#dylan fender

[meadowcult]

Cool shot of Laura Les’ Jaguar from the 100 gecs / Machine girl / Chat Pile show in Pelham, TN, 2023.

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 27/01/2024 (Noah Kahan/Sam Fender, Benson Boone, Becky Hill/Sonny Fodera)

I think it’s this week that I’ve realised Noah Kahan might be a bonafide star. We’ll get more to it later, but “Stick Season” spends a fourth week at #1 - welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS!

Rundown

As always, we start with our notable dropouts, which I define as songs exiting the UK Top 75 (read the FAQ) after five weeks in the region or a peak in the top 40, and this week wasn’t too busy but it did come with some fair losses. Therefore, we bid adieu to “When We Were Young (The Logical Song)” by David Guetta and Kim Petras, “Stop Giving Me Advice” by Lyrical Lemonade, Jack Harlow and Dave (might be back next week given the album), “Won’t Forget You” by Jax Jones, D.O.D and Ina Wroldsen, assisted by a (bizarrely, credited) “donk” edit featuring The Blackout Crew, “One of Your Girls” by Troye Sivan, “Me & U” by Tems and FINALLY, “Anti-Hero” by Taylor Swift. It feels like it’s been there forever.

When it comes to our returns, we see the oddity of Sam Fender returning to #35 assumingly because of a boost to “Seventeen Going Under” that resulted from… well, you’ll see, but otherwise, we only have a handful of notable gains that, during a pretty dreadful-looking week, show some promise, and no, I don’t mean “Someone You Loved” by Lewis Capaldi somehow still here at #59, more so “Praise Jah in the Moonlight” by YG Marley at #51, “Scared to Start” by Michael Marcagi at #47, kind of grew on me, and “Nothing Matters” by The Last Dinner Party at #41… and less so “Toxic” by Songer at #32, please, let’s not do this, and on that same pleading note, “Alibi” by Ella Henderson featuring Rudimental at #26… why?! I suppose on a good note, Flo Milli is up to #17 with “Never Lose Me” and I can’t really complain about Natasha Bedingfield’s second wind at #13 with “Unwritten”, but it is majorly a mixed bag over here.

Our biggest story, however, rests in our top five, as “Homesick” by Noah Kahan debuts at #5, thanks to a version with Sam Fender who, surprisingly enough, is actually credited by the Official Charts Company, probably because, well, it would have no reason to as high as this without him. More on that later, but for now, it’s pretty standard elsewhere - Jack Harlow’s “Lovin’ on Me” at #4, “yes, and?” by Ariana Grande at #3, “Murder on the Dancefloor” by Sophie Ellis-Bextor at #2 and of course, Mr. Kahan still sitting at the very top. Now we have a… considerably unpromising set of new songs to discuss, so I guess we’ve just got to trek through that, and our starting point is…

New Entries

#75 - “Coal” - Dylan Gossett

Produced by Dylan Gossett

There aren’t that many new arrivals this week but the songs apart from one all fall into being either by singer-songwriter types or working as faceless EDM, and if you’ve been following this blog at all, you’d know those two styles really aren’t my thing, but hey, an independent folk singer racking up a streaming giant with a song from last year, notching him licensing with Republic, it could be promising in the same way I like Zach Bryan or even Oliver Anthony, who I assume we will never see again but appears as a recommended song in Mr. Gossett’s Spotify search terms. One has to wonder why and how but first of all, the elephant in the room: Diamonds aren’t made from coal.

I found several articles, both from sustainable energy advocacy outlets like TreeHugger and the people selling diamonds like With Clarity, clarifying that diamonds cannot really be made from coal. Coal is an impure carbon whilst diamonds are purer and whilst pressure is involved in the process, it is not a simple “one equals the other” sum, since coal has too much organic matter to be made into crystalline diamonds, especially since you can see vividly in the colour of rarer diamonds to what other chemicals may be found in them. Now I’m tempted to believe these articles as they’re backed by science, but if I’m wrong and these articles are just using words I don’t understand to spread a mythical debunking of an already existing myth that diamonds originate from coal, which is actually true all this time, then I’ll stand corrected. For now, the main conceit of this song, asking why under all this pressure, how the Hell he’s still “coal”, doesn’t really make much sense, and the rest of the song reads like listing off proverbs and sayings that fit the part but he doesn’t fully understand them or tie them together. Singer-songwriters are supposed to weave stories, when this feels like playing word association with common and universal wisdoms. For all of Oliver Anthony’s imperfect wording, at least you can tie them together to refer to a specific viewpoint, seeing where those views align, without becoming vague “woe is me” platitudes that don’t hold much reason for said pity, or really any narrative detail. You might see this as nitpicking but when it’s just a guy with a guitar, he opens himself up for interpretation and autopsy, possibilities he seems to willingly flail away by displaying disappointingly little to even work with, and as the song fills itself up with non-verses, as tightly as this kind of song can be produced without a particularly impressive vocal performance, one starts to wonder what the appeal in this even is. It’s a non-song, let’s move on.

#71 - “Incredible Sauce” - Giggs featuring Dave

Produced by Payday and David Morse

The #1 album this week was Green Day’s best album in decades. I have a full first-impressions review of Saviors on my RateYourMusic listening log (exclusivelytopostown) and whilst I understand that sales factor in here, I’d have loved for the only song here that bucks the categorical trends I laid out earlier to be a cut from that record. Instead, we have a Giggs song from last year that I’m honestly surprised has yet to chart already, given the Dave feature and that it was released in August of last year. Apart from the… choice of a name, I still don’t really know what level of quality to expect from Giggs, outside of a comical menace that emerges largely from his attempt to be “laidback” that can more accurately be described as an active  coveting of his natural voice to sound much more relaxed than he really is, considering he’s never sounded comfortable with a flow he picks out, which becomes especially clear with Dave on the hook as he actually pulls off sounding effortless. Giggs’ delivery honestly reminds me of Dean Blunt’s satirical British rap project Babyfather more than anything, especially with the half-asleep cadences leaving so much dead air in this eerie, stagnant trap beat. The song doesn’t end with a piece of classic Dave wordplay, though he’s not on his A-game here comparing himself to Sonic the Hedgehog, it just ends with “Lingerie on a special occasion”… okay. That’s barely even a flex, why does it punctuate the track’s final moments? This is just another ugly showing of substanceless pretence from Dave over a pretty minimal beat with an absolutely worthless performance from Giggs, whose verses feel double the length and really halt any possible fun that could be had from Dave’s bite-size verse. Somehow, this ends up much like “Coal” - there’s just nothing here.

#39 - “Whatever” - Kygo and Ava Max

Produced by, well, Kygo

Speaking of nothingness, welcome back, Kygo and Ava Max… Jesus Christ. Okay, well, if anything is the saving grace this week outside of #5, it will be this.

I have just checked the sample credits, I have bad news. To delay the suffering, I will say that I kind of like the production here, the acoustics remind me of Avicii’s pretty seamless blend of folk pop with the anthemic festival house that defined much of his catalogue. Kygo has always been a detailed producer who pays much attention to ensuring his songs are as easy as possible on the ears, and he succeeds in the sense of this being a very pretty little tune with depths of cute synth pads, guitar rolicks and plucky percussion. Ava Max herself actually impresses me a tad here vocally, mostly because since this is a Kygo song, she can belt without clipping unnecessarily in the mix for once. However, and this is a big however, the main hook of the song, its crux, if you will, is a direct interpolation and rewording of the iconic melody to Shakira’s “Whenever, Wherever”, a 2001 single that debuted and peaked at #2 for two weeks in 2002 here in the UK, being kept off the top spot by Will Young’s double A-side of “Anything is Possible” and “Evergreen”. I can’t believe such a classic was blocked by not even Westlife, but a Westlife COVER, yet I digress, this is just a lazy and frankly obnoxious way of using the song’s chorus. Kygo is clearly dipping into the David Guetta pool of reskinning prior hits, and I will give it to him that he’s not just redoing a classic EDM track, this is largely a unique house single, but that may make the last-resort hook that much more disappointing. I’m disappointed in you, Kygo. Not you, Ava Max, you can just do whatever. Albania forever.

#36 - “Skin and Bones” - David Kushner

Produced by Rob Kirwin

Oh, we’re actually making David Kushner a thing, fantastic, that other song just had so much to offer, didn’t it? I feel like I can very quickly summarise this melodramatic, uber-serious noir piano ballad, deepened by some of the ugliest froggy-sounding snaps I’ve heard in pop music and only plunged further into sludge by Kushner’s insufferable lyrics, by just a stray observation. When I clicked on the Genius annotation for the first verse of this song, it was completely empty. At least to the first verse, there’s literally nothing there: an empty annotation box. It may just be a glitch on my part, or it was deleted for whatever reason, but regardless, I think this exemplifies how little this song has to offer: someone attempted to just touch upon the pretty self-explanatory first verse, attempted to offer some wisdom or deeper analysis that seems granted with the cinematic grandeur of it all, and couldn’t cough anything up. Once again, there’s just nothing here.

#34 - “Never be Alone” - Becky Hill and Sonny Fodera

Produced by Sonny Fodera

I mean… it has a pulse at least. In fact, this is much more interesting than I expected for Becky, and not necessarily in a lyrical front, simply because she does not need to do much more than recite boardroom word association over four-on-the-floor, but moreso with her vicious delivery, going into an attack that sounds like it was overpowering the mix before being blended a bit more clearly into the nostalgic breakbeat hardcore rhythm that punctuates a surprisingly long build-up into a… surprisingly unique drop. This is really just a flex show for Sonny Fodera here, but Becky stepped up to the plate to match his passion and energy, bringing more of a rough instinct to the trickling alien synth critter that grounds the 90s pads and rock-solid breakbeats into a killer pre-drop that genuinely took me aback, as did this drop, which completely ditches the breakbeats for a tense hardcore kick and more atmospheric, glitching pads that run through the mix like a spiralling staircase, as Becky’s vocalising becomes little more than an inhuman drone until it’s removed altogether. The intensity of the track, filling up the mix with padded quirks even when the breakbeats are relegated to simple fills, is genuinely unprecedented for Becky Hill, and I’m actually really glad that she is not only on hopping on much more effective and unique production, but stepping out of her comfort zone to riff and meander in a way that she never really lets herself do, even in her looser songs. I am honestly quite shocked, but this is fantastic. If this doesn’t smash like much of Becky’s tighter, more restrictive cuts have in the past few years, I will be immensely disappointed.

#18 - “Beautiful Things” - Benson Boone

Produced by Evan Blair

Sigh… one of my first thoughts when Kushner had success with “Daylight” was how much he seemed cut from the same cloth as Mr. Boone over here, and to be completely honest, the concept of the two charting the same week chased me in my worst of nightmares. Hey, at least my dreams have become reality! To be fair to Booner Boy here, he has what Khrushchev and Gossamer lacked: genuine lyrical detail in the verses. There is a certain dichotomy between the universalities of the choruses and pre-chorus compared to the pretty niche and incredibly lucky situation he’s found himself in during the verses, it almost reminds me of Tom Odell’s “Black Friday” given its wordy mundanity, but that’s only lyrically, as I don’t hear much here connecting the two sonically, especially given the faint bass and reliance on soaring guitars on “Beautiful Things” that makes it almost more of a pop rock tune, one that is surprisingly willing to ditch much of its initial build-up for a desperate screech over stop-and-start staccato guitar rhythms that go way harder than I expected. This is what I’ve been saying Lewis Capaldi should be doing for years, if these moan and drone singer-songwriter sadboys are going to have their voice fit over anything, it’s not basic adult contemporary swells, it’s melodramatic, no-holds-barred pop rock, and this honestly becomes pretty killer by that first chorus. The guy can let out a desperate cry, and I’ll be damned if he’s not convincing as he airs out his paranoia about this perfect relationship breaking down. The second chorus could use some deviation, but I’m a sucker for radio rock that takes itself way too seriously and considering his dire earlier material, this may as well be Mr. Boone: The Animated Series. I really want to hear more of this from this guy, and it seems that these last few songs may be the light at the end of the tunnel for an unpromising week.

