#designer : Bowie Rae

[feralchaton]

Bowie Rae

[llpodcast]

(Literary License Podcast)

Join us on the Literary License Podcast as we delve deeper into the intriguing world of dark family films. In this episode, we discuss the engrossing narratives of two cinematic masterpieces, "Dark Crystal" and "Labyrinth". These films, defined by their potent fusion of the gruesome with the stunning, encourage children to explore narratives that are often deeply symbolic and spiritual.

 Listen in as we shed light on the intricate puppetry and artistry in "Dark Crystal", a dark fantasy film directed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz. Despite initially receiving mixed reviews, the richly textured plot, distinctive aesthetic, and well-rounded characters have cultivated a passionate following over time. Journey with us as we uncover this captivating blend of artistry and story-telling.

 As the conversation progresses, we get lost in the fantastical world of "Labyrinth", another ingenious collaboration between Henson and renowned fantasy illustrator Brian Froud. From Froud’s unique faerie and dwarf designs to Henson’s visionary puppetry, we discuss how these creative forces created inviting worlds for children to delve into the symbolic and profound aspects of the narratives.

 Dive into rich, thought-provoking discussions on these two films with us. From Vicky Rae's first reactions to "The Dark Crystal" to insights from Joe Randazzo on the depths of puppetry as an art form, our team promises to bring fresh perspectives and interesting trivia. Hit play, sit back, and let us take you on an unexpected journey into the weird and wonderful world of dark fantasy films.

 00:00:40 - Films that scare, entice, and invite children into the underbelly of life as we know it; 00:04:39 - Journey into the Dark Crystal Realm with Vicky and Joe; 00:27:21 - Enter the Labyrinth: A Tale of Music and Magic; 00:30:55 - Exploring Labyrinth; 00:37:48 - The World of Goblins - 00:42:31 - Comedic Goblin King; 00:43:50 - Puzzles and RPG Vibes; 00:46:59 - 80s Horror Nostalgia; 00:49:36 - TV Series Dilemmas; 00:51:56 - Yellow Jackets Excitement; 00:53:15 - Brad Pitt’s Improvisation; 00:55:21 - Tom Cruise and Height Banter; 00:56:16 - Rating Labyrinth; 00:59:06 - Magic Dance - David Bowie - Taken from the Motion Picture Soundtrack Labyrinth

[fmp1rorymitchell]

Kit Rae Fantasy Art - movie prop knife.

Kit Rae Fantasy Art Other Knives List

Kit Rae have made knives for movie including Indiana Jones. Below is the Khyber bowie that was designed to look more interesting than a the machete Indian Jones used in the Temple of Doom, and like a relic that Indiana may have picked up on his travels. The designer used wood models to create detailed features that make the knife look old.

[juanathefunkyfish]

Thaaaaanks @shades-of-tiefes-purpur

Let's see what I get:

1) Killer - Van der Graaf Generator (I'm so normal about this band and song I promise)

2) OKUPA - WOS (idk, Spotify keeps throwing me this song for some reason, and although I like it, it's more annoying)

3) Run Away With Me - Carly Rae Jepsen (no comment, she's iconic)

4) QUE NO SALGA LA LUNA Capítulo 2: Boda - Rosalía (I listened to El Mal Querer on full again recently)

5) Smoke On The Water - Deep Purple (I really want to learn to play this song on the drums)

6) Soul Sacrifice - Santana (I listened to this like three times this week, dunno why)

7) P.S. I Love You - The Beatles (I have a soft spot for early Beatles despite preferring their experimental and psychedelic output of later years)

8) Slow Burn - David Bowie (a top 10 Bowie song imo, fight me)

9) Man-Erg - Van der Graaf Generator (woohoo more VdGG hyperfixation, also listened to it a lot to help me with the design of my fan JoJo stand)

10) LA COMBI VERSACE - Rosalía feat. Tokischa (I also listened to Motomami on full again recently)

Tagging: @pissboyinc @leprincesshela and any other mutual who wants to join hehehehe

I was tagged by @spoiledstrawberry to put my "On Repeat" playlist on Spotify on shuffle and post the first 10 songs 😽💞

25 or 6 to 4 - Chicago

Thick as a Brick - Edit #1 - Jethro Tull

Firth of Fifth - Genesis

Mistreated - Deep Purple

Promenade, Pt. 1 - Live at Newcastle City Hall, 1971 - Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Highway Star - Deep Purple

Layla - Derek & The Dominos

The Wizard - Uriah Heep

I've Seen All Good People - Yes

Rhayader - Camel

tagging: @zralokx @probably-not-mig @siberian-xanadu @intheblackofmyroom @fruskyterceol @violet-crowned-nereid

[squishescommishes]

wahee!! new batch of sketchy adopts!! these ones are all song themed!!

1) put your records on: SOLD

2) ribs: SOLD

3) fiona coyne: SOLD

4) bloom: SOLD

5) runs in the family: SOLD

6) worms: $15

7) i can't decide: SOLD

8) baby shark/chug jug: SOLD

9) as the world falls down: SOLD

as with previous batches an additional $28 will get you an add-on sketch but i will be unavailable to do them until after september when i return from my trip so if you get one with the sketch, your patience is very much appreciated!!

reblogs are appreciated!!

[thewidowstanton]

Evelyn Carnate, burlesque artist, producer and director

Known as ‘The Shapeshifting Showgirl’, Evelyn Carnate is the current Miss Burlesque UK. With acts ranging from the playful to the powerful and unpredictable, the neo-burlesque performer has been on the scene for five years. She has a naughty sense of humour and can play everything from sweet and subversive to sensual and downright twisted.

Evelyn is also a director, producer and teacher and one of the founding members – along with Lilly Snatchdragon and ShayShay – of the all-Asian cabaret collective The Bitten Peach. All the proceeds of its show at the Underbelly Festival in 2019 went to Rose Thorne’s Cabaret vs Cancer charity. Evelyn now appears in CvC’s fundraising event Ashes to Ashes – a cabaret tribute to David Bowie – at Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club in London on 26 February 2020. She chats to Liz Arratoon.

The Widow Stanton: Where are you from? Evelyn Carnate: I’m now from London but I’m actually half Thai, half English. I grew up in Thailand in Chiang Mai. I went to an international school so that’s why I have this kind of American accent. [Laughs]

Are you from a showbusiness background? I was always obsessed with dancing; I did a lot of ballet and all kinds of dance. I did so much that my parents ended up sending me to a full-time ballet boarding school in England for a few years. It was Arts Educational School in Tring.

Had your family moved here by then? No, my dad is from Bristol but he moved to Asia over 30 years ago and never came back. My family have always been in Asia so I came back on my own.

