#the most overplayed band still can have fucking good hard-hitting music

[godlygreta]

i never stopped loving you | j. kiszka

title | i never stopped loving you

summary | jake and y/n have known each other since grade school, they’ve been neighbors forever. a bit of romance ensues, but ends fairly quickly when complications arise while the boys are touring. a trip home from college ends in a slightly drunk confession.

warnings | some mature themes (bit of sex, but not explicitly), swearing, slight angst

word count | 2.5k+

author’s note | hi! this is the first thing i’ve written for any of the boys, so i hope you enjoy. i’ve written for other bands before, so writing isn’t new to me, but writing for greta is.

“I never stopped loving you.”

It slipped out. It didn’t mean to come out. Jake didn’t necessarily want it to come out. They say drunk words are sober thoughts, right? At the same time, who trusts the words of a drunk person? Usually it’s just brushed off as babbling, but Y/N couldn’t ignore what Jake said. Especially because she couldn’t blame it on not hearing him. There was no music playing outside the bar. The music was faint enough that anything Jake had said was heard.

High school was rough for Y/N with hormones mixed in with academics, horny teenage boys at every turn. Y/N wasn’t even interested in dating, not due to the fact that nobody was necessarily interested in her, but because she was too focused on her studies to even give a damn. School dances were a nice break from academics. There was a shift, though, when one boy in particular would start to really pay attention to her.

Jake Kiszka was charismatic in every sense of the word. Him and his twin brother, Josh, were always the two sweetest, yet most famous troublemakers in all of Frankenmuth High School. It got even worse when their younger brother, Sam, ended up in high school with them as a freshman. Jake had girls wrapped around his finger from the moment he had gotten a haircut. His hair was a lot shorter than before and barely even touched his forehead. Y/N didn’t really give a damn. To her, he was still Jake Kiszka, neighbor.

Their parents were friends and always hungout on the weekends. Y/N’s family had a cabin on the lake which they always vacationed at and occasionally would bring Jake’s family with. One particular summer, they stayed there for a week between the summer of sophomore and junior year. The summer’s were always hot, but this week in particular was hotter than the other summer’s before. “It feels like the Devil’s asshole out here.”

“I know, Mary, but that’s the exact reason we chose to come here this week. The kids can swim in the lake, it’s a lot cooler in the water than on the grass.” Y/N’s dad spoke, returning the conversation from her mother. He gave her a quick kiss on the side of the head and returned to unpacking the car. Y/N and the boys had already gone into the house and picked their rooms. The boys shared one, and Y/N got one of the spare bedrooms. 

Dinner was made as soon as everyone was settled in. Everyone sat around the dining table, laughing and eating as they did almost every weekend. “You excited for Junior year, Y/N?”

“Yeah, I’m sort of nervous about taking the SAT and ACT. I’ve been studying when I’m not working at the shop.” She picked at some asparagus on her plate as she answered Mrs. Kiszka’s  question. Jake and Josh weren’t entirely ecstatic about it, it didn’t really matter to either of them. Music was their passion and that was never going to change.

Smores after dinner was a tradition that started when they were all really little, barely old enough to eat them. The fire was lit by Mr. Kiszka and Mr. Y/L/N. Jake, Sam and Josh had always played music while the rest of them made their smores. Y/N always made extras for the boys for when they were done playing music. Whenever they had no idea what to play, Y/N always knew the answer. Running out of songs to play, though, was a rarity in itself. The Kiszka’s knew so much about their sound, nothing was in their way of playing songs that fit it. However, every once in a blue moon they would ask their friend what she would like to hear. “C’mon now. You should know I’m a sucker for The Beatles.”

Y/N could recognize the sound of Blackbird the second it started playing. She had only listened to it eight million times that summer. She hummed lightly along as they played. Everyone clapped as soon as their song was over, the boys immediately delving into their smores. Y/N had finally taken a seat next to Josh when she was finished making their smores for them. Once their parents had gone inside, though, Y/N and the twins dipped into their parents' cooler of beer.

Neither of the sets of parents cared, they knew their kids would be safe and unharmed if they drank at the cabin. Jokes were told and stories of the past school year were discussed, as well as the future. A topic so vast for high schoolers. “I still can’t decide between a lawyer and an art teacher.”

“You’ve always been great at arguing,” Josh joked, “Practically got fuckin’ Lindsey McNeil out of that suspension.”

“It wasn’t fair. All she did was stand up for herself and what she believed in, plus that teacher is fucking creepy and everyone knows it.” Everybody laughed, the beer in everyone’s hands was getting a little warmer with every minute that passed by. Everyone filtered out one by one. Sam went in first, followed by Ronnie (she was slightly upset about coming, having made other plans with friends for the hot weather), and then Josh followed, leaving behind Jake and Y/N.

“Did you want to go inside yet or stay out here for a bit longer?” The silence beforehand hadn’t been awkward for the pair. “Cause I was thinking of going swimming for a bit.”

“I’ll join you, we haven’t swam yet today.”

The sand leading into the lake was met with a bit of rocks. It was picturesque under the moonlight. The pair discarded their clothing, leaving their underwear and got into the water. The coolness of the water sent goosebumps along her skin, leaving no piece without some. Jake followed in behind her, coming up next to her before completely dipping under the water. He popped back up and shook his head.

“You know,” Y/N started, “I think you’d look really good with longer hair.”

“You think?”

“Yeah. You should grow it out.” She swiped his hair out of the way and giggled a bit. “You’ll still never be prettier than I am.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it, darling.”

The rest of the summer followed with light flirting and spending lots of time together. Junior year came around and nothing changed a bit. Prom was spent with the Kiszka family, Josh driving the three of you, as well as Josh’s date. The dance was lame, the songs were overplayed pop music, which Y/N secretly had a bit of a soft spot for. She would never tell that to Jake, though.

The pair ended up back at Y/N’s house, giggling all the way up to her room. He went into the bathroom to take his suit off, using one of Y/N’s hangers to make sure it wouldn’t wrinkle. However, Y/N was still having issues. She couldn’t manage to undo the zipper by herself, waiting for Jake to come back into the room to do it for her. He came back in, saw her still in her dress. “Need my help?”

“My zipper -- I can’t reach it.”

“I can do it,” he whispered, knowing Y/N’s parents were asleep. His hands were warm against her back, undoing her zipper slowly. The moonlight coming in from the window felt like that hot summer night at the cabin. He slid the straps down her shoulders, his mouth slightly agape. How could someone look so beautiful and delicate at the same time?

She turned around, her body facing Jake’s. He stuttered, telling her he could leave and he was honestly about to. Until he felt her hand grab his wrist. “Don’t go.”

He nodded his head, helping her get the rest of the way out of her dress. She stepped closer to him and put her hands on his chest. She could feel how fast his heart was beating. She had a hard time meeting his gaze, nervous of him not feeling the same way she had been. “You looked really good tonight.”

“Me? Everybody was staring at you the whole time, Y/N,” he spoke, one hand finding their way to her waist, the other pulling on her chin to force eye contact. “You looked absolutely breathtaking.”

