#not to mention that this is probably going to affect the music industry and concert culture as a whole

[chimaeraonwards]

i dont think the 1975 understands that what they did last night will probably put the lgbt movement in malaysia back by like 20 steps.

its already so hard for us to talk about it and help people understand but now all they will be thinking about is how this concert had a man kiss another man in a drunken stupor.

while im glad that for many people around the world, they are able to live freely and love who they love. but this is not the case for us living in places where it is illegal and punishable by law.

im not saying that i think the law is right or just. but i am saying that we do what it takes for us to survive.

and most of the time, surviving means loving quietly to live another day.

(if you think 1975 getting banned is harsh, think about the potential backlash a queer person might face here)

ALSO to the people who are not from Malaysia or South East Asia in general, not everyone here is homophobic, so stop grouping all of us together like that. its easier for you to make comments saying that the whole country/region is homophobic but that isnt true.

we're here.

listen to us.

[which-star]

i am enabling ur luna snow solo brainrot bestie, tell me more about her bonkers life experiences😊

yes yes ty!! So I'll get to the nuances later but first I want to lay out some context.

Seol Hee aka Luna Snow's backstory is introduced in Marvel Future Fight Firsts and it's established that she got her powers on her debut stage when her group, 4L1T, was attacked. On her debut! That's uh, a big deal? It's also been mentioned that she only has her grandma, both parents dead, and that she went to a special academy for idols where she met her fellow members. Added with how big the concert (named Stark Arena!!) was in the Firsts comic, it's obvious that 4L1T had a lot of good promo/buzz and/or they're from a well established company. The special academy aspect also implies that Seol Hee probably has a lot of friends in the industry as well.

Story-wise, that gives us a lot of room. Debuts in K-Pop are a big deal to the artists and mark the start of their official promotions, which means Seol Hee had to adjust practically overnight to her powers all the while promoting 24/7: going on reality TV shows, music shows, special performances, etc. In fact, her members and the staff/company would have to adapt just as quickly too. Having a sudden idol-turned-superhero means new marketing techniques, re-branding (shown by her stage name in Firsts going from "Luna" to "Luna Snow"), etc. You could slip in something about how entertainment industries turn humans into commodities and the struggle of maintaining a perfect image all the while not knowing how to control your powers here if you wanted to. Also hone into the mental ramifications too because that's a big issue in the K-Pop industry in general.

And that's only if you choose to focus on the K-Pop aspect of the immediate aftermath! Superhero-wise, things get a lot more tricky. Seol would have to deal with the responsibility of being a hero -- a public one. She got her powers ON TV, everyone knows her identity. That opens up so many more problems for her and how she would deal with that, especially as it's not common for superhero identities to be known.

Otherwise, on a more broad level, you could write about when she's more established. How she deals with balancing both careers. Like most heroes, Seol juggles a double-life, but unlike most, everyone's watching her juggle them. She's a national figure/icon. She's going to be hit with critics on all sides, tabloids, and sasaengs (obsessive stalker fans). And how's her group affected by it? I'm assuming they're really close to one another, based off of Firsts, but there has to be some strain. K-Pop culture is... wild to say the least and complicated and always-evolving. There's so many things to talk about that I can't cover here. But, if done well, I would love to see how the solo handles it. Maybe she could become a mentor in a survival show, or gear up for a comeback, or branch out into acting for the first time all the while a bigger threat is taking over Seoul. Maybe she's being pulled apart by her career and hero duties that she doesn't have any time for herself and friends. K-Pop careers can go anywhere and it would be so cool to see how Seol works everything out.

This is where the nuances come in. You face the risk of stigmatizing an already stigmatized industry even more (which I talk about here). There is also so much terminology and things specific to this industry too. The writer better be well-versed in this because it really can get complicated. Especially for a character so entrenched in it as Seol. And don't get me wrong, it is strange for an American company to be talking about the Korean entertainment industry. That's why I'm always wary of American media taking place in Korea/about K-Pop. There's a lot of them in development right now: Somewhere Only We Know, and I'll Be The One, among a few. (Both books were pretty good, though, and I saw that the authors have a lot of control so I'm kind of excited!) But as long as the people behind the scenes know what they're talking about, I don't think it'd be too bad. Honestly, I know I made it sound difficult but... K-Pop isn't that hard to write about, you just have to know what you're saying and do your research like any other topic.

Capitalism wise it could be a huge success. I'm talking releasing actual songs, music videos, albums of Luna Snow/4L1T. (I'm aware there are a few songs under Luna Snow already but they suck. Like really really suck.) K-Pop is already a highly commodified industry and Marvel could 100% play into it. And potentially draw in a completely new audience in the process. AI-idols like KDA are already a thing and huge. SM has also dipped their toes into AI-idols as well with aespa, and if a company like SM did it -- who's been setting K-Pop trends and standards for over 10 years -- you know it's here to stay. Marvel could do the same. They could literally go all out.

PLUS a Luna solo gives them the opportunity to establish the Korean heroes better. We only know a little bit about Tiger Division, and starting off with Luna Snow who is the second-most established to White Fox in the comics gives Marvel the chance to lay out some groundwork for the future.

It would be challenging to write about, but it could be super cool! Like really cool! I can't wait for her appearance in 2022 Silk. I definitely have ideas about what a Luna Snow solo could be about, some have been mentioned, but I just wanted to expand on it in general here.

[p1harmonyofficial]

[📰] 20 Questions With P1Harmony: K-Pop Rookies on the High Energy of 'Disharmony: Break Out' Mini-Album

By Heran Mamo

Plus: See a full, translated video interview with the sextet exclusively on Billboard.

P1Harmony explore a wide range of topics and genres on their high-intensity mini-album Disharmony: Break Out, which was released April 20 as the follow-up to their first EP, Disharmony: Stand Out.

Named one of the rookie K-pop groups to watch in 2021 by Time, members Keeho, Theo, Jiung, Intak, Soul and Jongseob had a unique experience stepping into the spotlight for the first time: The sextet debuted in the Korean film P1H: The Beginning of a New World on Oct. 8, 2020, before releasing their debut EP, Disharmony: Stand Out, on Oct. 28. Starring in a film prior to releasing their own music allowed P1Harmony to be more comfortable and confident enhancing their choreography (their Billie Eilish medley choreography has amassed more than 1 million YouTube views) and even coming up with their own music video concepts.

To commemorate the release of Disharmony: Break Out, the members of P1Harmony answered Billboard’s 20 questions about how Korea shaped who they are, how their evolving sound shines through on their latest mini-album, and the meanings they've taken away from this project as well as what they hope their fans will too.

1. What’s the first piece of music that you bought for yourself, and what was the medium?

Keeho: 5 Seconds of Summer, CD

Theo: BIGBANG’s MADE, CD

Jiung: Lee Moon Sae, cassette tape

Intak: Teen Top's "Miss Right," mp3

Soul: G-Dragon, CD

Jongseob: B.A.P’s "1004," CD

2. What was the first concert you saw?

Keeho: Ariana Grande’s The Listening Session

Theo: BIGBANG’s MADE Concert

Jiung: Lee Sun Hee’s Concert

Intak: Open Concert by KBS when I was 7!

Soul: Teen Top’s Japan Concert

Jongseob: B.A.P Concert

3. What did your parents do for a living when you were a kid?

Keeho: [My mom] used to do work related to music, she was a musician. My dad used to work at a university as a counselor.

Theo: My mom is a hairstylist.

Jiung: My mom used to be a banker and my dad used to work at National Tax Service.

Intak: My mom is a [yoga] trainer or coach and my dad is a businessman.

Soul: I’m not sure.

Jongseob: My mom used to be a jazz dancer as well as an instructor and my dad used to work at National Dance Company of Korea.

4. Who made you realize you could be an artist full-time?

Keeho: Myself and acquaintances

Theo: Myself

Jiung: My rap and my vocal coach

Intak: My parents. They gave me full support, as well as the confidence to be able to pursue my dream.

Soul: Teen Top

Jongseob: B.A.P and my parents

5. What’s at the top of your professional bucket list?

Keeho: The Grammys!

Theo: Our own world tour!

Jiung: To perform in front of a million people

Intak: To become a respected musician

Soul: To perform at a big music festival or a stadium, like Coachella

Jongseob: To perform until I can’t

6. How did your hometown/city shape who you are?

Keeho: It’s a place where I was able to gain my own confidence and learn the importance of being friendly [manners]. It’s also where I was able to experience a wide range of vocalists and their styles, which ultimately helped me shape and find my own vocal style.

Theo: It’s a place where I was able to live without any pressure or concerns.

Jiung: For me, my hometown is currently a place where I can find mental stability and state of relaxation. I reminiscence about my hometown quite frequently when I need to recoup and find mental stability.

Intak: I was raised in the rural part of Korea, so I was always close to nature and grew up playing in the valleys or riding gunny sacks in the mountains. I think that’s what helped me be at leisure.

Soul: It’s a place where I grew up without any hardships.

Jongseob: It was one of the most comfortable places in Korea with positive vibes and clean, refreshing air, which helped me find peace and ease.

7. What’s the last song you listened to?

Keeho: Ariana Grande’s "POV"

Theo: P1Harmony’s "End It"

Jiung: DPR IAN’s MITO

Soul: P1Harmony’s "Reset"

Jongseob: Penomeco’s Dry Flower

8. What’s your karaoke go-to?

Keeho: Alicia Keys, "If I Ain't Got You"

Theo: BIGBANG’s "BANG BANG BANG"

Intak: Bobby’s "YGGR"

Soul: I don’t go to karaoke haha

Jongseob: Beenzino’s "Dali, Van, Picasso"

9. If you could see any artist in concert, dead or alive, who would it be?

Keeho: Beyoncé

Theo: G-Dragon and Huh Gak

Jiung: Lee Sun Hee

Intak: Michael Jackson

Soul: Beyoncé

Jongseob: Post Malone

10. How has the pandemic affected your creative process?

Keeho: My source of inspiration has become very limited, as I don’t get to go to new places or meet new people.

Theo: I think because I couldn’t really go out, I was able to focus more on my craft.

Jiung: I was able to really dig deep into my work, writing lyrics and composing.

Intak: I didn't have a lot of ideas, but I also thought writing about COVID-19 could be a source of new ideas.

Soul: It was hard because I couldn’t really go to places that would usually help me get inspiration.

Jongseob: It was a bit difficult because I lacked having new experiences and meeting new people. My source of inspiration was also very limited, because I would just go to the same places.

11. How did starring in the film P1H: The Beginning of a New World prepare you for your debut as a K-pop boy band?

Keeho: I think it was a good opportunity for me to learn how to be more comfortable in front of the cameras.

Theo: I was able to gain confidence and felt a sense of pride knowing that we were the first ones to debut in a unique way with a full-length movie.

Jiung: I think it was a unique way of introducing us to the world and gave us the opportunity to learn how to be more focused and theatrical onstage.

Soul: It was a great experience, because it allowed me to learn the basic manners of the industry and the importance of staff members.

Jongseob: I think it helped us build a strong storyline and composition for our music. It will be easier to understand our music and its message if you watch the movie.

12. What do you want fans to take away from your mini-album Disharmony: Break Out?

Keeho: I believe it would depend and vary on how you interpret it, but we hope our listeners really enjoy our music.

Theo: I hope our fans and listeners gain confidence through our music, which is one of our strongest messages.

Jiung: I would like for our fans P1ece to really understand, take and gain everything from what we are trying to deliver in our message.

Intak: I would like for our fans to find the courage to speak up and have their own voice.

Soul: I just want our fans to be happy when they're listening to our music!

Jongseob: I think it depends on who is listening, but I hope our fans can take away anything and everything they can in a positive way and earn confidence as well.

13. Which song from Disharmony: Break Out is the most meaningful to you and why?

Keeho: I think it’s "If You Call Me" because it's a song that all six of us worked on together

Theo: I would like to pick "Reset," because I did so well in the studio while recording this song, so it means a lot to me.

Jiung: I’d say "Pyramid" because the lyrics "I’m on the top of the pyramid" helps me feel like I’m really the best and makes me want to live by that mindset. It definitely has become one of my favorite tracks.

Intak: I would pick "If You Call Me" for the same reason Keeho picked it. It’s a meaningful song to me because we all worked on it together as a team.

Soul: I think every single track on the album has a special meaning for me and because it’s all our songs, it’s a super difficult question to answer.

Jongseob: I think for me, our title track "Scared" is the most meaningful. The message of the song, which is not to be afraid to voice your own opinions and to live the life you want to live, is what I strongly believe in and that’s the kind of attitude I want to have.

14. Your debut EP Disharmony: Stand Out is much more hip-hop leaning, while your second features more R&B harmonies and EDM production while still refining the rap verses. What made you want to switch up your sound in only a manner of six months?

Keeho: I think we wanted to really make sure our message is being delivered clearly and strongly, so I think that’s why we picked tracks that were as strong with aggressive sounds.

Jiung: I don’t think we had a special moment or particular reason as to why we decided to do what. We just wanted to portray our feelings and thoughts that we felt at that moment while making music, and the time that we spent in between our albums, is what probably contributed to the change of sound as well.

Intak: As Keeho mentioned, I think we wanted to stand out a bit more with more clarity and distinct characteristics, which is what drove the aggressiveness and the slight change of sounds for this album.

15. Since you help choreograph and conceptualize your videos, what do you hope to convey in the accompanying visuals for Disharmony: Break Out?

Keeho: As you can see in our choreography for "Scared," we incorporated football into our routine. Football is a sport that is very aggressive and requires a lot of energy so we thought it was a good fit with our song. With these specific key points, we tried to really emphasize our message as well as our energy.

Jiung: I think our choreography, stage outfits, and concept all adds up and helps level up the intensity of the song as well as the message that we want to deliver. Our music video and choreography really turned out well, so I hope our fans appreciate and enjoy it!

16. Which artist is on your bucket list to collaborate with?

Keeho: Ariana Grande

Theo: BIGBANG, Taeyang, G.Soul, Dean

Jiung: Ty Dolla $ign

Intak: Justin Timberlake, A$AP Rocky

Soul: Les Twins

Jongseob: Penomeco, Smino

17. What’s one thing that even your most devoted fans don’t know about you?

Keeho: I really don’t like long nails. I just can’t stand it, so I tend to always keep my nails short.

Theo: I don’t really sweat. I don’t think I sweat at all.

Jiung: I have a habit of chewing the inside of my mouth, unintentionally.

Intak: My lips are naturally moisturized so I don’t need to use a lip balm to make them glossy!

Soul: I have dermographism, so even the slightest irritation like a scratch will leave a mark/scar for a while.

Jongseob: I have a slim waist and biggest feet of all members.

18. What movie, or song, always makes you cry?

Keeho: I don’t really cry, so I don’t think there’s a movie that ever made me cry.

Theo: The Korean movie Miracle in Cell No. 7 makes me cry every single time I watch it.

Jiung: Korean traditional children’s song "Daddy Cheer Up" makes me tear up.

Intak: I have a couple, but if I had to just pick one, it’d be the movie Forrest Gump.

Soul: I don’t cry like Keeho so I have never cried watching something and I just don’t like to watch sad movies.

Jongseob: "Falling Slowly"

19. What’s one piece of advice you would give to your pre-debut self?

Keeho: Don’t worry too much and work harder.

Theo: Think 100 times before acting on it.

Jiung: Are you truly sincere?

Intak: Enjoy life a bit more.

Soul: Be more emotionally stable.

Jongseob: It's never too late.

20. What does a successful 2021 look like for you?

Keeho: I hope to release as much music as we can!

Theo: I wish we can make at least 3 comebacks.

Jiung: I hope to gain more emotional peace and stability.

Intak: "Rookie of the Year" award!

Soul: There’s a necklace I really want to buy and I hope to buy it by the end of this year!

[creativewritingpracticestudio]

Dating Marilyn Manson Would Include:

@skin-slave hope you enjoy!

Permanent Taggers: @smokeandmirrorz @holyjunkie @overlyobsessedfangirl @slashevilsister @julessworldd @agroupiewhore @comawhxte666

@headoverhiddles figured you’d like this ;)

TW: Mentions of the sexual abuse that Marilyn received as a child by his teenage neighbor.

First off, Marilyn would always come up with the weirdest fucking dates that you could possibly imagine. He knows all of the best underground clubs, and all of the most obscure restaurants, and probably has the connections to get into them all, completely free. He also would take you to any museums or aquariums or places like that that you wanted to go; he really likes art museums and exhibits. These are the most normal dates you’ll ever go on; the weirdest ones include hanging out in graveyards and cemeteries together(this usually turns into fucking on the graves), going to masquerade/fetish parties, and going to hardcore sex shops together.

Marilyn would randomly give you gifts, for no other reason than to make you smile. These could range from normal-ish(black roses, dark chocolate, etc.) to weird as fuck(odd pieces of jewelry and strange old antiques that may or may not be haunted). He’s got an odd taste when it comes to those kinds of things, but it keeps thing exciting. He’s also prolific at writing love notes, as surprising as it is.

You and Marilyn would always be the best dressed couple at any event, or even just out in public. He’s always in his cool wigs and clothes and makeup, like a true star, and you’ve got a fashion taste that’s just as great as his. The two of you would go shopping together at cool old shops, and he’d help you with your makeup. He’d buy you elegant ballgowns and velvet dresses and cool corsets and all kinds of gothic clothing, and you’d look like an elegant- sexy-vampire-goth-queen because of it.

You come to all of Marilyn’s shows to support him, and you stand off to the side of the stage and dance to the songs, maybe even starting your own one-man mosh pit. He finds it to be so funny, and it definitely distracts him a bit sometimes.

After dating Marilyn for some time, you definitely become good friends with the other members of the band, particularly Twiggy, who’s like your partner in crime. The two of you cause all kinds of trouble, just absolutely reaking havoc on everyone backstage. Twiggy will also third-wheel some dates with you and Marilyn, usually high as fuck, just out of pure boredom.

Marilyn, despite his stage persona, enjoys quiet nights at home with you most of the time; he’s not always as insane and loud as he is when he’s on stage and performing. Sometimes, he’ll just want to order some pizza or takeout, and then sit on the couch with you and watch some kind of art film or comedy. He can be very relaxing to be around.

Marilyn will actually be quite clingy and affectionate with you, contrary to how most people would assume him to be. He’s constantly holding you and kissing you on your lips and cheeks and nose and forehead and knuckles, just always being close with you. This is because he likes affection, but also because he wants others to see that you’re his girlfriend, and only his. He’s a very, very clingy guy.

Speaking of clinginess, Marilyn can get pretty jealous sometimes; he doesn’t tell you what to wear or anything like that, as he loves to show you off to other people so they see what they’re missing out on, but if someone starts flirting with you or checking you out, he’ll definitely get a bit pissed off. Usually, he just has you sit in his lap and he makes a big show of doing stuff like kissing your lips and neck and grabbing your boobs and stuff to show whoever it was that you’re already taken.

Whenever you and Marilyn do anything romantic, like little dinners or taking hot baths together, there will always be two things: elegant candles, and black rose petals. He’s a romantic at heart, and his number one priority on any date is to make you feel special, so he always goes out of his way to add those little touches.

