#folk music never misses no matter the culture

[likeadog]

Another romanian band i think youd like is E-an-na

JUST TURNED ON A SONG AND YEAH THEY FUCK LETS GOOOOOOOOOO TRADITIONAL INSTRUMENTATION AND VOCALWORK WAIT COMING TO YOU LIVE A NEW UPDATE THEY HAVE A SONG THAT CROSSES OVER WITH SEX PULA PISTOL

TEAR IT UP

[shirefantasies]

Things You Do Together- Thorin's Company

You love reading stories, as does Balin; thus, you often take turns each night reciting old wonders to each other, perhaps even the folk tales of your own culture. Sometimes he reaches over and turns the page for you as you get lost in the tale, imagining yourself in the characters' shoes or pondering the outcome of an unfamiliar suspenseful story.

Dwalin has a deep-down love for anything domestic, thus his heart goes out to you when you invite him to bake together. He loves being the first to try whatever you make, the way it becomes second nature to move around each other in the kitchen, even doing the tasks which are your least favorite part to lighten your load! If you truly are in private, he will tell you that you are the greatest treat of it all.

Thorin takes an interest in your interest. You’ve been whittling for some time, but one day you catch the king peeking over your shoulder and, giggling, invite him to join you. His carvings, though not expert, depict far more regal subjects than the simple sights of nature you attempt to capture, but both his traditional dwarven effigy and your merry robin sit atop the same shelf together at completion.

Gardening is something Oin joins you in once you get settled, whether it’s potting plants within the great mountain itself or finding a patch outside of Dale. Such is a perfect activity for him to start an herb garden and help you keep up tending the soil. He knows a slew of tricks to keep it healthy and makes even tasks like weeding more enjoyable with his company.

Gloin teaches you every tavern game in the book and all the ways they try to throw them, too. So proud is he as you start out-gaming even the older members of the company, remembering all the tells Gloin spilled to you and imitated, making you laugh nonstop! You always tell him that no matter what, though, he is your favorite to play with, teasingly supposing he just throws the dice the best.

Bifur teaches you how to polish stones, even cut them yourself. The process is quite difficult at first, but seeing the way your eyes lit up at your craft was worth it. You keep a box to house most of your stone collection, but a few of the cut ones that turned out well seem to go missing until Bifur surprises you with jewelry made from them!

A lover of music, Bofur is over the moon teaching you how to play his flute or otherwise learning a new instrument with you! You get a laugh at how the sour notes of learning sound and even play wrong on purpose just for the joke. Progress makes him proud, though, and he always says you two could be in a band in no time!

Bombur loves building things for the children, the sight never failing to bring a smile to your face. You join him in repair of their roundabout, a bit awed at the confidence with which the quiet dwarf works. Once the children arrive and he lights up, you smile and rest a loving hand upon his shoulder- you can see exactly from where he derives his strength and focus.

Dori learns to crochet with you, having seen his brother do something similar. But with you, you make little dolls, trinkets that remind him of his toymaker friends. More than that, though, he adores more intricate patterns. They may be more difficult, but all the more beautiful if he can actually manage them! Gushes over your work even if he thinks his isn’t good.

Typically Nori hides the fact that his eldest brother forced him to learn to sew, planning to take that fact to his grave, but one day the gears turn within his mind. He could make you something rather fetching, after all. Suddenly you become his real-life model as he chooses the cut and color he’s always wanted to see you in, barely able to keep his hands off you during the pinning.

Ori would love learning languages with you, whether they are native tongues to you or you pair learning together, creating a bond and a secret way to talk just the two of you. He especially loves learning a new character system to write in, it's like a code! Soon you two are always passing messages back and forth, chatting about anything you want unabashedly, and giggling to each other.

If you delight in dancing, Fili adores learning every move with you, hands taking yours or sliding over your hips with a teasing wiggle of his eyebrows. His blue eyes will be locked on yours with every move, even if the steps require you to separate his gaze will search for you again.

Kili is fascinated by your writing. The fact that tales spring into your mind upon the hearing of a song or even endurance of pain amazes him beyond all else. Sometimes he puts a hand on either side of your head and says he wants to absorb your thoughts with a teasing smile. Kili has endless questions, though, about your stories, truly your biggest fan and supporter hanging on the edge of your every word.

Reading maps. Bilbo has countless in his study, old and new, that he likes to pore over and scour for new details. You join him out of natural curiosity one day, but as his hands pass over the delicately drawn features you find yourself falling in love. Well, and with the maps, too. It is amazing to think how far you both have traveled in your days when you see the whole world lain before you.

[hiveworks]

Hiveworks x InkBlot Partnership & Interview with CEO Jay Brown

June 2023

Hiveworks is proud to announce our partnership with InkBlot! InkBlot is a new queer-run and artist-made social platform for creators and their audiences, with similar vibes to DeviantArt or Pixiv.

We are so excited to help an emerging platform by providing advertising support, working together to help the webcomic community grow with one of the things we do best.

We asked InkBlot CEO Jay Brown to talk with us more about InkBlot, its origins and its future.

. 🦋🐝.

How did the idea for InkBlot originate?

InkBlot started on a call with some friends of mine. I was upset and talking about how social media at that time (and unfortunately still even now) had been suppressing creators. Instagram was my biggest source for my other company selling my designs and merch. It still is, but the reach is minimal and nothing compared to how it was 4 years ago. Then, on top of that, DeviantArt hadn't been listening to its user base about an update they were rolling out. As a person that doesn't like to talk about it but be about it, I set to work making wireframes and getting ideas for InkBlot, building the prototype at my kitchen counter.

We're seeing a cultural shift in how people interact with social media. How would you describe InkBlot's place in the future digital landscape?

InkBlot is certainly a social space for creators and lovers of the arts, and I think I like to really emphasize that it is a community space. It is first and foremost a space that will cater to a specific community and the supporters of that community. It is NOT Twitter. We will never be like Twitter, nor do we want to. There are estimated to be about 16 million people around the world that take part in the creative arts. This doesn’t include music, writing, animation, or comics (source? Trust me– jk Global Art Market). So with that being said, InkBlot exists for a large group of people, mainly artists, but also slowly expanding into other areas like music, voice acting, writing. That’s why we refer to users as creatives/creators, and I quite frankly don’t think it matters if we cater to a niche. This niche is huge and life is one big canvas. In this day and age, the internet is very hostile to creators, especially ones that cannot keep up with the algorithms that consume and churn ‘content’ at paces faster than creatives can make them. InkBlot is here to slow things down, have people enjoy the process and connect with others that do the same.

What is missing from artists' online experience that InkBlot aims to fulfill?

Community. The creative community has been shattered into so many different parts of the internet. We have taken residence in places that weren't made for us and still don’t even think of us. We are stronger together, and InkBlot is here to make a permanent home that is built by and owned by the community.

From an adult artist perspective, InkBlot's content guidelines are pretty clear and generous compared to other content hosting sites. What motivated this decision?

There is really nothing more important than keeping every part of the community. This includes the NSFW/adult spaces. The content guidelines are shaped to still allow for the freedom of the arts. You cannot say you are a space for the community, yet completely cut out a part of it. So many spaces have forced out the NSFW community and with it has also scorched the LGBTQIA+ community. There is something deeper here about this, but I won't write an essay. In short, it is important to keep all parts of the community regardless if it's SFW or NSFW.

Hiveworks is also a queer-run, artist-made organization, with a focus on webcomics. What is your perspective on the value of queer spaces online, particularly for creatives?

It is super important. In a world where queer folks are constantly ‘up for debate’ and our existence is a ‘political ticket’, we need to have a space online for ourselves. It is so very important to have a safe space in a world that constantly tries to erase us. Spaces like Hiveworks and InkBlot give people hope. It gives people a chance to connect with other queer creators and find that they aren’t alone. Making media that is queer is more important than ever right now. Even if it is just one person, it can save someone.

Speaking of comics, do you have a favorite comic (print or digital) or a recently read recommendation?

I am a big fan of Novae by KaiJu, Lies Within by Lacey & Golden Shrike by doeprince

For people who want to see InkBlot grow, what is the best way for them to support you?

The biggest thing is getting the word out about InkBlot and USING IT! Use it, even if it’s just once or twice a week. We need to know what people want to see, how it differs from what people use now, or if we should make it similar to those other tools. Of course, we are user-funded so supporting us through our Kofi or on-site premium works, too! Lastly, give us patience! Rome wasn’t built in a day.

PS: Bee on the lookout! InkBlot users will notice that Hiveworks creators on the site have a little bee badge to help make identifying your fave creators easier!

