#R.e.m.

[jbrookspress]

R.E.M. in Rolling Stone, December 3, 1987. From left to right: Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Michael Stipe.

[ourladyofomega]

📸 source: Kill Rock Stars (FB)

[leilanihours]

🗝️ prompt 19 with paige?

# YOU'RE SUCH A DREAM TO ME

pairing: paige bueckers x drunk!reader

word count: 847

warnings: none !

prompt: "i dreamed of you"

⭑ from lani: i kinda hate this i'm not good at writing drunk ppl LMAO

celly masterlist !

main masterlist !

YOU DOUBLED OVER laughing as you were practically dragged into your apartment by your girlfriend, "you're so funny, paige, holy shit!"

"baby, all i said was 'take off your shoes,' how is that funny?" she asks with a smile.

instead of responding with words you simply continue to die of laughter while paige tries to get you to sit down on the couch.

you didn't know it, but you were absolutely wasted. you had a few too many drinks at ice's birthday celebration and were now experiencing the effects of the various strong liquors you had consumed.

paige offered to be the designated driver so that you could relax and have fun. the two of you had been in this situation a few times before - where you were so drunk that you couldn't walk in a straight line and paige was basically your caretaker.

she knew that this was only the first stage of your drunken state: undying laughter. you would laugh and giggle at every little thing - nothing but a smile on your flushed face.

paige had already set you down on the couch and taken off your shoes, and she was now filling up a glass of water for you to drink.

"paigeyyy," you call out to no particular location, "where'd you goooo?"

your girlfriend winces as your voice echoes loudly throughout your apartment, remembering that you had little to no volume awareness when you were drunk.

"i'm right here, ma, don't worry," she says gently as she hands you the glass of water, "can you drink some of this for me?"

"mhm," you mumble, taking long sips of the cold water you didn't even know you needed, "thanks, p."

"you don't gotta thank me, y/n, it's just water," she shrugs with a small smile.

"i know but you're just such a good girlfriend to me," you slur, eyes randomly beginning to feel heavy, "i feel so bad that you have to take care of me like this, m'sorry, paigey."

paige looks into your eyes and notices tears beginning to fill your waterline, concern immediately overcoming her.

"hey, hey, hey, it's okay, baby," she says gently as she begins to caress your face and hair, "please don't cry, y/n, i love taking care of you."

"no you don't," you shake your head dramatically, "i'm just a nuisance that's keeping you from going to sleep."

at this point, tears had slowly begun streaming down your face as the blonde wipes them away with her thumbs.

"please stop crying, baby, you're perfect, you're not keeping me from doing anything," she explains, her eyes bever leaving yours, "i'm doing this because i love you."

"you love me?" you sniffle.

"so much."

"aw thank you, paige, i love you too," you whisper in her ear as if it were a big secret.

when you don't lift your head from its place in paige's neck, she assumes that you've fallen asleep on her shoulder. she chuckles at how quickly your mood has changed within the past ten minutes.

"how 'bout we get you ready for bed, yeah?" she asks quietly, rubbing circles over your back.

"mmm," is all you say in response.

"c'mon, up we go," she says as she lifts the both of you from the couch, placing one of your arms around her shoulders.

she guides you into your shared bedroom and lays you down on your bed, smiling down at your state.

as if there were a written routine, paige goes into your bathroom and grabs your makeup wipes, then into your closet to grab you a pair of pajamas.

"can you sit up real quick, baby?" she asks softly, tugging on your arms.

once she has you in an upright position at the foot of the bed, she begins to strip you out of your outfit from the party and slips you into your some sweatpants and a hoodie.

as she gently wipes off the makeup on your face, a smile creeps onto your face despite your eyes still being closed.

"you're not real," you mumble inaudibly.

"what was that, ma?" paige asks, throwing away the dirty wipes.

"you're not real," you repeat.

"i'm not?" paige chuckles.

"nope."

"why is that?" she asks as she pulls you up to the head of the bed, tucking you in before changing into her own pajamas.

"because you're just so perfect, so sweet to me," you explain, "i swear i've dreamed of someone like you, no- i've dreamed of you. just you."

"you make it easy to be sweet to you," she whispers, placing a kiss to your temple as she gets into bed next to you.

you immediately shift your position so that your head was resting on the blonde's chest and your arm was draped over her stomach.

paige wraps an arm around you, holding you tighter to her with no intent of letting go.

"love you so much, paige," you whisper before ultimately falling into a deep sleep.

"love you so much more, y/n," paige says into your hair before also drifting to sleep.

— leilani signing off ! 📁

[frogshunnedshadows]

REM for America's libraries. American Library Association, Disney Adventures Magazine, 1993.

