#but man CDs are a big part of an album

[mouseoho]

on the one hand im glad that TAN's DREAM & DEURIM album's physical release is small + mainly digital contents since it's more environmentally friendly, but on the other hand i have a CD player and playing CDs is my passion and i literally only started buying kpop albums so i could use the CDs in them so like. im a little bit devastated that i'll never be able to play Beautiful Lie on my CD player. its not like its one of my favourite songs this year or anything haha

[wilwheaton]

I have a small part in the 1987 television movie (failed pilot) version of The Man Who Fell To Earth. Lewis Smith played the titular character. Beverly D'Angelo played my mom, his love interest. (Fun Star Trek connection: Bob Picardo is also in it).

My character was a Troubled Youth, which I gotta tell you was not a stretch for me at all. I was deeply, deeply hurting at the time we made it. I was struggling not to suffocate on all the emotional and financial burdens my mom put on my shoulders, and fully aware of just how much my dad hated and resented me. You need a kid who doesn't want to be an actor, whose eyes can't hide the pain? I'm your guy.

Anyway, one of the scenes I was in took place in a record store, where Troubled Youth steals some albums, before he is chased by the cops and saved by the Man Who Fell To Earth, who uses a glowing crystal to save his life from ... some scratches on his face.

We filmed the interior of the record store at Sunset and La Brea, in what I think was a Warehouse, and at the end of the day, I was allowed to buy some records at a modest discount.

I was deep into my metal years, on my way from my punk years to my New Wave years, so I only bought metal albums. I know I bought more than I needed or could carry (I was making a point that I was allowed to spend my own money, mom), but the only ones I can clearly remember are:

Iron Maiden - Piece of Mind

Judas Priest - Turbo and Defenders of the Faith

W.A.S.P - The Last Command

(I know this was in March of 1987, because Turbo had just come out.)

Of those, Piece of Mind is the only one I never really stopped listening to, even through all the different it's-not-a-phase phases. I still listen to it, today.

Ever since I became an Adult with a Fancy Adult Record Player And All That Bullshit, I have kept my records in two places: stuff I want right now, and stuff I keep in the library because of Reasons.

Generally, records move in one direction toward the library, even if it takes years to happen. I just don't accumulate albums like I once did, because I'm Old and set in my ways.

Earlier today, I decided that I wanted to listen to an album while I cleaned up the kitchen, and because I wanted to make my life more interesting, I opened the library cabinet for the first time in at least five years.

There was the very same W.A.S.P album from that day in March, 1987. I don't have any of the others -- I looked -- but The Last Command was right there.

Before I really knew what I was doing, I put it on the Fancy Adult Record Player and dropped the needle.

I watched four decades of dust build up with a satisfying crackle, and there was something magical and beautiful about hearing all the skips and the scratches, realizing I remembered them from before.

The title track was just as great as I remembered it. It struck all the same chords in me that it did in the late nineteen hundreds. The rest of the first side was ... um. It just didn't connect with me, and for the few moments I spent trying to find a connection, I don't think it ever really did. I would remember.

But I did remember how much I loved making those mix tapes, and what a big part of them that song was. I did remember how empowering it felt to not just spend my own money that I earned doing work I didn't want to do, but to spend it on music my parents hated, right under their noses. I did remember how impressed Robby Lee was, when I showed him my extensive heavy metal album collection.

Remembering all of that, in one of those cinematic flashes of rapid cut visuals and sped up sounds, told me why I kept this record, while I gradually sold or replaced the other records I bought that day with CDs, then mp3s, then lossless digital files, before finally coming all the way back to records, where I started.

I didn't listen to the second side. I didn't need to. I took it off the Fancy Adult Record Player, and put it back into the library, next to the George Carlin records.

[sugar-coat-it]

hi belle! what do you think body piercer is like as a bf 👉👈

also would you do an alphabet or something for him? lowkey dying for more content for him

Hiii!! <3 

Omgggg wait wait let me tell you some details

He’s very much into punk rock (Fugazi, Rage Against The Machine, etc.) and lives in his band tees. Much like the back room of the parlor, a lot of his stuff is covered in stickers for his fav bands. So I think he’d really like to introduce his girl to his music if she’s willing to try it out, it would mean a lot to him!

Whenever he picks her up, he’s always blasting music LOUD so she knows when he arrives 

Big fan of CDs. You can bet your ass that he’s burning CDs for her for all sorts of things. Songs that remind him of her, songs he wants to fuck her to. Some of them are stupid too, like “Good Shit” scrawled in black Sharpie on a disc. Sometimes he’ll scribble little drawings on there too. His handwriting is shit and she loves it.

Also music related, he's an amazing concert bf, always making sure she can see and no one is getting too close to her. He'd be SO PROUD if she went to a punk rock show with him

Now… if she ever did say she was interested in getting another piercing of any kind, he is begging her to let him do it for her (for free, with princess treatment). He’s very much like “fuck yeah, do it” whenever she brings up a tatt or piercing of any kind

Quietly cuddling, he’s tracing her features with his finger, he comes to the bridge of her nose and he’s suddenly like “You have a good nose for a septum piercing” and she’s like “???”

He remembers everything about her, and he makes a point to, even if he has to write sticky note reminders to himself sometimes (ADHD brain as hell)

This man SMOKES. My god his marijuana tolerance level is ungodly. If his girlie is into it too, it would be the joy of his life to roll spliffs for her.

Big fan of getting baked with her, putting on music, and then going off about the album’s impact on the music world because he knows she likes listening to him talk, and none of his boys let him ramble on nearly as much

The late-night diner visits after hotboxing his car go CRAZY (side note, don’t ask me why, but I feel like he has a rubber duck on his dashboard)

One time after a smoke session they built a fort in his room and made out for close to an hour, all giggly and hazy

I think he’d like to let his girl paint his nails. He prefers black, but he wouldn’t mind painting his nails the same shade as girlie’s so they can match

He also let her braid his mohawk once… lol

Tea had sent me an idea about this, but he’d absolutely buy her engraved jewelry. Like… barbells with hearts that have little M’s engraved on them??? Holy shit 

Also, from a discussion with B, HE GOES SO FERAL WHEN SHE GOES BRALESS AND HE CAN SEE HER PIERCINGS THROUGH HER TOP

He keeps a Polaroid picture of her both in his wallet and at the desk in the shop 

If anyone asks about it he’s like “THAT’S THE LIGHT OF MY FUCKING LIFE”

Veeery possessive. Not to a toxic point, but she is his, and he makes sure that everyone is aware in his own little ways 

He likes to be touching her almost all the time. Whether it’s an arm lazily slung around her shoulders or lacing their pinkie fingers together

Really likes love bites. One time he left hickeys in the shape of a heart on her collarbone 

Y’all remember that hip pouch thing he wore during the 2020 era? That but it’s filled with his girl’s things like her lipstick or her wallet so she doesn’t have to carry them

Teenage boy humor. Hella “that’s what she said” jokes

He forgets stuff at her place constantly. She’s starting to wonder if it’s on purpose at this point. Maybe it’s his own way of feeling like a more permanent part of her life

Finding his jewelry on her dresser, his lighter on her coffee table, a hoodie hung by the door

Sometimes he’ll leave his keys and come running back into her place just to end up messily kissing her against the wall

Overall, I think he probably looks a little intimidating to people because he has a mohawk and wears chains and platform boots but he’s such a sweetheart oh my god anon. He just loves her so so so much, and he’s so gentle with her. I love him. So much. That’s my baby.

And as for an alphabet, maybe! I’d be happy to if that’s something you guys would want to see

[hannahssimblr]

We spend the afternoon here, talking about all the things that come into our heads, most of which is music, happily, as I always have a lot to say on the subject. I let her go through my CD collection, and she confesses she hasn't heard of most of the artists.

“Bloc Party, really?” I say, showing the CD to her. “You don’t know them?”

“No! Why would I?”

“I don’t know, because they’re famous?”

“I know Eminem,” she picks that one out of the pile, and I smirk, “That’s a pretty old one. I don’t really listen to it anymore.”

“Hm,” she turns it over in her hands. “Well, just letting you know, you forgot to take all the stickers off.” Her thumb nail picks at the corner of the parental advisory sticker, and I snatch it out of her hands. 

“No, leave it.”

“Leave it?”

“Yeah, the sticker stays on. C’mon, everyone knows that.”

She examines me like I’m the weirdo. “Um! It’s a sticker, the same as a price tag. You just peel it off like a normal person would.”

“No, you keep it on so everyone knows you listen to music with bad words in it.”

This makes her laugh. “Oh, yeah, very important. Sorry. I would have peeled it off, because if my mam saw an album with that sticker on it, she’d have brought it to the charity shop the next day.”

“Bit strict, hm?”

“Yeah, I suppose. She just doesn’t like the idea of me being exposed to certain things.”

I’d like to ask Evie what specifically she’s not allowed to be around, but judging by the bizarre way Shane clucks around her like a mother hen, I can guess. Alcohol. Drugs. Boys like me. I’m curious what it’s like to have parents that care about any of that stuff. I can’t imagine. 

