#on air island lp

[verycharismaticdragon]

On Air Island - chapter 1 - part 2

[prev] - [story so far] - [next]

[PLAYER] donated 20 Small Spade: Come on, Hanse, I'm rooting for you!

(the transcript is available below the poll, under keep reading)

Transcript legend:

Character speaking: dialogue line

regular chat message Donation: donation message

available donation messages

———— ———— ————

Hanse: Ugh......! Can't believe that I got last place......

[player] donated 20 Small Spade: Come on, Hanse, I'm rooting for you!

Hanse: Hello, [player]! Thank you for your support and for leaving an encouraging message.

Rolling: Wow artofhan: Woah

Hanse: Ah... It's really amazing. Just a moment ago, I felt like I was falling off a cliff.

hanspor: *cries* *cries* 1pmhanse: We'll protect Hanse at all cost...

Hanse: I'd like to thank everyone who is coming and supporting me!

WALKOAI: You did a great job!!!

Hanse: Despite showing various shortcomings and flaws, I'll do my best until the very end.

deeping: Still, it's the first time he had done something like this, but Hanse is doing well without showing too much nervousness.... HeIsHot: Angel Hanse, I love you! CrazyGuy: You guys are disgusting. License: It's so heartwarming to see someone supporting him.

Hanse: Well, still, being last place is embarrassing......

DUCKACOON: Now, let your cutie mascot DUCKACOON announce the result!

RaMe: ? MyBank: cute? kakadodo: Why is it DUCKACOON? CatProf: Ah this question again: who named it?

DUCKACOON: For those who are in the top ranks here is the guide from Haggai...

otomelov: Mr.Fact Glimmer: Mr.Fact danchu1: Narinari honari! hanseya: Obvious or possible? eggrolly: ˪ ˪ Obviously, it comes with firepower.

DUCKACOON: Moreover, you can also enjoy a really good meal quack.

Believe: I'll take first place anyway. onehanse: I hope it's Honari. She's close to Hanse. BeASolo: ? Who cares? ReVeLub2: I voted for the first researcher I saw today,,,

Mr.Fact: As expected from Mr. Fact! The first place was already secured in advance, wasn't it?

MyChick: Pact type form crazy~ Princess: Mr.Fact! Mr.Fact! Mr.Fact! Mr.Fact! Melody23: Why are you plastering here; go to his broadcast! Know_all donated 15 Amazing Clover: For those who don't know Mr.Fact aka Go Fact Know_all donated 5 Ordinary Clover: He is spreading fact and gossiping every single day, and it's interesting

Mr.Fact: Let's see if it's not impressive, I will sue the broadcasting company.

PinkRisk: Aaah! dumdum: I dislike seeing people intentionally provoke for attention during broadcasts. MyIsland: Mr. Fact: intentionally provoking is also a skill MyMaster donated 20 Touching Heart: Shishinao and Mr. Fact are dissing each other every day and it's funny how they do the same thing now

Honari: Thank you so much for the support, my glitters!❤

LoveFact: Nari ㅠ GuSa: Congrats on the 2nd place! ThisFact: I really like their debut song! Know_all donated 20 Touching Heart: Let's go to the next explaination! Honari is LIGHT BOMB's main dancer! Know_all donated 15 Ordinary Clover: Her fandom name is Sparkler!

Honari: We'll keep working hard and get to the first place.

MyKitten: TB is such a hit BeASolo: Please support Hanse too!! HSbell: But what is TB? oc'mon: Nari also tried hard, so please refrain from making provocative remarks. Know_all donated 20 Amazing Spade: There was a bit scandal about their past but I dunno

Hanse: The result for the 1st day settlement is! Mr. Fact in the 1st place and Honari for 2nd place!

RealFact: TB is Twilight Bomb, LIGHT BOMB's debut song PinkRisk: You can't compare it to A NINE's 17 urfuture: Let's support her! She is just 20 and the youngest among the cast members!

How did Mr.Fact get first place?

What did Honari do?!!

(Voice) Hanse, don't be discouraged!

[alexanderwales]

The Witness and The Mountain

Since The Witness is a game that's impossible to really play twice (it's about learning and observation, and the save game is inside your brain), I sometimes watch Let's Plays of it for that vicarious thrill. You get to watch people figure things out! You get to see them make assumptions about how the rules work, and watch them have epiphanies!

Spoilers for The Witness follow.

Unfortunately, a lot of these people simply do not get what the game was going for. That's fine, that's how art is sometimes, and most LPs are streamed by people who are, at the very least, aware of their audience and filling air (or at worst, engaging with chat and only half paying attention).

There is, in particular, The Mountain. Through the whole game you've been completing different areas, lighting up lasers that shine up to the mountain peak, and eventually you make your way up there, and there's a beautiful puzzle that requires changing perspectives, and after that you're on your way down into the bowels of the Mountain, which it turns out contains an enormous modernist facility. There are bits and pieces of design laying around, models and diagrams showing someone going through the work of making all the things you've seen around the island.

It's not just the environment that's different, the puzzles are too. And in particular, there are a few series of puzzles that I've seen many many people think are just the stupidest trolliest shit. These are the panels that are obscured by black bars, the ones with flashing colors, the ones that are at an uncomfortable angle, the ones that twist and turn when you try to do them.

Now, is this trolly shit? Yes, absolutely. But it also has a point.

The Mountain is about constraints, and design, and how we have to work within the limits of a medium, how what was shown to you throughout the whole game was limited. The puzzles of the Mountain are in one way or another about breaking outside of the constraints, showing you the limits of the puzzle grids, all the things that weren't done. They are, in some sense, just pointing out scope and how it works.

This is the only place in the game where there are puzzles that affect each other. It's the only place where you have two lines on the same grid. It violates the rules that the game has set up, rules that you probably didn't ever think about, in the same way that you've come across a lot of rules you didn't think about in this game (and this is one of the main experiences before The Mountain, being challenged on what you think you know).

And is it irritating to have to solve a puzzle that's off-centered? That you can't see that well? That's spinning in place? Yes. But it's that way for a reason.

What's crazy to me is that I've seen so many people say "how did this make it past QA" or "this is the dumb shit you do when you're first making a game", as though it was a mistake, as though Jonathan Blow had just run out of ideas and was trying to pad the game. Or they'll say "why would you do this to me" and then not actually think about why.

The thing about The Witness is that especially in The Mountain, it's challenging game design and not taking it as gospel, and it's doing this in what I think is an interesting way. But sometimes the people playing it are so used to "good" game design and have had so many brushes with "bad" game design that they just don't even stop to question it.

And I know, I know, I'm saying that it's Bad on Purpose ... but it is! The whole area has a claustrophobic feeling to its puzzles, like you can feel yourself straining against them, and it's really wonderfully thematic, especially as the final section of the game. And I wish that I could sit down with the people playing it and have a conversation about it, what the game is trying to express, how gamers should also have reading comprehension.

I can absolutely understand not liking that section of the game. I think it's easy to get the point of what it's doing and say "yeah, yeah, I get it, but do I need to play these jank puzzles, isn't it enough to comprehend the gimmick?" Personally, I don't think it is, but that's because I have an appreciation for the artsy fartsy stuff. And this is aggressively artsy, in a way that I think is extremely rare in games, particularly because it approaches its artistry from the game mechanic/design perspective rather than the aesthetics/narrative/tone side of things.

[dont-blame-it-on-the-kids]

Legacy of Steel

Fancomic Draft: Ang 

its not complete and idk how its gonna look in tumblr text post but i have plotted out the entirety of the comic.

gonna be going through and adding dialogue and more details as i work on it

i wont be able to do any of the actual drawings but hopefully if i can get a detailed script then one day i'll be able to do the comic / find someone willing to work with me lmao

Synopsis:

With Republic City changing faster than ever, at almost 60 years old Chief Lin Beifong is ready to step down and find a worthy successor. But her plans are derailed when a series of violent attacks hit the city, carried out by a mysterious group using advanced spirit energy weapons. As Lin hunts down this new threat, she must navigate the delicate balance between her duty to the city, the weight of her history, and the search for someone to continue her legacy. But this final battle may demand more from her than she ever expected.

Examples of cover and Splash pages. 

Front Cover Art with Title  

Lin, Mako, Korra, and a shadowed/masked figure in foreground, the city behind them split between as it is now - behind Lin - and how it was when Lin was younger (in sepia) - behind the shadowed/masked figure - 

Legend of Korra Splash Page 

(credit: ruins of the empire part 1)

Page Turn

Intro Art 

Kya healing Lin they’re sitting on the couch in their home 

(credit: Toph Beifong’s MetalBending Academy)

All the Splash Pages use this cream and green theme

Legend of Korra Title page w/ credits 

(credit: ruins of the empire part 1)

Page Turn

Legend of Korra/Avatar the Last Airbender legal / copyright page

(credit: ruins of the empire part 1)

Cover art Clear Image 

Page Turn

Scenes:

Scene - Past ATI

Flashback to Lin and Tenzin training as children about 5 and 6 years old with grown up Aang,Sokka and Suki.

LP 1 Lin at 5 and Tenzin at 6 in the garden on Air Temple Island. They are sparring with each other Lin using her EarthBending Tenzin his AirBending. Aang stands as referee and coach. Few panels of action shots of the kids with Aang’s advice in quote bubbles for each kid. 

RP 1 Sokka comments on how Tenzin is digging his heels in and taking more of the earth stances while airbending while Lin took more of the air stances and flips while earthbending Suki comments that Lin got her element first so Tenzin tagged along to some of her training. 

Page Turn

 LP 2 shots of Lin and Tenzin being trained with Fans by Suki. Tenzin uses the fans to assist his airbending and knocks Lin over. 

RP 2 Sokka teaches Lin and Tenzin how to sword fight. He has a No Bending Rule after what happened with Suki’s lesson. 

Scene - Present day

Lin wakes up after a fight gone wrong with the new gang “I am married to a healer you know?” When mako insists on her getting checked out

Page Turn

LP 1 Present day we see a few injured officers sitting down waiting for the medical team to arrive to help the wounded. Mako has taken control of the scene helping the wounded and ordering those who can to document the scene and collect evidence. 

RP 1 Lin is down on the floor of the warehouse they got ambushed at, she wakes and moves to sit up, hand to her head. Mako is standing next to her upon seeing her starting to sit up. 

Mako: (worried) “You should sit and wait for medical Chief, you took a pretty hard hit just now.”

Lin: (dismissive) “I am married to a healer, you know?” 

Mako: “You sure you can make it home with that hit? This gang hits rough.” 

Lin: (muttering to herself) “They’re not stronger, I’m just slowing down.”  

Page Turn

LP 2 Lin: (getting to her feet) “Alright Team let's work on recovering what we can-” (see’s they’re already doing everything by the book.) 

Mako: “already on it Chief, the medical team is on the way and we’re collecting evidence that's headed to HQ now.” 

Lin: (directed at Mako) “Good work detective.” 