Did you get straight into burlesque? Oh no, not at all. After dance school I went back to Thailand, then came back to London for art college. I trained as a theatre designer at Central Saint Martins in London. And then I did acting classes on the side and I went, ‘Oh, shit! I’m an actor!’. [Laughs]

So how did you move into burlesque? After graduating from art school, I then did drama school in New York – the William Esper Studio – right in Manhattan. So in my second year of studying I ended up living in a circus studio in Brooklyn – The Muse – and that’s where I fell in to cabaret. It was a training space; a big warehouse for training and they also did shows. Because I was at drama school six or seven days a week I couldn’t really do circus. I really wanted to do aerial but I had no time. I would help out at the shows and directed my little projects there when I had time. Then I saw burlesque and thought, ‘Yeah, I could do that, I could strip’.

Who did you see that inspired you? Oh, some of my flatmates did it. They would do these little showcases so I saw burlesque there and then I started going to the dive bar shows and cabaret clubs, such as The Slipper Room, Nurse Bettie, House of Yes, Duane Park and the Bowery Poetry Club. And all the underground, like alternative New York performance-art shows. And then someone recommended me to go see Jo Boobs at the New York School of Burlesque. She’s a really famous teacher. She runs the school and is a very incredible lady. So I did her beginner course and that was it. We did a showcase and it was just so exhilarating.

You must have real body confidence, which not everyone has… Yeah, I guess also from the dance training my body wasn’t… I didn’t really think about it. I was used to getting changed with other girls and guys and being backstage, you know, in skimpy leotards. I mean if I had to speak onstage without a script I would be very scared… doing stand-up comedy terrifies me more than being naked. [Laughs]

I love your name Thank you. I really love Lulu, the play, and I was reading it and there’s one part where he calls her ‘You little devil incarnate’. And I thought, ‘Ah, Evelyn Carnate! OK!’. 

How does it feel that you’ve won the UK title? I feel very surprised but in a good way. [Laughs] I haven’t really done competitions. They’re very popular in burlesque; it’s a good way for newcomers to get in. I once did another one when I was first starting out, which I won. It was the Alternative Cabaret Battle. I went with an existing act, but for the UK competition I had to prepare a lot; a lot of work went into it. Many people helped me with costumes and polishing the act. I’m happy that an alternative performer won. I’m quite proud of that because I did think they would go for a more classic traditional performer.

So tell us about your style; you call it neo-burlesque… I’ve never worn a corset in any acts yet! So my style… I really love characters, I love stories, so all my acts have quite different characters and even when I’m doing classic I need a clear image and story behind it. I am, in quotes, The Shape Shifting Showgirl, so I do go from really classic slow striptease to quite strange performance-art burlesque. And sometimes people don’t actually recognise that I’m the same performer. I’ve had that a lot: “Oh, you’re the one that did that act? You look so different.” I really enjoy that.

Do you design your own costumes? Yes, because I did theatre design I really love sketching costumes. I sketch all of them but I’m not super-skilled at making so I go to professional people. For this one (pictured with green fans), a lot of people helped me… there’s this amazing lingerie designer called Rosie Von Boschan. It’s the second time I’ve worked with her; her work really inspires me, I guess because it’s not the classic burlesque look. It feels more true to my style and taste. She made the lingerie for my traditional act for the competition and Bourgeoisie made my dress. We had to submit two categories of acts, one traditional and one, they call it ‘unique’. I did my subversive pink fan dance that goes a little bit wild for that. [Laughs]

Why did you set up The Bitten Peach? I co-founded it with two amazing performers, Lilly Snatchdragon, who is a trustee of Cabaret vs Cancer (pictured right below), and ShayShay (centre below). Lilly is a drag queen and burlesque performer and ShayShay is a drag performer. We all had our ideas before of doing an Asian show. I wanted to do an all-Asian burlesque show. I read some things about The Forbidden City in San Francisco, where they would do all these revue shows with Asian performers. That was very inspiring and I just thought, ‘Where are all the Asian burlesque performers? Like, let’s gather them up’.

I planned a little show with Lilly, which never actually happened! Before that, Lilly was working on Polly Rae’s show at the Hippodrome in London, and she had these ideas of doing a big Asian extravaganza with like, lion dancers and traditional things, and was going to get me involved as a producer. ShayShay had already done an Asian show, Lunar New Queer. Lilly and ShayShay met up and decided to do The Bitten Peach together and then they brought me on board.

So, we’re the three founders but we’ve also launched a mentoring programme for new Asian cabaret performers; we call them Peach Fuzzes. We help develop their acts and they debut at a Bitten Peach show. We’re making the programme a bit more official this year. I teach burlesque as well at The Cheek of It! School of Burlesque and Cabaret. And I recently opened my own studio in Hackney Wick, where we will be launching The Bitten Peach workshops for Asian newcomers. The info will be on our website.

Does The Bitten Peach have a regular venue? We’ve been everywhere; at all the kind of iconic LGBTQ venues like The Royal Vauxhall Tavern, The Glory… we move all around and we’ve done a variety of styles, like club nights and theatre shows, more classic cabaret; we do everything. What can you tell us about Ashes to Ashes? All the acts are set to David Bowie’s music; original Bowie tracks, no covers, featuring Bowie from every era. It’s hosted by Benjamin Louche, another Cabaret vs Cancer trustee…

Rose Thorne adds: What a night we have in store! This is the fifth annual Ashes to Ashes show at BGWMC and is very much our cabaret family showing love for Bowie and recognising the influence he’s had on so many of us. Among many others, we have amazing burlesque from Demi Noire, circus from the internationally renowned Andromeda, and, of course, the sound of Bowie from Keith Ramsay, seen recently at Southwark Playhouse. We have a Bowie raffle, badges and our exclusive officially licensed Bowie merchandise. We encourage our audience to dress up and sing loudly! Best of all, every penny raised will support Cabaret vs Cancer.

How is the burlesque scene doing in general? Evelyn: There’s a lot of crossover with burlesque and drag now, which really excites people. I mean drag is so popular now because of RuPaul’s Drag Race and also it’s a lot more diverse than it used to be, especially after The Cocoa Butter Club was founded by Sadie Sinner. She started a regular showcase for performers of colour and Lilly and I and ShayShay have done that. That existed a few years before Bitten Peach and that was definitely an inspiration and has completely changed the way cabaret is cast. It has become much more exciting and diverse.

Can you pick out a highlight from your career? Definitely the Underbelly show for Cabaret vs Cancer. It’s the biggest thing we ever did; there were 22 performers… there were group numbers… and we raised almost £4,000. Also because Lilly’s father passed away a few years ago from cancer and it was really important for her, it was so nice to do it for her as well.

Do you have any particular ambitions? Definitely more Bitten Peach. We’re really on a high right now. We didn’t even expect it to grow so fast, we just thought: “Oh, let’s just get together…” Sometimes I think people think we’re some big organisation but it’s just a few of us like, with our laptops in a coffee shop. But we’re making another full theatre show for March that ShayShay’s writing and directing, and we’d like to do more theatre and theatrical things that we could also possibly tour and get more audiences, especially Asian audiences in the UK and Europe.

