#t: no man is an island

[jalicecookie]

⁓Dinosaur Toothpaste⁓

The Promise to be back for Night-Time Routine from his Meeting is broken, your Father needs longer to return back to the Island and the Circle Guards are trying to get you to brush your tiny Tooth. But you are a bit sad this Evening and refuse to brush your Tooth all clean....luckly one of the Triangle Guards has a helpful Idea. Dinosaur Toothpaste.

"….but princess, your teeth have to be brushed before you go to sleep, right?"

You look at the princess-designed toothbrush, that's being held out to you (pink with a crown and hearts and an Elsa & Anna Frozen sticker on it, of course!) - for a moment before you look at one of the Circeleys.

Your eyes are already wide and the tiredness from the exciting new game of rolling the ball in the afternoon has…actually put you in the perfect conditions to dive into dreamland later , without any problems…but your father had promised to be back for the night-time routine…and he wasn't back yet.

"Daddah, brush teeth too!" - you say without making any move to pick up the toothbrush or to show the circle guard any accommodating behavior.

It was only a few minutes ago, before entering the small bathroom, that you were told that your father would be a little later and that the Circeleys would put you to bed.

You had so much to tell your father, even though In-Ho had to leave the island for just a few hours because of an emergency that required his presence.

And you simply didn't want to brush your little teeth… not without your Daddah (who of course only pretends to brush his teeth during your normal night-time routine, because in addition to your night-night bedtime, the frontmen have to do a few more hours of work, planning and preparation) - now brush your teeth… no matter how nicely one of the Circeleys asked.

"Pretty please?" - the circle guard tried and you just shook your head sadly and even took a few steps back… looking for help over to the other two Circeleys who were standing at the bathroom door and making sure that… well, what exactly are they looking out for? That you don't run away because brushing your teeth without Daddah is stupid? YES! But no help came from the other two Circleleys either… even if they clap their hands encouragingly (like at dinner when you didn't really want to eat a spoonful of the carrots and you did anyway because you could be encouraged and persuaded and the Circelelys clapped so well) - but that didn't help much either.

"No no no……no wanna brush teeth....Circleley"

You shake your head again and just sit down on the floor, your lack of cooperation mixed with your longing for your father….you love the guards, your friends….the Circeleys, Tree-Angels and Squaries very much…but it's totally stupid and mean to tell you so shortly beforehand…that In-Ho // Frontmen…or to you simply Daddah, won't be back on time.

"What do we do now?"

"No idea"

"Do small children really need to brush their teeth every evening and…"

"Stupid question!"

"The boss is very particular about routine and dental hygiene…we can't go soft now…should we radio the second in command? Maybe he has an idea"

"And we're going to have to listen again to people saying you can't handle a small child?"

"Are we going to do that? I question every end of the working day whether we aren't incompetent after all"

"Discussing that is a whole other matter…"

You pout for a moment as the circles come together to form a group and discuss quietly in adult language…you'll never brush your teeth again because…because Daddah didn't keep his promise! Exactly!

The bathroom door opened again and a triangle guard came in, first glancing at you… sitting on the floor and then at the circle guard who was still holding the toothbrush with the toothpaste on it.

"She hasn't brushed her teeth yet?" - asks the triangle and the circles say no, explaining the situation and the triangle thinks for a moment before crouching down in front of you.

"Would you like to know a secret little one?"

"No! Wanna Daddah! No Tree-Angels - secret"

"Are you sure? It's a really good secret… it always helped my now grown-up children when they didn't want to brush their teeth."

"Me no brush tooth!"

You sniff once, making it unmistakably clear to all the guards present that you really only miss In-Ho's presence. And you don't even want to know the secret.

"Hmmm….okay then I'll just tell the circleleys…..", said the triangle and stood up to whisper to the circles…..something about the situation caused you to look over at the adult group and get distracted.

You slowly stand up and walk towards the triangle guard, tug once at the right fabric of the uniform on your right leg and raise your arms up to be picked up by the tree angel. The guard complied with this request and you can see a pair of dark eyes through the mask, which you examine with a mixture of sadness but also a little curiosity.

"What secret?" you ask and the triangle takes the toothbrush from the circle's hand and carries you closer to the sink.

"There is a special magic spell on the toothpaste today…if you brush your teeth with it, you will be a dinosaur in your dream…it is dinosaur toothpaste"

The room was silent for a moment. It was unmistakable that the triangle guard was an experienced father (unlike In-Ho in this area, who continues to learn every day through your influence…in both positive and negative ways). The triangle's voice had taken on something mysterious…as if it really was a big, important secret.

"Dinosaur?" - you tilt your head for a moment and look at the guard in such amazement that you forget the sadness that had just taken over you.

"Like T-Rex grrrrraaaa!" you say and make a loud T-Rex-like giggling noise which, thanks to the radio on the guard's belt, has probably made some of the other guards at their posts a little more awake.

"Right…do you want to brush your teeth now? You can tell us about the dream tomorrow morning, OK?" the triangle replied and you were excited about the idea because…dinosaurs are almost as exciting as princesses and snowy kingdoms…you reached for the toothbrush and tried to brush your teeth…at your almost 3 years old, it worked…well…rather chaotically and some of the toothpaste landed on the right sleeve of the guard's uniform as you scrubbed up and down with the toothbrush…after a few moments you made a whining noise.

"Tree Angel, help?" - and you hold out the toothbrush to him….the triangle guard helps you and a few minutes later your teeth are clean…thanks to the dinosaur toothpaste…and you yawn tiredly and let one of the Circleleys pick you up and carry you out of the bathroom without protest…..before you leave the room, however, you have already fallen asleep and are laying your head on the guard's right shoulder.

"Tree-Angel, Circleley and dinosaur…grraaa," you murmur quietly before you completely fall asleep and are no longer aware of your surroundings.

It was a good tactic and solution from the triangle guard…the idea with the dinosaur toothpaste…especially since you really did dream about a dinosaur that night…and this dinosaur was trying to play catch near the pretty, colorful stairs.

Maybe that's your goal for the coming day…because with the world's best babysitters - you could definitely play catch…or hide and seek?

