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myqueendomawaits · 6 years ago

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Hey Guys!

From fete to fete to fete to mas, partying non stop.

We have pre-carnival fetes as early as May, however if it’s one weekend you need to be here for it is the one leading up to parade day. Check out my Carnival Vibes 2017 post to see the comparison. New promoters came on the scene this year to make this weekend even more action filled. Before, people would complain about not having anything to do or why we couldn’t be like the bigger islands (Trinidad/Barbados) and have parties back to back, well now we’re starting to.

Carnival in Antigua

The list of official events for Carnival (There were date changes for some events)

Let’s see how I tackled this weekend! [August 3rd – August 7th]

So I was tempted to take Thursday off but didn’t wanna waste my vacation day *lol*. I also have unofficial “sick” days, but still would it be worth it? If you’re here during the week, on Thursday there’s a boat cruise: Drink till yuh Weak. I actually didn’t hear much people talking about it this year, before or after. I know I saw one person complaining about the time they left the docks, but that’s about it. Funny thing is I actually got the option to go after work (4:30p.m.) but passed on it.

FRIDAY: DUCK WORK, DRIPPING, MELTING POT

First up was DUCK WORK. As you guessed it from the name, the whole mission of this fete is to “duck” (skip) work on that day to party. I actually took a day and ducked work completely just to experience the full vibe of this fete. It’s a BBAC (Bring a Bottle & Come) fete with also a small monetary contribution. It’s a small-scale fete, but still a good time. There was complimentary seasoned rice which unfortunately ran out as we made it to the top of the line. Different food items were on sale however at only select times. Overall, the vibes were good and the music & drinks kept flowing.

I didn’t make it to the other two events; however Dripping was a pool party featuring DJ Puffy and Melting Pot was a concert with different Caribbean artists. This year they had Machel Montano, Jahmiel, Secreto and other local artists.

SATURDAY: RISE, BLUSH, FAHRENHEIT

RISE, the first of its kind, is a day break event powered by paint, powder, water and SOCA. By the time I saw it advertise I knew it was a must for me. I’m a soca junkie and got my fill of soca music at this event. The dancehall, reggae and hip hop tunes didn’t come until towards the end where I was just about to leave. The fete started at midnight and I got there around 1:30 a.m., I was shocked at the amount of people already there and how the vibes were. Usually, people walk into a fete late and it takes forever to get the vibes started. It was vibes from beginning to end for me even with the unwanted pushing and soaking with water/paint. The only downside was the wait to get food and drinks. There was complimentary food from 12-3 a.m., however, it was only one station and the line was way too long. I felt like I was missing out on the vibes especially when songs I liked were being played.

For more pictures from the event, click here Pictures by Two6Eight Promotions

BLUSH, another new event on the scene is an all-inclusive brunch event themed to all shades of pink. When the flyer released I was definitely interested however my liming buddies for the weekend weren’t. Fahrenheit was a headphone party and I actually never been to one but I opted out at the very end.

Also, I wasn’t sure how I’d manage all three of the events listed for Saturday as that was the initial plan. Thus I only ended up at one and slept for the rest of the day. Definitely not about this fete life.

SUNDAY: BREAKFAST FETE, SOCA MONARCH

The Original Breakfast Fete is the ultimate all-inclusive fete. If you read my post from last year, you’d get the gist of everything this fete has to offer. It starts at 4:00 a.m. and was to go until 3:00 p.m. but I’m not sure what time it actually ended because I left after 5/6. Sadly, the bar did close at 3 though.

Picture by Solo Photography

The set up this year was a little different with where the stage was and the bar access, I actually enjoyed it. There was seating available by the food section, but not as much as last year and also lounge options around the speciality bars. My drink of choice for the day was a Cosmopolitan with Grey Goose Vodka.

As usual the food lines were extremely long, but I managed to finesse my way into a variety of food such as KFC, Goddard Catering, Chicken & Bread, Chicken Pasta, and Fried Wings. More food options were definitely available but the wait time would have been ridiculous (due to the amount of people present.)

The fete featured a wide range of performances all of which I can’t remember *lol*. From Calypso to Soca music, both regional and local. Mighty Swallow, David Rudder, Baron, Peter Ram, Patrice Roberts, Orlando Octave, Erphaan Alves, Ricardo Drue, Tian Winter etc. You can check out my IG Carnival Story for snippets of the action.

Last year we did the Antigua Flag, this year we tried something different.

Picture by Trini Jungle Juice

MONDAY: JOUVERT, MAS

So, unfortunately I skipped Jouvert this year. The one year they actually had a pink shirt and more paint/powder. My jouvert troupe of choice would have been Caut!on.

Mas with Myst Carnival

Before we got on the road there was costume pickup. This happened the Friday before Carnival for my section, even though I was annoyed about this I didn’t take it on too much. The process also took about an hour, because it was crowded and felt like the organizers weren’t moving with haste. I had no problems with my costume, and their was also a goodie bag provided. The goodie bag was actually a fanny pack which would have been great on the road; inside there was lotion, sunscreen, glitter, gems, makeup remover, vitamin c, sanitary wipes and so much more. You can tell thought went into it.

Myst Monday – Definitely the best Monday of the year and the best Monday Mas experience I have ever had. As usual I met them at the lunch spot to ensure I ate before the action started. The food was okay, nothing to complain about and there were also many options to choose from. There was a live pasta station and a dessert section. At the venue there’s a refresher station where you can get hydrated, fix your make-up etc, as well as an area for massages.

The sun was blazinggg, so I definitely always had a bottle of water in hand. My drink choice on the road was English Harbor 10-year-old; I had no queries with the bar and always got my drinks in good time. The route started and ended at the Police Recreation Grounds and we crossed the stage some time after 6, so by then the sun was getting ready to set. From then, the jamming went to another level, there was a mixture of dancehall and soca to keep the vibes up. I can’t point out what exactly made Monday the better day, but it was vibes! We finished around 8:30 p.m. and I wanted more.

Carnival in Antigua

Hair by my sister & me: Protective Style: DIY Faux Locs Monday Wear by Needle & Threadz Makeup by Artistry by H.A.M

TUESDAY: MAS

The final day! What I love about this day is simply being in costume. Also, the food options were better on this day despite one minor mishap. We also received Haagen Dazs ice cream on the road, along with a variety of chips options.

Carnival in Antigua

To be honest, when they launched the costumes on social media, I hated most of them but somehow the black was calling my name. After seeing them in person at the mas camp, I was tempted to switch but stayed with my first option. The yellow my friend wore was definitely the “Hot Gal” section on the road though.

The theme for this year was Celestials. My section of choice – Noctis

Now to wait for next year!

As for the music on both days, it was a good thing I particularly liked 2018 soca music from across the region. To me, the most popular songs were Top Striker, Funky Business, Back Bend and Di Party Lit. Only on Tuesday we heard more of our local music like Total Oblivion and Out Deh. Even though our (Antiguan) 2018 soca songs may not have been up to par, music from previous years were hardly played.

A major plus for me for this year’s Carnival is the amount of recognition our festival was finally getting around the region and internationally. We had various media houses to include Trini Jungle Juice and Bajan Tube. There was also CDE Events who came for the weekend before with people from the UK and USA to include some pretty known youtubers and social media personalities. From since then I’ve actually seen individuals on twitter list Antigua as a carnival option for the coming years. It has been a struggle for us seeing as Cropover is held during the same time.

Carnival is always my favorite time of year. I truly can’t wait to experience it in another island.

Budgeting:

Roughly to do all the events during this weekend, I’ll budget USD $480 (excluding mas). However note that there is an option for purchasing early bird tickets as well as VIP options. The average price for an all/drinks inclusive fete is USD $65 regular, $112 VIP. To play mas the average price USD $500 – $800 for two days, depending on how extra you want to be (aka backline vs Queen of the Band).

More or less, that’s already USD $1000+ excluding airfare, so once you’ve decided that Antigua is the place to be, book your ticket EARLY! Also, add in extra for transportation, accommodation and food; most of the fetes are only drinks inclusive and you’d definitely want a snack after pumpin’ for so long.

If you have any questions about anything, don’t be shy! Ask me in the comments or use my contact form.

Carnival Vibes 2018 Hey Guys! From fete to fete to fete to mas, partying non stop. We have pre-carnival fetes as early as May, however if it's one weekend you need to be here for it is the one leading up to parade day.

#Antigua #Caribbean #carnival #culture #Festival #fete #fun #Island Life #mas #Partying

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lukeysgirl · 7 years ago

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The Note Tree ❋ L.H. Pt.9

Part N I N E

Summary: A cherry blossom tree, residing at the farthest part of the schools courtyard. Nobody dwelled there, and you didn’t care much for it. Until you kept hearing one song played over and over, with lyrics changed to touch at your curiosity. They knew you were listening, and one day you gave in and made your way to the pink tree. Waiting for you, a series of notes tied to a single strand of string.

Word Count: 4k+

AN: hi hi, im so sorry i died! motivation has been depleted up the ass, and i was just feeling really down. after the loss in my family, ive kinda been moping around but im back and im alright! everything is much better with me now and im more than prepared to write for you all again! so as usual, 100 notes and ill see yall soon x x

Parts: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty.

I M A G I N E

Tuesday

“Please tutor Luke after school today.”

A request, a mere 6-word request that erupted too many in your head. Ms. Lee had looked up to you, desperation pooling her obsidian eyes. You listened as students shuffled out of the class, filing out of your current nightmare. You could tell solely Luke remained, probably owning a smug face as the anatomy teacher looked at you pleadingly.

“As much as I would love to for you, Ms. Lee,” you began with a low tone. “That is too big of a request for me.”

“Y/N, you’re so exceptional that your GPA has been boosted to a 3.9 since Friday,” Ms. Lee hummed beautifully, having you grin from your accomplishment. But it still didn’t diminish the reluctance you had to teach Hemmings. “You are a fine student and a great model for Luke to follow.”

“You’re speaking about him like he’s still a 3rd grader, Ms. Lee,” you announced, glancing behind you to see Luke smiling goofily at you. His gold wisps of hair were pulled back by his rough fingers weaving them through. His ocean eyes glimmered, his pupils dilating from the shear sight of you and attempted to steal your gaze. But you looked back at the professor before allowing that. “I just don’t think I’m the right person for it.”

“He only responds to you, Y/N,” Ms. Lee urged quietly. “I’ve only seen him react to you with some sort of serious demeanor and actually takes you seriously. Only you can be the one to do this.”

The annoying feeling of guilt was probably something that got to you with ease. You try not to feel guilty, considering you had bigger things to deal with than such a useless emotional that only led to your probable downfall. But as you looked into your teachers eyes, seeing the pure desperation in them vexed you too hard. You sighed before nodding reticently.

“God bless!” Your teacher exclaimed in a gushing whisper. You shook your head, turning around to find Luke giving you a toothy smirk. You rolled your eyes at the boy, trudging towards your desk before returning to your seat. Ms. Lee approached your desk and passed you a very small handful of papers. “These are a few worksheets you can work on with him as well as a few of his tests to get a feel of where he’s at.”

“Will do,” you breathed, taking the papers uneasily as you shifted through them. You saw the low markings on all his tests in crimson red, feeling regret overcome you. But, of course, you succumbed so easily seeing as your teacher thought so highly of you.

“I’ll be seeing you two tomorrow, yes?” Ms. Lee pondered as she grabbed her leather Michael Kors bag from underneath her desk. The two of you nodded, having you pay little to no attention to Luke as you sifted through his poor examinations. “Thank you so much for this, Y/N.”

“No, thank you, Ms. Lee,” Luke praised before you could dare respond, having you sigh from his respond. You could already feel a cheeky smile snake up his lips as he glanced at you happily. Ms. Lee even scoffed a bit before escaping the classroom and shutting the door behind her.

“Man, why did I let her do this to me?” You whispered to yourself, slightly agitated with yourself. But Luke had been eating this up, raising from his chair to stand in front of your desk. He crossed his arms over the table left before you, planting his head in it as his icy eyes studied you. You huffed. “Yes?”

“Why don’t you want to tutor me?” Luke asked, his rouge lips parted slightly with ponder sparkling his eyes. You blinked a few times, your eyes now forced on his as you held his exam stiffly in your hands. You studied him briefly. wondering if he was actually serious.

“Because you don’t actually need tutoring,” you scolded, gently flicking his forehead as you continued reading down his exam. You looked at all the red markings to indicate incorrectness on various questions. It bothered you how little Luke truly tried. “You don’t try in the class, so why the hell should I tutor you?”

“Because I’ll listen and try if you’re asking me to,” Luke mumbled, having you roll your eyes. You place your hand on his face and push him away, forcing him to stand straight once more. He grinned at your gesture, giving you a quick warm look before wandering over to the closets of the room in which people stored the equipment after being used. You raised an eyebrow at this, curious as to what he was doing.

“Luke,” you began, hoping he wasn’t going to tamper with things and potentially break a beaker or two. But Luke swiftly opened one to reveal a large, black guitar case. You kept your eyebrow up, curious over his intentions. But you knew for sure this guy was going to start strumming right in the middle of your study session you didn’t want to do. “Luke I swear--”

“I’m not gonna start playing, promise,” Luke began as he took the guitar and walked over to Ms. Lee’s desk to let it lean. He then leaned on the desk himself, his hands planted on it to keep him up as he shot you a smug smile. “Wanna get started?”

“Sure,” you said with a shrug, shuffling through the papers to see where you should start. “So maybe we should start here where you--.”

“I can’t learn that way, Y/N,” Luke stated, having you look up to meet the ocean eyes before you. You blinked a few times, feeling your right eye twitch a little from his words.

“Then how the hell would you prefer I teach you?” You huffed, dropping the papers to stare stupidly at him.

“I,” Luke began, his large hands crawling down his torso and to the hem of his shirt. You glared at him, seeing a mischievous smirk crawl at his lips with incredible ease. “Am a visual learner.”

As he finishes, Luke tugs the hem of his shirt upward, slowly peeling off the garment from his torso. You quickly looked away, but your eyes glanced over as he tugged the shirt overhead and tossed it to the side. You got an eyeful of his pale body, incredibly thin yet defined. You could see the mere abs he attempted to build, evident but not quite there. His rosewood-like nipples splotched his upper chest, having you divert your eyes downward on the table to avoid awkwardness. You could feel your cheeks heat up from such a stupid, small act and you still despised the fact that Luke was the cause.

“Luke, why the hell did you strip if we could’ve used a mannequin?” You hummed in frustration, raising your hand to your eyes to keep avoiding the view. Luke chuckled at this, evidently amused by your semi-discomfort.

“I thought this would be more fun,” Luke responded bluntly, listening to another stream of laughter as you let out a heavy sigh. “C’mon, teacher. Use my body.”

“Don’t say it like that!” You exclaimed, using your scolding tone as you reticently looked back at him. The asshole had been biting his lip teasingly, his torso now arched a bit as he stared at you. There was a brilliance in his eyes, eagerness flowing while staring at you. “Are you serious, Hemmings?”

“Completely,” Luke hummed, looking back to grab a washable marker from the desk to wiggle it around. “Let’s do it.”

“God, please stop,” you groaned, reluctantly rising from your seat to trot over to Luke. You kept your eyes diverted to the ground, attempting to avoid all eye and body contact with the lanky, shirtless boy before you. Luke was eating this up, as every time you sneaked a peek at his face, you saw a childish grin play at his lips. “I assume you want me to circle certain parts of your body and you tell me the name of the bone or muscle I request and their purpose.”

“That’s one way to put it, yes,” Luke hummed, having you let out yet another heavy sigh before allowing your eyes to crawl up his body. You decide not to start with the torso and quickly grabbed his arm, having him flinch in shock. You then drew a very narrow oval on his arm, where the humerus bone resided.

“What bone is this?” You asked firmly.

