#Bear Mid-Riff

[knight-in-sour-armor]

#Know the difference #Bare Midriff #Bear Mid-Riff #Funny #Homonyms

[rose-like-the-phoenix]

Skyrim thieves guild headcanons

The daedric prince of Hyperfixation is at play here, enjoy my ramblings. Also check out @thequeenofthewinter she writes some really awesome stuff 😁

Brynjolf (aka my fave)

He was recruited by Gallus around the same time as Mercer, he rose through the ranks of the guild quite quickly... a little too quickly if you asked Mercer. Gallus was going to make him the next guildmaster but after explaining he didn't care for responsibility he told Gallus to give the position to Mercer

He's not an easy man to pin down. if he reveals any part of his personality, other then overconfident, cocky and flirty, to you willingly, you should consider yourself special.

Flirts with everyone, lads and lasses alike (especially his guildmates)

He grew up in a settlement somewhere in the riff. The village of about 20 was mostly made up of Dunmer refugees, a handful of Khajiit and Argonians and a couple of Nord families, he sees them as equals and feels as though he can relax more around them then he can around other Nords. It's partly why he often avoids going to Windhelm

Speaking of Windhelm, it's the last place in tamriel he would ever want to go. Not only because of the Nordic residents poor treatment of the other races but also because he prefers warmer weather and doesn't care for the near constant snowfall

As recruits, he was the youngest and only teenager (17 to 19) and Mercer was the third oldest (mid to late 20s)

Occasionally gets caught on purpose for fun and thrills

When someone in the guild ticks him off (usually Mercer) he'll mumble insults in scottish gaelic to avoid the guild fighting amongst itself

If you're on a job with him and things go south, let him do all the talking (he's silver tongued for a reason)

Absolutely littered with scars

*spoiler alert* spells take a lot out of him, once that frenzy spell Mercer put on him wore off, he collapsed and was breathing quite heavily, unfortunately he didn't have much time to recover

Has a general distaste for bandits, however on the way back from a job, he was attacked by three bears and a Nord in bandit armor ran up and started helping him, once the bears were dealt with Bryn excepted the man to attack him or demand gold but the bandit just sheathed his weapon and turned toward him with a smile on his face "Heh, you fight pretty well. Name's Thrynn, mind if I travel with you for a while? There's plenty more bears around here"

Has definitely been told more than once that if he doesn't wipe a smirk off his face, his armor is going in the pond... with him in it

Brynjolf doesn't know Glover Mallory very well but, knowing it would never happen otherwise, took it upon himself to write Glover a letter for his birthday each year, usually a handful of gems will accompany that letter. He also makes the rest of the guild sign said letter and every time Delvin's just like "why would I need to do that?"

Has a tattoo of the guild shadow mark on his left forearm and "dying breed" across his shoulders

Doesn't go on jobs alone very often

Kept a journal he lifted off a drunk altmer once, it's mostly just filled with drawings, client information, stuff about the Nightingales and (much like Gallus) plans to make the guild good amounts of coin

Mercer Frey (aka captain backstabber)

Hated Brynjolf's guts from day one and always thought the scottsman was full of himself

Muttered and cursed under his breath more than he liked to admit

Was shocked to hear Brynjolf tell Gallus to make him guildmaster and when he asked why Brynjolf's answers only infuriated him more "I don't care for responsibility" "I'd rather not be a leader" "I just don't want to" etc.

"Brynjolf's a showoff" when Gallus asked why the pair didn't get along.. among some other more direct reasons

Mostly just payed for the upkeep of his house to keep the guild from going through his things and using them as leverage/playing keep away with him/hiding things from him/using his stuff for pranks etc. He only keeps the bare minimum of what he needs on a daily basis in his chest, end table and desk

Would never say it, but he did find Bryn somewhat funny BUT he definitely wasn't laughing when Brynjolf and Delvin dumped two bucket fulls of cistern water on him at 1AM

Gallus told him to teach Brynjolf some magic in hopes they'd learn to get along. Brynjolf however, politely declines the offer, explaining that "magic and I don't mix well" *Mercer nodding* "noted"

Ironically is the first person to start calling Brynjolf "Bryn"

As a teen, Brynjolf used to call him a "grumpy old man"

"I hate to admit it, but Brynjolf is the best person we've got at finding new recruits. That man really knows how to read people"

Delvin Mallory (old man *affectionate*)

The "fun" uncleTm

When Brynjolf was new to the guild, some recruits Gallus was training at the time, thought it was a good idea to mock Bryn's accent. Delvin was the one to put an end to it "just 'cause the boy's young, he's already twice the thief compared to the rest o' you lot"

Vekel "I know better and I'd still say the old bastard has a drinking problem"

Definitely issues all the drinking challenges/games

One of the only guild members who is even remotely or the slightest bit religious

Will begrudgingly pay off a guild members bounty if the guards are really hounding their ass, just feels like he should

Straight up refuses to retire, retirement is a drity word

Can't sneak for very long anymore due to his age so he's usually sent in as a distraction and if you don't know how to sneak very well then he can sure as hell teach you

Hardly ever seen without a bottle of mead in hand

Brynjolf was the one who gave him his opening line when someone asks for sneak training "if you need training, go talk to Delvin. Stick with him and they'll never know you're there"

