#as much as punk was my perfect cat. boy is more in tune with my emotional and physical health than any other animal I’ve had

[prettyiwa]

Who needs a heat pad when you have a dedicated cat to lay on your tummy?

[merppppppppppppppppp]

Rapper’s Delight Hobie X Black Fem Reader (1970s coded)

This is for my biggest fan @kyankyannnn

This is what a Black girl from the Bronx talks like @ohsanghoe and @kyankyannnn since it was so confusing before! 😂 anyway, this was HELLA fun to write! Hope y’all enjoy 😉

You gazed around at the brick faces of Camden’s shops and the graffiti peppering random surfaces with awe and fondness.

This was your first time in Hobie’s hometown, and it felt at once familiar and foreign. From the grey and brown square buildings to the peeling, painted signs adorning their façades, the neighborhood was so distinctly working class; you half expected to see a hotdog vendor or a bodega.

“Y’alright, America?”Hobie asked, quietly. His large hand rested on your arm.

“Oh! Yeah, I’m cool.” You replied.

“Not scared yet are ya?” Smiley, the dimpled bassist of Hobie’s band asked. His signature toothy grin lit up his medium brown face.

“Not at all,” you laughed. “Feels like home.”

“Let’s see if you’re still singin’ that tune when we take you to The Sub.” Silas, the perpetually stoned drummer, added.

Despite its name, The Sub, was in fact not a late night spot to get sandwiches. According to Hobie it was one part basement club, one part speakeasy. Not unlike the warehouses the DJs threw dance parties in back in your hometown of the Bronx New York.

It was beyond trippy having another spider friend in the same timeline as you. The Spiderverse often either felt vast and disconnected or—whenever you were in the spider society— claustrophobic and overwhelming. So it was a major relief when you’d met Hobie, aka Spider Punk, another spider from Earth-138. The two of you had immediately hit it off being the same age, nineteen, and major music lovers.

The punk scene was practically non-existent in the Boogie Down Bronx and the same was true of the brand new hip-hop/rap scene of your home. But you were curious to see how these London cats got down, so when Hobie had invited you to Camden for an extended stay, you’d enthusiastically agreed. Hopefully New York could behave itself for a few weeks while you were gone.

Being that you weren’t a full time member of the spider society, Hobie had mopped some tech to make you a watch giving you the opportunity to transport to his place with the press of a button.

As you and the band headed to The Sub, you took note of the rest of the crowd, who were mostly dressed similarly to Hobie and his bandmates. Ripped skinny jeans, leather vests studded with silver spikes, chunky stainless steel jewelry and so much spiked up hair you were almost certain you could see a trail of hair spray and pomade in the air. There were a few people who were more casual in band tee’s or Jean vests, but you in your sparkly bell bottoms and matching top certainly stood out. Especially with your bouncy afro compared to the—mostly white—girls with their immobile Mohawks.

The Sub was actually a record store called: ‘Subwoofer Record Shop.’ It was closed to the public, but a trail of punks were all rounding the side of the building to the alleyway.

“Man, I’m psyched for tonight!” Smiley enthused. “Y/n, you gotta be front row and center cheerin’ us on, yeah?”

“I gotta be front row and center to see around these people’s hair.” You joked.

“Hey, that fro a’yours ain’t exactly flat, innit?” Hobie grinned, tweaking a tight curl near your ear. The motion made your cheeks burn.

“Picked to perfection.” You countered, playfully, ignoring the way your heart revved.

The boys led you down a flight of crumbling, concrete stairs where a handrail wrapped in multicolored Christmas lights and a surprisingly bright street lamp led the way. At the base, grungy looking characters in black leather clothes and heavy eyeliner smoked and chatted in tight circles. Their scary expressions immediately brightened when they saw Hobie and his crew.

“Oi, dickheads! ‘Ow the ‘ell are ya!” A tall, rail thin guy with an electric blue mohawk exclaimed, slapping hands with the band as they crowded the floor by the doorway.

“Ah, ya know! Nother day nother disaster.” Hobie greeted him.

“Right ‘bout that, mate.” The blue haired guy chuckled. “Oi, Si? Ya still on earth with us?” His accent made the ‘th’ sound like an ‘f.’

“Always an never.” Silas waved a joint between his ringed fingers. You had no idea when or where he’d gotten it.

“Can’t wait to hear you blokes blow the house down t’night.” A girl with fire red hair that matched her kilt exclaimed.

“S’gonna be one helluva a show, that’s for sure!” Smiley replied.

“See you all in there.”

The exchange had been so snappy you’d gotten whiplash just listening to it. The boys let themselves in with Hobie holding the door for you, a soft smile on his face.

“Welcome to The Sub, America.”

You gawked around the shockingly huge room. It had a black floor, a wall to wall stocked bar, darts at the far end and an elevated stage at the other. The walls were decorated with band posters advertising past and future shows. Some had been ripped off, others looked freshly tacked on. A wall of records hung from a shimmering curtain behind said stage and a gaggle of musicians were tuning up in a discordant symphony of riffs and scales. Colorful stage lights bathed them in hues of red, blue, and purple.

“Holy shit.” You marveled.

“Pretty cool for a group of weirdos, right?” Hobie whispered beside you. You could hear the casual excitement in his voice— clearly pleased at your reaction.

“Dynamight!” You exclaimed.

“C’mon, let’s grab a seat up front.” Smiley suggested.

Being that mosh pits weren’t uncommon in the space, “up front” actually meant at the end of the bar closest to the stage. The space surrounding the stage, was clear of tables and chairs in case of moshing.

The band on stage currently began playing and you were immediately impressed with their sound. They were a tight unit.

“Who are these cats?” You asked, Hobie.

“The singer’s name is Chris and the drummer is Byron.” He replied.

“I mean what’s the name of their band?”

“Oh, they ain’t a band, love. Chris sings folk music and Byron usually plays keyboard with a jazz quartet.”

Your head swiveled toward Hobie.

“You mean they’re not a band? And they sound that good together?”

“The drummer’s a bit slow on the pickup, but they’re all solid.” Hobie shrugged, swiveling in his stool until his knees kissed yours.

“Ok, Mr. Musical Savant.” You mocked a posh accent. “But you have to admit, they’re pretty tight together.”

“No doubt, but they won’t compare to our sound.” Hobie replied matter of factly.

 “Ohh? Big talk, Slim Jim.” You smirked, giving his shoulder a gentle punch.

“Yeah,” Hobie’s hazel eyes danced with amusement as he fixed you with his humorous half smile. The one that secretly made your heart race. “With the flavor to match.” He winked.

You thought you’d melt off the stool. Your mind raced as you tried to conjure up a response, but before you could Smiley interrupted.

“Oi, when you kids’re done whispering sweet nothin’s, the stage is clear.”

The pair of you swung your head in Smiley’s direction. You could swear you saw a bashful, almost embarrassed expression flash across Hobie’s chiseled features, but he was smirking in a blink.

“Sure, sure.” He replied, standing along with his bandmates. Before he made the short trek to the stage he turned to you. “Be right back, yeah? Dun let any creeps try an pull one over on ya.”

“London,” your voice lowered as you leaned forward on the stool. “You took the girl outta the Bronx not the other way around.”

Now it was Hobie’s turn to look stunned. He scanned your face and seemed about to say something before Silas tugged him away.

“Let’s go, Romeo!” The stoned bassist quipped.

You giggled as Hobie shrugged.

“Don’t talk to strangers, y/n.” He playfully warned.

As the band climbed on stage a piercing wolf whistle sounded in the crowd along with a loud smattering of applause. It was clear Hobie’s band were well known amongst this crowd.

“Ri’,” Hobie chuckled. “Look, we got a friend here, yeah? She came all the way from America so you blokes better make us look good!”

“Even if we suck!” Silas added, sitting down at the drum set.

The crowd laughed. So did you, a fond smile lingering on your lips.

With that introduction out of the way, the boys began tuning up. Immediately, you noticed a different between their sound check and the slapdash ensemble that’d gone before them. You sat up, admiring your friend bathed in hues of blue and purple that seemed to caress his high cheekbones and emanate from his deeply melanated skin. The sight was enough to make a flush rise up your neck. You crossed your legs and propped your chin on your fist. The boys started out the gate swinging with a piercing guitar riff that hyped the crowd, followed by Silas’ bombastic drums.

The crowd went crazy, and you lowered the drink you’d gotten in awe. Wow, so this was what Hobie got up to in those unpermitted shows? Back where you were from, there were black rockstars, certainly. Jimi Hendrix,  Betty Davis, Prince, but you only knew a couple cats who played rock like Hobie. Bad Brains and a little band out of Detroit called Death.

Still, you couldn’t deny, the band’s sound was tight. Loud, but tight. Hobie’s fingers were flying. The rest of the band was amazing too, but you couldn’t take your eyes off your fellow comrade. You’d never seen him so in the zone. His expression was relaxed, but his entire body was locked into what he was doing. His head bobbed with the rhythm of his guitar.

“Woowoooo!” You whooped, bouncing in your seat. The cheering got Hobie’s attention and he glanced at you with a smile.

When the band was done, the room practically shook with applause and cheering. You jumped from the stool to join the noise.

“Jeez, how’re you blokes gonna act when we really start playin’?” Smiley joked, making the crowd laugh.

Hobie lifted the hem of his shirt to dab his forehead, and you could have sworn you heard the entire female demographic of the audience swoon. Not that you weren’t one of them.

“Ri’,” Hobie spoke up, “but I wanna introduce our girl. A friend of ours who came all the way from America to  visit.”

“Gwen!” Someone shouted.

You snickered. You almost forgot Gwen hung out with Hobie on a regular basis.

“No, not Gwen.” Hobie chuckled. “This is another friend. She’s in the music scene too.”

I am????

You thought.

“An’ I think she should come up here an’ join us, how bout you lot?”

The crowd cheered again. Your eyes widened.

What. The. Fuck?!

No way were you going up in front of this crowd. Everyone in there looked like they could kill you with their bare hands. Was Hobie crazy?

You sank down in your seat, but Hobie gestured to you broadly.

“Y/n, come up’ere. You know we ain’t gonna let ya off the hook.”

You looked around as if trying to find who he could be talking about, but all heavily made up eyes were on you as the punk crowd cheered you on.

“Yeah, c’mon y/n!”

“Be a sport!”

“Show us how they do it in America!”

Then the crowd began chanting your name. A thousand British accents practically singing “y/n, y/n, y/n!”

You could only gawk at Hobie whose pierced brow was quirked as he smiled slyly at you.

‘Come on’ he mouthed, holding out a ringed hand.

‘Seriously?’ You shot back?

‘Seriously.’ Hobie confirmed.

You prayed the moment would pass, but with everyone cheering you on and Hobie smiling gallantly at you like some knight in shining armor, you didn’t think you were getting out of this one. So with a quick ‘Ima kill you,’ to Hobie, you downed the rest of your drink and slid off the stool.

The applause got louder as you joined the band on stage, grabbing Hobie’s hand.

“Wow, umm, ok.” You chuckled nervously. “Look, I’m not from here, so my music probably isn’t gonna be you guys’ speed.”

“Try us!” Someone shouted from the crowd.

Alright. You would. You turned to Hobie with a half baked idea in mind. Time to bring a little Boogie Down to Camden.

“Yall know Rapper’s Delight?” You asked the boys.

All three members scoffed, almost offended at the notion that they didn’t.

“Yeah, love, we know Rapper’s Delight.” Hobie replied.

“You lead the way, y/n, we got ya covered.” Smiley winked.

“Alright, I guess ima kick yall something outta my hometown. Cool?”

The crowd responded favorably. You turned to the band, heart hammering nervously, and nodded.

Silas counted the band in.

“One.. two… one, two, three!”

Silas picked it up with the drums and Smiley quickly came in with the bass. Hobie was last.

God you were nervous, but man, the beat was way too funky to stay still so you bounced along. And when the beat gave way you started with the unmistakable intro of: “I said a hip hop the hippy the hippy to the hip hip hop and ya don’t stop the rock���“

But instead of biting Sugar Hill’s flow completely you decided to freestyle like the cats back home.

Now I know that you know that you ain’t eva heard this befo’, but layback and relax and let me kick you this flow.

Cuz in the boogie down, groove comes naturally to us and if you wanna be down and get down wit’ me now, you need proper influence. Boogie down B-town is where it really be happenin’ and I’m deliverin’ from Bronx and straight into Camden.

“Oooohhh!” The crowd chanted.

You laughed through your freestyle. Surprised by how much fun you were having. The crowd was jamming and the band was grooving right along with you. By the time the dance break came along, everyone was grooving along with you.

With an outro you thanked the crowd and were practically drowned out by their applause.

You slotted the mic back onto the stand only to be scooped into a hug by Hobie who spun you around. You laughed.

“That was amazing, y/n!” He exclaimed.

The rest of the boys joined you turning it into a group hug.

“Still wanna kill me?” Hobie asked.

“Yes!” You tried to glare at him, but your smile was too big. “But you made me sound good so I guess I’ll let you off the hook.”

Hobie laughed.

“I’ll take it.”

[immortalbarnes]

A Cabin For Two | Chapter 1: Here Comes the Sun

Bucky Barnes x Reader

summary: you and Bucky live another day in paradise and visit an old friend

warnings: just a little angst... and some internalized anger towards Steve Rogers

A/N: mainly a setup chapter, also this is my way of letting out pent out emotions towards the writers of endgame’s decision of sending Steve back in time

prologue

A normal day in the cabin consisted of semi-early mornings with something sizzling on the stove and the strong fragrance of coffee wafting through the dewy morning air. To the normal person, life in the middle-of-nowhere-New-York seems isolating and boring, but for two ex-hydra elite super soldiers, there is nothing better.

As Bucky brews a fresh batch of dark roasted perfection, you flip the finale of the stack of pancakes he suggested to make in bed some time earlier, and there is comfortable silence between the two of you, as you hear the coffee maker sing and feel your pristine white cat, Alpine, rub against your ankles.

Bucky comes up behind you and wraps his built arms around your waist, humming a Sinatra song you both originally missed out on in the 50’s. You smile, tossing the final silver dollar pancakes onto the tray to your right. He slips back away from you in time to turn off the stove and turn to see him now reaching out for you to dance with him as he begins to sing the words of a totally different song, probably from an entirely different era. (70 years of music is hard to catch up on)

“Here comes the sun…” He quietly sings to you as you step into his embrace, “And I say… It’s all right.” He serenades you, off key as his voice is still sleepy and gravelly, as you slow dance in the kitchen, Alpine circling you two.

“That’s not what you were humming earlier.” You contentedly point out.

“Forgot the words to that one,” He replies and continues singing The Beatles song.

“Doo-dun-doo-doo”

After he slowly closes out the tune, you gather your pancakes, syrup, coffee (of course), and some assorted fruits, and go out to the front porch. Out there, a small picnic table on your porch basks in the rising morning sun. You splay out your food and utensils, sit, and merrily eat, listening to birds chirp and watching bunnies scurry back to their homes.  Bucky’s eyes are shining as he watches the sun slowly rise. Neither of you know what time it is, your best guess is 7 or 8, but it doesn’t matter. There’s no missions to be sent out on, no reports to file, and  no one ordering you where to be. It’s you, Bucky, and mother nature, and you couldn’t ask for anything more.

“Y/N?” Bucky asks after a while, snapping you out of your content haze. His voice is quiet and soft, as if he intended to not startle you.

“Yes?”

“What should we do today?” You knew he was going to ask this question, for he asks it everyday. Somedays you go fishing or hunting, others you curl up by the fireplace and read to each other, and others you go on hikes, but no matter what the answer turns out to be, it’s the perfect answer.

“I don’t know, my love, is there anything you want to do today?”

“Can we visit Steve today? It’s been a while since…” He begins to attempt to justify, but you don’t need to hear it. Nothing broke your heart more than when Bucky found out Steve went back to the 40’s. You loved Steve, for he was everything to Bucky, and you do your best to be everything for him.

“Of course. Do you want to pick wildflowers to bring him? I want some for a centerpiece in our dining room too.” You offer, knowing that bringing Steve small gifts, like pies or paintings, helps Bucky know he’s doing everything he can for his best pal. Part of it hurts to see it, for it angers you that he would leave you two, that he would leave Bucky helpless and alone in a new world far from the one you knew.

…

It’s a short walk to a hill behind your cabin that’s draped in flowers. Having a lot of time on your hands, you began studying the natural floral of the state. Your personal favorite was the Trientalis borealis, or starflower, for it reminds you of the star on Bucky’s old arm, the one you used as a symbol for hope in your days with hydra. Waking up from cryo, you always searched for that deep red star, so you could know your soldier was there with you. Bucky loves Claytonia caroliniana, the spring beauties, only because he loved putting them in your hair. He claimed that the pale pink complimented your y/h/c strands perfectly.

Bucky picked some trout lilies, their petals a vibrant yellow, and you added some white wood aster to go with them. After adding some other plants you’re yet to learn about, you march back to your cabin and tie off the bouquet with some twine before getting into Bucky’s silver Jeep and heading to the city.

…

Steve’s eyes light up when he sees you and Bucky walk through the door, just like how Bucky’s light looking at the morning sun. Supposedly, there’s not much for America’s Golden Boy at Sunny Acres Nursing Home, so maybe Bucky is his sun.

“Bucky! Y/N!” Steve weakly greets the two of you as you walk in. Bucky is like a child, smiling at his wrinkled best friend, holding the small bouquet behind his back. He happily skips to the right side of the bed Steve is currently in, grinning ear to ear.

“We brought you these,” Bucky says as he presents Steve with the twine bound wildflowers you had picked this morning, “I hope you like them, we picked trout lilies this time to brighten up your room.”

“Geez, punk, don’t go soft on me now,” Steve jokes, “I love them.” With those simple words, Bucky beams. He can’t bear to think about how he was no longer there for Steve during his years on ice, so he tries everything to make it up to him during his final years.

“Jerk.” Bucky mumbles.

“Hey, Buck, y’all catch up. I’ll put the flowers in a vase.” You pitch in, taking the flowers to the small kitchenette on the other side of the room. Replacing the last bouquet you brought him now dried out and wilting, you find a nurse there preparing a meal. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t see you there!” You politely greet her, “My names Y/N.”

“Oh, I know, if it wasn’t for the news stories, it would be from Steve constantly talking about you and Mr. Barnes,” she says, “My name is Helen. I’m Mr. Roger’s primary caregiver.”

“Thank you for all you do for our friend. You said he talks about us a lot?” You inquire.

“Oh, all the time. He’s told me so many stories of the Avengers, and of course of  him and Mr. Barnes from before World War II. His stories are incredible!” Her smile is genuine as he continues the soup for Steve, “You know, as much as some of the other heroes try to come and visit him, nothing compares to how happy he is after Bucky visits. It’s really incredible how close they are.”

“Yes… It is.” You can’t help but feel a ting in your stomach when she said that. A small part of you will never forgive Steve for leaving Bucky, but you gotta get over it at some point.

Suddenly, you hear Steve erupt in a wheezy laughter at something Bucky says. Interested, you lean against the frame of the kitchen’s entrance to get a better ear to what they’re saying.

“...and Sam couldn’t stop laughing! It was one of the craziest things Alpine has ever done. Maybe I should bring him here! He’s quite the cuddler.” Bucky finished a story about your beloved cat, and you smile at the two super soldiers talking as if nothing ever happened.

“‘Scuse me,” Helen squeezes past you through the door, soup in hand, “Here’s your lunch, Mr. Rogers.”

“Helen, dear, please call me Steve.” Steve chuckles, “So how is Sam? He was here a couple of weeks ago. Is he still working with the shield?”

“He is. Sometimes he comes over, so I can help him get used to it. I guess it’s not as easy for someone without the serum.” Sam resided in a cabin not too far from yours, and he came over a good amount. If there was anyone who came close to filling the whole Steve left in Bucky, it was The Falcon himself.

“That’s good. The three of you should come up together sometime… with Alpine too!” Steve says, his attention then shifts to you across the room, “How are you, Y/N? Keeping Bucky busy I hope.”

