#they’re a new band for me too! expanding my horizons today :]

[mars-ipan]

this place is so cool :)

[kaitosimp]

More mUSIC TIME

Hold on by Cody Fry. This gives me Saimota vibes. Like shuichi waiting for kaito to come home from space.

Feel again by OneRepublic. Yknow this gives me oumota vibes!! Like kaito helping Kokichi to figure out his own emotions!

How far we’ve come by Matchbox Twenty. Yknow I don’t really have a ship for this. Just kaito vibes!!

The final countdown by Europe. Kaito. Come on. We can all tell it’s Kaitos song. It has an old sci fi to it!

Footloose by Kenny Loggins. Gives me saimota vibes. Idk what it is about it, but it does!

House of memories by panic at the disco. Pregame oumota vibes.

Hold us together by WILD. Saimota. :)

Run away by Fareoh, this just gives me saimota vibes. Could also be oumota

Beating heart by Ellie Goulding. this gives me saimota vibes in a way that corresponds with them making up after chapter four. :(

Turbulent by Waterparks. This gives me saimota vibes too. Kinda like shuichi trying to ignore his feelings for kaito because he feels like he doesn’t like him back, and he doesn’t want to ruin the friendship.

I’m making too many of these-

*incoherent screech* PANIC AT THE DISCO YESSSSSSSS- IDK IF YOU REMEMBER THAT ONE ASK WHERE I SAID THE DAY YOU SENT MUSIC AND THERE WAS A BAND/ARTIST I LISTENED TO I'D FLIP MY SHIT??? WELL THAT DAY IS TODAY, I LOVE P!ATD AND THAT SONG IS SO GOOD 😭😭😭😭😭💜 Andddd i know the final countdown solely bc I've danced it in just dance 😂 LESS GO

The hold on song is def saimota!! It gave me feels thinking of it in Shuichi's perspective and him missing Kaito while he's in space 😭😭😭 Or y'know, after he dIES :,))))))) 💔 Either way it hurts 😔✋🏽

Oooh yes I got oumota vibes off feel again!! I saw it as Kaito just coming into Kokichi's life and teaching him what love is like and it's just them in love ty 😩💜

I rlly liked the how far we've come song, its super catchy!! I def got the Kaito vibes, it made me think of his progress and how far he's come with his friends/the love of his love by his side 🌚👌🏼

I honestly forgot final countdown existed so i had to listen to it again 😂 Now that I have, I agree, it has Kaito vibes all over it, even in the melody and beat and everything??? I never noticed the space-y elements to this song like leaving earth and going to Venus so this has been a treat 👁👄👁

Footloose is so dang funky, I love it 😂😂 I know I've heard it before but idk from where! I got saimota vibes too, particularly when it says the stuff about the person playing it cool and obeying every rule but the singer digs a way into their heart, it made me think of Kaito getting Shuichi to come out of his shell and live a little y'know! Then the stuff about life passing by and how you gotta cut loose, it just makes me think of that again, of Kaito brightening up Shuichi's life by showing him new things and expanding his horizons and just yES, it makes sense 🌚

I already knew house of memories but I'll never skip a chance to listen to p!atd, this song is amazing 🌚✋🏽 I DIDN'T SEE THE OUMOTA BEFORE BUT I DAMN WELL DO NOW, DAMN 😭😭😭 GOD I SEE IT AS OUMOTA LITERALLY BEFORE THEY ENTER THE KILLING GAME??? ASDFGHJKL 😭✋🏽

As soon as hold us together I got hit with saimota :,))) I literally see it from either of their perspective and its like, they're falling for each other and its a scary new feeling but it's also amazing and despite how rocky it may be at the start its okay cause they'll get through it 😭💜

Run away gave me both saimota and oumota feels 😭😭 Though saimota gave me many more feels, cause it made me think of it in Shuichi's perspective @ Kaito and him missing Kaito after he goes to space oR, YOU GUESSED IT, AFTER HE D I E S 🥲

Oof, I def got them make-up vibes with beating heart 😭 God, when it said "wanna hear your beating heart tonight before the bleeding sun comes alive" and "i want to make the best of what is left" I automatically thought of the night those two made up through the window and how that was the last time they talked before it all went to hell with the hangar plan, sOB 🥲💔

Man I really liked turbulent!! I def see it from that perspective of Shuichi trying to make his feelings for Kaito disappear and he's just mad that he fell in love with him :,) Also ngl, I got oumota vibes from Kokichi's perspective but that's solely bc of the cussing and attitude 😂

[thekillerssluts]

THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF WILL BUTLER

It’s been nearly four centuries since the first member of the Butler family arrived in the United States. From Quakerism and Mormonism to getting thrown in jail, the Butler family history is a fascinating story which bears one constant, one recurring theme on which the Butler’s always touch base: music. On new solo album Generations, Will Butler (Arcade Fire) expands his horizons while delving into his own legacy and asking questions about his place in society as an American. Jack Parker called up Butler to discuss his namesake’s glistening legacy, the new album and societal parallels between 2020 and 1820.

Hi Will. Generations is your second studio album, and it comes five years after your debut, Policy. Was it always a long term plan, in your mind, to put out a second album? Yeah. I was always going to do a second record, but my wife and I have an eight year old and two twins. Not to blame the twins, but I would have made a second record earlier, haha. There was also the last Arcade Fire record, and I went to grad school. It’s been busy.

You described this album as more of a novel. Would you call it a concept album? I don’t think of it as a concept album, but any listener or critic is welcome to interpret in whichever way they like. There is a sonic arc to the album, and although it’s not exactly character development there is some sort of development throughout the record. I feel like it takes on a journey.

The stories on some tracks are definitely vivid in places. What informed your songwriting on some of these songs? Fine tells a very poignant story. Some of the songs on the album have a big focus on 19th century American poets like Emily Dickinson or Erwin Melville. Melville isn’t famous for his poetry, but he has some good poems about the Civil War. I was reading a lot of history, and a lot of the themes are essentially just trying to absorb what the fuck has been happening the last 200 years.

And of course everything that’s been happening the last six months. Do you notice many similarities between the last half year versus the last 200 years? Yeah. We had Ferguson and Baltimore, and people are protesting now too. People are rioting! But this isn’t an outlier in American history; the police keep brutalising people and those being brutalised keep saying that enough is enough. It happens every few years, so it’s a very consistent part of history. It’s shocking that people even need to come out and say that black lives matter. That is an outlier, the fact that we have to highlight that killing black people is a bad thing. It’s never exactly the same throughout history, but it’s certainly familiar in a dark way. The pandemic…eugh. There aren’t many global pandemics which I’ve experienced in my lifetime, but it’s certainly not what I expected.

The sonic palette of Generations is much broader. There seems to be more emphasis on exploring different sounds and styles; was this a conscious decision or something that just came naturally? I wanted Generations to be a more complex and complicated album with more development. My brain is so broken that I think about food a lot; Policy was more a case of making dinner with whatever you can find in the fresh section at the supermarket. Generations is more purposeful, it’s layering the flavours, roasting the meat for 48 hours and stewing the bones. There’s more foraging.

I guess solo projects like this one also allow you to explore territory you wouldn’t go for as quickly with Arcade Fire. Yeah. I mean, they’re still related projects in that I’m the same human being poking at the same stuff sonically and emotionally, but with this I can go further in certain directions. This album is still collaborative, but I can also do more.

You previously said that this record asks the question “what’s my place in American history?” Assuming you know that now: what is your place in American history, as a rich, white male? It’s a positional answer, to be honest. It’s how you are positioned in a community and how you relate to the people you live with. It’s hard to answer, because it’s also in conversation with New York City and Brooklyn. Like, how is New York going to move forward? On a broader level, though, it’s still provisional and conversational.

So has working on this record helped you discover aspects of yourself which you weren’t aware of? I’m real smart on a booksmart level, but working on this record made me realise how dumb you still are as a human, on a human level. Most of us are pretty dumb, and every now and then you encounter some amazing humans, but then you’re like, “wow, I’m real dumb and I’m lost without these people”.

I just want to touch on the album closer, Fine. What informed your songwriting and the story on that track in particular? It’s one of your best works to date. Thank you. So, the first Butler came to the US in the 1630s and settled into Boston before moving to Cape Cod and living on the water. They were one of the first families to convert to Quakerism. It’s in the history records because they kept getting fined for being Quakers. They’d get thrown into jail and cops would arrest Daniel Butler in the middle of the night for exposing little kids to Quakerism. The Butlers have lived in New England on a long stretch of coastline for the last 400 years. My Mum’s family is Mormon, and my great grandfather was the last son of a Mormon homesetter who crossed the plains. He was born in the 1870s and he was a musician. He started a family band with his kids and they would drive across the desert – before there were even roads – on wooden planks to play shows in churches and then get arrested for doing it. My life today is very beautifully influenced by what happened at the end of the 19th century. It’s so beautiful to inherit such a musical legacy, but there’s also such a horrifying legacy to being an American. Why I am how I am is informed by a lot of beauty and horror. It’s about trying to figure out where you stand before you throw your first punch. You have to square your hips. It’s not so much an exercise in guilt as it is in knowledge.

