#i was like 11 or 12 years old and my world was rocked

[slowdesire]

i fear this is still one of the best songs to ever exist

[lizardho]

I was like 11-12 years old when I figured out at a boring-ass church activity that you could put rocks into little plastic spoons and then pelt people who annoyed me with them. I did this for the rest of the activity, and at Sunday dinner the next night was bragging about my victory (cornering the mean kid who picked on my youngest brother and pelting him with rocks). One of my cousins was like “no way, that sounds SO fun! Let’s do that RIGHT NOW!” So we grabbed spoons and went and got pebbles from the back yard and launched them at each other.

The problem was my grandma sold her soul for the world’s most resilient plastic spoons so we could launch those fuckers HARD. I gave out welts like candy on Halloween, and I got them back in kind.

So we resorted to taking cover and giggling until we got whacked, then yelping, then returning fire.

My cousin hid in my grandpa’s little fishing boat. It was a good boat, but simple and honestly underused. We didn’t know the little windows on it, meant to keep the wind out of my grandpa’s face while he drove, were cracking. However, they were definitely cracking. Eventually it became obvious and we realized we had been being dumb.

This was NOT the first time in my life I’d been dumb roughhousing and broken something, and I had developed a reputation in my family as being “suicidally honest” so I was the one to deliver the bad news. My grandpa let out a pretty good chuckle and said it was OK, tousled my hair, and asked my grandma to bring me cake. I am not kidding. I learned later he hated his boat and only bought it for his kids’ sakes, since he thought everyone needed to know how to fish. At the time though I was just bewildered and pleased at my good fortune. FINALLY, at long last, being honest and telling the truth about breaking something expensive was getting me cake. I knew if I kept trying it would eventually serve me, and now so had CAKE. I was pleased as could be.

My dad, on the other hand, was livid. He LOVED that boat. He spent several weeks each summer recovering from breaking ribs in that boat every year for about 7 years prior to this incident. He had great memories and memories that boat. So he told my Grandma NO cake for me AND that I’d be coming by this weekend to fix stuff around the house and pay for the broken window with my babysitting/lawn mowing money.

Obviously I was devastated, but that felt more in-line with the way things normally went when I broke something expensive so I just figured it was OK. My grandpa gave my grandma a look and sadly said “Ok, have her here on Saturday to help me with some yard work.”

That Saturday my dad woke me up at 6:00 sharp and drove me, sleepy and bewildered, to my grandpa’s house. He was mumbling under his breath the whole time but he thought he was teaching me consequences for my actions so he was ultimately OK with it.

We get to my grandpa’s house at 6:15. My grandpa is outside with a ladder hanging Christmas lights. The lawn is freshly mowed, the trees and garden are weeded and well-tended to, the carnations in the front yard look immaculate, and my grandpa has this giddy mischievous look on his face. He tells me he was so excited that I was coming over that he couldn’t sleep, so he did all the yard work himself. He asked me to help him put up Christmas lights and decorate the Christmas tree, which I did, then said that because I was such a good helper I could have some pancakes for breakfast. I was sent home with the slice of cake I had been denied the week before, wrapped to keep it as fresh as possible.

The whole way home my dad looked a little miffed, but told me that he was glad I had been honest and was proud of me for helping grandpa. I know he wanted me to Learn a Lesson™️the cowboy way, like he had as a kid, but didn’t have much room to complain since I’d still been Put To Work.

I think that was a lesson for both of us, although I’m not totally sure what it was supposed to show me. I think it was my grandpa’s way of showing my dad that discipline without tenderness doesn’t count as much. He died last year and I miss him terribly, as does my dad. I hope that my story of victory, drama, punishment, and ultimately a secret second victory is meaningful to someone else out there, but if not it still means a lot to me ❤️

[oh-no-its-bird]

It is simply an undeniable, inevitable fact of life that if you are placed on the same team as Hatake Kakashi; you will eventually get some form of crush on him.

For the lucky ones, it only lasts a few minutes before they remember themselves (and their standards.) For the unluckier ones, it can go on for much, much longer than that.

Anyways the point of this is: Team Ro individually crushing on Kakashi as they grow up. I think it's fun to think about

Itachi got it the worst, 12 years old and given this untouchable authority figure somewhat within his age range. A safe space among the ANBU, another baby genius who gets it— gets the pressure, gets being different, even gets being looked at with suspicion (for Itachi, as an Uchiha. For Kakashi, as the White Fang's son and Friend Killer Kakashi)

Luckily enough for him, this crush only lasted like a month. Or at least it only got that far before he learned how to hide it better (and, of course, he then had bigger things to think about than a silly childhood crush)

Shisui was certainly the loudest about his, with the passive sort of on and off crush you'd expect a 15 year old kid to get on his cool senior. He's not exactly good at hiding it, and honestly possibly doesn't espexially care to. It's embaressing but also, have you seen Kakashi in action? Shisui won't apologize for his tastes!

Shisui is the kind of guy to have a few different crushes in a few different people at a time— maybe if one of them actually looked back at him, he'd form a genuine crush but till then he's just kinda looking respectfully and sighing wistfully about how cool and strong they are

Tenzo certainly got it the worst, rocking a years long crush on his personal hero that's only managed to fade a little in recent years as an adult (usually when he's faced with Kakashi being a deliberate bastard in his general direction)

But like. Kakashi being his personal hero, an untouchable figure when he's a kid that slowly grows into a real home and safe space/person��� feeling more and more real to Tenzo with each passing year

Tbh, specifically Itachi having a crush on Kakashi as a kid is the funniest thing to me. It's not reciprocated to be clear, Itachi was like 11 when Kakashi was like 17 and it was a silly, kiddie, puppy crush of "my captain is so cool..." where Itachi himself probably didn't even have the full context for what he was feeling.

But like, specifically from the angle of them both in their 20's and Sasuke learning that, as a kid, his awful evil genocidal brother had a crush on... HIS teacher????!?!?? What the FUCK.

Funniest thing in the world. Kakashi is 2 for 3 of the living Uchiha's having a childhood crush on him and that's beautiful to me. You go king!

Anyways actually, idea for the WORST conversation ever (aka the funniest thing:)

Tenzo for some reason being a temporary prisoner of the Akatsuki, and Itachi standing guard. And Itachi very awkwardly asks about Kakashi. And what proceeds is the most painful

"...do you still have a crush on him?"

"No. (yes) Do you?"

"No. (Yes.)"

-type conversation EVER. Tenzo can not believe this bastards balls actually. Get the FUCK away from his senpai.

Actually: horrible alternative, that exact situation but with Sasuke. Itachi has him captured and, very much not wanting to talk about the elephant in the room, blurts out the first thing he can think about: How is Kakashi doing?

Sasuke, who hasn't interacted w Kakashi since declaring he wanted to kill him: ?????

Sasuke is coming out of this conversation going "god fucking dammit Itachi is EVERYONE more important to you than me !?!??"

Later Sasuke runs into Kakashi and screams something about hating him and that hoping Itachi's nasty ass crush on him means Itachi will kill him next so Sasuke doesn't have to dirty his own hands

Kakashi, who was completley unaware that Itachi had ever had a crush on him and is not enjoying this new knowledge: ????

Tenzo who already knew and is somehow enjoying this knowledge even less than Kakashi is: ...

In general tbh I wish we'd gotten more team Ro interactions as adults, I think there's so much potential there. Tenzo, Kakashi and Itachi were around eachother for what was arguably some of the most vulnerable times of their lives, for multiple years. That must have left some sort of mark ??

And I mean, we so get to see the lasting impact via Tenzo and Kakashi's friendship but come on!!! How does Itachi play into that equasion!! I know he has to somehow!

Anyways yeah: Kakashi following in his dads sexyman footsteps without even realizing it,,, it delights me to think about.

[toadminako]

In the wake of the follow-up Davechella Q&A, I've assembled my interpretations of the modern AU characters - I tried to keep it mostly in-line with what's in the text, but a few headcanons have slipped in. Feel free to disagree!

15. Gibson: The most sullen gay you’ve ever met who listens to the most miserable songs you’ve ever heard. Deeply cares about his boyfriend Hickey and supports him getting therapy. Always goes to DJ DollEyes gigs even though he claims he doesn’t vibe with that kind of music – in fact he’s secretly counting down the days until the new Lady Gaga album.

14. Hartnell: Just a cool guy having a chill day. A major simp for his hot blonde girlfriend. Likes a Sunday morning lie-in.

13. Collins: A sensitive man who suffers from thalassophobia and thanatophobia, but tries to cope with his anxieties by being a terminal Wife Guy. Enjoys a bit of metal.

12. Hodgson: Loves a diva and singing in French. An obsessive James Bond fan who will bore you with factoids if given the chance. May have just gone through a messy breakup, or maybe that’s just Christos’ ultra-sad playlist talking.

11. Bridgens: A sweet, old-fashioned fellow who just wants to be left alone to enjoy gardening in privacy with his problematically young husband.

10. Tozer: A newly minted bisexual with a huge collection of threadbare hoodies who will provide the Spotify Premium account and happily drive for hours to fuck you if you ask him nicely. Sometimes dabbles in a messy BDSM relationship with Undiagnosed Hickey, but he knows it isn’t good for either of them.

9. Irving: Somehow manages to be even more of a repressed homosexual than his OG counterpart. Still a practicing Christian to some degree while having a lot of concerns over the role the church plays in modern politics. Collects blurays of sentimental queer movies but rarely gets laid. May have an unrequited (?) crush on Hickey or Tozer which he spends a lot of his private time “unloading” about 😏.

