loved the beat of funk and disco. i then later was often glued to MTV and had come across some rock n roll bands being played along side VH1. so i still had some mad love for disco and funk..the guitar really drew me in like love at first sight. after visiting an older cousin later. i was introduced to Rap and Hip Hop so i kind of i put my love for rock n roll a bit behind while i dove into this style of music. keeping my eyes glued to tv for music videos or always wanting to find either rock or hip hop radio stations. One day i came across a greenday CD i'll say to this day im not ashamed to admit it. some will think this is lame but i dont fucking care. The Album Dookie from Green Day is still one of my absolute favorite albums of all time. Whenever i listen to it i get instant nostalgia of when i started to get into punk. Not too fasty and not to slow but a right balance that give me a deeper push to buy a guitar and play in my own band some day. Anyways assuming i havent lost you yet here. i started asking about more punk bands and thats what i thought punk was. until i came across the ramones and found out they were an older band so i wondered how long this kind of music was already a thing. a few serches here and there and i discovered the 80's hardcore punk bands and the scene through documentaries i was introduced to more and more bands. black flag, bad brains, then later from blanks 77 and the casualites i came across street punk and i started to really love punk. I began to dive deeper and deeper into this rabbit hole. from there i had shit happen in my life that i couldnt get away from and punk music was my escape. to tell you the truth i've never wanted to be normal. the look and ideologies of punk started to reel me in and before i knew it i was making friends into the same and had also had things that we bonded over. then they introducted me to more bands and it just kept going and going. as the years went by i met people who were into punk but some specifically into a certain subgenres and id also go to shows and do some searches online and thats how i got into various sub genres of punk.

Currently i fuck heavy with D-Beat, Crust and Metal. I also kept my love for rap, hip hop and funk. irronically though i had recently started giving corridos and banda a shot....shit slaps hard not gonna lie....my dad has good music taste lol

#longest response to an ask on here i've ever had im sorry #asks #new record

[independentartistbuzz]

Indie 5-0 with Stephen Jaymes

The Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter and punk poet Stephen Jaymes can only be described as Charles Bukowski ditching whiskey for psychedelic mushrooms while feverishly ingesting Rumi poetry and Phil Ochs records.

His newest single, the upbeat folk rock and punk infused single "Tokyo," is a rousing call to make the journey to a magical place that two people create together, even in the face of certain climate destruction. In a fun twist, "Tokyo" has nothing to do with the city.

We got to speak with Stephen Jaymes about his song, his career, and more!

What was the inspiration for your new song "Tokyo"? How did the idea for the song come about?

I do a lot of Dr. Seuss type singing with nonsense words and rhymes. Exercising the unconscious. I practice that kind of flow a lot, and I try to make a voice note of the best parts before they evaporate. I was in that kind of flow in my garden, thinking about the tiny gardens we make where we try to hide from what’s happening to the Earth. We failed at the big communal garden. That humanist dream is dying. So we retreat to our little gardens. The guitar riff popped into my head first, then the first line materialized and the lyrics kind of spontaneously coalesced into a story about improbable human love in a private garden against an apocalyptic backdrop. Tokyo might have been a temp word in the lyrics, but the word couldn’t be cut. It was the mysterious beating heart of the song’s rhythm, and it didn’t work without it. The song is about an emotional place, not the literal city, but if you can name your place Terebithia or any other made-up name, why can’t you can give it an existing name? The more I worked on it, the more a story developed in my mind about a future survivor who’s only heard the name from a world that existed before, so he appropriates it for a new one. Later I realized I also owe a debt to Joey Ramone, who liked to use Tokyo as a nonsense rhyme filler.   

Folk, punk, and other genres seem to intersect in your music. How do you approach blending different musical styles, and what role do these combinations play in expressing your artistic voice?

I grew up listening to the first wave of punk and New Wave, while at the same time listening to 60s folk records from the family crate. I found a lot in common between the two musical worlds, especially in the defiant attitude toward power structures and the representation of disenfranchised voices. Woody Guthrie was a total punk at heart, and so was Phil Ochs (who actually inspired a number of seminal punk bands). I think most of the artistically successful genre blenders are operating unconsciously. You have to trust that the right inspiration for the next chord or lyric will come like a remembered bird call, and that it will be authentic to your style. For me those bird calls could be The Boomtown Rats or Gordon Lightfoot. The critical, magical thing is that only the songwriter knows the bird calls they’re using. Once you mix them, they sound like something new. I recently saw a clip of Dave Grohl talking about how his Nirvana drumming was influenced by disco fills. That makes a lot of sense to me. We didn’t hear them that way at the time, because they blended with punk to help put the radio shine on grunge, and grunge was a mix of styles that sounded new.

What drew you to write music for a living? How would you describe your style?

I once thought I was an actor at heart, later I thought I was a psychiatrist, still later a novelist. It was a roundabout path and I had to wait a long time to figure myself out. I was always writing songs, but I believed absolutely that it was an internal game, like crosswords or golf (neither of which hook me like they do lots of people). It didn’t occur to me to share them for a long time. When it’s something you can’t stop doing, you don’t really have a choice in the matter. I’m a vicious critic of my own work, which is a curse and a blessing. A curse was I probably toiled in solitude for too long. One of the blessings of being such a sharp self-critic was noticing that I could procrastinate with production and mixing indefinitely to escape the writing work. For awhile I was trying to do it all, like Prince or Jeff Lynne. That’s how I do it now, but I couldn’t at first. So years ago I decided I wouldn’t record anything more than one vocal and one instrument (usually guitar, sometimes piano), and that forced me to do the harder work. Only in the last years have I gone back to full arrangements and multi-instrument production. I finally feel like I can create the sounds I want to without getting lost in the orchestration or making the songwriting suffer - without losing the personal style that’s evident in the stripped down version of the song. 

If you could collaborate with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

Oh man. It’s hard to give one answer. I’ll cheat and give two. For alive people, I think it would have to be Questlove. His work with D’Angelo blows my mind. It does for my brain what ASMR does for others. He’s a skilled and wildly experienced collaborator. I don’t know what it would sound like, but I know it would be rare and it would challenge every reluctant part of me. As for my dead heroes, it would have to be Harry Nilsson, before he worked with Lennon and ruptured his vocal cords. The Nilsson who wrote Good Old Desk. I sing along to my favorite songs, and I think our voices blend nicely. I also have a fantasy that I could have kept him more on track. I definitely would have warned him of the harrowing disappointment awaiting anyone trying to reform gun laws in America, as he tried to do after Lennon was shot. Harry needed a medication that wasn’t alcohol and I would have liked to help him find it. 

Do you have messages that you like to get across in your music, if so please tell us about them?

I guess I do, but I don’t think about the message when I’m writing a song. I can’t see the forest for the trees when I’m writing, but if I find the heart of the song each time, the trees always make up a healthy forest when I come up and look from a distance. As to what that forest looks like, I’m not in touch with that when I’m writing a song. I’m never thinking about getting across a message. Each time it feels a lot more like, what message is this song getting across to me? How can I not obscure it? I look at my songs together and notice the trends after the fact. My songs talk about the predicament of having to know yourself in a world where really knowing yourself is very rare and uncomfortable. I think they promote the idea that truly loving another human being is the only way out of that predicament and the only way to find freedom. Chief Inspector, my first single of the summer, was very Jungian, an introspective mystery. Tokyo looks outward, inviting the listener to dance and find love even when everything is disintegrating. My next single, Virus Vaccine, is an exploration of how that dance can still go wrong even with the best intentions. Maybe the overall message is keep your eyes open - you are witnessing something as terrifying as the face of God and it’s occurring in your own lifetime. You have to ask why. Turning away is not an option.

#music #indie #interview #folk rock #punkpoet #Stephen Jaymes

[cosettepontmercys]

Hi! Ya I totally agree that festivals are probably exhausting especially if you went to all days. I've always kinda wanted to go to one though and I like that there are a lot of different artists. I've always wanted to go to Outsidelands or maybe Coachella one day just to see what it's like and for the experience so it's still cool that you got to go! I'd be worried about the weather too.

So music for me is a lot easier than watching TV shows. I try to and basically listen to everything cuz I like all genres and always listen to new music. I am pretty familiar with most artists. If you recommend some artists you like, I will definitely check them out and add it to my long list haha. So I like everything but my favorite artists are the ones who I've loved for a long time and sometimes kinda from the beginning of their career. My top two are Taylor and Twenty One Pilots though..for their music, and being in the fandom, which are the only two that are like that where I'm obsessed and know a lot about them. Taylors my favorite and they are my sister's favorite. Then Paramore and a Canadian artist called Lights are two more I've been a fan of since like 2009. Then other alternative or emo bands like MCR, Panic at the Disco and Fall Out Boy..but it's not really my everyday music anymore. My favorite kind of music is alternative. I'm also a big fan of The Smiths and The Cure's music and the guitar in their music and their lyrics. Best Coast and Soccer Mommy are two other artists where I love pretty much every single song from them and some of my favorite artists ever now..and I was also kind of a fan from the beginning. The lead singer of Best Coast actually just put out her own solo album last week so that's something I've been playing recently. I also love all of Hayley Williams solo music and Best Coast and Soccer Mommy are kinda similar to Paramores music if that helps. I also like Beabadoobee who opened for Taylor too. I'm also a fan of pop music..and any like singer songwriter girl I will pretty much check out. I loved Carly Rae's last albums and Tori Kelly just put out an EP. I've been a fan of Kelly Clarkson for a long time too and her last album was so good. I'm also a fan of anyone from 1D. I like Sabrina, Gracie, Maisie, and anyone who Taylor recommends usually, like Haim and Phoebe too. I'm excited for Olivia Rodrigo and Holly Humberstone's albums. I also love Broadway and musicals a lot lol. Also Jeremy Jordan is in a band now called Age of Madness and I liked every song from the EP. The only genre I don't really care for is EDM Rap or country..but I still enjoy girl country artists too.

