#recommended listening headphones at much volume i am quiet

[meadowlarkx]

loving, intensely low-tech tribute to @i-am-a-lonely-visitor's incredible Mamma Mia AU, here we go again (lyrics from chapter 8)!! In Finrod's words, "Here’s one we used to sing in the camps of the War of Wrath"

[claryaastark]

Strings of Fate

05162020

She goes South, he went North. He walks downstairs, she rode the elevator upstairs. He rides the bus, she gets down because it’s the place of her destination.

I smiled as I saw the invisible strings that tangle around them. If they can feel or see it, I am certain that one of them will trip, or choke to it.

I put the golden bow and arrow that I was holding, and touch my chin. I looked at my reflection on the well ; the well of destiny. It was deep and crystal clear. And beyond, I can perfectly see that there are millions, millions of red strings that tangle around. If people can only look to planet earth through my perspective, they can see that this world was not blue nor green. It was red. Millions of faces, all trying to chase their fate. Some that are in wrong path, many are lost. And some were on their way to their true fate. And some are lucky, that they found where, who and what they are meant to be.

People’s fate in this world was sorted. There are complex tangle, those who are often lost, confused and indecisive with their fates. Some people who belong to the complex tangle, are those who die without having the chance to find their true fate. The other one, was the simple tangle or simply the lucky ones. They are the ones who find their true fate, and live their lives happily, with their loved ones, passion, success and profession. And last was the neutral tangle, those who find their fate but still feel lost, and empty. Like there is something that’s missing. For me, they are the most unfortunate ones. They get all the things that they want, the success that they aim, but still feel empty.

My brows furrowed as I looked at the pair of complex and neutral red strings that glimmer among the oceans of string. I heaved a sigh and massaged my forehead. This kind of fate was the most complicated ones, I am seriously having a hard time on making way for these kind of people. Forgive me but I was not a God. I was just a mediator between their true fate, and their way to it. I was just a traveler who tries to pull their strings together, but in the end it is still the will of God that will lead them to their true fate. Seriously, this job is way more complicated than those job that I entered when I was still a human. I sipped my coffee and stare at the pair of complex and neutral strings, I smiled bitterly as I saw myself to them. They are unlucky.

Let me tell you a story. But to spoil you a bit, this is not a love story nor a life story. But this is a story about love and life. Difference was big.

She is Yssa, a doctor, and she belongs to the complex fate. He is Sam, an engineer, and he belongs to the neutral fate. And this is what happens when a neutral and complex fate, tangle together. It is literally choking.

15 years ago, Yssa was a stubborn and a happy-go-lucky college student. During her freshman year, she just loves living her life to the fullest. She loves to party, drink, go out with her friends and her mantra was literally “You Only Live Once”

She also loves socializing with people. She has this lovely aura that can make people fall in love with her just by seeing her smile. She is light and soft, she loves helping those who are in need. She even became a part of their school’s student council department during her sophomore year. She has the talent in music, and became prominent when she joined their University’s band. Their life is simple, she has a happy family, a religious parents and very supportive siblings. Her life was perfect — almost perfect.

Until a tragedy came to her life.

It was 4th of August, year 2005. Yssa was on her way home after attending her friend’s party, it was almost midnight. She was walking along the Timog street, as five drunk men approached her. She tried pushing them away, but they forced themselves to her. She tried to scream, to call for help, but there is no one. The rest was history, she was raped and that’s when she started hating her life.

A lonely boy. That’s what they called him.

Sam is an introvert, and socially awkward. He never mingles with anyone, he always wear his headphones because the noisy world irritates him. He was bullied during his high school days because of isolating himself from people. He has the talent in art and it became his way of expressing himself. He was abused by his father when he was a child, his mother abandoned them. His family was messed-up, he doesn’t even had people whom he can consider as home. He was always alone, alone and sad. He was used to this life, to the feeling of emptiness and sadness.

Until she met someone that changed her life.

It was 4th of August, year 2005. Sam was sitting alone on one of the benches on his favorite park. The ambience is good and quiet. He loves sitting there to feel the deafening silence and let himself consume by loneliness. He was taken aback when a girl approached her.

“I’ve been seeing you often here, you know what? This is my favorite spot, but since I always saw you sitting here, I just moved to another spot... there”

The girl pointed the bench on the dark part of the park while pouting her lips. Sam just looked at her, and never said a word.

“What do you listen to? Can I?”

Still, Sam has no word. He just removed his left earphone and handed it to the girl.

“Oh my God, they are my favorite band as well! You must listen to No More Bad Days, I do not know you but take that as a song from a stranger”

The girl smiled, and for the first time, Sam smiled too. A genuine smile. And that’s where they started.

It was almost midnight when they decided to part ways. Sam was walking along, smiling, volume’s up while listening the song that the girl had recommended. He doesn’t care about the world around him.

And that is the first time that I pulled their strings together.

Yssa was on her way home, to south. And Sam was on his way home, to North. And they met in the middle. They crossed their way, only two of them on the street. But sadly, he never heard Yssa’s scream as those 5 men forced themselves to her because he was wearing his earphones.

They did cross ways, but never noticed each other.

Yssa started hating her life after that tragedy. She dropped all her subject, she just spent her life on home. Taking her medicines, monthly counseling and quarter therapy to recover from her trauma. After a year of being raped, she changed so much. The happy Yssa has turned into someone opposite. She enrolled for a new course and moved into another University, still continuously taking her medicine. Moving on is not easy for her, though they caught those people who molested her, and she got the justice, still, it was more than traumatic. But she decided to build a new life. She never made friends with anyone, she became always alone. She became socially anxious, she loves wearing jacket, to cover her body from anyone. She never reveal her skin, and that makes people think that she is a weirdo. Even to her own brother and father she became distant, afraid to trust any man —even her own family. During her sophomore years, she decided to dropped her course again, because of her anxiety of people and being abused again. And that’s where she decided to do arts. She took online classes, and it seems like in there, she found a little call of passion and happiness. And after almost 3 years, she can say that she is slowly recovering from trauma.

Wearing her jacket, beanie and pants, March 14, year 2008. 1:30 in the afternoon, she decided to go outside to buy materials for her new piece. She was still anxious but after dropping her second course, it was her first time to go outside. Her mother insisted to buy the stuff for her. But Yssa refused to, she said that she can go alone outside.

On the other hand, Sam’s life has totally changed. To sum it up, the girl that he met that night became his friend — and their relationship turned into something more. The girl has became Sam’s girlfriend. After living almost all of his life alone, sad and empty, Sam has finally found a reason to pursue, to dream, to live. He turned into a happy man. He still hates the noisy world, but he learns to socialize with people and smile often. And that is because of his girlfriend. The girl changed him. He treated the girl as his own family. He also learned to forgive his parents for bringing him such loneliness. He is now a graduating engineering student, and all his success was for her. He almost had everything now, the love that he is craving, the forgiveness to his family and to himself, the happiness, the success. And he doesn’t want more. He is contented.

14th of March, year 2008. It was a day before his graduation day. Sam and his girlfriend decided to go on an Art’s shop, to look for art materials because Sam will be joining an online art competition. They used the stairs instead of riding the elevator. Because Sam’s girlfriend loves to walk.

And that’s the second time that I pulled their strings together.

Yssa rode the elevator, and they met at the shop. Sam was on the right side, looking for an acrylic water color, and Yssa was on the left side, looking for a sketchpad. And in the middle was Sam’s girlfriend.

They met again, but they didn’t notice each other. Because Sam was looking to her girlfriend— to another girl...and behind her girlfriend was his true fate, — Yssa.

The strings glimmer as their eyes met and rapidly glance with each other.

A year after that encounter, Yssa had quit arts and decided to enter a new University again. Where she took BS Psychology. Upon doing arts, she realized that she can express herself and fully recover from her trauma by trying to study her mind, and understand herself. She decided to help others who are going through the same trauma, by being a Psychologist. Time passed by, until she finally finished her bachelor's degree. She entered med school to pursue her calling, which is to become a Psychiatrist. Her College life was never been easy. She still isolates herself from people and never made friends with anyone. But as time goes by, she finally learned to smile at people again. To open a conversation and to comfort someone. Opening up about her trauma was difficult, but being a psychologist, she learned to deal with it. There are still nightmares that haunt her every night, things that make her remember what she experienced. But little by little, she build herself again.

It was 16th of May year 2012. Yssa was exhausted, med school is stressing her out. But she was thankful because her mind was too occupied with academics. Not with other things. She wears her usual jacket and beanie outfit. Many years have passed, but she can't still have the confidence and braveness to show her skin to people. She rode the bus and is on her way for their blood letting acitivity. It was a project conducted by the college of medicine, and every student was required to donate blood. With too much exhaustion, she puts her earphones, and sleep.

He is back to his old self, more lonely, alone and sad. After 6 years of being together, Sam and her girlfriend broke-up.

He also thought, that the girl was the one for her. They imagined and dream their futures together, they did all the things together. Sam's girlfriend was a part of him, and when she left, Sam was never complete again. The girl left to chase her dream abroad, and after a year of leaving, she married another guy in there. The reason why she left Sam and exchange him from the guy that she just met there was simply, falling out of love. Sam loathed the world again. He became miserable, he did all the things just to forget and move on from the girl that he only loved all his life. Starting over again without the part that made him whole, was hard. He busied himself with work. He became a very successful engineer, he has all the skills that make him famous. He adored by a lot of people. He has the money, the fame, but still, a big part of his life was missing. And that gap will never be filled by anything.

It was 16th of May, year 2012. Sam was on his way home, it was a gloomy day and he doesn't have any umbrella to protect himself from the rain. It was also the day of his car’s coding, that's why he doesn't have any choice but to commute. He was waiting for the bus on the bustling street of Marcos Hiway, and behind him was tents, full of medical people, doing a blood letting activity. The bus has finally arrived.

And that is the third time that I pulled their strings together.

Yssa was getting down the bus and Sam was riding into it. They bumped their shoulders together. The strings glimmer as they looked into each other's eye and said sorry.

They talked. But they never noticed each other.

Aaaaaaaa, I stretched my arms and drink my coffee. I smiled as I saw their strings glimmer again this time. I'm wrong, they are lucky. The will of God had put them together.

For the first time, I saw a complex and neutral strings that successfully tangled with each other. They are lucky, because unlike me, I never tangle with a neutral string. When I was a human, I fell inlove with a girl that belongs to the neutral string, I thought we were the ones for each other. But even before confessing my love to her, she killed herself because of emptiness and feeling unloved. I blamed myself for not showing that I truly care for her, that there is someone who loves her so much.

And with that, I killed myself too.

And this is my consequence. I became a mediator of fate. The one who pulls the strings of people together. The one who make way for them to meet and have their own happy endings. Life is ironic, right? I am the one who make people meet their true fates, but I, myself was alone and unhappy.

Life is a cycle of emotions. All people were played by their own destiny. God knows His plans for us, but people are the ones which are responsible to find their ways to it. In life, we were tossed and twisted, and it hurts. To assume today that everything’s gonna be fine, but tomorrow you’re gonna wake-up with another uncertainty of life. People must learn how to deal with it.

I smiled bitterly and look at the golden bracelet that glimmers on my left wrist.

CUPID.

My name was beautifully engraved on it. The only memory that she left on me.

Anyway, I smiled as I saw Yssa and Sam's string glimmers together. It was beautiful. Being with your true fate is beautiful.

The bus engine started again. Sam was on his way home, and Yssa was pumping a rubber ball while donating her blood.

Unluckily, in just snap, the bus had an accident when it swerved lane because of the slippery road and bumped into a ten-wheeler truck. Half of the passenger had died.

But he survived.

Sam was moved into the hospital where Yssa is currently studying. A lot of blood has lost by Sam. And luckily, there are thousands of blood with the same type as him on the hospital. Their strings glimmer that it almost blinded me, out of thousand bag of bloods, the doctor gets the bag of Yssa's blood.

He survived. And Yssa's blood was running through his veins. And they will never know.

Their strings tangle together as Sam woke up with a face of a smiling girl beside her.

A very unexplainable emotion, his heart skipped a beat.

"Hi Sam, I'm Yssa, your volunteer doctor"

[thegrazingblacksheep]

So for Christmas of 2021, my Other Half surprised me with two tickets for the Hans Zimmer live show in Manchester, in the AO Arena. He hates driving in / around and even near to cities, but still did a heroic drive here from Cardiff.

After dropping off the car at our hotel called The niu Loom, we took an Uber to the Northern Quarter to grab a bite before the show, and we were heading to the What The Pitta. I was not that hungry, because we did a bold and sinful lunch in a Burger King somewhere on a motorway; so just went with some waffle fries. Other Half chose chicken nuggets, and he was quite satisfied with it. 

I'm from a big city, and I miss them so much. Every time we visit anything bigger than Cardiff, I am flying in happiness, because I feel the sizzling city life, the sound of traffic, the view of lots of people are heading somewhere, which is always inspiring me to do stuff.

