#spotify reminded me of all the merch that i could buy and now i want to spend all my money

[newtness532]

who wants to buy me the simple living things hoodie?

[corvoda]

Hot damn I got tagged for a thread thing on Tumblr? That shit never happens thanks @super-yuzu lol

last song I listened to:

According to my Spotify, Rogue Ump by The Garages. Just something in my shuffle playlist.

Last thing I actually went out of my way to listen to was probably Something About Us by Daft Punk, or The Legendary Theme (a GuitarooMan Cover) by PPF. Both are very soothing, romantic music, and are easy to fall asleep to. I don't remember which I used last night.

currently reading:

I've been keeping this book on me for a while. The Murderbot Diaries series is great so far!

I wish I could download Terabytes worth of shitty RomComs into my head and play them in my brain whenever I wanted, too.

I am far too predicable.

currently watching:

I'm currently catching up on ChuggaaConroy's YouTube series about why he hates Paper Mario StickerStar. He recently posted on Twitter about how he went to the hardware store just to buy a shovel, and then proceeded to post pictures of his copy of stickerstar buried in his back yard.

current obsession:

Idk if I can call it an obsession, but the minor Undertale anniversary merch news reminded me about how much I love Sweet, Cap'n, and Cakes from Deltarune. I've been looking at a lot of art by them recently. I have been petty hooked on them since the day I first saw them, their designs are too perfect.

I gotta Tag people now I think. Here's some mutual of mine I don't talk to much, but I think you're all really cool :)

@oddatbest @thenonsensetronaut @arcwincl

@based-bisexual @snailcruncher

[1d-discourseoftheday]

Thurs 28 Jan ‘21

Zayn is doing a Zach Sang interview!! A whole long talk with someone we can trust to ask him good questions and be respectful and be funny, um YES THANK YOU?! What a good choice for such a rare interview, I love that. We don't know when, but Zach is asking for questions now. And parts 3 and 4 of the NIL comic are up, set to songs 3 and 4 off the album. Who is chasing our protagonist and why? Stay tuned for weekly updates! Meanwhile back in Bradford, Zayn's sisters Doniya and Safaa show off the mini Aristocats themed princess paradise they've created for baby Khai and Zayn's niece Zaniyah to share, complete with mini pink poofy furniture and their names painted on the walls with pink sparkles and pictures of Aristocat Marie. If that doesn't make little Khai feel wanted and welcomed for visits IDK what could!

Another set of pap pics of shirtless Niall working out in his garage in LA yesterday; he's tummy out, waving a laptop overhead while juggling a can of water and a phone and a towel and looking like a raccoon caught in the trash in most of them, just being a living meme. They (Niall) say you only get papped by choice and this is no exception- observe how he chooses to just stay right there in view staring the pap down while they snap him, doors still open (and is right on top of any opportunity to remind us about the wonders of canned water besides)- but that doesn't mean he's gonna look happy about it by god! The one of him craning his neck to look at the camera over his own crotch while weight lifting in particular was uh a choice and a half of a pose to drop into when you know there are paps shooting. He also won Irish Song of the Year in the RTE’s voted awards (of course he did!) for No Judgement.    

LTHQ posted the first of probably many things about the upcoming one year anniversary of the Walls release: a fanart contest, with chosen pieces for each song to be posted to spotify on Sunday, the anniversary. I look forward to the 'find the larry art they accidentally let slip in' treasure hunt! Fans hoped in vain that the 28th would bring a special anniversary merch drop (or We Made It merch, is it EVER coming??), but alas; no merch drop today. Louis just liked a post from footballer Steven Gerrard about a 40+ artist (including Liam Gallagher) livestream to benefit stagehand and food security charities (because ofc he did it’s like that post was crafted just for him) and another friend of his (Donny boy boxer Dave Allen) said they "just talked to him earlier", he's just on the phone all the time huh? Lockdown mood tbh, I get it.

