#Pet Rock Day

[drykoolaid]

I’ve been rewatching MD (yk damn well why) and I’ve decided to indulge my instability <33

Bonuusssss:

Im not sorry if u can’t read my shitty handwriting btw XOXO

[vaguely-concerned]

spite plays with the whetstones when lucanis cleans his knives oh my god... 🥺🥺🥺

(also the thing they're doing here with 'trauma will create a tantruming toddler in your head that refuses to settle for anything but total truth and authenticity and won't be bought off with bullshit or banished by abuse or neglect, you have to actually listen and care for it even when it's being ugly'......... they are cooking with this metaphor and it's also consistently so hilarious in action I can't fucking believe they laid off mary kirby for so many reasons but this is one of them. I also like the complexity of the relationship here -- even right at the beginning of the arc lucanis has some tenderness for and understanding of spite's fundamental innocence in having been put in this situation too, for all the resentment and fear and frustration that's also there. and if spite didn't actively force him to every step of the way I don't think lucanis would ever have actually faced up to and acknowledged the fact that he has y'know. the actual needs of a human being and can't persist on coffee and workaholism alone. it fucking sucks that all of this happened. but also. there's a crack in everything that's how the light gets in etc. like. god. okay then I guess)

[sunsetsandsunshine]

Actually don’t fucking talk to me... @ziipzeepzop-eez

[mod2amaryllis]

bitches keep me sane, work is crazy

[rocknrollflames]

Day Twenty: Your Favorite Album Cover - I don't really have one, so here's a cool cover I've always liked.

30 Day Band Challenge

[wallisninety-six]

The Bittersweet Tragedy- and Triumph of The Beach Boys' "Sunflower" (1970)

Pet Sounds and the collapse of Smile in 1967 is often seen by mainstream critics and some fans alike as *the* defining moment where The Beach Boys lost the script, lost their knack for quality album-making and started a creative downward spiral for the band and Brian Wilson himself. Things *were* far from rosy, but this is also far from true. In reality, that exact moment occurred with the release, and total chart failure of Sunflower in 1970.

The truth is that Brian, while definitely ceding his leadership role slowly, was still writing tons of music for the band and remained heavily involved (with the exception of the album 20/20 in 1969, when he was in a psychiatric hospital) with the creation & production process of the band's albums from 1967-1970, and Sunflower was no exception. This time though, he wasn't alone.

Since Brian had taken a firm leadership role since the band's early days and practically cemented his position with Pet Sounds & Smile- the group's unease with his direction grew, tensions rose considerably, and infighting at times got really heated- and after Smile's collapse, the rest of the group emerged to slowly & gradually offer their songwriting talents and make music more as a collective than ever before. Although very fragmented- 20/20 represented a new peak for the band actually working *as* a band together.

With the band in a severe amounts of debt, depressed, struggling to find their footing in a practical power vacuum, plus submitting album after album to their new labels (with nearly 40 tracks) and having them constantly be rejected- the fact that Sunflower exists as it does is nothing short of a miracle. Not less because the Boys- even if it was for a fleeting moment, found harmony and could work together effectively as a true collective, making a unanimous statement about the power of music and love, each in their own way. It's seen by some as the band's Abbey Road, and it's not hard to see why.

Each and *every* single member showed off their music chops and in their own way- with so many moods and feelings, a variety of vocalists plus different (and even groundbreaking) instrumentals. The stars aligned for this extremely hard-fought and incredibly genuine album. But it wasn't enough.

When it was released, critics liked the album fine enough, but most questioned the need for anyone to listen to the Beach Boys anymore, throwing them to the wayside. Sunflower *peaked* at 151 at the Billboard 200, their worst showing ever at that time- *this* was the defining moment that started the downward spiral.

Just like with Pet Sounds, Brian was absolutely devastated by the commercial failure & lukewarm response of Sunflower- only now his psyche was much more damaged and rattled than it was in 1966, and he retreated further and further away from the band, famously staying in bed for over 2 years, overeating and abusing drugs, and barely appearing in later albums until 1976, and even then he wasn't as involved thanks to the extremely toxic relationship between him and his abusive, controlling "therapist" Eugene Landy.

The rest of the band started to drift apart in a major way, with acrimonious and even extremely bitter tensions hitting a fever pitch- with individual members traveling to concerts *separately* and with Carl Wilson being the one single thread that kept the band from completely collapsing. Fellow Beach Boy Bruce Johnston would leave the band in 1972 and wouldn't return many years later. Dennis Wilson would chart out his own solo career, but his promising rise was tragically cut short by drug & alcohol issues that would eventually kill him in 1983. Carl Wilson- the youngest member, would die from lung cancer in 1998 at only 51 years old, and the band completely fractured virtually for good. Creative and fully collaborative songwriting would end as the band became an oldies act cashing in on their past success.

Sunflower has seen a bit of a resurgence since around the 2000s, not only slowly but surely becoming a cult classic with a devoted following, but it's also finally received recognition from the types of major publications that once shunned it (and the band)- with the likes of Rolling Stone, The Guardian, and AV Club ranking it as one of the greatest albums ever made. Perhaps the biggest tragedy is that the rest of the band members' individual hard work and legitimate talents for music weren't recognized for decades- and for Carl and Dennis Wilson, they never would in their lifetimes.