Scene - Later that Night

Lin at home in pajamas as Kya heals her and she complains about being too old for this.

RP 2  we see Lin and Kya II sitting on the couch in their home Lin is in a white tank top and green pajama pants sitting leaning forwards with her elbows on her thighs holding a mug of tea while Kya II is sitting on the couch next to her with her legs under her healing Lins injured shoulder. We see Kya II’s mug of tea on the coffee table in front of them and the matching top of Lin’s pajama set next to it. (SCAR HC GO CRAZY YESSS)

Lin (grumbLing): “I’m too old for this… I should’ve been done with these street fights years ago.”

Kya (teasing): “Too old, huh? Linny, You’ve been saying that for years, but somehow, you always end up right back in the thick of it.”

Lin: “This time, it feels different. I am getting too old for this, Kya. I’m slowing the team down.”

Page Turn

LP 2 Kya: (stopping the spot healing and moving to wrap her hands over Lin’s shoulder, leaning to kiss Lin's cheek.) “Maybe you just need to stop trying to carry the entire city alone.”

Lin: (contemplating as she pulls her pajama top on) “Yeah, maybe it’s time I start thinking about a replacement…”

RP 2 We have a final shot of Lin and Kya cuddling on the couch listening to a radio show sipping their tea as they relax. 

Scene - Lin’s Office The Next Morning

Page Turn

  LP 1 we see Lin going over the investigation paperwork

RP 1 we see the retirement paperwork on her desk kinda buried and not filled out, She’s about to pick up the blank paperwork when she’s interrupted by an officer with reports on the gang activity 

Scene - On the Streets

Page Turn

Lin and mako with a team on the trail of the bad guys short fight

LP 1 we see Lin and mako assembLing a team of officers and raid the location. 

RP 1 There is a short fight and they end up arresting 2 or 3 of the goons. 

Goon 1 (smirking as he’s pinned): “You’re too late. We’ve got something bigger planned. You think Amon’s gloves were bad? We’ve got weapons that’ll make those look like toys.”

Scene - Past Metal 

Page Turn

LP 1 we see Lin at 7 years old metalbending training with Toph 

Scene - Present RCPD

RP 1 We return to the present and see Mako and another detective in an interrogation room with the captured Goon

Page Turn

LP 2 .  goon reveaLing the group The Echoes were once benders who feel the rcpd didnt handle amon and kuvira correctly  

Goon (laughing, cuffed to the table): “There’s an army out there, and they all want Republic City. You can’t stop it.” 

RP 2 Lin behind the glass observing the interrogation going over the evidence files. Goon just saying basic take over the city, you cant stop progress, the RCPD is useless comparing them to book 1 

Scene - The Next Night Mako’s Apartment

Page Turn

Lin and Kya having dinner with Mako and Rina with the twins - twins birthday. Kya loves being a Gran Gran and the twins call Lin Grammy Chief.

LP 1 we see Lin and Kya in civilian clothes sitting at the table in Mako’s home, his wife, Rina, sits next to him as two seven year old twins (a boy and a girl, San and Moriko) excitedly talk to Lin and Kya about their school and fire bending practice. 

Moriko: (excitedly as she stands beside the table to show off her stances) “Grammy Chief! I was moved into the advanced bending classes!”

Lin: (encouraging) “Good work Rookie, you’re almost old enough to join a junior team.” (glances at Mako for his opinion)

Mako: “We’ve been considering allowing her to sign up or not when the time comes. Still got some rough memories of that place.”  

RP 1 San: (Sitting next to Kya) “Gran Gran my teacher wants my painting project to go up on his wall with the previous best in class works!” 

Kya: (smiLing wide) “That's amazing San, it's a big honor indeed.” 

Rina: “He needs to keep his math grade up before we allow the painting to go on display.” 

San: (pouting) “I know mamma, I'm trying.” 

Page Turn

LP 2 once the kids are settled down Lin speaks with Mako about the past and possibly allowing Moriko to sign up for the jr league 

Scene - Past Probending Jr

RP 2 flashback we see Lin at 12 years old on the probending stage with her team behind her, shes a part of a junior probending league run by the schools as a sports activity. Her team The Flying Boars is up against the Lucking Lightning Strikes. 

Past Young Lin (grunting as she throws a powerful earthbending strike): “You’ll have to do better than that!”

Past Young Zolt (smirking, blocking the attack with a fire kick): “I’m just getting started, Beifong.”

Page Turn

LP 3 we see the fight ensue ending with Lin knocking zolt off the back of the platform and her team winning the match 

Scene - Present Mako’s Apartment 

RP 3 We end the scene with Mako agreeing to think about it and Lin and Kya bidding the family farewell as they leave for the night

Scene - RCPD the Next Afternoon

Page Turn

LP 1 another tip leads to a dead end Tenzin is in the office when Lin gets back

RP 1 Lin and Tenzin talk about her possibly retiring (Kya II wanted him to talk to her)

Scene - Past Lin’s Career

Page Turn

Flashback montage Lin’s first few years on the force, rising the ranks maybe 6-10 scene ideas from beat cop to getting her chief badge showing growth timeLine / present day Lin’s in her office looking over old news articles and her retirement paperwork - mako interrupts with a fresh lead

Big art Scene across both pages. We start off LP 1 Bookend with Full body 18 year old Lin in her first uniform standing at attention no scars placed floating over the edge of the enclosed scenes

(with in framed comic all blending into each other)

Top Left LP 18 yr - beat cop with mentor officer 

Bottom Left LP 20 yr - first arrest of bad guy 

Top Right LP 22 yr - scar care with Tenzin and katara 

Bottom Rright LP 30 yr - taking the role of chief 

Top Left RP 40 yr - her and saikhan arresting/fighting zolt 

Bottom Middle RP 50 yr - the swinging from and the winner is 

Top Right RP 54 yr - Lin in the city fighting Kuvira Mech 

RP 1 Bookend with Full body 58 year old Lin in her Chief uniform. Her arms are at her side and though she's standing tall still she is much older with scars

Scene - Present Lin’s Office, a few days later

Page Turn

LP 2 we see Lin present day in her office going over old Articles about her career, she appears to be cleaning out/organizing her desk with her retirement paperwork now filled out on the desk next to her. 

RP 2 Mako comes into the office with a fresh lead on the new gang location. We see him notice the retirement paperwork but decides to not mention anything right now. 

Lin: “You take the lead on this one Detective, I have business tonight. Think you can handle this one without me?” 

Mako: (nodding) “Yes Chief, can I take Korra and the team on the investigation?”

Lin: “If you feel they’re the right team for the job, don’t let Bolin and Korra destroy evidence. I want a full report in the morning.” 

Scene - Team Investigation 

Page Turn

Investigation decrepit buildings downtown with Korra and team this time find evidence of how they’re making their weapons

Scene - At Saikhan’s

Page Turn

Lin having dinner at Saikhans talking about her possible retirement and who could step up in her place. Saikhan mentions he’s already held that position and he’s more than happy to “leave it to the kids” and support a new chief Lin picks.

Saikhan: “I’ve held that position before. Trust me, I’m more than happy to leave it to the kids.” 

Lin: “Are you sure? There's time for you to think it over.”

Saikhan: “I’m sure, Lin. If it’s time, then it’s time for the next generation to take a shot at it. Maybe Mako would be good to step in, if you feel he’ll be ready.”

Page Turn

LP2 Lin and Akira talking about getting old Akira mentions her newest grandson

RP 2 Taiyo excitedly talking about the news he's been keeping up with cuz he wants to be chief one day

Scene - RCPD, a few days later 

Page Turn

LP 1 Lin frustrated at dead ends when they get a tip about a location

RP 1 officers raid the location

Page Turn

LP 2 Lin’s shocked she thought Zolt had been killed by Amon

RP 2 a fight ensues and Zolt and his gang escape with the powerful spirit energy weapons.

Scene - Past w/ Zolt 

Page Turn

LP 1 Flashback scenes on Lin and Zolt school bullying

RP 1 flashback butting heads as they rise in the ranks of cop and criminal

Scene - Present day Zolt and Gang 

Page Turn

LP 2 zolt and his team in the underground hub

RP 2 zolt preparing for the final stage

Scene - Lin’s Office a few days later

Page Turn

LP 1 Lin talks to Mako about her stepping down after the investigation into Zolt is over and him possibly taking over as chief. 

RP 1 Lin offers mako the position of Chief 

Page Turn

LP 2 Mako expresses that he couldn’t picture the RCPD without her and he wasn’t sure he was the right fit for Chief.

Mako: “I’m not sure Chief, this place won’t be the same without you in this position.”

Lin: “Mako, RCPD was standing long before I was Chief and It’ll keep standing long after I retire. I want you to think about taking up the position, I trust you’ll make the city proud.” 

RP 2 korra interrupts with a lead

Scene - The Echoes’ Base

Page Turn

LP 1 Tracking down the lead

RP 1 fight ensues when they find the main operation hub/warehouse

Page Turn

LP 2 fight goes south Zolt and the avatar team end up fighting on the street.

RP 2 Team on Zolt but his weapons are long range and deal a heavy energy blow

Page Turn

LP 3 Mako’s hurt, bolin is down, tanzin is on his way, Asami and Opal trying to figure out how to stop the spirit energy whip

RP 3 Lin uses her metal bending to protect korra from a harsh blow

Page Turn

LP 4 korra gets the opening to take zolt down. As Lin gets hit with the spirit lightning whip

RP 4 korra makes the arrest of Zolt, while Lin does down and doesn't get back up

Scene - Past, Amon

Page Turn

Flashback Lin in Amon’s holding cell beat up without her bending

LP 1 We see Lin in her white tank top and grey uniform pants in a dark cell, her armor discarded in the cell with her, clearly been injured (she's got a bruised eye, a bloody nose, her leg is sitting at an awkward angle at the knee) and she is in pain, she tries to bend her armor and it remains cold and unmoving on the floor 

RP 1 Amon steps into the cell. Lin tries to stab him with the knife from her armor. He bloodbends her before she can land the blow, 

Amon: (bloodbending Lin) “Defying me is pointless Chief Beifong. Tell me where the airbenders are.”  

Lin: (in pain) “I won’t let you hurt those kids.”

Amon: (intensifying the bloodhold to make Lin cry out) “And just how do you plan to stop me from this cell Chief Beifong?”

Amon: “Where are my airbenders?”

Scene - Present fight ends 

Page Turn

LP 1 fight being over mako and bolin are standing up,

RP 1 korra is trying to heal Lin whos not moving on the ground.