“The humerus,” Luke announced with ease, staring down at you wistfully. “It connects to the ulna and is attached to the forearm. It’s quite a long bone.” He indicates this by flailing his long arm around.

“Not bad, Hemmings,” you said simply, quickly taking his under arm to squeeze the muscle. “What’s this muscle called?”

“Ah, Y/N, that hurts!” Luke yelped, chuckling as he playfully slapped your hand to let go. But you weren’t keen to doing so, forcing Luke to think quick before replying. “My bicep! It flexes and supinates the forearm-- Y/N!”

“Good,” you approved, releasing his bicep quickly. He brought his other hand to rub it, chuckling as he looked at you. “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?” You began with fake concern, flashing him a dosage of condescension.

“You enjoyed that, huh?” Luke began, having you emit a small laugh.

“Very much, yes.”

“God, you’re aggressive,” Luke mumbled, soothing his muscle before quickly snapping his neck to face you once more. His ocean eyes glistened, looking incredibly warm and strangely inviting as you studied them. You then caught yourself off-guard with how fixed you became on those blue orbs. So you quickly diverted your eyes down and let out a shaky sigh.

“Okay,” you hummed, tapping upon the marker with your fingers as you lifted it up once more. “Shall we continue?”

“How about we stop using the marker?” Luke suggested nervously as you held up the writing utensil. His hands were in front of you, threatening to hold you back by the shoulders as you lowered the marker in puzzlement. “I know I suggested it, but I kind’ve don’t want to look like a different species right now.”

“Oh har har,” you emit sarcastically. You tossed the washable marker on the desk, having it hit the pen holder, rolling away from it before going completely still. You cross your arms before your chest, looking at Luke ponderously. “So what’s your next bizarre antic?”

“How about you just sit down over here,” Luke hummed suggestively, his hands clinging onto your shoulders as he backed you up. You cautiously looked back, feeling your upper rear hit the edge of your table as he gestures to the flat side of the table. You eye him for a moment before lifting yourself up on the cool black desk. “And I’ll point out to parts, muscle and bone, and tell you the names and their functions. All you have to do is watch and scold me if I say something wrong. That sound alright to you?”

You stared dubiously at the boy, having his words sit unwell as he smiled widely at you. But you quickly gave in, as all you wanted to do was to resign this idiotic teaching role and get out of the jail-like institution. You watch as Luke gives you a menacing smirk before slowly twirling to present his back. It was just as pale as his front, but smooth with very small, light freckles ornate on it. He then flexed his shoulder blades, having you raise a brow at how prominent they were as he expressed them to you.

“My scapula,” Luke hummed, having him cockily flex his arms as he posed like Hercules. “Connects the upper arms to the thorax.” You crinkled your nose before clapping a bit, confirming his words correct as he snickered and turned back to face you.

Luke’s ocean eyes glistened momentarily, having you stare skeptically as his large hands quickly latch on his sides. His thin, bony fingers begin to crawl on his stomach, slowly going down for his thumbs to dig down between his body and the hems of his underwear and pants. Your lips part slightly, a little frightened by the boys’ audacity.

“Luke, you have to be fucking kidding me,” you growled, looking away to hear him mess with his lower garments a bit more. But no mischievous laughter or snickers ensued. Just silence, until the blonde boy began his sentence.

“The pelvis bone,” Luke chimed, having you leer over to see Luke brush the tip of his index fingers down the dents of his V-line. You were vexed, but you couldn’t help and actually admire how fairly evident the lines were. For fucks sake, you scolded yourself, rolling your eyes as Luke chuckled. “Connected to the lower spine to connect the legs to the rest of the body.”

“You’re a dirty dick, d’you know that?” You huffed, aggravated that you were the real pervert anticipating something Luke hadn’t done. But you should’ve known that, knowing Luke. He was a pretty ballsy man, but too silly to go that far. Especially with you.

“And yet you’re still here,” Luke hummed happily.

“By obligation.”

“This wasn’t mandatory,” Luke started, his voice emitting a taunt-like tone as you glared at him. “You could’ve left right now, knowing as fact that I’ll pass future exams with flying colors and tell Ms. Lee how outstanding of a teacher you were.”

You scoffed, having Luke chuckle from you succumbing.

“Alright, keep going,” you demanded, feeling your cheeks heat up from Luke’s words. You hadn’t understood this boy at all. He’d cover for you, fight for you, and even lie for you. You have been nothing but a little cold to him and yet he still remains, more than happy to stay around you. What a weirdo.

“Okay,” Luke groaned, turning around once again. You eyed him up and down as his thumbs reached the hem of his pants again and lowered it all the way down to his under ass cheeks. You were so off-guard from his quick motion that you got an eyeful of his pale ass and his evident crack between his small cheeks. “The gluteus maximus!” Luke cheered through laughter.

“Luke!”

A few more body parts later, you called for a break.

“Aw c’mon, didn’t you enjoy teaching me?” Luke teased, snatching his Green Day shirt from the floor. He fixed the black garment a bit before slipping it overhead and thankfully covering his torso once again.

“I need a break before my head explodes,” you hummed, bringing your fingers up to rub your temples as you loosely swung your legs off your table. “You are a piece of work, Hemmings.”

“But you can handle it, as usual,” Luke hummed. “3.9 Gee Pee Aye.” You rolled your eyes, finding annoyance in his blue pools as you twisted your torso to grab your back. Bringing it on your lap, you unzipped it to fish out a few cookies and some iced tea. “You hungry? I can take you out after this if you--”

“I evidently have cookies right here, like, in my hand,” you spewed sarcastically, holding the plastic bag filled with the sweet treat. Luke stuck his tongue out, having you shrug him off as you opened the plastic and took out a cookie to snag a bite. You eyed the boy, seeing him divert his gaze over to his guitar. You held the bag out, looking towards the opened windows. “You want?”

“Nah, I’m good,” Luke said in a hush tone, waving his hand as you greedily reeled the treat back to you. Luke smiled at this, enjoying all the small, kind gestures you do while still keeping up the cold facade you own. “Hey, mind if I play you a tune or two?”

“Pawdon?” You said in a muffled tone, your mouth drying out from the cookie crumbs. You put the bag down to snap open the ice tea and take a few sips from it. “Songs? Why?”

“I’ve been meaning to practice these songs, but I haven’t had the crowd to practice it to,” Luke spoke, taking out his guitar at the same time from the large, black case. You watched as he swung it overhead and allowed the leather strap to hang from the space between his neck and his shoulder. “The boys have been busy practicing our original songs, but they’re already installed in my head.”

“Ooo, Mr. Confident,” you teased, rolling your eyes at the boys fair amount of cockiness. You only say fair because he was actually musically inclined both instrumentally and vocally, so you couldn’t say shit. “I mean, I guess since we’re on break, a few songs is fine.”

“Rad,” Luke said gently, having your heart pause for a second. The way he said that one, small term was actually rather adorable, but you wouldn’t dare admit that. He’d go over the moon if he heard that, and find more confidence to do audaciously romantic moves on you. “Alright, here’s the first one...”

Luke moves a little forward, away from Ms. Lee’s desk as he rubs his calloused fingers a bit. His icy blue eyes look at the neck of the guitar, placing his long fingers on specified strings before dropping his gaze down to his other hands where the sounds would be emitted. The black orbs worth of his pupils dilate, having you watch as he begins to strum vigorously with ease. It was a nice tune, quick yet gentle, still a bop many could dance to.

“Ooo, girl, you’re shinin’, like a 5th avenue diamond,” Luke sung, his eyes raised to lock in to yours. You smiled widely, surprised to hear him singing and playing Classic by MKTO. “They don’t make you like they used to, you’re never going out of style.”

You couldn’t help the smile that printed on your lips, watching as Luke bobbed his head happily to the beat. He moved his feet so silly as he strummed carelessly but perfectly on his guitar. He moved closer to you with each beat he hit, having you shake your head as he flashed a constant smile that seemed permanent.

“You’re over my head, I’m out of my mind-- thinking I was born in the wrong time,” Luke sang, raising his voice as his hands looked like blurs every time he strummed up and down the strings. “One of a kind, living it a world gone plastic. Baby, you’re so classic.”

“You’re such a loser,” you spoke softly, having Luke reveal a more toothy grin while strumming a bit more rigorously.

“Four dozen roses, anything for you to notice,” Luke continued, walking to your left to go to the end of the classroom. You twisted your torso to look behind you, seeing Luke roll his hips as he played contently. “All the way to serenade you, doing it Sinatra style.”

You watched as he marched over on the right side of the classroom, passing by all the dull sicence tables as he returned back to his place in front of you. He kept singing, his rouge lips moving so easily with his voice coming out loud yet sweet and gentle. You couldn’t help but smile. seeing as not only Luke was talented, but also genuinely enjoyed what he did. Anyone would guess that he’d want to do this as a living.

“I wanna thrill ya like Michael-- hee hee!” Luke shrieked, spinning and thrusting his pelvis like Michael Jackson used to do. You snorted, covering your mouth to express the shock you had over this boy. “I wanna kiss you like Prince--” he sung that line with a dirty wink. “Let’s get it on like Marvin Gaye, like Hathaway-- write a song for you like this!”

You pursed your lips, attempting to wipe away the smile you had as Luke danced around. Although this boy could be a pest, you had to admit: it was nice to see someone be genuinely silly like this. He swung his hips all around, as if there was an electricity coursing through his body. His head bobbed like everything else was muted and the only thing he could truly hear was you and his music. He skipped around and hopped, seeming like he could jump right off the earth even though he knew he damn well couldn’t. Seeing a boy seem so free like that made you almost jealous of him.

“Baby, you’re so classic,” Luke finished, strumming the strings crazily as he broke the rhythm with ease. You giggled, watching Luke get on his knees, slowly lowering his back to the floor while still beating the strings with his fingers. His eyes were closed, bottom lip chewed between his teeth as the lousy playing slowly came to an end. He dropped his hands off the guitar, letting them splat to the ground as his chest heaved.

“You’re something else, Hemmings,” you spewed, having Luke stare at you blankly from the words he didn’t expect. You giggled, shaking your head as you bounced off the desk. “But you’re really good. That was really good.”

“Ah thanks!” He mewled as you offered him your hand to help him up. Taking the offer, you felt his calloused hands wrap around yours and pulled him up with some unease. He was pretty heavy for such a skinny, lanky boy.

“I assume this is how you get all the women, aye?” You taunted, watching as Luke stood his stance and wiggled his shoulders to fix the strap with ease. Luke just stood there, looking at you with this weird wistful gaze.

“Ah, not necessarily,” Luke began, watching as his tongue swiped along the top row of his teeth. He looked away from you for a moment, his eyes watching the glass window that was on the classroom’s door. “It does tend to sway the ladies, yes, but I don’t play to get digits.”

“No?” You pondered, finding it difficult to believe his words to be true. “Then why do you play?”

“Because I already have my heart set on one girl,” Luke said with ease, bringing his blue eyes back to you. You flinched slightly, still unable to adapt to his audacious, abrupt saccharine words. “I wouldn’t have the desire and passion for playing if it weren’t for that lovely girl. Who, coincidentally, is standing before me, holding my hands.”

You noticed this and quickly slipped out of his grip, having him chuckle at you.

“When will you forget about August?” You huffed, turning away to go over to the desk. You begin closing the bag of treats and spinning the cap back on your slightly warm drink. Shoving them back in your bag, you take a bit of time to slowly zip the bag closed. You didn’t want to meet Luke’s face again, or his eyes.

“Never, if I’m being frank,” Luke said simply, having you shake your head. Zipping the bag closed, you turn around and lean your upper rear against the desk. Your gaze was captured by the ugly beige tiles below you, with your feet popping up at the lower area of your periphery. “You’ll never understand how important that day means to me, and how important you’ve become to me.”

“I didn’t do a single thing,” you uttered quickly.

“Au contraire, you’ve done everything,” Luke hummed. You listened to him lift the guitar from his body and leaning the neck beside you, flinching a bit from his actions. He then bent his knees, his feet still on the ground, before coming into your periphery with his head tilted up, eyes wide open, and blue orbs burning into yours. “You’ve become the centre of my feelings, Y/N. As much as I could try to pull away, and you can try to push me away, your gravity just keeps me coming back.”

Your heart stopped right then, and all of a sudden, you couldn’t stop blushing, too.

yiKES late, i know ! ! but do tell me what you think here and ill see you at part 10 xx

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4evafitstore · 5 years ago

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Beats Wireless Earbuds PowerBeats Pro | True Bass Earbuds

Not only in price but also performance it's been quite some time and I'm sorry that's just the truth over the years Beats hasn't really said anything new that is in your audio department but today finally we got the Powerbeats Pro and the specs are quite impressive. Now it's a hefty $250 retail at the time. They're very much on the upper end with the Sennheiser and the Vino truly wireless earphones are priced slightly above and with let's say the bose sound sports the Jabra lineup and also the truly wireless earphones from jaybird those are a little bit below as always. I'll be going over both pros and cons also click on my affiliate links down below for the most updated prices in real time you never know when these things might go on sale.

Overview

Release Date May 2019 Price $249.95 Bluetooth 5.0 weight Earbuds: 21 grams Model Number PowerBeats Pro Waterproof IPX4 Check Price On Amazon

Physical Features

Going over the physical features first. I anticipated these were going to be bulky and they were going to stick out that the earphones would also bounce around during intense movements with my testing on all fronts. They don't, they're actually quite flush against my ear and for the first time I can run with a hoodie on and the earphones don't feel as though they'll fall out from gently rubbing against that fabric. Now with more intense movements simply demonstrate myself jump-roping here I'd never had any doubt that they would fall off and more importantly I don't feel that the ear tips will be lifting off my ears and losing sound quality. That's really impressive, these are truly wireless earphones. One of the issues that I've noticed when I had the Powerbeats 3 now of course cosmetically I think they look pretty damn good too. Now all of this praise off physically being stable it's because of these ears they are adjustable and does retain its shape. They do feel more competent than the Powerbeats 3 as it's a bit stiffer and the casing feels a little bit more durable. So, we'll see over time now I love the fit on my draw bars and my Samsung Galaxy buds more recently those who were great but I will admit the ear hooks do provide that extra level of stability.

water resistance

Now moving on beats are claiming these are water and sweat resistant spraying the crap out of these things right here they are still working perfectly fine. I was hoping for some sort of ingress rating or considering that we've had all this time to design these having it be submersible/ Although overkill would have given me more peace of mind there's a few other competitors out there that offers just that why not the Powerbeats Pro. You can't be in your shower listening songs under heavy water pressures. It's water protection rating IPX4 can't help you there, it has physical buttons and not touch buttons. 12 BEST NOISE CANCELING EARBUDS FOR WORKOUT IN 2020

Mic, Buttons & voice commands

But getting a closer look easily identifiable multi-function button. The actions are identical on either side which I really liked. Little volume rocker buttons are located at the very top and also are easily identifiable. Everything is there except for transparency mode. Maybe some people call it here through ambient to air whatever name these companies give them beats does not have the ability to turn on the internal microphones so you can hear your environmental noises nearly. Everyone else is offering it and I know a bunch of you use it for safety while running. Some uses these truly wireless earphones while working to hear if your boss sneaks up on you. We don't get that again with your Powerbeats Pro. Last test I confirm you can activate Siri with your voice as it seems to always be listening for that command. Awesome feature or of course you can always hold down the beats logo again on either side of these earbuds. Now with Android using my voice didn't work for me. You can only activate Google assistance with the button press or telling the button hold all right.

