#flipside magazine

[samurairobotics]

Flipside magazine cover May/June 1998

[vinyls-and-valentines]

for one of your posts you did put an image of jet star drawn by becky cloonan, can i ask where you got it from? or like a full image or a link cause i can't find the full image :(((

It is from this poster Becky Cloonan drew for the December 2013 edition of Rock Sound:

[ID in alt]

Alas, Rock Sound is not into any type of legacy prints or digital archival as far as I can tell from their website, so my knowledge of this is entirely based on this blogpost here.

[possible-streetwear]

[mrupublishing]

The newest issue of FlipSide magazine is now available at: https://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/2874233

With-

Front cover model:

Riajonae

Back cover model:

Jamie Allmark

Showcasing:

Goddess E

Karen Vorster

Marie Håkansson

Jamie Allmark

Amanda Louise

Carter Perkins

Riajonae

Leticia Alatriz

Molly Roxx

FlipSide Magazine is a MRU Publishing creation.

[mariacallous]

According to the internet, I’m a “boy mum”. It’s not a term I’d heard until I gave birth to a baby boy. Suddenly, I was being bombarded with videos about the nightmare in store for me. This was footage showing the kind of destructive male-toddler behaviour that Jackass stars Johnny Knoxville and Bam Margera would deem too risky. Meanwhile, their mothers were portrayed as longsuffering, harried, hard-as-nails veterans of the boy-toddler insane asylum.

My son is very physically active, but he’s also a gentle, cautious child, so this doesn’t resonate with me, or with several of the “boy mums” I know. (Meanwhile, some of the “girl mums” spend their days chasing their Tasmanian Devil-esque daughters like they’re in a Looney Tunes cartoon.) Yet it’s everywhere. Then, last week, I saw a report that found girls were playing outside less than boys, even at two years old – something that shocked the researchers, who hadn’t expected to see socialised gender roles emerging so early.

It didn’t shock me, sadly. Not when I’m regularly tearing my hair out in clothes shops trying to find something for my two-year-old son to wear that isn’t black or camouflage, like he’s a ninja, or a small soldier already primed for aggression.

“It’s not our fault, but we’ve all internalised that ‘boys-take-up-more-space’stereotype,” Kirstie Beaven, the founder of Sonshine magazine, a publication geared towards raising boys for a more equal world, tells me.

“Girls’ clothes are made for sitting still and looking pretty, while boys’ clothes are made for activity, even in the baby or toddler sections. Parents of babies tend to underestimate girls’ gross motor skills – expecting they will be less competent than boys at crawling or climbing – and we’re all more likely to encourage our sons to take physical risks, and expect our daughters to ‘be careful’.”

Beaven says that by the time our children are two years old, we probably don’t expect our daughters to need as much outside time. “Nor are they as comfy or confident when they are outside,” she says. “If your shoes are too flimsy to climb a tree or your T-shirt is cut uncomfortably short and tight, it’s not surprising you want to go home early.”

As a 90s tomboy kid raised in dungarees, this thought breaks my heart a little. A lack of outdoor physical activity will disadvantage girls from a young age, and these gendered expectations harm boys, too, as Ruth Whippman, author of the book BoyMum, tells me.

“The flipside of the ‘boys play outside more’ phenomenon is that parents as a whole give boys less of the kind of quiet indoor-type attention that they give to girls,” she says. “Wide-scale research across countries shows that from as early as nine months, parents spend more time with girls on activities such as learning letters and numbers, singing, drawing and telling stories. Girls now outperform boys at school and researchers believe these differences in parental time inputs account for a significant portion of the difference.”

What I loved about Whippman’s book was that it beautifully conveyed the internal battle many intelligent feminist mothers found themselves having when raising boys who may be conforming to certain stereotypes.

“When my three boys were small, people used to tell me all the time [that] ‘boys are like dogs – all they need is food and exercise, and just try to wear them out’,” Whippman says. “I used to absolutely hate it, as it seemed so dehumanising. But perhaps what I hated even more was the fact that in our case it was kind of true.”

Of course, like most mothers, she initially held herself responsible.

As with many of these questions, a complex interplay between nurture and nature is involved, and it’s stupid to deny biology any kind of role. Whippman highlights how male foetuses get a shot of testosterone in the womb that has been linked in other mammals to a tendency to play more roughly, while girls may be able to sit still and focus for longer at younger ages because the areas of the brain responsible for impulse control and emotional self-regulation generally develop earlier in girls.

The point is, though, that parents often increase this divide by failing to correct their own unconscious biases and help their kids work on the areas where they could improve their skills. As Whippman puts it: “When it comes to gender, as parents, we end up turning small differences into big differences.”

Seeing how much my little boy needs me, how much touch, affection and reassurance he craves, has been one of the most educative experiences I’ve had since I became his mum. I’ve known many men whose feelings as little boys were neglected, often in contrast to the comfort and time any sisters’ emotional needs were given.

“If we don’t let boys express all parts of their personalities and emotional lives because they are just ‘wild monsters’, we are not only doing them a huge disservice, we are storing up problems in how they interact with others in later life,” says Beaven, who also says that the “boy mum” stereotype boiled her blood.

If we are to tackle the crises in violence against women and in male mental health, we need to be open about how damaging these stereotypes are for boys as well as girls. That starts with being honest with ourselves about how much we, as parents, are encouraging them. That’s why you’ll never find me identifying as a “boy mum”, no matter how much the internet wants me to.

[doomandgloomfromthetomb]

Sonic Youth - Gila Monster Jamboree (January 5, 1985)

How are you spending the first weekend of 2025? I'm going to suggest you join me in a little time travel to the infamous/incredible Gila Monster Jamboree, which took place just about 40 years ago. Saying "things were better back then" is a losing game, and obviously kind of dumb. But things sure were different back then, right? The tale of this hallucinatory desert festival has been told many times, most comprehensively in the Desolation Center doc. But the OOP VHS of Sonic Youth's set is evocative and astonishing all on its own.

Stuart Swezey: I don’t think I actually even offered them the idea of doing a desert show then, but because they were here in Los Angeles, I met them again and we started talking about this possibility. It just seemed like what a great venue for what they were doing. They had just put out the “Death Valley ’69” single, so there was sort of this fascination with Charles Manson going to the desert and Death Valley. Again, not an obvious place to put on a Sonic Youth show because they were very much associated with New York and this East Village sensibility or whatever, especially for people out here in California, but at the same time it was actually a really perfect idea because I think they were very interested in dark aspects of Americana. Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore were together then. Her family lived in LA and so they were going to be visiting her parents over the holidays. They were like, “Well, we can stay until after New Year’s and then we can do a desert show.” So we picked the first full moon after New Year’s and we went back to the location where we did the first desert show, but used a different side of the same dry lakebed. We all went out there and scouted it. There was a graffiti spray-painted Blue Öyster Cult symbol on a rock. Thurston was like, “That’s where we’re going do it, under the Blue Öyster Cult symbol.”

Lee Ranaldo: This gig, January 5, 1985, 100 miles out into the Mojave Desert, was our first "L.A." gig, first time we'd played on the west coast, part of an airplane tour from Seattle on south. That picture of us "in the back of a Chevy" on the Death Valley '69 12-inch is also from this trip. The gig was organized by one Stuart Sweezy, now of Amok Press (check it out!), who had this penchant for strange locations -- Minutemen and Meat Puppets on a barge on the S.F. Harbor, another desert gig with Einsterzende Neubauten... your ticket entitled you to a map to the gig site which was not handed out until the morning of the show (to prevent scans). Else you could buy a place on one of the buses hired to transport those transported souls with better things to do than cope with the road. The gig started early in the day with Psi-Com, which featured a barefoot Perry Farrell skanking in the sand and waxing poetic. Redd Kross followed, and by the time we went on it was about twilight. These songs were mostly brand new at the time, from the as-yet unreleased Bad Moon Rising LP. We'd waited a long time to make it west, and this was a pretty perfect introduction. Bob Bert was on the drums with us at the time. The cover photo, by someone named Alan Peak, all trails and blurr, sums up the occasion quite well. Band portrait by Naomi Petersen. This video was shot by the folks at Flipside Magazine. After us came the Meat Puppets, who played on into the night as the desert cold set in, under a big ring around the moon.

Oh and hey, check out the Meat Puppets set if you know what's good for ya.

