#not really who's best or most underrated. just your favorite I guess?
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hi hiii i wanted to say that your account is so refreshing to see, esp with the passion you have for the arts. as someone who's been meaning to read (and write) more poetry, do you have any recommendations? some classics that everyone and their mothers know? perhaps some underrated pieces that changed you? or even just authors you like, I'm very open to suggestions :]]
Hi! Thank you so much for this kind ask :) So exciting that you’re looking to delve deeper into reading and writing! I had to take a little time to answer this because my thoughts were all over the place lol.
For a review of notable/classic poems/poets, I honestly just recommend looking at lists online or, hell, just binging Wikipedia pages for different countries’ poetry if that’s something you’re into, just to get a sense of the chronology. I read one of those little Oxford Very Short Introductions on American Poetry and thought it was pretty good, but online is quicker if you’re just searching for poets or movements to hone in on. Poetry Foundation also has lots of resources, in addition to all the poems in their database. I guess my one big classic recommendation would have to be Emily Dickinson (<3), but really the best move is just to find a poet you already enjoy and then look around to see who their peers were/are, who they were inspired by, who they’ve maybe translated here and there, etc. and follow it down the line as far as you can.
For some personal recs, here are some collections I’ve really enjoyed over the past two years or so. Bolded favorites, and linking where select poems from the book have been published online. But also, if you want a preview of a couple poems from another of the books to see if they interest you, DM me and I can send them over! You can also feel free to pilfer through my poetry tag for more stuff lol
Autobiography of Death by Kim Hyesoon trans. Don Mee Choi
Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings by Joy Harjo
DMZ Colony by Don Mee Choi
Hardly War by Don Mee Choi
Whereas by Layli Long Soldier
Geography III by Elizabeth Bishop
Dictee by Theresa Hak Kyung Cha
Don’t Let Me Be Lonely: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine
Mouth: Eats Color—Sagawa Chika Translations, Anti-Translations, & Originals by Sawako Nakayasu
The Selected Poems of Osip Mandelstam trans. W.S. Merwin and Clarence Brown
The Branch Will Not Break by James Wright
This Journey by James Wright
God’s Silence by Franz Wright
Duino Elegies by Rainer Maria Rilke (the translation I read was by Alfred Corn—I thought it was great, but idk if there are better ones out there!)
DMZ Colony, Hardly War, Dictee, Don’t Let Me Be Lonely, and partially Whereas are all book-length poems with some prose poetry and varying levels of weirdness/denseness/multilingualism—if you were to pick one to start with, I’d say do Don’t Let Me Be Lonely or Whereas. Mouth: Eats Color is some experimental translations of Japanese modernist poet Chika Sagawa, with other translations and some of Nakayasu’s original stuff mixed in—it's definitely a bit disorienting but ultimately I remember having such fun with it, as much fun as Nakayasu probably had making it. It’s a book that emphasizes co-creation and a spirit of play, and completely changed my attitude towards translation.
If you’re less interested in that kind of formal fuckery stuff though (I get it), can’t go wrong with the other books! Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings is the one I read most recently, and it’s great—Harjo also featured in Round 1! Franz Wright also featured, and God's Silence is the collection which "Night Walk" comes from. James Wright (father of Franz) is one of my favorite poets of all time, though his poetry isn’t perfect. Even so, I’m honestly surprised he’s not doing numbers on Tumblr—Mary Oliver was a big fan of his, even wrote her "Three Poems for James Wright" after his death.
I mentioned in another post that one of my favorite poets is Paul Celan, so I’ll also recommend him here. I read Memory Rose into Threshold Speech which is a translated collection of his earlier poems, but it’s quite long if you’re just getting to know him as a poet—fortunately, both Poetry Foundation and Poets.org have a ton of his poems in their collections. There’s also an article by Ilya Kaminsky about him titled “Of Strangeness That Wakes Us” (!!!!!) that’s a great place to start, and is honestly kind of my whole mission statement when I’m reading and writing poetry. Looking at the books I’ve recommended above, a lot of them share feelings of separateness or alienation—from others, from oneself, from one’s country, from language—that breed strange, private modes of expression. That tends to be what I’m drawn to personally, and that’s some of what Kaminsky talks about.
Sorry of the length of this—I hope it's useful as a jumping-off point! And if you or anyone ends up exploring any of these poets, let me know what you think! If folks wanna reply with recommendations themselves too that'd be great :)
#ask#not a poll#i originally was going to link to previews of the books directly on this post but for some reason I suddenly feel very paranoid about#copyright LMAO. ik this blog is already like copyright infringement central but I feel like I can at least make an argument for the polls#being fair use lol. in the way that i could not for the pdf previews I made. (i also have a full pdf of hardly war if anyone wants lol)#and i know it's not entirely rational bc this is tumblr and nobody looks on tumblr. but i'm not used to having this many followers lol so i#admittedly just getting anxious about silly things#but please please feel free to DM me! or send an ask off anon#discussion
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not very fond- quinn hughes
Liked by jackhughes, njdevils and 152,412 others
yourinstagram | my 3 favorite people 😁 oh, and quinn of course 😂 look how tiny luke was back then ❤️ jackhughes lhughes_06 _quinnhughes
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jackhughes you may be the biggest quinn hughes hater 😂
| yourinstagram and proud of it 😁
| trevorzegras she really is though 😂
lhughes_06 i love you 😁
| yourinstagram love you too ❤️
user01 fully convinced her ‘hatred’ for quinn just means she’s sleeping with him 😏
| yourinstagram 🤮
| _quinnhughes she wishes 😂
| yourinstagram 🖕🏻
_quinnhughes they are pretty great people 😀
elblue6 the 4 most important men in my life
| yourinstagram ❤️
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yourinstagram | baby brother. so proud ❤️😊edwards.73
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edwards.73 love you with all my heart ❤️
| yourinstagram 😊
lhughes_06 the edwards siblings > every other set of siblings ever 😄
| yourinstagram the hughes siblings (minus quinn) are pretty great too 😃
| lhughes_06 true enough 😂
user02 he is so freaking cute ☺️
user03 one of the greatest 🎉
_quinnhughes incredibly underrated player 😃
| edwards.73 awe thanks quinn 😁
user04 I am in love with your brother 😍
user05 my husband ❤️
| yourinstagram guess that means you’re my sister-in-law 😄
| user05 oh yes! I totally forgot about that 😯 hi 🙂
user06 😍😍
trevorzegras 👌🏻👌🏻
colecaufield buddy! 😁
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yourinstagram | my best friends glow up is very evident 😍 lhughes_06 jackhughes _quinnhughes
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user07 luke looks so good in the 2nd picture 😍
| yourinstagram 100% agree 😌
user08 luke’s the best friend right? 😂
| yourinstagram luke and jack 😁
| user08 not quinn? 😂
| yourinstagram 🤮
jackhughes excuse you but I didn’t have a glow up 😂
| yourinstagram tf you mean???
| jackhughes I have always been cute. therefore, a ‘glow up’ is not required 😉
elblue6 my boys ❤️🥰
| yourinstagram ❤️❤️❤️
user09 fully ship y/n and jack 🤷🏻♀️
| yourinstagram 🤫🤐
| jackhughes 🤫🤐
| user09 WAIT WHAT?!?! 🤯
_quinnhughes I used to be so much taller 😂
| yourinstagram now you’re short 😂😂
| _quinnhughes you’re shorter 🖕🏻🖕🏻
| yourinstagram because I’m a girl. what’s your excuse?🤔
| jackhughes I love when you guys bicker 😄🍿
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yourinstagram | openly judging people since october 14 1998 😂 _quinnhughes
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_quinnhughes 🖕🏻
| yourinstagram glad to see you’re still going strong 😉
jackhughes to be fair, the conversation that occurred before it was taken was going to get judged either way 😂
| yourinstagram 😂
user01 little quinn was the cutest ☺️
| _quinnhughes what do you mean ‘was’?
trevorzegras why would he wear a maple leafs hat? he’s the one who deserves to get judged 😂
| yourinstagram this is why you’re my favorite 😄
user06 loving quinn in every era 😄❤️
user03 maturing is realizing quinn is the best looking hughes brother 😁
| yourinstagram absolutely not. gonna stop you right there 😂🙅🏻♀️
| _quinnhughes 😁
elblue6 I think it’s cute how much you guys love teasing each other 😄
| yourinstagram with all due respect, no. nothing about him is cute 🙅🏻♀️
| _quinnhughes you’re just jealous obvi 😂
| yourinstagram 🖕🏻
user10 such a cutie ☺️
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elblue6 | please take me back ❤️☀️
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yourinstagram yes. take us back so I can go back and actual succeed in pushing quinn into the lake 😂
| jackhughes he only annoyed you this summer because he had a crush on you 😉
| yourinstagram HE WHAT?!?!?
| _quinnhughes do not listen to him. he’s the one who had a crush 😂
| lhughes_06 you both did 😒
| edwards.73 y/n you act like you didn’t have a crush on one of them at this point in life 😂
user10 was not aware that quinn could actually smile 😯😁
| _quinnhughes I smile a lot off camera and I don’t know why 🤷🏻♂️
trevorzegras summers at the lake house are incredible. can’t wait to go back this year 😄
canucks our captain looks like he’s plotting something sinister 😁
| _quinnhughes because I was planning to push y/n in the lake. I succeeded by the way 😏
| yourinstagram 🖕🏻🖕🏻
jackhughes ❤️
lhughes_06 one of my favorite photos 😄
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yourinstagram | in order from left to right: dork, cute, sweet ❤️ _quinnhughes jackhughes lhughes_06
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lhughes_06 😁
| yourinstagram ❤️
jackhughes glad to know you thought I was cute 😉❤️
| yourinstagram I love you 💕
| jackhughes ❤️
edwards.73 best friends 😄
| lhughes_06 😁
elblue6 probably shouldn’t have had them dressed in polo shirts and khaki shorts 😂
| yourinstagram they loved it ❤️
user04 cuties 😄
user07 y/n & jack confirmed?!?
| jackhughes confirmed what?
| yourinstagram sorry sweetie but nothing is confirmed, nor will it ever be 🤷🏻♀️
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yourinstagram | received this snap from jack last night with the caption ‘luke was missing his best friend and wanted to let her know he was doing good and being taken care of. miss you as well’ who knew my boys were such softies 😁 jackhughes lhughes_06 _quinnhughes
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_quinnhughes they miss you so much, it’s ridiculous 😂
| yourinstagram I know you miss me too, quinn 😉
| _quinnhughes in your dreams
jackhughes really missing you 🥺
| yourinstagram missing you big time 🥺 luckily it’s only for 2 more days 😁
| jackhughes thank god 😄
lhughes_06 I miss you more than jack does 😔
| yourinstagram awe lukey 🥰
| jackhughes I still miss her a lot
| trevorzegras I think we all know who misses her the most 😂
user09 why does quinn look so much happier than jack in this picture, if he’s not the one who misses y/n? 🧐
| yourinstagram he misses me, he just doesn’t want to admit it 😏
| jackhughes it’s because I had just finished chewing my food 😄
| _quinnhughes I do not miss y/n at all. Why does everyone keep saying that? 😒
user09 I am still fully convinced that y/n and jack are dating but are failing at hiding it 😏
| yourinstagram 🤷🏻♀️😏
| jackhughes 🤫🤐
| user09 stop doing that 😅 you can’t just leave comments like that and then just leave the conversation
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yourinstagram | congrats on getting drafted to the devils, luke. now we have a common enemy 😁🥳 lhughes_06
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lhughes_06 couldn’t have done it without your solid & constant support. i love you endlessly ❤️
| yourinstagram you did it because you’re talented. i had nothing to do with it 😊 i love you too 💕
edwards.73 congrats buddy. looking forward to eventually playing with or against you in the future 🙂
| lhughes_06 thanks man. can't wait 😄
| yourinstagram ❤️
jackhughes welcome to the team, bro. looking forward to being your teammate 🙂
_quinnhughes you may be an opponent but you’re going to be a difficult one to beat. that's for sure 😄
| yourinstagram 😁
user08 congrats luke
user07 by any chance, is this common enemy quinn? 🧐
| yourinstagram of course 😉
| jackhughes if you hate quinn as much as you claim, then why did you hug him instead of me when we heard the news? 🤔
| _quinnhughes because you hugged mom 😂
| jackhughes mhm. i am sure that’s the reason 😏
elblue6 so proud of my baby ❤️
| elblue6 and all of my boys, of course 😃
| yourinstagram me too 😁❤️
Liked by _quinnhughes, edwards.73 and 489,127 others
yourinstagram | can you stop being so good with kids? i'm supposed to be mad at you, not falling in love with you 😒❤️
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user08 jack? 🧐
| yourinstagram no 😂
| user08 quinn? 😏
| yourinstagram 🤮 no
| user08 luke? 🤔
| yourinstagram no 😂
| user08 trevor?
| yourinstagram no
| trevorzegras yes
jackhughes he really is good with them 😏
trevorzegras sorry sweetheart. i really can’t help it 😏
| yourinstagram 😏
user02 this is so cute 😍 who is it?
| trevorzegras me 😃
| yourinstagram think again trev 😂
lhughes_06 this may not be very new but it still blows my mind. never thought it would happen 😄
| yourinstagram nothing has happened 😂
| lhughes_06 maybe not but it’s definitely heading that way 👀
user09 i think I know who this is
| user08 who?
| yourinstagram enlighten us 😃
elblue6 so happy for you dear ❤️
trevorzegras i have been instructed to inform everyone that my comments earlier were a joke. y/n and i are not dating, nor will we ever be. not that there was a lack of trying on my part. it's just that her heart belongs to someone else and regardless of whether or not it’s an official thing, i am incredibly happy for her 😁
#quinn hughes#fake social media#instagram au#nhl#vancouver canucks#hockey player social media#jack hughes#trevor zegras#luke hughes
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Kurt Bloch: An Awesome Guy Who Awesome People Like
Rocking with the Fastbacks and recording all your favorite bands since 1979
Fastbacks, 1988; Kurt Bloch far left, Gumby t-shirt
“There truly is something about inspiration and enthusiasm that really is inspiring and enthusiastic!” - Kurt Bloch
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By: Eric Davidson
I’ve been thinking a lot about joy of late. Like pure, eyes-to-the-sky, skipping down the street joy. There is a paucity of it around right now.
