#thunder jam records

[tomorrowusa]

Ukrainian drones blew up a large Russian arms depot west of Moscow. The blast was large enough to have been detected by earthquake sensors.

A Ukrainian drone attack on a large Russian weapons depot caused a blast that was picked up by earthquake monitoring stations, in one of the biggest strikes on Moscow’s military arsenal since the war began. Pro-Russian military bloggers said Ukraine struck an arsenal for the storage of missiles, ammunition and explosives in Toropets, a historic town more than 300 miles north of Ukraine and about 230 miles west of Moscow. Videos and images on social media showed a huge ball of flame rising high into the night sky and detonations thundering across a lake, in a region not far from the border with Belarus. The strike was part of a broader Ukrainian drone campaign targeting Russian oil refineries, power plants, airfields and military factories, and highlights Kyiv’s enhanced long-range drone capabilities. Earthquake monitoring stations registered what sensors thought was a minor earthquake in the area.

The blast was so big that in the first couple of seconds it appears to be during daytime.

The Kyiv Independent has additional details.

Arms depot in Russia's Tver Oblast built to withstand nuclear explosion heavily damaged by Ukrainian drones

Back in 2018, the Russian Defense Ministry bragged that this facility would be prepared to withstand even a nuclear explosion. Six years later, the claim was proven to be false. According to the SBU, the arsenal stored ballistic missiles, including Iskanders, anti-aircraft missiles, artillery ammunition, and KAB guided bombs. The attack "literally wiped off the face of the earth a large warehouse of the main missile and artillery department of the Russian Defense Ministry," the SBU source said. The construction of the arsenal, controlled by the Main Missile and Artillery Directorate, began in 2015 in the town of Toropets, located 480 kilometers north of Ukraine. The construction was part of a 2012 government program set to improve Russia's storage of missiles, ammunition, and explosives. According to Russia's Defense Ministry, the program, worth 90 billion rubles (nearly $980 million), called for 13 modern arms depots to be built. [ ... ] Yet the source in the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) told the Kyiv Independent that a "very powerful detonation" occurred, and the affected area was 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) wide. NASA satellites also recorded a surge in thermal activity in Tver Oblast, where the 107th arsenal of the Main Missile and Artillery Directorate is located. "The arsenal seems to have been built correctly, with bunkered storage facilities that can hold up to 240 tons of ammunition each," Serhiy Zgurets, military expert and CEO of the Ukrainian media Defense Express, told the Kyiv Independent.

As Joe Biden might put it, this is "a big fucking deal". Months worth of ammunition, missiles, and other ordnance which was waiting to be used against Ukrainians has been eliminated.

In total, about 30,000 tons of ammunition were stored in the arsenal in Toropets, which could have been enough to conduct attacks for months, according to the expert. Russia most likely stored 122 mm Grad ammunition, 82 mm mines, and missiles for Buk medium-range surface-to-air missile systems, among other munitions, according to Zgurets.

Ukraine apparently destroyed 30,000 tons (i.e. 30 kilotons) of ammo. For comparison, the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima was the equivalent of 15 kilotons.

Ukrainians are intelligent and resourceful. They are now building drones which cannot be jammed by electronic warfare. They may have used those to get to Toropets.

And it seems a bit weird that Russia would build a gigantic arsenal just 4.51 km (less than 3 miles) from downtown Toropets – a scenic town and local administrative center.

So Ukraine has now penetrated and destroyed an impenetrable arms depot. Previously, Ukraine has stopped unstoppable Kinzhal Russian missiles. This war is unwinnable for Russia but the country continues to humiliate itself with its unmistakable military ineptitude.

[the-cauldron-witch]

It has been some time since I've finished a piece of art, but here she is!! My darling Myrtha! Name: Myrtha Age: Unknown, estimated over a hundred. Species: Roti Island snake-necked turtle

Story of her below!

Taglist

@thelaundrybitch @thegirlwiththeninjaturtletattoos @redsrooftopprincess @iridescentflamingo @sophiacloud28 @yorshie @ninnosaurus @silverwatergalaxy @truffle-draws-turtles @thepinkpanther83 @avery73

The pattering of heavy rain pouring down by the sheets against the Tartarugo Brother’s dump truck echoed inside the otherwise quiet vehicle. Wipers furiously waving back and forth to wipe away the droplets attempting to obscure Donnie’s vision of the dirt road ahead, the asphalt having been left behind about half an hour ago now. The radio had lost all signal to the stations in their usual line-up, leaving the four brothers in relative silence.

“Alright, we’re going to need to park up here, otherwise the truck will probably sink into the mud too much for us to get out. The weather certainly isn’t on our side on the matter,” Donnie announced to his brothers over the sounds of the storm battering the truck, spying a decent opening ahead between two large trees just to the left of the dirt road. Nestling the massive dump truck between the two massive American sycamores, Donnie cut the engine before shoving the key into the safety of one of his cargo pockets and zipped it shut.

“We’re going to need to leave through the back,” Donnie told Leo, nudging his leg gently. Shoving the youngest brother’s legs out of his lap Raph stood up, throwing open the back doors and hopping out, feet landing with a wet squish. A shudder wracked through his shell at the feeling. Jamming his phone into his basketball shorts pocket Mikey popped out of the truck with a hop, followed by Leo then Donnie who slammed the door shut and locked up.

“Are we sure ‘bout all this? All April said was that a lotta people were tellin’ the news station of someone scarin’ away hunters and hikers,” Raph questioned gruffly, having to raise his voice slightly over the downpouring rain. Lightning shattered the blackened skies followed by a low rumble of thunder vibrating the air, the gusts of wind turning the droplets into stinging projectiles. “Fer all we know it’s some jackass in’a ghillie suit gettin’ a laugh”

“She didn’t say someone, she said something. Whatever it is April is pretty sure it’s not human,” Leo stated flatly, turning his head so that the rain didn’t pelt his face.

“Angel cakes wouldn’t have us come out here for something that stupid anyway, I bet my board on it,” Mikey defended April with an affirming nod to no one in particular, looking up just as another scatter of lightning shattered the sky with brilliant light fading into the clouds. It was bad enough they had to trudge through the ass-smelling swamp, the added awful weather seemed unnecessary in the youngest’s opinion.

“Reviewing all the information April gave me, plus tapping into the wildlife cameras put up by conservationists, whatever is hiding within the swamp terrorizing people walks similarly to humans but is at least twice or more the size,” Donnie reported, looking down at the device attached to his wrist. Pressing one of the buttons, a small hologram displayed of a clearing recorded somewhere within the swamp, “April wanted us to check it out because of this video that was sent in of it. It’s the only video that shows it clearly for more than a few seconds,”

From the shadows beyond the cameras’ sight lumbered in a rather large figure, slowly trudging into view through the murky water and thick mud. The creature walked upright with a very visible hunch and a short and clumsy gait, one of its arms clutching onto a hiking staff with a lantern hanging off the curled top. Dirty and discarded fabrics were draped over or wrapped around the figures frame, obscuring the camera of any further details.

“Um…where the hell is its head?” Mikey questioned, growing increasingly unsettled as the video played. The draped fabrics shifted awkwardly as the creature shambled its way closer, standing just a few yards away from the camera now. It stopped, the fabrics shifting and rising in an awkward fashion, as though something in the middle of its body lifted the sheet. Bending over shakily, the lantern swaying back and forth as it gripped the staff for stability, the things other arm reached into the water and pulled out a stone.  With one flick of its wrist, the creature launched the rock with laser like accuracy at the camera and promptly cut off the video.

“What the fuck?” Raph muttered in disbelief.

“Whatever that is, it definitely isn’t human,” Leo stated, pausing long enough to let the clash of lightning and thunder roll out. “Do we have any areas where that thing is frequently sighted?” He questioned the taller brother.

“I narrowed down all the sightings and reports to one specific area. Once we get there, we can split up and comb the area more carefully” Donnie reported, turning off the finished hologram video and opening the map. “I already have all the wildlife, trail and security cameras displaying a feedback loop for anyone other than myself. Park rangers closed off all camping sites and hunting trails until they figure out what this thing is, so we should be completely alone out there. Well, besides whatever we’re searching for”

“Alright, turn on your coms and trackers just in case we get separated or go off course in the swamp. I don’t think the weather is going to get any better from here on out,” Leo instructed as he began following Donnie’s lead, wincing against the bite of the rain.

