#the lyrics are taken from 'i have a friend' by the libertines

[cattrek]

is life a blockbuster film or a half rehearsed play?

[hldailyupdate]

The Unlikely Lads: How Pete Doherty, Louis Tomlinson and Noel Gallagher teamed up for rising star Andrew Cushin

Not much can unite an Oasis brother, a One Directioner, and an erstwhile Babyshambler – but Andrew Cushin has done just that. Mark Beaumont speaks to the singer and his A-list backers about what they see in this Geordie ‘destined for great things’

Maybe once in a generation, the stars align: barriers crumble and the pop lamb lies down with the indie rock jackal. Kylie Minogue and Nick Cave. Miley Cyrus and The Flaming Lips. And now, Louis Tomlinson and Pete (now Peter) Doherty: united not on record, but to co-release the debut album by 23-year-old Andrew Cushin, a little-known Newcastle troubadour with a gift for mesmerising superstars – from all walks, evidently.

There’s no other explanation for a story that reads like A Star is Bornmeets Pygmalion, with a dash of The Karate Kid – on a hefty fried breakfast – thrown in. One whiff of Cushin’s early live footage and Noel Gallagher was producing his songs. A glimpse of him playing on Soccer AM and Tomlinson swept him away around the world on tour. Brief exposure to his onstage performance and Doherty was clamouring to release his debut album alongside Tomlinson, in what has become a hands-across-the-cultural-ocean collaboration. Forget “right place, right time”, Cushin is the right place and his time is clearly now.

“It’s all happened very much by chance,” this Geordie Maharishi self-deprecates down the phone from an airport midway through his 36 dates supporting Tomlinson on a tour that’s taken him across the UK, Europe and America. In several weeks his album, Waiting For The Rain, will come close to breaking the Top 40, partly down to such support from big-name mentors, partly thanks to an arresting talent set to bewitch a generation. “There’s a lot of acts that gig for three or four years and then they get discovered,” he says. “We were the opposite – you’re going out on this tour, but you’ve already got these big names behind you, you’ve just got to go and learn now. It’s been like an apprenticeship in music.”

Luck, Cushin’s celebrity backers will attest, had very little to do with it. “The songs are great,” Tomlinson tells me. “They’re super honest, super real. The lyrics cut deep, some of them, and I think that’s really brave as a new songwriter.” Doherty agrees. “It was the weight of what he was singing about, that was the first thing that grabbed me,” the Libertines rocker says. “The emotional weight of his songs and also the strength of his voice.”

Hard-earned traits, it transpires. In the wake of his father’s death, a then 18-year-old Cushin began pouring his anguish and survival instinct into rock-leaning singer-songwriting of brutal honesty and stirring redemption. If “Just Like You’d Want Me To” was an open letter to his father about his determination to overcome his grief and forge on to glory, the glowering “4.5%” was a devastating portrait of the effect his dad’s alcoholism had on the family. “By 12, he’s falling down the stairs, by one he’s claiming no one cares,” Cushin sings over plaintive piano and a faded heartbeat, “each drink, it drowns your son and daughter”.

“I wrote that three days after he passed away, out of such horrible emotions of losing a parent and not being able to speak to anybody,” Cushin says of what he calls his “therapy song”. “Sometimes it is hard for me to sing because it does bring me back to that place. But at the same time I’ve played that song so many times now and it’s amazing how many people come forward and can relate to it. Anybody who goes through having a parent who’s alcoholic or a friend who’s alcoholic, they all have similar stories and feelings about things that go on. If somebody knows someone who’s an alcoholic, they’ll know what I went through and vice versa.”

Cushin set about playing his songs around the pubs of Newcastle. Within three weeks he had secured a manager with links to Noel Gallagher who, in turn, put Cushin in touch with promoters and labels after being emailed a video clip of a live show. “When I was growing up my heroes were Noel and Weller and basically everything that my dad used to listen to,” Cushin says. “So to be doing music for about three weeks and to have an email from Noel and him to help us out with promoters and that, it was an insane three or four weeks. I hadn’t even played a gig outside of Newcastle at that point.”

Gallagher produced, sang backing vocals and played guitar on Cushin’s 2020 track “Where’s My Family Gone”, a raw dissection of familial conflict and the third and final single Cushin released on Virgin before his deal collapsed and gigs dried up during the pandemic. Cushin took Gallagher’s parting advice to heart, though. “He told us to graft,” he told��NME in 2020. “He just said keep your head down, work hard and write, write, write. That’s what I’ll do.”

Constructing his album during the Covid downtime, Cushin swiftly bounced back, blessed from pop’s Mount Olympus. At his first post-lockdown shows, supporting Doherty solo for three dates, he found the Libertines singer side of stage each night, increasingly enthused by his performances. “I got about two songs in and I looked to my left and he was stood at the side of the stage kinda clapping away,” Cushin recalls. Doherty, having launched his own label Strap-Originals, enquired if he was signed. “I went, ‘No, no, we’ve just been released’, he went ‘Let’s see if we can do something’. Second night it was ‘We definitely need to do something’ and by the third night, he was all for it. Within four or five weeks we had a full album deal on the table.”

As the deal progressed, Doherty took Cushin on UK tours, drinking and jamming together on the road. Although, from the sound of it, touring with the now reputedly drug-free Doherty is no longer the class-A bacchanal of old. “I wouldn’t necessarily say [the tours were] wild,” Cushin claims, “Peter is getting on a little bit now, he’s a little bit older.” Then, last October, a fateful performance on Soccer AM mesmerised another high-profile supporter of the six-stringed arts.

“I just thought Andrew came across really f***ing confident,” says Tomlinson, who messaged Cushin on Twitter after the show to offer him a support slot at Shepherd’s Bush Empire. That show turned into 36 support dates across the world. “A lot of my fans will know that I’ve always been interested in new music and people on the up and however else I can offer a bit of advice or help. And if he’s already got the songwriting prowess that he’s got at this age on his debut album, the kid’s destined for great things. He came out on the American tour and he was mostly acoustic for a lot of it and that’s a real tough gig, just you and a guitar. But his voice is f***ing huge, a really big sounding voice. He really came into his own as a singer but also as a performer.”

As curator of his own The Away From Home indie rock festival in Italy, where he headlined alongside acts such as Blossoms and The Cribs this August, Tomlinson confesses to having been One Direction’s secret guitar rock fanatic. “It’s what I grew up listening to,” he says. “There was this really good indie bar in Doncaster where I grew up. It was 10 quid all you could drink. It lasted about 18 months and then the council banned it, but it was f***ing incredible. So that’s where I got into all that indie guitar music and stuff like that. To be honest, I kinda dumbed that down a little bit when I was in the band, obviously, because it was a very different thing, One Direction. So I think as I’ve gone out on my own it’s been about re-finding my roots and guitar music is something that has had a massive influence on my life.”

To this end, Tomlinson hopes to convert his more pop-inclined fans to the ways of the distortion pedal, bed hair and fourth-day jeans. “What’s fascinating to me is watching my fanbase watching [guitar bands], listening to this music and taking a real passion like I do. That makes me really proud.” And also, from a talent show phenomenon who’d otherwise have wanted to become a teacher or sports coach, a touch of popstar payback.

‘If I’m feeling down or if I’m in a bad way my therapy is the guitar’ 

Tomlinson’s 78 Productions teaming up with Doherty’s Strap-Originals label, then, isn’t quite the clash of cultural opposites it first appears. “Look at some of the great labels,” Doherty argues. “Look at The Sex Pistols with Malcolm McLaren getting together with Richard Branson. Over the years, labels’ main aim was to be a springboard for their artists to get as many people to hear the music they believe in. Whatever that takes – if that means having a major label take you up the alley for five minutes I will do that for my artists any day of the week.”

“Obviously I was a massive Libertines fan growing up,” says Tomlinson of his grungier counterpart. “It’s an honour to me. I really look up to [Doherty] as a songwriter, as a poet, as a creative in general. And I also know that he’s got Andrew’s best interests at heart, which is not something you can always say in these kinds of joint ventures.” The pair haven’t yet met to thrash out the details over a power fry-up, though. “There’s not been a lot of back and forth,” says Tomlinson, “We’re both busy guys. I’d love to sit down and have a chat with him, definitely. That sounds like the kind of business meeting I’d want to turn up to.”

It’s something of a fairytale ending for Cushin, and his Dave Eringa-produced album that is so fraught with struggle. Alongside celebratory Britpopian terrace anthems like “Wor Flags” and orchestral pop uplifts like “Dream for a Moment”, grimy soul rocker “Let Me Give It To You” tackles drug abuse, while the fatalistic “The End” envisions Cushin’s own funeral, complete with child choir singing: “It’s the end of everything and I didn’t mean a thing.” And, on “You’ll Be Free”, he confronts the sometimes-fatal consequences of men being expected to bottle up their pain.

“Suicide is something I hold very, very close to my chest, unfortunately,” Cushin says of the song. “I’ve lost the most important people in my life to suicide. Everybody coming through with their support for different organisations has been amazing but, for me, I can’t go and talk to someone. If I’m feeling down or if I’m in a bad way my therapy is the guitar.”

There’s something deeply heartening, then, about seeing Cushin so enthusiastically grasp the A-list opportunities flung in his path. “We were over the moon when both Louis and Peter both came together,” he says. “It’s such a dream thing for me to be in the middle, releasing a record through these two unbelievable artists. We’ve already done so much so quickly and we’re in a massive whirlwind of people just pushing and pushing.” Cushin may be the celebrity-coveted Bored Ape NFT of singer-songwriters, but his value is set to rocket.

[benthemusicalbeard]

11 Mar 2020

What ho music fans! Apologies this is a week late, a bit of bad planning on the part of yours truly. It won’t (might) happen again....! Again I have parked the soundtrack posting as there are still songs I have enjoyed recently I wish to share with anyone who cares to listen. Let us begin!

First up and we have American rapper Action Bronson. Hailing from New York he is up there with one of the most random acts I’ve been introduced to of late. A hip-hop artist who likes to rap about food and his favourite sports teams, a style of music I’m not generally a fan of but lyrics I could certainly get on board with! He has released five albums to date and has been present on endless collaborations, both as a featured artist and as a guest appearance. The album the song is taken from is the 2015 release ‘Mr Wonderful’ and contains a few of his most popular and most streamed songs, namely ‘Baby Blue’, ‘Actin Crazy’ and ‘Easy Rider’ and also contains songs co-written with Mark Ronson and Zane Lowe amongst many others. The album is not your average hip-hop album because as well as using samples and loops it contains a real band on many of the songs, the sleeve notes for the album contains a long list of talented musicians and vocalists. Other than the song being shared give the smooth listening ‘Terry’ and ‘A Light In The Addict’ a listen. 

