#hopefully more drunk dancing from the rhythm section

[thewalrusespublicist]

What do you think are the odds of now and then winning a grammy?

Oh, nil! Don't get me wrong I really like Now and Then, but that take isn't unanimous amongst Beatle fans let alone the general public and whilst the technology to create the song is groundbreaking from an archival perspective, it isn't necessarily from a music perspective. It's lovely they got the nom and I think considering the significance, the story, the technology and the general love for the Beatles, they more than deserved that!

What I am looking forward to is if the current odds-favourite mega-Paul-girl Sabrina wins because you KNOW she's gonna do a shout-out to Paul and his competitve ass is going to have to sit there and be gracious whilst quietly s e e t h i n g.

[daggerzine]

Guided by Voices- It's Not Them. It Couldn't Be Them. It Is Them! (GBV Records)

After releasing three albums last year, The Robert Pollard machine has done it again by releasing three more this year (counting Cub Scout Bowling Pins)! And it’s only November! It can be a daunting task to keep up, but here’s a track-by-track review from a longtime fan.

“Spanish Coin” kicks off with a “tick tock” instrumental lead-in to a great song complete with Spanish acoustic guitar and horns! (I think that’s a first, and there’s more later.)

“High In The Rain” is a great sing along song that captures what we have come to love about GbV: jangly, power chords. It also has horns and a string section. Probably my favorite on this album. “High in the rain, no overhead lights; Where it's dark, I escape to each new view; No license to blame, consider me parked; And I know it's the right thing to do.”

“Dance Of Gurus” starts with a “Teenage FBI” riff that takes off with repetitive “What’ll I do with you, you do with me” lyrics.

“Flying Without A License” begins with Doug Gillard’s guitar tuning intro (think “I Am A Tree” for references, a Gillard penned song) that turns into throbbing bass lines and blasting guitar punches.

“Psycho House” is another power chord, guitar driven rocker that will please the live crowd. It gradually spirals out of control in a (dare I say it?) “crazy” way.

“Maintenance Man Of The Haunted House” is a creepy, spaghetti western intro to a song that truly reflects the song’s title. Synths are included here to add to this effect.

“I Share A Rhythm” is filled with fast, blistering guitar. It’s an updated version from Pilthy May on Suitcase 3 released in 2009. With lyrics like: “I share a rhythm, yeah; I share a Jesus Christ with you; I throw a baby shower; I need a solid hour or two,” what’s not to like?  

“Razor Bug” sounds like a children’s nursery rhyme turned into a slurring acapella tale told by a hungover drunk. At least it’s only a minute long.

With “I Wanna Monkey,” drums are front and center with horns again!

“Cherub And The Great Child Actor” is another high-powered, jangle pop song that will surely please the live crowd.

Clocking in at over four minutes, “Black And White Eyes In A Prism” meshes power chords with strings. It definitely works. “Colors of the spectrum in a prism; Percolating, circulating; Everything to everyone.” Another favorite of mine.

“People Need Holes” is a high-speed track that eventually loses its traction to blistering guitars, but then regains its focus again.

“The Bell Gets Out Of The Way” is a slower, beautiful jangly pop song with distorted effects and harmonies. And there’re those horns and strings kicking in again for a nice touch.

“Chain Gang Island” is another interesting song to hear live with its power chords slashing out of control.

The album ends with “My (Limited) Engagement,” a bouncy, harmonized pop song sure to please fans. But like many of GbV’s songs, it ends too soon. However, this was the first song released; once I heard it, I had to pre-order the album.

The good news is that the Bob and Co. will be hitting the road in December. Hopefully some of these songs will be performed live in your town. As the title says, “It's Not Them. It Couldn't Be Them. It Is Them!” Check them out to make sure it IS them.  ERIC EGGLESON

https://guidedbyvoices.bandcamp.com/album/its-not-them-it-couldnt-be-them-it-is-them

https://www.guidedbyvoices.com/

https://www.rockathonrecords.com/

[writetorace]

Chasing Trouble - One Shot

Tom Holland x Reader

Summary: You are trouble, Tom chases you.

Warnings: Alcohol consumption, angst, death

Tom knew he had to know you the moment he saw you at a club in London. From the way you stopped the advances of any man who got too close to you, to the way you danced with your friends with every set of eyes on you, demanding attention everywhere you went.