“How would she feel about you coming to the festival? Does she know there’ll be songs with bad words there?”

“No, obviously,” she gives me a playful shove, “She’s not going to be going on iTunes and finding the artists. She barely even knows how to use the internet, and she’ll be fine about the festival as long as she knows Shane is there.”

“What’s it with Shane, anyway?”

“Oh, God. She loves Shane. For some reason, she’s just obsessed with him, and keeps trying to get me to go out with him.”

“You don’t want that though, do you?”

She snorts. “Hardly. That’d be so weird.” She grabs my Prodigy CD and slips the booklet from inside. “He’s like my brother or something. It’s just sick.”

“Right, right, so, like, just curious, what kind of guy would you-”

“That’s you,” she interrupts, holding a picture of Keith Flint with his tongue out up to my face. He’s got that green, clown hair thing going on and really intense black makeup under his eyes. I laugh, surprised. “What?”

“That’s you,” she taps her nail against it. “Him.”

“Why? Because he looks bad?”

A shrug, “Yeah.”

God, it’s so stupid. I understand there is no sophistication to this joke, that it’s just an ugly-looking man, but that’s exactly why it’s so funny. She grins at me as I snicker into the back of my wrist. “What?”

“You know that’s good, c’mon.”

“I actually don’t know why I even said that. That’s the sort of thing I say in my own head.”

“Very funny, okay, well two can play at that game.”

I reach for my Dodos, Beware of the Maniacs album, and she starts protesting before I can say a word. “No!” she says, “No, no! That’s not me!”

“Uh huh!” 

“That’s offensive, you can’t say that!”

“Evie…” I show her the image.

“No!”

“...Is that you?”

I grab her leg and we fall about, howling, wiping tears from our eyes, laughing until I think I might be sick. If someone ever asked me what we were laughing about, I’d have to play it off, and pretend that I didn’t really think it was so funny, that it was a bit juvenile and stupid, but I would be lying about the first part. For some reason, nothing has even been as hilarious as pointing to an image of a big, looming bald man’s face and asking Evie if it is her.

It goes on like this, as we try to find more ugly things to compare each other to, eventually pulling that magazine from under my bed and wiping off the dust to flip through, eventually landing on an very serious article about a family of inbred royals from Austria. We don’t even have to say anything. I just turn the page and we start shrieking. 

“Oh, God,” Evie’s face is red, and she has tears in her eyes. “I promise I’m usually not this weird in front of people.”

“Me neither, fuck sake, we have to calm down.” 

We look at the picture and burst out laughing again. 

I decide it would be cool, eventually, to show off my immaculate, curated CD collection. I hold her hostage while starting and stopping my CD player, running through all the best songs and the best albums in my possession. Evie keeps pretending to know them, but then doesn't recognise their biggest hits. 

“Of course I know Gorillaz,” she scoffs. “I just don’t know this song, is all.”

“This is Feel Good Inc.”

“Yeah, I just don’t know it.”

“You’re lying to me!”

“No! I’m not caught up on new music yet! I don’t have time for everything…”

“Evie…”

“What?”

“This album is five years old.”

When I try to teach her German, she fares no better. She pores over my textbook, trying her best to pronounce all the long words at the back, the ones that are, like, five different words squashed together into one. I understand the difficulty on one hand, but on the other, it's really not that complicated.

“You have to stop trying to pronounce them weird.” I'm know I am beginning to come across as an impatient person. “It’s not like French. Just think in English.”

She takes a determined breath and gallantly butchers the word “entschuldigung.”

We go back to the start of the book and try “eins, zwei, drei” again. 

“I’m tired of this! I can’t do the throat sound,” she protests, so I relinquish the book and lay it on the bedside table. 

“Well, just pointing it out, but you’d get it after a while if you kept trying.”

She peers at me. “It’s not a very nice language, is it? It sounds harsh.”

“There’s something about it,” I say. “Like any language, you know? Once you get to know it, you start to discover the nice things.”

“Are you worried about having to speak it all the time?”

“Kind of. I’m mostly worried that I’ll have a strong accent, you know? And everyone will just think of me as the foreign guy, rather than who I really am.”

“Hm, yeah, I never thought about that.”

“It’s hard to be myself when I speak German. I just don’t know how to express what I want to say, or to be funny and whatever.”

 “Well, you could just show them an ugly picture in a magazine and say ‘ist das du?’”

“Thanks, I’m sure I’ll come across great.”

Her eyes dart across my face. “I don’t think you should worry. I think everyone will like you, even if you have a bad accent. They’ll know just by being around you that you’re cool, and they’ll line up to be your friend.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah, Jude, I think you’re really nice.”

I smile. Resting my head mightn’t have been the greatest idea, because my body quickly informs me it is time to give in and sleep. Insomniac nights routinely catch up on me by the afternoon, and now heaviness pulls at my lids. With the sun heating my body through the window, and the soft, dreamy melody of a Radiohead song coming from the speakers, I want to stop fighting. Evie too watches the waves outside the window, and her breath moves with them, a meditation. I shut my eyes. It’s just for a few minutes, just to ease the sting. Then we can talk some more. I really want to talk to her more…

Beginning // Prev // Next

Corresponding LG Chapter

[leonenjoyer69]

*Inbox Invasion* Free ramble card!! Make it a long one, About literally anything, anything at all, can even switch topics constantly. This is literally just for fun.

LGOWKFLEKVK LET'S GOOO 🗣️🗣️

Okay so, starting off strong, let's go music. Will Wood and the Tapeworms, right? A few weeks ago I listened to both versions of every song twice to find which versions I liked better for when I eventually burned CDs (my car is old af, bbg ain't even got an aux, but also her ass ain't got an engine rn 💀) for the albums.

My verdict for Self-Ish? Literally all the songs are the exact same, except Self-, -Ish (which just sound a wee bit different), and Dr Sunshine is dead (which just has a longer outro in the original).

EVERYTHING IS A LOT THO? Some big differences in some songs. So here's my preferences:

6 up 5 oh- Remaster, the "oh how I know how I go.." Part just sounds better to me

(Bones)- Remaster, the radio/tv talk at the end isn't glitchy and stuff, like the OG

Front Street- Original, I like the snaps (tapping?) Behind the pre-chorus, along with the dialogue clip. But, also, I like how much clearer everything is in the remaster, so I'm kinda torn.

¡Akiado!- Original, I am,,,, not a fan of the extra end part in the remaster

White knuckle Jerk- Original. The background(?) Voices are quieter and sound kinda different. Idk I may be wrong about that tho.

Cover this song- Original. I hate hate HATE Batman will wood growling in my ear, please never make me listen to that version again, it was a genuine jump scare. (EDIT: THE REMASTER JUST PLAYED ON MY SPOTIFY AND??? HE'S NOT BATMAN ANYMORE??? IS MY SPOTIFY BROKEN?? PLZ IK I'M NOT CRAZY)

Thermodynamic Lawyer- Remaster. Not really a fan of the robot voice in the original.

Red Moon- original, his voice seems quieter or more drowned out in the remaster.

Lysergide Daydream- Original, don't remember why, so vibes ig lmao, there's not really a difference between the two

The First Step- Remaster, I think it just sounds a little clearer

Jimmy Mushrooms- either, they're literally the same lmao

Chemical Overreaction- original. WE CAN'T STOP HERE, THIS IS BAT COUNTRY 🗣️🗣️ need I say more?

Everything is a lot- Remaster, so then I don't have to listen to construction noises (or destroy to enjoy in general) 😋😋

So yeah, ig that's my dream Everything is A Lot album.

BUT NOW!! more music! But Chonny Jash this time!! Specifically the Ballad of Dr Jekyll and Bargaining/compromise.

First of all, I love the lyrical differences!! Ballad Jekyll leaning more towards blaming Hyde for everything and being way more self-pitying, while B/G Jekyll seems to have more of a subdued acceptance? Like, Ballad Jekyll is a lot more emotional and bitter, while B/C seems to take more of the responsibility. Also!! I like how in B/C Jekyll seems to be with someone else, while Ballad Jekyll seems to be alone. The contrast between the last lines ("but if it takes Mr Hyde with me, then I'm glad to hang" V.S. "so take my hand, hold it till the end") really does show that bitter self destructiveness vs that sad, duty-driven acceptance. AND LIKE UGHHH JUST THE LYRICS OF B/C IN GENERAL!! I LOVE IT SO MUCH!!

Also, the Mr Hyde Jive? I love Hyde being a silly fellow. Literally just being like "damn, I'm not the villain, smh, lemme go have some fun for you gayboy 🗣️🗣️ (might still ruin lives tho!! I am vice, teehee)"

Yk what? Fuck it, this whole ramble will be music. THE JEKYLL AND HYDE MUSICAL 🗣️🗣️🗣️ I love Anthony Warlow so much, all the Jekyll or Hyde-centric songs are so eoughhhh ughhhhh AHHHH. Favorite songs rn? Board of Governors, His Work and Nothing More, The World Has Gone Insane, This is the Moment, Transformation--I JUST UGHHH I love listening to his screams idk man. also Alive. I also love you, Gabriel John Utterson. His parts are so fun to sing.