8. Blanky: By far the coolest of your friends’ dads. Spent his youth smoking weed and vibing to Santana, but nowadays he just wants to grill. He fucks for sure, and he fucks great, but doesn’t always have the energy (or the pills) and is just as happy to throw on a prog rock vinyl with you.

7. Jopson: The bestest and most specialist DJ, beloved by all, who only very occasionally gets introspective about his mummy issues. Curated Jamie’s hospital playlist.

6. Little: Spent some years serving in the armed forces but it’s left him with a lot of misgivings over modern imperialism and what it does to the young people who join up. Now he’s stuck in a middle management job with a boss he hates. Suffers from depression and anxiety which he raw-dogs by listening to Green Day.

5. Goodsir: A well-meaning guy who loves world music. Probably has an insufferable instagram account where he posts photos of his travels with the hashtag #blessed. Still in some manner of close relationship with Silna.

4. Hickey: Without treatment he was really struggling with a confused sense of identity and feeling generally disconnected from the world and other people. Post-treatment he still has a lot of anger but is slowly working through some major daddy issues he didn't even realise he had. His relationship with Gibson is much more stable now that he’s medicated, and he keeps sending his boyfriend achingly romantic mixtapes, which Gibson fucking hates.

3. Fitzjames: A beautiful man who became a beautiful woman and didn’t hurt anyone in the process, only gathering love around her 😭. She may have also been in the armed forces in the past, which left her with some trauma, but she has a great deal of love for the people she served with. A dog person who loves going to the opera.

2. Crozier: A miserable old grouch but one who isn’t actually doing that badly all things considered. He’s now at an age where goodbyes take up a lot of his life, but ever since he made a veiled confession by putting “Your Song” on Jamie’s hospital playlist, they’ve been steadily growing closer.

1. Silna: Living her best life, enjoying both modern music and exploring her cultural roots. Still carries some anger over how women and indigenous women especially are being treated today, but she has a close, supportive family of strong women who lift her up. Has a romantic partner whose gender is left ambiguous.

[crescent003]

Behind the Mask: A Family's Promise

Behind the Mask: A Family's Promise Master list

Squid Game Master list

Chap 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Chapter Four: The Babysitters in Red

“You want us to do what?”

The break room fell into stunned silence as the small group of guards stared at your husband in disbelief.

“Watch Ji-ah,” he repeated, adjusting the baby carrier strapped to his chest. Inside, the tiny girl slept peacefully, completely unaware of the chaos her father was about to unleash. “Just for a few hours. We need a break.”

You nodded in agreement, exhaustion clear in your eyes. “We haven’t slept properly in weeks. A nap. A real meal. Just a little time to feel human again.”

The men exchanged uneasy glances. They had handled brutal games, ruthless eliminations, and strict protocols—but a baby? That was a whole different level of terror.

The youngest guard, barely in his twenties, raised a hand like he was in school. “What if she… you know… cries?”

Your husband shrugged. “Figure it out.”

Another guard scoffed. “We run a death game, not a daycare.”

But before anyone could protest further, you gently placed Ji-ah in the arms of the oldest guard—a man who had seen more horrors than most. He tensed at first, as if holding something fragile and breakable, but the moment the baby snuggled against his chest, a strange softness crossed his face.

“…She’s warm,” he murmured, completely entranced.

You squeezed your husband’s hand. “We’ll be back soon. Thank you.”

And just like that, you were gone.

The room remained silent for a moment before pure panic set in.

—

One Hour Later

Ji-ah was screaming.

Not a soft little whimper. Not an adorable baby fuss. No—this was an all-out, lungs-at-full-capacity wail.

“Why is she making that sound?” one of the guards yelled over the noise.

“She’s a baby! That’s what they do!”

“Make it stop! Do something!”

The youngest guard frantically bounced her in his arms, but Ji-ah only cried harder. The old man took her back, rocking her gently, but the screaming continued.

“Maybe she’s hungry?”

“We don’t have baby food in the break room!”

“…Does she like coffee?”

“Are you insane?!”

One of the men groaned, pressing his gloved hands to his masked face. “This is worse than cleaning up after eliminations.”

Another sighed. “At least the dead don’t scream.”

They all turned to look at the oldest guard, who, despite the chaos, remained calm. Without a word, he unhooked his mask from his belt, held it up, and wiggled it in front of Ji-ah’s face like a puppet.

The baby hiccupped.

Then sniffled.

And then… to their complete shock… she giggled.

Every man in the room froze.

“…Did she just laugh?”

The old man repeated the motion, making a soft boop sound as he tapped her nose with the mask. Ji-ah let out a delighted squeal, her tiny hands reaching for it.

One of the guards clutched his chest dramatically. “I think I just felt my heart beat for the first time in years.”

Another grabbed his own mask and copied the movement. “Does she like this? Ji-ah, look! Boop!”

She giggled again, louder this time.

Within minutes, every single guard in the room was playing along, wiggling their masks, making ridiculous noises, and cooing at the tiny girl as if she were their commanding officer.

She babbled happily, kicking her little legs, completely in control of a group of men who had once seemed so intimidating.

—

When you and your husband returned, looking refreshed and well-rested, you were greeted by the strangest sight:

The guards—all of them—were on the floor surrounding Ji-ah, still wearing their jumpsuits but with their masks off, making faces and playing with her like she was the most precious thing in the world.

Ji-ah sat in the middle of them, waving her arms excitedly, her toothless grin wide as she watched the men act like complete fools for her entertainment.

Your husband blinked. “What… the hell?”

One of the guards turned toward him, holding up Ji-ah as if presenting a royal decree. “Sir, with all due respect… we’re keeping her.”

You laughed, stepping forward to take your daughter back. “Nice try.”

Ji-ah clung to the older guard’s finger, her little face scrunching up in protest as you lifted her. He sighed. “She likes us.”

Your husband crossed his arms. “Yeah? You want to wake up at 3 AM to change her diaper?”

The guards instantly went silent.

“…Thought so.”

As you settled Ji-ah back into the carrier, she reached out toward the men, making an insistent little noise.

One of them, the youngest, shyly extended a gloved hand. “Bye-bye, Ji-ah,” he whispered, wiggling his fingers in a small wave.

Ji-ah, in response, clumsily mimicked the motion—her first attempt at a wave.

The men gasped like they had just witnessed a miracle.

“She waved!”

“She’s a genius!”

“She’s going to take over the world one day.”

Your husband rolled his eyes but couldn’t stop the smile tugging at his lips. “Yeah, yeah. Now, come on, Ji-ah. Time to go home.”

As you left, the guards stood there in stunned silence, staring at the empty space where the baby had been.

Finally, one of them muttered, “So… when do we get to babysit again?”

—

And whether your husband liked it or not, that was the moment Ji-ah officially became the Squid Game’s youngest and most beloved VIP.

[yunsound]

Ne Zha 2 Breaks More Records

I think I'm at least a week late but I checked the Wikipedia page because I was bored and what.

When did this happen??? I swear just yesterday it was 7th or 8th.

Congrats Zha-er and Bingbing! You are both 百亿影帝 (billion-dollar movie stars). I think this is the epitome of "the Chinese kid better than you". In what world do 3-year-olds become billion-dollar actors???

Mythological world, I guess.

I don't really expect it to pass Titanic for 4th-highest grossing, since that's another 100million USD away (which, hell, 100million USD is more than most movies make) and also 4 is a really unlucky number, so we'll either stop at 5 or be forced to go to 3 (WHICH IS 200 MILLION AWAY).

Then again, that's what I thought about Ne Zha making it from 11th to 10th, then from 10th to 8th, then from 8th to anything higher, so who knows?

Recent updates (source, the movie's Douyin official account) that Ne Zha 2 is going to keep airing in China until 4.30, which means it'll edge into the May 1st movie market.

CNY is the biggest movie season in China, with May 1st being the second, since May 1st is Labour Day and people get a few days off work and school. The summer explosion is probably bigger than May 1, but that's like 3 months long, so it doesn't count.

I haven't posted in a while, but I'm pretty busy at the moment. Current drafts include:

1. Oubing through the ages (mythological interpretations of Oubing, Ne Zha commissioning artists and storytellers for 5 millenia to make him and Ao Bing's story into a love story and they never seemed to get it until Jiaozi)

2. Ne Zha's evolution through history (from Indian deity to... punk rock iPad kid on HotWheels)

3. My favourite Chinese movies that Westerners can watch (I can probably post this soon? It's nearly done)

4. C-drama recs (I don't really like watching most recent K/J/C-dramas because the makeup and aesthetics are so obviously just trying to make money and make the actors go viral, but some of the earlier C-dramas are VERY GOOD)

5. The Legend of the White Snake

6. Background on China, Chinese film industry, Chinese culture (warning, there will be a smidge of politics included since art is political, but my PERSONAL views will not be there since ultimately what I think doesn't matter, you should make your own opinions)

7. The Classic of Mountains and Seas

8. What it's like living in Shanghai (where I'm from!)

9. Vacation guide for people trying to visit China for the first time

10. The Four Great Beauties of Ancient China

11. Xianxia novel, cultivation and jianghu terminology

12. My thoughts on how Chinese are portrayed in Hollywood

That's it for now. Please feel free to make requests or ask questions, I love yapping. Even if I don't manage to make a full post I'll respond to any questions because I love explaining shit.