The rain settled into a steady rhythm as the four brothers ventured into the swamp, following a path worn into the earth by time and many footsteps. Raph grimaced as he brought up the rear, the feeling of the muck and gravel beneath his bare feet sending spikes of repulsion through his very being with every step. With each step he could hear the mud squelch under his feet even with the rain.

“Alright, we just need to go northwest for two clicks, and we’ll be in the general area with the most frequent sightings. I set up a program on my computer to keep the trail cameras running with the feedback loop and alert me if the creature triggers the motion sensors,” Turning in the direction his GPS instructed Donnie began leading them off the worn path and into the thick of the swamp, each step bringing the rather tall terrapin down an inch into the mud and water. The gentle sloshing from each step his brothers took turned his stomach a little, finally working up the nerve to follow Raph began walking after his brother and shuddered with every wet step.

“You guys see that?” Mikey questioned suddenly, his voice cutting through the heavy droning of the rain. Following the youngest brother’s line of sight Leo, Donnie, and Raph peered through the rain the best they could. A variety of lures dangled and danced from invisible fishing line weaved between two tall trees, like the pattern of a spider’s web. Light reflected off the many fishing hooks, various shreds of fabric dangling as remnants of past victims having been caught by the hidden trap. Adjusting his crooked glasses and blinking in disbelief, Donnie studied the hand-made web curiously.

“That’s…interesting,” Donnie mumbled, unsure what to make of this. Whatever made this did it with the knowledge that A: spiders were something feared and B: how to utilize discarded fishing line and lures to make a web.

“What could have done this?” Leo stuttered, shaking his head and glancing around himself as the paranoia began to tighten his chest.

“I don’t know…but it’s definitely meant to keep people away, not capture them,” Donnie cautiously began walking in the direction the GPS directed, keeping his eyes peeled for other fishing-line spider webs. Taking a few steps closer to inspect the web, Mikey poked and pulled a few of the lures, one of them shaped like a fish and another shaped like some strange cricket like bug.

“This is getting weird bro,” Mikey stated to Raph, turning to join the grimacing brother in following Donnie’s lead.

Another ten minutes of trudging in the disgusting thickness of the swamp, passing at least four or five more fishing-line webs, Leo began noticing some trail markers as they continued. Long, thick, and carved-smooth sticks jutted from stones piled to hold it up or a mound of earth sturdy enough to hold it. Stained with natural pigments, decorated with ropes tied around the top and midsection, or wrapped with a piece of scrap clothing, the markers varied in decoration as they continued. The further they walked, the closer together the trail markers stood.

“Alright, we’re in the general area with the most sightings. So far, none of the wildlife cameras have…” Cutting off his own sentence, Donnie stopped dead in his tracks with a strangled noise. “What the fuck…” he whispered, blood running cold in his veins.

 This wasn’t right, there was absolutely no way he was seeing this. Pressing the screen of his wrist device, the hologram displayed the view from one of the trail cameras. Standing directly within view, somehow not alerting the motion sensors on the camera, was the very creature they were searching for. The sheets of torn fabric draped over the hunched form moved strangely, something lifting from the bottom again. Two glowing rings peered from the shadow under the sheets, the things head was hanging closer to its midsection rather than its shoulders as normal. Whatever this was, it moved in such a slow and careful way it hadn’t set any of the sensors off.

“What tha hells yer problem, Don?” Raph demanded through gritted teeth; fists gripping around his Sai as he waded through a particularly thick patch of mud. Did Leo or Donnie even tell him to wear shoes, or that they were going out in a god damned swamp of all places? Not that the smell differed much, but at least in the sewers he could find a way around the filth. Even if he climbed a tree to avoid the muck that he was currently ankle-deep in, Raph was positive his weight would uproot the tree from the waterlogged ground itself.

“Donnie?” Leo called with worry, stopping in his tracks once noticing the tallest brother had gone silent. There was no answer, just the orchestra of chirping or croaking of amphibians and other critters living within the swamp. Donnie shook his head; it wasn’t possible that the creature knew they were looking for it by staring into a camera.

No. No this thing was smart. It must have been watching them from the very beginning and knew they could see it through the camera. It was toying with them. He didn’t register what way his legs started moving, simply trotting towards his older brother’s voice to show him the live camera footage. His heart sunk further into the pit of his stomach as something taught caught Donnie’s shin beneath the dark water. The invisible twine snapped, setting off a chain reaction of wooden wind chimes dropping from their branches within the trees.

“Shit…It knows!” Donnie swore over the terrible clattering of the hollow wooden windchimes. Compared to the usual serenade of windchimes on a gentle breeze, the hollow wooden chimes dancing in the blustering wind made nothing but a hollow racket. His wrist device beeped loudly, alerting the movement in front of the camera sensors. Bending down to reach into the mud the creature grabbed a large rock. With a flick of its wrist, the creature shattered the camera and cut the feed.

“The fuck do ya mean ‘it knows’, what’s it know!?” Raph snapped, head whipping around in search of the threat. Donnie and Leo stood off to his right with Mikey to his left only a few feet away. Brandishing his weapons in each hand Raph steadied his breath, readying himself for an ambush or attack from afar.

“It knows we’re here in the swamp, it must have been watching us from a distance the entire time!” Donnie barked loudly, “The wind chimes are a goddamn alarm system!” Cursing under his breath Donnie swiped away the broken footage and tapped to open multiple windows. The other feeds continued to play the live camera, yet the creature never reappeared. If the creature was smart enough to set booby-traps to alert it of intruders and memorized the location of each wildlife camera within the swamp, there was a high chance that it also mapped out the quickest route around them to get to their location without being caught.

The sound of mud and water rapidly sloshing in the distance echoed off the trees from all angles, making it almost impossible to discern which direction the threat rushed at them from. Pulling out his nunchaku Mikey turned his head rapidly, eyes darting as he tried to find his unseen target within the trees. Between the disorienting sounds of the storm and the natural sounds from the swamp’s inhabitants, it was impossible to figure out which direction the creature was charging from. Movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention and Mikey swung his nunchaku, ricocheting a stone aiming for his head.

“Shit, where is it?” Mikey shouted, trying to catch sight of whatever launched that rock. Just as quickly as the wading footsteps rushed in their direction, they vanished behind the natural sounds around them. Steadying his breath while silently unsheathing his katanas Leo’s stood perfectly still, trying to listen for any possible movement. A clash of thunder and lightning roared through the swamp, blinding their senses for a second long enough for the creature to make a move. There was a wet suctioning squelch followed by a deep wooded creek. Leo turned his head towards the sound just in time for his eyes to catch the massive barren dead tree tilting towards Raph.

“RAPH!” Was all Leo could shout before the massive tree came crashing down only a foot away from Raph, one of the massive branches breaking against the back of his shell and knocking him to his knees with a splash.

“Fuck! I got some in my mouth!” Spitting and roaring with anger Raph scrambled in search of his Sai, tridactyl hands sifting through the thick mud, roots, and pond grass. Another splash from the opposite side of the tree caught his attention, Raph snapped his head to look up, breathe catching in his chest as he stared at the creature in clear view.

Two bright white rings gazed at Raphael, its head sway at the end of an impossibly long neck covered by the sheets draped over it. Horror gripped his chest so tight it knocked the air from his lungs as he registered the terrifying thing slowly extended its neck towards him. One tridactyl hand clutched the staff close to its side while the other hand extended its green, three fingers towards him.

Three fingers?

“What the…” He whispered, blinking at the creature that now stood still in plain view. A dirty butcher’s cloth was wrapped around its midsection, random patches of fabric sewn over old torn holes and a thick braided rope tying its to its midsection. The soaking sheets draped over its upper body clung to its shell and weighed down her neck that strained to hold up its head.