Okay, not saying it would happen for sure or anything, but if the two of you ever got married, your wedding dress would be black, and that’s that. You’d also have a dramatic black veil, too, and the wedding would be super spooky and gothic, with elegant candles and weird-looking food.

Seeing as he’s a famous industrial rock singer, and he’s seen as super dark and shit, people would expect Marilyn to only listen to scary goth music, and he does sometimes, but that’s not all he listens to; When it’s just you and him in the car, he will absolutely get down to any pop music from the 90s and early 2000s. I’m talking like Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Rihanna, all of that stuff, he absolutely loves it and the two of you have the most amazing dance parties while in the car.

Marilyn is a horny bitch, and the two of you would fuck so many times a day, with quickies before and after his concerts, and blowjobs at random times during the day. You’re always a little bit sore.

I can totally see Marilyn buying you a car. It would be something like a Volkswagen or a BMW or a convertible or an impala or even a hearse, and he’d probably get it in your favorite color, unless you said you don’t care about the color, in which case he would get it in black for sure.

Overall, your relationship with Marilyn is eccentric and exciting, and you never get bored around him. He loves you with every bit of his cold black heart!

[thepriceofbeingaroseisloneliness]

The Freedom of Expression #4   18th March (Notes/Translation)

“The survival of the band….it may be exaggerated to say ‘the survival’.... but these will be difficult times...”

Appearance:

 Kaoru (DIR EN GREY direngrey.co.jp/)

 Joe Yokomizo (Writer / DJ)

 Tasai Reporter (Tokyo Sports)

 God ?

You can watch the program here  You can find other translation of The Freedom of Expression here

Notes before reading: This is the 4th program of The Freedom of Expression, uploaded on Wednesday 18th.  Today’s topic is Corona virus and it was recorded on 10th March. Not much context is needed as at this point, we are all familiar with it and are aware of the effects it is causing around the world.  In this program, they are going to talk about Corona virus and how it is affecting Entertainment industry in general and how it is affecting Dir en grey tour schedule itself.

Please don’t forget to subscribe to their channel and watch their actual video to support the program.

Feel free to correct me if you spot any mistake or any confusing parts as they are talking so casually and relaxed that it’s hard to get some parts.  As 5th program is like a sequel of this one, I will  upload soon  before doing any other. --- Kaoru: Hello, this is Kaoru from Dir en grey…The Freedom of Expression is starting today too! Joe-san…. Tasai-san…. Joe: Yes, hello everyone…. Kaoru: This time too…. Tasai: Yes, hello… Kaoru:  And now… it’s really… Joe: Yeah…for real… Kaoru: It has become a terrible thing… Joe: It’s terrible….in the media it seems like that… when you meet people from the industry like us, the talks are about “how are you dealing with the effects of Corona?”, right? Kaoru: That’s true… Joe: Although the days are passing, there is no day without having this conversation…. Kaoru: What about Tokyo Sports? Tasai: Well, almost all the news are about Corona virus… Joe: Just as I thought… Kaoru: Well, it’s like that in almost every other media, right? Tasai: Now, it feels like 80-90% is about Corona…. Entertainment events are getting cancelled one after another….so it feels like places to go for coverage are gone…. Kaoru: Ah, that’s true… Joe:  Is there any way to cut the news about Corona for Tokyo Sports? Tasai: The truth is, a lot of news about Corona are coming out…. like for example these ones…. *he check some papers on the table* Fraud commercial laws, “the virus lies in the sewer”, others about taking money, young entertainers not having any performances, so they are making zero money, the problem of people reselling masks, There are lots of news like this coming out…. Joe: This is a very difficult problem…. God: Hello? Hello? Joe: Ah, someone came…. God: Hello? Hello? Joe: God came… God: Well…When you write articles about Corona, does it sell well? Tasai: Well…. when it comes to selling…. it’s difficult to say. As the economic activities seem to be stagnant, when it comes to selling, I guess it will compensate the minus. It might feel like maintaining the status quo. God: Ah… Kaoru: It’s because you want information, right? Tasai: That’s it. Kaoru: That’s it. Somehow some information…. (cut) There is a lot of information that incites anxiety… Joe: That’s true. There is a lot…...I really think that. Kaoru: Of course, taking precautions….or to encourage to do so… or it’s dangerous to go like this…I don’t know.... but, I want to know that kind of things because I think they are important….or things like the (number) of people who are getting well is raising… Tasai: For sure… Kaoru: That there is nothing like that, it’s a bit….it just make you be scared… Joe: For real… For me, in a way it’s related to work…. for example, I met with newspaper’s reporters related to science and they told me they have been interviewing experts. By the way, nowadays, the coverage is done in a such a  tabloids way  style…..how many people got infected…that there is no toilet paper….I’m just saying that those things fuels anxiety…In fact, from the point of view of a doctor…they are not reporting with composure to what extend there is a threat… *Then he proceeds to talk about Corona virus facts* Joe: Firs of all, Corona virus is a type of virus that infects all kinds of animals. From this group of viruses, there are 7 types that can infect humans, one of them it’s the current Corona Virus. There are other types such as SARS and MERS, so the Corona virus itself has always been around…this one from these 7 types is a new one whose shape  is similar to a Corona, that’s why it always has been called “Corona virus”. Certainly, the fear towards this virus is comparable to SARS or MERS, but if you calmly look down at it, the mortality rate is not that high. At this moment, it is true that around the world there are people infected and some of them are seriously ill but, there isn’t a terrible amount of deaths…For example, there was a new type of influenza epidemic in 2009 in Japan. In this one, for example, more than 10 million people got infected. So, about this new Corona virus…to that extend, when you think about a situation that not the infected people are being reported but the only thing that it’s being reported now is clearly news that make everyone panic.  This is how I see it…If you overlook this news, as there is little information from a scientific point of view, it feels like the reports tend to “dance” for agitation. Surprisingly, when I met a science reporter, they are like “Aren’t they making a fuss?” There are actually many reporters that are doing it calmly. Because you are rightfully scared isn’t it? But there are many reporters overdoing the feelings of fear. God: Well…It’s excessive…. Too much…it’s said that Corona beer is hardly selling… Joe: It’s a different Corona isn’t it? (laughs) God: It’s a different thing but it seems that it’s not selling well…. Joe: Ah, is that so? God: I think they are like “I hate drinking Corona beer”, due to the current mood. Tasai: It suits well Mexican food…. Corona beer… Joe: By the way, Does God like Corona beer? God: I don’t really know (laughs) Everyone laughs. Joe: He really doesn’t know right?

Tasai: I asked a friend who is a doctor, and the most preventive things are to wash your hands and gargling. These are the cheapest methods in terms of cost…. just to wash your hands without hesitation and gargle…

Kaoru: This year, it seems that influenza (cases) are at its lowest.…

Joe: That’s true. That’s because everyone is strictly washing their hands and gargling…. when it comes to masks, WHO already said it but, they don’t necessarily prevent infection, on the contrary, people who are sick don’t transmit the bacteria. Although it might a protection thing, just because you are wearing a mask it doesn’t mean you won’t be infected. This extraordinary buying of them…what about that?

Tasai: Then, Hirabane Monster* is like “I never have caught a cold since I was born!” *Hirobane Monster was mentioned in program #1

Joe: That’s probably because he is an idiot, right? (laughs)

Kaoru laughs

Joe: Because he is an idiot (laughs)

Tasai: He said that’s why it’s ok to not wear a mask…

Joe burst into laughs, Kaoru joins seconds later (6:50, the way he laughs) lol

Tasai: As this is something important…. this way of thinking….

Kaoru: Surely

Joe starts talking about the lives being cancelled and then asks Kaoru about it. Kaoru replies that live houses are now a bad “thing” (In venues, there are a lot of people crowded, which helps the virus to spread) Joe replies that other places are like that too and he mentions Yamanote line and the subway itself as well as parties and those places are still ok. It seems asthere were some cases reported after a concert, the measures were taken against live houses. Joe says this is “such a Japanese thing” to be done, as one thing happened, they applied it to all the rest. Kaoru: Now, at the time of recording this, we still don’t know if we should do something or not… (about Dir’s tour) Even if we do something about or not, as expected, there are some lives that will be reassigned… Tasai: I see… Kaoru: If you think a bit about this, it’s scary right? What’s the best thing to do? Joe: That’s true… something like this…. it’s not a problem that only musicians have to think about… Kaoru: it is not, right? Tasai: That’s true Joe: In the sports world…. the Japanese league (football) and baseball professionals league…Those two (tops) talked to each other, trying to find a solution. It is said that their relationship is like cats and dogs, but sometimes these two genres (of sports) cross and talk to each other. In that aspect, it’s not just music but includes all kinds of entertainment. This time, they have to think about 2 or 3 possible scenarios…. they have to think about a strategy. Tasai: I don’t know about this but, if a live is cancelled, who bears the costs of it? Kaoru: We pay for it… Joe: The organizer… Kaoru: It’s the organizer, right? Tasai: I see. Joe: Most one-man tours are organized by the artist. So that must be covered by the artist. As it is done that way, when you especially play in a big venue, the venue fee is very expensive. Of course, there are other cost besides the venue, in some cases you make stage-sets. Those make the cost go up really fast. If it is a big venue, like a dome or such, it can cost millions of yens. These costs go by the artist. When it’s a tour, as there are many places, it can end in the bankruptcy of privately-owned companies. It’s really a terrible problem. Tokyo Jihen did several lives and got a lot of criticism for it…should people be that angry at them because they did the concerts? Kaoru: Well, I understand the feelings of that people but, even if you go and decide to do a live or an event, the damage is going to be high.  I think people will hesitate about buying a ticket or not and with that happening, it feels really hard for us. Joe: That’s true… Kaoru: That’s how it looks right? Somehow, it feels like you are going in the wrong direction…. Joe: I see, even if the bans are just suddenly lifted, it’s hard to imagine people coming back to the venues the next day… Kaoru: After all, it’s going to be difficult to go again… Joe: For sure! Tasai: After  these things done for prevention, we must think about everyone… Kaoru: Yes, yes…. that’s it. God: If the tour and other things are skipped…. How many tours do you do? Kaoru: We do about two per year in Japan…. God: So, if one of those two tours is gone, the incoming money you would be getting… it would be the half of it? Kaoru: It would be the half……(sudden cut) Joe: It’s not the half of it, because you would be dealing with losses….you can’t easily say how it is going to be.... Kaoru: Or just foccuss in the  money…of course, that’s about it too… Joe: It’s a very difficult problem…. God: For example, if there is a big loss (of income), what would happen to the band? Kaoru: I think it will be hard….it would probably be hard….we are living in a time where the sales of cds or other sound sources are decreasing…doing lives… the sales of some things are related to them too and as expected those sales seem to be decreasing too….if all that is gone….the survival of the band….it may be exaggerated to say “the survival” but it is going to be hard…. Joe: I think it’s going to be a tough time but, there is no government actions against that… Kaoru: There is nothing like that right now….well, at this point, we should be moving into the next part...Today’s program came out a bit of a sudden*, so here it’s the first part....until the next part....please subscribe to the channel. Everyone: Thank you for watching.... *This program was uploaded on a wednesday instead of its regular schedule on Fridays, second part was uploaded on Friday 20th, being a continuation of this program.

[thebiblesalesman]

Hero of Numbani new canon brands, products, tech, concepts, etc.

*SPOILERS FOR The Hero of Numbani AHEAD*

This list does not include Yoruba or Afro-Brazilian food/clothing/cultural concepts, which probably deserve their own list.

344X-Azúcar - A wireless signal used by Sombra.

3-D Puzzle: Horizon Lunar Colony - Efi and her cousin Bisi spent 400 hours putting this together.

Alatise Parkway - Street in the Numbani Arts District where a gray market auction house can be found.

Bankolé’s Grocery - A neighborhood grocery store.

Bello tower - Tower where Efi’s cousin Dayo lives.

Bisi’s laptop - An extremely high-end laptop that Bisi tries to gift to Efi. Capable of 3D holoprojection. Can crush logic exercises that cause “the most advanced omnics” to struggle in seconds.

Blanchet771 - A literary icon beloved by Efi’s father.

Breaking Circuits trilogy - A Flash Brighton movie trilogy where Flash is a human pretending to be an omnic pretending to be a human.

Carnival Calabar - Real-life Nigerian festival that occurs December 1-31. Efi mentions that Unity Day rivals Carnival Calabar in size.

Chinua Achebe - Real-life Nigerian novelist (1930-2013). A literary icon beloved by Efi’s father.

Compass Point Insurance - An insurance company used by Efi’s family.

Court-appointed cybernetic surgeon - Employed by world governing organizations for removing cybernetic implants from war criminals. One such surgeon removed most of Doomfist’s implants after his trial, a procedure apparently broadcast out to the whole world.

CraftLife 5000 - Premium power tools including a hard-light screwdriver.

Cybernetic brain upgrades - According to Efi, Sojourn has these upgrades, which consist of “bionic neurons” injected into the brain

Cyborg African wild dogs - These are things that exist. Efi encounters two dogs with spinal implants and flickers of green light in their eyes.

Dagger Sect - Enemy agents in the Breaking Circuits movie trilogy

Declaration of Unity - A declaration read and signed by Gabrielle Adawe during the founding of Numbani.

Delivery drone - Used to deliver things. Some are powerful enough to carry an 11-year-old.

efi_was_here_v3-39x.aipm - The name of Orisa’s personality matrix.

eNaira - Electronic Nigerian currency.

FacePunch - Site where Efi finds a lot of jokes and memes, such as Marley the Dancing Coconut.

Fadeout/Fading out - An omnic condition induced by a malicious code that self-replicates and overwrites the omnic’s native functions one-by-one. The name comes from the lights on an omnic’s head fading out when it is affected by this condition. Omnics experience severe program malfunctions during fadeout. For example, an omnic forklift operator might keep driving the forklift into a wall over and over again, or an omnic artist might destroy her own work. Fadeout also causes an omnic’s private wireless port to become publicly accessible, and if the malicious code is allowed to operate for long enough the omnic can lose all original programming and memory. Fadeouts were induced in Numbani by Sombra for a time after Doomfist’s attack on the airport. Because fadeout causes omnics’ wireless ports to become publicly accessible, an “antidote” code can be administered to one omnic and will be automatically distributed to all other affected omnics in the area.

Flash Brighton - An action movie character with numerous franchise films such as...

Flash Brighton and the Omnic Crusaders: Forty-Four Hours Till Midnight - Movie where Flash Brighton abandons werewolf pups to go looking for his brother’s assassin with a time machine.

Flash Brighton and the Omnic Crusaders: The Duel to Infinity - Movie starring Kam Kalu, Thespion 4.0, and A.I. Schylus, among others.

Flexxon Pro Micro T1 reactor - Alternative to the miniature Tobelstein reactor. Cannot maintain a graviton charge for more than a few seconds.

Free Thinkers - A website where Efi gets most of the open source code for her robots.

Harmony Key - A symbolic key presented by Gabrielle Adawe to the leader of the Numbani Omnic Union during the founding of Numbani.

HollaGram (or Hollagram) - Social media service where users can make multimedia posts and other users can award likes, claps, or shares and leave comments.

International Baccalaureate - A real-life instructional programming standard based out of Geneva, Switzerland. Efi is taking senior-high level IB instruction in calculus and physics at age 11.

Ipanema - Real-life neighborhood in Rio. Efi planned to take surf lessons here, and Lúcio’s studio is here.

Junker reactor - A graviton reactor purchased by Orisa when a miniature Tobelstein reactor cannot be found. Cobbled together from mismatched parts, with some graffiti on the side. Efi notes that it is probably irradiated and likely to blow up in Orisa’s face.

Junie (Junior Assistant) - A robot stand-in for social and professional situations, capable of broadcasting holograms of people and recording video/audio with a 360-degree camera. Hologram features can be upgraded with hardlight conversion kits. Invented by Efi Oladele. Holograms produced by Junies are referred to as [name-of-the-person-being-shown]-Junior. For example, Naade-Junior for a hologram of Efi’s friend Naade.

Lagos - The largest real-life city in Nigeria, on the coast.

Maxwell Interpreter - Part of Efi’s robot creation kit. Used for creating simulations by autosorting “eight billion permutations into virtual hash matrices.”

Modulated Biochemical Currency (MBC) - DNA-coded cryptocurrency used on the dark web. About the size of a sand dollar, they wiggle in your hand and contain synthetic blood with unique biological codes in it. Also known as bio gold, wiggle notes, glam clams, scritch scratch...

Nollywood - Real-life slang for the Nigerian film industry

Numbani civic codes - For example, Code 34-342b - Driving a vehicle with an expired registration. Code 92-574j - Pedestrian cross-traffic. Etc.

Numbani Civic Defense Department - Numbani government security forces/police.

Numbani Credit Union - A credit union. Efi stores her grant money here.

Numbani museum exhibits - Historical artifacts, omnic art, a walking tour of Overwatch’s presence in Numbani, Numbani native plants, and a diorama of the Declaration of Unity, among others

Numbani Omnic Union - An omnic representative organization present during the founding of Numbani. The leader was presented the Harmony Key by Gabrielle Adawe.

OmnicCon - A con in Numbani with a costuming contest.

OmniWorx - Company that produces synthetic greases in designer tins with different scents like mint and citrus. The product is used by omnics as an indulgence, such as on Unity Day in Numbani. Efi buys OmniWorx tins for her omnic friends.

OR15 auction - An auction that took place after the defeat of the OR15s by Doomfist at Numbani airport. The Numbani Civic Defense Department sold off decommissioned OR15s in lots of 10 that cost around 20 million naira. Bidders were not informed of the OR15′s defeat at Doomfist’s hands.

Overwatch cartoons - Cartoons Efi describes as “old” that are based on the lives of real Overwatch members like Sojourn.

Overwatch coin bank - Owned by Efi. Features Reinhardt protecting the bank with his rocket hammer.

Overwatch pajamas - Efi owns a pair of these.

Paper notes - Used to avoid digital filters at Efi’s school.

Peace Park - A park in Numbani which had a statue of Gabrielle Adawe. The statue ended up being destroyed by Doomfist.

Precision Core reactor - Alternative to the miniature Tobelstein reactor. Unit is the size of a car.

Rapid-X heliotherapy - A type of therapy that heals broken bones in the span of a few days.

Sky Postal - Delivery company that uses drones. Capable of executing Lightning-Priority deliveries.

Steppe Wanderer - A model of car.

Super Fun Family Time - A “game” Efi’s parents taught her where they hide in the interior bathroom of their flat whenever the warning sirens go off indicating a Doomfist attack.

Tiawo Boulevard - Street in Numbani that intersects Heritage Avenue

Tin Can Island Port - Port where Numbani omnics held a dockworkers’ revolt several years back.

Tonal Abyss - Omnic pop band with 38 members. Broke up at one point due to disagreements about which quantum clock standard to use as a time measure for their music. Reunited at Lúcio’s concert in Numbani.

University of Ibadan, University of Lagos - Real-life Nigerian universities that Efi’s cousin Dayo received acceptances from in the story.

Valor Matrix distributed computing project - Project that rewards loans of processing power with currency.

Version 3.44 VAvmpCompiler - Part of Efi’s robot creation kit. An alternative to a dedicated Maxwell Interpreter box.