Congratulations for Jiaozi, everyone at Enlight Media (the sponsor company) and Chengdu Coco Animation (Jiaozi's animation studio) and all the talented people involved in making history! I look forward to Ne Zha 3! (No pressure but totally pressure.)

[corvusblackk]

i am sitting at the dining room with a coffee in my hands, i just woke up, next to me there’s an open window that shows the little forest outside my house, there’s a strong wind frenetically moving the leaves of the trees, and it just reminded me of when i was around 11-12 years old and i was already so deep into magical fantasies and my belief into the unseen, i used to search into unknown blogs on the internet and look for spells to master the element of air and sometimes also water, i used to take rocks and leaves from my garden and sit in the bathroom and recite the spell while fully believing that i could do it.

i always thought i was put here in this unmagical world by mistake and i needed to find a way back into my original reality, and i’m still like that, i haven’t changed a bit, i practice witchcraft and reality shifting/manifestation and i’m happy i haven’t turned into a stiff “realistic” type of person, and i still dream with my eyes open, i still believe in the impossible, i’m still my magical self and i’m grateful about it.

[elceeu2morrow]

'Louis Tomlinson has proven he's not just an ex-boyband star, he's a rocker'

Some know him as 'that guy from One Direction', others, including myself know him as arguably one of South Yorkshire's finest exports but Louis Tomlinson is only getting better, writes Daniel Bird

Image: Mirrorpix/Daniel Bird

Daniel Bird Assistant Showbiz Editor 17:31, 12 Nov 2023

Louis Tomlinson may only have two solo albums but he's proving to be one of the artists people should keep an eye on.

Having burst onto the music scene in 2010 as one-fifth of One Direction – a band created by Nicole Scherzinger on The X Factor after all five members were rejected, he's proven he's not just an ex-boyband singer. While singers from bands tend to keep a low profile and venture into other industries after a split, Louis is on a one-way ticket to becoming a mega-star in his own right.

Known for never losing his Doncaster accent and humour, the 31-year-old is currently embarking on his Faith In The Future World Tour, performing to thousands of die-hard fans every night – which he deserves credit for.

Although he may have come from one of the biggest bands of all time, the cheeky chap isn't afraid of getting up close and personal with fans – much to the dismay of his security who leap into action when he jumps off stage and runs to the barricade to see fans. In recent weeks, Louis has seen his expensive vests ripped off him, with fans even going as far as tickling him.

This, however, hasn't stopped him from putting on an incredible show. Despite only releasing two studio albums as a soloist (his second topping the Official UK Charts), he's pushing himself to the limits and playing arenas across the world. Most recently, he performed to around 21,000 fans at Manchester's AO Arena on November 11.

Walking onto the stage may be daunting for some, but Tomlinson showed no signs of fear as he opened with The Greatest – ironically, perhaps the greatest opening track. Throughout the night, he performed hits including Kill My Mind but also paying tribute to his One Direction days, belting out Drag Me Down and Where Do Broken Hearts Go. But since his pop days, Tomlinson has edged towards a more EDM and synth sound before finding his comfort in rockier tracks. He'd previously stated he'd taken inspiration from the likes of Sam Fender, Amy Winehouse, Arctic Monkeys and Manchester legends, Oasis.

Image: Mirrorpix/Daniel Bird

Nowadays, fans can expect the odd pop hit but also enjoy punk rock as well as indie pop and soft rock.

However, despite being in the business for almost 14 years, Louis remained grounded and acknowledged that Manchester was the start of his career. Between songs, he recalled his first audition for The X Factor in front of Simon Cowell, Scherzinger and Louis Walsh, being in the city. He told fans: "This is where I did my very first audition, so to be back here on my own it definitely feels full circle and I couldn't have done that without you.

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

by Ilan Hulkower

A group of 10 teenagers allegedly attacked two school buses belonging to the Jewish Free School (JFS) filled with students during a stop in London, England, Thursday.

The mob pelted the buses with rocks and trash before four of the teens allegedly boarded one of the buses, The Jewish Chronicle reported. (RELATED: Masked Attackers Target Jewish Students On DePaul University Campus)

“We heard what sounded like screaming from the bus behind us,” a 12-year-old student told the outlet. “People in the back of the bus were screaming, ‘oh my God, they are throwing trash and rocks,'” he said. The 12-year-old said that the mob threw “big heavy rocks” that they might have gotten from a nearby park.

Teen thugs attack and board JFS school buses while shouting ‘f**k Israel’ at children https://t.co/OB10j1UZF1 — The Jewish Chronicle (@JewishChron) November 28, 2024

“They were also swearing at us, saying, ‘F*ck Israel, nobody likes you. F*ck off you b*tches.’ They were filming us like they were enjoying it. There were lots of people in the street and no one tried to stop them. I hope that something like that won’t happen again because it made me scared,” the child said.

“They came on and they did not look friendly,” Gabi, an 11-year-old who was in the other bus, said. “They went upstairs and started swearing and showing the middle finger. I saw them when they ran downstairs – they were filming us – and then they got off and started throwing things at the bus. I don’t know where they got the rocks from – maybe they had them in their bags,” she said.

A parent of one of the Jewish students called the police. The Community Security Trust (CST), an English Jewish charity that defends Jews from terrorism and antisemitism, have taken action in the aftermath of the incident. “This stop is near another school and there has been trouble before from children from this other school. We are supporting JFS and speaking to the other school to see if they can deal with it,” Dave Rich, CST’s Director of Policy, told The Jewish Chronicle.

Rich said that CST suggested the London police ramp up their presence at the bus stop where the incident occurred. “Going forward, we have spoken with the bus company, and should there be any further incidents, the Police will be called immediately. On this occasion, there was a temporary driver. Their normal team has been driving the school buses for the last twenty years and do everything they can to keep your children safe,” JFS said in an email to the parents of the students.

JFS was founded as the Jews’ Free School in 1732, the organization’s website says. “JFS has grown to become one of the most renowned Jewish schools in the world, with a legacy of academic excellence, social responsibility, and communal engagement,” the website noted.

Antisemitism has spiked worldwide since Hamas’s bloody assault on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Anti-Jewish hate crimes rose over 50 percent in the United States alone in 2023 compared to 2022, according to FBI data. On Oct. 18, nearly two weeks after the Oct. 7 massacre, a synagogue in Germany was firebombed and European officials decried the rising tide of antisemitism across the continent.

A recent poll found that 12 percent of residents in France would welcome a “Jew-free” country.

[cherrylng]

Matt Bellamy's 2nd 20,000-character interview - Muse [ROCKIN'ON (November 2012)]

MUSE "The 2nd Law"

Interview by YUKIKO KOJIMA

A shocking evolution!

How can only Muse evolve against the laws of the universe? Matt talks about his upbringing, the formation of the band and all the albums in this definitive 20,000-character interview!

On October 3rd, Muse's sixth and latest album, "The 2nd Law", will finally drop in Japan. Their previous album, 2009's "The Resistance", reached number one across the board in 19 countries upon its release and even snatched a Grammy Award that year. Of all the young UK guitar rock acts of recent years, Muse were the only ones to achieve such a global-scale feat. How could Muse be the only band to achieve such a feat in a scene where there are calls for a ‘guitar rock crisis’? Why did Muse always defy the ‘principles of nature’ in such a way, and why did they continue to win, despite the public's view that they were ‘heretics’? The whole world is waiting with bated breath for the new album, which hints at what's to come ‘next’, and on the afternoon of September 6th we caught up with the band again at a studio in London, where they were rehearsing hard for their tour. Matthew Bellamy, who has been Muse's main songwriter since the early days of the band, tells us all about Muse. Growing up in a musical environment that was like an encyclopaedia of 50s-80s rock/pop music, with a father who was a former rock star. His first taste of electric guitar and blues rock at around the age of 11 or 12. This interview covers everything about Muse's evolution, including the history of the band before and after their debut, which was by no means an "easy path to success," and of course the behind-the-scenes stories (+secrets) of the production of all six albums. Read it in conjunction with the interview in the September issue, which already details "The 2nd Law", and you'll get a deeper understanding of where they are now. Next January, the band has just officially announced their ‘Live in Japan (January 12th + 13th @ Saitama Super Arena)’, which Matt revealed to us during this interview. Take this opportunity to witness Muse's ‘next’ before anyone else. -Yukiko Kojima

MATTHEW BELLAMY 20000 WORDS INTERVIEW

"It was the Cream album that got me into guitar. I guess my starting point was all in the album I listened to that day."

