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maocin · 9 months

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My Aim Is True, 1977, Elvis Costello

If you subscribe to the notion that there is such a thing as power pop, you would likely consider Elvis Costello among its practitioners. He's never been a household name in music in the same way that other, more established power pop bands are (Cheap Trick, maybe), nor has he influenced generations of musicians like Alex Chilton did with Big Star. He certainly wasn't the face of punk in Britain. There are some hits -- maybe you've heard "Pump It Up", or "Oliver's Army"? But we're not interested in hits around here. My Aim Is True, his debut album, offers easy listening, digestible power pop, while still maintaining the snark and consciousness that makes punk meaningful. It's a front to back delight, and the radio hits don't give you even half of the full experience. I want to talk about why this is one of my favorite albums of all time.

Opening Quartet

"Welcome To The Working Week" absolutely fucks. Who among us hasn't felt like a "juggler running out of hands?" This song is less than two minutes long, and in that time span -- less time than I've spent writing about it, by half -- we get a complete, mournful picture of a dead-end job with all the infectious speed of the rat race. This song walked so "Life in the Fast Lane" could run, except this one also ran, and did so five years earlier, and accomplished just as much in a fifth of the runtime.

It also blends perfectly into the next track, "Miracle Man," which is less incisive but equally enjoyable. Melodic bass and simple drums complement clean lead and distorted rhythm guitars. Focusing too closely reveals how simple everything is at its core, but overall, the song comes together perfectly and achieves much more than the sum of its parts. "Miracle Man" slows down slightly from the hectic opener, leading perfectly into the even slower "No Dancing," which even has a breakdown in the middle. These first four tracks aren't much to sneeze at, but they're maintainers of the vibe, and that's an accomplishment in and of itself. The vibe is immaculate.

Finally, we get to "Blame It On Cain". This is the clearest example of Elvis Costello's favorite lyrical trick -- writing a song that sounds complex, and just about is, but doesn't actually carry any meaning on its own. Just the shell of an interesting thought for you to fill in. It's much like (and here I brace for the gunshots) T.S. Eliot's poetry, "famously" parodied in Henry Reed's "Chard Whitlow," which you should go read right away. Pay attention, because he's gonna use this trick over and over again. Now that you see it you can't unsee it. Miracle Man and No Dancing change their tones. What does "everybody has to feel his pain" mean? You tell me. Frankly, I don't care. Four songs have gone by, and not a single syllable has been out of melodic place.

2. Wait, Not A Single Syllable Has Been Out Of Melodic Place

Have you ever tried to write music with english words? To get them aligned in the right time and key and rhythm and melody? It's next to impossible. Now take a look at the beginning of Blame It On Cain:

Once upon a time I had a little money/Government burglars took it long/Before I could mail it to you still/You are the only one Now I can't let it slip away.

How the fuck did he do that. Government is a pickup, which you think can't possible be rhythmically valid, but then the pattern is legitimized by its repetition with "before I could" and "you are the". He shifted his line endings! What the fuck! And by the way, the three syllable pickup persists through the WHOLE SONG. Blame it on Cain, then don't is on a square beat, then blame it on me. Oh oh it's no-body's fault? What? How!?

This is what I find special about Elvis Costello. He writes arguably the best lyrics in the history of the practice. Not because they're deep or interesting or good or anything like that, although we'll see some serious contenders later in the album. Simply because they always fit the music to a degree that most other artists can't begin to approach. Furthermore, he does it in one of the most rigid and difficult genres there is. You don't get room for time signature tomfoolery, messy line endings, raw vocal delivery, etc. Not in power pop. Everything has to work together tightly. If you're into theory (and I am, but I won't bore you here) you'll find Elvis Costello also has a penchant for interesting chord progressions and nontrivial song structure. Half the time you're listening to his music, though, you don't even realize. Each song is a verifiable monument to pop perfection, but still rough around the edges enough to retain the 70's Britain punk crowd. I'm sorry, but I love this album. Anyway, carrying on through the tracklist.

3. Alison And The Love Songs

Let's talk about the hit. I like it, I really do. It's slower, it's ballad-y, his voice is less than impressive (unless you're into that sort of thing, which, hey, you're in good company because I happen to have a soft spot for this guy's goofy vocals), it's a simple song, sure. But besides matters of taste, find something wrong with it. Maybe you think "can't stand to see you this way" should be delivered on the square instead of the upbeat? You've gotta reach pretty far. These kinds of songs are what should have by all rights made Elvis Costello famous: perfectly engineered, neither condescending nor overly vague, a depth of feeling matched with wonderful musical backing from the tightest band in Europe.

But it's also this kind of song that belies the real serious good meat on the album. I promise, we will get to the stuff that gave him the punk creds that validate my treatment of Welcome To The Working Week. While we're here, though, take a moment to appreciate the mixing of the vocal harmonies on the chorus. Sing the album title along with him. Bang the steering wheel in time with "stop you from talking." It's just a really, really good song. I won't say it rocks, because it doesn't, but I maintain that it's an absolute delight to listen to.