The Barbie house recreated on stage would be so amazing!!! That's so cool that you talked about Smash with someone while you were there haha. I loved the music on the show and omg I forgot about the Bombshell musical. The only thing I kinda knew about the Some Like it Hot musical besides the Tony wins and the plot from the movie was apparently they reused the song Lets Be Bad in the show.

.I think Newsies would be such a cool show to watch live and I like all of the casts too anyway. I missed Waitress on tour but I would have wanted to see that one too. It's another show where all of the cast is good but each performer makes the character a little different. I liked Jessie, Sara, Katharine McPhee and Nicolette too from clips I saw. Drew Gehling and Jeremy were the best Pommaters to me. I wonder who was the cast for the proshot and when it was coming out.

The Notebook musical sounds interesting though with the sets and stuff. Hopefully they can improve it when it does come to Broadway. Movie adaptations are always kinda tricky or cash grabby too, and then it's hard to put songs in or they end up forgettable..or they change it a bit from the original movie .Something like The Bands Visit, Legally Blonde, Waitress, and Beetlejuice and Moulin Rouge are ones I thought worked pretty well. Also did you hear about or what are your thoughts on the new Gatsby musical? It's starring Jeremy Jordan and Eva Noblezada!!!

hellooooo friend! i was telling everyone i know that i'll never do another music festival again, but then my best friend was like "wait but i really want to go to one someday" so i guess i am going to at least one more music festival in my lifetime. the things we do for the people we love! i think outside lands might be chiller than lolla, so i'm thinking i might do that with her at some point depending on the lineup? the lineup this year looks really good; i was looking at it a while ago before landing on lolla — there's a bit of overlap with lolla artists (including my girl holly!!) but there's also conan gray, who i'd love to see live, and inhaler (who i saw live earlier this year), and samia (who i wish i'd gotten to see earlier this year, but things just didn't quite work out). music is also easier for me than tv shows! especially since i can listen to them while i work! i like beabadoobee — she was fun to see live at lolla! she's actually coming to seattle in a few days i think, but i decided to pass on her concert just because i've spent too much money lately (especially on live music). i'm so so excited for holly humberstone, i feel like i've been waiting on her debut for ages. some other people i've been listening to lately are: griff, grace enger (who is opening for maisie on her us tour; her album just came out yesterday), cate canning, gretta ray (who has an album out next week), claire rosinkranz (who opened for maisie's aftershow), the japanese house, renee rapp, charli xcx, haim, muna, lily kincade, clairo, isabel pless, del water gap, lizzy mcalpine, etc.! i had no idea that jeremy jordan is in a band now; i'll have to go look it up later! ooh i didn't realize that! i haven't kept up with SLIH at all but i've had friends go and say it was amazing, and the choreo was beautifully done! i just have not really been paying attention to broadway lately </3 i loveeee drew gehling's pomatter; i know some people think he got stale near the end but i was always charmed by him haha. i do have a soft spot for drew though because he was in roman holiday! i've seen links for the proshot floating around but i've never seen it; i really should sit down and watch it some day. ooh yes! all the ones you listed were great movie → musical adaptations, and i'd also add once, sing street, and amelie to list (among others)! i think it's just like ... the newer/more recent ones feel very ... underdone/cashgrabby/like they're just churning out musicals to have them if that makes sense? i am very intrigued about the gatsby musical, especially since there's two — it'll be a very "wild party" situation again i think! i'm very curious to see how jeremy jordan and eva noblezada play off each other (esp. since he's quite a bit older than her). i actually really love gatsby; my english teacher was phenomenal the year we read gatsby and made me really appreciate analyzing text/annotating/etc. more! i cannot waittttt to see the costumes and set (i'm a very visual person!) what about you? what do you think of it?

#post: answered #i will get to your other ask later today !! running late for work 🤍

[audiofuzz]

Upbeat Disco/Dance | Alex Anwandter - “Precipicio”

Alex Anwandter is mastering the art of dance/disco and shines through with his new intricately layered disco-influenced, synth masterpiece “Precipicio”. We dare you to sit still and listen to this—-it’s impossible, we tried! Check out the video and the full press release below: Alex Anwandter today released his irresistibly danceable, disco-influenced new single “Precipicio,” the latest from his forthcoming new album, El diablo en el cuerpo, due out on May 26th. The track arrives with a Will Colacito-directed video filmed at Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn's iconic nightclub Sugar Hill, which sees the Chilean artist/producer showcasing his best moves alongside choreographed dancers cast as restaurant staff. The song’s title translates to “Precipice,” and Alex explains: "It’s a song about how when a relationship is crumbling, it can mirror a chaotic, self-destructing world. And if the world is ending, you might as well dance." Self-recorded and produced over recent years since his move to New York City, El diablo en el cuerpo (The devil in the body) is Anwandter’s most vibrant work to date–a 16-track neon dance epic, featuring a large ensemble of live musicians, orchestral arrangements, and collaborations with Buscabulla, Julieta Venegas, Javiera Mena, and Christina Rosenvinge. His fifth album presents a wildly extravagant form of dance music built on larger-than-life emotion: all-consuming desire, burning infatuation, and heartbreak so exquisitely brutal it turns transcendent. He matches that unrestrained feeling with his elegant yet adventurous sense of composition—once again tapping into the sophisticated musicality that’s earned him three Latin Grammy Award nominations, including Best Alternative Album for his previous full-length (2018’s critically acclaimed Latinoamericana). In the tradition of pop iconoclasts like Prince, Anwandter hits every pleasure center while exploring infinitely complex matters of the heart and mind and soul—ultimately turning the album into a dazzling meditation on queer life and love. Anwandter drew from his voluminous musical vocabulary across the album–which first took shape in the early days of lockdown–mining inspiration from such eclectic sources as proto-synth-pop, the avant-garde disco of Arthur Russell, Marvin Gaye’s 1976 quiet-storm classic I Want You, Latin ballads, Brazilian pop, and post-romantic classical music. In addition to the featured collaborators, Anwandter also shaped the album’s maximalist sound with the help of a Buenos Aires-based orchestra and an extensive lineup of female backing vocalists. “Precipicio” follows album singles “Qué piensas hacer sin mi amor?” (“What are you going to do without my love?”), and “Maricoteca,” which earned praise and support from Rolling Stone, NPR Music (Alt.Latino playlist), Billboard, Remezcla, and more. Read the full article

#Alexandwandter #dancemusic #disco #edm #electronicdancemusic #precipicio #synthpop

[xmystophalesx]

Best New Heavy Metal Releases Week of March 10th, 2023

God damnit, I LOVE Heavy Metal music. You would think with just the sheer amount of music I listen to in any given week, it would lead to burnout at some point. I will admit there are stretches through my overall weekly playlist that can get discouraging. This mostly happens when i get a stretch of 4-5 bad albums in a row. Horrid vocals (If you are going to sing clean, you better be able to actually sing), Piss poor production (in the modern age there is no excuse for having a shitty sounding album), ultra generic songwriting (I’m looking at you Metalcore genre! Vary it up a bit for fuck’s sake!). On these albums, I usually bail pretty quick. If the first two tracks are terrible, I will jump around to a couple more and then hit the delete button. Like I said, 4-5 of those in a row can be discouraging, but then you come across a new band that blows you away and BOOM! You get a strong case of the stank face (Thanks Benjamin Yaker for enlightening me on this term…lol) and you remember why you absolutely LOVE this music. This week definitely had some stank face worthy albums. Lets get to those highlights!

Marauder-Metal Constructions (Heavy/Power/Traditional)**

It is no secret that one of the best Heavy Metal scenes in the world is in Greece. Not exactly sure why but I know whenever I come across a band hailing from Greece, I always look forward to it as it is rarely disappointing. Marauder is no exception. Killer blend of Traditional Metal mixed with some Power Metal tempos and tinges of Thrash Metal aggression here and there. I hear some Iced Earth influences here without the band actually sounding like Iced Earth, if that makes any sense. This is a very easy album to recommend to any fan of Metal.

Evil X-Hell Reigns Down (Heavy)**(jan 11)

One outstanding Traditional Metal album deserves another. Not sure how I missed this in the beginning of January as weak as the beginning of the year was. If you are a fan of that 80s metal sound, this album will definitely scratch that itch. Riffs for days that make it impossible NOT to bang your head as you listen. I get a strong Accept influence out of this one and that will always be a great thing in my book.