BUT!! the absolute hold Board of Governors has on me is insane. Every time I hear the intro begin to play through my tv I look up. I'm literally pavlov dogged to that shit. It's basically a requirement for me to go "THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF ST JUDE'S HOSPITAL IS NOW IN SESSION!" every time it plays. I love sassy Jekyll and Stride, it's so funny, like yes!!! The girls are fighting!! The absolute sass of half that cast is crazy. I have every part memorized, I AM the entire cast and recreate it expertly 🗣️🗣️

Anyways, yeah, I love Utterson too, his voice is in my range perfectly, he's literally my bbg. All his parts in How Can I Continue On and His Work and Nothing More? Kdoelvkskfldk I love him I love him. JEKYLL THO? shaking him aggressively (lovingly) I want to chew on him and rip him apart. Warlow's voice for him is so EOUGJDJDKKD ‼️‼️‼️

OKAY THAT'S ALL FOR NOW, TYSM FOR THIS!! ILY, LOYAL SCIENTIST 🗣️🗣️🗣️

[bubblesandgutz]

Every Record I Own - Day 834: Minutemen The Punch Line

Minutemen are one of my favorite bands of all time. But it didn't start out that way.

The San Pedro trio were active from 1980 to 1985. Consisting of best friends D. Boon and Mike Watt on guitar and bass (respectively) and joined by George Hurley on drums, Minutemen churned out hundreds of songs in their half-decade lifespan. Though they were very much a part of the American punk scene (and the first band after Black Flag to have records out on the seminal SST label), their sound was much stranger and more complex than their peers. The "punk" label certainly applied to their politics, their DIY spirit, and their short, jarring, adrenalized songs. But the three chord fury, sloganeering, and speed-centric template that typified early '80s punk was noticeably absent.

Somehow, Minutemen had developed a bit of a following in my hometown of Kailua, Hawaii in the early '90s. All the skaters and punk kids at my high school were into them. Granted, this maybe meant eight people total were fans, but those eight people were all in agreement that Minutemen were A BIG DEAL. So I did what every freshmen looking to fit in with the cool upperclassmen did... I listened to their music. I got the Project: Mersh Vol. 1 compilation that combined the first two Minutemen albums---The Punch Line and What Makes a Man Start Fires---and dove into their music over a Christmas break vacation to visit my grandparents in Colorado.

It was a lot of driving, and Project: Mersh Vol. 1 was one of the only CDs I had with me on the trip. Had I heard the music prior, I would've undoubtedly left the CD at home and picked something a little more in line with my then-current notion of punk---something like Minor Threat or Bad Religion. But I was stuck with Minutemen and I had to learn to make sense of it.

The songs on The Punch Line are short. Only two of its eighteen tracks are longer than a minute. There isn't much in terms of conventional song structures. No big catchy choruses. None of the meaty hooks of hardcore. The guitar-playing is jangly and sparse instead of thick and aggressive. The vocals seem more spoken than sung or shouted. There were moments that seemed a bit more in line with my idea of punk---the uptempo "Games" and "No Parade," for instance---but those moments were fleeting, and they almost inevitably segued into some strange, seemingly disjointed bass and drum jam with some vaguely political monologue on top. I didn't get it.

But I stuck with it, initially out of a lack of other musical options and later out of a mixture of curiosity and tribalism. After all, the cool kids liked it, so there must be something to latch onto there, right? And while that might sound like an embarrassing admission, it really shaped my relationship to music.

Pop music is crafted to be instantly appealing, but it also tends to be very shallow. It's music designed to appeal to as many people as possible, and in order to do that, it has to resonate with people who aren't particularly adventurous. I often think of music as another language, and pop music is essentially the communication-equivalent of a platitude. It's obvious and its meaning has been washed out from over-saturation. But something like Minutemen? It was far less obvious. You had to sit with it. It was more like a private conversation with a fascinating stranger. Maybe at first you had no idea what they were even trying to say, but the more you listened, the more you wanted to hear.

I'm not even embarrassed to admit that I stuck with Minutemen because the cool kids liked them. There were artists they loved that I never bonded with. But Minutemen contained some particular mystery and magic that kept me coming back. I've owned The Punch Line for nearly 32 years, and every time I listen to it, I feel a bit more connected to it. Hell, it's hard to even hear the dissonant skronk I initially gleaned from this album. This, as far as I'm concerned, is the what punk sounds like.

[reimulin]

do you guys want to see my American Idiot plot manifesto? no? i don't care, here it is anyway

(under cut)

no i did not watch the American Idiot musical for this. also wake me up when September ends is not included because BJA has stated that it isn't part of the album's story.

i exercised a little bit of artistic liberty but for the most part this is as accurate to the apparent story of the album as possible. ok thank you please enjoy ^^

THE GOSPEL OF THE JESUS OF SUBURBIA

Characters:

Jesús O. Salvador: Middle name unknown. 1st generation Mexican immigrant who now lives in Jingletown (Oakland, California). Nicknames: JOS (pronounced Johss), the Jesus of Suburbia, St. Jimmy (alter ego). 15 (debatably).

“Wisteriya”: Given name Amanda, last name unknown. Mostly just referred to as Whatsername, as Jesús avoids saying her name. (Got the name from squinting really hard at the covered up name in the American Idiot physical lyric book)

Tunar “Tunny” Qurbanov: Jesús’s friend he met in The City. Off the boat Azerbaijani immigrant who makes it big in New York.

Timeline:

(2004) cw for everything under the sun

direct/credible sources: american idiot cd booklet, genius lyrics

narrative speculation/inspiration: "why green day matters" by fort collins productions (youtube), "saint jimmy" by ussnicole (archiveofourown)

February 23rd: (American Idiot) Jesús writes his first diary entry/poem, an angry piece about the government, 9/11, and the dead end he feels like he has reached. While this entry outlines his basic beliefs about the world, it isn’t very important to his personal story.

March 3rd: (Jesus of Suburbia) The “Jesus of Suburbia” suite is born. The first act is more teenage angst, as was in the last entry. However, this one is more focused on his own situation. His step-father (Brad) is a horrible man of Rage, and his mother is a devout Christian of Love, but she lets his father’s behavior slide. He believes himself to be somewhat like his namesake, and he is the most self-centered kid in the world. He centers his religious beliefs around himself, a product of the divided and individualistic country that raised him. Jesús believes the problem is society, not himself. His Christ complex has taken over his mind, and he compares wasting his life away with drugs and tv to crucifixion.

Jesús, when not at home, mainly hangs out at the 7/11. He describes the 7/11 and Jingletown in general as the “City of the Dead”, a place where no one comes or goes, and if you’re born there, you’re stuck there. The graffiti in the 7/11 bathroom, some by those who came before him, some by Jesús himself, is regarded by him to be his own Bible. Likewise, he feels like he is the culmination of this graffiti Bible, fulfilling the prophecies written on the walls. But the bathroom is not only the Bible for him; it’s also the center of the earth, and his own hell. His belief system is a little bit confusing. He’s only 15(?), after all.

After he writes about all of this, he begins to break down, entering the third act of his suite. He screams into the paper about how nobody cares, and neither does he. He sees the world as a bunch of hypocrites who don’t care to understand him. Here he reveals his “kids of war and peace”, his group of freshmen who follow his every word like his disciples. He cares about them, but his own self-centeredness gets in the way of forming a real connection beyond that of their leader.

Now that he is thinking of them, he writes a cryptic draft of a letter that he will eventually give to his disciples, titled “Dearly Beloved”. In his mind, it’s his own private eulogy. He tries to reflect on his own behavior, but his own complexes get in the way. 

The final part of the suite would eventually be written in the 7/11 bathroom as his “final words” to his disciples and those who hated him alike. He decides to run away from home, moving to The City. He steals Holiday from his stepfather Brad, a 1968 Mercury Monterey convertible that he drills a hand grenade piece to the head of. He vows to never fit into society’s “line” again. He will not keep this promise.

April 1st: (Holiday) Jesús picks up his diary again, as he approaches The City on Holiday. Not even he is sure how long it took to get there. He revisits the ideas of his original entry, writing an angry piece about the government after hearing a particularly egregious speech from a Californian politician on his car radio. Despite his rage, he is starting to regret running away from his old life. He tries to convince himself that it was the right move to escape suburbia.

April 2nd: (BVOBD) With The City in sight, Jesús crashes Holiday for seemingly no reason. However, he is only a couple of miles away, and resolves to walk the rest of the way. He writes as he goes, lamenting how he walks alone now as he always did. The City sleeps as he finally steps foot into the heart of the place he had always dreamed of. When he gets there, though, he realizes how alone he really is, and he doesn’t know what to do next, and he wishes for someone to find him.

April 11th: (Are We The Waiting) Easter Sunday. More than a week after his arrival, Jesús still hasn’t found his true home in The City, and is starting to hate it. The loneliness is eating him alive. He misses the reputation he had in Jingletown, and he misses how his disciples idolized him. He even starts to miss his family. He finally breaks down in an alley, his mental state shattering, as he realizes how wrong he was about his life back home; he was never the Jesus of Suburbia.

