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sirtommyholland · 4 years ago

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Van Life || Tom Holland x female!reader

Me: has like 5 unfinished works in drafts

Also me: lemme just write this brand new thing

A/N: DAD!TOM EVERYONE! This is inspired by a real life family! IG: MayaVanLife They are a Turkish family and they've now been on a world tour for a year to make their daughter’s dreams come true! The 3 van pictures above all belong to them. They have a youtube channel by the same name too!

Word Count: 1.5k

It all started with a 6 year old girl's dream.

When you and Tom met, 15 years ago, you immediately bonded over your shared love of travelling, and went all over the world together for years, even lived in different countries. When your daughter Siena was born, it was no shock to anyone that she inherited that love of yours. Obviously you were the ones that raised her that way- her first trip outside the country was when she was just 3 months old, to Netherlands. She loved going to new places, she loved falling asleep to the rumbling of your car, waking up in a different country. She was a dreamer. And her biggest dream yet came in a trip to Italy.

You were in a park, sitting on a picnic blanket together, enjoying the afternoon sun. Siena was quick to notice the camper vans parked around the place. Ever the social butterfly, she wanted to meet the people that lived in them. After seeing the vans-turned-homes and people travelling the world in them, she was quick to decide that “I want a van, too!”

For you and Tom, no dream was too unrealistic to accomplish. Your daughter was your everything, and your sole purpose in life was to make her happy. Of course you had long conversations about it, saying it wouldn’t be easy, explaining the difficulties like not having a bathroom and everything, but she was ready to accept all of it. Then it became the sole topic of your pillow talks with Tom. “Can we actually do it?” “Is it too crazy?” “What if we get stranded in a far away country?” “Her school?” “What if she gets sick?” “Can we live without a bathroom?” After lots of evaluations, and seeing this wasn’t a passing dream for her, you started researching. Because who were you to deny her this adventure when you were the ones who raised her that way? You bought a van- a bright orange one- and started the painful yet satisfying process of converting it into your new home. After getting lots of help from both of your friends, and his brothers, your home was ready to hit the road.

You started small, first travelling around the country to see how it would be, if you could do it or not. When it seemed that Siena was more than okay with living in this cramped space, you turned your route to Finland. It was Siena’s biggest dream to see the Aurora Borealis, and the look of awe on her face when she saw them for real for the first time, already made all of this worth it.

You went all over Europe, camping in different places for days, and Sienna loved every minute of it. She made friends everywhere she went, getting to know other travelers like you. She was home-schooled (van-schooled as she liked to call it) and loved studying on the mountains, or on the beach instead of her boring room back in your house. It was nearing a year on your world tour, and you couldn’t be happier.

------

You woke up with a small grunt, stretching your body as much as you could while being wrapped up in Tom’s arms. You yawned, and settled back into him as you opened your eyes, trying to get used to the brightness of the morning. You felt his arms tighten around you, a telltale sign that he was waking up as well. You smiled and turned around in his arms, facing him.

“Morning love,” he spoke against your hair, morning voice low and croaked.

“Morning,” you whispered against his chest, hands going around his back to hug him closer.

You laid there wrapped up in each other for a bit, enjoying the quiet morning and your daughters quiet breathing. Then you slowly sat up to rest your back against the wall, pulling him up with you. He leaned over the bed to wake Siena up, pressing kisses to her hair, making her groan.

“Let her sleep,” you laughed, as she rubbed her eyes, she was not a morning person at all. “Or she can sleep with me. Come here baby” you reached for her, she giggled as she sleepily climbed over to your bed, settling in your arms. You cuddled her to your chest, leaving big kisses on her hair.

“You can go now.” you said to Tom between kisses, settling back into the pillows with your daughter.

“Okay, thanks.” he laughed, getting up from the bed to wash his face and get changed. “I’m going for a run, then we can have breakfast when we get back?”

“Kay.” you smiled. He came over to give you a goodbye kiss, and Siena, and left with a slam of the sliding door.

You laid your daughter next to you, and started reading your book until Tom came back. Siena woke up again thirty minutes later, for good this time, smiling at you through half open eyes.

“Morning baby” you kiss her hair, marking your spot and closing the book.

“Morning mummy,” she practically laid on top of you, hugging you tightly.

“Wanna do some stretches with me?” you ask her, making her nod enthusiastically. She sat in front of you, crossing her legs like you, and you showed her some moves to do with you, going through your morning routine together.

After a while the door slid open and Tom’s head peaked in, looking to see what you’re up to.

“Tommy’s here!” you cheered with Siena, and he smiled as he saw you doing stretches.

“Here, let me open the back door for you,” he said, and walked over to the back of the van. As he opened the double doors in the back, the gorgeous view of green Montenegro mountains came into view, along with Tom, your personal favourite view.

“Hey.” you grinned, leaning in to steal a kiss.

“I want a kiss too!” Siena whined, leaning over to her dad.

“Oh, you’ll get more than a kiss!” Tom grabbed her from the bed before she could do anything, and threw her over his shoulder as he spun around making her shriek and kick her legs in joy.

You watched them with a smile, wondering how in the world your life was so perfect right now. Tom stopped spinning and brought her down to hold her normally. Siena thought he was going to put her down to the ground, and was quick to remind him that “Daddy, I don’t have shoes!”, pointing to her bare feet.

“Then you’ll have to hold tight, hm?” he kissed her shoulder, her arms and legs wrapping around him tightly.

“Okay, can you bring back my daughter so we can have breakfast, please?”

“Nope” he says, hugging her tighter as he swayed in place, “She’s mine now.”

“But I’m hungry!” she whined.

“Traitor” he pouted, but still walked around to the side door so to bring her inside.

As Tom made scrambled eggs and toast, you and Siena set up your folding table and chairs outside, taking advantage of the nice weather. You handed her the plates and glasses from the van and she carried them to the table. After a nice breakfast and cleaning up, you decided to pack up and hit the road, so you could arrive your destination earlier.

One of your favourite things about the van was that it had two passenger seats, so all three of you could sit in the front while you were driving. You drove for a few hours, playing your roadtrip playlist, then Tom took over after a quick lunch break. An hour after lunch, Siena was getting quite sleepy, so she went to the back to lay down, leaving you and Tom alone. You quickly scooted over to take Siena’s place, sitting close to him. He took your hand and raised it to his lips to leave a gentle kiss across your knuckles.

“We haven’t been alone for a while.”

“Yeah.” you sighed. “I miss sex.”

He snorted. While you loved living in your tiny home and travelling the world with your daughter, lack of a private space meant lack of a private time.

“It’s been a while since stayed at a motel. We can find one tonight?” he asked hopefully, biting his lip.

You leaned over the dashboard to plant a kiss on his cheek. “I’ll meet you there. I’ll be the one laying in bed naked.”

He laughed, the eye-crinkling one that you loved more than anything, and intertwined your fingers as he kept driving. You watched him, looking at the way his sunglasses were sitting on his nose, how the sun was painting his hair with gold, how his strong hand was gripping the steering wheel, and decided that your life couldn’t be better than it was right now.

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Ahh sorry for the lame ending😥 Please don't forget to comment/reblog/like if you enjoyed it, and check out @MayaVanLife on insta! Stay safe everyone!💕

MASTERLIST

#tom holland x reader #tom holland one shot #tom holland imagine #tom holland blurb #fluff #camper van #van life #dad!tom holland #tom holland daughter

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napoleonfrost · 5 years ago

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10 Random Questions

Rule: Answer 10 random Questions and tag 10 simmers!

I’ve been tagged by @igglemouse ❤️ Thank you for the tag!

1. If you could travel one place in the world where would you travel?

Right now I’m very happy to stay at my flat thank you very much. But when this is over in 2022, I would love to visit Portugal again. Had the most amazing time there but only visited Porto ❤️and Lissabon ❤️ so far.

2. What do you do in your free time away from sims?

Board games! I’m also stress-baking a lot recently. I can make incredibly fluffy cinnamon buns!

3. What other games do you play besides the sims?

Board games! Since it’s impossible to attend or organise board game nights at the moment, we play a lot via Skype, mostly party games like Wavelength, Just One or Werewords.

4. How tall are you?

Tall enough to reach most things in wall cupboards.

5. One random interest of yours?

Eurovision Song Contest

6. Current favorite bands or artists?

Currently in my playlist: Jóhann Jóhannson, Antônio Carlos Jobim, Sufjan Stevens, Dua Lipa, Anton Bruckner, Cocteau Twins, Tame Impala, a Stephen Sondheim musical, Scott Walker.... and frequent doses of Kate Bush to reduce anxieties

7. Something your looking forward to?

In August: The super deluxe box set of all remastered The Divine Comedy albums + everything Neil Hannon ever recorded. 24 CDs of pure joy! It’s my favourite band.

8. Current favorite films?

It’s good that “current” is mentioned. Recently I watched Troop Zero and liked it a lot. Favourite movie last year: The Lighthouse ❤️

9. Who is a historical icon who has left an impact on your life?

I don’t know if he’s an historical icon but a pop culture icon for sure: Tom of Finland!

10. Favorite series (book or movie series)?

What we loved on TV the last months: Feel Good, Tales From The Loop, Derry Girls, I Am Not Okay With This.

As always, everyone who didn’t do this already, you are tagged!

#personal #random questions #igglemouse

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unibrowzz · 4 years ago

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Finland.

Oh Hell yeah, I was hoping someone would ask for Finland! 👀

3) Saara Aalto- ‘Monsters’- 2018

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I was lowkey hoping this would win at some point LMAO

2) Marion Rung- ‘Tom tom tom’- 1973

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The one time I’ll go for an English version over the native language version tbh

1) CatCat- ‘Bye bye Baby’- 1994

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Kind of sounds like ‘Cicciolina’, doesn’t it?

Also I recently downloaded this onto my playlist LMAO what perfect timing

#Thank you!!#Eurovision #mod answers #finland #mod's favourites

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balkanballad · 5 years ago

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Eurovision 2020 ranking

welcome to another year and another ranking. the last few years I used to put the songs in different categories, but this year I did that (from top 💐 to flop 🥀) AND gave every song an actual number AND added a comment. wow, so brave, I know. it’s a bit long, but here we go:

💐:

Norway: it was love at first sight and listen with this song. I connect with it, I love the lyrics, the instruments, her, everything about the nf performances. this is my very strong number one this year and, btw, the studio version is so much weaker than the live version

Switzerland: this song makes me very emotional and I love it. his voice is so lovely and with this one I, again, enjoy and feel the lyrics. I am very curious to see what they will do on stage

Australia: I wouldn’t say that I am always a huge fan of the songs with more goofy vibes and staging, but this one is a fave. I wasn’t in a great mood when I listened to this the first time and I remember crying because it was just very fitting to my personal situation. so, me and this song have an emotional connection now. also, I enjoyed the contrast that the staging in the national final gave it. it’s just.. same to everything about this song and performance. it’s also my favourite entry from Australia so far

North Macedonia: my only ‘dance’ song in this favourite category. it makes me wanna dance but in a tango and dimmed red lights way. I would also say that it made me think a bit of Switzerland last year, but I like this better

Croatia: another favourite entry that won a national final! I didn’t have a terribly bad year with national final faves. I might even say that I had a good year. anyway, a Balkan ballad :) with nice lyrics :) a bit sad and great violins :) of course I am into this. I love it

Portugal: I had this saved as a favourite before I saw the live performances and I really like that it won the national final. it’s super sweet, pastel pink vibes and my cup of tea

Finland: sweet! this makes me tear up a bit and I see a pattern this year for my personal preference: songs that make me melancholic and cry a bit. although, no one should be surprised because nostalgia and melancholy seem to always be with me

Denmark: while I was making this ranking and listening to the songs over and over, I think this song moved up the most. this is very sweet. last year was too sweet for me and I think this one is better, but on the edge to crossing that line. however, I love that we have a duet. I’m a big fan of duets. is someone going to propose this year again? this song would be at least perfect for that occasion. or maybe a bit too pushing actually..

🌺:

(no. 9) Israel: maybe a tiny little bit too much going on in a 3-minute song and something about it reminded me a bit of JESC songs, but I love the rhythm and I think this performance will be fun

(no. 10) UK: it’s a good song. the breath! part makes it more interesting and I have this song in my car playlist, which means that I am not skipping it usually. however, I also came across the BBC recording and I am not very convinced that the staging and everything will be enough to secure it a high placing in the end

(no. 11) Romania: oh look, I once again connected to a song because I feel the lyrics. that is probably not the best sign with this song but oh well. I am not the biggest fan of the live version here and prefer the studio recording. maybe another bad sign or maybe it’s just the weird screaming in the back and low quality of the equipment etc.

