#guitar and uke are the only ones we bought

[oscillating-fan-whore5]

I need to learn all the instruments

[steveinscarlet]

I tried to scan the main ol' crazy eyes Joe picture but he was too big to properly fit in the scanner so this is the best I could do

Text below the cut

BRINGING UP BABY

Joe Elliott doesn't want children - he's got enough on his hands nursing a billion dollar baby called Def Leppard. Mat Snow hears why arguably the world's most successful rock 'n' roll band can still stroll down the street without being recognised. Pictures by Peter Anderson

BY THE time you read this, you'll know something that was on the cards a couple of weeks ago but by no means a dead cert.

That is whether the British Phonographic Institute, in all its majesty and wisdom, opened an envelope at the black tie, gala dinner and announced that the award for Rockin' Pneumonia, Boogie-Woogie Flu And All-Round Fabness goes not to Brother Beyond, Yazz, nor even Bros, but to a bunch of blokes who won't see 25 again and who play guitars, drums and stuff often quite loud.

Yes, you will know now what Def Leppard's Joe Elliott and I didn't know then whether there will be a BPI BRITS Award for Best British Band decorating his parents' mantelpiece.

"Def Leppard winning anything is hilarious," he chuckles. "It's nice to be nominated, but we're never going to win anything. We're a stick-in-the- mud heavy metal band - Long 'air and jeans: we can't vote for them, can we?"

JOE ELLIOTT is in mellow mood. After nearly three months off, following the highly lucrative but tiring 14-month Hysteria tour, he at last has time to chew the fat back home in a beautiful bay just outside Dublin, where he is spending his 'year out' of the UK for tax reasons.

Unlike the other four Leps, who get itchy after only three weeks off the road, Joe needs the time to lounge around, catch up with his listening and watch a few videos.

"I've been revelling in the fact that I've been able to get a sore throat and it doesn't matter!"

A week in the sun apart, Joe has not been neglecting his career as the mouthpiece of arguably the most commercially successful rock 'n' roll band in the world today.

There will be rehearsals for the new album. (Robert 'Mutt' Lange, the so-called 'sixth Lep', will not be producing). Hopes are high that it might be in the shops sooner than 1991, given that their two previous albums, 'Pyromania' and 'Hysteria', have been beaten only by Michael Jackson in terms of how long we've had to wait between releases - and how many copies we've gone out and bought. But, right now, Joe has the luxury of reflecting on his place in the scheme of things.

It seems that what he ultimately craves is to be recognised as one of the true rock greats, on a par with the people who turned him on in the first place, back when he was a soccer- crazy, only child growing up in Sheffield, when he was a bored youth maintaining stocks of grinding wheels and oil rags for Osborne Mushet Tools.

Back then, people like Alice Cooper, Jethro Tull, T Rex and, especially, Mott The Hoople kept him sane. Def Leppard's record company, Phonogram, have signed Ian Hunter and it's the best news Joe's had all year.

His list of heroes includes just about everybody who made a raucous noise in the '70s his years of yearning to escape the humdrum world of work and home. That need is still Joe's guiding force so he won't be taking a cue from his friend Jon Bon Jovi's 'New Jersey' and calling his next album 'South Yorkshire'. "Can you imagine it?" he guffaws.

"Ian Hunter summed it up brilliantly in his book Diary Of A Rock 'N' Roll Star - 'I left my heart in Watford?' How can you sing about Scunthorpe or Huddersfield?

"Let's face it, everybody would say, Fair play for doing it - but they'd laugh at it whether they were fans, journalists or friends. I remember when Saxon had this song called 'Northern Lady', and it just stank. Leave it out! Jesus Christ! Flat caps and Yorkshire pudding is the impression people get, even though we all know it's not like that. "They don't all keep pigeons, which is what a lot of people south of Nottingham seem to think. There's no romance, no beaches in Sheffield. A car chase in San Francisco is always going to look better than one through Hackney. But then they could never have Sherlock Holmes in America. It's a different world.

"I'd sooner go for the British approach, which is totally ambiguous: it doesn't say anything, it doesn't mean anything," Joe goes on. "I can't even describe what half the bloody songs are about; they just sound alright. You are what you listen to. You explain what T Rex's lyrics are about. If you can figure his out, then you can figure mine out. 'Hub-cap diamond star halo' means more to me than 'I went down to the river', I'm afraid. People can relate to that Springsteeny thing but, to me, T Rex made your imagination work harder.

"If I wrote from experience, I don't think it would sound very good me singing about the last five-a-side soccer game I had.

"Whenever I sing about women, it's always invented," says Joe, rebutting the charge of sexism which, in fact, I hadn't levelled at him.

"Who's to say that the honkytonk woman ever existed? It could have been a complete figment of Jagger's imagination. I used to write from personal experience don't think I never have.

"On the second album, we wrote about all sorts of stories; Steve (Clark) once hijacked a taxi in Paris and tried to write a song about it. But it just sounded like a piece of shit, so we scrapped it, rewrote the lyrics, made them up, and it was a lot better."

SO, IF not 'South Yorkshire', S perhaps 'Catatonia'? 'Schizophrenia' (a double- album)? Or (Bob Geldof's suggestion) 'Paranoia'? Another psychological disorder, surely?

"Probably," reckons Joe. "It was a complete coincidence, the last two. 'Hysteria' was an idea Rick (Allen) came up with. It was after all the stuff with his accident. The first time we ever seriously experienced it was on the '83 tour, and it got pretty close to it two days after his accident - the reception area of the hospital was teeming with newspaper reporters and kids. And, because we weren't all that popular in England at the time, it made it appear more massive. Rick was on the front page of the Daily Star - and there were all these journalists, like Rick was The Queen or lan Botham. We had to be snuck in through the f***in' laundry chute to go and see him! "I always imagine that Fish - and I'm not knocking the guy - has everything worked out in advance: This is the album title, here's the sleeve - now let's go write the music. The last thing we have is the album title; we panic so much. "Hysteria' was going to be called 'Animal Instincts' at one stage: then we thought that sounded really stupid. We had the sleeve ready, so that was four grand down the drain. It just wasn't right - so we used it for the book instead."

Having repeated, even exceeded, the success of the hard-to-match 'Pyromania' album with 'Hysteria', Joe has found that the way to cope with sky-high expectations is to ignore them.

"I have no doubts about the next album," he declares. "I'm not 100 per cent sure that it'll be as big as the last one, though it may be a better record. Much of it is down to timing. I don't believe success should be based on sales. But everywhere you look it's figures, figures, figures.

"Success should be judged on the sound of the bloody thing. I'm not worried about it. We'll make a record and put it out, and it'll do whatever it does."

What about the live act? "We've had a few approaches from the States to go back and do some shows this summer. Believe it or not, 'Hysteria"s gone back up in America the album's doing better now than when we were out there. It's been 'Top Five in three different years - '87, 88 and now '89.

"Anyway, I was talking to Adam Clayton about it the other day, and he said, You've got to be careful because where do you go from stadiums? What do you do go back to clubs? "That's why we have managers. We have opinions, but we don't have our finger on the pulse like they do. We're too busy trying to sing in tune, play the songs and look cool like a pop band is supposed to do and still keep an eye open so you don't get ripped off. But you can't be a master of all trades.

"When does a spectacle become untoppable? It doesn't. You do a gig on the moon and put the PA on Pluto... Satellite gigs? Hologram gigs? Put the audience in the middle and us outside!"

ON TOUR, the Aerosmith, Guns N' Roses and Love And Rockets albums never left cassette deck. Back home, the Irish magazine Fresh has asked Joe for a fan's-eye view of the new releases.

"I played the Lou Reed album ten times and, in my opinion, it ain't 'Transformer', it ain't 'Sally Can't Dance', it's not 'Coney Island Baby' and it's definitely not 'Berlin'. Every song's about f***ing New York! All about some guy with needles in his arms! "But I grew up with 'Transformer', which came out when I was 12. And 'Berlin' was really depressing but great to listen to in the bath. The new one sounds like demos, which has a sort of charm, but some of it's a bit weird. That song, 'Last Great American Whale' I can't make my mind up whether it's a piece of shit or it's genius. He just talks it he makes Mark Knopfler sound like the guy out of Foreigner. Very strange."

Fine Young Cannibals' "The Raw And The Cooked' gets short shrift from Joe: "I'll never forgive them for slaughtering the Buzzcocks". As for Blondie's remix album, 'Once More Into The Bleach', it's "awful".

The new Supremes compilation is another matter: "F***ing brilliant," Joe raves. "To hear 'Nathan Jones' the way I remember it, not the way f***ing Bananarama slaughtered it. I got my first snog to that song, under the stairs at the Top Rank in Sheffield in 1971, Saturday morning youth club."

Joe advises me to check out The Hooters and The Quireboys; I recommend The Replacements - right up his street. But Joe (29) is of an age to get his real kicks from the stars of yesteryear.

"I've met Jagger at the studio. He was great he kept stealing our f***ing newspapers! Have you got the Daily Mirror? I want to do the crossword.

"Robert Plant came to see us in Chicago. He was great. When we played in the round we used to go on in laundry baskets. His tour manager bet him ten dollars he wouldn't push one out. So he put a hat on, pair of shades, stuffed his tour jacket full of jumpers to make him look fat, and pushed it out to the middle of the stage, right through the audience! "It's funny because he's a Leo as well, and Jagger. All frontmen are Leos," Joe muses. "Those detailed analyses of your star sign tell you things you often don't like to hear. 'Capable of being childish' - I suppose I am. 'Always has to be the centre of attention' well, when it suits me. "Sometimes I just like to bury myself, but that's what my gig is, that's what everybody wants: a big, loud, bloody... you know. "But Jagger's the best; he's got the lips of an elephant on the body of a dwarf. Brilliant. The ultimate frontmen are those you can caricature in cartoons - Jagger, Steve Tyler, Rod Stewart, Bowie, Townshend, Meat Loaf, Alice Cooper... You couldn't really draw me but it doesn't seem to have hindered our success.