And in today's Holivia watch? A NEW HIGH LOW... the tabloids are out to prove they've utterly lost the plot and will just write LITERALLY ANYTHING including just wholly making up the story of H and O's ENGAGEMENT!! I feel sorry for the fans who are dutifully trying to swallow everything they're being fed, the whiplash from last week's "Harry doesn't like marriage" stories must be painful! APPARENTLY Harry "dropped to one knee" (but was it the si knee or the no knee? Inquiring minds want to know!) outside "his LA house" (hmm) and brought Olivia to tears (of laughter I'm guessing) by quoting Shakespeare (“Love me!... Why?” perhaps, or “et tu brute?”...?) In case this wasn't Wattpad Imagine enough for you, they also tell us that Olivia "has always been a fan" like... ew? Also, since when? But that's not all! They've already had time to PLAN it all out-- for example, Harry is "designing the dress" aww- that's almost enough to make you wish it was true, I bet he'd look really pretty in something he designed himself! Anywaaaaay, if they're concerned about people not buying what they're selling this is uh, NOT the right approach to combat that lol, Jeff you might wanna have words with these people! If they're trying to make me laugh however, KUDOS it is going REALLY WELL. Also! Harry's "secret" finsta (hahhahaha we're beyond that surely, can we all agree that the things we're seeing with this account are very much for us to see at this point?) unfollowed someone, Harry recorded a message sending congratulations for his new music to 14 year old singer Jackson Dollinger, and another Harry from another band (Judd, McFly) shared a terrifying memory of being driven around LA by a gleeful Harry (Styes, 1D)  in a Ferrari and the realization that if they'd d*** he'd be relegated to a footnote.

[kihyunswrath]

Anyway how does it benefit Starship to blur Wonho?

Like honestly please someone explain this to me. I am fucking baffled. I don’t even know how to explain how little sense this makes to me. I know Starship is not necessarily famous for having... intelligent staff members in there, but like. Seriously.

Who is this for? Why bother? Who was paid for just literally hand-picking photos after photos of their merch and stuff and carefully making the entire picture look like laughably cheap shit, like don’t they have literally anything more important to do? 

Every single fucking person in this planet who has ever heard of Monsta X, knows that Wonho exists and that he was a member of the group. No matter what his company thinks of him now, they did accept him as a useful, important member to the group back then and they also do know fans still like him and would love to get reminders of him every now and then in their older merch, videos or other content. Like how does it help to blur him like there’s something absolutely fucking heinous about his existence, but yet not properly edit him out or simply stop publishing and selling stuff he used to be in? 

Like??? Everyone who gets into Monsta X now and didn’t hear about this scandal yet WILL notice that there’s suddenly this extra looming blur in all of their group pictures and then find out about it and probably immediately yikes the fuck out? Everyone who does know about it already and used to like him will get one more reminder of how seriously unprofessional, embarrassing, maddeningly stupid and infuriating Starship can be - like are they testing our limits or what? Like are they just hoping we would indeed get so depressed and angry that we’d leave Monsta X as a whole and then they could slowly choke the group to death like they did with Boyfriend? All the while not realizing this would make their entire fucking company die down too? Only to satisfy maybe an entire three people who would have wanted Wonho to disappear from all records?

Is this about a 500-year-old chaebol ahjussi shareholder (e.g. you-know-who’s dad) and their harem of sasaeng antifans who hold Starship by the scruff of their necks, saying that Wonho’s face brings them reputation damage to the third generation and shame on your cow, and that just the suspicion of you smoking something illegal once is worse than being convicted of both murder and rape, and maybe there’s also space for that additional oh-don’t-you-ever-dare-to-tarnish-the-name-of-this-great-nation-ever-again? Like could there even be someone who actually gives two fucks about Wonho having some pictures here and there, considering all his pissbaby bullies got what they wanted? 

And if this is about copyright issues, that doesn’t make much sense either now, does it. They have been paying for him as a compensation for the materials over the years? They still get promoted, perhaps even paid through older music videos and others already uploaded to different websites, including the ones in vlive, but they haven’t edited or removed those? Plus, considering how they removed his name from some of the Spotify songs he had been composing, one could easily think he didn’t own any copyrights to anything he ever did. It wouldn’t be unheard of for the kpop company to own their idols’ literal body parts, let alone some random photoshoot pictures they took way before the company realized one member in particular deserves to be dropped just for fun. And again? They can also literally just stop selling or promoting for stuff his face or name is in. Like what’s the point in selling those if you are going to face hundreds of legal problems and the end result of him being edited out just looks odd, horrible and stupid anyway? And like. People can still buy Monsta X old merch, right? Wonho’s going to be there in the physical product people get their hands on, and Starship will receive money out of it anyway? Like what’s the difference? Having a lil pleasant surprise when you didn’t know exactly how Wonho was going to look in the photo you bought?

