#tom is sonic’s favorite person in the world and has no idea for years | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

rumeysawrites · 5 months ago

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Thank you @imsoveryveryconfusedatlife for the tag!

Here're the headcanons I got forsome of my characters in this generator.

Rosena can kill you in an instant, but won't.

For the early books, not really because she isn't really deadly (except being able to freeze people with her power), later on, probably.

Shan knocks people over by bugging them.

Not really, mostly. He'll try his best to not bother anyone. Despite this, his upbeat attitude can seem annoying, but not too much he'd knock them over.

If someone they knew commited a crime, Kent would cover for them.

Nope. He would encourage them to admit their guilt. He's the biggest law-follower among the Legendaries. If the serson in qiestion is someone he cares about, he will try to convince them to admitting. If not, he'll probably be the one turning them over.

Faren believes in ghosts and insists on trying to summon one at every sleepover.

I mean, spirits are a common knowledge among the people of Eight Alters. So she does believe in them. I'm not sure if she tries to summon them at sleepovers though. She'd probably be up for that and thinks it'd be fun.

Tom watched the Sonic movie.

100%. He had to watch the movie after Miracate told him for the hundredth time (and joking that he might as well be Tom from the movie in the future :D). He did have a good time with his friend group while watching though.

Miyuki believes in Santa.

Nope. She's the least unlikely person to believe in Santa.

Elvis has an incredible short-term memory, but an awful long term memory.

Quite the opposite. His long term memory is great, but he struggles with things requiring shorter term nemory like studying.

Marcelino got hit by a bus once.

Uh sure. I'm still figuring out his backstory anyways.

Nour does intricate and expensive cosplays.

She...doesn't do cosplays.

Mert hacks their stats in every video game they play.

Not really. He gets thrill out of competition and the challenge, even though he gets irritated when his luck goes to negatives.

If Frank was presented with an intergalactic portal, they'd enter it without question.

Of course. That's just another day of work for him.

Itzal stole a lollipop at the checkout when they were 5, and they still feel guilty about it.

He has more things to feel guilty about than just a lollipop. Trust me.

Chromos is the gay cousin.

Did Frank take control of the generator?😅 Honestly, I still don't know what Chromos' sexuality is going to be. But the stereotypical "gay cousin" attitude is kind of opposite of his personality.

Alondra wears Hello Kitty socks.

She probably used to. She loves cute things like that. But being both a hero and a music artist who performs, she tries to look more fashionable, and like the (young) adult she is.

Tarrence sings in the shower.

This is not a headcanon. This is 200% canon.

Tania is an olddst child.

No she's a middle child. Acts a bit like a younger sibling sometimes though.

Toby is not allowed to drink energy drinks.

Duh, he's an energetic 8 year old, so if course. But there's a funny reason why this is canon .

Shuang has an intense fear of spiders.

She's disgusted by them and can act a little panicky when she sees one, but I wouldn't say she has a fear of them. She might develop such a fear later on though.

Miracate was dropped out of a window as a child.

Sure. This won't make her backstory any more complicated. Besides, bith her and Mather were troublesome enough to walk on windowsills as kids as well. So that might explain it.

Mather's favorite subject in school was Math.

Nope! Not at all! Also, shout-out to the headcanon generator for making the third ever Math-er pun!

Faryal listens to 80s music.

I...don't think Faryal knows much about the music in our world. She might have heard songs during her Academy years, but then, would more likely be interested in listening to classical music, opera, or traditional music.

Acer has a pet lizard.

He would probably love the idea. But anyone else besides him and Faren might not. Just make sure that lizard isn't a wild dragon.

Eirlys screams like an anime girl.

Sirry what? I mean...she does take screaming breaks every now and then but not like that-

Stefinis was forced to eat cement as a child.

Quite the oppisite happened actually. Him (as a Merasian elf whose entire family disguising as humans), tried to eat plants & minerals edible to most folks in Meras, but not to humans, and his parents would have to constantly have to keep an eye on him to make sure he didn't eat something like cement or a crystal, in front of his friends.

Blyss sleeps in until noon.

Nope! The fire princess is an early bird who likes to get things done as soon as possible.

Jake watches My Little Pony.

Pretty sure his father got DVDs for the MLP movies, especially for Claire (Jake's younger sister). But Jake himself might join, claiming he's only there to make sure there's no harmful content in the movies.

Maerwynn is very good at using chopsticks.

Probably. She's a royal who'd be trained in all sorts of etiquette, including using utensils after all.

Arwyn chews their nails when nervous.

Not when nervous, but when stressed. Which is like half of all the time.

Aelwen can't handle criticism.

Probanly, if she cared enough about the criticizing person's opinioms at least. Fot 9 times out of 10, she doesn't care.

It would not take much for Vlad to turn evilm

Nope! He's been living with The Villains for over a hundred years, and still has kept a bigger good side to him than most others.

Vesta nearly drowned in a river as a child.

Probably...

Botolfe can't spell resturaunt.

Quite the opposite. He's probably one of the three people in his group who can actually spell with no oroblem.

Vanora is smart, but also very stupid.

Vanora would dusagree, but yes. This is accurate.

Of Ignacius likes someone, thy willl give them a pretty rock.

It's 100% true if those pretty rocks also hapoen to be dragon eggs..

Nihynia forgets to eat sometimes.

I mean, she's a goddess who doesn't need to eat. So I'm pretty sure she doesn't care about eating much. Naybe sometimes to enjoy the taste though.

Anyways! Here're the no pressure tags: @dearunreliablenarrator @heycerulean @writeblrfantasy @author-a-holmes @the-ellia-west @thecomfywriter @mudkissedgirl @yomikunp and an open tag!

Tag Game: Random Headcanon Generator

Thanks @tildeathiwillwrite for the tag here!

Tagging @xenon-writes-sometimes, @illarian-rambling, @kaylinalexanderbooks, @mudkissedgirl, @rumeysawrites,

@agirlandherquill, @clearcloudlesssky and an open tag!

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Rules: use this headcanon generator to make headcanons for your OCs! Then talk about how accurate they are.

—

Odi reads AO3

Yes.

Dee is an oldest child

Unfortunately, that’s just incorrect. I don’t think they give oldest child energy either

Azzy makes your mom jokes

Certainly not in polite company. But at home, maybe, especially if she was drunk. It’s possible

Eika has been cancelled on twitter

And he wears that badge with fucking pride

Atalanta tells dad jokes.

Those are fighting words to Atalanta. I think the implication she would tell dad jokes would seriously damage her friendship with you.

Kika gets bullied on Roblox

Absolutely. Probably by his own brother too.

Mel would succumb to the fog

?? I think I’m missing a reference

Shethla knows the lyrics to every Britney Spears song by heart.

He’s absolutely the type to be blasting something in the car. Its a 50/50 between it being an absurd death metal indie no one has heard of or Britney Spears

—

Thanks again for the tag!

#writeblr #my writing #my wrtitng #my characters #tagging games #headcanon

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hlupdate · 4 years ago

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Variety’s Grammy-nominated Hitmaker of the Year goes deep on the music industry, the great pause and finding his own muses.

“We’ll dance again,” Harry Styles coos, the Los Angeles sunshine peeking through his pandemic-shaggy hair just so. The singer, songwriter and actor — beloved and critically acclaimed thanks to his life-affirming year-old album, “Fine Line” — is lamenting that his Variety Hitmaker of the Year cover conversation has to be conducted over Zoom rather than in person. Even via videoconference, the Brit is effortlessly charming, as anyone who’s come within earshot of him would attest, but it quickly becomes clear that beneath that genial smile is a well-honed media strategy.

To wit: In an interview that appears a few days later announcing his investment in a new arena in his native Manchester (more on that in a bit), he repeats the refrain — “There will be a time we dance again”— referencing a much-needed return to live music and the promise of some 4,000 jobs for residents.

None of which is to suggest that Styles, 26, phones it in for interviews. Quite the opposite: He does very few, conceivably to give more of himself and not cheapen what is out there and also to use the publicity opportunity to indulge his other interests, like fashion. (Last month Styles became the first male to grace the cover of Vogue solo.) Still, it stings a little that a waltz with the former One Direction member may not come to pass on this album cycle — curse you, coronavirus.

Styles’ isolation has coincided with his maturation as an artist, a thespian and a person. With “Fine Line,” he’s proved himself a skilled lyricist with a tremendous ear for harmony and melody. In preparing for his role in Olivia Wilde’s period thriller “Don’t Worry Darling,” which is shooting outside Palm Springs, he found an outlet for expression in interpreting words on a page. And for the first time, he’s using his megaphone to speak out about social justice — inspired by the outpouring of support for Black people around the world following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police in May.

Styles has spent much of the past nine months at home in London, where life has slowed considerably. The time has allowed him to ponder such heady issues as his purpose on the earth. “It’s been a pause that I don’t know if I would have otherwise taken,” says Styles. “I think it’s been pretty good for me to have a kind of stop, to look and think about what it actually means to be an artist, what it means to do what we do and why we do it. I lean into moments like this — moments of uncertainty.”

In truth, while Styles has largely been keeping a low profile — his Love On Tour, due to kick off on April 15, was postponed in late March and is now scheduled to launch in February 2021 (whether it actually will remains to be seen) — his music has not. This is especially true in the U.S., where he’s notched two hit singles, “Adore You,” the second-most-played song at radio in 2020, and “Watermelon Sugar” (No. 22 on Variety’s year-end Hitmakers chart), with a third, “Golden,” already cresting the top 20 on the pop format. The massive cross-platform success of these songs means Styles has finally and decisively broken into the American market, maneuvering its web of gatekeepers to accumulate 6.2 million consumption units and rising.

Why do these particular songs resonate in 2020? Styles doesn’t have the faintest idea. While he acknowledges a “nursery rhyme” feel to “Watermelon Sugar” with its earwormy loop of a chorus, that’s about as much insight as he can offer. His longtime collaborator and friend Tom Hull, also known as the producer Kid Harpoon, offers this take: “There’s a lot of amazing things about that song, but what really stands out is the lyric. It’s not trying to hide or be clever. The simplicity of watermelon … there’s such a joy in it, [which] is a massive part of that song’s success.” Also, his kids love it. “I’ve never had a song connect with children in this way,” says Hull, whose credits include tunes by Shawn Mendes, Florence and the Machine and Calvin Harris. “I get sent videos all the time from friends of their kids singing. I have a 3-year-old and an 8-year-old, and they listen to it.”

Styles is quick to note that he doesn’t chase pop appeal when crafting songs. In fact, the times when he pondered or approved a purposeful tweak, like on his self-titled 2017 debut, still gnaw at him. “I love that album so much because it represents such a time in my life, but when I listen to it — sonically and lyrically, especially — I can hear places where I was playing it safe,” he says. “I was scared to get it wrong.”

Contemporary effects and on-trend beats hardly factor into Styles’ decision-making. He likes to focus on feelings — his own and his followers’ — and see himself on the other side of the velvet rope, an important distinction in his view. “People within [the industry] feel like they operate on a higher level of listening, and I like to make music from the point of being a fan of music,” Styles says. “Fans are the best A&R.”

This from someone who’s had free rein to pursue every musical whim, and hand in the album of his dreams in the form of “Fine Line.” Chart success makes it all the sweeter, but Styles insists that writing “for the right reasons” supersedes any commercial considerations. “There’s no part that feels, eh, icky — like it was made in the lab,” he says.

Styles has experience in this realm. As a graduate of the U.K. competition series “The X Factor,” where he and four other auditionees — Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson — were singled out by show creator and star judge Simon Cowell to conjoin as One Direction, he’s seen how the prefab pop machine works up close. The One Direction oeuvre, which counts some 42 million albums sold worldwide, includes songs written with such established hitmakers as Ryan Tedder, Savan Kotecha and Teddy Geiger. Being a studious, insatiable observer, Styles took it all in.

“I learned so much,” he says of the experience. “When we were in the band, I used to try and write with as many different people as I could. I wanted to practice — and I wrote a lot of bad shit.”

His bandmates also benefited from the pop star boot camp. The proof is in the relatively seamless solo transitions of at least three of its members — Payne, Malik and Horan in addition to Styles — each of whom has landed hit singles on charts in the U.K., the U.S. and beyond.

This departs from the typical trajectories of boy bands including New Kids on the Block and ’N Sync, which have all pro ered a star frontman. The thinking for decades was that a record company would be lucky to have one breakout solo career among the bunch.

Styles has plainly thought about this.

“When you look at the history of people coming out of bands and starting solo careers, they feel this need to apologize for being in the band. ‘Don’t worry, everyone, that wasn’t me! Now I get to do what I really want to do.’ But we loved being in the band,” he says. “I think there’s a wont to pit people against each other. And I think it’s never been about that for us. It’s about a next step in evolution. The fact that we’ve all achieved different things outside of the band says a lot about how hard we worked in it.”

Indeed, during the five-ish years that One Direction existed, Styles’ schedule involved the sort of nonstop international jet-setting that few get to see in a lifetime, never mind their teenage years. Between 2011 and 2015, One Direction’s tours pulled in north of $631 million in gross ticket sales, according to concert trade Pollstar, and the band was selling out stadiums worldwide by the time it entered its extended hiatus. Styles, too, had built up to playing arenas as a solo artist, engaging audiences with his colorful stage wear and banter and left-of-center choices for opening acts (a pre-Grammy-haul Kacey Musgraves in 2018; indie darlings King Princess and Jenny Lewis for his rescheduled 2021 run).

Stages of all sizes feel like home to Styles. He grew up in a suburb of Manchester, ground zero for some of the biggest British acts of the 1980s and ’90s, including Joy Division, New Order, the Smiths and Oasis, the latter of which broke the same year Styles was born. His parents were also music lovers. Styles’ father fed him a balanced diet of the Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, the Rolling Stones and Queen, while Mum was a fan of Shania Twain, Norah Jones and Savage Garden. “They’re all great melody writers,” says Styles of the acts’ musical throughline.

Stevie Nicks, who in the past has described “Fine Line” as Styles’ “Rumours,” referencing the Fleetwood Mac 1977 classic, sees him as a kindred spirit. “Harry writes and sings his songs about real experiences that seemingly happened yesterday,” she tells Variety. “He taps into real life. He doesn’t make up stories. He tells the truth, and that is what I do. ‘Fine Line’ has been my favorite record since it came out. It is his ‘Rumours.’ I told him that in a note on December 13, 2019 before he went on stage to play the ‘Fine Line’ album at the Forum. We cried. He sang those songs like he had sung them a thousand times. That’s a great songwriter and a great performer.”

“Harry’s playing and writing is instinctual,” adds Jonathan Wilson, a friend and peer who’s advised Styles on backing and session musicians. “He understands history and where to take the torch. You can see the thread of great British performers — from Bolan to Bowie — in his music.”

Also shaping his musical DNA was Manchester itself, the site of a 23,500-seat arena, dubbed Co-op Live, for which Styles is an investor and adviser. Oak View Group, a company specializing in live entertainment and global sports that was founded by Tim Leiweke and Irving Azoff in 2015 (Jeffrey Azoff, Irving’s son, represents Styles at Full Stop Management), is leading the effort to construct the venue. The project gained planning approval in September and is set to open in 2023, with its arrival representing a £350 million ($455 million) investment in the city. (Worth noting: Manchester is already home to an arena — the site of a 2017 bombing outside an Ariana Grande concert — and a football stadium, where One Love Manchester, an all-star benefit show to raise money for victims of the terrorist attack, took place.)

“I went to my first shows in Manchester,” Styles says of concerts paid for with money earned delivering newspapers for a supermarket called the Co-op. “My friends and I would go in on weekends. There’s so many amazing small venues, and music is such a massive part of the city. I think Manchester deserves it. It feels like a full-circle, coming-home thing to be doing this and to be able to give any kind of input. I’m incredibly proud. Hopefully they’ll let me play there at some point.”