Fine is trying out the Kanye West trick of being really stupid and profound by talking about important and unimportant things are the same time. I was thinking about George Washington from 250 years ago, just thinking about his legacy and on a wider scale the legacies which we inherit. How those legacies came to us, and how the world was made. It’s trying to do that both in a jokey and a horrifying way. Look at Washington’s slaves, for example. He has one named Henry Washington who I’d never heard of until I was an adult. He escaped and with the British against the United States, and then lost. In order to avoid slavery he fled to Canada and then ended up in Sierra Leone, where he ended up fighting against the British. These are incredible histories which just go ignored. Fine is essentially about trying to figure out what line of history we’re following and how we follow it.

Now more than ever people are turning to the arts for empowerment. How can we use music in 2020 to harness positive change? Music has been a great comfort to people who are doing really intense work, and I’ve seen people really respond to artists who say something meaningful. Art can really provide comfort, which I think is important. I get that there are other important angles, like how art isn’t always supposed to be comfortable, but over the years I’ve seen how much value music has for people who are trying to make the world a better place. As a musician you can’t control the people who feel comfort. You can’t tell someone horrible that they aren’t supposed to feel comforted by your music, but you can pray that your music is put in front of someone who will nourish it.

Of course. So with live music still out of the question, what’s next for you? I’m really excited for the record to come out! People have been finding meaning in comfort through music these last six months, and it kind of feels like you’re doing a service by putting music out into the world. I’ll probably do some kind of online thing, but it’s not really my speciality. I’ve got a week and a half to figure it out. My son started school today in New York, so figuring out online school for an eight year old is also a thing. And if it weren’t for the pandemic, I’d have gotten into my car and driven around Pennsylvania knocking on doors ahead of the election in November. 

[jmeddows2]

Purple Thunder (Roger Taylor Series) Part 5

(present/old) Roger Taylor x  Reader Notes:

as promised, I still made it on time, well kind of.. as this relationships develops I’d be happy to hear some of the concepts you guys have/ would love Reader and Rog do/experience etc. :) I’d be really grateful and excited to hear some of that..

other wise, same old jazz: sorry for grammar/ mistakes, English is not my first language but anyways, I gave it a go. Enjoy and feel free to submit requests, feedback etc. :)

If you haven’t already, please check this out: Introducing: Purple Thunder :)

Warnings: a bit of cursing, cheating, we’ll get to more in time, don’t worry ;)

Words: 2.5k

„How was that?“ your drummer Sid gave you a questioned and expecting look through the glass wall from the recording booth, as he fiddled around with the drum sticks, twirling one in his right hand. Roger was already in the black leather chair next to you, willing to produce the whole new album and of course, he didn’t give you a chance to deny it, or to put it better, he insisted on taking over the job as producer. 

“It was good, really good…. but I don’t know.. I feel like we’re repeating ourselves over and over again” your eyes darted from the sound board to your band member. “It’s good, but it all sounds the same. Don’t you think?” You put your elbow to rest your chin in your hand in a thoughtful gesture looking to Roger beside you. His air was a bit messy, but still looked flawless. He put so much work and detail into each song, trying to make little masterpieces out of them, but as much as you appreciated his work, something was wrong. 

“I’ll try a new pattern then? To match the tempo you had in mind?” Sid made you beam back him again, already finding a new beat as he was waiting for your answer. 

“Have you tried drumming machines?” Roger firstly looked at you, then Sid, then back at you.

“It’s not exactly the real thing but it’ll give you something to experiment with” Roger suggested, lightly scratching his beard. 

“Your call, boss” Sid smiled at you , he was indeed excited about Roger’s ‘new role’ in your band, considering that he had been a life - long fan of his, picking up drumming because of Roger in the first place. It should also be mentioned that his parents met at Live Aid back in 1985 when they were just 15 years old, both stood in front row cheering on their favourite band: Queen. Sid especially recalled seeing pictures of Roger in magazines his parents owned, showing a younger Roger wearing some nice suits, having a glass of wine in his hand and always a beautiful young thing by his side. A major part in his decision making on wanting to become THE next Roger Taylor. And he did.. Well sort of.. Sid was someone who enjoyed life… and especially the ladies… He enjoyed it so much that he lost count of the hearts he had loved and left haunted. 

“Ok, let’s try it, you guys mind if I go out for a smoke?” you asked as Sid jumped excitedly into the seat next to Roger. 

“It’s alright love.” Roger gave you a smile and turned to Sid “Now, we’ll start with the basics, you can imitate any percussion on this, if you just…” Roger’s voice drowned out as you made your way out of the sectioned area you had rented, up the stairs to the roof terrace. After 10 minutes of smoking and collecting your thoughts you made your way back onto the ground floor, passing the counter in the foyer where Laura, a good friend of yours had been working. Dan had declined all calls since his outburst in the studio the other, which didn’t make the situation any easier. Arriving back in the booth the drum backing track had surprisingly fast, already been laid down.

Time went by flying as Roger showed Sid some tricks of his own on the drums, which left him amazed. 

“Today’s been great, you’re heading into a kind of different direction in terms of music, I mean your last two albums were excellent, but I think this is going to be even better” Roger smiled adding finishing touches to the mastering of yet another song. Sid had left you two to it again, heading off to meet his parents. Probably also to tell them that he is currently working with rock royalty, but we’ll leave that aside. 

“You listened to those? I’m sorry, I’m just.. I never thought someone like you would listen to my kind of stuff” you chuckled. 

“Someone like?” he laughed. “Why do you always think so bad of yourself? Those two records were really good! Of course I listened to them, got to know what’s hot in the moment… Y’know.. what the teenagers fancy… or whom. I read all the music magazines.”

“You’re probably the only person who still reads those” you laughed giving him a light pat on the shoulder. 

“Hey” he frowned a bit, but a smile appeared on his lips, signalling he wasn’t taking it too seriously. 

“You’re growing with your music, it’s a good thing. Without any of the growing and changing part, Queen would have probably never made it. Gotta think outside the box y’know, do what your heart tells you to do.” He touched your shoulder in a loving gesture. 

“And if it tells me to quit?” you whispered but it was still audible for him. 

“I don’t know if I want to keep doing it. I’m not feeling it anymore, the excitement, the relief, the love…” 

“Are you sure you’re still talking about music here?” Roger looked at you softly, trying to test the waters. 

“I don’t know... Music’s always been there for me when friends or family were turning their backs on me, or when I was too afraid to ask for help, I’d just put some record on and everything was fine. It helped me cope with so much, you helped me cope with so much.” looking into his eyes. 

“Listening to your music was almost like a healing process, I know it sounds weird but it was and still is. I’m just… confused right now. Do I want to continue? Make an album, tour and then end up in the same dark place I had been in two years ago, because absolutely nothing feels right about it? Do I attempt to make my fans happy, but end up disappointing them because nothing feels right?  There’s always so much pressure, I don’t even know who we’re doing this for anymore” by now there were a few hot tears escaping your face. You felt pathetic. Pathetic for always crying and being miserable when Roger was around. He must think you’re a fool by now, someone that’s not capable of the spotlight anyway. Someone weak and undeserving. 

On the other hand….. 

Roger knew what it meant to make sacrifices, also for the sake of his other three band members back in the day. When you’re up against 3 equals, you’re not always able to convince them with your ability or choice. Whether it depends on the melody and musical part of each song or the lyrical choices. Roger often recalls having a song idea, which then ended up being taken apart by his band mates, trying to change every little thing possible. 

This happens, especially when each individual has their own favourite type of musical style. The journey of a musician in expanding their horizon ends, with not feeling it inside their heart anymore. Or the feeling being lost, hurt and especially left out. No matter how many people they’re surrounded with.

You two were sitting with him on the black leather couch, one leg on the couch, one on the ground, while he was listening to you ramble on as if was the most interesting thing ever. Comforting you, giving advice, but most importantly not trying to lead you into any direction, which many people have tried before. He was there. He cared. Lost in comfort you pulled up your feet to place them in his lap.  “I was too stubborn when I was younger, but I know now! Don’t do what might sound like the best idea. It usually ends up going into the opposite direction. If following your heart means breaking free from everything that’s holding you back now, then you could do that” Roger gave you a sympathetic smile, softly rubbing your ankles.  “If it means taking a break from all of this” he made a circling gesture “then you could do that! Don’t feel like letting anyone down, they’ll understand. We used to release an album every year for quite some time, but the fans still continued supporting us, it’s not going to be any different here.” You brought your legs from his lap to the ground scooting closer to him. A failed attempt.  “Do you know how to play?” he picked up the drum sticks that had been lying on the little table beside him and you shook your head in response. He got up and walked over to the drum kit with you following closely.  “Be ready to learn from the best then” he sat down on the little stool behind the kit, making enough room for you between his legs, patting for you to sit down. You did. You held the drum sticks in both of your hands when he brought his around you, to teach you a simple pattern.   “So try hitting the high hat eight times in beat of one measure. Snare comes in at 2nd and 4th hit.” You followed his instructions perfectly earning praise.  “Yeah, just like that, keep the tempo. Now try adding the kick drum on both beginning and end of the 1st and 3rd beat.” You followed his instructions again.  “We have a natural here” Roger laughed reaching forward to brush the hair out of your face that was sticking to your forehead.   “Solo time” it took a few loud clashes on the cymbals to send the sticks flying through the room. “Ooops” you laughed covering your mouth with your hand, your head slightly tilting to one side as Roger laughed into your shoulder.  “A true rockstar” you turned your head to face him.

