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fatalism-and-villainy · 4 years

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Untamed/MDZS salt? :D 1. What OTPs in your fandom(s) do you just not get? 11. Is there an unpopular character you like that the fandom doesn’t? Why? 17. Instead of XYZ happening, I would have made ABC happen ...

1. What OTPs in your fandom(s) do you just not get?

Oh, so many...

N/ielan is one of the big ones - I guess I just don’t pick up on any passion or chemistry between them that would lead me to ship them? I get that the childhood friends schtick might appeal to some people (although I’m not actually sure if that’s canon or just fanon?) but when people insist there’s scorching homoeroticism between them... yeah I don’t see it. (Like, I saw someone say something like “the amount of homoeroticism LXC has in his scenes with JGY and NMJ is incredible” and uhhh. HOW are those two relationships comparable in how they’re acted lmao.)

I think S/angcheng is the other big one for me - so often it seems to get treated like a “default” relationship alongside wangxian, when it feels very “pair the spares” to me. And I don’t get why this ship is so popular particularly in CQL fandom, where WWX/NHS has much more canon backing. (I mean, I guess in that case people don’t want to split up the main pairing, because many people take “shipping” to mean “who you want the character to end up with/be a couple with”? But that’s pretty alien to how I approach shipping.)

11. Is there an unpopular character you like that the fandom doesn’t? Why?

(also asked by @winepresswrath)

Not really, actually? I think the closest is Su She, because I very strongly reject the way we are supposed to side with the Lans who are sneering at him and hate how his perspective isn’t given more sympathy. And I will say I don’t get why people in fandom seem to have such a visceral gross-out reaction to him (like that appreciation for the villains in MDZS post that was basically “and none for Su She, bye”). That said, I don’t think I’m quite passionate enough about him or think about him enough to count him as one of my faves. And a lot of the Su She apologism community seems to ship him with JGY, which I’m not very interested in XD

The other contender would be Wang Lingjiao, because she was so much fun to watch onscreen and I think she also gets a disproportionate amount of vitriol from the fandom (she’s just a fun campy villain trying to make her way in life!), and I wish she’d had a better character arc. But again, not one of my absolute favourites.

There are some characters I adore who are pretty vehemently hated by certain contingents (thinking mainly of JGY and Jiang Cheng), but they both have pretty large and devoted fanbases, so I don’t think they could be classed as “unpopular,” just “controversial.”

17. Instead of XYZ happening, I would have made ABC happen ...

I assume this means in canon? I think the biggest one for me right now is “actually engage more with Mo Xuanyu’s legacy.” We know next to nothing about him! Wei Wuxian is never curious about him, except when it relates to the plot (i.e. figuring out why he got kicked out of Koi Tower), there’s no engagement with the question of what it’s like to inhabit someone else’s body (I tend to ignore this part of the novel because I find it kind of squicky, but if it’s there it should be engaged with), and there’s no coming to terms with the fact that someone sacrificed their life and soul for him.

Like, what feels especially egregious for me is that Wei Wuxian being reincarnated into the body of a gay social outcast obviously has symbolic/thematic relevance. And yet aside from the (extremely funny) moment where he wonders if he’s having gay thoughts because he’s in Mo Xuanyu’s body, Wei Wuxian doesn’t really seem to identify with Mo Xuanyu very much. You’d think that realizing he’s queer in particular would cause him to reflect on Mo Xuanyu’s status, or at least feel bad about the way he played up Mo Xuanyu’s Gay and Crazy schtick for fun and profit. And yet there’s no mention of him doing that reflection, even though near the end of the book he does feel a brief moment of sympathy for Jin Guangyao upon realizing that JGY has taken up his own former status as a scapegoat. So yeah, it’s frustrating.

#pyr0clast #replies #untaming #awkwardly memes #winepresswrath

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dcarevu · 5 years

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DCAU #18: See No Evil

“Hey! Who locked the bathroom?!”