Virtual Physician protocol - Downloadable physician protocol accessible to any robot or omnic.

Yankari National Park - Largest national park in Nigeria.

Yoku Voyager - A low-end car model with weak levrims.

Zobo Bot - Robot that makes juice drinks at Efi’s school. Known to be ornery.

[dfangurlinme]

MAMAMOO THEORY: Comeback

Fans like making theories and like to decipher details to make theories on what may come next or what can be expected on the foresee able future. I do have my own theories and predictions about MAMAMOO as well because it’s something fun to do while waiting for things to unveil.

  The year is already midway through and given the amount of content MAMAMOO was able to produce so far, I think people would have enough hypothesis by now on what to expect on the coming 2ng half of the year.

 MAMAMOO joined Queendom then immediately made a comeback for their 2nd full length album of “Reality in Black” with the title track HIP and a pre-release song of Destiny release on the variety show. HIP era boosted MAMAMOO’s brand more, while they were receiving good result from their album they joined most of the line-up for the year-end shows which they were able to provide quality content for the already existing fans and to their new comers.

 Now the year 2020 came in and all things was not the same. The pandemic affected majority of everyone’s life and MAMAMOO was gravely affected by it as well. An interview with one of RBW’s CEO which they discussed the activities awaiting for the group. He stated solo activities and group activities as the year goes by.

 The first up on the list is Moonbyul’s comeback which garnered enough attention to the public maintaining the momentum they are still ridding from HIP’s success. While Moonbyul comeback is relatively doing its job on keeping MAMAMOO relevant while other group are doing their comeback, other members are also doing their part. Solar’s weekly youtube upload keeps her presence visible as time passes by. Then Wheein steadily makes her impact through her collaboration and birthday celebration. Hwasa on the other hand is very visible through her variety show appearance, sponsorship and music collaboration.

 MAMAMOO’s time table may have its hiccups but there are able to make amends and find work around. Based on KDH Solar and Hwasa are working on their comeback as well and Wheein decided to rest for the time being. Since the schedule was interrupted Solar debut her solo career earlier than Hwasa’s comeback. Which is understandable. Hwasa already release a single hence I would expect her to have an EP similar with how Moonbyul solo activities has been and a creation of album takes more time than releasing a single.

 Solar single release on my opinion has always been coming first regardless of order that KDH mentioned on his interview. I was actually expecting her to release nearer her birthday. Her debut was a success never the less. Then after her promotion an announcement suddenly made its way on Moonbyul’s repacked. Since her solo concert was cancelled along with their Japan promotion its very given that they need to get back on track so doing the concert on line is a good opportunity.

 It didn’t surprise me either that a photo of Hwasa in recording booth was release yet her comeback was not confirmed. RBW and MAMAMOO’s decision on their activities was able to keep the group name relevant. Again, HIP era was a success especially to their international presence hence they all wanted to keep that momentum going and letting the member individually work is for me a great strategy. They would be able to buy sometime before finally launching the groups comeback.

The next probably 2 group comeback is very crucial. MAMAMOO’s band has been in the industry for almost 7 years now a good amount of time to actually reach their maturity yet the brand is still reaching its new high and the comeback with determine if they are about to reach their maturity and start to plateau as time goes by through the product life cycle.

 My prediction for the next half of the year for MAMAMOO are based on all I have explained earlier. Moonbyul’s concert and repacked along with Wheein’s upcoming collaboration enables RBW to buy sometime before launching Hwasa’s comeback. I’m expecting the group comeback to be after her promotion for the reason that June is allotted to their group’s anniversary. Another good thing is that Hwasa’s birthday is July which makes more sense to do her promotion.

 Another reason for my prediction as why MAMAMOO’s comeback are being dragged later on the year for the reason of RBW’s rumour of entering the stock market. Fans are concern about the thought given that the decision making would not be just the specific CEO we are normally seeing as the company will later on open to the shareholders. Going public enables RBW to gain boost in terms of financial assistance.

 Money trail is one of the bloodline of a business. Now given that going public means selling parts of the company which stock holders earn ownership and may gain decision making rights but RBW’s CEO are the first generation owner of the company. I would be expecting them to still keep majority of the stock of the company to ensure that they would be able to keep their ownership and position on the management.

 If going public ever comes true my prediction is that RBW would be doing it near MAMAMOO’s comeback for the reason that the group is their biggest act and the group is their image to the public. Along with the group’s comeback, I would be expecting them to confirm a world tour which would garner enough buzz to launch the newly public company and giving another weight to the needed success of their group comeback.

 RBW is preparing MAMAMOO for the upcoming change if they ever go public because investors demand would focus on the biggest opportunity which is their brand group MAMAMOO. The changes would also make impact on the renewal of contract. The company on my opinion gain plus points for the reason that they ensure that they let MAMAMOO members have an opportunity to take their music individually. The impression of that means that their individual desire is not being hindered by their group; that their growth is still theirs and have been theirs to begin with.

 MAMAMOO as a brand and group is currently on a lot of pressure. The new generation of fans would be coming in which means a new set of preferences that needs to be fed. MAMAMOO as I have always believed is a progressive artist and they have what it takes to survive the new generations of fans coming in its more of whether they would be able to play their cards right and whether fate is on their side.

[lifblogs]

Title: Livin In You: Chapter 6

Rating: Explicit (for later chapters)

Pairing: Destiel (they’ll be meeting soon!)

Word Count: 1500

Summary: Castiel is a mental health worker who is just fine with the way his life is. The only thing that really bugs him is how much his co-worker, and friend, Meg, mentions Dean Winchester, the most famous rock star in the modern age. Meg drags him to a concert, and he ends up getting tied into the wild and angsty life of Dean Winchester. Suddenly his old life seems boring, but so much calmer. Suddenly, it matters to him that he's still a virgin. Suddenly, this rock star that he despised the mention of, now matters to him.

Dean Winchester is a rockstar who's on top of the world when it comes to music. Yet there's more that he wants. He misses Lisa and Ben, he craves connection, craves being himself. Any hope for that amidst his alcoholic life all changes when Zachariah, the head exec of Heaven's Records, pairs with a new exec, Michael Edlund -- the Archangel of Music. Under Michael's dominance, he's no longer in control of his own life. There are rules. No more sex with fans. No more alcohol. And in Dean's view, no more god damn free will. Yet he stumbled into Castiel.

A/N: This chapter contains alcoholism, violence, and mentions of abuse.

Tagging: @evilwriter37, @becky-srs

Anyone else, feel free to let me know if you want to be tagged! Always happy to have more readers. :D

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5

“Though the sounds of someday / May be home! / Though the sounds of someday / May be be home, ay!”

Sweat glistening on his skin, but not ruining the various bronzers that had been put on him, Dean brought his running, and his dancing to a stop, and he stood, blocking out the crowd, just listening to the guitar as he strummed, just waiting for the right moment. His soul seemed like it could fly, and he was on top of the world, and as he took in the breath to finish this song, he knew that he was high on life. It could take him anywhere.

“And though the sounds of someday / May be home, ooh!”

Dean let the last notes hang in the air, simply mesmerized with the tune of his own song, with the depth and lightness of his voice.

Finally, he finished the concert, and the fans went wild. Dean came back to himself, beaming, still feeling as though music was pounding through his body.

“Thank you, everybody!” he screamed. “You’ve been a great crowd! Whoo! Kansas City!”

After more moments of adoration, Dean’s handlers were behind the curtain, beckoning him to come off the stage.

He left, body exhausted, but made sure he seemed to have as much energy as he had upon entering the stage.

An assistant took his guitar, and the sounds of the crowd faded as he was led down stairs, and through various halls of the stadium, to a green room.

Dean skipped the water on the table as he passed by, and grabbed a beer.

Sam was waiting for him in the green room, having been allowed in because he was his brother. Crowley was there as well, and unfortunately, so was a man he’d had a few dealings with and rather didn’t like: Zachariah. He was the executive of the record label Dean was contracted with, Heaven’s Records. Usually execs didn’t come out to concerts and they left that business to representatives, so this had to be big.

Great.

He suppressed rolling his eyes, popped the tab on his beer, and took a sip.

“That was excellent!” Crowley told him, standing to embrace him. He pointed to a screen that was in the green room, which was now showing the crowd departing. “Caught the whole thing.”

Dean nodded, then addressed his brother, “Sam, you like it?”

Sammy beamed, and also got up to congratulate him with physical affection, clapping his shoulder. “Hell yeah, man!”

Dean got himself a seat across from the exec, and bluntly asked, “What are you doing here?”

“Just enjoying the show, Dean.”

Another sip of his beer.

“Uh huh.”

Zach gave him an uneasy smile, hands clasped before him, leaning forward. “Look, we want to change your contract. Nothing big. Just add a couple more zeros to the paycheck, and with it you gotta make a music video, along with cooperating in some other areas.”

Dean sighed. “Ain’t music videos more the pop industry type deal?”

“You’ve turned rock into the new pop, Dean.”

“Yep, and what’s the catch? You’re not just gonna give me more money for a single music video.”

“We want you to tour. Europe, UK.”

“But?” he prompted, sensing a but.

“But, you have to behave.” Zach stood, taking the beer out of his hands as Dean had been about to drink a great amount of it. He held it up, shaking it. “No more of this.”

“But—”

And now he held out his phone, showing paparazzi photos of Dean making out with a woman on the street. Who was she? Was that that girl Cassie, the one who had a tattoo of his name somewhere, well, interesting?

“No more of this. Crowley’s already told me he’s been working with you on it.”

“What, so I can’t have fun?”

“No,” Zachariah simply stated. “You can’t have fun, Dean. Your kind of fun can lead to mishaps, mistakes, bad press. You’re a label, someone to be marketed. You want to market the bad boy who gets too drunk and punches a reporter?”

“I haven’t done that,” he argued.

“Yet. You want to be the bad boy who sleeps with a fan lying about her age?”

“Or him,” Dean interjected.

“Excuse me?”

Dean stood, getting right in his face. “I’m a person,” Dean yelled. “ A person, you got that? I have vices, and flaws, and wants, and needs.”

“A person, huh?”

Dean glanced around the room, at Sam, at Crowley, eyes big, pleading for help. Sam seemed just as caught off guard and helpless as he was. The best he seemed able to do was to start shouting “objection!” but they both knew he wasn’t going to do that.

“What if I say no?”

“We drop you.”

Dean clenched his jaw, and felt his hands curling into fists. God, was that wall close enough to punch? Soon it didn’t matter because he’d brushed past Zach, and, vision going red, he swept plates of food and bottles of drinks off the table, and then there was a loud noise, numb pressure exploding in his knuckles.

Cheeks flushed, he pulled his hand from the hole in the wall.

“Fuck you!” Dean cried, pointing a finger at him.

“Now, now, Dean, don’t—”

“Don’t what?” he asked, getting in his face again. Now Sam was up, arms around Dean to hold him back. Dean didn’t bother fighting him. “Don’t what?”

“Tantrums will get you nowhere.”

“So I quit drinking just like that?” he asked. “And I don’t see people anymore? No dating?”

“None.”

“What about free time, my established relationships, family? Is Sammy getting swept aside with this deal too, huh?”

“Dean,” Sam intoned, voice soothing in his ear.

“What about Lisa and Ben?”

“We won’t touch them if you do what we say. Look, I don’t like to do this, Dean, pretend you’re not someone, but well… you’re not. Who you are doesn’t matter to us. It’s what you can sell. And we want to sell you off as a worshipful, immaculate being, having you ascend above the rockstar stereotypes. Your popularity will burst through the roof. So, you clean up your act, you stay away from fans, you do as we say, and we won’t have a problem.”

Dean shrugged out of Sam’s grip, and went over to Crowley, pointing an accusing finger. “You knew about this.”

“Dean—”

“You knew,” he breathed, voice low, but gritty with emotion. “You knew and you didn’t tell me.”

“I warned you.”

“Well, nice warning, fuckwad.”

“Dean, I will quit if you keep this up.”

Dean stood back, laughing.

Was this really happening? Where had his freedom gone? He just wanted to make music, wanted to make people happy. He didn’t want any of this bullshit. And why all the changes, and why so soon, so fast?

Zachariah set Dean’s beer bottle down, but Dean ignored it, grabbing another one, and drank as much as he could, feeling liquid dribble down his chin. Oh god, that stuff was good. It wasn’t enough to get him buzzing or even numb though. And was blood dripping down his knuckles? They were starting to swell, right hand red, maybe turning a little purple.

Dean finished off half the bottle, and spluttered through his drink.

“Dean, I think you need to sit down,” Sam said, taking him by the shoulders and attempting to maneuver him to a seat.

“Sammy, can they do this?” he asked.

“Of course I can,” Zachariah said, all self-important and pleased. “Paired with a new exec. Michael Edlund.”

Oh god, Dean had heard of him, the fucking Archangel of Music as celebrity fans liked to call him. The bastard didn’t care about people, just cared about stats, and marketing, and money, and having people act to his every whim. Dean wouldn’t even be surprised if there were sex scandals wrapped up in there, kept hidden away since he was oh so clean and immaculate. 

But maybe the worst for Dean was that Michael forced himself to live through his artists, took them over.

Dean let Sam drag him into a chair at that.

He raised his bottle at Crowley, and Zachariah, smiling. “Well, here’s to fucking up my life. Maybe you own me, but I’m gonna fight tooth and nail the whole time. So I agree to this new, fucking stupid contract. Drop off the papers with my assistant, and I’ll even sign with a god damn golden pen. How’s that? I’ll do what you want, but you better believe I’m gonna test the limit.”

Sam pat a comforting hand against Dean’s chest as he continued drinking, feeling angered, embittered tears built up in his eyes.

So long, Dean Winchester, he thought. Here’s to life as an angel condom. May you rest in peace, you son of a bitch.

So he wasn’t out of being controlled. His dad, John was probably smiling up from Hell at that.

He’d better have a good seat down there.

Dean wondered if he would too.

[chirpinchikadee]

Sina Entertainment Exclusive Dialogue – Xiaogui Wang Linkai [Trans]

Hello everyone, I am Xiaogui ✌ 

Q: As it is the last concert, how are you feeling now? XG: I’m a little nervous, and a little excited, and looking forward to it.

Q: Will you bet on who will crack and cry tonight? XG: I think most of us won’t be able to hold it in, because actually the mood has reached that point. I think it will be a very sad scene.

Q: I saw your preview (More Than Forever) two days ago. You were in the car saying “I feel regretful towards NPC, very regretful. I wanted to work harder but realized there was no time left”. What made you say it at that time? XG: Because after we became a group, the time that we truly spent together was actually very little. I wanted to be with my brothers. I especially missed the time when we were touring for fan-meetings, the feeling of that time and also the training. There weren’t many chances to gather together later on, so I felt it was a pity.

Q: Everyone seemed to have a feeling towards the group like “we can become the number one boy group”, but it seems like this advantage was not fully maximized. XG: Actually, being the number one boy group is not important. What’s most important is during the time we were a group, everyone grew and found their goals and direction. I think the most important thing is having a group of brothers like these by your side. And also the quiet support of our fans, I think this is most important. Being the number one boy group does not matter. 

Q: Particularly when the competition just ended, the attention from the outside world towards you guys may say it’s just popularity, only about things that are more superficial. When you just debuted, as you are also a newcomer, was there a process where you were a little confused or did not know which way to go? XG: At first, there will definitely be some dispute and public opinion. They will feel like… because actually they don’t know what kind of person you are. But I think all answers will be revealed in time, and NINEPERCENT will definitely become even better in future.

Q: As far as you are concerned, are you clear about your own path? Or was there a period when perhaps you felt the workload is a lot, asked ‘what am I doing’, or something like that? XG: Actually there are times when I was confused, when I encountered problems, when the pressure was huge. But I think this is a process that I must go through. Without experiencing this pressure, you won’t grow. So to me, I think this a way for you to grow, so going through this is inevitable. 

Q: For example, when you (encounter) some problems in your career, will you share it with these few brothers? Some of the troubles. XG: Yes, of course I will share it. But I know that even if everyone doesn’t say it out loud, we have definitely gone through a lot. We can sense it the next time we see each other, the look in our eyes is different. We can gradually sense the other person is becoming more and more mature. Maybe others have the same thoughts, which is the feeling that everyone has an indescribable mutual understanding. But we can feel one another slowly growing up.

Q: Regardless of how highly the outside world thinks of you guys, how do you guys perceive the outside world among yourselves? XG: To the outside world, I think it’s more of doing our own part well. I feel that NINEPERCENT is not a group which one can simply appraise or determine its nature. The group means a lot to me, it is not what it looks like on the surface. It has a lot of value and many important things. So its nature is not something that can be easily affected by a couple of sentences. 

Q: Out of good intentions from the outside world, probably when NINEPERCENT is brought up, most of the comments are regrets. But like what you said, do you feel that NINEPERCENT still left something for everyone? XG: We left precious memories and friendship. I think this friendship is more important. Actually for our age group, we have experienced things that perhaps children in the same age group as us have not gone through. So I think this is the most valuable fortune.

Q: I saw that all of you posted a Polaroid on the 6th, and felt that these boys had a sense of ceremony. Apart from this and the promise made among your team, did you show a sense of ceremony in other ways? XG: Actually, I won’t say that we had a sense of ceremony, but we really value our friendship. To express it in other ways, we’ll joke around but we absolutely won’t be sentimental. Even if we say our farewells in a joking manner, we won’t seriously and sentimentally say those kinds of words. We’ll do it our own way.

Q: That time when you guys were rehearsing in Beijing, how long has it been? (Since) Everyone was together? XG: A very long time, actually. It feels like….a few months? Anyway it was quite long.

Q: During the reunion, was there anything fun in the process of rehearsal? XG: Everyone is still mischievous like before. During rehearsal some are still playing around and not being serious, and then there are also times when they get serious. It feels like our understanding of each other is still there.

Q: I saw some posts online again today. There’s a lot of hardworking delivery guys sending takeout after takeout. How many things did you guys order at that time? XG: I was actually always in the process of practicing the dance. I keep going into the lounge and see another pile of takeout. I go into the lounge again and I will see another (takeout) again. But I don’t know who ordered it, specifically. Anyway there were quite a few meals, different kinds of dishes, hamburgers, everything was there. In the end we couldn’t finish it and felt it was quite a waste. 

Q: As you will really be saying farewell soon, what does NINEPERCENT mean to you? XG: As I mentioned, precious memories, precious experiences, friendship, the friendship between brothers, and the most valuable growth.

Q: Everyone felt that your workload was quite heavy this year. Do you feel that with the things you are doing, it is in the direction which you really want to advance? In our industry, there will definitely be a lot of things not within our control. XG: In terms of direction, I feel that I like my current identity. I also like what I’m doing now. I also like everything NINEPERCENT has for me. I feel honored with this identity, and also very thankful. To be able to work on the music I love, to make more people like me, I think this is enough. In future, I will use my own way to create a path that belongs to me.