“Oh definitely!” You laugh, striding to his bed, “‘few days ago, we shot a buck early in the morning. My guess was a good 160 pounds. We cooked it and invited Sam over for ribs that night! Had enough leftovers for two days.”

“Didn’t know deer-pot-pie was a thing until she figured out how to make it!” Bucky added, pulling you in by the waist and kissing the top of your forehead. You can’t help but glance down at the portrait of Peggy on his bedside table; right next to a picture of him and Bucky from the war.

The three of you converse for hours, and before you know it, Helen is bringing Steve his dinner. She politely points out that visiting hours are almost over, but that you’re welcome back anytime. You bid farewell to Steve and return to your vehicle for the drive back home.

“Buck?” You timidly say in the car, “Do you ever wish you went back to the 40’s with him?”

He thinks for a while, until he finally speaks, “I don’t think there was anything for me… besides Steve of course. Now, I have you. As long as I have you, I’m happy in any century.”

You bathe once again the happy silence for the rest of the car ride. How did you get so lucky? You did terrible, unimaginable things during your time under Hydra control, so why did the universe let you have someone so magnificent as James Buchanan Barnes?

…

You’re greeted by Alpine as soon as you step over the threshold of your front door. By the time you got back, the sun had begun to set, so you began to start on dinner. Bucky marinated fish you had gotten at a local farmers market the other day, while you washed vegetables from the garden you had out back for a salad.

The two of you sat together at your mahogany dining table, centered with a bouquet of wildflowers similar to the one you gifted Steve. The two of you made small talk, nothing but plans for the next day and compliments to each other on dinner… Until Bucky suddenly says:

“Y/N?” He began, “You know I love you, right?”

“And I love you.”

“You’re everything I’ll ever need, doll, you’re the hope I had in Hydra, and you’re the life I had after it. Ever since I first laid eyes on you at that war camp, I knew you were the gal for me. You’re my world. Never forget that.”

A tear begins to slide down your face, but you didn’t notice it until Bucky wiped it from your cheek, “Thank you, Bucky, I love you so much.”

The sun leaves you and your lover, ending another perfect day in the middle-of-nowhere-New-York.

[cobblepottantrum]

ACNH HC

PPG edition

so me and my friends on a server were discussing about how the powerpuff girls and rowdyruff boys would play the game, and i took it upon myself to write it all down. This isnt every single one and all of these were created in a mixture of mine, @empress-lulu-of-mischief and @toxicovee minds (possibly other so if i left you out im sorry!!!) Just something fun and silly to think about. 

its long so ill break it up. Let me know if you have any others :) 

Blossom: She had played New Leaf and loved being the mayor so only being a resident was a low blow for her. In that case her island is always 5 star because she would have nothing less. When it comes to how her island looks, it's perfect. It's symmetrical and her villagers have a cute little town that looks oddly like Townsville. She prefers the natural looking stone compared to Bubbles bright pathways. Her favorite thing is the museum and she will donate everything one by one so that Blathers will tell her everything, it's kind of insane. She does this with Celeste too and has little information signs everywhere. She doesn’t really like doing the custom designs for clothes but will occasionally.

When it comes to the flowers, she only likes the red, pink and white ones. She only plants those and if any colorful ones come up, she gives them to Bubbles or has giveaways on her island. She has giveaways on her island where up to five people can come and ask her questions like a little meet and greet.

She doesn’t time skip too often but she did go back in April for the cherry blossom DIYs which her entire house is pink and cute. When it comes to her outfits, she wears the red bow and Bubbles made their old school dresses so she usually has on her pink dress. Her villagers are all pink and she likes having the snooty ones best. She won’t hesitate to complain to Isabell and she will take a net to them.

Game Name: Blossom Island Name: The Good Place (Was Townsville but Bubbles told her no) Fav Characters: Blathers, Celeste and Tom Nook Fav Villagers: Flora, Merengue, Pinky, Whitney, Audie, Raymond Fruit: Cherry Flag: Her iconic red bow with a pink background Tune: The ppg theme song (it's actually mine too)  

Bubbles: The queen of custom design and the hybrid hoarder. Her custom kiosk is constantly being used as everyone wears and uses her designs. Her island is filled with pastel blue pathways and the cutest decor ever. She mostly has small parks and cafes and is still trying to get past her 4 star ranking for KK Slider. She loves the hamster and small villagers and refuses to hit them with nets (except for the monkey who was mean but that's ok). She revolves around her flower gardens and she will yell at you if you try to steal her golden roses. No time skipping for her because she likes the slow pace of the game.

Every morning she goes to every villager and talks with them and sends them gifts. The Able Sisters is her favorite place and she mostly buys things for her villagers. Her musem isn’t even close to being complete because she is scared of the bugs except for the butterflies. The fish she is okay with but the moment she saw the tarantula she closed her game. If one of the girls or boys is on her island, they will catch everything for themselves. Her terraforming skills are off the charts since she likes design so much and everywhere you turn there is a waterfall covered with flowers but absolutely no weeds.

She loves having people come to her island. She sends out Dodo Codes for flower watering and trading. Everyone brings her gifts and it's now a running gag to bring blue flowers. Her player is always changing styles and hair colors but she always has custom heart cheeks.

Game Name: Bubbs Island Name: Sugar Shore Fav Characters: Leif, All the Able Sisters Fav Villagers: Bunnie, Cookie, Merry, Bubbles because duh Fruit: Apples Flag: Intricate bubble pattern with flowers Tune: She changes it from one disney song to the next

Buttercup: She wasn’t too thrilled about the game as she never played the other ones before. However she does start to like it as it's relaxing and helps with her anxiety. She's a grinder and always has money. She designed her island to have different areas based on her favorite movies and sport areas. She likes the jock and lazy villagers and will not hesitate to smack them with her nets. She hates how long dialogue takes and smashes the buttons violently.

She breeds the black flowers and her house is surrounded by them. She likes to catch the fish and every night she goes to as many islands as possible for taratuna hunting. She only allows her best friends to come to her island because the log screens are a pain. Her island is nice and cool and she time skips like crazy and likes the turnip stock market. Other than that she's not too obsessed with it and her villagers get upset when she leaves them for days at a time. The only custom thing she makes is movie posters and band album covers. Hidden around the island are magical summoning circles and fake blood, Bubbles hates it.

She likes CJ’s fish challenges and half her island is covered in bugs for Flick. Her player has the bandages and custom fake blood as well as spooky outfits that she gets from other people's codes.

Every time she catches a snail, she sends it to Butch with a message “its you” attached.

Name: BC Island Name: Spice Shack Favorite Villagers: Kid Cat, Bam, Phil, Bruce Fav Character: Cj and Flick Fruit: Orange Flag: Green skull with a black background (bubbles made it) Tune: Opening to “Welcome to the Black Parade)

Brick: Stock Market King, Mr. Richie Rich, Snob. After Boomer told him to play and gave it to him, he became obsessed with the stock market. Every Sunday is turnip day and he spends the week finding the highest selling price, usually his twitter followers will invite him and he will leave them a bunch of Nook Tickets. He time skips like crazy, cheats and he wears the crown without hesitation. His island is 5 star spotless and shows off the rarest items. If you wanna come to his island then you must pay up. He is the person who you hate because you wanna be him. He has only the top tier villagers and will call you poor. He doesn’t bother with custom designs and if he wants something then Bubbles is the one to go too. He used an island planner beforehand to make sure everything was in place. The moment something new comes out, he's on top of it. He doesn’t really care if a villager is ugly or cute, if they are highly wanted, he gets them.

If you happen to be dating him, you must wear the matching crown to prove that you are the best because it's what you deserve.

Name: Lord Brick Island Name: Bricktopia Favorite Villagers: Audie, Marshall, Raymond, Bob Fav Character: Redd, Daisy Mae (He is her bitch and sets his alarm) Fruit: Peaches Flag: Red flag with a crown on it (made by bubbs of course) Tune: He doesn't know and he doesn’t care because he plays on mute.

Butch: Disater. His island is always messy and he doesn't care too much about the atmosphere but he does like the bugs and is a simp for Isabell. He saves all the snails BC gives him and puts them in his snail room or the army room. He becomes serious about the game a little later and sooner follows Brick with all the cheats. They dominate the stock market like bosses

He doesn't talk that much with the villagers but spends time hitting them with nets if they are ugly. He keeps Butch without a doubt and moves his house next to his cause they are bros but all of his villagers are cats only for the reason to make jokes. (pussy island)

His island is like a living meme as he has random images in the sand. His house is simple but a punk rock domain and he wont tell anyone that he spent hours making the green day album covers for his wall. He doesn't have too many flowers but prefers the bamboo look more. His favorite item to wear is the hockey mask and he put fake blood face paint on. His island is like a horror game instead and Bubbles refuses to come to his island because it's scary. He also likes to make mazes out of hedges.

After a while he restarts his island and son time travels and has the island buffets where people pay to come get materials and objects. He becomes an AC king in no time and likes that he can make money. (the only people allowed on his island without payment is the girls, his brothers and his friends, other than that, pay up)

Name: Butch Island Name: Butch Pad Fav Villagers: Butch, Bob, Olivia, Stinky, Tom (litrally just cats and Butch) Fav Character: Cj and Kicks Fruit: Pears Island flag: A snail with a skull on its shell Island tune: Mr. Brightside opening

Boomer: This boi right here is the AC King. He's played every single game since he was little (always made fun of by his brothers but look at you Brick). He knows all the AC lore and will go into detail about Tom Nook and Redds past plus he is the biggest shipper of Flick and Cj. His island is terraformed perfectly and he has literally everything you could want. He time skipped for a little bit but never cheats.

He is a twitch streamer and everyone tunes in the moment Boomer is on. He allows for five people to come on his island a day to play games and get DIYs that he already has. He's a humble player who knows his way around everything. He doesn’t care too much about which villagers come and go but Audi is his favorite as the back story suggests. He just wants to complete it all except he will never be able to catch wasps, he sucks at it. However he rarely misses a fish and also has piles for Flick and CJ.

He is an avid hybrid flower person and any extras, he gladly gives away. Bubbles gets the first pick. He is surprisingly good at custom designs and makes everything himself. His island has little cafes and band areas as well as a perfect view of KK Slider because he is a 5 star island for sure.

He owns AC Merch and buys fanart from other people because he is obsessed. He got Brick Daisy Mae socks and he catches him wearing them every Sunday for good luck.

His player looks like him but also wears the crown (he got it first anyways). His house has all the instruments and has a nod to all his past houses.

Name: Boomer Island Name: Big Blue Fav Villagers: Boomer, Bubbles, Audi, Tad Fav Character: Isabell, Timmy and Tommy, Cj he loves them all. KK SLIDER Fruit: Cherry Flag: His flag changes weekly as his subscribers have flag comps each week and he uses the winner as his flag Tune: He is an Og and didn’t change the song.

Ships and how they play:

Reds: Museum dates. They love walking through the museum while talking on the phone and wandering around. Brick brings her a pink rose each visit and Blossom places them around her house. Usually when they are on each other's islands they are facetiming or talking and they just kinda run around and don't do much before getting off and focusing on each other. Blossom brings him gold flowers because he is a snob but he secretly appreciates it. Blossom has to take off the bow and wear the crown because only the best can be on his island. She makes him wear a red hat when he comes onto her island. Sometimes they have fishing competitions and whoever wins gets to brag on the bulletin board.

Blues: Dates!! When they visit the other islands, they go back and forth all day, exchanging hybrid flowers and catching butterflies. Bubbles talks to every villager he has and they each made a secret picnic spot on their islands for them. If he is streaming, she is mostly likely watching and or playing with him. They can spend hours just talking and running around and they just craft and decorate together. She helps him fix his house up and “I love bubbles Is written in the sand that can clearly be seen from the plane loading screen. They always give things and write love notes on their boards. Together they host games on their island and it's always on a certain day. There's at least a queue of 100 people each time.

Greens: They hit each other with nets and axes for five minutes before switching to a fighter game and hopping on with the boys. But if they manage to stay on longer, Butch and Buttercup just cuss consatntly and leave eachother gross notes on the bultin boards. The play hide and seak and Butch likes to dig up her flowers and make a mess of her island before she does the same to his.

COLOR CRACK:

Brick x Bubbles: He constantly is paying off her debut because she doesnt time skip or grind for her money. She never asks him to but she opens her mailbox to find bags of money and rare items. She makes his red sweater and when he goes to her island that's the only time he removes his expensive outfits. In the back of his island he grows hybrid flowers for her. She makes his custom designs and shows him how to boost his flower production and villager points.

Brick x Buttercup: He likes calling her poor. He is insulted by her island being boring and gives her gifts but she sells them to piss him off. They are the most competitive pair when it comes to fishing and she likes to dig in random places and drop items to make him mad. He’ll walk around and find thirty sticks everywhere and call her. It's about teasing with them and good fun. They are also the turnip couple overlords and constantly are looking for the best princes.

Boomer x Blossom: Boomer knows everything about AC and Blossom loves learning about the stories. He gives her tours of the museum and everytime she has a new villager, he explains their past. He gifts her pink flowers and she helps him complete his museum with fossils. He will have people come to his island and she even has meet and greets with people. It's simple and fun.

Boomer x Buttercup: Boomer gets BC addicted to the game. No other person can make her care so much about these animals than her soft boyfriend. He shows her all the secrets and how to make her island amazing. She becomes obsessed and is soon rivaling Brick for best island, Blossom knows hers is better. Buttercup likes to grind and travel for materials and anytime Boomer says he needs to find some more wood, she has it sent to his island in no time.

Butch x Blossom: Sir is a simp for Pinky. He enjoyed listening to her talk about the fossils in the museum and when she flew to his island “Blossom is Hot” was written on the ground. Even though her island is thriving , he constantly sends her gifts and things. His favorite thing to do is to run on her island and leave a random heart patch for her to find. She doesn’t exactly approve of his methods of making people pay money to get stuff but him allowing her to get whatever she wants, she turned the other cheek because if people want to spend money so be it.

Butch x Bubbles: He hits her villagers and she yells at him. He also likes to take her flowers one by one and replace them with normal one. He tried taking her golden rose but she cried and he called her to make sure she was ok. Now he doesn't mess with her but finds himself growing her flowers. She doesn’t come to his island because it's spooky but he made a little spot on the beach and “Bubble Safe Zones”. She tends to have the best items for sale so whenever he visits he shops a lot. They like to fish together and she shows him how to plant flowers and make his island nice. After he decides to restart and make his island a shopping paradise, Bubbles gets anything she wants especially since she doesn’t time skip. If there's something rare that he only has one of, she gets it.

Bonus: (doesn’t matter which ship)

-Blossom once had turnips for 800 bells and did not let Brick come on her island because he said something about the bow being dumb. He instantly regretted and called her and begged, the man begged over the phone for her to open the gates. She did at the last second.

-Butch once stole Bubbles gold rose and the entire city heard her sonic scream. He put it back and waters it daily. (She screamed cause she saw a spider on the wall but it got him to but the rose back)

-Boomer and Blossom know about the AC lore and often have long discussion on his stream about different

-Nintendo contacted the girls and for a new event they made the powerpuff girls as villagers you could have. Blossom is a preppy wolf named Blossom, Bubbles is a sisterly duck named Bubbles and Buttercup is a jock cat named Butters. Each of them are themed to their signature color and each offers a special diy. (they sent the girls amiibos and codes to get their own) Big Bow Bookshelf (Bow shaped bookshelf with blossoms signature), Heroes Bedtime(replica of the childhood bed), Hotline Phone, Heavenly Hearts Rug (the heart ending screen rug), Bubbly vanity (three giant blue bubbles that look like a mirror with bubbles signature), BC Bean Bag (bean bag that is green with Buttercups signature). Crime Fighters wallpaper (wallpaper that has the famous pink, blue and green streaks), Pink Poster, Green poster, and Blue poster, PPG Poster (has all three girls on it)

-Each girl has a special memorial on their island for Bunny. It is just a patch of Purple roses and all of them are near their house.

[coolmarriagerecords]

Johan Kugelberg's Top 100 DIY Singles

From Ugly Things via http://www.hyped2death.com/Kugelberg100.html

1. The Desperate Bicycles -The Medium Was Tedium (Refill Records, 1977 UK) The Desperate Bicycles are the yardstick for this obscurist sub genre. No one did it as easy or as cheap as them. Of the slew of unfathomable brilliant pop 45's, The Medium Was Tedium is the apex: The enthusiasm, anger and joy de vivre that oozes from the tracks contained within has me reaching for Village Green-Kinks and first album Cramps to describe the passion. For drunken, leftist dorm-room intellectuals to describe the faith and for Dez/Chavo-era Black Flag to describe the power ? notwithstanding that the recordings themselves are of 4-track bedroom shut-in lo-fi jangle. Too bad the band don't want the material re-released but a good thing indeed that the records barely rate at all in the collector scum price guide pantheon.

2. Beyond The Implode -Last Thoughts EP (Diverse Records UK 1979) Barrett/early-Floyd psych as good (or better) than any Soft Boys, obscurist strum & drang way more passionate than any Flying Nun band I've heard and Inflammable vocals of the purest Oxbridge confusion. The Spacemen 3 never did anything to match this record. [Messthetics #6]

3. V/A -Weird Noise EP (Fuck Off Records UK 1980) The legend doesn't start here, but at least this isn't a cassette-only release in an edition of 50 copies or so like the majority of the Fuck Off Records oeuvre. This lines up the finest advocates of tuneless bashing within the UK late 70's underground: The 012, Danny and the Dressmakers, the Instant Automatons, The Door and the Window and finally the Sell Outs who seem to be Danny and the Dressmakers under a different moniker. The cut "Please Don't Make Another Bass Guitar Mr. Rickenbacker" showcases one of the odder qualities popular music can have: The ability to disorientate the listener. "Simply the very best in bad music" indeed! [Danny...Messthetics Greatest Hits]

4. Desperate Bicycles ? New Cross, New Cross (Refill Records, UK 1978) The godlike power of "I Make The Product" or "Advice On Arrest" (two of the songs on this six song EP) deliver a little salvation of sorts ? the Desperate Bicycles make you believe, make you feel a sense of belonging. Music does that when it is this good. 5.Slugfuckers ? Three Feet Behind Glass EP (No label Australia 1979) Invoke the god Nyarlathotep they do, cover Manson-songs w/o ever having heard him they do, shmear on the middle class art school elitism thick they do. This is an extreme record; noisier and more abrasive than most first generation industrial stuff, a hell of a lot more punk than, say, the Lewd and intelligent in a scary, vicious bullying kind of way. A blazing, hard record at the same time as everything is slightly out of tune, kind of inept and sorta shoddy sounding.

6. Popes -Knup In Your Eye (Vatican Records. UK 1980) This appeared on the worldwide punk list a few issues ago, and educated guesses can be made for this appearing on any other lists I might do in the future. Not only is the record the cats pajamas as far as relentless art school mirth goes (Derek & Clive go through puberty, again!) but the throb and spark of the band makes for repeated play. And then we have to tag on the swollen nostalgia of my friend buying the only copy at the Rough trade shop in 1980 leaving me with none until Bill Forsyth digs one up for me in his back room, oh yeah, and one for Geoffrey too.

7. The Flak -EP (Northern Records UK 1980 (?)) Starts with a depressed "why am I here" poem and moves straight along into "Knocking on Heaven's Door" done dorm-angst-diy-style. This is followed by what sounds like the band attempting a Joy Division-style song the first time they pick up musical instruments. Completely inept, utterly charming and brilliant indeed. Top shelf genre defining DIY.

8. Fatal Microbes -Beautiful Pictures (Small Wonder, UK 1979) Certainly the best record with Honey Bane on it. Charming, relentless punk-crazed homemade guitar crunch. The window of opportunity of the UK underground musicscene in the late 70's is clearly demonstrated here: I doubt the Fatal Microbes stupendous teen energy could have been nurtured in the world of merchandising deals and first-look demo A&R we live in today.

9. The Silver -Do You Wanna Dance (Black Label Finland 1980) The Silver -No More Grease (Black Label Finland 1979) A riddle wrapped inside an enigma etc. The band appears to be around 12 ? 13 years old. They hail from Finland where the trail grew cold a long long time ago. Maybe upon the release of the record. Pussy Galore without post-modern baggage. "Love Theme from the Snails" as performed by SPK. 12 year olds virtually destroying a recording studio captured on tape, not once but four times.

