#but i was listening to the twin peaks love theme as i wrote this so i might be a little biased) | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

whoslaurapalmer · 1 year

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look. I love good things come in threes and I packed a lot of stuff in it and it's like quietly one of my fav twin peaks fics I've written because of all the little world building things and I have notes I've held on to about how I wrote it

-sometimes I do think the fic is a little slow -- but not. In a terrible way?? In a sweet way. It's supposed to be a slow little afternoon. Just a little time

-ed has a tammy wynette tape bc he and norma listen to her in the pilot.

-there was a line I really wanted in there – “so you’re gonna stand by your man her into a prom date?” but it didn’t really tonally hit anyone’s dialogue, which I was having a hard enough time with. harry and hawk and ed are out there sharing a braincell and hawk has it 100% of the time

-the Fall Football Game Of Some Renown, where, according to the access guide, hawk ran the wrong way, and according to the secret history, hank fumbled a play, took place in fall 1968, so this fic takes place a couple weeks before that. I was imagining it as like a, thanksgiving game or something, bc the schools where I live always have a high school thanksgiving day game (or they USED TO), and the fic takes place like, early october.

-the mod squad (which also had peggy lipton) had indeed just started airing at the end of september that year, and the fugitive (which also had a one-armed man) had indeed started airing four years previously (and ended in 1967).

-oh! so i wanted them watching unsolved mysteries, but that aired too late in the timeline. then i wanted them watching the untouchables, but that would've just ended right before fall 1964. so that was how they watched the fugitive, because it started airing fall 1964. they're likely watching the first ever episode.

-oh, was that a weekend? i don't think it was, but. that's where my attention to detail conks out.

-okay the thing about time here. harry and hawk and ed are born in 1950. the fall football game is 1968. that makes them 18, seniors, and they will graduate in june 1969.

-frank is harry's older brother.

-FRANK IS INEXPLICABLY LISTED AS AT THAT FOOTBALL GAME.

-BUT HE CAN'T BE???? BECAUSE HE WOULD'VE GRADUATED?????? I'M???????? i'm still screaming. anyway in this fic frank is in college.

-hand to god I probably attended at least one “under the sea” themed dance in my school career, although I never went to homecoming. i don't even remember what the themes were. i think one prom was like???? a night in paris????? do NOT remember.

-the point is also that time repeats.

-i have never in my life seen the good the bad and the ugly, but it has that Classic Whistle-y Theme, which I figured they’d know. didn’t know if peaks was big enough to have a movie theater or drive in?? and I wanted to pull in the nearby town of newport (where hawk buys a car during high school).

-i picked the 1960 chevy impala bc it’s a cute ass car. love a good old car. that interior?????? to die for.

-guys just Loving their super inexplicably terrible cars is one of my favorite things. Ed's car is inspired by like 3 men I've known I swear to god who were just THAT into their terrible sad little cars. It's the PRINCIPLE of the thing, you know!!!! It's the car!!!! It's the memories!!!!!! You can't put a price or value on sentiment and what even a not well working car means to you. and.....it still WORKS. just needs a lil love.

-a group of guys banding together around their terrible little car and having a ROUTINE to get it to work is also. so good to me

-there's a lot of 'just needs a little love. Is it enough' in the fic bc that's how Harry feels about the town. That's what the town does. The love is not enough. But these friends love each other and are doing their best

-shout out to my mom for coming up with ed fishing out the cassette tape from inside the seat

-I cannot resist mentioning Diane Shapiro. I think it's a fun idea, if she and hawk are vague high school sweethearts and write letters to each other.

-harry has this vague deja vu (???) feeling of s1e6, where coop and hawk and harry and doc hayward go into the woods to find jacques renault’s cabin and find margaret’s first, bc I can’t resist some good time shenanigans

-harry thinks the cabins change because that was the only way I could rationalize them going into the woods in s1e6 and NOT RECOGNIZING MARGARET’S CABIN.

-you wanna tell me they'd never seen her cabin before??? they'd never been there????? really????? in all the years they've lived in twin peaks, of all the years harry's been sherriff????? they don't know that's margaret's cabin?????????????

-especially bc like, look at harry's face in that scene. he and margaret have looked each other dead in the eye and shenanigan'd before.

-anyway.

-the cabin that harry thinks is missing is jacques renault’s.

-the road with the controlled burning on one side and the forest fire remains on the other is 100% real. they do controlled burning where i live in late winter/early spring, to decrease the amount of stuff around in the event of a fire. and you can always see remnants of it for months after, just these scorched little baby trees and the bottoms of tree trunks. but over the summer there was an enormous forest fire, burned for like, three, four days?? smoke lingered for WEEKS after. (no structures were hit, which was good. and i think it did manage to jump the river??) and if you drove through the area, you could see this distinct split where the fire had hit, where stuff was just burned, leaves dead, everything orange and brown. and then just on the other side of the road, there'd be the controlled burn remains, these black branches against the most lush summer green leaves.

-my fav part is harry's flashback to the other fires -- just my favorite parts to write, I think there's a lot in there about. The town and the bookhouse mentality and failures that don't read as failures and. Everything, yknow

-fuck hank, btw, he's just. such a fucker. Harry loves him such a terrible amount here

-the 'good things come in threes' is bc the good things are harry and hawk and ed. They mean a lot to each other. Not you, hank. And harry is gonna have to learn that and it's gonna suck

#lulu talks about peaks #sorry i cannot readmore i am mobling

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flowerboycaleb · 16 hours

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every month I'm gonna try to post reviews of three albums from years past!! this week i wrote about the best soundtrack to a television show of all time: Twin Peaks by Angelo Badalamenti!!! also feel free to follow me on rate your music and twitter <3

Twin Peaks - Angelo Badalamenti

◇ release date: Sept. 11, 1990 ◇ genres: television music, dark jazz, ambient, dream pop

One of the most fruitful collaborations in the history of film, television, and music came to be in the mid-1980s. David Lynch, fresh off the critical and commercial flop that was his Dune adaptation, was in the process of making what could’ve been considered by many to be a make-it-or-break-it film. Steady songwriter and composer Angelo Badalamenti was offered the opportunity to make the music for the film and upon hearing Badalamenti’s work, Lynch fell in love with it. The duo incorporated Julee Cruise’s angelic presence into the fold which was the cherry on top. That film was Blue Velvet, a masterpiece and one of the best films of its era. It sparked a longtime collaboration between these three, mainly Badalamenti and Lynch, that spanned multiple films, albums, and television shows. Chief among them is the soundtrack for the subversive television event, Twin Peaks.

David Lynch and Angelo Badalamenti

The show is iconic for many reasons, but the music is undoubtedly what sets it so apart from everything else. It’s become a reference point. The way Badalamenti composes these songs is so unique, but hardly anything difficult to understand. He captures moods, moments, character motivations, atmosphere, pretty much everything so well. From the distinctive bassline of the “Twin Peaks Theme” to the shuffling rhythm of “Dance of the Dream Man” everything here sounds so distinct. Whenever you hear anything remotely similar to these tracks, your first thought is “Oh, that reminds me of Twin Peaks!”

Badalamenti blends elements of jazz, ambient, dream pop, and lounge music to form the sound of the show. The show’s main theme is an epic, ethereal wave masterclass. It sounds so vintage, but also absolutely timeless. It’s one of those songs you just have to close your eyes and feel. Feel every dip, every twist and turn Badalamenti takes you on. Those synths, the aforementioned incredible bassline, everything just washes over you in such a beautiful way. As does, the sinister-sounding “Laura Palmer’s Theme” that follows it. It’s a borderline drone piece, those dark ambient synths just get under your skin. It’s so unnerving in the best way possible. When the synths lift upwards and pair with that piano and build into a beautiful crescendo, it feels like you’re inches away from entering Heaven. Right after that you’re thrown back into the darkness waiting for the next uplifting moment, it’s just such a powerful piece.

The jazz elements come into play on the sneaky-sounding “Audrey’s Dance.” I love the mixing on this track. The way the synthesized vibraphone travels from channel to channel is so disorienting. Such a bold choice, it always takes me by surprise every time I hear it. It also shows his ability to capture characters in these compositions so distinctly. Even if you haven’t seen the show, listening to this track will give you a decent idea of the character of Audrey Horne. Another constant through the jazzier pieces is Badalamenti’s love for drums played with brushes. It’s such a subtle, but important choice that fits so well. Especially on the inexplicably unsettling (if you haven’t seen the show) “Dance of the Dream Man.” The way they’re lurking in the background as that tenor saxophone wails above it. It feels like something ominous is right under your nose.

Another big key to the Twin Peaks sound is singer Julee Cruise. She worked alongside Lynch and Badalamenti on Blue Velvet on the track “Mysteries of Love.” This song would later appear on her solo record Floating Into the Night, which is one of the best dream pop records of all time. It was an entire album composed and written by Lynch and Badalamenti, with the driving force being Cruise’s unique vocals. Some of the tracks from that album appear here as well. “Falling” is the vocal version of the show’s main theme and it’s remarkable. Her vocal performances are chill-inducing and Badalamenti knows how to bring out her strengths so well. “The Nightingale” had me in a chokehold the first time I heard it. It’s just arresting, so easy to get lost in. “Into the Night” sort of flew under my radar the first few times I heard it, but it’s also amazing. One of the more melodic Cruise cuts here. She would go on to feature many more times in the show, but this soundtrack only covers the first season. None of the Twin Peaks soundtracks feature the song “The World Spins” which is performed in two of the show’s most pivotal episodes. One of the many reasons why Floating Into the Night is an essential listen as well.

David Lynch, Julee Cruise, Angelo Badalamenti

I recently did another rewatch of Twin Peaks after years since initially falling in love with the show. In the time since, I’ve dove deeper into all of the styles and subgenres present on this soundtrack and this still stands as some of the finest I’ve heard in each. Cruise would feature in all three seasons of the show as well as the film, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. As would Badalamenti, though he would go a step further and provide the score to each of Lynch’s feature films up until 2001’s Mulholland Drive. The duo of Lynch and Badalamenti is one of the most effective collaborations in any medium, as is the trio including Cruise in the mix. Unfortunately, both Badalamenti and Cruise passed away over the last few years, but their music remains. Their beautiful, beautiful music that will stand the test of time and continue to suck people in decades after the fact. I can confidently say that this is the best film soundtrack of all time.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ thanks for reading :3

#throwback thursday #music #rateyourmusic #music review #angelo badalamenti #david lynch #julee cruise #twin peaks

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omegalomania · 3 years

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I think tumblr ate my ask or it just didn't sent but what are your favorite Bastille songs / what are some songs you recommend?

i did NOT get this ask im very sorry anon.

it's genuinely hard for me to narrow down cause bastille is pretty up there in terms of favorite artists. i love all their shit, but a special mention goes out to their second studio album wild world since it's the one that made me a Fan

uh so here's a primer i guess i spent too much time on this lmao.

if you wanna listen to their big hits:

flaws - their first single in the uk. if you ever listened to ship playlists on 8tracks in like 2013-2015 then you've probably heard this song or a variant on it at some point.

pompeii - this is the song that really put them on the map and you definitely know it. it dominated the charts all over the place.

happier - the marshmello song that you've definitely heard before too. i think bastille wrote this for justin bieber or some shit but then decided they liked it too much to give it to him? lmao. anyway if you're not digging the version you hear on the radio all the time i recommend trying the stripped down version

good grief - their big hit off their second album. big in the uk, didn't really make as many waves elsewhere, but it's a really solid song anyway. one of those "upbeat tunes that's actually really fucking sad" ones

things we lost in the fire - another one off their first album. if you live in a wildfire area this might not be one to turn to. or maybe you'll find it cathartic idk i certainly do!!

quarter past midnight - a song about escapism, as was fitting when it was released in 2018 and equally fitting now. running away for a night of fucking around with friends, craving any kind of brief departure from the chaos of the modern world

skulls - this one was not a hit or a single and is technically a bonus track but i'm including it because once again if you ever clicked on a ship playlist on 8tracks in like 2013-2015 you've heard this one. and you know what that was justified this one is also good

if you wanna feel existentially depressed:

their whole discography. i mean i kid but i also don't. that's just kind of how bastille does it. BUT IN ALL SERIOUSNESS ones that hit me in particular would beeee

two evils - kind of a grim, haunting one introspecting about morality of the self.

oblivion - musing about the afterlife, love, and how time changes all of us.

those nights - contemplating what it is we seek when we plunge into reckless escapism, and the inherent loneliness of it; how even when surrounded by people there's still the pressure of the world outside, continuously coming to pieces

the draw - this one was written about the pull of pursuing a career in music vs. staying home with family and friends. in a broader sense, it can apply to a lot of things. i always felt it resonated with feelings of paranoia and displacement

winter of our youth - discusses childhood, nostalgia, and regret. if it feels like everything's slipping away, is it easier to relive the past, especially if the past is tinted rose?

