#but he just gives off chapman vibes okay? | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

takerfoxx · 3 years ago

Text

The Owl House, Season 2, Episode 12, "Elsewhere and Elsewhen," First Impressions!

In which new familial bonds are formed, old ones are repaired, and we are treated to the world’s most obvious plot twist (that still works)!

So we finally get a full Lilith episode! Hey girl, been a hot minute! Congrats on the whole “coming out” as one of the few aroace reps in a children’s cartoon! Man, The Owl House is bound and determined to hit all the colors, ain’t they?

Lilith has really grown on me over this last season. I never really disliked her, but she was firmly on the stuffy antagonist side for all of season one, so it was hard to really dig into her, even with her relationship with Eda. But here in season two we’ve been able to slowly peel away those layers. We’ve gotten to see her softer side with her lovely friendship with Hooty, we’ve seen her try make up for how much she’s hurt Eda (while still never really being let off the hook for it, which I appreciate). And most of all, as she is no longer the head of the Emperor’s Coven, she’s finally been able just be herself and reveal my favorite part of her: her geeky side.

I love watching her nerd out over her studies. Like, she is just so better suited for academia instead of her old job. And okay, I know it’s kind of a somewhat problematic stereotype the Venn diagram between aroace and autistic characters is kind of a circle, but screw it, I’m aro, I’m autistic, and right now I’m feeling that autistic vibe from her and loving it.

But she’s also taken numerous blows to the ol’ ego. Yes, she’s repaired her relationship with her family and I’m sure that she’s secretly glad to be away from Belos, but with no magic and her name now being mud, that doesn’t leave someone as ambitious as her with very many job opportunities. So she’s basically having to start over, taking a scrub job at the museum. Still, I can see her rising through the ranks to become head curator or whatever, but it’s clearly going to be a climb, and it’s clear that she isn’t happy with how far she’s fallen, though I’m glad that so many people came out to support her, including her biggest simp. Hey, Steve!

…

Get it?

Because he’s voiced by Matt Chapman?

Hey, Steve? The obscure Homestar Runner character? Like, his name was literally Hey, Steve?

I thought it was funny.

But also in the party is another new character, Flora Explora (and yes, the Dora thing is totally intentional and lampshaded. Apparently she’s voiced by the same person that voices Dora’s mom or something, ha), who was Lilith’s mentor before Lilith turned away from exploring and academia, and while she’s glad that Lilith is back on “the right path,” she’s also kind of condescending about it, and seeing how sensitive Lilith is about her fall from grace, it just gives her the drive to prove herself.

Naturally, there’s someone nearby that knows exactly how that feels, someone on a quest of her own, who is still stinging over recent failures and could use someone with a vast wealth of knowledge.

Now that they’re no longer enemies, I really like Luz and her new Cool Aunt Lilith. And it might be blasphemy to say so, but they actually kind of click a little better than Luz and Eda did. Lilith is just into more of the same things that Luz is, and the two have a lot of chemistry when it comes to rooting out secrets, such as the Time Pools.

Though to be honest, I thought the Time Pools would be a bigger thing than they were, but nope. Just the device to send them back in time to finally meet with Philip Wittebane. That whole business about paradoxes and the Bloodyfly Effect (heh)? Never even becomes an issue. But given how much they packed into this episode and how little fat it has, they really had to keep things moving.

And yes, the dead reveler gag was amazing.

Anyway, Philip, our mysterious journal-writing human from the past! We finally get to meet him, and in the process we learn a few things!

First, the time of Wild Magic? Actually pretty cool, and people who use it regularly are pretty nice. Actually, things seem a bit more advanced and civilized than Belos’s nightmare world.

Also? It apparently took him years to find all the glyphs that he has, while it only took Luz a few weeks. Almost as if the island was hiding them from him…

Okay, look: he’s Belos. Everyone called it, including me. He got stranded in the Boiling Isles like Luz, he sought out to learn about magic through glyphs like Luz, but because he’s a fucking manipulative asshole who is very much a British Imperialist, he ended up becoming a despotic monster. Those weird mutations Belos has been dealing with? Came about because he tried writing glyphs on his own flesh. Not a good idea. And hey, did’ja notice that blue tooth in his bag, along with the stolen Palisman? Remember the demons that were pushing him around, one with a green tooth and one with a red tooth, and how they mentioned that they got their friend Blue Tooth killed? Guy is a straight up serial killer, only interested in how he can exploit everything and everyone around him. I already suspected that was the case, but when Lilith noted how uncomfortably familiar his mannerisms were, that cinched it.

But that does raise quite a few questions. I’m assuming that he actually figured the portal out fairly early, and could have gone home at any time afterward. But he hints that he has greater aims than simply finding a way home, what with the Day of Unity thing. Obviously it will be an invasion of some kind, and will also involve the Collector, but in what capacity is impossible to say.

As for the aforementioned Collector, I’m getting serious Bill Cipher vibes. As if in, this is going to be the ultra-powerful wildcard threat, the chaotic evil that will likely be a major part of the finale. We know very little about him though, other than his affinity for celestial body symbols (as do the Blights, just pointing that out), and that he was the one originally responsible for turning the Owlbeast into a cursed scroll. Other than that? Not a whole lot.

And does he remember Luz and Lilith? Does he know that Lilith was the one who broke his nose? Was that what all of Belos’s cryptic mentions of them meeting again were all about?

Also! We get another brief glimpse of Philip’s brother, who yes, still looks a whole lot like Hunter. And we also see what seems to be an early Grimwalker recipe in Philip’s lab. So it looks like the theory of Hunter being a magical clone of Philip’s brother is proving to be correct. It did say that he needs Stonesleeper lungs for the recipe. And, uh, I guess we now know how he got them (yikes). Though let me just say that when Lilith made an offhand reference to Stonesleeper’s weak spot, I knew it would come back later in the episode.

But what is Hunter for? Did Belos simply miss his brother, or does he have some other purpose for the kid? He kept mentioning sacrifices. Like, is he going to sacrifice Hunter to the Collector or something?

In the B-Plot, we finally meet Eda’s dad, who she’s been running from ever since her curse was tripped and she unintentionally attacked him. Apparently, he was an expert Palisman carver, but the injuries she inflicted upon him made it impossible.

Man, this family just has so much guilt. Lilith felt terrible for cursing Eda and spent so much time trying to help her (but went about it in very much the wrong way). Gwen feels bad for letting her daughters down, causing her to make even more mistakes. And Eda feels awful for hurting her father, leading her to run from him for decades!

And what really hurts is that it isn’t like she feels that he hates her or whatever. No, she knows full well that he has already forgiven her. It’s that she feels that she doesn’t deserve his forgiveness, and so won’t let him give it to her.

But I’m glad that they finally got the chance to talk. It’s clear that he’s come to terms with things and just wants his daughter back. That was really nice. Dell is a good dude.

Also, Eda is totally going to take up his mantle and help Luz with her Palisman, isn’t she?

And we also get another interesting bit of information. The Owl House is Dell’s old tower, now repaired! But Hooty wasn’t a part of it then! How did he and Eda meet, I wonder?

This season continues to fire on all cylinders, and each new episode is the highlight of my week. I am so going to miss it when it’s gone.

#the owl house #toh #luz noceda #lilith clawthorne #philip wittebane #emperor belos #eda clawthorne #dell clawthorne #king clawthorne #gwen clawthorne #hooty #elsewhere and elsewhen #reaction

13 notes · View notes

equalseleventhirds · 4 years ago

Text

@femmedionysus mentioned needing lighter, fluffier, less-ultimately-tragic podcasts than the magnus archives, and do u kno what? i think a lot of ppl can benefit from this. and i can help! a little! maybe!! generally these have at least some emotionally difficult moments, but they are lighter and appear to be heading towards a not-too-tragic ending.

(sorted into categories and lists, bcos who am i without categories and lists?)

podcasts i am fully up to date on and can vouch for up until their current end point, altho most of them are not quite done yet (there's like, potential for them to turn super sad, but in general the direction they're going in is Not That Tragic):

unseen (a series of one-character episodes all taking place in the same universe, a magical world hidden behind ours. a couple of eps are linked character-wise, but a lot of them are unrelated, individual stories. fairly gentle, tendency to end eps on a high note, cohesive & interesting worldbuilding.)

wooden overcoats (a funeral home sitcom. no, really! the funn siblings run the only funeral home in their village, until charismatic golden-boy chapman shows up with his own, better funeral home. lots of morbid humor but usually humor, altho a few episodes ARE sad and hit hard. those sad arcs do resolve with eventual happiness and found family stuff tho.)

victoriocity (features one of the actors from wooden overcoats! an alternate steampunk reality where queen victoria, um, never dies. ever. and london gets some seriously weird tech! follows an inspector and a reporter trying to solve Mysteries. there's like murders & death & stuff but the main characters do wind up safe & more or less content, even tho fleet's grumpy. kind of like, Extremely British, with the colonialist issues that 1800s london implies, but like, they try to address it sorta? it's not a major plot point)

welcome to night vale (i know i KNOW everybody knows this one....... but Things Are Generally Fine, u kno. i mean there's the occasional upsetting part. but things are fine. do skip 'a story of love and horror' to avoid what imo was one of the MOST upsettingly tragic things tho.) (confession: i have two episodes of this to catch up on, but i'm not actually THAT far behind, so i'm comfortable with its place here)

midnight radio (this one's all done actually! there is a ghost on the radio, and she starts receiving letters from a living woman. and yes ok it STARTS with a dead woman with a tragic past. HOWEVER it ends hopefully so like!!!) (in good conscience: not fluffy or funny at all. gets very serious at times. but goes towards a genuinely hopeful ending, which was why it's on here.)

the strange case of starship iris (found family revolutionaries in space!!!! shit gets heavy but they! get! through it!! i like when they get through it.) (to be super clear, it does get VERY serious, but they do get through it and judging by the narrative vibes and how the creators discuss it, they’re gonna be okay by the end. and they are mostly okay now.)

khôra (based on greek mythology, but In Space! the witch medea is... recruited by the hero atalanta to find the golden fleece, which her dead husband jason hid. once again we start with tragic pasts, but it is heading so fast for found family, and given that the premise of the show is giving women from greek mythology better than what they had in myth..... I Think It Will End Happy)

kaleidotrope (college radio hosts talk about love on their possibly-slightly-magical campus. god it's so. it's so fluffy. full of fluff. like, legit i think the least serious audio drama i've ever listened to, it's simply just. soft. very romantic. occasionally embarrassing. FILLED with fluff.)

time: bombs (a three-episode podcast made by long story short productions after w359 as like.... an experiment? i think? about the shenanigans of a bomb squad, who are remarkably funny for... a bomb squad. there's literally bombs & stuff and some injuries, but nobody dies, nobody is tragic, one guy does not get to beat a record he rly wants to beat but he learns stuff abt Being A Better Person or w/e so that's nice.)

podcasts i am NOT fully up to date on but what i have listened to is not too horribly tragic:

inn between (fantasy found family! you know how d&d podcasts are? well, between adventures, d&d characters rest and recuperate; this is those between adventure moments, taking place in a lovely little inn.)

sir rodney the root (once again fantasy! once again found family!! funny & sometimes kinda weird podcast about some folks on a Quest that goes off the rails, god i need to catch up on it...)

interference (oh hey another d&d-inspired fantasy podcast....... huh. but! one side of the podcast happens in a reality not unlike our own! that and a d&d-ish world are colliding, and we hear two women talking to each other as their worlds connect...)

the amelia project (there's an agency that will fake your death, for a price.... no, not money, they want an interesting story! and oh boy do these clients deliver. last time i was listening there was some hubbub about secret government agencies spying on the amelia project itself...... hm.)

alba salix (okay yes another fantasy podcast......... it's a comedy, with occasional drama, abt the physician for a magical kingdom and the shenanigans of her and her two unruly assistants, and also the royal family, and also....... i was actually v fond of the mini-series between seasons, abt an orc who runs a pub, more than the main story? altho i am not caught up on either so it's possible this could reverse.)

there's also a few from the podcast marathon which, if ur not aware, was me running through the first episodes of a bunch of podcasts to see what sounded good (i will get back to that eventually....), but this means i cannot vouch for them past the first episode. nevertheless, from general tone they seem to be Not Very Tragic, so.

saffron and peri

the godshead incidental

the one stars

solutions to problems

the rest is electric

the prickwillow papers

and 195

sidequesting

come on in, the water's fine

#algie's podcast marathon #algie recs podcasts #pls note that these are not necessarily my FAVORITE podcasts #but they are more CHILL podcasts. so.#hmu for specific content warnings abt some of them if u need to #or to outline how sad they may be before the hopeful ending #a couple of them DO start sad and then build towards a hopeful end so like #they are Eventual Hope podcasts #which was what max was after specifically! so that's what i did!!#...........tbh mabel and dbd aren't even on here even tho i THINK they are going to end all right #bcos both of them actually their most recent season ended on a low note cliffhanger #when they start back up again we'll see tho

164 notes · View notes

1917-boys · 5 years ago

Text

Ice Cream (Dean-Charles Chapman Fluff)

Requested: Yes / No

Word count: 1,289

Author’s Note: I finished a book the other day called Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie and it was super good. And then I found out it’s being made into a movie and it’s coming out later this year, and I was thinking maybe I’d put Dean in it? So that’s where I got that idea :) Also I totally suggest reading it if you can, it’s honestly great! Plus, I got a lot of Tom Blake vibes from Simon at the beginning, so that’s who I said Dean would play

You first met Dean when you were 16 years old. You met him at an audition, in which neither of you got the part. As bummed as you were to hear that, your hours waiting for the news had been passed eventfully, chatting with a boy named Dean, who would soon become your best friend.