We could follow a zillion trails to and from how we got here, but this is ostensibly a music blog, so I’m going to make a quick stab at the roots of this unenviably joyless position we’re sitting in, rock-wise.
The Fastbacks were joyful. Starting out in 1979 in the dawning days of Seattle’s punk scene, they became a local fave on the basis of action-packed shows stuffed with careening pop hooks, irked energy, and a friendly, guffaw around onstage demeanor that didn’t exactly scream “pre-hardcore era.”
Fastbacks retreated for a few years, circa 1988, and when kicked back into gear a couple years later, found themselves being a preferred opener for a load of grumpy grunge bands who I’m guessing hoped to absorb some of the Fastbacks positive energy to counteract their mope – which the Fastbacks were more than ready to supply.
A mélange of metal volume, fleeting bouts of prog whimsy, Ramones tempos, and BubbleYum stickiness, the Fastbacks created a singular sound. Like most great bands, they never fit into any particular zeitgeist – too raggedy for the pop punk contingent, too peppy for the grunge trend, they nonetheless retained a respected status among bands who appreciated their consistently grabby tunes and fun live show.
Despite any remaining expectations of what “success” was supposed to be, by the turn of the millennium the Fastbacks became that precious thing – one of those awesome bands that awesome bands like.
It should be noted that, while grunge soon gained a definition as a downer genre (that has taken root since), Bloch and company palled around with that Seattle scene from the get-go, and knew many of them as fun rocker kids just trying their best to get through seven months of rain by rocking.
The Fastbacks kept careening forward right through the ‘Alternative Rock” era that ignored all the fun underground garage punk and instead painted rock as increasingly dreary and grievance-based. The early 2000s came, and the Fastbacks took their leave.
They’ve recently gotten back together for occasional reunion shows. Always holding them together throughout their stop/start whirlwind of a career was ace guitarist/producer and philosophical center of the band, Kurt Bloch.
Bloch, who began his career as a recording studio whizz with Fastbacks, never stopped twiddling the knobs for lots of your favorite bands and/or underrated acts. We checked in with him on his ongoing mission to bring fun to the fringes despite the mainstream consistently choosing incorrectly.
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Kurt Bloch, rockin', 1990 (Fuck the NRA. I will assume Kurt's t-shirt here was de rigueur '90s irony.)
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What was the first album you loved; and what was the first album you loved because of its production?
Good question, hard to answer. I think it was 45s and AM radio that got me going on recording qualities, how loud some of the great hits of the early-’70s sounded. How some records sounded like they were a band playing inside your head. I think I was aware of EQ and compression sounds early on, how the drum fills would sort of obliterate everything behind it on some songs. How the guitar would be so loud in the breaks. How, if the record didn’t have enough treble, it would be unexciting; if there was too much then it’d sound wimpy.
Then getting into albums, and FM radio, you’d listen to Larks’ Tongues In Aspic or Dark Side Of The Moon, and they had this spacious quality that was rad; the Scorpions’ Fly To The Rainbow was right in your face, really up-front and close. Then, going to see bands live, we’d see the coliseum style shows – that was so cool, but then getting to see bands in smaller spaces where you could hear the amps on stage, and feel the sound pressure in the room –now that was a mind-opener. You could feel the Marshalls and the actual sound coming off of the stage.
Then when punk bands started playing, that’s when it started getting interesting. You know, like I just saw this killer band that sounded so great at the show, and their record sounds like a bowlful of shit. Why?! That leads to one-track, two-track, four-track tape recorders, and each time you record something, you have a whole book of revelations of what to do and what not to do. So many great recordings from that early punk era without a bunch of reverb. It was another revelation. A lot of those early digital reverbs that everyone had, I just hated that fake trebly, scritchy sound. Rather just not use any reverb than that icky sound.
How did the Fastbacks form?
Kim and Lulu were high school friends of ours, The Cheaters was our neighborhood band; only lasted a couple years but they were good ones! When that band disintegrated on-stage, there was still band gear in my parents’ basement. Kim (Warnick, bass/vocals) had been in a band, The Radios, and Lulu (Gargiulo) wanted to play guitar and sing. Somehow my parents didn’t put a stop to it all, so we started playing a couple times a week. Not saying we got good, but we got better.
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How long before you felt you had locked into the Fastbacks’ sound?
I reckon whatever “sound” we had was pretty well established early on; it was just whatever we wanted to do. Of course we loved the punk bands of the era first and foremost, but also the ’60s and ’70s pop music we grew up with; and the hard rock bands of the ’70s too! And I always was a fan of the wonderful arrangements and sound of the ’70s prog bands, once I started writing most of the songs, these things would creep in.
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Live, 1986
I have this romantic vision of Kim Warnick as a long-haired rocker teen crashing parties and such. Is that correct?
Ha ha ha!! We were all pretty good (bad?) at crashing parties, some of the shit we did makes me wince thinking of it all. But it was 1977, ‘78; things were different back then, a different kind of boredom ran rampant through kids’ minds back then. There was a real disdain for society, maybe not to the degree of the UK bands at the time, but still there nonetheless. Often there was nothing to do other than the proverbial let’s go fuck shit up. And the music was such a part of all that.
So you got a story about something back then that would make you wince now?
Back when we were teenagers in The Cheaters, we would go to pretty desperate lengths to create excitement. The Cheaters singer, Scott Dittman, was maybe the funniest person I’ve ever known, and often in our search for something to do, he would drive a car full of us down to the frats at the University Of Washington. We’d go crash frat parties, rarely did we fit in unnoticed. You’d grab some keg cups and try to hang out, usually immediately, “Would you please leave.” And that didn’t often sit well with Scott. If we were going to “please leave” then we would not leave without exacting some sort of a toll. I guess we could run pretty fast, or we would’ve got our asses kicked pretty well back then. Somehow a few weeks later we’d go back to the same frat house that had a bookcase upended or a row of bikes knocked over, and lo and behold, the same thing would happen again. Of course we were never hired to play any frat parties.
Scott also loved to fight. He took boxing lessons and was always trying to teach us how to fight too. You knew when the gloves came out it was time to find something else to do. “Come on, you just gotta keep your guard up.” (smash smash smash) “You said you weren’t gonna hit us in the face.” Yeah right.
The Cheaters and The Accident (another erstwhile punk outfit) set up a show at a non-punk bar, somewhere down by Olympia. This would’ve been 1979 maybe. There were no roadmaps for like-minded or “friendly” places to play, outside of the major cities. But we were trying to do something, anything, and our double bill got the booking. This bar had a dance floor that also was used for bar fighting. There must have been some sort of organization to the fights, but it was sanctioned bar fighting. No-one was on the dance floor or anywhere near it when we started, so Scott tried to solicit a fight or two during our set. This was unfriendly territory, we were all, “Stop this nonsense!” But once you told Scott not to do something, well he was going to double down of course. Fortunately no one took him up on his offers, and we got out unscathed, but the bar owner took me into his office at the end of the night and gave me a rundown on what we needed to do to become successful in the music business, and the first thing was to get rid of that singer.
1978
First Fastbacks show, February, 1980 – any memories of it?
Oh, totally! The first Fastbacks show, it was at a rec center in a quiet neighborhood, it was three bands: The Vains, Psychopop, and The Fastbacks. We were all friends, and it was all three bands’ first shows. Very ramshackle, but we cobbled together a sound system, someone had a few lights, everyone brought what they had, and the show went on. A little rough around the edges, but the power didn’t go out, no cops were called, nothing was ruined – an early triumph for sure.
Was the power pop zeitgeist of that time a thing for Fastbacks? Did you feel a part of it?
No! For sure the New Wave was hitting strong at that point, but we were certainly not embraced by the new wavers at all. I suppose for that first year, we were pretty terrible, but we had some friends and people who wanted to give us a chance. Getting Duff (McKagan – yes, that one from Guns ‘N Roses) to play drums was the first step into making the band more listenable, but we were still a long ways off of what the general public would consider valuable music. We got kicked off of a show after our first set (of two). “That’s okay, you guys don’t have to play another set.” And I was all, “What do you mean we don’t have to?!” Oh, I get it.
Then when the hardcore bands cropped up, we were pals with some of them, but we weren’t furious enough for them really. I recall some sort of fury at a DOA/The Fartz/Fastbacks show. It required some foresight, which many didn’t possess, to support any kind of music that wasn’t 100% punk. Conversely, the proper power pop bands, well, we were a little too power and not enough pop, I reckon. We wanted to be that, but it’d take a bit still to hone those chops.
Had Duff McKagen played in any band before that?
Duff was the bass player in The Vains, who played that Laurelhurst Rec Center show. That was his first show. He must’ve been 15, barely 16?
Did he exhibit behaviors that would later align with Guns ‘N Roses’ infamous lifestyle?
We were still pretty reeled-in at that point, no one really even got plastered, no one started doing drugs yet. Might’ve been some Budweisers around, but nothing stronger yet.
Guns 'N Roses 2nd show, 1985
Got any Vains stories, recollections of a show, or the general scene from whence they came/played? Was there a good raw, original punk scene in Seattle in late '70s? I'm aware of Soldier and some other bands, but I wanna get it from the horse’s mouth.
The Vains only played three, maybe four shows total. In the late ’70s into early ’80s it was pretty hard to keep something going if you were any sort of impatient. Most bands never got the chance to play enough to iron out any difficulties, or taste any sort of real success. Lots of arguing over what direction to take, stick to your punk rock guns, and play to a rental hall of your friends; or try to get “jobs” in the bars, which would mean being stricken with the “cover band” tag, which was NOT punk.
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1978
The Enemy worked the hardest, yet still couldn’t crack the code in 1979. The Telepaths, The Blackouts, The Lewd – everyone broke up, or moved away and then broke up. The Fartz made a pretty good go of it, but even they sorta morphed into Ten Minute Warning, and then morphed into an art band… The Silly Killers stayed pretty punk. The Living ripped it up for their short lifespan. But they were all in that 1982 dilemma, you can almost see a line in the sand, drawn in the summer of 1982. Not a lot of bands made it across that line that summer.
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The Enemy live, 1980
If I remember it was some sort of divine intervention that The Fastbacks reconvened in 1983 to fire it up again, it was nearly the end of the line. But it was also clearly a new beginning, a new lease on life, a new crop of kids started bands in those Metropolis years; the Metropolis was a new all-ages venue that I would consider the petri dish of the next bundle of bands.
As the ‘80s took hold and punk rock hall shows were sort of the only stage for many of our bands, after a couple years of not getting to any sort of next level, it was clear that there needed to be a re-grouping of some sort. We’d see our friends’ bands get actual paying gigs in bars – if they were non-punk sounding. Of course many of the punk bands went to the dark side of ’80s metal. Everyone was looking to do something that could “go somewhere.”
Somewhere right in that 1982 corridor, drugs started flourishing, stupidity set in. Duff came with us Fastbacks as a “roadie” in 1984 down to L.A., and when we came back I reckon he moved to L.A. to escape that whole rigamarole. No one was getting anywhere here anyway. A bold move at that time, at the advanced age of 20!
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1987
Word is Fastbacks have had between 12 and 20 drummers. Short of naming every single drummer, are there a few you’d like to point to as having had a particularly interesting stint; or who went on to other bands?
Gosh, all the Fastbacks drummers had something great about them. There were a few who only did one show. I publicly apologize to those who didn’t last. Those were strange times. I don’t think there are any unsolved mysteries in the Fastbacks drummer world, Dan Peters, who recorded a couple songs with us but no shows, Tad Hutchison, and Tom Hendrikson, who each did one show…. Some convoluted moments for sure, and all killer drummers!
Do you think if you would have remained drummer for Fastbacks that you would have still gotten into production?