Q: At the present stage, do you have any big confusion? XG: Actually I think there are still a lot of things (I am) lacking and I still need to continuously work hard to learn many things. I don’t consider myself as someone who is good at having a conversation with others, maybe because my personality is more direct. I think I need to make more effort to be considerate of others. I need to work on this, and also in terms of my music, including my stage, including all kinds of lighting and so on. Actually in terms of the stage, there are quite a lot of things lacking. I hope to work even harder, to have more time to film, such as some MVs will be good.

Q: On account of questioning by the outside world, everyone will think that idols have a very strong possibility of being replaced. Even in the market now, as you know, (idols) come in batches. Do you have any concerns on this? XG: I don’t mind whether I am replaced, because I am myself. There’s only a character that belongs to me, a personality of my own. He can take over your position, but he will never be able to take over your name is Xiaogui, that’s how I’ll put it. Which is why I feel Xiaogui is Xiaogui. Like I said, Xiaogui will use his own style to create a path of his own. So I’m not afraid of anyone replacing me.

Q: When you first debuted, everyone seemed to give you guys many titles, such as “redefining boy groups” or “opening up this generation”. After these 18 months, do you think the results produced lived up to the expectations and titles given to the group? XG: NINEPERCENT’s existence in itself is the best (result) in my heart.

Q:  What would you like to say to Xiaogui, the NINEPERCENT graduand? XG: Graduand Xiaogui, you will soon be wandering by yourself, running towards your goals, the true meaning of ‘go it alone’. I hope you won’t be afraid to face all the coming challenges and pressure. Be sure to cherish, be sure to remember all the friendship and all the precious memories left to you in these 18 months. These will spur you on to solve all the challenges in future. Remember the things that NINEPERCENT taught you and everything given to you. Be thankful to everyone.

Q: Lastly, whether using lyrics from your own songs or older songs, express your feelings towards your brothers. XG: *singing* “Let time return to that first moment, when I first stood on stage”. Let time return to that first moment, when we first stood on stage. I want to return to that time the most right now.

✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧

© ZH>EN Translation by chirpinchikadee.

[ganbeirecords]

How will COVID-19 change the music industry as we know it?

by Stefan Lalchev - 3 April 2020

Such a funny thing life is. Just when the whole of the UK music industry was asking the question ‘How will Brexit affect us?’ and we all thought that our biggest challenge in 2020/2021 would perhaps consist of overly complicated tour and distribution arrangements, life and nature reminded us that their power extends way beyond that of politics and economic deals. Glastonbury, SXSW, Coachella, The Great Escape, MIDEM and Eurovision are only a small part of the numerous big music events that were postponed (or delayed, for now) as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Along with the rescheduling of other large-scale events, such as the UEFA Euro Championship and the Olympics, and with a super long list of acts whose shows and tours have been cancelled or rescheduled, 2020 begins to look like something that no-one actually thought it would be.

But what does the worldwide state of emergency actually mean to our industry? How do the current circumstances affect it, and will they lead to a change in the way it is structured?

As almost any other kind of industry, ours is customer-oriented, and the customers are those who make it work. Well, the customers certainly haven’t gone anywhere, even as a matter of fact, they have probably never been so ‘not-going-anywhere’ in a very long time. This clearly does have a negative impact at present. Only less than half a year ago UK Music revealed that out of the £5.2 billion contribution of the music industry to the UK economy in 2018, the live music sector’s contribution was equal to £1.1 billion. However, from the examples mentioned at the beginning, we can only try to guess what the financial impact on this year’s music business will be. We can perhaps only easily assume that the live sector numbers in the reports on 2020 won’t be even close to the above-stated ones. In fact, a recent survey by the MMF (Music Managers Forum) and the FAC (Featured Artists Coalition) reports seven-figure losses for artists and managers in the UK from cancelled shows, lost record and merch sales, and lost artist-brand deals contracts. But as the old saying goes, ‘what’s important is not if you fall down, but how you get back up’.

The change of circumstances has obviously led to a change in our customers’ behavior (as reported by DSPs), but they are still here and it may well turn out that they are thirstier than ever for any new piece of content that we can put out there. Not only the lockdown has not really had a negative effect on the music release schedules, but with the now-trending home-based live concerts and with the amount of time that people currently spend on streaming platforms and social media, we can only imagine how much music content is being consumed. Furthermore, it could be stated that the current consumption is of a higher quality, because the current circumstances may possibly mean that consumers are actually paying way more attention to the music content that they are being exposed to.

And to end this on an even more positive note (from a purely business perspective), earlier this week, the Association of Independent Music (AIM) ran the AIM SYNC Conference, despite the tendency of events being cancelled. In fact, the Zoom-YouTube-hosted event turned out to be the first ever entirely online-based conference of this kind, and the 4,000+ attendees from over 20 countries clearly demonstrated that the music industry of 2020 is up for the challenge to keep working, even from home. We surely don’t know what the future has prepared for us, but surely the creative industries people are ‘creative’ enough to adapt and keep finding new ways to reach the audience.

[verdiprati]

Looking Ahead

[NOTE: this post is now out of date. Check the schedule tag on my blog for the most recent version of this list.]

Hello, Tumblr friends. 

I have been, for a while now, hesitating to continue my customary series of posts chronicling the future public performance plans of my favorite singer, Dame Sarah Connolly. 

I have decided to keep compiling and updating the list, but I also want to share some of my thoughts on the matter. Discussion, followed by list of performances, after the jump.

As you will probably have heard by now, Dame Sarah announced in July that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer and would have to withdraw from certain performances while undergoing treatment. She also expressed at the time a hope to fulfill all her other concert and recording commitments.

In the weeks since that announcement, Dame Sarah has made a few further alterations to her performing schedule while also maintaining some scheduled appearances: I myself heard her sing beautifully at concerts in Exeter and London earlier this month. A recent blog post by Jessica Duchen, written after that London concert, mentions that Dame Sarah now faces “a new journey, through chemotherapy.” Chemo protocols and how well individuals tolerate them can be really variable; the soprano Erin Wall has written about how she managed to keep performing between chemo treatments, but chemo can bring on a host of side effects that can make it extremely difficult to carry on one’s normal activities for the duration of treatment, which may take months. (Frankly, just reading that list from the American Cancer Society makes me feel sympathetically ill.)

I am sure you can see the delicacy of maintaining a public list of Dame Sarah’s scheduled performances. There is a lot that Dame Sarah herself probably does not know yet about her own treatment experience and how it will affect her availability (and desire) for work, and we the public may not know whether she is going ahead with any given engagement until relatively late. 

I do not want to prematurely write off the next several months of Dame Sarah’s work, and I would still encourage anyone who lives near one of her performance venues to consider buying a ticket. It is a bit of a gamble, but if you can afford the risk of disappointment, go ahead and give yourself the possibility of hearing this wonderful singer. 

At the same time, I think ticket buyers for whom Dame Sarah’s participation would be essential to the enjoyment of a concert should be aware that the likelihood of her withdrawal for health reasons is higher than usual in the next several months. What I provide below is the best information available through public channels; I’ll make an effort to update the list if and when I learn of any changes, but editing this list is not exactly my full-time job, and if there is a performance date that you care about, I would urge you to monitor the sponsor’s website and social media feeds for yourself.

Finally, and most delicately, although I consider this blog to be a fairly obscure corner of the internet, I would not want to embarrass Dame Sarah or damage her future employability by chronicling cancellations that might arise from her illness. No singer really wants to be associated with a record of frequent cancellations, however good the reasons for them might be. This consideration has been my greatest point of hesitation. I have, however, concluded that: (a) the circumstance of her illness is already well known in the industry, by her choice; (b) I really hope prospective employers will be understanding of her current circumstances and optimistic about her post-treatment future onstage; ( c ) I am only compiling information that is publicly available elsewhere; and (d) the intended audience for this list is fellow fans who, like me, want to keep tabs on possible opportunities to hear Dame Sarah perform live. 

So. Here is the latest edition of my list: 

Upcoming Performances by Dame Sarah Connolly 

Those of you in Britain might catch a performance in London, Cheltenham, Chipping Campden, or Buxton. Those on the Continent might see Dame Sarah in Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, Amsterdam, Vienna, Hamburg, Köln, Rotterdam, Basel, or Vilabertran. An as-yet-unconfirmed performance may be on the horizon in New York.

The usual disclaimers:

This is not an authoritative list. These are the upcoming performances by Dame Sarah Connolly that I have been able to learn about from Dame Sarah’s new website, Dame Sarah’s agent's website (Askonas Holt), Operabase, Bachtrack, Dame Sarah's Twitter, and generally ferreting around the web.

I sometimes list concerts that are not yet officially confirmed; you should of course check official sources before making plans and be aware that cast changes and cancellations can happen at any time.

I have added links to venue, ticketing, and broadcast information where available. Tips on new information are always welcome! Please contact me via email (verdiprati [at] selveamene [dot] com), Tumblr messaging, or ask box (plain prose only in the ask box; anything with links or an email address will get eaten by Tumblr filters) with corrections or additions.

Recital with Julius Drake at Temple Church, London, November 25, 2019. The repertoire includes Robert Schumann’s Frauenliebe und -leben, Gedichte der Königin Maria Stuart, Judith Bingham’s Adieu Solace, and “songs by Alma and Gustav Mahler.” The Judith Bingham piece is apparently based on the life of Mary Queen of Scots, as are Schumann’s Gedichte.

Elgar, Sea Pictures with the London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican, London, December 12, 2019. In a concert conducted by Sir Antonio Pappano that also includes instrumental works by Tippett and Vaughn Williams. UPDATE: as explained in a note on the LSO’s website, Dame Sarah has had to withdraw from the concert due to her treatment for breast cancer. Karen Cargill is scheduled to sing Sea Pictures instead.

[New! Deferred broadcast] Bob Chilcott, A Christmas Oratorio (Mary), on BBC Radio 3, December 19, 2019. World premiere performance recorded live during the Three Choirs Festival on August 1 of this year, at Gloucester Cathedral. The other vocal soloists include Nick Pritchard (Evangelist) and Neal Davies (Simeon). The Philharmonia Players are conducted by Adrian Partington, and the combined cathedral choirs that give the festival its name also participate. The recording should be available for listening on demand for about a month after the broadcast.

Wagner, Die Walküre (Fricka) at the Teatro Real, Madrid, February 12, 16, 21, 23, 25, and 28, 2020. Co-stars include Tomasz Konieczny (Wotan), Ricarda Merbeth (Brünnhilde), and Stuart Skelton (Siegmund). (James Rutherford, Ingela Brimberg, and Christopher Ventris appear in the roles respectively on the 23rd.) Pablo Heras-Casado conducts; the production by Robert Carsen is a revival from Oper Köln. Single tickets go on sale November 4, 2019 if I read the Teatro Real website correctly. UPDATE: Although Dame Sarah’s name still appeared on the Teatro Real website well into December 2019, she replied to a fan on Twitter on November 3, “sadly I won’t be singing Fricka in Madrid this time. Waltraute in [Autumn] 2020, Paris is still on!” (Note that as of February 21, 2020, this is no longer the case: Dame Sarah has been replaced by Michaela Schuster in the Paris cast.) In late December, the Teatro Real announced that Dame Sarah had canceled her participation and Daniela Sindram would sing the role of Fricka

Oskar Fried, Verklärte Nacht with the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican, London, March 13, 2020. From the Barbican website: “Dame Sarah Connolly is currently undergoing treatment for breast cancer and regrets that she must withdraw from this performance. BBC SO are grateful to Christine Rice for replacing her and wish Dame Sarah well in her recovery.”

Recital at Wigmore Hall, London, March 19, 2020. From the Wigmore Hall website: "As Dame Sarah Connolly continues a period of treatment and recovery following her breast cancer diagnosis, she needs to limit her schedule and therefore has had to withdraw from the above concert. We are grateful to Fatma Said (soprano) for taking her place.”

Conversation with Mahan Esfahani at Sir John Lyon’s Theatre, London, March 20, 2020. Per the RPS: "With regret, Dame Sarah has had to withdraw from the event and we wish her all the very best at the current time.” Esfahani is still booked for the event; he will engage in conversation with the conductor François-Xavier Roth.

Appearance at “Bringing the House Down” charity concert at Glyndebourne, Lewes, April 5, 2020. Update: Dame Sarah’s name has been quietly removed from the list. 

Mahler, Symphony No. 2, Resurrection, with the Sinfonieorchester Basel, Basel Minster, April 22, 2020. Update: Catriona Morrison is now the listed mezzo soloist.

Mahler, Das Lied von der Erde with the Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Festival Hall, London, April 30, 2020. Update: a statement on the Philharmonia’s website reads, “Dame Sarah Connolly has had to withdraw from this performance due to ongoing treatment for breast cancer. We are grateful to Claudia Mahnke for stepping in. Dame Sarah intends to return to performing later this year.”

[Canceled] Mahler, Symphony No. 2, Resurrection with the Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest, De Doelen, Rotterdam, May 14, 15, and 17, 2020. Chen Reiss sings the soprano part; Lahav Shani conducts. UPDATE: As of this writing on April 6, the orchestra’s website now explains that “Following the government decision regarding COVID-19, this concert cannot take place on the planned dates.” 

[Canceled] Recital with Ashley Riches, Joseph Middleton, and Tony Robb at the Chipping Campden International Music Festival, May 22, 2020. The recital was originally billed as a collaboration between Connolly and Middleton only, with repertoire TBA. Now that Riches and Robb have been added to the group, the program has been listed with repertoire by Duparc, Debussy, Ravel, Saint-Saëns, Caplet, and Fauré. The Festival website explains, “Following treatment for breast cancer Dame Sarah has made changes to this programme to reduce her workload while her recovery continues. She hopes very much the audience will enjoy the variety these changes afford.” UPDATE: As of March 23, the entire festival has been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

[Canceled] Mahler, Symphony No. 2, Resurrection with the Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest, Köln Philharmonie, May 27, 2020. Chen Reiss sings the soprano part; Lahav Shani conducts. (A repeat of the program from Rotterdam, above.) UPDATE: See the note on the May 14-17 concerts, above.

[Canceled] Recital at the Musée d’Orsay, Paris, June 6, 2020. With Malcolm Martineau. The program includes Ravel’s Shéhérazade, Elgar’s Sea Pictures, Debussy’s Trois chansons de Bilitis, and various works by Hugo Wolff, Alexander von Zemlinsky, Charles Villiers Stanford, and Cecile Chaminade. UPDATE: as of this writing on April 14, I am now observing the word “Annulé” at the bottom of the concert information page (below the word “Tarifs”), which I take to mean that the concert has been canceled.

[Canceled] Mahler, Symphony No. 8, Symphony of a Thousand with the Wiener Symphoniker at the Musikverein, Vienna, June 12 and 13, 2020. Three Vienna choirs add their forces; Philippe Jordan conducts. The other scheduled vocal soloists are Camilla Nylund, Irène Theorin, Martina Janková, Michaela Schuster, Burkhard Fritz, Iain Paterson, and John Relyea. UPDATE: Although the informational pages for these concerts do not mention their cancellation, the Wiener Symphoniker website has a news post explaining that the Austrian government has canceled all indoor events with more than 100 participants through the end of June, and thus the orchestra’s public performances will not take place during this time period.

[Canceled] Duruflé, Requiem with the Choir of St Catharine’s College, Cambridge, at Ferrandou Musique in Beaulieau-sur-Dordogne, Turenne, and Carennac, France, June 20-22, 2020. UPDATE: this series of concerts is now marked with a “CANCELED” banner on the Ferrandou Musique website.

[Canceled] Mahler, Das Lied von der Erde (in a chamber arrangement) at the Proms at St Jude’s, Hampstead Garden Suburb, July 2, 2020. With Andrew Staples and the Aurora Chamber Orchestra conducted by Nicholas Collon. The orchestra played the same arrangement, with the same vocalists, in 2017; here’s the (very positive) Bachtrack review. UPDATE: Although, oddly, I can find no direct reference to the cancellation of this concert or of the whole festival on the Proms’ website, a tweet from the Proms at St Judes on March 24 announced the cancellation of the 2020 festival.

[Canceled] Mahler, Das Lied von der Erde (in a chamber arrangement) at the Cheltenham Music Festival, July 3, 2020. With Andrew Staples and the Aurora Chamber Orchestra conducted by Nicholas Collon. UPDATE: On April 7, the Senior Management Board of the Cheltenham Festivals announced that the 2020 Cheltenham Music Festival is canceled (along with its sister Jazz and Science Festivals). 

[Canceled] Recital at the Buxton International Festival, July 11, 2020. With Joseph Middleton. Songs by Poulenc, Duparc, Mahler, and Schumann. Note the noon hour and the short duration of this performance. UPDATE: Although I am late to pick up the news, cancellation of the Buxton International Festival was apparently announced on March 18.

[Canceled] Mahler, Das Lied von der Erde (in a chamber arrangement) at Wigmore Hall, London, July 17, 2020. With Andrew Staples and the Aurora Chamber orchestra conducted by Nicholas Collon. UPDATE: On March 30, Wigmore Hall announced that it would close for the remainder of the ’19- ’20 season and all performances through July 31 would be canceled.

[Canceled] Recital at Schubertíada Vilabertran, August 21, 2020. With Malcolm Martineau. Songs by Mendelssohn, Liszt, Elgar, Debussy, Ravel, and Chaminade. UPDATE: Although the Schubertíada announced on June 10 that it would go ahead with a schedule of live concerts, Dame Sarah’s has been eliminated. The Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia reports that “[el] concierto con Sarah Connolly ha caído por cuestiones de salud de la mezzo británica” (the concert with Sarah Connolly has fallen due to the British mezzo’s health concerns). 

[Canceled] Mahler, Symphony No. 2, Resurrection, with the MDR Rundfunkchor and Sinfonieorchester Basel, in Basel, August 26, 2020. Christina Landshamer sings the soprano solo and Yoel Levi conducts. Part of a concert with a work called “Epitaph” by Andrea Lorenzo Scartazzini. UPDATE: I am not sure on what date the concert was deep-sixed, but the MDR website now marks it as “abgesagt” (canceled).

[New details!] Recital at Wigmore Hall, London, September 30, 2020. With Roderick Williams and Julius Drake; the first concert of the Wigmore’s Mendelssohn and Liszt series. 

Recital at Sant Pau Recinte Modernista, Barcelona, October 2, 2020. With Julius Drake. Part of the LIFE Victoria series of recitals; originally announced for November 27, 2019, but postponed due to Dame Sarah’s treatment for breast cancer. Songs by Brahms, Wolf, Debussy, Alma Mahler, Gustav Mahler, and Zemlinsky. As of April 30, LIFE Victoria has issued a press release indicating that they still plan to go ahead with recitals scheduled for the fall of 2020.

Wagner, Götterdämmerung (Waltraute, Zweite Norn) at the Opéra national de Paris, November 13, 17, 21, and 28, and December 6, 2020. Update: the roles of Waltraute and Zweite Norn are now assigned to Michaela Schuster, one of a handful of casting changes reported by OperaWire on February 21, 2020.

[New details!] Handel, Agrippina (title role) at the Dutch National Opera, January 17-27, 2021. Finally, a year and a half after the news started leaking on Twitter, we get the official announcement, complete with a bizarre (even by DNO marketing department standards) video of a rubber-covered woman dancing in a ball pit. The production is Barrie Kosky’s (previously seen at the Bayerische Staatsoper and the ROH, and later moving on to the Staatsoper Hamburg). Ottavio Dantone conducts; co-stars include Ying Fang (Poppea), Franco Fagioli (Nerone), Gianlucca Buratto (Claudio), and Tim Mead (Ottone). If I read the DNO website correctly, tickets go on sale June 3, 2020.