Now, almost 7 years later, the two of you were still the best of friends. Your acting career was still getting off the ground, compared to Dean’s extremely successful one. He was always so supportive of you, calling you before an audition and wishing you luck. If you got the part, he’d cheer for you and invite you over to his house for a celebratory dinner.

Although you two were still going strong as friends, a part of you wanted more. You knew Dean in and out, and could picture yourself with him for the rest of your life. Waking up next to each other in the morning, cooking dinner together in the evenings, maybe even having a kid to play with and take care of together. You were always quick to suppress these thoughts, though, knowing that if you were to dwell on them you would only be more upset if it didn’t happen.

Unbeknownst to you, though, Dean had been thinking thoughts similar to yours. He wanted to grow old with you, buy a cute house and move in together, having some kids and watching them grow up. But Dean treasured your close friendship, and it was something he feared would be torn apart if he were to tell you of his hopes.

One day, the two of you were walking through London, admiring the fancy shops and restaurants you passed. Dean had recently been cast as Simon Doyle, one of the main characters in a new film, Death on the Nile, and you had decided to take him out for ice cream to celebrate.

As the two of you walked together, you felt Dean brush against your arm. Glancing up at him, he smiled apologetically down at you before shifting himself away from you a bit. If you were being honest, you liked the contact. Feeling Dean against you, in close contact, it excited you. But you weren’t sure how Dean felt about it, so you kept it to yourself.

You two continue walking the streets of London, approaching a stoplight. As you approach the small crowd of people waiting to cross, you slow your pace, coming to a stop. Since the small crowd was packed tightly together, Dean had moved behind you, rather than beside you. When you stopped, Dean hadn’t stopped yet. As a result, he had walked right into you. Thankfully, there hadn’t been too much pressure or you would have pushed into the others standing nearby.

You turn around to face him, smiling slightly. “You’ve got to be careful, Dean,” you reprimand him, although your tone is light. Dean hears the light tone of your voice and plays back at you. “Okay, mum,” he replies, grinning.

You slap his shoulder playfully, stepping back slightly to hit him again. Dean’s smile widens at your actions, laughing at you. Your smile grows as well, and soon the two of you have fallen into a fit of giggles, each laughing happily at the other.

The walk sign is soon lit up, and you and Dean move forward to cross the street along with the now slightly larger walking crowd. When you have successfully crossed the street, Dean is able to move up and walk beside you again. When he’s next to you, your eyes dart to look at him from the side, praying that he doesn’t notice your ogling. Dean’s head doesn’t turn back to look at you, so you continue your appreciative glance over his features.

His eyes, so bright and blue. They’re captivating, you think to yourself. God, I would look into those eyes all day if I could. You move to scan his cheeks and nose, taking in the innocent mounds of his face. If only I could squish his cheeks, just once, you find yourself thinking.

Dean’s head turns suddenly, catching you admiring him. Your face heats up immediately, a deep blush spreading rapidly up your neck and across your face. You can feel the warmth of your cheeks, and you’re sure Dean’s going to say something about it.

“Like what you see?” Dean asks cheekily, wiggling his eyebrows at you. Your blush deepens, but a shy smile makes its way onto your face. In a desperate attempt to shift the attention off of you, you quickly throw your hands out, pushing Dean’s arm.

A chuckle leaves his mouth, a slight rosy tint to his cheeks. “What was that for?” he asks, playfully offended. You bite your lip, struggling to contain a bright smile. “No reason, you’re just cute,” you reply, quickly turning your head to face forward. A few moments of silence pass, the two of you beginning to quicken your pace as you continue to walk. Your eyes don’t leave the street in front of you, though you feel Dean’s gaze boring into you.

As you approach the small ice cream parlor, your eyes flit up to meet Dean’s. His cheeks are still a soft, rosy pink, and you can’t help but think how much you’d like to give them just one little squish.

Dean awkwardly coughs, causing you to turn your full attention to him. “You think I’m cute?” he asks, shyly glancing from your eyes to his feet. You glance down at his feet as well, watching as he shuffles them nervously. You take a deep breath, ready to admit your feelings. All you can do now is hope that Dean reciprocates them.

“I do,” you state confidently, your eyes turning up to look at him squarely. You feel your face heating up, but this time you’re standing your ground. Dean’s face darkens, a much deeper blush painting his face.

“You know, I kinda like you, too,” he manages to admit, struggling and stuttering his way through the words. His hands move from his sides to your arm, guiding you gently to the ice cream parlor entrance. A bright smile is on your lips now, a happy laugh leaving your mouth. Dean’s smile grows, his grip tightening slightly on your arm.

Dean steps back, letting go of your arm to open the door for you, following you into the small shop. Both of you are blushing and smiling and laughing, and the young man working the counter smiles upon seeing you two. Dean follows you up to the counter, each of you ordering before the worker makes your order and hands it to you over the counter. You volunteer to pay, since it was your treat to Dean for his new role, but he quickly shot your idea down.

You roll your eyes, sighing softly as Dean pays and you find a table. You sit across from each other, enjoying your ice cream quietly. The comfortable silence is soon broken by Dean, who says your name to get your attention.

“What now? I mean, we’ve both established that we like each other, so what happens next?” He asks. You hear in his voice that he’s shy and nervous to be asking, but you can’t blame him. I mean, you two had been friends for years. What happens when two best friends suddenly admit that they like each other?

Without warning, you lift yourself slightly off the seat and lean over the table, pressing a sweet kiss to Dean’s cheek. His face is once again painted a light pink, and a soft laugh leaves his mouth. “Well, Y/N, that works just fine.”

#dean charles chapman #dean charles chapman x reader #dean charles chapman fluff #dcc

26 notes · View notes

honeyopinion · 4 years ago

Text

20/20 Albums of the Year

Circles by Mac Miller |�� Hip-Hop, Soul, Funk Released: January 17, 2020

Best Album For... Pouring One Out for Mac

I wrote a few different drafts of this album summary, and none of them felt like they really fit the impossibly large bill of accurately describing the posthumous importance or brilliance of this album. If you are a fan of hip-hop or soul music of any kind, try to give this piece of work a chance. I for one, used to judge Mac based on his early frat rap days in the late 2000s. But a decade later he came to leave the world with one of the most surprising and frankly impressive artistic evolutions that I’ve been able to witness in real time. RIP Mac.

Spotify Apple Music YouTube Pandora

Start With: “Circles” or “Everybody”

Marigold by Pinegrove | Alternative Country and Folk Rock Released: January 17, 2020

Best Album For… Passing Through a Small Town on a Cloudy Winter Day

Pinegrove was one of the last great concerts I got to experience before the pandemic. And it was my favorite performance of theirs from the last 6 years of seeing them play live. Is this my favorite album of theirs? Honestly, it’s not. But I still find it extremely enjoyable, and the memory of seeing these songs performed live, along with some of their classics, was enough for me to include it on this list. This is an album that marks Pinegrove’s exit from their pop punk roots. It’s still sentimental, but much more country and folk rock focused vs. anything trying to be associated with emo or punk.

Spotify Apple Music YouTube Pandora Start With: “The Alarmist” or “No Drugs”

Watch This Liquid Pour Itself by Okay Kaya | Synth Pop, Art Rock, Folk Released: January 24, 2020

Best Album For… Crywanking at 3am, Bathed in The Dull Light of Your Overheating Laptop

What if Feist and Father John Misty had a secret love child? They might sound something like Okay Kaya. Self proclaimed “Singer ~ Crywanker,” Okay Kaya brings serious BDE to weirdo art pop that she seems like she could be a plant from the mind of Nathan Fielder. Kaya delivers with such deadpan precision as she rolls out line after line of sarcastic joy, staring blankly at our dystopian reality. “Here I am, the whole world is my daddy,” “Netflix and yeast infection,” “Sex with me is mediocre,” “I just want us to do well like Jon Bon Jovi’s Rosê,” and, “My parasite and I are blushing / In the zero interaction ramen bar,” are just a few examples of some of her memorable and biting lyrics. The entire album is both a critique and nihilistic fondness for the absurdity of our lonely technological society, not quite sure how to deal with taboos like repressed female sexuality, depression, and codependency.

Spotify Apple Music YouTube Pandora

Start With: “Baby Little Tween” or “Asexual Wellbeing”

UNLOCKED by Denzel Curry and Kenny Beats | Hip-Hop Released: February 7, 2020

Best Album For... Nodding Your Damn Head To, Feeling Cooler Than You Actually Are

I had to double check that this was an album. Clocking in under 20 minutes, this collection of songs feels more like an EP, especially with the track titles that purposefully look like file names and placeholders. But for a short album, Denzel wastes no time, furiously zigging and zagging effortlessly over Kenny Beats’ 90s New York-indebted production (ad libs and all). Kenny pulls out samples of an array of pop culture references made by Denzel (like quotes from movies and weapon sound effects like a lightsaber) — as he rotates his flow between admirable impressions of DMX, Nas, and Joey Bada$$.

Spotify Apple Music YouTube Pandora

Start With: “So.Incredible.pkg” or “DIET_”

Cardboard City by Zack Villere | Pop, Electronic, R&B Released: February 14, 2020

Best Album For… Pal-ing Around With Your Friends From High School, Maybe Quoting Superbad At The Same Time

The first time I watched a music video from Zack Villere, I noticed the top comment said: “how did frank ocean get trapped in mark zuckerberg.” And while that definitely gets at the heart of how Zack Villere presents himself, he is not a phenomenal singer like Frank Ocean is, nor does he come off as an asshole like Mark Zuckerberg does. I would say that he is just a slightly awkward nerdy white guy who loves hip-hop production and R&B melodies. So the better question is really, “how did drake get trapped in michael cera?” This premise should not work at all, but somehow it does. This is only Villere’s second album, but he shows some serious production and songwriting chops, plus a commitment to his delivery that comes across as genuine, charming, and unique.

Spotify Apple Music YouTube Pandora

Start With: “Grateful” or “Superhero Strength”

The Slow Rush by Tame Impala | Psych Rock, Synth Pop, Disco Released: February 14, 2020

Best Album For... Throwing a Silent Disco For One

Tame Impala continues on their now 10 year streak of psych rock dominance. Along the way we’ve seen Kevin Parker master and stretch the boundaries of psychedelic production. This has resulted in his music coming as close to sounding like the best aspects of The Beatles, while also expanding into hip hop drums, R&B hooks, plus more and more electronic elements. This is an album that I was not super impressed with when it initially came out, but as we entered the pandemic and were tasked with finding small joys in staying at home all the time, I found myself going back to this album and appreciating the themes of solitude and self reflection that Parker has drawn from throughout his career.

Spotify Apple Music YouTube Pandora

Start With: “Posthumous Forgiveness” or “One More Hour”

1988 by Knxwledge | Hip-Hop Released: March 27, 2020

Best Album For... Pumping Your Brakes and Driving Slow, Uh *Homie* Although this album is named after a year in the 80s, the sound here is a perfect portal back to 90s golden era hip-hop, with all the gospel, soul samples, and the kind of deep bass you want to feel in your chest. This is the rare, largely instrumental hip-hop album that I find myself going back to, other than works from the legendary J Dilla and MF Doom. Knxwledge is good friends and a frequent collaborator with Anderson .Paak (in the form of NxWorries). Here we get Anderson to grace us with his presence on the track “itkanbe[sonice]”, and of course it sounds just like an authentic vintage soul sample. When I hear this collection of songs it makes me wish I still had a car, so I could inevitably damage my speakers listening to this.

Spotify Apple Music YouTube Pandora

Start With: “dont be afraid” or “thats allwekando.”

Future Nostalgia by Dua Lipa | Pop, R&B, Funk, Disco Released: March 27, 2020 Best Album For... Alarming Your Pet With Your Enthusiastic Lip Syncing

This album is a pure sugar rush. Like Bruno Mars with the help of Mark Ronson, or Calvin Harris a few years ago, Dua has harnessed a nostalgia (it’s even in the title, wink) for disco, funk and R&B, and is instantly a sexy, catchy, not-so-guilty pleasure. It’s sad that the majority of these songs are all bonafide club hits that didn’t have a proper home this year … except for my living room. And hopefully yours.

Spotify Apple Music YouTube Pandora

Start With: “Pretty Please” or “Future Nostalgia”

Hold Space For Me by Orion Sun | Alternative R&B and Hip-Hop Released: March 27, 2020

Best Album For... Wishing Frank Ocean Was Your Dad

“Alternative R&B” is a contentious term, but what else would you call one of a few R&B singers cool enough to make it onto (NYC indie darlings) Mom+Pop Records?? On one hand, she brings the vulnerable and introverted lyrics of an indie singer songwriter like Tracey Chapman, crossed with the raw presence and sweet melodic delivery of a true R&B star like Aaliyah. I’d even go far enough to refer to her as the musical stepchild of Frank Ocean and SZA.

