#Age of Doo Wop

[doo-wop-city]

Post 400: Spectacular Season 4 Finale

[my-chaos-radio]

Release: July 23, 1978

Lyrics:

I was walkin' down the street

Concentratin' on truckin' right

I heard a dark voice beside of me

And I looked round in a state of fright

I saw four faces, one mad

A brother from the gutter

They looked me up and down a bit

And turned to each other

I say

I don't like cricket (Oh no!)

I love it

I don't like cricket (No no!)

I love it

Don't you walk through my words

You got to show some respect

Don't you walk through my words

'Cause you ain't heard me out yet

Well he looked down at my silver chain

He said "I'll give you one dollar"

I said you've got to be jokin' man

It was a present from me mother

He said "I like it, I want it

I'll take it off your hands

And you'll be sorry you crossed me

You'd better understand that you're alone

A long way from home

And I say

I don't like reggae (No no!)

I love it (Eh!)

I don't like reggae (No!)

I love it (Eh!)

Don't you cramp me style

Don't you queer me pitch

Don't you walk through my words

'Cause you ain't heard me out yet

I hurried back to the swimming pool

Sinkin' pina colada

I heard a dark voice beside me say

"Would you like something harder?"

She said, "I've got it, you want it

My harvest is the best

And if you try it, you'll like it

And wallow in a Dreadlock Holiday"

And I say

Don't like Jamaica (Oh no!)

I love her (Eh!)

Don't like Jamaica (Oh no!)

I love her (Oh yeah!)

Don't you walk through her words

You got to show some respect

Don't you walk through her words

'Cause you ain't heard her out yet

Songwriter:

I don't like cricket (Oh no!)

I love it (Dreadlock Holiday)

I don't like reggae (Oh no!)

I love it (Dreadlock Holiday)

Don't like Jamaica (Eh!)

I love her (Dreadlock Holiday)

Graham Gouldman / Eric Stewart

SongFacts:

👉📖

Homepage:

10cc

[leezardweezard]

I wish Dean Winchester was real so I could make fun of him for listening to music released after 1969

[bajablastflavoredsaxreed]

hey gang. i may or may not be trying to piece together a cohesive lore/universe for life in the world to come, a show which notoriously does Not Have Lore. i have a list of characters/facts that i can pull just from my head rn but im almost certainly missing so many things. if you’d like to help me out and tell me ur favorite characters/bits/tidbits that would be mad wicked awesome

The List

will can do a backflip from a standing position

will is literally neil cicirega

chris is a red belt in taekwondo but showing a lot of potential

mama doo wop

tommy lasagna

jordan peterson

tom waits

jeff bezos

bug woman

big carl

buffalo wild wings

bobby sugarbones

cinnamon pepper

beans mcsprout

strong + many arms

sun has a gun

fish will have boobs

manosphere guys will all be thrown into a grease pit to fight it out except for Jordan Peterson, who will will save from the pit and kidnap him to raise like a son/parrot

Leopard Planet will be the name of a band

Therapists will be birds

frogs will be physically indistinguishable from mountain lions four generations after the bombs

jordan peterson will be a hydra type beast who continues his 14 things you need to know about life

your parents are going to have a weird nightmare polycule with satan/a spider that involves your dad being cucked

do NOT accept the spider’s bargain

Don’t Trust It, It’s Not Your Dad

you will dream of the suffalo

last week before the apocalypse spider man will be here delivering pizza

jewish coming of age traditions will all involve bugs that hate you

will will die, become blind, become possessed by the ghost of a pirate (no specified order of events)

the sun’s gun will have a son

Gerard Way will become a many-headed many-armed Akira flesh beast who is also the US president

Reddit is a literal pit in the ground where people yell at each over to get the other stoned to death

will will not have fingers for a little while

there will be no books, but there will be a guy named book who shouts literature at the top of his lungs

italians will not exist

the air will become juice

jewish people will sail out to sea and befriend seagulls in order to evade geese

pringles cans will grow out of the ground like vegetables and will be reinforced with titanium

[hooked-on-elvis]

"When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again"

�� ELVIS' VOICE, BEFORE AND AFTER: Elvis singing the same tune, first at the verge of turning 22 years old and then at his 33 years old.

Again, one of my favorite Elvis songs. Whenever I listen to Elvis singing this on the '68 comeback special I feel like it's such a blessing. Really! Watching your fav artist performing the songs you love the most is always delightful, and testifying the way he's creating something new, overcoming himself, it's just the most!

