#what does my mom like? big band and elvis
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emblazonet ¡ 11 months ago
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OK SO the other day I shared some contemporary slovak folk rock music with my mom in an attempt to Connect Over Shared Culture or something. I don't know.
She returns with a laughing emoji and 'We used to sing these songs as kids, but this sounds like Bollywood!!??!!!'
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sorry, it. It what? wat
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And I've been wracking my brain for days trying to figure out why in fuck she thinks Hrdza sounds like Bollywood.
And I thiiiiink it's because contemporary Slavic folk uses more ornamentation and it's giving her eastern vibes, despite the fact that I'm fairly sure Hrdza isn't going into microtones or anything. (I'm not a music person with any formal training, so I can't tell!). The ornamentation is probably more inline with medieval singing, which was microtonal and probably sounded a lot more like Middle Eastern and Indian vocal music to our ear. (Something that makes racists online mad af. Cry babies, cry.)
Then I remember she fucking hated all the (non-microtonal) medieval music I've ever tried to share with her on account of it being 'creepy.' And also, inexplicably, she hates the Carol of the Bells. Which is a Ukrainian tune and relatively recent! Yeah. There's no connecting with her over music at all.
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wanderinstar ¡ 1 month ago
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Hello, again!
Yes is a band that I’ve liked what I’ve heard so far, and have gotten to know superficially.  They’re among a bunch of bands that I know one day, I’m really going to love, but I just haven’t fully gotten there yet.  Bread, I haven’t really listened to yet, but I have heard of.  They are one I probably should get to know, since I’ve seen them under recommendations on music listening apps whenever I listen to Dan Fogelberg, my beloved.  I’ve never heard of Rare Bird, though, so now I’m curious to learn a bit about them!
As for my favorites, I grew up from very early childhood on The Beatles, Steely Dan, and The Moody Blues, and they’re sort of comfort bands/artists I can always go back to. I also listened to Elvis Costello and Squeeze a lot as a kid, on the more new-wave and pop side of things, and they’re always such a joy to listen to.  Bands I got into later, I went through massive hypes with.  Boston, Cheap Trick, Heart, Styx, and Foreigner are what I call the “big five” of bands I first really researched back in my pre-teen years.  They started the process of discovering all my favorites, so even though not all of them are my top favorites now, they remain special.  Supertramp, Blue Oyster Cult, Deep Purple, and The Who, I got to know better later on, and have also become bands I love with all my heart.  Pink Floyd technically is in there, too, although they occasionally turn me off with their drama.  And there’s more bands in that same list with Yes, waiting for when I’m ready to do a deep dive with them.  I’d say Chicago, The Cars, Dire Straits, and The Police are up near the top and closest to becoming fully loved.  More recently, the new-wave style bands have really had most of my attention, and Crowded House graduated from that list and are now a major favorite.  So, it’s really an ongoing thing, and the bands sort of tell me when I’m ready for them -usually when I’m casually listening, something just hits differently than it has before, and I just know.  To list all my favorites at the different stages would probably be a laundry list of over 20, or maybe over 30 bands by now!  But I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I love the baking around the holidays, too!  Mostly for the family time.  I’m really hoping this year, baking gets to be a family event like it usually is.  Last year, both my parents got Covid right before I had final exams at graduate school.  So once just enough days had passed for it to be safe enough for me to come home, I did all our baking for the upcoming family events by myself, as the only person who hadn’t been sick. It just wasn’t the same, being alone and masked up in the kitchen, instead of us all in it together, watching movies while we work.  I’ve not heard of farofa, but it does look tasty!  Is it savory, aside from the raisins?  I have had panettone, though -it’s especially a favorite on my mom’s side of the family, which is Italian.  I was born in the United States, so I’m American, but my mom was born in Italy, and I had the experience of Italian grandparents growing up.  It sure shaped a lot of how we celebrated Christmas on that side of the family.  But I also really love going over and celebrating with my dad’s side of the family on Christmas Eve.  My aunt usually hosts, and she’s just been a wonderful person to look up to all my life.  And she and my uncle go out like no other with the decorations and festivities.  Even on years when it’s not been the greatest holiday season, walking into their house on Christmas Eve, everything is always happy for a few hours no matter what.
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Oh, I don't think I've ever listened to Dan Fogelberg, do you have a favorite album of his you can recommend me?
Rare Bird really isn't much well-known, which, in my opinion, is unfair. They only have five albums, my favorite being Somebody's Watching, the one that introduced me to their music. As for Bread, some people don't like them much because they have many, idk, mellow, romantic songs? But I think they are amazing. I think it's possible you've already heard Baby I'm-a Want You, Make It With You, or maybe Guitar Man, and they're all great examples of the sound I'm talking about. But they have some great more rockier songs as well, like Tecolote, for example. Yes, on the other hand, is highly celebrated and it's no wonder! They introduced me to Prog and showed me a song can be really long and not boring at all haha! But I 100% understand what you said about a band telling you when you're ready for them, it's the same for me as well.
Oh, I love many of the bands you mentioned! I think I would put The Moody Blues, Supertramp and Blue Öyster Cult among my top favorites as well. And Crowded House too! One of their songs is really big here (Don't Dream It's Over), from there I discovered more of their music and they're really good :)
I'm sorry to hear about how things went this time of the year last year, cooking alone really doesn't have the same magic as with the people we love. I hope this year you get to have this experience with your family. As for the farofa, it is savory, that's why some people hate the addition of raisins haha! And panettone is huge here in Brazil in the holiday season, I particularly like it with chocolate chips rather than candied fruit, but I don't know if it's something people do outside of here.
Christmas decoration for sure is a plus, isn't it? It gets me in a better mood too ♡ I'm curious to know a bit more about how the Italian side of your family shaped how you celebrate Christmas, is it ok for you to share?
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dulcewrites ¡ 2 years ago
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I love your writing! Could you write where black!reader is tired of Austin!Elvis spoiling her and constantly buying her jewelry, gifts, basically being a sugar daddy and how she loves him for him 🥹.
Can’t Buy Me Love
Paring: austin!elvis x black reader
Requested: yes (thank you!)
Warnings: elvis having very old fashion ideas about relationships
A/N: I swear I feel like you guys can see my brain. I had an sugar daddy!elvis idea on my idea list but took it off once I got this. I might still add it bc it was a bit different. Less I love you for you and more get bread, get that head, and leave with 70s elvis lmao. I feel like the Hollywood sign look was a very #expensive look. It’s giving money, it’s giving I’ll drop a couple of bands on my girl like it’s light work
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You learned very quickly into your relationship with Elvis that he is a giver. Yes, you had been pursued before, but it was nothing compared to the stops Elvis pulled out after you two met.
It all started innocently. Your mom owned a women’s clothing boutique where you worked as a designer and seamstress. The business had started to transition into making costumes for tv and movie productions. So, you didn’t think much of it when you found yourself on an MGM set helping out. That was until you met Elvis.
You didn’t consider yourself someone that’s easily charmed. But when one evening he brushes a curl out of your eye and tells you he hopes you two can see each other after shooting ends, you realize you’re a goner.
The gift giving starts on the first date when he gives you a brand new sewing machine. At first you were a bit put off. Is this what he does? Butters women up with gifts, and expects things in return. But then you see the way he treats his dad, friends, and staff; Elvis would give away every penny to those close to him if he could. He’s wants everyone happy, almost to a fault.
It’s been almost a year since that first date, and the gifts haven’t slowed down like you thought it eventually would. He has you now; no need for excessive displays of affection. But here you, staring at the Tiffany bag he set in front of you while you were sketching.
“Baby….” You trail off trying to think of the words say. Dispute what he may say, Elvis is sensitive. You know how he will get if you say you don’t need more jewelry.
“Think of it as an early anniversary present,” he beams at you.
You thought the trip to Lake Tahoe that you two were taking was the present. Slowly, you open the bag and pull out the velvet box. Inside is a sparkling tennis bracelet, and your eyes get a bit wide. This has to be the most expensive piece of jewelry he’s gotten you.
“It’s beautiful,” you watch him take the bracelet out of the box and start to put in on your wrist. “But-“
“But,” he interrupts with furrowed brows. “Did you not like like it?”
You sigh. How do you even go about explaining this to him? That the thing you love the most about him, his big warm heart, is also the thing that can drive you up a wall sometimes.
“Baby, do you know why I wanted to take that Lake Tahoe trip,” you ask softly. “It’s not because I just love skiing so much. I want to be with you… alone.”
Another thing you learned once you started dating Elvis is that if you’re dating him, you’re basically dating his friends. It was made clear to you that to be accepted by him meant being accepted by the boys. You love being around them, but it does get exhausting not having your boyfriend to yourself. Between the movies, the music, the posse of friends, and your job, alone time is something you both have to fight for.
“I appreciate the gifts. I understand they’re a gesture of love, but it’s not necessary,” you take his hand and squeeze it. “I’d take having you for week with no one bothering us over an albeit very beautiful bracelet.”
Elvis gives you soft look, blue eyes swimming with something you can’t put your finger on.
“How do you manage to do that?”
You tilt your head to side curiously.
“Do what,” you ask confused.
“Manage to make me feel like I can be myself,” he leans his forehead against yours, and you grin.
“What can I say, I have that affect on people,” you shrug playfully.
You look down at the new jewelry on your wrist. It is a really nice bracelet. You hop into his lap and wrap your arms around him.
“Why don’t I give you an early anniversary present too,” you lean down and kiss his neck.
Elvis hums in response before surprising you and picking you up bridal style.
“I have a feeling I’m going to like that present.”
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becky69lu ¡ 5 years ago
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Ed Edd n Eddy Music Taste Headcanons
Last night me and my friend came up with ideas of what the kids from Ed Edd n Eddy would listen to for music. And I thought I’d share with you all :) (You’re free to disagree but this is what I think the characters would like)
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Ed: This guy would definitely be into soundtracks. Video games, horror movies, etc. He’ll enjoy them all. I feel like he’d be the type to explain why he likes a song on a soundtrack, like the vibes it gives him and how good it was in whatever game/movie it was. 
Double D: Growing up he’d be into classical music by default. It’s all his parents played so it’s what he’s conditioned to like. I feel like as a result he’d never really have a preference to listen to music because he mainly uses it as a form of relaxation for studying or concentrating. But when he entered high school it’s a whole other story.  He ends up befriending (or dating, depending what you ship) Marie. She introduces him to her music (which we’ll get into in a bit!). You’d expect Double D to hate it. Hardcore rock and heavy metal seemed a bit extreme. At first he might think it’s just noise. To his surprise, he ends up enjoying it immensely and starts to understand why people listen to music for fun.  On more than one occasion Ed and Eddy will catch up to Double D in the hallways or the walk home from school and catch him blasting some heavy band. It surprises people greatly what Double D likes, but in a good way. 
Eddy: This dude is the embodiment of the meme where you listen to rap with the homies but something else when alone. This guy will listen to Lil Peep and Juice WRLD, and don’t get me wrong he genuinely likes it, but it reaches its max appeal at some point. By himself he’ll listen to old school music. He really likes Elvis, Frankie Valli and Frank Sinatra. It’s what he grew up listening to with his dad in the car and loves it to this day. He’s not ashamed of it but prefers to look cool for listening to rap around random people. Really only Ed and Double D have listened to his playlist with him.  The only thing he kind of hides which is a guilty pleasure is NSYNC and The Backstreet Boys.  I feel like in high school Eddy and Kevin would be close bros, the kind that constantly pick on each other for fun but they really do appreciate each other and will be there for each other. As a result of their constant roasting, both of them listen to rap together but end up going home and listening to completely different things. 
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May: Growing up, all three of the Kanker Sisters listened to Country. Their mother enjoyed it so she’d play it around the house a lot. May’s the only sister who’s favorite genre is Country though. She loves Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, etc. In high school, her music taste opened up slightly. She likes pop music and enjoys a bit of Marina and the Diamonds, and Melanie Martinez (which she heard from Marie’s room and thought it sounded good.) She’s still a country girl at heart but enjoys bubblegum pop too. She’s also the type to enjoy basically anything, but she refuses to listen to heavy rock. Her limit to rock music is screaming, and at that point she wants to shut it off.
Marie: A rocker at heart. Of course she always dressed the part, but didn’t actually listen to rock music until she was 13. She entered her emo phase and never left. She likes classic rock, modern rock, and anything alternative or indie. Her favorites are Asking Alexandria, My Chemical Romance, A Day to Remember, Falling In Reverse and In This Moment.  In terms of other music, she really likes P!nk, Avril Lavigne, and Ke$ha. The only genre she hates is country. For her, growing up listening to it constantly made her hate it because it was overplayed. She refuses to listen to it and sometimes her and May butt heads when in the car trying to play music. 
Lee: This girl takes pride in her music taste. She flaunts her love for old school rap. She loves 2Pac, Snoop Dogg, B.I.G., Tupac, and Eminem. She’ll play it around whoever is willing to listen and genuinely enjoys it. If her and Eddy became friends (or dated) she’d get him into Eminem especially.  Regarding other music, she enjoys anything 2000′s like Nelly and TLC. She still likes Country music too, but doesn’t listen to it as often as other stuff. 
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Rolf: He listens to foreign music. I feel like this one’s obvious but it’s true. He listens to music that’s poppin in his homeland. When he’s around Kevin and Nazz he actually grimaces at their playlist. He probably won’t like any of it, even if he’s open-minded about it. On occasion he’ll end up liking a few songs or artists from them but not a lot. I feel like he’d like a little bit of Post Malone. 
Jimmy: He’s a THEATER KID!! When he goes to high school he immediately joins the theater program. He’s definitely that one kid that’s liked by everyone. But for music, he’d definitely enjoy musicals. Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen, Wicked. You name it, he probably enjoys it. He also likes disney music as well like the soundtracks from Mulan, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, etc. And he’ll definitely be in every spring musical and already know the songs. 
Sarah: Since her and Jimmy are best friends, of course she also becomes a theater kid. She’s probably one of the most disliked people in the program but doesn’t care. She also enjoys musicals but not to the extent that Jimmy does. They still listen to them together all the time. She probably really likes pop music. Katy Perry is one of her favorites. She’s definitely a Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber fan. To be honest she probably went through a hardcore K-POP phase where she had a stan twitter and everything. 
Jonny: He mainly just likes whatevers popular. He probably enjoys songs off of Tik Tok and is that annoying kid that plays meme music over and over. All Star by Smash Mouth is banned from the Cul de Sac because of him. He probably enjoys some soundtracks from video games as well. The type to just blast Revenge by Captain Sparkles for hours.
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Kevin: We’ve already established that him and Eddy basically listen to the same thing. Lil Uzi Vert, Xxxtentacion, etc. That kind of thing. He tries especially hard to be cool. He’s definitely that kid with the speakers in his backpack blasting music down the hallway. But like Eddy, he listens to something else when he’s alone. He probably likes 70s and 80s hip hop and a little bit of classic rock because of his dad. Listens to Motley Crue, Def Leppard and Blackstreet. He’s not ashamed of his music taste, but definitely only plays modern rap in the car with the homies. 
Nazz: She’s a carefree spirit. She likes old school rap too but appreciates a lot of older stuff. She likes Fleetwood Mac and Queen because of her mom. But she also really likes pop and Jazz. She likes Kelly Clarkson, Alicia Keys, Bruno Mars, Coldplay, and Rihanna. Probably a big Beyonce stan too.  Because shes a free spirit, she’ll listen to anything someone plays. She’ll enjoy heavy metal if someone puts it on or even Country. She doesn’t care. If she likes something she’ll definitely go home and look up more stuff. She probably has the most diverse music taste of them all. 
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brokenbuttonsmusic ¡ 4 years ago
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Eleni Mandell: L.A. Singer-Songwriter with Smoky Chrissie Hynde Vocals and a flair for Tom Waits’ Influenced Experimentation
This post is a near- transcript of the Broken Buttons: Buried Treasure Music podcast (episode 5, side A). Here you’ll find the narration from the segment featuring the L.A. singer-songwriter, Eleni Mandell, along with links, videos, photos and references for the episode.
Listen to the full episode on Spotify, Apple, Anchor or Mixcloud.
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Have you ever bought the wrong record? Like, you intended to buy something that sounded like one thing and you accidentally grab something that sounds very different. 
I don’t know if this happens anymore, but I believe it was quite common years ago. Imagine hearing an artist on the radio and being blown away. You go to the record store, find the plastic divider with the name of whom you’re looking for, but you can’t remember the name of the album, or even the song. Remember, you don’t have a tiny computer in your pocket. You’re too nervous to ask the store clerk for fear of looking stupid. So you roll the dice. 
“I know it was someone called Neil Young, but there are a thousand Neil Young records here.”
“Hey, this pink one looks cool.”
That exact scenario didn’t happen to me, but that album, Neil Young’s Everybody’s Rockin’, happened to be the most played Neil Young album in my house growing up, so for years I thought Neil Young was a rockabilly revival act. In reality, that was one of several oddball records Young released during a tumultuous period with his record label to fulfill his contract demands. I still love that record. 
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Eleni Mandell did live out the scenario of buying the wrong record though. She shared the story during a segment of the show Bullseye with Jessie Thorn, where she describes seeing Tom Waits on MTV late at night—back when MTV still cared about music. It was either 120 minutes or IRS’ The Cutting Edge. This would have been around 1984 or 1985, so right around the time of Wait’s masterpiece Rain Dogs. When she went to the record store though, she picked up the 1976 Tom Waits’ Asylum release, Small Change instead. Now Small Change is still a great Tom Waits album, but it sounds nothing like the drastically reimagined sound and musical approach he had begun to employ starting with 1983’s Swordfishtrombones. Something Tom Waits called his “junkyard orchestral deviation.” The spare, off-kilter percussion. Moaning trombones and muted trumpets. Marimba. Plenty of marimba. Experimental instruments mixed in everywhere. Megaphones and CB radios. Trash can lids. 
This is the sound Eleni was looking for. 
Instead she got lush strings. Delicate piano. Cinematic swells and a melancholy wail. 
She got this.
Still awesome, but not the same. She credits the experience with changing her life. She grew to love both sides of the Tom Waits coin. The jazzy piano man in the smoky, whiskey-drenched nightclub and the eclectic, experimental carnival barker that she had her first encounter with on late night MTV. 
You can hear that deep appreciation and influence for the full Tom Waits spectrum injected and swirling through Eleni Mandell’s own spectacular catalog that spans more than 20 years now. 
She’s got plenty of experimental Waits, especially in her early catalog. 
And quite a bit of the jazzy nightclub vibe.
There’s also plenty of folk-y Eleni mixed in, and even some country.
You’ll notice that Eleni’s voice doesn’t sound like Tom Waits though. Did you notice that? It’s less of a deep, gravelly howl and more of rich Chrissie Hynde croon. Spin compared her to Chrissie Hynde and PJ Harvey. Rolling Stone compared her captivating melodies and witty lyricism to early Elvis Costello. 
While she doesn’t have the Tom Waits’ wail, she does specialize in his particular brand of character song-study. Like this first song we’re going to hear. The first track off of Eleni Mandell’s second album Thrill. Released in the year 2000. This is Pauline. 
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Pauline, from Eleni Mandell’s second record, Thrill. So how did this remarkably unique singer-songwriter get her start and pull together so many interesting influences to create the sound we just heard.
Eleni grew up in the Sherman Oaks region of the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles. She started playing music when she was just 5, beginning with the violin and then piano. Eleni didn’t love playing either, but continued to take lessons until she was thirteen. She remembers wanting to learn to write songs early on, but didn’t have the first idea of how to approach it, especially on violin. She jumped from violin and piano to guitar as a teenager. Her parents exposed her to a variety of musical styles. Her mom would take her to musicals and her dad, a serious record collector, played her Hoagy Carmichael and plenty of jazz standards. She loved the Beatles and remembers Diana Ross making an early impression. 
Another early life changing moment came when she discovered the Los Angeles punk band X.
