#and now he’s singing learning to fly by tom petty | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

allsassnoclass · 4 years ago

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meg sent me the prompt lashton+”It’s nice that your voice was the first thing I heard this morning” before tumblr ate her blog and therefore her ask but @tastetheoceans this is for you

set in the Off-Screen verse

Luke wakes up disoriented, shivering just a little and blindly reaching out for the covers, certain that when he fell asleep he was warm and content. His hand seeks Ashton, and it takes him a moment to realize that the disappointment from not finding him is not a remnant of a dream, but rather a result of him not actually being here when he should. Ashton is home, and for some criminal reason he is not in bed with Luke during their first morning together since the semester started.

The spot next to him is still warm when Luke runs a hand over it, and he takes another moment to blink himself awake before he even attempts to detangle himself from the sheets, memories of yesterday finally slotting into place in his head the further he pulls himself out of sleep.

Ashton made the entire 11 hour drive yesterday, getting in after dinner because he had to pack his car with as many art supplies as possible first. He originally was supposed to fly, but you can't take as much luggage with you via plane, and Ashton wants to be prepared. He'll be teaching from home for two weeks after break ends, but it's already highly suspected that they'll be here longer. Other schools around the country have switched to fully online learning, and Ashton thinks his will be following suit.

Luke should feel a little upset about it, because Ashton loves seeing his students and teaching art remotely is hard when students might not have access to materials, but he can't bring himself to. This event is scary and weird and throwing every plan out the window, but he's always been taught to look for silver linings, and getting to spend more time in person with his husband is the best silver lining he can imagine.

He's missed him. It's bad enough to have to be away from home whenever they tour, but Ashton is his home. He's away from him all the time, and it’s only during breaks like these that he stops feeling so lost.

Which is why he doesn't understand why Ashton isn't in bed next to him right now, giving him cuddles and some kisses and just basking in each other's presence.

Luke finds a sweatshirt, one of Ashton's that was left here when he went back to Utah, and tries to think of where in the house Ashton could possibly be. He doesn't hear anything in the bathroom, but the longer he stands still the more he thinks he might hear something faint coming from the kitchen. Ashton likes the kitchen, so Luke heads in that direction, noise beginning to take the shape of Ashton's voice, singing along to the radio.

There's nothing Luke likes better than Ashton's voice. He's heard so many amazing singers over the years, but nothing can match the gravel of Ashton's untrained vocals filling their house in the early morning, when the world is sleepy enough that it feels like a secret just for them. Luke has to stop right before he enters the kitchen to compose himself, because Ashton will tease him if he tears up over something like this, as if Ashton himself didn't nearly cry with relief after getting in yesterday.

Ashton stands at the stove, dancing a little as he prepares an omelette with Tom Petty accompanying in the background. Luke takes a moment to drink in the sight: his black hair, a little longer than when they last saw each other, the dimples in his back, the tattoos on his arms, the slight love handles curving over the edge of his sweatpants. Luke is in love with every inch of him.

He knows that some people were nervous when they got married, worried that it was too early or they were too young or that the distance would be too much. Logically, he understands the concern, but there was never any cause for it. Luke may have taken a while to realize it, but it's always been Ashton for him, and it always will be. He has too much love for this man to let anything happen to them.

"Hey," he says finally, stepping into the kitchen and approaching. Ashton turns and beams, a smile that Luke has seen a million times through a pixilated phone screen but that still makes him feel incredibly fuzzy in person. It's infectious, and Luke savors it.

He has three weeks of that smile, perhaps more. Maybe his heart will stop going crazy at the sight of it, but that's not likely.

"Hi," Ashton says, opening his arms for Luke to sink into. He's warm, Luke's own personal heater, and no one's arms feel as good around him as Ashton's. They always fit together perfectly, no matter how long it's been or how many changes might've happened since they last saw each other.

"How did you sleep?" Ashton asks.

"Good," Luke sighs. "I always sleep better with you there. 'S probably what woke me up."

"Not my singing?"

"No," Luke mumbles against his shoulder. "Couldn't hear it until I got down here, but it's nice that your voice was the first thing I heard this morning."

Ashton kisses his hair, gently swaying with the music in a subconscious dance. Luke follows him easily, pliant against him. He'll always follow where Ashton leads.

"Why aren't we in bed?" he asks.

"I wanted to make you breakfast," Ashton says, low like a confession. "I was going to bring it to you."

"It's your break," Luke says. "You shouldn't be doing anything."

Ashton is going to spend a good chunk of this break figuring out how to adapt his two painting classes for online teaching for the next few weeks, but other than that he deserves to rest.

"I always like to do things for you," Ashton says. "It makes me feel good to make you feel good."

Luke can feel himself blushing, and it's too early for him to come up with the proper words for a response, so he kisses Ashton instead.

They both have morning breath. It's a little gross, and the eggs might be burning, but nothing feels more right than kissing Ashton here in the their kitchen, early morning light streaming through the window and arms wrapped around each other. He savors the feeling, relishing in the comfort of it and the gentle way they move against each other. He could stand here for hours, and it occurs to him that they could. They both have time. Whether they stay here kissing in the kitchen or retreat to the bedroom for breakfast, this morning is theirs, and Luke is incredibly thankful to spend it with the man he loves.

It’s one of the best mornings Luke has had in a long time.

#my writing #lashton #drabble #off-screen #off screen

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scribblesofanaricat · 5 years ago

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75 music-y writing prompts

(free to reblog; shoot me some if you want to see my sucky writing ;-;)

What the hell’s your name? What’s your pleasure and what is your pain? (Green Day - Homecoming)

And I know it must be late, been gone since yesterday. I’m not like you guys, I’m not like you. (Blink-182 - Aliens Exist)

‘Cause I don’t have a reason and you don’t have the time. (Linkin Park - Final Masquerade)

When the leaves fall and the woods call and the moon seems to kiss me goodnight. (Cavetown - Rain)

I hold hands with cosmic entities. (Scott Helman - Sweet Tooth)

No one laughing at your back now, no one standing at your door. (Beck - Lost Cause)

Dancing on cold feet, marching on cobbled streets. (Barns Courtney - Sinners)

Tell me that I won’t feel a thing. (Green Day - Give Me Novacaine)

You wanted in and now you’re here, driven by hate, consumed by fear. (Drowning Pool - Bodies)

Kick the door ‘cause this is over, get me out of here. (Simple Plan - No Love)

Sometimes solutions aren’t so simple, sometimes goodbye’s the only way. (Linkin Park - Shadow Of The Day)

Clutching my cure, I tightly lock the door. (Linkin Park - Breaking The Habit)

Well, no one here is getting out alive; this time I’ve really lost my mind and I don’t care. (Green Day - Having A Blast)

I’ve been drawn into your magnet tar-pit trap. (Nirvana - Heart Shaped Box)

Singing, I can hear them singing. (Green Day - Before The Lobotomy)

Throw my emotions in the grave, hell, who needs them anyway? (Green Day - Burnout)

You’ve come this far, you’re all cleaned up, you’ve made a mess again. (All Time Low - Missing You)

A gunshot rings out at the station, another urchin snaps and left dead on his own. (Green Day - Welcome To Paradise)

They don’t have to understand you, be still. Wait and know I understand you, be still, be still. (Flyleaf - Again)

Don’t you think it’s funny how they tell us how to live? Don’t you think it’s funny how we’re all delinquent kids? (Benny - Little Game)

I’m on the run from a thief I let into my head. (Thousand Foot Krutch - Fly On The Wall)

Your crusade’s a disguise. (Linkin Park - No More Sorrow)

I knew you back when, and you, you knew me. Now I think you’re sick and I wanna go home. (Green Day - Emenius Sleepus)

Do you lock yourself in your room with the radio on turned up so loud that no one hears you screaming? (Simple Plan - Welcome To My Life)

I need to find a place to hide; you never know what could be waiting outside. (Green Day - Restless Heart Syndrome)

Got my fears in a suitcase. I locked them away in a place they wouldn’t find. (All Time Low - Nightmares)

It’s not worth it, it’s not working. You wanted it to be picture perfect. (Thousand Foot Krutch - Take It Out On Me)

I wanna be a celebrity martyr, the leading man in my own private drama, hurrah, hurrah, the hero of the hour. (Green Day - Bang Bang)

Don’ be afraid. I’ve taken my beating, I’ve shared what I’ve made. (Linkin Park - Leave Out All The Rest)

In a burst of light that blinded every angel, as if the sky had blown the heavens into stars. (Linkin Park - Iridescent)

I forgot my name again; I think that’s something worth remembering. (Cavetown - Devil Town)