10. Instant Automatons -Peter Paints His Fence EP (Deleted Records UK 1980) More Fuck Off/Street Level-related sublime nonsense. The battle call is the track "People Laugh At Me Cuz I Like Weird Music" which states: "I was at a pub the other night, when a bunch of mods came in, they eyed me up, then they asked me: Hey man what's your scene? Are you a hippie a mod or a punk? Got a scooter or a motorbike? I can't understand why they burst out laughing when I told them the music I like, because: People Laugh At Me Cuz I Like Weird Music People just don't understand Why pay six pounds for an album when you can, listen to a weird noise band for free I had a girlfriend named Josephine, she liked Abba and the Bee Gees. She thought music was about lawyers and accountants, percentages and legal fees. Just the other night we stayed up late, playing records til half past ten, then I played the Danny and the Dressmakers tape and I never saw Josephine again, because: People Laugh At Me Cuz I Like Weird Music People just don't understand Why pay six pounds for an album when you can, listen to a weird noise band for free" The gospel, folks. From God's mouth to your ear via the Instant Automatons. [Instant Automatons 'Another Wasted Sunday Afternon' CD]

11. Sir Alick and the Phraser -In Search of the Perfect Baby (Black Noise UK 1980) As Chuck Warner put it: They wrote beautiful pop songs then destroyed them. More Homosexuals pseudonymous mystique. The intelligent reader who followed our previous musings on this band and their universe know how much we love them and how much they perpetually pull our collective leg. No straight-ahead answers in this lifetime which is fine ? fine as far as record collecting is concerned, fine as far as lifemanship is concerned.[The Homosexuals -Astral Glamour 3CD]

12. The Four Plugs -Biking Girl (Disposable Records UK 1979) The subtle charm of marginal culture: Truly marginal culture where 1000 singles were pressed more than 22 years ago. How many got lost? How many are never being played? How many are stored in a box in the attic? How many are being played repeatedly on turntables that cost ten times as much as the recording and pressing of this given 45? "She used to be my biking partner ? she used to be my biking girl. We used to go for rides in the country side". A true punk rock/diy statement issued by the Damaged Goods people, who knew their Chesterton and Thomas Browne.

13. The Evening Outs -Channel (Refill Records UK 1980) Super-fierce skronk from a pissed-off pseudonymous Desperate Bicycles. Puts that no wave stuff to shame, really.

14. Puritan Guitars -100 Pounds in 15 Minutes (Riverside Records UK 1980) How much it cost to make the record and how long it took. Genius sturm und sturm und sturm und drang clank from a seriously inspired one chord wonder.[Messthetics Greatest Hits and Messthetics #104]

15. The Flying Brix -EP (Modello Records UK 1980) So subtle it can barely be heard: A band consisting of Wally's and Erberts, with the odd dead-end yob or two. This record could've been released by Illegal, Fuck Off or fit in on Carry On Oi. It could also have been performed on an episode of Noddy or by Flanagan & Allen. Ur-English music, this.[Messthetics #104]

16. Shrinking Men/Beevers -Hazards in the Home EP (Pop Records UK 1981) The Beevers present a Guthrie-esque talking blues here, except that it isn't a blues, but a charming DIY-shuffle, and that Woody Guthrie as far as I know never sang about the plight and blight of the office boy. The Shrinking Men in turn showcase an angry, loutish anti-army rant that Phil Ochs would've been pretty proud of I think. And there you have it: The folk music connection rears its uncombed head. [Beevers -Messthetics #6]

17. Handgrenades -Demo To London (Phonographics (?) USA 1980 (?)) Coulda fooled me ? Excellent primitive punk/chug/diy from Noo Yak City! Who woulda thunk? Somewhere between "Pink Flag" and Fuck Off Records.

18. Homosexuals -You Are Not Moving The Way You Are Supposed To (Black Noise UK 1980 (?)) An untouchable band, and the lack of a retrospective isn't much of a crime in this house (I have lots of their records snicker snicker snicker) but in other people's houses it sure is. As if Gang of Four would've been any good, as if Wire would've immersed themselves in dub, as if indeed. Parallel universe chart toppers indeed. We all know that there is at least one world out there in the ultra-cosmos where the proverbial kids are kicking these jams daily. A truly inspired and inspiring record..[The Homosexuals -Astral Glamour 3CD]

19. Cindy and the Barbi Dolls -Press The Shutter EP (A Not Major Production UK 1980) Dorm angst at its very best. Dark, brooding overtly romantic without gothing it up, these jams have the same lurking power as the pre-Joy Division Warsaw EP or the spookier first line up Soft Boys tracks. A possible sister band to Beyond the Implode in the sense that they play a curiously British form of psychedelic music in the midst of the DIY lack of musical chops. This Cornwall band were seemingly very hip to musical peers, thanking the Desperate Bicycles, the Mekons and Ralph and the Ponytails on the sleeve. There are musical (and one lyrical) nod to the Kinks "Village Green Preservation Society" as well. A very good thing. [Messthetics #7]

20. Versatile Newts -Newtrition (Shanghai Records UK 1980) If this record hadn't existed we would've had to invent it: The marriage/blend of the Swell Maps, This Heat and the TV Personalities. In equal chunks with no lumps. Gadzooks! [Messthetics #103]

21. Pink Dirt -Hey Sir (No label Norway 1979) As far as inept, crazed joi de vivre goes ? Here's the acme. I've written this one up before and will do it again. While this is obviously a straight-ahead angry punk rock band, the abandon and enthusiasm of this record could raise the dead. An angry rant against organized religion ("I have this to say tonight ? never, never get involved with christianity!") howled in a barely English Johnny Rotten-imitation by some Norwegian genius backed by shitrock more primitive than the first Endless Boogie rehearsal. There is no sleeve, no labels, just the legend "Pink Dirt Hey Sir/Hooker" scrawled in magic marker. Who were these gods and why did they walk among us? Please email me if you know anything about the people behind this stunning art experience.

22. Scrotum Poles -Revelation EP (One Tone Records Scotland 1980) Helicopter Honeymoon is going to be played at least three record collector funerals I know of, not including mine. The mighty, mighty Scrotum Poles, proudly proclaiming "DIY! We love the TV Personalities" on the shoddy, xeroxed sleeve. Their website (http://home.switchboard.com/hornstreet) is highly recommended, though we're hesitant to vouch for its complete veracity. Here's how they tell it: "'Pick the Cats Eyes Out' featured lyrics found on the back of a set list by one of the first Dundee punk bands, Bread Poultice and the Running Sores..." [Somebody please send us a demo tape!] "Helicopter Honeymoon," meanwhile, came from a headline "in the Sunday Post." What we should add for American fans is that "cats eyes" are what Brits (and Scots) call those little orange reflectors embedded in highway pavement: "Cats Eyes Out Ahead" used to be a common roadside sign. [Messthetics Greatest Hits and Messthetics #105]

23. File Under Pop -Corrugate (Rough Trade UK 1979 (?)) Godlike DIY power. Primitive grunting, out of tune skeletal instrumentation and noises recorded at Heathrow. I know a guy with an extra copy who'll swap it for Butchy Butch and the Butch Butchers.

24. Nancy Sesay and the Melodaires -C'est Fab (It's War Boys UK 1981 (?)) Un-musical, un-punk and possibly unpleasant music hall-esque skronk/DIY by the godlike Homosexuals using one of their myriad of pseudonyms. And whence you can't imagine the doofus art wank getting any more unlistenable, they spin on a dime and throw in a beautiful chorus sitting on top of a backwardsy funky drummer beat. I am, as per usual, in awe. Shall I hook some enterprising young bootlegger up with a CDR of all their stuff?

25. Performing Ferret Band -Brow-Beaten (Dead Hippy Records UK 1981) Deeply moving primitive musical fumble from this rare 45 by the masters behind the in my mind most seminal LP to come out of DIY. The eponymous Performing Ferret Band LP, which features jaw-droppers such as "Plastic Macho Man", "Fizzly Drinks" or "Great Duos Of Our Time". Fantastic over-enthusiastic juvenilia of an almost supernatural beauty. The Performing Ferrets - no one told us CD (Messthetics #216)

26. Different Eyes/Royston - Shish EP (Tuzmadoner Records UK 1979) One of the two masterpieces released on the Tuzmadoner label (the other being a 12" comp entitled, uh, "folk music" bringing up more parallels to skiffle that we should probably choose to ignore). Royston are like Flanagan & Allen fronting the world's greatest shit rock band. Different Eyes sound more lethargic than anyone else I've heard I think, and I used to work for Pavement's label. Simon Gilham from either Royston or the 'Eyes later played in Colin Newman's solo band. [Royston -Messthetics Greatest Hits and #1; Different I's -Messthetics #101 (plus their even better track from Folk Music)]

27. Homosexuals -Hearts In Exile (Black Noise UK 1978) Words fail me. As far as beauty goes, this is like Mozart or Shirley Collins. Probably their greatest moment. Somewhere along the lines of Brill Building and traditional UK folk and the Upsetters and ESP Records all at once in perfect harmony. A milestone, I think, and a record that I'd place in a timecapsule of 20th century folk art.[The Homosexuals -Astral Glamour 3CD]

28. Andrew Klimek -Felt Hammer (Mustard Records USA 1979) The guitar break alone sends this one soaring over the sky scrapers. Has that patented and most beautiful basement 4-track sound down pat even though I get more and more convinced that all those legendary Cleveland bands all were record collector rock of the umpteenth degree. Extraordinarily self-aware, sly and with meticulously thought out records, this one being no exception. The pompous liner notes on the sleeve of the 45 proves me right. You got to be some kind of Apples in Stereo-type shmuck to brag on a record sleeve that you put the bass guitar through a ring modulator.

29. Mekons -Never Been In A Riot (Fast Records UK 1978) Way before they became icky hippy-punk icons for aging counter culture types across the world they released a couple of singles of gorgeous nihilist slop. This is the first, and the funniest and the noisiest.

30. Jelly Babies -De Nada EP (No label name UK 1981) Simply heaven. A clumsy speed-chug with lyrics about a day of roller-skating and lovely pre-pubescent boozy backing vocals. Genius. Extra-tinny sound, extra passionate execution. I've quoted this portion of the notes on the (shoddy xerox, natch) sleeve: "Recorded at Dirt Cheap Studios, the best studios in the whole wide world by Grant Showbiz, the most silly person in the whole wide world, who steals your food and has a nice red guitar with a super tremelo arm which somebody gave him." Like Blake, the words transcend space, time and mortality. You need this record. Crunchy granola collectors should also note that I have personally seen at least five different (shoddy xerox) picture sleeves for this record where the priority can be determined with relative accuracy using the carbon 14 method. [one from the EP is coming on London v.III: another song from the EP demos appears on Messthetics Greatest HISS (Messthetics #110)

31. Thin Yoghurts -Girl On the Bus (Lowther Street Runner Records UK 1980) More sing-a-longa-slop-charm. You can take the limey out of the music hall but you can't Cute, touching and romantic lyrics about lusting over some tasty lassie on the bus to the kippers factory. They did this record as well as a cassette, which is a hundred bucks in your sweaty palm, if you send it to me. [Messthetics Greatest Hits]

32. Lucky Pierre -This Could Be The Night (No label USA 1984 (?)) Scuzzy, phenomenal art-rant by some Ohio Bowie-boy who'd re-record these musical chairs of Chain Gang, Klaus Nomi and cocaine freebase ten years later for Trent Reznor's label adding a "industrial dance beat" to the mess and changing the band name to Prick. Supposedly (some record-log-pincher told me) there were only 50 copies pressed for Lucky Pierre to use as record deal bait (also the reason that the lyrics are etched on the flip together with a ten second excerpt of the song). Well, I guess it worked. I seem to recall seeing a video for the re-recorded version on MTV during ol' Pierre's 15 seconds in the spotlight. The awe-inspiring power of this record remains tho'.

33. Skabb -78 EP (Mistlur Sweden 1978) Track 2 side one is jaw-dropping Opus-style DIY-crunch punk with Kriminella Gitarrer-guitar breaks. I can't believe this isn't a hotly pursued record by herd-following punk rock turd-swallowers round the globe. Fantastic slop-o-rama-lama-fa-fa-fa production too.

34. V/A -Angst In My Pants double EP (Street Level UK 1979) Imagine how good the previous 33 records on this list are, as I guarantee by risk of punishment of rock writer hyperbole, that this is doubtlessly one of the finest records I've ever heard, and the second greatest compilation in the history of rock! How can I say this wonders Rutger the Punk from his bedroom in Krakow ? Well the proof is in the pudding: Not only does the record include some of the finest recorded moments by the legendary Instant Automatons (who unknowingly channel the Monks!), 012 and the Door and the Window, but furthermore a rare vinyl appearance by the Digital Dinosaurs, heralded by me, Mario and Geoffrey in that most smug sort of way as unheralded gods of music! If that ain't enough you get some fine TVP-related spurts from the Missing Persons and extremely do it yourself DIY frenzy from the Midnight Circus. Who in "Silicone Baby" and "Hedonist Jive" have out-poignanted a tow-truck full of Aimee Mann's and Michelle Shocked's edgy humanity and funny as shit to boot. [Digital Dinsaurs and Instant Automatons are on Messthetics Greatest Hits: Midnight Circus have their own CD...And there's more on Deleted/Street Level at the Instant Automatons website]

35. Pleemobielz -Dagenlang Balen (Kamikaze Records Holland 1981) More sociological sloganeering a la Midnight Circus here: Dagenlang Balen which needlessly translates as "fuck all day" roars through the speakers with all the might of a bunch of over-testosteroned 16 year old virgins singing about what they think it'll be like to have sex some day. Tinniest sound in history. When a copy finally showed up on my doorstep after the fucking (literally!) record had spent a solid 10 years on my want list my expectations were quite low since anyone I had talked to who had heard the record all stated that it was weak/a waste of time etc. Well: It being a want list staple has more to do with the scarcity of the disc than it being a desirable punk rock record. However: It is an extremely desirable record if frenzied DIY bliss is your chosen poison.

36. Just Urbain -Guns & Guitars (No label Australia 1979) Another amazing DIY record from Australia, this one definitely sports a spiritual kinship with SPK, the Slugfuckers, the first Thought Criminals record, and those Systematics and Tactics records I need to find. Very dark, scuzzy art-damaged DIY that (a la Cabaret Voltaire or early SPK) is well aware of the fine krautrock musics coming out of Germany on Ohr or Sky a few years previously. The proto punk of say Neu or Cosmic Jokers is here handled with poisonous skronky passion.

37. The Gags -Sex Ist Schau (Leg Auf Records Germany 1981) And then one has to simply wonder if the belly laughs generated by this piece of vinyl have racist connotations: How much are we allowed to laugh at the Germans? This might be the stiffest record I've heard. The vocals lyrical bark manages to reanimate Basil Fawlty's classic performance in the "Germans" episode as well as the Sprockets. The jams are crazed. Stiff, yes, but crazed.

38. Desperate Bicycles -Smokescreen (Refill Records UK 1977) Their debut, more aggressive than a lot of the other classics and maybe it was the year. This is the 45 that launched hundreds of others: Two songs on one side to save mastering costs, the cheapest packaging, music that had to be documented, and it didn't matter if it was done in the cheapest and easiest way imaginable. [Messthetics #8]

39. Butter Utter -Jävlarnas Jul (Leonid Breznjev Records Swe 1977) Took me ages to find this one. Extremely inept, Shaggs-like fumble with a certain Je Ne Sais Qui of punk rock aggression. A lot of Killed by Death-types paid a lot of moola for this one, that some guy hyped to the moon in a Boston straight-edge fanzine back in the 80's. Only truly "punk" in the musical disaster sense of the word.

40. Cut-Outs -DIY (EMI UK 1979) Great novelty pop monster complete with carpentry noises. Possibly not a DIY record at all, but since the genre is made up by people like me this is a DIY record cuz I sez so. [NOT on Messthetics #7]

41. Massmedia ? EP (Massproduktion Swe 1979) Debut sloppiness from future KBD mainstays. There is no discernable musical ability to be found on this record and yet they play and play and play. The energy level is however awe-inspiring.

42. Dagens Ungdom -EP (Mistlur Swe 1980) Having an art school wank with Dagens Ungdom. Brilliant faux-DIY released on one of the major noo wave era indie labels of Sweden, home of Ebba Gron. All songs have titles nabbed from Kafka books, lyrics are more adjective heavy than a tub full o' Morrisey and the music is flawless DIY stumble n' fumble.

43. The Discounts -Selling Records (Original Records UK 1980) Blank 1000-yard stare DIY novelty straight out of High Fidelity. The lyric is a monologue as by a bored-to-tears record store clerk. The jams are sub-sub-sub-Blockheads DIY stumble. Extremely amusing.

44. Grinder Wickford's So Boring -EP (Wax Records UK 1979) Forget punk rock, bring in hick-rock! The aliases of the band read: "Dav-Id, Si-Kic, Terry-Ball, Stu-Pid and Holy-Grail"!. Three band members have moustaches! The singer is wearing a Rocky Horror t-shirt! The a-side is a "humorous" ditty about the acne problem of Spiderman, reflecting the sleeve front depicting some fool in a Spiderman costume driving a tractor, The b-side is an anti-fuzzy dice song. Genius. It is obvious to me that Wickford wasn't boring at all as long as you hung out with the bold gents of Grinder. The songs range from primitive clunky riff-rock to DIY jangle of the highest order. Messthetics #101

45. Psykik Volts -Totally Useless (Ellie Jay Records UK 1979) More Music Hall-punk DIY genius. The spirit of Vivian Stanshall is looming large; as is the empty pint glasses littering the room as this 45 is stuck on repeat. All together now: "It's to-tal-ly useless"!! The sleeve bears the legend: "Side A: recorded in a sock, Side B: recorded in a morgue. May god bless vocalist and songwriter Victor Vendetta. Now pardon me while I go to the corner and cry.

46. Raisinets -More Fun To Play Than To Listen To (Fun-Ethic Records USA 1979) Fantastic record-collector hippie-punk a la Gizmos/Afrika Korps/Half Japanese. Primitive guitar duets complete with questionable production values and mucho muchacho helpings of pure static. Great post-arrest pre-OD lyrics making fun of Sid too.

47. Dag Vag -Dimma (Ball Records Swe 1978) Two years after this record was released, Dag Vag were playing new wave-scented white-boy reggae to sell-out crowds all over Sweden. This, however, is a one-man band bedroom project by a Träd Gräs & Stenar roadie who had discovered punk rock and the DIY scene. Beautiful dark/sinister home studio atmospherics, killer fuzz guitar and demented lyrics about psychiatric care and drug experiences. A great record. And by all means: Don't buy any other Dag Vag records after you've obtained this one.

48. I Jog & the Tracksuits - Redbox (Tyger Label UK 1978) More lost artform unique stumble-rumble from the UK. Sounds like it was recorded under water this one. A petty miracle of a pop tune with a sublime lyric about waiting for the bus. Gotta bless em for the stamina it takes to get a record out: Recording, Mixing, Mastering, Designing, Printing, Approving, Distributing, Balancing. All to get a little song about missing the bus heard by me 22 years later.

49. Injections -Prison Walls (Radioactive Records USA 1980) This has always been an extremely desired and expensive record in KBD/Japanese Tasty/Moustache circles, and it doubtlessly deserves its inflated price tag even though we aren't talking chainsaw-buzz punk rock per se here.

50. Devils Hole Gang -Free The People (Slow Burning Fuse Records UK 1979) Huge moustaches, huge choruses, and a record that sounds like it was recorded inside one of those Moroccan hotel showers that basically consist of a huge tube of aluminum siding. My pretentious nature is such that I feel forced to unleash the folk art metaphor for this again. If your friendly neighborhood rare record dealer charges you a couple of C-notes for this and you feel like your being had for big G's by the sleaze, then remember that you are investing in art, not buying a record!!