Action Bronson - City Boy Blues - https://youtu.be/HCpwIbfqoSw

Secondly this week and an act who I’ve known about for a number of years but never taken the time to explore. That artist is Simon Green AKA Bonobo, described as a key figure in the down-tempo electronica scene of the early 2000′s. He originates from good old Blighty but is now based in Los Angeles and his style of music relies heavily on soothing samples and beats culminating into songs which are pretty difficult not to enjoy. He has released six albums so far, the latest in 2017 being the biggest commercial success of his career and having given it a listen this week it registers about a 8.7 on the Eggleshaw ambient-o-meter. The highlight for me is the track ‘Kerala’ which samples an uptempo electronica beat but brings it back down with a glorious harp loop and harmonic backing vocals, well worth a listen. I wanted to start at the beginning of the discography and got as far as one of my favourite titled albums of all time, Bonobo’s second album, the 2003 release ‘Dial M for Monkey’ which contains the song I’m sharing. This album makes me understand why Bonobo is considered important in the down-tempo genre. Fans of Zero 7, Royksopp, Air etc will definitely enjoy this album. It’s a brilliant album for both having on in the background but also if you do give it the full attention it won’t disappoint and contains many good elements, the tracks ‘Noctuary’ and ‘Pick Up’ being my favourites.

Bonobo - Flutter - https://youtu.be/C2pG8EtH6CM

Last up this week and a track which is my ultimate ‘OMG / I’d forgotten about’ track which I heard for the first time in years on BBC 6 Music, to which I owe a huge thank you! The song I was reacquainted with was ‘For Lovers’ by Wolfman, real name Peter Wolfe, and featuring vocals from Pete Doherty. The song was originally written in the mid 1990′s by Wolfe who recorded a demo of the track with a friend. Wolfe and Doherty met in 2001 and shared a passion for music and drugs so were always bound to hit it off. In 2003 they re-recorded a version of ‘For Lovers’, which was produced by Jake Fior, and the song not only reached a high of number seven in the singles charts was also nominated for an Ivor Novello Award for songwriting. I remember the song being one of the anthems of my first year at University. Every student bar played it, every mate of mine at Uni loved the track and every mixtape of songs from the year contained it. The story of Doherty was already established having burst onto the scene around the turn of the century with The Libertines, and had later success with Babyshambles but the only info on Wolfe after ‘For Lovers’ relates to a few song writing credits for Libertines & Babyshambles as well as some time spent at Her Majesty’s pleasure for drug related offences surrounding the overdose of film maker Robin Whitehead who was found dead in Wolfe’s flat. The song remains though as a underrated love song, describing the intentions of two lovers to run away with each other. I listen to it and I’m transformed to a time in 2004, a time where I’m probably late for a lecture as was often the way.....

Wolfman feat. Pete Doherty - For Lovers - https://youtu.be/oLY0eUtVlXo

Thanks for reading this far. I shall endeavour to remember to post again in two weeks! Enjoy the songs and there is hopefully something in there that you will listen to again and again.

[lexnolongerhearsthemusic]

Do all the odd numbers! (for the question thing)

omg okay but then you have to do the evens!

1. the meaning behind my url

It’s this song by this artist wrabel who I love, it was one of my favorite songs in early high school and I couldn’t think of a url that wasn't taken (why I didn’t make it a libs song who knows... it’s all I post about) but anyways it’s about still being in love with someone even though it’s been ages and you only live 11 blocks away.. depressing but it’s just a catchy little pop song that I quite enjoy and he has one of the cutest personalities (sent me a polaroid from one of his music videos once!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbBobU_gZVA

3. tattoos i have

LOL.. okay.. I have committed crimes.. (not really.. but to some) and will continue to.. As of right now I have 5 stick and pokes (oops) I have an exclamation point and a question mark in two different places I don’t want to talk about (.... yes I was sober... also only regretted them when my mom found out.. but the feeling passed it’s just funny). I also have a heart under my right boob and a wonky teapot on my left thigh (she’s topsy-turvey cause I attempted to create her upside down) and a star on my left inside ankle (I did the last two to myself because I sorta wanna become a tattoo artist.. probably will never happen but who better to practice on than myself.) BUT I am getting my first two “real” tattoos in 2 weeks (the 18th) and they are going to go together, both above my elbows on the inner arm and its going to be a sun and moon on either side with faces.. very illustrative design with lots of dot work i think... also hope to get my libertine tattoo within the year.. maybe for my birthday in February. 5. piercings i have

3 ear holes on each side and a septum  7. biggest turn off(s)

when people are overly cocky/full of themselves (confidence is attractive but there’s a point where it goes too far...) and know it alls and sexist and racist people and homophobes and blah blah etc. (also people who feel like they don’t have any personality? like they’ve just absorbed qualities from other people?? this sounds shitty and rude but I dunno how to explain it? I like unique people??) 9. tattoos i want

libertine tattoo.. probably a lyric to do with them and maybe “delicate” to do with Taylor cause I’ve been saying it since I met her. Ummm.. i want a statue tattoo really bad for some reason and a harry potter one.. florals are to die for in the right style (i tend to lean towards black and white with lots of dot work and fine lines)... architecture tattoos.. i’m in love with.. basically i’m going to be covered one day?

11. age

19 ALMOST 20... still a baby. (people always think i’m like 25 cause I act older and apparently look older) I like to say that I am a 80 year old, 25 year old and 5 year old all at the same time. 13. life goal(s)

See the libertines live.. travel abroad. would like to live abroad for a while.. wanna meet lots of friends and get a cat and open an etsy and live in a house in the wilderness or just a tad outside of town (would love a tiny house that I could move) and sew and paint to my hearts desire as attend as many concerts as possible.. that’s about it. 15. relationship status

very very very single and learning how to be in love with being alone again and finding I quite enjoy it 17. a fact about my life

As of next week I will be both an art school drop out and a design school dropout.. lol WOOO (my mom is sooo proud of me. but neither of them were a right fit... I’ll get there.. I’m less worried than she is) 

19. middle name

Ann.

[melaineruss1-blog]

Which Music Genres Have The Loyalest Fans?

I do know that Google has a Music Timeline, but it surely's horrendous. For instance, you may say, In the refrain of ‘Poses,' Rufus Wainwright sets his first line of textual content to a long, arching melody, reminiscent of opera." This describes the music and lets the reader know what part you're talking about and the way you are hearing it (it reminds you of opera). Now inform the reader what is important about this. What does it do for the which means of the textual content? The text means that ‘you said watch my head about it,' however this rising operatic melody seems to counsel that the singer is de facto floating away and gone into one other world." Now your description of the music features as proof in an argument about how the track has two layers of that means (text and music).

10 years ago The Libertines promised British music a lot, but twenty first Century songwriter Alex Turner and his Sheffield friends were waiting in the wings. Since 2005 they've delivered the goods in the form of head-speeding punk, whip-smart lyrical acrobatics and earworming melodies which have been mercilessly copied, however never bettered. The first British group to emerge from the as soon as-fresh, now-compromised arena of social media buzz", they've continued to stand slightly outdoors, trying in. That scepticism is almost as beneficial a commodity as their increasingly assured musical chops, now encompassing contemporary R&B slink, Zep-esque riffage, plus '60s beat and torch-pop. Memphis blues is a type of blues music that was pioneering within the early a part of the twentieth century by musicians like Sleepy John Estes and Willie Nix, associated with vaudeville and medication shows. It was in the Memphis blues that groups of musicians first assigned one guitarist to play rhythm, and one to play lead and solos - this has change into commonplace in rock and roll and far of in style music. In addition, the jug band arose from the Memphis blues, mixing the sound with jazz and utilizing homemade, simple instruments. Given the strong and statistically important modularity illustrated in ( Fig 2 ) and detailed in ( Fig 3 ), the analysis suggests that genre distinctions strongly structure the self-presentation of contemporary well-liked musicians. This dataset doesn't enable us to compare the energy of those conventions to the previous (the place a lot of the extant literature claims that genre conventions are weakening over time), nevertheless it does point out that, at least as of 2007, the boundaries between style worlds were far from extinction. As a lot as traditional musical genres could have been rhetorically subdivided time and again, these subdivisions still cohere collectively, working inside distinct boundaries quite than by way of free mixing of musical kinds.

Maybe enjoyable rock music is still being made however it is not being performed on my local alternative station, so I'm not aware of it. It looks like pretentiousness has taken over rock music. If a music doesn't have a critical meaning, it has no proper to exist. Rock fans decry the dying of "actual music." It is a flip off to many people who want music to serve totally different purposes. Sometimes, it ought to be enjoyable. Typically, it needs to be critical. Typically it needs to be about issues we are able to relate to whether that is falling in love or a painful breakup. Typically it might take care of social issues. Having written about my very own private musical indoctrination — listening to Granny's Intentions — above, my inclusion of Westlife in this record could appear strange and out of character. But, and in all equity to this boyband, they've achieved global success and popularity, and if that could be a measure of greatness, properly, so be it. Well the kind of music that I like to listen to is rap and hip-hop. I like that form of music because the songs sound cool; and because of what they are saying. Lil Wayne sings cool, I like all of the songs that he has made, they rock. I like hip-hop because there are some singers that sing cool and have made some cool songs like Drake; he sings cool and he type of raps too. That's the kind of music that I like to listen to. This pathfinder is intended to facilitate interdisciplinary analysis in conventional Southern music types for undergraduate or graduate college students of music, folklore, American Studies, history, cultural research, Southern studies and related disciplines. Particularly, it identifies multimedia resources at UNC-Chapel Hill and on-line to assist students better perceive both the context (social, lyrical, and musical origins, influences, and impacts) and the content (forms, themes, and instrumentation) of conventional Southern music types.

Electronic music has developed into several genres of fashionable music. In the Nineties, techno grew to become a preferred dance music that's still occurring. Techno developed into EDM and dubstep, that are each in style. One other treasure from the most exciting time within the historical past of pop music. The production is not nice —hey, it was 1964—however "Walk on By" is nevertheless a slice of pop perfection. It has a very effortless quality to it. The important thing feature of Jazz is improvisation. Jazz is modern, inflatable, unpredictable, and seems to always be looking out to improve itself. vi The style keeps evolving as more and more artists add their very own aptitude to its unique state. Then again, Blues music is a bit more conservative and draws from folklore, making it much less adaptable becuase folklore a kind of historical past of the previous and true occasions that are not at all times changeable.