Spotify Apple Music YouTube Pandora

Start With: “Ne Me Quitte Pass (Don’t Leave Me)” or “Lightning”

You and Your Friends by Peach Pit | Indie Rock and Dream Pop Released: April 3, 2020

Best Album For... Going Back To Your College Town To Crash A Party

Peach Pit seem like they would be cool dudes to hang out with. You have no problem picturing them as the band playing a house show in an indie movie about college kids. And that’s because there’s a familiarity to the scenes that their songs portray, of stumbling through your 20s, either being too dumb or having too much fun to notice. It’s funny to refer to this as “Indie” rock since this is Peach Pit’s major label debut with Columbia Records. But It has all the trappings of Indie; sticky melodies, gentle reverb, an “I’m not trying that hard” vibe, and lyrics that are oddly specific enough to be interesting, but still vague enough to be relatable.

Spotify Apple Music YouTube Pandora

Start With: “Feelin’ Low (Fuckboy Blues)” or “Shampoo Bottles”

Heaven To a Tortured Mind by Yves Tumor | Psych Rock, Indie Pop, Post-Punk, Alternative R&B, Experimental Electronic Released: April 3, 2020

Best Album For... Tearing Up The Fucking Dance Floor With Your Hot Robot Girlfriend

If Tyler the Creator, Alex G, King Krule, and Blood Orange all got into the studio together and dropped a shit ton of acid on Halloween, their recording session might sound something like Heaven To a Tortured Mind… And even then, you still might have trouble putting your finger on exactly what you’re hearing. “Dream Palette” is a good reference track for Tumor’s most wild and mesmerizing qualities. The biggest styles of the past half century of music have been loaded into this gleefully effective genre blender, with blades of dissonance slicing everything up, creating a surrealist sonic smoothie.

Spotify Apple Music YouTube Pandora

Start With: “Super Stars” or “Dream Palette”

The New Abnormal by The Strokes | Indie Rock, Dirtbag Disco, Synth Pop Released: April 10, 2020

Best Album For... Mixing Yourself Another Drink This Saturday Night

Back from the dead, The Strokes return with their first album in 7 years to turn some heads and settle back into some old habits. The charming messy haired garage rock of the early 2000s still pops up here and there, but this is really a record where the group is mature enough to show you that they actually are trying, and are unafraid to take joyous swings for the fences. Julian Casablancas pushes his scratchy alley cat yelp of a voice into something more vulnerable, sunny, and sweet, like he asked for a piña colada (you know, with one of those little umbrellas) instead of a double shot of scotch before hopping up on stage… Or maybe he did both. But these days, everyone is looking for some sort of break from our groundhog day lives any way that we can. Sometimes that sounds like selling out, or depending on how you look at it, stepping up. This album is the result of a group of old friends who got together to make music they simply want to make for themselves. Now far removed from the 2000s New York scene where their younger selves were acting too cool and disaffected to care about having fun.

Spotify Apple Music YouTube Pandora

Start With: “Eternal Summer” or “The Adults Are Talking”

The Loves of Your Life by Hamilton Leithauser | Indie Rock and Alternative Country Released: April 10, 2020

Best Album For... Drinking Down At The Docks, Watching The Sun Set

While I am a fan of The Walkmen, I have no idea what their frontman Hamilton Leithauser looks like or how he dresses. But hearing these songs off of his latest solo, I imagine the following: a member of Mumford and Sons if they were edgy and cooler, giving off a “cowboy rocker meets depression-era dock worker” aesthetic. That’s exactly how his music comes off to me. It’s a convincing blend of blues rock, Americana, and old timey country music. All expertly narrated by dusty country guitars and standup bass, tarnished horns and flutes, and what I imagine to be a restored saloon piano. The Loves of Your Life originally started as a collection of short stories, each about characters based on both people he knew and strangers. Leithauser then wrote the music separately, and finally came to mix and match their parts together in a surprisingly convincing fashion to create the album.

Spotify Apple Music YouTube Pandora

Start With: “Wack Jack” or “Cross-Sound Ferry (Walk-On Ticket)”

What Kinda Music by Tom Misch and Yussef Dayes | Neo-Soul, Electronic, Hip-Hop

Released: April 24, 2020

Best Album For... Cooking For Someone You’re In Love With

Exactly what kind of music do Tom Misch and Yussef Dayes make? It’s orchestral, it’s jazz-infused, it’s hip-hop beats joined with gentle soul. It’s a little sexy, it’s a little mysterious, and you’re going to want to listen to it a whole lot. That’s it. That’s what kind of music it is! Send tweet.

Spotify Apple Music YouTube Pandora

Start With: “What Kinda Music” or “Storm Before The Calm”

Petals For Armor by Hayley Williams | Electronic Pop and Art Rock Released: May 8, 2020

Best Album For... Browsing Depop for Your Next 80s Normcore ‘Fit

Hayley, Hayley, Hayley. You are too good for this wretched world!! After exploring more adventurous sounds and genre hopping over the last few Paramore records, Hayley decided to go out on her own. This really frees herself from the expectations that come along with being the face and heart of a wildly popular band for the last 15+ years. Thom Yorke fans rejoice, because Hayley Williams has a clear admiration for Radiohead’s haunting indie electronic vibe, while emoting some pain and darkness atop her love for 80s pop and art rock (think Genesis, Devo, The Talking Heads). This is a promising new avenue for Hayley to explore herself and process her pain and desire completely on her own. I see this new project of hers only blooming further from here.

Spotify Apple Music YouTube Pandora

Start With: “Simmer” or “Sudden Desire”

Set My Heart On Fire Immediately by Perfume Genius | Indie Pop and Art Rock Released: May 15, 2020

Best Album For... Daydreaming That You Were Somewhere Else

For his 5th studio album, Perfume Genius enlists production wizard and guitar god Blake Mills, along with Grammy Award-winning arranger and multi-instrumentalist Rob Moose to create a beautiful swirling mosaic of 80s pastel pop that also packs serious classic rock grandeur. Bass guitar dances between satin smooth lines on one song to churning distorted currents on the next. Sparkling string arrangements and organs bleed together to expose a fading sunset that you’ll want to try and hold in your hands to keep it in sight. Perfume Genius is unafraid to challenge traditional masculinity, packing a 21st century queer machismo into both the quiet moments and jubilant explosions.

Spotify Apple Music YouTube Pandora

Start With: “Without You” or “Describe”

græ by Moses Sumney | Indie Pop, Art Rock, Neo-Soul, Psychic Folk Released: May 15, 2020

Best Album For... Astral Projection 101

I mean this in the best way possible, but I think that Moses Sumney is a witch. Or maybe a wizard? There’s no other reasonable explanation for the level of creativity and wonder that he summons. This album feels like a private concert by a waterfall (similar to one on the cover), with ethereal pleas, and heavy ideas—like meditating on what lies beyond the constraints of the physical self and reconsidering how well we can actually trust memory and the mind. Sumney layers his voice to create the effect of a ghostly choir, accented by a stark intimidating falsetto that reverberates through the ruins of an abandoned temple where Sumney is the only one in attendance.

Spotify Apple Music YouTube Pandora

Start With: “Cut Me” or “Polly”

WILL THIS MAKE ME GOOD by Nick Hakim | Psychedelic Neo-Soul Released: May 15, 2020

Best Album For... Playing Pool in a Hazy Dive Bar

Nick Hakim is a silky smooth smokey crooner who paints with warbly piano loops, dreamy reverb-heavy guitar, boom bap beats—not to mention a falsetto that would make Smokey Robinson jealous. Clearly a fan of Motown and 60s jazz, Hakim could be considered a peer of Thunder Cat and Anderson .Paak’s to a degree. I remember seeing him perform at Music Hall of Williamsburg a few years ago. The performance ended with him falling down on stage (presumably from being under the influence of multiple substances). But while the song continued he popped back up and belted an impressive high note like it was nothing, drink in hand. And it’s that kind of messy beauty that also makes this album so engrossing. Like watching the eye of the storm get closer and closer, but unable to look away from the sheer magnetism that nature can wield.

Spotify Apple Music YouTube Pandora Start With: “All THESE CHANGES” or “ALL THESE INSTRUMENTS”

RTJ4 by Run The Jewels | Hip-Hop Released: June 3, 2020

Best Album For... Making Your Next Protest Sign

Run The Jewels’ fourth outing might be the most unapologetically angry rap album in the “fuck this” year of 2020. And it reminded me that I should absolutely still be furious about everything that happened during this groundbreaking yet terrifyingly familiar year: country wide protests over the continued murder of innocent black people at the hands of the police, government drone strikes and detaining kids in cages, the state of our environment worsening—and that’s not even addressing the pandemic or election. Killer Mike and El-P are here to scream from the rooftops that our current system of cutthroat capitalism and white supremacy is killing the planet and its inhabitants, and I’m glad that they’re using their platform to continue to sound the alarm.

Spotify Apple Music YouTube Pandora

Start With: “out of sight” or “ooh la la”

Your Hero Is Not Dead by Westerman | New Wave Revival and Indie Pop Released: June 5, 2020 Best Album For... Wanting Your Old School MTV

The cover of Westerman’s first proper album is mostly black and white, except for the title, which is scrawled out in lettering which spans the Crayola color spectrum. It’s an album that on the surface is cold and buttoned up, but when these choruses open up, the maximalist 80s power pop bursts like the bulbs of a neon sign. There’s a level of even-keeled cool and confidence in small moments on display here that makes this relatively new artist seem well beyond his years. Having seen him play at Rough Trade a few years ago (opening up for the stellar Puma Blue), the songwriting growth on display on this record is impressive. I’m only sad that there wasn’t an opportunity to have seen him play these new songs live.

Spotify Apple Music YouTube Pandora

Start With: “Easy Money” or “Confirmation (SSBD)”

Punisher by Phoebe Bridgers | Indie Rock and Alternative Country Released: June 18, 2020

Best Album For... Burning Incense and Breaking Out a Ouija Board to Talk to The Ghost of Your Former Self

This is without a doubt, a career defining release for Phoebe. Taking everything she’s learned from writing, performing, and touring with the likes of Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker (in boygenius), and Conor Oberst (in Better Oblivion Community Center), Bridgers levels up to become the truly prolific singer-songwriter she’s been telling us she would always be. Bridgers has explained her personal definition of “a punisher” as a well meaning person who’s, “just talking to you and they don’t realize that your eyes are glazed over and you’re trying to escape.” Vital to understanding this album and its central message is that Phoebe finds herself caught between the contradiction of falling victim to this phenomenon while also doing it herself, especially if she ever met her musical idol, Elliott Smith. Punisher serves as a warning to her audience that if you focus too much on trying to find yourself through other people (via escaping through fandom, drugs, toxic relationships), you’ll always feel lost and dissatisfied, without the proper self awareness to ever quite know why.

Spotify Apple Music YouTube Pandora

Start With: “Garden Song” or “ICU”

Women In Music Pt. III by HAIM | Rock, Pop, Folk, R&B Released: June 26, 2020

Best Album For... Preparing For A Better 2021, lol

With this album, HAIM skyrocketed to the #1 position of family bands that start with an “H.” Sorry, Hanson! But seriously, HAIM has outdone themselves on this one. If there was one album from this list that I would dub my personal AOTY, this would be it. You might wince at any tracklist longer than 10-12 songs these days (I know I usually do), but almost every song proves itself worthy, pulling at a different thread of my heart until there’s nothing left. Sunshine State Beach Pop? Check. Blues Tinged Dad Rock? Yup! Dive Bar Country? Mmhmm! No, wait, what’s that you say, Glitched-Out R&B? Yes, yes, and yes. You can have it all, sister! ‘Cause when you’re Haim, you’re family! ;) And these three “women in music” continue to prove that they are just about the best Assorted Pop Rocks(™) act in the world right now.

Spotify Apple Music YouTube Pandora

Start With: “I’ve Been Down” or “Don’t Wanna”

Lianne La Havas by Lianne La Havas | Neo-Soul and Indie Pop Released: July 17, 2020

Best Album For... Sipping Coffee and Journaling on a Weekend Morning

This album exudes a warm vulnerability, like a comforting hug we all needed this year. On her third album, Lianne La Havas makes the risky decision to self title it, a move that artists make when they believe that it is the piece of work that they most want most directly associated with their name. It’s one thing to name your first album after yourself if you can’t think of anything else at the time, but to make a self titled album in the middle of your career, it means that you are sure about having captured who you really are and who you want people to remember you as. “If I love myself, I know I can't be no one else,” La Havas admits on the standout track, “Paper Thin.” She knows that she will meet her destiny and reach self actualization, but only through self love. And finally, I cannot overstate how breathtaking La Havas’s voice comes across on this album. The strength and control on display in her vocal tone and vibrato is quite a spectacle.

Spotify Apple Music YouTube Pandora

Start With: “Paper Thin” or “Sour Flower”

Limbo by Aminé | Hip-Hop and R&B Released: August 7, 2020

Best Album For... Trying and Get Over Kanye With

On Limbo, Aminé establishes himself as one of the torchbearers of soul-sampling, lyrics-driven hip-hop that still cares about storytelling, skits, and presenting vocals clearly. Kanye West, Drake, and J. Cole all paved the way for someone from the next generation like Aminé to keep the dream alive and avoid succumbing to the “feel good, don’t think” form of passive listening that mumble rap has made the standard for mainstream hip-hop.

