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manjuhitorie · 4 years

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HITORI-ESCAPE 2020 : Hitorie’s Free Concert Live Stream - December 7th 2020

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In celebration of their newest single, curved edge, Hitorie streamed a full length concert! Setlist: Polaris Senseless Wonder Namid[A]me Garandou Mae Zero Banchi SLEEPWALK Loveless Gekijougai Talkie Dance Unknown Mother Goose Karanowaremono Ao curved edge In it they announced the release of a new album! Named... REAMP! Febuary 17th can’t come soon enough!!! It will even include songs written by not only Shinoda, but Yumao and ygarshy each as well! Concert report below:

Initial Impressions: ＊ SND’s shirt has Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe printed on it. ＊ He has a stageprompter to assist with lyrics as well. He struggles to hit the high notes but he nails the high octane power chords. wowaka used to wing when his would sing, so he would slip on his lyrics, and make silly faces, every other song live. I see SND is playing it safe, now that he’s the one in charge of the crazy lyrics!!! Prelude leading into... Polaris ＊SND gets riled up and turned thhe「誰も知らぬ明日へ行け　誰も止められやしないよ」lyric into a rowdy 「止められやしねえよ」 . Equivalent to “No one can stop us” being turned into “No once can fucking stop us” or so. Shinoda “We’re Hitorie, enjoy the show.” (This ‘Hitorie desu, yoroshiku douzo’ was always wowaka’s stock concert phase.) Senseless Wonder ＊”Woo-hoo”’s or unintelligible noises made in the riff music breaks. ＊Yumao sings the backup vocals. ＊SND wiggles his foot on his Wah pedal to make the wonky sounds.

Intermissional MC

Shinoda “This marks the beginning of Hitori-Escape. We are called Hitorie. Everyone please stick with us.“Heavy breathing “Hold up. I jumping around too much right off the bat.. I jumped around too much... All I did was hip and hop around a little bit... Haah. I’m gonna drink some water, drink some water!” SND walks over to the amp where bottles lie atop then proceeds to take a big sip. Yumao also follows along with a drink. Yu and SND can be seen conversing, but only SND’s “You got that right.” can be heard. SND returns to the mic “Take a gander, everyone. Even Yumao-kun is already sweating as well. This sparkly sweat of ours.. We will try to deliver you guys our sweat at the highest quality we can offer, deliver it as much as possible.” While SND is talking Yumao makes signs, such as 2 fingers up, towards the staff. “Well then, let’s chug along. Enjoy the show everyone.” Namid[A]me ＊There’s bubble popping sound effects in the intro now! Yumao is in charge of this, see his MacBook + mixer (+ a handy setlist printout) setup on the table beside him. All with a music program open primed and ready... Right before the song you can even see Yumao click his computer as well!

＊ Yumao sings backup vocals, the whole chorus has his deep voice echoing. The small amount of notes are so concise and moody live... ＊ SND tops the outro off with a “Wasshoi!” Garandou Mae Zero Banchi ＊ Melodramatic piano bit added before the intro. I wonder where this was sampled from... It sounds like SND uses his stereo chorus pedal for his part as well. Shinoda “Thank you.”

Intermissional MC

Shinoda “Uhm.. At the end of our previous live stream I had said ‘Next time we meet will be at the concert hall.’. Sorry, that was a lie... We’re meeting at a live stream yet again. We’re Hitorie, enjoy the show.” Yumao taps his cymbals gently to create the classic concert mood starter sound. SND “That, that’s good! That’s the stuff! That’s the stuff. Without that stuff I feel the silence responding to me.” He motions at the empty auditorium. “That stuff’s nice, nice. I guess ‘cause, y’know. ‘Cause you two have already been y’know. Performing in front of people.” Yumao, hits his cymbal, cue a “Bwaa~n” sound. SND “You can fool me with that shit. No ‘Bwaa~n’ will work on me. You had 2 whole opportunities in a row, yesterday and the day before.” (Referring to Yumao’s appearance in Touyama Nao’s anniversary concerts.) Yumao hits his cymbal yet again, cue a “Shwaaan” noise. SND scoffs “What a kind and swe~et reaction.” SND “I’m the only one. The only one here who hasn’t stood up in front of people. My only upcoming chance will be at ‘Countdown Japan’, at the end of the year. Then in January I’ll be doing our limited fan club concert at Shibuya WWX. Back to back. What the hell is up with this year? What the hell, huh? Huh!!!” SND playfully pounces in Yumao’s direction. Yumao hits his cymbal again. “You’re saving my butt with that. Thanks, truly. Alright. From here on I’m to bring you a few songs without a guitar, only a mic in my hands.” Yumao “1, 2, 3, 4” SLEEPWALK ＊ SND gets on his knees and wiggles to walk on the floor during music breaks, is he imitating a sleepwalker.. ＊ Ygarshy presses a pedal right after every song ends, presumably his tuner, to mute and prevent static. He strums and slaps with his fingers, no pick, for every song. SND “2020 is slowly nearing its end, but, what’s everyone’s opinion on love?” Loveless ＊BONK

＊ Includes Shinoda flopping around on the floor, squatting like a yakuza, and an outro with SND and yg having a mini string instrument battle! They huddle together! Yumao pounds away! Gekijougai ＊ Additional nebulous intro. ＊ Yumao is really worked to the bone in this banger! Featuring yet another more intense battle between yg and SND. SND “Alrighty! Ah. Where are y’all now? Where are y’all right now? It doesn’t matter where you are, just dance along to Talkie Dance!” Talkie Dance ＊ During the riff breaks SND chants Soi! Yoisa! Soi! Hoisa!” Like wasshoi, these are traditional shouts primarily used by O-mikoshi carriers in JP festivals! SND really seems to enjoy using old-fashioned words in a stylish way. SND “Upon this ending year, this one is with love from wowaka!” Unknown Mother Goose “Sing along with me!” ＊ Per usual, Yumao and ygarshy both pitch in for the ‘Oh oh oh’ harmonies. “Sing, please!” ＊ The background vocals in the Unknown Mother Goose are also confirmed by the man himself to be “Give me love”. He had responded to someone with “Oh! You’re sharp!” when asked about it!

Intermissional MC

“Are y’all having fun? Me, I can’t stop sweating. Help me. I can’t stop sweaaating.” SND changes to a high tone voice, “Ah~ This is awesomeee. Methinks this is awesome but, but I gotta say, I’m the only one here who hasn’t had a chance to perform in front of people, no kap.” He returns to his normal tone. “I hold a grudge. I’m always the only one being fucking left outtt. I can't let go of my grudge.

At least look me in the eyes, guys. Ah, whatever. On New Year's Eve I’m gonna appear in Countdown Japan, I’m gonna! ...What does it feel like anyway, performing in front of people? What does it feel like, may I ask you fine young gentleman?” SND’s voice turns to demonic. “Oiiii. Don’t just fucking nod at me. Don’t make up some new common language. You’re over there using no words, bitch.” His voice returns to normal. “Well, whatever. Enough of that. It’s no use staying jealous forever.” Yumao taps his cymbals... “Don’t just fucking ‘clang clang’ either!” Yumao laughs. “You laughed, you laughed! You laugh: you lose, you!”, they all smile. “Uhm... On December 31st, New Year's Eve, we’ll be at Countdown Japan. Please come if you can, hope to see you there. Now then! Next year, I’m talking about next year, it will be the 7th year anniversary of our major debut. In celebration, and to kick off the new year, we have booked Roppongi’s EX Theater for two days, January 21st and 22nd,. This is all I can say for now. Details will be announced later. ...Now let me drink some water.” ygarshy is all done tuning and at attention. Yumao keeps making cymbal sounds to fill the empty space. “I... Today, here, is uhm, Yokohama’s Bay Hall. It’s the place where ‘Swallowtail’ was filmed. When we arrived this afternoon I saw the windows and practically screamed. It’s Yen Town Band! It’s where Glico sang ‘My Way’! I alone was freaking out. Noone was on board with me.. I’m all alone, yet again.... The camera zooms in on Yumao, “Don’t just smile! Don't just smile at me With that said. Our 7th anniversary hits next year! So, here is our very first song, which represents our beginning....” Karanowaremono Ao ＊ Many emotional spotlights.

Intermissional MC

SND “At long last, this time has come. Huh! Mister Yumao-san!” SND glares at him. “Perhaps I may revel in a sip of water as well. A sip of water!! ... By the way what time is it? Yumao, in reporter voice “It is currently eight thirty seven.” SND “I see, it’s eight thirty seven. That's crazy. So today, our new song released, as you folks may know. Our new song called curved edge was released. Did you give it a listen? If you haven’t then please do, but also, the music video for the song will be public today at 22 o’ clock, please enjoy it. That’s the immediate future. But let’s talk about the faaar future.... On February 17th will a new album be released. We made an album. curved edge is a song written by me, and naturally it will be included in the album as well but, that’s not all.” He wags his finger towards the others, “This wiggly windy head of brown-colored hair and, this other wiggly windy head of black-colored hair have even each written a song for it as well. The title is R-E-A-M-P, REAMP. To be released on February 17th. Keep your eyes peeled.” he tapped his temple as he said this, “Please!” Ygarshy bows. “Ahhh, we made it!” Shinoda starts coughing, “Excuse me. Coughing without covering my mouth is not good. I'll be careful. Ah, I’m so nervous. I’ve grown nervous this far in. Alright, this next one will be the final song. Thank you so much for bearing with us. We are Hitorie. As farewell, here is our new song. curved edge.

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I have also written up the original Japanese quotes! Thank you Tamagotoji for the huge help! ORZ For those looking to follow along with the concert, or learn new words from them, or enjoy!! Please enjoy!

https://www.evernote.com/l/AolVRKvLGRpFN6l0MApPe5xuRXQOI4kFeTg

Bonus tech lore

Disclaimer: Only old photos exist of their pedalboards exist, as the cameramen did a fine job of concealing them. Since there’s no new evidence of change, I’ll assume these old findings will serve as foundation for their current setups as well!

#hitorie #ヒトリエ

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chaosrealm-mk-imagines · 4 years

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May I ask for music, family and fears for Kuai Liang, Fujin and Nightwolf? 🥰

Sure! I hope you like it, thanks for the request!

Kuai Liang (Sub-Zero II)

Music

Kuai likes the silence with only the sound of his mind, but if he had to pick a favorite genre it would be classical music. He enjoys listening specially to J.S Bach and Chopin works. He’s too busy now for a hobby but when he was younger he learned how to play piano with his father. Kuai Liang keeps their old piano at the temple and may play it at special occasions, or when someone insists to listen him playing, besides being quite shy he may accept the request if it comes from someone special to him.

Family

Being raised alongside his stubborn brother and a ruthless father made Kuai who he is now, quiet and patient. His real family are the Lin Kuei, there he was raised alongside brothers who taught him to be his better self; until the time were he would be the father for so many students has come. The blood bounds doesn’t mean much to him, but the connection is what Kuai believes to make a family. He’s very protective towards the ones he loves and tries his best at being helpful. Besides that, he has a love and hate relationship with Bi-Han, who acts like a prick with him but he still forgives that.

Fears

Kuai has a deep fear of being alone, he may enjoy solitude but the thought of being forever at it disturbs him. He fears losing the people he loves and being the one to blame for it. Sub-Zero has a lot of overthinking issues and that may take the best of him. Don’t tell anyone but he’s also afraid of frogs, Bi-Han used to put them at his pillow while he slept and he would always awaken screaming for that. Sadly enough he also has claustrophobia due to a terrible memory

Nighwolf

Music

Nightwolf enjoys a lot of different genres, but there is one in special that has been with him since he was younger; Metal. This boy loves listening to every subgenre inside Metal possible, from Symphonic to Trash and even Black if he feels like doing so. His favorites bands are Hammerfall and Powerwolf, his favorite subgenre is Power Metal, he also likes bands such as Arkona or Children of Bodom. He knows how to play a lot of instruments and funny enough he wanted to be a musician before he was Nightwolf, he’s specially good at bass and drums. The thing he more likes about metal is that no matter how you are feeling or what do you like, there will be a song at the genre that speaks to you.

Family

To him family is one of the most important things in the world, the Matoka are his tribe and he would do anything to protect them. When he’s around his family he acts very polite and helpful around them, he’s serious and may not enjoy a lot of physical contact with them unless needed, in an overhaul Grey Cloud is very respectful towards the elders and wants to serve as an example to the youngsters, he has a duty with the people he has vown to protect not only because he was chosen but also because they’re his family.

Fears

Grey Cloud has a mortal fear of failure, he’s afraid that all he did was for nothing, that the Matoka fall into danger and he’s not able to protect them. Nightwolf is afraid of loss too, he’s used to it but not comfortable, he has a hard time at creating bounds with people as he fears they may die and leave him with a hole at his chest for that. His fear of failure also make him care too much with what other people think of him, he would be the kind of man to hate speaking in public because he fears people may laugh at him as he commits a mistake.

Fujin

Music

After spending a long time with mortals, Fujin interacted with every kind of musical genre and enjoyed all them as a whole. But he has a soft spot for classic rock and blues, he may listen to a lot of Fleetwood Mac and Pink Floyd from time to time. Fujin had a long time to learn how to play any instrument he desired to, but his favorite is the flute and is the one he mostly play, he also enjoys singing and loves doing so when asked to. There was this time were Nightwolf showed him some extreme metal bands and he had a lot of nightmares due to the Album Covers, not that he hates the genre but he can’t stand how noisy and weird it is.

