#yé-yé wave

[atomic-chronoscaph]

Françoise Hardy

[anonymousweekly]

Rest in Peace, Françoise Hardy. The Queen of yé-yé and one of the most fashionable and creative presences in the French New Wave and beyond.

Please cherish her memory - I highly recommend the Godard film Masculin Féminin as well as her debut album and La Question.

We’ll never forget you.

[hairtusk]

wait... the vibe ... the VIBE .......

[beatnikbarbie]

Boy's pockets: phone, wallet.

Girl's pockets: lighter, compact mirror, emergency book, dark chocolate, sugar free sweetener packet(s), dark red lipstick, eyeliner, almonds, perfume sample, tissues, crumpled up notes, a trinket or good luck charm, a doll that looks exactly like herself, vintage jazz vinyl records.

[prac-ticalproblems]

suggestion based off your post asking for suggestions: what do you think all their favorite albums would be. mind you they’re in the late 1960s so like it would be an album they liked so much they would save up and buy the record. lord knows music was an arm and a leg for 10 tracks. I’m thinkin engie might be into Johnny Cash, definitely bein into At Folsom Prison and probably also Townes Van Zandts self titled album when they came out in 1969. Scout would probably be a Chuck berry fan. I can also see him knowing how to dance to 40s big band music because his ma used to dance with him in his brothers in the living room as kids but he would be embarrassed about that one. Soldier would HATE the Beatles. and I have no idea about everyone else.

You. You get it. I’m gonna squeeze you. /pos

I love this ask so much I am going to do 60’s AND make it regional and Historical! Because we are syncing brain waves rn. (With a little bit of karaoke headcanonz)

1960’s music w the mercs

Medic - I believe that Medic is a very chaotic music lover. He has a background of classical in some way, with his fascination for it in the game and it’s bled outward into loving loud booms and the thrill of it speeding up.

So maybe some early forms of rock? Especially if it’s Peggy Peter’s. He sings like shit though.

Heavy - I’m not going to lie, this immediately came to me. Heavy loves pop. Heavy loves a bouncy little jig that he can play while cleaning Sasha. He probably got it from his sisters. I also believe that he has a very strong sense of political beliefs about his country so pop that has a message.

Definitely Edita Piekha. 100%. Lovely vocals from the gods. A little rattling, but He is a perfect bass.

Scout - HE WOULD LOVE CHUCK BERRY. That man hums ‘My Ding-a-ling’ as he showers. Absolutely.

He has Sex Bomb tattooed, but I’m sure his favorite Tom Jones song is actually It’s Not Unusual. He screeches when he sings instead of singing higher.

Demo - I see him being into much older songs for his age (he’s like nearly 30) just because of the way his mother raised him. I think he’s got an older soul than he thinks. So 1940’s swing and soul. Strong believer that he has more than a few albums that he cherishes, but most of them are from his mom.

He cries every time he puts it on though, just to let the feelings out. When he’s drunk, he sings terribly, when he’s sober? Probably still a little bad but he doesn’t know his range and doesn’t care if he’s tone deaf.

Pyro - I have personal ideas about Pyro that makes me think he is a huge Jimi Hendrix fan. I refuse to explain or elaborate as I will be here all day.

All Along the Watchtower. He bounces whenever it’s played.

Sniper - Jazz. I know it’s an easy answer, but it’s also THE RIGHT ONE. I think he’s very much a “nod his head and listen” type of music lover as a posed to “can’t stop moving” sort of guy.

He also probably prefers wordless music, for focus, and lyrics in music when he’s alone. (He is dancing in his room when no one’s around.)

Soldier - FUCKING HATES THE BEATLES. I’m almost tempted to say the only thing he listens to is music about WAR. But he’s probably into punk music. But I’m sure he fucks up and listens to anti war songs instead of actual war songs. So he’s accidentally listening to ‘hippie music’. No one has the will to explain it to him.

His favorite song is probably Gene Stridel - What do you win when you win a war. But only when he’s more self aware, more aware of his situation. It comes and goes. Soldier refuses to sing the song, ever. But it’s close to his heart, even if he sometimes doesn’t know why.

