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jaskiers-sweetkiss · 4 years ago

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The Mercer Legacy - Part 1

Pairings: Reggie x Luke x Reader, Willex

Word Count: 1.8K

Warnings: none?

a/n: welcome to the first part of my social media JATP au!! Im really excited about this series and I hope you like it!! Let me know if you’d like to be added to the taglist!

Masterlist TML Masterlist

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“Beep beep! Coming through!” You heard somebody call from down the sidewalk.

You stepped to the side, lifting your dress so that the white fabric didn’t touch the grass but Alex wasn’t as lucky. Your best friend apparently hadn’t heard the warning and before any of you knew what had happened, Alex and the skateboarder were both sprawled on the ground.

“Oh, you dinged my board!” The skateboarder whined as he stood and you saw Alex scowl.

“I dinged your board? Dude, you ran me over! You’re lucky I didn’t-“ Alex stopped abruptly and you smirked, recognizing the expression on your best friend’s face as he actually looked at the boy who had run into him.

You knew that look, that was Alex’s gay panic look. However, before Alex could regain control of his brain long enough to say something his mom interrupted, calling out from the car.

“Alexander, Y/N, let’s get a move on! We don’t want to be late!”

The skateboarder nodded apologetically to Alex before riding off, leaving Alex to stare longingly after him. When he finally turned back he was met with a teasing grin from you.

“Don’t say a word,” he grit out, glaring at you and you laughed.

“Whatever you say, lover boy.”

“I hate you.”

“You love me.”

___

The event was about as stuffy as you’d imagined it would be. After they’d lined you all up and announced you to the attendees, the master of ceremonies turned it over to the orchestra to play for the rest of the evening.

“How much longer do we have to be here?” You huffed, plopping down very un-ladylike into the chair next to your best friend.

“At least two more hours, probably longer,” Alex responded dejectedly and you sighed, taking a sip of your fruit punch as you surveyed the room.

Most of the attendees, both debutantes and parents, were slow-dancing to whatever piece the orchestra played. You would be perfectly content if you never made it onto the dance floor though you knew it was unlikely considering Mrs. Mercer’s overbearing and controlling nature. She’d be damned if her son didn’t dance to at least one song which meant you’d be dancing with him.

“Y’know, whoever chose fruit punch as a beverage for this event is an idiot,” you declared, holding your cup up to eye level as you stared into the red liquid. “It would be so easy to spill this all over my pristine white dress. Maybe I should. We’d probably get to leave and…” You trailed off.

Though distorted and colorized due to the liquid in your cup, you thought you recognized one of the young servers. Lowering your glass slowly as to not spill your drink (sure you’d threatened to but really this was a nice dress and you didn’t want to ruin it) you peered more clearly across the room at the boy.

“Hey isn’t that your boyfriend?” You asked Alex, grinning teasingly at him.

It was hard to be certain when the guy had traded his helmet for a neat bun at the base of his neck and his street clothes for a tuxedo shirt and black slacks but you were pretty sure that was the same boy who had run Alex over with his skateboard.

“What?” Alex hissed, looking around frantically and you weren’t sure if he was checking to make sure no one had overheard (no one had, you’d checked before you’d said anything) or looking for the boy in question.

“Your skater boy,” you explained. “Isn’t that him over there with the tray of hor d’œuvres?”

“Oh my god.”

“Well, what are you waiting for? Go introduce yourself, get his number!”

“I can’t just go over there,” Alex exclaimed, parroting your words back at you. “He’s working!”

You huffed and rolled your eyes at his reluctance.

“Fine. Then I’m hungry let’s go get a snack,” you stood, dragging him out of his chair with you.

You looped your arm through his, not allowing him to get away as you pulled him across the room. You stopped in front of the skater boy, pretending to be occupied with selecting an hor d’oeurve from his tray. You felt Alex freeze up next to you and you nudged him with your elbow.

“Alright well, Alex, I’m going to go sit over there,” you gestured over to a table nearby, “and let you guys talk.”

You slipped your arm from Alex’s, winking no-so-discretely at him as you moved away.

“I hate you,” you heard him hiss in your direction but you just smiled cheekily in response.

“So, Alex huh?” You heard the skater boy ask before you were out of earshot and you smirked.

You sat down at a nearby table alone, keeping an eye on Alex in case you needed to rescue him. However, once you saw him relax you let your gaze wander. Your new seat afforded you a view of the orchestra and you found your gaze drifting off towards the musicians. You hadn’t realized you’d been staring at one particular musician until the dark-haired cellist winked at you.

You felt heat immediately rise to your cheeks and you quickly averted your gaze, embarrassed at being caught by the cute musician. Of course, your gaze then fell to a violinist across the orchestra setup. To your surprise he was already staring at you, a cocky smirk on his face as he continued to play, completely disregarding the sheet music and conductor in front of him.

He was undeniably attractive, though in a different way than the other musician who had caught your eye. Still, you had the undeniable urge to wipe the smirk off his face and make him as flustered as you were so you did what the cellist had just done to you moments before. You winked. However, it didn’t seem to phase him very much, the flash of surprise crossing his face quickly replaced with a smug grin and you groaned internally. Not wanting to drop your facade and surrender, you did your best to smile back demurely before you looked away, eyes going back to where Alex and his skater boy had been standing.

You couldn’t help your surprise when you discovered that they were no longer standing where you’d left them. Your eyes began to flit frantically around the ballroom, searching for the familiar frame of your best friend but you couldn’t find him. That’s when you noticed that the skater boy was nowhere to be found either and you smirked to yourself, realizing that they must have snuck off somewhere.

Yeah, Alex definitely owed you.

You had just pulled your phone out to text him as much when the orchestra stopped playing. The sudden absence of sound shocked you and you looked up to see the MC stepping up to the microphone as the musicians began filing out. The MC explained that the orchestra was taking a brief break and you tuned out the rest of his announcement, your eyes being once again drawn to the brunet violinist. He tilted his head towards the stage door, silently inviting you to join him backstage and you quirked a brow in surprise. He winked in response, smiling cheekily before he turned to follow the rest of the orchestra off the stage.

You sent a quick text to Alex in case he came back before you snuck out the back, doing your best to blend in with the musicians. You were certain you were unsuccessful given your white gown and their concert blacks but nobody stopped you so you didn’t give it much thought.

It took you a moment to locate the violinist and you were surprised to find him with the dark-hair cellist who had winked at you. The violinist was sitting backward in his chair, elbows resting on the back while the cellist sat crisscrossed on another. They both looked up at you as you made your way towards them, each smiling at you, though the violinist’s was more of a smirk.

“Pull up a chair, mystery girl,” the violinist invited gesturing to a nearby black plastic chair when you approached.

“Mystery girl?” You quirked a brow quizzically as you slung the chair around to face them. You sat down gingerly, careful of your gown before pulling off your white gloves, gratefully to get rid of the fabric now that you were away from the rest of the attendees.

“Well we don’t know your name,” the violinist explained, studying you intently as if he was trying to figure out how you fit into this whole event.

“Well I don’t know yours either,” you tossed back with a smirk of your own as you crossed your legs and leaned back in your seat.

“Oh, well, I’m Luke,” the violinist introduced before gesturing to the cellist, “and this is...”

“Reggie!” The cellist chimed in, “Can we know your name now?”

“Y/N,” you answered simply with a smile. However, that smile turned into narrowed eyes and a look of suspicion as you watched the two boys exchange looks.

“You’re Alex’s y/n,” Reggie spoke aloud and you did a double-take.

“I’m who’s y/n?” You spluttered in disbelief.

“You are Alex’s best friend right? Alex Mercer?” Luke asked, leaning forward and causing his chair to tilt onto two legs.

“I- yeah, but how do you know that?”

“We’re in a band together! I play the bass and Lu…” Reggie trailed off, his voice going from excited to confused as he watched your expressions shift. “You don’t know about the band.”

“No, I do not,” you grit out, mind starting to wonder what else Alex had left out. Your best friend seemed to be living a secret life. “I’m gonna fight him.”

You pushed out of your seat, ready to hunt your best friend down and force him to tell you everything.

“No, wait!” Luke reached out a hand to grab your wrist, stopping you in your tracks. “Why do that when we could mess with him?”

You turned, giving him a thoughtful look. “Go on.”

“Well, obviously he kept us apart for a reason, imagine how freaked out he’ll be if he finds out we already know each other!”

“I like the way you think,” you smirked, sitting back down in your chair and pulling out your phone. “Okay now smile.”

You took a couple pictures of the two boys, wanting some options to post on Instagram later.

“Oh wait! We need some of you!” Reggie exclaimed, having caught on to your plan without you having to verbalize it.

You nodded in agreement as he pulled out his phone. You did a couple quick poses before dissolving into laughter, unable to take yourself seriously. The three of you sat that way for a few more minutes, getting to know each other and plotting your revenge on Alex.

Before you knew it the orchestra’s break time was up and the musicians began to file back onto the stage, leaving you to sneak back into the ballroom. Alex was waiting by the side door with a quizzical face.

“What were you doing back there?” He asked and you had to fight to keep the smirk off your face.

“Just visiting some friends.”

Part 2

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TML Taglist: @bright-molina @bright-patterson

JATP Taglist: @meangirlsx @morganayennefertyrell @n0wornever

#jatp #jatp fic #julie and the phantoms fic #jatp au #willex #alex mercer #luke patterson #reggie peters #reggie x luke x reader #ruke x reader #peterpatter x reader #peterpatter #ruke #reggie x reader #luke x reader #julie and the phantoms

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animeraider · 4 years ago

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My Kevin Gilbert Story, and my latest single.