Family

The concept of family is a weird thing to most of the gods, Fujin in the other hand was raised alongside his brother Raiden and valued it since he can remember. Fujin believes family to be a sacred thing and that must be respected no matter what, besides that he understand that many mortals have issues with their parents and thinks it’s fine to have a bad relationship with them as long there is still respect from both sides. He wishes to have a family of his own one day, no matter what kind of family as long it’s his.

Fears

Fujin has a lot of fears inside himself, specially towards other people. He worries too much about their wellbeing and tend to forget about himself most of the time, he’s afraid of being weak and unable to protect what he loves. The wind god also fears rejection as he feels insecure sometimes around people, what leads to his ultimate fear of disappointing Raiden; he wants his brother to trust him and know that he’s capable of being Earthrealm Protector at his own if needed. Fujin also fears being ignorante, he doesn’t want to became oblivious to things around him or ever be delusioned by something, he has a lot to learn and is willing to overcome his fears.

Prompt

#mortal kombat #mk #mortal kombat aftermath #mortal kombat 11 #mortal kombat headcanons #headcanon #fanfiction #hc #prompt #writing prompt #fujin #nightwolf #kuai liang #sub zero #ask #requests open

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onlystylesangels · 5 years

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Calming Nerves

Anon: Hii! I really love your writing ❤️ can I request a protective!Harry one shot. Maybe y/n having a panic attack or something bc of the crowds xx Thank u

Pairing: Harry x Reader

Warnings: Fluff, angst, panic attack

Word Count: 3K+

A/N: Hello lovie! I know you requested this a long time ago and I apologize for not writing this right away. Here she is and I hope you enjoy! I love this little one shot, so hope you love her too! Feedback is much appreciated! Much love!!💓❤💞💕

Harry was at another gig. He was currently rehearsing while his best friend Y/N was sitting on the seats that were all the way in the back of the arena.

“How do I sound, love?” Harry asked as he spoke through his microphone.

“Pleasant I guess!” Y/N teases as Harry’s smile falls.

“You liar. I think I sound good if I do say so myself.” Harry laughs as Y/N rolls her eyes at his narcissism.

“You wish, Styles!” Y/N smiles as Harry walks off the stage and walks towards Y/N.

“Come, I want to show you the outfit that I’m going to wear today for the show.”

“Is it flashy?”

“What d’ya mean, love?”

“Like sparkly, or you know-”

“Of course it’s sparkly, love. What else would I wear?”

“Harry Styles always going out with a bang.”

“Indeed, love.” Harry mused as they both walked towards the dressing rooms.

“So this is Mitch. The man has worn the same underwear for twelve years now.” Harry said as he whispered the last part.

Y/N glances over at the man with ear length hair as he held a guitar, playing a single string. He stopped what he was doing and glared over at Harry.

“Really, Harry.” Mitch glared at him as he grabbed the guitar strap and pulled it over his head.

“Fuckin’ classic!” Harry giggles as he hides his face behind Y/N's shoulder.

Y/N starts to laugh as she pats Mitch on the shoulder, “Don’t fuss too much about it, Mitch. He’s just like that. He will never change, the buggar.”

“You know you love me, Mitch.” Harry says as he sends him a cheeky smile.

“Can’t enjoy some quiet, huh?”

“We’ll leave you be, Mitch. It’s nice to meet you though.” Y/N says as she extends her hand towards him.

“Likewise, Y/N. Can’t believe a nice person like you knows Harry.”

“Oh bug off, Mitch! I’m nice with ya!" Harry narrows his eyes at him.

"I should've stayed at that pizza joint to be honest."

Their friendship was the best. Well what Harry would say it's the 'bestest'.

Harry has known Y/N since grade school and they have been friends ever since then. They were magic with each other even though once in a while one of them may tease the other and they would go back and forth. But that was just how friendship were, right?

“Harry! Give that back you twat!”

“Sorry, love. I actually like how it looks on me. What d’ya think, Y/N?” Harry smirks as Y/N just glares at him.

“Give it. Back. Harry!” Y/N taunted as Harry lost his smile and changed to a worried demeanor.

“Alright. Jus’ don’t hit me!”

“Like I would hit you.”

“You would if you wanted to.” Harry retorted as he gave the sunglasses and hat to Y/N.

“Never in a million years, Harry.” Y/N assured him.

Hours before Harry had to go on stage and perform, Y/N was in the dressing room waiting for him to walk out and guide her towards the part of the arena she was going to be at.

As Y/N was looking at the many little bottles of nail polish, Harry stuck his head out of the curtain and smirked.

"Gonna paint me nails fo' me, Y/N?" Harry asked as he kept his eyes on her.

"No. I was just looking through them. They're pretty colors. Are your nails painted?"

"Nah. I was going to wait fo' the next show. Thinkin' maybe you could help with that." Harry suggested as he was fixing his little sparkly bow on his shirt collar.

"Maybe. I don't know though, you might not like my painting skills."

"Why? Are you bad at painting 'em?"

"Not exactly." Y/N said. Her smile present. "I don't know, I've never painted someone else’s nails before."

"Ohhh. That explains it. I think you'll be fine, love." Harry assured her. He kept trying to tighten up the loose bow but each time he tightened it it fell back to its original floppy mess.

"Can you help me with this bloody bow? Can't seem to get it right."

Y/N stood in front of him and gently pulled onto the two loose strands of fabric. His face was nearly close to her face as she started to tie the little bow.

"Didn't know you were strong, love." Harry teased as he looked straight into her eyes and lifted her chin so she could make eye contact with him.

"Sorry. I didn't want to pull that hard. I thought I was gentle with it." She apologized. Her hands busy with trying to create a simple knot.

Harry didn't say anything he just stood there and had his head low at Y/N's height.

Y/N was also struggling to tie this bow and trying to make it look semi presentable. With one last knot she finally gave up and released her grip from Harry's collar.

"Is this okay?"

Harry nods as he looks at himself in the mirror.

After Harry was dressed and was ready to go out on stage he made sure Y/N knew where she was staying during the show. He wanted to make sure he could see her through the crowds he knew there was going to be.

**//**

Y/N stood behind the black barriers as she had a good view of the stage and where the band and Harry will at. She was excited to see her best friend perform. This was her first time that she was going to see Harry perform. Harry always tried convincing her that she should come along with them to every show, Y/N would say yes all those times that he did ask her, but she couldn’t leave her responsibilities behind and go with Harry for who knows how many months on the road. So that’s why last week she ringed Harry and told him that she was going to join him if he was alright with it obviously. Harry was excited to bring her along with him and the crew, it was a day that him and Y/N have been looking forward to.

Right as the lights began moving, as they hit every part of the arena and the sound of the choir starting from the song Only Angel, Y/N was ready she knew she was going to see Harry already knowing what he was wearing. People beside her started screaming as the screen started to slowly lift up, clouds of smoke and lights blinding them so they couldn’t see the band or Harry just yet. Screams of excitement and people jumping up and down and leaning forwards as they tried to get a good glimpse of the stage. Once the drums and guitars were heard Harry jumped and began walking towards areas of the stage and greet his fans. He blew them kisses and waved his hands as he said hello, once he faced the area that Y/N was standing at he stopped for a bit and tried looking for her and when he set eyes on her he smiled and blew a kiss to her and the fans around her.

Y/N was jumping, singing along to every song and was having a fantastic time at her best friend’s concert. She was so proud of Harry and how much he has achieved in the past few years. He’s only twenty-four and he already had a debut album that hit #1 world-wide and he acted in a movie just last year. She was proud of him and she made sure Harry knew it every day they either talked on the phone or whenever they had the chance to hang out.

Every once in a while Harry would glance where Y/N was at and smirked at her and went back to looking ahead at the crowds. Y/N’s smiled when the fans put up colored lights up with their phones, creating a rainbow around the entire arena. It was just… beautiful. Harry had the most dedicated fans in the world that all of this probably took them long to set this up with everyone in the arena. Harry appreciated the lights and bowed his head and whispered a ‘thank you’ to himself.

Everything was perfect. Harry, the band and Y/N was singing along the whole time. Right after he sang his last song before he walked towards the little stage, someone behind her bumps into her and she was about to complain to them, but she felt more people pushing and shoving each other as they tried to get close to the barrier. Y/N was nervous and paranoid at the same time. She became breathless as nerves started to consume her as she was worried that she wasn’t going to be able to breath with so much people huddling together trying to catch a glimpse of Harry walking along the corridors. Y/N tried yelling but nothing came out but just a quiet whisper. The girl beside her noticed her struggling to breath as Y/N had her hand on her racing heart. The girl told the girl next to her to yell to the security so they could help Y/N. The security followed suit and tried to get Y/N out as the crowds were still huddled together, this caught Harry’s attention. He went towards the area where Y/N was in and he tried to see what was going on and once he glanced at what was going on he saw Y/N being pulled away from the group and out into the corridor.

“Y/N!” Harry yelled out. He rushed towards Y/N and tried to wake her but she wasn’t waking up. “I need you to help her please! Take her backstage!” Harry yelled out as he addressed it to the two security guards.

The security guards carried her away backstage as Harry followed close behind them leaving behind puzzled fans.

Y/N was breathing slowly. Before the security guards carried her out of the crowd she saw white little stars and everything around her became blurry she didn’t even hear Harry’s voice when he came beside her and ran right behind the security guards with her delicate body in their arms.

**//**

As soon as the security guards rushed Y/N backstage and set her down on a couch, they tried waking her up with a little cotton ball covered with rubbing alcohol. One of the security guards brought up to her nose as Y/N eventually woke up her eyes wandered where she was and she felt at ease when she landed eyes on Harry.

“Harry?” Y/N gasped. Her sights still a little foggy.

“Y/N. Y/N, you fucking scared the shit out of me.” Harry said as he caressed Y/N’s cheek and tried to calm her nerves.

“I’m sorry Harry. I- I don’t know what the hell happened, I jus- I just felt dizzy and I couldn’t breathe because of people pushing each other and huddling together.” Y/N let out, as her eyes now slowly deciphered the place better. Lights started connecting as she started seeing less foggy lights.

“You don’t have nothing to be sorry, love. I’m sorry I put you in the first row. I just thought you wanted to see me better.” Harry was now running his hand through Y/N’s hair and pressed his forehead against hers. “I’m so sorry, love this happened to you.”

Y/N was going to say something back that he shouldn’t be sorry. He didn’t know what was going to happen and neither did she. Y/N has had occurrences like this, but she wasn’t in a situation where she was pushed against so many people. She knew it was a panic attack and she didn’t want to worry Harry more than he already was. She just wanted him to go back on stage and do his job, she didn’t want him to stay here with her and ignore his fans who were probably shocked on what happened.

“I need to stay here with you, Y/N. I can cancel this show and move it up, I have to stay here with you, love.” Harry said as if he heard the exact words in her head a moment ago.

“I want you to go back on stage, Harry. You need to go back to your fans, I promise I’ll be fine here, yeah? Just go out there and perform your ass off, yeah? Can you do that for me?” Y/N spoke her voice was a bit raspy from the lack of energy that she felt. It was now her turn to caress Harry’s cheek, she smiled and mouthed a ‘please’ to him to go back on stage. There was no reaction from him, but she knew that he was thinking how crazy she was for telling him to go back on stage and perform as if nothing ever happened to her.

But he knew she was not stopping from insisting him to go back up. So he did and he kissed Y/N on the forehead and told the security guard to hook up the small television to the cameras that were on so she could see him still. Not in person, but on screen.

Harry didn’t leave the small room before telling Y/N that he loved her. They both smiled to each other and Harry was off running again towards the stage.

**//**

Y/N was sat on the couch watching the small television where Harry was seen and the band. Temporarily the camera would look towards the crowd and then it shot back to Harry. She enjoyed this, she knew it wouldn’t have been the same feeling than physically being in the arena but what could she do? Either way she loved the show, she was recovering from the panic attack she had by drinking lots of water. There were occasions that she would drift off into a little nap and then wake back up still looking at the little television.

Y/N was unsure when the concert ended, she fell asleep during the last half of the show. She woke right up when she felt a gentle nudge from something touching her shoulder and feels someone sits next to her.

“Y/N? Love are you awake?” A voice asks. Y/N wakes up with a deep inhale of air and rubs her eyes to see who was talking to her.

“Harry.” She groggily says. A lazy smile coming along as Harry smiles and reaches over and tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Is it over?”

“The show? Yeah. It’s over, love.” Harry says as he rubs up and down on her calf to calm her.

“Sorry. I fell asleep during the last bit.”

Harry laughs and keeps his hand on Y/N’s calf. “Was it that boring of a show? Am I that boring?” Y/N giggles and tries to tickle him with her foot, but failed, Harry caught her foot before she could do anything.

“You weren’t boring, H. I was just tired, that's all.”

“I know, love. I was just messing with ya. But are you feeling better? Any pain?”

Y/N shakes her head and lifts herself up so she could sit properly. “Just tired and hungry. Care to get some pizza?” Y/N suggests. Her eyes were still a bit sleepy.

“Sounds good. But we’re ordering. Do you want some ice cream too?” Harry caressed her face and played with her hair as Y/N smiled at him.

“Yes please.” Y/N said as she set her head on Harry’s shoulder and he wrapped his arms around her small frame and kissed the top of her head.

**//**

“Harry! You’re going to make a mess, love!” Y/N screamed as she watched Harry stand in front of a big fan eating away his ice cream cone.

“Nothing will happen, love.” Harry nonchalantly spoke. He started to eat the ice cream in a weird position, his arms were inches away from his body and ice cream was dripping down his hand.

“Harry!”

“It’s fine, love. We can clean it up later.” He replied back. He continued licking away at his ice cream.

