#this album really does get better and better with repeated listens
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Ram Revisited
Paul and Linda record their album Ram from October 1970 to March 1971, and it is released May 17, 1971. By May 26, John already had his infamous response, recording How Do You Sleep. This song gets a lot of attention for how cruel it seemed. One of John’s defenses by the album’s launch was that Paul had written special messages to him on Ram, only Paul didn’t print the lyrics so you couldn’t hear them. He mentions it a couple times, in print...
and at St Regis hotel press conference for the album release:
JOHN: But... I was laughing at [Ram] later, but first, I was saying, “Oh! Hmm. Oh, I see. Oh, that’s what he thinks,” huffing and puffing. That’s the first thing I heard on his album, was all this – this message, you see. [x]
JOHN: It’s just a moment of anger. But I just put it down on paper. And also, I’m answering Paul’s last album, which mostly because he didn’t hand out a lyric sheet, [people] don’t know what he was saying [on it]. [x]
JOHN: You mightn’t hear ‘em, but I can hear ‘em, and I know Paul. [x]
and during live interviews, where he gets cut off from finishing his point every time. But he seems particularly bothered by the lack of printed lyrics.
JOHN: Little messages that Paul sent to me on Ram. Which, funny, I publish my lyrics you see. He doesn’t, so you have to listen. [x]
It’s tempting to laugh at this, if you think it’d just an excuse for HDYS, or call him kookoo, if you think he’s just obsessed with Paul and reading things that aren’t there. But I find the comments rather curious in light of idea that the Beatles, particularly John and Paul, had a shared language that dates back to when they were kids in Liverpool and was used as late as 1969 as seen in Get Back. By design, the language is used to protect and exclude, so any analysis by outsiders will probably be utterly meaningless. But I thought I’d take it on face value that John was hearing something the average listener couldn’t without printed lyrics to try to understand the root of the anger that drives HDYS.
As a thought experiment, I decided to relisten to Ram for the first time while reading the lyrics, with an eye for words I couldn’t hear (or misheard before) along with album themes. Full disclosure, I’ve always listened to this album while working on something else, so while I may be have seen looked up lyrics for a song or two independently (Too Many People, Back Seat), I didn’t read them while listening to the song or consider them in the context of the full album, all of which create a different experience. I used Spotify’s lyrics function while listening to the 2012 remastered album, so any lyric variations may be Spotify’s fault.
Starting from the top. The album begins with Too Many People, which opens with an indiscernible line that’s a play on words.
Piss off cake-->piece of cake. I had no idea that’s what he was singing at the start. For 20 years, I heard this line as “this I got to say-ay-ay”. That said, “piss off cake” still doesn’t tell us much. I’m with this guess that this phrase is an in-joke turned nasty, like a firing shot John heard right at the start.
Two “mistakes” are mentioned here. The first mistake gets a lot of attention (”going underground”, “took your lucky break and broke it in two”) and is generally attributed to John asking for a divorce/leaving the band, though I question it (see below). But the last mistake is the hidden dagger I never heard without looking up the lyrics:
“I find my love awake and waiting to be...” followed by the stinger chord is an unfinished sentence. The verb ‘be’ is doing all the work, suggesting a missing past participle left unsaid. John is no stranger to using simple verbs to stand in for prohibited ones, as Norwegian Wood and Don’t Let Me Down show. Paul stops just short of making it vulgar, but the implication is there. By making the arena in bed, the suggestion is inherently sexual--not only in the unfinished sentence but also in the 1-minute guitar solo climax that follows, complete with dog howling. This makes the dagger a sexual taunt, and I keep trying to hear other interpretations, but I only hear one: Literally this could have been you in my bed but you blew it and now I have her. Not ever but never again. It’s a closed door. Slammed in your face. Now what can be done for you? as the guitar goes wild. Suggestive of bedroom fun you’re shut off from.
Okay, I can see how that could ignite someone’s anger, especially one prone to jealousy.
The trouble I have with this is timing. If “first mistake” is the divorce meeting (Sept 20) then what is the “last mistake” that deserves this sexual taunt? Paul always talks about the divorce meeting as if John declaring he’s leaving the band and wanting a divorce (from him) as the same moment. Maybe the “first mistake” is mislabeled, as John’s “going underground” wish begins in 1968 with Yoko and his controversial public actions from nude album covers to bagism events (not to mention private actions like covering personal debt and bringing outsiders into the recording studio) that caused a schism at Apple at its crucial first few months. Paul talks about summer 1968 as a difficult time for him, where he felt like everything was falling apart. Dick James their publisher is watching all of this and making business calculations. By March 1969, in the middle of their honeymoons with their wives, he decides to sell Northern Songs.
Would John pinpoint his "first mistake” as Yoko? IDK. He’d know when his relationship with Paul got rocky, at least professionally. They seem to be arguing about this underground direction as early as May 1968 (NYC), perhaps even earlier. In interviews, Yoko seems to focus on this part, which may indicate her feeling it was about her.
But if the “first mistake” is May 1968 and in the realm of music/business/professional, then the “last mistake” is the final straw and it’s personal.
Don’t let them tell you what you want to be
Paul recounts September 20 as if John betrayed him, getting him to sign the EMI contract before telling him he wanted the divorce. Paul felt tricked, like the rug was pulled out from under him. The hidden dagger in the song works the same way.
The second track, 3 Legs, begins innocently enough (When I walk on my horse upon the hill). It seems like empty nonsense until this accusation:
It’s a explicitly John-directed lyric: Paul’s emotional state is caused by John’s actions. I still hear “you let me down” (recalling Don’t Let Me Down) even though the original lyrics sheet says “left” and these printed ones say “laid.” So it’s worth taking a closer look at the rest.
This is a weird lyric taken literally. Paul’s doodling a three-legged thing and a three-legged dog on the lyrics sheet for this song. The dog doesn’t look like any of the dogs they had at the time to my knowledge. Dog could be a stand-in for another word John understood.
I enjoy @jobey-wan-kenobi’s idea of “three leg” as surrealist imagery that suggests an off-kiltered scene and reflects the writer’s state of mind. Both John and Paul spoke about being inspired by surrealist art and using it in lyrics to mask.
Didn’t John talk about having a reoccurring dream of flying above the clouds as a kid? I believe he used it to justify his whole egocentric interpretation of Strawberry Fields. But this flying seems the opposite of an ego trip:
He’s so unstable, the listener could knock him down from his flight with a feather.
But you know it’s not allowed
Ram On is the nearest to the title track but only a wisp of a thing, so it gets lost in the attention to Too Many People. I swear every time I hear it, I hear it another way.
Is it about needing love quickly? You’ll take anyone who appears next around the bend? Or is it about the unpredictability or impermanence of love? The someone round the bend coming to take the somebody you just gave your heart to? It shapeshifts, depending on how you approach it. But the second one reminds me of what John says later about love slipping away as soon as you look at it directly, as soon as you try to possess it completely. And hey what was that in 3 Legs?
When I thought, when I thought you was my friend...
But you laid me down
Put my heart round the bend
That lyrical link suggests the latter option. The earlier question in 3 Legs also fits with this theme of the unpredictability of love.
When I walk, when I walk
On my horse upon the hill...
Will my lover love me still?
But it may also suggest freedom. To do your own thing outside and then return home with a lover waiting. Like Too Many People. She’s waiting for me...
Big Barn Bed (not released til 1973) is first recorded with other 1970 Ram home recordings. It starts as a coda for Ram On and later becomes its own song. It has a similar “round the bend” line: Who’s that coming round the corner? Will it be my friend?
Which suggests more anticipation than worry but gives the same feeling of unpredictability toward the listener who is also the friend who let him down.
Bug lore is that John thought Dear Boy was for him, though I’m having trouble finding a source on that. I always found it pretty hilarious, as I do think it fits best with Paul’s story that it’s Linda’s ex-husband. The “When I stepped in” part makes sense with that interpretation. But it’s funny to think about John thinking it’s about him:
What’s John hearing Paul say here? I loved you and you didn’t even see it! And you know what, maybe Paul knew John would hear it like that and it was half the fun. It’s not hard to see that Paul identified with Linda’s feeling of being unappreciated in her prior marriage. And it’s common for Paul to start a song about one person or idea and then it becomes transformed into being about something else. Layers are possible in all their songs. John talks about the layers he hears in their old songs in Jan 1969, layers that he didn’t hear when they wrote them. So it’s possible John heard this connection. It may have just made him angry because John suggests elsewhere that he was the one who felt unappreciated and neglected.
However, even with Paul’s interpretation, John still shows up as the reason Paul’s heart was down and out and positions Linda as an antidote:
Oh what a tangled web we weave
When first we practice to deceive
I always filed away Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey as a simple character mashup. But looking at the words, I started to question that. Could Uncle Albert, a real uncle of Paul’s, also act as a stand-in character for someone else? The theme of no one left at home is echoed in Little Lamb Dragonfly, which is home recorded with RAM songs but held back until 1973 Red Rose Speedway.
But the line that follows is a peculiar one. I always thought I was hearing it wrong, surely it is it’s gonna rain. But the lyrics tell me it’s I’m gonna rain:
So could it be a metaphor or stand-in for an emotion like sadness or a visible reaction like crying? Or is it like 3 Leg? More surrealist projection of instability when charting new waters.
The second section, Admiral Halsey, has nautical themes that suggest more than meets the eye. Remember both John and Paul talked about the Beatles as a boat, with John talking about leaving the Beatles as jumping off Paul’s boat and onto Yoko’s boat.
Paul’s delivery of “berth” sounds like “bath” to me, so I can’t see how anyone could pick up this line in full before, except maybe if you knew that’s how Paul pronounces -er- sounds. But it certainly is a suggestive of a metaphor for a significant event. Perhaps about the day that Ringo as the messenger notified Paul about the McCartney release date change (to make room for his own album)? Or more personally, about Paul having to back away from John to make room for Yoko?
But what on earth is butter pie? Wiki tells me it’s a Lancashire-based savory pie of onions and potatoes (so meatless). But my mind goes straight to Penny Lane (finger pies), so I’m just gonna assume it’s something dirty.
Hands across the water, hands across the sky
Linda’s harmonies and backing vocals are just so cool. It had to have gotten to John that she so easily fits into this vocal role next to Paul, especially in the more silly moments featured here. Especially considering humor was such a large component of John and Paul’s relationship.
There’s limitations to printing lyrics though and I get Paul’s right to not print them earlier because sometimes it take away from all the wordplay and double meanings inherent in the sounds of the words. For example, I always heard some of these “smile away”s in Smile Away as “it’s my way,” and so I’m surprised that phrase is never printed in the lyrics:
However, given the double meanings elsewhere, I think it’s worth still considering because "it’s my way” fits into the album theme of not blindly following along and finding your own path.
Don’t let them tell you what you want to be
A lot of focus is on Too Many People as the trigger for How Do You Sleep. But it’s a question directed a line from Heart Of The Country.
I’m gonna get me a good night sleep
It’s the one respite on the whole album and I can see how the image of smug Paul could send John in a writing fury.
Monkberry Moon Delight plays with “ketchup” and “catch up” and both of these appear in the lyrics. But is it beretta the gun or biretta the hat? Or something else? Ram sessions include Oh Woman Oh Why with gun sounds that gets left off the album, and photos from the session show Paul holding a prop gun. There’s also a gun-like object drawn on the Ram back cover. So maybe he did mean the gun. Inclusion of that song would have turned the tone of entire album, from jaunty taunts to serious violence, so it’s the right choice to keep it off. John would only hear the beretta line here with “banana” and the gun on the back cover:
and i don’t get the gist of your letter
Considering John and Paul are sending letters back and forth across 1970, this line sounds like a taunt for John alone. Along with what follows:
don’t get left behind
which makes this...
...another sexual taunt like Too Many People. Haha, look at what you’re missing!
If you’re doubting that, the track order clears it up fast because it’s followed immediately by....
Eat At Home. No explanation required.
It is an outright banger. No way John wasn’t a tad impressed by it. Even if it exudes those aggressive “I am having so much fun with my wife right now and not even thinking of you” vibes that left John shook.
Am I the only one that thought some of these “little lady”s were “lad”s? Paul stresses the -d so the -y sounds silent except for Linda’s backing. The result is pretty...ambiguous at times.
So I’m left thinking it’s a bit odd how this song ends on the negative: don’t do that. If the sexual connotation starts it, it ends with something that sounds unwanted, like it goes too far. A revoking of consent. But is it the lad(y) going too far? Or someone else?
Don’t let them tell you what you want to be
Long Haired Lady is an ode to Linda that starts with a jokey call and response between Paul and Linda and builds into a section that channels The Mamas & The Papas with lush, blissfully layered harmonies:
I’m good up til “win or lose it” but I don’t know if anyone could have heard “into the soul”. I’m not so sure it matters much, but the suggestion seems to be that love continues whether or not you “win or lose” love. That no matter if you are wrong, love is stable, constant. Wait, where have I heard that before?
Generally, I find Back Seat of My Car to be the strangest one for John to think was directed at him (and Yoko?). It’s just so big and sweeping and wasn’t Paul and Linda the one who did the joyriding? But that whole we believe that we can’t be wrong really got to him. He mentions it a lot, sometimes attributing the line to him and Yoko and other times to Paul and Linda about them (”well I believe that you could possibly be wrong!“). It’s a real hangup for John around this time, the idea that Paul is always right and he is wrong. Seeing Paul’s predictive powers, I can see how infuriating it would be after a while, and how comforting it would be to have people around you who counter that, to tell you “no, you are right and he’s wrong.” How it’d make you dig your heels in and work hard to get people off the McCartney bandwagon.
There’s a whole gibberish sounding section not picked up in the printed lyrics that sounds like “everyone’s tried to love her” or “i’m gonna try to love her” sung at an auctioneer’s pacing. You could possibly read something into that depending on what you hear.
Here’s another mention of “my way” after “highway”, suggestive of the idiom “my way or the highway”. The second half of the “looking for a ride” lines I can’t hear even with the lyrics:
“and all I found” would have been my guess.
But if you’re taking everything else as a sexual taunt, looking for a ride could hold a double meaning.