There was a split second where both of them second guessed themselves. But it was over when Y/N pressed her lips lightly against Jake’s. It was such a feathery light touch, it almost felt like she wasn’t even kissing him. She pulled away slowly, her eyes closed, not really knowing what to do next. She didn’t have to figure it out though, Jake’s lips returned to hers with more pressure.

His hands had found their rightful place on her back, bringing her closer to him. Hers found their way into his hair. It felt so natural - the need for each other grew stronger with each passing minute. His mouth never wanted to leave hers, it felt as though her lips were coated in fucking drugs the way they were so addicting. He couldn’t get enough. “Do you want to..?”

“Yes, please.” It came out so needy - desperate. Y/N didn’t even care about how that presented itself to Jake. She just wanted to be even closer to him than she already was. And she got to be right where she wanted to be.

Her bed was more comfy than Jake had previously remembered. Or maybe that was because they were here under different circumstances, not just studying algebra because Jake wasn’t quite getting it. All he knew was that he wasn’t ever going to forget it. He wanted this moment to replay forever and ever. Not because he was just some horny teenager, but because holy fuck, this had just been some random thought - a daydream, almost. But this was real. This was happening.

A tangled mess they were when climaxing. “I love you,” came out as barely above a whisper. It took Y/N a half of a second to register what he was really saying before it finally hit her. She didn’t feel as if she had to say it back, if anything, he should realize that she loved him too.

“I could honestly stay here forever and stare at you until the end of time.”

“So do it. We’ve got all the time in the world.”

They didn’t though. And it wasn’t that simple. Complications arose after that night. Everything got messy and trying to tie in a relationship while the band was traveling and on the road became increasingly difficult, especially when Y/N went to college.

She came home to Frankenmuth while she was off for the summer. Her mother and father missed her a great deal and the first weekend home was spent in the Kiszka’s backyard, the boys excluded. It was weird to be at their house and not see them littered around anywhere. Ronnie was full of stories though, telling Y/N about previous times the boys have come home from touring and the memories they brought back with him.

It was painful to hear, but she was so incredibly proud of everything they had accomplished and done. Every once in a while, Y/N had checked up on their band's Instagram account. When she was really nervous — having a hard time not worrying about them — she texted Josh or Danny. Neither of them were ever going to say anything to Jake or mention it to Sam.

The two families decided to get together and have dinner at a local bar. The boys were still away, they weren’t scheduled to come back to Michigan for at least another month and a half. Ronnie and Y/N spent most of their time talking about future plans for the upcoming weeks while their parents discuss their weekend plans — what to have for dinner and who’s house to have dinner at. Time had passed quickly and before they knew it, it was 10pm.

The parents had left, leaving Ronnie and Y/N at the bar by themselves. At least, that was until the boys walked in.

Ronnie smiled widely, hugging her brothers but then proceeding to punch them for surprising her and not just telling her. Josh and Danny hugged Y/N first, Sam leading after. Jake didn’t hug Y/N. It stung a bit. It made sense though. The last time they talked — it ended in an argument which was the resulting cause of their breakup.

A few drinks were downed, a couple shots thrown in there as well. Y/N figured it was time to throw the towel in. She couldn’t handle the awkward glances and forced conversation on their part. She grabbed her jacket off the back of her chair and put it on as she said goodbye to everyone. “Boys, lovely to see you again. I’m sure I’ll see you this weekend.”

She wasn’t going to. She was gonna avoid them at all costs. Come up with a lie — say she had the flu or something. Her mother would believe her either way, as well as understand where she was coming from with her avoidance. Her mother was there for her while she cried her eyes out.

She didn’t notice when Jake had followed her out. She didn’t notice him calling her name. The only thing she could notice was the tears falling down her cheeks, wiping them as soon as she felt them.

“I never stopped loving you.”

It slipped out. It didn’t mean to come out. Jake didn’t necessarily want it to come out. They say drunk words are sober thoughts, right? At the same time, who trusts the words of a drunk person? Usually it’s just brushed off as babbling, but Y/N couldn’t ignore what Jake said. Especially because she couldn’t blame it on not hearing him. There was no music playing outside the bar. The music was faint enough that anything Jake had said was heard.

“When we broke up,” he started. “I was a wreck. I was immature. It could’ve worked out - it would’ve worked out if I wasn’t such a child about everything.”

“Jake —“

“No, Y/N, I need to say this now. I’m a little drunk so I actually have the balls to say everything I want to. It was stupid to break up over something as menial as distance. The things I feel for you are so intense it scares the fuck out of me. I was so afraid of being gone all the time. You deserved someone who could be there to help you study for midterms. I was always in another state and sometimes another country. I wasn’t… there to be able to help you through anything. Everything’s different now, though.”

She sighed, not entirely sure on what to do with the information that was thrown at her. She was sober enough to remember the conversation tomorrow, but not nearly drunk enough to be able to deal with it tonight. “Do you wanna just come home with me? Talk about this tomorrow morning when we’re both sober.”

“Yeah, I’d like that a lot.”

[piratewithvigor]

My first thought in regard to every band that gets played on my radio station

ACDC: Every dad’s favourite band

Adams, Bryan: Every mom’s favourite singer until Michael Buble came along

Aerosmith: haha they thought Vince Neil was a lady

Alice Cooper: he’s a Game Of Thrones fanboy and I have proof

Alice In Chains: my sister doesn’t like them because she decided AC were Alice Cooper’s initials ONLY

Allman Brothers Band: good music for dropping acid to

Allman, Gregg: That’s too many Gs for one name

Animals: House Of The Rising Sun, or who even cares

Argent: Sometimes Hold Your Head Up is really catchy

Asia: Tuesdays

Autograph: one of the members went on to be a pharmacist

Bachman-Turner Overdrive: There are just so many pop culture jokes about Taking Care Of Business that whatever I say won’t be as funny

Bad Company: with their song; Bad Company, off their album; Bad Company

Benatar, Pat: Always getting her confused with Patti Smith

Black Crowes: I like them for Lickin, but it doesn’t seem to exist outside of one shoddy video on youtube and my old CD

Blackfoot: this band name feels kind of racy

Black Sabbath: Dio was not better or worse than Ozzy; just different

Blondie: I like Call Me, but Blondie confuses me stylistically

Blue Oyster Cult: MORE COWBELL

Bon Jovi: Hello, childhood trauma, I missed you

Boston: ONE GUY. ONE GUY DID IT ALL AND NO ONE KNOWS

Bowie, David: Don’t let your children watch The Man Who Fell To Earth, or David Bowie’s will end up being the third penis they see in life

Browne, Jackson: Another musician ruined by Supernatural

Buffalo Springfield: Jack Nicholson was at the riot they sing about

Burdon, Eric: no ideas, brain empty

Bush: ditto

Candlebox: ditto once more. Who are these people?

Cars: This band feels so gay and so straight at the same time, I can only assume they’re the poster children of bisexual panic

Cheap Trick: I played Dream Police on Guitar Hero so fucking much because it was the only song anyone who played with me could keep up with

Chicago: Chicago 30 exists, but they do not have 30 albums. Fucking riddle me that

Clapton, Eric: 6 discs in one Greatest Hits is too many. That’s called “re releasing your discography”

Cochrane, Tom: For some reason, everyone thinks Rascal Flats did it better

Cocker, Joe: Belushi did it right

Collective Soul: who?

