#the title is from “Monkey gone to Heaven” by Pixies

[ananke-xiii]

If man is five, then the devil is six, and if the devil is six then god is seven…

(general content warning: this post is about "The Substance" which is a body horror movie so I will mention blood&other stuff)

I was very curious about “The Substance” because everything about it, from the trailer to the music, from the actors to the visuals, promised something veeery good. At the same time, however, I was also a bit anxious because the internet content my algorithm had decided for me seemed to suggest that the movie was great for two major reasons: its references to 80s movies and its critique of the toll the beauty industry exacts on women. And I was like “Okay, fine but I hope it’s more than that” and I’m happy to say that it totally is!

Before watching the movie I wrote that, based on the information I had at the time, the movie’s core theme seemed to be the myth of Demeter and Persephone. After having watched the movie I can confirm my theory, although what I watched was a bit different than the usual interpretation of said myth. There are a lot of GREAT movies about the theme of woman/duality but, as far as I remember and as far as I personally know, in almost all these movies the main element is the relationship between two women (which is amazing and I wouldn’t ever change that). This is not (just) what I’ve seen in “The Substance”.

I think that the main element in the movie is the impact that the negation of natural cycles has on people. It’s not just the beauty industry that denies us to embrace the cycles of life (we can’t stay young forever, this is just an obvious fact that we all know), it’s the whole system we live in which doesn’t accept change and favors replacement of what’s known for something similar (and therefore considered “normal”) against the exploration of what’s new and different (and therefore considered “abnormal”.) In our society a “normal” thing like aging thus becomes “abnormal”… monstrous.

Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley are PHENOMENAL and I truly hope more and more awards come their way because they deserve them all. However, what struck me the most is how the movie doesn’t rely on dialogue at all, everything and I mean everything it’s in the visuals, the photography, the movements, the body. Coralie Fargeat really had a clear vision inside her mind and she managed to transfer that vision from her own inner world to the outside world. While I was watching the movie I had the feeling that all the people working on it were doing their best to give birth to her vision and it was a fantastic thing to watch.

What I personally took from this vision of hers is that, to the surprise of probably nobody, the main character of the movie is the Substance itself. So what is this mysterious Substance exactly? The first “surprise” is that it’s not merely a thing, a miraculous product but it’s a process. It’s a routine that one must stick to without fail. The balance must be respected: it’s a commandment that demands respect and that doesn’t even bother to tell you what the consequences might be in the event said balance is disrespected. Just obey it.

Elisabeth means “God is my oath” and this is what she does in the movie: she promises that she will respect the balance and obvisoulsy things won't go well. But Elisabeth also means “God is perfection”, “God is seven” so I want to take a look at what this means in the movie.

The process that taking the Substance entails has different stages: the first one is taking the Activator which, the movie tells us, must be taken only ONCE. Once the Activator has been used Elisabeth’s body gives birth to Sue, who’s not only herself but a “better version” of herself, the version she dreams about, perhaps. The Activator stands for the Aristotelian concept of semen as an “activator”, the “active principle”, the thing that creates and gives life and shape form while matter is the passive aspect of the process, the thing that get molded and shaped. The Activator also stands for God: Eve from Adam, Sue from Elisabeth.

Like Creation took seven days to be completed, the process of the Substance lasts seven days after which the balance must be restored. So this specific Creation seems to be a little bit imbalanced to my taste: the weight given on the Created is way too big, the process’ targets seem to be both desperate, lonely people and obedient, docile people. The combination of blind desperation and required obedience is a recipe for disaster. The balance never was balanced in the first place: as ALWAYS the game is rigged.

But seven is not just a biblical number, it’s a magical numbers in many different traditions. 7 times 4 is 28 and oh, look! These are days of the lunar month! There are also the days of an "average"(more or less, it's very difficult to define "average" when it comes to menstrual cycles but I digress) menstrual cycle. If I’m not mistaken Elisabeth starts the process in May, during full spring, while things precipitate at the beginning of winter… on Dec 31st, New Year’s Eve according the solar calendar.