No phone this time, no text interrupting this moment. There it was. Your all or nothing moment. 

You leaned forward pressing your lips against his. He helped you turn around to sit in his lap without ever breaking the kiss.

“You’re the most impactful, strong and beautiful woman I got to witness in such a long time” he brought his hand up and brushed a few strands of your hair out of your face.  You moved closer to him, pressing your lips against his again and he deepened the kiss.  Your heart was racing when your lips touched his, the feeling of his beard tickling your chin as his mouth started to move along with yours, his lips surprisingly soft. You moved your hand into his messy hair as one of his hands moved to your hip, the other cradling your cheek. Sudden realization hit you and you pulled back. Roger opened his eyes at the sudden loss of contact, when he saw you with your head already in your hands as you were nervously pacing around the room. “I really seem to mess everything up, huh?” you mumbled to yourself, not intended for him to hear. “Hey, it’s alright” calming down was the last thing on your mind now. “You’re alright!”  “No, nothing’s alright, Roger! I’ve been telling myself that for far too long now.. I get it if you don’t want to see or work with me ever again “you were cut off when his lips crushed against your again, he pulled you onto the leather couch with him, back into his lap. A feeling of safety crept into your heart as he pulled you tighter, kissing along your jaw.  Nothing mattered, not the fact that your boyfriend was currently touring the states, avoiding every single temptation on the way, nor Roger’s wife who was patiently waiting for her husband’s phone call from the other side of the world.  Your face was pressed against his chest, the scent on his shirt in your nose and it felt like the safest place in this world. He held you as close as possible. “What are we now” “I don’t know. But I hate the fact you’re everything I was looking for, when I wasn’t looking for it.” Roger replied with a hint of sadness in his voice, caressing your hair.  “Have dinner with me, I know this restaurant, pretty hidden…”  “what if they-“ “Brian’s going to be there. No paparazzi to worry about.” So you agreed. Without having any other conversation your current status, he held your hand. On the way to the cab, in the car itself, earning no suspicious look from the driver who probably didn’t even notice your intertwined fingers. Roger only let go once you entered the restaurant.  Brian was already there, definitely not expecting you on joining them, as he had already taken a seat on a table for two. Roger was right, no paparazzi around.  A young waitress with long brown hair pulled up into a ponytail, which was about 16 years old, was willing to reseat you. She was nervous and almost trembling, so you suspected her to be star struck by the two rock royalties who you shared the table with.. She came back with a tray of drinks, nearly tripping over own feet when she finally reached your table. Brian was just about to ask her if everything was alright, Roger beside you with a smug smile but it wasn’t them she was interested in. “Actually I’m so sorry it’s not really professional, but (Y/N) I’m such a big fan!! Could I please take a picture with you! I’m so sorry to disturb you, I just can’t help myself” the young waitress bounced nervously from one foot to the other. Roger took a quick picture for the girl, who had now basically wrapped her arms around you, still trembling. It was cute, a small reminder of why you’re still doing this. Making people happy… but somehow always leaving yourself out of the frenzy of happiness. She thanked you by giving you another squeeze and you took your seat next to Roger.  “So… how’s the album getting along? Roger told about some complications concerning the guitarist? Did everything turn out alright?” Brian asked, taking a sip from the beer in front of him. You were struggling to answer that question. Your guitarist had basically left, you were far behind in production and material. Yeah everything went great, except for the fact that management was pressuring you, because of the money they were about to lose. Everything was great. Roger noticed the worry in your eyes so he was trying to change the topic.  “Let’s not talk about work now, what are y’all having? Bill’s on me” he placed his hand on your thigh under the table, making sure no one would see and gave you reassuring squeeze. It was all you needed in this moment to calm down.  Brian was quite suspicious. He had known his best friend for over 50 years now. Even considered him a brother. He knew when something was going on with Roger. And that was a lot in this moment. He saw it, right in front of him. Every single look that was exchanged between you and Roger, every single gesture and the exchanging touches. Love.

 Roger payed the bill as promised and wanted to drop you off at your flat. Brian though had other plans, which involved a serious conversation with his best friend. So tricked Roger into the belief that some ‘serious’ problem about the upcoming tour came up. 

“What the actual fuck do you think you’re doing Roger?” taglist: @bellamy1998 @oldfashionedlovergirlsblog

[mosylufanfic]

I Wanna Hold Your Hand

Yay! Killervibe week is upon us! Here’s my story for fake dating

I Wanna Hold Your Hand

As they walked up to the museum's front doors, Cisco squinted at the people going in. "Is it me, or are there a lot of couples today?"

Caitlin looked up from her phone, where she was studying the museum's app, and looked around at the people going up the steps with them. All ages, races, and genders, but Cisco was right. There did seem to be a lot of couples in comparison with other kinds of groups. "Maybe they're here on dates."

He made a face. "To a museum? On a Saturday morning?"

She tapped around on her phone. "Don't be like that. I actually really like museums as a first date. You get to take your time and talk and stroll around and - Oh, this might be why."

"What?"

"It's a special for this weekend. Couples get in half-off."

"Two for one?" Cisco held the front door for Caitlin, and then an older lesbian couple behind her, who smiled at him before progressing through.

"Kind of."

"I didn't know museums did that."

"Well, the exhibition I want to see is romantic art pieces. Romantic with a small r, not a capital R. So -" She waved her hand. "I guess that's why. Publicity."

"Hunh." Cisco looked around the lobby at the hearts and lace, advertising the deal and the love-and-romance exhibition. Next to the stairs, he could see signs for the history of comics exhibition that was why he'd come here today. The plan had been for both of them to go see their things separately and then meet for lunch whenever they were done. "Hey, you know what - "

"What?" She saw the look on his face. "Cisco, no."

"Why? What's the harm? We're here together already."

"We're not a couple!"

He raised his brows at her. She didn't have to sound that vehement. "What's the problem if some docent or whoever thinks we are? Twofer admission is nothing to sneeze at."

She wrinkled her nose at him. "You're willing to pretend to be my date just to save fourteen-fifty?"

"In a heartbeat," he said, grabbing her hand. "Come on. All we have to do is pretend for like ten minutes that we're in love and then we're in."

"Mmmmm," she said, sliding her eyes sideways at the line. She frowned at an old couple with matching canes who were gently bickering about something that had happened in 1973, and the pair of teenage nerds with matching Harvard t-shirts, making out energetically just behind them.

"If you feel that bad about it, you can stick a ten in the donation box on your way out." He grinned at her. "What? You don't think anybody will believe I could snag a woman like you?"

"Of course I don't think that! I mean - " She was blushing. "It's just so silly."

"What's life without a little silliness?" He didn't ask her if she thought the inverse, that she wouldn't have been able to snag him. Obviously she could snag him. She could have him anytime she so much as crooked her finger . . . 

Huh. Where had that come from? 

"All right, fine," she said, rolling her eyes. "Since you're so determined."

"Excellent," he said, tugging her toward the line. 

She didn't drop his hand once they had taken their places. It was cool and soft in his, familiar. He glanced sideways at her, wondering if she was annoyed that he'd basically pressured her into a fake relationship for the next ten minutes, and she gave him a little smile and an eyeroll. 

All right. She was okay. What was the harm? Just a game of pretend, that was all.

"So, lambchop," he said. "What do you want to do after this? Where are we going for lunch?"

She rolled her eyes at him again for the silly pet name, but there was a smile playing around her lips. "How about that little place where we had our first date?"

"The bistro on the water?" He lowered his voice to a sexy purr. "You know I'm saving that for when I propose."

For a moment he thought that had knocked her off her game, but she rolled with it beautifully. "Sweetheart, not that I'm not looking forward to that, but can you not make a huge spectacle of it? You know I hate people staring at me."

"Come on, you're not even going to let me get a mariachi band?"

She shook her head in disbelief. "What about a mariachi band says subtle?"

  "Couple of guys with guitars?"

"I'll accept one person with a violin."

"Okaaaaaaaay," he said. "Fine. But the ring is gonna knock your socks off."

She beamed at him. "I would expect nothing less. Lambchop."