Bluetooth & Apple H1 Chip

Now moving on to the good stuff here. The technology there's this new Apple H1 Chip inside and it's working wonders. Yes, you do get amazing fast and seamless bluetooth pairing a very similar experience to those who had ear pods previously and with my iPhone I'm averaging about two seconds when the case opens to when the iPhone brings up this cool 3d spinning thing in battery life. In states definitely fast enough for me though but I love how seamless and more importantly how consistent it's been with Android, it's honestly not a slouch either. On screen is proof with my new pixel 3a I've been testing it connects on average in three seconds. Either scenario either phones by the time you put these earphones back into your ear. Adjust them, get them properly seated. It's already been paired. Now since we're on the topic of Bluetooth, yes, I can't connect to more than one device at a time. yes, after testing playing video on either Android or iPhone where the YouTuber Netflix, I had zero syncing issues. Now although I couldn't find if the Powerbeats Pro uses bluetooth 5.0 or not which is typically used to signify which version a device uses. Apple States instead on their websites this uses a class 1 signal instead which means the earphones should be good up to 150 to 200 linear feet and yes wireless range and stability it has been great. I've been able to walk my entire apartment here with several walls in between and had zero signal loss. Now I also couldn't find if beats use apdex HD to determine how high of a resolution audio file it can handle but again I usually don't as there's been some great headphone / earphones without that high-resolution designation.

Battery & charging case

In addition to that chip we get one of the best battery performances on any truly wireless earphones that I've tested. Fast fuel just 5 minutes on that charger gives you back an hour and a half. This is the fastest I've experienced on any pair of truly wireless earphones that I've tested. Not to mention beats claims up to nine hours of use with the case you're getting about an additional 15 hours of use for a total of up to 24 hours. Most truly wireless earphones I have tested, they've ranged from 12 hours to 15 hours give or take an hour for the extremes but the Powerbeats Pros, they're class leading with my testing at 50 percent volume like all my other truly wireless earphones. Since we're talking about the case or maybe you have seen that in the image here. I know some will say this case is quite large and it is but to be fair how else are you going to have these ear hooks attached to the earphones themselves. The case itself had more than one light to indicate battery life. I wish the case featured USBC versus lightning to have a truly wireless port for all my devices. I know Apple fans will be upset hearing that but the iPad pro has USB C there might be a USB C iPhone coming down the road so if that's the case no pun intended, here that's future proofing yourself that would be ideal unless I don't think there's any other company doing this just yet but if we can make this case dust proof in or water proof that would give me 100% peace of mind. But again, that's me being nitpicky right there and wishing for features at this point. And before I forget about this, there is audio pause and play when you take off your earphones the audio stops you put them back on and the audio plays again and this also works for video as well. Seconds, you can leave either one of these earphones out of your ear and the audio will still play. You can have the other earphone on the other side of the room if you want and the audio will still continue this signal is not dependent on the other earphone like traditional truly wireless earphones.

Powerbeats Pro Check On Amazon

Audio Quality Noise Canceling

Alright, let's get into some of the audio features. First up, let's talk about the microphone get ready that is and the audio is completely unedited and it's a little bit of breeze. Only guys can tell us by here being all crazy or jacked up right now but let me know what you guys think down the review description below. There's no good sound bad sound to pick it up. Let's test out this audio. as nice and expensive as my microphones are audio recorded on my end and then played through your speakers are not the best depiction of audio accuracy. It's just a sample but it is better than nothing but hence my filing audio review here the Powerbeats Pro is loud enough for most people. Loud but still comfortable to me is at about 75 percent volume, there is some sound leaking occurring, So those sitting right next to me in a very quiet room, library whatever. Can hear what you're listening to so just be a little bit cautious about that. The ear tips do sit around the ear canal but they don't sit fully inside. Most people will find that more comfortable but keep in mind that it won't give you the best passive noise isolation as other truly wireless earphones and of course a little bit more sound leaking as well. These do let in some noise as much as it leaks out so if you're in a busy place you might have to turn it up to maybe 75 percent volume to encapsulate yourself here with your own audio and kind of drone out the outside noise. Again, that's only if you're in a very busy environment.

Powerbeats Pro True Bass

Now jumping into bass. it's deep at loud volumes its rumbling. It feels like I'm wearing wired earphones at times considering how deep these actually go. If you like bass no question the Powerbeats Pro is it the Jaybird X4 run ex tees were the next closest in bass for me but Jaybird X4 offers a punchy variation or more of a bass boosted audio signature. Versus offering deep bass like the Powerbeat Pros. Now going into the mid-range, the louder you go the more basses experience that's pretty obvious but I do notice the mid-range is just ever so slightly overshadowed by bass most. Having most average consumers, I think they'll be fine with this or the tolerance level is still within reason for most consumers. Now if you're more of a technical audio listener or if you don't like the bass then you might prefer something more has more emphasis on the vocals / mid-range something that may be a little bit more forward in that mid-range frequency. This is simply a matter of preference the high frequencies would never ear in your tingey in my opinion but if anything, that is clear or lacking actually in some resolution or detail on the top and especially that loud volumes at moderate listening levels. It's not a big deal, a little bit more detail a little bit more Sparkle up top would have been much better as for soundstage there isn't much of a wide soundstage either you get decent audio separation but nothing huge or class defining. powerbeats pro These are great with hip-hop and EDM most but not all pop songs will do well. Those favoring vocals, I would consider these. Powerbeats Pros are no question bass ear truly wireless earphones if you prefer a pair that's more so for jamming outs verses technical accuracy, the Powerbeats Pro are recommended to. At least give them a try if you highly value the better life connectivity, the ear hooks alone comfort instability. I'd go from recommended to highly recommend it as not many other are offering the core functionalities at this level. Again, I think the biggest thing for you as a consumer you have to consider if you like Basie audio or not. check on Amazon Read the full article

#bluethoothheadphones #earbuds #noisecancelingearbuds #powerbeatspro #wirelessearbuds

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bobbystompy · 6 years ago

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My Top 127 Songs Of 2018

Previously: 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011

Not the most ever... just the second most ever. The record of 132 stands. I hope it is never broken.

As always, criteria and info:

This is a list of what I personally like, not ones I’m saying are the “best” from the year; more subjective than objective

No artist is featured more than once

If it comes down to choosing between two songs, I try to give more weight to a single or featured track

Each song on the list is linked in the title if you wanna check any or every out for yourself; there is also a Spotify playlist at the bottom that includes 122 of the 127 songs

Well?

youtube

/grins

127) B.o.B - “Food Fight”

Some triplet rap, pretty boring, and I have no idea what this song is supposed to be. But the “Food of the WiFi” part makes me laugh, and I always picture my buddy Matto singing it to his eye rolling wife (even though I’m pretty sure he’s never heard the song before).

126) French Montana f/ Drake - “No Stylist”

This song sucks -- even Drake can’t save it. French Montana is cancer except you don’t get to die.

125) 21 Savage - “Monster”

Not a huge Savage guy, but the Gambino verse helps.

124) The Kooks - “All The Time”

Kind of a lazy chorus, but it’s aight.

123) Sean Paul f/ Jhené Aiko - “Naked Truth”

Love Aiko, have never cared for Paul... but the collab weirdly works.

122) REASON - “Summer Up”

My buddy Josh sent this one, and it’s got the warm vibes. Money stretch:

P asked me is REASON still workin', shit N***a, is Amber Rose still twerkin', gold diggers still flirtin' horny teens still jerkin', all my exes still lurkin' black lives still hurtin', black lives still hurtin'?

121) Nipsey Hussle f/ YG - “Last Time That I Checc’d”

B’s vs. C’s. And a beat that sounds like DJ Mustard combined with ‘90s G-funk. Also, YG’s bandanna scarf is just very cute.

120) Thrice - “Only Us”

Weirdly, another reds and blues music video. But this time, it’s kids at a summer camp. This could absolutely be used by networks as a pump up song for sporting events.

119) Anderson .Paak f/ Kendrick Lamar - “TINTS”

Anderson .Paak -- ohhhh, that dot will always annoy me -- really does not make bad songs. Kung Fu Kenny fits right in, and it’s a very easy hit-the-spot driving song.

118) Mr Hudson f/ Vic Mensa - “Coldplay”

A serious song that uses an emotional reliance on Coldplay to take objective shots at Coldplay, which is pretty hilarious. Vic’s verse is good (”I lost my Queen poppin’ Ace of Spades at King of Diamonds ... I hate Coldplay”).

117) Logic f/ Wu-Tang Clan - “Wu Tang Forever”

Long cypher song. If you care about hip-hop, you probably know Drake also released a song called “Wu-Tang Forever” five years ago (which featured no members of Wu-Tang). There was talk of a remix -- RZA even recently said he wished they did -- but Inspectah Deck articulated why it didn’t happen back then:

“When I finally got to hear the song, I was more or less like, ‘Wow, I thought it was a tribute song like, it would be in respect of all eight members,'” Deck said. “And when I heard it, it was about a girl.”

You can just sense the colossal and spiritual disappointment.

Well, this one is more about fire than females; you’ll shout “Wu-Tang” proudly at least once. My MVP verse is Ghostface.

116) Jhené Aiko f/ Rae Sremmurd - “Sativa”

Rae Sremmurd* still sound like little kids to me. Conversely, Jhené Aiko is all that is woman.

(* - never knew they were brothers until just now)

115) Sam Coffey & The Iron Lungs - “First Time”

Sam Coffey first got on my radar with The Clash-sounding song “Talk 2 Her”. This is less of that and more, like, ‘80s hair metal. It’s almost hard to tell if this is sincere or parody. The video absolutely does not take itself seriously.

114) Saves The Day - “Kerouac & Cassady”

Always been impressed with the very unthreatening Chris Conley’s ability to create such sinister, dark, and menacing imagery. This maybe has the most bleak closing line of any of these songs.

113) 5 Seconds Of Summer - “Youngblood”

This is what Fall Out Boy tries to sound like with their new stuff... but they just suck so bad now.

112) She Killed In Ecstasy - “Dissension (Gold)”

I remembered this being a dope instrumental before totally forgetting about the just-as-awesome vocals; great band name, too. Recommended by my friends Jim and Bill over brunch after taking in their show at Subterranean in Chicago the previous night. This could be the closing theme for a critically acclaimed TV show.

111) Night Birds - “My Dad Is The BTK”

Straightforward, bratty punk rock that promotes snitching (if you’re sure it’s for the right reasons).

110) The Decemberists - “Once In My Life”

Why does such an outwardly melancholy song still feel so damn uplifting? Probably the video. They have a long statement attached on YouTube, so for sure peep if this catches your interest.

109) Mad Caddies - “She’s Gone”

Here we have a straight up reggae cover of NOFX. Sometimes I don’t think I like this song at all, but it might just be hard to separate it from the original; almost wish it was possible to go in with a clean slate. Maybe you can on my behalf?

108) Rivers Cuomo - “Two Broken Hearts”

Would you rather not know the video uses Bitmojis or the pre-chorus promotes two different ice cream brands before the song ends?

107) XXXTENTACION - “Train food”

This song is intense; gave me memories of listening to Kendrick’s “The Art of Peer Pressure”. X not surviving 2018 makes it that much more haunting.

106) Kanye West & Lil Pump f/ Adele Givens - “I Love It”

Not sure why, in his most embattled year yet, Kanye decided to be a part of such a derogatory song towards women. Listening to it makes me feel bad. And sure, the MAGA imagery will be what we think of when we think of 2018 Yeezy, but this picture shouldn’t be too far off either.

Shark: jumped.

105) New Lenox - “Do You Think We Made The Most Of Those New Years Eves”

That is a very long song title. But not as long as the time since passed on this reflection of the final night of the year, over a decade now gone. But even though he’s looking back, you know Chris Trott gets to hit reset at the end of the night, whether it’s December 31st or January 1st. And when NYE hits again, whether you return to the same party in the same place or a different experience in a totally different hemisphere, celebrating something is what makes this all matter.

(Full disclosure: yours truly has a minor backup vocal part in the outro)

104) Jeff Tweedy - “Having Been Is No Way To Be”

This for sure made it on the list because of the “And if I was dead, what difference would it ever make to them?” line, but upon closer scrutiny, the “And I’m sorry when you wake up to me” line is even more crushing.

103) Panic! At The Disco - “Dying In LA”

Brendon Urie’s voice is so polished and full. This song is him in complete control, and he knows it too (the “Dyin’ in LA” falsetto part at the end of the chorus is... probably not necessary).

102) Sugarland f/ Taylor Swift - “Babe”

Though Taylor’s impact in the music video is significantly stronger than her impact in the actual song, it’s still rock solid country. Or... country solid country?

/curtsies

101) ZHU & Tame Impala - “My Life”

This song has such a dancy cool on the power of its instrumentation; really doesn’t need vocals at all.

100) Kidd Russell & Southside Jake - “Slow Motion”

The poppiest SSJ has ever sounded. This is his best song to date. I’m not so sure if “Shots kill the butterflies” is an actual expression, but it should be.

99) Hop Along - “What The Writer Meant”

Hot damn, what a voice. This song is beauty in our not-often-beautiful world.

98) Retirement Party - “That’s How People Die”

This reminds me of a female fronted version of the departed Modern Baseball. Eager to see how they develop and definitely plan on checking their Audiotree session soon.

97) Lil Peep - “Sex With My Ex”

It’s... really good, you guys. The grimy nihilism of the “Fuck me like we’re lying on our deathbed” is palpable. It’s impossible not to think of the heights Peep would have almost definitely hit had he not passed. Also, super interesting tidbit on how the album got posthumously made:

Lil Peep died of an accidental drug overdose last November [2017] at 21. Afterward, attention turned to his computer. First, it went to London, where the files were backed up by First Access Entertainment, the company that helped guide his career.

Then it went to his mother, Liza Womack. In an interview in her cozy Long Island home, sitting on a nondescript couch that belonged to Peep and was shipped cross-country after his death, she calmly recalled walking into an Apple store, handing the laptop to a clerk, and saying: “My son died. This is him. Take this and put it on a new one.”

96) Kurt Vile - “Bassackwards”

I was on the beach, but I was thinkin’ about the bay

This has Kurt Vile’s signature laid back-ness (good) but also has a 9:46 track length (VERY VERY BAD). I’m not saying it has to be even four minutes long... but, like, could you have given us seven, KV? All of that aside, it really doesn’t slog at all despite mostly staying the same the whole time. Though I still can’t stop thinking about how much shorter it should be.

95) Christine And The Queens - “Doesn’t matter”

Kinda ‘80s pop sounding. Also, there’s a foreign accent there. British maybe?

/googles

French! Even better.

94) Brendan Kelly And The Wandering Birds - “Shitty Margarita”

Wish the drums were louder, BK.

93) Courtney Barnett - “Nameless, Faceless”

Barnett does not fuck around with her chorus/old adage:

I wanna walk through the park in the dark Men are scared that women will laugh at them I wanna walk through the park in the dark Women are scared that men will kill them

This type of perspective, down to the description of how she has to hold her keys in a way your average dude might not think about, remains so crucial as we all hope to continue to better understand each other.

92) Jeff Rosenstock - “Powerlessness”

Meet me at the Polish bar I'll be the one looking at my phone Shaking like a nervous kid Absolutely terrified of being alone

...it doesn’t sound how it reads. All of his skittish energy fuels this fist pumping jam. And don’t miss the guitar solo.

91) Charli XCX - “5 In The Morning”

Pretty standard fare pop song, but Charli makes it cooler and better than if the average person jumped on.

90) Pinegrove - “Darkness”

Gonna be honest: it was nearly impossible to listen to Pinegrove in 2018 without thinking of the sexual coercion accusations from the previous year. Jenn Pelly’s long ass piece really did nothing to help matters. So because of all this, I listened to their new album “Skylight” wayyyyy less than originally anticipated. The few times -- really maybe ‘time’ in all actuality -- I was able to separate the story from the songs, it definitely became enjoyable. This has head clearing guitar leads and a lyric straight outta Sublime’s “Garden Grove”.

89) Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson - “Bad Dreams”

Brooding, nighttime, driving; good ingredients for a successful duet.

