#i love milex

[n1co-teen]

it's fine im fine im definitely fine

miles rubbing comforting circles on alex’s shoulder after their emotionally charged final performance of eycte where they were both visibly in tears is just -

[n1co-teen]

boyfriends (in a musical sense)

[tedioepica]

This picture has been stuck in my mind for a while, and I don't see it very often and I think it deserves to be seen by more people

[danishphoner]

“I’ll give you the ✨ D ✨”  “I wish you would” “I wish you would, too” “Well, I'm giving it to you now”

[urfavsecretgirl]

i love how he looks like lesbian here

[franklyimissparis]

i love miracle aligner because “he was born to blow your mind… or something along those lines” oh yeah, alex? what else was he born to blow? hmm?

[misskattylashes]

Agghhhhhhhaagahahhahahahhhhhh

Agggahhahhhahhhahhhhhhhghhhhh

[subtle-as-an-earthquake]

"She's gettin' a lot, isn't she? For her birthday." "Yeah, you are. We've really made the effort."

[daddy-long-legssss]

make some noise — and don't embarrass me now – really make some noise for the son of mod himself: miles fucking kane everybody!

[hesterias]

another year another day thinking about these hoes

[uhbasicallyjustmilex]

the cutest little bag of nerves 🥺

[nicoscheer]

[bacusdraculacape]

My interpretation / findings regarding TLSP: Everything You’ve Come To Expect (album)

PART 1: The Album Cover

The initial interesting thing about EYCTE is it’s album cover:

The image is a photograph of Tina Turner taken from a photography session on 25 November 1969 by photographer Jack Robinson.

Jack Robinson is renowned for his work in the 1960s for his photography of fashion and celebrity portraits he shot for Vogue and Vanity Fair. In 1972, he gave up photography and found a creative outlet in the designing of stained glass windows. However, what’s most prominent and most interesting to me about him is that his work preserved valuable glimpses into the New Orleans gay subculture of the 1950s. During this time, Jack fell in love with a young man named Gabriel, whom he photographed many times - often in the nude. In 1954, Robinson and Gabriel travelled to Mexico. There, Robinson captured Mexican scenes in large and medium format photographs. He also photographed his travelling companions, including Gabriel and Betty Parsons- an American artist, art dealer, collector, and lesbian well renowned for her early promotion of Abstract Expressionism.

Aswell- the album cover for EYCTE is an image of Tina Turner- well-renowned singer/songwriter who is famously known for standing up and advocating for LGBTQIA+ community and rights in times when rarely any celebrities would because as we know they were irrational cowards then unfortunately.

Anyways ;) according to interviews, Alex Turner had the photograph hanging in his kitchen, and both our Monkey and Turtle (Miles Kane) liked the image so much that they ended up using it. When they got permission to use it, the original b/w photograph was giving a goldeny / orangey / yellowish tinge- On the LGBTQIA+ flag yellow represents sunlight. Orange represents healing. Sunlight is commonly a metaphor for: the light of truth and being. And the definition of healing is: to make well again.

Sources of info:

Tina-turner-jack-robinson-november-25-1969

Jack Robinson.html

Betty Parsons.html

Dealer-betty-parsons-pioneered-male-abstract-expressionistsbut-who-were-the-unrecognized-women-54682

images taken from pinterest :)

[skylarbee]

alex last night: "i don't wanna be hers, i wanna be yours" (in the same tone he said "let's hear it for miles kane" the night before)

miles hearing it from a distance:

[punkrockscully]

“She’s So Heavy” Plays in the Background of My Highlight Reel of You or Primavera Sound, 03-06-2016

1. I want you, I want you so bad

Red-orange light looks good on him; you’re bathed in it like two lit-up stoplights except you never know when to stop— pushing farther every night and how far until one of you breaks? You can’t imagine it; he could never break you while he’s still by your side. You will let him push until—until, that’s the question.

Fingers through his hair, eyes dark as two chocolate coins, his gaze profoundly unconditional and only for you. Maybe you’re playing guitar, maybe you’re just standing there staring into the matchless flames of his eyes. Either way, your fingers are guided only by instinct.

Foreheads knock like friends at the door. He presses close, infinite glories in sweat and skin— shining in the hollow of his throat, his upper lip. You want to lick but must be content to simply look.

2. I want you so bad it’s driving me mad

No one makes you laugh like this, hoots and hollers, childhood sounds; still two teenagers in a dark room only now there are thousands of people in the room with you. Still, you are soft with him, little lilt of body toward his always—unwrap the mortifying ordeal and be known by him.

Your nose touches the corner of his mouth pressed in a line against his cheek—you are subtle as a starving dog, all teeth and all fours and all his, throaty all-nighter in the muse’s hours.

Pseudo-intellectuals will say you’re good friends, but no one has seen your disorderly dreamscapes where it’s just you two and an ocean, a kiss and another, stolen places hidebound, embossed with your initials—that’s where you are now, face-first on him under an orange halo-glow panting like an animal with a cracked-open grin.