Yeah, I think the fascination with recording was parallel to the live playing side of things, it was always there in my constitution. Wanting to learn, wanting to figure out how to make records that captured how killer bands sounded. It was such a tall order back then. Seemed like the old guard [engineers] didn’t “get it,” or were prohibitively expensive; and so many of the others didn’t sound kickass like we wanted. Of course this comes from the actual band, first and foremost; that is learned the hard way! But if the band blazes at their show, it seemed that their records should sound blazing too, but that wasn’t often the case.
1988
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1989
From what I remember, the Fastbacks rep was that of the favorite local band of all the Seattle bands, and hence got on as openers for bands who would soon get huge during that whole grunge thing…
Pretty hard to say from the inside view. We had the unfortunate hurdle of being broken up from late-1988 till mid-1990. A lot of opportunity probably squandered during those times. But, unlike anyone else I can think of, we did get a second chance via Sub Pop, and another decade of rock. I know we were quite lucky in that department. We never did gigs large or small with Nirvana, Soundgarden, sort of the class of ’89. We did share a slightly miserable practice space with Green River and later Mother Love Bone. Always pals with those cats, so we did do opening stints with Pearl Jam in 1996, all around the world.
What was miserableness about it?
Oh man, that place… It was in a basement in Pioneer Square, the old, original downtown Seattle. The Great Seattle Fire devastated downtown in like 1889, and they rebuilt the city on top of the old city, one floor higher. So our basement was on the level with the old, original city; some rooting around could be done. There was no bathroom or running water down there, so you had to go to the bar a block away to use the facilities, but often you just couldn’t be bothered. In the space next to ours, it was a smashed up, decrepit old room that we moved all the garbage from our side into. No lighting of any sort, so it was all flashlights if you had them, and filling up bottles of pee and putting them where ever we could find room.
But of course we raged supreme down there, some epic parties, bands playing, and whatnot; of course no water or facilities, but grand times in the ’80s. Somehow, I ended up being in charge of paying rent, not the best job for me to take on. It meant tracking down Andrew Wood once a month and trying to get him to pay his share of their rent. First it was Malfunkshun, and Green River was there too. We might’ve blown up before Mother Love Bone started? I think I remember Green River blowing up too, after their California trek; it would’ve been not too long after that that The Fastbacks unceremoniously imploded. But for a while it was definitely a rager.
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Nifty, random link I stumbled on with some cool early Fastbacks fliers, stories, and live stuff.
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1992
While you didn't play with the "biggies" of the scene as much as I thought, got any early Nirvana or Soundgarden tale of any sort you'd like to share?
Our fabled practice basement was just a couple blocks from The Central, a venue that was sort of home base for a lot of stuff. The Vogue as well, it was on the north end of downtown, we were on the south end. Many people had keys to the place, so it was not surprising to duck in between sets at The Central, to have cheap beers or whatnot. I first saw Soundgarden at The Central, and they were certainly mind-blowing. Would’ve been ’87? Quickly became a favorite Seattle band, and when their first 7” came out, my roommates hated me. I had a tendency to play those 45’s over and over and over again. But they played The Central a lot, and just got better and better, heavier and heavier. I remember the first time they played “Beyond The Wheel”, it was at the Vogue. I was standing next to Mark Arm and we looked at each other and just said FUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHH…
The first Nirvana show I saw was also at the Vogue, it was maybe not the greatest Nirvana show, but man I thought that singer was amazing. Shortly after, Jon Poneman (Sub Pop co-founder) was at the bar there and said, “If you buy me a coffee now, I’ll give you a 45 tomorrow that will change your life.” An easy proposition. Sub Pop HQ was half a block away, he gave me a “Love Buzz” 45, and once again, the roommates had a reason to hate. I must’ve played that record 100 times in a row. Might’ve taken them a bit to find their pummeling style, but man they sure did. Then after Bleach had been out a while, all the rumors of major label this and major label that… So exciting and weird.
Who is a favorite Seattle “grunge era” band you really dug and maybe didn’t get the recognition you think it deserved? Mine are the Derelicts and Zipgun.
Of course! Pure Joy, Flop, H-Hour, the Meices – wait they were actually from SF… Huge Spacebird, Once For Kicks…. Have you got an hour or so?!
I know you are no doubt tired of this question, but do you have a late ‘80s/early ‘90s story or show that happened where you thought, “Damn, this Seattle scene thing is getting some real attention? This is fucking weird.”
After the Fastbacks blew up in 1988, I started playing with the Young Fresh Fellows, and we were off and running pretty hard right away. Certainly a parallel path from the Seattle Grunge Explosion, but a decent path it was! I was pals with Jon and Bruce (Pavitt) at Sub Pop when they started, so I’d go hang out at their early HQ/distributor place downtown. It was amazing to see some of these bands blow up when they did.
Young Fresh Fellows, 1989; Kurt Bloch far right
I suppose the thing that sealed it for me was listening to the advance cassette of Nevermind on a Young Fresh Fellows trip. Scott McCaughey had been assigned to review it for local music rag, The Rocket, and I nabbed it from him on a trip out East. It totally blew my doors wide open. Already having been a superfan since that “Love Buzz” 45, and seeing a couple of the shows they did here before going out to record that album, then hearing it for the first time on headphones; then as our tour progressed, seeing the record just going ballistic at every record store, it was just crazy. It never stopped getting bigger and bigger. This is so fucking weird!
Strange feeling of seeing a local band you saw shlubbing around town or peeing next to them at a dive, to hearing them play in a grocery store in Nevada, or whatever....
Soundgarden was the first one I remember blowing up. They went from Sub Pop to SST to A&M – they sorta seemed to have their shit together pretty well. Alice In Chains were kinda off our radar, they were only on the Rock radio stations; it wasn’t until their second album that I noticed that they actually were killer. But Nirvana, they were crazy cool from the get-go, not in the FM Rock station sort of way, but the punk underground sort of way. Plus I didn’t really know them at the beginning, so there was way more mystery about them. A couple legendary Seattle club shows before they went off to start Nevermind; the OK Hotel first playing of “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” we were just transfixed – What the fuck is this?! Then the Off Ramp show, they went on really late, and got cut off right before 2am. Somehow the club picked up the empties and let the band play on into the night, and what a show it was. Then… nothing.
Didn’t really hear anything from Nirvana ‘til the advance cassette of Nevermind went out, and of course thinking, if I like this so much, it’s probably never gonna go anywhere. Wrong. It was like a slow ball of fire, radio then record stores, like every record store playing it, every magazine… It would’ve made you hate a lesser band, but it really was great so there was a sense of pride attached to it all. Finally something we loved is big. But then how big? There seemed to be no end to it. It was everywhere. And so weird to think that kids dug something that was blazing and amazing.
Were you defacto producer of Fastbacks from the get-go of recording?
Oh for sure. Not by strong-arming anyone, but just because there was no money, and no one else could be bothered! Our first 45 was with Neil Hubbard and Jack Weaver, as we were doing a song for a Seattle comp LP, and as per the usual, just recorded some extra songs in our allotted time. The first EP was Peter Barnes, drummer for The Enemy, killer Seattle band and very much an inspiration to all the bands in the late-’70s in Seattle. Then after that, it was trial by fire.
Can you tell me more about The Enemy, and their local import?
The Enemy pretty much initiated the punk “scene” in Seattle. There were a few bands, but they started a club, it was all ages, March, 1978. Otherwise it would’ve been hall shows, but The Bird brought everyone together. Originally only open for a few months, but there were shows there every Friday and Saturday, it really did give us something to do.
My first band, The Cheaters, might not have actually played anywhere if not for them. We could have languished in my parents’ basement forever if not for being stopped by The Enemy members at a Ramones show: “Hey! Are you guys in a band? Would you want to play at our club we’re opening up in a few months?” Of course we said yes, we didn’t tell them that we were just barely a band, we’d never actually played a show, nor would we maybe ever had if not for their offer. We were just teenagers, my brother Al was still in High School. But they took us in and let us play shows. The drummer, Peter Barnes, filled in for a night our real drummer couldn’t play.
Everyone knew each other, when it was time to record what was to be The Fastbacks’ first EP, Peter volunteered to be our producer. He figured out how to get cool, kickass sounds and make things happen. No one had any money or experience so it had to be on a budget, but he made it happen. The record turned out great. “In America” was on the commercial new wave station, we thought we had it made!
I thought I knew what to do, to various degrees of success. Conrad Uno at Egg Studio did much of our first album. He was wise beyond words and also a great teacher. After that LP was finished he was all, “You can do all this, I think, I’ll be back at the end of the night to close up!” Then it seemed like the right avenue. So many producers seemed like they just wanted to add stuff in order to have their presence be felt. I always felt, like – what is the least amount of stuff we can have on here to make it happen? Less stuff, but louder. Certainly not against adding things, but also happy to leave things out as much as possible. Always loved the one-guitar bands that didn’t double everything all the time. Makes you think a little harder about what you’re doing.
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1994
Okay, I will name a band, and you give me the first thing that comes to mind when you think of your production gigs with them:
Presidents of the U.S.A.
We’d do several takes of any given song, as the band was learning them, Chris (Ballew, singer) would play his two-string bass flawlessly every take, and sing a scratch vocal that could’ve been used as the keeper. Never a mistake, never less than killer every time.
Robyn Hitchcock
Also just an amazing music machine. Put him in an iso booth with a mic for vocal and one for acoustic guitar. He’d show the band a new song and go into the booth, sometimes it would just be one take and they’d nail it, with the lead vocal included. Never a lyric sheet in sight. A brain that truly works overtime. Peter Buck playing his 12-string on a song that he had just heard, and plays flawlessly the first time. Great Peter quote: “I like to get things right.” Indeed!
Fastbacks
Ha!! Some of the recording we’ve done astounds me to this day. It’s like any idea we had, we’d just do it. I swear, no one ever said, “Are you sure this is a good idea?” Listening back to the early ’90s recordings, there truly is something about inspiration and enthusiasm that really is inspiring and enthusiastic! Some of that music is pretty weird, even some songs that I wrote, I can’t imagine where they came from. I know we did them and all, but what was the impetus, where did they come from?!
Nashville Pussy
Another tale of just trying not to ruin a band that sounded killer. Amazing to think that they all fit in the tiny live room at Egg for that first album. The sheer volume of air pressure in there was unbelievable. A perfect example of what we’d set out to do, just try to not let the recording process get in the way of the recording. And nominated for a Grammy! I went with them to the Awards show – limo, booze, and afterparties. We were scheming all the horrible things that we’d say when we won the award, who we were gonna thank, who we were gonna blame. Of course there’s no way we’d win, they barely could say the name of the band when reading off the nominees! But what an experience. So many laughs.
Mudhoney
Five Dollar Bob’s Mock Cooter Stew (Reprise, 1993) doesn’t get enough props. I think it’s a great record. I really tried to make each song sound different and killer in its own way. Dan Peters (drummer) is always dishing out the quality.
Young Fresh Fellows
It’s easy to work quickly with a band you’re in. You kind of already know what’s going to happen, you know how to set up since you’ve already seen what works and what doesn’t over the last decade or two. We had intended to record maybe four or five songs for Tiempo De Lujo. Somehow we’d crammed all four of us in the basement here; after the two days we’d recorded twelve band tracks – so an album it was! Toxic Youth as well. We’d gone over to Jim Sangster’s living room to learn a few songs before starting recording the next day, and once we got going, they just kept coming and coming. When inspiration strikes, keep the tape rolling!
Can you describe Conrad Uno's Egg Studios; the kind of size or situation you were dealing with? Was there like a famous recording board there you worked with?
Egg Studio, where I and others honed their chops, was a welcome alternative to the “normal” studios of the time. It was truly a basement studio, the performance room was smaller than an ordinary living room. Many bands’ rehearsal spaces were larger than this. But it really did have a relaxed feel to it, and loud bands could all set up in the room and play live and get a good sound. Mudhoney, Nashville Pussy, Supersnazz, Devil Dogs, Supersuckers, Zeke – it was home base for so many great albums.
Conrad Uno moved into the house in maybe 1987, I reckon we finished Fastbacks …And His Orchestra there; and by early 1988, we began Very Very Powerful Motor, then the Sub Pop 7” and Zücker sessions. It began as an 8-track studio. Conrad brought in the Spectrasonics console that was formerly at Stax/Volt studio – rumored to once be owned by Paul McCartney, under whose purview a varispeed knob was installed. The knob remains, it’s Paul’s Knob. The console is now at Crackle And Pop studio here in Seattle, and is working better than ever.
Before Mudhoney began their third album, Piece of Cake, their second at Egg, they bought a 16-track machine for the studio, and that was the classic setup for so many records there in the ‘90s.
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1996
I personally would love to hear about making the classic Devil Dogs album, Saturday Night Fever (Crypt/Sympathy for the Record Industry, 1994). Whose idea was it to make it kind of like a party, with friends and fans whopping it up in the studio between songs?