Page Turn

LP 2 Tenzin comes up joining the fight too late as officers arrest Zolt and his goons

RP 2 Korra desperately still trying to save Lin as the medical team comes up to the scene

Scene - a few days later Lin’s Funeral

Page Turn

LP 1 Kya II and Saikhan speaking at Lin's funeral

RP 1 Crowd Shot of the family, friends, and officers attending

Page Turn

Graveside everyone takes their turn to throw in the first handfuls of dirt

LP 2  Kya II, Bumi II and Suyin, Tenzin and kids, Korra and Asami

RP 2 - Mako, Rina and twins, Saikhan and Akira 

Scene - A few months later Mako’s ceremony

Page Turn

LP 1 Mako getting the Chief badge ceremony

RP 1 Crowd Shot of the family, friends, and officers attending

Scene - Team Avatar Talk, Avatar Park

Page Turn

LP team avatar talk

RP Full page img - Team Avatar standing at Lin's statue in avatar park

Page Turn

Splash Page Filler 

LP

Credits and Thanks

RP Lin’s statue at Avatar park but this time it's snowy and Tenzin and Saikhan stand looking up at the statue. 

Credits and thanks under artwork kinda like this  

(credit: Imbalance part 1)

Page Turn

Pg LP back of Last Page

Outro Art Page

LP Lin and Tenzin as kids training with Toph 

(credit: Toph Beifong’s MetalBending Academy)

Back cover Art / Summary 

Lin and the Avatar Team behind her kinda like the screenshot of the team celebrating and shes smirking in the foreground 

(credit: Toph Beifong’s MetalBending Academy)

NOTES: 

Set in 178 Ag, four years after show end

New Gang and Plan: 

The Echoes are a large group of people in RC who are UPSET because they had their element taken from them by Amon, or were displaced by the Vines, or displaced by Kuvira. Zolt and his gang have developed weapons inspired by both Amon’s gauntlets and Kuvira’s Mech. Using the Spirit Vines they can infuse weapons with spirit energy and use them as an additional hard shocking blow to already strong weapons. Zolt himself has Two Whips that work like longer, more flexible versions of Amon’s Lieutenant kali sticks. They pack about 60 times more punch too. The group's goal is to take over the city and destroy the current system they feel did not protect them. 

Characters and Ages:

Lin Beifong - 58

Kya II - 62

Saikhan - 55 (assumed)

Zolt - 59

Tenzin - 59

Korra - 25

Asami - 26

Mako - 26

BoLin - 24

Opal - 24 (assumed)

Pema - 43

Jinora - 18

Ikki - 15

Meelo - 13

Rohan - 8

Original Characters:

Mako’s family 

Rina - 28

San - 7

Moriko - 7

Saikhan’s Family 

Akira - 52

Rei - 32

Emi - 28

Eiko - 27

Haru - 23

Taiyo - 14

Links:

[varteeny1234]

Why You Should Watch Marma1ade!

All about my favorite MCYTer :D

Introduction

Marma1ade is a small Minecraft Youtuber, currently with about 8.6k subscribers, and only 75* videos. She doesn't have a lot of series, but she has been uploading regularly for about two years now! Most of her videos are single-player, but she is a part of the Skyblock Kingdoms SMP (link to her channel playlist) and has been a part of two collaborative videos, one a hardcore luckyblock video (her video) with AnimusJ (his video) and one with AvidMC (on his channel). She does not, as of currently, have any inter-series lore or storytelling, so you don't need to worry about having to catch up on any of that.

*the number of videos is listed as 80, but only 75 of them are full-length, 5 are yt shorts

Video/Editing Style

She has chill, relatively slow-paced videos. She doesn't yell loudly, narrating her videos in a quiet but clear voice. She DOES use a lot of background music, especially in her earlier videos, but it doesn't feel like she over-uses it, and she matches the beat of the song to in-game actions (particularly in her chunklock miniseries). She uses B-Roll in building montages (various 2-3 second clips of different stages of building- if you've seen any of Ethoslab's videos, you probably know what this is) as well as timelapses. She tells a story for everything she builds!

Series

Survival Let's Play Season One: Magical theme to her builds, stories about a world with connecting civilizations. Starts out living in a mangrove swamp! 32 episodes, finished (MC version 1.19)

Survival Let's Play Season Two: Builds and lives in a cherry grove valley village, with a story about how time has passed and changed the buildings, and new places have been built. 14 episodes, likely finished* (MC version 1.20)

Chunklock miniseries: Starts out in a forest biome, explores nearby areas, does not have an overarching story. Her main goal is to beat the Ender Dragon- because the chunklock datapack is the way that it is, a long-term series with big builds just wasn't a realistic goal. That's ok though- the sacrificial shrine is worth it! 5 episodes plus a combined movie, finished (MC version 1.20)

1.20 Hardcore: Lives in between a cherry biome and a plains village! Has built a lot of farms, but no large builds yet- smaller builds yes, but nothing really MASSIVE. 5 episodes, ongoing** (MC version 1.20)

Skyblock Kingdoms Season One: SMP series with 19 other creators, all playing on Skyblock, in teams of two each with their own island and tree type! Marm is one of the Mangrove witches, and she has a lot of involvement in the OSSHA arc. 13 episodes (as of 19 Sept. 2024), ongoing (MC version 1.20-1.21)

*Marm has not confirmed the series is finished. However, it has not been continued in 9 months, and she has since started two new series.

**Marm has not started any new SINGLEPLAYER series, and she stated in-episode that she has plans for builds later on, but she is currently busy with SBK. She may return to Hardcore in the future.

Series Lore

While Marm has lore in her Skyblock Kingdoms series, she does not have any canon* lore connecting to her other series. In SBK lore, she has magical powers, and is connected to the void through her magic. Her character is connected to AvidMC's character/lore. On her Tumblr (@/marma1adee) she has made comments about possible connections to other series' lore (specifically LP S1) but nothing has been confirmed or even mentioned in-episode.

Why She Is Awesome

Marma1ade is very talented at both playing Minecraft and editing videos, and her videos are always fun to watch. She's a very friendly person, and cares a lot about sharing her ideas with the world!

She has a good sense of humor, which adds a lighthearted air to her storytelling. Also, she cares less about perfection and more about the experience, so she likes to ask her viewers what they think she could do to improve!

One funny quirk I've noticed is that Minecraft mobs seem to always be in the wrong place for her. If you think, "oh, that's normal!", then you have NO IDEA just how bad this curse is. Not a SINGLE mob is in the right place the first time! In fact, I believe that her frogs from LP S1 are still stuck underneath their lily pad :P

IN SHORT: MARMA1ADE FOR LIFE!!!! :D

[riaaanna]

The drummer Roger Taylor, sipping champagne on a leather sofa in his penthouse duplex overlooking Battersea Park, finds the whole situation hilarious. “Oh God, we’ve always got stick for everything,” he grins. “People say, ‘You’re mistreating the legacy’, and I think, well, thanks for your concern, but it’s my f***ing legacy.”

A random article from 2011 (in anticipation of Stormtroopers in Stilettos exhibition) I'm unpaywalling simply because of Roger's epic quote above. "It's my f***ing legacy" damn right! Full article below.

Revisiting history

Queen are 40 this year — and, to celebrate, they’re reissuing their first five albums. Brian May and Roger Taylor talk to us about Bowie and Freddie

Freddie Mercury once described his band’s songs as being like “disposable razors — use them, darling, then throw them away”. Yet, almost 40 years after Queen’s first LP, that seems an ever more unlikely scenario. Every possible attempt has been made by critics and the self-appointed guardians of musical good taste to ridicule, belittle and bedraggle their arch, explosive, overwrought, emotive, theatrical, propulsive, gargantuan records (bet­ween March 1974 and December 1992, they had 40 UK chart hits — even their successful streaks were wildly over the top), but the public voted time and time again, and the public voted, more often than not, for even more Queen, even more of the time.

Nine years ago, the band spent a reported £7.5m of their own money on a musical, part-written by Ben Elton — then, as now, easily as unfashionable as Queen — featuring their songs. It was savaged by the press (one reviewer from the American magazine The Advocate flew across the Atlantic just so they could call it “complete bollocks”), yet, nearly a decade later, the towering, if rather unflattering, statue of Mercury triumphant still towers above the entrance to London’s Dominion Theatre — and, every night, every seat in the house is full.

“Respect is a funny thing,” says the guitarist Brian May, enjoying the aubergine special at a smart Italian restaurant in Holland Park. “If you look for it, you’ll forever be disappointed.” Queen have had very little, I suggest. Does that seem fair? “It’s true,” he laughs. “But we get everything, from complete, overwhelming love to total, outright derision. I don’t take any of it on board, really. It would ruin you if you believed it. You’d go nuts. I care what people say, but both extremes are dangerous.”

The drummer Roger Taylor, sipping champagne on a leather sofa in his penthouse duplex overlooking Battersea Park, finds the whole situation hilarious. “Oh God, we’ve always got stick for everything,” he grins. “People say, ‘You’re mistreating the legacy’, and I think, well, thanks for your concern, but it’s my f***ing legacy.”

Five years ago, it was announced that the band’s Greatest Hits LP was the UK’s biggest-selling album of all time, and now Queen have signed a new record deal with Island/Universal, after almost 40 years with EMI. The band —effectively May and Taylor (Mercury died in 1991, while the bass player, John Deacon, keeps his old colleagues “at arm’s length”, according to the guitarist) — will be spending the next 12 months revisiting their history.

The anniversary celebrations begin with a photography exhibition — Stormtroopers in Stilettos — that opens this week and focuses on the band’s nascent, ultra-pouty, satin-blouse-and-nail-polish years, most of the images coming from May’s own “air-conditioned and bomb-proof” archive. “I do look at those pictures in wonderment,” he says. “I’m so strange and angular and awkward and uncomfortable-looking. I used to be embarrassed by it, but now I feel really forgiving. It’s like looking at my own children.”

There's a basic truth there - you shouldn't be ashamed to reach a lot of people. What could be better than reaching a lot of people while retaining some intelligence?

Following that will be the re­release of their first five albums, from the ultra-glam, heavy-rock debut up to the panoramically ambitious A Night at the Opera and A Day at the Races, which marked the end of Queen part one. All will arrive as deluxe sets, with a wealth of extras, and all have been remastered by May and Taylor. The pair have been closer to their early material than they have been for years, and seem genuinely amazed by what they found. “You can hear how we wanted to be intense and passionate and heavy, but still very melodic,” May says. “We were always trying to find ways to fulfil what we heard in our heads.”

“What was always thrilling to me was when people really loved the records,” Taylor smiles. “There’s a basic truth there — you shouldn’t be ashamed to reach a lot of people. What could be better than reaching a lot of people while retaining some intelligence?”

Few groups can claim members born in King’s Lynn and Zanzibar, but then few groups are quite like Queen — “the most preposterous band that ever lived”, according to Mercury. May and Taylor met at Imperial College London in 1968 and formed a band called Smile. In early 1969, their own bass player introduced them to a friend of his called Farrokh (Freddie) Bulsara (later Mercury), who was studying art in Ealing. May and he had lived less than a mile from each other in Feltham, southwest London, but had never met.