Spy - secretly a hippie. Definitely into Yé-yé, a type of french-ized version of British pop/exotica (like THE BEATLES.) He shows Soldier his music taste and it sends him into a rage. I think he takes pleasure in it.

Especially Baroque Yé-yé. Very Spy feely. Also Scout’s mom has probably shown him some Josephine Baker, and he likes it. Sings in a snooty little voice but it sounds pleasant enough. He thinks he’s the best singer in the team. (it’s heavy)

Engineer - GOD, you’re so right. Johnny Cash is the most fitting for him. I feel like he’s definitely a music sharer and taker. He carries songs from the people who he loves around with him. I think his mom loves Tammy Wynette and it’s crossed over to him.

Rip, you stupid fuck, you would have loved Poor Man’s Poison. He probably does that thing where they end off words in country with like a howl, instead of just ending the sentence.

[gone2soon-rip]

FRANCOISE HARDY (1944-Died June 11th 2024,at 80.Laryngeal cancer).French singer-songwriter and actress. Mainly known for singing melancholic sentimental ballads, Hardy rose to prominence in the early 1960s as a leading figure of the yé-yé wave. In addition to her native French, she also sang in English, Italian and German. Her career spanned more than fifty years with over thirty studio albums released.Her songs included "Tous les garçons et les filles" (English: "All the Boys and Girls"),and ''All Over the World (1966),and she appeared in John Frankenheimer's 1966 motor racing film,Grand Prix,with an ensemble cast including James Garner,Eva Marie Saint,and Toshiro Mifune. Françoise Hardy - Wikipedia

[mamusiq]

Françoise Hardy - Mon amie la rose Hommage pour ses 80 ans ! Jan 14, 2024 "Mon amie la rose" est l'une des chansons phares de la chanteuse Françoise HARDY. Une chanson poétique qui parle de la mort d'une manière raffinée et parfois implicite. Sortie en 1964.

Françoise Hardy Greatest Hits 🌹 RIP 1944 - 2024 🌹

Françoise Madeleine Hardy 17 January 1944 – 11 June 2024) 🌹 was a French singer-songwriter and actress. Mainly known for singing melancholic sentimental ballads, Hardy rose to prominence in the early 1960s as a leading figure of the yé-yé wave.

In addition to her native French, she also sang in English, Italian and German. Her career spanned more than fifty years with over thirty studio albums released.

Born and raised in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, Hardy made her musical debut in 1962 on French label Disques Vogue and found immediate success through the song "Tous les garçons et les filles". Drifting away from her early rock and roll influences, she began to record in London in 1964, which allowed her to broaden her sound with albums such as Mon amie la rose, L'amitié, La maison où j'ai grandi and Ma jeunesse fout le camp….

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, she released Comment te dire adieu, La question and Message personnel, to further establish her artistry. In this period, she worked with songwriters such as Serge Gainsbourg, Patrick Modiano, Michel Berger and Catherine Lara. Between 1977 and 1988, she worked with producer Gabriel Yared with the albums Star, Musique saoûle, Gin Tonic and À suivre. Her 1988 record Décalages was widely publicized as Hardy's final album, although she returned eight years later with Le danger, which completely reinvented her sound to a harsher alternative rock. Her following albums of the 2000s—Clair-obscur, Tant de belles choses and (Parenthèses…) - saw a return to her mellow style. In the 2010s, Hardy released her last three albums: La pluie sans parapluie, L'amour fou, and Personne d'autre.

Hardy remains one of the best-selling singers in French history, and continues to be regarded as an iconic and influential figure in both French pop and fashion.

🌹

[scopitonearchive]

"Meanwhile, in an odd footnote, there was one more go-round for the idea of the video jukebox. In the age of the Panoram, Europeans had been a little preoccupied. But by the late 1950s, enterprising engineers in France and Italy, using defunct military tech and materials, took their own shot at the project. As a result, I’d guess around a thousand clips were made throughout the 1960s, some for Italy’s Cinebox and the States’ Color-Sonic, but most for France’s Scopitone. The latter’s great advances on the Panoram were that users could select specific clips, and in lucid (and sometimes lurid) color, although the apparatus remained an ungainly hulk. The finest Scopitones highlighted chanteurs/chanteuses and yé-yé artists such as Serge Gainsbourg, Françoise Hardy, and Sylvie Vartan, whose charmingly insouciant Scopitones borrowed their style from the French New Wave.