Though Styles has owned properties in Los Angeles, his base for the foreseeable future is London. “I feel like my relationship with L.A. has changed a lot,” he explains. “I’ve kind of accepted that I don’t have to live here anymore; for a while I felt like I was supposed to. Like it meant things were going well. This happened, then you move to L.A.! But I don’t really want to.”

Is it any wonder? Between COVID and the turmoil in the U.S. spurred by the presidential election, Styles, like some 79 million American voters, is recovering from sticker shock over the bill of goods sold to them by the concept of democracy. “In general, as people, there’s a lack of empathy,” he observes. “We found this place that’s so divisive. We just don’t listen to each other anymore. And that’s quite scary.”

That belief prompted Styles to speak out publicly in the wake of George Floyd’s death. As protests in support of Black Lives Matter took to streets all over the world, for Styles, it triggered a period of introspection, as marked by an Instagram message (liked by 2.7 million users and counting) in which he declared: “I do things every day without fear, because I am privileged, and I am privileged every day because I am white. … Being not racist is not enough, we must be anti racist. Social change is enacted when a society mobilizes. I stand in solidarity with all of those protesting. I’m donating to help post bail for arrested organizers. Look inwards, educate yourself and others. LISTEN, READ, SHARE, DONATE and VOTE. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. BLACK LIVES MATTER.”

“Talking about race can be really uncomfortable for everyone,” Styles elaborates. “I had a realization that my own comfort in the conversation has nothing to do with the problem — like that’s not enough of a reason to not have a conversation. Looking back, I don’t think I’ve been outspoken enough in the past. Using that feeling has pushed me forward to being open and ready to learn. … How can I ensure from my side that in 20 years, the right things are still being done and the right people are getting the right opportunities? That it’s not a passing thing?”

His own record company — and corporate parent Sony Music Group, whose chairman, Rob Stringer, signed Styles in 2016 — has been grappling with these same questions as the industry has faced its own reckoning with race. At issue: inequality among the upper ranks (an oft-cited statistic: popular music is 80% Black, but the music business is 80% white); contracts rooted in a decades-old system that many say is set up to take advantage of artists, Black artists more unfairly than white; and the call for a return of master rights, an ownership model that is at the core of the business.

Styles acknowledges the fundamental imbalance in how a major label deal is structured — the record company takes on the financial risk while the artist is made to recoup money spent on the project before the act is considered profitable and earning royalties (typically at a 15% to 18% rate for the artist, while the label keeps and disburses the rest). “Historically, I can’t think of any industry that’s benefited more off of Black culture than music,” he says. “There are discussions that need to happen about this long history of not being paid fairly. It’s a time for listening, and hopefully, people will come out humbled, educated and willing to learn and change.”

By all accounts, Styles is a voracious reader, a movie lover and an aesthete. He stays in shape by adhering to a strict daily exercise routine. “I tried to keep up but didn’t last more than two weeks,” says Hull, Styles’ producer, with a laugh. “The discipline is terrifying.”

Of course, with the fashion world beckoning — Styles recently appeared in a film series for Gucci’s new collection that was co-directed by the fashion house’s creative director, Alessandro Michele, and Oscar winner Gus Van Sant — and a movie that’s set in the 1950s, maintaining that physique is part of the job. And he’s no stranger to visual continuity after appearing in Christopher Nolan’s epic “Dunkirk” and having to return to set for reshoots; his hair, which needed to be cut back to its circa 1940 form, is a constant topic of conversation among fans. This time, it’s the ink that poses a challenge. By Styles’ tally, he’s up to 60 tattoos, which require an hour in the makeup chair to cover up. “It’s the only time I really regret getting tattooed,” he says.

He shows no regret, however, when it comes to stylistic choices overall, and takes pride in his gender-agnostic portfolio, which includes wearing a Gucci dress on that Vogue cover— an image that incited conservative pundit Candace Owens to plead publicly to “bring back manly men.” In Styles’ view: “To not wear [something] because it’s females’ clothing, you shut out a whole world of great clothes. And I think what’s exciting about right now is you can wear what you like. It doesn’t have to be X or Y. Those lines are becoming more and more blurred.”

But acclaim, if you can believe it, is not top of mind for Styles. As far as the Grammys are concerned, Styles shrugs, “It’s never why I do anything.” His team and longtime label, however, had their hearts set on a showing at the Jan. 31 ceremony. Their investment in Styles has been substantial — not just monetarily but in carefully crafting his career in the wake of such icons as David Bowie, who released his final albums with the label. Hope at the company and in many fans’ hearts that Styles would receive an album of the year nomination did not come to pass. However, he was recognized in three categories, including best pop vocal album.

“It’s always nice to know that people like what you’re doing, but ultimately — and especially working in a subjective field — I don’t put too much weight on that stuff,” Styles says. “I think it’s important when making any kind of art to remove the ego from it.” Citing the painter Matisse, he adds: “It’s about the work that you do when you’re not expecting any applause.”

#harry styles #variety #021220

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hldailyupdate · 4 years ago

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This Charming Man: Why We’re Wild About Harry Styles

Variety’s Grammy-nominated Hitmaker of the Year goes deep on the music industry, the great pause and finding his own muses.

Styles has plainly thought about this.

Harry for Variety. (2 December 2020)

#harry styles #harry update #article #variety #hldaily #December 2020

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welcome-to-green-hills · 5 years ago

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How about Sonic and Jojo headcannons?

🤗Yes, I can do that for you!🤗

Even though Sonic is a couple years older, he sees JoJo as an older sister of sorts and JoJo sees him as a younger brother. Both are very protective of each other.

Both Sonic and JoJo make it a habit to FaceTime each other every other day. Conversations usually last for hours and they’re usually about nothing. Tom and Maddie find it adorable when they’re bonding.

Sonic is socially awkward. He does not know how to talk to other kids his age, as well as younger and older. JoJo is usually the one to introduce him to kids and tell them that he’s the guy that saved the world from Baldy McNosehair.

JoJo and Sonic love to bond over Pokémon cards, the games, and the tv shows. They will dress up as their favorite characters and have Pokémon battles in Sonic’s attic.

Whenever JoJo comes to visit Sonic from San Francisco, it’s a weekly event. Everyone must drop what they’re doing and make it a special welcoming party when she arrives. She and Rachel are treated like queens. Departures are always emotional.

They both get along pretty well, but they do debate on soccer and baseball lots. JoJo plays soccur back in San Francisco, Sonic has tried multiple times to get her to play baseball with him. In the end, they mostly play table tennis.

Sonic and JoJo are competitive when it comes to sports, games, and other events. They once had an intense spooky story telling battle that left them both afraid to sleep after.

Rachel still isn’t used to the idea of Sonic spending time with her daughter, but bites her tongue because she knows that JoJo has a sibling-like love for him.

Maddie is always taking pictures of JoJo and Sonic interacting. Of course, it’s always far away from them, but she grabs great pictures of the two of them enjoying each other’s company. Tom will post pictures of them on Instagram.

JoJo and Sonic have a secret language that they speak to each other: Sonic’s native tongue. He has taught her how to speak it and write it. When they’re having a conversation and they don’t want the adults to hear what they’re saying, they speak in Sonic’s native language. It’s how they do their evil planning in attempt to get the last donut from the box that Tom has been saving.

JoJo isn’t allowed to have sweets at home. Rachel only gives her organic foods. Sonic has made it his personal mission to always take her to Jellee’s Donut Shoppe and devour as many donuts as they can. This is an every day thing while she visits. They regret nothing!🤪

This has also given her the nickname “Candy Kid!” She loves candy and is always willing to share.

What was meant to be a dare has turned into a basic necessity for Sonic. JoJo dared Sonic to each chicken nuggets with chocolate syrup, as well as his French fries for losing a game of table tennis. Now, because of the dare, Sonic will only dip his chicken nuggets and golden sticks in chocolate syrup.

On one visit, JoJo asked Sonic to teach her how to do a spin dash. He tried to show her how to tuck in and roll around into a ball, but she ended up doing cartwheels and landing on her back instead.

Sonic and JoJo do lots of arts and crafts together. They make art all the time and hang it on the fridge at the Wachowski home. They love to make paintings because of the mess and paint fights. There’s usually little hand prints all over the patio floor, table, railing, and door when they’re done.

The Green Hills festivals are always fun when friends and family are around. The two love the blueberry festival the most. That’s when the most games, rides, and free food is available. There’s also a firework show and a band, but they mostly stay for the game.

The Wachowski family once went to visit Maddie’s sister in San Francisco. It was nice to spend some time there and see where JoJo and Rachel lived, but JoJo feels like it’s not home. Everyone that she loves is in Green Hills and she wishes to stay there more with them.

Sonic and JoJo love to pillow sumo. They grab Tom’s shirts and pretend to sumo wrestle each other in the living room. It was Tom’s idea originally, seeing that they were bored one day since their plans to the pool were cancelled. Now Tom can’t get them to stop pillow sumo wrestling.

Sonic and JoJo love holidays! They dress up for each holiday and go crazy with the events. Their favorite holidays have to be Halloween and Hanukkah. They’re a bit iffy with Thanksgiving since they both got food poisoning from Wade’s cooking—he was invited to the Wachowski event since his parents live far away, but they’re willing to look past that.

JoJo was the one to introduce Sonic to cartoons. Since living with Tom and Maddie, Sonic has really occupied himself with watching live-action based films rather than cartoons. Long story short, he fell in love with them and talks about them constantly.

Sonic and JoJo are very open with each other. They know almost every little detail about each other, he talks to JoJo about Longclaw lots. Tom and Maddie know the basic; he was rescued by her as a baby and he was forced from her as a toddler, but they don’t know everything about her like JoJo does.

Sonic has never stopped thanking JoJo for his new shoes. His feet were always in pain and he never knew that he was worthy of getting a new pair. He cannot thank her enough for being so kind and generous to him and feels the need to thank her every chance he gets.

And those are my Sonic and JoJo headcanons! Yay! Sorry if they’re not the best, it’s been a bit of a hectic day. My mind is somewhere else. Thank you for suggesting these! They were fun to do!

#sonic movie #mystery anon #off topic #space hog #Jojo!#my headcanons

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sally-mun · 4 years ago

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OKAY BITCHES ON TO PART 2!

Also don’t forget to check out Part 1 if you haven’t yet!

British

Okay so maybe it’s in poor taste to start the British section with dolls I’m not actually sure are British, but fuck it. The one on the left is a doll I’m reasonably sure I got from a British seller, and the one on the right seems to just be a scaled-up version of it, SO. That’s what I’m going with.

No joke, the left doll is my favorite Sonic plushie EVER. It’s so incredibly fluffy and the proportions are just right and it’s really well-made and AUUGHH I LOVE HIM. Interestingly the doll on the right is made of the same uber-fuzzy material, but it doesn’t have as much of a fluffy effect because of the larger scale. Also the shoe stripes are ribbons for some reason, which makes them stand out from all the other dolls.

So this is from a line of dolls that, as far as I’ve ever seen, are simply known as “Europe prize” plushies. I don’t know if they were actual prizes for some sort of game or claw machine or whatnot, but that’s how I tend to see them listed. These dolls are REALLY nicely made and incredibly cute, like way more than usual. I also have the Knuckles from this set, but he doesn’t live in this net so he’s not pictured here.

I know this line also included Sonic (obviously), Amy, and Shadow, but I’m not sure who else. I’d REALLY like to get the others someday, but I don’t have much hope for that, since they’re long since out of production and prices just keep going up as everyone cashes in on nerd collector culture.

This doll is fine enough on its own (if a bit fearful in the eyes), but what’s really odd about it is that it’s like literally twice as tall as the other dolls in its line, for some reason. I have the Sonic and Tails from this set, and their sizes both match each other, but for some reason Knuckles is a tall boi?? Oh well.

I believe this set also includes an Eggman doll, but I’ve never seen it before.

I wish I’d thought to showcase it better in this photo, but the tag on the bottom of Sonic’s right foot here is the real spotlight of this doll. I don’t know much about the background of this doll, but i know that tag on his foot is what distinguishes him from other Sonic dolls, and collectors go NUTS for this guy. I remember missing out on one years ago because the shipping was too costly (it’s always been rough importing from Britain, but it used to be a lot harder), and for a while I thought I’d never get one. Oddly this one that I did eventually nab is the only one I’ve ever seen with suction cups. I’d like to hope that one day I could get the one that doesn’t have them, but I’m not holding my breath.

Following the last doll, I’m sure a lot of you are immediately noticing that this Tails also has the tag on his foot, albeit a very faded one. This doll is also super odd, because EVERY other time I’ve ever seen this doll before, it has NOT had the foot tag! This one is the only one I’ve encountered with the tag, and I didn’t even know it had it until it arrived in the mail. This doll is also about 50% bigger than the Sonic doll with the foot tag, maybe he goes with the non-suction cup’d Sonic plushie? I don’t know off the top of my head how big that Sonic is supposed to be, so it’s possible! Or maybe these dolls have nothing to do with each other, and I bought some weird anomaly. Definitely one of the weirder Tails plushies in my collection.

Australian

EASILY the ugliest doll I will ever own, short of maybe obtaining the Tails that matches this set. (Trust me, the Tails is REALLY FUCKING UGLY.) I have such mixed feelings on this lil guy because, as many of you already know, this is one of the elusive Sega World Sydney dolls, which means it’s EXTREMELY rare and thus meant to be treasured... and yet holy shit guys how did you fail so hard on this doll. I mean FOR FUCK’S SAKE HE DOESN’T EVEN HAVE SOCKS! OR FINGERS!! There were plenty of Sonic plushies in the world by the time this doll was created, and they all socks and fingers, let alone better designed faces. I dunno man, I don’t know how to reconcile how ugly this doll is.

And then there were two.

Those of you that’ve been following me for years have probably already seen these before, but fuck it, here they are again. The Sega World Sydney plushies are the ONLY official Sally plushies to exist, and like the Sonic one, it’s really difficult to reconcile how incredibly ugly they are. I mean I can at least cut them some slack with the faces I guess, because the one on the left isn’t terrible I suppose. I think the fact that she doesn’t have hands is really stupid, but I mean, if Sonic didn’t get fingers I guess I’m not surprised Sally didn’t either. No, the thing that really gets me about these Sally dolls is the hair. It’s hard to tell from this angle but it’s.... bad. Oh my god it’s so fucking bad. It looks like she had a bad incident with a weedwacker. WHO THE FUCK DID THEY HIRE TO DESIGN THESE PLUSHIES?!

Whatever, I don’t turn away official Sally merch. Vests exist for these dolls, but as you can see I don’t own them for either of these two. I do have a third, smaller Sally that DOES have her vest, but she doesn’t live in this net. Maybe another time!

More bad Sally hair, this time without legs because she’s a hand puppet. She probably has the worst hair of all of the Sally dolls I personally own, it’s very clumpy and matted. The others’ hair is at least still fluffy.

I’ll let the fact that she doesn’t have hands slide here, being a puppet at all, but even then it’s only because I’m feeling generous. There’s no reason she shouldn’t have had them.

SOOOO not technically a plushie, but it was in the net and I’m doing Sally items right now anyway, so fuck it. This is a mini-backpack, but the fabric is so furry that it’s pretty much impossible to get a clear picture. I left the strap there sticking out just to help give some idea of what shape you’re even looking at.

I can’t remember what I paid for this, and honestly I don’t care, because it’s so unique and I’ve never seen another one since.

Bootlegs

A friend of mine sent me this as a surprise a few years ago because he thought it was cute, and I definitely have to say it’s one of the more fascinating items in my collection. Most of the time bootleg merch is trying to imitate something official to confuse the buyer, but so far as I know this is completely original! I love it because it’s what I imagine Sonic would look like if he were an Animal Crossing character. The most bizarre detail of all, though, is that the tush tag has the logo for Detective Conan instead of Sonic the Hedgehog. I HAVE NO IDEA WHY.