As some of you know I’ve had a few brushes with the “big break” that many in my line of work crave. I was signed to a major label in the early 1990s, and the record I turned in was shelved. The label wanted me to be the “next Michael Penn” and by that point not even Mr. Penn was interested in that, let alone me. I had three songs picked up for a movie, which was never released. I got out of my record contract and signed with another label, releasing an album that included 5 songs from the one that was shelved. The label put no money behind it. I had a big hit in 2009 and signed a European distribution deal, which fell apart when the married couple who ran the business fell into a messy divorce. I sold thousands and thousands of records in Eastern Europe – which were being sold by pirates. It took several years to get that fixed.

I had an audition that everyone felt I was a lock for to play keyboards for a Japanese band that had a huge following. My flight to the audition was supposed to be September 12, 2001. I actually watched the plane I was supposed to board land as it was the last flight grounded. I’ve done some engineering and performing I don’t get to tell anyone about – the NDA’s are pretty strong. One of my songs became the theme to a German Television show.

But let me tell you the story of a relationship I almost had with a multi-Grammy-winning star who soared high and made it further than I have, whose song I have made a cover of and released as a single today.

So where to begin. First of all, yes, I knew Kevin Gilbert. No, we weren’t friends, but we were colleagues and classmates. We performed together a few times – all of if school related. That’s it. Oh, and he invited me to a jam session he was going to have once and I turned him down. I’ll get to that.

Believe it or not, I have to tell this story starting in the middle. There was once a band called Toy Matinee. I loved that band. Clever songs, well written melodies, a sense of darkness and a sense of fun. It was a band that me and my roommate Max could agree on and we cranked that album loud and often. We went and saw them live at the Troubadour in Los Angeles, and were about 10 feet from the stage. This is NOT the live album released in 1999, but I can tell you they rocked the place that night. Played almost every song from the album, and did an encore of Elton John’s “Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding” that smoked.

A great night.

Now I jump into the past, to tell the tale of the UCLA Synthesizer Ensemble. It was the brainchild of Professor Roger Bourland, who at the time was only in his 2nd year as a professor at the school and would later become dean of the department. He searched out the most rock and roll musicians in what was mostly a stuffy classical music department. Me. Dave Koz. Joel Harnel. And this kid named Kevin. The five of us took another student’s source material and arranged up a musical. Straight musical theater and full of schlock, and all performed on synthesizers. We eventually put on four shows, with the five of us in the orchestra pit. I wrote the show-stopper ballad and a Latin inspired piece. I hate to say it, but I no longer remember what everyone else did, although I remember Dave mostly for his EWI playing and Joel for multiple reasons – including the fact that he wrote and arranged all of the drum parts.

I knew Joel fairly well – we had played together a few times and he was even more rock and roll than me, with more experience. Dave Koz was, even then, Dave Koz. The only saxophonist I had met up to that point in my life who was better than me. We had played in jazz bands together but he was already a rising star. When he beat me for the gig with Richard Marx’s touring band his career just took off – but all this was before then. I was one of Roger Bourland’s students – in fact, I had been in the “test” classroom when he had auditioned for his job.

I barely knew this Kevin kid. I was constantly getting his name wrong – for whatever reason my brain had him wired as Kevin Anderson.

My only real interaction with him outside of this 12-week experiment was down in the practice rooms. Many of these rooms had pianos in them and on any given day you could hear Mozart, Brahms, Chopin and all of the other usual suspects. I would go and write my own material and be pounding out rock and roll. Kevin did that too. Once while in the middle of the writing process for the musical he came into my practice room while I was working on a song in the style of Elton John. He invited me to a jam session the next Tuesday he was going to, and I declined. Tuesday was when MY band practiced, and as their lead guitarist I needed the practice.

That was the end of it. After the musical was over we all drifted our separate ways and for the most part didn’t run into each other again. I ran into Dave once at a music festival in San Francisco and he introduced me to Clarence Clemmons, which was pretty damned cool.

By now you’ve figured out that Kevin was Kevin Gilbert. Congratulations. I hadn’t. For many years to follow I would remember him as Kevin Anderson.

Now I’ve told you all of this so that you understand that this is long BEFORE Max and I went to see Toy Matinee in concert. I became a fan of the band without knowing that Kevin was its leader. I was ten feet away from him, performing for an hour. I had performed with him myself.

I didn’t recognize him. Nothing clicked in my brain that this was the same guy. I didn’t put two and two together. I rolled for my intelligence check and got a one.

Kevin Gilbert would go on to a solo career, win seven Grammys for his work with Madonna, be part of the driving musical force behind Sheryl Crow’s first album, become one of the founders of the Tuesday Night Music Club, and become one of my songwriting heroes. The man could paint a picture with very few words and his musical ability was enviable.

And then he died; a victim of his own vices. I’m not going to go into that here – I know nothing at all and can shed no light on the subject.

Several years later I relocated to San Francisco with my family. I discovered the band Giraffe once I was on their home turf, and of course discovered the fact that Kevin Gilbert had been their leader when he was a teenager. BEFORE I knew him. Giraffe was a pretty damned good band that had come so startlingly close to making it big – their albums are worth hunting down and they did a fantastic live rendition of Genesis’ “Lamb Lies Down on Broadway” (the full album mind you) that is lots of fun.

I was looking for a recording studio for my second album when I ran across a man named Steve Smith who owned a recording studio down the peninsula from where I was living. In his bio, he briefly mentioned that he was the drummer for Giraffe. Awesome. On his web site of the time if you dug in a little bit there was a bio of Kevin Gilbert, and he talked about the brief time he spent at UCLA.

Parts of the story looked and felt awfully familiar to me. Smith talked about the musical without mentioning the name, and again, it felt familiar. Me being slightly brave, I wrote an e-mail to him to ask what was the title of that musical and that I might have been involved in it. He confirmed it for me.

Holy crap.

All of the pieces started falling into place then. The rehearsals, our discussions about piano playing, that I went to one of his shows and failed to recognize him? The fact that I think he invited me to come join the FUCKING TUESDAY NIGHT MUSIC CLUB and I didn’t even fucking notice!?!!?!!?!!?

I’m an idiot.

Actually, in looking back at the timeline I don’t think he invited me to join TNMC. That came a couple of years later – I think. I’m never going to know for certain. If he had told any of the other members I don’t know about it. I’ve exchanged about a dozen words with one of the other members over social media but we certainly don’t know one another.

I wonder if he saw me in the audience that night and laughed. I will never know. I can tell you there is an album version of that night you can listen to and/or buy. A then-unknown Sheryl Crow played keyboards in the band, dressed up like a dominatrix biker chick. When I found out about that later I was amazed – I didn’t recognize her either.

I’m an idiot.

Nick D’Virgilio of Spock’s Beard played drums. I don’t remember the name of the bass player but what I remember is this man with the thickest eyebrows I have ever seen in my life. Marc Bonilla played lead guitar. Oh, the people I could have met.

I never did work in Steve Smith’s studio. I no longer remember why.

When I was working on my third album in my newly built home studio I recorded a number of covers and one of those was Kevin Gilbert’s “Tea For One”. It’s a fantastic song of unrequited love and missed chances told from start to finish in only a few dozen words. I have no idea if he would have liked what I did to his song – he had a wicked sense of humor that I can recall now but I never got to know him on a personal level as a songwriter, which was my mistake. I could have but I was so focused on myself in those days that even if the overtures were made I probably didn’t even notice.

I recorded the song in what I called "Garage Pop" during those days. A bit uneven, imperfect vocals - what you might get from a band practicing in their garage instead of a polished studio version. If you want that, I recommend hunting down his version.

But I recorded “Tea for One” just the same – it’s a great song and I’d like to think I gave it some justice – even if it doesn’t come close his version. It was on the original version of my third album "The Long Goodbye", which I released myself, but was cut when the album was moved to digital streaming services (In all fairness, I cut 21 songs from the original release – which was a 2 CD set).

My music career has been dark for several years, but it got jump started in 2020 in the middle of the pandemic and I’ve been revisiting a lot of my unreleased work since, and of all the covers I did this is still my favorite. I am releasing it now, in tribute to a musician I admire and could have called friend if I had just paid a bit of attention.

The guy holding the roses was me, as it turns out. I had no idea.

+++++++++++++++++

For those of you with very long memories you should listen to the full single on Spotify, because I’ve thrown in a little bonus for people who remember the 1980’s band ASK. Just a little piece of a little ditty written by me, Kevin Donville and Ed Lee.

#Spotify

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hmel78 · 5 years ago

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In conversation with Steve Hackett ...

STEVE HACKETT : FROM “NURSEY CRYME” TO “WOLFLIGHT” - 45 YEARS OF MAKING MUSIC

With a distinguished and well documented career which spans 6 decades , there is probably not much that music lovers don’t already know about Steve Hackett. If, somewhere along the lines, you’ve missed out on the back catalog of his glorious guitar work - there is always time to discover something new ... and you should!