That is an ongoing attempt at an algorithmically-generated, readability-adjusted scatter-plot of the musical style-house, primarily based on knowledge tracked and analyzed for 1536 genres by Spotify. The calibration is fuzzy, but basically down is extra organic, up is extra mechanical and electrical; left is denser and extra atmospheric, proper is spikier and bouncier. The underside line (for now) is that it is laborious to conclude definitively that classical music is all the time the perfect musical possibility to improve memory. It may be a more complicated mix of music that calms the brain to let more sensory experience in but additionally increases our emotional connection to the expertise, so there's extra sensory information generated for our brains to soak up. Two years in the past, AndersonPaak's breakthrough album turned him into one of the most impressive rising stars in hip-hop. His sound, alongside with his dynamic, effervescent live show, made him among the many most fun rising musicians. Now, as many younger stars in his place notice, he must discover a stability of the art and the fame. Thankfully, Kendrick Lamar is the right mentor (and collaborator) forPaak. Collectively, their vocal types mesh effortlessly, along with their dedication to the craft, which is never positioned above movie star standing. Tints" is a surprising celebration of this stability, Audio-Transcoder.Com a song that would work as a serious radio single but also an announcement from a young artist who refuses to fall into that cliche droop after success. It additionally marksPaak's unimaginable talent for perfectly bending genres to suit his will—on this case funk, pop, and hip-hop—into a sound totally his own.

[jessystardust]

Margate forever

This is my write-up of my visit to Margate, including Wheels & Fins and meeting Carl. It’s pretty long but I wanna recount all of it. So if you’re sick of hearing about it, feel free to skip! If not, read on... (small trigger warning for mentions of anxiety and depression)

I arrived in Margate at about 14:30 on Saturday the 8th of September, having been travelling for the past fortnight. I wasn’t feeling too great as I arrived, but that mood began to lift as soon as I stepped out of the train station. I don’t know if it’s because I’m a Northern girl or if I’ve just been largely misinformed, but I always thought Margate wasn’t a nice place. Anyway, that is so not true! It’s a lovely, fun, and really quite beautiful seaside town, and I honestly felt taken with it as soon as I arrived.

I walked from the train station to the Smiths Court Hotel, looking out over the beach as I did so, dragging my bursting suitcase and feeling so much better. It was about a twenty minute walk, and before I knew it I was at the hotel, just three hotels down from the Albion Rooms. The Albion Rooms stuck out like a sore thumb nestled in the row of other tall, slim hotels, and as I arrived the finishing touches were being made to the gold paint on the outside of the building. I had a quick glance, then headed to my hotel.

A little while later I met @suchasinistergame and @missoneminute in their hotel room. It’s always a joy to see @suchasinistergame, and it was so exciting to meet @missoneminute for the first time ever. I immediately felt so happy to be there with them, and I had this feeling like something amazing was going to happen, but I almost wouldn’t let myself believe it.

We met up with @getaddictet and Charlie who just generally make my life brighter, and we hung around outside the Albion Rooms for a little while. Nothing was really happening, so we all kind of did our own thing, I spent some time with everyone, and ended up diving headfirst in to a Chinese takeaway at 21:30, before heading to bed. We were all just desperate for the next day to arrive I think.

The next day, aka the best day of my life, started out a bit weird. We had a plan in place and that plan disappeared pretty quickly, haha! I originally wanted to get to the festival when it opened at 12:00, and everyone kind of had different plans, but of course we all ended up outside the Albion Rooms. We saw John, and he’s so lovely. He chatted to everyone and went off to get some food. Then Peter came out, and the atmosphere was so electric, everyone was so excited. He said hi to everyone, and I kind of mumbled hello to him (you know I’m a Carl girl right but... damn, Peter is attractive in real life), and got to see @missoneminute and @suchasinistergame give him presents, which honestly was enough for me, it was a great moment. I also got to meet the lovely @exarcadiaelux around this time too!

Oh, and then he was talking to some other fans, and he took two of them in to the Albion Rooms, because one of them had a Libertines t-shirt on and he apparently had never seen the design before or something? And he wanted to adjust her t-shirt for some reason, so he took them both inside, and about half an hour later she emerged wearing a totally different shirt. So weird, but classic Peter.

Anyway, we finally got to the festival at around 14:30. I got a wrist scarf (which I was unnecessarily excited about) and then we went to the barrier, where we stayed for the next six hours. Totally, definitely, unbelievably worth it. We saw John Power, Mic Righteous, Cabbage, Reverend & the Makers, Echo & the Bunnymen, and then at 20:20 we finally got to see The Libertines. And what a show it was.

I’ll be honest, due to the events that happened afterwards, I feel like the gig was a (wonderful, exciting, amazing) blur. But what I do remember is going fucking crazy and being so, so happy. I just completely let myself go; I screamed out the lyrics, I danced and flailed about because that’s how they make me feel, and it was the best (well... second best) feeling ever. 

They were on top form, the gig was just amazing, and the banter and atmosphere was fantastic. There was a wonderful energy. The songs that stick out to me were Heart of the Matter, Gunga Din, and What Became of the Likely Likes. But the final song, I Get Along, absolutely blew me away. I was buzzing, it was the most wonderful experience.

After the gig, I managed to grab a setlist, which was great for me because I’ve never managed to get one before. I was so happy it was for this gig! And then I met the lovely @orchidsonthewindowsill, and we all headed off back to the hotel.

I think @getaddictet and I were the last ones to find out what was happening, but basically, we happened to be staying at the same (beautiful) hotel where the VIP party was. I think our minds actually exploded when we found out. I can’t even put in to words how shocked, excited, anxious, and downright gobsmacked i was. Stuff like this does not happen to me! We agreed to meet everyone downstairs, and we were so excited (and I desperately needed a drink to calm my nerves) that the two of us rushed down as soon as we could. And of course, as we ran down the stairs and arrived at the hotel reception, Carl was stood there, drinking champagne from the bottle.

So basically, I died. I was fucking scared man. But I kept thinking “be cool, be cool”, because this opportunity was too good to give up. I could lie and pretend it wasn't a big deal but it fucking was. So @getaddictet went straight to Carl and talked to him - he recognised her immediately. I’ll let her tell her experience herself though, and I’ll just say what I remember. I was anxious and shy especially because @getaddictet and Carl were already talking. But somehow I found the courage, and I just sort of joined in their conversation, instead of standing there like a loser.

Carl finally looked at me, and said, “oh sorry, hi I’m Carl” and I said “hiya, I’m Jess”. We said how much we had enjoyed the gig, and he said that he had seen us down at the front, and he said he knew we’d been there for ages, and then he said that he really loved to see fans going crazy like we had been because it made them feel encouraged and he liked to see fans having fun. I said something like, “oh my god did you really notice us at the front?” and he said yeah and then he said, “wait, you’re not from down here? Are you from Hull?” and I laughed and said, “No, i’m from Sheffield,” and he said, “Oh right, Sheff!” and he tried to say “sort thissen aht” (”sort yourself out”) which he absolutely couldn’t do hahaha.

I don’t remember what we talked about next but basically there was a bit of a lull in the conversation, and I realised this was my chance to finally say what I had always wanted to say to him. So I kind of put my hand on his arm (happy sigh), and I said it. @getaddictet kindly stepped aside and gave us space to have a bit of a moment.

I said, “I just wanted to tell you that I haven’t been a fan for very long, but you have really, really helped me to change my life around. I was suffering with depression and I was very unhappy and after discovering your music, my life has gotten so much better and I’m so much happier. So thankyou.”

He looked so genuinely touched and he said, “that’s such a nice thing to say, thankyou. And you’re all good now with everything right?” and before I could answer he said, “aw, I know it’s not that simple with these things”, and he leaned in to me, kind of half hugged me and kissed me on the cheek (dead for the second time). I was so overwhelmed and so touched by his reaction. I don’t even remember what I said in response.

I really know that other people have had longer, more in depth encounters with him, but to me this was just... it was everything. He probably doesn’t even remember it because he was pretty drunk and he meets so many fans. It doesn’t matter. The fact is, I got up the courage to speak to him, and to tell him about my depression, and I got a picture with him! I hated it at first cause I look like a gorm but I decided that I love it instead because I look so happy on it. (One of my best friends literally said, “I have never seen you smile like that in twelve years.)

I also managed to grab Jon McClure, lead singer of Sheffield band Reverend and the Makers, and we had a really fun exchange. I said “I’m from Sheffield!” and he gave me a massive hug (he’s like 9ft tall I swear man) and asked if I’m an Owl or a Blade (if I support Sheffield Wednesday or Sheffield United) and was pleased when I said I’m an Owl (I don’t really give a shit but my family are Owls so whatever). I also said that I’m from Hillsborough and that I loved their gig at Tramlines. Jon was lovely and a typical Yorkshire bloke. I asked for a photo, and he said he’d grab me after he went for a fag. True to his word, he found me later and we had a picture together. (Needless to say, most of my friends and family are more impressed about me meeting Jon than meeting Carl haha.)

I had literally only eaten cold chips for the past 24 hours so everyone kindly accompanied me round Margate trying to find a takeaway that was open. We didn’t succeed, but we did see Peter on his swegway gliding past the Albion Rooms, and I was finally drunk enough to say hello to him, but he went back inside pretty quickly and we didn’t talk to him properly.

We got to bed at about 3:30am and I got up at 6:50am to travel back to Sheffield (rock n roll, innit) and when I was stood outside the hotel at 7:30am, I was just getting in to the taxi when I heard someone say “hi”. I turned around and Jack Jones of Trampolene was stood in the doorway, dressed in a lovely blue suit and swigging a can of lager. I was slightly mortified because I looked grotty as fuck with my hair tied back and my bent glasses on, but I was so happy I just called out, “hiya!”. He came over and asked if I was okay. I said I was buzzing and he laughed. He said he was staying at Peter’s for a bit and that he hoped I’d had a great night. I said I was honestly so happy, and it had been the best time ever, and he said that was cute. Then I asked if he remembered me from Sheffield (I went to their gig at the end of April and met Jack there very briefly) and he was like, “Psht, of course! That’s why I said hello” which made me so happy, and he gave me a huge bear hug and wished me a safe journey home.

So that was Margate. Wonderful, exciting, anything-can-happen Margate. To say I’m happy is an understatement. I feel like I have a new lease of life. I was anxious and nervous about all of this and it turned out brilliantly. I know I’ll be smiling for days if not weeks. I get that some people do stuff like this all the time and it’s not a big deal to them, but it meant the world to me.

Big love to @getaddictet @suchasinistergame @missoneminute @exarcadiaelux @orchidsonthewindowsill and Charlie for sharing the experience, what a gang. x

(I also just want to say, in case anyone is offended or really cares, I’ve never been diagnosed with depression or anxiety, but I’ve suffered from both on and off for the past few years. I understand people have had worse experiences than I have but I have struggled in the past.)

[midnightiscoming-kasabian]

Interview: Listen to Kasabian's sixth album 'For Crying Out Loud,' Serge Pizzorno tells us why

Every album bar one, of Leicester band Kasabian has reached Number One on the UK album charts. In 2014, they also won Best Album and Best Band at NME’s 2014 awards, and that summer proved themselves worthy Glastonbury headliners. Their sixth album, released earlier this year, knocked Ed Sheeran off his perch and has been deemed their best yet, so why aren’t they bigger here?

