#I was just thinking about this moment now we're back in belgium

[apropensityforcharm]

Max Verstappen overtakes Oscar Piastri on the safety car restart | Belgium GP 2023

"Big run now for Max Verstappen, trying to reclaim the lead that he lost. And Oscar Piastri goes through Eau Rouge […], it's going to be very tight between the two of them, checking the left hand mirror is Oscar Piastri - look at the momentum, look at the speed that Max Verstappen's got and he roars through to retake the lead." "And that is confidence from Max more than anything. To keep that glued to a lead car through Eau Rouge is supreme confidence […] and he just - look at this - tucked in behind - " "Full commitment, that's outrageous on a restart lap. What a fine way to take it through." "Dirty air, intermediate tyres, some spray knocking around as well and you keep your foot in like that, that is what made the pass look so easy in the end."

[matan4il]

Update post:

Today is the 180th day of the war. Almost 6 months since the Hamas massacre started this war. And still, when I came across a video clip of TV announcers broadcasting on Oct 7, 2023 and I heard the words, "hundreds of Israelis have been killed" (even as I know that the number was actually greater than that, something that took time to confirm back in October), it still felt like it just happened, like it's still hard to believe it's real, and not a nightmare that we might wake up from any moment now.

A combined terrorist attack (vehicular and then stabbing) took place over night. A 26 years old Arab man drove his car into 4 policemen, injuring them, one initially was in a serious condition. The terrorist then drove on, stopped by another group of police personnel, where he got out of the car and tried stabbing them. He was neutralized.

Obviously, everyone in Israel has heard about the aid workers killed in Gaza. IDK yet how it happened, what the details are, we're all waiting to hear, just like other fair-minded people are (I'm not talking about the anti-Israel crowd, who have made up their minds before the incident even happened, they come pre-programmed with the belief that everything wrong is both Israel's fault and intentional). For now, it looks like a huge, tragic mistake, based on misidentification in the middle of the night (such mistakes sadly happen. The accidental death of 3 Israeli hostages in broad daylight was an example that it does, and other "friendly fire" incidents that have happened to Israeli soldiers are another. That's war, there's tragically no army with zero mistakes on its record). I am SO sorry for the innocent people killed, and their loved ones. I feel for them, for their pain and loss.

That said, how do I know it wasn't intentional? For one thing, because World Central Kitchen is actually one of the few humanitarian aid organizations that tried to help both Palestinians and Israelis. Which is one reason Israel very much wanted WCK to be a major factor in aiding people in Gaza in the long run, not just during the war, and the last thing it would want, is for these workers to be hurt, and for this organization to stop working there. The other thing is that we know an incident like this might provide enough international pressure to force Israel to stop the war, while our hostages are still held in the hands of brutal rapist terrorists, and while Hamas still exists, and threatens more massacres like the one we saw on Oct 7. What logical country would sacrifice the safety of its 9.8 million citizens (and the 8.4 million non-citizens it sees itself as responsible for, too) just in order to kill 7 random people, who were perceived as helping it, and who aren't even a part of the group that supposedly this country is targeting? It's not a logical call to make. Anyone who thinks Israel did this intentionally, is treating the Jewish state as if it's a comic book evil villain. I wonder why. When a humanitarian aid airdrop accidentally killed at least 5 Palestinians, and at least 18 were killed during another, I don't remember that anyone was quick to say it was intentional without so much as an investigation, or that those responsible for it must be stopped, rather than that they must study what went wrong, and continue while taking precautions that it won't happen again.

In Belgium, a home for Holocaust survivors has been vandalized with supposedly pro-Palestinian graffiti, reading "Gaza free" and followed by a swastika. This is pure antisemitism, very thinly veiled.

Here's a reminder that if Hamas is allowed to continue existing, and ruling Gaza as a dictatorship, that's not just a threat to the lives of Israeli and Jews, it's also horrible news for Palestinians. IDF soldiers found in Gaza documents that reveal how Hamas had tortured and brutally executed one of its own commanders back in 2016, based on the accusation that he's gay. Anyone who claims to be pro-Palestinian, but is silent about the human rights abuses that Palestinian suffer at the hands of their own leadership, is not that at all, they're just exploiting the Palestinians to demonize Jews.

This is 22 years old Dor Almog (right) and his best friend, Amit.

Amit invited him to the Nova music festival, but he had to miss most of it due to an exam he had. Dor planned to study, and then join his friend at the end of the party, but he fell asleep, and was woken up by the sirens alerting everyone about the thousands of Hamas rockets fired at Israel at 6:30 in the morning. "That was the last time I saw Amit," Dor said about the moment his best friend left for the party. "We've been friends since the age of zero." Amit went to the party and was murdered by Hamas terrorists. Dor and the rest of Amit's friends decided to get his tattoo on their body, and that at some point they would travel to India, which was his dream that he didn't get to fulfil. Dor fought to be called for reserves duty in Gaza. He's the only soldier who survived the deadliest incident there, in which 21 Israeli young men were killed, the last operation his unit was supposed to be a part of, before being discharged. When the explosion took place, he was in a building that collapsed, he fell two floors, and the building crashed over him. "I smiled, because I thought I was about to die, and be with Amit again. But then I literally saw a light at the end of a tunnel, and started crawling there." He was kept in a coma for 5 days, to help his body cope, and only 2 days after he woke up, was he told the news about what happened to his friends in the unit. "That was the real blow." When asked about being a hero, he said, "I'll be that when I get back on my feet."

May Amit's memory be a blessing.

