#she is acting like BB forced her to use her luxury pass

[two-halves-of-reylo]

It all started with a droid...

submission for challenge #9 droids 

by Shenanigenfilms

Can also be found on my AO3 page

Summary:

Devastated by his master’s disappointment in him and the brutal death of his mother, Kylo Ren has a private moment of reflection and just how much all his troubles started with droids

Notes:

Taking place after Snokes mental teardown of Kylo Ren but before a certain force skype session. There is also some spoilers for the books “bloodline” and “last shot”

Loud clambering of heeled boots echoed down the corridor of the officers quarters. Every body stiffened to a painful attention as Kylo Ren walked past members of the supremacy’s crew. They all feared him, “the Jedi Killer” known for his terrible outbursts, knowing he was the descendent of Darth Vader. They didn’t dare question or stand up to him. Only General Hux seemed to test the Master of the Knights of Ren on a few occasions. Like a predator testing a holding cell for weaknesses. But they couldn’t help but stare in wonder, his mask was gone, and he looked so…young. No one had really seen Kylo Ren unmasked before, again only Hux on a rare occasion. 

Fists clenched and walking at a faster pace than usual, Kylo Ren could only hear a slight ringing in his ears. Feeling the curious eyes and thoughts falling upon him his heart pounded in his chest. Lips started to tingle from the breath he was holding while counting the steps to his quarters, his solitude.

Trying to keep his composure from the staring gazes Ren did all he could not to thrown himself against his quarter door as fingers fumbled on the key pad to unlock it. Barely able to remember the combination, after a few failed attempts the door hissed open and Kylo leaped into the room, door locking behind him.

Various droids immediately rushed to his aid. Droids Kylo thought with such contempt. Thats all his life had been surrounded by, all his troubles started with droids. Droids that taught him lessons, played his favourite shows as a child, cooked his meals. Protocol Droid T-2LC that basically raised him because his parents were to self involved in their own crusades to take care of him. He wasn’t important enough. Droids, that he was almost sure, tried to kill him in his sleep. It wasn’t as clear as when his Uncle tried to kill him, but Kylo Ren was positive their culinary droid BX-778 on Chandrilla had a knife out ready to kill him when he was a toddler. The only good thing that droid ever did was coagulating the finest Endorian caf beans for his morning drink he enjoyed as a teen.

Viciously throwing his arm in the air Kylo shooed the pests away, he needed space to think, to process everything. Two weeks ago his world was in perfect order then it all started with a droid. A BB unit with a map to Skywalker. The uncle who betrayed him. And a girl, the scavenger, who somehow convinced the droid to show her the map to his enemy, the key to killing everything he knew so he could become what he ultimately desired. 

The girl…Kylo’s lip turned up to one side with a mix of scorn but fascination. The room temperature seemed to rise and he grew tired of his knight armour and just wanted to wash the day way in his fresher. First he removed the belt and let the cumbersome thing fall to the ground, moving his surcoat over his head. The smell of burnt fabric and flesh filled his nostrils immediately reminding him of his punishment from Snoke. 

Kylo was growing desperate, all he wanted was to give all he had to the dark side and even that wasn’t enough. He wasn’t enough for the wise supreme leader and in a moment of instinct he did something he never thought possible…he stood up for himself. But alas the supreme leader was right…he was just a child in a mask. A child that once belonged to Han Solo and Leia, they called him a different name, Ben.

Ben closed his eyes and forced his throat to swallow the emotion that was building in him. Pulling off his gloves he took a moment to stare at his hands. The same hands that killed his father, giving all he had to the dark side, but he lied and Snoke knew it. He did hesitate and the deed did in fact spilt his spirit to the bone. The moment he watched his fathers body fall into oblivion he wanted to feel complete, yet nothing happened. All he heard was the screams of a girl and a solid blast to the side from a Bowcaster.

Kylo stroked his left side through his under tunic. Did Snoke not realise that he was instinctively containing its energy with the force? Of course he did and once again was disappointed that Kylo Ren wasn’t strong enough like Darth Vader and do a simple deed and defeat the girl who never held a lightsaber. Snokes words echoed in Ben’s head, then another voice entered his mind. 

“You…you’re afraid? You’re afraid you will never be as powerful as Darth Vader” Ben’s eyes shot open and he looked across his quarters. It felt like she was standing right in front of him again, it felt real. Sealing his eyes shut again and Ben saw his father, the look in his eyes of shock and sadness as the crimson crackling blade ripped through his father’s chest.  A single tear started to escape Bens eyes and he tried to shut them tighter cursing the rogue feeling that was now streaking down his cheek. The same cheek that his father caressed before he died, a touch that Ben desperately wanted his whole life was now no longer to be.