Badge artist: Ray Armstrong

[partywithoutsmiling]

Here's a fun idea you said that if he wanted to branch could make his own tribe. well what if he did, where do you think the tribe would live? I'm thinking something like the lash caves from minecraft because underground, and what if that was hundreds of years ago? What do you think folk trolls would evolve to look like? What about their culture? Would the leader position be passed down through bloodline or successes? What would their leader even be called? I feel like it has to be chief. Aaaahahahhah this ideas so funnnnn

Hi!

Sorry for late answer, I had a late shift at work, and that didn't leave me with much energy to do anything but have midnight dinner and then sleep XD

The thing about Branch, and his Folk String- yes, he could form his own Tribe and his own genre of music, but I am unsure if he would. Not at least while he travels, and while the events of the first and second movie are taking place.

First it comes down to the fact that he has no idea that the Strings exists and what they even are- and that knowledge would probably change somewhere around when World Tour happens. Even as he travels through the other territories, the topic of Strings just... doesn't come up, so he has no idea what power he holds in his hands (paws XD).

He also just still feels very connected to his own Tribe, no matter how badly they treated him. Especially after he realizes that Poppy actually missed him and was devastated to see him gone. (And sorry to say but my Branch will always be a bit of a simp for her, he is a lost cause in that)

BUT, all that said, entertaining the possibility of him forming his own Tribe...

Him straying underground once more would be very in character- especially as apparently Rock Trolls are subterranean people, in that most of their dwellings are underground and I do headcanon Branch as having a rock troll blood. So he would have never felt comfortable high in the trees like a full blood Pop Troll, but he also wouldnt want to be without any access to sunlight or plantlife.

The Lush Caves are a good idea certainly- and I raise you the possibility of their dwelling be more like the Hidden World from HTTYD XD

Not to the full fantastical extent as in the movies- but with the definition on whimsy and calm, some bioluminescence and giant crystals would be a great conversation piece XD

Chief being the title of the leader also fits- that, or more specifically Chieftain. Branch definitelly doesnt think of himself as coming from line of kings and queens (He is wrong about that in my headcanon buuut that's for another post XD), and so he would never think to use those titles. I think the position would be hereditary- but definitelly not going to the 'firstborn of the firstborn', but based on suitability. Culturaly, I think that would also be most familiar to any troll who who migrates from the large Tribes, where the leadership is definitelly a hereditary position (I think even Country Trolls, despite the Fandom calling Delta Dawn a mayor, do regard her as their queen).

Now for the fun part, the physical changes XD

Honestly that by itself requires a whole another post, since this need to encompass all of the Trolls tribe by tribe, but let me sum it up based on the Major Genres:

Pop: - Colourful little menaces as we know them from the movies XD - Largely arboreal- that means long tails that compensates for balance, and paws with retractable claws used for gripping onto tree bark - All trolls- apart from Classical and Techno- are in possession of fur, or (as one AO3 fanfic writer called it) in possession of 'flocking' XD - Pop Trolls grow thicker pelt in winter and shed it with the coming summer- but in general, it still grows rather fast for some so those trolls took to shaving it down to keep it need (Poppy is one such with unlucky ancient genes when it comes to that) - Before they evolved to use their Hair to the exten they do now, they largely counted on their own agility and ability to jump from branch to branch, and chipped away burrows into the trees - so powerful leg and arm muscles, and comparativelly amazing strenght for beings so small -They definitelly used to be taller than any non-funk trolls, slightly shorter than Biggie, but with the Pop String creation, their hair abilities and the selective survival of the smallest (after all, smaller trolls hid from Bergens' better), they've been getting on average shorter - They do have small hint of fangs, but are largely leaning towards non-meaty diet, though still very much omnivorous

Country: - Centaur-ish; I know movie depicted them with horse bodies, but I headcanon them more in the way unicorns are in old medieval illustrations, ie Artiodactyls - Long tail hair, almost as luscious as their own hair - Pointier ears, clear fangs on top of their large front teeth (since meat seems to be large part of their diet), but not really paws and claws; I would say they are the most carnivorous of all the trolls, raising livestock both for milk but specifically for meat - (diving into the territory of evolution, if they were hunters of prey, they probably chased them and kicked them to death XD) - All in all, not that different from how movie showed them

Classical: - More fairy-like/Hummingbird-like than in the movies - Definitelly still smaller and glittery, but with the idea their skin is not actually glitter like with Glitter Trolls, but either some kind of scale like feathers, or more durable version of the scales like butterflies have on their wings -Two pairs of wings instead of one, and definitelly beating faster to keep them up in the air - No tail- a rarity out of all the Trolls- and their hair is more like bird feathers/crest, in that it can puff up or lay flatter depending on situation - Most likely nectarivous and herbivorous? Making something like 'honey' from their farming efforts XD - The gemstone in their belly is an accessory and not something they all grow naturally- meant to show the troll is grown and ready to join the Orchestra XD

Techno: - Not much to change there- I just imagine their neon and digital looks came much later after decades/centuries being influenced by their string, they used look a little bit down to earth before that - Omnivorous, with crustaceans and molluscs making up for the majority of their animal protein- and probably necessary source of compound their bodies need to be bioluminescent

Rock: - Being looks wise the most similar to Pop Trolls, there was probably some speculation they both came from the very first same ancestor- before the Strings were created - Their flocking/fur is thinner and sleeker, and they don't grow a thick undercoat in winter, but similar to Pop trolls they have paws with claws- only theirs are not retractable - Their tail is also shorter and not as luscious in fur, used more for display than for balancing - Pointier ears for sure, more visible fangs; as mentioned, I think they are supposed to be subterranean? So most of their dwellings is underground- probably to avoid the volcanic ash on top- but I imagine living so close to the sea, they are largely focused on fishing (their angler ships suggests that they have no issue going underwater), probably hunting whatever critter lives in the cavern bellow, and maybe they are using the advantage of volcanic soil to grow some hardier crops? - Living underground with no direct sunlight for days probably gave them killer nightvision while their colours dulled to make hiding in the caves easier

That said, Branch is half and half. Despite his ear deformity, I would imagine they would always be a little pointier than on any other Pop Troll, and he cannot retract his claws (and thus took to filing them down to keep them blunt for safety sake- still sharp enough to help him climb, not sharp enough to hurt) Even if he grew up with his true colours, I'd imagine they would dull as he grew older, going vibrant only if he indulged in the poppiest of songs (or if he performed on stage) He has the tail and the luscious tail-hair of a Pop troll, but his flocking never grows a thick undercoat so he is almost always chilled to the bone in winter, forced to wear padded clothing to keep warm

With the Folk String coming from him, and representing him.... I imagine some of these things would change He'd grow hardier- more temperature tolerant at least- and similar to Rock Trolls, his night vision would grow better. Would any potential Folk Trolls change the same? Maybe? Perhaps more bioluminesce similar to that of Techno Trolls, while their general basic colouring grows more grounded- more into muted pastels and leaning towards greens/aquamarine tones

Culture is hard to pinpoint, as it would be evolving from various established cultures of all the other Major and Minor tribes; who knows what hodge podge it would end up as XD

My mind is full of various headcanons pft- ones that are blanket for all my AUs and ones that are just part of that one specific one- so be on lookout for more regarding that

[merrymorningofmay]

if anybody abroad is reluctant to reexamine their relationship to russian culture/literature/etc they should consider that here in ukraine/eastern europe many more people were raised surrounded by much more russian art (in the og language at that). if a dostoyevsky novel has some emotional significance to you that renders it above the current political agenda imagine how much closer the same novel has been, used to be, to many of us

because you know, the saddest thing about russification is that it works. like, all the "they made me read it in high school and i hated it" talk aside, we didn't actually jump out of our mothers' respective wombs with an inherent dislike for russian things. even in the post-independence generation, many (including me) were very late to radicalize, many (including me) used to appreciate the great russian novel, the great russian cinema, the great russian music etc – let alone the generations of our parents and grandparents, who grew up before the iron curtain collapse and had barely anything BUT russian media to bond with.

and hey, nostalgia is a bitch. it gets especially bitchy in a traumatic situation that makes you yearn for the comfort of a "simpler" past. my father still listens to the russian 80s music. sometimes he turns to me randomly and sighs, "that one singer/actor/tv celebrity really turned out to be an asshole, huh."