So I loved Manchester. All of those red bricked buildings, the Peaky Blinders vibe around, heavy traffic, and a Friday night looking Thursday night - happy days. I love when there are options: cafés, food, shops, trade - life, nah. 

Getting in the AO Arena was actually quite well organised, apart from a guy from crowd management who said that the venue won't let me in with my 40cm x 20cm rucksack, and caused a smaller worry. But loads of people had their bags let through, and our security guy liked Other Half's beard, so we were fine.

Those who know Hans Zimmer's work, know. From Pirates of the Caribbean through Interstellar to Sherlock Holmes via the Lion King and Dune, he called many movies into life with amazing scores and themes. Impossible to express what this guy can do with instruments, singers and music patterns, honestly. 

For those who don't know his works, I recommend a good quality - nothing less than at least a Sennheiser - headphones, a quiet corner, solitude, and decent volume to listen basically anything he wrote the score of. Okay, maybe start with the Dark Knight, or Inception...

It was lovely to see his crowd cheering for him, shouting in "We love you, Hans" many times. He was good, easy going, brilliant, and appreciated his musicians a lot.

So far, I kept Muse at Wembley (16th June, 2007) on the first place of all time live favourite, but sorry guys, Hans took over tonight. I know they are not even comparable, but what can you expect from someone who shuffles a playlist which has Fleshgod Apocalypse, Muse, Lana del Rey, random-heroic-obscure-metal-band, classical music and the Tron (Daft Punk version)... Nevermind.

I found it quite a big moment when he expressed his appreciation for Ukraine, highlighting that some from his orchestra are from Ukraine. Two seconds later the whole Manchester Arena stood up without asking, clapping and giving a moment for them. I don't think I will ever forget this. Thank you, Maestro.

Also, he effortlessly opened different dimensions with his music as well. Especially during Paul's Dream from Dune and then Leah Zeger with the Interstellar. 

I find it pointless to write about it, because this experience is something that you have to go through at least once in your life. It is impossible to describe and explain it, because it is music, and that is above everything, really. Just grab the previously mentioned headset and a random Hans Zimmer playlist, and you will know what I mean. 

I wish the show never ended... But it did, and after a super kind Uber driver dropped us off at the hotel, we were still somewhere in one of those HansZimmerian dimensions, not realising that we submitted a Uber Eats order 5 minutes before the restaurant's closing time. We were not sure we will get it, but it turned up eventually, big thank you for that! Was a tiny bit different than to what we ordered, but we didn't really mind. 

What a day! Seeing, hearing Hans Zimmer's live show. Honestly, I will never forget this.

Update: sorry, when I started writing this post, it seemed a good idea. But I realised how impossible is to write a review about a live music event - simply pointless :) You have to be there, that's it!

[bmack7]

Living with ADD

Have you ever wondered what all this ADHD is?  What someone who experiences this deals with in their day to day life?  Often, people joke about it, “Oh, I got distracted, I must have ADD.” Believe me, if you had it, you would know.  Here’s what I want you to do:

Open a new browser, itunes, spotify, pandora or any other music player you have.  Two is best, but one will do if you only have one.

I want you to now start opening tabs on your browser. A. Youtube B. Facebook C. Twitter D. Instagram E. Tumblr F. Netflix G. Buzzfeed H. Your e-mail

On YouTube, I would like you to search for “Firebringerl” - get ready to start it up, but don’t hit play quite yet.

On Netflix I want you to find any documentary.

Okay, are you ready to get started? A. Start playing music from all your music players - itunes, pandora, etc...turn your volume to a background level - you should be able to hear it, but it shouldn’t be blasting.  Two different songs should be playing right now. B. Start the video on youtube.  Make sure autoplay is on, so it goes from video to video without you having to interfere. C. Start the documentary on Netflix.  At this point you should have, at minimum, 3 things playing all at the same time.

Go ahead and open the first Buzzfeed article you see.  Now open another tab, open Buzzfeed in that tab as well, and find an article that has a video.  Start the video.

While the video is playing, you can spend approximately 10-30 seconds looking at your other pages that are open.  After no more than 30 seconds, you need to change tabs.

Aha! You’ve seen a great recipe on facebook and now you’re in the mood for chicken.  Please open another tab and go to Pintrest.  Start searching for baked lemon chicken.

Lemon...hmm...you like lemon.  Where did lemon originate from?  Open another tab and start googling.

You also love the smell of lemon.  Open another tab and go to Bath and Body Works.com  See what kind of lemon scented things they have.

You have no idea how much money is in your bank account, time to open another tab and check it.

Wait!  You love this song!  Pause the second music player and listen for a couple of seconds.  What are those lyrics?  Open another tab and start to google.

You know, you really love this band.  I wonder what else they’ve done?  Open two more tabs, one for google and one for youtube - start looking them up.

You should have no less than 5 different things playing in the background along with a ton of open tabs.  By the way, you haven’t looked at facebook in two minutes, you really need to check that.

Oh, you haven’t talked to that person in forever...you should check out their page.

Are you exhausted yet?  Go ahead and stop all the things that are making noise and feel free to close out the browser.  Imagine this being your brain at ALL times.  It doesn’t stop, you can’t turn down the volume or press the pause button.  Welcome to the mind of someone who struggles with ADHD.  You brain never slows down, never stops.  While writing this, I’ve checked facebook, three different stories I’m reading, played an ASL quiz, played a partial game of solitaire, checked e-mails on all 4 of my accounts, and spent 2 minutes on Netflix’s documentary section looking for a suitable documentary to recommend.

When I get distracted, it's not because I find you boring, my brain literally cannot stay on one thing for more than a couple of seconds. I don’t have that capacity.  It’s hard for me to keep eye contact when I’m talking, because I am a hundred other places. One thing I find I get picked on for a lot is muting the TV.  I always want the commercials muted and I rarely will have the TV on, even in the background, if it's just me.  If I’m trying to watch a show that I REALLY want to see, it will often take me 2-3 hours to get through one episode because I constantly have to pause to look things up or play a game on my phone or even just have things quiet for a minute or two.  I will generally sigh in relief when the TV gets muted because it is one less thing that I’m being stimulated by.

No, the volume on the TV wasn’t that loud, but the volume in my head WAS.  I get picked on when I just up and leave a room.  Usually by that point I’m so overstimulated it's all I can do not to lose it.  I need to go be alone in the quiet - more often than not you’ll find me underneath a blanket, headphones (but no music) on and just trying to get my thoughts in order.

When I go to bed I must have the TV on - it almost always needs to be set to a movie or TV show that I have seen many times before.  If I can’t get my brain to concentrate on things I know (If it’s something I haven’t seen, my brain will keep me awake to see it) I’ll have so much running through my head that I can’t get to sleep.

And let’s talk about school.  It takes EVERYTHING I have to concentrate in school.  Do you know how many new sights and sounds are around me?  I have to physically hand-write because it keeps my brain occupied.  If that falters, then I’m done for.  I take notes during movies because when it’s over, I will have absolutely no idea what I just watched.  In fact, that’s a fact of my life...within a few seconds I don’t know what just happened.  I take a lot of pictures, though I don’t post them all, and I have friends and family who get mad because they don’t like having their picture taken.  What they don’t understand is that if I don’t have a visual representation of it, I’ll forget that it happened.  I don’t want to be like this, but I can’t help it.

Speaking of visual, remember those notes...if you tell me something I can 100% guarantee I won’t remember it.  When I tell you text me the thing you just told me, or I write it down either on my phone or in a planner...this is how I keep track of things (though chances are good that I’ll misplace my planner, forget the note is in the phone and forget anyway...it's best just to text me the day of).  This also makes learning languages next to impossible...if I only hear it, I can’t process it.  It’s not that I’m stupid, I just can’t learn that way.

Can you even begin to imagine how utterly exhausting/draining this is?  This starts the second I wake up and goes until the second I fall asleep.  Now, I’ve lived with it my whole life so I can’t imagine what it would be like NOT to live like this, but I digress.  Be kind to your friends who ACTUALLY have ADHD.  Mute the commercials when they ask, don’t call them names because they can’t keep eye contact during a conversation...they’re listening!  I promise!  Text them the information.  Because it drove you crazy and you only dealt with it for five minutes - they live with it every second.  It’s really hard...and...squirrel! Gotta go, I need to google how to train a pet squirrel.  I also need to pull up a random name generator to name my new friend...I wonder if it's a boy or a girl...hmm...Hey Siri!  How can I tell a squirrel’s gender?

[andromedahawking]

...and May All Your Christmases Be White

Synopsis: Christmas is the happiest time of the year...  A little short story to celebrate the beginning of the holiday season.

(Recommended music to listen to while reading: Gwen Stefani’s cover of White Christmas)

Sometimes, things are really great, y’know? The sun is brighter, the blue in the sky is more vibrant, the puffy clouds dotting it are so sharp you can cut your finger on their edges? Everything just sort of... clicks? It’s one of the best feelings in the world. I haven’t gotten enough of that in my life yet, but today I’m one step closer to getting my fill. Especially after all the bad stuff that forced me back onto my antidepressants, it’s more than welcome to come in and stay a while.

It was snowy last night, but today the cold front is leaving us behind for New London. The clouds are breaking apart like little puffballs of cotton, and the sun is shining nice and brightly on the streets of Mystic. I’m outside for the first time in days, and... it feels so good. I’d forgotten how beautiful it is when it snows. Everything is just so clean and white. I can walk down to the bridge to Mason’s Island and look out for miles at nothing but crystal-clear water, looking so smooth it’s like glass. It’s my absolute favourite thing on Earth.

I’m outside because I needed to make a grocery run. With the cold front gone, the winds died down, so I could take my bike, and I rode down there in ten minutes. Sure, the trip back is going to be tougher, what with that one bit that’s at like, forty-five degrees, but it’s only for a short stretch. I’ve been getting better at getting up there. The trick is to just pedal like there’s no tomorrow as you approach so you have a lot of speed at the bottom, then shift down into first gear as fast as you can. My biggest setback here is that my backpack is loaded with groceries, so... that’ll weigh me down.

I’m coming up on the rise now. Hello, Reynold’s Hill! How are you today? I move into a standing position and speed up, trying to ignore the weight on my back and focus on the sounds of White Christmas in my headphones. Cereal for me, chocolates for us, and lots of coffee for my sister. Normally I’ll tease her about how much of the stuff she drinks, but today... man, it’s just too great of a day to do that. I’m having trouble keeping the smile off my face even though I’m about to go up freaking Reynold’s Hill. Who smiles going up Reynold’s Hill? Weirdos, that’s who. Today, I finally get to be a weirdo. 

It’s taxing as all hell. I manage to get up a little over halfway before I lose the steam I built up, and then I’m pushing all under my own power. “Inertia’s a bitch,” I groan. I can feel the pedals slowing down under my feet. Each push is tougher than the last. Even standing up, it’s getting really hard to put one foot down after the other. Is there enough space to zig-zag on this road? I look around. Uh... no. Shit. Hm. This ends one of two ways: I succeed, or I’m gonna fall down. I’m going to try for option 1! I push harder. “Come on, you can do it!”

The pedals push back, and my wheels slog forward as if I’m trying to pedal through a mud puddle. If I think about it I can almost imagine the road being made out of freshly-made mud, thick and sticky. I don’t have to imagine the huge amount of pressure I’m pushing with, though—I’m practically putting all my weight onto my raised foot with each turn. I can’t tell if I’m maintaining a crawling speed or if I’m about to come to a stop in the middle of the street. The bike is starting to feel unstable underneath me. Am I going down? Am I going down?! I give another desperate push. I can do this!

I stay in this limbo for the next 25 feet, which doesn’t sound like much, but it takes me nearly a minute to cross that distance. This hill is steep. Not as steep as School Street, which I don’t even wanna ride down, but it’s steep. By the time I feel the resistance start to ease up, my legs are burning from the effort. I shift back into a higher gear, sighing with relief. “I did it,” I hiss at the road. “Take that.”

After that, it’s cream and roses the rest of the way home. I feel a surge of victory euphoria hit me as I pick up speed. The last time I did that without tipping was two months ago! I had been doing great up until then, but then... well, two big things happened, and a bunch of small things. The big things fucked me up. I found out my book was turned down by all the publishers I sent my manuscript to, and my best friend got hit with a bad diagnosis of cancer. I was in a big funk up until last month, when I called my friend up, and she told me that the doctors said they were optimistic that she might actually pull through. That managed to lift my spirits, and today has only raised the waterline on how high they’ll go.

I’m back home in another minute, and I’m inside in two. I take my shoes off, dial down the volume of my music, then go into the kitchen and put my backpack on the kitchen island. Doing that makes me feel 20 pounds lighter, and my shoulders lift of their own accord. Then I’m suddenly aware that I’m hot as hell under my sweater, and I rapidly pull it off of me, tossing it onto a nearby chair. “Hey, sis, I’m back!” I call out, fanning myself with my shirt.