sleepsong - loneliness, desperation, and the cyclical, abyss-like nature of all it encapsulates

if you want discussion of serious topics:

final hour - a bonus track off their second album that also became a bonus track off their third album? anyway this song talks about climate change and gun control. happy stuff

doom days - this one talks about, uh, everything! doomscrolling, political divides, escalating national tensions, climate change again, etc.

the currents - a song centered on political rhetoric and the power that figureheads have over the masses, the way they can orchestrate hate. basically it's not so subtly aimed at donald trump lmao, dan's literally sung it as much in a few live settings

WHAT YOU GONNA DO??? - social media addiction and the way capitalism and corporate interests have annexed our online experiences, fighting desperately for our attention as they seek to monetize every available aspect of our lives

four walls (the ballad of perry smith) - well this one is about uh. perry smith. who was charged with the death penalty for killing 4 people in the late 50's. but it's less directly about him and more a discussion of the morality of the death penalty and capital punishment

snakes - burgeoning anxieties and the impulse to turn to easy outs, like ignorance or alcoholism, to escape the world's global problems

if you want some pop culture sprinkled on top:

icarus - greek mythology. i like this one because it addresses something that i feel isn't addressed enough in discussions of this myth, which is that icarus is a very young lad. less about the pride of the fall, and more about the inherent tragedy of that.

laura palmer - the whole song is a david lynch shoutout. i've never seen twin peaks myself but the song still slaps.

daniel in the den - christian mythology. discusses the biblical tale of daniel in the lion's den and links that up to themes of betrayal and family.

poet - this one's a double feature, referencing both william shakespeare's sonnet 18 and edmund spencer's sonnet 75. also one of my favorites.

send them off! - this is another one of my favorites of theirs. it's also been described by dan as "othello meets the exorcist" and it very much delivers there

if you want something uplifting:

joy - while bastille (understandably) has a bit of reputation as a band that makes sad music about sad things, they've definitely got some happier songs in their catalogue. pun intended cha ching. this one's one of their more straightforwardly happy tunes

survivin' - this was a song they wrote while they were touring and then felt weird about releasing once the panini hit because it felt a bit on the nose. they ended up releasing it anyway and i am so glad they did cause it's a mood

act of kindness - the "happy" part here is debatable but i'm gonna include it anyway. it’s when someone does something nice for you and that impulse Changes you way down deep you know???

warmth - one of those "the world's going to shit but at least we have each other" kinds of tunes

the anchor - one of those "the world's going to shit but you're the one fucking thing that's still keeping me here" kinds of tunes

give me the future - their latest single as of this writing and one of the more optimistic tracks in their catalogue imo! it's yearning, but it's also with a genuine hope for the future.

and LASTLY. because im going to take every chance i can to plug this band. im going to throw some collabs and covers at you because there's one thing this band does SUPER well and it's collabs and covers.

of the night - this is the big one. it mashes up rhythm of the night by corona and rhythm is a dancer by SNAP! and it's so good they still do this one live and it goes off every time.

no angels - a mashup of "no scrubs" by TLC and "angels" by the xx, poured into a strangely mournful tune with clips from the hitchcock movie psycho. doesn't sound like it should work but it does. kinda really does.

torn apart - with GRADES and lizzo no less!!! it's got two parts but they're both excellent listen to them both

weapon - collab with angel haze, dan priddy, and F*U*G*Z and one of my absolute favorites

remains - remix of their song "skulls" but featuring rag'n'bone man and skunk anansie that adds an entire new dimension to the song, really fucking excellent

old town road mashup - lil nas x's old town road meets lizzo's good as hell meets radiohead's talk show host meets talking heads' road to nowhere meets the osmond's crazy horse. "what the fuck that shouldn't work" i KNOW and yet here it is!! BLATANTLY BANGING!!!

we can't stop - one of the few times dan smith subtly changes the lyrics of the song he's covering (most of the time he opts to keep the original pronouns and the like, which is very nice to see). anyway this one mixes miley cyrus's we can't stop with eminem's lose yourself and billy ray cyrus's achy breaky heart. and also the lion king's i just can't wait to be king is there. yes i know it sounds batshit especially because the whole thing is surprisingly melodic and heartfelt and you know what it works.

anyone but me x nightmares - mashing up joy crookes' anyone but me with easy life's nightmares and absolutely one of my favorites.

bad guy mashup - how many songs can they include with the word "bad" in the title? we've got bad guy (billie eilish), bad decisions (bastille), bad romance (lady gaga), and bad blood (taylor swift). bastille even has a song called bad blood and they didnt use it. they used taylor swift's version. also the distinctive guitar riff from dick dale's misirlou is there.

somebody mashup - how many songs can they include with the word "some" in the title? someone like you (adele), somebody told me (the killers), somebody to love (queen), use somebody (kings of leon), and someone you loved (lewis capaldi). seriously these guys take mashups to a new level.

final song - this is a cover of MØ's final song. it also adds in craig david's 7 days and, impossibly enough, europe's final countdown. how does it work. how.

ALL RIGHT. THATS ALL IVE GOT IN ME. HOPE THIS HELPED ANON AND IM SORRY IF THIS IS TOO MUCH

#askin hours #anon #bastille #ill put this in the bastille tag why not #this is predominantly a fall out boy blog but if any bastille bloggers are out there....all like 20 of you....#i see the work u do in this fandom and i love u for it

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octania · 4 years

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Benimaru Shinmon x Reader / Obi Akitaru x Reader ( S/O’s birthday)

Words count: 2.4 k

Warnings: NONE , Just that you may fall hard for this two guys 😂

Short descriptions: What would Obi and Benimaru do for your birthday to surprise you like no other.

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Obi Akitaru

Obi is a hyped mess when it comes to your birthday. To be perfectly precise, he starts his adrenaline planning a whole week before. He gathers all the information, that he had carefully stored in his mind due time, about what you enjoy the most, what are your hobbies and preferences. He writes the most important things down in the beginning of, what he calls, your birthday week. The list goes from the little things like your favorite color, favorite food, flowers, books, places, all the way to your dreams and plans for the future. He takes every single thing on that paper seriously and marks them as highly important and also as a guide to your perfect surprise.

Everyone knows that the birthday week planning is starting, they learned it the hard way last year. Don’t be fooled, he did not bother no one by asking for help, actually he tried to do everything by himself, but you can imagine how dealing with a mile long list of your wishes can be more then overwhelming. Hinawa actually found the poor guy sleeping in the garden when he was putting up the lights to decorate it for your romantic dinner that would take place after the party that he also organized single-handedly. His head resting on the white fence, body all covered in wires that had small light bulbs on it, hair messy with traces of flower-shaped- confetti he sprinkled on the grass from the main entrance of the garden, all the way to a nicely decorated table for two where you would have your romantic meal. When Hinawa got closer, he noticed that on the wires of the lights there was something else, some pieces of paper hanging from it. He leaned, peaking, trying to read what was on it. Turned out your man Obi wrote down all the things you made him feel for you, all the things he adored about you and all the things he thinks you made better for him. After that, all the members of the squad insisted they help him next time, and with a charming smile he always has, he agreed and thanked them.

Obi is defiantly a “surprise party” kind of guy. He adores the stunned expression on your face, almost melting like ice in the sun when he sees your cheeks firing up and corners of your lips curled in a shy smile when you walk in the room themed with your favorite things, full of your friends holding gifts and welcoming you with a cheerful singing of the traditional Happy birthday song. Looking around you and seeing how detailed and crafty the room is decorated with the things you adore, a combination that you could not find even on web sites, makes you glare with pride on your boyfriend, who wants nothing more than your happiness and satisfaction with things he had done for you.

He would be beside you every moment of the party, making sure you are having the most unforgettable time of your life, being a queen of this event, and your king has you wrapped around his muscular arm at all times. Even when you tell him quietly that he did not have to go through all this trouble for you, he would spin you by the hand, landing you between his arms and on his firm chest, lifting you up by gripping your legs, making you to wrap them around his waist, then he kisses your collarbone, closing his eyes and resting his head under your chin, whispering to you – “How can you say that? I love you (Y/N), and of course I will celebrate the day you were born, because in that moment the other half of me came to this world. I would celebrate every day as this one, because I managed to find you, my soul mate.”

You would stand frozen, staring at a mountain of boxes of all sizes, wrapped in colorful paper with bows on the top. How many gifts do you think is possible to buy in one week? More than you could count….. Obi takes nothing by chance, and after roaming in every store that he thought contained something you would find amusing, nice, cute, he will get it. He got even the things that reminded him of you, and the things that were reminding him on your intern jokes or situations you two were in together and they were dear to him. The only thing he refused to buy is a big teddy bear. Once you have told him that hugging him reminded you of hugging those enormous plushy bears and when he leaves you will put his shirt on one of them so you can hug it while he is gone so you don’t miss him, he vowed that the day will never come. But not because he was jealous on the toy, it is because he never wanted to allow you to be lonely and missing him. Buying that bear would mean he admits the day when you will be alone with that stuffed material would come, and there is no way he will let that happen. You sleep right on top of him, while he embraces your whole body with his strong arms, pulling you close so he can hear your every heart beat, making sure you feel his too, letting you know you will never again be alone, you two are one soul in two bodies.

You should bear in mind that the party is not over when the guests leave. Obi would kiss your hand, closing the door after the last person, leaning over you and locking you between his wall of flesh and the door. “I have one more surprise for you, babe.”- his whispers would sink deep into your core, making you shiver when he rest his hands on your waist, squeezing it lightly, massaging it in slow circular motions, while he nibbles on your earlobe. Suddenly, he would pick you up by surprise, carrying you while whispering sweet nothings along your neck, opening the door of his room. Well..not only his anymore. The single person bed is now replaced with a king sized one, and a new and wider wardrobe is placed next to the older and smaller one. You heart race as you see the scented candles illuminating the room with their dim glow. Blue and white orchids are spread out along the bed, and some around it. You turn, looking at him. His face red, smiling but he can’t hide how nervous he really is. He stutters the first few words, but then clears his throat and finishes his question with a tone filled with dedication. “ Move in with me (Y/N). I can’t stand going away from you in the morning any more..I can’t stand calling this house a home any longer, because it is a lie. Until we are living under the same roof, nothing will feel like home to me. So, please (Y/N), will you stay with me?”

Benimaru Shinmon

You thought Beni looked gloomy before when he took his usual stroll along the streets of Asakusa, but you have seen nothing until he realized a big day is coming up, and he had absolutely no idea how to make it special. Well, at least nothing seemed good enough to him. He had no experience in this area. Sure, he cared for Asakusa, he admired and respected Konro, he liked the twins, but nothing got so deep in that mans chest as you did. So, the same usual treatment when it came to birthdays, to give them something nice and congratulate them, have a nice dinner and go to bed after, was out of the question.

You were his first girlfriend. He had chances, that is more than obvious, but no one caught his eyes except you, and for the first time, he felt a deep and sincere obligation, or better yet, desire, to show you how much you fascinate him and how differently he sees you from all the rest. In the end, he wanted to express his love for you. Given the fact he was a man of few words, literal meaning of showing is what was left. Telling you how much he cared did not seem special enough, he believed in actions. You can’t just tell a woman that you love her, stupid, you got to prove it.

Konro, like he had some sort of tracker device installed in him to detect Benimaru’s worries, found out what has been troubling the young captain fast enough. He found it almost adorable, but there is no way he would say that in front of Waka. So, he carefully tried to give him a few advices as always, not being pushy, just helpful. But this time, something unusual happened. Normally, Beni would either listen and say nothing after Konro’s advice, or he would straight up get up and leave, showing how uninterested he is in the matter. But not this time, no. This time, he asked questions. Pointing out his concerns and specifically what he wants to achieve. Konro was puzzled, shocked to say at least. Realizing how deep Benimaru’s emotions are for you, he could not help but smile, messing the young man’s hair like he was a little boy, giving the advice that Benimaru found so useless and cringey at first, his eyebrows narrowed and his face became one big expression of dissatisfaction. “Present her the ways of your heart.” – Seriously Konro? That is all you can give me?

At first, Benimaru had no idea what that meant, but soon enough he realized the meaning when his endless walks took him to the right place. By accident, he stumbled upon a meadow covered with tall grass dancing in a light breeze. He gazed upon the peaceful place, admiring the view he didn’t even notice at first because of how deep he was in his thoughts. Turning around, he noticed a couple of more things that left even him breathless, and now he knew exactly what he wants to do.