X were huge in LA, and their first album (called Los Angeles) was the first record Eleni ever owned. Or maybe the first she asked to own. The first record she was ever given was Shaun Cassidy’s greatest hits for her 4th birthday. The first she ever purchased with her own money was X’s third release, Under the Big Black Sun. She tells a story of when she was out record shopping at a place called Aron’s Records, located on Melrose, and to her utter befuddlement came face to face with John Doe, lead singer of X. He was shopping for records too. She quickly snapped up a copy of the band’s third album and asked John to sign it. He did. She still has the signed album, which reads “Yours” complete with a big X “-John Doe.” That was the last autograph she ever asked for. It was not, however, the last time her path would cross with that of the band X. 
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When she was a little bit older, she met Chuck E. Weiss, songwriter, rock n’ roller, beat poet and peculiar Tom Waits associate. Also the subject of the song, Chuck E.’s in Love.
Yes, that Chuck E. Weiss. Waits was in a relationship with Rickie Lee Jones. Waits, Jones and Weiss all lived at the seedy Tropicana Motel in Los Angeles. One day Weiss up and left out of nowhere. Some time later Chuck E. called the apartment where Jones and Waits were living. He explained to Waits that he had moved to Denver because he had fallen in love with a cousin there. Waits hung up the phone and announced to Jones, “Check E.’s in love. Rickie Lee Jones liked that so much that she it turned it into the song we just heard. 
Who is this episode about again? Oh, right. Eleni Mandell. Anyway, Eleni Mandell met THAT Chuck E. Weiss when she was not yet 21. Still, she had a friend who was able to get her into The Central, a Sunset Strip club that would later become The Viper Room. This would’ve been around 1990. Weiss was playing there every Monday. 
Here’s how the write up on Eleni’s original website describes her first encounter with Weiss.
“The first time she ever saw Chuck E. Weiss perform, he walked right up to her and smiled like a cross between The Cheshire Cat and an escaped mental patient. She met him a month later at Musso and Frank’s.”
Eleni says she was at the famous Hollywood restaurant and recognized Weiss. She worked up the courage to approach him and told him how much she loved his show. He asked if she wanted to accompany him to meet up with a friend at Canter’s Deli. She agreed. When they settled into one of the landmark eaterys iconic red, vinyl booths in walked her hero. Tom Waits. What a night. Tom asked Chuck how he and Eleni had met. 
“Hebrew school,” he declared. 
Here’s a tune from Eleni’s debut album, Wishbone, released in 1999. This is Sylvia. 
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From Eleni Mandell’s first album, Wishbone, that was Sylvia. 
Under Chuck E. Weiss’ mentorship, produced by Jon Brion and self-financed by Mandell, Wishbone, as well as her next several records, received strong reviews and drew comparisons to Waits and PJ Harvey in style. 
Before Weiss mentored Mandell, he hired her as a door person at his club. She said he would test her to see how tough a door person she was by trying to grab money out of her hand. Weiss would continue to mentor Eleni over the years and they’re still friends to this day. 
For her fourth album, Mandell shook things up by diving into traditional country. A mix of covers and originals, 2003’s Country For True Lovers is an exciting update to her sound. And one of her life changing moments came full circle. Weiss introduced her to former X guitarist Tony Gilkyson, who produced the project. She also stacked the sessions with all star players, including Nels Cline from Wilco, and another X hero, drummer D.J. Bonebreak. 
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Eleni continued to mix and mesh genres on her next release, 2004’s Afternoon. 
From the No Depression review of that album:
“Last years Country For True Lovers found Los Angeles chanteuse Eleni Mandell turning her sights on twang rather than her previous more PJ Harvey-oriented material, and she received plenty of critical acclaim in the process, sharing the LA Weekly 2003 songwriter of the year award with the late Elliot Smith.”
“On Afternoon, her fifth album, Mandell combines her love of various genres, including country, pop, jazz and rock, to stunning effect. Produced by Joshua Grange, who also lends his considerable talents on guitar, pedal steel, Hammond organ and piano, Afternoon mostly takes the slow and sexy approach. I’ve Been Fooled and Can’t You See Im Soulful give Mandell the chance to show off her breathy but passionate alto, which can devastate in a heartbeat.”
“Mandell does rock out from time to time, as on Easy On Your Way Out, which has a grungy Elvis Costello-gets-on-with-Liz Phair feel to it. I wanna be your afternoon/I want you coming back for more, Mandell sings on the sorta fun/sorta sad title song.”
She can also write catchy singles. Like this song from Afternoon, “Let’s Drive Away.”
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That was Let’s Drive Away from Eleni Mandell’s fifth album, Afternoon, released in 2004. That song was also featured on the TV show, Weeds.
And here comes the challenging part of covering an artist like Eleni Mandell, who’s put out consistently solid albums for over two decades. There’s not enough time to feature all the good stuff she’s produced, but trust me, over her eleven albums, she always delivers. From the diverse shifting sounds of Artificial Fire [play clip] to the smooth and breezy Dark Lights Up [play clip], Eleni whirls a magical combination of jazz, folk, pop, country and rock, with just enough experimental twists to keep everything fresh. 
She’s also branched out from her solo artist gig to release two albums with her band The Grabs. The Grabs allows her to exercise more of her pop side and features Eleni on vocals, Blondie bassist Nigel Harrison, and Silversun Pickups’ drummer Elvira Gonzalez. 
And, she’s also released records with the Andrews Sisters inspired supergroup, The Living Sisters, with Inara George, Alex Lilly and Becky Stark.
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I’d recommend checking out all of this. 
So now that we’ve established that the Eleni Mandell road is paved with the goods, let’s skip ahead to focus on her most recent album: 2019’s Wake Up Again.
Here’s what Eleni and her website have to say about the latest release: 
“For two years or thereabouts,” Mandell says, “I taught songwriting at two colleges and a women’s prison.”
The prison gig came about via Jail Guitar Doors, the organization founded by Wayne Kramer, guitarist of the vaunted Detroit band MC5, in partnership with English musician Billy Bragg. “I don’t know why exactly I was drawn to that work,” Mandell says. “But I had a family member who had been in prison in the 1940s. He wasn’t around when I was growing up, but that sort of fascinated me and I was always curious about what kind of person disappears and what kind of person commits crimes — what are they thinking?”
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Working with the inmates also provided many epiphanies for her as a person, and proved fertile for her as an artist, as captured in the 11 songs on this album, her 11th studio release. In many ways it’s the culmination and fulfillment of all the strengths as a writer and performer going back to her start under the tutelage of Chuck E. Weiss, Tom Waits and other top chroniclers of people in the shadows.
“I really enjoyed it,” she says. “I was inspired by the stories, and surprised by the laughter I heard there. And I shouldn’t have been surprised, but I was, by how many different kinds of people were there: teachers, lawyers, nurses, and also people who grew up in poverty.”
Here’s a song about one of the woman she met during those songwriting classes she taught. This is Evelyn.
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Evelyn from Eleni Mandell’s most recent album, Wake Up Again. Another great addition to her expansive, impressive catalog. The album is filled with rich character studies and deeply personal self-examinations.
Her early Tom Waits inspiration continues to ignite and propel her, even after 11 albums. Only now she can call Tom a longtime friend. 
And she went from obsessive punk rock X fan to counting a member of X as a member of her own band. What a cool, thrilling ride she’s had so far. Eleni Mandell. 
References and other stuff:
Eleni interview with Luxury Wagers
Eleni interview with Mr. Bonzai
Eleni interview with Tyler Pollard on Timeline
The bio from Eleni’s current website has a great write up on her most recent album and I quote from it in the episode.
No Depression review of Afternoon that I quote in the episode
Here is the original bio from Eleni’s old website that is now archived. I also quote from this
Eleni has been featured on NPR segments over the years. I did not use anything directly from these, but they are good and informative
Pop Matter review of Dark Lights Up
Good L.A. Times article about Eleni teaching songwriting to female inmates and her latest album
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johns-prince ¡ 5 years ago
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I have a sort of weird McLennon AU idea: Reincarnated!John
I got the idea from reading this interview with Paul McCartney, where he claims if he had been a girl he could have maybe gone out and fought for John to keep their very close relationship and prevent Yoko from essentially “stealing,” John away. 
Then I got to thinking, well, what if, instead, John had been the girl? Which then lead to me connecting it too-- well, what if when John had been killed, on Dec. 8th, a little girl had also been born. Basically, John’s soul being reincarnated as a female. 
A little girl born a few hours after John Lennon was assassinated, December 8th, 1980, in a hospital in Liverpool England, named Joan Winifred Stanley. Jo, or JoJo for short. 
Now while this girl has John’s soul, heart, mind, and similarities feminized-- Joan is still an individual, with her own childhood and memories-- who’s growing up in the 80s, and is a lively, young, and lovely teenage girl in the beginning of the 90s. Her favorite rocker is Joan Jett, likes Blondie, Queen, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Bob Marley, Michael Jackson, and has a secret love for Elvis Presley... knows of the Beatles, but only see’s the band and their music as “alright, sort of antwacky.” though her mom fancies them. 
Joan has fiery auburn colored hair which reaches some past her shoulders, wavy and thick, can often be a big birds nest of a mess. Milk chocolate brown eyes that appear to have specks of amber when the sunlight hits them; while softened with heavy lashes, are burning and alert, a glare could possibly kill someone. Poor eyesight, hates wearing her glasses because she thinks they make her look like a total lame. 
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[reference to what sort of glasswear her eyes required and the style of them]
5′5″, thiccc thighs, perky but rather small breasts, wide hips. Noticeable jawline and chin, though softened with baby fat, high cheekbones, sharp aquiline nose, bottom lip plumper than the top. Top two front teeth are crooked, slightly turned inward. It’s hard for me to describe her hairstyle during the very start of the 90s, so it’s something like this since she is an 80s child and for most of her young teens was in the crowd so;
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See now, this is what I have for female John / Joan as far of what her face and hair may look like;
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****[It’s still sort of rough, I know, I need to ink her in and then color her before I wanna show the full reference drawing. I honestly want to try and give her a bit more of a wider jawline, or a bit longer of a face-- but again, Joan is still her own person so she can’t look exactly like John, of course]
Sagittarius[John was a Libra], smoker of Luckies, musically inclined [perhaps sounds like a mix of Deborah Harry and Joan Jett? Though more nasally] loves to sing, learned to play acoustic guitar from her mother, and learned to play the harmonica from her grandda [the one good thing he had given to her as their relationship was generally soured since her mother’s parents saw her as nothing more than a bastard child] Could be considered a bit tomboyish but knows how to use her feminine wiles to manipulate, humiliate, and get what she wants. Tries not to be a horrible rebel as she hates to disappoint and stress out her mother, but can be a wild child and has a bit of an issue with authority and respecting rules and requests she deems unnecessarily stupid. Single child raised under a single mother as her father was never in the picture, and while her mothers’ parents were around they barely helped, so they lived in the manner of “we manage.” Coming from Liverpool, and in the poor-working class of society, her mannerisms of speaking are indeed Scouse.
Hot tempered, jealous/possessive of close friends and crush/lover, quick wit and sharp tongued, masks hurt with indifference and practically ghosting someone til she gets over it or they apologize adequately. Wants to love and own people, but does NOT want to be owned or tied down as it makes her feel caged. Freedom of self is incredibly important to her, and feeling like she’s losing it can cause her to act out and lash out. 
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Now, in the early 1990s, I believe Paul is around the age of 49/50. This might be just me projecting, but that makes Paul the legit Daddy in this whole thing, if ya catch my drift. Paul is, in my humble opinion, rather attractive and handsome in his late forties/early fifties. So yeah, silver fox Paul is gonna be a thing.
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I have a thing for older men, alright? Let me project just a little bit here in my own AU. 
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I really haven’t thought much on how these two end up meeting, perhaps they meet during Paul’s World Tour during 1990? Again, Joan knows of the Beatles, and knows of Paul McCartney-- begrudgingly she does like a bit of his music-- but hadn’t the money, nor the greatest of utmost desire as many of her other female friends had, to get into to see him when he stopped in Liverpool. She thought it to be neat, but could live without seeing him. 
But fate would lead to the two of them meeting, in probably an unexpected sort of way. 
Anyways, right away Paul get’s this extremely strange vibe from this girl, this girl who watches him, squinting up at him, with such interest-- and despite being a well known [legendary] and talented musician, and veteran of the music industry, he suddenly feels like he’s been thrown back to the very first day he’d met the scruffy and polar opposite, John Lennon. He finds himself wanting to impress this young bird, because he feels as if despite all his credentials, they mean nothing at this very moment, and he’s stupidly nervous around some girl he had just happened to bump into [because she’s a young bird perhaps?? with burning brown eyes and a quirked, teasing mouth that reminded him of someone???], and it’s like being back to square one of having to prove himself, of his talent and passion, and in the end, the two appear to be sizing each other up, circling like predators do with prey.  It’s a painful comparison when he realizes it, realizes how far this whole interaction threw him back, back into memories and feelings he had long since tried to bury, as not cry and mourn over each day.
It’s her who tries to end the first encounter, because she also gets this awfully weird aura from this old rock n’ roller, but she has no memories to connect it too. It leaves her feeling frustrated, because she really can’t find any rhyme or reason to why she feels this way, why she feels that this isn’t their first time interacting. Despite being an older man, she can’t help but think he looks rather good, and while she can’t put her finger on it again, she thinks that if Elvis had lived to be a bit older, he’d look something like this McCartney fellow. And while she tries to hide it, act indifferent and barely moved that she’s talking to the Paul McCartney, she does feel a bit starstruck, and so she simply wants to end this and keep it as a personal, favorite memory that she may recount to her friends and mother, who’ll probably think she’s just bullshittin’.
But when she attempts to leave, again this McCartney man, who insists that she call him Paul, catches her attention with a light grasp of her arm and stops her instantly. He’s quick to drop the hand the moment she whips her head around, shooting daggers at where he had touched her, then to staring right into his eyes. Paul isn’t sure why he’s doing this, why he feels like he needs to see this girl again, but as an excuse, he claims that it’s been awhile since he’s been back in Liverpool, and so, perhaps-- perhaps she could be the one to show him about. It’s a pitiful attempt of avoiding that he simply wants to meet up with this girl again-- and Joan rolls her eyes and breathes out an amused laugh at such a poor front. 
“Aren't I a blind bit too young fe you?” Joan would say, and while the words are obviously a dig, a tease, Paul can’t help but feel as if she had slapped him, his face growing hot and red. Tries to explain, sputtering, almost insulted, that “No-- I mean, yes, I mean, I am not--” and Joan, at first with a relatively flat expression, raises an eyebrow and slowly a smirk begins to form as she watches Paul, the Paul McCartney, fluster and stutter about like the awkward teen boys she knows and have shot down. “Am jus’ skitt'n,” Joan would give in with smile and a laugh, that caused Paul goosebumps and his stomach to lurch, because while softer and higher pitched, reminded him of someone, someone once closer than close. 
“A’rite Sir Paul, I'll indulge you.” and so, while she reasons it’s to just be nice this old rocker who probably hasn’t seen a young groupie in some time, she makes it appear she’s writing down her address or phone number on his hand-- and before she makes her get away, Paul would point out she hadn’t officially given her name to him-- “No manners these kids,” Paul might tease, and the auburn haired girl, with a smile that reached her eyes and showcased her nearly straight pearlies, told him her name was Joan, Joan Winifred Stanley, to be precise. Without giving him a chance to respond to it, she bid him farewell with a playful two fingered salute-- and for a breathless moment, Paul swore he had seen John there, just for a split second.
When he finally gets himself grounded and doesn’t feel so hot anymore, he discovers that she hadn’t written her number down, nor even an address-- just simply a street name; Menlove Avenue. If he’s so interested in continuing their little encounter, he could just go up and down the street, was her reasoning. She didn’t believe he’d go through such trouble to find her again-- anyway, he’s touring, and he has a wife and kids. Weird for a man his age to want to what, make friends with a barely 18 year old bird from old dingy Liverpool? A nobody, Joan would think, almost bitterly.
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I’m still putting a lot of thought into this AU, so a lot of things can change and such, especially the idea behind how Joan/John and Paul meet and begin to interact more regularly, how their relationship starts and builds and grows and changes, and of course how it might end [I’m fiddling with the idea that Joan ends up dying too, but that’s a bit too angst-y for me to really focus on so] 
Of course because I’m a fucking degenerate, I would like to have a moment where the two do end up having an intense affair-- though it’s just sensitive because, despite being not real at all, I want to give some respect to Linda and his kids around that time too, because I know Paul loves them dearly. So this AU is obviously full of fucking angst-y and complication and slow burn and miscommunication. 
I can’t even have my cake and eat it too in my OWN FUCKING AU. Typical. 
And yeah, there’s gonna be a noticeable age-gap in this AU, so if that’s not your thing, then that’s fine. There is gonna be a lot of coming of age shit attached to that, a bit of daddy kink, Joan having obvious daddy issues [John most likely had legit mommy issues let’s be real], first times, you name it. 
In the AU, Paul is slowly going to come to the outlandish idea/theory that this girl is John, or at least John’s soul reincarnated. He can’t help it-- she reminds him of John too much, it’s eerie how alike the two are that they might as well be the same person. Paul knows he must be crazy for thinking it, and hates it because it makes him feel as if he’s gone completely obsessed over John, the idea of John still being here with him. 
I will include an appearance from George and Ringo, with maybe Ringo trying to tell Paul that perhaps this is his way of handling the absence of John, and Paul, trying to justify himself, partially agrees. George ends up meeting this girl, and can’t help but agree that Paul may be right, just maybe, because even George can’t deny this girl reminds him of John too, and gives off this aura that is unmistakably John. Ringo thinks both of them are daft sods, but when Ringo meets Joan, he also finds himself seeing John in her-- though Ringo never voices it. But George is careful to not agree with Paul out loud, worried it might encourage Paul in an unhealthy and potentially dangerous way. 
That is, will Paul confront Joan about this and finally tell her that he believes she is John reincarnated? Paul wants too, he wants to tell her, but he’s not stupid, he knows it would probably freak the girl out and cause their budding relationship to instantly crumble and die. But whenever Paul talks about John to her once they’ve gotten close enough that he’s comfortable to divulge such intimate stories and memories about his best mate, Joan’s face would become pensive, almost a far-away look in her eyes, and would begin to comment on how she swears she’s heard these stories before, or that something even similar had happened to her to which had happened to John [even though many of the stories are personal, and kept rather private, so how would she know???] 
But Joan would simply shrug off those feelings of Deja Vu, laugh and shake her head, and just move on. She didn’t like getting those feelings, like she should have memory of something but just doesn’t. 
Excerpts from a fanfic I’ll never write:
It’s a mess, really. Paul falling for this young lively bird with a mean wit and soft lips and squinting eyes that desperately needed glasses, which still managed to observe and could kill someone in the heat of an argument. A girl with auburn hair that tickled his cheeks whenever they’d hug, a girl with a memorable nose, a girl who smelt of ciggies and Liverpool and vanilla and home.  “You’ve got kaleidoscope eyes,” Paul would try one afternoon, sounding like a young awkward teen again trying to impress a young but experienced girl. Joan would turn those fiery eyes to him, squinting, turning to an unimpressed glower that didn’t match the flustered smile. “Sod off, old man,” Joan would reply, snubbing him as she would do, though the smile still betrayed her. 
Paul would fall, fall and fall, like Alice, except there would be no floor to catch him. He would fall for Joan, because he fell for John. It’s a mess, really-- because as things escalated, Paul’s love for Joan and John began to blend and blur, and it was bad because who did Paul really love? Joan, the wild young thing who could tear him down just as easily as build him up in the same sentence and look, or John-- who could do the same but ten times over, and had. Joan though, Joan was putting pieces back together that he had tried to bury long ago, pieces that John had left the day of December 8th. 
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“I’m not John,” Joan would say, blunt and straight, cigarette clenched between her teeth. Paul feeling as if the air had been sucked out of his lungs, sweat breaking out on the back of his neck. “I’m Joan,” she’d continue mercilessly, taking a long drag of the fag before ripping it from between her lips, smoke swirling out between the cruel words of reality.  “I’m not some catalyst for your best mate, for whatever you and him had.” Joan’s young face twisted angrily, her eyes filled with dark hurt as she glared at the old rock and roller before her. For a second, Paul saw John again, John with his sneer and his burning glare and his words of knives that dared Paul to say something back, to engage him in war.  It made Paul sick, all of it. He opened his mouth to argue, to protest what she was saying, what she was claiming has been happening all these months. But he can’t, because it’s true, it’s all true, and it burns his insides up.  “You love John, and, and I’m not John,” she’d say, voice cracking as she can’t hide the hurt that comes from finally speaking these truths, bringing them to the light. Her face looks broken, tears threatening to break just as her voice had-- cigarette forgotten between two delicate fingers.