"To be honest, once you're as big as we are and you don't have those sort of features, it's nice. I don't have to send the maid out to buy the News Of The World. I can walk down Oxford Street."

So what is the secret of Def Leppard's success?

"Most people in bands have got families, and maybe that's the reason we have the success we have: nobody's married or got kids," reasons Joe.

"I can't see Phil (Collen) starting a family when he hasn't even got a home. And I definitely have no desire to be a father.

"The only times I've ever thought about it have been provoked by TV documentaries like World In Action. I seriously think I would rather adopt an eight-year-old Brazilian kid and give it a real good start in life.

"There's enough kids without me bringing another one into the world. And to be quite honest, after my mumps I don't know if I can!

"I can miss out the nappy stage, which I'd detest. And I don't like the idea of a nanny bringing the kid up because you might as well not bother; you might as well buy one. "I don't want a kid; the band's too much of a bloody baby!"

[get-back-homeward]

Paul’s Trying To Get To You

The thread of this song weaving in and out of Paul’s most formative music experiences

Oct 1956: Elvis’s debut album is released in the UK as Rock ‘n’ Roll and the B-side includes Trying to Get to You

I just had to reach you, baby / In spite of all that I've been through / I kept traveling night and day / I kept running all the way / Baby, trying to get to you.

Well if I had to do it over / That's exactly what I'd do / I would travel night and day / And I'd still run all the way / Baby, trying to get to you

[full lyrics]

Jan-June 1957: Ian James gets the Elvis record and a guitar

“It was in this time frame that Paul formed a closer friendship with Ian James, an Institute boy (in his year) he’d known since 1954. Ian was also into rock and skiffle and he’d recently been bought an acoustic guitar by his grandparents, at whose house he lived in the Dingle. (Every guitar had a maker’s name: his was a Rex.) The two boys became good pals on the strength of it. While they tended not to see each other in the evenings, because they lived some distance apart, Paul often went to Ian’s house for an hour or two after school—they walked there together down the hill from the Institute—and Ian sometimes went to Forthlin Road at weekends, taking his guitar with him. Ian James held a triple attraction for Paul: he was an intelligent, decent and affable lad, he had some rock records, and he had a guitar—an unbeatable combination.

In the front room at home I had a table-top portable record player, three speed. I remember playing “Blueberry Hill” by Fats Domino over and over, just the first line and then I’d pick up the needle and put it back at the start. I also had Elvis Presley’s first album, which we played time after time after time, with “That’s All Right Mama,” “Trying to Get to You,” “Lawdy Miss Clawdy,” “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Cry (Over You),” “Mystery Train” … Elvis was the one to copy, he was the hero. He had everything: the charisma, the looks, the voice. Frank Sinatra had only one style but Elvis could do anything—gospel, blues, rock and roll, romantic ballads. There was nobody else like him. Paul and I talked about Elvis all the time.15

The Rex guitar was ever at hand. Ian showed and reinforced to Paul those three chord fundamentals that would get him started, C, F and G or G7, the basis for pretty much every song they loved.”

—Tune In (Ch. 5, Jan-June 1957)

July 1957: Paul is invited to join the Quarrymen and trades his trumpet for his first guitar

At some point in July 1957, Paul finally got his first guitar. It had been a long time coming and he was desperate. As he couldn’t afford to buy one he had the bright idea of swapping his trumpet for it, the one his dad had bought him two years earlier. Jim didn’t mind—it was clear where Paul’s interest was. “I traded in the trumpet for a £15 Zenith guitar from Frank Hessy’s. There was a feller there called Jim Gretty and he showed us (me and George) a great chord. I never knew its name—we called it ‘a jazz chord’…”

Mike McCartney has said of Paul and his first guitar, “He would get lost in another world. It was useless talking to him—I had better conversations with brick walls.” Paul played the guitar everywhere, even on the bus. At home he played it in the bath and sitting on the toilet. “The fine acoustic of the toilet area was always very appealing to me. And it was also very private, about the only private place in the house. I used to sit there for hours—there and the bathroom. Dad would shout, ‘Paul, get off that toilet!’ [And I’d reply] ‘I’m practicing!’ ”4

…Rod Davis has a recollection of Paul dropping in to see a group rehearsal at (of all places) Mimi’s house, and Eric Griffiths says the group all went to Paul’s house one afternoon for a rehearsal together—something Paul has never mentioned. (Like almost everything to do with the Quarry Men, solid information is lacking.)

…Ian James says he and Paul struck up an informal musical duo: “We used to take our guitars around to parties and play a few numbers. Have guitar will travel—wherever we went our guitars went too. We played songs from that first Elvis LP: ‘Trying to Get to You,’ ‘Lawdy Miss Clawdy,’ ‘Mystery Train’…

—Tune In (Ch. 7, July-Aug 1957)

Aug 1957: Paul’s away at summer camp and then on holiday but glued to his guitar

[O]n August 7, the Quarry Men played the Cavern again…This Cavern booking would have been Paul’s Quarry Men debut but for him being away with the Boy Scouts at summer camp—another ten days of wet feet, wind and Woodbines. The 19th City troop’s destination this year was the Peak District—Callow Farm, Hathersage, Derbyshire—and both McCartney brothers went. Paul (inevitably) carted his Zenith along with his sleeping bag and tin mug. Almost as soon as they’d pitched tents, Mike had an altercation with an oak tree, badly breaking his arm; he was taken to the hospital in Sheffield while Paul remained at the camp and entertained around the fire with Elvis’s “Trying to Get to You.”13

Mike was in the hospital four weeks, his plastered arm in a sling, and on the day of his release—the last full week of the school holidays—Jim arrived in Sheffield with Paul and revealed they were all heading straight off to Butlin’s. Bett and Mike Robbins had fixed them seven days at Filey, on Yorkshire’s east coast…

Ever the keen photographer, Mike operated the camera single-handedly to take a fascinating photo of Paul on Filey beach with Bett Robbins and her infant son Ted. Paul is perched on Ted’s pushchair and playing the much-traveled Zenith. The photo could be the closest taken to the date he met John Lennon, showing a 15-year-old who’s come through his chubby period and is looking good.

—Tune In (Ch. 7, July-Dec 1957)

Oct-Nov 1957: Paul plays his first gigs with the band as John’s equal

In images of the Quarry Men before Paul joined they’re all wearing different clothes. In the first photo of the group with Paul they have a uniform look, and a sharp one at that: white shirts with black bootlace ties and black trousers, and John and Paul (only) are also wearing jackets on top, white or cream—it’s Paul’s “white sports coat” and something similar John has managed to acquire. This was undoubtedly Paul’s doing, reaching back to his experience at Butlin’s in 1954 when he saw how a singing group in matching gear claimed everyone’s attention. He’d brought the thinking early to John, and John had bought it. And something else is compelling about this Quarry Men photo: although it’s John’s group, new boy Paul is not at the back with Colin or Len, or to the side like Eric, he’s up front with John. Lennon and McCartney are clearly the front line of the Quarry Men, strumming crummy Gallotone and upside-down Zenith, and they’re the only ones with vocal microphones. The group is the two of them and three others. When one sings lead the other provides harmony; often they sing the lead in unison—and their voices go together.

One can only surmise what they sang into those microphones. Nigel Walley remembers plenty of rock in the repertoire in this period and not so much skiffle, including several Elvis numbers—“All Shook Up,” “Blue Moon of Kentucky,” “Heartbreak Hotel,” “Hound Dog,” “Lawdy Miss Clawdy,” “That’s All Right Mama” and “Trying to Get to You”—as well as “Be-Bop-A-Lula,” “Blue Suede Shoes” (Carl or Elvis), “Come Go with Me” and “Twenty Flight Rock.”

—Tune In (Ch. 7, July-Dec 1957)

Jan-May 1958: Paul writes In Spite of All the Danger and John wants to record it

As George knew several more guitar chords than John or Paul, every time he showed them a new one they tried to write a song around it36—and it was in this period, possibly at Upton Green, that Paul wrote one he called “In Spite of All the Danger,” a chugging and melodic country-flavored number with a couple of extended lead guitar solos created by George. For this reason, the song was a unique deviation from the Lennon-McCartney credit: it went down as McCartney-Harrison.

The tune of “In Spite of All the Danger” was entirely Paul’s, but it leaned heavily on the melody of Elvis’s “Trying to Get to You,” a song that includes the lyric “[in] spite of all that I’ve been through.” Using an existing song as inspiration for the writing of another is standard practice, but the rock and roll era was already littered with outrageous examples of plagiarism seemingly free of legal action—possibly because the song being copied was not entirely original to that composer either.

…John decided the Quarry Men should make a record, and the others needed no persuading—just 3s 6d each. This time the answer to “Where we going, Johnny?” was 38 Kensington, where one Percy F. Phillips ran probably Liverpool’s only recording studio and record press.

Seventeen years later, without the advantage of hearing it in between times, John recalled what he could of the session: “The first thing we ever recorded was ‘That’ll Be the Day,’ the Buddy Holly song, and one of Paul’s called ‘In Spite of All the Danger.’ It cost us fifteen shillings and we made it in the front room of some guy’s house that he called a recording studio.”

