#it’s giving alt raver

[bass-alien]

🖤🖤🖤

[sweetest-grrrl-in-town]

Goth and It's Subcultures

A subculture is often associated with subgenres of music. Subcultures are built around the beliefs and political views of a group of people who share an interest in the same thing. A subculture is a smaller and more specific group of a culture for example Goth, Punk, Metalheads, Hip Hoppers, Hipsters, etc. In this I will be talking more about the Goth based ones.

Disclaimer, I myself am not Goth, I do enjoy the music, but I just don't consider myself Goth. However, I absolutely adore the style, sound, and history of it all. So of course, if you are actually Goth or there is something in here, I got incorrect, please let me know! This does not include every subculture but instead my favorites and the ones I’ve done the most research on. Victorian Goth, Bubble Goth, Deathrock, Gothic Lolita, Nu goth, and I’m sure a few others are all the subcultures I haven't wrote about/done enough research about yet.

Goth itself was inspired by Punk fashion, the Punk movement beginning mid 70s and Goth rising and gaining popularity from mid 70s-80s. Not only inspired by Punk but also; gothic literature, horror films, vampirism, religious imagery, Catholicism, and Egyptian mythology which is where the common and famous ankh cross comes from, often seen in Goth fashion as belts, earrings, necklaces, etc.  Goth, especially traditional and romantic, often uses dark metaphors for beautiful things, such as cannibalism for love, death for eternity and peace, decaying for passage of time, shadows for mystery, hunger for desire, I could easily go on. Yes, fashion can be a big part of it, but beliefs are more important. Even if you're a Baby Bat or don’t/can’t dress Goth as long as you aren’t a bigoted fuck and enjoy the music, you’re perfectly fine.

It's common for subcultures to take inspiration from others or blend them together. For example, a subgenre Riot Goth coined by Jessicka from Jack Off Jill was invented in the 90s. It took the sound of Goth Metal and combined it with the lyricism and topics of Riot Grrrl, a Punk subgenre focused on the feminist movement. 

 The Traditional Goth look is in my opinion a mix of Victorian and the New Wave look, think David Bowie, but in darker or all black colors. Messy/Bats nest hair, and androgynous clothing, a common look in plenty of subcultures. No dividing by gender but instead simply style. Often paired with ankh, silver jewelry, rosaries, or occultish jewelry as well.

Romantic Goth, very similar to traditional but more deep reds, maroons, purples, and such. Most of the time with a more feminine look fishnets, lace, corsets, gloves, long flowy skirts, and leather is Romantic Goth. Despite the feminine look being more common for the Romantic Goths that isn't to say men can’t dress that way either often in blouses, cravats, ascots, vests, tailcoats, and trousers. The Romantic Goth definitely plays more into the vampiric look 

Another is Mall Goth which took fashion from the Gothic cultures and subgenres from Metalheads and specifically Industrial Metal, Nu Metal, and even some Emo. Mall Goths are called that from their Hot Topic style from the 90s-2000s they were more of Metalheads who dressed Goth for the aesthetic it's often blamed for the death of Trad Goth and the commercialization of Goth. 

Industrial Goth was all about the dystopian look and sound, with futuristic style and electronic music. Often seen in tactical gear with a tech inspired look. Very similar to Cybergoth but instead of bright colors and Raver inspired clothing it's more about the tech look, of course metallics and such are still being used along with platforms. A big difference between Cyberpunks and Industrial Goths is that while Cyberpunk is about being anti establishment, how high tech and low life the future seems. While Industrial Goth is more about romanticizing/accepting the mechanical and techy aspects of industrialization, and dehumanization of the dystopian society. 

Then Cybergoth sometimes mixed up Industrial Goth, a similar fashion concept all black with pops of color but Cybergoth takes it to the next level mixing it with raver clothes/culture often with brightly colored hair/hair extensions as well as colorful steampunk looking goggles and masks. Often called Gravers(Goth Ravers) seen in pvc, reflective fabrics, neons, and platforms. These Gravers took inspiration from Cyberpunk, Rave, and Goth fashion/culture.

Another one of my favorites is Gothabilly, combining the fashion and sound of Rockabilly but adding a Gothic twist. The subgenre made most popular by The Cramps and Skully Records in the 90s. The style is very similar to Rockabilly focusing on reds, purples, blacks and occasionally whites. Polka dots, plaids, checkers, cherry prints, swing dresses, leather jackets, bandanas, vintage style sunglasses, combat boots or platform heels. Men with very 50s style hair typically slicked back black hair with streaks of color occasionally.

[whileyoureinschoolidothisallday]

OKAY it has been a day of being sad and panicky. Time to move.

Yesterday, I made a post detailing the cdc announcement that there will no longer be an isolation requirement for covid. If you are one of the thousands of people rightfully raging in my notes, here's some steps to focus on.

We're not gonna give up. I've seen quite a few comments with things like 'what's the point', 'why should I even try anymore' etc etc and what we're not gonna do is give them what they want! It helps the eugenics cause to be apathetic and listless. We've made it this far, we will continue to make it. I know it's hard, but I am at least right here with you. Give yourself whatever time you need to grieve, and then I need you to get up.