The END

[fereldanwench]

i normally nope out immediately to male characters with a dead wife but GOD i really want to romance jim in coral island

let me show you you can love again, old man!!!!!!

[timothylawrence]

honestly I think I would’ve given midnight mass a 9/10 if they just removed the Muslim aspect out of cus that was the one part I don’t think I enjoyed at all

[crystaldeclear]

Benjamin White is somewhere on a beach right now, arching his back for his wife and flirting with skin cancer for the millionth time

[ratdesk]

when pasiphaë gave birth & the baby was the minotaur, do you think palace gossip was off the charts astronomical that day or what

[greatmuldini]

The researchers at Universal Studios retrieved from their own library a suitably-themed photograph of a man in a flight suit posing in front of an early military jet. It would have been a perfect match in every detail except one: the aircraft in the picture is easily identifiable as a Lockheed T-33 “Shooting Star,” a legendary jet trainer first deployed in 1948, and not the ultra-modern, super-sonic “Starfighter” suggested by the script.

While it was safe to assume, in the era before home video, that the amount of scrutiny given to anything shown on screen, let alone a hand-held picture in the middle distance, would be minimal, leaving the production code and serial number for the classic sci-fi fantasy in place seems too obvious a mistake even by 1975 standards. Too obvious, perhaps, to be an inadvertent oversight?

The distinctive outline of the classic plane, at any rate, would have been difficult to ignore, and the scripted “Starfighter” becomes a (Canadian!) “Silver Star” in the spoken dialogue. With the T-33’s historical significance lending a certain gravitas to Brenner’s service record, the script’s vague references to a fifteen-year timeframe take a much more concrete shape in the on-screen dialogue. Not only do we learn that it was exactly 15 years ago but that the picture was taken “in Korea.”

Ironically, the more precise information Columbo extracts from what is not a critical piece of evidence, the more layers accumulate on top of it. The original production photograph, number three of at least 57 “action” publicity shots, was taken at Van Nuys Airport in 1954, where the T-33 scenes for This Island Earth were filmed. The untouched photo remains at present out of reach, but it forms the basis for all subsequent manipulations. (2/4)

[dissectiontime]

Tony Stark basement in Animal Crossing

[noahtally-famous]

forgot I had a dashawn zombie apocalypse au sitting in my drafts until I came upon its summary just now (the only thing abt it I’d gotten down in words), and, after reading it again, was like ‘wow this is some good stuff. if I had the time, I would honestly start this’

fr though, this was the first ever td fic idea I got, that kickstarted me into actually writing td stuff

[sleep-deprived-luka]

The mmj worldlink hasn't been translated yet, but I already wonder about the city in the background of the new sekai.

Mostly if it's plausible to access it, something I'm not sure'll be elaborated on. Maybe it's like vbs, where the new sekai's enclosed by a wall they have to surpass, but if that we're true, then is it a invisible wall (like in a videogame, someone mentioned that and I'm really fond of the idea), or maybe does the skyline work as a inaccessible skybox always distant no matter how far you walk?

I haven't yet properly caught up on mmj eventstories, so I'm mostly guessing, but still

[gothyanki]

It's tempting to see Zerthimon as the most well-adjusted wing of the Gith/Vlaakith/Zerth relationship, but I don't think he is. He's the quiet one whose suffering goes ignored because he's not conquering planets or stabbing loved ones in the back so he can head up a murderous war cult.

[fereldanwench]

okay yes

coral island while enjoying a kava seltzer and flopping on the couch is just what i was looking for 👌

[ijustwantedtobeoneofthestrokesuk]

Eel Pie Island

South London

Eel Pie Island is an island on the River Thames, near Twickenham, South London. Named after, ‘eel pies’, served in the inn in the nineteenth century however, it was in the ‘60’s when the Island gained a hedonistic reputation which then led to one of the 2000’s most unique bands, the Mystery Jets, who helped create the ‘Thamesbeat scene’. 

In the ‘50’s and ‘60’s the Eel Pie Island Hotel ballroom had the likes of The Who, David Bowie, Hawkwind, The Kinks, Pink Floyd, Jeff Beck, Black Sabbath, Eric Clapton and The Rolling Stones (The Rolling Stones played there every Wednesday for 5 months in 1963) played there before becoming the biggest hippie commune in the UK in 1970. The hotel went into disrepair after neglect and fires but the Island, accessible on a footbridge has continued to breed creativity as there was over 20 art studios there.  

Henry Harrison, father of Mystery Jets frontman Blaine (as well as an occasional band member) bought part of the Island which became rehearsal space for the band and the place where the iconic Eel Pie Island parties took place. 

Mystery Jets 

Originally called The Misery Jets, after a headline in a local paper about the Heathrow airport fly path above them. The South London kids changed to Mystery Jets when drummer at the time, Blaine misspelled the name when painting it on a drum skin and never looked back (or up). 

Blaine Harrison “For obvious reasons (Blaine has spina bifida which affects his leg muscles) I wasn’t a sporty child but I think my dad recognised the effect music had on me as a kid very early on and educated me with a steady diet of records to listen to, books and magazines to read and films to watch. I’d say it was Alan Parkers’ film ‘The Wall’ that had the biggest effect on me at that age. I remember hiding behind the sofa with Will when my dad put it on and just thinking ‘what is this fucked up shit!!?!?’ 

There was just something about the way Pink Floyd brought the sound and visuals together into something so terrifying that even a child could be impacted by it so strongly. I think it must have been seeing the way we reacted that made Henry think ‘maybe I should help these kids form a band of their own… 

I met our founding guitarist Will at nursery school. When I moved to France to go to primary school, we started the band as a way of keeping our friendship. We played our first gig as Mystery Jets on my 10th birthday (1995). Our first album ‘Making Dens’ came out exactly 10 years later (to the month) and I’d say was a stylistic culmination of all the music we had been influenced by in the interim. Mainly my dad Henry’s record collection: King Crimson, Pink Floyd, Yes, The Beatles, Kate Bush, Peter Gabriel… but also bands we got into at art school; Dexys, The Smiths, The Cure, The Stone Roses, The Cure, The Coral…. 