Spotify Apple Music YouTube Pandora

Start With: “Pressure In My Palms” or “My Reality”

Shore by Fleet Foxes | Folk and Indie Rock Released: September 22, 2020

Best Album For... Running Along The Beach With Your Arms Stretched Out

It was really kind of Robin Pecknold and co. to have released an album this triumphant, calming, and awe-inspiring during the year of our Lorde 2020. On behalf of myself and anyone else who suffers from Seasonal Affective Disorder, the SAD people of the world really needed this, man. And to anyone who is quick to judge these beard-o’s of being boring, you’re simply not using your ears properly. Yeah, you know those two things on either side of your head? Get the gunk out of them! That way you’ll hear the choir of angels with acoustic guitars who are here to guide us through quarantine and beyond.

Spotify Apple Music YouTube Pandora

Start With: “Can I Believe You” or “A Long Way Past The Past”

Listen to all of these albums together in our playlist.

4 notes · View notes

musicallistorecs · 3 years ago

Text

VES OH MY GOD WHAT THE FUCK--

okay, this might be the best James story I've ever read. it might even be the best Marauders story I've ever read. you know what? It could even be the best Harry Potter story I've ever read. if I could be even more in love with James' character, well I am right now.

first of all, I am sooo in love with the setting and premise. Diners are one of my favorite places on Earth (it's the 50's vibe for me ✨), and the early 80's are also so Delectable, all the references hit me right where it hurts (ABBA? Grease?? you're literally pulling at ALL my heartstrings like???) also I just love the Valentine's Day rejects trope,,, the lonely / broken-hearted dude at the café/diner/bar/restaurant who the bartender takes a liking to out of pity more or less... I don't know the song you based this on but I listened to Fast Car by Tracy Chapman the whole way through and BOY that was an out-of-body experience. idk, I guess what I'm trying to say is that there's something about your writing that is so cinematographic?? like, I picture stuff very easily and vividly when I read but THIS... unparalleled, ma'am, I had the whole thing unfurling before my eyes in real time as if I was at the LITERAL MOVIES. one of my favorite moments was the bus ride, because i just love this kind of tranquil silence and loneliness that falls on the city at around midnight and it's raining and you're not entirely alone because there's this cute boy you just met sitting next to you and you're exhausted and kind of dozing off but if it's a dream you don't want to wake up because he's really sweet and gives you the beginning of a spark and???? idk how to explain it but MAN!!! it's so atmospheric!! I'm obsessed!!

And of course, the banter and dynamic between James and the reader is incredible, I love these two so much. Love James especially because he's like this excitable puppy that is enamored with the reader and follows her around and she's kind of trying to get rid of him but also not because he's comforting? and how the 'unfortunate meet-cute because i'm alone and you're alone and we're both miserable and this sucks so let's be miserable together" slowly morphs into a proper date as they bond over their awful love stories? It's just AAAAAHHHH gourmet shit!!! and the dialogue flows so well? at one point I thought, "wow it feels like I'm reading the script to a TV show" but a WELL-WRITTEN TV SHOW (not like,,, riverdale askfddjfj) because your dialogue is super organic and real and I could genuinely hear people talking; and even when it's description, the focus is still on the action and how the decor serves the action (the rain, the other couples...) and that's probably why it feels so cinematographic. Like this is a NETFLIX SPECIAL IF I'VE SEEN ONE. All the little references and anecdotes shared between the protagonists make them feel so real, how James trails off when he tells his joke... I feel like I know this James, like we're friends and he purposefully puts stuff on the highest shelf so I can't reach it.

I'll stop rambling now because holy cow that was so good. The piece is long and I'm kinda afraid of very long one-shots but I loved the concept and synopsis of this one so much that I had to read it, and the words flew by so quickly and I'm deeply in love with the atmosphere you created with your words, without needing a super flowery writing style or complicated words and syntax or anything. hats off, miss!

Inside of Love

PAIRING: James Potter x Fem!Reader

SUMMARY: Working at a diner that’s open all hours of the day on the night before Valentine’s Day, you notice that one customer has been staying there without ordering anything for the past hour. Starting a conversation with him might give you a little bit of insight on what you want to know. [Inside of Love by Nada Surf]

WORDS: 5.7k

WARNING(S): Valentine’s Day, mentions of 1981 commercials and celebrities, couples, mentions of Grease 1978, awkward moments, awkward lines, poor writing i’m on a slump mbad + not proofread

REFERENCE(S): Hemeling Lager 1981 Commercial, Super Trouper by ABBA

A/N: I’m honestly not so proud of this because it’s got more dialogue than anything else and it’s 06:00am and it’s been a while since i’ve finished writing something so excuse the mediocre narrations idfjeiw help i don’t even know hahashs

NAVIGATION || MAIN MASTERLIST || HP MASTERLIST

Watching terrible tv, it kills all thought

Getting spacier than an astronaut

The telly screwed to the upper corner of the room kept you awake on the 13th of February, 1981, probably the worst day to ever exist second to the 14th of February itself. Much to your dismay, in just three hours, it will officially be Valentine’s Day (or Day of Love, as your friends call it).

You lazily watched a man in the TV play the piano while singing with a bunch of his friends as they held their beer up high.

“Do some lagers taste soft around the edges?” said the narrator as the rest sang ‘She’ll Be Coming Round the Mountain when She Comes’ together.

The man looked at his own beer, confused at how soft and flexible his glass is. You snorted.

“There’s a harder edge to the taste of Hemeling,” said the narrator of the commercial with vigor, “because Hemeling brew more sugar out so there’s more alcohol in. Result? A taste with a keener, harder—”

“Quit gadding about with the telly and get that poor couple their order!” your boss (and a close friend of your mother’s), Mrs. Campbell yelled from the open window slot of the kitchen. You preferred to call her by her first name Barbara but she had told you to call her Mrs. Campbell in the workplace.

She turned off the TV with the remote, furious.

You groaned. “Poor? How do you know they’re poor?”

“Heavens, child — look at them! They’re wet from the rain!”

“The girl has Jordache jeans and the guy looks like Tom Selleck, just how poor could they possibly be?” Groaning, you took the tray from the slot, obeying nonetheless. “Not my fault they’ve chugged down too much Hemeling and forgot an umbrella!”

“They can hear you!” hissed Mrs. Campbell.

“Oh, let them!”

Making out with people I hardly know or like

Carrying the tray of chicken wings and fries to the young couple at the second last booth of the diner in itself was a disappointingly tedious task. They didn’t seem to have heard your comment about them.

Stupid, you thought as you put the tray down on their table before laying their food in front of them. Before you left them alone to themselves, you caught sight of one guy sitting all by himself at the last booth wearing a maroon jacket, a bouquet of white lilies resting on the table instead of food. You had asked to take his order for about an hour ago and he had curtly told you he was waiting for someone. You studied him before leaving. Too edgy for my liking but . . . kinda cute?

You shook this thought aside. As soon as you got back to the counter, you hurried over to your boss, looking through the slot with a mischievous grin on your face.

“What now, child?” she said while flipping a burger patty.

You drummed your fingers on the counter. “Can I go home now?”

“Why, so you could kiss strangers?”

“Yes, so I could kiss strangers and or watch Fridays and see who the guest star is while eating expired yogurt,” you said plainly. “So can I?”

I can't believe what I do, late at night

“Oh, no, no, child, you stay here until Dalila shows up,” Mrs. Campbell declared.

“But Dalila is always late for an hour!”

Mrs. Campbell turned off the stove with a raised brow your way. “Oh, so you’re gonna leave me alone here with these shady people?”

“I thought you regarded them as a sweet wee couple?”

“Yes, but isn’t it dangerous to leave me, sweet and fragile Mrs. Campbell, all alone in this diner?”

You made a show of looking her up and down. “Eh, I don’t know, I’d say you look more butch to me — Ow! Fine, I’ll stay.”

“That’s what I thought. Now do us both a favor and get that lad’s order.” She gestured to the guy at the last booth who was simply unmoving, his eyes glued to the rain-stained window panes

“But I already did! He said he’s ‘waiting for someone,’ whatever that means.”

“He probably just got stood up by Lily.”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t blame her. Why would he even ask her to go to this shabby — just kidding — wait, you know him?”

“Oh, I’ve known James ever since he began dating Lily! They used to be regulars here, you know. They stopped visiting since . . . I’m not really sure. I reckon they broke up a while ago.” Mrs. Campbell peeked through the slot, trying to get a better look at the guy sitting at the last booth.

“How come I’ve never seen them, then?”

“Ah, well, they don’t really come on a school year. See, they go to this boarding school and whatnot,” said Mrs. Campbell. “And they stopped coming a few months ago, this is the first time I’ve seen him in a long time. That right there was their booth.”

Back in high school, you used to take your boyfriend here every afternoon after classes and what Mrs. Campbell labelled this James and Lily’s booth was yours, too. “So you do know him. You take his order, then.”

She ignored you. “Such a shame, they were really good together like you and that Gilbert boy who used to come over a lot.”

“Ew, that was a century ago, give it a rest.”

With a whine, you practically dragged yourself over to where he was seated, a laminated menu in hand.

He didn’t look up much less give a grunt to acknowledge your presence.

“I could take your order,” you said with a monotone voice, “or not.”

Finally, he looked up, the dark circles under his eyes deeper than how you had assumed it to be.

“I know the sign says we’re open for twenty-four hours but I personally haven’t got all day.” You pulled out your notepad from your apron pocket, clicking your pen open. “So you want chicken wings or a burger? What?”

He scoffed. “I’m waiting for someone.”

“Is that someone death?” Your eyes went to the bouquet of flowers.

It started raining outside again, the silent song of its telltale tune painting mist and tears across all the windows. You leaned on the table with your hands supporting you.

“Listen, James,” you started. This time, he looked at you in the eye, disbelief clouding the very eyes that stared at you. “Just order some—”

“How d’you know my name?”

“Mrs. Campbell.”

“Oh, you mean Miss Glasgow?” he said absentmindedly as he craned his head to get a better view of the kitchen behind the counter. You turned around to find Mrs. Campbell peeking through the open slot of the kitchen window with a giddy smile on her face as she waved. You cringed.

James did a tiny salute with a wink before facing you again. “On second thought, I’d like the burger with extra cheese and a vanilla milkshake.”

I wanna know what it's like

On the inside of love

The blender’s sound was deafening and it smelled more like machine than it did vanilla; its tune made you want to just throw it to the ground and watch it shatter into a million pieces.

You turned on the TV again with the forlorn remote that was tossed to the side in an attempt to take your mind off of the provoking chords of the blender.

A rerun of Mr and Mrs played, a gameshow for couples with a grand cash prize. You didn’t really get the show’s mechanics but you watched it anyway to keep yourself busy. You cocked your head to the side, wondering what it would be like to be in love again just like the couple on the telly.

I'm standing at the gates

I see the beauty above

For the past long hours of your shift, you served happy and sad couples alike. There were miserable singles, too, and as much as you felt bad that they were having a hard time, seeing them come and go made you feel just a little bit better as their presence reminded you that you weren’t alone on the night before the most dreadful day of the year.

Mrs. Campbell bringing up your boyfriend from high school had you questioning yourself: Would it be that bad to ring him on his telephone? Is he okay? Would we still be dating now if I had just given him a second chance?

From afar, one would just assume you were invested on watching the show when you were anything but.

If your mind was a place, you were incredibly far away from where you stood: You’re in your room and it’s 1976; you’re opening the window for who you thought you’d spend the rest of your life with, your heart fluttering with that sensation you’re longing for today — the warmth and solace you can only find in another’s arms.

You forced yourself to snap out of it, your eyes lingering over to the boy sitting at the last booth, his own gaze trapped to the rain-stained windows, waiting.

He’s been sitting there for about four hours going on five now. You wanted to love someone that hard again enough to wait for them. You wanted . . . to love, just love someone no matter how pathetic and desperate that sounded to who you are right now.

Sighing, you turned off the TV before turning off the blender as well, shaking it on your own. Mrs. Campbell laid a tray with one cheeseburger at the center on the window.

You poured the contents of the blender onto a tall milkshake soda glass, and next came the whipped cream and sprinkles. With one curt glance his way, you poked the straw through the creamy drink.

A moment later, you handed him his order, setting the tall glass as carefully as you could, not wanting to have it break. Cleaning it up would be a whole new story; just imagine the foamy and sticky contents of the milkshake mixing with the threatening shards of the glass . . . Oh, look, it resembles my heart!

Cringing at this thought, you slapped the tray against your head out of instinct, wanting it to go away.

The guy looked up from his seat, clearly amused (you could tell from the already forming grin on his stupidly pretty face). “Did you just hit yourself with the tray?”

You looked at him, dumbfounded. “Er — depends on how much you saw.”

“Pretty sure I saw everything,” he jeered, his voice full of contained laughter.

“Everything except for the battle inside my head,” you said dramatically. Without thinking, you sat down on the cushioned seat across from him, taking off your striped visor and putting it beside his milkshake. “Tell me, James, what’s it like to be in love?” His brows shot up at this, and so you added hurriedly, “No, no, no, I’m not making a move on you, I’m just curious is all. I’m not interested, just wanted to know.”

“How could you not be interested in me?” he said, raking his fingers through his hair. With a grin, he slid his glass of milkshake towards him. Weirdly enough, seeing him warm up to you was relieving. “That’s the stuff,” he moaned after taking a sip.

Only when we get to see the aerial view

“You say you’re waiting for someone but you still couldn’t help but hump everything that breathes.”

James snorted. “I didn’t hump you.”

“Metaphorically speaking, yes you just did,” you chimed.

Hours ago from now when the sun was still out, you’d have thought he was worthy of being laughed at but right now with the ticking clock determining midnight’s arrival, you just needed something to pass your time with and he seemed interesting enough. “Are you going to answer my question or not?”