If you have stopped masking for any reason, or you haven't upgraded to a respirator style mask, now is the time to change or start. From now on, we will be living in a country where you could assume there are multiple covid positive people in the room with you at all times. Surgical masks will not handle that load, and cloth masks will be even less effective at that point. Obviously, this is an unprecedented situation we're putting these masks in, and I'm not gonna sit here and pretend to be an expert that can tell you with certainty that even respirators will hold up with this amount of viral load for a long period of time, but it's the best and strongest tool we have. I'm considering using my p100 more, so that's always something to consider as well (and they make you look like a cool raver when you wear them!!!). You can buy all sorts of masks here, there's more links in the comments of my original post, and most states have their own mask blocs. To find them, go to Instagram and type "[your state] mask bloc". Here is a google doc of verified advocacy groups and mask blocs all across the country here is a diy fit test kit you can buy for $30 (unfortunately they are sold out right now. shocker.) PLEASE remember to take a layered response in these times. Masks are not the only tool in our arsenal. PLEASE for the love of God keep up with your vaccinations. Make a corsi-rosenthal box or buy a high quality air purifier if you can afford it--at the very least our homes can be safe havens (you can even put a hepa filter on your furnace!!!! And in your car too!!!!!). Use CPC Mouthwash, nasal irrigation, and nasal sprays like this one. Make it a routine: you come home, you shower, you brush your teeth, you rinse your nose, you change your clothes. And, like I said in another one of my posts, DO NOT TAKE OFF THE MASK.

3. If you would like an outlet for your rage and you're into calling your reps, feel free to calmly but firmly let the cdc have it at these numbers!!!!!

[alt text: a tweet by user silly_paulie that reads:

"Disdain for the CDC unites us all. Call today and demand isolation policies be returned to 10 days, and reducing it further to 1 day would be criminally dangerous. Call both:

404-639-7000 (press 8)

800-232-4636"

end text.]

4. If you need more outlets for your rage, I STRONGLY encourage you to get involved with your local union. Moreso than calling the CDC, tbh. I've seen multiple comments telling people just to lie about your symptoms to get more sick time off, but since there's no legal precedent to allow employees sick time for covid, all that's gonna do is get people fired. I truly believe in my lefty heart that the ONLY way we're getting anything close to mitigation is through labor rights. Even the standard for the fucking flu is 3 days, and that's nowhere near as contagious or disabling as covid. I say this as a high risk person with a neuromuscular disability: covid is an intersectional issue, but where we have the most leverage to get what we need is through labor rights.

It is NOT safe for workers to be working while ill with a Level 3 Biohazard (same as TB and the FUCKING PLAGUE. Seriously we have more regulations around fucking lice)

It is NOT safe to willfully EXPOSE your employees to a Level 3 Biohazard

It is NECESSARY for all employees to be allowed up to 10 days to recover fully from Covid-19, in order to avoid possible further injury from or hospitalization

You will NOT die or be disabled for the sake of the wealthy!!!!!

(and while you're at it, ask for better air filtration too!!!! At least 5 air changes an hour, MERV-13 air filters!! Then we won't have to constantly worry about virus bs and policy changes in the first place!!!!)

5. Closing statements. Nothing has changed with covid, this is just policy. Covid still isn't magic, she still has to get in you before she can do damage--mask up, arm your home with clean air, and don't let her. It's always worse toward the end. This is not the time to give up, it's time to dig in your heels and get to work. There are so many good things happening with covid. They are finding encouraging treatments for long covid. Finally, after years of nothing, a new prophylactic for the high risk was submitted for emergency use to the FDA, and it looks like this time it's built to last against new mutations. Covid is here to stay for the rest of our lives, but the real science hasn't given up on taking the worst of its teeth out. We WILL get to the point where the extreme fear of catching covid is nothing but a bad memory for EVERYONE. All I need you to do is commit to the belief that you're gonna survive long enough to be in that moment with the rest of us.

Now stay safe, and give em hell!!!!!

[hyp3rfixation-h3ll]

yknow what . i like you . shows you my exe ocs and also gives you little summaries of them underneath the read more cut and in the tags :3 ( desc in alt text 4 the 1st img ! ) - Nicky 🌊

in order: Rawr.EX3/EXD (any) imagine sonic.exe + 2010s sparkledog raver culture . that's Rawr. she likes waffles and is a virus exe who lives in a bootleg rom pack of the first 3 sonic games & a sonic crackers prototype Itazura, Guardian of Mischief (she/they/it/plush) first ever pc port oc!!! what it says on the tin. secret 8th guardian who loves nothing more than causing problems and playing life-threatening pranks on people. you can tell they're after you if you hear what sounds like jingling bells and giggling around your house in the dead of night. oh and plush's kyofu's kid 👍

Sew (any, no she/her) amorphous dimension travelling critter that uses sewing / crafting to make it's "skin" , typically based off of pre-existing people in the dimension. saw sonic and his super form and thought he was the COOLEST thing alive, so it chooses to resemble him :] Sink/Waterhog/Nicky (we use he/it but it doesn't rlly care /ref) literally just me lol , but from a 3rd person perspective he's a personal take on Mr. DJ's "Sink Sonic" concept . he's like 12-13ish and has way too much lore for me to summarise but fun fact : worldbuilding wise, he's a mish-mosh of the games, the Shogakukan sonic manga and a little bit of sonic x sprinkled in. :3

[randomvarious]

1980s House Playlist

OK, new playlist for this week; sort of. Last week I posted a playlist of some great Chicago house jams, most of which came from the 1980s. But this week, we're doing two different things: one, we're staying laser-focused on the 1980s, and two, we're broadening the scope out so as not to specify on any city. But because Spotify's 80s house selection isn't too great, all of these songs on this playlist are also on the same playlist I posted last week. Where things differ slightly, though, is with the YouTube version of this playlist, which I'll get to shortly, after I list out all of the songs that are on this Spotify version first.