"In America, woefully, the shills who licensed the Scopitone decided that it would be best suited for lounges, casinos, cocktail bars, and other dens of Mad Men–style masculine iniquity. They commissioned videos for lounge singers featuring backup dancers in costumes so skimpy that the clips often bordered on soft-core porn, while ignoring youth culture and rock music. They failed by pandering to Don Draper when the cultural momentum, and the money, was with Sally and Bobby. A couple of classics survive, such as Nancy Sinatra’s “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’ ” Color-Sonic clip, but most American Scopitones barely even merit Susan Sontag’s name-check of the genre in “Notes on Camp,” though Joi Lansing’s “The Web of Love” may earn it all by itself. In the wake of a couple of federal investigations of purported mafia connections, on top of its generally misguided management, Scopitone went kaput in the U.S. before the 1960s ended.

"Still, no doubt there’d be valuable (if disheartening) historical insights to glean from a Scopitones collection as thoughtfully thematically shaped as the Kino Lorber Soundies box."

See: https://slate.com/culture/2023/08/music-video-history-soundies-mtv-beatles-panoram.html

[the-orange-tabby-cat]

ALBUM OF THE DAY: The Alvvays - Antisocialites (2017) (9/?)

WHICH PEDRO BOY IS BASED ON? Javi Gutiérrez

ALBUM VIBES (listen to it on Spotify)

With an easy-going vibe and general optimism sound, Antisocialites is the kind of album that pushes you up through the mix of the guitar, echoey vocals, and a synth that evokes the 60s Yé-Yé. The perfect album to match the impulsive and always sweet Javi G, who likes to understand the world around him and to be a resource for those he cares about. Oh, and we also have a song about being a fan of someone you are close with an LSD reference.

JAVI GUTIÉRREZ CODED LYRICS

“You find a wave and try to hold on for as long as you can, you made a mistake you'd like to erase and I understand” (In Undertow)

“Can't buy into astrology, and won't rely on the moon for anything” (In Undertow)

“What's left for you and me? You respond to my question metaphorically, don't read into psychology and won't rely on your mood for anything” (In Undertow)

“What's next for you and me? I'll take suggestions, we toss and turn in undertow, time to let go” (In Undertow)

“Now you're one of us It was magic hour” (Dreams Tonite)

“Live your life on a merry-go-round, who starts a fire just to let it go out?” (Dreams Tonite)

“If I saw you on the street would I have you in my dreams tonight?” (Dreams Tonite)

“Don't sit by the phone for me, wait at home for me, all alone for me” (Dreams Tonite)

“Writing oaths to me, is it so naïve to wonder?” (Dreams Tonite)

“When I chip through your candy coating you're stuffed with insulation” (Plimsoll Punks)

“Just strawberry ice cream floating with a sprinkle of indignation” (Plimsoll Punks)

“You're the seashell in my sandal that's slicing up my heel” (Plimsoll Punks)

“Your posture's blocking out any possible light, I can no longer see, this conversation spirals into a fight I can barely breath” (Plimsoll Punks)

“Ditch your friends on a whim, later, resurface in a fight, kill the buzz with your decrees and conspiracy theories” (Your Type)

“I die on the inside every time, you will never be alright I will never be your type” (Your Type)

“Let me state delicately, you’re an O and I’m AB” (Your Type)

“Close your eyes and then count to ten, you can tell your friends that I don’t make sense and I don’t care” (Not My Baby)

“The night is like a fading radio” (Not My Baby)

“Traded my rose-coloured shades for a wide lens. Used to make noise, now, I much prefer silence” (Not My Baby)

“Should we pull the parachute? (Don't think so) I will land on my feet but I probably won’t leave the house for awhile” (Hey)

