#ok ! (does a little dance and/or boogy

[wispy-ispy]

redesign credit to @humanisti-c

found this design after clawing my way violently out of a very long art block and the part of my brain that spins her around in my brain like a microwave took over

[malarkgirlypop]

BoB Themes songs/Songs they would jam out to!

Winters:

Rhiannon by Fleetwood Mac, the live at warner brothers edition. Absolutely loves Fleetwood Mac, would drag Nix along to see them in concert, he just adores Stevie Nicks. I could see him just singing this so loud in the car, putting his whole soul into it.

Nixon:

Shots by LMFAO and Lil John, it just depicts his life, gets him hyped to do shots, also an excuse to do shots, "The song is telling me to do it!" Will put it on every time they pregame so that he can drink and dance.

Lipton:

Kiss from a Rose by Seal. I can imagine Lipton singing this, he loves this song so much. He is so serious as well when he sings it, he means every word, might have secretly choreographed a whole dance to this, but will not tell a soul about it. Speirs might have spied him doing it and just watched with a little grin on his face.

Speirs:

Master of Puppets by Metallica. You cannot tell me this wasn't playing in his head and he sprinted through Foy. Doesn't head bang just appreciates the music. Constantly playing in his head whenever he does cool shit.

Eugene:

Come away with me by Norah Jones. This song is so sweet just like him. I can imagine him just sitting daydreaming about leaving with Babe, like the song says. It helps him unwind after a stressful day, he just sits and listens and daydreams about being in field where the yellow grass grows knee high. It helps him escape the sadness and he just is able to put himself in a nice headspace.

Babe:

No thoughts empty head just Teach me how to Dougie by Cali Swag District playing. He will have this in his brain constantly, and is just doing the dougie in really tiny movements so that no one notices. When he looks spaced out it's because he is in his brain doing the dougie, let him finish his performance before you talk to him, you can tell when the song is over you will see him take imaginary applause.

Welsh:

Love on Top Beyoncè. HE IS A BEYONCE FAN LET ME TELL YOU! Him and Kitty love her! Kitty was her fan first but Welshie definitely fell harder. He sings this to Kitty as he butchers the high notes. He bops around the room, her music just makes him so happy. Kitty and him have been to multiple of her concerts and having a fucking boogie in the pit.

George:

Scatman by Scatman John. My god don't let George play this, you will be kinda scared. He tries his best to scat but really he is just yelling random syllables at you. He will run around the room scatting furiously, he thinks this song is equally hilarious and the best song in the world, he loves it. You will be crying laughing as he performs this for you. Up in your face scatting, like we can all imagine what he looks like doing this right?

Toye:

Burn it to the ground by Nickleback. Just Toye and this song idk scratches an itch in my brain. I can see him just scrunching up his face jamming out. Also this plays in his head when he wears his brass knuckles. This is his fight song. He loves the grungy guitar and yelling vocals. Will sing the song if drunk enough, but will try and fight you at the same time.

Bill:

Come as you are by Nirvana. Idk also same as Toye it just scratches an itch in my brain, more lowkey but this is his chill song. Will listen to this while having a bourbon. Will sing quietly to the song. This plays in his head when he walks anywhere it's his like I'm a bad bitch song. Blast it in the car windows down with a hot chick in the passenger seat, you see him in his fucking sick ass car, shades on and you just want to be him. Why is he so cool? It's the song! But also Bill is just cool.

Liebgott:

Yeah! by Usher ft. Lil John and Ludacris. This is his song that he just pulls bitches with and by bitches I mean Web ahahaha. Just fucking slays the dance he does to this, like is he from step-up? Moose from step up vibes very that! Like ok stop it why are you so hot? He just is so smug and kills it every time. Ugh I can imagine it and he is so hot. Like he is just got chicks grinding all over him and he is the star of the show still. His smirk and dancing. OMG HOT!

Web:

Prada by cassö, RAYE, D-Block Europe. A classic white girly song, loves the part where is says I got strippers tits in my face. Bounces up and down super drunk. Does a motorboat motion at his favourite lyrics, has people he is dancing with has his arms around them just jumping up and down.

Donald:

Low by Flo Rida, T-Pain. This is his jam! Goes absolutely mental when it is played, will stop and dace no matter where he is! Played one time when he was in the supermarket with Skip and Alex. They left him in the aisle having a dance party by himself. They went and got him when the song stopped playing he was a sweaty mess and all of his items he had collected were scattered over the floor. Will pull out his one party trick which is his back bend.

Skip:

Rock this Party by Bob Sinclar. Nothing gets him more hyped that this song. Will move his whole body to this song, if you watch him you're worried he's going to dislocated something. You've never seen someone jump as high as he does to this dance. This song will cheer him up whatever mood he is in. He just can't fight the infectious beat. Don and Alex played it one time for him when he was crying, it ended up with him still crying but dancing like a maniac.

Alex:

Axel F by Crazy Frog. I just see him like crab shuffle dacing around the room, like the you can't touch this dance move. He will run and run to this song if it plays when he's on his morning jog. This song is what got him up Currahee. He sung it in his head the entirety of Tocca to help him get through PT. Bahahaha. Somehow good at the weird vocal lyrics it has.

Buck:

Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes. Buck loves this song, the steady drum the classic bass riff. This is his marching song. He walks everywhere to this song. But he is so fast when he does it cause he keeping pace with the drums, so don't go on walks with him if he brings his headphones you will be left behind. This is his hype song. Plays air instruments the song, will do the air guitar solo and kill it.

Martin:

Don't stand so close to me by The police. Listen he likes the song sure but the title is him to a T. Don't stand close to me is his motto in life. He likes his personal space and he will play this song if he thinks you're getting in his bubble. He will just stare at you while it plays, until you get the message.

Perco:

Boom Boom Pow by Black Eyed Peas. We know that Perco is a fast runner it's cause this is playing in his head as he runs. Does his amazing B-boy skills to this song. Popping and flips. You just watch him absolutely devour this song. He is a freestyler but omg he just fucking kills it.

Bull:

Fake ID by Big and Rich. Has the whole line dance to memory from the movie footloose, which is one of his fav movies. He is so good at line dancing and he just loves the moves to this song. Is in his happy place doing the dance, just grinning!

This is the playlist if anyone wants it.

Tag list: @sweetxvanixlla, @xxluckystrike, @panzershrike-pretz, since we talked about it!

[doomandgloomfromthetomb]

75 Dollar Bill - Sidney + Matilda, Sheffield, England, September 5, 2023

It's been a little while since we've gotten any new music from 75 Dollar Bill — but they were so active there for a few years that it might be OK to have a breather and catch up with Che Chen and Rick Brown. Last year right about this time, they were across the pond in Sheffield — a hot night in Steel Town?! Ohhh yeah.

This tape comes to us from the mighty Bobby Lee (have you dealt with his 2023 masterpiece Endless Skyways yet? You should deal with it!). "Recorded direct to C90 using a Tandberg TAT 771 cassette recorder," we're told — and for whatever reason, 75 Dollar Bill sounds absolutely marvelous when captured by this semi-primitive equipment. Their earliest stuff was similarly lo-fi and something about the sweet compression just really suits their singular style. Che and Rick are fully locked in for the duration, that piercing guitar meshing wonderfully with plywood crate percussion. Zoners and droners abound. You might just start boogieing.

"There’s a barrier," Chen told the Quietus not too long ago. "But we see people wiggling in their seats. Often it just takes one person to get up and start dancing. If that happens, there is almost always a bunch of other people that are given license and will get up too. It definitely doesn’t always happen, but it’s so great when it does."

[thesinglesjukebox]

CALVIN HARRIS X RAG'N'BONE MAN - "LOVERS IN A PAST LIFE"

So 2000 and late...

[4.07]

Wayne Weizhen Zhang: [A deep][trance][scorcher] about [old love] by [Calvin Harris] & [Rag'n'Bone Man][!] [6]

Will Adams: Disappointment! After last year's fantastic duo of singles that breathed life into the trance revival, Calvin Harris slips back into Euro-filler, where the only notable features are a marble-mouthed vocalist and a way-too-loud guitar riff. [4]

TA Inskeep: Calvin Harris, ever the musical unoriginalist, sounds as if he's interpolating the likes of Darude here -- because if there's anything Harris knows, it's what's hot in dance/pop at this moment, and right now that's retro '90s dance and trance-pop. The oontz-oontz is pleasant enough, and Rag'n'Bone Man's overdone vocal "ache" fits it well. Neither terrible nor great, just as one would expect. [4]

Alfred Soto: It has the anonymity of a dozen Eurohouse tracks that Miami played around the clock 30 years ago: I can hear Real McCoy's "Another Night" in its verses. What I didn't expect was a guitar solo with "My Sweet Lord" in its rear view. [5]

Hannah Jocelyn: Why did Calvin Harris stick a rag (possibly also a bone) in his vocalist's mouth before recording? The guitar sounds more human than he does! [3]

Nortey Dowuona: Rag'n'Bone Man's lush and rough voice works for EDM since it's just smooth enough not to clash with drum programming. It feels light, excitable and lively when freed of the obligation to imitate R&B and blues -- both genres he clearly wishes to be a part of, yet lacks the finesse or power to. Here, he lives out his fantasies of being Teddy Pendergrass. His voice is too raspy and phlegmy to hold during the verses, but once the pre-chorus synths take hold, he soars, ebullient and lithe as the guitar line over the slimmed-down 1986 pop drums. By the end, he is absent because he's served his purpose. [4]

Dave Moore: The vocals set my teeth on edge: wannabe journeyman pap, like Blues Traveler with all the wrinkles ironed out. I might have found the wallpaper pop-house backing from Harris to be a reprieve, but instead it's just a tepid bath for Rag'n'Bone Man to soak in. You couldn't get me in an unplugged hot tub with either of these guys. [3]

Brad Shoup: On "Giant," Harris redirected Rag'n'Bone Man's gale-force soul through the doors of the Wigan Casino. There was also a hint of boogie, which "Lovers in a Past Life" broadens. I love how this is hectic but not urgent: wrapping itself around the bullcrap until it's drilled a hole in the floor. When Harris drops the twangy hook, it's three docks before Balearic: lovely and gauche, like a restaurant's wall-length photo transfer of a sunset. [7]

Katherine St. Asaph: "Miracle" : Y2K :: "Lovers in a Past Life" : the Y2K club that probably exists in deleted footage from The Beast. (To be fair to this song, I would be more OK with being Rag'n'Bone Man's lover in a past life than that of the guy from The Beast.) [3]