Some people will say Elvis' aging voice didn't fit the tunes he recorded in the fifties, but for me his performances of the same song over the years shouldn't be compared in a "this is better/no it isn't" kind of way, because they are not the same indeed.

Elvis surely sounded quite different performing "When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again" in 1968, and the variation on the sound is not only due to his voice itself. The 50s recording of that song it's a typical 50s tune with the characteristic "doo-wop" background singing (by The Jordanaires), while the late 60s performance is an acoustic version, a jam session, with the only background singer being Charlie Hodge and no "doo-wop" at all is added to it. It's sounds different, but in good way. Elvis' hoarse, full-bodied voice is just magnificent sounding. Maybe, just maybe Elvis' voice was indeed so strong by 1968 that it would be more of a fit to a more sensual song among his 50s recordings, such as "Paralyzed" or "Anyplace In Paradise" - both from the same album where "When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again" comes from (Elvis' 2nd studio LP) - but I appreciate very much the way the song sounds in his matured voice anyway.

I like sharing those before and after performances of the same tune just out of fun, because I appreciate all of them and I think Elvis added to the tune when he sounded different performing the same song quite a few years after when the tune was first recorded by him. You can pick your favorite, sure, but speaking bad about one of the performances is not fair since they are so nonequivalent. I prefer Elvis' mature voice, always, but I do love both performances.

“When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again" (Live On The Ed Sullivan Show), January 6, 1957:

“When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again" (Live on the NBC "Singer Presents Elvis" TV Special — "'68 Comeback Special" — taped on June 27, 1968.

[static-scribblez]

hi hi where do you listen to litwtc? i’m terrible at listening to podcasts but i’ve been wanting to start listening for ages now and i listened to the first episode available on spotify a while back but i don’t think it’s actually the very first episode? i’m confused. anyway idk if it’s on youtube either. side note but i feel like i have an overwhelming amount to get caught up on i definitely should’ve started listening sooner 🥴

+ this website if you wanna listen to some of the lost episodes (thank you, potatoesaaaa)

Also a couple of notes:

• the YouTube channel only has the episodes starting from the Andy King episode (apart from “Yes, And”, “dark whispers by candlelight” and “the desolate dystopia hour with Will Wood and Chris Dunne”)

• the older episodes are more focused on the premise which is “you ask us questions about the apocalypse and we answer them.” meanwhile the newer episodes still have that premise, but Chris and Will are just fucking around with the podcast more - one episode was literally just them playing bioshock and we don’t even get to see the gameplay

• you don’t need to listen to the episodes in a certain order, you don’t even need to listen to every single episode, you can listen to any episode whenever you want

• there has been some characters in this podcast !! some of them rarely get brought up again in future episodes but a lot of people still like talking about them - here’s a little list of episodes where some characters came from:

Tommy Lasagna + Tommy Lasagna’s Combination Fast Food and Auto Repair

Boy Plane (where the bug woman came from)

Big Carl

The Valentines Day Special (where [REDACTED] came from)

The Eulogy of Bobby Sugar Bones

Birthday King

Mama Doo-Wop and the 89 Ghosts

Jared Skullhaver (I actually haven’t really seen people talk about this one but I wanted to include it anyway)

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Song of the Day - September 25th is officially National One Hit Wonder Day - and each year this begs the eternal question of what is the “greatest” one hit wonder… I never really waver from my choice - “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye” is, for me, the greatest ever one hit wonder. Written by Paul Leka, Gary DeCarlo and Dale Frashuer, it was delivered by the group called Steam, or Steem, in 1969. The songwriting trio had been a doo-wop group in Connecticut, but disbanded and moved to New York City to be producers for Fontana Records. The executives liked their singing and their repertoire so much, they indulged them to record everything they had. They resurrected this song “Kiss Him Goodbye” from their old doo-wop stuff, and recorded this single, with DiCarlo on lead vocal, in less than an hour. They felt it needed to be longer, and so they wrote more as they recorded - adding in the Na Na’s and Hey,Hey’s, and adding an old previously recorded drum track from another session. I think of this recording session as the stars aligning somehow especially specially. Sometimes it is the unsuspected bit of seeming nothing-special-ness that becomes magically something very very special. The single hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart the first week of December 1969, riding out the 60’s on that jammed chart. And at the point, the single has reached multi-platinum status, having sold nearly 7 million copies. It has been used in countless movies, and TV shows, commercials, and is played at sporting events, as what they call a “taunt chant” … which, in the same spirit, has been sung on the floor of Congress, at least twice famously, to illustrate that those voting on a certain bill would soon lose their seats for their votes. At least for me, this song never ages, and never doesn’t stop me in my tracks, to sing along and just shake me out of any blue spot…” Now... just for fun, whats your favorite One Hit Wonder? ... see my list below of some worthy nominees...