(fascist. by "asshole" he means fascist)

i used to love bulgakov! because my parents love bulgakov and i love my parents, because i vibed with his style, because i thought "surely his imperialist mindset is obsolete by now, surely whoever likes bulgakov in russia likes him for everything but the imperialism". i used to love "the idiot" because i was a sad christian queer teen and for an ardent nationalist/racist/antisemite/etc, dostoyevsky actually had much compassion for the victim, which appealed to me – i didn't really think that i would be the sort of victim he had no regard for. the indie folk songs that used to be the jam of my soul were written by people who either supported the war or didn't really care, and my first ocs that i still cling to were (originally) heavily inspired by that one godawful copaganda wagner yaoi comic series (which has since been made into a movie, which is now on netflix, yay). russian culture past and modern has left a trace in me that will not go anywhere no matter my current worldview (which is far from sympathetic to russia, i promise) and my future choices.

but there is no floating island in the sky where art is divorced from physical reality. there is no magical place where there is no red string going from dostoyevsky all the way to putin. there is no just space where ukrainian voices are on equal footing with russian voices – precisely because the russian state has been so carefully nurturing the brand of Russian Art (even though some of the artists were killed by the previous incarnations of that same state, even though some artists never identified as russian but had that label forced onto them because an empire will take whatever it can from a colony).

the things that i used to love turned out to be cogs in the weapon meant to kill me. those cogs are still spinning, and i still miss that love sometimes, and there's no going back. it's an uneasy predicament that i had to learn to live with. i didn't die from that. the cogs didn't die from that. you won't, either.

[gnsuji]

hello hello! i'm molly (she/her) and i'm bringing goth gfs back to the cultural zeitgeist with my sweet girl nam suji, based on the blush skeleton! intro and wanted connections below the readmore, click for pinterest (wip) and profile & press like if you want me to slide in your dms for plots 💌

BACKGROUND

gaenari native, born and raised. her family life will be expanded upon sometime in the future, but her parents are widely recognized as good folks, community pillar types, protestant christians (her uncle's a pastor somewhere, used to live in gaenari but uhh the lord guided him to somewhere with faster internet connections and fewer mines ) + her mother works at city hall in my own hc, her dad does... something else. just the most normal dude job you can think of, probably

suji was never a top tier student, not the most popular kid on the playground, etcetera, never quite remarkable but always above average. she could hang with those on top of the social ladder or slum it with the band kids, and academically she was remarkably consistent in all grades. a pleasure to have in class, if you will

played violin since she was a child, mostly because her parents are intent on their kids doing something during their formative, and she happened to be ace with the bow and strings. not a creative type though, at least not concerning music.

within these parameters, her teenage years went by mostly without incident. she got an art scholarship to a university out of town, and simply followed the path laid out in front of her without much thought

turns out the path most traveled was not the one for her. suji struggled to adapt to life in the city, reinventing herself as a young adult, and to reconcile with music as a profession rather than as a hobby and emotional outlet. it's one thing to be a prodigy in your hometown, and something else entirely to be at the bottom tier of special admissions

enter the goth (poser) phase, blunt cut bangs, staying up late wondering if her life is just irrevocably fucked up now, and the threat of academic probation. suji would find herself wishing for some sort of resolution to this building tension, to somehow have the responsibility for her future taken out of her hands again

"careful what you wish for cuz you just might get it" – "when i grow up", dolls domination (2008), the pussycat dolls

the way she explained it to her parents, her hand got hit by a car door slamming shut. who were you in the car with? it doesn't matter. why did you put your hand out then? it doesn't matter. suji returned home with her wrist in a brace and her tail between her legs, another one in a long line of small town folk who tried to measure their worth in the big city and were found wanting.

soft tissues and nerves heal in their own time, and the academic year marches on relentlessly without her. she would like to think that they miss her back at school, that her presence made some sort of impression, but that's all up in the air. for now, her time is split between working at the nano boutique downtown and mulling about at home like a spinster out of an austen novel

because she does feel some type of way about being back home. about the way people act like they know her because they knew each other five years ago, because they had crushes on each other's older brothers back in grade school, because they used to do homework together or spend their summers at the cinema or the mall. suji feels different though. she looks different, all grown up and jagged, and darker, somehow. the past coils inside her like a metal spring

some things are the same, no matter how much she tries to will them away. a perpetually embarrassed smile, flushed cheeks, familiar faces greeting her with undue confusion or pleasant surprise written all over their features. is that really nam suji? my my, she's really grown up.

PERSONALITY NOTES

rather desperate for acknowledgement/affection/recognition etc but far too concerned with her own mystery to actually ask for it. desperately wants you to compliment her bangs :(

private and protective of her thoughts but not particularly shy. she's always been sociable to a fault, a friend to all is a friend to none etc

was never much of a showman with the violin, more into the meditative and repetitive aspect of honing her craft. in light of recent events, she rarely plays in front of others anymore. maybe it's something she'll pick up in the future, maybe not

aside from music, her interests are rather mundane. media literate, adequately sporty, depending on the phase of the moon (jury's still out on that one) she can either drink you under the table or black out after two shots. voted best girl at the company work dinner (there is only one other employee)

CONNECTIONS

gaenari public school alumni! menacing upperclassmen, homeroom sweethearts, homework fraud collaborators, secret admirers – whatever your heart desires!! suji was chronically overstimulated for like 3 years straight but high school was still probably her most fun years.

for the fashionably challenged, the vintage band shirt connoisseur, or the select few with a developed taste to enjoy suji's eclectic playlists, stop by nova boutique during her shift and prepared to have your world rocked 😎

downtown hustlers aka anyone who has a job downtown and who might appreciate some company for lunch ooooor the occasional after work happy hour cocktail to vent about life..

childhood/family friends! suji was a big time pokémon kid so do with that information what you will....

summer fling from right before she left for university! probably someone from school, but in any case someone local. maybe they both had big plans for the future, maybe her leaving cut them deep, or maybe they were both happily thinking they could avoid each other now that she's back in town and... well! things never go according to plan, do they?

while i'm a sucker for awkward and emotionally charged reunions, suji is in desperate need of some new acquaintances. free of baggage and expectations, just seeing her for the cringefail young woman that she is <3

[sparkylurkdragon]

Hello and welcome! I'm Sparky Lurkdragon.

This about page is intended to be more of a Before You Follow than a Do Not Interact. If I don't want you around, I will block you. This information is intended to help you make a decision that works for you personally. I will add to it as need be.

Name: Sparky

Pronouns: They/Them

Age: Born in 1987; you can do the math.

Interests: The big three are storytelling, zoology, and videogames. Thus, you will see a lot of writing meta, interesting animals, and (primarily retro or long-running) videogame talk.

Other (active) blogs:

Lurkdragon Stuff - My creative works blog. Things I made myself: mostly fanfic and art.

How Gay To Be Queer - My nature blog, with a focus on nature's weirder side and the occasional queer community post. Also includes some of my nonfiction writing.

Fandoms (non-exhaustive):

Ecco the Dolphin

Team ICO series (particularly Shadow of the Colossus)

The Legend of Zelda

Sonic the Hedgehog

Metroid

Skies of Arcadia

Seventh Cross: Evolution

Raptor Red

Flight Rising

The Sims 3

Genesis-era and Dreamcast-era games in general

Blue Öyster Cult's music

Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron

(Patrick voice) Is zoology a fandom?

Favourite creatures:

Dragons

Cetaceans (particularly bottlenose dolphins, orcas, blue whales, and humpback whales, but they're all amazing)

Prehistoric cetaceans (Particularly Odobenocetops and Basilosaurus)

Dromaeosaurs (particularly Utahraptor)

Cats (particularly housecats)

Things To Bear In Mind:

I love to see people go through my archive on reblogging and liking sprees. You won't annoy me by going through my old stuff; quite the contrary. I tag scrupulously because I like doing the same sometimes!

I am a Certified Diagnosed Autistic. It took about five years of already knowing and hitting rock bottom to get it paid for by the state. Self-diagnosis is good and right.

I'm dragonkin, and I explain it as a psychological phenomenon.

I'm proudly queer - asexual demiromantic genderqueer nonbinary if you want the details - and get grumpy real quick about queer-is-an-unreclaimable-slur and other exclusionist nonsense.

I have celebrated Banned Books Week since I was a tot, grew up in the shadow of the tail end of the Satanic Panic, lived through the formation of the ESRB and LiveJournal's Strikethrough, and feel censorship of fiction and purity culture never leads anywhere good for me or mine. I also get grumpy real quick about this.

I'm otherwise fairly easygoing. Despite griping about minor pet peeves sometimes, I'm very much in Camp You Do You and Your Kink Is Not My Kink And That's Okay.

Idiosyncratic tags:

I try to tag for most common triggers. I use 'cw' for 'content warning'.