“Well, [Y/N], love is like a milkshake,” he said with a grin just right before he took a sip of his own drink. You let out a scoff.

“How do you know—”

“I have my ways with my sneaky tactics,” said James. “Kidding, you’ve got your name tag and all.”

“Oh, so that’s what you were doing, I thought you were staring at my jugs.”

“Please, I’m a gentleman.”

You watch as he takes a loud sip from his milkshake, the contents slowly draining. “I beg to differ.”

“Ooh, Miss Naughty-cal’s begging,” James joked, his eyes brimming with what he may call ‘tears of joy.’ “Get it, yeah? ‘Cause your uniform’s got stripes and . . . nautical theme and you’re . . . naughty — seriously, people gotta start appreciating my humor.”

“You hardly have any,” you tell him. “So why milkshake of all things?”

“Milkshakes make my brain freeze. Couldn’t think well when it does so.”

“Isn’t that a bad thing?” you asked, leaning on the table.

“Doesn’t have to be. See, sometimes when you take a sip too quickly, you’d be all ‘oh, yeah, that’s the stuff’ and then suddenly you want that cold feeling out but it’s all worth it in the end.” James stirred. “Anyway, on a half-related note, I’m waiting for someone.”

“I’d say that’s highly pathetic of you but I once went to school in a white gown and a curtain for a veil so I’ll let it slide.”

“You did what?” James laughed, effortlessly making you laugh as well. How the hell does he do that? “I have millions of questions but I’ll save it just for another time.”

“Good, because I have another question for you.”

“Shoot it, [Y/N/N].”

Will the patterns show, we'll know what to do

“How do you this?” With a short chuckle, you picked up the bouquet of lily flowers.

James reached for your striped visor from the table and put it on himself, parading it as he studied his own reflection on the window. “Do what, exactly?”

“Spending the night waiting for someone who’ll never show up.”

“Hey, she’ll show up, alright?” he said, hope clear in his tone. But you knew he was losing that very faith every passing second that this Lily girl doesn’t show up. “She’s just . . . under the weather or just late or may she didn’t receive my letter.”

“You sent a — I’m not asking. But late? For almost four hours?”

“Okay, I know it looks bad so let’s say she really doesn’t show up.”

“I already did.”

Once again, he ignored what you had said. “I’ll stay here until she comes because I promised I would.”

“Sounds painfully idiotic.”

“The word you’re looking for is heroic.” James took another loud sip, paying your scowl no mind. “My turn to ask you something, my pal.”

“Not your pal.”

He ignored you again. “Why are you spending your Valentine’s Eve working?”

“Just waiting for my shift to end so I could go home.”

“Home to your boyfriend or girlfriend or something?” he said, teasing you.

“Nah, I don’t have any of those.”

“Oh, why not? You don’t seem that bad.”

You yawned. “What a flattering compliment.”

“So what are your plans?” he asked, also leaning in as he set his almost done milkshake, then grabbing his cheeseburger.

“I kinda promised myself I’d go home as soon as I can just so I could stay up late and watch show reruns on the telly until the sun shows up so I could wake up in the afternoon and not deal with smoochy couples.”

“Wow, that’s inspiring,” James said, laughing. Maybe it was your drowsiness kicking in but that smile was something you didn’t know you needed to see. “Who hurt you so bad that you don’t wanna go out and do dates?”

I know the last page so well, I can't read the first

“Oh, I do dates. I just bail a lot.”

“Why’s that?” James asked.

It’s a question you always found yourself asking whenever you ended things with someone be it on just the first date or the real thing. So far after your breakup with your long-time boyfriend and now ex two years ago, you’d been out with a couple of people.

They were all great, you knew that. You started off optimistic at first, waiting for that sort of magic to come back again, that spark.

But it never did.

And little by little, you just assumed that it would all end in heartbreak just like your first love. With a long sigh and a not so thorough consideration you told this person you barely knew about it, not excluding the part when you caught your boyfriend with your best friend, making out, both of which were very, very drunk.

So I just don't start, it's getting worse

“D’you think it was a bad idea to not give him a chance?”

“Of course not! You deserve better than that foul git. If I were you, I’d have held him upside down by the leg and—”

“Woah, woah, woah, pipe down, we dated for four years.”

“All the more reason to hate him then.”

It was kind of hard to believe that two hours had passed as the clock hung on the wall behind James said so.

“And that’s how I ended up being sent home after wearing the gown.”

You were both busy caught in collective fits of laughter when the two of you spotter a woman with red hair walk by from outside. James’s hand immediately went to the bouquet of flowers’ end, composing himself in the process as to not seem like a fool if it was who he expected it to be. He almost looked as if he were confused.

He was. Did he still want to do this? Hours ago during the daytime, he struggled to use the red telephone booth as he called the Evans’ home phone, but still sure he wanted to win his ex back.

“Hello?” he had started, hoping for Lily’s voice to answer back.

“Who’s this?” said a familiar voice, one not of Lily’s; was her mother’s. “Hello?”

James hung up and ran to the nearest obscure place to Disapparate, hurriedly writing a letter telling Lily to meet him at the Diner at 8 p.m., his heart in his throat as he watched the owl fly away to send it to her.

James snapped out of it.

As soon as the woman got in, you leapt from your seat and exclaimed, “Finally, Dalila! Barb — I mean Mrs. Campbell, I’m off!”

He watched as you dashed to the kitchen while undoing your apron until you disappeared from view. His eyes went to the woman who just entered, confused at how anticlimactic it would have been if it were who he was waiting for. He set the bouquet aside to stare at his empty glass of milkshake.

I wanna know what it's like

On the inside of love

A while later, he watched as you stepped out of the kitchen dressed out of your uniform and wearing your own clothes instead. You waved at him as a subtle goodbye while you searched the umbrella stand for your own transparent one until you did.

Your hands were already the door handle, ready to push it open to step out into the damp and empty street when you heard a glass whine. Alarmed, you turned to the source of the noise only to find James catch his almost toppling tall glass just in time.

“Wait!” he had called out, soon whispering words of charming apologies to the other people in the diner. He put the empty tall glass and plate to the side neatly before jogging over to where you stood, the same bouquet of lily flowers in hand. “You’re leaving?”

“Well, yeah. Only a few minutes before Valentine’s, gotta make the most of it, eh?”

“I’m coming with.” He reached out to the door handle.

“You’re what?” you gasped. “Aren’t you waiting for someone? Also, if you are, take that visor off.” You snatched it off his head, tossing it over to the counter.

“Eh,” he shrugged, grinning madly afterwards as he swung the door open. “It’s getting late, might as well mope, right?”

“That’s the spirit,” you exclaimed as you walked out first.

It was no longer raining but the puddles still sat where they were, unmoving as you walked by them. James followed suit, still cradling the flowers like a baby.

I'm standing at the gates

I see the beauty above

You walked together in the damp and cracked street in silence, your reflection’s presence in the puddles and the sound of your footsteps the only reminder that you were with a person you have only known for a few hours.

It’s kinda . . . awkward? It’s as if you two changed into two different people the moment you stepped out. Biting the inside of your cheek, you raised your wrist to check the time: fourteen minutes before the fourteenth of February.

All of a sudden, your first plan came into mind: Get out of the diner, stop by a club, make out with a stranger, go home, watch show reruns, stay awake until sunrise, and wake up when the day’s over.

“You know,” James started (you were glad he spoke first), “they said that the moment you’re with someone on Valentine’s, it’s a date.”

“Then let’s part ways in thirteen minutes.”

“You’re awfully desperate to get rid of me, aren’t you?” said James, feigning a look of heartbreak with his hand clutching his chest.

This time, you ignored him. “Where are you even going anyway? Because I’m taking the bus.”

“Oh, yeah, I’m taking the bus too.”

By the time you reached the bus stop, you ran into a young couple holding hands just across the street while talking and laughing. You stiffened next to James, and you knew he was cringing too without even looking at him.

Desperate to lighten the mood, you decide to speak. “Ew, so that’s what we looked like.”

“We?”

“Oh, no, I meant we as in me and the Gilbert guy I told you about not — not we we but us we but also not that . . . Okay, why is this so awkward?”

“I don’t know, but I think you might have fallen in love with me,” James said, smirking teasingly.

“Ew,” you said with a scowl, “I like you less, if anything.”

“I highly doubt it.”

“Okay, jokes aside, do you love this Lily girl?”

He turned to you, his eyes narrowed. He opened his mouth to speak, but his inability to say anything caught him off guard. He had told you in the diner that they’d been broken up for a while now and only then did he realize that he just wanted that feeling as well.

“I did.”

“Did as in past tense?”

“Did as in past tense, I guess,” he confirmed not only to you but also to himself. “I guess it does suck to be stood up but I think I now understand why I waited.”

“Please don’t launch into a monologue,” you muttered. He only grins in response before talking anyway.

I wanna know what it's like

On the inside of love

“You know how you said you wanted that feeling?”

“Vividly, on.”

“I think I did, too. I guess I missed doing things for someone and being a romantic. It’s just — I’ve got this plan, you know? It’s set out before me and it’s all prepared and I never had a Plan B.”

“Is it weird that we’re bonding over our mutual lack of romantic dedication and commitment?”

“No, my pal,” he started, paying no mind as you corrected him again that you are, in fact, not his pal. “I think we should start a dance troupe.”

“Straying off topic there, pal,” you said as you played with your umbrella subtly. You sat down on one of the bus stop’s benches, putting it down beside you.

“Hey, you said it!” James exclaimed, gesturing at you with finger guns.

“Said what?”

“Pal — you called me pal!”

“Yeah but not my pal,” you countered.

He chuckled. “Either way, I’ll take it.”

I can't find my way in

I try again and again

You were talking to each other when a bus halted in front of you. James offered his hand to help you stand up then letting you go in first, but not without saying, “What can I say? I’m a gentleman.”

When you got in, you spot a few more couples seated here and there, their heads resting on their significant other’s shoulders. Some were even talking and laughing at whatever their topic was about. You lead him to the middle row, not bothering to go to the second floor as to avoid seeing more couples going about their day.

You take your seat by the window (James had complaints but you shut him down), watching countless vehicles drive by. “Isn’t it pretty cool that a lot of people are still awake?”

“Lots of people in clubs right now.”

“That’s sad,” you commented.

“Says the one who was planning on doing the same and going home to watch show reruns.” James turned to you again, his head craned to the side. “What time is it?”

You looked at your watch. “11:56, four minutes left before midnight. Driver better hurry up.”

I'm on the outside of love

Always under or above

“Harsh,” said James, drumming his fingers on his lap as he scanned the entirety of what he could see. “You know, I used to take Lily to that very booth in that very diner.”

“Yeah, Miss Campbell told me.”

“You mean Miss Glasgow?”

“What is up with that nickname?” you said with a laugh, eager to hear about it.

“It’s ‘cause when we first came in, we sat by the stools and she went up to us and went all weepy about how much young couples reminded her of what it was like with her husband.”

“. . .So?”

“Oh, right. It’s because she met him in Glasgow and they had this writing to each other thing back and fourth years and years ago. Then last year the Super Trouper song played on the jukebox so I was all, ‘Hey, Barbara! Look, it fits you both!’ And she—”

“She lets you call her Barbara? That’s unfair.”

“What can I say? I’m pretty charming if I say so myself,” said James. “Anyway, I began saying ‘I’d like a burger, Miss Glasgow!’ and it just stuck.”

I can't find my way in

I try again and again

You sighed. You already knew about how lovey-dovey Mrs. Campbell was with her husband but now you wanted to know more.

“See? I want that!”

“You want me to call you Miss Glasgow?”

“What? No! I mean, their love story is so . . . good, you know?”

“Please don’t launch into a monologue,” James cut in, quoting you. The two of you smile.

“Okay, so, I’m pretty sure I told you this already but when I was with Gil, I thought that was it. I thought I’d be walking down the aisle to say ‘I do’ to him and . . . have the kind of love Mrs. Campbell has with her husband and more. So when I cut things off with Gil, I thought it would be just as easy as it was with him but it just wasn’t.

“I dated around, positive I’d meet someone and start this epic love story pronto like the ones you read in books about and just — I didn’t. I didn’t get that. Honestly, I even thought I’d be married by now. I know it’s early but we talked about it, alright? He was literally the perfect guy and I let him go.”

James clapped in front of you, making you and a couple of passengers jump. He whispered a low apology, murmuring it to everyone near before returning his attention to you. “Hey, you didn’t lose him, he lost you. It’s his loss, not yours.”

I'm on the outside of love

Always under or above

Must be a different view

To be a me with a you

“Oh wow, that’s actually pretty sweet.”

“I know, right? It’s kind of my specialty.”

You only smile at him for a solid two seconds before turning away and facing the window as you felt heat creep into your cheeks.

One car passed by.

Another one.

And another one.

After the fourth one passed by, a drop of rain took you back to reality. You faced him.

“Tell me, James,” you say in a way that almost felt as if it could push the rain away, “why are you here with me? I didn’t know it only took a couple of hours to get you to break a promise.”

“Good things have to end to make way for—”

“Better ones?” you guessed.

“Nope, best ones.”

“I have no clue as to what you’re trying to say but okay, shut up now.”

Silence again.

“You know, you also broke a promise to be with me right now.”

“Oh yeah? What’s that?”

“Your brilliant plan of avoiding Valentine’s.”

“Guess we both broke promises to be here right now. Is it even worth it?”