May 7: (St. Jimmy) Jesús doesn’t know what happened between Easter and the day St. Jimmy was born. But according to his diary, this is the day he truly lost his mind. And it was taken over by an alter ego: St. Jimmy. He resolves that if he cannot be the Jesus of Suburbia, then he’ll be the patron saint of denial, the suicidal prince of his own religion. He emerges from the alleyway a new man. Jimmy is better than he ever was in his mind: confident, anarchist, and the son of Rage rather than Love. He begins to collect new disciples, the Forty Thieves, named after the Arabian tale, and he becomes their King instead of their savior. His right-hand man is Tunny, who will go on to be more successful than he ever was, who was someone he never appreciated while he had him. Jesús always did drugs, but his addiction spirals out of control, paralleling the “drug” of St. Jimmy’s persona. He even publicly disowns his own parents, stating his father to be Edgar Allen Poe. His followers learn not to question his madness.

June 13th: (Give me Novacaine) Jesús rides the high of St. Jimmy for a while, but in his private moments he’s just as broken as he ever was. Even when it’s just him and his painkillers, Jimmy still pops into his head to taunt him, and he begs for the release from his personal hell. On this night, he overdoses in the alley he now calls home. However, he is found and saved by none other than Wisteriya.

July 4th: (She's a Rebel) After Wisteriya saves him from death, the two become inseparable, and Jesús falls madly in love with her. He absolutely idolizes her, seeing her as the unwavering spirit of rebellion, and the true patron saint of his movement. Her real name is Amanda, but she changed her name and appearance to be more “punk feminist”, in her own words. Wisteriya becomes his new Bible in the absence of his 7/11 bathroom, and she becomes his new Messiah figure, as she seems to fulfill the prophecies that had been written by him since he entered the city. Later, Jesús will refer to her as Whatsername.

(Extraordinary Girl) He doesn’t date the second entry, but it can be assumed it was written a bit later in their relationship. This is where the cracks in their relationship start to form, but Jesús still idolizes her as much as ever. Despite this, he begins to see how she is still human, and he writes about her crying. The troubles in their relationship are not well reported on in Jesús’s diary, so it's unclear what exactly she is crying about. However, Jesús writes about how it feels as if she never really wanted him, but dates him out of desperation for love. This entry appears to be a collaborative effort, as Wisteriya’s handwriting can be seen among Jesús’s. She refers to herself for the first time here as Whatsername.

August 18th: (Letterbomb) A letter is pasted into the diary, given to him by Wisteriya. In one final act of rage and desperation, she breaks off their relationship, telling him that nobody likes him, and hands him her final letter before leaving The City and him behind. Wisteriya tells him that his “movement” failed, and he will never be the revolutionary savior he wants to be so badly. She points out his hypocrisy, and how The City is crumbling around him to his total apathy. She tears down St Jimmy, calling him what he is: a figment of his true parents’ rage AND love, and merely a front for Jesús’s own self-centeredness. She tears down the Jesus of Suburbia, pointing out how much of a poser he is, and how he only ever loved the idea of her. Finally, she tears down Jesús himself, telling him that she’s leaving before he can destroy her too. She leaves him with a plea to stop over-analyzing and actually do something with his life. After she’s gone, Jesús realizes that she was right, and that he was the American Idiot all along. However, her message doesn’t totally reach him, and he chooses quiet apathy to The City burning down around him.

October 19th: (Homecoming) This is probably a year later. His final suite begins with a transcription of his final message to Wisteriya, now referred to as Whatsername. He reflects on the past few months, which he spent trying to change himself and reflect, to questionable results. He asks her to come back to him when he comes home.

After Whatsername leaves, Jesús decides to disband his “cult”, but St. Jimmy steps in and instead tells his disciples that none of their problems are their own fault, and they should blame their parents for everything. This is the final straw for Jesús, as he attempts to kill St. Jimmy in one final religious ritual: the suicide Jimmy craved so badly. He attempts to shoot himself in the head over the bay, and the bullet hits his head, but his life is saved by Tunny, who pushes the gun out of the way just in time. He still retains a horrible injury, but survives. Despite not killing him, Jesús says that the ritual worked, and that even if he didn’t succeed in committing suicide, Jimmy was satisfied by the bullet in his head and was defeated.

With this, Jesús resigns himself to the life of the average American worker, taking an internship and spending his life dealing with paperwork at East 12th Street. (East Jesus Nowhere???) He grows up to live an outwardly normal life, casting away all his past affiliations, but he is filled with self-hatred and regret. He seems to also be developing severe anxiety. Most of all, he can’t seem to let go of Whatsername.

November 10: Jesús’s mental state reaches rock bottom yet again, after months of waiting for Whatsername to show up, or call him, or at least send him a letter, she hasn’t. One night, he stays up as long as he can, downing 10 cups of coffee so he isn’t asleep when she responds. He thinks about what she said to him before she left: Nobody likes you, everyone left you, they’re all out without you having fun.

He does get a message in the mail, but it’s not from Whatsername: it’s from Tunny, whom he attempted to contact along with Whatsername. He sends him a postcard from New York, where his band had made it big. He chastises Jesús, and brags about his new life, inadvertently telling him how much better he has it now, and how Jesús will never be that punk that wanted to change the world again. He ends the postcard with a request for him to stop contacting Tunny complaining about how his life ended up. He doesn’t say so, but he means to tell him that his situation is his own fault.

Finally, he resolves to stop complaining and to look towards the future, accepting that he’ll never have his old life and girlfriend back. He visits his old 7/11 bathroom, what he views as the source of his teenage madness, and paints over his graffiti, erasing the gospel of the Jesus of Suburbia. He sends one final letter to Whatsername, summarizing the Homecoming suite, and finally returns to Jingletown. He walks through the streets of his hometown, singing Whatsername’s words to himself, the only piece of his old life he will keep with him.

January 1st: (Whatsername) Many years later, Jesús encounters Whatsername in a dream. He reminisces on his time with her, and tries to forget her, the final part of his past he needs to put to rest.

thank you for reading! hope this made sense. no i did not proofread this before posting. feel free to ask questions ^^

[mused-amused]

I’m so in my feelings about Jeff Buckley right now. With uncanny prescience, I unwittingly spent many quiet nights with his ghost, and with his memory, as if leading up to the anniversary of his death tomorrow.

Mostly, I mourned that so many years have passed since his death. I imagined what his reaction would have been to the key moments in our world, culture, and society. And I mourned that he never got to experience the wisdom and contentment that come with old age.

So much has happened in the last 27 years. A whole other Jeff Buckley has probably been born, but could someone like that touch the world now? Could today’s  audiences honor the presence of sound, put their phones down long enough to be truly present as a powerful voice unites them in song?

In 1997, we lived in a much more innocent world. I was 17 years old, and I dreamed of attending art school, even though I knew my parents could never afford to send me. I was crazy about playing guitar, and alternative rock.

I had a college-age pen pal who I met through a music listserv, and it was thrilling to correspond regularly with someone who was attending a liberal arts school on the east coast. She was living the life I dreamed about, where academics and art mattered.

One day the letters stopped coming. I had thought it was merely because I lived on Guam and the mail was slow. But she eventually wrote to me, and said she was despondent that Jeff Buckley had just passed away, and she hadn’t been able to write. She was attending a memorial service in Boston later that week.

My pen pal and I lost touch soon thereafter, but my curiosity was piqued: who was this artist that could inspire so much sorrow and sadness with his passing? He wasn’t a big name, like Kurt Cobain who had infamously taken his own life 3 years earlier. I felt that one. I lived that one, along with millions of other fans all over the world.

Who was Jeff Buckley?

Music was still hard to come by on island those days—I couldn’t go to record store and find CDs easily, and Napster hadn’t made a splash yet. Those factors meant that finding amazing music just outside the mainstream was rough--local buyers had to have impeccable taste, and they just… didn’t. Eventually, I found a compilation CD that had a single Jeff Buckley song: "Last Goodbye." (That same compilation also had “Gang of $” by Shudder to Think, one of Jeff’s favorite bands. A good mix!)

“Last Goodbye” was unlike anything else I had heard at the time. It was wistful, yearning. If I had to group it with anything, the emotions it evoked are similar to the ballads in U2s Joshua Tree album: where love is so massive, it absorbs you, it forces you to feel, it makes you believe in soul connections and engulfs you in the simultaneous warmth of romance and the chilling prospect of losing it. Epic, if you will.

Once I got to college in the US mainland, I finally scored myself a copy of Grace. My musical life changed, and Jeff Buckley would forever be a part of my lyrical and musical lexicon. I began consuming what was readily available: Live at Sin-é and Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk.

Yet, I had never explored Jeff Buckley: the person. Lore didn’t interest me. He was a remarkable artist, influencing my musical journey, whose life ended tragically—nothing more.

And by all accounts, he wouldn’t want us to think of him outside of his musical legacy. Nevertheless, over the last few weeks, I dove deep into interviews, books, and live shows. I have glimpsed a portrait of an artist who was just beginning. Who at 30 years old, was still just a kid, trying to figure out who he wanted to be in the world, bravely taking on the mantle of being a beacon for positivity, joy, and love.