It was their idea from the beginning to make it a party album, “You have been invited… to a party!” Another band that didn’t need any fancy fussing about, they already sounded like a house on fire. Just tried to record them and not get in the way, make sure that the playback sounded like it did in the room with them.
Definitely the last night of the session, they invited all their Seattle friends over for a party, and we played the songs from the album through twice, if I remember, and just had a mic in the room while they were going. All the bottles clinking and all the blabbering was totally what happened. There was so little time to get everything done while we were there. They had booked two gigs on recording days – one out of town in Bellingham! Basically it was like wrangling the Three Stooges to record and mix a full album and an EP in like five days. Let’s just say that the morning hours were not particularly productive. But fortunately, when they were on, they were unstoppable. And so fuckin’ funny! What a fucking great record!
Oh yeah, definitely the most hilarious band to tour with too! We did a month with them once in Europe, traveling in the same packed little van. And even the bad hungover mornings in the van drives would lead to so much cracking up. Singer Andy G. sometimes stood up and imitated Tom Jones live. Anyway, can you recall who all was in the “crowd” on that record?
Honestly, I don’t! The studio was in a neighborhood, so all sessions had to be finished by 10pm. I loved the idea of recording a loud listening party and then mixing that in with the album, but it was so precarious to cram a bunch of drunks in the tiny studio and try to not let any gear get ruined, while still egging on loud misbehavior. Then getting all the cats out of there by 10 and not annoying Conrad or his neighbors in the process.
You must have some fun Andy G. stories too.
All three of those guys had their moments! Andy, Steve, Mighty Joe. Someone should’ve given them their own TV series. It might not have lasted very long, but what a show it would’ve been. I’ve never seen a group rile each other up the way they did. Should’ve had a room mic going constantly while they tried to make a group decision. There was way more work than we had time for. Somehow we got it all done, but just barely.
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Crypt Records, 1993
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And here’s where I decided to check in with Devil Dogs drummer, Mighty Joe Vincent, to get some more details on their Bloch party:
"So, in the friends crowd [on the Saturday Night Fever album] was Eddie and Dan Bolton from the Supersuckers, James Burdyshaw and the rest of the Sinister Six, and a bunch of really cool women whose names have escaped my memory banks.
We def recorded on the Stax board. I remember because we had hopes that there was some soul residue left in the cables that might coat our tracks.
We totally loved Kurt. What’s not to love? I do remember that it was a Crypt budget recording so we had to make every minute count, so we were mixing until we were all so tired we were delirious. I’m pretty sure we went ‘til 2a.m. or something like that, but that was mixing. We did that in the middle of a tour, so we did about two weeks of gigs from NYC across this great nation of ours as well as that other great nation to our north, then out to Seattle. While we were doing it , we had a gig up in Bellingham, so we took a day off to drive up there.
I remember Scott Mccaughy was working there at Egg. I was talking to him one day and he told me his days of playing out on the road were over as his wife just had a kid and he had to be a good dad and provide a steady paycheck. I really felt bad for him. And then of course, a short time after that, Pete Buck asked him to come on the road with R.E.M. and said he would pay him a million dollars. Like an actual million dollars. That always made me happy to hear."
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And now, back to Kurt Bloch!
Who were bands you liked to tour with? And/or, a classic Fastbacks tour story?
We had some great west coast tours with DOA in the early-to-mid ’80s, they were definitely an early inspiration to go head-on and charge through best you can. They certainly blazed a trail for the rest of us to follow, doing everything themselves, like Black Flag did from Southern California. The ’80s were a rocky road for the Fastbacks. We played a lot of shows in Vancouver, BC, as well as Seattle, but it was a lot of problems and fighting, ha, and it wasn’t until the ’90s that we actually went out for any length of time – certainly getting into occasional serious trouble with The Meices, Motocaster, Gaunt, and even the New Bomb Turks!
Pearl Jam asked you to do some stadium shows in 1995, arguably the peak grunge year. How did you relate to the whole fame/stadium situation surrounding those shows?
It was January ’95, Pearl Jam asked us to play a radio show from their rehearsal space. I kinda didn’t know what they were talking about, and maybe sort of blew it off. I was trying to finish a Sicko record that night, couldn’t be bothered. I did like their Vitalogy record, “Not For You,” “Spin The Black Circle.” The rest of the Fastbacks were all, “C’mon, we’re doing this!” And I grudgingly told Sicko I was going to have to leave early. I didn’t even bring a guitar, I knew that Stone had a cool ‘50s Gold Top, maybe I could use that.
Then of course we get there and it’s really fun, just a big party scene, tons of buddies and band cats. We played three songs on the Pearl Jam gear setup, maybe Kim talked on the radio, drank some beers, great time! That was cool enough, but then they asked us to open a few shows at the end of the year, Salt Lake City and San Jose I think, and we’re all like, “Hell yeah!” And everything went well, then, “Would you want to go do a U.S. tour, oh and maybe a Europe tour following that…?” And we were all, “Hellz yeah!” And that all went great, clearly we would be the next big thing, the world is gonna love us, nothing holding us back now! We had a great record out, New Mansions In Sound (Sub Pop, 1996). Man, that was it – lots and lots of fun, great shows. We invented an auxiliary opening band for some of the shows, The What. We played Who tunes with Eddie Vedder incognito with a wrestling mask. We drag Mike McCready out for jams, Stone Gossard to sing one of his PJ songs, Eddie did “Leaving Here” with us a couple times, just great rock times in the giant venues. Somehow it didn’t lead to us being the Next Big Thing, but it was fun to pretend for a few months.
1994
Any good backstage shenanigans stories?
There weren’t a whole lot of super shenanigans. They had an espresso machine onstage every night, so we’d all slug down coffees, blast through our tunes, and then get drunk and watch Pearl Jam. Sometimes we would annoy their wonderful crew by being loud and boisterous aside of the stage, spilling bottles of wine or whatnot, but not much more than that. Everyone got along really well, and it was well-protected against after show bullies or negativity. We’d just keep on our course, often ‘til the huge sports arena closed down and they’d kick us out after everything had been loaded out – and we’d still be back there cranking tunes and running around.
It was totally like an arena-sized version of a living room party most every night. Their crew moved all the gear, we barely had to do anything except play every night.
I know you knew some of their members from earlier in the scene, but did you know Eddie Vedder before he got asked to join Pearl Jam?
I might not have met Eddie until the live radio show we did? He came up from San Diego. Didn’t know him before then at all, but we were fast friends. We would spend hours talking about the Who and riding around on the catering carts and smashing into the walls of the arenas. Come to think of it, we were probably very annoying. But no one, like, smashed up their hotel rooms or anything. It was probably comparatively tame.
Might sound weird, but while playing in the Seattle scene -- which is generally described as kind of serious, or dark, or junkies, or you know, “grungy” – did you and the Fastbacks feel kind of out-of-place; or are those kind of definitions of grunge and that town/time not correct?
The Seattle “thing” certainly was a dark, serious sound. That isn’t to say that every musician was dark and serious, but that darkness prevailed. To say The Fastbacks felt a little out of place at that point would be correct; but I always thought we were here first. It’s not like we didn’t dig lots of the bands, but it also wasn’t like we would try to take them on at their own game. It just wouldn’t’ve happened. We did do a version of “Swallow My Pride” – Green River’s, not The Ramones – on Sub Pop 200 [compilation], after a Soundgarden version too; but it ended up being menacing only in a Blue Öyster Cult sort of way, rather than ala either previous version. Slow and heavy just wasn’t in our DNA.
Columbus, OH, 1993 (Courtesy of Bela Koe-Krompecher)
I remember when Fastbacks stayed with New Bomb Turks while on tour in 1993, you guys, well I think specifically Lulu, made an amazing Thai meal for us. Did you always cook for bands you crashed with, or just for us ‘cuz we’re so awesome and nice?
Ha. I think the wonderful cooking was a bit of a rarity. We weren’t much of a crash on people’s floor kind of band by the ’90s, but sometimes it was great to have a day off and some good ideas! Remember that Metallica VHS box set had just come out, and we watched it ‘til the end because Lulu and I both worked on the film crew for the shows they filmed in Seattle, and we wanted to see if we, several years after the actual shows, got any credits at the end… and sure enough we did. Reason to celebrate!
Columbus seemed to love you. What were some other fave towns you played?
Always a great time in Columbus. Not necessarily Cleveland though. We weren’t the hard-touring road warriors that a lot of the other (more successful) bands were. It was whatever city we had friends in that were the best. Vancouver BC, San Francisco, L.A., NYC, maybe Albany, Columbus, Istanbul…
Contract and ticket for 1993 Columbus, OH show. (Courtesy of Bela Koe-Krompecher)
Highly technical and professional stage diagram implorations, Columbus, OH, 1993 show (Courtesy of Bela Koe-Krompecher)
I could be wrong, but you didn’t go over to Europe a lot, did you? Were you able to procure any production work from Euro bands you met whilst on tour there?
Oddly, not a lot of Euro tours… Seems like we should’ve done more, but there was always something. Young Fresh Fellows did some great trips, especially in Spain. Fastbacks Spanish tour was a bit of a dog’s breakfast. Not because of the people in Spain, no sir. We certainly lit it up in Japan once, though!
I did a couple albums for Les Thugs, the French band. One of them in Seattle and one in Angers. May have been bookended with some music travel. It’s amazing to look back at the old calendars and see that between tours with the Fastbacks and Young Fresh Fellows, recording with those two bands and recording other bands. Man, there were times when there was nary a day off, those ‘90s months were packed! Gotta consider myself pretty lucky. And so many killer records I got to be part of.
As a producer, do you feel you are mainly bringing an “ear” to finding the sounds the band wants, or do you try to gently impose a certain style and sensibility over the whole production?
Always try to keep the kickass factor high. I would never try to impose anything other than to try to keep everyone happy so they could do their best work, and not do the same bit over and over and over. Work hard and play hard, but not to overanalyze every little thing. Not under-analyze either, but if it’s killer, it doesn’t matter if everything “lines up” perfectly, or if the choruses speed up a little bit. Try to capture what is great about a band live in concert, and not dilute that if you can help it. Don’t add a bunch of crap just to put your mark on a project.
It's interesting how you professed a love for prog, but you had an innate sense of not always overdubbing too much – note your comment about loving bands that only had one guitar, etc.
The true exciting prog bands started coming out around 1968 and ’69, Yes, Genesis, King Crimson, Van Der Graaf Generator; Pink Floyd and Moody Blues had already been around but maybe weren’t quite included. Recording technique at the time was still fairly straightforward for the most part, there was of course room for overdubbing on an eight-track machine, but most of the first-wave prog bands’ recordings were not overloaded with overdubs. The magic was what they did with their four or five musicians, the arrangements you hear on the record were the same instrumentation as they played live. Some of the songs would have been concocted in a studio, but it wasn’t until later that walls of overdubs became commonplace.
That’s where the greatness of the original bands lies – cool vocal arranging and melding several songs’ worth of ideas into one track. Not a lot of room for squirminess either, it wasn’t so easy punching in on a giant eight-track tape machine in 1968. You made one mistake on that verse? You do the whole thing again!
Okay, gotta ask, with as much exposition as you’d like – what was your favorite recording session(s); and worst recording session(s)?
Pretty much always subverted the disasters. A time or two I told a band, after seeing a live show, that they weren’t quite ready to record yet; play a few more shows and practice a lot, record your practices and actually listen to them constructively. Studio time is expensive, practice time is (or at least was) cheap. You don’t have to have every bit of every song nailed down exactly, but do have most everything pretty well figured out, and be ready for criticism during the recording. If the rhythm isn’t working, be prepared to fine-tune your part so it is; if your harmony vocal is a half-step off, go ahead and adjust!
Some of the great sessions are those where I feel that I learned things, a new piece of gear, a new way of looking at things. Overwhelming Colorfast, Supersuckers, Les Thugs in France, The Meices in Florida… Or the records that just slammed out of nowhere. Devil Dogs, Flop, Supersnazz, Nashville Pussy. So many first albums by bands where they have been playing the songs at shows for a year or two, the tempos are up, the blood is pumping, get rid of the headphones and make it like you’re playing a gig. Play the song three times without stopping. Play three different songs in a row without stopping.
1999 (Courtesy of your's truly)
You’re still actively producing. What have you worked on recently you’d like to highlight? And what’s coming up?
There’s always some great Seattle band records going on – Bürien, 38 Coffin, Once For Kicks, Insect Man, The Drolls, Zack Static. These days, some records take a while to finish, I suppose it’s the nature of the business now. Trying now to clean the slate and get these out the door before starting new ones!
And there’s maybe a new Fastbacks coming, no?
There was no plan of any sort. We were having lunch as we sometimes do, and started talking about a couple songs it would be fun to learn and maybe record. Our pal Joe “Meice” Reineke had recently finished an ambitious and fantastic recording building in his back yard; wouldn’t it be fun to check that out….? Well let’s call him and see what his schedule is. Oh! he’s got a day open, whaddayasay, let’s take it. Well there’s a few other songs we could learn, let’s make it two days… I guess we’d better practice… What if we did enough songs for an album? Maybe we did! Got some band tracks, everyone played their butts off! Now we gotta make more magic. No target completion date nor avenue to release, but everyone is excited to finish it!