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

[slythereen]

Oh my! I really really need to see the rest of your tag commentary for the Essay!!!!!!!!!

breaking: tumblr (rightfully) tries to silence area maniac’s deranged rambling but the people* won’t stand for it!!! (*one pitying anon)

right so regarding tsarinablogs' glorious essay on rbr, ferrari, and the lestappen marketing phenomenon… the only substantial point i had to add is about ferrari. because nat is totally right, it doesn't make sense for ferrari to be actively engaging in promoting the lestappen friendship if the payoff is charles moving to rbr. not unless their only aim is basically damage control and making the inevitable breakup look amicable.

but if you look at the austin lestappen interactions — and the rbr-ferrari interactions in general this season — ferrari isn't really an active collaborator in the agenda. time to get crazy:

the great rbr-ferrari sticker war

yes, we're coming back to my favorite topic briefly (my beloved rbr-ferrari sticker war agenda). this is the most actively involved rbr-ferrari interaction, though. and it was initiated (accidentally, in fairness) by christian horner.

belgian grand prix (nicely compiled video)

we start with christian covering the ferrari emblem on a fan's hat. this is one of those from-a-distance videos, i don't believe it was initially shared by rbr. not entirely an intentional engagement.

ferrari does start the actual engagement on social media by posting the first "sticker war" video and tagging rbr. they also directly reference rbr's yeti stickers tradition (which, as far as i can tell, is new this season with their yeti sponsor and i think belgium was the first gp they mentioned it) (which is curious in and of itself).

rbr retaliates. war is on. eventually, f1 gets involved with a cute recap... and that's when they go from just responding to one another in comments to actually tagging each other.

what else did we have going on in belgium?

a lestappen podium

rbr debuting (i believe) the yeti cooler on socials

carlos infamously having war declared on him by the entirety of f1twt for bully oscar

so, you could say ferrari actively instigated the sticker war. this has no real lestappen involvement and appears to be entirely the admins having fun with one another. it's also very conveniently timed as a distraction for ferrari and an opportune advertising moment for rbr and yeti.

dutch grand prix (max's home race)

a pause in the sticker war for the dutch grand prix. what we do get is rbr posting lestappen on main (the mclaren camcorder saga) and rbr posting some content about their yeti (and the new yeti sticker tradition). (just as a side note: travel stickers to add to yetis is a bit of a niche Thing; very on brand for the sponsorship deal.)

(similarly, a pause in monza — all ferrari, all the time, for monza. we get the lestappen quali podium and charles asking the crowd not to boo max.)

singapore grand prix (ferrari sacrificial altar)

again, we see ferrari instigating the interaction — now with tagging rbr on the posts. interestingly, rbr tags yeti in response and ferrari's comment on rbr's retaliation brings it back to the yeti sticker tradition. with this "attack" actually targeting the yeti cooler, it's making it all look very... yeti-focused.

but singapore is also when rbr doubles down on the lestappen content — and gets more loud about it. the infamous "lecstappen alert" post. we also got some photos of them chatting in the paddock (which, i believe, were not posted by either rbr or ferrari but were out there adding to the Vibes this weekend).

meanwhile, ferrari is dealing with peak ferrari civil war mode this weekend after blatantly sacrificing charles to defend carlos' victory and then not acknowledging it in the slightest in favor of propping up the "cool carlando operation."

japanese grand prix (f1 takes the score)

rbr initiates the on-going war this time around and makes sure to advertising their new suzuka hats while they're at it. ferrari retaliates. and once again, we see f1 doing a recap/summary of the on-going fight. no lestappen in sight once more...

... but rbr also posts lestappen crumbs, in the form of max talking about his suzuka race start from 2022. which means smiling at a video of one of his battles with charles.

after the race, ferrari is back in civil war mode after carlos complains about being "sacrificed" in suzuka and ferrari gets heat for their interesting quali strategy that put them in this situation in the first place. no post-race hi-jinx this time around.

qatar grand prix ("everybody is a ferrari fan")

rbr initiates the conversation again. this time, ferrari's only response is to like the photo. but this was after the sprint race and after max had already been crowned for the third time; not exactly a time when ferrari wants to be adding to the max agenda.

plus, by this time we had already seen the videos and photos of charles congratulating max immediately, before everyone else. this moment wasn't posted by rbr or ferrari, naturally, but it is out there and being spread around by the end of the time rbr starts posting the ferrari photo.

we also saw charles offering max glowing praise and talking about how much max and rbr deserves it, because they still had to fight even while having a dominant car. on one hand, this is a lot of respect for his childhood rival. on another, it's adding to the idea that hey, even with a super dominant car, the driver's talent matters (so if you catch me in a super dominant car in the near future, keep that in mind, media).

carlos had the dns for the qatar race, there were the obvious health concerns going on that definitely took up everyone's attention. no need for ferrari to do any distracting pr and therefore no reason to engage in the lestappen/rbr narrative for the weekend, despite rbr tagging them.

which brings us to...

austin grand prix and the lestappen resurgence

so far we've seen a fairly consistent rbr-ferrari conversation going on around the stickers and yeti sponsorship. but it definitely has tapered off and has shifted towards rbr being the one to engage and keep the conversation moving on social media. plus, we've been getting more and more of charles and max interacting in the background of all this, casually being friends (and being subtly pointed out by rbr).

and if you look at the austin interactions, ferrari isn't as much of a collaborator in the agenda. rbr is the clear instigator and driving force behind all of the lestappen media interactions — and they more or less force ferrari's hand.

obviously, the great lestappen padel date (cough, competition) sets the tone for the weekend. charles and max hanging out, outside of f1, publicly, is certainly a choice. i think they've always been closer than they let on (at least since covid-era), but the "rivals" narrative had them limiting their public interactions... so why now?