[New!] Stravinsky, Oedipus Rex (Jocaste) at the Dutch National Opera, March 10-27, 2021. In a double bill with the new commission From ‘Antigone’ by Samy Moussa. Other singers in the Oedipus cast include Sean Panikkar (Oedipus), Bastiaan Everink (Creon), Rafał Siwek (Tiresias), and Ramsey Nasr (Speaker). Erik Nielsen conducts; Wayne McGregor directs. If I read the DNO website correctly, tickets go on sale November 17, 2020.

[New!] Stravinsky, Oedipus Rex (Jocaste) with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, Hamburg, April 10 and 11, 2021. Even though these concert performances follow on the heels of Dame Sarah’s engagement for the same opera in Amsterdam, the two gigs appear to be administratively and artistically unrelated. Her co-stars in Hamburg include Brenden Gunnell (Oedipus), Tomasz Konieczny (Creon), and Sir John Tomlinson (Tiresias); the MDR Rundfunkchor Leipzig supplies the men’s chorus. Alan Gilbert conducts. The program also includes Le sacre du printemps. Tickets can be ordered starting May 26, 2020, with payment due six weeks before the concert. There’s some background information on the NDR website.

[New!] Recital at the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, May 18, 2021. With Julius Drake. Songs by Mendelssohn, Liszt, Elgar, Debussy, Ravel, and Chaminade. Tickets go on sale June 1, 2020. 

[New!] Elgar, The Dream of Gerontius with the Berliner Philharmoniker, Berlin, May 27, 28, and 29, 2021. With Allan Clayton and Roderick Williams, as well as the Rundfunkchor Berlin; Simon Rattle conducts.

[Livestream] The concert on the 29th will be livestreamed on the Berliner Philharmoniker’s Digital Concert Hall platform.

[Unconfirmed / details TBA] Brett Dean, Hamlet (Gertrude) at the Metropolitan Opera, New York, sometime in 2021-22. Allan Clayton, who starred in the title role of Brett Dean’s Hamlet at Glyndebourne in 2017, mentioned in an interview with the Telegraph that he would be reprising the role at an unspecified date and venue in the US. When prompted on Twitter, Dame Sarah indicated that she would be participating in the revival, too (“I shall be misunderstanding my confused boy again”). In a later interview with Opera News, Clayton reportedly specified that he would reprise Hamlet at the Met. The Future Met Wiki places the production at the Met in the 2021-2022 season (as does this New York Times article). Hat tip to Christopher Lowrey, who sang Guildenstern in the original production at Glyndebourne, whose tweet praising Allan Clayton brought the Telegraph interview to my attention. (No indication whether Lowrey will also be cast in the American revival.) Additional hat tip to the Tumblrer who submitted information on this topic via the ask box.

Previous versions of this list can be found under the schedule tag on this blog. This list published October 29, 2019. Updated November 2 to reflect Dame Sarah’s withdrawal from the LSO Sea Pictures. Updated November 3 to reflect her self-declared withdrawal from the Teatro Real Walküre. Edited November 21 to add Das Lied at Cheltenham. Edited November 23 to add the radio broadcast of Chilcott’s Christmas Oratorio. Edited December 15 to add Das Lied at Wigmore Hall. Edited December 20 to update the casting information for the Teatro Real Walküre. Edited December 15 to add the Proms at St Jude’s performance of Das Lied. Edited January 24 to reflect Dame Sarah’s withdrawal from concerts on March 13 and 19 due to ongoing cancer treatment. Edited January 28 to add the Wigmore Hall recital in September 2020. Edited February 10 to cross off the “Bringing the House Down” charity concert. Edited February 22 to reflect Dame Sarah’s withdrawal from the Royal Philharmonic Society event, the Basel Mahler 2 in April, and the Paris Götterdämmerung. I also updated the link for the Philharmonia Das Lied von der Erde / Song of the Earth and added newly-available details for the Chipping Campden recital, the Proms at St Jude’s performance of Das Lied von der Erde, and the Schubertíada Vilabertran recital. Edited February 29, 2020 to add the two Dutch National Opera engagements, the Concertgebouw recital, and the Buxton recital. Edited March 10 to reflect Dame Sarah’s withdrawal from Das Lied von der Erde with the Philharmonia Orchestra. Edited March 23 to add the Ferrandou Musique dates, to reflect the first round of COVID-19 cancellations, and to add cautionary notes for concerts up through July 11. Edited April 6 to reflect the cancellation of the Wiener Symphoniker’s Mahler 8 as well as the Proms at St Jude’s and Wigmore Hall performances of Das Lied von der Erde; to add a link to the Cheltenham Music Festival’s announcement changing its ticket sale dates; and to confirm and clarify the cancellation of the Rotterdam Phil’s Mahler 2 concerts. Updated April 7 with the cancellation of the Cheltenham Music Festival and the Buxton International Festival, and to update the link to the Wigmore recital on September 30, 2020. Edited April 14 to indicate the cancellation of the Musée d’Orsay recital. Edited April 22 to add the Berlin Gerontius. Edited May 6 to update repertoire details for the LIFE Victoria recital and add the Hamburg Stravinsky concerts and the Basel Mahler 2 in August. Edited May 8 to reflect the cancellation of the Ferrandou Musique concerts. Edited June 19 to reflect the cancellation of Dame Sarah’s recital at the Schubertíada Vilabertran and the second (August) Basel Resurrection. I may continue to edit this list as I receive new information.

[jdiep95]

Mariah Carey: Top 10 Most Iconic Songs

To celebrate the holiday season, which has really become the season of Mariah Carey this year, and “#All I Want For Christmas Is You” finally becoming a #1 single, I am sharing with you my “Top” lists of MC songs every Monday and Tuesday up until the 25th. For example, we’re going to start things off with the Top 10 Most Iconic Mariah Carey songs; on Tuesday, we’ll look at remixes. All songs mentioned these lists can be found on streaming services (e.g. Spotify and Apple Music). That means deep, deep cuts like “Slipping Away” off the B-side of the “Always Be My Baby” single, and “Help Me Make It (Through the Night)”, Mariah’s cover of a country song, which aren’t available, aren’t included. Unfortunately, that also means the entire Glitter soundtrack will not be mentioned as it is not yet available for streaming. #JusticeForGlitter #Loverboy2020 Let's make Loverboy MC's 20th #1 in 2020!!

To explore the most iconic MC songs, we have to look at streaming numbers (based on Spotify data, accurate as of Dec. 2019), MV views (based on YouTube data, accurate as of Dec. 2019), appearances on concert set lists, but also it’s prevalence outside of the Mariah fan base. “Butterfly” is an iconic ballad within the fan base, but pales compared to another empowering song like “Hero”, which non-MC fans most likely know even if they hate Mariah.

Is the list TL;DR? No worries. I compiled each list into a respective playlist, starting from No. 10 and ending at No. 1, so you get to listen to the Most Iconic MC songs while on the go.

https://open.spotify.com/user/jdiep95/playlist/1T0OU0p1cjR82LV1XX7f7j?si=AT9_aL0kSgmxySvIasZjsw

10. “My All” Butterfly

No. of streams: 37 182 150

MV views: 142M

“My All” makes its way into almost all of MC’s concert set lists since its release in 1997, appearing most recently in Mariah’s Caution World Tour. In this way, it gathers a lot more exposure than some of her other #1’s, such as “Dreamlover” or “Honey”. Despite its relatively low number of streams compared to other songs on this list, the number of views for the main music video is actually placed sixth on this list, and for good reason. The MV for “My All” is arguably the most artistic of MC’s catalogue, if not at least the steamiest. The video is in black-and-white, and features Mariah Carey floating on water with cutscenes of some hot model. The song appeals to a more specific audience, mainly adults, but the incorporation of Latin guitars will evoke a certain headiness seen only in a handful of Mariah songs.

9. “Vision of Love” Mariah Carey

No. of streams: 25 938 743

MV views: 25M + 2.6M*

*Includes a live version from the Daydream World Tour released on Mariah Carey’s official Vevo channel

This may be confusing; overall, “Vision of Love” received the least views and least streams of any of the songs listed here. Why is it not last on the list? Unlike “My All”, this song is one for the entire family. Don’t believe me? Many popular artists of the 2000s cited this song as their inspiration, including the great Beyoncé. Besides the complex runs, which becomes more complex in the live version, “Vision of Love” is a peer into Mariah’s vocal range, from her lows (E♭3) to a signature whistle note (C7), and a blend of genres, including pop, R&B and gospel. Even if it spawned a generation of over-singing vocalists, this was MC’s debut, a tour de force that inspired a new generation of singers. And thanks to its prevalence in Mariah’s concert set lists, it could very well even be inspiring this new generation.

8. “Fantasy” Daydream

No. of streams: 85 048 626 + 24 904 151*

MV views: 58M + 11M*

*Includes the “Bad Boy Fantasy Remix” featuring O.D.B.

“Fantasy” is a bop, and arguably the song that pushed Mariah to super stardom. Despite being nominated in six categories and controversially winning nothing on the night of the 38th Grammy Awards, Daydream cemented MC’s status in the music industry. “Fantasy” was the album’s leading track, and it became the first ever single by a female artist to debut #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It stayed there eight consecutive weeks. If the pop version isn’t iconic enough, with the music video featuring Mariah riding on a roller coaster, the remix with O.D.B. is arguably just as famous, if not more so. The “Bad Boy Fantasy Remix” introduced the featured rapper formula into mainstream music, a formula that’s practically standard in the industry nowadays.

7. “Always Be My Baby” Daydream

No. of streams: 148 422 869

MV views: 162M

Yet, the numbers for "Fantasy" cannot compete with this song. A reason for this is perhaps a lack of airplay; “Fantasy” is danceable but there’s no hook.“Always Be My Baby” was the third single off the Daydream album. After breaking records with “Fantasy”, by debuting at #1, and “One Sweet Day”, for logging 16 weeks at #1, “Always Be My Baby” debuted at #2 and logged only 2 weeks at #1; however, the stats show how age has affected the song’s popularity with the MV views for “Always Be My Baby” doubling those of “Fantasy”. “Fantasy” takes more of a backseat in Mariah’s concert set lists. “One Sweet Day” almost faded into obscurity before it made a resurgence this decade when songs like “Despacito” and “Old Town Road” rivalled its chart records; it’s also made a reappearance on set lists. All of this is to illustrate that “Always Be My Baby” has always been a staple, a favourite amongst fans and the general listeners. The song has many great Mariah moments, but what really latches on and sets the ground for “Always Be My Baby” to play on is the opening “Doo doo doo”. This song does what “Fantasy” didn’t do, and that’s creating a feeling. The song and the music video is a perfect pairing. You listen to the song, and you are reminded of sitting by a firepit, reminiscing about a significant first love that’s no longer, the exact imagery that’s been replicated by the MV; this is probably why it has so many views.

6. “Touch My Body” E=MC²

No. of streams: 64 797 196

MV views: 185M

“Touch My Body” is Mariah’s second-most recent #1 single of her 19 chart-toppers, and the leading single to the 2008 album E=MC². Although its release was in the middle of February, the song really transports you to an eternal summer. The song received its fair share of critiques, including more than a couple that said “Touch My Body” lacks Mariah’s 5-octave range; nonetheless, if MC’s previous album, The Emancipation of Mimi, was MC’s comeback, this single solidified her status as 'the diva' with a new decade of listeners. It’ll be wrong to think, however, that Mariah wasn’t in on all the fun as well, and this is why the MV has its views. The music video is a fantasy sequence of Mariah flirting with Jack McBrayer in a mansion. After her comeback, this was Mariah’s way of going back to doing something that defied the critic’s expectations. With The Emancipation of Mimi, she proved that she still got it — the range, the ability to write hits, the star power; "Touch My Body” brings back the Mariah we have come to love in the past decade — the extravagance, the luxury, the seeming aloofness. For a moment, “Touch My Body” captures MC having fun, and the simple structure of this song reflects that.

5. “Obsessed” Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel

No. of streams: 82 625 131

MV views: 127M + 15M*

*Includes the remix featuring Gucci Mane

“Obsessed” gained new life this year, ten years after its initial release in 2009, with the #Obsessed challenge on TikTok. Teens were creating choreography for this song, and simultaneously propelling Mariah to becoming Queen of Memes, one of MC’s many titles. The opening to “Obsessed” breathes new life into a line borrowed from one of Mariah’s favourite movies, Mean Girls, “Why are you so obsessed with me?” This line, along with “I don’t know her”, has its place in meme culture. Besides its relevance to a new generation, its iconicity can also be contributed to the fact that it's a high profile diss track that attacks Eminem’s harassment, but it’s pop, not rap. Its conception introduced a new generation of pop artists to using their tracks as a way to call-out others. “Obsessed” resurfaces perennially when Eminem decides that his almost-two-decade old alleged fling with MC somehow deserves another mention. Maybe she’s the best thing to have happened to Eminem? Lyrically, “Obsessed” is one of Mariah’s sharpest, with her directly calling out Eminem’s desire to make something out of nothing; see: “you hatin' hard/Ain’t goin' feed you, I'm a let you starve/Graspin’ for air, and I'm ventilation/You out of breath, hope you ain't waitin’.”

4. “We Belong Together” The Emancipation of Mimi

No. of streams: 210 251 706

MV views: 399M

“We Belong Together” is Mariah’s comeback track. Regardless of whether she knew this song would make it big when she was writing it, this song would live on in the history books as the song that told skeptics that Mariah ain’t going anywhere. “We Belong Together” is very stripped down — it’s Mariah singing on top of a piano and a beat, then Mariah singing on top of herself in the chorus. For a song about unrequited love, which Mariah usually packages as being more upbeat than it should be (see: “Always Be My Baby” or “All I Want For Christmas Is You”), “We Belong Together” is incredibly visceral. It’s a sad song and it shows, and somehow Mariah communicates the frustration and swirling of emotions so well that you might even tear up by the end when she holds that fifteen-second note. The other unique thing about this song is that she sings the lyrics as if it’s a rap, very reminiscent of her earlier hip-hop inspired tracks like “Breakdown” ft. Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, an overlooked fan favourite. Try singing it without ever practising, and you’ll find that MC placed words in a very specific rhythm. This song also introduced the ‘Mariah-ballad structure’, a formula that she continues to follow for many of her ballads: It consists of an absent bridge with a belted last chorus that takes its place. And as for the MV, Mariah elopes with a lover in a car while wearing the same Vera Wang wedding dress she wore at her real-life marriage is as iconic as it gets.

3. “Emotions” Emotions

No. of streams: 41 251 987

MV views: 32M + 2.7M* + 9.9M**

*Includes the Club Remix

**Includes the MTV Unplugged live version, and the 1993 Here is Mariah Carey live version

There’s a reason “We Belong Together” didn’t crack the Top 3: It’s strictly a song about unrequited love. Mariah, alone, has quite a few of those in her catalogue. And there’s only oh-so-many occasions in which to bring back this song unless it’s already part of your daily repertoire. If Minnie Riperton’s “Lovin’ You” takes first place for the most iconic use of whistle notes in a pop song, “Emotions” no doubt takes second; however “Emotions” has to take first for inspiring every pop singer and their grandmas to use whistle notes, from Christina Aguilera and Leona Lewis to Ariana Grande and Tori Kelly. Yes, “Emotions” is a love song, similar to “We Belong Together”, but it’s also a learning tool for many aspiring pop and R&B singers — this song is a resource. It’s like learning music theory and referring back to Mozart and Beethoven. “Emotions” contains those whistle notes, all the up to an E7, but it also contains low notes (several C3s), high belts (F5s and G5s), head notes (the “You” in G5), repetitive phrasing from C5 - E5, a couple of sustained E5 belts, and melismas. In the live versions, you really get to observe MC’s stamina as we goes through the song with ease. And if you compile all of the live versions of “Emotions”, Mariah demonstrates five full octaves from B2 to B7. Simply put, “Emotions” is an encyclopedia of vocal virtuosity for rising and seasoned singers.

2. “Hero” Music Box

No. of streams: 99 556 980

MV views: 236M + 5.7M*

*Includes a live version from the Daydream World Tour

There’s a thing about “Emotions”, and it’s best if I told you through an anecdote: I played this song in a classroom once, and one of the 5-year olds asked why she [Mariah] was screaming in the song. Blasphemous, I know. Arguably though, the whistle notes are more well-known than the actual song itself. But “Hero” is one of those instances where you know the song, even though you don’t think you do. Just listen to those opening piano notes; flashes of the entire song will surely follow. Not surprisingly, this is the first ever MC song I’ve ever heard; I heard it when I was seven because we had to perform an ASL version of it, but I didn’t know it was Mariah at the time. I didn’t know until possibly a decade later when I thought back on the signs, and the lyrics “And a hero comes along” popped into mind. Obviously, this list is tinged by my own biases; however, “Hero”, this song about loving yourself, and finding that hero within yourself, is special, not only to the fan base, but to anyone who needs a pick-me-up, even if they’re not Mariah fans. It’s radio-friendly; it’s singing competition-friendly (it only goes up to an E5, a mid-belt for Mariah; for reference Idina Menzel goes up to E♭5 in “Let It Go” and “Into the Unknown”); it’s graduation-friendly; and it’s concert-friendly, considering Mariah almost always ends her concert with “Hero”. It’s a sappy song, one that Mariah initially didn’t like, but she explains that she sings it every time because you never know who might need it.

1. “All I Want For Christmas Is You” Merry Christmas

No. of streams: 595 428 506

MV views: 602M + 11M*

*Includes the alternative Black & White version, and Unreleased Video Footage version

Perhaps you can avoid unrequited love, high notes, and graduations, but in North America, can you really avoid winter? With winter comes holiday season comes Mariah Carey, Queen of Christmas comes “All I Want For Christmas Is You”. Released in 1994, this song has finally reached #1 on the Billboards Hot 100 after 25 years. MC released a handful of versions, including a re-recorded, Disney-sounding version in 2010, and another with Justin Bieber in 2011, but let’s make it clear that the version that makes a resurgence every year, and that we all hear on the radio, is none other than the original 1994 recording. The original recording which was never released as a single was not allowed to chart in ‘94, but ever since Billboard updated its rules to allow songs to re-chart in the Top 50 in 2012, “All I Want For Christmas Is You” has made a reappearance every year. It broke into the Top 10 for the first time in 2017, then the Top 5 in 2018. It’s hard to best something when it’s already so close to perfection, if not perfect. “All I Want For Christmas Is You” is such a definitive holiday-pop standard that it’s been broken down into a two-part formula. The formula finds it’s way into many of the new released Christmas songs hoping to make it big, which in some ways are their downfall because it sounds disingenuous, particularly in a season where sentimentality drives sincerity, or at least the façade of it. This two-part formula that it has inspired includes: (A) Wrapping up a unrequited love song to sound like an upbeat Christmas song; and (B) The “Wall of Sound” sound originally created by Phil Spector, which includes a underlying chorus line, a strong accompaniment, and the use of symphonic instruments. You’ll find at least one, if not both, pieces of the formula, whether it’s intentional or not, in recent holiday songs such as “Mistletoe”, “Underneath the Tree”, “One More Sleep”, “Santa Tell Me”, and even “Christmas Tree Farm”. Walter Afanasieff, the co-writer of this song, said, “Back then, you didn’t have a lot of artists with Christmas albums,” and with that he meant in the ‘80s and ‘90s, rising stars didn’t record an entire studio album's worth of Christmas songs. Whitney didn’t have one yet, Madonna didn’t have one (and still continues not to have one), Michael stopped doing them when he recorded under Epic Records in 1979; and y’alls are probably thinking of Wham!’s “Last Christmas”, but that was a single. Despite Mariah initially not wanting to do a Christmas album, and as pessimistic as this may sound, Merry Christmas has re-introduced the lucrative Christmas song business to pop singers.