As I’ve said, this movie, at least to me, speaks about time and its cycles and specifically about how societal time is not in tune with nature's time. Elisabeth is 50 and, even if it’s not said, it’s implied that she’s reached menopause, aka the end of her menstrual cycle, a cycle of life that society has decided to be the period when a woman stops being a palatable object of desire. A period of life that's undesirable. Fertility and desire are connected in a way that’s supposed to be “normal” and “natural” but that it’s clearly not. On the other hand, Sue is not a better version of Elisabeth but the version of Elisabeth that society deems palatable. Society wants to eat Sue and Sue wants to eat Elisabeth and be done with her.

One of the things that I loved about the movie is that it used the snake symbolism in such a brilliant way, like I was “woah!”. “The Substance” starts with one egg that, after being pricked with a syringe containing the Activator, becomes two. Moving on, the chicken has a prominent role in the story and it’s mainly associated with Elisabeth, but I really, really enjoyed how the film subtextually framed Sue as a snake that doesn’t eat eggs/chickens but that… eats herself.

Sue doesn’t come from Elisabeth’s rib but from her spinal column. The scar that’s left on Elisabeth’s body is serpentine in form and, of course, it is believed that the Kundalini snake “rests” at the beginning of the spine, in the lumbar area, and, if awaken, raises its head until it reaches the skull. Sue and Elisabeth, but specifically Sue because of her misuse and her desire to eat Elisabeth/herself, feed off the other’s cerebrospinal fluid that’s collected via a lumbar puncture. So what Sue is basically doing is feeding off Elisabeth’s Kundalini energy, which is a sexual energy. An energy, thus, very much connected to desire, fertility and pleasure.

Another thing that I have ADORED is precisely that, the choice of the cerebrospinal fluid. I mean, the easiest, most obvious way would be using blood for its blatant reference to menstrual blood and life but not! Fargeat knows what she’s doing and, instead, she uses the bathroom as the primary location in the show but she doesn't use blood to show Elisabeth and Sue's relationship. I can’t speak for everyone but personally, as a woman, a girl and a kid I’ve always had the closest relationship with bathrooms. I used to do everything in the bathroom, even to hide there and this is what Elisabeth/Sue also does to the point that Sue fucking builds a secret room inside her bathroom to...hide herself/Elisabeth. Genius!!!

Of course, blood is still central in the movie but its main usage is saved for the last scene. Monstro ElisaSue doesn’t make it to the new year because Time as construed by society doesn’t allow monstrosity. Elisabeth and Sue can live provided that they are separate and they obey and respect the balance. They cannot live together, in fact living together as in One person is seen as a monstrosity. You, quite literally, cannot be yourself AND the self society deems it's your "better version". Humans must stay divided, severed, separated in themselves first and foremost because the balance feeds off this separation, this is why the game must stay rigged. If there’s nothing to compare against there is no need for a scale.

So yeah, to me this movie is surely about the issues with the beauty industry today but this is just a facet of a bigger, deeper, more complex issue: cycles can only happen in nature, they’re just a convention because we need a calendar to mark the days and control the people but the same people cannot live their natural cycles. Life itself is denied to them. They must stay young and beautiful and perfect. Forever.

[gerogerigaogaigar]

The Pixies - Doolittle

Way back when I said that Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain was the best rock album of the 90s I did a little google search to remind me whether this album came out in 89 or 90 to see if I had to amend that to second best. Doolittle is one of my top ten albums of all time. The atmosphere maintains a sense of apocalyptic intensity even at its calmest moments. From the manic screaming on Tame right to the surf punk of Wave Of Mutilation. There are deceptively intellectual themes running through Doolittle too. Death, and torment run through the whole album with a strong focus on biblical violence. Dead recalls the story of David and Bathsheba in brief which leads to the the most amazing lyric of all time "Uriah hit the crapper". Gouge Away is about Samson and Delilah, and Monkey Gone To Heaven alludes to biblical numerology. A lot of lyrics are also deliberately vague leaving the meaning of the songs obscured surrealist imagery. Wave Of Mutilation according to Frank Black is about businessmen driving their cars into the ocean to commit suicide and Here Comes Your Man is about homeless people dying in an earthquake. All of this says nothing about how catchy these cryptic songs are. The melding of punk, alternative, surf rock, and generous use of triads and Hendrix chords leads to a discordant but focused album that manages to be infinitely catchy despite being extremely noisy. More than anything Doolittle, despite being fairly eclectic with it's sound, evokes a very cohesive mood. It's a weird simmering anxiety that sometimes bubbles to the surface but is never relieved. All of punk and alternative music has come home to roost in Doolittle and honestly if music had stopped right after it released that would have been fine.