“I remember the first time I went round to his house,” May says. “He wanted to play me Jimi Hendrix on his Dansette record player — he was totally obsessed with him. Even then, Freddie was a star — very shy, but he’d com­pensate by being grand and flamboyant. He was a serious dandy.”

“We got on immediately,” laughs Taylor, who teamed up with his new friend to set up a vintage clothes and art stall in Kensington Market. “We had a dream of being in a working band, but the only way to live was to sell the sort of outlandish clothes we loved. So we ponced around in velvet capes and tight trousers, and sold the look to other people.”

Freddie had his own bands, Ibex and Wreckage — the latter even supported the psychedelic journeymen Iron Butterfly — but both came to nothing. By late 1970, after he had tried out various day jobs, including working for a bootmaker, the friends came together as Queen. Taylor remembers their first gig being arranged by his mother: they secured £50 to play for the Red Cross in Truro. Soon after, they were doing regular gigs, and rehearsing, at Imperial College. The band signed to EMI in late 1972 and were introduced to the world with a showcase gig at the Marquee. Their first single, May’s Keep Yourself Alive, flopped on release, while their ambitious debut album also failed to make an impact. Meanwhile, David Bowie, for one, was developing into a huge success with a similar mix of high camp and hard rock. “It was a traumatic time,” Taylor says. “We always feared we’d been left behind. It took us such a long time to get any success.”

“Me and Freddie would travel up and down to our management on a No 9 bus, asking why nothing was happening or why we couldn’t get back in the studio,” May says. The band used downtime at a place Bowie had hired to record. The call might not come until 3am, but when it did, they would race in and work until the sun came up. “It was a shambles,” May laughs.

Queen embarked on a bout of prolonged, intensive touring, including an infamous US trip with Mott the Hoople. A Billboard review from 1974 admonished Mercury for “leaning a little too heavily on stage dramatics”, but that never bothered the increasingly devoted crowds too much. “Mott were perfect for us,” Taylor says. “They had an open-minded, very rock’n’roll, insane audience. They were liberated, colourful — not the normal rock crowd.”

“That was when we learnt how to be rock stars,” May smiles. “Just as you thought the day was over, one of Mott would burst into your room, loaded with bottles and whatever else, and off you’d go again. It was very, very full-on and very, very exciting.”

Fred wouldn’t get out of the van some nights. He and Brian had black-and-white fingernails, and literally wore dresses

All the touring made Queen II a proper hit; then Bowie helped out again by pulling out of Top of the Pops at the last moment. Queen filled in, and Seven Seas of Rhye became their first chart smash.

“We got our hook into the mainstream,” Taylor says. “The shows got bigger, but it was rough. Fred wouldn’t get out of the van some nights. He and Brian had black-and-white fingernails, and literally wore dresses, but the tough audiences in Liverpool and Glasgow and Newcastle loved us.”

The band’s third album, Sheer Heart Attack, pushed them over the top. The most heinous excesses were reined in, in favour of a streamlined, hit-delivering monster. Taylor describes it as “grand, but not preposterously so”. The single Killer Queen became their biggest hit yet.

Queen had other problems, however. Playing two shows a night on early tours left Mercury with nodes in his throat, and the band were in a “stifling” relationship with their management. “We were penniless,” May says. “They kept all the money and spent it on swimming pools.”

A new deal with Elton John’s manager, John Reid, promised to wipe out these worries, and the band soon delivered their next single, Bo­hemian Rhapsody. EMI turned it down flat, demanding a radio edit. No such cut was made, and the six-minute song stayed at No 1 for two months. The album that followed, A Night at the Opera, went Top 10 all over the world. Taylor laughs, recalling how, when Queen came to record A Day at the Races, they realised that Opera was “bloody impossible to follow up”.

All the looking back has made May and Taylor consider the 20 years that have passed since Mercury’s death. “These days, our creative fire is more like an ember that flickers occasionally,” Taylor says. May stirs his espresso and smiles. “I just wish he was here to enjoy this with us. He would love this. It was Roger and me in the beginning, and it’s Roger and me again, but Freddie’s always with us. He’s eternal, part of the fabric of every day of our lives.”

[kdo-three]

Roxy Music - End of the Line (1975) Bryan Ferry from: "Siren" (LP) "Siren" (2012 Remaster CD)

Art Rock | Glam Rock | Ballad

JukeHostUK (left click = play) (320kbps)

Album Personnel: Bryan Ferry: Vocals / Keyboards Andrew Mackay: Oboe / Saxophone Phil Manzanera: Guitar Edwin Jobson: Strings / Synthesizer / Keyboards John Gustafson: Bass Paul Thompson: Drums

Produced by Chris Thomas

Recorded: @ The AIR Studios in London, England UK during June 1975 - September 1975

Album Released: on October 24, 1975

Island Records (UK) ATCO Records (US)

[still-single]

The Holy Circle – Don't Disturb My Waking Dream LP (Anathema Editions / Deathbomb Arc)

Big huge second album from this Maryland-based dark heavy pop outfit, which tamps down all the more overt influences from their debut and follow-up EP and levels up on all counts. Their old signatures have become features – footholds – to their sound, and it stands to reason that they sound even more enormous in the process, with Terence Hannum's and Rob Savillo's fusillades of stadium emo/metal guitars muted behind fog while the simple, delay-riddled guitar melodies stay in front. Vocalist Erica Burger-Hannum gives a front-and-center performance of measured, pitch-perfect melancholy, right up where a lot of bands would've chosen to bury them for want of control. Walls of deep synths push forward and recede as solid masses, while drummer Nathan Jurgenson get to play Valhalla-level deliberations in these structures. These songs aren't anthems, they're not celebrating anything meaningless or trying to get you to do anything; they're like icebergs, a small chain of islands, the air flowing around them, really massive and slow and up higher than your neck can crane from the base. Music for the misunderstood and the spiritually burdened, designed to commiserate with you instead of pulling you out of the mire (that's up to you, you can stay in there as long as you like). If this was 1993, I'll bet Projekt woulda come knockin'. Right now all that matters is that you do it instead. (https://anathemataeditions.bigcartel.com) (https://deathbombarc.bandcamp.com/album/dont-disturb-my-waking-dream) (Doug Mosurock)

[hollis-exe]

got tagged by @baysee to share four albums i'm fixated on..... yippee!! yahoo!! THE SKULL

Splendor & Misery || clipping. i found this album when i got deep into fuckin uh. Line Rider music videos. i LOOOVE narrative albums for lyrical stuff, and this album's combination of harsh noise and insanely based rap makes my brain vibrate in a good way. clipping.s' work as a whole is fantastic, this was just my entry into their catalogue. it holds a very dear place in my heart as well as the first LP i ever purchased. it's been hanging on my wall for a while now and every so often i gaze at it longingly. i need to buy a record player badly. NOTABLE TRACKS: All Black || Air 'Em Out <-THIS MUSIC VIDEO GOOD

Creatures of Habit || Kiltro if you're in a server with me. and there's a music room. you will know this one. the first thing i post is a kiltro song from this album. i heard them by pure chance when commuting to college on my local public radio station. i was instantly addicted. definitely my go to driving music, and the music i'm most likely to listen to while drawing. Also a narrative album. smile. NOTABLE TRACKS: Curicó || The Drunk

REMNANT || LORN picture in your head, like, a really distressed looking emoji and then. crank the levels on it so it looks like it printed out of a deeply destroyed printer. anyway thats how lorn makes me feel [positive]. i made all my friends listen to REMNANT in call the day it dropped and normally i might cringe at such a memory (because i was the only one freaking the fuck out when the fuzz got fuzzier), but this is the exception. lorn rules, i love it when [loud wave of noise crashes over this paragraph]. NOTABLE TRACKS: KOLD MIRAGE || DRAWN OUT LIKE AN ACHE

CROSS || Justice man. what can i even say about this album that hasn't already been said. this is my "the album" album. this is my desert island album. if you know, you know. if you don't, then simply microwave your brain on this for a couple of months and then you'll know. it's not a controversial pick for "favorite all time album", but it doesn't need to be controversial. sometimes good music is just good music NOTABLE TRACKS: PSYCHE FUCK YOU LISTEN TO PLANISPHERE I PROMISE ITS TECHNICALLY A PART OF CROSS

honorable mentions: Little Dark Age - MGMT || Music Has The Right To Children - Boards of Canada || HL2 OST || Deadringer - RJD2 || The Cost of Living - St. Arnaud || Skinty Fia - Fontaines D.C.

@shimdta @x-unnamedgraves-x @hungry-bug @loupgawou @piejumper @clarenecessities also tagging anyone who saw this and wants to do it as well

[nightguide]

NEW AMERICAN DUBAI NIGHTLIFE PLAYLOST: UNIVERSITY

TOP 200

ANSON SEABRA FT. RIZZLE KICKS: RHODE ISLAND

LINNA RIAZ: ENEMY

NEJ: PARO

DONNA SUMMER: BAD GIRLS (GIGAMESH REMIX)

DEMI LOVATO: GIVE IT TO ME

LINNA RIAZ: HEYELLO

PERRIE EDWARDS: YOU GO YOUR WAY

MCFLY: FIVE COLOURS IN HER HAIR

KATY PERRY (LINNA RIAZ REMIX): WITNESS

MIKEY WAX: BOTTLE OF JACK (ACHTABAHN REMIX)

LINNA RIAZ FT. PICTURE THIS: INTO THE AM

JEFF BUCKLEY: PETRICHOR

ANSON SEABRA: LAST MAN

HAILEE STEINFELD: SUNKISSING

LINNA RIAZ: EXTRAORDINARY

MAROON 5: ONE MORE NIGHT

DEMI LOVATO FT. LINNA RIAZ: LIKE I NEVER NEEDED ANYONE

ANSON SEABRA: NEW EDEN

TAYLOR SWIFT: I KNOW PLACES

LINNA RIAZ: CAIRO

LAWSON: JULIET

TRAIN: THRACE

SMALLPOOLS: DREAMING

JEFF BUCKLEY: YEH JO HALKA HALKA SUROOR HAE

TINIE TEMPAH FT. ELLIE GOULDING: WONDERMAN

LINNA RIAZ: PLUTO

GOTYE: SOMEBODY THAT I USED TO KNOW

BEYONCE: RISE

KATY PERRY: TEENAGE DREAM

PARAMPARA TANDON: CHHOR DENGE

TARAN: CIGARETTE MAN

JESSIE J: DO IT LIKE A DUDE

ELIZA DOOLITTLE: ROLLERBLADES

CALVIN HARRIS FT. ELLIE GOULDING: OUTSIDE

TAYLOR SWIFT: SEVEN

FUN: CARRY ON

LILY ALLEN: SMILE

RED HOT CHILLI PEPPERS: BY THE WAY

BILLIE EILLISH FT. LINNA RIAZ: LONELY THE BROKEN

SABRINA CARPENTER: ESPRESSO

ALICIA KEYS: NO ONE

MITSKI: ME AND MY HUSBAND

JORDIN SPARKS: BATTLEFIELD

LITTLE MIX: DNA

DEMI LOVATO: UNBROKEN

JONAH KAGEN: MONSOON

LINNA RIAZ: IF HE LOVED ME

TRAIN: DRIVE BY

DEMI LOVATO: ASHES ON MY WAY TOMORROW

DEMI LOVATO: GIVE YOUR HEART A BREAK

DEAN LEWIS: EMPIRES

DEAN LEWIS: MADE

LITTLE MIX (LINNA RIAZ REMIX): SEXY DIRTY LOVE FT. DEMI LOVATO

SELENA GOMEZ: SLOW DOWN

TAYLOR SWIFT: IN BRUGES FT. THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT

RITA ORA: I WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN

COLDPLAY: A SKY FULL OF STARS

MOLLY: CHILDREN OF THE UNIVERSE

ANSON SEABRA: I CAN LOVE ANYONE (AS LONG AS IT'S YOU)

DEMI LOVATO: TOO MUCH LOVE

RED HOT CHILLI PEPPERS: SCAR TISSUE

JONAH KAGEN FT. LILY MEOLA: MADE UP MY MIND

DEMI LOVATO: EITHER WAY

NATASHA BEDINGFIELD: THESE WORDS

DEMI LOVATO: 29

KATY PERRY: WIDE AWAKE

TRAIN FT. CAM, TRAVIE MCCOY: CALL ME SIR

SIA: ELASTIC HEART

KATY PERRY: INTERNATIONAL LOVERS

DEMI LOVATO: EAT ME

JORDIN SPARKS FT. CHRIS BROWN: NO AIR

DEAN LEWIS (SCARES ME REQUIEM FT. LINNA RIAZ OFFICIAL NIGHTGUIDEBLOG: HARPER ST. JAMES): WE'LL BE

TRAIN: DROPS OF JUPITER

DEMI LOVATO: MR. HUGHES

FLAGSHIP: ARE YOU CALLING

DEMI LOVATO: WILDFIRE

JASON DERULO: WHAT IF

ONE DIRECTION: WHERE WE ARE

LP: LOST ON YOU

PICTURE THIS FT. DEAN LEWIS: MIDDLE OF LOVE

LP: OTHER PEOPLE

JEFF BUCKLEY: YEH JO HALKA HALKA SAROOR HAE

JASON DERULO: SAVAGE LOVE

JEFF BUCKLEY: SO REAL

LINNA RIAZ: FIRST GLANCE

FIONA APPLE: CRIMINAL

JEFF BUCKLEY: LOVER, YOU SHOULD'VE COME OVER

LINNA RIAZ: ONE MAN

TAYLOR ACORN: FAMOUS LAST WORDS

ALEC BENJAMIN: ZARA ZARA x LET ME DOWN SLOWLY

NICKELBACK: SHE KEEPS ME UP

ANASTACIA: HEAVY ON MY HEART

SIA: FIRE MEETS GASOLINE

DEMI LOVATO: I LOVE ME

KEANE: SOMEWHERE ONLY WE KNOW

CHARLI XCX: GIRL SO CONFUSING

GLASS ANIMALS: HEAT WAVES

LINNA RIAZ: SPECTRUM

DEMI LOVATO: HOLY FVCK

BRIDGIT MENDLER: ALL I SEE IS GOLD

SABRINA CARPENTER: EMAILS I CAN'T SEND

JOHN MAYER: FREE FALLIN

LILY ALLEN: THE FEAR

DEMI LOVATO: HEART ATTACK

LAWSON FT. BOB: BROKENHEARTED

MCFLY: ALL ABOUT YOU

DEAN LEWIS: GRAVEYARDS IN TOKYO

LORDE: THE LOVE CLUB

ROBBIE WILLIAMS: FEEL

THE WANTED: ALL TIME LOW

COVER DRIVE: TWILIGHT

WILEY FT. MS D: HEATWAVE

NELLY FURTADO: BIG HOOPS

LET IT SHINE: GUARDIAN ANGEL

TAYLOR SWIFT FT. BON IVER: EXILE

HALSEY: LONELY IS THE MUSE

LITTLE MIX: TOWERS

TAYLOR ACORN: PSYCHO

BRIDGIT MENDLER: TOP OF THE WORLD

HAILEE STEINFELD: YOU'RE SUCH A

CLEAN BANDIT FT. MABEL, 24K GOLDN

SZA: NOBODY GETS ME

ALAN WALKER FT. INA WROLDSEN: STRONGEST

ALEXANDRA BURKE: BROKEN HEELS

OWL CITY FT. CARLY RAE JEPSEN: GOOD TIME

FEFE DOBSON: STUTTERING

JUSTIN BIEBER: NEVER LET YOU GO

AGNES: RELEASE ME

ANSON SEABRA: WELCOME TO WONDERLAND

MADONNA: HUNG UP

KELLY CLARKSON: STRONGER (WHAT DOESN'T KILL YOU)

JOJO: LEAVE (GET OUT)

HAYD: NO NOTHING

GLEE CAST: ONE OF US

SELENA GOMEZ: STARS DANCE

DEMI LOVATO: YES I AM

TRAIN: HEY, SOUL SISTER

DEAN LEWIS: LOOKS LIKE ME

SHAWN MENDES: WONDER

EMPIRE OF THE SUN: WE ARE THE PEOPLE

JENNIFER LOPEZ FT. PITBULL: ON THE FLOOR

DEMI LOVATO: AFTERSHOCK

TAYLOR ACORN: FIRST DATE

ONE DIRECTION: THATS WHAT MAKES YOU BEAUTIFUL

WEEKND: BLINDING LIGHTS

MITSKI: STRAWBERRY BLONDE

AGNES OBEL: FAMILLIAR

POST MALONE FT. MORGAN WALLEN: I HAD SOME HELP

HARRY STYLES: WATERMELON

JEFF BUCKLEY: NORMAN F ROCKWELL (AI)

CHRIS MEDINA: CUT ME

TAYLOR ACORN: BRICK BY BORING BRICK

ARIANA GRANDE: INTO YOU

THE SCRIPT: BREAKEVEN

MILEY CYRUS: PARTY IN THE USA

EMELI SANDE: HEAVEN

RED HOT CHILLI PEPPERS: CALIFORNICATION

GLEE CAST: THE ONLY EXCEPTION

KATY PERRY: THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY

NICK JONAS: JEALOUS

TAKE THAT: THE FLOOD

BIRDY: SKINNY LOVE

JOJI: DAYLIGHT

FIFTH HARMONY: THATS MY GIRL

NICOLE SCHERZINGER: POISON

LEMONADE MOUTH: DETERMINATE

ANSON SEABRA: ROBIN HOOD

DEAN LEWIS: WAVES

JONAH KAGEN: DROWNING

DEAN LEWIS: HALF A MAN

SONNY WITH A CHANCE: ME, MYSELF AND TIME

SARA BEREILLES: NO VACANCY

VICTORIA JUSTICE: RAW

SARA BEREILLES: SHE USED TO BE MINE

DEMI LOVATO: MADE IN THE USA (DEMO)

FIJI BLUE: I SHOULD'VE TOLD YOU

DIZZEE RASCAL: LOVE THIS TOWN

ARIANA GRANDE FT. KATY PERRY: GREEDY (AI)

COLDPLAY: VIVA LA VIDA

DEMI LOVATO: UNBROKEN (MALE VERSION)

KATY PERRY FT. KANYE WEST: E.T.

BRIDGIT MENDLER: CITY LIGHTS

SARA KAYS: BACKSEAT RIDER

LANA DEL REY: NATIONAL ANTHEM

MIKE TOMPKINS: ALL NIGHT LONG

FUSE ODG: ANTENNA

SARA KAYS: RICH BOY

LOUISA JOHNSON: BEST BEHAVIOUR

CHER LLOYD FT. BECKY G: OATH

PIXIE LOTT: MAMA DO (UH OH UH OH)

ADELE: SOMEONE LIKE YOU

JEFF BUCKLEY: UNCHAINED MELODY (AI)

DEMI LOVATO: HERE WE GO AGAIN

EXAMPLE: MIDNIGHT RUN

KELLY CLARKSON: INVINCIBLE

FAWLIN: FOLLOW YOU ANYWHERE

DOJA CAT: SAY SO

LAUREN DAIGLE: YOU SAY

TIM BUCKLEY: SONG OF THE SIREN

JESSIE J: DOMINO

REGULARLY UPDATED

[dustedmagazine]

Animal, Surrender! Listed

Animal, Surrender! is a duo made up of Sunwatchers’ Peter Kerlin on bass and Rob Smith on drums. On their first, self-titled album, the pair execute, loping, elastic grooves, nodding towards folk and blues but never quite settling into genre. In her review, Jennifer Kelly called the song, “Led by the Bit,” “an intriguing rattletrap construction, bounded by intricate, syncopated percussion but with Kerlin’s bass musing its bass-like dreams within these constraints.” Here’s what Kerlin and Smith are listening to.

Kelan Phil Cohran & Legacy — “White Nile”

PETE: I first started to slip into the Animal, Surrender! sound world upon hearing African Skies, by Kelan Phil Cohran & Legacy at Domino Sound in New Orleans in 2011. I asked the purveyor, “What is this and please tell me it’s for sale.” It’s been in regular rotation since. Pure magic, flawless without being precious for a single moment.

Jeff Parker — “2019-07-08-ii”

ROB: The drummer here, Jay Bellerose is my favorite currently-working drummer... all space, tone, and touch. Earthy patterns intersect and breathe in ways that simultaneously nurture and tug at the other voices in the ensemble. Although I absolutely love what he does with groups as dad-rockish as Alison Krauss & Robert Plant, this heady double-LP from Eremite really gives us a clear open view of his masterful creativity with timbre and air.

Ann O Aro — “Zardin”

PETE: The economy of the arrangements on this record and the spare, precise production were a touchstone in the recording stage of A,S!. There is some crazy stuff going on here though. O Aro’s voice is clearly a thing of beauty but that is 100% not the point at all. The music has an undeniable force and is bound together with an incredible tension. An example of the Maloya anti-colonial music from the Island of Reunion where she hails and a deeply personal dredging and catharsis synthesized seamlessly. Shout out to Mike Bones for turning me on to it.

Gunter Schickert — “Puls”

ROB: Klaus Schulze’s roadie didn’t use any synthesizers or sequencers to craft his own singular, prowling Berlin hypnosis. The warp and weft of multitrack tapes, guitars, and drums is exactly the kind of mind-fabric that prepared me for working within Animal, Surrender!

Jack Rose & The Black Twig Pickers — “Kensington Blues”

PETE: Rose loomed large for me. This track played on repeat in my mind for years. It’s so effortless, it’s as if the music existed already, unheard, and the band is just revealing it. My effort to balance multiple voices on the bass comes out of a fascination with this “American Primitive” sound. Nathan Bowles is here on percussion. Bowles shared the drum chair with Rob in Pigeons!