This playlist is ordered as chronologically as possible and links are provided below to songs that have been posted about previously in order to give them more context:

Quest - "Mind Games" Marshall Jefferson - "Move Your Body" Farley "Jackmaster" Funk & Jesse Saunders - "Love Can't Turn Around" On the House - "Pleasure Control" Housemaster Boyz - "House Nation" Ralphi Rosario - "You Used to Hold Me" Night Writers - "Let the Music Use You" Dalis - "Rock Steady" Kevin Irving - "Children of the Night" Bam Bam - "Where's Your Child"

Now, every 1980s house song that was included in last week's YouTube playlist is on this one too, but I've also got a couple bangers here that aren't from Chicago as well. The first one comes from a New York quartet called 2 Puerto Ricans, a Blackman and a Dominican, who only ever put out two records together, but consisted of three very impactful people: the legendary David Morales and the two C's who would go on to form C+C Music Factory, David Cole and Robert Clivillés (Remember "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)"?). And the other guy was Chep Nuñez, who probably would've gone on to do some great things too, had he not tragically died in a house fire in 1990 😞.

Anyway, I included their debut record on here, 1987's "Do It Properly," a fun six-plus-minute jam that leads with these great, freewheeling bits of reverbing organ before letting Tonya Wynne come on and provide some diva vocals, ad-libs, and kooky laughing. There are a lot of different versions of this song out there, but this specific edit appears to have about 5,300 plays across its handful of YouTube uploads.

And the other non-Chicago track happens to be a spectacularly quirky cover of "Tainted Love" by the UK's Impedance, which was a solo project of a guy named Liggy Locko, who'd shortly end up in one of those early 90s alt-indie dance bands called Natural Life. But in '89 he dropped this strange and sort of minimal, electro-infused house tune that had these acid rave horns and a chirping, prickly synth melody on it, as well as lyrics that were delivered in this awkward, deadpan monotone too. Locko was also accompanied by an uncredited female vocalist on the song as well, who, based on context clues, I'm going to guess is UK singer and songwriter Tracy Ackerman. She, too, is rather emotionless throughout much of the song, but when the guitar kicks in in the second half, that's when things suddenly ratchet up, in an intensely sexual manner 😳. This one appears to have about 285.4K plays on YouTube across a bunch of different uploads, and I'm willing to bet that that pretty decently high play count comes courtesy of the ravers who remember dancing to it fondly.

Doctor Derelict - "Undercover" Jungle Wonz - "The Jungle" Steve "Silk" Hurley - "House Beat Box" On the House - "Ride the Rhythm"Libra Libra - "I Like It" 2 Puerto Ricans, a Blackman and a Dominican - "Do It Properly" Paris Grey - "Don't Make Me Jack" Liz Torres - "Can't Get Enough" Frankie Knuckles - "Baby Wants to Ride" On the House - "Let's Get Busy" Mister Lee - "Come to House" Impedance - "Tainted Love (Underground mix)"

And this playlist is also on YouTube Music.

So, currently, we're at 10 songs that end up totaling an hour on Spotify, and on YouTube, we're at 22 songs that end up totaling 2 hours and 12 minutes. A lot more great 80s house tunes in that YouTube one.

And if you want something shorter, I also have a playlist of house tunes that are solely from the year 1987 too.

1987 House: YouTube / YouTube Music

Enjoy!

More to come, eventually. Stay tuned!

Like what you hear? Follow me on Spotify and YouTube for more cool playlists and uploads!

[awhalesrider]

What makes Silverv a ship for me

The most interesting thing about this couple is that they don't necessarily think of them as a couple - they feel attraction to each other, but again, none of them really consider the other as a "lover".

I've always unilaterally speculated that, excluding one-night stands, the type of partner Valerie would actually favour is someone a little more gentle, or someone with a relatively weaker aura/energy compared to herself, like Raver, like Takemura  (who she has sent flirty texts to), and Kerry (who is in Johnny's shadow and life confusion) . She feels like someone who cares a lot about autonomy and control and doesn't like to be led around, so she is more used to "loving" and giving a helping hand to the other person. She is gentle and helpful, but in fact she is the one who makes the decisions at the beginning of every relationship.

And even if our self-centred Johnny is not the voice in her head, he will be another force fighting her for the driver's seat. She'd say: what kinda brain-dead gonk would pick a bastard like Johnny for a date? But 419? Could be worth a try. When Panam said that the neurological connection was like booking a double room with only a queen-size bed and a blanket, she was clearly thinking about her current situation with Johnny; and in Pistis Sophia, when she asked him whether he was thinking about sex. Wasn't she thinking about it?