Collins, Phil: If his biggest hits were done by MCR, they would be emo anthems, but because he’s 5′6″ and from the 80s, they’re not

Cream: *Vietnam flashbacks on the hippie side*

CCR: *Vietnam flashbacks on the war side*

CSNY: David Crosby; meh

Deep Purple: THEY’RE SO MUCH MORE THAN SMOKE ON THE WATER

Def Leppard: the only music for when you’re a heartbroken bitch but also a sexy one

Derek And The Dominos: Clapton and ‘Layla’ broke up

Derringer, Rick: Tom Petty if he was from the midwest

Dio: You thought it was an anime reference, but it was me, Dio

Dire Straits: You can tell how bigoted a radio station is based on how much of Money For Nothing they censor

Doobie Brothers: I have yet to smoke weed, but I listen to the Doobies, and I think that’s pretty close

Dylan, Bob: I take back everything I said about him in my youth

Eagles: Hotel California isn’t their best song, but the memes that come from it are second to none

Edgar Winter Group: @the--blackdahlia

Electric Light Orchestra: Actually an orchestra and sound a fuckton like George Harrison

ELO: I really hesitate to ask what happens with the 7 virgins and a mule

Essex, David: no prominent memories of him

Fabulous Thunderbirds: cannot spell

Faces: Who on earth thought that was a good album name?

Faith No More: I got nothing

Fixx: One Thing Leads To Another is a damn bop

Fleetwood Mac: I ain’t straight, but I’m simply not enough of a witch to enjoy them to full potential

Fogerty, John: He got sued cause he sounded like himself

Foghat: Slow Ride slowly becoming less coherent feels like a drug trip

Foo Fighters: He was just excited to buy a grill

Ford, Lita: deserved better

Foreigner: dramatically overplayed

Frampton, Peter: a masterful user of the talk box

Free: dramatically underplayed

Gabriel, Peter: leaving Genesis changed him a lot

Genesis: if someone likes Genesis, clarify the era, because yes, it does matter

Georgia Satellites: sing like you have a cactus in your ass

Golden Earring: Twilight Zone slaps, but it doesn’t slap as hard as this station thinks it does

Grand Funk Railroad: Funk

Grateful Dead: I like their aesthetic more than their music

Great White: there are so many fucking shark jokes

Greenbaum, Norman: makes me think of Subway for some reason

Green Day: the first of the emo revolution

Greg Kihn Band: RocKihnRoll is literally the most clever album name I’ve ever seen

Guns N Roses: They have more than three good songs, but radio stations never recognize that

Hagar, Sammy: I’m still trying to figure out where he lived to take 16 hours to get to LA driving 55 and how fucking fast was he driving beforehand?

Harrison, George: He went from religious to rock, and if he had continued rocking, he would have gotten too cool 

Head East: I respect people who use breakfast foods as album names

Heart: Magic Man and Barracuda are played at least once every goddamn day. They’re not even the best songs!

Hendrix, Jimi: I have both a cousin and a sibling named after Hendrix references

Henley, Don: Dirty Laundry gives me too much inspiration

Hollies: Somehow sound like they’re both from the 60s and the 80s at the same time

Idol, Billy: he’s doing well for himself

INXS: Terminator vibes

Iris, Donnie: knockoff Roy Orbison

James Gang: too many funks

Jane’s Addiction: if TMNT had a grunge band representative

Jefferson Airplane: *assorted cheers*

Jefferson Starship: *assorted boos*

Jethro Tull: The only band to make you feel not cool enough to play the flute

Jett, Joan: icon

J. Geils Band: I requested them on the radio once and it got played

Joel, Billy: he really did just air everybody’s business like that

John Cafferty And The Beaver Brown Band: literally wtf is that name

John, Elton: yarn Elton sits in my basement, unstaring. Please someone take him from me

Joplin, Janis: Queen

Journey: Stop overplaying Don’t Stop Believing. It takes away from the rest of the repetoire

Judas Priest: literally started the gay leather aesthetic

Kansas: another fucking band Supernatural stole

Kenny Wayne Shepherd: the man confuses me to the point where he isn’t in the right place alphabetically

Kiss: Mick Mars and I will simply have to disagree on the subject

Kravitz, Lenny: runaway vibes

Led Zeppelin: Fucking fight me if you don’t think they’re the most talented band (maybe not the most talented individually, but collectively, no one comes close)

Lennon, John: My least favourite Beatle for reasons

Live: I got nothin

Living Colour: slap a decent amount

Loverboy: do you not get TURNT the fuck up to the big Loverboy hits? Who hurt you??

Lynyrd Skynyrd: Sweet Home Alabama is a Neil Young diss track

Marshall Tucker Band: no opinion

Manfred Mann’s Earth Band: VERY STRONG OPINIONS THAT THEY AREN’T GOOD

McCartney, Paul/Wings: Power couple

Meatloaf: I have nothing but respect for a man who willingly named himself Meatloaf

Mellencamp, John: voted cutest lesbian of 1987

Metallica: I liked their appearance on Jimmy Fallon

Midnight Oil: I get them confused for Talking Heads a lot

Modern English: who?

Molly Hatchet: Hollies vibes, but also Georgia Satellites vibes

Money, Eddie: DAN AVIDAN, IF YOU SEE THIS, COVER TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT

Motley Crue: Stan Mick Mars and John Corabi. They’re the only ones who deserve it

Mott The Hoople: no one loves them except for David Bowie

Mountain: props for naming an album ‘Climbing’

Nazareth: I want to make a John Mulaney joke here, but I can never come up with one

Nicks, Stevie: witch queen

Night Ranger: I get them confused with Urge Overkill

Nirvana: Kurt Cobain was the ally grunge needed

Nova, Aldo: he’s Canadian, at least

Nugent, Ted: *serves a ghost as jerky*

Offspring: nothing here

Osbourne, Ozzy: this bitch crazy

Outfield: Your Love is kind of a sketchy song, but it slaps hard

Palmer, Robert: low quality Eddie Money

Pearl Jam: *grunts in Eddie Vedder*

Petty, Tom: I have so many feelings about Tom Petty and they are all good

Pink Floyd: which one is Pink?