(no. 12) The Netherlands: I don’t think that they are trying to win another time this year with this, but it’s a cute and sweet song and everyone will cheer anyway. I listened to one live recording and there he sounded amazing

🌻:

(no. 13) Armenia: maybe this would be a guilty pleasure, but it’s 2020 we are just enjoying songs. I think the staging for this song will decide how it goes because the song itself is definitely.. different and not for everyone. the studio version is a lot better than the live performance, the lyrics are a bit repulsive to me and I feel like this could slip in the category ‘cheap’, but the whole song also gives me a weird kind of self-confidence boost when I listen to it

(no. 14) Azerbaijan: okay, so the song title made me very excited. the lyrics are.. there. I don’t think I was looking for something relatable in this song, but they are just very random to me. funny enough, I think this will be competing with Armenia because of similar vibes and because a lot depends on the staging. however, I think that this might do better because it’s more esc mainstream and has a better flow, but then again, maybe don’t rely on me when I say such things

(no. 15) Greece: this sounds a bit like a JESC entry to me and I have mixed feelings about it. with this I am also not sure what the message is supposed to be, but I really like the instruments

(no. 16) Estonia: hm. I must admit that I like this song more than I want to, but I don’t love it. I like the dramatic touch, but it’s not relatable at all, which isn’t necessary a factor for a good song of course. I just like having my emotional support songs and this is not one of them

(no. 17) Poland: this and Albania are in the same semi and sound too similar, so my prediction is that only one of these two will go through. personally, I like Poland better, but even if none of them makes it, it won’t break my heart I think

(no. 18) Spain: this song feels a lot longer than 3 minutes and it might be because it’s repetitive, but I can listen to it still. just not too often

(no. 19) Lithuania: this is a fan fave, right? personally, I’m just.. not in love. I like the message, but I don’t feel the need to listen to it regularly

(no. 20) Iceland: it’s alright. it’s there. I can’t really think about things to say about this

(no. 21) Italy: a ballad. in Italian. ground-breaking. just kidding, I think the fact that it’s in Italian saves it a bit, but I don’t really listen to this. I don’t mind it playing in the background, but it’s also not in my car playlist

(no. 22) Ukraine: I feel like I should technically like this more than I do, but I don’t really listen to this, sorry

(no. 23) Belarus: just like with Ukraine: I think I should like this a lot more than I currently do. I also find this song a bit boring

🌼:

(no. 24) Georgia: not a fan of the screaming, but I see why it fits the song. I am not sure, though, whether this will be the year that they make it back to the final

(no. 25) Albania: did anyone ask for the English revamp? I don’t think so, but they did it anyway. it is too forgettable for my taste and reminds me of something that they sent already in the past few years, but now it’s in English, so even less original. it isn’t a bad ballad though

(no. 26) Ireland: I know what this song is trying to tell me, but it is trying very hard to make sure we all understand it. it also reminds me a bit of a song that they would play in a disney channel film and it annoys me a bit

(no. 27) France: I might not skip it always, but it’s very repetitive and I still stand with my association of the Netflix show YOU and this (sorry, Tom)

(no. 28) Austria: my friend said that this song sounds like it should be by Sweden and I think that she is right. I never really was into that kind of vibe though, so I am not the biggest fan

(no. 29) Germany: not terrible, but also kind of strange vibes. I don’t like the lyrics (I will tell my mama whatever I want). I also think that Germany took inspiration from Switzerland last year and who knows, maybe they will finally start playing their own songs on the German radio stations and stop playing Sweden’s 2016 entry

(no. 30) San Marino: San Marino is once again bringing the disco vibes, thanks. I can’t watch the video twice in a row because it makes me feel like I’m on a trip, but good for her! I should definitely also get a little more freaky myself sometimes

(no. 31) Sweden: I’m not a fan. I was a fan of other Melfest entries though.. anyway, this is not a bad song of course, but definitely a bit boring to me

(no. 32) Moldova: I don’t hate it, and some very few parts of the melody I even like, but this is my least favourite Kirkorov produced, or written or bought or pushed through or whatever he does, song

(no. 33) Bulgaria: if everyone should find a similar partner then Bulgaria could team up with Romania this year. I find Bulgaria to be a lot more boring though

(no. 34) Cyprus: keep on running and keep on running and keep on running.. etc. etc. etc. this is how I feel when I make myself jog once a year

(no. 35) Malta: sounds very familiar, but I haven’t figured out yet which generic pop song it reminds me of

(no. 36) Belgium: yet another year and I am sadly bored by Belgium’s entry yet again

🥀:

(no. 37) Czech Republic: to this song I imagine the scenario of a school mate, that you aren’t too close with, but he is friendly, so you listen to the songs he made himself and uploaded and then you assure him that it sounds cool and you will add it to your music collection, but then you don’t ever listen to it again. this never happened to me, but that’s the vibe somehow. it’s just not really my kind of song and it also misses a bit of a real concept and flow because, even after the revamp, to me it still sounds a bit unpolished

(no. 38) Serbia: nop. I am very much for wmn pwr but I don’t like this. I get very strong mean girls vibes from it and I don’t say this as a good thing because I would rather not get bullied. I despise the lyrics and overall, everything, but I see why one would call it a ‘bop’ perhaps

(no. 39) Russia: when they were announced I looked them up and already was skeptical. most of the time this simply isn’t my kind of genre, humour and taste, and I was right. it annoys me. I am sure, like with every song btw, there is an audience for this, but I am very far away from being that audience

(no. 40) Slovenia: I’m sorry, but I really don’t like her voice, which is not a good thing, obviously, when ranking songs. I also find the song quite boring and it is another example of songs that somehow feel longer than 3 mins

(no. 41) Latvia: this gives me a headache. I don’t understand the lyrics, the music makes me want to leave the room, it’s a no from me and my last place

#eurovision #from 1 to 10 how predictable am i? feel free to let me know

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nyaheum · 5 years ago

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Eurovision 2020 – The Least Useful List Ever

Disclaimer: I am absolutely biased towards certain styles of music and am probably the least impartial person ever. I also don‘t take anything seriously, so you shouldn‘t make that mistake with this list. I mean, Eurovision has been postponed anyway and we‘re all going mad in self-isolation.

France: Tom Leeb – Mon Alliée

MEEEH, it‘s a dude with a guitar singing a quiet love song. Super basic and also super boring. Would be better if there was no English in it, that makes it worse. 3 Points.

Czech Republic: Benny Cristo – Kemama

Czechia has a type. It‘s kinda fun, but it‘s not my style of music. This could be on the radio and I‘d be „Okay, I‘m driving anyway“. There‘s not enough happening for me here. 4 Points.

Armenia: Athena Manoukian – Chains On You

Someone saw Ukraine‘s entry from last year, huh. But I actually kinda like it. I actually like the aesthetic more than the song itself, but it‘s kinda good. Except for the super basic chorus. Wouldn‘t add to my playlist but I don‘t mind it. 5 Points.

Italy: Diodato - Fai Rumore

Hey, I‘m having a déjà vu. Another non-english love song. But this is better than the french one, simply because there‘s actually some emotion in this dudes voice. Also Italy just gets sympathy points from me at this point. 5 Points.

Russia: Little Big – Uno

I love this song so much. It‘s so much fun. It‘s so stupid and campy. In short: very Eurovision. It‘s also just very interesting instrumental-wise. At least I think it is. I really like it. (also their dancer in the blue jumpsuit doing splits and a death drop? Icon) 10/12 Points.

Denmark: Ben & Tan – YES

Why does this sound like Shallow to me? I think it‘s the guitar and the male and female voice. Anyway if it‘s Shallow it‘s bad Shallow. NO from me. I don‘t like the pacing. BUT if they had had a live performance at least it would‘ve been great for audience participation. 4 Points

Estonia: Uku Suviste – What Love Is

Oh. It‘s that kind of song, huh. Why does th music video like this. Why are there spider webs on the microphone. Why is there the word „LOVE“ in an empty industrial hall. Why does he do so many vocal runs. Just a big WHY from me. 2 Points.

Romania: ROXEN – Alcohol You

I know this was the fan favourite song, but I liked literally ALL OTHER songs she had more than this one. It does look really cool though. It‘s also very modern, but there‘s not enough build-up for me? Or rather, it sounds like it builds up to something and it doesn‘t really in the end? Like it builds up to something, but it doesn‘t go as hard as I would have liked it to? But that‘s just me. 6 Points.

Azerbaijan: Efendi – Cleopatra

Okay, this is my guilty pleasure song this year. The music video is super weird (the dancers all look like they do not want to be there, she‘s suddenly dancing around a car in an outfit from 2009 and she‘s raking around in a baththub full of gold dust?), the text is super basic BUT holy shit I just love the pre-chorus and the chorus. I mean. What‘s going on there?...Whatever it is, I like it. 7 Points.

Albania: Arilena Ara – Fall From The Sky

She reminds me of Poppy, of all people. But her voice is deeper. Her song is also more basic. I really have nothing to say about thsi, except that it sounds like a song from last years ESC but I don‘t know which one right now. 2 Points.

Greece: Stefania – SUPERG!RL

If we have learned anything from S!ISTERS last year, then it is that you shouldn‘t replace I‘s with exclamation marks. Also why is she singing about her being super strong and stuff and then she uses her powers to...make two bullies probably break their noses?...and why did the nerd draw her (so weirdly)? What is this music video… 2 Points

Portugal: Elisa – Medo De Sentir

Conan was robbed last year and therefore I cannot like whatever Portugal does this year. Conveniently, I also don‘t like this song. I swear, there‘s slow and quiet songs I like, it‘s just not...this kind. 3 Points

Moldova: Natalia Gordienko - Prison

This year‘s music videos are so obscure, but at least this isn‘t the slow-mo-romance from last year. That being said...I do not like her face being so close to the camera. The song is surprisingly decent though. In an Eurovision context, duh. 4 Points

Malta: Destiny – All Of My Love

Two things: Destiny‘s voice is absolutely stunning. I love listening to her sing. She really knows what she‘s doing. And: although I had to skip the narration at the beginning (it made me uncomfortable??) it‘s a great song. It‘s fun. They‘re also all covering their mouths and noses. Truly ahead of their time. 7 Points.

Serbia: Hurricane – Hasta La Vista

My immediate reaction to that opening shot was: „Oh, hatred will win again huh?“. That‘s pretty much all they had in common with Iceland though. Something is wrong about this Instrumental. I don‘t know what it is, but it sounds off-beat for some reason? It‘s super weird to listen to, I don‘t know. It‘s also, eh, basic? 3 Points

Poland: Alicja – Empires

I knew an Alicia in school and I hated her with all I had. I wouldn‘t say I dislike this song that much, but I also don‘t...really like it? I‘m always sceptical about songs that have very ambigious lyrics and then show some political stuff in the music video because I just KNOW that they do that so they can collect their Internet points while not risking to lose the points of older people who only watch the Contest on TV and will never see the music video. Apart from that, I just don‘t care for the song, honestly. 4 Points

San Marino: Senhit – Freaky! So, in the years where San Marino doesn‘t send Serhat, can we borrow him? I mean, he works in Germany anyway and speaks German, so it shouldn‘t be a problem, right? About the song: yeah, why not. Sounds a bit like they tried to do a little bit of Lizzo here, and I don‘t mind it. The people who did the music video also saw Ukraines entry from last year. The scene where they‘re all touching each other is basically the same. 5 Points

North Macedonia: Vasil – YOU

ME?! Why is he in the „She Got Me“-Bar by the way? And why is there a passed out guy in the background?! Is that girl wearing a Scrunchy? This whole video is She Got Me. Only worse. IT‘S EVEN THE SAME LOCATION?? 2 Points

Iceland: Daði og Gagnamagnið – Think About Things

I haven‘t seen one person on the Internet who dislikes this song and I...for once...am part of the hype. I love this song, I love these people, it‘s so stupid and that‘s why it‘s amazing. Iceland just gets Eurovision recently. It‘s also a total bop, all other things apart. I‘m humming it at least once a day, it‘s becoming a problem. Daði ALSO lives in Germany, so I think we can claim this song at least a bit? 12 Points

Finland: Aksel – Looking Back

In German, your „Axel“ is your arm pit. I just though you should know that. And I‘m only writing that because this song makes me feel nothing. It just faded right out as soon as I looked at my computer screen. It was gone immediately. 3 Points

Sweden: The Mamas – Move

Good voices. This sounds a lot like their song from last year for some reason. I mean. It even has the same lights or am I going mad?? It‘s totally fine though. 5 Points

Cyprus: Sandro – Running

This will sound weird, but...he looks like a german teenager. I can‘t explain it, he just DOES. Yes, the weird moustache totally included. With me talking about this, you can probably guess that I do not care about this song eiter. Bleh. 4 Points.