Crooked spine, my senses dulled past the past of delirium. (Green Day - Brain Stew)

How it feels to be forgotten, but you’ll never forget me now. (Skillet - Back From The Dead)

I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it’s like a child that was left behind. (Green Day - The Forgotten)

The lights are on, but nobody’s home. (Linkin Park - Talking To Myself)

Do you remember when we learned how to fly? (Paradise Fears - Battle Scars)

Running out of service, in the blood I fell. (Green Day - See The Light)

And when the storm’s gone, I’ll all torn up inside. (Blink-182 - Story Of A Lonely Guy)

The devil told me “no room for cheats”; I thought I’d sold my soul, but he kept the receipt. (Bring Me The Horizon - Doomed)

I never knew how much it would hurt to feel. (All Time Low - Some Kind Of Disaster)

Trust is a dirty word that comes only from such a liar. (Green Day - Church On Sunday)

I’m deafened by the silence. Is it something that I’ve done? (Simple Plan - Astronaut)

I can’t begin to end the fight. I’m afraid to feel the fire from inside. (Fight Or Flight - First Of The Last)

Stumbling through a thousand stars and neon cars break through my skull. (Cavetown - Candle)

Why does it feel like night today? Something in here’s not right today. (Linkin Park - Papercut)

It’s scratching on the walls, in the closet, in the halls. (Skillet - Monster)

Forget-me-nots, second thoughts live in isolation. (Green Day - Are We The Waiting)

What if I’m not a part of the see and be seen? (Worriers - They/Them/Theirs)

Are there any survivors? Am I here alone? (Passenger - Survivors)

Time stands still, but I cannot. (Set It Off - I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead)

Tell us a story that’s by candlelight, waging a war and losing the fight. (Green Day - Song Of The Century)

Every second I waste is more than I can take (Linkin Park - Numb)

The sticks and the stones that you used to throw have built me an empire. (Bring Me The Horizon, Throne)

But seldom do these words ring true when I’m constantly failing you, like walls that we just can’t break through until we disappear. (Rise Against - Saviour)

This world will never be what I expected and if I don’t belong, who would’ve guessed it? (Three Days Grace - Never Too Late)

All the vampires walking through the valley move west down Ventura Boulevard. (Tom Petty - Free Fallin’)

What if I just tried not to remember? Would it matter at all? (Skillet - Would It Matter)

Billboard on the rise in the dawn’s landscape, working your insanity. (Green Day - The Static Age)

Just two kids, stupid and fearless. (All Time Low - Time Bomb)

Feel the rumours follow you from Monday all the way to Friday dinner. (Wrabel - The Village)

Are you dead? Sometimes I think I’m dead, ‘cause I can feel ghosts and ghouls wrapping my head. (Cavetown - This Is Home)

This house is haunted. It’s so pathetic. It makes no sense at all. (Blink-182 - Stay Together For The Kids)

They’re gonna rip off your heads, your aspirations to shreds, another cog in the murder machine. (My Chemical Romance - Teenagers)

Where do we begin, the rubble or our sins? (Bastille - Pompeii)

The insurgency will rise when the blood’s been sacrificed. (Green Day - Know Your Enemy)

It’s all the same down in the capital, all the suits and cladded feet. (Sam Fender - Play God)

You can run, but you can't hide. Time won’t help you ‘cause karma has no deadline. (Bring Me The Horizon - True Friends)

So we all stand enthralled by this bland curtain call. (Set It Off - Kill The Lights)

Here we are at the top of a hill, a hill that’s quietly crumbling. Been a while since you dressed for the kill, the kill that sent me tumbling. (All Time Low - Kids In The Dark)

I can’t sit back and wonder why it took so long for this to die. (Sum 41 - In Too Deep)

I’m learning to resist becoming more than you ever were. (Five Finger Death Punch - Hard To See)

Lost in a tangle, it’s freaking me out, burning lights and blackouts. (Green Day - Forever Now)

Half the words don’t mean a thing. (Linkin Park - Bleed It Out)

I’m not insane, just irrational...but isn’t that the same? (Cavetown - Poison)

There’s so much more; you can reclaim your crown. (Lauren Aquilina - King)

#ari rambles #mine #writing prompts #music prompts #writeblr #you're welcome to send as many as you like #just please remember to send them in separate asks so I can post them separately

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doomandgloomfromthetomb · 5 years ago

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Bob Dylan - The Set-Breakers (2010s One-Offs)

Hey, we’ve got a guest post + guest comp today, courtesy of Ray Padgett. If you haven’t signed up for Ray’s excellent Dylan newsletter, by all means do so. Great writing, great live recordings — and even some very interesting scoops, including interviews with Rolling Thunder bassist Rob Stoner and Dickie Landry, the saxophonist who sat in with Bob and band for one weird night in 2003. Today, Ray shares his collection of Dylan one-offs from the past 10 years ... a great listen. Take it away, Ray ...

Among the general public, Bob Dylan still retains the reputation for unpredictable shows that, for better or worse, can go anywhere. But anyone paying attention knows that hasn't been true for a few years. Starting in roughly 2013, he instituted what fans soon nicknamed The Set - an unchanging setlist he'd play every night. But it's really Sets, plural - setlists usually change some between tours, but rarely night to night. In December, he wrapped ten nights at the Beacon having played the exact same setlist at every show.

So, having finished a decade with relatively static setlists, and with a now uncertain touring future for Bob ahead, I wanted to investigate the songs he played only once the entire 2010s. I'm calling them the Set-Breakers. I found 16, not counting a few short instrumentals ("Freebird, "Sweet Home Chicago"). Some of these songs he played plenty of times before the 2010s. For others, this is their only performance ever.

For many of those true one-offs, the covers especially, the reason he played them that night is clear. "Learning to Fly" after Tom Petty died. "Moon River" in Johnny Mercer's hometown of Savannah, Georgia, and "Shadows" in Gordon Lightfoot's Canada (he didn't play Lightfoot's actual home province of Ontario that tour, so maybe he figured Alberta was close enough). "1952 Vincent Black Lightning" got its only outing shortly after he played a few dates with Richard Thompson. Dylan's own Lennon tribute "Roll On John" got its two outings in England (since that's not technically a one-off, I made it a bonus track alongside six-timer "Huck's Tune").

At a St. Paul show in 2013, he went one step further, introducing "Suzie Baby" with an unusually loquacious tribute: "I lived here a while back, and since that time, I've played all over the world, with all kinds of people. Everybody from Mick Jagger to Madonna… But the most beautiful person I've ever been on the stage with was a man who is here tonight, who used to sing a song called 'Suzie Baby.' I want to say that Bobby Vee is actually here tonight. Maybe you can show your appreciation with just a round of applause. So, we're gonna try to do this song, like I've done it with him before once or twice."

Other one-offs got trotted out for special events. The only "The Times, They Are a-Changin'" came at a 2010 White House performance; the only "Maggie's Farm at the Grammy Awards the next year (in an enjoyable shambles of a performance with Mumford and Sons and The Avett Brothers). For the ridiculously-named Americanarama tour in 2013, he played several one-off covers with Jeff Tweedy and Jim James.

Finally, of course, there are the true surprises, the song he played once for no clear reason and then dropped. In earlier decades, this happened all the time. It was much rarer in the 2010s. But any appearance of a "Saving Grace" or "Standing in the Doorway" is welcome - one time is better than none. When Bob finally is able to get back on the road, I'm sure we will all take whatever we can get. But a one-night-only surprise here and there never goes unappreciated.