I mean I sure do enjoy thinking of this being Wonho’s own doing. I’d love to think he himself just sent them a text message and was like “lalala I hereby forbid y’all from using my face, name, body or voice in anything you ever release again, try to cope with that and oh, I guess you have to tell your fans they will see my blurred face and name literally everywhere and get called Mnbebes I hope they’re NOT okay with that I hope they’ll come beat your asses anyway see you in court, bye”.

But maybe I’m projecting because that’s just something I would do. I don’t know if Wonho would intentionally do that to the fans, let alone to the other members. 

Let it be declared, in any case, as usual, that 1) Starship is managing things like little cowards they are, 2) Monsta X needs to get out of there asap and 3) as long as Starship and whoever is involved holds Wonho accountable for unprovable bullshit, I’m going to hold them accountable for being cowards, twats and old-fashioned clowns.  

Sorry not sorry, Starship. I will absolutely never stop bringing up your mistakes, errors and flaws in the most inconvenient places, in the most unfortunate situations. I hope you enjoy being dragged through the mud, but hey, it’s just a payback, so don’t take it too personally.

(I’m sorry I don’t have the credits for this modified logo but whoever edited it needs a raise) 

[theviewfromthebooth]

The View from the Booth: Tracks of 2018

Right. Here we fucking go. I realise it's been a bit drawn out this year, but for me it has been interesting. In some areas it's felt more like a tester of Social media algorithms, but I have been able to see how the top 10 have hit your ears. I'm pleased to say they've all got some love – hopefully you're beginning to believe me about all of those great tracks out this year. Normally I put the playlist at the bottom, but that’s no good if you wanna listen as you read. Plus I’ve made you all wait long enough, dammit.

It pleases me that however hard it is to make a living from making music in 2018, there's still plenty of people giving it a go. However, when a band like Spring King – with strong support from label, fans and press – can't make it work, it makes me wonder if that well of beautiful dreamers will ever run out.

I know that Spotify isn't exactly the heart of the revolution on this subject either. The amount that artists are paid per stream is still pitifully low, and it doesn't seem to be doing them much good. 87 million paid subscribers sounds great, until you realise last quarter there was an operating loss of 90 million Euros.  

Had they gone the Netflix method, as suggested by a friend of mine who's operated at all levels of success within the industry, and actually invested in music – the artists and it's production -  rather than just taking money for distribution, it could have been a real force for good. For now, it's just the easiest delivery method. So while I'll keep using it, I'll also keep buying tracks, albums, gig tickets & even merch if they have anything left that goes over my gut. I suggest you all do too.

In typical fashion, there was a real battle in my head for the top spot. Yeah, yeah you say that every year knobhead. But that's what happens when you love what you listen to. I have great memories tied to every song on this list, as I've navigated what has actually been a great year for me. But in the end, when I look back in 5, 10 years time, I fully believe that 2018 will be known for the emergence of Brockhampton.

I'll be honest.......the concept of Brockhampton sounds horrific on paper. A band drawing comparisons to One Direction & Wu Tang Clan in equal measure, a mish mash of up to 15 different voices and almost as many styles. But these guys know what they're doing. Rather than fear being labelled a manufactured boy band, they're redefining exactly what that means. To them, it's a group of boys, who want to be the biggest stars on the planet, making the music they want to make.

Boogie has a beat like a fire alarm that hits you like a heart attack, and keeps you off guard as each new voice tries to elbow its way into your psyche. There's an urgency about the whole thing, as if this has been building up inside them all, busting to get out.

Kevin Abstract's main refrain:

“I've been beat up my whole life

 I've been shot down, kicked down twice

 Ain't no stopping me tonight

 Imma get all the things I like”

feels very now, both in the frustration and the desire to finally win, for once.  Well congrats lads – you've won 2018. No, there's no trophy.

Annual reminder to ignore the numbers on the side of the playlist - Ash is no.50, not number 1. The list is a countdown not a count up, despite what Spotify are trying to tell you........

[weliketheiroldstuff]

The Story So Far return with Proper Dose, an aural prescription all the sick emo kids have needed for the last three years.