The Wailers - Catch A Fire

There were a number of reggae acts in the early 70s that managed significant international success, but none quite as universally as Bob Marley and his band The Wailers. Catch A Fire was their fifth album, but it was the first to make it big in the states. The production is slightly nicer and that definitely allows Bob Marley's soulful voice to shine through. Marley definitely had a richer texture to his voice than most of his contemporaries and that likely helped him become a household name.

Black Sabbath - Paranoid

I'm gonna go ahead and say it. This album is overrated. After War Pigs we get two completely throw away tracks before hitting a sort of stride and then ending on the fantastic Faeries Wear Boots. Honestly most of this album is good but not great. I like it, but I don't think it quite stacks up to their debut, Master Of Reality, or Heaven And Hell.

Madonna - The Immaculate Collection

Hey Rolling Stone, can i ask a question? What the fuck do you think you are doing? You already put two Madonna albums on this list and now you're saying a hits collection tops them both? Every album she released in the 80e was good actually. You could have put one of those on here. Her self titled debut, Like A Virgin, and True Blue are all worthy of being on this list. If you scrubbed some of the outright garbage from this list you'd have room for all three of them and more!

Adele - 21

An album that is bad all the way through is just bad, and an album that is bad with one or two good tracks is frustrating, but opening with two very strong songs and then delivering nothing but banal piano ballads for the rest of the album? Thats torture. It makes me so mad that Rolling In The Deep and Rumor Has It are really good songs that show off a blues rock side of Adele that she never ever visits again. If orgasm denial was an album it would be 21 by Adele.

[tweepunkgrl]

“come and get me” official playlist

the most depressing jayrae fic i ever came up with and it has the most emotional playlist i ever came up with. and since i don’t think i’ll ever write a full fic for it, i thought this playlist would perfectly describe how the story starts and ends! i also think this is like a perfect example how music can help write and develop a story whenever you’re stuck

1. if you want it by jay som

“i’ll only come around, if you want it.”

i really don’t understand what this song actually means, and i’m not sure if jay som knows as well. but the line “if you want it” sounds very seductive. i imagine this as the beginning of the jayrae affair

2. triptych by samia

“i would give up to every man i love, i take what i can get… i get what i want, and your girlfriend too. make a predator of me, i’ll be good to you.”

i read somewhere that samia called this song “a cry for help.” there’s this kind of sadness, loneliness in this song that’s begging for connection. i feel like this is raven in the story, and all the things that would lead her to having an affair.

3. bizarre love triangle by new order

“every time i think of you, i feel shot right through with a bolt of blue”

this song is about a love triangle? it’s also a bop. it’s also the type of song i imagine jason and raven listening to (i have it in my head that they’re a bit pretentious)

4. posing in bondage by japanese breakfast

“can you tell i’ve been posing this way alone for hours? waiting for your affection. waiting for you.”

no, this song isn’t actually about bondage. it’s about an emotional bondage? wanting to be close to someone. this is probably how raven feels about jason.

5. swimmer by tennis

“some summer you have planned for me, emptied into the sea”

this is the affair. it’s happening. and while it’s filling raven with love, it’s eventually gonna leave her feeling completely empty

6. monkey gone to heaven by pixies

“if man is 5… then the devil is 6”

just some tunes i think jason plays when he’s smoking a cigarette with raven at his place. this is also my fave pixies song

7. standing next to me by the last shadow puppets

“want her, have her, two years have gone now but i can’t relate to the never-ending games that you play”

jason x rose x raven

8. why are sundays so depressing by the strokes

“i want your time. don’t ask me questions that you don’t want the answers to”

i imagine this song from jason’s pov. he’s also not doing well. raven’s not the only one with issues.

