#Plastic EP & The Records

[bandcampsnoop]

1/23/23.

I ended up at Danny Graham's reissued LP because it is being released by Xerox Music (Australia...by the way, it looks like Joe Sukit of Royal Headache is associated with the label). I started this morning listening to another Xerox reissue - Plastic EP & The Records.

Danny Graham's (Australia) music was originally released to little fanfare in 1980. It sounds like a mix of David Bowie and Mac DeMarco (more in personality than sound). Honestly, it sounds like something that could be made today.

By the way, "supporters" of this album include Chapter Music and Alex Macfarlane.

[the-witty-pen-name]

Video Girl

Modern AU

Rockstar!Eddie Munson x Youtuber!F!Reader

Summary: Eddie stumbled across your YouTube channel when you posted a review about Corroded Coffin’s newest album. Now, he’s binged all your videos and your channel has become his “comfort channel” that he has on all the time while he’s feeling lonely on tour. When they’re invited to perform at a convention he wonders if he’ll finally get the chance to meet you.

Word Count: 7.5k

Warnings: pining; fluff; angst; cyber-bulling/mean comments directed towards reader; kissing; slowish burn; eddie absolutely down bad; substance use; cursing

A/N: he convention is essentially VidCon- I’ve never been to VidCon or any other type of convention before. I have no idea what I’m really talking about but this is like my best guess as an outsider as to how conventions like these may look? Sorry in advance. I really loved the idea of the reader being a content creator but I don’t know the details on how being a creator at a con would work haha I did my best. 

Eddie falls asleep every night to the sound of your voice. 

When the tour bus is driving overnight as they head to the next city, he rests his phone on the wall of his bunk, watching YouTube videos with the volume low as he tries to drift off. One of your videos had played as a recommendation automatically and he was too tired to turn off his phone. He laid on his stomach, too tired to move but still not fully asleep. 

“Hey everyone,” you smiled, offering a wave to your video's viewers. “I’m really excited for this video- it’s been literally requested non-stop since my last Corroded Coffin video-”

The mention of the band, makes his ears perk and he opens his eyes again- suddenly not as tired as he just was a second ago. You’re holding up a copy of the band’s newest vinyl and talking about how this video will be your live reaction to listening to it for the first time. 

Eddie usually doesn’t watch or pay attention to reviewers- he doesn’t really care for typical critics. However, he just ended up watching it. He smiles to himself as you excitedly tear the plastic to open your vinyl, and you show your viewers a tour of the record sleeve, the photos inside, everything visual. You beam excitedly at the included square posters and the book with the lyrics. You hold up one of the posters. 

“Literally the hottest guy I think I’ve ever seen,” You smile bashfully, the poster showing Eddie playing his guitar at one of their shows. Eddie can’t help but blush. “You guys already know, Eddie Munson is my celebrity crush- has been for like years… ever since the EP came out like what? 6 years ago? He’s gorgeous. Anyways…” You get back on topic, focusing on talking about the visuals and the album's concepts. You provide your own opinions and interpretations and Eddie can’t help but just really appreciate how much you appreciate all of the effort the band put into every aspect of the album. 

Eddie can’t help as his whole chest swells with pride with each of your reactions. You practically jump out of your seat with excitement at the riffs, the way you head bang to the drum solos, the way you pause and take your time to absorb lyrics. It’s so endearing. He’s smiling to himself as you go on excitedly. 

From that moment, he watched everything you posted. Your channel was a bit eclectic- album reviews, gaming, vlogs… he watched everything. Your vlogs were probably his favorite. When he’s in his bunk winding down, it kind of feels like being on FaceTime with a friend. He loves watching just the normalcy of your life compared to his. Sometimes, his heart aches for simplicity like that. He can picture himself there, sitting with you in your car after you went through the drive through, taking you to the bookstore, helping you cook. He wishes he could have something like that. 

“Holy shit guys,” you smile, you cover your face with your free hand while you hold your phone. Using his burner account, Eddie is watching your most recent TikTok that’s been reposted to your Instagram story. You show a paparazzi photo that’s been taken of Eddie recently, you zoom in and show that under his flannel and his jacket, he’s wearing your merch. “Eddie Fucking Munson is wearing my merch! My merch! Shit, this can’t be real. That’s my shirt!” 

Eddie recognizes where that photo was taken almost immediately. He’s walking out of the hotel they stayed in last weekend after their shows in Toronto. He and the other guys were leaving out the back entrance, thinking they’d be safe from view. Of course, there was a pap with a long lens. 

He’d been up all night, and he looked like it. His hair was even more unruly than usual, he was sporting dark under eyes, and he was wearing the clothes he went to bed in- old sweats and your shirt. He was embarrassed to have a photo of him like that circling around the internet. No matter how often it happens, he can never get used to it. It always sucks. 

But right now, you are so happy and it’s all Eddie can focus on. You’re smiling so wide, and he’s the reason for it. Your eyes are big with excitement and it’s like your joy is jumping off his phone screen directly into his chest. He couldn’t even care less about the picture now, or how he looks. It doesn’t matter. He’s just happy watching you be happy. All of his initial worries just melt away as you talk to the camera. 

“I can’t even wrap my head around that one- Eddie Munson knows I exist. And two, he’s watched my videos? Jesus Christ, I don’t know if I’m more excited or embarrassed,” you flush. Eddie chuckles. He likes the story and puts his phone down so he can focus. Later on, the same warm feelings bubble up again when he sees that you tweeted that since that photo began to circulate, you’ve gained thousands of new followers and that your tshirt completely sold out on your site. You tweet at him directly thanking him. He screenshots it. 

Eddie originally wasn’t thrilled about the band going to perform at a convention right in the middle of their break on the tour. A beautiful month of doing nothing now suddenly interrupted. However, when you post that you’re going- he doesn’t mind so much anymore. 

Apprehension clouds his mind once he starts to think about it too much. You’ll probably think he’s a freak- some creepy stalker if he ever admits to you how much he watches your content. Despite you saying many times that he’s your celebrity crush, he can’t imagine living up to any sort of idea of him that you have in your head. He’ll fall short, you’ll reject him, and he’ll never be able to live it down. It’ll break him. 

You’re a nervous wreck as you look over the schedule- your eyes narrowing on the line-up of live performances. How in the hell did the convention center manage to book Corroded Coffin? You haven’t been able to think about anything except Eddie Munson since your friend had sent you that photo. Your mind races with questions. You want to know how many videos he’s seen- has he seen the ones where you essentially make a fool of yourself talking about him? Does he even know who you are or is it someone else’s shirt? Is he a subscriber? You can’t even fathom that you exist in the timeline where one of the biggest stars on the rise in some capacity knew of your existence.You can’t even think straight. 

Fans are screaming outside the convention center as the band arrives in a large black SUV. Eddie’s palms are sweating, and he is more nervous than he thought he’d be. The anxious feeling he’s experiencing has nothing to do with the crowd, the cameras, the performance- it’s all because of you. Looking at the building they will shortly be escorted into, all he can think about is how you’re here- after the months of pining from behind the security of his phone, he’s going to be at the same place as you. He can’t let the opportunity to meet you pass him by. 

Jeff and Gareth shove him to pay attention when he doesn’t look up from his phone when the car finally stops. They exchange a knowing look that Eddie deos his best to ignore. He got wrapped up in photos of you- watching your story as you post selfies with your friends as you’re walking around the convention center. Your smile is infectious to him. He resolved a while ago it was the prettiest he’s ever seen, coming to terms with the fact that he's helplessly smitten. He tucks  his phone securely into the pocket of his jeans, and follows quickly behind his bandmates as they are ushered into the building safely. 

“Corroded Coffin just got here,” your friend squeals, as she shows you a livestream someone is taking from outside. You watch Eddie on the screen as he quickly walks into the building. He’s wearing the goddamn shirt again. Your face feels overwhelmingly hot as this begins to feel all too real. He waves to fans with a goofy, wide smile- sticking out his tongue and throwing up the devil’s horns with one of his hands. You watch his laughter and it makes your heart ache. 

He looks good. You’d think he’d look silly with the pink shirt but he looks so undeniably hot. He’s wearing black ripped jeans, heavy boots, and your baby pink shirt with the sleeves cuffed accentuating his tattoos. Your channel’s name is splayed across the expanse of his chest and you swear you short circuit. It’s only then that you fully allow yourself to admit that Eddie Munson not only knows that you exist- and he’s a fan. 

Your friends chatter excitedly, freaking out about the situation- because duh. Who wouldn’t be? You can’t even think because your heart is beating so incredibly loud and fast, and adrenaline is making your head throb. It’s a sensory overload, and you feel like you can’t wrap your head around it. You physically shake your head to try to subside the feeling. You needed to be on- you had to finish setting up your booth, be ready to meet people who subscribed to you. You couldn’t let yourself get bogged down by this, at least not yet. 

You hurried to get your table ready- tablecloth with your logo displayed on the front, merch folded into neat piles, your business cards in a small tray. Your channel name was displayed on a banner behind you that you had made to match. Your friends helped you set up the portable POS system as you set up a rack that you filled with your stickers. You didn’t really care if people bought anything, you were just excited to meet the people you’ve interacted with online since you started your channel. 

Understandably, a lot of people who approached your table immediately started asking you about Eddie. It was a lot of the same questions over and over but you didn’t mind that so much. They all had asked the same things you had been asking yourself- and you wanted to know the answers as badly as they seemed to. 

“No, no. I haven’t met him.”

“No, I didn’t know he watched my videos.”

“Yeah, it’s really crazy.”

“No, I didn’t send PR.”

“Yeah, no. I didn’t pay him to wear it.” 

Eddie anxiously shook his leg, trying to figure out if he could sneak away. Unfortunately, most instances- it feels like his time isn’t his own. He wishes he could just walk around with Jeff and Gareth, but there’s no way to safely do that. Everything needs to be planned out, timed out and they always need security. He doesn’t want to complain- it’s that everything needs to be a thing. He can’t just go up and talk to a girl. He needs to tell his security, who also needs to coordinate with the building security. It needs to be added to the timeline of the day. Before he knows it, there’s like fifteen moving pieces that need to be put in place so he can walk up to you. 

He knows it’s easier to just ask for you to be brought to him. He feels like that’s cheating. He’s the fan- he’s the one wanting the experience of meeting you. It makes him feel icky- sending buff intimidating security guys to ask you to follow them blindly- taking you away from the fun and people just so he can say hello? Makes him feel like he’d look like a douchebag. He understands it needs to be you in your world- he doesn’t want you to be the one who feels out of place. But then on the other hand, he’s drawing all this attention towards him and inadvertently to you if he does this. He worries about the scene he’s inevitably going to cause and he hopes you don’t resent him for it. 

It’s towards the end of day one. Most attendees are making their way over to the auditorium for some of the other live performances. Since Eddie figured most people would be heading to that while the vendors were getting ready to partially break down their booths, it might be the perfect time to walk around. It ended up working out more perfectly than Eddie would have hoped. 