51. Funboy Five -Life After Death (Cool-Cat Daddy-O Records UK 1980) A pure pop record indeed, but where pricey production values would've turned this into a memorable Stiff Records 45, the band's lack of bucks and resulting throwaway/enthusiasm production and energy has created a masterpiece. Both sides are stalwarts for a neighborhood sing-song or a rousing music hall chorus. Punk rock music hall: A genre waiting to happen again! [Messthetics #101]

52. How To Get Rich In Rotterdam - Dapper Dan (Vormgeving Rotterdam Records Netherlands 1981) Brilliant, plodding art-slop that reeks of inside jokedom. This record is a reason unto itself to pay ebay prices for vintage drum machines.

53. Come -Come Sunday (Come Organization UK 1979) Before William Bennett became the Benny Hill of industrial noise, his band Whitehouse were called Come and released a single and an album which both are quite lovely homemade art-dirge crankiness, a friendly psychedelic kind of crankiness indeed.

54. The Riotous Brothers -Vicki's Dancing (Riotous Records 1980) How all these disparate bands came up with a sound this cohesive is a mystery to me. Any of the hints handed to us through fanzines and interviews only mess things up further: Yes, anyone could form a band, make a record, start a record label indeed. Where it gets weird is why so many of them harbor a similar tinny guitar sound, cardboard-y drums, messy synths, inept recording techniques, smart-assed lefty lyrics and nasal singing tone. This was not a movement. It was just a bunch of stuff that happened. That's all. This record has the beautiful simplicity of a Shaker chair or a Maine seafood soup. The swanky speedpunk of "Operation Zero" or the plink-a plunk-a guitar solo on "Emotional Cripple" will some day have their own wing at the Victoria and Albert museum. Make my art primitive!

55. Partizans -Goods (A-Noyz Records UK 1980) Chain Gang's retarded English cousins. Ace!!

56. Amor Fati -Economics 100 (Yuck/Flesh Records USA 1984 (?) Very angry anti-r&r/anti-big-business slightly tongue in cheek rant that shows spiritual kinship to "Rat City" by the Art Attacks. Vertical Slit/V-3. The odd blend of wanting in, wanting to play the game and wanting to stay the fuck away that is symptomatic for a lot of Ohio underground musicians (Shepard, Hummel, House etc.)

57. Desperate Bicycles -Skill (Refill Records UK 1978) Blazing DIY-shuffle and unmistakenly Bicycles. More pro production which has this one slip further down the list. Still godlike though.

58. Sarah Coffman -Titta Jag Ar Död (Konkurrenz Rekårdz Sweden 1980) Excellent primitive shit-rock by band from my hometown!

59. Hornsey At War -Deadbeat Revival EP (War Product UK 1979) Extremely amusing ultra-sloppy DIY. No discernable production values, sound-as-filtered-through-ground-beef, emotionally charged out-of-tune vocals, crackly guitar (broken cable?) and a true aura of dead end yobs (and jobs) instead of the more common middle class art school vibe as prevailing on most DIY records. Hornsey At War are complaining about English radio too: "They won't play this record on the radio because it poses a threat!" Here tis again: That charming blend of hubris and defeatist that seems to penetrate the psyches of most people involved in underground music and/or collectors of it.

60. Take It -How It Is (Fresh Hold UK 1979) Stunning out of control DIY/noise not unlike a more frenzied Soft Boys, a more good Gang of Four or a less psychotic SPK. Igor and Simon seem like a couple of gents with some hardcore political and intellectual pursuits, and like the Desperate Bicycles before them I sense that the choice of releasing a noisy cheaply recorded 45 with a xerox cover was an act of some sort of political defiance, back in the day where such an act was not co-opted from the ground up by extreme sports and Wall Mart hair dye. [Messthetics Greatest Hits and Messthetics #2]

61. Rough Cuts EP (Z-Block Records UK 1980) Inspired sampler of four bands (The Boywonders, The Ghoulies, The Czechs and the Decadent Few) two of which tell us their age on the cover (The Boywonders are all 16, The Czechs are all 17). Humbling thought that such musical spirit could be mustered at such a tender age. Great variety of flavors too: The Boywonders great inept, spooky DIY strut where the band might think that a reggae influence is prevailing, us knowing that the stumbleblock shuffle bears more resemblance to ancient Celtic airs, the unbearable beauty of the Czechs utter disregard of tone, meter and signatures or the Ghoulies oddly Booker T-esque chug n' scrape. The business, all and all. [Boywonders and Czechs on Messthetics #104: The Z-Block Story is here]

62. The Petticoats -Normal (Bla-Bla-Bla Records UK 1980) Ripping good-kind-feminist anti-normalcy rant. Spiritually uplifting in a way not dissimilar to first-hand experience of medieval church architecture, I shit you not. Recorded at Street Level which means that this record is Fuck Off Records related.

63. Reducers -We Are Normal (Vibes Product UK 1978) The sub genre Geoff Weiss-punk is hereby coined to describe this record. High-energy ineptitude. There is a strange kinship to the Pink Fairies/Deviants axis on this record ? A similarity in energy and attack, notwithstanding that the Reducers really don't know how to play their instruments very well. [Messthetics #1]

64. Il Ya Volkswagens - Kill Myself (Mechanical Reproductions UK 1981) One more year in the rehearsal space for these guys and I wouldn't be writing this. Discernable elements of gothrock and Bauhaus influence can be noticed as a faint vapor in this aural air to speak it in goth-speak, the crunch of the slightly sour guitar, the plodd of the (genius) bass line and the all-in slouch of the lethargic vocalist and the cracked-everyday electronics elevates this dirge into an 18 carat DIY-cruncher.

65. Quite Ridiculous Nonsense -Identity Crisis (No Label USA 1984) Most ace industrial wank of that rare late 70's variety. Wildly entertaining experiments in four track flatulence and transistor radio static.

66. Pervers/Deutscher Abschaum split 7" (Suff Productions Germany 1984) The Godhead. Reminds me of Teddy and the Fratgirls or the Foams in the sense that one gets the notion that these must have been fun gals to hang out with or date. The timeless splendor of the arty urban misfit girl: Her goofy charm and no-holds-barred enthusiasm for all that she found weird, interesting or sexually appetizing. A toast to the art school weirdo outcast girls of the world: May they forever paint their room black or read Hermann Hesse to you in bed! The music is wild, out of control amateuristic slop goes from Electric Eels fuzzed out haterock to drumkits thrown down the stairs to minimal teen-angst and then back. Beautiful stuff. Got this in trade from Thurston Snore for some boring free jazz records back in the day. What a chump!

67. The Prats -Disco Pope (Rough Trade UK 1979) 15-year old Scottish schoolboy punks seething with rage over the demon disco. Early Downliners Sect-style one chord R&B shuffle complete with the drum breaks that made God decide not to spare humanity. Don't miss it!

68. Plast -EP (Stranded Rekords Swe 1979) Four song EP of the finest in teenage punks attempting to embrace the confusion in their head from listening to TG, Cabaret Voltaire and Pere Ubu. An ungodly racket where the hostility of the chosen sounds meets the cozy ineptitude of the random noises. Plenty of short-wave noises and the crappiest of synths. Utterly charming.

9. Raincoats -Fairytale in the Supermarket (Rough Trade UK 1979) All enthusiasm/zero chops Ubu-esque DIY-charm from these stunning ladies. This is the best of their many records. Some kinda CD anthology that I can't find right now was released in the USA on the basis of Kurt Cobain being a big fan.

70. Tone Deaf and the Idiots -Why Does Politics Turn Men Into Toads? (Blue Angel UK 1979) Tone Deaf and the Idiots how do I love thee. This flexi is taken from their debut album Catastrophe Rock which still stands alongside the Damian & the Criterions "Avant Garde", Alvaro's Drinking My Own Sperm and Kräldjursanstalten's Voodoo Boogie as peerless monuments of original thought as far as late 70's underground albums are concerned. Catastrophe rock indeed. This is what "Music from the Big Pink" would've sounded like if it had been performed by the Portsmouth Sinfonia.

71. Desperate Bicycles -Grief Is Very Private (Refill UK 1980) One of the mighty Bicycles more introspective and subtle moments. Their entire recorded output is well worth hearing, and the range of emotions they paint from their palate quite astounding.

72. Door and the Window -I Like the Sound (NB Records UK 1979) One of many brilliant anti-music art school rants by the grand old daddies of the very genre. They like sound, they don't like the Pop Group, they like noise (um yeah!), they don't like butter The list goes on and I can't say that I reached any enlightenment as such by the end of this demented scratchy noise-fumble. But the journey sure was great.

73. Slugfuckers -Instant Classic (PRS Australia 1979) Homosexuals-y whiteguy funk/noise fracture that Liquid Liquid would've been pretty stoked about. Screeching scrape and dumb jokey asides. Who could ask for anything more?

74. Happy Cadavers -Nothing New (Undefined Records UK 1982) Punk/wave slop from the Midwest ? kind of aims for the Stranglers but hits Small Wonder Records. Charming stuff. Give me a fake English accent any day.

75. The Reflections - 4 Countries (Cherry Red UK 1981) Coulda been by the Desperate Bicycles this: stop/start gurgling plodding slop with most excellent Mark P. whining on top. Patented Karl Blake crumble-o-rific drumming not to mention the ambience added by the illustrious Nag of Door and the Window celebrity status. The Reflections album is well worthy of your grease as well as it is more of the same DIY-gunk but with a more contempo Recommended Records-type sound. [Messthetics #1]

76. Reacta -Stop the World (Battery Operated Records UK 1979) Another one that demands the Desperate Bicycles as cultural cookie cutter ? A beautiful ramble with the edgy guitars of Hilton Bomber-Thought Criminals.[Messthetics Greatest Hits]

77. Crash Action Winners - Hurricane Fighter Plane (Sonic International UK 1979) Somewhere in this mess of static and filtered mud are the chord-change(s) of "Hurricane Fighter Plane". The sleeve hints at the band being American, the sounds point straight in the direction of an English middle class art school, and the record cover furthermore defines them as a bunch of record collectors to boot. Not only is a Roky Erickson tune given the same crap-o-riffic sonic treatment, but the shoddy crumb-bum picture sleeve showcases record covers by the Seeds, the 13th Floor Elevators, Russ Meyer and Question Mark and the Mysterians displayed in tasteful collage form. Messthetics #104

78. The Plastic Mechanical Pig -Book Brains (IX Recording Company Japan 1981) Tricky one here, Ricky and Paul, the two guys on the cover of the PMP 45, look like a couple of student teachers and the record sounds like a couple of student teachers recorded a Raisinets/Half Japanese hybrid on a primitive 4 track. Charming record this, with two folky DIY-punk cuts, but why on earth was it released in Japan?

79. V/A - Mell Square Musick EP (Yaw Records UK 1979) I've listened to this record a good dozen times or so, and my jaw still drops. Frenzied homemade punk where the energy could light up a medium-size town. Similar to the Tandstickorshocks, Seems Twice or Red Cross "Born Innocent" LP in its instinctive disregard for notes, chords and melody, the Accused or the 021 are more than deserving of particularly exquisite golden wings in the halls of the Valhalla of Amateurism. I bow my head. [Cracked Actor Messthetics #7; Accused and 021 - Messthetics #103]

80. Tandstickorshocks - Allan Vogalan (King Kong Records Holland 1980) The Dutch Puritan Guitars right here, it is almost spooky how similar the sound of the two bands is. Spinning these 45's makes me wonder if this music somehow managed to sidestep rock & roll and the black music tradition as a core influence. There is something about the Tandstickorshocks which at the same time manages to remind me of Schoenberg, microtonal composers and Irish tin-whistle folk music. This is, needless to say, evidence that I should get out more often, but also that these slices of true-life counterculture juvenilia are not isolated from a cultural context, but embracers of it. Even if it did take a couple of decades for these records to be collected in some kind of organized manner. The kids in Tandstickorshocls must have been aware of Wire and the Young Marble Giants, but the minimal primitive music they create is original in the same manner as the artists on Pat Conte's "Secret Museum of Mankind" compilations.

81. Foams - Paint Me (Pet Me Quick Records USA 1981) A classic of sorts. Frenzied, inept live recordings by this all-girl Austin Texas punk band. The only way that I can explain the similarities to the Slits or the Raincoats are that gals sure have a different way of looking at things, or at least playing drums. Great smutty lyrics and barky art-school vox too.

82. SST -Clutch On the Ward (Tidal Wave Records USA 1977) Super-inept hippie punk/DIY from California with lotsa early punk scenesters name-checked on the sleeve. Ted Falconi pre-Flipper on guitar.

83. The Simple Approach to Newtown Products EP (NTP Records UK 1980) My approach was to pay the inflated price the dealer was asking and happily walk home with this great record. 4 songs, four bands: Crimedesk are toilet-recorded DIY-slop, Basic Unit must be the most amateuristic goth band I've ever heard, Beat Necessity showcase only the finest in tuneless death-dirge with off-key howling and Story So Far is an awesome Joy Division/Factory Records attempt, but with no discernable musical talent. Needless to say, the whole EP is as charming as the day is long.

84. Hörförståelse -Förläst Jävel (CTR Sweden 1980) Demented art skronk of drums, bass and crap keyboards featuring out of tune vocals regurgitating about someone being an over-educated bastard. Perfect, really. A must for fans of primitive shit music.

85. What To Wear - Casual But Smart EP (Basic and Typical Records UK 1980 (?)) Inspired stumble as an attempt to play dub, The Homosexuals can do it ? These guys can't. I don't know if this given failure brought about something new, but this record is a very listenable stab at atmosphere by a DIY band with limited budget and equipment. The flip also contains a couple of amazing speed-pop DIY-rambles. [ Messthetics #104]

86. Contact -Future (Object Music UK 1979) An avantfied klutz by a band who probably wanted to be Tubeway Army one thinks as one gazes upon the sleeve. They move from sloppy pro-rock attempts to full-on art-noise to excellent DIY jingle and jangle. One of many excellent items on the Object label. [ Messthetics #106 and Messthetics #7]

87. Good Missionaries -Deranged in Hastings (Unnormality Records UK 1979) A great stop/start hiccup with the patented GM/ATV tinny guitars and peripheral production. What makes this stand out is that barely concealed aggression, like a slow fuse or something.

88. The Potent Human EP (L'Aventure Records UK 1980) I maintain, and not only because of my middle class lifestyle, that the Bathroom Renovations is the greatest band name in the history of rock. This EP is a four out of four winner. Brilliant DIY fumble from The Mekon (no relation), The Liggers , The Spurtz and the ultra-wah-wah power of the Bathroom Renovations. Let me type that again: Bathroom Renovations. [Liggers: Messthetics #106]

89. Disco Zombies -Here Comes the Buts (Dining Out Records UK 1980) This is my favorite of their three spectacular singles. Thw thuick brogue of an accent blends in a most interesting way with the crappy guitar and dull throb of the melody line or the voluptous Steve Severin-style bass line.

90. Record Players -Double C Side EP (Wreckord Records UK 1978) The Record Players came from Kent, which mustered a bit of a mod scene a couple years later, but otherwise wasn't much of a factor in the punk (or DIY) world. Here they've mustered up an anti-MOR rant with a chorus that comes off kind of, eh, MOR-sounding. Imagine the classic DIY trashing, bashing and gnashing, but with one big ol' chorus, and the most obvious bridge you'll ever hear. "Ignore Us" on the flip is self-defeatist art that'll piss all over any Magnetic Fields as far as smug self-hatred goes. "It's just one thing you gotta do if you want to move along, ignore the music and ignore this song ? Ignore us and we might go away". How about that. [Messthetics #1]

91. Boys and Girls Come Out and Play EP (Boys and Girls Records UK 1980) Might be a grade school project this one, and not an art school project. Bands like the Human Cabbages, The Profile and The Famous Five are very young sounding. The fragile beauty of these tunes remind me of the UK Voice of the People anthologies of field recordings of folk songs. The purity, private nature of the songs and homemade-ness makes for a truly intimate, moving listening experience. The people on this record should be proud of this slice of juvenalia 20-odd years later.[Profile -Messthetics #103 -also a Human Cabbages song]

92. False Idols -Ego Wino (Old Knew Wave Records UK 1980) Paul Morotta's unknown English nephews. This could be a Poli Styrene Jass Band outtake. Great, spazzy DIY with jazzy chording and great, supressed aggression.

93. Bandage -Republik (Bandage Records Sweden 1978) Seems as if the average age of the band members is 16 or so, and that the mere existence of this record points to the purest and most blissfully unaware state of do it yourself: Some kids in a suburb of Stockholm getting turned on by punk rock and the notion of releasing their own record. The four songs are all fuzzed out riff rock, not unlike say, the Crucified EP, but the poor quality of recording, sound separation, levels and what have you is why the record is mentioned on this list. Not that any of that was done on purpose, mind you, for any DIY-ethic of sorts. Necessity and gratification and all that good stuff.

94. 49 Americans -Big Value (NB Records UK 1979) Another hidden Fuck Off Records release? The 49 Americans certainly moved in the same circles, and furthermore share plenty of aesthetic choices with Danny and the Dressmakers or the Instant Automatons. This record consists of 14 short blasts of fuzz punk meets art wank and is absolutely brilliant.

95. Gods Gift -925 (New Market Records UK 1979) Three tuneless tunes of the finest in fuzzed-out death-dirge DIY-slop. Kilslug jamming with the Door and the Window.[Messthetics #106]

96. Mud Hutters -Declaration EP (Defensive Records UK 1979) Mud Hutters ? Information EP (Dead Good Records UK 1979) Truly original band this. Somewhere in a Heartwork Records/Rock In Opposition neighborhood, but with a real Safe As Milk-crunch. There are psych elements on both these records, moments of blistering punk rock, and a generous infusion of the Desperate Bicycles (or Thought Criminals) ethics and esthetics. Fantastic records, and mandatory listening for any fan of the underground music of the late 70's era. Unfortunately, their subsequent album isn't great. By that time the band got Gang of Four damage.[ Messthetics #106: a track from their first EP is on Messthetics Greatest Hits]

97. Horrible Nurds -Consuming Passion (Half Wombat Records UK 1980) Oddly enough, this record sounds a hell of a lot like early Problem (Sweden) on the a-side, with the b-side being Tim Rose backed by ATV in a fantastic art-rock/DIY howler In that lost art form kind of way.

98. Reptile Ranch -Animal Noises EP (Z Block Records UK 1980) Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 (one of the most under-rated bands of the last 15 years says I and ponder an upcoming UT article) are here channeled way before they even were formed by some UK art school kids. Fantastic Beefheart-y R.I.O-hybrid DIY. Passionate, crude and obnoxious, sending this record to the top shelf of any record room! [Messthetics Greatest Hits]

99. Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle - EP (Zick Zack Records Germany 1980) Ace generic DIY/punk that could've been at home on an early Rough Trade 45.

100. The Rutto - Ei Paluuta (Ikbals Records Finland 1983) Figured I'd seal the circle with this one: A record as stupendous as "Medium Was Tedium" and as prominently throwing all the weight of the DIY-aesthetic on us, the listeners. The Rutto seem to be your 1983 run-of-the-mill small town punk rockers, and this 45 is generic, frantic buzzsaw guitar 2-chord punk. The magic with this one, however, is that in between the choca-blocks of teen nihilism is a noticeable sense of wonder and joi de vivre oozing thru' the grooves, or maybe I am just getting old and sentimental. Thanks for reading.