and then, of course, austin goes on a mission to overload us with lestappen. and rbr gets on board with that, quickly. starting with the press conference and lestappen gossip session... which, sure, is controlled by the f1. but max sitting next to charles and as far from daniel on the couch as he is? a choice imo.

next up we have our glorious quali session, and rbr starts in on the lestappen on main agenda. they heard us begging for the congratulations photo and they delivered (twice — with christian posting it personally, too).

with max not even being in the quali presser, you could just call this good opportunism. photos showing max being gracious and friendly with charles despite being upset about his lap being deleted is great pr and a great excuse to post about max and make it about max, to a degree.

we get lestappen being lestappen on saturday morning. so far, so good... a great parallel to the shots of max congratulating charles, this time with max taking the p1 (to rbr's delight).

following the sprint (and max's slight terrorism against charles)?

rbr posts lestappen again (three times), this time calling them out by name twice, and emphasizes that this is the second day in a row that they are giving us lestappen content. they tag charles again, but not ferrari this time. this is what i mean by forcing ferrari's hand — rbr has been posting their driver a lot.

and ferrari did essentially the bare minimum to keep up the fun rivalry vibes (responding to the post with the “back at ya” which in and of itself frames it as them just reacting to rbr). rbr is the one who doubled down by responding to that (the “we’re giving you what you want” reply). so while it looks like cute and very sus coordination, i would say rbr is definitely driving it. and rbr is driving it a lot.

(one strange exception: ferrari posting the charles answering questions video and posting him talking about padel with max. idk. you would think that they would cut it, or charles would have had to ask to include it if this is his agenda, or... something. that detail is just an odd one to me and may suggest greater ferrari support of the agenda.)

ferrari’s non interaction could say two things, i think. either:

they want to make it look like rbr is trying too hard and they are just humoring it (in line with ferrari’s stuffy reputation)… or,

it’s not their narrative and they’re doing what they must to not look too stuffy by not engaging at all (esp. after they joined in with the carlando propaganda previously).

i am inclined to think it's the second option, just based on rbr's behavior and the oddity of the sudden increase in content amidst ferrari's civil war and rbr's own internal second seat drama.

the sticking point for me is trying to figure out what ferrari’s agenda actually is with their recent social media approach, then. it seems far-fetched that they are just bad at social media and keep missing the mark. but seeing the vision… idk man.

if they’re being deliberate in trying to enrage fans it feels like it has to be leading to a driver swap. setting up a narrative of "something clearly isn't working, ferrari is doing awful, we need change" and then magically "fixing" it all with a driver line-up change. in my mind, this only works if they are trying to oust carlos — it would explain the stupid strategies and blatant favoritism, as well as serves as a convenient (and true) scapegoat for the shitty car we have this season. charles talking to espn this weekend about the 2024 car direction and how it is leaning in his direction? curious timing, that.

the alternative, of course, is that charles has already signed with rbr or ferrari suspects that he will. then isolating charles to the point to trying to remove their brand from him and be able to stand alone once he leaves makes some sense... however, not a lot.

the issue with taking a deliberate strategy like this is that it is very risky. they risk pissing the fans off too much. they also risk jeopardizing their results, especially if they are letting bad strategy calls go on purpose to drive the malcontent. you'd have to believe ferrari is willing to give up points and risk their reputation (at least temporarily) to commit to the bit.

which... it seems like charles, at least, is looking towards 2024. this year and this car are a wash. max and rbr already have the championships. maybe it's not such a bad time for ferrari to risk it and throw away some races to feed their agenda. but still, they look incompetent as shit. it's a bad look. and this type of strategy only works if they anticipate a radical turn around next season (and can say "look, all that junk last year was just growing pains and transition, fred came in and this is his first year with just him and his direction, and it's all good now").

their recent behavior is just... shitty. and you would think a brand like ferrari would be better than that. you have to believe there's probably an agenda in there somewhere, because it's hard to believe that they are just that bad at media. and there's not a whole lot that really ties into them playing along with rbr.

so, basically... i'm not sure if they really are playing along with rbr at this point. i think rbr has the narrative in hand when it comes to lestappen, though towards what aim... idk. maybe it's all just leading up to some ea sports shit. maybe rbr just wants to capitalize on charles' likability and boost max's reputation. maybe this is more about charles having more free reign with his image and brand lately, and charles deciding to be more open with his friendship with max (and, of course, more open about the idea that other teams want him). maybe ferrari is just along for the ride and doing damage control.

whatever is going on, it's something. there has just been way too much weirdness with charles' behavior and attitudes, rbr's actions, charles not having a renewal announcement yet, rbr's own seat issues, ferrari's very weird media angles, charles making big moves with his personal brand...

rbr lestappen may have felt like a pipe dream at the start of the season, but idk. let's not forget that max once walked back his statement about not being on a team with charles because you can't have two number ones. i believe his new answer was something to the effect that sure, he and charles could drive for the same team. and, of course, charles' response was always "why not?".

in sum: shit's happening. i'm hoping it's lestappen-in-red-bulls shit.