The climatic ending of the song and album is the height of choosing your own way and building your own world:
We believe that we can’t be wrong
A brash assertion of confidence in your own choices? A mocking condemnation of someone else’s choices? Or aggressive positivity to vanquish agonizing about whether you’re right or wrong? Like others on the album, it depends on how you look at it. But the first option fits with the overall album theme, with the third behind it as another layer.
There’s a snowglobe imagery to the feeling of this ending. Swirling and wondrous and heady but also contained and protective and isolated by design, living in this world you’ve built for yourself. You control it to a point while fearing what’s outside, the unpredictability of the future and the unknown of what’s waiting for you around the bend.
Wrapup
Overall, there’s a story in the album themes. Starting with a declaration of independence and naming mistakes and ending with the denial of wrongness, suggesting your own. From John’s comments, we know he got that part. In between a conditional: if you choose wrong, love is long. Throughout, the main theme is strong, finding your own way and building a new life to push forward, which makes the cover less of a joke and more of an apt metaphor for a precisely crafted album. The pronouns look fairly consistent too, which is a big surprise to me: you are sending hearts around the bend, but she waits for me. There’s double meanings galore with possible sexual taunts as hidden daggers. But, above all, there is the repeated need for love that’s in alignment amidst confusion and miscommunication.
Will my lover love me still? (3 Legs)
Bring the love that you feel for me in line with the love I see (Eat At Home)
Do you love me like you know you ought to do? (Long-Haired Woman)
The trouble with any shared language is what may get lost from the communicator to the listener. If you get 9 out of 10 things but the 10th thing was important for understanding the other 9, the risk of misunderstanding is still huge. So I’m left wondering whether John listened to the album enough in those first 9 days to hear these lines before recording HDYS. He may have regretted venting his anger in more obvious public daggers than Paul’s more hidden ones the more he listened. By September, he knows the album well enough to sing an exact match on the spot.
Undoubtedly, John knew just where to hit because he knew Paul’s weaknesses. He shows that by dragging it into the public sphere. If Paul’s messages are directed at John but subtle or hidden, John’s messages are blatant as neon lights about Paul to the world. There’s an unevenness there that makes us uneasy.
By focusing on John brandishing the dagger so obviously in one song, it’s easy to miss the hidden daggers in Ram along the gems. A concealed dagger can do the same damage. But the overall theme of needing a constant unwavering love is one they ultimately shared, signalling a place where they could find common ground once the anger cleared.
#no idea what to tag this as too long dont read#there's song wars and then there's this whole declaration of independence album#my text#ram#long post#album listen#i started this almost a month ago#it was a simple exercise when i started but it grewwwww#this album really does get better and better with repeated listens#never thought i'd have this much to write about#its really wild this album got dismissed and buried as some square thing#its so fresh its like its from yesterday#double entendres included#still never heard where john might have been hearing 'documentary my dear datsun'#(which i assume is an in-joke on the sherlock holmes quote)#give a shout if you can find it#thought experiment#song wars#john pov#1971#1970#too many people#i guess i have to tag it mclennon but its paul mccartneys fault#eta the links#my idea when i started this was to link up all the bits and pieces ive collected but there's so many#the breakup
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#also really hope louis’ team has something up their sleeves to get fan excitement up for the release week because boy is this weak and they#really should do better to ramp it up#post tiktoks with tiny snippets of the songs and having the fans guess what song it is for example#or something to boost fan engagement because ive been through many impending album releases in this fandom and this is not it#the excitement is quite mild#they did a big push for bigger than me and a lot of it seemed to me to be for promo rather than for the single#there was scarcely anything new for out of my system in the sense that the questions are still the same as they were for btm#they are circulating the same old and it’s not interesting for many people to watch and then they manage to sneak in babygate always and in#quite ridiculous senses like him listening the album first and stuff and while i still think there’s a reason for this (and i’ve spoken#about what i think may be happening with that and with the reasons for it before so i’ll not repeat myself)#but it just alienates more and more people and with the promo being repetitive there’s nothing much to outweight it for many people#and unfortunately since louis himself is saying he does not care for charts the fans are not very motivated to stream and do listening#parties as they used to be when getting to number 1 was encouraged and by the boys and desirable#plus imho they messed up the tour announcement and sale which shouldve come after the album comes out because people will know what they’re#buying tickets for#but anyway i wonder whether there’s something up still with sabotage of louis and radios not playing him and stuff#because despite the emphasis on him being free and in control there are so many old patterns recurring that it’s incongruent#im really excited for the album and the music and the direction louis is going to take artistically and creatively#but some things about his promo still seem very off#especially knowing what an astute businessman he is and just how deep an understanding he has#of his fanbase as well as the GP and marketing#also i really do think it’s purposeful they’re building on chicago and danielle associations and ramping up babygate and that E is out#for good
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Steve Harrington’s favourite musician has been the same since he was 17.
He distinctly remembers hearing Chrissy Cunningham play in his car radio during his senior year, subsequently listening to nothing but her breakout EP for a week straight - and that was just the beginning.
He followed all of work for over the past 7 years: bought physical and digital copies of all her albums, watched every music video multiple times, read every interview, saved up enough while working weekend shifts at scoops to get tickets to her sold out shows in Indiana - he had so much merch that Jonathan Byers once joked that Steve could probably make a shrine to his idol.
He had even kept up during her hitatus, almost two full years of radio silence from the star, like she had disappeared off the face of the earth. It wasn’t the worst thing that had ever happened, but it didn’t help that it overlapped with him dropping out of business school to pursue a career in cosmetology and that final falling out he had with his father over his choice in education.
The day she came back felt like Christmas.
Her comeback announcement dropped on June 13th - and it wasn’t just a new post on social media or a candid shot online someone managed to snap.
It was a whole EP drop, 4 entire songs (and a music video) that he knew he was going to play on repeat after 716 days of radio silence.
That opened the floodgates for everything to start again: she went back on social media, thanked her fans for their wholehearted response to her new releases. She started doing interviews again: discussing her mental health and the impact of her mothers control in her life; her reunion with her best friend (and apparent ex) from high school; her label dropping her after it was found that her “momager” had embezzled a huge amount of money from said company, releasing her from her contract early and allowing her to find new partners, new producers, new projects.
She talks about how she’s never been happier, and Steve can’t help but beam at it. He can hear it in her music, how it’s going more against the grain of what’s popular, opting instead for etherial synths mixed with heavy guitars. She sings about heartbreak and moving on and being better than then the people who brought her down for long, now that she’s starting fresh.
Steve loves it, thinks some of the changes have something to with Eddie Munson’s name appearing in the credits of all her new material.
Truthfully, he got curious after someone on Twitter posted a screengrab of cameos made by Munson and his own bandmates in all of her new music videos. He thankful someone else made the connection, and although he’s not the biggest fan of Corroded Coffin’s music (apart from the collaboration EP they did with Chrissy: “CCxCC presents Satanic Slumber Party”, that was incredible), he would lying if he didn’t say he was totally enamoured by Eddie goddamn Munson.
Let alone the fact that he’s totally Steve’s type (big hair, bigger eyes, a complete dork with a heart of gold but who also looks like he would bite someone in both a feral dog and a “please take me to your bedroom right now” kind of way), the guy is a genius when it comes to music, spending interviews talking about the process of artistry and the importance of storytelling - even when they’re discussing songs about him, written by Chrissy about their break up, he’s still so passionate and witty, the two of them spending interviews bouncing off each other in a way that would rival his relationship Robin.
He’s fine, really, he knows logically this is just a celebrity crush that will pass if he stops thinking about it for long enough, but he’s certain that this could develop into one of those all encompassing obsessions if he doesn’t curb it now- and that’s exact what he does. He tries to put that energy into school, excelling more than he ever did in an academic setting. He meets up more often with Nancy, Jonathan, Argyle and Barb, inviting them over more often for dinner or drinks, sometimes even just because he wants to make a breakfast feast and need someone else to eat it.
It’s at times like this that he misses Robin, who only has about 6 weeks left of her internship in Paris - he hasn’t seen her in person since he went to visit her a few months ago during spring break. He wishes she was her to openly judge him over this, before rambling on about her own current hyperfixation or moaning about her lack of romantic adventures since she and Vickie broke up.
They still talk on the phone every afternoon (nighttime for her), ranting to each other about their perspective day and sharing any worthwhile gossip.
Tonight’s no different, he’s telling her about the current drama happening in his classes when Robin says:
“I met someone today.”
He’s ecstatic - in his opinion robin deserves the world and the fact she’s met someone on her own in a city where she has been finding it hard interacting with people outside of her placement is a miracle in itself.
She tells him more: how she met this girl that morning at café, acting as a knight in shining armour (Robin’s words, not Steve’s) when the girl got flustered trying to order her coffee in broken French; how she spent the day showing this girl around to her favourite shops and parks and museums; how they spent hours talking about everything and nothing; how Robin hasn’t felt this way about someone since Vickie.
“So then we had dinner at that Italian place, the one I took you to, and, Steve, oh my goddess, she has the cutest little laugh-“
“Did you get her name?”
“Oh, sorry” he can hear her move the phone from one ear to the other. “Yeah it’s Chrissy.”
Steve stops his pacing. That would be one hell of a coincidence, if it was Chrissy Cunningham. She is playing in Paris the following night, the penultimate stop of her current tour. (The very show that he had been tempted to go to, since he could stay with Robin. It absolutely wasn’t because Corroded Coffin was joining her for the European leg of the tour - acting as her band, as well as performing songs from their collaboration as the encore - something that did not happen at any of the American shows). It couldn’t be the same Chrissy that Robin had fallen head over heels for in the space of a few hours, right?
“Did you get any of her socials?” He asks, cautiously.
“Nope,” she answers, popping the p for emphasis. “I didn’t think to ask, because I’m an idiot and all that-“
“Robs,” he interrupts, trying to keep his voice steady. “You’re not an idiot.”
Her hears her laugh on the other end of the line, the same kind of self-deprecating giggle she uses when she’s nervous. He wishes he was there with her so she could see him roll his eyes at her, their main way of communicating their love.
“What did she look like?”
“Oh!” She exclaims as he hears her tumbling over something (knowing Robin, probably herself). “We took a picture together, hold on, I’ll send it over.”
His phone vibrates against his ear, so he brings it in front of him, putting Robin on speaker so he can see the photo.
And.
Holy fuck.
“Robin,” he says slowly, because he actually can’t believe it himself. “Do you know who that is?”
((Part 2))
#stranger things#stranger things au#steve harrington#eddie munson#robin buckley#chrissy cunningham#Steddie#steve x eddie#steve harrington x eddie munson#Buckingham#bandcheer#robin x chrissy#robin buckley x chrissy cunningham#Luci’s ST thoughts
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" Patience "
─ LEE TAEYONG X F!READER ♡
─ Taeyong fucks you after getting distracted by you while working on his mini album˚◞♡
─ 1.7k words
─ Smut, dom!Tae, Sub!reader, artist bf!Tae, praises, pet names(Baby and princess), choking, slight rough sex, slight breeding kink?, Unprotected sex.
─ A/n: IM DEFINITELY HAVING THS ALBUM ON REPEAT. ITS LITERALLY SO FIRE. Plus the concept photos literally have me on my knees for this man. Maybe This is just a little drabble. I was writing this at 3-4 am so I was tired asf. this is my first ever smut so please tell me if I did well or better. I enjoy feedback.
Taeyong 🔛🔝
Taeyong was really hyped about his new album. that's all he would talk about. He would constantly show the lyrics he worked on or would let you listen to the beats.
He would take you with him to every concept photoshoot and let you take some pictures of your own. He enjoys when you show support of his passion and excitement. He always tells your support makes him want to work harder and push himself as far as he can.
Of course he does try and make time for you in between. He wouldn't want to ever leave you out. You were the only thing keeping him moving and giving him motivation.
You were his antidote to keep him pushing and you were all the feedback he needed. No one else's opinion mattered except yours. If you liked it he would continue and if you find like it he would instantly scrap it.
He would constantly insist in using your voice for ad-libs but you would always deny and say you wouldn't want to hear your voice in a song when you already hear it enough. He was very upset about it but did didn't want to push you so he just decided to pay someone else to do itm
︶︶︶︶︶︶
“Babyyy! How much longer are you gonna work?! Im bored..” You complained sitting in the lounge chair behind Taeyong in his studio as he was working on another one of his songs for his album.
He was instinctively focused. He hadn't looked away from his computer screen yet. He could hear you whining behind him from one ear being uncovered by the headphones he wore on his head.
“Im almost finished. Just maybe a few more things I have to do. Be patient for me, baby.” He pleaded because your whining was making him want to just quit was doing and go to you but this album was something he had been striving for awhile now. He needed to get it finished, now or never.
“But it feels like we've been in here for hours and I need you..!” you whine even louder stretching yourself out on the lounge chair. You layed your head on the arm of the chair and groaned as he ignored you.
You sit up and watch him glare at you through the glass of the studio mic room. You glare right back him and roll your eyes. You would have been on your phone but he told you to leave it home so you could watch him work and motivate him but that backfired. You sigh heavily and decide to leave. You picked up your shoulder bag and heading towards studio door but the call of your name from Taeyong cause you to turn back around.
“Baby don't leave yet.. I need you.. I can't focus without you..” he implied as he finally removes his focus from the computer and towards you. He fully removed the headphones on his head. He put on his best begging face. He deep down did need you to focus but he also wanted you to just be near him.
“Well your more focused on that stupid computer. i think you need it more than me.. but I guess I'll stay.” You pout and sigh as you walk back over to the lounge chair but Taeyong calls out to you again.
“Dont say that ever and No, don't sit there. C'mere and sit on my lap, since you need me so bad.” He backs his up his chair and pats his lap for to come sit. He was in desperate need to be close to you right now. He was more desperate to be finished and be able to be with you too but he didn't wanna rush. This was an important project for him.
You hesitantly sat on his lap and he instantly wrapped his arms around your waist and held you for a bit. He took in the scent of your perfume and groaned.
“You always smell so good baby. Your making me crave you more.” He whined burying his face in the crook of your neck. His hands held on to your waist as he continued to take in your perfumes scent. He would be lying straight through his teeth if he'd say that this wasn't slightly turning him on.
He was finally able to push away his dirty thoughts and instantly got back to work. You on the other hand was needy for him to touch you and fuck so you decide to tease his a bit. You would slightly just rub yourself against him, to hopefully distract him.