Brundarkh-Those Born of Fire & Shadow (Symphonic/Melodic Death/Black)**

I’m a big fan of Dimmu Borgir and the way they blend Symphonic elements into their Black Metal. Brundarkh does something very similar while also adding some Melodic Death Metal influences as well. This album just sounds heavy as fuck, while at the same time having moments that come across as feeling uplifting at the same time. The dichotomy of this is what really drew me into this album. Even if Dimmu is not your thing, give this one a chance, it may surprise you.

Nanowar of Steel-Dislike to False Metal (Heavy Power/Hard Rock)**

I’m not really one for parody music but I will make exceptions if it is done exceedingly well and that is the case with Nanowar of Steel. This is just a fun album to listen to. Will it impact your life and one you will remember when you are in an assisted living facility and you start singing “Disco Metal” inbetween your pudding cups? Probably not, but it IS a damn fun album. I mention the track “Disco Metal” as I think this shows the talent level of this band. Yes, they are making a joke but I would contend this would be a legitimate hit song in dance clubs. Listen to the track and tell me i’m wrong…lol

Tribe of Pazuzu-Blasphemous Prophecies (Death/Black)**

Earlier I mentioned the term “stank face”. It was regarding this album. This is the face you make when those filthy riffs and blazing leads feel like they are going to melt your face with just how damn good they are. This album is only 29 minutes in length but it feels like they pack 3 albums’ worth of riffs into this thing. Add to all of this some of the best drumming I have heard on an album so far this year and you have one of the very best Blackened Death Metal albums I have ever heard. Looking them up on the Metal Pages for some background info and the reason this is so damn good becomes instantly clear. Guitars courtesy of John McEntee (Incantation) and the insane drum work courtesy of Flo Mounier (Cryptopsy). It really doesn’t get better than this in this genre.

That will do it for another week of killer Metal music that reaffirms your love of heavy music. To think my mom thought this was a phase I was going through 43 years ago….lol Listen to music and fill your soul with happiness. Until next week and, as always,

BANG THY HEAD!!!

All worthy of a listen if you like the genre

*= standout in that genre

**=best of the week regardless of genre

Best of the Week

Tribe of Pazuzu-Blasphemous Prophecies (Death/Black)**

Seventh Crystal-Wonderland (Hard Rock)*?

Brundarkh-Those Born of Fire & Shadow (Symphonic/Melodic Death/Black)**

Evil X-Hell Reigns Down (Heavy)**(jan 11)

Frozen Crown-Call of the North (Power)**

Nanowar of Steel-Dislike to False Metal (Heavy Power/Hard Rock)**

Marauder-Metal Constructions (Heavy/Power/Traditional)**

Asphagor-Pyrogenesis (Black)**

Sacrificium-Oblivion (Death/Melodic)**

Standouts in their Genre

Altar of I-Human Resources (Melodic Death)*

Echoes of Bronze-Ilium (Power/Progressive)*

Periphery-V:Djent is not a Genre (Progressive/Djent)*

Monolyth-We’ve Caught the Sun (Heavy/Thrash)*

Enshrined-The Grand Failure (Thrash/Death)*

Reboot the System-The Fall (Melodic Death/Thrash)*

Trollgrad-Tales of Gold Fever (Folk/Viking)*

Depraved Murder-Unethical Terrestrial Collapse (Brutal Death)*

Alwaid-Twelve Daemons (Symphonic/Heavy)*

Damage SFP-Punished By The System (Thrash)*

Weight of Emptiness-Withered Paradogma (Melodic Doom/Death)*

Nepenthes-Grand Guignol (Doom)*

Sonambula-Estasis Interrumpida (Death)*

Exelerate-Exelerate (Thrash)*

Ice Age-Waves of Loss and Power (Progressive)*

Dreamlore-Strength Beyond Death (Death)*

Triumpher-Storming the Walls (Progressive Heavy/Power)*

The Fallen Prophets-Perpetual Damnation (Melodic Death)*

Noxium Ferus-Blasphemicon (Death/Black)*

Goat Explosion-Threatening Skies ((Heavy/Doom)*

Gorod-The Orb (Technical Death/Progressive)*

Intrepid Bloom-Missing Link (Hard Rock)*

Prediction-Unholy Flame (Black/Thrash)*

Worth A Listen

Qwalen-Syva Hiljaisuus (Black)

Incatombe-Ytra (Brutal Death)

Virtusira-We Will Writhe (Progressive Death)

Nomad-The Mountain (Progressive Death)

I’ll Omen-March of Decay (Thrash/Speed/Raw)

Whipworm-Gozer (Death/Thrash)

Burden of Ymir-Heorot (Black/Folk)

Pick of the week goes to Tribe of Pazuzu with 5 bulldogs judging your stank face out of 5.

#black metal #metal #music #classic rock #folk #hard rock #hardcore music #rock #death metal #punk #melodic death metal #heavy metal #heavymusic #heavyrock #traditional metal #melodic black metal #youtube #extreme metal #melodic death #melodic metal

[c-mccormick-arts246-03]

Music has the ability to create a deep connection with the human spirit. To create a connection with a stranger in a way that no relationship has managed to replicate. While the music sounds appealing to the listener, the story in the song touches the human soul and transports the listener to another place. Perhaps a distant memory or an imaginative scene.

My work for Project 1 is an examination of how song lyrics manage to inspire and shape the imagination, and the creative thought process that lies behind them.

I first wrote down ideas to form two separate word maps in my sketchbook. The first concept drew inspiration from the song "Mirrorball" by Taylor Swift. The phrase "mirrorball, show every version of yourself" was influenced by the original lyrics "I'm a mirrorball, I'll show you every version of yourself tonight." These lyrics compared the different sides and personalities of a human being to the infinite surfaces of a mirrorball (or disco ball), in which an individual feels the constant need to showcase their various personalities in an attempt to "fit in" or to please the other person. This idea was further developed using Adobe Photoshop, in which I blended the typeface into the background to give the words the appearance of being reflected off the disco ball. The figures inside were meant to represent the various sides of a human being, such as being energetic and excited, or calm and happy. The idea was critiqued and revised to correct the visibility of the typeface and to allow the original idea to be translated more clearly.

The second concept followed a similar process to the first concept by drawing inspiration from the song "Vincent" by Don McLean. The phrase "empty halls of frameless, nameless walls" was inspired by the lyrics "Portraits hung in empty halls. Frameless heads on nameless walls." These lyrics not only display a satisfying rhythmic pattern but also allow the audience to experience visual imagery. By listening to the song many times, I imagined an empty warehouse in which a person decided to paint a phrase to make the space feel less empty. Similar to the first concept, the idea was critiqued and further developed using photoshop.

[opal-owl-flight]

Experimented with the way I drew Magolor…while listening to a lot of disco. I like to think that he dances or sings along similar music while he works sometimes and its both endearing and funny at the same time ISJSJ

The amount of times someone walked in on him while singing at the top of his lungs have been too many to count

#kirby #kirby fanart #magolor #I AM ON FIRE WITH THE CONTENT TODAY #doodles

[passionate-reply]

This week on Great Albums: one of my favourite “hidden gems” of the mid-1980s, Blancmange’s *Mange Tout* is about as extra and in-your-face as it gets, full of dense arrangements, gender-bending bombast, and musical instruments from Southern Asia.

Welcome to Passionate Reply, and welcome to Great Albums! This time around, I’ll be taking a look at one of my favourite hidden gems from the mid-1980s, the sophomore LP of Blancmange, entitled Mange Tout.

Despite their relative obscurity today, particularly in comparison to many of their contemporaries, Blancmange weren’t total strangers to the pop charts. Their first full-length LP, 1982’s Happy Families, would yield the biggest hit of their career: “Living on the Ceiling,” which peaked at #7.

Music: “Living on the Ceiling”

While it never got to be a chart-topper, “Living on the Ceiling” is still an unforgettable track in its own ways. Perhaps its most distinctive feature is its use of the traditional Indian instruments, the sitar and tabla. While 80s synth-pop is certainly full of Orientalism, most of the references you’ll find are pointing to the Far East, and the perceived aesthetic sophistication and techno-utopian futurism of China and Japan. Aside from certain works of Bill Nelson, Blancmange were pretty much the only ones engaging with South Asian musical themes. Blancmange’s instrumentalist, Stephen Luscombe, grew up in London’s Southall neighbourhood, which had a high population of immigrants from Southern Asia, which led him to a lifelong interest in Indian music. Combined with electronics, it makes for a totally unique sound, which ends up sounding better in practice than it might in theory.

While any time White European musicians turn to alternative cultures as artistic tools, there’s a valid cause for some degree of criticism and concern, there’s also an artsy, left-field un-hipness about Blancmange, who seemingly drew from Indian music not only alone, but purely for sonic enjoyment. Unlike the exotic fantasies spun by groups like Japan, none of Blancmange’s songs seem propelled by any specific idea or ideology about India, but rather seem to tackle common pop themes of love and heartbreak against a seemingly *non sequitur* musical backdrop. While we, as listeners, might have strong associations with particular sounds, this is ultimately more cultural than innate, and there’s really no reason why a composition with Indian instruments must revolve around some theme of “Indian-ness”; it isn’t like people in India don’t also fall in love. However you feel about these influences, the role of Indian instruments is only increased on Mange Tout, where they appear on multiple tracks, including the album’s most successful single, “Don’t Tel Me.”