Plant, Robert: solo career is a crapshoot, but his voice is unparalleled

Poison: I want them to write a song called ‘Alice Cooper’

Pretenders: I want to say good things, but I have nothing to say

Queen: A doctor of astrophysics, a screaming girl, a disco queen and a diva walk into a bar. It’s Queen; they’re there to play a gig

Queensryche: neutral opinion

Quiet Riot: they got big because of a song they hated. I love that

Rafferty, Gerry: the second-sexiest sax opening in all of music

Rainbow: Ritchie Blackmore created something very magnificent

Ram Jam: one good song and they didn’t even write it

Ratt: I’m sure they have more than Round And Round, but I don’t know it

RHCP: funky, but if you have paid money to hear them, you’re going to The Bad Place (I don’t make the rules)

Red Rider: basically Golden Earring

Reed, Lou: Walk On The Wild Side would be such a cool song if it wasn’t so dull

REM: American Tragically Hip

REO Speedwagon: Props for having a dad joke as an album title

Rolling Stones: Never in my life could I imagine the drummer being named anything but Charlie

Rush: How to make being uncool the coolest fucking shit

Santana: The world needs more Santana

Scandal: There’s something really funny about The Warrior being my brother’s “song” with his girlfriend

Scorpions: Was Wind Of Change written by the CIA? Only the spotify podcast I got an ad for once could say

Seger, Bob: A different variety of Eric Clapton (frankly a better variety, but that’s just me)

Simple Minds: we ALL forgot about you

Skid Row: Sebastian Bach is prettier than all of us

Soundgarden: music that makes you feel like you dunked your head underwater

Springsteen, Bruce: my arch-nemesis. Maybe someday, he’ll find out about it

Squeeze: according to my friends, the stupidest band name ever, but they’re theatre kids, so you know

Squier, Billy: If he can make it through 1984 alive, you can make it through whatever bad day you’re having

Stealers Wheel: Yet another band who I always mistake for George Harrison

Steely Dan: my house’s nickname for the Robber in Settlers Of Catan

Steppenwolf: Either makes me think of Jay & Silent Bob, Jack Nicholson, or that time I had to cut 6lbs of onions

Steve Miller Band: when you’re in the right mood, they slap hard

Stewart, Rod: my soundtrack to summer 2015

Stills, Stephen: Love The One You’re With Is Catchy, but the lyrics are questionable

Stone Temple Pilots: the only band to write a song about goo you smear on yourself

Stray Cats: an obscene amount of merch is available for them

Styx: Supernatural would have ruined them for me too if I hadn’t been into them previously. 

Supertramp: I hunted for Breakfast In America for two years and it was worth every hunt

Sweet: I will never understand my two-month obsession with Ballroom Blitz when I was 15, but it was legit all I listened to

Talking Heads: you may find yourself in a pizza hut. And you may find yourself in a taco bell. And you may find yourself at the combination pizza hut and taco bell. And you may ask yourself; ‘how did I get here?’

Temple Of The Dog: I keep confusing them for Nazareth

Ten Years After: somehow still relevant

Tesla: not the car or the dude

The Beatles: Evokes a lot of opinions from people. Mine is that I love them

The Clash: I showed my sister the ‘Lock The Taskbar’ vine ONCE and it still kills her

The Doors: evokes teenage terror from deep within my soul

The Guess Who: Canada’s answer to confusing question-themed band names

The Kinks: kinky

The Police: wrote the theme of 2020 and everyone somehow forgot it was about a teacher resisting becoming a pedophile

The Ramones: playing all of their songs in a row wouldn’t take more than 2 hours

The Romantics: you don’t think you know them, but if you’ve seen Shrek 2, you have

The Who: If someone can explain Tommy to me, I’d be glad to hear it

The Zombies: I think they happened because of the 60s

Thin Lizzy: Could the boys maybe leave town?

Thorogood, George: blues, but make it modern

Toto: the most memed song behind All Star

Townshend, Pete: just makes me think of the end of Mr. Deeds

T-Rex: Mark Bolan is an icon

Triumph: The no-name brand of Rush

Tubes: like the yogurt

Twisted Sister: they did a christmas album and my mom does NOT hate it

U2: U2 Movers; we move in mysterious ways

Van Halen: RIP Eddie

Van Morrison: honestly, who’s named Van?

Vaughn, Stevie Ray: Steamy Ray Vaughn

Walsh, Joe: The Smoker You Drink The Player You Get

War: Foghat, but even groovier

Whitesnake: the most successful band to be named after a penis

Wright, Gary: the 90s thanks him for writing the song every movie used for the “guy sees cute girl and it’s love at first sight” scene

Yes: To Be Continued

Young, Neil: The best part of CSNY

Zevon, Warren: the album cover of Excitable Boy makes me deeply uncomfortable for reasons I don’t understand

ZZ Top: has been the same three guys since 1969. Lineup unchanged. 

3 Doors Down: They feel a little modern to be on a classic rock station, but whatever

38 Special: Why 38?

[trashyswitch]

Jeremy's Dangerous Job

Jeremy is working one of his first nights on the shift. When the animatronics break into the office, he starts to defend himself and fight to save his own life.

Sooooo...I thought it was FNAF day because it went spreading through the Discord. And...I found out that FNAF day, is actually August 8th. So I feel dumb! But, I still wanted to upload this one because I liked it and cause I wanna! So, I hope you enjoy anyway!

Jeremy looked at the different rooms on the cameras and listened for any sounds of running or clanging.

Nothing so far.

Jeremy straightened up his hat and checked the windows on either side for any animatronics.

Nothing so far.

Jeremy winded up the music box and sighed as he sat down on the chair, growing bored. As much as it calmed him to see no animatronics getting ‘quirky’ as the phone guy told him, it also made his night a little boring. He decided to let his guard down for a few minutes…

Suddenly, Jeremy’s flashlight malfunctioned for a couple seconds! Jeremy’s anxiety heightened for a second as he quickly stood guard. When the flashlight finally turned on, it revealed that Chica was standing there in front of him...just staring at him with its black eyes. Not wanting to get caught, Jeremy kept an eye on the animatronic. He wasn’t entirely worried about Chica being there, so long as he doesn’t get any closer.

He? She? What gender was Chica?

Jeremy paused to wind up the music box again.

Jeremy was pretty sure Bonnie was a female, thanks to the heavy eyelashes it had. Same for Chica. Not only that, but both Bonnie and Chica had ‘eyeshadow’ on. The only difference between the two, was that Bonnie had red blush on, and Chica had pink blush on. Maybe the blush colors help identify the genders? He didn’t know.

Jeremy soon considered just using ‘it’ as a pronoun instead. They shouldn’t be alive, so it shouldn’t be a problem.

Jeremy got out of his thoughts and took a quick flip through a couple cameras:

He winded up the music box up to full before flipping through all the cameras. Bonnie had moved to the party table room, and was now looking at the camera. Wonderful. Not creepy at all. Freddy was nowhere to be seen on the cameras. However, Jeremy wasn't nearly as worried due to Freddy Fazbear not being on any of the cameras near his room. So, he had ‘nothing to worry about!’...for now.

Jeremy put down the monitors and was about to let his guard down again, when a clanging sound quickly filled his ears! He clicked the lights to check the vents, but there was nothing. He pulled out the tablet and checked the vent cameras.

He turned on the flashlight in the right vent: Bonnie was crawling in the right vent.

How did Bonnie get that close?!

He moved to the left vent and turned on the flashlight:

Oh fuck...Chica was crawling in the left vent.

This was NOT good. It was only 3 am. He still had 3 more hours to go!

He checked up on the vents as he looked, checking from both available angles the progress the animatronics had made. Chica and Bonnie seemed to remain still for a bit. So, he took that time to stay on top of the music box. Once that was done, he checked one more time for any progress.

As he checked the vents and the hall, Jeremy’s flashlight malfunctioned again. Damn...that must mean someone’s in the hall. With Bonnie and Chica in the vents, only 1 other animatronic could be in the hall: Freddy.

Jeremy kept an eye on Freddy as he checked the vents for progress. He turned on the right vent light-

BONNIE IS STARING AT HIM.

He tried to reach for the Fazbear head he had, but it was too low!