“Meh, it’s alright.”

I wanna know what it's like

On the inside of love

You always thought there was something curiously romantic about sitting shoulder up to shoulder in a moving vehicle especially in a train or a bus. Now that you were in that very moment, you weren’t particularly sure whether or not to regard it as a romantic moment when you’ve only known the guy you were with for a couple of hours.

Your eyes were about to close when you spotted couples kissing one by one; first it was the pair across from your spot and then more couples the next. You rolled your eyes as you leaned your head against the window. Maybe it was the late night but the window felt a lot more comfortable than you remembered it to be.

I'm standing at the gates

I see the beauty above

Yawning, you stretched your neck to find James stifling a laugh. “Sorry,” you whispered before rubbing your eyes. “I guess you’ve got a friend in me now.”

“Mhm, you’ve got a friend in you.”

“I have a what?” You felt your drowsiness leaving.

“Oh, I meant you’ve got a friend in — never mind, sorry.”

“You just got your friend card revoked,” you said, making a face.

“Whatever happened to staying awake till the sun rises?”

“Working at the diner longer than I thought I would happened,” you said, yawning afterwards. You look down at your watch, its face twisted away from you. Groaning, you lift up your wrist, seeing that it was already a few minutes after midnight. “Oh, Happy Valentine’s.”

“Happy Valentine’s, stranger,” greeted James, “I hate to break it to you, but you’re stuck with me.”

“Yeah? Well, not for long. We’ve passed that gas station. Means the route to my flat’s not so far from here.”

“Oh, you’ll be leaving?”

“Of course I am, stop making it so obvious that you’re obsessed with me.”

I wanna know what it's like

On the inside of love

The bus halted on its umpteenth stop since you got in and a couple walked by. They seemed to have come from upstairs, and they appeared to be tired, too. You watch as they get down, their hands still together.

“My favorite color’s green,” he said randomly.

“What?” you started

“It’s Lily’s eye color.”

“I’m saying it again: What?”

James crossed his shoulders. “Didn’t they say if it’s Valentine’s and you’re with someone, that someone’s your date? Then this is it.”

“Bringing up an ex on a date? Foul move, pal.” You mimicked him, crossing your arms. “Well, my favorite color is blue because it’s Gilbert’s eye color.”

“How unoriginal,” said James. “Anyway, my full name is James Fleamont Potter.”

“Just when I thought it’s a tragedy being named James, then you let me know you have the word ‘Flea’ in your name? My, your life just gets sadder every time.”

“This is the worst date ever in history,” James said, laughing out loud.

“Nope, the worst date ever in history would be the one I had last year when my date brought me to his grandma’s funeral.”

“That alone sounds tragic!” He had to cover his mouth to keep himself from howling out loud. “What happened?”

“I guess you’ll never know because this is my stop,” you told him as the bus slowly came to a halt. It was still raining (it had lessened a bit, though), so you reached for your umbrella only to find that it wasn’t there. Must’ve left it somewhere, you thought.

“Oh, wait, take this,” James said, taking off his jacket and offering it to you. “I’d walk you but that would mean I like you.”

“And I’d say yes but that would mean I like you,” you teased back as you took the jacket and laid it over your head. “I’ll just make a run for it.”

“Good call.”

Of course I'll be alright

I just had a bad night

I had a bad night

“Thanks, my pal,” you tell him, turning back just when he called out to you and handed you the bouquet of flowers. James grinned but you stopped him before he could even point out that you’d just called him that. “Wow, so you’re just gonna give me flowers meant for somebody else?”

“Reduce, reuse, recycle because I am a nature guy,” said James. “Stop being picky and just take it.”

“Nah, you keep it. Consider it as my gift to you.”

“Should I be honored?”

You nodded. “Very. Oh, I have to go now.”

With one last wave, you ran over to the door, stepping out with the jacket over your head, unaware that James was watching you as far as the window would allow him as the bus went on.

He could’ve went out the next stop to Disapparate but he didn’t. Instead, his eyes were studying the flowers. This time, they had a different meaning, and so did he.

You’d think that was the last of it, but it wasn’t. Safe to say that the diner and the jacket would play an important role to that part of the story.

click here to be added to my POTTERVERSE taglist.

JAMES POTTER TAGLIST: @catching-the-train-to-hogwarts @badass-yn @mjoubertt-1 @gold-russh @dlmmdl @sexysirius @justadreamyhufflepuff @prongs103 @i-love-scott-mccall @suditi-says-chai-is-trash @bellatrixscurls @ameliasbitvh @princess-jules47 @pottahishotasf @cupids-crystals @everythingisdefinitelynotfine @siriusbarnesslut @ferretboysupremacy @spxncervibes

#fandom; harry potter (marauders)#character; james potter #author; ladyvesuvia #type; one-shot #content; fluff #date; 2021 #favorite

448 notes · View notes

huahsu · 7 years ago

Text

YEAR OF WHAT HAPPENS ON EARTH STAYS ON EARTH

[longer version of what I contributed to the new yorker’s year-end package. you can read that here, and listen to the accompanying megamix the video team made! links to previous year’s lists at bottom.] I did not grow up going to church, and I am not a particularly religious person. A few days after the inauguration, I wandered into a nearby church and took a seat in the back pews. I’d gone there right after the election. There was some time for anyone with anything on their mind to stand up and speak. If you need others to pray for you, just let us know. A middle-aged black man in a leather jacket got up and began telling us about an argument he was having with a friend on Facebook. It was about the election, but it was actually about the intractability of racism. He was getting frustrated while describing it to us, in part because he seemed to value being the cool and level-headed one. Plus he was describing the kind of argument millions of people were having on the Internet. “I just hope he finds peace,” the guy said. He paused, then put his hands on his chest. “On a lighter note, today would have been Jimi Hendrix’s seventy-fourth birthday.” He opened up his leather jacket to show everyone his Hendrix t-shirt. “I just wanted to say that, because he was just awesome.” So I returned here, the day after marching through Manhattan with a poster that said “HOLD ON, BE STRONG.” I needed to be in a room that was powered by something other than hate--to be reminded of vision and purpose, even if they weren’t mine to claim. To listen to wisdom gleaned from a book I’ve never read, and pick and choose what I wanted. To hear others pour themselves into songs I never, ever sing along to. I wanted to steal their vibes. Instead of a hymn, they passed out small pieces of paper with the lyrics of John Lennon’s “Imagine.” This is not the type of church people come to for the music. The pianist started playing, and I remember thinking about how it felt like magic when I learned how to play those chords as a kid. I couldn’t believe we were doing this. We sang, tentatively at first, as though we could not believe these words in this space. Picture it: singing of “no heaven” and “no religion, too,” with humility and hope, inside a house of worship. It was like an admission that faith was inadequate. All we had was one another. “Imagine” is a song I’ve heard millions of times, the type of song that is so ubiquitous that we rarely bother scrutinizing its words, its vantage point, the possibility that someone wrote these words because he actually believed them. I sang along with a room of strangers, and we looked at one another, and, for the first time in months, I began to cry. TWO LYRICS THAT REMINDED ME OF POLITICS EVEN IF THEY HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH POLITICS "Wrote this shit January 21″ “Take me back to November / Take me back to November” “I’M AN ANGRY TEENAGER” Novelist, “Street Politician” ONCE THEY START, I HAVE TO LISTEN TO THE END Jim O’Rourke’s recently unearthed cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” Kanye’s sitcom-length remix of “Bed” THURSDAY NIGHTS ON NBC Ross from Friends’ very Madchester guitar-y Boiler Room set DJ Seinfeld, Time Spent Away from U Nino Man, Jadakiss and Styles P, “Friends”

IN ANOTHER YEAR FULL OF NIRVANA/KURT COBAIN REFERENCES (DID YOU SEE JAY:Z’S JACKET?) MY FAVORITE SONG, PROBABLY: this Trippie Redd snippet

SOME VERSIONS OF THE NINETIES THAT WILL NEVER COME BACK THE WAY GRUNGE ENNUI HAS, BUT WERE SO POSSIBILITY-RICH TO ME BACK THEN Kicking Giant, This Being the Ballad of Kicking Giant, Halo: NYC/Olympia 1989-1993 Helium, The Dirt of Luck/The Magic City LIKE MANY WHO LOVED “A STORM IN HEAVEN,” I OVERLOOKED THEM AT THE TIME Acetone, 1992-2001 A REALLY GOOD BOOK ABOUT ACETONE, LOS ANGELES, DREAMS OF GREATNESS Sam Sweet, Hadley Lee Lightcap WOULD HAVE LOVED THIS IN 1994, 2002 OR 2017 Big Thief, Capacity CREDIBLE AND DOPE EARLY NINETIES R&B HOMAGE, SAX AND ALL Joyce Wrice, “Good Morning” SPEAKING OF THE NINETIES, LEECH MADE A MIXTAPE OF JUST THE FLOATY/DREAMY PARTS TAKEN FROM CLASSIC GOOD LOOKING/MOVING SHADOW SINGLES Leech, “Just the Liquid” FOR THE COMEDOWN, DARK-ASS STUFF ASSEMBLED EXCLUSIVELY FROM SLIPKNOT SAMPLES Croww, Prosthetics NOSTALGIA, ULTRA (UK GARAGE/BASSLINE EDITION) tqd, ukg SUMMERTIME ‘SECOND SUMMER OF LOVE’ VIBE Opus III, “It’s a Fine Day (Burt Fox remix)” UNEXPECTED BURIAL SUMMERTIME VIBES Monic, “Deep Summer (Burial remix)” NO REISSUE OR tk ANNIVERSARY TIE-IN, JUST SOME OLD SONGS I RE/DISCOVERED THIS YEAR Active Minds, “Hobson’s Choice” El-B, “El-Brand” Kamal Abdul Alim, “Brotherhood” Spiritualized in Reykjavik U2, “Numb (Soul Assassins remix)” U2, “Mysterious Ways (Massive Attack remix)”

SAME, BUT TAIWANESE INDIE ROCK EDITION Chocolate Tiger, “Piecing Together” REISSUES, OR: PEOPLE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN WEIRD AND SPACY#, OBSESSED WITH NATURAL BEAUTY## # Planetary Peace, Synthesis # Pauline Anna Strom, Trans-Millennia Music ## Pep Llopis, Poiemusia La Nau Dels Argonaut REISSUES, OR: WHEN I WAS A CHILD THERE WERE NO BETTER SONGS THAN THE ONES THAT PLAYED THROUGH TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE AND FOR SOME REASON THIS JOYOUS EP REMIND ME OF THAT SHEEN, THOSE HOOKS, THE PERFECT, THEATER-SIZED ECHO Om Alec Khaoli, Say You Love Me BEST ALBUM-LENGTH METAPHOR FOR THE CITY, ITS LIMITATIONS AND POSSIBILITIES Wiki, No Mountains In Manhattan SOUNDS EXACTLY LIKE IT WAS DESCRIBED, JAMAICA VIA OUTER SPACE Equiknoxx, Colon Man I NEED TO GO OUT MORE Jex Opolis, “Mt. Belzoni” KH, “Question”