The tender touch of his fingers woke you up. His mismatched eyes glowing with a smooth red light as he gazed upon your sleeping face. Gently caressing your cheeks, he planted a kiss on your forehead, picking you up from the bed without a word, carrying you outside. The clouds were light blue, it was still dark, but it was almost morning. Confused and still half asleep, you murmured some questions about what was he doing and where is he taking you, but he said no word, he just took one of the brigade's matoi, standing on the pole with you still in his arms, and you two took off when he used his Second Generation ability, controlling the flames of other ignited matoi and direct them to a certain place. You held tight, watching the sleeping homes of Asakusa beneath you.

A golden glow on the tender grass, wind filled with soft petals of sakura flowers, and a view of mighty mountains made you believe Benimaru took you to heaven itself. You could not find the words fast enough when he started walking to the end of the meadow. You realized you were close to the cliff, when he knelt, placing you on the ground, while he was still standing. “Beni?”- you asked, but no answer, he just turned, continuing to approach the cliff dangerously close. Too close. He jumped.

Your heart sank deep as a hysterical scream escaped your lips. You were paralyzed, could not move or breathe as you watched him disappear. But before your heart stopped from this shock, a raging flame arouse from the depths of the abyss, rising like two wings of the phoenix, painting the already stunningly colored morning sunrise with the art of his flames. Benimaru’s body appeared seconds later, as he was again standing on his matoi, traveling through air, leaving the shapes made of fire behind him. First it reminded you on fireworks, endless explosions of breathtaking colors spreading on the sky’s canvas, but this was different. The more you stared at the flames, the more sense they made. They had shapes. Shapes of people, of houses, they were even words you could now clearly read. His fiery creations appeared faster, almost like they were moving, having a life of their own. Tears started falling down your cheeks as you finally realized what you were looking at. He was telling you a story. A story of how you two first met, how you two fell in love, and how much you mean to him.

You sobbed while Benimaru continued to paint his tale in the rosy clouds, giving them the golden edges with his fire, looking like an angel surrounded with such glow that was out of this world. He found a perfect way to express his feeling, his determination for you. There were no words or gifts on this world that could be measured with this. When the last string of fire disappeared from the face of the sky, letting the orange sun to take over and illuminate the scene, he landed right in front of you. He knelt , bowing like you were a queen and he was your loyal general, placing his face in your hands that were resting on your legs. He inhaled deeply, collecting the scent of his one true love before he spoke in a calm voice filled with emotion. “Before you (Y/N), my canvas was empty..Now, there are more colors on it that I even knew existed…I hope you understand what I am trying to say..”- he clenched the material of your night gown in his hands, lifting his head to meet your watery gaze. He brushed his cheek against your, leaving the vibrations of his next words on your skin. “Your existence, is a reason for mine.”- he pressed his warm lips on yours, wiping your tears with his fingers. “Happy birthday, (Y/N)… and know this day is the most important one for me.”

#benimaru shinmon #obi akitaru #fire force #enen no shouboutai #benimaru x reader #obi akitaru x reader #benimaru shinmon x reader #benimaru shinmon headcanons #obi akitaru headcanons #enen no shoubotai headcanons

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tuesdayx · 3 years

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So I thought it would be fun to do a song-by-song breakdown of our latest album Essential.

Essential started as some rough demos designated for a side project in late 2019, which then became our largest album to date in terms of song selection. Many of the themes deal with learning to cope with the changing world thanks to Covid, with a perspective of someone who had to keep working at an "essential" job with no option of self-quarantine. I was happy to continue working and being able to pay my bills over the past year, but there was always elements of stress, fear, and tension lingering over myself and everyone else in my position.

So here we go; starting from the top let's look at the Songs of Tuesday X's 6th album Essential.

1. Jet Fuel Can't Melt Steel Beams: the title was a reference to the 9/11 conspiracy memes, which as stated in the opening lines, "has nothing to do with this song." Written in January of 2020 before Covid had made any significant impact in the US, the song touches on many themes which happened to occur throughout the year, such as [another] Californian forest fire (Australia too), new diseases (Covid), a riot (the BLM movement over the summer, which I will state everything that movement has been fighting for is 100% justified and the United States is in desperate need of Police reform, as does our political system which has remained inherently racist to this day.), Civil War (and exaggeration for sure, but the civil unrest and political division in our country will soon split us apart further), more corporate giants(companies like Amazon profited more from this Pandemic than ever before and have helped further the gap between the American working class and the top 1%). Favorite line: "I won't get philosophical, I only wanted your attention."

2. The Only Difference Between You and Me is a Sense of Apathy and Your Brand New Nikes: This song is a blithing criticism of the American political system. Our two party system has left Americans with a choice between "the lesser of two evils" and allows politicians with no true interest in our needs to rise to power. The use of 3rd parties as an alternative is a overly simple compromise that would only just begin to alleviate the problems created in our political system. Both of our main parties are considered conservative parties to the rest of the world, and any progressive measures that would benefit society and reduce the effects of climate change are considered radical and preposterous by politicians with financial stakes in our crooked system where corporatations hold control and the people are treated as fuel for an otherwise worthless currency. Favorite line: "Listen to the radio, they played my favorite song. Now I'm bored and wanting more."

3. Blame it on the Elves: the title is a reference to an episode of the Podcast "Lore" by Aaron Menke (i can't recall which episode, but you should check it out anyway because it's great listen.) An instrumental interlude inspired by ragtime music of the 1920-30's, with an edge of course.

4. Class of Dropouts: This song was written when I was 16 during my sophomore year of high school and was originally featured on my now unavailable album "trees" before adopting the Tuesday X monicker. I brought it back 6 years later because I loved how raw and punk it was. The lyrics are dorky but I decided to leave them as is, it's a cool track for high school stoners to blare and let out their teen angst. Favorite line: "Walking in on my friends fucking."

5. Polaroids on My Bulletin Board: This is a song about growing up. As a 22 year old (now 23) who decided not to go to college straight out of high school, I felt isolated from my peers in a way. By going into the workfield right away I sometimes feel like I skipped a few years and missed out on a lot of opportunities. I regret not leaving my hometown sooner than I did and chasing my dreams of being a touring musician in a band. More often than not I reminisce of my youth playing shows and getting into trouble, as I now feel old and out of place in a scene I grew up in. Favorite line: "I know what it's like to be alive, I know what it's like to live a lie."

6. Labradoodle Underpass: Going back on the theme of growing up, this is about my recent experience with shows as an adult. When I was a teenager I felt ambitious and ready for anything, and I would drop literally everything to go to the nearest show. As an adult I feel introverted and constantly anxious about the world around me. I've missed out on a lot of great shows due to my own self doubt's and anxiety. Now that shows have been canceled for over a year I feel even more regret by not appreciating them more while I could. Favorite line: "23 years and a lingering fear that anything could happen, why am I here?"

7. Some Shit: This was me trying to be modest mouse lol jangly guitars and half talking/half singing vocals describing the world around me. I guess in a way it was an exercise in writing character description and setting, but otherwise it's just a chill track that almost feels aimless at parts. Favorite Line: "it's just some shit I learned from a friend. Just some shit I learned when I was trying to prepare."

8: Woe is the World: On the album this is a chorus snippet that barely a minute long (the full version is available as a bonus track on bandcamp, and it was actually a demo that turned out better than the final version.) I originally wrote this song when I was 15 with a different set of lyrics, but I came back to it while writing this album and re-wrote it to reflect my mental state and the world around me. Overall, just another melancholy track in a sea of melancholy songs. Favorite line: "you've never felt more alone than you do now, was everything worth it in the end?"

9. Then Why Was it Named Gideon?: the title is a reference to a line in Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour (my favorite series) and like the first track on this album doesn't have much to do with the song. "Gideon" is a simple love song, talking again about how growing up sucks but having the right person by your side can make all the shitty times worth it in the end. Favorite line: "it's time to move on, you're taking too long."

10. I am Here, I'm Looking at Her, and She is Beautiful: This song is entirely about the book "Perks of Being a Wallflower". That's it. Nothing else, let's move on. Favorite line: "Over Christmas I read them a poem about a brown paper bag and the boy who wrote it."

11. Try to Be a Filter, Not a Sponge: Like the previous song, this one is also mostly about "Perks of Being a Wallflower", but with elements of my own experience with toxic relationships. I like to think of it as the character Charlie's experience with Mary Elizabeth overall though. Favorite line: "She called my favorite book washed out trash, said I have no taste and I'm still too sad."

12. Lavender Spray Bottle: This instrumental dates back to 2017. I recorded the guitar part as a demo on my phone and forgot about it. Over time I forgot how to play the guitar part, so I used the demo as a basis and layered everything else on top of it. The title is a reference to a bottle of water with lavender essential oils mixed in that my ex used to fend away spiders in the house we lived in at the time.

13. Hindsight is 2020: I will admit, this is my favorite song on the whole album and was actually the last to be written and recorded. With a simple guitar part and layers of vocals, this song is a direct reflection of life during the peak of the pandemic. With curfews in place and rising case counts, I had to learn to cope with life at home during my late nights away from work. My partner was quarantined during this time and I reflected on the mental strain this put on her. Favorite line: "Don't go to work, you need the money but you're not happy when you're there. Sometimes life is so unfair."

14. I Don't Know How to Deal With Serious Emotions Without Turning Them into a Fucking Joke: the title came from a meme I found on my phone from high school. The song itself was about my own inability to handle serious emotions without coming off as sarcastic. In both the music and lyrics, the song starts as a simple confession before exploding into raw chaos. Favorite line: "it's so hard. I'm so scared, what have I become?"

15. Say Hello to My Little Friend: the last instrumental on this album. A short haunting tune that reflects the final two tracks. The title is probably a reference to Rambo or something, but I never watched it and I thought it fit the feeling of this song.

16. Minneapolis: What became one of the most emotional tracks on this song actually began as a joke. My partner was snap chatting a friend one night and they asked me to write them a song on the spot. So I improvised the first two verses and chorus of this song, referencing her going to school there at the time. I found I actually liked what I had written however, so I refined the track and changed it from a sassy country song into a melancholic lament of my experience in the twin cities and southern Minnesota. Favorite line: "I miss Camp Snoopy, and Paul Bunyon's log flume ride that went around the whole damn mall."

17. Before the Sunrise: the final song on the album is an intimate look at my relationship with my partner. Through past experiences i have become riddled with self doubt and always looking at improving myself as a person. With hopes that one day I'll be the person I'd like to be for mine and their sake, it's an optimistic tribute to my best friend. Favorite line: "the cycle ends until the sun rises again, you're my best friend."

Thank you all so much! Check out Essential and our other music on Bandcamp, Spotify, Apple, and other places! I hope you all enjoyed this personal look at these songs that got me through the worst parts of 2020.

#tuesday x #emo #music #alternative #art rock #diy music #diy #midwest #underground #lyrics #essential #covid19

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cauliflowercounty · 4 years

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Weasley vs Weasley Pt. II (Draco Malfoy x Reader) [Tumblr Remaster]

Blood Status: Half-Blood or Pureblood

House: Gryffindor

Word Count: 2.5k

A/N: This is a remastered version of an old fic I wrote on my Wattpad with some new themes/twists.

You are the Molly and Arthur Weasley’s adopted daughter and in the same year as Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

Read the previous part: Part I

Not Proofread

-----

You and Draco met up increasingly often in the following weeks. Most of the time you’d find a secluded spot in the library to finish your essays and study together in. You’d help him finish his essays, and he’d help you in potions. If it was a nice day outside, he’d leave his Slytherin posse in the Great Hall and come have lunch and play some Gobstones with you in the courtyard instead.

He’d take you to Hogsmeade for dates. At the Three Broomsticks, you both would chat about school and friends then go to Honeydukes or take a walk. One night you both snuck up to the astronomy tower and slow danced under the stars until 1 am and kissed you for the first time. Your relationship was a happy one. He’d make you laugh, but what you appreciated most was how he listened.

Before, you didn’t really have anyone to talk to about being adopted. Even though your family was massive and infinitely supportive of you, you were scared to death that you would come off as ungrateful if you told them the truth, that you felt isolated and different. You enjoyed the dynamic of your family and you didn’t want to hurt that or them. They’d given you a home and a family to love and be loved by, after all. The least you could do was make life normal and pain free.

As you would hash out your feelings and worries, Draco listened and gave you that outlet that you so desperately needed and really understood your situation, even encouraging you to say something to your parents or at least the twins or Percy, who you’d been always been closest to out of all your siblings.

“They love you, y/n,” Draco had said one day in sincerity, “They won’t suddenly kick you out if you tell them how you’re feeling. You’re part of the family, even if you don’t feel like it sometimes. It’s where you belong.”

You’d thanked him, this time strongly considering talking to your family for the first time ever, pulling him off to your next class.

Today, you’re walking in the halls together, Transfiguration books in your arms, trying to find a quiet studying space. It being a Friday, most people aren’t in the mood to do work, but you and Draco both agreed to get a head start on your work.