Suddenly Bonnie jumped at Jeremy, causing him to SCREAM! Jeremy fell out of his chair and scooted away as quickly as he could.

Bonnie kept making animatronic growling noises and stomped its way closer and closer to Jeremy.

“OH FUCK! OH FUCK! GET AWAY! STAY AWAY FROM ME!” Jeremy kicked the animatronic’s leg with the bottom of his foot as hard as he could. But Bonnie barely moved. All Bonnie did was look down at its own leg. It was barely damaged. Not even a scratch mark was on it.

Jeremy scooted another foot back. “St-stay away! I’m warning you!” Jeremy warned, looking around for a weapon of some sort. Suddenly, Jeremy got up and by some miracle, he ran past Bonnie to the desk. He picked up the fan that was there, and unplugged it. “I-I have a…” He looked down at the object. “I have a fan! And I’m not afraid to use it!”

Bonnie tilted his head. “What?”

Jeremy whined a bit. “I- Yeah! A fan! These things are-” Jeremy knocked on the fan and ended up knocking some dust off of it. “Strong.” Jeremy ended his sentence. The dust that fell ended up going into his nose, causing him to bend over and sneeze. “Aaah fuck.”

Suddenly, Freddy walked to the end of the hallway, to the empty door frame. “Hello sir! Welcome to Freddy Faz-”

“AAAAAHH!” Jeremy spun around and hit Freddy right in the face with the fan!

Freddy blinked in surprise as the fan grill stuck onto his nose. “...Fazbear’s Pizza. Are you okay, sir?” Freddy asked.

Jeremy let go of the fan and backed up. “Y-You...can-can TALK?!”

Freddy let out a robotic, yet somewhat realistic chuckle. “We can sing too!” Freddy started singing one of the most popular Fazbear Band’s songs.

Freddy groaned and covered his ears. “I haaate this sooong.” Jeremy complained.

Freddy stopped singing and sent Jeremy a confused look. “Really? Why?”

“Cause they’re so stupid!” Jeremy said back. “The songs bring shame to the entire genre we call rock and roll!”

Chica crawled itself out of the vent and stared at Jeremy. “That’s rude. We sing those songs all the time!”

“I know. They’re overplayed.” Jeremy told them. “I’d rather die than hear that song.”

“Well why didn’t you say so?” Freddy asked as he reached out for him.

Jeremy shouted and ran. “AAAH NO WAIT! THAT’S NOT WHAT I MEANT! I SWEAR!” Jeremy jumped onto the top of the desk and ran down the middle hallway.

“Wow...What a scaredy cat.” Bonnie muttered out loud.

Bonnie laughed. “He probably believes we’re gonna kill them. What a weirdo!” He reacted.

Chica giggled as Freddy rubbed his chin. “Should we go along with it?”

Chica looked at Freddy with excitement in her black eyes. “Yes! That would be so fun! We could make him believe we’re gonna kill him!”

Bonnie smirked. “What should we do when we catch him? Cause if we’re not gonna kill him, we minus well do something.”

Freddy thought for a moment before gasping and squeezing Bonnie’s side. “We could do this thing on him!”

Bonnie looked down and watched as he squeezed. “I...I don’t get it.”

“I’ve seen mothers do it to their kids, in many different spots.” Freddy told them.

Freddy grabbed a cord near the TV, and plugged it into the back of his head. Quickly, a video taken in Freddy’s perspective, showed a kid laughing while his Mom squeezed his sides, before wiggling her fingers on her kids’ socked feet. The kid looked like he was loving it!

“See? It makes them laugh! I don’t know why it does, but we could try it!” Freddy suggested.

“Hmmm...I like it!” Chica replied.

Bonnie looked up at Freddy with curiosity in his eyes. “Okay. And if that doesn’t work?”

“I don’t know.” Freddy responded.

“Let’s go then! He’s already got a big head start!” Chica suggested, climbing up to the hall and running off. Freddy and Bonnie ran after her eagerly.

Jeremy was hiding in the party room, scared to even move. But his fears only escalated as he heard stomping animatronics walking around. “Night guard? Where did you go?” someone asked.

Jeremy widened his eyes and shrunk down more. He wasn’t here. He wasn’t here. He’s not here. “Hmmm...I wonder...is he hiding in the party rooms?” someone else asked. It sounded like it might’ve been Bonnie.

Suddenly, a smaller animatronic came hopping over near his hiding spot. Uh oh...That’s not good. The little animatronic appeared to be Balloon boy. It kept hopping around, looking around for him. When it walked right past him, Jeremy let out a breath of relief and closed his eyes with a smile.

But then…

“Hi.”

Jeremy opened his eyes and just about peed his pants: BALLOON BOY WAS RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM!

“Haha!” Balloon Boy laughed.

Jeremy kicked Balloon Boy down to the ground and immediately got up. “No no no no no no- OH NO-” Jeremy slid right into the arms of Bonnie.

“I got him! Guys! I got him!” Bonnie cheered.

Chica and Freddy ran up to him with smiles on their faces. “Perfect! Now to get you stuffed.” Freddy declared, rubbing his hands together.

Jeremy shrieked and started wiggling and shouting in fear and paranoia. This was it! He was gonna get stuffed into the suit just like those kids, and he was gonna be crushed to death. As Freddy picked him up, Freddy closed his eyes and started begging and praying to himself. Please don’t let him die. Not now, not in the prime of his life!

Suddenly, Jeremy was knocked out of his thoughts by a swinging feeling. Jeremy opened his eyes and yelped as he saw the world around him was upside down! The man had been completely flipped upside down and was being held by Freddy! His shirt was falling up thanks to this unusual circumstance.

“Look at this! This is a grown child! We’ll have lots of room to work with.” Bonnie declared.

“Hey look!” Chica looked at the flipped up shirt that revealed his belly. “Hey wow! This isn’t his skin. This is a skin cover!” Chica reacted. Suddenly, she poked his bare belly.

“What- aaAAEEK! Hey!” Jeremy yelped.

“What? Are you scaaaaarrred?” Chica teased as she squeezed his belly once.

Jeremy pulled his shift back down to cover up his belly. “NOho! Ihi’m not! Stop that!”

“Wow! You were right! Squeezes DO make kids laugh! And it looks like grown children don’t outgrow it! Talk about lucky!” Chica reacted.

Jeremy kept the shirt overtop of his belly. Despite not being able to see the belly anymore, Chica just continued to poke it. Jeremy guffawed in surprise and shook a little. “Dohon’t dohoho that!” Jeremy ordered, letting his left hand go of his shirt and trying to defend his belly.

In response, Chica grabbed his wrist and held him partly up with it. “Look at this!” Chica started poking and scratching his armpit.

“AAHAHAHA! No, let go!” Jeremy started trying to cover up his armpit next with his free right arm. But as soon as Jeremy had started swinging it, Chica had grabbed his hand and pinned it up with his other hand! “NOO! Chica, let go of me! You too, Freddy!” Jeremy ordered.

“Why?” Freddy asked as Bonnie walked up to Jeremy.

Jeremy tried to contort his body away from the blue robot. “Because I did NOT sign up for thihIHIHIHIS!” Jeremy’s protests were interrupted the moment Bonnie had squeezed his side. “NAHAHAHAHAHOHOHO! GEHEHET OHOHOFFFF!”