And to see that snuffed out was heartbreaking.

Here was a man who cared about art. Who believed that all of us have the ability to create and engage with art, if we recognize that power within ourselves. Here was a man who was tapped into the mystery of life, of the power of the moment, of NOW, and used every bit of his energy to seize joy.

Here was a man known for his singular voice, yet whose talents were heightened by collaborating with others. A man who freely admitted that he didn’t understand songwriting, and relied on the gifts of others to ignite his spark of genius.

Here was a man who was equally deep and goofy, who gave all that he had to the people he loved and lashed out with vitriol when he was pushed. He wasn’t a saint. He was a just a human, a skillful connector of words, sounds, and souls.

A person we would have loved to watch grow up and come into his own as an artist.

But the Wolf River had other plans. I have spent too many hours thinking about what he must have felt as the water took him. But in the best scenarios, I think of him reaching a moment of clarity and peace as he resigned himself to his fate: he was suspended in time, leaving us to our imaginations, giving us the freedom to wonder what could have been.

Rest easy, JB.

[nientedal]

📓📓📓 (for the "explain the plot of a fanfiction that you haven't written but daydream about" ask game!)

OK so here's one: LINK

I have another one in which Roxanne receives a mysterious CD, or perhaps a flash drive, and it's full of orchestral/symphonic music. She does not know who it's from. The music is lovely but she can't find any matches for it online. People in music forums are stumped. And based on some of the track names, it was made for her.

She brings it to one of the sound guys at work and he emails her later and says you know, it's weird - this stuff sounds like it's being played by a full symphony, but the track metadata shows signs of intense layering. I'd estimate this is all played by one or two, maybe four people tops. Multi-instrumentalists playing everything over and over and over and then layering it all together into something big.

So, she's got a CD full of music, no idea where it came from or who made it. Made for her by someone (or a very few someones) not only writing pieces but playing them repeatedly and constructing them, which is...she's torn between "creepy" and "deeply impressively flattering." She finally goes with both, and goes home wracking her brain for who the fuck would send her this--

Because the thing is. The thing. Is. The emotion in some of these pieces is... a lot. The one called Roxanne sounds like being in love, honestly, and holy shit, whoever wrote it... she wants to meet them, creepy or no, because the OTHER thing is, there was no note. And there continues to be no note. Weeks and then months go by and there is no indication that anyone is ever going to follow up about it or demand anything from her, and that's honestly the weirdest part of everything.

It's Megamind, of course. Of course it is. And Minion as well - Minion does the vocals with words, because Megamind can sing but he sings like whales or trombones sing, he can't do singing with words, it doesn't work. Minion does percussion as well, and some strings. They both do strings. And Megamind does all the woodwinds and brass, because you do sort of need air for those and Minion doesn't breathe, and Megamind does the solo wordless vocals. He has quite a range.

And there's a couple of ways I have Roxanne find out about this. One I'm fond of is that she works out where Evil Lair is and she gets inside, and she finds them working on one of these pieces. This possibility is also fun to imagine WITHOUT the CD sent to her in the mail -- she just comes in and they're recording music?? Somewhere she can hear, which is implausible, but shhhhhhhh, it's my fic in my head and it doesn't have to make perfect sense. Another way she might find out is for Minion or Megamind to be absently humming part of one of the motifs and she recognizes it-- or SHE hums one of the motifs (i don't know, she's bored and tied to a chair, zoning out, humming happens) and one of them jumps and goes a bit googly-eyed and she realizes oh hey, yeah, these two could pull that off.

There is also a variant in which Megamind intentionally shows her some of it because they are on a date for completely unrelated reasons, and his response to is villainy really ALL you do is no, I also write and perform orchestral compositions. And Roxanne is like, you're shitting me.

This is a fun one to play with while driving and listening to Thomas Bergersen's Sun album. There's one track on there titled Our Destiny which has a lot of trumpets and sounds just a bit like Metro Man's theme, which is actually what kicked this off-- they're old nemeses, they're on decently good terms, it would be fucking hilarious if Megamind anonymously put together a piece for some event or other and then showed up to be the pianist or something.

But yes, fun things to play with while driving and listening to music while rotating my blorbos in my head :D

[blindrapture]

huh, oh right yeah, there are some other huge things happening, world-changing things, paradigm-shifting things, existential things happening this very moment, I was disingenuous to imply Opeth was that big thing.

Autechre put out 20 hours of new music!

there's a new Sonic game!

Dream Theater are touring again, with portnoy, leading up to the new album in february!!

I finally got through Signalis, riding the high I had after silent hill 2!!! (it was... huh! it was disappointing, after all the hype. in the end it's a game for people who really like the 90s style of survival horror gameplay, and I mean like really fucking like that style. the anime girls are the best part of it, by far, and I am a sucker for the king in yellow, but, man!!! the actual book was way more chilling than what signalis ended up being. signalis basically just did a Chzo Mythos instead. I was hooked on the game for so damn long, needed to work up a lot of courage to get back to it, then I finally did, and there was a stretch of being like "oh shit this is so good," and then a long muddled end, and then in the end I was like "huh. okay. good, that's over now.")

The Dream Machine is getting a definitive edition!!! there's a demo on steam and it's of the first chapter, it's great to see it running so smoothly. I am ecstatic to see one of my all-time favorite games (and narratives) getting a revival.

Mark Z. Danielewski gave another update on his new novel!!!! it's... probably gonna be ready soon!! next year or two!! god I hope!!! I need a new Danielewski novel in my life, so bad.... ;_;

wait shit, there's a new Coldplay album??? (god I haven't even listened to From Earth With Love yet. I may or may not have fallen off of my coldplay fanboy phase around the time they put out A Head Full Of Dreams. then Everyday Life just struck me as a somewhat better Head Full Of Dreams. coldplay's a weird band. they were remarkably good songwriters and entirely competent alternative rock musicians, they were damn good at writing pop, Viva la Vida is kind of a masterpiece of a pop album. Mylo Xyloto took me a lot of listens to really love all that much, and I still don't even know what the fucking plot is, but, it's good music! then Ghost Stories was a heavy vibe, real promising stuff, and A Head Full Of Dreams was supposed to be like a companion to that, and.. it was just a rather basic modern pop album??? I still make a point of getting their albums on CD, mind you. I listened to Everyday Life a grand total of once. maybe I could afford to give it another listen. and From Earth With Love will probably be cool? I love that it has a concept to it. apparently the newest album is a continuation of that concept! good! glad to see it! I miss when those boys still had an alt rock edge. I miss the time before the drum machines and the... high production, equalizers and whatnot. oh god what year is it, is it fucking 1980, what am I saying?)

edit, update: relistening to A Head Full Of Dreams. actually yeah no this shit is good. I get it. took some time, for sure, but this is a great pop album. made me cry.

[elderemorune]

What the f@&k is up with WWWY '24?

Alright, it's been awhile since I've posted, but here we go! A bit of preamble before we dig in; I'm starting a new project I'm calling "What the f@&k is up with..." where I talk about an event I attended (which I've done before) or something weird I learned recently and go a bit into it.

So let's get started, yeah?

This year, I took the very first vacation I've ever been on in my adult life. And what a first vacation to take! Las Vegas, shining jewel of the Mojave, played host to a massive emo music festival by the name of When We Were Young, featuring all of the biggest bands from when I was a child. My Chemical Romance was the headliner this year, but the act list was absolutely stacked with heavy hitters like Fall Out Boy, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, 3OH!3, Jimmy Eat World, etc.

Some short sad boy hours before we dive in. I was never allowed to be a part of this community when I was a kid. I wanted to dress like my friends and listen to the same music they did. I mean, shit, my friggin mom listens to My Chem, but when I'd ask for CDs and clothes, my parents always said no. This means that many of the big acts were groups I ended up missing out on, like LS Dunes, an emo supergroup not unlike CRX. (Wholeheartedly recommend them, by the way.) For me, this festival was a reclamation of the ties I wasn't allowed to forge in my youth, a reclamation of the little boy who wanted to be seen by everyone around him.

With that surprisingly lengthy preamble out of the way, let's do what I love doing most and talk about the music.

The first act we saw was Daisy Grenade. While most of the bands performing were doing full albums, Daisy Grenade wasn't able to do that because they haven't released a full length yet. Instead, we got a new release, How to Hide a Body, which I'm currently listening to on repeat because I am absolutely in love with them.

They performed several other songs, like Riot and Are You Scared of Me Yet, and their energy on stage was so infectious that I practically began crying with how overjoyed I was. They were so incredibly happy just to be there, at this massive festival, playing for all of us.

I don't want to spend forever talking about them, but I absolutely could. I've become so obsessed with them that I've been listening to their entire discography on repeat since we returned from the show! Top notch show from them, 10/10.

Following Daisy Grenade was LS Dunes, the aforementioned emo supergroup, comprised of Anthony Green, Frank Iero, Travis Stever, Tim Payne and Tucker Rule. Their show was, again, fantastic. I'm probably going to say this about every show we saw, but this one sticks out for a particular reason: LS Dunes actually inspired "What the F@&k is Up" when Anthony said "Being in a band is the very best thing" and an audience member shouted "Yeah, that's why you're in 12 of them!"