Evelyn appears in Cabaret vs Cancer’s fundraising cabaret Ashes to Ashes at Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club in London on 26th February 2020.

Pictures: Corinne Cumming; Claire Seville; Juliet Shalam

For tickets to Ashes to Ashes click here

To donate to Cabaret vs Cancer click here

Evelyn on Facebook

The Bitten Peach’s website

Twitter: @Evelyn_Carnate @cabaretVScancer @bittenpeachuk

Follow @TheWidowStanton on Twitter

[tmbstyles]

Part One: The Introduction

Taylor Bennett

Professor Okedeyi

Self-Promotion & Marketing

October 21, 2021

                                                Part One: Introduction

     Hello everyone! My name is Taylor Bennett and I am a senior here at Bowie State University. As a Fashion & Design major, it is imperative for me to be aware of the components of fashion and its connection to marketing. I’ve been able to learn about these correlations through my courses here at Bowie and conducting the necessary research. With that being said, I will take viewers through the world of my brand muse. This will include a brief review of the brand’s background, the tagline, and the designer’s purpose.

     Many minority designers have been making fashion waves for decades however, majority still not have become household names. My favorite minority designer is an African American male fashion designer from South Carolina named, Sergio Hudson. I learned of Hudson a few years ago in my “Intro to Fashion” course with Professor Maggy Francois. She instructed students to randomly select a fashion designer who was a part of NYFW 2019, also known as New York Fashion Week. Initially I was upset because another classmate was assigned the fashion designer that intended to use as the muse of my project. Subsequently, I researched his credentials and was pleased to find out that our approach to fashion is extremely similar. From that day, I’ve used Hudson as a muse and inspiration to guide myself through the process of creating my stylist brand “TMB Styles”.

     Sergio Hudson is a designer originally from South Carolina and graduated from Bauder College with an associate degree in Fashion and Design. Being no stranger to sophisticated ready-to-wear style, Hudson founded his luxurious women’s wear label in 2014. The designer made his official debut after succeeding on Bravo TV’s “Styled to Rock” and being chosen by fashion icon and performing artist, Rihanna. This advance in his career granted him the opportunity to create designs for various celebrities such as Pharrell Williams, Issa Rae, and Beyonce. Hudson’s objective in designing is to “bring back the joy of dressing”, as he strives to create pieces that will make the Hudson woman standout.

     Sergio Hudson’s target market is women who desire to wear luxurious collections. His clothing is appropriate for women who are single, married, or going through a divorce. The cost of his clothing is not necessarily “cheap” or affordable to the average “everyday person” therefore, I would say that the occupation of the typical costumer or client is of high profession. The age range of his costumers of clients can start from young ladies to elderly women. His clothing collections are suitable to women who most likely uphold a witty, divalicious, modest and confident personality. In simpler terms, he ensures that “The Hudson Woman” can easily be identified in a room full of women wearing different designers.

     In relation to my brand “TMB Styles”, my goal is to grant women clients and customers with clothing that will make them feel beautifully timeless. Similarly, to Hudson, I will bring a deeper purpose to the fashion industry by adding to the list of designers who do not entertain fast fashion. Fast fashion can be described as clothing that is quickly manufactured with a lower quality of fabric, cheap in price and fits the current trend. Timeless fashion refers to designs that can stand the test of time trends. This will categorize the collections as classic, as it will most likely capture the attention of differing age groups. TMB Styles motto is “Quit Fast Fashion, Go Timeless” emphasizing the quality of timeless fashion over fast fashion.

[snoopywithmusic]

Tagged by: @caesar---zeppeli 
Rules: Answer 30 questions then tag 20 other blogs you would like to get to know better Nicknames: Jan Gender: Trans Gorl (nb trans gorl? Idk) Star Sign: Pisskeys Height: 5′10" Time: 6:28pm DOB: February 19th 1999 Favorite Bands: the Mountain Goats, Gorillaz, Neutral Milk Hotel, AJJ, Barenaked Ladies, Nirvana, clipping., Simon and Garfunkle, Death Grips Favorite Solo Artists: Sufjan Stevens, Kendrick Lamar, David Bowie, Aminé, Jonathan Coulton, Lorde, James Taylor, Neil Ciceirega, Carly Rae Jepsen Song Stuck In My Head: Wear Black - the Mountain Goats Last Movie I Watched: I actually don't know? Phantom of the Paradise maybe? Last T.V. Show I Watched: Little Witch Academia When Did I Create My Blog: 2014 I think What Do I Post: Anything Last Thing I Googled: lucky for you that's what I like Do I Have Other Blogs: Yes but @all-eternals-dick my tmg blog is the only one worth following Do I Get Asks: hell nah Why Did I Choose My URL: cuz I'm gay and I like entry level hipster garbage Followers: 406 or smth idk Favorite Colors: pink and teal and that's if Average Hours Of Sleep: like 6 Lucky Number: 8008135 Instruments: piano What Am I Wearing: a shirt I designed, plaid cargo shorts, flip flops How Many Blankets Do I Sleep With: 1 Dream Job: musician, general Internet personality Dream Trip: Japan, San Francisco, the middle of the ocean Favorite Food: mac and cheese Nationality: American Ok @worldeaterviviana is who I'm tagging bc I don't remember any of my other mutuals rn bc I don't use Tumblr much anymore!! I love u all!

[derededicto]

2016: 30 Albums (+ 30 more)

1-10

Vektor – Terminal Redux

Miranda Lambert – The Weight of These Wings

Anna Högberg Attack – Anna Högberg Attack

Maren Morris – Hero

JD Allen Trio – Americana: Musings on Blues & Jazz

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Skeleton Tree

Field Music – Commontime

Kepler Quartet – Ben Johnston: String Quartets 6, 7, 8

The Julie Ruin – Hit Reset

Leon Vynehall – Rojus (Designed to Dance)

11-20

Craig Taborn/Christian McBride/Tyshawn Sorey – Flaga: The Book of Angels 27 (John Zorn)

Kvelertak – Nattesferd

Kyle Hall – From Joy

Mudcrutch – 2

Nails – You Will Never Be One of Us

Omar S – The Best

Mchael Formanek's Ensemble Kolossus – The Distance

Suede – Night Thoughts

Dr Lonnie Smith – Evolution

Black Bombain & Peter Brötzmann – Black Bombain & Peter Brötzmann

21-30

Jeremy Pelt – #jiveculture

Ches Smith/Mat Maneri/Craig Taborn – The Bell

Maxwell – blackSUMMERS'nights

Brandy Clark – Big Day in a Small Town

Kevin Gates – Islah

David Bowie – Blackstar

Bonnie Raitt – Dig in Deep

Henry Threadgill – Old Locks & Irregular Verbs

Voivod – Post Society

The Paranoid Style – Rolling Disclosure

And if you don't like those selections, here are 30 alternate choices....