When Paul could find his voice, all that could be said was the girl’s name, soft and almost like a plea; “Joan.”  “Don’t,” she’d bite back like a cornered animal, lip curling in disgust from just hearing her name come from those lips that had practically seared marks along her body. But Paul didn’t, he couldn’t stop, he’d still try-- tried reaching out towards her, a hand going to grasp at her free hand by her side, but all he got was grazing the tips of his fingers to the back of hers before she whipped her hand away, body following the violent motion as she stepped back, away. Those eyes, it’s like she wanted to kill him, especially as that had broken the dam and now her cheeks were wet and she was trying not to hyperventilate and finally she dropped the cigarette as her hands began to quiver.  “I don’t want to hold your hand anymore!  don’t you get it?” she might as well have slapped him, stabbed him, but Paul truly believed those things would have hurt less than what she had just said to him. 
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Anyways, thanks for taking the time to read all this bullshit lol I’m really invested in this AU, and so expect more of it. I will be posting the full drawing of Joan once it’s finished, or I can’t bring myself to work on it anymore and thus claim it’s finished to the best of my abilities lol
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diarrheaofthekeyboard ¡ 4 years ago
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Ghosts & Ancestors
9.29.2020
We watched Springsteen on Broadway this weekend, which I had wanted to show my wife for a while. I couldn’t afford to go when he was actually playing and eagerly anticipated the Netflix/audio release. I listened to it 20 minutes at a time on my commute when it first came out. It made me cry a lot for a variety of reasons I will now detail, at least for the first few songs. But first, in my opinion, it’s the best thing he’s ever done and you should watch it. Spoilers below if you haven’t seen it. 
I never considered myself much a Springsteen fan. I liked a song here and there but the big 70s production always left me flat. The first album I really liked of his was “The Ghost of Tom Joad” which came out when I was in college. But even still, I’d listen to it a bit and come back to it a few years later. Then in 2005 he did Storytellers and I liked that better because it was just him with a guitar, harmonica, piano, and a couple of microphones. This show is an outgrowth of Storytellers. 
On Broadway, Bruce starts out with “Growin’ Up”, in which he tells the story of seeing Elvis on tv in 1956 and getting his first guitar. That guitar could have been the same one my son has (though his was made in 1970). He’s talking about those old Oscar Schmidt and Stella guitars cranked out and sold at five and dime stores. They’ve got a funk to them that’s amazing, in part because of the ladder bracing. They’re objectively terrible instruments that are better for slide than anything else and no child should ever learn to play on one. I’ve started looking at new guitars for the boy because he deserves something that, at the very least, doesn’t suck. 
More important than that, Bruce tunes in to a eureka moment. Lightning in a bottle. This is what I want to do and how am I gonna get there? I never had that moment. Or if I did, I was told and told myself that it was out of reach. I believe it’s this moment that started my current feelings of regret, even back 2 years ago while driving to work. 
He then starts talking about Freehold, and goes into “My Hometown”. This is a song from the 80s I grew up with and hated, mostly because I hated my hometown. I hated growing up on Long Island and though I liked my dad as a kid, I never felt like he wanted to teach me anything as I got older. There are a few moments here and there but that’s it. When Bruce starts talking about his dad, I lose it. Not because I see that story in my father. I see it in me. His father was depressed and Bruce felt like he spent his entire life proving his worth to his father. His songwriting voice is that voice. 
I’m not a songwriter. Good riffs, no words. That’s why this blog exists. I need words. At some point, I’ll go back and edit, and I’m getting there, but I have no penchant for prose. In the last band I fronted, the drummer wrote the lyrics. I would take what he wrote and fit them into the riffs. The direction I gave him was something like “I want observations of the american wasteland”. Which is really what Springsteen does. He just has the vocabulary and the personal perspective to write it. I never got that from the drummer. I got some ok stuff I could work with and some lyrics KISS would have rejected. Our last song was never completed because I took lyrics from different things he wrote and put them together. He hated it because those words meant different things to him and the concepts clashed. I liked it because who he was writing about didn’t matter. He never told me anyway. I constructed a new story out of them. It was cool. Too bad we never got to play it for people. If I could do that with my own work, I think I could have something. 
When Bruce talks about his mother, there are a bunch of things that hit me about both parents. First, I feel like he’s singing about his parents the way my son would sing about me and his mother. I’m the depressed dad, and even though I’m doing my best to be engaged with him and not be checked out, at some point he’s going to realize my depression. Conversely, the way Bruce talks about his mom is my wife. She’s full of life and optimism and putting the best she can into him and out into the world. 
Later on, Bruce talks about a time when his father came to visit him long after he’d been established and living in California. And his father gave him an apology of sorts which Bruce recognized for what it was and accepted. And in that story, he gives a name to something I’ve talked about many times. He says, “you can be a ghost or you can be an ancestor”. I have never put it that way, but it clicked for me. My parents put the ghosts of their past onto me and my siblings, especially my mother. All of their troubles, all of their phobias, all of their insecurities. I don’t want to do that to my son. First off, there’s only him. He doesn’t have anyone to share the burden with. It will only get more difficult as we age. But even if he did, that’s just not fair. The cycle has to end. It’s my job, and maybe if we have a purpose in life that’s why I’m here, to break it. To free him of the ghosts of the past and show him the wisdom of ancestors instead. 
My problem is I have no wisdom of my own ancestors. I only have the wisdom of books and records. My parents aren’t philosophical people. I can’t “think of what my daddy said” like Warren Haynes because my dad never said that shit. There was no wisdom passed down through grandfathers or elders or whatever. It’s my own bullshit, guiding me through, trying to piece it all together. And again, it’s not like my dad wasn’t there. He did and still does his best. He’s just a practical guy who doesn’t have much to say. 
On one hand, that makes me somewhat of a self made man. That is something to be proud of. On the other, it’s what my therapist tapped into, how I’m “codependent” but not to one specific person. The last thing of note she really said was that I was codependent to my inner critic, which operated something like a guiding light. That’s decently insightful. 
The problem is my inner critic guided me further into anxiety and depression. So I look for inspirational people who can be like a big brother to me, to find that guidance. I have to find that inside of me. That’s the hard part. I need to embody Warren’s dad. I need to connect the dots on my successes instead of my failures. I don’t need to make my own ancestors. That’s delusional. I need to be an ancestor to my son. Because “boy in this darkness before the dawn you’ve got to let your soulshine”. I need to stop singing these songs to myself and sing them to him. 
My fear is I’ll just change my codependence from my inner critic to my son. Hopefully I can find a new therapist and explore that. I think I’ve got a good start on it. But I could use someone to help me flesh it out. I may or may not need a collaborator. One sure would be helpful though. 
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hlupdate ¡ 5 years ago
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A hand­shake can quell polit­i­cal unrest and sti­fle impend­ing war. It can, with a bit of spit, val­i­date a gentleman’s agree­ment, end a years-long roman­tic rela­tion­ship or send a young heart rac­ing. But it all depends on the two par­ties involved.
Daisy, 21, felt a seis­mic jolt when Har­ry Styles, 25, wear­ing a striped jumper and rings on three of his five fin­gers, clutched her hand two days after this year’s Met Gala in New York, when she served him gela­to at the shop where she worked.
“He decid­ed on a small mint choco­late gela­to and I made his and the one for his friend and I said, ​‘Can I just say I absolute­ly loved your Met Gala look’ and he said ​‘Thank you very much! What’s your name?’ And I said, ​‘Daisy’ AND HE FUCK­ING EXTEND­ED HISHAND AND REACHED TO SHAKE MY HAND AND I ACTU­AL­LY FUCK­INGSHOOK HIS HAND WHAT THE FUCK,” she wrote on Insta­gram after The Shak­en­ing. ​“Like I didn’t even say any­thing to gas him up besides ​‘I loved your met gala look’ and his fine ass went and shook my hand! WHAT A BEAU­TI­FUL FUCK­ING HUMAN BEINGTHAT HE IS GOD BLESS HIM AND I HOPE HW [sic] LIVES FOREVER.”
For Har­ry Styles, a hand­shake can be a roman­tic ges­ture, con­jur­ing a potent rev­er­ence in its recip­i­ent, like the time he met Gucci’s cre­ative direc­tor Alessan­dro Michele. ​“He was as attrac­tive as James Dean and as per­sua­sive as Gre­ta Gar­bo. He was like a Luchi­no Vis­con­ti char­ac­ter, like an Apol­lo: at the same time sexy as a woman, as a kid, as a man,” Michele told me, has­ten­ing to add: ​“Of course, Har­ry is not aware of this.”
No, Styles has no idea the pow­er he wields. In per­son, he’s tow­er­ing, like some­one who is not that much taller but whose rep­u­ta­tion adds four inch­es. Styles has a seda­tive bari­tone, spo­ken in a rum­my north­ern Eng­lish accent, that tum­bles out so slow­ly you for­get the name of your first born, a swag­ger that has been nursed and per­fect­ed in myth­i­cal places with names like Pais­ley Park, or Abbey Road, or Grace­land. Makes com­plete sense that he would be up for the role of Elvis Pres­ley in Baz Luhrmann’s upcom­ing biopic. He was primed, nay, born to shake his hips, all but one but­ton on his shirt cling­ing for dear life around his tor­so. Then the part was award­ed to anoth­er actor, Austin Butler.
“[Elvis] was such an icon for me grow­ing up,” Styles tells me. ​“There was some­thing almost sacred about him, almost like I didn’t want to touch him. Then I end­ed up get­ting into [his life] a bit and I wasn’t dis­ap­point­ed,” he adds of his ini­tial research and prepa­ra­tions to play The King. He seems relaxed about los­ing the part to But­ler. ​“I feel like if I’m not the right per­son for the thing, then it’s best for both of us that I don’t do it, you know?”
Styles released his self-titled debut solo album in May 2017. The boy­band grad was clear­ly unin­ter­est­ed in hol­low­ing out the charts with more for­mu­la­ic meme pop. Instead, to the sur­prise of many, he dug his heels into retro-fetishist West Coast ​’70s rock. Some of the One Direc­tion fan-hordes might have been con­fused, but no mat­ter: Har­ry Styles sold one mil­lion copies.
Despite its com­mer­cial and crit­i­cal suc­cess, he didn’t tour the album right away. He want­ed to act in the Christo­pher Nolan film Dunkirk. To his cred­it, his por­tray­al of a British sol­dier cow­er­ing in a moored boat on the French beach­es as the Nazis advanced wasn’t skew­ered in the press like the movie debuts of, say, Madon­na or Justin Tim­ber­lake. Per­haps he was fol­low­ing advice giv­en by Elton John, who had urged him to diver­si­fy. ​“He was bril­liant in Dunkirk, which took a lot of peo­ple by sur­prise,” John writes in an email. ​“I love how he takes chances and risks.” Act­ing, unlike music, is a release for Styles; it’s the one time he can be not himself.
“Why do I want to act? It’s so dif­fer­ent to music for me,” he says, sud­den­ly ani­mat­ed. ​“They’re almost oppo­site for me. Music, you try and put so much of your­self into it; act­ing, you’re try­ing to total­ly dis­ap­pear in who­ev­er you’re being.”
Fol­low­ing the news that he missed out on Pres­ley, his name was float­ed for the role of Prince Eric in Disney’s live-action remake of The Lit­tle Mer­maid. How­ev­er, fans will have to wait a bit longer to see Styles on the big screen as that idea, too, has sunk. He won’t be The King or the Prince. ​“It was dis­cussed,” he acknow­ledges before swift­ly chang­ing the sub­ject. ​“I want to put music out and focus on that for a while. But every­one involved in it was amaz­ing, so I think it’s going to be great. I’ll enjoy watch­ing it, I’m sure.”
The new album is wrapped and the sin­gle is decid­ed upon. ​“It’s not like his last album,” his friend, rock ​‘n’ roll leg­end Ste­vie Nicks, told me recent­ly over the phone. ​“It’s not like any­thing One Direc­tion ever did. It’s pure Har­ry, as Har­ry would say. He’s made a very dif­fer­ent record and it’s spectacular.”
Beyond that, Styles is keep­ing his cards close to his chest as to his next musi­cal move. How­ev­er, the air is thick with rumours that his main wing­man for HS2 is Kid Har­poon, aka Tom Hull, who co-wrote debut album track Sweet Crea­ture. No less an author­i­ty than Liam Gal­lagher told us that both big band escapees were in the same stu­dio – RAK in north-west Lon­don – at the same time mak­ing their sec­ond solo albums. Styles played him a cou­ple of tracks, ​“and I tell you what, they’re good,” Gal­lagher enthused. ​“A bit like that Bon Iver. Is that his name?”
Har­ry Styles met Nicks at a Fleet­wood Mac con­cert in Los Ange­les in April 2015. Some­thing about him felt authen­tic to the leg­endary front­woman: ground­ed, like she’d known him for­ev­er, blessed with a win­ning moon­shot grin. A month lat­er, they met back­stage at anoth­er Mac gig, this time at the O2 in Lon­don. Styles brought a car­rot cake for Nicks’ birth­day, her name piped in icing on top. By her own admis­sion, Nicks doesn’t even cel­e­brate birth­days, so this was a sur­prise. ​“He was per­son­al­ly respon­si­ble for me actu­al­ly hav­ing to cel­e­brate my birth­day, which was very sweet,” she says.
Styles’ rela­tion­ship with Nicks is hard to define. Induct­ing her into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in New York as a solo artist ear­li­er this year, his speech hymned her as a ​“mag­i­cal gyp­sy god­moth­er who occu­pies the in-between”. She’s called him her ​“lovechild” with Mick Fleet­wood and the ​“son I nev­er had”. Both have moved past the pre­lim­i­nary chat acknowl­edg­ing each other’s unquan­tifi­able tal­ents and smooth­ly accel­er­at­ed towards play­ful cut-and-thrust ban­ter of a witch mom and her naughty child.
They per­form togeth­er – he sings The Chainand Stop Drag­gin’ My Heart Around; she sings the one alleged­ly writ­ten about Tay­lor Swift, Two Ghosts. One of those per­for­mances was at the Guc­ci Cruise after­par­ty in Rome in May, for ​“a lot of mon­ey”, Nicks tells me, in a ​“big kind of cas­tle place”. She has become his de fac­to men­tor – one phone call is all it takes to reach the Queen of Rock’n’Roll for advice on sequenc­ing (“She is real­ly good at track list­ing,” Styles admits) or just to hear each other’s voic­es… because, well, wouldn’t you?
Fol­low­ing anoth­er Fleet­wood Mac con­cert, at London’s Wem­b­ley Sta­di­um, in June, Nicks met Styles for a late (Indi­an) din­ner. He then invit­ed her back to his semi-detached Geor­gian man­sion in north Lon­don for a lis­ten­ing par­ty at mid­night. The album – HS2or what­ev­er it’ll be called – was fin­ished. Nicks, her assis­tant Karen, her make-up artist and her friends Jess and Mary crammed onto Styles’ liv­ing-room couch. They lis­tened to it once through in silence like a ​“bunch of edu­cat­ed monks or some­thing in this dark room”. Then once again, 15 or 16 tracks, this time each of his guests offer­ing live feed­back. It wrapped at 5am, just as the sun was bleed­ing through the curtains.
Even for a pop star of Styles’ stature, press­ing ​“play” on a deeply per­son­al work for your hero to digest, watch­ing her face react in real time to your new music, must be… what?
“It’s a dou­ble-edged thing,” he replies. ​“You’re always ner­vous when you are play­ing peo­ple music for the first time. You’ve heard it so much by this point, you for­get that peo­ple haven’t heard it before. It’s hard to not feel like you’ve done what you’ve set out to do. You are hap­py with some­thing and then some­one who you respect so much and look up to is, like: ​‘I real­ly like this.’ It feels like a large stamp [of approval]. It’s a big step towards feel­ing very com­fort­able with what­ev­er else hap­pens to it.”
Wad­ing through Styles’ back­ground info is exhaust­ing, since he was spanked by fame in the social media era where every god­dam blink of a kohl-rimmed eye has been doc­u­ment­ed from six angles. (And yes, he does some­times wear guyliner.)
Deep breath: born in Red­ditch, Worces­ter­shire, to par­ents Des and Anne, who divorced when he was sev­en. Grew up in Holmes Chapel in Cheshire with his sis­ter Gem­ma, mum and step­dad Robin Twist. Rode hors­es at a near­by sta­ble for free (“I was a bad rid­er, but I was a rid­er”). Stopped rid­ing, ​“got into dif­fer­ent stuff”. Formed a band, White Eski­mo, with school­mates. Aged 16, tried out for the 2010 run of The X Fac­torwith a stir­ring but aver­age ren­di­tion of Ste­vie Wonder’s Isn’t She Love­ly. Cut from the show and put into a boy band with four oth­ers, Louis Tom­lin­son, Liam Payne, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik, and called One Direc­tion. Became inter­na­tion­al­ly famous, toured the globe. Zayn quit to go solo. Toured some more. Dat­ed but maybe didn’t date Car­o­line Flack, Rita Ora and Tay­lor Swift – whom he report­ed­ly dumped in the British Vir­gin Islands. (This rela­tion­ship, if noth­ing else, yield­ed an icon­ic, can­did shot of Swift look­ing deject­ed, being motored back to shore on the back of a boat called the Fly­ing Ray.) One Direc­tion dis­cussed dis­band­ing in 2014, actu­al­ly dis­solved in 2015. They remain friend­ly, and Styles offi­cial­ly went solo in 2016.
It’s been two years since his epony­mous debut and lead sin­gle, Sign of the Times, shocked the world and Elton John with its swag­ger­ing, soft rock sound. ​“It came out of left field and I loved it,” John says.
After 89 are­na-packed shows across five con­ti­nents grossed him, the label, whomev­er, over $61 mil­lion, Styles had all but dis­ap­peared. He has emerged only inter­mit­tent­ly for pub­lic-fac­ing events – a Guc­ci after­par­ty per­for­mance here, a Met Gala co-chair­ing there. He relo­cat­ed from Los Ange­les back to Lon­don, sell­ing his Hol­ly­wood Hills house for $6mil­lion and ship­ping his Jaguar E-type across the Atlantic so he could take joyrides on the M25.
“I’m not over LA,” he insists when I ask about the move. ​“My rela­tion­ship with LAchanged a lot. What I want­ed from LA changed.”
A great escape, he would agree, is some­times nec­es­sary. He was in Tokyo for most of Jan­u­ary, hav­ing near­ly fin­ished his album. ​“I need­ed time to get out of that album frame-of-mind of: ​‘Is it fin­ished? Where am I at? What’s hap­pen­ing?’ I real­ly need­ed that time away from every­one. I was kind of just in Tokyo by myself.” His sab­bat­i­cal most­ly involved read­ing Haru­ki Murakami’s The Wind-Up Bird Chron­i­cle, singing Nir­vana at karaoke, writ­ing alone in his hotel room, lis­ten­ing to music and eaves­drop­ping on strangers in alien con­ver­sa­tion. ​“It was just a pos­i­tive time for my head and I think that impact­ed the album in a big way.”
Dur­ing this break he watched a lot of films, read a lot of books. Some­times he texts these rec­om­men­da­tions to his pal Michele at Guc­ci. He told Michele to watch the Ali Mac­graw film, Love Sto­ry. ​“We text what friends text about. He is the same [as me] in terms of he lives in his own world and he does his own thing. I love dress­ing up and he loves dress­ing up.”
Because he loves dress­ing up, Michele chose Styles to be the face of three Guc­ci Tai­lor­ing cam­paigns and of its new gen­der­less fra­grance, Mémoire d’une Odeur.
“The moment I met him, I imme­di­ate­ly under­stood there was some­thing strong around him,” Michele tells me. ​“I realised he was much more than a young singer. He was a young man, dressed in a thought­ful way, with uncombed hair and a beau­ti­ful voice. I thought he gath­ered with­in him­self the fem­i­nine and the masculine.”