They were in Y/N’s hotel room. Y/N was keen about leaving this hotel room spotless before they leave to go back on the road. But here was Harry being stubborn as ever and eating his ice cream in front of a fan as the ice cream kept streaming down his hands and dripping down onto the floor.

“Harry, you’re going to clean that up, you little twat.” Y/N warned as she pointed at the mess he made on the tiled floor of the kitchen.

Harry nodded his head. “Promise I’ll clean it up, darlin’.” Harry said as he was now washing his sticky hands over the sink. Harry dried up his hands and went towards the couch where Y/N was sitting down watching an episode of Friends.

“Love you, Y/N.” He whispered in Y/N’s ear as she shivered from his breath hitting her skin.

“I love you too, Harry. Thank you for spending time with me. I know you should rest because of another show tomorrow.”

Harry dragged his pointer finger along her cheek and smiled, he stared at her face and stopped to stare at her lips.

“I wanted to, Y/N. You’re no bother.” Harry confessed, his hands doing wonders to her skin as he rubbed soothing circles on her shoulders.

Harry and Y/N spent their night watching episodes of Friends until they started to get sleepy. Harry carried Y/N’s body towards the master bedroom and set her down on the mattress. Y/N asked him if he could take off her shorts for her and he obliged. Once Y/N was comfortable on the bed, Harry took off his shirt and sweats that he put on before they drove to the hotel after the concert.

Harry climbs onto the bed as Y/N’s back is facing him. He lies down and covers himself with the light blanket and looks over Y/N’s back.

“Is this okay?” He whispers and puts a hand on her shoulder.

Y/N turns around to face him and wraps her arms around him. “Yes.” She kisses him on the forehead. “This is okay.” She says and tucks her head in the crook of his neck and inhales his familiar scent that she came to love so much. “I love you, Harry.” She whispers as goosebumps start trickling on Harry’s skin.

“I love you too, my darlin’.”

Harry peppered kisses all over Y/N’s face making her giggle hysterically and Harry smiles from her cute reaction. Y/N does the same and kisses his bare chest where the tattooed swallows are at. They eventually fall asleep as they try to get their sleep so they’re ready for the next upcoming show of her best friend; Harry Styles.

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#harry styles writing #harry styles blurb #harry styles prompt #harry styles fanfic #harry styles fluff #harry styles angst #anon requests.#onlystylesangels writing

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the-inept-artist · 5 years

Text

Apologies to a Brother

Yay, I'm not dead!

Yeah, this is a songfic. I recently discovered the song "Lullaby For A Princess" by Ponyphonic and animation by WarpOut. Despite not being an MLP fan, this song touched me, and also made me think of the Sanders twins. So I took some of the lyrics and changed them to fit the story better. I'm including a link to the original video and a link to the instrumental in case you want to try to sing my lyrics.

Original video

Instrumental version

With all that been said, Sanders Sides, MLP, "Lullaby For A Princess" and "Morning Mood" do not belong to me.

As always, please enjoy and review!

~oOo~

Roman lay on his bed, idly staring up at the ceiling. It was a down day for Thomas, so the sides were taking the free time to relax and unwind. Logan was undoubtedly reading some new text book, Virgil was probably on Tumblr, and Roman knew Patton was baking down in the mind palace kitchen. The tantalizing scent of brownies wafted through the air vents, and Roman smiled to himself. They would certainly have a treat after dinner tonight.

Calming classical music played quietly from Roman's IPod across the room on his desk. Despite being a wild Disney fan, every now and again, the princely side enjoyed not feeling the pull to sing along to every song that played, leaving him to instead ride the symphony and travel the ups and downs of it's invisible story.

'Morning Mood' faded out, and the brief silence swept over Roman. He sighed. He was actually glad Thomas had the day off, because Roman wasn't sure he would've been able to function properly. June 18th always did this to him, despite having been ages ago.

If the date on it's own wasn't enough, shuffle decided to resurrect an old song, one Roman had almost forgotten. Violins and piano rose elegantly, and with them, memories. Memories of things said and done.

Things he had said and done.

Roman sat up and sighed again. It was bound to happen, it always did this time of year. Reaching under the bed, he pulled out a worn book, pages old and cover leathery from touch and use. He opened to the first page and gazed at the taped in photograph, the familiar tug at his heart now starting in earnest. Barely thinking about it, he began to sing.

"Fate has been cruel and order unkind,

How can I have sent you away?

The blame was my own; the punishment yours,

The palace is silent today."

A young Creativity, Morality, and Logic beamed back at the prince, but Roman's eyes were drawn to the tiny figure behind them, a small splotch of green in the sea of blues and red being the only hint he was there at all.

"But into the stillness, I'll bring you a song,

And I'll dig through the past treasuries

Till your tired mind and my aching heart

Have had enough of the memories."

Roman turned the pages slowly, one by one. Every one of them had several pictures either taped or glued to them.

Patton learning his way around the kitchen and proudly presenting his first edible batch of cookies.

Logan during Christmas, joy in his grin as he unwrapped the first of the Harry Potter series.

Roman trying karaoke for the first time and owning Mulan's "I'll Make a Man Out of You".

Occasionally, the camera caught the child in green, but when he was there, he was on the outskirts of the little family. In the rare pictures when he was in full view, Roman seemed to be the only one who could see him.

The delicate sound of a mandolin echoed throughout Roman's room, and he continued to sing, lump in his throat be damned.

"Once did a small prince who shone like the sun

Look out on his friends with pride

He smiled and said "Surely there is nobody

So lucky and so very blessed as I."

Roman swallowed, eyes tracking the growth of he and the other Light Sides. Glasses appeared on both Logan and Patton, and each gained a necktie and cardigan, respectively. A bright red sash eventually marked himself as the fanciful aspect of Thomas. But the child in green simply became darker as time passed.

"So bright was his flame and so cheerful his smile,

That long was the shadow he cast,

Which fell dark upon the twin brother he loved,

And grew only darker as days and nights passed."

Eventually, the child, now in green and black, disappeared from the photo album. Roman closed the book, recognizing this as the time when Patton really began his work, helping Thomas differentiate between right and wrong.

Roman's mind took over, filtering reality with painful recollection as he stared around his room, never stopping his musical storytelling. He watched as his younger self and brother materialized, arguing.

"Soon did that small prince take notice that the others

Did not give his brother the same care

And their host had realized he wasn't all good

So he watched as his brother lay his discontent bare."

"They don't like me, Roman!" Remus shouted. "They never have!"

"You just have to give them a chance, Remus," Roman pleaded. "I know that they—"

"But it's not just them! Thanks to Patton, Thomas is figuring out that you're the better one out of both of us! Sooner or later, he's going to stop listening to me completely." Remus' voice cracked and his shoulders slumped, the fight going out of him. "It was always going to happen. I don't know why you thought you could stop it."

"Remus, I'm sorry, I really am, but—"

"But what do you care?!" Remus snarled, ferocity returning just as quick as it had left. "You're the golden one! The perfect prince! The cherished "fanciful" side!" Remus grinned, full of malice as he brushed past his twin roughly. "Why not give the people what they think they deserve?"

And he left their room, slamming the door so hard the walls shook and Roman winced.

Roman saw his child self, shaking in surprise. Then his expression changed from fear to anger, and he growled, clenching his fists. Roman shook his head at the memory, disgusted at his own actions. The music swelled, and his voice strengthened to match it.

"But such is the way of the Light Side, it sweetly

Enchanted the mind of its host

And that foolish prince just did nothing to stop

The destruction of one who had needed him most."

The prince blinked and teleported himself to The Pit. The place where it had all ended, just as quickly as it had begun.

The Pit was believed to be the entrance to the home of the Dark Sides. Shadowy, cold and fraught with terrors and beasts, it was designed to keep the evils locked away where they could do little harm. Roman had first hated Virgil when he came out of The Pit, because he saw the anxious side as proof that one could survive and escape. Fortunately, he had soon come around and made peace with him. The Light Sides typically stayed a good distance away from the innocent looking hole, knowing the horrors it possessed.

But the twins hadn't, on that terrible day.

The IPod and accompanying melody had been left back in Roman's room, but he didn't care. He had the coming lyrics committed to memory after having written and rewritten the words he so badly wanted his brother to hear.

Little Roman and Remus appeared again, swords and shields in hand. Roman watched them, eyes welling as he sang, straining to reach the pair, to stop them..

"Goodbye now, dear twin, I'm sorry, brother mine

Rest now with darkness embrace."

"Remus, stop!" Roman cried, blocking another attack from his brother and pushing him off. "This isn't you!"

"Oh, but it is, my dear Roman," Remus said sleekly, the new white streak in his hair flapping about as he landed a short distance away. "You see, I've learned that not all types of creativity are appreciated." He hefted his blade and rushed Roman, who barely had time to lift his shield and defend himself.

"Deliver my apologies, bring them to his ears

Through shadow, and through veil, and through pain."

"So I thought to myself," Remus said calmly, spinning for a counter attack, "why be forgotten if I can be the only creative side left?!" Sparks flew as swords clashed.

The knot in Roman's gut twisted as he witnessed the two young boys unknowingly step closer and closer to The Pit.

"Carry the peace and the coolness of night

And carry my tears in kind."

"Please, you can't!"

Roman took a shaky breath as his younger self started to cry, beaten down by his brother. A tear rolled down his own cheek as well. Still, he watched, and he sang.

"Remus, you are loved so much more than you know

May troubles be far from your mind."

"I can and I will." Remus stalked toward Roman, a manic glint in his eyes. "And all it takes is one—little—PUSH!" He lunged at Roman, who swiftly stepped aside out of self-preservation.

Roman broke into a dead sprint, reason gone, and head filled with alarms and the ever-growing chant of catch him, catch him, CATCH HIM!

But, of course, he couldn't catch him.

Remus wobbled, smirk vanished from his lips. Roman reached to grab the back of his lime-green sash, realizing the danger.

He missed.

Roman stopped at the edge of The Pit, even with his younger self, both watching as their brother fell. His cheeks were wet, and breath hitched in his throat. As his child incarnation screamed, Roman lowered his voice and whispered the final lyric, bowing his head as the shadows swallowed his twin whole.

"Please forgive me for being so blind."

"REMUS!"

~ONE WEEK LATER~

"Well if there's one thing I know, it's that Reese Witherspoon isn't evil." Patton nearly choked as he looked over at Roman. Roman gave him an odd look, but said nothing. Probably just the cookie he ate before doing the video.

Virgil scoffed from his place on the stairs. "I resent that. Ghosts aren't evil. They just scare people because you never know when they're going to SHOW UP!" His voice went deeper as he, too, glanced at the prince, eyes wide. Thomas also seemed to be somewhat panicked.

"Okay, okay, I take back what I said about ghosts!" Roman said, thinking they were just bashing his take on the movie.

A sharp pain exploded in the back of his head, and all went green and black.

#Sanders Sides #Roman and Remus #Roman #Creativity #Impulse Thought #songfic #angst #SOMUCHANGST #MLP #LullabyForAPrincess #stinkyboi #littletrashgoblin

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sydswritings · 6 years

Text

APMA’s - Part 1 (Chapter 27)

Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was probably one of the most beautiful buildings I had ever seen, but finally being inside and feeling the cool air conditioned air caress my heated skin was heaven on earth. The girls and I followed the guys as they made their way to the massive hall that would be holding the actual ceremony. Thirty tables, 15 on each side, lined the floor that was surrounded by levels of seats, where fans could view the awards. The front held the massive stage where all the bands would perform and the presenters would announce who won what.

“I need a drink,” I announced after sitting at our designated table. The nerves were hitting full force and I needed something that would calm them.

“It’s 5 Syd, maybe you should hold off,” Charlie laughed out, “at least until the show starts.”

It took everything in me not to flip her the bird as my leg bounced up and down. My nerves were shot and each passing second had my anxiety ratcheting up another notch. I watched as Andy and Juliet headed down the walkway separating the two rows of tables, taking a seat at the table directly across from us. From the corner of my eye I saw MGK collapsing at the table to our right with the rest of his group, followed by Papa Roach and his friends, all loud and slightly intoxicated. Why was I not with them?

Then I saw him cross in front of me and my breath froze in my lungs. The girls and Jared had done a great job of keeping him out of my line of sight the whole red carpet, but now? Now he was walking in front of me looking perfect. Shannon’s 5’9 frame was covered in a soft dark grey v-neck t-shirt with a black blazer rolled to his elbows. His legs enclosed in a pair of light blue ripped jeans and his favorite black shoes. The only blight on his appearance was the gorgeous brunette attached to his arm. She was stunning in her black dress and exoctic features that screamed Russian model. They looked flawless together and I wanted to throw something.

“Fuck it,” I breathed out, “I’m getting a drink.” I announced louder before standing up.

My abrupt movement caught Shannon’s eye making him stop his trek to the table to the left of ours.

“Sydney,” his voice was low, almost a whisper, before he cleared it and moved to stand in front of me, “you look beautiful tonight.”

“I-umm,” I started my voice cracking and stuttering before I backed away from him and his girlfriend, “excuse me.”

I’m sure I looked crazy or at the very least rude as fuck, but there was no way I could stand there and talk to him like nothing had happened. Finally, I stepped up to the bar ordering the strongest Jack & Coke I could, before leaning against the wood to wait for my drink.

“Drinking alone?” A familiar male voice asked. I cut my eyes down the bar meeting Kelly’s too blue gaze.

“Stalker much?” I retorted before the bartender handed me my drink.

“Oh come on,” he defended, starting his way down the bar to stand in front of me, “that was just rude, it’s a public area with alcohol.”

“You’re right, that was mean.” His boyish grin had me smiling back up at him, god this man was tall. “I apologize, it’s not been the best beginning to the night.”