Now going on to "Sneaky Feelings," we get another gem of a guitar riff with a beautiful vocal melody, tight rhythms, and simple structural language. It's clean. It's radio presentable. Unfortunately it ends in a vamp (that piano!) and is about homewrecking. Surely relatable to many, this is nonetheless a slight putoff -- to understatate -- which prevents its being a radio hit.

But hang on, all of that was true of Alison! These two tracks are situated next to each other on the album and I don't think that's unintentional. Why is Alison an obviously acceptable radio hit, and Sneaky Feelings an obviously (at least a little bit) offputting deep track? Well, one ends with "My aim is true," and one ends with "I've still got a long way to go." Maybe the average person really does appreciate good intentions, even when the situations can only ever be identical. We get two takes on the same song, a little meta-snark from the king of being musically semiprofound.

And speaking of semiprofundity. With "(The Angles Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes" Costello delivers again a metaphor that you cannot by any means put a serious definition to. I choose to read it as a third take on the same song as Alison and Sneaky Feelings. We can learn something about writing, here. People prefer characters to concepts, and although they prefer metaphors to direct statements, invoking pathos trumps both. Sneaky Feelings is pretty upfront (theme in the title) while Red Shoes never neatly delivers its point. Indeed I'm not quite convinced it has a point at all, but I'm going an assumption in order to make a point about the precision involved in power pop. When you have all this rigidity, you need every possible choice to convey meaning. No track placement is thoughtless.

4. The rabbit hole

See how we're getting sucked down? At the beginning of this album, you might think No Dancing just carries the vibe and theme from Miracle Man so we can get to Blame It On Cain. But now you might want to pause, go back, listen to them again, see what else you can tease out now that you're aware of the depth that goes into every tiny decision on this kind of record.

Unfortunately we lack the technology to do this, rendering such a review impossible. Let's get to the damn punk already.

5. Less Than Zero

This song flopped in America. But if you're aware of World War II era British right-wing politics, you will understand a little more of what's going on. Oswald is of course Oswald Mosley, a shit-stain fascist who manages to give even the average British person a favorable comparison. That man was a despicable blight on society in inter-war Britain, and when he came back to spread more shit in the 70s, Elvis Costello wrote "Less Than Zero" as a reaction. This song is nothing less than the worst slander he could possibly come up with, plus a chorus. There's nothing inherently punk about hating fascists (everyone should hate fascists, and yet not everyone is punk) but Less Than Zero certainly does its duty in a punk way. These are the aforementioned chops and creds. Less Than Zero was his first ever single! It didn't chart, but this was how Elvis Costello chose to introduce himself to the world: as a sneering nerd in glasses ready to snort cocaine and dunk on fascists. Phenomenal work. If we could all be so lucky.

6. Does He Get The Benefit Of The Doubt?

After Less Than Zero, do you believe he's a punk firebrand? Will you find social commentary in his possibly false profundity? Let's take the next track as an example. Obviously the "Mystery Dance" is not hard to identify, but what does the song actually mean? Is he chronicling young people who grew up repressed? Is he lambasting British censorship for disallowing education in that area? Poking fun at the suggested abstinence-only practices of most churches in England? How far are you willing to read into it, how much will you pull from what he might have been talking about to combine with the scant few things that he actually is? Is "Pay It Back" about healthcare? Predatory payday loan practices? Student debt? The general idea of living by relying on promise? Trauma? Is it even from the perspective of a single person, or is the evaporating social safety net of Britain itself singing? However much rope you give him, these songs have an interpretation available.

I wish Pay It Back was the hit off this album! I wish it was Less Than Zero, or even Red Shoes. There are so many phenomenal and possibly even meaningful songs on this album. But no matter what means what, one thing is constant: the music is good. It's easy listening, it's tight, it's well-written and well-executed. That's the only kind of thinking that lets you gloss over "I'm Not Angry" without feeling somewhat sad, like you lost a half decent USB cable or maybe dropped a potato chip somewhere you know you won't be able to eat it from once you pick it up. On a great run of maybe-profound songs, we have to come to an end with this one, which is definitely and totally just about a girlfriend.

There's nothing wrong about it -- indeed, it's got some redeeming compositional qualities. Meta-snark again, albeit basic: he says he's not angry, but the song sounds angry. Don't ever let anybody say he's not clever.

Look, it's not a perfect album. The songs are really good (many are arguably perfect, depending on what you believe they were intended to accomplish) and the pacing is great, and the tracklist is intentional, but this all depends on the dance of how much do I believe Elvis Costello. Do I think he's a literary genius, or just a musical one?

It's hard to end the album. If you're thinking this constantly, arguing with yourself constantly about what you will and won't allow to be an intentional piece of artistry, you'll be so tired by the end. "Waiting For The End Of The World" is one of those profound songs, too. Try to solve the roman a clef with no brains left. See how that works out for you. "Watching the Detectives" is surely easy to figure out, too. Oh wait.

7. Why Do All This To Yourself?

Stop it!! Stop overanalyzing an old British guy! If you want to go hear a profound and meaningful album, shudder and headbang your way through Disapora Problems. Who cares about what British political figures might be the "bride", "groom", "congregation", and "beast"? Does it matter? Listen to the way the bass is mixed with the floor tom. Listen to the lead guitar wailing in the background, sliding around and twirling. Dance to that, or just tap your feet with the drums. Sing the easy lines and skip over the careful four syllable deliveries. This album is not supposed to be hard.