Humming started to fill his head from a gentle song his mother would sing to him, especially when he couldn’t sleep. The protocol droid would try to replicate it, even with a recording of Leia singing it wasn’t the same. His mother, now even more tears fell down his face. She too was gone, mere hours ago. Not wanting to give in to his anguish Ben lifted his under tunic but the cumbersome fabric caught his crude field dressing on his face and ripped the still raw flesh underneath. 

It tipped the scales and crumbled Ben’s already shaky composure. No longer able to hold in all the rage the young knight ripped at his tunic throwing the tattered fabric on the floor. He looked around the room at anything to throw and destroy, something to focus his anger at but all he could see what a calligraphy set. It wasn’t the same one, but its the only personal possession Ben ever asked for. His love for all things old, including writing by hand had always been with him. A Skill that came in handy when he warned his mother about an upcoming threat when the Amaxine warriors bombed a conference building of the New Republic’s Galactic Senate on Hosnian Prime. The Amaxines acted on the orders of Lady Carise Sindian. Ben had heard of the plot and had to do something, he sensed it and rushed in secret to her aid.

All he could do was write a simple note that read “Run”. But that wasn’t enough, he still couldn’t save her tonight. A deep guttural roar escaped his chest as he slammed his hands on the writing desk, swiping the ancient writing elements on the floor. Defeated Ben covered his face in shame as a sob struggled to escape his body. 

Moments passed and Ben slowly moved his hands from his face remembering the holomessage he received the day before he destroyed the temple. It was from his mother and in the chaos of Luke’s betrayal he never listened to it, but something told him to hold on to it. Maybe he secretly wanted it to be a warning about his treacherous uncle. But now it was a way to remember her voice, her face, her smile.

Punching in some commands on the data pad he pulled up his private files and pressed the message. Immediately his heart leapt into his throat as the head and shoulders of his mother was close to his own face. Fighting the urge to reach out and touch her as if the blue hologram was real.  But something wasn’t right, her face was absent of the glow he always remembered, that light of hope in her eyes that never faded even when she comforted him after his force outbreaks. He saw the fear in his father’s eyes a few time when he was a teenager, thats why it was easy for him to leave, he was as coward. But not her, she always looked at him with hope. But that look of hope was gone here, what changed? 

Taking a deep breath Ben listened 

“My dearest Ben. I wish my message was just simple well wishes and salutations but there is a terrible truth that I must tell you, and you need to hear it from me.” She paused and swallowed hard.

��There is never a book in this universe that prepares you to be a parent. Sure you can listen to parents who have done it in the past or take note from your own parents asking them how they did it. But that is a luxury your father and I didn’t have. He never had parents that he could remember and mine were brutally killed by Darth Vader and the Empire when the Death Star destroyed my planet of Alderaan.”

Ben adjusted in his seat, he knew of his powerful and mighty Grandfather was Darth Vader, and was the reason he was Kylo Ren. Snoke had informed him the true nature of his bloodline, even though he heard the rumours in his fleeing from Lukes temple, but Snokes confirmation solidified that this was his destiny, his true calling. To finish what his grandfather couldn’t, absolutes order in the Galaxy. But this revelation of his grandfather killing his mothers parents confused him.

As if the holomessage could read his thoughts it continued. 

“I grew up thinking my mother and father were my own, that I was a princess of Alderaan. It wasn’t until the night before the Battle of Endor in a small Ewok village I found out that one of my dearest friends was actually my twin brother and much more our father was in fact one of the most feared being in the Galaxy. What was also revealed to me was that I too had force powers”

Every muscle tensed in Ben’s body, his mother could use the force? Why didn’t she tell him?

“Some how I knew this, that I had always known something was there. Most importantly I felt it with you. Before you were even born I felt such powerful light surging through you but also a vein of dark as well. Ben you have always had darkness surround you, I have not been able to find out who or why but I can only imagine because you are destined for great things, Like your uncle, and yes like your grandfather. Ben I’m sorry my greatest failure is in not telling you the truth about our family sooner. I never knew how to bring it up, these were times I wish I had your fathers wit. He always knows how to ease a situation with that scoundrel way about him”

Hearing his mother speak about his father in the present tense and with a warm tone in her voice was starting to tear his heart in two. A pressure started to build in his throat as he could feel a wave of emotions build in the pit of his stomach

“Ben Darth Vader is your Grandfather but there is much more than the evil moniker, before he was Anakin Skywalker, who found redemption with his Son Luke and brought balance to the Galaxy. Even in the darkest places when all hope is lost, all you need is that one person to believe in you, even when you don’t believe in yourself. When you find that person my son, you hold on to it, you hold on and never let go. There is nothing more precious than that in this entire galaxy. I know there are times you are scared about your powers, that you feel like you’re a monster, but that is why we sent you with Luke, to help. But please know that I will always believe in you and I love you. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you this in person but I wanted you to know sooner rather than later. Tell Luke that you two need to come home for a visit. We miss you.”