We may remember this decade’s Mariah — a diva with shaky performances, but this two-dimensional image erases the gut-wrenching, tear-jerking efforts she put into the two previous decades. MC was a trailblazer, and continues to be one as you will see in the upcoming lists. To say that Mariah leans only on past achievements, and relies too heavily on titles like “Queen of Christmas” or “Queen of Memes” diminishes the fact that the upkeep of the legacy she’s built for herself requires time and hard work.

[shadoesainte]

When Top 40 Radio Was Boss In L.A.

Welcome world!  My name is Randolph Antony Pulido. As you know, this is my first blog of any kind. My blog will be based on my research that I have done in college. The colleges I attended were Cypress College, Cerritos College, and California State University, Long Beach. The research topics I have researched on had to do with research on the Protest Music of the 1960's in the Folk Song Genre, Disco Music's Return to Retro-"Spect", and the topic I researched on in Communication Studies dealing with the Theory of Self-Disclosure Within Relationship Development Leading Towards Relational Satisfaction. These three topics I have researched on went into developing articles for magazines where all my works have been sent to several magazine companies over the course of two years.

The article based on the "Protest Music of the 1960's" deals with the controversies surrounding the mixed interpretations and misunderstandings of lyrical content in musical messages striving for acceptance in society. These protest folk songs expressed messages that were either listened to, mocked at, or even misunderstood in reference to its music styles in communicating issues towards the mainstream music listening audience. As a musical researcher and former disc jockey, I propose to further elaborating on this topic in future blog postings in an effort to see the public coming to an understanding and belief what the messages entails and what the social and political struggle stood for.

The second article is a retrospect on the Disco music phenomenon of the 1970's. There were changes that was brought on that affected and influenced the music audience, the television and movie industry, the FM radio airwaves, roller disco and areas of this genre from the underground counter-culture into the popular mainstream. In regards to this musical phenomenon, the time has been 40 years since the disco music phenomenon became part of the mainstream culture. This musical genre gained acceptance by the pop music audiences while creating it into a multi-billion dollar industry and influencing a generation of popular music audiences worldwide.

The third article deals with the theory based on my research article "Self-Disclosure Within Relationship Development Leading Towards Relational Satisfaction". This was the topic that was researched on at California State University, Long Beach in the Communication Studies department.

As a researcher on the topic of  "self-disclosure", developing relationships becomes the norm when it comes to couples striving towards relational security and success. The length and longevity of relationships is revealed during initial disclosure exploring dimensions of disclosure adequacy and reciprocity in interpersonal relationships. Appropriateness in initial self disclosure is determined in first impressions towards relational trust in developing relationships towards success.

As you can now see, the first four paragraphs of my new blog is a sneak peak of my credentials and past accomplishments in the three articles that I typed and sent to various magazine companies across the country. This particular blog will now deal with a change in niche and topic that I have grown accustomed to having many conversations about over the years with many people who grew up with Los Angeles Radio back in the 1960's and 1970's. This Blog shall be entitled "WHEN TOP-40 RADIO WAS BOSS in LA". This shall cover the various covering the radio stations, disc jockeys, and the television dance shows we all grew up with back in the day. The "BOSS"days of radio probably had to go back as far as 1958 or probably earlier when a radio station called KFWB called itself "Color Radio", and was arguably the first Top-40 radio station to have a strong format playing the latest hits and upcoming new songs of the day. KFWB was the first # 1 Top-40 Station in Los Angeles and pretty much had the whole city to itself as far as listenership was concerned. As the years matured, so did the number of upcoming and competing AM Top-40 Stations that would compete with KFWB and eventually give KFWB a run for the money. The next great radio station to give KFWB some competition and eventually overtake them as the LA ratings champions is Radio 1110 KRLA. This process of KRLA eventually overtaking KFWB in the ratings took a long six years and a lot of tough competition between the two Top-40 heavyweights. As this blog progresses, I shall mention the disc jockeys who worked at the various competing Los Angeles radio stations that entertained radio audiences all over Southern California. There were more radio stations that I shall mention as the years progress chronologically throughout the 1960's and 1970's.

As we fast forward into 1964, the Beatles just made their initial appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, the musical British Invasion just literally invaded America by storm, and the Mod look was the trend that everything had to look British. That was the year ratings champion KFWB started to show its age by slowly decreased listenership in its audience as the audience slowly moved over to KRLA in order to get the latest information on the Beatles, because KRLA was where it was at for the Southern California Beatle connection. Because of this trendsetting transaction that took place at Radio 1110 KRLA, there was a new champion in LA radio as far as the ratings go. KFWB later joined on the Beatle bandwagon. but it was too late for them to make up any deficit they had in the ratings as KRLA climbed its way into Number 1. 1964 was the year of the post Kennedy assasination, and America mourned a tragic loss of its President and political leader. America wanted to become happy again. Across the Atlantic over in Liverpool, England, there were four young lads who called themselves the Beatles. Beatlemania was the trend started by the Beatles all over America and worldwide abroad. Beatlemania was the magic touch that catapulted KRLA into first over KFWB. On KRLA, they played all Beatle singles, album cuts, even their foreign recordings of their songs. It was a Beatle bonanza on KRLA, along with the Top-40 hits and hit previews of songs that had promise for the times. Just as KRLA was soaking in Beatlemania and its Number 1 ratings, another development was around the corner across town. By 1965, KRLA was still the ratings champion, but a new Top-40 station debuted as 93/KHJ. KHJ was originally established in 1922, and had various programming. Before early 1965, it was a MOR formatted station. The Drake-Chenault Company came in and decided along with RKO to turn 93/KHJ into a hit music station to compete with KRLA, and to hopefully beat KRLA in the ratings. 1965 was the year to be Beatle Radio versus Boss Radio.   To Be Continued.....

In 1965, KRLA was basking in their Number 1 ratings while KHJ was the new kid on the block about to make some noise at 930 on the AM dial. KRLA disc jockeys Rebel Foster and Bob Eubanks were responsible for bringing the Beatles to Los Angeles, first to the Hollywood Bowl, then to Dodger Stadium. There would be countless contests on KRLA in order to win Beatle concert tickets. The most famous contest was called Beatleball, where three Beatle songs would be played in fragments and the listener would come up with the correct title of these songs. If the contestant identified these songs, they won tickets to the upcoming Beatle concert. While all this Hullabaloo and Beatlemania was going on at KRLA, the other side of town showed KHJ tooting its horn in trying to earn bragging rights for the first time on who was "boss" in Los Angeles radio.KHJ was the newest kid on the block trying to make some noise on the KRLA Beatlemania party, while KFWB was slowly dying in the ratings that later in the decade, they had to switch to an all-news format from their original Top-40 format. KHJ countered KRLA with non-stop contest offering more money than other stations could afford, cut the commercials to the minimum required to be played every hour, cut some of the disc jockey chatter, and present more non-stop music played each hour. Between the years 1965 thru 1967 waged the war between KRLA'S "Beatle Radio" versus  KHJ's  "Boss Radio".

These two stations would go toe to toe in their battle for radio supremacy in all of Los Angeles and Southern California. KHJ had their connections with the Beatles also, as they played all the Beatle singles and their "Boss Hit-Bound" Goldens. While over at KRLA, you had the Beatle connections with the latest fads, trends and news from KRLA disc jockeys Dave Hull and Bob Eubanks. KRLA not only played Beatle singles, but all cuts from all their albums up to date.

Meanwhile, there was another radio station brewing across town in Burbank as the "little station that could" on 1500 on the AM dial. KBLA was the station that never became a ratings champion because of its weak signal and could not be heard in parts of the Southland; however, the station does deserve a special mention here because their station had first rate air personalities who would work for other LA radio stations throughout the years to come. KBLA came into existence around 1964 when KRLA, KHJ, AND  KFWB were going for supremacy. KBLA was the station that did things different with their Top-40 format that the other competing stations did not do before them. It was 1966 when KBLA first experimented with long play album cuts played for an AM radio audience, that was otherwise heard on the FM band. It was former "KHJ Boss Jock Dave Diamond" who started expirmented with playing these long album cuts for the AM audience otherwise unheard of on AM radio Yes, KBLA dared to be different as the little frog in the big pond of Southern California Radio. Because of their weak signal and not being able to be heard in parts of the Southland,  KBLA finally signed off in June, 1967. The last disc jockey to be heard on KBLA was none other than than Dave Diamond, who adopted the name of his show "The Diamond Mine" on KBLA. He would carry the  "Diamond Mine" handle to the other stations he would later work for in the years to come.

By June, 1967, KBLA had just signed off, the Monterey International Pop Festival took place as like the Woodstock of the Westcoast, and KRLA and KHJ continued the battle for radio supremacy. It was a year away before KFWB would leave the Top-40 ranks in LA radio and become an all-news station. 1967 became the year that KHJ took over sole possession of first place in the ratings. It was Boss Radio that finally showed who was "BOSS" in Los Angeles Radio. With their non-stop contests, concert ticket giveaways, more money and music, it was no wonder KHJ was beating KRLA at its own game. KRLA had sunk into a semi-automated radio station where a live disc jockeys worked part of the schedule and the remaining time was taped broadcasts of the disc jockeys show. The difference was that KHJ had live disc jockeys 24/7 while KRLA divided half disc jockeys and the other half to automation. There is nothing like the spontaneity of live radio that was happening over at KHJ. This is one bloggers opinion. .

When KHJ became a hit music station in 1965, the fast-paced format had an accelerated feel than previous top 40 radio stations across the country, with their less talk and short playlist. the station sounded like it was playing hit after hit continuously. The programming at KHJ in the sixties had the most impact than any other station in America at that time. KHJ showed who was "BOSS" by maintaining strong ratings versus its other competitors in Los Angeles radio. Strong ratings at KHJ was consistant until the late 1970's when music fans began to migrate to the FM band where the improved technology and the sound quality of stereo was superior to that of the mono sound heard on AM radio. By 1980, in spite of their highest rating in years, KHJ regretably switched to a Country format, since that was the musical genre for the times. Another format change came to KHJ when they went back to their Top-40 format combined with traffic reports meshed into their broadcasts with their format called " Car Radio". By February, 1986, the 930 AM call letters of KHJ became KRTH, using the same call letters as the sister station at 101.1 M.  930 AM KRTH became "Smokin' Oldies."

By 1978, John Sebastian, a former KHJ disc jockey, became the program director. It was the time when Sebastian took on the monumental challenge of programming an aging Top-40 AM station despite the fact that the FM band was sweeping the nation and in Los Angeles. The vast percentage of the listening audience was already on the FM dial simply because the sound quality was better in stereo as in contrast to AM which the sound was in mono. During John Sebastian's tenure at KHJ, he was proud to have scrapped up the last great ratings as a Top-40 station in the waning days in KHJ history. KHJ in 1978 was able to beat a laundry list of such heavyweight stations like KTNQ (Ten Q), KFI, KIIS-FM, KIQQ, and even tying the hottest AOR stations in the country, KLOS and KMET. Quite an accomplishment in the last few years as a station that was once a proud Top-40 powerhouse in the country.  The last Program Director of KHJ as a Top-40 station was Chuck Martin from 1979-1980. Martin was responsible for bringing in Rick Dees from KHJ's sister station in Memphis, WHBQ.  Rick Dees and his Cast of Idiots were known for the parody disco hit "Disco Duck".  KHJ went to the Country format ny November, 1980 despite high ratings in their last Top-40 format ratings book.

There were the radio personalities and disc jockeys who shaped 93/KHJ throughout its Top-40 heyday from 1965-1980 that needs to be mentioned. Ones that became famous via radio, television and other facets of media. Those who grew up with the popular television dance shows of the 60's were the DJ's that were from KHJ,  KRLA,  KFWB, and some from even KBLA. Many grew up on POP Dance Party,  Hollywood a-GO-GO,  9th Street West,  Boss City,  The Lloyd Thaxton Show,  Groovy,  The Real Don Steele Show  just to name a few.  I could have sworn there was a dance show hosted by Wink Martindale called POP Dance Party,  and there was  Shebang  hosted  by Casey Kasem.  A number of the so-called "BOSS JOCKS" had distinguished television careers from  Sam Riddle  to  the  Real Don Steele.  Even  Robert W. M organ  had  TV  exposure hosting  Groovy  on KHJ-TV  Channel 9.  Remember back in 1965 when Sam  Riddle  hosted  9th  Street  West  then  later  Boss  City?  These were the local dance shows shown in "BOSS ANGELES"  back in the day.

Nationally on network television, KRLA alum  Jimmy  O'Neill  hosted the television musical dance show  SHINDIG  on  ABC-TV.  Jimmy  O'Neill was the first disc jockey to open up the mic at 1110 KRLA.  Shindig  was a musical dance party that described the typical 60's dance show accompanied with musical artists and celebrities and a whole lot of dancing. Radio  DJ's  hosting their own local TV dance show enhanced the popularity of the radio personalities, especially when it came to not only spinning the Top-40 hits of the day, but in interviewing musical artists and entertainment celebrities in the world of folm, radio, and television.  Another KRLA alum  Bob  Eubanks  used radio as a springboard to parlay his career into television as the host of the long running game show "The Newlywed Game"  along with dozens of other game shows he would host throughout his illustrious television career.  Some of us may remember that radio in Los Angeles also provided Bob  Eubanks  the medium to promote and bring the Beatles to the Southland for their concerts at the Hollywood Bowl and Dodger Stadium.  Bob Eubanks was "THE MAN"  who brought the Beatles to Los Angeles.  All  LA  Beatlemaniacs  can be grateful and owe a debt of gratitude to Bob  Eubanks.

Los Angeles radio provided local Angelenos and national audiences with voiceovers that were heard over the years through radio and television commercials, movies and radio and TV station ID's.  The most recognizable voice of note has to be another KRLA alum, and that is Casey  Kasem.  From counting down the nation's musical Top-40 to announcing commercials,  Casey  Kasem  had to be arguably the hardest working radio pitchman in the business.  His  American  Top-40  Radio Shows  can be rebroadcasted throughout the country on many radio stations that carry his former syndicatedradio show.  Early in his career,  Casey  Kasem  had television exposure hosting  the  TV dance show  SHEBANG  on  KTLA-TV  Channel 5.  That show marked the early television exposure that introduced  Casey  Kasem  to  Los  Angeles  audiences.

The Golden Age of Radio in Los Angeles back in the 60's showed the medium for radio personalities as a springboard toward potential television exposure resulting from increased popularity within each radio personality.  The popularity of TV dance shows were in abundance back in the day in contrast to today which is pretty much extinct in LA, i hate to say. The local TV dance shows springing from radio shows are no longer the norm in society today unfortunately. That goes for just about most major cities across the country. Hopefully, a few cities may tape a few local TV dance shows spawning from radio stations from that respective city depending on the local television station. It seemed TV dance shows were the ones to watch in the afternoon or weekends when all the teenagers were all watching their favorite radio personalities on television doing their thing hosting the show while being part of the young audience.

As a young child, yours truly, fantasized and pretended to host a mock dance show during parties in the backyard of our home. I would literally style my hair like the dance show host of the day, be it either a Sam Riddle,or Dick Clark. I would take a tablespoon and pretended it was a microphone. I would comb my hair every ten minutes using my father's Brylcream. They once said a "little dab will do you", to me as a kid, it was a "Big Glop". I guess it was my dream as a kid to be the next Lloyd Thaxton, Don Cornelius, or even Dick Clark.

Maybe that is why, yours truly, studied, and majored in Communication Studies. The intent was to get into radio Broadcasting, which I accomplished at the community college level at both Cypress and Cerritos College respectively. Today, I'm a writer of the articles I've mentioned earlier in this blog and the continuing saga of "When Top-40 Radio Was Boss in LA".  The decades of the 1960's and 1970's featured the competitive era in the wars between the Top-40 radio station giants. There were dozens of stations to choose from in the Los Angeles market alone. For any aspiring radio broadcaster, most gained their experience by announcing in the smaller markets across the country. Many would strive for the goal to make it to the "Big Time", that is LA radio. The majority of aspiring disc jockeys across the country wanted to make it to BOSS RADIO- 93/KHJ, the top radio station in the country. KHJ was the ultimate radio goal for any disc jockey to have on his or her resume. It was those distinct KHJ microphones that made every disc jockey sound powerful and unique on the air, giving that "Boss Jock" sound.

My personal favorite "Boss Jock" type sounding voice has to be Charlie Van Dyke, since his voice is heard all over the country in various TV and radio station ID's and is one of the premier voiceovers with his deep and resonate voice. That is the voice I aspire to have, although mine can come close. Charlie Van Dyke was a former 93/KHJ disc jockey and station program director who guided the station to its highest ratings in the history of KHJ during the 1975-76 years. Those kind of ratings were the ones that made KHJ the Top-40 powerhouse across the country which seemed to be an unbeatable combination at the time. That was the time when KHJ had its final number one ratings book in 1976 with a jock lineup that included Charlie Van Dyke, Mark Elliot, Bobby Ocean, Machine Gun Kelly, Dave Sebastian Williams, Dr. John Leader and Beau Weaver (Weekends).  Afterwards, the PD chair over at KHJ seemed to have broken continuity after the Charlie Van Dyke PD regime. After 1976, every year, KHJ had a new program director until 1980 under KHJ's Top-40 format.  Besides the change in format to Country, KHJ's audience migrated to the FM band where the physical sound of music was better in FM stereo.

It should be noted that Chuck Martin, the last PD of Top-40 KHJ opened up a new format at the new K-WEST 106 (KWST), in 1981, which sounded like a continuation of KHJ in FM stereo. Complete with late 70's sounding KHJ type jingles and the "Boss Jock" announcing approach, it was no wonder that K-WEST 106 literally brought KHJ from the dead for a brief year and a half.  Ratings wise, K-WEST 106 could not muster enough ratings to overtake other competing stations in LA. In spite of Chuck Martin's brave attempt at raising KHJ  "from the dead" sort of speak, K-WEST 106 lasted until the summer of 1982. Simply put, Rick Dees over at KIIS-FM was running away with the Top-40 competition during the 1981-82 season. By that time, K-WEST PD Chuck Martin was no longer able to land Rick Dees like he did during the KHJ days. Many say that the power of a disc jockey's popularity plays a big role in a station's top rating. It may have been a posability that Rick Dees would have made a difference in K-WEST's fortunes, but unfortunately that was not the case.