#untagged - I did not have the spoons to tag/fully tag this post. Consider it equivalent to AO3's 'Creator Chose Not To Warn' tag: it may be completely innocuous or it may have Upsetting Things in it.

#general content warning, #general cw - Similar to #untagged, except it definitely has something that is probably triggering for some folks, but I didn't have the spoons to unpack what.

#meatspace sparky - Things from my personal offline life. I have long preferred using 'meatspace' to oppose 'cyberspace' instead of 'IRL,' because cyberspace is real life, too.

#urist the cat - My cat, Miss Urist, and her silly little face.

#so cute it hurts - Cute tag. Mostly animals, some fandom stuff. My idea of cute is sometimes nonstandard (bugs are there).

#oh dear - Roughly 'laugh rule' or 'smile rule'. Things that gave me a chuckle or made me smile.

#OH DEAR! - Made me laugh very hard.

#gallows humour - What it sounds like. Mostly things that made me laugh but in a 'laugh so you don't cry' way.

#work inappropriate - NSFW.

#purity culture - It all goes there because It Is All The Fucking Same, no matter if it's about meatspace or fandom.

#i read banned books - A slogan from the American Library Association's annual Banned Books Week, and a guiding philosophy.

#the passage of time is illegal I'm pretty sure - Things that make me feel old.

#predation - I reblog animals eating other animals sometimes.

#whump - I like torture fiction sometimes.

I tag animals with plurals. So if there's something you don't want to see, add their plural form to your blacklist.

#what even are [x] - Often 'what even are plants'. Moments where I learned something new or was reminded of something weird. Plants are strange and mysterious entities for a hobbyist zoologist.

#i love videogames and hate the videogame industry - Self-explanatory.

#about me - Somewhat tongue-in-cheek. Posts that make me go 'oh same' on a fairly deep level.

[dollarbin]

Dollar Bin #19:

Tom Petty's You're Gonna Get It!

Imagine a new Tom Petty record.

I don't mean some new archive set like the expanded/alternative versions of Wildflowers or She's the One. I mean a record that is entirely unheard of; one that no one even knew to long for.

I'm disappointed it hasn't happened yet. I hoped Petty's and, for that matter, Prince's, estates would provide a much needed balm to us all after each of their tragic passings by gifting us a miracle, a great white whale we did not even know was lurking beneath us all these years, on the order of Neil Young's Homegrown or Dylan's Complete Basement Tapes.

Sure, we got to hear Prince alone at the microphone, but I feel like he probably made recordings like that, effortlessly, once a week in 80's. And yes, there's a single, previously unknown, piece of pop greatness to be found on the posthumous Petty box set, 1982's Keep a Little Soul.

But where's Petty's Black Eyed Dog? Where's his Hundred Highways? It's not enough for us to miss Tom; we want to hear his voice reach out and comfort us once again from his untimely grave.

I know exactly what I'm asking for here because I've already experienced it. That's right: at age 13 I was sure I'd discovered an entirely-lost-to-history Petty album.

Let's start at the beginning. My two buddies - both named Matt - and I reacted to Full Moon Fever by going Tom Petty crazy. Tom checked every box a few geeky, unpopular and yearning-for-the-ladies white kids needed checked: he wasn't already property of the cool kids, he was counter-cultural in obtuse, safely-white man ways, his songs were as often as funny as Weird Al's, he rocked, and his middle name was Earl.

So for Christmas / Hanukkah that year we embraced communism's concept of collective ownership in an effort to get our hands on the entire Petty catalog. As the beloved leader of our oligarchy over none, I directed Matt 1 to ask for Let Me Up and Damn the Torpedoes and Matt 2 to get the self-titled debut album and Hard Promises (which, based on its cover, looked like the lamest record), leaving me to squeeze my own stocking with confidence that Southern Accents and Long After Dark were in there on tape, waiting to change my life for the better.

What else, you ask, did we ask for that holiday? Blank tapes of course: it was our standing and too-obvious-to-speak-about agreement that by dinner time on the 25th everyone would have copied both their new albums twice and delivered the copies to one another by bike.

That's right folks: none of us asked for You're Gonna Get It! There was a simple reason: the record was utterly out of print, had never been released on CD and was nowhere to be found in any local Dollar Bin. To three 13 year olds in 1989 who were busy exploring music without knowledgeable parents or older siblings in an era long before the internet, it was as if Petty's sophomore album had never been made. We didn't ask for it because we didn't know it existed.

And so when we rolled up with my dad to the Fabulous Forum on March 1, 1990 for our first ever popular music concert the three of us believed we had the entire Petty catalog memorized.

Ah, what a glorious night....

After buying Petty shirts and promptly putting them on we took our seats and saw the cringy but sorta awesome opening act, Lenny Kravitz. Lenny tried to lead the entire indifferent audience in a sing along to a song no one had heard at that point, Let Love Rule. This was long, long before he got a marketing clue and traded in his second-fiddle-to-Liza-Bonnet role and became a peddler of planet destroying SUVs.

The night also marked our first brush with rock and roll royalty as both Dylan and Bruce Springsteen joined Petty and the boys for the encore. And, although the internet tells me it's not possible because of the concept known as death, I feel like Roy Orbison appeared as well. I guess it must have been his ghost that appeared behind those famous shades...

But to us 13 year olds none of that compared to the women directly in front of us getting into an all out, beer flinging and fake nails in the eyeballs, brawl in the middle of Freefallin'. My father, lord of the bon mot, instantaneously summed up the crazy scene by yelling "they're slamming boys!" All hail my father.

Is it any wonder that I wound up with a lifelong love of music after such a night? And I haven't even told you the best part: Benmont Tench hitting the opening riff of Love is a Long Road in the full dark as the show dramatically opened is one of the top 10 moments of my entire life.

There was just one unsettling moment all night. Mid-show Petty played a song we didn't know, all about listening to your heart. That wasn't too upsetting; there were plenty of songs he played that we didn't know. We figured they were covers, or coming out of the next record, because no one else in the audience knew them either. But when Petty told us about a ladyfriend resisting some dude's money and his cocaine everyone else all around us sang along.

We were a smart group of kids but we didn't put two and two together that night: take the fact that we were the youngest people there by a decade, add in the fact that everyone else there new the song and you wind up with an obvious conclusion: we were missing a Petty record. And so I went home with a nagging worry: what explained that one song?

The answer came from Saint Cross's Quaintance Shop a month or three later. Picture a fading church thrift store 35 years ago. Wigs and berets on white, styrofoam heads, mismatched golf clubs, iron-on izod patches for dressing up second hand kids shirts filled the front room; even less desirable items could be found in the back. A rotation of women born in the 20s manned the counter, clucking about whatever whenever my busy mother stopped by to pick up the shop's meager taking in her role as vestry treasurer.

I was still too young to have an excuse not to join her on these errands, and thank god for that because I wandered into the back room, thumbed through their quarter bin - that's right, in 1990 there was no such thing as the dollar bin; rather every record cost a quarter - and had my universe rocked when I saw Tom Petty standing in blue light with Stan (check out his handmade, drawstring hot pants!), Mike (pensive as always, deferring to the Tom as the boss), Ron (looking like he already has one foot out the door and is working up to his managerial role at an eighties bikini shop) and Benmont (forever a teenager) on the cover of a previously unknown record. Had the sun exploded in the sky at that moment I would have shrugged: the Holy Grail was in my hands and a moment before I had not known there was a God.

"Mom, please can I buy this? I just found it and I really need it."

"Sure you can, honey. Where's your money?"

"I mean, mom can you buy it for me? I don't have a quarter. But I'll pay you back, I promise." (This wasn't a case of not having my wallet; I literally did not own a cent at that moment. Every cent of my weekly $2 allowance would instantly go towards tapes. I did not yet own a turntable of my own and the recently discovered player in my parents cabinet still had a needle that had needed replacing in '74. I was forever broke and I remember borrowing money to buy Sergeant Pepper for a quarter from a different thrift store soon after.)

My glorious mother sighed and made a look that said "children these days..." Then she produced the precious quarter and I took home the arc of the covenant.

My glory was strong but short lived. Yes, the Matts were both blown away to discover a hithertofore unknown Petty record. But the only working turntables we knew belonged to Matt 1's formidable aerospace stepfather, and only Brahms was allowed on that one, and Matt 2's parents, and listening to a record in their living room necessitated dealing with Mickey, a truly insane golden retriever who weighed way more than me and was an incessant licker of his own formidable balls.

So it wasn't until high school that I really got into the greatness of You're Gonna Get It!