Jeff and Gareth wanted to check out the other acts that were performing, so they went to go watch the concert. Eddie was able to walk around the near empty convention halls with his head of security following a couple of steps behind. He can see you in the distance. He feels warmth bubble up as he just observes your actions briefly from a short distance.

You’re packing up your merchandise and putting them into boxes, tucking them under your table to keep it out of the way until tomorrow. Three teenage girls cautiously approach you and you immediately stop everything to offer each of them a hug. You smile and chat with them- taking your time to ask them questions and thank them for talking to you. You ask them if you can take a picture with them and they nod enthusiastically. You wrap your arms around them like you’ve known them forever as your friend offers to take the picture. You hug them all again, sincerely thanking them for coming over to talk to you. 

Without needing him to ask, his security lets him approach you on his own. He stands far enough back that Eddie can feel independent but still close enough he can jump in if he needs to interfere. Eddie’s been racking his brain all day for the best thing to say to you when he finally gets to meet you. Of course, he has nothing. He’s so nervous and he’s praying to God that you won’t be able to tell. 

“Hey,” he says shyly as he approaches. He walks with his hands stuffed in his back pockets. 

Your eyes widen in surprise, though you guess you shouldn’t be that surprised. You try your best to play it cool, but you're not sure you’re pulling it off well at all. 

“Nice shirt,” you comment, with a smile. 

“I’m Eddie,” he introduces himself. He’s so shy, not at all like how you'd expect him to be. You can’t help but find it endearing. You introduce yourself too. 

“I, uh, I just wanted to tell you that I love you videos,” he compliments bashfully. “I think I’ve seen them all- I’m a big fan.” 

“Thank you- um, same. I mean, I’m a big fan of yours too. Not of myself, obviously,” you ramble, “Your music! Not videos, but yes- I also love your music videos…” 

“Thanks,” he replies, and you’re relieved to be cut off before you embarrass yourself further. “Listen, um, I wanted to ask- could we get a picture together?”

You straighten your posture and nod enthusiastically. “Oh, yeah- of course,” you reply. You go to smooth out your hair, and tug at the hem of your shirt. 

“You look great,” he insists and you feel flush at his compliments. You feel giddy, as he casually wraps his arm around your shoulders. He holds up his phone, making sure you're both in frame. You both smile and he snaps a picture of the two of you. 

“Do- do you mind sending it to me?” You ask. 

“Here,” he offers his phone to you, “Do you want to just send it to yourself?” You’re stunned. He’s trusting you with his phone? You text the selfie to yourself, and hand it back. 

“Thanks,” you smile. 

“Are you going to the concert?” He asks, “I was going to meet Jeff and Gareth… do you want to come with me?”

“My friends are waiting for me..,” you say, and you’re a little disappointed to have to say no to him. “We’re supposed to meet up there actually.” 

“Well, you can just have them meet us at the box if you want,” he shrugs nonchalantly. He hears his security sigh but he couldn’t care less. 

“If that won’t be too much trouble,” you insist. He shrugs it off. 

“Nah, don’t even worry about it,” he’s doing his best to be nonchalant. “What do you think?” He asks hopefully. 

“Yeah! I’ll text them, they’ll freak out,” you smile. You lean over to the security guy. “In like a normal way, they are harmless. The worst thing they’ll be is maybe loud. I swear.” 

The man offers a closed lip smile and nods. 

*** 

“It was just hanging out,” Eddie argues exhausted. He slumped in his seat and crossed his arms. The band’s publicist scoffs, pushing her phone across the table. 

“No, it’s not,” she chastises, “first, you wear the shirt. The pink tshirt was great- did wonderful; the public really liked it. But, then you wear this shirt again at a public event where it was confirmed this person would be in attendance. Then, you’re photographed with this girl and you didn’t think there’d be speculation? You’ve essentially confirmed a relationship.” 

“Wearing a fucking tshirt and posting a selfie confirms a relationship?” He retorts. 

“Not in normal circumstances, but you already know that there’s never normal circumstances.” 

“We’re not together.” 

“Eddie, this isn’t about lecturing you. Stop acting like a spoiled little kid. This isn’t about you- this is about everything you’ve built and accomplished; your band mates and their careers. It’s about all the people you employ. You can sit here and act like your actions don’t have consequences- and this isn’t about whether or not she’s a good person, or if you are or aren’t dating- it’s about thinking about the impact you have and why it’s so important to think about and plan these things.” 

“Literally no one would have anything to worry about. Her reputation is spotless, she does charity fundraisers, she makes YouTube videos about Stardew Valley for Christsake.”

“This time? Sure, but this isn’t the first time you’ve been reckless Eddie. You can’t deny you’ve done worse- this is just the newest thing.” 

“Jesus…”

“It’s better for optics when the three of you appear single.” 

“What the hell? We aren’t even dating! We hung out once.” 

“Eddie…”

“You’re telling me that people lose their jobs and no one buys our albums if I go out on a date?” 

“It’s gradual Eddie..  have you even given any thought on how this is going to affect her? The microscope you put her under? The swarm of crazed fans, angry and jealous and spiteful that it’s not them… you’ve sent the poor girl out to slaughter.” 

He recoils, shrinking further into the chair. Had it been that selfish and thoughtless? He didn’t imagine anything this upsetting could happen. He does feel like shit now- he didn’t think about how this attention would affect you. Maybe he had been blinded by his own infatuation. It’s not fair to you. He wanted to see you again, but maybe now he thinks he shouldn’t. You were so sweet, he thinks back on that day. He couldn’t imagine anyone hating you, or wanting to inflict that kind of pain his publicist is talking about. 

He looks at the pictures she’s trying to show him. The both of you chatting near her table- obviously taken from a distance and zoomed in. He’s blushing looking at you- of course he was. You’re both smiling, looking at each other and not paying attention to anything else. Then, photos taken of the concert. Sitting next to each other, legs brushed up against each other as you chat- completely ignoring the show. He’s leaning in close so he can hear you speak. Then, you’re standing next to each other, cheering and clapping for the performance. Well, more so that you’re applauding the artist, and Eddie is standing next to you- looking at you like a lovesick idiot. It’s painfully obvious that he’s into you. Now, he’s more worried if you picked up on that than anything else. And if he wasn’t anymore obvious in his body language, just to really drive the point home- he was wearing the pink t-shirt on top of everything else. 

“This is just the one post ET made about it,” she says, opening the comment section for him. “Look at the comments- this was posted an hour ago.” 

He can do much better kind of sad actually 

Mid 

She is so annoying

They both make me sick 

She’s not even that pretty 

Who even is she gross 

Why is she even there

It's obvious she’s just using him to grow her channel 

Eddie blink twice if you need help

Clout chaser 

Hundreds of comments like that kept pouring in. Of course, for every negative comment there were hundreds of positive- but Eddie couldn’t help but focus on the hateful things people were saying about you. He wanted to reply to every one of them and defend you. Who were these faceless, nameless assholes with nothing better to do? 

***

You had posted a vlog about your experience at the convention- completely leaving Eddie or anything Corroded Coffin out. You shared videos of you meeting subscribers, and you meeting your favorite creators. You shared fun videos of your friends and you trying the convention center food. However, as you should’ve expected, all of the comments were about Eddie. On your little corner of the internet, your following was overwhelmingly positive and supportive. Occasionally, you saw a comment that was obviously left by someone who sought out your channel after the pictures were posted- but otherwise, you were fine. 

You figured you’d be better off not to go looking for the negativity because you knew for sure you’d find it. Blocking and deleting is very easy to do, you decided a long time ago when you started your channel. You’re used to the occasional hate comment, and you haven’t checked your social media notifications on other platforms in so long. You were impressing yourself with how you’d handled the situation honestly. You figured you’d just stay offline for a few days and everything would mellow and go back to normal. You grossly underestimated the persistent attention that would soon hit you. 

When you tried to live stream for your most recent let’s play, you ended up deciding to end the stream way earlier than you usually would. You anticipated people joining to ask about Eddie or ask about the photos, but you underestimated the influx of viewers you’d receive. Your moderators weren’t able to keep up and the stream was completely overrun with spam comments and hate. You usually stream for a few hours but this happened about a half an hour into your live, and you decided to shut it down. You needed to regroup. You were startled- it was unexpected to say the least. You weren’t sure where to go from here. Almost immediately after you ended the live stream, you got a text. 

You okay?

Eddie had been watching? 

Yeah, I’m okay. That was just a lot. I didn’t know what to do. 

I’m sorry. It’s my fault. 

Nothing is your fault. You don’t need to apologize. I appreciate you checking in.

Of course sweetheart 

Sweetheart? You could squeal- just collapse on your bed and kick your feet. You wanted to just scream into your pillow. It was like that one text canceled out all the bullshit you just had to deal with. Thousands of people can comment that they hate you all day long, but you are the one he’s texting. You're the one he just called sweetheart. 

While you’re trying to decide how to respond, your phone begins to vibrate. He’s calling you. Your heart leaps and your stomach excitedly ties itself in knots. You hadn’t spoken to him since a couple of weeks ago at the convention. You gathered the courage to answer right before the call would get sent to voicemail. 

“Hey,” you answer, trying to sound casual. 

“Hey,” he replies. 

Eddie’s on the tour bus- he’s in another time zone that’s a few hours ahead of yours. He can hear Jeff snoring in the bunk under his and he’s sure Gareth must also be asleep. He pulled the draw curtain to muffle his talking, but he still wants to keep his voice down. 

“Are you okay, sweetheart?” He asked. “How are you holding up?” He winces. He hates that this is a thing. He resents that something like this would happen to you and he feels incredibly guilty. He did this to you, and you never asked for it. 

“I’m good- really,” you insist. “I’m just logging off. I think I just want to deal with it all tomorrow.” 

“I wanted to call you way sooner than this,” he admits, scratching the back of his neck nervously before he starts to lay down. “I’m sorry I didn’t- I really wanted to, but I don’t know- I sort of convinced myself you’d want nothing to do with me after all of this press and attention.”

“I do feel like I’m under a microscope a little bit,” you giggle, “But that has nothing to do with you. I was hoping you’d call. I’m glad you did.” 

“Our publicist isn’t too happy with me,” he explains. “Nothing to do with you-” he quickly makes sure to explain, “She just likes to plan out everything and she gets mad when I go rogue.” 

“So it was a publicity stunt?” You gasp, faking shock. “I’m kidding,” you reassure him and you smile when you hear him laugh. 

“Trust me, it was the complete opposite,” he reiterates. “Listen,” he takes a deep breath, “I really want to see you again.”

“I’d really like that.”

“Good,” he replies, and he punches the air victoriously for no one but himself. “What are you doing next weekend?”

“I’m not doing anything,” you say teasingly, “but aren’t you playing like back to back shows in Indianapolis?” 