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Post Script: This article sprung from an editor at a national mag asking if I wanted to do a story on Kurt Bloch, which of course I said yes to cuz Kurt's a great guy and I've been a Fastbacks fan for a goodly spell. But some months passed and plans changed, and so here it is! Also, I would've put more videos in this piece because the Fastbacks have a ton of great songs, but I guess I just learned there is a 10-video limit for a tumblr post. Who knew?
All images courtesy of Kurt Bloch, except where noted.
#punk#fastbacks#Seattle rock#seattle scene#grunge#1990s punk#1990s rock#1990s#sub pop#nirvana#soundgarden#Kurt Bloch#garage punk#devil dogs#Mighty Joe Vincent#crypt records#Seattle punk#Conrad Uno#Egg Studio#mudhoney#nashville pussy#Presidents of the United States of America#robyn hitchcock#guns n roses#new bomb turks#gaunt#columbus ohio#Youtube
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Do you have a favorite underrated Buddie scene?? I mean we have so many epic heavily loaded scenes we all concentrate on that it feels like some of the ones that would be heavy fodder in other Fandoms get overlooked.
For me it's that tiny moment during the call center fire when Eddie called out for Buck and we see him look back then say here hold this to the other firefighter, I gotta go help my boyfriend right now. I'm not sure why the subtlety gets me so much. Maybe the underlying fact that Eddie is "with Buck", meaning Buck should be leading. So it kind of cool it shows Buck will still follow Eddie any where. I don't know I just love that little moment!!
Hi Nonnie, thank you for the lovely ask and for your answer. I love it!
Oh, I feel like with my weekly Buddie meta I have probably yelled too much about too many things, so I'm not sure I have a right to speak. Even if I did, I'm not sure if my choice would be exactly "underrated," but I guess I would say the 202 to 204 arc of Buck being introduced to Chris and choosing to step into Eddie's mess with him.
Everything about this is gold, any one of these could qualify IMO as an underrated moment in Buddie's love story:
The way Buck wants to know who Eddie is trying to call in 202. Damn, Buck, YOU WERE AT EACH OTHER'S THROATS TWO SHIFTS AGO, KEEP IT IN YOUR PANTS!
Eddie's hesitancy, but willingness to share the most pressure part of his life, the most vulnerable part of his heart, with the guy who was a dick to him just two shifts ago. I GET IT ALREADY
The way Buck keeps encouraging Eddie to believe the best possible scenario when it comes to Chris, a child he literally has no investment in, and Buck's doing it even at moments when Eddie is not giving an indication of being distressed. This is where Eddie first sees Buck is marriage and co-parenting material, and there's no faster way to Eddie's heart than that
Eddie choosing to let Buck drive him to Christopher's school, meaning reserved Eddie allows the guy who was a dick to him just two shifts ago to witness his emotional re-union with his son, and accepts that he will introduce them to each other as Buck will drive them both home at the end of 203, NO I AM NOT OKAY
Buck choosing to get involved and help Eddie with Chris by introducing him to Carla in 204, just everything about that ep is WILD and I have not been able to shut up about it since s2, but really the most significant thing will always be the way Buck doesn't have to be told to step into Eddie's mess with him. Buck WANTS TO
I hope this kinda answers the question? Thank you again and have a lovely day! As always, you can find my ask tag here. xoxox
#ask#anon ask#buddie#911meta#911 on abc#911 abc#buddie meta#911 meta#911abc#9-1-1#evan buckley#eddie diaz#911onabc#911#edmundo diaz#evan buck buckley#christopher diaz
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Hello! Here are some Debbie asks 💖 -
1. Favourite/least favourite Debbie relationship (can be romantic or platonic)?
2. Storyline you wish Debbie had?
3. Underrated Debbie moment?
4. Where do you see Debbie in five years time?
5. Best Debbie outfit/look?
6. First line that comes to your head when you think of Debbie? (Could be a line she says or one someone says about her)
7. Funniest/saddest/best Debbie moment?
8. Favourite fanfic or fanart or gifset about Debbie?
9. How did you feel about Debbie’s ending?
10. Five words to describe Debbie?
yay hi calli!
my favorite relationship debbie was in would probably be debbie x sandy (sebbie), but only pre-11x05 before they were ruined. and my least favorite relationship would probably be heidi? her character was brought in so randomly and in an obvious attempt to slander debbie more. i would say that my least favorite would be a relationship that she had with any of the guys she was with, but i don’t really count those since she was a lesbian and underage for most of those relationships.
i don’t really know how to answer this… there are a few storylines that shameless started for her and just didn’t bother to explore so i guess i’ll say those. (this is depressing sorry) in 4x07, debbie’s friend convinces her to self harm, and she does. season 4 debbie is very interesting because she explores abandonment issues, peer pressure, and grooming, which are all important issues. i think that the shameless writers got over her self harm too fast, and i think that it could have been interesting to see them talk about that, because it is an issue that many struggle with (although ian did also struggle with it in 5x10). i also wish that we got a scene where debbie talks to her siblings about how they treat her. in season 11, they mistreat her a lot, but it’s all for comedic purposes so nobody really talks about it, but i wish she or someone else would stand up for her.
every debbie moment is an underrated one if you ask me, lol. i think an underrated one may be when she bought a snake and put it in matty’s girlfriend’s car. it was so evil and maybe people hate her for it but i just found it funny. also, when she lied to jimmy-steve and said it was her birthday for free food. she’s iconic.
five years from now or five years from the finale? i’m gonna go with five years from the finale, which is 2026. i see debbie doing well. adult liam in hos says that they all end up doing well, and yes, he’s talking about a time far more in the future, but in season 11 debbie’s business was successful so i’ll say that she is. i think that she and franny will stay in the gallagher house, and i hope that debbie will get some therapy because she desperately needs it, especially if she has a ten/eleven year old kid. i want her to find a good girlfriend, maybe it’s sandy, maybe it’s not. idk. really all i hope is that she’s doing well mentally, franny’s thriving, they have a house, and debbie does everything is still going well.
hm… well, the wedding dress in 10x12 is the first thing that comes to mind. she looks fabulous and she’s doing it for the sake of gallavich, which we love. if it’s not that, it’s probably one of her other looks in season 10, because i think that was her best era fashion wise (and in general, honestly. that was her redemption arc, john wells just fucked it up), so probably the black dress with the leather jacket that she wore while convincing ian to get back with mickey, or the red dress she was trying on.
6. (the bullets got messed up😭), well, for lines, “you do not f with debbie gallagher!!!!” (after attempting to drown a girl who bullied her for being a closet lesbian), “you can’t drink him away, mickey. it won’t work”, (after convincing mickey to go back to ian, because my girl loves her family and is the biggest gallavich fan in the whole show).
7. funniest would probably be the, “you do not f with debbie gallagher!” thing, but also when she kidnapped that kid and was questioned by the police, specifically because the scene was just little clips of her talking and one was like, “yes i would like a cookie”, it was just so funny i love her. for saddest, i’d have to say hitting frank with a bag full of soap and then sobbing into her pillow, crying when she knew that derek left her, or when she was screaming at derek’s mother’s house and consoling franny even though franny couldn’t hear- i died inside a bit when i watched that scene. her best moment was any moment she helped out her siblings (which happens a lot, contrary to what debbie antis who think that she’s selfish think), like coming to mickey’s house to get him back, somehow getting ford up on a billboard so that fiona could shoot paintballs at his ass, creating a distraction at the gallavich wedding, and pranking kelly with carl- there’s a few more but those are my personal favorites.
8.i have a few favorite fics, like definitions by the lovely @astaraels, the sun; a little to the left, and familiar patterns by the also lovely, @aceyanaheim. this is probably my favorite gifset, and i don’t really know a lot of debbie fanart- but probably anything that @deedala did because she loves debbie also and is an amazing artist.
9. how did i feel about it… well, AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. I FUCKING HATED IT. i really hated every characters ending, gallavich’s ending was fine but there were also some things about it i didn’t really love. i’ve made really long posts about my issues with this ending, but to summarize: in s10, john wells attempted to make a debbie redemption arc, which is why there isn’t a lot of debbie hate in that season. many people liked her that season, esp because of 10x12. but then, in s11, we’re expected to believe that everyone hates debbie, (*cough* ian *cough*), and we hear her called a “terrible mom” a “loser” “annoying” etc. also, frank’s parting words to her were horrible and mean! i would start bawling if i were her, and i get that it’s frank, but still. also, they ruined sebbie and replaced it with a toxic person who we know debbie is only dating as a form of self sabotage. i have so much more to say, but that’s it simplified.
10. strong, selfless, ambitious, caring, loving, determined, chaotic, independent, creative, helpful.
💋
#cw: self harm mention#shameless#debbie gallagher#ask#sandy milkovich#ian gallagher#gallavich#mickey milkovich#heidi shameless#franny gallagher#jimmysteve lishman#frank gallagher#shameless us
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1, 9, 10, 23, 37, 45, 48 😊
1.) What fic of yours would you recommend to someone who had never read any of your work? (In other words, what do you think is the best introduction to your fics?)
I guess I would go with this one, which is a fic in which Lucy is in labor, and everyone finds out that she and Nolan were a thing at one point. The words just flowed so well for me, and it got way more attention than I expected. It's one of my favorite fics I've ever written.
9.) How do you find new fic to read?
I scroll through AO3 and see what stories have been added. Some of my favorite stories to read are missing scenes, domestic Chenford, and funny one shots.
10.) How do you decide what to write?
Lol, hell if I know😂 I do enjoy writing scenes we didn't get to see played out, or scenes I wish would have gone differently. Other than that, sometimes ideas just come to me in the most random of ways.
23.) What’s a trope, AU, or concept you’ve never written, but would like to?
Hmmm....this one is really tough and I'm coming up blank😬
37.) Promote one of your own “deep cut” fics (an underrated one, or one that never got as much traction as you think it deserves!). What do you like about it?
This was tough because I'm so shy about promoting my works, but if I had to choose, I'd go with this one, which was a missing/re-written scene from Chenford's first Valentine's Day.
I liked it because it showcased their "first fight" and it includes Tim and Angela banter, which is always my favorite!
45.) What’s something you’ve improved on since you started writing fic?
Learning not to compare myself to other writers and write what I'm interested in. Many times, I've read stuff from other authors and thought, "They're lightyears ahead of me, and their work is so much better than mine will ever be." But my writing and my ideas are still worth putting out there, even if they don't receive as much attention. By continuing to write, I can only get better and continue to build my confidence.
48.) What’s the last fic you read? Do you recommend it?
I am on Chapter 19 of Little Bit of Love by @chenfordspiral and still have it up, because I'm halfway through the chapter. I highly recommend it because it's so fluffy, funny, and cute and full of such sweet Chenford bliss!
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I feel like doing some liveblogging for today's entry because I love it a lot and I have Things To Say! Under a cut because this got longgggg
"They do not fear the Ringwraiths, for those who have dwelt in the Blessed Realm live at once in both worlds [...]"
I'm sorry, those who have lived in Valinor do what now???? I don't remember this ever being mentioned anywhere else
'Frodo was now safe in the Last Homely House east of the Sea. That house was, as Bilbo had long ago reported, 'a perfect house, whether you like food or sleep or story-telling or singing, or just sitting and thinking best, or a pleasant mixture of them all'. Merely to be there was a cure for weariness, fear, and sadness.'
This makes me tear up and I'm not sure why.
This is one of my favorite chapters in the whole trilogy. I just love how warm it feels. It's like curling up with a cozy blanket and a warm drink on a winter evening, but it's also like sitting in the sun on a bright summer day with a cool breeze in your hair at the same time.
'In the middle of the table, against the woven cloths upon the wall, there was a chair under a canopy, and there sat a lady fair to look upon, and so like was she in form of womanhood to Elrond that Frodo guessed that she was one of his close kindred. Young she was and yet not so. The braids of her dark hair were touched by no frost; her white arms and clear face were flawless and smooth, and the light of stars was in her bright eyes, grey as a cloudless night; yet queenly she looked, and thought and knowledge were in her glance, as of one who has known many things that the years bring. Above her brow her head was covered with a cap of silver lace netted with small gems, glittering white; but her soft grey raiment had no ornament save a girdle of leaves wrought in silver.'
MY QUEEN MY BELOVED THE LOVE OF MY LIFE IS HERE!!!! <333333 *ahem* anyway, moving on
The mention of Beorn's son and Bard's grandson being leaders of their respective folk really puts into perspective how the lifespans of Men compare to Dwarves and even Hobbits.
''I will come and see [the Lonely Mountain], if ever I can,' said Frodo.'
Hey. Want to feel sad with me? I don't think he ever gets to do this.
'This is the Hall of Fire,' said the wizard. 'Here you will hear many songs and tales – if you can keep awake. But except on high days it usually stands empty and quiet, and people come here who wish for peace, and thought. There is always a fire here, all the year round, but there is little other light.'