As you reach the Grand Staircase, you spot Ginny on a staircase rotating towards you and Draco. It fits into place in front of you, and she spots you immediately as she starts to walk down. Her face drops into a scowl, stoping past you, nearly clipping your shoulder. Ginny’s been like this every since that day in Hogsmeade, and you were just about fed up with it at this point. You liked talking to your sister. Even though you felt like the odd one out in the Weasleys, it didn’t mean your relationship with all of them meant nothing. You motion to Draco that you’re going after her and he nods back.

You rush to follow Ginny into the Great Hall. As you catch up to her, you tap her shoulder.

“Hey, Gin,” you say with a smile, attempting to set a light tone. She turns around and looks you up and down.

“Hi,” she responds dismissively, turning around to try to find Luna.

“Ginny, wait,” you say, quickly grabbing her hand, which she tugs out of your grasp violently, eyes flaring at you as Draco walks into the Great Hall behind you. You withdraw your hand, a hurt expression on your face. She’s reacted to you as if you were trying to bite her.

“Quit it, y/n!” Ginny seethes.

“Come on, Ginny! I did nothing to hurt you!” you argue, following her as she storms to Luna’s position at the Ravenclaw table.

“Ugh!” Ginny grumbles, turning on her heel to snarl directly into your face, “How do you not get it, y/n?! Just by being near him you’re hurting the family! The Malfoys are our enemy! He is our enemy!” she shouts, pointing at Draco. “You’re betraying the family!”

As the words leave her lips, the walls seem to come crashing down. Anger and sadness fill your senses. Your insides feel like a churning pot of lava. The tears sting at your eyes. Shaking, you turn on your heel and rush out of the Great Hall, not caring where you go, just as far away from Ginny as possible.

After what seemed like hours of endless, blind running through the halls, you find yourself wedged inside a broom cupboard, the mildewy smell filling your nose. You breath heavily through your nose and try to calm yourself down, but each time you get your heart rate down, Ginny’s words rip through you and you start to cry again.

“You’re betraying the family!”

It’s a never ending nightmare. The last thing you ever wanted to do was hurt the Weasleys after all they did. She was right. After all they’ve given you. They took you out of that orphanage and gave you a home. They gave you clothes and food. They gave you seven siblings, seven, that you could play with endlessly who loved you and cared for you and then you go off and date Draco Malfoy. His father wants your father removed and put in a mental institution because he’s not a bigot.

It’s not worth it. No matter how happy Draco makes you, no matter how much Draco listens, no matter how much Draco makes you feel like you belong somewhere, it’s not right. This is not how you repay the family that’s given you this life you decide. It’s time to end it, but the thought of that makes you cry more. You don’t want to let go of Draco and your strange relationship. You don’t want to let go of it because of how it makes you feel, how it makes you happy.

Just as you feel another wave of tears coming, the door to the broom closet creaks open.

“She’s in here,” you head Draco say softly.

“Thanks, Malfoy,” you hear the twins say in unison.

“I’ll wait out here,” Draco says as you hear the twins come in, their wands lit. As they come closer, you hide your surely blotchy and puffy face from them, ashamed. The twins slowly approach you and sit in front of you.

“Y/n?” Fred asks, reaching out and taking one of your hands in his. “I’m sorry about what Ginny said.”

You sniffle, looking up at your brothers and whipping your tears away with the back of your free hand. “You shouldn’t be apologizing, Freddie. You had nothing to do with what happened between Ginny and I,” you sigh. “You should just leave me alone. Ginny is right... about what I’m doing. I shouldn’t be with him.”

“Y/n...,” George says. “That’s not true. You’ve been so much happier lately. You shouldn’t go sacrificing your happiness just because of one stupid thing Ginny says when she’s angry.”

“But she’s right! I’m doing a disservice to Mum and Dad,” you blurt, covering your face again. “Lucius Malfoy hates us. He’s elitist and had insulted dad countless times. He stands for everything Dad doesn’t and now I’m off cozying up to his son at school!”

“It’s not like that, y/n,” Fred says. “You’ve found someone who cares about you who makes you feel like you can be yourself. Isn’t that what all of us are doing or trying to do?”

“Well, yeah, but-”

“Y/n. Please stop. You are not betraying the family! We love you and will love you no matter what. If anyone’s betraying the family it’s Percy, but he’s still family even if him and Dad are fighting. Mum and dad still love Percy and if they still love Percy when he’s being as much of an idiotic prat as he is now, they’ll surely still love you. As for Ginny... Ginny just doesn’t understand what you’re feeling. She hasn’t ever had to worry about feeling like she truly belongs in the family like you have and she’s popular, so she’s fit in everywhere,” Fred explains softly. “She doesn’t understand what it’s like for you.”

“It’s just so frustrating! It’s like I owe everyone something all the time, and I can’t help it, and I can’t ever seem to pay them back for it or compensate because all I seem to do is take! I- It’s... Her words just rubbed me the wrong way. Being grateful and courteous and not stepping out of line is always a focus and some of my nightmares are like that, you all rejecting me...,” you trail off, leaning your head back against the wall. With that, the twins swoop in and give you a tight hug.

“We’ll never reject you, y/n,” Fred says.

“Especially if you’re trying to be happy,” George adds on.

“I love you two goofballs so much it’s ridiculous,” you smile, holding them close.

“We love you, too,” the twins say back.

“By the way...,” Fred says.

“You should go out and talk to Malfoy,” George finishes.

“He’s the one who found us and told us what happened,” Fred explains. “You should have seen his face. He was so worried I was afraid he’d burst.”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” George confirms. “Go on, y/n.”

Taking a deep breath you stand up and go to open the door of the broom closet. Peaking your head out of the door frame, you look around for Draco. A few feet away, Draco is sitting on a stone bench, hunched over and bouncing his knee in nervousness.

“Draco,” you call over to him and immediately his gaze shoots toward you. You walk over and join him on the bench. Cupping his cheek in your hand you give him a small, soft kiss. He smiles into it and wraps and arm around you. “thank you,” you whisper as you pull apart. “Thanks for getting my brothers.”

“I thought you’d like to talk to them over me,” he states.

“Come on, I love talking to you,” you reply with a small laugh.

“But I don’t know you quite as well as they do. And I certainly don’t know Ginny like they do, either,” Draco admits.

“That’s true,” you agree. “You did the right thing, Draco. You knew exactly what I needed and when.”

“I’d be a lousy boyfriend if I didn’t,” he chuckles.

“Oh, so now that’s what we are, huh?” you grin at him. “Why couldn’t you have said that when I’m not blotchy, puffy, and recovering from a family argument?”

“Would you have preferred I say it never?” Draco suggests, putting on his old Malfoy smirk.

“No,” you sigh, kissing him again. “I’m glad you said it. We’re together now. Officially.”

“Officially,” he states. “So... What are we going to do about the Ginny situation?”

You sigh and tip your head to the side against Draco’s shoulder, thinking about how Ginny’s probably still furious at you. You decide you don’t want to deal with her stubbornness until she’s cooled down a bit.

“I think we should leave it alone for now...,” you decide, standing up suddenly, determined. “I think I’m going to go write mum and dad and tell them how I feel. Ginny’s probably drafting a letter now and I’d prefer it if I also got a word in.”

Draco beams at you.

“I know this is cliché and cheesy, but I’m proud of you. You wouldn’t have had the confidence to do that a week ago,” Draco says supportively. “I’m backing you one hundred percent.”

“Great! Can I borrow some parchment?” you ask.

“Why do you need my parchment?”

“That Charms essay is coming up and I’m worried I won’t have enough to finish If I use it to write my parents a letter!” you defend. “And since you’re my boyfriend now, shouldn’t you be helping me? Aren’t you ‘backing me one hundred percent?’”

“I see what you did, there, y/n,” Draco smiles, standing up and taking your hand. “Alright. I’ll give you all the parchment you need. Just walk to the dungeons with me?”

You nod whole heartedly and start walking arm in arm with Draco towards the staircase to go down to the dungeons. Fred and George were right. You weren’t betraying the family, you were just trying to be happy and enjoying the company of someone who really gets you, and that person just so happens to be Draco Malfoy.

Tomorrow, you decide you’ll find Ginny and sit down with her and have a nice long talk. Sister to sister and hopefully you’ll both reach a level of understanding that you’ve lacked and so desperately needed in recent weeks and then you can all move on, which should work as long as Ginny doesn’t do anything rash or unexpected.

----

Part III coming soon!

#draco malfoy x reader #draco malfoy #Harry Potter #draco x reader

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doomedandstoned · 5 years

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Swedish Powerhouse Besvärjelsen Unveils New Music Video

~Doomed & Stoned Debuts~

I was a little late to the game in getting acquainted with Besvärjelsen, my introduction coming with last year's most excellent LP, 'Vallmo' (2018), but man am I ever glad I'm listening to them now.

Today, the five-member Stockholm band -- formed by members of Dozer, Greenleaf, and others -- are presenting us with a new single and music video, providing yet another great opportunity for us to get acquainted with their proggy doom-grounded rock style.

"When We Fall" will be releasing on an EP called 'Frost' August 9th on Blues Funeral Recordings as part of the Postwax subscription series. Don't miss our interview with Erik Bäckwall from the band below!

Give ear...

What does the "Besvärjelsen" signify for the band?

I think the name was first conjured up at an early rehearsal as a fitting name to describe the music they were making at the time. Doomy, mysterious vibes with a healthy portion of Swedish folk music in the mix. Today you could say it represents a roadmap to the music we’re doing. And we can deviate from the path, because we still know where we are going.

Tell us about the song we're premiering today, "When We Fall" -- what is it about and how does the concept tie in with the music video?

The song is about searching for good when it feels hopeless, The difficulty in finding good people and not just surrounding yourself with stuff that drags you down. It doesn't really tie in with the video though. The video came out of an idea to make a simple video where all band members where present, since only two appeared in the previous videos from the last album. And we took it from there, we recorded it mostly at our rehearsal space and threw in some inspiration from Twin Peaks visually. About a guy who gets hooked on our music basically. The guitar riff was part of another idea at first but we deleted some stuff and fleshed this one out at one rare rehearsal. From there we wrote the drum parts, bass, additional guitars and vocal melodies.

This is now your second or third music video, I've lost count. How is performing for a music video different than a live performance?

It's pretty hard actually, to pretend you are playing (well, you are playing to some extent, but not audibly) but it's kind of fun as well. Playing live you have another edge and adrenaline as well before you go on stage and you'll get totally into the performance. Playing in a music video you're more concerned that it looks good or that it looks like you're playing the right notes.

We'd love to know something more about the new EP coming out on Blues Funeral Recordings! Tell us anything you like, whether it records the development of the songs, any themes that run through the album, or the recording process itself.

It was a bit of an undertaking, because we actually thought we'd be able to crank out some new tunes a bit faster than we did. We had started to play around with some riffs in April 2018 when we got the Postwax gig and promised to deliver a new EP by the end of the year. But we had a lot of gigs coming up as well as Holidays, vacations and what have you. So when we hooked up again (we all live quite a bit from each other, different cities, villages) in September we only had the skeleton for one song.

So we started writing and uploading ideas, trying out stuff back and forth and three of us actually met two times at the rehearsal space to try some stuff. But we shaped the ideas from that point on from our home studios and recorded the drums in late November in a professional studio in Borlänge, the guitars and vocals at Andreas’ home studio in Nås later on in December. I think we did the final mix early in January, delivered the record and in March we played the songs together the whole band for the first time. Lyrically the songs are about all kinds of relationships with other people and beautiful disasters.

Vallmo by Besvärjelsen

What does the band have in store for the rest of the year?

We have a couple of shows coming up (Krökbacken Festival, to name one) pretty soon and hopefully we'll do some more but we're all doing it by ourselves so it's a bit tricky sometimes, maybe we'll try to secure a booking agency to get out of the country and do some shows. Other than that, we're focusing on writing the next full length album, the follow up to last years Vallmo.

Follow The Band

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#D&S Debuts #Besvärjelsen #Stockholm #Sweden #doom #alternative rock #stoner rock #metal #Blues Funeral Recordings #music video #Doomed & Stoned

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pinupgalore-lanadelrey · 6 years

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lake placid, aka era

LAKE PLACID

Yes, definitely. I was a different sort of child, as half the children are. They are or they aren’t. I was in that category of being free-spirited [laughs].

I go back now to visit my grandma and grandpa, but it’s not really somewhere I’ve spent a lot of time, not since I was 14. It’s beautiful. It’s a vacation destination. Olympics. It’s small, 2,800 people [laughs] it’s very different from here.

It was boring. That town is crazy, too. I was a bad girl, but I’m good now. I guess I have some bad tendencies. I don’t like to do hurtful things, but I am drawn to the wild side. I love riding motorcycles; I love rollercoasters; I do like adrenaline. But I’ve also found true happiness when I was living in New York and working with other people in that way that we’ve talked about. So, I don’t know. But I don’t feel at odds with it.