"God, you two, get a room," someone said from behind him.

"No," Cisco said, and kissed Caitlin's cheek. "I'm madly in love with this woman, and I don't care who knows it."

"Next," said the bored kid behind the counter, and they stepped up, leaving the love-Grinch rolling his eyes behind them.

"Two please," Cisco said, pulling out his credit card. "Obviously, we're a couple, so we'll need that discount."

"Uh-huh," the kid said, ringing them up and pushing the tickets over the counter. "Next!"

"Ha," Cisco said as they walked away from the line. "And we're in." 

"Your cunning plan worked," Caitlin said, amused. "What are you going to do with your ill-gotten riches?"

"Probably buy you lunch," he said cheerfully, and realized he was still holding her hand. He let go with more regret than he was prepared for. "So, what do you say? Meet back here in two hours?"

She glanced over her shoulder. "You know, the kid at the ticket kiosk is looking this way. Maybe you should come into the exhibit room with me?"

"Keep up the charade?" he said. "Really?"

She widened her eyes at him. "He might just decide to dispatch some hulking security goons after us for the fourteen-fifty. I don't know about you, but Killer Frost doesn't feel like working today."

It surprised a laugh out of him. Caitlin so often played the straight man to his goofiness that he forgot she could be silly, too. "Okay," he said, weaving his fingers through hers. "In the name of plausible deniability."

Cisco meant to hang with her for about a minute and then go off to his exhibition. Really, he did. But his attention was caught by one of the first paintings - a man walking along, holding a woman's hand while she floated above him like a balloon. They both had giant grins on their faces, beaming with almost childlike glee.

"That's the artist and his wife," Caitlin said, reading the plaque next to it. 

"That's kind of sweet," he said, tilting his head. 

"Right? They're just so happy to be together." 

They meandered through the first room, looking at the art and talking about it. Then the second. Somehow, he still had hold of her hand.

The way the museum was laid out, they had to cross the lobby to get to the rest of the rooms, and Cisco saw Caitlin glance up at the sign for the exhibit he'd wanted to see. She went pink. 

"I'm sorry," she said. "I just realized I made you spend an hour with me."

"I love spending time with you," he said. "And your thing is really cool and sweet."

"Yes, but it's not why you came here." She let go of his hand.  "You can go see your exhibit now. Meet me at noon?"

"Noon," he echoed. 

She shot him another smile and started to go toward the next room of the romance exhibit.

He yelled out, "Hey, Caitlin!" His voice echoed in the marble lobby, and people in line looked over.

She whipped around. "Yes?" 

"You, uh, you wanna come upstairs with me?"

She came back to him, walking up until they were less than a foot apart. "To see the history of comics?"

"Sure. I know it's not your thing, but - "

"Well, this wasn't your thing and you still came with me," she said. She smiled suddenly, and as sometimes happened, he thought, Holy shit, she's just really gorgeous. "Yes. Show me what you've been looking forward to."

They ended up spending most of the day at the art museum, wandering through the rooms, pausing for lunch at the cafe, talking about the art and about a million other topics. Although he'd spent countless days with her, this one felt different somehow.

Not just another day. Something new.

When the museum closed, the security guards herded them out like patient border collies. They found themselves on the steps, still talking, as the sun dropped toward the horizon.

When Cisco's stomach growled, he realized he was starving. The sandwiches at the museum's cafe had been good, but they'd probably trekked four or five miles around the building that day.

"Hungry?" Caitlin said, laughing. "We should go get something."

"Yeah, we should," Cisco said. "There actually is a pretty good bistro on the water that I know. My cousin's part-owner. If I text him, we can probably get the family rate."

She tilted her head at him, her eyes impish. "Just to be clear, is this the first date or the proposal?"

"Well," he said with complete seriousness. "I was thinking first date."

She looked as if she wanted to laugh for a minute, then stopped.

"I mean," he said, suddenly awkward. "If that's what you want to do. Or -" Oh. Oh boy. Oh shit. The Awkward had turned up, a vampire on their friendship, invited in by his sudden what-if moment.

"Yes!" she said. "Yes. That's what I want."

"Great," he said, a bubble of happiness expanding in his chest. "Shall we, then?" 

She took his hand, and he remembered the first painting they'd seen, the artist holding hands with his wife as she floated above his head. 

Cisco thought he knew how she felt.

FINIS

If you’re curious, this is the painting Cisco is referring to. Let’s all pretend that a midsize Midwestern city could get this on loan.

[grimelords]

My July playlist is here, just in time for September! Four hours of hits from Lana Del Rey, Iannis Xenakis, KISS, Cameo and everyone in between. Please enjoy.

This Is What Makes Us Girls - Lana Del Rey: This is a really underrated Lana song I think. It's such a beautiful song and it's so heartbreaking the way she sings "they were the only friends I ever had". It's like an origin story for her whole thing detailing how she got bitten by a radioactive pabst, I love it.

Walking Into Sunshine (Larry Levan 12" Mix) - Central Line: A powerful good mood song that quickly takes on a vibe shift near the end when he says I've got to do it now, I've got to walk into the sun' which carries a different meaning than 'walk into the sunshine' to me. Embracing positivity versus self immolation in a nuclear furnace.

Fine di Cobb - Stelvio Cipriani: This is the most jamming harpsichord I think I have ever heard. This is from the soundtrack to an italian cop film called Mark il Poliziotto (Mark The Narc) that I found in a spotify playlist called Best Of Eurocrime that I cannot recommend enough. https://open.spotify.com/user/cinevox/playlist/1o3c0Con0ormlKc9r1gqxgSince 

Last Wednesday - Highasakite: Highasakite might be the worst band name I've ever heard and they're so lucky this song is as good as it is that it cancels that out.

Hilary $wank - Joey Bada$$: I was originally just going to post the instrumental of this because the beat it just so, so good. So busy without being cluttered and nicely melodic without clouding the space for the vocals. I also like this song a lot because just by virtue of being so upbeat it escapes the worst parts of a lot of other Joey Bada$$ 'real hip hop' type songs that are going for a throwback vibe but end up just sounding dated.

Girls - Royal Headache: Girls! Think they're too fine for me! Oh Girls! And I'm inclined to agree!

Something To Tell You - Haim: I'm slowly coming around to Haim's second album and I've finally decided it's good actually. I just hope they do a live album or something soon because their songs are so tightly structured that I think it's almost to their detriment, and every live video I've seen of them they really pull them apart and expand them in a nice organic way that just doesn't come through on the album.

Lavender - BadBadNotGood & Kaytranada: I can't tell whether I like this orginal version or the Nightfall remix with Snoop Dogg better, the verses are just regular Snoop but the vocals they put on the chorus are so good I sort of wish there was a third version that was just them with some other rapper.

New Seeds - Boards Of Canada: Realising that the sound at the start of this is extrapolated from mobile phone interference was a shocking moment for me.

Alligator Engine - Hunters & Collectors: Hunters And Collectors early albums where they sounded like the Talking Heads of the Mad Max universe don't get enough respect because of their huge regular sounding hits a few albums later and it's areal shame because this song is pure primal funk.

Fly Like An Eagle - Seal: This is the song that plays on the little muzak speakers in the cryogenic chamber for the four minutes you're still conscious while your body cools to absolute zero. Then you wake up in 400 years still humming it.

Come To Dust - Boards Of Canada: I was having such a huge moment with this album this month and lamenting the imminent end of our favourite earth The Earth, and this is really such a peaceful sort of resolute song right near the end of the album before the real ending of Semena Mertvykh makes you feel like a body dumped in the desert for scientific research into the nature of decomposition.

Kiss You All Over - Millie Jackson: I'm still not sure how I feel about this new Millie Jackson album that's old multitracks re-mixed by Steve Levine. The whole thing sounds kind of whack. What's good however, is when she adlibs "I wanna bite you on the ankles baby" out of nowhere near the end, and then says "on the ankles.. on the kneecaps.." as the song's fading out.

The Sorcerer - Twain: My girlfriend sent me this song and I have no idea where she found it but I love it. As soon as I heard the opening line I was completely hooked. It's such a beautiful and foreboding song that I really can't get a proper read on, I love it.

Men Today - Health: I'm looking for a chrome extension that makes this song play at maximum volume whenever anyone makes a post containing the phrase 'men today'. Huge wall of noise. Bloodthirsty drums. All the dirt owns us now, what we were ends in the ground.

Where Love Lives - Frankie Knuckles: I'm eagerly awaiting the day coming soon that 90s piano house goes from naff to revered and rockets back up the charts.

Nein König Nein - DJ Koze: This is the B side to Seeing Aliens off of DJ Koze's new album and I really love it, mostly for the groove it get into about halfway through, it reminds me of High Fidelity by Daft Punk where it's just chopped to hell and builds these sort of disparate rhythmic cuts into a really melodic frankenstein.