Watching this show in production-order as opposed to airing-order is drastically altering how I perceive it. This is an episode that I had no memory of. Like, none. And then when I watched it, yeah, I managed to sense some vague familiarity (at least enough to know I didn’t miss it the first time I went through the show), but it was basically like watching it for the first time. This time was different, though, and I actually think that this episode is not only worth remembering, but it’s kinda another key episode! I know, you probably have your doubts, but hear me out. Maybe by the end of today’s blog post, you’ll at least see where I’m coming from.

Episode: 17 Robin: No Writer: Martin Pasko Director: Dan Riba Animator: Dong Yang Airdate: February 24, 1993 Grade: A Where do I begin with See No Evil… Talking about an episode like this is weird, because knowing that I can praise an episode you don’t see praised as often as, say, Heart Of Ice puts more pressure on me to say what I feel I need to say. With Two-Face I didn’t really need to worry about getting my points about how great it is through. Everyone already knows. I was preaching to the choir. But this episode doesn’t have the flashy villain. It also doesn’t have the landmark status. Hell, its airing number was 56. By that point, this episode wasn’t special at all. The series was more than halfway over. The airing order wasn’t all bad, I mean, let’s bring up Heart Of Ice again. It’s a wonderful episode, but imagine if it aired more than halfway through the series. We’d probably be looking at it at least a little differently. I believe that See No Evil got swept into the cracks. No real harm done, don’t take this as me saying that losing this episode like that was a travesty. I still wouldn’t put it on a top 10 list or anything (at least, I don’t think I would). But I want to shine the spotlight on it, even if it’s just through this post. Give it a little bit of love, and hopefully at least get a few to acknowledge it as an achievement within Batman the Animated Series, despite it often being seen as a standard.

(“Hey! Who locked the bathroom?!” Try knocking, asshole!)

What’s funny is that the first few minutes are more engaging and have better atmosphere than the entire climax of our last episode. And that had explosions and fires galore! This is essentially just a little kid talking to a seemingly supernatural being! Wait. A little kid? In a Batman TAS episode? I know you’re going, “I thought you said this episode was good.” As I said. Hear. Me. Out. Now there’s something that creeps me out about things such as dolls coming to life, whether they’re actually sentient, or some creepy invisible thing is manipulating them. Especially when intentions are clearly malicious to everyone except for the naive child. It’s that creepy manipulation aspect. You ever see a horror movie where the mom asks their kid who they’re talking to, and at that moment you know that it’s not just their imaginary friend? That something sinister is lurking around? Hell, when I was a little kid I used to partially wake up in the middle of the night and see things in the dark. Apparently one time I asked my mom over and over if she could see/hear the lady with the guitar wandering through the house. If I were my mom, I woulda packed my bags and moved out until I could get ahold of the god damn Ghostbusters (by the way, Ghostbusters 3, what the actual fu-).

(Char thought this scenery was really spooky. I’d have to agree!)

But anyway, getting back on topic… Now, we later of course find out that this “ghost” is just a regular dude, and is in fact the girl’s father. But, despite concerns, that doesn’t remove the tension from the episode at all. There’s a horror movie called Hush which I enjoyed a lot more than I thought I was going to. But one minor nitpick is that, although it helps alleviate the cliché, when the killer removes his mask and we start to slowly see them as more human than blank, creepy slate, the scariness takes a hard hit. I hear a similar complaint with how some of the modern Halloween movies make Michael too human, and although it can often create a stronger character, that doesn’t exactly help improve the Halloween movies. Michael Myers is scary because of how mysterious and inhuman he is. My point is that relatability alone cannot always take the place of that haunting alien quality. And our villain, Lloyd Ventrix, goes through a similar transformation as we learn more about him. But here, it doesn’t hurt the episode, it only makes it more interesting. I’m usually all about sympathetic villains on this show, but it would have been so easy to turn this into a typical emotion-driven story about a dad who misses his daughter and uses his invisibility to see her sometimes. Granted, this story could have worked. It worked in Spider-Man 3 with the Sandman (I actually like that movie, despite having some major problems with it). But instead we go for a different route where somehow our character gets scarier when we find out who he is and what he wants. The best way I can put it is that we found out what he wants without finding out what he wants after he gets what he wants. Whatever it is, though, it’s likely not good. Something is so off about Ventrix. And it’s actually explained why. The chemicals in his invisibility suit are basically making him go crazy. He’s not going crazy in a cartoonish way, it’s a legitimate mentally ill way.