Actually obsessed with the Vibes of the Hall of Fire. It's one of the places in Middle Earth I would most like to visit. Also if it ever shows up in an adaptation I may perish of happiness.
'Why, sitting and thinking. I do a lot of that nowadays, and this is the best place to do it in, as a rule. Wake up, indeed!' he said, cocking an eye at Elrond. There was a bright twinkle in it and no sign of sleepiness that Frodo could see. 'Wake up! I was not asleep, Master Elrond. If you want to know, you have all come out from your feast too soon, and you have disturbed me – in the middle of making up a song. I was stuck over a line or two, and was thinking about them; but now I don't suppose I shall ever get them right. There will be such a deal of singing that the ideas will be driven clean out of my head. I shall have to get my friend the Dúnadan to help me. Where is he?'
Elrond laughed. 'He shall be found,' he said. 'Then you two shall go into a corner and finish your task, and we will hear it and judge it before we end our merrymaking.'
Bilbo and Elrond's friendship means a great deal to me and I feel it is tragically underrated.
'Don't adventures ever have an end? I suppose not. Someone else always has to carry on the story.'
Oh no here come the tears again.
'Strider!' said Frodo. 'You seem to have a lot of names.'
Oh Frodo you haven't heard the half of it yet... Also this has been pointed out many times before but I love that Aragorn remains Strider to the hobbits long after they learn his true name. It's really cute <333
He turned to Strider. 'Where have you been, my friend? Why weren't you at the feast? The Lady Arwen was there.'
Strider looked down at Bilbo gravely. 'I know,' he said. 'But often I must put mirth aside. Elladan and Elrohir have returned out of the Wild unlooked-for, and they had tidings that I wished to hear at once.'
*sigh* can't believe the Plot is making Aragorn miss out on quality time with his wifey :(( Also, twins mention!!! I love the twins dearly (mostly because of One Specific Fanfiction)
Near him sat the Lady Arwen. To his surprise Frodo saw that Aragorn stood beside her; his dark cloak was thrown back, and he seemed to be clad in elven-mail, and a star shone on his breast. They spoke together, and then suddenly it seemed to Frodo that Arwen turned towards him, and the light of her eyes fell on him from afar and pierced his heart.
THEY'RE TOGETHER!!!!! One of these days you will be getting my essay on Arwen's Presence in the narrative and that is a threat. Also she and Frodo have interesting potential as a dynamic. Also also if she looked directly at me my heart would also be very much pierced <333
That's all my thoughts I think! If you stayed until the end, thanks for your time <3
#lotr newsletter#lotr#seagull.thoughts#hope y'all will forgive the large amount of arwen love in these comments#in my defense I get very few opportunities to talk about her#at least where newsletter comments are concerned#I talk about her a lot outside of that#I do very much also love bilbo and sam and gloin and elrond and everyone else in this entry <3333
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Who do you think is the most underrated character from the movies?
Princess Victoria "Tori" Bethany Evangeline Renee takes the cake for me. I've said this many times before, but she has one of the best arcs in any Barbie movie. She starts out as a brat acting out and pulling pranks and then blossoms into a more mature young woman ready to take her duties seriously. I feel like she gets overlooked as a good protagonist just because she doesn't start out as a 100% "pure and good" kind of princess.
Plus, there's a lot of context that would explain her behavior at the start of the movie. Her mother is dead, she appears to have no real duties outside of being a figurehead (and writing a single speech), her sisters are much younger than she is, and her Aunt talks more about her princess duties than talking to her like a niece. I don't think it's surprising that she spends her days acting out instead of being a serious princess, even at 17.
I never see people really examine Tori's relationships with her family. Her mother is dead, and we barely see her interact with her father. He is the king and has to rule alone now, so he might not have time to really spend with her (or her sisters). Amelia says "I promised your dear mother I would raise you to be a proper princess". This implies that she may have ended up focusing more on being "the princess's governess" instead of "Tori's aunt". I don't believe Amelia would do this intentionally, but she talks again and again about Tori doing her duties as a princess, and it isn't balanced out with just talking to her as her aunt, aside from punishing her. And in addition, Tori doesn't have anyone her own age to relate to. Her sisters are much younger than she is, which I think is another reason she acts more like a child; to be at their level and sort of give an excuse for her pulling pranks with them. Meeting Keira was more than just getting to meet her favorite pop idol, she ended up making friends with someone who could actually relate to her.
And like, when she figures out what's actually going on in her kingdom, she immediately wants to start making changes. I think about that part when she meets Emily and Charlotte a lot.
Tori: Drought? Is that still going on?[...] I...didn't know.
Charlotte: Well, I guess you'd have to live in Mirabella to know about it.
Tori: Yes...I guess you would.
Tori is hit with the realization that she really doesn't know much about her own kingdom. Her pranks and shenanigans have reduced the actual stuff going on to white noise. So as soon as they save the Diamond Gardenia and all is well, SHE helps establish Mirabella's social services program and vows to be the voice for her people. She is on her way to becoming a good ruler.
Aside from her arc, I just like Tori's personality. She's fun-loving and silly, but she can also be very brave and smart. She got rid of her stage fright in like 2 minutes to save Keira's career, and she was the one to figure out the diamond seeds could replant the Gardenia.
I just think she deserves more love than she gets. I know it might not be easy to root for her at the start but she's a fun character and it makes me proud to see her grow.
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a/n: as a cravity stan and a person whose bias list is 90% vocalists i am very disappointed with how underrated this man is i mean have you heard him ????? a literal angel and that's it. also idk but i kinda feel like this is a tiny bit too long for a timestamp 👀
[05:40] "well, why don't you just tell them how you feel?"
"as if it was that easy in real life" you said, taking a deep breath in and sighing. for the last hour you and your best friend, woobin, have been trying to figure out how you should confess to your crush, but even with all this time, the two of you still found no good way of doing that. "we're not in a romance movie, you know."
"it would've been so much easier for me to help you if you just told me who they are" the boy stated, continuing to draw random doodles in the notebook in front of him "that way my brain could actually work properly and we would find a way within minutes."
"wait, you have a brain?" you joked, trying to change the topic, but woobin quickly caught onto your poor attempt, just shaking his head with a small smile.
"i actually do, unlike some." he said, the remark making you roll your eyes. "and that brain of mine tells me you're trying to shift the conversation so you won't have to tell me who's that secret person you've been obsessing over for the past, i don't know, three months? come on, i'm sure it can't be bad."
you kept quiet for a second, trying to contain your thoughts. woobin was your best friend, he was always the one you would run to with any gossip about people you disliked or any of your monthly obsessions, as well as your crushes. he was always very supportive of you; he helped you get ready for dates, brought you your favorite snacks and arranged movie nights for the two of you when someone broke your heart. he was the closest person you had. so why wouldn't you tell him?
well, it was quite obvious. because the one you liked this time was him.
"i guess i'm just" you started off slowly, taking a break mid sentence to drink some water "afraid of your reaction."
woobin looked at you with his brows furrowed "please tell me it's not taeyoung, or else i swear to god, i'll eat you alive."
his comment seemed to ease your stress a little, making you laugh in the process as you shaked your head no. "well, for a person who claims he has a brain, you really are ignoring the most obvious option out there."
"well, enlighten me then"
you took a deep breath in, getting ready to actually confess to him "the one i actually like is in this room right now." woobin looked at you, pretending to be too dumb to understand what you just said. he thought for a second, before finally speaking up:
"your cat? damn, so many years of being friends with you and i had no idea you're into anima-"
"oh come on you know very well that i'm talking about you" you interrupted him before he finished his sentence, your eyes trailing to see your cat peacefully sleeping on the couch. look anywhere, just not at woobin.
"and i thought you were going to tell me something i don't know" the boy said, making you turn your head towards him, letting out a little 'what' in the process. "come on, we both know that you're the most obvious person ever" he added, his gaze focused on his notebook and the doodles he was drawing, as if he was completely unbothered by your confession.
"but you're also very lucky, because i feel the same."
taglist: @diortyun <3
>> main masterlist
>> cravity masterlist
#kpop x reader#cravity x reader#cravity x you#cravity x y/n#woobin x reader#cravity woobin#cravity#seo woobin#seo woobin x reader#cravity scenarios#cravity imagines#woobin x you#cravity blurbs#cravity drabbles
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1, 2, 3, 34, 37, 40, 48, 49
1. What fic of yours would you recommend to someone who had never read any of your work? (In other words, what do you think is the best introduction to your fics?)
My two long multi-chapters have taken most of my writing time (and I love them), but I actually really love the first series I ever wrote, *Sense* You Know Me So Well. The second chapter of this series and the second chapter of its sequel are the two that I am most proud of. They just feel very authentic and have deep feelings.
2. Go to your AO3 “Works” page, to the sidebar with all the filters, and click the drop-down arrow for “Additional Tags.” What are your top 3-5 most used tags? Do you think they accurately represent your writing habits?
I'm not great at tagging apparently or my stories are all quite different. My only tag that I've used more than once was 'Alternate Universe,' which makes since given that 3 of my 6 are AUs.
3. What are some tropes or details that you think are very characteristic of your fics?
I really enjoy awkwardness. Perhaps that speaks to my own romantic history (haha), but I feel like I write awkward romantic scenes well. I love reading sexual tension; that's easily my favorite. But I guess I'll have to work on my skills in writing it.
34. What aspects of your writing are inspired by/taken from your real life?
Hmmm... Not much. I'm a doctor with 4 young kids who's been married for 18 years. Reeeeally doesn't match much of what I write. But I do have a couple ideas for short stories that would use a little bit more of my medical expertise.
37. Promote one of your own “deep cut” fics (an underrated one, or one that never got as much traction as you think it deserves!). What do you like about it?
I really love the story in chapter 2 of my *Sense* You Know Me So Well, Too series. Tim and Lucy are in the middle of the pining/not talking stage when Tim's dad dies. He doesn't deal with it well, and Lucy is the only one that can get through to him.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/50613028
40. Do you tend to reread fics or are you a one-and-done kind of person?
I reread my favorites for sure. Plus One by murphallo, Little Green by MeadowWard, Darling Let's Run by mooncpd, Unless It Is by adina_rachelle (@makeitastrength) are all favorites I've read at least two times each. But there are so many good stories out there (I think I have 60 tabs open of stories I want to read on my phone) that I don't reread often.
48. What’s the last fic you read? Do you recommend it?
The Loophole by The Chandom. Amazing story. I highly recommend it.
49. What are you currently working on? Share a few lines if you’re up for it!
I'm working on chapter 17 of my Catch of a Lifetime story. Theoretically I was going to have it ready to post this weekend, but.... life.
When Lucy left the locker room on Sunday morning, Captain Andersen called her into her office.
“Good morning, Captain. How can I help you?”
“First, I was happy to see you on the tabloid sites this morning,” she said with a smile.
Lucy furrowed her brow and opened her mouth to speak, but Captain Andersen put up her hand to indicate that she wasn’t done speaking yet.
“Not that I think that’s good journalism or that your privacy should be invaded like that,” she clarified. “But I’m a bit of a romantic at heart, and I had a good feeling about you and Bradford from the moment I saw you two together. Even with the fuzzy photos that were taken, it’s obvious that you were happy to be with him last night.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Lucy said, her cheeks suddenly a fiery red, unsure if it was the right time to discuss personal matters like this. “I am happy, ma’am. Thank you,” she said with a small smile. She thought for a moment and then asked, “You look at the tabloids ma’am?”
Captain Andersen laughed. “Not usually. But the LAPD’s tech force keeps tabs on all the sources of news that they can. Usually they’re looking for criminal activity, but the posts about you and Mr. Bradford were a nice bonus. I got an email this morning with all the links.”
“Oh. That makes more sense,” Lucy said nodding her head.
“Well,” she started. She shuffled some papers around on her desk and then looked up at Lucy. “That’s not exactly why I called you in. I have an assignment for you today, if you’re up for it. It’s not exactly undercover work, and it’s not exactly an internal affairs investigation, but it’s a little bit of both.”
Lucy was intrigued. She tried to quickly put the other conversation behind her and smiled at the captain. “Nice hook. I’m totally in. What’s going on?” She leaned her arms on her duty belt and focused on the captain.
“Close the door and take a seat,” she said, waving toward the door and walking around to the front of her desk.
Thanks for asking! I love your stories.
#chenford#fanfic#tim bradford#lucy chen#tim bradford x lucy chen#chenford fanfic#fanfiction writer#fanfiction#the rookie
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Mother's Day is coming up so here's my top 5 movies to watch with mom or grandma
I lost my mom a year ago but it only feels like a month, and I was really close to my mom and grandma my whole life. Like, I came to them for everything. They were the two people I love most and I still love them most. Here's some movies I recommend for Mother's Day, and you can sit and have a fun time with your mom or grandma and watch these, there's some funny ones on the list.