“I’ll forgive you if you agree to let me buy you a drink at the after party.” His silver fangs glinted from the lights above and I felt a shiver run down my spine.

“Hmmm,” I pretended to think on it for a moment before clinking my glass against his, “deal.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I felt eyes on me, from honestly every direction, as Kelly escorted me back to my table. After thanking him, I finally sat down facing the girls. Their expressions ranging from B’s completely open curiosity to Charlie’s eyes rolling so hard I thought they’d fall out of her skull to Ace’s barely disguised disgust.

“What?” I finally snapped, each of their eyes growing wide at my outburst.

“Nothing, nothing,” Charlie started, hands raised in defense, “absolutely nothing.”

“Somehow I don’t believe you.” I sighed out.

Soon the lights faded, thankfully halting any more conversation about me and Kelly. The crowd of fans grew louder as Alex and Jack from All Time Low took the stage, beginning their hosting duties of the night. We laughed and cheered on Tyler Posey’s appearances. We sang and swayed to Chris Carrabba’s acoustic performance of Hands Down, before singing and dancing to the combined performance of Mayday Parade and The Main. My 90’s heart skyrocketed when Stephan James of 3rd Eye Blind joined the stage and started singing Jumper. The girls laughed at my enthusiasm as I sang at the top of my lungs, letting the tension of the last month leave my frame, to hell with all this drama. I was going to drink, have fun and enjoy the outcomes of the awards, consequences be damned.

Jack and Alex took to the stage once again, announcing Savannah, Oliver and Masato, three lead singers who were presenting the award for Best Vocalist. I felt myself move to the edge of my seat as I watched the nominees flash across the screen, joining the screaming fans as Kellin and Patrick’s faces and names joined the rest of the nominees. I glanced around the room, locking eyes with Kellin across the way, his face was lined with stress as we waited for Savannah to open the envelope. I gave him my most encouraging smile before we heard Oliver’s voice ring out over the PA announcing Patrick had won, Kellin grinned wide as we all stood and clapped for our close friend. The night proceeded from there, Yellowcard performed next and watching Vic perform with them was beyond amazing, his grin was infectious and you could tell he was on cloud nine.

After Best International Band was taken by You Me at Six, Spencer from Ice Nine Kills and Matt from From Ashes to New took the stage to announce the winner of Best Bassist. We all turned to B who looked as white as a ghost, which considering how pale she already was, was a feet in and of itself. Ace slid her hand over to grab B’s unoccupied hand as we watched the nominees being announced on the screen.

“And the winner is,” Spencer started slowly.

“Skylar Accord, Issues.” Matt finished.

Pete leaned over and kissed the top of B’s head as Ace slung her arm around her slender shoulders.

“You’ll get it next time B!” Charlie said with a encouraging smile.

“Guys, really it’s ok. He definitely deserved it. I’m honestly just honored to be nominated.” Brook laughed out.

I laughed with my sister as the waiter rounded our table again and I waved him down, the girls looked at me warily as I ordered my third drink of the night.

“Dude, it’s a party, I’m going to enjoy my night.” I argued as the waiter left.

“Just don’t overdue it is all, I know why, but just careful.” Jared countered from between me and Ace.

I rolled my eyes but nodded to appease him. Issues performed next, followed by Stitched Up At Heart presenting Best Live Band which we lost to Neck Deep, but let's be real here, we knew there was no way we were winning against them. Their stage presence was off the wall and we happily cheered as they took the stage to accept their much deserved award. Good Charlotte performed after taking home Classic Album for Young and the Hopeless, which made me feel about 20 x's too old. The next award was for Best Drummer and if I thought Brook was tense about her nomination, it was nothing compared to how Ace looked as her name slid across the screen as Matt from August Burns Red opened the envelope. Sadly it went to CC, but Ace grinned and clapped as we watched him stand from across the walkway and hug Andy.

“Okay, now I need a drink.” Ace announced as she leaned against Jared.

Her stress of possibly having to walk the stage alone was released as soon as CC’s name rang through the hall.

“About time!” I yelled, “now I won’t be the only getting ugly looks.”

The girls’ rolled their eyes before ordering their first round and my fourth, soon I was going to lose count. I watched Alex and Jake prepare the stage as Set It Off joined them to announce Best Music Video and I froze in my place, eyes jumping straight to Andy, who’s eyes were already on me. I know it’s awful, but all I could think was ‘please don’t win, please don’t win’ as clips of the nominees’ videos played on the big screen. I blushed as Andy’s video flashed across with a snippet of us rolling around on the hotel bed. Glancing across the room, I caught quite a few people looking between Andy and I, making me want the ground to swallow me whole as I caught Juliet’s murderous gaze. Something about her made the petty side of me rear it’s ugly head, causing me to shrug at her before raising my glass in a mock salute, draining the last of its contents.

Laughter to my right had me briefly looking over to Kelly, who grinned as he watched my little display of bitchiness. He raised his glass before copying my salute, his grin never faltering, at least someone was enjoying my level of pettiness over here.

“And the winner is Andy Black for Beyond My Reach,” Cody’s voice announced and my head snapped back to the front.

“Please tell me I misheard him?” I choked out.

“If you had been paying attention instead of eye flirting with blondie over there,” Ace started sarcastically, “you would know, that no, you didn’t mishear him.”

“Why is everyone on my case about who I talk to tonight,” I grumbled as I slammed back in my chair.

“We just think he’s a bad idea Syd.” Charlie joined in.

“They, they think he’s a bad idea.” Brook chirped, clarifying her stance, “I think you do what you need to do.”

I grinned at my baby sister as Andy started his ‘thank you’ speech, god please don’t thank me. Thankfully he wanted to keep his head tonight cause not one peep was made about me or my involvement in the video and I praised whatever holy being was looking down on me.

Chapter 28

#warped tour #warped tour story #shannon leto #shannon leto story #shannon leto imagine #jared leto #pete wentz #trevor wentworth #andy black #mgk

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doomedandstoned · 7 years

Text

BAILEY’S CHOICE

Youngblood Supercult guitarist Bailey Gonzales shares her 10 favorite albums of Autumn.

Photo by Johnny Hubbard at Doomed & Stoned Fest

First off, let me preface by saying that this list is just a fraction of what I would include on a good, solid Autumn playlist, but everything must end at some point. Most of these you’ve probably heard, some you may not be familiar with, and others perhaps long forgotten and thus need a good revisiting. So here goes:

1. Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young – Déjà vu

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This has been in my catalog since I first started smoking weed in the fall of my freshman year of high school and learned to enjoy the hazy, beautiful strains of intricate harmonies that permeate CSNY’s iconic brand of folk-blues rock. Their albums were always on rotation in my house when I was growing up, but until I started to fully understand its cosmic, layered beauty, Déjà vu fell more or less into the “lame music my parents listen to” category for me. Now it’s a staple, especially as the weather starts to cool and the leaves start to turn, and I’m thrown into some kind of sepia-tinged yearning for the past. Funny how things change. This album holds some of the group’s most acclaimed work; I can’t point out a single track I’d skip over.

2. Graveyard – Graveyard

Graveyard by Graveyard

Speaking of high school—I grew up in a very small town in Southeast Kansas, and when MySpace made its debut (yes, MySpace), I found a page for this indie label called Tee Pee Records that absolutely dictated what I would listen to take the edge of my Black Sabbath cravings—this is where I was ultimately introduced to stoner rock and all of the branches of the retro heavy metal genre—and one of them that always stuck with me as I worshipped this label’s releases thereafter was Graveyard’s self-titled album. There are so many great tracks on this album, with “Thin Line” being an absolute favorite and even an echoing of one of my darkest autumn remembrances (won’t delve into it, but the subject matter will lead you where you need to go). Fantastic, timeless album.

3. Jonathan Snipes & William Hutson – Room 237

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Room 237 (2012) is a funny little documentary. I love it, despite the fact that this film lays out conspiracies about Stanley Kubrick’s version of The Shining that range from absolutely Kubrickesque crazy-but-plausible to totally ludicrous, leaping-to-judgement scenarios and breakdowns related to the hidden puzzles within the original adaptation. But, we are talking about music here: this album plays like Stranger Things meets Goblin meets John Carpenter. There is nothing necessarily special about it, but in trying to find an OST that would fit neatly within this list, this fella kind of jumped out to me. Not everybody enjoys soundtracks, and while I could listen to creepy, ambient synth all day long, every day, Room 237 seems like it could entrance any listener, especially with standout tracks like “To Keep From Falling Off” to “Universal Weak Male” and even with the closing track, “Dies Irae” which plays off the original theme from The Shining.

4. Trouble – Trouble

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It blows my mind that this album was released in 1990. Everything about it screams, “I WANT TO MAKE YOUR EARS BLEED: ‘70s METAL STLYE.” It’s like a lost and very angry Sir Lord Baltimore album was found in someone’s murky basement and sold in a musty, long forgotten record shop. The kind of place where you might hear whispers of dark legends. Somewhere that may be evocative, in legend, of the kind of place that Mayhem’s late singer, Dead, slit his wrists, throat, and blew his brains out and everyone commenced for this orgiastic blood feast of mourning to say, uh, “let’s take a photo of his dead body and slap it on a bootleg album cover and make necklaces out of his skull...” It’s not that harsh, but there’s definitely something spooky, dark, and forbidden about it. You may ask yourself, if you’re just hearing this album for the first time: “Why don’t they play some of these tracks on the radio?” Well, my child...do you really want to know?

5. The Steepwater Band – Revelation Sunday

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This collection of hot tunes from The Steepwater Band is, apart from 2011’s Clava, one of our band’s road staples. We often don’t agree on much when that road cagey feeling hits or when disagreements happen, which incidentally is why things tend to work well with us, but The Steepwater Band, Mount Carmel, and Gary Clark Junior are all things we can come to terms with through the van’s trebly stock speakers. Maybe it’s the bluesiness. Very moody folk-blues rock tunes, with a touch of whiskey-fueled country, is what these guys exhibit in songs like “Slow Train Drag,” “Dance Me A Number,” and “Steel Sky.” A plus material, in my book, and good for the road on a cold night’s ramble.

6. Black Sabbath – Never Say Die!

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Can people stop it with the “I’m tired of Black Sabbath” comments??? You know they are the reason we’re all here, and whether you like to admit it or not, you dig a good Sabbath tune either once in a while or every day. Doctor’s orders. Now I don’t think that a playlist is complete without a Black Sabbath album, but autumn seems the appropriate time for their fumbling, but strong conclusion — 1978’s Never Say Die! And I really don’t care that I know I’m in the minority for loving this album. To me, while it’s their most strained Ozzy-era album (I won’t even touch 13, so don’t ask), it’s full of premonitions of things to come, including a full out jazz brawl in “Breakout” that reminds me of the mean streets in Dirty Harry, and songs that might make the bravest of our genre cry, like “Junior’s Eyes.” “Shock Wave” goes through the typical rough and tumble changes that Black Sabbath fans learn to embrace, but it comes in wave after wave after wave. Hell, even the title track is nearly full-out punk rock. If you’ve avoided this album, please—give it a spin. Even if it’s only to hear Bill Ward sing. It’s the album I fell into when I joined my first band in the fall of 2008 and what pushed me into the direction of branching out to things I’d long avoided. I literally shit my pants every time the first synth breakdown in “Johnny Blade” comes over the speakers, and I think you should, too.

7. Madonna – Madonna

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Speaking of shit you probably don’t wanna read…who out of us has given Madonna’s 1983 debut a spin? Anyone? Bueller? Yeah, I didn’t think so. For you folks who can appreciate this one, I applaud you for admitting it. It’s not a sin to listen to Madonna (tell that one to the Vatican), but unless she’s been covertly transformed into Lana Del Rey or someone else on the darker and more modern side of the pop spectrum, you’d be hard pressed to find an admitted fan in our heavy underground group. And you know what? I don’t give a single fuck (yes, I learned that language from M herself). She’s a goddess, an icon, a killer songwriter—if you don’t believe me, tell that to the $400 million she has neatly tucked away—and dammit, she taught me to give a little less of a fuck in times where I don’t have too many to spare. This is another reason my parents are badass. Who in the world would buy their kid the “Like A Virgin” album only if their 11-year-old can ask for it by name without getting too embarrassed at the thought of saying “virgin” out loud to the Camelot Music clerk? Yeah, that’s right. Anyway, listen to this. Just do it...Madonna would.

8. The Midnight Ghost Train – Buffalo

Buffalo by The Midnight Ghost Train

I met Steve Moss at a show in Topeka in late 2009 at a dive bar where the drummer from my first band was singing in his new group. We did the obligatory thing and then, holy shit—this band starts playing and glasses start clinking and I swear to god I thought the whole damn place was going to cave in. They play a bunch of tunes and I’m so fully entranced it’s stupid. After the show, I went up to their singer/guitarist and said, “Um, that was really fucking awesome. I loved how you slipped “Hand of Doom into the middle of one of your songs.” Bam. We were instant buds. I couldn’t believe that they had come out of Topeka, Kansas. Later, while they were prepping to record 2012’s Buffalo, we had a very memorable fall jam session and some shows together, and EVERY. DAMNED. TIME. I felt like there was just something insanely special happening. Buffalo proved to be an instant classic, and even though The Midnight Ghost Train boys seem to always be on tour, I visit with my old pal Steve from time to time when he’s around, and nothing can erase those crazy, almost LSD-like imprinted memories of our house shows together. Hell, we reunited again just last month in another Topeka dive bar. I still have almost 3 hours’ worth of an interview I need to write that documents Steve’s early life up until the recording of Cold Was The Ground. The circle goes round and round. And I sure as hell can’t shake that sound.