[heresmyfiddlestick]

Tumblr Dr. Who Poll vs Doctor Who Magazine Poll

It's been just over a month since the end of @adventure-showdown 's monumental survey of how Tumblr feels about individual Doctor Who adventures. Across ten rounds, we sorted the wheat from the chaff, the Quarks from the Rills, and the Cousins from the Looms. I wanted to compare the results of that huge bracket with the results from last year's Doctor Who Magazine poll, which ranked each Doctor's stories individually.

The methodologies for these two were quite different (though adventure-showdown did seed the bracket with a pre-poll that used the same methodology as DWM, but I'm looking at the final poll results for my data here), so comparing them is really interesting! I'm not a statistician, I just like making spreadsheets for fun. I think what can be seen from the trends and data below is a really unique picture of two somewhat overlapping but seriously demographically distinct fragments of the fandom.

Methodologies

Poll Methodologies

The DWM poll asked readers to rank as many televised Doctor Who stories as they liked from 1 to 10. The editors then took the resulting scores for each story and put them in a ranked list for each Doctor.

adventure-showdown began with a series of Google Forms with the same method as DWM, asking internet users to rank stories from 1 to 10. adventure-showdown lumped and split stories differently to DWM: The Key to Time was included as a distinct Four story to each of its individual parts, and each of the individual parts of Trial of a Time Lord and Flux were included alongside the overarching story. Utopia was also split from The Sound of Drums/The Last of the Time Lords.

adventure-showdown used the resulting rankings to create a series of Tumblr polls, moving from a group stage into a series of head-to-head matchups. They matched stories up roughly by obscurity (keeping advertisements and musical numbers separate from audio dramas and comics, which were separate from TV spin-offs, which were separate from the TV show itself), then Doctor or era. With each new round, the matchups were scrambled within melded groups, which ultimately led to a diverse distribution of all different eras and media under the umbrella of Doctor Who throughout the tournament.

My Methodology

In order to turn adventure-showdown's poll results into something that can be compared to DWM's, I created a spreadsheet tracking how each Doctor's stories were doing, separating them first into tiers according to which round they were eliminated in, then within those tiers by how many votes they had in the matchup where they were eliminated.

In the case of some particularly tough matchups, this means that the story that got the most points throughout the entire competition is not necessarily the highest-ranked story for that Doctor. For instance, The Happiness Patrol finished #3 of the Seventh Doctor's stories according to my reckoning of the Tumblr poll, being eliminated in the fifth round with 400 votes, less than the two stories above it (which were eliminated in rounds where they got 147 and 107 votes, respectively). The Happiness Patrol saw a vigorous campaign to increase its vote count, since it was up against Blink. The post for the matchup that eliminated it currently has 304 notes as of this writing. This is one of the fun quirks of this execrise.

General Trends

Where We Agree

The Ninth Doctor shows very stable story rankings between DWM and Tumblr.

On average, the difference in rankings for each episode of 9 is 5%, with only 2 out of 10 stories actually moving up or down the rankings at all. The Sixth Doctor is similar: only 3 of his 8 stories (included in the DWM poll, meaning not counting the individual parts of Trial) moved by more than 1 ranking. The Seventh Doctor only had 4 of his 12 stories move by more than 1 ranking.

On the flipside, Tumblr's opinions differ from DWM most regarding the First, Fifth, and Eleventh Doctors. The only stories that stayed relatively stable across both rankings for these Doctors are as follows.

For the First Doctor, only 4 out of 29 didn't shift by more than 1 ranking: #2 The Time Meddler, #5 The Tenth Planet (#6 in DWM), #18 The Keys of Marinus, and #20 The Reign of Terror (#19 in DWM) For the Fifth Doctor, we agreed only 5 times out of 20: #1 The Caves of Androzani, #2 The Five Doctors (#3 in DWM), #11 Frontios, #14 Black Orchid, and #17 Arc of Infinity (#16 in DWM) For Eleven, 5 of his 39 stories stayed relatively stable: #1 Vincent and the Doctor (#2 in DWM), #4 The Eleventh Hour (#3 in DWM), #9 Amy's Choice, #14 The Snowmen (#13 in DWM), and #39 The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe.

As you'll see further below, there is usually agreement between both polls about at least one episode that is in the top and bottom 3 or 4 for each Doctor, so these extremes represent the battle over ordering the ones generally ranked in the middle.

We Hate Daleks

As a general trend, Tumblr seems to think less of Dalek stories than the general DWM readership.

Out of 26 stories with Daleks as the primary antagonist, only 8 did not drop by more than 1 slot between the DWM poll and the Tumblr bracket (that is The Chase, Genesis of the Daleks, Remembrance of the Daleks, Dalek, Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways, Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks, The Magician's Apprentice/The Witch's Familiar, and Eve of the Daleks). DIM/Evolution actually ranked 3 slots higher on Tumblr than the magazine, while TMA/TWF and Eve finished significantly higher on Tumblr than in the magazine, cracking into the top 5 for their respective Doctors.

We Love The Master

Meanwhile, out of 26 stories featuring the Master, either as the primary antagonist or as an important character, only two dropped by more than one place in the rankings (The End of Time and The Power of the Doctor), while the others either stayed put or increased their positions, some by quite a lot (e.g. The Time Monster (up 20 slots in the Third Doctor rankings), The Keeper of Traken (up 8 slots in the Fourth Doctor rankings), Planet of Fire (up 6 spots in the Fifth Doctor rankings), and The Magician's Apprentice/The Witch's Familiar (up 9 spots in the Twelfth Doctor rankings)).

We Have No Easily Observable Feelings About the Cybermen

Out of 18 Cyberman stories, 9 fell in the rankings between DWM and Tumblr, while 5 stayed within 1 rank of the DWM poll, and 4 rose. If I had to venture a hypothesis based on my unscientific qualitative analysis, it looks like Tumblr marked down most of the Classic Who Cyberman stories (only The Tenth Planet, The Invasion, and Attack staying within 1 rank of the DWM poll), while the only ones that rose in the ranks were New Who stories (Rise/The Age of Steel, Closing Time, Nightmare in Silver, and Dark Water/Death in Heaven-- though of course this last one is also a Master story, which we know we love).

Superlatives

Here are the stories that showed the biggest positive and negative difference in their rankings between the DWM poll and the Tumblr bracket, for each Doctor:

First Doctor

Biggest jump: #10 The Sensorites (up from #27 in DWM) Biggest fall: #28 The Crusade (down from #13 in DWM)

Second Doctor

Biggest jump: #8 The Highlanders (up from #16 in DWM) Biggest fall: #14 The Evil of the Daleks (down from #14 in DWM)

Third Doctor

Biggest jump: #4 The Time Monster (up from #24 in DWM) Biggest fall: #21 Day of the Daleks (down from #11 in DWM)

Fourth Doctor

Biggest jump: #7 The Horns of Nimon (up from #40 in DWM) Biggest fall: #36 The Talons of Weng-Chiang (down from #5 in DWM)

Fifth Doctor

Biggest jump: #8 Planet of Fire (up from #14) Biggest fall: #15 Resurrection of the Daleks (down from #6)

Sixth Doctor

Biggest jump: #1 The Mark of the Rani (up from #5 in DWM) Biggest fall: #6 Revelation of the Daleks (down from #1 in DWM) [NB: not counting each part of Trial, since DWM didn't include them - though The Ultimate Foe ranked #10 on Tumblr while Trial itself ranked #4 in DWM, so that could be another option for this superlative]

Seventh Doctor

Biggest jump: #3 The Happiness Patrol (up from #7 in DWM) Biggest fall: #12 Silver Nemesis (down from #9 in DWM)

Ninth Doctor

Biggest jump: #5 The End of the World (up from #7 in DWM) Biggest fall: #7 Rose (down from #5 in DWM)

Tenth Doctor

Biggest jump: #17 42 (up from #31 in DWM) Biggest fall: #29 The Girl in the Fireplace (down from #7 in DWM) [NB: adventure-showdown split Utopia and The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords where DWM didn't, which both placed above these two stories.]