[the-90s-music-colosseum]

The 90s Song Ever - Quarterfinals 1

As usual, listen to both songs before voting, and define "better" any way you wish! (Although by now, you've probably heard all these songs many times over.)

[weezer-crow]

CD Collection!(Pretty.Odd. just came in today)

Thoughts? What other bands do you think I'd enjoy?

[punknightmares]

[motive]

ariana for vogue's 'beauty secrets' (2023)

[cosmonautroger]

Dwight Schrute, The Office

[whenmemorydies]

90s alternative rock, masculinity and The Bear

This post by @bbythurs got me thinking about The Bear's soundtrack, specifically its use of 90s alternative rock. Some thoughts below.

Chris Storer and I are very close in age, and going by the soundtrack choices for The Bear, grew up listening to very similar music. I came to grunge a few years after its heyday but when I did, I quickly became obsessed with these (mostly) white boys singing frankly about things like domestic violence, sexual assault, drug use, and mental health issues, and who seemed to revel in challenging traditional masculinity. Their hair was often long but usually not overly styled (or washed for that matter), they sometimes wore dresses, lipstick and eyeliner on stage (but were decidedly unglam about it), and they scribbled "PRO CHOICE" on their bare arms during prime time television performances (shout out to Eddie Vedder).

Kurt Cobain on the cover of The Face, September 1993.

Michael Stipe, who often played with gender in R.E.M.'s live shows, had also recently come out as queer (his words were, an "equal opportunity lech") during the promotional cycle for REM's Monster (the album featuring Sydcarmy's infamous "Strange Currencies"). Alternative rock in the 90s was full of folks who were challenging convention, including the necessity of traditional masculinity.

The irony is that so many of the people who listened to grunge were white guys who had no problem with traditional masculinity. These were the same guys who head-banged and dove in mosh pits to these songs but went home and beat on their partners, or perpetrated sexual assault while singing the lyrics to these songs. No one can control who consumes your art, even if some artists did try to (see Kurt Cobain's liner notes from Nirvana's Insecticide):

In contrast, it seems like Chris Storer (thankfully) got the correct memo.

Ever since watching the first episode of The Bear, it was clear to me that this show has plenty to say about masculinity: how its performed and weaponised (2x06 Fishes is a master class in depicting this on film), how its subverted (think: Emmanuel and Pete but also Marcus and Chester), how those who don't conform to traditional masculine archetypes - in even the most innocuous way, like being artistic - can be isolated and picked off, including by those who might love them the most (see: Carmy's treatment by many in his family), and how those who do perform traditional masculinity to a T, can still be decimated in its wake (see: alpha-male Mikey).

Hearing tracks like Pearl Jam's "Animal" and "Come Back", REM's "Strange Currencies" and "Oh My Heart", Radiohead's "Let Down", and Nine Inch Nail's "The Day The World Went Away" used in The Bear is incredibly nostalgic for those of us who grew up with these artists. Their inclusion in the soundtrack is also incredibly intentional (like everything to do with this show). This is the music that Mikey was likely listening to growing up and that Carmy would have heard his brother playing. This is also undoubtedly the music that Storer grew up listening to as well.

I love that in a show about a man who is coming into his own after years of toxicity and abuse - much of which was targeted at Carmy because of how he performed (or didn't perform) masculinity - that reference is being paid to this genre. And if it was the case that this was the music Mikey was listening to and, perhaps even playing for Carmy when they were kids, that Carmy would be able to go back and re-listen to these artists now and know, that despite Mikey's demons and his own relationship with masculinity, that his brother always loved Carm, just as he was.

Author's note:

Also if there is a temporary (because it has to be fucking temporary, you hear me lol) Sydcarmy break up/parting of ways, I'm gonna need Storer and Calo to soundtrack it with Pearl Jam's "Black" (the MTV Unplugged performance). I'll need Eddie Vedder growling/screaming "WE BELONG TOGETHER" over a close up of Carmy's distraught face as Syd walks away. I'm going to need to hear,

I know someday you'll have a beautiful life/I know you will be a star/In somebody else's sky/But why, why, why can't it be/Can't it be mine?,

over the end credits please.

[k-i-l-l-e-r-b-e-e-6-9]

R.E.M. - Losing My Religion

[feminist-dinosaur27]

literally sobbing because my mum is wishing on new the smiths, my dad is wishing on new R.E.M, my local alternative radio presenter is wishing on new Fiona Apple, im wishing on new mcr, and we all know it’s never happening

[rolloroberson]

R. E. M. - Man on the Moon

[myimaginaryradio]

Everybody Hurts - R.E.M.