a list of great one hit wonders ---

- Fontella Bass' "Rescue Me" - whose birthday is also today - released today in 1965

- Question Mark & The Mysterians' "96 Tears"

- Aha's "take On Me"

- Norman Greenbaum's "Spirit in the Sky"

- Scott McKenzie's "San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair)"

- Sinead O'Conor's "Nothing Compares To U"

- The Tokens' "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"

- Unit 4 & 2's "Concrete and Clay"

- Bruce Channel's Hey Baby"

- J J Jackson's "But It's Alright"

- The Kingsmen's "Louie Louie"

- The Champs "Tequila"

- Billy Paul's "Me and Mrs. Jones"

- Soft Cell's "Tainted Love"

- Wild Cherry's "Play That Funky Music"

- Katrina and the Waves' "Walking on Sunshine"

.... what other ones... ? !...?

[Mary Elaine LeBey]

[goofygoldengirl]

Music Headcanons: Papa Nihil & Sister Imperator

I was originally going to include the papas but I realize that in itself could be a separate post.

Papa Nihil: If we go by Rite Here Rite Now and that he is close to but not quite 80, I’d place his year of birth at around 1944-1949. He would have been a child or a young teenager when rock was starting out and I wouldn’t be surprised if he would consider Elvis as an influence, considering that many rock musicians born around that time period do, and probably would be familiar with blues artists such as Muddy Waters, and Willie Dixon to name a few. As a young man, I could see him gravitating towards a fresh and experimental sound. The Rolling Stones, The Grateful Dead, Cream, The Doors, Jethro Tull, Pink Floyd, David Bowie, and Jimi Hendrix all come to mind. While he might begrudgingly admit that The Beatles’ later material is quite good, the fab four are not really his cup of tea. Even though he comes across as someone who likes the harder side of things, his guilty pleasures are The Beach Boys and The Four Seasons because of their harmonies (and the Pet Sounds album).

However, under no circumstances, do not get him started on how much he despises The Who. No one really knows why he hates them, but he describes them as noise. He doesn’t like Black Sabbath either because he thinks they stole his schitck. And while his musical opinion on Led Zeppelin is neutral, rumor has there was some kind of altercation between the bands back in 1969 that added them to his most hated artists list. When his sons reached an age where they begin to form musical opinions, he was confused about why on earth they all seemed to like ABBA despite their tendencies towards a harder sound.

Besides rock, Nihil is a keen jazz listener as well and seeks out pieces that heavily feature the saxophone. In his later years he’d fully learn how to appreciate opera and he has strong opinions about the three tenors.

Despite being the head of The Ministry and Ghost, he takes little initiative in exploring the developments in rock after the age of thirty five or so, and only really appreciates the music his sons put out.

Sister Imperator: I see Sister as being around the same age but a bit younger, so I’d place her being born anywhere from 1946-1949. Early on, Sister would place high expectations on the type of music she’d listen to. She’d have little patience for the bubblegum, doo wop, and crooners of the late 50s and early 60s. If she grew up in the states she probably would have dabbled in the folk scene as a teenager along with rock. She’d like Joan Baez, Bob Dylan (and probably would play it a loud volume to annoy Nihil), Peter Paul and Mary, Phil Ochs, Judy Collins, and Joni Mitchell. She definitely is a Beatles fan, has been since day one, and she’d tell you her favorite is John Lennon (teenage her would inform you that he's the most mature out of the four). Other musical acts that would obtain her interest as a teenager and young adult would The Rolling Stones, The Doors, David Bowie, Simon and Garfunkel, Cosby Stills and Nash, Stevie Wonder, Carly Simon, Pink Floyd, Queen, and John Lennon and Paul Simon as solo acts. She does not like The Eagles at all and wonders how a band that is so mediocre got so popular.

In her later adult years she’d recognize the talents of Whitney Houston, Amy Winehouse and Lady Gaga, but wouldn't call herself a fan of theirs. She is more open to exploring new music than Nihil, but still is very judgemental save for anything that Ghost or her son Copia creates.