First, let's pause to consider the greatness that is an album that ends in an explanation point. We've already discussed Jonathan Sings! at length in these pages but there are plenty of other amazing albums made by brilliant artists who are goofy enough to add a ! to the end of their album title. Consider Get Happy!! And Henry the Human Fly! And what about Help!? These Are All Great Records! For that matter, wouldn't If I Could Only Remember My Name and Wild Tales be even better if Crosby and Nash had affixed explanation points to their titles? Man, I wish it was called Blood on the Tracks!

(Dear Stephen Stills, I know you're reading this so please pay attention: yes, we see that you tried to jump on the explanation point bandwagon in '05 by putting out a record entitled Man Alive! Good try Stevieboy, but to this day no one has ever listened to that record, and no one ever will. And don't try reissuing your 70's back catalog as Stills 1! Stills 2! Stills! and Illegal Stills! It will not change anything; those records will still forever suck.)

By ninth grade I had a turntable of my own and my first real appreciation of Your Gonna Get It! was getting way into Magnolia. I ask you, what better song is there for a horny heterosexual male ninth grader? I guarantee you I'm not the only boy who spent a whole lot of time visualizing themselves as Petty's first person protagonist:

From a table across the room

She was signalling me with her eyes

I walked over to be introduced,

I said hello, she just smiled

And said I know a place not too far from here,

We could get away for while.

Yeah that's when she kissed me and told me her name

I never did tell her mine...

Magnolia...

There's a lot to say about this track even after 24 years of blissful marriage. This song, and all of Your Gonna Get It!, features a complexly layered, full band vibe. Petty didn't just put everyone on the cover, he also gave them equal sonic billing; an approach he increasingly abandoned at the eighties increasingly set in and he got tempted by all the money and the cocaine. Hear the thick, bending bass stepping forward like a bold and reckless Romeo, driven by the tiptoeing lead piano riff. Petty's not the only one who gets lucky during this track. Everyone does.

Indeed, all of Side 1 is stone cold classic material, too rich and dense to have initially grabbed hold of me in eighth, then ninth, grade. The album opens with When the Time Comes. Tell me, please, why this elegant, powerful pop song is not more famous than everything on Wildflowers? When the Time Comes views every song on that overrated record with withering pity.

Tench's organ swells, the bridge spans mammoth depths, the drums and guitar carry us relentlessly forward up to a hollered fade. And then it's suddenly over and before we know it we're already kneeling down before Petty's declarative, white man soul in the title track.

Do you hear that guitar solo give way to the spaced out Dead vibes and then back into the chorus of chasing vocals? How the hell did this album ever get overlooked, forgotten and dropped out of print? Why are we ever listening to anything else in our lives?

On the back of my original 25 cent thrift shop copy of the LP there's the obligatory encouragement to reach out to the Official Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers Fan Club at 890 Tennessee Street in 'Frisco. I say that if we all send them self addressed stamped envelopes right now and demand a reissue of this record complete with bonus tracks then they'll do it and they'll also release, after all these years, Petty and Co's previously recorded, utterly forgotten and never before issued 77 lost album.

Come on people, lick those stamps. We're Gonna Get It!

[frostyreturns]

Frosty Ruins Rudolph

Rudolph is a yearly staple of the Christmas season, it's a childrens classic that's lasted generation after generation for a reason. There's just something uniquely appealing about a Rankin-Bass stop motion Christmas special. I think one thing that makes this such a fun watch is the stop motion. You can tell a lot of work went into making it, the designs are terrific, everything looks very Christmasey. The animation style is an anachronism that makes it unique and charming. However even though this is a nostalgia laced classic that has a lot that I love in it...there's a bit that annoys me about it as well.

For one thing it was one of the earliest examples of secularizing Christmas, Rudolph was always the Christmas carol that could be sung in school because it never had anything to do with Christianity or the birth of Christ. Not only that but it didn't have any Christian messages in it either...which leads to my main criticism of the special.

It's essentially a progressive fairy tale. It's not enough that it not be Christian, not enough that it not have any religious connection at all...but it was a thinly veiled leftist prog morality tale. You have a character not accepted for the colour of their "nose" and a "dentist" elf which is definitely not an allegory for accepting gays. A message that has no place in a childrens program...nevermind a Christmas one. It's an attempt to subvert and ilfitrate the holiday and turn it from it's original meaning into being just another victim of the progressive machine, where the only appropriate messaging is cultural marxism and identity politics, progressivism in all things and all things in progressivism. Santa is already a departure from the true meaning of Christmas...but it at least has threads to the true meaning, the connection to a Christian folk hero in saint Nicholas, and the gift giving as a tradition going back to the first Christmas. The spirit of giving and helping the poor...these Christian values still remain in the tale of Santa Claus. However even that was too religious and needed to be made about race and sexuality instead.

Honestly if this was made today I would hate everything about it. I think many would boycott it as just another out of touch prog piece of media that misses the point to push their political agenda. However it was made with a little more subtlty and it was made at a time where everyone wasn't sick to death of hearing the same shit over and over again. It was probably a novel idea at the time and nobody would have imagined the cancerous destruction these ideals and their purveyors would wreak on our society and how far it would decline once we started shirking all normalcy because a stop motion elf asked "Who decides the test of what is really best." Well if you're a prog then nobody, you should be celebrated for being different no matter what and all drifting from the norm is good regardless of what the norm is or why it's the norm. There is no objective truth and you should do what thou whilt, anything that you want is good because you want it. If you're a Christian and you're celebrating the birth of your lord and savior Jesus Christ then the answer is the one true omniscient God, thanks for asking...jot that down.

While the musical Christmas special has no songs about Jesus it does have a song about how cool silver and gold are. Now at this point of a critical evaluation of this specials merits as a Christmas story you might be wondering...who wrote these songs, who wrote this movie? You must not ask these questions because that would be anti-semitic, but if you did ask such an anti-semitic question then yes you'd discover more than a few people involved have a propensity for precious metals making appearances in last names.

It's also kind of annoying that the story makes everyone out to be such collosal ass holes. It's a Christmas story that makes Santa an ass hole, it makes all the reindeer ass holes it makes the elves ass holes...everyone is acting like a hamfisted dick. They have Santa siding with the others who were teasing Rudolph for something he was born with and even shaming his father for producing him...and then only changing his mind when he finds a use for the freak Reindeer. None of the messages are Christmasey and frankly I don’t agree with them at all. 

That being said it’s still a fun little Christmas special, the songs are classic, the animation is great and I can enjoy it despite my political objections.

[groovesnjams]

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..................number25 ....................of50

“ALIEN SUPERSTAR” by Beyoncé

DV:

It feels as though the conventional wisdom is now that the feminism wave of the early 2010s was an embarrassment - and while in some sense I agree (coverage was surface-level and quickly commodified; the more optimistic of us hoped representation was an actual victory), I also remember how it felt to see Beyoncé flash a giant “FEMINIST” behind her on stage for the first time, how it sounded to hear the biggest artist in the world sample Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie speaking about the concept on one of the year’s biggest pop songs. Ultimately it was a case study in the limitations of art as a political force, but it was also a demonstration of the power that art has to shift the Overton window and bring a concept firmly into the mainstream: like, yes it was ultimately silly to see every woman artist asked to say whether she was a feminist, but it was also an illustration of how long musicians and music coverage had elided politics that these questions felt new and exciting for a moment. Beyoncé’s choices - who she platforms, who she aligns herself with - make a statement about what matters. So it’s significant that on “ALIEN SUPERSTAR” she’s digging deeper to sample a quote from Barbara Ann Teer; it’s significant that the boldest track on one of the year’s biggest albums is co-produced by Honey Dijon, a trans artist  who’s been a key figure in the club scene for years but who’s never had a platform like this. Because ultimately only Beyoncé has this platform. And in a time of increased attacks against trans people in the US, I’m under no illusions that putting more of us in prominent positions will increase our safety. But it does make an undeniable statement about where you stand. And I’m glad to have Bey on our side, especially when the result is a massive fucking banger like "ALIEN SUPERSTAR.”

MG:

I did not grow up in a dance house. I not only had no appreciation for Michael Jackson, I had no reference for him at all. When I listened to him decades removed from his dominance what I heard was pure boredom. I feel this way about a lot of supposedly wildly influential and exceptionally creative projects -- Smile by The Beach Boys, Trout Mask Replica by Captain Beefheart, Loveless by My Bloody Valentine, Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd. Maybe you had to be there, alive at the time, to really appreciate the heft and ambition. Or maybe there are flaws in the fabric of my taste. 