(Look at that fixated glare. <Shudders>)

He stalks. He steals. And despite the super villain element, there’s a realness to it all that puts the real accounts of child kidnapping and stalking at the back of your mind. Enough to get a slight case of the willies. We find out from the mother that Ventrix has basically no redeeming qualities at all, but she doesn’t know much more about his motivations than we do. Even his daughter. She has no idea who he is when he reveals his face to her. Add in the fact that he ignores his restraining order at one point in the episode to try and show his ex wife that he’s a changed man because he has money now, and it makes you real glad that Batman exists in this world to protect the more innocent.

(“Goth Mart”. Love it. This store would eventually become Hot Topic.)

I legitimately feel like his daughter would have been in danger if she would have gotten into that car. Ugh. Yeah. That’s another thing. Ventrix trying to get his daughter into his car (when she has no idea who he is, they likely haven’t communicated face to face since before she can even remember), and her saying that her mom told her to not talk to strangers. Ahhhhhh! Scary! And she sees his face and gets creeped out that he’s a grown-ass man she’s never seen before. Like, am I the only one so disturbed by this guy? In a world that unfortunately contains child-molestors and killers, can you blame me?

(I really love this little girl’s character model. Beautiful eyes!)

Now, if you’ve never seen this episode (go watch the series, dude!), you’re probably a little surprised about this being an episode of Batman the Animated Series. But they don’t play everything quite so scary. In fact, there was a decent amount of comic relief, and it was genuinely funny. There was one moment where Batman jumps onto our villain’s invisible car as it starts racing through the city. At first, this looked stupidly campy. I was thinking of the Invisible Boatmobile. And also, since we can’t see the car, we just see what appears to be Batman flying around in an incredibly static position at 90 mph. But the show was smart. Martin Pasko knew that this would look stupid. So they embrace it. We see a civilian who notices Batman speeding by, and he goes, “I didn’t know he could fly too!” in a pretty funny voice. Char and I both laughed out loud. It was very well played.

Speaking of funny voices, by the way, holy hell, the voice work in this episode was incredible. Every character’s voice had so much…well…character! My favorite voice performance in the episode was actually that one scientist (Sam Giddell was his name) that Batman talked to about the invisibility plastic. He was kinda funny sounding, but not in a cartoony way. He sounded exactly how he should, a nerdy, dedicated, hard-working researcher. He was no Seymour the scientist (anyone who gets that reference gets a bat-cookie. Or maybe a lava cookie…), that’s for sure. Y’know who another surprisingly great voice came from? Batman. You’re probably thinking, “This is Kevin Conroy, Collin. His Batman voice is always great.” You’d be right…kinda. Watch The Cat and the Claw, and then go watch the Superman TAS episode World’s Finest. One is really good. One is great, and the Batman voice we’ve come to know and love from Conroy. I think that See No Evil is our first episode with the definitive Kevin Conroy Batman voice. Especially when compared to The Cat and the Claw where everyone was barely talking above a whisper (I still don’t know what that was about, honestly). Really, The Cat and the Claw coming right before this episode just highlights why this episode is a key episode even more. The Red Claw ended up being a little bit more gimmicky and stock than I would have liked. And she was a little bit too…exaggerated? Think back to that attack on the train. See No Evil indeed has a villain with a gimmick, don’t get me wrong. But this gimmick is one that provides a lot of plot-points that don't feel empty. It’s how he manages to frequently talk to his daughter. It’s how he managed to kidnap her. It’s how he committed so many of his crimes. It’s how he gave Batman so much damn trouble. Compare this to the level of meat that Red Claw provided for that story. Miles apart.