Whilst Steve Hackett is probably best known for his work as guitarist and vocalist with “Genesis” - recording a total of 9 albums with them between 1970 to 1977 - he has also performed and collaborated with numerous incredible musicians; was a key member of ‘Supergroup’ GTR [with Steve Howe] ; and boasts a solo discography that sees Hackett experiment successfully with every musical genre known to man, plus a handful of his own fusions inbetween! With the release of his latest studio album, Steve Hackett is currently enjoying more time in the spotlight, or should we say “Wolflight”? - and deservedly so. According to Hackett himself, “Wolflight” is both “Primal and orchestral” and marks a new, unexplored, chapter in the guitarist's career. “Ever since I got involved in the music business” says Hackett, “I have wanted to make this album, to break the rules ...” Whilst retaining the Hackett trademark of electric guitar running right the way through, the album also encompasses, beautifully, the addition of acoustic guitar, with a bizarre orchestra of instruments from the far reaches of our Earth ( some of which it’s possible you’ve never heard before!) Ten tracks which encourage the listener to “wander between parallel universes, on a journey through space and time, looking at the different faces of the endless fight for freedom”. Helen Robinson embraced a recent opportunity to speak to Steve, and managed to gain a little insight into the man behind this lifetime of amazing recordings. Whether we boldly went where no journalists have ever gone before, remains to be seen - but so far as musicians go, we’re fairly sure that Steve Hackett will continue to travel far beyond the final frontier ... HR - When you first joined ‘Genesis’, it was in advance of the bands 4th album "Nursery Cryme" - compared to the band's previous recordings, your input is immediately clear to the listener. How hard was it for you to join an already established band, and have your ideas included? SH - Very hard indeed! They had their own musical language for various things they had developed since school days and at first I felt an earthling on Mars. I realised I had to learn to speak Martian very quickly and invent some new words too... I realised they needed a harder edge more aggressive aspect. I added some dark colours to their pastels, whilst also embracing their acoustic side with my own ideas for twelve string. With three twelve string players we had the capacity of thirty six strings all chiming away at once. HR - By the time "Selling England by the Pound" was released, ‘Genesis’ had become commercially successful, and You were being recognised as an influence on other musicians with your guitar techniques. Were you aware of that at the time? Did your new musical / celebrity status affect how you continued to progress with playing guitar, or writing songs? SH - I had no idea that I was becoming an influence on players such as Brian May and Eddie Van Halen. We were pleased to learn that John Lennon was listening to “Selling England...” I didn't feel like a celebrity though. I just kept my head down, got on with my gig and continued to work on discovering what was hidden in the corners of the instrument. HR – ‘Genesis’ is clearly a passion that has never left you, and understandably so! ("Genesis Revisited" also landing you an 'Event of the year' award) . Across all of the ‘Genesis’ albums that you were a part of, have you a favourite track, or a favourite memory of recording with them? SH - I was particularly proud of 'Dancing with the Moonlit Knight' because that one single song contained so many contradictory styles, which somehow all worked together beautifully. "Selling England by the Pound" was a great blast for me because I feel we were on the cusp of several planes, including rock, classical and jazz. HR - You've appeared on dozens of significant artists' recordings - which means most to you to have been a part of? HR - I very much enjoyed working with Icelandic band ‘Todmobile’ recently because of the quality and power of their writing and performance. It was great to both record and then play with them along with a choir and orchestra in Iceland. There have been numerous others I've enjoyed too. It's wonderful to be part of a large ocean of talent. HR - And I must ask about supergroup "GTR"! Is that something you look back on fondly, or was it hard to retain a musical identity, and remain diplomatic, when recording as a unit with other successful musicians who are renowned for making music in the same genre? SH - I think the positives outweighed the difficulties. Although as with all groups compromises had to be made, I loved several aspects, such as the song 'When the Heart Rules the Mind' which successfully bridged the gap between progressive rock and accessible pop. It wasn't always an easy road but I do look back on it fondly. HR - Your first solo album, "Voyage of the Acolyte", was recorded whilst you were still with ‘Genesis’. Was it difficult for you to step out of their zone, and into your own, Or was it completely refreshing, to have the freedom to do something which was entirely yours? SH - It felt liberating to bypass band politics, but at the same time to have the full cooperation of the band's rhythm section. Also it was an early example of Phil's ability to carry a complete song as lead singer. Many ideas had been bubbling under for me during the whole period of rehearsing, recording and touring “The Lamb..”, and it was great to pilot my own dingy, which became a flagship for the whole fleet of albums that were to follow. HR - "Bay of Kings" was your first fully instrumental album - what inspired you to record something different, and how do you feel it was received? SH - Although it was an album of almost exclusively acoustic nylon classical guitar pieces, it was immediately accepted by an audience that were ready to try on something new from me. I've always had a lot of respect for the classical guitar, which I liken to an orchestra in miniature. HR - You've experimented with a number of musical genres, but where is your comfort zone musically? SH - I've had this chameleon like approach for as long as I can remember. I feel that rock 'n roll doesn't have to be just basic. It can be multi-faceted. Rock's shoulders ought to be broad enough to carry something of the unfamiliar. I always feel the need to bridge different genres, sometimes forming a new style as a result. It's also lovely to discover how one instrument can morph into another. Let's hear it for psychedelic skiffle! HR - Have there been any albums which you found particularly difficult to record, or which you now find difficult to listen to? SH - No album is easy to record or it wouldn't be worth doing. Sometimes the sculptor hates the stone and has to sweat blood before he is satisfied with the results. I struggle with listening to some of my early efforts because techniques come more easily to me now. HR - There's a whole host of guest musicians throughout your solo recordings - who have you most enjoyed working with? Who would you most like to work with? SH - It was wonderful to work with the late great Richie Havens. He had the most incredible voice, sweet yet with infinite power... A rare combination of velvet and leather. I would love to work with everybody. Another singer I once knew called Dave Thompson also had a lovely voice and I've often thought I would like to do something with him. I enjoyed working with the Royal Philharmonic orchestra for my album "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and it would be great to work with them again. HR – with 45 years of a phenomenal, and successful musical career behind you, along comes your new solo album "Wolflight", which you say yourself is the best thing you've ever done. Please tell us more about it. What is it particularly that you love about the album? SH - I enjoy the cinematic scope of "Wolflight" - the breadth of the instrumentation. The whole thing works like an enlarged orchestra featuring world music instruments, rock instruments and vocals. It's like travelling in a time machine through the ages and around the world at the same time. It's full of complimentary opposites and unlikely pairings such as Australian digeridoo with tar from Azerbaijan or Armenian duduk alongside harp, and oud from Iraq with classical violin and viola... There's a strong sense of the primal and the exotic with a Gothic aspect. The subtext of the album is the long fight for freedom in all it's forms - freedom from slavery, freedom to retain multi-cultural diversity and personal freedom from repressive relationships. The title means the hour before dawn, hour of the wolf hunt. The album begins with a wolf cry and the characters in the title track see the wolf as their totem. The wolf binds all aspects of the album. HR - And for the future - can "Wolflight" be bettered for the next Steve Hackett solo album? SH - I don't know whether I can better this, but I'll always be on the hunt for unlikely and ancient instruments, be a musical archaeologist on Earth, search for life on planet Zog and explore more of those dark crevices and yawning caverns. To boldly go...

#steve hackett #genesis #wolflight #guitar #lespaul

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uraniumglassbong · 5 years ago

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Bastille Day!!

In honor of today being Bastille Day, thought I’d post some descriptions/faceclaims of the Paris expatriate characters I love. The dream is to one day write a TV show about them, but for now I just write little snapshots. Anyway

Melvin Cohen

29, he/him. Plays bass for the Paris Opera Ballet pit orchestra, used to be a dancer but can’t get hired anymore due to severe scarring on his legs/torso from the war. He was a soldier who was trusted with a list of names of spies, and was captured and tortured for information. Because of this he has hydrophobia (waterboarding) and can’t shower unless he’s got someone to talk to while he’s doing it. Usually it’s Rose. His parents and sister live in Brooklyn. He lives with Rose and Gil, until he eventually moves from Paris to Berlin with Ben, and then back to New York alone as World War Two begins (the guy’s Big Jewish). Absolutely feral most of the time, usually standing on something people aren’t supposed to stand on. Very in love with Ben.

Ben Van Luren

35, he/him. A jazz pianist and a (terrible) stand-up comedian. Was a doctor in the war and is constantly considering going back to school to become a psychiatrist, but has neither the money nor the mental health to do so. He was less affected by the war than Mel, Gil, and Felicity; he has a lot of survivors guilt, though. Quiet and very introverted; he grew up in a series of boarding schools on the east coast and now he lives alone a few blocks from Harry. His parents died while he was in med school, but he’s close with his extended family and usually goes home to his aunt’s house in Connecticut for holidays. Stays in Berlin when Mel moves to help a nazi resistance group- see survivors guilt. Very in love with Melvin.

Gilbert McCallister

34, he/him. An author who wrote a pretty successful novel a year before he moved to Paris, and is trying to write a second one under pressure from his publisher/readers. Was a part of the Harlem Renaissance for a hot minute, but hates America so much that he left. He lives with Melvin and Rose until his second suicide attempt, after which everyone decides it’d be best for him to move in with Harry and Olivia so he can be under better supervision and have better support. Olivia is his surrogate mom- his real mom dies while he’s fighting on the western front. Usually pretty stoic, but when he opens up he’s the funniest one in the group.

Harry King

68, he/him. Used his old money to move from Edinburgh to Paris after the war, because he saw the art scene expanding and wanted to start collecting/getting his poetry published. He owns a small mansion that everyone hangs out at in their free time- Ben concerted the attic into a dance studio for Melvin. Worked as a journalist and wrote editorials about the war, but due to his agoraphobia never went to the front. He doesn’t leave his house now, but ironically is one of the most renowned naturalist poets in the community.

Olivia Brodeur

70, she/her. Officially Harry’s housekeeper, but she also works as his publisher (and eventually Rose’s too), and ends up being a pseudo- mom and/or therapist to the band of bastards- which is what she calls them- that hang out at her house. Not an artist by any stretch, but an amazing critic, editor, and publisher. The only character with any common sense. Speaks primarily French as she was born and raised in Paris and hasn’t left except for a few trips to Germany to visit family (before the war), but her english gets better as she tries to communicate with the bastards.