“It feels like forever since you held me like I was a human being” (Hey)

“On your doorstep at 3 AM, fight and you run, and you run, and it’s likely over now” (Hey)

“Friday, we fell through the coffee table and that’s when I discovered that my heart exploded” (Lollipop (Ode to Jim)

“You're a lollipop In the form of a lightning bolt” (Lollipop (Ode to Jim)

“Am I ever gonna fit that mold? 'Cause I don't have the patience to wait in line for you” (Lollipop (Ode to Jim)

“You asked me if I was intrigued by LSD I sat next to you on the picnic bench and before I knew it, you were flying next to me” (Lollipop (Ode to Jim)

“A place to decompress, a vat of chlorine's close enough, I guess” (Already Gone)

“I arrived at the scene, you were perfectly surrounded by pylons when the crowd separated, the officer said you were already gone” (Already Gone)

“Middle of the night, drain the pool, the summer's over” (Already Gone)

“In the park, didn’t think you fell that hard, woke up again and you wanted a new start” (Saved by a Waif)

“Stay where you are and no one gets hurt” (Saved by a Waif)

“You climbed the stairs so high, you can’t come down from there, said you wanted to get it together but you don’t” (Saved by a Waif)

“Say something, waste something, change your life, take something, break something, make your flight, say something, anything” (Saved by a Waif)

“Mommy wants you to be a doctor so she can tell her friends you’re like your father and if it’s all for the sake of conversation, then maybe you should try a new vocation” (Saved by a Waif)

“When the phases of the moon, they don’t apply when accomplishing a simple task takes several tries” (Forget About Life)

“Did you want to forget about life with me tonight? Underneath this flickering light” (Forget About Life)

“When the failures of the past, they multiply and you trivialize the things that keep your hand from mine” (Forget About Life)

TRACKLIST (highlighted are the most Javi Gutiérrez coded songs)

1. In Undertow (03'17")

2. Dreams Tonite (03'16")

3. Plimsoll Punks (04'49")

4. Your Type (02'03")

5. Not My Baby (04'16")

6. Hey (02'48")

7. Lollipop (Ode To Jim) (03'17")

8. Already Gone (03'03")

9. Saved By A Waif (02'59")

10. Forget About Life (02'42")

[bluehome91]

We bid adieu to a true icon of music and style, the ultimate swinging chanteuse, Françoise Hardy.

Françoise Madeleine Hardy (17 January 1944 – 11 June 2024) was a French singer-songwriter and actress. Mainly known for singing melancholic sentimental ballads, Hardy rose to prominence in the early 1960s as a leading figure of the yé-yé wave, and went on to become a cultural icon both in France and internationally. In addition to her native French, she also sang in English, Italian, and German. Her musical career spanned more than 50 years, with over 30 studio albums released.

Beyond music, she graced the silver screen with a cameo in John Frankenheimer’s “Grand Prix” (1966), set in the high-octane world of Formula 1 racing.

Rest easy 🌹 #FrancoiseHardy #GrandPrix #JohnFrankenheimer #JacquesDutronc #Formula1

[isabelcostasixties]

Chantal Goya photographed by Giancarlo Botti in Paris, May 1967. ✨

[luckyredeyes]

I love you summer I love you ice cream I love you cold swimming pools I love you ocean I love you kites I love you sound of waves I love you small outdoor concerts I love you food trucks I love you bright flowers I love you light breezy clothes in pretty pastels I love you sun hats I love you waterslides I love you roller coasters I love you smell of sunscreen I love you road trips I love you crinkle fries and hot dogs from the pier grill I love you baseball on the radio I love you long days I love you freckles I love you Japanese city pop I love you Carolina beach music I love you French yé-yé music I love you surf rock I love you yacht rock I love you classic 70s rock I love you bossa nova I love you aquariums I love you sea turtles I love you lakes I love you nature trails I love you picnics I love you fireworks I love you fireflies I love you boardwalks I love you arcades I love you just sitting on the beach for hours and watching people and thinking about life

Don’t re////blog

[randomvarious]