3. It’s driving me mad

God, but he lurches like a little sonic boom, rubbing his forehead against yours like he can get the stink of your dirty thoughts all over him—refracting not-so-subtle in his eyes too-big, prolific abundance of fantasies.

There is no room for naivety, that has long passed like a veil falling from between you, exposed to luck’s right-turning fragility— luck, and compatibility, and secrets shared in bedrooms, knees pressed close together like seashell halves.

Say it out loud with your river-reed body while he warbles and ripples like water against you; he could breach your infinitude with one havocked hand on the back of your head, wrap his blueness around yours in a winding clutch where his fingers dig in, grip, alter, loosen.

When he bends, you bend, rendered still by his eyes catching on your edges. Feel him in your bones where he’s made a home, submerged in marrow-hours invoking you like a saint—sunspangled forever, he leans in the window and waits for you to come home to him.

based on these gifs by @i-m-a-leaf-on-the-wind

for @daddy-long-legssss, hope you like :)

[franklyimissparis]

mr schwartz: a line-by-line queer-coded lyrical analysis

warning: this is quite long but mr schwartz is one of my favourite songs off the car album (and one of my favourites of alex’s in general) and i’ve ALWAYS read it as super queer but have yet to dive into precisely what makes it queer and the themes within it. it’s TRULY such an understated lyrical masterpiece.

Put your heavy metal to the test

- this is a play on words of the phrase ‘test your mettle’ which basically means to see whether or not someone will carry on through something that is difficult. immediately, this indicates that the relationship between alex and the other person is a difficult one and requires strength/determination to move forward with

- it also could refer to heavy metal music (which isn’t a very traditionally romantic genre) as is played off of in the next few lines

Might be half a love song in it all for you

- the phrase “half a love song” is particularly interesting to me as there are many ways to take it: it could be half a love song because it is unfinished or because it isn’t fully a love song (and both interpretations tie into other lyrics in the song)

- if we go down the route that it’s only half a love song because it isn’t fully a love song, it implies that there is more to the relationship than romance or that the song/relationship isn’t meant to be viewed (solely) through a romantic lens (but the other person may see it as such)

- whereas the idea that the song is unfinished could either suggest a lack of passion or the feeling that the story isn’t done yet.

- it could also communicate that the someone else needs to finish the song for alex - which is somewhat implied in the previous line. this could also indicate that, like alex, the other person gets musical inspiration out of their relationship

Timing wise, it’s probably for the best

- the use of “timing” ties in with the musical references but also highlights that the relationship is heavily tied to the timing of what’s going on in their lives (invoking “right person, wrong time” in a way)

- alex is acknowledging that because of forces outside of their control (i.e. time) it’s probably best they don’t pursue a serious relationship (or, like the previous line, a “full” love song)

Come here and kiss me now, before it gets too cute

- he’s asking his lover to quickly kiss him before they can let the moment become sweet, implying that, while he is fine with the physical aspect, the emotional side of things makes him uncomfortable

- musically, he also wants to avoid being cheesy or overly sentimental which ties in thematically with the ultracheese as well

- it’s important to note that this is also the only explicitly romantic line on the entirety of the car album: this (and the half a love song line) is the only line on the album that cannot possibly be read as platonic

Mr Schwartz is stayin’ strong for the crew

- here we switch to discussing the persona/character of mr schwartz, which as seen later, is obviously meant to be an extension/alter-ego of alex himself

- the reference to “staying strong for the crew” directly after talking about his lover implies that there is a conflict between the two: that staying strong for the crew entails keeping an emotional distance from his lover

- he recognises that those around him rely on him to keep up his persona to do their jobs (in this extended metaphor of a film set)

Wardrobe’s lint-rollin’ your velveteen suit

- alex is known to emphasise his personas via clothing choices and the velveteen suit is representative of that here. the crew removes any imperfections, like the lint, off of the suit (the persona)

- this also ties into alex’s obsession with perfectionism and control and how, though he is wearing the suit (i.e. persona), there is a mutual reliance between him and the “crew” to maintain his image

- also have to mention that velveteen is a rather untraditional material choice for something as traditional as a suit, there is a bit of a clash here between the two (a fully velveteen suit could also be seen as quite camp - and is also very 70s, which ties into eycte’s aesthetic too)

And smudgin’ dubbin on your dancin’ shoes

- dubbin makes leather softer and waterproof: again, others are trying to prevent damage from occurring to the persona

- this could also refer to the musical direction that the band has gone to in tbhc and the car: their music is softer and more contemplative than it was before, especially since ‘dancing shoes’ is also a song off of their first album. this could be commentary on how alex’s personas have evolved and the mixed reactions he’s gotten from his audience over it

Gradually, it’s coming into view

- we move from music imagery to film imagery with the line “coming into view”.. things were blurry or unclear before but he (or the other person) are slowly coming to realizations about their situation