The Set-Breakers: Bob Dylan's 2010s One-Offs

1. The Times They Are A-Changin' (2010-02-09 - White House)

2. Maggie's Farm (w/ The Avett Brothers, Mumford & Sons) (2011-02-13 - Grammys)

3. I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine (2011-06-11, Cork, Ireland)

4. My Back Pages (2012-07-08, Montreux Jazz Festival, Switzerland)

5. Saving Grace (2012-08-29, Johnstown, PA)

6. Shadows (2012-10-09, Edmonton, AB)

7. Delia (2012-10-27, Las Vegas, NV)

8. Suzie Baby (2013-07-10, St Paul, MN)

9. 1952 Vincent Black Lightning (2013-07-14, Clarkston, MI) - incomplete

10. Twelve Gates To The City (w/ Jim James, Jeff Tweedy) (2013-07-15, Toronto, ON) - incomplete

11. Let Your Light Shine On Me (w/ Jim James, Jeff Tweedy) (2013-07-19, Bridgeport, CT)

12. Sad Songs and Waltzes (2015-06-20, Mainz, Germany)

13. Standing in The Doorway (2017-04-01, Stockholm, Sweden)

14. Learning to Fly (2017-10-21, Broomfield, CO)

15. Moon River (2018-11-06, Savannah, GA)

16. Will The Circle Be Unbroken (w/ Neil Young) (2019-07-19, Kilkenny, Ireland)

Bonus: Huck's Tune (2014-04-04, Tokyo, Japan)

Bonus: Roll On John (2016-11-26, London, England)

#bob dylan

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talix18 · 5 years ago

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November 4

If I could go back in time and tell myself anything useful, #1 would be for gods sake please keep up with guitar lessons. #2 would be something about considering carefully the fact that you're going to live out a few more decades; continuing to blow up relationships will have you living them out mostly alone. #3 would be Absolutely Fill Out the Rhodes Scholarship application, idiot. I know you don't know yet that you want to travel but I promise that the experience you would have going to school overseas would be more than worth putting up with the weather. It's a problem that opportunity arises for some people when they're too young to appreciate it – at least it was a problem for me. So play guitar, sing, write, do all those things in front of people because it can just be fun, you know. Go to school far away. Sit still and let someone love you.

Because there is a distinct possibility that you will never meet someone who you know is The One. I'm pretty sure I thought I'd met The One two or three times. Nobody is going to fit all of your edges without rubbing uncomfortably in a few areas, whether it's their tendency to cut their hair too short or their inability to take on housekeeping duties when you're laid up or their families not being people you'd choose to hang out with. It's nice to have someone to hang out in sweatpants with; it's nice to have someone around who makes you laugh. Love is just as much about action as it is about emotion. It's not just something that happens to you; it's also something that you do.

But the reality is that I did meet someone I had those heart-flips over. We had that connection I'd always hoped to find. And life got in the way. He wasn't willing to make the changes he needed to in order to be with me and I wasn't willing to wait anymore. And I had the one that I was crazy about who just wasn't as crazy about me, and the one that I thought was the Universe actually working in my favor until the long-distance of it all got too much. Maybe I've had my chances.

I just want a life where I can honestly say “I wouldn't change a single second because it got me here.” Is that so much to ask?

Is it terrible if I don't eat anything except cauliflower crust veggie pizza? I mean, if I'm not overdoing the cheese and the veggies are fresh and the sauce doesn't have sugar in it – there's no reason that it's a “bad” idea, is there?

Saturday night I was at a meeting where a friend was celebrating nine years clean. She is hilarious and outgoing and incredibly smart, and she honestly believes that all Muslims are taught to throw acid in the faces of their women. This baffles me. I have this other friend – she's Jewish and also incredibly smart, and helped vote in the current administration because she's anti-reproductive rights. The administration that normalized being a Nazi in the 21st century. I just don't get it. And this is always going to limit the extent to which I'm going to trust someone – if you fundamentally believe that some humans are less deserving of compassion and dignity and self-determination, then I have to wonder what's going to happen if I fall into one of your less deserving categories.

Anyway, what I'm learning is that my mental health depends on being around people – on being part of a community – and I need to tell the truth about myself in safe places. So I'm at a meeting Saturday sharing about how my depression manifests, the specific example being that for most of the almost 15 years I've lived in this house, there has been a dresser drawer on my bedroom floor. It hasn't always been the same drawer – I've fixed at least two or three rails in the time I've owned these IKEA dressers. And it is entirely likely that I wouldn't have this problem if I didn't stuff the drawers beyond their recommended capacity. The point is that this is how I live: walking around the drawer on the floor. I am not going to consider my shit together until there are no drawers on the bedroom floor.

After the meeting, the woman next to me, who is a successful married adult with grown children, leaned over and said “I've never felt so close to you.” And that's what it's about, gang. Those moments when we tell the truth about how we live and other people recognize themselves in it. It's scary sometimes but, for me, it's necessary. And when I have more than one broken dresser drawer, I can ask for help getting rid of the things I don't need and taking the broken things to the dump. Then I can buy a new piece of clothing storage furniture, probably from IKEA, because I'm not made of money, and this one doesn't have drawers.

Last night I drove two hours to Philadelphia to see Fleetwood('s Heartbreakers House) Mac. You have to understand what Stevie Nicks means to me. Yes, I loved “Dreams” when I heard it the first time in someone's apartment in fifth grade where I was playing some version on Spin the Bottle for the first time. (Billy Schoonmaker, where are you now?) I loved the White Winged Dove song that I didn't know the name of until I saw a song I'd never heard of by Stevie on a jukebox and played it. And I remember a cartoon of someone literally dragging a heart behind them that was in the junior high newspaper. But The Moment I got it was when my mother's second husband, who played bass in an actual, playing out band, brought home Stevie's first solo album. I remember seeing her on the cover with white roses and gauzy clothes and a crystal ball and a tambourine and thinking “you mean life can look like that all the time?” My experience of gauzy clothes and crystal balls was limited to the Renaissance Festival that came to town every summer. I don't know why I took that album cover so literally – she could have been dressed that way specifically for those pictures – but in that moment I had permission to make my life look any way I wanted it to.

So Stevie, and by association Fleetwood Mac, have been part of my soul for most of my life, and I've been lucky enough to have seen her solo and with them several times. (Not on the Wild Heart tour, though! Not when Joe Walsh was her opener and Mom refused to sit through him and I was too young to go by myself. [Learning later that Stevie considers Joe the lost love of her life just makes it easier to carry that grudge.]) I've seen them minus Lindsay plus Billy Burnette & Rick Vito, with Lindsay Buckingham but minus Christine McVie (sorry I'm not sorry this is my preferred line-up), and now minus Lindsay plus Mike Campbell and Neil Finn.

I saw them in April and had All The Emotions. All of them. There were the general Stevie emotions, of course. Then there were the Tom Petty emotions, because I'd seen Campbell with Petty and the Heartbreakers the previous summer, on that last tour. Thank god. I don't even know what made me decide to go – I didn't take pictures or buy a shirt like I almost always do – but I was there, and then Tom died. And now Stevie, who adored him, and Mike, who was his musical partner, were on stage together without him.

Then there's Neil Finn, who was? Is? The frontman for Crowded House, who I also love. But more importantly, he was one of the favorites of my friend Andrea, who died of cancer far too young, who lived in Seattle and I made it a point to fly out for her 40th birthday. Who I flew out to sit in the hospital with in the last weeks of her life. Who I met on the Internet of all the ridiculousness, along with an entire group of Webpeeps who I've been lucky enough to ride roller coasters, celebrate weddings, and baptize babies with. Andrea loved Split Enz and Crowded House and made me listen to their catalog beyond “Something So Strong” and “Better Be Home Soon” and find the pop perfection there. There he was, sounding like he was doing Fleetwood Mac karaoke but also sounding like someone I love who is gone.

Not to mention the whole Stevie and Lindsay and will he ever be able to sing again after his throat was injured after his heart surgery and what the hell happened that Stevie decided this was finally a bridge too far to cross with him after everything else they've worked through. I love Stevie but not blindly, and I see Fleetwood Mac touring without two of their three main songwriters but not without her.

All. The. Emotions.

And I went with my grown adopted niece and Stevie sang about children getting older and I was weeping, as I do.

I had decided against buying a shirt, figuring I could make a more rational decision about what I wanted the next day and get it online. And learned to my horror that no, I couldn't, and then the crazy started. The crazy that said “Look! They're going to be in Philly Friday. Get a ticket to that show and buy what you want there. And if you go alone, you can get a more expensive single seat on Mike Campbell's side of the stage and be In It.” I don't remember how long I thought about it. I do know I ran it past my sister, who said she'd done equally as outrageous things, which gave me permission. My sister is one of the sanest people I know and is one of the lines I can never color outside of.

So I bought that Mike Campbell section ticket and reserved a place on the parking lot and vibrated through half a day at work looking forward to it. Until I happened to see something about them canceling the Boston show the night before and looked further and saw that the Philly show had to be postponed due a band member's illness. I was disproportionately devastated. Which is a thing with both addiction and depression – responding to things out of proportion with their actual importance. That disappointment led to a pretty steep downward spiral during which I actually called my sponsor and allowed her to talk me through the insanity maze.

It is recommended that one have a sponsor one trusts and get in the habit of talking to them regularly so that muscle will be exercised when you're feeling crazy or like using or whatever it may be. This is not my way. My traditional way of being a sponsee was crawling through whatever on my own and calling my sponsor to tell her about it afterward, and getting together with her just long enough to work whatever my next step was before my anniversary. Then my very smart Buddhist sponsor with 20 years clean relapsed, and everything changed.

