#coz it impacts how much you connect to the band

[drd3athdefying]

Kinda a ramble/rant but like,,, Placebo fans on reddit calling the band pretentious for their "don't use phones at shows" sign get on my nerves. Like,,, above anything else I feel like Placebo have kinda earned the right to be pretentious. Not only are they hugely influential, they're also such an iconic queer band that at this point why tf shouldn't they get to be pretentious sometimes??

Like to an extent I get the whole "Well I paid for this concert so I should be able to record" but like... honestly? The bands I've seen where I haven't recorded have been the concerts I've enjoyed the most. It's nice to capture memories but also it can be just as nice to not record things.

Idk it's 1am so my wording is weird but like,,, let bands be kinda pretentious sometimes. Saying "don't use your phone so we can connect more with you" isn't the end of the world and isn't hurting anyone so what's the point in getting up in arms about it??

[kanmom51]

I read that anon saying the best friend new friend dynamics affected them.

Now how we know tae was also feeling the same.

Jikookers always try to protect tae before even saying their opinion on jikook , maybe because of fear of getting called tae anti and tae solo stans are the most toxic solo stans in Fandom.

We don't know if he was really feeling jealous and left out coz jikook were growing incredibly close and 2016-18 we can see this clearly. Anon said they only knew their relationship later which may also happend with tae , but until then he thought they r moving closer leaving him behind.

Jm was his best friend n soul mate as they call it and jk was also incredibly close to him and 3 having an amazing friendship, then 2 of its relationship changed over years and thye tried to seek out each other more and more often and tae may did felt left out and thus his reactions to jikook , it Maynot be necessarily him policing or trolling jikook. (Like how we tend to belive coz we tend to see tae as good friend). It may also be him imposing himself to jikook , to be included and thus possessive and less boundary action he did with both jk and jm.

Jm have multiple times showed his disinterest in tae lack of boundaries with himself and jk(that dna fansigjn). But then it's jm , most mature and understanding among the 3. So he and tae may have talked it out.

Jk , we are talking abt jk, whose motto is wt yours is mine wt mine is mine (even in 2020) , he maynot be jealous but he's fairly possessive over jm and may felt tae doing this on purpose. He may understood tae trying to separate them or impose himself on jikook or getting in between them which maybe also a big reason he felt distant with tae in following years(again confirmed by taekook in soop)

Just like that anon said how their and new bfs dynamics was not good. Taekook relationship also became sour. This Maynot be because taekook maturing and having diff interests as fans tend to explain. If so then jks relationship with all members must be sour. They all have matured and are much more having age gap Than taekook. They were also having different intrest than jk. But he was still having emotional connection with all other members. Jm have matured more and is strikingly diff person than jk and still jk is head over heels for him. Taekook literally see each other everyday so it was also not because old best friends now distant case.

The reason for this emotional distance may come from the same reason that anon told. Tae trolling , getting in between on their time with each other , improving himself on them may indeed had a impact in jk mind and thus he withdrawn from tae and emotionally closed off.

Then later tae knew the exact relationship between this two, how his and jk relationship with jm was 2 diff things , how they both had a place in his heart but for different reasons , so tae tried to ment up with him, to sit and talk but jk was not ready , to be emotionally vulnerable infront of tae as he already kinda lost this connection (Which again why jm has to drag him to talk with tae in soop).

Ive always thought this was wt happend between them and taekooks drift. We always don't need to paint tae as a police for jikook or innocent friend who was just trolling them coz we dont know what happend between them. There's always a chance for this anon kinda story to vminkook. Which we are having multiple examples and statements to prove from them itself.

I hear you anon. I can't say that I agree with everything that you write, but I do agree that the dynamics between the three is a complex one, and not everything that Tae did was about policing or protecting Jikook. Sometimes its about trolling them, pushing himself in between them.

These are three young men with complex personalities. So, I think that the driving forces here are not always cut and dry, especially as they are all great friends that were also working and living together at that point in time.

At times it could be a frustration of being left out, at times it could be concern for them not to be too obvious (to protect them and the band), at times it could be him being naughty and just wanting to joke around with them.