[jezabatlovesbats]

Music genres that I imagine the Backyardigans doing:

Punk

Beijing Opera

Dubstep

Gospel

Progressive rock in the style of Queen

A cappella

Early 2000s pop

Doo-wop

Glam rock

New age

[jules-has-notes]

Tennessee Whiskey — VoicePlay music video

VoicePlay's fans love to challenge them from time to time, and this was definitely one of those instances. The guys were a little intimidated by the prospect of tackling such a popular and complex tune for their PartWork series, but they rose to the occasion beautifully, providing a velvety doo-wop-style take full of tight harmonies and flowing rhythms.

Details:

title: Tennessee Whiskey

original performers: David Allan Coe (1981); inspired by the Chris Stapleton version (2015)

written by: Dean Dillon & Linda Hargrove

arranged by: Layne Stein

release date: 19 April 2019

My favorite bits:

putting corn stalks around the VP logo on the title card like a laurel wreath (This does deserve awards, dangit.)

the color scheme of their wardrobe, set dressing, and lighting that gives the whole thing a sepia-toned nostalgic feel

Layne holding the beat with laid-back brush snares and high hats

the proliferation of leisurely bell chords throughout the backing vocals

Eli's freedom and agility on the lead for the first verse

the steady simplicity of Geoff's bass line, with the occasional two-octave descending arpeggio for punctuation

Earl's appreciative smile as J digs into the lead melody

J.None settling into the lower end of his range with ♫ "always dry-y-y-y-y" ♫

the echo of ♫ "did-n't waste your looo-ove" ♫ from Eli and Earl

showing off J's falsetto at the beginning and end of the second chorus

Layne adding just a touch of whimsy with a cork pop 🍾 sound before he joins in on the harmonies for the third verse

Geoff finishing off his solo with a subharmonic drop, just because he can

riffing in three part harmony (That is so hard to do well, and they pull it off magnificently.)

that smooth, gentle ending chord from all five guys

Trivia:

The rhythmic and melodic changes in Chris Stapleton's cover of this song were inspired by Etta James's "I'd Rather Go Blind".

When the VoicePlay guys were tasked with singing it, J.None, Eli, and Earl all started brushing up their already impressive riffing skills. Geoff was slightly alarmed when Layne prodded him to do the same, because basses don't usually riff in that way.

The video was filmed at a swanky Prohibition-era themed bar called Mathers Social Gathering. Their pals the American Sirens used it later in the year to film their "Puttin’ On the Ritz" video.

It racked up 15 million views on Facebook in just 3 months.

There is a very cute video on Geoff's Instagram of him rehearsing in the car and little William trying to follow along with dad. (Kathy's driving. Everyone is being safe.)

The cover art was designed by the guys' friend and frequent collaborator, Rek Dunn.

Judging by the YouTube comments, this video was an introduction to VoicePlay for a fair number of people, pulling in a very different demographic of new fans than their Disney medleys.

By legal definition, Tennessee whiskey must be made from at least 51% corn-based mash, filtered through maple charcoal, and aged in new charred oak barrels. And, of course, manufactured in the state of Tennessee.

Some of the boys indulged in a bit of silly dancing on set while they were getting ready to film.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by VoicePlay (@thevoiceplay)

As part of their Patreon behind the scenes video, Layne and Eli tasted some actual strawberry "wine".

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by VoicePlay (@thevoiceplay)

This track was later included on VoicePlay's "Citrus" album, which compiled most of the songs they recorded from 2017-19. Because the individual songs had already been made available digitally, that album is exclusively a physical item that can only be purchased at live shows or through their website.

[doo-wop-city]

Wildwood Car Show in The World of Tomorrow

Remember, in posts I made every spring and fall, the citizens of Doo Wop City love to show off their cars before and after the unofficial summer season? Well, Ray and I wondered if that tradition still was practiced after the Age of Doo Wop. After taking the Atomic Crhonolux-O-Sphere into the World of Tomorrow (the 2020s), We learned that they do, and it’s even cooler than ever. You see, People…

[annaberunoyume]

Headcannons about Child!Wally Darling

Art above by @douxmae. You drew Wally wonderfully.

He is a rather mature, calm little boy. But that does not keep him from getting excited and sometimes scrapping his knees.

He never goes anywhere without his red blanket. He can get anxious and teary when he loses it somewhere while playing.

He loves to sit with you as you read a book, often asking about what you read.

He also loves apples, obviously. In almost any shape or form.