Her footsteps come down the stairs with their usual thundering, and then she appears in the doorway. “Hey there,” she says. “Thanks.”

“Sure thing,” I say, taking out her coffee. “It’s gorgeous outside, you should go into town before the sun sets.”

“Mm.” She takes a bottle and opens the cap.

“Like, the snow’s already melted off the roads, but there’s still some on the grass,” I continue, “and the clouds are broken up, so the sun’s out, and the lighting is just gorgeous. The edges on the clouds are so crisp. It’s absolutely beautiful.” I take out my cereal and my chocolates. “Want some Hershey's with that?”

She shakes her head.

“Okay. I’m honestly really glad I got out today. That was a really good idea.”

“Did you go down to Mason’s Island?”

“Yeah! The water’s flat as a board out there, it’s so smooth. I could see my reflection so well I was practically looking in a mirror.”

“Nice.”

...Wait a sec. Something’s not right. What’s with the dull voice? “What’s up, sis?”

She’s looking at her bottle, frowning slightly. “Nothing.”

The first little hint of something dark begins to prod at the happy bubble in my chest. “Really?”

“Yeah, it’s nothing.”

She doesn’t sound very convinced. Either something happened or someone did something. I take out an earbud and turn down the volume some more. “What happened?”

She takes a breath, almost as if to speak, but then it dies in her throat. I can almost see her deflating. “...You don’t wanna know.”

“I don’t?”

“No. It’s not good.”

“How bad is it, then?”

“...Really bad. You don’t wanna hear it.”

“Why?”

“Because...” She gestures at me. “You’re in a good mood right now. You actually look happy for once.”

“I am happy,” I say. “But I still want to find out what’s wrong.”

“I... I don’t wanna ruin your good mood. You deserve to feel good right now.”

I move closer to her. “Okay, sis, let me be clear, my good mood is not more important than you. I’ve handled pretty bad stuff already, okay? I can handle whatever’s going on.”

Her eyes are starting to well up. “It’s...”

“What? What is it?”

She takes a shaky breath, and... ... ...

I just realised my earbuds are still playing White Christmas. The tune hasn’t changed at all, but... the magic I had been feeling before wasn’t there anymore. I’m listening to the same song but I can’t hear it anymore.

“IIIIIIII’m dreaming of a whiiiiiite Christmaaaaaas With every Christmas card I write...”

“...Say again, I didn’t quite catch that?”

“May your days be merryyyyyy and briiiiight...”

She says it again, but all I hear is buzzing. All I can hear is the music, and a quiet howling sound in my ears that’s steadily growing louder.

“... I... I’ll be back.”

I take my bag of chocolates and walk out onto the back porch. I don’t even feel the cold on my skin.

“And may all your Christmases be whiiiiite...”

I...

“Optimistic.”

Not “certain.”

[randomprose]

title: all i see is dominoes falling up | Read on AO3 summary: krtsk train!au. tsukki is some sort of a famous DJ and kuroo is a fan but doesn’t know who he is. they meet at the train. kuroo’s POV.

a/n: i was listening to Flume’s Tiny Cities on loop as I was writing this. title of this fic is from that song. all from all music by tsukki mentioned in this drabble are story specific. :3

--

He hears the EDM blasting through the boy’s headphones.

Tetsurou has a thing with people blasting music so loud the sound leaks out of their headphones. It makes him worry for their hearing even when he knows it’s not his business and therefore should not care. The boy is standing a couple of feet away from him, there’s a business man in the middle of them, and yet he can still hear the muffled sounds of an EDM through the boy’s large (and probably expensive) white Sony headphones.

To keep his sanity in check, he plugs in his own earphones and scrolls through his current favorite playlist. He sets it on an acceptable volume (unlike the stranger near him) before scrolling through his messages as he waits to get off at his stop.

He pulls up his music player app and browse through his song list for the current song he’s had on repeat for days.

“You listen to Firefly?”

A voice sounded beside him and Tetsurou looks up to meet bored yellow eyes. It’s the boy with the loud music and he’s now standing beside him.

“I’m sorry?” Tetsurou takes an earphone off. “How did you know what I was listening to?” He didn’t think his music is loud enough to be heard by anyone else, at least not if they have their own music blasting through their ears, too.

The stranger blinks, startled as if he couldn’t believe Tetsurou heard him, and he slides his headphones down to his neck.

“Oh—umm—Sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude. I just looked down and saw the album cover and I—sorry.”

Tetsurou regards the stranger—tall, blonde, pretty—as he sheepishly looks away.

“Nah, man. It’s cool,” he tells the Pretty Blonde as he thumbs through his music list on his phone. “You know Firefly?”

“I…yeah.”

“My friend recommended him. I’ve only listened to The King’s Fall and Little Giant but so far I like his music. His remixes are good, too.”

“If you like that you should listen to the Flightless Crows and the remix of it he did with Kunikira. It’s longer and more upbeat.”

The doors of the train opened and Pretty Blonde Stranger walks out before Tetsurou could react.

Later, he opens Spotify to search for Firefly’s page. He falls asleep listening to his second EP album.

--

Pretty Blonde is on the same train again standing by the doors and Tetsurou finds himself approaching him. He lowers his headphones when he saw Tetsurou’s reflection on the train’s doors and turns to him.

“So, I listened to the Flightless Crows remix you said last time—well, actually I listened to Firefly’s discography in Spotify until I fell asleep. I normally don’t listen to EDMs or House music much but this guy—he gets it, you know? He knows how to make them real good.”

Tetsurou sees the pretty blonde stranger’s lips curve into a smile. A small one but a smile nonetheless and it looked nice on him that Tetsurou couldn’t help but wonder what it would look like if he smiled more, wider, and what it would take to make that happen.

“I heard he’s dropping a new album tonight.” Pretty Blonde said as he puts his headphones back on. “Around midnight, probably”

“No! Shit, really?!”

Pretty Blonde’s smile is bigger this time, almost as if he’s holding a laugh. And damn, Tetsurou thinks, if he’s this pretty with a smile he wants to know what he would look like laughing.

The train stops as the door opens. Pretty Blonde spares him one last look before he exits.

--

“What do you think?” Pretty Blonde asks as Tetsurou approached him at the same spot by the doors. “Of the new album?”

Tetsurou’s removes an earphone. Firefly’s new album has been on repeat on his playlist since he bought it online.

“Dude, I waited ‘til midnight for the drop. I bought it online as soon as it was available and it���s just been on loop ever since.”

“You think it’s that good?”

“It’s a religious experience.” Tetsurou said, eyes wide as he slowly nods his head.

Pretty Blonde chuckles and it snaps Tetsurou out of his gushing of Firefly’s music. The music from his earphone fading into the background as he listens to Pretty Blonde laugh. Forget Firefly. He wants Pretty Blonde’s laugh on loop instead.

“I’ve never heard anyone call my music a religious experience.”

“I—what?”

The train doors open again and Pretty Blonde is gone before Tetsurou could process what he said.

--

Tetsurou made a beeline to the same train doors as soon as he boarded.

Sure enough Pretty Blonde is standing there, Sony headphones on and his head slightly bowed down. He looks up when he sees him, sliding down his headphones to his neck and a greeting at the tip of his tongue before Tetsurou cut him off.

“You’re Firefly.”

The blonde just blinks, slowly, mildly surprised before his expression levels again.

“So, you’ve searched me.” Firefly said, smooth and cool. “I didn’t think you’d find out this soon.”

He did a little—well, okay he did a huge sweep of the internet last night to search who Firefly is. The artist was so secretive and mysterious that Tetsurou couldn’t find anything about him other than about his work and the common industry info. There aren’t even any photos of him except album covers. He only managed to put a face to the name when he stumbled upon a blog entry from a really old blogging site dated four years ago—the year when Firefly’s first demo was released. The blog was about the demo, promoting it and calling Firefly ‘an up and coming artist’ with a picture of the demo’s cover which was a candid profile shot of Firefly. Tetsurou had stared at his screen in quiet shock before he promptly wished for the ground to swallow him whole.

“Why didn’t you—you just—you should’ve told me!”

Pretty Blonde—Firefly frowns, his thin brows furrowing and a cute pout on his lips. Damn it, Tetsurou thinks, even when he’s frowning he’s cute.

“That would have been presumptuous, I think.”

“No, that would have saved me from embarrassing myself in front of a cute boy!” Tetsurou half shouts before he catches himself and remembered where they are and settles to harsh whispering. “I called your music a religious experience! I mean it is—but! I must have sounded obsessed or something. Oh my god. Please don’t think I am. I just really like your music and I—“

“Umm…” Firefly cuts his rambling. “My real name is Tsukishima Kei. Firefly is just what I use for my music.”

Tetsurou blinks at him before remembering his manners. “Oh—umm—I’m Kuroo. Kuroo Tetsurou.” Tetsurou held out his hand and Tsukishima shook it. “Sorry I don’t have a cool alias.” He said with a smile as a he rubs the back of his head self-consciously.

“Kuroo-san is fine.”

Tetsurou would have preferred for him to call him by his first name but, oh well.

There is an awkward bout of silent after that and Tetsurou just wants the train doors to open so he can throw himself under the tracks. That could’ve gone better. He could have made it all casual and just ‘Oh, hey, man. So, you’re Firefly. Cool I really like your music.’ But no, he had to freak out and make it weird. Good job, Tetsurou.

“So, Kuroo-san thinks I’m cute.” Tsukishima says at length, offhandedly and almost teasing. Tetsurou blushes, wanting more than ever to disappear right there and there, but doesn’t deny it.

“I thought it was already obvious with the way I kept talking to you.”

Tsukishima hums and says nothing else. The stop where he is getting off is getting near and Tetsurou is still working up the courage to ask for his number and debating whether that will be creepy. He did just basically admit that he’s a fan and had stalked the internet for his face.

“What was your favorite track? From the album?”

Tetsurou was caught a little off guard but he managed to answer without stumbling on his words and his voice shaking.

“I like Black Cat. It was catchy and smooth. There was that part with the bass drop followed by a sort of sensual beat that’s just so good and now it’s my personal anthem. But my favorite has got to be The Halo Around the Moon.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I don’t know. It’s just…it gives me a rush, you know? Like…like, I just won something.”

“I see.”

“Did that sound weird? I’m sorry if that sounds weird! I just—”

“No, no. Just…thank you. For liking my music.”

“I don’t know what you’re thanking me for. You’re really good.”

Tetsurou catches the slight coloring on his cheeks before he looked away and—God, how can he be this cute? The guy has a 1.2 million Spotify subscribers with a 2.6 million Twitter following and he acts like it’s a big deal that Tetsurou likes his music? Holy shit. He really is out of Tetsurou’s league.

But God must have taken pity on him because just as he was about to call it quits, Tsukishima turns to him and asks,

“Would you like to come to my studio sometime?”

Tetsurou gapes because did he just hear that right? Did Firefly really just invite him to his studio? Did he actually throw himself in the tracks and died and is now in heaven?

The train is slowly coming to a stop and Tsukishima is looking at him expectantly. Tetsurou snaps out of his shock to exclaim,

“I-I—yes! I mean, I—I’d love that.”

Tsukishima smirks at him and not for the first time that day, Tetsurou wonders why is he the way he is.

They exchanged numbers. Tetsurou’s hands was shaking the entire time that he had to double check if he typed his numbers right. He hands Tsukishima’s phone back just in time for the doors to open. Tsukishima sends him a last shy smile before stepping off the train.

Tetsurou stares after him even as the doors closed and the train moves, clutching at his phone and unbelieving of his luck.