I LISTENED TO THIS ABOUT TEN TIMES, MY SENSE OF ENCHANTMENT GROWING AND GROWING EACH TIME, BEFORE REALIZING THERE WERE BARELY ANY DRUMS ON IT Mr. Mitch, Devout SERIOUSLY THE MR. MITCH ALBUM WAS REALLY MOVING AND FANTASTIC Mr. Mitch f/ Denai Moore, “Fate” CRAZY WISDOM MASTER Vince Staples, Big Fish Theory C’MON AND RAISE UP Rapsody f/ Kendrick, Lance Skiiwalker, “Power” SO ICEY Zomby, Mercury’s Rainbow ECHO PARTY Demen, Nektyr Evy Jane, “Give Me Love” THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST Vic Mensa, The Autobiography DUNGEON FAMILY, EVEN IN DARKNESS Earthgang f/ J.I.D., “Meditate” FUNNY HOW TIME SLIPS AWAY Lee Gamble, Mnestic Pressure Pessimist, s/t NOT SURE HOW THIS BECAME THE DIWALI OF 2017 BUT OKAY French Montana f/ Mariah, Rae Sremmurd, PNB Rock, Belly, Elephant Man, Vybz Kartel, J Balvin, NORE, Wizkid, “Unforgettable” HOW ARE THIS MANY PEOPLE ON A FOUR MINUTE SONG? GOOD VIDEO THOUGH A$AP Mob f/ A$AP Rocky, Playboi Carti, Quavo, Lil Uzi Vert and Frank Ocean, “RAF” I LIKE IT WHEN FERG’S VOICE GETS ALL NAGGY Ferg, “Plain Jane” METRO BOOMIN MADE A BEAT THAT REMINDED ME OF RADIOHEAD Post Malone f/ Quavo, “Congratulations” THE MARIACHI VERSION IS PRETTY SWEET Brian Imanuel, “How I surprised Post Malone with a mariachi band” ”IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR LYRICS, IF YOU’RE LOOKING TO CRY, IF YOU’RE LOOKING TO THINK ABOUT LIFE...” JonWayne, Rap Album Two CORNBALL PIANOS AND THEN THAT SYNTH DRAGS, AND THEN THE DRUMS KICK Tee Grizzley, “First Day Out” “BUT WILD/WITH MY MONOTONE STYLE” 21 Savage, “Bankroll” Kodak Black, “Candy Paint” Rich Chigga, “Glow Like Dat” ANNUAL SPOT RESERVED FOR LA MUSICA DE HARRY FRAUD French Montana f/ Pharrell, “Bring Dem Things” WHEN LAETITIA SAYS HER OWN NAME ON “EMBERS” Vagabon, Infinite Worlds WHEN JESSIE LEANS INTO THE WORD “FUCK” Jessie Reyez, “Figures” THAT LIGHT MISTING, THAT CASUAL SPRITZ OF SYNTHS Lanark Artefax, “Touch Absence” A GOOD ANTI-DJT THING THAT CAME OUT EARLY THIS YEAR, WHICH FEELS LIKE EONS AGO Lushlife + friends, My Idols are Dead + My Enemies are in Power THE BABY, THE FLUTES, PIERRE’S OBNOXIOUSLY LONG TAG, THE JESSE LINGARD DANCE Playboi Carti, “Magnolia” ILLEST SHIT I SAW THIS YEAR, BABY-RELATED A child at a restaurant watching an iPad and an iPhone at the same damn time “[FREE] PLAYBOI CARTI TYPE BEAT” YBN Nahmir, “Rubbin off the Paint” GUNS N ROSES, BEFORE ONE OF THE WEIRDEST BEEFS OF THE YEAR Trippie Redd f/ 6IX9INE, “POLES1469″ SOMETIMES YOU JUST HAVE TO BELIEVE YOU CAN SING, AND DO IT WITH CONVICTION, AND I WILL LISTEN Trippie Redd, “Rack City/Love Scars 2″ ALL THE BACKGROUND NOISE/ECHOED-OUT ADLIBS MAKE THIS BlocBoy JB, “No Chorus Pt 10″ SMERZ HAS FUN DESPITE THE AWKWARD OF IT ALL Smerz on NTS IT SEEMS REALLY EASY TO MAKE A GOOD-SOUNDING SONG THESE DAYS Global Dan, “Off White” OF ALL THE DOPE SHIT THAT FUTURE APPEARED ON THIS YEAR, THE MOMENT I WILL REMEMBER IS That tiny pause before he sings “I need fresh air,” when he seems happy and content IS THAT A GEORGE MICHAEL SAMPLE? Mozzy, “Prayed for This” THE FIX C Struggs, “Go to Jesus” "IT’S COOL, BUT IT’S NOT...END ZONE” Lil Uzi Vert, “XO TOUR Llif3″ AN ALBUM BOOKENDED BY TOTALLY DIFFERENT KINDS OF COLIN KAEPERNICK/TAKE A KNEE REFERENCES Miguel, War and Leisure IT WAS A VERY GOOD YEAR Brockhampton, Saturation I-III SZA, Ctrl SPEAKING OF SZA: WHAT A GREAT TITLE, BESIDES IT BEING ONE OF MY FAVORITE ALBUMS OF THE YEAR Kingdom, Tears in the Club THE KELELA ALBUM WAS LOVELY, AS ARE THESE Kelela x Bok Bok, Dub Me Apart A RANDOM YOUTUBE COVER THAT I ALSO LIKED, BECAUSE IT CAPTURED HOW MELODIC THE ORIGINAL ACTUALLY IS Kathleen Nguyen covering Kendrick and Zacari’s “Love.” DAMN. WAS GOOD Almost as good as “The Heart Part 4″ LIKE A DE LA SOUL ALBUM, SOMETHING THAT I KNOW I WILL CONTINUE ENJOYING/UNDERSTANDING ANEW FOR YEARS TO COME Tyler, the Creator, Flower Boy ”BLONDED RADIO” MADE ME JOIN APPLE MUSIC Frank Ocean, “Chanel” Frank Ocean, “Biking (solo)” Tyler and Frank, “Where This Flower Blooms” MACH HOMMY MAKES GOOD MUSIC THAT’S HARD TO ACCESS “x Earl Sweatshirt” EP ty Soundcloud IT’S A WEIRD TIME B/W THIS BEAT IS SO DEMENTED Tay-K, “The Race” PROBABLY MY FAVORITE PHARRELL BEAT Kap G f/ Pharrell, “Icha Gicha” MAYBE THE GREATEST MUSIC EVER MADE, REISSUED Pharoah Sanders

REMINDED ME OF PHAROAH, WHEN IT WASN’T REMINDING ME OF BON IVER Joseph Shabason, Aytche AND I ENJOYED AYTCHE FOR SIMILAR REASONS I LIKED ZONING OUT TO Tom Rogerson and Brian Eno, Finding Shore ANNUAL SLOT RESERVED FOR MUSIC I LOVED THAT FEATURED HARP Alice Coltrane, World Spirituality Classics Vol 1

SAME, BUT FOR HARP STUFF THAT ALSO SHOUTS OUT WAWA Mary Lattimore, Collected Pieces ANNUAL SLOT RESERVED FOR TASTEFUL VIBRAPHONE Jenifa Mayanja, “Warrior Strutt” YOU TRYING TO GET THE PIPE, TO PLAY IT, OF COURSE, AS PART OF AN EXPERIMENTAL COMPOSITION? Mary Jane Leach, Pipe Dreams THERE’S A MOMENT DURING THAT BAD BOY DOCUMENTARY CAN’T STOP WON’T STOP WHERE IT BECOMES CLEAR THAT EVERYONE WHO WORKS CLOSELY WITH DIDDY EVENTUALLY TURNS TO GOD, AND IT WAS LIKE THE STRANGE OBVERSE OF Jay Z et al, 4:44 footnotes 2016, BUT I SAT IN THE MET BREUER AND WATCHED THIS OVER AND OVER FOR ABOUT AN HOUR Arthur Jafa, “Love is the Message, The Message is Death” I WANT TO WATCH THE FULL FOUR HOURS OF THIS Dev Hynes talking to Philip Glass TRICKSTERY BUT KINDA MESMERIZING! Klein, Tommy Lolina, Lolita EP Hype Williams, Rainbow Edition “NOT ANOTHER GOT MORE SEOUL, UNLESS YOU KOREAN” (CHILLWAVE REMIX) Mogwaa, Deja Vu “THE TING GOES SKRRRAHH, PAP, PAP, KA-KA-KA/SKIDIKI-PAP-PAP, AND A PU-PU-PUDRRRR-BOOM/SKYA, DU-DU-KU-KU-DUN-DUN/POOM, POOM, YOU DON’ KNOW” Big Shaq, “Mans Not Hot” IBID., BUT “PERKY” Drake, More Life I WANTED TO LIKE THE WIZKID ALBUM MORE, BUT THIS WAS AWESOME Tiwa Savage f/ Wizkid and Spellz, “Ma Lo” LISTENED TO THIS QUITE A FEW TIMES SIMPLY BECAUSE ”BREAKING NEWS: WILD GOAT ON THE LOOSE” IS A WEIRD LINE Lancey Foux f/ AJ Tracey, Kojey Radical and Jevon, “Wild Goat” UNITED TIL I DIE BUT AJ TRACEY’S TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR KIT LAUNCH FREESTYLE HAD ME BUZZZZZZIN AJ Tracey, “False 9″ DIFFERENT TIME OF DAY, KINDA LEFT ME SPEECHLESS Grouper, “Children” Colleen, A Flame my love, a frequency Kara Lis Coverdale, Grafts Ryuichi Sakamoto, async LEFT RYUICHI SAKAMOTO ENVIOUS Metaphors: Selected Soundworks from the Cinema of Apichatpong Weerasethakul FROM OMNI TRIO TO THIS, A PRETTY VISIONARY CAREER Robert Haigh, Creatures of the Deep A SONG THAT FEATURED TWO PEOPLE WHO SHOULD BE PRETTY BIG IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS DJDS f/ Amber Mark and Marco McKinnis, “Trees on Fire” LIKE, THIS IS GREAT Amber Mark, “Lose My Cool” AWESOME YEAR FOR POTIONS Social Lovers, “Drop Me a Line” Boss, “Song for Gods” WHISKED ME BACK TO MEMORIES OF the enormous room Joakim, “Samurai” Calvin Harris f/ Frank Ocean and Migos, “Slide” Amp Fiddler, “I’m Feeling You” Chaos in the CBD, Accidental Meetings LIKE FALLING ASLEEP ON THE SUBWAY, OR A TRUCK HITTING A POTHOLE AND SPITTING OUT A RECORD COLLECTION, OR HEARING A NANOSECOND OF BRAND NUBIAN THROUGH SOMEONE’S HEADPHONES AS YOU PASS THEM ON THE STREET, IT’S A VIBE Standing on the Corner, Red Burns MIKE’S A SAVIOR Mike 1. I SPENT A LOT OF TIME THIS YEAR THINKING ABOUT THE STRENGTH, ELASTICITY, FRAGILITY, GRAIN OF THE HUMAN VOICE AND SOME OF THIS WAS TOTALLY NECESSARY AND SUBLIME Deep Throat Choir, Be Ok Diamanda Galas, All the Way Moses Sumney, Aromanticism 2. SO ACHINGLY GOOD AND INTIMATE, ESPECIALLY THAT FAINT CROAK IN THE FIRST CHORUS Rostam f/ Kelly Zutrau, “Half-Light” 3. OF COURSE THESE WORLD-MAKERS TOO Bjork, Utopia Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, The Kid Valerie June, “Astral Plane” 3a. A STRANGE PROPOSITION THAT I ENDED UP ADORING KAS covering Sade’s "By Your Side" THE BAY AREA IS JUST DIFFERENT Droop-E, Trillionaire Thoughts Lil B, Black Ken THE “BUILD YOU UP” VIDEO WAS FUN AND ALL BUT I’M REALLY GLAD THIS WASN’T THAT Kamiayah, Before I Wake THE BAY TO L.A. AND BACK AGAIN Mozzy f/ G Perico, “Blammatory” G Perico f/ Mozzy, “What’s Real” GYEAH MC Eiht, Which Way Iz West OUTRUN THE BEAT SOB x RBE, “Lane Changing 2″ BANDS THAT ALWAYS SOUND LIKE THEMSELVES, IN WAYS THAT I FIND COMFORTING the xx, I See You King Krule, The Ooz SAME AS ABOVE, MIDDLE-AGED DIVISION The Feelies, In Between Slowdive, “Star Roving” SOMEONE WHO SOUNDS LIKE NO ONE ELSE Jlin, Black Origami THE NEW NATIONAL ANTHEM Dreezy f/ 6LACK and Kodak Black, “Spar” I LOOKED UP EACH TIME THIS CAME ON THE SHUFFLE Shanti Celeste, “Loop One/Selector”

PROBABLY MY FAVORITE SONG GoldLink f/ Brent Faiyaz and Shy Glizzy, “Crew” OR MAYBE Jorja Smith x Preditah, “On My Mind” THIS WAS SICK TOO GoldLink & Co. covering Outkast’s “Roses” MAYBE THE BEST SONG J Hus, “Did You See”

ANOTHER YEAR, ANOTHER YEAR WHERE MY FAVORITE RELEASE WAS PROBABLY FROM YAEJI, THE “GLASSES FOGGING UP” LINE WAS VERY RELATABLE Yaeji, EP2 THE SONG OF THE SPRING, SUMMER, WINTER I MEAN, IT’S WAYNE’S WORLD, WE JUST LIVE IN IT ### SIKH DEVOTIONAL MUSIC :: 2016 SPOOKY BLACK :: 2015

14 notes · View notes

nadiawrimos · 6 years ago

Text

December 2018 Book Reviews

Not That Kind of Girl by Lena Dunham (A) ⭐⭐

All I knew about Lena Dunham before reading her book was that she’s problematic and very much a ‘white feminist’. After reading this book (in which she does herself no favours) I could see why. It wasn’t especially interesting to read and I wish I had chosen another audiobook to invest the time in.

Goodbye, Things: The New Japanese Minimalism by Sasaki Fumio (A) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I enjoyed listening to this audiobook and what made it really special was listening to a tiny part of it with my boyfriend. He nodded along with a lot of what Sasaki said, and sparked conversations about moving in together. 2019 might be the year we take the plunge! That aside, this book was great because it showed the perspective of one minimalist’s journey while suggesting (but not insisting) the reasons why many other Japanese are joining the minimalist way of life. I thought it was an interesting social commentary on materialism and the return to an older, more simple (yet more fulfilling) culture.

Imposters by Scott Westerfeld (A) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I love Scott Westerfeld, the Uglies/Pretties/Specials trilogy, and this book did not disappoint. I wish I would have read a paper copy, but when the audiobook is available from the library without a wait list, you gotta jump on it. I did find it funny that the person narrating the book did the same ‘boy voice’ for Cole that I do when I’m imitating someone I don’t like. But I was able to look (hear?) beyond that and I really, really loved the story! Scott Westerfeld is so good at his craft and it’s great for me to read his books because that makes me motivated to write and inspires my creativity :’)

Unfuck Your Brain: Using Science to Get Over Anxiety, Depression, Anger, Freak-Outs and Triggers by Faith G Harper (A) ⭐⭐

I thought this book was just OK. The first chapter(s) about the way the brain works were well written and described. I liked the profanity throughout the book, it gave the author a ‘cool mom friend’ vibe. Overall, I didn’t find it especially illuminating and kind of basic, the core message being that if you want to fix your OCD tendencies, anxiety, or other mental illness, you need to address the trauma that would have led to these behaviours in the first place.