9. real men by mitski

“though honestly, sir, all i wanna do is get naked in front of you. so you can look me up and down and give me your love for being so good”

i’m currently writing a short one-shot with the title from this song. really this song is about toxic masculinity, i think it also touches on how women are also effected by it. but yes, it’s from raven’s pov. (i also had a one night stand and played this on repeat on my walk home)

10. party police by alvvays

“you don’t have to leave, you could just stay here with me. forget all the party police, we can find comfort in debauchery”

tbh, haven’t we ever felt like a lot for a person that it kind of made us feel desperate? that’s this song, and it’s raven feeling completely down b/c of how much she feels

11. you’re so great by blur

“sad drunk and poorly, not feeling so great”

this is jason, and yes, he’s got issues

12. night signs by the ophelias

“you take me to the same place each time. we walk with our hands up, night signs. you smile at the full moon, nice try. you know what you’re doing and you know i’m right”

this is near the end of the affair, and it’s making raven feel bad.

13. anything by sza

“keeping’ up is hard to do. even harder feeling heavy, steady, chasin’ you. why are you lookin’ around, you lonely? i feel you comin’ down like honey. do you even know i’m alive?”

i’ll be fine one moment, and then listen to crtl and feel incredibly sad. but i love sza. i associate this song with a long time crush i had on a man who worked at a record store who probably never thought much of me (he already have a gf). but this song just perfectly reflects how raven, at this point, is feeling about her affair.

14. wide open by the chemical brothers

“i’m wide open, but don’t i please you anymore? you’re slippin’ away from me. you’re driftin’ away from me”

yeah, the affair is over

15. i wish i never met you by babygirl

“in an alternate reality, i pass you on the street and our eyes don’t meet”

at this point, i’m sure jason and rose are engaged. and this is raven processing everything.

16. drunk walk home by mitski

“and i sit on the curb ‘cause it’s the prettiest night, with no one else in sight. you know i wore this dress for you. these killer heels for you”

this would be after the engagement party, when raven goes home after her talk with jason. i know this song may be hard to get into at first, but it’s mitski is so angry and unhinged in this song. i think it’s perfect.

17. used to by wilma laverne miner

“you had me right where you wanted, until you wanted something else. someone easier to live without”

raven and jason haven’t seen each other, and it’s for the best. raven is getting her shit together.

18. speaking terms by snail mail

“say what you gotta. sleep in somehow. leave things on speaking terms and i’ll see you around”

i had this song on repeat when i wrote the first one-shot. this song is about a conversation between two people after a failing relationship. this is similar to “conversations with friends,” which is the book that inspired this whole fic. but i also imagine raven and jason ending like this.

so yeah, no happy ending

[i-am-hamishwatsonholmes]

SPELL OUT YOUR URL IN SONG TITLES FROM YOUR LIBRARY.

I - I Am The Resurrection, by The Stone Roses

A - Abab, by KSMB

M - Making Plans For Nigel, by XTC

H - Habits (Stay High), by Tove Lo

A - Add It Up, by Violent Femmes

M -  Mambo Sun, by T. Rex

I - I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor, by Arctic Monkeys

S - Sæglopur, by Sigur Rós

H - Half a Person, by The Smiths

W - Walk Away, by Franz Ferdinand

A - Adult Diversion, by Alvvays

T - Teenage Riot, by Sonic Youth

S - Search and Destroy, by The Stooges

O - Ocean Eyes, Billie Eilish

N - Nærmere Deg, by Raga Rockers

H - Hall of Mirrors, by The Distillers

O - Old Friend, by Rancid

L - Labyrinth, by The Cure

M - Monkey Gone To Heaven, by The Pixies

E - Ever Fallen In Love, by Buzzcocks

S - Serotonin, by Mystery Jets

OMG my URL is so long this was great. Some serious Hamish jams in here too.

TAGGED BY @gunmetclgrey​ TAGGING : @notyouraveragesecretary​, @notasoldierseverin​

[buffyscmmers]

Rules: spell out your url with song titles and tag ten people tagged: by the wonderful @eizagonzalezs​​ (❤️) tagging: anyone that feels like doing this xx

bartender - lana del rey untouched - the veronicas fluffy - wolf alice from eden - hozier your best american girl - mitski somebody to love - queen clementine -halsey monkey gone to heaven - pixies make me your queen - declan mckenna ever fallen in love - the buzzcocks ribs - lorde shrike - hozier

[jefferyryanlong]

Fresh Listen - Lovehandles, Seafoam on Speakerphone (2010) 

(Some pieces of recorded music operate more like organisms than records. They live, they breathe, they reproduce. Fresh Listen is a periodic review of recently and not-so-recently released albums that crawl among us like radioactive spiders, gifting us with superpowers from their stingers.)