Thrynn (Ex-bandit)

Very sarcastic and brutally honest

Uses archery targets for punching bags

Can left most guild members above his head

Once after a particularly aggressive troll attack, he carried a very injured Brynjolf back to the Flagon, despite Bryn's protests, which led to him calling Brynjolf "featherweight"

Damages his armor more than anyone else, which according to Tonilia is saying something considering Brynjolf is a bit of an injury magnet

He's pretty good friends with Brynjolf, considering the pair usually do jobs together. They've gotten to know each other quite well, sometimes too well

Can sneak, just doesn't want to

Doesn't quite understand the idea of magic, despite being from Winterhold "so you just hold your hands up and fire comes out of them? Weird"

*someone uses big words/scientific terms* "just get to the point"

Bear hugs/lifting people up from behind unexpectedly is one of his favorite ways to amuse himself

Prefers ale to mead, unlike his buddy Bryn who likes honey in his drink

Tonilia (♡?)

As quartermaster, she basically does everything Brynjolf or Mercer/dragonborn doesn't want to do

Gets annoyed easily

Met Vekel after she joined the guild

It's a rumor that her and Brynjolf are having an affair, what happened was some drunk in the Bee and Brab was trying to get a bit frisky with the fence and Brynjolf stepped in saying "the lass said no and so do I" Mercer saw them walk out of the inn, arms linked, he couldn't hear what was said but he watched Tonilia thank Brynjolf and hug him. Now, Mercer being the asshole that he is started the rumor of her and Bryn being a little too "friendly"

Probably had a girlfriend at some point in the past

Sapphire (💙)

Sapph and Brynjolf have an interesting relationship, it goes beyond friendship, more like a brother and sister who haven't seen each other in a long time but were never particularly close. They both lost their families and each have a deeper understanding of the other because of it

Her and Bryn were out and about in riften and ran into someone she knew before her family... well you know, when they asked who Brynjolf was she introduced him as her brother for lack of a better explanation

Vex is older than Sapph by nine years, Tonilia is younger then both of them but has been with the guild longer

Mercer would never tell, but Brynjolf saved his life. Sapphire's last order from the dark brotherhood was to assassinate Mercer Frey, it was the middle of the night when she snuck into the guild's hideout, Brynjolf and Mercer were up late working. Brynjolf convinced her to follow along with some jobs and she'd be payed more than what the dark brotherhood offered, she agreed on the terms that the guild was to not meddle in what she called "personal affairs"

Has a few coin purses filled with her collection of stolen sapphires in her end table

Viper the fleet (🙄..)

Was one of the last recruits to tarin with Gallus before he was murdered, Brynjolf picked up where his predecessor left off

Even Bryn can't stand how lustful this man is, Brynjolf's flirtatious jokes are one thing but Viper takes things too far in the the opinion of the senior thief

The last time the second in command caught Vip trying to bed Sapphire, he told Thrynn to trouble shoot his brain (bash it in..)

Has two heads but only enough blood supply to run one at a time

He can be a good thief but only if he would actually get his head out of the gutter

If it had been up to Bryn, Viper would have been fired from his position... MULTIPLE TIMES

Vex (our little vex <3)

Was a drifter, ended up in riften and has been there ever since

Second oldest female in the guild, the first being Karliah

Over heard Braith and Lars arguing while on job in Whiterun, Braith reminds her more of herself than she'd like to admit

Second best in a fistfight, first being Thrynn and third being Brynjolf

Usually slaps the back of someone's head if they piss her off

Her parents told her stories of the dragonborn but she never believed it until the the last dragonborn became part of the thieves guild

Much like the redhead she deems annoying, no one really knows where she's from

Curses the most

Vex: *punched Brynjolf in the shoulder as he walked past her* Brynjolf: *stumbles forward, look's at vex with a smirk* "I like that lass" Vex: 😳

Her closest friend in the guild is Sapphire

Rune (🪨..)

When Brynjolf heard Rune's story, he started asking the male Imperial to accompany him and Sapph on their outings. once the three got to know each other better, Bryn explained that he and Sapphire had lost their families as well

Him and vex were the only Imperial members of the guild for a long time

His little rune rock is his most prized possession, understandably

Most of the long time guild members have in someway attempted to decipher the symbols, if you were to ever get your hands on the second in commands journal (which he keeps in a locked dewar in his desk) you'll find a page with Rune's well, runes drawn on it, surrounded by notes of what they could potentially mean

Can be very blondeTm sometimes

Is happy that Sapph and Bryn have fond memories of their families but it also saddens him sense he can't remember his own, the other two notice this however and try not to bring it up too often

At a time when thoughts of home, wherever it may be, was weighing heavy on his mind, Brynjolf slung his arm over Rune's shoulders and claimed him as his younger brother

Is at least two or three years younger than Bryn

Second closest to Brynjolf, the first being Thrynn

Enjoys spiced wine occasionally (if you catch my meaning...)

No one's sure how but he says he has "connections" with the Whiterun guard

Lived in Whiterun for a period of time

The Inconspicuous drunk, you wouldn't know he was drunk until he tries to stand

This all I got for now, might reblog this with my ocs from my thieves guild fanfics 🤔

#skyrim headcanons #thieves guild #brynjolf #mercer frey #delvin mallory #thrynn #tonilia #sapphire #viper the fleet #vex #rune

[doodle-pops]

I was wondering how would elves think of South Asian dresses. Elves are known to wear this long flowy yet covering clothing and to he honest south Asian clothing are quite revealing at mid riffs and back(i'm talking about saree, lehenga, dhoti) .