#nanowrimo #f**k fifty

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dreams-madeof-strawberrylemonade · 5 years ago

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A song, a moment

I have been tagged by @shes-outta-sight and @morningbirdies to do this quite a while ago, but I am finally doing this!

Your favorite song

At the moment it’s Edge of Darkness by Greta Van Fleet. Last weekend I attended a speaking contest and I was so damn nervous but I listened to the whole From The Fires but especially Edge of Darkness gave me a powerful feeling. As a bonus, my speech was somehow matching the idea of the song so thanks to the song, I managed to put in a lot of feelings at the contest

A song you hate

Alright now don’t come hating me and throwing rotten tomatoes at me but I really can’t stand that new song with Dancing Monkey. I would appreciate it if radio stations could get a little more inventive and play something else besides that

A song that makes you cry

Definitely Dead in the Water by Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds. I remember when I went in 2018 at his gig, all the way to Berlin. And how I waited in the storm for hours and hours before and I caught first row, right against the barricade. When Noel played Dead in the Water I was there singing my lungs out and without noticing starting to tear up and eventually cry

A song that cheers you up

Twist and Shout by The Beatles and Got my Mind set on You by George Harrison. I simply can’t fight against these songs. No matter how down I am, these two are always here for the rescue. George’s song is tied to a memory in London, 2017, I was in Camden Market and I found this guy who literally offered me George Harrison’s Cloud Nine album for 3£! While I was listening to that song on my phone!

A song that reminds you of a special moment

Free Falling by Tom Petty (and honestly the whole Full Moon Fever album). When I was little, my parents got me my dog, Yumi and we got her from Budapest, Hungary, so we drove a couple of times there before to see her and talk with the previous owner and eventually to take Yumi home. So on the way back home, after we crossed the border back in Romania, it was this exact song playing and my dad turned to me, and next to me on the backseat was Yumi in a little carton box, and he said “Welcome home”

A song that you know all the lyrics by heart

Honestly there are too many. The first one I knew this was probably was Enter Sandman by Metallica. I first learnt that prayer kind of thingy, you know what I’m talking about and then came the rest of the song

A song that makes you dance

So I wasn’t going to say I was that much of a dancer until I went to Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood. The very next day after seeing it at the cinema, I left on holiday and there I found the official soundtrack CD in a MediaMarkt. So at home I played it and literally found myself dancing to some of the songs, especially Hush (the original version) by Deep Purple

A song that you can’t stop listening to

I always come back to Don’t Look Back in Anger by Oasis, I don’t know why. And to Imagine by John Lennon

A song that helps you fall asleep

Well I fell alseep only once with music and it was to Peter Gabriel’s Mercy Street

A song that is your ultimate jam

Poison by Alice Cooper and Little Lies by Fleetwood Mac

A song that you resonate with

Idk I kind of have a bond with Heartbreaker by Led Zeppelin, not really that I feel called out by it or something and with Stairway to Heaven

A song that reminds you of your parents

There are a lot of them since my parents “carved” my music tastes. Avalon by Roxy Music reminds me of my mom. She always played their Best Of in the kitchen while cooking lunch and I was there with her helping. As for my dad, probably You’re in the Army now by Status Quo and Fortunate Son by Creedence Clearwater Revival. My dad insisted on learning me some phrases in latin and well... Status Quo was one of them and it came down to this

A song that reminds you of your best friend

I don’t have similar preferences in music as any of my besties, though we do like one song in common and it’s Bon Jovi’s It’s my life. We heard it when we were on summer camp in 2016 I think and since then it’s our jam

I am tagging @pomegranatecurses @satans-helper @flowrxchild and @myownparadise96 to do it :)

#tag game #tagged #tagging #about me #memories

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pineau-noir · 6 years ago

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I'm doing all the things because I am the human equivalent of a dumpster fire

Get to Know Me Tag

Tagged by: @ace-of-haerts

Name: Leah

Pronouns: she/her

Birthday: January 5

Favorite color: purple

Relationship status: old and married

Last song: Don't Come Around Here No More- Tom Petty

Last movie: Jumanji (with the Rock and Amy Pond)

Last thing to make me laugh: tickling my kids

Six Sentence Sunday (on Monday, which to be fair is my Sunday)- tagged by @histrionic-dragon

Writers: post (approximately) six sentences from something you’re working on. If you aren’t ready to do that, add six sentences to your WIP.

Readers: challenge yourselves to leave a six sentence comment or give a writer a six sentence prompt. (or a total of six sentences for the day)

Fans and creators alike: reblog a fandom post and add some love in the tags. Aim for 6 posts - or 6 tags. Whatever you can manage!

I cheated and I have 8 lines from my 2019 @capreversebb based on gorgeous art by @esaael

“We're probably gonna blow the electricity for the whole city for a minute, so I need this all to happen ASAP,” Howard snapped.

“Didn't you have a flying car that crashed back to earth?" Stevie retorted, scared and tired enough to not hold her tongue.

“Sure, but I put much more thought into this,” he responded. “Do you need a ladder to get in?”

Stevie glared at him and made a rude gesture she had learned from Bucky's fellow dock workers. “You're no better than us,” she shouted at his retreating figure.

“Never said better! But I'm definitely smarter!”

And finally, another get to know me, tagged by @esaael

Name: Leah

Nickname: Leon

Zodiac: Capricorn

Height: 5'7"/ 170 cm (for the metric crowd)

Hogwarts House: HUFFLEPUFF BABY

Last thing I googled: synonyms. So many synonymous

Favorite musicians: Florence and the Machine, Hozier, Tom Petty, Carly Rae Jepsen, Queen, Flight of the Conchords

Last song I listened to: Don't Do Me Like That by Tom Petty

Song stuck in my head: You Wreck Me by Tom Petty and the finger song all the pre-k kids know

Followers: some?

Following: much more

Amount of sleep: 6-8 hours

Lucky number: 8

What I'm wearing: boyfriend jeans, my squirrel shirt, and a black tank because my boobs tend to hulk out of the buttons (that are on the back of the shirt)

Dream job: I agree with Sari, I love my current job at the salon doing the nerdy stuff (not a stylist)

Dream trip: New Zealand with my whole family in November!!! Also everywhere else. NZ will literally be my first time outside of the contiguous US

Favorite food: right now I'm addicted to bagels and lox with all the trimmings. Also almost all other food

Instrument: I sing and whistle?

Languages: I'm American so...English 😞

Favorite song: too many to choose from

Random fact: I'm half French-Canadian which includes my quarter Acadian ancestory. Also my twins are really rare, happening in only 0.3% of pregnancies.

Aesthetic: nerd couture

I'm tagging the usual, @mortenavida, @sablessx, @jynladyofstardust, as well as @withinmeloveresides1, @lazystrawberrymilkshakes, @1impulsivefloweruniverse, and anybody else who wants to do one or all of these.

It me

#all the memes #my writing #procrastination #is my downfall

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joementa · 6 years ago

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New Year...New Beginnings...

I hope everyone is having a good start to their 2019 and listening to a lot of music and getting to as many shows as you can. One of the things I’m trying to do this year is make a lot of playlists. I have a ton of ideas for themes, but I also wanted to get some ideas for potential themes. So I asked some great people with unimpeachable music reps that I trust to give me some themes for playlists. They create the theme; I create the playlist. I had a feeling they would come through with some awesome suggestions, and I was not wrong. One of those suggestions was for a playlist about new beginnings. What a great idea! A new year…with new beginnings. I like it! And I really like how this playlist ended up. I think you will too.

If you’ve listened to any of my playlists before, you know the drill by now. You need to listen to this in the order listed below, and you need to listen to the specific versions I listed. That’s why I made not one, but TWO, playlists on the most streamed sites. All you need to do is click one of the links below and then press play. See how easy that is!

I like to create playlists that flow like a show. Bruce is my favorite musician to see live, by far, and I love how he starts his shows. The first few songs are usually very fast paced, with very little talking, which usually leaves the audience gasping for breath and needing a break about 7 songs in. I kind of did that here, except I also started with a slow, quiet song. It’s a lot of fun when a show starts with a slow song, and then BOOM! - the band immediately hits you with a rocker. I remember Gaslight Anthem did that often in 2012 when they opened with “Mae” and in 2015 when they opened with “Have Mercy”. You could FEEL the anticipation in the crowd during the first slow song, everyone ready to go nuts. So I did that with this playlist. Have you ever heard this version of “Learning To Fly” before? The one from The Live Anthology box set. If you have, you already know. If you haven’t, you are in for a treat. Wait until you hear the end, when the crowd sings along. That’s what it’s all about!