Fash­ion, for Styles, is a play­ground. Some­thing he doesn’t take too seri­ous­ly. A cou­ple of years ago Har­ry Lam­bert, his styl­ist since 2015, acquired for him a pair of pink metal­lic Saint Lau­rent boots that he has nev­er been pho­tographed wear­ing. They are exceed­ing­ly rare – few pairs exist. Styles wears them ​“to get milk”. They are, in his words, ​“super-fun”. He’s not sure, but he has, ball­park, 50 pairs of shoes, as well as full clos­ets in at least three post­codes. He set­tles on an out­fit fair­ly quick­ly, maybe changes his T-shirt once before head­ing out, but most­ly knows what he likes.
What he may not ful­ly com­pre­hend is that sim­ply by being pho­tographed in a gar­ment he can spur the career of a design­er, as he has with Har­ris Reed, Palo­mo Spain, Charles Jef­frey, Alled-Martínez and a new favourite, Bode. Styles wore a SS16 Guc­ci flo­ral suit to the 2015 Amer­i­can Music Awards. When he was asked who made his suit on the red car­pet, Guc­ci began trend­ing world­wide on Twitter.
“It was one of the first times a male wore Alessandro’s run­way designs and, at the time, men were not tak­ing too many red car­pet risks,” says Lam­bert. ​“Who knows if it influ­enced oth­ers, but it was a spe­cial moment. Plus, it was fun see­ing the fans dress up in suits to come see Harry’s shows.”
Yet tra­di­tion­al gen­der codes of dress still have the minds of mid­dle Amer­i­ca in a choke­hold. Men can’t wear women’s clothes, say the online whingers, who have labelled him ​“trag­ic”, ​“a clown” and a Bowie wannabe. Styles doesn’t care. ​“What’s fem­i­nine and what’s mas­cu­line, what men are wear­ing and what women are wear­ing – it’s like there are no lines any more.”
Elton John agrees: ​“It worked for Marc Bolan, Bowie and Mick. Har­ry has the same qualities.”
Then there is the ques­tion of Styles’ sex­u­al­i­ty, some­thing he has admit­ted­ly ​“nev­er real­ly start­ed to label”, which will plague him until he does. Per­haps it’s part of his allure. He’s bran­dished a pride flag that read ​“Make Amer­i­ca Gay Again” on stage, and plant­ed a stake some­where left of cen­tre on sexuality’s rain­bow spectrum.
“In the posi­tion that he’s in, he can’t real­ly say a lot, but he chose a queer girl band to open for him and I think that speaks vol­umes,” Josette Maskin of the queer band MUNA told The Face ear­li­er this year.
“I get a lot of…” Styles trails off, wheels turn­ing on how he can dis­cuss sex­u­al­i­ty with­out real­ly answer­ing. ​“I’m not always super-out­spo­ken. But I think it’s very clear from choic­es that I make that I feel a cer­tain way about lots of things. I don’t know how to describe it. I guess I’m not…” He paus­es again, piv­ots. ​“I want every­one to feel wel­come at shows and online. They want to be loved and equal, you know? I’m nev­er unsup­port­ed, so it feels weird for me to over­think it for some­one else.”
Sex­u­al­i­ty aside, he must acknowl­edge that he has sex appeal. ​“The word ​‘sexy’ sounds so strange com­ing out of my mouth. So I would say that that’s prob­a­bly why I would not con­sid­er myself sexy.”
Har­ry Styles has emerged ful­ly-formed, an anachro­nis­tic rock star, vague in sen­si­bil­i­ty but des­tined to impress with a dis­arm­ing smile and a warm but firm handshake.
I recite to him a quote from Chrissie Hyn­de of The Pre­tenders about her time atop rock’s throne: ​“I nev­er got into this for the mon­ey or because I want­ed to join in the super­star sex around the swim­ming pools. I did it because the offer of a record con­tract came along and it seemed like it might be more fun than being a wait­ress. Now, I’m not so sure.”
Styles – who worked in a bak­ery in a small north­ern town some time before play­ing to 40,000 scream­ing fans in South Amer­i­can are­nas – must have wit­nessed some shit, been invit­ed to a few pool­side sex par­ties, in his time.
“I’ve seen a cou­ple of things,” he nods in agree­ment. ​“But I’m still young. I feel like there’s still stuff to see.”
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The Face - Volume 4 . Issue 1
A hand­shake can quell polit­i­cal unrest and sti­fle impend­ing war. It can, with a bit of spit, val­i­date a gentleman’s agree­ment, end a years-long roman­tic rela­tion­ship or send a young heart rac­ing. But it all depends on the two par­ties involved.
Daisy, 21, felt a seis­mic jolt when Har­ry Styles, 25, wear­ing a striped jumper and rings on three of his five fin­gers, clutched her hand two days after this year’s Met Gala in New York, when she served him gela­to at the shop where she worked.
“He decid­ed on a small mint choco­late gela­to and I made his and the one for his friend and I said, ​‘Can I just say I absolute­ly loved your Met Gala look’ and he said ​‘Thank you very much! What’s your name?’ And I said, ​‘Daisy’ AND HE FUCK­ING EXTEND­ED HIS HAND AND REACHEDTO SHAKE MY HAND AND I ACTU­AL­LY FUCK­ING SHOOK HIS HAND WHAT THEFUCK,” she wrote on Insta­gram after The Shak­en­ing. ​“Like I didn’t even say any­thing to gas him up besides ​‘I loved your met gala look’ and his fine ass went and shook my hand! WHATA BEAU­TI­FUL FUCK­ING HUMAN BEING THAT HE IS GOD BLESS HIM AND I HOPE HW[sic] LIVES FOREVER.”
For Har­ry Styles, a hand­shake can be a roman­tic ges­ture, con­jur­ing a potent rev­er­ence in its recip­i­ent, like the time he met Gucci’s cre­ative direc­tor Alessan­dro Michele. ​“He was as attrac­tive as James Dean and as per­sua­sive as Gre­ta Gar­bo. He was like a Luchi­no Vis­con­ti char­ac­ter, like an Apol­lo: at the same time sexy as a woman, as a kid, as a man,” Michele told me, has­ten­ing to add: ​“Of course, Har­ry is not aware of this.”
No, Styles has no idea the pow­er he wields. In per­son, he’s tow­er­ing, like some­one who is not that much taller but whose rep­u­ta­tion adds four inch­es. Styles has a seda­tive bari­tone, spo­ken in a rum­my north­ern Eng­lish accent, that tum­bles out so slow­ly you for­get the name of your first born, a swag­ger that has been nursed and per­fect­ed in myth­i­cal places with names like Pais­ley Park, or Abbey Road, or Grace­land. Makes com­plete sense that he would be up for the role of Elvis Pres­ley in Baz Luhrmann’s upcom­ing biopic. He was primed, nay, born to shake his hips, all but one but­ton on his shirt cling­ing for dear life around his tor­so. Then the part was award­ed to anoth­er actor, Austin Butler.
“[Elvis] was such an icon for me grow­ing up,” Styles tells me. ​“There was some­thing almost sacred about him, almost like I didn’t want to touch him. Then I end­ed up get­ting into [his life] a bit and I wasn’t dis­ap­point­ed,” he adds of his ini­tial research and prepa­ra­tions to play The King. He seems relaxed about los­ing the part to But­ler. ​“I feel like if I’m not the right per­son for the thing, then it’s best for both of us that I don’t do it, you know?”
Styles released his self-titled debut solo album in May 2017. The boy­band grad was clear­ly unin­ter­est­ed in hol­low­ing out the charts with more for­mu­la­ic meme pop. Instead, to the sur­prise of many, he dug his heels into retro-fetishist West Coast ​’70s rock. Some of the One Direc­tion fan-hordes might have been con­fused, but no mat­ter: Har­ry Styles sold one mil­lion copies.
Despite its com­mer­cial and crit­i­cal suc­cess, he didn’t tour the album right away. He want­ed to act in the Christo­pher Nolan film Dunkirk. To his cred­it, his por­tray­al of a British sol­dier cow­er­ing in a moored boat on the French beach­es as the Nazis advanced wasn’t skew­ered in the press like the movie debuts of, say, Madon­na or Justin Tim­ber­lake. Per­haps he was fol­low­ing advice giv­en by Elton John, who had urged him to diver­si­fy. ​“He was bril­liant in Dunkirk, which took a lot of peo­ple by sur­prise,” John writes in an email. ​“I love how he takes chances and risks.” Act­ing, unlike music, is a release for Styles; it’s the one time he can be not himself.
“Why do I want to act? It’s so dif­fer­ent to music for me,” he says, sud­den­ly ani­mat­ed. ​“They’re almost oppo­site for me. Music, you try and put so much of your­self into it; act­ing, you’re try­ing to total­ly dis­ap­pear in who­ev­er you’re being.”
Fol­low­ing the news that he missed out on Pres­ley, his name was float­ed for the role of Prince Eric in Disney’s live-action remake of The Lit­tle Mer­maid. How­ev­er, fans will have to wait a bit longer to see Styles on the big screen as that idea, too, has sunk. He won’t be The King or the Prince. ​“It was dis­cussed,” he acknow­ledges before swift­ly chang­ing the sub­ject. ​“I want to put music out and focus on that for a while. But every­one involved in it was amaz­ing, so I think it’s going to be great. I’ll enjoy watch­ing it, I’m sure.”
The new album is wrapped and the sin­gle is decid­ed upon. ​“It’s not like his last album,” his friend, rock ​‘n’ roll leg­end Ste­vie Nicks, told me recent­ly over the phone. ​“It’s not like any­thing One Direc­tion ever did. It’s pure Har­ry, as Har­ry would say. He’s made a very dif­fer­ent record and it’s spectacular.”
Beyond that, Styles is keep­ing his cards close to his chest as to his next musi­cal move. How­ev­er, the air is thick with rumours that his main wing­man for HS2 is Kid Har­poon, aka Tom Hull, who co-wrote debut album track Sweet Crea­ture. No less an author­i­ty than Liam Gal­lagher told us that both big band escapees were in the same stu­dio – RAK in north-west Lon­don – at the same time mak­ing their sec­ond solo albums. Styles played him a cou­ple of tracks, ​“and I tell you what, they’re good,” Gal­lagher enthused. ​“A bit like that Bon Iver. Is that his name?”
Har­ry Styles met Nicks at a Fleet­wood Mac con­cert in Los Ange­les in April 2015. Some­thing about him felt authen­tic to the leg­endary front­woman: ground­ed, like she’d known him for­ev­er, blessed with a win­ning moon­shot grin. A month lat­er, they met back­stage at anoth­er Mac gig, this time at the O2 in Lon­don. Styles brought a car­rot cake for Nicks’ birth­day, her name piped in icing on top. By her own admis­sion, Nicks doesn’t even cel­e­brate birth­days, so this was a sur­prise. ​“He was per­son­al­ly respon­si­ble for me actu­al­ly hav­ing to cel­e­brate my birth­day, which was very sweet,” she says.
Styles’ rela­tion­ship with Nicks is hard to define. Induct­ing her into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in New York as a solo artist ear­li­er this year, his speech hymned her as a ​“mag­i­cal gyp­sy god­moth­er who occu­pies the in-between”. She’s called him her ​“lovechild” with Mick Fleet­wood and the ​“son I nev­er had”. Both have moved past the pre­lim­i­nary chat acknowl­edg­ing each other’s unquan­tifi­able tal­ents and smooth­ly accel­er­at­ed towards play­ful cut-and-thrust ban­ter of a witch mom and her naughty child.
They per­form togeth­er – he sings The Chain and Stop Drag­gin’ My Heart Around; she sings the one alleged­ly writ­ten about Tay­lor Swift, Two Ghosts. One of those per­for­mances was at the Guc­ci Cruise after­par­ty in Rome in May, for ​“a lot of mon­ey”, Nicks tells me, in a ​“big kind of cas­tle place”. She has become his de fac­to men­tor – one phone call is all it takes to reach the Queen of Rock’n’Roll for advice on sequenc­ing (“She is real­ly good at track list­ing,” Styles admits) or just to hear each other’s voic­es… because, well, wouldn’t you?
Fol­low­ing anoth­er Fleet­wood Mac con­cert, at London’s Wem­b­ley Sta­di­um, in June, Nicks met Styles for a late (Indi­an) din­ner. He then invit­ed her back to his semi-detached Geor­gian man­sion in north Lon­don for a lis­ten­ing par­ty at mid­night. The album – HS2or what­ev­er it’ll be called – was fin­ished. Nicks, her assis­tant Karen, her make-up artist and her friends Jess and Mary crammed onto Styles’ liv­ing-room couch. They lis­tened to it once through in silence like a ​“bunch of edu­cat­ed monks or some­thing in this dark room”. Then once again, 15 or 16 tracks, this time each of his guests offer­ing live feed­back. It wrapped at 5am, just as the sun was bleed­ing through the curtains.
Even for a pop star of Styles’ stature, press­ing ​“play” on a deeply per­son­al work for your hero to digest, watch­ing her face react in real time to your new music, must be… what?
“It’s a dou­ble-edged thing,” he replies. ​“You’re always ner­vous when you are play­ing peo­ple music for the first time. You’ve heard it so much by this point, you for­get that peo­ple haven’t heard it before. It’s hard to not feel like you’ve done what you’ve set out to do. You are hap­py with some­thing and then some­one who you respect so much and look up to is, like: ​‘I real­ly like this.’ It feels like a large stamp [of approval]. It’s a big step towards feel­ing very com­fort­able with what­ev­er else hap­pens to it.”
Wad­ing through Styles’ back­ground info is exhaust­ing, since he was spanked by fame in the social media era where every god­dam blink of a kohl-rimmed eye has been doc­u­ment­ed from six angles. (And yes, he does some­times wear guyliner.)
Deep breath: born in Red­ditch, Worces­ter­shire, to par­ents Des and Anne, who divorced when he was sev­en. Grew up in Holmes Chapel in Cheshire with his sis­ter Gem­ma, mum and step­dad Robin Twist. Rode hors­es at a near­by sta­ble for free (“I was a bad rid­er, but I was a rid­er”). Stopped rid­ing, ​“got into dif­fer­ent stuff”. Formed a band, White Eski­mo, with school­mates. Aged 16, tried out for the 2010 run of The X Fac­torwith a stir­ring but aver­age ren­di­tion of Ste­vie Wonder’s Isn’t She Love­ly. Cut from the show and put into a boy band with four oth­ers, Louis Tom­lin­son, Liam Payne, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik, and called One Direc­tion. Became inter­na­tion­al­ly famous, toured the globe. Zayn quit to go solo. Toured some more. Dat­ed but maybe didn’t date Car­o­line Flack, Rita Ora and Tay­lor Swift – whom he report­ed­ly dumped in the British Vir­gin Islands. (This rela­tion­ship, if noth­ing else, yield­ed an icon­ic, can­did shot of Swift look­ing deject­ed, being motored back to shore on the back of a boat called the Fly­ing Ray.) One Direc­tion dis­cussed dis­band­ing in 2014, actu­al­ly dis­solved in 2015. They remain friend­ly, and Styles offi­cial­ly went solo in 2016.
It’s been two years since his epony­mous debut and lead sin­gle, Sign of the Times, shocked the world and Elton John with its swag­ger­ing, soft rock sound. ​“It came out of left field and I loved it,” John says.
After 89 are­na-packed shows across five con­ti­nents grossed him, the label, whomev­er, over $61mil­lion, Styles had all but dis­ap­peared. He has emerged only inter­mit­tent­ly for pub­lic-fac­ing events – a Guc­ci after­par­ty per­for­mance here, a Met Gala co-chair­ing there. He relo­cat­ed from Los Ange­les back to Lon­don, sell­ing his Hol­ly­wood Hills house for $6 mil­lion and ship­ping his Jaguar E-type across the Atlantic so he could take joyrides on the M25.
“I’m not over LA,” he insists when I ask about the move. ​“My rela­tion­ship with LA changed a lot. What I want­ed from LA changed.”
A great escape, he would agree, is some­times nec­es­sary. He was in Tokyo for most of Jan­u­ary, hav­ing near­ly fin­ished his album. ​“I need­ed time to get out of that album frame-of-mind of: ​‘Is it fin­ished? Where am I at? What’s hap­pen­ing?’ I real­ly need­ed that time away from every­one. I was kind of just in Tokyo by myself.” His sab­bat­i­cal most­ly involved read­ing Haru­ki Murakami’s The Wind-Up Bird Chron­i­cle, singing Nir­vana at karaoke, writ­ing alone in his hotel room, lis­ten­ing to music and eaves­drop­ping on strangers in alien con­ver­sa­tion. ​“It was just a pos­i­tive time for my head and I think that impact­ed the album in a big way.”
Dur­ing this break he watched a lot of films, read a lot of books. Some­times he texts these rec­om­men­da­tions to his pal Michele at Guc­ci. He told Michele to watch the Ali Mac­graw film, Love Sto­ry. ​“We text what friends text about. He is the same [as me] in terms of he lives in his own world and he does his own thing. I love dress­ing up and he loves dress­ing up.”
Because he loves dress­ing up, Michele chose Styles to be the face of three Guc­ci Tai­lor­ing cam­paigns and of its new gen­der­less fra­grance, Mémoire d’une Odeur.
“The moment I met him, I imme­di­ate­ly under­stood there was some­thing strong around him,” Michele tells me. ​“I realised he was much more than a young singer. He was a young man, dressed in a thought­ful way, with uncombed hair and a beau­ti­ful voice. I thought he gath­ered with­in him­self the fem­i­nine and the masculine.”
Fash­ion, for Styles, is a play­ground. Some­thing he doesn’t take too seri­ous­ly. A cou­ple of years ago Har­ry Lam­bert, his styl­ist since 2015, acquired for him a pair of pink metal­lic Saint Lau­rent boots that he has nev­er been pho­tographed wear­ing. They are exceed­ing­ly rare – few pairs exist. Styles wears them ​“to get milk”. They are, in his words, ​“super-fun”. He’s not sure, but he has, ball­park, 50 pairs of shoes, as well as full clos­ets in at least three post­codes. He set­tles on an out­fit fair­ly quick­ly, maybe changes his T-shirt once before head­ing out, but most­ly knows what he likes.
What he may not ful­ly com­pre­hend is that sim­ply by being pho­tographed in a gar­ment he can spur the career of a design­er, as he has with Har­ris Reed, Palo­mo Spain, Charles Jef­frey, Alled-Martínez and a new favourite, Bode. Styles wore a SS16 Guc­ci flo­ral suit to the 2015 Amer­i­can Music Awards. When he was asked who made his suit on the red car­pet, Guc­ci began trend­ing world­wide on Twitter.
“It was one of the first times a male wore Alessandro’s run­way designs and, at the time, men were not tak­ing too many red car­pet risks,” says Lam­bert. ​“Who knows if it influ­enced oth­ers, but it was a spe­cial moment. Plus, it was fun see­ing the fans dress up in suits to come see Harry’s shows.”
Yet tra­di­tion­al gen­der codes of dress still have the minds of mid­dle Amer­i­ca in a choke­hold. Men can’t wear women’s clothes, say the online whingers, who have labelled him ​“trag­ic”, ​“a clown” and a Bowie wannabe. Styles doesn’t care. ​“What’s fem­i­nine and what’s mas­cu­line, what men are wear­ing and what women are wear­ing – it’s like there are no lines any more.”
Elton John agrees: ​“It worked for Marc Bolan, Bowie and Mick. Har­ry has the same qualities.”
Then there is the ques­tion of Styles’ sex­u­al­i­ty, some­thing he has admit­ted­ly ​“nev­er real­ly start­ed to label”, which will plague him until he does. Per­haps it’s part of his allure. He’s bran­dished a pride flag that read ​“Make Amer­i­ca Gay Again” on stage, and plant­ed a stake some­where left of cen­tre on sexuality’s rain­bow spectrum.
“In the posi­tion that he’s in, he can’t real­ly say a lot, but he chose a queer girl band to open for him and I think that speaks vol­umes,” Josette Maskin of the queer band MUNA told The Face ear­li­er this year.