So sorry I took so long to address this question.

As we know, South Asian clothing is nothing short of simplicity. It is considered by many, a beautiful style of fabrics with intricate embroidery, beads and prints. Elven apparel, as most people usually depict it, bears similarities to Eastern Asian wear with the flowing robes and complete coverall.

While elven apparel covers all leaving only the shoulders, upper back and arms revealing, I can see a few questioning looks being cast towards the midriff. The elves tend to dress with their idea of modesty which is being completely covered, so there are those who would take a look at the revealing midriffs as improper.

At the same time, they would also understand and acknowledge that everyone's culture is different and it isn't a facsimile of theirs. It's Middle Earth, we have humans, dwarves and Hobbits who dress entirely differently from elves, and they are aware of this.

Consider their questioning look leaning towards curiosity since it's a new style of human fashion they've never heard of. And most of their interest would lie in the beauty of the fabrics; all the embroidery, beads and patterns.

#📭{questions} #elves and fashion

[bubblesandgutz]

Every Record I Own - Day 767: Lungfish Talking Songs for Walking

My first concert was Fugazi at the University of Hawaii back in the fall of '91. It was a formative experience, and so much of my musical interests can ultimately be traced back to that show. I was curious about anything that came out on the Dischord label or that was somehow affiliated with the DC hardcore scene. That should have included Baltimore's Lungfish, but at some point in high school some older punk kid said they sounded like U2, and that was enough to keep me from plunking down my allowance money on one of their albums. Consequently, they were always a bit of a mystery... an active Dischord band that never toured, never gave interviews, never made merch, never seemed to be a topic of conversation.

I wouldn't actually hear Lungfish until I was in college. I worked as a DJ at the campus radio station and there was an old copy of their debut album Necklace of Heads in the vinyl library. I gave it a few spins at home after sneaking it out of the station, and though I didn't pick up on any of those dreaded U2 vibes, it didn't resonate with me. It felt like a fairly typical early '90s post-hardcore album---mid-tempo, vaguely metallic, hints of melody but no strong hooks. I returned it to the station and decided Lungfish simply wasn't for me.

I actually don't remember when I heard Lungfish again. I have a foggy memory of catching part of their set here in Seattle back in '03 when they played with Juno and I recall a friend loaning me The Unanimous Hour CD to bring on a 2005 tour, but neither experience made me a convert. I feel like somewhere along the way I heard some bits and pieces that piqued my interest, and I decided to take the leap on buying their sophomore album Talking Songs for Walking on my first record shopping venture after moving to New York back in January 2013.

I immediately regretted my earlier hesitations. Talking Songs for Walking perfectly encapsulates spirit of the late '80s / early '90s Dischord sound---anthemic, pointed without being overtly political, and prone to moments of cacophony. They had the same sonic vocabulary as Fugazi---you could isolate any one of Lungfish's riffs and seamlessly slip it into a Fugazi song. But there was something a little different about their approach, something that was only hinted at on Talking Songs for Walking but that developed over the span of their career that made them become one of the most distinctive bands to bear the post-hardcore tag. While the Lungfish initially built their audience with the rousing melodic bombasts of songs like "Friend to Friend in Endtime" and "Samuel", they were stomping out the trailhead for their own unique path with the hypnotic diatribes of songs like "Broadcast" and "Non Dual Bliss."

Lungfish never came anywhere near attaining the popularity of Fugazi, likely because they continued on down that path towards "magic eye music,"---that kind of music that comes across as seems repetitious and devoid of dynamics on a cursory listen, but that reveals an almost hallucinatory depth if you immerse yourself in it.

That strange and unique quality is only in its infancy stage on Talking Songs for Walking. Perhaps the band knew from the outset that they would evolve into something new. Perhaps that's why they chose the name Lungfish---an homage to that fish that first crawled out of the ocean, slithering into some new territory, straddling the line between the past and future, a crude and unflattering creature full of promise and hope.

#everyrecordiow #lungfish

[kardia-library-official]

"How the hell old are these people?"

(Another riff off that one post, but this time it's about a tangent in replies and hopefully contains less of my unserious ass trying to articulate serious concepts.)

I won't be commenting on every character, just the ones where I've been given reason to think about it in any sort of depth. (Lucas, Vishnal, Livia, Russell, Terry, Cecil) My opinions are my own, and are barely even opinions, because I'm not actually super invested. I just thought thinking back on a few of the assumptions I've made was interesting, and could be interesting as an example of one person interpreting this stuff.

Okay! Let's get into it.

Lucas: So, @darkacey mentioned that it's weird that people keep calling him "old" because he has facial hair, and yeah, he's not old. Just going by appearance, I'd guess anywhere between late 20s and early 40s. Which is weirdly realistic, because people in that range tend to all look the same to me even now that I'm in it. But also wrong, because of course he's unknowably ancient. BUT his current form might not even be as old as he looks. AND we know his life basically restarted yesterday. idk. He's Lucas.