Les Mersey’s - “Personne ne peut t’aimer” Les groupes des années 60 : les plus beaux slows, Volume 1 Song released in 1966. Compilation released in 1995. Beat / Garage Rock

Alright, let's get a good definition of Merseybeat so we can give this band that called themselves Les Mersey's some proper context. From AllMusic:

Merseybeat was the original sound of the British invasion -- a driving, melodic sound that was hybrid of American rock & roll and R&B, and British skiffle. The Beatles' early records, like "Please Please Me" and "Love Me Do," were the prototypes of the genre, and soon other Liverpudlian bands like Gerry & the Pacemakers, Billy J. Kramer, and the Searchers were following the same style. Called Merseybeat because of the Mersey River in Liverpool, the sound flourished throughout 1963 and the first half of 1964. Shortly afterward, R&B-oriented bands like the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, and the Yardbirds appeared, as did pop groups like the Hollies and Freddie & the Dreamers. While these pop groups were influenced by Merseybeat, the style itself was losing ground, especially since the Beatles had begun to expand their stylistic reach.

But evidently in 1966, even though the Beatles were swiftly moving on to record such revolutionarily different music with an album like Revolver, there were still loads of bands all across the world who were surfing the waves that the Fab Four had left in their wake for years prior. And one of the places that caught those waves, among many, was apparently Montréal.

Now, I can't really find anything all that definitive or retrospective about a distinct  Motrealer or Québécois 60s beat scene—a different scene called yé-yé was really popping at the time—but there definitely appears to have been one, which featured bands who took the Merseybeat sound and replaced English lyrics with Québécois French ones.

And that's exactly what this band called Les Mersey's did. Unfortunately, I can't find all too much on them, but according to a post on a French and Québécois music blog called Tete Carre, Les Mersey's lasted between 1964 and 1970 and put out a pair of albums as well as some singles. And according to another website, Rétro Jeunesse 60, they became the house band for a TV show called Bonsoir copains, which featured lead vocalist Alain Jodoin doing "remarkable imitations of Mick Jagger," (French to English GoogleTranslation there) which in turn helped to really popularize the band.

In '66, Les Mersey's released a 7-inch called Personne ne peut t'aimer, a slow ballad that would later appear on a handful of comps that documented 60s Québécois music, including one called Les groupes des années 60 : les plus beaux slows, Volume 1.

Two aspects of this song that I really dig in particular: One, Les Mersey's are essentially a garage band who are playing beat music here. Their song has those lovely 60s garage band acoustics to it—the fullness of the bassline, the light hiss, the reverb on Jodoin's vocals, and the tinge of a certain dusty scratchiness to the whole thing—and they also supply your typical garage band setup with instruments like a Vox guitar and farfisa organ. And I just love that raw 60s garage band sound so much. There are definitely higher quality versions of this tune that you can find on YouTube and Spotify, but paradoxically, in my opinion, that polished sound actually causes those versions to lose a little bit of their luster 😁.

Second, those harmonized backing vocals that complement Alain Jodoin's own vocals and beautifully raise the intensity of the song as he proceeds to get more passionate himself. I don't know exactly when it was that we figured out that a group of guys singing "ahhhh" in the background sounded so goddamn good, but I'm really glad we did. And it sounds really soul-piercingly good here when the backing vocalists suddenly splash in with that. Love it. Track is so much worse off without that feature.

I actually ended up sending this song to a friend of mine today and after listening to it, they replied, "all I see is blood when I hear this. It sounds like a horrific scene from a Tarantino film."

Really can't argue with them there 😂.

Great mid-60s garage-beat tune from Montréal.

[beatnikbarbie]

Hey, I'm making a modernized version of a French New Wave, Yé-yé, Beatnik, Anna Karina, Sylvia Plath/poetry-fan type playlist. So far I have Brooklyn Baby by Lana Del Rey but honestly hit a wall. If anyone has any suggestions pls let me know.

I'd like to keep the music eras 60s and/or modern (2010s-current) but I might let some exceptions slide. I'm looking for music without an upbeat tone, it doesn't have to sound depressing but I definitely don't want any "sunshine lollipops and rainbows" type. I don't really care what genre it is so long as it makes sense with the theme of the playlist. But possibly some jazz or jazz inspired music.