Blush - Leon Vynehall: I think I found this song and the next one by Spotify Radio off of the DJ Koze song above. I got into a real groove at work one day and these two were the best two to come out of it. The bassline/strings melody that centres this whole song is so good and so circular it could feasibly play for two hours and I wouldn't notice.

Last Land - John Talabot: The way the vocal sample just keeps bleeding into itself is hypnotising here, and it's also maybe the best and most unique kick sound I've heard in a long time.

Suzinak - Ross From Friends: I almost feel bad for Ross From Friends because he's making some really amazing music but he's stuck with this dogshit soundcloud name. The Durutti Column sample that forms the basis of this song is really nicely placed without just feeling like a rip-off, but where this song really shines is in the last minute or so where it magically transitions into a crunching guitar driven thing that sounds like it's playing next door.

Canary Yellow - Deafheaven: The most incredible thing about this album is the sense of optimism that pervades it. This isn't a genre that really lends itself to hope or beauty but somehow Deafheaven have captured it in a way I didn't really think possible. It feels like they've expanded the emotional palette of the whole genre with this album, without sacrificing any of what makes it great.

Strutter - Kiss: I had this song stuck in my head the other day, but I'd remembered it wrong and had it mixed up with the chorus of Lovers And Sinners by Dallas Crane. In my version he's saying 'strutter' the way they say 'lovers'. There's an incredible song in there somewhere, but the original is pretty good too.

Lovers And Sinners - Dallas Crane: See above I guess. It's interesting listening to Dallas Crane now as a new generation is reappraising and being inspired by pub rock all over again and somehow the difference between Dallas Crane and Jet versus Bad//Dreems and Peep Tempel couldn't be more pronounced despite their shared roots. Where the former idolises the glamour of a bygone age of rock and roll the latter are reapprorating it in a more directly emotional, less flashy way.

Evryali - Iannis Xenakis: From what I understand from reading the wiki article on this piece this was generated by doing about five different kinds of extreme nerd graph maths and then turning that into music via more maths and when he finally turned up with the completed score it was so fucking stupid it had notes that don't physically exist on a standard piano in it. Now that's rock and roll. It's hard to make sense of this without the context of its composition because it feels incredibly random, but this performance by Stephnos Thomopoulos really brings meaning to the total chaos of it. I think solo piano is such a good medium for generative-type works like this because it feels like the simplest way to see everything happening without the tonal clutter of synthesised or orchestral sounds muddying the already extremely muddy waters.

Easy Way Out - Money For Rope: I love bands with two drummers and Money For Rope really know how to use two drummers, which is simply use them exactly like you would one drummer but pan them left and right so I can hear when they do different fills at the same time and get a thrill. A really good song about killing yourself when you're old(?)

Sophisticated Lady - Art Tatum: I've been having a big Art Tatum phase recently and it's hard to overstate just how much I believe Art Tatum came from another planet to teach us about the piano. He is really and truly from another dimension. So off the charts insanely good at making a whole universe from a simple tune. It's like every single note gets its own full trip around the block before he moves on.

Stay As Sweet As You Are - Art Tatum: This is an absolute odyssey in five minutes. Without ever losing focus, or losing track of the central theme, it's like he takes it apart piece by piece and reassembles it anew every single bar right before your eyes.

No Line On The Horizon - U2: 2000s U2 gets a bad rap, and it's mostly deserved but there's still some very good stuff in there. This song is so good, and so nicely produced it's a real shame that it opens the album that eventually contains Get On Your Boots.

Tools Down - The Presets: Not only is this song great, but they use the exact same synth sound as the one they used for Madeline's voice in Celeste, which has the nice side effect of making it seem like Madeline is singing along to this great song.

Open Sesame (12" Version) - Kool & The Gang: I've definitely put this on my list before but this is probably the best song ever recorded. It's incredible top to bottom for all 9 minutes and never fails to put me in a great mood.

Peril - Martin O'Donnell: I was thinking about the Halo 2 soundtrack and was shocked to remember correctly that this strange Enya knock-off made it into the highest selling game of 2004.

Drumgasm - Weiss/Cameron/Hill: I cannot belive I haven't heard of this album before now. It's Janet Weiss from Sleater-Kinney, Matt Cameron from Pearl Jam and Zach Hill all playing drums for 40 minutes and it's incredible. I would never have expected Weiss and Cameron to be the sort of drummers to do something like this, but they absolutely nail it. The different styles of the three really meld well and they all seem to lead at different times. This album is the sort of thing that seems like it would be extremely exhausting, and probably would be in most circumstances but somehow they pulled it off. It's engaging and for the most part, driven, purposeful music with direction; which is saying a lot for an album of three drummers just going absolutely hard as motherfuckers for most of an hour.

Apollo - St Paul & The Broken Bones: I love this song but the way he sings the first line makes me laugh because it sounds almost exactly like Drew Tarver's Donny Gary character. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9ArjvUUptw and I'm blessed to have this song about reusing mcdonalds cups play in my head every single time I'm in a mcdonalds.

Million Times Alone - Bad//Dreems: This is maybe the best song about working night shift and having depression I've ever heard. The part about sleeping in the day in the bright sun in a boiling hot house is an especially vicious sense memory for me.

Slow Mover - Angie McMahon: My girlfriend showed me this and I absolutely love it. I also feel extremely old because I just googled it and apparently it's an Unearthed song that made the Hottest 100 this year and I didn't even notice. The best approximation I can make of how I feel about this song is the google autocomplete when you google it that goes 'angie mcmagon slow mover meaning?' and the top comment on the Genius page for it that says 'I cried my eyes out when I first heard this song.’

Drop The Bomb (feat. MF DOOM) - YOTA: Youth Of The Apocalypse: This is the new band from the non-Clash guitarist and bassist from Gorillaz, as well as Jamie Reynolds from Klaxons and I'm so glad it exists because the new Gorillaz album was such a snore and this really feels like what it should have been. Somehow it seems Damon Albarn is not the thing that makes Gorillaz great, it's the other guys which is very very strange.

Word Up - Cameo: Mostly thinking about this song because of Carl Tart's extremely good episode of Comedy Bang Bang where he spoke in the cadence of this and the other Cameo song for the whole episode https://www.earwolf.com/episode/word-down/

Lee - Tenacious D: I don't know what's going on but I got into a real Tenacious D thing this month. Thinking deeply about comedy music for some reason. Anyway this song is so much fun and it reminds me of Tony's Theme by Pixies.

Tony's Theme - Pixies: I love the idea of writing a nonsense song about your friend Tony, who you love, to put right in the middle of your otherwise pretty serious alt rock album. If you know any other songs in the genre of Lee and Tony's Theme please reply and tell me them because I think it's really funny genre.

Burning Down The House - Tom Jones & The Cardigans: I woke up one morning with the sound of Tom Jones singing 'strange but not a stranger' in my head and it took me so much googling to find out it was this version of Burning Down The House that I was thinking of, without having heard it in probably ten years. I like that this song is ostensibly a duet but Nina Persson has such a thin voice and Tom Jones is the most powerful man to have ever lived that she's sort of just automatically relegated to backing vocals by default.

Horseshoe Crabs - Hop Along: I heard about this from the Jason Mantzoukas What's In My Bag video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecfWVhz-wyc. I cannot believe how her voice sounds, it's just incredible. The way she sings "baby's heading home" at the start shocked me, it sounds like recordings of three different people cut together. It's just amazing. I already loved this song a lot and then when I looked into it I found out it's about Jackson C. Frank and it made me cry.

Long Wat - Khun Narin: This is another one I got from the Jason Mantzoukas What's In My Bag video, it's a Thai pschedelic street band and it's quite simply the jam of a lifetime.

listen here

[musicblogwales]

[INTERVIEW] Heddlu Releases ‘Cantref’ Debut Album Via ‘Zawn Records’ 

We caught up with Rhodri Daniel aka ‘Heddlu’ who’s debut album ‘Cantref’ is released this week! ‘Cantref’ is a surging collection of electronic indie anthems that were influenced by Hearing loss, Welsh Coastline Pilgrimages and Welsh Tales and Folklore. 

Hello Heddlu / Rhodri how are you today?

7/10. Which is pretty good overall? Feel glad I’m finally releasing the debut album for Heddlu this week, not sure what the hell this record is, but to release music, is a ‘release’ in itself in a way isn’t it? I can let go of it now and move on to write something new, you can’t take it back and change/edit it, unless you’re Kanye West.

Your debut album ‘Cantref’ drops at the end of July, can you tell us what was the main ethos of the album is?

It’s a concept album of sorts about a young man washed out to sea and trapped in a sunken underwater mythological city called;Cantref Gwaelod;. Based on an old Celtic mythological tale that we all learnt in West Wales as children, it basically chronicles my ongoing battle with sever hearing problems after touring for years in loud rock bands through my 20s. SO DEEP.

How did you go about recording the ‘Cantref’ album, explain some of the processes. 