I’ve been listening to a lot of Motown, TSOP, soul, funk, r ‘n b, etc., lately, so I included a lot of that genre towards the second half of the playlist. Again, let’s go back to Bruce for the inspiration. At his ESB shows, he often plays a bunch of classic soul songs towards the end. It’s always a lot of fun and it’s some of the best music ever made.

Usually I try not to repeat artists on a playlist, but I had to do it here. The “Rocky Ground” into “Land Of Hope And Dreams” segue is the second best segue in the Bruce catalog, so those songs just can’t be broken apart, and if the theme is new beginnings, those songs just can’t be left off. And technically I am repeating John Mayer, but that’s okay. Both songs included here are probably not very well known (but they definitely SHOULD be!), so hopefully I can introduce you to some great songs you haven’t heard before. And technically one of the songs isn’t even a John Mayer song. How great is the line “it’s called the past ‘cause I’m getting past and I ain’t nothing like I was before.” So good!

I love it when shows end with a fast song, but I saw U2 for the first time last year and they ended the show with “13 (There Is A Light)”, which was a beautiful way to end the show. It was a powerful message to send the crowd home to. I tried to do that here as well. There’s always been a rainbow hangin’ over your head…it’ll be alright…

Link to playlist on Apple Music: https://itunes.apple.com/us/playlist/new-year-new-beginnings/pl.u-kv9lbZlsX46JEq

Link to playlist on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/user/joementa/playlist/22784MvEpJeLcmT3O30rcr?si=j9CngJiuRBiCdNm_5BBXbA

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – “Learning To Fly” (The Live Anthology)

The Byrds – “Turn! Turn! Turn!” (Turn! Turn! Turn!)

Brandon Flowers – “Magdalena” (Flamingo)

Cheerleader – “New Daze” (The Sunshine Of Your Youth)

Ryan Adams & The Cardinals – “Users” (III/IV)

The Bouncing Souls – “Better Things” (The Gold Record)

The Pretenders – “Pack It Up” (Pretenders II)

John Mayer – “Walt Grace’s Submarine Test, January 1967” (Born & Raised)

The Bee Gees – “Stayin’ Alive” (Saturday Night Fever)

Diana Ross – “I’m Coming Out” (Diana)

Curtis Mayfield – “Move On Up” (Curtis)

Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings – “New Shoes” (Soul Time!)

The Crusaders – “New Moves” (Ghetto Blaster)

Alicia Keys – “Lesson Learned” (featuring John Mayer) (As I Am)

U2 – “Love Is Bigger Than Anything In Its Way” (Songs Of Experience)

Pearl Jam – “Alive” (Ten)

Bruce Springsteen – “Rocky Ground” (Wrecking Ball)

Bruce Springsteen – “Land Of Hope And Dreams” (Wrecking Ball)

Better Oblivion Community Center – “Dominoes” (Better Oblivion Community Center)

Kacey Musgraves – “Rainbow” (Golden Hour)

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littlefrenchsims · 6 years ago

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All the questions for Chuck and Camira, please. :)

OMG thank you anon ! Time for Bad English

for Chuck :

Their physical weak spots- he almost lost his sight

Their emotional / moral weak spots- his love for Leah

Scars or painful spots- his eyes, they are almost white

Best places to kiss on their body- under the ears

Guilty pleasures- the blood

Their vices (physical or emotional)- he loves to hunt and he is mean

Their tickle spots-no

Bad memories / experiences- Leah’s death

Humiliating memories- when he had to explain to Tom that he was not his father

Fears / phobias- kill someone he likes

Bad gold petty clothes- he needs his coffee every morning while getting up otherwise he is in a bad mood

Grudges and vendettas- Leah’s ex boyfriend, and the one who turned Tom into a werewolf

What gets them flustered- queues in the shops

Ingrained clothes / forces of clothing- drink blood

What it takes to make them cry- the death of a member of his family

Dark secrets / ‘skeletons in the closet’- he’s killing Tom’s father

regrets- not telling Leah how much he loved her

Things they’ll never admit- his shame of being a vampire

People they’ve hurt, and how they affected- he is ashamed but does not regret

What-ifs / Alternate Timelines….Turning points in their life- the birth of his children

People who’ve influenced them greatly- Leah the woman of his life

Camira :

Their physical weak spots-his strength

Their emotional / moral weak spots- she does not want to believe in the supernatural

Scars or painful spots- any

Best places to kiss on their body-his neck

Guilty pleasures- vanilla glasses

Their vices (physical or emotional)- she loves to fly on the plates of others

Their tickle spotsbelly

Bad memories / experiences- his separation from Tom and when she learned that he was a werewolf

Humiliating memories-no

Fears / phobias- the spiders, the wolves and the cats

Bad gold petty clothes- never store clothes

Grudges and vendettas- any

What gets them flustered- television

Ingrained clothes / forces of clothing- singing in the shower

What it takes to make them cry- an onion is enough to make her cry, she is very emotional

Dark secrets / ‘skeletons in the closet’- no

regrets- to be pregnant with Tom

Things they’ll never admit- Now that Tom is a werewolf, she’s scared of him

People they’ve hurt, and how they affected- …

What-ifs / Alternate Timelines….Turning points in their life- her pregnancy

People who’ve influenced them greatly-his mom

#ash #ask for Chuck #ask for Camira

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yourdailykitsch · 7 years ago

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“I learned to sing and play guitar for my role as David Koresh in Waco. He wrote most of the songs himself and they’re Bible-driven, so I wasn’t learning Eddie Vedder or Tom Petty. But I’m starting to learn more of the classics now, and I hope I never put the guitar down again. I consider myself an Austinite, and I run by the statue of Stevie Ray Vaughan often. I think that’s a fascinating story that hasn’t been told, and I would love to do something like that in the future.” - Taylor Kitsch

If you’re flying Southwest Airlines in the near future, check out their in flight magazine for “One Question” with Taylor.

#taylor kitsch #waco #stevie ray vaughan #guitar

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thebandcampdiaries · 5 years ago

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D.K. Lyons introducing brand new album, The Past (Romanticized)

D.K. Lyons is an artist and songwriter based in Brooklyn, New York. He recently announced the release of a brand new studio album, which will be available from the 26th of June!

What makes his music special is definitely the fact that his sound blurs the lines between a wide variety of styles and genre definitions. From pop to rock and indie, anything goes. The album itself features 12 songs, which is actually quite amazing, especially if you consider that most artists today are mostly focused on releasing singles, to match the fast-paced dynamics of streaming platforms. Instead, D.K. deeply values the listening experience of his audience, so he created a longer, more textured album where every song explores a different creative direction. The opening track, “The Getaway,” is a pleasant indie pop song in the vein of artists like Coldplay or The Fray. The first thing you’ll notice is certainly the high quality of this production, in terms of sonic aesthetics. The instrumental mix is balanced and direct, with a really deep low end and a crunchy mid-range that adds a lot of excitement to the track. In addition to that, the treble range is smooth and bright, adding a lot of silky edge to the mix, and allowing the vocals to really pop to the forefront of the mix.

“Shades Of Amber” follows along the same lines, but it has a more upbeat approach with some playful and happy melodies. “Dance Like Shadows” takes the artist’s creativity someplace else, focusing on more melodic soundscapes, which makes me think of artists like Tracy Chapman or Dave Matthews, only to mention but a few. “Sleep With The Light On” is probably one of my favorite songs on the album. It has a stadium rock vibe which makes me think of groups like U2 or The Police, but it still has a more modern and diverse feel, especially in the soothing tone of D.K.’s vocals. The song “Perfume” is a folk-inspired ballad with fast-paced brush drums and beautiful guitar tones. Fans of artists like Damien Rice or Leanids will enjoy the sound and feel of this one!

“Run To Me” is a moody indie-rock tune with a melodic twist and some cinematic atmospheres in the background. The track has a larger-than-life sound and some intimate lyrics that suit the nocturnal edge of this composition. “Feels Like Flying” tips the hat off to country rock, echoing the work of seminal artists such as Tom Petty or Neil Young, but with a more melodic feel. There is also room for an amazing female vocal guest!