[umlewis]

lewis hamilton, p2 p1, is interviewed during the post-race press conference, belgium - july 28, 2024 (transcript under the cut)

Interviewer: "Lewis, let's come to you now. As George says, you drove a great race today. Just how do you sum up your run to P2?" Lewis: "I think it was great. George did a fantastic job today. Obviously I'll re-watch the race and… But yeah, fantastic effort to go the one-stop. And it was pretty smooth sailing, to be honest. I was fully in control, I had plenty of pace and tires, and [laughs] just didn't end up as planned." Interviewer: "Plenty of tires. Did you consider the one-stop?" Lewis: "I mean, I kept… If you listen, you could have heard what I said to the team most of the time. But yeah, I think the tires were pretty good. I still had plenty of tires and I was going quicker. I didn't want to stop." Interviewer: "Tell us about the transformation in the car, because on Friday both of you guys… I mean, to quote Toto Wolff, you were nowhere. How much better was the car today and where was it better?" Lewis: "It was literally night and day different today. On Friday it was pretty disastrous for both of us and really struggling with balance, and then today just the car came alive and I was really surprised to, firstly, get into the lead, and then be pulling away from everyone and not… Yeah, as I said, it felt fully under control and I've not had that for years, and so that's why it was also a bit strange way to finish it. But it's great to go into the summer break with the one-two. The team really deserve it and did such an amazing job." Interviewer: "Lewis, can you just tidy up one more thing? You came on the radio at one point and said, 'Something's moving between my legs' What was that, and was it an issue later on?" Lewis: "I just had… There was something as I was going through the corner. Something kept rolling underneath my left leg." Interviewer: "Not a serious issue, then. Okay." Lewis: [shakes head] Interviewer: "Lewis, very well done. Thank you."

[time jump] Journalist: "Dan Lawrence, Motorsport Monday. Question to Lewis: This season's been ultra-competitive. We're seeing three teams, at the moment, constantly fighting for wins; a fourth team that has won this season, as well. It almost harks back to the years of 2012 and 2010, which obviously you experienced. So how does this season compare to back then in your mind? And from a psychological standpoint, when you put the helmet on, does it just give you that extra layer of motivation, knowing you've got so many rivals that you've got to defend against and attack against?" Lewis: "You must be new here. I don't have a good memory, so I don't remember back then. [laughs] But what I can say is, it's great. It's really fantastic, I think, for the sport to be having such close teams and drivers, and the pedigree of drivers at the top today are really elite and… Yeah, we didn't expect to be competing with the McLarens or the Red Bulls at this point in the season, with how we started off, so for us to now have closed up and be… It's going to be one hell of a second half of the season, for sure." [time jump]

Journalist: "Phil Duncan, PA. Lewis, you said you didn't want to stop for the second time. Did you say to the team that you only wanted to do one-stop, and obviously how much does it hurt not winning today? Because you looked odds on to win for much of the race. And just to George, Toto called you the tyre whisperer, so how much was this down to you actually driving those tires, saving those tires, or just the strategy?" Lewis: "Nope. I just said that the tires were fine. And I'm happy. Looking forward to going to the summer break." [time jump] Journalist: "Niccolo Arnerich, F1 Analisi Tecnica. Question for both of Mercedes drivers. Which is the main areas to improve right now on the car, on the W15, and which are the main areas you feel that you have done a big improvement in this last month?" Interviewer: "Who wants to start? Lewis." Lewis: "I mean, just overall the car is… We're more comfortable in the car. The balance through low to medium to high are all much more in line with what we had targeted. Yeah, that's really about it." Interviewer: "George, anything to add?" George: "No."

[musicarenagh]

Getting to Know Didier Recloux: Music, Inspiration, and Life Guys! Today, we're discovering the universe of Didier Recloux, a Belgian composer who makes music on another level in London. It was in the family that music was in his veins, where instruments and melodies from his Polish side surrounded him. Recently Didier put out his latest single "First Walk" and it came with a sweet music video. This song isn't only about music, it is about feeling lonely among many people when you are surrounded by others and still you feel so alone. The song was influenced by the novel and it includes a bit of jazz and rock to create contemporary atmosphere of a refugee finding comfort in disorder. While with Didier, he is always seeking expiration from everything close to him, whether it's a script, or just an ordinary moment of life.His music style? It is rather a combination of all the sounds he loves with a small portion of atmosphere and emotion. Besides this, when Didier is not making music, he loves to explore languages, art, and think deeply about life's big issues. And even though music is everything to him now, he recalls that he would still be involved in music in some way if he wasn't a composer. Unwind, relax and accompany us on our journey to meet the man behind the voice, Didier Recloux. Watch First Walk below https://youtu.be/tFy7GZcxCnE Follow Didier Recloux on Facebook Twitter Spotify Youtube Instagram What is your stage name Didier Recloux Is there a story behind your stage name? It is my birth name Where do you find inspiration? When I write for film I get it from the script, the images, for my latest album I was inspired by a novel from French author Philippe Claudel What was the role of music in the early years of your life? I had an important role for me, on my mother’s side, my grandparents were Polish and everyone could play a instrument so I grew up surrounded by a lot of different musics and instruments Are you from a musical or artistic family? Yes one side of my family was very musical Who inspired you to be a part of the music industry? It was a live broadcast of a Madonna concert on television, at the end of the set she came back on stage for encore, the public went crazy and she looked so happy, I thought it must be such a wonderful thing to touch people with music [caption id="attachment_54756" align="alignnone" width="2000"] Getting to Know Didier Recloux: Music, Inspiration, and LifeGetting to Know Didier Recloux: Music, Inspiration, and Life[/caption] How did you learn to sing/write/to play? I studied at the music academy from the age of 6, later I took some private lessons, masterclasses in New York, Berklee online, the rest was just learning whilst working and getting experience What was the first concert that you ever went to and who did you see perform? It was Pink Floyd for the “Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour” in Werchter, Belgium How could you describe your music? It changes from project to project but I guess I would say a combination of all the different musics I have listened to in the past, I like things that are melodic, but also dark, atmospheric, moving Describe your creative process. I usually do some research in what the project is about, I write a lot, words that trigger feelings, what I want to convey, who the characters are, I then write the main themes and start developing the music What is your main inspiration? Everything I see around me, a situation, a story, a book, life in general What musician do you admire most and why? George Michael, unbelievable voice, great songwriter, producer, he could do it all, Steven Wilson, extremely versatile, he seems to be everywhere and very productive, his music touches me deeply many many more but the list would be too long ! Did your style evolve since the beginning of your career? Yes definitely, it is probably a bit leaner Who do you see as your main competitor? I try not to see anyone as a competitor, it just creates