That's our departure from punk. That's what makes this power pop, and indeed this album is the very one that made me, personally, one of those musicians who believes in that vague vague vague genre's existence. There's nothing challenging about My Aim Is True. Nothing that warrants this many words about it. Maybe you came to that conclusion already or maybe you're just reading to hear my thoughts. In either case this is a chronology, not a final piece. I went from A to B and back to A on this album. I started thinking he just had a nice vibe going, and I could have fun listening through the album during my morning commute with "Welcome To The Working Week" to start off my day with an appropriate bang. Then I learned about Oswald Mosley and thought whoops, gotta take him seriously now and proceeded to come up with some seriously overreaching analyses that (thank goodness) have been left on the cutting room floor here. Now I've listened to this album maybe two dozen times. I love it, I think it's one of the finest offerings of any power pop artist, I think the band is perfect and the writing is stellar. I think it draws you in and tests you like very few projects to. I think it's a little much half the time and not enough the other half. It's never perfect. But it's deep, deep, deep, and you can take the rabbit hole all the way down if you want. Been there done that -- not worth it. Nothing of value is buried here.

That said, this is a phenomenal fucking album with one of the best and most consistent sounds in the genre. You WILL enjoy listening to it if you have any love in your heart for music of its ilk.

8. Postscript

Reasons you might not like this album:

You think his voice sounds weird.

You know who Big Star is and you hate them.

On a more serious note, if you expect explicitness in your authenticity, you might find this to be the work of a poser. Nothing could be further from the truth, but it's a feeling that you might have, which is perfectly capable of turning you off from the album.

This is at its core a decent album with outstanding music and sound. In the event that you don't like the music itself, just turn it off and call it a day. It's consistent across the whole album, and you will NOT find this record's salvation in its lyrics or any sort of political commentary. I recommend it because it's got the depth to stay interesting while also being a power pop musical tour de force. If you're not sure what I'm talking about just listen to Pay It Back first, and if that doesn't do it for you, don't sweat it.

However, if it does, drop a note. I'll make fun of you for reading this far.

#elvis costello #power pop #music #music review #albums #album review #music recs #song recs #70's music #punk #my aim is true

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theodore-sallis · 10 months

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“When Strikes the Gladiator!” Daredevil (Vol. 1/1964), #113.

Writer: Steve Gerber; Penciler: William Robert Brown; Inker: Vince Colletta; Colorist: Linda Lessmann; Letterer: Artie Simek

#Marvel #Marvel comics #Marvel 616 #Daredevil vol. 1 #Daredevil 1964 #Daredevil #Matt Murdock #Cover Gallery #and Natasha’s there too up in the corner #70’s Daredevil is always so wild to me whenever I pop in there #what a power couple of redheads #but yeah! Ted’s in this issue and the next two Daredevil issues as well #and they add some wild lore on Project Gladiator here of all places hahaha #but sometimes I think writers don’t quite know what to do with Ted in these cameos #he just sort of ambles in lights stuff on fire and leaves #but you know what I can respect that #just add him to a panel and say ‘I just think he’s neat’ because same #I guess I just wish there could have been a bit more interaction between Matt ‘the Man Without Fear’ and the dude who #lights fear on fire #maybe someday ¯\_(ツ)_/¯#in the meantime it’s just funny seeing Matt trying to parse out what the heck Ted is with radar sense

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campbell-rose · 5 months

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Alastor Redesign

Omg there’s like over 70 people following me – guys I'm o///O flattered and flabbergasted.

Anyway, onto today’s main event, Alastor. I hate Alastor’s og design, I hate his twig waist and his shoulder pads and the way you can’t see his antlers next to his ears, and his bow tie ugh viv please and his HAIR what even is that??? Not even mentioning that nothing about his design is really like a focal point. There’s no one thing that’s particularly interesting. At least before this he had that cathedral window looking cross on his undershirt that I found interesting. Nothing about his says he’s from the 1930’s other than dialogue.

I wanted him to be in greyscale because that’s the coolest aesthetic, and colored photos weren’t a thing until way after the 30s. Recently I saw jjk, and Jogo’s teeth threw me because at some points I thought he was just straight up toothless. But then when I started this design, that colored tooth look spoke to me. Initially his teeth were yellow to look gross like he never brushes them, but then I was like ‘ayo wait, he’s literally a cannibal’, thus his vibrant red teeth to really pop against his greyscale. Initially his undershirt was white, but I feel like that was too much contrast and white is typically innocence, so by instead having a deep red it shows he’s just straight up bloodthirsty underneath his formal appearance. I also considered it being black, but then he looked like a pastor, and I wasn’t too much of a fan of it. The idea of the red on his design is that it leads your eye down his design to take it all in, with his face being the focus. I gave him glasses because I like the way it obscures his eyes a bit and I imagine they do the anime thing where they glow and hide his eyes. I liked Viv’s idea of sinners having marks where they died, and I slicked his hair back to show it off very prominently. His antlers are larger, I gave him cute lil deer ears. Also, under his suit he is lowkey buff. I feel like a serial killer should at least look physically capable of taking someone down not whatever the fuck viv’s nasty twig men can do. Like, in that comic with the cute sheep girl, when Alastor goes demon mode his body looks so snappable I just wanna like grab his waist in my hands and break it like a twig. I also tried to keep his design simple as if this were for animation, I know pinstripes are complicated and so are antlers but other than that I tried to keep his design basic.