Eleventh Doctor

Biggest jump: #13 The Rings of Akhaten (up from #34 in DWM) Biggest fall: #36 The Crimson Horror (down from #18 in DWM)

Twelfth Doctor

Biggest jump: #20 The Eaters of Light (up from #30 in DWM) Biggest fall: #18 The Zygon Invasion/The Zygon Inversion (down from #7 in DWM)

Thirteenth Doctor

Biggest jump: TIE #1 Demons of the Punjab (up from #5), #2 Spyfall (up from #6), and #3 Eve of the Daleks (up from #7) Biggest fall: #15 Rosa (down from #4) [NB: not counting each part of Flux, since DWM didn't include them - though The Vanquishers ranked #29 on Tumblr while Flux itself ranked #12 in DWM, so that could be another option for this superlative]

Definitive Bests and Worsts

Here, then, are each Doctor's commonly agreed-upon best and worst stories: that is, those stories ranked in each Doctor's top/bottom 10% (minimum 3) in each poll, and where both polls overlap. Lists are alphabetical.

First Doctor (top/bottom 3)

Best Both agree: The Time Meddler Tumblr: The Edge of Destruction, The Romans DWM: The Dalek Invasion of Earth, The Daleks' Master Plan Worst Tumblr: The Crusade, The Savages, The Smugglers DWM: The Sensorites, The Space Museum, The Web Planet

Second Doctor (top/bottom 3)

Best Both agree: The War Games Tumblr: The Enemy of the World, The Mind Robber DWM: The Power of the Daleks, Tomb of the Cybermen Worst Both agree: The Dominators, The Space Pirates Tumblr: The Krotons DWM: The Underwater Menace

Third Doctor (top/bottom 3)

Best Both agree: The Green Death Tumblr: The Dæmons, The Three Doctors DWM: Inferno, Spearhead from Space Worst Both agree: The Mutants Tumblr: Death to the Daleks, Planet of the Daleks DWM: The Monster of Peladon, The Time Monster

Fourth Doctor (top/bottom 4)

Best Both agree: City of Death, Genesis of the Daleks, Robots of Death Tumblr: The Horror of Fang Rock DWM: Pyramids of Mars Worst Both agree: The Power of Kroll, Underworld Tumblr: Nightmare of Eden, Revenge of the Cybermen DWM: The Horns of Nimon, Meglos

Fifth Doctor (top/bottom 3)

Best Both agree: The Caves of Androzani, The Five Doctors Tumblr: Enlightenment DWM: Earthshock Worst Both agree: Time-Flight Tumblr: The Awakening, Four to Doomsday DWM: The King's Demons, Warriors of the Deep

Sixth Doctor (top/bottom 3)

Best Both agree: Vengeance on Varos Tumblr: The Mark of the Rani, Trial of a Time Lord (considered as a whole) Worst Both agree: Timelash, The Twin Dilemma Tumblr: The Ultimate Evil (specifically) DWM: Attack of the Cybermen

Seventh Doctor (top/bottom 3)

Best Both agree: Remembrance of the Daleks, Survival Tumblr: The Happiness Patrol DWM: The Curse of Fenric Worst Both agree: Delta and the Bannermen, Time and the Rani Tumblr: Silver Nemesis DWM: Paradise Towers

Ninth Doctor (top/bottom 3)

Best Both agree: Bad Wolf/The Parting of Ways, Dalek, The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances Worst Both agree: Aliens of London/World War Three, Boom Town, The Long Game

Tenth Doctor (top/bottom 4)

Best Both agree: Blink, Midnight, Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead Tumblr: The Fires of Pompeii DWM: Human Nature/The Family of Blood Worst Both agree: The Idiot's Lantern, The Lazarus Experiment Tumblr: The Next Doctor, The Shakespeare Code DWM: Fear Her, Love & Monsters

Eleventh Doctor (top/bottom 4)

Best Both agree: The Eleventh Hour, The Pandorica Opens, Vincent and the Doctor Tumblr: The Doctor's Wife DWM: Day of the Doctor Worst Both agree: The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe Tumblr: The Crimson Horror, Night Terrors, Victory of the Daleks DWM: The Curse of the Black Spot, Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS, Nightmare in Silver

Twelfth Doctor (top/bottom 4)

Best Both agree: Heaven Sent, Mummy on the Orient Express, World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls Tumblr: The Husbands of River Song DWM: Flatline Worst Both agree: In the Forest of the Night, Kill the Moon, Sleep No More Tumblr: The Lie of the Land DWM: The Woman Who Lived

Thirteenth Doctor (top/bottom 3)

[Villa Diodati gif included because there is no overlap in the two polls' top 3 for Thirteen, however this episode ranked #4 on Tumblr and #2 in DWM, so it is the closest overlap at the top.]

Best Both agree: None! Tumblr: Eve of the Daleks, Demons of the Punjab, Spyfall DWM: Fugitive of the Judoon, The Haunting of Villa Diodati, The Power of the Doctor Worst Both agree: The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos, Orphan 55 Tumblr: The Vanquishers (on its own) DWM: Legend of the Sea Devils

...What about Eight?

Who said that? I thought you had all gone. You shouldn't scare me like that. Well, you see, the Eighth Doctor only has two televised appearances in which he features, and only one of those was included in the DWM poll. This post is about comparing the two polls. I can't really do anything...

Ah, alright.

Televised Appearances

We ranked The Night of the Doctor above the TV Movie. Night made it all the way to round 6, while the TV Movie was out in Round 2, losing with 266 votes to Jubilee, which then lost to Scherzo in the next round. Night lost to Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways, which had 344 votes to Night's 204.

Audios

Scherzo made it to the quarter-finals of the Tumblr poll! It lost out to Midnight 435 to 581, the first TV episode it encountered in adventure-showdown's very intricate media-segregating bracket.

Caerdroia made it to round 7, losing to Scherzo after it had beaten out Father's Day in round 6 (299-280) and the much-loved SJA episode The Curse of Clyde Langer in round 5.

The Natural History of Fear made it to round 6, finally losing out to Blink (253-352), and making it the top-scoring Eight audio to go out in this round.

The Chimes of Midnight also got to round 6, finally just losing to Remembrance of the Daleks (163-166); in the same round, Zagreus lost to Scherzo (131-210) just after it had beaten Genesis of the Daleks (132-103) in round 5.

The next highest-ranked Eight* audio is Solitaire (a Companion Chronicle, hence the asterisk), which was eliminated in round 5, losing to Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead (180-43).

It's worth noting here, that Doctor Who and the Pirates also made it to round 6, making it the highest-ranked non-Eighth Doctor audio. It lost to City of Death (170-78). The next-highest ranked audios are The Marian Conspiracy (lost in Round 5 to The Wedding of Sarah-Jane Smith), The Holy Terror (lost in Round 5 to The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances), and A Death in the Family (lost in Round 5 to The Natural History of Fear). Congratulations to Evelyn Smythe.

Novels

The EDA Alien Bodies managed to make it to round 6, finally being eliminated by Turn Left with 145 votes to 264. It had just beaten out Time Crash in the previous round. This makes it the highest-ranked Doctor Who novel overall, according to this Tumblr tournament.

The next-highest novel for the Eighth Doctor was Unnatural History, which was defeated in round 5 by The Chimes of Midnight.

Below that, there were five EDAs eliminated in round 4:

Interference (lost with 41 votes to Scherzo's 85)

Mad Dogs and Englishmen (lost with 38 votes to The Marian Conspiracy's 56)

The Adventuress of Henrietta Street (lost with 28 votes to A Death in the Family's 54)

Camera Obscura (lost with 27 votes to Lungbarrow's 47)

The Scarlet Empress (lost with 22 votes to The Chimes of Midnight's 102)

Comics

I hadn't actually been tracking any of this Eight stuff, so I'm having to squint through the backlog and this is already much too long. So you're only getting two: The Land of Happy Endings is the Eighth Doctor comic that made it the farthest in the Tumblr competition, being eliminated in round 3 by An Adventure in Space and Time (46 votes to 95). The Flood also made it to round 3, where it was eliminated by the Thirteenth Doctor comic Old Friends, gaining 39 votes against Old Friends' 47.