88) Meek Mill f/ Rick Ross & JAY Z - “What’s Free”

Now, if I’m Rick Ross, I spend my entire career avoiding any situation where people can compare me to Biggie. But since Rick Ross is Rick Ross, he went with the opposite plan. This is his (to my knowledge) second reimagined Biggie song*, and... it’s... it’s rough. I mean, how far can you take it with the line “Mona Lisa, to me, ain't nothin' but a b***h” and end with a gay slur. Pass.

But we also have the GOAT. In classic Jay fashion, he spits a lot of good words, you know it’s complex, and there’s no way to process it without more listens. And yes, the immediate brand checks are super annoying, but he pushes through and delivers some bars:

They gave us pork and pig intestines Shit you discarded that we ingested, we made the project a wave You came back, reinvested and gentrified it Took n****s' sense of pride, now how that's free?

When he finishes, the song itself ends, and we have one of the more long and uneven Jay cameos ever put on wax. It’s, like, a 5-star B-.

(* - the first being 2014′s “Nobody”, a take off “You’re Nobody [Til Somebody Kills You]”, featuring French Montana, which spawned an all-time Rap Radar comment, “If someone killed French, he’d still be a nobody”; I will bring it up with the most minor of segues for the rest of my life)

87) Red City Radio - “In The Shadows”

I tend to prefer Red City Radio playing more uptempo, but they drag us down to a slower speed for this one. This centers around the cryptic “I show no fear when I know that the devil’s here” line, and the guitar solo is definitely overqualified for the genre.

86) Kanye West - “Yikes”

/cracks knuckles

The song: banging chorus, solid beat, lyrics meh. Of course it was the song he got Drake for, because it’s the only one on his solo release that vaguely resembled a hit.

The album: Calling “ye” bad is a little unfair, but the best and realest description is sadder: it’s Kanye’s most inessential record. It was forgettable at best and cringeworthy/offensive at worst. The one about his daughter was particularly appalling:

Don't do no yoga, don't do pilates Just play piano and stick to karate I pray your body's draped more like mine And not like your mommy's

This doesn’t even get into the entirely warped mental health takes that I’m not nearly qualified enough to address.

Kanye himself: Every Kanye fan has defended Kanye, some Kanye fans have abandoned Kanye, but 2018 was legitimately the tipping point where it felt like we all finally had enough, in unification. Shock, betrayal, and disappointment are probably the best adjectives. When you are willing to forgive someone for 90% of their behavior, and they up their bullshit to 110%, an understandable separation must occur. At this point, the man we once called Yeezus is now the hip-hop Louis C.K.: no type of constructive or negative feedback can penetrate his brain, and any new attempts at creative output only make everything worse.

85) Royce da 5′9′’ f/ Eminem & King Green - “Caterpillar”

As lyrical as it gets on this list, but what else do you expect from Em and Royce? Not a huge fan of the chorus (at least that loud part in the first half). Eminem legit goes off for, like, ten lines with a pooping metaphor to close the song.

84) Nicki Minaj - “Barbie Dreams”

Staying in the redone Biggie songs lane, we have Nicki with a passive evisceration of your favorite male rapper. You can call it crass, but I’d argue her playfulness makes the whole thing work, combined with the fact that it’s flipping the male gaze on its head. And though she’s having fun, some of these movie punches catch real faces. My favorites:

3) “Drake worth a hundred mill, he always buyin' me shit / But I don't know if the pussy wet or if he cryin' and shit”

2) “I remember when I used to have a crush on Special Ed / Shoutout Desiigner 'cause he made it out of special ed”

1) “Had to cancel DJ Khaled, boy, we ain't speakin' / Ain't no fat n**** tellin' me what he ain't eatin'”

Goodbye forever, DJ Khaled.

83) Bad Bunny f/ Drake - “MIA”

I do social media for my high school alma mater’s football team, and this song first got on my radar when of the players tweeted something like “I can’t understand a word, but this is really good”. I was piqued, and it delivered. Nobody cultural appropriates quite like Drizzy Drake. Also, am I the only one who would have maybe been happier if the song was called “Bad Bunny” and the featured artist was M.I.A.?

82) Phoebe Bridgers - “Christmas Song”

Christmas songs are hard to write because they’re either taken or terrible, but Bridgers definitely carved out her own lane. This could work as a single person under a spotlight or sung by a group of lonely strangers finding camaraderie at a bar; within the song, you actually get both scenarios.

81) Remo Drive - “Blue Ribbon”

Got into this band for the first time in 2018, and though some of their older songs got more spins, this was my favorite from the new album.

80) The Sidekicks - “Twin’s Twist”

Mostly just impressed they were able to seamlessly integrate the “Chronic 2001″ into lyrics of a lighter rock song.

79) Real Friends - “From The Outside”

My favorite chorus they’ve ever written. While remaining thoroughly pop punk, the catchiness puts it more on the pop side of that spectrum.

78) Mike Posner - “Song About You”

Posner sounds like he’s barely trying, and it’s still so, so good. Favorite moment is this non-rhyme: “Since you’ve been gone, I got nothing to do / I sleep until noon, I wake up and feel bad”. It’s like a pop freestyle or something.

Also, extra shout out for how well he took his social media roasting after the Thanksgiving performance in Detroit. Love this dude.

77) Bad Religion - “The Kids Are Alt-Right”

What if I told you Bad Religion made a song with an intro that sounded like Andrew W.K.’s “Party Till You Puke” but were somehow still able to stay afloat? Hell, I’m confused too. The satirical lyrics mark 2018 for what it was. The pre-chorus, I remain torn on.

76) Blood Orange - “Saint”

You said it before

Looped keyboard beat over some smooth lyrics and melodies.

75) Juice WRLD - “Lucid Dreams”

I cannot change you so I must replace you

Still unclear how this *isn’t* a Post Malone song.

74) Tancred - “Queen Of New York”

Own the city.

73) We Were Sharks - “Drop The Act”

Ohhhhh, I love this production.

72) Cloud Nothings - “Leave Him Now”

This band continues to possess all of the melodic fury (and the Russell Westbrook of drummers).

71) Childish Gambino - “Summertime Magic”

Wasn’t big on “This Is America”*, so Glover releasing an ode to the best season as an alternative selection helped.

(* - at least not the song; vid was interesting)

70) The 1975 - “Love It If We Made It”

The 1975 are one of those bands where liking them makes you feel like an alien because everyone else either loves or dogs them. I’m keepin’ this casual, aight?

Also, since all writers are contractually obligated, we must mention the “Fucking in a car, shooting heroin” line which opens the song.

69) Kississippi - “Cut Yr Teeth”

Saw this band play in a classroom at a high school (google “BLED FEST”) in Michigan in May of 2018. They were fun, diverse, and covered Jimmy Eat World’s “The Middle”. This tune is a little more serious and locked in.

68) Muncie Girls - “Picture Of Health”

Every part of this song is well-written, but it all builds to a massive chorus.

67) Justin Timberlake f/ Chris Stapleton - “Say Something”

There was a time, in January 2018, when not a ton of music had dropped yet, and this song was everywhere. It was like the dead-of-winter equivalent to the Song of the Summer. This one definitely gets docked some points for what I’d call weak lyricism. You can tell both dudes were way into it though, which does help make up for it some.

66) Interpol - “The Rover”

As speedy as I’ve ever heard Interpol; pretty unskippable.

65) Dashboard Confessional - “Catch You”

Imagine if this were the only Dashboard song you’d ever heard. You’d think they were, like, happy. Our protagonist has a trustworthy assurance that should put you at ease.

64) Gulfer - “Secret Stuff”

No singing on this list will alienate you faster than the first eight seconds of this one.

63) Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever - “Talking Straight”

Though this feels like two band names in one, RBCF know exactly what they’re doing as it pertains to the actual songwriting. This would fit right in during the mid-2000s garage/indie rock boom; could listen to the chorus on a loop.

62) Rita Ora f/ Cardi B, Bebe Rexha & Charli XCX - “Girls”

This song has the unique distinction of being think pieced and outraged cycled before I even got a chance to hear a second of it. The case:

Now, it goes without saying that the best people to explain why this song feels damaging and hurtful to queer women are queer women themselves – girls who kiss girls whether they’ve been gulping back Malbec or not. “A song like this just fuels the male gaze while marginalizing the idea of women loving women,” wrote Hayley Kiyoko on Twitter. Kehlani said it has “many awkward slurs, quotes, and moments”. MUNA’s Katie Gavin noted that in ‘Girls’ she hears “the familiar chorus that women’s sexuality is something to be looked at instead of authentically felt”.

To her credit, Ora apologized the very same day that piece came out (PUN INTENDED). What’s weird is the idea of this song being problematic made me like it more. It gives the sexual flippancy of the chorus authenticity. I don’t know, man -- this stuff is complicated.

Not complicated? Cardi B’s awful green screen cameo featuring cheap looking special effects.

/shakes head in disappointment

61) Eminem f/ Ed Sheeran - “River”

Though not apples to apples -- since he’s not spitting -- we shall remember this as the time Ed Sheeran > Eminem in a song.

Marshall remains our unquestioned king of the ‘relationship dysfunction’ genre.

60) Culture Abuse - “Calm E”

Everyone’s getting back together

The writers of the perfect and generational “Dream On” continue to stay in the mellow lane with their subsequent releases. When you can pull off both, why not?

59) Brian Fallon - “Silence”

Fallon covers -- /checks notes -- Marshmello f/ Khalid, but it really could be an original. Dude really knows how to pick ‘em. I remember hearing this randomly at Shinto (a sushi/hibachi place) in Naperville; don’t remember if it was this or the original. Such a moving chorus.

58) Okkervil River - “Don’t Move Back To LA”

Gotta appreciate the persistent sentiment -- even though it’d be the opposite of my advice. Also took about 99.9% of the year for me to stop calling this band “Overkill” River in my head.

57) Natalie Prass - “Short Court Style”

Uber catchy and with a real groove.

56) The Interrupters - “She’s Kerosene”

2018 Rancid, down to the raspy-ish singing from Aimee Allen.

55) boygenius - “Me & My Dog”

When I heard Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and someone named Lucy Dacus were forming a super group, I was stoked. This tune was the one that jived the most with my vision of the project. Amazingly sick harmonies, dropping elbows on your heart like a professional wrestler, and introspection on introspection.

I wanna be emaciated I wanna hear one song without thinking of you I wish I was on a spaceship Just me and my dog and an impossible view

So, so, so, so good.

54) Shack Wes - “Mo Bamba”

How do you explain “Mo Bamba” to someone who doesn’t like rap? How do you explain “Mo Bamba” to someone who does like rap? I don’t know, but I am Teddy Bridgewater now.

53) Lil Dicky f/ Chris Brown, Ed Sheeran, DJ Khaled & Kendall Jenner - “Freaky Friday”

If you thought Rita Ora’s “Girls” was messy, allow me to introduce you to our last bad rap song on the list. Actually, maybe the Virginia Tech women’s lacrosse team would be a better candid--OHHHHH LADIES NO!!!!!!!!11111111

So yeah, whether it’s the most lightning rod word in American history, cultural appropriation, reverse cultural appropriation, or even just a good ol’ “I Blame Chris Brown” take, this attempt at comedy hip-hop got put under a microscope for all the right and wrong reasons. No one came out unscathed. But, like Ora’s song, if you can ignore some components (read: nearly everything), it’s so god damn fun, man. I mean, Dicky and Chris Brown swapped bodies -- pretty nuts. And it’s rare for an MVP line to be “How his dick staying perched up on his balls like that?”

52) Jay Rock f/ Kendrick Lamar, Future & James Blake - “King’s Dead”

I gotta go get it- I gotta go get it- I gotta go get it- I gotta go get it

The back half of the Future verse is the worst part about this song... yet the most fun to talk about. He raps auto-tuned, in falsetto... and these are the lyrics:

La di da di da, slob on me knob Pass me some syrup, fuck me in the car La di da di da, mothafuck the law Chitty chitty bang, murder everything

What a disgrace. Yet, almost like a whimsy 2 Chainz verse, it’s really fucking memorable.

51) Soccer Mommy - “Your Dog”

Noticeably good bassline? Check. Skin crawlingly bad band name? Check. Cool swearing? Yup.

50) Vince Staples - “FUN!”

Vince could rap his way out a bottomless pit; floating elevation flow.

49) Dan + Shay - “Tequila”

Tried so hard to get this one next to “Shitty Margarita”. Genuinely love this song. Maybe it’s the mountains in the music video, but that chorus just soars.

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48) Meg Myers - “Numb”

Look up in the air and see this tidal wave chorus crashing through the world in slow motion.

47) The Penske File - “Fairgrounds”

My new working theory -- which really feels more like fact -- is how cool lyrics with the phrase “Meet me...” are. It creates this aura of unknown, mystery, and maybe even danger; like anything could happen if you just agree. Here are some from songs just off the top of my head:

Meet me by the lake

Meet me at the reservoir

Meet me in Montauk

Meet me in the middle (more on that one later)

Meet me in the back

Meet me at midnight

The list goes on. So please say “yes” to The Penske File at the fairgrounds, won’t you?

46) Lil Wayne f/ Swizz Beatz - “Uproar”

Weezy goes this entire song only using “oh” rhymes; not sure how he does it. Sometimes, I listen to this and pretend I’m a buffalo.

45) Cardi B - “Be Careful”

Cardi sampled Lauryn (wayyyyyyyy more on this later) and made it work. The chorus always sticks with me, and though the verses have a few bumps along the way, they might even be better.

44) Elway - “Crowded Conscience”

Elway pulls up their roots in this All Colorado Everything lyric video, and you’ll be ready to tap the Rockies when the singalong chorus finishes.

43) Pkew Pkew Pkew - “Passed Out”

A punk rock drinking song with a real bummer of a chorus for how happy the theme itself comes across.

42) Joyce Manor - “I Think I’m Still In Love With You”

I have no scientific proof, but Barry’s lyrics seem to be getting worse and worse. The drug references are still there, sure, but there’s an almost elementary simplicity to the proceedings. Still, like “Heart Tattoo”, this song doesn’t get in its own way and takes advantage of the basic words to create a big, big hook. You sing along even though it feels too easy at times.

41) Alkaline Trio - “Throw Me To The Lions”

So much desperation in the chorus; this could work as their last ever song.

40) The Bombpops - “Dear Beer”

My favorite opening line on this whole list -- the sweet and simple “I’m about to hit send / I’m waiting for the weekend”. Before you know it, a full blown self-loathing chorus. It’s got it all.

39) Foxing - “Lambert”

In quiet awe listening to this masterpiece of a song. Saw this band way up close in 2018 -- here is a picture:

Hello, Foxing

38) Lucero - “To My Dearest Wife”

Civil War soldier or rigorous rock and roll touring schedule? Either way, the Lucero singer misses his wife and family, and he’s gonna let you know they’re on his mind. I saw them open for Frank Turner in 2018, and he played their new album front to back -- before it had been released -- as their entire set because “I promised to do this when drunk on Instagram”. Gotta respect a man with principles.

37) BlocBoy JB f/ Drake - “Look Alive”

Favorite Drake hook of the year. BlocBoy JB... less necessary. Also kinda crazy to think we didn’t know who producer Tay Keith was at the beginning of 2018; definitely made his impression felt by the end.

36) The Front Bottoms - “Tie Die Dragon”

As psychedelic as I’ll ever get. Unless it’s, like, The Beatles. But that’s different.

35) The Lawrence Arms - “Laugh Out Loud”

Released on their Best Of record (legitimately titled “We Are The Champions Of The World) and an “Oh! Calcutta!” b-side from 2006, TLA prove even their leftovers can be a main course.

34) Tinashe f/ Future - “Faded Love”

I know he’s a rapper and she’s a singer, but nothing is more illustrative of how much harder women have to work compared to men than the 1:36 mark when Tinashe sensually sings “Let’s just feel this feeling”, doubled with Feature’s auto-tuned ass doing the exact same thing, only 10x worse. Not enough to taint the song, even a little. His verse, however...