9. Creedence Clearwater Revival – Green River

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I don’t know what everyone else thinks about when they hear the track “Green River” from Creedence Clearwater Revival, but I think of Gary Ridgeway. I know that’s way far off, but I can’t help it. I also think about the album cover, and how many people still try to copy it, unintentionally. And I think about Stephen King. If you’ve read a few of his novels, you know from some of his passages, he’s a total CCR freak. I’ll give him a pass for mentioning Springsteen so much just because he’s a damn genius. But I bet the casual listener has never heard the song “Sinister Purpose” on the radio airwaves. It sounds like it belongs on a damn Leaf Hound album or something. Thank god for small favors. This is the epitome of southern blues rock. All you Lynyrd Skynyrd fans can fight me (although I won’t knock them), but CCR has earned their grimy, yet rightful spot as the Bayou’s most raw and creepy rock group. And way down in the fall, there’s always a bad moon rising.

10. Buffalo – Dead Forever...

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Man, I was going to write up a few more albums, but this is the end of the line, folks. Australia’s Buffalo caps it off with their 1972 album, Dead Forever... I can see this piece being released today, and that’s why I’m so glad everyone in this community puts out music that can rival little-known bands like Buffalo. I have a sweet spot for this group. Nobody will ever be able to answer why this killer band could never receive any airplay, and that question still lingers as absolute over processed shit continues to infiltrate the airwaves and real emotion can’t shine through. One of the promotional stickers for this record was, “Play this album LOUD.” Seen that before? Is history repeating itself in belittling our efforts to get out there and WARP THE FUCK out of people’s minds? I guess so. But we can fix that. Put the needle on some Buffalo, don your battle jacket, and work on getting some fuzz into some onlooker’s ears. Listen carefully, and don’t let the Buffalo situation happen to us all.

Hear Bailey's 'Autumn Vibes' Playlist on Spotify

Photo by Johnny Hubbard

The Great American Death Rattle by Youngblood Supercult

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redsoapbox · 5 years

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Mitch Tennant’s Track-by-Track Guide to Head Noise’s Debut album, Über Fantastique

Mitch Tennant, singer/songwriter & keytarist with electro art-punks Head Noise, was kind enough to write this guide to the band’s recently released debut album Über Fantastique, especially for redsoapbox.

1. KINGDOM OF CROOKED MIRRORS

We had a lively debate at Head Noise HQ over which song to open the album with, either this track or the one that follows. We eventually decided on “Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors” to kick-start the debut as we think it encompasses all things Head Noise and has a great splattering of our influences in a catchy, oddball pop song. The title of the track comes from a 1963 Soviet fairy tale film and is loosely inspired by Lewis Carroll’s “Through the Looking Glass”. The song reflects our own mantra for creative passion and is also a look at an outsider’s perspective for abstract art and trying to make sense of the senseless. It’s like Alice In Wonderland without the drug references. Ignore the evils of the world and just let the childlike magic speak for itself.

2. 200,000 GALLONS OF OIL

I was on my lunch break one day surfing the web and a pop-up article came on-screen about fuel, oil refining and other industrial processes that I had very little interest in. However, the title of the piece “Pipeline Spills 200,000 Gallons of Oil” really jumped out at me. I wrote it down and put it aside with my collection of other alphabetical oddities that I type up on Notepad. A little while after, Wayne sent me an electropop demo with a bouncy, squelchy bassline which I felt matched up to this wording perfectly! The title of the song has some sort of political or eco-warrior ring to it but it’s always a surprise to people who question what the song is about, and we say “Uhh… It’s just about oil?” What kind of oil do you want it to be? I’ll leave that up to you, but here are some suggestions: vegetable oil, or maybe oil to slick back your hair.

3. JAPANESE BATTERIES

One Christmas, my partner gifted me an Otamatone, which is basically a screwed-up Theremin/Stylophone synth-like device that is in the shape of a musical note, however it looks more like a giant sperm! It’s become a popular instrument on Youtube for fashioning unusual sounding covers of songs, such as Boney M’s “Rasputin” and A-ha’s “Take on Me”. I was totally amazed by the packaging - it had a little Japanese man with fluffy hair, the inventor of the instrument, looking off into the distance, not unlike some surreal propaganda poster art. The song is, basically, a homage to this strange instrument, and it’s played on the track, not long after the first chorus, just to show off the unusual noises that it makes.

4. ANATOMICALLY CORRECT SHUFFLE

This is a song where I feel the bassline really helps to give the song a danceable bounce, that’s why the title of the track has “Shuffle” at the end of it. This is the first of the collaborations that we have on the album. Wayne sent me a demo he was working on with some bass being played by his friend “Monkey” (who I still haven’t met yet) under the working title “Monkey Jam”. When we started putting the album together, we were coming out of that mad scientist stage persona from the Microwave EP run of shows, so I had a whole lot of science stuck in my mind. I thought we’d go gung-ho as a farewell to the bygone days of false nerdy scholarship with a classic Head Noise sound to it. The lyrics for the song are like an amalgamation of a botched surgery, unusual ailments and chronic nightmares. Luckily, we have Brill onboard to give it that fun little jaunty undertone on the synth, to help keep us sane and avoid any potential lobotomies.

5. MYSTERY LIQUID

This is another Notepad scribble title that I just had to make into a song! When you hear songs about drinking, it’s usually either a fun affair (a drunken pub singalong) or a dark, cautionary tale (alcoholism), so we were looking to meet in the middle between jolly and sombre. I was influenced by Spike Jones & His City Slickers and their song “Clink! Clink! Another Drink”, especially for its humorous look at binge drinking from a 1940s perspective. It seems so harmless and funny, but it’s much more morally twisted if you look at it from the outside. With a bassline from our good friend Connor Llewellyn of Math Rock band “Common Spit”, the song turned into more of a fast-paced rocker with some added spoken word and Dada inspired lyrics from Cat Daczkowski who also plays in Rock band KASIA. I really liked her vocal style as it reminded me of Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth’s unique and unbothered singing approach, so we NEEDED it on the album somewhere.

6. AIRSTRIKE 4000

When I was young, I used to love my Sega Megadrive games console! I played games like Streets of Rage, Golden Axe and Desert Strike, but I got bored easily with Desert Strike because I wouldn’t always know what to do. I wanted to write lyrics that broke the fourth wall too, so the song starts out as a homage to a made-up Sega game in the style of Desert Strike. Then I get bored about halfway through and changed the theme of the song, just like when I was 8 years old and trying to play the bloody game before turning it off to play Sonic & Knuckles instead. It’s a Lo-fi retro Rock vs Synth song with some amazing guitar wobbles/shrieks from Brill and some wicked retro sounds darted across the duration of the track.

7. NITRO

When we were lucky enough to support “Public Service Broadcasting” last year at the Muni Arts Centre in Pontypridd, we wanted to go all out with a wacky elaborate stage show. We roped in our good friend Mark Strange to help us put together some surreal extras in the set such as a puppet show and a battle royale with Mark dressed up as a Ninja Turtle. We wanted to create our own little ‘introduction song’ for this show for when we walked onstage akin to Devo’s “Corporate Anthem” instrumental. So, Wayne put together our own track to help introduce the band as Mark walked out dressed in a lab-coat to inspect the equipment before we came on. There isn’t much else I can say about this track really other than performance is key! We decided to give the song a promotion from introduction song to intermission song which now sits about halfway through the album. In fact, that’s why it is called “Nitro”, it’s just an anagram of “intro” but with some dynamite flair!

8. SHRUNKEN HEAD

We used to open the live set with this song. It’s a song about idiocracy within the musical world, not too far off “Cherub Rock” by Smashing Pumpkins. The song is stacked with surreal imagery, which also includes a reworking of the “I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream” phrase from Science Fiction writer Harlan Ellison as a pre-chorus. I think it’s important to have passion in what you do creatively, and you shouldn’t allow others to mistake that devotion for egotism. I went to “Ripley’s Believe it Or Not” oddity museum in Blackpool a couple of times over the years and I got to see a real (or ‘real fake’, you be the judge?) shrunken head in a glass case. Rhys Jones plays some cool guitar lines on this track which is like a mix between Egyptian rhumba and the live dissection of a squirrel. It is an interesting song and we like it very much.

9. INTRUDER-ESQUE

Have you ever had those nights when you’ve gone to bed and looked over at the other side of the room in the dark to see the blurred black outline of a wardrobe or a hanging coat? In a sleep-addled state, this can be terrifying and can lead to “sleep paralysis”. I thought it was an interesting subject to pick up on. We gave the outro to Lloyd Markham of Psych-Electro band Deep Hum to use as his personal synth playground and we love it! I think the entire track captures the vibe of uneasiness that you can get in a sleep-deprived state when you don’t entirely feel safe, with an unknown threat lurking in the shadows.

10. I EAT CANNIBALS

An old friend of mine said the Toto Coelo song “I Eat Cannibals” sounds like something Head Noise would cover, so we just went off and covered it. I think it goes a little hand in hand with “Shrunken Head” and its voodoo vibe. The track features fantastic backing vocals by Miss Cat Southall, singer extraordinaire! I’m a fan of bands who re-work covers to suit their own sound. We always have an unusual cover in our back pocket if things start to go pear-shaped! We’ve previously recorded songs by Sonic Youth and The Bangles.

11. MR. EVERYWHERE

This is a Rocker Wayne had been working on for a little while until we decided to give it more context and “beef” so to speak. It’s basically a punk song that’s been shaved down to a shouty rock song, with a little bit of synth here and there. The song’s lyrics simply reflect how busy we felt after we released the Special Effects EP and how being in a band can be a lot of stress as much as a lot of fun.

12. NO PHOTO | NO FILM | NO TELEPHONE

On a trip to Venice, I stopped by St Mark’s Basilica to see the famed “Horses of Saint Mark”. There was a sign near them saying “No Photo, No Film, No Telephone” which made me laugh. Anyway, the track was inspired by a warning sign, but is about the overuse of modern communication technology and the brief escape that we get from these devices. It’s crazy to see how much the world has changed in 20 years, so we summed it up quickly with a fully Electronic Pop song featuring a fun shout-a-long chorus.

13. COMPLY

Someone said to me recently “music has been intrinsically linked to politics since like forever!” and even though there is some truth in that statement, I refuse to believe that it is the most important reason for someone to enjoy listening to music. This is my own attack against people who like to moan and whine until they get what they want, whether it is logical or not. It’s our own protest song which protests protest songs. We’ve made sure the song is happy and upbeat, because ignorance is bliss, eh?

14. GAMMA GUTS

The spiritual successor to our single “Microwave”, in fact, it’s a loose sequel of sorts. I have a fear that there isn’t enough science behind the use of microwaves. I imagine that there are some harmful side effects, but it scares me to think that we might not have a clue. The song is split into two parts - the first is a goofy little Electro Rock song about the digestion of nuclear materials and then the second part is an electronic instrumental, orchestrated by the band Massa Circles. There are some beats donated by John Barnes and some shouts by Anthony Price too. The song reminds me of Eric Clapton’s “Layla” because it starts off as a fun Rocker and ends with an emotional instrumental akin to side 2 of David Bowie’s Low album. This is one of our favourite songs to play live at the moment because it gives us free rein to experiment musically.

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Visit the archives section to read the album review.

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pardontheglueman · 5 years

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Head Noise / Uber - Fantastique

For the best part of 18 months Aberdare’s Electro Art-Punks Head Noise (Mitch Tennant Vocals & Keytar), Wayne Basset (Synths & Guitar) and Jordan Brill (Synths & Guitar) have been working away on their debut album Über-Fantastique, a record which they describe, in typical Head Noise fashion, as a ‘bombastic, electropop fever dream’. In a detailed, track-by-track guide, Mitch Tennant talked to Kevin McGrath about the record they are about to unleash on an unsuspecting Welsh public.

1. KINGDOM OF CROOKED MIRRORS

2. 200,000 GALLONS OF OIL

I was on my lunch break one day surfing the web and a pop-up article came on-screen about fuel, oil refining and other industrial processes that I had very little interest in. However, the title of the piece "Pipeline Spills 200,000 Gallons of Oil" really jumped out at me. I wrote it down and put it aside with my collection of other alphabetical oddities that I type up on Notepad. A little while after, Wayne sent me an electropop demo with a bouncy, squelchy bass line which I felt matched up to this wording perfectly! The title of the song has some sort of political or eco-warrior ring to it but it's always a surprise to people who question what the song is about, and we say "Uhh... It's just about oil?" What kind of oil do you want it to be? I'll leave that up to you, but here are some suggestions: vegetable oil, or maybe oil to slick back your hair.

3. JAPANESE BATTERIES

4. ANATOMICALLY CORRECT SHUFFLE

This is a song where I feel the bassline really helps to give the song a danceable bounce, that’s why the title of the track has "Shuffle" at the end of it. This is the first of the collaborations that we have on the album. Wayne sent me a demo he was working on with some bass being played by his friend "Monkey" (who I still haven't met yet) under the working title "Monkey Jam". When we started putting the album together, we were coming out of that mad scientist stage persona from the Microwave EP run of shows, so I had a whole lot of science stuck in my mind. I thought we'd go gung-ho as a farewell to the bygone days of false nerdy scholarship with a classic Head Noise sound to it. The lyrics for the song are like an amalgamation of a botched surgery, unusual ailments and chronic nightmares. Luckily, we have Brill onboard to give it that fun little jaunty undertone on the synth, to help keep us sane and avoid any potential lobotomies.