Today's interview will focus on you, the band's main songwriter, but will also be about ‘Muse's band/music history’ to date. 「Yeah, okay.」

Let's start with your musical history before Muse was formed. According to your public biography, you started piano lessons when you were around 6 years old and guitar practice when you were around 12. How did you first encounter musical instruments? 「I first came into contact with musical instruments when I was around 6 years old, when I started playing with the piano we had at home as a toy, so I didn't learn how to play formally from a proper teacher, like in a normal lesson. So I started playing an instrument purely for my own enjoyment. My parents wanted my brother to take formal piano lessons at first, but in his case, because he was forced to do so from childhood, he ended up hating playing the instrument (sarcastic laugh). My parents had such a painful past, so they tried to create an environment where I could discover the joy of music in a more natural way. They didn't pressure me to take piano or guitar lessons every day, but instead encouraged me to just naturally start playing with the instruments around me when I liked them, and eventually discover the joy of playing them myself. Thanks to that, my relationship with music is still very positive. I'm very grateful to my parents in that sense. I did learn some rudimentary playing techniques on the clarinet during music lessons at school when I was in primary school, though. That's the only time I've ever had any kind of formal lessons on an instrument. Everything else was self-taught, whether it was the guitar, which I started playing when I was about 11 or 12 out of curiosity, or the Hammond organ, Mellotron and synths, which I gradually got into after I started playing in school bands.」

I see. So what got you interested in rock/pop music in the first place? 「Probably…… It probably came from my family background, but my father was also a member of a rock band when I was younger (he was the guitarist for The Tornados, a popular 60s band that had the first ever number one hit single in the US with "Telstar" in British rock history), so he had a huge record collection. Thanks to that, my brother and I have grown up listening to all kinds of records from the 60s and 70s, rock, beat pop, blues, R&B, jazz, country, folk, and all kinds of genres every day from the time we were old enough to understand. Because of that environment, rock/pop music for me wasn't something quirky or special, it was just a normal part of my everyday life.」

So, what artist and what work awakened you to the ‘special and real joy of pop music’? 「Hmm…… I think it was Ray Charles' records that first introduced me to the joys of piano-based popular music.」

You were obsessed with Ray Charles at the age of 6?! 「No, I think I was already 7 or 8 years old by then.」

I think it's amazing to be a kid who's into Ray Charles at the age of 7 or 8. 「(laughs) Well, that's because I was into that kind of boogie style piano playing at that time. But at the same time, I was also listening to more rock/pop-oriented genres. Buddy Holly, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones. My father also liked American country rock like Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, so we often listened to that together. My father's musical tastes originally ranged from 50s rock ‘n’ roll to 60s and 70s rock. We had all kinds of records from that area at home. My mother's tastes, on the other hand, were more contemporary from a later generation, more synth pop from the 80s onwards. She loved Duran Duran, Ultravox, Eurythmics, Prince and especially Queen, and we had all their records, so I grew up listening to a lot of that 80s pop with my mother. So I had everything from 50s to 80s rock/pop at home, but I didn't have any classical music records at home. So I guess you could say that the classical-ish element was the only influence I could find and acquire on my own.」

So it was the ideal family environment for a music-loving boy. Who and what was the first record you bought yourself, for example? 「In my case, I didn't buy it myself, I just borrowed it one day from my brother's record collection (laughs). It was a Cream compilation album [1] that got me into rock electric guitar for the first time in my life. I was around 11 or 12, I think? One day I was going through a pile of analogue records and CDs in my brother's room and I found some Cream records. I thought, "Huh? Blues rock? Sounds interesting!" I started listening to them and got hooked, and that's when I started playing guitar myself. And that's when I started to seriously listen to my father talk about blues music theory and history for the first time in my life, and that's when I became interested in guitarists with a blues-like sensibility. That's when I got into Robert Johnson and Jimi Hendrix. So I guess you could say that my starting point as a rock musician all started with the Cream albums I listened to that day. I think that probably has a lot to do with the fact that I still stick to a three-piece band formation.」

Now that you mention it, both Cream and Jimi Hendrix were three-piece bands. So that's the reason why Muse started out as a three-piece band in the first place. Incidentally, your guitar playing has been recognised for its skill and original style since the early days of Muse. How did you acquire this kind of technique? You listened to Cream at the age of 12 and discovered the electric guitar. After that, you started playing in a school band. Who were the guitarists who inspired you? 「There are countless guitarists that have influenced me and that I like, but…… I'd have to say Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine is at the top of the list. Of course, I still love Jimi Hendrix and Edge from U2, and I'm also really inspired by Johnny Marr's playing style from The Smiths. And if we're talking about the type of guitarist who isn't afraid to get into a kind of ‘crazy chaos’, I think Kurt Cobain of Nirvana is also a great expressionist. In the sense that he's not necessarily bound by technical rules when it comes to the bare emotion of rock ‘n’ roll on the guitar. I realised when I heard him play for the first time that it's better to tear up the rule book and throw it out the window, so you can let yourself go and create your own style of playing. I really think Kurt Cobain is an underrated guitarist.」

So what about your father, who is a professional musician? Didn't he teach you how to play when you started practising guitar? 「My father was waiting for me to develop an interest in the instrument on my own. He never mentioned the guitar before, but one day I was in the living room fiddling with the guitar, he came over and casually said, "This is how you hold down that chord," and taught me for the first time the basic concept of how to hold down the strings and how the right and left hands work together. But he said, "If I say any more than that, you'll pick up the playing habits of other people, which is not good, so it's better for you to find your own playing style naturally." So that's about the only guitar lessons I got from my father.」

By the way, when did you start to have the ambition of "wanting to become a professional musician in the future, join a rock band, and become successful!"? 「I had a vague idea that I wanted to be a musician eventually, from when I was about 9 years old. But at the time I thought I'd end up in a jazz band, not a rock band. I was just getting into clarinet and piano, so I thought I was more suited to a jazz band. I didn't become interested in rock bands until much later, when I started playing guitar around 11 or 12 years old and met Dom, who was in a local school band at the time. Dom was already a big rock fanatic even back then. Dom was already drumming in a band called Gothic Plague when I met him, and he invited me to join Gothic Plague, which was my first foray into rock as a musician.」

Before forming Muse, you and Dom were playing live in various local bands in your hometown of Teignmouth. Was that when you met Chris, who later joined Muse? 「Yes, Dom and I were in a four-piece band called Gothic Plague at the time, and Chris was in Carnage Mayhem as a drummer. Chris's Carnage Mayhem often played live as an opening act for our band Gothic Plague back then. And we also rehearsed in the same rehearsal space, so it wasn't long before we started hanging out with the band members. Chris became closer friends with us than the other members of his band, which made it easier for us to bring him on when the other members of Gothic Plague left later, hahahaha……」

(laughs). So, what style of music were you playing when you were in bands like Gothic Plague before Muse? The last time I interviewed you, you revealed some shocking information from your past, saying "There was a time when I was playing funk," which surprised me. Because Muse's dark, tense musicality and funk's light-hearted, continental groove are the polar opposites of each other, aren't they? 「I think I may have worded that a little wrong……. We were a cover band back then, so our live repertoire consisted of covers of other people's songs. We did a lot of indie rock covers, like Wedding Present, Ned's Atomic Dustbin, Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Mega City 4 and Senseless Things. In particular, Dom and I were big fans of Senseless Things at the time, and Morgan (Nicholls, former member of Senseless Things) started participating as a member of Muse's touring band around 2004 (he plays keyboards, bass and back chorus at Muse shows). We asked him to join us because we've been big fans of theirs since we were boys. ……So, well, to get back to your question earlier, I meant that the band that Dom and I were in at the time had funk-like songs as part of the repertoire that was formed by the various styles of music that we were covering. I didn't necessarily mean the ‘local bands that only played funk’ that were all over the place around Teignmouth at the time.」

However, in a previous interview, Dom called that period a "dark history". 「(LOL). But you know, generally speaking, the best thing about bands playing funk music is that they're very good performers. I think it was a great chance for us to hone our playing technique, because we were a cover band at that time, playing any kind of music, regardless of genre. So I personally am not ashamed of that period.」

(laughs) So it's not a dark history for you. I understand. So after the cover band period, when and what prompted you to start exploring the ‘Muse-like sound’ that you would later develop? 「I thought, ‘Instead of being a cover band forever, why don't we write our own original songs?’ This is something I've been thinking ever since Dom invited me to join Gothic Plague. I had started to develop some ideas for songs around that time. I suggested it to the other members a few times, but Marcus [2], the vocalist at the time, and Andrew, the bass player, weren't interested at all. I even went to Marcus' house once and played with him some song ideas I had been working on, and asked him if we could write a song together, but he turned me away with the words "I'm not interested in those songs" (sarcastic laugh). But only Dom was very supportive of my idea from the start and was very enthusiastic about it. So from then on, the four members split into two groups, and sometimes Dom and I would rehearse separately without telling the other members. It was when the vocalist and bassist left that Dom and I started to realise our secret dream. It wasn't that we kicked them out, though. Marcus and Andrew both quit the band at that time because they wanted to get proper jobs. So when those two left, we decided we had to break up Gothic Plague, and that's when me and Dom started doing our first real sessions together. I think Dom and I were about 15 years old. So it was around that time that we started to concentrate on writing original songs and creating sounds as a completely new band.」

Is that when you started doing vocals? 「Yes, we started off as a two-piece with Dom as drummer and me as guitarist, so someone had to sing, so I started singing myself. To be honest, I didn't want to be the lead vocalist, although I had a great desire to write songs. So when we started looking for new members after that, I was looking for another vocalist along with the bassist, but we couldn't find a vocalist who would fit our sound, so I ended up doing it myself. That's actually how I ended up being the frontman of the band, even though I'm morbidly shy. A few months later, I invited Chris to join as bassist, and over the next six months or so the three of us continued to play together and gradually developed our own band sound.」

"At the time, British labels were still looking for ‘pop bands like Oasis and Blur’. If we'd turned to a menswear-style sound back then, Muse's history would have been completely different."