“I get a lot of…” Styles trails off, wheels turn­ing on how he can dis­cuss sex­u­al­i­ty with­out real­ly answer­ing. ​“I’m not always super-out­spo­ken. But I think it’s very clear from choic­es that I make that I feel a cer­tain way about lots of things. I don’t know how to describe it. I guess I’m not…” He paus­es again, piv­ots. ​“I want every­one to feel wel­come at shows and online. They want to be loved and equal, you know? I’m nev­er unsup­port­ed, so it feels weird for me to over­think it for some­one else.”
Sex­u­al­i­ty aside, he must acknowl­edge that he has sex appeal. ​“The word ​‘sexy’ sounds so strange com­ing out of my mouth. So I would say that that’s prob­a­bly why I would not con­sid­er myself sexy.”
Har­ry Styles has emerged ful­ly-formed, an anachro­nis­tic rock star, vague in sen­si­bil­i­ty but des­tined to impress with a dis­arm­ing smile and a warm but firm handshake.
I recite to him a quote from Chrissie Hyn­de of The Pre­tenders about her time atop rock’s throne: ​“I nev­er got into this for the mon­ey or because I want­ed to join in the super­star sex around the swim­ming pools. I did it because the offer of a record con­tract came along and it seemed like it might be more fun than being a wait­ress. Now, I’m not so sure.”
Styles – who worked in a bak­ery in a small north­ern town some time before play­ing to 40,000scream­ing fans in South Amer­i­can are­nas – must have wit­nessed some shit, been invit­ed to a few pool­side sex par­ties, in his time.
“I’ve seen a cou­ple of things,” he nods in agree­ment. ​“But I’m still young. I feel like there’s still stuff to see.”
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irwinkitten ¡ 6 years ago
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Laura I need daddy!ash finding out that you’re expecting a baby
For your new dad!Ash series, what about the daughter getting a sibling? I reckon that would be so freaking cute
for the daddy!ash series i would love to see ash talking to you about having a child of your own together!!!!
UAHSJSJSS ash and y/n dining out shes pregnant??? and trying to explain to princess shes getting a brother or sister im CRYINGG
Yo,,,,,,sooooo dad!ash finding out that you’re expecting a baby together. And you’re kind of scared because how is princess going to react? Is Ashton going to leave like Jamie did?
IF ASH AND BABY MAMA DON’t end having their own kid I’ll hate you forever!! Okay I wouldn’t hate you, but would very much curse Ashton never to wear red again.
ok but daddy ash getting a surprise from y/n and shes expecting and they have to explain to princess that shes getting a new brother/sister :-)
listen i am soft as fuck so i’m coming for ur hearts. 2.5k of fluff fluff and fluff.
masterlist is linked in the source
this is part eighteen
—
As you went around the various people, unable to let go of Anne for more than three seconds in amazed disbelief that he’d flown them all the way out to LA for this, your little girl was animatedly chatting with Cal, sat on his shoulders as she described how she helped Ashton pick out your ring.
“He took such a big risk getting all of you out here to celebrate a potential engagement.” You hummed to Anne whilst the two of you stood in the kitchen, away from the chaos. Ashton was in the lounge his laughter ringing clear through to the kitchen.
You smiled.
“When you’re sure about someone, you know it’s going to be a yes. The last time I saw him so sure of something was when they decided to really try it as a band. When we met both of you for the first time, and I saw how he interacted with you and the family, I could see how he fell in love so quickly with the both of you.” Your cheeks flushed a dark shade as you felt the tears build up.
“If it’s any consolation, the way you’ve accepted both of us, it means the world to me. You’ve made more of an effort than my own family, the same with the boys and it’s so overwhelming and I shouldn’t be crying.” You laughed as you wiped the tears that had fallen.
Anne wiped her own as she pulled you in for another hug, pressing a soft kiss to your forehead as she pulled away.
“It’ll be official soon enough, and I look forward to officially welcoming a new daughter and granddaughter to the family. Even when said granddaughter already calls me her nana.”
Almost as if she were called, Calum entered the kitchen with her sat atop his shoulders, a beaming grin on her lips.
“Look at the two of you!” Your phone was out fast as you snapped a photo of the two of them. Calum laughed.
“Nana! Uncle Cal helped me be taller than daddy!” You both giggled a Calum helped her down so she could give Anne a hug.
“You alright?” Calum’s voice was quiet as the two of you watched her wrap her arms around Anne’s waist and lean her head back, talking a mile a minute to Anne. To Anne’s credit, she nodded in the right places.
“Yeah, just a bit overwhelmed. Don’t get me wrong, I am absolutely loving this, and thank you so much.” You leaned up, kissing his cheek. He smirked, throwing an arm over your shoulder as he squeezed you tightly.
“Hey, you’re officially family now.”
“Not till the wedding.” Calum shrugged.
“Your munchkin made us family the day she called Ashton her dad. And there was the pang once more, the wish for your mom to be there to witness it.
“I just—I sometimes wish my family didn’t turn their backs on me when I found out I was pregnant. She’d have been spoiled rotten. They would have loved Ashton.” The hitch in your voice caused him to pull you outside, Anne craftily distracting your daughter so you could escape unnoticed.
Pulling you into a tight hug, you allowed the tears to fall, just for a few moments.
It was times like these, big milestones in both of your lives that you wished you could share with your family.
But they’d taken the route of turning their backs on you when you had announced your pregnancy. Your mom had been a staunch supporter, especially after your little girl was born. The rest of the family actively ignored you both.
It was only when you’d come home to find your mom in tears, did you learn why they’d cut you off completely.
“They think that you were too influenced by a single parent. Should’ve married someone who would’ve treated you right enough to teach you family values. Said our line was cursed, single parents out of all of us.”
You’d called them that day, screaming about how dare they take their so called beliefs and turn their backs. But they’d come back with crueller insults.
As you pulled away from Cal, he wiped the few remaining tears from your cheeks and you sighed.
“Better?” You snorted at that.
“Not really. I miss my mom. I wish my family weren’t such dicks. I’m surprised they haven’t come knocking yet.”
“What would you do if they did?”
“Honestly? Tell them to get bent. I found a new family in Shay and Marc, in you guys, with Ashton. I’m good.” He grinned before glancing  up as the backdoor opened.
“Everything okay?” You turned to see Ashton, holding your daughter on his hip, smiles on both of their faces.
“Yeah, we’re good.” You returned the smiles with ease and Calum gave you another soft squeeze before heading to the backdoor.
You watched in amusement as your daughter reached for him and he lucked her from Ashton’s arms.
“C’mon cuddlebug, I think it’s time we try to beat Uncle Mike at Mario Kart. You wanna help me?” You could hear your daughter cheering as the door shut, muting the sounds inside as Ashton moved closer to you.
“I know you said you were good, but was that for her sake or mine?” His lips met yours in a soft kiss and it hit you that you were the lucky sod that got to marry this man.
“Just, slightly maudlin over family stuff.” Ashton sighed, his fingers lifting up, gently tracing down the side of your cheek. You leaned into his touch with a small smile.
“I hate that they did such a thing. I know it happened before I met you, but as good as you are lying to your daughter, you’re not that good with me.”
This caused you some soft laughter before he pulled out his pulled out his phone. You watched as he stuck on a playlist of soft songs before taking your hands within his.
“Dance with me?” You could feel your heartbeat pick up a little before it settled once more, a feeling of content washing over you as you slow danced with him.
“So I’m an open book to you, huh?” You teased playfully as your bodies moved slowly to the music.
“Not all the time. I think I’ve got it nailed down close though. Whenever she does something, your eyes are full of joy, but your smile isn’t all there sometimes. Especially her big milestones. Don’t think I didn’t hear you crying after her first day of school.” You knew that the comment held nothing but love behind those words.
“She’s growing up so fast Ash, and I’m scared that when she’s ready to leave, I won’t be ready for her to go.” His lips pressed against your forehead as the two of you swayed.
“I can’t offer great advice because I’ve only entered her life when she was already starting to grow up and when my siblings were growing up, I was already on tour and out of the house.” The two of you traded small laughs.
“I just, I want her to stay this age. Where she wants her days with us, and her uncles. And that Nana is the best thing since sliced bread because she listens like no one else does.” More laughter followed from the two of you.
It was easy to lapse into silence, your head resting on his chest as the two of you danced around the porch. Neither of you noticed the curtain twitching.
As the opening chords of Elvis’ Can’t Help Falling In Love began playing, you found yourself smiling as his head tilted down and he began to sing along softly.
You enjoyed the moment of peace that seemed to wash over the two of you, nothing but you and him, dancing together on Calum’s back porch and him serenading you.
“You best pull out all the stops for the wedding.” You finally murmured and he laughed, his lips meeting yours softly.
“You know I will.”
—
As you adjusted to being engaged, you found yourself almost brimming with a lot more confidence.
It was certainly noticed and appreciated by Ashton, especially on the days where your little girl spent the day with one of her uncles. They were god sends during the summer holidays, especially on the days that Ashton had to be elsewhere and she wasn’t able to tag along.
You’d had a sit down dinner with Shay and Marc to celebrate your engagement.
“So now that you’ve announced to the world that you two are engaged, are there any solid agreements on a wedding date?” The two of you traded small smiles and Marc chuckled.
“This is where they tell us they eloped.” You gave Marc a very scandalised look, prompting both Shay and Ashton to laugh.
“Not eloping, no. But the boys have an album coming out, followed by another world tour. So we’ve been looking at dates and realised that if we get married before or during the tour, it’ll feel like a rushed honeymoon.” You explained and Ashton smiled softly.
“So we figured, we’ve been together this long, why not a little while longer? So we’re looking into dates the following spring.” Ashton explained to the almost bewildered couple.
“So not next spring, but the following spring?” Shay clarified and you nodded. “Well at least they can’t say you’re rushing into the wedding.” This set off a round of laughter.
When you got home later that night, with the promise of another get together with Shay and Marc soon, you took advantage of the quiet house.
Or at least, you were going to until a wave of nausea hit you and had you running to the bathroom, that nights dinner showing up in the toilet bowl.
You knew then that the mood for the night was ruined, giving a pouting look to Ashton after you’d cleaned your teeth and gotten changed.
“It’s rare we get a child free house.” You grumbled at him, making him laugh.
“I know, but if you’re throwing up your dinner, lets not tempt fate, shall we?” And you knew you couldn’t argue with that.
So when you woke up the next morning, long after Ashton had kissed you goodbye, a sudden thought hit you as you scrambled for you phone, checking the health app.
Your period due date had come and gone. And instead of morning sickness when you’d been pregnant the first time around tended to happen in the evening.
“Okay, deep breaths. Buy a few tests, see if you throw up tonight and tomorrow. Once is chance, twice is coincidence. Third time’s a pattern.” A soft pang hit your heart at the words your mom had often told you.
You carried on with your day, locking away the internal panic as you added the pregnancy tests to the grocery run you did.
When you got home, you shoved them in the cabinet under the sink and distracted yourself from the way your thoughts were going.
The process worked until  you were throwing up again, and Ashton was running up the stairs in worry.
“Are you sure you don’t have any kind of bug, love?” His fingers pressed a cool, damp cloth to your forehead and you sighed in relief.
“Not too sure. Do you think Mike could keep her another night? If it is a bug, I don’t want her catching it.”
“I’ll text him now. She��ll be overjoyed she gets another night with him.” This made you giggle before the wave of nausea hit and your head was over the toilet bowl once more.
The next day, Ashton stayed home all day. He kept you on dry toast with lemon and ginger tea which seemed to be doing wonders for your stomach.
But when you were running for the bathroom once more, even after having only had toast throughout the day, you felt your heart flip at the possible reality of being pregnant.
So once you shooed Ashton out of the bathroom, you got the three tests out, taking a slow, deep breath as you peed on the sticks and waited.
“Babe, are you okay?” You opened the door, and pulled Ashton inside.
“I wasn’t too sure, but mom always say ‘first time is chance, second is a coincidence and third time’s a pattern,” you rambled to his confused face, “so I worked out that my period is late and I’m suffering with the same sickness I suffered the first time around and I went ahead and bought some pregnancy tests and-”
Ashton covered your lips with his hand and you stopped talking.
“Breathe, angel.” And you did.
It took a few times to slow your heart rate down and you could feel your heart and stomach flutter in nerves and anticipation.
“I’m suffering the same symptoms I had when I was pregnant the first time around. So I got some tests. I wanted to wait because, it’s stupid but mom always said-”
“First time is chance, second is a coincidence and third time’s a pattern. You wanted to be sure it wasn’t just food poisoning.” You nodded at his words.
“How much longer do we need to wait?”
“They should be done. Ash, I’m scared.” You finally blurted out and he took his hands in yours.
“We’re in this together. I promise.” He whispered, pressing a soft kiss to your lips.
Taking in a deep breath, you looked down to the test and you felt your heart stutter.
Pregnant.
You were pregnant with Ashton’s child.
“Baby?” You whispered, your eyes turning to him and you could see the tears gathered in his eyes and panic flooded you for a second before his lips curved up into the biggest smile you’d seen him wear.
His gaze turned from the tests to you and you couldn’t help yourself. You were grinning with him.
“We’re gonna be parents again.” He whispered and you couldn’t stop the sob of joy as his arms picked you up, laughter bubbling from both of you.
“We’re gonna be parents again!” Came from your lips this time, and as he danced around with you in his arms, you felt lighter than ever.
He placed you on your feet, immediately falling to his knees afterwards and his fingers pushed up under your bed shirt, caressing the skin softly, his eyes studying the soft skin with an awe like look upon his features.
“Hiya peanut,” he whispered so softly that you almost missed it, “your mommy and daddy are gonna take real good care of you.” His lips pressed against your stomach and you giggled through your tears, running your fingers through his hair.
He tilted his head back, a few tears falling as he took you in.
“You are an amazing woman.”
“I’m still the same woman, just pregnant.” You giggled again, leaning down to meet his lips with yours.
“That still makes you amazing. Holy shit, we’re going to be parents again.”
—
tag list: @cals-babylons , @plainwhiteluke , @calumspeachy , @wrappedaroundcal , @holidayhood , @mistletoemichael , @merryashmas , @hereforlukescruff , @astroashtonio , @catchinqcalum , @roselukes , @5saucewho, @babylon-uncrowned , @dontstopisagoodsongchangemymind , @therainydays4 , @asht0ns-world , @silverchainbee , @hidd3nfangirl , @doodleasouarus , @hemmomfg , @mylovehes , @songforhema , @kinglyhood , @youngblood199456 , @makecoffeenotwars , @5squash , @negative-love , @softboycal , @you-of-ghost , @dannisos , @balsamichood , @meetyoutheremgc , @lmao5sosimagines , @lietoash , @aw-hawkeye , @biggestslutforcalum , @drummerboy794 , @itkindajusthappenedreally, @mycollectionofnuts , @coreybryanttrash , @abitloudforanaccousticset , @boytoynamedcalum , @teampreator , @dukehoods , @hoe4hemmo , @calumhampton , @sassy-asht0n , @toofadedtofight , @gigglyirwin , @blue-skies-are-alright , @hearts-to-the-sky , @tiddlerrr , @all-i-want-is2b-loved-by-you , @thesensationalcalum , @ashtxns-hxe , @cakeassx-blog , @hopelessxcynic , @5secondsof-im-so-dead , @baby-loba , @captivatingcal , @rosesfromcth , @esoltis280 , @cal-puddies , @rosecoloredash , @jpgluke , @cathartichaoss , 
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carndriverrecords ¡ 5 years ago
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First Blog Post 3/20/20
Started CnD Records today. Feels Good.
Working on some diss tracks. Not sure if they see it coming - doesn’t matter either way.
Planning to release Car and Driver first real record this Friday 3/20/20. Driving Test Driver Fest 1. 
Self release first record - another 20 tracks next week. Compile top 10 - 15 for first release with other label - thinking Terrible, Kranky, blu ish label or Thrill Jockey. Citrus City a no-go for now. Maybe just keep building CnD records.
Be the middle man - take advantage of opportunities without sacrificing my bands’ (and those I represent) integrity.
Reach sleep destroyer.
Last night at Ted’s - great DJ set. Kidz bop remixes, Fancy. Crowd hated it. Ted disappointed we had to leave but it’s ok with everyone. Tall guy took aux right out of computer, have video. Started dancing - cucked everyone. Everyone thinks they’re the crazy charismatic guy. Am I actually? I think so. Syd thinks so. 
CnD Fest 2 , 3 , 4 at Purchase and beyond. Would like to play apartments, Scully’s den in BK (reach out) and Philly, DC etc.
Next voice memo album - 20 - 25 tracks right now. Better than the first. Danny said best album ever.
Working on “My oh Maia Reason Why” video - my favorite video I’ve ever seen. Getting good feedback.
Important to collab with certain SUNY people before I go:
Members of Lip Critic, Dawson, Neal, Gabe.
Send stuff back and forth with Joseph Kress. 
Need to write song about not sharing a stage w unstable Car and Driver - cost me 2 gigs. Ok because I had the police interaction that night. 
Things have been working out quite well. Syd is keeping me in check. Main priorities are keep the energy going while I can and make sure everyone around me is comfortable with me doing my thing, specifically mom, sofia.
Going to Only Angels tomorrow to collab with Alex.
Tues/Wed in RI with Zach Gorton. Need to see Nick Holcomb, Sofia, Will Orchard if he’s around. Riley in Boston? Would love to. 
Visit Dad soon on the way to Richmond, in a few weeks perhaps. Grandma Roberta etc. They have a BBQ place now - I bet it’s great. 
Follow up in the morning (3 hours from now) with wedding band, Kevin Daniels, drummer etc.
Film sunrise sessions at Purchase: My Ride’s Here, Splendid Isolation, Keep me in your heart, Studebaker, Cat’s in the Cradle, Everybody that you know. Don’t think twice, Boots of Spanish Leather, Someday my Prince, Teenage Dirtbag, Arthur (Woof Woof), Forget You, Signed Sealed Delivered, Superstition, The Promise, Hold me now (TT), Love on Top, Townes Van Zandt, 1-800 superstar, Evan Wright, Tom Petty, Blinded By the Light, Searching for a Heart, Mag Field’s, Barenaked Ladies, TMBG, Dolly Parton one sided love, Byrds, Beatles, Kinks, Stones, Parquet Courts, T Swift (Red, Way I loved you), Mitski, Sasami, Anything Could Happen, Beach House, He Needs Me, These Days, YLT, Beach Boys, Big Star Take Care, G500/Luna, Felt, Psychic TV, Shelia, BJM, Yellow Sarong, Over and Over, Hazel St, Heatherwood, Helicopter, He Would’ve Laughted, I wanna be your lover, The pump, Good enough (sleep destroyer), Them airs, BH (14, indian summer), help me scrape mucus off my brain), Beach Comber, DO YOUR THING, Icehead, Bobby, 1000 times, WIll Orchard, Bon Iver, MGMT, Tame impala, Instant Crush, etc. Art Vandelay, Quick Canal, Stereolab, Grouper, Broadcast, Animal Collective, Panda Bear, Bachelor Kisses, Cranberries, Cure, Pastels, MBV, I found a reason, pale blue eyes, Deerhoof, Gretel Alex G, Dancing w tears in my eyes, Elvis Costello, No age(things i did), Are ya ok, Maus, Ariel, R Stevie, Aphex Twin, Zomes, Vampire Weekend etc.
Bring Laptop for Beats on some and lyrics for all. 
Love life more than ever before. Music feels so good. Want to help, make amends, everything that moondog did. Don’t be homeless much longer.
Not sure if I like throbbing gristle - definitely like Psychic TV.
How savage should diss tracks be? Very? Match the severity of the person’s treatment of me/others. Aka - pretty bad for all except for Auto.
Listened to new Kanye today - 10x better and more influential than death grips. 
Realized today that i’ve spent my whole life wishing I was Kanye and now I am Kanye. Feels very good.
Everyone is gifted but internet makes us angst. 
I am mostly Camus right now - maybe more Kierkegaard soon. Religion and Terrence Malik. Still need to read books.