#5 - “Homesick” - Noah Kahan and Sam Fender

Produced by Noah Kahan and Gabe Simon

Okay, it’s Noah Kahan: there is a base level of quality here and I am actually always excited to hear a new song from him because at least there’s always a lot to uncover and appreciate even if the song isn’t great or has some grating element throwing a spanner in the cogs. This is especially true with Sam Fender in play, as this raises the standard of quality to at least bearable and at its worst, it’s going to be an interesting and perhaps powerful narrative… and if we’re talking about lyrical detail, I mean, Kahan’s your man, almost too much so given some of the awkward wording in that original version from his Stick Season album. On hearing those church organs sliding just slightly off the careening heartland rock groove, I knew exactly why Mr. Fender ended up on this specific song, and this actually lets Kahan let out a little, have a little more fun as he vocalises playfully about his frustrations, delivered largely in the form of punchlines, about his slow small town, with the chorus being him breaking down and basically begging for a reason to grab him out of that place, even if it’s where he grew up, using an on-the-nose but still fun play on words with the term “homesick”. I do wish there was a bit more to its mid-section, it feels like it stagnates a bit once we reach the chorus for the first time, mostly structurally. I want to hear more of Kahan’s stray, funny observations, but we don’t really get more of that even with the ramped-up intensity and a guitar solo way too Weezer-coded for me to not get a stupid grin on my face.

As for the Fender version, well, this is the best-implemented anyone has been in these Kahan duets yet, given Fender brings a new verse giving a unique and personal story about the background of riots in northern England that informed his town, injecting further reason to why one may be Kahan’s form of “homesick”, but also, despite being more strikingly intimate and less darkly comic in his observations, finding a valid and heartfelt reason to live his life outside of that home town: the dreams his father set out for him lay far away from where they were instilled. It adds a lot of depth to the song, and whilst Kahan and Fender don’t play off each other incredibly well, they have a decent chemistry that from interviews with Dork and People seem to have arisen from very similar hapless upbringings and recurring topics in both catalogues. Additionally, I like Fender’s voice more than Kahan’s, and the harmonies fill out the  mix so it’s a tad more impactful, so I think this new version actually beats out the original. I’m also pretty happy that this week, starting off with a lot of mediocrity and not exactly a promising set of artists for me, personally, ended up surprising me with that three-track run by the end, and trailing off with two killer rock songs is the best way to make me feel a lot happier about a week as a whole.

Conclusion

I’m relatively predictable, especially when we get alt-rock on the charts, so I feel like despite how much I liked the Becky Hill song, it’s no surprise that Benson Boone ends up snabbing an insanely close Best of the Week for “Beautiful Things”. It was pretty much neck-and-neck with “Homesick” by Noah Kahan and Sam Fender, which is of course the Honourable Mention, and whilst I think that it is lyrically more insightful, there’s an instinctual raucousness to the emotion in The Booney One’s track that just hits that bit harder. As for the worst, I mean David Kushner obviously gets Worst of the Week pretty much effortlessly with “Skin and Bones”, but I do think I was just frustrated enough with Dylan Gossett to grant his song “Coal” with the Dishonourable Mention. At least Giggs wasn’t trying to say anything profound, and if he was, then I sincerely worry for him.

What’s on the horizon next? God knows, it’s January, but Justin Timberlake has a comeback single, Tom Odell has an album, it may be the week of even more whiny white dudes. Story of my life. Thank you for reading and I’ll see you perhaps a bit earlier than next week.

[whateverbringsyouthroughthenight]

The first Bob Dylan endorsement, the 1966 Fender print ads feature photos of Dylan taken by Don Hunstein in 1965 at the “Highway 61 Revisited” sessions.

[berryblonde1975]

intro post <33

heyy my name is kaylei

im literally a minor so please don’t be weird

let’s me mutualss <3

my interests include: music, movies, books, poetry, writing, collecting pieces of physical media, baking, girlblogging, fashion, finding motifs and connections, etc..

favorite movies: bones and all, beautiful boy, brokeback mountain, girl, interrupted, lady bird, call me by your name, perks of being a wallflower, little women (2019), 10 things i hate about you, aftersun (fav directors: chris nolan, luca guad. sophia coppola)

fav music artists: the 1975, lana del rey, harry styles, jeff buckley, fiona apple, ethel cain, niall horan (seen 1x in concert), charli xcx, gracie abrams (seen 1x in concert), noah kahan, phoebe bridgers, zayn, julien baker, louis tomlinson (seen 1x in concert), role model (seen 1x in concert and 1 upcoming show), bob dylan, sam fender, the smiths, radiohead, del water gap, liam payne, the doors, hozier (1 upcoming show)

fav books/authors: SALLY ROONEY, Kafka, Nic and David Sheff, Plath, Bukowski, De Beauvoir, Moshfegh,

liam payne . rest in peace my love

my letterboxd: https://boxd.it/6RCX7

goodreads username: kaylei

[harrisonarchive]

On February 15, 2001, George Harrison took part in two web chats (with Yahoo and MSN).

George: “May God bless you all. Don't forget to say all you prayers tonight. Be good little souls. Lots of Love! George. :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)”

The full chat transcripts under the "read more" cut.

Yahoo! Chat Transcript
 George Harrison 02/15/01 ChatYahoo_Lisa: Welcome to Yahoo! Chat ChatYahoo_Lisa: We are here with George Harrison george_harrison_live: Hello! george_harrison_live: It's nice to be here! george_harrison_live: It's my first time on a computer... I'm pretty illiterate :) yahoomusic asks: What made you decide to re-issue All Things Must Pass now? george_harrison_live: It's the 30th anniversary and I'm in the process of remastering my entire catalog george_harrison_live: Which I want to get back into the stores george_harrison_live: So we started with that one george_harrison_live: and hopefully during the year george_harrison_live: We'll be able to come with the next batch and so on george_harrison_live: So that everything I have ever done will be available. morvyon asks: George, are you planning a new studio album? george_harrison_live: Yeah. george_harrison_live: I hope to put out a new studio album george_harrison_live: Possibly in November george_harrison_live: and I have at the moment many songs in various states of completion george_harrison_live: Possibly 35 songs that I have been working on over the years. yahoomusic asks: Do you surf the internet much? What types of things do you do online? george_harrison_live: No, I never surf george_harrison_live: I don't know the password. willowy_blonde asks: Hi, my boyfriend wants to know, he's a musician what's your fave electric guitar and do you still have "Rocky" your '61 fender strat? george_harrison_live: Hello willowy blonde! george_harrison_live: I still have Rocky! george_harrison_live: and he can be seen at Cyril's rare guitar shop on allthingsmustpass.com timbarwick asks: Will you be releasing Living in the Material World in a remastered/extra tracks version? george_harrison_live: Well, as I said before george_harrison_live: That will be the next one to be remastered george_harrison_live: I have to get into my tape library to find out if there are any alternate versions of anything. silbeat asks: Hi George! Glad to hear from you again! Are you planning to do any live performances? If so, where would you like to play? (Please include Argentina!!!). With love from Argentina. Sole, Mara, Silvi, Vale, Gilda, Ale, Sami and Graciela. george_harrison_live: Hello Argentina! :) george_harrison_live: At the moment I have no plans for live performances george_harrison_live: If I do later, I will certainly come to Argentina rbortega2001 asks: What did you think of Bob Dylan getting nominated for an Oscar? george_harrison_live: I think he should win it! george_harrison_live: I think he should win ALL the Oscars george_harrison_live: all the Tonys george_harrison_live: all the Grammys pcpalmiere asks: How has The Rutles influenced your career? george_harrison_live: I got all my ideas from The Rutles! george_harrison_live: particularly the 12-string Rickenbacker and slide guitar styles I got from Stig O'Hara. george_harrison_live: I met him once and he is a super chap. oldmanalex asks: Hello from Russia, George! Russian fans invite you to play in Moscow! Can you tell, will the Traveling Wilburys reform? Are there any plans to record something with Tom Petty, Bob Dylan and Jeff Lynne? george_harrison_live: Thank you Russian fans! george_harrison_live: I'll be there after Argentina! nattyrobbo asks: Hi George! I'm Natalie, an 18 y.o. girl from Australia, and I'm a HUGE fan. Any hints for a budding guitarist??? george_harrison_live: Yes. george_harrison_live: Buy a ukulele! mike_n_tex asks: George, do you ever see a reunion tour with you and Paul and Ringo? george_harrison_live: Stranger things have happened. flatcat65 asks: George, Which version of My Sweet Lord do you like best, your original or the new version? george_harrison_live: I like the new version better. george_harrison_live: Because it's new! george_harrison_live: and I like Sam Brown singing it. ChatYahoo_Lisa: Why did you re-visit it? george_harrison_live: At the time, the song was so popular and also so controversial that the most important thing about it for me was that it george_harrison_live: in it's small way george_harrison_live: conjured up a touch of spirituality george_harrison_live: something we are very short of... ChristopherClause asks: Hi George! Christopher here! Thank you for being such an inspiration! What was it like working with Phil Spector? Although I can hear his influence, your "influence" and leadership in the production is clear. God bless you, George! george_harrison_live: Phil Spector was prob the greatest producer from the 60s and it was good to work with him because I needed some assistance in the control box. george_harrison_live: Phil is very funny george_harrison_live: loveable george_harrison_live: we love him :) mebissy asks: I have several teenage friends who've just discovered All Things Must Pass. They were wondering about radio airplay. I explained that this was a re-mastered, etc. album - a re-release essentially. They, however (as do I) feel the music is just as cool as it was when you first released the work. Wouldn't it be great if a single was selected and the whole cycle could start again? george_harrison_live: It's nice to know that teenagers find All Things Must Pass *cool* george_harrison_live: As far as a single goes, george_harrison_live: I suppose that's really up to Capitol Records george_harrison_live: I have no objection! melissay1 asks: Hi, Mr. Harrison, how do you feel about the Beatles 1 album being top of the charts? george_harrison_live: It's very nice george_harrison_live: It's also nice that young children seem to be hearing it for the first time george_harrison_live: and I think as an alternative form of music for today george_harrison_live: it has its place alongside all this other stuff. captainwombat_2000 asks: Out of curiosity, why the garden gnomes on All Things Must Pass? george_harrison_live: Originally, when we took the photo george_harrison_live: I had these old Bavarian gnomes george_harrison_live: which I thought I would put there george_harrison_live: like kinda... John, Paul, George and Ringo george_harrison_live: gnomes are very popular in Europe george_harrison_live: and these gnomes were made in about 1860 george_harrison_live: so, while building the website george_harrison_live: the gnomes just seemed to get into it and we just couldn't stop them! gearfabasitwere asks: Is Indian music still a big infuence on your music? george_harrison_live: Yes! ChatYahoo_Lisa: anything particular? george_harrison_live: Check out U. Srinivas a South Indian electric mandolin player george_harrison_live: eat your heart out Van Halen! moosefalva101 asks: Following the incident at your house on Dec. 1999 has your outlook on life changed at all? george_harrison_live: Yes and no george_harrison_live: Adi Shankara an Indian historical, spiritual, groovy-type person once said george_harrison_live: "Life is fragile, like a raindrop on a lotus leaf." george_harrison_live: and you better believe it! Nicole_Paul asks: I am curious about your website and the way the cover photo is altered by adding roads and urban development to the picture. Does that symbolize anything? george_harrison_live: Yes. george_harrison_live: It symbolizes that our world is being concreted over. Haven't you noticed? bluejeanbaby42001 asks: George, you have quite a reputation as a gardener...What are some of your "pride & joy" plants? Love, Dianne george_harrison_live: Well, for the cooler climates (as in England) george_harrison_live: The current trend is definitely toward Miscanthus george_harrison_live: You'll find many lovely varieties george_harrison_live: try the Zebrensis and also the Malepartis george_harrison_live: However, george_harrison_live: if you're gardening in the tropics george_harrison_live: I think you'll find a lovely little ginger called Kahili :P a_t_m98 asks: Mr. Harrison.. what is the opening chord you used for "A Hard Days Night"? george_harrison_live: It is F with a G on top (on the 12-string) george_harrison_live: But you'll have to ask Paul about the bass note to get the proper story. hari_girl asks: What do you think of Eminem's grammy nomination? george_harrison_live: What's Eminem? george_harrison_live: Aren't they choclates or something? beatles_lvr asks: You started the "band aid" movement; who would you help today? Love you George!! george_harrison_live: Bob Geldof! Moyette asks: What did you record with Bill Wyman last month? george_harrison_live: :) An old Ketty Lester song called "Love Letters" sharonconcannon2000 asks: Why was "I Live For You" left out of the original mix? (I think it's lovely, thank you for putting out at last!) george_harrison_live: I didn't think that we had got a good enough take on it. george_harrison_live: Except for Pete Drake, the pedal steel guitar player. george_harrison_live: At that time, I had so many other tracks as well, george_harrison_live: so we just left it off. george_harrison_live: It did need patching up george_harrison_live: in the drum department. pcpalmiere asks: How close are you to releasing that boxed set of unreleased songs and demos you talked about in Billboard some time back? george_harrison_live: Well, hopefully during this year I should at least get out a new album and all the other boxes of unreleased demos could possibly follow in 18 months. I'm trying to get everything that has ever been done out there. It'll just take a little time. nikolaidisgm asks: George, what do you miss most about John Lennon? george_harrison_live: John Lennon. michaelcalcina asks: George: In the Anthology book, you talk about the unwound G string. What is that? I play guitar and I'm not sure what you're talking about. george_harrison_live: It's one of those little things that goes up your butt so that people can't see your pantylines. george_harrison_live: No, It's actually a 3rd string that doesn't have a winding around it. spongeweed70508 asks: Does Paul still piss you off (tell us the truth) george_harrison_live: Scan not a friend with a microscopic glass -- You know his faults -- Then let his foibles pass. george_harrison_live: Old Victorian Proverb. george_harrison_live: I'm sure there's enough about me that pisses him off, but I think we have now grown old enough to realize george_harrison_live: that we're both pretty damn cute! incantataa asks: Mr. Harrison, I was wondering if you might tell us a bit about your ideas on love. Romantic love, that is. I recall you having written some of the Beatles' most beatiful love songs. It would be interesting to hear how your religious attitudes have impacted your beliefs concerning romanticism. george_harrison_live: Well, the lover that we miss is actually God. george_harrison_live: The beauty that you see within each other is actually God. george_harrison_live: So, Krishna was the greatest romanticist. He had girlfriends on every corner! george_harrison_live: I can't seperate the two -- a beautiful girl is the divine mother, a beautiful man is the manifestation of potential. fabzzy asks: You're joking in a most Pythonistic manner tonight George.., it's great to hear you online!!! george_harrison_live: PISS OFF!! george_harrison_live: You nosy bastard! i_arcos asks: Is it true that you recorded "Homeward Bound" with P. Simon? george_harrison_live: I recorded that with Paul Simon on Saturday Night Live back in 1853. tnntxx asks: George, given the drug experimentation of the 60's, how do you feel about the legalitzation of pot? george_harrison_live: Well, I saw someone on TV last night pulling out huge loads of pot out of various fields in California. My feeling is... george_harrison_live: as long as you can go into a store and buy george_harrison_live: whiskey george_harrison_live: bourbon george_harrison_live: and all the rest of it george_harrison_live: then, a little grass is nothing. george_harrison_live: the authorities are just causing the price to be high -- 'scuse the pun. ckeavenyuk asks: Have you any tips to budding songwiters? Do you, as John apparantly advised you stick at it until you have finished it. george_harrison_live: Try and write some melodies. And some words that mean something. george_harrison_live: It is true that if you are on a roll, then it's best to finish it in one go. george_harrison_live: That's what Johnny said. kdtash asks: Any chance that the Dark Horse material, esp. Shankar Family and Friends will be released on CD? george_harrison_live: Well, along with my own catalog of records george_harrison_live: the other Dark Horse records george_harrison_live: hopefully will be finding a new home george_harrison_live: and coming out on CDs (remastered) sometime in the future. mp0071999 asks: Hey George will you be ever be back on Yahoo? george_harrison_live: Possibly. It's pretty painless for me. kyntire2001 asks: Happy Birthday (a little early). During your recent Internet video promoting All Things Must Pass, you pointed to an engraving on the back of your guitar. What did the engraving say? george_harrison_live: It's a Maclaren strat and it had a metal chassis number plate on the back. george_harrison_live: Thank you all! george_harrison_live: May God bless you all. george_harrison_live: Don't forget to say all your prayers tonight. george_harrison_live: Be good little souls. george_harrison_live: Lots of Love! george_harrison_live: George. george_harrison_live: :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) ChatYahoo_Lisa: Thank you sooo much for joining us....pretty please come back soon! george_harrison_live: Check out allthingsmustpass.com. george_harrison_live: for further entertainment! ChatYahoo_Lisa: Bye everyone!