The very idea of interpolating a history of modern dance music in a single album sets my teeth on edge. What artist could possibly be vibrant enough, witness enough, and precise enough to weave through time and string all these complex reference points together -- not as a mash up of obvious signifiers, not as a pedantic lesson,  not as a dexterous flex of personal wit and talent -- as a mosaic, as poetry, as folk art. Only Beyoncé, of course. Renaissance is so complex, vital, alive, and so much a product of its contributors (including the artists sampled, the producers tapped, and the layering of personal biography and pop culture) that I long for an annotated version.

Like most of what was missing from my home and my childhood, I discovered the absence through the internet or in college classes. In college I was introduced to T.S. Eliot’s The Wasteland, and it’s still my benchmark for how great and how vast a single piece of art can be. Its working title was “He Do the Police in Different Voices” -- a title I am pleased was scrapped in favor of portent and doom -- and it was a reference to the multiplicity of speakers present in the poem. Eliot made it all fit together in a way I still find truly mystical; single words are capable of reaching off the page and strangling the breath in my throat. Well, I compare a lot of what I like to The Wasteland but I’m always careful to note it falls short. Not here. What Beyoncé does with her voice on Renaissance is what Eliot does with the pen on The Wasteland. It is her voice, above all else, that gives this work its life. I do worry that in twenty or thirty years there will be another girl who grows up with half the world missing, who listens to Renaissance too late and dismisses it as boring, but I have to believe that when the production starts to sound dated and the concept feels bloated that Beyoncé’s voice will remain peerless.

[1001albumsrated]

#2: Elvis Presley - Elvis Presley (1956)

Genre(s): Rock n Roll

Number two on the 1001 Albums list is the iconic eponymous debut album from Elvis Presley, which rocketed him (and rock n roll) into superstardom. Before we talk about the music, the graphic designer in me needs to point out that obvious: the album cover is spectacular. Top notch photography, and lovely color, font, and typesetting choices. Not that it needs to be said, but man what a classic cover.

Anyways, the music. I probably haven't sat down and listened to this front to back since I was a kid; I've got fond memories of dancing around my grandma's living room to these songs as a preschooler. Obviously I've heard these songs individually about a million times since then. But still, it's interesting to go back and give it a thoughtful listen the whole way through. The first thing that really struck me is the poor quality of the recording. It's something I'd never really noticed before, but honestly I'm not sure I've ever sat down and given these tunes a solid critical listen as an adult. The King sounds like he's inside a trash can for most of the record. It's not appalling and not terribly surprising for "less serious" music of the time, but you can't help but wonder if the folks at Sun or RCA Victor ever kicked themselves for not doing more once the influence of this album became apparent (in between dips in their Scrooge McDuck pool of that sweet, sweet Elvis cash, of course).

The other thing that struck me as I listened was that now, knowing the original versions of most of these songs much better than I did at age 5, how much I don't care for Elvis's versions of these tunes. I Got A Woman and Tutti Frutti in particular left me yearning to hear Ray Charles and Little Richard respectively. Elvis's versions just feel wimpy in comparison. Where's the bite? Where's the soul? I'm not going to get into the racial politics of Elvis's career or the debate on whether he was stealing from black artists (not because it isn't an important conversation, but because you could write a book about it and a blog post isn't long enough to get into the meat of the topic), but I will say that these tunes feel like pale imitations of the originals. That being said, it's still an enjoyable listen. But like the teens buying the record in 1956, and like so many other things in life, it's more enjoyable if you don't know what you're missing.

Speaking of missing things, what we're missing right now is the most important question, the one we're here to answer: MUST you hear Elvis Presley's self-titled record before you die? I wrestled with this one a bit. If this album existed in a vacuum I think the answer would be no. But it doesn't. Instead, it's the album that launched rock n roll into the mainstream, and changed the definition of what stardom could be. I almost hate to say it, but I think that on the merits of its enormous historical and cultural significance, and endlessly rippling influence, the answer is Yes. If you somehow haven't heard this album before, take a minute to sit down and give it a thorough front to back listen. These two sides inform a large chunk of the music we'll be listening to on this journey, and it's important to really hear it at least once.

For the nerds who care, I listened to this album (like many I don't own on a physical format) in hi-res on Qobuz. Not that the resolution will do this one too many favors, but it's a matter of principle sometimes with audio.

And that's a wrap! I plan to post fairly regularly (otherwise I'll never be done with this thing), so more to come very soon... dust off your cowboy hats and tune in next time for Tragic Songs of Life by The Louvin Brothers!

[themowearchives]

Press Archive, Part 4

Pop Culture Press

No Guarantees CD Review, May 2005

The Avalon Motel is located in Saugus, Massachusetts on 1529 Broadway. It has 26 rooms and the prices range from 51 to 100 dollars a night. In one of these rooms, Number 9 to be exact, lives the bassless trio My Own Worst Enemy. Not that much goes on in Saugus--some car shows, maybe some barbeques and well, there's a miniature golf place also located on Broadway. But for the most part the band members have to fend for themselves, killing time in their room playing cards, scrabble, and cuddling up with each other in bed. Togetherness is a good thing for a band, up to a point. So, when it all gets too much and that old ennui starts overtaking the room, the drummer drags his snare in from the car, the other two strap on their guitars, and they chase it away with music. What comes out sounds at times like a hybrid of X and the Patti Smith Group, which isn't surprising as the band has been known to while away the late night hours with records by those same artists, as well as in dreams of Grant Hart, Mia Zapata, Nico, and escaping once and for all the dusty doldrums of the Avalon Motel. (William Crain)

Kapital Ink

No Guarantees CD Review, Summer 2005

Best Boston debut in a long time--in many ways evokes the golden age of classic co-ed indie rock bands: Love Child, Yo La Tengo, Eric's Trip, etc--the boy sings a song, the girl sings the next one, and they always sing together. It's the pinnacle of rock band equality--but also codependency and this album makes love sound like one long drink of gin...partly thanks to Sue's Jersey Queen vocals (one of the nicer things to happen to female vocalizing in the name o' rock since Denise James). Lack of bass player gives them a skeletal Sleater-Kinney clank. This album evokes a harsh 70's reality...mainly of my parents telling me to go play in the traffic while they did the "jungle boogie" on the couch. (Joe S. Harrington)

High Praise

Sometimes we get email! This one's from August 2006

"...I don't know when I'll get the opportunity to speak with you, so i thought I'd share a thought with you...Every time I see you guys play, I'm constantly reminded of that Athens, GA Inside/Out compilation record that the guys in R.E.M. put out years ago. You folks simply seem to dispense with convention by throwing it out the window, with glorious results. Your music is a really refreshing change from what's fed us these days, and it gives me a lot of hope. Please continue to rock." PS...I like the new drummer, he plays like Chris Mars! (email from 'W' in Somerville)

The Noise

Live Review, November 2006

The Kirkland Cafe, Somerville, MA 10/14/06, opening for Lyres/Lars Vegas/Frank Rowe

I arrive before 9:30, but still miss Frank Rowe (Classic Ruins). I've missed Frank three times recently. Sorry, Frank. At least the club is playing the Classic Ruins CD while My Own Worst Enemy is setting up. Guitarist Steve says into the mic, "Has anyone seen our bass player?" He's joking, because My Own Worst Enemy doesn't have a bassist. Tonight there are two guitarists, one drummer, and a special guest percussionist in the evenly-distributed- gender band (the female side of the band is talented and pretty and the guys have that indie quality). They play driving garage rock - few chords, easy melodies, and interesting stops thrown in to keep listeners on their toes. Sue handles most of the lead vocals with good energy and an honest delivery. Steve is the leadless lead guitarist while also providing the bass lines. Drummer A.J. and percussionist Lindsay are upbeat and on the beat, and I like it that everyone sings. Standout songs include Come On, Snowflake, and Turn It On. (T Max)

The Noise

Live Review, February 2007

The Abbey Louge, Somerville, MA 01/11/07, opening for The In Out/Grey Does Matter/Brett Rosenberg Problem

It's Thursday night and I'm having my socks rocked off at the Abbey. I've never been here before, actually, and, while there is a crowd of frat boys hanging out in the corner and making me very nervous, there is also a solid Jack and Coke in my hand making me very, very happy. Enter My Own Worst Enemy, comprised of Sue, Steve and A.J. Yeah, that's right, just three. Sue sports a Courtney Love-style semiformal dress and enormous black boots, and she splits the vocals and guitar with Steve, whose fashionably floppy hair makes me want to hug him immediately. A.J. on the drums breaks out some admirable vocals on a Guided By Voices cover; he also gets a thumbs up for excellent use of the cowbell. The songwriting is strong and earnest, the sound is remarkably full for a band without a bass player, and, overall, they make me want to dance. (Danielle Cotter)

[thesinglesjukebox]

ESLABON ARMADO AND PESO PLUMA - "ELLA BAILA SOLA"

Jacob brings us regional Mexican music's big pop moment...