I wrote the album in my head whilst walking the entirety of the Wales coastal path, inspired by the places I visited. I still had no idea how to record the songs, until by chance I met an old retired engineer outside an abandoned recording studio in west Wales, he lent me some synths and drum machines and I went to recording it. Then the obsession and catastrophizing ensued.

What do you miss most about playing live?

Being in a room playing music with friends, an audience is a plus (if they’re into it), but ultimately there’s nothing that beats connecting with good people over good music. I hope my hearing will cover in time so that I get to do it again �

Are there any songs off your album ‘Cantref’ that stand out as personal favorites, and why? 

The instrumental ones, where I don’t sing and there aren’t any drums. This is mostly because I don’t love my own voice, and despite Adam Thomas of ‘Exit International’ and ‘Estrons’, doing an A+ job in the drums - mixing drums is quite hard and I tried my best OK.

How have you evolved as a songwriter over the last few years?

Given I can’t play live or in a room with other people at the moment due to my hearing, I’ve been recording and writing a lot on machines and in the computer. This has allowed me expand my songwriting capabilities, and an enhance understanding of production and engineering was opened my horizons in what is possible. Trying to scream louder than blaring cymbals and guitars tends to limit your songwriting palate compared to endless possibilities with computers, much as I hate them.

Are there any bands/artists that you rate / appreciate recently?

Since getting into electronic music due to my hearing being so bad that even playing acoustic guitars or unplugged electric guitars was too loud and painful, I had to learn how to use synthesizers. I’ve really gotten into ambient and atmospheric soundsmiths like Burial, Boards of Canada, Caribou as well as pioneering Welsh electronic artists like R Seiliog, Accu and Kelly Lee Owens.

Which music venue would you consider as Home and why?

The Cooper Arms, Coops, Aberystwyth. A classic West-Wales right of passage for all musicians. I can still smell the room where my first live gig ever happened. I’ve had some incredible gigs in there, as well

as absolute shockers that I’m glad no-one was there to see.

What is the kindest thing you’ve witnessed whilst being in Heddlu?

My beautiful and understanding partner Megan, putting up with me spending way too much time in my dungeon obsessively worrying about things like the mixing on the drums, I did my best OK.

Stream ‘Cantref’ Album Here:  https://orcd.co/cantref

[alfstop50]

Game #5: Sonic Adventure 2

”Maria... this is what you wanted, right? This is my promise I made to you.”

Released: June 23rd, 2001 Synopsis: Trouble brews in the air when Dr. Eggman reawakens Shadow the Hedgehog, a genetic life-form created by his grandfather years ago. While Shadow works with Eggman and treasure hunter Rouge to bring the world to ruin, Sonic, who has been mistaken for the villainous hedgehog, must band together with Tails and Knuckles to foil their plans. Chosen Music: Live & Learn --- Okay so to really understand why I have such a huge appreciation for Sonic Adventure 2, I need to take you back to when I first saw the game. Back to a time when I didn’t even know that such a wild and cool game could end up shaping me for years to come. Before that point, I never had a whole lot Sonic in my life growing up. The most experience I had was occasionally playing Sonic 2 at a friend’s house, avoiding Sonic CD like the plague because the American game over music is the stuff of nightmares, and seeing only a couple of episodes of the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog on TV. I didn’t even realize there was a gigantic console war going on between Nintendo and Sega in the 90’s, especially when the PlayStation had come out and I started seeing people owning a PlayStation more often than not. But it wasn’t until I was over at a friend’s house and they were showing off their fancy new Gamecube to me and my family, and they popped in a copy of Sonic Adventure 2 Battle for our viewing eyeballs. That was the first time I had ever seen the game, and it looked nothing short of amazing. It wasn’t long until I got my own Gamecube and my own copy of Sonic Adventure 2 Battle, and like, every single time I played it, either to go through the different campaigns (which I loved and helped to establish my love of different perspective campaigns) or to pick out my favorite levels over and over, I just had a blast. Any time I played a Sonic/Shadow level, I was encouraged to go for style at every turn and got rewarded for pulling off the sickest tricks and moves that I could, all while going as fast as possible to blow through each level. The Tails/Eggman levels were also tons of fun and there was a novelty to locking onto everything to get the biggest combo possible, or just tossing you into a level and saying HERE GO BLOW SHIT UP AND HAVE FUN. The Knuckles/Rouge levels tended to be more hit and miss (fuck Mad Space forever), but just about every single one of those had really awesome music in a game already full of awesome music. No matter what the level or which parts tended to drag a little bit, the game always understood how to just deliver fun from every possible angle. And... yeah, I suppose I should talk about the Chao Garden as well. Honestly it’s amazing how much care and effort went into this silly little diversion, but I couldn’t imagine Sonic Adventure 2 being the same without it. Raising Chaos gave going through the levels a whole new purpose, because now you were searching for specific animals or Chaos Drives to increase their stats, evolve them, and make them the best at racing or karate. I also really, really appreciated how a Chao reacted to either how much you love and care for them or how much you just fuckin’ throw them everywhere; it made me really understand what goes into raising pets and how much work it takes to keep them happy and healthy. I don’t know if we’ll ever see something like that again, but they damn well better bring it back some time within the next century. But what is it about Sonic Adventure 2 that’s gotten it this high up on my list? The answer to that is pretty simple, actually; this game was something that managed to expand my horizons beyond what I thought I knew. This was a game that got me to really embrace Sonic, how cool he and his friends were, and how much fun it was to blaze through the games as each of these characters. This, of course, led to a long and turbulent series of mishaps with the franchise, but I always found myself coming back to Sonic because I was a dumb kid who liked Sonic too much for his own good (I actually owned and beat Sonic 2006, for reference). It also helped that every time they came out with a new song to accompany a new game, I would just listen to that shit over and over again. Like, they’re not all winners like Live & Learn, but... I love the vocal tracks, and how they managed to keep my spirits bright even through those lonely days in high school, and how they just continually reminded me of how much I fucking love Sonic as a whole. And honestly, I’m okay with me liking Sonic Adventure 2 more than I should because this game has not aged well for most people. The story is hokey, physics are all over the place (though they usually feel fine to me), the two-player battle mode is just kinda there (even though I loved to just cheese the shit out of the all-rails level as Metal Sonic), and there’s not much to get out of it if you’re playing it for the first time as an adult. But I’ll always remember the music, the fun times, and the sheer joy of playing it, and how it’s stuck with me all this time, even today. It helped me develop a new understanding of the kind of stuff that I love, and I'd say it's responsible for how I'm still able to keep some optimism in my heart. I don’t even really need a Sonic Adventure 3 like most people are clamoring for, because I just know that nothing an Adventure 3 would do could ever top my love and respect for Sonic Adventure 2. Teaser for Game #4: An existentialist game

[douchebagbrainwaves]

IF YOU LOOK AT THESE LANGUAGES IN ORDER, JAVA, PERL, PYTHON, AND EVEN LISP

The Spitfire's original nemesis, the ME 109, was a brutally practical plane. You can, however, trust your gut. Not counting these, I've had a total of five false positives are so much worse than false negatives that you should have access to email messages no matter where you are. For them the right answers, they wouldn't need us. Whatever looked like the biggest win. You could translate simple Lisp programs into Python line for line. You know that you're shipping something loaded with bugs, and you've even set up mechanisms to compensate for it e. But I think the reason microcomputer software was better was that it used a TV for a monitor, which seemed intolerably déclassé to a high-level language doesn't mean anything very definite. To predict what will; often something that seems interesting at first will bore you after a month.

You're unlikely to have more sentences in imperative mood, and in every single case the founders say the same thing is happening to other deals a hundred times more startups than launching too fast, but it is possible to launch too fast. Modernism, Calder had, and had in a way that a name-brand VC probably wouldn't have. Joshua Schachter gradually built Delicious on the side. But if you want to really understand Lisp, or just expand your programming horizons, I would say that writing a properly polymorphic version that behaves like the preceding examples is somewhere between damned awkward and impossible. The value of a potential investor is a combination of how good it would be a way to please other people. I really need to make my files live online. One technique you can use a Web-based software should have far fewer bugs than desktop software.

John McCarthy in 1958, and popular programming languages are pretty much equivalent. But if you work on problems demanding enough to stretch you. This works better for some startups than others. Empirically, the way to succeed in a startup can stay in grad school, a lot of classes there might only be 20 or 30 ideas that were the right shape to make good exam questions. The best way to prepare yourself to start a startup at 20, because you're paying for the hardware, just as Google was when it was first developed, Lisp embodied nine new ideas. But the short version is that if someone reputable offers you funding on reasonable terms, take it. The fatal pinch is default dead slow growth not enough time to fix it. The right thing to compare Lisp to is not 1950s hardware, but you can write any program in any of them. Can universities teach students about startups? But Lisp is a powerful language. The classic Bubble incubators, most of them happier. If someone broke into ours, it could be helpful to look at, because you make them by default.