Vishnal: I mentioned him in the replies, because I am absolutely haunted by that "he's 6' tall and a lot younger than he looks" comment from his VA. It makes no sense! How old does he look? 17? 23? 31? The artstyle isn't detailed enough to tell. And what would that make him? 12? 18? 25? For my own peace of mind, I've just decided that he can make an uptight first impression that gives him kind of a "22 going on 40" vibe until the illusion almost immediately shatters. Also, maybe this was more of a problem in his former life? Like maybe he got a lot of "excuse me, are you their father?" because he's on the tall side, perhaps hit his adult height early, and was often shepherding all his younger siblings around.

Livia: It's bizarre that she has cut romance dialogue, because the age difference feels sooooo awkward... But not in the direction you might think. See, even though I know the whole joke is that she's an ancient powerful dragon who can't even go to a bar because she looks like a kid, my brain refuses to parse her as anything but a tiny middle-aged woman. I feel like I have encountered many, many Livias, a surprisingly large number of which were running some event or operation like it's the Navy. It's a whole type of person!

Russell: I've said this before, but I refuse to believe that guy is under 30. He has a whole implied tragic backstory, which had to take place after he was old enough to be drafted (or enlist, I guess, but he Would Not Fucking Do That), and before he took in Cecilia, who is whatever age she is now. Even wiggling the numbers a little (how old is Cecilia, how old do you have to be to be in the military in this world), I don't think he could be as young as even the game itself seems to want you to believe. Fun fact! He's one of the few characters on this list that I have a specific number for! In AtNG, he is roughly 32.5. Sabrina is about the same age, and Edward is about a decade his senior (I tacked them on because I had estimates for them but nothing else really to say).

Terry: At first, back when the world made sense, I had him estimated at "about Russell's age idk." But Word of God is that he's 25?? And apparently even at least one person working on the game was kinda stunned by this, if I recall correctly? I dunno, that's just not very many years, and it's implied he's been through so much shit! How I ended up making this work for FSCB was a) giving him a really rough upbringing and very early adulthood, and b) working from the assumption that he's 25 at the start of the game and quickly turns 26. And you know what? Now that I have all that worked out, I like that he's in his mid 20s. I feel like that's just one more burden he has to bear. :P And some of the things in FSCB I had most fun writing are the moments where he's interacting with Cecil and it becomes really obvious that they're not that far apart in age. (Also, if anyone ever points out that he and Lucas seem to have a slight age difference... I don't think either of them would ever stop laughing.)

Cecil: ...Look. We've been over this. That boy is 18. Anyone who says otherwise either forgets what being 18 was like, or is so close to being 18 themselves that they have no perspective. But I remember. I remember wearing some really goofy hats, and wanting so badly to be included in all forms of adult business, but ending up getting railroaded into running around with the kids and actually really enjoying myself. (Okay, so that last thing still applies, and might just be personality-mediated.)

[existentialmagazine]

Review: After performing alongside Waterparks, Warwick Smith penned a new alt-rock anthem ‘Sleeplessness’, a journey through feeling lost

Hailing from Sydney, the indie-rocker Warwick Smith may be best known for touring alongside stars Waterparks, but his music very much speaks for itself. With a dynamic style that spans through pop-punk, rock, alt-pop and more, everything Warwick does is fuelled with a desire to create without limits. His newest single ‘Sleeplessness’ continues just that, falling into alt-rock and emo leaning sounds for something fresh and addictive.

Clearly taking some immense inspiration from Waterparks’ debut album ‘Double Dare’, ‘Sleeplessness’ finds itself as Warwick Smith’s own take on their staple alt-rock/pop sound utterly doused in stylistic diversity, becoming just as much of an ode to them in sound as it is lyrics. With just acoustic guitar strums and steady beats, you’d expect ‘Sleeplessness’ to feel intimate or tender, but it’s the complete opposite. With quick-paced strumming and drums that keep you eagerly nodding along, there’s an utterly vibrant euphoria to the song’s flavourful energy, carrying you with its speeding momentum that’s hard to stop listening to. Warwick’s vocals are equally as mesmerising, seeped in vocal effects that smooth his words and add an electronic tinge, leaving every line hooked in your mind while also smothering his emotion with a band-aid of upbeat emphasis. Bearing a powerful performance beneath this front, Warwick dominantly cascades from a mid to high range throughout, shoving his words in your face and making sure they’re heard. The chorus shifts with the addition of fuzzy electric guitar strums and more dominant beats, all the while Warwick rises to the most impressive vocal heights lightly touched by distorted effects before leading out to the second verse through a passionate electric guitar riff. Everything about this sound is captivating, rewriting the expectations of alt-rock and bringing typically acoustic elements in place of where you’d expect striking dominance, all the while also including vocal effects that leave the sound more electronically pop leaning all at once.