…John again sings lead on “In Spite of All the Danger,” Paul provides more fine harmonies throughout, and George adds an “ah” backing. It’s said Colin and Duff hadn’t heard the song before, and so were feeling their way through it, but it’s not solely for this reason that it plods somewhat. Though the debt to “Trying to Get to You” is clear, it’s still an original number and an interesting, attractive one at that, written by a boy of 15—a fantastic achievement.

—Tune In (Ch. 8, Jan-May 1958)

[abdulraveman]

2024.03.01 Nishikido Ryo & Lily Franky interviewed by Oricon —

video version: here

My translation of the interview below. Any corrections are welcomed!

Cottontail, an Anglo-Japanese co-production project by a Japanese cast and up-and-coming British director Patrick Dickinson, will be released in cinemas from 1 January today. This road movie spins a tale of family love and rebirth, moving the stage from Tokyo to the UK. Lily Franky (60) plays a clumsy father who has kept his heart closed, and Ryo Nishikido (39) plays his long neglected son. Although they had known each other privately, this is the first time they have worked together as actors. They praised each other's work.

How did you come to know each other?

Lily: We had a mutual acquaintance and got together at a bar.

Nishikido: Yes, we did. After our mutual acquaintance left first, we continued drinking together. Even though we hadn't met each other before (laughs).

Lily: Then it took more than 10 years until we worked together on Cottontail, didn't it?

Nishikido: I was around 24 when we first met.

Lily: Has it been that long?

Have you talked about working together one day?

Lily: Not at all (laughs). We talk about instruments and music all the time, don't we, Nishikido-kun?

Nishikido: Yes, that's true.

Lily: It's not like we contact each other and go out drinking. But we just met each other naturally, somehow.

How did you feel when this collaboration was decided?

Lily: It was a no-brainer, right? (laughs).

Nishikido: Yes, it was.

Lily: The script reading was done remotely because of the pandemic. Even right before I left for London for the shoot, we were talking about something completely different, like, "I heard you recently bought a guitar." I guess he is not the type of person who talks passionately about his work. He never talked about his enthusiasm. He never shakes hands and says, "I'm looking forward to working with you” on the shoot (laughs).

Nishikido: It's a little embarrassing to express your feelings in that way (laughs). However, I have also seen the movie "Gururi no Koto/ All Around Us," in which you co-starred with Tae Kimura, who also appears in this film, and “The Devil's Path/Kyoakuu” with Takayuki Yamada, I have always watched the films in which you have appeared, thinking, "How nice" or "That is such a sneaky thing to do!”. There is a unique atmosphere that only Lily has. I was genuinely happy to work with such a wonderful actor.

Lily: I've seen the films that Nishikido-kun has been in too, but when I saw this finished film, I thought again, 'Wow, he's amazing'. I wasn't really aware of it when we were filming, but Toshi (Nishikido's character's name) explained to me what kind of family the Oshima family was and the relationship between the father, the deceased mother and the son. Without relying on dialogue or narrative devices, he made us understand his feelings towards his mother and his feelings towards his father by the way Toshi acted. It was amazing.

Nishikido: It was all directed by Patrick.

Lily: Toshi is Patrick, isn't he? He has a lot of thoughts about his father, and I think he really wanted Nishikido-kun to play out his thoughts.

I share the feeling that you mentioned earlier, when I see Lily's films and think “That is such a sneaky thing to do!”. How do you always prepare for your roles?

Lily: If the director tells me to, I do. If I'm not told otherwise, I don't. I was in Daihachi Yoshida's The Beautiful Star (2017), and his next film was The Scythian Lamb (2006), starring Nishikido-kun, and did Daihachi-san ask you, “please do XXX”?

Nishikido: As in preparation for the role? No, he didn't tell me to do anything.

Lily: I was told by Daihachi-san to lose weight. Well, if you're told to do that, you do it. I try not to do anything unnecessary as much as possible, because the worst thing that can happen when you create a role for yourself is that it doesn't match the director's image of you. Besides, and this is serious, I've almost never played a role where I have to wear a tie to work. Maybe the directors and producers don't have that kind of image for me anymore.

Nishikido: I have a stronger image of him in roles where he looks like a nice guy but is actually very bad, or where he smiles in a nihilistic way.

Lily: In a film called Analog (2011), I played the role of a coffee shop master who just quietly brewed coffee, and I heard that many people were misled into thinking that he was going to do something someday, probably because he hardly had any dialogue (laughs).

Nishikido: In the first place, when you offer the role to Lily, you don't need to ask him to prepare for the role, do you? I think it works just by having Lily do it. When Daihachi was directing, I think he thought it would be nice if you looked a little thinner.

Did you have received (any preparation instructions) from the director, Patrick?

Lily: There was nothing from Patrick. He said that the script was just a blueprint and that the script wasn't everything, and it was like he was waiting for what came out of the actors themselves playing their respective roles. I think that's exactly what Nishikido-kun's Toshi is about.

What was the director like?

Lily: Very calm.

Nishikido: He's so gentle.

Lily: Really sweet and very polite. Now that I think about it, director Patrick and cameraman Mark (cinematographer Mark Wolfe) were definitely wearing collared clothes to the set every day. We were shooting in England in the middle of summer (in 2021).

Nishikido: Yes, that's true.

Lily: England has a gentleman image, right? There is something old-fashioned about Patrick. He has a sense of politeness that Japanese people have forgotten. Nishikido-kun is old-fashioned too, but in a slightly different way.

When you say Nishikido-san is old-fashioned, what do you mean?

Nishikido: Am I old-fashioned? I don't know...

Lily: When you went to England, you cooked your own rice.

Nishikido: I did cook for myself.

Lily: Even when I told him that the food catered on the set was "delicious," he would say something like, " I'm fine with this," and eat onigiri (rice balls) that he made himself. Sometimes he even made one for Director Patrick. It was a bit samurai-like in that way.

Do you always bring Japanese food when you go abroad for work?

Nishikido: I do some research before I go, and if there is a Japanese restaurant near the hotel where I will be staying, I don't bring Japanese food with me, but this time I had a quarantine period (5 days) due to the pandemic, and I knew I would definitely want to eat some rice, so I brought some.

Lily: You were trying to eat up all the rice before you returned to Japan.

Nishikido: I ate it all up (laughs).

Would you like to work together again?

Nishikido: Of course! I'd like to play a role that isn't father and son next time, and I'd also like to play father and son again.

Lily: I would love to make a film together. This time we played a very serious father and son, so maybe next time playing a foolish father and son would be good.

[miashyperfixations]

HONEY REVENGE: THE EUROBEEAN TOUR

22.05.2024 @ The Deaf Institute, Manchester (250 Capacity)

Over 3 weeks late but better late than never! Honey Revenge has been my favourite band for a little while now, so seeing them live at The Deaf Institute, with another of my favourite bands, Artio, was such a special night. This concert fell right in my 2-week long break in the middle of my final exams, so it was a no-brainer. The tickets were bought as soon as they went up for sale, in my college’s library, whilst I should’ve been studying. 

The band was in town for Slam Dunk on the weekend, so were playing some warm-up shows in the week across the UK. In this small tour, they weren't coming to my home city, so Manchester it was, we’ve been to quite a few shows in Manchester now, specifically this venue too. Classic Manchester, it was a very rainy day but it didn't matter to me, they're my favourite band and I was determined to see them live - Honey Revenge are the only band I'd do a 5-hour commute for (BOTH WAYS!).

The set itself was incredible as always. It always amazes me how singers can keep up such energetic vocals for entire sets, and rock singers, especially Devin, just adds to that. Accompanied by their touring band, Tay on bass & Matt on drums, it’s clear that they have fun on stage. There was even a circle pit during 'Distracted’, which I wasn't expecting AT ALL, considering their songs are pretty tame compared to other rock bands on the scene right now. But that’s what makes them stand out, it’s the kind of music that you can dance to, headbang to, and cry to, and I love them for it. Their several synchronized high-kicks over the course of their set only emphasized this. We were in a similar spot to last time, on Donny’s side of the stage so we were able to watch their insane guitar solos from RIGHT THERE in real time and it was absolutely amazing. The setlist was a little different to the last show as they didn’t play every song in their discography, with only 2 cut out though, so most songs were played.

At the time of the show, they hadn’t released anything new since the last time we’d seen them live in December, however they did play their (then unreleased) new track ‘Recipe For Disaster’ in full [see above video]. They’ve since released this song alongside the announcement of ‘Retrovision: The Extended Edition’ to be released in early August. Even though the song was only released on the 24th of May, it was still my top song of the month (🫣) - It was ON REPEAT for the whole weekend. 

In between sets, we bought merch from both bands and had a chance to chat to both merch sellers for both bands as they were both friends of the band and not just a random crew member. After the show, we were also able to hi to one of the band’s team crew, and Devin’s boyfriend, Kyle who is also a musician, he was really cool and gave us some solid advice for venturing into the music industry. It was fun to meet Claire again, a photographer friend who has worked with Honey Revenge before as well as South Arcade back in March.

Once the show was over, Devin & Donny came back out to say hi to everyone whilst their crew packed down. We first chatted to Jai & Ieuan of Artio who had also come back out, but eventually we were able to talk to Honey Revenge themselves. I wasn’t able to go back in and meet them last time, due to the gig being in the upstairs of a bar and I was under 18, but to my surprise, they remembered this and were greatly appreciative of us waiting so long to meet them this time! As we were some of the last people in there, we were starting to get ushered out, but they still made sure to have a full conversation with us as we wanted to talk to them more about the scene and the industry as well as tell them what big fans we are. It was so incredible to finally meet and have a conversation with them having been a fan for so long and they also made sure to take a photo with us and sign the poster I'd bought earlier. Devin also encouraged me to talk to their sound guy as I’d mentioned that this is what I want to do after education!