Rose Cranor

21, she/her. Moved to Paris to be a historian specializing in the French Revolution, but eventually becomes a poet. She still keeps a research assistant job to pay the rent, though. Wasn’t involved in the war at all, mostly because her parents were extremely protective until they found out she’s gay and cut her off. Lives with Melvin and Gil until both of them move out; then she moves into a hotel closer to Felicity. She’s a little too willing to help her friends, and as a result most of them become pretty dependent on her- Mel wakes her up whenever his nightmares get too bad, she’s usually the one who talks Gil down from the edge, etc. For the most part she doesn’t mind, but she does snap eventually and tells her roommates to figure their shit out. Loves Felicity a lot.

Felicity Jefferson

23, she/her. A painter who ends up as one of the big names in the surrealist movement. She was a nurse for the British army on the western front, and is pretty traumatized from it. Her family lives in London, and she lives off a monthly allowance from them; her parents are big patrons of the arts in England, so they love to support her. Lives alone in a studio on Montmartre, and she’s famous within the art community for the parties she hosts there. She’s the funniest, after Gil, and also the most assertive, but she’s very quiet, and still adheres to the manners she learned in English boarding school. Likes Rose but sees it as much more casual than Rose does.

La Tempete (the thunderstorm)

A bar on the outskirts of Paris where everyone meets for the first time, and continues to gather at for the rest of their time in the city. They meet on Bastille Day 1922- Ben has a gig playing piano, Rose is there because it was a significant location for the uprising she’s studying (think ABC cafe), Olivia is there to restock Harry’s wine cellar, and Gil, Melvin, and Felicity are there because the Bastille Day fireworks are bad for World War One veterans. They meet and Olivia, deciding that the bastards would like Harry, invites them over for dinner the following night. There, Rose, Gil, and Melvin discover that they’re all looking for a place to stay, and resolve to start looking for apartments together. The bar closes a few years after that night; it’s tradition for them to meet there every Bastille Day, and when they get there and it’s boarded up, they end up breaking in.

les meilleurs jours (the better days, according to google translate)

Eventually everyone splits off- Mel and Ben move to Berlin, and then to Brooklyn, Gil joins the International Brigades and moves to England and then fights in Spain, and Rose moves to California to try and get into the movie business after she and Felicity break it off. The thing that brings everyone back in 1939 is Felicity and Olivia’s latest idea: turning Harry’s house into an artists commune of sorts. There’s a lot of unused bedrooms, and the dance studio in the attic, and the parlor has already been functioning as an art studio/saloon, and Harry is all for having other artists in his house. There’s a party to celebrate the opening, and everyone shows up. Rose and Gil both decide to move back to Paris and rent rooms. When France surrenders to Germany in World War Two, les meilleurs jours becomes a meeting place for resistance groups, and also publishes and distributed several pamphlets. They produce more underground publications in the 1968 student revolutions, as well, although they aren’t as good since Olivia isn’t around to serve as editor. It stays open until the late 1970s, when Felicity has to close it due to structural problems.

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nickrbockr · 7 years ago

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Simon Vs Fan Fic: Chapter 5 - Beer Pong: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying & Love Abby and Nick

Ao3

The first show in the season was Spamalot. Nothing against the musical and to many, MANY people’s shock, it’s not my favorite show. Ian is also more of a stage and film actor, so he didn’t audition at all. Because of this, I have an ensemble role and dramatically less rehearsal time on the evening and weekends which left a hole that could only be filled by an Abby & Nick filled weekend extravaganza!

Too much? Oh well. They’re coming this weekend and it’s been needed since I haven’t seen them since the summer. Nick is tearing it up a Julliard in composition and is working a lot with both the vocal performers and the orchestra and has caught the eye of film studios in New York. Many people want to collaborate with him and it’s so great to see Nick become a break out star.

Abby has also had her share of business on the designing aspect. She designed sets for an off-Broadway production of ‘Reefer Madness’ as well as designed and created costumes for the school productions. She has turned into the stereotypical paint-covered human being who constantly hustles. Nick also connects her to his friends at Julliard to commission outfits for their recitals and even Glinda and Elphaba’s dresses for their performance of Wicked.

Needless to say, they are both constantly busy and we hear from them sporadically, but when we’re all able to connect, it’s like we never left Shady Creek. It’s what makes us work as a group: time has no impact on our friendships.

It’s been about a month since I spoke to Tracy and got her blessing and I’ve been coasting on happiness from her approval. One down, two to go, but Elijah has been more difficult to pin down for a talk.

Don’t get me wrong, Bram’s dad and I get along great, it’s just nerve wracking talking to any father of the person you’re planning on marrying. It’s scary, almost scarier than proposing to Bram. Why was it easier with Tracy? I guess easy was a subjective word. Maybe because we expect mothers to be more accepting than fathers. I don’t know if that’s true, but in this case of Tracy and Elijah, I think it is.

I try to call him and I always seem to get his voice mail. I’ll leave brief messages, but then he always texts back responding to whatever voice mail I left. It made me realize it’s probably why Bram acted the way he did in high school. Bram has grown since then, and I’d like to think I helped him. The only thing he didn’t out grow was how he surprised me with gifts in random spots he knew I’d look. Leah has helped him leave plenty of gifts for birthdays and for days that Bram just felt like sending me flowers or small care packages of Oreos. And he’s impacted me. I wear band shirts now.

“Yeah, he’s not the best person at communication,” Tracy told me when I called to ask for advice. “He means no ill will, Simon, understand that much.”

“Oh no, I don’t think that either. But do you think…and this is going to sound weird, but do you think there is any way I can sort of…trick him into seeing me in person?”

Tracy laughed over the phone as I stare my Elliot Smith poster above my bed. I put him there because now I think of Bram every time I see him. It makes me reflect on Bram boppin’ and groovin’ his head as he got himself to like Elliot Smith only because he was trying impress a boy in high school using a pseudonym.

“The only thing that man loves more than Bram is fishing. Talk him into a fishing trip and you got yourself at least a half-day with him.”

Great. Such a dad response to have to be distracted doing something else to talk about a totally unrelated subject. Also, as you may know, I never had the best time fishing. But it’s no longer about me, it’s about Bram and me.

“That shouldn’t be hard, New Haven is right on the water.”

“Sounds like you got this, son.” Tracy said with motherly warmth. It was weird to hear her call me son, but soon she wouldn’t be wrong to call me that. It’s becoming more and more real everyday that my future is rapidly approaching and it’s scary and new and fun and in the end I won’t be alone in my adventure. My heart beat increased and lips parted.

“Thank you…Mom.” I reply.

“Go get him tiger.”

The call ended and I let my phone fall on the bed. The fan rotated slowly around as it hypnotized me into thought. I thought about my life four short years ago. I had just discovered there was another person like me and the seemingly isolated journey of discovering I was a boy who liked boys was joined by another face. A Blue face.

Blue. Bram. Blue. Bram. Abraham Louis Greenfeld-Spier? Simon Jacob Spier-Greenfeld? Abraham Louis Speir? Simon Jacob Greenfeld? Which flowed off the tongue better? It just occurred to me that we’ll have to have that discussion of the last name. Or will we just keep our own? Should we create a new last name? I can cross that bridge later.

Bzzz.

Abby calling.

“Hey Abby,” I answer.

“Simon! Hi! How are you!?”

“Good, good,” I chuckle. “Are you guys close?”

“Yes we are, we’re about 10 minutes away. I miss you! You guys are still in the same apartment right?”

“You know it. Leah is not one to move more than she needs to.”

“Simon!” Nick yelled in the background.

“Nick says hi,” Abby confirmed.

“Everything is already set up, just waiting for you two crazy kids.”

“Prepare for a few drunken days, Si, it’s been awhile since either of us have been able to unwind!”

“She’s right!” Nick yelled again. “Stretch your liver, it’s going to get a work out.”

“Okay, okay, we’ll see you guys soon!”

“Byeeee!”

I go downstairs to see Leah and Ian chatting on the couch along with a few of Leah’s friends and some more theatre kids Ian brought with him.

“They’re almost here,” I announce.

“That means shots!” Ian shouts. “Last time they were here I made both of them puke and intend to do the same thing again!”

“I think they’ll actually be on board this time, I guess they’re been working hard and haven’t had a lot of time to unwind.”

“We’re about to change that!” Ian exclaims as he gets the other people in the apartment ready to play a drinking game in the kitchen. Leah and I are left in the living room with a few stragglers.

“Hey.” Leah said. “You okay?”

“Yeah, just a lot on my mind, ya know? School, proposal, things like that.”

“No…” she says, squinting her eyes. “That’s not all of it. What’s on your mind?”

“Nothing…I mean, I guess that Bram’s been a little busy and quiet on the talking front the last few days and I’m trying not to fall into old habits.”

Ugh. I hate myself sometimes. I know Bram is busy. He told me he would be busy, Bram’s Nick told me he’d be busy. I tend to get like this once or twice per semester and get over it after buzz texting Bram and talking it out with Leah (bless her heart). But I guess I’m more disappointed in myself that I’m letting past insecurities manifest.

“Come on, Si. You’re in the home stretch. Don’t retreat into the past, you’re moving forward with me.” Leah ordered.

She pulled me up and we headed into the kitchen to join the group for shots. Leah was right, I need to stop making assumptions. That was the old me. New me is positive and optimistic and…and misses Bram. Need alcohol to counteract these thoughts. Leah and her friends are talking about some boring Sociology professor when suddenly.

“Si!”

Abby and Nick were in the doorway with arms stretched out. These two will also counteract my thoughts. I downed my shot and ran over and hugged Abby who jumped into my arms and wrapped her legs around me like a spider monkey. It was her new college thing and it makes people like her. I squeeze her in our hug and I set her down as Nick ambles over and we hug, on the ground.