You knew people were watching you, but you were in the club with your friends. One of them just getting out of a long-term relationship. The plan was to have a girls’ night, that meant sticking together and not leaving the club with anyone besides the people you arrived with. The music was loud, and the drinks were flowing fast.

During the night a few random men, completely drunk kept trying to dance with you and buy you a drink. Knowing the intentions of these men you chose to decline their offers and told them to stay away and not to not touch you otherwise security would be called. They would always scoff and call you a prude.

Having not sat down one since you arrived you took the chance to once your feet felt like they would fall off from all the dancing. You chose a seat towards the back, away from a majority of the people. Feeling the effects of the alcohol all you wanted to do was go home. The alcohol wearing off and your body starting to hurt. You couldn’t just leave though; you had come with your friends and were here to enjoy yourself. Leaving without them would just be wrong and go against all the morals you had.

Looking around the club you noticed the boy with brown curls eying you. Noticing your eyes on him he tipped his drink towards you before finishing it and moving to the dance floor. He kept glancing at you, imagining what your body would feel like dancing against his. The curve of your hips in his hands, your arms around his neck. He couldn’t just walk up to you and ask to dance, not with how you were turning others down, he had to look enticing. Make you want to dance with him.

You couldn’t lie to yourself; he was attractive. Maybe you did want to dance with him, get to know him but you were here with your friends.  Upon this realisation you got up and made your way to the dancefloor, walking straight past him swaying your hips. Your friends all smiled as you made your way towards them giving them all a hug once close enough.

Although you had burned through all the alcohol in your system your confidence levels were at an all time high. Falling into the rhythm of the music you let it carry you away as you danced surrounding with your friends. Hours pass before the first of your friends leaves to go home, then the rest all follow like clockwork, leaving you as the last one.

Once the brown-haired boy notices you are alone, he tries his luck and dances next to you, hoping you would dance with him. Much to his surprise you do, hooking your left arm around his neck and using your right hand to grab his drink and finish it. After placing the now empty glass in his hand you wink and him and leave. Deciding to leave now before things go too far.

Tom is speechless as he watches your retreating figure. You were definitely something. Something he most definitely wanted to know more about. It was his mission to find you again and this time to hopefully grab your name, your number a bonus.

A month later you don’t expect to see the brown-haired boy at the bar you just walked into. Ordering your usual you go grab a seat at a table nearby hopeful for a quiet drink. The boy at the bar still oblivious about your presence in the bar. It wasn’t crowded and you had your back facing him, staring into your drink. The effects of the long week you just had finally weighing on you. Thoughts about being reckless cross your mind.

Chugging the last quarter of your schnapps and lemonade you make your way to the boy at the bar and grab his wrist. With you holding his wrist and dragging him to the toilets he looks confused. It wasn’t until the door was locked and your lips were on his did he realise what was happening. He tasted tangy like the Stella he had been drinking whilst you tasted sweet.

Tom took control after you both broke away for air, backing you into the door arms blocking you in. He had a dopey smile on his face but dove straight back to your lips. Deciding you had enough before things went any further you break away ducking under his arms and opening the door. You wink as you walk out and exit the bar.

This carries on for months, meeting up at different bars, making out in the toilets and mentioning the name of another bar with a time and date. He never fails to make it, always making time for you. His girl, whose name he didn’t know. Once when you met him you decided that the bar was the last place you wanted to be.

Holding his hand as you approach him in the bar you whisper in his ear about taking this somewhere else. Tom thinks he’s about to get lucky but that is not what you have planned. Instead you take him to a local convenience store wanting to cause some trouble. You look at the boy giddy, the feeling he always makes you feel. Being with him always gives you a feeling that you had never felt with anyone else.

Tugging Tom to the alcohol section you notice all the glass bottles stacked high for sale. Looking at them with a smirk you thought about the mess it would make if they were to suddenly fall to the floor. Noticing your smirk Tom looked at you wide-eyed already sensing what you were about to do. Rushing forward you give a little push to one of the bottles on the stack to test its stability. To your surprise it isn’t very stable. Pushing harder at the same bottle you watch as they all come crashing to the floor, glass and their contents spilling everywhere. “RUN” you yell at Tom.

Grabbing his hand you run for your life to the exit. You check over your shoulder to make sure that no one is following you and when you spot someone you dip into an alleyway dragging the brown-haired boy with you. With the adrenaline coursing through your veins you kiss the boy who is astonished by you. He never thought that he would be caught up in something like this, never thought you could do something like this. He wanted you.