unnecessary stress, there will always be someone better out there so I just try to improve on who I am. What are your interests outside of music? Languages, art, spirituality, travelling If it wasn't a music career, what would you be doing? Probably still something related to music in some ways What is the biggest problem you have encountered in the journey of music? Self doubts, thinking that I still don’t know enough, in a way it is a good thing as I always try to improve https://open.spotify.com/artist/0cyKyCM9wHRPUbm0Kj4ySR?si=kQu9-AypSFiHp_zMqcGV5g&nd=1&dlsi=011c49171da545fa If you could change one thing in the music industry, what would it be? It is what it is but I guess the amount of money paid to artists by streaming platforms. Why did you choose this as the title of this project? It was the title of the novel I was inspired by What are your plans for the coming months? I’m working on a new release in June and on my next album, for the end of the year Do you have any artistic collaboration plans Not at the moment What message would you like to give to your fans? I would just thank them for listening to what I do!

[natromanxoff]

Queen live at Forest National in Brussels, Belgium - August 24, 1984

Some parts of the Hammer To Fall promo video were filmed during this show - the camera was filming the audience reactions during TYMD, Radio Ga Ga and Hammer To Fall. On the next day 20 fans from the Dutch fan club were invited to come again to the filming of the promo video.

At the gig, the band asked the audience to return the following day for the shoot. However, most likely assuming it was all a joke, the vast majority stayed away; in fact only a dozen fans turned up. Undeterred, the shoot went ahead anyway, with the band's performance that day interspersed with footage shot the previous night.

(x)

This is the first show of The Works tour.

According to the July '89 issue of Record Collector, Queen ran through about 40 songs during rehearsals. This list of songs rehearsed that didn't end up in the setlist comes from someone who worked on the tour:

Great King Rat (longer version), Brighton Rock (full song), I'm In Love With My Car, Sweet Lady, White Man, We Will Rock You (fast), Play The Game, Need Your Loving Tonight, Put Out The Fire, Las Palabras de Amor, Life Is Real (both Freddie solo piano and Freddie/Brian acoustic duet versions)

The keyboardist for this tour (and also the '86 Magic tour) is session musician Spike Edney. He would also lend some vocals to many songs and play rhythm guitar in Hammer To Fall. He and Roger Taylor would form a band called "The Cross" in 1987 which spawned three albums, and he would return to Queen in the 21st century to play on the tours with Paul Rodgers and Adam Lambert.

Spike was recruited in a very informal way by a Queen associate. He went to Munich for their first rehearsal in early August, wound up partying for most of the first night, and missed the first day's rehearsal. It later transpired that everyone else had. He recalls, "The next day, we all managed to get to it eventually, to the first rehearsal, and all the gear was set up. The stage was huge, and I thought "Oh well, here we go then" and we got to the first song , and what I'd forgotten was that they hadn't actually played together for two years. So they said, OK, let's try one of the new songs, I think it was Radio Ga Ga, and we started playing it, and course, I knew it, I'd been studying it for weeks. You know, 1,2,3,4 and we start and we get about a minute into the song and the whole thing collapses. And they all look at each other, you know, very sheepishly, and they say, "Anyone know how it goes?" and I say "well, actually, I know. I know how it goes" and they said "Ah". And so I started showing them the chords and everything and Fred looked at me and said "You don't know the words, do you?" and "Well, yeah I do actually" so then they all came round the piano and we spent the whole day just going through songs, and I thought, "I'm gonna be all right here, this'll be OK"!"

The show started very late, as the band were still doing soundcheck when they were supposed to go on. Apparently over the previous week there were few occasions when all four band members actually showed up for rehearsal. Many songs (likely those listed above) never made the setlist, and soundcheck was an extensive cramming session, particularly for the older material that they hadn't played in years.

Roger Taylor later reflected that this European tour was one of his favourites, and many fans cite the early Works setlist as their favourite ever played by the band. Three medleys are now played, two of which have revived many old songs: Killer Queen, Seven Seas Of Rhye, Keep Yourself Alive, Liar, Stone Cold Crazy and Great King Rat. Staying Power from Hot Space returns to the set, as does Sheer Heart Attack from News Of The World. Only half of Staying Power is played, and it runs into Dragon Attack, followed by an improvisation running into a more compact version of Now I'm Here compared to previous tours.

Many people who attended shows on this tour recall Queen having a very heavy sound, especially on songs like Liar and Stone Cold Crazy. By 1984 they had gained a reputation as being one of the best live rock acts in the business.

Six songs from The Works are performed each night, and the introduction tape is from the album track "Machines". After the heavy G chords are heard on the tape twice, the band walk on stage in the darkness to play the chords the third time, which leads into the brand new "Tear It Up". This is yet another effective opening to a Queen show, something they would perfect time and time again.

I Want To Break Free is performed each night in 1984-85 as the first encore, with Freddie coming on stage sporting a pair of huge plastic breasts under a pink shirt. Part way through the song, he would remove the breasts and twirl them around for a while before finally throwing them into the audience. Some souvenir! As a result of this gag, Another One Bites The Dust has been moved from the encore to be earlier in the set.