A large gasp of air left Ben’s lungs releasing subconsciously he was holding a staggered breath the entire duration of the message. For the second time that night his whole world had been torn apart. First his master who devoted everything cast him aside just like his own family did, or so he thought. Now this message only to find out that his parents did care for him and he could no longer find the hate for them. All he could do was stare at the still frame of the holomessage from his mother remembering her features as he knew she was never coming back. Her body brutally sucked out into space from one of his tie fighters beside him when he couldn’t pull the trigger himself. Because he sensed her, and she wasn’t angry or disappointed, she was sad.    

After what seemed like an eternity, Ben’s attention was broken by a beeping of an incoming request from the medbay. A request by the medical droids to do another session on his wound. Doids…again…

Immediately he felt his thoughts go back to her, the scavenger. He felt her name on his lips but he dared not to speak it out loud. Why did she spare him? She could have easily killed him before the planet literally tore them apart, she had the upper hand to deliver the finishing blow. Did she enjoy toying with him, or was it pity?

Walking to his wardrobe Ben grabbed a new under tunic, pulling it swiftly over his head, the proceeded to pick up the surcoat off the floor. It was time to be the one thing he knew, to be Kylo Ren. Adjusting his belt he gathered his composure and walked into the corridor. This time it was abandoned as it was late in the night and most were taking care of their nightly routines. Kylo continued his way into the medical bay.

The smell of bacta gels filled the air as he entered the medical bay, making his way to the procedure chair. Once again droids filled the room with incessant beeps and chattering, documenting various diagnostics. Kylo knew the scar would last him the rest of his life, a fitting end in his transformation into the monster he truly was. The message from his mother played over and over in his head recounting her words

all you need is that one person to believe in you… find that person my son… hold on to it and never let go.

But who could ever believe in him? His own master only saw his failures, he was truly alone. Lost in his own thoughts a strange sensation came over him. Body tensing into his defensive mode he showed the medical droid that had been repairing his damaged face. A pressure built in the room and the sounds of beeping and droid chatter left the room. All that was left was a stillness, a frozen moment and there she was. 

Ben shifted his weight as a fright came over him, was he imagining her? Her face was highlighted by a morning glow, rubbing her eyes as if she was just awaken at dawn. But why? Questions filled his head as he focused on her. She was stirring as if she felt his presence, and unease filled her body as she looked around the room, and then it happened. She looked back at him.

Heart in his throat all Ben could hear was his own breath, and more importantly hers! Could she see him? As if by reflex Rey grabbed her blaster disengaged the safety and without thinking shot right at him. Ben could only flinch again preparing to accept a second blaster bolt to the torso. 

The sound of the blaster echoed in the medical bay and he frantically checked his body, but there was nothing?! Looking up he saw her silhouette move in and out through the walls of the Supremacy. With out thinking he chased after her, he wanted to know more, he wanted to know why this was happening. He felt like a school boy chasing after a frightened animal that he didn’t want to hurt he just wanted to take a closer look as he slid across the floor nearly kicking a MSE-6 droid in the process.

Rey felt his presence again as the island huts started to disappear and all she could see was him. Testing this strange mirage in the force Kylo reached out trying to control her.

“You will bring Luke Skywalker to me” but to no avail nothing, she just stared at him with hatred in her eyes. Impressed that she was not afraid of him, ready to accept what ever her fate was. But Ben had never seen this before. Embarrassed by his failed attempt he slowly retracted his outstretched arm and changed his approach. 

“You’re not doing this…the effort would kill you…” he looked around studying the strange connection further. “can you seem my surroundings?” He looked back at her studying her further. Finally she spoke with such hatred in her voice

“you’re going to pay for what you did!” Ben ignored her empty threats and continued his investigation. “I can’t see yours…just you…no this is something else” suddenly a sound bled through and he felt a new presence. He saw her look behind in a state of panic. Ben remembered this force signature all to well. 

“Luke” he whispered as the strong connection ceased.  The sound returned to the cold empty corridor and Ben felt a tapping at his boot as the MSE-6 droid raced past. 

Droids…he mused. This all started with droids. A scavenger who convinced a BB unit to show her a map. He remembered her features he studied her as they left Takodona on his personal shuttle. Chestnut brown hair, reverently pulled back in three buns, sun kissed skin, freckles across her cheeks that reminded Ben of the star chart he desperately was looking for. A connection of shared thoughts as he tried to pull the map from her memories, only to expose his own thoughts and fears. Be he too remembered her thoughts and desires. It had the be the force that was connecting them, but why.