[iicewitch]

☕ real boy

a playlist for @stevenrcgers​ link to playlist: here tracklist and favorite lyrics below

1. blood, sweat and tears - bts   Peaches and cream, sweeter than sweet Chocolate cheeks and chocolate wings But your wings are wings of the devil In front of your sweet is bitter bitter 2. brainchild - everything everything A good thing Now you think about it, don't you make it real? The bad thing, maybe it's a feeling I don't want to feel But love is all you need to know But love is all you need to know

3. dumb dumb - red velvet

Like a mannequin Everything is so awkward I should just act like I do normally But whenever I see you, I act so stupid Like my little brother’s robot Everything is so awkward What do I do? I think I’m broken I forgot even how to breathe 4. the zombie song - stephanie mabey And I'd try not to bite and infect you because I'd respect you too much And that's why I'd wait until we got married Oh, and our happiest days would be spent Picking off all your friends and they'd see A love this deep won't stay buried

5. real boy -  lola blanc Every time we touch your hands are colder, colder There's no beating coming from your wooden chest Frozen grin, a mannequin When I get closer I can see the strings there underneath your vest 6. who do you want to be ? - oingo boingo Who do you want to be today? Who do you want to be? I think I'll be a teddy boy, I think I'll be a hunk I think I'll be a tough guy and I think I'll be a punk I might just be a fashion star all dressed in frilly rags Or perhaps, I'll cross the other side and walk around in drag! 7. under my skin - jukebox the ghost I can fit two people under my skin Yeah, I can fit two people under my skin And I will prove it if you will listen You crawled up in there, you joined me within I can feel your heart beating under my skin And the beating of your heart is making me bleed from within 8. mr. capgras encounters a secondhand vanity: tulpamancer's prosopagnosia - will wood and the tapeworms Damn, I thought you’re not your imposter. You’re so sure you’re not gonna get caught! Dead in your own skin, but you didn’t choose what you were born in! And another man in your repertoire, ready in your head and fed upon your memoirs Still the same rules apply from the birthday to the mourning What you feel and what you do; are those things really you? And if not, then what is?  9. breaking out - the protomen If you can hear my voice outside these walls (If you can hear me) If you can hear me sending out this message tonight Then break the silence, send a signal back (If you can hear me) I'm coming, all I need is a little guiding light...

10. roaring 20s - panic at the disco Maybe I'm overjoyed, maybe I'm paranoid Designer me up in straight jackets My tell-tale heart's a hammer in my chest Cut me a silk-tied tourniquet This is my roaring, roaring 20's 11. evelyn evelyn - evelyn evelyn We grew up closer than most Closer than anything, closer than anything Shared our bed and wore the same clothes Talked about everything, spoke about so many things 12. looking glass - the birthday massacre A boyish notion of false emotion These words are spoken despite my love A fool's devotion was set in motion My eyes are open now

13. play dead - the birthday massacre Thinking hurts and thoughts don't rhyme To those of us who've never tried To find a face behind our lipstick smiles And as our pretty faces die Our broken hearts will wonder why The makeup just won't hide the scars of time 14. lets fall in love - mother mother There's a game in the world A little bit of cat and mouse With the boys and the girls And if I had to ante up I'd bet on the birds 'Cause they don't have to walk around With the boys and the girls 15. o my heart - mother mother And I pour my heart a new foundation But it don't set hard it just stays shaking And I scratch my name I scratch my name in But it don't set hard it gets mixed back in Oh my heart, it's a fish out of water  16. body - mother mother Take my teeth, tear through my cheeks And take the nose go and dispose Oh would you go dispose, just go dispose 'Cause I've grown tired of this body A cumbersome and heavy body 

17. touch up - mother mother I am a makeover queen A swan out of duckling Ugly duckling you're drowning In makeup (in makeup) My makeup (my makeup) Has washed off 18. roman holiday - nicki minaj Take your medication, Roman Take a short vacation, Roman, you'll be okay You need to know your station, Roman Some alterations on your clothes and your brain

19. replicant - they might be giants You've got his eyes Same exact smile All that he has All this will be yours  20. happy days - GHOST Oh, it’s painful My heart is quite a mouthful I’ll tear it out for you I’ll be the sacrifice for you Y’know, things could go exactly how you want it I’d be exactly how you want me Use what’s left of my soiled personality I’m all yours, I’ll do anything 21. girls on film - duran duran 'Cause the crowd all love pulling dolly by the hair By the hair And she wonders how she ever got here As she goes under again Girls on film (two minutes later) Girls on film Girls on film (got your picture) Girls on film  22. nobody - mitski And I know no one will save me I'm just asking for a kiss Give me one good movie kiss And I'll be alright Nobody, nobody, nobody 

23. TT - twice I feel like crying, I don’t feel like myself This isn’t like me at all I love you so much Think I’m all grown up now I’m free to make my own choices, but why Why can’t I have it my way The more I try to push you away The more I’m drawn and attracted to you baby 24. in every dream home a heartache - roxy music Your skin is like vinyl The perfect companion You float my new pool De luxe and delightful Inflatable doll My role is to serve you Disposable darling Can't throw you away now 25. the moss - cosmo sheldrake But have you heard the story of the rabbit in the moon? Or the cow that hopped the planets while straddling a spoon Or she, who leapt up mountains, while whistling up a tune And swapped her songs with swallows while riding on a broom 26. green - todrick hall Green! Is a way of life And the millions would kill to see their name up in the lights For the green is okay tonight But be careful what you wish Because you might get what you like 27. guy.exe - superfruit Oh I, wish I could synthesize a picture perfect guy Oh I, oh I Six feet tall and super strong, we'd always get along Alright, alright Oh, he'd pick me up at eight and not a minute late Cause I don't like to wait, no Kind and ain't afraid to cry or treat his momma right 28. the dismemberment song - blue da kid  Well once upon a time that's where the clock begins And right after the end Well, that's right where the plot thins And I've got no angel to keep me in line! So I'm taking your narrative and I'm making it mine! 29. me!me!me! - teddyloid I’ve worked hard for myself - What have you done for yourself? When you notice the scattered pieces of the mirror You’ll realize I wanted you to notice Is this still going on? Is this still happening? Even though I’d been waiting for you Even though I loved you 30. alone together - fall out boy My heart is like a stallion, they love it more when it's broken Do you wanna feel beautiful, do you wanna, yeah I'm outside the door, invite me in So we can go back and play pretend 31. get busy living or get busy dying - fall out boy This has been said so many times that I'm not sure if it matters But we never stood a chance And I'm not sure if it matters If you are the shores, I am the waves begging for big moons I'm mailing letters to addresses in a ghost town  32. hi it’s me - ashnikko When I'm with you I have amnesia, I'm weaker than before My stupid brain thinks that I need you, I'm eager to hurt more My best friend thinks that I'm a dumbass My dumbass should be a little more cautious I slip up, I text you, I forget That you were so so disrespectful 33. i’m poppy - poppy Welcome to the new world, I'm your internet girl Open up and you'll see, everyone is happy I like your technology, can you put it on me? The future is so pretty, we're living in harmony 34. idola no circus - neru Come, let’s dance all night in our naked bodies We know, we know your true nature Again putting on a fake face, You’re just like a pierrot ! It’s time to put a mask, a mask On your unsociable faced 35. shine - casey lee williams But baby, it's time to make up your mind I think that tonight is when our stars align Honey, it's time to leave the doubt behind Take my hand 'cause you and I are gonna shine 36. one thing - casey lee williams I was nowhere, I had no one, I felt nothing Lost without a voice and on my own Then a candle's flame brought a brand new name But now you've stolen everything And I'm all alone 37. sweetest cure - hugo What the hell am I s'posed to be Choose a world over me Sitting pretty in my mess On the phone I can't confess Word's out somehow You're the sweetest cure I never got to tell you 38. bang bang bang bang - sohodolls Teacher says that I've been naughty I must learn to concentrate But the girls they pull my hair And with the boys I can't relate Daddy says I'm good for nothing Mama says that it's from him Manic sister thinks I'm cracking Brother says it's in my genes 39. helpless - phillipa soo One week later I'm writin' a letter nightly Now my life gets better Every letter that you write me I'm helpless! He's mine, that boy is mine! Look into your eyes And the sky's the limit, I'm Helpless! Helpless! Down for the count, and I'm drownin' in 'em 40. lifeboat - laurence o’ keefe Everyone's pushing Everyone's fighting Storms are approaching There's nowhere to hide If I say the wrong thing Or I wear the wrong outfit They'll throw me right over the side 41. chase the morning - sarah brightman In you is a world of promise We have both been kept in bondage But you can learn from all my failures Let your life be your dream Integrity, honesty, its too late for me Don't look back till your free to chase the morning 42. no reason - leslie kritzer Everything, everything happens for a reason Be a beacon of light in the world Put a little "alright" in the world There are spiritual guides above Look up and see 'em Perception is reality Just listen to the melody the universe sings 'Cause everything, everything happens for a reason 43. i love play rehearsal - stephanie hsu I love play rehearsal 'Cause you are equiped with directions and text Life is easy in rehearsal You follow a script so you know what comes next Anywho, the point that I'm getting to Is sometimes life can't work out in the way It works out in the play 44. your song - elton john And you can tell everybody this is your song It may be quite simple but now that it's done I hope you don't mind I hope you don't mind That I put down in words How wonderful life is while you're in the world 45. the party goes with you - lindsay mendez And when we're dancing nose to nose Darling do you suppose, darling do you suppose This party could be just us two, and I your wife? Oh, oh, the gayest party, sad but true It's true The party goes with you The party goes with you 46. half jack - dresden dolls It's half biology and half corrective surgery gone wrong You'll notice something funny if you hang around here for too Long ago in some black hole before they had these pills to take it back I'm half Jill and half Jack 47. the secret - pierces Got a secret Can you keep it? Swear, this one you'll save Better lock it in your pocket Takin' this one to the grave If I show you, then I know you Won't tell what I said 'Cause two can keep a secret If one of them is dead 48.  connect - claris My heart awakes in order to depict the future Even if I come to a halt on a tough road The beautiful blue sky always waits for me Therefore I'm not afraid I won't be disheartened anymore no matter what happens 49. simple and clean - hikaru utada Hold me, whatever lies beyond this morning Is a little later on Regardless of warnings, the future doesn't scare me at all Nothing's like before 50. mountains - message to bears  And we could run away Before the light of day You know we always could The mountains say, the mountains say And we could run away Before the light of day You know we always could The mountains say, the mountains say

[sasamdcu]

Too Many Dads

Rating: 16+ Fandom DCU: Pairings: Cassandra Cain/Raven/Harper Row

Archive of Our Own

For The Summer of BatGalPals. I was super busy all July and am only now getting around to finishing some of these.

July 3rds General Prompt: “Meeting batdad”

Raven groaned as Dick made a fourth pass over her makeup and outfit. Ever since she had let it slip that she was going on a date he and Kori had hounded her relentlessly for details. They bickered like an old married couple about what she should wear and how she should style her hair, advised her to drink or take drugs in moderation and worst of all gave her a speech about the safety of procreation that went far too long. The birds and bees demonstrated with the help of Beast Boy did not help. It began to feel like Dick was more invested in this date than she was at this point.

“Alright, I think we’re perfect!” Dick finally confirmed before packing up his makeup case.

“You’re going to blow them away.”

“I can blow you away right now if you want.” Raven grumbled though Dick didn’t seem to notice.

The one saving grace about this whole fiasco was that her partners weren’t fairing much better. Occasional messages and cries of help came through her phone culminating in a string of Snapchats showcasing Harper and Jason devolving into a literal fist fight over the best style of leather jacket. Tim had apparently tried calling in a ringer since he didn’t know much about punk outfits himself and he wanted to focus more on trying to get Cass to wear a proper dress.  It looked like he might be regretting that.

“Oh look at the time! We’d better hurry if we want to make it to Gotham by five!” Dick dragged Raven along to his ‘borrowed Bat Mobile'.

“Remind me again why I don’t just portal to Gotham?”

“Because I need to return this car as well and you love a good road trip.”

“I don’t.”

“Well you will after this! You like show tunes?”

“We are not listening to Wicked the entire trip.“

The doors of Wayne Manor swung open as they approached to reveal Tim and Jason, both clad in slacks and sweater vests waiting. The unnerving display caused Raven to begin to question Dick’s own sweater vest ensemble. While this wasn’t an out of place outfit for Dick with the three in coordination something seemed clearly off.

“Hey there Dick, good to see you.”

“Likewise Tim.”

“How was the trip?”

“Fantastic, we listened to Wicked for the first half and Bye Bye Birdie for the second!”

“Little too on the nose there don’t you think?” Jason asked.

“Not at all, the perfect show tunes for a road trip if you ask me.”

“It was a nightmare.” Raven cut them off before they could continue farther.

A bizarre little shuffle went on as Dick shook first Tim’s hand then Jason’s before they were guided inside. Raven had been to the Wayne mansion a handful of times before with Dick, it was how she had met Cass and Harper after all, somehow though the majesty of it all wasn’t overwhelming. The opulence reminded her of Azarath and of home.

The four of them traveled down the main foyer into a small guest seating room on the left. Inside Raven momentarily forgot all about the weird way the boys were acting because there was Harper and Cass and oh boy was Raven having a gay moment.

Jason and Tim seemed taken aback as well. Raven wasn’t surprised, instead of the outfits they had been getting them into earlier the two were sporting nothing but light workout gear. Harper was in nothing but a skeleton motif tank and loose black shorts while Cass was in skin tight shorts and a black sports bra with attached bat eared hood. If you asked Raven they looked amazing. The toned muscles and various patterns of scarring telling her just how much trust they had in her and how comfortable they were in showing her so much.

“What happened to our planning?” Jason just sank in despair. "I thought we bonded through that brawl."

“You guys got so worked up we were ready like five hours early. We got bored and went for a workout.” Harper shrugged.

“Comfier.” Cass added.

Jason simply wandered aimlessly out of the room, as if his whole world had come crashing down around him.

“What’s up with him?” Raven asked.

“Oh I told him if he helped me dress up Harper it would impress Barbara.” Tim flashed a momentary shit eating grin before becoming rigidly serious again and locking eyes with her. “But onto the real business.”

“Ahem.” Dick cleared his throat. “You two ladies better look after my girl here. Treat here right you hear?”

“What? No, no, no, your girl needs to make sure she treats Cass and Harper right!” Tim countered, upset that Dick had usurped his moment.

“I’m the adult here and I’m going to make sure Raven is treated how she deserves!”

“Well I’ve been teaching these two for years now and I need to know that they’re going to be in good hands!”

Raven felt a small tug at the bottom of her dresses skirt. Turning she found Cass holding one finger over her lips for silence and Harper looking ready to bust a gut. Motioning Cass lead the two quietly out the door, leaving the two siblings to bicker behind them.

“God I can’t believe what dorks they are.” Harper laughed once they were out of earshot. “Do they really both want to be dads that badly or something? And Jason! Oh my god I can’t believe I managed to convince him to wear that stupid sweater vest.”

Cass and Raven snickered with her.

“At least you two got to change into something more comfortable, Dick and Kori made me take a five hour car ride in latex. This stuff doesn’t breathe you know.”

“It’s worth it.” Cass pulled Raven into a side hug, burying herself into the empath’s side and stealing a quick kiss.

“Yea, honestly it suits you a lot. Looks super cute and you don’t even notice the fact that it was probably bought from some kink store.”

Raven was dressed in as Kori described it a ‘Latex Galaxy Print Emily Dress’. A simple black latex dress with blue, purple and red galaxy print swirls across the chest portion, short puffy shoulder sleeves a somewhat short skirt and a high almost sailor collar, finished off by an O-ring attached right in the center.

“Uhg” Raven groaned. “I let Kori pick it out but didn’t take into account her lack of tact and understand when it comes to certain social customs still. A pretty dress is a pretty dress is all she said. Though I have to admit her matching the galaxy design with your hair was a stroke of genius.”

Raven ran a hand through Harper's hair before pulling her down for her own kiss.

“Again, you hardly notice it looks kinky or anything. Either that or I’ve just been spending too much time around the local capes and hoods. Have you seen Cat Woman’s outfit? The dress really doesn’t stand out that much in our line of work.”

“I suppose you’re right.”

“So, we have a surprise for movie night.” Cass beamed at her pushing Raven to raise an eyebrow in interest.

“Oh?”

“It’s an anime. I’ve finally gotten Cass fully into anime, and now it’s your turn.” Harper laughed.

“As long as it’s Cass picking that’s fine with me, the last time it was your turn to pick we ended up watching that god awful Lance and Masks.”

The three settled down together in one of the side rooms, a massive TV adorning the far wall and one large comfy couch for them to quickly pile onto. Raven let Cass guide her in between herself and Harper. While they’d definitely had movies night before this was an entirely new situation for Raven. Previously she had always been off to the side while the lovebirds cuddled. She could definitely get used to this though, something about the way the two of them embraced and held her just made her feel so safe and warm. Harper pulling her almost on top of herself and Cass spread out all across both of them kept her in such close proximity it was almost impossible to tune out their feelings of affection that washed over her like she was being dipped in a warm comfortable bath. It was pure happiness.

Bruce was tired. He had finished his patrol late the night before and hadn’t had time for sleep before dealing with the various Wayne enterprises that required his attention. Refusing to take a day off he had just finished his second night straight of patrols and was running on fumes when he made it back to the mansion.

Upon arriving the first thing he found was Jason passed out in a patio chair dressed like what Bruce could only assume was an attempt at Mr. Rodgers. He didn’t want to know. In the foyer he found Duke scolding Tim and Dick both also dressed in outlandishly PBS father figure style outfits. He had to blink a few times and then go double check on Jason to make sure he was seeing everything correctly. Those three wearing matching outfits was not a good sign.

Checking in on Harper and Cass who he’d heard were opting to spend their weekend at the mansion for once instead of at either Harper or Stephanie’s apartments was delighted to find all three girls snuggled up fast asleep together on the couch. A large comfy blanket sprawled out across them.

“Wait.”

It didn’t take the world’s greatest detective to realize that something didn’t add up, namely the number of people in the pile. Silently he went through a mental checklist of who all was there. There was Harper and Cass yes. But the third girl was someone he didn’t recognize. It wasn’t Stephanie, or Barbara, or Carrie or Kate. Not Violet not Harley(thankfully.) not Selina and not anyone else that sprung to mind.

Rubbing his eyes he wandered into the kitchen where he found Damian eating breakfast and Alfred putting on a new batch of coffee.

“Oh thank you Alfred, I definitely need that today.” He groaned as he plopped down into a seat at the table next to Damian.

“I think what you need is a good sleep sir.” Alfred replied but began grabbing a third cup nonetheless.

Bruce hummed to himself a moment in thought.

“We didn’t adopt any new kids recently have we?”

Damian and Alfred looked at him in confusion.

“There’s a third girl with Harper and Cass. I don’t recognize her.”

“Ahh. That would be Miss Raven.” Alfred turned back to the coffee maker. “No, she is simply here as a guest, from my understanding those three have begun dating. She’s one of Dick’s Teen Titans.”

Bruce nodded in acceptance.

“Okay good. I was worried we would need to renovate and add another bedroom.”

“I’m pretty sure that won’t be a problem.” Duke said around mouthfuls of toast. “Looks to me like they’ll be sharing a bed anyways.”

And that was not what sleep deprived Bruce needed to be thinking about right now. Anything would have been better than his children's relationships, god a Joker attack would be better.

“And do you know what’s going on with?...” he let the question die out.

“On second thought I’ll ask Dick what they were doing tomorrow. Alfred please ignore my earlier request for coffee and cancel my eight o clock, I believe we should still be able to reschedule to tomorrow for that. I’m going to go get some rest after all.”

“Of course sir.”

“Have fun at school Damian.”

“Tch.”

Yea. Bruce definitely wasn’t dealing with whatever else all of this was until tomorrow.

[delicatelythoughtfulpatrol]

How Pop Music’s Teenage Dream Ended

A decade ago, Katy Perry’s sound was ubiquitous. Today, it’s niche. How did a genre defined by popularity become unpopular?

Story by Spencer Kornhaber

“I am a walking cartoon most days,” Katy Perry told Billboard in 2010, and anyone who lived through the reign of Teenage Dream—Perry’s smash album that turned 10 years old on August 24—knows what she meant. Everywhere you looked or clicked back then, there was Perry, wrapped in candy-cane stripes, firing whipped cream from her breasts, wearing a toothpaste-blue wig, and grinning like an emoji. She titled one world tour “Hello Katy,” a nod to the Japanese cat character on gel pens worldwide. She made her voice-acting debut, in 2011, by playing Smurfette.