“Hey guys! How was the trip?” Leah asked.

“Good, but we need alcohol and Solo cups.” Abby said with a smile.

“We have the alcohol!” Nick shouted as he brought into what people colorly refer to as a ‘dirty thirty.’ For those who had better taste, a dirty thirty is a case of thirty swill water light beers and supply you with a health hangover the next day. That said, you can party longer because it’s mostly water.

“And we have the solo cups,” I finish Nick’s sentence.

“First game!” Ian shouts. “Le Burke, you and me against Simon and Abby!”

“You’re on!” Abby shouts as she pulls out some beers. The cups are filled as one does in a game of beer pong and the party begins. However, Ian comes over with additional beers and adds more beer to our cups.

“Hey now,” Leah started. “We’re not all trying to get Ian drunk tonight, just a normal drunk.”

“This is our last year, we gotta live it up, take risks, make mistakes, and geeeeeetttt messy!”

Ian’s been watching the new Magic School Bus episodes on Netflix. The cups were now about two-thirds the way full as Ian crushed the cans and chucked them in the trash. Beer pong always makes me think of Bram and the Halloween Party. Why isn’t Bram texting me back? I know he’s busy but...too busy for me? No! Leah’s right I need to get out of my head.

As the game unfolds, I’m making none of my shots as the ping-pong ball bounces around on the floor.

“Simon, what’s wrong!? Get your head in the game, we’re getting our asses kicked.” Abby pleaded. We only had four cups left and they had nine.

“Sorry! I’m trying, I’m trying.”

“Losers take shots, Simon!” Ian shouts across the table, pointing his finger at me. “And you take a shot of our choice.

My eyes widen. “Oh god please no-”

Ian pulls a plastic pitcher out of the fridge. Leah puts her hand over her mouth in shock and because she felt nauseated. One night after a party about year ago, Ian thought it would be a fun idea to pool any leftover liquor into a sort of community chest of booze. Since then, various liquors have swirled around in that plastic pitcher and on random occasions it has been used as punishment to losers of drinking games.

“You still have that in there?” One of our theatre friends said laughing. “Oh no, Si, you’re fucked!”

Abby turned to me with determination. “I’m not drinking from that pitcher.”

“Let’s step it up,” I reply, agreeing.

“No, you step it up, I’ve made all our shots!”

“Right, if we lose, I’ll take your shot.” I claim.

“You all hear that? That’s a verbal contract,” Abby shouts. I smile at here and notice Nick isn’t in the kitchen. I peak my head around the corner and see him in our living room (Ian’s bedroom) talking to a group of Leah’s friends. It’s strange, but we are playing a game in here so I suppose he got bored and left to mingle.

After drinking two beers, leaving us with only two cups left, I scored my first cup with a bounce.

“Yes!” Abby shouts as we high five. “That’s two and we get the ball back!”

“Good job, Spier! Finally good to see you woke up and joined the game!” Ian yells playfully. Leah, however, is not a nice as she knows what is on my mind and is pinching her eyes at me from across the table. She turns it off before Abby can notice and sips her beer.

“Re-rack!” I shout. “Diamond and one cup in front.”

“We got this.” Abby whispered as Ian and Leah arranged the cups per our request.

“We got this.” I reply.

We didn’t have it. I missed my shot and Ian and Leah both made their shots into the cups. And now I have to take two shots from the mystery pitcher as Abby Snapchats me doing so. Bram will probably see this and text me, right?

“Just think of it as a Long Island…but literally no coke, just pure alcohol.” Ian gloated.

First one down the hatch.

Uuuggghhhhhhhhh! What is that taste?! My face must have shown what my words didn’t because Ian, Leah, and Abby all laughed at my misery.

“Maybe one is enough,” Leah suggested, seeing my face, knowing my thoughts, and seeing where this could go.

“No way, verbal contract, Simon has too.” Ian defended.

I breathe in deeply and shoot the second down my throat. God! Is that industrial cleaner?! I put the shot class down and breathe through my mouth so I don’t taste the terrible flavor of old vodka, tequila, rum, and whatever the hell else is in that pitcher. The next game starts and we all go into the living room to sit and chat. Nick rejoins us as the people he was talking to followed their friends into the kitchen to watch the game.

“Simon, how are you? Why does it feel so long since we’ve talked? We saw each other last month!” Nick starts, clapping his hand on my shoulder.

The booze has started to take its swimming affect on my head.

“I know! It’s only been a month, but it’s felt much longer. I don’t know, we must just miss each other cause we’re good friends.” I say smiling and throwing my arm around his shoulder.

“That’s it.” Nick said, poking my chest with this finger.

Leah, Abby, and Ian were catching up just across the coffee table on the couch and I realized I haven’t told them about my proposal. I stand up.

“Hey, Abby, Nick, I have something to tell you guys.”

“You’re not going to break into another drunken monologue from a show, are you?” Nick says. “I mean, I love you, Si, but I don’t know if we’re drunk enough for that.” Leah and Abby laugh.

“No! I’m not drunk enough for that either. But no, I have something I want to tell you guys. I have decided…”

I pull out my phone and see no new notifications.

“Decided what?” Abby asks, snapping my attention back.

“Sorry, I have decided to propose to Bram.”

A scream louder than time emanates from Abby’s vocal cords as we all wait for it to be over and then she jumps up and down and back into my arms. People from the kitchen poke their head into the room to see if everything is okay and I give them a thumbs up. Nick is standing a smiling his wide Nick smile, all teeth. As soon as Abby releases me from her hug, Nick comes in and hugs me too.

“That’s amazing, Si. You and Bram are perfect together.” Nick says, sipping his beer.

“He’s so right!” Abby adds. “You two have been the gold standard of relationships since high school!”

“What about you two? You and Nick have dated as long as Bram and I have! If anything we’ve learned from each other.”

Abby pressed her lips and swallowed her smile. Her eyes looked at Nick who looked to the weathered carpet as his thumb flicked the lip of the solo cup. Leah’s eyes pursed as her eyebrows fell towards her ears, fearing for the worst. It was quiet for a bit as all of us stared at one another until I broke the silence.

“Did…did you guys break up?” I asked in a raspy voice.

Nick inhaled and took Abby’s hand. She shook her head and then her standard Abby smile returned.

“We did.”

My mind did back flips. How? Why? The only other couple that I’ve known my age to last as long as Bram and I did is ending? If they could end, can Bram and I end? Will he say no if I propose?

“You’re smiling?” Leah asked, eyebrow cocked. Her statement snapped me out of my thoughts and onto Nick and Abby who were, indeed, smiling.

“Yes,” Abby started. “Look, we would have told you sooner…but we didn’t want to send anyone into a panic.”

“You mean send Simon into a panic,” Leah corrected.

“Maybe.”

“But what happened?” I asked, drunkenly curious even though it was technically none of my business.

“Nothing really happened, Si.” Nick started. “It’s not like I cheated or she cheated or it was some big spectacle. It’s hard to explain, but it was a completely amicable and positive…finale to the romantic part of our relationship. Finales aren’t a bad thing, Si. Our relationship as friends and everything we shared during our time together isn’t gone, we’re not going anywhere from any of you, we’re not dividing up the friend group. Nothing’s changing.”

“He’s right, Si. Finale is the best way to say it. Now it’s on for another beginning for both of us.” Abby added.

“But I still don’t understand.” I utter, unable to be satisfied with the answer.

Nick was about to say something and stopped when Abby place her hand on his knee.

“Simon, we know how you are. And another reason we were waiting to tell you is because of how you’d react. The story is simple. We both realized one day that we were living the parts of being a couple and enjoyed it, but it lacked the…drive and depth of a relationship. When you’re surrounded by people who are good at being in a relationship and you see all the love and little quirks and dumb things and inside jokes but don’t see any of that in your own relationship, it raised red flags. Then when we thought about it and talked about it and it was like our relationship was on autopilot. We realized we love each other, but not in the romantic way we once felt.”

How long are Bram and I going to be together before he feels this way? When will he look at other people’s relationships, other boys and see himself happier and more alive with them? If Abby and Nick couldn’t make the cut, could Bram and I?

Abby knocked on the side of my head kinda hard because she was becoming irritated.

“Simon, don’t you for one second try to compare your relationship with Bram to ours.” She said pointing at me. “You weren’t inside of this relationship, you didn’t see it when it was just me and Nick, so there is no way you can compare it. Promise me right now, Simon.”

I stared at her, wiping beer from corner of my mouth.

“Promise me!” She shouted.

“Promise,” I comply. I do partially believe her. It doesn’t help all the way, but it helps a little.

“Told ya, Bram was ri…oh shit.” Nick started, and caught himself when it was too late. Abby slapped Nick’s knee and her bugged eyes stared lasers that burned through Nick’s skull.

“Wait, Bram knew you two broke up?” I question. Nick placed his head on his hand. “For how long?”

Abby stood up. “I need another beer.” She walked to the kitchen, leaving Nick in the mess he made.

“Okay, Si, you have to promise me you can’t get mad. We called Bram last month when it happened because we didn’t know who else to talk to about it who knew both of us so well. We wanted to tell you, dude, we did, but we know how you get and didn’t want to upset you.”

“Why wouldn’t Bram tell me?” I ask out loud, sipping my beer.

“Because we made him promise not to tell you, Simon, you can’t be mad at him. He promised his friends and you know how hard Bram takes promises. When he saw us he could tell-”

“He visited you in New York?”

Nick mouthed the word ‘fuck.’ Is that why he hasn’t been texting me much lately? Because if he can’t talk to me, he can’t lie to me? Our conversations have been light and fluffy, both on the phone and texting when we can. What else could he not be telling me then? Do I know Bram?