It all started with a droid…

[gyrlversion]

14 K-pop Songs To Help Unleash Your Inner Extrovert This Gemini Season

By Tássia Assis

If the steadiness of Taurus season got you feeling cozy and comfy, it’s time to get ready for the winds of change brought on by Gemini. With the start of Gemini season last week, the world welcomed a period of enhanced partnership and quick-witted communication. As an Air sign, Gemini is always on the run, flashing through the latest trends. As such, there’s no time to stay still with this sign.

Though often perceived as being two-faced, a Gemini contains multitudes. As a mutable sign, they adapt and flex their way into what each situation asks, and you can never be quite sure of which version you’re going to get. But leaving it to that is to undermine the sign’s best traits: originality, versatility, and socializing. You won’t ever be bored beside a Gemini.

That frenetic way of being can also bring out restlessness, heavy judging, and falling in and out of love like changing shoes. But Gemini energy is all about merging that innate duality and getting in sync. Its symbol — the Roman numeral II, or literal twin figures — depicts how important it is for this sign to find kindred spirits to share their vivacious minds with.

In order to ease you into this quicksilver period and inspire you to make the most of this stimulating, social season, here is a K-pop playlist embracing the many shades of Gemini:

(Lyrics via Color Coded Lyrics)

LOONA, “Butterfly”

One-fourth of LOONA are vibrant Gemini woman. Yves, Choerry, and JinSoul add their twin charms to the 12-member ensemble, and alongside Kim Lip, Chuu, and Heejin, it’s clear that Air signs are the dominant force in this group. That explains LOONA’s breezy nature, effortlessly welcoming change in a powerful, yet delicate, butterfly effect. Their latest single “Butterfly” taps into this very concept. With an experimental, high-pitched chorus and breathtaking choreography, this release is a powerful anthem about courage and freedom. The music video features a diverse cast of women and stands by a very Geminian synergy: Every girl in their orbit is LOONA, and LOONA is every girl.

Biggest mood: “You just fly like a butterfly / Taking me far away wings wings / Just like this fly like a butterfly / Sounds of winds blowing around my ears.”

Seventeen, “My I”

Seventeen is home to two Geminis: Jun and Hoshi, both part of the group’s performance (or, dance) unit. However, it’s China-line Jun and The8’s duet “My I” that most accurately depicts the twin sign’s duality. In a dark stage, a theatrical choreography gives shape to the inherent dichotomy of life: the yin and the yang, the I and the other. Bonded by the thread of destiny, their movements merge and divide while reminding us that light cannot exist without shadow. The duo yearns to find another version of themselves in the world, and therefore make a compelling spectacle out of Gemini’s innermost energy.

Biggest mood: “When I meet you after time passes / I’ll know (you were my future) / I’ll know (I was your yesterday) / When I meet you after time passes / I’ll know (you protected me) / I’ll know (I desired you).”

Triple H, “Retro Future”

Hyuna’s star power can easily be mistaken for a boisterous Leo energy, but Geminis like her love to be the center of attention just as much. And what happens when they find a twin flame in the process? E’Dawn, the other half of K-pop’s most electric couple, might have the answer — as he is also a Gemini. Triple H was, without a doubt, one of the most risqué and refreshing acts in the industry, and if not for Hui’s grounded Virgo energy, who knows what tumultuous heights the twin couple would have reached. (Though, we’re about to find out.) The single “Retro Future” is a groovy ride turned up a notch by their indisputable chemistry and overall Geminian talent in being the life of the party.

Biggest mood: “What makes me dance at this boring party / Is this stop, ah ah ah ah ah / Till we reach out limit, touch, touch, never die / Swallow the deep poison ahead of time, that is mine.”

Twice, “Likey”

Sociable and chatty Geminis are often masters of social media. (Mercury, the ruling planet of this sign, is also the ruler of all things communication and technology.) Twice’s resident Geminis, Tzuyu and Dahyun, helped the group shed some intriguing light on that matter with their 2017 single “Likey.” What appears to be a peppy song — not unlike their characteristic brand — hides a concerning message. Even the video normalizes the constant streaming of our lives, but it’s the lyrics that call out how constructed those images are, and how deeply they affect us. Even the most outgoing Gemini is bound to feel a bit overwhelmed with the demands of social media. Thankfully, “Likey” invites us to add some Air sign lightness into those experiences.

Biggest mood: “Put on BB cream, pat pat pat / Put on lipstick, mam mam ma / Shall I make a pretty pose for the camera? / Look at this and smile for me / And please press it / On the bottom, that cute and red / Heart heart.”

Taeyeon, “Gemini”

Taeyeon’s haunting ballad “Gemini” draws inspiration directly from its namesake sign’s longing for a soulmate. As the emotional Pisces she is, the singer reminisces about a former love and wishes for them to return in soft “come to me, baby” croons. As they used to do to everything together, this symbiosis led them to become like twins. However, Gemini’s characteristic quick-pace and fleeting feelings soon hit, and left only memories in the aftermath.