This night was EVERYTHING and more. This band is without a doubt, one of the biggest, and best, newcomers to the scene in recent years. With plans to go on Idobi Radio’s Summer School Tour this July, and no doubt more plans afterwards, I can’t wait to see what the future holds for Honey Revenge.

[holidayvisa]

26 January 2024 - We had an afternoon half-day trip, so I didn't get picked up until 12:40 in the afternoon. We got to Piha, and since we had time to spare, Jordan and Cam played a little guitar together; Jordan's really good at guitar, and Cam is just learning. Our six clients showed up, and I gave the safety talk. I set up and ran the first abseil. Cam set up the second abseil, and I ran the top. Cam set up and ran the third abseil; Jordan and I were both at the bottom of the third abseil. After the third abseil, the day was over, since it was only a half-day. So we hopped back in the clients' cars and headed back to Piha. Easy day. No creek stomping, no fourth abseil, no jumps, just easy day. After we finished the day, Jordan and Cam played some more guitar.

We drove back towards Henderson, and Jordan asked me if I wanted to slackline with him, and I said, "YES!" So, instead of getting dropped off in Henderson, I got dropped off at Jordan's car. Jordan drove me to his place, where I met (and fed treats to) his two cats.

We went to the liquor shop where we bought a six-pack of 7.2% beers (some UK brand that is a classic New Zealand drink). We went to Mission Beach and set up the slackline. We slacklined for a while, and talked about life and told stories from our past. At some point that evening, three young men approached us and asked if they could try our slackline, and Jordan coolly agreed. We met Eiji, Eici, and Kiyoshi. Jordan held their hands while they tried slacklining, and we gave them tips while they tried. They invited us to join them for some fish and chicken barbeque. We hung out around the barbeque at the park! We met Joy there too. We all hung out, drank some Korean liquor, and laughed together. It was so much fun! They were all on work visas too. Jordan and I left to find beers, and as we were scootering/skateboarding to the liquor store, I started to speed-wobble and drunkenly lost control. My scooter stopped, and I flew forward. I landed on my belly, with my arms up and my legs up, and luckily came out relatively unscathed. When we arrived at the liquor store, it had closed already. We ended up getting drinks at a Japanese bar and drunkenly playing an old-school play station 1 game at the bar. After the bar, we went back to the park to say goodbye to our friends. We tried slacklining one last time before we headed out. Jordan and I went to an upscale bar somewhere near the Auckland Sky Tower, and had a drink before we headed home. Jordan dropped me off at my house.

I'm grateful to Cam for giving me more responsibility during the trips. I'm hopeful that I'll be guiding soon. I'm grateful to Jordan for taking me out and showing me a good time. I'm grateful to totally unexpected experiences, new friends, and good times.

[mthguy]

Blast from the Past!

“Marrakesh Express" is a song written by Graham Nash and performed by the band Crosby, Stills and Nash (CSN). It was first released in May 1969 on the self-titled album, Crosby, Stills and Nash, The single reached No. 28 on the Billboard Hot 100 on August 23, 1969. 

By the late 60s, Morocco was fast becoming an essential stop-off point on the new hippie trail. It was a place frequented by seekers of all stripes, from travelers and the more adventurous tourists through to artists, writers, fashionistas and rock stars. They were all drawn by the exotica of this storied corner of North Africa, whose heady promise of spiritual enlightenment and hashish served to melt away the conventions of the West.

In 1966, Graham Nash made a pilgrimage of his own, one that sparked off one of his most famous songs. On holiday from his day job as leader of The Hollies, Nash bought himself a ticket and hopped aboard a train from Casablanca to Marrakesh. “I was in first class and there were a lot of older, rich American ladies in there, who all had their hair dyed blue,” Nash recalls today. “And I quickly grew bored of that and went back to the third class of the train. That was where it was all happening. There were lots of people cooking strange little meals on small wooden stoves and the place was full of chickens, pigs and goats. It was fabulous; the whole thing was fascinating.”

So rich was the experience that Nash poured it into a vivid piece of psychedelic pop: Marrakesh Express. Mellifluous, carefree and irresistibly catchy, the lyrics made reference to ‘animal carpet wall-to-wall’, ‘colored cottons’ in the air and ‘charming cobras in the square’. But they also hinted at a vague sense of dissatisfaction with life, as if Nash was on some indefinable quest for something better. Particularly the lines: ‘Sweeping cobwebs from the edges of my mind/Had to get away to see what we could find.’

In November 1968, Nash officially left The Hollies, heading out to California and taking up temporary residence at Crosby’s place. When it came to selecting songs for their self-titled debut album, Nash revived Marrakesh Express. Easily the most ‘pop’ song in the CSN canon, it was recorded at Wally Heider’s LA studio in February ’69. Stills’ guitar races along at a clip, echoing the literal rush of Nash’s Casablanca train and imbuing the song with a wondrous sense of buoyant optimism. There’s a smattering of nonsensical wordplay to begin, before Nash begins to sing in his warmest tones, exhorting everyone to climb aboard. You can almost feel the sunset through the windows.

Issued in May 1969, the album marked out Crosby, Stills & Nash as America’s first great supergroup and provided the counterculture with its definitive soundtrack. Marrakesh Express was released as the lead-off single and made the Billboard Top 30. Over here it reached No.17 and remains the only UK Top 20 hit of CSN’s entire career. It’s a song that continues to run on in its creator’s heart.

[chorusfm]

The Cure’s New Album Charts

The Cure’s latest album Songs of a Lost World has gone number one on the UK charts and debuted at number four here in the United States. The full press release can be found below. THE CURE’s long-awaited, critically acclaimed new album, SONGS OF A LOST WORLD, their first new release in 16 years, has hit number one in the Official UK Charts with over 50,000 sales and debuts #4 in the US on the Billboard 200 chart with 57,000 equivalent album units marking the band’s highest charting album since 1992 and first top 10 since 2004.  The band’s only other UK #1 was ‘Wish’ in 1992.  SONGS OF A LOST WORLD is available now via Fiction/Capitol Records. Listen HERE. Of the reception to the record, Robert Smith commented “It is enormously uplifting, genuinely heartwarming to experience such a wonderful reaction to the release of the new Cure album - to everyone who has bought it, listened to it, loved it, believed in us over the years - THANK YOU!” A week ago today, The Cure performed their only scheduled show of the year at Troxy in London, which is available to stream for a limited time on The Cure’s YouTube page Show Of A Lost World The Cure Live At Troxy. Initially formed in 1978, The Cure has sold over 30 million albums worldwide, headlined the Glastonbury festival four times and been inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 2019. They are considered to be one of the most influential bands to ever come out of the UK. SONGS OF A LOST WORLD was written and arranged by Robert Smith, produced and mixed by Robert Smith & Paul Corkett and performed by The Cure - Robert Smith: Voice / guitar / 6string bass / keyboard, Simon Gallup: Bass, Jason Cooper: Drums / percussion, Roger O'Donnell: Keyboard, Reeves Gabrels: Guitar. The album was recorded at Rockfield Studios in Wales. Robert Smith created the sleeve concept, and Andy Vella, a long-time Cure collaborator, handled the album's art and design. The cover art features 'Bagatelle', a 1975 sculpture by Janez Pirnat. --- Please consider becoming a member so we can keep bringing you stories like this one. ◎ https://chorus.fm/news/the-cures-new-album-charts/

[goblarsgist]

*THANKSGIVING*

Did God not say that all I require is THANKSGIVING?

It was a long time ago that my child hood friend, John Bosco, shine shine Bobo, Mr E , a thoroughbred Ibadan born and bred who lived in Bodija but despised his aristocratic upbringing had this conversation with me .

Verbal rumours had gone round town that Mr E had consumed two cartons of Star Lager beer at a sitting, 24 bottles in all!

Elemsy was my childhood friend, two houses separated us and we saw almost daily except when we both were in school. He was the most jovial and boisterous Human being that I ever knew. He kept no guile nor malice against anyone. He dressed smart, walked briskly and never missed playing the organ in Church on Sundays, and Squash on Saturdays.He passed quite a couple of piano exams examined in the UK and was usually compensated for by his father who was quite fond of him, being the only boy amongst five girls.

So I took it upon myself to clarify this myth or rumour of " Mr E drank 24 bottles of his favourite Star Lager beer", a brand from which he earned a well deserved appellation, " shine shine Bobo".

So I asked Mr E, if truly he drank as much as was being rumoured...and his response still remains fresh in my memory even though he died a long time ago .

Shine shine Bobo explained to me, starting with his familiar word, " apparently, apparently" and I paraphrase. Sir Kay, you know, apparently, it was my birthday and I wanted to thank God, ( for my life) so I went to Joanis Guest house bar and bought a carton of beer,( Star Lager) to thank God hoping that my friends would come around and partake in it. Well,I had to start drinking in anticipation that others would stroll in and be my guest. Now, it was in the days of telepathy where we just happen to walk or drive around town without any sense of responsibility or purpose like a head struck violently with a stick, ( _bi ori ti won shan ni'gi)_

We - myself ,Tolu, Tayo, would congregate first at Bodija guest house where Mr Luke's diminutive wife would serve us "meat goat" pepper soup and beer , and from there to Bamboo corner where we were serenaded with Jazz music by Daddy Cl , B and with S,( of blessed memory) on the bass guitar. We would later meet again in the evening at Ay's Tin Tin to enjoy what we thought was life! Ah! Those American dough nuts at Tin Tin were simply the best!, fresh, crunchy with a thick but enjoyable coating . I still remember Ay coming back home in his regular brown coloured Mercedez Benz 200 blasting the Lyrics of King Sunny Ade from protesting car speakers.