This is a fake version of the Fang/Nack doll from Sonic the Fighters, but honestly, I don’t mind at all that it’s a bootleg because holy shit this doll is higher quality than some of my official ones! (I’M LOOKING AT YOU, SEGA WORLD.) According to the pictures I’ve seen, I think he’s actually even better quality than the original he’s copying!

It’s hard to describe just how nice this doll is, because the picture seriously does not do him justice. The stitching is perfectly clean, the proportions are absolutely perfect, the fabric is soft and high-quality, and oh my god the HAT!! The hat is AMAZING, it’s actually solid and holds its shape VERY well! The same goes for his tail too, on that note. Plushies with long tails tend to have trouble maintaining their shape, but this doll’s tail is really well done. He also has a much longer muzzle than most dolls of this time were willing to use, which again helps his proportion and overall accuracy. I don’t give one single shit that this doll isn’t official, I love him so fucking much! <3 <3 <3

Other Dolls

What can I say, I fucking LOVE Nick Wilde from Zootopia, and this is one of the best dolls of him I’ve ever seen. It’s actually really nicely made (they put a LOT of work into his shirt), and he’s very soft and huggable. Also, bless that smarmy expression, they got it just right.

Jumbo Tom Nook! This is the only jumbo plushie of him I’ve ever seen, so I’m glad I was able to nab it. The fabric is oddly shiny though, and I have no idea why?? I have several Tom Nook plushies from different doll lines, and I’ve never seen another one that’s shiny like this.

Decided to picture these guys together because why the fuck not. I apologize for the lack of clarity, but I’ve never been willing to open their bags. I want them pristine~

One thing I think is cool about the Undertale dolls is that there’s so much uniqueness put into each one. They all have differently shaped tags to reflect their individual personalities, and the plastic bags they come in have different patterns as well. The fabric patterns all completely unique to each one as well, so they’re not all clones of each other (especially with Papyrus).

You can actually still buy all of these guys right now on the Fangamer website! They’re pricey, but you get a quality that makes the price worth it, and you get a discount if you buy them together!

Vault Boy from Fallout, and for some reason I’m just now realizing that I don’t know what vault number is on his back. I feel like a terrible fan, FORGIVE ME. He has also never come out of his bag, so sorry for viewing difficulties here as well.

Companion cube ‘fuzzy dice’ for the car. This is one instance in which I have actually not used the car-related plushie in my car, as at the time I got this it was VERY difficult to get companion cube merch of any kind (these dice were actually a compromise with myself because I still couldn’t afford a regular cube), and after the work I put in to find these I definitely wasn’t going to risk them in my car! Just as well anyway, because they’re awfully big and would’ve been pretty cumbersome to look past.

...I did, however, put these in my car for a while. These are fuzzy D20 dice, because come on, if you’re going to hang dice in your car and have the option to use these, how can you not?? It definitely got a lot of compliments, even from people that simply saw them through the window. I didn’t even play tabletop games yet at the time, I just really liked them~

AAAAND THAT’S IT~ At least, that’s it for this net! Maybe I’ll do this again with the other nets sometime, if you guys would like to see more. I do have another one that also very much needs a dusting, so we’ll see!

Thanks for tuning in!!

#IT IS COMPLETE #I hope you guys like it!#please let me know what you think because this was a lot of work!

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aawesomepenguin · 5 years ago

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“[The Sonic Movie] was always one of my dreams”, Takashi Iizuka and Sonic Movie staff reveal new details

The Sonic Movie release in Japan is very close, and in order to celebrate, 4Gamer has done an interview with Takashi Iizuka (Head of Sonic Team), Nakahara Toru ( Senior Executive Officer of SEGA SAMMY, and also SEGA’s Lawyer), Jeff Fowler (director of the Sonic Movie) and Toby Ascher (Sonic Movie Producer), and in it, they gave us some details about the movie and what the experience was like.

Remember that the translation isn’t 1:1, but it gets the point across.

Q: What advice did Sega give to the movie staff in the making of the Sonic movie? Iizuka: Advices related to Sonic in various situations, such as how he looks and moves, and his character, as in "Sonic would never say that". Sega has some guidelines for giving advice to people who do not know Sonic, but it is not a comprehensive guide, so I commented a lot during production. Toby: Mr. Iizuka's advices on Sonic's personality and design were very helpful. I wanted to make Sonic the correct Sonic that fans know. Iizuka: Since this work is a hybrid movie that combines live-action and animation, there are many scenes where actual actors and Sonic are involved. The movie isn’t set in Sonic’s World, so I proceeded to think on how he would react to all of it. The biggest challenge for us this time was that we had to think about Sonic from a completely different perspective when compared to the games.

Q: What did you pay most attention to not betray your fans? Toby: I was under pressure because I knew that the expectations of fans were very high because we are from a generation that played Sonic games when we were kids. But at the same time, I also wanted to make a movie that a newcomer to the series could also enjoy. I was very concerned about that balance. I wanted to make it possible for people who don't know Sonic to enjoy the world of Sonic, while putting in a lot of material that fans can still enjoy. Nakahara: That was the mission behind this movie. To please our generation raised in Sonic and children who have little experience playing with Sonic. I hope this movie will create a new generation of fans.

Q: Are there any differences between the Sonic from the games and the one from the movie? Jeff: This is the first time we're introducing Sonic's backstory! Iizuka: Baby Sonic is a young Sonic that hasn't appeared in games. In the movie, it’s shown how his experiences as a baby changed him, and how his personality was formed. The games feature an already grown up Sonic, so it's good that the story up to that point wasn’t very clear [in the games, allowing the movie team to be creative with Sonic’s backstory].

Nakahara: Baby Sonic is being compared to Baby Yoda's in Star Wars. They’ve become big rivals. Jeff: Let me tell you, Baby Sonic is an idea that we came up with before Baby Yoda was revealed (laughs). It takes time to make characters and CG... Nakahara: Baby Sonic’s design was created under the supervision of Mr. Iizuka, but the actual CG animation was created by Marza Animation Planet Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of the SEGA SAMMY Group. Hollywood companies are included in the special visual effects of this movie, but Japanese companies such as Marza and Sega played a central role in the animation of Baby Sonic and Sonic. Toby: That's one of the great things about this film. As a fan of Japanese animation, a collaboration between Japan and the United States made me very happy.

Q: When you hear that it's a joint production movie between Hollywood and Japan, there are some movies that didn’t succeed, but this time it seems different. Nakahara: Most of the Japan-US collaboration in movies so far involved only the Japanese content holders signing IP licenses. So Japan doesn't get involved with the production, and they don't pay much for the production. As a lawyer, I've seen many contracts where you only get a license fee. That's not really the case. However, this time, we have invested in the production costs for Sonic, and we are on an equal footing with Original Film, the company that has produced the blockbuster movie series, Fast and the Furious, the director of "Deadpool," and Paramount Film Company. There was also a big discussion, "Can you do a movie with an equal partner with so many different creative visions?" That's a big risk. But in the end, including the terms of the deal, the decisive factor that brought all of us together was that Sonic needed to be a movie star. Sonic is a big star in America. Because of that background, we joined hands in conditions that everyone was satisfied with. As SEGA, they jumped over the license agreement and suddenly became an equal partner, and there was a mix of expectations and anxiety. As a lawyer, I've been involved in a variety of works, but I was able to establish a relationship of trust that surprised me, "How can we collaborate so well?". Of course, small issues have come up every day, but I feel that we have been able to overcome them comfortably throughout.

Q: Weren't you able to make a case against Hollywood because you Nakahara-san, are a certified American lawyer? Nakahara: I may not be the one to say it, but this all truly is Sonic. Everybody loves Sonic. Whenever some big development occurs, a lot of it can be attributed to Sonic. Sonic is like Tom Cruise in the way that he has this presence of greatness that makes him feel like a star from throughout the years. Q: Is there any reason for making it a hybrid movie? Jeff: I thought it would be more fun and more enjoyable for the audience to get into Sonic's sense of speed when it gets put into the live-action world. From Sonic's point of view, the world is always slow, but from a human perspective, he is always moving at super-fast speed. The important thing was to express the power and speed of Sonic in a fun way. The baseball scene in the trailer is my favorite, and he uses his speed to enjoy baseball alone. From a child's perspective, if you were to move at that speed, you would want to play all the positions yourself, right? Q: Sonic has established a star position in the West, but what do you think was the reason why Sonic is particularly popular with Westerners? Iizuka: Sonic is a character born in Japan, but from the beginning we were aware of the West. With a Californian image of the blue sky, blue sea, and palm trees, we added a sense of speed with a deep blue appearance. Sonic’s character of strongly sticking to his morals and to his justice without ever being affected by anything else was also a characteristic of Western characters. And also, Sonic’s World doesn’t take much elements from Japan, or Japanese culture. In fact, Sonic’s World is more Western, and the coolness of the Western people we always see around have been incorporated into Sonic's world, so it has been accepted by Westerners and supported so far. Sonic has always been western in nature, so our goal in a way has always been making Western-style games, create characters with Western-ness, and that eventually landed us a Hollywood movie... so I feel like I've finally arrived there in the 27th year.

Q: Please tell me about the character that Jim Carrey plays. Iizuka: Dr. Robotnik, the villain in the movie is called Dr. Eggman in the games, but in them, he has a round body and thin legs, and a figure that can’t be seen in a live-action human being. So if we wanted someone actually human, we had to create a new Doctor Robotnik look. Should Dr. Robotnik in the movie resemble Dr. Eggman from the games? Would they talk in a similar way? Jim Carrey splendidly created a new Doctor Robotnik! Dr. Robotnik always was a crazy scientist, but Jim Carrey's Dr. Robotnik is crazy, unlike anything we had imagined. That's very interesting. Did Jim Carrey bring half the fun for the movie? I think he played a really good Dr. Robotnik. Nakahara: Jim feels like a gentleman and a calm philosopher during the breaks. But once the camera turns, he becomes a different person and a lot of energy comes out.

Q: What are the highlights of this work? Jeff: Jim Carrey and James Marsden, of course, but the star of this film, Sonic, is definitely the highlight. Laughs, charming, confident and laid back. Fans will definitely enjoy it. There are many easter eggs. If you send me a list of how many you have found, I will tell you that there are still some that have not been found yet (laughs). Toby: It's a movie designed to be enjoyed over and over again, so every time you watch it, you'll discover something new. Also, Dr. Robotnik's dance! It's great!!

Q: Please tell us about your future plans for Sonic. Iizuka: This year, we finally made a movie about Sonic. That was one of my dreams, and since we are about to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Sonic next year, many people will have been brought in by the movie, and then they’ll have more opportunities to come into contact with the series through the [30th Anniversary] game. I hope we can get you a better game. Sonic is evolving with the evolution of game technology, so I hope we can continue to release surprising game titles.

SPECIAL thanks to @dizzydennis for helping in the translation in some parts.

Source

#Sonic News #Sonic the Hedgehog #Takashi Iizuka #Sonic Movie #Toby Ascher #Jeff Fowler

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a34trgv2 · 4 years ago

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Why It Worked: Sonic The Hedgehog (2020 film)

Introduction: Sonic The Hedgehog is a 2020 live action/animated hybrid film based on the popular video game character of the same name. Directed by Jeff Fowler, the film stars Ben Schwartz, James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, and Jim Carrey as Sonic, Tom, Maddie and Dr. Robotnik respectively. After being in development limbo for decades, the film was finally released on February 14th, 2020. Critics gave mixed to positive reviews to the film (63% out of 238 reviews aggregated on Rotton Tomatoes gave an average rating of 5.8/10), but audiences and fans of the Sonic franchise welcomed it with more open arms. The film was a box office success, grossing $319.7 million on a budget of $81-95 million. I've been waiting for this film to be made ever since I was a kid. While I've had my own ideas for what a Sonic movie would look like, I was more than happy with the film we actually got. So let's not waste anymore time and dive into why this movie was worth waiting almost 20 years for.

The Plot: This film tells the origin of the rivalry between our titular blue hero and the nefarious Dr. Robotnik. It starts with Sonic being sent to our world and him making sure he isn't seen for a decade so that someone doesn't try to use his powers for nefarious purposes. Once he's discovered and accidentally loses his rings, he tags along with the local sheriff, Tom, on a cross country road trip to find them. All the while trying to escape the clutches of the dastardly Dr. Robotnik. The story isn't anything we haven't seen before in a family film, but it makes up for it's predictability with funny gags, well made action and genuine moments of heart. One of the funniest scenes in the film comes when Dr. Robotnik first sees Sonic and screams like a goat before Tom socks him in the face. This scene had me in stitches because of Jim Carrey's iconic facial expression and perfect timing. The action is brought to liglfe wonderfully through the use of CGI, which looks so life like and is well integrated into the environments. This is especially true for Sonic, who stays true to his original video game look with more details added such as having quills all over his body and the stitches on his gloves. My personal favorite scene in the film is the when Tom tucks Sonic in a reads his bucket list. Without any dialogue, this scene shows Tom caring and empathizing with Sonic like a true friend, which is all the little blue blur wanted. For Sonic fans, there's plenty of Easter eggs that make references to the games, such as Sonic eating chili dogs and Green Hills being the name of Tom's town.

Cast and Characters: Sonic has had several voice actors over the years with each one giving their own unique spin on the cockey yet kind hearted hedgehog. Ben Schwartz is no exception as he nails Sonic's personality. Sonic is a wisecracking happy go lucky hedgehog who has a good heart as evident in moments like when he saves a turtle from getting run over to risking his life to save Tom. Speaking of Tom, I was quite pleased with how relatable and well rounded this character was. Tom wanting out of his small town hits home for me, and it's a good thing Sonic convinced him to stay because he's such a nice guy to the people of Green Hills. I also think James Marsden did a very good job as the character and he has very believable chemistry with Sonic. I also appreciate the fact that him and his wife, Maddie are a mixed couple as I don't often see it in fiction. Maddie, of course, is a vet and supports Tom even if she doesn't agree. Tika Sumpter also has great chemistry with James Marsden and you really by their relationship. The true stand out though us the one and only Jim Carrey, who perfectly captures the eccentric and maniacal nature of Dr. Robotnik. It was also nice to see Jim Carrey be over-the-top and zanny like he was back in the 90s and early 2000s. Also, Jim Carrey rocks that mustache!

Where It Falters: As much as I realy like this film, I do have a couple gripes with it. For one, I think we could've spent more time with Longclaw, Sonic's guardian. I understand not wanting the opening to drag on, but an additional scene or two with Longclaw (maybe in flashback form) wouldn't have hurt. I also don't like Rachel as her dislike for Tom feels forced and superfluous. Like, what is her grudge against Tom anyway? I think the film would've worked better if she was cut and have Maddie be in San Francisco to see her Mom or something.

Conclusion: Sonic The Hedgehog is my personal favorite film based on a video game and was worth waiting almost 20 years for. With a strong cast of characters, amazing CGI, intense action and witty humor, the film overcame the odds and proved to be a very well made film based on a video game. I'm looking forward to the sequel soon to come. Thanks so much for reading and I'll see you soon ;)

#sonic the hedghog movie #reblog #share #like #follow #paramount #family film #action #comedy #jim carrey #ben schwartz #james marsden #tika sumpter #jeff fowler

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dustedmagazine · 5 years ago

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Dust Volume 6, Number 8

Angel Olsen

Now half a year in the pandemic, we’re starting to see the emergence of quarantine records, whether in the trove of reissues hastily assembled to stand in for new product or home recorded projects made with extremely close friends and family or albums that are conceived and written around the concept of isolation. Music isn’t real life, exactly, but it lives nearby. And in any case, it’s still music and can be good or bad whether it’s been unearthed from a forgotten box of tapes, recorded at home without collaboration or side people or technologically gerry-rigged so that distanced partners can work together. So, as long as you all are making music, we will continue to listen and find records that move us, as the world burns all around. This edition’s contributors included Patrick Masterson, Andrew Forell, Tim Clarke, Jennifer Kelly, Bill Meyer, Jonathan Shaw, Justin Cober-Lake and Ray Garraty. Enjoy.