Lady Gaga – Joanne

Marek Poliks – hull not continent

Cobalt – Slow Forever

Bombino – Azel

FP-Oner – 6

Yuseef Kamal – Black Focus

Gorguts – Pleiades Dust

Danish String Quartet – Ades, Norgard, Abrahamsen

Willie Nelson – Summertime: Willie Sings Gershwin

Corinne Bailey Rae – The Heart Speaks in Whispers

Michael Bisio & Kirk Knuffke – Row for William O.

Kamaiyah – A Good Night in the Ghetto

Noura Mint Seymali – Arbina

Jemeel Moondoc & Hilliard Greene – Cosmic Nickelodeon

Aruán Oritz Trio – Hidden Voices

The Rolling Stones – Blue & Lonesome

Marylin Crispell/Gary Peacock/Richard Poole – In Motion

Honeyblood – Babes Never Die

Peter Brötzmann/William Parker/Hamid Drake – Song Sentimentale

Gucci Mane – Everybody Looking

Fire! – She Sleeps, She Sleep

Young Thug – No, My Name is JEFFERY

Wadada Leo Smith – America's National Parks

Agoraphobic Nosebleed – Arc

Quaturo Bozzini – Jurg Frey: String Quartet No. 3/Unhorbare Zeit

Moodyman – DJ Kicks

Murray, Allen & Carrington Power Trio – Perfection

Marc Ribot & the Young Philadelphians – Live in Tokyo

VA-- DJ Koze present Pampa Vol. 1

Steven Osborne – Feldman, Crumb: Piano Works

Jeff Parker – The New Breed

Pet Shop Boys – Super

[c-rankin93]

SHE'S NO YOU - Ch.4

A/N: So I've decided - (and you will kill me) that I'm not going to combine two chapters together, like I have been doing. For this chapter. I need to leave you guys in suspense sometimes. I'm not going to give any hints away, your just going to have to read it yourself 😂😂 Warning: some characters may get frisky Like always ignore my poor editing skills haha. I only quickly proof read this. ----- CHAPTER FOUR: MISERY LOVES COMPANY ----- RAE POV: *with a dream it begins...* I needed to escape. I had to get out of here. The pictures I was once holding now lay scattered across the hard wood floor. I had to leave, Now. I couldn't stop the tears spill from my eyes, the pain was to much. Is this what dying feels like? "Mommy?" I gasped in fright when I turned to see my little boy stand puzzled before me. His arms wrapped tightly around his spiderman action figure, but I could see the sadness in his eyes. "Mommy what's wrong?" His eyes flickered from the photos that lay around my feet, to my most likely reddened face. I couldn't break, not yet anyway. "Mommy's fine" I breathed. Wiping the evidence off my face and falsifying a smile. Inside I was numb. "Your crying mommy" he stated, taking a small step in my direction. His actions where hesitant, my boy was scared for me. "Mommy's crying because she is so tired from work darling. But as you can see I'm so busy cleaning up the house" I chuckled unhumourouly. "Hey! I have a good idea. How about you, Ruby and mummy take a trip to see Nanna and Grandpa tonight? So Nanna can make me a nice big hot coco to make momma feel better?". His eyes lit up in delight and he nodded vigorously. I didn't like lying to my kids, but how do I explain to them that their father broke their mother heart. Easy, you don't. "Ohkay well you go pack a bag and grab as much clothes as you can alright?" I kissed his cheek then watched his figure run towards the stairs. "Is daddy going to meet us there?" I heard him yell over his shoulder. I couldn't reply, I couldn't tell him I was leaving Finn. Not yet anyway. - Cold sweat mangled my hair, the perfectly applied mascara burnt my eyes through the tears. I had dreamt about that night more times then I could count, but this one felt different. Strangely, I felt like I relived that night all over again. My heart splintering this time. Finn looked so peaceful sleeping in the photo. Did he not feel that next to me? Was he lying everytime he wound his arm tightly around me at night while whispering in my ear, 'never letting go'. He thought I was asleep, but I could never fall asleep without hearing those words first. Wiping my face I growled loudly and got up heading straight for the shower. The kids would be home soon and I couldn't let them nor Finn see me like this. You never show your scars. 15 minutes later I was drying myself off and chucking on some yoga pants and a loose tee. I didn't bother drying my hair, instead I put it in a messy top knot. A few minutes later the door bell dinged, I was excited to see my kids. I hated time apart even if it was a few hours. I happily opened the door and immediately was pushed to the group by my equally excited kids. Kissed were given multiple times. It was a bond I wish lasted til my last breaths. A clearing of the throat startled me momentarily before i turned my gaze towards the open door. He stood tall, still looking impeccable in his designer suit and leather shoes. His hair looking a little more unkempt then usual, and the early signs of stress adorned his face more then usual. He didn't seem like his cocky self, he seemed some what broken inside. 'Broken? Pfftt..' i couldn't help but think bitterly. "Rae" he addressed me with a curt nod. I couldn't help the sensation i felt between my thighs, it was the rumble of his voice, his husky undertone to the word. Or maybe it was the look in his eye, the look that use to make me drop my panties before him 2 seconds flat. "Can i talk to you?"  I didn't realize that i had been staring at him until he spoke again. The glint in his eye changed, he was almost amused that i had been caught in the act. Gulping, i stood to my feet and told the kids to head towards their rooms and to get changed into their Pj's, they left without a fuss like usual and i just remained rooted. "I have to tuck the kids in first, um- just come in and take a seat... Ill- uh ill be back". I didn't wait for his reply before i hurried up the steps. Ruby was the first to be tucked under her blankets, i insisted on reading her a bedtime story much to her dismay. You see in the last few weeks she had been explaining to me that 'big girls' don't get read bedtime stories, and I will support it another night when her father isn't down stairs waiting for me. Joshua was quietly reading his book in bed when I came to say goodnight, it was a mere goodnight kiss and a 'see you in the morning' before i was heading towards the stairs, ready to face the demon i currently had in my living room. My steps were slow, i didn't want to talk, i didn't want to hear what he had to say, i had a nagging feeling that it wasnt going to involve the kids. Or maybe, he couldn't take them anymore after school on Tuesday and Thursday? Maybe... just maybe he came to tell me that he was creating a new family with blow up barbie... I saw him standing by my vinyl collection I had had since I was a teenager, thumbing through the different sleeves. He heard me enter the room and turned around. "You still have my Bowie album I see" he smirked, but I completely ignored his comment. "What do you want Finn?" Sighing, he walked over to where I stood, only stopping when our breaths started to mix. I should care that he was invading my space. I should care that he was staring at my lips, but i didn't. All I wanted to do was wrap my arms around body and kiss him til i couldn't breath anymore. God Rae. "What happened?"  "What do you mean what happened Finn?" I asked stepping to the left and towards the couch. I need to sit, I needed to separate my starving body from his. "What happened to us? Why did you leave?" "Don't you dare" I suddenly yelled forgetting that the kids laid asleep only a short distance away.  "I think you should leave Finn" I went to walk out of the room but he caught my wrist tightly and pulled me towards him. "I loved you with all my fucking heart and you walked... No actually you fucking ran! I did everything for you, I gave you what you wanted and how do you repay me? By taking my kids in the middle of the night whilst i was away on business". 'Sure business he says, hmm...' "You act like I pried every dime you earnt out of your pocket Finn" I spat trying to pull away without any success. "It was the hardest thing to do, walking away from you! It was something I never thought I would be doing, I fucking loved you with all my heart and you broke me... You broke us" I couldnt stop crying by this point, I just let the tears stream down my redned face. "What happened to us?" He repeated his question softly. I could see the hesitation in his eyes when his finger caught a stray tear that was about to drip from my plump lip. My breathing momentarily stopped when I closed my eyes trying to control my emotions. "You... You happened to us" I whispered. I didn't see it coming at first, maybe i was still the foolish girl that fell in love with him, because when i felt his lips on mine after all those years it felt like the world around us stopped moving. Everything i wanted to say vanished, all the pent up aggression i felt for this man- gone. I didn't think twice before returning the kiss just as passionately. His hands grabbed my ass suddenly and before i knew it my legs were securely around his waist. Our kiss was never broken, in fact it had turned more animalistic. The feral beasts within us were out to play, and this time I wasnt holding back.  One by one pieces of our clothing fell to the ground. Our tops laid by the lounge room entrance. Our pants on the couch, along with his shoes and socks. My bra landed somewhere near the down stairs bathroom. And my panties were torn from my body the moment my bedroom door slammed shut. My womenhood craved his touch, it screamed for attention but he was too focused on my breasts to notice. He rolled my solid bud between his fingers as he licked and nibbled on the other lavishly. I want to beg him to take me, but the words couldn't be said because I was already moaning. My back landed softly on my bed, with Finn on top of me keeping me down. "Your so beautiful Rae" he mumbled into my stomach as he moved down. Licks and nibbles tickled my soft flesh, coating the skin in a layer of wetness. I was in heaven, I hadn't felt like this in years. My body had never reacted like this way when Gregory ravished me, my body was already tingling its way towards an orgasm and he hadn't even dipped his tongue into my honey. "More..." One solid lick up my slit turned my word on its fucking head, my body hummed with satisfaction. Nibble. Lick. Rub. Eat. He did it all, by the time my orgasm came charging full speed I was grinding my sex into his face. Finn didn't take his eyes off me, not once did I see his eyes close or loose interest. He lapped up the remains of my cum and before having time to think about the next step he plunged into me. "Fuck I've missed this" Finn moaned slamming his stiff girth back into my wetness. Over and over he thrusted harder and harder. I was glad that I had always been flexible, because by the time my second orgasm began to purr my feet were against the head board with his firm grip clutching the back of my thighs. "Fuck babe! I'm almost there... cum babe" he reached down and rubbed my clit in time with his hard thrusts. We exploded together, each other's names on our lips. He didn't pull out until his cock was flacid, he just laid upon me in a sweaty mess. Once our breathing returned back to normal, he pushed himself off me and laid to my left. We had just had sex. I just slept with my ex-husband. I just cheated on my boyfriend. I'm no better then Finn. "This was a mistake!" -- A/N: I don't know how many of you picked up on my slight metaphor. So I'm going to explain. In the TV show Rae physically harms herself with cutting, and hid her scars embarrassed with herself. Well, in this book she never cut herself when she was a teen. Her scars are displayed in her heartache. So she doesn't like to appear broken, even though she is. She hides her 'scars', and instead of showing them she deflects the heartache... maybe that's why she comes across a little bit 'bitchy' when it comes to Finn. And Alot of people are asking why Rae never said anything to Finn well that will be explained... very soon :) @i-dream-of-emus @lily-pop-2 @mmfdfanfic @milllott @hey1tskat1e @arathewallflower @eveerez @I88cym @milymargot