There were other competing AM Top-40 stations that competed strongly against the competition, being KHJ and KRLA.  One station that deserves a special mention is KTNQ (The New Ten-Q) at 1020 on the AM dial. During the late 70's, KTNQ became a legendary Top-40 station because of the top air talent that worked during the era when most listeners migrated to the FM band for better sound quality. In 1977, KTNQ made movie history when it was the featured radio station in the Ron Howard film Grand Theft Auto.  During the era of the New Ten-Q, the station not only played the current hits, but were not afraid to mix it up with up-and-coming artists that KHJ and KRLA simply avoided playing. The musical playlist included some punk rock and emerging radio talent, along with radio veteran The Real Don Steele, which made the station memorable.  Their contests of money giveaways and fast paced jingles made the station addicting for the first time listener of the station. Unfortunately, by July 31, 1979, KTNQ was purchased by Julio, Elias and Liberman and switched the format to Spanish. The call letters would remain the same through decades of ownership changes.

Another AM Top-40 station that emerged south of the border from Tijuana, Mexico was XETRA, better known as the " Mighty 690".  The station was very powerful that it could be heard across Western America way past 50,000 watts.  The "Mighty 690" was another KHJ offspring, since it included KHJ's similar radio jingles, only identifying the station as "The Mighty 690".  The station was sure reminiscent of 93/KHJ, since their jingles were similar and their "Boss Jock" sound had the same quality the way the announcing was approached on AM radio.  Like many competitors of Top-40 radio, "The Mighty 690" had a short life span of its own for over four years. By 1984, The Mighty 690 became "69 XTRA GOLD".  Their format focused on oldies from the 60's and 70's.

Top-40 radio not only came out of the Los Angeles area, but as we look to Orange County, radio flourished in 1190 AM KEZY in Anaheim, California. KEZY was known as "The Mighty 1190," making its on-air launch on May 18, 1959. KEZY was one of the choices of AM Top-40 stations to choose from during the radio wars of the 60's and 70's.  During the late 60's, the station played a mix of pop and middle of the road music, then shifted the format to Top-40 to take on the LA radio giants. KEZY was run under program director Arnie McClatchey from 1967 until 1974 when the Top-40 format continued under the new PD Mark Denis in 1975. By 1979, there was a change in format to Heavy Metal to probably compete with the FM album rock stations playing their dose of heavy metal at that time. That lasted until 1982 when KEZY switched format again, this time to a pop/oldies format. Obviously music audiences shifted to the FM band for better sound quality and AM radio became a staple for talk radio. In March, 1983, KEZY switched to an all-news station and became KNWZ.  Due to the station's low ratings with their all-news format, by February, 1984 switched back to the KEZY call letters with a Top-40 music format. That lasted until April 2, 1985 when KEZY became KPZE (K-Praise) playing religious music. By February, 1989, the call letters became KORG, better known as K-0range, which broadcasted a different variety of formats over the years.  Today, the 1190 frequency airs a Korean gospel format under the KGBN call letters.

Another AM radio station that competed well with other Top-40 stations in LA came out of the 1580 dial. That station is KDAY, Santa Monica.  1580 KDAY had a long  history  of delivering Top-40 pop hits and R&B Soul Music as well.  The station started in 1968 as a Soul?R&B station as a competitor to another soul station, AM 1230 KGFJ.  KDAY briefly took a shot at the Top-40 format for a few years to compete with the LA Top-40 heavyweights.  When KDAY shifted its format to AOR (album oriented rock) their biggest asset was bringing in Wolfman Jack to American radio airwaves from the border radio he was broadcasting in Mexico.  The KDAY gig for Wolfman Jack led to a bigger and brighter future for this trendsetter once known as Bob Smith.  His KDAY on-air live radio show 6 nights a week led to his hosting the Midnight Special on NBC and being casted in the movie American Graffiti.  By 1974, KDAY returned back to its original Soul/R&B roots while continuing its brave competitive battle with the other top LA stations.  By the 1980's, KDAY shifted its format to Urban Contemporary, emphasizing its airplay to early rap and hip-hop artists. The KDAY call letters disappeared by the 1990's when the 1580 frequency became KBLA and shifted to business talk radio.  By September, 2004, the KDAY call letters resurfaced at 93.5 FM, licensed to Redondo Beach, California.

Beginning in 1936, one of the oldest stations in Los Angeles is the first radio station to broadcast a 24-hour schedule on a regular basis. By 1954, KGFJ was that station to bill itself as "the original 24-hour station."  At 1230 on the AM dial, KGFJ played a mix of news and orchestral music in the daytime, and R&B music at night. The mid-1960's was when KGFJ adopted their trademark Soul/R&B format full time around the clock under the ownership of East West Broadcasting Inc. As an adolescent listening to Soul/R&B music on KGFJ, I remember how KGFJ would come in clear during the daytime hours. The nighttime hours were a different story as far as listenership goes. In parts of the Southland at night, KGFJ was hard to get that clear signal due to television interference in the airwaves. As always, their anagram stood for "Keeping Good Folks Joyful."  That is exactly what KGFJ did throughout the decades. One of the more memorable personalities at KGFJ was Hunter Hancock, where listeners loved to go "Hunting with Hunter."  Hunter Hancock was one of the first white disc jockeys to broadcast rhythm and blues music to black and white audiences in America.  KGFJ always had a history of intergrating its radio station, especially in the wake of the Civil Rights movement of the 1960's. Always a positive in living up to its moniker of "Keeping Good Folks Joyful,"  KGFJ has lived up to that tradition in broadcasting and appealing to audiences of all races.  Whether the disc jockeys were black or white, all of them were knowlegable about the Soul/Rhythm&Blues music and its artists played on KGFJ.

Radio was made famous south of the border beyond Southern California across all of Western America from Rosarito, Baja California. XPRS was the station that was made famous by the legendary Wolfman Jack. XEPRS, the official call leters to the station, originally began as XERB in the late 1930's.  By 1965, Robert Smith aka Wolfman Jack started recording his own shows and selling commercial time on XERB while running the station from his home in Minneapolis. XERB was earning most of its income from their money machine, Wolfman Jack, who profited the station by selling 15-30 programming blocks of commercial airtime on the station to many religious organizations. By the early 70's, the laws caught up with XERB and were passed in Mexico preventing religious groups from purchasing radio air time. As the situation came to a brew, the revenue and profits finally dried up and the Mexican owners eventually took ownership of the station changing the call letters to XEPRS in 1971. It was by that time the station billed itself as "The Soul Express."  Wolfman Jack would remain with "1090 Soul Express" until 1972.  Ironically after Wolfman left XEPRS, Mexico would reverse its laws banning religious entities from radio broadcasting and selling blocks of commercial airtime. Wolfman Jack would be on his way to American radio airwaves and his fortunes would take a big turnaround in years to come.

[astrotranslations]

[Guide to Joining the Fandom ②] ASTRO, the Ever so Perfect ‘Sweet and Salty’ Combination

Approved as the happy virus? Approved! MJ

They each chose the pen they wanted and filled in their questionnaires, MJ chose the purple one. He says it’s because he’s thinking of AROHAs. Hearing the witty MJ, all the other ASTRO members hurriedly gave meaning to the colours of their pens which they had picked up without much thought.

The whole time, MJ cheerfully responded to the members’ jokes. The members were comfortable with him too. You could really feel ASTRO’s own atmosphere which was peaceful, fun and didn’t focus on hierarchy or strict discipline. After wrapping up the interview, he conscientiously packed his huge pouch which was stuffed with a lot of things.

Q. Today’s profile is 185cm! MJ: 185 was my dream height. They say that your dreams come true.

Q. Have you not had your meal? You wrote 'food' for what you needed. MJ: I always have to eat in order for me to gain strength! I regularly eat my meals. Cooking? I’ve never cooked for the members but I like doing it. There was once before when I made seaweed soup for my mum while looking at a recipe. She said it was really scrumptious. She deliciously ate it so I want to make it for her again but I haven’t had the chance to go back home. I’ve been thinking lately about how I want to learn cooking for real. It’ll relieve my stress and it seems like something good to learn but I don’t have time on me.

Q. What do you mean by ASTRO’s 'God'? MJ: If ASTRO didn’t have me… they would’ve been in big trouble (the atmosphere suddenly went solemn) Rocky: Won’t it be a good kind of trouble… MJ: Their days are decided because of me. I have to lift the mood up for them to be in good spirits too. Rocky: Feels like my mood’s being brought down though… (laughs)

Q. Do you want to be a building owner too? Like Rocky? MJ: I want to be rich in buildings so I can obviously be a filial son to my parents. But firstly, it’s my dream to do well and buy a lot of buildings. I have to build a landmark, a landmark (laughs).

MJ was bright throughout the interview. It was to the extent that he could confidently say his happy self is his what makes people join his fandom. He’s a charming guy with lavished with self-confidence to the point that he only wrote himself for ASTRO’s 'ranking them my way' which went by the order of perfection. MJ’s love is for AROHAs and 'robong-ie'.

Q. The ASTRO members seem to really like 'robong-ie' (Moonbin included their official nightstick in his answers too). MJ: I saw it when we were doing the opening stage for our solo concert, there were a lot of robong-ies and it sent shivers down my spine. I thought, "So we finally have a lighstick of our own too, the stars are floating," and I was so happy looking at the view. Wherever we may go, these lightsticks will be there with us. Members: If you looked at it from atop the stage, it seemed like there was a shower of stars. Cha Eunwoo: It’s our pride. Moonbin: There are a lot of other singers when we go to big events and they each had their own lighsticks to represent them. I was jealous every time and I’d look at them thinking, "That’s amazing," but we now have one to call our own. Taking the stage lifts and looking at our lighsticks, it makes me realise that we’ve finally grown too and I get caught up in my emotions.

Q. What do you think AROHAs will pick between 'baby belly' and 'built body'? MJ: Won’t baby belly win with about 7 to 3? Rocky: But it isn’t a baby belly… (laughs) It started with a baby belly but it keeps evolving. MJ: I believe they’ll like my baby belly! Moonbin: If the fans could be more honest… (laughs)

ASTRO’s guy right at the back, Moonbin

Next up was Moonbin. If you wondered, "Who in the world is that guy from ASTRO who was smiling right at the back?" then I hope you’ll read this even more carefully. Moon quickly made up the reason as to why he chose the blue pen was because it complemented the change of weather from autumn to winter and while the members jeered at him, he stood firm. Moonbin, who is receiving so much love from his noonas, was unconstrained both with his answers and handwriting.

Q. What you need today is 'energy'. Moonbin: It’s because I hope I can deal with the lethargy since I feel tired. Yoon Sanha: Hiyap! Did you get it? (Yoon Sanha made a pose as though transferring his energy)

Q. Moonbin is ASTRO’s official exercise missionary, right? MJ: I’ll attest to that. Moonbin: We were resting up at the hotel when we were preparing for our Japan concert and it was a long period so I went to the gym and ended up continuing with it till now. I preach to the other members but they don’t really listen to me (laughs). MJ: It’s like 'Sparta' when we exercise together so it’s too painful for me. Moonbin: There’s a routine and you’ll become healthier if you abide by it. JinJin hyung sometimes does it but it’s my goal to make MJ hyung do it. MJ: It’s my goal to avoid Moonbin~ Moonbin: Sanha said he’ll do it too. Yoon Sanha: I feel the need for it but… it does scare me.

I hear that Moonbin mainly focuses on body training which you can do in the practice room, the dorm and wherever else rather than just at the gym. He’s filled with so much affection and passion for exercising that you’d mistakenly think you were doing an interview with a health trainer when you listen to him talk. There’s probably the secret to Moonbin’s cool body.

There was a question regarding ASTRO’s diet meal plan but he tells me that since he usually practices a lot, he doesn’t really feel the need to go on a diet even if he does eat a lot. He says that he can sufficiently maintain himself just by not heaving a late night meal alone.

Q. Even when you think about it, ASTRO are 'people who are cool on stage'. Moonbin: I didn’t know we would be coming out with such a bright concept. There’s 'something cool' to us (MJ burst out into laughter looking at Moonbin answering my questions seriously but he soon agreed). There are people who are cool on stage. Like with BTOB and HI5HLI5HT sunbae-nims, they are usually bright and have a beagle-like image to them but they coolly fulfil their duties on stage and things like that are nice (Yoon Sanha picked 'stage charm' as what would make people join Moonbin’s fandom).

Q. The Moonbin 10 years later is someone with a 'good body' and a cool guy who performs well. Oh. Moonbin: As much as it was my parents who helped me take my first step into the entertainment industry, I want to earn a lot of money and be a filial son to them. I want to really repay whatever they have done for me. I want my body to be a little bit better. I want to grow it a little more. Just a very little bit (It’s not that he’s saying that he would make his biceps the size of his face so AROHAs, worrying is a NO!)

Q. I’m guessing that why. As expected, you wrote your ranking according to who has a good body in ASTRO. Moonbin: Honestly speaking, those up till no. 5 (Moonbin, JinJin, Rocky, Eunwoo, Sanha respectively) have abs. No. 6 has it too but… (laughs) MJ: I look at it alone when I’m taking a shower and I’m satisfied. Because it’s my reversal charm!

Q. Where do you want to go on a holiday to with the members? Moonbin: Santorini, Greece and Salar de Uyuni. MJ: Let’s not go to the desert. I don’t want to sweat... Moonbin: I want to go to both. The atmosphere in Santorini, Greece gives off a peaceful vibe with the birds chirping so I want to go there when I want to rest up and I heard that when it rains in Salar de Uyuni, the divide between the land and the sky disappears. I want to make good memories there with the people I like.

Q. Your question to AROHAs is also about MJ! Moonbin: The answers will probably be half-half (laughs). I think they’ll say that he’s handsome now and is fine the way he is (laughs).

Grow a little slower, Yoon Sanha

They would often call the youngest in the group 'the youngest on top', implying that the’s the one with he real power. Yoon Sanha, who’s steadily growing while carrying out a coup d’etat', is still silly and cute, he’s the youngest one who’s brimming with aegyo but you never know, he might soon become the one on top. Yoon Sanha, who picked a black pen and was writing his answers firmly pressing against the questionnaire, said that it seemed like there was a lot of leftover space so he took out a pen of a different colour and drew pink hearts and yellow stars. He has a cute sentiment. He attentively listens to his hyungs' answers but he also fell into his own thoughts. He’s an 18 year old you can’t figure out.

Q. You grew a lot, right? Yoon Sanha: I think I’ve presently stopped but if I had to grow any taller, just until 185. I think that’s enough.

Q. You wrote by yourself that you’re the 'cutie youngest'. There are usually a lot of instances where the youngest one is the one with the real power. Moonbin: You can tell that he sort of has the temperament of a 'youngest on top'. He’s growing stronger. Cha Eunwoo: We have to receive permission from him when we want to sleep. Moonbin: Same when we want to eat.

Q. You wrote down that ASTRO are 'super fun'. Yoon Sanha: It’s funny and entertaining whenever we’re together. Like what Moonbin hyung mentioned before, us being cool is when we grow serious on stage and focus on our work. I want us to be remembered as a one of a kind group so I wrote 'one and only'. Cool, right?

Q. What do you mean by 'actions you’d expect from the youngest member'? Yoon Sanha: Seeing as how I’m the youngest in my family and the team, I’m playful and mess around but fans look upon that side of me cutely and like it. I think that’s what makes people join my fandom (You’re still a student so what subject do you like?) Music. Music is my life.

Q. The rankings ASTRO’s cutie Yoon Sanha chose for 'cuteness’ is interesting too. Yoon Sanha: To be honest, MJ hyung is no. 3 but Bin-ie hyung has gone up a lot. Rocky hyung has no aegyo so he’s no. 6. Moonbin: (How did you rise?) Um, I use my facial expressions or I often copy what Sanha does.

Q. So is there an aegyo that you’ve prepared for the next time? Yoon Sanha: Energy? (laughs) The fans look over me cutely when I tweet that I’m setting off and do aegyo every time I’m about to sleep. I’m trying to change it up now. I’ve done it too many times. Recently, using an application that’s trendy… Cha Eunwoo: Don’t do that one. I admit the 'give it to me' one is cute. Yoon Sanha: Shall I not do that one? I wanted to but I guess I won’t because of the hyungs. Cha Eunwoo: The other one is cuter. Pikachu and 'give it to me' are cute, they are but… the one that you’re trying to push… Yoon Sanha: I better not do it (Instead, Sanha transferred to Cha Eunwoo the energy he gave Moonbin earlier on).

Q. You wrote 'Japan concert' as what left the greatest impression on you. You said that you purposely wrote it differently, right? Yoon Sanha: The hyungs all wrote our solo concert so… We sang 'The Only Flower in the World' and the fans sang along while holding their robong-ies, I was touched since it looked pretty (Sanha kept an eagle’s eye on whatever his hyungs wrote and tried to his own differently. He read through again the questionnaire he submitted in, wondering what he scribbled down and even prepared his answers)

Q. Your goal for next year is the drink CF which you mentioned at the recent showcase too. Yoon Sanha: Ah, why isn’t an offer coming in… I kept talking about it since last year but we haven’t gotten any offers. I’ll work harder! A refreshing drink is good! Moonbin: I think it’ll be nice if we later on shoot for something like a beer CF when Sanha also becomes an adult.

Q. The reason as to why you’re curious about the food AROHA likes? Yoon Sanha: They’re always asking us so I’m throwing the same question back at them (What do you like?) I like french fries! Potato. It’s really yummy. I like the melting texture when it’s hot. It’s delicious. You won’t be able to express the feeling in words when you try it. Because it’s too scrumptious. Recently I’ve been eating the almond stick snack (T/N: pepero) often.

Translations by  @99pmh Take out with full credits

[fytaem]

How have the nomination rules changed since PYN? Is it usually harder for solo artists to get nominated than groups? I guess I dont understand because I thought SHINee had a pretty big and loyal fandom.

Uh...... okay...... let’s take it step by step.

1) Nomination rules haven’t changed since PYN at all. The only things that have changed have been: 1) Instiz Chart changing the sites that count the most in the score distribution (x), 2) Music Core bringing back again the winning system. The 1st one actually hasn’t affected Taemin at all because shawols do work a lot in the same sites as in PYN (Melon, Genie and Bugs) but this time thanks to the free streaming in Naver Music it has become also a new focus of streaming. PYN wasn’t digitally doing well in Melon as it’s happening with MOVE, and yet MOVE has reached #1 in Genie, #1 in Naver and made it to the top10 of Bugs. 

Melon is the most important and popular music site in Korea, because it’s used both by general public and fandoms. So, this means the competition is so high right there due to the competition between fandoms but also the music that the general public listens to, that could be from these idol groups or other artists, but they get truly influenced by TV shows (this is why survival music shows or anything that involves music competition on TV always reach high positions in the charts, because people get attracted by the TV entertainment). Also songs that go viral on the internet or in TV, or between idols, can also reach high positions in charts (for example, Sunmi’s Gashina won’t leave the top100 from charts because people love the song like crazy). So as I said this makes Melon a crazy and difficult chart.