I think we might only have had a week leading up to our first gig on my 10th birthday so I’m pretty sure the gig mainly consisted of covers; Light My Fire by The Doors, Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd and Wild Thing by the Troggs. But we also played in the village bar later that summer and had a couple of originals by then, Rastamadeus and Moonlight Satellite. Both showed up on our first EP a few years later. 

Our first song was ‘Moonlight Satellite’. I’d say it was a group endeavour, with Will singing the verses and all of us singing on the chorus. It had one giant drum fill in the middle which usually lasted somewhere between 8 bars and 16 bars depending on how much Sunny Delight we’d drank that afternoon. 

We were pretty quick to adapt to the internet as a tool of mass self-promotion. We’d post the Eel Pie Party flyers on our Myspace and also spam the message boards of all our rival bands too. .org was always a good one because there was such a die-hard indie community there, and we knew Pete and Carl would sometimes post on there too so maybe they’d see it. 

Once every couple of months we’d post a new track on our Myspace and then anxiously wait and watch for the play count to start clocking up. Sometimes we’d make the tracks downloadable, but even if we didn’t, it usually wouldn’t take long for someone to rip them and start sharing the files around on Limewire. I’d say that was the beauty of it, it was incredibly democratic, but also like the wild west. If what you were making was good or exciting or had something different about it, it would find a fan base very quickly. 

My dad runs a boatyard on Eel Pie Island, on the Thames in Twickenham and there used to a famous blues club there which everyone from The Stones to Hendrix played at back in the day. It burned down in the ‘70’s, so we thought we’d bring some of that spirit back to the birthplace of British Blues and that’s when things really began for us. 

We were at an Art School nearby so would print out our own handmade flyers, and copy and paste a text message to everyone in our phonebooks a day or two before, “BYOB and invite everyone you know.” We’d book anywhere between 5 to 10 other bands a night, playing 20-minute sets and didn’t charge anything at the door. No sound checks, no payment, no backstage and no security. It was complete chaos. 

We’d put on a party every couple of months, over a period of about a year and a half. They went from 20 people sat cross-legged on the floor to people eventually showing up in their hundreds. Word spread so quickly. We’d have people falling in the river, swinging from the light fittings, smoking cigarettes indoors, and the room was covered floor to ceiling in Moroccan carpets so it was a huge fire hazard. On 2 occasions people left in ambulances. 

The last party was kind of legendary. We had all our friends' bands at that time playing one after another; Larrikin Love, Jamie T, The Noisettes, Good Shoes, Dustins Bar Mitzvah and a few others I can’t recall. 700 people squeezed into our rehearsal room and we estimated a good third of them were music industry scouts, managers and booking agents, who ended up signing most of the bands on the bill. And then the authorities showed up and served us a £20,000 noise abatement order if we tried to do it again. So it ended there, but that was the right time to kill it. I still meet strangers on the street who tell me they had some of the wildest nights of their lives at those parties.” 

After hosting parties at Eel Pie Island they started getting attention from labels. The Eel Pie Island EP was released via Liquid Sky Music in 2003 however, it was 2 years until their next release, a limited edition 7” single, Zoo Time on Transgressive Records which led to the band signing with 679 Records. The rest of the year saw the band release more singles. 

Blaine “The Monday morning after our final Eel Pie party, we received a phone call from our manager to tell us that 3 labels had put in offers, 1 major and 2 indies. I wouldn’t say it was a bidding war but it felt good to know that we had caught the attention of the industry on our own terms and on our own turf. We went with 679; the label with the most interesting roster, and put out our first 2 albums with them. Ironically, in the intervening years we’ve ended up being on both the others at one time or another too. 

Rather than decamp to a pro studio and make a record in an unfamiliar environment, we took our first advance and invested in recording gear to track ‘Making Dens’ in our rehearsal room on Eel Pie, the same room we held the parties in. It felt like the most likely way we’d be able to capturing some of that frenetic energy from the gigs onto tape. 

For the following couple of albums we worked in commercial recording studios, because we needed a change of environment, but ultimately we ended up having our own studios again from ‘Curve of The Earth’ onwards because it enables us to work at our own pace, and have a space to collaborate with other artists too. 

A lot of the press we got around ‘Making Dens’ focused on the father/son relationship, my disability and Eel Pie Island. At the time we felt that was partly responsible for the album not connecting as well as it should have, no one was talking about the music. For ‘Twenty One’ we went back to the drawing board and asked our favourite DJ, Erol Alkan (from Trash) to step onboard. It was quite a freeing feeling to get our debut album out the way and having paid homage to so many of the influences of our youth, now we could make a record inspired by what was new and going on around us. Remix culture, French house music, synths and electronics were starting to influence guitar music and we decided that’s the direction we were most excited about moving in. And we tried to learn how to write choruses. 

I think any band would agree that the early days are the most exciting, because everything is happening for the first time. The first time you sell out a gig, the first time you hear your song on the radio, the first time you get stopped in the street by a fan, your first Reading or your first Glastonbury. In a way, past that point it’s all about sustaining the excitement and maintaining forward motion. Touring isn’t for everyone, but for me, the more crazy our touring schedules became the more I loved it. Around Serotonin/Radlands we were touring so much that we all had to have two passports. I dread to think what our carbon emissions were like but regrettably, that awareness just wasn’t really part of the public consciousness back then. We’d finish a tour in the States and shoot straight over to tour around Australia and Japan. After a few days back at home to do our washing and demo some new songs it would be straight back over to Mexico and Argentina for more festivals. We’d literally follow the sun. During pandemic times it was hard to believe that’s what life used to be like but there you go. 

The bands we had the most memorable tours with are mostly the bands we’re still friends with today. We toured all around Europe and the UK with The Kooks in 2008 which was wild. We toured Europe supporting the Arctic Monkeys on their first album and again when they released ‘Humbug’. We supported Mumford Sons on a huge Arena tour across America and Europe which lasted the best part of a year. One of the most crazy ones was opening for Klaxons during the height of the nu rave craze. The band were on fire and the audiences were nuts. I remember us all going to Disneyland together on a day off and Simon from Klaxons getting recognised on Space Mountain and thinking how perfect it was. It doesn’t get better than that. Job done.” 