[7.45]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: There are thousands upon thousands of words to be written about "Ella Baila Sola," the year of Peso Pluma, and the broader question of Mexican pop music in the American pop landscape that I frankly could not even begin to put together into this blurb -- because, frankly, I'd rather talk about "Ella Baila Sola" within its own singular context: "Ella Baila Sola" is perhaps the banger to end all bangers. It's nothing complicated; people have been writing incredible pop songs about having a huge crush on a hot stranger they saw at a party since the dawn of pop music (I read Bob Stanley's book on pre-1955 pop this year so I'm basically an expert on this.) But what shines through here is the genuine glee that Pedro Tovar and his boys have in the music. Each tripled-up guitar riff and stab of horns sounds so joyous and live that even a summer's worth of overplay can't quench it. The interplay between Tovar and Peso Pluma's vocals -- on opposite sides of the fine line between yearning and horny -- only adds to the thrill here; they're literally just some guys but in this particular moment, captured perfectly in the way that only a great pop song can, they reach some slight and passing transcendence. [10]

Wayne Weizhen Zhang: What a refreshing and left-field global phenomenon! In Chicago, "Ella Baila Sola" was our third most streamed Spotify song of 2023, and Peso Pluma was our fifth most streamed artist, so I've heard this on the train while commuting, in restaurants while deciding what to order, and in the park while lounging under the sun. Every time, the sweetness of the guitar strums and the playfulness of the trumpets have been felt like a reprieve from the monotony of the charts. [8]

Micha Cavaseno: The last couple of years, I finally made the bare minimum attempt to understand corridos as a style. Ultimately, my heart is always going to defer to my grandfather's Fania All-Stars collection when it comes to my own tastes, but I can appreciate the slightness and rootsy quality of these ballads. Peso Pluma's got that classic nasal bray that conveys far more character than notes could ever achieve, and the tone of "Ella Baila" is carefree in a way that implies a youth and freedom to offset the grit in the vocals. I suppose this is more of a reminder as ever as to the charms of a style you rarely get to think of in the greater pop context. [7]

Ian Mathers: Really enjoy the music, and Peso Pluma is clearly a charismatic performer, I just kinda hate his voice here. To the extent that if this was Armado solo I think I'd give it an extra point. [8]

David Moore: I am never confronted so completely with the limits of my monolingual, myopic cultural existence than hearing that brass section, no matter what strain or subgenre it is or how decisively it's crossing over into my corner of the world from speakers or Billboard articles. My appreciation never budges. It's like opera and statues -- I experience it and think "I'll bet that's really special to someone and I'm really missing out," and then hope that no one asks me to share my opinion afterward. Maybe I could take a class or something. [5]

Nortey Dowuona: The tololoche is the Mexican folk bass. Its name originated from the Maya names tolo for "bull" and loch for "embraced." Here's a picture of one from 1930; here's a link to go buy the strings. Yes it has 4 strings only. Here's a link to a VST of the instrument. If you are most handy with the computer, try that. But of the actual instrument, since a tololoche can have strings made from tungsten, nickel or steel and can go for at least $1300, if you're a beginner I'd advise to get one ASAP. Now, you'll have to play for about four years and write songs for three before you make a song as good as this one, but since this is gonna be a thing for the next decade, get on it before Peso Pluma moves to Barcelona. Good luck! [10]

Katherine St Asaph: What about this particular song made it blow up at a scale that regional Mexican previously hadn't? Variety had a feature about it, but nothing they described -- exclusive tech deals, influencers, general hello-fellow-zoomers --seems any different from anyone else's record-label rollout. The song is nice but doesn't really make many pop concessions. Freaky Trigger ran an article last month on "the rainbow of new stories" of the charts; it's probably the coherent version of whatever I might make of this. [6]

Brad Shoup: Listening to Eslabon Armado's earlier stuff really makes clear how much juice they gave this. When it became a smash I thought it was fine, a pop corrido; I wish they'd gone full sinaloense and let the brass wail. In the context of the group's career, though, it hits a little different. What sounded like a nagging pop topline now sounds like Jeff Buckley, which makes everything an additional degree of ersatz, which is a really interesting place to be. [7]

Crystal Leww: I grew up in Texas surrounded by Mexicans, specifically, so Spanish language music wasn't as much reggaeton or dembow or bachata but instead music that sounds like "Ella Baila Sola," heavy on the guitar and the horns and less on the doom-ca-ca! This is music that is instead made for twirling your girl in and out of a closed hold position, but like, more casual and more sweet than stuffy. Hearing this conjures up fond memories of the smell of the grill in the park now, the sight of the cooler full of Corona and fruity, sugary sweet drinks, and the families from young to old sitting around on foldable chairs as music blares out of a speaker somewhere. [6]

Alex Clifton: I'm pretty much sold on anything that features twelve-string guitars and horns. Throw in a lovely, lilting melody and I'll be dancing all day. [7]

Tara Hillegeist: Probably the single sexiest song I have ever heard about a woman dancing all by herself since Robyn's "Dancing On My Own". Not that there's much competition, but the trombone on this -- it makes me swoon. [8]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox ]

[malangmusicgroup]

WEDDING MUSICAL GROUP - MALANG MUSIC GROUP

PUNJABI DHOL GROUP FOR WEDDING

Punjabi Dhol is one of the best Indian instruments that bring the dance in everyone. The sound of the Dhol is unique which awakens the inner joy in any person. It turns the mood peppy and elated. It brings down the chaos of the mind to nothing. It enriches the soul to dance for its own tunes. In every way, Punjabi Dhol is one awesome instrument that can turn the entire ambience grand, filled with exuberant vibes when it is performed well with the expert’s hands like Malang Music Group, one of the finest folk music group in Jaipur.

Having a Punjabi Dhol Group in special events and occasions would make the event more special. No matter the type of event, our Malang Music Group would make a difference with our exclusive Punjabi Dhol performers.

With amazing singers, dancers and performers we have enlivened events like Sangeet, Mehandi Night, Shaadi, cultural shows, private parties, concerts and other events.

Our music energizes any event as we inspire and take hold of the heart of the audience in no time. Live Dhol performance is one of the best events not to be missed and we bring it to you livelier. Our beats differ for each event as we never make it monotonous to the crowd.

[nightswithkookmin]

WHICH ONE OF YOU OWE ME AN APOLOGY AFTER THE BTS TWITCH INTERVIEW??

Y'all triggered my OCD and for what???

"We live in a time where that label we call masculinity is disappearing..."

True. Love it. Carry on.

"We didn't set out to redefine masculinity or what it means to be manly. We feel good that we can have any positive influence on any category including the topic of masculinity because we are men too."

Now...

Come kiss my butt whoever bigot you are. Who said BTS are not representatives and it is not their job to represent us gay folks?? WHO SAID THAT!

Put your clown fit on.

Slap yourself on my behalf.

And in case you missed it or don't understand the term because they didn't explicitly use it in the interview they were discussing TOXIC MASCULINITY!

And I'm glad Suga mentioned HipHop and used the analogy of clothes to explain the ridiculousness of conservatism in fashion as it relates to gender and the Hiphop music genre which as I said before is the breeding ground for all sorts of toxicity and isms that modern society seeks to address and undo.

It's no secret Hiphop glamorizes drugs, alcohol and indiscriminate sex, promotes violence against women, promotes homophobia, transphobia, thug life, guns and anti social behaviours- its concerning.

"Bitches fuck with me, cross me, take a bullet to the brain. Yea, yea, yea" I'm sorry but where is the positive uplifting soul healing message in this? AND WHO YOU CALLING A BITCH, BITCH?!

Then on top of it they gone bully you for wearing skinny clothes and eyeliner because that's not manly and hiphop at all- that's gay, they would say. No homo.

Y'ALL DON'T SEE THE PROBLEM WITH THIS??????

The misogyny, homophobia and toxic masculinity it perpetuates?!

BTS are "gay looking men" who rap. Yall heard Befree's diss against BTS? They are a cultural revolution. Their mere existence is a push back against the status quo- in all categories.

You can't be a rapper and be gay because rappers gotta be tough- on the outside, never mind that on the inside they are as 'weak as us inferior female species,' have several baby momas, different women on their dicks every night, subdue their gals, be a shit ass unreliable partner and clean the floors with them gals afterwards- all the while fucking 'soft looking men' at night when no one is looking. So ideal. uWu.