Taylor Alatorre: Just as I was readying a wisecrack about the repackaging of Eastern spiritualism to suit Western categories of romance, I take another listen and realize the song isn't even that: "we were lovers in a past life, for all we know." How do you take a title that hints at reincarnation and cosmically linked fates, and reduce it to a shouted pick-up line at the club? Analyzing EDM lyrics is the province of fools and YouTube essayists, but Rag'n'Bone Man is credited as a co-lead, and his voice is launched at us in the first second, ironically while slurring the word "patience." If there ever were a stage name that implied a commitment to the bit, you'd think it would be "Rag'n'Bone Man," but here he is unwilling to give full expression to the fantasy contained in the premise. His misaimed realism leaves us with little to chew on but Calvin Harris' ongoing Eurodance fixation, which is more subdued and weary-sounding here than it was on "Miracle." That one was turn-of-the-century nostalgia in the service of untrammeled exuberance; this is just another day in the Logic Pro mines. [4]

Ian Mathers: So anodyne and pro forma that I've played it about 5x more than the other songs today because I keep forgetting what it sounds like. Would not care (or even notice?) if it was playing on the radio or whatever, and cannot even vaguely imagine getting it stuck in my head, let alone seeking it out. [4]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: Something about this (maybe Andrew Watt's slide guitar solo?) makes me feel actually literally ill. If I heard this in the club I think I would die on the spot. [0]

Isabel Cole: Rag’n’Bone Man does a good job at something I’m not particularly into (soulful warbling), and Calvin Harris does an adequate job at something I’m easily suckered by (a perfectly passable beat occasionally punctuated by, e.g., swooshy laser noises or handclaps), so I guess this is… fine? [6]

Daniel Monteshenko: Rag'n'Bone Man has a powerful bleat that's all grit, and I've never believed a single lyric he's yowled. The streak continues here. "We were lovers in a past life," he pushes on the chorus, but there's no history, no mangled emotion, no wide-eyed wonder of what romance brings. They're just things he's saying. Calvin Harris is 6'5" and cruising through life. [4]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox]

[pookacangetit]

Here's another idea for you. Yuu sings the Boogeyman song from The Nightmare Before Christmas. A dancing shadow appears next to them. Which seriously scares the first year and the rest of the staff.

Ok I was albeit torn on this one since Disney didn't actually released Nightmare Before Christmas, rather their adult film label Touchstone did because they thought it was too scary for children. So maybeee it'll work because Touchstone is a part of Disney?

Masterlist

Yuu's knowledge of Disney was vast, sure, but they draw the line at films being a part of Disney but not yet the songs still work and songs actually being from Disney but that tibit of knowledge isn't well-known unless they used Goggle (read: the Spooky Scary Skeleton Incident)

So when they sang the Oogie Boogie song from The Nightmare Before Christmas, forgive them for not knowing it was actually a part of the large growing empire that is Disney.

You're jokin' me, you gotta be~

This can't be the right guy~

He's ancient, he's ugly~

I don't know which is worse~

Yuu did a twirl as they walked along the path, pointing their index fingers into the air as a part of a little dance they made while singing their way to the Heartslabyul dorm to join their friends.

They were unaware of the large, looming shadow behind them copying their actions, but random students and passer-bys sure did.

Jamil was ready to fall to the ground in despair when he saw the large figure by the prefect again, assuming it was the mad genie until he got a closer look.

Rather than the burly physique, blue smoke and inhumane number of eyes following the prefect this was a rotund-shaped shadow with stumpy limbs resembling a burlap sack with hands and legs. There was a wide abnormal grin on the shadow, the tip of his head flopping as it- copied the prefect's quirky little dance?

Why does that look cute?! There's nothing cute about the person who gave you a better plan for the future dancing and being copied by an excited unknown demon!!! Jamil screamed internally.

Woah (̷̡̛̣͕̭̪̼͓̼͖͙̥͇̀̈͒̀́̃̕W̶̻̤̻̰͔̺̜̹̼͖̊o̶̢̹̝̼͈̤͍͕͖̖͉͙̿̌̂̀͆͑a̸͎͖͖̱͖͆͒̉́͌́̓̃̈́̅̑̊͠͝h̵̡̲͙̲̳̥̫͗̈́̉̕)̸̨̢̣̟͉̥͔̰̟̹̹͛́̊͂͌~

Woah (̷̡̛̣͕̭̪̼͓̼͖͙̥͇̀̈͒̀́̃̕W̶̻̤̻̰͔̺̜̹̼͖̊o̶̢̹̝̼͈̤͍͕͖̖͉͙̿̌̂̀͆͑a̸͎͖͖̱͖͆͒̉́͌́̓̃̈́̅̑̊͠͝h̵̡̲͙̲̳̥̫͗̈́̉̕)̸̨̢̣̟͉̥͔̰̟̹̹͛́̊͂͌~

Woah (̷̡̛̣͕̭̪̼͓̼͖͙̥͇̀̈͒̀́̃̕W̶̻̤̻̰͔̺̜̹̼͖̊o̶̢̹̝̼͈̤͍͕͖̖͉͙̿̌̂̀͆͑a̸͎͖͖̱͖͆͒̉́͌́̓̃̈́̅̑̊͠͝h̵̡̲͙̲̳̥̫͗̈́̉̕)̸̨̢̣̟͉̥͔̰̟̹̹͛́̊͂͌~

Oh, (̶̛̬̥̮̙͕͗̏͆̌̏̐̔̽̊̕͘͠͠͠ḩ̸̝̙̳̈́͌é̸͈̿̀͐͐̉͝ͅ'̸̩͌̿͊̀̇͋ṡ̷̲̤̖̰̤̹̺̝̪͔̠̦̗̼̭̎͒̊̓̃͐̂͆͂͝͠͠ ̴̮͕͌́͛́̈́̑͊̔́̿ţ̴̥̟̠̙͕͈͉̫̲͛͌̃͜ĥ̵̢̺͖̔̐͗͗̓̈́̍̅͊̾̎͘̚e̴̢̺̯̭͍͕̲̦͎͙̝̘̦̋͒͒ͅ)̶̪̞̱̙͈̞͈͇̤̑̇͘̚͜ͅ Oogie Boogie Man~

I didn't hear disembodied voices and see an entity. I didn't hear disembodied voices and see another entity following that mad prefect. I didn't- Jamil chanted continuously to himself while speed walking away.

Yuu: it's the Oogie Boogie man! *excited jazz hands*

Oogie Boogie: you're precious and my kid now

Genie: back the fuck up you lumpy sack of potatoes

The shadows: no you two back off our friend >:/

*ongoing adoption battle between cryptid entities ensue with oblivious Yuu*

[littlemissvincentvega]

LITTLEMISSVINCENTVEGA MASTERLIST

somebody requested i make a masterlist so here u go <3 i hope its ok for yall 💖💖

PULP FICTION:

Vincent's Actual Job (He is a Motherfucking Liar™)

Vincent Vega With a Younger Woman - HC

Vince Vega The Virginity Taker

Vincent Vega Dating a Vegan - Headcanons

You Need to Understand

Songs the Dogs & Vincent Would Give You a Dance To

Christmas with Vincent Vega Would Include

NSFW Alphabet: Vincent Vega

How Vincent Cares For You on your Period

Dishes

1am Guns

Teaching Vincent Manners in Public Would Include

Hitman's Hostage

How the Dogs/Nice Guy Eddie/Vincent Vega React to you Crying

How to Get Warm When Your Heater Breaks: A Tutorial By Vincent Vega

Sleepy Vince

Playing Mario Kart Wii with Vincent Vega Would Include

Eating Too Much Junk Food with Vincent Would Include

Dating Vincent Vega in this Day & Age Would Include

The Accident

Bad Day

Proof for Jules

Home Late

Honey in the Sky

Toilet Talk

The Vega Bros Taking Care Of You When You're Upset Would Include

Valentine's Day with Vincent Vega Would Include

Car Bickering

Cute Things with Vincent

"I can't sleep"

Daddy's Achy Girl

Hitman Snacks

Grumpy Vincent

Vince's Surprise

Vincent Vega's Pet Names For You Would Include

Seeing Vincent Vega For The First Time

Getting Even

Choppers & Burgers

RESERVOIR DOGS:

Morning Sex with Eddie Cabot Would Include

The Dogs On Your Birthday - HCs

The Dogs & Their Pet Names - HCs

How the Dogs React to Being Rejected by a Girl

Pregnant Wife HCs - Mr. Orange

HCs: Mr. White Dating a Chubby Artist

The Dogs + Eddie Asking You to Move In With Them

The Dogs With an S/O Who Has a Chronic Illness/Fatigue

Pink Prank

The Dogs (+ Eddie) With a Sad Blanket Burrito

NSFW Alphabet: Mr. Orange

Pink Lipstick

Songs the Dogs & Vincent Would Give You a Dance To

How the Dogs Feel About Christmas

HC: Mr. Blonde on Christmas

How The Dogs & Eddie Kiss Their S/O

The Dogs Teaching Their Lady How to Shoot Would Include

How Vic Rewards You for Being a Good Girl

How Vic Vega Reacts When You're Being Bratty

How the Dogs (+ Eddie) React When They Discover You're Crushing on Them

Fluffy HCs: Nice Guy Eddie

Heist Hotel Hotness

Cabot Lovenest

Freddy Newandyke Has Never Seen Scream

Secretary's Service

Halfsies?

Sex with Freddy Would Include

How the Dogs + Eddie React to you Dancing Up On Them at the Strip Club

Pink's Bruises

Super Cool Brain Power

How the Dogs React to Walking In On You Touching Yourself

Sneaky Guy Eddie

Things Freddy Does with you Pre-heist

Things Freddy Does with you Pre-heist (2)

Campdogs (pt. 1)

A Good Little Thief

A Good Little Thief (pt. 2)

How the Dogs & Eddie Comfort You - Panic Attack

Not-so-silent Treatment

A First Date with Mr. Blonde Would Include

Being Partners in Crime with Freddy Would Include

Enemies to Lovers

A Roadtrip with Mr. Orange Would Include

The Dogs Taking your Virginity

Just Smile

Stolen Ciggy

Field Feelings

The Dogs (+ Eddie)'s Favourite Body Part of Yours

Breakfast at Newandykes'

Having a Secret Relationships with the Dogs Would Include

Pink's Confession

Types of Roleplay the Dogs + Eddie Would Be Into

Things the Dogs say During Sex

Screaming with Brown

How the Dogs (& Eddie) React to you being M.I.A After a Disagreement

Wedding Boogies

How the Dogs/Nice Guy Eddie/Vincent Vega React to you Crying

Sweet Summer Date

How The Dogs (+ Eddie) React to you Surprising Them in Lingerie

Being the Only Female Reservoir Dog Would Include

Dating Mr. Pink in this Day & Age Would Include

Dating Mr. Orange in this Day & Age Would Include

How the Dogs Ask You Out

Pink's Reward

White's Grilled Cheese Sandwich (i know i'm bad at titles guys)

The Dogs and their Morning Routines

The Dogs (and Eddie) If They Went to High School Together

How the Dogs Entice Your Lazy Ass Outta Bed

The Dogs on their Birthdays

The Dogs on April Fools' Day

Beach Day with Mr. White (and the other Dogs) Would Include

Brown Is Late

Movie Night

The Vega Bros Taking Care Of You When You're Upset Would Include

Bill Tray Bickering

Grocery Shopping

Vince's Surprise

Meeting Mrs. Brown

The Sharpie Incident

KILL BILL:

Those Goddamn Groceries

Budd - NSFW Alphabet

An Assassin's Pincurls

Marked (Budd x Reader)

I Can't Think of a Title But It's Budd x Reader :-))))

A CLOCKWORK ORANGE:

How Alex Deals With a Bratty/Misbehaving S/O

HCs: First Date with Alex Delarge

GHOST WORLD:

"are you okay?"