The history before and after Sunflower makes the listening experience much more emotional and incredibly bittersweet- not less because it still feels so tragically timeless and genuine- the band came out of some of the darkest years of their life to make an incredibly gorgeous work of love. Unlike many of their much later albums, there was more of a broad, positive reception to Sunflower among the band members- with lifelong rivals Brian Wilson and Mike Love coming together in agreement to sing it's praises.

It just wasn't made for it's time- but with the band members getting older and as the past fades away, it's about time to give it a shot, and realize (as much as i admire him) that The Beach Boys was not just Brian Wilson- it was filled to the brim with talent, and that even in the darkest times, setting aside differences and working together can truly create something beautiful.

[the-90s-music-colosseum]

'90s MV of the day

Hallo Spaceboy by David Bowie

(specifically the single version, remixed by Pet Shop Boys.)

Directed by David Mallet, this music video combines shots of both Bowie and Pet Shop Boys with footage from Cold War-era sci-fi films, TV ads, and atomic bomb tests.

[tokyo-daaaamn-ji-gang]

Ok so I just had the weirdest dream (gm everyone) where basically they straight up cancelled the rest of the tr anime. Just ended it on S2E2 and why did they do this exactly? It was because they said the fandom got too weird over future Kazutora and manila Mikey so they just ended the whole thing 😭😭😭😭

[annislittleshopofhorrors]

Anne, any update about our rock dwayne, prickle rick and mr.aldi's hunt for lady love? Any success?

Thanks for asking and Happy National Pet Rock Day 🪨🗿

Well Prickle Rick is visiting Mr. Aldi. And the Dwaynes are still searching for the big love. They are trying speed dating. I just heard that Dating Dwayne met a cute rock, her name is Emma. Emma Stone.

[aibouart]

anyone got the latest monthly challenge thing artists do (like goretober or whatever)

am out of the loop on everything ever would love to take a gander at upcoming or ongoing ones

[grugposts]

Grug love pet rock. international per day. Hug a rock. Pet a rock.

[wakeofvultures]

Hiii. I might have to stay as Anon in this one lmao. You'll definitely know who I am. Anyways, I want to ask you regarding the plot device in New Moon: The San Marco Festival (Saint Marcus Day). I remember you mentioning this:

"Also I imagine this random celebration that turned into a kinda confrontation between Marcus and Myrtis is the origin of St. Marcus Day. Like I imagine the details got all jumbled, but it’s got all the ingredients. Marcus (who probably looks pretty divine glowing in the sun), someone identifying him as Marcus (so they know what to name it), a vampire being driven away, a red cloak. I know the red cloak is supposed to symbolize victims according to the lore but again! Time and confused details!

I thought that this being the Saint Marcus Day origin would actually put an interesting parallel for New Moon and Edwards whole stunt. (the Volturi probably hate Edward for the reminder)."

How will the whole concept of The San Marco Festival go in your version, say, if you were given the full power to further develop this plot device into one big concept. Any key details perhaps? It's fine if you don't answer though lmao cuz i remember already asking this to someone but eh. Love you work <3

-"X"

Hmmm... I guess the rather disappointing answer is that I probably won't develop it much more than the tidbit that I wrote in the quote you cited. I generally lean towards the Volturi being apathetic towards humans for the most part, so I imagine that they let the humans do whatever, and the festival arose mostly from humans passing down a strange story and trying to make sense of what happened.

I do think that the fact that vampires got involved in the story might have been some mischief from the guard just wanting to mess with the humans, and when the various rumors started solidifying into a more cohesive story, the Volturi leaders gave whoever responsible a stern talking to. A hundred years down the line, I imagine Aro finds it quite funny (until he remembers why Marcus was sad and in the middle of Volterra in the first place).

I imagine that in my little universe that San Marco Festival/Saint Marcus Day is the topic of hot debate among academics. The two prevailing theories being that it is derived from Saint Mark's Feast Day somehow or "Saint Marcus" is something like "Saint Demetra" which has local religious practices combining paganism with Christianity. (This also means that people are casting Marcus in the role of Mars which is interesting.) Aro, of course, closely follows the debate.

Anyway, other than a joke to try to get Marcus to laugh at and a nice festival to use as a cover to smuggle a large group of tourists, I imagine that the Volturi of my story don't really partake in the festival. It does endear their city to them a bit more tho.

Thank you, and thanks for the ask!

[cheekedupwhiteboy]

wish everyone took the same social structures of art & design class i took in college

[foe-of-fate]

I have so many fun facts about myself that aren’t really fun. They’re just like… mediocre. So I’d never bring them up when someone asks me for a fun fact, and they are too short to really be entertaining stories, so I just have a books worth of little events in my life that are only somewhat intriguing but they compose who I am. And I think everyone is like that to a degree. We’re all little stories that we don’t think are worth telling. Not because we don’t want to, but because we don’t think don’t think they’re worthy of being heard.

[honeycombhank]

A place we went the other day

[scalproie]

unpopular opinion I think the koroks are really cute and I would never wish them ill