The vibe I'm going for is the nonchalant modern French existentialist Beatnik chick. she's mysterious, a good mix of messy and put together, she drinks hot coffee while reading a poetry book, she wears a neutral toned capsule wardrobe and smokes cigarettes.

[randomoranges]

sometimes fights happen. the last of the relationship arch and technically the first. would come before Jello and Relationship Status: conjoint you don’t need to have read the others.

Apology [Accepted]

20XX

They’re out and about, Étienne bringing him on his usual whirlwind visit of the city, not wanting him to miss out on anything going on during his time here. It’s been an overall pleasant day and they’ve taken a small break to enjoy a treat on one of the many terasses the city has to offer. They’re sitting close, Étienne having no real notion of what personal space is, and Edward finds he doesn’t mind. It’s nice and he likes that Étienne hasn’t put up his usual guard. His boyfriend has been regaling him with some bodacious tale, when he is interrupted, halfway through, when another person comes up to them.

 “Étienne?!” The person says, astounded and surprised to find him here.

 Étienne automatically puts some space between them, as if suddenly aware of where he is and Edward watches as his boyfriend’s eyes grow wide and a grin etches itself on his face, “Oh mon Dieu, Malik, allô! Ça fait longtemps!”

 There’s the usual exchange of kisses on cheeks and pats on the back, followed by catching up on the latest. Edward watches, from the corner of his eyes, as Étienne once more seems to know everyone he runs into and something starts stirring inside of him that he can’t quite name.

 “Aye, scuse, j’avais pas vu qu’t’étais avec quelqu’un.” Malik says and both of them turn towards him and Edward offers a polite smile and wave.

 “Oui, c’est mon ami, Édouard, yé-t-en visite pour encore une semaine!” Étienne beams and Edward – Edward stills, that one word ringing and repeating itself over and over and over again as an ugly, long forgotten voice returns to whisper fears in his mind, feeding off the feeling from before.

 He tries to ignore it, makes polite chit-chat with Malik until they leave, but the word festers and colours his mood. He remains quiet as Étienne picks up their previous conversation and his mood only sours as the rest of the afternoon progresses.

 He thought – he had dared to think that things were different now.

 He supposes he’d been very wrong.

 Étienne would never change. He isn’t sure why he’s surprised.

 Of course, despite everything Étienne had told him – the confessions and the promises and the affirmations – it had meant nothing. They were only words. Étienne didn’t really like him. They were only words to make him feel better. To dupe him into a lie. He was and is just Some Friend. Some idiot Étienne keeps around for when he’s bored. A simple ami. Not a boyfriend. Not even a vulgar chum.

 Un ami. A friend. Nothing fucking more.

 Étienne probably is ashamed of him. Humours him by having him over. Even now, after all these years. He doesn’t know why he thought otherwise – why he believed Étienne when he’d told him the contrary.

 How stupid of him. How utterly naïve.

 He deserves this, really. Deserves to be mocked when the signs had all been there, really. Everyone had told him that Étienne only played games. He’d been blind to them is all.

 Eventually, Étienne quiets down himself, realising that Edward’s enthusiasm has withered and the rest of the afternoon is a quiet sullen thing. They head back to Étienne’s place afterwards and Étienne lets him be for a moment, while he tends to Mercury and it’s only later, that he goes out of his way to find him and sits beside him.

 “Alright, are you going to tell me what’s eating you or are you going to be a miserable old sack for the rest of the evening?” Étienne sounds a little annoyed and Edward thinks it’s a good thing. He wants him to be annoyed. Wants him to stew and be miserable. Just like he feels now.

 “It’s fine. It’s nothing you should concern yourself with. I’m just a friend, after all. No one important.”

 Étienne gives him a look as though he’s been slapped in the face, “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Hell, he even sounds insulted.

 Edward sighs, annoyed and frustrated because why would Étienne have the decency of understanding? “I don’t know, you tell me!”