[coll2mitts]

#28 Hairspray (2007)

Welcome to Hairspray, where a well-intentioned, woke, white teenage girl singlehandedly ends segregation in 1960s Baltimore.

Y’know, after watching Cry-Baby, I wasn’t super keen on revisiting Hairspray, but I figured it deserved a fair shot.  I hadn’t seen the original since I was in high school, so I booted up HBO Max and settled in for a long night of old-timey dance moves and racial inequality.  Guys... the 1988 version of Hairspray is flippin’ great.

The cast is just to die for.  Ricki Lake, who I only knew as a talk show host in my childhood, is a great Tracy Turnblad.  My favorite devious sea witch Divine is her mother, and Jerry Stiller is her father.  Goddamn Debbie Harry and Sunny Bono are her rival’s parents, and Amber Von Tussle is motherfucking Colleen Fitzpatrick.  As someone who has a vested interest in all famous Colleens, I was stoked to see that Hairspray was Vitamin C’s first acting gig.

FUN FACT: According to Wikipedia (which is never wrong), Graduation (Friends Forever) charts on iTunes at the end of every school year.  Colleen is also the VP of music at Nickelodeon, so she’s doing just fine.

Anyway, the original Hairspray is campy, edgy and hilarious.  If I were Miss Soft Crab 1945, I too would bring it up every chance I got.  The story really boils down to two horny teenage girls trying to claw their way to the top, but the charm of Tracy is she’s trying to pull everyone else up with her.  The way they handle segregation and racial inequality is over-the-top ridiculous, but somehow more realistic than its updated counterpart (put a pin in this).  I mean, a racist white woman shoved a bomb in her hair to own the libs and it gloriously explodes on her head.  I haven’t seen the musical adaptation of Hairspray, so my opinions of how true it is to its source material won’t be explored here, but the 2007 movie adaptation, to me, left a lot to be desired.

Hairspray might be the most popular in a recent trend of non-musical movies being adapted for Broadway.  I remember back in the 90s when Beauty and the Beast hit the stage - it was so successful Disney now has the movie-to-Broadway pipeline on speed dial.  But now we’re getting a shitload of movies with no musical elements being fast tracked to Broadway, like Kinky Boots, Bend it Like Beckham, Mean Girls, Beetlejuice, Heathers, Waitress, Legally Blonde, fucking Groundhog Day with music written by Tim Minchin, just, so goddamn many of them.  I love musicals, but to say I didn’t want to see The Heathers threaten Veronica in 3-part harmony would be an understatement, so I’m immediately skeptical to the quality of this content and hesitant to consume it.  Unfortunately for me, Hairspray is one of the few who had their *corny* musical adaptation also committed to film, and it is a neutered, earnest, high school choir translation of the original and it made my teeth hurt.

The two positives I’ll give the remake are the sets/costumes are great, and the cast serve their roles well, although I will never be OK with someone wearing a fat suit as a costume.  The songs are... fine.  Again, this era of music is not my favorite, so I’m never going to get excited over “It Takes Two” or “I Can Hear the Bells”.  It’s just the tone is so different from the original, and by the end of the movie I was exhausted and very glad it was over.  Writing about it now has required several breaks and side-tangents and I can’t even get to the fucking synopsis of the movie... ugh let’s just do this.

Tracy Turnblad is a “pleasantly plump” teenage girl living in 1960s Baltimore whose sunny disposition makes her oblivious to the reality of murky situation she is living in.  We’re quickly introduced to her obsession, “The Corny Collins Show”, which features a number of far-out teens that love to dance, including multi-year winner of Miss Teenage Hairspray and miss Pitch Perfect herself Amber Von Tussel.  Her mother, Velma, played by Michelle Pfeiffer, is the station manager at WYZT, and uses her power to keep Amber featured front and center.  

After a girl on the show gets knocked up, an audition is held to replace her.  While Tracy’s mother Edna, regrettably played by John Travolta in a fat suit, is afraid that Tracy’s weight will prevent her from landing the gig, her father, puzzlingly played by like a 60-something Christopher Walken, is generally supportive.  True to Edna’s feeling, Tracy is fat shamed by Amber and Velma and doesn’t make the cut.

After getting detention for skipping class for an audition that didn’t pan out, Tracy makes friends with a bunch of black students who are all excellent dancers.  Turns out her new friend Seaweed is the son of Motormouth Maybelle, the sometimes-host of "The Corny Collins Show”, played by Queen Latifah.  Velma, in addition to being a massive bitch, also segregates the station’s black talent from the main show, only to be featured one night a month on “Negro Day”.  While Tracy is boogying down, Link, Amber’s boyfriend and one of the stars of TCCS, peeps at her ass and tells her if she shook her rump in front of Corny at the Hop, he’d have no choice but to put her on the show.

In the original movie, Tracy Turnblad fucks.  She moves in on Link and devours him whole, with no mind given to her size.  She is a kind of bratty, confident young teenager that isn’t afraid to reach out and grab what she wants.  Tracy in the 2007 version is the most innocent cinnamon roll that has ever been baked.  Link gives her one compliment and she drifts into fantasies of marrying him.  Part of me is annoyed by this, but the other part of me appreciates misguided optimism played as humor.

At the Corny Collins hop, Tracy steals borrows Seaweed’s dance move and lands a place on TCCS council.  After declaring she wants every day to be Negro Day, the head of the station declares he wants that “chubby communist girl” off the show.  Corny, played by a dreamy James Marsden, sticks his neck out for Tracy and furthermore, says the show should be integrated.  As Tracy’s popularity skyrockets, the station shows more leeway to her size and her look, but to maintain some semblance of control, Velma works to completely edge out Negro Day.

Meanwhile, Link is clued into how fun it is in detention, and him, Tracy, and Penny all dance their way to Motormouth Maybelle’s record store for a potluck.  When Seaweed introduces his new white friends to his mother, Penny delivers my favorite line of the whole movie, “I’m very pleased and scared to be here.”  Amber rats out Tracy’s activities to her mother, and Edna arrives to Motormouth’s with the intention of dragging Tracy home until she realizes that black people are OK because they eat brisket.

After Edna shoves a bunch of food in her face, the gang finds out that Negro Day on “The Corny Collins Show” has been cancelled.  Tracy has the great idea to protest the television station, and all the black people are like, “Why didn’t we think of that?”  Link decides to bow out of the march because there’ll be talent agents at the Miss Hairspray Pageant, and he doesn’t want to give up his big shot at fame and glory to fight for a entire race of people’s basic rights.

The next day, Tracy and her mom are the only white people in a sea of black people to march to the station.  Queen Latifah sings a very earnest song about the resilience of her community, because this is the Serious Portion TM of the musical.  Tracy assaults a police officer without giving any mind to what it would do for all the black people she’s marching with, and runs away to let them handle the consequences.  The movie doesn’t show any police brutality because Reasons, and a bunch of protestors are arrested and immediately bailed out by Tracy’s Dad.  Tracy eventually ends up back at Motormouth Maybelle’s record shop so she can hide there without considering how dangerous it would be for Motormouth to harbor a fugitive of the law.  

The next day is the Miss Teen Hairspray competition broadcast at WYZT, and with Tracy being wanted by the police, they have to sneak her into the station.  She bum-rushes the set to sing a song with a now-enlightened Link about not stopping progress, while also inviting Motormouth Maybelle’s daughter, Little Inez, on stage to dance.  Everybody calls-in to vote for her because the only racist people in Baltimore run the television station, and Little Inez is crowned Miss Teen Hairspray.  Amber is like fine with it even though her mom isn’t, and everyone dances and sings to celebrate that “The Corny Collins” show is now integrated!  Meanwhile, I’m left wondering why Amanda Bynes was forced to wear a dress that she can’t move her legs in, even though they knew she would participate in the show’s closing dance number.  The end.

Oh, and there’s also a whole B plot where Velma tries to fuck Tracy’s dad and Tracy’s mom finds out and gets upset for like 30 seconds.  This is immediately resolved by a song and dance number among a bunch of laundry.

This movie is fine and competent or whatever, but for some reason it just rubs me the entirely wrong way.  Tracy constantly says that the 1960s are changing for people who are different, implying that an overweight white teen also knows what it’s like to be discriminated against in the same way black people are.  The movie does roll its eyes at some of her most tone-deaf “I’m an overenthusiastic ally” moments, like “I wish every day was Negro Day!” and “This is afro-tastic!”, but it also goes out of its way to talk about how much Tracy has helped the black community.  Like, by doing what?  Being fat and on TV?  That being said, she does use her privilege to feature black dancers on a major television broadcast, so by the end of the movie she becomes the person everyone says she is.  Also, I’m a dumb, overweight, white, middle-aged woman, so I’m not the right person to get all indignant about a well-intentioned feel-good Broadway musical.

Final thoughts: If you love bright colors, cheese, and sincere, glossy reflections of the 1960s civil rights movement written by a bunch of white dudes, this movie is for you.

[where-dreamers-go]

I'm so sorry to hear! I hope everything will be OK!

Guiltless - dodie, Apple tree - Aurora, The great escape - woodkid, It's time - Imagine dragons, papaoutai - stromae and The only exception - Paramore.

I hope this gives you the distraction you need and sending lots of love!

(A/N: My brain was all: are they thinking about Eragon for this? Crap, I’m thinking about Eragon a little now. Then I wasn’t. Also my right earbud is dying… Okay, so gonna post this a couple of days later. Hi. There was a thunderstorm the other day…all day.)