Underneath this gimmick, which essentially is a way of giving someone in this show a super power, we have a regular guy (well…kinda) without even a supervillian name. Bruce Timm and co from the beginning wanted the show to focus on good stories rather than freaks of the day. They made it clear that sometimes this would involve regular mobsters or, maybe people like Ventrix. We’ve already done similar with It’s Never Too Late, but I think that this episode is even better in some aspects.

It isn’t perfect, though. The scene with Batman on top of the car, yeah, the joke was funny, but it goes on a little too long for me. Also, the bit where Ventrix pulled that robbery of the jewelry at the beginning I had mixed thoughts on. Like, dude. You’re invisible. You manage to quietly sneak an item into your pocket, but then decide to throw the idea of stealth completely out the window by ripping jewelry out of people’s hands, shoving people around, and dumping out displays right in front of people? Oh, good job, now you alerted Batman, you moron.

(An in-costume Ventrix, visible.)

At the same time, though, we do establish later on that this guy isn’t mentally there, so maybe that’s a decent enough reason. Either way, these are nitpicks through and through, and calling them anything but would be doing an injustice. This episode is awesome. I haven’t even talked about the step up in action scenes yet. This is probably the best the series has been so far with action. Except for when Mr. Freeze rode that fire hydrant into a building. That was amazing. Batman gets the shit beat out of him in this episode. I think that maybe they could get away with more because the villain was invisible for most of the hits or something, but the way that they were animated still makes them look just as painful as any hits from a completely visible person would have.

(Caption this?)

(Or this.)

(Or even this.)

Yeah, the animation here was done by Dong Yang. Y’know. The same ones who did Nothing to Fear and I’ve Got Batman In My Basement. Before I checked on who the animation studio was, I totally would have guessed TMS or Spectrum. It looks that great. A major step up from those two mentioned episodes. The only weird bit was that Batman’s face looked a tiny bit off occasionally, but it's barely noticeable. It’s mostly in his nose, and how it tends to hang down. Anyway, yeah. Lots of great action scenes. Probably one of the coolest was when water is raining down on the battlefield, and Batman uses that to keep an eye on Ventrix and take him out. Here, he is totally visible, but they don’t cut back on the damage being done by Batman’s fists and feet. But y’know what the main thing I noticed with this bit was? The live action Daredevil movie totally got the final fight scene from this episode. Coincidentally Ben Affleck is a common denominator.

There are lots of other little things I could say. There were a few more funny bits, a particular scene where Batman is rummaging through some files and tension skyrockets, and even the technical mumbo jumbo that surprisingly made a lot of sense and didn't seem to jump the shark much… It’s mostly all great. This is why production order is so important for this episode in particular. By the time episode 56 arrived, much of See No Evil’s achievements had already been seen! But watching it this way, we see a huge boost in good comic relief, a huge boost in action, a huge boost in tension/borderline horror elements, a huge boost in animation (at least for this particular studio), a huge boost in voice work, and a solid, entertaining story to go with all of it. I really liked this episode, as did Char, and this is why it gets a proud, sturdy A from me. Char mentioned to me that this villain felt like a one-shot, and I’m guessing she’s right (I can’t quite recall). I bet they could have done another interesting story with Ventrix, and maybe he found his way into some of the DCAU comics? Speaking of that…

I made a post earlier, but I wanted to reiterate! There are DCAU comics. There are actually a lot of them. Now, I have no idea which ones are technically still considered canon (or which ones ever were). But what I’d like to do is put in a little research and start including them in this blog! Unfortunately, these likely won’t align together as nicely as the episodes do. Because I’m watching Batman in production order, it’s kinda hard to then look at the comic dates and place them appropriately throughout. So I’m going to treat them more as a separate thing and check them out at my own pace. I don’t even own any right now, so it’s likely gonna be a while before I even get to them. I still don’t know if I want to do all of them, or just the confirmed canon ones? Any input? Lemme know! With that, I’ll see y’all next week, most likely, as we…um…head west…

Char’s grade: A

Next time: Beware Of the Grey Ghost Full episode list here!