+ — #playboy (Deluxe Edition) (self-released)

#playboy (deluxe edition) by +

One of the most genuinely confounding records I’ve heard this year comes courtesy SEO-unfriendly artist + aka Plus Sign fka Emanuel James Vinson, a Chicago rapper, city planner and all-around community activist who spends his time helping with the city’s Let’s Build Garden City initiative when he’s not making music (which is frequent, by the way — take a look at the breadth of that Bandcamp discography). The concept with #playboy, originally released in April but deluxed in late May, is simple: Two kids find a music machine called #playboy in their basement and start tinkering with it. Its childlike whimsy is conveyed in the song titles (“Getting the Hang of It,” “Wake Up Jam (Waking Up)”) every bit as much as it is in the music, with occasionally grating indulgences, the odd earworm and a brief appearance by borderless internet hip-hop hero Lil B that makes perfect sense in context; the kindred spirit of that community-building cult auteur is strong here. You may wind up loving this record or you may wind up hating it, but I can promise you this: You’ll be thinking about it and the artist behind it long after it’s over.

Patrick Masterson

Actress — Mad Voyage Mixtape (self-released)

I once suggested Darren Cunningham mucks about with his music because he can’t help himself. That was about six years ago on the occasion of his purported “final” album Untitled; with the benefit of hindsight, we can see he was (like so many others, to greater or lesser consequence) just pulling our leg with that PR. Hell, he’s released two albums worth of music in July alone: The first was the mid-month surprise LP 88, which follows in the vein of his acclaimed high period as an often brilliant, occasionally frustrating patchwork of submersible beats best played at high volume with a low end. The second came at the end of the month in an m4a file shared the old fashioned way on a forum via Mediafire link, nearly an hour and a half long, and per the man himself, “All SP-303, sketchbook beats, recorded this past week [the first week of July] straight to recorder or cassette.” It feels very much like a homespun Actress mixtape and is probably best thought of as livelier accompaniment to 88 but, even still, there’s no noticeable drop in quality — once Actress, always Actress. If headier lo-fi beat tapes are your beat, this will slot comfortably in line.

Patrick Masterson

bdrmm - Bedroom (Sonic Cathedral)

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Hull five-piece bdrmm play a satisfyingly crepuscular version of shoegaze on their debut album Bedroom. Ryan Smith, his brother Jordan on bass, guitarist Joe Vickers, Danny Hull on synths and drummer Luke Irvin combine the widescreen sound of Ride with a cloak of gothic post-punk. Like the late, lamented Girls Names, bdrmm find a sweet spot where atmosphere and dynamics either build to euphoric crescendos or bask in bleak funereal splendor. Bedroom seems deliberately sequenced from celebration to lament. “A Reason To Celebrate” evokes Ride at their most anthemic, the tripping staccato driven “Happy” summons the spirit of The Cure of Seventeen Seconds before the pace drops for the second half, the songs become quieter and darker as the band finds a more personal voice. “(The Silence)” is an ambient whispered wraith of a thing, “Forget The Credits” impressively mopey slowcore. bdrmm don’t always transcend their influences, but this debut is an atmospheric treat if your taste runs to the darker end of the musical buffet.

Andrew Forell

Circulatory System — Circulatory System (Elephant 6 Recording Co.)

Circulatory System by Circulatory System

Nearly 20 years after its initial release, the excellent eponymous debut album by Will Cullen Hart’s psychedelic chamber-pop band Circulatory System gets a long overdue vinyl reissue. While his previous project, the undeniably great Olivia Tremor Control, tended to lean more towards classic psych-pop’s traditional tropes — hard-panned drums, loads of disorientating tape effects, wonky harmonized vocals — Circulatory System taps into something utterly uncanny. Both Signal Morning (2009) and Mosaics Within Mosaics (2014) have their moments, but this is front-to-back brilliant, conjuring a sublime atmosphere of reflective estrangement. The music is a thick, grainy soup of shimmering instrumentation, from the eerie (“Joy,” “Now,” “Should a Cloud Replace a Compass?”) to the joyful (“Yesterday’s World,” “The Lovely Universe,” “Waves of Bark and Light”), but part of the album’s magic is the way everything flows into a seamless whole. As is vinyl’s tendency, the rhythm section really comes alive here, the fuzz bass and tom-heavy drum parts booming out, with plenty of vivid details in the mix swimming into view. A worthy reissue of an essential album.

Tim Clarke

Cloud Factory — #1 (Howlin’ Banana)

Cloud Factory #1 by Cloud Factory

Cloud Factory, from Toulouse, France, overlays the serrated edges of garage pop with a serene dream-pop drift. It’s an appealing mix of hard and soft, like being pummeled to death by pillows or threatened gunpoint by a teddy bear. “Amnesia,” for instance, erupts in a vicious, sawed off, trouble-making bass line, then soars from there in untroubled female vocals. Later, “No Data,” punches hard with raw percussion, then lays on a liquid, lucid guitar line that encourages middle-distance staring. None of these songs really up the ante with memorable melodies, sharp words or that intangible R’NR energy that distinguishes great punk rock from the so so. Not loud, not soft, not great, not bad. Cloud Factory resides in the indeterminant middle.

Jennifer Kelly

Entry — Detriment (Southern Lord)

Detriment by Entry

Nuthin fancy here, folks. Just eight songs — plus a flexing, fuzzing intro — of American hardcore punk. Entry has been grinding away for a few years now, and Detriment doesn’t advance much past the musical terrain the band marked off on the No Relief 7-inch (2016). That’s OK. The essential formula is time tested: d-beat rhythms, overdriven amps and Sara G.’s ferocious vocals delivering the necessary affect. That would be: pissed off, just this side of hopeless. Detriment sounds like what might happen if Poison Idea (c. 1988) stumbled into a seminar on Riot Grrrl; after everyone got tired of beating the living shit out of one another, they’d make some songs. “Selective Empathy” is pretty representative. Big riffs, a breakdown, and more than enough throaty yelling to let you know that you’re in some trouble. You might recognize the sound of Clayton Stevens’ guitar from his work with Touché Amoré — but maybe it’s better if you don’t. This isn’t music for mopery. Watch out for the spit, snot and blood, and flip the record.

Jonathan Shaw

Equiknoxx — VF Live: Equiknoxx (The Vinyl Factory)

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There’s nothing like a little roots music to get you through the sweltering summer heat, and this early July mix by Gavin “Gavsborg” Blair (half of forward-thinking Kingston dancehall unit Equiknoxx) was a personal favorite of the past month for hitting that spot. The group tends to throw curveballs at the genres it tinkers with, and Blair’s mix highlights why they’re so good at it: The crates run deep. Spanning everything from legendary producer and DJ Prince Jazzbo to in-house music fresh out the box (e.g., “Did Not Make This For Jah_9” was released in late May), Blair sets the mood and educates you along the way. Like everything else these cats do (and that includes the NTS show — support your independent radio station!), it’s hard not to give the highest recommendation.

Patrick Masterson

Ezra Feinberg — Recumbent Speech (Related States)

Recumbent Speech by Ezra Feinberg

Knowing that Ezra Feinberg is a practicing psychoanalyst, it’s tempting to read meaning into the name of his second solo album. But be careful to think twice about the meaning you perceive and ask yourself, is it the product of Feinberg on the couch or your own projection? His choice to name one of the record’s six instrumentals (there are voices, but no words) “Letter To My Mind” certainly suggests that there’s an internal dialogue at work, but the music feels most like a layered deployment of good ideas than an exchange of intrapsychic forces. The synthesizers shimmer and cycle like something from a mid-1970s Cluster record, resting upon a pillow of vibraphone and electric piano tones, which in turn billow under the influence of undulating layers of drums. Feinberg’s guitar leads are bright and pithy, like something Pat Metheny might come up with if he knew he was going to have to pay a steep price for every note he played. Ah, but there I go, projecting an implication of adversary process where there may be none. Might it be that Feinberg, having spent a full work week immersed in the psychic conflicts of others, wants to lay back on the couch and exhale? If so, this album is an apt companion.

Bill Meyer

Honey Radar — Sing the Snow Away: The Chunklet Years (Chunklet)

Sing the Snow Away: The Chunklet Years by Honey Radar

Jason Henn of Honey Radar has a solid claim at being his generation’s Bob Pollard, a prolific, absurdist songwriter, who tosses off hooky melodies as if channeling them from the spirit world. His least polished material glints with melody hidden beneath banks of fuzz, whispery and fragile on records, but surprisingly muscular in his rocking live shows. This 28-song compilation assembles the singles, splits, EPs and bonus tracks Henn recorded for Chunklet between 2015 and the present; it would be a daunting amount of material except that it goes down like cotton candy, sweet, airy, colorful and gone before you know it. Like the Kinks, Henn has a way of making strident rock and roll hooks sound wistful and dreamy. In “Lilac Pharmacy,” guitar lines rip and buck and roar, but from a distance, hardly disrupting Henn’s placid murmur. “Medium Mary Todd” ratchets up the tension a bit, with a tangled snarl of lick and swagger, but the vocals edge towards quiet whimsy a la Sic Alps; a second version runs a bit hotter, rougher and more electric, while a third, recorded at WFMU, gives an inkling of the Honey Radar concert experience. A couple of fine covers — of the Fall’s early rant “Middle Class Revolt” and of the Monkees rarity “Wind-Up Man”— suggest the fine, loamy soil that Henn’s art grows out of, while alternate versions of half a dozen tracks hint at the various forms his ideas can take. It’s a wonderful overview of Honey Radar so far, though let’s hope it’s not a career retrospective. Henn has a bunch of records left to make yet if he wants to edge out Pollard.

Jennifer Kelly

Iron Wigs — Your Birthday’s Cancelled (Mello Music Group)

Your Birthday's Cancelled by IRON WIGS

As an adjective, “goofy” had gotten a bad rep in hip hop. Anything that is unusual, inventive and not in line with “keeping it real” is immediately stigmatized as goofy, weird, nerdy and bad. Iron Wigs is goofy but hold the pejorative connotations. Chicago representatives Vic Spencer and Verbal Kent team up here with Sonnyjim from the UK to do some wild rhyming. They collaborated before, but Your Birthday’s Cancelled is a complete, fully fleshed project, masterfully executed from start to finish. Instead of the usual gun busting you get a fist in the ribs. Instead of drug slinging, a blunt to activate your rhymes. Each member of the group has a distinctive delivery which makes you to listen carefully for every verse, no skipping. It’s a relief to listen to rap artists who don’t pretend they’re out in the streets while they’re at home enjoying a favorite TV series. The standout track here is “Bally Animals & Rugbys” with Roc Marciano dropping by for a verse.

Ray Garraty

Levinson / Mahlmeister — Shores (Trouble In Mind)

Shores by levinson / mahlmeister

Jamie Levinson and Donny Mahlmeister’s Bandcamp page indicates that they’re based in Oak Park, a suburb of Chicago. This goes further towards explaining their association with Trouble in Mind Records, which is located in the same county, than their music, which brings to mind something much further north. The duo’s music is mostly electronic, with modular synthesizers setting the pulse and sweeping the pitch spectrum while lap steel guitar adds flourishes and a shruti box thickens the textures. The album is split into two, with each track — one is named “Ascend,” the other “Release” — taking up one side of a 50-minute cassette. The first side trundles steadily onwards, and the second seems to bask in a glow to that never totally fades. Since there’s no “Descend,” it’s easy to imagine this music sound tracking a drive into the Canadian north, the journey unspooling under a sky that never darkens, its progress towards Hudson Bay unhindered by other traffic or turns in the road. Perhaps that’s just one listener’s fantasy of easy social distancing and escape from the present’s grim digital glare into a retro-futurist, analog dream. But in dreams we’re free to fly without being seated next to some knucklehead with his mask over his eyes instead of his mouth, so dream on, dreamers. This tape is volume one of the Explorers Series, Trouble in Mind’s projected program of limited edition cassette releases.

Bill Meyer

Klara Lewis — Ingrid (Editions Mego)

Klara Lewis’s latest recording shows a narrowing of focus. Previously she seemed to be trying ideas and methods on for size, investigating ambient electronics or hinting at pop melody without completely committing. Given the approach to music modeled by her father, Graham Lewis of Wire and Dome, she probably does not feel the need to do just one thing, and that’s a healthy angle if one wants to stay interested and flexible. But there’s also something to be said for really digging into an idea, and that’s what she has done here. Ingrid is a one-track, one-sided 12.” Burrowing further into one-ness, it is made from one looped cello phrase, which gets filtered and distorted on each pass. The effect suggests decay, but not so much the gradual transformation of a William Basinski piece as the pitiless abrasion of a woodworker going over a plank with sander. The combination of repetition and coarsening hits a spot closer to one that Tony Conrad might reach, and that’s an itch worth scratching.

Bill Meyer

Luis Lopes Humanization 4tet — Believe, Believe (Clean Feed)

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The cruel economics of contemporary creative music-making favor an ensemble like Humanization 4tet. At a minimum, the filial Texan rhythm section of Stefan and Aaron Gonzalez (drums and bass respectively) and Lisbon-based duo of Rodrigo Amado (tenor saxophone) and Luís Lopes can each count on having the other half of a band on the other side of the Atlantic. But any project that’s on its fourth record in a dozen years has more going for it than the chance to save on plane tickets. For the Portuguese musicians, it’s an opportunity to feel an unabashedly high-energy force at their backs, as well as a chance to drink from a deep well of harmolodic blues. And for the Gonzalez brothers, it’s the reward of being the absolute right guys for the job; it has to be a gas to know that the heft they put into their swing is so deeply appreciated. While Lopes’ name remains up front, everyone contributes compositions, and everyone gives their all on every tune.

Bill Meyer

Joanna Mattrey — Veiled (Relative Pitch)

Veiled by Joanna Mattrey

This solo CD, which closely follows a collaborative cassette on Astral Spirits, is only the second recording with Joanna Mattrey’s name on the spine. But Mattrey is no newcomer. The New England Conservatory-trained violist has been playing straight and pop gigs for a while. If you caught Chance the Rapper on Saturday Night Live, Cuddle Magic with strings or a host of classical gigs around New York City, you’ve seen her. But if black dress and heels gigs pay her bills, improvised music nourishes her heart. And if sounds raw enough to scrape the roof of the world nourish yours, this album is new food. The premise of Veiled is finding veins of concealed beauty concealed, and that search impels Mattrey to tune her viola to sound like a horse-haired Tuvan fiddle, clamp objects to the strings and blast her signal through some satisfyingly filthy amplification. And whether it’s a slender tune or a complex texture, the reward is always there.

Bill Meyer

Angel Olsen — “Whole New Mess” single (Jagjaguwar)

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Everyone processes a breakup differently (though, to be fair, that’s probably less true now than ever). For Angel Olsen in 2018, it meant retreating to The Unknown, a century-old church in Anacortes, Washington, that Mount Eerie’s Phil Elverum and producer Nicholas Wilbur made into a recording studio. What ultimately came from those sessions was All Mirrors, but Whole New Mess is a chance to revisit that album (fully nine of these 11 songs are ones you’ve heard before; only the title-track and “Waving, Smiling” are new) in a more intimate framework — just Angel, a guitar, a mic and her reverberant heartache. The most cynical view to be taken here is that it’s a stopgap capitalizing on people’s vulnerability amid a pandemic quarantine, but it could also be a corrective for the bloat of All Mirrors, a record I listened to once and haven’t thought about since. Late Björkian excess doesn’t suit her nearly as well as the light touch delivered herein, and your interest will similarly hinge on how much Whole New Mess sounds like the old one.