Music: “Don’t Tell Me”

On Mange Tout tracks like “Don’t Tell Me,” not only do the instruments return, but so do the session musicians who had performed on “Living on the Ceiling”: Deepak Khazanchi, on sitar, and Pandit Dinesh, on the percussion instruments tabla and madal. “Don’t Tell Me” is a track with a lot of pop appeal, lightweight and singable, which makes it a bit surprising that it was actually the final single released from the album. It certainly impresses me that Blancmange managed to create such bubbly and finely tuned pop, given that neither of their core members came from any formal or technical background: Luscombe had had a history in avant-garde music ensembles, and vocalist Neil Arthur became interested in music via the DIY culture of punk. Their first-ever release, the 1980 EP Irene & Mavis, sounds more like Throbbing Gristle than Culture Club, but they somehow managed to arrive at something quite sweet and palatable in the end. That said, it’s also possible for sweet to eventually become too sweet--and this line is provoked on the album’s divisive second single, “That’s Love, That It Is.”

Music: “That’s Love, That It Is”

In contrast to the lighter “Don’t Tell Me,” “That’s Love, That It Is” is utterly bombastic, with a vicious intensity. The instrumentation and production style is dense to the point of being borderline overwhelming. By this point in his life, Stephen Luscombe had recently discovered that he was gay, and his time spent in nightclubs that catered to the gay community provided another pillar of Blancmange’s signature sound: the influence of the queer disco tradition, which is almost certainly the source of this tightly-packed instrumental arrangement style. Blancmange never seem to be mentioned in the same breath as other stars of queer synth-pop like Bronski Beat, Soft Cell, and the Pet Shop Boys, presumably due to the combination of their overall obscurity and the fact that Luscombe was never the face of their band, but I see no reason not to include them in the same pantheon of camp. Speaking of queerness, it’s also worth noting how Blancmange played with gender, particularly on their cover of “The Day Before You Came.”

Music: “The Day Before You Came”

A solid eight years before Erasure’s iconic Abba-Esque, Blancmange offered their own interpretation of an ABBA classic with “The Day Before You Came.” In their hands, it’s a languid dirge, and a meditation on quotidian miseries for which the titular event seems to offer little respite. The unchanged lyrics, portraying the narrator working in an office and watching soap operas at night, are subtly feminine-coded, but the deep and unmistakably masculine voice of vocalist Neil Arthur seems to muddle those connotations. While it is a cover, I’m tempted to sort it into the same tradition as Soft Cell’s “Bedsitter” and the Pet Shop Boys’ “Left To My Own Devices,” as a work which musically elevates the everyday life of a campily self-obsessed character to the sort of melodrama the narrator perceives it to have.

I’ve spent a lot of time praising the instrumental side of their music so far, but it’s also true that Blancmange wouldn’t be Blancmange without Arthur’s contributions. The presence of his rough and untrained voice, with the added gruffness of a Northern accent, draws a line between these tracks and a typical pop production, and he sells us quite successfully on the gloomy, ominous feeling of tracks like “The Day Before You Came” and the album’s lead single, “Blind Vision.”

Music: “Blind Vision”

On the cover of Mange Tout, we find an assortment of seemingly unrelated items, which form a sort of graphic wunderkammer against a pale beige backdrop. Perhaps the best theme that could be assigned to them is that of travel--we see several means of transportation, such as a boat, a motorbike, and an airplane flying above a map, as well as items that can be taken as symbols of exotic locales, such as a North American cactus, and an elephant and Zulu nguni shield from Africa. Only the harp is clearly evocative of music itself--and this instrument won’t even be found on the album! The album’s title, “Mange Tout,” suggests that we are getting “full” Blancmange, or “all of” Blancmange. Taken together, the cover and title seem to imply that this album is stuffed to the brim, and contains a whole world of musical ideas. I would definitely agree that that’s a major motif of the album: it’s audacious, explosive, and free-wheeling. It very much feels like an album that was put together on the back of a first initial success, with a pumped-up budget and bold creative vision, and hence pulls no punches. Perhaps the most compelling feature of Mange Tout, and the primary reason I recommend this album so highly, is its unbridled enthusiasm for what it’s doing. Even in its ostensibly experimental moments, Mange Tout feels not like an album that is “trying” something, but rather one that boldly and assuredly proclaims the things it does, and embraces a kind of “more is more” maximalism.

In hindsight, it’s easy to see Mange Tout as the creative as well as commercial peak of Blancmange’s career. Their follow-up release, 1985’s Believe You Me, is far from the worst album I’ve ever heard, but it definitely doesn’t feel quite the same as the “classic” Blancmange works, adopting a more middle-of-the-road, radio-friendly synth-pop direction, with less of the South Asian influences and experimentation that really set them apart in the saturated synth-pop landscape. While not a work devoid of merit, Believe You Me was a relative commercial dud, and the duo would split soon after, chiefly citing personal and creative differences--though they did have a brief reunion in the early 2010s.

Music: “Lose Your Love”

My favourite track on Mange Tout is “All Things Are Nice,” which, alongside the neo-doo-wop “See the Train,” would be classed as one of the more experimental tracks on the album. Full of tension, “All Things Are Nice” alternates between eerily whispering vocals from Arthur, and a variety of samples from other media--which was still a relatively cutting-edge technique for the time. “All Things Are Nice” is almost certainly the most conceptual track on the album: as samples discuss world war, and Arthur whispers that “we can’t keep up with it,” the song is probably to be interpreted as a commentary on the runaway nature of technology and so-called “progress” in the modern age. The titular assertion that “all things are nice” seems to be ironic--or perhaps it embodies a sheer love of chaos and unpredictability, for their own sake, which would certainly fit the album’s mood. It also feels like it might be a sort of defense of the album itself: like I said, *Mange Tout* is serving us “all of Blancmange,” and isn’t it fun to get to have all of something? That’s everything for today--as always, thanks for listening!

Music: “All Things Are Nice”

#music #great albums #blancmange

[prettyoddfever]

Panic! at the Disco’s 2006 summer tour costumes

"The Beatles paid attention to style. So did Queen. As an artist, you want the feeling that people get from your music to carry over, to be all-inclusive.” – Ryan Ross to Vogue

I cannot even begin to express how much I adore the summer tour stage outfits… this post is going to get long because there is SO MUCH TO APPRECIATE here :)

I was really into costume & set design for filmmaking in high school and basically idolized the team who created P!ATD’s summer tour costumes (and even tried to create my own versions of an outfit that Brendon wore). Jake Oliver was the leader of the team and he recently agreed to chat with me about what he remembered. Obviously I would love to know every type of fabric used, where the buttons were sourced, and the most ridiculous details… so I had to restrain myself and stick to some basics so I didn’t take up too much of his time.

A lot of stuff we talked about was covered in articles from 2006 or the MTV News clip, so it’s nothing new. But I’m still going to go over the parts I find most interesting because these outfits were legit art.

Brendon mentioned in April that they were getting clothes made for the US headlining tour that would probably be insanely flamboyant. The team who was creating those outfits bailed in May, so the band had to quickly start over elsewhere before the tour started in early June. The band’s management ended up grabbing 5 students from the Fashion Institute of Technology in NY. Jake Oliver explained how someone from the band’s label walked into his school’s work room and approached a few students. He said “it was literally the last week of the semester and the school allowed us to continue to use the work rooms because they were proud of the opportunity.”

The four main band members were the only ones who the design team worked on. The previous designers had been making something for Brent, so Jon arrived at the perfect time.

Jake was in charge of the overall styling and then the five students were split into specialty focuses for the actual production. Willie Marshall was a vest specialist, Jake Oliver made the shirts, Emiliano Santillan & Hyunwoo Shin created the jackets, and Aram Bashian worked on the pants. The students were given less than a week to come up with everything (like the sketches, concept, and mock-ups). Then they had about 2 weeks to order the materials & create the costumes. The team flew to Vegas twice for fittings – they would fly in the morning and head back that same night.

The team played the band’s music for inspiration while they were working. Jake wasn’t sure if he had heard of Panic! at the Disco before this project, but said his family and friends were aware of the band. He was more into listening to Broadway musicals (and said “hence my styling choices”). I asked him if there was an intentional Baroque element to the costumes and he said very much so… and also Moulin Rouge was “a constant reference.” An old MTV article also mentioned some English Dandy inspiration, which I know the band had also cited for their previous tour in April.

The band members wanted two full looks each so they could change during intermission. Roger from Lucent Dossier took this picture of the first time the guys tried on their outfits at the fitting at a hotel in Vegas. These costumes are the original ones for the first half of the show. There are 12 custom pieces in the picture (Ryan’s maroon button-up shirt wasn’t one):

Side note: looking back now, this feels like some kind of Fever-era Pretty. Odd. photoshoot with all of the florals and avocado, plum, and warm browns. Speaking of the Pretty. Odd. era – I was originally confused whether or not Anthony Franco played some role in the design for the summer 2006 costumes because of various things he’s said over the years… but I guess he just drew inspiration from some summer looks for the designs he did with the band starting in late 2006 (he still works with Brendon btw).

