#do i have time to play guitar? no but that's irrelevant

[pluggedintosaverockandroll]

the Urge to buy a guitar with a humbucker pickup in the bridge.....

[steddieas-shegoes]

a goddamn rockstar

for @corrodedcoffinfest prompt 'eddie'

rated t | 912 words | cw: language | tags: side steddie, robin is also here, kinda just feels right to have these 6, new spicy 6 just dropped i guess

🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸

Eddie Munson was born to be a goddamn rockstar.

His mama told him before he could even hold a guitar: "You're gonna show this world what music is, string bean."

His Uncle Wayne told him when he was crying at her grave: "You're gonna sing for her, Ed."

Jeff's dad even looked at him in awe the first time he watched him play and said: "You've got what they look for, Eddie."

His guitar was an extension of him from the moment Wayne gave it to him, never out of sight if he could help it. Wayne would joke that it would melt to his hands in the heat of summer while he sat on the porch strumming through whatever song was on repeat in Eddie's mind.

He could play by ear, a gift that he was lucky to have since they couldn't afford lessons or those books at the record shop that showed actual music. A song would play on the radio or on Wayne's record player, and within two days, Eddie would be playing it like he wrote it himself.

Wayne would watch in awe, watching his fingers glide across the frets like it was as easy as breathing.

When he formed his band, he was clearly the guy who would lead them somewhere. Jeff, Frankie, and Gareth were talented, of course they were. He wouldn't have bothered with them if they weren't.

But they were doing this for fun, because they thought it would be cool to get to play on a stage, maybe have an audience beyond their parents and unwilling siblings and cousins.

Eddie was doing this because this was what his life was going to be. This was his future. His everything.

They practiced twice a week, they played at The Hideout every Tuesday, and then every Thursday when more than a few people bothered to show up. Wayne made sure to switch his days off so he could be there to "babysit", an agreement between the owner and him when he saw how young they were.

They competed in the school talent show, but didn't even place. It was rigged anyway. Only the popular kids ever won it.

They took a day trip to Indy for Gareth's 16th birthday, playing at a pop-up show for local bands. Not quite a Battle of the Bands, but still a fun time.

Nothing came of it except for Jeff finding a girlfriend who would break his heart a month later, but they were glad to have the experience.

It still wasn't enough for Eddie.

But it became irrelevant when hell tried to take him, and then when cops tried to after he barely made it out of that alive.

He owed everything to Nancy Wheeler and Hopper, though.

He'd make sure to dedicate his first album to them.

God, Hopper would hate that. He couldn't wait.

It took him three months to pick up his guitar again. His dexterity wasn't the best anymore, and his biggest worry was that he wouldn't be able to play at the level he'd been at before.

Steve convinced him, though. Shyly asked him if he knew any Blondie, and of course Eddie knew Blondie. So he played Blondie.

Steve kissed him after.

Eddie decided to add Blondie to their shows and Steve to the front row.

As soon as Gareth graduated, they went to Chicago, looking for opportunity.

All of them wanted it, but Eddie needed it.

Steve came with them, and so did Robin. Frankie tried to make a move on Robin, got told to lose his dick, and then they became good friends. They all shared a rented house in the suburbs, rundown and needing more work than any of them could possibly give it, but it was a roof over their heads.

They didn't get many gigs, and the ones they did were for free or barely enough to cover the cost of gas to get to them.

But they didn't stop trying.

The one thing that everyone always commented on was how Eddie was made for the stage.

Corroded Coffin got lucky. That's what anyone in the business would say.

They happened to be filling in for a band last minute at a festival. It wasn't even supposed to be metal music. But they toned down their sound for their set, focusing on rock hits that all of them enjoyed.

They put on a hell of a show.

And someone was watching, someone who could make something happen for them.

Within a month, they were recording a demo of their real sound for a label, including two original songs and two covers. Two months later, they were signing a contract that didn't completely suck and booking studio time.

It was almost too much at once. After wanting it for so long, Eddie thought maybe he wasn't actually supposed to be doing this.

It was long nights, longer days, and arguments he never thought he'd have with his closest friends and boyfriend. It was finding balance between his music and his family. It was not knowing if all of this would even pay off for them, for him.

But their album did better than even the label could have expected, better than any of them had dared hope. They were planning a tour. They had t-shirts that Eddie didn't have to make himself.

He had Steve with a VIP badge backstage every night.

Eddie Munson was a goddamn rockstar.

[idontmindifuforgetme]

i’m finding it so difficult to detach myself and cut off a person who i am very much still in love with but who has repeatedly hurt me and strung me along only to dump me when reality hits and they remember im a real person with flaws and emotions and not some fantasy they created

i’m about to be really mean but this person doesn’t give nearly as much of a fuck about you as you do about them. you’re probably romanticizing them, playing a highlight reel of their best qualities in your head, rewinding all the good moments you might’ve shared w them. meanwhile they weighed your best qualities, replayed your best memories in their head, considered the value you add to their life as a person—and still decided it wasn’t enough and chose to dump you.

this was my biggest blind spot when i was going through things like friendship fallouts or my breakup w my ex. i was like but how can i live without them now!! as if they didn’t choose to severe our connection w their whole chest. you might be like “but they might’ve really struggled to do it” and it’s like okay, but they still chose to go through w it. their reasoning to them was more important than having you in their life, regardless of the tremendous energy and emotion that got expended into the decision. that or it took no energy at all, which just means that they were playacting their care for you and never actually gave a fuck. far more sinister.

from the way you described them, they’re still not mature enough to realize that love is hard work. that it’s not just convenience and feeling good all the time. why do you want someone like that in your life? someone who always goes into fight or flight whenever push comes to shove? not sustainable whatsoever. they literally did you a favor by walking out of your life. they saved you more wasted time and effort and pain that would have no doubt stemmed from their avoidant, erratic, wishywashy nature.

you have to get into the habit of not wanting people who don’t want you, whatever the context. i feel like a bit of narcissism is healthy when it comes to this bc i legit don’t care what a person’s attributes are; to me that’s such a fundamental difference in thinking between us bc i’m the dopest bitch i know. and they still don’t want me in their life ?? like ik what i bring to the table and that would be such flawed, ludicrous logic to me. it just gives me the ick and makes me lose interest in them as a person instantly, even if they were great listeners or had a good music taste or were funny or played the guitar really well. doesn’t matter, they still were shortsighted enough to think a life without me in it was a good choice. romantic and platonic breakups do bother me, simply bc i’m very honest w my love and i genuinely value the people in my life, but these days i’m not hung up on anyone for more than a day bc i will never want someone who doesn’t want me. never never never. i don’t have the compulsive urge to make people who don’t like me like me. i have such a don’t let the door slam you on your way out mentality about it. i’ll simply find someone who’s funny and a good listener and plays the guitar well and still cares enough about me not to dump me when it gets hard. doesn’t have to be one or the other.

also do yourself a favor and don’t fill the gaps for them or try to guess what’s going on in their minds. they dumped you? okay they don’t care about you. they cut you off? okay they don’t care about you. they’re not trying to send you subliminal messages on their ig story about how much they still care—and on the very small chance that they are, you shouldn’t want that. you shouldn’t want someone whose peak effort when it comes to you is posting a sad quote about how lonely they are without actually putting the effort into approaching you, apologizing, owning up to their mistakes. until they actually act on it, their feelings pretty much irrelevant & it’s best to assume they just don’t give a fuck. you don’t want someone in your life who always prioritizes their comfort over maintaining their connection w you. ruthlessly remind yourself of that and move on to someone who doesn’t just give you breadcrumbs, if anything at all.

[foxes-that-run]

Olivia

Harry wrote Olivia for One Direction's Made on the AM which was written and recorded between March - September 2015. Several months after 1989 was completed. Taylor has said she played 1989 for Harry and it's highly likely he was also aware of the Vault Tracks.

From Rolling Stone:

Bunetta and Ryan cite “Olivia” as a defining track, one that captures just how far One Direction had come as songwriters: They’d written it in 45 minutes, after wasting a whole day trying to write something far worse. “When you start as a songwriter, you write a bunch of shitty songs, you get better and you keep getting better,” Ryan says. “But then you can get finicky, and you’re like, ‘Maybe I have to get smart with this lyric.’ By Made in the A.M. … they were coming into their own in the sense of picking up a guitar, messing around, and feeling something, rather than being like, ‘How do I put this puzzle together?’”