[blondeswithbackpacks]

Brussels (take 2)

I Have just spent an hour typing up every detail of our trip so far and lost it all to a Google search so please forgive if this isn’t very good - I don’t have the energy! We made it! We awoke bright and early for our 4 am start and made it to the coach station with plenty of time to spare. After an emotional goodbye (for some parties more than others…) we boarded the rather swanky coach. We made it to London Victoria after a relatively painless journey considering we hit London just at the start of rush hour. Since we had left home about 4 hours earlier, we were both ready for the toilet by this point. We headed into the coach station in search of the rest room only to find that they charged 30p. Despite having plenty of euros, we didn’t have a British coin between us so we went for plan B and wandered to the Starbucks round the corner. We didn’t even make it through the door before seeing the big ‘Out of Order’ sign on the single toilet door. Never mind, London is full of cafés so we headed over towards the train station where we found a Nero’s with the exact same sign on the door. By this point we were starting to think we were part of some “mass toilet conspiracy” and doubt the future success of the trip. Luckily, we found some free and fully functioning toilets within the station just in time to prevent a full on existential crisis. With voided bladders, we bravely set off to catch the underground from Victoria and made it to the platform with only minor difficulty finding the entrance. There we watched three trains come and go before squeezing onto the fourth much to the annoyance of all around as we took up the space of about 5 people with all our baggage. We travelled four stops in this sardine can, arriving at Kings Cross - St Pancras with plenty of time to grab the second breakfast our stomachs were growling for. Having gone through security, waited for a bit and got on the Eurostar, we found ourselves sat just across from the grumpy man that, through the whole process, we had managed to annoy by getting in his way several times. Thankfully, he was your typical Brit and said nothing, just gave the odd disapproving look. After a couple of hours dozing, we found ourselves in a surprisingly hot (27°C) Brussels. From the station in the south, we had a rather sweaty half hour walk across to our hostel in the centre. We found it without trouble and managed to navigate our way around the roadworks and across the canal. We were the first to check into our dorm of 6 so chose the two single beds separate from the others. We were settling in nicely when our 4 Chilean room mates burst into the room to find me brushing my teeth the opposite side of the room to the bathroom. I offered an awkward wave, waited for them to move out the way a bit and then hurdled their bags to get to the sink. In my typical clumsy way, I then spilled everything from my overstuffed wash bag across the floor. They didn't seem to care but they weren't really the friendliest - not the best first experience of room mates but never mind! Refreshed from a brief sit down and change of clothes, we headed out into the sunshine to explore the city. We found our way to the "Grand Place", a beautiful square in the centre of Brussels where you find the town hall and other important buildings. It was heaving with tourists but we were still able to appreciate the gold decoration and intricate detail on all of the buildings. We then wondered through some little streets to the "Manneken Pis" which translates from Dutch as 'little-man pee' and sums it up very literally since it is a statue of a boy peeing into a fountain. Strangely, when I asked my grandparents about Brussels, this was the only thing they recommended seeing... We then wandered around for a little longer until we were, again, hungry so we stopped in a supermarket and picked up some food. Back at the hostel, we were pleased to find the kitchen empty despite the hostel being quite big and having no other eating/cooking facilities. We cooked a nice stir-fry and felt rather satisfied with ourselves for a successful first day of the backpacker lifestyle. After trying to socialise in the hostel bar for a little while, we went back to the room to watch a film. I was shattered so crashed out on the bed, face first, at about 8pm. I slept fairly well until 1:30 when our lovely roommates stumbled into the room. They bashed around for a bit then went to bed and I thought that was that but a few hours later I woke up to a chorus of 3 of them snoring at what was, in hindsight, an impressively loud volume. This was interjected only but the occasional banging of the fourth one on the bed above her in an attempt to put an end to snoring, to no avail. Hattie and I both dozed until 9am when we had planned to get up and I was a lot less worried about trying to be quiet than had our roomies been more considerate. We got ready - hairdryer and all - had breakfast then went off to catch the open top, hop on hop off bus. We found the central station - the start of the tour - with no problems but then struggled to find the stop. After a bit of stressiness, we grabbed a coffee to calm down and asked for directions to the stop which was just round the corner from where we had been looking. We hopped on the bus, plugged our headphones in and listened to commentary of all the sights we saw. About half an hour in we hopped off at the Atomium, an incredible building based on an iron crystal that was built for the World Expo. It was amazing to see in person as it was much larger than I had been expecting. Right next to the Atomium was Mini-Europe, a model village in tribute to the EU... Both of us felt the irony as we chose to go in. I was a little sceptical at first about how good it would be but I have to say it was really worth a visit. It was interesting seeing these well known buildings so near each other and comparing the size and style of them. My highlights were the mini Sacré-Cœur and the mini Houses of Parliament complete with tiny Brexit and Bremain campaigners. Having seen all the major buildings in Europe and even witnessed the eruption of Vesuvius in the space of a couple of hours, we hopped back on the bus to go to the Belgian Chocolate village. It was a great little museum with a chocolate kitchen in the middle that filled the whole place with the wonderful smell of chocolate. We were given truffles and I graciously ate both as Hattie couldn't and I must admit they were really good. We then walked back to the hostel to get our step count up for the day - no, I'm not a fitbitter but Hattie's phone keeps praising us for our activity level. We ate the leftovers from yesterday for dinner and had a relaxed evening in the hostel with another little wander around the surrounding area. I'm surprised by how quickly we've settled in and how natural it all feels. I wasn't expecting much from Brussels and although it took a while to get a feel for it with all its different areas, it's been a great start to our trip and I'm excited for what's to come. Next stop Rotterdam!

[hopestallion]

may i request a scenario where hobi is with some of the members and they (the members) see someone (a cute fan) who is wearing a 'hope on the street' shirt or something and tease hobi about it?! (in a good way of course) bonus: its in another country and not by a concert hall or anywhere kpop is really popular so it was more so unexpected!

*hugs you so tightly, before answering the ask*

This request was like “OMFG HOBI” and i had to do it the instant i got it….

Hope in a coffee shop

Rater F(luff)

Word count: 3041

Hoseok finds encouragement to keep going strong, in a place he would have never thought.

Now getting to the request, i hope it’s to your liking... sorry it is on the shorter side

Ithad been a stressful day for you. Not only did you have to hand inyour project, which would decide half your grade. But you also had tomeet up for a filming project for next semester. Had to go home,change into your work pants and some overthrow for your shirt andthen leave for work. The third semester was no joke and suddenlyeveryone was filming and everyone needed someone to cut and edittheir projects. The decision to change majors had been great, butsometimes you wished you’d have more time. Private school didn’t payitself and therefore little money was left for anything else.Including the concert you had dreamed about. Ever since you’d foundout about Bangtan Sonyeondan from your sister, who’d blasted “Dope”wherever she went. You’d fallen head over heels for their music. Hadlistened to every single song ever produced our put out.

Needlessto say that once you were stanning a group you’d have a bias. Somepeople changed their bias, some kept theirs till forever. You’d atfirst snorted at the thought to have a favorite in a group. Afterall, you were out of the whole Backstreetboy, Take That phase. Andthere was no way in heaven or hell, would you succumb to the allureof boy bands again. Things weren’t so easy when you switched fromlistening to music, to watching their performance. Marking the dayyou were a gonna for one single member. Moving as if he had no bonesin his body, a miracle of sunshine smiles and talent. Jung Hoseok hadcaught your interest the second he’d moved. And from then on, therewas no hope for you. Or well there was only one hope, if one wantedto be specific. Jhope became your bias and with him the love fordance was reinstalled into you. Stress of life and expectations fromyour family, had kept you away from any dance studios. But Hoseok hadreignited the flame for your passion. A hobby that used to calm youand bring you joy.

Ofcourse to support the man, that had brought you back together withyour first love. You’d gone and printed a shirt. It was a simplewhite shirt, with an even more simple print. On the front it had thewords “Hope on the street” printed, inn big bold black letters.While to each side of the writing a figure in dancing position wasprinted. The back had your own birth year and your name. It looked alot like a team shirt and many asked you about it. You’d alwaysrecommend them to go and YouTube the “Hope on the streets”segments on YouTube. Wishing to contribute more to the awareness ofHoseok’s incredible dancing. On your way to your workplace, which wasa nice cafe`. You’d forgone the jacket, wrapped a flannel around yourhips for the off chance of a cold breeze. It was June and for Germanyquite unusual warm weather. But there was always a chance for it tojump about and hit you with some cold or even rain. To get to thedance studio you had to change from the train to the tram.

Itwas also the same station that was across from the concert hall,where the concert would be held. Envious you waited a little down thestreet in front of the station. The wings concert had been promotedeverywhere and some people you knew from tumblr would go there. Hadeven bought tickets to fly to Germany to see it in Cologne. Howeveryou couldn’t, not with school fees, material for semester number 4and the vacation planed. You’d have to opt to buy the on stage DVDand just watch that instead. While you waited for the tram to come,you put in some headphones and listened to your favorite track. Whilewings had a multitude of favorites, you always fell back on Cypherpt.4. Which is best listened to in full volume. Maybe causing a fewpeople to stare your way, as the music was loud enough for them topick up the words. But you never cared much anyway. Replying to textsand scrolling through, tumblr, twitter and instagram. You got ontothe tram and excited right in front of your cafe. One could saywhatever they wanted, the cafe was perfectly placed for busy people.

Quicklyyou wrapped one of the black aprons around your hip. Stuffed yourphone and headphones into your back. Laid the flannel on top andexited the backroom to the main area of the cafe. Your coworker forthe afternoon and early evening was a young woman called Michelle.She didn’t know much about the music you liked, nor about the shirtyou wore. But she occasionally let you play your own music throughthe speakers. Slip in here and there a kpop song you liked. She hadliked Zico’s “I am you, you are me” a lot. While you allowed herto disappear into the back from time to time, to text her boyfriend.Sometimes you envied her. If you had a boyfriend, you wouldn’t bedreaming about some star you’d never meet anyway. The bell above thedoor of the cafe jingled and a group of a few men came into the cafe.They looked about your age, had their faces covered with masks andcaps. It wasn’t unusual Cologne was close to Düsseldorf and manyAsians lived in Düsseldorf or had family over. You’d met a fewKoreans on Japan day who were currently teaching you their language.While you helped them with their German.

”Welcometo boots. What can I get you?” you asked, leaning over the countera little to write down their order. They seemed stunned for a minutethere and it took a few moments of fumbling and hushed words for oneto step to the counter. You repeated your phrase in English, prettysure that they hadn’t understood your German. The young man’sshoulders visibly relaxed, so it was the language that had themconfused. “Hi. Can we get three iced americanos, a vanilla latte,one black coffee, one chai latte. And a latte macchiatos?” youjotted it down and smiled at them. Leaning back and away from thecounter. “Sure to go or do you want to take a seat?”, you asked.The man stared at your shirt for a long second, behind him there wasmore hushed whispers. Maybe they were getting a translation of whattheir friend was saying, or they were discussing to stay or to go.“We’ll take a seat. He hoovered at the counter and you smiled. Youknew from dutch tourists that they usually got a device that wouldsignal their finished order. “I’ll bring the coffee over once it’sdone. You can take a seat wherever you want.” he nodded and thegroup moved to the right, away from the windows and along the wall ofthe cafe. It wasn’t very big. But gave off a cozy vibe, with thesofas and the bookshelves.

Michellepopped her head into the room and behind the counter. “Did I missanything?” she asked, phone still in hand. “Nah, I’ll call you ifI need help” you replied. She smiled brightly at you. “Thanks,your a babe” and gone she was again. While you fixed the drinks forthe group. There were some people who came for a to go coffee, whichyou could do in the meantime. Usually to that time mostly students ontheir way to lectures or off from lectures would come in. Someprofessors or teachers would stop by as well. For now you had noother customers than the three to go people and the group of maskedyoung men. They’d taken seats at the front of the cafe, but to theright and away from the door or windows. You could understand, youdidn’t like it when people passed your back or could stare in on you.The first batch of iced americanos was ready and you walked themover. “So there we have three iced americanos….” they werehanded to the people that had ordered them and you were gone again.Back to the counter and the few drinks left to fix.

BangtanSeonyeondan rarely got days off. Especially when they were on tour.The routine was concert, hotel, flight and back to concert. Anendless circle of practicing, sleeping, practicing and performing.However they’d miscalculated a day and had one extra day in Germany.Using that one to explore Cologne. It was nice. Germans kept tothemselves and there had been just two shy fans who’d mustered thecourage to ask for autographs. Other than that, they had had a lot oftime to see a lot of Cologne as it was. Deciding to have a pause in acafe, they’d gone into the next best one. Namjoon had liked it a lotfor the bunch of books that were displayed in a few bookshelves. Thewhole cafe had a homey and rather lovely atmosphere. He sometimesreally wished he could read some German. So he could sit there andread a book. Maybe Demian in it’s original language. For now thoughthey were at a counter of a German Cafe, trying to get across theirorder. The bakery before had given them quite the challenge, whenthey’d not known a word of English. However he was quite lucky, whenthe barista switched to English to take their order.

Hehadn’t seen the barista’s shirt, until she moved back to tell them totake a seat. And he would have nearly said something, but it reallywasn’t his place. Instead he followed his group, to the table theypicked and waited for her to be occupied. Before all of them turnedcollectively to their dancer. “She has your logo on her shirt!”Taehyung exclaimed, muffled however by Seokjin’s hand. Their sensiblehyung, always watching out to not be too loud. “We have to bequiet… you can’t just shout across a cafe Tae….” he said andtook his hand away from the younger’s mouth. “But Tae is right,Hobi… she has your logo on her shirt” the said man blushed to theroots of his currently blonde dyed hair. He didn’t know what to sayto that. Of course he’d noticed his logo on the shirt. He’d takenhours to come up with the design for his towel and had known thatsome of his fans liked it. At least the few that attended his “Hopeon the streets” broadcast on V-app. And that didn’t ask for theother members. He would have never expected to see his logo in a cafein Germany. Especially not like that.