5. MYSTERY LIQUID

This is another Notepad scribble title that I just had to make into a song! When you hear songs about drinking, it’s usually either a fun affair (a drunken pub singalong) or a dark, cautionary tale (alcoholism), so we were looking to meet in the middle between jolly and sombre. I was influenced by Spike Jones & His City Slickers and their song “Clink! Clink! Another Drink”, especially for its humorous look at binge drinking from a 1940s perspective. It seems so harmless and funny, but it’s much more morally twisted if you look at it from the outside. With a bassline from our good friend Connor Llewellyn of Math Rock band "Common Spit", the song turned into more of a fast-paced rocker with some added spoken word and Dada inspired lyrics from Cat Daczkowski who also plays in Rock band KASIA. I really liked her vocal style as it reminded me of Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth’s unique and unbothered singing approach, so we NEEDED it on the album somewhere.

6. AIRSTRIKE 4000

7. NITRO

8. SHRUNKEN HEAD

9. INTRUDER-ESQUE

10. I EAT CANNIBALS

11. MR. EVERYWHERE

12. NO PHOTO | NO FILM | NO TELEPHONE

On a trip to Venice, I stopped by St Mark's Basilica to see the famed “Horses of Saint Mark”. There was a sign near them saying “No Photo, No Film, No Telephone” which made me laugh. Anyway, the track was inspired by a warning sign, but is about the overuse of modern communication technology and the brief escape that we get from these devices. It’s crazy to see how much the world has changed in 20 years, so we summed it up quickly with a fully Electronic Pop song featuring a fun shout-a-long chorus.

13. COMPLY

14. GAMMA GUTS

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seminolescribe-blog1 · 5 years

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Florida Man Music Festival Exceeds Expectations

Sweet Cambodia Gets its Big Break

By Fletcher A. McCall

ORLANDO—The Florida Man music festival, sponsored by FM 101.9, took place at the Central Florida Fairgrounds on Nov. 30. Anticipation had been high since first hearing about the festival, and after following Sweet Cambodia’s epic journey, the excitement for the festival itself seemed to grow exponentially.

Walking through the dusty parking lot, I saw the end of the line. “Val Hallah,” I thought as I finally saw the beginning of the end of my journey. The line to check tickets was cluttered with bodies, all strewn with patches, hats, tees, and other garb that may represent who they’d come to see. We all shuffled slowly through the dust and hay that covered the lot like a filthy, green shag carpet. Finally crossing through the security barricade, they spun everyone around in frantic circles, only to throw you right back into the mess; but like that, we were in, and the show was ready to begin.

Sweet Cambodia was the first to take the stage, since the band had won its shot to open for 15 other groups (Superorganism, Two Feet, The Driver Era, Lovelytheband, Dreamers, Bob Moses, Rainbow Kitten Surprise, Alice Merton, Sir Sly, Robert Delong, Bishop Briggs, Iration, Cold War Kids, Young the Giant, and the festival headliner: Weezer).

The members of Sweet Cambodia took the opening slot on Stage B, which was the smaller of the two. Their performance was highly anticipated by many long-term fans, as well as those who’d recently gained knowledge of them due to their victory at the contest. As they set up for their 2 p.m. start, the crowd slowly began to mosey its way over, and, by the time, they started, the whole field in front of them was filled. Their set was heavier than an 18-wheeler packed with dynamite, and once they lit up, they gave the festival an explosive start. They began by laying on the floor, waiting for the beat of the drums to resuscitate them like an electric jolt, eventually bouncing their way upright to stand in front of the crowd. Playing some classics off of their EP “Tasty” along with a few songs that are scheduled to be released early next year.

“Everyone’s set is so short, it’s just going to be bangers from everyone. So, we’re trying to do the same” said Eric Charles, as I wished he and the rest of the band a stint of good luck, before they had taken the stage. As their set came to a close, they thanked everyone, and Stage B grew quiet. Then the mass crowd noticed a faint sound across the lot, as Stage A was growing louder with the sound of Superorganism began playing with their self-titled song. The electro-modern-pop group came out wearing what looked like bedazzled costumes for a children’s medieval puppet, but they rocked the look. The group is made up of seven people, three of which play instruments and the rest dance and add in background vocals. With a mainly synthesizer-based sound, they electrified the crowd with their supreme weirdness, and in a strange way, it was awesome. I didn’t see many people running for their T-shirts after, but it was obvious the crowd enjoyed them.

As they finished off, I realized what the next few hours were really going to feel like. The running back and forth between Stage A, and Stage B, would soon feel like an epic ping-pong tournament, with a foul every time you had to go ‘out of bounds’ to use the restroom or get some food. Otherwise, each audience member became the perfect volley in a game they’d themselves created, by showing up to the festival.

The next few hours flew by with so many bands, all playing about 30-minute sets. Two Feet followed Sweet Cambodia on Stage B, and everyone fled from the end of Superorganism to see the next act. The crowd roared and chanted and after a long set of highly sexual lyrics, ear busting bass and smooth electric guitar licks, the alternative/indie artist slowed down and concluded. And then, *smack* the ping pong ball of people bounced back on over to Stage A to see The Driver Era, and *smack* back to Stage B for Lovelytheband. The volley was precise and was not going away any time soon, and these people were hungry for music. It felt nearly unsafe to walk around with a beverage without a lid, or food that was still hot, because if you weren’t careful, the avid mall-store shoppers, and alternative-rock listeners would trample anyone, just to see who was coming on next. It was Bob Moses and his set was simple and smooth. Not a lot of production or over selling; just a man, a band, and his instruments. Bob Moses played music off his 2018 album, “Battle lines” along with music released prior, such as “Tearing me up” released 2015.

Sir Sly started on Stage A, just as the sun was fading behind the stage. His set followed the sky and went from light to dark. Soon relying only on-stage lights, the natural light slipped down under the dark sheet of night. Unless you’re familiar with Sir Sly’s music, you might access him as your casual one-hit pop star. His set solidified a contrary belief for many of the audience members, including myself. Many people seemed to be holding spots on Stage B for Alice Merton, but their attention was pulled towards Stage A, and the crowd quickly grew. Then once subsiding, the crowd fled back towards Stage B to see Alice Merton finally take stage, and the night only sped up from there.

Bishop Briggs, a British pop-singer, took Stage A and gave her performance more energy than you’d expect from the Energizer bunny. She spun and jumped and screamed and never stopped moving from beginning to end. Her pure stoke for being there and playing for the crowd was unmatched, and her enthusiasm transcended into the audience. Many of those who weren’t familiar with her work even began to move and rock to her music.

Iration was the second to last band to take Stage B. Coming from Santa Barbara, California, all member originally moved to the United States from Hawaii. They are known for the cultivation of the reggae subgenre Sunshine Reggae, and their sound matches that description perfectly. With a very positive vibe to their songs, the music bounced gently like a beach-ball through the hands of their fans. The bass was heavy and so were everyone’s feet after the long day of walking, and their set was exactly what everyone needed, right when they needed it most.

As the night pushed forward, the remaining bands were able to save their energy for their performance. Cold War Kids took the stage and played music from their newest album, as well as a classic all their fans were looking forward to, “Hang Me Up to Dry.” This throwback showed how much their sound has changed since its release in 2006, but they still enjoyed performing the song, 12 years later, and everyone sure enjoyed hearing it.

Young the Giant took stage as the last band to play Stage B and they played songs new and old. They are an alternative pop group from Irvine, California, that formed in 2004. Their sound has matured and molded since then, and their set captured that Golden State feel that their music provides. There’s a warm sort of feeling that emerges from inside as the sun sets on the west coast, and they preserved that feeling in song to share with their fans. They closed out Stage B and were the last band to play before the Florida Man festival headliner, Weezer, took the stage.

Weezer has been around since 1992, and most of the people at that festival were obviously there for them. There was an excessive amount of Weezer merchandise that dated from 1992 until present. From hand-made patches and scarves, to expensive hats and limited-edition jackets, Weezer fans have been dedicated since day 1. Weezer opened with their classic “Beverly Hills”, which is the song that drew me, and many others to become a fan as, I heard it nearly two decades ago in my dad’s car for the first time. Many parents brought their kids to see Weezer, just as they had seen them when they were the same age their children are now. After playing classics like “Pork and Beans,” “Buddy Holly,”“El Scorcho” and their new cover of Toto’s “Africa,” lead singer Rivers Cuomo rode out on an electric scooter into the middle of the crowd to sing their hit “Island in the Sun.” He began strumming, and the guitar was noticeably quiet. The (what was supposed to be) acoustic cover of the song quickly changed to an A Capella version in which almost every member of the crowd helped him fill in. (I had seen Weezer a few months back and watched Rivers pull the same stunt off correctly, but this was pure magic.) The entire stadium filled with thousands of tired, sweaty humans all joined in, and the song turned out much better than anyone, even Rivers, could have probably imagined. Their set continued as they cranked out crowd favorites, and they finished off their set. Everyone was sitting in serious disappointment, no one wanted their set to end. There are always a few people to slide out a little early to beat the traffic at concerts; but not for Weezer. Not a single person moved as they walked off the stage and turned down the lights. Quickly chants started and groups of people all started yelling “Encore” and “One more song”. Within seconds, the band all ran back out and Rivers pleased the crowd with “Uno Mas.” They started right into “Say it Ain’t So” (another Weezer classic they didn’t play the first time on stage). But the crowd still wanted more. They looked around at each other and went right into a cover of “Paranoid” by Black Sabbath and the crowd freaked. Jumping and jiving with excitement, but everyone knew, this was really the end. They finished, blasted confetti on everyone, took a bow and that was that. It was truly a great day for the Orlando music scene, and they kicked everyone right in the head at the end. They showed everyone how a band was supposed to perform, even 25 years after their conception, they still play like they’re just a few teenage friends, jamming in their parent’s garage.

The Florida Man music festival was a success. This was the inauguration of what could be a yearly event for the Orlando Music scene, and with such a frenetic beginning, we can only hope that it stays around for years to come. Not only was the festival affordable ($40 for 16 bands) but they packed the list of artists airtight with only the best of today’s alternative rock, along with a rocking headliner. With no complaints from anyone and FM 101.9 being aware how great and smooth their festival went, there really may be another Florida Man on the horizon. Even the paramedics said it was one of the best-behaved festival crowds they’d ever had to watch.

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nlinak · 7 years

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Netherlands in Alaska

Episode 51

December 17th, 2016

Dazzled Sticks

Although this eponymous album released about a year ago, there are few works of art that better sum up the mix of malaise and madness that we have experienced in the world the past few years and, perhaps especially, in the last few weeks.

The self-titled work, a collaboration between indie rocker/producer Dazzled Kid and well known Dutch-hiphop pioneer Sticks, is hard to pin down as one might assume with such antipodal partners. It is stripped down, with only one small guest verse from Adje interrupting the otherwise standalone musicians, yet never feels empty, or wanting for sound; it is uplifting in sound, but also contained lyrics which Sticks describes as “The heaviest s••t that I’ve ever written.” At times it feels like your attending a dance-party handily DJ’d by Dazzled Kid, when all of a sudden that wise, older friend of yours that just drinks whiskey leans in and reminds you about payday loans ripping off the working class, and just as that hits you, the DJ begins singing “Light, oh Light, Light at the end of the tunnel.” Though you now are unsure if it meant as a check-and-balance on the depressing bit, or if it is meant ironically, or if that light is a freight-train.

“The way we began [this project] itself wasn’t ‘light’” Dazzled Kid, born Tjeerd Bomhof, explained in an interview with 3voor12. “our starting point was: it can come to pass that you suddenly aren’t here anymore.”

That starting point, to be more precise, was the funeral of a young man, whose top streams on Spotify happened to contain Sticks, who was contacted by the boy’s family to perform his song, Spaanse Vlieg, at his funeral. In the same interview with 3voor12 MC Sticks explained it this way:

“I didn’t want to show up and perform with hard beats at a funeral, I thought it’d be inappropriate; instead I wanted to sort of do an acoustic version, [record producer] Kees de Koning said, ‘I’ll call Tjeerd, he’ll be there anyway.’ The morning of the funeral I went to Tjeerd’s house, shook his hand for the first time and we went through the song a few times and went straight to the service.”

The one time performance quickly turned into more however, as Stick explains:

“We wanted to record the song for his family and friends, as a sort of support. But once we were in the studio it felt forced...we started messing around, he strummed something out on guitar. Helemaal Niks (Engl: Nothing at All) the last track on the album came out of that moment. That song for me exudes that feeling, in the lyrics as well; melancholic, but also: ‘its alright.’”

It didn’t take long for the lyrical depth, expertly executed compositions, and humanity of the album to really hit me; personally I was hooked while listening to the 2nd track, Blijven Lopen (Engl: Keep Going) in which the listener is treated to this, somewhat rambling, musing:

”Everything’s collapsing,

drastic cuts to pensions,

a season of crisis,

try to keep my head fresh,

Vidal Sasoon.”

He continues:

“The speakers go ‘boom’

Cloaked in black, Roy Orbison.

I wanted to be a good role model for the Youth,

but I never saw it through,

yeah you get it...

Flash mobs, Harlem Shake:

Enjoy or don’t go, or be granite”

When interview Sticks mentioned this song specifically as being important to the album as a whole,

“On Blijven Lopen I rap; ‘they’re yet to get a cent from each euro of narrative hiphop’, you know. There are so many stories inside, but many people think: clever, nice rhyming.....and that’s cool if that is what you get out of it. I find Blijven Lopen to be a really important track on the album, the feeling that it broadcasts - right, wrong, bad, evil, prosperity, adversity -....with hiphop you get it all.”