If I were to rewrite him based solely on the pilot, I honestly wouldn’t change a thing. Alastor is a decent character, his voice actor gives him life, the radio filter is cool, and nothing he did made me want to break my screen (ANGELDUST). The only thing I'd change would be his position in hell. Like, viv’s hell is so wack and I hate it, she’s got the princes, then the goetia and the overlords and then sinners and blah blah, it’s a lot to keep track of, not even mentioning the rings and circles thing. I think Alastor should have had dealings with hell as a human, maybe he routinely did sacrifices or something, and he made a deal with the archdemon Alastor and when he died like... uuhhhhhhh. Maybe through connections he’s gained more power? Idk, I just know I hate the idea of his dying and then having like the bestest most powerful demon powers despite not being hellborn. It’s got this mary sue stench. I’ll figure it out, maybe, who knows.

I’m not gonna start rewriting since there’s nothing to go off of and alter yet, so that’s gonna have to wait until the show actually drops before anything concrete happens lol.

Also the sheep girl is a sinner that reoccurs in the show now so sorry I don’t make the rules, you can’t give me a cute sheep girl and try to take her away, I’m gonna redesign her and shove her into the plot as someone looking for redemption at the hotel

#anti vivziepop #vivziepop critical #hazbin hotel redesign #hazbin hotel critical #hazbin hotel criticism #alastor the radio demon

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cherizzx · 25 days

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Miles 42 Headcannons ( We got a man yall 🤭🤭

Miles 42x Black Reader

OK first off, THIS IS A 15/16 YEAR OLD CHILD HE BROKE AS HELL

Like he not broke broke but, hell shadow box for $5 and win ts. To me I feel he got a little money saved form how his dad taught his savings, and he got a back account because remember he's like a hitman he gets paid, but he's not like rich enough to the point he buys you like Rolex watches, Catier, Dior vintage bags from the 70's spring collection.

Next, I feel like to me evry says hes like some bad boy to me i just think hes troubled but, hes a good kid. In the first movie Miles acted the same way and in the second movie he's more mature I feel like Miles-42 matured faster since his dad died; he could never play with action figures when no action was taken to save his dad

It very sad how they describe him in fics as like a drug dealer bad kid when really, I think he's just a matured yet still goofy version of Miles like imagine Hobie attitude with miles it practically the same!

Also, more on the dating side of things Miles-42 I believe would not trust his s/o til 3 months later or even more. Miles-42 is a hitman, and he may have been taught people are going to burn your bridge when they have the chance so, Miles stays clear of really revealing his inner turmoil's til he can fully trust you.

But, when Miles does open up he's like a little flower all nice and smells good yet can still have you in the bed sick and tired if tried hard enough, I feel like his emotions would turn more gentler like he wasn't neglecting you but he kind of was condescending when you show a lot of affection and until you prove your real, hell just make the relationship picture worthy and not living worthy.

But an opinion I know people would say is true is that Miles both of them cannot flirt. Remember than most likely Miles-42 dad and Miles-1160 uncle died at or around the same time which means they both experienced the same ' I almost messed up my chances with this cool girl because my uncle/dad didn't teach me how to be a smooth criminal' but to me with how he put his hand on Miles-1160 shoulder..that man had one girlfriend in the 5th grade and he's been feelin himself since then.

Now before you two started dating you have crushes, Miles didn't have many crushes to my idea. I feel like he didn't see it like he thought of kids as friends and if he did like smb it would be like quick and over with simply because he would try to be friends more.

Like imagine you tryna shoot your shot with him and he just asks you what your favorite power ranger...that what I mage would happen but he's 15/16 so instead it him saying ' cool but, not interested' like he's not rude about it but, you would feel he not messin with you,

Buttt if he does have like a real crush on you, I feel like he would try to get to know you by socials than irl, like asking Ganke can he ask for your socials and then following you and from there trying bag you by cheesy but smooth texts. He would ask about your day, what was the homework, what clubs you do ask a conversation starter but, if you feelin him hell asking about music because I feel like Miles-42 and Miles-1160 both have a music bone in them, and you know Miles-42 listens to good music (won't ever catch him listening to mf Lil Pump ass) I also feel like Miles would ask about pop culture opinions to see how you are as a person like do you watch any popular tv shows? Ohhhh your favorite is Greys Anatomy... so you have nothing to do in your time? That what hell thinks.