Sometimes the best songs say less about the convictions of the singer, and more about the secret wish that burns in the singer’s heart.

I think of Bob Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s a Gonna Fall.” If you pierce through the trappings of the hoary soothsayer, the prophecy he raps, and yodels for emphasis, is meant to be instructive, not necessarily foretold. “I saw a newborn baby with wild wolves all around it”; “I saw a highway of diamonds with nobody on it”; “I saw a roomful of men with their hammers a-bleedin’.” Throughout the song, you can hear the naked hope that events might lead to a more promising outcome if we pay attention, apply the symbology to the reality. “Hard Rain” is a warning, but it isn’t meant as a death sentence.

You can hear the same wish in the first track of Lovehandles’s first and only collection of songs arranged as a full-length record, Seafoam on Speakerphone. Under the auspices of his musical alter-ego, Tommy Yasuhara sings, on “Do What’s Natural,” “if you hold my hand you’ll understand / it’s all part of a plan.” At first listen, it may seem that Tommy is attributing the mostly misremembered episodes of a life to a predestined narrative conceived by a higher power. As a songwriter, though, Tommy is too interested in the ambiguity of existence to propose thoughtlessly surrendering to ideology. “Do What’s Natural” is surely a leap of faith, but, in very elemental terms, it simply illustrates the minor miracles inherent in living: fresh fruit flesh, hot cocoa in a warm room while the snow builds up on the windowpane. What’s important is that conscious action is required of us—the exercise of agency—to complement any experience. To live requires participation, not surrender.

“Do What’s Natural” initiates a kind of sonic continuity on Seafoam on Speakerphone. Reminiscent of Smog’s A River Ain’t Too Much to Love in the minimalism of its arrangements—mostly an exuberantly strummed baritone ukulele with ad hoc percussion (drums and machines, handclaps) and the occasional keyboard, kazoo, or recorder for coloring. Seafoam also carries forward Smog / Bill Callahan’s penchant for humor and deep reflections with an economy of words—some of which may first seem superficial—conveying big messages.

Contrasted to Callahan’s deep-earth baritone is Tommy’s equally resonant tenor, one of the sweetest set of pipes ever to be downloaded onto MySpace. Tommy effortlessly activates his vocal cords toward yearning soulfulness, deadpan bemusement, and punk-rock outrage, sometimes within the same song.

But one of the greatest songs on Seafoam is the record’s last track (also on the SoftSpots bandcamp sampler), an instrumental called “Lost Dog.” Tommy’s voice here is replaced by a four-note whistle, which appears only at the beginning and the end of the song. In-between is a finger-picked odyssey of masterful repetition and subtle variation. These snuck-in notes may be calculated in the abstract, but they come across on “Lost Dog” as improvisatory and inspired. At the risk of overstatement, the song is a compositional and technical achievement, not only in the context of Seafoam, but the as part of the entire Lovehandles catalog (of which there are literally hundreds of songs, most of them criminally unavailable). “Lost Dog” is a Fahey-esque guitar piece that doesn’t simply ape the master—it expands the emotional potentialities of the form.

Age and growth are the subjects of “Holiday on the Holodeck,” in which Tommy imagines the perfect celebration with friends and family across multiple time periods and places, getting nearer to the essence of the past as he moves farther away from it. Unfortunately, he’s unable to successfully replicate his idealized surroundings, nor the people that inhabit his fantasy space: “I couldn’t program it,” he chants at the end, coming to grips with the impossibility of his wish.

Instrumentally, “Asian Superstore” is the fullest track on Seafoam, with busy bongos competing with a syncopated marimba, and a single maraca holding the beat together. True to its title, the song is a celebration of the family-owned food mart and its superiority over the supermarkets and price clubs that are in a constant state of being built in every neighborhood. This kind of subject matter is exactly Tommy’s cup of meat. As an artist, his point is to ensure listeners take notice of the normally overlooked treasures of our American lives.

“Ladder on Wheels” is a pointless thought experiment, partially redeemed by a brief recorder solo near the end. Tommy goes toward raw Impressionism in “Hot Water,” a meditative sketch on the potential end of a relationship. The gentle rap of the cymbals recreates the stream of water and doubt that can fall upon one in isolation.