“Raph!” His brothers screamed in unison. Leaping over the massive dead tree trunk Donnie’s staff pierced the mud between the two, landing just in front of Raph. Launching itself backwards the creature stumbled, using its staff to steady itself so that it wouldn’t fall backwards. Finding the hilts to his weapons Raph pulled them from the liquified earth, shaking the filth off as Mikey hooked his arm under his bicep and pulled him up.

Instead of running or attacking again, the thing stood in stunned silence. Its head bobbed heavily, studying them with perfectly circular white eyes as they stared back. An oddly familiar three-fingered hand reached for the sheet covering its back, rolling it backwards to reveal more of itself. Shell and plastron now visible, it confirmed what Raph had suspected.

“It’s…another mutant turtle?” Mikey questioned in surprise, blinking as the rain somehow took the moment as a cue to slowly dissipate into a thin mist. The creature silently studied the four of them, eyeing their weapons cautiously but unable to stop herself from taking a tentative step forward.

“Tur…tles?” The elderly turtle croaked, her voice raspy and dry despite the moist air. Lowering his staff but keeping it firmly in hand Donnie stared as the other mutant shambling its way closer. Reaching for the goggles perched on the top of his head Donnie gently tugged them over his glasses and scanned the mutant standing in front of them.

“Not only is she another mutant turtle,” Donnie spoke as his eyes rapidly read over the information being displayed by his goggles. “She’s an endangered Roti Island snake-necked turtle, a critically endangered species possibly extinct in the wild and only found in the illegal pet trade. They’re normally found in swamps or lakes in Indonesia, which explains why she’s here-”

“Focus, Donnie” Leo hissed, sharp steel-blue eyes focused directly on the newly discovered mutant turtle. With the rain finally clearing enough for the moon to peak through the dispersing clouds, gentle light illuminated the elderly mutant turtle standing a few yards away. Using the staff to sweep a few steps in front of her, the elderly mutant took a tentative wet step towards them again, eyes bouncing off their weapons while her head swayed at the end of her neck.

“You’re…turtles,” She spoke again, her voice slightly strained as though she were forcing the sound down her rather long throat. “Other…mutant turtles…I don’t recognize you”

“Yes…yes, we’re other mutant turtles. My name’s Donatello,” Donnie spoke slowly, blinking as he removed the goggles and listened to her slowed speech. “Can you tell us your name?”

The extinguished lantern hanging from the staff clutched in her gnarled tridactyl hand swung gently with every shaky, cautious step she took in their direction. Unsettling bright white irises glowed against pitch black sclera and pupils, studying their faces the closer she got. Mikey audibly swallowed as he ducked himself behind the safety of Raphael, even though the older brother was just as terrified of her appearance as the youngest.

“Myrtha…they call me…Myrtha,” A thin lined smile crooked the ends of her lips, giving her a softer and less intimidating appearance almost. The unnaturally long, muscular neck twisted and contorted as it studied their appearance.

“Myrtha? That’s an interesting name,” Donnie spoke calmly, hiding the nerves that frayed at her rather frightening presence. “Are you alone out here, Myrtha?”

“Yes…live out here by Myrtha’s self…” Myrtha’s head snaked and swayed while speaking, her appearance still unsettling but less frighteningly so. The rain had finally subsided altogether, but the dark clouds still hung low and menacingly with fissures of open sky showing the moon and stars.

“Then who are ‘they’? The ones that called you Myrtha,” Leo probed further, softening his expression but keeping his stance stiff, katana gripped tightly in each hand.

“The doctors…there were many that cared…for Myrtha…at her old home” Her head bobbed and weaved as she spoke in broken sentences. The wet fabric clung to the contours of her shell and muscles of her neck, “Little one…helped Myrtha escape, gave Myrtha…special card that open doors…Myrtha ran for long time…got away from the doctors, hide here”

Inching forward carefully and slowly, Myrtha blinked her darkened eyes up to each of their faces. Flinching as those white rings connected with his baby blue eyes, Mikey shifted himself further behind Raph’s larger form. Raph’s skin crawled as their eyes connected next. Their fearful reactions didn’t deter Myrtha from stepping just a tiny bit further.

“Myrtha hides in the swamp…safest place found, so far…scare people away so they don’t take Myrtha…don’t want to go back…Myrtha heard doctors say Myrtha’s too old…” Turning her head in every angle, surveying her surroundings as though she would be ambushed on cue, Myrtha looked around fearfully. A stroke of realization flashed across her face; Myrtha whipped her head back in their direction with wide eyes. “Are you…here to take…Myrtha back?” Her voice broke as she questioned the four turtle brothers, looking suddenly more terrified than any of them felt. Knotted hands clutched the staff in preparation to fight for her life.

“No, no, no, we aren’t going to take you back,” Leo spoke with soft reassurance, “Myrtha, you…scared a lot of people. They’re talking about you to authorities and closed this entire area until they find you,” He explained, finally sheathing his katanas into their respective holsters.

Horror flashed across her face as though Myrtha was struck by a stray bolt of lightning, head rapidly whipping back, forth, and curling over her shell to look behind herself in search of any possible threats. Hands and legs started to tremble in fear at the thought of returning her to wherever she came from.

“Myrtha, they aren’t here right now-” Donnie made his voice low and soothing, taking a gentle step forward. Catching his movement from her peripheral vision Myrtha jumped back almost an entire foot, wielding her staff in both hands as though she would swing. Pausing and giving Myrtha a moment to calm down again, Donnie began speaking again.

“Listen, Myrtha. We aren’t here to take you back to wherever you came from, but people know you’re here now because you’ve scared off so many people, okay?” He explained slowly, guilt climbing its way into his chest as Myrtha’s fearful eyes blinked at him. The terrifying creature had all but transformed into a fearful elderly woman before Donnie’s very eyes. He held out his hand slowly and delicately towards her. “Can you trust us to help you?”

Wide eyes studied his features carefully, the rings slowly following the contours of his face in search of any lies written on his face before returning to his eyes. Taking a tentative few steps forward Myrtha wordlessly accepted the offered hand. Now that he was as close as possible, the wrinkles and veins covering her body were much more visible, Donnie predicted by appearance alone she could possibly be older than Master Splinter. Gently taking her knotted arthritic hand in his own, Donnie hunched himself over so that his height would be less intimidating.

“What…are we jus’ gonna bring ‘er back to the lair or somethin’?” Raph looked between Leo and Donnie in sheer disbelief. The grime and filth that clung to his skin, gear, and shorts had almost entirely dried on him thanks to the cold wind.

“What other choice do we have,” Leo’s nostrils visibly flared as he exhaled exhaustedly, rubbing the wide bridge of his nose where a headache started to settle. Sharing looks of incredulity, Raph and Mikey tossed their hands up in the air and accepted defeat. As if the back of the truck wasn’t cramped enough.

“Let’s get going,” Donnie announced, firmly squeezing Myrtha’s surprisingly bony hand as it curled around his. The thin lined smile had returned to her features, her eyes shining with gratitude at the purple clad turtle’s kindness. A small smile curled the edge of his own lips, today certainly hadn’t turned out as expected but at least they had found Myrtha before anybody else did. Especially whatever ‘doctors’ were searching for her.

[spiritundaunted]

King George VI & Queen Elizabeth traveling in NJ and NY, 1939

Queen Elizabeth and King George VI wave from the Canadian Pavilion at the New York World's Fair in 1939. Here's a little about their journey on that jam-packed day:

On June 10, 1939, the King & Queen arrived in Red Bank, NJ via special train. From there they traveled a few miles by open car to Fort Hancock at Sandy Hook, where they boarded the US destroyer Warrington for the trip across the harbor to Battery Park in lower Manhattan. (This is video of Warrington crossing the harbor. You can see how hazy it was that day.)

Bertie & Elizabeth were excited to see the New York skyline come into view, and when the ship passed the Statue of Liberty, they stood up from their deck chairs to get a better look.

These places are well known to me, and I always get a little bit of a fangirl thrill knowing I could be walking in Bertie's footsteps. 😊

The Sandy Hook ferry terminal today - most likely this was area where Warrington embarked from back in the day.

Fort Hancock is defunct now, but much of the old buildings and fortifications remain through preservation efforts, like these Officers' Quarters, which always make interesting pictures.