33) Chance The Rapper - “65th & Ingleside”

Chance -- who almost always makes the correct choices -- did this super annoying thing where he released a bunch of songs in single batches in 2018.

“But Bobby, he gave you tons of free music! Why are you complaining?!”

Because we couldn’t easily sequence it, bruh. Look at this shit!:

Not even Drake would pull this stunt. EP next time, Chano.

Anyway.

Fun lines, really contagious beat, and a few types of flows; he spazzes at the end.

32) Complainer - “Drunk (Again)”

Gotta love when a song can’t start until multiple beer cans crack. These guys are a tiny band inspired-by-but-better-than Jeff Rosenstock, and I hope they get so much more traction.

31) ScHoolboy Q f/ Kendrick Lamar, Saudi & 2 Chainz - “X”

I LIVE ON TEN

Always read this title as the letter X even though the word “ten” is used 40 times in the song.

30) KIDS SEE GHOSTS (Kanye West & Kid Cudi) - “Reborn”

From Kanye’s only useful project in 2018 comes “Reborn”. Luckily, it’s mainly Cudi on this track (chorus/bridge/a verse). It feels like Ohio’s son is breaking through... or breaking out; verging on real triumph over his demons. Kanye, meanwhile, is surprisingly understated (read: good) and fits into all of his parts like a non-OJ glove. The sparing use of Yeezy reminds me of how the master himself used to feature people like Chief Keef just enough to harness the talent but not enough to ruin the song or do too much. Those alpha days appear to be way in the rearview now.

29) Travis Scott f/ Drake, Swae Lee & Big Hawk - “SICKO MODE”

Stacey Dash, most of these girls ain’t got a clue

This joins “Mo Bamba” in the Top 2 of Rap Songs That Need To Be Played At All Parties In The Year 2018. While “Bamba” is more consistent -- seriously, “SICKO MODE” is four songs in one -- almost nothing tops hearing the start of this and immediately anticipating the rest (like the opening of “Tuesday” when that was hot). The third part is probably my favorite. #likealight

28) SOB X RBE f/ Zacari & Kendrick Lamar - “Paramedic!”

Our third selection from the “Black Panther” soundtrack. Second favorite beat of 2018; I can’t not move the second it drops.

27) Drug Church - “Unlicensed Hall Monitor”

Favorite guitar leads of 2018. It’s as sleek as the vocals are gruff.

26) Matt And Kim - “FOREVER”

Was a dead tie between this and the equally emotional “Youngest I Will Be”. But this one has a vid -- and they make the best vids. This song also references the 1992 Dream Team. Our world will never be shit if they stay a part of it; first time I’ve came close to tearing up so far. These two inspire.

25) The Ramblin’ Boys Of Pleasure - “Joyce Jawbreaker”

Speaking of turrs, my band of 14 years released our maybe last song ever in 2018. Written in Maine, titled for Joyce Manor and Jawbreaker, and about lost love, Chicago, futures, playing music with your brothers, tiny hands, and found love. We also did a video:

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24) Ariana Grande f/ Nicki Minaj - “the light is coming”

I really, truly am not excluding “thank u, next” to be contrarian. While I agree that is her defining song of 2018 -- and biggest hit to date? -- “the light is coming” is so much more unique. It goes in so many directions while the hook ties the rope around you a hundred times. Yep, I’m right.

23) Laura Jane Grace & The Devouring Mothers - “Apocalypse Now (& Later)”

Wish I could forever keep this song’s opening line as my mantra: You make me walk away from the hate I carry.

22) Restorations - “Nonbeliever”

Another band that should be bigger, so they can always be free to do anything they want. This song will always boil down to this part, which captures the push and pull of 2018 America:

I love your protest lines Oh, but who has the time? We all saw the same thing at the same time, okay? Got a partner for starters And a kid on the way Can’t be doing all this dumb shit no more

For how crass, clumsy, and non-rhyming that concludes, the song itself ends dire.

21) The Get Up Kids - “I’m Sorry”

One of my favorite videos of 2018. Similar to “Apocalypse Now (& Later)”, I’m not sure if it’s about a love interest or a kid. Does it matter? No. But it does to me.

20) Antarctigo Vespucci - “Freakin’ U Out”

A band name for the ages. With Chris Farren (of Fake Problems) on vox and Jeff Rosenstock on instruments, this song could power a car -- or at least one person who didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.

19) Bayside - “It Don’t Exist”

Anthony Raneri has a new grill, but this song feels 50 years old. A classic in real time.

18) The Carters - “APESHIT”

Is this artsy, all-time vid somewhat undermined by the Migos ad libs?

Yes.

/makes note to maybe dress up like this for Halloween next year

17) Post Malone f/ 21 Savage - “rockstar”

This song is so good -- albeit misogynist and also bad -- it makes me genuinely eager for a 21 Savage verse. And though I love any bars relating to his 12-car garage...

my favorite 21 savage quirk is his yearly 12 car garage updates:

2016: “why you got a 12 car garage?”

2017: “they like ‘savage why you got a 12 car garage / and you only got 6 cars?’”

2018: “why you got a 12 car garage? / cause i bought 6 new cars”

(via @ottergawd)

...his intro line is just so, so terrible: “I've been in the Hills fuckin' superstars / Feelin' like a popstar”. You know that’s... not really a rhyme, right?

16) Andrew McMahon In The Wilderness - “Ohio”

/will always, always death stare that dumb name to start any Andy section

Ah, but if we did start with a lyric?

Katie’s counting crows

This song is about leaving the worst state for one of the best. But if we’re doing that, why do we feel so melancholy?

15) Kendrick Lamar & SZA - “All The Stars”

You've gotta be mesmerizing to make Kung Fu Kenny look pedestrian, but SZA's galactic hook does just that.

14) Frank Turner - “1933″

Frank isn’t from here, but he’s setting out to remind us of where this all began.

13) The Wonder Years - “Sister Cities”

As far as pop punk legacies are concerned, The Wonder Years’ is secure. There is no longer necessity to churn out bangers; they’re already on the Mount Rushmore. Still, they go. Every part of this song is essential: the build up verses, blown out chorus, Panic! At The Disco 2005-era hi-hat off-time drum transitions, end-of-the-rope bridge. The true standout is the closing of V2:

I'm guarded like I'm wounded, my first instinct's always “run” I wanna turn to steam I wanna call it off I wanna lighten the dark I wanna swallow the sun

Good guitar leads add even extra.

12) YG f/ 2 Chainz, Big Sean & Nicki Minaj - “BIG BANK”

“Alexa, what does big bank do to little bank?”

The highlight line from each:

YG: “Ayy, I set the bar, I'm the fuckin' bar / Look in the sky, I'm a fuckin' star / I don't fall in love 'cause I be lovin' hard / Do everything like my shirt, extra large”

2 Chainz: “Big shit like a dinosaur did it”

Big Sean: “I'm rare as affordable health care”

Nicki: “Told em' I met Slim Shady, bagged a Em / Once he go black, he'll be back again”

Let this also be remembered as the song that created a Madden controversy.

11) Dean Summerwind - “Parked By The Lake”

What is there to say about the legend that is Dean Summerwind? With only one song on Spotify, he’s batting a clean 1.000. Calling this genius feels like an understatement. It’s real, it’s parody, it’s persistent, it’s ours.

10) The Dirty Nil - “Bathed In Light”

The Canadian Local H. Reaaaaaaaally wanna see them live in 2019.

9) oso oso - “gb/ol h/nf”

I stylized oso oso as “Oso Oso” last year to stick it to their frontman Jade, but a year later, I’ve lost the energy. Blame Ariana Grande. This song -- which stands for “goodbye old love, hello new friend”* -- has my favorite chorus of the year. It’s so simple, it’s obvious: “But I still come through, when you want / And if I serve no use, where do I get my purpose from?”

Also, this is indie/pop/punk/rock’s version of “SICKO MODE”: got more parts than “The Wire”.

(* - had to look that up multiple times in 2018 and never retained, despite it being the bridge of the song... I didn’t notice)

8) Kacey Musgraves - “Space Cowboy”

If any song *survives* the existence of this list, I hope it’s this one. Kacey has this predictable-yet-surprising way of taking existing tropes and co-opting them with her own twist. Homegirl is like the Jim Nantz of pop/country in that way.

7) Direct Hit! - “Welcome To Heaven”

This song makes me want to die to, you know, check. Blustering chorus, fascinating premise, and charged up while simultaneously patient/in control.

6) FIDLAR f/ The 90s - “Are You High?”

This not being on Spotify was one of the worst non-Michigan football things to happen to me in 2018. Man, I hate Michigan football.

5) Drake - “Nice For What”

- My favorite beat of 2018 (New Orleans bounce, ftw)

- My favorite release of 2018 - Drizzy said it would drop on a Friday - We were thinking morning or midday (not late evening, in the last remaining hours of the day, when were were faded and had waited so long it was almost forgotten -- it hit perfect) - On top of that, he also sampled Lauryn Hill’s “Ex-Factor” -- the same week Cardi B did the same -- with even more pulsating results - I will always interpret that as a real or sneak diss, yet no one I know has ever said anything

- My buddy Josh sent a selfie vid of him and his girl and some friends bopping to it; I’ll remember that forever; the moment felt like such an event, as if the world simultaneously celebrated at such an atypical time

- Drake deserves 30% less credit for this female empowerment anthem because of the “these hoes” sample

- Maybe a Top 5 Drake song, all-time

- There is no planet, solar system, or multiverse where 2018 Drake finishes ahead of 2018 Pusha T

4) Pusha T - “The Story Of Adidon”

You are hiding a child.

Let’s not mince words: this is the No. 2 greatest diss track of all time. Pac is No. 1 -- this will not be debated. From there, Nas is DQ’d for “Ether” homophobia, annnnnnd no one else is in the realm. King Push...

- Unearthed a photo of Drake in blackface and uses it as the art for the song - Goes at Drake’s mom (”Marriage is something that Sandi never had...”) - Goes at Drake’s dad (”Dennis Graham stay off the 'gram, bitch, I'm on one”) - Outs Drake for having a child (and hiding said child!*) - Goes at Drake’s baby momma - And -- /gulp -- goes at Drake’s longtime producer 40 for having multiple sclerosis, suggesting he will not be alive soon**

He does this over “The Story Of O.J.” beat... a rather chill backdrop, all things considered.

(* - Drake responded later with the line “I wasn’t hiding my kid from the world, I was hiding the world from my kid” which just isn’t cool at all but is competent enough to win some people back over; /barf)

(** - HOLY FUCK***)

(*** - much debate occurred in the aftermath regarding if Push “went too far”; I was 50-50 at the time but now am 100-0 that it was the right choice; this song is cyanide venom, so why pull back even an ounce?)

Though Drake survived -- turns out the mainstream pop boost is bigger than hip-hop beef -- he took the fattest of L’s on this one.

Really can’t decide on a lyrical ending, so I’m gonna go with two:

Surgical summer.

If we all go to hell, it’ll be worth it.

3) Spanish Love Songs - “Buffalo Buffalo”

In my head, this was gonna end up ahead of The Menzingers, but that would be like putting Greta Van Fleet ahead of Zeppelin. Spanish Love Songs were my breakout band of 2018. They released my favorite album, I saw them as an opener at Sub-T in Chicago, and I promised their bassist I’d see them in Florida at the Fest (this did not materialize). While their vocals and guitar leads sound identical to Scranton’s finest, if you listen to them as much as I did, you’ll realize they offer a sound and perspective* of their own as well.

(* - no one hates themselves more than this singer)

2) The Menzingers - “Toy Soldier”

There’s so much to be sad about these days

/that guitar intro

Followed by the best musical moment of this year: from 0:06 to 0:07 -- the ever-so-slight delay before the band blows it out. Spent a lot of time in 2018 debating if I should change my Twitter bio to “I lost my accent in the plague”. Listened to this song on the floor of the living room on my 32nd birthday; then I read “The Great Gatsby”. From there (at this point, it was past midnight), I realized this sounded like The Lawrence Arms’ “Requiem Revisited”, which was inspired by Naked Raygun’s “Soldiers Requiem”. It’s all a triangle of that perfectly fitting punk chord progression. That’s right: I am Pepe Silvia.

1) Horror Squad - “I Smoke The Blood”

Best song title of 2018. Best song of 2018.

This has 729 views on YouTube -- be the 730th.

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Spotify playlist.

Thank you for reading.

0 notes

ruinitpop · 4 years ago

Text

2500+ mostly unedited words on why I love Simple Plan

Here we go, I’ll try not to ruin it:

Come with me back to my childhood. Far enough back that you might not remember when you first saw something that is extremely important to you, for me apparently that’s 2002. The live-action adaptation Scooby-Doo comes out that summer and it has what I like to call “kick ASS pop-punk soundtrack”. I remember liking the movie so much that my friends and I definitely tried to reenact the entire thing on the playground one day. Anyway, Simple Plan had a song on the soundtrack, It was Grow Up and it plays over an establishing shot of Spooky Island. Yes, I’ve seen the movie several times and I know the song by heart.

Go forward a year and another movie comes out with a “kick-ass pop-punk soundtrack”. It was 2003...anyone have any guesses? Steve Martin fans in the room? It was Cheaper By the Dozen, a movie kind of about a book that I don’t know if anyone has actually read. But the movie is great, I love it. You may not think so but I reserve the right to life things that are objectively bad. (See my love of the live-action Scoo-Doo movies) Anyway, Simple Plan had a song on the soundtrack. It was I’m Just A Kid and it plays over the scene where all the kids have their first day at the new school and some preppy asshole shouts “MY LATTE!”.

One more year passes and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed comes out and it, for a period of time, becomes MY FAVORITE movie. Like, I went on a trip for a kinda nerdy thing I did in 4th grade and we watched Scooby-Doo 2 easily 4 times over the course of that one week trip. AND I’m pretty sure this trip is the first time remember listening to No Pads, No Helmets, Just Balls from beginning to end. Anyway, again, Simple Plan had a song written for the film on the soundtrack. It was Don’t Wanna Think About You and it’s seriously...just...so good! It’s emotional, and it like perfectly accents what’s happening in the movie! I cry when Shaggy says “They’re like totally having a montage in there without us Scoob”

Now I’m just gonna rattle off a ranking of their soundtrack appearances as they appear in my brain:

Don’t Wanna Think About You from Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed.

Because duh

I’m Just A Kid from Cheaper by the Dozen.

Kinda scandalous for this to beat Grow Up but I like the scene it plays over better

Grow Up from Scooby-Doo.

This could be purely nostalgia-driven but I just love the movie so much and it was basically where so many people first heard them and there is a huge significance to that in my head.

What’s New Scooby-Doo from the show of the same name.

This song is awesome and I remember seeing them play it for what they claimed was the first time in over a decade in Santa Anna California in 2016 and I remember Pierre doing a little intro but not saying what song it was and I looked at my sister and said “holy shit they’re about to play What’s New Scooby-Doo!” so that’s why it’s on this list even though it’s TV and it’s my list I’ll do what I want. That memory warms my cold heart

Christmas List from the Unaccompanied Minors soundtrack

Full Disclosure I still haven’t this movie (what kind of movie guy am I?) but the song is also a bonus track and also full of dated pop culture references like PlayStation2 and DVDs which I love to chuckle at to this day. When I got my first MacBook in early 2012 one of the first things I did was use garage band to split the bonus track off as it’s own track.

Vacation from New York Minute

I had a weird interaction a little over a year ago where a Gen Z kid was randomly singing it and I was like “How do you know this song?” and he was like “oh some Mary-Kate and Ashley movie” and I said “So it is Vacation by Simple Plan. Accept I know it because I love Simple Plan. To this day I have never seen that movie but I know it’s from that movie and this little memory gives that song a special place.