Patrick Masterson

Ono — Red Summer (American Dreams)

Red Summer by ONO

Ono, the long-running noise-punk-poetry-protest project headed by P Michael Grego and travis, tackles the Red Summer of 1919, evoking the brutal race riots that erupted as soldiers returned from World War I. During that summer, conflicts raged from Chicago to the deep south, as white supremacists rioted against newly empowered returning Black veterans and an increased number of Black factory workers employed in America’s northern factories. Ono captures the violence—and its links to contemporary race-based conflicts—in an abstract and visionary style, with travis declaiming against an agitated froth of avant garde sound. “A Dream of Sodomy” lurches and rolls in funk-punk bravado, as travis declaims all the nightmarish scenarios that haunt his nocturnal hours, while “Coon” natters rhythmically across a fever-lit foundation of hand-drums, mosquito buzz and flute. “26 June 1919” wanders through a blasted, rioting landscape, sounds buzzing and pinging and roaring around travis’ fractured poetry. “White men, red men, Manchester town, send ‘em home, Oklahoma, send ‘em home, in a Black man house, send ‘em home, send ‘em home,” he chants, ominously, vertiginously. The center isn’t holding, for sure. The disc closes with the uneasy truce of “Sycamore Trees,” where steam blasts of synthesizer sound rush up and around travis’ vibrating, basso verses about meeting under the sycamore trees, a metaphor like the blues and gospel and nearly all Black music is full of metaphor about reuniting in a better place. Powerful.

Jennifer Kelly

Julian Taylor — The Ridge (Howling Turtle, Inc.)

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Singer-songwriter Julian Taylor does the little things well. That's not to say that he doesn't do the obvious things well, too, on his latest release The Ridge. His easy voice fits his songs, letting autobiography come with comfortable phrasing. As a writer, he tends toward the straightforward, avoiding extended metaphors or oblique references. The title track considers a particular form of life, and Taylor sticks to the tangible, singing about the stable, “Shovel manure, clean their beds, and prepare the feed for the day.” Taylor's songs make sense of the immediate world and relationships around him, but they avoid woolgathering. The album feels a bit removed from the current climate, but that's no complaint when Taylor's developed a welcoming place to visit. It isn't always easy here, but it's always companionable.

But back to those little things. Each song has carefully detailed orchestration and production. The record goes down easy whether tending toward James Taylor, Cat Stevens or something closer to country, and much of that easiness comes from the precise placement of every note. Burke Carroll's pedal steel, for instance, never exists for its own sake, but to serve the lyric that Taylor sings. The album contains enough space to feel like a rural Canadian ridge, with details drawn into to support Taylor's direct stories. The Ridge could easily go unnoticed (unobtrusiveness not being a highly rewarded trait), but its subtlety and care make it worth taking your boots off and sitting down for a minute.

Justin Cober-Lake

Various Artists — For a Better Tomorrow (Garden Portal)

For A Better Tomorrow by Various Artists

Compilation albums loom large in the American Primitive Guitar realm. Takoma, Tompkins Square and Locust all had larger ambitions than merely offering a sampling of wares, and to them, Garden Portal says, “hold my beer. I’ve got some collecting and playing to do.” For A Better Tomorrow started out as a Bernie Sanders fundraising endeavor. But when Bernie bailed and COVID-19 came on the scene, Garden Portal pivoted to support Athens Mutual Aid Network, an umbrella organization that coordinates aid to the underserved in this trying time. But in addition to good works, there’s some good work going on here. Not all of it is guitar-centric, but even the tracks that aren’t are close enough to the strings and heart template of the aforementioned parties to merit consideration under the same rubric. Joseph Allred’s been ultra-productive recently, so it’s actually helpful to be reminded of the spirit that infuses his playing by listening to it one track at a time. Rob Noyes’ “Diminished” takes the listener on a deep dive into the construction of sentiment and sound. And Will Csorba’s Pelt-like blast of fiddle drone, “Requiem for Ociel Guadalupe Martinez,” will put your hair up high enough to make that self-inflicted quarantine do a bit easier to execute.

Bill Meyer

Various Artists — The Storehouse Presents (The Storehouse)

The Storehouse Presents by The Storehouse

The coronavirus pandemic put the brakes on many things. You doubtless have your own list of loss, but for the proprietors of The Storehouse, the catalog of things kissed goodbye directly corresponds to their endeavor’s inventory of reasons to be. Over the past few years, the Storehouse has invited audiences out to a West Michigan farmhouse to enjoy a potluck meal and a concert played by some musicians of note. If there had been no lockdown, listeners could have enjoyed the Sun Ra Arkestra last April. Instead, no one’s playing, and no one’s getting paid, so the Storehouse has compiled this set of live and exclusive studio tracks to sell on Bandcamp in order to benefit the musicians and the Music Maker Relief Foundation. The cause, is good, but so are the tunes. Want to hear Steve Gunn and William Tyler in sympathetic orbit? Or Joan Shelley pledging her love? Or the first hints of Mind Over Mirrors’ new direction? Step right this way, preferably on one of 2020’s first Fridays.

Bill Meyer

Z-Ro — Rohammad Ali (1 Deep Entertainment / Empire)

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On one of his previous tracks, Z-Ro admitted that he’s basically just writing the same song over and over again (that’s how meta he is now, writing songs on writing songs). While he exaggerated a bit, he was not that far from the truth. In the last half dozen years he’s been writing the same three or four songs in various combinations, reconfigurations and forms. Rohammad Ali follows the same template: haters hate him, but he’s OK and is counting his money. Multiply this by 17, and here is the album. Despite this self-cannibalizing (lots of poets did that), Z-Ro with every new album sounds fresh and far from tired. The self-repeats just fuel him. Rohammad Ali has only one rap guest, and it’s Shaquille O’Neal whose rap career didn’t jump off in the 1990s. A lack of guests only proves that Z-Ro can self-sustain without support from the outside. The only thing from the outside he needs is hate.

Ray Garraty

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callmestp · 7 years ago

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Tagged?

Tagged by @glassestouchdown. Thanks for considering me! It’s been ages since I’ve been tagged on anything (big surprise there), and I like thinking up answers to the questions.

Rules:

1. Post these rules

2. Answer the questions given by the tagger

3. Write 11 questions of your own

4. Tag 11 people!

1. If you could change just one thing about the world what would it be? To take some lyrics from the Creed song “Higher”: “The only difference is to let love replace all the hate.” And that would be it. Christ asked his followers to love their enemies and pray for those who would injure or persecute them (Matthew 5:44). And 1 Peter 4:8 states that love covers over a multitude of sins. Many other problems in this world, I feel, would be resolved in a few generations if people stopped their hate and loved instead.

2. Name a song that regularly gets stuck in your head. A song that has been stuck in my head lately is “Come for Us” by Evan Wickham. You can listen to it here: https://youtu.be/Jen0s9V4e5Y A friend of mine called the melody “majestic” and I’m inclined to agree.

3. What was the last movie you watched at the cinema and what did you think of it? That would be “American Made,” starring Tom Cruise. I was surprised to find out that it was based on a true story. I had known of the historical events mentioned in the film -- the drug cartels in Colombia, the Sandinistas in Central America and the Contras fighting against them -- but didn’t realize there was one person who was getting involved in all those areas.

4. If you could take some time off and just go study in a foreign country for a while, what would you study and where? I had to think about this one for a bit, but then the answer hit me in the face like a ton of bricks. If I could go abroad to study something, it would be to Israel, especially Jerusalem. It’s such a hub of cultures, and it’s steeped with history, Biblical and otherwise. Part of the reason I would go, would be as a pilgrimage to see the places where Christ lived and taught, and where he met His end.

5. What’s a skill that you don’t have at the moment that you would like to have? There are several ways I can approach this question. I can think of it in terms of a skill I would like to have but don’t really need, or a skill I really ought to have. In terms of a skill I’d like to have, I’d like to know how to play certain instruments: a steel guitar, a steel drum, and a church organ. In terms of a skill I ought to have, it would be public speaking. (It’s difficult for me to think up responses on the fly, making spoken conversation awkward for me.)

6. Who is the first fictional character that you felt really connected to, and who you still feel connected to today? It’s possible that there may have been someone different when I was younger, but in terms of what I can remember today: Sonic the Hedgehog was a video game character I connected to, from the first time I played one of his games, ca. 1996. Without saying any words, I saw someone with a sense of adventure, traveling all over the place, fighting for what he thought was right. I’m still a fan of the franchise and I still enjoy Sonic, but with all the other characters that have since been added to the cast, I adore the ancient Tikal the Echidna. She was a girl after my own heart: spiritual, compassionate, nurturing, almost motherly.

In terms of something a little more contemporary, I quickly gravitated to Toriel Dreemurr in the 2015 video game Undertale. I saw an older woman with a good heart, compassionate, protective (almost to a fault), left alone to wither away in the Ruins with only a few small monsters for company. I felt so bad when I had to leave Toriel behind, and nearly cried when she hugged me and walked away. Thankfully, in the Pacifist story arc, she got a chance to fulfill her dream of becoming a schoolteacher.

7. Are there any particular types of stories that you find yourself always drawn towards? I enjoy mystery stories, trying to piece together the clues before the protagonists can. I also really enjoy underdog stories, where one or more “small time” people work to achieve what others would have dismissed as impossible. These are probably why I love the movie Zootopia so much.

8. If you could meet a fictional character and spend a day with them, who would it be and what would you do together? To build upon my answer to question 7, I would like to meet and spend a day with Judy Hopps from Zootopia. Though the movie shows a bit of her back story, I’d love seeing a day in her life right now: how things are going with her partner Nick, how she’s treated by Chief Bogo and the other cops at the ZPD now that she’s definitively proven her worth, and how she spends her free time away from work. I’d also ask for more of her back story: exactly what age she decided she wanted to be a cop, what she did in pursuit of her dream between ages 9 and 24, and whether she’d have done anything different with her life if she had the chance.

9. What are three things you would never want to go without? Family, the Bible, and a means to connect with other people.

10. List three things about yourself that you take pride in. I hesitate to use the term “pride” because, while it’s good to have a moderate degree of self-esteem, runaway pride can be one’s downfall. But in terms of things in my life that I’m glad are true:

A. I earned my Professional Engineering license in 2015. By far, that is my crowning achievement in my career. I’ve been wanting that ever since I was in college, and I put in the long hours for 6 months, studying for that eight-hour exam. And I certainly make use of that license in my job, though sometimes I get the feeling that it’s being taken for granted.

B. Since 2011, I’ve been able to express my ideas through creative writing. If I remember right, I’ve completed 11 fan fictions (plus one currently in progress). The writing has gotten progressively better (and usually longer) with every new story I compose. Regrettably, I’ve made little progress in this area during 2017, for all the other demands being made on my free time.

C. I’m glad that I’m at a point in my life where my circumstances are stable enough that I can help out others in need, whether that’s offering my time or my financial resources. For years, my sister has come to me for help on her university coursework, and this week, I learned that she trusts no one else (not even her own classmates) to give her advice and support she needs to succeed. I suppose I’m a victim of my own success, but still, for someone to actually say that I am valued that much...

11. What are you looking forward to in 2018? I am looking for a change in my life for the better. As of right now, every day, my evenings and weekends are occupied by one of three things: I’m either working late into the night (as part of my job’s on-call rotation), filling out applications for a new job, or helping my sister. If I was to get a new job -- and by tomorrow, I pray that some very good news is coming my way -- it would remove two of those three drains on my time. Thinking more long-term, moving into a new apartment closer to where (I hope) my new job is located, because this apartment has all the memories associated with my current employer. And maybe I can even work on other areas of my life I’ve been neglecting: finding friends, maybe even getting into a relationship.

The following questions are what I’m writing for this assignment.

1. If you could change one thing about yourself, whether it’s your body, your mind, or your life, what would it be?

2. (This is a morbid question, but it’s been on my mind since All Saints’ Sunday) If you died tomorrow, who do you think would attend your funeral? What do you think people would say about you, good or bad, if they were being honest?

3. Name your favorite thing about where you live right now. This could be in reference to your actual dwelling place, or the geographic location thereof.

4. What was something you had said or done when you were younger, that you now look back on and cringe?

5. Name your favorite hobby, and briefly explain what got you interested in it.

6. Your Tumblr blog: how’d you come up with the name? How long have you maintained it? Have you ever moved or changed names on Tumblr, and if so, what was the reason?

7. Christ Jesus once said that wherever your treasure lies, your heart will be there also (Matthew 6:21). What is it that you treasure most in your life?

8. If you could step into the life of any other person, living or dead, for 24 hours, who would it be, and what would you do with the time?

9. Describe your preferred platform for video games. Why do you prefer that platform over others?

10. If you had the option to be born into any time period, any place, where/when would it be and why?

11. What would be your thoughts of a world where humans co-existed on Earth with some sort of non-human sentient beings? They could be existing Earth species (feral or anthropomorphic), they could be extraterrestrials, or they could be non-organic robots.

Usually, for me, the most difficult portion of this activity is finding people to tag. On Tumblr and elsewhere, I tend to be a dead-end for most content. I don’t follow many blogs. Many are run by bots, and the ones that aren’t, I don’t know their authors personally. The only blog I follow, whose author I know, would be @glassestouchdown, and for that, all she would have to do is answer my written questions. Of course, anyone reading this, who follows my blog or otherwise, is welcome to try this themselves.

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sinceileftyoublog · 5 years ago

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One True Pairing Interview: A Glorious "Fuck You”

Tom Fleming (formerly Wild Beasts); Photo by Jenna Foxton

BY JORDAN MAINZER

For Tom Fleming, the end of Wild Beasts represented the opportunity to start over. Just last month, he released his self-titled debut as One True Pairing, a name inspired by the concept of a perfect match between two fictional characters, but that Fleming co-opted to fit with the theme of romanticism for a better world. His touch-points? Combining the idealism of 80′s heartland rock with the grey-hued class frustration of discordant UK punk. But unlike fan fiction, Fleming was actually able to combine worlds, in real life.

Much of One True Pairing was written on acoustic guitar and recorded on a 4-track with one microphone so Fleming could really isolate the feeling of the lyrics. “If I get straight on the computer, I mess around” with “stuff nobody cares about at that stage,” he told me over the phone last month. Once he had about 6-7 solid songs and was happy with his melodies, he worked with mixer and producer Ben Hillier until they were satisfied with the songs. But Fleming appreciated his time alone, previously used to being in a band constantly bouncing ideas off one another, this time able to reflect on his own creations.

Don’t get him wrong: Fleming is still in touch with his former band mates, calling Hayden Thorpe’s solo debut Diviner a “beautiful record.” And while he’s performed One True Pairing songs live as a duo, he’s open to the idea of putting a band together. But for the most part, he’s enjoying calling the shots. “To be on the road for 10-12 years is a difficult life,” he told me. “I wouldn’t berate anybody for not wanting to do that into your sixties.”

Read on below, as Fleming discusses various songs on the album and their sonic and lyrical influences, as well as consciously differentiating from Wild Beasts.

Since I Left You: How did you achieve a balance with your first solo record between making a personal, artistic statement and a politically timely one?

Tom Fleming: I was very aware of a solo record being some kind of secret ambition I’d always had--it was nothing like that. I had no idea what I was doing after Wild Beasts. I didn’t want it to feel like an indulgence. I wanted it to have a reason to exist other than my artistic vision. In terms of being timely, I was bothered by a lot of things--it wasn’t an attempt to make a quote-unquote political statement. It felt dishonest and weird and a bit creepy to not write about what was in front of me or at least in some refraction. There’s a reason people turn a blind eye in the UK in terms of economics. They like to think they’re “woke” and these things never come up until you implicate them...I wanted to make something that had a logic outside of itself. But I was very eager not to make a singer-songwriter record from a singular perspective.

SILY: The tie-in for a lot of people will be Wild Beasts. Did you consciously decide to make something that sounds separate from that?