You were slightly shifting on his lap and eyed even his slight movements. Taeyong was clearly unaware of what was going on your head but when you began to rub against he felt his breathe hitch in his throat. His hands stopped moving along his computer. His whole body pretty much came to a halt.
He tried to hold back any lewd sounds that was tempted to slip out. His breathes were shallow as he tried to keep himself focus and ignore any sexual frustration that was getting pent up right now.
“Y/n. Stop and sit still for me. Your driving me crazy right now..” He hissed. Both of his hands instantly went to hold your hips, his nails digging harshly into your hips. He head was hidden in the crook of your neck. You could feel his warm breath against your neck.
“But, Tae.. I need you baby.. really bad..” You whined. Rocking down against him again. His nails dug deeper into your hips as he breathes became more shallow. That's when you felt it. His hardened dick was poking against your covered cunt. He smirked at your sudden mood change when you felt him against you.
“Why so quiet now, baby? You were very vocal about how you wanted me so bad. I'll give you just what you want.” He started kissing your neck and grinding against you. He was mesmerized by the moans and whimpers that left you. It only made him want you more. He was quick to slide his hands up your skirt and rub your inner thigh, he wanted to tease you and make you beg for it.
His hand went higher up your inner thigh just close enough to your cunt. He looked up at you with his lustful gaze. He needed you badly and this was making his just as needy as you. 'Fuck it.' he thought to himself before pushing your panties to the sides and sliding 2 fingers between your folds, collecting your slick. He hummed and sucked your slick in his fingers, groaning.
“I would let you sit on my face but fuckk I'm absolutely do needy to feel that pussy around my cock.” He backs up his chair and makes you stand as he slides down his shorts. His dick immediately springs out from him not wearing boxers. He hissed from the feeling of his dick finally being free from it's containment. He stroked his dick a few times before motioning for you to cmere. He made you hover just above his dick and looked up at you with a big dough eyes.
“Tae please just fuck me..!” You whined slightly sinking down on his dick. You didn't really have to tell him twice. He instantly slammed himself into you. He didn't even give you enough time to adjust as he was instantly fucking in n out of you. He had wrapped his arms around your waist and had his face buried between your chest.
You bounced against him trying to match his utterly fast thrust but failed miserably as he was fucking you like an wolf in heat. He was drowning in your moans, Turning him on more. He was completely ignoring your pleas for him to slow down. He was to lost in his own thoughts and he wasn't gonna stop until your leaking with his cum.
“T-Tae, I'm gonna cum! Don't stop..” You begged. He instantly stopped and pulled out of you. You whined at the feeling of your orgasm being denied and the feeling of being empty.
“What are you-” “Just changing positions, princess.”. He replied after cutting you off. He picked you up and brought you over to the lounge chair and layed you out on your bag with you legs spread. He instantly slipped back into you and started pounding into you once again. He wrapped his hand around you neck while the other held your thigh. He couldn't help but lean down and kiss you harshly. Your lips plump and soft against his.
He pulled away from the kiss and lightly squeezed tighter around your throat. He watched as his dick slipped in n out of your cunt. He smirked when he watched your eyes in the back of your head, clearly fucked out from the way he was destroying your cunt right now. His dick was hitting your cervix repeatedly from this angle.
“C-cum.. I'm gonna cum..!” was all you were able to muster out before you released along his dick. You were completely out of it. Taeyong smirked to himself, proud that he was able to fuck you out of your mind like this. His pace didn't seize just yet. He slipped out of you and quickly slipped himself back in.
You were an total wreck under him from the overstimulation. his pace slightly seized as he felt himself about to cum. He pumped in n out of you a few more times before he felt himself release his seed inside you. He let himself sit inside for a little bit before pulling out quickly and pulling your panties back over to cover your cunt. Even tho it was an amazing sight to watch is seed drip out of you but he wanted your cunt to savor it.
He fixed himself back up and sit on the couch next to you. He knew you were completely out of it and had fallen asleep so he pulled you back into his lap and held you. He wrapped his coat over your shoulders and held you close.
He had completely forgotten about the song he was working on. He was to deep in thought and to focused on you. He didn't want to wake you so he decided to head home later in the morning.
He just sat there and held you. He kissed your cheek before dozing off along with you..
꒰ა ♡ ໒꒱
#nct smut#nct 127#nct 127 smut#nct x reader#nct taeyong#lee taeyong#taeyong x reader#taeyong shalala#taeyong smut#taeyong scenarios#lee taeyong x reader#nct scenarios
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How did Viktor react to mc’s first words? I feel like dude would’ve been so excited
Viktor is sitting on the floor, the plush and bright-colored rug separating him from the hard wooden surface. His little precious baby is also sitting in front of him.
A colorful book with cartoonish pictures is splayed open in front of the two of them. It’s a simple children vocabulary book that Cara handed down to him now that Ash doesn’t need it anymore.
The parenting guidebook he read says that just constantly talking to your baby and spending some time everyday reading out children book for them will really help them in developing their cognitive development. So, that’s what he’s been doing religiously for months now ever since his precious Sasha was born.
He doesn’t know whether it’s just him, but speaking to his baby, even if they might not understand him and just respond by babbling, actually feels kinda therapeutic for him. He’ll never get tired of hearing those adorable babbles; it always makes his day slightly better.
His musings are cut off by the very same babble. Sasha claps their chubby hands excitedly as they see the picture of cats and kittens on the book. Viktor smiles before turning the page after making sure Sasha already has their fill of the cats and kittens pictures.
The next page is “D” for the word “Daddy”. So, Viktor reads it out to Sasha, repeating it a few times and pronouncing it slowly and clearly. Sasha looks at the pictures of dads and their children intently, their face serious.
Furrowing his brows in concern, he asks, “Um… Sasha? Are you okay, baby?”
“Da…” Sasha says quietly.
Viktor bends down even lower and leans in to listen more clearly. “What’s that? Are you hungry?”
“Da-da!” Sasha exclaims excitedly, turning to face him with a bright smile on their face. “Da-da!” they giggle again, pointing in Viktor’s direction.
Viktor sits there, blinking as he is stunned. And then it dawns on him that it’s his baby’s first word! He beams and his heart is soaring with joy and other strong emotions. He feels his eyes tear up a bit.
In a fell swoop, he takes little Sasha in his arms and hugs them, rubbing his face affectionately to their little one. Sasha squeals and giggles and squirms in his hold.
Oh my God! He should commemorate this moment. Still holding Sasha, he stands up and rushes to his office, marking the calendar and then grabbing his camera and his cellphone.
He returns to Sasha’s room, sets them down on the rug beside the book, and then crouches down to take some pictures. He’ll make sure to print one out to put into the photo album, marking today’s date and what it commemorates.
Flopping down onto the rug beside Sasha, he flips open his cellphone and calls Cara. Sasha grabs the open book and crawls on top of his lap before settling down and starts to turn the pages themself.
After a few beeps, Cara finally answers, “Hiya Viktor. What’s up?”
“Oh my God, Cara!” He can’t contain the excitement in his voice.
But it seems Cara misinterprets it. “What happened?” she asks urgently.
“It’s Sasha. They just said their very first word!”
Cara sighs in relief before chuckling, “Congrats! What did they say?”
“They said… They said, ‘Da-da’!” Viktor’s voice trembles a bit from the overwhelming emotions swelling inside of him.
“Aww! That’s soo cute! I think Ash’s was either ‘No’ or ‘Uh-oh’.”
Viktor barks out a laugh at that. “This is a special day! Tell you what, we’re having an impromptu dinner party at my apartment tonight if you and Luka are not busy. Bring Ash along too!”
“That sounds like a great idea! I’m free today and so does Luka, I think… Well, I’ll talk to him since I’m going to meet him anyway soon.”
“Awesome. I’ll see you guys tonight, then!” Viktor says before hanging up.
#asks#anon ask#if: vendetta#char: viktor#char: mc#drabble#if game#if wip#dashingdon#choicescript#cyoa#hosted games#choice of games#interactive fiction#interactive novel#interactive story#interactive games
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As It Was | TikTok Series
Word Count: 683
Category: Fluff
Warning: None
Summary: In which Harry talks about Y/N being a TikTok pro and Y/N does the As It Was trend.
..
In his blue and yellow polka dotted Gucci t-shirt, Harry was in front of his laptop with his corded earphones in his ears.
You sat on the bed out of the view, on your own laptop but your mind focused on Harry as he spoke to Mikey Piff from SiriusXM Hits 1.
“Now you go on TikTok, and everyone is—it’s finally kind of hit everyone what this means and they’re doing all these videos of like, things as they were then and what they are now,” he said, speaking about As It Was, “Have you been able to see any of those trends on TikTok?”
“Oh yeah,” Harry answered, his finger on his bottom lip, “My girlfriend keeps me updated with TikTok,” he said with a smile, “I’ve seen-I’ve seen a few, yeah.”
“Your girlfriend is pretty active and present on the app. Do the fans have to worry about you knowing too much about what they do on it?”
Harry chuckled, “A little,” he joked, “Y/N’s very present, yeah,” he nodded, grazing his bottom lip as he tried not to turn his head right there and then and look at you, “She likes to interact with the fans and see what they’re up to, it keeps us all, like,” he paused, putting his hands in a circle, “In the loop, you know?”
“Yeah,” Mikey nodded, “You both are a big deal on TikTok,” Harry chuckled, “Just to let you know.”
“Y/N does it better than I ever could,” he shook his head slightly.
“Have you tried getting on the app?”
“I did, I did yeah,” he nodded, “But it’s nothing like Vine,” Harry laughed slightly, raising his finger up, “So Y/N made fun of me for it because I just couldn’t really get it, so now I just leave it to her.”
“Leave it to the pros,” Mikey joked.
“Leave it to the pros,” Harry repeated.
It was comical that as he spoke, you were editing your very own video of the TikTok trend to As It Was.
The video began with a picture of you and Harry from the Spotify listening party in NYC. The both of you were standing in front of the cream-colored theme door that was left ajar, your arms around each other as you both were mid-laugh, looking at each other like two lovesick high school couple.
“You know it’s not the same…” you had added the text to the duration of the line being sung before it changed.
“As it was” was written on another picture, the both of you standing in front of the prop of the Fine Line album art; the light blue wallpaper with the pink ceiling and floor. Your lips were puckered as you threw a peace sign, your other arm around Harry’s waist as he, too, kept one arm around you while the other threw a peace sign, his tongue stuck out.
“As it was,” the song sang again and with it changed to another picture.
This time, you both looked a little younger, Harry’s hair short as he wore an off-white floral suit, you in a t-shirt that had the album art of his first self-titled album and jeans.
His arms were wrapped around you, eyes set on you with a smile on his face as you beamed to the camera, one arm around him while the other was held up excitedly.
You almost cried looking at the three pictures of three different eras.
“it’s not the same as it was, lovie 💓” was your caption, and fans almost died.
In a matter of seconds, thousands of likes and comments were rushing through that it made sense that in the span of two hours, the short TikTok video had 7 million likes.
Comments:
username: Y/N being there from the start makes me emo
username: THREE!!!! ERAS!!!!! TOGETHER!!!!!
username: THAT’S IT. CLOSE THE CURTAINS. NOBODY POST ANOTHER VIDEO BECAUSE Y/N CAME AND SHE ENDED THE TREND
username: haha that’s so cute *does a backflips in front of a train*
username: guess who’s sleeping on the highway
#harry styles imagine#harry styles blurb#harry styles fluff blurb#harry styles fluff imagine#tiktok series#harry styles x tiktoker!yn
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An interview with Bojan and Štras, originally published on the BTC City website on 13.10.2021. This is part of our series about Bojan and Štras, to promote the upcoming charity concert they will perform at together.
Bojan Cvjetićanin and Gregor Strasbergar: "Next concert will be the same - but even better this time!"
Before their second joint concert in the 1on1 cycle on October 15th, we talked to the frontmen of the bands Joker Out and MRFY - new stars on the Slovenian music scene.
Bojan and Gregor represent the younger, very unrestrained musical generation that is difficult to "put into boxes" based on their music genre. And despite being friends, they don't usually perform together. But that changed when they met on the SiTi Theatre stage in a 1on1 "musical dialogue". Their concert in September was sold out. But they already have another 1on1 concert coming up on October 15th, so we caught up with them before their new performance and asked them about their impressions from this one, as well as other performances they're still planning.
You will repeat the concert, which was pretty successful, on October 15th. How does what you're doing here differ from what you usually do and why is it easier - or harder?
Bojan: Me and Gregor are good friends, but we've never been in this role of a joint performance before, except for New Year's. So this dynamic that happened in SiTi Theatre was something new for both of us. I have to admit that we had our reservations at the beginning, because we're different and have different music, as well as different audiences. But those reservations vanished quickly.
Bojan and Gregor are good friends, but a joint stage performance was something completely new for them.
Does that mean that we can already feel some special chemistry in the air, are you making special connections, will you leave your bands and become a duo?
Gregor: Oh, no. There are very few new bands on the scene who are really doing and creating something, but most of us who are here get on well and are friends. There's a sort of healthy rivalry between us, we encourage each other to do well; but the frontmen of two bands making a good story together doesn't mean anything other than something new being made. Of course we're staying in our own bands.
Was there no bad blood in your bands because you two were the only ones performing, and they were more in the background?
Gregor: Actually they all came to listen to our concert. And our drummer said to me that he thought it would be "much worse"… (laughter)
Bojan: That's also what their drummer said to me… (laughter)
How did you get through this whole difficult period in the past year and a half?* I heard that you worked on gaining fitness by hiking up Šmarna gora (Mount Saint Mary)?**
Bojan: Me and Štras became quite the sportsmen, we really hiked up Šmarna gora a lot.
Gregor: Yes, we became real Šmarna gora mountain goats.
Bojan: And we had all sorts of similar traumas, seeing as we work with the same producer. We were all in the process of making our own albums, which with our producer is very specific and torturous. So we consoled each other a little and helped each other through this period.
Gregor: Yes, we had similar pains. But otherwise, the bands that did better in this Covid period were the ones where all the members are friends, have fun together, and are creative and mischievous. In truth, even this period could be used for creativity and progress.
Recently, they've often hiked up Šmarna gora together and became, as they said, true Šmarna gora mountain goats.
How much did the fact that you didn't have an audience to test your products and get feedback about the songs you'd made influence your creativity?