At the start of this very long day, the King & Queen first arrived at the train station in Red Bank, NJ, traveling from Washington DC. Here, they are disembarking the Royal Train and meeting with dignitaries. (photos from NPS and some fun first-hand recollections.)

The Red Bank train station today.

USS Warrington arriving at its ultimate destination - Battery Park in NYC. An enormous crowd awaited the royal couple, greeting them with thunderous cheers. Then they were whisked away again in cars for a high speed journey up the West Side Highway to visit the World's Fair in Queens.

Battery Park isn't the easiest spot to photograph right now because there is a lot of construction in the area. But this is opposite side view of the Pier One building where they would have docked. (you can see just the edge of it all the way on the right in the gif above of the ship arriving.) I'm standing at about the point where they would have gotten onto the West Side Highway.

Adding this last bit for fun, though I've shared it before. This is the breathless commentary of reporters and police dispatchers leading the royal entourage as they progressed from the USS Warrington to Pier One at the Battery, onto the West Side Highway and Grand Central Parkway, all the way to the 1939 World's Fair.

It was very unique reportage because this was the first time something like this was attempted on scene; going live to different reporters dispersed throughout the route, in cooperation with the NYPD and using their radios. It was considered a very challenging undertaking and cutting edge for it's day.

The recording is rather long (dispersed with regal marches when they had nothing to talk about!) but it is a very fun listen if you are interested in this sort of historical thing; especially when the crusty New-York-accented reporters get swept away with Royal Fever - "oh he's handsome!" and "oh she's lovely!" 😂

[jake-whatthefisgoingon-kiszka]

꧁༺ 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓛𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓻𝓼 ༻꧂

Anyone miss angsty Janny? Well I’m back! Part 3!

Pairing: Jake Kiszka X Danny Wagner *slash

Warnings and tags: 18+ only please, angst, mentions of potential panic attacks, power outage, avoidance of feelings, again just one kiss

Word count: 1.9k

“That was good, lets try it like that again” Jake instructed, readjusting his position on the small wooden stool before effortlessly placing his hands back on his acoustic. Danny counted off a quick numbered cadence to establish the tempo, then with each limb in motion started a steady rhythmic beating on his drums.

“Yeah, I’m loving that keep going” Jake continued his strumming as Danny added a few little additions to his playing as well. They jammed for a few minutes, extending the part they were supposed to be working on by a good few measures without any care. Jake closed his eyes and he softly swayed at an angle from where one of his feet remained planted firmly on the floor, and the other kicked up and relaxed on the stool. Danny’s own eyes wandered from the black dots stuck to his drum heads over to the man next to him.

It had been a few weeks since Halloween night, and although Jake wasn’t purposefully trying to ignore Danny or anything, he also hadn’t been looking for ways to be alone with him either. At least that was until today. Josh and Sam were upstairs with their producer working in a different studio room to record some vocals for the new record. That left the drummer and the guitarist to their own accords.

Jake had suggested what to focus on while it was just the two of them. A softer, gentle, and very emotional bridge that Jake had yet to perfect himself because it was “just missing something”. Danny wasn’t sure what he had done but somehow, maybe with just his company a constant beating reassurance, Jake was finally able to put the once intangible vision of what he was trying to say with his instrumental voice to near words.

When the playing slowly faded, Jake opened his eyes again with a warm excited smile and quickly moved to set his guitar down so he could scribble into his sheet music before he forgot what magic had just happened here.

“Well, you think the others are going to finish that quickly?” Danny questioned with a chuckle as he crossed his sticks over the snare drum and slowly stood up to stretch.

“Knowing Josh? No way” Jake played along, stepping back to take a look at his penciled in marks, his head nodding slightly as he played it over in his mind again.

“I mean, usually I last a little longer you know” Danny added, taking his joke in another direction entirely, “but if we work that well together then”. When Jake finally looked up from his page with wide eyes, Danny just smiled mischievously and shrugged.

“What the fuck are you even saying Wagner?” Jake cocked a challenging eyebrow. It wasn’t uncommon for either of them to make quips, even of the sexual nature, at each other. Before Jake might have come back at Danny with something witty only to dissect the entire interaction by himself later. This time he kept quiet though, almost as if he was waiting for Danny to do something to back up his claim.

A few seconds of silence settled in the rather small room they had chosen to work in today, both Jake and Danny refusing to be the first one to break eye contact until a loud crack of thunder penetrated the sound proof walls of their enclosure and all the power abruptly went out.

“Oh shit, I didn’t even know it was raining out” Danny quickly tried to assess the damages to the recording equipment, but with there being no windows in the room it was nearly pitch black. Before he could stumble over something expensive, Jake flipped his cell-phone flashlight on and clamored over toward the door.

All it took was for one failed turn of the handle for all of the blood to drain from Jake’s face. “It’s locked”.

He wasn’t actually surprised it was locked, in fact his suspicion was the reason he had hurried to check the door first. All of the recording rooms had electromagnetic locks on them. The storm cut the power so they should have automatically come unlocked, but maybe for security reasons they ran off some sort of backup power.

“This is ridiculous!” Jake shouted in rampant frustration as he tugged harder at the heavy door. It was no use, they were stuck, and he had already glanced down to see his cell reception was also gone.

”What if there were a fire or something? We would get roasted alive in here!” Instead of continuing to try the handle Jake resorted to just pounding his fists on the door, hoping his brothers had managed to make it down the stairs when the lights went out.

”Hey, hey calm down you’re going to hyperventilate” Danny tried to calm his friend, but he could hear Jake’s breathing intensify. “Come here”.

With one hand under his arm and the other grabbing his hand to spin him around, Danny pulled Jake into a tight hug in the dark. “We’re going to be okay. You’re going to be okay, I’m right here with you”.

Jake’s breath steadily began to even out again but with their extremely close proximity now Danny could feel his heart rate pick up even faster than it already was, though not from panic. He leaned back, the hand that had come to rest as a comforting weight on Jake’s back came around to cup his face. Danny’s long fingers sprawled across Jake’s jaw with feather light touch, like spider’s legs that stuck to smooth surfaces.

“Danny-” Jake whispered. Even if no one could hear them while in this room together, he still felt like his speaking voice would be too much for this unexpected instance they’d found themselves in.

“Hmm?” Danny didn’t even bother with words, his voice coming out in an even quieter hum that vibrated like a single note played in the acoustic room just as their instruments had earlier. His fingers continue to explore Jake’s face. They traced hair-thin webs across his features, making the skin prickle and the blood rush to the surface to compensate for the sensation.

Just like in his bedroom, Jake found himself caught up in Danny’s overwhelming presence. His body radiated heat like a furnace, and Jake clung to it for solace. His scent swirled around in his nostrils as he took a deep steadying breath. The smell of Danny’s cologne and hair products sticking out the most, but with hints of his own natural musk still seeping through.

Something came over Danny again, an urge he’d never felt before that night spent in Jake’s bedroom, and one he hadn’t had much success in overcoming as of yet. Danny dipped his head down, the tip of his nose brushing against Jake’s cheekbone first guiding him towards the correct place to press his lips into a kiss. Jake’s previously tense form immediately went slack in Danny’s arms and he had to cling to his shoulders to stay upright.

Danny wasn’t quite sure where he was going with this second ever kiss with Jake. He hadn’t thought about what he would do if he found himself kissing Jake again, which was rather ignorant on his part considering he hadn’t much stopped himself from thinking about the first one. Danny laid in bed nearly every night and as soon as he closed his eyes he always found himself back in that moment, thinking, dreaming, about what it would have been like if he’d just allowed himself to go further-

Well, his dreams were becoming an unanticipated reality as Jake didn’t instantly pull away from the connection, and Danny parted his lips and tightened his grip. The pads of his fingertips dimpled into Jake’s cheek as he tilted his head and Jake let out a small plaintive whine as Danny’s teeth grazed his bottom lip.