2 months before the release of 7th album, A Billion Heartbeats in April 2020 William left the band. The release timing was unfortunate as it came at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, pausing all of the promotional campaigns, leading to the album reaching no.85.  

Blaine “I could easily moan about how the entire campaign of ‘A Billion Heartbeats’ was plagued with obstacles, but so many of them were just completely outside of our control. 2 weeks before the album was meant to be released I went into hospital with a critically inflamed leg injury, pushing the campaign back 6 months to allow for my recovery. Then a month before the re-release the world went into lockdown and all the vinyl plants closed down.  

Suddenly the streets were empty and no one was riding the tubes so we had no choice but to pull all our adverts and billboards. We also couldn’t tour around the record stores which just flatlined the sales, so yeah, the album never got the send off it deserved. But I still feel incredibly proud of it. It was the first time we addressed big social questions and themes in such a head-on way” 

Whilst Mystery Jets were on the rise out of Eel Pie Island there were a bunch of young South and West London groups joining them, building a vibrant community. These included scene favourites Good Shoes and Larrikin Love as well as indie heavyweights The Maccabees and Jamie T. 

Good Shoes

Good Shoes were on the horizon in Kingston and they would become Eel Pie Island party regulars.  

School mates, Rhys Jones and Steve Leach had been playing music as a hobby in 2003 with Rhys on vocals and Steve on guitar. The pair had their first gig in January 2004 at a charity event at The Peel in Kingston where they called themselves Good Shoes. After a few months, the hobby transformed into a band when Rhys’ brother Tom and fellow Raynes Park High School mate Joel Cox got on board.  

As a 4-piece they played their first gig at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge University on the 1st February 2005. This was followed up with a gig at an Eel Pie Island Island party before playing as many London shows as possible. 

Think Before You Speak, the bands' debut album was released in March 2007 and they built up a following as they went on tour with several bands including The Rakes, Franz Ferdinand, The Pigeon Detectives and Maximo Park. 

Although the band showed promise, they split up after releasing their second album, ironically called No Hope, No Future. 

The Rumble Strips

The Rumble Strips, headed by Charlie Waller were a band that briefly exploded into the world however their history dates back to when they were at school in Devon. 

Charlie “I loved Shakin’ Stevens as a young kid. My first gig was Vanilla Ice at Cornwall Coliseum when I was 19 or 11. Both pretty cool! My uncle bought me a guitar when I was 8 and would teach me chords and simple blues songs.  

I guess I properly got into music in a big way like a lot of people my age with Nirvana and all the early ‘90’s grunge stuff. I stopped playing sport and started smoking with the skinny scruffy boys. I remember my dad had a guy he worked with who knew I liked music. He decided I should be educated and would make me tapes of blues and doo-wop. I really loved The Coasters from that. I loved the humour and all the range of voices.  

I started going to a sort of music youth club when I was 12 with my friend Sam who became the bass player in The Rumble Strips. It was run by Henry's dad who taught us Captain Beef Heart and Frank Zappa songs. That became a band called The Mother Eating Blackberries. That then split into different bands when were around 14. I was in one called Harry and The Hormones and Tom and Henry from The Rumble Strips had a great Talking Heads kind of ska band called Scarper.  

I don’t know if it was because we were in the countryside, or that it was just that time in general, but we would listen to all sorts of old music. It felt very untethered by what was fashionable. Though I did love Gorky's Zygotic Mynci from that time. That was a band that always seemed to link us when we were older. 

I would buy a lot of old records. I loved The Kinks and Bonzo Dog Doo Bah Band. When I discovered Adam and The Ants I got pretty obsessed with them and collected most of that. I still think Kings of the Wild Frontier is a masterpiece. 

I moved to London to go to art college. The band I was playing in moved to London as well. We broke up around about the time I finished college. I started meeting up with Tom who was also without a band. We would get stoned and write boy band pop songs to make ourselves laugh. Some of them were quite good so we started writing songs that we would actually like to play. 

The first Rumble Strips was me, Tom and Harry on keyboards, who went on to make our early videos. He’s now a YouTube star going around the UK in a tiny speedboat. 

Eventually, we got Matt to play drums who was in The Hormones/Action Heroes with me, and Henry moved to London and played keyboards and trumpet. Then Sam joined us on bass. 

I met Mark (Vincent Vincent) at Chelsea College of Art. I remember talking to him quite early on about music. He really liked Bob Dylan who I like now, but at the time thought was a bit moany groany. We both liked the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band though, and early rock n roll. 

We shared a studio in college at some point and got a lot closer, then we lived together with some other guys in our last year. We also lived together after college. We were very close and did a lot together.  

I remember driving in his car listening to Dion and the Belmont’s. We thought that it would be cool if there was a band like that now. With all the harmonies and stuff. Then we thought well we could just do one. It felt like an exciting thought. 

We had a duo for a while called the Heartbreak Snakes. We played every week in The Ten Bells pub in Spitalfields. We would write a new song for each gig I think. It was a lot of fun.” 

The Rumble Strips weren’t getting anywhere. Mark invited him to join Vincent Vincent & The Villains and it was great until EMI was offering them a record deal and Chrysalis came along with a publishing deal but both of them wanted Charlie to focus on Vincent Vincent & The Villains, not The Rumble Strips which put Charlie in a difficult situation, he loved being a frontman and his Rumble Strips mates who he’d grown up with. Without Charlie, there wasn’t no Rumble Strips whereas in Vincent Vincent & The Villains he was sharing frontman duties with his best friend.  

He chose The Rumble Strips and moved out of the flat, the pair didn’t speak for a while, they made up and both blame themselves for being egotistical lads.  

 “I was probably a bit egotistical or something and didn’t quite have Mark’s confidence, so I think I could be a bit quiet and grumpy. I do regret that now. It’s a shame we didn’t record one album. There were some great songs that just got lost. It probably spurred us both on to get signed when we went our separate ways, but I think it maybe took some of the fun out of it.  