Could it be their creepy moniker with its associations to a member of the Manson gang? Perhaps it’s the fact that each album tries to shape-shift from the one before, making it hard to peg them? Or is it because British lad and larger swagger; the cornerstone of their music, doesn't always translate out of the pub and across the pond?

Maybe it’s as simple as we just haven’t heard the songs? In 2014 they did a nominal 9-city tour and the album 48:13 hadn’t been released when they were on the road here. Prior to that, they had been absent for five years*. Their then record label's reluctance meant that albums from that period – Velociraptor and West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum weren’t even released in America. And the band are hardly heard on radio.

But if ever there was a time to give Kasabian a try, For Crying Out Loud, their latest, serves as an excellent entry into their oeuvre. It includes electro-banger, "Ill Ray;" the feel good vibes and modern psychedelia of "You're In Love With a Psycho;" "Good Fight" a perfectly structured pop song where they discuss feelings (very unusual for lad rock); and even a love song "Put Your Life On It."

The album was written in six weeks. A self-imposed deadline by songwriter, co-vocalist and guitarist Serge Pizzorno, in an effort to do things radically different from 48:13; which delivered the thumping and addictive "eez-eh" but took a year and was laden with experimental interludes, electronic loops and bleeps.

For Crying Out Loud is largely guitar-based, with an electro-indie sound that marked their first ascent in 2004 with the likes of other guitar bands such as Arctic Monkeys and The Libertines. Songs were written mostly on Pizzorno’s Rickenbacker before it was taken to the rest of the band which includes Tom Meighan, Chris Edwards, Ian Matthews and Tim Carter.

We speak to Pizzorno ahead of their Bay Area show this Sunday, Sept. 24 at the Regency Ballroom, to find out about why he thinks we should check out their latest album. And after 20 years why he doesn’t care if detractors don’t appreciate his lyrical skills.  

AXS: You set a task for yourself to write an album in six weeks – within that what other guidelines were there – like, you must talk about feelings? Or that you should try and take the Berry Gordy Motown approach?

Serge Pizzorno: Yes, I was really strict because at the time, I was really into pop structure. The art form of songwriting, of writing a truly great song. Experimentation has always been my go to: messing about with form and changing things up. This album was the opposite: nothing could be longer than three and a half minutes, I could only use the guitar to write and it had to be written quickly. It was just to see what that would feel like. It happened really quickly, then we recorded it and put it out.

AXS: One of the other guidelines, I read was writing in 9 to 5 shifts rather than late at night? Was that out of necessity cause you have kids or was it to see what kind of a different color you might get?

SP: Exactly that. I found it really productive though because it made me appreciate my time in the studio. I tended to get loads done and the next day I couldn't wait to get back in.  I was shocked because in my head I was adamant, "like I can write what I want, when I want." Obviously, when I set out to do this I didn't know that it would work. I am very reactionary so if you ask me now, how I will write the next one, I'll probably say I'm going back to Jamaica for a holiday and to the spend some time there writing. You know for that complete change of scenery again and see what gets written.

AXS: You’ve said For Crying Out Loud is the best record you’ve ever made – why? Don’t bands say that after every new record? Critics have said their fair share but in your opinion, what sets this one apart?

SP: I didn't say that. Tom said it.

AXS: Oh that Tom!

SP:  Yes exactly. (laughs) I wouldn't have called it our best record. I don't like to think like that. It does have a sort of Punk, street-disco theme. Seventies are a big influence but here, it's been put through modern filters.

AXS: Last time, you came to America for a very short tour. Before that you hadn’t been here for 5 years*, do you still feel America is worth another shot?

SP: We love touring and we love America so we will always tour here. But we're not 18 anymore, and not able to just jump in a van and play live shows for six months. It just doesn't suit my personality. Being on the road is for adventure, gathering information and allowing yourself to be influenced by what you see. Then you take it home and make stuff out of it. I need to create and I can't do that if we're constantly on the road. My time's better spent elsewhere. But like our gig last night in New York, it was insane and we all looked at each other and said: "I wonder, what's happened?" I mean if the gig is crap, you can understand but it wasn't. It was really good. I'm scared now, all the other gigs have a high bar to reach.

AXS: Why should Americans listen to “For Crying Out Loud,” apart from the fact that we might get a history lesson with “Ill Ray” (the video is based on the finding of King Richard III's bones in a Leicester parking lot)?

SP: (laughs) That's right. It's pure feel good music; there's not many albums like that being made at the moment. It's pretty hard to write. I think it's very easy for artist to fall back on pain and write music from there. It's such a mad time all around the world, For Crying Out Loud is positive, makes you want to dance, or go out and do something by the end of it. I don't know... I would never go too deep in trying to sell an album to anyone, I believe everyone should listen to whoever they want; do whatever you want. But if you want a record that is uplifting and has an amazing energy, this is it!

AXS: Speaking of that track – the video is very interesting, could you tell us about the idea behind it?

SP: I received a load of treatments and they were all terrible.  I was on holiday, and I thought: "I best come up with an idea." So in the cab ride with my kids from the hotel to the airport, I wrote the treatment; scene by scene, on my phone. Then I have a friend who's a director (Dan Cardan), and it just so happens, his girlfriend is  Lena Headey (Queen Cersei from Game of Thrones); obviously writing a queen in there, I don't think that could be any better queen in the world right at this moment. And that carpark where King Richard III's bones was exhumed, it's such an iconic scene from my hometown.

AXS: Crazy food references, the UK press seem to give you a hard time with “I’m like the taste of macaroni on a seafood stick.” There’s a kookiness to it that matches the mood in “You’re In Love With A Psycho” but perhaps it isn’t as elegant as an Alex Turner turn-of-phrase. But why do you do it? Just for a laugh, to goad those critics? Or it just makes sense to you?

SP: Everything is done to piss people off, let's face it. (Laughs) But that line made me laugh, first and foremost, there is always humor behind our songs. And secondly, there's always people that would just get the joke, those with that surrealist humor; it's too tempting not to write lyrics like that. It's a booby trap: if you don't get it, it's like "see you mate." They're my favorite lines in every song. What's annoying is that critics tend to just concentrate on that and miss all the other nuggets of beauty like quoting Charles Bukowski in a pop song. It's something to be celebrated but they won't mention that because it doesn't fit in with the narrative they have written about you: "Now, we perceive you as hooligans so you can't be possibly clever." Well, there's more to it than that.

AXS: One of my favorite songs on the album is “Good Fight” it has an almost doo-wop feel and is so uplifting – can you tell us a little bit about your inspiration for the song?

SP: Just came from a loop, the beat of an old Motown flow. I was also thinking about Nirvana Unplugged and the chorus from "Spiders From Mars." And the song wrote itself really.

Kasabian Tour

Sept. 23—Los Angeles, CA—The Wiltern Sept. 24—San Francisco, CA—The Regency Ballroom

www.axs.com

__________

*2 years

[missoneminute]

I am that anon. Thank you all for your ideas of my person and the characterization of my thoughts. Actually I am German and it gives me goosebumps and my spine is freezing reading (a) that Peter sung "Deutschland Deutschland über alles..." (I cannot believe that) and that there are fans/ people who defend such kind of behavior. It is simple wrong on all levels. When the Libertines came out it was (a) about the lyrics and nice melodies, but it was (b) also very

(Continued) it was also very much about their interpretation of manhood, male bonding, interaction with women. Sorry to say so, and surely this is truely only my opinion, but Peter might have taken a wrong turn in this respect. And I do not like suspenders, by the way. I am absoulut sure he is a absolute wonderful man, as a mater of fact: sober. Peter’s solo LP will always be one of my most loved music. I personally do not need a dance bear who exposes himself to ridicule. Thanks to the author of this blog.

Answer after cut. 

Hey there! You’re more than welcome to your opinion and it’s wasn’t at all my intent to judge you or characterise you in any negative way. I do agree that the boys have a very advanced and open vision and performance of masculinity that flouts many social norms for men, especially men from the era they came of age, and (largely) Anglo Saxon men at that. I admire how they defied many cultural norms to be who they are. I continue however to believe that some level of vulgarity has been part of their lives for some time, and while it’s not always ideal, I don’t personally find it offensive in the greater picture of who they are and what the present to the world. I can understand your issue with his performance of the chant in German and you’re not the only German to feel that way, my dear friend Jana also found it objectionable. I’m not from a culture which gives me the correct position to make a judgement, nor was I there to judge the context in which it happened. I’m not sure of the issue with suspenders, in context they’re simply old fashioned clothing. Has he opened himself to ridicule at times? Yes, many many times. But to me that’s part of his honesty and openness and vulnerability, and while I don’t agree with or support everything he’s ever done, or does still, I think his ability to be himself is admirable. Peter was not sober for the recording of his solo albums, if that’s what you mean, and has scarcely been sober since his late teens. I can understand that seeing him behave this way is a shock if you feel it’s out of character, but in my opinion it’s not. Peter’s diaries and other material from his past as I said earlier indicate that he has always had a crass sense of humour and frankness about sexuality. It’s okay not to like the video, but I can’t agree that it denotes any change in Peter’s behaviour. He’s always been like this. X

[authoressskr]

It Ain’t Me

Written for: @mamaredd123’s Shred Some Hearts Challenge.  My song was It Ain’t Me by Selena Gomez and Kygo.

Pairing: Dean x Reader

Characters: Reader, Sam, Dean, Cas, Jody, OC (Mickey Hamilton), Mentions of Krissy, Claire, Alex, Mary, Gabriel, Metatron, Michael, and Gadreel

Tags/Warnings: ANGST, language, mentions of death (it’s Supernatural, so no one should be too surprised by that), …ugh, can’t think of anything else now except maybe subpar writing…

Tagging: @mamaredd123 @sdavid09 @lyndsay88

Notes: Song Used: It Ain’t Me by Kygo and Selena Gomez *lyrics are in italics*

I had a dream We were sipping whiskey neat Highest floor, The Bowery Nowhere’s high enough Somewhere along the lines We stopped seeing eye to eye You were staying out all night And I had enough

“This is really, I mean…fuck Sam, I can’t – I just can’t do this anymore.”

“You can’t just leave.  It’ll kill Dean.”

“He doesn’t want me anymore.  He doesn’t look at me, much less touch me Sam.  He barely talks to me and then it’s only about a case.  I can’t live like this anymore.  I tried to give him everything I could.  Tried to be a good friend to you and Cas.  Tried to make us a family.  But six months of this – this limbo?”  You shoulder your old red duffle and grab the black one off the library table.  “I’ve left him a note, not that he will care.”  You give Sam a quick peck on the cheek, feeling his hand grasp your upper arm as you pull away.

“Don’t go.  Dean – Dean’ll – he’ll come around.  Please.”