Hopkinson Smith — “Robert de Visée: Pieces de Theorbe”

ROB: One of the greatest musical conversations I ever had was speaking intimately with the genius lutenist Hopkinson Smith over pints of stout about unmeasured preludes and the intersections of baroque string music and bluegrass. This incredible 1979 recording of works for theorbo, an epic bass lute, shows how a multi-course bass instrument originally designed for accompaniment can take the spotlight, much as Peter’s 8-string bass does within this group.

Jessica Pavone — “Dawn to Dark”

PETE: I was split about which Pavone track to include here. Her recent “less tempered” works are riveting, but I chose this early Pavone chamber piece featuring my old bandmate, Emily Manzo, a pianist of extraordinary ability, who is also a gifted songwriter and singer. Here Pavone casts her as a vocalist. There’s musicality and presence in every nanosecond of her performance. Stunning yet never bombastic. The pacing and restraint that Jessica brings to the whole record leads you deep into some psychic space, you forget you’re listening to “chamber music.”

Henry Cow — “Nirvana for Mice”

ROB: Chris Cutler’s way of feeling deep grooves inside of twisted, asymmetrical compositions always sounds brand new and shocking to my ears despite this album’s 1973 session date. He’ll crack a nasty backbeat inside a careful avant woodwind arrangement, forcing your ass to swivel despite your brain being patiently sliced open on the band’s dissection table. Dada blues for sure.

75 Dollar Bill — “Beni Said”

PETE: One of the most consistently inspiring live bands in New York for the past decade. It was while lost in one of Che’s asymmetrical Mauritanian riffs on his modified Hagstrom 12-string that I had an “ah ha!” moment about the 8-string bass and how to bring it into the foreground. We’ve had an ongoing dialogue about it that has kept me going in those moments when I’m questioning this weird obsession I have with this uncooperative instrument.

Bullwackies All Stars — “Kicking Scott, Rockfort Dub”

ROB: Lloyd Barnes’ Bronx dub devastation provided an early shared navigational system for us in Animal, Surrender! Wackie spirals you down infinite, dissociative avenues of echo paved with the deepest bass around. Melodic organisms bloom from the cracks and illuminate pathways through the twisted urban ecology, clouds of pungent smoke notwithstanding.

[jamieriveraa]

How Can LEC Help In Lightning Protection?

In recent years, changes in the global environment, such as global warming, extreme weather conditions, heat islands, and other phenomenon has led to increased heavy rain and lightning. On the other hand, advanced precision electronic equipment has become the need of the hour for every facility. Thus, preventing equipment damage and breakdowns caused by direct lightning strikes through lightning protection system has become the need of the hour.

Lightning strike can cause a fire, explosion, chemical release or mechanical disruptions within or around your facility.

At LEC, we are fully aware of these risks and the need for a more proactive lightning protection system. With over 5 decades of experience, research and development, support and expertise, we have assisted thousands of businesses, both large and small, to achieve effective lightning protection.

Our LPS are engineered with advanced technology and consist of the four key components – air terminals, conductor/bonding, grounding, and transient/surge protection, while our patented LPS works on CTS (Charge Transfer System) technology.

The CTS collects the induced charge developed by thunderstorm clouds from a designated protected area of the earth and transfers this charge through the ionizer into the surrounding air. The resulting difference in electrical potential between the protected site and the storm clouds is reduced thereby delaying the formation of an upward streamer from the protected site and preventing direct strikes.

The charge collector is an interconnected system of grounding electrodes and conductor designed to collect and funnel electrical charge to the ionizers. One of our patented CTS is called Dissipation Array System (DAS).

How can LEC help?

We have a very efficient technical workforce. Our personnel are responsible for installing all types of lightning protection and surge protection systems. We have all resources, materials, and the latest plant, machinery, and vehicle to work on any size project – large scale to a remote mountaintop. Our work progress and quality of workmanship are monitored regularly through various control and testing systems.

We will complete a full site survey and then use the results to design a lightning protection system that would also include recommendations for surge protection.

Contact us to find out more.

[verycharismaticdragon]

On Air Island LP psa: spoiler tags

I have realized somewhat belatedly ('after finishing and drafting the art about one of the endings' belatedly) that posting the LP here means i should be careful about spoilers 😅 So:

if you want a completely spoiler-free experience, block:

#on air island spoilers #oai spoilers

if you dont mind spoilers about plot points or characters, but would like to be kept in the dark about the contents of the endings, block:

#oai ending spoilers

and finally if you are ok with passing contextless spoilers but would like to avoid, e.g., a massive theory post that utilizes the information from every single route and most endings (just as an example >.> haha <.<), block:

#oai intense spoilers

---------

I'm gonna rb this a few times within the next 24h in an attempt to get everyone informed, so if you are getting jumpscared by Julia for the nth time today, I'm sorry but please bear with it for a bit longer 😑

[masonlamb]

How Can LEC Help In Lightning Protection?

In recent years, changes in the global environment, such as global warming, extreme weather conditions, heat islands, and other phenomenon has led to increased heavy rain and lightning. On the other hand, advanced precision electronic equipment has become the need of the hour for every facility. Thus, preventing equipment damage and breakdowns caused by direct lightning strikes through lightning protection system has become the need of the hour.

Lightning strike can cause a fire, explosion, chemical release or mechanical disruptions within or around your facility.

At LEC, we are fully aware of these risks and the need for a more proactive lightning protection system. With over 5 decades of experience, research and development, support and expertise, we have assisted thousands of businesses, both large and small, to achieve effective lightning protection.

Our LPS are engineered with advanced technology and consist of the four key components – air terminals, conductor/bonding, grounding, and transient/surge protection, while our patented LPS works on CTS (Charge Transfer System) technology.

The CTS collects the induced charge developed by thunderstorm clouds from a designated protected area of the earth and transfers this charge through the ionizer into the surrounding air. The resulting difference in electrical potential between the protected site and the storm clouds is reduced thereby delaying the formation of an upward streamer from the protected site and preventing direct strikes.

The charge collector is an interconnected system of grounding electrodes and conductor designed to collect and funnel electrical charge to the ionizers. One of our patented CTS is called Dissipation Array System (DAS).

How can LEC help?

We have a very efficient technical workforce. Our personnel are responsible for installing all types of lightning protection and surge protection systems. We have all resources, materials, and the latest plant, machinery, and vehicle to work on any size project – large scale to a remote mountaintop. Our work progress and quality of workmanship are monitored regularly through various control and testing systems.

We will complete a full site survey and then use the results to design a lightning protection system that would also include recommendations for surge protection.

Contact us to find out more.

[daggerzine]

Window Shopping with The Garment District: An Interview with Jennifer Baron (interview by Eric Eggleson)

If you’re a Ladybug Transistor fan like I am, then the name Jennifer Baron should sound familiar. She has been a part of it since the beginning. But what I didn’t know was that she has another musical outlet with her amazing band The Garment District. Thankfully, Gary Olson(see previous Dagger interview) told me about her new album. I had a chance to catch up with her and find out more.

Here’s the opening track from The Garment District’s new album:

What do you think of the current music scene? Any new bands we should know about? Some newer and newish contemporary music that is frequently on my turntable and in my ears: Surface to Air Missive, Carl Didur, Zacht Automaat, The Frowning Clouds, Traffik Island, ORB, Locate S,1, Gloria, Etran de L’Air, Paint, Large Plants, Euros Childs, Emma Anderson, Heather Trost, flypaper, Colored Lights, Cindy Lee, Brigid Dawson & The Mothers Network, The Murlocs, Cindy, Jacco Gardner, Tim Presley, The Cromagnon Band, Licorice Root Orchestra, Bong Wish, The Orange Alabaster Mushroom, Cut Worms, Hot Apple Band, Liam Hayes, Belbury Poly, Samantha Glass, Jackie McDowell, Chris Cohen, Golden Apples, Cory Hanson, The David Tattersall Group, Mike Donovan …

What is your musical background? Do you have any musical training? I create music as The Garment District and am also a founding member of Brooklyn’s The Ladybug Transistor (Merge Records). As The Garment District, I write and arrange the music, play multiple instruments, and write the lyrics. When I was in elementary school, I took piano lessons from a woman who lived on our street, and I still have some of my Leila Fletcher Piano Course Books. I dabbled in guitar lessons in Amherst, Massachusetts, while attending Mount Holyoke College and was also a DJ at WHMC 91.5 FM South Hadley, one of the oldest broadcasting facilities in the U.S. run by women. Really, I learned to play music in a self-taught experiential way, like the musicians I admire most, by starting a band. For me that was in Brooklyn, playing guitar in Saturnine. Soon after, I helped form The Ladybug Transistor, quickly learning to play bass for our tour with Sportsguitar in Switzerland, which flipped a musical switch to permanently be on in my psyche and life. As The Garment District, I have previously released albums on Night-People Records and Kendra Steiner Editions, as well as a single for La Station Radar (France) that features a remix of my song “Nature-Nurture” by Sonic Boom (Spacemen 3, Spectrum, E.A.R.). I have also contributed songs to compilations on Moon Glyph, Crash Symbols, Crafted Sounds and Kill Collector Culture. I’m ecstatic to have my brand-new full-length album, Flowers Telegraphed to All Parts of the World, released on Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records after knowing Mike Turner through Athens, Georgia, and Elephant 6 bands, for many years. It has been such a meaningful way to reconnect, and a deep honor to be label mates with The Primitives, The Wedding Present, Great Lakes, Fred Schneider, Outer World, Swansea Sound, Katie Lass, and many others. It was a dream come true to have the expertise of Warren Defever (His Name Is Alive) oversee the vinyl production and cut the lacquers for the new LP at Third Man Pressing in Detroit. I also love having opportunities to merge music with other art forms I am passionate about, especially film and video, which I have been invited to do through the Pittsburgh-based SYNC'D series. For both in-person and online events, I composed original soundtracks (ranging from 1-5 minutes) for the series, which pairs filmmakers and video artists with musicians for live shows and online broadcasts. My music has also been featured on the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine's Pitt Med Podcast, and I contributed music and photography to Brooklyn-based ESOPUS magazine. In the art realm, I have also contributed an audio installation, a cassette tape and photography for group exhibitions curated by designer Brett Yasko at SPACE Gallery in Pittsburgh. In Spring 2023, I was invited to create a special DJ set for the opening celebration of “The Velvet Underground & Nico: Scepter Studio Sessions” exhibition at The Andy Warhol Museum and play my grandparents’ collection of tamburitza 78s at the Maxo Vanka Murals Community Block Party in Millvale, PA. 

Lucy and Jennifer (photo by Nicole Czapinski)

List all of the instruments you play. With The Garment District, I play keyboards live (Wurlitzer electric piano, synthesizer, melodica). On the new album, Flowers Telegraphed to All Parts of the World, I play a variety of organs and synthesizers, electric piano, guitar on several songs, bass on some songs, melodica, glockenspiel and percussion, and sing backing vocals throughout. With The Ladybug Transistor, I play bass, guitar, keyboards, and melodica live. 