Harry also said Olivia 'fell out' when they were trying to write something else to GMA and avoided answering what he was trying to write which may have been Perfect as it took a long time.

Who is Olivia?

Harry famously answered this "Is Olivia even a person? Is Olivia an emotion? Is she a place? We don't know" Oliva sounds like 'I love ya'

Harry later referenced Olivia in the leaked Ophelia (I feel ya). Harry wrote Ophelia, in Tokyo when she was there for the last Reputation show in November 2018, he also wrote Little Freak at the same time. Ophelia and Olivia are Taylor Swift.

Taylor also has a cat Olivia Bensen, adopted June 2014, Harry can be heard laughing in her adoption video.

Lyrics

[Spoken Intro] [Verse 1: Niall] Remember the day we were giving up When you told me I didn't give you enough And all of your friends were saying I'd be leaving ya? She's lyin' in bed with my t-shirt on Just thinking how I went about it wrong This isn't the stain of a red wine, I'm bleeding love

Harry has referenced Taylor wearing his shirts in a number of songs. She's also wore a few of his shirts.

The Red wine is also a reference to 1989, so we know who he is singing to:

Clean - "You're still all over me like a wine-stained dress I can't wear anymore"

Maroon "The burgundy on my T-shirt when you splashed your wine into me" and

[Pre-Chorus: Niall] Please, believe me, don't you see the things you mean to me? Oh, I love you, I love you, I love, I love, I love Olivia

I think this is a reference to "Say don't go" a 1989 Vault Track. As Harry and Taylor were dating again through the production, and she has said she played it for him it is likely he knew the lyrics "Make me love you (Make me love you)? / I said, "I love you" (I said, "I love you")/ You say nothing back"

[Chorus: Harry] I live for you, I long for you, Olivia (Ayy, ayy) I've been idolizing the light in your eyes, Olivia (Ayy, ayy) I live for you, I long for you, Olivia Don't let me go, don't let me go

This is almost a direct response to Say don't go's: "Say, "Don't go" / I would stay forever if you say, "Don't go""

[Verse 2: Liam] Say what you're feelin' and say it now 'Cause I got the feelin' you're walkin' out And time is irrelevant when I've not been seeing ya The consequences of falling out That's something I'm having nightmares about And these are the reasons I'm cryin' out to be with ya

Say don't go was asking him to ask her to not leave, In Olivia he did.

[Bridge: Harry] When you go and I'm alone You live in my imagination The summertime, butterflies All belong to your creation I love you, it's all I do, I love you

Harry continued to refer to Taylor as sunshine, butterfly's and all things good:

Golden: "golden as I open my eyes / Hold it, focus, hoping, take me back to the light / I know you were way too bright for me / I'm hopeless, broken, so you wait for me in the sky”

Sunflower Vol 6: "Sunflower / My eyes, want you more than a melody"

Sweet Creature: "Wherever I go, you bring me home / Sweet creature, sweet creature / When I run out of road, you bring me home"

Fine line: “You sunshine, you temptress / My hand's at risk, I fold"

Daylight "If I was a bluebird, I would fly to you / You'd be the spoon / Dip you in honey so I could be sticking to you / Daylight, you got me cursing the daylight (ooh)"

Grapejuice: "Give me something old and Red."

Little Freak "I disrespected you / Jumped in feet first, and I landed too hard / A broken ankle, karma rules"

Happily "I don't care what people say when we're together / You know I wanna be the one to hold you when you sleep / I just want it to be you and I forever"

[ironcroft11]

Can you do an analysis of the Calling lyrics and how they link with Gwen's POV?

Sure! First of all: This song is the second credit song from Across the Spider-Verse. Chronologically it's the last song being played in Across the Spider-Verse. Calling is a confession, apology and a promise from Gwen to Miles. It only makes sense from Gwen's POV and ONLY after the events of the movie. (That's why it's the last song we hear)

♫ Just to save you, I'd give all of me (All of me, yeah) ♫ ♫ I can hear you screamin' out, callin' me (Callin' me) ♫ ♫ It's my fault, made you fall for me (Fall) ♫ ♫ So, to save you, I'd give my all (My all) ♫

This is basically Gwen saying that she would give everything she has in order to save Miles. Miles, as we know, is trapped in the wrong universe after the events of Across the Spider-Verse. Gwen builds a team to go and save him. She also says she can hear Miles calling. This is just metaphorically though. It basically means Gwen knows that Miles is dependent on her help. This part also shows that Gwen blames herself for what happened and that she is aware that Miles did indeed fall in love with her. That's the reason why she will risk it all to save him.

♫ You fell for me, I count on you when times are tough ♫ ♫ Instead of holdin' you down, I should lift you up ♫ ♫ It hurts me when you start to see my flaws (my flaws) ♫ ♫ But just to save you, I'd risk it all (all) ♫ ♫ Short on time for you, I'd never have enough (have enough) ♫ ♫ When I ran into ya, I didn't plan on fallin' in love ♫ ♫ Always there to wipe your tears, I hate to see you cry ♫ ♫ If you tell me to jump, I'll ask you: How high? ♫ ♫ I know sometimes it be hard for me to tell the truth(tell the truth) ♫ ♫ But I go through any obstacle to get to you (to you) ♫ ♫ I'm not materialistic, but I got a thing for you ♫ ♫ Treat the world like my guitar, I'm pullin' strings for you ♫

This is the interesting part. It starts of with Gwen, again, acknowledging that Miles fell in love with her. It also shows that Gwen counts on Miles when times are tough. We can see that in the movie. Miles is her beacon of light. When she is struggling or feeling sad she looks at the picture of her and Miles. A memory that always brightens her mood. Gwen says it hurts her when Miles starts to see her flaws. This one is self explainatory. Gwen has flaws and they are on full display in Across the Spider-Verse. Some of these flaws are the reason why Miles gets hurt. But Gwen again reiterates that she will risk everything to save Miles. It's her number one priority. She then says she is short on time but that for Miles she'd never have enough, meaning that no amount of time she spents with Miles would feel enough. She wants to spend ALL her time with Miles. Then she says that she didn't plan on falling in love with Miles when she first met him, but she did anyway. This is the confession part of the song. Gwen confesses that she fell in love with Miles. The next two lines basically say that Gwen can't bear to see Miles sad and that she'll always be there to cheer him up. It also says that she trusts him BLINDLY. We then get the part where she talks about the fact that she lied to him. She acknowledges that but again reiterates that nothing can and will stop her from getting to him. We can see that in the movie when she goes to see Miles despite being forbidden to and despite the fact it would endanger the multiverse. This can also be connected to her current mission. Nothing will stop her from reaching and saving Miles. The last two lines are Gwen, again, stating that she has feelings for Miles and that she will do everything to save him. The rest of the song is kind of irrelevant. This is the main part that's from Gwen's POV. It's my favorite song from the soundtrack and I love how it fits PERFECTLY with what happens in the movie.

[neonhairspray]

I Feel You Within My Mind

Author's note: I needed to get this out of my system, so I sat down and wrote this thing in two evenings. Cannot say that in my head I had a deep and meaningful concept, because it started as a joke. Then my girl @sihtricfedaraaahvicius said " You should write this" , and I guess it left me thinking. So here we are now, unleashing my horny and evil self by giving you a tiny peek into my delulu world.

Warnings: Mentions of sexual activities, male masturbation, a bit of crude language, and just a man yearning and being a fool.

Final note: Although I consciously avoided any names, this piece was written with particular people in mind. If you could guess them, I salute you.

It started with a thought.

Seemingly harmless and irrelevant one. Or that's what he's been trying to tell himself now, cold water running down his pale skin and leaving him shivering. But not because of the temperature that was a big contrast to what was felt outside the shower glass.

He was doing everything that his mind told him to do so the thought of her would leave his mind, numbing the memories that were escaping the prison in his mind. Memories that made this guitar and synth-filled song sound so different now when she was not here. At least physically.

How she would watch the music video and always point out that the blonde who played the guitar was wearing sweatpants while the lead singer looked sharp with his striped jacket. And how her smile would become mischievous after taking a short look at the man singing the song. "I had such a big crush on him in this specific music video when I was a teen...I think I do have a type" she'd whisper. Because he did look a lot like the man on the screen.