Masculinity as a social construst is divorced from the gender of a man and has over the years become very performative and theatrical in the way that it is enacted and portrayed amongst men themselves.

Masculinity in of itself is not toxic. It's performance can be and every day men all over the world do participate in the discussions passively and actively to help reshape our social understandings of it if not redefine it.

For BTS it's more a coincidence like RM just said. The way their culture view masculinity is entirely different and seemly wholesome(???.) However, there is still some level of toxicity in the way that they perform masculinity within their culture which may be slightly different from the western notion of toxic masculinity- but since I'm not Korean I'd refrain from talking about that.

I had wanted Jimin or Jungkook to answer that question on Masculinity- especially Jimin. Their voices matter to some of us on certain topics. I want to know what they think and how they feel about this whole ongoing discourse on toxic masculinity and I'm glad the interviewer brought that up.

You gotta be present. It's not all about BTS number one uWu. Jikook held hands skskskskksskks. There is a world around them that they are constantly influencing and getting influenced by. Get with the times and if you are not shut up and let us have at it.

I really hope they talk about this. Bring back bon voyage and the bonfire nights and have them discuss these topics because we are invested those kinds of contents.

I literally wept my eyes out when I saw Jimin walk first in the LV show. IN YOUR FACE!!!!!!

This category fits him- whatever it is. IT'S HIS PLACE AND HIS SPACE TO SHINE. Was I a little bit disappointed and underwhelmed by the whole event?? Bet. But listen, this is good extracurricular activity for him in terms of the ads and other blah blah they been doing. He can be himself unapologetically without someone editing a legitimate part of his identity to fit the status quo. He don't gotta be buff or 'manly' to suit anybody.

PLS I APPROVE OF THIS PROJECT.

He is hands down a perfect 'manly man' model. He can sell the fantasy too! I'm sold on him. I'M SOLD.

If you think there's something wrong with his looks and mannerisms or personalilty- I ship him with myself on behalf of his boyfriend😌

I've forgotten the point of this post but I'm gonna post it anyway😌

Oh I remember- you suck.

That's all I wanted to say.

And while I'm at it, I might as well talk about BTS and this whole 'we are grandpas' songs they been singing lately.

Signed,

GOLDY

[i-make-random-song-parodies]

Historically accurate Hamilton

Hamilton faces a lot of criticism because of its historical inaccuracies, but people seem to forget that it isn’t supposed to be completely accurate. It’s historical fiction, and many details were tweaked to make the musical run more smoothly, make more sense, and generally be easier for an audience to follow. To emphasise my point, I rewrote some of Hamilton to show what it might have been like if it was completely historically accurate (or, parts of it. I’m not rewriting an entire musical).

NB: I am by no means a historical expert. The following is meant for comedy purposes only

For songs where multiple people sing, the speaker will be denoted by the following letters: B – Burr, H – Hamilton, L – Lafayette, J – John Laurens, M – Hercules Mulligan, T – Thomas Jefferson,

Use of the squiggles (~~~~~) means some of the song was skipped

I think that’s everything! Enjoy the musical!!!!!

♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪

Aaron Burr – Historically accurate

~~~~~

B: You punched the bursar?

A: Nope

~~~~~

Showtime! Showtime! Yo!

J: I’m John Lauren’s, in the place to be! It’d make sense for you to meet all three Of us together, but unfortunately It’s gonna be a while ‘til you finally meet me!

L: Oui oui, mon ami, je m'appelle Lafayette! And just like Laurens, I have not arrived yet I sing from afar and I say “bonsoir” To these strangers at the bar, they do not know moi

M: Brrrah brraaah! I am Hercules Mulligan Talking to myself, cos I don’t have a single friend Wait, I’m already friends with Alex Ham, And this introduction’s pointless, cos he knows who I am! No more people, we need a solution The two of us alone can’t start a revolution!

Well, if it ain't the prodigy of Princeton college! Aaron Burr! Give us a verse, drop some knowledge!

B: Good luck with that, you’re all on your own, Even Hamilton can’t start a revolution alone

M: Burr, the revolution's imminent. What do you stall for?

H: If you stand for nothing Burr, what’ll you fall for?

M: Who? Who are you?

H: ….. Hamilton? Your friend?

M: Oh. Right. Yea.

*awkward pause, then lights go down*

The Story of Tonight – Historically accurate

M: Raise a glass to the two of us

H: Why are there so few of us?

M: Not much is happening tonight

H: I need another drink tonight

M: They will forget about tonight

The Schuyler Siblings:

Angelica, Eliza, John, Philip, Rensselaer, Cornelia, Catherine, and Peggy The Schuyler siblings Angelica, Peggy, Eliza, John, Philip, Rensselaer, Cornelia, Catherine WORK!

The 25 Duel Commandments

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

It’s the 25 duel commandments It’s the 25 duel commandments

Number 1:

Instead of giving a concise set of rules, To explain to the audience the basics about duels We’re gonna list every single commandment and derail The entire musical with unnecessary detail

Number 2:

Lee’s second wasn’t Aaron Burr it was his friend Major Evan Edwards, who you’re never gonna see again As Burr isn’t here, we miss some foreshadowing And Alexander’s death might not be as heart-shattering

Number 3:

Okay folks, this is taking too long We don’t have time for 25 commandments in one song By the time we finish you’ll have stopped paying attention So let’s just finish this, while there’s still some apprehension

Number 24: Look ‘em in the eye, aim no higher Summon all the courage you require Then count

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Number 25 paces fire!

Cabinet battle #1 – Historically Accurate

W: Secretary Jefferson, you have the floor

T: Life liberty and the pursuit of happiness We fought for these ideals we shouldn’t settle for less But I’m quiet and reserved, and not a fan of fighting So I’m just gonna give you my objections in writing

W: Thank you, Secretary Jefferson Secretary Hamilton, your response

H: Thomas, that was a real nice declaration You speaking up at all is a cause for celebration But obviously, there isn’t that much to discuss Seeing as you didn’t kick up much of a fuss My new financial system is a masterpiece Our debts will be sorted, our independence will increase Tell me if you have any suggestions or notes But I have high hopes that I can rely on your votes

W: Great. Meeting concluded.

Cabinet Battle #2 – Historically Accurate

W: The issue on the table, France is on the verge of war with England And do we provide aid and troops to our French allies Or do we stay out of it, remember My decision on this matter is not subject to congressional approval The only person you have to convince is me Secretary Jefferson, you have the floor, sir

T: I’d really like to help out France But I’m still too shy to make a whole song and dance

W: Thank you Secretary Jefferson. Secretary Hamilton, your response

H: Jefferson’s dumb, let’s not get involved I’m sorry but not every problem can be solved By recklessly running to join the fight We stay out of it. Thank you, and goodnight.

W: Hamilton’s right. Hamilton, draft a statement of neutrality

T: Did you forget Lafayette?

H: Nope

T: Ok then

Burn – Historically Accurate

~~~~~

I’m erasing myself from the narrative Historians have no idea how Eliza reacted So neither will you Sorry, but for historical accuracy this song is through

The world was wide enough – Historically Accurate

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

There are 25 things you need to know There are 25 things you need to know

Number 1:

This duel was a long time coming You’d have known that if we hadn’t skipped most of the foreshadowing

Number 2:

A bunch of secondary characters were there I’d list all their names but you probably don’t care

Number 3:

The election wasn’t the main reason for Our duel. Hamilton, the bastard, son of a whore Tried to undermine me in my gubernatorial race So I told him “if you have something to say, name a time and place”

~~~~~

Number 24:

Look him in the eye aim no higher Summon all the courage you require Then count

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Number 25 paces fire!

He aims his pistol over my shoulder, and fires. I strike him right between the ribs

~~~~~

BONUS SONG:

Who lives, who dies, who tells your story – Historically Accurate Summary

Let me tell you what I wish I’d known When I was young and dreamed of glory You cannot write A good, historically accurate story

Lin Manuel Miranda I’ll give him this His Hamilton musical is a work of art I couldn’t correct it if I tried And I’ve tried

Lin Manuel Miranda He took your country from knowing nothing about Hamilton to knowing at least some stuff about him I’m happy to admit it He deserves all the credit he gets

A historically inaccurate but still incredible story

♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪

You still here? Well congrats for making it this far!!! I hope you enjoyed, please (please) leave a comment if you enjoyed it, I survive purely on the validation I receive from others, and feel free to send me requests if you want :)

Credit to where I got all my info:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhrVjfVmAow&t=518s

https://www.tampabay.com/life-culture/2020/07/03/politifact-fact-checking-hamilton-the-musical/

https://screenrant.com/hamilton-historical-inaccuracies-wrong-true-story/