Biggest mood: “We were always together, we became alike / I can’t even imagine forgetting you, / We were one, me and you.”

HA:TFELT, “Pluhmm”

Former Wonder Girls’ member Yeeun, known as HA:TFELT in her solo career, has composed and written several songs throughout her decade-long career. As expected from a Gemini, her razor-sharp mind often results in work that bursts with originality. “Pluhmm,” a bossa nova track mixed with electronic synths is a great example. Yeeun sings in a lush, sensual voice about wanting to know everything about her lover — as curious as Geminis are —  asking mundane questions like “Do you like plums?” and “What is the name of your dog?” The witty music video also makes for a mentally stimulating puzzle in true Gemini style.

Biggest mood: “I wanna know everything about you / I want to have your heart / I don’t wanna know if it’s not you / Just stay like that for a moment.”

NCT 127, “Highway to Heaven”

If LOONA is the ultimate Air sign girl group, then NCT 127 is its male counterpart. With five members born under that element, two of them are Geminis: vocalists Taeil and Haechan. It’s safe to say NCT wouldn’t be the same without their vocal colors, and “Highway to Heaven” is a soaring example. The song is as freeing as its title, and takes us on a swift journey that satisfies with highs notes and an otherworldly feeling of being infinite. The music video brings a tint of nostalgia with black and white roads, tunnels, and deserts juxtaposed with solo shots of the members. It’s a great song to get into Gemini’s more lighthearted nature and simply go with the flow.

Biggest mood: “Pull up, if you want (all over the world) / Wherever it is, we can go / Now we fly to the sky / If you want, make you high, follow me / Look! We’re going forward / We can make mistakes, just repeat / Keep going till it works, like this / There’s no limit, we limitless.”

Girls’ Generation, “I Got a Boy”

Geminis are known to be walking contradictions, and here is a track that also can’t decide whatever it is. An avant-garde mixture of styles and transitions, Girls’ Generation’s “I Got a Boy” is a classic that continues to influence K-pop releases to this day. It’s the kind of song that you either love, hate, or learn to love the more you listen to. The clashing, colorful visuals add an epic undertone to the experience, and overall it’s as if hearing a Gemini say, “Why choose only one thing when you can be all of them?”

Biggest mood: “Let me introduce myself / Here comes trouble, whoo! Follow us.”

Ailee, “U&I”

Just like Hyuna, Ailee is another Gemini who could easily pass as a Leo. Her powerhouse vocals and magnetic smile are undeniable proof that she was born to be under the spotlight, especially with a song like “U&I.” Geminis have no time for BS, and you either follow their frenetic pace or become history, like the love interest in this track. A luxurious music video enables Ailee to gain back her power as she realizes her current relationship doesn’t satisfy her needs anymore, and therefore it’s the moment to break up. Geminis have no problem in moving on and letting go — because they are sure better things await in the future.

Biggest mood: “I want to stop fighting now / There’s not a day where we just let things go / My days have no meaning now / I don’t smile even for one minute or one second / I can’t do this anymore.”

The Boyz, “Giddy Up”

“Giddy Up” is another song brimming with Gemini’s enthusiasm. The Boyz thoroughly enjoy themselves on this uplifting tune just like the twins do at any social gathering. The visual is set inside a giant pinball machine, where every moment is rather hit or miss, as the group sings about relaxing and rejoicing in the excitement of a new love. Even if this fleeting game only lasts four minutes, Geminis make sure it’s well worth the time.

Biggest mood: “Just like we feel right now, let’s run to the sky / Throw away your worries, trust yourself with me / Eeny meeny miney mo, no need to make it hard / Just need your heart fluttering eyes, throw yourself.”

KARD, “Push & Pull”

Gemini’s ever-changing opinions are surely hard to understand for most of us. In the B side “Push & Pull,” KARD makes use of a somber tropical house melody to express their frustration on that matter. Like a tug of war, the co-ed quartet feels played and tries to reason why their partner can’t be more straightforward. Although no behavior is exclusive of a Zodiac sign, this one particularly fits the “I’m in/I’m out” habits that so many Geminis are known for.

Biggest mood: “Don’t play with me that game / With the sign you sent / I went closer to you / But why are you confusing me?”

NU’EST, “Sleep Talking”

As the most conversational sign of the Zodiac, Geminis can easily relate to “Sleep Talking” instead of sleeping. However, on this track, NU’EST — who is home to two Geminis, JR and Aron — suffers from an inability to declare their love and instead find themselves living it in their dreams. The vivid music video features a set of surreal rooms from where they try to escape and come back to the real world. While they struggle, the main intention of Gemini is still present: communicating, no matter what obstacles they might find.