“No way! We had plans to kill you! And what better way to guarantee a happy ending, than making you laugh?” Freddy told him.

Jeremy shook his head as Freddy let go of his feet. Jeremy’s lower body swung back and forth from the foot drop and lightly hit Chica’s legs as they swung. As soon as his legs and feet were free, Jeremy started kicking wildly. Next, Freddy started scratching his big fingers on both his armpits.

“OHOHO GEHEHEHEEZ NOHOHOHOHO! AAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Jeremy laughed hysterically. “NOHOHOHO TIHIHIHICKLEHEHES!”

Freddy paused his scratching. “What was that?”

Jeremy huffed and panted a little. *huff* “I...H-Huh?”

Freddy knelt down and leaned closer. “What did you say?”

Jeremy widened his eyes and hid his face in his own arm. “NO NO NO! DON’T KILL ME! I’M BEGGING YOU!” he quickly protested.

Freddy hung his head and laughed. “You still think we’re gonna kill you?” Freddy asked.

Jeremy slowly opened one of his eyes. “You-...you’re not...gonna…”

“Why would we kill you? We were meant to entertain children and families! Not kill them!” Chica replied.

Jeremy looked at them. “I...I was told they killed children and stuffed people in suits!” Freddy told him. “I...thought...you were gonna...do that to me.”

“Is that why you hit me with the fan?” Freddy asked.

Jeremy nodded. “I...I had to defend myself somehow.”

“And just for that:” Freddy flicked Jeremy’s forehead.

“Ow.” Jeremy muttered.

“That’s for being a dummy.” Freddy responded. Next, Freddy lifted up Jeremy’s shirt and started squeezing and wiggling his fingers wherever he could reach. “And now I’m gonna treat you like the child you are!”

Jeremy squeaked and squeezed his fists shut while he kicked his feet everywhere. “STAHAHAHAP! IHIHIHI’M SAHAHAHARRYHYHYHYHY! THIHIHIS IHIHISN’T FAHAHAHAHAIR!”

“Assuming we’re killing machines isn’t very fair either! And yet you run away like a coward, and insult us for the songs we sing daily! So now you’re gonna have to deal with what you did.” Freddy responded.

He moved his fingers back to Jeremy’s armpits and tickled them a little more deeply. “AAAHAHAHAHAHAHA! NAHAHAHAT THEHEHE AHAHARMPIHIHITS!” He begged.

“Oh? Still complaining? Well, looks like I’m staying here for a while!” Freddy declared.

While Freddy was tickling his armpits for minutes without stopping, Bonnie had grabbed one of his kicking feet and started removing the shoe. “NOHOHOHO WAHAHAHAIT BOHOHONNIHIHIHIHIE!” Jeremy begged.

“Wait...what? ‘Wait! I’m dying! I’m dying!’?” Bonnie asked.

“YEHEHEHEHESS! IHIHIHI’M DYHYHYHYIHIHING!” He yelled back.

“I have some unfortunate news for you, night guard:” Bonnie pulled off the sock and started tickling his foot. “I don’t care!”

Jeremy squealed like a balloon losing air and immediately fell into a fit of cackles! “AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! YOHOHOHOU’RE KIHIHIHILLIHIHIHING MEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!” Jeremy yelled through his laughs and cackles.

“I know I’m killing you! It’s our ‘goal’!” Freddy responded.

Jeremy ended up stuck in their ticklish grasp for another 20 minutes. Though the tickling seemed almost harsh, it really wasn’t meant to be. Jeremy seemed to have calmed down from his fears. He slowly learned that the animatronics were actually telling the truth: They weren’t gonna kill him. They just wanted to see who was there in the middle of the night and if they were lucky, socialize with them.

But one thing remained unanswered for Jeremy: Were the old animatronics the same way? Were they more social than murderous? Or...did they secretly want him dead?

[betterthinkaboutittwice]

Andrew’s Top 10 Kpop Title Tracks of 2018

Hello again, it’s me. Yes, I’m still trying to make this a thing. Nobody cared in 2015, then my 2016 list got a decent amount of notes, then that dropped off by a lot for my 2017 list, so we’ll see what happens this time. I hope there’s even a couple folks out there that enjoy reading this, but even if there’s not, I still enjoy putting it together and writing it, so here we are. Quick refresher on how this works, I limit myself to title tracks (and/or songs that have a MV and were promoted), link their MVs, and then give a quick write-up of why I picked them, all listed in descending order from 10 to 1. I’ve changed the name from “Top 10 Songs” to “Top 10 Title Tracks” because I’m thinking of doing a separate list for b-sides or non-Korean releases. On that note, let’s get it; list under the break~

10. KHAN - I’m Your Girl?

The tenth spot on my list is always a dogfight, and my honorable mentions list is always long. This year, the debut song for KHAN (composed of former The Ark members Jeon Minju and Euna Kim) won the fight, and I’m not gonna lie, a solid part of why is based in the gay undertones of this song and MV (and honestly, they’re really not undertones, the lyrics are pretty frank about it). Honestly, though, I just really adore the chemistry Euna and Minju have always had together, and I’m so happy they’re back making music together. I’m Your Girl isn’t the fanciest song out there, but it is a bop and a half and will definitely be one of the songs I think of in future when I remember 2018.

9. gugudan - Not That Type

At spot nine, there was another fight, but it was between songs by the same group. The loser of that song will appear in my honorable mentions later. As for the winner, Not That Type was something I’d been hoping gugudan would do ever since they debuted. Their Produce 101 trio (Sejeong, Mina, Nayoung) have always had a certain sass and badassery about them, and even in previous comebacks you could see the other members had it in them, too. This is the song they needed to let it out, and boy did they. This track and MV had an attitude we don’t see much as of late, and the song managed to have that attitude without seeming try-hard or having an overplayed sound. One particular thing it did that I really liked was how it never entered the chorus the same way or on the same beat, keeping the listener on their toes. All in all, a breakout song for gugudan that had to make my list.

8. IZ*ONE - La Vie en Rose

This song, at number eight on my list, took some growing on me. When it came out, I never pictured it being on my Top 10 of the year. In fact, I didn’t even think I’d listen to it much at all. However, there’s just something about it, something about the chorus, that made it unforgettable to me. It worked its way into my brain and wouldn’t leave. Still to this day it won’t leave. It’s quickly become one of my most-played songs of the year. I followed Produce 48 all the way through, and while I wasn’t entirely satisfied with the final lineup, I must say they’ve really grown on me. Whoever produced this song did a brilliant job, because each member has a part that fits them like a glove, and no one really feels either over or under-exposed (though I could certainly ask for a couple more lines for Nako). Just a very solid song from a dynamic group that deserved to make my list.

7. Sunmi - Siren

Dropping in at spot number seven for the second year in a row is everyone’s favorite lesbian and best follow on twitter, Sunmi. Does she release anything other than bops? I think not. She revealed recently that this song was actually originally a Wonder Girls production, and released a quick snippet of the original recording from WG as a band in 2016. While I most definitely wish we could’ve heard the full group’s take on Siren, I’m glad Sunmi revisited the track and made it her own, ‘cause it’s really a stroke of catchy genius. Get away outta my face! More like get away outta my head. I just could not justify keeping this song off my list, not with how often I find myself subconsciously singing or whistling it.