Afraid his inadvertent action had hurt Jake, Danny pulled away, glowing eyes searching through the dark as his mind scrambled for a way to excuse his misstep. Jake wasn’t having it though, he wrapped his hand around the back of Danny’s neck and took a step closer, pressing their bodies together as their lips touched again. It was featherlight at first, until Jake’s tongue slipped out and Danny willingly opened his mouth to allow him in.

Jake didn’t taste like he would have guessed, mostly because he didn’t expect it to ever come to this so he hadn’t really taken the time to ponder the possibilities. There wasn’t one singular familiar taste Danny could pinpoint alone, but more like a combination of the morning’s mouthwash lingering behind, the afternoon's lunch which he remembered was a BLT from the shop around the corner, and overall just Jake’s natural saliva mingling with his own. It should have weirded him out thinking about it, but instead Danny pressed his tongue inside further, chasing more. His hand which had slipped from Jake’s cheek now clung to his side, tugging at the open front of his flannel.

If he could rid Jake of the extra piece of pesky outerwear he usually preferred to wear in the icy studio rooms, he would, but before Danny’s hand could move into action the lights suddenly came back on.

The both of them had the same reaction, taking a step back and separating like they were two positive ends of a magnet that had gotten too close together. Jake cleared his throat as he pulled the one side of his flannel back up over his shoulder- apparently Danny had managed to pull it off some. Danny’s palms still felt clammy, and he could feel a cooling gloss of spit still coating his lips, but he was stuck in a trance.

His eyes scanned over Jake’s now completely illuminated image and he watched as Jake nervously pinched at his own kiss plumped bottom lip then ran his fingers through the tousled strands of his hair. Danny was now hyper aware of every detail his friend’s body had to offer. From the way Jake’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed harshly, the way his collar bones just barely peaked out from the cut up top of his shirt. Thick silver ropes of his Atocha necklace accentuated the smooth pane of skin it decorated, then disappeared underneath the washed out cotton. Danny could imagine the pendant that hung there, and his mind easily pictured the antique coin laying against Jake’s bare chest…

“We should umm-” Danny’s voice felt hoarse as he tried to speak normally again, breaking the tension in his limbs by moving to wipe his hands off on his jeans.

“Go check on the others?” Jake finished for him.

I was going to say talk about this, Danny thought, but instead he just nodded and followed Jake towards the door.

With a now hopeful tug, the lock gave way and Jake was successfully able to pull the heavy door open. Danny reached above and held it for them, “after you”.

Jake hesitated for a moment longer, glancing over his shoulder at the small mess they had left behind. He looked like he wanted to say something more, or perhaps he wanted to turn back and stay longer. Turn the lights back out and see how much trouble they could get into, but ultimately he straightened his shoulders and continued forward.

Thanks for reading! @kultavalo @sanguinebats @jenniferkiszka @freyjalw

[dustedmagazine]

Oneida — Expensive Air (Joyful Noise)

Two years after their album Success, on which they blended extended out improvisations and taut garage rock songs, Oneida returns with their 17th full length recording, Expensive Air. Once again, the band demonstrates mastery both of crafting hooks and building compelling long form pieces. Success was a favorite among a number of Dusted staff members, myself included. There’s little doubt that the positive vibes will be similar for Expensive Air.

The album is bookended by two extended jams, both loose, raucous, and ebullient. In between are shorter songs, chock-full of distorted guitars, a powerful rhythm section, and yawping vocals. Singer-multi-instrumentalist Bobby Matador (Robertson Thatcher) initially wrote all of the material as two to three minute starting points, developing them with the band into eight tracks clocking in at thirty-three minutes, abundant in variety.

Unlike Success, where a number of songs were muscular and lean, Expensive Air’s often include nearly as much experimentation as the extended material. Take the title track, where a bleeping note is juxtaposed with squalling downward slides, the guitars exploring dissonant intervals and unconventionally voiced barre chords. The rhythm section, guitarist/bassist Hanoi Jane (Francis McDermott) and drummer Kid Millions (John Colpitts) thunder in alt-rock fashion. “Stranger” finds Matador singing in No-Wave style over minimal guitars. “Salt’s” oscillating riff creates a ubiquitous underpinning, as does the intense playing once again of the rhythm section. Layers of electronics alternate with a doomy tune from Showtime (Shahin Motia) on “La Plage.” “Here it Comes” is an uptempo post punk anthem with an organ solo redolent of Manzarek and a great hook. The singing here isn’t by any means tuneful, hollering together into the void is more like it. Its energy may make you want to yell along.

Opening track “Reason to Hide,” clocking in at nearly seven-and-a-half minutes long, has a bass ostinato and ghostly synths that could be outtakes from Amnesiac. Kid Millions keeps up a forceful groove throughout, and clangorous guitars complete the intense atmosphere. A rough half-spoken vocal from Matador arrives a little more than halfway through, imitating the melody of the bassline but slower and with greater flexibility. Kid Millions joins in the singing, which tightens up and takes center stage. A coda brings out elements from the piece’s inception, ending energetically.

The final track, “Gunboats,” is another extended essay, this time eight minutes long. A minimally constructed guitar riff, dovetailing with the bass-line, is accompanied by fill-laden drumming from Millions. Gradually, a second guitar part enhances the texture, and Goth-hued singing begins in octaves. The guitars build screeching solos, accompanied with fervor by the rhythm section, and the proceedings end in collapse. “Gunboats” is a master class in indie rock intensity.

Christian Carey

[starshadyy]

“Meet Surf and Turf, the scrappy ragtag band of oddballs shredding the charts with their rebellious, indie rock style! This motley squad is famous in fringe circles not only for their music, but their heart-stopping competitive battles! With members hailing from all corners of Inkadia and beyond, you’re sure to find something unique in this band’s signature fiery flavor!”

meet my splatband—surf and turf! :D

allow me to briefly introduce these funky creatures [using a writing style inspired by the official splatband intro posts teehee]:

“Meet Riot, the pistol shrimp with a captivatingly brash personality that leaves her fans wanting more! Hailing from the heart of the Splatlands, she brings the heat with her powerful vocals and thunderous percussion skills! Her commanding attitude renders her the closest thing Surf and Turf has to a leader. Look out for her both on the battlefield and the top charts!”

“Say hello to Gill, the mellow guitarist and dependable mediator of Surf and Turf! It was his idea to start a band in the first place, with his amicable personality and beaming smile being the spark that would blaze forth into the jamming inferno that we know today! This easygoing everyman works part-time at The Crust Bucket in between his studies at Inkblot Art Academy.”

“Make way for Null, the elusive vocalist and songwriter of Surf and Turf! Due to her private personality, little is known about this enigmatic Glass Octoling. However, there are rumors that they joined the band soon after escaping from the Deepsea Metro following a deeply traumatic experience…”

“Be amazed by Selene, the adorable prodigy behind Surf and Turf’s iconic synth! Don’t be fooled by her cute appearance—this sea bunny is nothing short of an agent of chaos! This pint-sized princess is a menace on the battlefield and in the recording booth.”

⋆｡°✩

there you have it! i hope you approve of my brain children ^^; let me know who your favorite is, i’m dying to know! hopefully i’ll be able to make more surf and turf content soon~☆

[fanficfanattic]

🌩️? 🌈?

🌩️

Share something funny/cracky from your WIP:

“Jamie fucking Tartt. Explain yourself!”

“Wait, what did I do?”

“I want to know how you tricked all these people?!? No one in this entire godforsaken place knows you are the world’s biggest fucking nerd!”

Season One Jamie has some friends from pre-academy schooling surprise visit. They had it cleared with Ted of course. He and the rest of the Greyhounds discover they don’t much about the real Jamie Tartt.

🌈

Share something soft/fluffy from your WIP:

The seriousness of his face, and of the moment, was wiped away with a quick grin once they could all hear the thunder of Jamie’s approaching feet and his mom’s delighted laughter. Simon’s happiness was written all over his face even as Jamie stumbled a bit with the momentum of stopping, then let Georgie down.

“Fucking, hell, Jam Jar. That might be a new record for ya!” And she shook her phone in his face. He just grabbed it to take with him as he collapsed onto the bench, barely noticing as his back brushed against Roy’s thigh.