Slovenia: Ana Soklic – Voda

We wanna pRääääy – I know she (probably) isn‘t singing that but I can‘t hear anything else. The way she looks at the camera also weirdly bothers me, but that might just be because I can‘t really do eye contact. By the way, the chorus totally sounds like Paper from Iceland 2017. To me. I can‘t explain myself. 5 Points

Bulgaria: Victoria – Tears Getting Sober

Ouh...that title. She‘s going for a Billie Eilish-vibe, isn‘t she. She so is. And I wouldn‘t mind usually, but this is...very obvious. Like, VERY. I also don‘t care a lot for Billie Eilish‘s music, so, you know… 3 Points

Ireland: Lesley Roy – Story Of My Life

„Hey, Lesley, we‘re selling you to One Direction so we can go to the Eurovision Finale.“ What do you mean, it‘s not that Story Of My Life? Hmpfh. She also does not look like she should have that voice. She looks a bit like a middle-aged lesbian, if I dare say so. Why are there so many songs this year that I do not care about? AAAAH. 4 Points

Austria: Vincent Bueno – Alive

Damn, I want a Kinder Bueno now. His voice caught me a little bit off guard, I won‘t lie. And I know he‘s Austrian, but he looks like he‘s a classmate of the guy from Cyprus. Both weirdly german teenager-esque. The song is fine. Still not my genre. She can dance though, so I like him. 5 Points

Israel: Eden Alene – Feker Libi

What I conclude from this song: Israel is not yet ready to win again. I mean, the song is totally fine, but...it‘s not anything special? It just blends right in with the song from before. And I wanted to give bonus points for native language, but just the chorus doesn‘t count. Nuh-uh. 4 Points

The Netherlands: Jeangu Macrooy – Glow

Ah, the Dutch, known for weed and speaking funny German. One thing I genuinely don‘t get: if you are the hosting country, why send ballads or sad songs? I mean, the chances of you winning are so slim, you might as well send a song that‘s entertaining for the home crowd. Maybe in your native language, maybe with a catchy and fun chorus or a repeatable dance move...(may I mention Germany‘s opening act when they hosted the contest in 2011 and the way Stefan Raab completely transformed the song to have it be more fun and entertaining? Not the same thing, but I just think it needs attention). The song isn‘t bad, though. 4 Points

Switzerland: Gjon‘s Tears – Répondez-moi

Oh look, the Swiss remembered they know French. I swear, if they send a German song before us and all of Europe and Australia has to listen to Swiss-German I will throw something. Anyway. It‘s better than the Song sent by France. I like the „Ah-aaah“-parts a lot actually. Honestly, I quite like this song in general. The longer I listen to it, the more I like it. Oh no. 7 Points

Latvia: Samanta Tina – Still Breathing

Why do I feel like I heard this song already? Like, in this list. At least she has a very subtle hat. She won‘t stand out a lot. That reminds me, I don‘t understand art. I have also reached the chorus now and have to say that it still sounds a little bit like Azerbaijan but it‘s actually pretty cool. I don‘t know why, but there‘s just something about it. 7 Points

Georgia: Tornike Kipiani – Take Me As I Am

Okay, don‘t add me, but I really like this song. No jokes here. I just really love the way Georgia keeps sending super angry dudes to Eurovision and nobody cares about it. Although he sounds a lot less scary than Oto, which, in my book, gives him some minus points. Still. I like this. This Song also has more German in it than the German Song. Just pointing that out. 8 Points

Germany: Ben Dolic – Violent Thing

When I first heard this song, I absolutely despised it. I think it‘s just my natural reaction to Germany‘s songs nowaday. Anyway, everyone keeps saying that Germany finally has a good song again like it‘s been ages and ages. But, let‘s be real: 2019 was really bad, yeah, but 2018 was super good, I love 2015‘s Black Smoke to this day and we won in 2010, which, for a contests that only occurs every year and has more than 40 contestans, is not bad at all. What I want to say with that: yes, it‘s actually good, but it‘s not our first good song in decades. 7 Points / Not allowed to vote for it

Belarus: VAL – Da Vidna

This is the first video that YouTube gave me an ad for and I‘m not here for it. I know I‘m supposed to judge the song, but I also have to ask: what does she have on her head? That is a serious question. What is that. She also looks like my cousin a little bit, which is neither good nor bad for her. I‘d like to give her native language points, but two things bother me: a) what is she doing with those dudes and b) I don‘t like this song. 2 Points

Lithuania: The Roop – On Fire

(The Roop! The Roop! The Roop is on fire!) I love this. And what I mean by „this“ is the full package. The song is fine by itself (yes, I like weird songs) but his whole demeanor is just so obsucre...I love it. He manages to look like an extremely serious person while doing the silliest moves ever. He also just looks SO Eastern-European, it‘s ridiculous. 10 Points

Croatia: Damir Kedzo - Divlji Vjetre

He does not look like he should sing this kind of song. He looks like a German amateur rapper. Yes I know, it‘s not my fault that a lot of people look German. I don‘t like this song! I‘m sorry! 2 Points

United Kingdom: James Newman – My Last Breath

There‘s a fire-, no wait, wrong guitar intro. This dude looks like what my brother would looks like if he could grew a proper beard and was a few years older. I don‘t know what you are supposed to do with this information, but at least you have it now. For an UK song, this is absolutely decent. 4 Points

Ukraine: Go_A – Solovey

Yesss, ethnic stuff! I love this song, it‘s absolutely great. And her dress is absolutely stunning. I can‘t even think of anything funny to say about this song, it just totally takes me in. 10 Points

Spain: Blas Cantó – Universo

Can we have La Venda back please? And what is he doing with his hands? And why does he look like he does YouTube? So many questions, so little answers in this music video...(no, seriously, I KNOW this dude from somewhere.) 3 Points

Belgium: Hooverphonic – Release

Yah, Release me from this song please. I‘m getting sick of these songs!! Why is everyone whining, the world is bad enough already!! I‘m using two exclamation marks at once so it‘s serious!! And she says losing game, which is a direct nod to Arcade which led the Netherlands to the win. It‘s song science. Or for short: love love peace peace and all that. 2 Points

Norway: Ulrikke – Attention

Whenever I read the word „Attention“, all I can think about is Todrick Hall. Which is a problem, because this isn‘t…a party song. By the way, why is she squinting so hard? She looks like she‘s in physical pain. And not the „I‘m so sad“-way, but the „I really need to go to the toilet please“-way. I‘m running out of things to say so I have to resort to potty humour. Sorry. 2 Points.

Australia: Montaigne – Don‘t Break Me

I know we have all seen the outfit already, but why does she look like that. She also looks so lost on stage? I feel bad for her, but not because of the lyrics but because of the look on her face. Oh, and about the song: meh? 4 Points

FINAL TOP TEN:

One Point: Azerbaijan

Two Points: Malta

Three Points: Germany (I can‘t really vote for them but who cares there‘s no contest)

Four Points: Latvia

Five Points: Switzerland

Six Points: Georgia

Seven Points: Lithuania

Eight Points: Ukraine

Ten Points: Russia

Twelve Points: Iceland

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rt8815 · 5 years ago

Note

I'm curious. What is McKinley's go to playlist of songs? Ones that she loves to play or ones that she goes to get pumped up before a gig? Has she introduced Spencer to new music? Peace.

When McKinley's playing for herself, she sticks to slow songs because they're calming, which is actually what she needs right before a show. Performing on stage is adrenaline-inducing enough on its own.

Personally, McKinley's not really one to build playlists, but she does have certain artists/songs she gravitates to depending on her mood.

She's more of a "fixate on an album or a song for a long time" sort of person. And she has favorites that she cycles back around to.

Spencer and McKinley meet in the middle, music-wise.

Nas was one of the artists that connected their musical tastes. She was familiar with his father, Olu Dara Jones, a blues musician from Mississippi. She only knew about Nas because the father-son duo recorded the song "Bridging The Gap" together.

Spencer, of course, knew of Nas because of Morgan.

While McKinley respects rap and hip hop, they're simply not her cup of tea and there are very few songs she likes. She studies the influence of blues and jazz on rap and hip hop though.

Spencer's warming up to the blues and rock and roll.

McKinley took him on this journey from country and the Mississippi Delta blues, to Chicago blues and R&B, to British R&B bands like The Rolling Stones who were influenced by not only black blues musicians (Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, John Lee Hooker), but also country artists like Hank Williams, Sr. And everything Hank learned about singing and playing guitar he learned from Rufus "Tee Tot" Payne...a black blues/gospel/country musician.

It's all connected, man.

When McKinley learned that Spencer's a Metallica fan, she made a leap and introduced him to Scandinavian alt metal and alt/prog rock, starting with Apocalyptica.

Apocalyptica is a symphonic metal band from Finland. Metallica is one of the bands whose songs they've covered.

It's classical meets metal. And Spencer is living for it 😄 (Naturally, this was after his birthday in 2018, when McKinley played an electrified rendition of Für Elise for him. After sobering up the following morning, she plunked him down in front of YouTube and had him watch Apocalyptica videos until he finally admitted she was right. Classical composers - especially Beethoven - would've been metalheads 😆 )

Finally, you can never ever go wrong with some Tom Petty.

Thanks for the ask ☺️

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still-single · 5 years ago

Text

HEATHEN DISCO new shows (inc. the 200th episode) <-- LISTEN

Two weeks worth of Heathen Disco!

New music in these by Sleep D, FACS, Headroom, Huevos II, En Attendant Ana, Jeff Parker, Karenn, Oso el Roto, Stefan Christensen, Baron Saturday, Lewsberg, Xetas, Mosses, Donovan Quinn, Bill Fay, The Ivytree, Slump, Clamm, Aoife Nessa Frances, and Sarah Mary Chadwick.

Plenty of old music as well.

Links and playlists after the jump.

Heathen Disco Episode 200 (02/02/2020) <-- click to listen

Karenn - Peel Me Easy

Severed Heads - Petrol

MaC Sample - House Inspector MSX Version

Heaven 17 - Let Me Go!

Jeff Parker - Fusion Swirl

The Method Actors - M.R.K.S.

Liars - All in All, a Careful Party

Oso el Roto - Mitad Desnudo

Stefan Christensen - Commute

Baron Saturday - Fog Sculpture

Ulla - Smile

Dag - Staying Up @ Night

England's Glory - The Guest

Brother J.T. - Sunshine Loser

Lewsberg - From Never to Once

Simple Minds - Premonition

Calibro 35 - Tom Down

Xetas - The Mariner

Mosses - Another Plan

Donovan Quinn - Haunted Suburban Train

Bill Fay - Love Will Remain (full band version)

The Ivytree - Tide Pool Reflections

The Victor Dimisch Band - Native Waiter

Oval - Improg

Richard Youngs & Raül Refree - Another Language

Grifters - Just Passing Out

Slump - Trip Sitter

Monster Magnet - Nod Scene

The Partisans - Don't Blame Us

The Cravats - Triplex Zone

Clamm - Beseech Me

Eric Random - Subliminal Seduction

Ei Mori - Vettetem Violat

A Guy Called Gerald - Voodoo Ray

Gavilan Rayna Russom - Discipline of Presence

Aoife Nessa Frances - Land of No Junction

Sarah Mary Chadwick - If I Squint

Horace Tapscott and the Pan-Afrikan Peoples Arkestra - Noissessprahs

Heathen Disco Episode 199 (01/26/2020) <-- click to listen

Change - Searching

Sleep D - Red Rock

Trio Balkana - La La La

John Foxx - Touch and Go

Oval - Robussy

FACS - Teenage Hive

Negative Gears - Bless

Thule - Disko Beach

Sonic Youth - Brother James

Jim Shepard - That One Thing

The Dead C - Sky

Ritchie Venus - Listen, World

The Liminanas - Maria's Theme

Dadamah - Radio Brain

Headroom - Over Easy

Groundhogs - Fantasy Partner

Marian Henderson - Stranger Song

Huevos II - My Time Is Gone

En Attendant Ana - From a Bruise to an Island

Ulla - Something I Can't Show

Jeff Parker - Max Brown

Dzyan - Time Machine

OOIOO - Tisou

Monster Movie - Sleeping on a Train

The Real Kids - All Kindsa Girls

Lives of Angels - Look Out Kid

The Sisterhood - Finland Red, Egypt White

Experimental Products - Love Changes

Moodymann - I Think of Saturday

Silkworm - Pilot

Neil Young and Crazy Horse - She Showed Me Love

Brinsley Schwarz - Niki Hoeky

Honeybus - I Can't Say It But I Can Sing It

The Coolies - Saba

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brookston · 2 years ago

Text

Holidays 10.3

Holidays

Brenda Lee Day (Lithonia, Georgia)

California Clean Air Day

Francisco Morazan Day (Honduras)

Fullmetal Alchemist Day

German Unity Day

Leiden Day (Netherlands)

Look at the Leaves Day

Mean Girls Day

Mickey Mouse Club Day

Morazán Day (Soldier’s Day; Honduras)

National Boyfriend Day

National Butterfly and Hummingbird Day

National Education Day (Kiribati)

National Family TV Show Day

National Techies Day

National Virus Appreciation Day

National Wide Awakes Day

Oktoberfest ends (Munich, Germany; began Sep. 17)

Oschophoria (Ancient Greece)

Relief of Leiden Day (Netherlands)

Stevie Ray Vaughan Day (Texas)

Universal Children's Day (UN)

Virus Appreciation Day

World Temperance Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Dionysus’ Day

Global Smoothie Day

National Caramel Custard Day

National Soft Taco Day

1st Monday in October

Blue Shirt Day [1st Monday]

Child Health Day [1st Monday]

Day of Unity [1st Monday]

National Consignment Day [1st Monday]

Peat-Cutting Day (Falkland Islands) [1st Monday]

Supreme Court Opening Day (US) [1st Monday]

World Architecture Day [1st Monday]

World Habitat Day (UN) [1st Monday]

Independence Days

Iraq (from UK, 1932)

National Foundation Day (a.k.a. Gaecheonjeol or Kae Chun Jul; Korea)

Feast Days

Abd-al-Masih (Christian; Saint)

Adalgott (Christian; Saint)

Dionysius the Areopagite (Christian; Saint)

Eccentricity Appreciation Day (Pastafarian)

Ewald the Black and Ewald the Fair (a.k.a. The Two Ewalds; Christian; Saint)

Feast of Free Spirits

Festival of Bacchus

Francis Borgia (Christian; Saint)

George Bell and John Raleigh Mott (Episcopal Church)

Gerard of Brogne (Christian; Saint)

Gluck (Positivist; Saint)

Gomer Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Hesychius of Sinai (Christian; Saint)

Maximian of Bagai (Christian; Saint)

Penny Pig (Muppetism)

Szilárd Bogdánffy (Christian; Blessed)

Th��odore Guérin (Christian; Saint)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Butsumetsu (仏滅 Japan) [Unlucky all day.]