[dunmertitty]

[id: image from a poorly designed homophobic christian website that reads “One of the most dangerous ways Homosexuality invades family life is through popular music.  Parents, please keep careful watch over your children’s listening habits.  Especially in this age of Internet mp3 piracy.

There are multiple levels of Gay Music.  Some bands are what we like to call Gateway Bands.  They lure children in with Pop Grooves and Salacious Melodies leaving them wanting more.  They’ll move on to more dangerous bands and the next thing you know you’ve got a homosexual for a child.

We’ve taken the time to highlight the bands that are particularly Gay.  Please take the time and dissect your child’s CD / iTunes catalog. If you find 3 or more of these bands in their collection it is time to take action.

We Strongly recommend that you burn the CDs.  Make sure your child is watching.  Make sure they can feel the heat. It is crucial that the image remains emblazoned in their young minds. They need to know that if they continue to listen to these bands they may Burn eternally as well.

Bands to watch out for

• Lady Gaga (tricks girls into lesbianism)

• Ween (Rainbow)

• Lil'Wayne

• P!nK (gay family)

• The Black Keys

• Coldplay

• SlipKnot (make-up)

• RadioHead

• Michael Jackson

• Justin Bieber (gay bullying)

• Boredoms

• School of Seven Bells (gay twins)

• Jason Mraz

• Jonas Brothers

• Rilo Kiley

• Death Cab for Cutie

• Sarah McLachlan

• George Strait

• Cold War Kids

• Toby Keith (cowboy)

• P-Diddy

• Black People

• Vampire Weekend

• King Crimson

• Kate Bush (kissed a girl)

• Bob Dylan 

• Fleet Foxes 

• Sigur Ros (nudists)

• Twisted Sister

• The Spores (endorse suicide)

• Scissor Sisters

• Turbonegro

• Rufus Wainwright

• Merzbau

• Ravi Shankar

• The Butchies (lizbians)

• Wilco

• Bjork (mb)

• Tech N9ne

• Ghostface Killah

• Bobby Conn

• Morton Subotnik

• Cole Porter

• The String Cheese Incident

• Eagles of Death Metal

• Polyphonic Spree

• The Faint

• Interpol

• Twisted Sister (jj)

• Tegan and Sara

• Erasure

• The Grateful Dead (drugs too)

• Le Tigre

• Marilyn Manson (dark gay)

• The Gossip

• The Magnetic Fields

• The Doors

• Phish

• Queen

• The Strokes

• Morrissey(?questionable?)