It's even more interesting when you look at it from Johnny's point of view. Unlike V, it seems to me that Johnny doesn't have a high standard for lovers. He is naturally easily attracted to different types of girls. He's happy to have *some* kind of relationship with all kinds of women who are interested in him. Sometimes he is also very comfortable with the adulation of men. But that also means that these rough sexual relationships don't last as long as the friendships he builds with others (and for some reasons the latter is also kinda "toxic"). He almost never understood Alt's career and stubbornly shut himself off from her admonitions; he only knew that Rogue would never say no to him, but he didn't really speak his heart out to her until that movie date in 2077.

But it's real fun when Johnny spends his time with Valerie. On the one hand, Johnny is attracted to her, and from time to time Valerie flirt with him, letting him mumble "we fight like old married couple people", and sometimes even agreeing they are perfect for each other. On the other hand, Relic makes it literlly impossible for their connection to really develop into sexual relationship (I want it for them tho), and they platonically allow two souls and two personalities to reveal themselves to each other, which is instead a more special connection. In Pistis Sophia, Johnny says V is not his type, but these very words help him prove how sincere and pure a commitment those dogtags symbolise. But it would be too narrow-minded to interpret this as "you're not like all the other girls". Valerie is not a lover that Johnny could leave behind. She is more like a comrade in arms that he needed to communicate with, understand and respect at all times; but he couldn't treat her as an ordinary friends either, because spiritual nakedness was much more intimate than a simple physical relationship. No matter how close a partner one has, they always keeps a part of their secret to themselves, while Johnny and V are sharing even that part of themselves with each other.

He would admire her, and she would desire him, yet they are essentially free from the shackles of a physical relationship, removing the inevitable barriers between ordinary friendship and truly building a purely intimate relationship with another person. They are constantly in a dynamic balance of intense debate and mutual compromise, with Johnny constantly asking V to listen to his advice, constantly exporting his views and goals to her, and V sometimes having to give in; but at the same time she is always asserting herself, asserting her own position, and Johnny has to accommodate her stubbornness. In the end no one is able to tip the scales in their favour, but instead they show a certain tendency to give and sacrifice at the same time. This whole process is particularly interesting, and if I were an AI outside the black wall, I would be definetely willing to observe them every day.

If there was a so-called good ending, they would not probably get married or even talk about the whole *relationship* thing. They'll say they're friends, former "roommates", current friends of benefits (define “benefits” as you wish), but everyone knows that what they have is healthier, stronger, more stable and more indestructible than any intimate relationship they've ever had.

[aspergillosis]

this is going to sound so retarded bc like people have real problems but it seems like ur sort of in an alt/music-y group and ur traditionally religious, people mock me a lot about that and act like im a weirdo for being reverent and like ive found that ive learned to tone it down and let a lot of things slide and just generally not rly stand up for my faith and id like to not be like that so i guess do u have any tips

no omg it's not a dumb question anon. I don't know if I can give you good advice because I am in the scene yes but I'm not super ingroup and I personally don't even make that a mission. I have a bit of a wanderer/exiled princess vibe so it's easy for me to make friends but I don't feel like my identity's got as much to do with it as my ability to just feel at ease anywhere and with anyone.

I also think my faith seamlessly locks in with raver culture very easily because of shared principles (PLUR), so I'm curious about the disconnect that you're experiencing and what kind of scene you're in. If your friends mock you then they're not your friends, and you don't need em to enjoy good music and good times.

While I've had (normie) people react negatively or vitriolically to me mentioning my faith [when this happens, I politely excuse myself from the conversation. It's a waste of my time], I've found no such negativity from alts. Usually I'm met with polite curiosity, and I keep the conversation interesting by connecting back into the other person's experience with religiosity, because pretty much everyone has grappled with faith one way or another. It's a near-universal experience, and connecting over that is so precious to me.

Another thing for me is, I just don't talk about myself a ton, which I think helps me avoid getting embroiled in a debate. I don't want to debate strangers.

I really struggle to imagine what you mean by "not standing up for your faith" and "needing to tone it down" because you shouldn't be like, trying to debate the guys doing whippits about the ten commandments either. That's also a very important thing to keep in mind. If you want respect, you have proactively give that to others.

I hope this was at least somewhat helpful and feel free to come off anon and message me more, I feel like I'm missing a ton of context but I wish you the best of luck with navigating your social sphere. Remember to always shoot straight from the heart.

[offbeatmusicuk]

Albums Of 2024: 25-1

Part one of this list (numbers 50-26) is here:

The countdown continues:

For the first time, I have made a video countdown of the top 25, which can be viewed below, or keep scrolling for the top 25 in the traditional blog format

25.

Ferry Corsten "Connect"

A mesh of many of the styles Ferry Corsten has produced over his 3 decade long career. From the uplifting trance he is most known for, to breaks, progressive house, a touch of techno, even a poppier edge.

24.

Chelsea Wolfe "She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She"

Dark, gloomy, electronic, almost trip-hop affair, with some moments of incredible beauty. There definitely appears to be influence from Massive Attack's "Mezzanine" album.

23.