”Whatare you gonna do, hyung?” Jeongguk asked, his big brown eyes wereon his hyung and his bunny teeth smile was hidden behind the mask.But he could tell it was there, especially with the crinkles atJeongguk’s eyes. “Nothing?” he suggested. Like the idea was outof this world. He didn’t know German and he didn’t know good enoughEnglish to say more than “Thank you” without embarrassinghimself. Once more he envied Namjoon for his brain and the ability topick up languages so quick. Before anyone could say anymore, you cameback with their order of iced americano. You left to finish theirorder and he was again target of his friend’s teasing and nosiness.“Aren’t you happy hyung?” Jimin grinned and nudged him into hisside. “You have to be… I mean this is pretty cool…, she musthave printed it herself. We don’t have those in our merchstore…”Jimin was right and the flush on his cheeks intensified. He had a fanwho liked him enough, to spend money and print a t-shirt of him. Hehad a fan, who loved his dance. His blush couldn’t grow any redder,but if it was humanly possible it would. He was so glad he waswearing a mask.

“Icould help you communicate with her hyung….” Namjoon rarely usedthe word “hyung” with him. Usually kept for moments to tease him.Like this one. He really appreciated the offer though. Even if hisdongsaeng and his hyungs were currently teasing the shit out of him.They were commenting how pretty she was, how she was working andminding her own business. They were creating scenarios, which causedhis ears to redden and the back of his neck. Like he could ask herout for a date, as if they’d ever get married and have dance babies.Though Hoseok had to admit, you were really beautiful and you werehis fan. It definitely felt like he was the fan for that moment.“She’s coming back hyung. You have to decide quickly.” Taehyungmurmured his way. He looked over to Yoongi, who usually gave him thebest advice. He shrugged his shoulders and tapped his fingers againstthe table. For anyone that would say nothing. But Hoseok knew himwell enough to figure it out as, “No harm be done in trying” Hecould at least tell her he liked her shirt. Or something along thelines.

Youhad put down almost all coffees by now, the final one was the lattemacchiato. Straightening up from putting down the cups. You smiled atthem and wished them to enjoy their coffees. Before you could moveany further from the table though, you were stopped by a shy voice.His accent was heavy, but you understood what he said. “I like yourshirt” he said. You smiled brightly. He wasn’t making fun of you,you could tell by his voice. He genuinely liked your shirt. “Thanks!I made it myself…. Well not entirely… the front is from myfavorite dancer…” you couldn’t help it, you were so bubbly whenit came to topics you loved. He looked confused at you, the cap wason backwards and holding his hair back. So you could see the furrowof his eyebrows, his mouth however hidden by the mask. The man who’dtalked to you in English at the counter, translated in what youbelieved to be Korean.

Hesaid something in return and the English speaker, translated for you.“He would like to know who that is and why he’s your favoritedancer. He dances himself and would like to know a little more…”you smiled. This was new, usually people didn’t inquire any more thanthat. But there was little to do and you didn’t mind a little of chitchat. “Well my favorite dancer’s name is Jung Hoseok. He’s part ofa boyband? I doubt you know them, but he dances like he’s got nobones in his body. And… he was a big reason why I started dancingagain. The shirt is kind of a reminder to not let that passion ofmine die?” you blushed a little at that confession and wished toreturn to your counter. It was nice to talk about your passion, butit was also embarrassing. “You should definitely check his “Hopeon the street” videos out on YouTube…. I have to return to thecounter though… it was nice meeting you…” he nodded his headand translated for the group and the young man who’d asked you. His English was really bad but, he tried to tell you that he liked hiscoffee a lot and added a “Thank you”. You weren’t sure why he wasthanking you for a coffee he’d pay for but you smiled and replied“Your welcome, I hope you’ll like Cologne… it’s beautiful…”returning to your spot behind the counter you breathed out. You wereso bad with strangers and people in general. Especially guys, hencewhy you were single.

”Shejust promoted your own videos to yourself hyung….” Jimin wassmiling impishly behind his mask. “She seems to really like yourdance hyung….” Taehyung added. Jeongguk was sipping hisamericano, but put it down to tease his hyung as well. “You are herfavorite dancer hyung….”. “She basically confessed you were thereason for her dancing… I mean… that’s pretty cool….” Yoongiadded. Couldn’t help to smirk at Hoseok who was squirming in his eat.The blush was back in full force and he couldn’t help but stealglances at you and the shirt you were wearing. He had doubted he wasas popular as his hyungs or his dongsaengs. Had always felt he waslacking in Bangtan’s popularity. But here you were, a German girl, inCologne who was wearing his T-shirt. Who admired him and liked hisdancing. Making the long nights at the dance studio, the hours pouredinto the choreography and the hard work so worth it. He felt sowonderful he couldn’t even put it into words at that moment.

Youwere cleaning the table of the Korean group of men, who’d tipped yougenerously. Although you’d explained that you didn’t tip in Germany.When you’d found the white folded piece of paper. It was a smallsquare of A5 paper, which had something in Korean written on it. Nextto it was a signature and someone had drown butterflies across theleft side. “제날개를 가져 줘서 고마워요.나는더 열심히 일할 것이다.그래서너는 나를 자랑스럽게 여길수 있다.”Later on you’d translate it with the help of your Korean friends. Asmile would spread on your lips and you wouldn’t mind that you’dmissed out on the concert. You had experienced something far better.And next time you would try and make it to the concert for sure.

Thisgot so fucking long, but I hope you’re enjoying it. My Korean isstill crap and this was translated with the help of an app so I hopeit’s any good. It’s supposed to mean. “Thanks for being my wings. Iwill work even harder, so you can stay proud of me”

as requested by @hope-on-my-street

[suyogketkar]

When you are working from home for a stretch of as long as 10 hours a day, for over 3 months, you need a good pair of headphones. Not because it is a “need” but because, sometimes, the “want” graduates to a higher level of need.

With a lot of good choices around, the confusion is but understood. But considering the factors that I had on my mind, I bought myself the Sennheiser HD 350BT. And, yes, the recommendation from my colleague had a role to play in the purchase decision. Thank you, Narissa, for the recommendation, and The Sound Factor, for shipping it to me.

Here’s my detailed review:

The Background

The headphones are the newer siblings of the outgoing (outgone?) Sennheiser 4.40BT NC headphones. And for the price, the newer sibling comes out—about 2.5K INR cheaper than the current price—I wasn’t expecting the company to provide NFC for pairing. Not because the company cannot do it, but it doesn’t make sense to add an extra feature if it doesn’t add significantly to the overall value. The truth is that to sell the product (or any product), you have to either reduce the price or increase the value proposition. In this case, Sennheiser has gotten rid of the non-essential features, reduced the price, and given us a more rounded value proposition.

The Contents

In the box, you get the headphones, the charging cable, and the documentation.

The Build Quality and Ergonomics

I’d begin with talking about the oblong earcup sizes: they are millimeter-on-millimeter perfect for my ears, but might not suit everyone’s ears. It seems that the company has taken the economic approach for even the earcup sizes. The removable cushioning on the earcups is on the softer side. I would’ve liked a bit more padding.

The headphones are made almost entirely out of plastic—including the extension and hinges. That is good for two reasons: it keeps the cost in check and reduces the weight on your head. The clamping force isn’t bothersome for my head size, and the underside of the headband has semi-soft padding. So, wearing it for long(er) duration—I assume—wouldn’t be a problem.

All buttons are placed on the right ear cup. While I like the tactile feedback on the volume rocker, I dislike the multi-function button’s feather-touch mechanism. You can move it back and forth and press it. Even when I intended to press the button, a slightest of lateral movement would change the song. They could have provided one more button; I’d be OK with it. But, I did get used to the overall placement rather quickly.

There is a dedicated button for the voice assistant, which adds a nice/needed feature based on how much you use it. Since I will be at my work desk on most occasions when I wear these headphones, this will hardly add any convenience to me.

I wouldn’t call these headphones “cheap,” even if those may be one of the cheapest from Sennheiser. I don’t know if I’d ever go out to but a pair of headphones that expensive ever again. First, I’d use those only for work. Second, a heapdhone is a tool—a means to an end. Had I been into gaming or media production, I’d have happily invested in a more expensive, better made, or feature-packed one.

Overall, it is a nicely built pair, which isn’t brittle and doesn’t creak or squeak when you pick it up to wear.

The Battery Life and Connectivity

Full charging takes about a couple of hours. And because these come with a 300 mAh battery life of up to 30 hours, I assume I might have to charge it, at the maximum, twice a week.

In terms of the sound codecs, the Sennheiser HD 350BT support SBC, AAC, AptX, and AptX Low Latency for stable connection and near-perfect audio-video synchronization. For me, the icing on the cake is the Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity, so it works very well with my MacBook Pro. Yes, there is a lag when I move into another room, but the connection remains rock-solid, nonetheless.

The headphones come with a USB-C connection, and you get a sufficiently long USB-A to USB-C cable in the box for charging. This is a handy addition considering most people use phones with the same port. So they wouldn’t need to carry an extra cable.

There are two microphones on the right earcup. In my testing, I found that they not only suppressed the background noise but also amplified my voice. While this may sound like a value proposition, the resulting voice sounded fake or raspy. Besides, this model does not have Active Noise Cancellation (ANC); all you get is passive noise isolation.

Usually, one doesn’t get to know how their voice sounds. ince the two microphones amplify my own voice, I can listen to what or how I speak as I speak. In my semi-quiet home, the amplification will aid me in meetings.

The Sound Quality (Music and Phone Calls)

The sound doesn’t leak through much even when I listen to thumping numbers at over 75% volume levels. Given that I have a noisy ceiling fan, it is all the more inaudible. Even at their full volume, the headphones don’t irritate me. The notifications, such as “Power On,” “Pairing,” or “Connected,” sound more natural because the basic volume level on this pair is a bit muted. So, you might have to do some tweaking once you connect it.

As for the sound, I found these to be a bit lean toward the Bass. Now, I am not an audiophile, but the low and mid-range did stand out. The higher frequencies lack the liveliness and spark. So the sound signature doesn’t leave a lasting impression. Perhaps, companies cut corners in places ever so slightly unnoticeable.

Overall, the sound quality is good because most people talk and listen within the low and mid-range. And only for those who love listening to music for a long time will need to tweak the sound equalizer settings. Which, if and when required, will be minimal.

The Improvements

Sennheiser, despite what headphones you manufacture and for whatever price range, you need to give a 3.5mm headphone jack for those “just in case” contingencies. This is a serious miss. You could also have provided the audio pass-through via the USB-C to USB-A cable, but that option, too, isn’t there. The cable only charges. The other side of this miss is that, unlike other headphones, I cannot use the headphones via the 3.5mm cable in case of insufficient charge.

The earcup padding could have been a bit better. And the earcups themselves could have been a bit larger for more massive ears. It isn’t a bummer, of course.

I’d have loved to see features like auto-pause. Some of the wireless earphones that come for half its price have that feature. For example, the OnePlus Bullets wireless earphones.

There are much cheaper headphones that you can pair to more than one device at a time. Of course, there are issues with those headphones. For example, the volume level of one device affects the volume level of the other device. So, when you receive a notification on one and are listening to something on the other device, the volume levels change automatically. These are known use cases, and I expect a company like Sennheiser to deal with those, should it decide to include such a feature.

You don’t get a carry pouch. The other brands and products in the same price range, such as the Skull Candy Venue, do give. The analogy of an iPhone perfectly fits the overall package for the headphones: at a specific price, you get a much-loaded package from other brands. For the same price, you get an iPhone. Similarly, at this price range, and for a combination of the features listed, you get “Sennheiser headphones.”

The Sennheiser Smart Control application is worth staying away from. It takes ages to connect, then the equalizer has a learning curve (pun intended) of its own.

The Takeaway

The headphones definitely win my recommendation since they do the job they are supposed to do—or, at least, do the job I bought those for. For a combination of the price, the features, the connectivity, the sound signature, and the ergonomics and comfort, this is undoubtedly a product worth considering.

Product Review: Sennheiser HD 350BT Headphones When you are working from home for a stretch of as long as 10 hours a day, for over 3 months, you need a good pair of headphones.

[kristablogs]

How to deal with movies that bounce from too quiet to too loud

Leave that remote where it is. Unless it's on a chair someone needs to sit in. People get chairs, not remotes. (Loewe Technologies/Unsplash/)

I love big movie explosions as much as anyone, but I have a bone to pick with movie studios: It feels like every time I watch an action movie, I have to turn the volume way up just to hear the characters speak, then quickly turn it down every time something explodes. And when I’m not quick enough on the draw, my sleeping wife gets very angry.

Why do movies do this?

It all has to do with dynamic range—the difference between the loudest and softest parts of a soundtrack. The wider the range, the larger the dramatic impact, explains Scott Wilkinson, audiovisual technology journalist and consultant (and the “Home Theater Geek” on TWiT.tv). In other words, they mix it that way so when that explosion finally happens, it kicks you in the gut and rocks your world.

The problem is, sometimes you don’t want your world rocked. Sometimes you just want to relax while watching superheroes punch each other in the face, without waking the neighbors through your paper-thin walls—and that dynamic range becomes a lot less desirable.