The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s-Eye View of the World by Michael Pollan ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I enjoyed the Omnivore’s Dilemma for its research and Pollan’s prose, despite his decision NOT to advocate for veganism within the text. The Botany of Desire talked about four plants -- the apple, the tulip, marijuana, and the potato -- and the ways in which humans and plants co-evolved through history. I thought the concept was excellent and the storytelling well done.

The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts by Gary Chapman (A) ⭐⭐⭐

I have mixed feelings about this book and would have preferred to rate it a 2.5 stars. Where to begin - I guess I’ll start with why I’d rent such a book anyways. In my most recent attempt to try therapy again, my therapist mentioned the words “love languages” which made me interested, and ultimately led me to this book. Things I liked: the concept of the 5 languages, and practical advice on ways to ‘speak’ that language. Things I didn’t like so much, but could at least put up with: Chapman is deeply Christian and those biases are evident throughout the text. There were sprinklings of Bible teaching and evangelizing in almost every chapter, but in my opinion it wasn’t over the top. He gives off the air of someone very full of himself and confident in his abilities, since in his mind God called him to his vocation. Things I really, really didn’t like: my biggest criticisms of the book would be the way in which heteronormative gender roles were enforced in literally. every. example. relationship. Seriously, in every single story about the marriages he ‘saved’, the men worked and wanted their wives to have the house cleaned and dinner ready by the time they got home from work. I disagreed especially with Chapman’s “experimental” suggestion that a woman who felt emotionally neglected by her husband should initiate sex with him even when she didn’t want to because she did not feel close to him, because apparently ‘physical touch’ was his love language. Seriously? I know that this is a popular book which has sold millions of copies in all different languages for the past 20 something years and at its core there’s what I believe to be a good message, but I’d love to see the next edition revised to include all genders, same-sex couples, and be less focused on exclusively Christian community values to appeal to more people.

TL;DR I did find myself saying yikes more than a few times while listening to this audiobook.

Year of No Clutter by Eve O. Schaub (A) ⭐⭐

This was an okay book, which I could not really relate to since I’m several steps ahead in my decluttering journey. I’m not a hoarder nor a packrat and Eve’s habit of keeping literally everything (a dead rat, every single note she was handed in math class, cat pee-coated blankets etc) was kind of stomach turning. The twist (if you can call it that) at the end, revealed by the German exchange student, wasn’t entirely surprising; I had long ago suspected that Schaub’s tendency to store items expanded beyond the capacity of the ‘Hell Room’. I did think it was a cute tribute to her belongings as she let them go, but I don’t think I’d really recommend it.

#book reviews

0 notes

lauraramargosian · 6 years ago

Text

James Gunn raises money for Rainforests!

James Gunn is super inspirational, he’s always looking for ways to save the planet!

James Francis Gunn Jr. (born August 5, 1966) is an American filmmaker, actor, novelist, and musician. He is best known for writing the scripts Tromeo and Juliet (1996), Scooby-Doo (2002) and it’s sequel, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004) and of course, Dawn of the Dead (2004).

Later he started working as a director, his first film was a horror-comedy called “Slither.” From 2008-2009 he directed and wrote the web series James Gunn’s PG Porn. Then he worked on “Super,” in 2010 and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 in 2017.

Interestingly, he was taken off the directorial role for the third Guardians of the Galaxy film.

Gunn has tweeted about Rainforest Trust and brought forth quite some awareness and money in the past.

“Sure, Warner Bros is one of my favorite charities, but I think I’d rather donate to @RainforestTrust,” he tweeted. “In fact, I’ll give them a dollar for every retweet of this tweet up to 20k.”

Fans responded in kind, retweeting the tweet and allowing it to spread. I would say he made his goal happen.

The Rainforest Trust is all about protecting our most threatened tropical forests. According to their official website, it can be “highly effective.”

“Rainforest Trust purchases and protects the most threatened tropical forests, saving endangered wildlife through partnerships and community engagement.

Through these highly effective partnerships, we can ensure sustainable results necessary for the long-term protection of tropical ecosystems and the wildlife they hold.”

Will Ferrell and Red Hot Chili Peppers Chad Smith drum-off for charity!

How does The Rainforest Trust achieve its goals?

“We establish strategic partnerships with the world’s most experienced and committed conservationists.

Our partners’ intimate knowledge of their regions’ ecosystems and local communities is key to achieving long-term land and species protection.

Together, we identify critical sites that provide a permanent refuge for endangered species. These biodiverse areas face immediate and direct threats, typically from loggers, miners or ranchers.

Protection requires swift action, and we work with our partners to develop scientifically based conservation plans that are not only timely but also resilient and sustainable. With detailed plans in place, we raise the funds necessary to implement them.

Our partners work closely with their national governments and local communities to formally establish reserves protecting the land.”

Their commitment is founded strongly into all they believe about our endangered rainforests.

“The creation of a new protected area is only the beginning.

We are committed to providing lasting, on-the-ground protection, which requires the ongoing support and participation of local communities. These communities are engaged through the creation of sustainable economic opportunities for local men and women, including training as forest guards, wildlife monitors and ecotourism guides.

Thanks to the generosity of our donors, the expertise of our partners and the participation of local communities across the tropics, our reserves are exemplary models of international conservation.”

Awesome job to James Gunn for creating such a buzz and helping save our beautiful planet. It just takes a small step to raise awareness and help people learn what’s going on in our world. If you haven’t had a chance to check them out, be sure to visit their website and if you can’t donate for any reason, it’s okay.

Remember, sharing can go a long way!

Are you enjoying the positive vibes on positive celebrity magazine? If you are, be sure to subscribe to our positive celebrity gossip newsletter. That way you can stay up-to-date on the latest positive celebrity, film, and entertainment news!

Blessed be!

The post James Gunn raises money for Rainforests! appeared first on Positive Celebrity News and Gossip.

Justin Bieber covers Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car!” It’s Amazing!

Eminem and Skylar Grey dropped “Kill for You,” collaboration! Check it out!

The Kardashian look, personality & her recent interview with Billboard!

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

from WordPress https://positivecelebrity.news/2018/08/06/james-gunn-raises-money-for-rainforests/

#Positive celebrity gossip #celebrity gossip #news #love #positive vibes

0 notes

musicdish · 7 years ago

Text

Second Year In A Row Bongo Boy Has Released A Holiday Album That Will Spread Christmas Cheer

New album release on Bongo Boy Records LETS HAVE A ROCKIN CHRISTMAS VOL 2 by Various Artists include Holiday Season songs by the following artists: Wayne Olivieri, Jody Quine & the Big Mr. C (Dan Berggren), Mike Peacock, Clifford Curry, Katie Garibaldi, Ricky Persaud Jr., Charles Brown, Paul Michael Tondreau, Ruth Weber and Chapman SoundCheck, Bobby Rue, Spyder Darling, Diana Barash, Big Chris & D'Bare Bones Band, Yona Pax and Ray Powers. Release Date: 11.21.17 WORLDWIDE (Physical and Digital) WebSite: https://bongoboyrecords.com/holidaysvol2/ ALBUM REVIEW Ho Ho Ho America! It is I, the Grouch who stole Christmas here with a review of the second Bongo Boy Christmas album which is aptly entitled "Let's Have a Rockin' Christmas Volume 2" This album has 16 tracks which are sure to get you into a festive mood. 1. Wayne Olivieri - I'm Glad It's Christmas Time Again 3:31 - This song starts out with some very appropriate bells. In fact, it isn't until the middle of the first verse when Wayne's voice really takes off that the listener realizes this is, in fact, a rock and roll song. The words are hopeful and make one want to believe that the world is not such a bad place after all. Musically, the band does a good job, but it is the vocals that are front and center on this track. 2. Jody Quine & the Big Mr. C (Dan Berggren) - Got My Eye on You, Santa 2:21 - I dig it. The song starts out with a funky groove and I really like the sound of the big cymbal crash. It sounds to me like he is smacking a ride cymbal. Aside from the piano which really swings, I find myself memorized by Jody's voice and wishing that I had a Santa suit. 3. Mike Peacock - Christmas Smile 3:33 - Mike has written nothing short of a beautiful song. The mellow vibe coupled with his voice make an absolutely infectious song that has massive earworm potential. I really like Mike's voice. His voice, with the piano in the background remind me of Bruce Hornsby, which in my opinion, is a complement. 4. Clifford Curry - Christmas Ain't No Time for The Blues 2:56 - Sweet! Man, I dig that harp. Clifford has a killer Blues voice and the band has all the lightning necessary for a massive rant. This song lasts just under three minutes, but could easily be extended to 20, and never get old! Well done guys! 5. Katie Garibaldi - Tomorrow Is Christmas Morning 3:48 - I really like the melodic guitar at the beginning. However, it is Katie's voice that immediately grabs my attention. She sings so well; it is a pleasure simply to listen to her. This is a beautiful, mellow, sweet Christmas song if there ever was one. 6. Ricky Persaud, Jr. - It's Christmas Time Again 4:13 - Ricky is a young cat who is working on a degree from the Berklee College of Music. He is also one of the most talented musicians I have heard in a long while. Right from the start Ricky has my attention as he takes a soft, yet catchy little run augmented with bells and morphs it into a jam! The thing is that even though the mood gets heavy and the guitar starts to blister, the melody is never lost. I have to admit that I find myself really enjoying the bells played in the background. Ah, but then Rick opens up on his guitar and my thoughts of quaint percussion sounds are GONE. This song alone is reason enough to purchase this album. 7. Charles Brown - Greensleeves 3:05 - Charles gives us a rendition of a classic Christmas song. I am utterly stunned and amazed. Charles is a fantastic guitarist. The best way I can describe this track is by referencing the movie Crossroads. Do you remember when Ralph Macchio's character beat Steve Vai, and thus saved Willie Brown from eternal damnation, by playing classical music? The way Charles Brown plays Greensleeves reminds me of the way in which when Ralph Macchio's character slew the mighty Steve Vai. It is beautiful and masterfully played. 8. Paul Michael Tondreau - Christmas Morning 3:09 - Paul has written a catchy tune that is sure to have the listener humming along. Paul's unique vocal style is accentuated by the background musicians. I am reminded of crooners from days gone by. 9. Ruth Weber and Chapman SoundCheck - The Dreydl Sing Along 1:52 - Man, I dig the harmonies on this track. This is a swinging tune. I have never heard the dreydl (or dreidel) explained in such an infectious way. Who knew Chanukah rocked so much? I would love to this band live. I bet they put on one outrageously fun show! 10. Bobby Rue - Oh Christmas Time 2:05 - I have been a fan of Bobby's for a while and was saddened to read of his passing. I am so glad that this song is included on this album. Bobby was a very good musician and I wish I had had the chance to jam with him. Rest in Peace Bobby. This song is a perfect example of Bobby's music. It is basic, raw, emotional and hits the listener right in the gut. When Jack Kerouac went on the road to find America, it was people like Bobby he was looking for. 11. Spyder Darling - Citizen Kane Christmas 3:44 - I like the way the song starts. It is heavy with a melodic, yet intense lead guitar. Aside from the music which is very well played and Spyder's voice which is haunting as well as compelling, I like the theme of the song as Citizen Kane is an excellent film. (Oh, and the lead guitar simply rocks.) I would very much like to see Spyder's live show! 12. Diana Barash - Christmas Time 3:54 - Now, this is different, and I like it! I have never heard a Synth Pop Christmas song before. The thing that is really cool is that Diana has an old school R&B voice that oozes soul. I find myself grooving to the beat as I smile that goofy smile I get when I really like a piece of music. Man, she can sing! 13. Ricky Persaud Jr. - Reggae Christmas 4:04 - Ricky is back, and you have to listen to his voice. Man, this kid can sing (as well as play any instrument he chooses…well). The whole idea of a Reggae Christmas is kind of cool. I like the lyrics as well as the music. When Ricky sings about not wanting to deal with the snow and walking around the Christmas palm tree all I can think is how nice that would be! Ricky has written a song that is sure to get inside your head. Good job Ricky. 14. Big Chris & D'Bare Bones Band - You'll Shoot Your Eye Out 3:31 - Okay, when I read the title of this track the first thing that came to mind was the movie A Christmas Story and the phrase "It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye." Musically, I dig what they are doing. I love Texas Blues and I hear a definite ZZ Top vibe in this song. I swear there is an Alice Cooper influence when Big Chris snarls the chorus "You'll shoot you eye out!" All in all, this is one of the most rocking songs on the album and one that will be on my personal playlist! (I dig the Cheech and Chong style spoken word ending - Big Chris you made me laugh out loud.) 15. Yona Pax- Merry Christmas 3:14 - The wind sound effects at the beginning are kind of cool. Then a synthesizer dominated French reggae vibe kicks in. I have to say, I am really enjoying this song even though I don't know French. The music is good, and her voice sounds so joyful, how could one not like this song? 16. Ray Powers - Christmas Miracle (Live) 4:37 - The last song on the album is a live track, which is nice. Ray has a really good voice and the music is much more than simply pleasant. It sounds, to me, like Ray and his band are just having a lot of fun while they are playing this song. Personally, I cannot think of a better way to conclude a Rock and Roll Christmas album. When this song is over I am going to give my daughter a hug. Listen to the song and you will understand. So, what is the bottom line? The bottom line is that for the second year in a row Bongo Boy has released a holiday album that will brighten anyone's day and spread Christmas cheer to anyone within earshot. -The Grouch Source: http://www.mi2n.com/press.php3?press_nb=200961

0 notes