It's been three years since the last TSSF record dropped. So imagine I'm patiently waiting for today's release to come and the night before I get the promo. I know I say a lot of bands have gotten me through dark days. The most relevant dark period of my adult life was around 100 days long, I had these dudes on repeat that summer. It gave me hope and more reasons to stay around. I have not gone public about everything that summer and I guess now you can kinda figure it out. That summer I was battling going away for good. The beginning of those 100 days were miserable beyond description but a month into that era, negativity started to dissipate. I was unbelievably miserable but I was still finding ways to try and stay positive. The more I listened to their records and a few other bands that summer, the quicker I got away from the end. This didn’t save me from a shitty relationship or dumb friends, it saved me from me, the worst enemy I’ve ever had. Again, music to me is about introspection so when a band can make you look inside yourself and see what you need to fix, that is the goal for me as a listener. What music is literally going to make my life better? Apparently these dudes do the trick. It wasn't all just the music or the weed or the escape or knowing I had to do something other than give up. At the same time, I played them more in 2016 than any other artist. When my spotify end of the year lists came out they had every top 20 slot for songs, top 3 for albums, and the number one artist. I got obsessed and that drove me to catching up on lost time with a lot of things because their lyrics got me to open my mind to all the things I was pushing away. This isn’t fanboy shit, this is real. This band literally saved my life and when I could stand to see myself in the mirror again, I was going in a different direction than before. Forward.

Their discography as far as I'm concerned is a shining example of emotionally driven progressive pop punk music and with Proper Dose it seems like the fellas are getting out of their own 100 day darkness. Their songwriting continues to evolve with their age and their sound on this record just really makes me want to go back to California. By the time you get to "If I Fall" it's hard to hide the desire to walk East Bay streets with a doobie in hand and personal evolution on the horizon. They paint a hypothetical picture that reminds me that in my current state of life, I can be better.  The record was written over a year’s time with guitarist Kevin Geyer and drummer Ryan Torf  writing the songs from scratch, even using synthesizers as the pre-production tools of the songwriting process. Eventually those ideas and pre-production demos would be the backbone to the songs that make up Proper Dose. They were even quoted saying everyone in the band has gotten really into the Beatles and it played a part in their development of a higher level of creativity. "Line" is basically a fucking breakbeat song. Beautiful Sunday music for day drinking or smoking or both. This record is like TSSF saying... "Look, we wrote an acoustic song years ago. You always ask us to fucking play it. We're tired of it. Here's an entire record of songs that are better, and plenty are light enough for your emotions to get a hold of. Sorry hardcore kids this record isn't for the pit. Put it on and cuddle your life-mate." Obviously this is hypothetical but I'd like to think this is the emotional dropkick the mosh pit needed at their shows. They're growing up. Like most bands do. So of course the record isn't gonna be the finger pointing anthems you eleventeen year olds want. Please don't get me wrong, I love that side of this band. But this is a sure fire sign that they have evolved and are changing. Fucking absolutely beautiful record. I'm legitimately proud of the The Story So Far boys and the producers and engineers who helped create this next step in their career. I hope you all have a drink or a smoke in realization that you made a game changer of a record. I am only one person but I appreciate this record more than probably most people.

The kids who crowd kill and run across heads are already so fucking disappointed in this, and that makes me incredibly happy, because well, fuck them. Nothing says “I regret kicking a girl off stage” like changing your sound completely. I love this band but that had to be the catalyst for them to change shit on such a drastic level. Another assumption on my part, but it feels right.

This record is going to drastically change their live sets and the crowd participation. Sure there will still be plenty of older tunes to get down to, but you all have to know the shows are not gonna be as “finger-pointy” instead they will be more introspective. So instead of spin kicking a kid in the face you will think “Why do I want to spin kick someone?” Hopefully this record helps other people grow, as their older stuff helped me grow through the darkest time in my 30s. I highly suggest this album to anyone who is a fan of The Story So Far but also anyone who likes lighter pop punkers who used to be into windmills and picking up change. It’s okay, besides Mike Ness one of the toughest baddest mother fuckers out there said something a while ago that still sticks with me today… “Even tough guys fall in love.” Cheers fellas!

LISTEN/BUY PROPER DOSE NOW!