“Fly out and meet me,” he proposes, “Come to a show and we can hang out after. We’re playing Thursday, Friday, Saturday- come to the Saturday show. Bring your friends if you want- there’s probably going to be an afterparty of some sort. Be my date. If you still can tolerate me after that, we can hang out on Sunday and do the whole like real date thing- I know this great breakfast place…” 

You bite your lip, of course you want to say yes. What girl wouldn’t? The guy whose poster is literally on your wall is calling you and wanting to whisk you away for a weekend. 

“Are you okay being seen with me?” you ask hesitantly, “Are we adding fuel to the fire, if we do this?”

“I guess so,” Eddie sighs, “but to be entirely honest- I don’t give a shit at all what people are going to say. I just care about you- I want to get to know you and see where this goes. That’s all that matters.” 

“I’ve liked you for a really long time,” he goes on to confess, “Listen, I’ve had like a really stupidly big embarrassing crush on you since like the first time I saw one of your videos. I don’t need any convincing- I know I want this. But like weird parasocial, celebrity crush feelings aside, I started to like you even more after I met you. To me, seeing if this goes anywhere is worth it. I don’t mind putting up with the attention if I get to spend more time with you.” 

“But,” he continues, “I know it’s asking a lot of you- and I know this isn’t easy. And you have to deal with so much added pressure. I fully signed up for the paparazzi and the crazy fans, it comes with doing what I love. I signed on that dotted line a while ago. I gave up my privacy and my anonymity, you know? You don’t have to be a part of that- it’s too much of me to ask of anyone.” 

“Can I think about it?” You ask and you bite your lip.

“Of course, sweetheart,” he reassures you, and you're so happy to hear he doesn’t sound upset or disappointed. You can tell he’s being genuine at putting your comfort first. “Here’s what I’m gonna do, text me your email if you’re okay with that- I’ll send you the plane tickets.”

“I can-”

“Nope. It’s my insane idea for a first date- I’m asking you out, so I pay,” he insists. “Look, if you decide not to use them, I’ll make sure it’s taken care of. Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of everything. Please don’t feel like you have to use them, I know this is a big ask. It’s ridiculous. But I think you’re worth it.”

“I will think about it,” you say sincerely, “I don’t want to rush into anything. I just need a bit of time.”

“You can have all the time you need, sweetheart. I’m not going anywhere until you say the word.” 

***

Eddie has resolved that you aren’t coming to the show tonight. He hasn’t heard from you since that phone call, and he’s realized he probably scared you away. He knows he can be dramatic, and he falls into things too quickly, and he’s convinced he’s ruined his chances with you. He’s heartbroken. 

But the show must go on. 

Despite feeling completely devastated, he still gives the show his all. No one would tell he was going through something to look at him. He was giving all his energy, giving the crowd back exactly what they were giving him. He could do it. 

You kept telling yourself over and over again to just play it cool. You tried not to lose it in the back of the Uber in bumper to bumper traffic. You watched the numbers crawl by minute by minute on your phone, knowing which song in the setlist you were missing next. You worried when the venue security questioned the legitimacy of your passes, questioning you until you felt dizzy. You finally made it as the band was finishing up one of your favorites. So relieved you made it before the end, you couldn’t find it in you to care that you missed it. You hung back, and followed the instructions of the tech crew carefully so you wouldn’t be in the way. You let yourself take a deep breath. You made it. 

“Miss, do you mind waiting in the dressing room after this song?” Someone asked you, “The show’s finale has some flames and other large visual effects. It’s a liability to have you back here.” 

Understanding, you nod and you promise to make your way there. As the song finished up, another crew member found you and brought you to a security guard, who then escorted you to a room with “TALENT” marked in bold on the door- a piece of plain paper with CORRODED COFFIN taped underneath. He held the door open for you and you thanked him, walking inside. 

You felt very out of place, amongst Eddie, Gareth and Jeff’s things without them there. You were apprehensive and took a few minutes to find a space where you felt comfortable. Obviously, they weren’t expecting anyone. Clothes were strewn about haphazardly, stage makeup still left open and messy on the rooms vanity, their duffel bags thrown messily on the floor. It felt like a piece of their world you weren’t supposed to see. A TV mounted to the wall was playing the show, so you took a seat on the uncomfortable couch and watched the rest of the concert. 

You tried to practice how you’d be sitting when Eddie walked in. You didn’t want to be slouched but you also didn’t want to look too forced. You opted to just sit with your legs crossed- casual but not too casual that you felt frumpy. 

For their final exit, the band was lowered under the stage. Crawling out from underneath the mechanics, Eddie hoped maybe he’d see you there waiting for him. His face fell after the high of being on stage when he realized he got his hopes up again. Jeff patted him on the back, not needing to even ask to know why Eddie was clearly upset. 

“Come on,” Gareth said encouragingly, passing him a bottle of water. Eddie nods his head as a thank you, and the three of them begin to make their way back to the dressing room, thanking staff for helping as they see them.

When Jeff is the first one in the door, he offers you a wide, knowing smile. You move to stand up and say hello when Eddie sees you. 

“You’re here,” he marvels.

“I’m sorry I was late,” you apologize, “I was stuck in the traffic outside forever and then when I got here they asked me to wait here-” 

Eddie strides over and envelops you into a crushing hug. You were tense but your body immediately relaxed. You hug him back, not caring about how sweaty he is from just being on stage. 

“I’m happy you’re here,” he mumbles into your hair before pulling away. 

“Me too,” you agree.

“I wasn’t sure if you were coming,” he whispers, afraid the guys would hear and make fun of him for sounding so desperate. 

“Me either,” you giggle. It makes him smile again. His grin expands from ear to ear and all of a sudden, every little sadness he felt all night just evaporated. 

“We’re going to the wrap party,” Jeff interjects, pushing Gareth out the door with him. “We’ll see you guys over there.” 

“Wrap party?” You ask, intrigued. 

“Yeah, like the crew and everyone at this like after party thing,” he explains. “Should be kinda cool if you want to check it out.” 

“I’d like that.”

*** 

The music is blaring; the bass pulsing throughout your entire body and it makes your ears feel like they’d pop. Hundreds of people were crammed up against one another, and the smoke from a variety of substances wafted throughout the bar. Eddie held your hand, helping guide you through the hoards of people. He offered a head nod to people as you both passed- no one would hear him talk anyways. 

You travel up a few mezzanine levels until you’re both further away from the chaos. You can look down and see the crowded dance floor, but you are much more content with this calmer atmosphere. Leather couches and coffee tables adorn this floor of the club. Another bar is situated in the corner, with a line much, much shorter than the ones downstairs. You start to realize this is some sort of private area or VIP lounge of some kind. You see security positioned in all corners as the guard which led you and Eddie here takes his new position against the wall near the bar. 

“This is pretty much all crew, producers, management people, friends,” Eddie explains, “Just people who are close to us, you know?”

You spot Jeff and Gareth on one of the couches, in the midst of a heated discussion with another person you don’t recognize. Gareth almost spills his drink as he’s frantically using his hands to make a point, while Jeff is sitting with his back to him- talking to a girl who is seated on the arm of the couch. 

“MUNSON!” A voice booms over the chatter. Eddie looks to the direction of the voice. You watch his eyes light up, unapologetically happy. He drops your hand and you see him bolt to the person. 

“Harrington, you motherfucker!” Eddie exclaims, pulling the other guy into a big hug. “Shit,” he pulls away quickly, and returns back to you. With his hand on your back, he gently guides you over to the spot of the reunion. “Steve Harrington,” he introduces. Steve shakes your hand as you introduce yourself, and he smirks as he glances between you and Eddie. 

Eventually, Eddie introduces you to all of his hometown friends. They all attended the show- drove up from Eddie’s hometown to surprise him. Despite catching up with old friends, Eddie was so attentive to make sure you still felt included. He went out of his way to make sure you were introduced to everyone, and he bragged on your behalf about the success of your channel to everyone. He also made sure to fill you in if you got lost in the conversations. He’d explain the context of the inside jokes, tell you the bigger story that an anecdote was from… everything to pull you into his world, his real world. 

“We should get out of here and go to The Hideout,” Gareth said, “For old times sake.”

“I’m not abandoning top shelf shit for the skunky beer at The Hideout,” Steve scrunched his nose in disgust. 

“What’s The Hideout?” you ask Eddie as the group debates the next move. 

“A really, really, really shitty bar back home,” he whispers close to your ear. “It was where we used to play when we were just starting. It was actually awful,” he chuckles, reminiscing. “We’d play to practically no one on Tuesday nights at like 11pm.”

“You had the time of your life didn’t you?” you smile, knowingly. He nodded.

“Yeah, it was pretty fucking awesome,” he admits.

“Fine, not tonight,” Gareth concedes finally, “but we gotta get back there at some point.” 

“So,” Nancy says, changing the subject and turning to you. “Eddie didn’t tell us he had a girlfriend. We all had to find out on TMZ like the rest of the world. When did you guys meet?”

“Oh, um,” you begin, but Eddie places his arm around your shoulders. 

“This is our first date, actually,” he interjects, confidently. “So none of you assholes can say anything to make me look bad. I’m trying to impress her.” 

You bite your lip to hold back a smile. 

“So the whole t-shirt thing?” Nancy asks, directing her question to Eddie.

“My way of just trying to get her attention I guess,” he admits with a shrug, “Not that first picture though- I looked terrible. The second time though? Yeah, that was totally on purpose.”

Your face felt like it was on fire- you were overwhelmed with the way Eddie was so nonchalant. He was so honest, unabashedly so, with the way he spoke about his interest in you. You’d never experienced that type of attention, you didn’t know how to handle it. You don’t know how to play this game when he’s just put all his cards out on the table. There’s no guessing, no implications, no mind games- he just likes you. For the first time, in the craziest of circumstances, something you always found complicated is finally simple. 

He liked you. He pursued you. He got you. 

The drinks and the conversation continue to flow with ease. Eddie enjoyed sitting back and watching you fit in with his life. He loves the way it’s all just making sense. It’s like you’ve known his friends for years. You fit perfectly amongst them, and he just can’t help himself as he just admires you. He’s finding it so hard to play it cool, but he just wants to skip ahead to where this is routine. He wants you here, learning this side of him- engrossing yourself into his world. It just clicks and to him, it just all makes sense. 

When Jeff Gareth and him are inevitably pulled away to greet and talk with other people, he can’t help but keep checking back on you. He didn’t want to abandon you. He didn’t want to engage with anyone else here outside of the little circle he reluctantly had to leave. He should be paying attention to the names of these suits he’s meeting, but his mind is too preoccupied. He wants to just rush back to you, and intercept any embarrassing things he knows his friends are telling you. 

“I think you and Eddie seem really great together,” Steve discloses to you when the rest of the group is caught up in their own conversations. “He wears his heart on his sleeve,” Steve explains, “He’s not like how the tabloids and the news make him out to be. He’s always been misunderstood. I just uh- wanted to let you know that. He doesn’t do this, ever.”