Baby Jane "Otherworld"

Brilliant electronic and dance tracks, with catchy, yet icy and ethereal vocals. Atmospheric and somehow both dark and moody and euphoric simultaneously.

22.

Amaranthe "The Catalyst"

Amaranthe unleash their 7th album of triple vocaled, pop and synth infused metal. And yes, it occasionally leans to the cheesy, but who cares when it's this anthemic.

21.

Arctis "Arctis"

Huge album of rock and metal riffs, electronic sounds and synths, and massive pop-esque vocal hooks and melodies. Great debut.

20.

Kelly Lee Owens "Dreamstate"

Gorgeous, floaty soundscapes, with plenty of warm, classic dance sounds - housey beats, trancey atmospheres, beautiful vocal hooks. Lovely stuff.

19.

VOLA "Friend Of A Phantom"

VOLA, here returning with album number 4, effortlessly combine progressive metal, synths and electronics, odd time signatures and huge melodies to create something quite special and epic.

18.

Confidence Man "3AM (LA LA LA)"

Blending the sound and vibe of 90s rave culture, with London's club scene, with doses of camp pop, and with tongue firmly in cheek, Confidence Man ride the line between sincerity and parody perfectly, and give us some singalong bangers along the way.

17.

London Grammar "The Greatest Love"

While not their most classic album, there are enough moments of overwhelming beauty, that few do as well as London Grammar, to highly recommend this collection. A good chunk of that beauty is, of course, due to the sublime, angelic vocals of Hannah Reid.

16.

Sunny & Deck Hussy "One Way Ticket"

Old school breakbeat hardcore for 2024. Massive, dancefloor destroying anthems. One for the ravers.

15.

Darren Tate "Metamorphosis"

Trance legend Darren Tate gives us a progressive house offering for his latest opus, with a few splashes of breakbeat and anthem piano for good measure, and of course still displaying his knack for goosebump inducing euphoria.

14.

Poppy "Negative Spaces"

Always unpredictable, Poppy leans back into rock and metal for this album (with a splash of synth-pop and some spacey interludes), and gets former Bring Me The Horizon keyboardist and producer Jordan Fish to produce. Filled with stunning songs, killer hooks and melodies, there's just a little too much screaming for my taste, otherwise it would've been top 10 for sure.

13.

Twin Atlantic "Meltdown"

After a couple of albums where they experimented with their style (2020's excellent "POWER", and 2022's slight misfire "Transparency"), Twin Atlantic return to the massive rock anthems they are most known for, but in an even more accessible, uplifting, arena destroying way than before.

12.

April Art "Rodeo"

Storming alt. metal from Germany. Huge choruses and some almighty riffs combine to make a fantastic, energising album.

11.

Genix "YOU.ME.NOW"

Modern, pumping house beats, mixed with a whole host of old school 90s pianos, synths, stabs, breakbeats. Even a cover of Corona's Eurodance hit "Baby, Baby". A thrilling album if you like the music from back then (and hopefully even if you didn't). Some very familiar synth and piano lines used in new ways, some great guest vocals, and in contrast to the rest of the dancefloor leaning album, in "Bloom" (feat. JVMIE) we have one of the most delicate and gorgeous songs of the year.

10.

Taylor Swift "The Tortured Poets Department"

Taylor Swift has been a huge presence in my 2024, not least because of The Eras Tour (4 visits). This kept me going back to what is admittedly a slow burn album, with little of the pop immediacy of "1989" or "Reputation". What we have instead is minimal, warm and embracing production, and some gorgeous melodies. Some hooks, that once they get you, will not let go. I'm not the best person to comment on the lyrics, but I believe there are a couple of people out there who think they are pretty good.

9.

DJ Beeno "Afterlife"

A huge, exciting album of classic sounding breakbeat hardcore, with all the requisite huge drums, sub bass, synths, stabs, pianos and vocal samples (some rather familiar). If you loved the early 90s sound, you will love this.

8.

Cassyette "This World Fucking Sucks"

Imagine if P!NK listened to a huge amount of Marilyn Manson and hard dance and pulled the influences into her music, and you get an idea of this album. Cassy Brooking has admitted to being a P!NK fan, and her voice is very similar. There are enough pop elements that this should have been a huge crossover hit, but it seems to have been embraced by the rock and metal community more. A genre hopping thrill of an album.

7.

Dead Pony "IGNORE THIS"

Powerful, energetic, synth and sample infused alt rock aimed at the dancefloor and mosh pit. With a few unexpected songs which sound nothing like the rest. An album to pump you up.

6.

The Warning "Keep Me Fed"

The Mexican sisters give us their 4th album, and it understandably seems to be the one giving them a bit of a breakthrough. It's a pretty classic rock album, all killer no filler, full of big riffs and huge choruses.

5.

Reliqa "Secrets Of The Future"

A thrilling, experimental and powerful combination of metalcore, prog, post-hardcore, pop and electronics, unpredictable heavy riffs, and Monique Pym's stunning vocals, which encompass screams, rap like spoken word and soaring melodies. As suggested on previous EPs and their mini-album, and now confirmed on this, their debut full length, this Aussie quartet are a truly special band.

4.

The K's "I Wonder If The World Knows"

Phenomenal indie rock on this debut album from the Merseyside 4 piece. Reminding me of the energy and visceral thrill we got from the Arctic Monkeys debut, but with added euphoria. Every song is a cracker.