Back to Mr E ' s narrative, he enthused further that from drinking one bottle to half a carton , he proceeded to the third , sixth , and ninth bottle , till the carton found itself empty, but filled up with empty bottles.

He was not in a hurry to get home, the country was safe then, that was the period that my mother had reported me to her elderly uncle's strict wife that Kayode was fond of coming home at night .

M's mum, God rest her soul had accosted me on an evening stroll and said ," ehen, you! Your mother complained that you are a night crawler, you know, a well brought up child does not wander at night, neither is the dead of night a respecter of persons"!

I summoned courage and reminded her that night was safer than daylight as a lot of murders during that period were executed during the day, Kudirat Abiola, Dele Giwa and so many others. Mummy M gave me a well deserved scowl, walked away as if in a trance! I knew that it was not a good idea to visit M at home again.I never discussed this with M, may Mummy M's soul rest in peace.

Again,Mr E continued that after consuming the first carton of 12 bottles, he still anticipated the arrival of friends anonymous, but many were expected, but none came!

So, he continued with a second carton that sat idle below his bar " _stood_ ",( _stood_ as pronounced by ill- literates) . Mr E, non plussed, concluded and confessed that he actually consumed two cartons of Star Lager beer at a sitting, to thank God on and for his birthday.

Mr E and I met frequently when we both worked in Lagos around 1998/99. We had concluded arrangements on occupying a flat together, it was that week that my resignation letter was approved at the University of Lagos to start a teaching career at U.I where I was a registered PhD student. It was that same week that Mr E was shot in front of his street while taking an innocent stroll.

May the soul of Mr E, my "brother" and childhood friend continue to rest in peace. Death indeed is only the absence of presence, you are fondly remembered today and always,Elemsy, shine shine Bobo!

* Postscript.

I sincerely thank all those who showered me with love in years past, present and...too numerous for a well deserved roll call. I am extremely grateful and thankful to you all, I write this with a heart of gratitude and thanksgiving. And May I also confess how I savoured thus red sweet wine , 11% , Produce of Spain to the point of downing one full chilled bottle and requested for another one at a social function when my gee and wine barometer, aunty I, gave me a familiar bombastic full eyes look and removed the sweating bottle of Le_Merit wine from my presence saying that enough was enough! _O'obirin_ !

Korgi©10:47 am 7/1/24

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

THE FUN HAS ONLY JUST BEGUN AT THIS PUNK GATHERING IN NORTHERN LANDS.

PIC(S) INFO: Spotlight on UK anarcho punk bands FLUX OF PINK INDIANS (top) and THE SYSTEM (bottom), performing live at the Warehouse, Liverpool, UK, on November 4, 1983. 📸: Jenny Plaits.

THE QUIETUS: "Did you listen to much music, other than what your friends were doing, when you were making your first record? I hear lots of things that remind me of primitive US hardcore bands in "Strive," much more than I do with other anarcho bands of the time."

COLIN LATTER (vocalist): "I can't remember buying records by anyone at that time, or listening to the radio, so I guess I only listened to bands we played gigs with. The only influence other than the obvious one of CRASS would have been REMA REMA and their love -- like me -- of feedback. My ears are paying for it now!"

KEVIN HUNTER (guitarist): "Personally, I listened to pretty much anything but anarcho stuff at the time of "Strive," although I thought THE SYSTEM were really great. Far more listenable than the majority of UK anarcho bands. I did hear some US bands, I bought FLIPPER's "Ha Ha Ha" single after hearing Peel play it, and I loved it. In the main I preferred hook-based songs, and I was into UK bands such as WASTED YOUTH, SOUTHERN DEATH CULT, DANSE SOCIETY and BAUHAUS. I loved the fact that Danny Ash of Bauhaus got weird squealing sounds out of his guitar. He also looked fabulous, but that's by-the-by."

-- THE QUIETUS, "The Fun Is Not Over: FLUX OF PINK INDIANS Interviewed," by Neil Macdonald , September 13th, 2013

Sources: www.picuki.com/profile/fortbraggmagazine, https://thequietus.com/articles/13352-flux-of-pink-indians-interview, & Listen and Understand (blogspot).

[dayoung-remade]

i had a dream n it was so sad but cute n i also went shoe shopping in it

[dovetailjoints]

The Lyrics: Paul and his Hideaway Cupboards

Now that’s a nice opportunity, when the world shuts off, for you to create. I’m always looking for that, anyway. If I’m writing a song in a house, I will try to get as far away from the action as possible, which often means a cupboard, a closet, or a bathroom. Somewhere that I can be the hermit in the cave. So, when these power cuts happen, suddenly you don’t have to secrete yourself here or there, but you can go down to the basement and just totally be at one with the song. (Calico Skies)

‘My underneath the staircase friend’. This is a reference to one of the council houses that we moved to in Liverpool - I think the one in Forthlin Road that is now a National Trust site, but it may easily be the house before that, which was in Speke. There was a cupboard underneath the staircase, a little triangular thing like where Harry Potter grew up. It was normally where you put your house phone, but it was also a good place if you were looking for a hideaway cupboard, which I was. I still am; I’m always looking for my hideaway cupboard. So, I was thinking back and wondering, ‘Where did this whole confidante thing start?’ There I was underneath the staircase, starting this whole tradition in my life of cradling an instrument and telling it my troubles. (Confidante)

We were completely cut off on our farm in Scotland, a place I’d bought a few years before but Linda really fell in love with. [...] It was a life that might be perceived as idyllic, away from the city and business and the press. In some ways it was quite banal. What I liked about it was the simplicity. The small scale of things. The paintings I made were small. I bought only little canvases. (Eat at Home)

Even now, I’m still disappearing into little rooms. It’s about finding a quiet place to think, creating private space for one to imagine. You don’t particularly want to let anyone in on that process, though. So if there’s someone in the next room, within earshot, doing the dishes and they’ve got half an ear on me, and after I’ve reappeared they say, ‘That sounded nice,’ I’ll think, ‘You weren’t supposed to hear it. But it’s okay, now that it’s done.’ (Great Day)

I was thinking of all these things [about John] in what was then my recording studio in Sussex. Before it was made into a studio, it was just a little house with a small room upstairs with bare, wooden plank floors and bare walls, and I had my guitar with me, so I just sat there and wrote this. (Here Today)

I wrote this song up in the attic of my house to get some peace and quiet to myself. It has a little ladder leading up to a trap door so that once you close it, no one else can reach you. (Hope of Deliverance)

However agreeable the boat might have been, I liked to go down to my cabin. Somewhere where no one could get to me. I could lock the world out, and I’d sit there and strum away for a little while and see if anything came. (Things We Said Today)

The Ashers’ house in Wimpole Street. A very small attic room with one window. A garret. Perfect for an artist. There wasn’t any room for me to keep my records - many of which had been mailed to me from the US before they were available in the UK - in there. They had to be kept outside on the landing. But somehow I had a piano in there - a small, sawn-off piano that stood by my bed. (Yesterday)

[naavispider]

Chapter 19 💙

He could barely wait to get the ukulele back to camp. He didn't address Quaritch as he and Wainfleet returned, but Quaritch noticed the instrument and shot Wainfleet a mixture of confusion and exasperation.

Wainfleet's returning gaze said, 'I know, don't ask.'

Spider jumped over the packs and immediately set about trying to tune the strings - no easy feat out in the forest with no reference point.

One of Spider's few passions was playing the guitar. For as long as he could remember he'd always been trying to strum a tune on the old battered one that lived in the shack, much to the disinterest of the science guys. He'd never say so, but he was pretty decent. One time, Jake had come by the shack and stuck around chatting for a bit with Norm and Max. Spider had of course wanted to be there too, so he bought the guitar into the avatar room to strum in the background. Jake had heard and demanded excitedly that Spider play a song. He'd been so happy to be asked to play something. No one ever really asked, and Spider never really cared.

Jake's eyes lit up as he recognised the song - it was one Spider had found on the extensive library on his tablet, downloaded from Earth.

The grin that spread across Jake's face filled Spider with pride. It was like sunlight filling him up. He couldn't help himself as he grinned back, lazily singing the lyrics and laughing as Jake tried to join in. Norm had no clue but laughed along with them at Jake's terrible singing and Spider's infectious happiness.

Since then, Jake had insisted that Spider play him more of his repertoire, and Spider played for him every time he visited. He even took his guitar to High Camp one time and played for a group of Na'vi kids during a clan party. He'd worked for ages on the translation, but then they found out he could do the English version too and demanded he do that one as well.

Spider smiled as he recalled their starry eyed faces. The guitar had become his thing. The clan had their organ and flutes, which Spider had always felt too other to try and learn. Too much of an outsider. It was a cultural thing that he never had been invited into, but the guitar - that he could do.

Some of his favourite memories growing up had been of Jake visiting and showing him some of his favourite Earth music, recommending songs for Spider to learn.

Those days were gone now.

Spider strummed the G string experimentally. It sounded roughly right, so he moved onto the C string. The ukulele only had four strings, compared to the six he was used to, but he knew the theory.