MSN chat transcript - George Harrison, February 15, 2001

DishDiva : Welcome to MSN Live! Today we are pleased to welcome George Harrison to MSN. DishDiva : Please join me in welcoming Mr. George Harrison to MSN Live! DishDiva : Today we will be talking with George Harrison about the re-release of "All Things Must Pass." DishDiva : George, welcome to MSN Live! George_Harrison_Live : Hello, good evening! George_Harrison_Live : How's your father! How's your uncle? DishDiva : George, the Internet was not a part of your promotion last time around for "All Things Must Pass." What part does the Internet play in promotion for "ALL Things Must Pass" now? George_Harrison_Live : I suppose the fact that it is just like this and everyone is listening.It eliminates the time of someone printing up a Newspaper. DishDiva : SR says: Is it true that you were really asked to join the beatles because you knew all the chords to "Twenty Flight Rock"? George_Harrison_Live : No! Paul knew "Twenty Flight Rock" but I did too. DishDiva : Spockmiester55 Asks: What is the difference between the old and new release if any? George_Harrison_Live : The new release is remastered and is much much better to the record that existed up until now and it has five bonus tracks on it. It also has new packaging. DishDiva : Sherwood Asks: Will your other past releases receive the deluxe treatment as "Pass" did? George_Harrison_Live : It depends really. They will all be remastered. Whether the artwork will change, I don't know. It depends what we feel at the time and what the record company feels at the time. DishDiva : alina says: Do you remember how you felt making "All Things Must Pass"? DishDiva : jerryfender Asks: Don't you miss the old packaging with albums vs CD's? All Things Must Pass was great because even the box was huge! George_Harrison_Live : Twelve inch square artwork gets you more scope and greater impact.Those days the album cover used to be part of the overall package. It seems to become less important because it is smaller and not so many people are interested in the artwork. DishDiva : doodah says: Where were you spiritually then when you wrote the lyrics for "My Sweet Lord", and where are you now spritually, have you grown? George_Harrison_Live : Somebody said a very famous Indian saint said "if there is a God, we must see him. And if there is a soul we must perceive it." In the West they still argue if God really exists. Basically, I am in the same place. The song really came from Swami Vivekananda. DishDiva : iluvgeorge says: Will you be touring? George_Harrison_Live : At the moment, no. DishDiva : lidbaby says: Any musicians you like right now? George_Harrison_Live : Hoagy Carmichael. There are many, many, many musicians. DishDiva : babe says: Is most of what's been written about you pure rubbish? Is there any one book that's more accurate than any other? George_Harrison_Live : The one that is the most accurate is "The Beatles" by the Beatles. When a book is written by someone who doesn't like you, it may not be very good. DishDiva : WildingTangent Asks: Are you still writing and recording songs? How would your style of music these days? George_Harrison_Live : I am still doing that, yes. Hopefully, there will be one coming out at the end of the year. DishDiva : tedsblues Asks: Re: recording...analog or digital? George_Harrison_Live : I have always recorded analog except when I was in a live concert. Generally, I record on analog but I hear that digital these days are getting better. The bandwidth is getting better. DishDiva : arainyfriday Asks: Looking back, how do you view your book "I, Me, Mine"? If it were to be re-released, would you make changes based on perspective you have gained over the years? George_Harrison_Live : It was ok for the time. I thought it was well made. It was an excuse to have a nice leather book like the Bible.
 DishDiva : liam0241 Asks: What was the inspiration for the song 'Run of the Mill' George_Harrison_Live : There was an expression that came from Yorkshire where they made fabric. Run of the mill just means average. I was using that phrase more or less, because, the Beatles were just splitting up. I don't know if they had that expression in America. DishDiva : sasha says: Hi Mr. Harrison. My dad and I like your site. Did you do it? George_Harrison_Live : I am not a technician. But I sat with people from Radical Media. They came to my house and set up the computers. The technicians did it and I kept thinking of ideas.I didn't have a concept of what a website was and I still don't understand the concept. I wanted to see little people poking each other with sticks much like Monty Python. DishDiva : You can check out George Harrison's website at http://www.allthingsmustpass.com DishDiva : rico Asks: What do you wish you could do, that you have'nt done already? George_Harrison_Live : Dematerialize my body. DishDiva : OKRichH says: I consider this a great priviledge to chat with you. Was the recording of "All Things Must Pass" a fulfilling outlet for you? George_Harrison_Live : Yeah, at the time it was very fulfilling- a chance to do a record of my own material. DishDiva : Brit says: What's the most popular misconception about you that people have? George_Harrison_Live : That I am serious. Pisces are depicted as two fish going in opposite directions. Many people do not see the humorous side. It is just as big! DishDiva : Beat says: Are you interested in all in the different sounds that electronics can add to guitar sounds, or are you more of a 'back to basics' advocate? George_Harrison_Live : More of back to basics. I really like the sounds they had in the 50's. Now you just buy something and plug it in. You can sound like Jimi Hendrix or whoever and everyone sounds the same. DishDiva : jediprincess00 Asks: what would you like to say to the younger generation that looks up to you? George_Harrison_Live : Try to realize what the purpose of being in a body is. There is only one purpose really and that is what you have to try to not forget. Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going? DishDiva : George, it has been a pleasur having you as our guest tonight! George_Harrison_Live : Lots of love and kevlar to everyone! George_Harrison_Live : It has been nice talking to you. Please enjoy the website! Ask_Questions_Live : The preceding is ( c ) 2001 MSN Live Thanks to our guest, hosts and to everyone that came to today's chat! Please remember that due to the number of questions received, it was not possible for our guest to answer each one individually. Thanks for coming to MSNLive! DishDiva : Again, you can check out George Harrison's website at http://www.allthingsmustpass.com DishDiva : You can also pick up the re-release, including, "My Sweet Lord" online at http://eshop.msn.com DishDiva : The transcript of tonight's very special event will be available later at http://chat.msn.com/msnlive

[callitfatecalitkarma]

“His trademark is wearing formal suits, usually a different one for each show. Albert is usually seen playing an olympian white Fender Stratocaster, or bandmate Nick Valensi's Les Paul Jr. He is usually associated with the "rhythm" guitar portion of the majority of Strokes songs, and most solos are played by Valensi. The solos in which Albert does play are Last Nite, Trying Your Luck, Take It Or Leave It, Under Control, The End Has No End, Ize Of The World, and Vision Of Division. His solos tend to focus largely on more emotional, "bluesy"-type melodical work, and the guitar tends to have a cleaner, softer tone in comparison to Valensi's (with a noteable exception found in Vision Of Division). He often holds the guitar in a high horizontal position, similar to Bob Dylan and Ian Curtis.”

Albert Hammond Jr. [last.fm]

[doomandgloomfromthetomb]

Patti Smith Group / John Cale / Television - The Palladium, New York City, December 31, 1976

I finally got around to Sonic Life, Thurston Moore's recent memoir, this month! You can read a few of my quick thoughts about it (along with some other nice recommendations) in the latest edition of the Aquarium Drunkard Book Club. As I mention, I was a little surprised at how much I enjoyed Thurston's memories of his teenage years, way before Sonic Youth was even a twinkle in his eye — A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Fan? From the suburbs of Connecticut, Moore made countless trips into NYC to soak in the punk/CBGB/Max's worlds, catching shows by The Ramones, Suicide, the Dead Boys, Sid Vicious ... and Patti Smith, of course.

Thurston paints an evocative portrait of this New Year's Eve blowout, which doubled as Patti's raucous 30th birthday party. He was dangerously high on mescaline.

"We zombied our way down the street to the Palladium and found our seats, and I sat in a state of tenuous control as Television arrived onstage. I figured if I just maintained my cool, the mescaline's threat of wiping out my sanity would begin to subside and all would be okay. 'A song by Dylan' — were the only words I remember Tom Verlaine saying to the audience as the band began to play a plaintive cover of 'Knockin' on Heaven's Door.' By the time John Cale and his group came onstage, I felt as though I were sliding slowly down the side of a porcelain sink, managing only the barest of friction, my reality threatening to fall into a drain hole never to return. I was gripped by the fear of losing myself completely, another entry on the list of acid casualties. I concentrated on specific thoughts, pinpricks of salvation that I'd cling to, slip from, then hold on to again. I feared that if I closed my eyes, I would be forever vanquished."