The final stanza of the aforementioned verse, ‘Enjoy or don’t go, or granite’ may be confusing for some, but it is really a perfect example of what MC Sticks does best: a relaxed but conscious sense of rhythmic delivery, and clever wordplay that never sacrifices content. In response to some of the most ubiquitous, obnoxious, and public examples of the meme culture of today, flashmobs and the “Harlem Shake” (in quotations) [or the mannequin challenge] Sticks gives us three options, “Enjoy or don’t go, or be granite (that is don’t exist)” which in his warm Zwolle dialect tenor sounds homophonic,“geniet of ga niet, of graniet.”

Indeed the album does not just provide a mirror to the current tumult in which we find ourselves, but also goes beyond superficial finger pointing, never without the clever interjections of popular culture that hiphop is known for, combining levity with deeper, heavier observation.

In clever hook he riffs on the classic “Too many Mics, not enough MC’s” with

“Too many Berlusconis, too few Balotellis!”

This is yet another talent of the duo that really shines: highlighting hiphops ability to combine levity with deeper, heavier observation. At one point on Blijven Lopen, Stick comments:

“Right on, like the piano on ‘I Like it Raw’”

[.....as a quote of the piano sample from the ODB hit ‘Shimmy Shimmy Ya’ can be heard in the background, and Dazzled Kid croons the track’s refrain; lyrics plucked from a song about sex without prophylactics, used to showcase resistance to dark times, staring into the abyss and telling the abyss you aren’t bothered by the darkness.]

There is one line, however, which the group has been asked about repeatedly from the track ‘de Tunnel’ (Engl: The Tunnel).

“People scream, ‘Je Suis Charlie’, but please not at my release party.”

When asked if this was supposed to reflect the reaction one has when reading through the sunday paper and wishing that bad news wouldn’t cloud your weekend Sticks said,

“It is the reaction to the news that always fascinates me, how people behave, how people twist it. What happened in Paris is of course horrible, but what really shocks me is how it gets twisted so people use it as a form of self-pity to promote themselves. One to the one hand it really bothers me, but I also find it really surprising that people are using hashtags and avatar-changes on Twitter to show, ‘look how upright my Instagram is.’ Of course you can have honest compassion, but the second you start twittering about someone that died or a catastrophic events, it can quickly turn into a form of self-promotion.”

Dazzled Kid followed up on the subject, explaining how he tries to actively remove himself from the digital world, to form and maintain real connections to those who matter, and have a more balanced view of the world- far from the outrage cycle of the news and social media; adding that,

“The period of Je Suis Charlie hysteria has really shown how disconnected many people really are.”

Sticks, who had obviously been deep in thought while listening to his musical partner speak added,

“And you know what’s the most unbelievable part of all of this? A week later and you don’t hear anything about it. Everyone’s focused on [soccer legend] Johann Cruijf, who was diagnosed with lung cancer. That is the Je Suis Charlie of the week.”

When I went with a good friend Matt D. to see them perform Utrecht’s ‘De Heling’ venue in February earlier this year, I didn’t know what to expect. Normally speaking, hiphop and indie are two genres that tend to be maligned as ‘non-conducive to live performances.’ With the pre-recorded nature of many modern hip-hop acts and the loss of dynamics on the part of the MC, and the aloof shoegaze of many hipster rock groups I can see where this stems from. Dazzled Sticks proved to be anything but boring. Though Sticks arrived wearing what appeared to be an athletic warm-up sweat suit, he immediately began popping and locking between verses, Dazzled Kid literally bounding back and forth between guitar-hero power stances, and meticulously retooling his various sample pads, eyes maintaining a size somewhere between caffeinated owl and teacup saucer.

Though to many the arrangement may seem like an odd coupling, Sticks is as collaborative and active as perhaps any musician in recent memory; we’ve already featured him as part of the legendary Opgezwolle crew, the Fakkelbrigade, and Greatminds. Though meeting under odd circumstances, some may call it fate that this duo would form; like Sticks’ Tribe Called Quest reference on the albums final track,

“I Left My Wallet in El Segundo,

Dazzled Kid said, ‘Cool, I have to go that way anyway.’”

Things may look bleak, and the harshness of winter and semester finals might not be helping, but the last line of Sticks verses on ‘Blijven Lopen’ for me, provide a bit of optimism, however small,

“Obnoxious,

all’s going to hell,

you might find yourself thinking...

well, good.”

Tracklist:

1. Zegevieren

2. Blijven Lopen

3. Wat Je Doet Voor Een Ander

4. Body Rap

6. Dans

7. Eind Decembertje

8. Soeffies (ft. Adje)

9. Hooligans In Bloomingdale

10. Trammelant

11. De Tunnel

12. Helemaal Niks

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fackdiscom-blog · 6 years

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Who is Company Fuck?

ラテール RMT Scott Sinclair is Company Fuck (or CxFx), which is a “one-man noisecore karaoke explosion.” While wearing gold (or pink) bodysuits with nerd glasses, the Berlin-based Australian artist does a parody-performance of a DJ, MC, singer, and dancer which, to me, is post-modern interpretive dance meets the new performance artist one-man band.

But anyway, Sinclair would beg to differ. He takes a trip through the history of hardcore, rave, and noise, not to mention destroying pop music in the same way it is brought into reality by unprofessional karaoke singers. In other words, what first began as a breakcore project went awry with improv—he claims he is incapable of making his own music, so uses “that of others”—and satirizes the music industry in the same way a contemporary artist would use institutional critique. Known to open sets with recordings of cheering stadium crowds in art galleries, one of his past albums offers 80 tracks in seven minutes. All in all, he sounds pretty much like the personification of the word overdrive.

Known to push the limits of taste, Company Fuck represents the future of karaoke, even if it is the kind of explosion we’re not used to. It’s as if the karaoke lyrics we typically see written on the screen act as a piece of interpretation which almost feels like a sport to this skinny character galavanting across the stage, whose prime purpose is to provoke. There's also a ton of feedback, tortured screaming, and dirty dancing. He calls himself “a live wireless music monster.”

Of course, you’re welcome to sing along. Here is an interview with the stylish karaoke art star who hates talking about style.

Noisey: What is your relationship to karaoke? Scott: I consider karaoke to be a wonderful and absurd equalizer of musicians and the music industry. Let's say that a famous musician and his or her associates (producers, agents, A&R, stylists, drug dealers, and so on) spend an uncountable amount of time and energy to make one song a hit, and all that glamor and hype can all be instantly destroyed by a drunk guy with a microphone. I think it's a great way to bring pop music down to the level of us untrained, poor, drunk people.

What is the essence of Company Fuck? The primordial goo and discarded skin tissue that is extracted from inside a noise-karaoke artist's golden unitard. A highly potent aphrodisiac, this "essence" has also been known to prolong life and cure the clap. The only side-effect is a complete loss of sincerity.

How did this "noisecore karaoke explosion" all begin? My background is in improvised music and noise bands, but when I first heard breakcore, I thought at times it was like danceable noise music. So, Company Fuck was born as a breakcore project. Unfortunately, I soon discovered that I was unable to make any listenable/danceable tracks like many of the great producers out there, however I am comfortable with real-time improvisation, so I worked out a way to make improvised electronic music kind of in the "spirit of breakcore" but not limited by BPMs or rules of the "genre." Add a lot of noise, karaoke, and stupid costumes, and that's basically Company Fuck.

Company Fuck live at Dobialab in Staranzano, Italy.

It’s sort of like hardcore noise, right? Hmm, no. Company Fuck is probably quite softcore compared to some noise acts. And besides, the sounds are much wider than just noise. There is a lot of weird metal-influenced short music (Grindcore/Noisecore/Shitcore); extreme hardcore techno (Gabber/Speedcore/Extratone); plunderphonics and musical parody; and even some nods to cartoon music.

At what point did you decide to incorporate gold bodysuits into your performances? After I figured out how to play my show wirelessly. I have no problem with laptop performances per se, but I wanted to take Company Fuck into sweatier, more high-energy territories which moved the focus away from the equipment and towards something more visually representative of the music. So regardless of where I am in the venue I'm controlling all of the music and singing at the same time, and the suit also helps to hide some of my secret technology. Also the suit is very tight, so it's easy to see my cock and balls. It's a very free feeling.

What else do you wear onstage? I saw the geek glasses, too. What? A gold bodysuit with glasses isn't enough?! Hang on, is this a fashion blog? Can we go back to talking about music?

Is music a form of storytelling or has everything been said and done? Are you trying to ask me if I think all current music is entirely derivative? Not at all. Even if producers are explicitly referencing the past, I have no problem saying that they are making "new" music. Post-modernism can eat a dick.

Why is it important to include parodies in your performances? I'm incapable of making my own original music, so I recycle others’.

Why should the music business be satirized, in your eyes? My view is probably not so different to anyone active in the art underground: the involvement of business in any artistic endeavor largely compromises the integrity and intentions of the true art. I mean, even just answering this interview has distracted me from completing innumerable masterpieces of anti-intellectual sarcasm! Also, I want to be famous and I am an insanely jealous, antagonistic bastard.

How do you do this? Sing pop songs (badly) with lots of noise on them; copy superstar stage moves (i.e. “Put your hands in the air”); sexually harass your girlfriend/boyfriend while you stand and laugh; play recordings of cheering stadium crowds in mostly-empty galleries etc. It's all pretty stupid, really.

In your opinion, what are the best and worst karaoke songs of all time? That's a tough one! We're talking about pop culture and bad taste here, so the lines between good/bad are very fine and are also constantly changing. For example, the music of the Black Eyed Peas is something of an embarrassment and will probably age terribly, however, somehow the solo Fergie stuff has a kind of endearing slutty charm to it. And just because a song is usually good or bad doesn't mean it can't be brought to new life (or be completely destroyed) on the karaoke stage. I've never cared much for Limp Bizkit, but I always enjoy seeing a pack of middle-class drunks repeatedly scream “I pack a chainsaw/I'll skin your ass raw.” Uh huh. But essentially, Company Fuck is a child of the 80s, so classic MTV hits and 90s dance tunes usually get me hard. George Michael's “Careless Whisper” is possibly the best song ever written, regardless of who sings it. The lyrics to Heart's “All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You” contain some surprising metaphors for fucking a hitchhiker and then secretly hiding the lovechild. And check out “Music” by John Miles. It leaves Total Eclipse Of The Heart for dead. Gloriously epic and astoundingly bad. I love it. The worst songs would have to be very sincere singer-songwriter fodder. Like The Beatles, I guess.

What are you working on next? I have a split vinyl with Santisima Virgen Maria coming out soon on Omega Warfare Records with amazing artwork by Martin Lopez. I'm also working on a Gold CD which will be a parody of the framed Gold Records given to the big-selling recording artists. As a bonus to the whole shabam, there will be a series of limited edition Company Fuck dolls—each doll sings its own personal noise-karaoke song in a little golden bodysuit! It will hopefully be ready in time for Christmas. So, misanthropic noise-listening males: stay tuned and buy a Company Fuck doll for your crazy girlfriend this gifting season! Otherwise, I'll see you at the karaoke bar…

There seems to be a lot of Australians in Berlin doing cool strange stuff. Like this guy Anklepants, who wears a mechanical penis mask. Nadja always interviews the best people! She's on Twitter - @NadjaSayaj.

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yourfavouriteadventurer · 7 years

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Music Review: The Beatles' "White Album"

If you know me personally, you know I love The Beatles. And if you are “too young” to know who The Beatles are, well I’m not going to scream at you right now, but I will say that I’m sixteen and am a bit of a Beatles’ fangirl. Today, we will be looking at The White Album, released in 1968, The Beatles’ third to last album released as a band, but we will also give you listeners some history about the album and how it came to be, but I suppose for our younger audience, it’s proper etiquette to present some background on the band themselves.

The Beatles or The Fab Four were a group of lads from Liverpool, England that became a huge hit during the British Invasion. They started as a small band called The Quarrymen that performed lots of Elvis covers and some original songs at night clubs in Germany. They then moved back to England to get even bigger shows until 1964, where they were booked to perform on The Ed Sullivan Show, kicking off the British Invasion as we know it, as well as paving their way through the hearts of millions, including myself. Overall in their career as a band, they released twelve studio albums, twenty-two singles, and won twenty-five various grammy awards. They split in the April of 1970, releasing their last album a month after, but being in The Beatles’ helped kick off each member’s solo careers as musicians.

The White Album showed us the boys’, now men’s, different tastes in music. They blossomed into something completely different around the time they released Rubber Soul, but it wasn’t until The White Album that they captured their separate styles and compiled them into an album. This change was evident in every member of The Beatles, but was more vivid in the music of both John Lennon and George Harrison. John was basically just mentally gone, mainly because of all the drugs he was into, but who wasn’t doing some form of drug in the late 1960s? Lennon’s drug addiction was apparent in “Happiness is a Warm Gun”, which talks about his sexual relations with his second wife, and “Revolution 9”, which we will talk about in a bit.

George Harrison didn’t really have many of the songs that he wrote debuted until this album, but during the recordings of The White Album, he started recording with a variety of different artists and bands, a couple of whom were Chris Thomas, who played piano and organ for “Savoy Truffle” and “Long, Long, Long”, and Eric Clapton, who played lead guitar for “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”. It was apparent in 1966 that Harrison was mentally separating from the group, with him wanting to stop touring and make more albums, but the history in this album really shows that divide starting to form in the band.