His fingers formed a rough G chord around the fretboard, which definitely didn't equate to a G on uke, but was still something he could work with. Deciding to work backwards, he hummed the starting C of Tiny Dancer, trying to arrange his fingers into somewhat of a C on a four stringed fret. He found it. He thumbed around for an F next and carried on noodling until his fingers started to ache. It felt so good, for the time being, to just be distracted from everything.

*****

Quaritch watched in astonishment as Spider improvised cautiously to himself, completely enraptured in his new found hobby. He had no idea the boy could play - let alone sing - but it was clear Spider was skilled.

Quaritch didn't recognise the tune as he sat back against the tree. He shared a glance with Wainfleet, who Quaritch knew had been trying with Spider. Fondness for his right hand man swelled in his chest. Wainfleet came over.

"We should move on," he murmured in a low voice, joining Quaritch in watching the boy.

"No. We make camp here again tonight. There's no rush."

Wainfleet was quiet. Perhaps he was wondering why Quaritch was being so soft.

"What is it?" Quaritch asked.

"Nothing Colonel."

"Lyle," Quaritch pressed. "Speak your mind."

"I know he means a lot to you boss. But he knows where the insurgency is. Shouldn't we... use that?"

Quaritch nodded. "I know he does Lyle. But easy does it. He's been through enough."

"That's not what I mean. He's not gonna be any help if he still feels like a prisoner."

Oh. Quaritch was surprised to hear Wainfleet begin to speak of Spider as an ally - as someone they should be affording more time and energy to. What had bought this on? "What are you suggesting?"

"He needs to feel understood. He needs to know we'd have his back and that we can be more helpful to him than Jake Sully."

Quaritch frowned. "That's my game plan."

"And I just wanted to say, I got your back boss. Whatever you need."

Quaritch clapped a hand to his Corporel's back appreciatively. No spoken words of thanks were necessary. The men sat and watched Spider for a few moments more before Quaritch sighed and heaved himself up to sweep the perimeter again.

*****

Savine lay with her hands in Mansk's hair, where they had been playing for the last couple of hours.

Mansk made an appreciative noise as he moved closer, closing his eyes and getting more comfortable.

Budget Tarzan had been playing the guitar for what felt like ages, suddenly seemingly back to normal after his complete meltdown of the previous night. At first the noise was grating, but he had steadily improved.

"Hey kid, you take requests?"

BT replied with the middle finger, and Savine laughed. Mansk opened his eyes and joined in the banter.

"Make it stop!" he wailed sarcastically, not loud enough to be properly aimed at Spider.

Savine bought her head down to Mansk's and smiled into the kiss she placed on his forehead. "Shh, I'll take this over what we had last night."

"Oh yes, that was entertaining! What was it? 'Lizard-lip tramp face' was my favourite."

Savine grinned again. "Asshole," she reprimanded him lovingly. "Didn't you grow up in like, a hut?" Savine called over to Spider.

Spider rolled his eyes.

"Where d'you learn to play?"

"Taught myself, wanker."

"Pfft!" she huffed. "You know I already carry your extra gas, I am not strapping that thing on as well," she warned, nodding at the ukulele.

"I never asked you to carry that shit, dickhead." Spider paused playing to look at her properly. "Now do you mind leaving me alone?" he added an over-the-top sarcastic smile for effect.

"Yeah, yeah," she rebuffed, returning to Mansk's hair and rolling him over.

******

Time seemed to fly by and by the time Spider had nailed a decent version of both Tiny Dancer and Jolene, the recoms were rumbling about dinner.

"Same shit, different day," Savine was moaning while holding up an avatar bar with a disgusted look on her face.

"Hey, get off your ass and find something different then," Fike grinned jokingly, motioning to the abundant fauna surrounding them.

"Hmm," Savine replied unsurely.

Wainfleet dug out a piece of tech and tossed it to Savine. "Bio scanner - get going."

"Yeah, get going Lizard-lip tramp face" Mansk chided.

Savine grimaced but took to the bushes, searching for edibles. It was the first time Spider had seen any of the recoms forage for food. He watched her hopelessly scan every plant she came across. He rolled his eyes; there was banana fruit hanging 15 feet or so above them.

She wasn't seeing it.

He laid down the ukulele and got up, leaping onto the lower branches of the tree to get up to the height of the fruits.

"Hey!" he called down, surprising Savine, Mansk and Wainfleet, who all turned up to locate the source of the noise. "Up here, losers!"

He grabbed the football sized fruit with both of his hands, trying to keep his balance on the branch, and tugged it free. Fike was resting under a tree a few feet away. Spider saw his chance.

He lobbed the fruit straight into the back of his head, smirking when it hit its target with a satisfying squelch.

Fike immediately jumped up as Mansk roared with laughter.

"Asshole!" Fike shouted up, though the twitch of his lips betrayed his sense of humour.

"It's called utumauti, bitch!"

Spider plucked the rest of the bunch of the fruits and threw them carefully to Mansk's waiting hands. He leapt down gracefully and expertly dodged Fike's lunge for him, scampering away up into another tree until the coast was clear.

"Banana fruit," he could hear Savine mumble as she scanned the fruit with the bioscanner. The recoms sat down and started to dig in, so Spider grabbed a specimen for himself and joined them. Banana fruit was one of the few plant species on Pandora that wasn't toxic to humans.

He sat down a few feet away from the group of avatars, keeping his distance but part of the group nonetheless.

He remembered a time not long ago when he had fantasised about poisoning them all with a Fibonacci plant. Why was everything so different now? That had been barely 12 hours ago.

He took a deep breath before shoving the fruit into his mouth. The familiar wash of flavour filled his senses - it tasted sweet and sour at the same time, and the juices dripped deliciously around his mouth. He wiped the mess away eagerly, replacing his mask once the fruit was finished completely.

He only noticed Quaritch and Wainfleet were missing when they returned. They emerged from the bushes talking amicably, and Spider idly wandered what had caused this unusual display of friendliness. Then he saw what Quaritch was carrying. In one hand he grasped his AR, in the other was a large, round, blue berry.

A Yovo berry.

Spider's eyes widened as he realised what Quaritch had been out looking for, and he found himself holding his breath as the recom took a seat next to him. Quaritch sighed heavily before weighing his next words.

"This the right one, right?"

He didn't know what to say. His voice was thick. "Yeah," he just replied.

Quaritch held the berry out to him.

Slowly, Spider took it, wander written all over his face.

"Why d'you get this?"

Quaritch frowned. "You're better with your stripes. You look a little limp without them."

And there it was.

Spider broke open the top of the berry and dipped his fingers into the juice. Over the next few minutes he repainted himself back to his natural state, and with each stripe he felt his confidence return, as if he was growing somehow taller.

"Looking better already!" Quaritch remarked, watching him from the side. "Need a little help there?" he asked, noticing Spider stretching to reach behind his back.

Spider turned, the better to stare at Quaritch. No... he didn't mean...?

He felt fairly sure that Quaritch's intentions were good, but he couldn't imagine those huge, cold hands on his bare skin. Not after they had rugby tackled him, pinned him down, forced his body to submit...

He wouldn't allow it. He repressed a shiver. "Fuck off," he said, though not angrily.

Quaritch sent a smile his way. "Well the offer was there, kid. If you change your mind."

"Sure, thanks," Spider replied, tone laden with sarcasm despite the awkwardness of the conversation.

To breeze over the sticky moment, he stood up suddenly, discarding the empty berry, and crossed to the centre of the circle of recoms, trying to repress his self consciousness about the incomplete stripes on his back.

He picked up the ukulele again, and started to noodle a tune that Jake had recommended once.

He didn't realise it, but as dusk began to fall once more over the camp, the avatars' voices around him quietened, until the only noise came from the 4 strings in Spider's hand, and Spider's soft lyrics.

[sleepy-dreamers-inc]

ok but like wilbur as a dad? like him taking care of you while you pregnant and making sure you feel amazing and confident and just supporting you.. fuck man

Wilbur as a Dad!|| 🌼

irl / in-game

Genre| fluff

h e a d-c a n n o n s||

Sypnosis|

WILBUR AS A DAD POG

Artist| yanteruu on twitter!

warnings: pregnancy!!

(also pronouns are still gender neutral bc pog)

a/n: THIS ANON KNOWS WHO I SIMP FOR THIS HAS FED ME-

- he was with you in the bathroom as you took the test, leaning against the wall as you did your thing, he simply stared at you much to you wondering why he was.

- It didn’t matter though once beeping bounced off the bathroom walls, as you got up and walked over to him, only looking at it with him.

positive.

- Wilbur never picked you up so fast, he was laughing and giggling as he burried his face into your chest, he was so happy.

“Y/N!! Im- Im gonna be a dad!” He cried out, putting you down but grasping your shoulders. Y/N simply looked up at him, teary eyed and smiling. “Yeah, Wilbur, and you’ll be a great one.” Y/N said, standing on they’re tippy-toes and wrapping they’re arms around his neck, trying to give him a kiss. He simply smiled, snaking his hands to your torso, pulling both of you closer to his body. All he did was press his lips against yours, so softly yet passionate. As both of you separated, all Wilbur had to say was,

“I love you, both of you.”

- Although he was protective of you before, he definitely was now. Well... more of clingy. He was always by your side and catered to all of yours and your babies needs.

- Morning cuddles where your both laying in bed, his head beneath your chest, but above your stomach. He loved the intimacy, being able to be close to the 2 most dearest people in his life.

- Telling Philza and Tommy when you were about 3 weeks in, Tommy screaming while Phil was the definition of [surprised pikachu face]

“W-wait? Y/N’s pregnant?” Phil asked, all 3 of them met up at a small cafe since he wanted to spend some time with his other family. “Yeah!! Dad, im gonna be a dad!” Wilbur jumped in his seat, he was so giddy about everything, not that anyone was complaining.