 Étienne blinks, clearly confused, “What are you talking about?”

 “Can’t believe I have to spell it out for you, but then again, I suppose I also shouldn’t be surprised about this either. After all, you’re the one who dismissed me as your friend earlier, when your friend came to chat you up.”

 “You mean Malik? What the hell else was I supposed to call you? Was that too much?” Now, even Étienne sounds annoyed and it’s evident from the way his eyebrows are knit close together and the tightness of his mouth.

 “Your boyfriend! Or are you that ashamed of me?!” He finally near yells.

 Étienne looks at him, surprised. He remains quiet and simply looks. Edward is a little unnerved, but even more so when Étienne lets out a dark and bitter sounding laugh.

 “Oh this is fucking rich coming from you, Murphy.”

 “What’s that even supposed to mean?”

 “You’ve gotta be kidding me, clearly. How the fuck was I supposed to know I could call you that to others when you’ve spent decades avoiding anyone seeing us even walk down a street together in broad daylight!”

 There’s a small voice – very small and very annoying – at the back of his head that tells him Étienne has a point, however Edward ignores it and instead charges on, politeness be damned.

 “Well maybe if you had given me some inkling of a sign that you were into me I would have let you!”

 “Please, you were so far buried into your closet that even your precious Gretzky coming out and fucking you wouldn’t have been enough.”

 He’s aware they’re both going for where it hurts. That they’re using their own deep and buried hurt as a weapon and that they should stop. However, there is something raw that has been unearthed and there seems to be no going back at this point.

 “Of course it’s my fucking fault! You’re too perfect and self-centered to have any flaws.”

 “What does that have to do with the fact that I didn’t know you were okay with me telling people you’re my boyfriend? You never let me know! You’re still not comfortable with PDA! I was trying to be nice, for Christ’s sake!”

 “Yeah, well, it looked more like you were ashamed to be seen in public with me!”

 Étienne scoffs loudly and rolls his eyes at him, “Me? Ashamed of you? Please, it’s always felt like the other way around! I’ve been trying to reach out for you for decades. You’re the one who pushed back and would swat my hand away. And I figured, fine, you weren’t out, whatever. So I kept my hands to myself and didn’t say anything. And even now. I don’t know what you’re comfortable with, so excuse me for fucking wanting to give you space and not knowing what the fuck was actually going on in your head.” Étienne makes to get up and most likely get some air, but Edward isn’t done. He’s not letting Étienne walk away.

 “What the hell?! You can’t honestly believe I was ashamed of you! Why the fuck else would I keep coming back here to see you?”

 “Because I was convenient! An easy escape! You said so yourself! It was easy for you to come here and be whomever. I could have been literally anyone else and it wouldn’t have changed anything.”

 Edward wants to laugh at the absurdity of it all and nearly does. “Of course it was convenient,” He starts and cuts Étienne off before he can go on again, “You were-are my friend so it made it easier. But not because of the reasons you believe.”

 They both fall quiet and stare at each other, an impasse being more or less reached. Eventually, Étienne runs a hand over his face, after removing his glasses and cleans them off his shirt before putting them back on. He takes a deep breath and then sags a little against the couch.

 “So, are you telling me that we both got worked up over some giant misunderstanding and you actually don’t mind me telling people you’re my boyfriend now?” He sounds a little tired, as if this issues has been plaguing his mind for years and Edward feels, for the first time since this whole debacle has started, that they might finally be back on the same page.

 “Something like that... And yes, I don’t mind. I should have told you.” He says a little quieter, a little calmer.

 “And I should’ve asked.”

 They look at each other, hazel meeting green, and it’s a timid understanding that is reached. One formed over embarrassment and apology.

 “I think there are still things we need to discuss.” He doesn’t want this to happen again. For as much as he doesn’t mind clearing the air, he also doesn’t want to hurt Étienne.

 “You mean there are still issues we’re carrying around that could blow up at any time in some toxic way and threaten the foundation of what we have?” Étienne says, mock surprised as he brings a hand to his chest, feigning shock. Edward lets out a puff of air that forms into a little laugh.