Her fascinating mind and random knowledge that she would spill out of nowhere. He would sit and look at her, completely lost in her words and shy smile. Then get aroused out of the blue, just like that.

Like right now, for example.

Trying to muffle his low moans and heavy breathing with the music playing softly from his phone and a powerful stream of water. The bathroom wasn't near his bedroom where the other lady was sleeping, but he still tried to cover his tracks. Stroking his cock faster and faster with one hand while playing with his balls with another one. It proved to be harder than he thought, yet he kept doing it. Imagining her mouth and slim fingers instead of his own. Her delicate moans that would eventually grow louder. And the way she would occasionally say,"You look so beautiful when you're at my mercy" . Even if these words would ruffle some feathers of his dominant self, he'd swallow his fragile pride like he did when she'd cum inside his mouth. One desperate and loud whimper escaped his lips, bouncing off of the shower walls. Her clit, her pussy, the way he'd feel like he was back home when her walls would be surrounding him....

I feel you

Within my mind,

This is the morning of our love

It's just the dawning of our love

Logic and sanity, no ability to fight the overwhelming desire that was consuming him in that moment. It was gone, plain and simple. Even if he tried to fight it, the same thing he's been doing for the past few weeks. Yet maybe somewhere deep down where the graveyard of his undesirable feelings was located, he discovered that he didn't even try. Maybe he gave up willingly just to feel an ounce of deep connection & desire that he'd missed so much.

You take me to

And lead me through

Oblivion

The song was playing on repeat now, but he didn't even notice it. Same words all over again, same baritone that was a background to their lovemaking for so many times. Still, he was too caught up to notice.

A somewhat muted moan followed by heavy breathing was heard, and then silence followed. Music stopped abruptly, no sound of water hitting the tiles. Just his breaths as he looked at the glossy silver wall that was now painted with the streaks of white liquid. His work.

It felt good, heavenly even, and for a second he was back to the moment when she stood here. The top of her head reaching his chin, hands holding on to his back, and her lips peppering kisses on his chest. He knew it wasn't real, but he let himself be delusional for a while.

**********

Later on, when he was sitting on the edge of his bed & staring at the old electronic clock, mesmerized by the green numbers that showed 3:33it seemed that his mind was finally free. Shame was just a thin veil of mist clouding his consciousness. And a woman, his new love, was no longer a sight that would immediately wake up the feeling of guilt.

He threw his bathrobe somewhere on the floor and made himself comfortable under the soft duvet. Moving on wasn't hard, but he did it. That was then, and this is now. A soulful and creative lady, not religious but spiritual. Finding positivity even in the saddest situations or making art out of it. A quick glance at her form, sound asleep & surrounded by the aura of dark hair, and he smiled.

Just as his head hit the cold pillow that welcomed his slightly wet curls, a thought lit up his consciousness like fireworks during New Year's Eve.

"I moved on but so did she....And I would want to hate him,but I can't"

That was true. A tall & slim man who was a bit younger than him and had eyes that would stop anyone in their tracks (including him) was by her side now. Slightly more athletic than him and working in a different field of the arts yet still talented as hell. The thing is ...he knew a bit more about him. And their relationship. More than someone who had moved on and buried their past relationship should know.

During a moment of weakness, he managed to dive into the dark and often dangerous waters of the Internet. Even though only crumbs were available, he did not give up and found his way to get what he wants. His friend probably thought that he was overworked and slightly drunk, but enlightened him anyway.

Some of his works were consumed, several hours spent watching the new man on the screen. He was so different there, such a chameleon. It was easy to see why she fell for him. If his sexual preferences were different, he would have had a thing for that young gentleman too. Yet there was a hint of jealousy too. Now this blue-eyed guy was making her tea and going to thrift shops and bookstores with her. Laughing 'till his stomach hurt because she was always so unintentionally funny. But also holding her tight when she was sobbing and distraught because her demons were stronger once again.

"I bet she is pegging him and he enjoys it"

He was disgusted and angry. Why his mind was going so far, digging so deep, and unearthing such perverted thoughts? Even if he did wonder how he was treating her in bed, this seemed too much. However, a sick part of himself felt superior for knowing how to please her and that he was the only man she kneeled for.

"You would have liked to try it too? To feel her soft dominance? Don't lie to yourself!"

Two things were clear: he wasn't going to get any sleep tonight, and maybe he was a fool. A lying fool who convinced himself that having a new love meant that he moved on. Because he clearly didn't.

[puffyducks]

DCRC Week #9 (Part 2)

Oh shit!! Is these ducks on the road??? YOU BET YOUR SWEET ASS THEY ARE!!! Anyways we're reading Ducks on the Road now which I'm super excited for because it features not one but THREE characters we've barely seen in the book club so far!!

This comic is LONG (I guess it's technically like 5 comics but we're reading them all in one go) so I'll probably end up having to extend this post with a few reblogs! So look out for those.

They're in.... VIRGINIA???? NOOOOOOOOOOO (person with irrational hatred of Virginia cause my whole extended family lives there so I have to travel there every holiday and it just kinda sucks there idk what to tell you. Also if Virginia is for lovers why is it called VIRGINia hm?? riddle me that BATMAN)

SCROOGE PAY YOUR FUCKING WORKERS also I love this outfit and haircut for Daisy she looks so cute here

Does this imply that Donald was living in Virginia beforehand because the implication that I'm only 1 state away from Donald is kind of frightening ngl. also Virginia sucks.

Did they hire Tuskerninni's cousin what's going on here. Actually this is the 70s it could probably BE Tuskerninni in an earlier life

I'm so used to talking about DT17 Gyro within my circles that I see Regular Gyro and it's like oh right!! He actually has joy and whimsy in his heart!! He's actually just a funny invention man who has totally not accidentally committed any atrocities in Tokyolk before!!!! He's also changed his hair color like four times

DON'T EAT THE GARBAGE SANDWICH WHAT ARE YOU DOOIIIIING

can somebody please help him he looks like an anxious chihuahua

How do you even leave piles of money on the floor to be blown away like that HELP I'm so stressed. Dickie get it together girl.

shoutout to these two and their cool accompanying text

HOW IS SHE SUCH A PUBLIC MENACE SHE'S LITERALLY JUST KINDA MID AT PLAYING GUITAR

She kissed him then IMMEDIATELY friendzoned him it was like a speedrun holy shit

Did he just headcanon Dickie and Daisy as lesbians? Because me too.

WHAT THE FUCK KIND OF QUESTION IS THAT AFTER AN EXAM WHY'D THEY DO HIM LIKE THAT 😭😭😭 nice presentation you LONELY IDIOT.

DICKIE YOU CAN'T PAINT A FUCKIGN RENTAL VAN OH MY GOD

Ah yes my favorite sign on the highway. The big one that just says "WEST"

YOU GUYS I AM SO STRESSED DICKIE IS GONNA GET THEM ALL KILLED IN A HORRIFIC ROAD ACCIDENT. ALSO HOW DID THEY ALREADY GET ALL THE WAY TO OKLAHOMA-

NVM THEY'RE NOT GONNA CRASH THEY'RE GONNA GET SHOT BY THIS GUY FOR HARBORING CRIMINALS

DAISY YOU CAN'T SAY THAT WORD. also i want these two guys dead they were mean to her >:(

GET A JOB STAY AWAY FROM HER

dork ass nerd and his dork ass math pajamas. and what I assume is a plush of Albert Einstein or something. NERD.

Oh ok so we're just not gonna acknowledge what they do about their tires being gone. Ok. No it's fine I guess that's like irrelevant information they probably just like... found some new tires on the side of the road or something..... yeah....

Anyways this is the part where I briefly end the post so I can attach more reactions with a reblog!

[lej222]

Hey... What's your thoughts on todays chapter of aslfua

I apologize in advance for the short answer, I'm working on a big post about the supernatural force in the story and it takes up my time 😃Episode149 spoilers:

I personally liked this chapter. We had a lot of interesting moments, like:

Miae can indeed hear the voice of the higher being(?) and it seems to steer her towards Jisu. I cannot emphasize this enough, but there's two possible outcomes, one is the happy ending with Miae fighting her own fate, the other is the bittersweet one about a young love that was not bound to happen. So far, Miae has been ignoring this voice and might continue to do so, but even if her fate is not with Cheol, the story is about them. There's no way we will see Miae with Jisu together unless it's an extra/epilogue chapter if Miae and Cheol don't end up together. So even if that comes true, it doesn't diminish Cheol's role as the main character as some people claim after this episode. It is a story about growth and learning and first love.