Here's where we finally get to the "What the fuck is up" part. After he said that, I took it upon myself to track this man down and talk to him. I asked about the band and about the festival. He asked if I was a reporter, so I told him what I was doing. "I'm gonna write about this on my fuckin tumblr when I get home, my man. You mind sharing some thoughts to go on a sadboy tumblr page?"

"Tumblr still exists? Fuck yeah dude!"

I didn't get his name, but I did get a quote from him! "LS Dunes is the group of misfits that brings all us lost souls together. Every member comes from a band we hold dear, and combines to form a Voltron of a supergroup!"

Frankly (hehe), I couldn't agree more! This show was my first exposure to them, but Frank Iero and The ... is a project that means a lot to me. Joyriding is a personal favorite song, and the music really saved me from a dark place, and if I've got a story like that, imagine how many others at this event did too!

So, since this was a big festival, there were cameras everywhere, and with crowd sizes being what they were, massive screens were erected on the stages to allow the people in the back to actually see the acts onstage. I'm bringing this up because partway through the set for LS Dunes, the camera ended up focused on Anthony's can of Liquid Death, which to me is both the MOST Vegas AND the MOST capitalist thing. Personally I find it amusing. The water brand meant to make weak men feel decent about being the DD sponsoring a big emo event? It sends me!

Let's talk about the community of WWWY. My wife has a minor sun allergy, so I'd gotten a parasol for her to help battle the Mojave. At first we were worried about bothering other attendees, but instead we shaded a small group around us and they offered to start taking turns holding the parasol when arms started getting tired! Once we whipped the shade out, this girl in the crowd handed us a beaded bracelet that read "2022", and this other guy near us, Jared, thanked us for the shade when it was his turn to hold the parasol.

I can't think of any other event that I've attended where this kind of behavior is even possible, let alone the norm! So big shoutout to Jared and Bead Girl! (BG, if you use Tumblr and come across this post, please message me with your name and I'll replace it! First name is fine!)

After LS Dunes, we decided to take a break. The next act that I wanted to see but she had no interest in was Red Jumpsuit, but their set wasn't for a little bit, so I fucked off to get some lunch. Got myself a gyro and some nachos for my wife. I thought the food was alright, but according to her it was much better than the food at Warped Tour. I also felt basic (sue me), so I got myself a Pumpkin Spice Latte. You wanna know what made this experience worth mentioning? They put the coffee in a fucking can for me. Just in case I didn't want it now, and was instead saving it for later.

Obviously I ripped right into it, but isn't this one of the most privileged things you've seen? I had to share.

After lunch had been consumed, I decided to make the trek to the Verizon stage where RJA was playing. Unfortunately for me, I get lost very easily and I could not find the stage for the life of me! I ended up missing most of their set, but I managed to catch their last song, Face Down, which is easily one of their more iconic hits. A bit dejected, I floated over to the nearby bar and ordered my fourth cocktail for the day when I encountered someone wearing a shirt I found strange.

This gal's shirt read "Avril Lavigne was replaced in 2003 by Melissa Vandella". Obviously I had to ask about this. Apparently there are folks that believe that in 2003, Avril Lavigne committed suicide in the wake of her grandfather's death, and Melissa Vandella had been trained to take over has her replacement. That was about all I got out of her before she fucked off to another show, so I went back to my table to get lost in thought for a moment and jot down some notes. Not long after, however, another couple walked by. The husband was wearing an Avril Lavigne shirt, so I grabbed them and asked if they'd heard of this insane theory.

I'll go ahead and use the names they gave me here, K-Dawg and D-Money. D explained that while he was familiar with the concept, K was really the person to talk to, and she broke down the entire theory for me. In 2003, Avril's behavior and looks changed a little bit, and instead of, you know, acknowledging that she was grieving, some fans decided that this was not Avril Lavigne and that she had to have been replaced by a body double, which is clearly the only possible explanation.

Speaking of, if it's not abundantly clear, neither party here believes this theory. Having done some further research into it since we got back, I can say with certainty that it's bullshit. Not that truth stops conspiracy minded folks!

After our talk, I asked if they'd mind sharing some of their thoughts about the festival, and here's what they had to say:

"My supportive husband brought me to the show to have me experience all of my favorite bands. The environment is amazing and the music is EVERYTHING! :) - K-Dawg + D-Money"

Around here is when we marched off to go see 3OH!3, another show I was quite excited for, but alas! Right before 3OH!3, tragedy struck. My wife got injured, and we had to leave the festival as quick as we could to get some help and some rest. Two gals, Noelle and someone whose name I didn't get, guided us to the exit and helped us get a ride back to our hotel, all without ever asking for anything in return.

Isn't this absolutely amazing? So many different people, from so many different walks of life, all here to experience this incredible form of connection? Total strangers, outcasts now grown, coming together to heal from the myriad traumas visited upon us by the real world! It's incredible, isn't it?

Speaking of different people, there were some other folks I spoke with around this time. One guy didn't want to give his name, but was happy to explain his shirt to me. It read "What the FUCK is up at Denny's?" so I asked. He explained to me that once upon a time, Blink-182 played a show at a Denny's, and that was all it was referencing. Below is that video he was talking about.

We also met several Las Vegas locals who were happy to shoot the shit about their home for a little bit, but one guy in particular really stuck out. He was wearing these awesome pink Converse and was just decked out head to toe in this very well put together outfit. Of course, I asked him what he was thinking about the festival, if he was having fun, and here's what he wrote in my little notebook; "Today is my 32nd birthday and my 30's are more fun than my 20's. Be gay, do crime! - Sean Paul, Las Vegas Local"

Of course, I didn't just talk to festival attendees, but I also spoke with servers and staff around the space. Since they were working, I didn't want to bother them much, but the general consensus that I heard from the people I spoke with was that the festival was doing way better than last year, that things were much more organized, and that working for this event was the most fun they'd had in a long time.

I even got to speak with the ASL coordinator, Allie for a little while! I asked what she felt about the show, what her favorite act was, you know, the questions I'd been asking everyone else around, and she said "My favorite act was def ADTR, I LOVE Jeremy! He was my Tumblr password in middle school, hehe. This is the life I prayed for!"

And it wasn't just her, but I also spoke with a member of the security team, Bryan. Dude was eating it up when Fall Out Boy was playing, just rocking harder than half of the attendees were. Dude was a one-man mosh pit! We danced together for a bit, and then I hit him with the questions too. "My favorite part of WWWY '24 is being able to experience the music that kept me alive through hard times and now getting to experience beautiful moments like this with new friends!"

The last person I talked to about the event was, of course, my wife. "WWWY isn't my first music festival - but it is, without a doubt, one of the most incredible musical experiences I've ever had. Even after making an emergency trip back to the hotel after getting injured, once we returned I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with excitement. So many of these bands helped raise me, you know? Not only dominating my mix CDs and playlists, but seeing me through my worst days. It's remarkable to see so many thousands of people gathered to celebrate this piece of music culture. It's a stunning reminder that we are never truly alone - we all belong somewhere."

And gods if she isn't right.

This festival was absolutely incredible, and I don't know if any future events will ever manage to be comparable to me. I mean, look at what everyone I spoke to had to say! And how willing the were to share those thoughts with me, of all people! All I did was tell them I'm putting this on my Tumblr, and suddenly we're having a full blown conversation about the most insane shit, and before I even realized it, it was time for us to leave.

I think coming into this community as an adult has been so amazing. This kindness, this togetherness, it reminds me that things were hard and that I couldn't do anything about it because I was Just a Kid. That while life was a nightmare, it doesn't have to be, and it reminds me of the good times that happened When We Were Young.

[strawberryblondebutch]

pls talk abt kirby ur interpretation of her is my favourite thing ever (sorry for not having a very specific blorbo question)

Oh man, I have a bunch of headcanons.

Only child with the kind of educated parents that treated a child like a tiny roommate. She was pretty much expected to get a graduate degree even as a toddler. Between her parents and the fact her house was the only one on its hill, she spent most of her time having to entertain herself and never really learned how to talk to other kids until she got to school and had to

In a similar vein to the "children are just small adults," her media content was regulated not based on how age appropriate was but based on if her parents personally liked it. Collateral? Sure, that's appropriate for a 10-year-old. It was nominated for two Oscars! It's art! Caillou? That kid's annoying. Absolutely not

She got very into alternative music around middle school. Juturna was the album that did it for her. She never self-identified as emo because she never dressed like them, but her actual taste? Very emo

Bought a shitty entry-level guitar because of the bands she was into, but gave up on it. Then she went back to it post-2011 attacks because her physical therapist suggested it would help with the muscle and motor control she had lost. She doesn't consider herself good at it but she's fine, it's just that her only two settings are "I am God" or "I suck at this"

Not only does she have the baseball gene, she is an incredibly obnoxious Los Angeles Dodgers fan. All the guys she hated were Giants fans, so she decided to like the Dodgers to spite them and then accidentally pack bonded with the team (literally foaming at the mouth to talk about Dodgers Fan Kirby because it fits her so well)

Worked very hard to curate her image as a teenager as someone much more cool and aloof than she was. She kind of always knew that Jill and Olivia (especially Olivia) were lifting her social status, and without them, she'd be on Robbie's tier of popularity

Parents pressured her into joining a lot of different clubs or activities, both because they would look good on college applications and because they worried that she was wasting her life hanging out with her friends. She found a way to get out of all of them -- she actually liked a couple of the things they made her try, but it was about the principle of the thing, y'know?