Anyways, I’ll break down the outfits that each guy wore before the intermission:

RYAN

Ryan wore every single thing the team designed for him. His first look had a maroon button-up shirt layered under a really cool vest with an asymmetrical, single-button floral jacket over that. The fabric for this jacket wasn’t already in production – it was a pattern Ryan requested and the team made specially for him. Ryan had been wearing striped pants onstage since the first tour, so he also requested that basic detail. Jake said that Ryan was the most enthusiastic about the custom pieces and had the most requests (although Brendon had quite a few too). Here’s a better look at the vest:

There were a pair of fingerless gloves that had a matching flower on them as well. And then one of Ryan’s pairs of pants had a design that matched his vest. Jake said those pants were the team’s variation on Look 65 in John Galliano’s Fall 2006 Menswear collection (on the right):

Ryan mixed the pieces around for his first outfit... sometimes he wore his other pants with the vest & jacket. Once in a while he ditched the vest, but other times the jacket was buttoned closed so you couldn’t see it.

BRENDON

The fabric pattern for Brendon’s first jacket was also specially made for him and he requested that the sleeves be pointed. I really loved the fabric that lined this jacket! The custom shirt that went under the white jacket is on the right:

The green pants that are in the group fitting picture didn’t make it into the rotation for the summer tour… Brendon usually wore some dark brown ones with this jacket & shirt.

SPENCER

The fabric pattern for the floral vest that Spencer’s wearing in the group fitting was also specially made. He had a really cool first outfit, but unfortunately it wasn’t the best design for a drummer. The vest didn’t give him a good enough range of motion, so he had to abandon that part and just wear the shirt that was underneath the vest. Spencer’s brown sailor-ish pants were pretty neat, though! Here’s his first outfit:

JON

Jon had the least amount of requests lol. Jake said that while the other 3 guys “didn’t mind a three-piece moment,” Jon only asked that he be “comfortable.” He did wear the custom floral shirt onstage a lot, but he didn’t use the plum pants from the fitting photo.

Sometimes Jon skipped the floral shirt and just wore his own stuff instead. Ok, I’m actually going to just summarize Jon’s second outfit change here too because he was seriously all over the map with a mix of his own shirts... the blue one seemed a bit more common but there really isn’t a specific look to pinpoint (and this didn’t happen because Jon joined too late or something. He had arrived in time & received the same treatment from the design team).

The other 3 guys stuck to their general costumes for the whole tour. Maybe Jon had different priorities because he often went with his own comfortable, simpler clothes instead of wearing his custom outfits as though they were a uniform. The only thing that the design team made in these pictures from the summer tour is the vest:

Jon did wear this custom black frilly shirt onstage a few times too, though:

(There were several photoshoots this summer where the band mixed their stage costumes with items they’d previously been wearing, so Spencer’s outfit and Ryan’s jacket in that picture above weren’t made by the design team).

THE OUTFITS AFTER INTERMISSION

The pieces for the second half were more directly inspired by Moulin Rouge and had a gold, red, off-white, & black theme. I also personally thought there was a bit of a New Romantic vibe going on, especially after Lucent Dossier introduced the guys to makeup (that’s why I thought it was great when Amanda Palmer said Ryan told her he’d never heard of Adam Ant... there’s more commentary in this post about how the design teams that worked with P!ATD knew what they were referencing even if the band was unaware).

SPENCER

Spencer must have liked this outfit because he even continued wearing it in Europe in August. Here are some different angles from the summer tour:

Jake Oliver said that a lot of work on the costumes was done by hand. The ruffles on all of the shirts he made were hand frayed. And speaking of ruffles on shirts… 

BRENDON

I cannot explain how much I adore this whole look. The shirt snapped open and there were over 1,000 ruffles on it. He only wore this shirt for 2 months in summer 2006 (for the summer tour + Lollapalooza), but its presence in one of the main summer photoshoots probably helped the shirt be even more recognizable & iconic. I think Brendon had some specific requests for the sleeves on the amazing black jacket as well. And then he often wore suspenders with this outfit. 

When I asked Jake which piece that he created was his favorite, he said:

 “I particularly love Brendon’s main shirt – mostly because I did my senior graduating looks with the same ruffles and my professor said men would never wear such a style.”

RYAN

Jake made the shirt with ruffles that Ryan wore under his rose vest. There were also some fingerless gloves with little flowers on them that Ryan sometimes wore this summer (they’re in that photoshoot picture I used for Jon’s ruffly black shirt). Ryan incorporated those pieces into a few outfits in the future was well (like August in Europe).

Fans came up with the “rose vest” name and it stuck... so that’s not what the designers were necessarily going for, but I’m still going to call it that. Jake did the fabric and styling for the rose vest and then it was made by Willie Marshall. There were 20 flowers and twelve yards of chain draped around the vest. Ryan seemed to really like what they created for him! (Let me be more clear: Ryan basically just agreed to wear what the design team invented. He did not come up with the idea of styling himself in this). 

Ryan told Rolling Stone that the vest’s sash belt was “kind of like a mix between a bullfighter and a pirate.” He later tied a scarf around his waist in a similar style belt during some shows in the October 2006 international tour after he lost the rose vest. Zack told fans that Ryan had forgotten the vest in his New Zealand hotel room and it was gone when they went back. (Update: the fact that the rose vest went missing so quickly after the band checked out of their hotel makes it seem like someone recognized it & kept it. I was a hotel housekeeper for several years in high school and we had to turn everything into the lost & found that wasn’t very clearly garbage. I doubt anyone would have thrown that vest away. The band was REALLY big in Australia & New Zealand this season, and fans in NZ knew which hotel the band was staying at. A couple girls said they called the hotel and asked them to check the lost & found but had no luck).

OTHER INFO

Many venues on the summer tour only allowed professional photographers (or girls with photography sites) near the stage for the first few songs, so that’s why there are more high-quality indoor pictures of the outfits the band wore before intermission. The best photos of the second outfits are usually from the better-lit outdoor shows where the guys only wore one outfit the whole time (like Live 105′s BFD).

There were a lot of random quotes and moments that made it seem like these costumes were maybe not the best designs for a teenage rock band to be throwing themselves around in (especially when Brendon would stage dive). The costumes were gorgeous works of art, but they were also delicate and needed to be hand washed and hung neatly on a hanger. Zack started helping with that sometimes, but other times the outfits stayed dirty haha.

Jake remembered that the team of students got to see the outfits being used at one of the band’s concerts. He also said that the experience of creating the costumes was “fun all around. We had just wrapped up school for the time being and this was almost like a reward. The band was nothing but gracious even if they didn’t go on to wear every item.”

(Thank you to Jake for taking the time to go through this! You can also see him talking in the MTV News segment I linked to towards the top of this post).

THE MAIN POST

#summertour4

[honney-boy]

Wonder (Part 1)

Rudy Pankow x Oc!Reader

gif by → @riobeth​

Wonder Series Masterlist | Wonder Playlist

Chapter summary:  Rudy and Nevaeh meet in person for the first time and things aren’t awkward. Yougurt cups, bananas and ice blended in a cup and maple syrup.

Full Summary and Story Concept

Warning(s): language, shenanigans, jet laggness, social media zombies, teenage girls

Words: 5k+

A/N:  This is my first attempt at a Rudy fic. My first series too! But if this flops, let's pretend it never happened, okay? :) But If you guys want to read more, please do let me know. Your love and support is the encouragement I need. I got the concept from tik tok haha. Fair warning, I am handwriting out chapters with a pen and paper before converting it digitally, so updates with be spread out. THERE WILL BE GRAMMAR MISTAKES! I'm human, and Tumblr is my test run for this series. Anywho, hope you enjoy :)

taglist

One | “Social Zombies”

            In Nevaeh's opinion, airports were the worst. It wasn't due to the 38,000 feet in the air flying ride or the nothingness in the sky you see your whole flight; it was the people, the airports themselves, and the limited space.

Airports were much worse than flying - especially the San Francisco International Airport. Also known as SFO Airport. The few times, literally very few times, Nevaeh has been to the airport, she had poor experiences. Now, SFO Airport is definitely smaller than LAX and not as busy - it's a nightmare. You would think with a much smaller airport, there would be fewer crowds, but no, it's like a family reunion every day but with strangers. If you bump into the wrong person, your day on the off chance will get ruined.

Along with the busy crowds, there are many places to eat. From pizza to Italian to pie, your choices are endless. That's until half or more restaurants are closed or have long lines. Nevaeh never ate airport food, so she couldn't give her opinion on it. She'll leave that to the professional reviews. She wasn't at SFO Airport to judge the food or traffic flow, not even the staff's attitude - except she already gave a flight attendant a glare. The flight attendant took a bathroom break before their next flight and griped at Nevaeh because she used the last paper towel so they couldn't dry their hands. Air drying is a thing, and it works well, she thought to herself while leaving the restroom. She was not going to let one grumpy flight attendant ruin her great mood. She was going to meet someone who she hopes is special today.