Guiltess - dodie. I was picturing this standoff/understanding of differences between Eragon and Modern!Reader. There are obviously different views, opinions, and life experiences between the pair. Reader knows Eragon and does not agree with all of his views and actions, also what he does not do. Added that Modern!Reader will keep all of his secrets.

Apple tree - AURORA. Save the dragon hatchlings! Save the village! For the love of __, Eragon, put down your sword! (Eragon x Modern!Reader theme song?) Eragon is experienced in farming, hunting, fighting/war, and magic. Modern!Reader is educated, artistic, and not entirely athletic, which creates an interesting balance. Like: Eragon, you don’t have to have your sword at the ready. Chill.

The Great Escape - woodkid. Are we on horseback?? Ah, yes. Imagining dancing around a bit. Parkour and dodging arrows! Switch to: Angela telling Reader to run. “What?!”

It’s Time - Imagine Dragons. OH! This song! *bobs head* Modern!Reader trying to help characters and not being afraid to admit that they’re different. Uh-oh, sorry, Eragon, I’m on Endor celebrating the destruction of the second Death Star. Boogie with ewoks. <3

papa outai - stromae. Oh, French? (I don’t understand, but that’s okay..) A great beat?? Well, my brain just shows dancing. It’s pretty powerful. I’m thinking about really cool armor though now…

The Only Exception - Paramore. Let Modern!Reader sing while alone or serenade a character. There…there could be feels. Heart eyes from character just absorbing in the song and the Reader’s voice like nothing else exists. Don’t make the character cry.

[rosieshipper]

Taking care of you

Summary: Rose is always putting others before herself. She does so much for the team and for others too. But when Rose comes home from patrol already exhausted but keeps trying to work, she overworks herself and ends up stressing herself out. Steve, Tony, and Bucky all pitch in to help her relax

Rose staggered into the compound tiredly. She had been on patrol all throughout town for the majority of the day. She was extremely exhausted and just wanted to lay down for a while to get off her aching feet. But that was only wishful thinking in her eyes. The moment she walked into the common room, she ran into Natasha. “Oh Rose, you’re back.” Nat grinned at her. “You think you’re up for a sparring match?” She asked her.

Rose was quiet for a little bit. She was god awfully tired but she didn’t want to turn Nat down. Shaking her head, Rose out on an excited expression. “Sure! I can totally spar with you, Nat.” She grinned at her to which Natasha nodded and headed for the gym. Rose shook her head a little more to wake herself up before following Nat to the gym.

After nearly an hour and a half of sparring, Rose finally left the gym, even more exhausted than before. Her whole body was now aching considering she wasn’t exactly on top of her game and couldn’t really fight against Nat’s quick moves. All Rose wanted to do at this point was go to her room and crawl into bed.

But as Rose was passing by the kitchen, she noticed a bunch of dirty dishes in the sink. At first, she was thinking about just walking by and not giving it a second thought. But she thought that she would be doing something nice by doing the dishes for everyone. Sighing quietly to herself, Rose rolled up her sleeves and walked over to the sink, starting on the large pile of dishes.

A few minutes into her cleaning the dishes, Bucky and Steve came walking into the kitchen. The both of them stopped when they saw Rose at the sink. “Rose? What are you up to?” Steve called as he walked over to her. Rose jumped when she heard his voice and looked back at him. “Oh, it’s you Steve. Sorry, I didn’t hear you come in. I’m just cleaning up these dishes. I saw that they were piled up in her so I figured that I would do something nice for everyone.” Rose explained tiredly as she set some plates up on a nearby drying rack.

Steve noticed how exhausted Rose sounded and was a little concerned. He then remembered how she was on patrol for a majority of the day. Of course she would be exhausted after all that. “Rose, are you ok?” He asked her, a bit of concern in his voice. “You can take a break and me and Steve can take care of the rest of the dishes for you.” Bucky said as he walked up on her other side. Rose merely shook her head at them. “It’s fine, guys. I’m fine. You two just go along, I can take care of this.” She told them, slapping on the best fake grin she could muster.

Steve and Bucky looked at each other with matching frowns before deciding to listen to her and walking off. Once they were out of Rose’s earshot, they both talked about how exhausted Rose looked and both agreed to bring it up with her father, Tony. After nearly a half an hour later, Rose was finally done with the dishes. As she dried her hands off with a towel, she looked up at a nearby clock. 6:00. Dinner time. Yet another thought crossed over Rose’s mind. She could do a nice thing and cook dinner for everyone. It wouldn’t be that big of a deal and Rose could totally handle it despite how weak she felt. Huffing, Rose grabbed a pan and got started on dinner.

About an hour later, Rose called everyone for dinner and they all soon began filing in and sitting at the large table. Rose went around and served everyone their food. As she did this, Steve, Bucky, and Tony all watched her. They knew full well that she had been overworking herself and should have been resting. Tony also learned that Rose had done an hour and a half of sparring with Nat which wasn’t helping Rose’s case.

As she finished up serving the others, Rose realized that there wasn’t enough to feed herself. She sighed and shrugged it off before going to clean up the dishes she used for cleaning. After everyone was done eating, she offered to clean everyone’s dishes for them, that was when Tony finally stepped in. He told her that he would take over washing dishes for the night and no matter how much Rose protested, he wouldn’t budge.

Giving in, Rose decided it was finally time to head to her room to collapse for the night. But when she got into her room and laid down in her bed, it was almost impossible for her to fall asleep. No matter how much Rose tossed and turned, she just couldn’t fall asleep. This was her breaking point. Sitting up straight, Rose grabbed her pillow and screamed into it, trying to let out all of her frustration. When that didn’t work, she merely chucked it across the room before pulling her knees to her chest and burying her face in her folded arms, quiet tears rolling down her cheeks.

A few moments later, there was a knock at the door. “Rosie? Can we come in?” Rose recognized the voice as Bucky’s considering the nickname. Rose looked up at the door and frantically tried to wipe away her tears before calling for them to come in. Bucky, Steve, and Tony all came into her room and walked over to her. “Hey, kiddo. How are you feeling?” Steve asked softly as he placed a comforting hand on her back. “I’m fine, Steve. Why do you ask?” Rose lied, trying to act like she hadn’t just been crying. But the three men could easily see through the teenager’s lie.

“We know that’s not true, Rose.” Tony told her simply. “We know that you’ve been overworking yourself today. First with the long patrol, then sparring with Nat, then cleaning the dishes and cooking dinner. You should have rested up after you got back home.” Her father explained to her. At this point, tears started filling Rose’s eyes again. She tried to hide them but it had become all too obvious to them.

“Oh sweetheart, don’t cry. Come here.” Bucky said softly before opening his arms to her. Rose didn’t resist climbing into his arms and let him hug her tightly. “I have no time for myself. I feel like if I don’t do nice things for the team, I’ll just be a let down.” Rose explained through her crying. “Munchkin, that is in no way true. You deserve to take a break just as much as everyone else. You’re allowed to say no or let other people do the work when you’re exhausted.” Tony told her gently, reaching out and holding one of her hands.

“It was clear from the moment you came home from patrol that you needed rest, Rose. We get that you wanted to do some nice things for us but it could have waited until you took care of yourself first.” Steve said to her. “I’m sorry, I just wanted to feel like I’m doing some good for others.” Rose whimpered quietly. Bucky reached up and wiped away her tears with his metal hand. “Rosie, you’re a kid. You should be allowed to be a kid and not have to push yourself so hard.” Bucky told her gently.

“But I’m a hero now. I signed up for this. I can’t just stop doing work when there’s work needing to be done.” Rose protested, looking up at the three of them. “That’s when you let others step in and handle it themselves. No one is expecting you to help every problem in the world. You’re allowed to step away and take time for yourself.” Steve explained to her. Rose sniffed quietly and rubbed one of her eyes with a clenched fist. “I guess you’re right.” She muttered quietly.

“That’s it. Now then, enough with all the mopiness. You wanna pull off a miracle and give us a smile to show us that you’re ok?” Tony hummed as he looked at her. Rose tried her best to smile but she couldn’t seem to do it. “Welp fellas, we might need to pull out the big guns for this. Hey Steve, why can’t a nose be 12 inches long?” Tony asked with a smug grin. “Oh no.” Rose said quietly. Dad jokes were always Tony’s go to to try and get Rose laughing. “I don’t know, Tony. Why?” Steve responded. “Because then it would be a foot.” Tony snorted at his own joke.

Rose and Bucky almost simultaneously groaned at the corniness of that joke. “Hold on, I got another one.” Tony snickered before clearing his throat. “How do you make a tissue dance? You put a little boogie into it!” Tony said before wheezing hard at the awful joke. “Dad, you are the only one here who likes these jokes.” Rose deadpanned as she looked at him. Tony gasped in fake offense as he looked back at her. “Alright missy, you wanna go there, then I got another joke for you.” Tony said with a mischievous and playful look in his eyes, making Rose almost regret her words.

“How many tickles does it take to make an octopus laugh?” He asked her. Rose almost immediately knew where this was going and immediately tried squirming out of Bucky’s lap. But unfortunately, he and Steve seemed to have gotten the memo on where Tony was going with this, so Bucky held her in place. “Ten tickles!” Tony exclaimed before immediately reaching over and tickling Rose’s sides and stomach. Immediately, Rose burst out into happy laughter, a wide grin spreading across her face as she squirmed around in Bucky’s embrace.

“Dad! Stop!” She giggled out as she tried to push his hands away. “Are you gonna apologize for insulting my dad jokes?” Tony asked playfully as he kept on tickling her. “Yes! I’m sorry!” Rose laughed out before eventually calming down when Tony finally stopped. “Well, at least that got you smiling.” Tony hummed with a content grin. “It’s good to see you happy again, kiddo.” Steve smiled warmly, reaching over and ruffling Rose’s hair, making her giggle quietly.

“Thanks guys.” Rose hummed before yawning quietly as tiredness slowly took over her. The three men noticed this and slowly helped her into bed. Tony gently tucked her in and pressed a fatherly kiss to her temple. “Night, munchkin.” He whispered before following Steve and Bucky out of the room, shutting the door behind them. Rose sighed softly in content, a small smile tugging on her lips as she slowly drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

Tags: @astralshipper @aricka-and-her-fictional-others @kittyselfships @nougatships

[tootyfrootycasbooty]

how do u think u are inspired by punk subculture and others like ska and alternatives... like i find it very cool and see u talk in ur blog, wanted to know more... do u have any recomendations? like films, books... anyway thanks have a nice day u r lovely!!