“Sammy, it’s too little, way too late.  I could handle drunk Dean, Mark of Cain Dean, normal weight of the world on his shoulders Dean.  At this point I would even take Demon Dean, at least he talked.  Whored around with Crowley and other women but at least I knew he was safe and that he didn’t have to worry about the world anymore!  But this…?  This dragging on and doing nothing?  I can’t take it.  I’m a patient person Sam.  I could wait forever – if he’d just give me a little something…anything...i’d stay.  But he won’t, Sammy.”  Tears slid down your cheeks, even though you tried so hard to hold them back.  “He won’t.”  Sam’s hand dropped from your arm and he nodded.

“Be careful out there.  I mean it.  And when Dean realizes you’re gone –”

“He’ll say I’m better off this way and go on with his life, Sam.  Don’t feed me lies and tell me it’s ice cream.  We both know he puts the world before his own happiness, no matter how small.  But I’ll be careful, Sam.  You know how I am.”  You smile at his concern before nodding and heading to the garage.  You toss your duffles into the passenger seat of the blue 2007 Dodge Durango you’d come to the Bunker with and pointed yourself to the west.

No, I don’t wanna know Where you been or where you’re goin’ But I know I won’t be home And you’ll be on your own - Who’s gonna walk you through the dark side of the morning? Who’s gonna rock you when the sun won’t let you sleep? Who’s waking up to drive you home when you’re drunk and all alone? Who’s gonna walk you through the dark side of the morning? - It ain’t me (The Bowery, whiskey neat, grateful, I’m so grateful) (x4) It ain’t me

“Sammy!”  Dean came down the stairs, white burger bag in hand and Cas following behind.  “Grub’s on.”  He dropped the bag on the table, already rooting through it for the giant bacon burger under Sam’s egg white wrap and (y/n)’s BLT.  He set her sandwich down, carefully pulling the extra hot onion rings out and setting them on a napkin beside it.  “Tell (y/n) to get her ass in here if she wants her onion rings while they’re hot.  You know how she gets about the onion rings.”

“She’s gone.”  Dean looked up at his brother, standing in the archway of library, his mouth a thin line.

“What do you mean she’s gone Sam?”  He walked around the table, heading towards her room.  He could hear Sam fall in line behind him.

“She’s gone.  She left. She – she said she couldn’t do it anymore.”

“(Y/N)!!”  Dean yelled, throwing open her bedroom door.  It wasn’t bare – no.  The gun he’d gotten her sat on her bedside table.  All the pictures she’d taken of them still decorated the walls.  Her purple duvet still covered the bed, the room still smelled like her.

Dean charged down the hall towards his room.  All that was there was a note propped on his pillow and her grandfather’s plain silver band.

I had a dream We were back to seventeen Summer nights and The Libertines Never growing up I’ll take with me The Polaroids and the memories But you know I’m gonna leave Behind the worst of us

Dean –           I can’t take this anymore.  You barely look at me, barely talk to me.  I love you.  And I know you care for me, know you’re pushing me away on purpose – it’s what you do.  I moved out of your room when you asked.  I’ve given you all the space any man could ever want.  But then you stopped talking to me.  I could have dealt with that – I really could have Dean.  Then you stopped touching me.  And that – that I couldn’t…           I love you, Dean Winchester, more than I thought I could.  More than I could have ever hoped for.           I don’t know when you’ll read this, or if Sam will simply tear this up to spare you some hurt.  I’ll be careful – you know how anal I get about safety – and if I feel I’m in too deep I’ll call another hunter.           I left my grandpa’s ring because I was going to give it to you anyways…I know most hunters don’t marry, but I was gonna ask before you pulled away.  I can’t give it to anyone else – it’s only meant for you.  Please keep it.  And if you, if you ever want me again, I know you’ll find me.  You always find me, just like you always find Sam.           Take care, Dean.  And as Dolly Parton said “So I'll go, and but I know I'll think of you each step of my way.  And I will always love you.”            All my love to the boys – (Y/n).

Who’s gonna walk you through the dark side of the morning? Who’s gonna rock you when the sun won’t let you sleep? Who’s waking up to drive you home when you’re drunk and all alone? Who’s gonna walk you through the dark side of the morning?

Three months later

“Agent Sam Gabriel?”

“Yes?”

“This is Mickey Hamilton, head nurse in Sanford USD Medical Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  We have a patient here by the name of (Y/n) Gabriel.  Your card was in her wallet.”

“She - she’s my sister.  What happened?  How is she?”  Dean and Cas came into the kitchen and Dean stopped short, staring a hole through Sam.

“I need you to come as soon as you can, Mr. Gabriel.”

“Yeah, of course.  Thank you.”

“Sam.”

“We gotta go.  That was a hospital in Sioux Falls.  (Y/n) is there.  They said to hurry Dean.”

It ain’t me, no, no (x3) Who’s gonna walk you through the dark side of the morning? It ain’t me It ain’t me It ain’t me, ah, ah

“Mr. Gabriel, your sister is in room 237.  She was discovered by a couple teenage girls, lying beside her open car door.  She was bleeding from her nose but we did a CAT scan and her brain waves seem normal.”  Mickey guided them down the hallway, before stopping abruptly at her door.  “She should be alert in a few hours.  We had to heavily sedate her after the surgery.”

“What surgery?”  Dean asked, hand on the door handle.

“She was pregnant.  A little past eight months, eight and a half.  We took him out and put him into the NICU, but he’s not doing well either.”

“What do you mean she’s not doing well?”  Dean is damn near snarling at the nurse now, Sam’s hand falling on his shoulder to calm him down.

“We can’t find out why, but she’s fading.  And it seems her son along with her.  We don’t have an explanation.”

“Uh, thank you.”  Sam muttered before following Dean and Cas into the room and shutting the door behind him.

Lying in the bed, deathly pale and so uncharacteristically stern looking, lay the woman Dean loved.  The mother of his child.

“Hey baby.”  Dean whispered, running a hand over her forehead and over her hair.  “Cas?”  Castiel nods, placing his two fingers against her forehead and closed his eyes.

“The nurse is correct.  It seems her body is shutting down.  I can’t…I can’t get into her mind.  It’s like it’s barricaded or something.”

“Could it be a djinn or a witch?”  Sam asks, rifling through her purse.  “No hex bag.”

“Do you know what she was hunting?”

“A ghost.  Simple salt and burn.  Came back and stayed with me for a couple days after.”  Jody says softly, moving into the room.  “She said she was going to stop by the Bunker.  That it was time to tell you guys.”  Dean clenches his jaw, brushing his fingers over her hand.  “I was in the NICU, visiting the baby.”

“Why didn’t you tell me, Jody?”

“She was on her way to tell you, I didn’t think I had to.  And it was her decision, Dean.  All I could do was offer advice.”

“I should have known.  You should have told me the second you found out!”  Dean growls.  He needs to be angry at someone, he needs it like air right now.

“Dean, she knew you’d lose your shit.  She said if you found out, you’d drag her back to the Bunker and she’d go right back to being invisible.”  She sighed, shuffling her weight.  “Look, I went with her on the last couple hunts – Claire was in Rhode Island and no other hunters were nearby.  She was always careful, made sure that she stayed out of the fray as much as possible.  She didn’t want to hurt him, Dean.  She wouldn’t do anything to hurt him.”

An alarm sounded above her head, all her vitals falling.  The nurses shoved their way in, one of them attempting to push Dean out of the room.

“No.”

“Sir, you need to leave.  Now, sir!”  And with that, the door swung shut and he lost her a second time.

It ain’t me (The Bowery, whiskey neat, grateful, I’m so grateful) It ain’t me (The Bowery, whiskey neat, grateful, I’m so grateful) It ain’t me (The Bowery, whiskey neat, grateful, I’m so grateful) It ain’t me (The Bowery, whiskey neat, grateful, I’m so grateful) It ain’t me

“Which one?”  Cas asked as he and Jody stood in the NICU.

“This one.”  She said softly, laying a hand on the plastic box.  Sam peered down at the name and smiled.

“Did she pick the name?”  Cas wiggled his finger into the hole of the incubator, brushing the baby’s hand gently.

“He is stronger than they think.  His lungs are nearly fully developed.”

“That’s great, Cas.  I told ‘em that he was a fighter.  Yeah, I told the nurses what she wanted to name him and filled out his birth certificate for her.”

“Gabriel Winchester, huh?”  Sam muttered, placing his own big hand on the box containing his nephew.

“Do you think Dean’ll…?”

“Dean’ll what?”  Dean’s gruff voice questioned.  Jody and Cas walked out of the room, but peered through the window, watching Dean walk towards the box and his brother.  “Tiny.”  He murmured, looking down at the pale baby with the light blue hat.  “Nurse said he was born about three weeks too early.  Has to stay at least a week before they’ll release him.  Fuck, Sam, I own guns that weigh more than he does.  How am I gonna – without her?”

“We’ll figure it out.  Like we do everything else.”  Sam waits until Dean nods before he smiles.  “Did you see what she named him?”

“Gabriel?  Jesus.  Well I guess it’s better than Michael or Gadreel or Metatron.”  Dean paused, staring down at his son.  “He’s gonna grow up to be just as fucked up as I am, you know that right?  No mom.  Hunter for a dad who has a drinking problem.  Target on his back cause of his last name.”

“I turned out okay cause of you Dean.  And so will he.”

“I was lucky with you.  I’m not cut out for this.”

“Yes you are.”  Cas said from the doorway, rejoining the Winchesters in a few long strides.  “You have taken care of Sam, of myself, of Claire and Krissy and Alex, of your mother.  You are a great man, Dean.  (Y/n) could see that.  And so will Gabriel.”  Dean just swallowed before he squats down, mouth close to the opening of the incubator.

“Hey there, Gabe.  I’m – I’m your dad.”

[jonathanbogart]

Tubulaire: French Socialist Pop and New Wave

I went and did it again. Twenty-one songs, 1981-1987, from France and nearby Francophone territories. Here it is as a YouTube playlist. No Spotify playlist -- again, too many gaps -- but you can figure it out. Tracklisting below, “liner notes” below the cut.

Étienne Daho, “Week-end à Rome”

Les Calamités, “Toutes les nuits”

Jo Lemaire + Flouze, “Je suis venue te dire que je m’en vais”

Taxi Girl, “Paris”

Indochine, “Kao Bang”

Mikado, “Naufrage en hiver”

2 Belgen, “Quand le film est triste”

Mader, “Disparue”

Dougherty, “Moi je doute”

Sapho, “Train de Paris”

Stephan Eicher, “Les filles du Limmatquai”

Baroque Bordello, “L’autre”

Les Rita Mitsouko, “Marcia Baïla”

Marc Seberg, “L’éclaircie”

Lio, “Mona Lisa”

Axel Bauer, “Cargo”

Buzy, “Dyslexique”

Chagrin D’amour, “Monte-Carlo”

TC Matic, “Elle adore le noir pour sortir le soir”

Mylène Farmer, “Libertine”

Carte de Séjour, “Ramsa”

Tubulaire: french socialist pop and new wave

Trying to pattern this mix off the Spanish and Portuguese one I did last year, I found myself running afoul of the many ways in which the French scene was very different from the Spanish and Portuguese — and also from the British, which I know better. French popular music has been a continuum running from the era of the music hall to the present: rock, like jazz before it, was taken on board as an amusing novelty, but it did not transform the cultural landscape to the extent it did in the US and UK. Meanwhile, Spain and Portugal, controlled by fascists at midcentury, largely ignored the initial rock waves; for them, the real cultural transformation didn’t happen until democratization, and punk. France also absorbed punk as an amusing novelty, but the top level of pop did not change: chanson, varieté, and melancholic singer-songwriters saw their production shift with the times, but the attitudes did not: in France, teenage dreams were always openly conjured by dirty old men.