“Nick, go get a beer and send Ian’s ass in here,” Leah ordered, moving to the coffee table to sit directly in front of me. “If you don’t get out of your head right now about this Simon, you’re going to regret it.”

“Yeah, but-“

“No, Simon, no buts. You love Bram Greenfeld, he loves you, and the only thing he’s guilty of is being a good friend. If you needed him here, he would drop everything in a second and by any means come to your side. He is stupidly, grossly, uncontrollably in love with you. I hate to say this to you, Simon, because you’ve been so good about it lately, but don’t Spier this up.”

Ian walked in and could see the stern looks on our faces and his demeanor changed from one of partying to one of concern.

“Hey, guys, everything…good?”

“Talk some sense into him,” Leah said, “I need a refill.”

Leah never left unless she was upset. I know I may be drunk and I know I may be irrational because I’m drunk, but am I being that irrational? I don’t think it’s unfair to bring up the topic, for example, that Nick and Abby a least lived in the same city as each other. Did I not try enough to get into Baltimore? Did Bram not try hard enough to get into Yale?

“Abbs and Nick told me just now, that sucks man, but they seem happy so that’s what’s important, right?”

He was right. I close my eyes and throw my head on my hands.

“I’m being selfish, aren’t I?”

“No, no, no, dude, I totally understand. It’s natural to have these feelings, especially when you’re about to propose to your boyfriend.” He responded warmly. “But Bram is Bram, Nick is Nick, and Abby is crazy loud. Just cause they’re relationship didn’t work out doesn’t mean yours wont.”

I look up at him. His eyes appear unnaturally emerald. He smiles and lifts his eyebrows.

“You are welcome to feel about it how you want, but remember they need you here for them as well. And they came here to party and visit you. And Le Burke of course. They drove from the greatest city in the world to Connecticut to spend the weekend with you. Let’s show them a good time.”

Ian tapped and squeezed my knee…and a familiar…warmth…overcame me.

“Bucker up Buttercup and let’s rematch Le Burke’s ‘Sosh’ friends and show them how overly complicated actors can kick their butts at pong!”

He pulled me up with him and his bicep pressed against his t-shirt cuff in an impressive, masculine manner.

“Yeah, I’ll be in there in a minute. Thanks, dude.”

“Of course, Si. You got this man. You are so close to the finish line, focus on the prize.” He smiled, downed the rest of his beer, and winked at me with a follow up finger gun.

My head felt like it was floating as I found it bopping to the beat of the music.

Bzzz.

Bram Hi Si, I’m sorry I’ve been so busy lately. Nick told me he let it slip that him and Abby broke up. I’m so sorry, I wanted so badly to tell you, but I promised I wouldn’t. You understand, right?

I did understand, but my drunk mind was also upset that he couldn’t trust me with the information either. Was my drunk brain right? Probably not, but right now I couldn’t help but let that side of me take over. Mystery Pitcher was winning.

I do

. .. … Si, I know you’re not okay with it. I wish I could do something to make you feel better. Please understand your trust means everything to me. I love you <<33 And your big heart.

How dare he. How dare he do that to me right now. How dare he make me love him when I’m trying to be mad at him. How dare it kind of work.

I know it deos, and I do turst you.

“Si?” Ian peaked his head in. “Off your phone and out of your head and on this game of pong!” Ian’s head disappears.

My phone buzzes again, but I don’t look at it. If I talk to Bram more I will get over it and I want to be mad at him for a little longer. Irrational? Yes, but since when have I been a totally rational guy?

We lose that game too, much to Ian’s drunken and slurry shouts. I am to the point of being drunk where I can say I know I’m drunk and I tell that to myself. I also notice more of Ian’s arms and chest and has his butt always looked like that?

“Oh, wow. I’m drunk.” I say out loud. Ian looks over at me and laughs and I notice his hazel eyes, the kind of hazel when leaves are green-brown in the fall.

“That’s my cue,” Leah cuts in. “Off to bed, Si-Si.” She easily pulls my arm and sets my drink down while she leads me to my bedroom. She gets me into bed and I have been quiet the entire time.

“Am I a bad friend?” I ask in drunken honesty.

“No, Simon, you’re a great friend. We just…do certain things because we know that you are sensitive.”

“So I’m a bad friend.” I conclude. “You guys can’t even trust me with basic information about other friends. That doesn’t sound like a good friend.”

“Si, that has no correlation with being a bad friend. We all know each other’s…issues and know how to respond accordingly. I’d say you’d have to be a great friend for your friends care and do that for you.”

“Am I a bad boyfriend?” I ask, teary-eyed.

“Simon Jacob…no. You’ll feel better tomorrow. Water is on your night stand. Sleep.” Leah kisses my forehead and lets herself out. I stare at my Elliot Smith poster and think of Bram. I close my eyes.

I open my eyes ant sit up in bed to check my phone. I must have only fallen asleep for a few minutes because I still hear the noise of the party. I text Ian.

Can you come to my room?

. .. … Yeah! Be up in a sec.

I hear him softly open the door and Drake flowed in. He shut it behind him and Drake returned to being muffled. I personally like hearing Drake muffled. I feel him sit on my bed near my chest.

“What’s up? Everything okay?”

I sit up on my elbow and look at him.

“Yeah, just feel a little embarrassed.”

“Embarrassed why?”

“I feel like I let you down.”

“Dude, how? Here, have some water.”

Ian leans over to grab the glass and I couldn’t help myself. I kissed him. It felt weird, but it felt like a good kiss. He pulled back, shocked and breathing hard. I stared at his eyes and he stared back until he came in and kissed me back, pulling my head towards his, pressing our lips against each other.

I jerked awake in my bed and ripped the covers off my body to find it was morning. I ran out of my room and stomped down the stairs to see Ian sleeping on the couch, leg hanging out from under the sheet, mouth open, but not snoring. I shake him.

“Ian, Ian!”

He groggily opens his eyes in a confused manner.

“Wha-What? What’s wrong dude, is everything okay?”

“Did we kiss last night?!” I whisper scream.

“What?” he said in a more awake, but more confused tone.

“Did we kiss last night??”

“Dude, no, gross,” he said, a weight felt lifted off my chest. “You were pretty far gone and passed right out after we lost the game. Then Le Burke and I played and kicked ass again and I passed out here. Ask her yourself.” He tilted his head up at the stairs and I turned to see Leah, arms crossed, in her white, fluffy robe. I stand up from the couch and Ian almost immediately falls back asleep.

I remember then Bram texted drunk-me last night and drunk-me never read it because drunk-me is fucking idiot.

Bram You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy, when skies are grey. You’ll never know, Si, how much I love you, so please don’t take my sunshine away.

My lip trembles and I can’t help but cry in the middle of the living room. Leah comes over and hugs the side of me as the sun cuts through our living room curtain and paints golden light on my chest.

#love simon #simon vs #svthsa #bram greenfeld #simon spier #simonverse #simon x bram #gay love #marraige #love simon fanfiction #Simon vs fan fiction #fan fiction #my fic

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derevosky · 7 years ago

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Nodame Cantabile AU RusAme ha

(brought to you by: trashy feelings)

Setting: Somewhere in North America

Alfred F. Jones – really talented but underrated pianist because his style is far from conservative, more of imagery and lovely phrasings, as if singing (thus cantabile); has poor sight-reading skills so he listens by ear; he composes sometimes; he hated being in strict piano lessons but unfortunately a strict professor took a liking to him and decided to take him as his student.

Ivan Braginsky – also a piano major; famous child prodigy in the conservatory whose style is “respective towards the composer”, but wants to shift as a conducting major because he loves it more; quite the critic; he has an irrational fear of riding boats and planes so he’s frustrated that he can’t get out of the country, like he’s stuck in a “mediocre” conservatory. (Well, Europe is the heart of music.)

Story:

> Ivan wanted to shift to conducting but was demeaned by his strict professor, Ludwig. “Why are you even reading an orchestra score? You want to shift? Pfft, please.”

> Ivan: “Okay, y’know what? I’ll shift to another prof instead.” So he did.

> One night, Ivan got drunk (thanks to his thought on quitting on shifting to conducting) that he just slept by his dorm’s door.

> He woke up in Alfred’s room thanks to his playing. When he opened his eyes, he’s really shocked that he woke up in a room full of trash. (“Alfred’s room is a mess” would be an understatement.) So, of course, he went out of the damned room, and realized they’re neighbors.

> Because he knows he’s being a decent human being, he cleaned up Alfred’s room.

> Skip to: Piano lesson. Ivan’s new prof, Feliciano Vargas, is apparently Alfred’s as well.

> They had a piano duet. (It’s that Mozart Piano Duet)

> Ivan: “Gosh, he’s sloppy, not much of a sight-reader, huh? But somehow, his playing is entrancing. He’s as if telling a story thanks to its vividness. He’s… as if he’s singing.”

> Alfred: “OMFG HIS TECHNIQUES ARE COOL??? HE PLAYS SO CLEAN WHAT KIND OF SIGHT READING SKILLS DOES HE HAVE??? WOAH” so yeah that adds up his passion.

> Alfred now adores idolizes Ivan like, the boy just confessed his love to him and of course Ivan just straight up ignore him because “Jones, you don’t just confess to people you don’t know”.

> With persistence, Alfred always hang out with Ivan. He often declare his love to him. Eventually, Ivan got used to it.

> Alfred always hang out in Ivan’s room because Ivan cooks for him and is paid by compliments bahahaha

> Skip to: Alfred was transferred to another prof. It’s Ludwig feat. Herr Schtick. Alfred always runs away from him. He eventually complied to his lessons because he threw away Herr Schtick.