CD/Vinyl/Merch Apple Music Spotify

TOUR DATES

NOV 2  PORTLAND, OR  ROSELAND THEATER NOV 3 SEATTLE, WA SHOWBOX SODO NOV 5 SALT LAKE CITY, UT THE COMPLEX NOV 6 DENVER, CO OGDEN THEATRE NOV 8 CHICAGO, IL METRO ********NOV 10 MT CLEMENS, MI EMERALD THEATRE******** NOV 11 CLEVELAND, OH AGORA THEATRE NOV 13 BUFFALO, NY TOWN BALLROOM NOV 14 NEW YORK, NY PLAYSTATION THEATER  NOV 15 SAYREVILLE, NJ STARLAND BALLROOM NOV 16 BALTIMORE, MD RAMS HEAD NOV 17 PHILADELPHIA, PA ELECTRIC FACTORY NOV 18 WORCESTER, MA PALLADIUM NOV 20 RICHMOND, VA THE NATIONAL NOV 21 CHARLOTTE, NC THE FILLMORE NOV 23 ORLANDO, FL THE PLAZA NOV 24 TAMPA, FL THE RITZ YBOR NOV 25 ATLANTA, GA THE MASQUERADE NOV 27 DALLAS, TX BOMB FACTORY NOV 28 AUSTIN, TX EMO’S NOV 30 TEMPE, AZ MARQUEE DEC 1 LOS ANGELES, CA PALLADIUM - SOLD OUT

[alaskaar]

After reeling in the happiness from meeting Matty and Dan from Zebrahead, we headed back to the Fireball stage (we spent most of our day here, to be honest!) to catch Goldfinger’s set. I’ve always loved Goldfinger, even if I never listened to albums in full, or even know the name of their albums. Back in the day, I used to – uh, oh, don’t arrest me – download music of the dreaded LimeWire and burn it onto disks. I first heard them on Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater back in the day, and then later stumbled across the song on YouTube that sparked my love for the band. They’re a feel good, lively band, and I’m a sucker for that. Especially in the summer time!

Most of the ska/punk stage is full of jokes – you’ve got Zebrahead, as mentioned previously, Less Than Jake and Bowling For Soup. All bands that are notorious for crackin’ a few jokes and havin’ a good ol’ drink. If I was to say that Goldfinger also had a joke around on stage, I’m sure readers would get tired of me repeating myself. Like I said, we spent most of our time at this stage.

Now, everyone knows that John Fieldmann is a punk, rock, ska, you name it – he’s into a bit of everything and basically loves to work on music. He’s worked hard and has had a massive effect in today’s rock scene, helping produce music for The Used, Good Charlotte and Blink 182 (that’s just to name a few!) and even signed Itch from The King Blues, Blitz Kids and Beartooth. He’s a busy guy, but his passion lies in being the frontman for Goldfinger, and on stage, that passion really does shine. With bassist and vocalist Mike Herrera from MxPx, Story Of The Year guitarist, Phil Sneed and New Found Glory drummer Cyrus Bolooki, Goldfinger couldn’t be further than what it started as. But does that stop them getting the crowd pumped, screaming back each lyric of each song? Nope. They opened with ‘Spokesman,’ a well-known song that would appear on almost every Greatest Hits album that Goldfinger will ever release. But apart from playing classic hits the band previously released, a few days before Slam Dunk kicked off, they announced their upcoming new album and released the track ‘Put The Knife Away,’ and I’ll be totally honest – I never listened to it until I was in the crowd. For a song that had quite literally only been released, the crowd recieved it so well and kept their lively movements. Already knowing the lyrics to scream back, and in all honesty, the fact that the band were having such a good time playing made the crowd have a good time listening. Even the lesser known tracks were recieved well – because even though Goldfinger are an amazing band, it’s also the name and songs such as ‘Superman’ and their cover of ’99 Red Balloons’ are what attracts most people. It was nice seeing the crowds support for everything, and not just the songs they knew. Big up to the guys of Goldfinger! (By the way, they finished with ’99 Red Balloons’ and I’ve never seen such a party. Aweeesome!)

Reel Big Fish were up next on the Fireball stage. A band that changed the way that most people remember A-Ha’s ‘Take On Me,’ and a band that, quite rightly, the closest definition to ska in the modern day in mainstream media. But, being a loving girlfriend and already seeing every band that I wanted to so far, we journeyed across the campus to the Signature stage where Frank Iero andthe Patience were up. Now, Owen knows more about this band than I do. The best I can do is, hey, Frank Iero is that guitarist from My Chemical Romance, right? Besides, they were bringing part of the Reel Big Fish crew on stage for almost every set – Zebrahead, Goldfinger. I could probably get away with saying I saw some of them, at least.