“Wait... this doesn’t mean you’re going to be spending less time with m- i mean us right?” Tommy said, his face toward his drink, yet looking up at his older brother.

“Awwwww Tommy-!!” Wilbur cooed, looking at the teenager with adoration. “I wont be online much in the later months, but for now my schedule will be relatively the same.” Wilbur stated, sipping his drink, looking at Tommy. “But hey, wanna go back to my place and see Y/N? They didn’t want to come since ‘they didn’t want to ruin the surprise.’” Wilbur asked, both boys nodded as they headed out.

- The ENTIRE SMP traveling to the UK to see you, they already loved you before, but my god they practically stole you from Wilbur for a few.

- Techno was,, surprisingly protective of you. Whenever you were out in public and Wilbur wasn’t there, he was right by your side. He liked you before, you were incredibly nice to talk with, and never minded his tangents.

- Wilbur asking Techno if he has anything to confess, only for Techno to punch him in the shoulder as you giggled

- Setting up a baby room would be both adorable and a disaster. Wilbur would have no clue what he’d be doing most of the time, but seeing him laughing and giggling as he smiled at his mistakes... your heart simply melted

- Him kissing your stomach. This is very important. Every chance he gets, he kisses your stomach. Without hesitation. Even if your not showing, he’ll still do it.

- Both of you going out on little shopping trips, picking out baby stuff.

“Y/N!! Look at this onesie! We have to get it, the baby will look even more adorable.” Wilbur giggled, as he put the article of clothing into the trolly. “Wilbur, sweetie, dont you think we already bought enough?” Y/N asked, smiling a contagious smile as they looked at they’re lover.

- Telling his fanbase was a tad bit interesting, it was during a Geoguesser stream, where you walked into the room, you were in your second trimester by now, so it was very obvious you were, indeed, pregnant.

- So when you walked in to get some laundry, obviously pregnant, and in view, his chat went CRAZY

‘WILBUR?? WILBUR???!!???’

‘Wilbur got something to fess up?’

‘The fangirls are quaking’

‘Hes got someone in his bed AND in his twitch chat pog’

‘POG?????’

‘Wilbur says hes a soft boy on the streets but a freak in the sheets-‘

- Wilbur just say there wide eyed, as he turned around and looked over at you. You were bending down to grab some clothes, unaware of the situation. He quickly sprung up though, grabbing the clothes out of your hands, quickly throwing them off the bed.

“Love!! I thought you said you were going to rest...” Wilbur mumbled, pulling you close, rocking both of your forms back and forth. “I did, Wilby, but work around the house needs to be done, for the baby-“ “No, you need to rest for the baby. The baby will not be happy if they’re beautiful parent is not getting the proper rest they need and deserve.” He said, looking at you with a pouty face. Y/N simply sighed then giggled, finally giving in.

“Oh also... wanna introduce the little one to chat..? They saw you two.” Wilbur asked, scratching the back of his neck, looking at his partner.

- Singing lullabies to the baby, even if its not born yet. He’ll lighty strum his guitar, humming a tune as you lay next to him, enjoying both’s presence

- Wilbur constantly holding onto you, ESPECIALLY in public. Someone will look at you the wrong way and all the sudden Wilbur is practically suffocating you, eyeing the person who dare look at you the wrong the way

- Making special lullabies for the baby once they’re born, he’ll sing them to both of you before bed, and it always lulls you to sleep

- Orca plushie, Orca plushie

- You know that man bought little beanies and sweaters. Sorry its canon.

- When the baby started to kick he legitimately cried. He was so happy, all he wanted was to hold his baby.

- A absolute mess when Y/N is delivering the baby, he’s just pacing around the waiting room as Phil is trying to calm him down.

- Him being a total man baby with Phil, just constantly like ‘daaaAAAAAAD’ ‘phiiiiil i miss Y/N’ ‘i want my babies where are my babies’

- once he gets into the dilivery he is literally just:

- i will make a part 2 of this if requested because i have IDEAS, HEAD FULL MANY THOUGHTS

a/n: i skipped my math class to finish this, so kinda pog. Anyways soft dad wilbur makes me soft, i have writers block atm and have no clue what im even doing half the time but i hope you enjoyed this nonetheless :)

Also finally I uploaded I’ve been stressing for days ; - ;

[dystopiandilfs]

Dream's discord podcast. Basically him answering questions for 2.5 hours. This will sort of be in order but I fucked up my notes so it might not be in order completely. (From 13th May 2021)

For reference the photos at the end are: A prototype of fidget spinner merch as loads of people asked, a reference photo of his favourite merch and a photo he sent of his hair to prove he wasn't a brunette.

•He said his teeth are mostly straight but he's thought about getting Invisalign. He's never had braces. He has a tiny gap in the left side of his mouth and his canines are longer and sharper (vampire arc). He's never had teeth surgery so has his wisdom teeth still.

•He thinks pineapple on pizza is good.

•He likes seafood like lobster and crab. He had crab made in an air fryer last night. He like peas. He thinks quesadillas are good and likes most food.

•He hates Coffee and most drinks

•The Dream Shorts team is Ken who is his personal reminder (Ken's main job is to spam him with texts so he doesn't forget things as he's got a habit of reading texts and not replying) and also comes up with a list of sets for Dream shorts. The builder is a friend and munchymc builder "his talent gets wasted on Dream's shorts but we pay him so"

•His editors are currently Dizzy, Firesale and Mjcr. Willz doesn't edit for him anymore

•The mask animation isn't done but Mask should be released May 21st. He wants to release them together as "the whole song is a double meaning and the whole nuance will be lost without the animation" but no matter if the animation is done the song is getting released on the 21st.

•He and Sapnap eat together often.

•He and Sapnap prefer medium rare Steak

•He wants a home gym it's something he's willing to splurge on. They currently have a weight rack but they haven't even set it up.

•"Eat the rich? Shut up shut up" - Dream

•Talked about money basically saying "Most people don't understand how money works I don't have millions in my bank account it's in assets like merch, land and warehousing for that stuff" (He's not in his landlord arc)

•He's been debating Pride Merch because of Rainbow Capitalism. He doesn't want it too be seen as a money maker and if he does most proceeds would go to charity. He's currently super busy merch wise with Sapnap joining and George in the middle of joining. He did say "Only if the LGBTQ+ community in this community wants it" He thinks he's going to at least change the merch website to a pride one. Sapnap wants to make pride merch including a rainbow flame on his.

•He wants to create a charity that's centered around helping LGBTQ+ one day because he thinks that there's a lack of them. He mentioned that creating a charity was expensive and took a lot and was a complicated process including a board of directors but he wants to do it someday.

•He wanted to buy a bunch of houses in Florida which was a service to house mostly LGBTQ+ youth and people stuck in abusive households for free to get them out of bad home environments. But he didn't because he didn't want people thinking he was profiting of of abuse victims and LGBTQ+ community.

•He said he's terrible with time management and replying to people which is why Ken helps him (and also helps George and Sapnap). He mentioned how Sam messaged multiple times and Dream just forgot to answer but felt bad "I feel like people think I hate them..... Cause I'd be mad if people did that to me"

•He tries to reply to a few texts a day (community number). He also can't do birthday messages everyday because you can only reply at certain times so it's not abusing the system so if you get one it's special. He said he does try but it's got a weird time gap.

•Him and the manhunt winner are trying to come up with a good time to film

•He wants to stream this MCC on twitch and says his team is good.

•He talks about why he's not partnered with Twitch. Basically Twitch has a lock rate (in which you make money) and you legally can't stream on YouTube. So legally if Tommy wanted to stream on YouTube he couldn't. Someone then mentioned how Bad is a twitch partner but still streams on YouTube "Bad streams on YouTube but he has for a while and I don't think that he cares" - Dream

•He likes to reply to every donation he gets on stream and feels bad when he doesn't so he'll turn them off when he streams and wants a platform deal where he can be payed to stream (not twitch). If he gets a streaming partnership he will stream a couple of times a week. He looked in to Facebook but they don't have an alias system meaning you can see everyone's actual Facebook account and personal info, he doesn't like seeing real names on Facebook so it would require a lot of altering if he was to stream there so he's thinking it's probably going to be YouTube.

•He was asked about if his demographic was what he expected and he said he went in with no expectations, he didn't even know what stans were, wasn't really on social media so he wasn't aware of the fan culture. "You guys are a handful sometimes but it's worth it"

•He also mentioned how he and the DreamSMP changed the twitch audience demographic. It used to be male dominated in both streamers and audience and now it's almost split which is unheard on.

•He has 5 fidget spinners in his house. Two in his bedroom. Two in his office. One in the living room.

•He likes his Minecraft skin as he thinks the arm is cook and you never see the rest of his skin really. He says it's unique and different and "me". Dream: You can't even tell half the skins apart on MC.

•He's not lost the motivation to stream. Most of the times if he wants to stream he gets George or Sapnap to do it and he just turns up. It's more beneficial to them as they have donos and subs on. (Don't we fucking know it "can you say hi to")

•He has listened to Lovejoy. Says the ep was great and they're very talented and awesome. Doesn't know what his favourite song is but probably would pick One Day because the chorus slaps.

•RIP to acoustic Roadtrip. He said instead of acoustic Roadtrip we get Mask so no losses today for Dream stans.