Steve goes on to explain, “He’ll kill me for telling you this. But I haven’t heard Eddie talk about a girl since the whole band thing took off. You’d think he’d be like running wild and like getting all these girls- hell, that would be me. He’s very selective on who he invites in; he wouldn’t be doing all of this if he didn’t want this to go somewhere like for you two.” 

“I can tell he really likes you,” Steve continues, “I just wanted to make sure you know how good of a guy he is. In case you know, like, you had any doubts or anything. He’s not like that kind of guy. He’s probably the most sincere, loyal person ever- I just, you know, wanted to hype him up to you a little bit and vouch for him. And also just to ask you, to please not break his heart- don’t make him have false hope if you aren’t serious.”

You nod, understanding where Steve is coming from. 

“Back,” Eddie announces, jumping over the back of the couch to settle himself between you and Steve. “That was so fucking boring,” he jokes, wrapping his arm around you comfortably. “Best thing at this party is right here,” he gestures around the circle of his friends with the stem of his beer bottle, starting with Steve and working the neck around to you. He offers an incredibly cheesy grin and you laugh at his antics. You rest your head on his shoulder as he settles back into the group conversation, and you both miss how Steve smiles watching the two of you. 

***

The ride back to the hotel is quiet, Jeff and Gareth sit quietly on their phones in the middle row of the large car while you're cuddled into Eddie’s side in the far back row. Eddie doesn’t dare move, too terrified that he’ll wake you up. Your head rests on his shoulder and your body is flush to his. He silently curses every pot hole and sharp turn begging that you stay like this for as long as possible. 

Thankfully, there doesn’t seem to be anyone waiting outside for them. The driver pulls around to the back door- the plan is to sneak you all in through the kitchen. The band’s body guard opens the car door. Gareth and Jeff climb out and scurry into the building quickly. Eddie softly nudges you awake. 

“Keep your hood up, sweetheart,” Eddie instructs as you pull your jacket tighter around you. You put your hood on your head and pull it down to cover your face- just in case. Eddie helps you out of the car- also with his hood on. “Head down, okay?” he whispers, and he guides you as you walk with your head down. 

You scurry through the kitchen and you use the elevator towards the back of the building to travel to the higher floors. 

Eddie arranged for one of the assistants to bring your bags here while you were out. He set you up in the room across the hall from him. He wanted to make sure you had your own space. When you get to the rooms, Gareth and Jeff disappear to their own rooms, offering very tired “goodnights.” Eddie walks you to your door.

“I had so much fun tonight,” you sleepily admit. “Thank you… thank you for trusting me.”

His eyes soften. He leans down and presses a kiss to your forehead. “Get some sleep,” he smiles, affectionately grazing your jaw with his thumb. You lean up and his heart skips when he watches your eyes linger- looking between his eyes and his lips. You press your lips to his and this delicate kiss feels like enough to make his entire body melt. 

It’s soft and perfect. A first kiss that you only see in the movies. Kissing you made Eddie feel like he’d never kissed anyone before. Nothing that came before amounted nearly as much as this. He feels like he’s in high school again all of a sudden. This, he decides, should have been his first kiss. Because none of them ever felt as good as this. He makes up his mind then and there, that you’re the only person he wants to kiss for the rest of his life. It’s a thought he won’t share until much further down the road.

[wayward-dreamer]

Pillow Talk

Pairing: Soldier Boy x F!Reader

Word count: 1,782

Summary: After a stressful meeting lead by Stan Edgar, Y/N looks forward to her other weekly meeting that is far more enjoyable.

Warnings: Swearing, implied smut: oral sex (f receiving), unprotected sex (wrap it up people), pillow talk turned dirty talk, vaginal fingering

A/N: I started writing this after that Gen V ep, but a lot of things got in the way of me finishing it. Happy reading, hope y'all like it! :) beta'd by my love @hintsofhoney

Y/N yawned, covering her mouth with her hand as she scribbled random drawings on the paper in front of her with a black pen. She was bored out of her mind as Mr. Edgar addressed everyone in the meeting, something about the latest demographic numbers for the supes and she was meant to be taking notes about it all, but she lost track. Whoever decided it was a good idea to have a meeting at the end of the day on a Friday was an idiot. Another few minutes of this and she could leave, once the clock ticked over to 5pm and the weekend was officially upon them. She kept glancing up at the time, her heeled foot shaking in anticipation for a regular meeting of her own that she was excited to get to.

Ever since Vought’s Christmas party a few months ago, when she caught the attention of Soldier Boy and they spent the night together, she’d leave the Friday meeting, pack up her things and get her night started with him. It was never anything serious between them, just some fun between them every week, and that was exactly what she needed.

A smile came to her face as she got lost in thought about everything he had in store for her, just as Mr. Edgar dismissed everyone for the weekend. She picked up her things and walked out behind all the male employees who she couldn’t stand. She was Mr. Edgar’s assistant but there were times that she was forced to do tasks some of the other suits wanted her to do, no matter how much she protested. They were all arrogant, entitled assholes who only wanted one thing when they looked at her, and even though Soldier Boy was no different because he also was a man of his time, at least he never pretended to be anything else around her.

Y/N walked back to her desk and put everything on top, ready to collect once she decided to leave, before she made her way down the hallway towards the loft apartments where the supes resided. She stopped in front of the door marked with “Soldier Boy” in gold letters, turning the knob and letting herself in, which was what she always did considering the door was unlocked after 5pm just for her. As she strolled into the apartment, she unbuttoned and took off her gray blazer, draping it over the back of one of the armchairs, smiling at the sound of a Sinatra song coming from the record player in the corner.

“Right on time,” she heard his deep, rough voice enter the room as he walked from his bedroom to the bar.

She turned around, a shiver running down her back as she took in his appearance. “I’m nothing if not punctual.”

Soldier Boy smirked as he poured a generous amount of whiskey into two tumblers, moving out from behind the bar as he sauntered over to her, his suit unzipped and revealing the white t-shirt he was wearing underneath. He swiped something off the surface before he stood in front of her, handing her a glass.

“After the day I’ve had, I really need this,” she said, turning the tumbler around in her hand. “Cheers.”

He clinked his glass against hers, a grin on his face as he watched her take a few sips. He held up the small, plastic bag with a handful of pills inside, waving it in front of her eyes which had her pause drinking, their gazes locked on each other.

“Anything else you really need?”

“Yes,” she breathed, her mouth opening slightly.

They kept their eyes on each other as he took out two of the small, round tablets from the bag. She stuck her tongue out a little, making him groan at the sight as he placed one of the pills on it, watching her swallow it down and taking a sip of her whiskey. He continued to stare at her as he tossed the tablet back with a swig of his drink, frowning as he saw her put her now empty glass down as she began to unbutton her blouse.

“You know that’s my job, doll,” he husked, his eyes darkened as he looked at her. “Don’t get ahead of yourself.”

He wasted no more time as he threw back the rest of the amber liquid, tossing the glass behind him and hearing it shatter, unbothered by the scattered pieces across the floor. He moved towards her, pulling her roughly into his arms as he pressed his lips to hers, the kiss as searing and erotic as all their previous encounters. He grasped her shirt in his hands, ripping it down the front, a squeal escaping her as the buttons flew everywhere. By now he usually had her on the bed, on her back with her legs thrown over his shoulders, but he had other plans for her as he pushed her down on the sofa. The fingers of one hand curled into the leather as the other moved between the soft locks of his hair, his head between her thighs and making her come undone in no time at all as she screamed his name and covered his mouth in her arousal.

Before she could fully comprehend what was happening, Soldier Boy gathered her in his strong arms and carried her over to the dining table, roughly dropping her down on the surface as their hands frantically pulled off the rest of each other’s clothes. With her back meeting the cold wood of the table and her legs wrapped around his waist, she moaned wantonly as he thrusted into her, moving faster and harder with every mutter of his name from her lips. It wasn’t long before she reached the peak for a second time, a giggle of disbelief leaving her as she came down from her high.

They made it to the bed eventually. With one last release from her triggering his, they came together as he grunted, a smirk pulling at his lips when he felt the way he spilled inside her walls. He rolled off her, her nimble fingers plucking the sheet up and pulling it over them, just as he reached for the cigarettes on his nightstand. He took one out of the pack and placed it between his lips, picking up his lighter and flicking it, bringing the small flame to the tip. He took a long drag before he blew it out, closing his eyes in satisfaction as he felt Y/N take the cigarette from between his fingers. As he opened them, he turned to look at her, watching the way she held it between her own fingers, the way her lips closed around the filter.

“Well, you really know how to take my mind off things, that’s for damn sure,” she stated, laughing softly as she placed the cigarette in the ashtray that sat on the nightstand.

“It’s a fucking gift,” he grinned. “Better take a breather, ‘cause I ain't done with you yet, sugar.”

She smiled, a small sigh escaping her as she thought back on the day. “It’s a good thing we keep this little rendezvous of ours on a Friday because those meetings are slow, agonizing torture.”

“I’m guessing it was a meeting with Stan?” he asked, leaning in and pressing a kiss to her neck.

“Yeah,” she replied, a small gasp falling from her lips as he continued to nip at her skin. “He just stresses me out about everything.”

She tried to resist him as he nuzzled at her neck, trying to move further down, but she eventually gave in with a low moan. Her eyes closed as her head fell back against the pillow, feeling his lips move down her collarbone and pull the sheet down, exposing her breasts to him. Her eyebrows furrowed as he nipped and sucked at her flesh, his tongue circling over her nipple.

“Handling the supes is getting to be too much as well, thanks to him,” she muttered, biting down on her lip as she tried to move away from him.

She could feel herself getting lost to his skillful tongue and fingers, but the second round he was trying to start needed to wait. She was only human, and didn’t have the same stamina he had as a supe.

He lifted his head, releasing the stiff bud with a wet pop, staring down at her. “Even me?”

“Especially you,” she countered, a mischievous smile pulling at her lips.

“Oh, I don’t know,” he began, his signature smirk on his face as his hand drifted down under the sheets, moving between her legs and feeling how wet she was again. Their eyes locked as he teased her folds with his fingers, causing her to gasp and a deep, rough chuckle to escape him as he didn’t take his gaze off her. “I think you’re pretty fucking capable of handling all of me.”

“Stop,” she giggled, trying and failing to push him away.

“You’re the one who can’t stay away, doll.”

“Maybe I should,” she challenged, lifting an eyebrow as she looked up at him.

Soldier Boy’s green eyes darkened with lust, and something else she had no desire to identify. A short gasp of pleasure escaped her as his thumb brushed over her clit, his intense stare never leaving her as the digit circled around the bundle of nerves. Her eyes fluttered closed as a long, drawn out moan left her mouth, his fingers sinking into her tight heat.

“See… if you did that, then you wouldn’t be right here, with my fingers fucking into your tight little pussy,” he grunted, his jaw tight as he looked down at her through hooded eyes.