It was only then that the current three-piece band came together and the band format "Muse" was born. So you guys were already sounding like Muse back then? 「No, our sound at the time was nothing like Muse. We had a more experimental, progressive sound with riffs, improvisation and jamming, and a lot of instrumental tracks with minimal vocal parts. At the time, every song was over 15 minutes long (laughs). It was more like Pink Floyd or Rush, a very progressive sound. And then I got out of the phase where I was only writing songs in that style and started writing songs that would later become Muse, rock songs with a clear structure like "Cave" and "Muscle Museum", when I was around 17-18 years old. Both songs are on the first Muse album. So I guess you could say that the origins of the current Muse sound all came from these two songs.」

I understand. So after that, you guys briefly called yourself Rocket Baby Dolls, and then around 1995, you changed your name to Muse, which is what you are now. At the same time, you decided to drop out of the local college and concentrate on the band professionally. Over the next few years you guys built up a fan base by touring the UK playing countless shows. 「Yeah, it was the only way we could do it as a fledgling band at the time. Back then, we were happy to go and play at any pub, even the smallest bar in the middle of nowhere, if we were offered a gig. I don't think there was a single small venue in the UK that we didn't play at. We experienced both the fun and the miserable aspects of touring the countryside back then (laughs). In fact, I think those days touring the countryside were a great chance for us to develop our skills as a live band, and I think it was a great experience in that sense too.」

After spending time touring around the countryside, the "Muscle Museum EP" was released on the indie label Dangerous in 1998. The EP suddenly reached No. 3 in the UK indie charts and was the band's first chance to make a name for themselves. Despite the fact that Muse had become the centre of attention from the national media, UK record labels at the time were reluctant to sign the band. 1998 was right in the latter stages of Britpop, so do you think Muse's early struggles with signing contracts were related to that situation? 「Yes, I think the situation of the scene had a lot to do with it. Around 1996, Britpop was coming to an end, but labels all over the UK were still looking for ‘pop bands that sounded like Oasis or Blur’ when signing new artists. Come to think of it, menswear was all the rage at the time…… If we'd turned to a menswear-style sound back then, Muse's history would probably have been completely different.」

That's a bit much (laughs). 「(laughs) Anyway, that's why the UK music industry has always been trend-driven. A newcomer like Muse who made a sound outside the mainstream was a big risk for any UK label at the time. That's why we didn't care about any country's label, and we decided to try out for a newcomer showcase event in Manchester at the time, just to test our mettle. At that time, none of the UK labels that attended the event were interested in Muse, but several American labels made very enthusiastic offers. After that, they started inviting us to showcase events for American labels in New York and LA. After three US labels continued to fight for us for a while, we finally chose Maverick (a label under Warner, then run by Madonna. They officially signed a contract with Muse in December 1998).」

Come to think of it, Muse was signed to different labels in different countries, and the band's popularity was also higher in European countries and Japan than in their home country of the UK, which was unusual for a UK band at the time. 「That was certainly the case…… Maverick was only in North America, then Avex in Japan, then we were signed with France, Germany, Scandinavia and other European countries, and finally we were signed with Mushroom in our home country, the UK. It was a great experience for us to sign contracts in different countries at that time. It also meant that we could get a good grasp of the differences in the reactions to Muse in each country. Anyway, we were able to realise at that time that Muse in the early days were more hated by the industry in the UK than in any other country in the world (laughs). Thanks to that, from then on we started to look at our band activities from a more international point of view, rather than focusing on success only in our own country. I think the change in attitude during that period was a great benefit for Muse going forward. Our musical horizons have broadened a lot since then. It's also in the sense that we're no longer trapped in the "homegrown, in-house sound" that so many UK bands fall into.」

"The reason our sound completely changed with "Origin" was because we did Magic Mushrooms (laughs). He [John Leckie] emphasised that this was the only way to break out of our shell."

Speaking of a home-grown sound, when you first debuted with Muse, you must have disliked the Britpop bands a lot? I've heard that the slogan your fans shouted at early Muse shows was "Fuck Oasis!" 「(laughing out loud) But I personally loved Suede. Their first album was one of my favourite releases at the time. And I don't think Blur is bad either. I think they did some interesting things musically, even if they were a bit too pop for my taste. They were ultimately a pop band, and that's fine, isn't it? But when it comes to Oasis, well…… musically they were too traditional, or what can I say…… (desperately searching for words) [3]」

(laughs) So it's not to your taste, then. Now let's go back to Muse again, circa 1998. After signing with Maverick at the end of 1998, you went into the studio at the beginning of the following year to work on your first album, Showbiz, with John Leckie as producer. The album's ‘guitar rock that combines aggression, melancholia and European grandeur’ was both incredibly unorthodox and innovative at a time in the UK when everyone wanted to sound like Britpop. What did the first album mean to you? Was it an antidote to the UK scene at the time? 「Hmm…… Of course we were uncomfortable with the UK scene at the time. But at that time, we were still more concerned with shaping our own sound, so it wasn't an album with that kind of message. The songs on that album were written as we were developing as a live band from the age of 15 to 18. With the debut album, it was more important for us to put those songs into a clear form as Muse for the first time. It was also our first time making an album. It was all new to us, what it was like to make an album, what the actual studio work was like. So we didn't really have a sound concept, and we started with a very diverse musical style and an anything-goes attitude. From the 40-50 original songs we had when we went into the studio, we carefully selected 12 songs, regardless of musical style, and recorded them in a way that was close to our live sound at the time, and that was our first album. Even the songs "Cave" and "Muscle Museum" on that album are almost the same as the versions released as EPs before we signed with Maverick. In other words, that album was a kind of a milestone in Muse's formative years. Around that time, John Leckie first encouraged me to listen to artists I hadn't heard before, like Tom Waits, and I was also discovering a lot of new music at the time. So maybe we were still in a transitional period in that sense.」

“"Black Holes" was actually one of the hardest records to make. We thought we had done everything we could do as a guitar band.”

Speaking of the first album period, the British media at the time often compared Muse to Radiohead because of the use of John Leckie on that album. How did you feel about the British media's preconceived notions? 「I thought it was a harsh comparison for a new band. I think it was because we used John Leckie on that album, and because I have a high-pitched voice, similar to Thom Yorke's. I thought it was really unfair that they treated us as followers just for that reason, and to have such a preconceived review written about me without even listening to the album properly. I was born with this kind of voice, and the way I sing with this kind of high tonal range was actually influenced by Jeff Buckley. So, as I said before, the early Muse, at least up until the first album, was really disliked by the UK media and people in the industry. I guess we were a difficult newcomer to deal with because we were doing music that was completely different from the UK groove of the time. In fact, the response to our early albums was much better in European countries like France and Italy, and in Japan. We ourselves felt that at the time we released that debut album, we didn't function as a band in the UK…… and we felt frustrated. I think it wasn't until our second album that Muse started to get proper recognition in our home country of the UK.」

So let's talk about that second album period here. Muse suddenly underwent a major transformation with the release of the second album, "Origin of Symmetry," in 2001, establishing a truly original Muse sound - the "ultimate form of new-generation guitar rock." What was it about that period that led you to develop your own musical identity for the first time? 「The reason we got our musical identity at that time was because of the change in our mindset during the tour after the release of our first album. We were touring in front of audiences all over the world at that time, and we were slowly getting to know what our sound was all about. When we were making our first album, we didn't even know what direction we wanted to go in, and at that point we weren't sure if we should go in a softer acoustic direction or a harder guitar rock direction. It was a situation where we could go either way, and we ourselves couldn't decide which direction to go in, but after that tour, when we played in front of crowds all over the world every night, our live sound started to lean more and more towards harder and heavier guitar rock. In the case of "Origin", all the songwriting and recording was done at the same time as the world tour. The album itself was sort of born out of the live sound during that period of touring. Even the hard rock-leaning songs like "Plug in Baby" and "New Born" were all written during that tour. The system for writing new songs and recording the songs on that album was to find a studio and record them in each of the places we were touring. It was a very intense and hard situation, but it turned out to be good for our sound.」

At the same time, the second album "Origin" was very innovative in terms of sound, with the first major introduction of the pipe organ, the use of outlandish chord progressions and guitar techniques that would be unthinkable for ordinary people, and the use of bass lines as the lead instrument in songs despite it being guitar rock. Why did your ‘mindset towards music’ suddenly change so drastically during that period? 「Hmmm…… I don't know if I'm allowed to say this in a place like this, but…… (after hesitating for a while), maybe it was because we were doing Magic Mushrooms at that time of year, at the suggestion of John Leckie. [4]」

So those crazy bursts of imagination were Magic Mushrooms! 「(laughs) Because John Leckie was very keen to recommend it to us while we were recording. He said, "Try eating this to awaken brain cells you haven't used before. You'll be freed from your normal perspective and you'll see yourself differently from outside the box. Your approach to instruments will change completely." John Leckie has a very 60s, hippie sensibility in that sense. He emphasises that this is the only way to break out of your shell.」

(laughs) So it was all John Leckie's fault. 「(laughs) Yeah. It was also the time when I first became aware of 19th century classical music. That's when I first wanted to try to bring that kind of operatic grandeur to our rock music and create a new sound. It was also when my vocal style started to change from the way I sang in the early days. I think the change is most evident in songs like "Micro Cuts". From that time onwards, I started to sing less like a regular rock singer and more like an operatic soprano singer. It was also around that time that I started practising the pipe organ for the first time. I think the reason why our mind-set changed like that was because we got a lot of flak from the media in our own country during the period of our first album, and that made us think, "I don't care what other people think anymore. From now on, we're just going to do what we want to do". Regardless of which of those reasons triggered it, that second album was certainly a big turning point for us. Since then, the scale of our tours also changed from small venues with a few hundred people at the beginning to venues with several thousand people. So that album got a lot of recognition in Europe, Japan and Australia (it was the first UK album to make the top three in the UK), but it wasn't very well received in the US…… When the album was released, there was a dispute with the US label, and it ended up not being released (Muse refused Maverick's unreasonable request that Matt's falsetto be reduced on the album to make it more radio-friendly. Muse left Maverick). So at that point, Muse was as good as completely extinct on the US scene (wry smile).」