Miae finally remembers Jisu which makes me think her memories about him will emerge just like they did with Cheol. Like I said in my previous post, Miae might just have kickstarted her own destiny that the higher power foreshadowed. If it's true, this unknown voice will be even more active in the future chapters. The direction of the story from here on really depends on the author's vision.

Jisu and Miae playing the guitar was so cute. Poor Jisu said he cannot control his yawning, I know people on the spectrum who are the same because of sensory overload...and because he was the same as a kid it pretty much explains it

Jisu got himself involved with both the Shim (the bully with the mole) and the Yonghui-Yunhui storylines. So his character will definitely be a cornerstone from here on, regardless the love triangle.

Soonkki said that she would focus on the main plot because of her health problems. Which pretty much confirms what I've been yapping about, that Jisu is the 3rd main character and is important to the main plot. There was no way he would be irrelevant with how much attention Soonkki gave him, he was basically having his own parallel storyline in the background up until ep 75. We could even say ASLFUA is about two stories about two childhood friendships, and the intersection is Miae herself, that's why she's the main character who can hear the voice of the higher being. We got her story with Cheol in a chronological order, starting from their first meeting, and it continued in the present. While her story with Jisu was intentionally left open for a long time.

It's just my personal opinion, but I hate comments like how Cheol should beat up Jisu for this episode. They genuinely make me angry. I never cared about the romantic outcome in this story, I'm an adult. Hating on a teenager like this is an awful thing to do and trying to justify it with how you want your 15-year-old characters to end up together is just immature. Jisu has a role in this story, whether people like it or not. What role, we can only make guesses. I hate to say this to some readers, but there are people who experience heartbreak countless times in their lives before they find the one, or they might never find them. So arguing about fictional teenagers and their love lives seems pretty pointless, especially sending asks to me about it, because while I think it's nice if first loves last a lifetime, I'm not naive or young enough to believe that it is always true. (Not your question anon, it was respectful!🤝)

Random thought, but I just realized Jisu and Miae are two characters who still don't have their resolution to their character arcs and it's interesting how they have to spend more time together.

Because we have:

Cheol: he stops hiding from other people, becomes more animated and honest about his feelings, more open to new experiences

Johan: steps up to be brave and opens up to make friends

Honggyu: stops judging people and learns to accept help

Jinseop: forms genuine connections instead of hanging out with bullies

Song-I: stands up for herself and for what she wants

For Miae, we know she has to mature but she's not there yet, she needs challenging experiences like Cheol, e.g. when Jisu called her out for interrupting the confession was a moment that genuinely made her think about her actions. As for Jisu, we don't know what his character arc will be about, but he's already connected to important subplots.

[losingherface]

Drums

ellie x fem reader

warnings: implied sex

Info: Reader is annoyed with Ellie’s spending habits. When Ellie buys a drum set, reader thinks Ellie has no idea what she’s doing with it anyways.

•

It was a stressful afternoon, your classes ended later than usual and you were nearly fired from your job. Although the day wasn’t going as planned, you were proud to come home to your longtime girlfriend Ellie and your shared one story home.

Ellie, on the other hand seemed like she was having a lovely afternoon. Her legs were propped up on the ottoman with her laptop on her thighs and her favorite show playing on the Tv.

“Heyyyyy.” She said loudly, excited by your presence.

“Hi.” Ellie had sensed your low energy.

“Come on.” She patted the couch for you to sit and removed her laptop so you can rest your head in her lap. It was the typical ‘I had a bad day’ routine.

So you did just that.

“What’s the matter?” She asked.

“nothing. I’m just tired. What were you up to all day?”

“I’m glad you asked…Let me show you.” Ellie had a big smile on her face which worried you a little.

you lifted yourself off of Ellie and watched her slide into the nearby room. Suddenly, you hear her slide out a set of drums, the metal sounds and bars scraping the ground. Your eyes widen.

“Here it is!” She gestured her hands showing off her drum set.

“Ellie. How much was that?”

“Almost $1,000. But it was worth it.”

“Ellie, you have to return it. You get into these random bursts of energy and you wanna do new things and then you end up giving it up. They’re not worth it.”

You and Ellie had an argument every other month surrounding her spontaneous money spending. It was terrible. She was incredibly irresponsible with money.

Last month she purchased what was considered one of the best coffee machines on the market, nearly 800 bucks. She hates coffee. The only reason it worked out was because you love coffee.

“Ellie, do you even know how to play those? Or are we gonna have to spend more money on lessons.”

“I know how to play drums. And, this wasn’t a random purchase.”

“This wasn’t random? So why’d you get it?”

“It’s been a long time since I played.” She says playing with the drumsticks.

“So it was random.”

“do you want me to play a beat for you or something?” Ellie was getting tired of your frustration and wanted to show you better than she can tell you.

“Yes. I would LOVE that, Ellie the drummer. Please play for me. Ummmmm play (any favorite rock song of yours).” You were getting obnoxious.

Ellie just silently chuckled-sighed. You sat on the sofa, hands resting on your legs waiting to be blown away.

Ellie fixed her hair from being in her face, she also took off her large flannel exposing her white tank top and sculpted arms.

She sat down and licked her lips quickly. She began playing your favorite rock song effortlessly and at ease. Your childish grin began to crumble as you were amazing and almost aroused?

Her head bangs and minimal sweat running down her arms was starting to make you wild. Ellie would take brief breaks from head banging to licking her lips.

You thought about a lot of things but one of the main things you thought about was why she hadn’t told you about her skill. You knew she could kinda play the guitar but she was excellent at the drums. She also looked so good playing that in a way it made you intimidated as if it was the first time you two had ever spoken.

Quickly though, the drumming had came to a stop and you were in a mixture of feeling embarrassed and turned on.

Ellie looked at you with one of those I told you so smirks.

“So how’d I do?”

“….You can keep them. Seriously, I didn’t think you could play that good. When did you learn?”

She stood up and walked over to you, sitting down and pulling you in tightly.

“You should’ve seen the look on your face. Why don’t you ever trust what I say?”

“Look around, Ellie. We have so many unused, irrelevant shit in this place because of you. But I don’t care right now.” You said trying to give her kiss.

“Okay, this weekend we’ll have a garage sale. Ok? All of the stuff we don’t use, we’ll try to sell it.”

“ok….we can do that. Before we start collecting everything can we please go to the room, you’re driving me crazy.”You put your hands in a praying gesture, begging for her touch.

Ellie laughed and grabbed your hand pulling you up and the two of you enjoyed the rest of the evening.

•

a/n: a little shorter than usual (i think?) I’ve been busy trying to get my life together but i’ll keep posting ofc. My love for writing about ellie will never die i fear thx 4 reading tho ! <3

[ceo-of-rockopera]

habits . rockopera

umm stims, behaviors and things of the like! (majority headcanon...obviously)

Erik:

nothing was ever diagnosed for him (mentally), due to pretty much everything that had happened in his childhood. because of this he really just grew up feeling less human than he already believed himself to be, which was NOT a lot with how he was treated.

turns out a lot of these habits were just bc of the autism. would've been helpful to know, but nonetheless

following this, as a good portion of behaviors are taught/grown out of with time, there are a bunch of things he just doesn't know how to do due to not having someone to teach him. my dude is barely functioning

he has a very orderly way of doing things, not enough to be considered a schedule necessarily but he'll plan in his head things he wants to happen. and gets upset when these things don't go how he planned them. it never gets any easier either

when walking with anyone (notably shown when with christine . no one else) erik will hold their wrist. the physical contact is a good way to remind himself that person is still there + making /sure/ he doesn't lose them

while not true in the musical he is described as having childlike handwriting and I'd rather believe he's a musical genius than believe he knows how to hold a pen the right way

he plays the organ so aggressively. this isn't leading up to anything i just think it's worth noting. i like it

he isn't very particular with the texture of the clothing he wears but due to . being a very sickly man - he does like covering himself up in multiple layers. that and its harder to identify him. more mysterious, if you would (shivering is not mysterious)

his wigs worn for both cosmetic purposes and to attempt and stop pulling at his actual hair . (trichotillomania? whats that /s)