• Metallica

•

• Judas Priest

• The Village People

• The Secret Handshake

• The Rolling Stones

• David Bowie

• Frankie Goes to Hollywood

• Man or Astroman

• Richard Cheese

• Jay-Z

• Depeche Mode

• Kansas

• Ani DiFranco

• Fischerspooner

• John Mayer

• George Michael (texan)

• Angel Eyes

• The Indigo Girls

• Velvet Underground

• Madonna

• Elton John

• Barry Manilow

• Indigo Girls

• Melissa Etheridge

• Eminmen

• Nirvana

• Boy George

• Jon Brion

• The Killers

• Lou Reed

• Lil' Wayne

• Motorhead

• Jill Sobule

• Wilson Phillips

• DMX

• Wesley Willis

• Lisa Loeb

• Ted Nugent (loincloth)

• Dogstar

• Thirty Seconds to Mars

• Lil' Kim

• kd lang

• Frank Sinatra

• Hinder

• Nickleback

• Justus Kohncke

• Bob Mould

• Clay Aiken

• Arcade Fire

• Bright Eyes

• Corinne Bailey Rae

• Audioslave

• Red Hot Chili Peppers

• Panic at the Disco

• The Cure (makeup)

• Spin Doctors

• The Deers

• Lindsey Lohan

• The Smiths

• Beck

• Tom Waits

• The Cramps

• Cannibal Corpse

• Britney Spears(kissed Madonna)

• Perfect Sin

• The Queers

• NoFx(gay punk)

• Soup Dragons

• Elton John(really gay)

In Our effort to keep this list up to date we'd appreciate your help. If you know of a band that is Gay or propogating a Gay message please email us so we can update. Donnie is handling this his email is: DonnieDavies@gmail.com

The response is overwhelming. You guys know of a lot more Gay Bands than I do. I can't keep up. Hopefully soon we'll have it so you can add them by yourself.” end id]

look i know homophobes are dangerous but this is the funniest fucking shit i’ve ever seen

[thunderoad]

just to add my two cents to the bops vs feeling conversation- i actually don't think there needs to be a vs! i am completely with you re: being drawn to songs that are powerfully emotional. i've always said that since i don't know anything about music, the only thing i can comment on is whether or not it makes me FEEL something. but i think that feeling can also come through upbeat songs; it's just that the feelings are joy and exhilaration instead of loneliness or desperation or melancholy! (1)

i think that's actually the reason why people are so drawn to carly rae jepson, or lizzo, or janelle monae, the best of ariana grande. sure, there's a beat and it makes you want to dance, but it feels like that beat is in service of a deeper emotional release. i'd further break upbeat 'bops' into two categories - ones where the joyful music is actually a vessel for sorrow/pain (like a lot of the bleachers' stuff) and ones that are just a celebration of happiness and the way that music can (2)

make us feel (like 'cut to the feeling', or bowie's 'modern love'). anyways, i love a good sufjan stevens, and i really love a good 'i'm on fire', but i also think that the thing that makes a great deal of top 40 music empty and (subjectively!) bad is not it's formal elements (beat or instrument choice) but its refusal to even attempt to channel any kind of genuine emotion. any beat and any instrument can make us feel!! the artist just has to have feeling to give us!

ooh, no, i don’t either!! i think you misunderstood me, or maybe i wasn’t clear; i’ve always said i love a good upbeat song as much as anyone!! walk the moon and hippo campus are two of my long-time faves, and they both tend toward faster, more fun, exhilarating stuff. and there’s an emotional thread to them, too! so i don’t think bop and emotion are mutually exclusive at all. i do think that very machinated, unoriginal music and lyrics do tend to go hand in hand, though, maybe just because they’re just churned out so fast or because lyrics are designed to fit a beat mathematically engineered to be an earworm?? idk that either are the case, but the lack of effort - even when the tools of production are so accessible - is frustratingly lazy to me! 

i do think that formal construction is a function of whatever you’re trying to convey, though, u know?? like, born to run is a towering testament to wall of sound; that’s what makes the engines roar in ‘thunder road,’ the horn screaming like a man alone in ‘tenth avenue,’ the drums pounding like a war beat in ‘backstreets,’ a new laying of the law. ariana’s vocal dubs in ‘ntltc’ are super cool, too, i think! they sound very ‘90s britney to me, which is always a compliment, and i totally think jack antonoff spins the wall of sound to liquidate his sadness into shimmering, metallic tragic joy, too! i think feeling and sound should go hand in hand, even if the marriage initially seems a little unintuitive.

but it seems like so much stuff doesn’t even think about how it sounds, or leans so hard into nostalgia that it assumes nostalgia alone makes for susbstance, that you don’t get the same satisfaction, you know? 'zooropa’ is such a good example i think of attempting to capture the complete media saturation of the 90s combined with the rise of edm and dance music without losing heart, so i agree it’s not even the genre that makes the wedding of lyrics to music to feeling implausible, you know? and it’s not even abt the emphasis for some being on making money over music that really resonates, because that’s always been the case; it’s just interesting to observe the way making the tools of production more readily accessible seems to have encouraged a certain sound, which has become so mainstream it actually appears to be influencing both established and new artists, and all of coming out seemingly faster than ever! 

[newyorktheater]

As if to underscore what a demoralizing year this has been, theater lovers can’t just snuggle up with the rash of new openings, usual holiday season sentimentality and end-of-year assessments – such as which blonde star made the most impressive Broadway debut? Disturbing news just keeps on coming, including an explosive device set off this morning in Port Authority Bus Terminal, and more about harassment in the theater, including a credible accusation against Dustin Hoffman while on Broadway.

The Week in New York Theater Reviews

My reviews from this past week are listed in the order of my preference, beginning with my favorite:

Once on this Island

The first Broadway revival of “Once on This Island,” a stunning storybook production of a Caribbean-flavored folktale, begins in the aftermath of a natural disaster, as a story of love and loss told to soothe a frightened girl. With a terrifically appealing cast, including Lea Salonga as the goddess of love and several impressive Broadway debuts, as well as a rhythmic score, infectious choreography, vibrantly colorful design, and clever stagecraft,  the musical itself could well serve to soothe audience members reeling from the year’s many disasters. There are even live roosters and a goat cute enough to be the star attraction in a petting zoo.

SpongeBob SquarePants

“SpongeBob SquarePants” ends with a cascade of confetti descending on our heads…AND crepe paper streamers…AND soap bubbles…followed by beach balls. This more or less sums up the more-is-more approach of the Broadway musical, which aims to win us over, whatever it’ll take. And so this show, based on the wildly popular television cartoon for children about a sponge, works hard to catch both your eye and your ear for two and a half hours, with a cast of more than two dozen talented performers singing and dancing to a score composed by almost as many songwriters — 22 different recording artists or bands, from David Bowie to Panic at the Disco — amid ceaseless bursts of psychedelic Day-Glo color created by David Zinn’s spectacularly playful sets.