It’s like your little directorial debut

- having a directorial debut suggests that this is the first time they are taking control of a situation and telling others what to do, they are directing someone else instead of being directed - with the word little being used to emphasise that this isn’t a massive change yet

- but he’s also directing himself to behave in a certain way: alex is directing his new persona, mr schwartz, in his debut

As fine a time as any to deduce

- to me this line also implies that this realisation has sort of been a long time coming, they’ve been through this cycle so many times that they might as well come to the realisation now

The fact that neither you or I has ever had a clue

- going into the next verse as well, this hints that alex and his lover have had struggles with seeing where alex ends and the persona begins and have also never been able to get their relationship right as a result

And if we guess who I’m pretending to be

- here he is confirming what is obvious: alex is mr schwartz and the persona is clearly differentiated from himself as “pretending”. alex and his lover are both keenly aware that mr schwartz is a persona which almost becomes a joke to them in the next line

Do we win a prize?

- alex pokes fun at how obvious it is to him and his lover that mr schwartz is a character but i think he’s also pointing out here: do we get anything out of the persona that i’ve created?

- he’s questioning, perhaps for the first time, if in the end keeping the persona up will be worth it to him and his lover or if it is all meaningless

Having attempted twice, both incorrectly

- okay so obviously the majority of us reading this are immediately going to go to a certain side project of alex’s and the two albums they’ve released (with talk of there being a third to complete the trilogy)

- this suggests that there have been two attempts at happiness between him and his lover but both times there was something fundamentally wrong with the relationship that caused them to drift, which is likely related to the act that he is putting on

Do we get a third try?

- the phrasing on this line is interesting as well as alex doesn’t ask his lover directly like “can we have a third try?” instead, he poses this question more existentially: will a third try be given to the two of them? it implies that he and the other person aren’t in control of their situation to some extent, they have to rely on being given chances by others.

- though this also could be interpreted as alex shirking responsibility of the situation onto others instead of being straightforward. he simultaneously wants and does not want control.

The gloved hand’s reachin’ in to hit the switch

- by wearing gloves, there is the desire to avoid leaving fingerprints/evidence of the relationship. and because the hand is gloved it is intentionally anonymous: is it alex’s hand? mr schwartz’s? the other person’s? or someone outside of things meddling in the relationship?

- interesting also that a switch is a binary thing: either on or off (gay or straight, platonic or romantic, alex or mr schwartz) ignoring the possibility of things being on a more complicated spectrum as is implied earlier (“half a love song”)

- hitting the switch is sometimes used as a euphemism for triggering a permanent change but can also be seen as a temporary action (the switch can be endlessly turned off/on), highlighting the back and forth in their relationship.

There’s not one goddamn thing that you can do about it

- this is the only time alex curses in the song which highlights how frustrating the persona and lack of power can be

- he feels stuck in the situation, just continuously flicking the switch between persona and reality, and indicates that his lover is also likely frustrated at this too. though they want to help fix the situation, they can’t, or at least they feel like they can’t

But Mr Schwartz is havin’ tea with the grips

- again, he’s switching back and forth between the real him and mr schwartz: while alex is frustrated and insecure about the lack of control in his life, mr schwartz charms those around him and takes hold of the situation

- more film imagery with mentioning the grips (those who help with camera and lighting equipment on a film set): to me, this line is fascinating as we’ve seen that everyone (including the crew) is working towards keeping the mr schwartz persona up and through the metaphor of the film set they are creating something imaginary, however, behind the scenes the grips still get to be real people with real families while alex, or mr schwartz, has to continue to keep the persona up.

Askin’ after all the wives and the kids

- the use of the phrase “askin’ after” instead of “talking about” etc. implies that the question is not mutual: mr schwartz is not being asked about his wife/kids because he does not have any and the others know it. yet he knows that it is important that he shows interest in their nuclear families. this is also clearly commentary on how alex is the only unmarried and childless member of the band

- it could be seen as him directing conversation away from his personal life: focusing on others and letting them talk is more comfortable than discussing yourself honestly and breaking the act

It’s at the heart of what the business is

- the final line of the song breaks down the essence of why the persona is kept up: ultimately, it is a business decision. alex understands how closely tied together business and personal lives are as a celebrity and is invested in the persona to keep the two separate, though by choice or force is up for debate

- also poses the question of whether or not he’s genuinely interested in their lives or if it is just business to him. it could be read as bittersweet in the sense that the heart of the business is human connection, but if you don’t conform you aren’t allowed to drop the act without punishment

- finally, this line also ties back to “staying strong for the crew”: he has to keep up the persona so that the ‘crew’ can continue to work and take care of their families. and hearing about them is both a reminder of what he is denying himself and what is at stake for the others.

to summarise: alex is torn between putting on the straight persona of mr schwartz and being truly himself within the fractured relationship he has with his lover - which has been heavily influenced by external and internal pressures. gee i wonder who the song is about (rhymes with schmiles schmane.)