Y/N didn’t recognize the sound she made as he started to thrust his fingers into her, maybe it was a moan, but it was a shrill cry, she wasn’t sure. All she knew was that she was giving into him once more. As she always did whenever she found herself back here, every single Friday.

“You always come back to a little… pillow talk, don’t ya, sugar?”

The words were just above a whisper, the rough timbre of his voice causing a shiver to run down her back as she wrapped her arm around his neck, holding onto him as she nodded, letting him pleasure her in every way he wanted. He knew she had only been teasing him when she said she’d stay away from him. They both knew her resolve wasn’t that strong.

She wasn’t going to give up this little ritual of theirs any time soon.

[mosessumney]

On 10 Years of Mid-City Island

I was painstakingly self-conscious in the beginning of my career. I’d grown up accustomed to writing in a vacuum, in my childhood bedroom, in my dorm room, hiding my songbook inside my mattress or at the bottom of a drawer. I always thought I’d get to make my first recordings in total obscurity, clumsily clanging around.

But months before I began recording my first EP, things blew up.

After a few shows and 2 bedroom recordings, seemingly everyone from the Los Angeles music scene was suddenly peering into my window, waiting to see what my first offering would be, hoping for commodifiable gloss. I was wined and dined and unrefined.

But I didn’t want to record the “R&B record” that would make me famous. I wanted to make something experimental akin to the early recordings I loved – Linda Perhacs’ Parallelograms; Sufjan Stevens’s A Sun Came; the scratchy musings of Cody ChestnuTT and Milton Nascimento; the kitchen candor of Jessica Pratt. Instead I was often shipped to fancy producers’ and execs’ home studios and offices, forced to listen to them preach about how I was a star-in-waiting. I didn’t want to be a star. I wanted to be honest.

But secretly, I did feel like a star. Gaseous and infinite, distant and intangible, shining bright in the middle of a constellation, unable to touch the celestial bodies around me. I scribed “Man on the Moon” on a red guitar I bought on sale from a shuttering music store.

In one of these producer meetings, I journeyed to the top of a mountain to meet TV on the Radio’s Dave Sitek. He gave me a four-track recorder and told me to say “f*ck off” to everyone trying to sign or produce me. He told me to find my own voice or others would find it for me. He taught me how to record myself to tape, sparking an affinity for analogue processes. I “borrowed” the tape recorder, promising I would come back when I had found my sound. It sits now on the topmost shelf in my home studio. I guess I’m still searching.

Mid-City, Los Angeles was more of a concept than a place. Seemingly nobody had ever heard of it, and yet it was the geographic center of the city. Living there felt analogous to my disposition as a “rising” Angeleno – highly visible and invisible at the same time. It was an urban island and the sun beat its concrete ceaselessly. I sat on my bedroom floor and wrote “Plastic,” listening to Amy Winehouse demos and thinking about how we let our stars fall as long as they entertain us on the way down.

I recorded these misgivings straight to cassette on that Yamaha MT4X, feeling like a historian tracing my own origins. I loved that it sounded older than it was. I felt older than I was. I decided then that I would press it to vinyl in 10 years. I couldn’t afford to make vinyl records anyway. Instead, I backpacked little cassette tapes I would sign and sell at shows.

I realized early on that being visible (but not necessarily seen) was just gonna be a part of my story. How blessed I was to push through it with clear vision – and now I’m forced to stop and reflect. 10 years later, I’m still thinking 10 years ahead. Ask me about now in 10 years. Shoot, ask me in 20.

- M

______________________________________________________________

"Mid-City Island," our limited-edition 10 year anniversary black vinyl, is available to pre-order now: mosessumney.bandcamp.com/album/mid-city-island

[starling-song]

(photo: lyrics as printed in the first cd edition of Hurry Up Mode, 1990)

PLASTIC SYNDROME TYPE II

Lyrics: Imai Hisashi | Music: Sakurai Atsushi

Nothing to be done Burned into my memory Those tearful eyes So petty It became hard to see That reflection In dreams I can forget All of it

oh-PLASTIC SYNDROME oh-PLASTIC SYNDROME

You’ll never Be honest, eh? Before you know it Utterly changed Now lonely Feelings hidden In lies you can forget All of it

※oh-PLASTIC SYNDROME oh-PLASTIC SYNDROME oh-PLASTIC SYNDROME oh-PLASTIC SYNDROME

＊Since real feelings were forgotten Since painful thoughts were exhausting Since real feelings were forgotten Since painful thoughts were exhausting ………PLASTIC …PLASTIC …PLASTIC PLASTIC!!

※ Repeat

＊Repeat

Since real feelings were forgotten Since painful thoughts were exhausting (1986 vers. only: Since real feelings were forgotten Since painful thoughts were exhausting) Real feelings Painful thoughts

——————————————————

Dou shiyou mo naku Yakitsuite Namida gumu no wa Keihaku de Minikukunatta Sugata utsushi Yume de subete wo Wasureru sa

oh-PLASTIC SYNDROME oh-PLASTIC SYNDROME

Sunao ni nante Narene– ze Itsu no ma ni ka ni Kawari hate Sabishikunatta Kimochi kakushi Uso de subete wo Wasureru sa

※oh-PLASTIC SYNDROME oh-PLASTIC SYNDROME oh-PLASTIC SYNDROME oh-PLASTIC SYNDROME

＊Honto no kimochi Wasureta kara Setsunai omoi wa Tsukareta kara Honto no kimochi Wasureta kara Setsunai omoi wa Tsukareta kara ………PLASTIC …PLASTIC …PLASTIC PLASTIC!!

※ Repeat

＊Repeat

Honto no kimochi Wasureta kara Setsunai omoi wa Tsukareta kara (1986 vers only: Honto no kimochi Wasureta kara Setsunai omoi wa Tsukareta kara) Honto no kimochi Setsunai omoi wa

--------------

T/N: Repetitions and end chorus added to the romaji and translation of this song wrt the published lyrics as seen in the photo.

Next to "utterly changed" it should really also say "(derogatory)" as the implication is the bad kind of 'changed'. I tried to convey this by putting utterly in there as it is a more negative qualifier. Personally I think it's kind of hard to tell if the speaker is talking about himself the whole time, or half himself and half, say, a nasty ex girlfriend or something. There is definitely a feeling in the second part of talking 'to' someone, but you can just as easily talk to yourself as you could someone else! Imai wrote this one so I think it could go either way. Stay tuned to the version number at the bottom of this post for me to possibly change my mind later lol.

I've seen some lyrics for this song posted online with added english lyrics at the end. That isn't present in the Hurry Up Mode cd that was published in 1990. A goal of mine is to get ahold of the To-Search EP someday, but at the very least a review of the Hurry Up Mode 1990 cd (the first time this album was published in cd format- before then it was only vinyl) in a contemporary Japanese music magazine said that it was the same as the vinyl, just basically mixed a bit better for stereo/headphones. Something I really want to do with this page is post every print of the lyrics for a song exactly in case of a situation like this. Even so, even when listening to this track from Hurry Up Mode those supposed english end lyrics are not in the song. As B-T has not posted the original To-Search EP to spotify (they may not be legally able to), it's hard to tell if the version there and the version on Hurry Up Mode are different. I'll see if I can't find it somehow.

edit: Found it! Here's a spin of the OG original version of this song from 1986's 'To-Search' EP. It is a different, older recording of this song than from Hurry Up Mode (ie the version on spotify etc) and has two extra lines of chorus- but still no english ending! The mystery continues...

--------------

Disclaimers: Please do not use my translations or photos without express permission. All photos of lyrics are mine- these are from my own collection, even if potato quality.💗

v. 1.3 (12.28.24)

[myloveforhergoeson]

(there's no place like) home for the holidays!

merry christmas and happy holidays @icegirl2772! surprise! i'm your btr secret santa this year and i had so much fun borrowing james and kaelyn to take them out for a little spin :) please enjoy this little story about one of my favorite holiday traditions! <3 i wanted to wait until it was christmas for the both of us to post!! hope you love it as much as i do hehe

-

Traditions were hard to build when half your life was spent on the road… 

At least, that’s what Kaelyn and James had been learning these last few years as Big Time Rush had shot from obscurity to stardom seemingly overnight. Since their first Christmas in Los Angeles, when Griffin had just about held them hostage, until they released a Christmas EP with celebrity guests, his demands of the band had grown and grown. 

He’d fooled them the first year, keeping them from being able to get to Minnesota in time to see their families, and the second year, when he’d physically locked them inside of Rocque Records until Kaelyn wrote a hit to rival “Mistletoe” by Justin Bieber, and even the third, when he’d used his connections to all their RCM/CBT/Global-Net/ Sanyoid technology to set the clocks back and convince them it wasn’t really Christmas. 

This year, however, the band and their songwriter hadn’t let Griffin get the drop on them. They’d planned out their time wisely, from October to the middle of December, to thwart any plan their company CEO had to keep them in Los Angeles over the holidays. 

Kaelyn had learned one of the key components of a Christmas song was having a muse to write about; there was no shortage of winter-themed melodies and rhymes she could come up with, simply by being around him. She’d even managed to squeeze out a Hanukkah song this year, befitting of the other holiday she was learning to celebrate now that they were together, which the boys were more than happy to lay down in the studio. 

So, when Griffin was presented with the holiday EP in mid-December, there was nothing stopping the band, their writer, and the Knights from jetting off to the Midwest, to finally have a holiday celebration in their hometown. 

Kaelyn had to have a hard conversation with her mother, brother, and sister, stating that she was interested in spending her time at Mrs. Diamond’s with her boyfriend while they were back home, but promised that Christmas Eve and Christmas day she’d stay with them in her childhood home. With pushback only from Kendall - despite James and Kaelyn being together for upwards of three years now, he still wasn’t used to it - and a blessing from the other two girls, they had parted ways at the airport with a promise to see each other again in a few days.

Now, with Christmas Eve fast approaching, Kaelyn and James had decided to spend their last night at Mrs. Diamond’s preparing some side dishes to bring over for the celebration. Mrs. K had fed them so many meals throughout the year, despite it being just her and Katie in apartment 2-J now, so they figured they’d let her make the main dish since they were already spending so much time apart from her. 

At the moment, what seemed like the entire surface of the kitchen island was covered in flour as Kaelyn worked on making gingerbread cookies that looked like her friends, family, and partner, while James attempted to remake the Sufganiyot he’d made for their Hanukkha celebrations earlier that month. 

From the large TV in the living room, the sound of Christmas songs from one of the music stations overlapped with the sound of hot oil crackling in the pot James had on the stove.

“Did you remember to grab the M&M’s and icing at the store?” Kaelyn thought aloud, pulling open every drawer in the kitchen while attempting to find where Mrs. Diamond kept her plastic baggies. The entire place smelled like cinnamon, now that she’d taken her cookies out of the oven at the perfect time.