Bojan: We were lucky to have social media, so we could still stay in touch with them and see that people miss us.
Gregor: Yes, that's a good question, because when you're focusing on your songs, you can really check out the response at the same time on stage. And now that wasn't an option, so it was definitely a little different. On the other hand, maybe that's even better, because you are able to take more time for individual songs.
Who are your role models, who did you listen to? Bojan, we know Siddharta was close to your heart, and Mladenović with Ekatarina Velika wasn't; but what do you two really enjoy listening to, which great renditions make your hearts beat? For Bojan, is it Bob Dylan? (T/N: see the end of the post for some links and explanations about the musicians mentioned in these paragraphs)
Bojan: Not at all, I prefer The Beatles and ABBA, and I also really like some domestic Serbian "turbofolk" music. There are many different things that make my heart beat.
Gregor: Yes, I like the "turbofolk" scene sometimes as well. But in general, I'm a fan of quality music. And if something is good, I don't pay attention to its genre at all. (laughter)
And which of the local bands do you like best? Magnifico?
Gregor: Yes, Magnifico is dope too, but my mentor was Tomislav Jovanović - Tokac from the band Dan D. When I was little, we were constantly blasting Dan D in Novo mesto, and then I was fortunate enough to meet him, and he helped me.
Bojan: As far as Slovenian music goes, I grew up more on Siddharta, Big Foot Mama, rapper Trkaj, and I liked Murat & Jose as well.
Bojan grew up on Siddharta, Big Foot Mama, rapper Trkaj, he also likes Murat & Jose.
Who writes your lyrics?
Bojan: Štras writes mine.
Gregor: And my mum writes mine. (laughter) Well, in truth, of course I write for my band and Bojan writes for his.
Do you help each other with it? Do other band members also help with criticism and suggestions?
Bojan: Absolutely. The boys are always very happy when they can contribute something, and they always find something I couldn't have found on my own. Which is very good.
Is their criticism sometimes brutal?
Gregor: Our bandmates are our biggest critics. And they don't allow any bullshit at all. And sometimes I think I've written something great, and then they tell me that it sucks, and then I spend two months wondering whether it's true or not, but usually they're right. But if they like a song right away, we know that it's really good. And they will never say that something is bad if it actually isn't.
Bojan: What Štras said is actually the worst thing that can happen to you. The moment you start thinking that something has to be changed, you already know that you haven't nailed it. After that, the doubts just grow stronger and you can already feel that this isn't it. Band members and parents - those are the worst critics. For me, my parents are even more brutal than my band. They don't even try to sugarcoat their criticism. I sing the song to them as well, of course.
Gregor says that their biggest critics are their bandmates, who don't allow any bullshit.
And the audience? How would you rate their reactions to your latest performance in SiTi Theatre?
Gregor: Bojan drew in the teenage girls, and my friends and family came to listen to me.
Bojan: No, no, no. He's kidding. I think we covered and sorted the audience nicely, there was a wide spectrum of different ages, and it was really very relaxed, youthful and playful. Others who had already been to these "One on one" performances in SiTi Theatre said so as well. The way we were on stage reflected off the stage as well.
Love is a constant, inexhaustible topic that you sing about. But are you also interested in other topics, maybe some more current, socially relevant ones? But we probably won't find you in the crowd on the streets where you might be arrested, like some protestors?***
Bojan: They might arrest us on the street, but not for the same thing. (laughter)
Are you not bothered at all by the way the world is?
Gregor: I'm constantly bothered and irritated by the world. But we're oriented a little differently. I'm kind of a passive activist. I'm not going to tell anyone what to do, not even in my lyrics. I hide it inside some sort of a rebus, inside metaphors that even I find hard to understand. But most of all I don't want to nag anyone about what's right and what's not.
Bojan: MRFY recently put out an album called 'Prjatučki' ('Little Friends'), and the first song on it is 'Kdo bo rešil svet?' ('Who Will Save the World?'), which talks about love and opening up to each other. It alerts us to what's currently lacking in our society. Some sort of common love for things that connect us. That's our line of thought. I don't see myself in the role of someone who would write a song called 'Rage Against the Machines'.
Gregor: We prefer to take a step back. We've never labelled ourselves politically. We try to create a world that exists alongside our world, in which love and friendship are respected emotions. Our message is this: when you're tired of fighting, come take shelter with us and we'll caress you a little, and then you can go back and keep fighting.
They think that what's missing in society is a common love for things that connect us.
What motivates you when you're writing songs? Probably events and musings in your own lives?
Bojan: Right now, I've been writing songs that are either love songs or are rooted in introspection and finding yourself. That's really also what I experience everyday, and I examine myself in different situations. And that ends up being the impetus that drives me to write something. Nowadays, there's a lot of fighting and viciousness around us, and if we can create a world that's some kind of shelter for us and others to hide in, we might've done more than if we had become part of this army of vicious soldiers.
Apart from collaborating on the stage and hiking up Šmarna gora, what else do you do as friends?
Bojan: A lot of things. For example, we worked out together.
Gregor: Twice. (laughter)
Bojan: Yes, twice… (laughter)
Bojan: But honestly, I would say that we mostly spend time in Gregor's backyard, drinking coffee and talking.
Gregor: Only a few people can fully understand this role we've picked. Those of us who do similar things can help each other a lot. Sometimes it's enough to open up to someone about your problems and know that they understand you.
Bojan: We vent a lot. But at the end we usually realise that our problems are really quite "sweet". At first we think that they're the worst in the world, but they're always solvable.
Gregor: And Bojan usually has different problems than me. I find his problems negligible - and the other way around.
They mostly spend time in Gregor's backyard, drinking coffee and talking.
Can you be a little more specific? Is it about songs or something else?
Bojan: Well, sometimes we have a nice evening that turns into a merry party, and then we usually have differing views of each other's merriness. When I explain what a nice time I had, Štras usually tells me: "Dude, you weren't like that at all. You were totally irritating." Meanwhile I had a great time...
Gregor: Well, I don't find Bojan fun at all. And if he drinks too much, he becomes annoying. But it's hard to remember specific stories. Really hard…
Bojan: Well, we like to talk about girls…
So that's the problem - you spend a lot of time on girls, but you don't want to talk about it in public… But does that mean that your fans still have a chance?
Gregor: Always.
What about your concert on October 15th? Will it be different in any way from your last one in SiTi Theatre?
Bojan: No, it will be the same - but even better this time!
*The interview was published in October 2021, so the question is referring to Covid lockdowns.
**Šmarna gora (Mount Saint Mary), with elevation of 676 m, is a hill on the outskirts of Ljubljana that's very popular with Ljubljana residents.
***In 2020 and 2021, there were a lot of protests against the then-ruling Slovenian government.
And here's a little bit about the musicians mentioned in this interview, in the order that they were mentioned. Links go to one of their songs on YouTube:
Siddharta, formed in 1995, is perhaps the most popular and successful Slovenian rock band, and one of the bands Joker Out always emphasise as their inspiration.
Ekatarina Velika was a Serbian rock band, active from 1981 to 1994, and very popular in former Yugoslavia. Milan Mladenović was its frontman who died in 1994.
"Turbofolk" is a musical genre that originated in Serbia. It blends Serbian folk music with other genres such as pop, rock, electronic music, etc. Here is an example of turbofolk music.
Magnifico is a Slovenian musician, active since the early 90s, whose music is inspired by the ex-Yugoslavian schlager music scene. Several of his songs have reached cult status in Slovenia.
Dan D is another popular Slovenian rock band from Novo mesto, which is where Štras is from. They've been active since 1996.
Big Foot Mama is another popular Slovenian rock band originating from the 90s, the one Kris's dad Miha Guštin - Gušti played the guitar in.
Rok Terkaj - Trkaj is a Slovenian rapper, active since the early 00s.
Murat & Jose is a Slovenian rap/hip-hop duo, also active since the early 00s.
Translation cr: Joker Out Subs
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I’m relatively new to the fandom and have really enjoyed a lot of your posts… I have a question that I couldn’t quickly find an answer to in searching through your tags…
What’s the deal with streaming? Like, I listen to BTS. I enjoy them a lot, I listen to a pretty even mix of all their albums though I probably like MOTS:7 era the best). Some days I listen to them like all day lol (if I’m cleaning the house or something) and I listen to them a lot in the car or while working. I’ve enjoyed some solo releases more than others so I naturally streamed those more. but like the more I start following accounts on here and on army twt the more confused I get about the intense pressure to stream constantly? I’ve heard that people play certain songs (or albums I guess?) on repeat on mute and/or have dedicated streaming devices they keep going all the time.
Not to be negative or rude at all but like…what? Maybe because I’m new to KPop and have never followed it until BTS but that just sounds so weird and… idk the word, maybe disingenuous? Again I do not mean this as an attack I am just genuinely confused. Wouldn’t BTS themselves want us only to listen if we were actually enjoying it and not out of some competitive attempt to get better ratings? It feels so odd to me, like that is not how I would behave with any other artist that I love. I would only ever listen to them out of a genuine desire to hear their music. But there seems to be so much weird shaming out there for when/if songs are not streamed heavily enough? And for any other artist I would just write that off as a difference in taste among the fandom, but here it’s treated like a personal wrong against the artist…?
But as I say that I’m sure there’s more to it… I have definitely seen people talking about payola or chart manipulation so idk. If I should google this instead, just tell me to, I just have already tried and didn’t find that much clarity, just a bunch of people on quora and Reddit talking about certain songs not getting streamed enough.
Anyways this is super long, sorry if it annoys you. Just thought you seemed knowledgeable and levelheaded enough to ask? Love your posts. All the best.
*
Ask 2:
Okay wait I’m the anon that just asked about streaming and I went and re-read your post about “inorganic success” — I had read it before but somehow I didn’t put together that the 24-7 streaming is an attempt to combat payola or like go up against it I guess. Okay. That makes more sense. I still feel like there’s a weird focus on charting but I guess if it’s about getting more concert venues and more radio play it makes sense.
You can ignore my last ask then I’m sorry if I’m being dense or something lol.
***
You haven’t at all asked a stupid question. Your confusion is easily explained by you being new to k-pop, and everyone new to this madhouse asks this question eventually. I’ve talked about this before, but can’t find the post for the life of me so I’ll briefly go over it again.
First, you need to understand what k-pop is. K-pop is a system that gamifies music consumption. Competition is something you’ll see in the music industry regardless. Western stans such as Arianators, Barbz, and the Beyhive have organized around streaming goals and efforts for at least 10 years now. But there’s no other music industry that explicitly emphasizes competition among groups and fans, the way the k-pop industry does.
Competition is baked into its DNA:
From the idol training system under agencies with supposed specialities that are treated like warring houses a la Game of Thrones (a mentality created by the Big 3),
to the music shows where fans are encouraged to vote daily and weekly for the best artists and where wins are tied to streaming numbers,
to the highly publicized year-end award show criteria that outline key metrics for wins in streams, sales, and fan votes.
Basically, the k-pop industry creates a clear hierarchy of talent and acclaim for artists in their system, directly stokes fan participation in buying into that hierarchy, and the numbers are the easiest litmus test/short cut to settle the question of who is at the top.
And all of this is served with a cocktail of parasocial delusion and entitlement that has (more easily manipulated) fans thinking their perceived investment into their faves, earns them the right to micromanage their fave idols’ careers. All of this benefits the labels and industry because they’d rather have you more engaged (even if toxically), than not.
Everybody here buys into this system despite what they’ll tell you, some just manage to keep their wits and perspective to prevent getting sucked in, while others fall headfirst into it.
And so, like I said in my ‘inorganic success’ post you referenced, the focus on streaming is part of fans really just playing the game. Excess is something you’ll see on the charts in any case, whether in k-pop or in the West.
The difference with BTS and ARMYs however, is in the why of how the fandom streams. Essentially, you’re more likely to find people just as passionate about the music itself as they are about giving that music its due in hard numbers and consequently, recognition. You’re more likely to find fans like this in the ARMY fandom, than any other, in my opinion. Some people forget that the og ARMYs were k-pop fans first. They were fans who intimately understood how this system worked, they understood why the Big3 maintained dominance in k-pop for literal decades, and they saw the worth in the music BTS made, loved it enough to invest time into the playing the game better than anyone else at the time - pushing BTS from nugu status to where they are now, competing well outside the realm of the k-pop system but in a space that remains complex and highly competitive.
Another aspect that differentiates how ARMYs stream vs other k-pop fandoms, is that due to the sheer size of the fandom in absolute numbers, the average ARMY typically streams less than a typical k-pop stan. Basically, in other fandoms the typical stan has to stream more per person to have even a fraction of the gains seen in the ARMY fandom. ARMYs also aren’t doing anything other fandoms aren’t doing, it’s just that so far, they’re more efficient at it and don’t have to worry too much because BTS makes music that keeps attracting more fans, adding to the size of the fandom. They’ve also generally stayed away from more illegal methods given the intense scrutiny and animosity the fandom has faced for being part of the reason BTS upended the ordained hierarchy in this space. It sounds silly but it’s true.
But that’s only one side of the story. The other side is that in the fandom, everybody here really just does what they want. And many people genuinely enjoy listening to BTS that much and that intensely. Going by personal experience in what I observed before I became ARMY, I noticed that many ARMYs are Type A and organized - people who like and study data. The first time in my life that I saw someone create a spreadsheet for fan theories on a k-pop MV, was when an ARMY made one for I NEED U MV. I’m not sure what it is about BTS, but from the beginning they’ve attracted the sort of fans who genuinely enjoy listening to music often, people who enjoy creating and playing around with playlists, and people who track and measure applicable data. So your assumption that the people who stream like this are people who don’t actually enjoy the music, is wrong. In my opinion. For a lot of ARMYs, streaming and appreciating the music isn’t mutually exclusive.
Personally, I listen to music a lot. And I’ve always been that way, so when I became ARMY, I just sort of naturally fit into that culture. The sort of music BTS makes is a joy to listen to, I play their stuff literally everyday and it feels like the most normal thing in the world for me to sleep to Serendipity sometimes (in my sleep playlist which includes brown noise and rain sounds), or to do laundry to Let Me Know playing, or to drive to UGH and Set Me Free Pt 2 playing. I have multiple accounts because I listen to all kinds of music all the time, and it’s just convenient for me to have things set up such that I can flip on a playlist in every situation I’d want one on.