Over the past two months, Nevaeh and this person had gotten to know each other well, virtually, that is. They met online, and Nevaeh lived in San Francisco while they lived in Alaska. Countless messages, facetime calls, photos, and videos were exchanged, and a bond was formed. Who would have thought that two people could meet through a video sharing social media app and hit it off? Most people start with dating apps, meet and get to know different people, but Nevaeh met them all because a video of hers popped up on their for you page.

Nevaeh created and shared a variety of things on the app. From cooking to creating and her little hobby of disco skating. She wanted to keep her followers and supporters entertained and herself; she didn’t want to be stuck, making the same content, so she did many things. Nevaeh thought maybe one of her disco skating, videography, or cooking videos drew them in, but it was one of her mini vlogs. In the video, she showed how she would scout places before spending the day getting footage for a short montage film or scenes for a movie she is working on. Not long after the discovery, they - he sent her a message asking about a more in-depth explanation of her process, and it went up from there.

Now, after all this time of them chatting back and forth, they get to meet. Nevaeh gets to meet him. 

Standing by the arrival gate, her eyes bouncing around the room at different things just to keep her mind centered and not all over the place. She wanted to pick at her nails, or hold her hands to her chest but she couldn’t hold them in place for long; she opted for playing with the white beaded bracelet he bought and sent to her in a box full of other things. It was so sweet of him; just thinking about the box she received makes her smile and her heart swell. Just last week she received a box full of thoughtful gifts. Inside were some of her favorite snacks, a movie she loved, one of his hoodies - it was the hoodie he wore the first time they facetimed. The hoodie was one of his favorites, but he had the urge to send it to her, he just wanted her to have it. And finally was the white beaded bracelet with a single aqua blue bead on it - he had the matching one with all aqua beads and one single black bead. She was having an uncreative and pretty shitty day until that box arrived on the front door step of her shared apartment.

“I wanted to surprise you, so I messaged Birdie asking her for your favorite snacks, I added the hoodie and got the two of us distance bracelets. You know, because we are long distance.” He told her later that day when they talked on the phone.

“Until you come here, or I go there,” she replied. She hasn’t stopped wearing the hoodies since and she has had the bracelet on since the moment she got it.

Nevaeh watched different people walk past her; none of them were him yet. The dirty blond mess he sported for hair shouldn't be that hard to miss, but the longer she searched, the more she doubted her assumption. 

It was another couple of minutes that went by, and she didn't see him, so she pulled her phone out to see if he had sent something. Maybe he has to catch a different flight, and he forgot to tell her, or perhaps he didn't want to meet after all. Her fingers type out a message to send, but a figure stands in front of her before she hits the send button. Nevaeh could see the shadow of their body from her peripheral vision, but she did not look up, hoping they would go away - but they didn't. Sending her message, the woman was preparing to turn away until she heard the stranger's phone go off. It's just a coincidence that their phone went off a couple of seconds after I sent a message. She said to herself, then she looked up and there he was. Dirty blond hair - a little long all over, but instead of it being in his face like it always is, it was pushed back and tucked underneath a red cap. His eyes were more lovely in person. The pair ranged from a light blue to gray, depending on the day. Today they were light blue. He sported stubble across his chin and cheeks with a blond mustache above his top lip. He wore nothing flashy, just a simple red ACDC sweatshirt, cargo shorts, and a pair of vans. He looked tired, but that didn't throw off the good vibes and smile he had going on. She couldn't help but smile back. He's here in the flesh. Rudy.

"Hi," he said light-heartedly, breaking the silence.

"Hi," she echoed; the smile on her face grew some more. "Wow, you're really here in the flesh."

He chuckled, and the sound woke up the butterflies in her stomach. "Yeah, I am. And you...the pictures and videos don't do enough justice for the actual thing." His eyes scan over her, noticing the navy blue Hilfiger sweatshirt he sent to her. Nevaeh couldn't help the dust of blush that appeared on her cheek.

“Talk about me, what about you? Who knew those Snapchat filters were hiding such a god-like person.”

“Oh, stop, you’re making me blush,” he joked while bashful. No matter online or in person, Nevaeh was still able to get him flushed; it was something he didn’t want to admit, not while he was flying blind with this.

Nevaeh smiled and had a tiny giggle; the full laugh was muffled by the hand she brought up to her mouth in an attempt to hold the sound back. He could watch her smile for a while. Is that weird? “How was your flight? I hope it wasn’t too horrible.”

“It wasn’t too bad,” he admitted. “Definitely long, but nothing a pair of earbuds, music, and a couple of movies couldn’t fix.” The two quickly began walking toward the direction of baggage claim. More of Rudy just following whichever direction Nevaeh was going. She did know the airport better anyway.

“Which movies did you watch?” she asked.

“Since I had six hours to waste - Joker, 1917 and Pride & Prejudice.”

“Oh, I see you listened to my suggestions; not surprised you watched Joker again,” Rudy shrugged his shoulders with a hum. “I’m surprised you didn’t watch the Harry Potter movies.”

Rudy rolled his eyes and scoffed. “Actually, I already watched them a couple of days ago,” Nevaeh hummed as if she were to say, ‘of course’ “You can judge me all you want. I won’t pay you any mind. Just the same as I did with the guy that had the aisle seat in my row. I guess other guys find it weird that a guy decided to watch a period drama on a flight.”

“He was just jealous he didn’t think of it first. Mr. Darcy’s pinning for Miss. Bennett and the film’s  overarching theme is too good not to watch.”

“That it is, who would want to miss the warnings heeded against trusting one’s first impression or prejudices?”

“Or the character arcs that grow throughout the storyline. I pity that aisle sitting man.”

“I do too,” Rudy agreed. “He missed out on a classic and had to get up to let the other person and me out to take a tinkle.” He did it again. He made her laugh genuinely. The conversation between them flowed. The small worry Nevaeh had earlier about the two of them not being able to continue the light-hearted and enjoyable nature they had over text had diminished. He seemed just the same - goofy, charismatic, charming, and caring - as he was over the phone the past month and a half. She, too, was still kind, compassionate, and sarcastic as before. Yet both of them had their own doubts about the thing they were doing; they didn’t know what it was or where it was headed, but they were willing to find out.

           In the car, Nevaeh drove the route she knew from the airport to her shared apartment. Rudy sat in the passenger seat; his gaze focused out the window, watching the San Francisco scenery appear, disappear and morph as they passed by the window. The radio played while they sat in a comfortable silence - it impressed her how easily they fell into it. Wasn't it common for an uncomfortable silence? Two people who just met for the first time should struggle in an attempt to make a conversation, but not them.

To Rudy, the comfortable silence was almost expected. Granted, he did expect one of them to talk the other's ear off - he's glad neither of them was. The six-hour flight took its effect on the man, but he wasn't going to let his fatigue ruin the time they had together. He'll rest later. Spend time with her now, sleep later.

The car rolled to a stop, a red light shined on the traffic light hanging in front of them. Rudy's eyes watch a girl across the street riding down the sidewalk on a skateboard. Her stance relaxed, feet planted in a way that helped her ride easily; she was experienced, probably skated regularly. Watching her skate triggered a longing in Rudy for his board back at home. He rides on concrete and in the snow, but he was missing snowboarding the most. It was beginning to be summer, so the temperatures in Alaska were warmer. To warm for snow but warm enough for the evergreen to take over. Now he was in California, the state that was sunny all the time. The state that thrived in the summer and its soil hardly ever to never had the chilled touch of snow. His longing grew more for the chilly weather and white flakes.

The woman sitting next to him took the next couple of seconds between the light change to look at him. Catching the moment of his gaze out the window of her jeep. "I know you're probably tired from your flight. I had some ideas about the things we could do, but we don't have to do anything today." She spoke and after, glanced at the traffic light only to see it was still red.

Rudy tore his gaze from the distant image of the skater and met Nevaeh's. "I am, but if you want to do something, we can. I'm more than happy to hang out." He said.

Trying to reason, she said, "I know, but you just got off a six-hour flight." 

"Nevaeh, it's fine. I'm not that burned out. Time zones are an hour apart, and seven am isn't that bad." she begins to give him a skeptical look. She heard his words but feels as if he was only saying that to make her happy. He sat by her, leaned back, and relaxed. His head sat lazily against the headrest, and the smile he was giving her was light but tiresome. She switched her gaze from him to the traffic light, which turned green, and she didn't know when. Nevaeh eased her foot off the brake and to the gas pedal. "Seriously, we can do something."

“Fine,” She says after a moment. “I won’t wear you out too much more.” Flicking her left turn signal on after checking her mirror, she merges into the lane beside her. “There’s somewhere I wanna take you - well, maybe two places, but we’re going to the apartment first.”

“Alright, sounds good to me.” Nevaeh drove them to the apartment she shared with her long term friend. Rudy followed behind her as she led the way; they only spent a few minutes there. After a short tour, a bathroom break, and dropping off a couple of suitcases later, Rudy and Nevaeh left the place. They began a walk along the San Francisco hills to the mysterious place Nevaeh had in mind.