Like he could read her mind, James pulled open the drawer next to where he stood frying up his dough at the stove, pulling a few baggies out and handing them in her direction. “‘Course I did, sweet thing. You only asked me, like, a million times to make sure they were in the cart.”

When his hazel eyes flickered to hers, she could see them clearly, thanks to the shorter haircut he’d been rocking the last year. Kaelyn wondered if he ever missed his longer style like she did. Though, she understood image was everything in their industry. Big Time Rush was getting older, trying to present themselves to the world as men now that they were growing up. 

Sometimes, it was hard to believe she’d known James for so long; That he’d gone from a stranger on Kendall’s pee-wee hockey team to her best friend to the love of her life.

“It’s the most essential part of making a gingerbread man!” She shot back, teasingly, bumping her hip into his as she passed him by, accepting the bags he held out to her. “The buttons being your favorite colors is so cute to me… And you know Carlos won’t eat his cookie unless his black helmet is iced on top! Don’t even get me started on Logan this year… He wanted a lab coat!”

“Do you have to make theirs first?” He whined, going at a few of the Sufganiyot with the tongs and pulling them out of the oil, placing them on a paper towel to cool off. When he was done, he gestured toward the raw dough she’d left on a bed of flour on the counter. “Our cookies look so sad… All the other ones got baked together!”

With a small smile, Kaeyln glanced at the two gingerbread people she’d cut out of the dough. As carefully as she could, she’d placed them next to each other, with their tiny, stubbed arms overlapping one another to make it look like they were holding hands. “Ours are too big to fit on the pan when they’re positioned like that. I didn’t want them to get ruined if the other ones expanded while they baked, but they’re going in soon.”

“Oh! I see! Ours are going to be perfect then!” In one graceful twirl, James left his position at the stove, swiped his finger along the mess they’d made of the island, and booped Kaelyn on the nose, leaving a flour-white mark. “Just like we are!”

His deep laugh roared through the kitchen as he took in the sight of his beautiful girlfriend and the floury spot he’d left on her skin. 

Little did he know, two could play at that game. 

James made the mistake of turning back to his frying dough, while Kaelyn slapped her entire hand down on the counter, wiggling it around for good measure, to make sure it was nice and coated in the powder spread across the surface. 

“That’s right, fox,” She cooed, making sure to pull out their special nicknames for each other as she slowly sauntered over to him.

Too distracted in making sure his sufganiyot didn’t burn, he was still oblivious to the attack awaiting him and turned toward her once he realized she’d stepped over. When he leaned in to place a kiss on the top of her head, she acted like she was reaching up to cup his face, before patting a gigantic white handprint on his cheek. 

 “Hey!” He protested, voice pitching up like he was annoyed, through the ear-to-ear grin splitting across his face told Kaelyn otherwise. “You’re asking for it now…”

Careful as he pulled his last piece of dough out of the oil so as not to burn himself or his girlfriend, James set the tongs on the counter, before wiggling his eyebrows at Kaelyn. “Should I be nice and give you a headstart?” 

“Like you could ever catch someone as fast as me…” Kaelyn teased, backing out of his vicinity the moment he reached out toward her, and slamming her hands down on the counter to coat them once more.

In return, James copied the action and in a moment they were on opposite ends of the island. “You’re on!”

As they chased each other around the space, the sounds of their joy mixed nicely with the music in the background, shaping into one of their favorite Christmas memories to date. 

***

Later that night, a large plate of Sufganiyot sat stuffed full of jelly on the counter, next to a small army of gingerbread men that looked just like the four boys of Big Time Rush and their family members. Plus, an extra large cookie couple holding hands, icing decorated to make them appear just like James and Kaelyn, sat on a plate of their own.

The two lovebirds were out of breath long before, though the remnants of their flour fight was littered throughout the small kitchen space, along with their clothing, and their skin. 

“Well, I’d call tonight a success.” James sighed, wiping a hand across his brow while slinging an arm around his girlfriend as they took in the payoff of their hard work. “Two of the best dishes for the Knight potluck sitting right here and no one else even knows it…”

Kaelyn’s handprint was still clear on his cheek, though now there were many more stains riddling his person. Cuddling into him, she planted a kiss on the clean side of his cheek. “Can’t wait to show everyone up tomorrow.”

Before she was able to pull away, James caught her chin between his fingers, dipping down to give her a long, slow kiss that sent her stomach twisting up in knots. 

“Merry almost Christmas, Kaelyn,” he murmured, coming back up for air. “I love getting to celebrate with you.”

Forgetting her own flour-mess on her hands, she brought her palms to her cheeks to try and hide the red shade they were turning. 

“There’s nothing better than roping you into our family celebration,” She told him, despite the slight muffling of her words. “I love celebrating with you too.”

[daggerzine]

Throwback Thursday #69!- Young Marble Giants- Colossal Youth (1980 Rough Trade)

This Welsh trio of Alison Statton and the Moxham brothers, Stuart and Philip, weren't around long, a few years, but released a couple of excellent EPs and this, their lone LP in 1980. 

Stark and minimal doesn't even begin to describe it. You've got ultra-nominal guitar/bass/organ and a hushed drum machine. Oh and the recited vocals of Statton, all to create this totally unique record. 

You have stellar cuts like the opening "Searching for Mr Right," the echoey/jagged "Include Me Out," and the weirdly haunting "The Taxi," ...and that's the first three songs. 

Elsewhere, "N.I.T.A." comes directly out of the future, while you can almost dance to the title track, and "Credit in the Straight World"  (covered in the 90s by Hole) stabs a plastic fork in every direction, and hits each and every time.

The EPs are totally worth your time as well, but man, Colossal Youth is the one. A magical debut by a band that wasn't long for this world, but made the most of it.

www.dominomusic.com

[6-and-7]

An Unearthly Child Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton, two humble teachers during 1963, are surprised by a bright student named Susan Foreman. Confused by the contradictions in Susan's knowledge, Barbara had decided to visit her home, only to learn that the address on record is a junkyard. She and Ian decide to wait at the location until Susan or her grandfather show up. There, they discover a junkyard inhabited by her grandfather, simply known as "the Doctor", and he doesn't want them lurking about.

When the teachers refuse to leave, they discover that an ordinary police box is actually bigger on the inside. The Doctor decides they know too much about his and Susan's otherworldly origins and takes them on a journey across space and time in his TARDIS, the place he and Susan now call home.

Rose Rose Tyler believes she is living another day of her "ordinary" life, but after being threatened by Autons (living plastic) controlled by the Nestene Consciousness, she meets the Ninth Doctor.

[niki-phoria]

couldn't find a gif of prince gyu :// but he's so cute here my bf (real)

pairing: beomgyu x 6th member!male!reader (he/him pronouns) genre: fluff word count: 1.0k

request: I have been thinking about this, in which Choi Beomgyu has a Boyfriend who is completely opposite of him. He's quite and calm and likes video games. But that didn't stop them to have cute moments with each other.

includes: barely based on to-do ep 96 (the prince ep), the chaos is kinda implied ?? idk reader is just kinda quiet lol, clingy gyu i need to write for him more

a/n: thank you so much for requesting !! this idea was really cute, i hope you like it :))

requests open !! read my rules first

you tug at the sleeves of your prince costume as you follow behind taehyun into the set. the polyester feels slightly uncomfortable against your skin. it’s warm wearing so many layers, especially underneath the bright studio lights above. 

a makeshift castle has been built to further add to your faux status. “give an introduction to the cameras.” a staff member says. you nod, preparing yourself. beside you, beomgyu squeezes your hand. you reach up to brush a strand from his bangs aside, fixing his fringe for him before they start recording.

“i’ll have to improvise,” soobin murmurs as he walks out in front of the castle. “hello, i’m the ultimate face of korea, choi soobin.” 

“you have to add ‘prince’ to the end.” kai calls. 

“and i’m a prince.” soobin steps aside, making room for yeonjun to introduce himself. beomgyu goes next, waving to the cameras in front of him, followed by taehyun, kai, and finally, you. 

“hello everyone,” you wave. “i’m prince y/n. it’s nice to meet you all.” 

beomgyu smiles, coaxing you over to stand beside him. taehyun pats your shoulder as he makes room for you. “we got this from an owl earlier,” kai says, pulling a note out of his pocket. “all five of you here today are great princes, but there is only one main character in this fairy tale. we will now begin ‘a singer in reality’ but a prince in this world and a test in search for its main character!” 

“shall we begin?” the production crew asks. 

“sounds good!”

“should we do the to-do intro before we begin?” kai asks. you hold your hands up, repeating the same motions that have become second nature at this point. 

“to-do!” 

“chapter three, ambition.” a staff member announces. a small table with ten candles is sitting in the middle of the room. “choose an object from the table beside you. you’ll use it to try and put out as many candles as possible.” 

yeonjun goes first, dramatically swinging a plastic sword around the room. you stand to the side next to beomgyu. he smiles, letting you play with his fingers as you wait for your cue to take your turns. yeonjun raises the sword, swinging it towards the candles. it hits straight into the side of them, sending multiple wax fragments throughout the room. 

he gasps, hiding behind soobin as he covers his mouth. you can’t help the small laugh that escapes you as you glance between the candles and the staff in shock. “do you need help cleaning it up?” 

a few staff members help you pick up the remains of the candles, setting them aside to be thrown away later before they replace the candles on the table. “huening kai will go next,” soobin says, gesturing for him to stand in front of the table. kai swings the bat over the flames successfully putting out four of them. 

“wow,” you applaud. 

“he beat yeonjun, for starters,” soobin laughs. “okay, beomgyu next.” 

with his plastic sickle in hand, beomgyu practices swinging the blade over the candles. “it can’t be that hard, right?” 

he dances around behind the table, preparing for his swing. his first attempt misses completely; blade passing directly over the flames and not affecting them at all. you chuckle as he seamlessly continues dancing, brushing off the failed attempt. 

“was that the swing?” taehyun asks. 

“it’s part of his intro,” you defend. “he’ll do great.” 

beomgyu smiles, trying again. this time he puts out seven flames. he props the sickle on his shoulder as he taunts the camera. “did you see that?” 

“the sickle may be the best one among ours,” soobin says. 

beomgyu returns to his place next to you with a smile. you reach over to grab his hand, squeezing it in yours. “good job,” you whisper. 

his smile grows as the staff set up another set of candles in preparation of taehyun’s turn. “thank you.” 

beomgyu sighs as he lays down on the couch next to you. he shifts so his head is in your lap. you smile, gently running your fingers through his hair. “tired?” 

“not yet,” he hums. “just wanna cuddle with you.” 

“okay honey.” you reach over to grab one of the console controllers, holding the second out for beomgyu. “do you wanna play?” 

he nods as he moves to sit in your lap. you lean so you can see the screen, resting your chin on his shoulder. your arms snake around his waist to hold your controller with both hands. you press a small kiss against his shoulder as beomgyu relaxes in your hold, leaning back against your chest. 

the hours pass by quickly. after a long day of filming, your eyes slowly begin to grow more tired before keeping them open becomes a chore. you sigh as you set the controller aside. beomgyu follows your lead, pushing you down on the couch to lay against your chest. he’s quick to make himself comfortable against you as you reach over to exit the game before sigh, allowing yourself to fall asleep on the couch with your boyfriend in your arms. 