TF: Some of it is a reaction--not necessarily for the audience’s benefit, but because I got tired of doing certain things. Wild Beasts records were very layered and quite delicate in places. I am trying to approach this as “I am a new artist.” I’m not sure I particularly care what the artists in bands are doing next unless it’s good. I don’t think it carries over.

SILY: Whenever you see a new moniker that’s also the name of an album and a song, it’s gotta mean something. Would you say that the song “One True Pairing” is emblematic of this new chapter for you?

TF: Yeah. The name just kind of stuck. There’s a hopefulness and romanticism. The words appealed to me. Not having my name gave me a bit more freedom and a role to play with.

SILY: What about the song “Zero Summer” made you want to open with it?

TF: Lyrically, and in terms of the sonics, it’s got that kind of aggression and slightly sarcastic nods to 80′s heartland rock that’s on the record. It’s also about the life of T.S. Eliot. There are a few puns to myself in it. [laughs]

SILY: I definitely got the 80′s vibes on “Blank Walls” and the guitars of “Dawn at the Factory”, because you still did an interesting synthesis of 80′s heartland rock, but the synthesizers are used differently than Springsteen, Henley, etc. did.

TF: Thanks, man. That’s kind of what I was going for. British music is a refraction of American music, so I wanted it to be that. There’s a romanticism to what I’m doing, and I wanted to do that but also make it a bit twisted and a bit askew and have the lyrics be a bit off-message. [laughs]

SILY: Some of the songs are a bit of a slower burn, like “Elite Companion” and “King of the Rats”, which is much more vocal-forward. How did it feel to be the only one singing on the record as compared to your past experiences?

TF: It’s different. I felt like I had to sing differently. I was ready for it, though. I wasn’t the lead vocalist before. I realize how much of it is delivery. The lyrics on the page don’t feel like how they sound, not only with pitch and accent but the type of attitude you sing it with. I sing a lot more aggressively, too. Un-decorative. I wanted it to sound a bit intimidating and a bit less pleasant to listen to. I wanted it to be unavoidable. You’re gonna hear every word here.

SILY: A couple songs stood out to me for their epic arrangements: “Alive in the Resplendent Flames” and especially “Weapons”, which has a loud-quiet-loud dynamic with an explosive chorus.

TF: That was a sort of like Joni Mitchell-y guitar tune with a stealth chorus that comes halfway through the measure. “Weapons” is a little darker in tone, but both those songs both have themes of escape from marination in violence and oppressive threats. There’s a line in “Zero Summer” about being doomed to repeat the same things over and over. I was very wary of making a white boy singer-songwriter record, which I think has been done infinitely, and much better than what I could probably do. [laughs]

SILY: A lot of the good examples of those singer-songwriters records have a sense of personal sharing, which you do communicate in terms of your interaction with the world around you, especially as it comes to contemporary society and politics. You kind of felt there was a lacking in people making art about the situation we’re in or addressing it head-on. Did you feel a responsibility to do it yourself?

TF: I’ve been quite fortunate to get where I got to. There are a lot of things I won’t escape from my economic background way back. In the UK, there’s a kind of fatalism to what you can and cannot be. There’s a dishonesty about how woke people tend to be. It’s very selective and public facing. It’s not really addressing their own role in it. I wanted to implicate the listener. I wanted them to go, “Oh God, that’s what I helped to create.” I’m not the only one doing something like that, but I’m trying to offer a point and counterpoint to it.

SILY: What about “Only God Can Judge Me” made you want to end the album with it?

TF: There’s a glorious “Fuck you” about that song. It’s like a gathering together. There’s a sort of a summation. That was the only one written in the studio. We were playing around on guitar and decided to add lyrics. The lyrics of that song and the way it feels are me wondering, “What does all this mean? What do I do now?” It felt right thematically to put there. There’s an almost sea shantiness to it, which appealed to me.

SILY: Do you have a favorite song on the record?

TF: Oh man...hmm, good question. I come and go as to which one I like best. I think “King of the Rats” turned out well. It was written quite quickly. It was very much a feel thing. I like “Zero Summer” in that it begins the record with a “fuck you,” just like the end.

SILY: What’s the inspiration behind the album art?

TF: I love Jandek. His portraits are so off-kilter. I wanted to do something like that. It was the inspiration for me being in water...I didn’t want it to be kitchen sink realism.

SILY: How have the songs changed live?

TF: They’re more minimal, I guess. “Alive in the Resplendent Flames”, I’m doing a sit-down version of that, but for the most part they’re still full. This isn’t an acoustic show; this is a rock show.

Tour dates:

10/31: Paradiso, Amsterdam, Netherlands

11/4: King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow, UK

11/5: Yes, Manchester, UK

11/6: Belgrave Music Hall & Canteen, Leeds, UK

11/7: The Louisiana, Bristol, UK

11/8: The Grand Social, Dublin, Ireland

11/11: The Victoria, Dalston, London, UK

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silverhands-etcetera · 5 years ago

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On The Road, Again.

Oh my, it’s been some time, hasn't it? There ain’t a lot of words I can think of to express the change and the loss and the perspective that has come into play since the last time I took to writing my days down on these pages. Perhaps in due time we’ll get around to telling all of the stories, if I can manage to get them out -a few of the tales bring water to my eyes, so maybe it’s good that the medium I work in here is just words, consumed long after they are brought to bear.

Whoa, that got dramatic…

Get this- we’re on tour. I’m in a plane, way up over Saskatchewan. Currently, My parents are in Virginia, my brothers are in their homes, Esme is in Rock Island & BJ is up there in the upper Mississippi valley, Joy & Tom are just above Greenlake, Jack is in Bellevue, Lucien is in Kirkland playing guitar, Ethan is in Nashville, Julian is mixing your next favorite record, and Aimee, Sherri & Michael are a few rows behind me in this huge metal tube up in the sky.

But it wasn’t supposed to be this way - all of us on a direct flight in the same plane, that is. I bought a ticket that sent me through Salt Lake City, entirely on the basis of economy. That was a couple months ago. A whole lot has transpired since then, on the road to me sitting in 23B, and pecking out this story.

This trip has been in the works for some time. Back when we were young & idealistic & slightly more foolish than I am right now.(I am aware that I changed our pronoun in mid sentence there, but it seems more correct that way.) I only jest a little about my altered level of foolishness. I know it’s a bit of a cliche, but sometimes there are events that open your eyes to how things really are, the people who glue your world together, and the people we hold esteem for without any real reason except for the ideas in our own heads. I’ve spent a lot of my life making space for, and forgiving the acts of one particular person. I wish it wasn’t so, but sometimes it takes a full-on tragedy to open the eyes of a fool such as I. I’m not gonna get into that right now, but I’m in a space where there is no grey area. I am heavy on regrets & light on shame or burdens.

I ain’t taken a band on the road for a couple years now. I have walked a many hundreds of miles in Spain in my last couple visits, but haven’t played a proper gig on the european continent since the (pre-election) 2016 tour. And my travel writing has dropped off too. Last spring, I thought I was in bad shape. I was nursing a broken heart, for sure. Since then I have lost my most noble role model, my strongest mentor, and the Dog who straight-up saved my life when I couldn’t find my identity or purpose. So yeah, a few things have changed. Anybody who knew Manolo, Steve or Faron would readily understand how the world is different without them in it. I’ve learned a lot from the choices they made, and the self-righteous acts of those who would take their choices away from them. I wish there was a way I could have learned the lesson without all the grief, but we all know that real lessons don’t come cheap.

As always, I digress. -

I think it was around February this year, I was talking to Alwin about bringing Silverhands back to Germany. We were talking about a gig in Erkelenz. I’d been rethinking what my band meant. Trying to get the songs to return to their essence, so to speak. Along the way, if I could step up my guitar playing that’d be pretty cool too… so Silverhands is a 3-piece band now. Just Aimee on the drums & Sherri on the bass, and most dramatically different- just me on guitar. We work really hard on letting the songs breathe and just exist. Many times in the past I have felt the joy of being pulled along by the songs and the people playing them. It’s a beautiful thing to hear a little sonic progeny of your very own sitting up and telling you how the ride is gonna go. Showing you that it has a voice of its own & there ain’t nothing you can do about it. Kinda how I imagine it’s like to have grown children. But songs ain’t children, and they are never too old for me to put over my knee & change their attitude when I see fit.

This stage in the life of my band is where I chill the hell out & try to assess where the songs are, and to potentially cull anything that doesn’t stand up on it’s own. I’ve been blessed with some inspired lead players -folks who can slip deeper melodic passages between the & and the 1 than I often manage to fortify an entire verse with. The beauty of this is that I can show up to any gig, hack out three chords and an occasional minor VI, and somebody is gonna turn it into music. Right now I’m trying to make sure I’m holding up my end of the bargain, and hoping to inform any future songwriting with a deeper level of independence from flourish. Clapton did a good job with JJ Cale songs, but they were all better when they were just JJ Cale songs.

I play with a few bands. Silverhands doesn’t even get the bulk of my time. I am lucky enough to play gigs with lots of varied folks playing all kinds of stuff, but I’m only IN just a couple of bands -I still get to play drums for the Joy Mills band, I play prog-funk & straight-up hardcore bluegrass on the bass fiddle with Supernatal & Darlin’ Do, respectively, and I rock the shit out of the electric Bass with Del Vox (if I might say so myself).

All y’all know that Del Vox is Sherri Jerome. And Sherri Jerome is Del Vox. I loooove these songs. There’s a lot of challenge in them, and consequently, there is much reward in playing with this batch of people.

It so happened that Sherri & I were both considering tour booking around the same time. Our bands’ unique personnel situations allowed us an opportunity to benefit from the usually mundane and costly logistics of travel. We booked each band on its own short run of dates, in mostly the same circuit of venues, back-to-back from the middle of September to the middle of October. Both bands are hitting some familiar haunts & some fresh new cities. (I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been to Temse) (I actually have very few retrievable memories of belgium in general, but I’m pretty sure it’s always a good time)

As the tours started coming together, we began the long process of planning, preparing, refining our concepts, & ultimately packing our bags. I spent a lot of time deferring the literal act of packing, as well as much of the intangible act of “planning”, due to a hyper-busy summer into autumn -I have been playing a lot of bass gigs, stretching out on some country chops that I apparently grew up knowing, but never had the sense to use before now. I love learning new music & playing with new bands, but it takes up a big part of my brain, and ultimately all the clerical duties of being in a band tend to suffer for the sake of The Gig. I recognize that gigs are dependent on me being able to plan/book them, but when that big boulder gets rolling, sometimes you just do your best to stay in front of it.

So I bought a plane ticket awhile back, but really hadn’t put any thought into “planning” anything until Monday, and hadn’t considered “packing” until Tuesday morning. On Monday I realized that I had basically one pair of pants. And I was about to share a van with 3 people for a month. On Tuesday, newly outfitted, I realized I had no luggage that would fit all of the things I need to carry for this venture. Enter the Goodwill on 145th…

A giant, yet slim, tweed trunk, like the kind you'd expect to see on top of a stagecoach, goes home with me on Tuesday. I took the neck of my ’72 Geddy Lee Jazz bass & toss it in with about 20 plain black t-shirts and some socks. I am set.

I still had a gig to play on Tuesday night, so Jack loaned me his slick new blonde Jazz bass, which plays like 80 degree butter, and I went down to Conor’s to sew some pockets with Kelly Van Camp in Fredd’s new Tuesday-night project. My plan was to drink one beer & head home straight after the gig, but the North Star beckoned, and I was out till roughly 2:30, in bed by 3. It was a good night.

My eyes open around 9 AM on Wednesday. All I know is that I need to pick up the drummer at 1, and I need to get my second pair of pants in the laundry. I take a moment to consider falling back asleep, just playing guitar all morning, or any number of things more lovely than washing clothes & lugging suitcases. But we’ve got a job to do, and it starts with some cabbage & eggs. Just like every morning.

When I consider intangibles like “time” and “distance”, it always seems feasible that you could do all you need to do, clean up the dishes, take a nap, a walk in the park, entertain guests, and get a shine on your shoes all before 1pm. As it was, it was all I could do to meet up with the coffee crew up at the Herkimer before the headache started setting in. It was good to get a breather in what was going to be a very long day. Jackie & Aimee & I sat in the sun and moderated our respective awarenesses with warm beverages, warm sun and oxygen. Joy met us up at Graycie’s house, where we all piled in the van with our cases & bags and the remainder of an old flask that Aimee found in the back seat of my car. Let’s get this show on the road.

It was all we could do to find a table at the airport bar, another story altogether in getting any beverages brought to us. So after one round, I had to split to head to my gate & get on my two-part flight, while the rest of the band gets on the direct flight an hour later (remember, this was the story I was telling) but at my gate, there was no airplane. I expressed my concerns at the help desk in missing my connection, and the dear woman immediately rebooked me on the direct Seattle-Amsterdam flight. With the rest of my band.

A short train ride over to the international terminal, and now here I am. Or here we are, as it were.

Now that I’ve had my airline bottle of Dewar’s & a tiny chicken salad and fruit cup, we’re all up to speed -the only real variable being, will my old tweed trunk and the precious bass inside of it get to Amsterdam with me? But this is ultimately a question for the next episode, which starts roughly when the sun rises over Holland on Thursday morning.

At this point in the blog, we’ll find ourselves at the beginning of one story, chronologically, but also at the end, as things go on the page. Feel free to continue reading about my previous adventures, walking in Spain, and past tours way back to some bygone days.

Thanks for coming along for the ride.

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welcome-to-green-hills · 4 years ago

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Is it weird if I ask for celebrity (or Hollywood) headcanons? Like how Sonic would react meeting celebrities in real-life and how they interact? Personally, I headcanon Sonic being good friends with “Ben the Schwartz“ and finds his voice charming yet so familiar...but has no clue why...

Pfff! Not at all, my friend!❤️

That’s a very creative ask! I have a few ideas on how Sonic Wachowski would react to his favorite celebrities if he’s met them:

One day coming home from their shift, Sonic literally screamed at the top of his lungs when he saw Keanu Reeves walking around town. He begged Tom to pull over the police cruiser—Tom crashed into a street light pole—and Sonic sank to his knees and cried in his presence. Shortly after passing out into Mr. Reeves arms out of pure joy, he found out that Keanu Reeves has a vacation house in the wealthy section of town. Sonic makes sure to run by there every day during the summer months and waive to Mr. Reeves in the morning.

Sonic has a soft spot for Sir Elton John. He has every album, ever vintage magazine with him on it, and he even owns the white overall and purple-star shirt and pumps that he loves to wear in the house. (He loves to wears the outfit and rock out to some tunes when he’s home alone). He wrote a letter to Sir John to tell him how much he appreciated his music, as well as how it helped him in the past. A few weeks later, Sonic received free VIP tickets, signed t-shirts, and got a video chat call from him to thank him for saving the world.

To thank Sonic for his service, Lorne Michaels reaches out to the Wachowski family to see if the three wanted to guest star on Saturday Night Live. Sonic went on stage and the cast came to thank him for saving the day from Dr. Robotnik. He also got to act out a skit towards the end of the show.

Vin Diesel is one of two big inspirations as to why Sonic wants to learn how to drive a car. He loves watching the Fast and Furious movies with Tom on Guy’s Nights and they rewatch the explosions from the film. And the second is to fight crime with Tom. He would drive the truck and Tom would beat the snot out of the bad guys.

Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson is the President of the United States, serving 3 1/2 years, as well as running for a second term. As a “thank you,” the president invited the family to dine with him in the White House, did a round of bowling, and took a selfie with the Space Hog.

Sonic would paws-down be friends with The Flash. Once he saw an actor on the street dressed up as his favorite comic book hero and begged to go on a run and spend the day with him. He has many photos with the actor, he tries very hard to convince other that The Flash is real.