I can usually catch them. It could mean an operating system, because the people offering expensive solutions can spend more to sell them. Cancer will show up on some sort of new, vocational version of college as education for its own sake. Most programmers today would agree that you do not, ordinarily, want to program in machine language. Feel free to make it something that hackers themselves will want to use it in all his paintings, wouldn't he? The best ideas are just on the right side of impossible. Is the author flippant, but correct? It's the nature of programming languages from a distance, it looks like Java is the latest thing.

The value of a startup that doesn't have pointy-haired boss has no idea how wide this band is, but if you can avoid it, b pay people with equity rather than salary, not just to save money, but because an ASP that does lose people's data will be safer. That's incremented by, not plus. We could see the problem was one that needed to be solved though. I've watched the evolution of the Web as closely as anyone, and I can't see them facing that. Which has the strange side effect that the difficulty of raising money destroy your morale, it will be for bad guys too. I'd advise college students to do, rather than trying to learn how to pick winners. Working to implement one idea gives you more ideas.

In the startup world, closing is not what deals do. It was not easy to make this an ordinary desktop application. He wrote exactly what he wanted. If an investor knows you have other investors lined up, he'll be a lot of ambitious people, age 20 is not the hours but the responsibility. Google, and recently I've noticed some cracks in their fortress. He got away with it because no one really good wants a job implementing the vision of a business guy they supplied. For example, suppose you're just two founders and you want to start startups hope universities can teach them about startups if they were in college, for example. I read a lot of people. Right now, for me personally, spam is not a serious problem for them. The distinction between expressions and statements.

When you choose technology, you have to create a named function to return. There will be many different ways to learn different things, and some may look quite different from universities. He was as good an engineer as a painter. The point is simply that they trained their filter on very little data: 160 spam and 466 nonspam mails. A DH6 response might be unconvincing, but a DH2 or lower response is always unconvincing. Software should do what users think it will be consumer electronics: something that costs about $200, and that assumption turns out to be a good founder. They hire one of their products, then it will probably involve several hackers and take at least six months to write. Starting a startup is too hard for one person.

1% as his retail price. The sixth largest center for oil, or finance, or publishing? They're hard to filter based just on the right side of impossible. The page was of course an ad for a porn site. The defining quality seems to be that that Python is a more general principle here: that if you start scanning people with no symptoms, you'll get this on a giant scale: a huge number of false alarms that make patients panic and require expensive and perhaps even dangerous tests to resolve. He probably considers them about equivalent in power to, say, Google, and Facebook all began this way. At Viaweb our system had so many components and changed so frequently that there was no definite border between software and infrastructure. They'll only consider companies that have an exit strategy—meaning companies that could get annoying—but you should always be collecting data about them. Macros, introduced by Lisp in about 1960, is now widely considered to be a startup. No one is going to invest. Desktop software breeds a certain fatalism about bugs.

[thisaintascenereviews]

Album Review by Bradley Christensen At The Gates – Slaughter Of The Soul Record Label: Earache Release Date: November 14 1995

On the subject of melodic death metal, since I just talked about Carcass’ Heartwork (which is a very defining record of the 90s, especially in terms of death metal, but also in terms of music itself, because it helped to pioneer a new style of death metal, that of which being melodic death metal), I wanted to talk about another melodic death metal band, and one that followed a similar career path that Carcass did. Not necessarily in the same way, because Carcass started off as a grindcore band. This band didn’t, but like Carcass, this band disappeared for about twenty years, and all of a sudden came back with an album that people surprisingly loved. The band that I’ll be talking about today is the Swedish melo-death band At The Gates. I love this band, but the weird thing is, I’ve only listened to their last album, 2014’s At War With Reality, but I love that record. I picked it up in 2014, right when it came out, because I was getting more into metal at the time. I wanted to get into some “real metal,” for the lack of a better word. I only say that, too, because I was more so into deathcore, versus more actual death metal, so I wanted to broaden my horizons a bit. I wanted to get more into the death metal realm, and I picked up a good mix of new albums from well-established bands, such as Cannibal Corpse and At The Gates, but I got a lot of newer albums, too. The thing is, though, I’ve mainly been listening to new albums from tons of bands, so I’ve wanted to go back into the past. I mean, At The Gates didn’t necessarily disappear for the last 20 years, because former members of the band started The Haunted, but people were clamoring for a new record for the band. I picked up At War With Reality, just because I knew the influence and gravitase that At The Gates had in the metal scene, but I was surprised at how much I loved it. I think that’s because I loved their brand of melo-death.

I can’t tell you why I loved At War With Reality, but I wasn’t into Surgical Steel, because I don’t remember either album super detailed, since it’s been a few years since I’ve listened to both albums, but I do remember that At The Gates had a very nice balance to their sound. I’ve wanted to get into their other work, too, and the album that I picked was actually the last album they released before At War With Reality – 1995’s Slaughter Of The Soul. This LP came out after a couple of years that I was born, and it also came out a couple of years after Heartwork, too. If Heartwork paved the way for melo-death, I almost feel like Slaughter Of The Soul perfected it. This LP is a lot more interesting, frankly, but only because it’s not repetitive, predictable, or anything like that. It’s a lot more experimental, a lot more atmospheric, and a lot more ambient, which is something I really love about it, but at the same time, this thing is still brutal as hell. It’s one of the best metal albums I’ve heard in awhile, and along with the other death metal albums I’ve been spinning lately, this is probably one of the albums I’ve been spinning the most. I’ve been trying to play this album every day, and I’ve made time to play it every day, because it’s that good. What’s interesting about this LP, however, is that this album is considered a milestone of melo-death, but I mentioned a bit ago that this LP essentially perfected melo-death. They didn’t really add anything to the style, but at the same time, I would argue they influenced a lot of bands, and they furthered the style of the genre, because they were one of the few first Gothenburg melo-death bands that came out of Sweden in the early to mid-90s. They remind me a lot of Necrophagist, a tech-death band that I just talked about in another review, at least in the sense that they’re a top notch band, but they aren’t necessarily an essential band.

That kills me to say, because Slaughter Of The Soul is a great record, and if we’re merely talking best metal albums, or best death metal albums, this album would be on that list, hands down. There’s no denying their quality, but At The Gates isn’t doing anything here that isn’t super unique, or that other bands weren’t doing at the time. They’re just furthering the style, if anything at all, and that’s totally okay, because that’s what a lot of bands do. At the end of the day, Slaughter Of The Soul is a great record, and it’s totally worth a listen if you’re into melo-death. These guys really expanded and furthered the melo-death sound. There’s a great balance between atmosphere and brutality here. There are surprisingly a lot of very soft, atmospheric, and quiet passages on this record, and I love that, because it breaks up the brutality of the album. You get a moment to breathe and I love when metal albums do that. There is some variety, or at least, something to break up the brutality, and you get a chance to relax for a bit before something even more crushing comes along. This album is great, though, and while I’d say it’s an essential melo-death album, if we’re talking essential death metal albums as a whole, maybe not, but I would put it on a best of list, just because it’s a damn great melo-death album. I mean, it’s one of those albums that I can play over and over, and I’m not sick of it, because of a few key things – it’s a very interesting album, and kind of unique, but it’s not really anything that other bands hadn’t done before, it’s a short album, only around 34 minutes, and it’s one that has tons of variety. This album never gets predictable, monotonous, or boring, and I can play it constantly. It’s just damn great record. Even though this album wouldn’t really be on a list of the most essential death metals of all time, although I’d put them with essential melo-death, it’s worth a listen. When it comes to melo-death, you can’t get much better than At The Gates.

[rebustein94-blog]

Wanting to Believe

You know, nobody can really explain the Marfa lights. Nobody can tell for sure why they appear on the horizon almost every night or what they are. They remain, in fact, one of America’s last great unsolved mysteries. These flickering bursts of color against the dark. Orange, green, white, red. Just there, against the hills. And they’re so simple, you’d think somebody would have gotten it by now. But no. Quite the opposite, actually. Marfa revels in how vast and unexplained their night sky is.

Which maybe they should.

See, one night in 1883, a man was riding along outside what is now Marfa, Texas. He saw, up on the hill, strange lights flickering. He figured they were campfires, and when he later found out they weren’t, it blew his mind. He told someone else, and it blew their mind, too, I guess. That second guy told someone else, I assume, and on and on and now we’ve got this entire viewing platform a few miles outside Marfa, built exclusively for tourists to stand and watch the skies after the sun has set. In the hopes that they, too, will experience the unexplained. 

And people have. People do. Thousands of people have reported seeing these lights.

When I walked up onto the platform last night, the thing was packed with people. The sun had just tucked itself under the horizon, leaving behind bright pink streaks above us. I was there for over an hour, and by the time I left, the pink had curled away into the night. A spiderweb of clouds remained, and large patches of stars blazed through them.