Dismal Day (Unlucky or Evil Day; Medieval Europe; 19 of 24)

Egyptian Day (Unlucky Day; Middle Ages Europe) [19 of 24]

Fatal Day (Pagan) [19 of 24]

Fortunate Day (Pagan) [40 of 53]

Premieres

Black Lagoon (Anime Series; 2006)

Boston Legal (TV Series; 2004)

Dark Angel (TV Series; 2000)

Death Note (Anime Series; 2006)

Extraordinary Machine, by Fiona Apple (Album; 2005)

Friday Night Lights (TV Series; 2006)

Genesis, by Genesis (Album; 1983)

Gone Girl (Film; 2014)

The Maltese Falcon (Film; 1941)

The Mickey Mouse Club (TV Series; 1955)

Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist (Film; 2008)

One-Trick Pony (Film; 1980)

Out of the Blue, by Electric Light Orchestra (Album; 1977)

Painted Rhythm, recorded by Stan Kenton (Song; 1945)

Pushing Daisies (TV Series; 2007)

Real Gone, by Tom Waits (Album; 2004)

The Secret Commonwealth, by Philip Pullman (Novel; 2019) [The Book of Dust Trilogy #2]

School of Rock (Film; 2003)

She’s Not There, by The Zombies (Song; 1966)

The Stand, by Stephen King (Novel; 1979)

Star Wars Rebels (Animated TV Series; 2014)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Animated TV Series; 2008)

Timeless (TV Series; 2016)

Underworld, by Don De Lillo (Novel; 1997)

Yeoman of the Guard, by Gilbert & Sullivan (Comic Opera; 1888)

Zenyatta Mondatta, by the Police (Album; 1980)

Today’s Name Days

Ewald, Udo (Austria)

Dionizije, Kandida, Svjetlana (Croatia)

Bohumil (Czech Republic)

Mette (Denmark)

Eevald, Eevo, Evald, Evert (Estonia)

Raimo (Finland)

Gérard, Sybille (France)

Bianca, Ewald, Paulina, Udo (Germany)

Dionysis (Greece)

Helga (Hungary)

Gerardo (Italy)

Elza, Gudruna, Ilizana (Latvia)

Alanta, Evaldas, Kristina, Milgintas (Lithuania)

Evald, Evelyn (Norway)

Eustachiusz, Eustachy, Ewald, Gerard, Gerarda, Gerhard, Heliodor, Józefa, Kandyd, Sierosław, Teresa (Poland)

Stela (Slovakia)

Francisco, Gerardo (Spain)

Evald, Osvald (Sweden)

Dennis, Denise (Ukraine)

Erskine, Esmond, India, Kali, Kallie, Kelvin (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 276 of 2022; 89 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 1 of week 40 of 2022

Celtic Tree Calendar: Gort (Ivy) [Day 3 of 28]

Chinese: Month 9 (Júyuè), Day 8 (Ji-Chou)

Chinese Year of the: Tiger (until January 22, 2023)

Hebrew: 8 Tishri 5783

Islamic: 7 Rabi I 1444

J Cal: 6 Shù; Fiveday [6 of 30]

Julian: 20 September 2022

Moon: 50%: 1st Quarter

Positivist: 24 Shakespeare (10th Month) [Gluck]

Runic Half Month: Gyfu (Gift) [Day 8 of 15]

Season: Autumn (Day 11 of 90)

Zodiac: Libra (Day 9 of 30)

#calendar #Holidays

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brookstonalmanac · 2 years ago

Text

Holidays 10.3

Holidays

Brenda Lee Day (Lithonia, Georgia)

California Clean Air Day

Francisco Morazan Day (Honduras)

Fullmetal Alchemist Day

German Unity Day

Leiden Day (Netherlands)

Look at the Leaves Day

Mean Girls Day

Mickey Mouse Club Day

Morazán Day (Soldier’s Day; Honduras)

National Boyfriend Day

National Butterfly and Hummingbird Day

National Education Day (Kiribati)

National Family TV Show Day

National Techies Day

National Virus Appreciation Day

National Wide Awakes Day

Oktoberfest ends (Munich, Germany; began Sep. 17)

Oschophoria (Ancient Greece)

Relief of Leiden Day (Netherlands)

Stevie Ray Vaughan Day (Texas)

Universal Children's Day (UN)

Virus Appreciation Day

World Temperance Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Dionysus’ Day

Global Smoothie Day

National Caramel Custard Day

National Soft Taco Day

1st Monday in October

Blue Shirt Day [1st Monday]

Child Health Day [1st Monday]

Day of Unity [1st Monday]

National Consignment Day [1st Monday]

Peat-Cutting Day (Falkland Islands) [1st Monday]

Supreme Court Opening Day (US) [1st Monday]

World Architecture Day [1st Monday]

World Habitat Day (UN) [1st Monday]

Independence Days

Iraq (from UK, 1932)

National Foundation Day (a.k.a. Gaecheonjeol or Kae Chun Jul; Korea)

Feast Days

Abd-al-Masih (Christian; Saint)

Adalgott (Christian; Saint)

Dionysius the Areopagite (Christian; Saint)

Eccentricity Appreciation Day (Pastafarian)

Ewald the Black and Ewald the Fair (a.k.a. The Two Ewalds; Christian; Saint)

Feast of Free Spirits

Festival of Bacchus

Francis Borgia (Christian; Saint)

George Bell and John Raleigh Mott (Episcopal Church)

Gerard of Brogne (Christian; Saint)

Gluck (Positivist; Saint)

Gomer Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Hesychius of Sinai (Christian; Saint)

Maximian of Bagai (Christian; Saint)

Penny Pig (Muppetism)

Szilárd Bogdánffy (Christian; Blessed)

Théodore Guérin (Christian; Saint)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Butsumetsu (仏滅 Japan) [Unlucky all day.]

Dismal Day (Unlucky or Evil Day; Medieval Europe; 19 of 24)

Egyptian Day (Unlucky Day; Middle Ages Europe) [19 of 24]

Fatal Day (Pagan) [19 of 24]

Fortunate Day (Pagan) [40 of 53]

Premieres

Black Lagoon (Anime Series; 2006)

Boston Legal (TV Series; 2004)

Dark Angel (TV Series; 2000)

Death Note (Anime Series; 2006)

Extraordinary Machine, by Fiona Apple (Album; 2005)

Friday Night Lights (TV Series; 2006)

Genesis, by Genesis (Album; 1983)

Gone Girl (Film; 2014)

The Maltese Falcon (Film; 1941)

The Mickey Mouse Club (TV Series; 1955)

Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist (Film; 2008)

One-Trick Pony (Film; 1980)

Out of the Blue, by Electric Light Orchestra (Album; 1977)

Painted Rhythm, recorded by Stan Kenton (Song; 1945)

Pushing Daisies (TV Series; 2007)

Real Gone, by Tom Waits (Album; 2004)

The Secret Commonwealth, by Philip Pullman (Novel; 2019) [The Book of Dust Trilogy #2]

School of Rock (Film; 2003)

She’s Not There, by The Zombies (Song; 1966)

The Stand, by Stephen King (Novel; 1979)

Star Wars Rebels (Animated TV Series; 2014)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Animated TV Series; 2008)

Timeless (TV Series; 2016)

Underworld, by Don De Lillo (Novel; 1997)

Yeoman of the Guard, by Gilbert & Sullivan (Comic Opera; 1888)

Zenyatta Mondatta, by the Police (Album; 1980)

Today’s Name Days

Ewald, Udo (Austria)

Dionizije, Kandida, Svjetlana (Croatia)

Bohumil (Czech Republic)

Mette (Denmark)

Eevald, Eevo, Evald, Evert (Estonia)

Raimo (Finland)

Gérard, Sybille (France)

Bianca, Ewald, Paulina, Udo (Germany)

Dionysis (Greece)

Helga (Hungary)

Gerardo (Italy)

Elza, Gudruna, Ilizana (Latvia)

Alanta, Evaldas, Kristina, Milgintas (Lithuania)

Evald, Evelyn (Norway)

Eustachiusz, Eustachy, Ewald, Gerard, Gerarda, Gerhard, Heliodor, Józefa, Kandyd, Sierosław, Teresa (Poland)

Stela (Slovakia)

Francisco, Gerardo (Spain)

Evald, Osvald (Sweden)

Dennis, Denise (Ukraine)

Erskine, Esmond, India, Kali, Kallie, Kelvin (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 276 of 2022; 89 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 1 of week 40 of 2022

Celtic Tree Calendar: Gort (Ivy) [Day 3 of 28]

Chinese: Month 9 (Júyuè), Day 8 (Ji-Chou)

Chinese Year of the: Tiger (until January 22, 2023)

Hebrew: 8 Tishri 5783

Islamic: 7 Rabi I 1444

J Cal: 6 Shù; Fiveday [6 of 30]

Julian: 20 September 2022

Moon: 50%: 1st Quarter

Positivist: 24 Shakespeare (10th Month) [Gluck]

Runic Half Month: Gyfu (Gift) [Day 8 of 15]

Season: Autumn (Day 11 of 90)

Zodiac: Libra (Day 9 of 30)

#Holidays

0 notes

media-analysis-blog · 3 years ago

Text

Some Facts about Italo Disco (Multi Media Project by A. Person)

(This is the single cover for Tarzan Boy by the Italo Disco Project Baltimora, one of the most well-known Italo-Disco songs in the United States that hit the top 20 on the Billboard at number 13 upon release and considered a “gateway” to other Italo Disco songs.)

Did you think that Disco Demolition Night led by the Chicagoan shock jockey Steven Dahl destroyed Disco Music forever? Do not worry, it didn’t.

Despite their best efforts, Disco Demolition Night only made Disco evolve into different forms and still manage to be popular, one of those forms is the European born and bred Italo-Disco.

Italo Disco came about due to Italian and European DJs to continue to supply the European fanbase with more Disco music. This is because despite some rocky waters in America thanks in part of the Disco Demolition Night, Disco was still very much popular and in demand in Europe. So the Italian/European DJ’s continued to make their own Disco Music and in came Italo Disco.

Italo Disco during its run in Europe was largely a singles-driven market, meaning they were mostly focused on making hit songs rather than making albums. This is partly why many Italo Disco artist may only release one, two, or three songs and not make an album to go with them. One such example is an Italo Disco/Singer Clio who only ever released three songs, Faces, Eyes, and Feel the Fear.

This isn’t to say that Italo-Disco artists never released albums, actually, plenty of them did, but one should be surprised to see Italo-Disco artist only release singles if you were to check Discogs.

Italo Disco was a huge success across Europe with such hits such as “Tarzan Boy” by Baltimora which entered the top 5 of many European Countries such as Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden and Germany. And there is also the song “Call Me” by Spagna that also was a monster success across Europe hitting the top five in countries like the United Kingdom, France, Italy (naturally), Norway, and Finland.

Italo Disco even gained some popularity in countries of the former Eastern Block, Russia included, and even had some successes in Asia.

Italo Disco was typically sung in English, oftentimes by non-native speakers but other times by native English speakers who were living in Italy (where naturally a good chunk of Italo Disco was produced). Other times, Italo-Disco was sung in other languages such as Spanish or even Italian.