6. WJSN - Save Me, Save You

Another artist that released multiple jams this year, WJSN comes in at number six. While I loved Dreams Come True, there was just something very special about Save Me, Save You. It felt like they finally nailed their sound again. The last time they truly hit it on the head was with Secret, and it feels like they’ve been trying to get back there ever since. Well, they did it here. This track has exactly that dreamlike quality to it, that beautiful cosmic sound that their name would lead you to expect. Add in nearly properly balanced line distribution (except for Dawon, #JusticeForDawon), and a particularly interesting choreography, and you’ve got a recipe for one of the best songs of the year. With their next comeback on the horizon, I’m hoping they can continue the trend.

5. (G)I-DLE - Hann

IDLE really leapt onto the scene in 2018 with their debut, but it’s their followup effort that makes my list at spot number five. The main thing I can say about IDLE is that, as rookies, they have no business being this good. They’re all incredibly talented, their stage presence is off the charts, and both of their title tracks thus far are certified bops. Rookies don’t do that! Yet, here they are. The chorus of Hann is simply unforgettable, both musically and visually. Vocals, raps, visuals, choreo, this song has everything you could ever want and it has them in spades, which is why it leads off the top half of this list.

4. GFriend - Time for the Moon Night

It wouldn’t be a kpop Top 10 without GFriend on it, and here they are at number four. If you’ll recall, I was probably the world’s biggest fan of their first “different” release, Fingertip, naming it my Song of the Year in 2017. TFTMN arrived as their second effort at a more mature concept, and I think they really killed it here. Not only is this track a more mature GFriend, but it is also still very distinctly GFriend. For their entire career, these girls have had a sound all their own, and TFTMN proved unequivocally that they can maintain their signature sound while striding into new conceptual territories, and for that alone it would make my Top 10 of 2018. It certainly isn’t hurt by the fact that the chorus is incredibly memorable, the melancholy-yet-upbeat tone is right up my alley, and the choreo is dope as hell.

3. fromis_9 - Love Bomb

The song that made me fall all the way in love with what is now essentially my second bias group comes in at number three. Honestly, I was actually expecting this to be my Song of the Year for 2018, but a couple other songs reminded me who’s boss. That’s to say nothing against Love Bomb, of course. I mean, imagine a single song making you fall head-over-heels in love with a group whose names you didn’t even know! Going into this release, I legitimately only knew Gyuri (from Produce 48) and Jiwon (way back from SIXTEEN). Now, a couple months later, I know them all better than I ever thought I would. As for the song, this is honestly one of the happiest songs that came out this year. By that I mean that it never fails to put me in a good mood. There’s just something truly special about this song. Moreso even than the song, it’s the girls’ singing; they have a way about them, where they always seem to put feeling into how they deliver lines. I can feel this song, and it wouldn’t change that even if there were no instrumental included; their singing is so incredibly emotional, it’s just special.

2. Chungha - Roller Coaster

The earliest release to make it on my list this year, coming in at number two is one of the bops of a great month of January, Roller Coaster by Chungha. I’ll be honest, this song really had a good argument for being #1 on the list. If producers went into the studio and said “we need to make the perfect song for Andrew,” this is what would’ve come from it. It’s funny, actually, because if you go back to when this was first released, I was lukewarm on it, but now it’s one of my most-listened to songs. The song has nearly every musical element that I love; it’s got that retro sound, those good synths, a gorgeous voice, upbeat, catchy, great choreo. I couldn’t ask for any more, other than to have her do more songs in this style because she absolutely kills it.

1. Red Velvet - Bad Boy

January was truly a great month for kpop songs, and Red Velvet’s Bad Boy has stood the test of time, making it all the way from January to year-end to claim the title of my Song of the Year for 2018. As I said when Bad Boy dropped, “Well fuck. Good luck, literally everyone else. I don’t see this being passed up as my song of the year for 2018.” Here we now stand, and that holds true. I said that Roller Coaster is the perfect “me” song, and it is. Bad Boy, though, is the perfect “me” song for my other main love in kpop; laid-back R&B. Everyone always seems to love the Red side of their music more, but I’ve always been about the Velvet side, and Bad Boy really gave me the perfect Velvet song. It’s everything I ever wanted from Red Velvet, and I’m not sure they’ll ever pass it up for me.

We’re at the end! As always, if you’ve read to this point, I love you, I thank you, and bless you. I’m not a professional writer or music critic, but I love putting together this list every year, and even if only one person reads it and finds it truly interesting, then it was worthwhile. I’m very proud of this list and the work I put into it, and I just hope y’all enjoy it. I began this list on January 1st, but it is now the 2nd (this seems to be a theme for me with this). That said, I wish you all a happy new year, and here’s to another great year of kpop!

Honorable Mentions

MOMOLAND - Bboom Bboom, gugudan - The Boots, CLC - Black Dress, Jeon Soyeon - Idle Song, J-Hope - Daydream, NCT 127 - Touch, DAY6 - Shoot Me, TWICE - Dance the Night Away, SNSD-Oh!GG - Lil’ Touch, Oh My Girl - Remember Me, TWICE - Yes or Yes, Yubin - Thank U Soooo Much, MAMAMOO - Wind Flower

[god-hunter]

Hybrid Theory - 2000

This was an amazing band that took me completely by surprise.  My little 15 year old heart didn’t know how to handle it.  It was the band I didn’t know I needed.  And they were right there at a time when I really needed music that spoke to me.

On this album specifically.  Every song spoke to me.  Not only that.  Everything was so good!  This band was different.  They were new.  They were fresh!

They combined Rock and Rap and did it well!  I thought this was it.  This was the future of music man!!  And the future definitely looked bright, in my little 15 year old eyes.

Almost every song on this album became a hit on the radio.

My absolute favorites are Papercut, One Step Closer, With You, Crawling, Runaway, Myself, In the End, Forgotten and Pushing Me Away.

That literally leaves out 3 songs, which are still great.  And they are - Points of Authority, A Place for My Head and Cure for the Itch.

This album went fucking Platinum man.  The World..  LOVED this band.

Chester Bennington’s vocals had a nice blend of being swooning and pretty, while also having the ability to create a harder edge, and an unforgettable scream that still gives me chills to this day.

Mike Shinoda was the 2nd vocalist, who was more noted for his rapping mic skills.  However, that too was something of an evolution.  Eventually Mike sang too and proved to have quite a nice voice, for songs that needed a different flavor.

The rest of the band members were also very good on their instruments.  The music was not always complicated, but it certainly was innovative and very creative.

Hybrid Theory was an amazing album, and honestly... I think we’re all better people for having it in our lives.

It’s no secret that I’m super biased about this album.  But I’ll try my best to talk about the track list without gushing about every song.

Papercut - We start with an awesome drum sample, and a sweet guitar line that only gets added to with a great verse riff.  Mike Shinoda runs us through the 1st verse in an awesome rap and Chester takes over for the chorus.  It’s still rapping, but it’s melodic.  This was different, energetic, awesome and fun.  The song raps in this fashion until we reach the bridge, where Chester takes us away with a great line.  “The Sun goes down.  I feel the light betray me.”