#dcau #dc animated universe #batman tas #see no evil #batman the animated series #batman

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callmeblake · 7 years

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By Deb Draisin

Frank Iero, now that his stint in My Chemical Romance is behind him, is nothing if not a man with 25 irons in the fire while the flames lick the ceiling. His current undertakings this year include a six month world tour, which commenced with two months in Russia, for the October release of “Parachutes,” the fledgling project of his latest outfit, Frank Iero and The Patience (which includes all members of frnkiero andthe cellabration, save for newcomer Alexander Paul, replacing Rob Hughes on bass.) He is also releasing a four-track EP entitled “Keep the Coffins Coming,” has contributed a track to the ACLU benefit album put together by Taking Back Sunday’s John Nolan entitled “Music For Everyone,” all while the patience recover from a terrible accident which almost claimed the lives of his bandmates – and it’s only April. Frank was sweet enough, as he always has been, to give JB a bit of his time this morning as the band gears up to hit the road next week, with their first stop being the iconic Music Hall of Williamsburg.

Q: Good Morning, Frank – it’s been a while since we’ve spoken last - how are you doing?

Frank: Good Morning, Deb. Yeah, it has. I’m great, thanks, and you?

Q: I’m good. Tough year though, for both of us: death, accidents, insanity, lost wages.

Frank: So just like every day, in other words (laughs.)

Q: Point. Okay, first things first, since we’re both aficionados: best horror films to come out within the last decade?

Frank: “Fun and Games” was fantastic.

Q: Thank you, I’m gonna go check that out, because everything that I’ve watched is just awful. Like “Annabelle” had such high ratings – it was terrible.

Frank: I’m so disappointed by every one of those movies. Like “The Conjuring,” all of those movies – they’re all fucking bullshit.

Q: Awful. “American Horror Story” was awful. The only thing decent was “Lights Out,” that one was alright – you should check it out.

Frank: I heard “Get Out” was really, really good.

Q: Yeah, but here’s the thing: “Get Out” had some slasher stuff, but it’s more like a comedy. You think you’re going to get scared out of your wits, but you’re laughing the entire time. It’s kinda like a Freddy Kruger movie.

Frank: Ah, okay – well, that doesn’t bum me out too much; I like the campiness. If somebody were to try and do that in a newer realm, that could get really dumb, but, for the most part, I can really appreciate camp.

Q: All the Vincent Price shit was really, really good.

Frank: Oh yeah, anything with Vincent Price, you can’t go wrong. Like “Last Man On Earth,” when he’s putting the stake in?

Q: Oh, yeah!

Frank: (laughing) You couldn’t cut an apple with the amount of force that he’s using. I love that fucking movie.

Q: He was the master. There’s a scene in “Dr. Phibes Rises Again”where he’s eating fish through his tracheal hole. He starts choking on a bone, so he pulls it back out through the side of his neck. That will never be topped. The Hitchcock movies were also really good. What was the best classic, for you?

Frank: Maybe “House on Haunted Hill” - I love that movie. The Universal stuff was fantastic, but I have a specific memory of watching “House on Haunted Hill” with my father as a kid.

Q: Yeah, I used to watch with my dad too. We used to have Horror Saturdays.

Frank: Totally, yeah. I definitely got to see a lot of shit that there’s no way I should have (laughs.) My dad went to go see “House on Haunted Hill” when he was a kid, and it scared him shitless. You know that scene where they have the skeleton go across on a cable?

Q: I love that scene, it’s so fucking funny.

Frank: So, they did that in the theater when it first came out, and people lost their fucking minds.

Q: Yeah, they used to do things like that. Like that fifties alien movie, when they ran all this viral marketing on the radio, and people thought aliens were really landing.

Frank: “War of the Worlds?”

Q: I think that was it, yeah - I fucking love that shit. Speaking of Vincent Price, there was a scene in one his films where he addresses the audience directly - the one with the hand that comes to life by itself?

Frank: Oh, was that “The Tingler?”