Perry’s music was cartoonish too: simple, silly, with lyrics stringing together caricature-like images of high-school parties, seductive aliens, and girls in Daisy Dukes with bikinis on top. Kids loved the stuff, and adults, bopping along at karaoke or Starbucks, enjoyed it too. (Maybe that’s because, like with so much classic Disney and Looney Tunes animation, the cuteness barely disguised a ton of raunch.) Teenage Dream generated five No. 1 singles in the United States—a feat previously accomplished only by Michael Jackson’s Bad��and it went platinum eight times.

Perry wasn’t alone in achieving domination through colorful looks and stomping songs. Teenage Dream arrived amid a wave of female pop singers selling their own costumed fictions: Lady Gaga, a walking Gaudí cathedral, roared EDM operas. Beyoncé shimmied in the guise of her alter ego, Sasha Fierce. Nicki Minaj flipped through personalities while wearing anime silhouettes and fuchsia patterns. Kesha, glitter-strewn and studded, babbled her battle cries. Taylor Swift trundled around in horse-drawn carriages. Each singer achieved impressive things, though arguably none of their albums so purely epitomized pop—in commercial, aesthetic, or sociological terms—like Perry’s Teenage Dream did.

A decade later, that early-2010s fantasy has ended, and Perry and her peers have seemed to switch gears. Rihanna has put her music career on pause while building a fashion and makeup empire. Beyoncé has turned her focus to richly textured visual albums that don’t necessarily spawn monster singles. Gaga, after a long detour away from dance floors, has returned to sounds and looks comparable to those of her early days, but she cannot bank on mass listenership for doing so. Swift keeps reinventing herself with greater seriousness, and little about her latest best seller, Folklore, scans as pop. Perry’s latest album, Smile, came out Friday. Regarding her new music’s likelihood of world domination, Perry told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, “My expectations are very managed right now.”

For the younger class of today’s stars, Teenage Dream seems like a faint influence. The Billboard Hot 100 is largely the terrain of raunchy rap, political rap, and emo rap, with a smattering of country drinking songs thrown in. Ultra-hummable singers such as Halsey and Billie Eilish are still on the radio, but they cut their catchiness with a sad, sleepy edge. A light disco resurgence may be brewing—BTS just strutted to No. 1 on the American charts while capitalizing on it—but that doesn’t change the overall mood of the moment. Almost nothing creates the sucrose high of Teenage Dream; almost nothing sounds as if Smurfette might sing it.

The recent state of commercial music has led to much commentary arguing that pop is dying, dead, or dormant. That’s a funny concept to consider—isn’t popular music, definitionally, whatever’s popular? In one sense, yes. But pop also refers to a compositional tradition, one with go-to chords, structures, and tropes. This type of pop prizes easily enjoyed melodies and sentiments; it moves but does not challenge the hips and the feet. It is omnivorous, and will spangle itself with elements of rock, rap, country, or whatever else it wants without losing its essential pop-ness. 

The early-2010s strain of it seemed like the height of irresistibility, and yet it’s mostly faded away. There are many reasons for that, but they can all be reduced to what Perry’s journey over the past decade has shown: Life and listening have become too complex for 2-D.

Pop has seemed to die and be reborn many times. When the 21st century arrived, the music industry was near the historical peak of its profitability—in part because of slick sing-alongs catering to teenagers and written by grown-up Swedes.

 But over the first few years of the 2000s, CD sales crashed thanks to the internet, boy bands such as ’NSync began to splinter, and Britney Spears’s long-running confrontation with the paparazzi reached an ugly culmination. 

Around the same time, women such as Pink, Kelly Clarkson, Ashlee Simpson, and Avril Lavigne began scoring hits inspired by mosh pits but more appropriate for malls. Gwen Stefani moved from rock-band frontwoman to dance-floor diva during this period as well. Such performers, though often assisted by the same producers and songwriters who helped mold Spears, flaunted unruly personalities to a reality-TV-guzzling public hungry for a kind of curated grit.

Katy Perry capped off this rock-pop boomlet. The California-born Katheryn Hudson had kicked around the music industry for years, first as a Christian singer—her parents were traveling evangelists—and then as an Alanis Morissette–worshipping songwriter.

She finally hit on a winning combo of sounds for One of the Boys, her delicious 2008 major-label debut, whose spiky rhythms, crunching guitars, sneering vocals, and juvenile gender politics earned her a spot on the Warped Tour, a punk institution. But the gooey, sassy hooks of “I Kissed a Girl,” “Waking Up in Vegas,” and “Hot n Cold” really made her a household name. 

Some of those songs benefited from the touch of Max Martin and Dr. Luke, songwriters-slash-producers of 2000s pop legend. (In 2014, Kesha filed a lawsuit accusing Dr. Luke, her producer and manager, of rape and abuse; he denied her claims and eventually prevailed in a years-long, very-public court battle over Kesha’s record contract.)

By late 2009, when Perry set out to record her follow-up to One of the Boys, the musical landscape had shifted again thanks to the arrival of Lady Gaga, a former cabaret singer with mystique-infused visuals and an electro-dance sound. What made Gaga different was not only her thundering Euro-club beats, but also her persona, or lack thereof. 

Gaga’s work overflowed with camp fun while keeping the singer’s true nature hidden under outrageous headpieces. By forgoing any attempts at banal relatability, Gaga seemed deep. In this way, she updated the glam antics of Prince, Madonna, and David Bowie for the YouTube era. Many of her peers took note, including Perry. 

Teenage Dream was lighter and happier than anything Gaga did, but it was electronic and fanciful in a manner that Perry’s previous work had not been. The cartoon Perry was born.

The conceit of Teenage Dream’s title track—“you make me feel like I’m living a teenage dream”—really boils down pop’s appeal to its essence: indulging a preposterous rush while also reveling in its preposterousness. “It is Perry’s self-consciousness—her awareness of herself as a complete package—that makes her interesting,” went one line in an NPR rave about the album. Even skeptical reviewers gave credit to standout singles such as “California Gurls” and “Firework” for being effective earworms. Perry had laid out her intended sound by sending a mixtape of the Cardigans and ABBA to Dr. Luke, who was part of a production team that pushed for perfection. 

“People on the management side and label side were pretty much telling me that we were done, before we had ‘Teenage Dream’ or ‘California Gurls,’” Luke told Billboard in 2010. “And I said, ‘No, we’re not done.’”

Such efforts ensured Teenage Dream’s incredible staying power on the charts through early 2012. The album’s deluxe reissue that year then generated a sixth No. 1 single, “Part of Me,” which also provided the title of a self-produced documentary that Perry released around the same time. Much of the footage showcases the stagecraft behind her 2011–12 world tour, a pageant of dancing gingerbread men and poofy pink clouds that would presage her hallucinatory 2015 Super Bowl halftime show. Perry comes off as charming and willful, and the film currently sits as the 11th-highest-grossing documentary in U.S. box-office history.

Yet the movie is best remembered today not for the way it shored up Perry’s shiny image, but for the way it complicated it. Over the course of the tour, Perry’s marriage to the comedian Russell Brand dissolved, and the cameras captured her sobbing just before getting on stage in São Paulo. It’s a wrenching, now-legendary scene. But elsewhere in the film, the viewer can’t help but experience cognitive dissonance as the singer’s personal dramas are synced up to concert footage of grin-inducing costumes and schoolyard sing-alongs. By hitching Teenage Dream’s whimsy to real-life struggle, the movie seemed to subvert exactly what had made the album successful: the feeling that Perry’s music was made to escape, not amplify, one’s problems.

Perry released her next album in 2013, a year that now seems pivotal in mainstream music’s trajectory. That’s the year Gaga pushed her meta-superficial shtick until it broke on the bombastic Artpop, which earned mixed reviews and soft sales.

 It’s also the year Lorde, a New Zealand teenager whose confessional lyrics and glum sonic sensibility would be copied for the rest of the decade, released her debut. Then in December, Beyoncé surprise-dropped a self-titled album whose opening track, “Pretty Hurts,” convincingly critiqued the way society asks women to construct beauty-pageant versions of themselves.

Later on the album, Beyoncé sang in shockingly explicit detail about her marriage to Jay-Z. Tropes of drunken hookups, simmering jealousy, and near-breakups were reinvigorated as specific and biographical, thanks in part to Beyoncé’s fluency with rap’s and R&B’s storytelling methods. She ended up seeming more glamorous than ever for the appearance of honesty.

The title of Perry’s album, Prism, not-so-subtly advertised her trying, too, to show more dimension. But the songs’ greeting-card empowerment messages, hokey spirituality, and awkward genre hopping made it seem as if Perry had simply changed costumes rather than had a true breakthrough. 

Still, both the cliché-parade of “Roar” and the trap-appropriating “Dark Horse” hit No. 1., and Prism’s track list includes a few examples of expert, big-budget songcraft. 

The album would turn out to be Perry’s last outing with a key collaborator, Dr. Luke. While she has maintained that she’s had only positive experiences with the producer, Perry hasn’t recorded a song with him since Kesha filed her 2014 lawsuit.

The Kesha-versus-Luke chapter added to a brewing sense that the carefree pop of the early 2010s was built on dark realities: Perry and Gaga have both described their most profitable years as personally torturous. Broader social and political developments—Black Lives Matter, the #MeToo movement, and the election of Donald Trump—also proved impossible to ignore for even the most frivolous-seeming entertainers. 

“When I first came out, we were living in a different mindset in the world,” Perry said in a recent Rolling Stone interview. “We were flying high off of, like, life. We weren’t struggling like we are. 

There wasn’t so much of a divide. All of the inequality was kind of underneath the mat. It was unspoken. It wasn’t facing us. And now it’s really facing us. I just feel like I can’t just put an escapist record out: Like, let’s go to Disneyland in our mind for 45 minutes.”

If that point of view sounds blinkered by privilege—who wasn’t struggling before, Katy?—Perry probably wouldn’t disagree. Her 2017 album, Witness, arrived with a blitz of publicity about how the star had become politically awakened and had decided to strip back her Katy Perry character to show more of the real Katheryn Hudson. A multiday live-stream in which fans watched her sleep, wake up, have fun, and go to therapy certainly conveyed that she didn’t want to seem like a posterized picture anymore. 

Yet neither Witness’s attempts at light sloganeering (the anti-apathy “Chained to the Rhythm”) nor its sillier side (the charmingly odd “Swish Swish”) 

connected with the public. It’s hard to say whether the problem was more temperamental or technological: By 2017, streaming had fully upended the radio-centric monoculture that stars like Perry once thrived in.

Her new album, Smile, is an explicit reaction to the commercial and critical disappointment of the Witness phase. Over jaunty arrangements, song after song talks about perking up after, per Smile’s title track, an “ego check.” There are also clear nods to her personal life. “Never Really Over” ruminates on a dead-then-revived relationship much like the one she has had with Orlando Bloom. “What Makes a Woman,” Perry has said, is a letter to her daughter, who was born on Wednesday. But she’s still mostly communicating in generic terms—lyrics depict flowers growing through pavement and frowns turned around—and with interchangeable songs. The explosive optimism of Teenage Dream has been replaced by ambivalence and resolve, yet the musical mode hasn’t really changed to match.

This leaves Perry tending to longtime fans but unlikely to mint many new ones. That’s because pure pop, the kind that thrives on doing simplicity really well, is largely a niche art form now. The delightful Carly Rae Jepsen will still sell out venues despite not having had a true hit in years. Today’s most acclaimed indie acts include the likes of 100 Gecs and Sophie, who create parodic, deadpan pastiches of pop clichés. Fixtures such as Lady Gaga do still have enough heft to ripple the charts (and thank God—her sense of spectacle saved the VMAs on Sunday). But her recent No. 1 single, “Rain on Me,” benefited from Ariana Grande, whose ongoing success comes from smartly channeling R&B. 

The current status of Dr. Luke, who has retreated from the public eye but still works with lesser-known talents and while using pseudonyms, seems telling too. He can’t land a hit with Kim Petras, a dance diva in the Katy Perry lineage. But he can land a hit with a rapper: He’s behind Doja Cat’s recent smash “Say So.”

Streaming, now the dominant form of music consumption, does not reward bright and insistent sing-alongs that demand attention but offer little depth. It instead works well for vibey background music, like the kind made by Post Malone, who’s maybe the most cartoonish figure of the present zeitgeist. It also works well for hip-hop with an obsession-worthy interplay of slangy lyrics, syncopated rhythms, and complex personas, all of which are presented in a context that feels like it has something to do with real life. 

Last week’s No. 1 song in the country, “WAP,” by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion, radiates some of the fantastical thrill of the 2010 charts. But it delivers that thrill as part of a lewd verbal onslaught by women whom the public has come to know on an alarmingly personal level. The video for “WAP” is bright and pink, yes, but also immersive. 

It’s not a cartoon—it’s virtual reality.

[nevillelongsbottom]

records at breakfast pairing: charlie x rolf x neville wc: 2570 radio show playlists: charlie and neville, luna and rolf

“That was Paracetamol by Declan McKenna - yes, we haven’t forgotten about him - and that means it’s time for us to wrap up now! As ever, thanks for tuning in, don’t forget to eat breakfast, and have a great day. We’re Charlie and Neville, this has been Don’t you forget about milk on KILV, and we’ll leave you on Why Didn’t You Say That? by The Lemon Twigs; Luna Lovegood and The 12” menagerie on next. See you on Wednesday, Ilvermorny!”

Neville is already waiting by the door when Charlie exits the claustrophobic radio booth, wrapped up with a scarf, smiling lightly, as if he might break by smiling too wide. “That went well,” he says.

“Twitter’s pretty happy about the Glen Hansard song; I think we might’ve unleashed some fans,” Charlie laughs, pulling on his coat and waving to Luna; he always half-wonders if she shouldn’t be hosting a TV show instead, with her wildly eccentric clothes and strawberry earrings. “Hey, isn’t her co-host meant to start today? Where are they?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t seen anyone,” Neville shrugs, glancing around; just as he’s about to step out to look for the mystery guest, he appears in a flurry of billowing cardigan, wild-eyed and with hair fluffed in various directions. He’s slightly tall, gangly, and shifts restlessly from foot to foot, staring right at Neville and also right through him. “There he is,” Neville says, sounding only mildly surprised.

“I got the lineup changed,” the boy gasps. “Can’t… start with… Rock Me Like a Hurricane…” He wheezes, taking a few hits of a small blue inhaler before straightening up. “Oh my God, you’re Charlie and Neville.”

“That’s us,” Charlie says cheerily. “You must be Luna’s co-host. Nice to meet you; good luck with her.”

“Yeah, I’m Rolf,” he says, running a hand through his hair. “Oh, please help me. Her music choice is off the wall and I haven’t heard a single good thing on campus about the show. It took me half an hour just to try and sort out today’s show.”

Charlie laughs. “You free after your show?” Rolf nods. “Meet me at Starbucks then, and I’ll try and sort something out for you. Nev’s got classes, or he’d help, I’m sure.”

“Okay,” Rolf says, turning to the door, pausing for a brief moment to turn. “White Light Doorway is an okay opener, right?”

“Absolutely perfect,” Charlie agrees, trying to stifle his amusement as Rolf enters the studio, a rabbit in the headlights. “Aw, he’s sweet. Here’s hoping he won’t get steamrolled by our dearest Luna.”

Neville clicks his tongue. “I wish we’d opened with Florist.”

--

“You know, I’d never actually heard of these guys until I heard their song in a movie, but I’ve got a feeling you’ll be hearing more of them at breakfast now - that movie is Suburban Gothic, very trippy, check it out; this is Such a Bore by Bass Drum of Death on KILV.”

Charlie leans back in his chair, glancing over at Neville as he shifts his headphones down to his neck. “So, heard the consensus on Rolf and Luna?”

“Everyone I’ve spoken to says they’re brilliant and that Rolf has completely improved the show,” Neville beams, trying to resist the urge to jump out of his seat. “I recorded a few to listen to, and they really are great, aren’t they?”

“Rolf’s sorted the music front, that’s for sure,” Charlie grins.

“What did you even tell him that day? I couldn’t have helped much; I mean, we just play what we like, don’t we?”

“I don’t play everything I like,” Charlie shrugs. “I try to keep it morning appropriate. No one wants to wake up to PUP. But I told him to try and build blocks between songs, as if he were making a playlist: don’t just jump from one extreme to another, but try and flow from one to the other. I also told him to check out what the rest of us play if he wanted to think about radio cohesiveness, but since Pansy and Blaise at six and Sirius on Thursday afternoons don’t, it doesn’t really matter.”

“I like Pansy and Blaise’s show,” Neville muses. “They play cool stuff.”

“Yeah, so I said it wasn’t too much of an issue,” Charlie nods. “It’s swings and roundabouts, I think, as to what Rolf goes for every day. But it’s working pretty well; yesterday’s show was so good someone put all the music on Spotify.” He puts his headphones back on, takes a moment to check Twitter, and leans back into the microphone. “That was Love in the 4th Dimension by The Big Moon followed by Beach Slang and Punks in a Disco Bar. We asked you earlier to text in about your favourite new release. Thoughts, Neville?”

“The right answer to this is The OOZ by King Krule and I’m glad to see that Ernie Macmillan agrees with me,” he jokes. “Though I think Beck’s latest was good, too; it’s getting a lot of airplay on The 12” menagerie, so remember, don’t switch off after we’re done and support our friends, too.”

--

Neville’s afternoons are usually filled with classes, but Charlie has some time to himself after the show which he usually spends studying and either listening to something on Spotify or listening out to Luna and Rolf.

It’s to his surprise, then, when they’re doing a show on crushes featuring text-ins when Rolf admits, the blush audible in his thick accent, to having a crush on “Charlie from the show before us” before dedicating Walking on a Dream to him.

“I know this is totally one-sided,” he says over the airwaves, “but he’s so nice, and he has great music taste - well, that puts me in agreement with most of the campus, for once…”

Charlie fumbles for his phone and shoots a message off to Neville, his stomach doing acrobatics with glee.

(In no world does Charlie expect Neville to send a text in to Rolf and Luna proclaiming his love for Charlie; Rolf’s response to this is Beck’s Debra, which he plays, he says “ironically”.)

--

It’s not in Charlie’s vested interest to host a breakfast show with someone who has feelings for him without discussing those feelings first, and so he meets Neville for pizza in the Italian restaurant by the student apartments, laughing to himself as he hears Pansy’s dulcet tones over the stereo.

“I’m sorry,” Neville says immediately. “I’ve made things difficult for you; I’m so sorry…”

“No,” Charlie says, vigorously, leaning across the table. “I’m glad you told me, cause truth be told, I kinda like you too. It’s just that I like Rolf, too, and the idea that I have to somehow make a choice between you is…” He trails off, not entirely sure where he’s going or if it’s stupidly selfish; he’s never been the target of anyone’s public affection, never mind two people at once, and he wishes there was a handbook on this kind of thing.

“Maybe you don’t have to choose,” Neville suggests, leaning in reciprocally and lowering his voice. “I’ve heard about multiple people dating before, and maybe - maybe we could try it.”

“You think you’re up for that?” Charlie asks, frowning lightly. Neville nods awkwardly. “Okay. Have you asked Rolf?”

“He suggested the idea,” Neville says shyly, looking away. “He found me after the show and we - talked about stuff. Sorry. I should’ve said, but - it’s just kinda hard to suggest that…”

The pizza arrives and Charlie takes a bite, with vigour. “Stop being sorry, Nev! I get it, proposing the idea of a poly relationship or whatever they call it is hard, but I’m down for it, so just - stop apologising.”

“Sorry,” Neville replies out of instinct; for a moment, they look at each other and burst into laughter. “I swear I didn’t mean to do that!” he giggles, only to be interrupted by Charlie’s lips on his; he’s stiff out of surprise but slackens, comfortable, one of Charlie’s hands tucked at the back of his neck and winding in the ends of his hair.

“How long do you think it’s gonna take before that’s made its way round student Twitter?” Charlie asks as he sets back to his pizza, stealing the lemon from Neville’s water.

“It probably already has,” Neville replies.

(He’s not wrong.)