After hitting a massive career high performing on stage with the band that inspired him to create his own music (Waterparks), Warwick Smith found himself feeling utterly directionless after having met his previous goals as an artist and yearning to relive that experience all over again. There are definitely moments for us all that can seem this way too, like we’ve peaked in our careers and have no momentum or confidence to push any further, but in ‘Sleeplessness’ Warwick is here to remind that feeling is universal - and it certainly shouldn’t stop you. Singing ‘I spend a night busy counting sheep’, it’s clear Warwick feels empty in many ways, kept up at night but without any ideas or dreams to work towards. Continuing ‘I’m on autopilot’ , it’s clear Warwick has entered a depressive state of sorts, simply surviving but not quite living. As another day passes, Warwick finds himself once again wide awake, jealous of the setting sun and aimlessly existing into the never-ending darkness: ‘watch the sun fall with a watchful envy, falling back on my crutch caffeine.’ In many ways, this referencing of the night may be metaphorical, alluding to how Warwick feels stripped of the dreams he once strived towards, no longer able to work towards them and instead left with nothing. An air of self-criticism also works its way through the cracks in lines like ‘my demons laugh but they don’t sound friendly’, as though Warwick feels underserving of working towards higher ambitions, kept down by the thoughts in his head and the limitations placed on himself. Whether you’ve reached your own goals or you’re still well on the way to them, ‘Sleeplessness’ is a reminder that we can all achieve great heights, but to never allow those peaks to be the restriction of where you aim for next.

Check out ‘Sleeplessness’ for yourself here to enjoy the catchiness of this tune along with more poignant hard-hitting lines buried within.

Written by: Tatiana Whybrow

Photo Credits: Unknown

// This coverage was supported and created via Musosoup, #SustainableCurator.

#tatiana

[wintwholesale]

Nyt spelling bee answers

NYT SPELLING BEE ANSWERS MAC

It is also defined as your intention what you intend to do. It is also defined as be in charge of or deal with. It is also defined as an important intellectual. It is also defined as knowledge and intellectual ability. It is also defined as that which is responsible for one’s thoughts, feelings, and conscious brain functions the seat of the faculty of reason. MIND is defined as pay close attention to give heed to. It is also defined as used of women’s clothing having a hemline at mid-calf. It is also defined as the southern part of France. MIDI is defined as a standard protocol for communication between electronic musical instruments and computers. It is also defined as the style of a particular artist or school or movement. It is also defined as the usage or vocabulary that is characteristic of a specific group of people. It is also defined as a manner of speaking that is natural to native speakers of a language. IDIOM is defined as an expression whose meanings cannot be inferred from the meanings of the words that make it up. It is also defined as make certain of the failure or destruction of. It is also defined as an unpleasant or disastrous destiny. It is also defined as decree or designate beforehand. It is also defined as a small rectangular block used in playing the game of dominoes the face of each block has two equal areas that can bear 0 to 6 dots.ĭOOM is defined as pronounce a sentence on (somebody) in a court of law. It is also defined as a loose hooded cloak worn with a half mask as part of a masquerade costume. It is also defined as a mask covering the upper part of the face but with holes for the eyes. It is also defined as one of the self-governing nations in the British Commonwealth.ĭOMINO is defined as United States rhythm and blues pianist and singer and composer (born in 1928). It is also defined as dominance or power through legal authority. The word MIDTOWN has no known definition.ĭIMWIT is defined as a stupid incompetent person.ĭOMINION is defined as a region marked off for administrative or other purposes. Don’t forget to subscribe to get daily updates. The answers for the NYT puzzle can be learned by watching the video below. If you’re not finding the pangram, it’s going to be really hard to gain progress.These are answers and solution to the New York Times Spelling Bee Puzzle. There are some solvers who won’t even begin solving the rest of the puzzle until they find the pangrams. I have a particularly high bar with the pangram, because that is the linchpin of the puzzle. How We Should Remember Bruce Willis’ Career House of the Dragon’s Inevitable Worst Person in Westeros Is Still Waiting for Their Moment.The Casual LOTR Fan’s Guide to Rings of Power’s “Adar” I try to make the puzzle hard primarily through the answers in the puzzle, especially the longer ones that are worth more points, rather than the pangram itself. I don’t believe there was a single marginal call, but that pangram was wicked, right? I usually try to avoid that, though. I believe all the other words in the word list were six letters or fewer and were very, very, very straightforward. That pangram was so difficult and so hard to see, to stitch together a few letters and then tack on the remaining ones. Ultimately, my guiding question is: What feels fair to our wide-ranging audience? I don’t want to snub those where it’s a word that is so common to their background or lifestyle or culture, but I also don’t want to include something that will truly mystify the vast majority of our solving audience-and not just those queen bee folks who know everything.

NYT SPELLING BEE ANSWERS MAC

I’ll see if the word is listed in the major dictionaries that I have at my disposal, which primarily are Merriam-Webster and the Mac dictionary, which I believe riffs off New Oxford American. I’ll see if it gets a lot of news coverage. If I’m unsure, if this is something that’s a total blind spot–hello to all the gardeners out there, you all know I don’t know my plants that well-I’ll go digging around. My methodology is just extensive research. Even though the word list is a binary “yes, it’s in the word list” or “no, it’s not in the word list,” there are tons and tons of close calls. That’s the million-dollar question! A lot of the calls are pretty easy.