This tour showcases an incredible lighting rig and an overall setup mimics the movie Metropolis, from which scenes were used for the promo video of Radio Ga Ga last year. The huge wheels behind the stage (modelled after the ones on The Works album cover) rotate at mostly random times - usually because they are turned manually by various crew members such as Roger's tech Chris "Crystal" Taylor whenever they have a free moment (Freddie Mercury's assistant Peter Freestone told the tale in 2021):

“Yeah, I mean Rio was… amazing. The feeling from that crowd… you know, something like 350,000 people. Oh, you can’t beat that. And when you’re flying in a helicopter over that crowd, it was stunning. But the thing is, I know this sounds really, really stupid but [laughs]… one thing I will always, always remember from that tour was, remember, in the back of the stage you had these wheels that turned every now and then, not constantly but just every now and then. That was because there was… the guy looking after Roger’s drums and me who actually turned those wheels. And there was no set cue or anything that, “Oh, it has to start on this bar, on this song.” No, it was when he wasn’t doing anything and I wasn’t doing anything, we’d say “Ok, let’s go and do it.” And we turned the wheels for a couple of minutes and then left them alone. He had then to do something for Roger and I would just sit there like I always did. And then you’d go back and you’d turn the wheels, like a hamster. We were like hamsters…”

However, a crew member who worked on the tour recalls otherwise: "I do know local crew members were used on the UK shows and certainly (a number of) European gigs. The other thing is that Radio Ga Ga had a set piece with the cogs and lighting, using low ambient lighting and strobes to emphasise mechanical motion of the cogs during the instrumental break. Would Roger Taylor be happy with no one covering him/his kit during a show? Possibly Peter Freestone is remembering production rehearsals when any spare bodies might have been asked to operate the cogs?"

During vocal improvisations on this tour, Freddie would often include bits of "Foolin' Around" and "Living On My Own" from his pending first solo album, which he had been working on during this period.

Freddie now plays a Telecaster for Crazy Little Thing Called Love. It would remain like this through the Magic tour.

The band no longer bring a gong with them on the road. Roger now does a cymbal roll at the end of Bohemian Rhapsody.

A fan recalls hearing the band running through Tear It Up whilst queuing up to enter the venue.

Freddie's voice is in superb shape for this show, but it will quickly weaken as the tour progresses. As incredible as Freddie Mercury was, he certainly did not take care of his voice at times, especially in the mid-80s. After a couple years of heavy smoking, Freddie's voice now sounds a lot deeper and raspier overall.

Before It's A Hard Life, Freddie says, "I think tonight we're gonna do songs from just about every album that we've ever made. You heard some very early stuff from the first album. Right now I think we're gonna do something very new, and we'll see what you think of it."

Freddie does a vocal exchange with the audience before Staying Power, singing "Get Down Make Love" and "Gimme Some Lovin" a few times. The band would improvise bits of the latter a couple times in 1986.

This is the only show on the entire Works tour where Roger plays regular acoustic drums on Another One Bites The Dust (before which Freddie teases the audience with a bit of Mustapha). For the rest of the tour, he'd play electronic drums. He'd also integrate the electronic drum kit into a few other songs, like at the beginning of Hammer To Fall, where one might argue that his sounds don't appropriately complement the guitar to create the intense, heavy sound.

The band sound very tight on this opening night of the tour, with the only exception being the rough transition from Stone Cold Crazy to Great King Rat. The keyboard and guitar solos are integrated together for the first few shows of the tour, during which Brian plays a few bits from Machines. Spike Edney uses his vocoder (a Roland VP-330) for the "machines" and "back to humans" lines heard throughout the tour during this spot (he would use his vocoder for the "radio" lines in Radio Ga Ga as well). After this segment, Brian then gets a few minutes to play on his own as usual.

Parts of the promo video for Hammer To Fall were filmed during this show. Claims from some (even official) sources state that Freddie invited the audience back for (what would actually be "additional") filming the following day aren't true. Here is all that Freddie had to say before the song: "This next song we're gonna use in our next video. So everybody just go mad and maybe later you'll see one of you guys inside the video one day. Oh, just go crazy, take your clothes off. It's called Hammer To Fall." After the song, he simply says, "Good night, you guys!" as that was the last song of the set.

Here is a fan's recollection: "On the night of the gig, there was a camera mounted on an arm that would swing over the front rows of the audience during a few songs. These audience shots were taken during Tie Your Mother Down, Radio Ga Ga, and Hammer To Fall itself. I guess they also had a camera up in the box at the back of the hall [as there are a few shots of both the audience and the band]. I don't remember any cameras onstage during the gig - just the one mounted on the arm."

The Dutch fan club invited only about twenty of its members to attend the video shoot the next day. They were instructed by a roadie to sit quietly on a chair and not to move or approach the band members. After a few hours, Brian came over and had a chat with them, checking to see if they were enjoying themselves and if they were hungry. He then promptly ordered them some take-out!

A minute of Tie Your Mother Down from this show was later broadcast on the Belgian TV station "RTBF" (x) (x). An audience-shot video allegedly exists as well, containing five songs.

After years of speculation, the existence of more footage from this show was proven when bits of it were included in the promo video for Let Me In Your Heart Again in 2014. About 30 seconds of Somebody To Love (largely crowd shots) were seen. There is, however, no accompanying audio. (x)

The first photo is from the autumn 1984 Queen fan club magazine. Brian is seen with a watchful eye over the proceedings. Tour manager Gerry Stickells and his wife are also in the shot.

Pics 2 through 6 were submitted by Alessio Rizzitelli, and the seventh pic was taken by Dave Matkin.