They didn’t have too much music around, but they actually both had really nice voices. My dad wrote country songs for fun, and my mom sang for fun. My dad liked the Beach Boys, my mom liked Carly Simon, but we didn’t really listen to them; we just put the radio on -- whatever would be on the radio.

I would write fiction on my own time, and I liked writing in school. I thought that was one of the less offensive school subjects, so that was fun for me. I transitioned to singing when I picked up the guitar. I’ve never been good at the guitar -- always been bad -- but it did help me write for the first four years.

I wondered if you wrote -- your lyrics are so narrative. They sound like stories. I’ve been in New York now seven years, and it’s been a really long road, so the parts of my life that I draw from lyrically are maybe the more dramatic segments of the time that I’ve been here. But they are all true.

Do you feel like you struggled when you moved to New York? Yeah, it was difficult, as it is for everyone. Maybe myself a little bit more, but that was my own fault.

SCHOOL

I didn’t live at school, I lived where I could and studied what I enjoyed studying. I took what I wanted from that education but was making my first record at the same time. I don’t know anyone from school. I was just leading a different life. I was really interested in writing and other things.

Lana Del Rey: I was social, just in a different way. I loved my teachers. I feel like kids can be hard to get along with sometimes and I don’t know anyone from my school I’ve been to. I’m sure they were nice.

Lana Del Rey: No, I didn’t feel ostracized. I just had different priorities. I was reading and writing. I was pursuing my own education [laughs] which paid off, I’ve learned so many different things.

What does metaphysics entail?

It’s not as complicated as it sounds. There’s different branches so it depends on which branch you’re studying. If you’re studying something like cosmogony, you’re studying about the origins of the universe, and how reality came to be reality. Like this space that we’re sitting in now -- how did we come to inhabit this place? And why this reality strikes us as it is. I studied that up in the Bronx.

Well, I lived in the Bronx for four years. I lived in Brooklyn for like four years after that. I always consider myself to have a serious street side, even when I was in high school. I mean, I was pretty crazy. Everyone I knew was really crazy.

I define myself eccentric psychologically but in the interviews that it’s often misunderstood. Maybe because my life had a lot of transformations, more transitions. My life has gone through various incarnations, mostly transitions. But I don’t consider myself to be someone very provocative or radical – I embrace a lot of traditional things. But I believe in alternative lifestyles and in alternative relationships.

Yes, exactly like Twin Peaks. I was hoping to get out and get to New York because that felt like heaven. I like going to the corner store and tell you that a man [in Spanish], “Hello beautiful, how are you? ‘.

_________________________________________________

I remember for the short time we lived together in NYC, I used to come home from work and see the entire wall of our studio apartment covered in weird tropical backdrops from the Party City store. There would be tinsel everywhere and streamers taped to the walls and I was furious because it looked like the most bizarre amateur movie set, plus I was worried for your sanity because I couldn’t see where you were going with all of it. Looking back though, your obsession with strange nick knacks and Hawaiian embellishments were like little hints of colors to come for future sounds and videos. Yeah, of course I remember those days. You hated my electric fishtank which gave me endless amusement. (She winks!)

For the record, I loved that fish tank, you gave it to me for my 19th birthday. I believe the inadvertant theme was ‘Chinatown.’ Now, I know you don’t love to talk about this because journalists have sort of mythologized your past but let’s talk about the trailer park you lived in for a few years- I shot you there when you were 22 and continued to shoot you there for a couple years while you were writing and entertaining and wrapping up your album with David Kahne. You were so sweet and happy that you had your very own place to write and reside in, and extra money from that $10,000 indie contract. It was also a sad time for you because you separated from Steven Mertens who had originally produced that record and who was your boyfriend at the time. I don’t really have to ask you this because as your sister, I think I already know, but would you say this was your most enriching time as an artist and happiest time in New York (despite the split from Steven.) [Smile] Yes.

Do you remember decorating David Kahne’s studio? I remember sitting next to a decorative Urn during one of your recording sessions. Even now, you’ll bring ribbons or bows or specific iconography to recording sessions. How important is it that your space reflects your personal style or headspace? I honestly haven’t thought about that in so long. I used to have to have some sort of talisman with me if I was writing. Something connected to the lyrics like a sparkle jumprope or a golden compact mirror- at the time it was really important. Now I have internalized so much of what I’ve come to love that I don’t think about it as much any more.

I loved New York. When I was there it was almost my sole source of inspiration, more than any other man, writer or rapper, but it’s harder for me to get around now. I used to take late night walks over the Williamsburg Bridge, go to all the 24 hour diners with $5 and beg the waiters to let me stay all night in exchange for the purchase of one giant slice of chocolate cake. I would sit for hours and read about interesting people like Karl Lagerfeld and listen to books on tape by Tony Robins to keep me company. I would take the D train to Coney Island, take the D train back to the Bronx where I lived on Hughes Avenue.

I did move into a trailer park when I made my first record. I got ten grand from Five Points Records and moved into Manhattan Mobile Home in New Jersey. And I was happy, because I was doing it for myself. There was a white trash element in the way there was a time that I didn’t want to be a part of mainstream society because I thought it was gross. I was trying to carve my own piece of the pie in a creative way that I kind of knew how. And I thought it was cool to be living by myself and working with a famous producer. I was excited about the future at the time.

Like when I was working with my first producer David Kahne and I was in that mobile home for two years. I was between there and Williamsburg and I had a boyfriend then. It was a very happy time.

I was doing open mic nights in the city with my guitar at Layla Lounge, Galapagos, where those places are open. Same place every girl singer was playing. One of many tragic Lower East side songstresses, oh dear! What must they think? And I met really nice people. Everyone in Brooklyn was doing a folk thing, and I was in that camp, singing sort of jazz. I entered a songwriting competition, I didn’t win, and one of the judges on the panel was an A&R man at a record label that had no other acts and I signed to them. We sent my demo out to five people and David Kahne got back to me that day, and said I think you’re amazing I want to start with you tomorrow. He was like my Harvard reach school, I couldn’t believe it. I was really excited. It was the first time anyone of any importance said I was good and I ran with that validation for a long time.

“I was always writing little songs, but nothing I liked then. When I left school I wanted to do music because I thought I was good at it and I wanted to do something that I loved. So my uncle taught me to play guitar and I did these little shows, just me and my guitar, singing and playing the five chords that I knew.”

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In her years in New York, working “odd jobs” and “helping out in the community, in alcohol and drug awareness programs” and playing the singer-songwriter open-mic circuit.

Just going to open-mic nights and things like that. It was mostly in Brooklyn. It was a folk scene. When I was 19, I signed to an independent record label. I was the only act on their roster, and then that record was shelved. After that, I still wanted to sing, but I started focusing on being an active member of my community.

In fact, she seems to be retracting more and more from public view, after buying a house in Los Angeles with her brother and sister.

There was an older song that you've never heard called "Pawn Shop Blues". [sings] "In the name of higher consciousness / I let the best man I met go / Because it's nice to love and be loved but it's better to know all you can know." Because I remember I'd met someone so special and famous but I knew he wasn't enlightened about how to be a good person. I knew it would get in the way of me becoming a nice person. That's a difficult choice to make.

How did you meet this famous person? Um, it was in a self-help group. [laughs]. He wasn't that famous. I justthought he was famous…

TV famous or movie star famous? Rock star famous. Just middle of the road ish. To me he was famous because I didn't know anyone who was wildly recognisable. I remember thinking it was exciting at the time.

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doc-boredom · 5 years

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Top 5 Mount Eerie songs?

I JUST WROTE SO MUCH FUCKING SHIT FOR THIS AND I ACCIDENTALLY CLICKED OUT OF THE FUCKING TAB BECAUSE I WAS CHECKING ON A LYRIC FOR FUCKING THROUGH THE TREES IM GONNA COMMIT

ANYWAYS

YOU’RE GONNA GET THIS IN ALL CAPS BECAUSE IM MAD. IT WAS A LOT MORE ELOQUENT BUT I GUESS ILL GET TO THE POINT NOW INSTEAD.

1) BETWEEN TWO MYSTERIES- FIRST SONG I GOT INTO BY MOUNT EERIE, ENJOYABLE BECAUSE IT’S AN HOMAGE TO TWIN PEAKS WHICH SUCCESSFULLY CAPTURES THE DREAMY NIGHTMARE HAZE OF LYNCH’S SERIES NOT JUST BY SAMPLING BADALAMENTI’S SYNTH WORK FOR LAURA PALMER’S THEME AT THE BEGINNING AND END, BUT BECAUSE ELVERUM GREW UP IN THE ANACORTES AND HAS AN INTIMATE FAMILIARITY WITH THE DISQUIETING POTENTIAL OF WASHINGTON AND WHATEVER THE DARKNESS MAY HIDE.

2) MOON PART 2- THE MOON IS LITERALLY ONE OF MY MOST FAVORITE SONGS IN ALL OF PHIL’S DISCOGRAPHY AS BOTH MOUNT EERIE AND THE MICROPHONES. WHAT I LIKE MOST ABOUT PART TWO IS THAT IT’S NO LONGER A SONG ABOUT “THEM” (THAT SHADOW THAT PHIL’S SO DESPERATE TO ESCAPE FROM WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY TRYING TO FIND AGAIN) BUT NOW RATHER ABOUT HIM AS HIS OWN PERSON. HE COMES TO THIS REALIZATION ABOUT HIMSELF, AND WHAT HE NEEDS, NO LONGER HIDING BEHIND THAT SAVAGE DRUMMING OF HIS OWN MAKING, HIS VOICE UNWAVERING AS HE SINGS OVER HIS ACOUSTIC GUITAR (GOING FROM “YOU’RE GONE, YOU’RE GONE, YOU’RE GONE” TO “WHAT GIVES, THERE’S NO ANSWERING SOUND, AND THERE’S NOBODY AROUND, AND THEN MY ANSWER IS FOUND.” LIKE WHOO DAMN G R OW TH)

3) SORIA MORIA- NOW LISTEN. MY SAD GAY ASS HAS LISTENED TO THIS SONG ON TOP OF A FROZEN LAKE UNDER THE FULL MOON, TRYING MY BEST TO JUST REFLECT ON A LOT OF SHIT THAT HAD GONE ON LAST YEAR (2017 INTO 2018 SPECIFICALLY.) THE ENTIRETY OF A CROW LOOKED AT ME HAS THIS AMAZING STARKNESS TO IT THAT WILL SWELL AT RANDOM POINTS, THE BUILD UP MADE UP OF PHIL’S EMOTIONS AND HOW HE SHAPES THE MUSIC AROUND THEM. IF I’M REMEMBERING CORRECTLY, HE SPOKE TO SUN KIL MOON A LOT ABOUT SPOKEN WORD GRIEF, AS HE HAD WORKED ON IT IN BENJI. KOZELIK’S GONE ON RECORD SAYING YOU CAN’T SING THE SAME SONGS YOU SANG AT 25, AND THAT SHOWS IN PHIL’S EVOLUTION AS WELL MUSICALLY AND LYRICALLY. DEATH HAS ALWAYS BEEN THIS CONCEPT THAT HAD A MUTABILITY TO IT FOR PHIL IN HIS MUSIC, BUT AS STATED IN REAL DEATH, IT’S SOMETHING THAT’S VERY, VERY REAL, AND SOMETHING THAT’S NOT TO BE MADE LIGHT OF. THE FACT THAT HE REVISTS HIS YOUNGER YEARS, WHAT HE NEEDED TO DO TO BE THE RIGHT MAN FOR GEN ONLY TO HAVE THAT SLIP BETWEEN HIS FINGERS. HE HAS TO MAKE THIS WILD DECISION TOO OF GIVING UP THEIR CHILD BECAUSE HE CAN’T TAKE CARE OF BOTH OF THEM, AND EVEN THEN HE FINDS HIMSELF IN THEIR BED ALONE IN THEIR HOUSE REVISITING THOSE LYRICS FROM THE MOON (”I WENT BACK TO BE ALONE AGAIN.” LIKE HOLY SHIT THE FUCKING THEMING, THE TRAGEDY, THE POETIC GENIUS...) NOT TO MENTION THE CONNECTION BETWEEN SORIA MORIA THE PAINTING AND PHIL’S OWN REALIZATION THAT GEN IS THAT SHINING KINGDOM AND HE’LL NEVER BE ABLE TO CROSS OVER THAT CHASM TO GET TO HER. LIKE FUCK ME UP.