However, Muse's third album, "Absolution," released two years later, also reached #1 in the US on Billboard's Heatseekers chart! And also #1 in the UK and France! And in other European countries, Muse made a spectacular comeback, reaching the top three, of course. This album contains elements of symphonic rock, classical music, and electronic music, and features many of the signature sounds that would later be called "Muse's trademark." What was the reason why your creativity blossomed so vigorously during this third album period? 「I think one of the biggest factors in the production of "Absolution" was that we were free from the touring days of the past, and for the first time we were able to lock ourselves in the studio and really work on it. As I mentioned earlier, the songwriting and recording sessions for "Origin" were all done at the same time as the world tour, so we didn't have the time to carefully work out the details of the sound. That's why the second album had such a live-oriented style. On the other hand, when we made "Absolution", for the first time since the band was formed, we were able to take a break from touring and take our time and concentrate on making the album. We could afford to experiment with studio work, which we had wanted to try for a long time. In other words, "Absolution" was the first album where Muse were able to explore its potential as a studio band. Also, lyrically, the album started to contain more socially relevant material. The 9/11 attacks in 2001 were a big shock to me and had a big impact on my worldview. It was around the time of the third album that I started to want to express this change in perspective through our music and lyrics. I wouldn't call "Absolution" a political album, though. It's true that our view of our music and lyrics became much more serious after that period.」

I understand. Well, it seems that time is running out, so let's move on to your fourth album, "Black Holes and Revelations" (2006). You started working on this album in a chateau in France, and then spent a long time in different studios in New York, Milan and London. During the making of this album, you guys learned studio techniques for the first time - in other words, was this album an important turning point for Muse in terms of creativity? 「Yes, at the same time it was one of the hardest albums for us to make, actually. At the time, I was hitting a wall creatively for the first time in my life, and I had no idea what to do next. After two albums, "Origin" and "Absolution", I thought we had done everything we could do as a guitar band. We couldn't write new songs in the guitar band format anymore. So when we started working on the fourth album, we had to start by looking for new ideas, something that would take Muse to the next level. That's why the production of "Black Holes" took so long. The breakthrough for us was the fundamental idea that "we have to break away from our previous band format." I was playing guitar, Dom was playing drums, Chris was playing bass, it was already the formula of Muse at that point. I felt that we couldn't go any further if we continued in the same way. So, at the time of that album, I started to write songs more with piano and synths and other instruments, rather than sticking to the guitar-driven songwriting that we had been doing up until that point. "Supermassive Black Hole" was also a song written mainly with programming and vocal chords, and all the members started to play different instruments from their previous ones. By changing the way we wrote songs, we tried to fundamentally change the formula of Muse as a three-piece guitar band. And because the dynamics of the band changed during that period, we needed another member for live shows, so we asked Morgan (a former member of the aforementioned Senseless Things) to join us. Unlike playing in the studio, live performances don't allow the same members of the band to play different instruments at the same time. In that sense, the fourth album was a big turning point for us.」

"The starting point for the latest album was that we wanted to explore a personal point of view. It's diverse in style, but it's an honest album that reflects who we are at the moment."

Now let's swiftly move on to your fifth album, "The Resistance", released in 2009. As soon as it was released, the album reached number one in 19 countries around the world and was the first album to enter the top three on the US album charts. It also won the Grammy Award for ‘Best Rock Album’ the following year. At the same time, this album was one of the most wide-ranging Muse albums to date, but what does it mean to you guys? 「For us, "The Resistance" was a record that broadened the horizons of the new Muse that began with the last album, "Black Holes", and pushed us even further beyond that. It was an album where we aimed to go even further than we did with our fourth album, where we grew dramatically as studio musicians and producers. So there are quite a few songs on that album that can't be reproduced live, like the three suites from "Exogenesis: Symphony", which cannot be reproduced exactly as they are on the album in a live performance. "The Resistance" is an album that was not originally made with a live show in mind, but rather an album that focused on perfection as a studio album. At the same time, it's also very conceptual in terms of lyrics, and I've been able to focus on what I want to convey to the audience. In that sense, that album was one where the quality of the studio work was more important than anything else. We decided to completely self-produce the album because we wanted to find out what direction Muse would take in the future, without any outside influence. What exactly is Muse? We wanted to find out for ourselves. In a way, the album was also a search for the answer to that question.」

I understand. Now let's talk about your sixth album "The 2nd Law", which will finally be released. This album is one of the most artistically adventurous and stimulating Muse albums to date. What does this latest album mean to you, the creators of this album? 「The starting point for this latest album was to take another turn from the direction we had pursued with "Black Holes" and "The Resistance", and to push further into the personal point of view that we had expressed on our first album. The titles and lyrics certainly have a lot of social and hard science overtones, but the content is all written from a very emotional point of view. The musical style of the songs on the album is the most varied to date, but the sound structure itself wasn't created with a complex concept in mind. It's a very honest album, a reflection of who we are at the moment. So in the case of this album, I'm confident that we can reproduce almost all of the songs live. With "The Resistance", there were more than half of the songs that I thought…… I think it would never work live, no matter how we tried (laughs). So this latest album is also a reaction against ourselves in the past few albums. It was also meaningful to bring Muse back to simplicity, which we had made more and more complex in the process from "Black Holes" to "The Resistance".」

Finally, what are your plans for the future? Muse's live activities will finally resume with a UK & European tour starting in early October. When do you think this will develop into a world tour, including Japan? When I last asked Dom and Chris, they assured me that "We will definitely do a live show in Japan next year!". 「Yeah, at the moment we are talking about doing a show in Japan around January next year. Right now, it seems that it depends on the timing of whether we can actually transport all of our equipment to Japan at that time. It's right after Christmas and New Year's, so it might take a while to get them there. So as long as we can clear that up, we should be able to come to Japan around the 11th or 12th of January. We're looking forward to it and we're excited about it.」

Will you descend on stage in a model UFO, as you recently confessed in a British magazine? 「If the venue would let me (laughs), of course I'd love to do it.」

Translator's Note: It's been over a month since I last posted a translated interview. This one was a really long one, and on top of being on holiday abroad and coming back sick, I barely managed to have the energy to look through the translations and edit them accordingly. So, sorry about this being long overdue.

This is actually the second time Matt has done a 20,000 character interview with Rockin'On. The first long interview with Rockin'On was released back in October 2001, and said interview was reissued into the August 2010 magazine.

[1] I don't really know which Cream compilation album that Matt was talking about, given that by the year and age that he discovered it (1990 at age 11-12), there were already 3 compilation albums released by Cream (Best of Cream, Heavy Cream, and Strange Brew: The Very Best of Cream). And that doesn't count in the 2 live compilation albums also released by that time.

[2] While the name of the members that made up Gothic Plague were already known on Musewiki, this is actually the first physical proof of what their positions in the band (Marcus = Vocals, Paul = Guitar, Andy = Bass). Not even Matt's photo of the itinerary for a Talent Content in 1991 had written what instruments/position Marcus, Andy, and Paul played as.

[3] You finally heard it here, folks. When it comes to Britpop, Matt likes Suede and Blur more than Oasis LMAO

[4] Now everyone, thank John Leckie for introducing to the boys to magic mushrooms. And only magic mushrooms, thankfully.

Please do support me via my ko-fi! ☕

[seagulllll]

Tell me about how the peach pit you swallowed at 9

Sprouted into a tree of anguish and doubt by 22.

Whisper your grievances into the hollow of my skull,

Sing your songs of withered rose petals at the front of the choir.

Script the tales of 23 on the underside of my neck,

In ink, in blood, in the salt of your tears.

Build for me the fountain of 24,

From the clay of the southern riverbed,

Water spilling over rock and rubble,

Like haunted memories seeping from your star-crossed eyes.

Let it pile up—slow—then faster—faster.

Let it sift like tortured sand in an hourglass.

And then give it all to me.

Let me fold it gently, like winter laundry being put away for the spring.

Release your too-tight grip on that rusted iron gate;

Let it swing shut one last final time.

Let me hold your fragile heart in these careful hands of mine.

Hands that have made some good mistakes— but hands that can always make better ones

Let those hands string your past together,

Thread it, tracing the contours of your body,

Every knot a story, every tangle a truth.

I’ll pin the pain of the past to your skin,

Map your scars, connect them to your beauty—

And I’ll sew you a dress with that thread—

And throw your heart across its off-white sleeves—

So you can touch, hold, and feel

The space-time fabric you've endured,

On every inch of your being.

And let me tell you how beautiful you look;

I’ll tell you how beautiful the dress is.

I’ll tell you how beautiful you are—in that dress.

I'll tell you how;

I wish I had known you at 9.

I wish I’d grown up three houses down,

Lent you pencils, sat with you every day at lunch.

I wish we had played together on the playground,

So I could feel the joy of chasing you 15 years earlier—

And stop you from eating that peach pit.

I wish I’d known you at 22.

I wish we’d walked through the city,

Summer skies hang heavy above us.

I wish I’d been there when your mom—when the world—didn’t understand,

When everything fell apart.

If I had been there,

I would have cut down that tree.

I wish I could have seen you through the seasons, the years—

Through the pain.

I would have watched you blossom,

Witnessed the beauty of becoming.

God, I wish I’d been young with you.

At 8 and 9, at 10, 11, 12,

At 16, 18, 21, 22.