My last little head cannon is more of what he would do if Ms. Rio liked you, which because he respectful baddies she likes us quickly, so What would miles do if Rio likes us 🧐

First, Miles wouldn't tell but shell know simply because Miles never smiles at a text, it doesn't matter if he won $128302 million, he not smiling until he met our lovely baddie reader now, he is giggling and kicking his feet. To Ms. Rio that's not normal, it gives her a sense of his old self and she doesn't pry into his social like a helicopter parent but, she doesn't take a peek over his shoulder and when Miles does get the courage to tell her she just smiling acting like she aint know.

Miles seeing his mom like would take a big relief off his shoulders because he thought about the reddit stories where the mom is crazy and now, he thinks his momma gonna run us over with a truck and blame it on the next-door neighbor (true miles fashion)

His mom liking you also lets him know he picked the right one, mothers know best when it comes to fake people for some odd reason and if Rio didn't side-eye you when she met you then your good and he's inviting you to his house more often. I'm not going to talking about Uncle Aaron because I feel like they not as close like that but that a head cannon for a sad day.

But, at the end of the day Miles wants us bad 🤭🤭

#black reader #black fem reader #atsv x reader #miles morales x reader #earth 42 miles x reader #headcanon #miles morales #earth 42 miles morales x reader #earth 42 miles x you #CherrixCore

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radioisntdead · 1 month

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can we get op reader just beating the absolute SHIT out of valentino while vox and velvette watch on in horror? :3 perhaps others too, like perchance we somehow stutmbled upon valentino's set while angel was there and are just *appalled* and therefore decide his second living privileges need to be taken away <3

- snake

Good evening my dear!

When I tell you I audibly screamed when I read this request I mean it my dear! I despise Valentino and I adore this request! I did change some things because it didn't make much sense for the reader to just pop into the studio randomly and start going ham, so I went with some light backstory and causally gave the reader the found family treatment, anyways enjoy!

The Forgotten one

Reader fic,

Warnings!!

Mild torture {I say mild but limbs are getting ripped off, I don't go into detail and there isn't much of it but be warned!!} I'm imagining reader as an eldritch horror, This is literally just the reader murdering the grape guy horrendously, Reader ended up in eternal damnation for a reason! Also I'm imagining the reader to be British??? I don't know why, that was accidental but if you get British vibes that's why.

You died centuries ago, your generation laid long forgotten, you could barely remember your life before the black death had claimed it, you could just barely recall the high fever, hurling over in your cot and spitting out the blood that had gathered in your mouth.

You probably weren't the best person since you ended up here, maybe you were a tyrannical peasant? A murderer? A person of the night? A thief?

Maybe you had a family, maybe you were wedded, maybe you had kids, maybe you didn't.

Who knows, you certainly didn't.

You wondered if you will ever be able to recall those forgotten memories about your life.

All you knew is that you climbed the ranks quickly once you ended up in the underworld, gaining many souls, and power one could only dream of, becoming a feared overlord.

You've gone through many names, The dark one, the Wicked, The witch, the Warlock, A child of darkness, the devil's child, {That one didn't age well},

Most recently though you were deemed as the forgotten one, always lurking, watching, never coming out into the spotlight unless necessary, sending one of the souls you kept in your place while you hid in your castle.

However decades of solitude gets rather boring,

So you decided to go out, see what was new, after all when was the last time you were out and about? The 70's? Oh you adored the results of that decade.

Well venturing out turned out to be such treat! Turns out that fellow who adored ducks's charming daughter opened a hotel to redeem sinners! Oh how darling it was!

You popped in to visit it, finding the residents quite lovely, you simply adored how Charlie thought that you of all sinners could be redeemed! It was quite a foolish thought

But you liked that hotel along with it's lovely little residents,and if playing along with the Princess's delusions of you getting redeemed after so, so many harsh years, would let you stay in that hotel and cure your boredom then it wouldn't hurt to entertain that foolish thought now would it?

And so you stayed as one of the residents on the path of so-called redemption!

you got along well enough with the others, although Vaggie and Alastor were suspicious of you at first, although you and Alastor got along well after bonding over how the noisy picture box was overrated, it had wow'd you at first but that quickly faded as it progressed,

It took Vaggie awhile to trust you, but after you had taught her some of the skills you had picked up in your lifetime you became like a parental figure to the woman, which played out well as Charlie was already quite fond of you,

You had practically proclaimed them both as your daughter and daughter in law, you adored them both, baking them treats, gifting Vaggie a pair of some type weapon, giving Charlie something related to unicorns, or a joint gift for them,

You quite liked their reactions upon receiving something they liked,

You liked seeing them happy a little too much, so much that you started giving the others things you thought they might like, expensive alcohol for Husk, shiny sharp knifes to hunt bugs down with for dear niffty, vintage radios for Alastor, tools and things for inventing for Sir Pentious, and matching clothes for Fat nuggets and Angel for Angel dust,

You liked seeing their expressions when they liked something, it gave a warm, bubbly feeling in your stomach,

You liked spending time with everyone too.

Chatting at the bar with husk, Angel dust explaining things to you that you don't know, watching your fellow residents sleep with Sir Pentious, sparring with Vaggie, scrapbooking with Charlie, watching one of Niffty's roach puppet shows, taking a trip to cannibal town with Alastor to visit Rosie,

You slowly began seeing the hotel residents like family, you didn't have a family, or at least you didn't anymore so you don't know exactly how they worked but you thought that this was good enough,

They were your beloved family now, formed from delusional hope,

and you were their family reborn from a forgotten era, burned to ashes and thrown to the dark pits filled with brimstone, sin and death.