4) SUMMONS- SUMMONS IS FUCKING MAGIC MADE REAL. PHIL LITERALLY LISTENED TO THE WIND WHISTLE-ROAR-SONG THAT SURROUNDED HIS HOUSE IN THE MOUNTAINS AND CRAFTED SONG AFTER SONG FOR IT. HE’S NOT AFRAID EITHER, WHICH IS GOD DAMN BEAUTIFUL. HE IMPLORES IT, LISTENS TO IT’S WORDS AND DEMANDS, RESPECTS IT’S POWERS. THIS ALSO TOUCHES UPON LOSS AGAIN, AS PHIL’S KNOWN TO DO. IT TELLS HIM THAT IT’S A PART OF LIFE, AND TO ACCEPT IT, AND I THINK HE DOES BUT NOT TRULY IN HIS HEART. ONCE AGAIN IT’S A CONCEPT, FOREIGN AND FLEETING TO HIM, MORESO AN IDEA OF A FEELING RATHER THAN SOMETHING THAT HE’S EVER TRULY FELT.

5) THROUGH THE TREES PART 2- THE FIRST PART IS FEATURED ON WIND’S POEM AND THE SECOND ON CLEAR MOON. IT’S A PERFECT OPENING TRACK BECAUSE IT HAS THIS SENSE OF MYSTERY, LIKE YOU’VE PARTED THE FOG AND STEPPED PAST THE TREES AND YOU’RE NOT QUITE SURE WHAT YOU’VE FOUND. THERE’S AN INTERESTING COMPARISON TOO WITH PART ONE FOCUSING ON “THE LAND OF DREAMS” WHEREAS PART TWO HAS “THE NATURAL WORLD.” IT’S LIKE A RETURN TO REALITY AFTER WAKING UP FROM A STRANGE, MAYBE EVEN TERRIFYING DREAM. SOMETHING INEXPLICABLE AND YET SOMETHING YOU FIND YOURSELF ENAMORED TO BECAUSE IT WAS UNDENIABLY YOURS. NATURE IS EXTREMELY SYMBOLIC FOR PHIL. HE GREW UP SURROUNDED BY IT AND USES IT THROUGH VARIOUS MEDIUMS, AND TOO MANY PEOPLE SEE IT TOO REALISTICALLY FOR HIS LIKING. “CAN YOU FIND WILDNESS IN YOUR BODY AND WALK THROUGH THE STORE AFTER WORK, HOLDING IT HIGH?” CAN YOU FIND MAGIC IN EVERY DAY MOMENTS? CAN YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH THE WAKING WORLD AND IT’S DREAMING, DARK SIDE. PHIL IMPLORES YOU TOO, AND YOU SLIP INTO IT ALL TOO EASILY IF YOU LET YOURSELF BELIEVE IN THIS WORLD HE’S NOT SO MUCH AS CRAFTING AS HE IS REVEALING TO YOU.

HONORABLE MENTION) EMPTINESS- “’MORE EMPTINESS’ I SAID ‘AND MORE, AND MORE.’” WHAT A WAY TO START A SONG. EMPTINESS IS DESOLATE WITH THE MUFFLED ORGAN AND EVEN PHIL’S LOVE FOR DRUMMING SOUNDING DISTANT AND FAR AWAY. IT’S DESOLATE, BUT ALSO DEMANDING, AS PHIL IS CONSTANTLY QUESTIONED FOR HIS NEED FOR NEEDING THAT EMPTINESS/TO BE SOMETHING LESS INSTEAD OF SOMETHING MORE. IT’S A VERY STRANGE SONG, LIKE MOST THINGS ARE ON SAUNA, BUT I THINK IT’S MY FAVORITE OUT OF ALL OF THEM.

#long post #mount eerie #i feature a lot of his music as themes in between two mysteries because everything he makes has this unrealness to it before a crow looked #and i love that #i also do love a crow looked at me and now only but for very different reasons #Anonymous

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ross24fps · 6 years

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15 Bandcamp Albums This Year That Are Worth Your Time To Listen To:

Bit of a different post this time, but these are some self-released / under-the-radar releases that have come out this year that I think deserve better recognition, so I thought I’d give these artists a platform to possibly give them more attention. Hopefully you all find some new stuff in here to enjoy!

1.) AKIRA SAKATA / CHIKAMORACHI / MASAHIKO SATOH - PROTON PUMP

Insane, free-form jazz quartet record performed live in Tokyo. A weird science theme persists throughout the album, with song titles such as “Voyage of the Eukaryote” and “Bullet Apoptosis”, making this probably the most creative and ballsy jazz record of the year.

Link: https://familyvineyard.bandcamp.com/album/proton-pump

For fans of: The Lounge Lizards, late John Coltrane, Albert Ayler

2.) BAMBARA - SHADOW ON EVERYTHING

Mysterious, slightly edgy desert rock that sounds like you’re driving a Jeep through a desert - only the desert used to be a suburban town and the setting is post-apocalyptic. It kind of sounds like the type of music you would hear in the new Twin Peaks series. These Brooklyn boys have a dark future ahead of them (and I mean that in a good way).

Link: https://bambara.bandcamp.com/album/shadow-on-everything

For fans of: Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Swans, Tindersticks

3.) C’YOTES - THREATS

Raucous, fun, queer indie rock with sing-a-long choruses and just enough raw tonality to prevent it from being typical commercial b.s. You can almost taste the beer seeping in through the music on this thing - loads of fun.

Link: https://cyotes.bandcamp.com/album/threats

For fans of: The Vaccines, Arcade Fire, Kimya Dawson

4.) CAMO MEAL - EMO LOVE

Interesting little experimental EP that’s supposedly meant to reflect on adolescence through the mindset of an adult. It’s not very nostalgic, more like a snapshot collection of memories that somehow feel significant - just like real memories. It’s always exciting to hear such an original new voice.

Link: https://camomeal.bandcamp.com/album/emo-love

For fans of: I dunno, early Future Islands, maybe?

5.) CELESTAPHONE - TYING UP LOOSE FRIENDS

Definitely the weirdest and one of the most original indie rap albums of this year, if not the entire decade. It sounds like a demented cartoon - hilarious and surreal.

Link: https://cele.bandcamp.com/album/tying-up-loose-friends

For fans of: Busdriver, Danny Brown, Adult Swim cartoons

6.) COLD MEAT - PORK SWORD FEVER

Fun and brutal all female punk EP. All female punk bands are kind of my jam, and if it’s your jam as well, this is about as good as it gets. Raw and awesome.

Link: https://staticshockrecords.bandcamp.com/album/pork-sword-fever

For fans of: The Soviettes, The Slits, The Raincoats

7.) CSCOT - BASH BACK

Insanely brutal queer industrial noise electronic project from Argentina. Not for the faint of heart or sensitive of ears or virgin of anal.

Link: https://cscot.bandcamp.com/album/bash-back

For fans of: Merzbow, Death Grips, Lightning Bolt

8.) ERIC CHENAUX - SLOWLY PARADISE

Weird, French atonal improvisational guitar music. It would be right at home in the early 80′s New York scene if it wasn’t so oddly smooth and relaxing.

Link: https://ericchenaux.bandcamp.com/album/slowly-paradise

For fans of: Arthur Russell, Frank Zappa, Leo Kottke

9.) HISATO HIGUCHI - SHOKUBUTSU TO HIKARI

More improvisational guitar music, but much more traditional and meditative. It gives the impression of a long driving trip, falling asleep in the backseat of somebody else’s car amid Japanese landscape.

Link: https://hisatohiguchi.bandcamp.com/album/shokubutsu-to-hikari

For fans of: Steve Gunn, Leo Kottke, Glenn Jones

10.) LITTLE GOAT - 2012 - 2013

Albums like this are the reason that I love Bandcamp. This singer/songwriter wrote these tracks as a way to recover her mental health and prevent her own self-abuse, and the results are amazing. These songs are universal, beautiful, and profoundly touching.

Link: https://littlegoat.bandcamp.com/album/2012-2013

For fans of: Fiona Apple, The Mountain Goats, Mount Eerie

11.) LONG NECK - WILL THIS DO?

Awesome suburban indie rock. The lyrics are potent, the singing is on point, and the instrumentation rocks hard. This album is going to be ignored for the Courtney Barnetts of the world, and that’s a shame - this album is the epitome of underrated.

Link: https://longnecklass.bandcamp.com/album/will-this-do-2

For fans of: Frankie Cosmos, Screaming Females, PJ Harvey

12.) PAUL DE JONG - YOU FUCKEN SUCKER

One of the members of The Books makes one of the most unsettling albums of the year. A musical comment on the perpetual mental illness present in the social media age, the albums is at turns uncomfortably hilarious and genuinely terrifying. Always surprising, never boring.

Link: https://pauldejong.bandcamp.com/album/you-fucken-sucker

For fans of: Negativland, The Knife, Diamanda Galas

13.) RICH MACHO GENTLEMEN - CATCHER IN THE CABAGEFIELDS

No, I didn’t misspell it - that’s the title. Very fun collection of Japanese shoegaze rock, complete with ear-worm hooks and atmospheric noise. Very impressive debut.

Link: https://richmachogentlemen.bandcamp.com/album/catcher-in-the-cabagefields

For fans of: The Pastels, My Bloody Valentine, Oasis

14.) SCATTERZONE - ABILIFY

Beautiful, minimal EP used as a soft venting outlet. Relatable, unsettling, slow-moving, this is bedroom pop that provides everything except comfort.

Link: https://scatterzone.bandcamp.com/album/abilify

For fans of: Coma Cinema, Sufjan Stevens, Daniel Johnston

15.) SPECIAL INTEREST - SPIRALING

Queercore glam no wave? Sign me up! This EP from this new New Orleans group is filled with sucker-punch riffs and social commentary to spare. I recommend this to anyone who’s tired of queer music being boiled down to glitzy pop music. Bring on the sweat and the blood!

Link: https://specialinterestno.bandcamp.com/album/spiraling

For fans of: Limp Wrist, DNA, Sonic Youth

#music #album recommendation #2018 in music

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uncivorg · 4 years

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Reign STOMP Redux

So here’s the thing… We wrote this soon after our first child was brought onto this earth—right after Donald Trump became president of the USA—and we remember, starkly, having to verbally acknowledge that out loud at some point during the first few weeks of little Nina’s life. The composition was created while the child slept in a bassinet. It began raining softly in the mildish New York-spring air—blowing through the window polluted and smoggy in our home office. A small kernel of an idea on the guitar led to a little melody with a frill in it—almost bebop, or maybe hard-bop, but who knows. Somehow it wants to land with a big major chord on the off beat (on four) like a tune by The Band, or something. Then it goes into a theme—romantic? laconic? lilting?—that fit right against the frilly intro. The theme was built on two American staples: the minor four chord (“Starman”, Bowie), and the two major (“That’ll Be The Day”, Buddy Holly). It expands from there, settling into a newer, semi-jam-band progression more likely to be heard in something like Robert Glasper’s projects or maybe Roy Hargrove’s RH Factor, than in heady jammers like Phish. (Moving from C major to A major back and forth is probably the antithesis of jam-band harmony, if there is such a thing.) Amidst the democratic swirl through the group solo section—swaying between two key centers as Dominic Mekky's organ sounds are warped through a tape delay pedal, shaking the bedrock—each element shimmers within a tug-of-war of peace. There’s slide guitar; there’s stretching; there’s squawking; there are slippery melodies which come and evaporate in a millisecond. At some point, the organism coalesces, agreeing upon a drone. (It’s in the sheet music—”reach group consensus on A chord, then move to Bb major”—a moment of collectivism rooted in virtuosic group listening and underplaying.) Then we’re back into the swelling swales of the intro, with Tristan Cooley’s flute trills calling like a bird over stacks of pastoral ambiance, including Nick Jozwiak’s bowed double bass. Theme remerges—pop on beat 4—dénouement to E major, we all slip away into vapours…

— Uncivilized (we/they/us)

www.unciv.org

Postscript:

Julian Cubillos takes a production credit here, as he is always the one making sure the levels and filters are working well and we remember consulting him about positioning when we were setting up. This was one of the rare occasions where we and Julian could hear both of our guitars (eachother) well, thanks to the crew at Pioneer Works, and to a relatively soft group volume. That’s the same pot you hear clanking about insouciantly that Rachel’s used in the band for many years now. Levon is on alto sax here—his work on “Climb”, his father’s song, is still my favorite “solo” out there; it’s all vibe—an amalgam of deep song and visceral realism (See: “Savage Detectives”; Bolaño, 1998.) There are some core moments when Casey Berman is hitting the Stomp-march-rhythm spot on, seeping through the detritus with that wooden-pillar, dry-bone clarinet I love so much (the sound of a loon?). This is our Stompiest to date, as we added trumpet for the occasion. It is Luther Wong’s debut on an Unciv. Recording, but he’s been playing with us since at least 2013, on at least a few Barbès hits. If you’re at all interested, the rest of this performance was recorded in similar hi-fidelity and features my neighbor Jaimie Branch sitting in for over half an hour, joining us on Joni Mitchell’s “Woodstock” and a reading of the Twin Peaks theme. Her dog was wandering on stage with us all throughout the evening.

a l l i n q u i r i e s : [email protected]

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thedegenerateasexual · 7 years

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top 10 teen wolf episodes as rated by me i guess

IN the order from most to least favorite, and i did not include any 6B ones because it isn’t fair for me to use those when the season isn’t finished yet. (EDIT: season is now finished and while none of the 6B episodes made the ranking i did adjust the honorable mentions accordingly.) this is long & i had fun making it

3.19 Letharia Vulpina: ok ok so just like Everyone Knew I Would i did pick this one because of all the prime derek/chris material—that all-important moment where they had their claws and gun trained on each other, being handcuffed to a bench together, derek saving chris’s life despite insisting he wasn’t gonna—BUT there’s literally not a single second of this episode i don’t love. we open with deaton being a total badass and scaring the shit out of some yakuza dudes, then KIRA gets to be a badass, and then there’s a small scott/allison/isaac moment when he’s all laid up (which was my ot3 for a little while in 3A…don’t judge), allison gets to threaten peter with a stun baton on her girlfriend lydia’s behalf, and that doesn’t even BEGIN to get into the absolute delight it is to watch everyone running around trying to deal with all the chaos the notgitsune is causing (we even got to see coach get shot, which was actually pretty funny??). between all of that and the plot twist at the end (that we all saw coming…but hey) that it was really the nogitsune pretending to be stiles all along (and the very…gay…thing going on with him and scott), it’s literally like, the perfect episode. there was even a rain battle at the end i fucking love rainy scenes. PEAK television.