#Nyt spelling bee answers

[wrestlezon]

liveblog containment zone for aew rampage 7/29/22

im here for the best friends trios and-- oh! its up first!!! lucky me!!!!

jane theme... :)c a child offered his fries to oc... cute. almost makes me forget we live in pandemic world best friends!!!!!!!!!!!!! in da ring!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! handshake tap-in for orange :)c its like he said on twitter. he wants the big man. give him the SMALL MAN? rudeness. dude is in full suit too lmfao i love the lopsided glasses look AND HE JUST WALKS AWAY AND BAILS??? PICKING HIM UP LIKE A BABY YOU CHOPPED HIM!!!!! just slappin satnam's tits nbd sanjay dutt wrestled with chuck at least once in like... czw or something right? orange cassidy's saunter into just ragdolling for his tag out to chuck :)c yay! hug! nooo... lethal... yay! oc ddt! rick knox you are letting him KEEP the pencil??? oh thats why... oc snapped it in half the best friends + oc win! as they should

Very Cool Neck Grab By Satnam Singh who is this mus-- WARDLOW???????? wardlow :)c ohhh wardlow standing in the ring with them for the victory hand raise :)c hee hee

oh! its ethan page vs leon ruffin yay ethan page! was this leon ruffin guy in a trios with the bear brother on aew at some point? stokely on the watch? hmm...

backstage promo with... who is this... oh its cole karter oh qt marshall is here to recruit him? aggressively??

oh!!! lee moriarty vs matt sydal! i forgot about this match probably because my brain got liquified last wednesday... what happened before that match... no. i have to focus im torn on who to root for because i think lee moriarty is very cool (artist guy) but matt sydal is my og wrestlefriend's favorite (blorbo in law) "WAR, HATE, AND SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT" - chris jericho matt sydal's standing backflip twist move is like-- how are you rotating on all these axises at the same time??? crazyyyy kicked right in the face!!!!!!! dang!! "claudio addresses his fans" lmao is that a riff on eddie kingston addresses his enemies ....surprised by the mid-rampage full commercial break what a lariat lmao the kick direction fakeout by matt sydal... cool oh! stokely is here. is he going to help lee moriarty cheat and win his trust? is that the direction... the assist! and matt tapped out!

will moriarty take the card... ohhhh he does interesting how stokely is aggressively recruiting. maybe hes looking for an exit strat for when jade throws him out

britt baker backstage promo

claudio addresses his fans! in ring promo i still havent watched the roh ppv... claudiofans in da house oh!! yuta is here too!!! hi yuta whoa if yuta is here i wonder if daniel garcia is going to come out barking as well oh....... jericho is the one coming out to bark... u_u now hes beefing with the bcc?? just parkour'd off of eddie???? eddie.... u_u EDDIE... whoa yuta throwing DOWN against jericho! spicy!! lmao yuta is too cute. im sorry. youre too cute to be intimidating yuta. your voice cracked when you asked claudio if you could beat jericho LMFAO BRUSHED OFF JERICHO JUST LIKE THAT nice title shot play yuta. still very cute

acclaimed music video rap time DUMPSTER MATCH REAL...???

backstage promo! anna jay vs ruby soho why did you betray her anna jay... also eddie :)c hi eddieeeee hmm... is the thing about santana and ortiz shoot breaking up true... thats sad...

oh!! powerhouse hobbs explains why he betrayed ricky starks on wednesday??? YOU OWE US AN EXPLANATION!!! IT WAS SO RUDE... orange cassidy match!!! oh... its against jay lethal... u_u ok...............

anna jay vs ruby soho anna jay i dont like how you joined the jericho squad. my friend asked whats more likely: yuta winning against jericho and then fighting moxley for the title or jericho winning and fighting moxley. i would say yuta but im so soured over jericho winning the barbed wire deathmatch against eddie (DID HE REALLY EVEN NEED TO????) that i can see jericho taking the win to then fight against moxley ~_~ ugh speaking of victories i have no idea who is going to win this match. i hope its ruby just because i dont want anna jay to be rewarded for her evil heel actions removing an arm brace! diabolical OHHHH i thought ruby wouldve won out of that queenslayer break into no future finisher move arm brace choke cheat... ruby loses... rip

#livezon

[yearofthebearbook]

We wholly support seeing more bear mid-riffs.

Get original Year of the Bear merch here: https://www.teepublic.com/user/phoenixdark and support independent writers and artists!

#bear mid-riff #bare midriff #bear #bears #gummy bears #writing about writing #bear puns #puns #writing puns #word puns #animal puns #funny image #viral image #funny viral image #bear meme #best meme #funny memes #animal memes #english puns #Year of The Bear #year of the bear book

[ridiculouspickles]

#bare midriff #bear #mid-riff #guitar riff #fashion #style #animals #guitar #humor #ridiculouspickles

[metal-memes]

#bare midriff bear mid riff meme #metal #metal meme #metal memes #heavy metal #heavy metal meme #heavy metal memes #rock #rock meme #rock memes #rock n roll #rock and roll #guitar #guitar meme #Music #music meme #Music memes

[passionate-reply]

Depeche Mode’s early work is a bit rough around the edges--or, perhaps, a little too smooth, and syrupy-sweet. But in 1983, they finally put their classic lineup together, adding Alan Wilder to the team for their third LP, Construction Time Again. It’s arguably their first great work, as well as their most political, and the closest they came to fully embracing an “Industrial” sound. (Full transcript below the break!)

Welcome to Passionate Reply, and welcome to Great Albums! In this installment, I’ll be discussing the third album released by Depeche Mode, and the first one to feature their classic lineup: 1983’s Construction Time Again.