Happy Together, a cover that was produced and on the soundtrack to Freaky Friday

This song it the top cover because it’s actually good AND the movie has grown in a significant tentpole of pop culture

Can’t Keep My Hands Off You from Disney’s Prom

This came out in 2011, I haven’t seen it. I imagine it’s not great but seeing as how the song is pretty good on its own and I have no other attached feelings it goes here on the list. But even this movie appearance isn’t as unsatisfying as...

Surrender from the Fantastic Four (2005)

We all remember this movie, people have mixed opinions. Mine are basically that the movie is fine, there are definitely better superhero movies now but this doesn’t necessarily deserve to be panned at trash or anything. It was 2005 and it’s at least as good and Sam Rami’s Spiderman.

Apparently there is a site for this but it doesn’t include New York Minute but it does include Clockstoppers. A movie I know I’ve seen but I don’t remember noticing there was a Simple Plan in it. There was a cool scene where they pause time next to a sprinkler and they push the droplets around and stuff. I just found this out after I typed my list. You can look at the link but it doesn’t have my opinions on it so why would you?

So, if you’ve read this blog before or maybe even know me in person you know I’m a big movie buff so it’s no surprise that I kinda discovered my love for them through movies. However, Simple Plans music nostalgia goes really deep.

I remember my first MP3 player. It was terrible, I’m going to date myself a little here but it only has physical buttons, it worked like a flash drive so if you didn’t organize your file folders properly it was basically impossible to navigate, and it only held like 100 songs. In comparison, my old sister had a Microsoft Zune. (You know Zune? The thing that Star Lord gets and the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 which was directed by James Gunn; the same guy who did the screenplays for both the live action Scooby-Doo movies that introduced me to Simple Plan in the first place! Which is part of why I’m writing this post!! If that dumb full-circle moment doesn’t give you warm and fuzzies you can stop reading) She had a pretty substantial library already and I had to carefully pick and choose what to put on it and I remember one the first songs was My Alien which isn’t a super popular track but it spoke to middle school me. There were definitely more of their songs from NPNHJB and Still Not Getting Any because self-titled Simple Plan didn’t come out until 2008. Eventually, I got an iPod nano with a whopping 16gb of storage and my life changed! I could hold basically all the music I wanted and that included all three of the Simple Plan albums that were out at the time. I have a very clear memory of making my mom listen to them a few times on the way to/from the orthodontist (which was a 40 minute drive because everything is far away in rural America) and she told me that I was just as good as a singer as Pierre. There’s no way, Pierre is an icon.

Over the course of the last decade, a few Simple Plan experiences have occurred around my birthday and I’m convinced they must know when my birthday is. The first time this happened was 2011 when they released Get Your Heart On! Which might be my favorite album if I was going to pick one but they’ve literally never written a bad song so why actually pick favorites? I remember a friend saying “This sounds like their old stuff and I love it” and I was offended. Like, how dare they slander Still Not Getting Any and Simple Plan like that?

As high school went on I started to have a very stressful Junior year. I bit off more than I could shew academically and one day I had a massive stress attack and I basically shut down but Untitled really got me through, I listened to so much Simple Plan that night but Untitled really helped me calm down and relax enough to get my head straight. While I’m talking about the song I’m gonna mention it was a charity track and the music video WILL make you cry but it’s super important and you should watch it.

Forward a couple more years and I’m in my first semester of college. I had chosen the wrong path at the time and I was in the process of fixing that by completely changing up my education including changing schools and giving up a rather big scholarship. I was feeling pretty good but uneasy about what I was doing at the time and what do you know? Right when I needed something comforting Simple Plan gave me an early Christmas present and released the EP Get Your Heart On - The Second Coming and every track on the EP reached into my soul and helped me process. I also started to GYHO again heavily and Gone Too Soon helped my deal with how much I was missing home and how much I missed a lot of my friends (I know the song isn’t really “about” that but it helped).

At this point in my life, I’ve mostly given up hiding my fandom. I started following the band members on social media and I was VERY closely following the release of the next album. Which I was sure was going to be released by my birthday. (this is the second time a birthday coincidence happened) The band had another plan, which was to hype me up for an album drop and then only release a non-album single Saturday that wasn’t even on the album that came out later! I accepted their gift though because I wanted more songs so desperately! I was so thirsty for Simple Plan content that I also listened to an episode of the Lead Singer Syndrome podcast with Pierre and learned so much about the band and their careers together, it warmed my heart! The album Taking One For the Team wouldn’t drop for almost an entire year! But when it did they also announce their first tour in the US in years!

In early October 2016, I finally saw then live for the first time. I already talked about this, it’s when they played What’s New Scooby-Doo! The place where my sister and I chose to stand was near a stantioned-off area that looked VIP. Before the band went on their families came out escorted by security and watched the set right behind me! That trip was so fun! It was also my first concert ever, I had been to Warped Tour the previous summer but I choose to call that my first festival.

The tour I saw them on kinda just morphed into the 15th-anniversary tour for NPNHJB. Remember when I went on about Scooby-Doo? Yeah reader, it’s been 15 years. I saw Simple Plan for the second time in April 2017 and I was able to convince a bunch of Set It Off (great band) fans to come with me because they were also playing. My roommate at the time said that seeing me at the concert was one of the times they’d seen me happiest. I thought that was very sweet and I’m glad I was able to have that experience with those people. Weirdly enough though, I had just started a new job and my new boss was also at the show. There isn’t much more to that particular story but I still think it’s funny.

After this I closed a chapter of my life by leaving the fraternity I was a part of for most of my college experience. At the alumni ceremony, people often do personal things for those leaving, gifts, speeches, etc. For me, a few of my Brothers played Welcome To My Life. It was one of the sweetest things anyone could have done.

The next time I saw them was on the final Warped Tour. I was so excited! I took time off so I could go and see them in San Diego because it was closer to (this is the 3rd coincidence) my birthday! I drove to San Diego alone and stayed in a hotel alone and had a couple of meals alone and saw a movie alone all so I could see Simple Plan. I did meet up with some friends at the festival on the day of and it was amazing! One of the people is very close to me and we shared a lot of music that day. I waited in line for over an hour at the SP merch tent and I was going to have sign some stuff with a happy birthday but they ended up having to leave the tent to get ready for their set and I nabbed a quick picture with Pierre. They closed their set with Perfect and everything felt melancholy but very “right” you know?

Most recently I saw Simple Plan alone in Phoenix. It was awesome! I was uneasy just seeing a show alone but being in that room with people who probably have a ton of stories just like this one (though probably not so many words) was exhilarating. They definitely had the best set and this time I noticed some of the things they kinda always do at shows. Like Chuck crowd surfing or the same call response to their most popular songs and another rendition of What’s New Scooby-Doo!

This pretty much brings us to the present, thanks for taking this 2500+ word journey down memory lane with me. Currently, I’m feeling upset that the tour planned for this summer was called off because of the COVID-19 epidemic and I kinda have no idea when the album might drop. I am in no way diminishing anything that has happened to anyone else but for me, the current way of the world has taken a lot of what makes me happy away. My career is on hold, I can’t go to movies, and it even took away Simple Plan. Writing this has been mildly therapeutic and that was the point. If for some reason this post reaches the band I just want to thank them all. Pierre, Chuck, Seb, David, and Jeff. You guys are unbelievably amazing! Thank you for being somehow integrated into a lot of things that I really hold dear but most importantly thank you for the music! I can’t wait for more! Now, I’ll leave this train of thought before all this nostalgia makes me sick (get it?).

I tried not to ruin it but this is almost 2600 words so I probably did.

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stopsubstanceabuse1-blog · 6 years ago

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trendingnewsb · 7 years ago

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Life As An American Punk Band in China

1970s punk rock was all about stickin’ it to the man. Rules were made to be broken, and guitars were made to be played badly. China came late to the punk game, in part because the culture puts great reverence on traditional music, and in perhaps greater part because the government does all it can to take the counter out of counterculture. But punks in China have now at last begun to rock, even if they have to tell blatant lies to the government to do it.

American punk band Shore Leave are cruise ship musicians by day, and when they’re done crooning for tourists, they don bandanas and fake names to rock out at Chinese venues, often dodging government censors in the process …

Every Show Is A Battle Between The Performers And The Censors

China started cracking down extra hard on concerts in 2013, and it was all Elton John’s fault.

Elton John had dedicated a recent concert to Ai Weiwei, a sculptor, architect, photographer, and strong critic of the Chinese government. Police were brought in, asking Elton to release a statement saying he was only inspired by Weiwei’s art, not his political activism. Elton refused. So officials responded by calling for new rules for foreign performers, including one that would surely silence all kinds of underdogs: No one would be allowed to perform unless they held a college degree.

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Officially, the restriction was never put into place, but unofficially, organizers scrambled to find university certificates for their acts, and a bunch of new applications for performance licenses got turned down. And this is just one part of the infernal regulatory machine in China, where every individual music performance and even every lyric sung at concerts needs to be approved in advance by the Ministry of Culture. If the lyrics are approved, the show goes on. If they are not, either the song is pulled from rotation or the band is banned from playing completely.

“No lyrics that criticize the ruling party,” says The Captain, who does bass and vocals for Shore Leave. “No lyrics about ghosts/supernatural stuff.” One anti-capitalist rule insists artists refrain from romanticizing the luxury life — so no songs about tigers on leashes and Crystal-filled hot tubs, please.

The vague nature of these laws lets the government censor whatever they like for basically any reason, and a scary number of those reasons come down to bigotry. “You used to be able to sing pro-LGBT songs,” says The Captain, “but that’s changed,” which keeps Shore Leave from performing this album opener:

This is the case despite the fact that China decriminalized homosexuality in 1997 and removed it from the official list of mental disorders in 2001, but maybe it’s not too surprising. After all, the country still has forced electroshock conversion therapy.

Many bands dodge fallout by changing their most controversial lyrics before they submit them for review. Take Shore Leave’s not-at-all-political ode to Parks And Recreation‘s alien cult leader, Zorp. “The promoter told us the ‘revolution’ lyrics in ‘Armagedon-A-Go-Go’ might be problematic,” says The Captain. “So we wrote ‘Revolution / They gonna burn city hall’ as ‘Evolution / They’re gone, Arsenio Hall.'” Hey, nobody said the new tunes had to make any sense.

There’s A Secret Language That Lets You Badmouth The Government

When bands in China reference “Zhongnanhai” in a negative or mocking way, they’ll insist they’re not referring to the residential compound for China’s top leaders, but rather the popular cigarette brand.

Whether they’re hiding their anger in their lyrics or merely airing their grievances to their mail delivery person, the Chinese have implemented a sort of code that allows them to speak freely without drawing scrutiny from the powers that be. Guitarist Lt. Bugs recalls one of their first experiences with this special language: “Someone told us about a venue owner in Beijing who was ‘lost in a game of hide and seek.'” That, it turns out, is local slang for someone who died suddenly while in police custody.

Other fun examples include phrases like “the square of hopelessness.” That’s not a description of soul-crushingly dull cubicle life, but a thinly veiled reference to Tiananmen Square, which is a mostly off-limits topic in the arts.

Sometimes the code isn’t code at all. Musicians simply sing in English, as many Chinese officials do not speak or understand it. This plays to Shore Leave’s advantage. Regardless of whatever was officially submitted beforehand, they sometimes simply sing their original lyrics onstage — the odds are no one will be able to tell the difference.

Some Bands Are Completely Manufactured

A Chinese performance venue might mix bands to create new acts on the spot, dumping yet another challenge on artists trying to keep it real. Punk bands are subjected to this as much as anyone else is, despite that going against the very nature of everything the genre stands for. You may be thinking, “But NSYNC and the Spice Girls were manufactured. Were they not the greatest groups in the history of music?” Yes, they were. But those group members auditioned, got to know each other, practiced their craft. They became friends and co-workers before they ever set foot on stage. Manufactured bands in China are not afforded that luxury.

Lt. Bugs says these bands are often thrown together by agents at such a last minute that many of them “probably didn’t even meet before the show.” But it doesn’t matter if the band members can play their instruments with any real chemistry. Hell, it doesn’t matter if they can play their instruments at all. “Sometimes they’ll even be playing instruments to backing tracks,” says Shore Leave drummer First Mate, “making the singer essentially perform karaoke.”

The venue well may not be hiring these musicians for their creative abilities anyway. Lt. Bugs tells of the time she saw a promoter switch a band’s singer and bassist right before a show. “The bassist was a pretty-looking white girl,” she says, “and the singer was a darker-skinned Hispanic man. They wanted the pretty white girl up front.” Shore Leave has even seen fliers for their own concerts using stock photo models instead of their actual faces. That’s what happens when none of the band members are pretty enough for promoters.

By now, you might be wondering how watered-down lyrics and plastic supermodels equal punk. To put it simply, the very act of listening to anything that isn’t traditional music is an act of defiance in China. The genre of punk and the identities of the singers often boil down to “This is not Chinese.” If it’s not Chinese, it’s “Western.” If it’s Western, it’s not traditional, and it’s therefore subversive. Even the iconic punk style has received a makeover thanks to this amalgamation of all things Western. Fans will wear denim jeans and clothing with English phrases emblazoned across them as a roundabout way to show their love for the American lifestyle.

The Most Legit Punk Shows Go Underground

If you’re still worried these concerts sound fatally not-punk, take comfort in knowing that some shows ignore every regulation. Rather than going through the proper official channels, artists slap shows together and hope to high heaven that they don’t get caught.

Of course, advertising an illegal concert is super risky, so promoters take a very DIY approach to generating buzz. Flyers passed at shows drum up excitement for the next gig. Super secretive magazines provide info. “No names are included on zines,” says Lt. Bugs, “because, again, you have to get gov permission to distribute any sort of media. So nobody wants their name attached to an unofficial print.” The band shared an example of an underground magazine promoting local shows.

That’s all very cute and 1980s, but this is 2018, so of course online advertising is a thing. For Chinese punk acts, ads are usually images, because JPEGs are a lot harder than text for censors to read and flag. And because illegal promoters can’t advertise via normal channels, things get pretty creative. Shore Leave once got a whole audience together through Tantan, China’s Tinder. “We spent a couple weeks before our ship landed talking to girls and guys online on the app,” says The Captain. “Told them to meet us for a drink at the bar we were playing at.” 50 lonely Chinese singles showed up at the bar that night and were converted to punk fans.

Despite all the measures to avoid government attention, illegal shows still feel the wrath of censors from time to time. Usually it’s when a rival venue sees an opportunity to take out some of the competition. “That happened to an expat bar where they didn’t file for an entertainment license for an open mic comedy show,” says Lt. Bugs. “The place got raided. Some bartenders got fired for not having work visas. The bar got fined.” This put the fear of the law into them, and the place never hosted a show again.

Small Towns Are Hearing Punk (And Seeing Foreigners) For The First Time

Like we said, there’s a heavy focus on traditional music in China. Rebellious youth have also grown fond of rap and hip-hop, but these genres aren’t always gateways to the wider world. For starters, there are those pesky bans on seditious lyrics. And then some of China’s most popular rap songs are so damn patriotic that they go all the way to the other side and become inflammatory toward all outsiders. Take this lovely gem, which starts out with the phrases “stupid foreigners” and “fuck your mothers.”

You’d think the government would clamp down on that sort of thing, but it’s possible that Chinese censors aren’t 100 percent consistent with their standards.

Rock is new to many Chinese audiences, and so are foreigners. It’s not unusual for a punk band to perform for an audience that has literally never heard rock music before … or seen a white person up close and personal. “There’s almost a freak show element, in that some people just come to see foreigners, regardless of the music,” says The Captain. When people approach band members after shows, they often don’t talk about the music. “They just run through some conversational cues to practice their English.”

Because of this novelty, punk bands often find themselves sandwiched between bigger acts, like those aforementioned traditional Chinese performers. This means any hip youngsters looking to stick it to the man are forced to share space with chess-playing grandpas who want to hear the bamboo flute music they grew up with. “The promoter,” says The Captain, recalling one such show, “told us that the old men at the bar were complaining about the punk bands: ‘The singers can’t sing!’ The age gap between the two audiences present was obvious.”