[andtheyreonfire]

thinking about giant/tiny modeling. tiny models advertising a product by sitting on/in it directly. nothing like seeing a billboard for a box of chocolates with an actual, tiny person curled up next to the sweets. tiny models that sit in teacups, on plates, next to a watch or a pencil or literally any common, household object. tiny models with a lavish dressing room they can't even get around in, because the vip room happens to be 20x their size.

tiny models that may only be the size of your finger, but still effortlessly command your attention when you see them across the room. with the way they act, not even squirming as a dozen agents and journalists loom over them, they're obviously used to the attention. you can't tell if they're only used to it because they expect it, at their size. they're such a cute, pretty little thing. how could you not adore them?

on the flipside, the way a giant model commands your attention is an absolutely breathtaking experience. every distant movement is like watching a living natural disaster. they're so gentle with the scenery around them, but you get the feeling they treat it more as beloved play set. giant models that lean next to buildings, blocking off multiple streets just for a single, quick shoot. giant models hunched a team of makeup artists readying them for the camera. leaning down for a dozen ladders, even holding a stylists in their hands. giant models that don't even fit in the frame. you'll see their lips, their eyes, the whorl of their fingertips in magazines, far sooner than you'll see their entire body.

giant models that make you freeze, instinctually, when they meet your gaze from across a warehouse. you can't help but cautiously wave to them. the slight chuckle from massive, painted lips rumbles through your chest, even across the distance between you. butterflies squirm in your stomach when they wink at you, a movement practically broadcast to the entire room. with the way they look like a fallen angel, and the fact that every second only reminds you how massive they are, you know you're faced with something far, far more dangerous than a simple hurricane.

[donnerpartyofone]

One of the bummer things about my little horror job is that people think it's a real job. These kids will send us really earnest messages asking do we have job openings or internships or whatever, they see this as their dream job and I'm like...I wish this were real job too, it WOULD be a dream job! Instead of being this little thing I do even though it's often a hardship just because I love it and I think it should exist. On the flipside of this is the way the EOC of Fangoria gets harassed online relentlessly by cellar dwellers who think that the magazine owes them a job just because they're huge dorks, and they don't see their own lack of journalism or publishing or editorial skills (or social skills) as the barrier--they see the EOC as the barrier, as someone who is actively hogging all the *horror job*, and they feel free to just make his life intolerable over it. I'm jealous of that dude too but it's not his fault I don't have his job. I feel sorry for him!

[slutdge]

whats your eyehategod collection like?

Idk if you mean merch or records or both but I'll use this ask as an excuse to infodump abt it all. As far as shirts go, I've got the Charles Manson slit wrist one, the old school Children of God shirt in green, and their TANFP 30th anniversary shirt I got when I saw them last year. I've also got the 2024 Southern Nihilism Front hoodie, and the NOLA Jesus shirt and The Power Of Dirt Weed mini patch which I sadly lost but at least I added it to Tshirtslayer before I lost it and I chatted w the dude that made the original run of those patches so that was cool and their 2024 patch pack that had the slit wrists, guns and giant logo patches. I've also got their NOLA snapback and 4 flyers I picked up from the show I went to. As far as physical media goes, I've got their first 3 albums on both cassette and vinyl, TANFP is a cool pukey pink/blue color mix, Dopesick is on white vinyl and ITNOS my fave EHG album is a dark green colored vinyl (my fave color) so thats neat, I've also got 10 Years and their self titled album on vinyl, their Sabbath split 7 inch, and the New Orleans is the New Vietnam 7 inch thats cool cause its got the phoenix engraved on the flipside and its orange and black, also a promo flexidisc I got in an issue of Decibel magazine for their song The Liar's Psalm. Also I've got a bunch of their side project shit, I have NOLA by Down on vinyl, I have NOLA on cassette too along w/ Over The Under. Mike's harsh noise tape thats covered in broken glass from Auris Apothecary, I adore them, they're the reason I got into harsh noise, and also Mike's spoken word 7 inch That's What The Obituary Said/Ten Suicides thats cool cause its black vinyl w/ streaks of green and yellow, I found it at a record store in Memphis when I was down there for my grandma's funeral. I've got Outlaw Orders' Legalize Crime 7 inch. I've got Last City Zero by Corrections House on vinyl, I've got a bunch of The Guilt Øf... on vinyl, their 10 inch split w IVs Primae Noctis, their self titled record, Arson Anthem's EP on super sexy red and black vinyl, En Minor's full length on vinyl, and to top it all off I've got Jimmy's guitar pedal he released recently with Does It Doom, and again, I was happy cause it was my favorite color. Oh and Mike's book! I think that's it. I should take a pic of it all together. Can they get me on the payroll for how much I promote their music or what??

[kiirastarr]

MIKI AIUICHI ; THE KIIRASTARR YUUSONA

CONTENT LIST:

summary

appearance / inspiration

personality

lore

relationships

chibis / alternate outfits

drabbles / references

SUMMARY

Miki Aiuichi is the 18 year old "otherwordly girl" at Night Raven College, lacking magic due to not originating from Twisted Wonderland. Despite being the same age as the 3rd years, her lack of knowledge when it came to magic resulted in her placement as a 1st year.

APPEARANCE / INSPIRATION

Miki is 168 centimeters tall (5'6") and has a slim build due to her prior occupation as a model. Her hair is naturally blonde, along with her pink irises. She's also slightly tanned, and has tan lines on her chest and legs.

Miki is Asian! To be specific, shes 1/2 Filipino, 1/4 Japanese, and 1/4 Vietnamese. How she has blonde hair naturally with those genes? Who knows.

Miki is usually seen dressed in a cropped, fitted tank top in magenta with black lace, low rise short shorts with rhinestones on the back pockets, silver necklaces and rings layered on her neck and fingers respectively, black heels, silver piercings on her ears, face, and belly, and a whale tail.

She tends to style her hair in a high ponytail and side bangs, the ponytail held up by a hairtie with two glossy pink hearts.

Her makeup is kept simple; eyeliner, mascara, light pink eyeshadow, light foundation, light concealer, primer, and lipgloss.

In terms of fashion, Miki's style is very broad. However, most of her outfits are very reminiscent of the 2000s substyle, McBling, along with hints of Agejo Gyaru and Bubblegum Bitch. Some other outfits Miki is seen in are based on the following: Ane Gyaru, Coconut Girl, Nymphet, etc.

Other inspirations consist of the following: 2000s pop song lyrics, Britney Spears, Ayesha, Jecka from Class of 09 (not the flipside!!), etc.

PERSONALITY

At first meeting, Miki will be extremely brash. he may or may have not developed this more assertive personality due to being thrusted into the spotlight at such a young age...

However, if you get to know her, Miki slowly but surely gets nicer. No more weird glares, strange looks, or bland voice. She'll actually pay more attention to you and your words, along with caring more about your feelings. She's a good person, just a bit... rough around the edges. But she means good!

Due to her somewhat stereotypical "mean girl" appearance, some people distance themselves from her. Miki does know this, and feels a tad bit bad that she kind of emits that sort of aura...

LORE

Miki was raised poor. Her father died from overworking himself, and her mother was a housewife with little to no education. Due to the lack of income, Miki and her mother were slowly deteriorating.

In school, Miki was bullied. She was usually harrassed over her tattered clothes, messy hair, lack of hygiene, and among other teases when it came to her being ugly. The jests made by her classmates made her more timid, and drilled in the idea that getting money fast was the clear solution to all her problems, thus leading to Miki's love towards riches. Getting a job at 11, Miki would save half her pay to get things like higher quality hygiene products, makeup, things like that.

At 13, Miki applied to become a model for a magazine directed to young girls. She was accepted. When her paycheck was placed into her hands, she couldn't stop staring at it. The huge pay got her hooked. She kept applying and applying... getting into photoshoot after photoshoot, which helped grow her popularity.

By the time highschool started, Miki was no longer the "poor, timid girl" she used to be. No longer was she trapped in poverty, sad and miserable due to seeing her mother cry every night out of guilt. She was now pretty, confident, and wealthy, all while balancing school.

Once she was brought to Twisted Wonderland, she was scared. What would happen to her beloved mother, her brand deals, the career she had spent years building? Oh, how it stressed her out! No worry, though! She just had to upkeep her appearance and everything would be fine!

Yeah, no.

Each overblot left Miki scarred and uglier than before.

The first overblot, Riddle Rosehearts. The thorns of the rose bushes had torn the skin from her neck to her chest, leaving a hideous scar. Part of the scar is also from the collar Riddle had summoned onto her.

The second overblot, Leona Kingscholar. He had touched Miki's hair, thus leading to her roughly hacking off her beloved locks with a knife.