“This place is somewhere I walk to every other day. It’s Birdie’s and my favorite place.” It was a short six to eight-minute walk. Nevaeh reassured him before briefly going into a conversation about the impressive things you see in the city. Just like Nevaeh told him, they both come up upon a corner shop with a couple of large windows to see inside and out, a brown exterior with outside tables with green umbrellas and foldable outdoor chairs. The corner shop was known as the Nasik Cafe. For a small cafe, the place was doing well. There were a handful of people inside sitting, chatting, or ordering and quite a few sitting outside.

“This place is pretty health-oriented, and like Starbucks, it has things you could make at home for free, but their stuff is great,” Nevaeh explained to the man.

"So you spend way too much on yogurt cups, fruit drinks, toast, and other food you can make at home?" She nods her head like it was evident at what he said. Rudy shook his head. "Couldn't you just spend ten dollars on a yogurt cup?"

"Oh my goodness, they don't have yogurt cups, Rudy." She shook her head in disbelief.

"Okay, so ten dollars for a banana blended with ice in a cup - still sounds ridiculous to me."

"I can't with you," She tilted her head back, but she wasn't annoyed. She found his witticism amusing. At this rate, Nevaeh should prepare to always smile all the time around him. "You should find a table out here, and I can grab us something - wait, do you want to sit out here?"

Rudy nodded, then began to scan the area but only briefly seeing a couple of empty tables. "Yeah, it's nice out, let's enjoy it. Out here is great."

"Great," she says, pleased. "I'll grab something; I wanna surprise you. I'll be back." Nevaeh turns to walk inside. The smell of strawberries, oranges, and granola invaded her nose. It wasn't a new smell to her, but a new one for the day. She would always smell fruit and granola wherever she would walk into Basik. Some days it smelt like bananas and chocolate, or honey, peanut butter, and coconut. The smells varied, but the most prominent one was the tropical smell. To her left at a table was a couple enjoying smoothies. Both cops were a little under half full. A person sat at another table, invested in their laptop. To her right, more people sat. Art adorns the walls as realism paintings along with abstract images. There was a line at the counter; no more than four people stood waiting. She took the time to look up at the big and wide wood board hanging from the ceiling. When Nevaeh told Rudy she wanted to surprise him with something, she knew what she was getting for the both of them. The colorful and fruitful acai bowls.

Nevaeh and her roommate Birdie loved acai bowls. Birdie was the one to introduce her friend to the fantastic bowls she grew to love. Now it was her turn to turn another friend onto them.

The line moved along smoothly and grew smaller by the minutes. Once Nevaeh got closer, her lips stretched into a grin as her eyes caught sight of the barista.

"Hi, what can I get you? Could I interest you in our new fall to-Vae! Hey." the blonde barista's mood brightened significantly when she realized she was taking Nevaeh's order. She leaned across the counter and grabbed hold of Nevaeh's hand, and laced their fingers together. "What are you doing here? I thought you had to pick up your friend." She said, then making finger quotations. The barista was her roommate, Birdie. Birdie was a full-time college student and full-time barista to get by. She was more than happy to talk to her friend now that she wasn't as busy - Nevaeh was the only person in line for now.

"I was - I did pick up my friend. No air quotes, we're friends."

"For now."

"Whatever," she rolled her eyes at the blonde. "He's here with me, just outside." Birdie looked past Nevaeh and out the window in search of this guy. Nevaeh looked around for him, too; she didn't get to see where he chose to sit. "He's...the one with the red cap, right there." She pointed out once she spotted him. Birdie hummed and squinted her eyes to get a better look, which was difficult with the angle he sat at.

"He looks nice...from here," Birdie leaned back, so her fingers could let go of Nevaeh's and tap the terminal screen as she put her friend's usual order in. While Birdie did that, Nevaeh nodded in agreement but kept her gaze on him. "Lemme guess, the usual?"

"Kilauea; everything but-"

"No pollen and extra honey." Birdie finished with assuredness and not a drop of doubt in her answer. Her friend smiled, her eyes looking to Birdie with amazement.

"You know me too well."

"Well, you order the same thing almost every time."

"Touche," she couldn't argue with that. When it came to her acai bowl, she liked the Kilauea - made with mango juice, granola, berries, papaya, honey, and acai - the best. "And water, of course - make that two." She stepped back to look over the menu. Rudy wasn't familiar with the place, and he didn't know what they served, so Nevaeh wanted to get him something he hopefully liked. She decided to go with something not too fancy - directing her attention back to her barista friend. She went ahead and finished her order. "And...let me get the Islander acai bowl." That one was made with hemp mylk, granola, banana, berries, cocoa shavings, and honey.

Birdie rang up the rest of the order for Nevaeh. After catching a glimpse at the total, Nevaeh reached in the little card pocket of her wallet and grabbed her card. Unbeknownst to her, while she was getting her card, Birdie took her name tag and gave her friend her employee discount - she got it for half the price.

“I know you’re an independent woman and paying for the first date, the least I could do is give you a discount. Just don’t tell Daniel.” She winked, and Nevaeh gave her a thumbs up with one hand, and with the other, she made a zipping and locking motion over her mouth before throwing the key.

Outside, Rudy sat at the table he picked out for the two of them while waiting. While Nevaeh ran inside to get their order, he observed the small San Francisco scenery around him. California weather was sunshine with fluffy clouds. Just about everyone was either in shorts, a tank, and a cut-off shirt or any other summer clothing that provided them some comfort in the blazing sun. He dressed just right for the weather, though in Alaska, it was more on the chill side, causing him to wear a sweatshirt while he left. Now that he was basking in the California weather, he took off the warm sweatshirt and left it at Nevaeh’s apartment.

There were other people outside along with him. A group of girls sat a few feet away at a table in front of him, trying not to giggle as they attempted to make a video. At another table, there were two guys, perhaps brothers. They were eating something colorful from a bowl - it looked like yogurt to Rudy - and having a conversation with one another.

Rudy shook his head at the drastic difference between the two tables. Maybe it was just him, but it was amazing how much the world - more specifically America- was wrapped up in technology and social media. Sure the brothers at the one table had digital watches that told them the time and lit up, catching their attention with a vibrate when a text or notification went to their phone. But at least they could carry on a conversation without having their phone in their hands. On the other hand, those girls haven’t put their phones down longer than a few seconds. After those seconds, they tap away or show the other something they thought was worthy enough to gauge a reaction out of them.

Rudy wasn't one to judge. He didn't have much right to because while watching them and waiting for Nevaeh, he had the urge to pull out his phone. It was almost like a habit, but he chooses not to feed the temptation. He wanted to enjoy the day with Nevaeh; notice the burn on his skin from the sun, get to know her, have fun, pick up on little cues she has, and find out what he likes the most about her. And though it was kind of ironic that the two of them met through social media, he hopes Nevaeh is not one of those social zombies. Then this trip would be a waste of time and effort.

Ruby pulled his sunglasses down due to the sun starting to bother his eyes. Then he also wanted to cover his eyes and focus on something else while he waited. A minute later, Nevaeh walked out of the cafe's door backward with her back pushing the door open. In her hands, she had what she ordered; he wondered what she got. Rudy briskly stood up out of his seat to help her out.

"Hey, let me help you out," he walks around the table towards her, but she only nods him off.

"I got it, you sit."

"You have all the food and drinks in your hands; it's the least I can do." he stood off to the side, not interfering but reading despite what she said. He watches her struggle a bit and almost drops the stuff. Rudy immediately reached out, but Nevaeh had already saved herself and looked at him with a smile.

"I got it, Rudy. I was just pulling your leg." He picked up on the playfulness in her eyes, which made him pull his lips into a smile matching hers; her smile is definitely contagious.

“Alright, alright,” he raised his hands, backing away and then taking his seat. Nevaeh took her seat across from him, sat everything down before passing him the items she got him. “What’d you get us?”

“Well, I don’t know if you have had this before, but it’s my go-to thing to get here. It’s an acai bowl,” Nevaeh’s eyes caught his confused expression before he tried to cover it up with an understanding.  She laughed softly and explained further. “It’s like a smoothie bowl with other things in it.”

“Smoothie bowl…” he murmured more to himself, but she still heard it.

Shaking her head, she continued. “Acai palm is the main ingredient along with bananas and granola, but you can add other fruits or peanut butter and syrups. Or take things off.”

“Like maple syrup?” he asked, looking at the acai bowl she got him.

Her face begins to twist in disgust until she covers it with a shrug and looks down at her bowl, ready to dig in. “Uh, I guess if that’s what you want, then yeah.” She answered, and Rudy nodded his head and grabbed his spoon to take a taste. Before Nevaeh tasted her own, she watched Rudy, waiting for his reaction. He took a bite, letting the flavor invade his taste buds.

“Wow, this is good,” He says after swallowing. He glanced up, catching Nevaeh already looking at him. She quickly looked away and stirred her bowl.

“I’m glad you like it; it’s my second favorite one,” she peeked back up, and Rudy was still looking at her. Laughing softly to herself, then shaking her head, she takes a bite of her own, almost moaning at the taste. “I’m surprised you haven’t had one before.”

“ I have wanted to try one, but never really went with actually going out to get one.”