Did you know that all the stars we can see only make up, like, a single percentage of our galaxy? Which in turn only takes up a pinhead-drop amount of space in a wall-less room? Is just one of infinite galaxies, surrounding infinite stars? And that the universe is actually still expanding from the original Big Bang, meaning more pinheads are being created all the time, and that almost none of it has been discovered or explored?

Did you know that?

Anyway, there were the stars and me and a lot of other people, waiting for the UFOs or whatever to appear. A large group of elderly was off to my left, further down the platform. They were led by a hunched and waddling crow of a woman, who squawked and shouted every word she said. 

“There they are!” she hollered, pointing off to our right.

Not about to miss anything, everyone on the platform followed her finger. Whether they were in her crew or not. Sure enough, four orange dots glimmered on the hill. A fifth blinked red next to them.

“Five of ‘em. Ya see?!” She moved between the members of her group, poking them and thrusting her claw at the hills. “Over there! One, two, three, four, five!”

For a minute, I was speechless. I mean, there they were. I’ll be damned.

But the red one blinked on, then off, then on again too regularly. And, kind of all at once, everyone on the platform realized it was just a radio tower. Except the Crow.

“I never in mah life,” she said. “You can’t say that’s not real.” 

“Oh, sure,” said her companions. “I see ‘em. Of course.”

“Unbelievable!”

“Mmhm.”

“Little white and orange ones. Ya see? They ain’t campfires.”

“Wow, yes. Indeed. Mm.”

And, slowly but surely, it dawned on me that the orange and white lights were cars on a highway. 

But the Crow continued to waddle around, shouting about the strange ghosts in the hills. Trying to take everyone’s breath away. After a while, a man who had been standing next to me, wearing a baseball cap and a thick mustache, looked at the ground. He rubbed the toes of his boots into the dirt. Sniffed. Calmly, he strode over to the woman. He approached her, cleared his throat

“Ma’am?” he drawled. “That’s a...highway over there. Those are cars.”

“But there wouldn’t have been a highway there in 1883,” she protested. “The man who saw the lights wouldn’t have seen that.”

“That’s...true.” The man scratched his head. “Um. But there is one now.”

“Oh, thank you,” she said quickly. He gave her a little nod, and sauntered off, head low.

She was quiet for some time. The lights kept dancing, miles away. Just as her group was leaving, she said softly, “But they ain’t moved. Cars’d be movin’. Those lights is still...”

Another group replaced the pack of elderly. They were all Texans except for a couple from Colorado, who had come to visit some relatives. The Colorado couple kept pointing to things and trying to believe them.

“I think I saw a flash of green,” the woman said.

“So hard to tell,” said the man, sounding sad.

By that time, the sun was really gone and everyone had abandoned the right side of the view, where the highway apparently was. Now, all eyes were pointed left where, if you looked fast enough, you could catch glimmers of green. I’ll admit, I saw a streak of white shooting down into the valley that I can’t explain. I’ll carry that with me, silently. But other than that...

“You know me,” some guy in the new group was saying. “I don’t believe in anything. Ghosts, creatures. UFOs. But I like to see ‘em. You know. See if--”

“There!” The Colorado woman shot up a hand. “I saw a little... Did you see it?”

They all leaned forward, hushed. 

“Could have been a satellite,” someone whispered. “But I don’t know...”

“I didn’t see it,” said the guy who didn’t believe in anything. But there was a bend to his voice. Something in him that clearly gave in and made him squint into the darkness just as hard as everyone else.

Nobody said anything for a few moments. Just watching.

The nonbeliever broke the silence. “Y’all ready to go?”

And, with a collective sigh, they left. 

Personally, I didn’t see anything. Except maybe a white streak.

You know, I was thinking about Santa Claus while I was out there on the platform. My mother tells me that, in third grade, I ruined Santa for one of my friends who didn’t Know. Whatever memory I had of this has burnt up and drifted away, so I just have to take her word for it. Third grade was the year I found out, so maybe I needed to shove my anger and betrayal onto someone else. Or maybe I felt superior. Or I just felt bad they didn’t Know.

Either way, even after I Knew, and everybody Knew, it didn’t really seem to matter. Because the next year, they did this complicated calculation on the news on Christmas Eve to figure out how long it takes Santa to travel around the whole world in a single night.

Why would they do that if they knew he wasn’t real?

***

The night after the lights, I was leaving from the train station in Alpine, which is about twenty miles east of Marfa. When I got there, I could hear mariachi music coming from somewhere around the back, by the tracks. As I rounded the corner, I came upon a large cluster of people, all milling about, listening to a three-person band and eating donuts. 

“Well,” I thought, surprised. 

Feeling oddly invisible and out of place, I wove my way through the crowd. I sat on the curb. Plopped my bags down next to me. And that was about the time I realized nobody else there had bags. 

“Well,” I thought. 

A woman standing nearby honed in on me. She leaned over. “Bet you’re glad you’re traveling today, huh?”

“What’s going on?” I asked. I felt like maybe I was about to be sacrificed to the train. Or swept up in a colony of traveling swingers. I don’t know. 

“There’s a gallery inside,” the woman explained vaguely. 

“Oh, cool,” I said, wanting our interaction to be over so that I could be confused by myself.

I didn’t see where the guy came from, which makes this story even better, I think. As far as I’m concerned, he strode up with sure feet and tall pride out of the very dust of the desert and a forgotten time. He was taller than I am. Wore khakis and cowboy boots and a bright blue Amtrak jacket. Brilliant green aviators hid his eyes. And he had this perfect, hypnotic Texas drawl. 

In any case, he appeared next to me. 

“Where you goin’ to?” he asked. 

“El Paso.” I was still squatting on the curb, and staring up at him. 

He nodded solemnly. “Good place.” He looked around at all the people. “I spose you’re wonderin’ what’s goin’ on here today?”

“You know, it crossed my mind.” 

“Well.” He hitched up his pants. “You got three groups of people here. One is travelers. Two is people who work with Amtrak.”

He never explained the third.

“See, we’re trying to expand this line,” he continued. “You can get to anywhere from Alpine. People don’t realize that. It’s an important stop. You got New Orleans. Los Angel-ees. Chicago. We’re petitioning to get the line to come through here more often. So they just refinished the station here. As a kind of incentive. What they’re most proud of is the bathrooms.”

“So today’s the grand opening?”

“In a sense.” He licked his lips. Raised his eyebrows. “We got donuts inside.”

I figured it was probably time to stand up. So I did, and slapped the dust off my thighs. Talking up at him had been staring to make me feel off-balance and small. 

“I heard,” I said, “that this new national budget proposal is getting rid of the long-distance lines. Is that just a whisper on the wind, or...?”

His face went blank. He gazed over my shoulder down the tracks. 

“Yeah,” he said sadly. “They try this every five years or so. But our governor always stops it from happening. We’ve had tons of men from around here--in Alpine-- in DC. And they keep us alive. But...we’re not as strong as we used to be, you know. And now, we’ll be hanging on for dear life for the next few years.” His voice got very low at the end. He shrugged. Stared off into the distance for a moment. Just as I was about to say something, his aviators snapped back to me. “How long were you here for?”

“Just a few days. I saw the Marfa lights last night. Or...didn’t.”

He put his hands behind his back. Nodded thoughtfully. 

“Have you seen them?” I asked.

“I think they’re an optical illusion,” he said confidentially. “I seen green and red flashes. Don’t know what it is. But I don’t think its aliens.”

“No?”

“Well, why the hell would they be hanging around Marfa, Texas for over a hundred years?!”

And he laughed a low, gentle laugh. 

Just then, a new light came from down the tracks. Blinding against the mid-morning sun.

“Ahh,” he breathed. He turned to everyone standing around the station. Cupped his hands and called, “Train’s comin’!”

There was a rush of excitement. Everyone went up to the railing against the tracks and leaned over. I followed their gaze. That bright white spot was coming towards us, moving in quickly from the east.

“This never gets old,” the man murmured to me. His voice was wistful and faraway. “I feel like I’m in an MGM movie. With the music... Just beautiful.” 

As the train thrummed into the station, everyone had their phones out. They snapped pictures and waved to the conductor. In the heat and wind of the engine, the man I had been talking to stood with one boot poised on the curb. His hands folded neatly, elbow resting against the railing. He smiled lightly, and looked, for all the world, filled with the ancient, instinctive grace of the frontier. Which was beautiful, and almost sad.

As I was getting onto the train, I looked for him among the beaming, pride-bursting Amtrak employees. But he was gone. 

As we churned our way out of Alpine, I saw a massive, shining pile of car bumpers in someone’s backyard, right up along the tracks. As I watched, a long, lean man, smoking a cigarette, tossed another bumper onto the pile. A young boy stood next to him. The man clapped his hands together. He took the cigarette from his mouth and, slowly, held it out to the boy. The boy took it. The train moved on, and they vanished. Left behind in the debris and dirt of their life in Alpine. 

I really don’t know why I would have told my friend about Santa Claus before he deserved to Know. 

(El Paso, TX)