While today, Depeche Mode are best known for their string of successes spanning from the mid-80s to the early 90s, the band was first formed in 1981--the first musical project of Vince Clarke, who would go on to more acclaim as a member of synth-pop duos Yazoo and Erasure. Though Clarke left Depeche Mode after their first album, Speak & Spell, their follow-up as a trio, 1982’s A Broken Frame, was largely an attempt to duplicate the brighter and often more upbeat sound of their debut. It wasn’t until the addition of a new fourth member, Alan Wilder, that the group’s more recognizable sound would start to coalesce.

Music: “Get the Balance Right”

The first track to include contributions from Wilder, “Get the Balance Right” is a bit of a “transitional fossil” in the group’s career. It is perhaps the first Depeche Mode single to feel like a “proper” Depeche Mode single, with a gloomy atmosphere, a needling synth riff, and lyrics that describe the struggle to be seen as a respectable member of society. Well, if you listen closely, anyway--it’s also perfectly possible to take the injunction to “get the balance right” as an invitation to dance without missing a beat. At the end of the day, another part of sounding like a classic Depeche Mode tune is achieving that kind of accessibility and broad appeal, winning the admiration of many listeners who are otherwise not typical “Depeche Mode types.” Though “Get the Balance Right” was released as a non-album single, it would largely prefigure the sound of the LP that followed it, Construction Time Again.

Music: “Everything Counts”

Peaking at #6 in the singles charts, “Everything Counts” was swallowed even more readily by mainstream audiences, and would be tied with “See You” as the most successful single the group had released thus far. The 1980s were, of course, an era noted for the brazen advancement of rightism, and the political moves of Margaret Thatcher laid the groundwork for a number of increasingly politically-conscious pop hits. That said, many of the most successful of these opted to portray the lives of the rich and powerful in a glamorous and pseudo-aspirational mode, hiding behind irony in a fashion that made their works appear subversive and inoffensive at the same time. It’s thanks to this kind of double-dipping that we can still hear the Pet Shop Boys’ “Opportunities” in television advertisements. The elegiac “Everything Counts,” however, is not that kind of song. If anything, it might be a bit too on-the-nose for its own good, with its frightful description of “grabbing hands” bearing a closer resemblance to Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax than Madonna’s “Material Girl.” Perhaps there are some occasions in which it’s better to be too direct than not direct enough? That aside though, “Everything Counts” is also a track which is sonically rather similar to “Get the Balance Right.” Other tracks on Construction Time Again would push those boundaries further, such as “Pipeline.”

Music: “Pipeline”

Where “Everything Counts” is more of a top-level critique of capitalism, disparaging the executive who sponsors atrocities “with a suntan and a grin,” “Pipeline” looks at the same sorts of problems from the bottom up, adopting the persona of the worker who is exploited to build the titular pipeline. But this, of course, is far from the most interesting thing to say about “Pipeline”! This track stands out for its anemic soundscape, consisting of little more than a repetitive mechanical hum that functions as a drone, some vaguely melodic metallic tinkling, and, of course, the commanding voice of frontman Dave Gahan. The use of more sophisticated music synthesisers, with the capability of sampling such real-world noise and turning it into music, was one of the biggest innovations instigated by the aforementioned Alan Wilder, and while it textures most tracks on the album to a degree, it’s certainly the most noteworthy on “Pipeline”. I’d also be remiss not to mention the admitted influence of pioneering industrial acts like Einstuerzende Neubauten, who would become Depeche Mode’s labelmates on Mute Records. While there are many diehard rivetheads who will disavow any comparison between Depeche Mode and industrial music proper, their shared DNA is undeniable, and I don’t think the fact that Depeche Mode were able to translate some of these ideas into music that also had mass appeal should be held as some kind of strike against them. As desolate as “Pipeline” may be, something else worth noting about the album is that it isn't without a sense of hope. After being taken through the condemnations of tracks like “Pipeline” and “Everything Counts,” we end on the somewhat reassuring track “...And Then.”

Music: “...And Then”

Like many acts collocated somewhere in the goth or industrial spheres, Depeche Mode are preceded by a reputation of producing “depressing” music. There is some truth to this, of course, but I think what makes Depeche Mode as interesting (and popular) as they are is that there’s usually a glimmer of light in their work somewhere--the crack that lets the light in, to paraphrase the late Leonard Cohen. “...And Then”, with its vision of a better tomorrow created by children who might learn from the mistakes of the past, serves as a light at the end of the tunnel for the entire album, a break in the clouds created by the rest of its tracks. But at the same time, the track is not itself as cheerful as that description might imply--it’s still in a minor key, of course. The lyrics, as well, seem to show cracks of darkness in its prevailing optimism: the suggestion that people of the future couldn’t do any worse than those of the past certainly paints our current world as an especially bleak one, and the notion of “putting it all down and starting again” might be taken to imply an unquiet, perhaps even apocalyptic, end to the current order. Another thing that casts a shadow over “...And Then” is the opening track of the album, and its arguable corresponding bookend, “Love, In Itself.”