Happy new year?! All these decades later we can enjoy the Palladium gig via dusty audience tapes — your call if you want to drop a tab of mescaline while you listen. Interesting to hear Television at this point, with Marquee Moon more or less in the can, playing a much larger venue than ever before. They'd just finished several nights in a row at CB's — which is maybe that's why they sound a littttttle bit tired. But there's plenty of sweet stuff, of course, including a truly go-for-broke "Kingdom Come." Billy Ficca, baby! Cale, meanwhile, happily provides a bad trip soundtrack for Thurston's bad trip — a short but powerful set highlighted by a maniacal "Guts" and an even more maniacal "Fear Is A Man's Best Friend." That guy sure could scream.

And what about the belle of the ball — Patti herself? Let's hand it back to Thurston, who had recovered a bit by the start of her set. Here, he describes the all-star finale with Fred "Sonic" Smith joining the melee.

"Fred and Patti had become an item. Now here was Fred onstage, unassuming and spectral, as Patti howled and whirled. With 'My Generation' culminating in obligatory destruction, all players would eventually leave the stage except for the two Smiths. Like Fred, Patti had a Fender Duo-Sonic strapped on, and she leaned her head on her sweetheart's shoulder as both their guitars emitted a whistling-bird noise of feedback through the amps. How this translated to everyone around me, I couldn't say. For me, it was an emblematic vision of all I would ever desire from rock 'n' roll — transcendence, devotion, sonic love."

[dietmountaindewbae]

III. monsters in green dresses

alex turner x reader

word count: 7090

summary: saturday night and you felt alive, you went out with your friends to The Boardwalk, and meet (early wpsiamtwin) Alex and his band mates

warnings: smut

song recommendation: sexy boy by air

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*⋆ ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*⋆ 

Saturday night was the longest night of them all, going out with your friends, going to clubs or pubs, your friends stealing their parent's car to travel from one place to another, it simply was the best day of them all, you couldn't avoid that happiness that formed in you, even the time you spent choosing your makeup and your clothes it was worth the effort.

The Boardwalk was a place your friends always had in mind to go to but you simply got distracted and went somewhere else, this time you heard there was live music tonight, and it didn't take that long to convince your friends, they agreed to go all together, only the four of you with just a couple of pounds, the four of you together had enough to get pissed off your brains.

Tonight there was a band on the list, a new one you've never heard of before in Sheffield, you heard they had good groovy music and they could be the new greatest hit of all, they had catchy bridges, and bright guitars but they often seemed to miss something, the singer needed more emotion when he sang the words thru the microphone, he was a tall boy with blonde locks and green eyes, you heard his name was Dylan, he seemed to be a nice bloke but you didn't bother to pay that much attention to him, the boys from the band put their stuff away and you went back to the counter, the rest of your friends talked to some girls they met there, it was rather easy to make friends when you were not exactly pissed but just happy, it made everything mix well, the youthful music, plus the alcohol that ran thru the veins, it was right enough reason to dance, hearing your local band live was always a hit, Saturday night was endless while Sunday morning was merciless.

"Hey! I'm gonna get us a few more beers" You said to your friends, you weren't the type to leave without saying where you were going, you could never be too careful when you went out. You walked thru the people trying not to fall thanks to the annoying platforms you chose to wear, but soon enough you made it in one piece, "Hi, can you give me four coronas please" You said to the bartender leaning forward on the countertop, he nodded with his head, and grabbed them from a small cooler, he took the caps off of the four of them and gave them to you "Thank you" You said, he nodded with his head. Your friends were stunned by the boys in the band, all tall, and fit, but you weren't too amused, yeah they might have nice voices but you hoped the next band that came next would be better.

The boy with the sky blue shirt, grey jeans, and black kicks went to the stage, it was the bartender that gave you the beers only a few minutes ago, he was a cute boy with short brown hair with a messy haircut, some red spots on his soft pale skin, his lips thin and slightly chapped, he was a rather tall boy, with a white fender Stratocaster, there was another boy with a grey sweater, light-washed jeans, and Adidas shoes, you label him as the guy with a red telecaster, another boy came with much shorter and thinner hair, an air jamaica shirt, another taller boy with a red bass and the collar of his shirt up, in all honesty, you didn't know what to expect, just some 4 boys with guitars, a bass, and a drumset, you didn't expect them to rock that much, but they did.

The first moment you heard the smashing opening of the song titled, I Bet That You Look Good On The Dancefloor, your jaw dropped, you couldn't describe it in another way, it was all electricity when you heard that song, all the people there were jumping up and down, your friends were a bit distracted, dancing with the guys from the other band, but your focus was on the four boys on the stage, the bartender sang thru the microphone a bit uptight at first but as the song seemed to only get better, he slowly let go, danced around the stage, everything was going so fast as the lads with the red and white guitars strummed the strings faster and faster, and all of the people sang on the small seconds of the silence of the song, you even joined yelling, "Well, I bet that you look good on the dancefloor!" You couldn't hold it back, you were even sad they only had two more songs to perform, but in the two left you were dancing, laughing, swaying your hips and the heel of your shoes followed the beat of the songs.

"Thank you, we're Arctic Monkeys have a good evening," The boy in the blue shirt said, suddenly he got all soft when just a few seconds ago he was screaming the lyrics of his songs no matter if his voice cracked or not, he kept going, he put his guitar to the side and unplugged it, he applauded his friends and gave them a few pats on their backs, you had completely forgotten about yours, so you went back with them, one of your friends was kissing the cute bassist on a dark corner of the pub, while the others were nowhere to be found, you were worried so you texted them, you were dizzy from all of the noise and the booze so you sat on one of the bar stools, and drunkenly texted your friends.

"Um... miss?" The guy with the blue shirt said, "Everything alright? You look a bit pale" He asked politely.

"Oh yeah, yeah sure" You answered quickly, "Just a bit bored, I dunno where me girlfriends went, and I'm kinda bored without 'em" He nodded with his head saying oh, "One of them always gets lost, and now I just can spot one of them" He lightly giggled when you pointed at your friend that had that guy's tongue deep inside her throat, it made you sort of happy that he was listening to you, often you made a fool of yourself by saying the things that burst in your brain while drunk, he was cleaning a glass with a dry cloth on his hands, "You have a very cute smile" You complimented.

"Thanks, love, you too" He put the glass away, and went back to talking to you.

"You know, I saw you up on that stage" You pointed right to the middle of the stage where he was singing some moments ago, "And let me tell ya... the other band was nothin' like yours,"

"Is that so?" He asked, and you nodded.

"Very so, sir, I saw you singing I bet that you look good on the dancefloor" You whispered shouted, with a drunken smile imitating his singing "But yeah, I mean you were fucking amazing there," You said once more.

"Well, for your information I also saw you dancing right there," He said, pointing to the place you were standing, you were surprised he was looking at you, from all of the people there he looked at you, but it couldn't mean anything at the same time, it could've been only a coincidence.

"How embarrassing!" You complained, "I've got horrible skills, can't dance for shit," You said, taking another swing of your beer, he rested his elbows flat against the table, and threw the cloth over his shoulder, holding himself with them.

"I'd say the opposite," He said.

"So you really were looking at me," You said sounding more certain, your body unconsciously moved closer, your face only a few centimeters away from his, the body language was all about proximity, something about talking to that boy made you simply smile, Was it his eyes? Was it his annoyingly beautiful deep brown eyes? His pink lips? His warm smile? What the fuck was it?

"I might've..." He admitted, you nudged your head to the side, the weight of your body was too heavy on you, you lost some balance and almost fell off your chair, you were embarrassingly clumsy with the amount of alcohol you had, you've been on the boardwalk since 10 and it was around 1 in the morning already, the sleep plus the alcohol, it made you lose the balance but the boy grabbed your shoulders tightly, putting you back on the same place, he left one of his hands there to steady yourself.

"Easy there," He said, "You alright?" He asked, he tried inspecting your eyes, but you waved it off.

"Damn you already got me trippin'" You joked, looking at the small name tag on the left side of his chest, "Turner..."

"I'll get you some water love, stay here," Turner said, he went to grab a water bottle and was even nice enough to pour it on a cup with a small lime, "There"

"You're a gentleman aren't you, bet you have a girl"

"Nah, not at the time..." He scratched the back of his head, and you furrowed your eyes, he seemed like the type to always have a girlfriend, not in a way he was only fooling around with girls, but more like he enjoyed the love and the company.

"Unbelievable," You said, he shook his head stating that what he said was the truth, "For real?" You asked once more.

"Yeah, I'm just waiting to see what happens I'm not really in a hurry"

"So all of those songs about pinching your bird, I don't know if you're looking for romance, what's that all about?" You asked, even though you kind of regretted asking since you didn't wanna make him uncomfortable, but he was nice enough to explain everything to you.

"Yeah, a girl had to do with it but it was a long time ago now," He said, the regret didn't escape you at all.

"What time do you close?" You asked, he quickly glanced at his watch.

"40 minutes," He said, "Why?"

"Wanna have some fun at a club with this girl?" You offered, he wasn't the type to go to that sort of stuff but you wanted to try, and see what he said, you went to the boardwalk to try new places to have fun in, but the club was the ultimate house of fun for you.

"I mean, I don't have a problem but your mates and.."

"I'll just tell 'em where we're going if I can find them...bring your friends too, tell them to come!"

"Sure then..." He was waiting for you to tell him your name, you said it and he smiled, saying your name once more, "Pretty name, suits you" He complimented, "Mine's Alex actually but you can also call me Turner" You chuckled.

"Nice meeting you," You said, he shook your hand, and smiled, seeing some color rose on his cheeks.

"So club huh," He said, "I hope me and me mates aren't a burden or summat"

"No no, don't say that we're all very nice" The three other guys that played on the stage came back from chatting with some friends, they all said hi to Alex, and began to talk about things you didn't understand but only for just some short minutes, Alex noticed how you were a bit ignored.

"Guys this is our new friend" You waved hi at them, Alex introduced you saying your name in his tender voice, the boy you labeled as the guy with the red tele took your hand with his and shook it, kissing your cheek, introducing himself as Jamie, "You can also call him cookeh if you'd like" Alex added, the tall boy with the air jamaica shirt waved hi at you and hugged you from the side, "That's Matthew and right next to Matthew is Andy," The boy with the green shirt, and bass hugged you, and you came back to sit on the chair.

"Very nice meeting you all but...I've got one question though" You added a bit of suspense by staying silent for a bit, the guys surrounding you, walking forward to hear you properly leaning on each other's shoulders, "Would you all like to go clubbing with me, and me friends?"

"I mean if it's on you, for sure!" They all giggled Alex punched Jamie on the shoulder. They seemed happy about it, yes they could be a bunch of strangers, boys you didn't know but your gut said they could be nice, considering how polite Alex was, plus the fact he didn't pull any moves on you, you didn't think about them as bad, or even questionable. Drinks kept flowing, the times when you were quiet during the moments the boys were talking about something you didn't know they were nice enough to explain to you the things they were joking about, which also made it funny, remembering the times they were younger and they did even dumber shit, it made them all burst in laughter, the number of years that they knew each other, it was amazing, they were like brothers, you knew they were all united but you didn't know how much, and you liked watching them talk, hearing them laugh, it was great in how little time you talked to them, seemed like you already knew them for years.

Forty minutes seemed like nothing after all the time you spent talking and laughing, Alex didn't ask you to wait for him after the pub closed but you did, he said he would catch a cap and go to the club you suggested but you didn't want him to go all by himself, so you sat patiently on the cold countertop, taking the lasts sips of your beer, while you waited for Alex, he came back from the bathroom wearing a green lime shirt, a denim jacket, his hair messy as always but somehow that made him look even cuter, "Ready, love?" He asked, propping his arm to the side for you to grab it, you nodded with your head and looped your arm around his, you walked outside the pub with Alex, and grabbed a cap with him, on the way you sat close to him, he smelt nice, something sweet, something soft, he was very warm, maybe you should've brought a coat with you but you didn't expect to feel so cold, Alex saw how you shivered next to him, he opened his arms for you, signing to cover yourself with his natural warmth, it was very odd how you felt so comfortable with him already, only a few hours ago have you just met him and you felt like you knew him from always, he was kind, gentle, something about him made you feel safe, maybe it was the way his arms were around your waist, hugging you close to him not wanting to let go of you, maybe it was his heartbeat, showing he was a completely relaxed, maybe it was his cheek that rested lightly on the top of your head, but it made you feel alright.

After the cap dropped you both at the club the line wasn't as long as you both thought, only 20 minutes or less and you both were inside, trying your best to find all your friends that must be at the back of the club, it was small and very crowded, there were neon lights on the ceiling, people all over each other, hot couples making out on the dance floor, swaying to the music, teasing, laughing, it all had a good environment to you, the dark colors of the club, and the lights, made you feel in another different planet, disconnected yourself from the outside, you liked it but Alex didn't seem quite into it at first, maybe he was tired from his shift.