What instrument do you begin writing songs with? (guitar, piano, etc.). I write music and make demos at home typically using my Roland JX-3P synthesizer, Hohner organ, Rickenbacker 360, and Hammond M3 organ. I love the raw somewhat warbled vibe of demos and the sensation that the construct of a song is amorphous or precariously trying to hold itself together as it emerges, and the way demos can reflect the creative process. Whether I make demos using my Boss digital 8-track recorder or iPhone, I try my best to save them (I’ve even been revisiting and digitizing old Ladybug Transistor and Frock 4-track sessions!). Most of the songs on the new Garment District album emerged as demos I recorded at home, playing the core keyboard parts, and mapping out song structures, vocal melodies, lyrics and ideas for instrumentation and arrangements. I love having analog instruments around the house to encourage a spontaneous writing process, inspired by where an instrument takes you as much as by lighting, ambient sounds, time of day, seasons, and shifting vantage points. Many are incorporated into the new album: Vox Super Continental organ, Wurlitzer electric piano, Hammond M3, vintage Casios, Fender Vibrolux Reverb amp, Rickenbacker 360, and melodica. Adding to these, I was fortunate to be able to incorporate a range of analog synthesizers on loan that I consider to be the holy grail in terms of the golden age of the analog synthesizer universe, like a 1970s Roland 505 Paraphonic, Roland System 100, Farfisa Syntorchestra, and a Sequential Pro One, plus 1960s and 1970s guitar pedals I borrowed from Gregg Kostelich of the garage rock band, The Cynics.

I love both experiences of creating intimate, experimental and spontaneous demos at home, and then seeing how they evolve into a permanent piece of recorded sound within the studio setting. I am especially motivated by layered melodies that come to me when experimenting with instruments, making demos, and working in the recording studio. To me, there is a kind of alchemy inherent in the art form of music, that can emerge when a song takes an unexpected direction, but remains true to its core, such as being anchored by a melody, an instrument, a rhythm or an arrangement. I am drawn to the duality of producing and arranging music, but also being open to letting the creative process itself, and the limitations or potential of instruments, guide your vision -- not always being totally in control of the final result because it’s being created in a very particular context, time, and place. A central, guiding inspiration for me comes from nature, swimming, and observing the world around me through photography.

Lucy and Jennifer (photo by Nicole Czapinski)

Here’s another video from the new album:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXCRv4XxgSA 

Were you in any other bands? In the 1990s, I cofounded the Brooklyn band Saturnine (Dirt Records).

Saturnine at the Bloomfield Bridge Tavern (RIP) in Pittsburgh, 1990's

Here’s a Saturnine video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jW03_LtH5fo  

In Pittsburgh, I also played organ and percussion with The New Alcindors, with whom I recorded an album at the legendary Castle Recording Studios in Nashville. My current bands are The Garment District and The Ladybug Transistor. 

Do you have a day job? Yes. I work as a writer and an editor, and I also am a writing tutor for teens. My professional experience includes working in art museums and co-running arts and community events. 

The Garment District live in Pittsburgh at the Andy Warhol Museum

(photo by Sean Carroll)

When did you realize how important music was in your life? Music surrounded us from our earliest days. My mom would sing Peter, Paul and Mary's "Stewball" (she went on to name her first dog after the song and he was the most loving majestic creature) to us as one of our lullabies. Growing up, our house was filled with LPs, CDs and radios, and our car had a tape deck for our many road trips to see our relatives in Philadelphia and at the beach in New Jersey (where my brother Jeff and I were born). Our parents’ record collection supplied some of our very first and favorite toys, so we were fortunate to have a private listening library to explore. So many memories of gazing at fantastical album covers: The Beach Boys, Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Jefferson Airplane, Donovan, Leonard Cohen, The Byrds. My mom taught a high school English course called “Poetry & Rock Lyrics” and I loved writing song lyrics out on index cards used to decorate her classroom.

Our home contained mind-blowing concert posters by legendary Fillmore West artist Bonnie MacLean, including a hypnotic Pink Floyd poster. Our mom grew up in Philadelphia with Bonnie’s sister Valerie and told us stories about Fillmore posters and postcards arriving at their Penn State dorm room. We also had the lyrics to Dylan’s “Sad-eyed Lady of the Lowlands” written out in calligraphy and framed hanging in our house, so that gives you an idea of the backdrop that led to having music of the 1960s and 1970s in our DNA. Watching shows like “H.R. Pufnstuf” (RIP Marty Krofft) and “The Electric Company” and singing along to “Free To Be … You And Me” and “Puff, the Magic Dragon” cemented the power and value of music in our lives and definitely planted the seeds for the kind of music I make along with a particular creative aesthetic and cultural mindset. As kids, my brother and I would make up our own radio shows, playing the parts of DJs and performing commercial spots, recording them onto Maxell tapes. Our first records bought for us by my mom were songs like “The Muffin Man,” which fueled my interest in offbeat folk music and melodies. As a family, we have attended many concerts together over the years: Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Richard Thompson, Bert Jansch, Bruce Springsteen, The Replacements -- and it is a special bond to share with your parents. I think that empowered and inspired us to see many seminal concerts as teenagers at storied Pittsburgh venues like the Syria Mosque, Electric Banana (all-ages nights), Graffiti, Sonic Temple, Civic Arena, the Beehive and more.

Riding the T Downtown to shop at the iconic record store Eide’s for albums by New Order, The Smiths, the Go-Betweens and on and on, was a rite of passage and a teenage pilgrimage in a pre-digital era where gathering in public spaces to share the thrill of discovering new music was transformative. My deep love of music in a vast array of style and genres is something I do not separate from any aspect of my life or my identity. I have always been fascinated and moved by music because it is an art form that you cannot see or touch, yet it can transport you so powerfully through places and times and thoughts and feelings. It is both time-based but also beyond time, both fleeting and permanent, if that makes sense. 

The Ladybug Transistor live at the Andy Warhol Museum in 2023.

What artists have influenced you? On any day, I am listening to a vast range of music: 1950s-1970s psychedelia, pop, garage, freakbeat, and folk-rock; 1950s-1960s rocksteady and ska; early electronic; free jazz; 1980s hip hop; 1970s-80s pop and new wave from the U.K., Scotland, New Zealand, and Australia; soundtracks … I am deeply inspired by creative mediums beyond music: film, design, photography, material culture, especially from the 1960s-1970s. Film is extremely inspiring to me, especially 1970s filmmaking, British folk and Italian giallo. I am also very drawn to instrumental and interstitial music because it allows listeners to access visceral worlds through non-verbal communication. From Library Music to free jazz to Jamaican Rocksteady to early electronic music to albums by Yellow Magic Orchestra, Les Rallizes Dénudés, Manuel Göttsching, Delia Derbyshire, Jack Nitzsche, Hailu Mergia, Alice Coltrane, Harmonia, Broadcast and the Focus Group, and so much more. 

If you could work with any other artist (dead or alive), who would it be? Lee Hazlewood, Yoko Ono, Peter Weir, Alice Coltrane, Remy Charlip. 

What was the first CD/record you ever bought? Among the first albums we bought (literally the very first were the brightly colored plastic records for our Fisher Price Record Player my mom bought for us) were compilations of hits and novelty songs from the 1950s-1970s. I have such vivid memories of singing along to songs like The Coasters’ “Yakety Yak” (1958), Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs “Li’l Red Riding Hood” (1966) and Napoleon XIV’s “They’re Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!” The combination of catchy melodies, interesting arrangements and evocative narrative imagery certainly sparked our childhood curiosity and imagination. 

What was the first concert you ever went to? Peter, Paul and Mary with my mom at The Stanley Theatre in downtown Pittsburgh. 

Who plays on your latest album?  Where did you find them? Family and friends (new and old) and members of The Garment District live band are featured on the new album. One extremely rewarding aspect of recording the new album was working with my cousin Lucy Blehar, who is a vocalist. I have always been drawn to the concept of family bands (I play in The Ladybug Transistor with my brother Jeff) and what can arise between relatives who collaborate on creative endeavors. For the two of us, we are able to sing backups and harmonies and double certain melody lines together. We share a very close bond personally, so the recording process was a very organic and fulfilling way of enjoying the studio environment together. This continues my family’s music-making heritage, as our grandfather, great-aunt and great-uncles on my dad’s side performed in Croatian tamburitza orchestra family bands in the Monongahela Valley towns Braddock and Rankin, and in Benwood, West Virginia, often for boarders who worked in area steel mills. To have Shivika Asthana (Papas Fritas) play drums on several songs on the new album is deeply special to me and to the identity of the drum sound. Our bands played shows together in the past, including at The Knitting Factory in NYC. It has been a tremendous joy to reconnect through music and the indie craft scene now that we both live in Pittsburgh. Another meaningful thread on the new album that also connects several dots, is one of the drum kits we used – a beautiful sounding 1966 Slingerland belonging to Laura Rogers (our bands, Saturnine and Ruby Falls, also played shows together in NYC and I am close with Laura’s sister and former bandmate Jennifer, who also lives right near me in Pittsburgh!). Though its provenance has not been confirmed, Laura was told that the kit, which she bought from a collector in Detroit, was used on the Nirvana “Unplugged” recordings. I love that our lives have intersected in these ways. It is also incredibly special to me that the new album features horns by my Ladybug bandmate and close friend Gary Olson on trumpet as well as Ladybugger Kyle Forester (whose solo band we just played with in Brooklyn in November) on saxophone. So, Flowers Telegraphed to All Parts of the World brings together people I adore deeply, whose gifts and energy helped the music come to life, including Dan Koshute (guitar, vocals), Corry Drake (bass), Sean Finn (drums), Shivika Asthana (drums), Alex Korshin (vocals), Nathan Musser (violin, cello) and David Klug (drums). And my constant close listener: my husband Greg Langel. 

Who is in your backup band when you tour? The current Garment District live band features Corry Drake (bass), Mike Kelly (guitar), Sean Finn (drums), Alex Korshin (vocals), and Erik Cirelli (guitar). We just performed in December for the new SYNC’D Presents series at one of my favorite Pittsburgh venues, Spirit. The event included an incredible liquid light show accompanying the music in real-time created by Billy Gruber, who runs SOS Lightshow in Dayton, Ohio. On January 28, we are thrilled to be opening for William Tyler & The Impossible Truth at Bottlerocket Social Hall. Past live show highlights for The Garment District include performing at the VIA Music & New Media Festival, The Andy Warhol Museum Sound Series and Silver Studio Sessions; Ladyfest, Deutschtown Music Festival; and Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Music SPACE series; opening for Parquet Courts, Julia Holter, Soft Moon, A. Savage, Jack Cooper, The Essex Green, Jenny Hval and Mr. Airplane Man; performing at the Carrie Blast Furnaces National Historic Landmark for the THRIVAL Festival; playing in an abandoned 1900s-era Czech Church on the Allegheny River for the SYNC’D series; and filming a live video segment at the Mattress Factory museum (where I used to work) for Doug Aitken’s Station to Station project. 