But I’d settle for being old with you.

24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30…

[fiercynn]

Like my father, I was born a refugee in the Jabalia camp of the Gaza Strip. When I was 10 months old my family moved to the United States. Since then, we have made frequent trips to Gaza. I remember once reaching the Tel Aviv Airport, thinking I was so close to my home in Gaza only to be sent back to Frankfurt the next morning after being detained for several hours by Israeli authorities. I was 11 years old. This was not the first or last time we were denied entry into our homeland. I remember asking my mother why we never visited Jerusalem. I always wanted to pray in the famous and sacred Masjid Al-Aqsa; I wanted to see up close the Dome of the Rock I was so used to seeing on TV and on postcards despite it being hours away from our home in Gaza. My mother explained this concisely by simply stating: “Because we are Palestinian.” [...] I am Palestinian; I am from Huj, yet I am not allowed to visit Palestine. I am not allowed to leave the 136 square mile open-air prison densely populated by 1.7 million people. On the other hand, my Jewish peers in my American high school would come back every summer boasting about their birthright trips. Most of them were born here, and their parents and grandparents were also born in the United States. Many times they were of European descent. However, none of them were actually born in Israel. Until this day I don’t understand how it is their right to visit a country which they have never been to or have never known to be home, but I, who — like so many generations before me — was born in Palestine, am not even allowed to visit my own home. How is it that other kids are getting free trips to travel across the world, yet when I was in the Jabalia refugee camp, I was not allowed to drive a few miles to visit the place where my father’s history yearns to be affirmed? Another “holy” site of sorts, off limits. Where was my birthright? [x]

- suha najjar for the michigan daily on march 12, 2014

[lizardperson]

oc tag game <3

the awesome @dellamortte tagged me [here] and because i never pass up an opportunity to ramble about my idiots... *cracks knuckles* also i'm gonna cheat and talk about TWO just because i can :D

tagging: @twiggies-draws @clit-eastwood-spicy @ladyunderthemolehill @dragkingandreweldritch (no pressure tho obvs) and whoever feels like doing this :D

mika & gabriel as of current Dark Lights, Shine Loud status (chapter 11)

[art credits: lelelego / noxious-fennec / grozat ]

General

Name: mikaela jacobson (actually has a middle name but would rather die than tell it to anyone)

Alias/Nickname: mika. she *hates* her full name and only a handful of people actually know it. brat and menace also work as nicknames of course.

Gender: tomboy

Age: 32

Place of Birth: chicago

Spoken Languages: english; spanish relatively fluent

Sexual Orientation: very

Occupation: social worker

Favorites

Color: changes daily, but definitely ~colorful~

Entertainment: anything music (making, writing, listening, concerts, dancing)

Pastime: music, hanging out with friends, sex, running

Food: basically everything - loves most foods, loves trying out new ones, couldn't name a favorite dish

Drink: energy drink (all of them), coffee (order: dead eye, which is 3 espresso shots in a normal coffee, with no milk but an obscene amount of sugar)

Books: not a huge reader, but if she had to pick one then probably alice in wonderland

Movies: (sneakily adding this myself lol. in no particular order, and yes i have definitely overthought that) death proof; mars attacks; the boat that rocked; tropic thunder; across the universe; the men who stare at goats; rocky horror picture show; scott pilgrim vs the world; almost famous; boogie nights; legally blonde; yes man; wayne's world; napoleon dynamite; moulin rouge; lilo & stitch; the thing; dude where's my car; various jackass movies

Have They…

Passed University: yes but it took a while. has a ba in sociology

Had Sex: so much

Had Sex in Public: definitely, more than once

Gotten Tattoos: lots

Gotten Piercings: both nipples, and a bunch of ear piercings

Gotten Scars: a few from various dumbasseries

Had a Broken Heart: no

Been in Love: little miss demiromantic... definitely madly in love with gabriel by now (but wouldn't admit that ofc), other than that not really. bunch of crushes tho, but more in a horny way than in a love-way.

Are They…

A cuddler: huge. overall a very physically affectionate person with everyone. no sense of personal space.

Scared easily: no. fearless (dumbass)

Jealous easily: nope, not at all

Trustworthy: yes

Family

Siblings: no biological ones (that she knows of), but considers her foster brother aaron her real brother. met when they were both 12 and have been attached at the hip since then. also has a million other foster siblings, with various degrees of closeness

Parents: mother jess, had mika at like 19, died when mika was in her late teens. father unknown at this point, according to jess it was some drunk one night stand. foster mother charlotte morrison ('mrs. m'), mika lived with her since she was 12. died last year.

Children: currently none

Pets: always lowkey kinda wanted a dog but never got around to it

General

Name: gabriel l. wallace

Alias/Nickname: 'that old man', but of course only mika calls him that. will correct everyone who tries to call him gabe.

Gender: cis man

Age: 50

Place of Birth: some small town not far from portland maine

Spoken Languages: english; some rusty french and spanish which he has been meaning to brush up eventually

Sexual Orientation: straight

Occupation: lawyer (criminal defense)

Favorites

Color: black

Entertainment: books, music

Pastime: reading, spending time with people he likes, swimming, various other sport stuff, music

Food: doesn't really have a fav dish, but generally likes a lot of mediterranean food, lots of fish. pretty open to trying new things

Drink: water, some type of fancy whiskey

Books: seven pillars of wisdom (th lawrence), a lot of classics/'top 100 books of the 20th century' stuff - nabokov, joyce, steinbeck (doesn't care for hemingway tho). guilty pleasure: old detective/noir novels, the pulpier the better. mika makes fun of him for that.

Movies: would probably answer "none", but actually it's casablanca and various other bogart movies

Have They…

Passed University: yes. law school and all that.

Had Sex: yes

Had Sex in Public: probably got talked into something semi public by mika at one point or another

Gotten Tattoos: no

Gotten Piercings: no

Gotten Scars: a few, but none that have a meaningful story

Had a Broken Heart: yes, when he and kat 'restructured' their marriage

Been in Love: yes, couple times

Are They…

A cuddler: only with very selected people, but then yes

Scared easily: no. unshakeable.

Jealous easily: no

Trustworthy: very

Family

Siblings: none

Parents: marlene 'marly' and allan, both dead. there's a whole tragic backstory here.

Children: none, unless you count the baby that died during birth when he was in his 20s

Pets: none. he doesn't want any.

blank template below:

General

Name:

Alias:

Gender:

Age:

Place of Birth:

Spoken Languages:

Sexual Orientation:

Occupation:

Favorites

Color:

Entertainment:

Pastime:

Food:

Drink:

Books:

Have They…

Passed University:

Had Sex:

Had Sex in Public:

Gotten Tattoos:

Gotten Piercings:

Gotten Scars:

Had a Broken Heart:

Been in Love:

Are They…

A cuddler:

Scared easily:

Jealous easily:

Trustworthy:

Family

Siblings:

Parents:

Children:

Pets:

[awmancreeper]

☆⋆｡Farewell, Star Boy°‧ミ★˚｡⋆ 3 - Not a Single Being

Synopsis:

--⋆·˚ ༘ * 🔭After a messy breakup, the stoic Y/n makes a vow that “not a single guy on earth” can ever win her heart again. She is proven right when a beautiful extraterrestrial being crash lands into her life, but for some reason, the being has an attitude. Now trying to continue with her life, Y/n and her friends figure out that the being is truly out of this world.

Masterlist / prev / next

!!written parts!!

｡°‧ミ★˚｡⋆ ━━━━━ ｡°‧ミ★˚｡⋆ ━━━━━ ｡°‧ミ★˚｡⋆

Waiting for your bus, you stretch your arms over your head groaning after your 9-hour shift.

Finally being released from stocking shelves and ringing up high school students, your eyes shifted to the night sky.

Much like every other night, you clock out around 23:40 leaving you little to no free time once you get home. Maybe you take Beomgyu’s advice and watch some TLC-

Beomgyu

Looking back at the night sky, you remember the invitation your friends and beomgyu gave you to watch the meteor shower with them.

Although you were feeling slightly better after the breakup, being out gave you anxiety. And the thought of possibly being seen by him or one of his friends made your hands sweat

Yet you were over him, why’d he still make you sweat?

It’s true the break up wasn’t exactly on both ends but there’s not much you can do when your partner of 3 years proclaimed his love for another. But 3 years…

You had your life already sorted with him, got married at the 5-year mark, buy a house together, have two kids- one boy and one girl. Adopted a dog

Grow old and wrinkly together….