I was quite driven, but maybe not always happy. I remember my girlfriend telling me I was a cliche, which I probably was a bit. 

The Rumble Strips did a couple of singles with Transgressive Records, then signed a deal with Island in 2006. Getting a record deal had just seemed like such a big drive for so long. It did make a lot of things easier, but ultimately it has to be the band that still drives it. 

I didn’t feel like we were part of a scene, but maybe everyone feels that way a bit. I never really thought of us as an indie band. I think I wanted to be more funny than cool. We did hang out and play with a lot of bands though. I liked them as well. We probably weren’t that different.”

The Rumble Strips were featured on the Sound Of 2007 list, headlined an NME tour and their biggest single, Girls and Boys got played on ads. The debut album was recorded in America while Mark Ronson produced the second album. 

Charlie “I remember jamming in a studio one time. I was on one keyboard, Mark was on one keyboard, Dave from the Zutons was on bass and Sean Lennon was on drums.  

I had no idea how to work the thing I was playing and I was quite high. I remember thinking to myself at one point that this is really bizarre and something that I would always remember. Also that it sounded pretty terrible. 

We got dropped by Island and my marriage broke up so I went on a long holiday to Cuba. I was 30 and it was the first time since I was about 14 that I wasn't obsessed with being in a band. I got back and met up with everyone and said that it’s quite nice not being in a band. They kind of agreed so we just stopped. It was pretty chilled I think. 

We got together and did some more recordings around 2016. I like the thought that we could maybe do that every 10 years. I really love them all.” 

So, what about Vincent Vincent & the Villians…?

Mark Ogus, or Vincent Vincent as he became known as was introduced to ‘50’s rock ‘n’ roll after discovering his dad's record collection in his late teens. Mark was creative and went to art school where a lot of his work had a connection to music. While studying he met Charlie who he was in awe of, he used to watch his band Action Heroes and his on-stage persona made him want to do the same. 

In 2003 Mark formed The Vincents, he wanted to be something more than “Mark” so he created a persona where he became Vincent Vincent and the band was Vincent Vincent & The Villains. Mark got creative on all aspects, everything was thought out, their live show was a performance, they had a ‘look’ and Mark was hands-on with artwork too while the sound was influenced by his love of ‘50’s rock ‘n’ roll. The band gained interest from labels and management early on. 

Smoking Gun released the first single in March 2004, XFM’s John Kennedy picked up a copy from Rough Trade, he played it regularly on XFM. Both Radio 1 and the NME started to support them before signing to EMI in 2006. 

With tension between Charlie and his two bands building Mark was inspired to write Johnny Two Bands about the situation, the song became Vincent Vincent & The Villains biggest song and Mark had to have an awkward chat about the song as they had become friends again by the time the song was released. 

EMI made them rerecord Johnny Two Bands with Stephen Street which wasn’t an enjoyable experience as the producer ripped out the fun of the process while Mark was already hating the song anyway. That resentment towards the song continued when they had to perform it (mime) on Top Of The Pops and it was the start of the end for the band.  

Instead of releasing new material, EMI made the band rerelease the early singles.  In 2008 the band released the long-awaited debut album, but they were already seeing a decline as the crowds at gigs were getting smaller, they were skint and lost in their 20’s watching their mates moving on with their life and they were going backward. There was no future for the band who faded away. 

Les Incompetents

When it comes to the 2000’s indie, it’s impossible to overlook Fred MacPherson who was a fan as much as a musician. Once the Londoner discovered bands, he wanted to be in one, before even hearing The Strokes he was obsessed, they oozed cool and, like Alex Turner (and many boys in this era), he just wanted to be one of them.  

While at school he formed Les Incompetents (2004), a band with 8 members, 2 of which (including Fred) were lead singers. They liked the idea of being in a band more than doing the work required to be in a band. Fred and Chris would turn up to house parties and whip out the acoustic guitar and play some covers. Hotel Yorba was the first song they learned, its simplicity inspired them to write their own.  

After telling everyone they were in a band to sound cool, despite not having any songs they got a gig at The Rhythm Factory in Whitechapel but they needed a demo. They put a song together, recorded it on a 4-track and badgered the venue. They ended up supporting Martha Wainwright for their first-ever gig.  

They started playing around London, they’d be on stage more than rehearsing, it was mostly chaotic but each gig was an opportunity to meet people. After being introduced to the Mystery Jets, Les Incompetents played the Eel Pie Island parties where they discovered a scene that was bubbling underneath with the likes of Larrikin Love and Jamie T. Fred appears on Zoo Time from the Mystery Jets debut album while Jamie T’s songwriting changed the way Fred structured songs.  

Way Out West gigs were the first time they felt like they had a crowd who was into them. The band was still at school when they released their first double A-side single Much Too Much/Reunion (2005) on White Heat Records having played White Heat club night a handful of times. Matty who ran the club and label was into the band early on. The boys had been regulars at the central London indie disco since 15 (it was pretty easy to get fake ID back then). 

Fred had a proactive personality, building relationships online as well as IRL. Fanboying Test Icicles on MySpace and connecting on the forums. He did work experience at Drowned In Sound and despite being involved in the party scene from an early age he was sober until he was 23. 

They’d study all the bands, how they dressed, where they went out and how they wrote songs, taking influences from across the scene, How It All Went Wrong, their most recognised song was written after listening to Razorlight. 

The bandmates stopped getting along with each other by 2006 and they realised they didn’t have enough songs for an album or plans for progression. There were so many bands out there, Les Incompetents weren’t signable. In June, as the band was about to put an end to it, Billy Leeson, the bands' other singer was attacked after an argument on the night bus and went into a coma for 3 weeks, during this time How It All Went Wrong started to get attention.  

On the 1st September Les Incompetents announced on MySpace that they were to split up and they would be playing one final gig at the 100 Club in November, which sold out. They ended up playing Way Out West at Acton Town Hall a few days later with Late Of The Pier, Fear Of Flying, Jamie T and Kid Harpoon (who has gone to be Harry Styles songwriter).  