The third overblot, Azul Ashengrotto. Attempting to steal her "magic", he had left a huge scar on the left side of her abdomen.

The fourth overblot, Jamil Viper. After being flung to the edge of Scarabia, nearby rocks had deeply cut her left arm, specifically the area near the elbow.

The fifth overblot, Vil Schoenheit. The poison and debris in the coliseum resulted in scarring on her right shoulder and hip, along with permanent damage to her lungs.

The sixth overblot, Idia Shroud. Between the phantoms, strain from Tartarus, and almost falling into the underworld, Miki had sustained heavy cuts in both her legs. This resulted in difficulty walking during the fight against Idia.

The seventh overblot, Malleus Draconia. Being put to sleep, the briars roughly dug into Miki's skin, leaving her left eye permanently scarred and blind.

By the end of it all, Miki had become her worst nightmare. Her old self, except older... and more hideous than before. She doesn't harbor resentment, but because of this, Miki isolates herself, afraid that once she returns back to Shibuya, she'll be shunned as an ugly freak of nature.

RELATIONSHIPS

If you couldn't tell I'm projecting my bias towards Azul here LOLLL

If you want to know more about the relationships in-depth, go ahead and ask! I don't mind answering any questions!

CHIBIS / OUTFIT GALLERY

read alt text for individual descriptions for each outfit ^_^

DRABBLES / REFERENCES

In the 1st image in this post, the quote is a reference to a lyric in the song DONTTRUSTME by Sean Foreman and Nathaniel Motte, better known as 3OH!3.

Miki was originally going to be a Gyaru, specifically Rokku, before I settled on the more Y2K McBling aesthetic.

Miki was originally going to be a HOE! Like, full on.

For her Ane Gyaru-esque outfit, the four necklaces on Miki's neck are actually necklaces I own in-person.

I know this is projecting BUTTT Miki LOVES Chiikawa. Her favorite is Hachiware because I said so.

[focsle]

Recovering from complete burnout and slowly trying to open up to writing again, I've hit a bit of a snag and thought to ask. Any tips on how to write for a more historical setting? Any thoughts on how to constructs sentences or world building that doesn't make it feel too modern?

Best of luck to you in slowly emerging from the burnout. I hope your writing flows!

My biggest tip for both of your questions is research research research. Reading secondary sources about the time period you’re interested in is a good place to start to understand the historical context of the era. But after you get a grounding in all that, primary sources is where the world really shines. It depends on what time period you’re looking at, because some eras and places are absolutely more accessible than others in terms of surviving documents, but my primary source explorations is where I’ve really been able to get the most information to build out my world, make it feel lived in, and understand the cadence of people’s voices. You get to learn how they thought, what they sounded like, what they cared about. Little turns of phrase. Things like that.

Some places you can start to get a sense of language are books, magazines, and newspapers written from the time period. Transcripts of testimonies in court records. Letter writing and etiquette guides. Dictionaries contemporary to the time period you’re writing in, including slang dictionaries (like grose's dictionary of the vulgar tongue). But those aren’t entirely representative of how people talked, so if you can find diaries and letters those are the best. Of course, with all these things, what is available and what people sound like is also going to be bound up in things like class and access to education, but those are places to start.

It also depends on how intense you want to be, as far as not wanting it to be ‘too modern’. Some writers want to filter out most anachronistic words. Here’s a blog post of one writer who created a custom dictionary and used it to spell check her manuscript for words that didn’t exist yet. But on the flipside you also have comedies like Blackadder that has the most IMPECCABLE and beautiful costuming because viewers would write in being like ‘ummmm excuse me that 18th century button is wrong’, but absolutely bonkers historically inaccurate scriptwriting. And that intentional contrast is what makes it effective as a comedy. With me, I want people’s voices to sound of the era to some degree, but I always acknowledge that I’m ultimately writing FOR a modern audience. So I’m gonna make some of my dudes say ‘yeah’, you know?

When writing historical fiction, I think the most important thing to keep in mind still that you’re telling a story, not writing an encyclopedia. And one can take creative liberties to best tell that story. But at the same time, there is a WEALTH of amazing authenticating details that can be found in research that will enrich that narrative in ways that you can’t get from referencing other historical fiction or just using your imagination about what you THINK something might be like. History is weird! And people in the past are forever surprising! But also often quite like people today—they felt the exact same things that we feel now because people are people are people, which I also don’t think should be forgotten in writing a historical story. For me, I’m not writing a nonfiction—people aren’t going to learn the ins and outs of whaling from my comic in the same way they would reading an academic text about it. But I need that world to feel grounded, and I need to invite people into it fully, and I need to understand the sort of men who found themselves there. The research and authenticating details is how I try to do that. It also helps that it’s a topic I’m obsessed with; I read dead whalers’ journals over my morning coffee or at 2am just for fun so…the research isn’t a hardship for me at all. But either way, the two need to balance each other. And I think how much you lean in one direction or the other depends entirely on your narrative and what you’re hoping to do with it.

[plaindangan]

Halara recently started a harem of sorts, it seemed as if everyone was obsessed with their giant wobbly cheeks! However Enye decided to break into Tetra’s (The newest lady to be obsessed with and dating her booty) and try to rob her! Thankfully Halara is here to “stop” the theif and maybe get yet another new member to worship them with Tetra too~!

Disclaimer: R18 material! If not to your liking then please do not view!

If Halara knew gaining fame and profit was this easy, they would have busted into Kanai Ward a long time ago.

Everywhere the detective went, people of these city just couldn't keep their eyes and, occasionally, hands off their big, phat, juicy, ass~ It's almost as if something would flip inside their heads to make them act more like ravenous zombies or something with the way citizens kept hounding them. Hey, on the flipside, they were able to start a racket with people getting to grope their buns for a steep price - so it all works out.

Hell, it really worked out as it allowed Halara to find more...carnal pleasures in Kanai Ward. For instance, Tetra was their newest lover in the city, someone who was very grateful for Halara for solving a request of her's a while back...

And what better way then to spend the night than by thanking her hero the best way how? Yep, for a good chunk of the night, Halara spent it, laying in bed, reading a good magazine, and moaning in heaven from Tetra's tongue and soft lips worshipping and devouring their plush ass~

All was good....

(Up until both heard a strange noise from downstairs. Then it became business time)

Enyne, the infamous thief of Kanai Ward had snuck in - hoping to pilfer away with as much loot this rich girl had. What she wasn't aware was that, in spite of carrying a massive dumptruck everywhere, Halara was very much a quiet sort. Someone who could easily sneak up on even the most careful of thieves - and nab them!!

Well...nab was a strong word here. More so crush. With their wobblebuns, Halara was currently facesitting Enyne, forcing them to be get a face full of soft justice!!...And considering how much Halara could feel Enyne's lips and tongue moving underneath themselves, it seems as if maybe Enyne would be quite willing to hash out a deal that would 'satisfy' both parties~

[circuit-music]

2024 Music Recommendations

Admittingly, for the first time in nearly 25 years of writing year end music recaps I almost passed on typing up and discussing things this year. 2024 was rather mundane musically in my humble opinion. I spent less time invested in music this year than any year prior. Kind of a shame when you consider I used to be heavily into writing (contributing to many music magazines), following the scene and keeping up to date with all the new releases, news, trends, re-issues, new bands coming to notice, building playlist, Sunday Vinyl, etc. Also kind of a shame being a DJ and holding a weekly residency where I feel it’s part of my job to introduce and inject new music upon regular club goers. 2024 just felt, well,… different and scattered. Sure, things would come under my radar, yet few items seemed truly remarkable or long-lasting. Instead, it felt like a lot of clones trying to ride the coattails of the current movements (post-punk, darkwave, etc…) without any real distinguishable characteristics that made them stand out from a huge crop (or is it crap?) of similar sounds. You have your forerunners of the scene, do we need 30-40 replicas? I saw it happen with hellektro, futurepop, industro-rave – too much of the same and eventually we all tired of the majority of those bands. On the flipside, another problem was bands/projects trying too hard to be distinct. You can tell who has the real skills and who just falls into being run-of-the-mill. Let your sound evolve naturally. Something I heard a few times in 2024 from music friends and DJ’s that I hadn’t heard ever in years past – “It was disappointing as it was exactly what was expected!” Are we really getting pickier? I know I am with my taste (LOL).  Another complication of 2024 – we may be getting too oversaturated with music with suggestions coming in a constant stream (pun intended) from places like Facebook, IG, Tik Tok, Spotify, Twitch, blogs, magazines, podcast, Soundcloud and various other places.  Some may say that’s not a problem, but too much clutter can be a distraction from focusing on what’s really important. But hey look at me being a hypocrite and adding additional clutter to your musical world (LOL). Anyways…being so dissociated from music this year, I’m certain I overlooked a few things – I always do. If it needs mention and I missed it - I may do an addendum in the next week or so. ’24 left me often asking “where’s the passion, fun, exploration, possibly next evolution” of all this?   If I could catch glimpses to those questions then it moved into my year end list. What made me so musically judgmental in 2024? It was just the way the year went. See why I didn’t feel like typing this up? I try to be positive, and this reads like true curmudgeon. Maybe it's good to be skeptical sometimes? I’m going to get back to being fully engrossed by music again in 2025. Paying more attention, listening, sharing things from week to week and month to month while trying not be such the critic I was in 2024.  Here’s a few things that DID resonate with me this year: And should you want to listen, I made a spotify playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3gjvNR95Z75XXqhzqAekzD?si=4beaa5007c624201