“My Little Cuckoo” is the first of Seafoam’s “avian trilogy.” A trifle of a song, “My Little Cuckoo” describes how a kind of strangeness can be the defining characteristic of an object of affection. Rockabilly punk, accented by an energetic and open hi-hat, fuels “Chicks Through the Grinder,” a commentary on the industrialized food sourcing that devalues the animals we eat and dehumanizes us as consumers in the process. Despite the heaviness of the lyrics, “Chicks Through the Grinder” is a fast, fun song—I can’t recall the numbers “six” and “seven” being expressed with such significance and intensity, since Black Francis laid down his vocal in the Pixies’s “Monkey Gone to Heaven.”

Closing out the “avian trilogy” is “No One’s Ever Innocent,” a contemplation of human capitalizing and exploiting, in seemingly harmless ways, the environment. In this case, a hummingbird feeder when winter hardens the sugar water: “Everything that we’re doin’ / somehow causes ruin / even when it’s not what we meant.” Over the course of just a few minutes, the song evolves into a metaphor on relationships, the harm we do to others when we attract them and try to keep them around. By eliminating the freedom that drew us to someone in the first place, we end up killing the core of the inspiration for our love.

On its surface, “Stay Home,” near the end of the record, espouses domestic tranquility. In the context of “Hot Water,” though, (a repeated “am I leaving you?”) and “No One’s Ever Innocent’s” zen-like expression of human-animal and human-human relationships, “Stay Home” resounds more like a deep-seated hope than a literal depiction, somewhat too rosy, of things as they truly are.

Which reinforces the strongest message of Seafoam on Speakerphone: that hopes, desires, and all the things around us that are in our possession and are forever beyond our possession require our attention, and with that, care, effort, and struggle, so that they can glow with true worth and possibility. These small components that sum up to a life—to make them real, Tommy, or Lovehandles, asks us to open our hearts. When we work at these moments of realization and visceral pleasure and doubt and confusion and pain, we might, despite falling short at times, have a short glimpse at meaning. And maybe even make it through okay.    

[surveys-r-us]

anotha one

Shuffle survey, answer with song titles (from bzoink)

What will each day of this week be like for you?: Sunday: Cruel - Snakehips and ZAYN Monday: Budapest - George Ezra Tuesday: Missed the Boat - Modest Mouse Wednesday: Georgia - Vance Joy Thursday: Stockholm - Judah & the Lion Friday: Someday - Sugar Ray Saturday: Heaven - Khalid

Questions About Next Week (Continue to answer in songs) Will you accomplish something?: Roll On - Kid Rock Will you get in trouble for anything?: Mono - Courtney Love Will you hang out with your friends?: All That You Are - The Goo Goo Dolls Will you kiss anyone?: Make You Feel My Love - Adele Will you go on a date?: Everything Is Everything - Phoenix Will a secret admirer come forward?: With A Little Help From My Friends - The Beatles Will you get a compliment? What will it be about?: How to Fight Loneliness - Wilco Will you get a good grade on a test?: blushing! - BETWEEN FRIENDS What will your relationship status be like?: Gold - Chet Faker How will you get along with your parents / family?: Dirty Laundry - All Time Low Will you learn anything new?: My Kinda Party - Jason Aldean What will be your greatest challenge?: Stupid Boy - Cassadee Pope What are you looking forward to?: Fans - Kings of Leon What is the most exciting thing that will happen?: Summertime Sadness - Lana Del Rey What is the worst thing that will happen?: It’s The Same Old Song - Four Tops Will you meet anyone new?: Say You’ll Be There - Spice Girls Will you spend time with a person you love?: Angela - The Lumineers Does that person feel the same way about you?: Kings & Queens - Mat Kearney What will you do next weekend?: Tidal Waves - All Time Low Will it be an overall good week for you? No Diggity - Chet Faker