Q: Pretty sure. The theater would turn all the lights off, and while Price is telling the audience “Nobody move, it’s amongst you!” the theater would zap them with buzzers underneath their seats. They don’t do shit like that anymore, Man.

Frank: Nowadays, people would just have a heart attack and sue.

Q: True, you’re probably right. So, let’s take a moment for this, since all of us parents love to crow about our kids: name one really cool thing about each of your little guys.

Frank: I love how fearless they are to be themselves. That is one of the things that’s so precious about youth, you know? There’s no self-consciousness at this point; they just have this inherent weirdness that they’re not afraid to show.

Q: Well, that’s you guys, too. If your parenting style allows them to express themselves, then they’ll feel comfortable doing so.

Frank: I hope so. That’s the thing: once you smother that – if you snuff that out, then you’re in for a long haul of shit. We have our entire lives to feel self-conscious - you don’t need that at six.

Q: No, but they’re fucking schoolmates will do that for you. Also, you know, the therapy bills will get really high once they start blaming you for everything that you sucked at. Now, considering the current unfortunate political climate, is it maybe time to resurrect “I Want to Kill the President?” You could give it another name, they won’t know.

Frank: Oh, man…that was an expensive, expensive mistake (both laugh.)

Q: Nobody prepares you for that, unfortunately.

Frank: That kinda shit is funny if you’re a single person, but not if you have, like, kids and a wife - putting other people at risk, that’s not cool.

Q: They don’t tell you these things when you become a grown-up.

Frank: No, they don’t, it’s a shame. I should have been smarter about it.

Q: You should have just given it another title – that’s all you had to do. They would have never known the difference; it’s artistic license.

Frank: Well, you know, when you’re young, you don’t have any fear of anything.

Q: And then they teach you really quickly that you definitely should. So, let’s talk about this EP that’s coming out, “Keep the Coffins Coming.”

Frank: Once the touring for “Stomachaches” was over, I had a conversation with my manager, Paul, around January, and he was like “Alright, what do you want to do? What’s the next thing?” I really wasn’t sure just yet, so we had this discussion about bucket lists. I was writing a little bit, but I really didn’t know what the next record was going to be yet. It came up that I had always wanted to work with Steve Albini.

We called Steve, and he had like three days free, so we packed the cars up, and I drove out to Chicago and recorded this EP. The only songs that I had, as far as new stuff, was “I’m A Mess,” and this demo idea for “Veins.” “Veins” never got finished, but we recorded “Mess,” an alternate, full-band version of “Best Friends Forever,” “No Fun Club” and a cover version of “You Are My Sunshine.” So, those four songs are the EP.

It’s weird, though: I don’t consider that version of “Mess” to be a demo - it’s still a full version, just different than the LP version. When we went in with Ross, I didn’t know if we needed it, but I love it just as much. I love both versions the same, and I think it’s really cool to hear where that song started from, and then where it ended up. Both versions have validity, you know? That’s why releasing this EP made so much sense, I think – it’s such a bridge between “Stomachaches” and “Parachutes.”