But like I said, the reality is that everyone in this fandom does what they want. It’s true there are certain people in the fandom who obsess over streaming, these are typically chartmys and akgaes, but most other people stream however they like. Fandom in general is a pressure cooker environment so I don’t blame you for noticing that pressure, but at the end of the day you really should just do what makes the most sense to you.
ARMYs generally recognize the reality of the space they are in, they recognize what it means for BTS, and most simply tweak their normal listening habits to maximize the gain and support to BTS. Plus sometimes it’s fun to play into fandom’s initiatives as a way to connect with other fans (such as in streaming parties).
I ended up rambling but let me know if this answered your question.
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hii babes i was wondering if u could do a tr boys x( beyonce )reader maybe bonten?like how their s/o is famous and they are world criminals .have a good day <3
𝐁𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰/ 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐬/𝐨
A/n: Gn!reader. Mocchi isn’t in this b/c I was struggling to try writing for him, when I feel like I have his character down maybe I’ll do his version. I’m sorry this request is late, but I hope you enjoy.
Warning: curse words, threats, words implying to violence
𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐣𝐢𝐫𝐨 𝐌𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐨—
- there’s a bunch a people who know y’all are dating just not the whole public
- mikey knows how to keep peoples mouth shut
- let someone see y’all together and he is on them
- doesn’t go anywhere with a lot people though to begin with
- being in a relationship with Mikey would be complicated at times he wouldn’t always communicate and would push you away
- with you being busy yourself caused more problems
- you have to have patience to make sure you get Mikey to sit down with you every once in a while and actually spend time together
- Mikey does love your private moments
- at times he’ll make up a random game
“How about I say something and you sing it to me back”
“mikey ..”
“What it will be like an exercise for you,right?”
𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐳𝐮 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐲𝐨—
“ So, can I listen to the album?”
“Sanzu it’s not done yet”
“Just one song please”
- you played 2 seconds of a song and didn’t let him hear more than that
He just paused and stared at you in disbelief “… that was not the full thing”
“Yeah I never agreed to let you hear it”
-Dramatically flailing out his arms and whining “I didn’t even get to hear your voice”
- Negative comments are something you’re already used to, but let anyone say even the slightest negative shit about you near sanzu and we might have to pray for that person’s life
- “people who listen to y/n are brainwashed” “ I don’t understand people who listen to y/n they don’t even sound good”
- sanzu just has to go ‘talk’ to this person cause ain’t no way they said such bullshit with confidence
- y’all relationship did get to the public quickly, but that ain’t really surprising
- this of course caused discourse, and now a bunch of articles are on you
- “y/n seen out with bonten member”
- the album you dropped afterwards still hit #1 sooooo you do you
- everything that was being said was getting to sanzu though
-he didn’t want to cause you any problems
- you reassure him he isn’t causing major problems and your relationship will not end
𝐊𝐨𝐤𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐢 𝐇𝐚𝐣𝐢𝐦𝐞—
- koko had showed up to a photo shoot of yours one time and let me tell the look on these peoples faces
- they’re all having a wtf moment seeing you send a little wave his way
- they knew better than to question the relationship when seeing the side eye koko was sending
- just making sure nothing’s going wrong
- whenever he does want to go out with you it’s always in a secluded area where everyone knows him, and knows not to open their mouth about how he’s with you
- he’s quite helpful when it comes to your career
- you want his opinion on what the album cover should be he’s right there giving reason why the first cover matches the energy of the album better
- right there when you have writers block, letting you know there’s no need to rush
-he’s your assistant but he’s not
𝐊𝐚𝐤𝐮𝐜𝐡𝐨 𝐇𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐨—
- your biggest fan
- very careful with his relationship with you
- he didn’t want it to get public that you’re dating a bonten member as he knows how it could effect you
- now kakucho is a very supportive boyfriend
- he’ll listen to your songs on repeat, and then praise you for your work every single time
“ you did amazing on this!”
- though at times he forgets not to play the unreleased songs
- you showed up to his place and heard your song blaring through the walls
- like sir you can’t do that
- kakucho doesn’t want to cause any problems, but give the word that someone’s been messing with you and he could go handle it then he’ll do just that
- he won’t involve himself in a situation till it’s necessary
- kakucho just minds his business except when it comes to your music
𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐨𝐦𝐢 𝐀𝐤𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐢—
- was here since day motherfuckin one in your career
- Takeomi is like your bodyguard at times
- “ y/n when do you plan on giving us another album? It’s been such a long time since you dropped-” this person kept on pressing you while being all up in your face
- that’s where takeomi comes in cause ain’t no one gonna make his s/o feel uncomfortable
- odd as it is to the media y’all are just coincidentally in the same area there ain’t a photo or video to prove you and Takeomi actually know each other
- have people all on the internet concerned for you, some think you’re in bonten, just a list theories
- Takeomi just knows how to make sure you guys aren’t caught looking like you’re together
- he knows y’all are both busy people so he tries his best to make sure there won’t be any interruptions when you’re both together
𝐑𝐚𝐧 𝐇𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐢—
-shows up to your studio every time you’re there
-he knows he’s intimidating people there
-you got writers block and he’ll help in some way
“Let me do a verse” “mmm actually i just thought of what I wanna say. How about next album,ran?”
- when your relationship did get public it was a mix of hate and amusement from people
- he didn’t give a fuck
- went out for dinner right after like it was nothing
- “so, are you paying?”
- the nerve of him to ask like he didn’t order damn near everything off the menu
- thing is with ran he’s doesn’t care being in public with you cause he wishes someone would try you and him
𝐑𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐮 𝐇𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐢—
- another who’s wants to keep the relationship private
- rindou will just be sitting in your studio as you record songs
- only other people in there being your closest friends that work with you and they had no problems with rindou or either they decided to be quiet then to start one
- rindou does get jealous of the people that get to be around you
- seeing another so close to his s/o on the media and he can’t even be there due to the issues it would cause
- part of him wishes to let everyone know you’re dating him, but the problems it could cause you isn’t worth it to him
-bonus: rindou def was a fan when he met you
Taglist :: @milliumizoomi @plutosexc @sscarchiyo @iridesent-folly join taglist here
#tokyo revengers x reader#bonten x reader#manjiro sano x reader#mikey x reader#sanzu haruchiyo x reader#sanzu x reader#kokonoi hajime x reader#kokonoi x reader#kakucho hitto x reader#kakucho x reader#tokyo revengers headcanons#takeomi akashi x reader#tokyo revengers x black!reader#takeomi x reader#ran haitani x reader#ran x reader#rindou haitani x reader#tokyo revengers x black reader#rindou x reader#manjiro x reader#sano manjiro x reader#bonten x black reader
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a/n: i want to clarify shortly that reader did survive, just isn't awake in this fic heh. sorry lovelies. lov ya.
request: Steve x reader where reader gets hurt badly by the demobats instead of eddie and Steve is trying to keep her alive. Angst but fluffy end where reader ends up surviving |PART TWO!|
warnings: little women spoilers lol, st vol. 2 spoilers ig, fluff and lil angst
pairing: steve harrington x fem!reader (established relationship)
w/c: 1.5k
read part one here!
the room was white. too white.
steve had memorized it all by now, anyway. the white walls, white bedsheets, white tiles that built the floor, and the white, blinding, sickening lights.
the cold tones matched your skin, pale and just a tiny hue of pink covering your cheeks, assuring him that yes, you were alive, and yes, you did survive.
the room wasn't by any means homey. it was cold, with no windows except the one that let anyone outside in the hall watch into the intimacy of what was supposed to be a private room for you, where you could heal peacefully and without the eyes of anyone that'd want to look into the vulnerability of either you or steve.
the beeping sound of the machine beside you was far too familiar to steve— a sound he'd hear the entire time he was awake, and in his dreams, too.
he'd be visiting you all day long, everyday. he'd look at you, enjoying the way your features seemed so relax and trying to ignore the reason why this was like that was because you hadn't woken up since that day.
he'd read your favourite book, the same one you'd read to him on his bed, after fighting monsters and getting a new trauma to add to the list, while stroking his head and letting the sweet and steady sound of your heartbeat lull him to sleep.
"beth dies?!", he'd cry. "are you fucking kidding me?! she was my favourite one!" he'd always fall asleep before you got to read the sister's death to him. also, steve would know you'd argue with him about amy being the best character. "and from scarlet fever?! who dies from fucking scarlet fever?!" he'd complain. he'd also know you'd answer him something snarky. "she did, steve. along with thousands of people in fucking 1860s," he'd almost be able hear your voice.
he'd bring his walkman along, making a quick turn to the music store before driving to the hospital to buy the newest fleetwood mac album, then spending those rare nights he'd sleep at his house making you a cassette with all the songs so you'd be able to listen to it through his walkman— he'd put the headphones over yout head and let you listen to the entire album.
"s'cool, isn't it?" he'd sway his head to the song. "yeah, i listened to it on the radio the other day. figured you'd like this one the most," he'd say. "i'm still unable to understand your obsession with what's-his-name. is it because he has blue eyes? it is, isn't it?"
"does it mean you don't like my eyes, though?" he'd almost pout at the thought. his eyes were your favourite, and he knew it. him doubting it was only part of his dramatic antics. "babe?" he'd call, waiting for a response and sighing sadly when he wouldn't get any.
he'd also bring food for him and eat it next to you, talking about work, about the kids.
"max is doing so much better, too," he'd say, mouth full of chinese food, and he'd chew loudly— something you absolutely hated, but you weren't really awake to scold him, so he'd do it, anyway. either way, he'd try to annoy you even when you were phisically unable to annoy him back (all out of love, though). "her vision is getting better. it's still blurry, though. she complains about it a lot. but, hey, s'better than nothin', right?" he'd continue chewing. "doctors said she was probably never going to be able to see again. so, her actually seeing is huge."
"how's dustin doing?" he'd ask, as if he were repeating whatever you'd asked him. he'd sigh. "not so good. little dude's been in his room a lot. won't let any of us in," with a shake of his head, steve would continue. "i tried talking to him. hoped he'd open up a lil, y'know? and, i don' know. i miss him, too. he's my little brother."
then, at night, he'd bring the little sofa closer to your bed, grab your hand and rest his head on the mattress, so he was still looking at you while playing with your fingers. "i talked to your mom this morning." he'd confess. "she invited me over for breakfast, asked how i was doing."
then, when the hospital was quieter and dark from the lack of light outside, everyone sleeping when he should be, too, he'd let the emotions come in— a few tears falling from his eyes and a few quiet sobs shaking his body. "she's great. she— she misses you so much, baby," steve would wipe a tear away. "i don't think she's given up. i don't think she'll ever give up on you. i won't, either."
"you will wake up, sweetheart. i promise you you'll wake up."
and steve didn't believe in any god. but, that night, and every other night, steve would pray.
he'd pray for your eyes to open, pray to see the life in your eyes again. he'd pray to have those precious moments with you again, with you scolding him for chewing too loudly or talking with a mouthful. he'd pray to hear you comfort dustin and be there for max while she got her vision back. he'd just know dustin would open up as soon as he heard it was you on the other side of his door. because it was you. and you always made everything better.
and later, when the clock almost struck the early hours in the morning, sleep almost consuming his own figure, but his fingers still playing with yours, he'd ever so softly hum to your favourite song. the song you'd both dance to in his kitchen when his parents weren't around, when he'd cook you breakfast and you were fine and beautiful and awake. the song you'd listen to in the car, the windows down and the soft sway of your head to the beat of the music, and steve would have to make himself look forward before he got into a crash because he was too busy staring at you.
in the morning, he'd say good morning and tell you about his dream. his dreams and yours were always so crazy. you'd tell him it probably had to do with what you went through— traumas related to russians, monsters with heads similar to flowers but with teeth, gigantic spiders that controlled minds and a psicopath from another dimension that killed teens.
he'd only say he was glad they, at least, were dreams. it was your routine: you'd wake up next to each other, cuddling for a few minutes and talking about whatever crazy dream you had had while he played with your hair and you laid on his chest, legs interwined and sould that matched.
the mornings at the hospital, he'd quickly tell you his dream while eating the extra pudding the nurse secretly braught him, kiss your head and head off to work, working only one shift so he could make it back to you as quickly as possible.
he also knows you'd probably complain about that, too. something about not having to lose money from quitting a shift only for you. "gotta take care of my girl," he'd probably answer you. "it's not like i'm losing much, either, right? most exciting thing i could be missing out's keith actually getting a date from a costumer."
"robin says hi," he'd tell you as soon as he enters your room, bending down to kiss your head and sit on his usual spot next to your bed. "said she'll probably be joining us later tonight. said somethin' about bringing your favourite movie and some popcorn. what would you think of a movie night, pretty girl?" he'd ask. "like good ol' times, heh?"
at the memory, he'd smile sadly. he couldn't wait to do it again.
later that night, the tv would be closer to the bed, having had been rolled over by both robin and steve, each of them sitting on each side of the bed, back to the future playing on the tv. "d'ya think marty mcfly's hot?" steve would ask robin, who'd be chewing some popcorn while dropping a few more into her mouth. "dude, i'm gay," she'd remind him with a confused face. steve would nod. "yeah— i know, but she—,"he'd accuse you while pointing his thumb to you. "—had a crush on him when the movie came out."
"what year are we talking about?" she'd ask him. "last year."
"didn't you start dating like— days before christmas last year?"
"yeah, but that's not the point—"
robin would groan. "steve, you're, like, the most precious human being to her. seriously. she wouldn't shut the fuck up about you before you two got some ovaries and started fucking dating," she's reassure him, earning a bright smile from him. "she wouldn't?"
"never," robin would nod. "every day?" steve would ask. "every day." she'd confirm.
steve would look back to you, blushing and giving your cheek a kiss, grabbing your hand in his and playing with your fingers, like usual.
god, he couldn't wait to hear from you all you told robin about him.
@xguardgirlx @stormseyes @xjasam4lifex
#steve harrington x reader#steve harrington fluff#stranger things#stranger things s4#steve harrington#steve harrington smut#steve harrington angst#joe keery#joe keery x reader#steve harrington x fem!reader
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Today's compilation:
DJ-Kicks - The Tracks by Stacey Pullen
1996
Techno / Deep House
Allow me to make one thing very clear here before diving into this release: this is *not,* I repeat, *not* the DJ mix version of Detroit techno legend Stacey Pullen's terrific volume in !K7's super consistent DJ-Kicks series. What this is instead is the double-12-inch version of it, which is markedly different. See, sometimes when labels put out a DJ mix on CD or cassette, they also release a different edition of it on vinyl too, and those ones usually come with fuller-length, unmixed versions of tracks that appear within the DJ mix itself.