(Sing a bit of Harmony, 2021) This one isn't really a mother-daughter story but the mother plays an important role in the story by building Shion in the first place. It's about a robot girl who can sing, but everyone has to keep it a secret. Shion causes trouble for the main character, when she's supposed to be there for good reasons. I'm not gonna give spoilers, just watch it!
(CatDog & the Great parent Mystery, 2001) The only conjoined twin who happen to be a cat and dog, have to set off to find their parents. The majority of the movie doesn't have much to do with the parents, but the fact that they look so hard to find them is the point. I chose it for mother's day mostly because my grandma and I were huge CatDog fans, and my mom kind of was too. Yes, it's basically a long episode of the cartoon series, I consider it a movie because it was 40 minutes long, but it was basically a long episode. Actually, a lot of Nickelodeon shows had movies, besides SpongeBob. CatDog was just one of the lesser known "Nicktoons".
(Storks, 2016) Oh gosh, this one is an all time favorite of mine, and my mom loved it too. A lot of people liked it, but I still think it's underrated. Some people are super picky about movies, but I think this movie appeals to me in a lot of ways. The characters are adorable. I LOVE the designs, especially Tulip's. Like, she looks more like a normal girl and not a Disney princess. She looks cute, but they didn't try to make her look "sexy" or anything, they just make her look like a normal girl. Junior's design is also adorable and I love birds, and I love the adorable babies in it too. The story is amazing and shows a different perspective for once, like the fact that they're trying to get the baby to her family meanwhile Tulip has to find her family, but focuses on the baby first! It's incredible and I suggest to anyone!
(WonderPark, 2019) I'm not sure why this movie gets so much hate, it's actually a beautiful movie! Yes, it's not perfect, but I can tell that they worked hard on the story and I feel like they were really trying to appeal to the 9-12 year old audience, because this is almost like a coming-of-age type of story and has a lot to do with the girl's imagination and depression, with her mother being far away. It's better than a lot of movies, in my opinion, but it's not one of my top favorites. It's super emotional and I don't like crying a lot.
(Brave, 2011) Okay, this one of the only Disney movies I don't cringe at, you know me, I'm not a Disney fan! I don't recommend this for Mother's Day because it's a bit sad, not for me at least. If you and your mother or grandmother enjoy this, then go ahead! I never watched it with my mom or grandma. (When I was a kid, my uncle took me to see it in theaters, and then when we rented the DVD of it at the library, the disk was all beat up, and as my mom and grandma got older, my mom refused to watch it because of it being to sad). I don't gotta describe the movie, everyone knows Brave! One of the best Disney movies in my opinion. Mulan, Brave, Luca, and Encanto are probably the bests in my opinion, although Teen Beach Movie and Lilo & Stich are good too, not my favorite tho. I'm just not a Disney fan, even though I like some of their movies.
Anyway, you heard about my favorites, now. I could have added Duck Duck Goose but it's not really a Mother's Day one. It could be I guess, but it could be a Father's Day one too. My mom watched it on Father's Day in 2020 because my dad was watching his wild west movies LOL, I'm glad I had her! Tell me what you think, I'd love to chat with people in the comments and hear their opinions.
#movie recommendations#anime recommendation#movie recommendations for mother's day#anime recommendations#nickelodeon movies#animated movie recommendations#mother's day#catdog and the great parent mystery#storks 2016#storks movie
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Yet Another 50 Underrated Horror Films
I guess most people would want to talk about the best movies they watched in the past year, but I thought this would be a more fun way of ending 2022. Let me give you some links to other lists before I get started, in case you are into this and just cannot get enough. Well, allow me to be of service.
The First 50
The Second 50
UFO Movies
Mad Science Movies
Aquatic Movies
Found Footage Movies
Heavy Metal Movies
Werewolf Movies
Eyes of Fire : Back in old timey pioneer days, a group of people get cast out from their community because their preacher is a sex fiend. So they find their own place. That is full of evil fae magic and ghosts and stuff, and things get wonderfully weird.
Highway To Hell : It’s Orpheus but full of puns and dumb jokes and incredible special effects. My favorite bit is about the road to hell being paved with good intentions. Also, Adam Storke is in this... You know, Larry from the 90s Stand miniseries. That guy. He’s great here.
Shallow Ground : Ghosts. But so so so much cooler than just that. I don’t want to say too much. This one is all about the reveal. This teenager shows up naked and covered in blood, and everyone goes what the hell happened to him? And shit gets STRANGE.
Nightflyers : Adaptation of a George R.R. Martin short story that really needs a blu-ray release, like, yesterday. Beautifully 80s SF horror film full of weird, futuristic bullshit that I can’t get enough of.
Beyond Dream's Door : What if A Nightmare On Elm Street were made on $3 and a ton of LSD? Take this trip, no pun intended.
Night Vision : A guy that literally just fell off the turnip truck decides to be a writer in in THE BIG CITY. Which supernaturally chews him up and spits him back out. A cool, low budget time.
The Murder Mansion : Giallo! Two rather attractive people meet, fall in love instantly, and then get trapped in a murder mansion. That’s all you need for a giallo masterpiece really.
Goke, Body Snatcher from Hell : An alien invasion that goes super hard. A plane crashes due to alien interference, and the survivors are faced with just... the scariest alien invasion of all time. This movie fucks.
Island of Terror : Lil goo monster that kills you the moment it touches you. It feels like they were trying to do a Lovecraft thing, and it’s quaint and British with Peter Cushing.
The Majorettes : One of those late 80s slashers that just keeps on giving. The first fifteen minutes were hilarious enough, and then the third act happens. There’s a siege? On a trailer park? In my slasher?
Sometimes They Come Back... Again : Alexis Arquette (RIP) gives the performance of a lifetime as an undead thug who will fuck your daughter and your dad. Watch it for her.
Sweet Home : Nothing is quite like a Japanese ghost story. This one throws some slasher tropes in there, too, with very over-the-top kills. Then it lands the dismount. Give me a blu-ray now please.
Creature : Alien rip-off! Now hear me out. I am a sucker for those, but this is probably the best one in existence. Watch The Titan Find cut, as it’s the director’s preferred version, and I think it slaps.
Candy Corn : Why isn’t this a Halloween classic? It’s like Trick r Treat meets Dark Night of the Scarecrow. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, that’s an incredibly good thing. Also, the kills are brutal.
Auntie Lee's Meat Pies : Auntie Lee has lots of BEAUTIFUL nieces who attract dumb men that she puts into delicious meat pies. Good for her, right? Some rockers in bad wigs show up and... predictably become pies.
Skinned Deep : If Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 had no limiters on. If they were ALL off. All of them. I mean, just all of them. Warwick Davis is having the time of his life here. And Surgeon General’s mask is made out of what you ask? Boyfriend material.
Werewolves on Wheels : A biker gang stumbles across a cult having a ritual. This makes them become werewolves. And that’s awesome.
Distortions : Olivia Hussey and Piper Laurie attempt to out act one another while both going completely out of their minds. Gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss.
Phantom of the Mall: Eric's Revenge : When you’re such a simp for The Phantom you’ll watch a hunky version kick ass underground in a mall. Also, it’s a good slasher. With Pauly Shore being... actually a fun character.
The Marsh : A children’s book writer moves to the country to rest and get inspired. Then ghost shit starts happening. Trust me, this movie goes around some bends I didn’t expect, and it’s really worth taking the ride. We love a good ghost mystery in this house.
Dead and Buried : The story kicks off with a photographer getting set on fire at the beach by an angry mob. And it doesn’t get less weird. Definitely more weird. It blew my mind, and I didn’t think that was possible after all I’ve seen. With Robert Englund before he was Freddy.
Clearcut : Native American horror. This one is all about Graham Greene playing Arthur, a gleefully violent fellow with a lot of secrets. I kept thinking of Severen in Near Dark. The performance is that good, yes.
Satan's Triangle : Made for TV movie about the Bermuda Triangle. But also the devil. With an ending that I’ll never stop thinking about.
Night Shadow : A werewolf movie! Where the werewolf and some lady have a psychic connection. I think. I mean, I guess. And her brother knows kung-fu, but doesn’t use it to fight the werewolf. Some bad choices were made, but ultimately it’s a good-bad time.
Tales from the QuadeaD Zone : From the maker of Black Devil Doll From Hell comes... this! A horror blaxploitation anthology that really... It really is real. Also, what’s a QuadeaD? Dunno. And that’s not a typo. That’s how it’s spelled. Watch this. You’ll thank me. Or hunt me down, not sure which.
Alien Predators : A horror comedy that is heavy on the goofball antics and low on the scares. But damn if those antics aren’t cuter because it’s Dennis Christopher partaking in them!
Too Beautiful To Die : A late 80s giallo full of fucked up shit, a crazy murder weapon, and giallo’s favorite victim: fashion models. And I need to say 80s one more time to emphasize the true magic of this film. Okay, one more time: 80s!
All-American Murder : Christopher Walken. Ahem. Oh, you needed me to say something else? Well, murders. And lots of silly, silly, silly dialogue. And Walken gets to say a lot of it, too.
The Killer Is Still Among Us : Another giallo. This one is all about the ending. I find a lack of resolution to be one of the scariest thing a horror film can do. Very effective.
Slime City : A man has to eat people to keep from melting. It’s a tale as old as time. He goes full goblin mode by the end. Good old-fashioned melt movie.
Flesheater : Directed by the guy who played the first zombie in Night of the Living Dead. The cemetery one. Not sure why that made him qualified to direct a film, and when you watch it, you’ll see that it didn’t. But that’s why it’s good. Because it’s amazingly bad. Also, directed The Majorettes from up there, if that’s any indication of what you’re getting into.
All About Evil : Directed by Peaches Christ, this is an absolute love letter to horror cinema. Right down to the very theaters the movies play in. Cassandra Peterson stares at an Elvira poster. It’s that kind of movie.
I, Madman : There need to be more movies like this. About the power of stories to come alive. One minute you’re reading a book. The next minute, the book is happening to you. Stars Jenny Wright, who deserved a better career.
Grotesque : Linda Blair versus a gang of punks. Oh, excuse me. Punkers. That was one of my favorite parts, that they insisted on calling them punkers. Home invasion that goes completely WTF by the end. WTF endings are a theme with me.
Hell High : A group of high school outcasts decide to terrorize their teacher. Not realizing a nudge will make her go postal. This movie is way better than it has any right to be, quite frankly.
The Untamed : A Mexican SF horror film that is all about sex. It’s not SEXY. It’s ABOUT sex. And the need for it, the way it wrecks relationships, addiction to it, cheating, not being able to be true to yourself about your own identity or needs. It’s a lot. I love it.
Death To Metal : I love to see heavy metal horror alive and well. An evil priest gets a toxic waste makeover and decides to take out his religious frustrations in a local dive hosting a rock concert. It’s low budget and full of love.
Tropic of Cancer : Giallo! Again! With voodoo. Not accurate voodoo, don’t ever look for that in a horror film. But with magic and antics is what I really mean. And those antics are quite wild and fun.
Final Judgment : Brad Dourif as a priest with a gun trying to catch a serial killer. Also, lots of strippers. If nothing about that makes you want to watch it, may I check your temperature?
The Mangler : One of those bottom-of-the-barrel Stephen King adaptations with so much to give. Directed (well, in part, it sounds complicated) by Tobe Hooper. Starring Ted Levine. With an absolutely gigantic, evil, designed-by-Dracula laundry press.
Deep Blood : I haven’t seen every Jaws ripoff known to man. But why do I have the feeling this is the worst? If you want to relax with friends and laugh heartily over a multitude of poor choices and production mistakes, have I got the movie for you.
Identity : How unknown is this? I mean, it has John Cusack and Ray Liotta in it. But I still feel like no one talks about it. Still needs way more love. And Then There Were None, but twists galore. And lots of great, fun performances.
Retribution : A man attempts suicide right as a murder is taking place. The soul of the victim enters him and uses his body to exact vengeance. With a fantastic performance from Dennis Lipscomb and a lot of heart.
The Devil's Men : Priest Donald Pleasence versus cult leader Peter Cushing. In a fight to the death. With a minotaur there as well. Place your bets!
The Stone Tape : Do you like Halloween III? The same guy wrote this. It has a similar blending of technology and the supernatural. And the supernatural tends to win in those scenarios...
Benny Loves You : This is a flawed movie, but one thing is for certain: Benny is perfect. Benny loves us, and you’ll love him, too. A killer toy movie that’s a cut above the rest.
It! (1967) : Of course, I had to include the year, because, no, I’m not talking about one of the most popular horror stories of all time. I’m talking about Roddy McDowall (doing a Psycho) and a golem. And murderous hijinks!
Wind Chill : I know Christmas is over at the time of writing this, but this was a fantastic, underrated Christmas horror. A guy and a girl drive home from college in the snow and get stuck. Where a lot of people have gotten stuck before. And died.
The Shuttered Room : We’re in Lovecraft country here. Yog Sothoth doesn’t show up, but a lot of other gothic trappings sure do. People locked up in attics. Getting harassed by locals who are itching to say YOU AIN’T FROM AROUND HERE, ARE YA? Covered in a layer of creepy sweat. With Oliver Reed!