3.

Another Sky "Beach Day"

An album drenched in audio magic. Providing a sparkling mix of post-rock, prog, post-punk, indie, full of surprise left turns, gorgeous melodies and atmospheres, to chunky riffs, and Catrin Vincent's unique, odd, yet achingly beautiful voice, this album just feels special.

2.

Charlotte Wessels "The Obsession"

The ex-lead singer of Delain, Charlotte reunites here with all her former bandmates that departed at the same time (Timo, Otto & Joey), and new keyboardist Sophia. I loved Charlotte in Delain, I loved her previous solo stuff released via Patreon and the two "Tales From Six Feet Under" albums, but this record is on another level entirely. Incredible songcraft, brutal & technical metal riffage (Timo showing he's a much more impressive gutarist than he got to be in Delain), quirky song structures, beautiful melodies, Charlotte's amazing voice. Parts give you goosebumps, parts bring tears, and others just make you want to headbang. Spectacular. This was so, so nearly my number 1... but...

1.

Pinkque "Beautiful Struggle"

The debut Pinkque album flows like a trance symphony. A story of battling depression and suicidal thoughts and coming through the other side. The album is in turns dark and atmospheric, and energising and euphoric. All sorts of trance styles mixed with moments and interludes of gorgeous Zimmer-esque orchestration. The production is spectacular, and engulfing, every moment and sound carefully thought out. As much as I love the genre, it's so rare to hear such an amazingly put together album as this. Incredible.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Playlists:

Spotify 50-1 (though missing numbers 9 & 16 as DJ Beeno's and Sunny & Deck Hussy's albums are not on Spotify)

YouTube 50-1 (though number 9 is a tribute DJ mix as the individual tracks aren't on YouTube). These are different tracks to the Spotify one.

[crappy-homestuck-confessions]

Headcanon Anon here with what the kids will inspire in religious movements in future eras!

John-Blowers (Hippieish nomads who focus on maintaining bonds and helping others out.) Rose-Gardeners (Scholarly nerdy goths who mostly just read and chat a lot; doesn't really recognize sexual orientations, just preferences.) Dave-Striderians (Not even a sect but more of a joke like Church of the Sub Genius; obsessed with irony and uses alt-rap as hymns for their services (Smash tournaments in Tony's basement)) Jade-Howlers (Focused on furthering mankind's scientific achievements; sees Hei from Darker Than Black as a prophet) Terezi-Dragon's Snouts (More of a dojo than a religion, although they are known for wandering towns and defending civilians from criminals; all members wear blindfolds when they fight) Kanaya-Sunshine Drinkers (Feeds on blood and grain; goes around treating wounds) Tavros-The Lost Pupas (A sect similar to Quakers; devoted to non-violence and ending subjugation) Karkat-Fiddler's Claws (Street ravers who scream obvious truths on the sidewalks; donates their funds to other charities) Sollux-White Hats (A forum that breaks into websites to test their securities; watches Shrek religiously) Feferi-Glubbers (A sect devoted to equality for all races; is currently infiltrating the battle) Eridan-The Conquerors (A group of men and women who dedicate themselves to getting partners; their books have sold millions of copies) Nepeta-Kitty Rioters (A sect devoted to shipping everything...EVERYTHING; stays in forests and jungles) Equius-God's Teat (A workout class that got out of control; every member has a towel on them) Meenah-Material Gurls (Men and women trying to have as many possessions as they can; no slaves though) Vriska-The Blue Pearl (A cruise ship that robs other cruise ships; insists that they're a religion and not pirates) Jane-Crockerism (Just a group going around giving out baked goods; nothing more, no need to check their tax records...) Jake-Cue Balls (Missionaries who go to different countries to make sure everyone has seen Avatar at least twice; will drive off other missionaries with firearms) Roxy-Hack Cats (Offers frees VPNs and virus wipes for underprivileged families and users; their system is called Gandalf's Glock) Dirk-Dirkism (Sect devoted to writing the longest MLP:FIM fanfic in the world; goes on to be the longest piece of written fiction in the world) Aradia-Memento Moris (Celebrates death with bright colors and songs; every funeral looks like some kid's birthday party) Gamzee-Domjuggators (Juggalos who attack cops; wanted by the FBI) Damara-Onryoism (Just a club where friends chat, eat, drink, smoke and screw; was somehow voted into being an actual religion so they don't have to pay taxes for their churches) Rufioh-The Lost Weebs (An anime club with tax breaks)

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[courteneyf98]

Exhibition Research “Electronic: From Kraftwerk to The Chemical Brothers

Many people in the world right now have been isolated with the electronic music scene. People haven't had that full sensory club fix for months now with all venues on lockdown and society still living an abnormal life. However, we have been fortunate enough to step into an exhibition on electronic music in the design museum. This exhibition is called “Electronic: From Kraftwerk to The Chemical Brothers”. 

When I stepped into this exhibition it transported me through the people, art, design, technology and photography. All types of art culture that shapes the electronic music landscape. From the disco of 1970s New York to the pulsing London club scene today, a wide variety of ‘tribes’ have united through the dance floor - hedonist ravers, libertarian free party militants and the ‘alt queer’ ravers from the lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and/or queer (LGBTQ) community. 