--

“I think the eighties are my favourite decade - I know there’s plenty to be said for the seventies, definitely not the nineties, but I’ve been really enjoying the nostalgia boom right now and I think it’s a phenomenal decade, visually and musically - and, you know, we got our name from The Breakfast Club, so we have a lot to be thankful to the eighties for. Have you guys all seen the second series of Stranger Things yet? Charlie and I binge-watched the whole thing last night. It was so good! I really enjoyed it; Tweet me your thoughts, spoiler-free, at k-i-l-v-milk, and here, suggested by Seamus, are The Human League with Don’t You Want Me.”

Charlie drums on the table. “So, where’d Rolf say we’d meet after class?”

“He said he’d treat us to coffee and cake at the chocolate café. What’s it called? Choco-Latte?”

“I think so. Can’t say I’ve ever really thought about the name, just that the cake is fucking delicious,” Charlie grins. “Did you have an alright sleep last night? All two hours or whatever of it. I’d have asked this morning, but…”

“You were too busy shoving toast in my face,” Neville finishes. “I slept okay, I think. But I kinda just want to watch Stranger Things again. Maybe we should do it with Rolf. I don’t know if he’s ever seen it.” He scrolls through Twitter, raising an eyebrow. “Rolf has just suggested Close to Me.”

“He likes The Cure! Mercy Lewis, we’re playing that one next.” He kicks his chair back over to the desk, prepping for the song to finish; he starts as Neville reaches out to grasp his hand, tightly, looking as if there’s something he’ll burst if he doesn’t say.

“Charlie?” he whispers, looking up shyly. “Yesterday - that kiss - it was my first.”

--

Charlie orders a tad much at Choco-Latte and they take the remainders of his lunch and another few slices of cake back to Rolf’s to finish off; Rolf’s house is a matrix of rich corridors decorated in bright IKEA furniture that doesn’t look like it’s been assembled quite right, a Billy bookcase collapsing by his bedroom and a long-haired cat curled up on top of a cardigan that’s fallen from his clothes horse.

Neville gets a little lost on his way to the bathroom: Rolf’s house is enchanting, interestingly decorated with paintings being sold by strapped-for-cash art students or picked up at art fairs and pinned-up magazine covers and framed records. He stops more than once to reach down and scratch behind the ears of a cat or dog, and he catches a glimpse into Rolf’s airy bedroom where birds sing in a complex of cages.

“The toilet’s that way,” Rolf’s voice chirps helpfully, and Neville starts, spinning around. “It’s okay. I like to look at the birds, too.” He grins, bashfully, as if Neville’s just discovered a secret - but the kind of secret that he wants to be discovered and shared. “Charlie’s going to put on The Breakfast Club, by the way, if that’s alright with you.”

“Oh, yeah, sure,” Neville nods, turning. “Um… thank you. For this. For coming out with us and letting us in here to watch movies.”

“No problem,” Rolf says, with a smile. “I like you. Both of you.”

Neville is somehow able to find his way back to the living room from the toilet without much more distraction than a hairless cat trying to trip him up, which Rolf spots and removes. “Sorry,” he says, lightly kissing the cat’s head. “This is Leta. She likes to do that. Leta, come on, what did I tell you about bothering people…”

Charlie is on the sofa, cupping a mug of hot chocolate in his hands and singing along to Simple Minds, and so Neville sits next to him, locating his slice of chocolate cheesecake among the menagerie of cocoa and digging into it with a spork.

“Doesn’t he have forks?” Neville asks, frowning. “Or - spoons?”

“I believe that sporks are Rolf’s ideal implement for cake eating,” Charlie replies, grinning and lifting his. “Look! It’s even got a smiley face on it. We should talk about this on the show.”

“It’s silly, but… I would love some of these,” Neville says, smiling back at his spork. “I know that people would just laugh at me, and maybe you would too, but they’re sweet.” Charlie laughs softly - but earnestly, and runs a hand through Neville’s hair, making Neville flush. “W-what?”

“Nothing,” Charlie chuckles, shifting over as Rolf joins them on the sofa. “Whatever happened to these guys? Molly Ringwald was huge in the eighties. More importantly, what happened to John Hughes?”

“He died,” Rolf says, glancing over. “Didn’t you hear? It was a few years ago.”

Charlie’s eyes are wide as saucers as he sits up. “What? No! I missed this news! Not John Hughes - Ferris Bueller was my childhood! Neville! My childhood! It’s been over for years and I didn’t know!” He reaches out, his hand grasping at Neville’s arm and for the briefest moment an electric shock passes between them that stops Charlie in his tracks for a moment as he flinches. “Christ. You’re electric, Nev.”

“Keep your ’lectric eye on me, babe,” Rolf sings, startled as both Charlie and Neville turn to him. “Um… hello.”

“That was the first song we ever played together,” Neville says, softly, his eyes wistful. “On the show. We wanted to play something that felt like growing up, because we were.”

“I didn’t know,” Rolf admits. “It’s just one of my favourite songs, and one of my favourite albums, and I like David Bowie, and…” Neville cuts him off with a kiss, lightly pressing a hand against Rolf’s back and against the fabric of his yellow polo shirt; it’s short, and Neville can’t stop himself from giggling when he pulls back, overwhelmed by everything.

Their hands intertwine, and as they turn back to the movie, Charlie stretches his arm out as far as he can around the pair of them.

--

“Ilvermorny! Good morning to you all, and what a good morning it is indeed. I’ve been having a fantastic time over the last two months, which I know is contrary to the general mood on campus, but why can’t we all feel great, even just for this morning? Buy yourself a cake. Eat a cookie. Splurge on that top you were thinking of buying - it’ll look great.”

“But before you do that, stay tuned,” Neville adds, reaching over for Charlie’s hand. “We’re on for the next hour, and after that, our good friends Rolf and Luna are going to be spinning the best tunes of this year so far. Now, here’s a song for someone special: Apartment by Modern Baseball, a song I don’t think we play enough.”

He lets go of Charlie just long enough to spin around to Rolf, taking up an extra seat in the booth, eyes shining. “Maybe we should go for cake after this,” he says. “And watch-”

“Pretty In Pink,” Charlie says immediately. “We need to watch Pretty In Pink.”

[asfeedin]

BTS, Beatles, Madonna, Taylor Swift, More

BURBANK, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 27: (L-R) Jin, Jungkook, RM, Jimin, and J-Hope of “BTS” speak onstage … [+] at iHeartRadio LIVE with BTS presented by HOT TOPIC at iHeartRadio Theater on January 27, 2020 in Burbank, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for iHeartMedia)

Getty Images for iHeartMedia

Upbeat songs are having a surge of popularity in this time of coronavirus gloom. “Happy“ by Pharrell Williams and “Get Lucky“ by Daft Punk are among the most-played tracks of the last decade. The optimistic “Lovely Day” and “Lean On Me” by the late Bill Withers are enjoying a boost on YouTube and other file-sharing and streaming sites.

Here is a list of some musical medicine – songs that are doing well in lockdown, and some alternative cheer-up suggestions.

Recent Songs Doing Well: It is no coincidence that the song doing best in recent weeks is as upbeat as possible. Tones and I’s hit “Dance Monkey“ continues to dominate the YouTube charts and in the top slot on the Global Top Songs chart for the fifth straight week and 20th week overall with 75 million hits. It is followed by the likes of “Don’t Start Now” by Dua Lipa, whose new collection Future Nostalgia set a number of Spotify steaming records, including the most streamed album in a day globally by a British female artist. These songs are followed by more pure pop by the likes of Ariana Grande, Beyoncé, Britney Spears, Rihanna, the Sugababes and Katy Perry. “Say So” by Doja Cat tops various happy 2020 playlists, as does “Stupid Love” by Lady Gaga. Among other tracks picking up plays: “Red Light, Green Light” by Duke Dumont, plus the slightly older songs “Green Light” by Lorde and “Can’t Stop The Feeling” by Justin Timberlake.

BTS: Songs by the K-Pop sensation have been doing well. The septet’s online concert Bang Bang Con had 50.5 million views last weekend. Even some of the group’s older and more obscure tracks are picking up hits, such as “Just One Day” off the Skool Luv Affair EP from 2014, in which each group member imagines one day with his love. The song has topped playlist ideas, and quietly racked up 24 million views on YouTube.

Be Happy: Not surprisingly, people wanting to be happy seek out songs with the word in the title. Apart from “Happy” by Pharrell Williams, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” by Bobby McFerrin is back on top of the Spotify playlists. “Happy” tops a YouTube equivalent playlist along with “Shots” by Imagine Dragons.

“Shiny Happy People” by R.E.M., which Michael Stipe said he wrote for children, is also finding its way into radio and internet playlists. The Georgia band’s “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” returned to Billboard charts last month, while Stripe did his own solo version, adding some tips to avoid coronavirus. Also recommended is R.E.M.’s “I’m Gonna DJ” with its insane lyric: “Death is pretty final/ I’m collecting vinyl/ I’m gonna DJ at the end of the world!”

Not everyone likes singles that force joy, but if you do, try any version of “Happy Days Are Here Again” or “Oh Happy Day,” such as that by Spiritualized. Sting’s remake of “Spread a Little Happiness,” Captain Sensible’s “Happy Talk,” “Happy Together” by The Turtles, and “Happiness” by Goldfrapp are all ripe for a comeback.

Sunny Songs: “Lovely Day” returned to the charts (along with “Lean On Me”) after the death of Withers. Lyrics with optimistic meteorological metaphors do well: “I Can See Clearly Now” by Johnny Nash; U2’s “Beautiful Day”; “Here Comes The Sun” or “Good Day Sunshine” by the Beatles; “Walking on Sunshine” by Katrina and the Waves; and “Rainbow” by Kacey Musgraves.

Reggae Joy: “Three Little Birds” by Bob Marley has been much played for its universal message: “Don’t worry about a thing, ‘cause every little thing is gonna be all right.” For more reggae joy, there is always Marley’s “One Love,” his own version of “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” and “You Can Get It If You Really Want” by Jimmy Cliff.

Some Kind Of Wonderful: Another Cliff song, “Wonderful World, Beautiful People,” reminds us that even at the time of COVID-19, listeners still know that life can be wonderful. The words of Otis Redding have been ringing out online (“If you love me too, oh what a wonderful world this could be”) as well as Louis Armstrong (“I hear babies cry, I watch them grow, they’ll learn much more than I’ll ever know/ and I think to myself, what a wonderful world.”). Singles such as “Wonderful Life” by Black and Hurts, two different songs, have also gained some traction.

Material Girl: Madonna’s upbeat 1980s hits such as “Holiday” and “Lucky Star” have been much mentioned in 2020 playlists.

Lightening Up: Bob Dylan’s long and downcast comeback “Murder Most Foul” has a modest 192,000 hits so far on YouTube after its surprise release amid lockdown last month. Still, the Nobel laureate’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues,” “Leopard-Skin Pillbox Hat” and “Highway 61 Revisited” all are witty and fast-moving and recommended to raise a smile. Simon & Garfunkel are getting played for “Cecilia,” “59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy),” the bittersweet “I Am A Rock” and Paul Simon solo tracks such as “Loves Me Like A Rock” or “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard.”

For all the gl0om of “The End” and “When The Music’s Over,” Jim Morrison of The Doors had his lighter moments and “Hyacinth House” has a false cheer a bit like Elvis Costello’s later “Other Side of Summer” or The Flaming Lips song “Do You Realize?”

David Bowie provides cheer with “Fill Your Heart” and “Kooks,” though probably not “The Laughing Gnome.” His “Heroes” is one of the anthems for frontline workers, with 9 million YouTube views, and has enjoyed a new lease of life with the cover version by Motörhead racking up 36 million views.

Kanye West: Yeezy’s can-do anthem “Stronger,” and his “American Boy” with Estelle, are enjoying playlist success. So has his “Runaway,” as is the Linkin Park song of the same name.

Kids’ Stuff: The lockdown proved to be an ideal time to launch Disney+ in new regions. It was announced this month that the channel reached 50 million subscribers in just six months. A lot of its songs are uplifting for children and others: much of The Jungle Book (“The Bare Necessities”) or Mary Poppins (“Let’s Go Fly a Kite”.)

Elsewhere, listeners of all ages may enjoy Jonathan Richman’s child-like “Ice Cream Man,” “The Tag Game” and “That Summer Feeling.”

Love Songs: “Sex on Fire” by the Kings of Leon came at No 10 in the list of most-played songs of the last decade. Most people have their own personal romantic smile inducer, with those recently mentioned online including James Brown’s “I Got You (I Feel Good)” and Carole King’s “You’ve Got a Friend.” The Killers’ “Mr. Brightside” has shown up in a few lists, even though it is a song about jealousy. Others include Motown classics “My Girl” by The Temptations and “My Guy” by Mary Wells; Sam Cooke’s “You Send Me”; and Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl.”

Good Times: Van Morrison’s “St. Dominic’s Preview” is an example of a feel-great-right-now song. Trending tracks with a similar vibe include “One Day Like This” by Elbow; “Perfect” by The The; “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay” by Otis Redding; or Eric Clapton’s “Wonderful Tonight.” “I Got a Feeling” by Black Eyed Peas says “I gotta feeling that tonight’s gonna be a good night.” Prince has much the same sentiment in “It’s Gonna Be A Beautiful Night,” while his “Let’s Go Crazy” has brought happiness to 15 million via YouTube. Prince died exactly four years ago, so expect his streaming numbers to rise on the anniversary.

Rock The Trouble Away: When times get tough, the tough get rocking. Think Elvis Presley, Nirvana, AC/DC, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, or Guns N’ Roses, if they make you punch the air. Bon Jovi has also popped up on fan playlists for COVID-19 tunes with “Livin’ On A Prayer” and “It’s My Life.” He declares: “I ain’t gonna live forever, I just want to live while I’m alive.”

‘On The Rise’ Pick-Me-Up Songs: Primal Scream has also been popping up on fans’ playlists with “Movin’ On Up” and “Loaded,” both off the album Screamadelica. Also recommended: “Up!” by Shania Twain and “The Only Way Is Up” by Yazz.

‘I Am The Greatest’ Music: Spirit-raising tracks include “We Are The Champions” by Queen, especially popular since the Bohemian Rhaposdy movie; “The Best” by Tina Turner; “So What,” by Pink; and “Born This Way” by Lady Gaga. Also recommended: “The Greatest” (Ringo Starr and Cat Power, two very different songs.)

Songs Relevant To COVID-19: “Don’t Stand So Close To Me“ by The Police has surged as lockdown became a reality, even though it is really about a school romance. Just because of the titles, “Splendid Isolation,” by Warren Zevon, “Isolation“ by Joy Division and “Isolation“ by John Lennon have all got extra plays, though none are particularly cheery.

The streaming and file-sharing sites also see boosts for defiant-mortality songs, really just based on their titles. Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” from 1978 has been a standout, an anthem for strength, with the singer taking to TikTok to rework it and inspire others to properly wash their hands.

“Stayin’ Alive” by Bee Gees and “Don’t Fear The Reaper” by Blue Öyster Cult have also added plays, as has “Stronger” by Kelly Clarkson, with its words “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”

“Resistiré” (I Will Resist), originally by Dúo Dínamico in 1988, has been redone for 2020 and has had 19 million hits on YouTube. The equally defiant “Shake It Off” by Taylor Swift is also the YouTube happy songs playlist, Natasha Bedingfield’s “Pocketful Of Sunshine” also raises spirts with its message “Do what you want, but you’re never gonna break me.”

More COVID-19 relevant titles boosting hits are “Work From Home” by Fifth Harmony and “Down With the Sickness” by Disturbed, which has surged 31% in digital song sales, according to Nielsen Music/ MRC Data; and “Quarantined” by At the Drive-In, which is up 70%.

COVID Spoofs: There are many memes out there but it is hard to fault Chris Mann with “My Carona,” spoofing “My Sharona,” and “Stay At Home Vogue,” parodying Madonna’s “Vogue.”

Songs In Response To The Virus: Not necessarily so bubbly are Bono’s “Let Your Love Be Known” and Randy Newman’s “Stay Away.”

A three-minute single won’t doesn’t erase the tragedy of COVID-19, its threat to jobs and economy but helps to lighten our load. As the record and radio-industry slogan says, “life sounds better to music.” Some relentlessly light tunes are madly irritating to some people and inspiring to others. Based on listening to 1,000 new albums a year and thousands of singles, here is a personal choice: “Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 3” by Ian Dury and the Blockheads; “My Favorite Things” from The Sound Of Music; “Pure” by The Lightning Seeds; “Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)” by Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel; “Candy” by Paulo Nutini; “It’s Gonna Be Okay, Baby” by MUNA; “Song 2” by Blur; and “One More Time” by Daft Punk.

Maybe add to the playlist a few pieces of 1960s psychedelic pop such as “Itchycoo Park” or “Lazy Sunday” by the Small Faces; “Sugar Sugar” by The Archies or “Marrakesh Express” by Crosby, Stills and Nash. If you are making a playlist, hopefully these suggestions will help boost your “quarantune” spirits.

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Tags: Beatles, BTS, coronavirus, covid-19, happy music, lockdown, Madonna, quarantunes, Spotify, swift, Taylor, Taylor Swift, Youtube

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[gopunksphilly-blog]

The Limelight...cuz' even us punks like to dance!!!

We’re feeling incredibly modest about the whole experience because the two kids from 4th Street are in very uncharted territory right now and we don’t even have our ‘Misfits’ to share the moment or shelter us from this newfound notoriety.

Thankfully, we have the Liverpool kids shuffling us onto the dance floor before our young DJ starts spinning again.  “OY’ you lot r’ lookin’ quite shell-shocked roit’ now.  Let’s get em’ bodies movin’…c’mon…git’ the blood flowin’!” Nigel yells, as Gem and I both shake the cobwebs off; promptly returning to just being two punks out having fun with some friends.   “Ay, get this, you lot.  I got a chance to chat up this young bloke at the tables, an’ this boy named Jordy, he’s done been to Manchester, Liverpool an’ is ‘riginally from Detroit.  All I’m sayin’ is, be prepared t’ be wowed by his second show!!”

Our young buck gets his second act going well with a jazzed up mix of Numan/Tubeway Army’s ‘Are ‘Friends’ Electric’, which sends Gem into the stratosphere.  “Birdie and my jam, Robbs!!  Let’s get moving,” she says excitedly while she sways her hips against mine.  She’s looking around at everyone dancing closely and gets the biggest grin.  “What a cool, mix of a crowd we’re in!  They all look awesome together.”  She’s right, it’s quite an eclectic group of races with punks, wavers, straights, gays, lesbians and there are definitely some cross dressers who could pass for glamorous showgirls in the club.  It’s like the United Nations of Bohemia in our midst, and we’re enjoying every bit of its beauty and decadence.  “A la vie Boheme, Gemma darling!!”

“You couldn’t be more right, Robbs!” she exclaims as our lips meet, with our tongues darting as wildly as our hands move over each other’s bodies.

Gem glances to her side and laughs out loud while the tribe mugs it up at our expense and Jordy keeps our enjoyable ride going, mixing bass lines together as Siouxsie’s dark dirge, ‘Israel’ now thumps through the club, much to the joy of the Goth contingent.  Nigel, Ian, Donna and Sharon are pulling off a real cool slow groove to the beat, so Gem and I try to match their steps while Jackie comfortably slinks in behind Gem, picking up from where she left off earlier, latching onto Gem’s hips while they both move dead sexy with one another.

We’re having a grand time dancing, plus taking turns hitting the bar for drinks, with Gem and I making most of the runs, since the bartender seems to have enjoyed our performance.  “Here you go, rock stars, on the house!” he yells every time we arrive and my wallet is enjoying his fantastic generosity.  

Wonderkid Jordy keeps the party going with some revamped, incredible mixes of Berlin’s, ‘Sex’ and ‘Metro’ and Animotion’s, ‘Obsession’,  just to name a few and when we take a short break from dancing, more club regulars stop by to remark about our playing.  We can’t tell them enough what a stroke of luck it was to run into Joan Jett at the Plaza and how it culminated into a not to be believed experience for the both of us.  In between more shots and beer being purchased for us by some appreciative music lovers, another group of club kids ask Gem for her autograph on the concert stubs. “Thank you so much for this, guys! I must admit, I’m overwhelmed…” she adds with a hint of embarrassment.  