The Dead Hate The Living : Gotta end on a total banger. An independent film crew gets a little too zealous in making their horror flick and unleashes zombies upon themselves. With a ton of shoutouts and horror nerding, enough even for little old me.
That does it! These are always a labor of love for me, and I hope there are those of you out there that get some mileage out of this.
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For the fic writers game. 🍑 And 🫐 of course 🤣
AHHH thank you so much for playing dear! I'm sorry it took so long but @halehathnofury, here it is! My most beloved Opinions
🍑 If you could make a connection between your favorite character and another work you care about (whether a crossover/fusion or a wonderfully “pretentious” literary reference) what would it be? How would it work?
Well, I think you and I both know that it's Lambert. And this question makes it difficult because I really can't think of another character quite like him, especially a male one —someone so deeply hurt but still expressive, who wants better but has given up hope on it, simply resigned to clinging to what he knows. He's loud and angry, but he makes it very obvious that it is from a place of grief. He finds loves, but is always waiting to lose them. It's an archetype I've usually only seen in older characters (which......... Vesemir parallels, anyone?).
That being said. "Pretentious" literary reference.
Frankenstein's monster. Born on a able, brought forth by a magician who was so desperate to see if he could, he never stopped to wonder if he should. He's made of a dozen different parts, but none of them matter anymore, except for the fact that they matter the most —they make him human, make him long for all the things humans long for. A family, a lover, kindness. Good meals and warmth. But his rebirth, no matter the parts (the history) that make him human, has made him a monster in everyone's eyes. Lambert may not have murdered his makers, but then again, they were dead pretty soon. If he hadn't had the better influences of his mother and the Wolves... who knows what he'd do.
Additionally, because it's a favorite of mine:
Mad Max from Fury Road. Is part of this inspired by the similarity between Tom Hardy's and Lambert's luscious, smoochy lips? Yes, of course. But also, it once again brings up the theme of having his humanity eviscerated by his environment and the people around him, and, even when he does find some solace, still resigning himself to his reality. Spoilers for the movie, I guess, but Max is pretty goddamn feral for most of the movie, and everyone around him dehumanizes him, to the point of him being turned into a human blood bag. He snaps at everything, because everything has been a threat. Furiosa and the Wives eventually ally with him, and show kindness. He returns it, but at the end, he still moves on. Rebuilding Citadel life isn't for Max, the way Geralt's Corvo Bianco life isn't for Lambert. It will take something else.
🫐 What’s your favorite underrated thing in your fandom? (A ship that only you seem to write for, a character there’s almost no fics about, a trope that criminally hasn’t been written yet, etc.)
In a general sense? The School of the Bear. I swear, it's not even me just being horny on main for large, hairy men, but the logistics of Arnaghad's philosophy really have so much potential. I've written a little about this before, but mostly in references. Essentially, yes, Arnaghad is poisoned by hyper-independence, but considering what reliance on kings/mages got the other schools, he kind of has a point. And if he didn't realize that, or care about witchers' lives, he wouldn't have founded a school about it. He would have just fucked off. He truly believes his method is the best way to keep witchers alive, even if he probably killed the most trainees on the way.
It's a really fucked-up, cruel kind of care that Arnaghad has.
By contrast, I feel like a lot of the fics about the Bears either take the minimal lore we have at face value or soften it to a considerable degree, and I enjoy both approaches. They make sense, especially when writing angst or fluff/smut, respectively. The latter is especially combined with a kind of post-sacking era, which makes sense; it's a bit like most Kaer Morhen fics, where the focus is on the members after the school itself has fallen, rather than when it was actually running. And believe you me, I adore those fics, especially the ones by @round--robin with the wonderful OCs. They are delightful. But something I would also love to see is some writing on Haern Caduch while it was still in operation. My heart hurts just thinking about it.
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93-97 for minah & one of your choice!
thanks tabbyyyyyy // 100 warm up questions
93. Who in the party does your character trust the least?
MINAH — well, first of all she doesn't trust any of them so jot that down. secondly, while she definitely distrusts riya's status as a noble more than anything else, I don't think she distrusts riya as a person (would you look at that! growth!). in terms of actual Party Member Actions, I'd say it's leo. the whole templar torture thing really unsettled her—she felt like she got a glimpse of the man underneath, who was willing to do anything in his quest for vengeance justice, and she just doesn't trust that level of single-minded (violent) devotion to a calling.
DAI — ozy, obviously.
94. What is your character’s biggest flaw?
MINAH — she's a shifty little hypocrite and a liar
DAI — he tries too hard to achieve an impossible level of responsibility to the world at large, generally at the exclusion of all else (including himself and the people closes to him)
95. How did your character learn the languages that they speak?
MINAH — grew up speaking common/trade tongue and whatever the native free marcher tongue is (fantasy scottish gaelic, I guess). she learned thieves' cant and antivan from the troupe, and she's currently learning tevinter from a primer she picked up in val royeaux. she also speaks a smattering of nevarran and orlesian—mostly enough to ask for tips, get directions to the nearest bar, and say "no officer it wasn't me"
DAI — learned common growing up, spoke undercommon at home with his dad, and learned celestial as an acolyte. he speaks primordial as an earth genasi, but to be honest I'm not sure when/how he learned it—maybe it's innate? he's also learned abyssal courtesy of his current staycation in the abyss.
96. What is your character’s favorite school of magic/type of weaponry?
MINAH — honestly minah likes anything that'll reward her for being quick and quiet, but she likes bows best for range. she likes things clean and quick—not a big fan of getting messy
DAI — where he grew up, illusion and necromancy were illegal and enchantment magic was super regulated (due to the war against the necromancer mind-bending king; it's a long story), so he really leaned into abjuration. fitting for a kid who would grow up to become a shield paladin, I think. (he's also a fan of evocation—sometimes you gotta hit hard and fast.) regardless, he prefers to take the field as a caster + shield rather than wield a weapon in his off hand—though maybe that'll change when he gets a second attack
97. What is most important to your character: health, wealth, or happiness?
MINAH — health. what else have you got, really? obviously she'd like to be wealthy, but a lot of that stems from "money can be exchanged for much healthiness." she's no stranger to lean seasons, and she knows there's more danger in illness than empty pockets—one can be rectified with a little guile and quick fingers, and the other can ruin you.
DAI — happiness. it may be an extremely uneventful subject, but he's realized it's also an underrated emotion. he'd like more of it in his life.
#sorry this took a billion years I got stuck on the first question lol#ty for these!!!!#minah#daichi#memery
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dare to be stupid?
Best song: It's got to be Like a Surgeon, man. I mean come on. It's Like a Surgeon. It's got silliness, it's got a strong and consistent theme, it's got jokes, it's got danceability, and it has a super cool music video. Quintessential Weird Al — and a perfect example of a well-done parody song.
Most talented song: Dare to Be Stupid is one of Weird Al's best examples of really knowing his stuff. It's a Devo song, through and through. Also, you can really tell Weird Al likes New Wave: along with this one, two of his other most accurate style parodies have been You Make Me (Oingo Boingo style parody) and Dog Eat Dog (Talking Heads style parody. Specifically the album Little Creatures)
BONUS SECTION!! I couldn't find a spot for this one but just HAD to include it so i added an extra spot.
Song that stands out: This Is the Life is one of Weird Al's only songs that isn't a parody or a style parody: it's a complete and total original! I think it's a really great one honestly. Very fun lyrics, simplistic concept executed wonderfully.
Least favourite song on the album: im sorry i never watched George of the Jungle. I dont know that show. it's a fine song It's just not for me, or other people who have never watched the show George of the Jungle. Also Cable TV gets a mention here, not because i dont like it but because it's the first song in a classic Weird Al tradition: songs about all sorts of junk you can find on television. He did this idea better in Couch Potato and I Can't Watch This.
Most overrated song on the album: Like I guess it would be Like a Surgeon but really that song is exactly as rated as it should be. It deserves every drop of love it recieves, no more no less. Really every other track on here (besides Dare to Be Stupid and Yoda (which is good btw i have to mention that. it's a nice song)) is pretty underrated.
Most underrated song on the album: You all hate Girls Just Want to Have Lunch, and why? It's really quite a fun song. I see Weird Al fans hating on this and i scoff and say get real! You are a Weird Al fan, and you dislike it when he gets silly like this? Man, you know even Weird Al doesn't like this one? Maybe you should be a girl having lunch maybe that will change your perspective on this song.
Banger of bangers: ok baby. alright girl. this is the song I've been dying to talk about this whole time. this one is to be honest probably my favorite, but that's probably just because I've been listening to Like a Surgeon since I was a kid and I recently discovered this one. This song is named Slime Creatures from Outer Space. And you'll never guess what it's about. It's about slime creatures. and they came from outer space. and they're terrorizing the citizens of earth, and they've got bug eyes. They've got death ray eyes. They've got slimy lizard skin, an evil lookin' grin. They'll rip your head off and suck your brains out with a straw. Slime creatures, from outer space. Anyways. it's an homage to 50s Scifi and honestly it really pulls it off. and more than anything. even more than its fun lyrics. even more than its cool theme. It's so danceable. It's so moveable. The song plays in your mind and in your ears, and your fingers like it. It's amazing. Say what's the deal with both of Weird Al's movie genre parodies being such bangers?
Rating out of 10: this is hard honestly. like i'd give it a 8.4 I suppose. I don't know how well weird al music really works with a normal 1-10 scale. There's a lot of different scale his music is on and honestly when he makes a song that's shitty on one aspect it often makes up for it with another. But yeah. 8.4
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Exclusion Zone Makes My Eyes Sweat
KHS, it seems, possesses such an uncanny talent for writing the most underrated and downright raw narratives in general, but there's just something so specifically emotionally wrenching about what you could probably call the "climax" of Exclusion Zone- aka, my second favorite of the twisted tales within Haunted Cities, vol 4.
And therein Exclusion Zone lies an event that makes it stand out so far from the rest. There is a moment very, very far from the scariest experience I had in Haunted Cities, and yet this is still the one that haunts me most of all, and maybe that was the way it was meant. You simply enter the ruins of a long abandoned tower, and you recover a note written by a deceased researcher.
It's not a moment that puts the player inside the jaws of a hungry house. It's not a scene where dark angels are coming to gnaw off your skin, you aren't swallowed by any ravenous gardens, and if anything, the music in that tower makes it almost a calming moment. The atmosphere is serene and comforting, like a temple, or any sacred ground should be. You are, true enough, being bombarded with lethal amounts of radiation, seemingly to no immediate consequence, though.
And like that, it happens, and then you leave the site once you finish your exploration. You show up, do your job, and head back. Yet here I am still trying to put together what exactly about this game's conclusion makes me so deeply... sad and disturbed, in a way games have rarely managed to do, and I have my best guess:
“She was wronged."
As extreme and surreal as the story unfolded is, the feelings it immerses you in are something so grounded and relatable, to me- The sympathy and sheer powerlessness of being an observer in the aftermath of a great tragedy.
To stand there in the epicenter of so much death and sorrow, which happened all and only because everyone was trying the best that they ever could, and it just… wasn't enough. And no matter how much you can mourn for their fate, or wish you could even just say how sorry you are, maybe for them, or maybe for how cruel of a world it is at all, but there's nothing you can do yourself but just.. feel that empathy for them. So you do.
And the revelation itself is a jarring, shocking thing, especially if you save the tower for the last to visit on your run. These gentle, final words pouring with so much humanity in a setting that’s so lifeless and cold. I already had an idea of what was coming, I got the games purely because of the Jacob Geller review, and I don’t think my enjoyment was any bit lessened by the spoilers.
There’s no villain to blame for the tragedy of the fallen goddess and those people who built the tower, save those nameless sisters some unfathomable, untouchable worlds away. There’s no implication to some fruitful lesson or honoring of the disaster’s victims. If anything, your closure is only in the assumption that the pitiful girl will be demonized and remembered in infamy for her suffering. What became of her, whether a final peace or an eternity left to her pain, no one can even know. Your discovery of the truth? As ultimately meaningless as that of the corpse left behind in that cursed ruin. What could you be left to do?
You silently grieve, probably just because no one else will. Probably because of a strongly felt connection for the wrongs you've faced yourself, whatever times you wished someone had been there with the same message, as little as it would have changed. It's a very unique and specific thing to invoke in an audience and I guess I'm appreciative and impressed such a game did so in such a short and potent fashion. It's part of what makes Exclusion Zone one of my favorites of the collection. It vaguely reminds me of Looming, too, which is another indie game built around a similar theme of retelling a story through archeology. I just really found that neatly powerful, and powerfully neat, and I hope I'm not the only one that did.
“I'm sorry, sister. You deserved better. This was not your fault."
#khs exclusion zone#kitty horrorshow#exclusion zone spoilers#haunted cities vol. 4#khs haunted cities#indie games#repost from my old blog#but polished up#scarlet talks about things#damn you onion cutting ninjas
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