“Long Way Home” is perhaps one of the most intimate songs on the album. It’s a darker acoustic ballad, which reminds me of some of my favorite artists, including Elliott Smith or Ben Howard. “Polaroid” brings back the rock and roll, with a catchy, hands-on arrangement reminiscent of Brit-pop and indie rock. “Danger” has a bit more of a 90s rock vibe, with a filtered intro leading to a catchy pop-rock riff and vocal melodies a la Third Eye Blind. “Dark Dreams” is a melodic ballad with a very fascinating and hypnotic arrangement, offering another amazing example of soothing soundscapes and beautiful acoustic melodies. Last, but definitely not least, “American Slang” is a perfect closing track for this album. It combines the right blend of melody and energy, embodying the spirit of the full album to perfection. Ultimately, what makes the album even more special and easy to relate to is the fact that the songs share many narrative themes. This record is sonically varied, and the song lyrics take a more in-depth look back at some relationships, loss, as well as other life experiences channeled through the artist’s creative lenses.

Find out more about D.K. Lyons, and do not miss out on his album, The Past (Romanticized, ) which will be released on 6/26/20

YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tvi-FxBWn9M

Social

https://www.instagram.com/d.k.lyonsmusic/

https://www.facebook.com/DKLyonsMusic/

https://www.dklyonsmusic.com/

We also had the chance to chat with the artist: keep reading to learn more!

I love how you manage to render your tracks so personal and organic. Does the melody come first, or do you focus on the beat the most?

Answer: Great question! It’s usually a varied approach. I’ve been writing a lot more to beats I build first lately, but for The Past (Romanticized), these were all songs written on the guitar first with the melodies, and then I would kind of find the groove and the melody and beat would grow together from there.

Do you perform live? If so, do you feel more comfortable on a stage or within the walls of the recording studio?

Answer: I’ve been playing acoustic open mics for years, just working on my stage presence and getting more comfortable playing live. Ironically, I had booked my first electric live gigs in NYC starting in June (all TBD now obviously), but I’ve really used the quarantine time to rehearse tirelessly, because I appreciate live performance so much and want to make sure I can deliver a high-quality experience when the time comes. That being said, the second I stepped foot into the studio for the first time, I was addicted. The songwriting process and bringing that song to life in the studio is something I could spend 24 hours a day, 7 days a week doing.

If you could only pick one song to make a “first impression” on a new listener, which song would you pick and why?

Answer: Another great question. I think if you’re a general fan of music, you can’t go wrong with Shades of Amber or Danger, as they certainly are the two most “pop” driven songs on the record. But Long Way Home feels the most like me from a lyrical perspective, so I like to recommend that one if you want an honest first impression of me.

What does it take to be “innovative” in music?

Answer: It’s going to sound cliché, but really being honest. I’m as much a student of music as a creator of it, and my radar always goes off when I hear someone sing something or write something that isn’t wrapped up in clichés or vagueness. That’s why I love The 1975 so much. Apart from breaking down sonic barriers, which I certainly aspire for, Matty’s lyrics are incredibly detailed and honest, and that’s what tends to stick with me.

Any upcoming release or tour your way?

Answer: Yes! My debut album, The Past (Romanticized) is out June 26th, and I’m hopeful the world is able to continue to show strength as we battle through this pandemic so we can revive live music. I think it’s going to be a release for people when it’s safe to do so, and I can’t wait to bring the album to the stage.

Anywhere online where curious fans can listen to your music and find out more about you?

Answer: Of course! Follow me at d.k.lyonsmusic on Instagram + YouTube, or check me out on Spotify/Apple Music/Soundcloud at D.K. Lyons.

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tuneintoneupuk · 7 years ago

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Back in the 90s, I remember listening in my Dad’s car to “Full Moon Fever” again and again on loop and being touched by Petty’s incredible songwriting, lyrics and amazing melodies and rhythm. This album, more than any other was so influential on me personally and has become an album which I return to again and again. My daughter of 2 years old will recognise many of the tunes of this album due to the fact that I play them to her as she goes to sleep frequently: Particularly “You’re Alright for Now” which lends itself perfectly to a lullaby. I like to think that Tom used to sing it to his children too.

Alright For Now

If you have not yet seen the superb documentary on Tom Petty – Running Down a Dream – then this is an absolute must and you will gain so much insight into the struggle which he faced against the music industry and some of his difficult times.

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0965382/

NetFlix: https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/70082634

There are so many great albums and songs by Tom Petty and an entire channel devoted to him on Sirius XFM; all of this a testament to a wonderful songwriter and a fantastic musician.

This year in June I was lucky enough to get to see Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers on their 40th Anniversary Tour. I went with my friend who I busk many of these songs with on Brighton Beach and also my Dad. We met up there and first got to see some really great acts from Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown and the main support act for the Heartbreakers – Stevie Nicks. Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty were great friends and Stevie is often considered to be one of the Heartbreakers. She sums up her friendship with Tom Petty in this article in the Rolling Stone: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/stevie-nicks-looks-back-on-her-friendship-with-tom-petty-w508749

Stop Draggin My Heart Around – Here performed at Hyde Park BST (British Summer Time) festival from the 9th June. The two of them had a great chemistry on stage and were clearly enjoying their performance.

Tom Petty’s death came as a massive shock to me. Who would have known that when I saw him in Hyde Park it would be one of the last times he would perform to a crowd and within 5 months he would be dead? This summer just gone, my wife, daughter and I took a trip from San Francisco to Colorado and much of the road trip was spent listening to Tom Petty’s tracks and choice of tunes on his very own station on Sirius XFM. The day he died, my car had broken down on a motorway and I phoned my wife to let her know I was waiting for a tow-truck. It was then that she informed me that Tom Petty had died. Later the news was retracted, however, the following day his death was confirmed. I am writing this fan article to show my deepest respect for a truly great musician, songwriter and person and as a condolence to his friends and family. My second wish is that if someone stumbles upon this article and is not yet very familiar with Tom Petty’s music, that they will take the time and inspiration to spend some time listening to and absorbing some of the best melodies and lyrics ever written.

RIP Tom Petty – may you find peace and I hope your journey into the Great Wide Open was easy

For me the best songs by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are (in no particular order):

American Girl

Mary Jane’s Last Dance

Free Fallin

Runnin’ Down A Dream – Great solo from Mike Campbell on this one

Even The Losers

Yer So Bad

Depending On You

Listen To Her Heart

Wildflowers

You Don’t Know How It Feels

A Face In The Crowd

I Won’t Back Down

Learning to Fly – Tom Petty w/ Stevie Nicks

You Wreck Me

It’s Good To Be King

Don’t Come Around Here No More

Tom Petty’s last performance

Mike Campbell really is one of the best and also most underrated guitarists that there is. No only was he a major songwriting influence in many of the songs which we have already mentioned, he was the main songwriter for one of the Heartbreakers greatest tunes – Refugee:

He has such an accomplished ear for adding melody to a song which will always hugely complement the song which he is writing for and is an incredible guitarist with some of the most memorable melodic hooks and solos of any guitarist.

Link to Tom Petty’s website

http://www.tompetty.com/

Where you can read Mike Campbell’s beautiful words:

Mike Campbell of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers performs in concert during their “40th Anniversary Tour” at The Wells Fargo Center on Saturday, July 1, 2017, in Philadelphia. (Photo by Owen Sweeney/Invision/AP)

YOUR CONDOLENCES HAVE BEEN A LIFE SAVER FOR ME. THIS HAS BEEN SO SURPRISING AND DEVASTATING FOR ME AND THE BAND AS I KNOW IT HAS BEEN FOR YOU. IT WILL TAKE A LONG TIME BEFORE I GET OVER THIS. I WILL CARRY ON FOR MYSELF AND ALL OF YOU WHO LOVE THE MUSIC. I FEEL YOUR LOVE AND AM FOREVER GRATEFUL FOR YOUR SUPPORT ALL THESE YEARS. REMEMBER, WITHOUT YOU, ALL OF OUR DEVOTED FANS, THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN NO TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS. TOM WILL ALWAYS BE HERE ON MY RIGHT SHOULDER URGING ME ON TO KEEP THE DREAM ALIVE AND INSPIRING ME WITH HIS SPIRIT. HE IS A ONE OF A KIND AND I WILL BE ETERNALLY GRATEFUL FOR THE YEARS WE RODE TOGETHER AND THE SONGS WE WROTE TOGETHER. BLESS YOU ALL FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART.

I’m sure that there is so much which is missing from this article, but it is a start for me to try to explain what these great men and brilliant band mean to me.

It would be excellent if you would comment on which of Tom Petty’s songs is your favourite and why – including if there are any songs which are missing from my list. Thanks for taking the time to read this and I look forward to hearing from you.

RIP Tom Petty 2017 - why I love your #music and #lyrics so much and which #songs most move me Back in the 90s, I remember listening in my Dad’s car to “Full Moon Fever” again and again on loop and being touched by Petty’s incredible songwriting, lyrics and amazing melodies and rhythm.