"Havin' a good time?" You asked him before you head deeper into the club, he raised his head and nodded, "Sure?"

"Yeah, I'm alright just wanna find Andy and the rest" He yelled in your ear, you grabbed his hand and lead the way, you knew the club like your own house, you knew where exactly could your friends be, there was a very small area of black leather settees where most of the time you all would sit there to have a rest from being up on your feet all night, by remembering the feeling of your bloody ankles from wearing those uncomfortable heels made your mouth twitch, Alex held your hand very tightly, you thought he might be nervous even though he had nothing to be nervous about, as expected, all of them were sitting on the settees chatting and drinking Margaritas, taking pictures.

"You made it!" Jamie said, immediately hugging you close to him.

"You missed me already?!" You teased him, Jamie patted your back up and down and nodded.

"Come on let's get more drinks," He said, Alex sat comfortably next to Andy while you and Jamie walked to the bar, and ordered a few more margaritas, sour vodka shots, and some tequila for the brave, "So you and Alex huh?" Jamie joked.

"Fuck off" You scoffed and rolled your eyes, "We only met a few hours ago"

"Yeah but that doesn't mean there cannot be love" He answered back grabbing two margaritas in each hand, it was funny to see him juggling with the glasses so you gave him an extra hand, you gave everyone their drink sitting next to Jamie, but he signed you to switch places so you could sit next to Alex.

"Jamie for fucks sake" You whispered.

"Come on take the sit" He insisted, you held your drink and fixed the ends of your dress, sitting next to Alex, he was a bit pissed now, baffled about the time he was up the stage and someone threw him a sweater he was very tempted to keep but he threw it away, you couldn't stop staring at his lips when he talked visually craving to feel them, lick them, bite them with the edge of your teeth, maybe it was the burning booze that made you feel so hot, and Alex made things hotter.

When the drinks emptied, it was your turn to go and ask for more, while the rest danced, Alex saw you talking with some bloke, your elbows resting flat on the countertop, one of your legs crossed over the other, seeming not too interested on him, but still trying to be as polite as possible, Alex didn't like how close the guy was talking to you, didn't like the way he was trying so hard to impress you, didn't like the way he was looking at you up and down shamelessly, the green dress you decided to wear out fitted you very smoothly, made your waist look smaller and your curves round, while it also was tight and short, it left enough for the imagination, the bloke who was drunkenly flirting with you was making you laugh, not because he was funny, he couldn't stop burping in between each of his sentences, Alex saw you laughing and walked to your way wrapping one arm around your waist.

"Hi babe" He kissed your cheek cupping your chin and wrapping his arm around you, "Who's our new friend here huh?" He said, impressed by his actions you also hugged him closer to you, not to only seemed like you two were dating but also because you wanted to be close to him, as much as possible.

"Never mind... 'course you have a boyfriend, gonna leave you two alone," The drunk bloke said, "Bye now" He waved at you both and you pushed your lips together trying to hold the laughter but once he was away both of you began to laugh.

"He was disgusting!" You said, Alex hugged you closer to him, his head falling on your shoulder, "Thanks for saving me" You said, a bit serious now.

"Is not a problem... really" He said politely, how was he like that you wondered, he was a truly caring and delicate boy, not a schizophrenic playboy who pretended to care about you only to get you to his apartment, his cute brown eyes became softer as he stared at yours, he was very handsome, suddenly the DJ had changed the song into one of your favorite songs redirecting your attention to it, your friends went running towards you, the song made you want to stand up and dance, without really thinking it, that's what you did.

Alex saw your mood change when one of your favorite songs began, he watched you carefully and upclose how your hips swayed to the music, your fingers grabbed the ends of your dress, he saw how you slowly hitched it up until he saw once again your little pink knickers, he was stunned, hypnotized by you, the feeling of his eyes on you lingered, you liked to think about the things he might be thinking, it made you feel wanted and needed by him, you approached him slowly, his eyes sparkle as he watched you in awe, "Dance with me" You whispered to his ear, he grabbed your hand giving you a small spin, pressed up against him, his hands on your waist, he didn't really know what to do, you could sense his nerves, so you put your arms on his shoulders getting closer by the second until the music stopped your faces just a few inches apart, you felt the tension building up.

"I was right," He said, you looked at him puzzled.

"Right about what?" You asked.

"'bout the way you dance" You grinned, walking closer to him.

"Why don't you take me home?" You whispered in his ear, you were aching for him a lot, you couldn't deny it any longer, or hide it, the look in his eyes sparks something peculiar, "Maybe, I could show you how I can move when I'm all alone, for your eyes only"

"Is that what you want?" You nodded with your head nibbling your lower lip, "And are you sure?" Cloyed by his sweetness, you cupped his soft pink cheeks and kissed his red chapped lips with passion, you could feel his heart racing, going deeper every time he kissed you back, his hands grasped your hips tighter, your hands lazily around his neck to pull him in closer to you, God did his lips taste so sweet, and he kissed you with great desire, but sadly you ran out of breath and your lips parted from his, he couldn't get enough of the taste of your lips, he nibbled your lower lip, a moan escaped from your mouth, the little seconds you got of air were enough to be able to kiss him for longer, the taste of your margarita lips and his natural sweetness was intoxicating, the kissing went for long but you were aching for him to take you home, you grabbed his hand and lead him to the exit.

You two waited outside, the cold air of Sheff made you shiver and hug your body, Alex after ending the call on his phone, he put his denim jacket on your shoulders, and caressed them up and down, you hummed feeling the warmth and the smell of his cologne, he looped his arms around your waist and his chin rested on your shoulders, "Warm?"

"Yes... but not enough" You said.

"What can I do to make you feel warmer?" You grinned again, looking to the side.

"Take me home"

"And do what exactly?" The sound of an engine driving close to your way, stopping right outside the club took his attention.

"I'll guess you'll find out soon" Alex opened the door for you with a grin then he came in after you, wrapping his arm around you, while he gave the taxi driver his address, you had the brilliant idea to tease him, you left some wet kisses on his neck while your hand slowly traveled up his thigh, you noticed how tense he got, the driver took off after Alex told him his address, you stopped kissing him and took a very small distance when the car begun to move, just to see how far did your teasing got you, and how impatient he was.

Not even 5 seconds later his hand took possession of your inner thigh, stroking it up and down, but there was no response from you even though you felt a small wet patch form on your underwear, that area in specific was quite sensitive for you but you tried your best to not respond, suddenly his hand went up making you feel tickles and you immediately shut your legs together, "Got ya" He said, pulling you closer to him by the elbow, his breathing close to your neck causing you to chuckle, he cupped your cheek and kissed your lips tenderly, but it didn't take long until your greedy mouth took advantage of the moment his lips parted to get some air, your tongue slipped inside his mouth, he sighed and cupped your cheek, turning the kiss into a much passionate one, the young lust got the best out of you, you didn't really care if the driver saw you, didn't care if he heard something, you knew the sounds of the cars that passed by would keep you hidden in the dark shadows of the night, your hand brushed his throbbing hard cock, he jumped up a bit, "We can't do this here" He whispered on your lips, but he kept leaning in to kiss you, your red lipstick staining his mouth.

"Who says?" Your hand began to stroke his clothed cock, you eyed the cab driver, but he was too distracted, focusing on the road, he was desperate at this point, oh how he remembered everything in the club, every gentle movement of your hips, your lips that hummed the melody of the song, the curve of your breasts, the strap of your light pink bra, and the crease of your underwear, you felt how hard he was getting, he couldn't get enough of your sweet vanilla perfume, kept fantasizing of your red lipstick all over him, you both struggled to keep it together, he was too thick, had grown so big, it was almost impossible to resist the urge to fuck right there, but you were saved by the cap suddenly stopping.

"Here, have a nice night" Alex handed out a couple of pounds and thanked him with a nod.

"Right, you too," He said politely, you didn't pay much attention to the address Alex had given to the driver, but when you saw he lived in an apartment you were shocked, most of the guys with who you had a relationship with, not only were they assholes but most of them still lived with their parents, none of them had their shit together unlike him.

He took your hand and walked with you some stairs, you'd heard about the flats in the area, close to the city center but yours was more close to home and college, you were very interested in getting to know him more, you were certainly puzzled by the young man that was next to you, holding you next to him, not in a very possessive way but more in a protective manner, his jacket hugging your body, setting aside his cuteness, he also was very fucking hot.

"This is my place," He said, you walked down the hallway, holding hands still, he searched for his keys in his pockets, patting them, he turned to you and motioned with his hand, "You see this?" He kept doing the same motion, "This is the universal symbol for keys"

"Who said that?"

"Me, it will be a thing in the future though, very certain about it" He chuckled, and you watched his smile in awe.

"Sure it will" You joked, he walked close to you, and leaned forward, you gave him a small peck on the lips but he giggled, "What?"

"I was erm... looking for me keys actualleh, I think they're in the right pocket if I remember well," He said trying his best not to sound ungrateful for the very subtle kiss you gave him.

"Oh right, right... the keys" You fetched them from the right pocket and gave them to him with a smile, "There you go"

"Thanks love" He opened the door for you and let you in first, you looked around for a moment until he sneaked behind you, kicking the door shut, turning you around to face him he put his lips on yours.

"And there I was thinking you didn't like my kissing" You teased, he rolled his eyes, taking you by surprise at how he picked you up from the ground, you squealed and giggled on his lips.

"I couldn't get enough of it" His lips were intoxicating, and you felt a huge fire igniting in the pit of your belly, he laid you down on his grey settee, your dress revealing your pink knickers, "Can I?" He asked, tugging on the hem of your knickers.

"Fuck me, for fucks sake," You said with despair, he smiled at you, "Please," You said, smiling back at him.

"Couldn't forget your kindness, couldn't you?" He pecked your lips before sliding your underwear down to your knees, he kissed your right knee, and kept going up, making you close your legs around him when he reached that sensitive spot on your inner thigh, "Alright?"

"Please..." You sighed, and he smirked, blowing cold air into your wet cunt, a shaky breath scraped your lips as his fingers spread your wetness.

"I'm gonna make you feel so good princess, I want to hear you all the time" You dipped his head in, and began to tease your clit in small circles, your legs twitched immediately, you were so tense by the feeling of his wet and hot lips on your pussy, kissing the insides of it, "You taste so good babe" He let two fingers sink inside you, gathering some of your wetness between his fingers, "Open" He pushed his fingers inside your mouth letting you taste your sweet wetness, "Suck on it" You kept sucking on his fingers harshly, while he kept licking your arousal, his tongue teased your folds, only getting you wetter by the second.

"Alex please" You begged, Alex, cupped your cheek with the palm of his hand and kissed your lips much more softly, pouring all his love into them. He wrapped your legs around his torso, the strap of your dress falling down your shoulder, your back resting on the soft cushions of his settee, you were surrounded by his familiar scent, and a moan escaped your lips when he lightly nibbled the sweet spot on your neck, he giggled at his teasing, how he had you on the edge, but it was enough for you, the teasing, the playing, you wanted things to get more serious.

You took a hold of his neck, getting on top of him, holding him down in place, "Don't mind me being on top right, baby?" He tried to flip you once more but had failed, when you wanted to be strong you would fight for it, right now you wanted to be the one with the power, "You're very cute like that" His cheeks were flushed, his mouth red and swollen for the kissing, panting.

"Take me, please"

"I'll take it whenever I want to," He tried once more to hover you over, but it led him to nowhere, you had taken over his body, you took his shirt off and threw it away, shocked by your moves he started to be alright with the idea of you taking over him, he didn't have a problem with it, but you made him feel this sort of way that he just wanted to be all over you, but now he realized you were feeling the same way, "Take your clothes off for me"He quickly unbuckled his belt, inpatient for the pulsing roughness of his dick to be smothered with your wetness, he was aching to feel you.

"I bet you're soaking wet for me, God you're so tight" Your dress was hitched up to your hips, and you took his pulsing red cock out of his boxers, he sighed when you gave him a few strokes, his eyebrows furrowed when your hot spit covered his head, your thumb made circles on his tip and your hand covered the rest of his cock with your warm spit, you felt the need to already slip it in, wanted to bounce on it, feel his hard cock inside you but a part of you wanted revenge for the teasing.

"First you're gonna fuck my thighs," Alex nodded with his head, you noticed that hint of nervousness on him though, "Have you ever done that before?"

He swallowed a lump saying no with his head, "Haven't done that..."