Italo Disco did have a certain practice with some acts. It wasn’t too uncommon in Italo Disco to employ singers to sing the songs and have somebody more photogenic or at least fit the image they were going for to be the “Face” (think Milli Vanilli).

Such examples include the aforementioned Baltimora. Jimmy McShane (pictured above) actually did not sing lead on any of the songs, their most well-known song “Tarzan Boy” included.

Another example is the well-known Italo-Disco project known as Den Harrow. Tom Hooker, who himself has contributed plenty to the Italo Disco Genre, provided the vocals for most of Den Harrows tracks, but the Italian Model Stefano Zandri was chosen to be “the face”. Both Zandri and Hooker would later have a dispute.

And these two examples aren’t the only ones either, Valerie Dore (her most well-known song being “the Night”) also was known to employ a “face” to lip-sync over somebody else’s vocals, however, in this case, Dore’s “face” (Monica Stucchi) actually did sing with her own voice on a couple of tracks “Get Closer” and “It’s So Easy”.

Italo Disco is one of those musical genres that are gaining a resurgence of popularity with music listeners across the world. This hasn’t gone unnoticed, plenty of Italo Disco tracks are being remastered and re-released and put on compilations or they’re being remastered and re-released with the original albums they came with.

Spotify, as of this writing, in response to this growing interest in Italo Disco has made an Official Curated Playlist that’ll provide newcomers to the genre a taste of what this genre has to offer.

Italo Disco as a genre and a topic is so interesting to learn about and this blog has only scratched the surface of it all. It is highly encouraged for you all to go check out this genre and listen to some tracks and even find out some cool facts.

And also, be sure to listen to my Audiocast about Italo Disco!

And be sure to check out my video showcasing some cool Italo Disco songs!

#schoolblog

0 notes

kroakus · 6 years ago

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Tag game & mini playlist

Tagged by @sielustaja thank you!!

Tagging - @y0in @tippakidutus @tilttu @mielitietty @littlemousebrennan @quasiimodos @kukinta and whoever is reading this!! >:3c

How tall are you?

157cm / 5′2

What colour are your eyes?

Dark blue

Do you wear contacts and/or glasses?

I wear glasses but I don’t use contacts

Do you wear braces?

Nah, never had ‘em

What is your fashion style?

A weird combination of like goth, punk, 90s and 80s fashion and whatever uhhhh i just wear whatever i want really !!

When were you born?

October 30

How old are you?

Do you have any siblings?

Two younger brothers and an older sister

What school/college do you go to?

South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences (or XAMK in short)

What kind of student are you?

I’m pretty hard working once i get my procrastination under control, i always do my homework and i think i study pretty hard tho i’m pretty average when it comes to grades

What are your favourite subjects?

Pretty much everything that has to do with graphic design and art since that’s what i’m there to study lol i also like languages and english classes are always fun!!

What are your favourite movies?

Hhhh too many to list lol kinda also changes with my mood

What are your favourite pastimes?

Cleaning, taking care of plants, going to the gym, listening to music, watching youtube, jogging,.. to name a few i guess

Do you have any regrets?

Not any major ones, really. I try no to regret stuff cause it’s kinda useless anyway. Stuff happens and then you deal with it i guess

What is your dream job?

Art teacher / a mysterious witch who lives in a cave in a forest who doesn’t have to pay taxes who casts curses on unsuspecting passerbys

Would you like to get married?

Eh, dunno. if i meet someone who wants to marry me, then sure

Do you want kids? How many?

I’d probably adopt one or two older kids if the time ever comes. No babies for me thankss

How many countries have you visited?

What was your scariest dream?

I see nightmares every single night lol but uhhh probably the scariest one in a while was a dream where i kept neglecting taking care of this random cat because i didn’t have enough money for food and there was nothing i could do and it was in pain and hungry and it hated me so yeah,,, that actually left me traumatised for a week and a half lol

Do you have a boyfriend/girlfriend/significant other?

Single as heck yep yep very ready to hold hands with a cute girl at any time

Put your playlist on shuffle and without skipping list the first 15 songs:

Sata vuotta - Herra Ylppö & Ihmiset

Le Freak - CHIC

Sankaritar - Tiktak

L’amour toujours - Dzeko & Torres, Delaney Jane

5 fina frokner - Gabrielle

I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor

Poker Face - Lady Gaga

Life is a Highway - Tom Cochrane

Älä koskaan ikinä - Egotrippi

Suffla - Samir & Viktor

I Want It That Way - Backstreet boys

Tuulipuut - Lasten Hautausmaa

Pumped Up Kicks - Foster the People

Lama lama lama - Maj Karma

Etsit Muijaa Seuraavaa - Gimmel

#ask #don't have to do this if you don't want to!!

3 notes · View notes

cardest · 4 years ago

Text

Finland playlist

Suomi. Finland. Where heavy metal regularly tops the music charts. Where so many great bands have come from. This is the ultimate Finnish playlist I put together. Watch the northern lights and listen to these songs. Kiitos!

Listen to the songs right here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-iHPcxymC1_R5vU2Xr3hw0EexfGovAdl

FINLAND PLAYLIST

001 Cult of Luna - Finland 002 Amorphis - Thousand Lakes 003 Sentenced - Konevitsan Kirkonkellot 004 Sentenced - Bleed 005 Haloo Helsinki! - Haloo Helsinki! 006 Korpiklaani - Tapporauta 007 Jussi Lehtisalo - Journalismin ehdoilla 008 ENSIFERUM - Pohjola 009 Pekka Airaksinen - Maitreya 010 Children Of Bodom - Sixpounder 011 Skepticism - The Departure 012 Ievan Polkka Loituma 013 Finntroll - När Jättar Marschera 014 Joku toi radion - Islaja 015 Oranssi Pazuzu - Vino Verso 016 Kivimetsän Druidi - Jäässä Varttunut 017 Hanoi Rocks - Boulevard of Broken Dreams 018 Rippikoulu - Kuolematon Totuus 019 Unholy - Into Cold Light 020 Foreseen - Market Target 021 The Riven - Finnish Woods 022 Aavikko - Kabar: Eye of the Leopard 023 Amorphis - Black Embrace 024 Nightwish - Weak Fantasy 025 The Wandering - Ther serpent co 026 Apocalyptica - Quutamo 027 Jess and the Ancient Ones - Astral Sabbat 028 Tom Waits - Helsinki Mood (Night on Earth OST) 029 Reverend Bizarre - Kundalini Arisen 030 Vesperith - Sarastaja 031 Hexvessel - Invocation Summoning 032 Pää Kii - Just Niin Kuin Elvis 033 Brian Eno - Seven Deadly Finns 034 Moonsorrow - Unohduksen Lapsi 035 Hooded Menace - In Eerie Deliverance 036 TURISAS - Stand Up And Fight 037 Stratovarius - Eternal Dream 038 Abyssion - PysAohdyn Kuuntelemaan Hiljaisuutta 039 Korpiklaani - Päät Pois Tai Hirteen 040 The Man-Eating Tree - The Heretic Pulse 041 Soilwork - ] Helsinki 042 Barren Earth - Vintage Warlords 043 Helrunar - Loka Logsaga 044 Aurora - Täydelliset 045 Humavoid - Coma Horizon 046 Amberian Dawn - Kokko - Eagle of Fire 047 Rämlord - Hell is here and now 048 Nightwish - Planet Hell 049 Children Of Bodom - Chokehold (Cocked N Loaded) 050 AMORPHIS - Folk of the north 051 VUUR - Your Glorious Light Will Shine - Helsinki 052 Elakelaiset - Humppasonni 053 Huora - Maailmanloppu 054 Yö - Joutsenlaulu 055 FINNTROLL - Häxbrygd 056 Lyijykomppania - Kyisen Pellon Kyntäjät 057 Mokoma - Haudan takaa 058 Apocalyptica - Life Burns 059 Moonsorrow - Taistelu Pohjolasta (2008 Version) 060 Rytmihäiriö - Miten Saatoinkaan Vain Tappaa Miehen 061 Wintersun - Land Of Snow And Sorrow 062 Amorphis - Better Unborn 063 Battlelore - Third Immortal 064 INSOMNIUM - While We Sleep 065 Stone - Real Delusion 066 Korpiklaani - Tuli Kokko 067 Hexvessel - Woods To Conjure 068 Sentenced - Routasydän 069 The 69 Eyes - Tonight 070 Kalmah - Seventh Swamphony 071 Swallow The Sun - Psychopath's Lair 072 Krypts - Sinking Transient Waters 073 ROTTEN SOUND - Salvation 074 Pelle Miljoona - Moottoritie on kuuma 075 Demilich - When the Sun Drank the Weight of Water 076 Hurriganes - I Will Stay (Original) 077 Norther - Mirror of Madness 078 Leevi and the Leavings - Pohjoiskarjala 079 Lapinlahden linnut - Tyttö huutaa hii! 080 Sonata Arctica - Wolf & Raven 081 Amorphis - Day Of Your Beliefs 082 Juliet Jonesin Sydän - Rakkauslaulu sanat 083 Karelian Folk Music Ensemble Tui Tui Tuomen Kukka - Karelian 084 Pillitä - Elli 085 Thergotheon - Everlasting 086 Teräsbetoni - Orjatar 087 Beherit - Pagan Moon 088 Sentenced - Ever-Frost 089 Ghost Brigade - In The Woods 090 The Man-Eating Tree - Plaguewielder 091 Kotiteollisuus - Tuulten pyyhkimää 092 Kemialliset Ystävät - Marsin Kanaalit 093 DIABLO - Icaros 094 Ajattara - Antakaa Elää 095 Terveet Kädet - Musta Jumala 096 Hanna Ruuskanen - Klapu 097 Korpiklaani - Synkkä 098 Colosseum - Numquam 099 Turmion Kätilöt- U.S.C.H! 100 Amorphis - Northern Lights 101 Sielun Veljet - Peltirumpu 102 Stone - The Day of Death 103 Ánne Máddji Heatta - dawn light 104 ORANSSI PAZUZU - Uusi teknokratia 105 Apocalyptica - Angry Birds Theme Finns on Ice 106 Miljoonasade - Marraskuu 107 Noumena - Misanthropolis 108 Viikate - Mantelinmakuinen 109 Ensiferum - Guardians of Fate 110 Rippikoulu - Musta seremonia 111 BATTLE BEAST - Lost in Wars (feat. Tomi Joutsen 112 Tasavallan Presidentti - [Tasavallan Presidentti] Struggling For Freedom 113 Amorphis - My Enemy 114 Sentenced - Vengeance Is Mine 115 Apulanta - Pahempi toistaan 116 Thyrane - Black Harmony 117 STAM1NA - Valtiaan uudet vaateet 118 OMNIUM GATHERUM - Gods Go First 119 A.R.G. - Aggressive Confessor 120 Moonsorrow - Suden tunti 121 Liekki - Aave 122 Before the Dawn - Deadsong 123 Kauko Röyhkä & Narttu - Paska Kaupunki 124 Belzebubs - Blackened Call 125 Pauliina Lerche - Kaalina timojaa 126 Sargeist - Unbound 127 Sick Thoughts - Headache 128 Seremonia: - Pahuuden 129 Krypts - The Reek of Loss 130 LORDI - Hug You Hardcore 131 Öxxö Xööx - Ländäë 132 Alvarado, Koivistoinen, Tuomarila - Uno 133 Nightwish - Yours Is An Empty Hope 134 Don Huonot - Seireeni (Single Mix) 135 Poisonblack - Me, Myself & I 136 Impaled Nazarene - Never forgive 137 Peer Gnt - Backseat 138 Omnium Gatherum - into sea 139 HORNA - Ikuiseen Mustaan Uneen 140 VARGRAV - In Streams from Great Mysteries 141 Cult Of Luna - Osterbotten 142 Kyy - womb of Lilith 143 CADAVERIC INCUBATOR - Coffin Defiler 144 Tuomari Nurmio & Alamaailman Vasarat - Arabian kuu 145 Kohti Tuhoa - [Ihmisen Kasvot] Viha 146 Architecture in Helsinki - Heart it Races 147 Legenda - Bloodred Sunset 148 Kalmah - the evil kin 149 Mors Principium Est - The Oppressed Will Rise 150 The man - eating tree - King of July 151 BEFORE THE DAWN - Deathstar 152 Ensiferum - Twilight Tavern 153 LÄHIÖBOTOX - MÄ VANNON 154 Beastmilk - The Wind Blows Through Their Skulls 155 ÆVANGELIST - Æon Death Knell 156 Babylon Whores - Babylon Astronaut 157 As Divine Grace - Perpetual 158 Unholy - Petrified Spirits 159 Hexvessel - Hunters Prayer 160 Amorphis - Amongst Stars 161 Barathum - Bride Of Lucifer 162 CRIMSON SUN - The Beast Within 163 Purtenance - Waiting to Be Free 164 Cadaveric Incubator - Gravestench Asphyxiation 165 Septic Flesh - Arctic Circle 166 Solothus - The watcher 167 Barren Earth - The Rains Begin 168 The Wandering Midget - The Serpent Coven 169 Wintersun - Awaken from the Dark Slumber (Spring) 170 INSOMNIUM - Valediction 171 Oranssi Pazuzu - TyhjÄ Temppeli 172 Ghastly - Death by Meditation 173 Unholy - gray below 174 Uhrit - Kuilu 175 Beherit - Nocturnal Evil 176 HIM - all lips go blue 177 Impaled Nazarene - Sadogoat 178 Ensiferum - Blood Is The Price Of Glory 179 Seremonia - Ovi 180 Tarja - Never Enough 200 This Empty Flow - snow blind 222 Skepticism - Pouring 666 Sentenced - End Of The Road

Are there songs I forgot to add in this list? Let me know.