Her apartment is a weird combination of r/malelivingspaces and a pack rat den. On the one hand, she goes very spartan with regards to knickknacks, dishware, and other household decor. On the other, she hoards physical media -- books, DVDs, CDs, comic books.

Trauma manifests as hyperindependence. Not only were it the people closest to her who ended up hurting her, but she had to go through her recovery pretty much alone, so alone is what's safe and familiar. Seeing the Carpenter sisters and the Meeks-Martin twins actually rely on each other is... weird. (In this way she's actually much more like Gale than either of them will admit; it's a big part of why they're always at each other's throats)

[get-back-homeward]

Guess what arrived this week!

I never buy reissues let alone preorder, but I had a hunch this set would be worth having, and I’m very happy with it. They look lovely together.

There's a nice little essay in each booklet that feels very appropriate for the times. You can read them here and here. If I had anything to complain about I'd say the CD sleeves are pretty risky. They're so tight, you gotta pinch them just right to get the CD out without scratching. I doubt I'm putting them back to their original spots. The spot behind the booklet is wide enough and will work fine as a substitute if you have single protective sleeves for each disc.

But all I really care about is the sound. And man, the sound knocks me out. Giles really outdid himself with these mixes. The only one I'd say I'm truly unhappy with is I Am The Walrus. The 2017 mix was fine to me, and messing with the ending seems silly, but it's easy enough to swap out. Out of 75 tracks, I expect a few to not be my favorite. It's more than worth it for the tracks that have clarified the sound and helped me to hear details I couldn't before.

The big changes are the additional songs, including George's songs and covers, and the 2023 mixes. With the backwards reissues, it's the Red Album that has the most new mixes here. They really surpass my expectations. This is the best I've ever heard their 1963 songs. Disc 1 adds I Saw Her Standing There, Twist and Shout, Roll Over Beethoven, This Boy, You Really Got a Hold On Me, and You Can't Do That. Disc 2 adds If I Needed Someone, Taxman, Got to Get You Into My Life, I'm Only Sleeping, Here There and Everywhere, and Tomorrow Never Knows. I have no qualms with any of them, they all feel like they belong here.

The biggest advantage of these newest mixes is the space between parts. It helps to hear Ringo's drums and percussion better in one part and George's guitar in another, hear Paul's bass here and harmonies there. I don't find any of the mixes too drastic save Walrus but together they really elevate the listening experience.

I found myself flagging John's songs as sounding best, and I think that may be a function of hearing more of the layers underneath along with the clarified vocals. Some of his harmonies with Paul just sound exceptionally good with this new tech. Norwegian Wood is a standout, as is Ticket to Ride. Norwegian Wood seems to push John's vocals further to the front instead of getting masked by the acoustic. The three-part harmonies sound divine on This Boy and Nowhere Man. I've seen criticism about the space changing the magic of the Rubber Soul tracks. If you don't like it, it's easy enough to swap out, but I didn't really have a problem with it.

On the Blue Album, of the five new mixes, Magical Mystery Tour and Hey Bulldog stand out best. It's actually kinda embarrassing how much I was missing from MMT before. I felt halfway through like I was listening to a brand new song. My one quibble is the strange placement of Hey Bulldog. It expected it to follow Lady Madonna on Disc 1 for roughly chronological order but instead it's between Blackbird and Get Back on Disc 2. I guess they were going by order of original release instead of recording date order used in the Anthology. But it was the one place the order threw me for a loop.

Placing Now and Then at the end of this hefty 75 track list is a controversial choice perhaps, but I think it bears the weight of the legacy well. Particularly because it's following The Long & Winding Road, which ends on Paul's plea: Don't leave me waiting here Lead me to your door

Now and Then starts with John's confession: I know it's true It's all because of you And if I make it through It's all because of you

It feels like a continuation of a conversation. An answer.

Paul's lyrical input is small but powerful, adding "will" and "always" to add certainty to John's cool now and then I miss you. Two lines were incomplete and required that Paul finish them. The completed line packs a punch: I want you to be there for me Always to return to me

This is officially the last Lennon-McCartney lyric, constructed across decades. But it doesn't feel like an ending, only a completed circle. Perhaps because this ending so seamlessly loops back to the beginning again: Love love me do You know I love you I'll always be true So plea-ee-ee-ease Love me do

And I guess if you want to go further: I'll do anything for you Anything you want me to If you'll be true to me

You can find bits across the track list that link as well: Now and then I feel so insecure Know that I just need you like I never done before

I’ll get to you somehow/until I do I’m telling you so you’ll understand

Life is very short and there’s no time for fussing and fighting my friend

Though I know I’ll never lose affection for people and things that went before I know I’ll often stop and think about them

To lead a better life I need my love to be here

Had you gone you knew in time we’d meet again for I had told you

Knowing that love is to share, each one believing that love never dies

Limitless undying love which shines around me like a million suns and calls me on and on across the universe

It leaves me with an abundance of multiverse AU feels in the vein of Everything Everywhere All At Once.

Maybe there is something out there, some new discovery, that will make us feel like even smaller pieces of shit. Something that explains why you still went looking for me, through all of this noise. And why, no matter what, I still want to be here with you. I will always want to be here with you.

I would just like to say, in another life, I would have really liked just doing laundry and taxes with you.

We live in the world they chose music and fame, and the songs they leave us with is their legacy and our gift.

The press for these releases has been a mess. But the BBC Eras series on The Beatles ends on two quotes that been stuck in my head all week:

It’s the last song that my dad and Paul and George and Ringo will get to make together. You know, even though it took a long time, it feels very synchronous that the lyric speaks about time and that it’s taken so much time and that it sort of fuses the past and present. It's like a time capsule. And it all feels very meant to be or fated or something. In the nicest sense. —Sean Lennon

When I remember the Beatles, I remember the joy. The talent. The humor. The love. And I think if people remembered us for that, for those things, I’d be very happy. —Paul McCartney

Full circle, indeed.

[hoodies-n-cola]

Tell us about that concert :)

All those details :)

OUGH okay so me, CL, and SL (CL's husband) went to Autoheart's first US tour :D

We had to wait in a p long line before the show, but we talk loud so some of the people behind us were laughing at the stuff we were saying n that's always fun :> the merch line was long as well, but I got 2 CDs and a shirt <3 (they didn't have the third CD there, but for some reason they had them at later concerts? I don't get that but I'm angy, I don't wanna pay like $22 shipping for a $13 CD ;0; )

Anyway the show started with the first opener, RAEGAN. She was p cool, her music was very punchy n we got to participate at one point n shout "FUCK RAEGAN" but like, there were a couple minors and a lot of nice people not entirely willing to yell that so it wasn't as loud as it could've been u,u

The second lady came up, Pidgeon Pit, and oh man her energy was amazing! She was all over the stage with her guitar, her songs were toothy and some political (in a good way) and she gave off hardcore big sister vibes, she was great :D she even had a moment of like, well for context Autoheart is popular with the gays bc it's a gay band (I know for sure the lead singer is gay but idk about the other two) so of course the queers were out in full force n the lead singer is a trans woman herself, so she gave a big shoutout to all the trans people in the audience (like me and some of the people to my right, who I made a bet with on Autoheart's opening song hehe) and it was nice to be in a room with so many people shouting for trans people instead of against them

OH BUT THE MAIN COURSE HOLY SHIT

Okay so I'll be using names; Jody is the lead singer, Simon is on keys, Barney is on guitar, and he's not a member of the band but Adam handled drums, he was fantastic <3

Anyway so they call come out on stage, Jody first, and he's got these genuine Gucci shades on that are so round and thick, it was so cute X3 he also had a suit jacket on that was a pinkish-reddish color over a black shirt, it was such a good look ;; Simon had jeans, a red Dickey's shirt, and a white short sleeve button up over that And Barney I believe had a graphic tee and jeans, but he also had a jean jacket on when we saw them after the show

Their first song is Lent bc of course it would be and everyone was singing along and like, god first of all, this is genuinely my favorite band ever of all time, I don't dislike a single one of their songs, I have them all saved to my Spotify, so you know I'm crazy about it, second I kinda face a lot of "oh that's what you're listening to?" (/neg) at home when I try to play Autoheart, and third I was with two of my favorite people in the world So believe me when I say I was FEELING it, being in a crowd of people who knew every word I knew, every vocal flourish in every word to the point the audience could all be heard doing the same vocal flourish from the base song that he did differently live, it fuckin got me man, I'd never felt so connected and part of something great like that ;0;

And of course the band is just going, they're playing banger after banger, Jody making these cute little smiles n doing these cute little dances and moves with his hands as he's singing, he was a joy to watch Barney was killing it on the guitar over there too, he was also doing backing vocals and he sounds so nice!! I'm not fully sure if he does backing vocals on all the songs or if it was just for live, but if it was just for live, then I hope they let him back up on more songs cause he was wonderful <3 Simon, oh man, don't even get me started, his work on the keyboard is part of why I fell in love with Autoheart in the first place, their first albums and EPs being FULL of those deep, punchy piano work, it's so good ;;;; oh and his tambourine work was great too, he was on that on the more lowkey songs And of course Adam was fantastic, filling the room with percussion when it calls for it omg dude was killer!