“they’re so cute,” yeonjun chuckles. “they must’ve fallen asleep while gaming again.” 

“let them sleep,” soobin swats him away. “we have the day off. besides, they need the rest.” 

you sleepily blink yourself awake, sitting up a little. beomgyu’s body lays sprawled on top of your own. your legs are intertwined together, his head resting on your chest. his hair is sprawled out. the strands tickle against your skin. his arm lays over your body, pinning you down onto the couch. 

your game controllers lay forgotten on the floor. the tv is off - either from inactivity or from one of the boys finding you earlier. “sorry,” soobin whispers. “did we wake you?” 

“no, your voice is raspy. “it’s okay.” 

“we’ll wake you up later when breakfast is done. get some rest.” 

“thank you,” you smile. soobin nods, retreating back into the kitchen. you shift, wrapping your arms further around beomgyu’s waist. he sleepily sighs as he moves even closer against you. you lean down, pressing a kiss against his forehead. “i love you,” you whisper. 

“love you too.” he mumbles back. 

[nezumithewriter]

season three of the magnus archives was fucking awesome

ep 81: "guess who got framed for murder" "anyways my childhood was fucked up"

ep 82: "it was a little bloody and i didn't like daisy" - my mother

ep 83: "JON? There's a weird letter in the mailbox for you. Says.. uh... 'statement of'" jon crashing through the wall with tape recorder sfx

ep 84: I GOT A JOB AT THE MAGNUS INSTITUTE?!? (I'M INEXTRICABLY TIED TO A BEING BEYOND MY COMPREHENSION)

ep 85: The man was there but also wasn't, fuck you want from me?

ep 86: Holy fuck i love melanie king i can't think of a funny 3am joke for this one except i can WORKING MY JOB AT THE MAGNUS ARCHIVES (READ A PAPER ABOUT CHILDHOOD TRAUMA) (MY COWORKERS NEED THERAPY) but seriously i love melanie king so much i need her to get out of there and to safety

ep 87: the Stranger watching this plumber with adhd swag walk in, fix their pipes, and leave despite all of the dead people's faces being cut off around him

ep 88: DIG.

ep 89: girlboss explains her fire fetish to concerned eldritch entity in training, oh and also AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

ep 90: dude calm the fuck down they're just doing some reps on the high bar so what if they have no eyes it's fine dude why are you running

ep 91: Daisy Tonner kills mr. blue sky

ep 92: Elias really said "acab, also i killed gertrude and leitner lol. we're at war with a dozen or so eldritch abominations"

ep 93: Jonathan Sims explains the magnus archives lore to his friends after reading a statement about the corruption from terraria

ep 94: "the monster stole all of my 'give a damn' many years ago"

ep 95: Basira reading her alchemy book two feet away while Martin has a crisis over the fact he can feel the emotions of the statement giver when recording

ep 96: Jon and Daisy do a silly and commit a crime or two (broke and entered, murdered a mandela catalogue alternate, etc)

ep 97: "Are you going to kill me?" "What?? No!!!" "..." "well not rn!!!"

ep 98: "Are you worried about getting fired?" Melanie on her way to commit attempted murder

ep 99: Jonathan Sims gets kidnapped by the clown police (ASMR)

ep 100: can't believe we got The Spiral, The Desolation, The Web, the Dark/Buried, the Lonely in the same episode. the statements were so well done and the were clear and precise

ep 101: "why is the door locked" michael, 2 seconds before helen has a gamer's rise up moment

ep 102: knives, beetle wives, french, oh my!

ep 103: jon really said "fuck it we ball" and decided to use his eldritch powers to be petty

ep 104: "Tim! I might be an eldritch monster but that was unacceptable!"

ep 105: "你说中文?" "no i don't speak chinese"

ep 106: FUCK YOU ELIAS (GONE WRONG) (I WANT THIS BITCH DEAD)

ep 107: JON EATS THE STATEMENTS AND ALSO TREVOR AND JULIA ARE THERE THIS IS THE FIRST EPISODE WHERE I FELT INCREDIBLY EXCITED IS THIS WHAT MCU FANS FELT LIKE ENDGAME

ep 108: "Was he… woOoOo?" -- Basira Hussain, 2017

ep 109: FNAF but with three screaming corpses and a guy

ep 110: trans cinematographer deconstructs the film industry (and mr spider is there too)

ep 111: Jon interviews an emo book (real)

ep 112: #1 Victory Royale

ep 113: "STOP-- touching the plastic explosive"

ep 114: daisy and tim getting happy over the prospect of exploding a circus

ep 115: delicious, finally some good fucking food

ep 116: fuck your dance in particular *CANNON SFX*

ep 117: "hope we don't die!" vs tim and daisy's "fuck it we ball"

ep 118: Martin gets to commit arson-- FUCK YOU ELIAS FUCK YOU ELIAS FUCK YOU ELIAS FU

ep 119: genuinely one of the coolest episodes i've ever listened to due in part to the fact that i was just as confused as the characters (i listened without a transcript). The ways the stranger fucks with the archives team while they're slowly going insane from how much they've forgotten and no longer understand is phenomenal. I'm gonna miss Tim.

ep 120: world's weirdest clipshow that ends with police brutality

[99centmusecd]

🔥🔥🔥THEY'RE HERE🔥🔥🔥

(wow the image quality kinda got scrungled... oops)

Scissors, Odin, Ouja, 2 Zoldas, 3 Knights... and not one, not 3, but 6 Ryukis! They make such a fun hollow plastic sound when they're dumped in a pile together hahaha. The listing had them as "dirty and damaged" but just a wet q-tip was enough to make them look much nicer.

Size comparison with SHF Vulcan (honestly, one of my favorites SHF so far, up there with Thouser and Ex-Aid... though, all the others I have are either new and expensive or old and breakable so I don't pose them near as much)

Investigating and Invading my desk

And another something special! An EP by Scissor's actor, who was in the band The Lantern until 2006. There's hardly anything about the band online; I can only find one recording anywhere (though I'm probably not looking in the right places tbh tbh) but I've been looking off and on for months and finally!

:)

[cruelestpigeon]

THE MAGNUS ARCHIVES IMPRESSIONS: EP 95 - 99

EP 95: Absent Without Leave

Not that I’m complaining but why is Martin recording them when Jon is back? I like the war perspective, historical episodes are always interesting. Good on Basira for looking on the bright side of things.

EP 96: Return To Sender

Backstory on weird mover guys!! Circus guy getting mentioned again is a bit concerning. Wait I’m confused, why this episode and then Sarah Baldwin? How does that correlate? OH IT’S THE TAXIDERMY PLACE. I miss Sasha. Gertrude killed Daniel and took the skin??? DAISY JUST SHOT HER?????? I love Daisy’s voice actor omg.

EP 97: We All Ignore The Pit

So wait is Jon at the archives or still at Georgies? Or somewhere else entirely? Since Martin said he was only coming in to ask for a book or something. Wait nevermind he’s still at Georgies. Wasn’t he moving out? Wait. That voice sounds so familiar. OH MY GOD, IT’S THAT ONE AUDIO. “How can I sound anything silly, I’m plastic!” OH MY GODDDDDD IT’S THAT AUDIO!!! I WAS TRYING TO FIND WHERE IT WAS FROM SO I COULD WATCH IT OMG. Guess episode 100 or season finale is going to be the dance.

EP 98: Lights Out

YAY MORE MARTIN! Tim is so real because how is everyone else so chill about the archives. Oh Jon offered the job, okay yeah the hatred makes more sense. Rayner was that guy who visted the prisoner and ran that cult where Basira and Daisy tried for arrest him, right? How has this guy stayed alive for so long??? So reading these statements sucks the energy out of people not claimed by the eye? Since instead of harnessing the supernatural energy and feeding the eye, the eye consumes them? Melanie what are you planning because you paused for far too long before saying yes?? Guys I’m confused again I don’t understand anything :’)

EP 99: Dust To Dust

I don’t have anything to really say about this episode. MICHAEL???????? MICHAEL WAS GERTRUDES MARTIN???????????? “10 years yet before I can afford a conscience” Why 10 years??? What does that mean Gertrude??? Jon screaming “what the hell are you” is so real right now. So wait can you only have one avatar per weird god thingy? Because if so then what’s Elias’s deal???? Georgie is actually such a good friend I love them so much. Aaaand Jon just got kidnapped by the weird mover dudes. That’s great.

[sinceileftyoublog]

Andrew Bird & Mary Lattimore Live Show Review: 12/5, Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago

Andrew Bird & Alan Hampton

BY JORDAN MAINZER

A few songs into this year's first Gezelligheid show--Andrew Bird's annual series of winter concerts at the Fourth Presbyterian Church--Bird mentioned that when he put on an Ella Fitzgerald recording when spending time with his family, his niece asked, "Why are you playing Christmas music?" To her, Bird posited, all old music sounded like Christmas music. It's a fairly easy misconception to understand. After all, the feelings you most associate with Christmas, holiday, or wintertime music in general--warmth, joy, familiarity--are often inherent qualities of songs that clearly are from a distant past. A great classic song can make you feel nostalgia for a time you didn't even experience. It's that phenomenon that Bird took advantage of most on Thursday night.

Bird & Hampton

Accompanied by multi-instrumentalist Alan Hampton, Bird played both original and cover favorites from his recorded catalog. Highlights of the former included Armchair Apocrypha's plucky "Plasticities", the minimal "Pulaski at Night", and the swaying "Alabaster" from holiday album Hark! He culled multiple times from his deep well of tunes by Vince Guaraldi and beloved Americana duo The Handsome Family. Midway through the main set, Bird took advantage of returning home and invited Evanston-based longtime collaborator Nora O'Connor on stage. Though O'Connor has long been a backing vocalist for the likes of Bird, The New Pornographers, and The Decemberists, she and Bird actually played a deep cut she recorded with him, a version of Bob Dylan's "Oh Sister" from Bird's 2007 Soldier On EP. The three musicians on stage broke the song down, a capella style, before Bird built it back up with his violin.

Bird

But it was Bird's most recent releases of covers that ended up perfectly encapsulating the allure of the past. In May, he shared Sunday Morning Put-On (Loma Vista) with the trio of Hampton and drummer Ted Poor, a collection of jazz standards (plus one original) interpreted through Bird's unmistakable aesthetic. Bird knows that stringed instruments best emulate human voice, but on Sunday Morning Put-On, he explores the extent to which applying bow pressure on his violin strings can recall the rich sounds that result from blowing air into the mouthpiece of a horn instrument. Early in his set on Thursday, Bird and Hampton performed the Trio's rendition of Johnny Green and Edward Heyman's "I Cover the Waterfront", a song that's been recorded by the likes of Sarah Vaughan and Billie Holiday. Starting with violin, Bird's fluttering followed the original's vocal line; by the time he started singing, his bowing undulated like a tenor saxophone. The performance was eerie, uncanny, and time-bending.