Q: So which version of “I’m A Mess” will you be showcasing on the road? Frank: Ha! A different live version. Q: Cool, sounds good. How do the kids feel about you covering their song? Frank: Good question! Lily’s psyched about it, because I showed her a video of us playing it in Russia, with all of these kids singing along to it, so she went “Am I…am I famous?” I said “Yeah, I guess you are. You’re an international songwriter now – all of these kids know your song. That’s kinda huge.” Q: That’s right. Nepotism is alive and well in the Iero household. Alright, so it’s been a really tough year for you. You lost your beloved grandfather (I feel you there,) and then you had a near-death experience yourself. How has that all changed your approach to your art, and to life, really? Frank: Geez, I don’t know. I guess…I’m still here? It’s non-linear: each day is different. I think about all of it a lot, on a daily basis. It just changes you. I don’t know if you know specifically how it changes you, you just know that you’re a different person – not necessarily for the better or for the worse, just…different. Q: Of course. How is everybody doing? Are you guys physically and emotionally okay? Is it relative? Frank: Well, there’s a lot left to do recovery-wise, and a lot more living left to do. Q: Christ. Do you know how that happened? Do you have any details as to why? Frank: You know, we’ll hear certain things through, like, third parties – police reports and stuff like that. There is an investigation that’s ongoing. From what I can gather, I think it was just a terrible accident. Q: Whew, crazy shit, Man. Frank: Yeah, it’s super fucked-up. Q: The story you told was insane: I can’t even picture that. Did your fucking life flash before your eyes? Frank: It does a bit. You think about a lot of things; things become really clear. Even though it’s just a moment, it lasts a very, very long time. Quite honestly, you think about everything. There is a peaceful realization that you come to, and you kinda say goodbye to everything. Q: (sucking in a breath) Wow…what was the first thing you did afterward, call home? Frank: Yeah, once everyone got packed up. The first thing is to make sure that everyone is getting some kind of medical attention. The second thing is to call home and let them know that something’s happened, and you’re all going to the hospital and will contact them from there - and whatever they do, they should not look at the news. Q: Sure, because the news will just say that there’s been a horrible accident, and that’s it. God, poor Jamia: two of her family members hospitalized in another country. That had to be the worst. Whoa, I can’t even imagine. Frank: And as far away as you possibly can be too - it was super shitty. Q: I’m glad you guys are okay, or at least working on being okay. Frank: Thank you, Deb. Q: Has the accident brought you all closer together in a way? Does something like that change your relationship? Frank: Yeah. It’ll be six months on Thursday, so we’re gonna have a little get-together. It’s impossible to live through something like that and not have a special connection. Q: Absolutely. Wow, six months already, holy shit. I get it: nobody else really understands what it felt like in that moment but you guys. Whew. Okay, let’s get off this subject and find something happier to discuss. You’ve mentioned that you had considered going back to school at one point – what would you have studied? Frank: I had close to a Bachelor’s, but left just shy of it. I would like to have a diploma – I’d like to have finished. As far as a specific major or concentration, I don’t know. I was working on an art major, but it was like “Well, I can quit now, and go and really live in the art world, or I can stay here and study about it and at the end of it, then I’ve got to get a job? I have a job right now, what’s a piece of paper?” I felt like opportunity was knocking, and I had to go and live it. So, that’s kinda the thing, right? Do you sit there at home and talk about art, or do you go out and live it in the real world? Q: I don’t think anybody else at 18 or 19 years old would have made much of a different decision. You think differently when you’re older. Frank: Yeah, but I would like to finish it somehow. I don’t know if I have the time just yet. Q: It’s fucking hard. I’m in my third year now, and it’s going to take me five years to get my B.A.. Frank: Sure, once you’re out of it for so long, it’s a hard thing to get back into, I would imagine. Q: It’s hard, but your attitude is different, because you care. Frank: Yeah, I feel like you’re not as concerned with it. There are other things that are way more important to you, but when you do go back, you’re going back specifically to finish – you have a goal in mind. Q: Because you want it – you’re not trying to make your parents happy, or whatever. Frank: Exactly, exactly – and I think that’s a great thing, but at the same time, I haven’t written a paper in a very, very long time. I don’t even know if I have those muscles anymore. Q: Well, if you’re a writer – which you are – that’s actually the easy part, especially if you’re writing about art. The harder part is, like, tests. Frank: That’s true. Studying, I guess, is going to be the hardest part. Q: Studying sucks, and I’m terrible at it. Okay, so let’s