Speaking of an unspoken divide, during the recording sessions of The White Album, there was a portion where Ringo Starr, the drummer for The Beatles, just quit the band and didn’t come back for a week. Ringo mentioned the week he quit in The Beatles Anthology, saying: “I left because I felt two things: I felt I wasn't playing great, and I also felt that the other three were really happy and I was an outsider. I went to see John, who had been living in my apartment in Montagu Square with Yoko since he moved out of Kenwood. I said, 'I'm, leaving the group because I'm not playing well and I feel unloved and out of it, and you three are really close.' And John said, 'I thought it was you three!' So then I went over to Paul's and knocked on his door. I said the same thing: 'I'm leaving the band. I feel you three guys are really close and I'm out of it.' And Paul said, 'I thought it was you three!' I didn't even bother going to George then. I said, 'I'm going on holiday.' I took the kids and we went to Sardinia.”

Ringo came back to open arms and George Harrison even decorated his drum kit in flowers for him, and the creation process for The White Album started again! This is absolutely one of my favourite albums by The Beatles. Not only is it their biggest album, with two double-sided records, but it’s their rawest album yet. Everyone’s tastes are in this. George Harrison’s “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”, John Lennon’s “Julia”, Ringo Starr’s “Don’t Pass Me By” is always a good laugh, but the real beauty is Paul McCartney’s “Blackbird”. It’s definitely one of their more well-known tunes, but I love how beautiful that ballad is, which is why it gets song of the week. Rather difficult to play on guitar, it’s truly a classic from The White Album, especially because it was all Paul. Paul singing, Paul playing the guitar, and Paul keeping time by tapping his foot. If you haven’t heard that song before and you enjoy acoustic music, definitely give that a listen.

The White Album is also unique for not identifying with just one specific genre, but many! Of course, you have your classic rock and pop in the album, but “Helter Skelter” is far away from either of those genres. “Helter Skelter” actually brought some metal into the album and really surprised me when I first gave it a listen. The rest of the album is nothing like “Helter Skelter”, and historically, this song and the album itself come to be a bit shocking, thanks to a guy by the name of Charles Manson.

Manson and his “family” committed several gruesome murders in LA in the late 1960s, including the murder of a popular actress by the name of Sharon Tate. Charles Manson is an dark, mentally ill man that believed The White Album had some biblical meaning behind it. There’s even a Wikipedia page of all of Charles Manson’s “translations” to every song on The White Album. In his trial in 1970, he actively made references to The White Album, as well as the Bible’s Book of Revelations. Charles Manson’s definition of the song “Helter Skelter” is a bit gruesome as a whole, saying that it was discussing a racist Armageddon, with whites against blacks. In reality, the British definition for “helter skelter” is a slide. It’s literally a slide that they have at British fairs.

The album has its weird spots and weird songs, obviously, with the second weirdest being “Revolution 9”, as I mentioned earlier. It’s a bunch of sound clips that John Lennon tied together in an attempt to make something in a music/art experiment called “musique concrète”, which was mainly something Yoko Ono wanted. No surprise. I won’t get into too much into detail, just because this piece is a bit odd, but there are some really weird conspiracy theories revolving around “Revolution 9”. If you choose to read more on Beatles conspiracy theories, start with the “Paul is Dead” conspiracy. Just brace yourself ahead of time.

While The Beatles’ history can get strange in certain spots, their music is still the best out there. If you haven’t listened to any of The Beatles albums before, I wouldn’t recommend starting with The White Album, just because it’s a variety of their works and is not a straight shot into one genre. If you are more into pop music, I definitely suggest to start with their earlier works. Meet the Beatles, A Hard Day’s Night, Help!, anything pre-1965. If you are more into rock music, that’s where I would suggest anything post-1965. “Helter Skelter” is the closest you’ll get to them playing a song in the metal genre, sadly. Sorry! The first album I would suggest to the average rocker would be Abbey Road, another one of my personal favourites. It was the first vinyl record I got and I still have it. Remastered, in mint condition, sounds absolutely gorgeous. Let It Be is also a great album, even though it is their last album released as a band. It’s got some slow rock jams and ballads, but they are classics for obvious reasons.

The White Album may not have as iconic of a cover as Abbey Road does, but it was obvious that a lot more effort was put into The White Album compared to the other eleven albums that The Beatles released during their career. My vinyl of The White Album came with a poster and the back of the poster has the lyrics to every song on the album. It also came with portrait shots of all of the bandmembers. (George has never looked hotter, and I have seen A LOT of pictures of George Harrison. Don’t get a girl started.)

From the craziness that happened in the studios to the stupidity that happened once The White Album dropped on our shores, and let us not forget the drugs, The White Album is still by far one of the best Beatles albums. I give it a 10/10 for its diversity, but also for its incredibly ridiculous, dramatic and yet interesting history. None of today’s trash can top their iconic masterpieces.

Works Cited

"The Beatles (White Album)." The Beatles Bible. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2017. <https://www.beatlesbible.com/albums/the-beatles-white-album/>.

"Helter Skelter (Manson Scenario)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 12 Feb. 2017. Web. 30 Jan. 2017. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helter_Skelter_(Manson_scenario)>.

Lipton, Dave. "That Time Ringo Starr Temporarily Quit the Beatles." Ultimate Classic Rock. N.p., 22 Aug. 2015. Web. 30 Jan. 2017. <http://ultimateclassicrock.com/ringo-starr-temporarily-quits-the-beatles/>.

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rockrevoltmagazine · 7 years

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Metallica Delivers a Metal Show for the Ages at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA

Metallica – Gillette Stadium – Foxborough, Massachusetts – May 19, 2017

Metallica certainly has achieved far more than either James Hetfield or Lars Ulrich could have ever imagined possible back when the pair first met in Los Angeles nearly four decades ago. Dreams of opening up for a main stream hard rock or metal act at the Rainbow or the Whiskey were likely the loftiest goals the duo ever initially set their aims on.

Okay for the record, Ulrich was probably contemplating world metal domination back when he and Hetfield would hang out in his boyhood bedroom listening to some of their early musical heroes such as Diamond Head, Angel Witch, Tygers of Pan Tang, Blitzkrieg and Venom.

However, barring getting a hold of Wonder Woman’s truth lasso, tying Ulrich to a chair with it and interrogating him, I seriously doubt that even the boisterous drummer would admit that he thought the band would go on to become the most dominant and driving force in all of hard rock and heavy metal for close to forty years now.

Metallica’s first three records, Kill ‘Em All, Ride The Lighting and Master of Puppets defined the thrash music landscape while creating the blue print countless musicians would use to fuel their own bands’ metal music dreams.

Although the band themselves has decried their fourth studio release, And Justice for All, as being overwrought, Metallica broke new ground with the record in terms of bridging metal music to the mainstream with the video for the transcendent track off the record, “One.”

Whether it was Metallica’s intent or not, the video not only would become the first salvo in terms of launching Metallica as a global music phenomenon, it paved the way for metal music to secure its rightful place in the mainstream universe of MTV and traditional terrestrial radio.

Many members of band’s hard core fan base may have been taken aback by their full on shift away from the hard core sound that had propelled them to fame with the release of the self titled Metallica, popularly known at the Black Album, back in 1991.

However, not only did the record cement the band as kings of the hard rock and metal universe, it also was genre defining in terms of how much of an impact their moving away from the speed and thrash world would ultimately have on metal music as a whole.

Any band that is more than three decades into their career are bound to have some missteps along the way and Metallica has had more than their fair share of maladies both personally and professionally.

On the professional side of the spectrum no one is ever going to bury copies of Load, Reload, St. Anger, or Death Magnetic in a time capsule so some high school kids in Escondido, California in the year 3017 can open it up to hear what “metal” music sounded like during this age.

It’s also a safe assumption to make that many Metallica fans, especially the die-hard crowd who jumped on board with the band in the 1980’s, would be perfectly okay with those records, along with the ill-fated Lou Reed collaboration, Lulu, being buried three to four hundred feet under the ground for all of eternity.

Personally the band has also endured more than a few trials and tribulations, many of which likely would have caused most outfits of Metallica’s caliber to simply call it quits long ago.

The movie Some Kind of Monster provides a brilliant window into the degree of Metallica’s dysfunction as a band, and as human beings, by the time they had reached the early 2000’s.

The film also goes a long way towards explaining why Metallica began to produce material not quite on par with their early career work and why even the band’s live performances during this period suffered.

If anything rock and roll is about emotional ebbs and flows and unlike any other profession, it not only welcomes, it encourages spectacular rises to fame and glory as well as disastrous falls from the mountain top. Rock music and its millions of fans also warmly embrace musical stories of redemption and triumph.

Should anyone question whether or not Metallica has turned the worm on their career yet again, perhaps you should pick up and listen to their new record Hard Wired to Self Destruct.

Taking in one of the Metallica’s surreal and beyond sensory deafening live performances they’re currently putting on these days as part of their ongoing World Wired tour would also be advised.

Whether or not you’re enjoy the band’s music you’d be hard pressed to walk away from one of Metallica’s concerts on this current tour cycle without thinking something along the lines of, “that was pretty damn amazing.”

Hetfield, Ulrich, Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo brought the metal music mayhem to Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts this past Friday night to play on the field that Tom Brady and the world champion New England Patriots call home.

Along with a production that included stadium spanning 100-foot video screens, a stage that served as three stages in one, as well as a pyro technic and laser light display that would have even scared King Kong or at the very least that alien from the end of the movie Prometheus off, Metallica announced to all of their New England fan base, they’re back.

Despite all the bells and whistles that are a part of the World Wired live experience and the fact that the band was playing to over 60,000 screaming metal crazies, the beauty in the performance may have lied in the simple fact that it didn’t come off as bloated, instead the concert felt deeply personal from the first note played to the last note strummed.

Even though Metallica chose to start the night’s musical festivities off with two songs from their new record, “Hardwired” and “Atlas Rise!,” the entirely of the crowd was in lock step with the quartet from the jump.

Metallica should be given credit for not only playing these new songs live but for challenging themselves as musicians in doing so. The technical aspects tied to Hard Wired to Self Destruct are beyond reproach, thus the difficulty in terms of playing the Hardwired material in a live setting, let alone to crowds in the tens of thousands, would be daunting enough.

The fact that the band executed these tracks flawlessly while also managing to keep the fans beyond engaged is a testament to not only the quality of the new material, but living proof that the four members that make up Metallica are some of the most gifted musicians on Earth.

There were so many transcendent moments from Metallica’s 18-song set at Gillette Stadium it would take another thousand words to give each and every one of them their proper due.

“Master of Puppets,” with the classic Metallica graveyard imagery and massive puppeteer strings dangling over Ulrich’s drum kit, Hetfield’s evocative and spine tingling vocals on “The Unforgiven,” Trujillo’s homage to late Metallica bassist Cliff Burton in the form of his take on “(Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth” while images of Burton dotted the gigantic video screens, Hammett’s many jaw dropping guitar solos or the wave of sky high fireworks explosions and dancing flames that preceded the band’s performance of “One,” were all but just a few of the many high points tied to the evening’s performance.

As for any noteworthy nods or dedications tied to Soundgarden and Audioslave’s front man Chris Cornell, during Trujillo’s bass solo the bassist played several bars of “Black Hole Sun,” while at the very end of the “Unforgiven” Hetfield uttered these four simple words, “We forgive you Chris.”

The band closed out their initial set by coming together at the top of the mini-stage, in what Hetfield termed an attempt at, “Trying to recreate the garage they played in as teenagers,” to perform what would turn out to be a stadium wide sing-a-long of one of Metallica’s most revered songs, “Seek and Destroy.”

The moment came off not only as beyond genuine it also served to remind those in the audience exactly why they have been serving at the alter of Metallica for these oh so many years, the band is just flat out fucking good.

Metallica has always shared a symbiotic connection with their fan base that can be traced back to the days when they would play songs such as “Motorbreath” and “Hit the Lights” to rooms of about two hundred mostly unemployed, in a need of shower, metal heads.

By the time Metallica came back to the stage to perform the final three song encore of “Fight Fire with Fire,” “Nothing Else Matters” and “Battery,” each and every last fan still in attendance likely felt more connected to the band than they’ve ever have.

Hetfield, Ulrich, Hammett and Trujillo seamlessly made these connections that much stronger by simply getting up on that massive stage, having a ton of laughs, sharing personal moments with one another, as well as more than a few with fans directly and by delivering a bone jarring and sublime performance that if had to be described by only a singular word, that word be metal!

Something that was impossible not to take notice of was the sheer number of parents that brought their young or millennial age children to see Metallica perform. Considering the band hasn’t toured the United States extensively in close to a decade, anyone present that was born after 2007 was likely taking in their first ever Metallica show.

Thus the most relevant take away from the night may be the fact that through their mere performance alone it’s entirely possible the band may have just inspired countless youngsters to form this generation’s Motörhead, Slayer or even the next Metallica.

That proclamation may come off across as a tad bit unrealistic to some but if a 13-year old Ulrich were in the audience this past Friday, having never seen or heard Metallica himself, he’d likely turn to one of his friends at the conclusion of the concert and say something along the lines of, “Yeah that was pretty good but our band is going to be way bigger than those guys.”

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Metallica Delivers a Metal Show for the Ages at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA was originally published on RockRevolt Mag

#and justice for all #Cliff Burton #enter sandman #Gillette Stadium #hard wired to self destruct #James Hetfield #Jason Newsted #kill 'em all #Kirk Hammett #Lars Ulrich #Master of Puppets #nothing else matters #One #ride the lighting #Robert Trujillo #seek and destroy #the black album #world wired tour

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onlystylesangels · 5 years

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Hii! I really love your writing ❤️ can I request a protective!Harry one shot. Maybe y/n having a panic attack or something bc of the crowds xx Thank u

Hello lovie! I know you requested this a long time ago and I apologize for not writing this right away. Here she is and I hope you enjoy! I love this little one shot, so hope you love her too! Much love!!💓❤💞💕