[celloyougotabasss]

Bear’s Den

Greetings loved ones! Hope you’re feeling all fine and dandy and had a pretty decent Thursday 😊 Thanks already for coming back to read another one of my blogs, I hope you’ve enjoyed them so far!

This week, I’ve decided to chat a little bit about a band called Bear’s Den.  

So, if we take it from the beginning, Bear’s Den became a band in 2012 ish. It was 3 chaps, Andrew Davie, Kevin Jones and Joey Haynes. They named themselves Bear’s Den because of their love for the children’s book, ‘Where the Wild Things Are’. The book, in ridiculously short simple to the point terms, is about a boy and a fantasy land that he imagines. (How’s that for a summary?) They really liked this idea of a hideaway place where your mind could take you, as well as seeing things from a different perspective like the child in the book. There’s also a place called Bearsden, just north of Glasgow, where one of the members had a lot of family from, so that’s how they chose their name!

Their first EP (2013) was called Agape, and oh my, just what a classic. That opening banjo riff from Agape just takes me back, such a good song! All the tunes on there are great. This was followed by an EP called Without/Within (2013), followed by their debut album called Islands (2014) which has some really beautiful songs on it. Some of my personal faves are Above the Clouds of Pompeii, Elysium and Bad Blood.

Around the time they released their first EP, the band were noticed by Mumford & Sons, who I guess took a bit of a chance on them and invited them on tour with them, Nathaniel Rateliff and The Staves across USA. I mean… WHAT?! Pretty damn freakin amazing. As part of this tour, in the summer of 2013, I was lucky enough to go to a GOTR Stopover gig at the Olympic Park in London, and watch the line-up of Bear’s Den, HAIM, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Ben Howard (!!!!), Vampire Weekend and of course, Mumford & Sons. (Side note: such an inspiring day, probably one of the best days of my life, still not over it). Because of these opportunities, Bear’s Den fanbase grew and by Summer 2015 they had sold out UK, European and US tours, played loads of festivals, just totally in their peak. Unfortunately, in early 2016, Joey Haynes left the group due to family commitments, so the band was now a duo, with Andrew and Kevin.

We then come to Red Earth & Pouring Rain (2016), their 2nd album, which probably didn’t get as much recognition as their first. I’d say their most famous song from this album is called Auld Wives which plays in the shop I work in loads so I feel like I know that one reaalllly well now! It got looking into it recently and I found this Live Lounge they did of it, soooo good. Harms mmmmm yes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoSH2cQjIj8 I’m guilty of not giving this album as much of a listen as it deserved at the time. I’ve actually listened to it more now than I did when it was out to begin with! Anyway, following this album, Bear’s Den were quiet for about 3 years, but that brings us to now…

So, we are finally up to speed with the timeline of Bear’s Den which brings us to their BRAND NEW AMAZING ALBUM, which is out now on all music downloading and streaming platforms: So that you might hear me woooooo which actually happens to be the final lyrics sung in the whole album (final words of Blankets of Sorrow). I kid you not, I have been all over this album like a rash. I feel like I had big hole in my musical heart for Bear’s Den, that I didn’t even know I had, and now I can’t get enough and I am so happy. What makes me even happier is that they have released a podcast for this album, where they go through each of the songs and do a breakdown about it; what the songs means to them and the creation and process of it. I listen to these on Spotify but I’m pretty sure you can listen to then on any podcast platforms! I feel they’ve pushed their sound more, kept to their roots, but I wanna say slightly more electro vibes and alternative.

They’ve still got those catchy singalong choruses (shout out Laurel Wreath and Fuel on the Fire), still got those lyrics that make me wanna google them and take a good read coz they’re so good and still got harms from heaven.

Bear’s Den write songs that mean something. It’s all from the heart. For me personally, I think that’s one of the most attractive things about any band or artist; that they write and compose from a place that means something. If it means something to them and they share it, chances are it will connect with someone else and make an impact on them. Some of the topics covered in this album are so sensitive and personal and it honestly feels such a privilege to listen to these songs that have been written as a cathartic process, that I am then able to make connections with.

Please, please – go and give their new album a listen! It’s so beautiful and deserves all the love it can get!

Thanks for reading peeps, catch you on Sunday for Top Notes #5!! It’ll be my 10th blog post so bring along some candles n a cake!!

Lols, much love team – Rosie xx