Order of Books: The graduate Portrait of the artist Consider Lobster Infinite Jest Pynchon Ulysses (At recommendation of American gamer association)
Syd is incredibly gifted. Want to help her feel comfortable doing art/work here in the chaos but also sort out the chaos for both of ours’ sake. I thrive in it, she tolerates well. Want to move to Riverdale still, maybe East Williamsburg with Backpack Chris. We’ll see about money. Philly perhaps, little too far. Jersey is good location but bad commute. Bad to RI. 
Visit RI and Boston Tues - Thurs. Sell Cigarettes at Concerts. Feels right.
Keep smoking for now - quit end of summer perhaps. 
Don’t have Corona Virus - glad we are not quarantined. Still be smart. Don’t expose mom regardless. Protect at ALL costs. 
Really though, why does Journee hate me? Write new track (Journee into forever nevermore not now not ever (Lou)) or Journee into SJW self righteous moral posturing (way too savage - maybe voice memo outro)
AR Kane album is incredible. Syd loves too. Sample everything.
Crazy - sound better at jazz than ever in my life. Exploring harmony - never practice. Teach free lessons all the time. Love the diminished scale. Might be best jazz guitarist to ever live. Time will tell. Would be cool long term. Prefer singing. 
Getting good at piano too.
I’m my favorite lyricist/comedian/actor.
Is maia right, acting isn’t hard? Weird they can’t act.
^Remember to delete^
Don’t share this on Facebook yet.
Why does Journee hate me so much? Just the Louis CK joke?
People who stay home and do nothing hate to see irreverent people doing things.
People like when you’re losing - don’t like to see you win.
^That makes me sound crazy.
F00D outsider might make me famous first.
Need to keep up with legal situation.
Hope mom and dad both live long. Call Syd, get something nice for everyone in family. Get weird jewel cases. Order jewelry from etsy. Post merch on bandcamp.
Finish album art soon. Music videos. Get better at animation etc. Pay Ben for his poster. Actually really good. Maybe album art? Duo album! Record in Wisconsin, release under his name. WIll success be good for Ben? I think so. Still can’t believe Liv told him I wasn’t ok. Wow - good content for lyrics. You truly cannot write this.
How will people react to diss tracks? Extremely negatively. Or no reaction. We shall see. Maybe no real names in the titles...... only on Oh my. 4 names in titles is too many. Don’t release Auto track. Maybe on Voice Memos. 
Track List: Good God Bed Head Rosa Reprise Oh My House Pop 1 skydive Pop 2 APhex GVO Pay 4 Take some Cherish Stars in F Are ya ok too bright Honeys Get to work Everybody That You Know Frost Bit BPC NYC New Age Heimet Helmet Deadbeat dads watermill for slitting bars romantic song david byrne Cinema study in cinema Brain ego Cherry doc marten Can’t liv w/o Venmo groceries Oh you like? Dancin DJ blues We are the State Farm robots Danny dorito is a dirty devito My funny valentine Zoomer blues The thing abt genres Blss Like minds ft dawson Lil toucha jazz Introducing car and driver The holy moment empire Ethics 101 - gma in the street Otto is sad I don’t know what it means! Operatic mellismatic Car and driver fest will be a success! Car and driver fest was a bust again! Cipha’s comedy corner Ryder Be gone evil atonal spirits!
Unreleased mental breakdown compilation ep:
I like all music! I’m a stupid pos Electric micro bike Get off your phone! John frusc Nice song Lap steel for 2 My masseuse advice Bed head wash sq Punchie John Maus yoyo interview Diminished  kinda thing
Build the NYC scene, w Blu ish, Evan, 1 800, sweet joseph, Comics Club, Dawson, Sloppy Jane, Wheatus,
See Jack Fortin in NYC soon. Either my event or his. 
Things are still good. Syd will be a great filmmaker. WIll maybe will end up with a dancer or a filmmaker - Probably not a musician. WIll have many loves. 
Things are good right now - hope they stay that way. 
Feel like Ezra Keonig - hopefully someone reads this one day and agrees. Different time in history and the internet - hope this is less cringe than Ezra’s blog , probably not. Ezra, if you’re reading this, sorry. See ya at Bernie’s rally. 
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songofadaydream ¡ 5 years ago
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my real-time thoughts on rocketman the 4th time I’ve seen it in total and 2nd time this week, let’s go bois *very long post warning*
fair warning I just finished jojo rabbit less than an hour ago and it was way more emotional than I expected, so she’s probably going to be an emotional wreck tonight ladies!! :)) also, I will be pausing the movie throughout! just wanted to let you know
starting the night out right with some lay’s salt and vinegar chips and a lush face mask
not even a part of the movie but when the studio logos come on a version of goodbye yellow brick road and just *french kiss*
it’s starting and I am here for it!!
taron comes looking like an icon and a snack. actually, a whole meal. the heart glasses omggg
“how long’s this gonna take.” “that’s really up to you.”
i never noticed this before but taron stares right into the camera as he introduces himself
“my name is elton hercules john. and I’m an alcoholic. and a cocaine addict. and a sex addict. and a bulimic. i’m also a shopaholic who was problems with weed, prescription drugs, and anger management.”
“well my dealer was out of town I thought this seemed like a good alternative,”
“and I wanted to get better.”
um the transition into the full on musical number of the bitch is back.
this tiny little child actor playing elton saying bitch 10 million times. props to his parents for letting him do that.
um also his riffs??
just the way his mom says, “love to.”
god his dad is a DOUCHE
“when are you going to hug me”🥺🥺
the flashlight conducting scene!! they’re playing rocketman and it’s so beautiful and cute!! whe lil reggie/elton gets on the mini piano oh my god
when he looks at his mom’s fashion magazines...gay fashion icon beginnings...
*looks up* “can we go home,”
he starts playing his teacher’s song and she’s just like 😦😦
idk if this is an unpopular opinion but I don’t really like the I want love scene. I just don’t really like the switching of singer, the arrangement, and tempo. just my opinion though :/ also that’s the only weak scene of this movie I think
elton’s grandmother appreciation post send tweet
that last I want love though.
when his mom is clearly getting it on in a car and her date is like, “I’m..,,..a friend of.,.,,..your mum’s,.,,”
his dad leaves. heartbreaking!
when he wipes the tear away...
“i discovered records. and rock and roll :)”
playing classical music with an elvis presley haircut is an aesthetic no I don’t take criticism
“excuse me. you can’t put that there,” “why not,” “it’ll get knocked off.”
when he transforms into teenage elton and an amazing musical/dance number starts
that face taron makes when the door shuts on the car
“it’s not just your name. you gotta kill the person you were born to be in order to become the person you wanna be.”
that kiss with one of the band members is so hot.
peeing in a bottle in disgusting I’m sorry.
“what’d you say your name was again?” “elton.” “elton. elton what.” “john. elton john.”
ray is cute af. also the transcendental moment when he hands elton the envelope with bernie’s lyrics in it.
“one frothy coffee, no froth.”
jamie is so cute what the heckkkk
singing streets of loredo in a cafe is so wholesome and adorable
holy sHIT BORDER SONG IS STARTING
bernie and elton are literally so cute together as friends omg
also completely digging these like early 70s silk scarf things.
“yeah I could just take those songs and leave if you like,”
“what about the fact that you’re a f*g...your little friend here...is a homosexual.”
bernie not caring whether or not elton is is gay is Peak Pure ™
“oH fUcK”
when they stumble home drunk. the cuteness I can’t.
“you are a ssshhHHITT hot piano player, you have an aMAZING voice, and I’m telling you there is something special that happens...when you sing our songs.”
the way the two handle elton’s leaning in for a kiss is SO GOOD and I could write an entire essay on it. “we became inseparable after that. the brother I never had.”
“anyway I took his advice. told arabella. she took it quite well actually,” *cut to her throwing his piano out the window* “sHe KiLlEd mY pIaNo”
your song and everything about that scene is perfection. that’s all I have to say.
“you can’t just sPRING the troubadour on me.”
“put on a great
fucking
show. and just don’t kill yourself with drugs?”
amoreena is so good how didn’t I realize this until now!
doug flirting w/bernie kills me every time.
“ooh dude. what the hell’re you wearing?”
“my stage gear.”
*bernie stumbles in drunk* “reggie! reggie reggie. neil diamond is at the bar he’s talkin to leon russell and half the fuckin beach boys eh??”
“jesus sHIT bernie,”
that little, “well come on then,” after being yelled by bernie & ray
“please welcome all the way from london, england...”
ELTON JOHN
when he starts singing it’s like the smoothest molasses ever and I am HERE for it.
there’s an interview where taron says, and I quote, “those dungarees made my ass look massive” wholeheartedly agree my guy. but in best way possible
when they start floating
elton’s jacket and the magic that is the entirety of tiny dancer <3 <3
there’s a whole ass bed in a tipi?? what the hell
“so you like the songs then?” “not quite as much as the singer,” OH SHIT THE GAY TENSION
“there are moments in a rockstar’s life that defines who he is...and it’s going to be a wild ride,”
it’s a weird scene to like but I really love the take me to the pilot love scene. the song is so good and perfect for that moment, and they seem genuinely attracted to each other (even though john ends up being a huge dick later)
the way he takes the glasses off
the lil race to get their pants off is weird but it works
elton just seems so happy and content at the end and it’s so refreshing.
when he gets the shoes and the glasses <3
he looks so happy and fulfilled my little boy
why is it so cute when he and Kiki record don’t go breaking my heart
elton stops it the SECOND he sees John oh my goddd
kiki’s little “ough” when she sees john
“elton what’s going on are we going again or should we go for a pint,” *sees john walk into the closet* “yeah no yeah you should go for a pint”
HONKY CAT IS ONE OF IF NOT THE BEST SCENES/SONGS IN THE ENTIRE FILM THERE I SAID IT
cocaine induced head butt of a soccer ball is iconic
why did they have to get rid of rayyyy
the, “best of luck to you elton,” is so bitter yet genuinely well-wishing??
“welp...that was *absolutely* horrible,” is such a mood
the scene where he goes to come out to his dad is so incredibly heartbreaking, especially when it cuts to him in rehab.
taron deserves an oscar just for throwing that chair alone.
“what have you got to do the get a fucking drink around here, eh?” and then he takes a swig from a bottle in the car with john
when he calls his mom to come out. that shit hurts.
“i just hope you realize you’re choosing a life of being alone forever...you’ll never be loved properly.” he opens his mouth. it’s so awful guys. and then he fucking gets punched by john what an absolute dick.
“real love’s hard to come by. so you find a way to cope without it.”
the scene that comes right after that when he’s getting ready for his show and snorts cocaine and takes a swig of a drink really shows how far off the deep end he had gone. it’s heartbreaking, really.
“PEOPLE DON’T PAY TO SEE rEgInALd dWiGhT THEY PAY TO SEE ELTON JOHN. DON’T EVER TELL ME HOW TO DO MY FUCKING JOB.” “WRITE THE FUCKING LYRICS, BERNIE. LET ME DEAL WITH THE REST,” “i’m sorry,” “i know.”
that headdress tho
ok but pinball wizard absolutely slaps and so does the montage with all of his changing outfits
oh my god the drag queen in his room though
NONONONO JOHN IS LITERALLY RIGHT THERE FUCKING CHEATING ON HIM IT IS NOT OKAY.
what an inconvenient time for his mom to waltz in
“and what a shy little boy you were! look at you now.”
“mum you’re ON my GOWN,”
i wish i were as cool as bernie getting out of that car and coming inside
“yEaGhHhH...go get a lil drink. yehyeh,”
get ready for one of the most impactful scenes of 2019 if not the 2010s ladies
“FOR MY NEXT TRICK i’m gonna fucking kill myself.”
again, I could write an entire essay on this but the fact that he is literally hitting rock bottom with his childhood self down there is so impactful and powerful and one of the greatest artistic choices they made in this film. also the cinematography is gorgeous.
and oh, by the way, taron actually performed this underwater. no cgi or special effects. where is his oscar.
john is a dick to him on the stretcher but bernie looks so genuinely concerned for his friend and I love that.
it is absolutely gut wrenching when they pump his stomach.
THE CINEMATOGRAPHY AND ANGLES AND SILHOUETTES WHEN IT GETS TO THE BIG CHORUS PART IS SO SO SO INCREDIBLY GOOD AND AMAZING AND I WILL NEVER, EVER GET OVER IT.
the nurses getting him ready for what was probably his biggest/most iconic performance to date is something so incredible, and such a great choice cinematically, story wise, and really emotion wise too. he was at his absolute rock bottom and did one of if not the most iconic performance a little over 24hrs later, and I think this little part really helps to illustrate that.
taron actually hit that baseball and I’m so proud of him for it.
the liftoff is so great. and then it cuts to him in a plane with smoke on his head which just. ugh.
hot take: elton’s addiction wouldn’t have gotten so bad if he had just gone to bernie’s fucking ranch with him
THE QUEEN OUTFIT IS SO ICONIC IM SORRY
also if this movie doesn’t win the goddamn best costume design I swear to god.
YES BENNIE AND THE JETSSSSS
this is also such a great scene as well omg.
when he flashbacks to his childhood and difficult and also great moments in his life during this sequence. that hit hard.
i feel like no one talks about taron’s arms enough? they as thiccc as his thighs why y’all sleeping on them
“You signed a contract with me years ago, so I’ll still be collecting my 20% long after you’ve killed yourself.” that’s cold as hell.
when he throws that glass at the door. and then victim of love starts playing straight afterwards UGH dexter fletcher you need to STOP and CALM DOWN
listen I don’t know elton was thinking and/or feeling in terms of life and his sexuality when he decided to marry renata but can we talk about his wedding outfit?? wtffff it’s so gay and if you don’t see it you’re blind.
the look his mom gives him I’m DEAD
they literally had separate rooms this was not a normal marriage. the breakfast scene is so sad though.
“did being married make you happy?” “not really, I’m gay.” hands down one of the most iconic lines in the entire movie.
why does he have sperm on this firework suit coat.
“you know I am so sick of running away from who I am.”
the way his voice wavers and cracks is not okay. and neither is his mom twisting everything around so that she’s made out to be the victim. and don’t cry in the bathroom elton please buddy. you’ll be okay.
“campaign to kill yourself is going well, eh?”
“when did you give up? if you don’t care about yourself how can you expect anyone else to...it’s not weak to ask for help.”
goodbye yellow brick road is such a beautiful song and scene and why didn’t we get Jamie to sing more I mean come on he does so incredibly well in this scene.
also I didn’t really realize that they flipped a few verses around for the movie. and elton yelling and screaming at bernie as he leaves is so powerful.
elton yelling at himself.
this is also when he has a heart attack?? chest infection?? I don’t really know but he falls down the stairs and Mr. Dick Manager John makes him continue to perform.
and there he is in the first scene’s costume. singing the rest of yellow brick road.
and there he goes. off to rehab. a full circle moment. good for him for finally taking control of his life and addictions.
“yeah but I started acting like a c*nt in 1975. I just forgot to stop.”
“maybe I should’ve tried to be more ordinary.” his grandmother walks in. “he was never ordinary.” my. heart. can. not. take. this.
this next scene where he talks to everyone in his mind is incredibly powerful and I will shout it from the rooftops until the end of time.
“my problem is that I believed you loved me. and you’re incapable of it.” the SHADE
“actually I think I’m okay with strange.”
BERNIE COMES IN MY LOVE
“bernie...I never told you how much I need you.” shit fam here comes the waterworks
“you just need to remember who you are. and be okay with it.”
and then his childhood self comes in. “I haven’t been reggie Dwight for years.” “when are you going to hug me.” he engulfs his young self in a hug. this is one of the best moments of the film and I am now full on crying.
I can’t get over how wholesome bernie’s visit is with Elton. the sweetest thing ever.
“you’re not scared you’re not good without it, you’re scared to feel again...this is the part you gotta do on your own. these...need music”
“thank you bernie.” “you’re my brother.” <3
and then he finally sits down to write again. and it’s pure magic.
I’m still standing is a a feat of what he’s been through the entire movie. finally, he’s sober, he’s accepting of himself/his sexuality, and is getting to a better place. plus, it mirrors the original music video, and is everything I’ve ever needed and more. *the* perfect scene and song to end upon.
he’s so happy at the end. and then the epilogue starts and says he’s been sober for 28 years and counting, set up an aids charity, still writes with bernie, met his husband David 25 years ago and is finally loved properly (rip my heart out of my chest, why don’t you), has two sons and is retiring from touring. and and the I’m gonna love me again plays with him and taron and it’s just such a perfect song to end, and I can’t.
so. those are my thought while watching rocketman for the 4th time in total, 2nd time this week. sorry that’s it’s so long. I just love this film so much. anyways, it’s almost 2am and I’m an emotional wreck. I’m gonna go cry and go to bed now. thanks for making it this far. :) <3
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Every question.
1. Would you have sex with the last person you text messaged?Ohhh yes ;)
2. You talked to an ex today, correct?Nope. I never saw Cassie again since I saved her more than ten years ago. Lisa doesn’t even remember me. And Robin? Nope I visit her once at the restaurant she works at but that was also a long time ago.And I mean... why would I?
3. Have you taken someones virginity?Yeah I did.
4. Is trust a big issue for you?Actually yeah. I mean I got myself a family that I trust but it was always hard for me to start trusting someone. Now when I do trust someone, then it isn’t an issue anymore.
5. Did you hang out with the person you like recently?‘Hang out’ heh? That’s how the kids call it today? But really, of course I do. Woke up next to him a few hours ago.
6. What are you excited for?Don’t tell anyone. Maybe christmas. Definitively for my wedding.
7. What happened tonight?Hmm. I made dinner, we watched a movie. Cas was telling me about some new facts about bees. I tried to teach him pool. He disctracted me. We went to bed ;)
8. Do you think it’s disgusting when girls get really wasted?What even is this question? Get wasted if you wanrt. Just be safe.
9. Is confidence cute?I think so.
10. What is the last beverage you had?Whiskey.
11. How many people of the opposite sex do you fully trust?Eh let’s see. Mom, Jody, Donna, Ellen, Jo, Charlie, Claire, Alex. So eight.
12. Do you own a pair of skinny jeans?Ugh. Yeah. But I never wore them. Dunno. Probably look stupid.
13. What are you gonna do Saturday night?Trying to teach Cas pool again. Or maybe watch a movie and just enjoy a nice day without almost dying.
14. What are you going to spend money on next?Hmmm good question. Probably pie. But I’m also eying some classes I’d love to take. So maybe.
15. Are you going out with the last person you kissed?Oh hell yes.
16. Do you think you’ll change in the next 3 months?People always change a bit. I think maybe it’s little things. I do hope to get happier. Without having to worry all the time.
17. Who do you feel most comfortable talking to about anything?@anangelamuse-castiel-spnfam
18. The last time you felt broken?When Jake killed Mom and Cas walked away from me.
19. Have you had sex today?Not yet. Wish me luck.
20. Are you starting to realize anything?What should I realize?
21. Are you in a good mood?Yeah.
22. Would you ever want to swim with sharks?Honestly? I think it’d be kinda badass. But I can already hear Cas and Sammy scolding me.
23. Are your eyes the same color as your dad’s?Nope. I have no idea why my eyes turned out to be so green.
24. What do you want right this second?Cas.
25. What would you say if the person you love/like kissed another girl/boy?I hate this question. If he would kiss somebody else and *wants* to be with them, I’d let him go. No matter how that would hurt.
26. Is your current hair color your natural hair color?Yes it is.
27. Would you be able to date someone who doesn’t make you laugh?I don’t think so. I mean laughing is so important and Cas makes me laugh all the time (not always on purpose).
28. What was the last thing that made you laugh?Cas asking Sam why his hair looks like that.
29. Do you really, truly miss someone right now?Sure do. Mostly my mom. But I also miss Cas and Sammy when they are away.
30. Does everyone deserve a second chance?Yes.
31. Honestly, do you hate the last boy you were talking to?No. He’s my brother.
32. Does the person you have feelings for right now, know you do?Yeah. I mean he didn’t for a long time, but I was brave and finally told him.
33. Are you one of those people who never drinks soda?Yeah kinda. Like really rare that I order soda.
34. Listening to?Led Zeppelin.
35. Do you ever write in pencil anymore?Sometimes.
36. Do you know where the last person you kissed is?Yeah I can hear the shower and you know what? He sings sometimes in there.