As much as Sonic loves Jim Carrey’s work, such as In Living Color and his many movies, he can’t help but get a little unsettling feeling about him on screen. He can’t quite put his finger on it, but his cackle, face, and voice remind him of a certain mad robot scientist with a mustache from the civil war...

Ben Schwartz and James Marsden are famous actors that Sonic and Tom love to admire. Tom and Sonic love James from The X-Men series, they are die-hard Cyclops fans. Sonic and Tom also worship Ben’s stand-up comedy on Netflix and from T.V. shows. The two met Ben and James once, almost crying tears of joy meeting them both. All four realized that they had a sort of familiarity to their auras, such as voice and appearance, and joked that they could be doppelgängers. Ben and Sonic sing in perfect harmony as well.

Sonic also thinks that it would be very cool to be friends with Alf the Alien, they’d play video games all day and watch cheesy action films from the 90’s.

Sonic is a celebrity to the kids in Greenhills. Kids of all ages come up to him on the street and ask to take photos, play games with them, and they comes to give them flower crowns. There’s one kid that he likes to visit when he goes with Tom to do the DARE program at school. His name is Miles Per-Heures, a kid who suffers from paralysis from the waist down and dreams of competing in the Paralympic for the wheelchair racing. Every time he goes to visit, Sonic will keep pace with the young athlete and take a few laps on the track. Miles thinks that Sonic is a rockstar and hopes to be as fast as him one day.

And finally, Sonic sees both Tom and Maddie as his heroes. He had grown up watching from afar, vowing to be just like the two of them when he was an adult. They were always quick to help people first and make sure that everyone was seen and heard and loved. He saw them both with golden hearts and loved how they also were quick to help the animals in town. More importantly, when he moved in with them, he thanked them for accepting them in their hearts and for saving his life.

Thank you for the suggestion! I’m sorry that this took a while, I wanted to make sure that I had some good ones to share. I’ve been getting some really interesting HC ideas recently and I want them to appear good! Thank you for stopping by, I absolutely LOVE your headcanon! Stay safe for me, okay? You matter.❤️

#sonic movie #mystery anon #off topic #space hog #donut lord #pretzel lady #my headcanons

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geek-gem · 8 years ago

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Spider-Man Homecoming Review

Well so I’m done with the shower. I mean I really wanna talk about this. Also gonna get Google up so I can look at the Wikipedia page for the movie. Mainly so I can spell the actors names right.

Alright got that just so I’m not gonna reveal any spoilers but I wanna mention parts yet…I’ll talk about them just in a way. Including this is my first viewing. I wanna try to see the movie a 2nd time cause I see a Spider-Man movie 2 times. The only one I haven’t seen in theaters was Spider-Man 2 I was young and some shit man. Including I can get a bit more of a understanding.

Yet the first time just seeing the film and studying it.

The last post and this is my intro for this. This is maybe my favorite Spider-Man film. This is just a personal opinion yet okay it depends its been a long time since seeing the first and second Sam Rami film.

Yet also just as a film I liked this a shit ton, this is also maybe my favorite MCU film I think yet…this is my first time I just seem so hyped up or excited just happy even if I’m not smiling also wearing my just kill it shirt like my last review no it doesn’t suck oh head.

Sorry I need to mention. I’m a Spider-Man fanboy. Whether that’s good or bad. I wanna talk about my experience with the whole thing of Spider-Man being in the MCU now also some short thoughts on the MCU.

Random thing gonna say saw the Black Panther trailer and Justice League trailer those were awesome seeing those on screen and that trailer fully of that Jumgji however you spell it a movie Sony is remaking or some shit I don’t know.

Yet really the whole what I call the I dub the Month Of Spider-Man cause of the Sony hack in December 2014. I was one of the many people who wanted Spider-Man to be in the MCU and when the announcement was up also the weeks leading up to it the Spidey Summit I’m amazed and some what stupid I thought it was gonna be something like the Marvel Phase 3 announcement even Armin from Comicbookcast2 joked about people thinking that. The announcement was unbelievable I couldn’t believe it. Along with seeing Peter Parker and also Spider-Man appearing in a MCU film was one of just…the best theater moments of my life man. Because I was so happy I was smiling and my Nana even saw me smiling. Including remembering my excitement from last year. To me this is as big as Batman and Superman being on the big screen together for the first time. Or the idea of a Sonic film in theaters.

Now about the MCU listen I know on Tumblr and other places, it doesn’t always have fans. The MCU isn’t perfect I agree. Yet to me personally I am amazed and grateful for just how this cinematic universe is working and Marvel Studios taking risks with trying to make movies of characters that aren’t known much. Including of how they started this universe. Listen I know Kevin Fiege isn’t the only guy. Yet I respect what this guy has done in fact it gave ideas and inspired other studios to do the same. The DCEU by Warner Bros, Legendary’s Monsterverse, and even Universal’s Dark Universe even if that had a rough start.

Listen I understand what problems people have. Even just what Jeremy Jahns said in his review of Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 not all of them can be gold he said that some what. Yet I’m gonna say some bullshit yet I hope you agree.

Be grateful we aren’t getting pieces of shit like that God damn Fan4stic however people go with it, a film I really don’t wanna see. Or even those God damn Bayformers films by Michael Bay and I’m glad that film is not making much money now I haven’t seen the 5th and don’t want to. Why the fuck isn’t Tumblr attacking those God damn Transformers films no offense or…..fuck those films man. Even Zack Snyder and Warner Bros DCEU is better then that crap even if the Bumblebee movie sounds interesting. I’m saying that cause I like the DCEU despite some problems.

Sorry wanted to get that out of the way.

I should talk about this movie also it’s a review man. Just put the title just saying I became a fan of the MCU cause of Guardians Of The Galaxy and I was like what the fuck almost put tags ha. Yet also that film and I was in some sort of depression shit cause Transformers 4 broke me. I haven’t seen The Avengers or Thor The Dark World but yeah seen most of them man ha…also Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 haven’t seen it yet cause late night man ha…

Spider-Man Homecoming.

So got done with the intro…I’ll talk about that Spider-Man Dawn Of Avengers shit later man.

I’m gonna say this, one of I think my favorite version of Spider-Man is the Spectacular Spider-Man TV show. It’s such a great TV show and how it handles Spider-Man. I still love it after all these years. Just the way they handle Spider-Man and the characters as a compliment to me that series is like the Batman The Animated Series of Spider-Man cartoons. I’m talking about the 90’s Batman cartoon that people say mainly Nostalgia Critic Doug Walker says is the greatest cartoon of all time and people say their favorite version of Batman is that version.

My favorite version of Spider-Man is the Spectacular Spider-Man cartoon seriously man.

What I saw in this movie. It was maybe I feel…this is another one of my favorites

Tom Holland as Peter Parker and Spider-Man I freakin adore him. I might feel a bit weird saying yeah this is basically the live action version of Josh Keaton as Spider-Man who voiced Spider-Man in that cartoon. Or just he’s as great as Josh Keaton with the work he was given.

It’s kind of like the same case people adore Kevin Conroy as Batman and Ben Affleck as one.

Also what’s good this is Spider-Man’s own film it’s not a small part. Which makes it better and I’m talking about his part in Captain America Civil War which they introduced him very well and just it’s great man.

What I like about Tom Holland just he’s great as Josh and some others even Toby Maguire from the Sam Rami films. Also Andrew Garfield was good. Yet over time I’ve thought to myself about The Amazing Spider-Man films the 2012 and 2014 films. Honestly I don’t mind Andrew honestly. Yet some problems I had like he looked too old to be in high school but mainly Sony messing those films up. Listen Sony wanted to keep the rights. While the first film was okay over time it feels kind of lifeless as times I’m sorry to say. Then with The Amazing Spider-Man 2 what Sony did even if I saw that film twice. That is my least favorite Spider-Man film. Their was cool stuff in it. But it’s one of the first their might be others before it but…it’s now one of the first ever since The Avengers was released Studios wanting to make cinematic universes. That film was so much of set up and other shit. Including controlling Marc Webb and Andrew it makes me sad. Along with Andrew was even upset. In a way Sony kind of destroyed Andrew’s of really being Spider-Man and including Andrew is really passionate about the character such as Tom Holland is. It’s honestly a sad case and…the Fan4stic case is worse when you think about it if you wanna look up stuff. Mainly Midnight’s Edge yes random advertising lol man stop oh head.

Yet back to the movie. Tom Holland is great. He’s both great as Peter Parker and Spider-Man he nails both parts. Including just can I say even before this I’m gonna say it theirs these Civil War videos released where Peter is recording events that’s there also just Tom Holland I’ve thought this and I think even said it. He’s adorable seriously he is…he’s one year older then me. He nails those comedic parts and even serious parts.

But okay it’s still about Tom Holland. I wanna talk about the themes or mainly the story. Listen I understand mainly on Tumblr and YouTube people are worried of Iron Man being in this film. I’m gonna confirm this he’s not in there much. Unless he needs to be. Including they use him well and I know Tony Stark can be a douchebag but what the film does.

What the story is basically and I know some or a lot of people are tired of Peter being in high school. Yet the way the story goes is like Jeremy Jahns says its like an coming of age story or something. I don’t wanna spoil much yet the story is basically Peter really wanting to show he can handle stuff on his own. He seriously wants to show others like Happy and Tony that he’s ready. Yet as the film goes he realizes some stuff. Including when facing the main villain and other events. I think the best way to say him learning how to mature more and that he doesn’t need to be at the top yet okay I don’t wanna spoil cause I feel you guys need to see this movie.

Because this movie is basically in a way Peter becoming more of a man. Just it’s told in a way I’m gonna reveal this it’s mostly a comedy seriously. Yet when the serious moments show up I adore them. Because it takes it time just…I love it man.

It seriously has very serious moments. I’m gonna say at some times even one I wanted to cry seriously I want to cry at certain moments cause of great character development. Including I’m such a huge fan of the character. The way they approch Spider-Man in this movie. Theirs even some sweet moments and even one scene not gonna spoil but Peter is by himself it’s I think during the movie yet…okay some what of a spoiler.

He’s talking to his suit. Also his new suit is by Tony Stark and when you see it you’ll know what I mean man.

Including I understand people just want a adult Peter now. Yet the way just…and the whole, “Harry Potter” thing where we see him grow up and people even mention To Story not Tony ha with Andy…Tony Story ha man…not Anthony.

It makes the film more rewarding and the idea that Spider-Man is gonna be Avengers Infinity War, Avengers 4, and a Spider-Man Homecoming sequel. In the next two years. It’s beautiful man that’s kick ass cause we have more Spider-Man to me I’m sorry this is a dream come true. So what I heard from Collidervideos the Homecoming sequel being two months after Avengers 4 holy shit dude ha. So 2018 and 2019 lol…..I wanted to well did make a post about this but was embarrassed it was from last week. When I was gonna get picked up by my friend. This video by Emergency Awesome man ha. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FAdBym7-IPQ

Okay checked the comments in case it was the same video and got back to Wikipedia.

Now let’s talks about Michael Keaton aka the God damn 89 Batman also From Batman Returns ha. So he was another one of my favorite parts.

Yet also he’s maybe one of my favorite Spider-Man villains we have seen in a Spider-Man movie. Along with the Green Goblin from the 2002 film and also Doc Ock from the 2004 film almost left Doc Ock’s actors. Also I don’t care what people say about Green Goblin’s look in the 2002 film he was one of my favorites how that role was handled.

But the way Michael Keaton is handled also even if before this he was rumored to be Norman Osborne but now he’s the Vulture. I’m gonna be honest again he’s one of my favorite parts.

He was menacing when he needed to be. Including you understand what he was doing.

I don’t wanna spoil it yet it’s also part of the story think it yeah relates to Peter’s story as well. The idea of how people have to deal with what happened after the Avengers. How they have to clean up their messes and I haven’t seen the Netflix shows. Yet I heard this from Comicbookcast2 that the Netflix characters hate the Avengers is that right. Or is that just, basically just how he hates how the Avengers don’t have time for them, and they have to deal with the shit they leave behind despite them saving them.

Including I know a lot of Spider-Man’s aren’t that personal to him except ones like Green Goblin, Doc Ock, Venom, Lizard, and maybe Hobgoblin. I’m not the biggest fan of the Vulture yet the way he’s portrayed is just very well done. He’s a damn good villain. Also he’s a person.

In fact some of my favorite scenes just it surprised me this scene I don’t wanna spoil it but this film has a lot of surprises. Yet theirs a scene with Spider-Man and Vulture…it’s just great or good whatever. I feel like it’s something I would come up with. Because it’s honestly clever actually I’m being serious. You’ll see it, just with not spoiling it, a scene with Tom Holland and Michael Keaton said that. It’s like a what the fuck moment and even as it went I’m thinking oh my God is it gonna get to that moment ha man.

Sorry yet I should talk about the other characters.

Let me say I love this cast almost left casting seriously this whole cast I love it a shit ton man. The character of Ned played by let me check his name, Jacob Batalon checked twice. This is maybe one of my favorite additions to this film. That also he’s Peter’s best friend and it’s not Harry Osborne ha seriously they are taking new routes to make themselves different. Also lots of diversity if you love that and I love that too a shit ton man ha seriously not kidding oh head.

But Ned just how him and Peter interact he’s like a comic relief yet he’s just very cool. Honestly how he and Peter interact I don’t know why. He’s just very likable and honestly funny. I’m gonna be professional but just he felt like a very nice addition.

Then we have let me check. Tony Revolori checked three times or some shit he plays Flash the bully who becomes Agent Venom when he’s adult great story shit kick ass dude. I was surprised by the rumored casting long ago. Yet the way they portray him. To be honest I thought this I don’t know who’s more of a douche Flash from The Spectacular Spider-Man cartoon or this Flash. But what makes him unquie he’s not a typical bully he’s like and well found out from Amazing Spider-Man’s channel a bully who is mainly verbal by saying certain stuff. He plays a excellent douche ha I said that man meh it’s normal to smile. Seriously I mean I some what have nothing against him hey maybe have him as Venom…as much as I like Eddie Brock as Venom…also the I don’t trust Sony yet this bullshit of the Venom film being in the what Amy Pascal said in the same, “reality” what the fuck man, and Tom Hardy as Venom…

I don’t trust Sony after what happened with The Amazing Spider-Man 2 even if I was okay with Venom in Spider-Man 3…that could be better…I still like the Spectacular Spider-Man cartoon version of Venom…it really says something about a cartoon from 2008 through 2009 where it still leaves an impact on your mind and how those versions stay with you cause they were so well done…had to put I behind s in versions ha man…kick ass…ha…

Okay sorry yeah normal to smile, now Liz Allen yeah she’s in the film. Just gonna say no Zendaya is not that character checked that name twice ha sorry or…yeah twice man.

She’s played by Laura Harrier checked again so two times. What I noticed in this short for the new Spider-Man cartoon so spoiler Liz Allen is in the short. I was seriously thinking are they gonna use Liz Allen as a new love interest. I’m not against that as all almost left well ha man…

Yet the only well mostly one version of her I know her so much is from Spectacular Spider-Man the cartoon again mentioning that. Where she was Latino wanna mention to people who like diversity and she was very good in that.

So I’m not against having Liz being more important in some Spider-Man movies. In a way she is like Peter’s love interest yet well she is important yet not a whole bunch. Including that’s not the focus of the movie. But she was great and very likable. So even before the movie found out on Wikipedia she’s a Senior I’ll warn you. Well maybe when Peter gets older I don’t mind if they wanna have well Peter and Liz. Okay she’s not as big as Mary Jane or Gwen Stacy that’s what from I know. It’s very nice and I don’t mind it.

Now we have Zendaya as well…Michelle I’m not spoiling it she was nice. Also likable…not a huge part and just saying I’ve seen comments spoil like who she is even before the movie I wanted to be surprised I didn’t know what to believe seen a thumbnail of one scene towards the end and mentions of the end credits scene.

Yet she was cool I liked her.