Bird & Hampton

In October, Bird and singer-songwriter Madison Cunningham released Cunningham Bird (Loma Vista), a track-by-track recreation of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks' pre-Fleetwood Mac record Buckingham Nicks. For many in the crowd, even among the pop music aficionados, it was their first time hearing the songs at all: Remarkably, Buckingham Nicks is long out-of-print and not on any streaming services, save for some unofficial uploads to YouTube. Bird and O'Connor duetted a strummed, stripped-down, faster-paced version of "Races are Run". On both Cunningham Bird and on Thursday, for "Crystal", Bird inverted the gender of the lead singer, Cunningham and O'Connor, respectively, singing Buckingham's words, Bird harmonizing Nicks' parts. And there's a fun connection between Sunday Morning Put-On and Cunningham Bird, which is John Lewis' "Django", a song that not only did Bird and his Trio cover on the former but that Buckingham and Nicks covered for their album--meaning Bird also reinterpreted Buckingham and Nicks reinterpreting jazz. The version that led into "Races are Run" Bird played on Thursday was firmly the Cunningham Bird version--after all, Poor's drums are key on Sunday Morning Put-On--but the song's inclusion as a standard that can be adapted in many different ways underscored the very concept of Gezelligheid: conviviality, coziness, fun.

Bird & Hampton

Mary Lattimore

Opening for Bird was harpist Mary Lattimore, a musician who has demonstrated over the past several years that combining classical training with clear experimentation and a sense of humor can, too, result in something fun and beautiful. Lattimore, gifted her harp by Chicago-based factory Lyon & Healy, performed tracks from her dense back catalog, many of which had a story associated with them. She wrote Hundreds of Days' "On the Day You Saw the Dead Whale" after, yes, seeing a dead whale in a coastal California town where she was at a residency. "Wawa By The Ocean", included on her 2017 Collected Pieces compilation, was inspired by her holy routine of buying a hoagie from the Philadelphia-born convenience store/gas station chain and eating it on the Jersey Shore. (Upon finding out about the song, Wawa headquarters sent Lattimore a care package.) "Til a Mermaid Drags You Under" aims to reflect the duality of dark and light in the surf town where it was recorded with Slowdive guitarist Neal Halstead, for 2020's Silver Ladders. On Thursday, hearing the songs' contexts gave crowd members a starting point, either as a lens through which to take in the song or as a challenge to see if they could empty their heads and get lost in the pure sounds emanating from the stage. Lattimore, meanwhile, used synths and looping not to trick and lull you into layers, but to show you how she was manipulating the sounds in real-time, as tangible as her plucks and scratches of the harp. At one point, during Hundreds of Days standout "It Feels Like Floating", ambulances were outside driving down the street, sirens on, but the crowd was subsumed by Lattimore's playing. The harp didn't drown anything out by volume, but like Bird's violin would do later, it enraptured a group of people who had walked through the doors of the church to nestle in the safety of memory and imagination.

Lattimore

Lattimore

[skeeverboy]

the front bottoms are so beautiful to me. i could listen to their full discography in order and the growth of their music is fascinating, progression in lyrics and songwriting and instrumentation and comfort. their albums make a very clean timeline to me

ihmf-s/t all has a very similar vibe. it’s like they recorded it all in a basement (which they actually did, for a lot of them) and it almost feels personal. like you’re watching them practice their band.

toth has its own completely unique vibe for me, maybe because it was the first album i really listened through and fixated on, but the lyric writing gets a little less blunt, and the instrumentals get a little more melodic.

liberty and prosperity, joanie, and back on top start to feel much more produced. a lot more electric guitar feauturing, way more experimentation. for instance, the speaking in plastic flowers, GDP’s participation in this era. this was really a time for serious growth.

i know a lot of people hate going grey. i didn’t love it at first, but it feels like a pivotal moment in tfb history. it feels almost like a defined turn from their old style into their new one. it’s exploring new territory. it’s a segue between back on top era and sickness & in flames.

is&if i know is a lot of people’s favorite album. it’s really good. it’s way more produced, fun auto tune stuff previously not used in their music (which then also became a feature on yawyhow). it’s definitely decisively in the “pop punk” genre rather than kind of straying the line between folk punk and emo like their older stuff.

yawyhow is exactly where i’d expect them to end up. more produced, fun with auto tune, it’s like amped up is&if with a different lyrical vibe. i can’t wait for their next album, whenever that is, and see where they end up.

(i’m ignoring grandma eps and singles)

[risingshards]

Things I am not over from the movie (Venture Bros spoilers)

-That little moment of Doc being able to calculate how long they have in freefall, like he's actually really really smart he just is burdened with [gestures to his entire life prior]. I love any moment where he gets to actually be competent.

-"All you need to know is that the person who gave birth to you loves you. I promise they do." That is maybe the most beautiful line in the entire series I'm SOBBING. Bonus points that its true meaning is super science weirdness overflowing with love. That's the series in a nutshell.

-That potentially the last shot of the series is the Venture Bros' first "Go Team Venture"

-How hilarious it was that Monarch and 21's new outfits had the squeaky plastic/leather sounds, IIRC Jackson and Doc wanted that for something earlier in the show but couldn't get it

-The pee in a jar reference (I cannot believe this got in and I can't believe how sentimental it made me)

-Dermott stealing and hoarding Venture relics, I love that he joined OSI and basically ended up in the same spot

-My theories getting obliterated. I should've shared it beforehand but my big theory going in: In commentary for S3 they kind of go over an early version of Bobbi's history with Rusty and Jonas. My thought was that Bobbi St. Simone was not only the boys' mother with Rusty but also that she was Brock's mom who she had with Jonas, making him both the boys' brother and also Rusty's. It made perfect sense in my head but I'm glad I was wrong in hindsight lol. Force Majeure had a very similar face to Brock though so maybe that's his dad hmm...

-I kept waiting to see what the title meant, and with the cover I was expecting a giant baboon to show up that was somehow dormant under Ventech tower, but the actual title ended up making a lot of sense (and the gushing baboon blood mentioned in press releases ended up being Monarch's...)

-James Urbaniak posted a bit of the script that had me anxious about the movie for a long while, the last audio he recorded for the movie were screams for the electromagnetic scene, and he shared a bit of the script and covered most of it up so it just read like "HATRED screams and opens fire.....HELPER is COMPLETELY DESTROYED." So I kept imagining how it would go, assuming they were going up against some ruthless enemy not trying to destroy a bunch of Alexas in an electromagnetically charged room. I had a nightmare where weirdly enough the scene was happening in space which ended up being where the scene took place which is weird, but in the dream version Hatred like violently died and I was so devastated. I must care about the Venture crew a great deal because I've definitely had nightmares about characters dying before big eps/specials before, before Operation PROM I had a dream about Orpheus getting lit on fire that I still remember and shudder thinking about. Also seeing Helper safe (well their head at least) in the ending was a great anxiety douser cuz from the script I thought Helper got like disintigrated and the movie would have tons of characters dying in some Venture-pocalypse.

-Monarch is Rusty clone 22, making him and 21's friendship more numerically satisfying

-Going by that my assumption is approximately 20 Rusty Ventures bit the dust before our Rusty lasted, just like his boys.

-THAT POST CREDITS SCENE UGHHHHHHHH MY HEARRRRTTTTT

[dustedmagazine]

Listed: The Spatulas — Part 1

The Spatulas churn out uneasy jangle pop straight from the garage — or, more literally, the storage unit where the band met to play and beat back their pandemic frustrations. Their sound is built on blunt yet psychedelic melodies, chopping guitar, and rhythms that lurch then steady themselves. Assembled in various forms over the last several years, the Oregon-based quartet released March Chant, their first EP,in December of 2023. Alex Johnson found it “raw and charming…a full band record [that pairs] the relief at venting your anger and the goofy waywardness of distracting yourself with a joyful noise.”

Miranda's List: A bunch of songs that seem to make me me...

Mope Grooves — Look At The Time, 2018

Catchiest song ever. My friend Stevie made a bunch of wonderful music in her lifetime and was a beautiful person. Everything she put out on her label, See My Friends Records is great, and she included many of my fellow Oregonians on Mope Grooves albums. Our previous Spats drummer, Kyle closes out this song "Look At The Time" with that wave of nostalgic synth sound.

Pip Proud — De Dum De Dum, 1967

The original recording of this Pip Proud album is golden all the way through. I listened to this alone on a sheep farm in Oregon in the middle of rainy winter in 2021 and it influenced my writing a lot.

Nico — One More Chance, 1983

Nico at her most gothic rock. I love this echoey version — makes me wanna dance! The beat is great. Ambient synth sounds abound; her vocals incredible as ever... The origins of The Drama of Exile, her fifth album — so full of drug-addled dysfunction!

Pearls Before Swine — Playmate, 1967

One Nation Underground is one of my most listened-to records; the grooves are worn. I used to cover the opener song, “Another Time” pre-Spats, with my Partners, Buddies and Pals. “Playmate” is the upbeat, second song on the album, a cover of an old children’s song, which I think is perfect for me. “(Oh Dear) Miss Morse,” is another hit on side A, on side B it's “Uncle John” and “Surrealistic Waltz.”

Grace Slick & The Great Society — Often As I May, 1966

This song propels you along. It sounds so beautiful, like a traditional folk song, yet a Slick original. Great fun to sing along with this gal.

Lou Reed — Waves of Fear, 1981

Robert Quine’s guitar hits the spot, and with Lou’s voice and guitar, those lyrics — so hard!

Yoko Ono & Plastic Ono Band — Why, 1970

The most adventurous and exciting song ever. Yoko’s primal screaming, with John’s guitar wailing, and Klaus, and Ringo clipping along... WHYYYYYY????? A brilliant reminder to LET IT OUT.

The Bats — Made Up in Blue, 1986

Beloved. Great bass. The song that I think put this Flying Nun band on the map, leading up to another special full album, Daddy’s Highway from 1987, the year I was born. The accompanying music video is a treasure!

Broadcast — I Found The F, 2005

We’re so lucky to have the album Tender Buttons, and the band Broadcast. The album was made while singer Trish Keenan’s father was dying of cancer, six years before she herself died of pneumonia from swine flu. Knowing this makes it all the more eerily personal and sweet-sounding for me. Both my parents were dead by the time I was 32, so I’m familiar with making art as a response to grief.

Don Cherry and Organic Music Theater — Om Shanti Om, 1976

This is the full live performance at RAI Studios in Rome, Italy, for television broadcast. Listen to the ~47-minute album Om Shanti Om as much needed meditation. Imagine also all Moki Cherry’s tapestries in full color, as featured in the Blank Forms book I was so engrossed in last summer.