get into “Parachutes” now. Do you have a favorite line from “Parachutes?” Frank: A favorite line, or a favorite song? Q: Both? Frank: Favorite song is “I’ll Let You Down.” It might be because that song was never supposed to be, to be honest. I’d written it on acoustic guitar, on tour, and I really thought of that song as only an acoustic song. But our recording process got pushed back a week, and in that week, we were just kinda sitting at home in this, basically, holding pattern, and I had that song. So, I wrote a quick, live band arrangement for it, and said “Well, let’s just try this while we’re here.” It ended up being one of my favorite songs on the record. Q: I like that one too – it’s fucking super catchy. I’m looking forward to seeing it live. Frank: Oh, thanks – yeah, I hope so! (laughs) Q: Right? Imagine I was like “Oh, fuck you, I don’t care.” Okay, so that’s the favorite song. What about the favorite line? Frank: Geez, I don’t know if I can boil it down to one. Maybe “Nothing can hurt me like I hurt myself.” Q: That’s fucking relatable; seconded. That pretty much sums up how everybody feels most of the fucking time. Frank: True! Q: Do you think that heartbreak is the artist’s bread and butter? Do you think you could continue making art if you were one hundred percent content with yourself? Frank: You know, that’s a hard question, because I don’t like to think that you can only create when you’re unhappy. I think that you need the experience of both. I think sometimes it’s easier to create from misery, but I’d like to think that it’s not the only way, that it’s not a requirement. Q: Well, we wouldn’t know, right? For those of us who are never satisfied with ourselves, we don’t know what it’s like to be that way. Frank: That’s the thing, right? Everybody asks “What’s your best advice for somebody who’s aspiring to be an artist?” So that’s basically: only do this if you really, really wanna be in an old, loveless marriage. Love something so much that does not give a shit about you - lifelong self-hatred and disappointment. Q: Yes! My boy and he and his guitar player have been scolded that if they’re any more self-deprecating, it’s going to become uncomfortable for the audience (both laugh.) Frank: That was one of the things that made me so leery of going into the studio with Ross Robinson – I thought that he was going to be this imposing breakdown of a force – yelling at you and throwing things at you. But it really was the exact opposite! It was all positive - I’ve never been a part of something so positive. A lot of dudes, like, break you down to build you up, but all he did was built you up from where you were. He was more inspiring for me as an artist than anyone else I’ve ever worked with. Q: So you got off on positive feedback, imagine that! Frank: I know, isn’t that crazy? How did at happen? Q: I don’t know! Okay, so you’ve stated that the lyrics on “Parachutes” were intended to be an unfiltered snapshot into your mindset at the time. What’s one thing that you wish that more people understood about you? Frank: Oh, man…wow. That, I think, I have to answer with a line from “Mess:” “I’m tired of miracles and being so understood.” I don’t think you need to be that understood. I think it’s okay that certain things are just for you – you just create and you get it to come across, and if you’re telling the truth, then that’s fine, whether people truly get it or not is secondary. One of the things that, as a younger person, I didn’t truly understand about art is that the final act in an art project is to release it to the world and relinquish control. I was so worried about that, like “Oh, this is mine,” you know, it’s your baby, blah blah blah – but that truly does not matter, you know? It’s about the final act, and just kinda putting it out there and releasing it – just like the final act of parenting; relinquishing control. Q: No, I’m on the cusp of that right now, stop! I’m dreading it. Frank: It’s the hardest thing, the hardest fucking act, but it’s so important. Q: Yeah, I know, it is important. Can you say something about fan boundaries issues again - something you’d like to let people know about how frightening and intrusive fan behavior can be? Frank: Well, I think it’s important to remember that we’re all people – all of us – fan, artist, everybody. When you start to see someone as not a person, but just like a product or an entity, that’s when things get really hairy. It’s important to have that sense of personal space and time so that we can give you our all at the show. Q: You have always been super chill about coming out and meeting fans every show – it’s surprising to me that you’ve run into issues. I realize that sometimes you’re in a country where you don’t play often, but… Frank: Yeah, I try to keep that in mind, that each culture is different. Q: Thank you so much for your time, Frank, I’m looking forward to the Brooklyn show. Frank: I can’t wait! Thanks, Deb. Read up, listen up, watch a vid, and buy some shit: http://frank-iero.com Give Frank a shout: www.facebook.com/frankieromusic/ Twitter @FrankIero Tweet the rest of the Patience: @MattOlssonMusic @ TeamGrippo

#frank iero #frank iero and the patience #interview #keep the coffins coming #I'm a mess #new ep coming soon

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