Oh oh and the LIGHTS oh man during "Time Machine", there's the line "voices/7 of them inside of me/each requiring autonomy" (referencing the 7 deadly sins) n when Jody got to that point, he'd do a Y pose, reaching his arms up as he's bathed in green light and subtle smoke, it was religious ;;;;

AND THE BEST PART IS WE GOT TO MEET THEM AFTERWARDS

Unfortunately we had to do it out on the back patio where the radio was turned up; I'm hard of hearing n they couldn't turn the radio down, so I could barely hear them ;-; But we got to meet them and get things signed and I got to tell them how much they all mean to me and I got to hug Jody ;;;;;;;;;;;;;

Last thing though, for those of you who know about me n CL's EW OCs known as the blormas, I imagine you're familiar with Joey. Joey himself is based on Jody, and a lot of his personality is based on the songs, so of course I had to draw a Joey for them all to sign, and they did <3 They were pretty impressed with the fact that I did it with pencils on paper and it made me blush ngl ;;

[4town4lyfe]

So I have been in writers block 4 like a month but I had this very short one shot or whatever u call it scenario with some sibling angst between Robaire and Imani having some issues hehehehe

Okay here XD

A new album means a tour, a tour means dance practice many times a week. Dance practice means tension rises, and it’s usually between these two people.

In the midst of the poppy beats and the quiet stomps of high top sneakers, tension is brewing. Everyone can feel it, but they choose to ignore it, I mean, this happens a lot, but nothing really hurtful happens, so why intervene?

Sharing death glares and smirks almost continuously, Imani and Robaire are at the center of this tension, Robaire’s cocky and almost perfectionist way of thinking has Imani brewing. But Imani is beginning to falter with every quip and comment that Robaire says, and everyone can see.

“Imani, we’ve been practicing this for so long, you’d think you would be able to get it down.” Robaire comments with a smirk as they finish their routine, breaths heavy and hearts beating quick.

“Could you not criticize me for one second, Robaire?” Imani claps back, heading toward the boombox to cut the CD. But, Robaire isn’t one to just back down.

“I mean, it’s really not that big of an insult. Maybe if you could keep up instead of falling behind as usual, you wouldn’t be so upset…” Robaire says with a slight frown, muttering that last part, though Imani hears every word, and so do the others.

“What did you say?” Imani exclaims, whipping her head towards him, Aaron T immediately coming over to calm the situation, placing a caring hand on Imani’s shoulder.

“Hey, let’s just calm down and take a breather, okay? We’re a team, we shouldn’t get upset over little things.” Aaron T calmly speaks, giving Imani a temporary sense of comfort.

“Yo, let’s go for a walk, man.” Aaron Z speaks up, walking over to Robaire and gently grabbing his arm, as Jesse and Tae Young observe, Tae feels overwhelmed with these emotions, and Jesse is there to help him, watching everything go down.

Robaire, fueled with ego, shrugs Aaron Z off and walks over to Imani. “You’ve always been like this, Imani. You’ve always been so sensitive. Can’t take a little heat, eh? Welcome to the real world.” Robaire harshly says to Imani, going to ruffle up her hair before Imani grabs his wrist, not looking him in the eye.

“Dude. Don’t escalate this.” Aaron T tries but fails to dimish the problem, as Robaire continues.

“Oh, she’ll be fine. We always banter like this, she’s just too sensitive to take it, like she’s always been. Never able to get back at me. Never at my level.” Robaire continues with a smirk, both thinking that it’s all in good fun, but also knowing that he’s purposely making her upset.

Really upset.

With a swift movement, Imani’s hand slaps Robaire’s face, the sound echoing throughout the practice room. The pain in his face matching the shock in his eyes.

“I’ve never said anything back to you, I’ve let you walk over me. But this time, you crossed this line.” Imani angrily confronts, her voice shaky, pointing her finger in her face as Aaron T begins to pull her back and Aaron Z grabs Robaire yet again.

“Let’s go, Imani, this isn’t worth it.” Aaron T says as he pulls her toward the exit, his grip gentle but firm. Robaire, always with the last word, retorts with a low blow, one of her biggest insecurities.

“Maybe you’re just upset because you’ll always be in the shadow of your brother.”

Imani glares at him, her expression filled with hurt and anger, her tears beginning to fall as she quickly walks out, not wanting anyone to see her like this.

Aaron T and Tae Young quickly rush after her, and Aaron Z and Jesse quickly let Robaire know that was too far, and Robaire stands there, the weight of his words sinking in, realizing that his pride and ego may have costed his the flow of this hardworking band, and the relationship with his favorite person, whose been there through thick and thin, his very own sister.

YALL I TRIED LOL SORRY IF THIS IS OUT OF CHARACTER THIS WAS JUAT AN IDEA I GOT XD

[abdulraveman]

Nishikido Ryo Screen+plus vol.84 translation

Q: What new hobbies have you taken up recently?

Ryo: My hobbies really haven’t changed much. I occasionally play golf with my friends, but I mostly just stay at home, just relaxing (laughs). I don’t know….but I realized how important it is to be healthy.

Q: Has anything happened?

Ryo: A lot has happened. I've become an Ossan (laughs). There are a lot of places that hurt now. What will become of me when I reach 40 or 50? (Laughs) So something had to be done. I do yoga at home watching YouTube videos. Well, just living a simple life. (Laughs)

Q: Your first drama appearance in 4 years has been in the news, but can you tell us again how you frankly felt when you were offered the role?

Ryo: To put it simply, the fact that I was given an offer right now, & the fact I got to be offered a role regardless of where (i.e. agency) I belonged to, was what made me happiest.

Q: Did you decide to appear in the drama after reading the script?

Ryo: Yes, I did. I've had a few offers, but it was a matter of timing. This time it was the right time, so I accepted.

Q: When I saw the live footage of you performing “Secret Agent Man at your RYO NISHIKIDO LIVE 2021 “SHABBY”, as someone who has known you for a long time, it made me happy. But was this a kind of fan service?

Ryo: I didn’t mean that as a fan service though. It was the first CD where my voice was recorded. For me it's a kind of retrospective, the first page of the album. So I thought, "Now, this is how I sound like", that's all.

Q: Nishikido-san, what are your personal thoughts on what you hope will be conveyed from the NHK drama?

Ryo: To be honest, it’s not so much about the viewers, but rather if Kishida Nami, who is the author, her mother or her brother, who has Down’s syndrome, don’t have a bad feeling when they see the drama, then that’s fine with me. I’m not filming the drama for Kishida-san’s family but at the very least, I hope they can accept it. After all, I play the role of their late father. It would be nice to make them enjoy the father who lives on in their memories even more after watching it

About "Kazokudakara Aishitan Janakute, Aishita no ga Kazokudatta”

Q: Could you tell us about any memorable events that happened during filming?

Ryo: The lead actress, Kawai Yumi, surprised me. Her lines were all in Kansaiben and she spoke them so naturally that I thought she was from Osaka, but I didn't realize she was purely from Tokyo (laughs). She speaks Kansai so well. It's really good. I asked her, "Do you play the piano?" and she said, "No." I asked, "Are you a good singer?" She replied, "I don't know if I'm good at it.” It's true that people don't say they can sing very well (laughs). I think it's great that she can remember the tones and speak very naturally.

Q: let’s talk about ‘Let’s Get Divorced’. This is a film that Kudo Kankuro is working on the script for. It’s been a while since you’ve worked with Kudokan, what did you think when you heard about the drama?

Ryo: I was happy to be invited back even though I had left a big organisation, and I wondered if I had done a good enough job when I work with them before to make them think about inviting me back, without giving it a second thought. So I was of course happy to be invited back, and that is why I felt I had no choice but to respond to the invitation to the best of my ability.

Q: how did you feel after reading the script?

Ryo: It was very interesting. I heard that it was written by two people, Oishi Shizuka-san & Kudo-san, but I didn’t know who was writing which part. I mean, it was amazing that those two could write such a coherent script, and I thought it was also amazing that Isoyama-san (the producer) put it all together.

About Yakudzukuri (T/N: It is the act of becoming and concentrating on the role played by the actor in a drama or movie through study & preparation)

Ryo: There are people who say, "I don't need Yakudzukuri ". I think that's cool. I think it is necessary to include the minimum necessary knowledge, & if there is a scene where you are riding a horse & you are supposed to be an expert rider, you have to be able to ride a horse in an absolutely convincing manner, but I don't know if I would call it Yakudzukuri or not. I think it's just a question of whether or not I'm able to respond to such requests. If I were doing a performance completely on my own, I might have to think about all sorts of things.