Now, I have mixed feelings about this particular release here; on one hand, there is some really great mid-90s techno and deep house on this thing, and if you loved any tracks on the DJ mix version of the album, then, with this vinyl edition, you'd have the fuller-length, unmixed versions of its songs. But on another hand, this particular vinyl release is only limited to being a double-12-inch, so you couldn't possibly fit longer versions of every single song that was used in the DJ mix itself onto two records; electronic tunes are generally way too long for you to be able to do that.
So, given that constraining factor, I really don't think that the 7 songs that were ultimately chosen for this vinyl edition are really all that fully representative of the true nature of Stacey Pullen's very excellent DJ mix. Basically, if you've never heard this dispatch from the DJ-Kicks series before, don't bother listening to this double-12-inch to get your fill of it; go listen to the actual DJ mix instead; it's spectacular.
Still though, all of this isn't to say that there aren't bangers on these two records here, because there definitely are; especially the last two tracks: Kenny Larkin's "Q" and "Funk de Fino" by Gypsy. It's just that the actual DJ mix has a whole lot more bangers on it than this release does.
Kenny Larkin's "Q" does this wonderful techno thing of laying down placid string pads and then eventually unleashing intermittently disruptive bunches of stabbing and galloping snares atop it, while also allowing a thin and fuzzy membrane of liquid acid to fester between it all too. In fact, speaking of galloping rhythms, Chicago house pioneer Marshall Jefferson uses a pretty similar formula to that one on a great techno track of his own called "The Horse" too, which was released a few years after "Q." I wonder if he drew any inspiration from Kenny Larkin for it! 🤔
youtube
And Gypsy's "Funk de Fino" is a terrifically deep hybrid of chilly ambient techno and dubby progressive trance. This tranquil and pleasing beast only gets a little over 2 minutes in Pullen's mix, but here, in its full-length state, it takes up an entire side of a record, clocking in at over 13 and a half minutes instead! Sweet, sweet, steady journey here to close out this particular release. One of the pros of this vinyl edition of the album is that you get to hear this awesome tune in its entirety 😌.
But nevertheless, trust me, folks: while this has some quality electronic music on it, the actual DJ mix of Stacey Pullen's DJ-Kicks is still leaps and bounds better.
Highlights:
Silent Phase - "Psychotic Funk"
Gerd - "Arkest's Blaze"
Wulf-N-Bear - "Raptures of the Deep"
Kenny Larkin - "Q"
Gypsy - "Funk de Fino"
#techno#deep house#house#house music#dance#dance music#electronic#electronic music#music#90s#90s music#90's#90's music#Youtube
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SUNGLASSES AND LIPSTICK STAINS (part I/III)
Summary: after having his heart torn in half at Tina's party, Steve finds comfort in the most unexpected person. Who would have guessed he would develop such a strong connection with someone he's barely spoken to?
Pairing: Steve Harrington x Henderson!Reader
Genre: angst (hurt/comfort)
Tags:
Permanent taglist: @elia-the-bibliophile @randomparanoid @karlthecat15722 @thebutchersdaughtersblog @amourtentiaa @just-here-to-escape-from-reality @comfort-reads
Warnings: language, mentions of alcohol, Steve breaking down because that needs a tw.
A/N: taking creative liberty to a) move the release of 'Like A Virgin' Studio Album to September of '84, and b) make Steve and Nancy fall apart a bit earlier for the sake of the plot. It does have a second part, but they can be read separately. That said, enjoy <3.
Part II
Part III
Rogue-durin-16 masterlist
Don't cry don't cry don't cry, I begged myself, stalking out of the boisterous house with my thumb and index rubbing away the tears. Don't cry here, I repeated, not at Tina's fucking pre-Halloween party.
October's sharp air cut through my lungs, making me choke up. Maybe the drastic change of temperature wasn't to blame, maybe it was the lump in my throat I was desperately trying to swallow.
She didn't love me.
Gnawing on my lip harsh enough to draw blood, I put the sunglasses back on in an attempt to hide the inevitably shed droplets of salty water spilling from my lids —though they were dried by the light yet freezing wind as soon as they fell.
A part of my mind was begging me to give Nancy the benefit of the doubt, but weren't drunk words sober thoughts?
Drunk words. As stupid as it may have sounded, it hadn't dawned on me. She was hammered.
I had abandoned a completely wasted Nancy in a stranger's bathroom, alone in a house full of people like Billy Hargrove. God, I was the worst.
"Shit."
My eyes darted a tentative glance at the house over my shoulder before being casted down to stare at my shoes. I had to do it, didn't I? Or I could just walk away.
Breathe in, breathe out.
I could just get into my car and leave.
Breath in.
"Fuck." Sniffling, I turned heel and jogged to the backyard's door I had just walked through in search of a breather.
Navigating the crowd of sweaty, intoxicated highschool students was much easier the second time. Although I was grateful for not having to shove my way back to what had been my starting point, I didn't like one bit the way everyone seemed to spare me pitiful looks when I passed by.
Gosh I didn't want to do it —I really didn't want to— but still my trembling hand knocked on the closed bathroom door.
"Nance?" I hated how my voice so obviously cracked at the nickname. "Nance, open up." I pleaded, leaning my defeated form on the door frame.
A couple of seconds passed. Still no response.
"Nancy." I tried again, my patience running shorter each time the girl didn't reply to my calls. So short that I decided I wouldn't wait for her to turn the knob. "Jesus, Nance, can you—"
I froze at the now clear entrance; my mushed brain refused to fully process that the reason why Nancy was not listening to my request was because she was, in fact, not there anymore.
And what were the odds —genuinely, what were the fucking odds— that the tiny window facing the front yard was perfectly situated for me to see Jonathan Byers helping Nancy climb into his Ford LTD's passenger seat.
That was it, that was what it took. My body allowed me just enough time to shut myself into the bathroom before breaking down.
After sitting down —or more like falling—on the cold tiles, everything was a blur of shoulders spasming and heart pounding in my ears so loud that it prevented me from hearing my own sobs.
In the span of a year, my life had changed drastically —technically for the better, but I had lost my closest friends and pretty much everything that was familiar to me. I got by just fine because I had Nancy, and now she was most likely gone too.
I was alone. Again.
My fingers tangled and tugged at my roots in an attempt to ground myself. I had to— I needed to get a solid grasp of reality, get up, and walk to my car.
I was barely succeeding in pulling myself back together the best I could when the third mistake of the night came to bite me in the ass; I hadn't put the latch on.
READER'S P. O. V.
"Wait!" Samantha's fingers pinched dangerously tight the cheap white lace of my fingerless glove, which gained her a slap on the back of her hand. "Ouch! Where you going?! You just came back!"
"I need a makeup retouch!" I yelled over the party's racket, pushing my friend's grasp off me. "I'll be back in a minute!" I assured her, walking backwards in the bathroom's general direction. "Pinky promise!" Giving the girl an apologetic smile, my digits found the knob at my back and gave it a swift twist.
I didn't even realize I wasn't alone until I was fully inside the room with the door locked behind me.
"Oh my gosh— Sorry! I-" I frowned at how quickly the slouched form dressed in black raised to his feet and transformed into a fairly put together Steve Harrington, sunglasses on, chin up and hands on his hips, as if I hadn't walked in on him crying. "Didn't know... There was someone. Are you good?"
"Yup, don't worry, I was about to get going." He mumbled in a hoarse voice, rubbing his nose as he shifted his weight from one foot to another. "Uhm can I—" his index finger vaguely motioned at the door my back rested against.
"S-sure, yeah." I stepped further into the narrow space, clearing the way the best I could manage for the boy to leave.
He didn't leave right away though; instead, he stopped before me and parted his lips, drawing in a small breath as if he planned on voicing a thought, but nothing came out.
Maybe whatever booze Tina had put on that bowl at the kitchen counter was messing with me, but for an instant, I actually felt... bad for Steve Harrington.
"You uh... Came with Nancy Wheeler right?" I recalled seeing them dancing earlier and, thanks to the awkwardness my malfunctioning mind was putting me through, I completely missed the way he flinched at Nancy's mention. "I can— I can go get her if you want."
"Good luck finding her." A weak, rueful laugh accompanied Steve's sentence as he allowed his frame to lean on the wall opposed to me.
Apparently, he had no actual plans of leaving the bathroom, and it just didn't feel right to get out and let him be on his own, so I chose to tiptoe around the topic to at least get some answers.
"The damsel in distress left without her knight in shining armor?" It was a half mock I didn't bother to hide. After all, I had never been too fond of neither Steve nor Nancy, so no matter how well-intentioned I was, some bitterness was doomed to slip out.
Luckily, the boy seemed to take it with humor, choosing to not only indulge the poor analogy, but also taking on it himself. "Oh no, she left with him actually." He puckered his lips, giving me a couple of rapid nods followed by a resentful chuckle. "Yeah he's the knight in shining armor, I'm just bullshit."
"Jesus, Harrington." I whispered, my sympathy for the boy growing exponentially. I had a slight idea of who said knight in shining armor was, and if my suspicions were correct, what Steve Harrington was playing was a losing game.
"Am I that bad?" He questioned in a reedy voice.
"I... don't know?" It was surprisingly heartbreaking to not be capable of reassure him. "I just know you're a popular kid that sucks at history."
"But I'm not— do I look like a shitty person, like, from an outside perspective?"
'Yes' would be the truth, but the truth wasn't going to help anyone. "I don't know, Steve." I shrugged, grasping onto the edge of the sink's counter behind me. "For what's worth, since you parted ways with Hagan and Perkins, you come across like uhh... Like a better person?"
"I'll take that as a compliment, I guess." He announced, running his fingers through his tousled hair before shoving both hands into his pockets. "Thanks, Y/n."
"Oh, wow." I breathed out a genuinely surprised laugh, tilting my head to the side. "you know my name."
"What d'you mean? We were in like" one of Steve's hands left his pocket to aimlessly gesture around. "What? three group projects together? And that's just this year. How could I not remember your name?"
"I mean— okay, fair, but you're Steeeve Harrington." I leaned forward while dramatically dragging his first name. This, for some reason, seemed to genuinely amuse him; I caught a glimpse of his half smile before he averted his gaze from me. "King of Hawkins High and shit. Didn't really expect you to remember my name."
He snorted at my latter quote, the tension visibly heaving on his shoulders slowly dissipating the more we talked. "You're pretty memorable. Specially considering that you yelled at me for not arriving on time. Several times." He remarked, mimicking my motions, back separating from the wall in order to briefly bend over.
"Sorry 'bout that." An apology wouldn't have been my preferred choice of words in any other scenario, but the moment didn't really call for a witty comeback.
"It's okay, I deserved it." He responded, retreating to his initial position.
What followed was an uncomfortable silence that begged to be broken, but I had only so much to talk about with Steve Harrington.
"I should head o—"
"I like your costume." Either his comment was louder, or he was too in his head to process mine on time. "Sorry, what?"
"Nothing." I found myself dismissing my own announcement in favor of exploiting another topic. "I didn't take you for a Madonna fan."
"Why? The woman's smoking hot, and she got some bangers." His genuineness twisted up the corner of my lips in a confused smile. That was certainly not how I had expected my night to go, but so far I was oddly pleased.
"I like yours." I bobbed my head at his clothing choice. "Risky Business?" He hummed affirmatively, a tinge of pride making his chest swell. "Nice. Can I try on the sunglasses?"
"Uh... Sure."
Hesitance could be read in his body language whilst handing me the glasses. As soon as I got a hold of them, he immediately casted his head down, fixing his gaze on his shoes.
I spun around to face the mirror, deciding not to bring attention to his avoidant demeanor. "What do we think?" I questioned instead in a lighthearted, almost joking tone after putting on the sunglasses. "I personally think they make me look cool."
Steve peeped at me through his still watery lashes and the ghost of a small smile fighting to bring some light to his face. "You look cool."
"Nice try but nope, it's definitely the glasses." I countered, using my middle finger to slide them down my nose enough for my eyes to be visible. "They make a pretty good job of blocking the view, don't they?"
"They do." He muttered.
After catching his eyes on the reflection once more, I did an 180 and hopped on the marble countertop.
"First heartbreak?"
"And last." Steve's brows rose as he distractedly kicked the tiles.
"You know it's completely okay to cry, right?" He huffed, so I insisted on the matter. "Everyone's wasted anyway, you don't need these." My fingernail tapped on the plastic arm of the complement.
"Y/n," Steve scoffed, pushing himself off the wall to approach me. "I have uhhh a reputation." He stated with wide eyes and raised brows and, in the midst of trying to figure out whether or not he meant it as a joke, I found myself cackling. "Are you laughing at me?" He inquired with an outraged frown that I, again, didn't know if I should take seriously.
"I don't know, am I?"
"You better not." He barely had to reach out his fingertips to take the sunglasses from me, which made me suddenly aware of how close he stood. "I'm already sensitive."
"My apologies." I whispered with an amused smile, leaning back on my hands to put some more inches between us.
"As I was saying before you decided to be rude," he made a stop to place back on his sunglasses. "I have a reputation." His hand came to rest by my thigh on the counter. "So there's no way in hell anyone in here is seeing me shed a single tear."
"I just saw you sob, though." I teased with a quirked brow.
"I'll allow that because you've put up with me for" he brought his wrist up to his face as if he was about to check his wristwatch. "A long ass while. I'm sorry for keeping you here."
"It's not like you're keeping me captive," I nodded at the door, briefly redirecting Steve's attention to it. "I could've left."
"Yeah, but you didn't."
"Because I didn't do what I came here for yet." I explained, pointing at my face. "I was supposed to retouch my makeup."
"Why?" I felt the embarrassing urge to whine when Steve pushed himself off the sink. "It looks good to me." He stated in a confused tone, pushing his sunglasses up to rest on his head.
"You need glasses. Like, actual glasses," I declared, scrunching my nose. "'cause you're blind."