Describe the Night

Playwright Rajiv Joseph aims high in this ambitious, pertinent, resonant, sometimes compelling but often confusing drama that sprawls over 90 years (and three hours), taking place in Poland, Russia, and East Germany, branching out surreally from its roots in actual historical events. The central and most intriguing of these true stories is the relationship between the Russian Jewish writer Isaac Babel (portrayed by Danny Burstein, last on Broadway in “Fiddler on the Roof”) and the head of Stalin’s Soviet Secret Police Nikolai Yezhov (Zach Grenier, best known as the aggressive divorce lawyer David Lee in “The Good Wife.”

Glass Guignol

In its forty-seventh year, Mabou Mines is inaugurating its first permanent home, the ninety-nine-seat Mabou Mines Theater in the East Village, with a newly devised piece called Glass Guignol: The Brother and Sister Play, a riff on Tennessee Williams that presents passages from four of his plays, most prominently The Glass Menagerie. But to summarize the piece in such a straightforward way fails to capture the elusiveness of the work by this celebrated avant-garde theatre company. Glass Guignol makes the recent, critically bludgeoned, experimental The Glass Menagerie directed by Sam Gold on Broadway feel like a production for the Hallmark Hall of Fame.

The Parisian Woman

Uma Thurman and Josh Lucas neither kill a dog nor bed an FBI agent in The Parisian Woman, a tame, tidy, talky and only superficially timely play about a D.C. power couple engaged in political intrigue. It is written by Beau Willimon, who is also the creator of Netflix’s more daring House of Cards, where for five seasons the Underwoods have killed and bed with abandon.

Meteor Showers

Reverting to his early-career wackiness,  Steve Martin enlists four phenomenal performers, including Amy Schumer making her Broadway debut, for a joke-filled, overlong, trickster comedy sketch about marriage that is an uneasy stew of Neil Simon and Edward Albee, but falls short of either….Meteor Shower may be a cloudburst of laugh lines lasting only about 80 minutes, but its non-sequiturs and silliness turn tedious in a remarkably short time..

The Week in New York Theater News

Suspect Akayed Ullah, 27, sets off bomb in Port Authority bus terminal in Times Square. Four injured. “This was an attempted terrorist attack” – NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio

  Harassment “is endemic at every single level in the theatre industry,” writes @diepthought of @AmericanTheatre, which put out a call for personal stories.https://t.co/jGvT2dzgNE

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) December 6, 2017

Actress @nykass‘s account in @THR of Dustin Hoffman’s daily sexual harassment of her during 1984 #DeathofaSalesman Bway revival.https://t.co/0RrF4941z1#Ibelieveher

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) December 10, 2017

Irony of the week: Broadway casting director booted from ‘Norma Rae’ musical after union push

.@MichaelLuwoye will take over title role in @HamiltonMusical on Broadway, date unspecified.

Glimpse his performance from last Decemberhttps://t.co/3Q9iRyZxaG pic.twitter.com/kuzTSRPZNe

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) December 8, 2017

Jayne Houdyshell will star in @jclee1230‘s “Relevance,” as a celebrated author & long-time feminist warrior challenged by an up-and-comer. Opens Feb 20, @mcctheater pic.twitter.com/qUJm5LTtZY

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) December 6, 2017

When is it time for long-time theater leaders to step aside?Question arises due to Randall Arney’s age discrimination suit against @GeffenPlayhouse https://t.co/mPDpCiNX90

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) December 6, 2017

Broadway Records has announced a new Broadway cast recording of Once On This Island, set for February.

Theater on Screen

1.AT THE PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA, free screenings in conjunction with BroadwayCon

SUNDAY, JANUARY 14

12:15 pm Carousel (1967)

2:15 pm Carousel Roundtable Discussion (2013)

3 pm Pippin on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1972)

SUNDAY, JANUARY 21

12:15 pm Brigadoon (1966)

  1:45 pm South Bank Show: The Andrew Lloyd Webber Story (1986)

2. On PBS:

Tony Bennett: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, January 12, 2018, at 9 PM ET. The all-star tribute to Bennett  features performances by Josh Groban, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Savion Glover, Michael Feinstein, and many more.

Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart, which explores the life and work of the A Raisin in the Sun playwright and activist. January 19 at 9 PM ET. LaTanya Richardson Jackson narrates with Tony winner Anika Noni Rose as the voice of Hansberry. Both appeared in the 2014 Broadway revival of the play.

Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, Sundays, May 13 and 20 at 8 PM, featuring Angela Lansbury

At BroadwayCon

  Happy 101st Birthday Kirk Douglas, movie star, father of a movie star, and eight-time veteran of the Broadway stage. pic.twitter.com/Hv008nXzC4

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) December 10, 2017

A dog chases a cat in CATS

During the opening number of the musical CATS, the service dog of a theatergoing “got away from its owner and ran after Bombalurina,” the character performed by actress Mackenzie Warren.

Previewing season 4 of Mozart in the Jungle, featuring Bernadette Peters

Amy, Uma or Chloe? Terrorist Attempt in Times Square. More Theater Harassment. The Week in NY Theater. As if to underscore what a demoralizing year this has been, theater lovers can’t just snuggle up with the rash of new openings, usual holiday season sentimentality and end-of-year assessments – such as which blonde star made the most impressive Broadway debut?

[crzytwn]

Boo for the character meme 👻

2-4 songs that are probably on their iPod

Scream - Zac EfronUnder Pressure - QueenHeroes - David BowieCall me maybe - Carly Rae Jepsen

the one place they sometimes end up falling asleep – where they’re not supposed to

Class. So frequently tho.

the game they'd destroy everyone else at

Connect 4

the emoticon they’d use most often

🎉

what they act like when they haven’t had enough sleep

Sooo grouchy. Luckily he gets enough so no one ever has to find out.

their preferred hot beverage on really cold nights. or mornings. or whenever.

Hot cocoa!

how they like to comfort/care for themselves when they’re in a slump

He really likes those adult coloring books so he fills up a few pages.

what they wanted to be when they grew up

A ringmaster like his dad!

their favorite kind of weather

Super sunny

thoughts on their singing voice (decent? terrible? soprano? alto?)

It's a pretty decent one as far as pubescent boy voices go but like he's not a performer by any means so who cares?

how/what they like to draw or doodle

Boo is surprisingly really skilled at drawing but in a very lowkey kind of way since He doesn't really think of it as a skill so much as just a chill way to waste time. He likes to write his name in various cute little designs a lot and it's ALL OVER his notebooks and stuff. But he mostly just draws animals, circusy things, his friends or just whatever falls into his line of sight.