> Fyodor Zimych (General Winter) is a world-renowned conductor who decided to visit the conservatory, and teach there. Knowing this, Ivan wants to be his professor. (Not knowing that the old geezer, with his intimidating demeanor, is quite... eccentric and outgoing.)

> Zimych chose students “who are like Alfred” (accdg. to Ivan) and formed an orchestra. (So yeah, Arthur is the concertmaster, and Francis is the timpanist pfft)

> Ivan is now a conducting major (because he persisted Zimych so much it included blackmail haha); he’s also an assistant conductor.

> When Alfred discovered Ivan’s fear thanks to his family, he tried hypnotizing him. Thanks to that, he can ride planes.

> When he returned, Ivan discovered Alfred is practicing for a piano competition under Ludwig’s tutelage.

> Piano competition: Alfred lost, fucking up Petrushka thanks to mental block, and an ugly memory of his childhood trauma. No one got first place. A professor was interested in him though.

> Ivan proposed to him about joining him in the Conservatoire de Paris. Alfred turned him down, hurting Ivan’s ego pfft. Alfred: “I’m not in for the pity party, please.” Ivan (thinking): “WHAT??? Here I am, casting my pride aside, and you just... after all this time that you’ve been sticking to me, even kissed me without asking because you just ‘love me so much’ as you say, and now you declined my offer?”

> Alfred returned to his hometown. Ivan desperately searched for him, and he learned a lot more about Alfred and his background. (He’s not from a family of musicians, unlike Ivan.)

> Ivan finally fucking confessed. Alfred fainted.

Additional stuff:

> Francis is a flamboyant timpanist who has a crush on Ivan. He’s, well, too passionate to be in an orchestra. (He played harsh pranks towards Alfred because “why are you with Ivan, you don’t deserve him”)

> Arthur is a violin major but prefers to play an electric one because he’s into rock. He tried forming a band with Francis as the drummer. He invited Alfred to be the keyboardist.

> Kiku is an oboe major who develops a crush on Alfred. His style is “silver”, and when he thought of Alfred, his playing became “pink”.

> Feliks is a frustrated conducting major who claimed “Ivan is a noob but why is he the assistant conductor???”

#my ideas for rusame #rusame #hetalia #so... many... things... to... rusame-fy... hahaha ha ha

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some-other-number · 5 years ago

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I was literally about to fall asleep but I had the urge to write this so... heads up for a bit of an angry personal rant lmao

I fucking hate the gaps in education. I hate the fact that I had to go to a fancy private school which the fees for are partly why I’m homeless simply because I was going to receive an education more suited to my learning needs (and I doubt I actually received that so it was all for nothing)

I hate the fact that there are schools that have leaking ceilings, outdated resources and awful teachers because they couldn’t afford to hire anyone else. all while private school no. 195734 gets to build a fancy new science building that’s so cutting edge and forward-thinking that it doesn’t have sprinklers. all while that school justifies it saying that it’ll be the norm in all schools in the future without thinking that those sorts of things won’t be affordable for the majority of public schools until the tech has become outdated three times over.

I hate the fact that the brightest kids get disheartened day after day because their families can’t afford to support their passions even if they wish to, and their school can’t afford to give them the right extracurricular activities because they’re struggling to afford to keep the place from closing. all while kids who are lucky enough to be born with the right surname and a deep enough pocket get to discard the opportunities given to them on trays. all while saying that they had nothing handed to them on silver platters - just because the platter wasn’t silver doesn’t mean that you weren’t handed anything on one, for heaven’s sake!

I hate the fact that private schools pride themselves on and advertise themselves around providing all their students ‘opportunities’. think about the kids whose parents might’ve scraped every last dollar together to send their kid to this school for those opportunities, only to discover that they all cost money. the only extracurricular I can think of that didn’t cost money was the robotics club. and that got shut down because it sucked - it was lego robotics, which is fun don’t get me wrong, but it wasn’t interesting enough to go more than a few times because it became just ‘oh how far can I make this thing go without running into something this week’. and before anyone says anything, even though activities like bands and orchestras were free to join, it still costs you. you had to either buy your own or hire instruments. you have to pay for lessons. you had to buy things for your costume or makeup or plain black clothes to be a part of the school play or musical. ‘it’s free to join’ quickly becomes shorthand for ‘you need to pay for this to be enjoyable’.

and that’s not even counting the fact you have to pay for compulsory things. you had to pay to hire rain jackets, packs and sleeping mats on camps. you have to pay for your uniform. you have to pay for your sports uniform and your equipment. hell, they even framed some things as being non-compulsory but they still were treated as such. there were trips for the languages and while this may be skewed because I was already distanced from literally everyone else at this time, the fact I couldn’t go on the trip made me miss out on so much and it was still being referenced in class the next year and probably later too.

I hate the fact that I have to look at myself and go ‘hey, you’re doing a lot better than you could be, you’re at a private school which opens up so many doors in your future, you’re just fine, you can make do with what you have’ and then immediately have that shattered because someone your age has professional equipment and has had access to tutoring for years that you hadn’t been allowed to access because of the cost. to be isolated because you can’t connect with any of your friends and even if you manage to make and keep some be completely unable to hang out with them because you can’t afford to go where they’re going. all while everyone around you goes on about the countless opportunities blind to the fact that those doors are unlocked with simply the right price.

I know I have it so much better than a lot of people, being able to attend a private school instead of a public school that barely receives enough funding to keep its head above water. but it’s a different kind of privilege. I have the privilege of attending this school which has been known for providing good education (even though it’s now... debatable...) and has connections to important figures in the community, state and even country, but I don’t have the privilege of affording the opportunities such a place brings.

I hate the fact I attend a private school. if I had been able to go to a public school (that’s another matter) I would’ve been able to make much better connections. the isolation of being poor is more bearable with others who actually understand the situation. it only makes things worse if you take that dirt poor person and stick them with people who the majority of whom have no clue what it’s like to not know where their next meal is coming from. if they’ll have power or water tomorrow when they get home from school. whether they’ll have a comfortable place to sleep that night.

I hate the fact there’s gaps in our education. I hate the fact that there’s thousands of kids who have to attend schools that have to hire despicable people because there’s simply nobody else. I hate the fact that opportunity knocks with a bill to be paid.

#long post #redboots speaks #I really hope that nobody from my school actually reads this lmao they will not understand #this is what I would've done for my speech had I been given the opportunity (hah) to do so #because they never gave me one before they refused to give me one now #I've been thinking about this a lot since yesterday's report into the gaps between private and public education #and the memories of the primary school I went to are just... coming back #education #school #rant #y'all I hate my school so damn much it's not even that good #by the way this post is super personal and it's from experience #so if you're gonna comment on this I'd rather you kept it polite #aka don't be mean #I didn't choose to attend and like I've said i wish I didn't #I just feel so isolated from people and I can't connect because the people I Have to interact with just don't have the same experiences #and it's soul crushing.

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god-hunter · 7 years ago

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Delirium - 2016

This was an awesome, amazing fucking album, and I’m sorry I took so long to get it/review it. I got this bad boy as a birthday present for myself in April of 2017, but this came out a year ago, around the time that I finally reviewed Broken Crown Halo, I think.

Anyway, this album absolutely brings back the old sound with heavy double kicks right at the get-go. There’s definitely a fair amount of Karmacode & Dark Adrenaline in here, and I’m very okay with that. Broken Crown Halo was a good album, but it was quite subdued in comparison. This time, I feel like they really wanted to kick ass. And they definitely brought their A Game to most of the songs. (I say most, because there’s at least 1 clunker in there for me. But it’s still good.) There’s a great flow in this whole album. They definitely set the tone for something dark, heavy and beautiful and once again, I am completely inspired by this wonderful band.

This might even be my favorite album by them. [I tried to wait a while before reviewing this I think, so my review wouldn’t be completely biased.]

Since nearly every song is a fan-favorite on this one, I’m gonna take you through them very quickly.

1. The House of Shame - We start with some very pretty, solemn and haunting “Oh”s from a chorus of voices (probably produced by a Synthesizer.) Then the heavy metal double pedaling and crushing guitars kick in relentlessly. When the verse really starts up, Andrea takes the lead on this one. Cristina Scabbia takes on a pre-chorus that leads into a very catchy main chorus. The synthesized orchestra is in there, and everything is gorgeous. Then we’re taken right back to the sweet double pedals and repeat the formula once again. After the next chorus, there’s a quick guitar solo that’s nice and exhilarating as we get into a double-pedal break down. When I first heard this I was super excited. Then everything stops to give Cristina a solo moment to sing the chorus without any instruments save for the orchestral synth. The instruments join up again for a final chorus and then the sweet double pedal part rolls in again, before we close it off with an exciting ending.

2. Broken Things - This one started with a bit of a bold move by Andrea. It’s just voice and guitar. “Now SUUUNK in the Horizon! We’ll watch the hours go by. Faaaall and then arise again. I hear the darkness breathe!!”

When I first heard that I was like, “ooh... I dunno.” But then the rest of the instruments join with some heavy pedaling and riffing. [I noticed that they definitely got a lot more ‘Metal-core’ for this album. All the typical off-beat pedaling and whatnot, almost made this band unrecognizable for this album. But there’s definitely that Lacuna touch to it that makes this song pretty and listenable again. And that would happen at the 37 second mark. Suddenly the drums calm down, and a single stringing guitar leads the line with a little synth behind it for backbone. Cristina leads us off with a nice verse, then goes into an awesome little chorus. No idea what she’s singing about, but it’s fun.

Andrea comes back in with his familiar refrain, but you couldn’t call it a Chorus. Because Scabbia kicks back in with the now-familiar verse and Her Chorus. And it’s definitely way catchier than Andreas. Anyway, this song is very cool and a lot of fun to listen to once you get into it.