Jordy keeps the music driving hard with more slick mixes and beats, causing Nigel to exclaim, ‘this is the future, you lot.  You heard it ‘ere t’night…the future!!”  The Liverpool girls start dancing around Gem, taking turns matching her every move.  There’s not an inch between them and Gem laughs, blushing again when its Sharon and Donna’s turn to give her a little ear nibbling.  It’s par for the course in a night of revelry at the Limelight.

 *******

             We’re nearing the two o’ clock hour and I can feel my heart racing again.  Nigel, Jackie and the Liverpool tribe have been incredibly fun company and we’re having a blast kicking the jams to a sick mix of ‘The Chase’ from the movie, ‘Midnight Express’ and if you listen closely enough, it sounds like Jordy has pieced parts of Pink Floyd’s, ‘On the Run’ throughout the song.  Nigel and Ian are right about this; if Jordy is a taste of what’s yet to come from the Brit and Detroit sound, we are in for some fucking unbelievably brilliant club music.

Gem starts eyeing the cages overhead and grins at Jackie.  “Wow!  That looks like so much fun but the girls look exhausted when they get lowered down. All in all, I still bet it would be so bitchin’!”  Overhearing their conversation, Nigel and I seem to be having the same thought, adeptly tracking down one of the bouncers Gem and I had met earlier backstage and inquiring whether she’d be able to dance in the cage.  Within minutes, one of the cages is lowered to the floor while Nigel and I deftly maneuver back to where the girls and Ian have Gem immersed in conversation.

Nigel gives them the nod as they spin Gem around to observe a now empty cage, awaiting her arrival.  “Your cage awaits, Punk Princess!” I exclaim while the girls push her towards it. “C’mon now, Gem you gouh’geous girl! Show us Liverpool birds a thing ‘er two!” Donna yells excitedly.

“Robbs, I could just kill you and Nigel!!!” she screeches while laughing hysterically.  

“As I’ve said before, Gem, just promise to enjoy the day!” I yell as she’s lifted away.  “OH MY GOD, I WILL BABE!!” she bellows, before being slowly hoisted into a stratosphere of morphing lights and sounds.

Jordy does a brilliant segue into another exceptional dance tune from the decadent disco times and one of Gem’s favorites; Donna Summer’s ‘I Feel Love.’  I don’t care what generation you’re from, if you want a song that will make anyone turn into a massively sexual being, this is the one. Hot bodies bathed in sweat twist, curve, and countour, enveloping sensually throughout the venue and all I can say is that our Detroit born whiz kid has hit the jackpot with this mix.

Gliding towards a better vantage point to spy the goings on with our caged, twirling, punk ballerina perched in the heavens above, Nigel and Ian pair off with Donna and Sharon, with Jackie enjoying the chance to grind her dead sexy hips slowly into mine.  “’Ello again, love,” she coos.  “Let’s look skyward and see what your beautiful gal is up to.”  

Just as I’d surmised, Gem is spinning like a top because this song drives her senses into overload!!  Whenever they play it at City Gardens on club nights, Gem just tears up the floor.  The spotlights moonbeam glow darts and dashes between the cages, bathing the girls in massive rays of hot, white light. Jackie keeps perfect pace with me but there’s no aversion of our attention from the auburn haired hellcat above us.  Her long strands catch the light, like a phoenix rising from the ashes.  While her hands grip the bars in front of her, she swings her hips furiously to the synth mixed beat, stopping just long enough to let loose another high kick; resting her stiletto heel on one of the long crossbars of the cage.  

Jackie and tribe gawk in amazement at the cat like dexterity Gem displays for such a tall girl on those death defying stilts.  “I ‘ave no reservations ‘bout tellin’ you this, Robbs, but I am purely, sex’ly infatuated with yoh’ beautiful, tall Gem!” she laughs before pecking my neck.  Dancing even closer with her now, I can only smile while replying, “I’m starting to get the feeling that EVERYONE is, Jackie!” as the Liverpool rudes continue their barrage of wolf whistles in pure admiration of their new, wild girl ‘rude’.

           As Jordy continues his blazing, seismic rendition of Summer’s classic, the club patrons are eating up his spinning prowess and it shows; the sexual heat of this dance floor and the balconies above is just blistering!  I’ve heard from people before that on any given night, the Limelight VIP rooms or the maze of hallways and hidden spots can be a hotbed for drugs and pleasures of the skin, so I can’t even imagine what must be transpiring within the darkened nooks and crannies of this former house of worship during this debaucherous roller coaster ride our talented spin master has generated tonight.

           Nigel’s having a ball observing the modern, Roman orgy unfold in our midst but he’s especially enthralled with the auburn fireball still twirling madly above.  “Christ, mate, your Gem is fit n’ fuckin’ brill’!! ‘At birds got this lot eatin’ out the palm ‘oer hand an’ that isn’t no tosh!  GO GET ‘IM, SWAN!!!!” Gem falls to her knees, swinging her hair wildly in the spotlights now orange, sun glow while continuing to put on quite a sensual exhibition.   Swiftly getting to her feet after doing some jaw dropping moves she starts spinning around again, stopping only long enough to do a feline stretch across the lower bar while smiling beautifully to the adoring masses, the Liverpool tribe and me.

“Shite, Robbs, the only thing missing in ‘er is a stripper’s pole for Gem to swing on!  Jesus, she’s dead sexy!!!” Jackie laughs again.   I can’t agree more, I’ve seen my girl tear up a dance floor before, but what she’s doing in that cage is purely mesmerizing; especially to this eighteen year old guy and Jackie knows it!  “Baby, yoh’ in sto’ for a helluva’ ride tonight from yo’ bird,” she whispers seductively into my ear.  “Too right, I’d looove t’ be on the other side o’ ‘at wall t’nite!!”

The explosive synth beat of the track fades into tranquil lucidity, the beat slows to an intentionally laborious pace and Gem waves for the bouncer to lower the gilded dance cage and before we know it, our dancing dynamo has returned to the Limelight’s floor.  More club-goers, especially the punk kids, engage Gem when she steps out and of course Donna, Sharon and Jackie are there to shower the object of their affection with hugs and kisses.  Jackie eventually nudges Gem towards my direction as our spin master Jordy maintains the faint, slow synth beat.  “Damn girl, you were effing’ incredible up there.  I don’t even think I want to know where some of those moves came from,” I coyly remark.  

“Rob Cavelli, what are you suggesting, you dirty dog?” she inquires with a giggle.  “Actually, Stace worked as a stripper for a while and showed me a move or two when I was at the house on South Street.”  I can’t help but chuckle at the thought of then, nineteen year old Stace showing my Gem, at the age of thirteen some ‘bump and grind’ stripper moves, but like Gem has previously stated, her and my shedding of childhood innocence happened quite a few years apart.

The music ramps up ever so slightly in pace and sound; before we know it, Godley and Crème’s new hit ‘Cry’ slowly vibrates through the sound system.  Nigel wraps his arms around Sharon, while Jackie and Donna encircle a happily contented Ian.  Gem slides in comfortably closer to Jackie, whispering something into her ear which has our ‘rude girl’ giggling.  “’Ave fun you two!!” she replies sunnily, before spinning away with Ian in a euphoric dance of sensuality.

“Come with me,” Gem whispers in my ear, as she pulls me through the club, circumnavigating around the exquisite sight of couples from all walks of life grooving slowly to Jordy’s wonderously enticing, extended spin.  Arriving hastily to a flight of stairs, she turns to me, her bewitching, cat-like, emerald eyes stopping me dead in my tracks.  “Come on, baby boy, keep up with me,” she whispers seductively in my ear as the chase up the stairs begins.  

Winding through small rooms, dark hallways and crazy, little nooks; past couples shrouded in the shadows, Gem finally stops when we reach our own little dark corner away from the world.  To one side, a black enclosure; a fortress of solitude from the crowds, to the other side we can still see the dance floor below, the bodies massed together in lovers embraces; the spotlights weaving to and fro, illuminating the stained glass in an otherworldly radiance.  “Gem, this is extraordinary!  Where did you even find…”

Her eyes once again burn through my essence while she takes hold of me, shrouding me inside her secret hideaway.  “Shhh…Baby boy, this has been the most memorable day of my life.  Let’s enjoy this moment, enraptured in the music. I’ll love you forever, Robbs.  I know you’ll never break my heart.”  

She reigns me in as our lips meet, the music, the church, the lights skirting past our secret hideaway, now becoming an incredible backdrop to the tenderness taking place between us.  The two, rough and tumble punk kids of the Philly streets; the Prince and his Princess swathed in the torrid, fiery rapture only discovered in true love’s kiss.

An excerpt from Rich Cucarese’s (that’s me!!) upcoming, literary fictional novel, ‘PUNKS’...Chapter 25, ‘The Towers of Gold’

Donna Summer’s ‘I Feel Love’ ...one of the sexiest club songs ever...even to a punk, club kid!!!  Enjoy!!

[djzena]

Halloween Songs For Kids

Dungeon disco, poltergeist punk, and ghoulish garage make Deadboy's important Halloween choices. The police in some components of Britain give out 'No trick or treat, please!' posters for individuals to show on their door on the night time of Halloween. Just like that tune is ' The Halloween Theme ' that children like to sing and dance to, perfect for school rooms! There are full shade worksheets together with printable songs that kids can color. But on this category you'll discover some memorable songs that not solely rhyme, but in addition make you chuckle! When the winds shift and also you scent cinnamon and apple cider, see the autumn leaves within the wind, watch because the night time will get longer and feel crisp air nip your nose, you recognize Halloween is on its means. Their songs are much like many other instrumental rock and roll bands of the interval, but in addition included spooky sound effects and vocal components meant to conjure up a temper that was undoubtedly suited to Halloween.

Music also puts children in a constructive way of thinking for learning , and supplies a multisensory studying expertise and makes learning just plain fun. They've action video games, jigsaw puzzles, online colouring pictures,seek a phrase video games, story builders and phrase guessing video games that are nice for ESL/EFL classes. The music is a superb Halloween track, with its menacing nature and darkish textures. I now sing it to my two daughters yearly at Halloween however noone has ever heard of it! That is the first time we've traveled to Disney - or on this case, with Disney - throughout Halloween. Ask the youngsters to check by saying out loud witch, cat, hat and bat, that witch does not rhyme with any of the other words. The Monster Mash has been a Halloween classic ever because it came out as a 1962 novelty music, nevertheless it's all the time had the slight drawback of not really being that scary. They even have a stay album of one among these Halloween reveals titled Hallowmas Stay at North Six. There are several completely different designs of Halloween bingo playing cards so you will you should definitely discover one you like. If there are ghosts, they appear to be melancholy ghosts or ghosts come to warn, however nothing really scary about them. Actually, the show has featured THREE totally different songs up to now: Wasting Away” , I Want the Good Times Back” , and Daddy's Little Angel” In my opinion, Losing Away” stays the perfect of the bunch. Your teen might not know precisely who Freddy Krueger is, but they hopefully won't thoughts if you sing along to this catchy tune primarily based on the 1988 hit film, A Nightmare on Elm Road four: The Dream Grasp. Free Halloween Songs HD Pro is an entertaining music music app designed to offer a mild show to the traditional creatures monsters related to the celebration. Accurately named Halloween Party, it comprises of over 50 tracks like Hotline Bling” by Drake, Sugar - Remix” by Maroon 5 and Nicki Minaj, and last — but certainly not least — One Direction's Drag Me Down”. A number of individuals prefer to pay attention such songs which is normally based mostly on the theme of the Halloween day so we bring some songs of that scary nature too which you can hear in your free time. Behold, the ever-catchy grandfather of the Halloween Novelty Tune” - The Monster Mash. This timeless recording is still performed around Halloween yearly by rock stations worldwide. Nonetheless, of all those great, great Cramps songs to choose from, What's Behind the Masks?,” a query lots of people will be asking at drunken Halloween events the world over, appeared probably the most appropriate. Fortunately, Ray Parker, Jr. is here to remind us all the true which means of Halloween: busting makes us feel good. The Remedy have tales and stories of darkish, bleak synth-rock, a lot of which delves approach additional into the black than Seventeen Seconds seems to go. Nonetheless, this album offers a subtler model of scary Halloween music, which might be more practical if executed right. I added a few of the verses (the ones I favored best) onto the Halloween Tune Lyrics web page.

Young youngsters normally go trick or treating with mother and father or with an older brother or sister. Since we specialise in putting collectively customized playlists for companies, we pulled collectively the most effective Halloween playlist for a fun and spooky night time out. I too was a bit anxious about how far the halloween theme could be taken but thankfully it was very a lot toddler pleasant - the costumes aren't scary (see photographs in the post). The creepy halloween track went to #2 on the pop singles chart in the US and was licensed gold. Entwistle got here up with the music after a night of drinking and making up goofy names for animals and insects with Rolling Stones bassist Invoice Wyman , which could explain why is voice is so scratchy.

So for these cute and charming children' friends, we specifically deliver some Halloween songs and theme music record for kids so that they can get most enjoyment with their family and friends members. Martinibomb and the Coconut Monkeyrocket have carried out an excellent job in capturing the essence of Halloween with their remix of the basic Munsters theme tune. Attention-grabbing and so nicely considered. Halloween will be so playful and your ideas are fearful. Little Mix's lady-group take on bringing the boys to the yard” - with just a little ‘80s aptitude - resulted in one of the extra cheerful Halloween songs on this roster. Halloween is one night time when all the skeletons come out of the closet without hesitation! Just lately, our mates at Billboard compiled a list of the highest 10 Halloween songs. However it's important to agree that the sentiment is appropriate — and the music is just so fun. AC/DC are the masters of nice heavy rock music and this one doesn't disappoint. Put Halloween candies in a jar and get the Ss to guess how many there are and share them out afterwards. You recognize which activities are acceptable in your youngsters and/or the kids underneath your care and are accountable for those https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09zOOveEVew youngsters's safety. Nonetheless, Tim Burton's cease-motion fantasia did produce one of many vacation's final theme songs, a spooky showtune so evergreen (everorange?) that it is the only track to seem on this list in two separate versions.

Spider on the Flooring is the book companion to the favored kids's song by Raffi. Take a Halloween associated word such as: Dracula, Frankenstein, Jack-Lantern, and so forth. From the album of the same name, this music makes me purchase a pink leather jacket and dance with my associates in the midst of the streets. The song was Rihanna's sixth high 20 single from colossal breakthrough Good Lady Gone Bad. It definitely sends shivers every time one hears it. While you watch it on YouTube the storm music begins at the 3:38 mark.

[djzena]

Halloween Songs For Children

Dungeon disco, poltergeist punk, and ghoulish storage make Deadboy's essential Halloween selections. The police in some components of Britain give out 'No trick or treat, please!' posters for individuals to display on their door on the night of Halloween. Similar to that tune is ' The Halloween Theme ' that youngsters like to sing and dance to, perfect for classrooms! There are full color worksheets together with printable songs that children can colour. However in this class you may discover some memorable songs that not only rhyme, but in addition make you snort! When the winds shift and you scent cinnamon and apple cider, see the autumn leaves within the wind, watch as the night time gets longer and feel crisp air nip your nose, you know Halloween is on its means. Their songs are much like many other instrumental rock http://www.entertainmentearth.com/hitlist.asp?theme=Universal Monsters and roll bands of the interval, but also included spooky sound results and vocal parts meant to conjure up a temper that was definitely suited to Halloween. Music additionally places youngsters in a optimistic state of mind for learning , and offers a multisensory learning experience and makes studying simply plain fun. They've action video games, jigsaw puzzles, online colouring footage,search a phrase video games, story builders and word guessing video games which can be great for ESL/EFL courses. The tune is a great Halloween monitor, with its menacing nature and dark textures. I now sing it to my two daughters yearly at Halloween however noone has ever heard of it! This is the first time we've traveled to Disney - or on this case, with Disney - throughout Halloween. Ask the children to check by saying out http://www.preschooleducation.com/smonster.shtml loud witch, cat, hat and bat, that witch doesn't rhyme with any of the other words. The Monster Mash has been a Halloween traditional ever since it came out as a 1962 novelty song, but it's all the time had the slight downside of not really being that scary. They actually have a stay album of considered one of these Halloween exhibits titled Hallowmas Stay at North Six. There are several different designs of Halloween bingo cards so you may be sure you find one you like. If there are ghosts, they seem to be melancholy ghosts or ghosts come to warn, but nothing actually scary about them. In reality, the show has featured THREE totally different songs thus far: Wasting Away , I Need the Good Occasions Back , and Daddy's Little Angel In my view, Wasting Awaystays the best of the bunch. Your teen may not know precisely who Freddy Krueger is, however they hopefully won't thoughts whenever you sing alongside to this catchy tune based mostly on the 1988 hit film, A Nightmare on Elm Avenue four: The Dream Master. Free Halloween Songs HD Professional is an entertaining music song app designed to offer a gentle present to the standard creatures monsters related to the celebration. Precisely named Halloween Party, it includes ofover 50tracks like Hotline Bling by Drake, Sugar - Remix by Maroon 5 and Nicki Minaj, and last but definitely not least One Direction's Drag Me Down. A number of individuals like to pay attention such songs which is generally based mostly on the theme of the Halloween day so we convey some songs of that scary nature too which you'll be able to hear in your free time. Behold, the ever-catchy grandfather of the Halloween Novelty Tune - The Monster Mash. This timeless recording is still performed around Halloween yearly by rock stations worldwide. Nonetheless, of all those great, nice Cramps songs to choose from, What's Behind the Mask?, a query a lot of people will likely be asking at drunken Halloween events the world over, seemed essentially the most acceptable. Happily, Ray Parker, Jr. is here to remind us all the true which means of Halloween: busting makes us really feel good. The Remedy have tales and tales of darkish, bleak synth-rock, much of which delves means further into the black than Seventeen Seconds appears to go. However, this album provides a subtler brand of scary Halloween music, which may be more practical if performed proper. I added some of the verses (the ones I liked greatest) onto the Halloween Music Lyrics page. Young youngsters often go trick or treating with mother and father or with an older brother or sister. Since we specialise in putting collectively customized playlists for businesses, we pulled collectively the best Halloween playlist for a enjoyable and spooky evening out.

I too was a bit anxious about how far the halloween theme could be taken however thankfully it was very much toddler friendly - the costumes aren't scary (see photos in the post). The creepy halloween song went to #2 on the pop singles chart within the US and was certified gold. Entwistle got here up with the song after an evening of ingesting and making up goofy names for animals and insects with Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman , which might explain why is voice is so scratchy. So for these cute and charming youngsters' mates, we specifically convey some Halloween songs and theme music checklist for teenagers in order that they will get maximum enjoyment with their friends and family members. Martinibomb and the Coconut Monkeyrocket have carried out an incredible job in capturing the essence of Halloween with their remix of the traditional Munsters theme tune. Fascinating and so properly thought of. Halloween might be so playful and your concepts are fearful. Little Combine's lady-group take on bringing the boys to the yard - with just a little 80s aptitude - resulted in one of many more cheerful Halloween songs on this roster. Halloween is one night time when all the skeletons come out of the closet without hesitation! Lately, our buddies at Billboard compiled a list of the highest 10 Halloween songs. However it's important to agree that the sentiment is appropriate and the track is just so enjoyable. AC/DC are the masters of great heavy rock music and this one does not disappoint. Put Halloween candies in a jar and get the Ss to guess how many there are and share them out afterwards. You understand which actions are appropriate to your children and/or the children underneath your care and are accountable for these kids's security. Nonetheless, Tim Burton's cease-motion fantasia did produce one of many vacation's final theme songs, a spooky showtune so evergreen (everorange?) that it is the only song to look on this listing in two separate variations. Spider on the Flooring is the e-book companion to the popular kids's track by Raffi. Take a Halloween related word equivalent to: Dracula, Frankenstein, Jack-Lantern, and so on. From the album of the identical title, this music makes me buy a red leather-based jacket and dance with my friends in the course of the streets. The music was Rihanna's sixth high 20 single from colossal breakthrough Good Lady Gone Unhealthy. It definitely sends shivers each time one hears it. Once you watch it on YouTube the storm music begins on the three:38 mark.