He puffed out a jaunty 'oh c'mon', which made a smile creep up my visage. Had I just managed to cheer him up?
"You wanna have a laugh before leaving the bathroom?"
"What do you have in mind?"
Steve's eyes notably widened when I pulled up the side of my white layered tulle skirt, which sent me into a fit of giggles while I fished out my mini makeup palette from my thigh high, and consecutively extended my arm to hand it to him.
"Fix my makeup, pretty boy."
~~~~~~~~~~~~
STEVE'S P. O. V.
No matter how many times Y/n had assured me I could mess it up and she wouldn't mind because 'it's a Halloween party anyway', I still tried to do my absolute best, which obviously required a very slow process for something Y/n could have probably finished herself in a couple of minutes.
"Stay still."
Knocknocknock!
"IT'S OCCUPIED!" The girl shouted, making me yank her face back to me by holding her cheeks.
After the second person who walked in on me attempting to retouch Y/n's makeup, we had decided to put the latch on the door.
"I'm struggling here, Y/n," I absentmindedly informed her, words coming out muffled by the lipstick I held between my teeth while I tilted her chin up. "so if you could please stop moving—"
"Steve, I appreciate the dedication, but you're taking forever." she quipped in a lighthearted manner.
"Excuse me, but I believe you told me to fix up your makeup, not to ruin it." I riposted before blowing away the surplus dust from the brown eyeshadow I had just finished applying. "Okay, we reached the critical point." I announced, putting down the compact case to take the red lipstick bar from my mouth.
"Okay wait!" Y/n, who had until then been lolling on the countertop, sat upright and wrapped her fingers around both my wrists. "Now I want you to take it easy. This lipstick" she shook my right wrist. "Is a menace. You gotta be careful."
"Pfffft I got this," I assured her with regained confidence I had thought lost when I first entered the bathroom. "trust me."
"Alright, I'm trusting you." Her hands released mine and went to rest on her lap.
"But you can't move."
"I won't."
"And you can't talk." I reminded her, holding her jaw still with one hand while the other held the lipstick a couple of inches away from her lips.
"Okay." Our voices had gradually gotten lower until hers became a barely audible whisper, followed by a silence filled only with the distant sound of Psycho Killer playing in the living room.
Slowly but surely, Y/n's plump lips were carefully coated in a deep shade of red. Blinded by self-assurance and the incomprehensible wish to prorogue my time standing inches away from her, I resolved to do a second layer.
Not even halfway through the process, the bar slipped down. "Shit!"
"Steeeve, that's not my lip." She singsonged with a growing grin that made my task much difficult for more than one reason.
"I know. wait, I think can fix it— stop smiling!"
"I'm sorry!"
"I'll fuck it up even more! Damn it, Y/n." I took a deep breath, straightening my back in order to release some tension. "hold on."
Cradling her cheeks to make sure she was kept in place, I brushed the red beneath her lower lip with my thumb, slightly parting it from her upper one as a consequence.
The mistake was quickly fixed, but I was unable to let go. There was definitely something mesmerizing about that shade of red, I figured after finding myself repeating the previous motion with my thumb, this time with a featherlight touch.
"I fixed it." I struggled to find my voice and release Y/n's face, but I managed. Had I not known better, I'd have sworn she sighed when my hands switched her skin for the countertop. "You wanna... Uh... Check?"
"Sure." I didn't have time to take a step back before being frozen in place by her motions; instead of turning around to look at the mirror, she pulled my sunglasses down to my nose and checked herself in the reflection.
The sunglasses must have done an excellent job of blocking the view, because Y/n seemed completely unaware of how my eyes had latched onto her lips and wouldn't let go.
"I'm impressed, Harrington." She commented, returning the sunglasses to my head without a warning.
It took me a second too long to lift my gaze from the red lipstick.
"Steve?"
I wanted to voice my thoughts —I really did—, but my exhaustion only permitted me to act on impulse.
A muted gasp escaped Y/n's throat when I lunged forward to press my lips to hers, which made me realize how stupid that decision had been.
Just as I began to pull away, Y/n's lace covered palm found it's way to my cheekbone, sliding into my hair as soon as my own hands landed on her hips, bringing her upper body closer to mine.
I wouldn't be able to tell whether it lasted two seconds or two minutes, but it felt way too short.
"Okay" her soft panting fanned over my parted lips. "Okay we can't— this—" she puffed, shaking her head 'no' as she leaned back. "We can't do that."
In my haze and my neediness, I could only ask, "W-why?"
"Because" she contorted to the side to reach for a wet towel laying near the sink. "You're dating Nancy Wheeler—"
"I don't know about that."
"and" she went on, shushing me with her index finger before attempting to remove the red mess her lipstick had made on my mouth and around. "I have to see her nearly every afternoon." She might have noticed my confused visage, because, with a sigh, she explained further. "My little brother is best friends with Mike."
"Henderson." My brows raised so high they met my hairline. It had taken me a hot minute to put two and two together. "Holy shit."
"Holy shit." She agreed, giving me a soft push so she could jump down the sink. "Now, I don't particularly like Nancy, but I don't know if I'd be able to look at her in the eye after..."
"Fair point. Jesus, I'm sorry." I groaned, taking off the glasses to manually comb my hair in an anxious manner. "I shouldn't— I didn't even think-"
"No, it's okay."
"No—"
"Steve—"
A loud bang on the door made us both jolt on the spot.
"Y/N! I'M GOING HOME, AND I'M LEAVING WITH OR WITHOUT YOU!"
"Fuck— COMING SAM!" I watched as Y/n's skirt twirled gracefully when she checked herself in the mirror, trying to fix her lipstick before making her way to the door. "I... Guess I'll see you around?" She tentatively asked, sparing me an apologetic glance over her shoulder with her fingers already around the knob.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'll... See you around."
She gave me a small wave before unlocking the door and leaving it ajar after sneaking out of the bathroom.
I couldnt help but let out a quiet laugh at the snippet of conversation I caught from both girls.
"He really touched up your makeup up, didn't he?"
"Shut up or I'll murder you with my bare hands."
#steve harrington x reader#steve harrington#steve harrington x henderson!reader#steve harrington x you#steve harrington x y/n smut#steve harrington x plus sized reader#Steve Harrington x y/n#steve harrington fanfic#Steve Harrington fanfiction#steve x reader#steve harrington stranger things#st steve#joe keery#steve harrington angst#stranger things hurt comfort#stranger things 4#stranger things 2#stranger things fanfiction#stranger things fic#stranger things fandom
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assigning taylor swift songs to bridgerton couples (part 1)
with explanations that no one asked for (proceed with caution)
part 2 for e, f, g and h
so i’ve been going kinda crazy about bridgerton the past few weeks, i read (and reread) all eight books and at some point while reading i couldn't stop trying to find taylor songs in my mind which would fit each couple. so i chose two songs for every pair, some of these have actual thought behind them, others are mostly based on vibes. i hope you enjoy this unhinged tangent <3
anthony & kate - i was actually reading gregory’s book when this completely genius thought hit me - treacherous IS the kanthony song. i mean it starts with “put your lips close to mine as long as they don’t touch”. insert a picture of any one of the hundred times they almost kissed in the show. even the build up of the song reminds me so much of the slow burn we had in the series. also lyrics like “i hear the sound of my own voice asking you to stay” (anthony being “what?? no!!! you can’t go back to india. wtf do you mean you’re not staying once edwina marries???”), “and all we are is skin and bone trained to get along forever going with the flow but you're friction” through the lens of kanthony i see this line as them just constantly aggravating each other.
the second song for them is dancing with our hands tied. i hadn’t thought about this song in a criminally long time. oh boy. (i also just now realised how long this post is gonna be) “i, i loved you in secret, first sight, yeah we love without reason” i’m sorry but these dumb bitches were in love since that first fateful early morning horse ride you can’t convince me otherwise. “people started talking, putting us through our paces // but we were dancing, dancing with our hands tied, hands tied” this screams when they got caught and were forced to marry in the book. their hands were tied - they had no other choice but to marry but they were dancing because they actually did love each other (awww). other than that there are two lines that sort of go hand in hand - “i loved you in spite of deep fears that the world would divide us” and “i'm a mess, but i'm the mess that you wanted” in my head this is from anthony’s perspective. him dealing with his fear of morality and losing kate and while kate does have the eldest daughter syndrome, anthony is the bigger mess of a person in the relationship.
benedict & sophie - enchanted is a no brainer, it needs no explanation. now for their second song i picked the lakes. this resides in the vibes category. listening to this i can’t help but imagine benophie living an artsy quiet life in my cottage. i’m actually interested to see how their living situation will play out in the show because i feel in the books benedict wasn’t as involved in the ton. i guess it’s just a bit hard for me to envision show!ben being so chill about moving to some place in the middle of nowhere.
colin & penelope - of course, dress. i listened to this on repeat while reading the whole book in one sitting. honestly a marvellous experience, can’t recommend enough . for the second song i had to go looking, had to travel far like colin one might say. and once i arrived in the long forgotten country of taylor’s debut album i found a piece of music so clearly polin coded that it’s baffling this fandom isn’t talking about it. the song in question is i’m only me when i’m with you. it feels silly to explain this one because being from taylor’s early career the lyrics aren’t terribly clever so let’s focus on the chorus. “i'm only up when you're not down, don't wanna fly if you're still on the ground” some people want colin to be just ken in the show but i actually really liked how they both have a career in writing at the end of the book (penelope better had published the book she started writing). “the other half i'm only trying to let you know that what i feel is true and i'm only me when i'm with you” you can’t tell me this isn’t colin telling penelope she is beautiful over and over again and how much he loves him because he was a fool not to realise it sooner. while in the book penelope feeling like she is truly confident and herself around colin, i think in the show this line works from colin’s side just as well.
daphne & simon - while most of the fandom has crowned wildest dreams as the saphne anthem (taylor’s version), i just couldn’t get behind it. yes, they used the song in their season but in my mind it just does not embody their relationship. firstly, the great war, i mean the first line “my knuckles were bruised like violets”. simon… boxing… you see the connection, right? okay, i promise it gets (even) better. “and maybe it's the past that's talking, screaming from the crypt. telling me to punish you for things you never did” in case of simon, he was hanging on to his hate towards his father and refusing to have kids with daphne, punishing her while it wasn’t her fault what had happened to him as a child. “somewhere in the haze, got a sense i’d been betrayed” i hate this part of their stroy (i do not condone daphne’s actions) yet i can so clearly picture simon still partly on his high of pleasure but starting to realise what daphne had done to him. i think i like this as their song because well they both were all kinds of wrong in this situation and at the end of the song it’s acknowledged “there's no morning glory, it was war, it wasn't fair” and still it has a happy ending just like saphne. their second song was hard to find and i’m not a hundred percent sure about it but a present to you so it goes… “all eyes on us, you make everyone disappear” - season 1, episode 1 “stare into my eyes”. i felt i needed to give them a sexy song and i do feel like it matches their sexual tension but this one is definitely up for debate.
#bridgerton#anthony x kate#kanthony#benedict x sophie#benophie#colin x penelope#polin#daphne x simon#saphne
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obey me brothers as taylor swift fans pt. 1
what's their favorite album? their favorite songs? are they a vocal fan or is taylor a guilty pleasure of theirs?
characters included: Lucifer, Mammon, and Leviathan
i have. so many thoughts on this. i had to expel this from my brain before it drove me nuts. part 2 will include the younger brothers. i will probably make a part 3 with the dateables once i think on it a little longer. my credentials: i've been a swiftie since the debut/fearless era, so i know my shit. obey me swifties rise up
content warning: very brief discussions of death
Lucifer: The Evermore Fan
let it be known that this is not his fault.
lucifer really only listens to his beloved classical vinyl records. he's not one to keep up with musicians, especially not musicians from the human world.
he spent one afternoon retrieving asmodeus from a coffee shop in town. it was a quaint little establishment known for incorporating touches from both the human and celestial realms into its theming. the cozy, bookish sitting area wasn't exactly where he expected his flamboyant younger brother to be, but to each their own.
an unfamiliar song from the human world played over the speakers of the coffee house. a low, pleasant female voice drifted through the murmurs of the coffee shop. lucifer didn't stick around for very long-- he only a small snippet of the music that day. then why was he still thinking about it more than a week later?
he couldn't get that damn song. out. of. his. head.
he's tapping his pen against his desk to the rhythm. the snippet of the lyrics he caught is playing on repeat while he does the laundry. it's driving him absolutely fucking nuts.
through a few nonchalant questions and some digging in his free time, he finally got the name of the song and the artist (note: it was willow). with a bit more finagling, he finally got his hands on a vinyl for the deluxe version of evermore.
he finds an evening where all of his brothers are out of the house, pours himself a glass of demonus, and puts the vinyl on. at the very least, even if he hates it, he can at least purge the song from his head that'd been lingering for the past few weeks.
... it's a much better record than he expected.
something about the combination of the earthy instrumentals and the artist's heavenly alto really soothes the soul.
the evermore vinyl becomes one of his favorites-- one that he keeps stashed at the back of a cabinet, of course. he had no interest in hearing any questions his brothers might have if they happened to find it in his office.
the complexities of the melodies and the poetic lyrics speak to him. he has a particular fondness for marjorie-- a song about losing a loved one and carrying them with you as you continue on in life. i don't feel the need to spell out why he likes this one in particular.
evermore is an album lucifer never thought he'd find, nor did he believe he'd enjoy. but now it's become a good record to turn to when he's alone and has a free night to himself. he might not know much about the artist (she is a human world musician, after all, and he's much too busy to keep up with human culture), but he holds such fondness for this soothing autumn-y record.
favorite songs: champagne problems, marjorie, evermore (feat. bon iver)
Mammon: The Reputation Fan
mammon, like his brother asmo, prides himself on keeping in touch with all the latest trends that pass through the devildom. after the exchange program began, a renewed interest in human pop culture took roots in RAD.
very few pieces actually stuck, but mammon took it upon himself to get cozy with all that lame human stuff. he has a lame human back at home, y'know? what kind of friend would he be if he didn't at least know a little about what's popular up above? so he spends a free afternoon digging through the newspaper's recent post on devilgram about what humans supposedly like.