“Well, maybe now you will get them more often,” She says but stops herself before taking another bite. “Wait...you aren’t allergic to any fruit, are you? Or granola?”

He lifted a brow while getting another scoop. “Oh, only bananas,” He replies. Nevaeh watches him as he lifts the spoon to his mouth and takes another bite that includes bananas before she could reach across the table and stop him in time. “What?” he looked at her. Her eyes were wide with shock and fear, her mouth opening to say something but closed when nothing came out. “Is there something wrong?”

Nodding her head slowly, she sat down her spoon and reached for her phone in her pocket just in case. "You ate a banana, and you just told me you were allergic to them." Nevaeh wanted to yell at him for being so careless, but that would mean she was too for not asking before ordering something random for him. She pretended to remain calm but was internally panicking.

"I actually eat them all the time," he held back the smile easing its way into his features. "I eat them quite often. They're a great source of potassium and vitamin C."

"So you aren't allergic to bananas?" she noted, and Rudy shook his head. His mouth broke out into the smile he managed to hold back for a few seconds. Nevaeh relaxed a bit, her shoulders dropping as she was no longer tense. "You're an asshole, you know that, right?" Rudy gasped softly, a hand placed on his chest as he looked at her, offended at her comment.

"What, me, an asshole? That can't be right, I'm really nice," he said and made Nevaeh huffed. "What do you not believe me?"

The woman shrugged, the smile still on her face when she looked down at her food. "Well, you did play a mean joke just now; I thought I almost killed you." She reminded him and picked at her bowl.

"I wanted to see how caring you were, and you passed the test. Now you love me, don't you?"

"You wish," she said, taking a bite then pointing at him with her spoon. "We're going on a road trip together, let's see if I survive that, then I'll let you know if I like you enough to be your friend or jump out of a moving car because you're an annoying little shit."

Rudy raised his eyebrows, smirking at her now. "Me being an annoying little...alright. Let's make a deal," he starts; Nevaeh gestures for him to continue. "If you survive this road trip, meaning - if you have a great time - I get to take you to my home town in Alaska. Ah, ah. I'm not finished." he held his finger up to stop her from making a comment. She rolled her eyes and sat back in her chair, attempting to hide a simple, but you could see the amusement on her face. "If you don't have a great time, I'll do whatever you want."

"So, If I understand right, If you win, you get to take me to Alaska - assuming I haven't been there already,"

“Wait, you’ve been to Alaska?” Nevaeh held her finger up, echoing his movements moments before.

“If you win, you take me to Alaska, and if I win, you do whatever I want, correct?”

“Yeah, as long as it’s not too inappropriate or impossible,” He says, already finished with his acai bowl, which Nevaeh didn’t remember seeing him eat the rest. It didn’t matter when he ate it, she didn’t care, but that was quick. Looking down at her own, she wasn’t more than halfway done. “So, so we have a deal?”

Nevaeh looked up from her food, meeting his ocean-like eyes. The pair were becoming more familiar over the past few weeks from countless photos and videos the two have shared over Snapchat. Messages over text and facetime calls. They got to know each other digitally, and now they have to learn more in person. 

“We have a deal.” She says, and Rudy sticks his hand out, which she gladly took. They shook hands. While doing so, Rudy thought of a million possibilities to get the woman across from him to a great time and not just so he could take her to Alaska, his home. He found her intriguing, and he wants to take the time to get to know her better and maybe have a solid standing friendship at the end of it all. If the cosmos had a say, perhaps something more would blossom.

➣ End Note:

So, I honestly don’t know how the next few or future chapters will go but hopefully they turn out well. Here are the Revaeh interactions we all needed and plenty more to come so just you wait. ;)

AGAIN IF YOU WANT ME TO CONTINUE THE SERIES I WILL, JUST LET ME KNOW.

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[yoshidas-girl-forever]

Freddie Mercury 

The Great Showman

Our paper will be about the flamboyant frontman, songwriter, and singer for Queen, Freddie Mercury. He was born as Farrokh Bulsara on September 5th, 1946 in Stone Town, Zanzibar which is now in Tanzania. Freddie was born with four hyperdontia  incisors which Mercury attributed to his vocal range and why he never got them fixed later in life.

Mercury was born to Parsi parents, Jer and Bomi Bulsara who were originally from India but they immigrated to Zanzibar because of Bomi’s job with the British Colonial Service. Freddie has a younger sister named Kashmira Bulsara who was born around the time he started his boarding school. The family practiced Zoroastrianism which Freddie never held a strong belief in.

Freddie spent most of his childhood in India and took piano lessons at age seven while living with family and at the age of eight he was sent off to study at St. Peter’s School in Panchgani. It was at St. Peter’s that Freddie started to call himself “Freddie”. At the age of twelve, he started a band called “The Hectics”. A friend recalled that Freddie had "an uncanny ability to listen to the radio and replay what he heard on piano". In 1963 he moved back in with his parents and the following year in 1964 they fled to England from the Zanzibar Revolution.

Mercury studied art and graphic design at Ealing Art College he most likely graduated with a diploma in  the year 1969 but it could be possible 1968 as well. With his skills Freddie would later go on to design his band, Queen’s, logo. Following graduation he would join a series of bands as he worked in Kensington Market selling second hand Edwardian clothes and scarfs alongside future band mate Roger Taylor. 

In early 1970, Tim Staffell would leave Roger Taylor and Brian May’s band Smile and in April of that same year Freddie would join Smile and become their lead singer. A year later in 1971 bassist John Deacon would join the band completing it. Mercury chose the name “Queen” for the band ignoring the warnings from his band mates and studio. Freddie later said about the name Queen, 

“"It's very regal obviously, and it sounds splendid. It's a strong name, very universal and immediate. “I was certainly aware of the gay connotations, but that was just one facet of it."” (Mercury, Freddie, 1970)

Also around this time Freddie Bulsara legally changed his name to Freddie Mercury. 

So Freddie’s speaking tone was in the baritone range which means it's between bass and tenor, most of his songs were in the tenor range. Mercury’s range extended from bass low F to soprano high F, also could belt up to tenor high F.

A quote from Donna Soto-Morettini book “Popular Singing: A Practical Guide To: Pop, Jazz, Blues, Rock, Country and Gospel, A & C Black” says this about Freddie’s vocals, 

“His technique was astonishing. No problem of tempo, he sang with an incisive sense of rhythm, his vocal placement was very good and he was able to glide effortlessly from one register to another. He also had a great musicality. His phrasing was subtle, delicate and sweet or energetic and slamming. He was able to find the right colouring or expressive nuance for each word.” (Soto-Morettini, Donna, book not available for preview)

In 2003 Mercury was posthumously put into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and in 05 all four Queen members were awarded a Ivor Novello Award and that was for Outstanding Song Collection from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors.

Now while Queen is a classic rock band they didn’t just write rock they wrote a wide variety of music genres including but not limited to: rockabilly, gospel, disco, heavy metal, and progressive rock. 

In a 1986 interview Mercury said, “I hate doing the same thing again and again and again. I like to see what's happening now in music, film and theatre and incorporate all of those things.” (Mercury, Freddie, 1986)

And Mercury did extravagant performances on stage for his audience; he even got them to join in vocal warmups with him. It was like a different personality came out on stage and he was this energetic guy who lit up the whole room. Mercury performed an estimated 700 concerts with Queen. Mercury's final live performance with Queen took place on August 9th, 1986 at Knebworth Park in England which drew an attendance estimated as high as 200,000. With the British national anthem  playing at the end of the concert, Freddie’s final act on stage saw him draped in a robe, holding a golden crown above his head, as he bid farewell to the crowd one last time.

Besides Queen, Freddie did have a small solo career.  He had two full solo albums, “Mr. Bad Guy” released in 1985  and “Barcelona” released in 1988.

In the early 70s, he dated Mary Austin but the relationship grew cold when Freddie had an affair with David Minns in the mid-70s. Mary remained close with Mercury until he passed. In the 80s, Freddie settled down with hairdresser Jim Hutton and the two got “married” even if same sex marriage wasn’t legalized until the 2000s in England. He wore the ring Jim gave him forever, it was even cremated with him. 

In either 1985 or 1987,  Freddie was diagnosed with AIDS which was a death sentence back then, proper medications and treatment for it wasn’t really there yet. A few years later Jim was diagnosed with HIV in 1990. On November 24th, 1991 Mercury passed away from bronchial pneumonia resulting from AIDS, he was just 45. He died with his husband at his bedside. Funeral services were held on the 27th and he was cremated shortly after. His ashes whereabouts are unknown and never to be told. There is a memorial plaque with his birth name on it at Kensal Green Cemetery in London England.

Even though Freddie never fathered children he was the godfather to Mary’s oldest son Richard. And he fathered many cats in his lifetime, having somewhat over a dozen cats in his life. Even a black cat showed up at his funeral. This concludes the short long lived life of Freddie Mercury

I ADORE THIS!!!!!!! The writing was perfect,the wording amazing and it was just a great essay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That teacher damn sure should've gave you a 100/100!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I loved it,thank you very much Bestie for sharing this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! <33333333333

#amazing friends