:: My Album of the Year for 2024 :: Curses – Another Heaven (Italians Do It Better) Yes I do have some “criteria” for Album of the Year, but the main thing is a track or release has to strike an impact upon first listen. Curses released the title track of his newest album – with amazing drums and orchestral stabs inspired by the romantic ballads of late 80’s early 90s Latin freestyle - as a single prior the full album and within minutes I just KNEW. It was a modern-day instant synth classic in the same vein as Secessions “Touch”, Camouflage “The Great Commandment”, Xymox’s “Stranger, Book of Love’s “Boy” and more.  After repeated listens, I sent the song to three other music-minded friends and they all responded with exclamations of “WOW!”, “Pure fire” or “OMG, so good!”. Curses is the alias of Luca Venezia, producer, songwriter, DJ, curator and more who operates in the realm of EBM, dark wave, industrial, synth and even dabbles in the odd church bell. “Another Heaven” is Curses third album drawing from the gothic romanticism of his debut “Romantic Fiction” (Dischi Autunno, 2018) and the gritty EBM of “Next Wave Acid Punk” (Dischi Autunno, 2021), threading familiar elements of post-punk, darkwave, and early EBM into something richer, cohesive, and emotionally profound. Curses himself has described the album as “a love song dedicated to the lost ones, a ballad for the lost ones to belong.”   Featuring gorgeous, dramatic post-punk, “Another Heaven” tells of gothic romances, grief and ghosts. Co-produced by both Curses and legend Johnny Jewel (Chromatics), the recording process saw the self-confessed ‘protective’ Venezia open himself up to collaboration with beautifully haunting results. Curses is no stranger to club music, but  “Another Heaven” is an attempt to step away from primarily club-focused arrangements of previous albums, and focus on songs rather than tracks.  However, the result is BOTH cub songs and love songs. More vocals, more guitar and unequivocally no constraints. “Another Heaven” tells a story from beginning to end of not just emotions but the nostalgic yet futuristic comfort of 80’s inspired synth music. A whole album of grandeur and intimacy often walking the delicate tightrope between devotion and despair capturing the bittersweet beauty of human imperfection. “Another Heaven” is darker, deeper, and more self-assured than anything Curses has done. Whether it's the lush atmospherics, the dancefloor-friendly rhythms, or the emotional weight, you’ll leave with the sense of having been transported somewhere distinct and unique. Amazing album beginning to end!

:: Other Recommendations :: CHBB – CHBB (Soul Sherif Records) CHBB was a project by Beate Bartel and Chris Haas that developed from their collaboration in 1981, while working on the self-titled album 'Liaisons Dangereuses‘. They released their music only on four limited cassettes. This compilation presents the complete works of CHBB, including all recordings from their original cassettes alongside previously unreleased tracks produced by both artists. As legend has it, Düsseldorf’s Chrislo Haas & Beate Bartel laid the blueprint for EBM with their fateful studio sessions as CHBB, infamously issued on DIY tape runs of 50 copies that now trade on collectors’ markets for the price of a fuel-efficient, 2nd hand German hatchback. After playing foundational roles in new wave bands DAF, Mania D. and Einstürzende Neubauten in 1980, and before going on to form the near-mythical Liaisons Dangereuses by the end of 1981, the pair converged on a more sinuous, ascetic sound with the short-lived CHBB, whose legacy would endure as one of the clearest templates for contemporary techno in existence. With such foundational credentials, it’s kinda ridiculous that CHBB’s early works have never properly been unarchived ’til now, with this definitive survey of ‘CHBB’ shelling 20 tunes - mostly unreleased in any form - likely to leave post-industrial, NDW and EBM fiends’ jaws on the floor. All 9 cuts from the original 4 x self-duplicated tapes are officially collected for the first time, spanning the scudding, darkside proto-techno bomb ’NBKE’ and zingers such as ‘Go Go Go’, ‘Ima Iki-Mashoo’, and ‘Mau Mau’, which have wormed their way onto bootleg and legit pressings over the decades. But the real big attraction is no doubt those bits that have never seen light of day, or basically the majority of this album. Between the wiry echoes of early DAF registered in ‘Bali’, thru the screwed electro prongs of ‘Highroller’, to the cyberpunk grind of ‘Disconanz’, smacked-out bops ‘Voyage Au Bout De La Nuit’ and ‘Klick-Klac’, and another deadly techno prototype ‘Monkey Rules’, and hints of the LD sound to come in the step-sequenced rhythm of ‘Shapeshifter’, it’s truly revelatory stuff from top to bottom. This full set unlocks a whole side-room of early ‘80s, Teutonic machine craft that comes like a punkier answer to Kraftwerk’s plugged-in pops, and practically epitomizes the Ruhr region’s kink for ruder, propulsive rhythms that would feed forward into the Hardwax cabal and far beyond, and be found in the sets of Ron Hardy and in Carl Craig productions, thru to contemporary body music. ESSENTIAL! 

Cold Cave – Passion Depression (self-released) L.A. duo Cold Cave returned with the darkly luminous new album Passion Depression. Icy Synth-pop for the hot blooded. 8 Songs featuring the Singles - She Reigns Down, Shadow Dance, Blackberries, and Hourglass. Cold Cave double down on the commitment to the kind of ’80s-style synth grooves they invoked on 2021’s Fate in Seven Lessons. Eisold’s haunting baritone retains the project’s darkwave center of gravity, even as the instrumentation explores other sonic places. Passion Depression perfects the formula for churning out the haunted anthems Cold Cave has been delivering for nearly two decades. Their best yet! Dina Summer – Hide and Seek EP (Iptamenos Discos) Dina Summer, the collaborative band project between Kalipo and duo Local Suicide, invites you to indulge in the excess, glamour, and magic of the 80s with their ‘Hide & Seek’ EP on Iptamenos Discos. Featuring a blend of new wave, dark disco and EBM fuelled techno, the EP embraces the nostalgic synth filled sound of the past whilst bringing a modern touch. The EP kicks off with ‘Unter Strom’, which features a dramatic opening that inspires visions of a night sky soaked in neon light. The energy slowly builds until the drums burst onto the scene and you feel at home within the beat. A euphoric melody and captivating vocals perfectly embody the ecstatic feeling of a full dance floor and is setting the tone for what’s to come. Following the gripping beginning, we move into the title song 'Hide & Seek' – a soaring track which brings a sense of freedom. Shining and ’80s reminiscent, it is a radiant and romantic love letter to disco balls, laser beams, smoke machines and hazy dreams. A blissful and invigorating spirit pulses through the song which elicits the feeling that you are floating up into the air, breaking through a sea of grey clouds to reveal the sunshine beyond. ‘All Or Nothing’ is a grungy dancefloor stomper with commanding vocals and a forceful kick and snare which unite to create a relentless and powerful sound. The assertive lyrics and intense electrifying atmosphere will be sure to have everyone’s fists pumping in the air. 'Excess' takes us deeper. Dripping with texture and allure – the track is a lavish, swirling pool of synths and seductive vocals. Its indulgent bassline guides us through a dynamic night-time landscape, leading us into the EP’s finale. Last but not least, the EP also features a club edit of 'Hide & Seek', which gives the track an entirely different feel. The same lyrics now have a newfound sense of urgency. It’s darker and biting – a thrilling counterpart to the original version. Impassioned and electric from start to finish.  They’ve released more singles since this, but I keep coming back to Hide & Seek.