4.12 Smoke & Mirrors: my two favorite characters on the dumb werewolf show are derek hale & scott mccall and this episode is like a great big flashing sign that says “LOOK AT HOW AWESOME DEREK IS AND LOOK AT HOW AWESOME SCOTT IS!!!” because scott finally gets to KICK PETER’S ASS and comes back from something he shouldn’t be able to come back from because he’s SCOTT MCCALL, TRUE ALPHA, and how can we forget my son derek finally achieving the full shift and giving that big old “FUCK YOU” to kate argent. if that wasn’t enough, my third favorite character chris argent gets the second-closest he’s ever come to weeping in this entire series when confronting the sister he can’t kill at the end. also kate is in this episode and she’s the best villain i love her presence onscreen. also peak television.

1.12 Code-Breaker: i love s1 SO FUCKING MUCH bc it was so tightly plotted - it’s like back to the future and holes, it’s one of those things where every line serves a purpose and there’s no spare bits, and tw’s plot becomes such a mess later that it’s honestly really amazing. so code breaker is my favorite one because all the plot stuff comes together really well, and it’s just like well-done overall, there’s that sick backwards shot of allison, chris’s Angst when he realizes his sister is a serial killer, scott trying Really Really Hard and derek being Really Really Done (why don’t they have more scenes together…), stiles and peter cracking me up with the laptop password gag, like…there’s literally no part of this ep that isn’t a delight (also again kate is in it i love kate as a villain). it’s wonderful 10/10

3.14 More Bad Than Good: i had a real hard time with this one vs. the one immediately before it, the first one of 3B, but i love both bc i love watching scott stiles and allison absolutely losing their shit. in the end i like this one better bc 1. you get to watch them beat it and 2. they finally find and rescue malia and i FUCKING LOVE malia, my own daughter, also the scene where she reunites with her dad makes me misty every time. bonus content: watching araya hack off peter’s finger :D :D :D AND this is the first time derek gets to make heart-eyes at braeden. i’m so happy whenever he’s happy!!!

6.05 Radio Silence: this episode is everything i love about 6A all wrapped up in a nice neat lil package. i love 6A bc it totally fucking surprised me by making me like things i did not think i’d like, the biggest being stiles/lydia. and like…this season fuckin SOLD me on it, the way she fights tooth and nail to get him back and the way he’s so patiently waited for her reminds me 2much of claire & ben from @cambionverse and the beginning of me being sold was this ep, when they had the wall between them, and when they finally talked on the radio. and this episode even made peter hale interesting for 30 entire seconds which i thought was impossible—it was cool that he did One Genuinely Selfless Thing by going through the portal to save malia, and later when malia and scott had to take his pain to get at stiles’ keys you could almost imagine for a second he got to pretend someone actually DID care about him, that’s his reward for doing a single selfless thing. it was also stellar to see stiles (and the jeep!!!) again and see him working the problem from the other side it was like getting real sam back after half a season of soulless sam in spn s6 DO NOT call me out for referencing this show

4.05 I.E.D.: go look at these gifsets and read the tags. now come back. …okay okay aside from, That, which i won’t repeat as to avoid two paragraphs of capslock, derek also smiles in this episode. even scott is alarmed by it. HE’S HAPPY i’m happy he’s happy!!!!! i’m happy he loves scott!! i’m happy he spends half the episode trading long lingering looks with his future boyfriend!!!! but if that wasn’t enough this episode KEEPS ON GIVING because at the very end the calaveras show up and bully chris into saying the original code, and forgetting his daughter’s, which is deeply relevant to all my headcanons about the code lowkey being like indoctrination (watch that shit again it’s fucking wild…), and also it’s one of the only times in the series where he looks genuinely freaked out and i love watching his Turmoil™

6.10 Riders on the Storm: this is also everything i love about 6A in one ep, just like, less concentrated, bc there’s also the nazi werewolf (tho even PETER HALE getting judgy @ the nazi was truly a highlight). its got all the Big Damn Reunions, its got STYDIA, its got peter actually being slightly interesting, its got scott mccall: badass. its actually also got lydia martin: badass, which like…About Damn Time. it’s even got chris argent: badass, and it’s also got chris argent: badass smooching on a beautiful lady w/ his hands in her hair!!!! (her: that was so hot! me: GIRL ME TOO) also they thought this was the last stiles ep ever so his goodbyes to everyone were like really sweet & made me emo af

3.22 De-Void: so obviously i love this one because derek’s line when he was under thrall about “you’re NOT my ally you’re a HUNTER” got me into the dumb rarepair i wrote like 60k for so far but also i do genuinely deeply love the sequence where they exorcise the notgitsune from inside stiles’ head—lydia facing her fears in the ruined prom dress is such amazing imagery + im gay for the scott/stiles reunion. bonus content includes chris & allison interaction which breaks my heart (he’s so proud of her!!) and the tense kickass scene in the loft in the opening where the notgitsune (SCARY MOTHERFUCKER) is trying to goad chris into shooting it. i don’t love ALL of this ep bc it has so much thumb twins (& from here down there are no more perfect ones…sad) but i love MOST of it and the parts i do love are fantastic. so. i’ll deal w/ thumb twins

3.06 Motel California: look i know this episode should disturb the fuck out of me bc 1. derek and jennifer bang & in my eyes that isn’t a consensual encounter and 2. all the creepy ass suicides but like…honestly there is something so soothing about motels to me, i’ll put this one on to just chill out anyday. like it is delightfully creepy and i love all the meat to everyone getting hit with their baggage (uh…except the thumb twins), but mostly it’s the #mood i love. i actually even like the derek scenes before the sex starts because he is So Wounded and So Sad (“everyone around me gets hurt” BYE) and they rarely let him actually emote at all so it’s very refreshing

2.03 Ice Pick: this was like…such a perfect & amazing introduction to the new betas like if the new ppl in s4 and beyond had gotten this kind of good introduction (and hadn’t been killed off so quickly…) i would love them about 10x more. it’s got that nice s2 vibe that most ppl are into and i still love erica & boyd w/ all my heart!!! (DONT really love how creepy derek was w/ erica but we’ll blame it on being the alpha.) i also love how fucked up the scene with allison tied to the chair was & the fucking fight between derek’s pack and scott at the end…like scott gets to win a 2-on-1 fight and then derek gets to be mr. cool alpha dude and kick his ass. i LOVE THOSE FIGHT SCENES and bc of this episode “iron” is my derek theme song. so.

HONORABLE MENTIONS aka these were on the original list but didn’t make the cut:

1.11 Formality (aaalllll of derek’s ugly backstory this was when i knew i loved him)

2.10 Fury (the first ep i ever watched live, will always be fond of it for that reason even tho i don’t give 2 shits about matt)

2.11 Battlefield (the theme of doing things bc of the power of love will always get me, it was also the only teen wolf episode i ever made gifs of, back when i knew how to make gifs)

3.12 Lunar Ellipse (for scott becoming a true alpha for REAL + derek’s big ol’ well-deserved fuck-you to jennifer, i didn’t love 3A but this was such prime derek & scott material)

3.13 Anchors (like i said: watching stiles, scott, and allison all COMPLETELY lose their shit, also did you know the anchor allison chose in this ep ws her new code? Interesting)

3.24 The Divine Move (listen...you can laugh at the cheesy sfx ALL you want but when i watched kate argent come back from the dead to menace derek hale like his own worst nightmare come to life LIVE with mine own two eyes i jumped out of my seat and YELLED like everything about that moment was absolutely PERFECT and very few things are ever gonna top it)

4.08 Time of Death (derek learning to use a gun and then getting it on with braeden…bye)

4.11 A Promise to the Dead (not only chris unsticking himself from the wall for allison and scott’s sake but also derek and braeden walking around his loft half-naked in the rain...nice)

5.05 A Novel Approach (the stiles and donovan altercation…the first 15m where he acts with his face without saying a word…enough said)

5.18 The Maid of Gévaudan (i'm bitter about the flashback because i want ALLISON but it was a nice origin story + scott fighting the beast all on his own to save that library full of kids was one of the only truly amazing moments of 5B)

6.08 Blitzkrieg (the sheriff rebuilding stiles’ room and saying goodbye to claudia makes me really for real cry but there’s so much nazi bullshit that i couldn’t justify having the episode as a whole being one of my favs)

6.13 After Images (chris argent absolutely losing his shit the entire ep, fucking love it)

6.19 Broken Glass (derek hale's comeback and he got to spend all of his screentime with chris argent! i seriously considered poking this into the #10 spot but ultimately the sideplot i hated with malia and scott had so much more screentime i can't use it - i can't list an episode i'm always skipping parts of!)

#personal #teen wolf #im scheduling this to go up like not in the middle of the night #so im not like. actly here #dargent #chris argent #derek hale #kate argent #jennifer blake #braeden #draeden #melissa mccall #mcargent #scott mccall #about teen wolf

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lynchgirl90 · 7 years

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Kyle MacLachlan and David Lynch excited to collaborate again in the return of 'Twin Peaks'

For Kyle MacLachlan, it was all about the suit.

More than a quarter of a century since “Twin Peaks” ended its brief but influential run on ABC, the actor is reprising his signature role as FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper, a man whose appreciation of cherry pie and a “damn fine” cup of coffee knows no bounds, in a long-anticipated revival premiering Sunday on Showtime.

MacLachlan has been through quite a lot since the early ’90s, when the mystery of who killed beauty queen Laura Palmer captivated viewers.

The 58-year-old, his hair graying ever so slightly at the temples, has endured wild career swings, gotten married, become a father, and even started a wine business.

Dressed in head-to-toe black, he's seated in an office at Showtime's headquarters in midtown. A dozen stories below, city buses bearing sepia-tone images of him as an older, but still dashing, Cooper chug down Broadway

Luckily the suit still fit.

“The suit pretty much sets it for me — my whole being starts to transform,” says MacLachlan, moving his hands as if grasping an invisible pole to suggest Cooper’s ramrod posture. “And also just David’s presence. When David’s there, I’m Cooper.”

That would be David Lynch, who co-created the original series with Mark Frost and co-wrote and directed all 18 episodes — or “parts,” as he prefers to call them — of the revival. Announced with much fanfare in October 2014, the limited series premieres Sunday and is shrouded in a layer of secrecy that makes the NSA look like amateurs. (Even seemingly benign details about Cooper’s suit were deemed too spoiler-y for print.)

The series marks the return of not only one of the most admired cult series in television history but also the creative partnership between Lynch and MacLachlan, whose most recent collaborations were the 1992 prequel film “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me” and a series of “Twin Peaks”-themed Japanese coffee commercials from the same era.

Their relationship dates back to the mid-1980s when MacLachlan, then an unknown actor fresh out of the University of Washington, was plucked from regional-theater obscurity to play the lead in “Dune” (1984), Lynch’s first foray into big-budget Hollywood filmmaking. The adaptation was a notorious commercial and critical failure, but it marked the beginning of a dynamic period of collaboration between the actor and director.

“Blue Velvet” (1986), was the antithesis of “Dune” but a precursor to “Twin Peaks” in its warped view of small-town life and flashes of deadpan humor. MacLachlan starred as Jeffrey Beaumont, a college student whose discovery of a severed ear in the grass leads him on an adventure that plays like “The Hardy Boys” on bad acid.

Cooper was conceived as “a grown-up Jeffrey Beaumont,” says Lynch in a phone interview.