Biggest mood: “This doesn’t make sense / She’s smiling right in front / Of me Right now / She appears when I go to sleep / She disappears when I awake / I want to hold onto her, say / I want to confess, confess, confess, confess but I sleep talk.”

DIA, “Woo Woo”

DIA is another group that features a trio of Geminis: Huihyeon, Jueun, and Eunchae. In their 2018 release “WooWoo,” summertime vibes infuse with Miami bass influences. The music video follows the relaxing sounds, and features the girls having fun at the beach, eating pizza, and being playful with each other. There’s even a challenge to find specific items hidden in the scenes, instigating Gemini’s curious nature. Meanwhile, the lyrics yet again approach the two-faced nature of this sign, as the girls feel confused about a love who can’t seem to decide what is happening between them. And it’s this disparity between visuals and lyrics that make “WooWoo” even more authentically Gemini.

Biggest mood: “I get tied up with just one word / Then you loosen me up again / It just takes one moment / You do this all the time / You confuse me.”

Weki Meki, “Picky Picky”

Ultimately, Geminis can’t stand still because they are always on the lookout for the best. This kind of powering through can create an inclination toward indecisiveness, or rather, being picky, as Weki Meki can attest. “Picky Picky” is a cheerful track that takes pride in choosing exactly what you want, no matter what others think. The fun music video has the girls messing around in a school and forming a rock band (in true Gemini learning skills) where they exercise blissful confidence in being unapologetically who they are.

Biggest mood: “Make me feel better, ooh / But someone too typical / I don’t like, I don’t want / I like being risky, I like it but / I don’t like being scared, hate it.”

The post 14 K-pop Songs To Help Unleash Your Inner Extrovert This Gemini Season appeared first on Gyrlversion.

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[stormyrecords-blog]

memorial day new arrivals

happy memorial day weekend!!

THANK YOU to all of our service men and women, past present and future. a single day a year is really not enough to thank you for all you have done for your country. your selflessness and courage deserve to be honored everyday.

in on thursday

DEVIOUS ONES Plainview Nights lp $14.99

brand new music on vinyl from detroit's own Devious Ones! LP is limited to 500 copies that are hand numbered. Very classy cover art - not a surprise for any project Rob St Mary is involved with!!

Hollie Cook Vessel Of Love LP $20.99

Many women started playing music because of history’s first all-girl punk band, the Slits. But the British singer Hollie Cook launched her career as a reggae singer after being in the Slits. She was, in some sense, destined. Cook was born in 1987 to Jeni Cook, a backing singer for Culture Club, and Paul Cook, the drummer of the Sex Pistols who infamously helped steal all the gear that history-splitting band used to get started. Boy George is Cook’s godfather, and it is unlikely that Johnny Rotten has been in a photo more adorable than one, shared recently by Cook, of the pair backstage at a 1996 Sex Pistols reunion show. At 19, Cook was tapped by a family friend to sing at a recording session. It was Ari Up: the status-quo-annihilating, dreadlock-donning, firebrand Slits singer—a woman who, in her freedom of mind, was so controversial in punk’s early days that she was knifed on the streets of London; who not only fused punk with reggae, but subsequently moved to Jamaica and made a life there.

Destroyer Your Blues LP $22.99

City Of Daughters LP $23.99

Thief LP $23.99

3 wonderful albums by Destroyer, with both City and Thief being newly remastered and pressed on heavy vinyl

Tracyanne & Danny s/t cd $14.99

lp also available $ 25.99

Throughout the whole of the 21st century, Camera Obscura have sated the world’s appetite for bookish yet luxuriant Scottish indie-pop, ruling a lane left wide open when Belle & Sebastian went full jazz-hands. But the band has been inactive in recent years following the 2015 death of keyboardist Carey Lander, so we haven’t had the privilege of hearing Tracyanne Campbell’s voice ringing out ever-so-articulately over lush retro production.

Enter Danny Coughlan of the English band Crybaby, Camera Obscura’s friends and former opening act. Glasgow-based Campbell and Bristol-based Coughlan had been talking about collaborating since before Camera Obscura released 2013’s Desire Lines, but they didn’t properly revisit the idea until some time had passed following Lander’s death. Now they’ve gotten down to business and recorded a whole album together under the name Tracyanne & Danny.

great restock on HIP HOP releases including multiple Drum Breaks lps, some J Dilla, El Michels Affair and Will Sessions!!!