You'd do anything for them, you'd die for them, you'd live for them, and you'd kill for them, they most definitely were your family now.

And you typically protect family, right?

Right?

You heard about what happened in Valentino's studio with Angel dust, the bruises.

You were displeased,

More then displeased you were upset, you were angry, how long has it been since you were this angry how dare someone lay a hand on your dear family member?

You waited until the majority of the hotel were asleep, most notably Angel,

You made up an excuse to go out, saying you had to check up on your castle after all you had unfortunate sinners working there and they're headless chickens without you!

Charlie told you to stay safe before she went up to bed with Vaggie.

You would be safe!

fortunately though, a certain Vee, would not be safe.

You did stop by your castle, to grab a spear with Angelic steel, you mentally thanked yourself for grabbing it a several extermination days ago,

You twirled it in your hand before a large sinister grin over took your face.

It had been awhile since you were out for blood.

Getting into the Vee's tower was disappointingly easy! Scaling up the wall and breaking a window? Child's play!

What wasn't easy was finding Valentino, the bald pimp moth guy, you had to look through several rooms, why did they have so many rooms? Did they even need these???

Nevermind all that, after searching for an inconvenient amount of time,

you finally found the one that had dared to harm your dear family member, you tilted your head as Valentino squinted to see who you were, unraveling his wings once he didn't recognize you.

He didn't look like much, he was tall, red eyes, and he looked like a grape with wings, the grimaced, oh poor Angel Dust, he had to look at this everytime he went to work!

Thankfully after this he didn't need too, you twitched, transforming into a more demonic form.

"Who the fu-"

He didn't get to finish the sentence as you swiftly kicked him in the kneecap causing him to fall, cursing you and wincing at the sudden pain in his knee, taking that moment you kicked him again, this time on his side, pushing him properly on the ground, placing your shoe on his ribcage you began to slowly crush his rib, grinning at the beginnings of a cracking noise

Unfortunately the little grape screamed out for the TV fucker to appear,

You could hear the sound of cables getting ripped out and the sound of footsteps.

"Val, what is it this time? Is it about angel dust again, I- ShIT VaL, wHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?''

And the TV man makes an entrance shouting, how annoying, well you could always deal with him later, raising your hand pitch black inky tentrals came out from beside you, wrapping the TV headed man and attaching him onto the couch.

Returning your focus to the soon to be deceased, again, grape

You bent down to wrap a claw onto his wing,

It was soft, maybe you could make something for Niffty with it, a blanket perhaps? Or maybe a coat?

You pulled out the wing as Valentino screamed out in pain, blood splattering onto you, the floor and the walls,

a door swung open behind you before quickly being closed, just barely leaving a gap for a phone camera to sneak though, the owner of the phone looked on in horror.

You kicked Valentino over causing him to hiss and groan as he now laid on his stomach, how unfortunate for him, who knew that if you horrendously abused your employees an centuries old overlord would be out for your blood!

You grinned at how helpless he was now, how pitiful!

You grabbed one of his arms and pulled, nerves and muscles separated and blood leaked out.

Vox looked on in complete and utter horror, he couldn't do anything,

Would he be next?

The Vee's floor was destroyed, Valentino was shredded and separated, stabbed in the head with the angelic steel you had brought along as to ensure he would NOT be coming back.

Both of his wings were folded and set neatly on the counter away from the carnage, after all if you were to make Dear Niffty something with them they had to be clean, mostly, you'd have to clean them again, who knows what diseases that man was carrying, Yuck!

You took some of the carnage and place them into containers before putting them in a bag to carry with you, you tucked the detached wings under your arm, dusting yourself off you checked the digital clock on the wall,

You should get back quickly, they'll be up soon.

Moving around the broken glass and furniture that had gotten caught up in the downfall of Valentino you made your way out the door,

You let Vox free from your tendrils, hearing him move to possibly inspect the remains of his business partner and whatever else.

You wonder if the third one was still recording?

Oh well, that's none of your concern,

You knocked things over, shattered, torn and destroyed anything you could get your hands on as you went down the Vee's tower, destroying what you could.

At the bottom floor a box of fireworks caught your eye, you supposed it was for one of the Vee's something, maybe Velvette's fashion thing or one of the skinned grape's filthy films,

Well either way, you were going to borrow the fireworks, set them up on the ground floor and light em' up,

The fireworks boomed onto the floor, sparkling and bursting into flames, burning and sizzling anything it could get it's clutches on.

You left swiftly after, getting bored, and you were practically done anyways.

You should head home now, and stop by your castle to dispose of that spear.

You hummed as you moved around the kitchen swinging a spatula around on your finger before checking on the meat that was beginning to brown in the pan,

"Good Morning [Name!]"

Charlie popped into the kitchen, turning your head to her, you smiled at her,

"Morning Dear Charlie, I'm preparing breakfast for everyone, French toast for the majority and I picked up some fresh demon meat to make something else for Dear Alastor since he doesn't like sweet things,"

"Really? That's so sweet of you!''