Dewey:

has absolutely no regard for his guitar picks whatsoever. he goes through like 4 every day and one always ends up being lost in the void that is his jean pockets . at this point whenever he’s in need of a pick he just reaches into the washing machine, surely there’s a ton in there

overall a VERY very excited dude, if that wasn't obvious. just filled with a lot of pent up energy. "stimming isn't enough i need to fucking explode" looking

vocal + physical stims, alot . been commented on a lot but RAPTOR HANDS . he's very dear to my heart

he ended up learning how to sew because the small hole in his favorite jacket ended up turning into a much bigger one from how much he picked at it

likely should have been diagnosed with adhd earlier but his father kinda just shrugged him off as lazy. as soon as he was an Adult who could do Adult Things he figured that out

"we, are the champions........my friends." a good portion of the things he says are quotes or lyrics to things he likes, and whether or not people get it is irrelevant.

good /lord/ if there's a song stuck in his head people will NOT hear the end of it, he will be full on singing (humming? no) BELTING it constantly

prone to infodumping . he doesn't /think/ he knows a lot about music (mainly the history) but then he'll know enough to teach a whole class on it and boom he has a job?? like what???

both very observant and very socially inept . he'll pick up things around him and social cues and just not know how to interpret them, so he sits there just :)

majority of his energy comes from - the void . really unknown how hes hyper all the time. does take naps throughout the day though! any day he wakes up to a classroom that isn't on fire is a good day (which has likely happened on more than one occasion)

i've been practicing a little something *plays all of van halen's eruption*

Misc:

mornings with them are incredibly slow. erik's up around 4 in the morning, likely working off of <5 hours of sleep and already wide awake. dewey on the other hand, will just refuse to lift his head up from the bed until its 9 (classes starts 9:15)

turns out seizing people by the wrist unprompted isn't a very cool thing to do !! erik ends up holding deweys hand when dragging him around

erik definitely isn't a touchy person . when his only experiences with touch have been the abuse he endured it's no surprise that his first instinct is to flinch away when touched unexpectedly

with his partner (who is quite the opposite in that regard) he's eventually gotten used to it, even started to crave these moments after a while

dewey took notice of this after a while and was more than happy to oblige

he'll hold erik's face in place to pepper kisses over his scars (not often, while its something that would comfort him immensely its also very overwhelming)

erik's heard many many rants about The Man™️, whether he understands what it is he's talking about or just chocks it up to rambling is up to interpretation.

he's heard many many rants about anything, really . deweys talkative just in general, and eriks more than content to listen

it should come as no surprise that they're both musicians ,, , duets. half the time dewey'll just start singing something when he's with erik and he joins in should he know the song

[citrinekay]

17 and 25 for the weird questions 👀

Thanks for the ask! 17. Tell me about the minutiae of your current WIP. Tell me about the lore, the history, the detail, the things that won't make it in the text. My current WIP actually does have quite a bit of history and humor to it. A year ago, after I finished writing "the bitter and the sweet," I was riding high on the thrill of a new hyperfixation and a 50k word story completed. I immediately decided I wanted to write another post-canon fic, this time from Dong-sik's POV, that might sort of mirror what happened in the bitter and the sweet - Dong-sik selling everything, leaving home, essentially running away. I came up with a concept and started writing it but for some reason or another, I couldn't put my finger on exactly what I wanted the story to be ABOUT. Not the setting or the endgame, but the emotional journey I was about to put him through. The WIP sat on the back burner with 1 chapter completed all year long until just recently when I picked it back up again and had a sudden burst of inspiration about what direction I wanted it to go. I don't like giving away a lot of details about my WIPs until I post them, so I'll just say this is a story about Joowon and Dongsik accidentally ending up doing home improvement together and Dongsik realizing along the way what he really wants and how to heal 💕 25. What weird, hyper-specific detail you know about one of your characters that is completely irrelevant to the story? Not sure if this is weird or hyper-specific, just a head-canon of mine, but I've always believed that despite being raised Catholic, Dong-sik has always been something of an atheist, and the reason he wasn't at his grandmother's funeral the day Yu-yeon disappeared, is that this grandmother (his dad's mom bc I do not get the sense that his mother is in That Much mourning either) was also very Catholic and kind of a huge, homophobic bitch that had Dongsik pegged as queer long ago. So of course he's skipping her wake to go play guitar lol I'm always curious about the Lee family because we only get bare-bones details for extended family members. You never see any of them again because, I'm assuming, they cut him off after the accusations/his parent's deaths. The reason he clings onto Sang-bae so hard, even though he was the one who arrested/beat Dongsik into confessing, is that he literally doesn't have any other family members left. Sang-bae is like a psuedo-father/grandfather/uncle/mentor all wrapped into one - then Dongsik loses him too :((( In my mind, this also explains his reluctance to let go of Jeong-je's friendship despite what he did. They were both growing up queer in a small town, the only people who knew the truth about each other, but sadly, a romance was not meant to be.

Send me a number from this ask game, Weird Questions for Writers, if you're up to it!

[storytimewithnova]

Picture perfect memories

???? Pov

Memories they can be made in all kinds of ways they can be forgotten all the same even memories of someone you love it just takes something Traumatising to wipe those memories away I am Miya shoyo this is the story of how i died

Narrator sho: 💭Like i said this is story of how i died but lets not skip ahead of everything to my death let go back and join me on my happiest day

Preist:I now ponouce you husband and wife you may kiss your bride Atsumu

Atsumu:Don’t mind if i do

Shoyo:Hehe don’t that feel nice

They are dressing their wedding suits Narrator sho💭 so began the start of my forever or at least i thought we started make a lot of memories together

Shoyo:Honey come on lets go

Atsumu:Haha coming sunshine oh wait hold still there perfect you look so cute

Atsumu:Haha perfect just like you

Shoyo:Atsu -////-

Atsumu:😆

Atsumu:Um good morning love ❤️

Shoyo:Mhm

Atsumu:You okay

Shoyo: Meh

Atsumu:So we are talking in sound effects today

Shoyo:Coffee

Atsumu:Oh he speaks

Shoyo:He is also your husband that can kick your ass

Atsumu:You didn’t sleep

Shoyo:What do you think

Atsumu:Do you want to go back to bed i will bring you coffee and breakfast

Shoyo:Mhm

Narrator sho💭i guess that deserves abit of context we have literally the worst neighbours ever they bang and their kids play music all night so excuse me if i was cranky thank god my husband was understanding he brought me breakfast in bed and came cuddled me suddenly my anger seemed irrelevent

Shoyo:What are we doing today love

Atsumu:Well sunshine we have a practice match

Shoyo:Against what team?

Atsumu:The adlers

Shoyo:….

Atsumu: Sunshine honey

Shoyo:Hoshimi’s team

Narrator sho💭aww yes hoshimi my jealous ex that can ‘t get over the fact we are over Good thing he doesn’t know i am married

Time skip to the match

Atsumu: Well played sunshine

Hoshimi:Why the fuck you kissing my bf

Sho:I am not yours anymore we broke up after you cheated on me with kags i am atsumu’s

Hoshimi:Hinata please

Bokuto:Hinata… sho has been a hinata for a long time You must be well out of the loop

Hoshimi:What do you mean?

Bokuto:Sho is a miya him and atsumu are married

Omi:BOKUTO!!!

Bokuto:What?

Omi:You weren’t meant to tell him you dumb owl

Bokuto:😖 i am so sorry sho

Hoshimi: You’re what?!