“Don’t thinkit. Gotta do the maths, that pitch ain’t the same size as what’s at Man City.” Looking down over his shoulder, Roy could see Jamie opening up the calculator app on his own phone, still holding his mom’s with the timer screen showing.

“Okay, baby, I’ll leave it to ya.” And then she was dancing her way to where Lasso, Beard and her husband were.

“Mint, you gave’em the muffins you made, love?” He nodded as she grabbed his left hand in both of hers so she could pull herself up to smack a kiss on his mouth. On the way back to standing fully on both feet she took her sunglasses out of the pocket Ted had stashed them in, and then pulled her husband over to stand next to Jamie.

She dropped herself into his lap, not bothering to check if he’d moved the phones out of her way first. Again, eerily in sync, he had held one each to the side as she sat before bringing them back together over her legs.

“Yeah, close, but not quite as quick as your visit my last year at academy.”

“Oh, but that was before Simon, and his muffins. I probably put on ten kilos since then. Weighed you down.”

“Not even, fuck off with that. More, I’m not a teenager anymore so I shouldn’t be sprintin without a proper warm up, yeah?”

“The fucking Twilight Zone,” Roy whispered at hearing Tartt be the sensible one in a group.

I’ve shared some of this previously, it’s also a Season One Jamie fic. Ted has the First Annual AFC Richmond family day. Jamie invites his mum and stepdad to attend. And as @mitskijamie once said “It absolutely makes sense that Roy was raised by an old man and Jamie was raised by a teenage girl.” Some things make a lot more sense suddenly.

[hooked-on-elvis]

"Just A Little Talk With Jesus" (1956)

The Million Dollar Quartet (Jam Session): Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash. December 4, 1956 at Sun Studios, Memphis, Tennessee

LYRICS — "Just A Little Talk With Jesus" Songwriter: Cleavant Derricks I once was lost in sin but Jesus took me in And then a little light from heaven fill my soul He bathed my heart in love and He wrote my name above And just a little talk with Jesus makes me whole Now let us have a little talk with Jesus Let us tell Him all about our troubles He will hear our faintest cry And He will answer by and by And when you feel a little prayer wheel turnin' And you will know a little fire is burnin' Find a little talk with Jesus makes it right I may have doubts and fears My eyes be filled with tears But Jesus is a friend who watches day and night I go to him in prayer He knows my every care And just a little talk with Jesus makes it right Now let us have a little talk with Jesus Let us tell Him all about our troubles He will hear our faintest cry And He will answer by and by And when you feel a little prayer wheel turnin' And you will know a little fire is burnin' You will find a little talk with Jesus makes it right Now let us have a little talk with Jesus Let us tell Him all about our troubles He will hear our faintest cry And He will answer by and by And when you feel a little prayer wheel turnin' And you will know a little fire is burnin' You will find a little talk with Jesus makes it right Right, right, right

The Million Dollar Session. Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Elvis, and Johnny Cash at the Sun Studio, December 4, 1956.

When I listen to Elvis harmonizing in the 50s like that I wonder what went wrong when he tried to get into a gospel quartet a little time before his music career begun. Like, who the hell said his voice didn't fit? I wonder if he was too nervous, too shy to show his singing skills properly on that occasion or either if his voice didn't fit the other members of that quartet because it was too prominent, too thunderous for gospel music as they might have (mistakenly) judged or something - because listening to the Million Dollar Quartet jam session recordings it's clear Elvis' voice took over but in a way that combined perfectly well with the other voices there. Anyway... their loss, our win.

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

"THE GREATEST STONER/ GARAGE/ PSYCHEDELIC/ PUNK/ METAL BAND EVER. THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN HUGE."

PIC(S) INFO: Spotlight on CD package design for the KYUSS/ QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE split release, artwork by the late, great Frank Kozik (1962-2023), issued under the legendary Man's Ruin Records (Man's Ruin MR 063) in 1997.

OVERVIEW: "Emerging wild-eyed and stoned from the desert surrounding Palm Springs, California, in 1992 with their classic second album "Blues for the Red Sun," KYUSS proceeded over the ensuing three years and through two further masterpieces to become the greatest stoner/ garage/ psychedelic/ punk/ metal band ever. They should have been huge.

But saddled with a record company that didn't have the first idea what to do with them, KYUSS only sold records to friends, family and a relatively minuscule band of diehard fans. So they split. Admittedley at a creative high point, but also at a time when they had so much to offer. This much is testified to by the first three tracks on "Queens of the Stone Age." Here are the last songs Kyuss recorded, all first released on a highly-prized 10-inch single and each encapsulating the hypnotic intensity and gargantuan blugeon the band summarily conjured up.

The first track is a frazzled eight-minute deconstruction of BLACK SABBATH's "Into the Void'. KYUSS remain one of the very few bands capable of doing Sabbath's black-hearted doom justice; accomplised in this instance by taking the original tracks prehistoric slurge of a riff and dragging it through a series of skewed rhythmic shifts and a long spaced-out jam.

Like all great bands, KYUSS' sound was utterly distinctive: essentially, Josh Homme's fuzzed-up guitar operating in tandem with Scott Reeder's monstrous bass rumble to create riffs that hit you with the force of a bulldozer to the chest, while singer John Garcia howled away impressively, and intermittently, over the top. All of this is contained in the two-part "Fatso Forgotso" -- a vast 10-minute expanse of soul-drenched, head-spinning rolling thunder.

The album is completed by three tracks from Homme's new band, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE. These too are extraordinary. The music is still dense, trippy and relentlessly heavy, with an even more extreme psychedelic edge. On "If Only Everything" and "Born to Hula." Homme -' who also sings -- appears to be playing a sitar with a road drill, while the whacked-out instumental "Spiders and Vinegaroons" is clearly the work of a man who's imbibed a vast amount of mind-altering substances, and gone mad. We'll not see their like again."

-- "KERRANG!" (review by Paul Rees), published January 10th 1998.

Source: https://mikeladano.com/2023/09/26/review-kyuss-queens-of-the-stone-age-1997-split-ep & discogs.

[doomedandstoned]

Albuquerque’s BLUE HERON Reveals Gnarly New Music Video “Dinosaur”

~Doomed & Stoned Debuts~

By Billy Goate

Get ready for gritty heavy rock from Albuquerque with a new album from BLUE HERON. Raspy, terrifying roars meet brooding, turbulent low end. "Dinosaur," the band's latest music video, comes midway through the new 9-tracker, 'Everything Fades' (2024), their second full-length, which is just about as down to earth as you could ask for.

"Dinosaur" begins ominously with a dank, questioning riff that leads into a mysterious cool-of-the-morning desert-stoner metal groove, with bittersweet bluesy touches throughout the song. Jadd Shickler's vocals are reminiscent of those epic early High on Fire tracks, somewhat cleaner than Matt Pike's singing approach but no less gravelly and fearsome. Meanwhile Mike Chavez on guitar and Steve Schmidlapp on bass rustle up a storm of gut splitting heft, driven by a fierce and determined rhythm from drummer Ricardo Sanchez.

Towards the 4 minute mark things get slow and doomy like the steady advance of pregnant rain clouds draping across the sky, perhaps an omen of whatever great and mysterious calamity befell the alpha predator's of planet earth's past (and a warning that we too may go the way of the dinosaurs).

Blue Heron's Everything Fades is rooted in the mood and verve of the High Desert. The band's sound on this record has a tangible feeling of mass, weight, and depth. It comes out on September 27th on Blues Funeral Recordings and can be pre-ordered on vinyl, compact disc, and digital formats right here. Stick it on a playlist with High on Fire, Egypt, Lamassu, Forming The Void, and Red Messa.

Give ear...

SOME BUZZ

Blue Heron expand on their unyielding desert sound with a new slab of propulsive, sun-scorched riff-heaviness. 'Everything Fades' (2024) finds the band reveling in low-tuned roil and amplifier hum, churning out swerving grooves as if the primordial spirit of the desert itself compels them.

Balanced between laid-back, meditative atmospherics and heavier, more aggressive lunges, Blue Heron’s cruising jams and gritty stoner romps call to mind echoes of Kyuss, Clutch and Monster Magnet, as well as modern contemporaries Valley of the Sun and Greenleaf.