2) No, it’s not harder for solo artists to get nominated. Both Jonghyun and Taemin have been nominated many times. But as I’m repeating again and again these days: the competition is crazy nowadays. People who are underestimating groups like BTOB and NU’EST W have no idea how their popularity has increased in the general public + their own fandoms going harder due to these groups situations (I don’t know if you might know already, but NU’EST for example has suffered a very complicated time due to member Minhyuk being on hiatus from the group because of joining Wanna One, and I think this has increased even more their popularity). In the case of BTOB they are considered idols but idols that many, many people get to know about and that means they get more chances to people to feel interested in their music. Different is the case of EPIK HIGH because they always reach very good numbers in charts, every single time. So no, Taemin doesn’t have low numbers in charts because nobody’s listening to his music, but instead more people are listening to these other groups and in a more potential way. And talking about the success of a solo artist in the charts is, for example, IU, who is extremely loved in Korea and overseas. So, numbers are only numbers of a specific moment from an artist and will be of course conditioned by the moment that other artists are living. Right now the groups I’ve mentioned or even others are living an incredible moment of popularity that, tbh, they deserve because they’ve actually faced terrible situations and they’re getting what they deserve after their hard work. So welp, those who are underappreciating these other groups only because they can’t understand how crazy is the music industry and how many sacrifices groups do to get to the top... Taemin might not be getting music wins but he’s at the top100 of almost all charts, being a 10 years senior and whatever is his results in the music shows he has already a stable career, same as SHINee. Other groups can’t speak the same, so let them enjoy their best moments, because the fact they’re at the top and Taemin’s not doesn’t mean all the world has a bad music taste, but the fact that some fandoms and general public feel attracted to some trends right now, that in the end will end up changing again and again because that’s how the industry works.

3)“SHINee had a pretty big and loyal fandom”. Jesus... okay. As I’ve mentioned, SHINee is a 10 year senior. Back in 2008 when they’ve debuted, they already got noonas (adult women) who followed them like crazy and they increased their popularity between young people with time. Of course there’s still noonas and both adult and young people who love SHINee, but... we’re all living a life. People study, people work, people get married, people get children, etc. Many decisions that leave behind the activities of being a hard fan to become more a quiet fan: to buy CDs and to attend concerts, for example. But, the life of streaming 24/7 music videos and digital charts, the life of purchasing hundreds of copies, the life of being able to wait for hours out for recordings... that’s not something everybody can do, but only young people who can be free in some specific moments and of course people who have money (their own money or money from their parents, that’s it). So no, the activity of SHINee’s fandom isn’t as low as you can imagine? I keep seeing people doing groups and projects, to stream all day, to purchase also copies like crazy, but many of them are also adults that have to control their fan life and their personal life. Young people that belong to newer groups have more time and more access to support their groups, but us, SHINee World, we don’t follow the same rhythm. Does that mean shawols are lazy? There might be people who might be, but sincerely I’ve seen many, many people doing real efforts to support Taemin this time. Does that mean shawols aren’t loyal? Wtf... SHINee has probably one of the most solid fanbases since their debut in 2008. There’s still many people who are staying since 2008 and more people who came later but still are staying for so long. SHINee still gets to get full venues in Korea and overseas, and their tour in the United States is a big example of how even after waiting for so long yet many shawols got to fulfill their dream of seeing SHINee live. So no, SHINee World isn’t a bad fandom only for not behaving in the same way than other actual fandoms. Generations are different and so are fans. Actual young fans will have also to leave some of their fandom activities to pay attention to their responsabilities in a future. 

Also, the fact that SHINee is a group whose concept is to be a “contemporary band” and that means to keep creating new trends and not to follow the trends that others do (important: following a trend doesn’t mean the music is bad, it just follows popular trends because in the end what groups search for is to be popular and to be stable in the music industry). This is a very risky concept and YET SHINee are still known in the Kpop industry. People keep believing rookies just talk about SHINee as a way to show respect but nope, SHINee do actually create a big influence between younger artists, they do know about their music, about their new concepts, dancing, etc. SHINee is that kind of group that might not call the attention of everybody in a first glance, but they already do what other groups might be doing in a near future. SHINee does this and yet they’re into their 10th year as a group, as Jonghyun and Taemin have developed their solo careers but they’ve also this in common with SHINee: to develope music that doesn’t follow trends, but that follows only the personal interests of Jonghyun and Taemin to develope their own and personal color, their own music. And this is amazing, so amazing. Their solo albums, same as SHINee albums, have different sensations and colors and yet you can say it’s their work.

So welp... SHINee World might not be great in front of your eyes when you compare it to other fandoms, as SHINee might not be great in front of many people when comparing with other groups, but SHINee has become already a group that has nothing to prove to the industry, they only are interested in doing their own thing, their music. The fact that Taemin has been talking these days about ignoring gender rules to do the music that he wants, that makes him the artist he is. The fact that Jonghyun does also ignore gender rules, but also trends and general topics to do music from deep inside his soul, even bringing issues as mental health, that makes him the artist he is. SHINee is a 10 year senior with an incredible stability after their different changes in concepts because with each one they’ve developed incredible music, and we all (even with the many differences we have between each other as a fandom) love SHINee’s colors and SHINee’s efforts to bring us fresh and different music, because that’s how SHINee is. And SHINee is fine the way they are, they don’t have to change at all only to get to the top of the charts. 

[thisweekingundamwing]

This Week October 8-14

After a few edits and additions, here is the revised This Week. Sorry it’s out a bit after noon.

-mod Clara

Fanfiction:

@anaranesindanarie

Dose of Angst

This is gonna be a collection of angst. Yes you read that right. Angst.

angst

Annelda Michelle

The Hidden Pilot Asset

FORMALLY KNOWN AS DUO, I'M YOUR SISTER. Who really starts Operation Meteor? with the love she has for her family Annelda starts on a journey to find her brother Duo and be an asset to the other pilots who have already been sent to Earth. It has love and loss, adventure and mystery. I hope everyone enjoys reading it as much as I have writing it. 

@chronicwhimsy

Smells Like Teen Spirit

Sequel to 'Such Little Things' and 'Schoolyard Blues'. Liangyu is now fifteen, and has two years left of high school. The growing pains are not even close to over, though, but everyone tries very hard.

post-canon

Saudade

The summer following the Barton Uprising, Duo joins Trowa to tour with the circus around Europe. It's an attempt to run away from issues, instead of dealing with them, and Trowa finds that in helping Duo face up to his problems, he works through a few of his own. Things are muddling along nicely, until Duo decides to help with Trowa's love life.Saudade: a Portuguese word for a deep emotional state of nostalgic or profound melancholic longing for an absent something or someone that one loves.PREQUEL TO SALVAGE.

post-canon, underage drinking, mentions of underage sex

@claraxbarton

Even If

It's Heero's birthday, and the former pilot is introduced to a Terran custom.(Okay. That summary is horribly misleading but I have no other idea what to say)

spanking, voyeurism

Diana_Lua

Ónoma Ὄνομα

Sometimes it's necessary to choose a new name to live freely. [AU; 'Where my demons hide' side story (can be read independently of it); Something about Duo's past with Solo; Angst; Shounen-ai; probably yaoi/lemon at ending (Angel incest); Pairing Duo & Solo]

incest

duointherain

A Dark Wolf

It's a long time after the wars. Heero's been missing for a very long time, more than a century, and Duo is still watching for clues, but has nowhere to search for his lover and friend. He's a small town sheriff in the Pacific north west.He thinks Heero's never coming back, nothing ever happens in his town, and he's fucking fine.He's so wrong.

werewolves

@gw-ficrecfriday

The Soul of Outer Space is Dead

Quatre Winner woke up dead one morning, only it was afternoon and technically speaking he was still alive. But they had cut it out of him. They’d sawed through his skull and they’d drilled into his brain and they’d spooned it out of him, scraped him clean.

angst

@helmistress

Mashed Potatoes

Duo didn’t know what it was about mashed potatoes but he always felt better after having some.

comfort food

A Puppy for Heero

Heero gets a new puppy he never knew he wanted.

Tattoo Shop AU

Zechs’ Teeth

WuFei and Zechs have a sword fight. 

The Italian Job

Zechs and Noin have a hitman to take out in Siena but with all the beautiful scenery and unique places to eat, will they be able to focus?

Quitting the Circuit

Heero is a famous NASCAR driver and it makes his boyfriend worry. He's decided to put a stop to that.

Nicknames

Quatre is forever insulting Zechs, and Zechs wants to know why.

Excerpt from Noin’s Stationary 1

A small poem from Noin's stationary.

How to Love an Axe Murderer

Quatre gets revenge on Duo for planting the 'Axe Murderer' criteria in Heero's head before their first date.

Hair Extensions

Duo fulfills the want of Relena Bloom to braid his and his husbands' hair together for Pride Day. WuFei isn't exactly happy about it.

Dinner’s On You

Duo is tired when he is finally able to drag himself home after a long day at work. But his husband knows just how to wake him up.

Alliance Carwash

Zechs gets a summer job at Alliance, the local carwash, and falls for the manager's daughter.

Maxwell’s Water Refinery

Trowa blushed, there was no stopping it. "Sorry, I." DON'T F*ING SAY THAT! HE'LL THINK YOU'RE SOME KIND OF CREEP! His mind screamed at him making him pause. The delicate brow quirked at him had his only true answer spilling from his mouth anyway. "I wasn't expecting you to be so gorgeous." Violet eyes blinked at him, a stunned expression washing over the man's face

@invidiamalice

Skeptics and True Believers

Trowa is just your not-so-average college student that wants to make it big in the music industry with his band. Will his secret test his relationships and hurt his chances in music? Trans!Trowa

Language, explicit sexual content, trans male character

@kangofu-cb

Control

Heero is waiting at home with a much-appreciated surprise for Duo.Kinktober 2017 prompt from Ro, "Rimming"

Kinktober 2017

Practical Demonstration

Prompt response for Kinktober "Deepthroating"Shameless smut, mostly plotless.Duo and Trowa are at a karaoke bar with the others, and Duo convinces Trowa it's time to leave.

Kinktober 2017

Kariana Kusanagi

Gundam Wing: Gemini

A singer from the colonies arrives on Earth for a concert, but when she encounters the Gundams, the very foundation she knows just may be torn apart. Faced with what she knows, will she be able to survive the war? 

Krysnel_nicavis

Episode 01-The Boy With The Green Eyes

Sometimes, fate sucks at her job. Other times, she seems to know what she’s doing. Heero and Trowa have just suffered a tragic loss. Harry is soon to experience a loss himself but, thanks to two former Gundam pilots, his loss won’t be anywhere near tragic. Maybe they'll all learn something in the process.

Mpreg, miscarriage, HP-GW Crossover

Episode 02: Small Matters

Sometimes, fate sucks at her job. Other times, she seems to know what she’s doing. Heero and Trowa have just suffered a tragic loss. Harry is soon to experience a loss himself but, thanks to two former Gundam pilots, his loss won’t be anywhere near tragic. Maybe they'll all learn something in the process.

Mpreg, miscarriage, HP-GW Crossover

Episode 03: Propriety and Planning

Sometimes, fate sucks at her job. Other times, she seems to know what she’s doing. Heero and Trowa have just suffered a tragic loss. Harry is soon to experience a loss himself but, thanks to two former Gundam pilots, his loss won’t be anywhere near tragic. Maybe they'll all learn something in the process.

Mpreg, miscarriage, HP-GW Crossover

@lifeaftermeteor

LAM

Duo Maxwell’s Apartment Brussels, Belgium 207 May 13

Luvsanime02

Some Things Are Ageless

Trowa loves to goad Zechs, especially when it results in times like this.

Kinktober 2017

A Performance to Remember

Trowa asks for a memorable performance, and Duo aims to deliver.

Kinktober 2017

Something Blue

Duo didn't know what he was expecting when Quatre said that he wanted to show off his latest attempt at a Halloween costume, but it wasn't this. Not that he's complaining.

Kinktober 2017

Turbulence

The story about what Agent Frank Parks has been up to between Evasion and now.This is the seventh story in Navigation, a fem!Heero series.

fem!Heero

Maldoror_Chant

The Arrangement

Wufei, struggling with his demons, agrees to a wartime fling with Heero, no affection needed or wanted. But the 'arrangement' lasts and grows as they join the preventers. It could become a source of strength for both. If they let it.

Non-consensual drug use

Nil by Mouth

Preventers get into lotsa fights, and sometimes we get a tooth knocked loose. I'm fine with going to the dentist, but Heero? That's another matter. Fortunately he's got me to drag him over there, because someone's gotta. And yes, I remembered to disarm him first; I rather like our dentist, and there aren't many like him who's willing to take care of us ex-Gundam Pilots for some reason.

dentist things

The Source of All Things

Center, a planet where magic and technology blend. Or more accurately, fight tooth and nail. A planet of Sources, holes in our boring dimension letting through arcane power, chaos and pseudo-deities. In this hot-house of myths and very real dangers, Trowa and Quatre find a mysterious man at the end of a shamanic voyage. Portents suggest this Heero Yuy is crucial to Center’s survival. He’s important enough to have some interesting enemies after him, at any rate: a devious killer and thief called ‘Shinigami’, and a very irate Dragon. Beyond them looms an even greater threat. Indeed, the greatest of them all.(Alternative Universe, far-flung future sci-fi/fantasy. There are elements from the anime that exist here, albeit in very different forms; Gundam mechas, Zero, and lovely G-boys for instance. They are perhaps a universal constant we are not yet aware of. This fic was original started over a decade ago. It has been heavily rewritten and should now be eventually finished)

sex, mild description of self-harm, weird science

Mistaken-Miracles

When The Tides Change

Preventers learn of a new underground rebellion group, along with the arrival of a new ally. Can Heero put his feelings aside to trust this ally or will new discoveries create tension between the Gundam Pilots? Can they work together to keep the peace? Or are there too many complications to control? 

@noelleian

The Pact

After seducing Quatre, the other four ex-pilots brave the uncharted waters of their new abilities and learn to cope with the unintentional gifts they were given. But as always, power requires responsibility and the humbling acknowledgement of humanity's weaknesses. The struggle to stay true to themselves becomes a dangerous and terrifying endeavor as they skirt the boundary where conscience bleeds into chaos and the dark abyss of temptation.

Non-Graphic Violence, Alpha/Omega

orphan-account

Time

Duo resorts to drastic measures following heartbreak, and Wufei is the only there to pick up the pieces. Sometimes, healing just takes time.

suicide attempt, past abuse

Pokeyonekenobie

Bombshells

A misunderstanding drove them apart. Now an emergency will bring them back together. But will they ever manage to repair the rift in their friendship? 

@renmaxwell, @shinigami-of-excellence

We Don’t Belong

Just as the war was coming to its climax, the Gundam pilots were about to take out White Fang in space, when an attack from Earth knocked both parties out of the sky. The Alliance had been in hiding and building a weapon to take out both of their enemies, a massive nuclear beam capable of knocking an entire colony out of space. The Gundam pilots are captured and put on trial for their crimes. Their punishments are as cruel as the new masters of this world, the foundation that had been manipulating world governments secretly for years and who now openly reign. What will become of the Gundam pilots in this reality?

Pedophilia, sexual slavery, forced sex, forced prostitution, canon divergent

ShenLong

Bound, Bonded and Betrayed

Heero is the eldest son of the King of Colonia. His 21st birthday is approaching and as tradition dictates his betrothed is soon to arrive. However he is also bound by tradition to select his own personal slave. The events that unfold lead him down a path that not only tests his sanity but his humanity and love as well.

bondage, slavery, angst, sex, violence

Strawberrywaltz

The Forgotten

The entire universe thinks that Quatre Winner is dead, but when Heero starts having strange black outs he begins to realize the rumors of Quatre's death might not be true.

Implied non-con, non-consensual drug use, temporary character death

sylvieforaday

They Say It Was a Concussion

Duo takes a spill and Zechs is just what the doctor ordered.

AU

@thehiddenbaroness

Resurrecting the Viper

Following a routine visit to Vingolf, Orga, Mikazuki and Merribit are surprised by the sudden appearance of a practically naked, injured woman. Although Artima seems to have full recollection of who she is, she does not seem to understand the outside world. Against Orga's better judgment, the Isaribi is soon entangled in Artima's quest to find and destroy her old mobile suit - and discover both she and it are relics from over three hundred years ago that could hold the key to Tekkadan's future.

Gundam Wing/Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans

The Manwell

May Demons Rest: Shinigami Sleeps 2017

A re-write of my 2004 fanfic "Shinigami Sleeps"To find and free Duo from his demons, Trowa leaves his uneventful life at the circus for the mean streets of an obscure colony in L2.

rewrite of Shinigami Sleeps

Fanart:

@alicia-makes-things

Relena

@bassrocks

Duo

@chronicwhimsy

OC-October- Chang Liangyu

Liangyu, Duo and Wufei

@gundamwing-ellesmith (This was tweaked with this week.)

http://gundamwing-ellesmith.tumblr.com/post/166258263409/gundamwing-ellesmith-the-indomitable-bhg-i

@lbro009

Sally Po and Wufei Chang

Minimony

OC Akane Yora (OC of @cosmostar, art by Minimony)

@sailoriceprincess

OC from Trials and Memories

@shinigami714

Duo

@space-husband

Gundam Wing gunpla

@ssj5toast

Wing Zero gunpla

@vegalume

OC characters from GW fanfiction

Quatre

Duo

Zechs

Trowa

Heero

Snippets:

@claraxbarton

6x2 Snippet involving how to properly eat chocolate

@gundamwing-ellesmith

OC Profile: The villain from Left Unsaid

@the-indomitable-bhg

Drabble: The Piano

Meta:

@claraxbarton

Math Homework: OT3 Metrics on AO3

Calendar Events:

Gundam Wing Eve War Event @gw-evewar

Open Science Fiction Themed Event

(Saturday) December 23, 2017 - (Sunday) December 24, 2017

*** event will be observing Universal Coordinated Time (UTC) ***

Submissions: Fanfiction, Meta essays, Personal Headcanon, Fan Art

Rules: All works must feature a science fiction theme. Alternate Universes, and cross-over fiction are welcome. There are no limits to characters, pairings, audience rating, time frame or universe.

OC October @gwoc-october

For the month of October, we can post everything and anything pertaining to fan OCs in Gundam Wing with weekly themes and perhaps a featured OC every other day or so. This includes fic, snippets, art, OC profiles, headcanons, ships, discussions, and anything you have as long as it’s about an OC. Even if this OC of yours is still in the mulling-stages, we want to hear about it! Let’s embrace OCs and celebrate our collective awesomeness.

Unnatural November @gwblockparty

The entire month of November.

Supernatural, Otherworldly, Spooky, Alien Techy, Unnatural things will all be taken! Join the fun!

Archives/Sites:

Gundam Wing Pod Fics on AO3

Come and take a listen!

Gundam Wing fanfiction Archive List by @vegalume

https://gundamwingarchive.wixsite.com/fanfiction

Talliya’s Domain by @helmistress

https://ayeeshadragon.wixsite.com/talliya/links

Gundam Wing Diaries Fanfiction Archive by ShenLong

http://www.gundam-wing-diaries.foreverfandom.net/gw/main_Updates.htm