[nofomoartworld]

Hyperallergic: LCD Soundsystem Looks in the Mirror, Again

If nothing else, the new LCD Soundsystem album proves that certain lessons can only be learned by studying a humongous record collection. Seven years after their last full-length release, James Murphy still takes scrupulous notes. After a staged hiatus and a period of earned inactivity, the formal facility evident on the new American Dream, out since September, is a pleasure. For this brand of listless dance-rock to sound so good confounds conventional attitudes about rock comebacks and reunion albums. Murphy still confirms every cliché about the constricting effects of self-consciousness on an artist, and that, too, is a comfort; it’s good to know he’s as endearingly awkward as ever.

Subjecting LCD Soundsystem to reasoned analysis feels counterproductive somehow — nobody will ever nail the band as ruthlessly as they did themselves, on their debut single in 2002. On “Losing My Edge,” an eight-minute monster dance track that builds marvelously from dinky unaccompanied drum machine to an explosive synthfunk climax, Murphy impersonates an aging hipster terrified and/or amused and/or infuriated that his taste is going out of style. LCD’s music has a frustrating way of anticipating and responding to criticism. Murphy’s singing and stuttering may indeed sound amateurish, stilted, but that’s the point: he plays the accidental frontman, a music nerd on stage, nervously struggling to enact rituals of stardom he’s observed so many times before. Said music nerd may indeed play dreary spot-the-influence games, designed to flatter rock critics congratulating themselves for discovering even such obvious references as the Kraftwerk hook in “Get Innocuous!” and the Bowie riff in “All I Want,” but that’s the point: LCD’s electronic digifunk template updates the classic college-rock taste profile for modern times, with cannily assembled synthbeats and mechanical functionalist irony. The whole concept of LCD Soundsystem as a band may indeed be limited, emotionally and formally, by obsessive historical positioning and pointlessly intricate self-referentiality, but that’s the point, too: the project’s impossibility works as a comment on the evolution of taste, the passing of time, and all the metalayers implicit in loving music as a fan and an artist. “LCD is a band about a band writing music about writing music,” Murphy said once, and he’s right. Fandom is the band’s subject. He’s always written songs that satirized various familiar hipsterish attitudes and phenomena (“North American Scum,” “Daft Punk is Playing at My House,” “You Wanted a Hit”), and even his serious confessional songs are set, implicitly, against the backdrop of the New York indie scene. One might still wonder why these music nerds don’t have better taste, but hey now — that sounds like something a music nerd would say.

Since LCD Soundsystem already had too many influences, too retrospective an ethos, the extra layer of nostalgia intrinsic to a reunion album project spelled disaster, especially so soon after the band’s big, showy, overly conclusive four-hour farewell concert in Madison Square Garden and accompanying documentary. Oddly, American Dream is no more nostalgic than their previous albums. As inventive posthistorical patchwork, all four records purport to stand outside linear time, and if anything, the new one has fewer textual layers. They’ve demodernized their sound: behold a passably punkoid rock album, fiery in places, elsewhere clunky. Their signature electrobeats, so skinny and dinky, are augmented by spookier art-rock keyboards and jerkier noise guitar; Murphy’s been listening to Joy Division, Suicide, and Berlin-era Bowie. Since the bleached abrasion of this approach has sounded tired since the early ‘80s, for the clattery drums and snaky, sinuous buzz guitar on American Dream to electrify so fetchingly honors the band’s gift for arranging elements throughout space, their knack for balancing crisp keyboards against blurry guitar. That half the songs nonetheless sound like perfunctory exercises in postpunk facsimile, however, is hardly a surprise. “Other Voices” rides a murky funk groove, plunging through a whirlwind of deep rubbery bass, high keyboard latticework, and clickity clave, compounded by Murphy’s spoken sneer and a sublimely affectless rapped interlude by keyboardist Nancy Whang. “Oh Baby,”, a felt romantic lament that sounds simultaneously epic and small, sways woozily as the band constructs a net of synthesizer hooks, including one particularly playful glassy lick that punctuates certain lines for emphasis. Elsewhere they thud, gauchely. “How Do You Sleep?,” a vitriolic hatesong against some former friend, plods endlessly over menacing congas and echoey bass; eventually a stronger beat kicks in, but by then Murphy has blown his voice yelling tunelessly about cocaine. The lighter, prettier “Call the Police” attempts to conjure soaring positive energy, with loopy fuzzy guitar passages that recall Robert Fripp soloing on Brian Eno’s Another Green World, but at seven minutes the anthem dissipates.

Murphy’s approach invites a multitude of comparisons, but Eno is particularly relevant. As a producer, Eno’s touch is unmistakable — David Bowie’s Low, Talking Heads’ Remain in Light, and U2’s Zooropa all share with Eno’s solo albums a certain spare, angular quirkiness, reliant on expanses of blank space, immersion in technology, wistfulness mitigated by cheer. It’s this aesthetic that LCD Soundsystem aims to inhabit on American Dream. The constantly strummed rhythm guitar and spiky keyboard octave jumps in “I Used To”; the chickenscratch solos on “Change Yr Mind”; the bleary guitar frizz that pervades the whole record — such amusing facsimile! I associate this sound with abrupt career shifts and attempts at cathartic renewal — Bowie moving from LA to Berlin, purging the drugs from his system, and embracing cold electronic European modernism; U2 selling their guitars and buying turntables. I suspect Murphy has a similar association in mind, for much like Low minus Bowie’s sense of play, the sober, clear-eyed, levelheaded American Dream serves to cleanse. Fusing harmonic ideas they learned from Eno with the band’s own increased sense of scale, it’s LCD’s coldest, harshest album, immersed in postpunk ideals of aural distortion and sharp bursts of sound. Whether inspired by the present political situation, or by the urge to play up their seriousness coming out of retirement, or simply from ennui, they’ve deliberately kept and accentuated their pained, earnest, confessional elements while avoiding satire, spoken declamatory comedy, and automated drum-machine functionalism. The album strains for gravitas. “Call the Police” and “American Dream” are but two of many forlorn ballads about age and cultural decline. Caught in the hissing electric lurch, they sound less detached and less meta; American Dream includes fewer distancing devices, fewer wry admissions of referentiality, than any other LCD Soundsystem album. It very nearly simulates direct expression.

One doesn’t play LCD Soundsystem albums for direct expression, of course, nor for gravitas. One plays LCD Soundsystem albums for their marvelous innovations in creative anachronism. I don’t fault artists for empty formalist constructions — Carly Rae Jepsen and Red Velvet fascinate for similar reasons. American Dream will please those in the market for chewy dance-rock beats and postpunk grooves, likewise those entertained by bricolage. Of such mild delights is a discography made.

American Dream (2017) and This is Happening (2010) are available from Amazon and other online retailers.

The post LCD Soundsystem Looks in the Mirror, Again appeared first on Hyperallergic.

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