in on friday  

Sun Ra: God Is More Than Love

CD $15.99

LP $23.99

"God Is More Than Love Can Ever Be is something of a rarity in the Sun Ra catalog -- a cohesive album with none of the stylistic eclecticism and musical chair shifting many of the artist's self-released LPs were known for. Recorded at Variety Studios one day in 1979, the album's five tracks comprise a solid jazz trio set. God Is More Than Love... is the only complete piano-bass-drums studio session in the massive Sun Ra catalog. The album offers an intense set of cosmic vagabond moods, reflecting the telepathy that is the essence of small combo jazz. Other than an overdubbed second piano on 'Days Of Happiness' the five works were spontaneously generated and forever fixed: none of the titles recur in the encyclopedic Ra discography. Originally released on Saturn in several small press runs under the alternate title 'Days Of Happiness' between 1979 and 1981, fully realized artwork was never established and the album never got much circulation, thus it has remained a largely overlooked session in the Ra omniverse. Nearly 40 years later, the record is long overdue for acclaim on its second time around. Newly remastered edition on CD and LP (with tip-on style jackets/ RTI vinyl)"

NWW: Sinister Whimsy For The Wretched  2CD $21.99

Sinister Whimsy For The Wretched contains the long out-of-print albums, Sugar Fish Drink (1992) and Large Ladies With Cake In The Oven (1993). Both discs are remastered by Andrew Liles. You will never hear these better. Sugar Fish Drink, "Cod Surrealism", is a distinctly wet aberration on paranoid aesthetics occasionally coordinated by John Balance and Steven Stapleton. For Large Ladies With Cake In The Oven, all tracks were previously released in some form or another. Songs titles have been altered from their original forms on their original releases. "Head Cold" is very close to being the exact song as the Miss Ticker remix of "Cold" from the Thunder Perfect Mind CD reissue and "Steel Dream March Of The Metal Man".

Pharoah Sanders -  Juan Les Pins Jazz Festival '68 CD $17.99

Pharoah Sanders, live from the Juan Les Pins Jazz Festival, Antibes, France on July 20th, 1968. Having made his name playing with John Coltrane as of 1965, Pharoah Sanders soon came to be recognized as one of the most innovative jazz players of his generation. Having formed his own quartet, he was invited to perform at the Antibes Jazz Festival in Juan-les-Pins, France in July 1968. Originally broadcast on French radio station WDR3, this superb recording captures a great musician in his early prime. Includes the entire WDR3-FM radio broadcast is presented here, digitally remastered, with background notes and images. Personnel: Pharoah Sanders - tenor saxophone, percussion; Lonnie Liston Smith - piano; Norman "Sirone" Jones - bass; Majeed Shabazz - drums.

Schickert, Gunter: Labyrinth LP $23.99

Günter Schickert, four decades of multi-instrumental cosmic explorations, under Berlin's sky, above genres, and compromises. Marmo present on his seventh album to date, Labyrinth, the first to be released on vinyl format since 1983's Kinder In Der Wildnis. Schickert's Samtvogel (1974), equaled the imaginative leap and sonic power of the early Pink Floyd, Manuel Gottsching's 1975 album Inventions For Electric Guitar (MGART 401CD/901LP) or A.R. & Machines's Die Grüne Reise (1971). Überfällig -- originally released on Sky Records in 1979 and reissue by Bureau B (BB 096CD/LP, 2012) -- little acclaimed, spans a large spectrum of music styles, always through a distinctive and personal aesthetic, that is deeply linked to the one he firstly crafted back in '74, when Schickert pioneered the use of echo effects applied to guitar playing. And now Labyrinth, a record that stands for versatility, where soundscapes or life situations take over. The album is divided into two parts, two different production bulks and periods of Günther Schickert's life. Side A features a selection of tracks recorded in 1996, appearing on the 2012 album HaHeHiHo, released via Pittsburgh based VCO Recordings. The raga-inspired "Morning" opens Labyrinth with exotic charm and bitter-sweet nostalgia. "Sieben" kicks off with the same guitar scales of the previous theme, before the motorized progressions of a Korg MS-20 synth surprisingly storm in. "Ninja Schwert" remains on astral dimensions, it is a struggle of cosmic forces, where the steady ride of a pounding beat gets embraced by different guitar layers and analog electronic filtering. The side closes up with "HaHeHiHo", a slow ballad featuring Schickert on vocals, guitar, bass guitar, and drum machine. Side B contains material produced between 2007 and today. "Tsunami" shows the multi-instrumental and recording abilities of Günter Schickert: a field-recorded storm with mesmerizing powers, a peculiar progressive approach to guitar playing. In contrast, "Oase" muffles the intensity and jumps into a completely different soundscape, where in liaison with the sounds of a rolling drum tom and a desert-like trumpet. Like "HaHeHiHo", "Checking" represents the vocal gem of the B side, in a raw and direct way of songwriting like if Syd Barrett was his invisible helper. "Palaver" assembles different vocal recordings of Schickert into a bizarre free-style conversation. "Morning (Slide)", reprises the opening theme, this time solely performed through the caressing dilated sounds of Günter's slide guitar. Includes printed inner sleeve and download code.