(Video taken by Owen Jeffreys)

Frank Iero andthe Patience isn’t, how can I say this? Isn’t a band I would probably ever listen to outside of a music show. For some reason, the produced records I hear through speakers doesn’t really do anything for me, and most of the time I’ll skip the songs if they show up on my Spotify Daily Mix. But, I have seen Frank Iero andthe Patience twice this year. The first time with Taking Back Sunday and, in that live setting, I love it. He sounds so much better live. He’s energetic, he’s fun and when it’s live and right in front of you, you can feel that energy more than through a pair of speakers. It’s quite spectacular, really. Frank Iero andthe Patience is the first band that I pretty much know zilch from, yet as soon as he plays live, I’d be the first one to dance. It’s fair to say I won’t be buying his records, (he gets enough of Owen’s money!) but I would more than likely buy tickets to any show they do locally to me. I urge everyone, if they see Frank Iero’s name pop up for a local show, go and see them. Go and check them out at a festival because you will not be disappointed. I’ve previously reviewed Frank Iero andthe Patience, and it’s probably a lot similar to what I’m saying here, but Owen caught the full Slam Dunk set on the video below (whilst using my head as a tripod – y’know, team work makes the dream work.)

Now, I had a great time at Frank Iero andthe Patience set, but guess what? Time for Less Than Jake. I cannot tell you, how happy I was to be seeing Less Than Jake again. Seeing them with The Road To Warped Tour a few years a go, and then at the Students Union in Cardiff with Zebrahead (*again*) and Reel Big Fish, (perfect line-up, right?) I was buzzing. Before I went and snapped my femur in half, I was the first person diving into pits, jumping wildly in the crowds and skanking to every song I could. And all those movements were involuntry, it’s just the way LTJ makes you feel. So, the first time after having pins and rods stuck into my leg, I’m standing in the crowd waiting for my favourite band and, it was hardly much different. It was just as exciting, even being quite far at the back. For a band that’s name doesn’t come up all that often, the stage filled up more than it did before. LTJ definitely brought it in, making jokes that we [the crowd] had to pretend to like them so they could prove to their booking agent that they’re enjoyable. Chris DeMakes holding a “douche rag” – as he called it – in his back pocket and consistently making jokes about other bands like Green Day and My Chemical Romance. Also, side note, if you’re a big fan of MCR, LTJ said that they’d be returning in 2018 because they can’t afford their big houses anymore. Fingers crossed it is true, I’d die if I could hear ‘Give ‘Em Hell Kid’ live. But anyway, being older and obviously wanting to write about and experience the music rather than the atmosphere more nowadays (not voluntry, I’d still be pitting if it wasn’t for this gammy leg) but I actually enjoyed them for their talents and their skills. Roger Lima sounds so good live. It’s almost emotional listening to him sing ‘The Science of Selling Yourself Short.’ I probably would have shed a tear if I wasn’t so set on screaming the words as loud as I could so they could hopefully hear me from the back. There is nothing else I can say about LTJ apart from positive things.

This is where my Slam Dunk experience goes a bit awol. I went to the show one-hundred-percent certain about where and who I was going to be seeing. I even circled the bands on our schedule and downloaded the app to be reminded 15 minutes before they were due to start. So, according to my plan, the headliner we were going to be seeing was… Neck Deep! I know, I know, it was the Take To The Skies ten year anniversary – but I had seen Enter Shikari twice before and, well, I hadn’t listened to them in a very long time. What else could I experience at their show? So, there we were, eagerly awaiting the arrival of Neck Deep while the entire crowd sings along to ‘Welcome To The Black Parade��� when the music just cuts off and the boys jump on stage. Woo, they’re here! The first song they played was ‘Happy Judgement Day’ that was recently released for their upcoming album ‘The Peace and The Panic.’ It was obvious that they’d be plugging the album, since all their merch was for that album. Still, out of the two new singles, ‘Happy Judgement Day’ is my favourite so, hell yeah! Here’s the truth, I couldn’t get into it. The crowd seemed tired and just, too exhausted to be there. Sure, you could hear the voices, including my own shouting back, but the Monster Energy stage just sounded awful. I’ve heard plenty of things about Neck Deep being terrible live, and I couldn’t even give you an honest opinion because the sound was so unclear that I didn’t even know they were playing ‘Serpents’ until I heard Ben Barlow do his usual shouting thing. It wasn’t as epic as a headliner act should be, and it was a total disappointment. I love the band, I love their music and I listened to them the next day and still loved them. It’s just, for a band that does rely on atmosphere, the fogginess and unclarity of the stage’s sound didn’t help and did no justice. Unfortunately, it wasn’t only myself that decided to switch out.