 “Yeah, something like that.” He reaches over for Étienne’s hand and gives it a squeeze. “I was never ashamed of you. Honestly and I’m sorry if you thought that.”

 Étienne twines their fingers together and if his grip is a little tight, Edward doesn’t mention it.

 “I know. Logically, I know that. I guess, hearing you say that woke up some old fear inside of me... an old insecurity. We do need to discuss this. I’m sorry – for what I said and hurting your feelings. I’m not ashamed of you. I’ve never been ashamed of you either.” Étienne tentatively scoots closer and Edward carefully places an arm around him, letting Étienne put his head down on his shoulder. He notices a bit of tension ebb away from Étienne’s face and finally, he feels that this too will come to be solved with time.

 FIN

[ersatzangel]

I love Cas loving pop music but I also love the idea of Cas liking all kinds of music. Like, for most of his existence it's just a general kind of interest in humans and the way they express themselves and he thinks it's beautiful and he enjoys whatever music happens to be around him. But then (after Dean) it becomes more. A...search. He’s not entirely sure what he’s searching for until long after Dean gives him the tape, long after he tries to give it back but It’s a gift, you keep those.

But one day he understands: he’s looking for himself, for his feelings, reflected back to him in these pieces of music so lovingly created.

And that’s when Cas starts listening to all kinds of music in earnest, seeking it out on purpose instead of letting it come to him.

When Dean first notices Cas listening to music in his room in their downtime, it gives him pause because Cas has never done it before, really, but it’s not that weird. And he’s not surprised to hear Beyoncé filtering through the door given the aliases Cas chooses. And he’s not surprised by the classic rock, either because Cas seemed to like the Zeppelin tape and never complains about Dean’s choice of music when they’re driving. The classical stuff doesn’t surprise him either because Cas is still kinda nerdy and nerds like classical music, right?

The dubstep is, maybe, unusual but...Cas is unusual, so he just raises a brow at Cas’s laptop when he pushes open the door to ask if Cas wants to join them for lunch. Cas ignores the eyebrow and follows Dean to the kitchen.

And then it becomes a thing, all kinds of weird music Dean sometimes doesn’t even have a name for coming from Cas’s room. He asks Cas about it once or twice but Cas only responds with a noncommittal ‘I like music’ and it feels like something Dean can’t press, though he doesn’t know why.

Some of the music is cool, some of it drives Dean crazy (the polka phase is particularly difficult to get through) and then Cas seems to discover the repeat button and Dean nearly blows a gasket when he hears Faith by George Michael the thirtieth time in a row. Sam takes to wearing noise cancelling headphones around that time.

Cas, though, Cas loves it all. He starts with the pop music because it’s familiar, and then with Dean’s music for the same reason. Then he expands a little: country and western, hip-hop and disco and funk and soul and rock ‘n’ roll and doo-wop and jazz, bluegrass, heavy metal, punk, crooners and surf rock, showtunes and new wave.

He’s uncertain about novelty songs. They seem less sincere but he admires humanity’s propensity for whimsy.

Then he expands a little more: mariachi, bossa nova, ska and dancehall and reggae, skiffle, yé-yé, music hall, baroque, opera, vaudeville. He dives into folk music from all around the world, marvelling at the similarities and the differences.

Sometimes it’s frustrating, though, because the lyrics, the chords, the harmonies and melodies, will be almost but not quite right to express how he feels. Not in its entirety, the whole scope of his feelings. But he gets there, piece by piece. And then, when he thinks he’s found what he was looking for, he asks Sam how to put it all onto a tape.

And when he finally puts it together, to return the gift of music, the music that is him, to Dean, it's, well, it’s really fucking weird and random. Dean doesn't even understand all the songs because half of them aren’t English but he listens to the tape all the way through, anyway, because Cas made it for him. And then he listens to it again, and again, and as he lets it all wash over him, thinks about Cas listening to different music for weeks on end, he thinks about Cas sitting and choosing the songs and recording them onto the tape, the way Dean had done for him, and he gets the message loud and clear.

(He doesn’t even mind that Cas put Faith on it)