With an increased spotlight on UK electronic and rave culture, the exhibition was planned before covid-19....coincidence.... I think not! Because now the rave scene is painfully under threat I think that the universe is lining up with the natural cycle of raving. What I mean by this is, if we talk about life before the pandemic, it did feel like there was a lot of parallels with all the extinction rebellion stuff that was going on and actually, for me, it felt like the first time since the nineties where young people were becoming so politically engaged. I guess, it's a natural cycle that happens. In the sixties you had the free love era, and then the punks in the eighties. But after the nineties, it felt like it had kind of gone a bit on hold for a while. It felt like a lot of youth seemed to be more focused on fame and a lot of reality TV that came in. So, I think now being in 2020 the natural cycle will happen again and raving will turn into its original roots. Just think about it, covid-19 has increased the number of illegal raves because youths are dying to party and come together as one. Illegal raves started the rave culture so I think that the natural cycle has returned to phase one again. Raving take on a political dimension, becoming a generations place of communion and a space where people of different communities and classes mix freely. And the virus has created a divide for our culture, the government aim is to have all of us in fear and controlled but the people are so much bigger than the government.

This exhibition is very historical as it covers the marking of pivotal moments of rave revolutions. Moments like being apart of a community, finding your identity and for LGBTQ to have relationships with people who don’t judge who they are and welcome a safe space for them. The clubbing scene fought laws and expressed the lack of equality in societies, raving really has empowered minority groups. 

What I learnt from this exhibition is that electronic music has been around for five decades now. Gatherings would worshipped this music as it would become a love language for unity, trance & universal love. 

One photographer stood out for me in this exhibition and that was Andreas Gursky as he captured the beating heart of electronic dance culture. Here we see a ocean of bodies moving beneath sound and light arrangements. This gave me some ideas of printing my rave images on tapestries to get the full affect of the sensory experience. 

My favourite electronic band ‘Kraftwerk’ had a section in the exhibition and this was a 3D video installation which plunges you into an intermediate zone between human performance, electronic graphics and robots. 

Another section was the infamous Aphex Twins. He has brought a new twist on the electronic scene as his visuals for his EP offers a view of Cornwall reading the physical world as raw data. 

This photographer is called Jean-Christian Meyer, he documents the dark, hazy atmosphere of the rave scene in Lunacy, a warehouse club night that took place in Paris in the early 1990s. The photographer quoted “I am nostalgic for this absorbed universe, this pagan, intermediate rite. The Underground culture and of what it conveys is a form of utopia”.

It's also about showcasing all of these creative talents that work in this field. Of course, this massive industry which supports so many livelihoods is on hold at the moment. But I hope the exhibition gives people a chance to feel and to remember and hopefully ultimately to make sure that this isn't lost

[s4banf-blog]

Geek Culture, Part 2

As with any culture, there will always be problems. In the geek culture, one of these main problems is sexism. Typically, it is assumed that geeks will refer to the straight white male. Sometimes, the culture doesn’t acknowledge that there is women who also fit into this ‘category’. Roli Varma states that “scholars have yet to critically examine the impact of geek culture on the under-representation of women in CS/CE in relation to the ethnicity/race and class”. Varma writes her paper in direct reference to the under-representation of women especially minorities in geek culture, she then goes onto to investigate this and why we need more representation within the culture. When women emerged from the all male dominated culture, it created internalised misogyny. This then created memes to try and stereotype the female geeks, which were often seen as “fake geek girls”. These memes often depicted young women wearing heavy makeup with gigantic over the top ‘nerdy’ glasses. However, this isn’t anything new. Women have often been marginalised within the community. Often in comic books, they have been ‘refrigerated’. Frank Miller the author of The Dark Knight Returns and Renin states that ‘refrigerated women’ is “a trope wherein female characters are killed (or raped, or suffer some other form of violence) solely to further a male character’s story or development”. These agendas have slowly been tackled with such characters such as Captain Marvel and Wonder Woman that continue to challenge this male dominated world. Some women however, are completely oblivious to the ongoing misogyny. An example of this is Allie Townsend. Her article written in 2011, “There’s a New Geek Girl Site in Town. I May Already Hate It” claims that the “internet culture has evolved way past the gender divide”. Throughout her article, Townsend puts down women-centric geek sites and blogs. She implies that because she’s never personally experienced any sexism in geek culture, it simply does not exist. This invalidates the experiences of real life women who have been harassed at conventions for their costumes or aggressively pestered by men when walking into a comic shop. However, when you have men and women in the community and industry who turn their heads away from new female fans, you are shutting out new fans.