•"With Roadtrip I went to Parker and I said Hey I have a story I want to tell through music. I have no experience with that can you help me" He said sure. He crafted the music and melodies and how things are formed where it's catchy. I have less comfort singing that. I love the song and it's my song, it's very representative of me and I'm sure I could sing it but it's a song I'd be kinds of scared to sing live, with Mask I basically did everything. I sat there the entire time and maybe an hour out if the 100 I wasn't in the call. Dream came up with the lyrics and main melody for Mask (First one he's ever come up with) "That was just notes in my fucking voice memos"

•The clip we heard of Mask was a prechorus not the actual chorus. He thinks he'd be more comfortable to do a mask acoustic and it's more melodic than Roadtrip. The chorus also has a lot of instruments similar to Roadtrip. Mask starts of slow and guitar with minimal reverb and is more raw.

• He doesn't want music to be his main thing. It's something fun to do and he's passionate about it as it's a way to express emotions. He wants to release mask then go from there. He wants to release at least one more song but has nothing on his mind currently. His two ideas were Roadtrip and Mask.

•He wouldn't quit his job to become a pizza delivery man.

•His favourite features on himself are eyes or freckles and he also confirmed that he does have eyebrows.

•He was told that Parkour warrior would be bought back some time in the near future and he got excited for it. "Even if I don't win, which I will, it'll be fun"

•Went on about his MCC team but I'm not going to put that in as we should be getting them today. He did say he wasn't on Pink but he did sound confused. (For reference he's always in Pink as it's the last team announced and keeps the hype up by announcing the biggest streamer last)

•Said he and his mum had the Mr Beast burger. He recommends because he likes the avacado. He mentioned how Mr Beast uses "Ghost Kitchens" which is basically where he gives restaurants permission to cook his food so it's restaurant quality food.

•His favourite piece of merch is the circle smile. (The pool photo on Instagram). He said the quality was bad (he worked with a different company and didn't have his own company) and it was elasticy feeling and he's planning on re-releasing it again but with good quality.

•He's started to send merch out in custom packaging. So his bags have the smile and will mostly be green. Sapnap's has the flame and is either black or white. He's also trying to make it so every order has the sticker packs for both him and Sapnap.

•He loves the coins as it's cheaper than a hoodie but still celebrates the milestones and will last a long time. He mentioned how the old coins are getting removed off the site and how if you have any of the coins your special because only a few thousand get made. He's kept around 100 of each coin that he wants to give away in person.

•He wanted to have a cool store where you could access computers that give you access to the DreamSMP in spectator mode. But it's too costly and would require too much time and isn't safe fight now. He doesn't think it'd be worth it financially.

•Most of the hoodie are black instead of multiple colours because of limited supply and covid. Getting the colours are harder because if the pandemic which hopefully won't be an issue soon.

•He wants to do a short meetup tour with Sapnap and George with a few locations in the US (and if others nearby want to join like Quackity or Karl they can). He also wants to visit Australia, UK, Canada, Mexico and Philippines and do something like that there but definitely at least visit with George and Sapnap.

•He's never been to the Philippines but his mum has. He wants to set up a place in the Philippines where he can ship merch in bulk and it would help to reduce shipping. However it would probably be big milestone merch.

•He's not got the vaccine yet but will get it when he needs to. He doesn't leave the house so he doesn't see the point.

•He's the ideas man. George's footcam video was Dream's idea. The T-shirt video was Dream's idea. Most if not all of the Dream Team's videos are Dream's ideas.

•Said he's got a similar/the same hair colour as Froy (Dream buddy at this point the only difference between you and Froy is that one of you is dating Richard Madden /lh)

[1ddiscourseoftheday]

Mon 14 June ‘21

Louis Tomlinson Cooks is here!! Yeah it’s 100% for sure as delightful to watch Louis make himself a sandwich as you might have hoped, but how was his cooking? Well I’ll let Louis rate himself-- “I’m not gonna lie not that appetizing is it, I mean look at it,” he says when it comes time to taste his creation, plus, “chopping peeling slicing not great to be fair- everything else I’m all right” (he’s… not wrong, even aside from the peeler issues has this man ever held a knife??) but- “it probably tastes nice though as I said it’s not about presentation for me… [munches cutely]... it’s actually pretty banging, that’s actually quite nice!” Success! Maybe it’s cause he knows the secret to faking good cooking- “as you can see I don’t have a lot of cooking ability so the more butter the better,” I mean the experts can tell you, that’s advanced stuff right there! #Louis-aChild! Substituting mustard and ketchup for coleslaw is a bit of a bold move, but in a belated attempt to convince the kiddos to eat some healthy veg even though he won’t he does bravely try the cucumber strips despite being “not really a man for cucumber” and makes a pained attempt to be positive- “bit of crunch.” Oh and speaking of crunch I’m relieved to have learned that the waffle is NOT a waffle, it’s a crispy waffle shaped bit of potato; a much more reasonable fish sandwich addition than the American version of a potato waffle! Full Time Meals polled to see what people think of Louis cooking; the two choices are “it was amazing” and “the best,” THEY GET IT. My kind of Louis poll! Helen Seamons rated him a “10/10 for effort and entertainment”, Masterchef acknowledged Louis as one of their own, and Marcus Rashford keeps it simple- “my guy” with a lil heart. YEAH, SAME.

Harry showed up in Italy, where he was papped in Venice being driven around (with PA Luis) on a boat (as you do, in Venice). He’s in a cool embroidered Bode shirt and shades and fancy hair, looking good. He’s seen carrying his suitcase, taking photos, and resting his head on his arms looking like a model. One might think, since we just saw the My Policeman cast and crew on set celebrating the wrap of the shoot, that they were done filming and Harry was off to do something different, but nope, he’s there to film! The book has key scenes in Venice that folks had been wondering about the filming of, and David Dawson is also being boated around Venice for the paps, so, it seems that was just for the wrap of the *UK* filming, which makes sense I guess since it would mostly be different crew I imagine, and perhaps some of the main cast are done as well.

Liam’s NFT sale is happening tomorrow! If you’re confused and want more info, I’M NOT GONNA HELP THAT MUCH… uh but I mean you can check out Liam’s youtube video explaining though I would guess that won’t help much (even Liam thinks so; “there’s probably websites that explain a lot better than me” he admits). There is a roundup now posted of what’s on offer for the buyers of the NFTs but I’m gonna be really honest with you, I’m more confused now than I was before. It’s clear that there are only SIX LONELY BUG NFTs right? They for sure said that I believe. But the packages for each different piece (token bundles) seem to me like they’re available to multiple buyers? Like maybe you don’t get the NFT but multiple top bidders on each get the extras? Like they can’t be selling multiple copies of the NFT... can they?! Isn’t the WHOLE POINT that only one person gets to own it? I DON’T FUCKING KNOW I AM SORRY. What I think I understand to be true: the six NFT buyers get to go to “a once-in-a-lifetime immersive dining experience at Resorts World Las Vegas” (this is the dinner with Liam and “a selection of crypto leaders from around the world” which takes place on display inside a giant glass box) and also “a bespoke commemorative presentation box containing the world’s leading holographic display... with audio... and a custom made Lonely Bug commemorative coin,” and “a unique QR code directing the owner to a special ‘Director’s Cut’ edit of the short digital film ‘Making Of Lonely Bug Collection’ which features unreleased footage from the day of the drop showing the creators' reactions when the winning bids came in” (I mean YEAH I would think it’s unreleased it literally hasn’t happened?) But then there are really a lot of other extras including tickets with Meet & Greet access to any Liam Payne headline show around the world, admission to pool and cinema parties in Vegas with Liam, signed art, non-Liam extras (I will literally bid to NOT have 20 minute phone calls with those crypto entrepreneurs PLEASE… but that’s just me), and access to an online party hosted by Liam; I really get the impression many of these, especially the last one, are just crypto tokens that are for sale that aren’t linked to the main Lonely Bug NFTs and many more than 6 people can buy them but a lot of the extras I’m not clear on which it is. Perhaps tomorrow I’ll understand better WE WILL SEE.

Liam also dropped by the discord last night to say some hellos (after a “long long day”) and that he “bought a piece of NFT art of myself tonight I’m going to give it as a prize Monday night so someone can own a piece of art that was owned by me” (an even less tangible bragging point than simply owning an NFT wow that’s an achievement) and the most important update- “I want a French Bulldog”! Oh and he said “that’s like one I did myself” in his fanart channel to a pic of a tiny crocheted illustration of Louis and Harry holding up a rainbow flag. Didya Liam?? (...Liam is crocheting??) Anyway I recognize who it’s supposed to be because it’s based on a familiar piece of fanart, but Liam definitely might NOT realize it’s meant to be someone specific, and tbh I’m more <eyeballs> at him saying that at the rainbow flag crocheted thing than at it being shippy.

Our Song acoustic version is out this Friday!! And Niall talked about NH3 some in an interview today; “I’m in the studio most days, it feels really good. I’m kinda in the latter stages of it and then I’ll go get a band together and go in and record the whole thing. I’ve just kind of been writing for the past 9 or 10 months and really enjoying it” and “It sounds like a complete album. God knows when it’s coming out because I’d like to be able to get around the world to see all the fans as well” and “It’s different. It sounds a lot more grown up. I’m 27 so it’s about time. I really wanted to kinda cement a sound. The singles I’ve released previously have all been kinda different sounds. I would like to have my ballad sound & like a cemented uptempo sound.” He and Anne Marie also talked about one of the other songs they wrote together saying, “It’s kind of like a, how do you describe it- guitar driven meets Tom Petty meets Katy Perry meets…” but say “We haven’t really decided if we are putting it out yet, the conversations are kinda happening... but it’s completely different (from Our Song).”