Full of rhythmic intensity, sledgehammer riffing and vocals ranging from clean and moody to howling and raw, 'Everything Fades' covers a wide expanse of musical ground that shows how familiar influences can always be molded into inventive, exciting new forms.

Surrounded by endless horizons, Blue Heron formed in 2018 out of a compulsion to fill the vastness with massive volume, saturating their piece of desert with rolling, thunderous riffs, drums that pummel and swing, deep, thrumming tones and vocals that rip and roar.

Everything Fades by Blue Heron

Blue Heron’s guitarist and singer were founding members of Spiritu, possibly Albuquerque, New Mexico's first desert rock band, whose brief burn in the early aughts included a Jack Endino-produced LP, a European tour with Clutch, Spiritual Beggars and Dozer, and a compilation appearance alongside Entombed and Mastodon.

Their debut LP "Ephemeral" arrived in May of 2022 via Kozmik Artifactz in Europe and Seeing Red Records in the USA. Substantial appreciation in the underground led to performances at Ripplefest Texas and Monolith on the Mesa and opening slots for The Well, Elder, Black Mountain, Ruby the Hatchet, Howling Giant, Heavy Temple and The Obsessed, along with a swath of positive reviews throughout the heavy media.

Follow The Band

Get Their Music

[broadsidemagazine]

"Birth of a Broadside", written by Josh Dunson

Broadside's home is a small little room that's got chairs and a sofa with a tape recorder finishing off the bottom wall space. First people Sis Cunningham welcomed in after me was two-thirds of the New World Singers. Gil Turner took out his 12-stringer, borrowed a flat pick, Sis took out the mike for the tape recorder, and out came a talking blues Gil just wrote about the newspaper strike that had us all quietly laughing. We didn’t want to laugh louder than quietly because that might get on the tape.

Before the song’s over, in walks Bob Dylan and Suzy [Suze Rotolo], who sometimes illustrate's Bob's songs. The last verse that Gil was singing had how he was going to see his friend, Bob Dylan, who is a walking newspaper and will give him the lowdown on what's happening in the world. Bob thought it was a great song just from hearing the last verse.

Then, Gil took out his 6-string Gibson, handed it over to Bob Dylan saying how Bob’s new song “Masters Of War” was a powerful and a great one, one of the best Bob had ever written. I kept on thinking he had written a lot of good ones, some that had real lyric poetry like “Blowin’ In The Wind” and “Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall” (which makes you think right away of Lorca), and I waited for the images of rain, and thunder, and lightning to come out in great spectacles.

But no, this time there was a different kind of poetry, one of great anger, accusation, just saying what the masters of war are, straight forward and without compromising one inch in its short sharp direct intensity. I got a hunch this is the most difficult Dylan song for others to sing right, 'cause it can so easily be over sung, made a melodrama. But when Bob sings it, it rings honest and true. I hope a record is made of Bob singing this song and that a lot of people will listen to the quiet voice that Bob sings this song in because there is a dignity in the words that comes from when they have been thought about for a long, long time.

And right after that, not waiting for a chance to get two breaths, Bob came along with “Playboys & Playgirls Ain't Gonna Run My World," a group song that like Pete Seeger said later in the evening "is going to be sung by a million people in the next year.” Its tune catches whole crowds easy, and the words come right along from the feeling, Hell man, I was born here and I live here, but I’m not goin’ to let rats knock things down where I was born, where I live.

In the meantime, Phil Ochs, his sidekick, and the third third of the New World Singers, Happy Traum, came in. Boy, this room was so jammed packed with people that there was real foot and banjo and guitar shifting necessary to get Phil Ochs close enough to the mike to record his three new songs. Phil Ochs. What a guy! Quiet, soft spoken, but there with his guitar he spun some of the most real verses that's goin' to be written about the death of N.Y. Youth Board worker Louis C. Marsh and the miners striking in Hazard, Kentucky. There was an immediateness about those two songs Phil did. I got a strong feeling that his song on Hazard is going to be remembered past this strike, and be resung in many strikes to come.

Phil’s last song, a fine one of hope with a great group chorus had the last half of it heard by Pete Seeger who later that night was going to sing at the Hazard strikers rally at Community Church. After hearing the tape of the songs, smiling all the way through, Pete sang a number of new songs sent him recently.

We were all out of breath without breathing hard, that feeling you get when a lot of good things happen all at once. Pete expressed it, leaning back in his chair, saying slowly in dreamy tones: “You know, in the past five months I haven't heard as many good songs and as much good music as I heard here tonight.”

That’s what makes Broadside, all that good singing and all that good writing, plus a lot of hard work, labor pains. In the sheets of paper there are many smiles and many glances of anger, and even more the strong hope that these songs just won’t stay on the mimeograph pages, but will live and be sung.

(Broadside #20, February 1963)

[thelastattempt]

((PSA: Walls is and will always be my baby and I will accept zero slander, except for the slander I am about to inflict cause I’m stubborn like that))

*points dramatically* ONWARDS:

I had a long drive today and I listened to Walls top to bottom for the first time in a long time. And about halfway in, I started chewing this quote over

There’s obviously that stigma that the second record can often be challenging, but I think for me it was different. I almost felt that more on my first record… There was a lot of… not necessarily treading water, but definitely trial and error on that first album.

I’ll restate again that I love this album, it’ll always have a special place for me. There’s some stand out moments that will remain engraved in my bones, but I get it. I think I get it.

Mid-tempo guitar driven melancholia is my jam, it really is, but Walls now feels contained, restrained against its will, exactly like a second album when the artist is going. through. it. and the horrors are horror-ing and the agonies are ceaseless.

I sit in the car with the stereo on 72 and I’m belting my heart out and I feel like I can see into his chest. Like he laid it out and opened his rib cage and said - ‘there, have it then’. And that is probably why I’ll always feel so connected to this album. And also why this album will always feel like a forgotten child.

BUT. But but but. Faith in the Future sounds fun. It sounds like hope, it sounds like dancing in a downpour, it sounds like range. And the themes are all the same, but dressed differently, the motif is unchanged, but the effect is drastically different. Walls (my love, my darling) is crying at the windowsill and Faith in the Future is contemplating the thunder. I don’t know how else to say it.

Faith in the Future isn’t necessarily better by itself, but I feel like the artist was better writing it. Maybe because they wrote it, I don’t know.

When the album’s finished and Spotify slides into WAOYF without permission, you can feel a visceral difference, an energy that was missing from Walls, a veil lifted, an era shifted.

And I think I finally understand this quote and why songs are ‘a moment in time’ and even though some will always be sacred to me, why it’s so important to keep moving through. Because it’s only going to get better.

[miss-tc-nova]

A Different Person - Katsuki Bakugo x Reader

Uh, well, the answer is actually no, I’m not doing requests for MHA at the moment...But what the hell. I could use something to get the writing going again. But, beware, this is rough and quick and short. Still, it was something fun to do. So thank you.