37. Do you believe in love at first sight?Ask me ten years ago, I’d say no. But when Cas came into that old barn? All powerful and hot? Maybe I got hard. But really the love came after I really got to know him.
38. Who did you last call?Charles. Invited her over.
39. Who was the last person you danced with?Cas. I just dunno grabbed him and spun him around in the bunker. I think he was kinda surprised but it was nice.
40. Why did you kiss the last person you kissed?Because I wanted the pie he baked. No, because I love him of course. Wished him a goodnight like that.
41. When was the last time you ate a cupcake?Donna gave me some a few weeks ago. So good, but not pie.
42. Did you hug/kiss one of your parents today?No... they are both dead.
43. Ever embarrass yourself in front of a crush?When do I not? Just yesterday I slipped in the shower and Castiel saw it while he brushed his teeth. A+
44. Do you tan in the nude?I try to tan, but it never works. I get only more freckles.
45. If you could, would you take back your last kiss?No.
46. Did you talk to someone until you fell asleep last night?Yeah. Cas always talk to me to sleep, so I can shut my brain off.
47. Who was the last person to call you?Cas or Sammy.
48. Do you sing in the shower?....No?
49. Do you dance in the car?Hell yes.
50. Ever used a bow and arrow?Yeah quite a lot actually. Comes in handy while hunting.
51. Last time you got a portrait taken by a photographer?Oh... never actually. Or does the mugshot count?
52. Do you think musicals are cheesy?Yeah. But I like them anyway.
53. Is Christmas stressful?I have no idea? I just sounds nice.
54. Ever eat a pierogi?No.
55. Favorite type of fruit pie?Everyone thinks it’s apple. And while I kill for apple pie, cherry is even better.
56. Occupations you wanted to be when you were a kid?After that with Mom, I wanted to be a firefighter. Also loved to be a mechanic or... have a bakery.
57. Do you believe in ghosts?Ha. yes.
58. Ever have a Deja-vu feeling?Yeah and I hate it.
59. Take a vitamin daily?No?
60. Wear slippers?Yeah.
61. Wear a bath robe?Also yes.
62. What do you wear to bed?If Cas fucks the lights out of me, nothing. Otherwise he got us soft pajames, because apprently it’s not good for me to sleep in jeans.
63. First concert?Small town band I forgot the name of. I sneaked out when Dad was sleeping and got wasted. I can still hear him screaming at me next morning, cause he thought a monster got me.
64. Wal-Mart, Target or Kmart?I don’t care.
65. Nike or Adidas?Neither?
66. Cheetos Or Fritos?Cheetos.
67. Peanuts or Sunflower seeds?Peanuts.
68. Favorite Taylor Swift song?What? I don’t have a... okay it’s ‘Shake it off.’
69. Ever take dance lessons?No - but when I was young I wanted to... I just.. well maybe I should take some before the wedding, right?
70. Is there a profession you picture your future spouse doing?Oh. Not really, I’m just happy if they are happy as well.
71. Can you curl your tongue?Yes.
72. Ever won a spelling bee?No.
73. Have you ever cried because you were so happy?Yes.
74. What is your favorite book?Sherlock Holmes.
75. Do you study better with or without music?With.
76. Regularly burn incense?No.
77. Ever been in love?Still am.
78. Who would you like to see in concert?Led Zeppelin. AC/DC. Elvis...
79. What was the last concert you saw?Can’t remember their name.
80. Hot tea or cold tea?Hot.
81. Tea or coffee?Coffee.
82. Favorite type of cookie?Chocolate.
83. Can you swim well?Yes.
84. Can you hold your breath without holding your nose?Eh yeah.
85. Are you patient?Not really. Which is not a good thing.
86. DJ or band, at a wedding?Band.87. Ever won a contest?Yeah once I won an eating contest.
88. Ever have plastic surgery?Nope.
89. Which are better black or green olives?Ew. None.
90. Opinions on sex before marriage?Everyone can do what they like. I wish I hadn’t waited for marriage but maybe for the right person.
91. Best room for a fireplace?Living room. Or my Dean cave.
92. Do you want to get married?Yes.
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lorena1956983584-blog ¡ 5 years ago
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How Many Completely different Genres Of Popular Music Are There? No. You are Flawed.
Genres in music are like branches of a tree. This can be a superb thing, culturally talking. The national music scene has never been this diverse. Too typically, particularly in rock's heyday, http://www.audio-transcoder.com/ it was dominated by acts that made their bones from taking nonwhite music and sanitizing it for white audiences. That custom undoubtedly lives on, in musicians like Justin Bieber, but the pop charts and critics' notebooks precisely replicate the American mosaic in a manner that they actually haven't earlier than. We could also be in the midst of a big leap backward as a rustic, but at least the music is good. Even the country charts are fairly woke.
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Music Genre Classification is without doubt one of the many branches of Music Information Retrieval From here you can carry out different duties on musical data like beat monitoring, music generation, recommender methods, track separation and instrument recognition etc. Music evaluation is a various discipline and also an attention-grabbing one. A music session someway represents a second for the person. Discovering these moments and describing them is an interesting challenge within the subject of Information Science. Every technology seems to offer the subsequent one crap for its music. (See what I did there?) I teased my dad and mom about their disco till at some point all my Green Day and Good Charlotte sounded dated in my headphones. Previous people" used to inform us children that our songs have been a mirrored image of our disintegrating values, that music was worse than it was once. Positive, they missed their Elvis and their Bee Gees, however they also missed the days once we appreciated good morals. The lyrics we mouthed, the artists we worshipped, the genres we bumped were all proof of society sliding into the sewer.
Maybe unsurprisingly, Kenny finds that accidents - including car crashes and drug overdoses - are a huge reason for premature death for musicians, accounting for nearly 20 percent of all deaths throughout genres. But accidents are much more likely to kill rock, metal and punk musicians. Punk and metal musicians additionally appear prone to suicide, whereas gospel musicians had the lowest suicide charge of all genres. Homicide accounted for 6 % of deaths, however was the reason for dying for an unimaginable half of rap and hip hop musicians in Kenny's pattern. Overall, I think this project was an effective way for me to department out of the musical genres I most resonate with, and to teach myself on the history of different musical genres. In hindsight, I would have loved to include a bit and even dedicate a complete undertaking in direction of discovering the extent to which sexually explicit or violent content inside songs affect a person. This thought occurred to me once I finished a class on the College of Rhode Island which lined intercourse and violence within the media. It will have been interesting to compare the lyrics of recent songs the lyrics of older genres and see in the event that they correlate. I additionally wished to reflect on the part in my poster that includes responses to the query: what impression does music have on society". There wasn't one participant who had anything adverse to say about music, which helped me to appreciate simply how vital it has and will at all times be. Let's return to the question of Ambient vs. New Age music. In their lighter", commercialized form, well known for the reason that '80s, these may be some gently flowing, predictable pieces of music, typically utilizing just a few fundamental chords, inspiring melodies and easy, most likely synth - based instrumentation, with frequent use of piano and strings (or string-like synth pads), maybe some arpeggiated synth elements. However, in the late '60s, pioneers of digital music were already engaged on a compositionally and aesthetically a lot deeper degree to create Ambient items (and New Age music later within the '70s). The 2 albums generally credited with laying down the style's sonic and conceptual framework have been Chuck Individual's 2010 LP Eccojams Vol. 1 (a Daniel Lopatin , aka Oneohtrix Point By no means, facet project) and Far Side Virtual (2011) by James Ferraro. Whereas Lopatin sampled from Eighties pop songs and fused them with the 1992 online game Ecco the Dolphin, Ferraro aimed for ringtone music" by sampling issues like the Skype log-in sound and being inspired by Brian Eno-composed Home windows ninety five tone, although his music usually may sound like Philip Glass or even the experimental digital music of Laurie Anderson. Whereas its day has come and gone, these two Vaporwave artists and others like Vektroid—whose album Flortal Shoppe beneath the Macintosh Plus moniker is perhaps the genre's defining document—are still making and releasing new music. This compendium of differences between the cultures of jazz and classical musicians is a supply of ever-rising fascination to me. I used to feel pissed off when a violinist couldn't play a groove, or when a jazz pianist froze up in front of a written passage. However actually these are simply manifestations of variations in brain structure, variations in coaching, and finally differences in culture. When you incorporate individuals with such variations into your music in an adroit manner, you may—as a substitute of shedding one thing—augment your sources to create an art that's tremendously multifaceted and rich, that celebrates and even thrives on difference. Mr. SINNETT: With jazz? You understand, it is fascinating as a result of I used to be a musician, truly, once I first heard jazz, and once I first heard jazz - I wasn't enjoying jazz, I used to be playing traditional soul music and rock and funk and those sort of things, however after I first heard jazz, I actually did not get it because it was the whole antithesis of every thing I used to be playing at that second. In different words, you had - I was coping with music that you just had quite simple, repetitive rhythmic devises in the music. It was primarily based on a groove, a specific sort groove. The concord we had been coping with was at a much decrease level in terms of complexity and it was primarily vocal.
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For these of you who assume that heavy metallic consists of the singer screaming as loud as they can, the guitarist playing the guitar as quick as they will, and the drummer banging on the drums as loud as they will, just take a moment to suppose: would it not ACTUALLY be that widespread if it was simply so simple as that? Strive listening to any heavy metal song. You may be pleasantly shocked, I promise you. The lyrics have a much deeper meaning than virtually every other style of music, and don't let the way some bands current themselves off the stage put you off. I do not prefer it when bands gown up in all-black and wear black make-up and all that stuff both, but attempt to just think about the music. There's much more to it than you suppose there is.
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kronos-the-timelord ¡ 6 years ago
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Dude, do all of the numbers for that getting to know you better ask! Or half bc 200 is a lot :0
ahhhhhh,, you so nice
1: My name? - Margaret
2: Do I have any nicknames? - maggie, mag, mags, maggles, at one point my friends called me parky
3: Zodiac sign? - libra
4: Video game I play to chill, not to win? - i’ve never been too good at video games (but i like watching ppl playing them) and i’ve only ever had a wii so my sims kingdom was a favorite of mine
5: Book/series I reread? - divergent and pjo
6: Aliens or ghosts? - yes
7: Writer I trust enough to read whatever they write? - @kata-chthonia
8: Favourite radio station? - 103.3 fm, although i mostly listen to spotify now
9: Favourite flavour of anything? - grape and blue raspberry
10: The word that I use all the time to describe something great? - great or cool
11: Favourite song? - a to b by matt hires
12: The question you ask new friends to get to know them better? - it usually has to do with what drew me to them in the first place followed up by a version ‘why do you think that?’ i like knowing how ppl think bc it gives me a better way to start understand their view
13: Favourite word? - aurora
14: The last person who hurt me, did I forgive them? - i can’t really remember, so i dont know what that says :/
15: Last song I listened to? - serial killer by moncrieff
16: TV show I always recommend? - dexter or if they don’t like blood and violence, any of john mulaneys specials
17: Pirates or ninjas? - i liked pirates when i was younger, but ninjas are cool
18: Movie I watch when I’m feeling down? - any studio ghibli or song of the sea
19: Song that I always start my shuffle with/wake-up song/always-on-a-loop song? - lately its been SLUT by bea miller
20: Favourite video games? - i really love boderlands, the art style is great
21: What am I most afraid of? - snakes and failing at something i’ve been saying that i wanted to do my entire life
22: A good quality of mine? - im nice??
23: A bad quality of mine? - im a bit aggressive and im really blunt about things
24: Cats or dogs? - dogs!! I like cats too but i dont know how to interact with them
25: Actor/actress you trust enough to watch whatever they’re in? - he’s a voice actor, but crispin freeman is really cool!
26: Favourite season? - fall and spring
27: Am I in a relationship? - yeah, but it’s long distance during the school year ;-;
28: Something I miss? - my boi,, he’ll be back soon tho
29: My best friend? @keencheckerboard and @memeathon
30: Eye colour? - brown
31: Hair colour? - brown with red and blonde highlights
32: Someone I love? - my mom
33: Someone I trust? - @keencheckerboard
34: Someone I always think about? - @memeathon
35: Am I excited about anything? - finals to be over!
36: My current obsession? - bnha tbh
37: Favourite TV shows as a child? - i loved avatar and ed, edd, and eddy
38: Do I have someone of the opposite sex that I can tell everything to? - to an extent, but i dont tell them /every/thing
39: Am I superstitious? - kind of
40: What do I think about most? - right now, school
41: Do I have any strange phobias? - not really, i mean i overthink a lot of things, but there’s no phobias
42: Do I prefer to be in front of the camera or behind it? behind
43: Favourite hobbies? - drawing/reading/writing/sleeping
44: Last book I read? - i think it was called stung, i actually finished it bc i wanted to complain about it properly
45: Last film I watched? - dumbo, my friend wanted to go see it, it wasnt good
46: Do I play any instruments? - i played clarinet for 3 years
47: Favourite animal? - dogs
48: Top 5 blog on Tumblr that I follow? - @wemakuu @wemakuutwo @keencheckerboard @memeathon @kata-chthonia
49: Superpower I wish I could have? - teleportation
50: How do I destress? - getting cozy and warm under my blankets with the lights off
51: Do I like confrontation? - i can be aggressive so i will be confrontational if i have to but i don’t go out of my way for it
52: When do I feel most at peace? - in my bed with the lights off
53: What makes me smile? - my friends, my boi, and goofy animal videos
54: Do I sleep with the lights on or off? - gotta be pitch black
55: Play any sports? - i played roller derby for 3 years
56: What is my song of the week? - really feeling be by hozier
57: Favourite drink? - …..water…. and a slushee
58: When did I last send a handwritten letter to somebody? - i think last summer???
59: Afraid of heights? - nope
60: Pet peeve? - slow walkers
61: What was the last concert I went to see? - does my high school’s band count???
62: Am I vegetarian/vegan/pescatarian? - nah
63: What occupation did I want to do when I was younger? - ob nurse, i still do
64: Have I ever had a friend turn enemy? - no, i’ve had ppl i tolerated turn into ppl i hate tho
65: What fictional universe would I like to be a part of? - bhna, but i feel the hero drama would get annoying after awhile
66: Something I worry about? - failing my classes
67: Scared of the dark? - nope
68: Who are my best friends? - this is the same as 29
69: What do I admire most about others? - their drive and where their motivation comes from
70: Can I sing? - no ;-;
71: Something I wish I could do? - sing
72: If I won the lottery, what would I do? - pay off my loans and (hopefully) for the rest of my college and then put whatever i had left into a savings account
73: Have I ever skipped school? - yes
74: Favourite place on the planet? - i think the smoky mountains are really pretty and i loved vacationing around them, but colorado was really neat too, so probs one of those places
75: Where do I want to live? - somewhere on the northeast coast!
76: Do I have any pets? - yeah!! He’s a doggo named dageus,,,, here he is,, the big boi!! (hes 121 pounds of love!!!!!)
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77: What is my current desktop picture? - something @memeathon drew me
78: Early bird or night owl? - night owl
79: Sunsets or sunrise? - im usually awake during sunset, but sunrise is really pretty
80: Can I drive? - yeah!
81: Story behind my last kiss? - i was saying bye to my boi at the airport
82: Earphones or headphones? - earphones
83: Have I ever had braces? - yeah,, they weren’t fun
84: Story behind one of my scars? - i have a couple little ones from acne on my back but other than that i don’t have any
85: Favourite genre of music? - i think indie rock?? Is that a genre?? Punk maybe????
86: Who is my hero? - florence nightingale,, she was hella cool and i went to her museum in london
87: Favourite comic book character? - i didn’t read a lot of comic books but i always liked spiderman and witchblade
88: What makes me really angry? - when ppl make fun of my friends >:l
89: Kindle or real book? - i like real books but ebooks are nice for traveling!!
90: Favourite sporty activity? - roller derby or skating
91: What is one thing that isn’t tight in schools that should be? - im not really sure what this question means????? But i didn’t like that in my middle school that the behavior coach(es) would already pick sides or would already hate kids that did nothing wrong and then in my high school no one cleaned up after themselves bc ‘the janitors can do it’ :/ it was really annoying
92: What was my favourite subject at school? - english/creative writing and art!!
93: Siblings? - i got an older brother who’s a big nerd
94: What was the last thing I bought? - i went to target last night and i got $68 worth of stuff including planty stuff, food, and gift stuff for my boyfriend’s moms
95: How tall am I? - 5’6” but i will not hesitate bitch
96: Can I cook? - yeah!
97: Can I bake? - yeah!
98: 3 things I love? - my friends/family, animals, and plants
99: 3 things I hate? - slow walkers, rasict/homo/trans/biphobic (anyone who just hates ppl for no reason tbh), and rude ppl >:l
100: Do I have more girl friends or boy friends? - more girl friends,,, i’ve kinda lost contact with most of my guy friends over the years,,,,
101: Who do I get on with better, girls or boys? - i feel more comfortable around other girls now but when i was younger i was okay with everyone
102: Where was I born? - in the cornfields of the midwest (i fucking hate this state)
103: Sexual orientation? - straight
104: Where do I currently live? - in the cornfields of the midwest, i am the creature you’re warned about, don’t walk alone at night
105: Last person I texted? - @memeathon : D
106: Last time I cried? - yesterday,,, finals hit me hard but i feel better now :D
107: Guilty pleasure? - uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh,,,,,, looking at gross stuff,,, like surgeries and sometimes those pimple popping videos,,,,,,,,
108: Favourite Youtuber? - i’ve been watching a lot of gordon ramsay videos lately but i think brandon rogers or sovietwomble are up there
109: A photo of myself. - heres one i took on my break at work
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110: Do I like selfies? - no,,, i don’t really like looking back on photos of myself bc i think i just look weird,, like even in my super nice senior photos,,, or baby pictures,,
111: Favourite game app? - does neko astsume count???
112: My relationship with my parents? - it’s p good :D
113: Favourite accents? - i’m not really sure,,, i think just a flat accent, like midwestern bc its the one im most familiar with so its like homey???????
114: A place I have not been but wish to visit? - japan,, nowhere in specific i just want to see the country
115: Favourite number? - 23!!!!
116: Can I juggle? - no
117: Am I religious? - im a polytheist (a bad one, but oh well)
118: Do I like space? - i love space!!!! Its so neat!!!!!!
119: Do I like the deep ocean? - no!!! Its awful!!!!
120: Am I much of a daredevil? - i think my friends think i am, but i dont really think so, i mean i’ll try anything if it sounds fun, but not everything
121: Am I allergic to anything? - not that i know of
122: Can I curl my tongue? - yes
123: Can I wiggle my ears? - no
124: Do I like clowns? - not really
125: The Beatles or Elvis? - a little bit of each
126: My current project? - my creative writing portfolio ;-; its not that hard but im trying to figure out how to get this character right
127: Am I a bad loser? - depends on what i lost in, like if it was a game i didn’t really care about than no, but if it was something that i cared about a lot than yeah
128: Do I admit when I wrong? - i always try to, but sometimes i don’t
129: Forest or beach? - forest,, i don’t like the beach,, too much sand
130: Favourite piece of advice? - it’s not really advice but just the reminder that your current situation is not your final destination
131: Am I a good liar? - i think so
132: Hogwarts house / Divergent faction / Hunger Games district? - slytherin (its funny bc im scared of snakes)/ dauntless/ and i think district 6 (i live in the crossroads of america so yeah)
133: Do I talk to myself? - all the fucking time
134: Am I very social? - sometimes, i am kinda a social introvert
135: Do I like gossip? - i like to hear it but not be part of it
136: Do I keep a journal/diary? - i have a bullet journal and i try to keep up with my habit and mood tracker daily
137: Have I ever hopelessly failed a test? - no, but i have gotten like high d’s and low c’s before that make me sad
138: Do I believe in second chances? - depends on what they messed up on the first chance, like if someone cheated then no
139: If I found a wallet full of cash on the ground, what would I do? - i would like to say that i would return it with no money taken, but im just not sure :/
140: Do I believe people are capable of change? - yeah, if they’re really trying and realize that they need to, but even if they do change i know not everyone will accept them back into their lives and it shouldn’t be expected that they should after someone changes for the better
141: Have I ever been underweight? - no
142: Am I ticklish? - very and i have this weird tactile thing thats like i dont like ppl lightly touching me, it freaks me out
143: Have I ever been in a submarine? - no
144: Have I ever been on a plane? - yes!! I love flying!! Its so much fun!!