Marsai Tomai checked three times she’s Aunt May, she’s good too, not in it a whole bunch. Yet she’s very good and just likable all the cast is God damn likable. Well…except Vulture’s helpers…or…well their supposed to be criminals but they do a damn good job too man.

Jon Favreau checked four times or some shit Harold Happy Hogan yes the director of Iron Man 1 and 2. He did a good job too important a bit…well he’s seen a bit more.

Also Donald Glover almost left Glober twice ha stop it. I’m not spoiling who he is yet even from well thumbnails from Comicbookcast2 and Hybrid Network he did good too. Important a bit.

Seriously I wanna talk about other stuff.

The action is very good. Including just how I mean the way they are handled along with the Spider-Man vs Vulture scenes. Just also all of Spider-Man’s scenes I loved them a shit ton. Including at times it felt tense seriously it did man. The scene in Washington DC and the part with the Ferri those are all great.

Even the score was good like…well I can’t remember much haha sorry yet…it did good.

Really I feel…theirs more to talk about. Yet I am just very impressed with this film. Also during the film well before the film switched seats with someone he for h 7 but well his family was there or some shit. Yet I decided to be in c 16. It was close to the screen and to the left yet I still had a good time ha man…

Just I did remember yeah had some post credits scene spoiled yet it wasn’t much and not like a thumbnail I saw.

Yet the end credits scene…I don’t wanna spoil it. But the way just it’s funny and they said well didn’t see the video Comicbookcast2 multiple post credits scene their spoiler only two man ha. Yet the end one…..is unbelievable yet funny that the audience laughed too a shit ton well they laughed cause the way it’s portrayed.

I don’t wanna spoil it but the best comparison is the Deadpool end credits scene if you’ve seen it. But…it’s normal to smile because I can’t believe that was the end credits scene is unbelievable man. Okay not kick ass but…I loved it man put that again.

Okay I talked about the film a shit ton…just I loved this film. This is maybe my favorite Spider-Man film gonna think a bit. Yet also my favorite MCU film along with Captain America Civil War, Guardians Of The Galaxy the original, and also maybe Captain America The Winter Soldier. Along with maybe Avengers Age Of Ultron. Hey I thought the film was kick ass I saw it twice.

Now next we have Thor Ragnarok, Black Panther, Avengers Infinity War, also Ant Man And The Wasp so kick ass dude ha man.

Also that first part about…really I find it kind of beautiful that Marvel had got the rights well their sharing it with Sony. Yet the way Marvel Studios, Kevin Fiege, Russo Bros, Jon Watts director of this film and other people how they introduced Spider-Man in this universe is almost beautiful.

Because I can’t imagine well maybe but I want to keep seeing Tom Holland as Spider-Man cause I feel he is Spider-Man.

That Spider-Man Dawn Of Avengers shit….. it’s weird funny idea imagine if the Marvel Cinematic Universe went kind of the DC route yet they have some films but what I said in my Batman V Superman Dawn Of Justice Ultimate Edition review almost put MCU normal to smile man kick ass…

Who the fuck is gonna be our Doomsday….. Ultimate Green Goblin is cool but can he take on Captain Marvel or can she take him out easily and kick his ass lol…just…I’m glad we get to see this Spider-Man grow. Seeing the film made me rethink some stuff man. Put a tag almost left rag instead of tag ha normal to smile or…need to eat my McDonald’s

b edit 5 stars

#spider-man: homecoming

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cantfakethecake · 8 years ago

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Ask meme!

I was tagged by @klickitats to do this...probably about a week ago? Oops. Really though, thank you so much for the tag!

The usual rules: Answer the questions and tag nine people to do the same.

How old are you?

Current job?

Full-time student, for the time being. I had to quit my job at the library a few months back because it clashed with my field work schedule. Said fieldwork fell through thanks to a few kind-of-shady things I won’t get into here, so I’m stuck in get-a-job limbo until I’m assigned a new placement.

What are you talented at?

It’s silly, but I’m great at alphabetizing things? Give me any word, and I can alphabetize the letters in it on the spot. I also have a great memory for tiny personal details - which is great, until I come off as creepy for remembering something someone told me offhandedly two years ago. I can bake like a champ as long as I have a recipe handy. I also tested with a 143 verbal IQ while going through an ADHD evaluation? It hasn’t been useful for much beyond bullshitting papers at light speed, but I’ll include it as long as I’m feeling a little braggy!

What is a big goal you are working towards?

Beyond graduation and a vague “being able to financially support myself”? No idea. I switched my focus/major from “mental health and addiction” to “community/social justice” just a few weeks ago, and this early on? Most of my hopes for future jobs are less “goals” and more “prayers.” If it’s even a little bit less miserably boring than the jobs I’ve had in the past, I’ll take it!

What’s your aesthetic?

Jeans and plaid (usually with Toms), dogs, fresh-baked bread, comic books, coffee mixed with hot chocolate, half-finished coloring book pages, fidget toys.

Do you collect anything?

Not really? Moving from a decent-sized apartment back to my tiny childhood bedroom has made me pretty strict about getting rid of things I don’t absolutely love. I’d rather have a lot of small, unrelated things than one massive collection that takes up my limited space!

(I do have way, way too many books and coffee mugs, but that’s less about collecting and more about Half Price Books being where impulse control goes to die.)

A topic you always talk about?

I mean, right now I get to be a pretentious grad student and get philosophical about social justice issues every day. Other than that, though? Crown me Shit Queen of Garbage Town, but I’m the biggest fucking gossip. I’m always, always here to listen to people rant. I don’t care who we’re talking about. A shared coworker? Your second cousin who I’ll never meet in my lifetime? Don’t care. Just hook up that social IV and start pumping in some Grade-A Salt. (That’s the worst sentence I’ve ever written, and I’m almost sorry.)

Pet peeves?

That thing where you drop a credit card on a smooth surface and you can’t quite get your fingers under it to pick it back up again. I may have been frustrated by this nearly to the point of tears a week or two ago.

Good advice?

Following the lead of everyone else I’ve seen answering this, and directing this at younger-Betsy:

You are not broken. You have a super-fun combo of ADHD and severe anxiety. Prozac is your friend. Talk to someone - maybe sometime before you’re nearly 18? The view from 25 is great, but I’d love to not still be learning some of the social stuff most people figured out in high school.

Your preferences are not shortcomings. Not going to school dances is a valid choice, and you’re not missing out on some universal milestone by staying home. You’re missing a night where you leave homecoming after one hour, because the blaring music and mass of dancing people put you into sensory overload and you started crying in the bathroom. Branching out is good - but in order for it to go well, you need to respect your own likes and limitations. Don’t let people shame you into doing something that hurts.

Don’t stick that packing peanut up your nose. Really, don’t. It’s going to get stuck, and you’re going to hear about it at every holiday dinner for the rest of your life.

On a similar note: You’re three years old, and you’re at a birthday party. You want a piece of cake. I get it. But you also just watched a neighbor kid shove a bunch of those metallic confetti stars into the cake. Don’t eat it. I know - a bunch of kids are already eating, and they’re doing just fine. This is your first chance to learn that the odds are never, ever in your favor. You’re going to swallow a confetti star and choke on it. I promise. Don’t do it. You don’t even like cake.

You do not want a baby. I repeat: YOU DO NOT WANT A BABY. You like the idea of shopping for tiny outfits and picking out names and those half-asleep cuddles you get to enjoy when you’re babysitting. You’re sixteen. You don’t want to commit yourself to years of giving one human being your complete and undivided attention without a break. You don’t even like playing with your DOG for more than 20 minutes at a time. Like, thankfully you’re Ohio’s Least Datable Teen, because holy shit. 25 year old Betsy really likes not being a parent.

“Hi. Do you like Sonic Adventure 2 Battle?” is not an acceptable conversation starter. That is not how you make friends in a middle school class full of strangers. Alternatives include: Anything else. Literally anything else.

You are not set in stone. The world’s perception of you is one of the most malleable things you’ll ever handle. Fake it ‘til you make it, and keep trying when you fuck up - because you’re the only one who’s going to remember that one time you said something colossally stupid. (I mean, you’re going to remember it forever and ever and ever, and still physically cringe when you remember it out of the blue ten years later - but no one else gives a shit! Really! It’s only half bad, and the payoff is so worth it.)

Recommend three songs?

Oh god, I’m awful about getting into new songs. I tend to find a new artist once or twice a year, and listen to them on repeat for a few months. I was getting a bit better about listening to new things on my drive to school - aaand then my car’s stereo died. Nice. My picks are old, and I think I’ve probably recommended them at least five times each by now, but I’ll go with...

Tomorrow is Mine, from Bayonetta 2. My problematic favorite game series forever and always - but god, the music’s catchy.

Tomorrow is a Latter Day, from The Book of Mormon.

...I’m struggling to come up with a 3rd, so I’m going to fall to the embarrassing garbage that’s actually been stuck in my head for days now. Enjoy.

Tagging: @alistairswaifu, @blondepomeranian, @bronwinning, @dragginage, @theherocomplex, @truck-shepard, and anyone else who wants to do this! I know everyone says that, but I really do mean it. I’m nosy as shit. I’d genuinely love to see it!

#thank you again so much!

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how2to18 · 7 years ago

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IT’S 1989. You’re in the middle seat of a Chevrolet Astro minivan, flanked on either side by your screaming siblings. Dad is driving. Oh god, he’s air-drumming on the wheel to “Smoke on the Water.” Again. You look down and see your backpack and your heart swells just a little because a device in that bag is your ticket out of here. Janine K gave you a mixtape of songs by The Cure and said they would change your life. The cassette is already in the Walkman deck. You pop on headphones, press play, and crank up the volume. Hello, freedom.

It’s hard to remember a time before we had the option to curate the playlist of our own minds. We are simply accustomed now to experiencing music in this deeply personal, albeit solitary, way. We disappear into headphones, stream a song via smartphone from the intangible, infinite web, creating a sonic landscape that mirrors our mood. We walk around the grocery store in Beyoncé-land.

But that wasn’t always the case. In her new book Personal Stereo, Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow analyzes two major shifts in perspective associated with the 1979 birth of the first solo listening device, the Walkman. First, music becomes a personal experience, and second, music becomes immersive, a means to override — or even negate — the sounds of one’s immediate environment. Listening to music in private was not a new concept, of course, nor was the ability to take music on the road (à la the boom box). However, the idea of making the private experience of music a public phenomenon was groundbreaking. In that sense, the Walkman redefined music: it was a revolutionary tool that offered listeners a new kind of freedom. Music technology today still riffs on the basic concept of the Walkman, only now we have digital access to nearly every recorded song.

To set the stage for the Walkman’s rise, Tuhus-Dubrow takes us to postwar Japan, in a ramshackle office with a leaking roof. Two men are working with umbrellas over their desks. Their names are Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita, the founders of Sony and eventual fathers of the Walkman. Personal Stereo is the wild story of the ingenious brotherhood of Ibuka and Morita, of Japan’s ascent from financial ruin to the second largest economy in the world, and of the subsequent pushback from the United States against Japanese-made products. It’s also the story of the “Me Generation” of the 1970s, as well as the exercise craze of the ’80s, and all the anxiety and nostalgia implicit in the beginning and end of an era.

Personal Stereo is the latest entry in Bloomsbury’s “Object Lessons” series, which focuses on the hidden lives of ordinary things. The short book is divided into three chapters — “Novelty,” “Norm,” and “Nostalgia” — which together trace a narrative arc that mirrors the lifespan of a zeitgeist technology turned obsolete. Sub-sections within each chapter have evocative titles like “Trapping sound,” “Remember Pearl Harbor,” and — my personal favorite — “Home taping is killing music.” (One can almost hear record label executives in the age of digital streaming laughing out loud at that last title.) Tuhus-Dubrow illuminates a web of stories connected to the Walkman, her references as ubiquitous as its users. She takes us to a mountain in wintry Switzerland where Andreas Pavel, who would later win a lawsuit against Sony, played music for his lover on his jerry-rigged personal stereo while the snow fell silently around them. She quotes Tom Wolfe and Allan Bloom, along with her own buddy who had his Walkman stolen. After finishing Personal Stereo, I found myself wondering about the secret lives of every object around me, as if each device were whispering, “Oh, I am much so more than meets the eye.”

The most haunting theme Tuhus-Dubrow treats is contemporary nostalgia for analog technology. In 2015, the National Audio Company reported the best year of cassette sales since 1969. Thurston Moore, formerly of Sonic Youth, claims he only listens to music on cassette, and many artists today elect to release music exclusively on tape. Questioning her own nostalgia, Tuhus-Dubrow tackles the murky issue of why consumers would hold on to this outdated technology. Why commemorate an obsolete device? Tuhus-Dubrow suggests we are nostalgic for the Walkman not because it reminds us of a particular time and place, or an early taste of freedom, nor because it was pivotal in defining the spirit of an age, but because we may secretly long for boundaries in a world of limitless access. Perhaps we crave the singular focus that the Walkman’s simplicity forced on us: listen to this one Pearl Jam tape all the way home, because that’s all you’ve got. Tuhus-Dubrow speculates that we miss the time when we could actually touch music — when we had to fumble with a wonky device through a maze of fast-forwarding, rewinding, fast-forwarding again until the click: that sweet spot somewhere mid-tape, the beginning of our favorite song.

As with most generation-defining forms of technology, consumers had conflicting opinions about the Walkman. Because of the newfound personal freedom it offered, the Walkman was considered a threat, antisocial and amoral. “Walkman’s Oblivion” was likened to the escape of taking drugs or dissociating into a film-like hyper-reality. People who chose to withdraw into the private world of their personal stereos, hips gyrating down the street to invisible music, were labeled selfish, hermetic, or just plain crazy. “The history of technology,” Tuhus-Dubrow writes, “is in part the story of normal people starting to do things that used to be considered signs of insanity.” The Walkman’s origin story is as curious as the slew of contradictions surrounding its reception. This little device was seen as simultaneously a quintessential symbol of the United States and everything that’s wrong with the country, a tool both of laziness and of hyper-productivity (think: exercise craze), as well as a ubiquitous symbol of style and status.

Tuhus-Dubrow is a master researcher and synthesizer. It would appear that she has left no Walkman-related stone unturned. That said, if I could request a hidden bonus track to Personal Stereo, I would wish for more of her insightful musings on the mixtape, a phenomenon responsible for more excited swooning, long-shot lyrical (mis)interpretations, and make-out sessions than any other music delivery mechanism. Surely there is a connection to be made between the Walkman’s redefinition of music as personal and the art of curating a music mix specifically for your crush. If the Walkman had never come into being, would it have occurred to us to select and organize songs with such uniquely personal intention? Tuhus-Dubrow does touch on a mix of her own creation, including a stellar lineup of R.E.M. and Beat Happening, but it would be fascinating to read more of her thoughts on the subject. Then again, maybe I’m just feeling nostalgic for Janine K’s mix of The Cure, the one that truly set me free.

In July 2012, for approximately 45 seconds, I erroneously believed that I owned New York City. This brief moment accompanied a runner’s high, as I jogged alone along the Hudson, earbuds blasting “Empire State of Mind” by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys. Sure, the exercise-induced endorphin rush contributed to my delusion, but the truth is I couldn’t have approached that moment of ecstasy had it not been for the ability to disappear into my personal stereo. At the time, I never would have credited the Walkman for my elation, but thanks to Tuhus-Dubrow, an elegant, engaging storyteller who unpacks complex social and political concepts with clarity and panache, I know better now. Personal Stereo is a joy to read.

Carissa Stolting is the founder of Left Bank Artists, an artist management company based in Nashville, Tennessee. She is a contributing poet to the podcast Versify, a publication of PRX, The Porch Writers’ Collective, and Nashville Public Radio.

The post Zeitgeist to Obsolete: Rewinding the Walkman’s Inverted Cinderella Story appeared first on Los Angeles Review of Books.

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