Yet now here you were, working a shitty convenience store job, barely being able to pay your rent, moping around in your dingy apartment because the love of your life left you. And your friends worry dearly for you

Although it’s been a month the wound was still very fresh

*11:46 pm*

It’s the forest, you won’t run into ‘he who must not be named. So maybe you should go hang out with friends, finally breathe in the air of your new life, plus they are always there to make sure your life doesn’t get too boring

Your bus arrived

~~~~~~★~~~~~~ ★~~~~~~ ★~~~~~~

After stepping out of the bus, you walked along the sidewalk hearing the street lights buzzing

The cold night atmosphere allowed you to dance around with your thoughts until you stopped coming to a crossroads

Looking ahead was the forest where Beomgyu and your friends asked for you to meet them; where if you were to continue to follow the sidewalk it would lead you home

Rocking on your heels you thought up the pros and cons of the possibility of attending this hangout.

Feeling the pros only slightly weighing out the cons you pulled out your phone “It could be fun…” you muttered quietly checking the time

*11:57 pm*

Realizing you still had time, you took a deep breath and walked towards the forest entrance.

Feeling a rush of emotions a small smile found its way onto your face as you stepped out of your comfort zone. Nothing can go wrong

“why would I ever listen to my brother!” You yelled walking by the same tree you feel like you passed a few steps ago

“He wants me to ‘stop moping’, well look where that got me!!” At this point, you seem to have lost your sense of direction in this forest

Pulling out your phone, you saw there was little to no signal here

*12:01 am*

You sigh pocketing your phone. “This was so stupid”

You pulled your jacket closer to you and turned back around “Why would going to a forest in the middle of the night be a good idea”

“Only Beomgyu would make such an irresponsible decision”

You huffed feeling anger build up just imagining your brother’s stupidity cute grin “he’s so ignorant and careless”

“Makes me just wanna- ugh!” you groaned throwing your head back in annoyance

“I used to be like that….”

“What happened to me,” the night sky was decorated with delicate stars that twinkled ever so slightly. You clutched her heart remembering the open wounds.

You were loud and playful, and much like your brother, you brought a smile to the room… brought a smile to him…

Although he was your polar opposite, he was also your other half. Just watching you ramble about whatever crossed your mind, he would just smile and enjoy the way your eyes lit up.- Or when he held you; making you feel so secure and safe, like nothing in this world could ever get between them.

Yet something did

Your once perfect future - ripped from your hands because he never saw a house, never saw two kids and dog… never saw you

Your hands shook with fury, now looking up at the stars -stars he once compared your eyes to

“I HATE YOU CHOI SOOBIN!!” You were broken, there was never love, there couldn’t be because why would he just leave you that?

“Not a single man on earth can win my heart…”

The meteor shower begins wiping ‘shooting stars’ across the sky. Your eyes set on the biggest and brightest meteorite; you closed your eyes as warm tears rolled down your wet cheeks.

“You hear that universe- NOT A SINGLE BEING ON EARTH!!”

With that proclamation, you open your eyes finding your star immediately only something was off.

Has it always been that big?….

Your heart jumped out of your chest realizing that this meteorite was coming straight for Earth, in fact for you

Or rather near you

Taking cover behind a large boulder you hear and feel the impact of the meteorite hitting the ground 50ish feet away from you

It sounded like a silent explosion along with a terrible car accident, and a strong gust of wind blew through the trees as well the vibrations made your head spin

Although the impact aftershocks caused you some discomfort you were fine and thanked your lucky stars

(But maybe not the star that tried killing you just now)

Lucky the meteor had seemed to land in the quarry nearby

Nearby… quarry…

‘BEOMGYU!’ You thought quickly standing up ignoring the vertigo you might’ve just developed

Running/stumbling through the trees you reached the cliff of the quarry panting

Your eyes frantically scanned the area for any sign of your brother and your friends

“Beomgyu! Jinsol!! Taehyun!! Tsuki!” You shouted as your voice rang through the quarry and also your ears

Not finding anything you pulled out your phone only to remember the signal wasn’t great out here and something seemed to be messing with your phone in general as the screen flickered heavily

You tapped your phone desperately not wanting your phone to give out “Come on I don’t have time for this-“

While you messed with your cellular device a strange ringing echoed through the quarry hitting your eardrums

Capturing your attention your eyes drifted to the center of the quarry seeing something irregular.

It was a saucer-shaped vessel sitting on the shore of the medium-sized lake of the quarry

Not knowing what it was you concluded that the strange sound was definitely coming from the unidentified object. Further making the pit in your stomach grows exponentially.

As you stood frozen in curiosity the bushes next to you rustled sending a wave of chills through your body.

“B-Beomgyu” you squeak out almost like a child calling for their parents after waking up from a nightmare

You slowly turned your head seeing a pair of glowing blue eyes looking back at you.

“Is that you?” You asked just when the figure owning the pair of eyes seemingly stood up revealing the true size of the being.

“Holy Shi-“

｡°‧ミ★˚｡⋆ ━━━━━ ｡°‧ミ★˚｡⋆ ━━━━━ ｡°‧ミ★˚｡⋆

Taglist: @miyawwn OPEN (ask or comment to be added)

[microcomets]

end of year ask thing just answer the whole thing bc im nosy like that

LOLLL oh man well! here i go

i answered 1 and 14 but:

Song of the year?

Album of the year?

my top five albums of the year were ESCAPER by sarah kinsley, SEED OF A SEED by haley heynderickx, WHAT A RELIEF by katie gavin, BRIGHT FUTURE by adrianne lenker, and TIGERS BLOOD by waxahatchee!

3. Favorite musical artist / group you started listening to this year?

orville peck and adrianne lenker!

4. Movie of the year?

sadly i don't watch a lot of movies...........i've been enjoying the WICKED renaissance a lot as a recovered theater nerd but other than that, probably LONGLEGS or LOVE LIES BLEEDING

5. TV show of the year?

interview with the vampire!!!

6. Episode of tv or webisode that defined the year for you?

i wouldn't say it "defined the year" but honestly probably that episode with the loumand fight scene in iwtv.......sauce

7. Favorite actor of the year?

jacob anderson lol

8. Game of the year?

i truly wish i could say dragon age the veilguard but alas i cannot.....i'm playing elden ring right now and enjoying it a lot

9. Best month for you this year?

probably june! i quit an abusive job, did a lot of traveling, saw some old friends, and got to attend a cool workshop

10. Something that made you cry this year?

aside from serious real-world atrocities, getting lots of rejections and my cat dying lol

11. Something you want to do again next year?

finish drafting a book!

12. Talk about a new friend you made this year

this year i met @erebones through gaming and writing stuff and they are the coolest!!

13. How was your birthday this year?

it's in two days and i'm celebrating it tonight with friends so that remains to be seen

14. Favorite book you read this year?

15. What’s a bad habit you picked up this year?

eating ice cream while i play video games :C

16. Post a picture from the beginning of the year

17. Post a picture from the end of the year

18. A memorable meal this year?

i had some really good irish stew when i was staying in ireland :3

19. What’re you excited about for next year?

going to scotland on another fiddling trip!

20. What’s something you learned this year?

things that are meant for you will happen when they're meant to happen and not a moment before, and forcing things that are not meant to be will only backfire on you

21. What’s something new about your place of residence (room, home, or general location) now vs the start of the year?

i have a new kitten, ophelia!

22. Favorite place you visited this year?

ireland, followed closely by the pacific northwest

23. If you could send a message to yourself back on the first day of the year, what would it be?

hang in there queen lmfao

24. Did you keep any New Year’s Resolutions?

for a little while! i was rock-climbing for the first half of the year, and i finished drafting my novel/started the querying process (l o l)

25. Did you create any characters (in games, art, or writing) this year? Describe one.

yep, a few new ocs this year!!! my main guy in my new project is an orphaned seafaring thief who's desperate to change his destiny

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

Fuck, man. RIP to all the mornings when I was 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 years old, and woke up 5:30 AM so I could go downstairs and watch 2 or 3 episodes of my parents' DVD boxsets before school. They had Yes Minister/Prime Minister, Fawlty Towers, Flying Circus, Ripipng Yarns, Blackadder - and in American comedy, Cheers and M*A*S*H. I watched every episode of every DVD over and over and over. I used to try hard to find any episode, of any DVD, from any one of those shows, where I hadn't already seen the episode so many times that I could recite every line in my head before the actors said it. Once I got to high school I learned how to stream and download TV shows, I stopped being reliant on what my parents owned, I stopped watching the same stuff over and over. But for a few years there, those shows were my entire idea of what comedy was, and in fact, of what all media was. I woke up at 5:30 every single morning for years, so I could get a couple of episodes in while the house was quiet, while no one would bother me, before other people woke up and school happened and the world became overwhelming and scary.

God, I loved M*A*S*H. Watched every moment of it over and over and over and over and over. And of course Margaret was my favourite. Of course she was. In Cheers, Carla was my favourite. In Blackadder, Bob was my favourite. I liked the women who acted like women weren't supposed to act. Obviously. And the older I get, the more I appreciate what a brilliantly complex character Margaret Houlihan was.

As an adult, I've occasionally rewatched episodes of M*A*S*H, to see if the intervening years have dulled my memory, so some of it might surprise me. But no, I can still recite every line.

Obviously I'm doing that annoying thing where someone dies, and I make a social media post about it, but that post is entirely about myself. To be fair, Loretta Swit was an 87-year-old woman whom I've never met, so I can't really make it about her. That's probably the best way for it to be - that the people who knew her can feel grief that's about her. And the many strangers whose lives she touched, including a nine-year-old girl in Canada whose parents' DVD collection had a terrible deficiency of strong female characters, can feel sad in a way that's entirely about themselves. And can stay up at night listening to Suicide Is Painless on repeat.

Of course I played some Where Everybody Knows Your Name the other day, when Norm from Cheers died. Weird that they died so close together, two main characters from the two American sitcoms that I watched over and over as a kid (on DVD, because my parents watched them when they were actually airing). But that didn't have the same impact on me, because while of course I liked Norm, I wasn't attached to him in the same was I was to Margaret. He did not fulfill my childhood desire to see televised proof that there was more for a girl's future than the expected female behaviour.

I eventually became a teenager and discovered online streaming and Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The L Word, and after that 30 Rock and Parks and Rec, and maybe I didn't need Margaret Houlihan as much. But as far as I can tell, Margaret and Carla pretty much held it down for women on TV shows from the time the medium was invented until then.