(x)

[humanpersonface]

I keep seeing a bunch of people expressing outrage and worry about all the public art being destroyed and taken down right now-- namely things like Confederate figures, King Leopold, and Christopher Columbus. People are worried about preserving history, so I thought as a verified and degree carrying art historian I would weigh in:

I dont give a fuck, yall.

Tear them down, spray paint them, and throw them into the streets. We have plenty of ways to remember history and tearing down a statue glorifying perpetrators of genocide isnt going to erase history. If anything it will IMPROVE our collective memory of history by reminding us that these people shouldn't be glamorously memorialized or remembered fondly.

Studying art history has taught me that history is colored by the artistic lenses we view it through. Having a fancy bronze statue of Columbus is a lens which perpetuates the myth that he was the heroic discoverer of America-- when actually he was a shitty idiot who didnt know how to navigate and stumbled upon a continent FILLED with people and cultures who DISCOVERED it a good fucking damn while ago (and he was like the millionth non indigenous person to "discover" the continent anyways.) and who then opened the floodgates to massive colonization and genocide. We dont need a statue to remember that this fuck head existed-- the statue just conditions us to continue remembering him incorrectly-- ie with respect that seeps over from time that we need to have progressed from by now.

And you want proof that that is what these statues are REALLY for? When do you think all of those Confederate statues all around the US were built? Right after the war? Nope. The majority of them, like over 700, were put up RIGHT in the peak of the Jim Crow laws. Those statues were put up by fucking racists in an effort to remind people of the "glory" of the confederacy. They were put up to empower white segregation and to remind Black Americans that the racism of the confederacy was still alive and well. Those statues dont just memorialize a glorifying vision of the civil war; they memorialize that decades later America had not progressed past the bigotry that the confederacy stood for. And here we are nearly a century and a half later and we're still not past it.

As an art historian let me say that art is POWERFUL. That's why I decided to and LOVE studying history through art. Art shows you what the culture WANTED you to remember of their society and their people. Looking at a historical work of art gives you a glimpse into the minds and values of the people of that time. So what we're doing by keeping these statues up that represent bigotry and violence is explicitly claiming that the mindset and values of these representations as still current. These statues arent preserving history, they're stagnating cultural progress.

Frankly, the image here of the vandalized statue of King Leopold of Belgium is a much more significant art historical object.

It represents THIS moment in a wonderful and powerful way. It brings forward the true legacy of King Leopold that the statue hid (the red hands alone speak volumes. Not just in the sense of blood on his hands, but one of the hallmarks of Leopold's cruelty while reigning over the Congo was that he would have the Congolese people's hands cut off as punishment for trivial things like not meeting their quota in the fields or factories.).

All the statue before vandalism represented was a hollow trophy from a disgusting time, and the fact that humans still felt it right to remember that time with even an inkling of honor.

If you want images to remember histories like Leopold, then look to the horrific photos taken by Alice Seely Harris which immortalized his legacy. Look to Congolese artists like Sammy Baloji who sheds a light on this history and the remaining effects it has had on the Congo.

You want images to remember history? Look to the images made by artists of color, of indigenous artists, of artists who exposed the violence behind the glorifying veil these statues represented. And look to images like the one here, like the others we've recently seen like it, like the murals and art being made now. Because when future historians look back at this time, they will see this art and these images and view us through those lenses. We should want them to see progress and hope and anger and passion rather than a society wearing blinders and clinging to the propaganda of historic bigotry.

[snarktheater]

*slides into your ask box, leaving a trail of grease behind* So. 😏 It's April. Any word about Shadowhunters? 😘 Also, do you have an opinion about Killing Stalking, right now, or any other controversial ships, like Reylo, Delena, etc.? The YoI debate, surrounding Killing Stalking, has died down, but Season 2 begins within five days, so we're expecting some big drama.

Excuse the bullet points, I’m up way too late but don’t want to postpone answering this.

I came home to Belgium yesterday, so…yeah, I’m hitting the later end of that estimate I made a while back. And as I said, I should finally have time/energy to start watching it at all what with being back home and all. I’m trying to consolidate a schedule for the blog, actually (including that show, Carve the Mark, and possibly the new Doctor Who season—once I get to watch the episode and decide if I want to snark that), but right now I’m just jet lagged. I think I should get an announcement out within days and probably start posting again this week, which should include Shadowhunters. I do want all ten episodes reviewed before the second half of the season airs, which leaves me…what, a month and a half?

I…vaguely know that “Killing Stalking” exists (…I think I read about it on @dateaboysuggestions​? because yes I am corny enough to follow that blog, and no I don’t remember why it came up on that blog. anyway go follow them, they’re cute). I’m not really sure why it’s making a fuss, though. I mean, the existence of media depicting horrible abuse is kind of inevitable. Is it noteworthy in a way that I’m not aware of? Like, is it super popular or something? Because if all it has for itself is bring graphic and abusive…eh?

I have no idea what the connection with YoI is. Should I look it up? (Speaking of YoI, I managed to watch one episode of it, and I have to say: my, did it not make me want to keep watching when the character I know is the love interest introduces himself by flashing the person he is almost certainly already romantically interested in. Way to not rely on homophobic stereotypes about predatory gay people.)