“This is generally not a problem in commercial cinemas, which have high-quality sound systems and good acoustics,” Wilkinson says. “So you can hear and understand quiet dialogue in one scene without lessening the impact of loud explosions in another scene.” Even if these movies get remastered for home viewing, most people are using weak TV speakers in a less-than-ideal room with the air conditioner running in the background. It’s a recipe for unintelligible dialogue and constant volume tweaking.

If you don’t have the cash to improve the acoustics of your room and create your own soundproof home theater (what am I, made of money?), you have other options.

Turn on “night mode”

You might not realize it, but there may already be a setting built into your TV, sound system, or streaming box designed to deal with this: it’s called “night mode,” and it does exactly what it sounds like.

“This compresses the dynamic range, reducing the difference between the loudest and softest parts of the soundtrack,” says Wilkinson. “Unfortunately, it's not always easy to find this setting in the device's menu system, though some devices have a dedicated ‘night mode’ button on their remote.” Dig through the settings of your TV, speaker system (if you have one), and streaming box—this useful mode may also be called “dynamic compression” or something similar.

Use a good sound bar or set of speakers

Even with night mode on, you may find that your TV speakers are not up to the task of making dialogue intelligible at low volumes. You may not have the room to build a huge, powerful surround sound system, but even small upgrades can go a long way.

Wilkinson recommends an outboard sound system, such as a sound bar or AV receiver with multiple speakers. Ideally, you’d have a sound bar or set of speakers with at least 3.1 channels—one left, one right, and one center (with a subwoofer for good bass). Most of the dialogue will come out of the center channel, and having a separate speaker dedicated to the task can make it easier to understand. So when you shop, keep an eye out for that “3.1” label—5.1 if you’re going for surround sound. I think Vizio’s 3.1 sound bar is a great place to start, if you’re low on space.

Turn up your center channel

A speaker system with a center channel will be a big step up from your TV speakers, but you can further decrease the dynamic range with in-menu volume adjustments. On many sound bars and receivers, you can increase the volume of the dialogue-focused center channel alone, without increasing the level of the other channels, Wilkinson says. This isn’t usually an option for two-channel systems, but it never hurts to look in your sound bar or receiver’s settings. Once you find the center channel volume level, crank it up a few notches and see where that gets you. (You may have to do a little experimentation to find the right balance—I always use The Matrix as a test case, as it’s a great example of a movie with high dynamic range.

When all else fails, use headphones

But if you just can’t avoid waking your sleeping kids downstairs—and I know this isn’t the solution you want to hear—you may have to resort to using headphones. “By isolating yourself from any ambient noise and acoustic defects in the room, you can listen at lower volume and still understand the dialogue without being blown out by loud sounds,” says Wilkinson.

You probably already have headphones that’ll do the trick, but I’d recommend against using Bluetooth, since there’s an inherent delay that’ll cause sound to be out of sync with the screen. Instead, connect your headphones to the TV or sound bar with a long 3.5-millimeter extension cable, or use a pair of radio frequency (RF)-based wireless home theater headphones like the Sennheiser RS 175. Some streaming boxes, like the Roku, may even allow you to plug your headphones into the remote—or your phone, using the remote app—to listen to music “wirelessly.” It may not be ideal, but at least you’ll get your superhero-punching fix without disturbing the neighborhood.

[scootoaster]

How to deal with movies that bounce from too quiet to too loud

Leave that remote where it is. Unless it's on a chair someone needs to sit in. People get chairs, not remotes. (Loewe Technologies/Unsplash/)

I love big movie explosions as much as anyone, but I have a bone to pick with movie studios: It feels like every time I watch an action movie, I have to turn the volume way up just to hear the characters speak, then quickly turn it down every time something explodes. And when I’m not quick enough on the draw, my sleeping wife gets very angry.

Why do movies do this?

It all has to do with dynamic range—the difference between the loudest and softest parts of a soundtrack. The wider the range, the larger the dramatic impact, explains Scott Wilkinson, audiovisual technology journalist and consultant (and the “Home Theater Geek” on TWiT.tv). In other words, they mix it that way so when that explosion finally happens, it kicks you in the gut and rocks your world.

The problem is, sometimes you don’t want your world rocked. Sometimes you just want to relax while watching superheroes punch each other in the face, without waking the neighbors through your paper-thin walls—and that dynamic range becomes a lot less desirable.

“This is generally not a problem in commercial cinemas, which have high-quality sound systems and good acoustics,” Wilkinson says. “So you can hear and understand quiet dialogue in one scene without lessening the impact of loud explosions in another scene.” Even if these movies get remastered for home viewing, most people are using weak TV speakers in a less-than-ideal room with the air conditioner running in the background. It’s a recipe for unintelligible dialogue and constant volume tweaking.

If you don’t have the cash to improve the acoustics of your room and create your own soundproof home theater (what am I, made of money?), you have other options.

Turn on “night mode”

You might not realize it, but there may already be a setting built into your TV, sound system, or streaming box designed to deal with this: it’s called “night mode,” and it does exactly what it sounds like.

“This compresses the dynamic range, reducing the difference between the loudest and softest parts of the soundtrack,” says Wilkinson. “Unfortunately, it's not always easy to find this setting in the device's menu system, though some devices have a dedicated ‘night mode’ button on their remote.” Dig through the settings of your TV, speaker system (if you have one), and streaming box—this useful mode may also be called “dynamic compression” or something similar.

Use a good sound bar or set of speakers

Even with night mode on, you may find that your TV speakers are not up to the task of making dialogue intelligible at low volumes. You may not have the room to build a huge, powerful surround sound system, but even small upgrades can go a long way.

Wilkinson recommends an outboard sound system, such as a sound bar or AV receiver with multiple speakers. Ideally, you’d have a sound bar or set of speakers with at least 3.1 channels—one left, one right, and one center (with a subwoofer for good bass). Most of the dialogue will come out of the center channel, and having a separate speaker dedicated to the task can make it easier to understand. So when you shop, keep an eye out for that “3.1” label—5.1 if you’re going for surround sound. I think Vizio’s 3.1 sound bar is a great place to start, if you’re low on space.

Turn up your center channel

A speaker system with a center channel will be a big step up from your TV speakers, but you can further decrease the dynamic range with in-menu volume adjustments. On many sound bars and receivers, you can increase the volume of the dialogue-focused center channel alone, without increasing the level of the other channels, Wilkinson says. This isn’t usually an option for two-channel systems, but it never hurts to look in your sound bar or receiver’s settings. Once you find the center channel volume level, crank it up a few notches and see where that gets you. (You may have to do a little experimentation to find the right balance—I always use The Matrix as a test case, as it’s a great example of a movie with high dynamic range.

When all else fails, use headphones

But if you just can’t avoid waking your sleeping kids downstairs—and I know this isn’t the solution you want to hear—you may have to resort to using headphones. “By isolating yourself from any ambient noise and acoustic defects in the room, you can listen at lower volume and still understand the dialogue without being blown out by loud sounds,” says Wilkinson.

You probably already have headphones that’ll do the trick, but I’d recommend against using Bluetooth, since there’s an inherent delay that’ll cause sound to be out of sync with the screen. Instead, connect your headphones to the TV or sound bar with a long 3.5-millimeter extension cable, or use a pair of radio frequency (RF)-based wireless home theater headphones like the Sennheiser RS 175. Some streaming boxes, like the Roku, may even allow you to plug your headphones into the remote—or your phone, using the remote app—to listen to music “wirelessly.” It may not be ideal, but at least you’ll get your superhero-punching fix without disturbing the neighborhood.

[tripstations]

Pink Floyd Exhibition: Their Mortal Remains in Madrid

If you are a fan of Pink Floyd and happen to be in Madrid before mid-September, I’d highly recommend taking a trip out of the city centre to visit the Pink Floyd Their Mortal Remains Exhibition located in Feria de Madrid.

I first heard about the exhibition during a visit from my parents to Madrid. My dad has always been a fan of theirs. When I was younger, I generally reacted to their music as most children do to their father’s beats, with general disgust.

But as I have aged, my musical taste has expanded (my waistline is in a similar situation) and now I love a lot of their music. Some of it is still a little too weird, but on the whole, I would happily say I enjoy Pink Floyd.

On the other hand, my dad has been an avid fan of the band for over 50 years! So how would we both react to The Pink Floyd Exhibition? Is it just for the fans or can the casual observer also get a kick out of the experience?

What is the Pink Floyd Exhibition?

The exhibition is a musical journey in the form of documentary footage and personal effects from the band’s history including many rare and previously unseen items. It tells a story from the formation of the group and their weird stuff to the more melodic era and their madcap musical theatre concerts of the ’80s, right up to their reformation for the Live 8 concert in 2005.

Having seen success and received great feedback while in residence in London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, it was decided to take the Pink Floyd Exhibition on tour. After leaving London, it has been to Dortmund and Rome and has now landed in Madrid. Where it heads to next is currently unknown, so you only have until 15th September 2019 to give it a visit.

The official website describes it as “an audio-visual journey through 50 years of one of the world’s most iconic rock groups, and a rare and exclusive glimpse into the world of Pink Floyd. It features many previously-unseen objects collected over the band’s eclectic history.”

It even goes a step further to include a quote from a British newspaper “almost as good as seeing the band live”.

Now, that’s some pretty lofty expectations being set right there, so how did it go?

Buying Pink Floyd Exhibition Tickets

It was a spur of the moment decision to pay a visit as my dad had seen it advertised while wandering along Gran Via the previous day. He suggested we checked it out, so I hopped online to check out the tickets.

The tickets were listed on their website at €19.90, but after the usual additional fees they throw in, the total cost ended up at €42.20.

When buying the tickets, I had to specify our arrival time that is broken down into half-hour slots. A nice touch is that the times are colour coded based on popularity, so you can try to aim for a quiet time. If you miss your slot, the website does say they will let you into the next available time, which based on how busy our visit was, shouldn’t be an issue.

Getting to the Feria de Madrid

The Feria de Madrid is a huuuuge exhibition centre, and The Pink Floyd Exhibition takes up just a tiny corner of it. While we drove there, it is also easy to reach by Metro on the pink line, number 8.

I have found this handy map that points out exactly where the exhibition is in the Feria. It would have been pretty helpful for me had noticed it before we visited, I wasted 10 minutes driving around looking for Pink Floyd Exhibition signs that didn’t exist.

If you are driving to the Feria de Madrid, there is plenty of parking (€2.25 per hour) close to the exhibition. I was able to find street side parking quite easily for free. But, it is worth noting I was visiting on a Sunday, if you are visiting mid-week, then these free spaces will probably be a lot harder to come by due to the number of offices in the area.

The Pink Floyd Exhibition

As mentioned, I am certainly not an avid fan of the band. I have a passing interest, the kind of guy that may listen to a best of album now and again. My dad, however, he has been a long time fan of the Pink Floyd, owning pretty much all of their records and also getting to see them live at their peak.

A shipping crate archway painted yellow and black like an oversized lego wasp marked the entrance. With the Madrid sun blinding us outside, we could bearly see what we were walking into.

As my eyes adjusted from the sun to the darkness of the exhibition room, I could see three staff waiting, staring at us. My eyes took just long enough to adjust to make it feel somewhat awkward.

Once my vision was restored, we handed over our tickets and the lady explained to us (in English) that we need to turn the WiFi off on our phones, which was strange, but we did as requested.

As we worked our way around the optimistically set up queue ropes, many surrealistic giant inflatables loomed over us. I later found out they were part of Pink Floyd’s The Wall tour.

As we passed into the next section, there was a small desk to pick the audio gizmo, and a different staff member to explain to us that there were no numbers, wander freely and the gizmo will connect to the correct audio as you look at a screen. Suddenly it made sense why I wasn’t allowed my WiFi on.

The exhibition began with some classic posters and press clipping before introducing us to the Pink Floyd Family tree. This graphic showed the band through their various lineups and other bands or projects that spun from group members. As my dad pointed out, it was interesting how few of them we had ever heard of.

Once we turned the corner, we were into the central part of the exhibition, which was broken down into various time frames. It has a window displays containing lots of paraphernalia relating to the band at that period.

Close to each exhibit were TV screens running various documentaries with band members and associates talking about what they were doing at the time and other stories. While I found it interesting, I did find it difficult to digest as I jumped from one screen to the other. I also found the audio sometimes struggled to connect or tuned into the wrong thing, which led to confusion, but on the whole, they were well-presented displays.

As we slowly made our way through the ’60s and ’70s, we entered a room where there was a floor to ceiling display of the band equipment with a documentary talking about how the ideas and experiments they were performing with music. Also, to the side of the room and my one of my favourite things, a mixer set to the band’s song Money where you can play around with the different instrument levels, fading and get a little experimental myself.

When I finally dragged myself away from destroying one of the band’s iconic hits, I turned the corner to see a replica of the giant wall used on one of their tours and more of the stunning inflatables. This section talks about the bands desire to do more than just concerts and how they came up with the concept of musical theatre. The Wall was the concert my dad attended, so for him; it was a trip down memory lane. For me, it was interesting to learn about how the band nearly brought Heathrow to a standstill with a giant inflatable pig! A little different to these days where it is drones you have to worry about.