WOW big question with a big answer under the cut. lovely lovely elizabeth just did an interview w me for Berlin Art Link and i discuss punk & subculture & fandom in the context of my art practice and dissertation there!

 my dad brought me up on the music very young, little babby me in the car singing along to the clash and the specials....it’s always just been a part of how i see myself, and i struggled w it a lot more when i was younger, it didn’t exactly mesh with being a black preteen/teen in one of the Whitest parts of the country. i think it will always be an influence i carry with me thru fashion and music tastes, and it’s been really nice in the last 2 years to kind of rediscover that part of myself bc i stopped acknowledging it for a big long time. 

i am the most annoying defender of ska because The Internet has reduced this entire genre down to like...shitty third and fourth wave american ska which is ???? not even something i’ve ever really associated as ska, it’s so far removed. ska is a jamaican genre and it’s the precursor to rocksteady and reggae, and there’s a really interesting relationship between different subcultures in postwar britain who kind of transcend anti-black racism of the time to find common ground in black-british culture. a lot of that comes from ska - punk and skinhead culture have both been hugely whitewashed or misremembered by their more commercialised/infamous versions in the media, despite there being so much variance & nuance at the time, and when both were early in their incarnations they centred around ska and reggae. read: don letts, beautiful dreadhead brother/dj to the punks. my white dad introduced me to reggae bc he was punk, while my jamaican mum could not give a shit about it!! anyway i know more about 2-tone/second wave ska than the first bc i was obsessed w Ghost Town by the specials as a kid, and while writing my dissertation i realised how fantastic it is that was i was drawn to a genre that specifically marries black and white culture in britain through music, very audibly and visually too, and it’s just....overtly political while being outrageously fun....it’s very honest and timeless and now more than ever, it feels relevant. imo, ska was often hopeful/joyful (even if the lyrics weren’t necessarily) while punk was nihilistic. i think it’s also worth saying that british and american punk have very different histories and offshoots, even tho they happened at the same time and had many crossovers.

my recommendations, whew ok!

books: black by design - pauline black (AMAZING biography by singer of the selector, mixed race and adopted, i gasped so many times bc so many parts of this book reflected my exact feelings of discovering my own blackness, even tho our child & adolescent years were like...4-5 decades apart); lipstick kisses - greil marcus (very dense but mostly very interesting, altho it does go wildly off topic sometimes. comparing 20th century social history to medieval religious history etc. it’s wild. if u want an academic read about this is IT, the way he links the letterist & situationist international to punk is just *chefs kiss*....also in general v good commentary on how mass homogenous culture combined w a loss of true freedom via capitalism, eventually creates civil unrest like may 68 and punk.) and england’s dreaming - jon savage (the go-to history of punk, basically starting with malcolm mcclaren’s childhood and how his art school background combined w may 68 led to him & vivienne very consciously creating a stylised movement, but it rly covers a lot more than that)

more academic texts on punk: subculture, the meaning of style - dick hebdige (aka the very same bastard of I Love Dick); punk rock, so what - ed. roger sabin (this is a fantastic collection of essays on dif topics that u may not ever consider in relation to punk, but the ones on race, women, and commodity are fab...so good for solidifying the concept that punk existed beyond the sex pistols and was much more interesting than them too); i havent actually read any ska specific academic texts but i wld be interested to! also dayglo! the poly styrene story for my fave black punk leading lady

films & tv: this is england (of course...how i could i not...i implore u to watch the film and then each series bc the journey is spectacular & effortlessly shows how transient and changeable these subcultures could be as music and fashion and social circumstances change); farming by adewale akinnuoye-agbaje (big trigger warning for violent racism & internalised racism, so harrowing & worthwhile tho, i dont think it deserved the shoddy reviews it got...it rly undid me); dance craze by joe massot (2-tone documentary); sex & drugs & rock n roll (ian dury is great is often left out of punk conversations but he’s a big part of my childhood and stiff records was v influential to punk & post-punk)

just general good films abt subculture: northern soul (ive been going to northern soul nights since moving to london and the history is so interesting and i wish i could go back in time and BOOGIE my god it seems incredible....also see fiorucci made me hardcore, a video art piece by mark leckey); 24 hour party people; quadrophenia; the football factory (fun fact, my dad became a punk bc he didnt like football & was tired of being beaten up by footie fans lmao); velvet goldmine.

[lumiereandcogsworth]

that movie u watched for ces. give me some hc’s about them.

THE MOVIE IS JUANITA AND ITS ON NETFLIX GO WATCH IT AND THEN BEFORE THE ENDING MAKES YOU ANNOYED GO AND READ MY EPILOGUE FIC. THIS HAS BEEN A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT.

i’m gonna put the hc’s under the cut cuz sorry i went insane i love them a lot despite my rarely thinking about them lmao

juanita moves back permanently to paper moon and runs the restaurant with jess after she visits california

they move in together cuz jess isn’t gonna let her get her own place on her own that’s SILLY but she isn’t gonna live in his run down dusty-ass trailer home so they compromise and get a little house down the street from the restaurant

at first juanita doesn’t want to get married because she had such trouble in the past and she’s older but jess has never been married and like. he really freakin wants to marry her.

he proposes to her a hundred times. it becomes a joke. they’ll be eating breakfast (at like, 4:30am cuz, gotta open the restaurant) and he’ll be like “good morning. we should get married :) “ and she’s like “shut up and drink your coffee”

eventually one night after a powwow when everyone’s gone to sleep jess is like heyyy the stars are out let’s go for a walk

and juanita (begrudgingly) goes with him and they walk around and look at the stars and she’s like ok yeah this is pretty baller and jess pulls out a ring and he’s like hey u know what else is baller? ;)

(i’m KIDDING he says better words than that but you get the vibe. he’s such a romantic. watch the movie. read my fic. read my fic 🔪)

so FINALLYYYYY she’s like FINE I’LL MARRY YOU GOSHHHH and jess is like flipping out dancing around hugging her kissing her he’s so dang happy

the wedding is so FREAKIN cute cuz it’s in a big open field in paper moon and her other son and daughter and granddaughter and best friend all fly in and aaaahhhhhhhhh OH AND PEACHES IS THERE TOO OF COURSE

mignon (jess’s niece) falls in LOVE with juanita’s granddaughter i can’t think of her name but she’s like a two year old and she’s so cute and aahhh cousins??? i don’t know. new family!!!!!!

randy missed his brother and sister aaahhhh JUANITA MISSED HER BEST FRIEND KAY-RITA GOSH the wedding is great okay you get the picture

jess is a great father figure to all her kids like yeah they’re all adults but he becomes a very important person in their lives (already evident with randy but for her other kids too!!!)

okay real quick this is so long i know but here some cute jess/juanita specific headcanons which is literally what i’m assuming you asked for in the first place but i never get to talk about juanita so!! SO HERE WE ARE:

jess still has his ptsd night terrors and juanita always wakes up when he does. she just sits with him. sometimes he’s angry and sometimes he cries but eventually he falls back asleep with his arms wrapped around her

they can’t go on a honeymoon right away but eventually they save up enough money and go to paris!!!!!!!!!!! cuz jess loves french cuisine gosh he’s such a nerd anyway they go to paris and it’s literally,,, they have the most amazing time

they have movie nights all the time they pour wine and watch old movies and jess always tries to be adventurous and find a new movie for them but they always end up hating it and roasting everything about it as they watch

they take mignon to the carnival in the next town over 🥺 mignon meets up with some friends from school so 🥺 what if they went on the ferris wheel and just sat and talked and maybe smooched a little🥺🥺🥺

jess goes HAM on juanita’s birthday he gets everyone involved and he throws her a huge party Literally every year and she’s like oh my gosh why do you have to do the absolute most but also she loves dancing and jess makes sure there’s a dance floor to BOOGIE ON DOWN

they eventually go to columbus for a week or two just so juanita can show him around and all the places she went to growing up and it’s really cool

okay last one they walk around holding hands all the time jess always wants to show her off they’ll be in the grocery store or literally just walking outside and he’ll like this is my wife :))) i’m holding :) my wife’s hand :))) thats her :) :) :)

[averylainey]

Funky ヽ(⌐■_■)ノ♪♬

*Spoilers!*

Clementine and Louis show AJ what Disco is. (+ misc. fluff cause hello nice to meet you im garbage )

Louis walked over to the door and cracked it open to see Violet glaring back at him.

"The Hell are you guys doing? I can hear you from the other hall." 

"We're going to funky-town, Vi. What's it sound like we're doing?"

AO3  ~   FF

The air grew chilly as the sun began to set; AJ could feel the cold nipping at the skin underneath his jacket. He was unable to stop the shiver that shook through his body. Of course, Clementine took notice of this and draped an arm around his shoulders.

"Cold?"

The boy nodded and snuggled closer to her, wrapping his arms around her waist. She rested her head against his and sighed, a puff of fog escaping her lips. She took a look at the rest of the group, all sitting around the dying fire-pit. Willy was fiddling with a rock, digging a small hole in the dirt with its edge. Ruby and Aasim sat holding hands and staring into the sky, occasionally pointing out clusters of stars. Violet lay on her back and tapped her foot to some imaginary beat.

Despite the chill biting at her, she couldn't bring herself to interrupt the peace; she wished the cold could freeze her in this moment forever. Besides, getting up at this point would be a challenge. In hindsight, it wasn't very smart to sit on the ground when you had one foot.

Clementine's thoughts were interrupted by a soft pressure on her hand. She turned to her left and met Louis's gaze. He smiled at her then glanced to their interlocked fingers.

"You're freezing." He murmured, pulling her hand up to his chest in an attempt to warm it.

"You're observant."

"Sure am." He snorted.

Louis dropped her hand and scooted closer to her. He opened his jacket and tried to wrap it around her. It didn't do much to fend off the cold, but Clementine appreciated the gesture and leaned into him.

AJ whined in protest when her warmth left him.

"Sorry, kiddo." Clementine giggled as she pulled him back to her side.

Louis chuckled.

"Hey, if you're cold, I got two sides." He winked at AJ as he pulled the other side of his jacket open.

AJ smiled and crawled over to the older boy; he latched onto his side and became engulfed in the warmth of the coat.  

The trio looked up when they heard a sigh and the shuffle of someone standing up. Ruby grinned down at the sweet sight of the three of them huddled together.

"We all oughta turn in for the night. Only gon' get colder." The redhead rubbed her forearms in a futile attempt to warm them up.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea." Clementine agreed, reluctantly pulled away from Louis and stretched.

"Little help?" She asked the boys, holding her arms out for them to help her up.

"'Course, your majesty." Louis winked as he grabbed one of her hands.

Clementine rolled her eyes. AJ giggled and grabbed her other hand.

She grunted as they hoisted her up, and she held onto Louis for support while AJ picked up her crutches. The young boy placed the crutches underneath her arms, earning him a small smile of gratitude.

"Night, y'all." Ruby smiled after them as they headed for the dorms.