Ox.Eagle.Lion.Man 

One month after Les Incompetents split Fred, Sean and Tommy formed Ox.Eagle.Lion.Man, a very different band to Les Incompetents on many levels. Where the former played live and rarely rehearsed, Ox.Eagle.Lion.Man was the opposite, where Les Incompetents were a bit messy and fun, the latter was dark, intense and self-indulgent.  

They were heavily influenced by prog rock, Nick Cave and Doom Metal, the sound was gloomy but it was a dark time for the lads too who were in their early 20’s. Having put the groundwork in with Les Incompetents it didn’t take long for them to get a record deal with Transgressive. After just over 3 years the band split up but they never had the legacy of Les Incompetents.  

Before Fred’s next big move, he had a few projects for fun including a comedy rap group with Charlie from Noah & The Whale and King Charles during the short-living ‘grindie’ scene. There are no recordings but they did support JME. There was Captain Kick and the Cowboy Ramblers, another line-up including Charlie of Noah & The Whale as well as some of Mumford & Sons. 

He’d seen friends like Jamie T, Mystery Jets, Laura Marling and Mumford & Sons breakthrough and get jealous of their success. On MTV2 he’d interview the likes of Kings Of Leon and Interpol at festivals which would inspire him to have another shot at it, form his next band who we’ll come on to later.

Test Icicles

Over the years Fred, like many (including Harry Styles and Beyonce) has collaborated with Dev Hynes who arrived with the explosive trio, Test Icicles who were only around for 2 years and released 1 album but Circle. Square. Triangle. is a generation-defining song.

Lightspeed Champion

After the noise and neon with Test Icicles, nobody would have predicted Dev Hynes next move, Lightspeed Champion. After leaving his East London life behind him in 2007, moved to New York and wrote songs that shared country/folk influences which turned into the solo project. His touring band included Florence Welch while Alex Turner, Faris Badwan, Fred MacPherson, Jack Penate and Keith Murray made appearances on stage. 

Blood Orange

Lightspeed Champion lasted 2 albums then Dev reinvented himself once again with another very different solo project, Blood Orange. He went into “producer” mode with Blood Orange which is beat-driven, soulful and smooth with r ‘n’ b vibes that has taken Dev into A-lister territory. 

Jamie T

South London-born Jamie Alexander Treays launched himself onto the music scene with his half sing/half rap acoustic songs on London’s pub circuit under the stage name, Jamie T. His demos started to make their way through the online forums and on MySpace then in 2006 his songs started to get radio play. 

In July 2006 Jamie’s breakthrough came with Shelia, a huge hit that sounded nothing like anything out there. It was followed by If You've Got The Money then Calm Down Dearest. 

His debut album, Panic Prevention documents his struggles with panic attacks as a kid and it became a cult classic, while follow-up, Kings & Queens reached a broader audience with breakout single, Sticks ‘n’ Stones. 

“Where is Jamie T?” campaigns floated online after he’d gone quiet for some time but finally, after a 5-year wait he returned with Carry On The Grudge and Zombie, another defining song that showed punk influences and he can continue to disappear for years but he will be missed. 

The Maccabees

As schools go, ​​Alleyn's School in Dulwich is one to have bred some talent in such a short about of time as Florence and the Machine’s Florence Welch, Jessie Ware, Jack Penate and Felix White of The Maccabees all attended.  

Jack was already a keen guitarist and Felix was obsessed with Oasis. After months of persuading, Felix got Jack to form a band together, they called themselves Jack’s Basement, as that’s where they practiced. The pair played a handful of gigs together, sharing the stage with The Maccabees who had already been going.  

In 2004 when school was over Jack went solo and encouraged Felix to join his brother who was in The Maccabees. Frontman Orlando Weeks was heading to Brighton for uni so the rest of the band found jobs in bars and joined him on the south coast.  

The band wrote a bunch of songs, played some gigs, wrote another bunch of songs, played more gigs. Each bunch of songs showed improvements and after the fourth time of trying everything clicked into place and they wrote X-Ray. Inspired by Interpol and The Strokes togetherness but with The Maccabees twist (play as fast as they can) it became their first single, receiving support from XFM and Radio 1 and released on 7”.  

Fiction Records picked the band up and debut album Colour It In stood strong against what other bands were releasing at the time, however, the label weren’t completely comfortable with it until they heard a slight twist in creativity with the acoustic love song, Toothpaste Kisses, which took the band into the mainstream. 

The band returned to Brighton to follow up the debut album, writing and recording for Wall Of Arms was a very different process. For 6 months the band would go into the rehearsal rooms for 8 hours a day to write the album. Some days they would come up with nothing, other times they’d spend hours working on a singular guitar part but when creativity came, all of them would jump on it. They’d end each day going home and getting stoned. 

A breakthrough moment for the band was when their manager played them The Teardrop Explodes albums, it inspired them to use instruments differently, specifically brass. The new outlook on sounds is what shapes the layers on the record which Colour It In lacked. They headed to Paris for 4 months to record the album with producer Markus Dravs who had recently worked on Arcade Fires album, another complex sounding record in terms of instrumental arrangements.  

The label had allowed the band time to discover themselves, focus on who The Maccabees were and develop. Patience paid off as Wall Of Arms (May 2009) set a new bar, not only for themselves but for other bands, it was no longer acceptable to lazily piece together something basic. 

Another very different approach came for their third record compared to how they worked on their previous releases. Following the success of Wall Of Arms The Maccabees were full of confidence and the label gave them creative freedom. Given To The Wild was self-produced, at their home in Brighton where, after years of being a live band, playing as fast as they physically could, they focussed on becoming a studio band where detail mattered. 

The bands’ fourth album, Marks To Prove It was an intense period for The Maccabees who were reaching their late 20’s. They returned to London where they discovered The Jesus and Mary Chain’s former recording studio, The Drug Store in Elephant & Castle which had been left derelict. It took them 4 years to create the album as they struggled to find structure but it was finally released in July 2015. 

After the 4 tough years making Marks To Prove It and 2 years of touring, the lads who had now grown into men decided to split up. They ended it on a high with some epic shows at Alexandra Palace where they were joined on stage by mates including Jamie T, Marcus Mumford and Mystery Jets. It was an end of an era. 