“He’s a magical kind of detective,” explains the director, whose plainspoken quality somehow makes him more inscrutable. “He’s got way more energy than most people. He’s always wide awake and alert and he’s always happy.”

Though Cooper is first introduced a full half-hour into the pilot episode of “Twin Peaks,” he makes an immediate impression, enthusing about the local evergreen trees in the first of many tape-recorded messages to the never-seen Diane.

“That scene very much encapsulated the range of things Kyle can play,” says Showtime President David Nevins. “He’s stalwart and subversive at the same time, which is hard to do.”

MacLachlan still considers the pilot, which he rewatches from time to time, “an extraordinary piece of filmmaking.” It debuted in April 1990 to enormous ratings and ecstatic reviews, with critics praising the singular blend of horror, soapy melodrama and quirky humor. But once the central mystery was resolved, viewers fled. Despite organized protests from fans, ABC canceled the series after 29 episodes, immediately cementing its status as a cult classic.

The part earned MacLachlan two Emmy nominations, a Golden Globe Award and countless free cups of coffee from admirers over the years.

“‘Twin Peaks’ is still the [project] people respond to more than others,” he says, pausing for a beat, “certainly more than ‘The Doors.’” (In case you’d forgotten, he played keyboardist Ray Manzarek in the Oliver Stone film.)

“Twin Peaks” is a surreal puzzle of a show whose influence is evident in shows from “Stranger Things” to “True Detective.”

Wisely, though, few have attempted to imitate its eccentric yet pure-hearted protagonist. Cooper is, on one level, an old-fashioned Hollywood hero marked by boyish enthusiasm and unflagging moral rectitude, a point driven home in the series pilot when he’s mistakenly called Gary Cooper. This is a character who once proclaimed “I would very much like to make love to a beautiful woman who I had genuine affection for” while lying near death on the ground with a gunshot wound in his stomach.

And yet beneath the clean-cut G-Man exterior beats the heart of an oddball. Cooper relies on dreams and visions as much as physical evidence, communicates with dancing dwarfs from alternate dimensions and is drawn to Eastern spirituality. In the series’ second episode, he famously eliminated suspects by throwing stones at bottles from a distance of 60 feet — a technique inspired by his love of Tibet.

“He seems to be secretly listening to radio waves from the zodiac, through the fillings in his teeth,” wrote critic John Leonard in his New York Magazine review of “Twin Peaks.” “He’s a wonder, a puzzlement, a Boy Scout from Sirius the Dog Star.”

Between bites of a ham sandwich, MacLachlan puts it more simply. “You feel like he’s come through darkness, but he’s been able to keep it in place. It doesn’t drive him.”

The series concluded with one of the most heartbreaking series finales in TV history. After a harrowing journey through the mysterious Black Lodge — a.k.a. that room with the red curtains — Cooper was possessed by the malevolent spirit known as Bob. What’s happened to the agent since then — did he take to murdering young girls, like Bob-possessed Leland Palmer before him? — is easily the biggest question hanging over the revival.

MacLachlan hit a rough patch in the years that followed “Twin Peaks,” epitomized by a Razzie-nominated role in "Showgirls" that involved an unintentionally hilarious pool sex scene. But he eventually found a niche of sorts in parts that, like Agent Cooper, played in tension with his classic good looks. In “Sex and the City,” he portrayed Charlotte’s seemingly perfect first husband, Trey MacDougal, a WASPY cardiologist with deep-seated mommy issues and a pesky case of erectile dysfunction. And there was Orson Hodge, Bree’s lying, philandering, would-be plumber-murdering husband on “Desperate Housewives.”

What he didn’t do was return to work with Lynch, who made films with other dark and handsome types, like Justin Theroux (“Mulholland Drive”). MacLachlan has theories about why. “I’m Cooper for David,” he says. “That’s it. I’m Cooper and I live in Twin Peaks.” (Lynch gently disputes this: “If another role came along that he was right for, I would know it and I would be very happy for him. It just didn’t ever happen.”)

However, the pair did see each other regularly. MacLachlan has a home in the Hollywood Hills, just up the road from Lynch. When in town he’d often “just take the parking brake off the car and roll down the hill” for a cup of coffee — yes, coffee. Their conversations would inevitably turn to “Twin Peaks.”

Lynch would usually dismiss the idea of a revival, even though “it wasn’t ever dead,” he says. “The stories continue in one’s mind.”

Eventually, MacLachlan got an urgent phone call from Lynch: He had something to discuss but couldn’t talk about it on the phone. “I said, ‘I hope it’s nothing health-related,’” MacLachlan recalls.

It was not. In New York, Lynch pitched him the new “Twin Peaks” and asked if he’d be interested in reprising the role of Cooper. “I said, ‘I’ve never not been interested,’” says MacLachlan, who was “seduced by the challenge” of reviving “Twin Peaks.” The series arrives amid a wave of ’90s revivals taking over the small screen, including “Fuller House,” “The X Files” and “Will & Grace.”

But this continuation is not driven by nostalgia, insist those involved. If anything, Lynch, who was less involved in the show’s second, uneven season, seems motivated by a desire to course-correct and return to the vision laid out in the pilot. “In my mind the series drifted away from what I thought of as ‘Twin Peaks,’” he says. “It was tough to watch for me.”

Co-writing and directing 18 hours of television — after more than a decade away from full-time filmmaking — was a feat of stamina for Lynch, who also returns in a supporting role as Cooper’s boss, Gordon Cole. “I was a major stud before I started, and now I can barely walk,” he jokes.

For Showtime’s Nevins, Lynch and Frost’s hands-on involvement was essential. “I was only interested if I knew it was going to be the real thing,” he says. The executive describes the revival as Cooper’s “odyssey back to himself” and an exploration of relevant themes of national identity.

“I find Kyle such a quintessentially all-American actor, and I think that’s what David likes about him. It’s really interesting revisiting this character and this world in a moment in American history where we’re trying to figure out who we are, and what it means to ‘Make America great again.’”

MacLachlan is less inclined to elaborate, but does let it slip that — spoiler alert — his professional chemistry with Lynch returned instantly. “That’s something that came back like that,” MacLachlan says with a snap of his fingers. “We do a great dance together.”

link (TP)

#Twin Peaks #LA Times #Kyle MacLachlan #David Lynch

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cowboyjimkirk · 7 years

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I was tagged by @nerdalay (thank you so much!!!).

Rules: Answer the questions in a new post and tag 20 blogs you would like to get to know better.

A - Age: 23

B - Birthplace: Colorado, same place I live now

C - Current Time: 4:17pm

D - Drink You Last Had: Brigadoon tea

E - Easiest Person To Talk To: My twin sister

F - Favourite Song: There was an entire year of school where I listened to nothing but Sufjan Steven’s Age of Adz, and I still listen to it a lot, so I’m just going to say that entire album.

G - Grossest Memory: I can’t really think of anything? I saw some pretty weird stuff when cleaning movie theatres.

H - Horror Yes or Horror No: YES, I freaking love horror. I wrote my thesis in college on a horror trilogy.

I - In Love?: Nope.

J - Jealous of People?: I try not to be, but yeah.

K - Killed Someone?: ....No?

L - Love At First Sight Or Should I Walk By Again: I certainly get a lot of crushes at first sight, but love is a whole lot more complicated than that.

M - Middle Name: Anne

N - Number of Siblings: An older brother, older sister, and a twin sister.

O - One Wish: Oh gosh... enough energy and confidence to finish the thing I’m writing right now.

P - Person You Called Last: My mom maybe?

Q - Question You Are Always Asked: lol, “Why are you so quiet?”

R - Reason to Smile: My cat, my rabbit, flowers, this tea I’m drinking, I saw Wonder Woman again last night, all the Babadook memes...idk, there’s a lot!

S - Song You Sang Last: Twin Peaks theme song. Which doesn’t actually have words, but that didn’t stop me.

T - Time You Woke Up: Ugh, 2pm. It’s the insomnia, friends.

U - Underwear Colour: Teal!

V - Vacation Destination: Space!

W - Worst Habit: Probably opening the Tumblr app every ten seconds when I’m bored. Or maybe just my sleep habits.

X - X-rays: Yes, but I can’t remember why. It might have had to do with my GERD.

Y - Your favourite food: Pretty much any pasta.

Z - Zodiac Sign: Gemini!

I’m lazy so I’m just gonna tag all my followers. Seriously, if you want to do it, just go ahead and say I tagged you. <3

#personal #tag game

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blistermilk-blog1 · 6 years

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Escondido, 1999

I worked for a season in a strip mall in Escondido. I was editing and revising and formatting books. I would arrive early in the morning and stay late at night. I was there all the time the summer of 1999.

I lived in a house with three guys, two of whom were seminary students at Westminster Theological Seminary. The other, Gregory, was a natural born philosopher; we hit it off immediately. He picked me up from the bus station (my living situation was, loosely speaking, "arranged" by my employer, to whom I owed money) and our conversation started there, the type of talk that is harder to come by these days. Even though we disagreed on many subjects, and often these were not superficial but very deep disagreements, we were instant kin.

The other guys did not spend a lot of time hanging out, though I remember one of them, whose name escapes me, who was fond of Thomas Merton and talked to me about him often. He also recommended to me George Elliot's "Middlemarch," which I have still not read.

The house was a bachelor's pad. It was mostly clean, but the bathroom was abhorrent. That is all there is to say.

Someone owned a stereo and I played a lot of Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Ben Harper and Cake, depending on my mood.

I dated two women in the summer of 1999 in Escondido. Kristi, who I knew in Bible College in Twin Peaks, and I "hung out" briefly. And I met a Filipina girl from San Diego who drove over several times to hang out with me and things got heavy fast, and ended just as quickly. I do not remember her name, but I do remember that she liked it when I played Ben Harper.

I was intrigued by Magic Eye books.

I did not own a car. I usually walked to and from work, a few miles, or on occasion rode a bicycle. It was not my bike. I do not remember at all whose bike it was.

At night I stayed at the office and turned out the lights. I wrote. I averaged about one short story a week that summer. And I wrote book reviews for epinions.com and made enough cash to eventually take a trip to St. Louis on a whim. But that was later. I met people on epinions like David Abrams, who was then known as Grouch, but is now known as the author of Fobbit and Brave Deeds, who sent me some photocopied stories by other authors and discussed RIchard Ford with me. And Letitia Trent, who exchanged poetry with me, and now publishes poetry and novels, such as Echo Lake and Almost Dark. I met about a dozen fine people on that pre-social media site, a precursor to social media, with whom I am still in sporadic contact nearly twenty years later.

I averaged about one short story a week that summer. I was in the late stages of recovering from a brutal, heartbreaking divorce in 1997, a marriage that lasted six months, my first love. My stories played on the themes that arose from that difficult period, mixed with imitation of the somewhat hypermasculine writers I admired then, the "dirty realists," which included Carver and Cheever and all the rest.

I discovered Haruki Murakami in Escondido in the summer of 1999. And RIchard Yates. And Ann Beattie. And Iris Murdoch. And many others. It was a wild compact summer, and I read constantly. I recall even reading Pirsig's "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" in a fervent week while walking my bike to work. And exploring Kierkegaard. And Bertrand Russell. Where did I find the energy?

I heard the new song, "Yellow" by Coldplay and thought they were trying to sound like U2, and criticized them for being derivative, but secretly liked the song.

One day when I was alone at the house, a young Marine based in San Diego showed up looking for my roommate, who was not there. Apparently, even though I did not know him, I sufficed, and he and I spent a couple of hours, drinking beers and bullshitting. My life of hedonism was in full force.

At the office, the adjacent business was run by Mexican immigrants, and I made friends with them. They were worried about keeping their business open, and because I was at the office all the time sitting at a computer, probably thought I was somebody important, or someone with money. I was neither. The guy offered me some coffee and brought me into the labyrinth of their office space, dark rooms filled with stuff. They reupholstered furniture. Very private looking spaces. We walked through several rooms and came to a small kitchenette with a coffee pot. "You can come in and make yourself coffee anytime," he told me.

I tried to explain to him that I was like everyone else, struggling to get by, and not in any kind of position to help him financially. He talked about his fears of having to go back to Mexico. I felt for him, and listened. That's all I had for him, unfortunately.

Another day a man pushing seventy stopped by to sell me a shower head. He was extremely skilled at the craft of salesmanship. Why would I want a showerhead? He was magic. His hands moved gracefully as he presented the showerhead to me, and his speech was hypnotic and hard to resist. The show alone, I believed, was worth the $30, so I paid him cash then and there, and he left, satisfied. Not sure what happened to the showerhead, though.

So much more happened. But I did not stay. Within the next year I traveled and worked in St. Louis, Huntington, West Virginia, Albuquerque, Calistoga, CA, and finally, Lawrence, Kansas.

#writing #literature #poetry #california #dating

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