The Farther Future What type of career will you hold?: Confessions Part II - Usher Will you find true love?: Don’t Come Around Here No More - Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers Will you get married?: Froot - MARINA Will you have kids?: Moshi Moshi - Poppy What song will you name your child after?: When You Were Young - The Killers Will you ever have a problem with drugs / alcohol?: Iris - The Goo Goo Dolls Will you make lots of money?: Why Can’t We Be Friends? - The Academic Will you attend college?: Rock N Roll Will Break Your Heart - The Fratellis Where will you live?: No Future - blink-182 Will you travel a lot?: Young and Beautiful - Lana Del Rey What kind of pets will you have?: Emoji of a Wave - John Mayer If you started a band, it’d be called: 1996 - The Wombats If you started a fashion label, it’d be called: Golden Trunks - Arctic Monkeys If you wrote a book, it’d be called: Play with Fire - The Rolling Stones If you started a business, it’d be called: Teenage Dirtbag - Wheatus Will you become famous?: I Want The One I Can’t Have - The Smiths What will you be most known for?: King of the Clouds - Panic! at the Disco What will be your life’s greatest accomplishment?: Cecilia - Simon & Garfunkel What will be your life’s greatest failure?: Smooth - Santana feat. Rob Thomas How will you die?: Saturday Nights - Khalid Will you die happy?: Long Distance Runner - Matt Nathanson What will be written on your gravestone?: I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch) - Four Tops

How do these people currently feel about you? Your lover: Over My Head (Cable Car) - A Day to Remember (lol this is actually ironic) Your friends: Sunday Best - Augustana Your mom: Honky Tonk Woman - The Rolling Stones Your dad: Strangers Again - Alexander Wren Your sibling(s): TALK ME DOWN - Troye Sivan Your teachers: (Ghost) Riders in the Sky - Johnny Cash Your exes: Walking Away - Mat Kearney Your enemies: What You’re Thinking - Passenger feat. Josh Pyke Your secret admirer: If You Want to Sing, Sing Out - Cat Stevens Random strangers: When I’m Gone - 3 Doors Down

Misc. What SHOULD you be doing right now?: All My Love - Led Zeppelin What is your current relationship status?: Guess I’m Doing Fine - Beck What type of people are you attracted to?: Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey - The Beatles What do you look for in a friend?: Who Are You - The Who What phrase describes you?: Just In Love - Joe Jonas feat. Lil Wayne What do you consider to be your best feature?: Where Is My Mind? - The Pixies What do other people consider to be your best feature?: With You - Jessica Simpson What do you look like?: What’s The Frequency, Kenneth? - R.E.M. How would you describe your style?: Roll To Me - Del Amitri Describe your last kiss: 2:AM - Anthony Russo What are your favorite hobbies?: Give Yourself a Try - The 1975 What is your greatest strength?: I Need Your Love - Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding What is your greatest weakness?: Your Body is A Wonderland - John Mayer How do you feel about life right now?: I. The Worst Guys - Childish Gambino and Chance the Rapper What makes you extremely happy?: Outsider - The Daylights What makes you extremely UNhappy?: Unbreakable - Jamie Scott What’s on your mind right now?: (Don’t Fear) The Reaper - Blue Öyster Cult If someone told you to say anything right now, what would you say?: Stay - Florida Georgia Line (actually lol)

[andhowfm]

Marvin Hamster Music Emporium - MH107

Marvin Hamster Music Emporium – MH107

The show this week is a retro of the retro rodent show from March 2014. The set list looks like this… View The Picture Set To Cut a Long Story Short – Spandau Ballet Pictures Of The Homeland – November Group Freedom Of Choice – Devo Panaorama – Cars Big Bastard Monkey Set Monkey Gone to Heaven – Pixies Bastards of Young – The Replacements The Stand – The Alarm In A Big Country – Big Country World…

[jimmy-truong]

The Pixies Gig Poster - 11" x 17

Objective: 

To create an 11” x 17” gig poster that captured the mood and tone of a series of musicians, while promoting their event.

Solution:

The Pixies' music is a mix between rock and psychedelia. They tend to base their music around very esoteric and religious topics. This poster gained inspiration from the song "Monkey Gone to Heaven," which revolves about the devil, god, and monkeys.

The illustration bridges the gap between the monster above and the information below. It tells a story in a serene and unusual atmosphere, with all hell about to break loose as the monster reaches down toward the church. The title utilizes similar colors to the monster, tying the two together. The scratchy, sporadic lines of the illustration emphasize the tension as a chaotic scene is about to unfold. In contrast, the muted color scheme and simplistic type choice call to the serenity that is currently being experienced, as that impending chaos has not occurred yet.   There is a strong flow from the top of the poster, starting with the monster and following down the arm and body, leading you to the type and information between it's legs.