The Maccabees story wasn’t over as, in October 2024 they announced they would be back in the next summer…

Fear Of Flying

Fear Of Flying was a school band that grew through MySpace but months before going to university they reinvented themselves as White Lies, a band that went on to have a chart-topping album. 

The first roots of the band go back to 2001, after practicing at home they started playing at parties.  Things started to get a bit more serious when they gave themselves a name, Fear Of Flying. Frontman Charles knew Fred Macpherson from school, they would go to gigs together. Fear Of Flying started supporting Les Incompetents, getting gigs through Fred’s connections and building up a fanbase on MySpace. The 3-piece played Frog, Nambucca and the Pleasure Unit early on as well as Way Out West and Young & Lost Club while being in sixth form. 

They managed to get Stephen Street to produce their first single as they were good friends with his son. The band was contacted by managers via MySpace who got them on a support tour with Jamie T. They’d jump on the National Express with their instruments after school around the country, soundcheck, play the gig then get a coach home and get up for school the next morning. Issues with the manager started to come up, they sacked him the day before supporting The Maccabees on tour, he didn’t take the news well and ended up stealing their equipment. They explained the situation to The Maccabees and they let them borrow their equipment and stay on the tour bus after gigs. 

Still in their late teens, on a gap year, they were reluctantly going to university in September as things with the band were starting to get a bit stale, the radio and press weren’t really supporting them and they had stopped playing live. 

In July 2007 Charles started messing about on a piano, within minutes they had Unfinished Business, a song that sounded completely different to anything they’d released as Fear Of Flying. 

They recorded a demo and had a complete rebrand with a new name, White Lies, and created a new MySpace page with no photos of the band members. With just one song on there they sent a link to Keith from Way Out West, he loved it, as did his industry colleagues. From then on they were inundated with messages from labels, managers and agents.  

The band knew they needed to build on this new sound, taking influence from the ‘80’s they wrote Death which got an even better reaction, then the third song, Farewell to the Fairground. These three songs have lasted throughout the bands' career to date, featuring on the setlist for every gig. 

NEXT CHAPTER

[cinnabeat]

:)

[aytonai]

Starman

[royalninja]

for my health and wellbeing i desperately need more music that makes me feel the way fang island by fang island and bromst by dan deacon make me feel.

[crows4luna]

DANCING WITH ANOTHER GUY TO MAKE HIM JEALOUS.  ﹒˚ ₊ ︵ LOVE & DEEPSPACE EDITION.

mature, suggestive content. explicit content in zayne's section (fingering, nipple play, teasing, pussy slapping). possessive caleb, brief mention of bondage. mentions of miscommunication, disagreements, generally being petty. set in a nightclub. slightly toxic? i think? everything is consensual! reader is gn!afab. reader is not mc but works in the respective fields of their own position (xavier's and sylus' sections). xavier and rafayel's sections are the least horny. sorry, i tried. unedited. 𓈒⠀𓂃⠀⠀˖⠀now playing: lokera - rauw alejandro, lyanno, brray [ author's note ] thank you so much @ivohex for helping me brainstorm a little more for xavier's and caleb's sections. also, if anyone has rauw alejandro tickets, please hmu. tysm.

Subtle, strobing lights make the dark intimacy all the more enticing. A beautiful gradient that casts over the bodies that meld with one another in the dark. Beneath them is a fluorescent square platform, following similar color switch patterns as the neon lights above. Those who move on this illuminated island are either drunk, tipsy, or—looking for something with bold intentions.

And bold, you are.

You stand near the middle among these half-inebriated bodies, in a position that makes you secure enough to be within a keen line of sight across the bar. It’s intentional, of course. The music that booms throughout the venue is like a natural, instant spell. Each song that shuffles through is a repetition of a dembow riddim, accompanied by a backing track of pop and R&B instrumentals mixed together.

Naturally, your hips lead a sultry sway. Your body is captivated by the nightclub’s inviting aura, melding with the beat like it’s moving you. A dance that heightens your own enjoyment of the night that’s bound to be filled with opportunity.

Tonight—you’re wearing an outfit skimpier than you’re used to. Showing more skin than you would ever bare on any other night.

And your partner’s here.

But it’s not him who’s pressed up against you from behind. There’s an emboldening heat between yourself and the stranger grinding against you, moving in that same natural gyration. His hands on your waist, squeezing the flesh as you two circle and move as one.

You glance up within that keen line of sight—wearing a hazy, teasing smirk—meeting your significant other’s eyes across the room. Even with the stranger damn near close to bursting in his pants, his hardening bulge grinding up and down against your ass—the only people who exist in this intense atmosphere being yourself and the man you always go home with.

XAVIER - You two were here on a whim to join your coworkers on a night out. It was a spot that had been pointed out by Tara, begging her tight-knit bonds within the Association to ‘let loose for one night.’ - Disagreements were bound to take place between partners, but the light air of tension between you both had been a result of small misunderstanding. He had promised you could accompany him on a mission that was said to be a little bit more precarious. Yet he went alone. - He knows this sight right now was your way of getting back at him. - He gets it. Sure. - But his hand clenches tighter around the glass in hand, ice tumbling and clinking as the liquor inside begins to tumble like a troubled wave. Unknown to him, his jaw is clenched tighter than it ever has. And if anyone knew Xavier better than his usual, composed demeanor, nothing would have been amiss. - You’re always stunning. You’re the most beautiful person to him, and he’s seen you, embraced you in all of your glory. That’s why he finds it unfair that you look as pretty as ever, allowing some random stranger to touch you in a way that only he can. - The glass shatters into pieces—and his tense fingers clench around nothing but the air. - And you’re giggling at the sight. You’re enjoying yourself heartily, feeling a thrum of warmth course between your thighs as Xavier takes an eased stride onto the platform. - You’ve already loosened your grip on the stranger just slightly, giving your partner the ample room to pull away the guy and taking his place. Xavier is stiff at first, but his grip relaxes while keeping a firmer hold on you. - “They already have a dance partner. Find someone else.”