He also loves music, having a rather impressive singing voice for his age. He will twist around if you play Elvis and Doo-wop music.

A curious child, he will ask many questions.

He seems to be watched over by a mysterious force inside Home... (😉 )

He loves it when you sing ''Beautiful Dreamer'' before naptime or bedtime. You even caught him singing it to ''Home'' after you tucked him in.

His best friends are Barnaby B Beagle (a taller pup) and Julie Joyful, the crafts lover.

He can get clingy to you and whiny when afraid or tired.

[doyourememberrocknrollradio]

My first encounter hearing Cyndi Lauper was in the summer of '81. Between 7th & 8th grade. My friends & I would ride our bikes a couple towns over where there was a Carvel for ice cream. There was a record store across the street "Silvertunes" where we could get 45's (Am I aging myself or what?) when we couldn't get us a parent to drive us to the mall.

Maybe I stood out to the owner, because I didn't just look at the Top 40 & browsed through everything, and could sing along to the oldies he sometimes played (yes I listened to my parents' music too, lots of doo wop in there.)

One day he handed me this bright red album, "I think you'll like this."

And not only did I like it, I loved it. And my mom did too. ~ HCIBSW

[peaceloveandhistory]

Happy birthday to a highly innovative, influential musician and composer, Frank Zappa. Born on December 21, 1940, in Baltimore, Maryland Zappa was a self-taught musician, whose 30-year career embraced a wide variety of musical genres, writing and producing more than 60 albums. Zappa was also an artist, directing films, and creating album covers. Aside from music, Zappa often spoke out about politics and other social issues. From an early age, Zappa was attracted to avant-garde composers like Igor Stravinsky, and Edgard Varèse, doo-wop, R&B, and modern jazz also piqued his musical interest. In his late teens, Zappa started playing the drums, and guitar. In the 1950s Zappa was playing in the Blackouts, later he would join The Soul Giants, morphing into The Mothers on Mother's Day in 1965. It would be the debut of their album "Freak Out" that launched them as The Mothers of Invention. "Freak Out" was a groundbreaking mix of innovative and irreverent musical genres. The decade of the 70s saw Zappa forming new bands with more of a jazz base. Zappa felt like he didn't fit into the rock 'n' roll scene, due to his refusal to join the drug culture. The 70s cultivated Zappa's reputation "as one of the music industry's most accomplished and demanding bandleaders." "Valley Girl" would become a top 40 hit due to his prolific orchestral output. Aside from music, Zappa was a guest speaker on social activism after his Senate testimony about censorship in music. In 1990 Czechoslovakian President Václav Havel appointed Zappa as his cultural liaison officer, however, President George H.W. Bush stepped in and declined the meeting. Afterward, Zappa briefly considered running for president. Frank Zappa had a very interesting life, from composing politically charged and intentionally shocking music to directing films, and even taking a stance in politics. "A mind is like a parachute. It doesn't work if it is not open."

[ljblueteak]

Paul on Linda’s influences  and her connection to art and music

CCP students: Which artists from the 1960s had the most profound impact on Linda’s photography?

Paul: I’m not sure it was artists from the 1960s, but before that Dorothea Lange was a favourite of hers. Linda’s tastes were formed by looking at artists like Walker Evans, Ansel Adams, Georgia O’Keeffe – she was a big admirer of O’Keeffe. Growing up she knew Willem de Kooning as her dad was his lawyer, so there was a family connection.

Of course, she had studied History of Art in Tucson, although she confided in me that in those classes it was often a typically hot Tucson afternoon and they’d be in a little dark room watching a projection, so sometimes she might nod off. I imagine current students might relate to that, too!

But anyway, Linda had a pretty wide knowledge of art. That was one of the things we both had in common when we first met. I was enjoying people like Magritte, which impressed her. One of my big show-off moments was asking, ‘Have you seen my Magritte?’

CCP students: How did Linda come to photograph the musical artists of the 1960s? Did Linda find it easy or difficult interacting with such a diverse group?

Paul: It was easy for her because she loved music, therefore she knew their music. She didn’t just show up and go, ‘Oh, what kind of music do you play?’ She’d heard their music and maybe even seen them live before, whereas a lot of other people wouldn’t be interested. From an early age growing up in New York, she was in the era of the doo-wop groups. She was very knowledgeable about that. I remember her talking to Paul Simon who was also a New York kid from that era, and they knew all the little groups that we didn’t get over in the UK. Linda could hang out with Jimi Hendrix and he would be impressed that she knew who B.B. King was. That made things easier on the music scene. She knew what was going on!