Finally, there are a few more displays from their more modern work before building up to the highlight of the exhibition, the immersive experience which is “almost as good as seeing the band live”.

So was it? No, I mean I haven’t seen them live so I cannot compare, but having been introduced to the concept of musical theatre about 15 minutes earlier, this was a massive let down.

My expectation was some clips from the iconic The Wall concert, maybe a medley of there tops songs, but all it is is Comfortably Numb from Live 8 and a video of one of their early hits, Arnold Layne, about a man who pinches underwear off clotheslines.

While the volume was nice and rib vibratingly loud, and the guitar solo is pretty epic, I was expecting better for the grand finale.

Finally, as always at these kinds of things, we had to exit through the gift shop. Both my dad and I were feeling good and felt like we would buy something. He wanted a t-shirt for sure while I can always spend money. However, the prices were something else. While I understand, there is always a premium when buying souvenirs at an event, charging €30-40 for a t-shirt and €40 for the event souvenir book, needless to say, we both left empty-handed.

So did it live up to the expectations?

Well, I’m writing this one week after going, and I’m still unsure. The exhibits and information there are fantastic and look stunning, and any Pink Floyd fan or even those with a passing interest in the band will enjoy the exhibition. However, in my opinion, the way it was presented with the auto-connecting audio didn’t work as well as I think they hoped. While it is old technology now, I still feel that the old audio guide style of tapping in a number would have been a better way.

The audio presentation also means that you end up with your headphones on all the way around, taking away the feeling that it is a group activity. Again, numbered audio guides negate this as rather than a continual stream of information, you can do it in your own time.

The videos just felt like a chopped up documentary, and by the time we were halfway through, I’d given up on them thinking if I care enough, I’ll watch a full documentary about the group on another day.

However, that said, the displays were fantastic, I loved seeing all the concert inflatables, and I learnt a lot about the band. The whole of the past week I have found myself listening to Pink Floyd, the stuff I know I like and trying some of their other stuff too.

I came away with a new appreciation of the group that defied definitions while my dad certainly enjoyed his trip down memory lane. But would I say it was value for money? Not really, I think for what it is, €10 – €15 would have been a fair price, but if you have a love for the band or a dad that loves them, then you will undoubtedly enjoy it, but don’t think about the price.

Final Words

As he features quite strongly in this post, I thought I’d leave the final thoughts to the old man I call dad:

When sitting in a mates house after school in 1967 listening to Pink Floyd’s debut album Piper at the Gates of Dawn, you wouldn’t have thought that 52 years later these masters of psychedelic music would still feature in my life. But Floyd like many other bands from the period are still played regularly in my household. So when visiting my son in Madrid recently and seeing the “Experience “ advertised I had to drag my little boy along!

It’s a fascinating insight into the band covering each of the band’s albums chronologically from Piper at the Gates of Dawn to the final tribute to Richard Wight, The Endless River. You get the story of the album told by the band, producers even the album cover artists.

There’s plenty of guitars, drums, keyboards and amps to drool over as well as the larger than life recreation of LP covers. I also found the story behind the staging of The Wall fascinating as I saw the show at London’s Earls Court.

There probably isn’t anything new to learn for a Floyd devotee but having it all under one roof does mean you can indulge yourself and I hadn’t heard the story of the flying pig. The one that crash-landed in Kent after breaking away from its tether over Battersea Power Station during the photo shoot for the Animals cover.

However, one question still remains unanswered, and we’ll never know, would albums like Dark Side of The Moon, Wish You Were Here and The Wall have been made if Dave Gilmour hadn’t replaced Syd Barrett?

I also feel I must throw in that I was also disappointed with the finale if you are going to create a large screen experience let’s have more than two tracks!

The post Pink Floyd Exhibition: Their Mortal Remains in Madrid appeared first on Tripstations.

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[rollinbrigittenv8]

My 2017 Travel Favorites (countries, food, gear and more!)

Wandering Earl

As the end of the year approaches, I want to share my travel favorites from all the experiences that I had in 2017. It was a wild year, one that took me to 28 different countries, led me to 71 different accommodations and gave me some of the most memorable moments of my entire 18 years of travel.

So, here are my favorites from this year of adventures…

Travel Gift

Tinggly This has to be the perfect gift for someone that loves to travel. You choose from one of the ‘experience collections’ and the recipient receives a gift box containing 300 – 500 experiences in over 80 countries around the world that they can choose from. They then have 2 years to redeem one of the experiences. There are even versions that allow 2 people to share an experience together. Birthdays, weddings or any other occasion…who wouldn’t want to receive such a gift? Really creative and fun idea from the folks at Tinggly!

Luggage

Timbuk2 Co-Pilot Luggage Roller With my luggage, things are getting confusing. My excellent Eagle Creek Load Warrior had to be retired as I really gave that thing a beating over the past few years. It was an excellent piece of luggage though and I would highly recommend it. With that said, I decided to replace it with something different – the Timbuk2 Co-Pilot. It’s a smaller company but they make some really quality luggage and this thing is tiny, yet has more volume than my previous bag (up to 50 liters). It fits as a carry-on with any airline, keeps things very organized and is remarkably sturdy (even has ultra-strong skateboard wheels). So, this is my new luggage of choice and I’m loving it so far!

Accommodation

Riad d’Or – Meknes, Morocco Riad d’Or is just silly beautiful, with unique rooms scattered around an old labyrinth-like mansion right in the heart of the old market.

Mango Beach House – Zanzibar, Tanzania It doesn’t get more chill and impressive than Mango Beach House, especially if you want a beachfront room away from the crowds.

Merovigla Studios – Santorini, Greece Mmergovigla Studios just might be the best value on the island of Santorini, with unbelievable views from good-sized rooms and a great location…all for a fraction of what most hotels cost here.

Jaiwana Haveli – Udaipur, India I’ve been using the excellent Jaiwana Haveli on the India tours I lead and with their new renovated rooms, along with their rooftop views, awesome breakfast and lakeside location, this place has become even better.

Food and Dining

Orivy – Hoi An, Vietnam I could eat Vietnamese food at Orivy every day. Everything on the menu was award-worthy.

Fish and Zelenis – Novi Sad, Serbia We found this tiny place by accident while wandering around and we were blown away by the local appetizers and seafood they served. It’s also run by super kind people that treat everyone like an honored guest.

Soy – Berlin, Germany We went to Soy three times in one week during our stay. Let’s just say that doesn’t happen often.

Argo Restaurant – Santorini, Greece Argo just needs to be visited if you’re ever on Santorini – the traditional Greek food, the view, the atmosphere, the staff, it’s all something special.

New Country Visited

Morocco It was my first time to this country and just the landscapes alone were enough to keep me in awe for two and a half weeks. My favorite parts were the seldom-visited, but spectacular, Dades Valley and spending a night out in the Sahara Desert. I loved the experiences so much that I’ve put together another Wandering Earl Tour to Morocco for 2018 in case you’re interested in an unforgettable adventure

Cool Town for Hanging Out

Las Palmas, Gran Canaria My girlfriend and I spent 5 weeks in Las Palmas a few months ago and we liked it so much that it just might become our more permanent home base starting next year. It’s walkable, very affordable and easy to reach, it has beautiful city beaches, great food, a relaxed lifestyle, food markets, history and no shortage of excursion opportunities around the island (that’s an understatement as you have more beaches, mountains, canyons, little villages, national parks, lakes and more to explore). And most of the tourists that come to Gran Canaria stay in other parts of the island, leaving the main town relatively quiet. It’s not a town that many people think about hanging out in for a while but it definitely deserves a look. I have nothing but excellent things to say about this destination!

Tropical Destination

Seychelles I love tropical destinations and islands and beaches and all that. And now I am certain that I have seen the best out there. There is simply no other tropical location like this small Indian Ocean country and the gorgeous beaches, of which there are dozens, make the Seychelles true paradise in every single way. The island of La Digue was my favorite spot. If you like gorgeous beaches and laid-back island life (almost no cars on the island), it simply does not get better than La Digue in particular.

(Boracay came in second for me, a distant second, but nothing can match the Seychelles. Although, here’s a video I made on Boracay last week so that you can have a glimpse of this paradise too.)

Airfare Booking Site

Kiwi.com For years I would use Kayak.com and almost nothing else but this year, it seems that things have changed as I began noticing other websites were offering lower fares much more consistently. And Kiwi.com has become my new favorite because, to put it simply, I’ve found the cheapest fares on this site more times than any other site out there. They also make it easy by often combining separate tickets into one ticket, instead of forcing you to purchase two separate flights yourself if your journey is with more than one airline. That’s a huge bonus when hopping around the world.

Hotel Booking Site

Agoda.com and Booking.com This is a toss up but it’s always one of these two. With Agoda, the prices are often lower and you earn ‘Gift Cards’ almost every time you book with them. In just the past 3 months I’ve racked up $40 of gift card money to use on future bookings. But with Booking.com, once you get to the Genius Member level (only takes 5 bookings), you can really get some good discounts and perks. Between the two, I always find the lowest price for accommodation anywhere I go around the world. (I also use Airbnb a lot when an apartment would be more suitable than a hotel or guesthouse.)

*If you use this Booking.com link, you’ll get $25 off your booking (I will too!).

Travel Credit Card

Chase Sapphire Reserve This credit card is simply incredible. While it’s only for US citizens, the $400 yearly fee is nothing once you see the benefits. Those benefits include a $300 yearly travel credit, Priority Pass membership (access lounges in airports worldwide for free), great medical, trip and luggage insurance, 50,000 point sign up bonus, 3 points per travel dollar spent, Global Entry fee credit and 1.5 times points redemption ($1500 worth of points is actually worth $2250 when you redeem it for travel) and more. I’ve had the card for over a year now and it’s saved me a ton of money, led to a couple of free flights and the airport lounge access has been extra sweet. Well worth looking into if you travel a decent amount!

Headphones

Symphonized NRG 3.0 Earbuds When I wear these on an airplane, I can’t hear any of the noise around me. The noise cancelation is that good and the sound quality when I’m listening to music is excellent too. These are not a $300 pair of Bose noise cancelling headphones, but for $25, they do an awesome job. They’re also very sturdy, great for a traveler like myself that just stuffs everything in their bag.

Travel Clothes

Clothing Arts High-quality, pickpocket proof, good-looking travel clothes. That was the goal of founder and friend Adam Rapp when he set out to create a travel clothing brand. A few years later that brand has grown big time and he’s definitely producing some of the highest quality travel clothes out there. They’re not super cheap but they are super comfortable and super durable while protecting you in very unique ways from potential pickpockets as you travel.

Travel Apps

TripIt I use TripIt pretty religiously as it helps me stay organized. Every travel booking I make, I simply forward to TripIt and just like that everything – dates, airlines, hotels, reservation numbers, reservation details, etc. – are all in order and neatly visible in my app. I pop open the app and I can access any reservation I need in mere seconds.

Trover Trover is great for finding random things to do wherever I might be. Open the app, let it find your location and suddenly you have recommendations, along with photos and usually additional details, of places to visit and check out nearby. It’s better than a guidebook in my opinion and much more enjoyable to use!

WiFox WiFox was created by my friend Anil from FoxNomad.com and it allows you find Wifi networks and passwords in airports all over the world. Choose an airport from the map and a box pops up with the details you need to log onto the internet. All of the information is crowdsourced, allowing you to also add networks/passwords to the app that you find as you travel yourself.

Excursions

Masai Mara Safari, Kenya Our 3 day trip from Nairobi, Kenya into the Masai Mara Game Reserve was an absolute highlight of the year. With barely any other travelers around, we pretty much had the place to ourselves, with a private safari vehicle, a very comfortable and budget-friendly log cabin in the park and endless sightings of the Big 5 as we ventured across the wide savannah each day. We also had a chance to hang out with some Masaai villagers that invited us on a wander through the local town. A lot of people have asked me if a safari in the Masai Mara is really worth doing (and paying for) and I can definitely answer with a huge YES!

Lost Campers Road Trip – USA Renting a van from Lost Campers, we set out for a trip through California a few months ago. And it was brilliant as our reliable van allowed us to explore every destination we wanted to visit (including some remote state forests and mountain ranges) while always having a place to sleep. The van came with all the gear we needed, as well as a comfy mattress inside, and with a handful of locations in the western part of the US, picking up and dropping off the van is a breeze.

*Lost Campers has also given me a great discount code that you can use. The code “WanderingEarl” will get you 10% off ANY Lost Camper campervan, at any of their 4 locations, with no duration limit from December – March 2018

Airline

Qatar Airways For a few years now this has been my favorite airline. From aircraft to comfort to service to price, I’m not sure there’s a better value out there, at least for many of the routes I’ve flown. With that said, I only flew with them a couple of times in 2017 as I was traveling in different regions of the world than normal. But I still haven’t found another airline that matches what Qatar Airways can offer overall.