Speaking of which, there is one Serge Gainsbourg song here, but not sung by Gainsbourg or a member of his family; I have mostly avoided the canonical (in English-language circles) sixties French pop singers: France Gall, François Hardy, Jacques Dutronc, and Johnny Hallyday were all still making more or less relevant music in the 1980s, but in order to make a coherent mix, I was primarily interested in the younger generation, those energized by punk and disco (and their offspring, new wave and synthpop).

In the 1980s, France was led by its first Socialist President, the long-serving François Mitterrand, providing a sort of left-wing European bulwark against the devouring conservatism of Reagan’s America and Thatcher’s Britain. (From a strict left-wing view, Mitterrand was more of a centrist, defanging the Communists and dithering about nationalization of services; but in global terms, his socialism was remarkable.) Because France is a democracy, that of course doesn’t mean the entire nation was socialist, any more than everyone in the UK was a Tory, but socialist and left-wing ideals were more deeply entrenched in France than almost anywhere else in Western Europe.

Which itself doesn’t necessarily say anything about popular music, always a capitalist endeavor. Despite the famous, and famously evanescent, wealth of some high-profile laborers in music, those who own the means of production remain those who really profit from that labor. So there’s inevitably a tension between my declared subtitle for this mix and what’s really in it: a heterogenous grab-bag of ideology, mostly (like pop everywhere) about romantic love.

One other major difference to my Spanish/Portuguese mix: minority languages have been officially discouraged in France since the Revolution, and even the baby steps taken in the last few decades toward acknowledging Occitan, etc., are nothing compared to the autonomy of Catalan, Basque, and other Spanish minority languages. Which is to say: with one exception, everything in this mix is in standard French (with the occasional phrase in English or another language thrown in as the song requires). The bulk of it was made in France itself, with four songs from Belgium and one from Switzerland.

Finally, many of songs here were released in 1984. Which is a direct result of one of the reasons I started diving back into 1980s European pop music: my friend Michaelangelo Matos is working on a book about the US music industry in 1984, and as always I started thinking about expanding parameters.

I’m certainly no expert in French pop, mainstream or underground, of the period. This is what has struck me as beautiful and fun and maybe even soul-nourishing after rooting around in streaming services and online discographies and filesharing programs for a few weeks, plus some stuff I already knew and loved. I hope you like (at least some of) it too.

Oh, the title. “Tube” is French slang for a hit record, and I thought it would be slightly amusing to mix that up with period SoCal slang.

1. Étienne Daho Week-end à Rome Virgin | Paris, 1984

Perhaps better known to British pop fans as Saint Etienne’s “He’s on the Phone” (the band was named after Daho, the most sublime aesthetician in French pop), this gorgeous synthpop reverie of no-strings travel and romance in the 80s sounds doubly nostalgic these days, as the dream of a united Europe falters. The woman’s voice pronouncing Italian quite poorly on the bridge belongs to Belgian pop star Lio; she also appears in the video.

2. Les Calamités Toutes les nuits New Rose Records | Paris, 1984

Sometimes called “the French Go-Gos,” the all-girl Calamités were rather less polished than the L.A. band, I think to their advantage. This urgent power-pop (perhaps even pop-punk) song takes as a theme that universal complaint about having to share a bed with a sleepwalker who goes out on the rooftops every night; its rush and clatter mirrors the heart-pounding fear of falling in the lyrics.

3. Jo Lemaire + Flouze Je suis venue te dire que je m'en vais Vertigo | Brussels, 1981

Originally written and sung by Serge Gainsbourg on his 1973 concept album Vu de l’extérieur, this spare cover by Belgian synthpop pioneers Flouze was their biggest hit and one of their few songs in French. (Most pop acts in the multilingual Low Countries sing in English to widen their potential audience.) Lemaire, the voice of the band, would go solo for most of the 80s, and has a catalog worth digging into.

4. Taxi Girl Paris Virgin | Paris, 1984

One of the foundational Parisian synth-punk bands circa 1980, Taxi Girl’s lifespan was drawing to a natural close by 1984, when this thrumming, evocative ode to/sneer at their hometown became one of their biggest hits. The casual, slangy lyrics are entirely spoken by singer Viviane Vog (Daniel Darc), slowly building to a punchline in which he spells Paris in an unusual way. And the descending guitar riff pulses on into the night.

5. Indochine Kao Bang Clemence Melody | Paris, 1983

We now encounter the somewhat cringey orientalisme that was de rigeur for the pop scene of every twentieth-century imperial power in the early 80s as the Eastern markets boomed. Indochine are usually thumbnailed as the French Cure, but “Kao Bang” is dancier and sweeter than Robert Smith would be for years yet. The lyrics are dodgy orientalist heroic fantasy, but possibly feminist too?

6. Mikado Naufrage en hiver Vogue | Paris, 1985

Named for a brand of pick-up sticks rather than the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, Mikado were a French orientalist band that actually interacted with Pacific Rim culture: Yellow Magic Orchestra founder and video-game composer Haruomi Hosono produced this single, written by singer Pascale Borel, whose breathy soprano is in both French and Japanese pop traditions.

7. 2 Belgen Quand le film est triste Antler | Brussels, 1982

Not a cover of the 1962 Sylvie Vartan hit, but a herky-jerky new wave interrogation of it, after the deconstructive manner of Devo or the Residents. The debut single of Belgian duo 2 Belgen (or “two Belgians”), it’s rather more instrumentally eccentric than the music that would win them later popularity, but as a spiky, springy introduction, it’s fantastic.

8. Mader Disparue Flarenasch | Paris, 1984

A pop chancer who became famous for unabashedly cheesy dance-pop using Latin rhythms, Jean-Pierre Mader is perhaps the clearest representative of the music hall-derived “varieté” tradition in this mix. Here, a tango bandoneon swirls against a squelchy four-on-the-floor beat as Mader warbles about a lover who has disappeared: it’s Gallo-Latin music at its most stereotypical, and it always brings a smile to my face.

9. Dougherty Moi je doute Réflexes | Toulouse, 1984

There have historically been very few regional pop scenes in France — at least not the way there were in the UK — thanks to the culture of centralization enforced by the state and media. One exception was the Toulouse scene (’82-’86) based around Studio Deltour, featuring retro garage-rock sounds that echoed into the early 2000s: this, from quiffed rocker Gilles Dougherty, is the Raveonettes undreamt.

10. Sapho Train de Paris Celluloid | Paris, 1984

The Morocco-born Danielle Ebguy named herself after the Greek poet as a member of the 70s Parisian punk scene, spent time in New York in the early 80s, and really found her sound in the mid-80s, when she blended industrial beats with pan-Mediterranean melodies and let her strong, witchy voice give it all authority. “Train de Paris” picks up where Grace Jones’ “Warm Leatherette” left off.

11. Stephan Eicher Les filles du Limmatquai Off Course | Zurich, 1983

The guiding force behind the influential Neue Deutsche Welle cold synth band Grauzone, the Swiss Eicher’s solo career would be carried out in German, French and English with equal facility. This folk-melody rave about girls shopping on a fashionable Zurich boulevard splits the difference between his early austere work and the melodic chanson which would give him hits later in the decade.

12. Baroque Bordello L’autre Garage | Paris, 1984

I haven’t included much representation from the so-called coldwave (icy synthpop in post-punk monochrome) scene which has taken up much of the retrospective space for the French 80s in the Anglosphere, because much of it was sung in English, and I’m snobby enough to prefer first languages. But this lovely bit of psychological alienation, in singer Weena’s whispery soprano, deserves to be remembered.

13. Les Rita Mitsouko Marcia Baïla Virgin | Paris, 1984

Undoubtedly the outstanding French rock act of the decade, Les Rita Mitsouko might be familiar to English-language music fans for being frequently namechecked by Kurt Cobain. Their neo-primitivist pound-and-yowl cabaret was deeply influential on the “alternative” 90s, but this early marionette-funk song commemorating singer Catherine Ringer’s late dance teacher Marcia Moretto remains a career highlight.

14. Marc Seberg L’éclaircie Virgin | Longueville, 1984

The band Marquis de Sade was a foundational coldwave act, but after they broke up in 1981, founder Philippe Pascal formed a new band, Marc Seberg, more in the line of British post-punk: “L’éclaircie” sounds rather like Ian Curtis fronting Modern English, although its melodic sense is typically French: even when Pascal breaks into English in the bridge, he doesn’t sound like an English singer.

15. Lio Mona Lisa Ariola | Brussels, 1982

Perhaps the song most thoroughly indebted to the French pop of the 1960s in this mix, “Mona Lisa” was written and produced by the two members of Telex, the Belgian synthpop duo whose “Moskow Discow” was one of the foundational new wave singles. But this is pure chamber pop, heavily, even saccharinely, orchestrated, while Lio’s cutesy gamine voice makes even a relatively tame lyric about Leonardo’s masterpiece sound squirmily Gainsbourgian.

16. Axel Bauer Cargo Vogue | Paris, 1983

I haven’t seen the comparison “the French Thomas Dolby” made anywhere, but I’ll go ahead and make it. Rather than an eccentric quasi-novelty reputation, though, Bauer’s is thoroughly French: the video for “Cargo” (the first shown on French MTV) is highly erotic, both homo- and hetero-. But his music, inventive synthpop fascinated by obsolete industrial technology, is just as melodic and as intermittently released as Dolby’s.

17. Buzy Dyslexique Arabella | Paris, 1981

The kind of irreverent, high-concept single that I associate with Stiff Records in the Anglosphere, “Dyslexique” was the first single from singer Buzy (Marie-Claire Girod), better known later in the decade for more Benataresque work. The second verse, in which she mixes up all the words, is a minor triumph of new wave weirdness for its own sake.

18. Chagrin D’amour Monte-Carlo Virgin | Paris, 1984

Perhaps the song I’ve fallen most deeply in love with over the past weeks. Apart from the beat, there’s nothing particularly 80s about it: it’s a disco-flecked variety-show duet (with a race-announcing middle eight) from an act whose real claim to fame was a novelty rap single three years earlier. As masterminded by Grégory Ken, who had been knocking about the French music industry since the sixties beat groups (he’s one of the alternate paths David Bowie could have taken), Chagrin D’amour has a feather-light touch, but the ache as his falsetto reaches for the high note in the homonymic phrase is real.