Controversial ships! Well, that depends on what you’re asking about. I generally avoid condemning a ship as a concept, because…well, people have plenty of different ways to ship characters together. Fandom is extremely transformative in nature, and because of that, having a fan go “hey, what if X happened and these characters were in a situation that led to romance?” is…well, it’s something to be criticized individually rather than in bulk.On the other hand, if people ship Reylo as in “Kylo Ren and Rey, as we know them right now in canon, should get together”…yeah, I’m gonna have issues with that. Delena’s a bit more complicated to me, but ultimately I still think making it canon was probably the show’s main jumping the shark moment, and it got even worse over time, at least until I gave up on TVD after season 6. And it takes a lot to make me give up on a show, by which I mean it takes generating zero interest, positive or negative. I watched Glee to the very end because it had become so unwatchable, but not TVD. Anyway, this is getting off-topic. Point is: I don’t think it’s fair to immediately attack people for shipping characters (hell, I’ve been attacked on my personal blog because I reblogged fanart of Sheith, and I haven’t even watched the Voltron reboot). Plus, a lot of ship hate seems to stem from ship wars, and that the “antis” just dress up their resentment by making it about some self-righteous issue, and…yeah, you can’t really call something problematic when it’s as broad and vaguely-defined as shipping. You’re bound to englobe things that are perfectly fine under that umbrella.

[maryseward666]

LARS ULRICH: 'We're Having The Best Year For METALLICA In Probably A Quarter Of A Century'

RARE BLACK METAL COLLECTIBLES

On November 9, METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich was interviewed by Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff as part of this year's Dreamforce, Salesforce's annual user conference, in San Francisco, California. You can now watch the chat below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). On how METALLICA's music has managed to survive and grow, crossing generations: Lars: "It's pretty crazy, 35 years in, that people still care at the level that they do. We just played three weeks in Europe. We're playing on a small in-the-round stage, and every single — and this is not to pat ourselves on the back, but more how dumbfounded we are about this stuff still happening — in every single building we just played in Europe in the last two, three weeks, we set a house attendance record, because we get more people in because our stage is smaller. These are the big indoor arenas in London, Birmingham, Glasgow, Belgium… They're all between 18 and 23 thousand — their version of the hockey and basketball arena. But it's pretty crazy that we continue to set attendance records. We're having the best year for METALLICA in probably a quarter of a century. And it should be no secret that we're obviously not quite a young as we used to be, but it's amazing that still at the concerts, half the audience that are down at the front row are 14 years old, 12 years old. They raise their hand when James [Hetfield], our singer, asks who's seeing METALLICA for the first time. And it's amazing that half the audience are experiencing METALLICA literally for the first time live. That is a crazy thing. It's, like, do they not know that we're old enough to be their parents? [Laughs] So we've had a lot of good fortune, and we're very appreciative and humbled. And I think the one thing that happens to you as you get older is that as you get older and you raise families yourself and so on, that's when you can really open your eyes and take it all in, slow down long enough to realize the moments that you're in, bringing people together, connecting people through music. You know, when we were 22 years old, we never stopped long enough to know what was going on, but now, 30 years later, you can really feel that impact that you're having on a global scale. So it's been an amazing, amazing year. And we still have about another year and a half of touring left. So we're just getting started. [Laughs]" On the reasons for METALLICA's enduring success: Lars: "I think it's two-fold. Number one is that from a creative point of view, you have to be willing to always look ahead rather than look behind. You have to turn over every rock, every stone and open your eyes, open your ears, be inspired, let those influences and all that great culture — whether it's music, whether it's art, whether it's film; whatever it is — just take you, and you have to be open to letting the process take you where it's gonna go. It becomes this interesting dichotomy between sort of steering it but also being open to letting… almost like hanging on, letting it kind of go where it's going and just making sure it doesn't derail, like a train, kind of. So, for 35 years, we've tried to never look back when we were making records, always try to challenge ourselves and see what else was out there that could inspire us to let the music take us some place differently. Secondly, when you're in a group, when you're in a collective, you really have to know how to work with other people. You have to learn empathy, you have to learn… when somebody else is steering, when you're gonna take a backseat and when you… that balance point about it's really important that this idea solidifies itself to somebody else in the band. Even though I may not personally agree with it a hundred percent, in terms of the balancing points of an internal dynamic that works in a group setting, you have to just know how to work with other people. When you're 20 years old in a group, in a music group, that's like being in a gang, and that's easy. When you're 50 years old and everybody gets their own patterns, and you talk to anybody — whether they're in THE ROLLING STONES or our friends in U2 or the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS or any of the great bands that have been through Dreamforce in the last couple of years, being in a collective, being in a group, being in a band in your 50s requires a lot of work. We spend more time internally in METALLICA on just making the band function. We spend more resources on making the band function in terms of giving everybody the space they need. You know, somebody needs to take spring break off to go with their kids — we're not working that week. Somebody needs this, somebody needs that… It's all an open door, because the minute you do something that's gonna put a bandmember in a position of doing something where he has something else in his head, that's the beginning of the end. So you've gotta spend a lot of time working on the collective and the group dynamics. We somehow turned a corner maybe 10, 15 years ago — we all grew up a little bit, and we sort of reprioritized our outlook on life. The first 20 years of METALLICA, it was the band first and the individual and the family second. And about 10, 15 years ago, we swapped the model, and now it's the individual and the families first and METALLICA second, and that has given us a functioning dynamic that has… We're in better shape than we've ever been, and that's part of the reason, I think, we're enjoying the best time we've had in 25 years." METALLICA played a benefit show earlier this month in San Francisco to raise money for victims of the recent Northern California wildfires. The European leg of METALLICA's "WorldWired" tour kicked off in Copenhagen, Denmark on September 2 and ran through November 3. After a break, the trek will pick up again on February 1, 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal, and continue through May, finishing up in Helsinki, Finland.

Thank you @Benioff for having me as a guest at @Dreamforce today and showing me your incredible universe which occupies the @MosconeCenter for 4 days a year ... WOW!!! #DF17 pic.twitter.com/r1Z2VFkHol

— Lars Ulrich (@larsulrich) November 10, 2017

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