~

When they reached their bedroom, AJ opened the door, ran in and plopped down on his bed. He relished in the warmth of the blankets that encircled him. The boy looked over to Clementine and Louis who were still standing together in the doorway.

Clementine pulled Louis down and briefly pressed her lips to his. AJ still didn't understand why they did that. It was kinda gross....

But when he saw the small smiles on their faces as they pulled away, that thought left him. It couldn't be gross if it made them so happy, right?

"You can stay, y'know," She told him softly. "We still need to finish planning the interior of our house."

"Hmm, you're right," Louis walked past her, stepping into the room and put his hand against his chin in mock thought. "It is gonna take a while to plan out all 915 floors."

"914."

"Right."

"915 floors is way too many, Louis," Clementine said with an exasperated look. "Don't be stupid."

"You're right. I'm sorry." He put his hands up and shook his head in defeat.

She quickly broke character and burst out giggling, and, of course, the sight of her laughing brought a huge grin to his face. He sat down on her bed and patted the spot next to him, motioning for her to sit with him.

Clementine followed him into the room, pushing the door shut with her elbow. She sat beside Louis and propped her crutches up against the bedpost. She met his gaze and smiled.

"So..." Louis wrapped an arm around her hips, causing her to blush and glance away. "I'm envisioning a lime green and bright yellow interior," He waves his free hand around dramatically as if he's visualizing their dorm room decked out in neon. "What do you think?"

"Um, are you joking?" She asked flatly pulling away slightly to glower at him.

"No."

"We are not painting the walls neon green."

"Can the furniture be green?"

"No!" She laughs.

"Can the carpet be green?"

Clementine rolls her eyes. "I think red and blue would be better."

"Ah, patriotic," He chuckles as she elbows him. "That's nice, but you know mine's better."

"You wish."

"C'mon, Clem, you're not gonna let me have my dream house?" Louis pouted.

"Not if I have to live in it."

"Well, it wouldn't be my dream house if you didn't, now would it?"

Clementine looked down at her hands, trying to hide the blush that crept onto her face at those words. Damn it, why'd he always do that? It was impossible to argue with him; even jokingly.

He smirked at her; he loved seeing how flustered she got. "I'm just sayin'. Green is clearly the superior option."

"Nope. Not convinced." Clementine shook her head, still trying to wipe the redness off her face.

"You agree with me, right, AJ?" Louis turned to the younger boy across the room.

AJ didn't answer; he was laying with his back to them.

Clementine and Louis were suddenly worried; AJ usually loved getting in on their silly games and fake arguments.

"AJ?" Clementine called to him. No answer.

"Hey," Louis stood up and walked over to AJ's bed. "You alright, little dude?" He placed a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Huh?" AJ rolled around to meet the concerned looks of the pair. "Oh, yeah. I'm ok. I was just... thinking." He sat up, revealing the toy in his hands. Disco Broccoli. AJ stared at the toy with a ridiculous amount of concentration.

"You havin' a staring contest with him or something?" Louis chuckled and sat next to AJ. "Hate to break it to ya, but he's wearing sunglasses, so he's probably cheating."

The joke got a snicker out of Clementine, but AJ seemed unamused.

"No, I'm not. But even if I was, he wouldn't cheat."

"Oh?"

"No, Disco Broccoli's cool." The little boy grinned.

"Oh, Hell yeah; he is." Louis playfully nudged the younger boy, making him giggle.

"The coolest." Clementine agreed.

"But..." AJ looked down in thought. "What is Disco? Like I know he's broccoli, and I know what broccoli is, but... what is Disco?"

Clementine thought for a moment.

"It's, like, a type of music. Or dancing."

"Another one?" AJ was astonished. How many types of music could there be?

"Oh yeah, there's lots of kinds." She smiled at his enthusiasm.

"Well, what's Disco sound like?"

Before anyone could answer, AJ continued on excitedly:

"I bet it's cool! Like Disco Broccoli. It's gotta be the coolest kind of music there is!"

The girl nodded. "It is pretty cool. It sounds like... Um... How do I-"

"Woah now, you can't just describe Disco," Louis interjected. "You gotta hear it, AJ. You gotta feel it pulsing through your soul." He theatrically clutched his chest.

AJ raised an eyebrow at him, unsure of whether or not he was serious. He looked back to Clementine, and the amused look on her face confirmed that he was, in fact, just being Louis. So, AJ laughed.

"Wait here." Louis said with a wink as he rushed for the door.

"Louis, what are you-" Before Clementine could ask, he was already halfway down the hall.

AJ gave her a questioning look, but she only shrugged.

"Louis is kinda weird sometimes." He remarked.

Clementine snickered. "Yeah, little bit."

"It's fun though. I love Louis."

"Me too, kiddo."

~

The pair in the room jumped when the door suddenly flung back open after a good ten minutes.

"Are you guys ready to fuckin' boogie?"

Louis burst into the room decked out in the most stereo-typically Disco clothing he could have possibly scraped together. He had his shirt tucked in with every button on top undone, and he wore a pair of over-the-top, blinged out sunglasses. And who could forgot the big fake afro wig atop his head? Why the Hell did he have that?

"Oh. My God." Clementine put her hand over her mouth.

AJ instantly burst out in laughter at the sight of the teen in the doorway.

"You look kinda like Disco Broccoli!" He muttered between giggles.

"You're crazy." Clementine shook her head, trying not to bust out in laughter herself.

Louis lowered his sunglasses a bit and winked at her. "You love it." She did.

"What's that?" AJ pointed at the object in his hand.

"This," Louis held up a record and began walking toward the gramophone by Clementine's bed. "Is the next surprise."

"Oh, it gets better?" Clementine asked sarcastically.

"Hell, yeah, it does." Louis changed out the record and cranked the handle. The Disco music blasted throughout the room. "This is Disco, AJ. Stand up."

AJ hops off his bed, absolutely bounding with excitement.

"Alright now, this move is a classic. This is the one Disco Broccoli does. Ready?"

AJ nodded and watched as Louis pointed his finger up to the ceiling then back down to his hip over and over. The younger boy couldn't stop laughing as he tried to mimic the move.

Watching Louis and AJ dance had Clementine doubled over guffawing. She'd never laughed so hard in her life; tears sprang to her eyes and her stomach hurt. She closed her eyes and clutched her abdomen, trying to remember how to breathe. She looked back to the boys after a second to find them doing a new move. The girl wiped the tears that were blurring the scene and looked on fondly. Louis got so into the new move that he whipped his afro wig off. AJ guffawed as it fell to the floor.

How could she have gotten so lucky? After all the bullshit she's been through, after literally almost dying , she's here. She's here laughing with her two favorite people in the world.

Louis settled down for a moment, pulled off the ridiculous sunglasses, and looked to Clementine. She gave him a loving look, and he glanced down, seemingly pondering something. When he met her eyes again, a mischievous grin had spread across his face. He stepped closer and extended a hand to her.

She looked puzzled as she stared at his outstretched hand. "Uh, what are you doing?"

"C'mon, Clem. We're not gonna leave you out." He grabbed both her hands.

"You want me to get up?"

"Yeah."

She shook her head. "Are you crazy? I can't."

"I thought we already established that I am crazy. And that you love it." Louis kneeled down in front of her and smiled softly at her. "Please? I got you. I promise."

"You can do it, Clem." AJ encouraged from behind the teen.

She silently stared into Louis' pleading eyes for a time before sighing. How could she say no to them? "Fine. I-I'll try."

Clementine couldn't help but match the adorable, elated grins that overtook the boys' features.

"But if you drop me, I'm beating you up."

"That's fair." Louis nodded and stood up. He took her hands again and gave her a reassuring smile before pulling her up against his chest.

She wobbled for a second and gripped onto his shoulders like her life depended on it. Once she regained some balance, she took one hand off of Louis, the other still resting on his shoulder.

"See? You're fine." Louis wrapped an arm around her waist to steady her and kissed her cheek. "Now, let's see them moves, Clem!" He shouted, taking the bedazzled sunglasses and putting them on her.

"I feel ridiculous." The girl snickered.

"Aw, come on now. You just need a lil' help to get started."

Louis repositioned himself behind her, keeping an arm around her waist. He took her hand and guided it into the air and back down to her hip. She couldn't stop the laughter from tumbling out. When he let go of her arm, she continued to do the motion herself. AJ ran up in front of her and copied her dance. Louis joined in as best he could while still holding her up.

"Woo! Get it AJ!"

AJ intensified his dancing at Louis' praise. He tried another one of the moves the older boy showed him. He called it 'the sprinkler'.  Clementine clapped her hands to the beat of the music playing in the background.

"Go, AJ! Go, AJ! Go, AJ!"

Louis joined in the chanting, swaying with Clementine as they watched AJ Disco dance his heart out.

A sharp knocking on the door startled the trio out of their Disco-high.

"Uh-oh. We're in trouble now." Louis remarked sarcastically.

He helped Clementine sit back on her bed before he walked over to the door and cracked it open to see Violet glaring back at him.

"The Hell are you guys doing? I can hear you from the other hall."

"We're going to funky-town, Vi. What's it sound like we're doing?"

The blonde rolled her eyes, trying to hide her desire to laugh. "Seriously?"

"Yup," He grinned at her and briefly looked behind him to Clem and AJ who had continued dancing. "And hey, we always got room for one more." His tone softened to be more inviting.

Violet looked down awkwardly and scratched the back of her neck. "I-It's ok. I don't-" A burst of hysterical laughter from the room behind them interrupted her denial.

Both she and Louis looked back into the room to find AJ wearing the discarded afro wig. It was way too big for him and nearly covered his eyes. Next to him, Clem was laying back on the bed absolutely overwhelmed with laughter.

"I can't- I can't breathe." She squeaked out rolling onto her side and clutching her stomach.

"Louis! I'm Disco Broccoli!" The little boy yelled triumphantly to the door.

Violet couldn't help but laugh along with them. She shrugged. "Fuck it." She pushed past Louis and entered the music-and-laughter-filled room.

"Oh, shit! Now it's a party!" Louis exclaimed and reentered the room. "Show us what you got, Vi."

~

The room roared with mirth and music for at least another hour before the energy started to die down. AJ got tired first. He eventually plopped onto his bed to take a breather but promptly passed out. Louis, to the amusement of the girls, concluded that AJ ‘boogied a little too hard’. Violet excused herself shortly after.

"I think I'm all partied out. For, like, the rest of the year." She said as Louis walked with her to the door.

"Me too." Clementine muttered from her bed, getting a chuckle out of Violet.

"Night guys." She gave a little wave before walking off to her room.

"See ya, Vi." He shut the door after her then trudged back into the room.