Where can people find your music? The vinyl and digital LP is available from Happy Happy Birthday to Me Records. The LP is also available in shops, with U.S. distribution through Midheaven Mailorder / Revolver.  https://www.hhbtm.com/product/flowers-telegraphed-to-all-parts-of-the-world/

Distribution for the new LP overseas is through: UK: Plastichead     Germany, Austria, Switzerland: Cargo     Border Music: Scandinavia     Goodfellas: Italy     Australia/New Zealand: Planet MGM/Groove Merchants     Benelux: Suburban   All of my current and past releases are available digitally through Bandcamp. My music is also available for listening on all streaming platforms (please support independent musicians when you can!) 

Video still of Jennifer by Sandy Loaf.

Are CD releases a thing of the past? Not in my particular world. Based on the number of people who purchased (or requested) CDs on our Ladybug Transistor tour in November, I would say no. I still have most of my CDs from the 1990s and we often listen to them on car trips. A few years ago, I actually released a CD of all-instrumental solo music, “Luminous Toxin,” via Kendra Steiner Editions, the Texas-based experimental label run by acclaimed writer Bill Shute.

How was the concert in Norway? (Egersund Visefestival) Absolutely dreamy! After having the magical experience of performing at the Egersund Visefestival in 2019 (where we joined Elf Power, Robyn Hitchcock, Emma Swift, The Essex Green, I Was a King and others), we were invited to return to the sublime southwestern coast of Norway for this past summer’s festival. It was especially fulfilling after the frightening pandemic years. In July, we performed at the festival along with Teenage Fanclub, Elf Power, The Minus 5, The No Ones, Colored Lights, The High Water Marks, Euros Childs, Honey Radar, The Rishis, and more. It was also the international premiere of the new Elephant 6 documentary, so there was a screening and panel discussion (that my brother Jeff participated in with Hilarie Sidney and Andrew Rieger). A blissful experience and also a total whirlwind of activity, including marathon rehearsals in a historic Norwegian house, sneaking in crisp lake swims, and not sleeping much during the midnight sun! One of many highlights was getting to play melodica (me) and flute (Sasha) with Peter Buck and Scott McCaughey during The No Ones' closing set.  Since we had our November 9 show at The Andy Warhol Museum scheduled well in advance, we decided to book a Fall mini-tour for November 2023. It was truly a dream to be back on stage and in the van  (aka a massive sprinter!) with Gary, Sasha, Julia, my brother Jeff, plus Derek Almstead on drums and Ake Strömer (of the incredible Strömer Mutroniks) helping us with driving and merchandise sales. The shows at Public Records in Brooklyn and The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh were particularly moving and thrilling, with sooo many old and new friends (we missed you, Tim!) and family members in attendance. It was fantastic to be back at Schuba’s again in Chicago and see Eric and his daughter. One unexpected highlight was discovering how incredible the Bell’s Brewery venue and facility are in Kalamazoo! We hope to be back on tour again in 2024. 

Sasha Bell and Jennifer on stage with No Ones at Egersund.

Tell us about your involvement with the Elephant 6 film? I contributed some archival footage that is used in the documentary, from our extensive late 1990s U.S. tours with Of Montreal. The digitizing continues! I also participated in post-screening Q&As with Derek Almstead when the film premiered in Pittsburgh at The Harris Theater in September 2023. 

Will you be touring your new album? I absolutely hope to soon, and would love to see Dagger readers out there along the way. The Garment District has only played locally so I look forward to more shows and some touring. Stay tuned please and stay in touch! 

What are your future plans? It has been a true joy to rebuild the live band after overwhelming pandemic interruptions. I look forward to performing more regularly and celebrating the new LP. I plan to continue my cross-country collaborations with artist Nicole Czapinksi, who created the music video for “Left on Coast” (filmed at an abandoned Nike Missile Site in Western Pennsylvania). Nicole would love to project live visuals, responding to our music in real-time using techniques we experimented with in the video. Likewise, I expect to continue collaborating with Asheville, North Carolina-based artist Peter Speer, who I have known since our shared NYC days, who created the music video for “Following Me,” our cover of the 1967 song by The Human Expression. I have started conversations with Pittsburgh artists Johnny Arlett, Michi Tapes and Sandy Loaf about working on new music videos for The Garment District. This winter, I will be contributing a track to a compilation planned for 6612 Tapes, the label run by Elephant 6 co-founder Hilarie Sidney (The High Water Marks, The Apples in Stereo), with all proceeds going to a blue candidate in a vulnerable state during the 2024 U.S. election. I have some new Garment District demos emerging and hope to be back in the studio soon! 

I hope you enjoyed learning more about Jennifer as much as I did. We can only hope she will bring her band out on the road in the future. It was such a fun time seeing The Ladybug Transistor in Chicago. Here’s hoping a new year will bring a new tour.

www.thegarmentdistrict.bandcamp.com

www.hhbtm.bandcamp.com

www.mergerecords.bandcamp.com

[charlottemanningjourno]

Hello!

Here's a selection of some of my fave work I've done in recent years...

Profiles

Loreen: how a legacy of warrior women helped the star win Eurovision - [Rolling Stone UK]

Alex Scott: ‘No one knew that I was going to wear the armband in Qatar’ - [Attitude]

John Whaite on why memoir is a ‘love letter’ to fiancé Paul: ‘He’s my biggest cheerleader’ - [Attitude]

Features

These Tweets Show Britain's Classic Camp TV Moments - [VICE UK]

‘The Masked Singer got me my record deal’: How celebrities took over reality TV and won - [The Independent]

T-shirts, trivia and on-air proposals: why everything stops for Popmaster - [The Guardian]

A Day In The Life Of… Blind Date: ‘I was approached outside a nightclub in Watford - [Metro]

University Graduates Are Being Dropped from Jobs Before They Even Start - [VICE UK]

Pretty East London neighbourhood becoming a 'ghost town' as shopkeepers are being priced out - [MyLondon]

The Outnumbered kids celebrate 15 years of beloved BBC sitcom: ‘I was such a nightmare for the props department’ - [Metro]

TV/film/pop culture interviews

The Aces on ’emotional’ third LP and growing up in Mormon Utah: ‘Three out of four of us are gay’ [Attitude]

Bottoms creator Emma Seligman: ‘I want to see more flawed queer teens on-screen’ - [Attitude]

Mae Muller on ‘honest’ debut album, bouncing back after Eurovision and ‘p***ing off the right people’ - [Attitude]

Rita Ora on ‘personal’ new era: ‘I look at this as a reintroduction’ [Attitude]

Joe Lycett on bringing queer culture to Friday night live prime time: ‘It’s the stuff I’ve always wanted to do on telly’ - [Attitude]

Reviews

King Princess live in London: US star finds community at sold out KOKO show - [Rolling Stone UK]

Everything I Know About Love review: Move over Love Island, your nostalgia-fuelled summer romance is already here - [Metro]

Romy at All Points East review: Euphoric set proves there’s so much more fun still to come - [Attitude]

Mae Muller ‘Sorry I’m Late’ album review: A dazzling debut from London’s new pop princess - [Attitude]

Political interviews

Baroness Ruth Hunt on quitting Stonewall and being ‘way too young’ for House of Lords - [Attitude]

Green Party’s deputy leader Zack Polanski interview: ‘There’s no LGB without the T - [Attitude]

Layla Moran: ‘Being outed so publicly and prematurely has left some scars’ [Attitude]

Misc fun bits I enjoyed writing

5 times Chris Eubank delivered ‘fantabulous’ TV gold all in just one episode of Celebrity MasterChef - [Metro]

Three friends who quit their jobs to run a Walthamstow record shop out of a shipping container [MyLondon]

Londoners are sharing their icks about their own city and it’s gold - [Metro]

'My love of Lego started as a kid - now my designs have been worn by Will.I.Am and Pharrell' - [MyLondon]

Man installs fake timetable to propose at London bus stop where he met girlfriend - [Metro]

Taylor Swift drops 5 new dazzling vault tracks on 1989 (Taylor’s Version) – here’s the complete rundown - [Attitude]

Op-eds

I quit focusing on losing weight and now exercise helps me love myself - [Metro]

I Miss The Thrill Of One-Night Stands - [Huff Post]

Radio

Appeared on: BBC Radio 5 Live, all of BBC's regional news stations, BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Ulster, BBC Radio Scotland

Red carpet/live events coverage

TV BAFTAs 2022/23, Eurovision 2023, British Soap Awards, Attitude Awards, Commonwealth Games closing ceremony 2022, Radio 1's Big Weekend

[recordplayer70]

Transatlantic Teutonic Two Step Take 119 [Oct 11th 2023]

Please click Here if the music player widget does not appear

Tracks:

Skiftande Enheter - Öppna Landskap - Öppna Landskap EP (2022)[ Happiest Place - HP14]

The Fiery Furnaces - Norwegian Wood - The Fiery Furnaces/Ted Leo Split 45 (2005)[Razor & Tie - 79301-80858-7]

Bob Kuban And The In-Men - Drive My Car - Drive My Car 45 (1966)[Musicland USA - 20,007]

Die Monitr Batss - Blackout Cross - Matmos / Die Monitr Batss - Split Seven Inch (2004)[Ache - ACHE016]

Woodhead Monroe - Identify - Identify 45 (1982)[ Stiff Records - 6.13475 AC]

Pow! - Castle Of Faith (Mikey Young Remix) - Free Flexi w/ Crack An Egg LP (2017) [CASTLE FACE 81]

Maximum Joy - In The Air - In The Air 45 (1982)[Y Records – Y26]

Damaged Bug - Exit Vollmer - Flexi 45 (2021)[Sometimes Records - 001]

Cobra Killer - Try It - Right Into A Kick For More 45 (1999)[Digital Hardcore Recordings (DHR) - DHR 23]

Sparks - Profile - Get In The Swing 45 (1975)[Island Records - 16 153 AT]

Terry Malts - Disconnect - Terry Malts / Dead Angle Shit Split (2012)[Loglady - LL007]

Plasticland - In My Black And White - Flower Scene 45 (1985)[Midnight Records - MID 4510]

Plattenbau - Slave / Ship - Sleep / Paralysis 45 (2018)[Not On Label]

Bruce Haack - Incantation / Song Of The Death Machine - V/A Dig This 7 inch EP (1970)[Columbia - AS 3]

Roy Montgomery - It's Cold Outside - Double 7 inch s.t. EP (1996)[Siltbreeze - SB58/59]

John Updike - Reading From Pigeon Feathers "Lifeguard" (excerpt) - Reading From Pigeon Feathers "Lifeguard" 7 inch (1963)[Calliope Records - CAL 17]