Houses of Heaven – Within/Without (Felte Records) Oakland’s Houses of Heaven fuse the grit of early industrial with dizzying hits of EBM, techno, and drum & bass, all imbued with lyrical themes that draw equally from the emotional and the mechanical. Within/Without, their sophomore LP for Felte, delves into a realm of intricate intensity, pushing electronics to the forefront with the production prowess of Matia Simovich (INHALT), and features top-of-their-game guest vocals from Douglas McCarthy (Nitzer Ebb) and Mariana Saldaña (BOAN). While the dub-influenced, shoegaze throb of Silent Places (2020) immersed itself in the paradox of opulence against the unsettling backdrop of California’s wildfires, Within/Without confronts social order through the lens of inner strife. Opener, “Strange Temptation”, sets the pace with an energetic push as overlapping, staccato synths weave around a fuzzed-out vocal directive that suggests an impasse between two conflicting states of being: “Release / control / release / control”. According to singer Keven Tecon, it “captures the sense of being emotionally confined or limited by the bonds of love”, and “the relentless pursuit of fulfillment that forever remains just out of reach.” Within/Without explores a contrast between the fantasy worlds and unfiltered truths that define modern survival, and a yearning for genuine human connection brought on by the anxiety and isolation of technology. On “The End of Me”, Nitzer Ebb’s Douglas McCarthy brings his legendary swagger to a soaring, dark pop performance, demanding to be played at top volume on a nighttime desert drive. Justly, the band “[was] simply blown away by the raw power and melodic richness he infused into the track.”  “New Decay” wields an arsenal of strengths across a tight five minutes, as an elevated pulse and buildup seamlessly shift into a spacious, ambient passage setting the stage for “The Depths You Hold” and its head-nodding, mid-tempo punch. “Deserve” weaponizes the vocal force of Ms. BOAN (aka Mariana Saldaña), placing her at its shadowy helm, adorned with nuanced percussive programming in a moment of pure, gothy dancefloor release. The final act of Within/Without begins with the moody textures of “Pisces” and its hushed admission that “nothing’s changed”, perhaps a comfort in the face of unpredictability. Its groove, a result of meticulous analogue tape and modular rack processing, reveals the band's dedication to a detailed vision. “Serpent Coil” unleashes some of the album’s grittiest distortions and disorientations with a fixed gaze into a funhouse mirror of warbling oscillations. This palpable friction is resolved by debut single “Sightline”, a perfect closing statement driven by kinetic drum & bass rhythms straight out of the classic era. “Transfixed / transfixed / transfixed”, echoes the gnashing refrain – a more-than-apt summary of the song’s effect, and a potent foil to the abrupt release of its grip. On Within/Without, Houses of Heaven truly come into their own with a distinctive alloy of electronic, industrial, psychedelic and shoegaze elements.  A dynamic record!

Klack – Modern Production (self-released) Remember when records used to be FUN? Klack does thank goodness. Klack returns after four years with Modern Production, and released a metallic silver signed and numbered limited edition vinyl of 100 COPIES.The vinyl includes all seven tracks on Modern Production PLUS Klack's three tracks from their SYNTHICIDE split release last year with Inconscio Viola! TEN tracks in total, with none previously on vinyl. Just an all-around perfect record that weaves its way through classic EBM, New Beat, and synthpop with the right amount of nostalgia, but for sure bringing it on and banging it on with a modern twist. The result is one of the best celebrations you’ll hear all year. 

Kontravoid – Detachment (ArtofFact) Kontravoid’s masked mystique has remained for over a decade. Ever since the release of his self-titled LP in 2012, the Canadian-born, LA-based Cameron Findlay has perfected dark pop with a unique composition which moves eloquently through the EBM, electro and goth genres. Detachment follows in the excellent footsteps of his previous releases, full of energy and dynamic tension all delivered with a razor sharp edge. I REALLY like the vibes of “Losing Game” featuring Chelsey Crowley of Nuovo Testamento. Strong New beat/EBM vibes on an addictive track (They even did digital release of remixes worth checking out as well). Hope the two continue to collaborate. Majesty Crush – Butterflies Don’t Go Away (Numero Group) Numero collects Detroit shoegazers Majesty Crush's sole album 'Love 15' and handful of EPs on 'Butterflies Don't Go Away', memorializing their brief but fruitful five-year run. Formed in 1990 from the ashes of post-punk band Spahn Ranch, Majesty Crush were out of place in America, let alone in Detroit. Odell Nails III, Hobey Echlin, David Stroughter and Michael Segal made shoegaze music in the vein of Ride or A.R. Kane, but with anarchic lyrics and a difficult local market, they splintered after releasing a single album and a run of EPs and singles. Numero's bulging anthology collects up all their recorded material and listening now, it's a wonder they didn't find an audience. They'd initially been snapped up by Elektra sub-label Dali, but the label shut down only a month after 'Love 15' was released, leaving the band to limp on into obscurity. That album's the best thing here, packed with eccentric, skillful poppy diversions that stack up well against the established shoegaze canon. Stroughter's vocals are particularly impressive, struck through with sweetness even as he sings about obsessive fandom or killing the president, and the band meets him head-on with hi-octane riffs and dextrous drums. Interrupted by celestial Cocteaus-like ambient interludes, it's hardly surprising that the material ended up reaching Robin Guthrie, who tapped Nails to play drums. The additional disc, including alternate versions of album tracks 'No. 1 Fan', 'Horse', 'Cicciolina' and 'Purr', rounds up the band's post-album gear, the best of which is closing track 'Ghost Of Fun', a lengthy track that simmers with an energy that'll make you wish they'd recorded more.

Mode Bionics – Divide Division, Flesh Hardware, Videonix (Self-released) Atmospheric, shadowy electronics by way of 90s era Dark Electro Industrial from this one-man San Antonio artist. Extraordinary material that will thrust the listeners ears back to the days of Celtic Circle, Zoth Ommog, Bloodline, etc… I hear elements of so many dark favorites from early X-Marks the Pedwalk, Evils Toy, Yelworc, Mentallo and the Fixer, Leatherstrip, early Puppy, Vomito Negro and more. While perhaps not always forging new territory, Mode Bionics material is an EXCEPTIONALLY masterful expression of great respect and honor for the forefathers of dark electronics. BONUS: most of the material is pay what you want on bandcamp. Someone needs to collect these tracks on vinyl.   Monya – Euphoria (Hands) Since MONYA's debut on HANDS in 2019, she has emerged as one of the most prominent and respected figures in the industrial techno genre. Known for her exceptional talent as a producer and captivating live performances, Monya continues to push the boundaries of sonic exploration with her latest album, "Euphoria" appealing to listeners on both an intellectual and physical level. Featuring 11 tracks spanning a total of 64 minutes, "Euphoria" showcases MONYA's adeptness at seamlessly blending personal and political themes within the realm of industrial techno. Each track is a testament to her unique perspective, with elements of EBM sequences, haunting vocals, and pulsating techno beats intricately woven together. Remarkably, these individual elements are allowed to stand on their own, creating a rich tapestry of sound that varies in speed and intensity. Beyond its musical prowess, "Euphoria" serves as a deeply personal and political statement: Through her art, MONYA navigates the delicate balance between self-expression and social commentary, demonstrating that the two can coexist harmoniously. Completing the album are remixes by acclaimed artists Years of Denial and label mate Cervello Elettronico, representing the extreme ends of the album's sonic spectrum (i.e. dark and brooding and hard-hitting upfront). Their interpretations add an extra layer of complexity and depth to MONYA's work.