Listen to the songs here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-iHPcxymC1_R5vU2Xr3hw0EexfGovAdl

#finland #finland playlist #finnish metal #amorphis #songs from finland #helsinki #this empty flow #skepticism #cob #children of bodom #kamlah #ensiferum

0 notes

gaymusicchart · 4 years ago

Video

youtube

Gay Music Chart - 2020 week 29

Welcome to the Gay Music Chart, the LGBTQA related music videos TOP 50 actuality and most request.

Vote for your favourite LGBTQA related music videos by leaving a comment for this post on :

YOUTUBE (in the comment section of the video of the week) : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz7yfp-xq-b08tD6mAWwclA

BLOGGER : http://gaymusicchart.blogspot.fr

FACEBOOK : https://www.facebook.com/GayMusicChart/

TWITTER : https://twitter.com/GayMusicChart with #GayMusicChart

TUMBLR : http://gaymusicchart.tumblr.com

Watch all the music videos presented in our weekly playlist : https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuIOHxXXNws2s3yjKtG2sa38e7yk4xqEs

OUT : Todrick Hall - "Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels"

OUT : טליסמאן (Talisman) & הראל סקעת (Harel Skaat) - "רוצה לחזור" ("Rotze lahzor")

OUT : Mabel Matiz - "Comme un animal"

OUT : Manila Luzon featuring Latrice Royale - "ROBBED"

OUT : SNG - "Corner Store"

OUT : Elias - "Neon Lights"

OUT : ไบร์ท วชิรวิชญ์ (Bright Wachirawit) - "คั่นกู" ("khạ̀n kū")

OUT : Smallpools & morgxn - "Slowdown"

OUT : Nguyễn Trần Trung Quân x Triple D - "Canh Ba" ("Tự Tâm" 2)

OUT : АНГЕЛ (ANGEL) - "Давай замутим" (Davai Zamutim)

OUT : The Chain Gang of 1974 feat. TWINKIDS - "Bends"

01 (=) : Yuma X - "Secret Lover"

LW: 01 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 01 (x2)

Australia - April 2020

The music videos shows a secret relation between two men who have both a girlfriend.

02 (+ 16) : Ben Platt - "Rain"

LW: 18 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 02

USA - September 2019 - from the album "Sing To Me Instead" (Deluxe)

03 (+ 4) : PJ Brennan - "Bones"

LW: 07 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 03

USA - September 2019

04 (=) : Melanie C - "Who I Am"

LW: 04 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 04

UK - March 2020

The ex-Spice Girls member make a queer come back with several songs and music videos with LGBT themes. This one is about self-esteem.

05 (=) : Javiera Mena - "Corazón Astral"

LW: 05 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 05

Chile - June 2020

06 (- 3) : Макс Барских (Max Barskih) - "Лей, не жалей" (Ley, ne zhaley)

LW: 03 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 03

Ukraine - February 2020

07 (+ 1) : Eurovision Song-Along (Official) - Iconic Contestants Join The Party

LW: 08 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 07

USA / international - June 2020 - from the Netflix movie "Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga" OST

08 (+ 6) : Scott Free - "The Last Revolution"

LW: 14 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 08

USA - June 2020 - from the album "The Last Revolution"

09 (- 7) : Christopher Sorensen - "Way. Way. Back"

LW: 02 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 02

USA - November 2019

A sweet music video about two childhood friends at three different moments of their lives, who faced the opposition of the father of one of them when he discovered they were lovers.

10 (+ 33) : Netta - "Cuckoo"

LW: 43 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 10

Israel - June 2020

11 (+ 11) : Hoshi - "Amour censure"

LW: 22 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 11

France - December 2019 - from the album "Sommeil levant"

A song for tolerance and gay love, and a music video against "La manif pour tous", a collective against LGBT rights in France.

12 (NEW) : Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande - "Rain On Me"

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 12

USA – May 2020 – from the album "Chromatica"

13 (+ 2) : Will Young - "All The Songs"

LW: 15 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 12

UK - March 2019 - from the album "Lexicon"

The British singer dares to strip naked in this music video.

14 (+ 7) : LP - "Shaken"

LW: 21 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 14

USA - June 2019 - from the album "Heart to Mouth"

15 (- 4) : Сергей Лазарев (Sergey Lazarev) - "Я не боюсь" ("Ya ne boyus")

LW: 11 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 11

Russia - November 2019 - from the EP "Я не боюсь"

With this song called "I'm not afraid", Sergey Lazarev shows subtly that you don't have to be afraid to love who you want.

16 (- 6) : Kim Petras - "Icy"

LW: 10 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 10

Germany - October 2019 - from the album "Clarity"

17 (+ 27) : Greyson Chance - "Dancing Next To Me"

LW: 44 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 17

USA - February 2020

18 (NEW) : CRIMER - "Eyes Off Me"

LW: - / WO: 01 / PEAK: 18

Switzerland - July 2020

19 (+ 1) : Bright Light Bright Light - "I Used To Be Cool"

LW: 20 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 19

USA - June 2020 - from the album "Fun City"

20 (+ 10) : Jessie Ware - "Spotlight"

LW: 30 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 20

UK - February 2020

21 (NEW) : Guy Sebastian - "Standing With You"

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 21

Australia - June 2020

22 (- 10) : MIKA - "Sanremo"

LW: 12 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 08

UK / Lebanon - October 2019 - from the album "My Name Is Michael Holbrook"

The music video shows the difficulties to be gay in Italy in the 50's, with a married man cruising in the streets and clandestin bars while avoiding police patrols.

23 (- 14) : Pierre Lapointe - "Le monarque des Indes"

LW: 09 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 06

Canada - November 2019 - from the album "Pour déjouer l'ennui"

24 (+ 5) : Stefan Alexander - "Skeleton"

LW: 29 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 24

USA - September 2019 - from the EP "Thunderclap"

25 (+ 10) : Beverly -「尊い」(tōtoi)

LW: 35 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 25

Japan - November 2019 - from the album「INFINITY」

26 (- 20) : Sam Smith - "How Do You Sleep?"

LW: 06 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 05

UK - July 2019

27 (- 10) : Romy, Tanishk Bagchi & Yo Yo Honey Singh - "Pyaar Tenu Karda Gabru"

LW: 17 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 14

India - January 2020 - from the OST "Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan"

This song is taken from the first Bollywood gay movie "Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan" which tells the story of a gay couple who must face the opposition of the father of one of them.

28 (+ 3) : Esteman - "Hasta Que Tú Me Quieras"

LW: 33 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 28

Colombia - March 2020

29 (- 5) : Lu Xue-Rui (盧學叡) - "Who I Am" /《我是誰》

LW: 24 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 07

Taiwan - October 2019

This music video shows the struggles to assume your sexual orientation.

30 (NEW) : Marshmello & Halsey - "Be Kind"

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 30

USA - June 2020

31 (NEW) : Vini Uehara - "4NTENA"

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 31

Brazil - June 2020

32 (- 7) : Yanni Burton - "A Part Of Me"

LW: 25 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 25

Australia - July 2020

33 (+ 7) : Wils - "Open up Babe"

LW: 40 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 33

Singapore / USA - April 2019

34 (+ 11) : Kim Petras - "Malibu"

LW: 45 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 34

Germany - May 2020

35 (NEW) : Danna Paola - "TQ Y YA"

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 35

Mexico - June 2020

36 (- 2) : Apolo - "Otro Nivel"

LW: 34 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 34

Spain - June 2020

37 (- 11) : Kyan Palmer - "Quarantini"

LW: 26 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 26

USA - April 2020

38 (+ 9) : Azis - "Who Cares"

LW: 47 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 38

Bulgaria - February 2020

39 (NEW) : Doug Locke - "Why?" (Lyric Video)

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 39

USA - July 2020 - from the EP “Why? (Lunar II)”

40 (- 12) : Lesley Roy - "Story Of My Life"

LW: 28 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 28

Ireland - March 2020 - from the compilation "Eurovision Song Contest 2020"

41 (- 22) : The Irrepressibles feat. Jon Campbell - "Let Go (Everybody Move Your Body Listen to Your Heart)"

LW: 19 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 19

UK - March 2020

42 (- 6) : Goldnation feat. Sir Ari Gold - "Soundtrack to Freedom"

LW: 36 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 24

USA - June 2019 - from the album "Soundtrack to Freedom"

43 (- 27) : Thibaut Pez - "Que tu meures"

LW: 16 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 16

France - June 2019 - from the EP "Garçon formidable"

44 (- 31) : Hatari feat. Bashar Murad - "Klefi" / "Samed" (صامد)

LW: 13 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 13

Iceland / Palestine - May 2019 - from the album "Neyslutrans"

45 (NEW) : Tom Goss - "Regretting"

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 45

USA - June 2020 - from the album "Territories"

46 (- 14) : Benjamin Scheuer - "I Am Samantha"

LW: 32 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 10

USA - March 2020

This is a powerful transgender anthem.

47 (- 14) : Nguyễn Trần Trung Quân - "Tự Tâm"

LW: 23 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 01 (x1)

Vietnam - October 2019

In this first part of probable trilogy, a king falls in love of a man found in a lotus lake. Don't miss this awesome music video, with several twists.

48 (NEW) : Duncan Laurence - "Someone Else" (Lyric Video)

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 48

The Netherlands - May 2020

49 (NEW) : Debris - "UNI"

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 49

USA - July 2020

50 (NEW) : Monét X Change - "March"

LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 50

USA - June 2020

ALSO NEW THIS WEEK

Troye Sivan - "Easy"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Australia - July 2020 - from the EP "In A Dream"

Bilal Hassani - "Fais le vide"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

France - July 2020

鍾明軒 (Mitchell) - 『當我說真話的時候我感到自由 I feel free when I’m saying the truth』

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Taiwan - May 2020

For his first song, the 20 years old Taiwanese YouTuber releases a LGBTQ+ self-esteem song.

Tuure Boelius - "Hengitä"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Finland - May 2020

Holland (홀랜드) - "Loved You Better"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

South Korea - December 2019

Pol Granch - "Chocolatito"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Spain - June 2020

Declan McKenna - "The Key to Life on Earth"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

UK - April 2020 - from the album "Zeros"

alextbh - "The Chase"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Malaysia - July 2020 - from the EP "The Chase"

Pantherist (แพนเตอร์) – "กี่เหตุผลที่ทำให้รัก" (How Many Reasons to Make Love)

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Thailand - February 2020 - from the OST "WHY R U The Series"

Agoney - "Más"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Spain - June 2020

Isaac Dunbar - "Makeup drawer"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - April 2020 - from the EP "Isaac's insects"

Nuri Harun Ateş - "Ay"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Turkey - June 2020

Static (סטטיק) and Ben El Tavori (בן אל תבורי) & Nasrin Kadri (נסרין קדרי) - "חביב אלבי " ("Habib Albi")

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Israel - June 2020

This is the official song for Tel Aviv Pride 2020.

Val - "Da Vidna"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Belarus - March 2020 – Taken from the album "Eurovision Song Contest 2020"

Betty BBQ feat. PARTYTIER - "Zick Zack Zwiebel"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Germany - November 2019

청하 (CHUNG HA) - "Stay Tonight"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

South Korea - April 2020

GFRIEND (여자친구) - "Apple"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

South Korea - July 2020

Myylo - "Kissing on Your Dad"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - July 2020

A fun song about a man who tells to a kid he's dating his father.

Armstrong feat. Sur Ellz - "Truth Machine"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - May 2020

#1 on Weekly Top 40 LGBT Urban Chart (2020 week 28).

Davis Mallory - "Greatest Work of Art"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - May 2020

#1 on The Gay 100 Chart (2020 week 28).

Jason Mraz - "Look For The Good"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - April 2020 - from the album "Look For The Good"

#1 on Tad's LGBT Top 50 (2020 week 28).

The Shapeshifters Featuring Billy Porter - 'Finally Ready'

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

UK / USA - June 2020

#1 on Gaydio Dance Chart (5th July 2020).