Shoyo:Thanks to That Loud mouth over there I have to tell you yes I am married

Hoshimi’s thoughts💭😡 not on my watch you’re not

Atsumu:Sho lets go we are going to be late

Shoyo: Coming love

Hoshimi:*Mumbles* so you think you can just get married and i will let you be happy not happening

Bokuto hears what Hoshimi mumbled

Bokuto:😨

Mean while with sho and atsu they were going to kenma and kuroos

Shoyo:Made it just

Kenma:Shoyo

Shoyo:Kenken

Kuroo:You know husbands are here too or do we not count

Kenma:Sho you hear something

Shoyo:Nah must of been the wind

Atsumu:😢

Shoyo:Atsumu don’t go getting upset on me

After that they were having a fun night sho saw kuroo’s guitar

Atsumu:Sho

Shoyo:Oh quite

Atsumu grabs if from sho and starts playing

Play this mainly because author chan don’t feel like right the lyrics

Sho:-//////-

Narrator sho everything was going so well to we heard

Third person they had no clue where it came from when everything settled kenma looked over at sho only to be met with

Kenma:Aaaahhhhhhh!!!!!!!!

Kuroo:KITTEN!!! OMG CHIBI CHAN

Atsumu:Kuroo what is it

Kuroo:No atsumu don’t

Atsumu:No no no no sho sho call an amblance

Kenma:I i i did

Somewhere outside

Hoshimi:There if i can’t have you no one can

What hoshi wasn’t counting on was his lover to see what he had done and called the cops

Kageyama:Hey babe what are you doing here omg what happened

Hoshimi:I don’t know just passing

Tobio's thoughts💭liar

Tobio:My best friend is in there

They could hear sirens

The police and amblance showed the police walked over to Hoshimi

Officer: hoshiumi?

Hoshimi:Yeah why

Officer: you are under arrest for the shooting of Miya shoyo you do not have to say anything anything you do say can and will be used against you in the court of law. Do you understand

Mean while with sho

Atsumu:What did the doctor say ken

Kenma:Not good the bullet is stuck in a palce they can’t get it and if he goes in for surgery he could die on that table

Atsumu:No who would do this wait i know who his ex

Kuroo:Chibi chan had an ex

Atsumu:Yeah Hoshiumi he plays for the adlers

Kageyama:My ex now

Atsumu:Kageyama!?

Kageyama: it was him i just got him arrested i can’t believe his jealousy would lead him to do something this outragous actually forget that yes yes i can

They suddenly hear

Everyone in the room: doctor help

A doctor rushes in a pushes everyone out

Little while later

Doctor: sorry for your lost

Everyone: they were stunned they didn’t know weather to cry denial set in

Atsumu found a little note sho wrote

This is my final memories my picture perfect memories of us

End

[buggknife]

🍕💼🎯🥊❤️✂️🧊🍀🌂🙌🍎💎🍩 gib me scrunkly lore plz 🥺

yeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaa thank you so many aahh, once again since this is a Big One I am gonna throw these under the cut/zaza pic :3

🍕 - What is their favourite food? Since we’ve established the gas station snack food thing I’ll make another addition that isn’t dependent on a modern setting: jerky, generally anything crunchy. Any setting in which chips (or even crackers) exist you can bet he’s gonna be scarfing those fuckers down.

💼 - What do they do for a living? Ok so this is funny; in everywhere except the very scuffed ass modern/fc5 AU he mainly just steals shit. If asked why he’s always very ideological about why he does it, very particular about his targets but ultimately yeah. Whatever he can’t obtain via his weirdo hermit ass lifestyle he just forages in other peoples’ homes and businesses for. He could probably make some bank selling the shit he makes if he had any tolerance for the prospective buyers but that is not going to happen because stealing is less annoying.

🎯 -What do they do best? Answered HERE

🥊 -What do they love to do? What do they hate to do? Loves to fucking chill idk. If left to his own devices he would probably just roam around, climb some mountains, build some dumb shit, make a campfire, play guitar, who knows. As for hate. uhm. I don't think there's any day-to-day activity that he genuinely cant stand. Like he doesn't particularly like going to pick up the mail or answering the door but like it's not the end of the world. He definitely hates when things are done TO him though lmao- he hates being touched except by a VERY specific few people, otherwise expect to lose an arm.

❤️ - What is one of your OC’s best memories? Answered HERE &lt;3

✂️ - What is one of your OC’s worst memories? There was a prominent antagonist in the main RP I did with him, a dracolich who managed to push his buttons like no one else could and more or less took away everything that he held dear. Needless to say Eran went full murder mode, forgot how to be human for a few years, the whole nine yards. I could gush about that RP for hours it is my favourite thing I’ve done with Eran like ever

🧊 - Is their current design the first one? I went and tracked down a specil [ EXCLUSIVE !! ] piece of sprinkle history: behold scrackle circa 2009.

Needless to say the current design is slightly different. Having said that I think I had the basics of his design dialed in within the first few years.

🍀 - What originally inspired the OC? I can’t explain this without sounding like an insane person, but it involves a fixation that 13yo bug had with a popular Canadian country-rock band. It’s all completely irrelevant now but it is funny to think about. There were comics.

🌂 - What genre do they belong in? For a long time I had him really locked in to fantasy stuff but I am less and less enamoured with that genre as time goes on for a few different reasons. It’s familiar and comfortable for me certainly, and Eran has BY FAR the most ‘lore’ in his original, fantasy-ish canon. So I’m not sure if that counts as belonging but it’s certainly his origin. Even then that's more of a setting than a genre so I'll expand on that- I think there are certain elements that make an Eran story successful in my eyes, that aren't limited to fantasy. I need him to be able to do crimes, be a Wild Boy and generally be more of a freak than a modern setting would typically allow (not to 100% trash the FC5 au but it definitely needs…something). I think it would be funny to put him in a heist movie. I’ve always liked him best when leaning heavily into the drama, character study sort of shit.

🙌 - How many sibling does your OC have? One brother, Ash, whom he hates.

🍎 - What is the OC’s relationship w/their parents like? Bad! His whole family is a cult in its own right more or less and Eran really doesn’t want anything to do with them. It's admittedly something I haven't fleshed out toooooo much. E's very much a 'keep moving forward' type of guy so naturally his family past stuff has not had too much attention.

💎 - Do you ever see yourself killing off the OC? I have had him beef it before- obviously it’s been in self contained storylines. As for anything more permanent- hard to say. I never want to rule out the possibility entirely. I definitely feel like I’ve exhausted my writing options for him at the moment so that seems close to death in a way. I can draw the little bastard until the end of days but coherent story content has been…. Lacking. :|

🍩 -Who is your OC’s arch-nemesis or rival? I don’t feel like he’s had a ‘nemesis’ really in any of the main stories. His scraps tend to be against larger organisations, the world around him or his own dumb ass decisions. I think his most persistent ‘enemy’ has been a Mages’ Guild (also from ‘The RP’ I keep blabbing on about) which he angered on many different occasions though not without good reason. ;)

[linawritestwst]

Hello ! I hope you're still doing matchups ...if not then it's totally ok you can skip it .

I'm an introverted person , who is into programming and music ( I play classical guitar , though if that's irrelevant skip it lol) I also love to sing 😊.

Since I'm an introvert I can't assert things easily and I'm insecure about my appearance in general ( saw that coming lol). I'm pretty awkward at first when meeting someone but when I open up I'm pretty playful hehe.

And also I'm into gaming ( though I play not too many games , but I'm addicted lol)

And let's just say that I'm very very VERY awful at handling events that I need to be speaking or doing anything in front of people/crowds haha 😅

hi, i hope you like your matchup!

the character that i think would be a good partner for you is..

idia shroud!

i'll explain why i chose him:

yes i think this is like the third time when i match up someone who sent a request for this event with idia. listen, i see words "introverted" and "gaming" and i'm like "oh okay idia would LOVE you" SJHUDJSDKDK. okay, okay, but jokes aside, i really do think you two would be cute together! like come on!! you two have so much in common!

you two are introverts and you don't need to socialize that much and each other's company (+ ortho) is enough for you. it would most likely be a bit hard for you two to open up to each other at first, because of how hard it is for you both to start the conversation, but when one of you mentions a topic that you both are interested in, that's it, nobody will be able to make you two shut up, haha. also if you or idia needs to take part in some kind of event where you have to do something in front of a crowd, first of all, you two would try to come up with as many excuses as you can so that you don't have to participate and if that fails.. well, at least you can support each other. idia hates events like that, but if you have to do a speech or anything like that, he will definitely come so that he can be your personal cheerleader. most of his support just comes in a form of an awkward, but sincere smile, but that's enough for you.

idia is definitely into programming and gaming, but music is something new for him. sure, he listens to stuff like anime osts or vocaloid, but he's not really a singer himself. so when he finds out that you can sing and play classical guitar, he's very surprised and he tries to hide his interest, but he's really bad at it. he wishes he could hear you sing or play your instrument, but he doesn't want to force you or anything like that. if you're uncomfortable or you're not ready to do that for him yet, he will understand and he will give you as much time as you need. and when you finally sing or play for him, he is so amazed, he can't believe that he's dating someone this talented.