But hiding in the sea of grumpy old men and wide-eyed punk rock virgins is a handful of rebellious youth who absolutely understand the point of the genre, even if they don’t understand the lyrics. “This one girl,” says Lt. Bugs, “who knew a little bit of English, kept buying us rounds of Tsingtao and baijiu shots and saying ‘revolution revolution’ over and over to us.” She never quite figured out the group’s actual name, so she called them the “revolution band.” And really, there was no reason to correct her.

Shore Leave appeared in a documentary on this subject alongside Bill Stevenson (Black Flag, The Descendents) and Steve Terreberry. Watch it online for free. Listen to their music and buy their album to support them here. Fight the power with Carolyn on Twitter and Instagram.

Share your own weird life experiences with Cracked here.

Support Cracked’s journalism with a visit to our Contribution Page. Please and thank you.

For more on the crazy overseas life, check out The 4 Strangest Things Nobody Tells You About Life in China and 5 Insane Facts Of Life In Rural China.

Also, follow us on Facebook, Punk.

Read more: http://www.cracked.com/personal-experiences-2502-life-as-american-punk-band-in-china.html

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riffrelevant · 7 years ago

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(By Taylor Waring, Staff Writer, RiffRelevant.com)

[Editor’s intro] Philadelphia, PA’s Heavy Temple started in 2012, and the past couple of years have settled in rather well with a new lineup. These changes have done nothing but strengthen this Temple’s already solid foundation.

I’ve had the opportunity to see Heavy Temple perform live twice, both times at festival appearances in states other than our own. Both times they were well-received by a ‘stranger’ crowd, but it was at Psycho Las Vegas 2017 where I watched them truly win over the house during their set. Relatively unknown at this second annual festival, Heavy Temple had some already well-warmed, tired ears to command attention from late on Day 3 of a four-day festival.

Initially, there were a few skeptics hovering anonymously in the back of the room, a little noisy, a little drunk, borderline annoying. Three songs into the HT set, I looked for this crew of potential hecklers and they were gone. Gone deep into the Temple – eyes and ears fixed on that stage. They were never to be heard again… until each song was over. I smiled as I watched them roar out their appreciation. They were hooked. (Photos of their Psycho Las Vegas set are below.)

That’s what Heavy Temple does. They lure, hook, and reel you in with a full performance. Sure, they can play, but that SHOW they give you! The performance displays not only their ability, not mere hope that you enjoy it, but making 100% damned certain that THEY are having a blast as they belt out tune after tune. You can’t help but enjoy it. Do not miss your chance to witness it.

Taylor spent some time talking with ‘Nighthawk‘ about their 2017 album Chassit, and upcoming appearances at FireBreather Fest and Descendants Of Crom (both sponsored by Riff Relevant). Listen on the Bandcamp stream below while you read on! ~ Leanne

Heavy Temple is:

High Priestess Nighthawk (Bass, Vocals) Thunderhorse (Guitar) SirenTempestas (Drums)

TAYLOR WARING: I think Heavy Temple’s cover of “Love You to Death” is sick. Could you chat about how that came about? Any other covers you’d like to do, or have thrown into your live sets?

HEAVY TEMPLE: It took a long time for me to fully appreciate Type O Negative. But then I met someone and was like, “Ooooh, this is how I’m supposed to feel when I listen to October Rust“. So, what started as a Valentine’s gift turned into this cover. I started just fooling around on the piano, but then I decided to make a full arrangement with cello and some other synths.

As for other covers, I’d say at least once a week someone says, “Hey, we should cover that” [laughs]. So, maybe if we manage to get all the licensing rights from the two-dozen or so songs that have been thrown out there, we’ll do a tribute album.

TAYLOR WARING: Speaking of covers, could you tell me about the cover art of Chassit? It’s got a lot of wild imagery going on.

HEAVY TEMPLE: Chassit is named after a word in the High Speech from the Dark Tower. More or less, it means ‘everything is fucked up’. It’s also synonymous with the number 19.

I started writing the album after the first lineup disintegrated and I was deep in the middle of the Stephen King series. I asked the artist (Jake Van Der Linde) to include relevant imagery from the seven books, that people who have read them could identify. The zodiac on the back cover we decided to include, but revamp, since there was one in the artwork for the self-titled EP, as well.

So, I guess the album art is basically a little treat for those who’ve completed the nearly insurmountable task of finishing all seven books. And let’s be honest, it just looks cool.

TAYLOR WARING: Your Facebook profile says you’re from Jupiter. How did you build a temple on Jupiter? Also, is that bass actually made out of a star?

HEAVY TEMPLE: The Temple was always there. It just needed a few brave souls to inhabit it. But, I can say that the price tag on fuel is astronomical. (See what I did there?) As for the bass, it doubles as our spaceship. Just add water.

TAYLOR WARING: What are your post-Chassit plans? Any new tunes in the works?

HEAVY TEMPLE: We are planning on finishing up writing and recording the new album as soon as humanly possible.

TAYLOR WARING: You’re set to perform at both the FireBreather Fest in April (Indianapolis) and Descendants of Crom in the Fall (Pittsburgh). What piques your interest the most about playing each of these festivals? What bands are you most stoked to share the stage with at each event?

HEAVY TEMPLE: [FireBreather] We had a great time at Doomed and Stoned Fest the first year, so we’re excited to go back to Indy. We worked with Drew Smith of Archarus when he ran the backline, and have no qualms about working with him again. We’ll be reunited with Toke (who played the first D&S. as well), and Horseburner – who we haven’t seen in almost two years. And we’re looking forward to catching Greenbeard, but the whole bill is pretty stacked.

[Descendants Of Crom] This will be our first time at DoC. The line up looked great last year, as it does this year. With both of these festivals, we really dig that there are more and more folks putting on smaller festivals in the states. Europe is full of them, and while we have things like Psycho Las Vegas, and Levitation in Austin, it’s nice that there are more and more events cropping up in all regions.

As for which bands on Descendants Of Crom we’re most stoked on, it’s hard to say. We haven’t played with too many of the bands on this year’s line up, so we’re excited to check out some stuff that’s new to our eyes and ears. Although we’d be remiss in not mentioning that Thunderbird Divine are our homies from the City of Brotherly Love.

TAYLOR WARING: We’ve seen your skills at corpse face painting from some of your band photos and aware that some of your Halloween costumes are nearing legend status… What’s been your favorite costumes you’ve each come up with in the past few years?

HEAVY TEMPLE: We have yet to attend a Halloween party all together, but I’m particularly proud of my Lemmy costume. And as for Thunderhorse, any excuse to wear corpse paint. Tempest is on the waitlist to join ICP.

TAYLOR WARING: Anything else exciting on the horizon for Heavy Temple?

We’re way stoked to be playing Muddy Roots Festival in August, camping out at Shadow Woods Metal Fest again, and we have a few other things up our sleeves that we can’t mention just yet, but we think you’ll be pleased.

Heavy Temple Upcoming Tour Dates:

2/23 – Brooklyn, NY – Lucky 13 (w/Wolfhand, Witchkiss, Neither God nor Master)

2/24 – Bethlehem, PA – Funhouse (w/Goat Wizard, Haze Mage)

3/23 – Philadelphia, PA – Ortlieb’s (w/High Reeper [Release Show], Hound)

3/31 – Harrisburg, PA – HMAC (w/Black Pussy, 91s, Stone Cold Killer)

4/12 – Pittsburgh, PA – Howlers (w/Horehound, Urns)

4/14 – Indianapolis, IN – FIREBREATHER FESTIVAL

Heavy Temple on:

Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Bandcamp / Spotify

Heavy Temple at Psycho Las Vegas 2017 –

Photos by Leanne Ridgeway (click any photo to open gallery)

Interview with HEAVY TEMPLE – Appearing at FIREBREATHER FEST & DESCENDANTS OF CROM; Tour Dates; Live Photos @PsychoLasVegas (By Taylor Waring, Staff Writer, RiffRelevant.com) Philadelphia, PA's Heavy Temple started in 2012, and the past couple of years have settled in rather well with a new lineup.

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podcastcoach · 8 years ago

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This is Your Podcast Wake Up Call

Here it is 2017. Congratulations you made it through another year. Some of you were going to start podcasting last year, some of you go back to 2015. Some of you, are going back even further. Today I want to give you some ideas and strategies to launching your first podcast.

What Do You Need To Start Your Podcast

An idea

A microphone

A media host

A website (optional, but STRONGLY encouraged)

Some artwork for iTunes

A description

To get into itunes you need one live episode.

Take A Mulligan

So here is a strategy that some people on accident, and you can do on purpose. I call it "The Mulligan." This comes from golf. When you hit a bad shot, you call that shot your mulligan, and you throw down your new ball and swing again. It is basically a do over. Some very popular podcasters like Hall of Fame Podcaster Mignon Fogherty, Lauria Petruci, even Adam Curry (who helped invent podcasting) didn't hit pay dirt till he was on his THIRD podcast. So start a podcast about anything, it doesn't. You could do a podcast about the weather in your city, just to go through the motions and learn the tech. Once you've got it down, cancel everything, delete all the files, and go back and do one for real. Take a mulligan on purpose.

When I played in bands, often the best recordings were the one where the engineer told us he wasn't recording. There was no pressure we were just doing a sound check. With no pressure we often would come up with a great "take" and end the song and say "I wish we would've recorded that" (and luckily in some cases they did). If you start out with a show you don't care about you can get a show up and see it really doesn't take that much to record and publish a show. (Getting people to listen is really the hard part).

What About The Expense?

I graduated from the University of Akron with a Bachelor's Degree in Education specializing in Technical Education. Just the books for a semester are an estimated $450. The actual classes are $5473 semester (typically three months) if you're going full time (Source). When you sink $100-$300 into a podcast (FOR A LIFETIME), that is a small investment. Moving forward your will be spending $30 a month (typically). Cut out a few sodas and snicker's bars and you've got your money. Keep in mind, The money you are spending is an investment in you.

But What If You Want To Actually Take a Real Swing?

You've probably heard about S.M.A.R.T. Goals. This stands for

Specific Measurable Actionable Realistic Time Bound

So instead of "I want to start a podcast." You need to get more specific.

I want to start a podcast about Raising Llamas . This is more specific, but I'd like a little more specifics and some time.

I will Google other Llama podcasts to see what names might be available by January 15th.

Michael Hyatt (one of my favorite Authors - I read Platform every January) has a "Best Year Ever" course and he throws in two more items.

Exciting - You wouldn't set a goal that bores you.

Relevant - I'm going to do a daily show, even though I have two jobs, a wife, and a set of twins.

By adding these two, you are creating smarter goals.

Why Should I Podcast?

You have something to say: You're yelling at the dashboard in the car, or swearing outloud in the super market as you think, "ugh I could do this better.." Here are some more.

You want to be seen as an expert

You want to reach a global audience

You want to build a community

You want to sharpen your presentation skills

You want to build your brand

You want to promote your products

You want to boost your speaking career

You want to have fun with like minded people

You want to make some additional income.

But, But, But, But......

I'm not sure exactly what format. - - Your Podcast is a recipe - not a statue

I hate my voice - This is normal as your are hearing your voice for the first time through your ears (only) with no vibrations from your skull.

I'm not a nerd - Yet you attach files to emails, turn down the volume in the car, press record on the DVR (so you know file management, audio mixing, and recording)

I might look stupid - It's not radio. It's not live. The only way you will sound stupid is if you release something that sounds stupid.

People might say negative things - Every day people say negative things about your driving, etc. Yet you still drive. Don't let your fear stop you from doing the thing you love.

Did you give out presents this year at Christmas? We are not always 100% sure they were going to be loved? Yet, we give them anyway.

Here is a little truth, when you first start, nobody is listening anyway.

Don't think about the thousands of people listening (cause it's not ) think about talking to ONE person. While helping one person may not change the world, it could change the world for that one person.

Some of My Favorite Quotes on Starting

You don't have to be great to start, but you do have to start to be great. -Zig Ziglar

When you want something you've never had, you have to do something you've never done. -Thomas Jefferson

The distance between dreams and reality is called action -Anonymous

Don't wait until you are ready to take action. Instead take action to be ready. -Jensen Siaw

Don't talk, just act. Don't Say, just show. Don't promise just prove. -Unknown

Winners are not people who never fail, but people who never quit. -Edwin Louis Cole

An inch of movement will bring you closer to your goals than a mile of intention. - Dr. Steve Marraboli

The best way to get started is to quit talking & begin doing - Walt Disney

Take Some Action

Notice something about the following words

Attraction Satisfaction Interaction Reaction Traction

If want to get a reaction, that is satisfying, and gets some traction towards your goals, you have to TAKE ACTION.

The start is what stops most people. Week after week I get people who are telling stories of things they couldn't have done if they hadn't started podcasting. So today I urge you to start something right now that your future self will thank you for. Stop worrying about what could go wrong, and start focusing on what could go right. Don't let your fear decide your future.

What you do is not who you are. If you say, "But I'm just a (insert your job)." That's WHAT you do, but WHO YOU ARE is a MESSENGER with something to say because you know there are people who could benefit from it.

Sometimes the worst place you can be is in your own head. Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.

Because of My Podcast: Edward O'Donnell

Ed is the host of In The Past Lane http://apple.co/1UBr3yD which is a podcast about history.

Because of my podcast - 1. I've been able to interview Pulitzer Prize winning historians about their latest work. History Nerdapaloosa. 2. my college (the real job) just built me a new state of the art podcast studio! It's not just for me, of course, but because I was up and running as a podcaster it spurred them to do it. 3. I've been invited by Chris K to be part of PodFest 2017 (day 1). 4. I snared an audition for a new program on The History Channel - in part because they checked out my podcast and seemed convinced that I'd be funny and free spirited and not just knowledgeable about history. If anything comes of this, it will certainly be my big time "because of my podcast" story!

Mentioned in this Podcast

Start podcasting at the School of Podcasting

Speakermatch (service to help speakers find events to speak at )

Gleason Documentary on Amazon

Podfest Podcast Podcasting Event in Orlando Florida (coupon code Dave)

Podcast Movement podcasting event (use coupon code sop10)

Podcast Baby Steps Free Video Podcasting Course

Check out this episode!

#podcasting #podcast #coaching #new media

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4evafitstore · 5 years ago

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Beats Wireless Earbuds PowerBeats Pro | True Bass Earbuds

Overview

Release Date May 2019 Price $249.95 Bluetooth 5.0 weight Earbuds: 21 grams Model Number PowerBeats Pro Waterproof IPX4 Check Price On Amazon

Physical Features

water resistance

Mic, Buttons & voice commands

Bluetooth & Apple H1 Chip

Battery & charging case

Powerbeats Pro Check On Amazon

Audio Quality Noise Canceling

Powerbeats Pro True Bass

#bluethoothheadphones #earbuds #noisecancelingearbuds #powerbeatspro #wirelessearbuds

0 notes

4evafitstore · 5 years ago

Text

Beats Wireless Earbuds PowerBeats Pro | True Bass Earbuds

Overview

Release Date May 2019 Price $249.95 Bluetooth 5.0 weight Earbuds: 21 grams Model Number PowerBeats Pro Waterproof IPX4 Check Price On Amazon

Physical Features

water resistance

Mic, Buttons & voice commands

Bluetooth & Apple H1 Chip

Battery & charging case

Powerbeats Pro Check On Amazon

Audio Quality Noise Canceling

Powerbeats Pro True Bass

#bluethoothheadphones #earbuds #noisecancelingearbuds #powerbeatspro #wirelessearbuds

0 notes

lukeysgirl · 7 years ago

Text

The Note Tree ❋ L.H. Pt.4

Part F O U R

Word Count: 3k+

AN: back again with another part! im so sorry this series is slow due to the notes thing, it’s kinda a bummer aha. ill be more lenient and release them regardless of the note count sometimes. but as usual, lets try n hit 100. also to everyone who is so supportive and reblogging this more than once: ya’ll are the real MVPs aha im so glad you guys like this series :) xx

I M A G I N E

Thursday

“I told you that I owed you. I never said when we could talk about it.”