#blues #BST #country #free fallin #heartbreakers #mike campbell #music #podcast #rock #stevie nicks #tom petty

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davidmann95 · 8 years ago

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Superman Starter Pack

First and most importantly, before we go into petty commercial concerns, let’s remember the meaning of the day I orginally posted this. Because friends, it was no ordinary day: it was Miracle Monday, the anniversary of Superman triumphing over no less than the biblical prince of darkness himself (or at least a respectable substitute), and it was so awesome that even though it was expunged from humanity’s collective consciousness, they still instinctively recognized the third Monday of May as a day of good cheer to be celebrated in Superman’s honor from now until the end of time.

I know I write plenty about Superman on here, but with as much as a pain as comics can be to get into, I’m sure at least some of those I’m lucky enough to have follow me haven’t been able to find an easy in for the character. Or maybe a follower-of-a-follower or friend-of-a-friend is looking for a reasonable place to start. So in the spirit of the season, I’ll toss on the (admittedly already pretty massive) pile of recommended starting points on Superman: ten stories in a recommended - but by no means strict - order that should, as a whole, give you a pretty decent idea of what Superman’s deal is and why you should care, all of which you should be able to find pretty easily on Comixology or a local bookstore/comic book shop.

1. Superman: Birthright

What it’s about: It’s his origin. He gets rocketed to Earth from the doomed planet Krypton, he gets raised by farmers, he puts on tights to fight crime, he meets Lois Lane and Lex Luthor, he deals with Kryptonite, all the standard-issue Superman business.

Why you should read it: It does all that stuff better than anyone else. He’s had a few different takes on his origins over the years due to a series of reboots, another of those tellings is even further down the list, but the first major modern one pretty much hit the nail on the head first try. It toes the tricky line of humanizing him without making you forget that hey, he’s Superman, it’s high-action fun without skimping on the character, and if there’s any one story that does the best job of conveying why you should look at an invincible man-god all but beyond sin or death with no major inciting incident in his background as a likable, relatable character, this is it. Add in some of the best Lane and Luthor material out there, and it’s a no-brainer.

Further recommendations if you liked it: About a decade before writing Birthright, its author Mark Waid worked with Alex Ross on what ended up one of DC’s biggest comics ever, Kingdom Come, the story of a brutal near-future of out-of-control superheroes that ultimately narrowed down to being about Superman above all else, and one of his most popular and influential stories of all time at that. Years after Birthright he created Irredeemable, the story of a Superman pastiche named Plutonian gone murderously rogue and how he reached his breaking point, illustrating a lot of what makes Superman special by way of contrast.

(Since Superman’s had so many notable homage/analogue/pastiche/rip-off/whatever-you-want-to-call-it characters compared to other superheroes, often in very good stories, there’ll be a number of those stories on this list.)

2. Superman: Up, Up and Away

What: Ever seen Superman Returns? That, but good. Clark Kent’s been living and loving a normal life as a reporter and husband after a cosmic dust-up in one of DC’s event comics took Superman off the board for a year, but mounting threats demand his return to save Metropolis again, if he still can.

Why: If you’d rather skip the origin, this is as a good a place as you’ll find to jump onboard. Clark and Lois both get some solid characterization, a number of classic villains have solid screentime, there’s some interesting Kryptonian mythology sticking its head in without being too intrusive, a great overarching threat to Metropolis, and it captures how Superman’s powers work in a visceral sense better than almost anything else. If you just want a classic, pick-it-up-and-go Fun Superman Story, this is where to go.

Recommendations: If you liked this, you’ll probably be inclined to enjoy the rest of co-writer Geoff Johns’ run on Action Comics, including most popularly Legion of Superheroes and Brainiac, both with artist Gary Frank. Another series tapping into that classic Superman feeling pretty well - regardless of whether you enjoyed the original show or not - is Smallville: Season 11, showing the adventures of that series’ young Clark Kent once he finally becomes Superman. Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason’s run on the main Superman title under the banner of DC Rebirth tried to maintain that feeling, properly introducing Jon Kent, Lois and Clark’s 10-year-old-son, as Superboy in what seems to be a permanent addition to the cast and mythology; your mileage on its success may vary, but Volume 2, Trials of the Super Sons, represents the best of it. And the current Superman work by Brian Bendis - beginning with his The Man Of Steel miniseries and spinning off into both Superman and Action Comics - while controversial, presents a very similar take on Superman to the one seen in Up, Up and Away and a similar sensibility, to very positive results.

3. Superman: Secret Identity

What: He’s Clark Kent, an aspiring writer from a farm town in Kansas. Problem is he’s only named after the other guy, an ordinary teenager who’s put up with crap his whole life for being named after a comic book character in an ordinary world. But when he suddenly finds himself far closer to his namesake than he ever would have imagined, it becomes the journey of his life to find how to really be a Superman.

Why: The best ‘realistic’ Superman story by a long shot, this doesn’t sideline its heart in favor of pseudo-science justifications for what he can do, or the sociopolitical impact of his existence. He has the powers, he wears the costume to save people (though he never directly reveals himself to the world), and in-between he lives his life and learns what it means to be a good man. It’s quiet and sweet and deeply human, and probably one of the two or three best Superman comics period.

Recommendations: If you like the low-key, pastoral aesthetic, you might enjoy Superman for All Seasons, or Supergirl: Being Super, and the one-shot Man and Superman by Marv Wolfman and Claudio Castellini has something of a similar down-to-Earth feel. I’d also recommend Jeff Loveness and Tom Grummet’s Glasses in Mysteries Of Love In Space. If you’d like more of writer Kurt Busiek’s work, his much-beloved series Astro City - focusing on a different perspective in the superhero-stuffed metropolis in every story - opens with A Dream of Flying, set from the point of view of the Superman-like Samaritan, telling of his quiet sorrow of never being to fly simply for its own sake in a world of dangers demanding his attention.

4. Of Thee I Sing

What: Gotham hitman Tommy Monaghan heads to the roof of Noonan’s bar for a smoke. Superman happens to be there at the time. They talk.

Why: A lot of people call this the best Superman story of the 90s, and they’re not wrong. Writer Garth Ennis doesn’t make any bones about hating the superhero genre in general (as evidenced by their treatment in the rest of Hitman), but he has a sincere soft spot for Superman as an ideal of what we - and specifically Americans - are supposed to be, and he pours it all out here in a story of what it means for Superman to fail, and why he remains Superman regardless. It sells the idea that an unrepentant killer - even one only targeting ‘bad guys’ like Tommy - would unabashedly consider Superman his hero, and that’s no small feat.

Recommendations: If you read Hitman #34 and love it but don’t intend to check out the rest of the series (why? It’s amazing), go ahead and read JLA/Hitman, a coda to the book showing the one time Tommy got caught up in the Justice League’s orbit, and what happens when Superman learns the truth about his profession, culminating in a scene that sums up What Superman Is All About better than maybe any other story. Tom King and Andy Kubert’s Superman: Up In The Sky, while not without blemish (there’s a rightly-controversial chapter involving Lois that precludes universal recommendation), is a similarly humane look at Superman and the clash of his iconic power and mortal limitations. If you appreciated the idea of a classically decent Superman in an indecent world, you might enjoy Al Ewing’s novel Gods of Manhattan (the middle of a loose pulp adventure trilogy with El Sombra and Pax Omega, which I’ve discussed in the past), starring Doc Savage and Superman analogue Doc Thunder warring with a fascistic new vigilante in a far different New York City.

5. Superman: Camelot Falls

What: On top of a number of other threats hitting Superman from all sides, he receives a prophecy from the wizard Arion, warning of a devastating future when mankind is faced with its ultimate threat; a threat it will be too weak to overcome due to Superman’s protection over the years, but will still only just barely survive without him. Will he abandon humanity to a new age of darkness, or try and fight fate to save them knowing it could lead to their ultimate extinction?

Why: From the writer of Secret Identity and co-writer of Up, Up and Away!, this is probably the best crack at the often-attempted “Would having Superman be around actually be a good thing for humanity in the long term?” story. Beyond having the courtesy of wrapping that idea up in a really solid adventure rather than having everyone solemnly ruminate for the better part of a year, it comes at it from an angle that doesn’t feel like cheating either logically or in terms of the characters, and it’s an extremely underrated gem.