Perc – The Cut Off (Perc Trax) Perc Trax hits 100 releases with Perc returning with his first album in seven years. 'The Cut Off' is Perc's fourth album following 'Wicker & Steel' (2011), 'The Power & The Glory' (2014) and Perc Trax's bestselling release 'Bitter Music' (2017). 'The Cut Off' see's Perc deliver his most dance floor focused album to date, serving up enough energy to keep contemporary dance floors moving, whilst avoiding both the clichéd 90's throwback hard techno formula that is dominant right now and the stuckist 'real techno' blueprints that are still endlessly regurgitated having been established over 30 years ago. Across the album Perc's well established industrial credentials collide with giant sized synth riffs, driving acid lines (a first for a Perc album) and all manner of drones, choral performances, urban textures and even a dentist's drill (on 'Static'). Gliding arpeggios and slow moving melodic lines feature more on this album than ever before without dulling the sharp edges of Perc's music. 'The Cut Off' more than any previous Perc long player is an album that focuses on the club, the dancer and the dance floor . Yes, there are moments of respite between the classic Perc percussive workouts, but they are far outnumbered by the varied collection of club tracks that come at the listener from every angle.

S.I.N.A. – Alte Liebe (Hands) "Alte Liebe..." marks the revival of an old love affair with electronic music: Although it’s been many years, S.I.N.A. should be a name familiar to many who have spent time immersed in the noise and teknoid rhythms genres. Fronted by female singer Sina Hübner, backed by Stefan Böhm aka NULLVEKTOR on controls. Their releases are still topical, and “Snapshot” from 2000 is rightfully considered a foundation stone for the rhythm’n’noise and industrial techno genre. Fast forward to 2024, and the comeback album is finally here, offering a mature and confident exploration of themes ranging from self-doubt to female empowerment against an engaging and versatile musical backdrop. Musically, "Alte Liebe..." presents a diverse sound: From melancholic, post-punk melodies to electro clash and EBM-infused structures, S.I.N.A demonstrate their versatility and depth within a minimalistic approach. The album's rhythms and soundscapes set a captivating pace, while Sina Hübner's remarkable vocal range adds an emotional depth that resonates throughout each track. In terms of lyrical content, "Alte Liebe..." explores the complexities of human experience. Through German and English lyrics, S.I.N.A navigates themes of self-doubt, female empowerment, and emotional introspection with sincerity and depth. Each song offers a unique perspective, inviting listeners to reflect on their own emotions. The five new tracks of “Alte Liebe...” are complemented by remixes from HANDS label mates MONOLITH, AH CAMA-SOTZ and CERVELLO ELETTRONICO, who bring their trademark sound and are all dance floor bound: Agitating tribal, repetitive dance floor material. "Alte Liebe..." convinces with its maturity, confidence, and timeless appeal. Join S.I.N.A on their musical rediscovery and embrace the bold evolution of their signature style.  Years of Denial – Suicide Disco Remixes Vol. 2 (Veyl) Widely known for their well-crafted sharp productions and electrifying live shows. Utilizing hardware and a plethora of dub devices combined with vocals. The duo revisit the dark corners of post-punk, goth, new beat, EBM, industrial, and rave culture. Years of Denial's 'Suicide Disco Vol. 2' album received a well-deserved remix treatment from some of the dearest and most important artists in their circle. Featuring The Hacker, NEVER & Maenad Veyl, Phase Fatale, Kris Baha, Velvet May, Codex Empire, Geistform & Years of Denial’s very own Supreme Low, some of the most influential figures in the genre offered their unique takes on their favorite tracks from the album.  Wonderfully diverse variations on strong original tracks - How a remix album should be!

Zanias – Ecdysis (Fleisch) In the follow-up to 2023’s ‘Chrysalis’, Zanias returns with ‘Ecdysis’, which travels even further into alternate dimensions, casting off all language and song structures in favour of something far more alien and sensual. Named after the final stage of emergence from a former self, ‘Ecdysis’ lays claim to an entirely new electronic soundscape influenced by the ethereal pioneering of Dead Can Dance, Enya and Fever Ray. Zanias’s voice morphs deftly between species and gender, exemplifying the oneness of conscious experience evoked by the more extreme psychedelic states, while the atmosphere is headily influenced by the Queensland rainforest where much of the recording took place, conjuring an environment rich with biodiversity. The creation of the album itself became a deeply healing process for its producer, and it is designed to function the same way for its listeners. Best enjoyed on headphones in total darkness. Zanias also had a slew of remixes released in 2024 (Lovelife, Burial, Teatree) that traversed areas of ebm, trance, ethereal dance, etc… all of which saw frequent spins at home, while traveling or in the clubs. She remains one of my favorite artists of the last several years consistently delivering delight after delight.

[jb89149]

My Story: Chapter Fourteen Draft

Music

Having been born in 1961, music, specifically Rock music, became a big part of my life. I decided to write an entire chapter on that subject alone.

I bought my first record from a fine Irish lad in the fifth grade. This guy and I would sing Rain Drops Keep Failing On Our Heads to one of the prettier girls in class. It was Day Tripper by The Beatles. That was certainly prescient. The flipside of that 45 was We Can Work it Out.

Well, due to the circumstances of sixth grade, I started to listen to a lot of music. In high school, I started to meet musicians. That still happens occasionally, but I don’t exactly run in those circles anymore. Drummers, as you may have guessed, are some of the craziest people in the world.

One of the artists that were involved in my magazine adventure had a degree from The Art Institute of Chicago. He had done album covers for some recording artists. I’ve actually been in this studio and knew musicians that used it.

I went to my first concert, alone, while I was still in junior high school. I saw Chicago and The Doobie Brothers. I got my first contact high then without even realizing it. The place was totally filled with pot smoke and after a while I started to feel tired. I actually laid down on one of the entrance ramps for a minute. That was the first of many concerts to come. I saw many of the big name Rock groups of the 70s.

I’m obviously biased, but I think Rock n’ Roll hit its peak right around the year 1977. There were a lot of fusions back then. Classic and Rock fusion groups like ELP were touring with entire orchestras. The line between Jazz and Rock became indistinguishable. Artists like Jean Luc Ponty, Jeff Beck, and Eddie Jobson erased it.

[ninex19]

Does Installing a Glock Magwell Actually Make Sense?

Ever heard of a Glock magwell? Basically, it’s a simple part that installs at the base of the handgun’s mag chute and creates a slightly more flared opening - somewhat like a funnel.

On the flipside, if you already know what it is, do you think it’s all hype from manufacturers looking to push their wares, or is there really any merit to getting and installing one?

This post will break down the selling points in favor of one.

The Arguments For

Despite their simplicity, there are several good reasons that installing a Glock magwell might be worth your while.

Installation is easy. If you’re not familiar with the world of gunsmithing or making upgrades, this is a good place to start. It is not intrusive, and installation in most cases could not be easier. Some of them offer a precision fit and simple installation with a single set screw.

They are among the most affordable parts. Other upgrades, like compensators, barrels, slides, and even sights, can be significantly more expensive than magwells. There are high-quality Glock magwells out there for under $100.

Quality Glock magwells will not require any modifications to your gun. You don’t need to disassemble anything or make modifications to install a magwell. You just need to drop the mag, insert the magwell and tighten the set screw.

They can be just as easily removed as they are installed. In many cases, removing one is just as easy as installing it. Just loosen the set screw and remove.

Good ones are built tough. There might be some cheap Glock magwells out there, but high-quality models are often made from corrosion-resistant, lightweight, durable aluminum.

They can improve handling and may be able (with training) to help you cut reload speeds. Now we’re at the crux of the matter. This is easily the strongest selling point of Glock magwells. They can potentially create a wider opening at the base of the mag chute, which makes it easier to instinctually funnel a magazine into the base of the handgun, for faster reloads.

The Arguments Against

Honestly, nothing really. There might be an argument against them if they required permanent modifications or were difficult to install, but they aren’t. Worst case you’ll be out a few dollars and have an upgrade that can help you cut reload speeds.

Where Can You Get a Glock Magwell?

If you’re still tracking, by this point you might want to know where you can get a Glock magwell.

Start with NineX19. They carry Glock magwells for compact and full-size OEM frames, as well as magwells for Polymer 80 frames. Their magwells are easy to install, offer a precision fit, and are machined from extremely durable, lightweight, strong, and corrosion-resistant 7075 billet aluminum.

For what it’s worth, NineX19 offers a bunch of other Glock upgrades too, including slides, barrels and combos, triggers, compensators, sights, and more. For more information (or if you have questions) visit their website or contact them directly.

For more information about Glock 19 Threaded Barrel and Glock 17 Slide please visit:- NineX19, LLC