At the brink of your literacy period, first period, was the infamous blonde with ocean eyes. Luke had sat across from you on the oak wood table, his hands planted nicely on the glossed object. His hair was curly, as usual, with locks of gold shining from the ceiling lights. He was wearing a slightly ripped Blink-182 shirt with the usual black skinny jeans and converse. He stared at you curiously, like he’s never seen you before.

“But now is a good time, is it not?” Luke asked, a smile forming on his lips as you put your book down to rest and stared at him. You couldn’t help but feel a twinge of annoyance just staring at the pompous boy before you.

“It’s way too early, Hemmings,” you began tiredly, a yawn escaping your mouth. “It takes a lot of energy to put up with you at times, and I have little to no energy right now.”

“Hey man, I forced a paper cut on myself to cover you,” Luke pointed out, showing off his hand. The cut was now covered by a Hello Kitty bandaid, with the cat herself in a nurse outfit. “It’d be nice if you can give me some of the energy when I want it.”

“Fucks sake,” you muttered, stuffing a piece of paper in the page you left off at and closed your book. “For one thing, I didn’t ask for you to cover for me. Also, of all ways to cover me, why the hell would you give yourself a paper cut?”

“I covered for you because I know how much you care about your attendance,” Luke said softly, having your expression soften to a more ponderous look. “You never, ever want to be seen as a tardy student, so I respect that greatly and just want to help–”

“I don’t need your help,” you quickly interjected, but Luke was quick to drop that.

“For the paper cut, I thought it’d be more comical,” Luke said simply, having you shake your head with a small smile. You had to admit: Luke is quite silly, and that makes him fairly endearing. “Can’t lack any chance to be me, ya know?”

“Of course,” you said simply, still retaining your soft smile for a few brief moments before straightening your lips. “So, about me owing you–”

“You look really beautiful when you smile like that.” Eh?! You looked up at Luke, seeing him smile fondly at you. His sudden words left you slightly speechless. Blood surged to your cheeks, staring into his ocean blue eyes to see the audacity.

“Don’t be so candid!” You exclaimed, looking away to allow your embarrassment to slowly dissolve. Luke put his arms up in defense, a smug smile painting his lips as he did. You wanted to punch it right off his face, but you couldn’t. After all, that dude did cover for you willingly. “A-anyways, what do you want?”

“That’s quite the offer, Y/N,” Luke began, sitting back in his seat while folding his arms together. “I desire a lot of things, but obviously there’s a limit.”

“Nothing sexual or stupid, alright?” You vaguely specified, having Luke squint his eyes in contemplation. You then watch as he reached down for his bag, shifted a bit inside, and conjured a piece of paper.

“Here.”

You took the paper and held it up, reading the contents of it. You noticed a list of band names, and beside them, times. There were details of the location, including the venue name and the street number. Blues, reds and blacks were splashed all over it, having your index finger rub down the names as you compared the colors to your skin.

“We’re having a concert this Saturday,” Luke informed as you continued staring at the paper. He brought his finger to the paper, staring attentively at the page as he pointed to a time. The row of that time held the band name 5 Seconds of Summer. “We’re on at 1 A.M. Michael was handing them out like a maniac the other day. It seems like you didn’t know?”

“Oh, I did know about the performance,” you said simply, putting the flyer on the desk to begin folding it. “I wasn’t paying attention when the boys came to talk to the girls about it. I was half asleep.”

“As usual?”

“Mm.” You filed the paper in your backpack. Luke watched you attentively, his arm bent and leaned against the desk with his head leaning against his forearm. He stared at you, having your heart stop for a brief moment. “What?” You asked, glaring at his obnoxious behavior.

“So is that a yes that you’re coming?” Luke chimed, his eyes full of hope and anticipation. You let out a sigh, thinking for a moment before slowly nodding. “Wait, like actually?”

“We can pinkie swear on it,” you began, swallowing harshly as you put your pinkie up.

“You… you still do that kinda stuff?” Luke commented, his pink, chapped lips parting to stare at you in wander. You found yourself blushing again, really hating the fact that Luke Hemmings was putting you in this flustered position. “That’s damn cute, Y/N.”

“Just shut up and swear already!”

Without hesitation, Luke’s pinkie found itself wrapped around yours. You felt the roughness of his skin, the thickness and callouses dancing around your pinkie due to his guitar playing. A few seconds pass and you attempt to let go of his grip, but his pinkie was strongly attached to yours. You stared at Luke, questioning his deal. But he just gazed distantly at you, seeming unaware as to what he was doing.

“You… can let go now,” you murmured, watching as he quickly reeled his pinkie back and began blushing. You rolled your eyes, curious as to why he was embarrassed. He then quickly placed his hands behind his neck, scratching the nape with his light, blonde locks.

“Anyways, how did it go with the tree? Did you go?”

“Oh, yeah I did,” you said simply, feeling your cheeks smudge slightly with blush. You took your book back in your hands, allowing your eyes to fall to it to occupy your sight. You traced the dents worth of the title, feeling the smooth, fake-gold print on it. “It went well, more or less. Didn’t meet the stalker but he left kind words on notes for me. He was the reason you covered for me.” You revealed an accidental soft smile that made Luke widen his eyes a bit.

“I see this stalker is somehow advancing better than me,” Luke began. You tilted your head up to stare at the boy attentively. He leaned back into the chair and threw his head back. You watch his Adams Apple bob up when gulping. “Ah, he’s making it so difficult…”

You hadn’t bothered to question his words. Luke was always one to say things that were deemed empty for you. Not that you hadn’t cared, but you didn’t know what he meant and knew he was only going to dodge telling you. But he was acting somewhat annoyed, which doesn’t seem like a trait Luke would own. Mister popular, irresistible, and ecstatic Luke Hemmings isn’t someone to get annoyed, but rather be the one who is annoying.

“Anyways, where are your boyfriends?” You asked, watching as Luke regained himself and leaned his elbows onto the desk again. His large hands held his head up by the jawline as he began blowing away his curly locks from his eyes.

“Probably with your girlfriends,” Luke said with a shrug. “Where are your girlfriends?”

“Probably with your boyfriends,” you mocked, having Luke roll his eyes before chuckling. You then rose, picking up your bag to put it on. “I’m gonna go to Mr. Tanners to reprimand him over bad choice in history study.”

“But Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue in fourteen hundred ninety two, Y/N!” Luke exclaimed as you picked up the literature on Christopher Columbus’s voyages.

“He also thought he ‘discovered’ India when he actually ‘discovered’ America,” you hummed annoyingly as you used one of your hands to curl your index and middle fingers when saying discovered. Luke chuckled, watching as you took your leave from the library.

You were at the cherry tree once more. And this time, with a watch wrapped around your wrist.

With your legs bend into a pretzel, you seated yourself on the soft grass. Right in front of you was the math textbook you were analyzing. It was open to a page that resided in the 200s with a sandwich on the page (courtesy of Alexis’ mother.) Your bag, in it’s sky blue glory, was sprawled just above the textbook, unzipped and still. Then, in your hands, were the notes of the day. There were only 4, but each one held words of sentiment that made you just a little happy. Just a little.

Note 1: You look so beautiful today. You were practically radiating. I’ve never seen you smile so much before until now.

Note 2: I honestly hope it were by my words. Not because I think you have low self-esteem, but because I like seeing your smile. Your lips are perfect, I want to see it to everything.

Note 3: Stretching out a smile so much that it hurts your cheeks. I want to see them be parted slightly from shocked expressions. I want to see them pucker up together to make mockery of the duck face. I want to see you touch them being touched by your fingers when you read or trapped in some sort of thought.

You smiled widely at the way your stalker tried so hard to make all his words fit into one piece of paper. His letters were more put in order rather than the messy, barely-legible handwriting he owned. His words were stretched longer by length and shrunk in size in order to fit his words of sentiment. And you honestly appreciated it.

Note 4: I’ll start telling you stuff about me that not many know. I really adore penguins, I think they’re the cutest, flightless birds ever. Okay, so now that I’ve told you something about me, do you mind telling me something about you? Something I wouldn’t expect?

You smiled widely at this. This boy enjoyed the penguin, even though it was flightless. It really gave you an idea about this boy. He must be someone who doesn’t care if someone lacks in something vital that supposedly labels them. A penguin can be flightless, but they don’t lack in being fantastic caretakers and clever hunters. It made you further your curiosity over this stalker.

You stuffed the notes in your pocket before looking up at the tangling piece of paper hung from the branch. You got yourself on your feet, feeling grass get stuck on the back of your thighs due to the jean shorts you wore for the day. While you used your hands to brush the green flecks off, you walked towards the note and cautiously opened it. On the top of one of the bends, it read: You can also request anything you’d like that isn’t revealing my identity.

You thought a lot as you held the note, yanking it kindly to get the sharpie down to the grass. You bent down to pick it up, straightening up once more to hold the note. You nibbled at your lower lip kindly, glancing down at your watch to be weary of the time. You then realized what you wanted but wanted to give away something more personal. Something that would maybe push him to be more personal as well.

I am a very sad person, stalker dude. I won’t tell you the reason just yet (if we’re lucky enough for a yet) but I will admit that your singing makes me smile. Nobody has ever sung a song to me before, even if it wasn’t to convey feelings for me like a cheesy romance flick. So instead of me coming to the tree tomorrow, maybe you can sing during my English class. Like before.

You had mentally thanked this boy for providing you with one of those thin sharpies, because you hadn’t realized how much you wrote. You subconsciously wrote small due to lack of space. Placing the sharpie on the ground, you lifted your wrist to check the watch.

Oh fuck! You were urgent to stuff all of your things and put them in the bag, keeping the sandwich in your hand. You began dashing away from the tree, finding Des back at the school ground with an unfamiliar face. And although it was a bit blurry, you can tell Des was fuming as she glared at the boy.

As you began slower and noticed your pace gaining progress, you noticed this boy was far taller than Des. But then again, who isn’t? His head of hair was chestnut, and in the sun it looks like a lovely kind orange, like one of the inside bark of a tree. His eyes were not too easy to see, but they were a generic set of blue eyes, one incomparable to, for example, Lukes. He was handsome, you give the boy that much, with his simple sharp nose and salmon-colored lips.

“If you’re annoying my friend, you really should back off now,” you said simply, panting to regain your breath. You dusted yourself off a bit, unsure if you had any more bits of grass stuck on you. “I’m not in the mood to use so much energy on an entity like yourself.”

“Calm down, Y/N, I haven’t been harassing your girlfriend here,” the boy joked, having you roll your eyes. Des shoved him a bit, receiving more laughter from him as she folded her arms and glared at him.

“I’m not her girlfriend,” Des muttered, having you smirk at her baby-like behavior. “I ain’t gay–”

“And dating is a lot of energy,” you continued for her, having Des shove you playfully in response. The boy looked down at the both of you, slightly nodding. “Anyhow, how do you know my name? Have we met before?”

“Seriously, Y/N?” The boy said, his cheeks developing in pink as he looked down at you. “Y/N, we’ve literally had all the same classes in freshman year. We sat right next to each other that entire year.” You then realized and parted your lips slightly.

“Oh, Holland,” you began, addressing him by his last name. “Nathan Holland, right?”

“Right,” Nathan nodded, his blue eyes softening over the fact that you recalled his name. “It’s been a while, no? 3 years in the same school and we haven’t interacted since. How unfortunate, yeah?”

“It’s not my job to keep up with people I know little to nothing about and can’t be asked to care about,” you said simply as you turned and began walking for the door. “It’s your fault for not trying then, if it personally affects you.”

“As cold as ever I see,” Nathan attempted with a chuckle, having you blatantly ignore his words as Des clung to your side. Her arm wrapped around yours, having you watch as she glanced back at Nathan following us. “So what’s the deal with you and that tree, Y/N?”

“Do you ever shut the fuck up, Nathan?” Des growled, rolling her eyes in annoyance as she walked you to your classroom. Luckily the halls were still a bit crowded, so you knew you weren’t going to be late. No required rush. You were just a few feet from the doorway of your Anatomy class until the infamous blonde asshole blocked your access.

“Seriously,” you muttered with a sigh, looking up as Luke gave you a suggestive grin. He looked over at Des and gave her a wave, in which she rolled her eyes but smiled at his stupid, smug look. But then his ocean eyes darkened like a storm when he rose them up to the other tall, lanky boy behind you.

“Lucas! Buddy! How you doin’?” Nathan played off, a wide smile painted on his lips to flaunt his white teeth. But when you looked at Luke, he was practically fuming. His lips pursed into a straight line, his jawline clenching in disturbance as he stared at the boy offering his hand for a handshake. “Okay then,” Nathan uttered awkwardly, clenching his hand into a fist before dropping it.

“Go away.” You were a little shocked to hear the cool, super chill Luke Hemmings telling someone to go away. You always figured that guy got along with everyone (and he does). But this one character must be his limit. But why?

“Calm down, Hemmings. I haven’t made any moves yet,” Nathan began, having Luke scoff before Nathan allowed himself to tilt his head down to you. “It’s nice to finally meet your eyes again, Y/N. See you around?”

“I suppose,” you responded nonchalantly. With that, Nathan gave you a wink before giving Des and Luke a mere wave. He turned and took his leave, shoving his hands in his pockets before losing himself in the midst of fellow classmates.

“See you later, babes?” Des caught your attention, nodding at her with a smile before watching her disappear, too. You then turned to see Luke now leaning on one side of the door frame. You walked in, rolling your eyes at the annoying boy as you took your seat.

“What’s with the attitude?” You asked Luke, audible enough while he trailed you and took his seat beside you. He piled his arms together before lying his head in his arms once more. “Are you hungry again? So much so that you own an attitude?”

“‘You’re not you when you’re hungry,’“ Luke joked, giving you his usual smile as he closed his eyes. You looked back down at your hands, seeing the two hold onto the plastic-sealed sandwich. You threw it at him, listening as the food slapped his cheek. He sat up and took the wrapped sandwich in his hand. He studied it curiously before looking over to you.

“It’s a homemade BLT, relax,” you said simply, retrieving your materials from your bag as Ms. Lee entered the classroom. You prepared your pens and pencils, with the Bic pen you had stolen only days ago. As you prepare your fresh, new page for notes, you glance over to watch Luke eat the sandwich graciously. He loved it, not even dare hesitating to eat where you left your bites. Luke was hungry, that was evident, but he also ate with some sort of thought. He kept a smile on his face as he did, as if the sandwich was the greatest thing he’s ever had.

Whether it was because you had gifted it to him or not was beyond you, but for some odd reason, you felt slightly happy that Luke had been eating it contently.

ahhh im back at it again! please lemme know whatcha think right over here and ill see ya in chapter 5 xx

124 notes · View notes

4evafitstore · 5 years ago

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0 notes

4evafitstore · 5 years ago

Text

Beats Wireless Earbuds PowerBeats Pro | True Bass Earbuds

Overview

Release Date May 2019 Price $249.95 Bluetooth 5.0 weight Earbuds: 21 grams Model Number PowerBeats Pro Waterproof IPX4 Check Price On Amazon

Physical Features

water resistance

Mic, Buttons & voice commands

Bluetooth & Apple H1 Chip

Battery & charging case

Powerbeats Pro Check On Amazon

Audio Quality Noise Canceling

Powerbeats Pro True Bass

#bluethoothheadphones #earbuds #noisecancelingearbuds #powerbeatspro #wirelessearbuds

0 notes

trendingnewsb · 7 years ago

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Life As An American Punk Band in China

Every Show Is A Battle Between The Performers And The Censors

China started cracking down extra hard on concerts in 2013, and it was all Elton John’s fault.