... taylor swift, huh? well, mammon isn't going to deny that she's hot. especially in that sparkly black leotard on stage... what, is that like, a tour or something? is she popular enough to tour? this is... the reputation tour. huh. seems interesting enough.
what started as interest through thirst quickly became interest in earnest as he watched some of the tour performances. he's like a crow, drawn in by flashy lights and sparkles. this little endeavor, originally meant to take no more than an hour or two, ate up the rest of his night.
suddenly it's 2am on a thursday night-- he's supposed to be asleep, yet here he is, deeply entrenched in the reputation lore. what a jerk that kanye guy is, interrupting her on stage like that! then to lie about her on social media with that fake phone call-- oohh! he's pissed! mammon ends up more mad about the taylor drama than taylor herself. it's been years. people have moved on (another day, another drama, drama). not him, though (all he thinks about is karma).
we all know that mammon, despite all appearances, is a massive simp. so it makes sense that he would really like an album full of love songs. reputation is an album about falling in love at your lowest, about someone finding you broken and loving you through it all. he's a sucker for that sort of messaging.
this obsession-- stanship, fan behavior, whatever you'd like to call it-- is, of course, private. he's a cool, slick casanova. unfortunately for taylor, she doesn't quite mesh with that image. no worries, though. their connection is strong, even if it is kept just between them. (she's his ruri-chan)
reputation holds a special place in his heart because it's the moment when taylor finally finds her one true love (which he found through his intensive research) and accepts being the fear and happiness that comes along with it-- what? no! he's not crying! there's just... dust in his eye! yeah! dust in his eye, and new year's day just happens to be playing, coincidentally, totally unrelated--
so his interest might have started out surface-level. he might have been drawn in by flashing lights and glitter (plus the appeal of understand the human's culture better than his brothers), but by the end of it all, mammon is a certified swiftie. not that he'd ever admit it, though.
favorite songs: don't blame me, king of my heart, call it what you want
Leviathan: The Fearless Fan
... hear me out. i'm well aware this is sort of an odd choice, but i stand by it.
leviathan doesn't really... date. like at all. he's very content fixating on his 2D waifus and distancing himself from normie stuff. and that's all fine and good. but those times when he lifts his head up from his game to see his brothers getting close with others, while he locks himself in his room and shuts everyone out? it stings a little.
you remember that old rudolph movie, the one with the little blonde elf dentist? specifically, his line "you can't fire me, i quit!" in one of the songs? i promise i have a point here
i feel like levi has that sort of complex about love. i think there's a hopeless romantic somewhere deep in there, buried under all the layers of deflection he uses to keep everyone out.
all of this to say: he loves old taylor swift music.
taylor's early works revolve around the highs and lows of young love, woven together in fantastical stories that cast a rose-colored light. levi lives vicariously through this music.
it actually fits him well because he can experience the complex emotions of love packed into a three minute song, all from the comfort of his room and without fear of rejection!
that being said: if anyone were to catch him jamming out to taylor swift in his bedroom, he'd end it all right then and there.
he's very careful to hide this interest from his brothers. anime? video games? sure, they can understand that. but girly, lovey-dovey taylor swift? they'd never let him hear the end of it!
make no mistake, though-- he is a diehard fan. he watches her live performances on deviltube. he knows all her biggest hits. he'd have merch if any of it was subtle.
fearless is his favorite album because it throws itself into being hopelessly, passionately, clumsily in love. he admires how unashamed it is to be so, y'know... normie. cringe, in his eyes. vulnerability? yikes!
he likes the love songs best. sure, there are plenty of good breakup songs on fearless, but he's here to imagine himself lost in young love, not getting dumped. he likes the idea of romantic tension, of dancing in the rain, of friends finally becoming lovers after secretly pining for one another for ages-- especially that last one. he hopes one day he might get caught in a friends-to-lovers plot and fall in love with someone he knows like the back of his hand.
levi knows he is a simple hopeless romantic. but when he plugs his headphones in and turns on taylor's music, he feels, just for a moment, like maybe the pursuit of romance isn't so hopeless after all.
favorite songs: fearless, love story, you belong with me
[psst... yeah, you. did you want a link to the spotify playlist? here it is. it already has the songs for part 2 on there, so beware of spoilers for the next post!]
#obey me (taylor's version)#this took for fucking ever#but i think we're once again approaching magnum opus territory#i have so many thoughts#and feelings#i could go on all day#obey me#obey me shall we date#obey me lucifer#obey me mammon#obey me levi#obey me leviathan#otome#taylor swift#obey me swifties hit my fuckin line
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why does listening to classical music automatically make you “an old soul” “nerdy” “weird” “boring”
more under the cut (it’s long, sorry)
like? is it just me having a different standpoint or do i not get it? why is it that classical music is considered boring? what caused that? what???? im convinced the people saying these things have listened to like. vivaldi’s four seasons. boccherini’s minuet. offenbach’s can-can. and called it a day. these people probably don’t even know that it’s called “minuet” and only refer to the toreador march as the “fnaf song” <- (i don’t have anything against this per se, fnaf is a really cool thing i just never got into it fully and it only irks me just a little but that’s a whole other topic) without knowing what it’s from. now that goes to say i don’t expect everyone who criticizes and doesn’t like it to immediately go listen to the entire library of classical music and be enlightened but it’s a little offputting when you go out of your way to continuously remind someone that they’re weird for listening to and enjoying operas and/or classical music.
that last little bit was taken from what my friend— or i guess ex-friend now but the term still seems unfamiliar— would kind of do to me but to a lower degree i think. they said they found my interest in opera cool and would .. kind of listen to my rants and stuff and i appreciate it but then they’d go and make offhand comments about how weird i was and would use my interest in opera to sort of like.. “you can’t be talking you like OPERA” in a jokey manner i guess? that sort of thing. i thought that was normal and even though it hurt my feelings, it was all jokes, yeah? [i recognize now that thats not how that works and even though occasional jokes are okay your interests should never be the butt of the “joke” if it’s constantly repeated and hurts your feelings] and i think people don’t realize how much of a foundation classical music in itself is. i cannot tell you how many times i’ve recognized a piece to be a fragment from an opera or a mozart composition or like.. jeez i don’t fucking know, beethoven. out in the wild. in pop music, in movies, in shows, etc. even instagram reels/tiktok. if you frequent those you’ll come to find that there are a lot of trending “audios” using like.. lacrimosa or vivaldi’s four seasons or fuckin like prokofiev’s dance of the knights or act II of swan lake. i remember my mom was watching a netflix movie, a fucking cheesy ass romance or something, and there was a moment where the flower duet from lakmé played. the goddamn mario movie has a clip of carmen’s “l’amour est un oiseau rebelle”/the habanera within the first like, what. ten? fifteen minutes? i might be getting needlessly annoyed but it’s really fucking aggravating getting told i’m weird for liking something supposedly no one else under the age of 50 does. thanks guys. i really appreciate your supportiveness— but that’s besides the point.
my main reason that i’m even writing this is because my assumption (of course, this is most likely an incorrect assumption because i’m only 15 and only have so much life experience) is that the same people who often go around saying that classical music is boring and dull are the ones who are constantly wanting to push the arts to be funded. if you’re gonna fund the arts, fund ALL of them. not just “‘“‘“modern”””” stuff. not just musical theatre or plays. i think people forget that? maybe they ignore it. maybe they just don’t know. that’s why education is so important.
now that being said, i know seeing an opera or going to a concert can be expensive— and i wish that wasn’t the case. there’s always free livestreams, there’s always concerts, there’s albums, youtube videos, i know when i was in chicago i listened to the classical radio, etc. nothing beats seeing these things live in the theatre but it’s better than nothing i think?
also, i don’t mean to say classical is better than anything i mentioned above. no. i’m just sick and fucking tired of being told this and that about my interest when all i want to do is to be happy and consume something in peace without being hardcore judged for it and i really appreciate the small little operablr community.
there’s definitely more that i missed to this so if i think of anything more i’ll add on to it but i’m just… hrrrrgggg anger rage frustration. head in hands. so tired.
thank you for your time
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Favorite music of 2023 :)
I've found myself dealing with a wave of writer's block, and in my desire to get past it I've decided to write whatever I can. Some people said they'd be interested in me talking about my favorite albums of 2023, so here's a short write up about albums I really liked and I hope everyone will give a try.
I found 2023 to be a pretty spectacular year for weird and interesting music. With artists like Lil Yachty doing a neo-psychedelia album (fantastic, give it a listen) and Avenged Sevenfold doing some progressive avant garde adjacent metal album (I think people are wrongly hating on it, it's spectacular), it shouldn't be too surprising to imagine that the bands the mainstream hasn't really heard of are making wild soundscapes unlike anything you've ever heard.
Kicking this off with one of my favorite Korean bands, Parannoul released two albums this year and they were spectacular - both in my top 10 of the year. Parannoul are a wonderful shoegaze band that create these songs that almost feel hypnotic, they create this dream like state for their songs in ways no other band seems to be able to. After the Magic, their third album, is no different in this, but brings a new warmth, brighter instrumentation, and just in general doesn't feel as self loathing and depressed as previous works. The other release, After the Night, is a live recording, which shows that the band can produce the same dreamlike style on a stage, but do it even better. My second favorite album of the year, this live album is so incredible, zoning out to the 46 minute "Into the Endless Night" while high was probably one of my favorite experiences of the year in and of itself. (Also, if you do chose to check them out, please listen to To See the Next Part of the Dream, it's one of my favorite albums ever made.)
Using Parannoul as a sorta link between things, I also found that they worked on a song on the new Turquoisedeath album, Se bueno. I won't claim to be an expert on drum and bass, but I had a killer time listening to Se bueno. When I discovered Se bueno, I also discovered a few other, more abrasive, albums that I kind of group together in my head. Namely Chaser by femtanyl (digital hardcore) and Sisterhood by lostrushi ("digicore" feels like a frantic version of trap). If you like this kind of music, give them a try, all three are on my list.
Everyone's top albums of the years seem to have their one and two spots stolen away by Javelin and Scaring the Hoes. Starting with the latter, Scaring the Hoes by JPEGMAFIA and Danny Brown is cool as hell. Beats unlike anything I've heard in hip hop before, and the flows of both men really bring it all together. It's a great album (it's my third favorite of the year), but I also think some focus on some other hip hop titles might be cool. Integrated Tech Solutions by Aesop Rock is just as impressive and interesting and deserves your attention. Alongside that Michael by Killer Mike is a fantastic listen, though it doesn't compare to the previously mentioned two, it's still a great album that deserves your time - he won those awards for a reason. The man got arrested at an award show, the least you can do is stream his album once.
Now, as for Javelin by Sufjan Stevens, it's a great album, but it's also such a sad album. His pain is horrible, and he does a great job at making you feel it. However, the music never really hit me like other albums of the year had. The lyrics murder your heart, but I'm a tad past gay pains and want gay joys. Which is why I want you all to listen to Ultra Paradise by Angel Electronics. Half Ada Rook of Black Dresses, half Ash Nerve (I doubt you know him) this is a trans and gay power pop album that's just beautiful and fun. Songs like Return to the Sky and One Thousand and One Nights are fun ear worms, and the rest of the album just has a level of repeatability and a level of joy and fun that most other albums this year didn't have. Is it as technically impressive as Javelin? No. But, shit, it's nice to be happy for once.
Continuing off of this idea, in 2023 we saw transphobia become horrifically rampant, the right wing are really intent to get rid of us. You can't avoid how much this world hates us now and it makes you want to just scream. It creates this feeling of anger, a desire for violence, like we're past being sad and nice and understanding. In 2023 the Hirs Collective put out an album on par with that emotion. We're Still Here is an aggressive grindcore album put together by trans, gay, queer people in general. My favorite release from the band to date, it's fantastic to see Hirs screaming "We're still here!" as the world tries to erase us. This is my favorite album of 2023, please listen to it, please give Hirs your money, they deserve it and you deserve their music.
A few more albums I wanna recommend that I can't really think of anything in depth to say: God Cum Poltergeist by Crisis Sigil (Ada Rook) is a fantastic grindcore album, Goodnight, God Bless, I Love U, Delete by Crosses is a fantastic synthpop adjacent album and I got to see it performed live and it's amazing music, Reborn Superstar! by Hanabie. is a great Japanese metalcore album, and go listen to Kikuo Miku 7 for some rad Hatsune Miku bullshit.
My top 50 music releases of 2023:
We're Still Here by Hirs
After the Night by Parannoul
Scaring the Hoes by JPEGMAFIA & Danny Brown
Dogsbody by Model/Actriz
Desire, I Want to Turn Into You by Caroline Polachek
After the Magic by Parannoul
Goodnight, God Bless, I Love U, Delete. by Crosses
God Cum Poltergeist by Crisis Sigil
uma by betcover!!
Ultra Paradise by Angel Electronics
Reborn Superstar! by Hanabie.
No Joy by Spanish Love Songs
Saved by Reverend Kristin Michael Hayter
Live in Japan by Mass of the Fermenting Dregs
93696 by Liturgy
Resistance and the Blessing by World's End Girlfriend
Kikuo Miku 7 by Kikuo
Javelin by Sufjan Stevens
Integrated Tech Solutions by Aesop Rock
Poil Ueda by Poil & Junko Ueda
Enola Gay by Asia Menor
Upal by Kostnateni
The Loveliest Time by Carly Rae Jepsen
Michael by Killer Mike
Exul by Ne Obliviscaris
Hellmode by Jeff Rosenstock
Hometown to Come by Minhwi Lee
Life is but a Dream... by Avenged Sevenfold
Chaser by Femtanyl
Sadness / Abriction by Sadness / Abriction
O Monolith by Squid
But Here We Are by Foo Fighters
Stone by Baroness
History Books by The Gaslight Anthem
Why Does the Earth Give Us People to Love? by Kara Jackson
Rookie's Bustle by Ada Rook
Futility by Yakui The Maid
Let's Start Here. by Lil Yachty
The Age of Pleasure by Janelle Monae
Bee and the Whales by Galileo Galilei
Zach Bryan self titled
Everything is Alive by Slowdive
Let's Hope Heteros Fail, Learn, and Retire by Alice Longyu Gao
Se bueno by TURQUOISEDEATH
Yoshitsune by Poil & Junko Ueda
Perfect Picture by Hannah Diamond
January Never Dies by Balming Tiger
Jenny From Thebes by The Mountain Goats
Never Falter Hero Girl by Katie Dey
Sisterhood by lostrushi
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