I stayed for awhile, I was hoping I’d get more into it and enjoy Neck Deep some more, but I never. Shame. So we left to catch a bit of Shikari, since I heard that the show they put on at Birmingham and Leeds was amazing. We got a burger and stood quite far to the side at the back. I was not disappointed. We arrived right at the best time. They played ‘Return To Energiser.’ Not my favourite Shikari song, but regardless, it sounded amazing, it felt amazing. The lights were out of the world and this was the kind of end Slam Dunk needed. I danced. I was so far back where people were sitting and standing. People are tired, blahblahblah. Nope, I was moving with the music, burger in hand, and as SOON as I heard the words “Ladies and Gentlemen” play from the stage, I freaked. I had two bites left of a cheeseburger, and I held onto it with dear life. (I wasn’t willing to throw away any part of a £7 cheeseburger even though it tasted vile.) I was jumping, and for a person who was complaining that her feet hurt, I couldn’t help it. It took me back years to when I loved Shikari. To when I first heard Take To The Skies. When I first fell in love with Jonny Sniper. There’s no words to describe their set – it was by far the best spectacle and I’m just sad that I didn’t manage to catch the whole thing. But what can ya do? All I can hope is to grab tickets to their next show and enjoy everything they have to offer. Being there has definitely made me love Shikari again, though. If not even more than I did when I was younger – I can’t stop listening to them.

We had already seen two headliners, why not catch part of another? After Jonny Sniper was finished and I had heartburn from going nuts whilst still digesting a burger, and then finishing it off after the song had finished, we decided to go catch a bit of the Against Me! set. Again, I’ve only heard the one or two songs and that’s when Owen will play them on guitar. They sound good, but I’ve never gone out of my way to listen to them. I only found out a few days prior about the singer, which is brave and intriguing and I wanted to see what this band were like as well as try and catch Thrash Unreal. That’s the only song I properly know, and even so, I just had to message Owen to make sure I got the name right. Shikari put me in the mood to end Slam Dunk right, so even thought I knew nothing of what they were playing, I was still groovin’ around and enjoying every last minute that I could. Seeing the band, seeing the singer do what she does best despite everything, I was amazed. I was amazed by the bravery that it must take to still put yourself out there like that. Earlier in the day, whilst checking out the merch stands, I noticed there was a book on the Aginst Me! stall titled ‘Tranny’ which I will be picking up as soon as I get the money. I don’t know the music, but being in that environment is enough to make me support them. And listening to a Spotify shuffled playlist of Against Me! is on my agenda.

And that’s it. After Against Me! we caught the end of Shikari with Rou climbing frames and giving Slam Dunk the send off it needed and it was done. Everyone leaving the campus to go back to normal life, and I was already dreading it. It was an emotional day, really. With current events and the fear that a lot of people had going into Slam Dunk – enough fear that people sold their tickets – it was amazing to see just how much the world of music can bring us together. We look out for each other. Someone falls in a pit and we pick them up. Someone isn’t looking so good, we help them out. There were many comments by bands made throughout the day, none of which I can remember enough to recite word for word. But it was the same anectode that I give you now, that music is our last place to come together and enjoy ourselves. And I think that’s what I took away from Slam Dunk the most, that living in fear is only ever going to stop you from living your life. If we stand together, even if it’s just at a festival, we make our world a nicer, safer and happier place – maybe only for a short amount of time. But it’s our place to forget what kind of world is on the outside.

Reflective, huh? I hope you enjoyed reading about my experience – and I’d like to see what you guys thought. Feel free to leave a comment, follow me, leave a like or just go about your life. I’m grateful you’re even here!

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All photos and videos in this article were taken and filmed by Owen Jeffreys, which can be checked out and followed by following these links: Instagram | YouTube 

  Slam Dunk SOUTH Experience [PART TWO] – Goldfinger, Frank Iero andthe Patience, Less Than Jake & Headliners Neck Deep, Enter Shikari, Against Me! – After reeling in the happiness from meeting Matty and Dan from Zebrahead, we headed back to the Fireball stage (we spent most of our day here, to be honest!) to catch Goldfinger's set.