[welcometotheslipstream]

Dub's 2024 fav albums

No preamble needed, this is Dub, these are my fav albums of 2024.

12 Dave Harrington - Skull Dream

Dave is a great guitarist and makes instrumental jams at the Venn diagram nexus of ambient, post rock, and modern composition - some breathtaking, some groovy, some shootout at the OK Corral.

11 The Armed - Live at Metro

This Detroit weedhead body building hardcore/noise band put out an album about being rockstar idols and then put on the most memorable and visceral live performance I have experienced and then released the recording of that show on Bandcamp and YouTube, with a too good for this band rhythm section, and played aforementioned meta idolize-me haha-no-but-really songs while literally walking and standing atop their fans as they held their dirty boots like a 2010 Alice Glass except crossfit. Pure joy.

Also - I held the guys’ boots and I would do it again.

10 Nala Sinephro - Endlessness

Nala owns the “ambient jazz/jazz ambient” genre with such poise and vision, extending the electronic element of her sound, using bass pads and modular synth (the most esoteric wtf is happening instrument imo) as jazz instruments, it’s Wow.

9 Bibio - Phantom Brickworks II

Like if Basinski’s Lamentations was glistening and bright instead of overwhelmingly depressing; loops and samples, Brian Eno style ambient, foggy and also shimmering.

8 Shellac - To All Trains

Steve Albini’s last piece of art, he died just before the tour, and I didn’t realize he was hilarious. I laugh out loud at Scabby the Rat, but I almost cry at Wednesday. Lyrics of I Don't Fear Hell include “I don’t fear hell. Their baseball team is undefeated….. Leap in my grave like the arms of a lover…. If there’s a hell I’m gonna know everyone”. It’s straight eerie that he put this out before he bought it.

RIPIH, praise Satan.

7 Cowboy Sadness - Selected Jambient Works Vol 1

Name says it all, desert ambient, wide open spaces, the sound a tumbleweed hears, a road trip through spectacular and desolate scenery.

6 Ben Frost - Scope Neglect

The most difficult listen on this list, the singular crunchy noisy swirly analog ambient musician uses metal guitar chugs as his raw material and it’s entirely unique, frankly bludgeoning, and unavoidably immersive.

5 Charli xcx - BRAT

No caption needed, these are certified fucking bangers and I have heard it said this is the album and aesthetic that made the “indie sleaze” resurgence instantly irrelevant, Satan be praised.

[find it on spotify]

4 Four Tet - Three

Three times a day is about how often I play this. The expert down tempo electronic album that gave us a Porcelain for the 2000s (referring specifically to the song Three Drums).

3 Fabiano do Nascimiento AND (and!!) Sam Gendel - The Room

Someone hacked my brain and put these two masters of their instruments together. Hell fucking yes and their energy together is precise and loose and perfect.

2 Blood Incantation - Absolute Elsewhere

Weedhead proggy death metal EPIC. The album also known as Blood Floyd by those who know. Tangerine Dream does a celebrity shot for fucks sake. Attention to detail is mind blowing. There's a million micro moments on this thing. Were Nathan Explosion rather than Robin Pecknold to take a band holiday and earn his English degree, he’d growl lyrics like “All life is suffering that basks in nothingness” instead of listing the murder paraphernalia of a vengeful mermaid, but it’d sound pretty similar.  No one in here will listen to this all the way through but that is what it demands.

Do yourself a favor, Satan be praised.

1 Alex G - I Saw the TV Glow original score

Forty seven times a day is how often I play this one. The movie was POLarizing, the score is NOT. It is an instant classic score, it makes the movie what it is, and yes it sounds like Alex G with added “vhs-cd generation” and “Buffy’s on TV” energy. AOTY

[find it on spotify]

[markwatkinsconsumerguide]

Consumer Guide / No.136 / American-Australian singer-songwriter and poet Joe Dolce with Mark Watkins.

MW: Your new album…

JD: My new album ‘Green-eyed Boy of the Rain’ has been in the works for 10 years. 

I wanted to make an album of songs where all the song lyrics had first been published as REAL poetry in poetry journals by editors who never heard the music. This was my litmus test to prove to myself that the lyrics were in fact stand-alone poems not just song-lyrics that people erroneously ‘called’ poetry. 

Over the 14 years since I started doing this, I’ve had about 150 song lyrics published as serious poetry so I picked the 12  that I liked best and made this record.  

No one has ever done this kind of thing before. Ever. Either in the worlds of music or poetry.

I produced the album with a co-production credit to my engineer who came up with some important and  incredibly creative ideas throughout the recording. 

So many different themes: there’s a song about the little known assassination of Martin Luther King's mother, ‘The Murder of Alberta King’; a song about a Italian gangster named Paul Kelly who started the Five Point gang in New York and a song called, ‘Mr Q’, about my hometown paedophile as when I was just 10 years old he owned the comic book shop, oddly enough. (This track also ties in with your question later about Marvel comics!)

Love songs, too. The title track - on the theme of jealousy and lost love - is the first song-lyric I ever had published as a poem, in 2010.

I sing a duet with my daughter called, ‘The Murder of Alberta King’ – the first time we’ve ever sung together, and two beautiful duets with my partner Lin van Hek, ‘I Never Found Those Lips Again’ and ‘Anemone’.  Lin and I have been singing together for 44 years - as long as we’ve been together. 

Three of the song lyrics are villanelles – the Renaissance poetic structure that Dylan Thomas used for Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night. Nineteen lines, with repetitive lines. 

The villanelle started out during the Renaissance as a dance-song structure but over the years has only been used for poetry.

I am returning it to its roots by using it for songwriting. A perfect form for both poets and songwriters to use for writing poetic lyrics.

The other unique thing about this album - which may surprise people - is that it is very strongly guitar-oriented: themes, solos & sounds. 

The electric guitar is my first instrument that I started playing in the late 1960s in local psychedelic bands in Ohio. I could play anything back then: Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton solos note-for note. I especially loved Albert King’s simplicity. No shredding – just soulful simple phrasing with a great tone.

I finally decided to get back to it. I had a specially custom-built Stratocaster (with a Telecaster pickup) made to my specifications and there’s some pretty thrilling guitar ideas all through the record.

MW: In 1981, your slapstick record, ‘Shaddap You Face’, topped the UK singles chart for three weeks, preventing Ultravox having their No.1 hit with the serious, ‘Vienna’. Have you ever spoken to any members of the new wave band about this or perhaps know of their feelings? Does it matter to you either way?

JD: I have never spoken to any of Ultravox about the problems they had with my song. I never had a problem with theirs. In fact, I never even noticed, ‘Vienna’, and would’ve totally forgotten about it if the band hadn’t insisted on dwelling on my song in their press interviews.

I think, ‘Vienna’, is a good song – but not a great song - and pretty representative of the early 1980s trend in style-over-content music that was so prevalent then. Not really the kind of song that you hear a lot of people doing cover versions of, however, in that sense it was more of something specific to the culture of the 80s and more or less irrelevant to the present.

‘Shaddap You Face’, on the other hand sounded like it was written in the 1940s & 1950s and could have (and probably would have) been sung by Dean Martin or Frank Sinatra. Ringo Starr could have done a great cover version. He still might! haha.

It hasn’t dated because it was never really part of that 80s culture. Two of the members of Ultravox have said in print that they always liked my song – keyboard player Billy Currie said he wished he had written it! Only ‘Midge’ Ure had a ‘bug’ up his arse, so to speak.

MW: Born in America in 1947, why did you move to Australia in 1978?

JD: I moved to Australia during my first marriage. We had two small children and decided Australia might be a good place to make a fresh start. It was also near my ex-wife’s parents so that was advantageous for the children.

MW: One of your early records was called, ‘Boat People’ - do you have any thoughts on the current plight of those getting on boats and crossing the seas to the UK?

JD: I’m not that familiar with the UK boat people problem. 