Recommendations: For the same idea tackled in a very different way, there’s the much better-known Superman: Red Son, showing the hero he would have become growing up in the Soviet Union rather than the United States; going after similar ideas is the heartfelt Superman: Peace on Earth. The rest of Kurt Busiek’s time on the main Superman title was great too, even if this stood easily as the centerpiece; his other trades were Back In Action, Redemption, The Third Kryptonian, and Shadows Linger. Speaking of underrated gems, Gail Simone’s run on Action Comics from around the same time with John Byrne was also great, collected in Strange Attractors. And since the story opens with an excellent one-shot centered around his marriage to Lois, I have to recommend From Krypton With Love if you can track it down in Superman 80-Page Giant #2, and Thom Zahler’s fun Lois-and-Clark style webcomic Love and Capes.

6. Superman Adventures

What: A spinoff of Superman: The Animated Series, this quietly chugged along throughout the latter half of the 90s as the best of the Superman books at the time.

Why: Much as stories defining his character and world are important, the bread and butter of Superman is just regular old fun comics, and there’s no better place to go than here for fans of any and all ages. Almost all of its 66 issues were at least pretty fun, but by far most notable were two runs in particular - Scott McCloud, the guy who would go on to literally write the book on the entire medium in Understanding Comics, handled the first year, and Mark Millar prior to his breakout success wrote a number of incredibly charming and sincere Superman stories here, including arguably the best Luthor story in How Much Can One Man Hate?, and a full comic on every page in 22 Stories In A Single Bound.

Recommendations: Superman has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to runs of just plain fun comics. For the youngest in your family, Superman Family Adventures might just be what you’re looking for. Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the Eighth Grade would fit on your shelf very well next to Superman Adventures. Superman: Secret Origin, while not the absolute best take on his early days, has some real charm and would be an ideal introduction for younger readers that won’t talk down to them in the slightest, and that you’ll probably like yourself (especially since it seems to be the ‘canon’ Superman origin again). If you’re interested in something retro, The Superman Chronicles cover his earliest stories from the 30s and 40s, and Showcase Presents: Superman collects many of his most classic adventures from the height of his popularity in the 50s and 60s. Age of the Sentry and Alan Moore’s Supreme would also work well. For slightly older kids (i.e. middle school), they might get a kick out of Mark Millar and Lenil Yu’s Superior, or What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice, and the American Way? And finally, for just plain fun Superman runs, I can’t ignore the last year of Joe Casey’s much-overlooked time on The Adventures of Superman.

7. Superman vs. Lex Luthor

What: Exactly what it says on the tin: a collection of 12 Luthor stories from his first appearance to the early 21st century.

Why: Well, he’s Superman’s biggest enemy, that’s why, and even on his own is one of the best villains of all time. Thankfully, this is an exceptionally well-curated collection of his greatest hits; pouring through this should give you more than a good idea of what makes him tick.

Recommendations: While he has a number of great showings in Superman-centric comics, his two biggest solo acts outside of this would be Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo’s Luthor (originally titled Lex Luthor: Man of Steel) and Paul Cornell’s run on Action Comics, where Lex took over the book for about a year. Also, one of Superman’s best writers, Elliot S! Maggin, contributed a few stories here - he’s best known for his brilliant Superman novels Last Son of Krypton and the aforementioned Miracle Monday, and he wrote a number of other great tales I picked some highlights from in another article.

8. Grant Morrison’s Action Comics

What: Spanning years, it begins in a different version of Superman’s early days, where an as-yet-flightless Clark Kent in a t-shirt and jeans challenged corrupt politicians, grappling with the public’s reaction to its first superhero even as his first true menace approaches from the stars. Showing his growth over time into the hero he becomes, he slowly realizes that his life has been subtly influenced by an unseen but all-powerful threat, one that in the climax will set Superman’s greatest enemies’ against him in a battle not just for his life, but for all of reality.

Why: The New 52 period for Superman was a controversial one at best, and I’d be the last to deny it went down ill-advised roads and made outright bone-stupid decisions. But I hope if nothing else this run is evaluated in the long run the way it deserves; while the first arc is framed as something of a Superman origin story, it becomes clear quickly that this is about his life as a whole, and his journey from a cocksure young champion of the oppressed in way over his head, to a self-questioning godling unsure of the limits of his responsibilities as his powers increase, and finally an assured, unstoppable Superman fighting on the grandest cosmic scale possible against the same old bullies. It gives him a true character arc without undermining his essential Superman-ness, and by the end it’s a contender for the title of the biggest Superman story of all.

Recommendations: Most directly, Morrison did a one-off mini-sequel to this run in Sideways Annual #1, where he gets to give his creation of t-shirt Superman a proper sendoff after he was quickly retconned out of the main line. Outside of this, Greg Pak’s runs on Action Comics and Batman/Superman, and Tom Taylor/Robson Rocha’s 3-issue Batman/Superman stint, as well as Scott Snyder, Jim Lee and Dustin Nguyen’s blockbuster mini Superman Unchained, are the best of the New 52 era. If you’re looking for more wild cosmic Superman adventure stories, Grant Morrison’s Superman Beyond is a beautiful two-part adventure (it ties in to his event comic Final Crisis but largely works standalone), and Joe Casey’s Mr. Majestic was a largely great set of often trippy cosmic-scale adventure comics with its Superman-esque lead. For something a little more gonzo, maybe try the hilariously bizarre Coming of the Supermen by Neal Adams. And while his role in it is relatively minor, if we’re talking cosmic Superman-related epics, Jack Kirby’s Fourth World has to be mentioned - it’s soon being reisssued once again in omnibus format.

9. Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?

What: More than just the title story, DC issued a collection of all three of Watchmen writer Alan Moore’s Superman stories: For The Man Who Has Everything, where Superman finds himself trapped in his idea of his ideal life while Batman, Wonder Woman and Robin are in deadly danger in the real world, Jungle Line, where a deliriously ill and seemingly terminal Superman finds help in the most unexpected place, and Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?, Moore’s version of the final Superman story.

Why: Dark Superman stories are a tricky tightrope to walk - go too far and you invalidate the core his world is built around - but Moore’s pretty dang good at his job. Whatever Happened you should wait to read until you’ve checked out some Superman stories from the 1960s first since it’s very much meant as a contrast to those, but For The Man Who Has Everything is an interesting look at Superman’s basic alienation (especially in regards to his characterization in that period of his publication history) with a gangbuster final fight, and Jungle Line is a phenomenal Superman horror story that uncovers some of his rawest, most deeply buried fears.

Recommendations: There are precious few other dark Superman stories that can be considered any real successes outside a few mentioned among other recommendations; the closest I can think of is Superman: For Tomorrow, which poses some interesting questions framed by gorgeous art, but has a reach tremendously exceeding its grasp. Among similar characters though, there are some real winners; Moore’s own time on Miracleman was one of the first and still one of the most effective looks at what it would mean for a Superman-like being to exist in the real world, and the seminal novel Superfolks, while in many ways of its time, was tremendously and deservedly influential on generations of creators. Moore had another crack at the end of a Superman-like figure in his Majestic one-shot, and the Change or Die arc of Warren Ellis’ run on Stormwatch (all of which is worth reading) presented a powerful, bittersweet look at a superman’s attempt at truly changing the world for the better.

10. All-Star Superman

What: Superman rescues the first manned mission to the sun, sabotaged by Lex Luthor. His powers have reached greater heights than ever from the solar overexposure, but it’s more than his cells can handle: he’s dying, and Lex has won at last. This is what Superman does with his last year of life.

Why: I put this at the bottom since it works better the more you like Superman, but if you’re only going to read one story on this list, this one has to be it. It’s one of the best superhero stories period, and it’s everything that’s wistful and playful and sad and magical and wonderful about Superman in one book.

Recommendations: If you’re interested in the other great “Death of Superman” story, skip the 90s book and go to co-creator Jerry Siegel and Curt Swan’s 60s ‘Imaginary Story’, also one of the best Superman stories ever, and particularly one of Luthor’s best showings. If you got a kick out of the utopian ‘Superman fixes everything’ feel of a lot of it, try The Amazing Story of Superman-Red and Superman-Blue! The Supergirl run of Steve Orlando tries to operate on a pretty similar wavelength, and was definitely the best thing coming out of the Superman family of books at the time. The recent Adventures of Superman anthology series has a number of creators try and do their own ‘definitive’ Superman stories, often to great results. Help, ostensibly a Lex Luthor story by Jeff Loveness and David Williams in DC’s Beach Blanket Bad Guy’s Special, is in fact as feel-good a take on Superman’s relevancy as there is. And Avengers 34.1 starring Hyperion by Al Ewing and Dale Keown taps into All-Star’s sense of an elevated alien perspective paired with a deep well of humanity to different but still moving results.

#Superman #Opinion

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