KEiiNO - "I Wanna Dance With Somebody"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Norway - June 2020

This Whitney Houston's cover is the official song for Global Pride 2020 in Oslo.

#1 on LGBTQ Music Chart (2020 week 29).

annsofi me - "Beauticool"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Norway - June 2020

This is the official theme song for Oslo Pride 2020.

JUHA - "Lucifer in Love"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - May 2020 - from the album "The Borders of the Mind"

Neptune - "Tropical Storm"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Chile - April 2019

Wrabel with Kesha - "Since I Was Young"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - July 2020

VINCINT - "Save Myself "

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - July 2020

Anne-Marie feat. Doja Cat - "To Be Young"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

UK / USA - July 2020

Shamir - "I Wonder"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - July 2020

Patrick Starrr - "Go Off"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - July 2020

✨ spot TV 2020 Disneyland Paris - La magie n'existe pas sans vous (version française)

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

France - June 2020

While Disney parks in the world are reopening after several months of closure due to the Covid-19 health crisis, Disneyland Paris has produced a TV commercial featuring the song "Un jour mon prince viendra" / "Someday My prince Will Come" from the classic Disney movie "Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs", but sung by a man for Pride Month.

✨ spot TV 2020 Disneyland Paris - La magie n'existe pas sans vous (english version)

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

France - June 2020

Thomas Sanders feat. Jon Cozart - "A Gay Disney Prince"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

USA - August 2019

Both Youtubers dreams about a gay Disney Prince, which finally be a first LGBTQ+ model for LGBTQ+ children.

Mike Zubi / Mark Scarnander - "Part of Your World"

LW: - / WO: - / PEAK: -

Argentina / Brazil - April 2020

A gay version of the famous song from classic Disney movie "The Little Mermaid", sung by Mike Zubi and illustrated by Mark Scarnander.

See you next week !

#GayMusicChart #gay #LGBT #lesbian #transgender #bisexual #music

0 notes

cadpadawan · 5 years ago

Text

31-Day Music Challenge

The social media is now flooded with all kinds of funny challenges, as people are stuck at home with nothing much to do. I guess online gaming, or getting shitfaced, becomes increasingly boring, when all kinds of tiresome responsibilites, like work, do not present any restrictions and limitations anymore. In a way, Facebook has started to resonate the air of those naive first few years, when your newsfeed was basically just one continuous stream of challenge that and challenge this.

Well, why the hell not?

What else is there to do, in order to pass the time with your mental health intact?

So, here I am...just another bored individual to join this endless crusade to make life worth living again, to make my personal life great again. Thus, I jumped on the wagon, and took on this fancy 31-day music challenge, that has been circulating in Facebook (for years, I think).

Although, I didn't find it challenging enough to just type the daily keyword in the Spotify search box and post the result in my Facebook wall. Because: more is more.

(Go ask Yngwie Malmsteen, if you don't believe me...)

The challenge for day #1 was to pick a song with a colour in the title.

I could immediately come up with a bunch of songs, only to realize that the vast majority of the song titles were themed around two basic colours: black and blue. I guess songwriters are a lazy bunch, when it comes to colours. It's pretty obvious, why lyricist everywhere find these two colours exceptionally appealing and resort to the abundant use of them, neglecting all the wonderful possibilites posed by the other colours of the spectrum. Of course black and blue, in terms of emotion and imagination, are much stronger than, say, yellow and orange. So, instead of just settling with the first few titles that came to mind, I wondered if I could come up with one song for each colour I can think of. I mean: a song that bears some personal meaning to me. In practice, this challenge basically meant that I would have to think hard while rummaging through the main three Spotify playlists that I have compiled with something like +16k or +17k songtitles, with the addition of my personal collection of some +2600 cd's – at least the rarities section for songs that are not available in Spotify.

Let's see if I have the stamina to go through my cd-racks, though. I had the forethought to organize my cd's in alphabetical order, by the name of the artist, years ago. For some weird reason, my beloved spouse has not yet agreed to the idea of re-furnishing our apartment with the central theme being those precious compact discs. That's why the cd-racks are placed in somewhat random and impractical fashion: most of them are located in the living room, with a few sections located in our bedroom. I guess, it's a good thing I had disposed of my vintage Rhodes-electric piano by the time when we started dating 20 years ago. I'm pretty sure she would have opposed strongly to the idea of having the instrument as a kitchen table, with the giant lid down. My Rhodes-piano was the so-called suitcase model, with a keyboard of 73 keys. When I moved out from my parents' house in the mid-90's, I decorated my one-room-apartment in the ethos of Japanese minimalism, due to the fact that I spent most of my income on records and alcohol. That Rhodes-piano served as a kitchen table, when I wasn't actually playing with it. Because: why the hell not?

Ok, then. The first colour...it shall be black.

Oh, boy! What a multitude of choices it presents! Should I pick an iconic 90's grunge anthem, like Soundgarden's Black Hole Sun? After all, I saw the band on stage in Helsinki cirka 1995. (I say ”cirka” because I'm not 100% sure about the year, and I'm too lazy to look it up in Google) The fond memories of those grungey early years in the 90's instantly remind me of a couple of equally important bands: Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains. Although, I've never seen either of them live. Pearl Jam had a song titled Black on their breakthrough debut album Ten. Alice in Chains had a killer track titled Black Gives Way to Blue. That epochal Pearl Jam album played non-stop in my car stereos at the time of its' release. I had it copied on a C-cassette. Remember that vintage format, anyone? (Yes, I'm THAT old...) With this particular AIC song I fell in love much later, as it was the title track on the band's comeback album, released in 2009 with the new singer William DuWall. First, I kinda hesitated to give this new AIC line-up any chances, but it turned out to be pretty damn good. Obviously, nothing can top the impact, that the Laney Staley-fronted AIC made with their Dirt-album in 1992. At the time of its' release, that album was a full-blown mindfuck! In retrospect, the year 1992 seems to have been pretty kick-ass, in terms of album releases:

Alice in Chains: Dirt

Rage Against The Machine: Rage Against The Machine

R.E.M.: Automatic for the People

Pantera: Vulgar Display of Power

Tori Amos: Little Earthquakes

Faith No More: Angel Dust

Dream Theater: Images and Words

Aphex Twin: Selected Ambient Works 85-92

Prince & The New Power Generation: (Love Symbol Album)

Stereo MC's: Connected

Tom Waits: Bone Machine

Sade: Love Deluxe

The Prodigy: Experience

Megadeth: Countdown to Extinction

Eric B. & Rakim: Don't Sweat the Technique

The Orb: U.F.Orb

k.d.Lang: Ingenue

Suzanne Vega: 99.9 Fº

Stone Temple Pilots: Core

Curve: Doppelganger

Nick Cave: Henry's Dream

Neneh Cherry: Homebrew

Maybe I should choose something less obvious? At least, it would make this challenge less arduous for me, because it's evident that making a choice between two particularly dear songs from the past is nothing short of impossible. When in doubt, go for the dark horse! So, here goes: my choice for the song with the colour black in the title is:

Bonobo: Black Sands

Being something of a jazz aficionado, despite not really possessing any of the musical prowess to actually play jazz myself, it was love at first soundbite, when I chanced to hear the title track from Bonobo's 2010 album Black Sands on Bassoradio's morning special back in the day. Bonobo is the musical alias of British DJ-producer-musician Simon Green. His career spawns from the 90's trip hop aesthetics, with heavy influences of jazz and world music. Spicing up electronic beats with raw jazz samples, or even live musicians, was the thing to do, somewhere along the mid-90's. I guess it all started with a few insightful hip-hop artists layering their ghetto stompers with the occassional hardbop jazz sample back in the late 80's. For a short period, acid jazz was the coolest shit ever in the early 90's. In a somewhat natural chain of events, jazz eventually made its way to the brand new genres that evolved around the middle of the decade, trip hop and jungle, too.

That's how I got sucked into the all-consuming whirlpool of this abominable voodoo music – jazz. It's a wonder no-one has come up with a gateway theory yet, regarding the highly addictive nature of jazz music. It usually starts with small doses: an occassional jazz sample is slipped in the hip-hop track, or the breakdown section of a rock song is ornamented with a brief, improvised saxophone lead. Then you find yourself craving for more, and start delving into the depths of acid jazz, nu jazz, or whatever new genre that has incorporated jazz as an inherent element in its' aesthetic toolkit. After this honeymoon period, that might spawn over years and years, you eventually catch yourself red-handed, holding a genuine jazz album in your hands at the local record store, probably the usual entry-level drug-of-choice jazz classic: Kind of Blue by Miles Davis. It has been awarded the title of the greatest jazz album of all time – and for a reason, too. Multiple times. Then you're hooked. Next thing you know, you'll be blasting John Coltrane at a family reunion, with your beloved relatives giving you the dead-eyed stare, doubting the state of your mental well-being. Long story short: you simply cannot go wrong with a mellow waltz rhythm that's punctuated with the organic groove of a flesh-and-blood jazz drummer, and topped with hauntingly beautiful brass harmony.

Next up: the colour blue...

Again, I could go for something utterly obvious, like the song titled Blue by A Perfect Circle. Those lucky few, who know me in person, should be well aware of the fact, that I'm quite a diehard fanboy of the band. I was lucky enough to see the band's live performance a few years back, when they paid Finland a visit. Nevertheless, I think I can come up with something more unexpected.

Just let me think for a sec...

Remember the band Europe? Of course you do! (Unless you were born yesterday, like some, eww, millennial!) I think it would've required some exceptional measures in the noble art of cutting contact with the external world to not have been exposed to the band's 1986 megahit Final Countdown, during the past 34 years. (Fuck! Do I feel old yet?!?) BUT...before you dismiss the band as yet another hair-metal has-been, check out this song:

Europe: Not Supposed To Sing The Blues

It's pretty damn hard to believe it's a song by the same band that's responsible for that Final Countdown atrocity. To be honest, that particular throwback 80's hard rock ear-worm wouldn't probably get under my skin in such a thoroughly repulsive fashion, had I not performed the song countless times myself. It was quite an essential part of the live repertoire of the party band, that I toured with cirka 2004-2008. The modus operandi of this covers-only band was to play the most annoying 80's megahits, with the lyrics translated in Finnish with a liberal amount of tongue-in-cheek references to gay erotica. (On a side note, the band was actually quite popular in certain small regions, despite this dubious approach and the substantially high level of bad taste incorporated in the lyrics and live performances. We even ended up playing in a genuine gay wedding once. The humour of the band was, after all, benevolent albeit a bit harsh, at least in the context of these politically correct times...)

The song Not Supposed to Sing the Blues was released in 2012. It's pretty evident, that during this 26-year-period, following the release of Final Countdown, Europe managed to grow some serious balls, hidden somewhere below my musical radar. The oriental sounding motif, played with some cool mellotron string patch in the refrain before the chorus, has a nice Led Zeppelin-esque feel to it. You can't really go wrong with a slowed-down hard rock blues that is sugar-coated with a grain of Kashmir-strings, now can you?

Next up: white...

What first comes to mind? Whiter Shade of Pale by Procol Harum, and Nights in White Satin by the Moody Blues, obviously. You see, I had both of these tracks in vinyl format, way back in the early 90's, when I was going through my ”moustache prog from the 70's”-phase. (Although, this particular Procol Harum song was actually released in 1968, and the Moody Blues song in 1967 – but, in order to be consistent and thorough, I had to dig deeper, to the roots of the prog...to the very dinosaur fossils)

I could throw in White Room by Cream, too. I used to listen to these particular tracks A LOT! In the age of vinyl, conducting a music marathon themed around, say, 60's and 70's ”moustache music”, was actually quite a laborous ritual. Every 25 minutes, or so, I had to flip the side of the record. Shuffling songs totally at random was simply a no-go-zone. Nowadays, it's so easy to compile a lengthy set of personal favorites in Spotify, WinAmp, iTunes, or whatever the fuck application you'd prefer, and just hit the randomize-button...fucking millennials, they have it SO easy. They have no idea of the struggle.

That's why we had those vintage C-cassettes: to copy that very special selection of songs, compiled with tender love and care, onto a format, that didn't require you to be on a constant lookout for when the album side was closing to an end. Besides, before the onslaught of cd-players, those vintage C-cassettes were the only way to impress people with either your refined taste in music, or with the lack of it, while you were occupied with the gentle art of pussy racing, driving around downtown in your awkwardly tuned-up mirthmobile, every goddamn Friday night.

I could pick White Wedding by Billy Idol, too...

It was one of those 80's hits that I used to play with the ”covers only”-party band.

Nah...

I think I will have to choose between Aisles of White by the Aussie soft-prog band the Butterfly Effect, and The Heart of a Cold White Land by the Finnish doomsters Swallow the Sun.