"Don't you want to?" You caressed his hair, and he looked at you with those puppy brown eyes nodding, "Good baby... good," Next you sat on his lap, sitting sideways so it could be easier for him to slide his cock in and out, you were the only one who still had clothes on, Alex was completely naked, his body flushed and his heartbeat could be heard, you liked making him so nervous, aroused and excited, your hand grabbed the back of his head while the other held his hand, you rubbed your thighs together causing delicious friction on his wet cock, and slowly he began to bounce your body up and down on his cock, he threw his head back sighting.

"Fuck babe" His eyes rolled back to the ceiling, his lips parting, you grabbed him by the back of his head, redirecting his gaze.

"I want you to look at me always" Alex kissed your lips passionately, putting his hand on the back of your hair, the way he kissed you, so hungry for your lips, he said to himself he could fall in love with just a kiss from your lips, he kept bouncing you on his lap, felt how his legs trembled, his breathing heavier, moans falling from his mouth to yours, you were driving him closer and closer.

"I wanna cum on your thighs babe, I love them so much... fuck you're so sexy..." He moaned your name loudly, closing his eyes shut, his glistening cum pouring over your thighs, "Oh fuck me..." He moaned when more cum poured over your thighs, panting as he came down from his high, kissing your lips he showed you how much he liked what you two just did.

"I want to fuck you, Alex," You confessed.

"Let's make a mess" He encouraged, it was nice to feel he also shared that feeling with you and wanted to make you feel undeniable pleasure, from the pocket of his jeans he fetched a black package that contained a condom, "Still sure doll?" You grabbed the condom from his hands ripping the package open with your teeth.

"Very sure" You purred, you handed him the condom and threw the trash away, you hopped on top of him, both of your legs extended, knees bent, this was sure something very new for Alex, who was used to going on top, and the same three positions but you, you were out of this world for him, "Let me bend your mind, Turner... I know you won't be sorry" He was more than ready to try something new, more if it was with someone like you.

You grasped his shoulder, he held your waist to keep you in place, you aligned him with your entrance, sliding it slowly, your tightness, the wetness made him go mad, "Fuck, you feel so tight, fucking hell" He was so thick, your walls stretched, he made you feel so full.

"Alex..." Your voice trembled, goosebumps crawled up your skin when he sunk completely inside you, and your chest reddened as he's thrusting in and out of you slowly.

"Fuck you look so fucking dirty like that darling" He had a good look at your tight cunt, watched his cock fuck it, your nipples hard, the straps of your dress falling low down your arms, legs wide open for him, your thighs shining with the lights, he felt hot sweat drip down his forehead, he watched as you rolled your hips trying to be closer to him, he wrapped his arm around your lower back, he jerked his cock back and forward, girlish moans coming out of your mouth.

"Fuck yes.... just like that Alex," You said between gritted teeth, your hands wrapped around his neck as Alex drove you closer to the edge, "Harder" You panted, "Fuck me harder..." Alex holds you strongly as his cock thrusts harder inside you, hitting your spot over and over again.

"Give it to me babe, cover me cock in your cum"

"Harder now please..." You squealed when his cock delivered a hard thrust to your cunt, he went faster and faster as he felt your walls contract, and tighten around him, and your eyes filled with tears as you felt you were coming to an end.

"Give it to me," Alex said, you sighed when the waves of pleasure took over you, "That's it babe" He felt your hot cum covering his cock, he knew by now your body would be tired, too heavy on you, but you weren't completely worn out.

"Fuck, I feel so good" You blurred out.

"I'm glad darling," He said with honesty, holding you close to him.

"Another round?" You suggested with a shaky smile.

"I was just thinking about the same," He said with a very cute smile, your head falling on his shoulder.

"This time take me to bed baby" He carried you down the hall, your legs around his torso, arms on his neck, your back felt the soft sheets of his bed, he stripped you off of your dress, looked at your body in awe, memorized every curve, every beauty spot, the shape of your thighs, the curves of your breasts, your prominent collarbone.

"You're fucking gorgeous" He pulled you to him by the legs, and threw them over his shoulders, "Gonna fuck you so good doll, scream my name when you cum" You smirked at his commands.

"Yes sir" You teased, but he teased you back rubbing the tip of his cock with your sensitive spot.

"What'd you say?" You moaned as he rubbed your clit faster.

"Yes sir," You said with a shaky tone, that same smile still not threatening to fall from your lips, his right arm secured your weak legs on his shoulders, and he pushed his cock inside your throbbing cunt going slow at first, pushing your legs shut, "Stop the teasing for fucks sake" You whined, your hands making fists with his bedsheets, holding to them with a tight grasp.

"And you're not a tease right?" With all the strength you had left, you tried to get your legs off his shoulders, but none of it worked, he holds you down in place, not even struggling to keep you there in the first place.

"Shut up and fuck me" Alex smirked, taking a very fast pace, the sound of his meat smacking against yours could be heard all over the room, his cock twitched inside you, his legs shaking as he felt each time more closer, he spread your legs, his fingers going down to rub your clit in fast circles, his cock kept pounding your cunt harder and harder, your legs couldn't stop shaking, your eyes rolled back as you let Alex take completely over you, "A-Alex Im gonna...oh fuck" You gasped for air when you felt that pressure on your stomach, you triggered a spot on Alex's body making him cum right after you, his forehead on yours, the tip of his nose brushing against yours, you felt a small tingle on your lips, and on your stomach, having his lips so close to yours only made you want to kiss him more, and that's what you did, you kissed him until you ran out of breath, until your lips were completely swollen, his arms around you he laid you down carefully on his bedsheets, he quickly went to the bathroom to clean himself up, and grab a new pair of clean boxers, you were slowly drifting off to sleep, felt so much relaxation, completely worn out now, your body felt so light.

"Can I get you some water, love?" He said.

"Mmm?" Your voice sounded a bit more throaty for the sleep.

"Oh, did I woke you up?" He whispered you giggled at his kindness, "Sorry love"

"Is alright I'm still awake, and yes thank you" He closed the door of his bedroom but when he came back, he saw you laying on your side, strands of your soft hair on your face, he sat next to you, felt how his fingertips moved your hair revealing the delicate features of your face, he followed the trace of your nose, and your eyebrows, he left a cup of water on the side you were sleeping in, he tucked himself in the covers beside you, laying your head down on his chest.

The sunlight hit Alex's bedroom floor in the early morning, he had woken up with only the outline of her silhouette on the bedsheet, she simply vanished, and he looked for her everywhere but just when he thought his girl was long gone he saw a small note next to his cup.

"Don't forget me too soon" She left the print of her red lipstick on the note, along with her number, Alex didn't think about it twice before grabbing his phone, he dialed the numbers and looked down at the floor, waiting for her.

"Missed me already?" The girl in the green dress said.

"Can't forget about you so easily, can I?" She giggled thru the line, her red lipstick was on his pillows and bedsheets, not to forget it was everywhere on his face, "And by the way, you left a small souvenir at my place" He grabbed your pink underwear from his bedsheets.

"Just to make sure you would remember me Turner" She was a very cheeky girl, and Alex loved her essence very much, it was something that stomped you off your feet.

"Couldn't forget about you ever... and about that, my mates and I have another gig today at 9, wanna come by?" He asked, a bit nervous because she stayed quiet for a long time.

"Sure," She said with excitement, "I'll see you later Turner"

"See you later, love"

A/N 

Thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed!.

x

[stopdoomscrolling-cafe]

playing the guitar

hey there! welcome back. let’s talk about why playing the guitar is such a fantastic hobby. 🎸

playing the guitar is a great way to relax and express yourself. it improves your hand-eye coordination, boosts your creativity, and can even enhance your memory and concentration. plus, it’s super fun and can be a great way to connect with others through music.

ready to start strumming? here’s a step-by-step guide to help you begin your guitar journey:

choose your guitar: decide between an acoustic or electric guitar. acoustic guitars are great for beginners because they’re straightforward and don’t require extra equipment like amplifiers.

get the right gear: you’ll need a guitar, a tuner, a few picks, and a capo. a guitar strap and a case are also useful.

learn the parts of the guitar: familiarize yourself with the different parts of the guitar, like the headstock, neck, body, and strings.

tune your guitar: use a tuner to get your guitar in standard tuning (E A D G B e). this is crucial for making sure your guitar sounds good.

learn basic chords: start with simple chords like C, G, D, and E minor. these are the building blocks for many songs.

practice strumming patterns: get comfortable with basic strumming patterns. this will help you keep a steady rhythm.

play simple songs: pick easy songs to practice, like “knockin’ on heaven’s door” by bob dylan or “three little birds” by bob marley. this will help you apply what you’ve learned.

practice regularly: consistency is key. try to practice a little bit every day to build muscle memory and improve your skills.

explore different genres: once you’re comfortable, try playing different styles of music like rock, blues, or folk to keep things interesting.

here are a couple of youtube videos to help you get started:

how to play guitar - easy first guitar lesson for beginners! by dylan laine

how to play guitar (your first guitar lesson) by fender

happy strumming! what kind of music are you excited to learn on the guitar? 🎶

[sweetdreamsjeff]

THE GOOD, THE BAD, & THE LAUNDRY WITH BRENDA KAHN

In Features, Interviews by Jason L.05.28.19

Originally published at Hard Rock RPM

Poet. Guitarist. Songwriter. Publisher. Activist. Mother. Brenda Kahn’s music career stretches from the anti-folk scene of the East Village in the early 1990s to a recently published book of poetry about parenting aptly titled The Good, The Bad, And The Laundry. Along the way, Kahn recorded with her friend Jeff Buckley, played Lilith Fair multiple times, ran a website focused on women in music, and answered the call when Bob Dylan wanted her to open a show. While she may have traded the drug dealers of Avenue A for her children and a life in the countryside, Kahn’s keen eye for detail continues to serve her well.

...

The Ryan Adams news was not the least surprising in terms of the issues that persist in the business. How much of that did you experience during your career? While I feel like the 90s were a hugely successful time for women in music, I am terrified to imagine what the artists were experiencing.

I think this is finally changing because of access to the internet. I wish I’d been able to google “Should I get a Fender or a Gibson guitar”.  Or “what are the chords to “Like a Rolling Stone” back when I was in high school. I met several guys along the way who treated me as total equals.  One of whom was Jeff Buckley who taught me the two drum beats I can play on a kit now. And my producer Tim Patalan on Outside the Beauty Salon, who handed me a guitar and said – “You play the lead.”

...

Any memories about touring with Dylan and Buckley that you could share?

Opening for Bob Dylan was one of those bucket list moments that seemed so unlikely, it wasn’t even on the list. We found out about the tour dates while I was in France doing a promotional tour for Epiphany in Brooklyn. My manager busted into the room and said he had good news and bad news.  The good news was I was going to open for Bob Dylan, the bad news was I wasn’t allowed to open for him solo acoustic. I had to have a band. I was in France, the show was in two weeks, and the guys I made the album with were all on tour with other artists. Of course, I said yes.  I had just written the song “too far gone” and the timing was all over the place.  I didn’t know if I would get in trouble, but the band dropped out and I did that one song solo acoustic.  The feeling of being on that stage, where you could hear a pin drop, singing to 6000 Bob Dylan fans… best ever moment.

With Jeff Buckley it was really different because we were friends.  I don’t have a lot of tour stories because we were in different vehicles, but we would hang out at sound checks and play blues songs sometimes or eat together, but mostly we played our shows and went onto the next town.  But my memories of Jeff are more about hanging out in New York.  We spent hours together doing nothing.  Shopping in random thrift stores or making up dumb songs on the guitar.  In my mind, I can see him wheeling my 50lb amp down 9th street to a gig at Brownies, I remember him calling me last minute to come see him open up for Patti Smith at Irving Plaza.

The one serious recording we made together came from a time we were in my apartment and he was playing my tele, this really beautiful riff, and I said, ‘I have something that might work for that’ and started reading these snippets of poems I had written in these tiny notebooks. After about 10 minutes he stopped and looked at me and said “four-track”.  So funny because now you would just pull up an app on your iPhone and click a button, but back then, you had to set up microphones and plugin guitars and set levels. Jeff had a reel to reel tape machine in his apartment.  Anyway, that song turned out to be “Faith Salons” and it’s one of the last things he recorded.  When I hear his foot tapping and his vocals in the background it gets me every time.