People self-identify as geeks because they have been put down, excluded, and hurt by other people due to a certain interest in "uncool" things like comic books, or board games, or computer programming. More and more millennials are embracing being a geek, whilst previous generations saw the label as being something to be embarrassed about. Millennials are slowly starting to shape mainstream culture, they have changed the idea of what it means to be a geek - thus encouraging more and more people to embrace themselves to the term.  Some of those who self-identify as geeks look back nostalgically on the time when their status felt rebellious, says Benjamin Nugent, author of American Nerd: The Story of My People. Being geek means that you have permission to like what you like no matter what it is. In 2012/3, a new trend came about of wearing t-shirts that simply said “GEEK” and “NERD” across the chest. Topshop brought out the designs. By springtime they were unavoidable, seen on the chests of schoolkids, ravers and posh kids alike. Literally worn by everyone apart from those named on these t-shirts. As all things fade, so did this fashion statement. If you wore one of these t-shirts before it became cool, then you would’ve been ridiculed. Another example of the ‘wrong’ type of people associating themselves with being a ‘geek’ is Kim Kardashian revealing that she watches anime. People were absolutely furious about this, how can a popular famous reality star enjoy something only ‘geeky’ people enjoy? There is an implication that Kim is a ‘fake geek girl’ who can’t name so many anime series’ that she watches is an example of something that’s been happening for years, as self-declared keepers of a community struggle to come to terms with its growing popularity. Why shouldn’t Kim like anime? She grew up with it. Sailor Moon hit American screens in 1995. She’s a globetrotter deeply interested in world cultural trends. It would be surprising if she didn’t know what it was. Just because people don’t like her as a person -  is no excuse to assume that she’s ignorant that anime exists entirely. Her spouse, Kanye West has also declared his love for anime, tweeting that Akira was one of his favourite films. Fans of a cultural product assume that other fans are like them; that they share the same ideas, opinions and presumably, background.

Slowly consumerism is becoming filled with superheroes and fantasy, which create a lot of revenue. For example take the company Marvel and their sadly deceased owner Stan Lee before he died, he was worth a whopping $50million alone - (not including Sony and Disney). Marvel’s Black Panther became the highest grossing film for the Marvel Universe.. To date, the franchise has made over $14.7billion worldwide, making it the highest grossing franchise ever. It’s currently $6bn ahead of Star Wars. According to statistics, four of the top 10 highest grossing films of 2017 are comic book adaptations. In 2017, consumers in America spent $14.6billion on video games, hardware and related. The first San Diego Comic Con in 1970 featured 145 attendees. Last year, that number exceeded 130k. Geek culture is a cultural phenomenon.

Pop-culture portrayals of “geek culture” aren’t entirely accurate according to some. Shows like The Big Bang Theory and Silicon Valley may get right overwhelmed by tone-deafness to the culture they are supposedly giving to us, the people. What our core culture perceives to be geek culture is just a set of marketable trends. Actor Will Wheaton from Star Trek: Next Generation says in his memoir ‘Just a Geek’ that “Becoming mainstream is the wrong word; the mainstream is catching up”. Knowing obscure facts about favourite subjects has also lost its flavour. The number of Star Wars characters or the name of a constellation is all on Wikipedia now.

Nowadays people are starting to associate the alt-right with ‘geek’ culture, especially with what is going on with our modern day lives. There is no direct parallel between the alt-right and geek culture. Simply, an invasion. Recently, there was much debate surrounding horror author HP Lovecraft becoming the figure of the World Fantasy Award due to his well documented racism. His passionate fans - most of who have never experienced racism - asked why such historical oppression even mattered anymore. The movement is an online community whose values are almost identical from the far-right racism and sexism of the National Front and the Klu Klux Klan. It began as an attack on individuals, on a supposed lack of integrity in gaming journalism, which was then exploited by alt-right ‘activists’ using misinformation to start a huge fire of hatred online against women and minorities in gaming. This outrage helped to build their ever growing army of white, (mostly) male supporters. The fury of alt-right ‘activists’ helped push a minority of young male geeks to them. But far more members of the geek community went against the racist ignorance of the alt-right, and have stood against them.

[bass-alien]

🖤

[freshmusicfreak]

Sunset Sound System Celebrates 25 Year Anniversary | 10 New Events Coming Your Way

#SunsetSoundSystem celebrates its 25 year anniversary by giving us 10 new events to look forward to this summer!

Twenty-five years ago on a sunny San Francisco afternoon Galen took a generator with two turntables, a mixer and a sound system to Berkeley Marina to gather friends in celebration of the Spring Equinox for an afternoon that would change the course of west-coast electronic music. Ravers, clubbers, families and strangers met before a renegade stage for what would become the inaugural Sunset Sound…

[confettitsunmai]

TOTW: Burial_Raver

My Track of the week is Raver by Burial, Read my Thoughts and give it a listen:

The beginning of the year is always a time for musical reflection for me. After spending the last three months heavily listening to new albums for consideration on my albums of the year list, its good to go back to some of my favorite works and clear the mind. Classics that remain just as great today as when they were created.

Untrue by Burial is one of those classic albums. On it, William…

[jakijellz]

WIN A Family Ticket To Raver Tots!

WIN A Family Ticket To Raver Tots! | NEW GIVEAWAY! #comp #giveaway #winit

Raver Tots is a series of family-friendly raves that give kids and parents the chance to let loose in a fun, safe and unique environment. The events combine glow sticks, UV face painting, bubbles, balloons, confetti, giant parachutes, ball ponds, and more, with dance anthems spun by some of the UK’s best DJs, like Artful Dodger, Brandon Block, and Slipmatt.

  There is a special NYE event in…

[bass-alien]

Bass canyon pre-party vibes 🤘🏼