Specific Flight Route

Yeti Airlines – Biratnagar to Kathamndu, Nepal (right along the Himalayas) Any flight across Nepal is an absolute treat if you get a window seat on the correct side of the plane. A few weeks ago I was able to stare out at the Himalayan Mountains as I soared through the sky, at pretty much the same altitude as some of the peaks. It’s something to experience at least once and will instantly become one of your own travel favorites!

Precision Air – Dar es Salaam to Nairobi (right over the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro) Our February flight in East Africa caught us by surprise when the pilot suddenly announced we were only five hundred meters directly over the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro. We rushed to the window on the left side of the plane and looked down. It was absolutely surreal.

And that’s my list of travel favorites for 2017. I’d be curious to hear what some of your favorite experiences, destinations, gear, meals and more might have been from your own travels!

Did I miss something? If you have a question about any of my travel favorites from this year, just let me know and I’d be happy to answer!

(By clicking on some of the links above, I may earn a small commission if you do purchase a product or service. This helps support the blog and I will never mention anything that I don’t truly believe in.)

[wiresandstarlings]

I’m just trying to be someone better than I am

1. Maybe six months ago, Netflix recommended me a show called Terrace House: Aloha State. I don't usually pay much attention to Netflix's recommendations, but the preview image featured the most attractive girl I've ever seen. Short hair, feline eyes, sharply angular face, just every physical feature I find attractive. So naturally, I looked up the show to find out who she was.

Terrace House is a Japanese franchise of reality shows where the producers select a group of six people, three guys and three girls, and put them up in a mansion. A group of Japanese celebrities comment on their lives. That's the entire premise: reality television with all the bullshit stripped away. There's the usual production magic, where small arguments and innocent flirtations are amplified with fast cuts and dramatic music, but there are no cash prizes or external pressures. Just the real drama of lost twenty-somethings trying to figure out their lives. Guests can stay as long as they'd like, but in the history of the franchise, only one guest has stayed the entire duration of a season. Quintessentially Japanese minimalism.

I found out that the girl's name is Lauren Tsai. She's a model and an illustrator, and at the time there wasn't much information on her, at least for someone in reality television. There was only a two-minute interview on a site called “hypebae” that showcased some of her drawings, which are surreal, grotesque fantasy portraits. Girls with baleful eyes and arms of fish, dragons with tentacles, etc. Mysterious, beautiful, slightly disturbing, a cross between Miyazaki and Robert Crumb.

But she didn't have a Twitter or Instagram or Youtube channel. And the art and the mystery made her more even attractive to me.

I spent a couple more minutes looking at some of her modeling photos, and moved on. Slightly creepy, also typical. I saw an attractive girl, found out who she was, looked at some pictures of her, filed her name in the back of my head. My momentary obsession wasn't sufficient motivation to actually watch the show.

Earlier today, Youtube recommended me a radio interview she did earlier this month. And as placid and otherworldly as she looks in her modeling photos, Lauren's replies were simple and candid and entirely approachable. She talked about growing up and Terrace House and her uncertainties and insecurities.

Terrace House is filmed in Japanese, but Lauren isn't Japanese at all. Her mother is white, her father is Chinese, she was born in Massachusetts, and she grew up in Hawaii speaking English. She's 19 now and has studied Japanese for 4 years. She was lonely and maybe bullied in high school. She changed high schools three times, including going back to Massachusetts for boarding school, and got her diploma from a small Buddhist high school. She models in Tokyo now, and it's weird sometimes. “You feel like an object really... Or you feel like there's nothing you can do. Like no matter what you say, all you're judged on is how you look.”

In contrast, she has Twitter and Instagram accounts now. And like, on her social media she's only amplified the mysterious and aloof persona of her earlier photos. It's mostly modeling and outfits and a couple illustrations, and her clothes have gotten stranger and tighter and more expensive. I spent maybe forty minutes looking through her pictures on Twitter, more out of jealousy and confusion rather than attraction at this point. Like, how is this person so cool? How did she seem so normal in her interview while she's living her life like this, with these clothes and perfect makeup and hair and style and she just watercolors these amazing portraits between her modeling and celebrity?

On one level, with some distance, the answers to these questions are simple. She was sad and lonely for a long time, she worked hard in obscurity for a long time, and she turned an unusual and not entirely attractive opportunity to her advantage. She learned Japanese on her own, she probably gets up at 6 every day and works out for 3 hours and spends another half-hour picking out her outfit and draws in every free moment.

But are those answers really so simple?

2. I mention all this because I also saw Ingrid Goes West later today. Ingrid Goes West stars Aubrey Plaza as Ingrid, a woman who begins to obsess over Instagram celebrities – “social influencers” – after her mother dies. At the beginning of the movie, she crashes a wedding because the bride, one such celebrity, replied to one of her comments but didn't invite her to the wedding. In tears, she maces the bride and gets committed to a mental health ward. She finds another influencer to admire in an Elle profile, Elizabeth Olsen's Taylor, and moves to California to be closer to her. Naturally, Taylor's life isn't nearly as perfect as her Instagram account.

Ingrid Goes West addresses the gap between how we perceive other people and who they actually are, the boundaries between art and life, the benefits and dangers of social media, mental illness – the entire landscape of the 21st century. The audience empathizes with Ingrid because of her pain, but she's also ruthless and manipulative and remorseless. Ingrid Goes West is a film about a stalker, and by any reasonable moral standard Ingrid is a villain. But if Ingrid is a villain, then so is anyone who's ever wished they could be someone else.

There's a delightful scene where Ezra, Taylor's husband, shows Ingrid his art: realist paintings sprayed over with giant hashtags in gross neon colors. Did he paint the underlying landscapes himself? Of course not. They're found objects.

In the end, Ingrid films and uploads a moment of quiet, desperate honesty and the aftermath is both comforting and devastating. The last scene is a moment of absolute desolation. It's a thoughtful film, but it's also funny and moving and warm.  

I had the privilege of watching Ingrid Goes West next to two twenty-something girls whose running commentary elucidated how much was at stake in Ingrid's growth and reversion. When Ingrid changes her hairstyle and buys new clothes and meets Taylor for the first time, one of them offered, “I'm actually stressed out right now.” And at the end: “I'm going to need like five more drinks after that.”

Because, after all, despite its myriad individual themes, Ingrid Goes West is at is core about our new American dream. We have everything, but we desperately need more. We have hundred of friends and followers on Facebook and Twitter, but we're painfully alone. Something is missing from all our lives but only because corporations need there to be. When we follow someone on Instagram and like their jacket and buy that jacket and feel no different, well, what could we really expect. Should we all just give up Instagram? I don't think that's the answer either.

3. Naturally, after Ingrid Goes West, I thought of Lauren Tsai. And as much as Ingrid contains pieces of every millennial, I basically am Ingrid.

I have a gut-level suspicion of social media, and honestly I Instagram and Facebook stalk very rarely. But I'm certainly familiar with loneliness, self-hatred, and wishing I was someone else. Basically everyone I've ever admired, I admired with consuming obsession. Inio Asano, Carey Mulligan, James Murphy, Miranda July, Carrie Brownstein, George Saunders, now Lauren Tsai. I have difficulty just appreciating someone's writing or music or acting, not using it as a vehicle to just inhabit someone else for a while.

And like, I've had friends, even very good friends, but I'm not sure how. The mechanics of social interaction bewilder me. My friends ultimately come and go, and even when they're present I spend most of my time alone. And if I had the money and freedom and bravery, I might well move to Syracuse and follow George Saunders around for a couple months.

I would pay a lot for footage of someone just living his life for a full 24-hour cycle, unaware he was being filmed. I want to know how to be. I want to know how to live in a particular place at a particular time and just function.

I feel like I've made a lot of progress over the past couple months. I sleep more regularly, I spend more time doing what I enjoy or need to do and less time wasting away and worrying. I exercise more. But I still feel fat and lazy and I wonder when I won't.

I wonder if my biggest problem is how much I look towards the future. I've never been entirely present anywhere. In high school, I was looking toward college. In college, I was looking toward a career. Here in California, I was still looking toward what's next. I've never been anywhere I expected to stay for more than a couple years. That said, I'm moving again soon, and I'm not sure how long I'll stay.

4. Biking home from the movie theater after Ingrid Goes West, I listened to Julien Baker for the first time in a while. During the bridge of “Sprained Ankle”, I stopped pedaling and glided through the night and stared at the streetlights and it was perfect.

5. I hate using headphones. I buy expensive foam tips but they still bruise my ear canal, and no matter how quietly I set the volume, my tinnitus flares up. Even so, I have my headphones in for maybe a third of each day.

6. There's nothing like three days of idleness and total isolation to make you question your entire existence.

7. I should standardize how I use words and symbols for numbers at some point, but not now.

8. I really fucking love writing. I'm going to write more.

[d-a-i-s-y-prd-blog]

RWL // 3#

hello friends, we’ve made it to week three and in tradition, it’s been another busy one.

Reading //

So this week in an unprecedented move i actually read a book and two short stories, and though not directly music related, probably worth talking about anyway. The first was Camus’ Outsider, one of those ‘cult’ books i’ve been intending to read for years and finally got around to, I won’t spoil it but if you ever feel a bit lost in the real world like i do on a daily basis it’s probably worth a read. On a similar note I’m storming through ‘A Nervous Breakdown, a Penguin book of short stories by Chekhov centring around mental health which is probably more musically relevant than anyone would like and also worth checking out, both these books cost me £2 so you’ve got no excuse really.

In musical terms, this interview with mega experimentalist Daniel Brandt (whose debut solo record came out today and is really quite incredible) is worth a look, and this review of Sunn O))) and Hildur Guðnadóttir at the Barbican makes me even more disappointed to have missed the show, both are incredible musical feats.

Watched //

In slightly more interesting news, the reason i didn’t make that Sun O))) was because i was covering the Convergence Opening Party at Village Underground for Radsound (*plug* full review up soon), headlined by one of my current favourites, Rival Consoles. They had 3 supports - an audiovisual installation piece, a DJ spanning heavy grime to ambient chicken noises and Noga Erez, a Tel Aviv based singer/producer of incredible sparse alt. pop synth fuelled dance, needless to say the variation of all of the above was impressively brilliant -  however backed by a live visuals show and intensely immersive electronica, Rival Consoles did indeed come out on top, and are well worth catching live /listening to - it’s also once again made me desperate to get cracking on further weird synth noises that’ll appear in due course.

Alongside this, this week I finally made it to the Robert Rauschenberg exhibition at the Tate, an artist who has done a lot of stuff that’s massively inspired my general art/photography/music vibe since I studied him at college. Though not all (everyone has their questionable moments), the vast majority of it was ace and showcased a lot of his collaborations with John Cage and the likes - plus uncovering a whole choreography side I never knew he had, a bubbling tank of mud with a strangely satisfying soundtrack and the very ‘painting’ that inspired 4′33 itself. If you can make it before it ends on 2nd April, i’d heartily recommend, and if not his work is so abstract and varied it’s entirely worth looking up - his concept of making art like the real world and not the inside of a studio particularly sticks however you hear it.

Listened //

My listening this week has been largely heavy for once. Alongside spending most of Sunday sat in St. James’s Park recording ducks, tube journeys and ambient noise for a university assignment (it’s amazing how loud even the parks you think are quiet are when you’re listening to the mics through headphones with a broken volume switch) and studying drone music in class, a lot of more conventional music has fallen my way this week.

Namely, Father John Misty’s return to social media heralding him to give the world in masterclass in his capabilities at writing generic radio pop songs in his usual beautifully sarcastic demeanour of irony, and you can’t knock him for it - for better of for worse I could hear all of these grace the BBC in an instant (They’ve since been swiped off his Soundcloud, but been captured on Youtube for now, above).

Also Brett Anderson of Suede fame (as everyone knows, my favourite band of all time) released a boxset of all his solo works this week, and as someone who hasn’t delved too much into his solo career I’ve been gradually working my way through it finding hidden gems - naturally it’s not perfect, but the sparseness of ‘Wilderness’ when you’re sat in aforementioned park on a cold afternoon is something at least.

And in triplicate, upon announcing their debut album out in a few months, Cigarettes After Sex posted this new soothing piece - everything they’ve released so far follows the same subtle dreamy atmosphere and I’m yet to dislike any of it.

Further to this I’ve also had my hands on an early copy of the Jesus and Mary Chain record that i’ve been playing quite a lot this week in surprise at how good quite a lot of it is, so that’s one to listen to as it’s out today. 

And that once again rounds up my culture so far, tonight I am playing Birthdays with Alex Chilltown in support of Deadwall should anyone be at a loose end in Dalston around 7.30pm, this weekend I have a photoshoot and rehearsals for a new project that should all become clear on Monday (if you’re at another loose end it might become even clearer if you make your way down to the free Beach For Tiger show at the Old Blue Last early) and the day after that I’m going to see an Afrobeat Orchestra do a set of Talking Heads material at the Jazz Cafe, so just another standard week in a mad, wonderful city it is.