[gregorsamsa-ra]

patti smith, matthias grunewald, sylvia plath, john singer, toni morrison, frida kahlo, gina pane,, oscar wilde, el greco, george struikelblok, tracey emin, mark rothko, julia margaret cameron, jung boc su, ron athey, andrea mantegna, seamus heaney, nico, gustav mahler, paula rego, diane arbus, arvo part, bob flanagan, leonard cohen, ahn chang hong, francisco goya, nina simone, ulay, susan sontag, marina abramovic, edith piaf, edvard munch, louise bourgeois, beth gibbons, ian curtis, raimund hoghe, antony hegarty, maria callas, samuel barber, gunter bruce, francis bacon, arthur rimbaud, kae tempest, mike parr, david nebreda, pier paolo pasolini, sam fender, nick cave, ana mendieta, christian boltanski, leon golub, fabio mauri, david olusoga, kiki smith, maya angelou, hieronymus bosch, bobby baker, janis joplin, nan goldin, andrei tarkovsky, bob dylan, abel ascona, nancy spero, billie holiday, robert capa, sarah lucas, friedrich nietzsche, sonia boyce, steve mcqueen, fabrizio de andre', alda merini, letizia battaglia, nick drake, charles bukowski, iannis xenakis, rogier vander weyden, janine antonii, arvo parks, tracy chapman, jean genet, valie export, linda mary montano, william blake, john cooper clarke, hannah wilke, lou reed, tracey moffat, doris salcedo, rebecca horn, giacomo leopardi, santiago sierra, teresa margolles, regina jose' galindo, suzanne lacy

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 24/02/2024 (Dua Lipa, Djo, Calvin Harris/Rag'n'Bone Man)

Guess we know who’s winning the Civil War - Beyoncé’s “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM” usurps Vermont on the throne of the UK Singles Chart. Welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS!

Rundown

It’s kind of calming to have a week where outside of some new entries, of which there are only a handful to begin with. So, as always, we start with the notable dropouts, which are songs exiting the UK Top 75 (what I cover) after five weeks in the region or a peak in the top 40. This week, we bid adieu to a small selection of songs but some of which are pretty important. Sure, I guess we can say good riddance to “MY EYES” by Travis Scott (featuring uncredited vocals from Justin Vernon of Bon Iver and Sampha) and “Body Moving”  by Eliza Rose and Calvin Harris without much fret, but we also see dropouts from the Barbie soundtrack with both “What Was I Made For?” by Billie Eilish and “Dance the Night” by Dua Lipa leaving, as well as Sam Fender’s “Seventeen Going Under” making yet another exit though I’m sure it’ll be back soon enough.

There isn’t much to speak of in our gains, either. The biggest story is probably our list of returns, since the new documentary, Bob Marley: One Love has people rediscovering the reggae legend’s catalogue. His greatest hits album is at #6 on the albums chart and two of his songs with the Wailers return to the top 75. Both songs peaked in 1980, with “Could You be Loved”, now at #51, peaking at #5 whilst Odyssey’s “Use it Up and Wear it Out” was #1 and “Three Little Birds”, now at #56, only peaking at #17, whilst “Don’t Stand So Close to Me” by The Police was #1. Marley would pass just one year after, of course, and it is pretty poetic to have his grandson in the top 10 right now, but just so this episode has some cool chart history trivia, how about we go through the several times these songs have charted? Different recordings of the two songs released in 1984 and 1985 peaked at #71 and #76 respectively. Joe Cocker’s cover of “Could You be Loved” peaked at #86 in 1997, and as far as I can find, no other covers of either song have charted, which kind of surprises me. After all, the latter was recently covered by Maroon 5, I figured they’d hitch a chart spot on name recognition but nope, not even a child singer Connie Talbot could do it in the talent show boom in the 2000s, so I guess Marley’s original really can’t be replaced.

As for the rest of our gains and returns, “Thank You (Not So Bad)” by way too many people who should know better is back at #73 and “Coal” by Dylan Gossett returns to #61. The gains include last week’s debuts, “Made for Me” by Muni Long and “Birds in the Sky” by NewEra at #48 and #44 respectively, “Lil Boo Thang” by the GOAT Paul Russell at #35 and, despite what the Official Charts Company would want you to believe, “Grey” by Yung Filly is at #33. There was an Aitch remix.

This week’s top 5 is actually pretty notable in terms of some shifting tides. We begin with ACR - search it up - striking Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season” down to #5, and then one of a few big debuts with Dua Lipa at #4 with “Training Season”, followed by gains for some white dudes making big moves: “Lose Control” by Teddy Swims at #3 and “Beautiful Things” by Benson Boone at #2, and finally, of course Queen Bey at the top. Now, we don’t have that wide of an array of new entries, or really, many at all, of which I’m pretty grateful for, so let’s zip through them.

New Entries

#66 - “Soaked” - Shy Smith

Produced by BeatBusta

Alright, I’ll bite… who the Hell is Shy Smith and why did they go with that… uncomfortable cover art? Well, this song is actually from 2021, and I assume through TikTok has gone viral, but this isn’t some indie artist as we typically see, this is a Canadian social media star, which makes this song seem a bit more like a joke. That’s a relief since despite being three years old, it sounds like Ciara made this in 2006 with the glassy synths, blocky Timbaland-esque production and squarrelling synth buzz, that is much more “in” now than it ever has been. Part of me understands completely therefore why this is charting now… but then another part of me doesn’t understand why this is charting at all. There’s really nothing to the stifled groove of the beat and it sounds like it actively strains Shy Smith to try having a personality. It’s so clearly going for semi-goofy seduction, but clawing actual intimacy out of this is as hard a job for me as it would have been for the vocal engineers, so I’m really not understanding this one.

#53 - “Whatever She Wants” - Bryson Tiller

Produced by TylianMTB

I always forget Bryson Tiller exists until he shows back up again, and I mean no offence by that as nothing has given me the impression that he’s not talented or a good person, but not a single song has clicked with me, despite having a lot of respect for his mostly singular lane and pioneering of the trap-soul sound. I can think of people who perhaps want to be Bryson Tiller, but I can’t figure out who Bryson Tiller wants to be other than, well, Bryson Tiller, and even if the music doesn’t resonate, I’m happy with that. Problem here is that he’s obviously trying to be Drake. He’s always been the easiest comparison to make with Tiller, but other than the more Detroit-influenced percussion, which really sounds like a typical trap rhythm with a Detroit choice of sounds more than anything, other than an elegant Orion Sum sample… this is just a Drake song. He goes for Drake flows, Drake melodies, even Drake’s uncomfortable whispery ad-libs. You could argue that the influence is mutual, but it is really difficult for me not to see a Drake fan taking the acapella, running it through a Drake voice AI and making something completely believable. Even the content is a slightly less embarrassing Drake riff, which just shows to me that he may be a unique singer, but not so much a rapper. Tylian’s beat is pretty good on this, I will admit, but I’m compelled by Mr. Tiller enough as a unique presence to care much about this. The train-like way the song keeps to an uptempo chug is actually pretty interesting though, it doesn’t feel like it ever wants to stop and take a breath, and Tiller does contribute to that, he’s not a total dud on his own song. He’s not really improving it either, though.

#19 - “Lovers in a Past Life” - Calvin Harris and Rag’n’Bone Man

Produced by Calvin Harris and watt

The petty part of me wants to say “2018 called” but this collaboration isn’t dated on arrival: Rag’n’Bone Man is another one of those artists I always forget about until they show up and I think this will just be a repeat of what I said about “Giant” all those years ago. He needs a rough layer of grit under him, not this flashy, sugary house track that he sticks out like a sore thumb over. Now it may not be dated on arrival but it is in execution: this is a tropical house song, and whilst Calvin Harris has always been good at mixing and making his stuff sound professional, this actually detracts from the character-void guitar and four-on-the-floor programming that all just feels rote. He even goes for an ATB-like guitar lick in the drop amidst the house pianos that just doesn’t sit well with me. I don’t dislike this - or at least not that much - I’m just confused by how either artist felt the need to make it, because it really does not work.

#11 - “End of Beginning” - Djo

Produced by Adam Thein and Djo

How do I even begin to pronounce that? Is he D-J-O, Duh-Joe, Joe, Sho? Oh, who am I kidding? It doesn’t matter, you know him as Joe Keery from Stranger Things. He was in a psychedelic band for a while but left and has solo work as a musician out now, with this taking from his second album and not actually released as a single, just a breakout solo hit. Is it good? Well, listen… I wish he knew he wanted Steve. The only buzz I had heard about this is that it sounded just like Mr. Lacy’s “Bad Habit” and well, I actively laughed when certain elements of the song came in because they hit nearly exactly the same way as in that song. This is most likely an influence and definitely not worth suing anyone over, but that’s primarily because neither song is any good. The lyrics are largely about his connection to his home city of Chicago as well as the acceleration of his acting career, making a point about how well, he’s still from Chicago! Whatever version you get of him, Chicago’s still in him. Yeah, it’s safe to say it doesn’t have the lyrical intricacies or at least, intriguing moments, that “Bad Habit” does, or even, and it pains me to say this, its sonic depth, so surely I should like this even less? Well, no. Djo Mama’s voice is a lot less pursuant and awkward than Steve Lacy, who also came up with some actual earworms that I respect but never want to hear again, whilst Djo here is just yapping over some synthpop. Which is fine. Have your fun. My opinion doesn’t matter at the end of the day. Just… maybe make acting a priority.

#4 - “Training Season” - Dua Lipa

Produced by Kevin Parker

I wish Dua found an interesting way to be good. This is a great, funky pop song, a worthwhile follow-up to “Houdini” with some excellent atmosphere mostly found in the dynamic mix that I’m sure Mr. Tame Impala had a lot of involvement with. It may not be a psychedelic song by nature, but there are transitory phases that absolutely show he was on the boards for. This feels like a sequel to “Houdini”, if that’s not already the intention, as Dua isn’t being the carefree love-them-and-leave-them anymore, she’s genuinely frustrated that she doesn’t have a more consistent and intimate relationship. She’s sick of being in control in these relationships - if they can be called such - and wants someone to go there, to actually mean something to her and put that effort in. Yet it doesn’t hit as much as I want it to… it may be the replacement of the rubbery bass from “Houdini” with a focus on soaring psychedelic synths and a guitar tone I’m not really big on in the chorus. Maybe it’s just that this funk-pop sound isn’t all that new and in that case, it’s impressive that Dua has made it this far without sounding boring.

Conclusion

With that said, she still obviously gets Best of the Week because good God, this was a mediocre set. Honourable and Dishonourable Mentions would be overly charitable probably, but I am going to give Bryson Tiller some benefit here, specifically because “Whatever She Wants” does have a decent instrumental, whilst Djo takes the Dishonourable Mention for “End of Beginning”, God, even the title is awkward. As for the worst, Shy Smith I think takes this handedly for “Soaked” but… will it even last a second week? I don’t know, it’s easily the least essential and least likely to last song that debuted. As for what’s on the horizon… I don’t know. Thank you for reading, rest in peace to Steve Wright and I’ll see you next week!

[oliverreedmasterass]

Do you think you could write the moment Jake and his dad went to the guitar center and Jake played Sunshine of Your Love by Cream and that one guy was amazed by it cause he was 12

LOVE this concept!!

Sunshine

Words: 2k

Warnings: N/A

Jake was in his messy room, sitting on the edge of his twin bed and strumming away at his Yamaha acoustic when Kelly stuck his head in. 

“Are you playing Heart?” he asked, hardly able to contain his awe. Jake quickly dropped his hands down to his side in surprise and gave a small nod. 

“Yeah,” he murmured. Kelly widened his eyes and let out an impressed chuckle. 

“I think it’s time.” 

“Time?” Jake asked as he carefully set his guitar behind him on the bed. “Time for what?” 

“Time for you to get an electric,” Kelly replied. This made Jake spring to his feet. 

“Are you serious?” he let his voice raise in glee. Kelly grinned at his son’s response and nodded his head. 

“The point of the acoustic was to make sure you got your form down. Now I’m no guitar expert, but I think it’s safe to say you can play that thing pretty well. You’ve earned the privilege.” 

Jake’s grin stretched from ear to ear. His dad had let him play his own electric guitar a few times before, but Jake always got distracted by the pedals and whammy bar, and the guitar was promptly taken away. Kelly’s mantra had seemed to become, 

“No need to try and replicate Jimi Hendrix’s Star Spangled Banner, son.”