19. TC Matic Elle adore le noir pour sortir le soir EMI | Brussels, 1985

TC Matic frontman Arno, having matured from his flamboyant yelping in early hit single “Oh la la,” strikes the exact midpoint between Jacques Brel and Joe Strummer here, with a song half in French and half in heavily-accented English, using the tricks of repetition and crescendo to give dramatic texture to a piece of classic pop-song slutshaming.

20. Mylène Farmer Libertine Polydor | Paris, 1986

If you’re not as entirely disgusted with the “the French x” construction as I am yet, take a moment to consider Mylène Farmer as the French Madonna: a generation gap-exploiting dance-pop artist expanding pop’s sexual vocabulary with provocation and high-art aesthetics, at least until the mid-90s when things get iffy. I encourage you to watch the video for “Libertine” — it packs more historical accuracy, dramatic tension, and Continental philosophy into its nine minutes than in the whole of Johnny Depp’s movie of the same name.

21. Carte de Séjour Ramsa Barclay | Paris, 1987

We close with a twelve-inch remix of the last single by Franco-Algerian rock ’n’ raï star Rachid Taha’s first band. It’s not strictly in French, but according to Taha, in Sabir, the ancient lingua franca of the Mediterranean which fused Arabic, Spanish, French, Italian, Turkish, and Berber. (Sure. To my ears it’s in French and Arabic, with English James Brown-style interjections.) But of course, it’s the groove which really matters, and it’s a good one: Taha’s work would rarely be so danceable again.

This is the second installment in a projected series of 80s pop mixes: four more to cover the rest of Europe, and nineteen for the rest of the world. I make no promises that I will get to any of the rest with any particular haste, although I am thinking about Italy next.

[wknc881]

ALBUM REVIEW: BAD BRAINS- Bad Brains

BEST SONGS: Sailin’ On, Banned in D.C., I, Pay to Cum, Right Brigade

“When I think of a great frontman, like a really charismatic guy who everybody in the audience immediately wants to be, I think of Iggy Pop and I think of H.R. from Bad Brains”.  Pretty high praise from Henry Rollins, Black Flag’s most integral and prolific lead singer, don’t ya think? Who, or what, could be such a force as to cause hardcore’s buff dad to put you on equal footing as Iggy motherfucking Pop?  Well, Bad Brains of course. “What’s a Bad Brains?” you ask, wide-eyed in anticipation of yet another WKNC review of an integral punk group, lip quivering on the verge of tears because you can’t take another four paragraphs justifying how music that sounds like shit is actually good.  Don’t worry! This week’s spotlight is on Bad Brains, the undisputed kings of hardcore. Outshining even essential acts like Minor Threat, they made every soul in a mile radius of their presence look down at their own bodies and ask why they haven’t been living through the Bad Brains lifestyle for the entirely of their previously miserable lives.  They made people check their turntables after throwing on their newest single because the noises coming from it didn’t sound like music that humans were even capable of creating yet. They made Guinness Book of World Records give them an award for the fastest band of all time. And the best part, they were good. They were really really fucking good.  While their contemporaries were pushing to play the fastest and the loudest, Bad Brains looked at each other and said “yeah I guess we can do that too” and played the loudest and fastest of them all. But beyond this, this naked engine nearing aneurysm intensity, Bad Brains was composed of incredibly talented musicians equipped endless creativity and an uncanny amount of stamina.  Though their later work was not at all tainted by age or a lack of ingenuity (I Against I is a masterpiece) their eponymous 1982 debut, colloquially known as the “Yellow Tape” is the most essential hardcore punk album ever recorded.  

Unlike bands like the Damned, or the Germs, or even Black Flag, Bad Brains was not originally founded upon a commitment to aggression and anarchy.  They began as a jazz fusion group. Yes, you read that right, Jazz Fusion, a genre not only infinitely distant from punk’s insistence on id-focused simplicity but one which demands incredibly high levels of skill and a thorough understanding of music theory.  So, in their embryonic stages, Bad Brains (then called Mind Power) were obviously leaps and bounds more technically proficient than any other punk band in their native Washington D.C. “Perfect,” the frontman for a completely hypothetical hardcore band who would need to compete with Bad Brains said to himself, “the Bad Brains may be way more talented than me and my sweaty group of pasty bad boys, but they don’t have anywhere near the attitude or vigor to even be considered in the same vein!”. But much to the chagrin of our hypothetical punker, Mind Power’s guitarist, Dr. Know, happened to catch a 1976 television profile on the then up-and-coming British punk scene.  His mind blown by a newly discovered weapon against the establishment, Dr. Know bought every Sex Pistols, Ramones, and Damned record he could find before convening with his bandmates and urging them to adopt a radically new style. They were convinced and Mind Power was forever rebranded as Bad Brains, a term taken from a Ramones song which served as an analog to their former head-centered title. After practicing for hours upon hours in the basement in their friend’s mother’s basement, Bad Brains began booking shows in the three D.C. clubs which supported the still very young punk rock ethos. While frequenters of proto-hardcore shows were initially drawn to the novelty of Bad Brains being an all-black punk band, it soon became clear that the group was a spectacle of fury and showmanship that no other D.C. contemporary could compete with.  The band was ridiculously fast, putting the Ramones and Stooges to shame with tempos which would have caused complete implosion under normal circumstances. Bad Brains was also tight. Really fucking tight; there was no wavering when their songs lurched into breakneck pace, as Dr. Know would even rip into solos (a cardinal sin in most punk circles) that scorched the bung hair off Minor Threat purists who claimed aggression’s only avenue was through the power chord.  H.R, the lead singer and front man would flail around wildly while his band was focused in their blistering craft, acting as the mouthpiece of a rabid flutter while he fell on his back and writhed around before jumping into the crowd and screaming in their face as they smothered in his sweat-drenched frame. What a performance. D.C. degenerates couldn’t believe what they were seeing. The area had never known anything close to a punk scene, and now it appeared like they had been gifted, simply put, the best band of all time.  Nobody could match their energy, technical skill, or ability to meld the crowd and performers into a single volatile goo. As such, they attracted a huge following almost instantly. H.R. notoriously would request over a hundred people for the guest list. That, combined with the natural frenzied disorder associated with any Bad Brains-caliber performance, quickly got them banned from the three D.C. clubs that would even think of booking punk shows. So what does an insanely popular, yet underground band who has been blacklisted from their native Washington do?  Well, move to the Big Apple of course! Bad Brains evacuated D.C. for the REAL DEAL DADDIO PUNK ROCK NEW YORK CITY BABY and almost immediately earned themselves a headlining spot at perhaps punk’s most important venue: CBGB. It was during their NYC libertine residency that the band recorded their seminal first album. Angry, playful, virtuosic, this self-titled statement to everything hardcore is an essential addition to any collection which aims to document an evolution of American music. Every single song is mind-bogglingly perfect. It’s briefest cuts require the listener to ask themselves “was what I heard real? Are people actually capable of making something like this?” while the slower ones provide breathing room and showcase Bad Brains’ ability to perfectly pace an album.  Pacing in a hardcore album? “These guys must be on a totally different plane from the rest of us”, you say, finally excited that we don’t have to cover a deconstruction of music itself yet again. And you’re right, faithful reader: Bad Brains is unlike any other band which came before or after, and their self-titled debut is the required first-taste of their galaxy-brained musicianship. 

“Bad Brains” captures a crossroad in the band’s sound and, to a larger extent, worldview, which saw the four Baddest Brains adopt Rastafarianism.  This meant a stronger spiritual message in their music, an adoption of reggae and dub by the band, and an alienation from racists who thought that Rastafarianism could be equated with violence and other racists who were pissed that the band growing dreads was a sign that they were moving away from the shaved-head mandate of hardcore.  In actuality, the implementation of a strong spiritual message within the album, coupled with the sonic diversity of melding reggae with hardcore, enhanced both the pace of the album and the overall quality of its songs. From the beginning of this half hour epic, Bad Brains incredible songwriting suffocates its listener in “Sailing On”: a Beatles-esque mosh fest whose brevity is equally as impressive as its ear-worm, call-and-response chorus.  Dr. Know shreds so hard that it sounds like it’ll melt any CD player unfortunate enough to challenge it, while H.R.’s vocals are brilliantly placed behind this crunchy guitar with a reverb that makes it easily distinguishable from the delicious commotion produced by his bandmates. Beyond this, the singer’s full arsenal of screeches, gulps, bellows, and growls instantly distinguishes him from even the most pissed off Ian McKayes and Henry Rollins.  “Banned in D.C”, a reference to the band’s blacklisting from all Washington punk clubs, pounds its unsuspecting listener into a higher orbital as soon as its mockingly militant opening is seized by the H.R. and Dr. Know’s respective vault into white-hot power chords and riot-inducing yelps. H.R. often sounds on the edge of collapse, his lyrics rattling off so fast that he must surely be on the verge of sloppiness or total collapse. This is all before he anchors it back with such ease that it sounds almost like a second thought.  “Pay to Cum” is just fast. That’s all I can really find within myself to describe it. It’s brilliant. It should be played to aliens when they are trying to decide whether or not to destroy humanity as the sole relic of our civilization just because, to me, it’s almost unfathomable that this music was actually created. It’s just that fucking fast.  

When H.R. screams, he goes fully in, incinerating his vocal cords in a raspy grind.  But Bad Brains isn’t just a band for pissed off teenagers; H.R.s versatility as a singer allows these moments of anger to be supplemented by an undeniable talent which can meld the band’s brand of punk into an innumerable amount of other genres (reggae, doo-wop, guitar pop, metal, etc.).  And at its core, this is what made Bad Brains so important was that their commitment to punk was not out of convenience or pure angst, but rather an understanding of the lasting vitality that naturally comes with a genre infused with genuine expression. Through their continued showcase of remarkable talent and innovation, Bad Brains legitimized hardcore more than any other group. 

-Cliff

[europeanromanticism]

Byron, Shelley 6/19

Prometheus Unbound BY  PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY

Background:  Percy Bysshe Shelley was born on August 4t  h 1792 in Horsham, Sussex, England and died at the age of 29 on July 8t  h 1822. Percy was a very influential, and inspiring amongst lyric and philosophical poets in the English language. Percy did not see fame during his lifetime However, all his recognition came after his death. He was well known for being a rebellion against authority, his power of the visionary imagination and of poetry, and his spirit in search of freedom. This was not only displayed in his works but this is also how Percy chose to live his life. Most publishers and journals declined to publish his work for fear of being arrested for either  a religious crime o  r  troublemaking . One can say Shelley’s poetry was harsher than what the people were ready for. This can all be seen in Shelley’s poem  “ Prometheus Unbound” by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Prometheus Unbound is a four act lyrical drama that was published in 1820. It is a story of Prometheus, who betrays the Gods and gives fire to humanity. He is punished for this action and is left to suffer. Prometheus struggles to become free from captivity because Jupiter refuses to let him go. However, Jupiter is later left behind with his authority and ends up falling from power.