CCP students: How did Linda’s parents influence her decision to pursue photography?

Paul: Her family had a love of art, and there was a lot of art in her life from a young age. Her grandpa had come over as an immigrant from Russia and he was a bit of a painter. There was this family story that her dad Lee had a picture by her grandad up on the wall and a famous art connoisseur friend of his said, ‘I’d like to buy that, who’s it by?’ And he replied, ‘It’s by my dad and it’s not for sale!’

Anyway, the point I’m making is that art was always there. Her dad was a big collector of very good art and ended up being a lawyer to quite a few artists like Robert Motherwell and Willem de Kooning, so there were always great pictures around. I think that was a big influence. Then going to college in Tucson and taking the Art History classes.

Emphasis mine, from “Paul McCartney answers student questions” Feb. 27, 2023 x

[someinstant]

I was tagged by @bright-thorn in a quick get-to-know-you game, and what the heck. I've got time before a meeting, so let's do this!

Tag nine (9) people you'd like to know better!

Last song: "Doo Wop (That Thing)," Ms. Lauryn Hill. Today was our first day back in the classroom for pre-planning, and I have a million things I need to do before I have kiddos in front of me on August 1st. And because one of the things I have to do is check transcripts for all of my rosters-- gotta make sure that my seniors aren't missing any graduation requirements, gotta keep an eye out for ELL and 504 and IEP and gifted services, gotta check that no new transfers have duplicate credits, or aren't placed correctly-- I was working my way through a lot of old favorites today as background music. Stuff that would keep me awake and focused so I wouldn't miss anything critical-- and that I knew well enough for it to not be distracting. So The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill fit the bill and was my last selection of the day.

Currently reading: Oh, like four different things. The City of Brass, by S.A. Chakraborty, which I started reading ages ago and then got distracted by life, so I've started over. A Memory Called Empire, by Arkady Martine, which I started reading during the early summer of 2020 and absolutely adored-- and then both my parents needed major surgeries within the same week, and a week later my gallbladder gave out on me-- and in the chaos and haze of am-I-dying-or-is-my-gallbladder-infected, I couldn't concentrate on it. So I've started it again as well, and it's so brilliant. I love it. But it does take me immediately back to that godawful summer in a very visceral way, which makes me somewhat uncomfortable. A couple of historical murder mysteries. And I've just started The Anarchy by William Dalrymple, which is about the role of the British East India company in South Asia.

Currently watching: Literally? I've got the replay of Stage 3 of the Tour de France Femmes on right now because I couldn't watch it live. (Stupid having to work for a living.) In the greater sense, I've just finished watching The Law According to Lidia Poet on Netflix, which hits all sorts of buttons for me, because I do love a good period mystery show-- especially if it's not set in the UK. Plus the costuming is fabulous. I'm two episodes into the second season of Shadow & Bone, but-- eh, I dunno. I really am only interested in one or two of the storylines, so I'm not sure I'm going to finish it.

Current obsession: I am so sorry to everyone who has suddenly been thrown into my rabid cycling fandom, especially if you started following me for, like, Andor stuff or whatever. I'll be somewhat normal again soon, I promise, and will only occasionally reblog GIFsets of Wout van Aert doing Wout van Aert-ish things until it's time for the Vuelta. What you have to understand is that this is not a new thing for me: I've been following men's pro cycling in the form of the Tour de France since I was... twelve? Thirteen? That's when I got seriously into long-distance cycling for a while, there. And while I'm nowhere near as fit as I used to be and the week-long cycling journeys my dad and I used to do are now well out of my reach, I still watch cycling obsessively. It used to be just the Tour de France, and then I started following riders and related folks on various social media platforms, and then started listening to podcasts, and then I started watching the other Grand Tours, and the past several years I've also gotten sucked into watching the spring Classics, and now I've also fallen down the rabbit hole of women's pro cycling, too. And as an obsession it is at its most all-consuming every year during July, which is when the Tour is on-- and I live blog the whole thing. (Not on this platform, although I've considered it.) Like, I do detailed narrative stage-by-stage write ups. The document for this year's total recap wound up being 46k words long, so. Yeah. Definitely an obsession, and it's one that everyone around me just has to kind of learn to live with during the summer every year.

And if you would like to answer these questions yourself, please consider yourself tagged! I love learning things about folks.