Jake was frankly surprised that his dad thought he was ready to transition to an electric guitar. It was something he had craved for a lot longer than he would admit - he knew it would get him attention at school (the good kind) and he loved the sheer feeling of power that surged through his body with every electrifying chord he ripped out. The acoustic was fun to play, but it had transformed his fingers into a set of rugged, calloused nubs that he was constantly peeling dead skin off of. Plus, he wanted to play songs that weren’t off The White Album or Bob Dylan’s greatest hits. Sure, he thought that his playing had improved from when he first picked up the guitar at the humble age of three, but he still missed chords and mixed up strumming patterns. A part of him worried that his rendition of “Crazy On You” had been a fluke and he somehow tricked his dad into thinking he was ready. 

As if Kelly was reading his mind, he nodded back at Jake’s acoustic. 

“Can you play me something else on that?” 

Jake could feel his face turn bright red but he obliged, settling the guitar back in his lap and scanning his brain for the right song that was possible to play, but still impressive. Kelly leaned his back against the doorframe with his arms crossed and closed his eyes with a large beam across his face as Jake played “Heart of Gold”. After Jake finished the chorus, Kelly opened his eyes again and patted the doorframe. 

“I’m gonna grab my keys,” he excused himself. The second he was out of sight, Jake tossed the acoustic back down and held his head in his hands. 

“Oh my god,” was all he could manage to grunt out. He was finally getting an electric guitar.

For the entire drive down to Flint, Kelly had a field day coaching Jake on what guitars he should try out. 

“You can’t go wrong with a Fender, but also everyone plays the Fender so it’s not that special. Les Pauls can be fun. Did you know that Jimmy Page played a Les Paul?”

Jake stared out at the rolling green fields they were zipping by and tried to envision what guitar he would be playing for years to come. When he fantasized about it, he never really had a set guitar in mind; what was more important was how well he was playing it. Jake concentrated hard and attempted to conjure up an image of a guitar that felt like it was rightfully his. He was disappointed when he came up empty. 

“I don’t know what guitar I want,” he admitted out loud. 

“Looks are one thing, you gotta play a bunch of them to find one that really feels right.” 

That made Jake feel better, even though he still felt the magnitude of the situation weighing on him. Within the twelve years he had been alive, this was by far the biggest decision he had ever had to make. He wasn’t quite sure what to do with himself. 

Fifteen minutes later, Kelly pulled their family minivan into the Guitar Center parking lot and killed the engine, cutting off the Muddy Waters song that had been playing. 

“Are you ready?” he asked Jake. In response, Jake slumped back in his seat but, growing uncomfortable with the silence he was creating, eventually turned and nodded at his dad. 

“You bet,” he squeaked out. 

As he stepped in through the front doors of Guitar Center, Jake felt his eyes grow to the size of saucers. The place was like his own personal heaven: stunning guitars lined the walls, keyboards were tucked away in an adjacent room, and a kid around his age was bashing away on a set of drums in a soundproof room. Kelly lightly placed his hand on Jake’s back and led him deeper into the store since he seemed to be frozen in place. They found an employee and Kelly waved him down. 

“Hey there,” he smiled. “My son is looking for a guitar.” 

“Exciting!” the guy commented, nodding at Jake. “Got anything specific you’re looking for?” 

“Nope,” Jake replied. 

“All good,” the employee seemed prepared. “Feel free to grab a guitar off the wall and I can get it plugged into an amp for you.” 

Jake could feel his heart thunder in his chest. If he wasn’t so determined to find the right guitar, he would have booked it out of the store to hide in his dad’s car until he settled down. Everything was so exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time. It was a lot. 

“How about I pick the first one for you, bud?” Kelly asked down to Jake. Jake had a feeling that he was doing a pretty poor job hiding how much he was panicking. 

“Yes please,” he choked through the lump that was forming in his throat. Kelly gave him a supportive smile and led him to the back corner where a Squier Stratocaster was within reach. The employee removed it from its hook on the wall and motioned for Jake to take a seat on the closest cushioned stool. Jake plopped back and, before he knew it, the guitar was in his hands and buzzing to life as the employee plugged it into an impressive amp. 

“Go for it,” the employee encouraged him. Jake looked over at Kelly and saw that he was waiting expectantly. Jake retrieved a pick from his jean pocket and shakily brought it up to the strings. Unsure how loud it was going to be, he carefully played a D chord, which rang through the store. Jake could feel his face flush red again. “Strong sound, huh?” the employee turned to Kelly to converse. 

“That’s why I chose it,” Kelly agreed. “C’mon Jake, try and play something.” 

Jake licked his dried lips and cautiously played a few bars of a Black Keys song. Even though he messed up the first notes, he managed to let off the last note of the verse with a loud, echoing ring. 

“Not too bad,” the employee nodded in approval. Jake handed the guitar back to him and scanned over the wall. 

“I think I want to try another one,” he thought aloud. The guitar was nice, but it didn’t feel quite right.

“Go for it,” Kelly laughed. Jake stood from the stool and wandered to the other wall to scan over the more flashy guitars. His eyes were drawn to the cherry red finish over the standard black and white bodies, and he found himself reaching for a bright red B.C. Rich Rich Legacy Doubleneck. 

“Really?” Kelly asked Jake as he giddily returned to the amp. 

“I need to give everything a feel to make sure I find the right one,” Jake tried to defend himself. 

“There’s no way I’m letting you try out every guitar in this store,” Kelly protested. 

“People have done it before,” the employee interjected as he plugged the guitar into the amp. Kelly pinched at the bridge of his nose. 

“Please don’t do that to me, Jake.” 

“I want a red one, so I’ll only try those.” 

Kelly looked like he wanted to remind Jake that he needed to look beyond the exterior appearance of the guitar, but he held himself back. Once again the guitar roared to life and Jake closed his eyes in glee as he tried out a few licks he had been messing around with at home. His hands fumbled between the two guitar necks and, in defeat, he turned down the volume. 

“I don’t think this one’s it,” he admitted in defeat. 

“I could have told you that,” Kelly retorted. 

Jake returned back to the tall wall of guitars and put his hands on his hips as he scanned up and down each column. There were some guitars that he knew for certain he would never touch, like the pink Hello Kitty one, or the boring old Fender Telecaster. He wanted something rugged, something unique, something that was bound to make him feel like a rockstar. Jake’s eyes finally landed on a guitar and a soft “oh” escaped from his mouth. He was looking up at probably the most stunning guitar he had ever seen: a Gibson SG Standard. 

“Just like Pete Townshend,” Jake whispered in appreciation. He couldn’t take his eyes off of it, and was quickly joined by the employee. 

“Want me to take it down for you?” 

“Yes please.” 

Jake carried the guitar back to the stool and could feel the power charging through it even before it was plugged into the amp. The cable snapped and the guitar hummed to life, sending anticipatory tingles through Jake’s fingers. Jake took a deep breath and, without thinking, tore into “Sunshine of Your Love.” It was his favorite song to play: Eric Clapton really knew what he was doing when he wrote that lick. Jake could hear the bass and drums playing along with him in his head and closed his eyes to become fully immersed in the music. Colors and shapes started dancing in front of his eyes with each note and, before he knew it, he was rocking back and forth on the stool to the beat. The colors and shapes transformed into a stage, blinding lights, and a crowd in front of him. Jake continued playing to the cheers of thousands of fans like his life depended on it. It was a massive disappointment when the song came to a close. 

Jake opened his eyes and was greeted by the sight of the Guitar Center employee gaping at him, and his dad nodding his head in approval. 

“This the one, son?” Kelly asked. 

“I’d say so,” Jake agreed, holding the guitar close to his body. He didn’t want to let it go; the feeling he had while playing it was like nothing he had ever experienced before. Kelly seemed to understand the bond Jake had developed with the guitar since he let him carry it to the register, only letting go of it momentarily when the Guitar Center employee had to scan its tag. Kelly also let Jake pick out a guitar strap and a case, which only fueled Jake’s excitement more. While Kelly fished his credit card out of his wallet, Jake saw an older guy pointing in his direction to another employee. 

“Yeah, that guy’s pretty damn good - he can’t be more than twelve years old and he’s playing Cream. Can you believe that?” 

Jake couldn’t help but flash a toothy grin in the guy’s direction at his praise. He had known for a while that he loved playing guitar, but now it was clear to him that it was something he was meant to do, and that he should do for the rest of his life. 

“How are you feeling?” Kelly checked with him as they walked back out into the overcast afternoon to the car. 

“Alive,” Jake declared.

[sugarcoated-lame]

ten songs, ten people.

thank you so much for tagging me, my lovely @sebsxphia !! 🥰🫶🏼❤️🧡❤️🧡❤️

rules: put your music on shuffle and list the first ten songs that come up, then tag ten other people.

Cosmic Hero - Car Seat Headrest

Like I Used To - Sharon Von Etton

Outside - Catfish and the Bottlemen

Gimme Some Truth - The Fatal Flowers

Laid Down In My Arms - Del Water Gap

Fall to Pieces - Pale Waves

Television Romantic - Late Night Drive Home

Farewell - Witmark Demo 1963 - Bob Dylan

Always in My Head - Gymnastics in the Seventies

Seventeen Going Under - Acoustic - Sam Fender

no pressure tags: @wkndwlff @roleycoleyreccenter @sunlightmurdock @rhettabbotts @peachystenbrough @elusive-honeydew @teacupsandtopgun @ohgodnotagainn @yikesokayyyy @ryebecca and leaving this open for anyone else who’d like to do it 🧡

[jefferyryanlong]

Infinite Pau Hana - September 13, 2023

"love songs"

Hour 1

Love Lots of Lovin' - Lee Dorsey Two Tall Mountains (Talkin' Like You) - Connie Converse Which Will - Nick Drake It Never Entered My Mind - Miles Davis It Never Entered My Mind - Frank Sinatra Harvester of Hearts - Rufus Wainwright Ruler of My Heart - Irma Thomas Walk Away Renee - The Four Tops I Can't Stop Loving You - Ray Charles Daddy's Home - Shep and Limelights In Paradise - The Cookies I Never Loved a Man (the Way I Love You) - Aretha Franklin Desde Que Conosco - Freddy Fender

Hour 2

The Birds and the Bees - Jewel Adkins Maybe - The Chantells Slip Away - Clarence Carter If Not for You - Bob Dylan I'll Keep It With Mine - Bob Dylan I'd Have You Anytime - George Harrison I Don't Want to Do Wrong - Gladys Knight and the Pips Everything That Touches You (1) - The Association Love Can Make You Happy - Mercy (My Girl's Got) Miraculous Technique - Belle and Sebastian I'd Like to Walk Around in Your Mind Someday - Vashti Bunyan You Don't Know Me - Ray Charles Sea Shell - Strawberry Alarm Clock Together Forever - We All Together Come on Home - Lijadu Sisters

Hour 3

Love Hurts - Gram Parsons Little Wing - The Jimi Hendrix Experience True Love Will Find You in the End - Beck High Tide or Low Tide - The Wailers Wicked Game (1) - Chris Isaak I'm Glad - Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band I'm So Proud - The Impressions I Know - Fiona Apple You Beat Me to the Punch - Mary Wells I'm in Love - Wilson Pickett Love Is Strange - Mickey and Sylvia When Something Is Wrong with My Baby - Sam and Dave In an Aeroplane Over the Sea - Neutral Milk Hotel God Only Knows (1) - The Beach Boys

(1) - by request

KTUH - 90.1 FM Honolulu, 91.1 FM North Shore, ktuh.org

[zen-dayas]

2022: a summary

post your favorite or most popular post from each month this year. (it’s okay to skip months!)

i was tagged by @anewhope! thank you so much valentina ily mwah 💓

january

fave: ted lasso + frank turner

top: fleabag

february

fave: coach beard

top: ted lasso + toy soldier motif

march

fave: selina mayer & himym (i cant choose pls dont make me)

top: kendall roy

april

fave: jamie tartt + sam fender (+ another honorable himym mention)

top: abbott elementary

may

fave: rose tyler

top: the thick of it star wars rant

june

fave: amy/rory

top: lila pitts

july

fave: steve harrington

top: ferris/sloane/cameron

august

fave: community

top: aloto baseball cards

september

fave: interstellar + dylan thomas

top: wallace wells

october

fave: ot3s

top: emma 2020

november

fave: dan/blair + taylor swift

top: amy/rory

december

fave: jonah simms

top: succession

tagging @violets @melody-pond @staarfires @maygrant @claytonsdani @madeline-kahn @maxchapman @fionagallaqher @eddiediaaz @sonyarebecchi @wynona-rider @darcyscarden @wakandasforever @djarin @chikoriita @rogerhealey @pugsleys @kenobiis @robert-englund @naiey @eddiediaaz @brooksdavis @seance (if you’ve already done this feel free to ignore me)