"Mhm, It's nothing, But be a dear and call everyone to the dining room so they can feast?"

You ask tilting your head as Charlie nodded with a 'Yes!' before hopping off to gather everyone for breakfast.

You turn back to the stove, poking your spatula into the simmering remains of Valentino, hopefully the peppers and seasons make him taste decent, you would hate for everyone else to enjoy their food and Alastor be the only one to not enjoy the meal.

Hopefully they didn't suspect you when the news covers Valentino's demise and the destroyed tower.

You are not a good person by any means, you were condemned for a reason, this all started to sooth your boredom, you can NEVER be redeemed....

Or could you?

Maybe this little makeshift family that you desperately want to protect could change you, make you a better person.

It was a foolish thought, but as long as you can make them a mildly concerning breakfast, spend time with them, give them trinkets you think they would like, you were willing to entertain that foolish thought, more then willingly.

Thank you for tuning in folks! I'm working on those Susan requests and the other WIPS I have in my pocket so look forward to those!

#hazbin hotel x reader #hazbin hotel x you #hazbin hotel valentino #valentino x reader #I don't know exactly how to tag this

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dankalbumart · 7 months

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Plastic Letters by Blondie Chrysalis 1978 New Wave / Punk Rock / Pop-Rock / Power Pop / Rock & Roll / Dance-Rock

#new wave #punk rock #punk #rock #pop rock #pop #power pop #rock & roll #rock and roll #dance rock #dance #dance music #classic rock #classic pop #music #70s #70s music #70's #70's music

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n3xii · 5 months

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why you're an icon (pac)

maybe a year ago i started (but did not finish) a series where I did posts describing why you're an icon. Today I plan on continuing that- this reading will describe why people are drawn to you and what they love most about you. today's muse is Fairouz, also spelled Fayrouz, Fairuz in English. Her name in Lebanese (hopefully pls correct if mistranslated <3) : فيروز, check out my services if you're interested in a personal reading : services

Fairouz is one of the most famous Lebanese singers and is considered today to be a major icon in the Arab world. Listening to her is my gateway to middle eastern music especially arabic pop in the 60's and 70's. One of my favorite things about her is the way she performed, according to her Wikipedia page she would be known to take a rigid, cold stance while performing. She claimed that the nature of her performances is because she is singing as if she were praying. a user on Pinterest called her the middle eastern lana del rey and i will never recover. anyways, select your pile and I will have a song by the queen for you to listen to.

PILE ONE-

cards: king of cups, queen of wands, 6 of cups, mars in pisces

song: Fayek Ya Hawa

you're a captivating, magnetic person. You have a way of capturing your passion with a almost childlike wonder, you remind people of what it's like to be a kid again and to just love something from the bottom of your heart. You have an ability to channel complex emotions from such a poetic perspective, you have this ability to channel your inner child when it comes to what you're passionate about. you possess a borderline psychic ability to portray emotions especially though creativity, you communicate things in such a way that it just resonates with so many people.

with the mars in Pisces card, this tells me that you are someone dedicated to understanding, empathizing and connecting with people. you have an unlimited range of creativity and a very developed imagination. you have such a way of wanting to help people feel understood, you're strongly motivated to act based on how you feel and as well as how other people feel. this motivation may even be self sacrificing at times. people love that you have a boundless sense of empathy. you dont withhold sympathy for anyone, you have the capability to connect with people regardless of who they are or how far they are from you.

PILE TWO

your cards- mars in leo, the emperor, two of swords

song: Sayyef ya sayf

you carry of confidence that demands power. You make decisions with certainty that regardless of what you do, you will always end up exactly where you need to be. People love that you're not the type to listen to other people, you drown out the voices of people trying to distract you and challenge the inner strength you have.

You have the tendency to take over and lead, and even if you arent aware of it, you influence people around you. the influence you have over the people in your life cannot be understated. you thrive when you are able to direct others. in fact you presence and personality type may be ''overbearing'' for some people, you're just not the type to shy away from expressing yourself and taking the lead. to some that may be perceived as confrontational and overpowering but many people actually love that you weren't born to be a follower.

people like you just know how to get things done. you excel at everything you do and take pride in your work. people love your ''ego'' and confidence. you're not afraid to overshine people. besides, its not your fault that people dim their own light.

PILE THREE

your cards: mars in taurus, page of cups and justice

song: Saalouny el nas

first of all, this pile has a clear foundation of right and wrong and you're willing to stand on that no matter what. people love that you're almost stubborn about what you believe. you're willing to go and fight for it and defend yourself against anyone.

but at the same time, this pile is very emotional and sensitive. your morals come straight from your heart. You're raw and vulnerable and you're willing to protect your heart more than anything else in this world. Sensitivity is seen as a weakness, but for you its your number one strength. its the quality that makes you willing to fend for yourself and other people. I knew someone like this in real life- upon first meeting her you might assume she was intimidating, scary, and even mean. but i watched this girl be brought to tears at the sound of a baby crying, I watched her fight against people who were stealing, I watched her loose her temper over anything that she felt disrespected her and her friends. By no means was she considered weak; she was vulnerable about what upset her, she was vulnerable about her mental health issues, and that made her strong and intimidating to people. it made me respect her more than anyone in my life. if you fucked with her, you were the one who ended up suffering. that's who this pile reminds me of.