My beloved wife introduced me to Aussie prog, some 10 years ago. The gateway drug, I think, was Karnivool with their music video for All I Know. One day, when I was coming home from work, I caught my wife watching this particular video in YouTube. A little bit later, she unearthed a shitload of Aussie bands in Spotify. I guess she must've been hitting that ”similar artists”-link quite relentlessly. The Butterfly Effect was one of those magnificent bands she discovered. I remember hearing the song In A Memory for the first time. It struck a chord with me, in such a profound way, that I felt compelled to order the album Imago ASAP from some Australian music webstore. At the time, the back catalogue of the Butterfly Effect wasn't available in Finland. I don't know, if it's available even now, because the band is no longer active, I think. Aisles of White is the track #2 on that album, released in 2006. The band released one more kick-ass album in 2008, titled Final Conversation of Kings, and then I don't know what the hell happened.

Swallow the Sun is a bit doomish Finnish metal band, and I'm not really sure, when I actually found the band's music. I think I had their debut album The Morning Never Came (2003) in my cd-rack for years, but it wasn't until 2012, with the release of the magnificent Emerald Forest and the Blackbird album, that I truly fell in love with the band. It took me some five years to actually haul my ass to their gig for the first time. Every single time, when I found out that they were touring nearby, I was too busy with some utterly meaningless work-related bullshit to make it. Finally, in 2017 it happened. I had managed to get rid of my soul-sucking job, although due to a pretty hardcore reason (a brain tumour), so when I found out that Swallow the Sun was performing in Helsinki, in the legendary rock venue Tavastia, I definitely made sure that I was there – and fuck me sideways! It was indeed one of the best live performances that I have ever experienced, hands down!

In 2015, Swallow the Sun released a monolithic triple album Songs From the North, and this particular track, The Heart of a Cold White Land, is on the disc II, that is focused on the beauty side of the band's doom palette.

Swallow the Sun: The Heart of a Cold White Land

Next up: Red

Sielun Veljet was one of the most iconic Finnish rock bands in the 80's. The band released only a couple of albums with lyrics in English, of which the 1989 release Softwood Music Under Slow Pillars was the only one with the songs originally written in English. There was some other attempts to gain international fame and fortune, but in those cases, the songs were merely English translations of their most beloved hit songs, initially written in Finnish. This particular album was planned for international release – but the label executives were pretty disappointed, to say the least, when the band came up with an album full of acoustic psychedelia. It was released only in Finland and Sweden. The artwork on the album cover is actually a painting by a Peruvian artist Pablo Amaringo, depicting the shamanic ayahuasca ritual. Listening through this album in one go is somewhat similar experience, I would guess: a rewarding journey into the depths of the human psyche, albeit potentially exhausting, especially if you're not exactly in the proper mindset to begin with.

Well, ever since I got exposed to the oriental psychedelia of, say, Jimi Hendrix, Kingston Wall, and the like, I seem to have acquired a taste for this kind of weird and druggy, over-the-top freeform musical expression.

Sielun Veljet: Hey-Ho, Red Banana

Ok, then...What next?

What other colours are there, anyway? The three primary colours are: red, yellow and blue. All the other colours can be derived from these three fuckers. To be precise, I think black does not actually qualify as a colour... So, I've got most of these covered already. Of course, in order to pick some hairs, printers actually use magenta, yellow and cyan as their primary colours – and black, obviously. I can't recall a single song with ”magenta” or ”cyan” in the title, though. I could come up with a band or two, with these colours in the band name, such as Magenta Skycode, or Cyan Velvet Project, but song titles?

Nada.

Maybe, if I combed through my post-rock and soundtrack archives, I could come up with some epic 15-minute instrumental with either cyan or magenta mentioned in the lengthy piece of contemporary literature, that is supposed to be the title of the song...but I guess those tracks would not exactly mean worlds to me, as I clearly cannot remember them now. If something comes to mind, while I'm writing down this epistle, I'll address that particular colour and song, accordingly. Now, I shall get on with this challenge journal, onto the next ”normal”, everyday colour...

Which is?

The colour green.

Having played keyboards in a dubious number of proggy bands, with the tonal preferences leaning heavily toward everything vintage, I might as well pick a mellow Hammond-organ classic, such as Green Onions by Booker T. & the MG's, or a vintage synth classic from THE motion picture soundtrack album of all time: Memories of Green by Vangelis, from the timeless Blade Runner soundtrack.

But I won't...

It wasn't actually easy to come up with that many titles with the colour green mentioned. Excluding these two aforementioned classics, I could barely come up with four! As much as I like the desert rock stonerism of Kuyss, the song Green Machine is not my personal favourite in their back catalogue. So that narrows my options to three. The problem is that two of these songs seem to defy the laws of quantum physics: they both take a firm stranglehold on my soul, and throw it casually down the dark and dangerous alleys of nostalgia.

In the midst of 90's acid jazz boom, I had a peculiar habit of buying compilation cd's at random, if the heading on the cover somehow suggested that the contents of the cd had anything to do with this particular genre of music. By impulse-buying music I discovered a lot of gems, like the song Apple Green by Mother Earth. The band was an English acid jazz outfit, virtually unheard of in Finland, despite the tidal wave of acid jazz washing over also these rural perimeters. If Jamiroquai, the Brand New Heavies et al. rub you the right way, you definitely need to check this band out. I can still remember clearly, as if it happened yesterday, how I picked this acid jazz compilation from the vaults of the local record store that no longer exists.

Mr. Big was a band everybody just loved to hate at the turn of the decace, when the gigantic hair-do's of the 80's started to flatten out, and flannel shirts were showing faint signs of becoming the next level shit in the never-ending quest for cool. At the time, I was an under-aged college drop-out, devoting my attention to the finer things of guitar playing techniques, instead of studying for a decent profession. I had received my first electric guitar from my parents in 1988, and for the following 5-6 years, I spent most of my time and energy in an attempt to unravel the secrets of how to play guitar like Jimi Hendrix. I listened to quite a lot of speed and thrash metal on the side, too. Y'know, bands such as Anthrax, Metallica, Slayer and Stone, which was quite a legendary Finnish speed metal band in the late 80's. My budding personal artistic expression was anyhow more influenced by legendary old timers, like Hendrix. I simply loathed all sorts of pyrotechnical wankery (with the exception of certain tracks by Steve Vai and Joe Satriani). Mr. Big's lead guitarist Paul Gilbert was famous for that very special blend of technical stuff, that I wasn't interested in, not in the slightest. So, I never really gave the band a chance. I think my misconception of the band's music as some kind of a shit-show of technical masturbation was due to some instructional videos hosted by Gilbert. After all, his fame as a highly skilled guitarist must have derived from his contributions to several guitar magazines and instructional videos, instead of his career in Mr. Big. So, everytime I heard the intro of, say, To Be With You, on my car radio, I simply had to change the channel. In order to do so, I had to manually rotate the tuning knob. Yes, my first car stereos were THAT vintage! What a time it was to be alive! Years later, with the maturity of age like with a fine wine, I finally listened to the worn-out hits of this horrid band only to find out that – bummer! - in terms of songwriting, those goddamn Mr.Big hits were actually not that bad at all. The song Green-Tinted Sixties Mind was released on the album Lean Into It in 1991. Now, everytime I am exposed to this particular song, I am instantly reminded of what a stuck-up elitistic music snob I used to be during those emotionally tumultuous times.

So, I could resort to the luck of the draw, but luckily I've got one more candidate to go.

Lonely the Brave is one of my most recent findings. It's an English alt.rock band from Cambridge, formed in 2008. I really don't know much about the band, just this one song titled The Blue, The Green. I was exposed to it while playing the music trivia game Songpop 2 with my mobile phone during the past two years, I think. The game is about guessing songs within the timeframe of a 15 second clip. Pretty addictive at first, actually. This 15-second-soundbite was enough to gain my full attention, so I had to check out the song in full, instantly. I cannot pinpoint what exactly it is, but this particular song has that vague feeling of ”something”, that draws me to listen to it, time and time again.

Lonely The Brave: The Blue, The Green

Next up: yellow.

I was first introduced to Frank Zappa's unique music in the late 80's, by my classmate Jussi, who kindly exposed me to the timeless classic Bobby Brown Goes Down. At the delicate age of 15, it was a pretty anticipated reaction that the explicit song lyrics would strike a chord. A few years later, as I was browsing through the vinyl section at the local second hand record store, I came across a pure treasure: the gatefold vinyl edition of Roxy & Elsewhere by Frank Zappa & The Mothers. In mint condition, too! Dropping the needle on the first groove on the black vinyl back home was like taking the first hit of some mind-altering illegal substance. My perception of reality changed in an instant – and there was no going back. Such an exciting mixture of fusion jazz, rock and harsh satire was sure to make me an addict. So, in no time at all I built up enough tolerance and moved onto semi-lethal dosages, and purchased the albums Hot Rats, Grand Wazoo and Apostophe('). The last one was released in the year, when I was born (1974), and it included the hilarious 4-part rock suite about the unfortunate adventures of an eskimo named Nanook. One part of the suite is titled: Don't Eat the Yellow Snow. Sound advice at the time of a global pandemic, that originated from some peculiar pathogen spillover event in China, don't cha think?

Frank Zappa: Don't Eat The Yellow Snow

Not many colours left, I think...

Next up: purple.

I was exposed to the music of Jimi Hendrix via a documentary on TV, when I was a rosy-cheeked 7th grader in junior high. It happened around the same time, when I got my first electic guitar. So, I guess it must have been written in the stars, or something. The universe simply wanted me to focus on the noble art of guitarism, instead of getting a college degree on psychopathological marketing or accounting (fuck no!). My first guitar was a cheap stratocaster-copy with a Williams-logo on it. In a way, it resembled the vintage Mellotron keyboard: it simply would refuse to keep in tune. One of the first songs that I learned, despite the frustrating limitations imposed by the crap tuners on the guitar, was Purple Haze by Hendrix. I had to learn it by ear. You see, back in the gloomy days of the late 80's, there just wasn't that many guitar tabs around. Not in Finland, anyway. Later I did find an instructional guitar playing manual at the local library, with a few pages dedicated to the art of Jimi Hendrix. Mainly, the only viable option to learn any contemporary rock song, or even any classic from the days long gone, was either to learn it by ear, or to resort to the occassional tabs provided by the international guitar magazines – if you were fortunate enough to spot these much-sought publications at your local bookstore. (These fuckin' millennials have it SO easy!) On the other hand, learning to play primarily by ear must have developed my improvisational skills a great deal, as an added bonus. Improvisation is not so much about throwing up some pre-programmed fancy gimmicks at any given chance, but actually LISTENING to what your fellow musicians are playing and responding accordingly.

Next up: grey.

I think it was my dear wife, once again, who first introduced me to the band Thrice, by playing the song Digital Sea from the band's double album Alchemy Index, a long, long time ago. The band's vocalist/guitarist Dustin Kensrue is one of those few singers, who are blessed with a distinctive voice that speaks, or to be more precise, sings volumes. He might not have the same gravitas like Mark Lanegan or Tom Waits, but nevertheless, he has the voice of a protagonist who's been to hell and back. Mark Lanegan sounds like he's got a season ticket, and Tom Waits sounds like he's the devil running the show – or, to put it in Waits' own words:

”Don't you know, there ain't no devil,

that's just God when he's drunk...”

 Tom Waits: Heartattack and Vine

Anyways, the lyrics in a Thrice song could be compiled of a list of phone numbers, or the decimals of Pi (like Kate Bush actually did), and it would still sound like a profound wisdom concerning the transformative journey of being fully human.

Thrice: The Grey

Last but not least, the colour: turquoise.

For years, I actually thought that Boards of Canada was indeed a Canadian outfit. Y'know, indie bands in particular come up with these band names that have some funny and ironic twist. Somewhere along the way, it finally dawned on me that this magnificent electronic duo is actually from Scotland. Well, of course it is! If my memory isn't playing any tricks on me now, I'm pretty sure that Soulsavers and Hidden Orchestra are Scottish, too. And they all have something in common. Each of these electronic outfits has an extraordinary and unique, boss-level prominance in the way they manage to capture emotion in their instrumentals.

Boards of Canada released a 5-minute electronic epic titled Turquoise Hexagon Sun on the album Music Has the Right to Children in 1998. The name of the song is actually a reference to the duo's recording studio Hexagon Sun. It makes it even more marvellous, that an instrumental track with a title deriving from something so mundane can touch your heartstrings so deeply. It's not that often, when an electronic instrumental with a hip-hop beat, glassy vintage synth motifs and deliberately lo-fi production paired with grainy samples, manage to do that. These Scottish bastards must've been onto something...

Well, that's pretty much all there was to the first day in this music challenge! I was supposed to pick one song, and I ended up writing a fucking novel about it...Tomorrow the plot shall thicken even more, when I introduce you to the theme of the day #2.

In the meanwhile, you can do yourself a favour and listen to:

Boards of Canada: Turquoise Hexagon Sun

Stay tuned! Cheers!

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