145: In a film about my life, who would I cast as myself, friends and family? - uhhhh,, im going to go by face,, i think for me - shailene woodley bc when she had her short hair ppl told me i looked like her @meme - liana liberato, she got the round face @keen - winona ryder (but back in beetlejuice) boyfriend - tucker west, i know he’s not an actor but he looks so much like him,,,, also it took me forever just to find these guys so im not finding family :p
146: Have I ever been overweight? - no
147: Do I have any piercings? - i have my ears pierced!
148: Which fictional character do I wish was real? - hari jurono,,, i love him ;-;
149: Do I have any tattoos? - no, but i already have some picked out that i want
150: What is the best decision I have made in life so far? - ummmm??? Im not sure?????
151: Do I believe in Karma? - yeah
152: Do I wear glasses or contacts? - contacts during the day and glasses at night
153: What was my first car? - i have a subaru crosstrek named inko!!! I love her!!
154: Do I want children? - no
155: Who is the most intelligent person I know? - my mom tbh,,, shes really smart
156: My most embarrassing memory? - omfg,, so this goes to show how oblivious i am about social interactions, but it was my first week in college and this junior was talking to me and i didnt realize he was flirting with me until after we traded snapchats and he left, so i panicked and never said anything to him again and blocked him
157: What makes me nostalgic? - when i walk around my neighborhood sometimes (i live near the preschool i went to) and i was over at my elementary school almost a year ago now, but i remember walking down the hall and seeing all the different teachers there now and it made me sad
158: Have I ever pulled an all-nighter? - yes, just last week
159: Which do I value more in others, brains or beauty? - brains
160: What colour mostly dominates my wardrobe? - darker colors like black and blue, but im trying to get lighter ones in there too
161: Have I ever had a paranormal experience? - yes, many times, but the one that sticks out to me is that one night i woke up at like 5 am for no reason, but i was just suddenly wide awake and something felt off, so i was trying to get comfy again and flipped over on my other side so i was facinging the door into my room instead of my wall and in front of my door was a tall black figure with red eyes staring at me and when i blinked it went away,, now i know this can be explained by some other things but with my family it seems more likely to be paranormal
162: What do I hate most about myself? - uhh, i procrastinate way too much
163: What do I love most about myself? - i always support my friends
164: Do I like adventure? - depends on the adventure,,, i like traveling, but not too much walking bc i have bad knees
165: Do I believe in fate? - not really
166: Favourite animal? - question 47
167: Have I ever been on radio? - no, but i was on my school’s announcements and i hated it
168: Have I ever been on TV? - no
169: How old am I? - 19
170: One of my favourite quotes? - “The Gods envy us. They envy us because we’re mortal, because any moment could be our last. Everything is more beautiful because we’re doomed”
171: Do I hold grudges? - im petty
172: Do I trust easily? - no,, im just cautious around ppl bc i just don’t know them
173: Have I learnt from my mistakes? - some of them
174: Best gift I’ve ever received? - im not too sure,,, i got a p cool backpack for my birthday tho that i use everyday
175: Do I dream? - yeah, cant remember too many tho
176: Have I ever had a night terror? - no??
177: Do I remember my dreams, and what is one that comes to mind? - can’t remember a lot after i wake up, but i just recently had one with some bnha characters in it, i can’t remember what happened, i just know that they were there
178: An experience that has made me stronger? - i know this might sound a bit morbid, but my aunt’s funeral, it was the first funeral i went to where i understood what was happening and it made me more open to learning and accepting death
179: If I were immortal, what would I do? - want to fucking die,,, i’ve never understood ppl who are scared of dying/want to live forever,, like why would you want that??? What’s the point??? You’ll just watch everyone you love die,,, i know it’s going to be hard on me when that happens to my closer family members, but even the new ppl you befriend,, i just couldn’t
180: Do I like shopping? - yeas
181: If I could get away with a crime, what would I choose to do? - tax evasion
182: What does “family” mean to me? - the ppl who i care about deeply and who love me, not all of them are blood related and not all the blood related ones are part of it
183: What is my spirit animal? - idk?????? Maybe a turtle???
184: How do I want to be remembered? - tbh, i don’t really want to be remembered
185: If I could master one skill, what would I choose? - drawing
186: What is my greatest failure? - im not sure
187: What is my greatest achievement? - uhh, i feel like its hard to point at a specific point and be like “that was the best thing i could have done, if i didn’t do that i wouldn’t be who i am today”
188: Love or money? - money
189: Love or career? - career
190: If I could time travel, where and when would I want to go? - probably to some point in the future,, i dont know where tho
191: What makes me the happiest? - the ppl i care about being happy
192: What is “home” to me? - the house i currently live in,, my family is here and im surrounded by ppl i love,, it’ll probably change with time, but for now its here
193: What motivates me? - spite
194: If I could choose my last words, what would they be? - it’s important to keep moving forward, don’t let the past hold you down
195: Would I ever want to encounter aliens? - kind of, i think it would be p cool
196: A movie that scared me as a child? - it wasn’t a movie but i know the animated wolf from peter and the wolf freaked me out
197: Something I hated as a child that I like now? - i hated mushrooms, but i love them now
198: Zombies or vampires? - vampires
199: Live in the city or suburbs? - suburbs super close to city
200: Dragons or wizards? - DRAGONS
201: A nightmare that has stayed with me? - its silly but when i was younger it would be my mom and i going to the mall downtown and the escalators were missing the part that connected them to the floor so you had to hop over it and when we would get to the 4th floor i would miss the jump and fall
202: How do I define love? - i know a lot of ppl are like “i would die for you or kill for you” something along those lines but i think it’s more living for someone, wanting to see them accomplish everything they wanted, being there for them during their lows203: Do I judge a book by its cover? - yeah, i wont pick up something that doesnt catch my eye
204: Have I ever had my heart broken? - no
205: Do I like my handwriting? - yeah!! Its loopy
206: Sweet or savoury? - sweet
207: Worst job I’ve had? - ive liked all the jobs ive had
208: Do I collect anything? no
209: Item of clothing or jewellery you’ll never see me without? - a hoodie/sweater of some kind
210: What is on my bucket list? - going to greece
211: How do I handle anger? - i usually rant for a bit, maybe cry to get the extra hormones out, maybe break something
212: Was I named after anyone? - no, but i did have the same name as my great grandma
213: Do I use sarcasm a lot? - yes
214: What TV character am I most like? - im been watching bnha a lot so i think either kirishima or uraraka
215: What is the weirdest talent I have? - i can cross my eyes and then move one of them
216: Favourite fictional character? - ,,,,, im not sure,, i really love eric from divergent
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meadow-dusk ¡ 6 years ago
Text
LONG LONG LONG
a music survey from livejournal days…
- TO TAKE THIS SURVEY, SIMPLY PUT YOUR MUSIC PLAYER ON SHUFFLE AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS WITH THE TITLE OF THE SONG THAT COMES ON - [it’s better if you don’t cheat and don’t skip any songs.]
What is your name?: Moby Dick • Led Zep
How is your life going?: Get on the Right Thing • Paul McCartney
What is your nickname?: The Day the World Gets ‘Round • George Harrison
What is your theme song?: Little Games • The Yardbirds
What is your best friend’s theme song?: Wait • The Beatles
How is your life going to turn out?: Communication Breakdown • Led Zeppelin
Will you get married?: Four Sticks • Led Zeppelin
Will you have kids?: For What It’s Worth • Haley Reinhart
What will your job be?: Rattled • Traveling Wilburys
Did you/will you finish school?: Good Times, Bad Times • Led Zeppelin
Who is your best friend?: Behind that Locked Door • George Harrison
Who is or will be your significant other?: Think Pink! • Beyond Pink
Who do you like?: We’re All in This Together • High School Musical Cast
How will you die?: Stairway to Heaven • Led Zeppelin (YAAAAAS)
How do you feel right now?: Sentimental Journey • Ringo Starr
What is your favorite song?: Matilda Mother • Pink Floyd
How could you describe your parents?: Pilate and Christ • Jesus Christ Superstar (you can’t make this stuff up yall)
Your best friend[s]?: Postcards from Paradise • Ringo Starr
Your teachers?: She’s Not There • The Zombies
Your significant other [or crush…]?: Riding on a Bus • The Beatles (an interview)
Yourself?: Brian Bathtubes • The Beatles (taking requests)
What is your best feature?: The Riddle • Five for Fighting
What will you be/should you be, profession-wise?: Desire • U2
How could you describe this survey?: I Told You So • Randy Travis
What makes you angry?: Moanin’ • Chris Farlowe ft. Jimmy Page and a random sitarist (this song is so interesting)
What makes you sad?: Everything I Know • Mandy Gonzalez 
What makes you happy?: One • Bee Gees
What makes you dance?: I Still • Backstreet Boys
What is your favorite color?: Sundown • Gordon Lightfoot
How would you describe yourself?: Heart Attack • One Direction
Who is your worst enemy?: Little Soldier Boy • The Yardbirds
Who do you hate?: No Me Diga • In the Heights
Who do you love?: I Started a Joke • Bee Gees
Who do you lust after?: What Do You Want? • The Yardbirds Finish the Sentence I wish: Rainy Day Women #12 and 35 • Bob Dylan I want to: We’re on the Road Again • Ringo Starr I want to kill:. Money • The Beatles I want to eat: Spring Musical Medley • HSM3 yall with Kryan duet to open My head: Sometimes I’ll Be There • Naked Brothers Band (accurate) I am: Movin On • Rascal Flatts My best feature is: The Sad Bells of Rhymney • Fifth Avenue My eyes are: Safest Place to Hide • Backstreet Boys My hair is: Who Can See It • George Harrison My face is: Baby Come on Home • Led Zeppelin You should: Not This Time • 3Lw
Random Words of advice: And Here We Are Again • The Beatles  How do others see me?: Rhythm of Love • Plain White T’s How do I see myself?: Knowing Me, Knowing You • ABBA *** For this first section, put down the first ten songs that play, and then rate them on a scale of 1 - 5 (5 being the best) in the next column. 1. I Have a Dream •  Abba 2/5 2. Sounds of Silence • Simon and Garfunkel 5/5 3. In The Flesh • Pink Floyd 4/5  4. Ya-Ya •  John Lennon (ft. Julian on drums) 4/5  5. Magic Bus • The Who Live at the Isle of Wright 4/5 6. Stomp • Steps 2/5 7. KICK DA DUST UP • Luke Bryan 4/5 8. Your Mother Should Know • The Beatles 5/5 9. Photograph • Ringo (2017) 3/5 he sounds great but it isn’t exciting also who’s the chick I didnt sign up for this 10. Piggies • The Beatles 5/5 good one George Now for a little fortune telling… 1. Who am I?: Tug of War • Paul McCartney 2. Why am I here?: Bet On It • Zac Efron (skittles and steak) 3. What’s my theme song?: American Beauty/American Psycho • Fall Out Boy 4. How’s tomorrow gonna be?: Behind Blue Eyes • The Who 5. What does ______ really think of me?: Let’s Go to Vegas • Faith Hill 6. What’s this school year going to be about?: Man on Fire • Andy Gibb 7. Is something bad going to happen in the near future?: Little Bitty • Alan Jackson 8. What’s the government going to do next?: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band/The End • Paul McCartney Live at Citi Field 9. What’s my best friend doing right now?: Inutil • Carlos Gomez 10. What does my iPod/MP3 think about me?: American Girl • Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Last section! These next questions are all about music 1. I absolutely LOVE this song!: The Look of Love • ABC Comments: This was in Start the Commotion and there was a clip art of eyes as the O’s in look 2. I have no clue why this song is still on my music player: Steppin’ Out • John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers Comments: It’s saved because I occasionally really try to get into Clapton 3. This song has AMAZING lyrics: Love Will Find a Way • Pablo Cruise Comments: I remembered his initials but not his name
4. The band that does this song is one of my favorites: Most Peculiar Man • Simon and Garfunkel Comments: I would not say favorites but I give them their due 5. My dad loves this song: Songs About Rain • Gary Allan Comments: he bought the CD and took it on road trips so probs 6. My mom can’t stand this song: The Hook (All My Love) • Led Zeppelin Comments: she probably can stand it more than me 7. I have a sibling who enjoys listening to songs by this band: When You See a Chance • Steve Winwood Comments: fair to say that cause once she asked me what the name of Valerie was 8. One of my best friends hates the band that does this song: Like Nobody’s Around • Big Time Rush Comments: NO FRIEND OF MINE! 9. I got this song off a mix CD: Got My Mind Set On You • George Harrison Comments: I learned how to do the mashed potato to this song 10. This song is on a movie soundtrack: The Freedom Song • Jason Mraz Comments: could definitely be but don’t hold this one down
11. Share a memory involving this song in comments: Friday On My Mind • The Easybeats Comments: running to it - how was there this much good music at one time 12. I’ve played this song on repeat before: You’re My Number One • S Club 7 Comments: Try this ALBUM back when we used to play S Club and have choreography 13. This song is on the band’s Greatest Hit’s CD: Ramblin’ Man • Allman Brothers Band Comments: if it isn’t they screwed up 14. I love dancing to this song!: If You Wanna Do a Dance • The Spinners Comments: seems like that was the idea 15. This song gets me every time I hear it: Bathroom Sound (Out on the Tiles early take) • Led Zeppelin Comments: I prefer the final version with vocals and silly quips but this version does just as well for Bonzo Appreciation Time 16. This song is great to listen to when you’re angry: Farmer Refuted (Instrumental) • Hamilton  Comments: OH MY GOD tear this dude apart 17. I love the music video for this song: I’m Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band) • Moody Blues Comments: if there is one it’s probably psychedelic so I’d dig it I bet 18. I’ve seen the band that performs this song live: The Boxer • Simon and Garfunkel Comments: I have not.  This song is beautiful.  19. Is this song better to listen to at night, in the morning, or in the afternoon?: Let’s Get Rocked • Def Leppard Comments: morning, running. 20. I haven’t listened to this song in so long!: That’s the Way (Live Paris 1971) • Led Zeppelin Comments: not true it came on on the way to the gym barely a few weeks ago *** What were the first words to Abe Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address?: What ya gonna do when it’s cold outside? (Keep It Hid • Robert Plant) What did Martin Luther King have a dream about, anyways?: You’ve got a cute way of talking, you got the better of me! (You Make Me Feel Like Dancin’ • Leo Sayer)  Tomorrow’s newspapers will all have the major headline of: Out in the Rain Looking for Sunshine (Permanent Stain • Backstreet Boys) If someone offered you some free drugs, how would you respond?: Lord almighty, feel my temperature risin’...(Burning Love • Elvis) What kind of higher power do you believe in?: You need coolin, baby I’ ain’t foolin (Whole Lotta Love • Led Zeppelin) What do people really notice about you?: There’s a girl I know who makes me feel so good (Valleri • The Monkees) What do you notice first in the preferred sex of your choice?: Hey fellas, have ya heard the news you know that Annie’s back in town (Heartbreaker • Led Zeppelin) What do you look for in reading books?: They say that Richard Cory owns one half of this whole town, with political connections to spread his wealth around (Richard Cory • Wings) What’s a must-have quality in a friend for you?: Meeting people along my way, seemingly I’ve known one day (Happenings Ten Years Time Ago • The Yardbirds) What scares the shit out of you?: Gat Kirwani • George Harrison (this has no words it’s just a sitar jam) How do you laugh?: Anna, you come and ask me, girl, to set you free girl? (Anna (Go To Him) • The Beatles)  Why do you do these surveys?: When the night returns just like a friend, when the evening comes to set me free  (If You Know What I Mean • Neil Diamond) Do you have anything you’d like to confess?: I can see you in the window waiting for my call (Untouchable • Big Time Rush) How do you feel about the person you cannot stand the most?: If ever you’ve got rain in your heart, someone has hurt you and torn you apart, am I unwise to open up your eyes to love me (Run To Me • Bee Gees)  The best date ever, in your book, would consist of…: Dear Theodosia, what to say to you?(Dear Theodosia • Leslie Odom Jr. & Lin-Manuel Miranda) If you sent a random Hallmark card to a friend, you would write to them: Are we growing up or just going down? It's just a matter of time until we're all found out. (Sophomore Slump or Comeback of the Year • Fallout Boy) If you had the chance to speak to (a) God, what would you say?: Every time I see her, she don’t even look my way (Just My Style • Gary Lewis and the Playboys) Finish the sentence: “When the going gets tough…”: My friend came to me with sadness in his eyes and told me that he wanted help before his country dies (Bangla Desh • George Harrison)  How do you deal with your stress?: I can almost remember their funny faces (Jet • Paul McCartney) What is your biggest burden in life?: Somebody’s knocking at the door, somebody’s ringing the bell (Let Em In • Wings) What’s the coolest thing about your best friend?: Hands, put your empty hands in mine (Stand By You • Rachel Platten) Why do you love the one you do?: Sweet, wonderful you.  You make me happy with the things you do (You Make Loving Fun • Fleetwood Mac) If a friend broke their arm and got a cast, what would you write on it?: Gonna build myself a castle high up in the clouds (Dance the Night Away • Cream)  You see a stick and wet cement. What do you write?:  It feels so right now hold me tight (Hold Me Tight • The Beatles) A guy just stole your (purse, car, etc)! What do you yell at him?: Welcome to the camp, I guess you all know why you’re here (We’re Not Gonna Take It • The Who) You pass a crack addict on the corner one day. Solemnly he tells you: Well now we’re respected in society, we don’t worry bout the things that we used to be, we’re talkin heroin with the president (Respectable • The Rolling Stones) What will your baby’s first words be?:  He knows about you in every way, he's memorized every part of your face (Does He Know • One Direction) You are at your wit’s end, and decide to write a suicide note. It begins: The pound is sinking, the peso’s falling, the lira’s reeling and feeling quite appalling (The Pound is Sinking • Paul McCartney) Why can’t there be peace in the world?: Let’s talk about one, bay-bay, ya gotta hear me out (Get Another Boyfriend • Backstreet Boys)
How do you think people see you?: I walked in the band just started, the singer couldn't carry a tune in a bucket (Ten Rounds with Jose Cuervo • Tracy Byrd) Inside, though, what kind of person are you really?: well the rain was a-fallin’ and the ground turned to mud, I was watchin’ all the people running from the flood (Deliver Your Children • Wings) If you wanted to comfort a friend, you’d say: Anytime, any day you can hear the people say that love is blind, well I don’t know but I say love is kind (Listen to What the Man Said • Wings) When you want to cheer someone up, you say: *I just make series of nonsense sounds* (Pow R. Toc H. • Pink Floyd) You’re unbelievably depressed because your friend just told you…: people say we’ve got it made, don’t they know we’re so afraid? (Isolation • John Lennon)
When you are incredibly bored, you start thinking about…?: I drive all alone, at night, I drive all alone, don’t know what I’m headed for. (Dead End Friends • Them Crooked Vultures) You’re a classy person, so instead of cursing when you’re mad, you yell…?: I met a gin-soaked, bar-room queen in Memphis (Honky Tonk Women • The Rolling Stones)   you’re writing a love letter, but what are you going to begin it with?: The theater’s so obsessed with drama so depressed, it’s hard to sell a ticket on broadway! (Keep It Gay • The Producers)  If you were to write a letter to the President of the USA, it would say…?: It’s a boy, Mrs. Walker, it’s a boy (It’s a Boy • The Who) What would someone have to tell you to make you really angry?: No no no no, don’t phunk with mah haaahrt (Don’t Phunk with My Heart • Black-Eyed Peas) …To make you really depressed?:  Cars and girls are easy to come by in this day and age, laughing joking drinking smoking til I spend my wage (Over Under Sideways Down • The Yardbirds) ...To make you sexually aroused?: Catch a star if you can, wish for something special (Are You Ready for Love • The Spinners) Your first thoughts waking up were…: Life is just a bowl of All-Bran, you wake up every morning and it’s there (Happydaystoytown • The Small Faces)  Your last words before falling asleep will be…: the sun is shining in the sky, there ain’t a cloud in sight (Mr. Blue Sky • Electric Light Orchestra)
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