Battiato, Franco: Clic LP $33.99

"On his fourth album, Clic, Franco Battiato moves further out -- into realms of pure and elemental approaches to sound -- to create a seminal work that flows naturally from one musical form to the next. Every second ripples with orbital chords, kosmische textures and schizophrenic string quartets, yet somehow manages the same dramatic pacing and variety as his avant-rock albums Fetus and Pollution. Originally released in 1974 on Bla Bla, Clic features Battiato on VCS3 synthesizer and piano, along with trusted collaborators Gianni Mocchetti on guitar and Gianfranco D'Adda on percussion. While only 'No U Turn' bears the maestro's voice, these seven tracks contain some of his boldest melodies, an underlying thread that runs through the choral arrangements and meditative compositions. Clic's dedication to Karlheinz Stockhausen comes into focus on the final piece, 'Ethika Fon Ethica' -- a rapidfire journey into Italian shortwave radio, interrupted by fleeting fragments of folk music from around the world (sampled from Henry Cowell's celebrated Folkways compilations from the 1950's). It's the perfect ending to Battiato's beautiful and expansive tour of the cosmos, signaling the uncompromising experimentalism that would dominate much of the composer's mid-1970s oeuvre. Superior Viaduct presents the first-time domestic release of Clic. Reproducing the original gatefold jacket and booklet, this reissue is part of an archival series that chronicles Franco Battiato's masterful body of work from 1971 to 1978."

Durutti Column: LC LP $26.99

restock on this incredible release!!

David Grubbs & Taku Unami: Failed Celestial Creatures LP  $33.99

Empty Editions present Failed Celestial Creatures, an unexpected collaboration between composer-guitarist David Grubbs (Gastr Del Sol, The Red Krayola) and Tokyo-based musician Taku Unami. Primarily recorded in Kyoto, the album takes inspiration from the duo's shared musical and literary influences, emerging just as much from their improvisatory explorations as from an eclectic reading list exchanged prior to the recording sessions. The album's narrative inclinations are rooted in both artists' previous experiments with the complex reciprocity between sound and text, including Grubbs' work with the poet Susan Howe and Unami's collaborations with writers such as Eugene Thacker and Evan Calder Williams. Failed Celestial Creatures draws in particular upon a group of short stories by the short-lived Japanese author Atsushi Nakajima (1909-42) -- perhaps best known for inflecting Classical Chinese folktales with a modernist vein of absurdist and existential foreboding -- as the imaginary backdrop for its set of guitar-based instrumental explorations. In Nakajima's The Moon Over The Mountain, a mad-poet metamorphosed into a hybrid-tiger recites poetry with an obscure defect, while The Rebirth of Wujing sees the titular river monster self-identifying as a "failed celestial being" [堕天使]. The cryptic collapse read in both of these episodes resonates with Unami's research into the etymology of the chinese character "堕," meaning "to fail" in modern usage, but historically understood as referencing "sacred meat from the altar fallen on the ground." Such a primordial scene evokes the violation of the sacred as a tacit aspect of ritual. This failure of ritual, always a condition (and perhaps even a technique) for musicians of Grubbs and Unami's ilk, can be broadly understood as the primary point of departure for Failed Celestial Creatures. Situated within this affective terrain, the album's title-track consists of a side-long progression of dirge-like riffs enveloped by clouds of vaporous electronics -- eventually erupting into unruly squalls of feedback as Unami joins Grubbs on electric guitar. The B-side features a cluster of luminous guitar duets which are beguiling in their seeming effortlessness and simplicity. Threadbare and fallen, Grubbs and Unami invoke the failed ritual, the spilling at the altar, always suggested at the precipice of sonic emergence. Recorded by Taku Unami at Soto, Kyoto, August 7th and 9th, 2017; Mastered by Rashad Becker at Dubplates & Mastering. 180 gram vinyl; Edition of 500.

Wire #412: June 18 MAG $10.50

"On the cover: Laurie Anderson (More active now than ever, the multimedia artist and performer discusses a career marked by hybridity, borderless networks and a new interest in virtual reality). Inside the issue: Cecil Taylor (When the revolutionary pianist died in April, jazz lost one of its most uncompromising individualists. Author, photographer and historian Val Wilmer recalls their encounters); Senyawa (Javanese musicians and instrument makers Rully Shabara and Wukir Suryadi fuse metal with trance to create overwhelming fields of sound); Global Ear: Veracruz; Invisible Jukebox: The Storm Bugs; plus: Tansy Davies, Rodrigo Tavares, Sarah Hennies, Futura Records and more."

[charlie-travers-blog]

“They’re painting me out to be the princess” Um... Jade really wants to be the victim, doesn’t she?