I also feel that this pile is strongly motivated by their taste in fashion and luxury, people love your taste and its one of the things they remember about you.

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randomvarious · 11 months

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Today’s compilation:

These People Are Nuts! 1989 New Wave / Punk Rock / Alternative Rock / College Rock / Post-Punk / Power Pop / Ska

Here's a nice retrospective rundown of one of the greatest and most eclectic indie labels of the 1980s: I.R.S. Records, which was headquartered in the US, but had a whole lot of UK bands on its roster too. Founded in 1979 by a guy named Miles Copeland, I.R.S. started out primarily as a punk outfit, but as new wave proceeded to develop, it sunk its teeth firmly into that movement too, landing a bunch of acts along the way whose material was considered to be strange, zany, quirky, and campy, like Oingo Boingo and Timbuk 3.

But between all the acts that ultimately end up lending to this album's title being These People Are Nuts! are a bunch of bands who aren't considered to be all that weird too, like The Police, The Go Go's, Buzzcocks, R.E.M., and Fine Young Cannibals. So, what we really have here is a nice blend of genuinely good punk and alternarock with straight-up enjoyably silly and irony-laden new wave.

But this album that celebrates I.R.S.' tenth-year anniversary actually opens with a song that predates the label's existence entirely: it's the B-side of the debut record by the band that Miles Copeland's brother, Stewart, happened to play drums for: "Nothing Achieving," by The Police, a terrific classic rock-punk tune that was released in 1977 on another one of Miles' labels he had founded beforehand, Illegal Records.

And another great tune from those pre-I.R.S. days comes courtesy of a little-known band called The Electric Chairs, who, at the time, were fronted by a performer named Wayne County, who now goes by Jayne County. County is someone who holds the honor of being rock music's first openly trans vocalist, and she ended up working with a lot of famous people throughout her career, including David Bowie. Plus, she was also at the Stonewall Riots. So, she's an absolute legend, to say the least, and her band's punk song, "Thunder," which predates her publicly identifying as a woman, was released on Illegal in 1979.

Also, have you ever wondered where the great Fatboy Slim derived his stage name from? Well, it probably came from Maryland's Root Boy Slim, a brilliant and eccentric rabble-rouser who went to Yale and then came back on homecoming weekend the year after he had graduated and got kicked out and permanently banned from his frat house by none other than future war criminal president George W. Bush himself. His song, "Dare to Be Fat," kinda-sorta answers the question of, "what if Frank Zappa was a black blues-rocker?"

And there's a bunch of other songs from this compilation I could write about too, like The Go Go's’ "We Got the Beat," a landmark new wave tune that convinced the group to head towards a sound that was more new wave than punk; or the Buzzcocks' "Ever Fallen in Love," which presented a pretty perfect mix of late 70s punk rock and power pop; or Fine Young Cannibals' debut single, "Johnny Come Home," which showed the world this band's signature mix of rock and ska, along with Roland Gift's uniquely satisfying and tender voice.

But I think I'm gonna dedicate a few sentences to a deeply misunderstood song instead: "The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades," by Timbuk 3. If you've ever heard this top-20 mid-80s hit before, then there's a pretty solid chance that you're among the many people who think of it as quite possibly the dorkiest song that the new wave era ever spat out.

I mean, peep this refrain if you're not familiar:

I'm doing alright Getting good grades The future's so bright I gotta wear shades

Now, is it possible that this song was made in a sort of tongue-in-cheek backlashing kind of way in response to all the live fast-die hard, sex-drugs-and-rock n' roll music that was going around back then? Sure, I guess so. But the song wasn't even really so much as that. It was more about the banality of contributing to an evil system and feeling as though you were on the right path. See, "I Gotta Wear Shades" is told from the perspective of a young nuclear scientist at the height of the Cold War, and that brightness in the future he refers to is actually referencing the potential detonation of the nukes that he's been working on. It's a really cleverly-made song that became a pretty big hit, but people never really seemed to understand the message that was behind it. It certainly wasn't a song to celebrate strait-laced, apple-polishing nerds.

So, there you have it: a nice and varied set of songs from a transcontinental indie label that played a big role in shaping new wave, punk, and alternative rock through its first ten years and change. There wasn't really any other label that was quite like I.R.S. Records. A lot of names that would end up defining eras and styles, along with some real kooks too.

Highlights:

The Police - "Nothing Achieving" The Go-Go's - "We Got the Beat" Wayne County & The Electric Chairs - "Thunder" Root Boy Slim - "Dare to Be Fat" Buzzcocks - "Ever Fallen in Love?" Wall of Voodoo - "Mexican Radio" R.E.M. - "Superman" Doctor and the Medics - "Spirit in the Sky" Timbuk 3 - "The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades" Fine Young Cannibals - "Johnny Come Home" Concrete Blonde - "It'll Chew You Up and Spit You Out"

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