In 1979, when I wrote 'Boat People', I was concerned about the arrivals in Darwin of all these dangerous rickety boats. It was in the headlines every day. I had made friends with a cook at the only Vietnamese restaurant in Melbourne and would go over there just about every day for lunch. A bowl of pho in those days cost two dollars and I’d never had anything like it before.

I recorded and paid for the record myself. It got a little media attention and then nothing. So I took all the copies of the '45 single I had made over to the Vietnamese restaurant and gave them to the cook and asked him to distribute them amongst the fledgling Vietnamese community. As a result I was invited for the next two years in a row to perform at the major Vietnamese festivals in Australia. It was translated into Vietnamese and even written-up in newspapers in Hanoi.

MW: What first made you decide to incorporate performance art and poetry into your cabaret-type-music?

JD: My ex-wife was a modern dancer in Berkeley, California. When we met, we wanted to do something together so we did a fusion of my music and her dancing. We had a 4 member group. That’s where  the performance art had its foundations. I’ve always been attracted to dance and dancers. My first girlfriend was one of the best go-go dancers I ever saw. I dated dancers from the Australian Dance Theatre. My ex-wife was an improvisational dancer. My partner Lin is a tremendous party dancer. Very hot. Just watch the ‘Intimacy’ video clip online. I guess dance and music are natural partners.

The poetry was a different story. 

I wrote (bad) poetry before I learned to play music. The first girl I fell in love with, and took to my high school prom when I was 16, was two years older than me and attended a local prestigious girls’ college on a Creative Poetry scholarship. She even credited me, in my high school yearbook, with helping her with her sonnets! 

In 2009, I found myself being very critical of the quality of the lyric-writing in songs, at the time, especially new songs by Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen. 

I felt they were producing way below their potential and their best early work - but no one else seemed to notice. 

One day I decided that if  I’m going to be critical, I’d better be able to walk-my-talk and to do it myself i.e write quality poetry and poetic songs. So I started writing verse and sending it out to magazines.  

Gradually my poems began to be accepted for publication. I became quite prolific at writing and had a lot of success with getting them published, even winning important poetry competitions.

MW: For you, as in the musical, is life a "...cabaret old chum",  - if so how?

JD: I’ve never considered my music "cabaret" but I suppose you could look at it that way. My partner Lin and I created a two-person show called Difficult Women which we called a "literary cabaret". We toured all over the world for fifteen years including Okinawa, Canada, New Zealand, Estonia and played fifty shows at the Edinburgh Festival.

I’ve always considered, ‘Shaddap You Face’, to be  the ‘Yellow Submarine’ of my song repertoire! I’ve  always looked at it as simply just a good song because when I was growing  up, the kind of songs that stuck with me, like most of kids, weren’t romantic songs but songs that had something humorous and colourful about them:  ‘The Purple People Eater’, ‘Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini’, ‘Alley Oop’ - hundreds of unforgettable songs with catchy hooks. To me, and kids in general, they are just songs. The term ‘novelty song’ was invented by adults, not kids. They don’t pigeon-hole music like that. They like something or they don’t.

‘Shaddap You Face’, also had a strong rebellious and singalong component and at that time that was pretty rare. Nowadays everyone knows the lyrics to just about every pop singer’s songs (e.g. Taylor Swift) and sings along at the top of their lungs. But in the 80s, the world was saturated with glamour-pop – the singalong, which had been essential during the protest folk movement of the 1970s, had become obsolete.

MW: What is your favourite musical of all time - why?

JD: I don’t really have any favourite musicals. It’s not really my go-to kind of entertainment but I suppose The Wizard of Oz and Mary Poppins are up there. Brilliant characters and songs.

MW: Tell me about some of your favourite records...

JD: ...pretty much any Beatles album. The Byrds. I love the British Invasion of the late-60s. Most late-60s & early-70s bands: Zombies, Kinks, early-Rolling Stones... too many to mention.

I have a rare LP by The Singing Nun, Lyrics For Lovers, by Dirk Bogart (a spoken word album from 1960), The Youngbloods, Blonde On Blonde (my favourite Bob Dylan album, with the dumbest title) and The Band. Louis Armstrong’s Hot Five - his trumpet playing strongly influenced my blues harp playing. Anything by guitarist Albert King. 

MW: Rank your Top 5 comedians and give details as to why you like each one… 

JD: I generally steer away from meritocracy when talking about art – or I try to as much as my ego will let me!  A truly unique artist exists in a world immune from criticism. I mean how do you rank guitarists like Robert Johnson, Jimi Hendrix and Segovia? Picasso, Van Gogh or Monet? Whitman, Lorca, or Cavafy? Hemingway, Faulkner or Henry James? Impossible. They all have their own unique space and style. Meritocracy; i.e. who’s first, second, third, etc is for the world of sport and pop charts – but not true immortal art.

Comedians who have influenced my style however are: 

Jerry Lewis – his physical humour and ability to make fun of himself.

The Marx Bros – probably my all-time favourite comedians. They all were musicians, too. My Italian broken-English ‘Giuseppe’ comes directly from Chico Marx, who strangely enough wasn’t even Italian, but Jewish!

Andy Kaufman -  taught me conceptual and intellectual comedy-  how to create something outside the box that the audience doesn’t  see coming.

Richard Pryor– I saw Richard Pryor live in a big arena. His irreverence and willingness to make very uncomfortable racial observations that were somehow endearing to both blacks and whites was very visionary.

Henny Youngman – the king of one-liners and audience come-backs. e.g "If God can make penicillin out of mouldy bread, He can make something out of you." Stuff like that. Handy to have a couple of dozen of these on hand for hecklers in the audience. I’ve always felt that a good one-liner was practically a zen parable.

MW: As a child, did you “marvel” at comics? 

JD: When I was a young child, I had the biggest collection of Marvel comics of anyone I knew. I owned the first issues of Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Fantastic Four, Spider Man, so many others. Stacks of them that went up to the ceiling that would be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars now.

Unfortunately, when I went off to college and basically stayed away from home for five years my mother threw them all away. Listen to, ‘Mr Q’, on my new album. About our hometown paedophile who ran the local comic book shop. Very problematic for kids who liked comic books.

MW: What book have you re-read the most, which book have you started but never finished, and which book have you yet to read but really want to (one day)?

JD: My reading changes from year to year depending on what else I’m doing. I think the first book series I read was the James Bond books, long before the films were made. I had read all of them. And then I think I moved into poetry: Rilke, Walt Whitman, E.E Cummings, Cavafy. I like popular novels rather than classical novels. I read the Godfather, the Red Dragon and Queen’s Gambit long before the films. Some of the more serious books: like, Varieties of Religious Experience, by William James or Robert Johnson, Understanding the Psychology of Romantic Love. I read hundreds of feminist books during our Difficult Women show days. I have a huge poetry collection.

The book I have never finished – and probably never will - is James Joyce’s Ulysses. 

The book I still haven’t read but want to: Dante’s Inferno.

MW: What are your plans for Christmas 2024 (personal & professional)?

JD:

Professional: to develop, and sell, over the Christmas period, both the new albums I have produced this year – my own and my partner Lin’s Intimacy album. (We co-wrote and she sang the title song in the first Terminator movie in the 80's). Also to sell my cookbook, which won a Gourmand Award last year, and my perennial Christmas album. I get many requests for the Christmas album, recorded in the 80s. It is out-of-print but available on my website as a digital download.

Personal:  We have a big extended family meal on Boxing Day, the day after Christmas, and then go bush for two weeks - which is a 12-hour drive north and then another hour inland into the mountains. We have a secluded place in the middle of a state forest that requires a four-wheel-drive to get to, a bush house built of stone &  bush timber. We’ve been flooded out and had a house destroyed by bushfires. We say we go there for the “inconveniences” - wood chopping, carrying water, going for long walks. Once we get in there, we  put the car keys away,  put our money away for a week or two-  we don’t even think about things like that - we bring everything we need. I usually spend the time writing a lot of poetry, getting a bit fitter (I always lose about 5 kg from those trips without even thinking about it), cooking outdoors on campfires, swimming in the creek - beautiful swimming - that’s our Christmas!

JOE DOLCE WEBSITE : www.atthenoisycafe.com

(c) Mark Watkins / November 2024.