Quote 1: Whilst me, who am thy foe, eyeless in hate, Hast thou made reign and triumph, to thy scorn, O'er mine own misery and thy vain revenge. Three thousand years of sleep-unsheltered hours, And moments aye divided by keen pangs

Till they seemed years, torture and solitude, Scorn and despair,—these are mine empire:—

Question 1 : What does Prometheus mean when he says “these are mine empire”?

Quote 2 : Nailed to this wall of eagle-baffling mountain, Black, wintry, dead, unmeasured; without herb, Insect, or beast, or shape or sound of life. Ah me! alas, pain, pain ever, for ever!

Question2 : How do you think religion is tied into the poem? What is Prometheus describing?

Quote 3:

The curse

Once breathed on thee I would recall. Ye Mountains, Whose many-voicèd Echoes, through the mist

Of cataracts, flung the thunder of that spell! Ye icy Springs, stagnant with wrinkling frost,

Which vibrated to hear me, and then crept Shuddering through India! Thou serenest Air, Through which the Sun walks burning without beams! And ye swift Whirlwinds, who on poisèd wings Hung mute and moveless o'er yon hushed abyss, As thunder, louder than your own, made rock The orbèd world! If then my words had power, Though I am changed so that aught evil wish Is dead within; although no memory be Of what is hate, let them not lose it now! What was that curse? for ye all heard me speak.

Question 3:

How would you describe the poems ending verses it’s beginning? Do you think Prometheus truly learned a lesson?

Question 4:

How would you connect this poem to the time period of romanticism? Does this poem relate to any of the past stories or poems we have read?

Question 5:

What do you think is this poem’s overall message? How do you think the writer wanted his audience to receive this poem?

Argument:

One can argue that in the poem  Prometheus Unbound  Shelley wrote with an intent of raising some questions in the reader’s head. Does religion play as a dictator in our lives? Or is it a guide that one can use to seek freedom and peace? In the poem it states

Made multitudinous with thy slaves, whom thou Requitest for knee-worship, prayer, and praise, Where it states those that pray and worship are enslaved mentally,physically and spiritually.  Shelley was known to despise marriage and institutions like the

Christian Church and the Monarchy. Which is why he identifies Jupiter as a Monarch.   Shelley uses symbolism to show that resistance against authority can lead to extreme punishment and isolation from society.   Shelley was a radical thinker that believed  in freedom.By going against Jupiter and giving humanity  fire , Prometheus is essentially a hero for challenging the authoritative figure. He feels that everyone should live this way so that they can experience true freedom. Prometheus was willing to sacrifice his own comfort and life in order to stand up to power of Jupiter and live within his freedom.

DON JUAN, CANTO III

Background

George Gordon Noel Byron, 6th Baron Byron, was born 22 January 1788 in London and died 19 April 1824 in Missolonghi, Greece. He was among the most famous of the English ‘Romantic’ poets; his contemporaries included Percy Shelley and John Keats. He was also a satirist whose poetry and personality captured the imagination of Europe. His major works include Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage (1812-18) and Don Juan (1819-24). He died of fever and exposure while engaged in the Greek struggle for independence.

Born with a clubfoot, he was taken by his mother, Catherine Gordon, to Aberdeen, Scotland, where they lived in lodgings on a meager income.He was extremely sensitive of his lameness; its effect upon his character was obvious enough . It was rumored that his nurse, May Gray, made physical advances to him when he was only nine. This experience and his idealized love for his distant cousins Mary Duff and Margaret Parker shaped his paradoxical attitudes toward women.

In 1803 he fell in love with his distant cousin, Mary Chaworth, who was older and already engaged, and when she rejected him she became the symbol for Byron of idealized and unattainable love. In 1805 Byron entered Trinity College, Cambridge, where he piled up debts at an alarming rate and indulged in the conventional vices of undergraduates there. The signs of his incipient  sexual  ambivalence  became more pronounced in what he later described as “a violent, though pure, love and passion” for a young chorister, John Edleston. Alongside Byron’s strong attachment to boys, often idealized as in the case of Edleston, his attachment to women throughout his life is an indication of the strength of his heterosexual drive.

During the summer of 1813, Byron apparently entered into  intimate  relations with his half sister Augusta, now married to Colonel George Leigh. He then carried on a flirtation with Lady Frances Webster as a diversion from this dangerous liaison. The agitations of these two love affairs and the sense of mingled guilt and exultation they aroused in Byron are reflected in the series of gloomy and remorseful Oriental verse tales he wrote at this time:  The Giaour (1813);  The Bride of Abydos  (1813);  The Corsair  (1814), which sold 10,000 copies on the day of publication; and  Lara  (1814).

Seeking to escape his love affairs in marriage, Byron proposed in September 1814 to Anne Isabella (Annabella) Milbanke. The marriage took place in January 1815, and Lady Byron gave birth to a daughter,  Augusta Ada , in December 1815. From the start the marriage was doomed by the gulf between Byron and his unimaginative and humorless wife; and in January 1816 Annabella left Byron to live with her parents, amid swirling rumours centring on his relations with Augusta Leigh and his bisexuality. The couple obtained a  legal separation . Wounded by the general moral indignation directed at him, Byron went abroad in April 1816, never to return to England.

Byron sailed up the  Rhine River  into Switzerland and settled at Geneva, near  Percy Bysshe Shelley  and Mary Godwin (soon to be  Mary Shelley ), who had eloped and were living with Claire Clairmont, Godwin’s half sister. (Byron had begun an affair with Clairmont in England.)

At the end of the summer the Shelley party left for England, where Clairmont gave birth to Byron’s daughter Allegra in January 1817. In October Byron and Hobhouse departed for  Italy . They stopped in  Venice , where Byron enjoyed the relaxed customs and  morals  of the Italians and carried on a love affair with Marianna Segati, his landlord’s wife.

In the light, mock-heroic style of  Beppo  Byron found the form in which he would write his greatest poem,   Don Juan , a satire in the form of a picaresque verse tale. The first two cantos of  Don Juan  were begun in 1818 and published in July 1819. Byron transformed the legendary libertine  Don Juan  into an unsophisticated, innocent young man who, though he delightedly succumbs  to the beautiful women who pursue him, remains a rational norm against which to view the absurdities and irrationalities of the world.

Summary of Don Juan

The story, told in seventeen cantos, begins with the birth of Don Juan. As a young man he is precocious sexually, and has an affair with a friend of his mother. The husband finds out, and Don Juan is sent away to Cádiz. On the way, he is shipwrecked, survives and meets the daughter of a pirate, whose men sell Don Juan as a slave. A young woman, who is a member of a sultan’s harem, sees that this slave is purchased. She disguises him as a girl and sneaks him into her chambers. Don Juan escapes, joins the Russian army and rescues a Muslim girl named Leila. Don Juan meets Catherine the Great, who asks him to join her court. Don Juan becomes sick, is sent to England, where he finds someone to watch over Leila. Next, a few adventures involving the aristocracy of Britain ensued.

Canto III A long digression from the main story in which Byron, in the style of an epic catalogue, describes Haidée and Don Juan’s celebrations. The islanders believe Haidée’s father, Lambro, has died, but he returns and witnesses these revels.  Towards the end of the canto, Byron insults his contemporaries  William Wordsworth ,  Robert Southey  and  Samuel Taylor Coleridge . In this latter section is “The Isles of  Greece ”, a section numbered differently from the rest of the canto with a different verse, which explores Byron’s views on G reece’s status as a “slave” to th e Ottoman Empire .

Don Juan  remains unfinished; Byron completed 16 cantos and had begun the 17th before his own illness and death. Over forty operas have been based on his works, in addition to three operas about Byron himself (including Virgil Thomson’s Lord Byron). His poetry was set to music by many Romantic composers, including Beethoven , Schubert , Rossini , Mendelssohn , Schumann , and Carl Loewe. There are 900 different poems of George Gordon, Lord Byron and almost all of them are about love to a woman.

Question 1: Byron removes himself from his writing and critiques his own characters; writing about love and women in an ironic and satirical fashion. Is it means to provoke just humor, or is this in response to others who do not approve of his previous works?

Quote 1:

“Haidee and Juan were not married, but The fault was theirs, not mine; it is not fair, Chaste reader, then, in any way to put The blame on me, unless you wish they were; Then if you ’d have them wedded, please to shut The book which treats of this erroneous pair,

Before the consequences grow too awful; ’T is dangerous to read of loves unlawful.”

Question 2: Byron goes off on a stagnant where a poet entertains DJ and Haidee with a lyrical ballad “The Isles of Greece”, a lament for Greece’s present state of subjection to Turkey. After the poem, he then deviates on the subject and talks about how a poet’s words has a lasting effect on the temporary nature of human fame, calling out (mocking) Wordsworth, Coleridge and other authors. What purpose does this serve in this canto and how does it tie into the original story being told?

Quote 2:

“But words are things, and a small drop of ink, Falling like dew, upon a thought, produces That which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think; ’T is strange, the shortest letter which man uses Instead of speech, may form a lasting link Of ages; to what straits old Time reduces Frail man, when paper—even a rag like this, Survives himself, his tomb, and all that ’s his.”

“Which pye being opened they began to sing’ (This old song and new simile holds good), ‘A dainty dish to set before the King’ Or Regent, who admires such kind of food. And Coleridge too has lately taken wing,

But like a hawk encumbered with his hood, Explaining metaphysics to the nation. I wish he would explain his explanation.”

“And Wordsworth in a rather long Excursion (I think the quarto holds five hundred pages) Has given a sample from the vasty version Of his new system to perplex the sages.

'Tis poetry, at least by his assertion, And may appear so when the Dog Star rages, And he who understands it would be able To add a story to the tower of Babel.”

Question 3: Byron fails to mention what happens to DJ and Haidee’s relationship and whether or not Haidée realizes that her father has come home. Why not go on with his satirical pros on the development of romance or tragedy? And do you think this Canto was purely written to mock or to express his political views of society?

Argument:

“Soft hour! which wakes the wish and melts the heart, Of those who sail the seas, on the first day, When they from their sweet friends are torn apart; Or fills with love the pilgrim on his way, As the far bell of vesper makes him start, Seeming to weep the dying day’s decay; Is this a fancy which our reason scorns? Ah! surely nothing dies but something mourns!”

Byron embraces his speaker Don Juan and uses him to express his own criticisms of English people and their culture. He takes on various views about gender,societal roles, the plea for conquered Greece, and the amusing attacks on poets while keeping to his satirical nature. In the midst of all of his own criticisms, I believe the point of this work is to express how life is short lived and even when something is gone, words written and read can send a message to be remembered throughout the ages.