That’s about it.  The familiar raps are layered over this, but the whole thing comes to a building climax before it’s over.  And that was just track one!

One Step Closer - This was the major hit on the radio that everyone fell in love with, including me.  Great guitar riff, and full-on ensemble build.  Chester handles the verse with a melodic rap.  It’s not even a rap.  It’s just fast singing.  This was the typical nu-metal song.  Simple guitars underneath more vocally driven parts.  And for the moment, it absolutely worked and was done right with these guys.  What is most memorable in this song is the break where Chester shouts, “SHUT UP! SHUT UP WHEN I’M TALKIN’ TO YOU!!”  I’d be remiss not to bring up the chorus that has a joint energy to it with the singing and fast rapping.  “Everything you say to meeee” “Takes me one step closer to the edge. And I’m about to break!”

With You -  The flow on this album is great.  Mike Shinoda takes over from here, for a nice rap in the first verse.  Chester takes on the chorus.  The song is heavy for a main refrain (and chorus), but the verses are calm and somber.  It pulls at the heart-strings of adolescence.  “So even though you’re close to me, you’re still so distant.  And I can’t bring you back!”  Yep...  That was definitely a real teenage feeling for me.

Points of Authority - This one picks up practically from the end of With You.  I don’t love the breathing sound effect in the beginning, but Shinoda talks you into a build into the song.  “Forfeit the game before somebody else takes you out of the race... Puts your name to shame. Cover up your face. You can’t run the race. The pace is too fast, you just won’t last.”  From there, guitars take us away, and Chester sets us up.  “You looove the way. I look at you..”  And this song goes back and forth between Chester and Mike about a shitty relationship.  It was good man.  “You live what you learned.”  This is exactly what I needed at 15.

Crawling - This was I think, the 2nd major radio hit off of this album, which has been SO Overplayed, that its still heard to this day.  People can’t get enough of it.  Or just radio stations. I can’t tell.  But either way...  I used to love this song, when I first heard it.  And here’s why.

There’s a nice build with electronic samples and a sweet orchestral string builds us in.  Then the guitar takes over and Chester has this awesome melodic scream, as he actually sings notes with a hard edge.  “Craaaawling in my skiiiin. These woooounds, they will not heeaaal”.  The verse is calm and subdued.  Only drums and light synth samples or what-hav-you.  Chester sings beautifully.  More adolescence.  More angst.  It’s very good.  Each verse builds into the already recognizable chorus.  It’s SO easy to learn and just dive right in.  You can join Chester right away on a first listen on each chorus refrain.  And then the song is over.

Runaway -  But then Runaway kicks in.  The flow is so smooth, I feel like I’m in a movie.  This one became a radio hit, too, and was overplayed as well.  Another nice build with electronic sounds, drums and then guitars.  The groove is more funky and upbeat, which I appreciate.  Chester sings swiftly and the whole thing is very sing-songy.  Honestly, I listen back to it, and just sort of makes me happy.  Mike doesn’t offer much for back-ups, but his voice is there. “You point the finger at me again!” 

Myself - To this day, I still think of this beginning riff randomly.  It’s so heavy and awesome. The rest of the song.. is just alright.  There’s definitely an anvil in the background, which would rival that of Fear Factory, believe it or not.  But this is definitely Linkin Park.  The verse immediately goes into rap ballad groove, for Mike to take us away.  Chester joins in with an awesome Chorus and Post-Chorus part.  The song literally spikes up in energy and comes back down.  At least twice.  We end on a cool chorus, and this song was very heavy.  I’m glad it wasn’t a radio hit though.  It makes this one special.

In the End - I fucking LOVED this song.  It quickly became the thing that Everyone of my generation, and future generation, wanted to learn on the piano.  This was an awesome collab on Mike & Chester’s part.  “It starts with one thing...”  (I won’t go through it.  I’d have to do the whole song.)  But good GOD. As a Teenager, this song was my Answer!  It spoke to me.  I cried to this song man...  I fuckin’...  ran and hit stuff to this song.  I worked out to this song.  It has heart wrenching guitars, awesome drums, good build and momentum from the rapping.  The chord choices and notes were perfectly placed...  Everything WORKED here.  And thats why people will always, and forever remember this band as something special.

A Place For My Head - This song somewhat falls short after such a climactic song.  It’s always hard to follow up on something great.  But still, this one is a decent contender.  It starts with bass, which is nice and different.  No other song on this album does that.  Drums and turn table join in the build to the actual beat.  Shinoda takes us away with an interesting rap verse.  Chester joins in for a chorus and adds back ups to other verses.  It definitely has an angry energy to it, and it shows why it wasn’t a radio hit.  Just not catchy enough.  But not catchy does not equal not good.  Also... There is a very notable break with just string samples as Chester says, “You try to take the best of me, go away.”  Then he finally screams “GO AWAY!”  Before we’re taken into the final parts.

Forgotten - “From the top to the Bottom!”  This song is AWESOME.  I love the energy on this song, still to this day.  I just don’t like how it ends.  Perfect blend of heavy rock and groovy rap.  Honestly, this is something that Lost Prophets was copying (or doing at the same time...) on their first album.  I really enjoyed this energy.  I wouldn’t have mind if they kept on in this direction, but that was not the case.  ...the Chorus... is fine.  But it’s sort of positive and a little too happy sounding for me.  And it just kind of ends on that note, which felt weird.  But overall, I didn’t mind.

Cure for the Itch - This one was a weird instrumental, which I really liked a lot.  I say weird, because the whole band made it a big point to introduce their special guest, “Mr. Hahn.”  Which... didn’t really seem to make much sense at the time.  Mr. Hahn comes on the turntable and does all these cool effects with drums, which are definitely interesting.  Then there’s a silly sample that says, “Alright now. Wasn’t that fun?  Let’s try something else.”

That’s where this piece opens up into something really interesting when strings come in. Piano too.

Mr. Hahn shows us what he’s got, and it’s definitely something special...

It left us on an introspective note as this one fades out into the finale.

Pushing Me Away -  That would be, “Pushing Me Away”.  it was a great last song, which brought the whole experience together.  The perfect, Falling Action to a storybook, if you will.

We had their typical build with a nice sample effect, then the whole group slamming in with an awesome strum on the guitars.  Chester sings this one in the lower register, and I think that’s what makes this one very memorable too.  Mike Shinoda joins with quick raps underneath that serve as sort of a back-up, which really amplify the song before the chorus chimes in.  “Why I never walked away. Why I play myself this way. Now I see.. You’re testing me..  Pushes me away!!!”

It was a beautiful song.  And it came to a close at exactly the right time.  The first sample sound, which brought you into this song is left alone and closes you out.

And that was the whole album.  

Your left with the silence after all that good, solid music.

It practically felt like one great song.

It was so awesome.  I loved it.  My little teenage self couldn’t get enough of it.

Half a life later, in my 30′s I barely listen to it...  But I didn’t forget about it.

This album was a special stepping stone in my life to grow on.

And grow I did.  Along with them...

Come 2002, Linkin Park offered something a little different to the table in Meteora.  But I welcomed it with open arms.