3. Delirium - Then comes this guy. The title track. And it’s amazing. You just have to get over a strange sound effect in the background that they used all the way back in Shallow Life. There’s like a very high voice, which sounds like Cristina using a vocoder or something. It’s squeaky and almost annoying, but it somehow suits the song because it’s far enough in the background not to get in the way.

Anyway, they don’t waste a minute for Cristina to start singing, “Deliiiirium”. Then Andrea takes the verse to set a nice sweet, moving, but calm tone. This song is heavy, and I suppose a little mellow, but it’s doesn’t slow down any. It’s just nice and dark. Verses, flow right back into Cristina’s “Deliiiirium”s. She woos us with a beautiful break-refrain. This song ends almost as soon as it starts, but it’s just awesome. The flow is the same throughout and I’m okay with that.

4. Blood, Tears, Dust - Hands down, my FAVORITE song on this album. They definitely get new here and use a little bit of Dub-step to their advantage here, but I like it a lot. First of all... Andrea’s growls are back. (That was apparent in the first song too.) But secondly, there’s just this awesome riffing going on. Almost Fear Factory-esq. After Andrea’s growls, Cristina’s beautiful vocals pool in for a Chorus. And I swear, I feel like I’m listening to them for the first time again. This is the band I discovered half my life ago at 16. It was such an awesome feeling.

This song rinses and repeats in this fashion, but it is honestly such a pleasure to keep hearing that chorus. Cristina picked such nice notes in the higher range in such an order that I keep wanting to hear it. The backing parts too. Everything is hypnotic in this song for me. I don’t tire of it.

5. Downfall - Then we get this song. ANOTHER Favorite. Lacuna Coil fucking rock out with guitars and bass chiming in with 16th note strumming. But the backbeat is mid-paced and down beat. There’s a nice calm synth really holding everything together as Cristina rolls us through the verse and chorus for this one. Agh! The guitars are so good in this one. Andrea offers light back-ups here only sometimes. And they really add to the song. I fucking love this band man. They fucking did it again.

6. Take Me Home - ...This one, is the one clunker though. For whatever reason, they decided to start in a child’s chant. One of those ‘nya nya nya nya’ things... And it’s awful. Creepy sounds chime in 13 seconds in, with a guitar. Then Andrea takes over chanting, “Take me for a Riiiiiide!” That’s when the song really kicks in, and I guess it’s better, but I still have the bad taste in my mouth from that weird chant.

Andrea controls a verse that I don’t care about. It’s mostly drum and bass with little guitar inclusion. The guitars kick back in for a Chorus, that feels lost on me from such an awkward beginning. Cristina sings it, and it doesn’t sound good to me. It’s somewhat fast, and a little uninspired in my opinion. [I feel like whoever wrote this one definitely doesn’t usually do the writing in the band.]

Uhhh, I think there’s a break-riff that’s a little bit better by the end of the song. But honestly, every time I listen to it, I just go through the motions. This one is a complete skipper for me.

Although, if you do stick around for the end, I suppose it flows into the next song, which is Way better.

7. You Love Me ‘Cause I Hate You - This song is a power ballad, that at first sounds like it won’t go very far. It’s good.. Cristina leads us in with a verse that doesn’t stop. The drums are slow, but powerful, if not a little processed. But then suddenly Andrea interrupts with a hard, “YOU LOVE ME ‘CAUSE I HAAATE YOOOUUUU”, and Cristina rolls with it in the background, beautifully.

The 2nd verse, is just as good as the first, with the rest of the instruments a smidge more awake and heavy. That 2nd Refrain kicks in and it’s just as awesome as the first time. After the refrain, Cristina sings a new part, which I guess would be considered the bridge. We get a 3rd “YOU LOVE ME ‘CAUSE I HATE YOU” and it’s just wonderful. Very easy to learn, and sing along to. Very cathartic, and yet still beautiful and almost calming. I love it.

8. Ghost In The Mist - This one is way more metal-core, bring back a little of those ‘Blood, Tears, Dust’ effects. I notice that LC have a bad habit of writing songs in the chromatic scale sometimes, and that definitely happens this time, after there Dub-steppy part. There’s a bunch of half-steps that climb up in a verse, which just sort of bother me. But then the part after that is very pretty. The chorus by Scabbia, of course.

By the 2nd go-around, the half-step part isn’t as annoying. You’re sucked into the formula at this point, and enough parts are enjoyable to cohesively keep it all together. So this one isn’t my favorite, but it’s still enjoyable.

9. My Demons - This is a gorgeous power ballad/dub-step/metal core tune. They really embraced this new hybrid sound of theirs. They evolved... And Andrea’s refrain is easy to keep in your head. “I feel fucked up today. My demons cursing me as I’m awake. My head is spinning, I can’t think straight! Your words are poison inside my veins!” He continues with a “You liiieeeed”, and a little bit more, before it’s Cristina’s turn. And even then, he sings, “You lieeeed”, which really makes this feel like a nice collaboration between the two.

They’re both singing the chorus. Him the back-ups, while she gets into this beautiful part. “I’m thinking about you, uncertain without you” “...I’m choking without you,”.

It’s very good. This is the mellow part of the band that I signed up for. Even their mellow numbers are fucking heavy on this one man. I love it.

10. Claustrophobia - Another ballad/metal-core mix. More subdued than the last, Cristina leads off a whole bunch of verses, about “Is Hate the Answer”, etc. etc. These songs definitely fit more into the Broken Crown Halo set, which is fine. I welcome it. A very good power-ballad with an awesome guitar solo to boot. i really like the end of this song more. There’s a nice little instrumental break moment, where there’s all sorts of dubby metal-core things happening. A cool sound in the synth gluing it together, before the final refrains. It’s also chilling to hear Cristina close it off with, “Will hate be the Answer?”

Very topical.

11. Ultima Ratio - This song, honestly sounds like it could be the last one at first, but there’s plenty more before we’re done done. The verse is sort of whatever with Andrea, but Cristina kicks in with a small pre-chorus and then an awesome Main Chorus. “Save me, before I fall apart. Come closer to me, while I’m still alive.” Then she does this really graceful thing with her voice as she sings, “It neee---eee-ver Eeee-eends” twice. It literally makes the song man. I fucking love that choice. This totally could’ve been their last song of the album. And maybe it should’ve been. But we got even better things coming up.

12. Live To Tell - This is a Madonna cover if you can believe it! When I first heard it, I had no idea. Then I heard the actual song on the radio, and got all fucked up when I heard the familiar chorus. Which is an attestant to Lacuna Coil. We’ve brought it up before. It seems that on all of their Even Number albums, ever since ‘Unleashed Memories’, they do a cover. That’s just their thing. And I love that they’ve kept it up. Yet again, they fucking nailed it, with something solid and incredible. Blowing the original song out of the water.

She super slowed down Madonna’s verses. There’s a whole different musical part underneath basically. When the chorus kicks in, it resembles Madonna’s version, but it’s very slow with significant back-ups that shape the chorus more. They practically dominate the song to really shape it into it’s own original version.

And again... I had no idea this was a cover at first. I thought LC just nailed it with a beautiful power ballad once again. I love the bridge where guitars and drums stop. It’s just synth and her, when Cristina sings, “If I run away, I never have the strength, to go very far. How will they hear the beating of my heart? Will it grow cold? The secret that I hide. Will I grow old? How will they hear? When will they learn? How will they knoooow?”

It’s fucking awesome man. Really beautiful. Gorgeous. Amazing cover.

13. Breakdown - By this point, the album’s already done for me. They wowed us so much already! But there’s 2 more. This song is somewhat of a solemn, heavy after-thought to ‘Live to Tell’. Another one that’s good, but not my favorite. We heavy Cristina and Andrea handling the verse with call and response type stuff. Then she controls the chorus, and it’s just sort of whatever. Not a bad song though. It just sort of feels tacked on to me, to be honest. There’s a very cool bridge though. It keeps buildings and gets heavier. Andrea even has a solo moment to shine with awesome growls before a final chorus.

14. Bleed the Pain - This is our last song, proper and it falls flat for me. It’s not a bad song at all, but somehow, I feel like we got this already in ‘Ultima Ratio’. The songs don’t even sound the same, but there was something of a finality to that riff for me for some reason.

Anyway... this one is pretty Metal-core for an ending. Definitely a different choice. Andrea definitely went for it on his back-ups. Cristina did her usual catchy pretty vox for the chorus. More metal-core strumming and pedaling, in full sync. This more-less rinses and repeats until we come to a close.

...and that’s the album!

Every time that last song ends I feel like there’s something coming next. But I get surprised to hear track 1 again. Either way though, there’s at least 8 solid songs on this disc for me that makes it More than worth it.

And how about that Madonna cover man? Shit! At this point there’s an EP’s worth of material, if you just wanted to put together all of their covers on a disc for yourself.

[That would be: Stars from ‘Unleashed Memories’ Enjoy the Silence from ‘Karmacode’ Losing My Religion from ‘Dark Adrenaline’ and now Live to Tell from ‘Delirium’]

And that’s every other album folks.

Lacuna has been rocking us for 8 solid fucking albums. That’s amazing man. They’ve had a lull here and there in their career, maybe. But they are still Very on top of their game. And I’m definitely just as into them as I was when I was a teenage boy.

It’s a shame that this review took such a long time to do, but I’m glad I was in the mood to give this one a spin and a critique today.

Now my Lacuna Coil queue is done for the moment, and I’m very much looking forward to whenever the next album comes out. [They can take their time. lol]

#Lacuna Coil #Delirium #8th Album #2016 #Metal

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