Louis groaned and flopped down face-forward beside Clementine on her bed."Ughh, I wore myself out..."

Clementine snorted and snuggled up closer to him. She patted his back. "You wore us all out, Lou." She placed a kiss on his cheek. "But thanks for making us laugh."

He opened an eye to peek at her and smiled. "Thanks for laughing."

[usgunn]

September 8, 2019

CLICK HERE for the September 8, 2019 playlist

1.    The Walker Brothers - “My Ship Is Comin’ In” (1965)

It may be a music nerd cliché to love Scott Walker, but...I love Scott Walker.  I’m sure Scott will show up in other forms on later ARBTR playlists, but this week I felt like kicking things off with some quirky, string-laden late 60′s productions, and this early Walker Brothers song felt like a great way to start.  For a primer on Scott, check out the documentary Scott Walker: 30th Century Man, which is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.  A little extra trivia: this song was produced by Ivor Raymonde, father of Cocteau Twins bassist Simon Raymonde.

2.    The Left Banke - “Desiree” (1968)

The Left Banke are best known for their hit “Walk Away Renee,” from their first record in 1967.  That record was primarily written and arranged by keyboardist Michael Brown, who at the time was a mere 17 years old.  Brown parted ways with the band before their second record, The Left Banke Too, was released, but this track is one of the two songs on that album that he wrote and played on, and in my opinion a highlight of a small but dense catalog.  

3.    The Move - “Beautiful Daughter” (1970)

OK, so technically this song was released in February 1970, but...close enough to stick with our late 60′s time period.  A really wonderful string arrangement here, presumably done by singer and songwriter Roy Wood, who would later start ELO with Jeff Lynne.

4.    The Electric Prunes - “The Adoration” (1968)

This song comes from the fourth album credited to The Electric Prunes, Release of an Oath, but is an Electric Prunes record in name only.  The band that recorded “I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night” was gone, and all that was left was producer David Hassinger and composer/arranger extraordinaire David Axelrod, who would go on to compose and produce several amazing, hip, jazzy records under his own name.  I’m a big Axelrod fan and I’m sure he’ll show up on a future playlist, but this early example of his forays into the “rock” world seemed to fit with this week’s opening theme.

5.    The Soundcarriers - “Signal Blue” (2014)

Getting out of the 60′s, but this UK band has had both David Axelrod and Scott Walker referenced by critics as likely musical inspirations, among other hip 60′s and 70′s acts.  This comes from their album Entropicalia, released on the great Ghost Box record label run by Julian House, a graphic designer whose work has graced almost every Broadcast and Stereolab record sleeve, and who similarly does all the design for Ghost Box’s releases.

6.    SAULT - “Don’t Waste My Time” (2019)

Literally know nothing about this band.  Try and Google them -- as of when this playlist was released, you will find virtually nothing.  All I can tell is that the production was done by Inflo, a UK-based producer that appears to have some connection to super-producer Brian Burton, aka Danger Mouse.  Kind of a sassy, ESG feel; just heard this this week and loved it.

7.    Shape of Broad Minds (feat. MF Doom) - “Let’s Go (Space Boogie)” (2007)

Hip-hop project led by prolific producer (and, I think, part-time Atlanta resident?) Jneiro Jarel.  This comes from a record, Craft of the Lost Art, released on Warp Records hip-hop offshoot Lex Records.  And of course, this song features the vocal stylings of rap legend (and, I think, also part-time Atlanta resident?) MF Doom.  Jarel and Doom later did a full-album collaboration, Key to the Kuffs, under the name JJ Doom.  I love the propulsive feel of this song, with a riff that feels like it’s leading somewhere but keeps repeating itself.

8.    George Smallwood - “You Know I Love You” (1980?)

I discovered this song on a compilation put out by the enigmatic DC-based label Peoples Potential Unlimited called Peoples Potential Family Album, compiling tracks the label had reissued on 12-inches.  PPU mainly mines obscure boogie-funk from the DC/Virginia area, from which blind singer-songwriter George Smallwood hailed.  I love the backing vocals on this song, they totally make it for me, along with the demo-like sparseness of the production.

9.    Sandra Wright - “I Come Running Back” (1974)

I’ve already forgotten how I discovered this, but something I saw this week led me to listen to this track, from the album Wounded Woman, recorded in 1974 for Stax subsidiary Truth Records but unreleased until 1989.  I’m glad I did--I instantly fell in love with everything about this song.

10.   Tim Maia - “Brother, Father, Sister and Mother” (1976)

Note the correct song title above - Spotify seems to have mucked it up.  Maia was a funk/soul guy in the 70′s in Brazil who was the subject of Luaka Bop’s compilation World Psychedelic Classics 4: Nobody Can Live Forever - The Existential Soul of Tim Maia, where I discovered this song.

11.    Daphni - “Sizzling (Radio Edit)” (2019)

Daphni is the name under which Caribou mastermind Dan Snaith releases his more dance-oriented material.  This song, released this past summer, is a remix of an obscure 1981 funk track called “Sizzlin Hot” by Paradise.  It cooks.

12.    "Blue” Gene Tyranny - “David Kopay (Portrait)” (1978)

Note the correct song title above.  Tyranny was an avant-garde piano player and composer who dabbled the “rock idiom,” for lack of a better term.  He was briefly in the Stooges, apparently.  This song is adventurous from a compositional perspective but also remarkably funky.  Extra trivia: this song’s namesake, David Kopay, was an NFL running back and the first NFL player to publicly acknowledge he was gay.  In addition to the many things to love about this song, the extended synth drone outro provides a palette cleanser for the set of songs that close the playlist this week.

13.    Will Johnson - “Every Single Day of Late” (2017)

Will Johnson was the leader of the late-great Centro-matic from Denton, TX, one of my all-time favorite bands.  He released a couple of sparse solo records while Centro-matic was active, but since that band folded in 2014 his solo records have incorporated more varied sounds and approaches to songwriting.  This song, from his most recent record Hatteras Night, a Good Luck Charm (although a new one is due this year) opens with a somewhat menacing electric guitar sound and never quite feels settled, adding junkyard percussion and backing vocals with some interesting atonal guitar work in the middle.

14.   Rollerskate Skinny - “Lunasa” (1993)

Really, really weird and fearless 90′s rock band from Dublin, Ireland that featured Jimi Shields, younger brother of Kevin Shields from My Bloody Valentine, on drums and other instruments.  This song really gives you no idea of what the album this comes from (Shoulder Voices, their debut) sounds like--I’m not sure any individual song on the record does.  All over the place in the best way possible.  I felt like the backing-vocal heavy nature of this song went well with the previous song and the next song, even if they otherwise sound like they have nothing to do with each other.

15.    Kelley Polar - “Chrysanthemum” (2007)

Polar was (is?) a Julliard-educated violinist with an affinity for dance music who made two great string-drenched dance records in the early 2000′s and then, as far as I can tell, disappeared.  This song actually barely features strings, and I therefore hesitated to include it, but I love the starkness of this track and the rhythm “breaths” that drive it.

16.    Psychic TV - “The Orchids” (1983)

I’m not a Psychic TV fan, and I don’t get much of what they do.  The band, formed by former Throbbing Gristle members Genesis P-Orridge and Peter “Sleazy” Christopherson, often trafficks in drone and noise music that just doesn’t do anything for me.  But this song is different.  I first heard this song when Califone covered it on their Roots & Crowns album in 2006, and I still love that version.  But the original has a strange naiveté to it, with its lo-fi production and overlapping, cut-and-paste vocals.

[doomandgloomfromthetomb]

Lou Reed - Hordern Pavilion, Sydney, Australia, August 1974

After our short trip to 1970 yesterday, the #SummerOfLou is going back ... to the future! 1974, anyway. A new album — Sally Can’t Dance. A new band — including one of Lou’s most constant companions for the remainder of the 70s, keyboardist Michael Fonfara. And of course, a new hairdo — bottle blonde! (“The guy who does my hair was trying for three or four years to give me this particular haircut. Finally, I said OK.”) And indeed, the tape we’re listening to today is the complete show from whence the famed Blondes Have More Fun bootleg came. (I’m getting conflicting reports as to the actual date, but it was August twentysomething). 

From what I can tell, 1974 is probably Lou’s most dissipated, decadent year, fueled by speed, booze, ego and legal problems. Tough times for our hero, but good times for us. This stuff is extremely entertaining and extremely trashy. His band no longer really sounds like they’re going for an Alice Cooper-type thing; instead, it’s clear they’ve been jamming Herbie Hancock’s Head Hunters. The robo-jazz-funk is strong, whether in a churning “Vicious” or a slow-burn “I’m Waiting For The Man.” Lou has completely abandoned his guitar, transforming into a bellowing/boogieing insectoid (you can check out some of his very singular moves in a surviving clip from the concert). Can this possibly be the same dude who four years earlier was jamming at Max’s? It possibly can! 

The 12-minute “Heroin” is maybe the show’s high-point — a gory/goth-y set piece that trades all of the original’s subtlety for pure grandiosity, with Lou hamming his way shamelessly to something weirdly brilliant. He still doesn’t know just where he’s going, but fuck it! He’s just going ... 

Lou Says (1974): I write very fast. The lyric part of it comes in one clump. I like to leave the lyrics for the very last possible minute and then just sit down and zap, go through them. Just take each song and put a lyric to it, put it away. Take the next song, put a lyric to it, put it away. Do the next song. And just not even look at them. I look at them later to check, because I know the basic thing is perfect, for me. Sometimes one or two words have to be changed. The real danger is that maybe I'll be tired... and my handwriting is so bad... Dorothy Parker — now if she wrote a song, watch out! That would be something else because she was right on target. I mean, just a little short story about a guy and his wife, where he's reading the newspaper and she's setting the table and they've got nothing to talk about — that story's unbelievable, so painful sometimes you just have to put her away or she'll drive you through the wall.

[brendanmccahey]

Choosing Your First Dance

Choosing your First Dance on Your Wedding Day

Now that, the wedding plans are in activity, you have decided to get wed and the wedding day is on the horizon, yet you need to finalise the first dance. You both got together when a specific track was playing behind-the-scenes, good for you, however, you could be a pair that merely do not have a track. The first dance for every bride and groom is an iconic moment. It is a really different experience for each couple to select one, some may find it simpler than others and also hey presto you're done! That is not the same for everyone. It isn't the easiest of tasks to pick the ideal one that you both will certainly love. There are numerous different tune selections out there and you desire and require it to be appropriate! Whether you select something enchanting, or you might go with a song that you can actually dance to, picking the best song really is essential. Fear not, it is all about both of you taking pleasure in yourselves as well as having the moment of your lives! After all, it is your wedding event! Below are some valuable tips to aid you pick your first dance track.