After you pull away to leave, he shouts his name at you, smiling you tell him the name of a bar you regularly go to with the promise of next week at 7pm.

Tom arrives at the bar thirty minutes early, eager to see you but as time passes, he becomes increasingly worried when you don’t show. The bartender notices the brown-haired boy becoming gloomy and asks what is wrong “waiting for a girl, she never fails to turn up, don’t know her name unfortunately. We come here sometimes.”

The bartender looks shocked “oh you mean (y/n), she died earlier in the week. Hit by a car. Tragic really, the paramedics say the last thing she said was to tell Tom I love him. Still trying to figure out who this Tom is.”

Once those words were spoken Toms world lost all colour.

[oliviawinspearlma32]

Big Fun

Audition for Ram or Kurts mum-

Character like Ram or Kurts dad hadn’t been given out after the main auditions our director decided that roles like these could be auditioned as the scenes came up so that the cast could see this different dynamics of different actors together and understand how it was being casted. So when the opportunity to audition came up I jumped at it, even though the character were men it was decided that if the actors cast we female their is no harm in changing the character to females. When auditioning I went for both Ram and Kurts mum but each time I was with a different actor so the director could see the dynamics and flow between us. After a few tries of reading the sides, we were given some notes, one note for me was to bring my voice down as I tend to talk in a higher range when doing the American accent. According to (Kezirian, 2017) “relax your muscle - tighter muscles would oo raise your tone of voice.”

Big fun-

Like with all the other numbers we stared with the vocals of this number. It’s each verse and chorus is similar throughout with only the lyrics really changing. The biggest struggle for me was the first verse on the echo of “Big Fun” I think this was due to the fact that it was just the Sopranos against the rest of the cast and that it felt like it was flat. To combat my struggle with this as often as I could I would work with someone in my voice group and go over the section, leading to me becoming more comfortable with the first verse.

When it comes to the choreography of ‘Big Fun’ it was a number I was really looking forward to doing. It’s a number in the show where again the whole cast are in it but this time we are in a party atmosphere with no parental supervision so at some points we get to just let loose and have fun throughout.  We had some trial and error with working out the spacing of the triangle for the chorus and when people were to join in with the set choreography, as up till this point it has being improvised movement. For me improvising in dance is a struggle for me as I don’t want to do something that either doesn’t look good or doesn’t fit with the music. Improving is an important skill to have in dance as it can boost your confidence in not only yourself but in your skills, becoming to attached to dancing only choreographed pieces can lower you view in your own skill set and cause insecurities. According to (. )  “improvisation can help dances to find out who they are as dances, what style they like and even what they would like to do with dance in their future endeavours.” 

In the middle there is a section were we have to dance with a patner, I was put with a fellow class mate and felt like from the off we were quite awkward with each other. I hoped that we could work though this but our director made the decision to move us to the back. I agreed with this decision as we were in the middle and if we couldn’t give what was needed then someone more deserving should be given our spot.  I don’t know whether it was me and my upbringing that lead us to come across as awkward or if it was my partner but hopefully in the future we can both improve on our skills in this area of dance. 

When Veronica talks to Ram the ensemble were given a movement that will help us cross the stage but isn’t to big, after a few rehearsal we were given the note to act really drunk in this section. To have some people act like they were going to throw up and other to be slightly falling over, this really helped to portray the party scene. On another segment where we are doing movement over a speaking segment we were told to do a shoulder and rib isolation. After this section there is a change in rhythm that signals us to move, as a class we figured out that we run into place for a count of 8 and then 2 extra counts before we turn. In the video below you can see we didn’t get the timing right. So the next time we ran the number we did it with us all counting to achieve the correct timing. When it comes to the ‘Dang Dang’ section you can see that my core isn’t engage enough which is why I fall out of my pirouette, by engaging my core and pulling up on my leg I will achieve a better turn. I had a lot of fun learning this routine and it incorporated things that I thought I would struggle with but working on this number with other helped me feel more comfortable. 

Below is a clip of us rehearsaing Big Fun.

Some feed back I got doing this number is

• take more leadership. If I know the routine or I know what’s ment to be happening and other don’t to take charge if the choreographer isn’t around.

• Push the limits more. I may feel like I’m giving it my all but I can always give it more the next time.