Words: 1,113

Premise: Reader needs a bit of a pep-talk to get through the storm. 

~~~~~

              The world rushes past in a blur yet there’s no time to decipher it. I can’t be here; I can’t be outside. It takes every ounce of self-control I have to focus on getting myself out of here. It doesn’t matter that I left before school was over or that people were yelling at me when I took off. My brain will not let me stay out here with those black clouds looming closer.

              The door to the dorms burst open. It’s record-breaking how fast I get upstairs. Then the first strike of thunder cracks through the air, rattling my heart and stealing the air from my lungs. It’s a miracle the door to my room remains on its hinges for all the force I use to open it. Hardly faring any better is the closet door but at least the closet is shut behind me.

              Beneath boxes and clothes and other stray items, I jam myself into the furthest corner from the world. Despite my attempts to bury myself, none of it soothes the anxiety blazing in my chest. Each heartbeat roars as loudly as the thunder, every breath has to be dragged into my lungs, and my body trembles far more than any leaf in the approaching storm. In the confines of my closet, I let my mind run wild with the fear I can’t contain anymore.

              I don’t know how much time passes in my panic, but everything freezes when I hear my bedroom door open.

              “Oi, Sparks. You in here?”

              That would be my boyfriend—the last person I want to see me like this. I love him, but he’s brash and I don’t know if he’d be ashamed of me or relentlessly ridicule me.

              My hand clamps over my mouth to stifle my breathing. This feels like hiding from a vicious predator that’ll end everything should he find me.

              Another clap of thunder roars, overriding my preservation instincts and causing me to flinch. That sudden action topples a box beside me, sending it tumbling forward into the door. Unfortunately for me, the door gives way, exposing me to the hunter.

              His shadow looms across the closet, even so, those crimson eyes glow with suspicion. The dread and shame wash over me beneath that glare.

              “The hell are you doing?” The indignance in his voice jabs at my heart.

              Tears pique in my eyes. I don’t know what to say.

              “Stop being weird and—”

              This time, the thunder brings with it a flash that lights the whole room. My entire body seizes, but this time, a squeak of fear escapes me. Gods, I’m so pathetic.

              While I cower, I wait for the mockery. Or maybe he’ll just leave. I can’t imagine who would want to deal with an electric-quirk user who’s terrified of thunder and lightning.

              Regardless of what I expect, it’s not what happens.

              I hear shuffling and open my eyes to find Katsuki shoving things out of the way so he can join me. We sit in silence, the awkwardness building. Right up until another lightning strike sends its booming call. Instinctively, my body curls into his, my face pressed into his shoulder and fists clutching at his shirt. To my greatest surprise, an arm slips around me, pulling me in closer.

              “The surprises never end with you,” he mutters.

              That’s putting it nicely, I suppose.

              His steady heartbeat, the rise and fall of his chest, the warmth radiating off him—it all soothes my chaotic mind. Honestly, having Katsuki hold me through the storm, I don’t know how I made it through every other one. I’m still hiding and each boom still terrifies me, but somehow I feel in control.

              “I’m sorry,” I murmur, once I can think clearly again.

              The hand at my back grips tighter. “I don’t understand a bit of what’s going on, but I don’t need your apologies.”

              “It’s—” I hesitate as a gentle rumble rolls through, but it’s not so bad with Katsuki here. “H-How are you not afraid?”

              “It’s all just noise and flashing lights to me. I don’t see the big deal.”

              “No, I mean…how are you not afraid of what you can do?”

              “Huh?”

              It takes me a moment to sum up my words. “You have all this explosive power. You could tear buildings down in seconds. How are you not afraid of hurting people?”

              Those golden brows furrow. “Because I only hurt bad guys.”

              “But—”

              “Only idiots hit things they didn’t mean to. I’m not stupid.” His sharp words prick at my wavering heart. “And neither are you.”

              Suddenly, the feeling melts, soothing the pain he’d instigated.

              “We’ve been training for years to take on villains. One day we’re gonna be the top heroes. There’s no way we would make stupid mistakes like that.”

              A memory of that accident—the one from when I first got my quirk—flashes behind my eyes. “But I already did…”

              Katsuki scoffs. “Maybe when you were a kid. Nobody’s got instant control of their powers when they first get ‘em. I think I singed off my dad’s eyebrows when I got mine. You’re a different person now and you gotta trust who that is. Otherwise you’re always gonna be stuck in this mess of a closet you got goin’ on.” He shifts. “Seriously, what the hell do you got in here? I think there’s a hanger in my kidney.”

              I take a moment, soaking in his words along with the solid presence he brings me. There’s sense in his words, no matter how intimidating it seems. I’ve learned a few things from this experience, but I think the most important one is that, at the very least, I’m not alone.

              “Thanks Katsuki,” I murmur.

              “But if you ever tell anyone I told you that thing with my dad, I’m gonna make you regret it.”

              In the face of his threat, a smile tugs at my lips and the smallest laugh escapes me.

              “I mean it,” he growls.

              As I peer up at him, I see his scowl marred by a smile threatening to break through.

              I hum, “Me too.”

              “Shut up.” His head bumps against mine affectionately. “So how long do we gotta sit in the closet? The kidney hanger is killing me.”

              “Will you stay?”

              “Weren’t you listening? I just said—”

              Dislodging myself from the young man, I peer into those ruby eyes I always found mesmerizing. “I meant with me.”

              A crooked grin spreads across that ruggedly handsome face, causing my heart to skip a beat. I love that look: the look of pure adoration meant only for me.

              “Do you really have to ask?”

~~~~~

Nova’s Other Masterlist

[all-rock-and-roll-is-homosexual]

Trouser Press February 1979/record reviews

Featuring:

The Jam

Phil Manzanera

Godley and Creme

Todd Rundgren

The Residents

Brian Eno

Fabulous Poodles

The Werewolves

Johnny Thunders

Cheap Trick

XTC

and others

if you like my scans and want to repost them off of tumblr or crop/otherwise make edits to any of the photos contained within this article please credit my blog and the original photographer (where applicable), and if you’re feeling extra generous and want to help me out you can donate via my ko-fi donating will allow me to obtain more magazines to scan and upgrade my equipment

[renerox]

SURFADELIC POP POWER! vol.5

. Maybe this is final installment in POP POWER series, a mix of 70’s/80’s punk & power pop favs featuring bands as THE BOYS, 999, BARRACUDAS, BUZZCOCKS, BLONDIE, THE UNDERTONES, SHOES, FLAMIN’ GROOVIES, THE JAM, PLIMSOULS, 20-20, THE SCRUFFS, JOHNNY THUNDERS, THE JOLT, ACTION NOW, THE PENCILS, THE RECORDS, THE KIDS, THE TOMS, THE NOW, THE GO, BRAM TCHAIKOVSKY. . . ***in comments! .

[freakinfriends]

music taste headcanons for each member of spiral?

@spreadeaglebeag1e/

Hey there! Maybe one day I'll attempt to make a playlist even though I'm sure it won't be thorough enough but I'm too lazy.

So other than what's already been established in canon on the long gone Daria site. Which is that Jesse and Trent got their start doing angst-driven power pop and Weird Al covers. (Which is totally never something I'd have thought they'd be into myself tbh but I kind of love it.) And that their musical influences are: "Jane's Addiction, Morrissey, The Doors (the band, not the movie, which sucked), Cocteau Twins, Zappa, NIN, Nirvana, Gregorian Chants, thunder, the Banana Splits." (Again. Weird choices but I'm into it.)

Trent: Anything alternative. Doesn't matter what kind of alternative. Mostly 80s/90s bands. Punk, industrial, grunge, rock. Other than the above bands some other examples include: Alice In Chains, The Prodigy, Korn, Soundgarden, Sex Pistols, The Ramones, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Primus, The Stooges

Jesse: Jesse and Trent have a lot of overlap. They basically share one brain cell. Jesse is more likely to include classic rock and sappy 80s hair ballads like 'More Than Words' by Extreme. (Also the Banana Splits on that list was 10000% Jesse and nobody convince me otherwise. He also wants to know how they found singing chipmunks for Alvin and the Chipmunks and how many they had to audition. It takes them a really long time to try and convince him that they didn't actually record singing chipmunks.) Also he really likes bands that have cool music videos.

Band Examples: Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Slaughter, Sisters of Mercy, The Cure, Prince, Pearl Jam, Van Halen, Whitesnake, The Misfits (Both the actual band and the Jem version.), early No Doubt

Max: Max tends to listen to the really loud and aggressive stuff. Thrash metal, punk, industrial, nu metal. Some examples include: Alien Ant Farm, Anthrax, Linkin Park, Ministry, Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, NOFX, KMFDM, Rage Against the Machine, Def Leppard, Guns N Roses, AC/DC

Nick: Nick is said to have a side gig as a DJ. So he is the one member of the group who has to stay up to date on a lot of Top 100 radio hits and the kind of music the rest of the band probably would refer to as sellout music. He pretends he doesn't like it but actually doesn't think it's all bad. Max catches him humming Mmmbop a few times and gets pretty mad about it. (It doesn't fit the era but I feel like if there was a Spiral in modern times, the rest of the guys would still have the same music taste even though it's outdated and Nick would be a Swiftie on the down low especially given his ex was also big on writing folksy breakup songs.)