1. Involve each other.

Picking the initial song needs to be chosen together. You both need to be satisfied with it and need to be able to dance to it also. Spend some time to pay attention to a few of your favourite tracks and choose it this way. It would certainly be fantastic if you both had comparable preferences in music as it would make selecting the track a lot less complicated.

 2. Ask your band or DJ for recommendations

Your Wedding band or DJ would be an excellent resource for First Dance suggestions as they more than likely have heard hundreds also hundreds of tracks. If you merely ask for guidance, they will certainly be able to help.

 3. The Helpless Romantics

The timeless first dance. The verses of a song are equally as important as the tune and it should be charming, poetic, and emotional. Popular song choices include "Say You Won't Go" by James Arthur, "All of Me" by John Legend, as well as "You are so Beautiful" by Joe Cocker and of course lots of choices from Ed Sheeran.

 4. Guarantee the track isn't too long.

It is an expected practice at most weddings, so the first dance song needs to no longer than 2/3 minutes long. It should not drag on and you must enjoy it while it lasts.

5. It must be functional.

Can your band sing the tune that you have selected? Although a lot of wedding event bands will certainly learn your option of first dance, it is likewise important to take into consideration that not all songs will certainly match the band to recreate. For example, if you choose a song with a female singer and also it has a huge production, then a 4 piece male band could not be appropriate to duplicate it.

 Inquire if they can they learn the lyrics for you if this is your wish. If they cannot then the band can usually play the recorded version over their PA system. Don't be disheartened, several musicians as well as vocalists would be honoured to sing your special song for you, and this makes it a lot more individual for your wedding.

 6. Can you dance to it?

You may be the type of pair that are full of confidence on the dancefloor as well as have a truly excellent boogie, but not everyone resembles that. You need to prepare a routine and even get some dance lessons if they are required. The song ought to be a little upbeat something you can possibly move to and wow all your visitors. If you select a traditional slow-moving track this is great too. Favourite selections could be "the time of my life" from dirty dancing, "truly madly deeply" by Savage Garden, "perfect" by Ed Sheeran, and "thinking out loud" by Ed Sheeran.

7. The Smooth Operators

You may be affectionate individuals also in public and you are not terrified to strut your stuff. You appreciate having all eyes on you. You might want to pick a sexy tune that you are able to move and groove to. Some songs like "she keeps me warm" by Mary Lambert, "a thousand years" by Christina Perri, as well as "at last" by Etta James.

 Final thoughts on the first Dance

You have stepped down the aisle, declared your pledges "till death do us part" and you plan to enjoy your special day to the maximum. It is entirely OK to not be in love with the track, it does not need to be the ideal one as soon as you are both pleased that's all the matters. It is your big day besides!

 Check Out Our Spotify Playlist of First Dances

For more information on The Brendan McCahey Band visit our website at www.brendanmccahey.com

[glumvillain]

GlumReviews #1

     Todays first “Old New Album” is from Mississippi-born singer, guitarist and harmonica player, Howlin Wolf. With a unique and sometimes haunting vocal style, Howlin Wolf could be considered a progenitor of the screamo grunge era of the early 90s.  This man didn’t come to croon a tune into your ear about a love lost--no. He came to play some damn blues and howl into the night. On my first ever listen thru I was transported to an era of smoky blues clubs and sweltering afternoons sitting on the porch, waiting for a pissed off lover to come back home.

     And if you’re asking yourself if this is my first time doing this, then that answer is yes, so bear with me, as we dive into Howlin Wolf’s first compilation album titled “Moanin’ in the Moonlight” a collection of a decade’s work (1951-1959), and a perfect first album for nascent Blues fans who would like a nice jumping off point to blues appreciation.

We begin with Track 1:

     1.Moanin at Midnight

We enter with the trademark “howls” as harmonica and guitar pickin’ chug us along into an upbeat little jam about nothing in particular, to an amateur such as myself this song appears to me as just a nice little jam to showcase what you’re in for with the rest of the album, I’ll refrain from calling this one of the weaker songs on the album, it does have the toe tapping jaunt of a good blues track, and its only the beginning of a journey into the life of a bluesman beginning his rise to blues stardom in Chicago.

       2. How Many More Years

Proto-rock at its finest, with crunchy guitar pickin’, and rolling blues piano, by the time HW croaks in his throaty vocals with “How many more years have I got to let you dog me around/ I’d soon rather be sleeping six feet in the ground”, you know this is what you came to listen to, real blues, a story about a man being treated wrongly by his lover. Shame. When you know you’re not being given the best you can get, having no choice but to retire to separate quarters of the house to salvage peace. Oh and if anybody asks about Ol’ Howlin’ Wolf, just tell ‘em he walked out on ya

          3. Smokestack Lightnin’

This is it. Not gonna bury the lead here, this is why you put on this album, if there was ever any song that made a statement about why the singer is named “Howlin’ Wolf” this is it, a 3 minute blistering ballad of a man wailing his soul out. “Why don’t you hear me cry” he wails into the night, as harmonicas pickup the groove, you cant help but dance a little while this guy is just...being emo essentially, but its GOOD emo music. And all respect to where its due, this is just good fucking music, and it only exists to amplify emotion. All captured in this track here, the heartbreaks and ordeals of another lost lover. Don’t skip this track.

     4. Baby How Long

Winding down into some fine driving music if I say so myself, leaving the emo trail behind a bit, a nice upbeat tune about waiting. Awakened to his lover having just left him, Ol’ Howler only does his best work on days like this, another vocal delight on the album and his harmonica work is not to be underestimated either, both skills on beautiful display as he wails “Well when you leave home/ You can call me on your phone”. 

     5. No Place to Go (You Gonna Wreck My Life)

Leaning a little more RnB here, Howlin’ Wolf begins with a clean vocal that gives way to his croaks, and I gotta say I’m reminded of the clean/heavy switch off with grunge bands and later emo screamo bands, just in a blues format. Very chill song about the inner thoughts of another down and out day, lamenting the time spent with someone whose now a stranger to you. Possibly how one has wasted their best years with someone “Now I’m old and gray, got no place to go”, this is a leaving song, this is when he packed his bags, headed into a great unknown.     

     6. All Night Boogie (All Night Long)

Ok put out your cigarettes and get on the dancefloor, you could call this the song he played after Track 5′s scenario at his local venue, while an upbeat danceable tune we stay on the topic of scorned lovers. Just another worrisome bluesman wondering where his woman is all hours of the night, but instead of wailing his heart out on this one, we get some great harmonica work, if you like harmonica, this is the jam for you, sometimes the ol’ mouth harp can convey emotions better than “I cried, I cried, I cried, all day long”

      7. Evil (Is Goin On)

Another benchmark in the album as we get deeper into these soulful RnB sounds, a little ballad about a man who likes to visit your woman when you’re away from home. Bass led and vocal heavy, this is just another notch in HW’s belt for his many styles, if you started from track 1, you could essentially call that bare bones as we progress thru the compilation (spanning 10 years as mentioned before), you can really chart progress of an artist and recording quality, another track you shouldn’t skip. A highlight of this track is definitely that ragtime piano.

          8. I’m Leavin’ You

Bet you can’t guess what this songs about. Well if you can’t then it’s just another day in the life of Howlin’ Wolf as he explains to his woman that one day will be the day he finally packs it up. “meanest woman I ever seen/ No matter how I try to treat you right/ Still you’s a mean little thing” he sings to a rambling blues chord progression-- which it’s worth noting that HW has penned several blues standards and if you’re interested in the history I advise you to check out the wikipedia article. Nothing relatively noteworthy in this track but it keeps the album energy at a moderate pace and never once are you taken out of that momentum once it starts.

          9. Moanin’ for my Baby

Step back into that swelterin’ blues bar with me for a sec because we got more Howlin’ to do. The soulful blues tracks give way to the OG sound of the first few tracks that started the compilation, a repetitive toe tappin blues jam session. I sense gospel singing that slowly gets bent into blues. The light giving way to dark, pure rivers running into muddy water swamps. Ramblin’ man blues, that damn Howl is just poetry, an instrument unto itself, apart from the singing, apart from his guitar work, and apart from his harmonica, his voice becomes the perfect tool to not only sing but to emote the blues in dissonant wails and vibratos.

     10. I Asked Her For Water

“I asked her for water/ She brought me gasoline“

--ok come on wouldn’t that lyric fit just as well before the breakdown drops from any number of your favorite Emo era bands? 

nearing the end of this journey, we find that the theme visited heavily in this album is the theme of home and homelessness, he has no sense of home and anywhere he has found a home...isn’t a big fan of his presence. His lady is gone all night when he’s home, wants him gone when she’s home, and whenever he’s gone from home, she’s worried about what he’s up to, and vice versa. NOT to mention, that whenever he’s gone from home, apparently there’s some guy waiting for men to leave their women alone so he can entertain them. What a fucking world. 

     11. Forty Four

I get a real gospel/pop vibe from this, mixed with a little marching band. The scenario set is a pretty neat little story about once again, being away from home, the pawning of possessions and a need for a direction to travel to. I wanna be vocal and say that if I truly believed a song was worth skipping I would say it, and so far no track has lost my interest, with an average song time of about 3 minutes each track this is a nice slice of blues, each with a different bend to the sound, nothing is duplicated in this journey, the theme is essential and it really does set up that perfect bluesman story, minus the crossroads.

     12. Somebody In My Home

We made it. You made it. And for that, I thank you.

wrapping up this first of what I hope is many reviews to come is this sludgy blues ditty and while it appears as just another run-of-the-mill blues song -- This is what I’ll have to say is his most lyrically strong song in this entire album “Colors dont bind, oh no/ What do they know? They speak falsely”

It feels as if this is him personally sitting down in a chair across from you and just cutting straight to the chase about life, like if he had to boil everything down into one nugget of wisdom to impart, then this would be it. A personal chat from a man who was born in 1910. A slice of history told thru music.

In Conclusion:

“Moanin’ in the Moonlight”, clocking in at around 30 minutes, an easy choice to make if you’re looking for a nice introduction into blues, and I’ve said it before but a large takeaway from this album is SEVERAL styles of blues being presented here and none of it gets repetitive, I am sure guitar beginners could become some decent blues pickers studying the techniques on display here as well.

rating system [subject to change]

1-bad

5-good

The rating system for now is kinda arbitrary as there is nothing to base it off of until I’ve made other reviews to weight it against, but based purely on the album runtime and the contents of the album I’ll give it:

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

I was gonna go with 3, but with the help of Spotify (not an ad), it led me down the rabbit hole of some great blues guitarists as well. Gave it a little bump for being a beginners blues album.