RAFAYEL - The after party following his new gallery opening is handled and arranged by Thomas (surprisingly). Rafayel takes his kindness in good stride. - Yet the artist struggles to enjoy his evening at all. It’s to the point where he’s dissatisfied with the selection of paintings he had for the gallery. He makes a mental note to go over them again, rearrange the space later on so that he’s satisfied. - His biggest gripe isn’t the paintings, though. He realizes it now that the earlier disagreement between you two should’ve been handled better. He misses the normal, casual banter with you, and he hasn’t had ample time to properly whisk you away and apologize. - You’re not holding a grudge against him, but— - You do feel excitement at the thought of him taking the lead. Making the first move tonight. - And Rafayel gets it. It’s why he’s casual, leaned back against the bar as he watches you get lost to the music—as the man behind you is very apparent in fantasizing about taking you home for the night. - Fat chance, the artist thinks. The thought remains when he matches your own playful smile, subtly lifting his hand, in the motion that he would be adjusting his cuff links. - You know each other’s antics already—and you let out a giggle as you make slight distance between yourself and the stranger. Within that same split second, Rafayel snaps his fingers—enjoying how a flame singes the other man’s pant hem, causing him to instantly distance himself as he sputters in panic.

CALEB - It doesn’t take you long to understand that he is seething. The pinch of his brows, slight twitch of the corner of his lips, and a vein damn near outlining on his forehead. - Good. It’s what you wanted anyway. Another petty jest on your end just to rile him up. It’s a fun game, the way you two work together. - Caleb has never once bat an eyelash towards anyone else but you. Yet in the time you were apart, in the time he knew he fucked up and should’ve reached out sooner, you’ve learned how to have your fun. - Don’t get him wrong, he’s absolutely heated in every way possible. You look ready for the taking more than anything tonight—but the sight of that man’s hands on your hips is all that he can focus on. Caleb doesn’t hear a damn thing his colleague is blabbering about. - His teeth might just break from how hard he’s grinding them against each other, hidden behind a forced smile he can no longer maintain. All the while, another vein pops. You’re laughing, knowing how miserable he is seeing this. - He could easily walk up to you, make a scene, and take you into a dark corner and remind you who you belong to. But this was supposed to be a fun occasion. You’ll end up going back with him anyway—and he knows which tie he wants to blindfold you with when he takes you tonight. - Caleb would rather make that happen now. - He subtly lifts his hand with a flick of his fingers—and the stranger you’re dancing with is suddenly pulled back by his pant leg, falling back onto the dancefloor. It startles the other patrons, helping him stand as you walk away with ignorance. You mirror the satisfied smile on his face as you walk towards him—ready to be his for the rest of the night.

SYLUS - It became routine for you two to take on missions together whenever it was something that required going undercover or bringing a plus one. Nightclubs in the N109 Zone were a sleazy but vibrant scene, making the venue all the more intimate when you both stepped foot inside. - Sylus was efficient as ever in handling his task, another arrangement having gone smoothly. He doesn’t have to kill anyone tonight. - Or so he thought. - It’s rare you’re ever in this kind of scene, even more so that you dress for this occasion. Who would you be if you didn’t have your own fun? Especially when it came to riling up your beloved. Between you two, it stirs the very heat needed when you’d like him to be a little more rough. - Sure enough—Sylus is positively seething despite the too calm expression that makes his striking features tense. The look in his eyes is one you’ve come to recognize; it’s the same ferocity that his enemies see in their final moments. - The slightest smirk quirks up on his lips. You’re being cheeky tonight, he thinks. He doesn’t tear his gaze away from your own—ogling him, beckoning him over without a word. - His sharp eyes notice how the man behind you has squeezed your hips a bit tighter, like he doesn’t want to let go. You indulge in it, grinding your ass back into the stranger harder—and that’s all it takes for Sylus to finally prop himself up from the bar. - No, he hadn’t planned on harming anyone at all. He’s a good, morally-abiding citizen. - But oh… the things he was planning to do you. Perhaps keeping you up until the morning was a fair punishment.

ZAYNE - You should have known better by now that your games with him always end up in his victory. - You don’t ever look away from one another as the stranger continues to grind against you, oblivious to the tension and how this was all just an act. But you wonder why Zayne is as calm as he normally is. Eased, relaxed, with no drink in hand. - No, it bothers you. - Your initial, teasing smile begins to soften, and you’re becoming desperate. Your half-lidded eyes now slightly wider, while you jut your bottom lip into a pathetic pout. You’re losing, and your frustration about it makes Zayne smile, ever so slightly. - Your partner eventually pulls away, muttering something about going to get a drink. Just as he turns his back to head towards the opposite side where another bar stands—you feel a familiar, calloused palm tug your wrist, leading you out of the club. - You barely have time to process anything—when Zayne pushes you onto your back against the backseat cushions. He grips your calves, instantly folding your legs back as he slots in between your thighs. - He pants against your throat, humming in satisfaction as his trained hand instantly finds your slicked folds. You gasp for air, instantly weakening beneath him. Your back arches as he presses and circles his fingers into your aching flesh. - “Zayne… Zayne, I—please—please—oh!” You chant his name hurriedly, breathless as you grind into his hand sloppily. - But in trying to chase your pleasure, Zayne retracts his fingers just as fast as he found your skin. His palm strikes against your pussy, drawing a surprised yelp from you. You cry out a whimper, trying to reach out to your lover—and his hand strikes the same spot again. - “What if I just left you like this, hm?” The doctor breathes huskily into your ear, nipping your lobe between his teeth. He groans as his fingers easily slide into you, his low chuckle vibrating against your neck. - His other hand comes forward to expose your chest, instantly latching his lips onto a nipple. You moan out loud into the cramped darkness, more needy than you ever have been. “Ah… agh, fuck… Zayne, I’m sor—” - “How about you go right back into that building, and give him another dance, hm? Just like this.” - You can only whine at this point, huffing with such intense arousal it makes you look pathetic. Zayne is relishing in it, you can feel his smirk against your breast as he flattens his tongue against opposite nipple this time. - “That’s what I thought.”