Music: “Love, In Itself”

At first listen, “Love, In Itself” seems almost strikingly similar to “...And Then”, at least from a musical standpoint. They have a similar sort of plodding, stately tempo that gives them a kind of dour gravity. Whenever I get one of these songs stuck in my head, it tends to get mixed up into the other along the way. Lyrically, however, the two seem to make opposite arguments: whereas “...And Then” seems to believe in the goodness of humankind and trusts that people in the future will correct our world’s mistakes, “Love, In Itself” can be taken to suggest the opposite, i.e. that “love” and other such positive feelings are not enough to create a better world. But that’s a very contextual reading of the text--outside of the context of the album, “Love, In Itself” seems unrelated to the problems with capitalism, and sounds more like an age-old lament of a dejected lover, swearing off their search for another relationship and proclaiming their disillusionment with the concept of romantic love. It seems likely that this quality may be why “Love, In Itself” was chosen as the album’s second and final single--even though the heavy-handed “Everything Counts” doesn’t seem to have been held back from success by its subject matter.

Perhaps the first thing one notices about the cover of Construction Time Again is its use of colour: the saturated blue of the sky contrasts with the orange-ish skin of the figure, and this pairing of complementary colours does a lot to create visual interest. Besides just looking striking, the sense of dichotomy between figure and background also underscores the idea of man and nature as forces in opposition to one another, who have become mortal foes in the ongoing depredation of the Earth’s resources for short-term human gain. While the worker figure is clearly engaged in the act of swinging his hammer, there is actually nothing in front of him that it seems logical to hit. Rather, a trick of perspective makes it seem that he is knocking on the mountain in the background, perhaps cutting it down to size. This is another element of the idea of man vs. nature, of course, but also perhaps an ironic expression of it, one that implies that in his struggle to conquer the natural world, man is limited in his sight, and doesn’t truly understand what he is doing. After all, the mountain is not really being stricken! It’s also worth noting that the figure is wearing an impractical, and perhaps sexualized, version of work attire, which exposes the side contour of his pectorals as well as the muscles of his upper arms, and adds a subtle eroticism to the image. His face is largely covered, partly by his arm and partly by shadow, which seems to make the image recall other familiar pseudo-anonymous homoerotic portrayals of men under the male gaze, such as those of the graphic artist Tom of Finland. Or perhaps it’s merely a suggestion of the effacement of identity suffered by the exploited worker?

The title “Construction Time Again” is taken from the opening lines of the aforementioned track “Pipeline.” While the announcement of “construction time” points quite directly to the album’s themes of post-industrial capitalist life and the struggle of the working man, I think the most interesting word in the title is actually “again.” The idea that it is construction time again puts emphasis on the constant grind of labour, and its tight grip on the timeframes by which we live our lives. We work again and again and again, tediously, until it wears us down. We get a brief respite from work, but soon enough, our intrusive alarm clocks remind us that it is construction time, again.

While Construction Time Again is, in many ways, the first true Depeche Mode album, it wouldn’t be the one that truly kick-started the peak of their international success. That honour would go to their 1984 follow-up, Some Great Reward. While this album would largely feature similar instrumentation to Construction Time Again, with tinkling samples and metallic percussion, it also mostly abandoned the more intense and overt political themes of its predecessor, in favour of more emphasis on the time-honoured topics of sex and romance--which would, of course, help them become so successful in the mainstream. Still, it seems doubtful they would have ever gotten here if it weren’t for Construction Time Again starting them on the path that it did--after all, their famous hit “People Are People” isn’t too far off from the simple and pointed grievances of “Everything Counts.”

Music: “People Are People”

My personal favourite track on Construction Time Again is “Two Minute Warning.” Another common political topic in music of this era is, of course, the Cold War, and the ever-present fear of a nuclear holocaust. “Two Minute Warning” is a song on this theme that feels like a worthy follow-up to the earlier Depeche Mode tracks that dealt with the same subject, “Tora! Tora! Tora!” and “Leave In Silence,” but it’s got more of a stark, mournful tone suffused with inevitability, and less of the heightened emotional drama of these earlier works. That’s everything for today, thanks for listening!

Music: “Two Minute Warning”

#music #album review #album reviews #great albums #depeche mode

[writerwhowritesao3]

 By April 1985, they have their routine down to a science. They’ve mapped out the usual places in the woods where monsters from the Upside Down tend to slip through—the “cold spots”—most often. They’ve figured out, through meticulous note-taking and record-keeping, when the monsters were most likely to come through: during storms and up to three hours after and when temperatures dropped to a certain point. 

During these times, Billy, Steve, Nancy, and Jonathan patrol the woods, armed, dangerous, and ready to take out their teen angst on otherworldly creatures. 

Sometimes they let the kids come with them. Not always—not when there are any immediate signs that there are monsters roaming around. But when the coast looks clear, or clear enough, they take the kids. It’s like training, even though the kids have been through just as much, if not more, Upside Down bullshit as they have.

During patrols, they often break into groups. Billy and Steve take Max, Lucas, and Dustin. Nancy and Jonathan take Will, Mike, and El. The older kids carry walkie-talkies and have a set channel where they can be in constant contact with each other. 

Hop sometimes joins them. When things look like they could be bad, Hop goes with them into the woods for the added muscle, weaponry, and leadership. 

He can’t always, though. Sometimes he stays behind in the Byers’ house with Joyce, who is always stationed there, tense and ready with a well-stocked first aid kit. They have a walkie-talkie too, in case the kids need them. 

Even though the kids go out patrolling for, and sometimes exterminating, monsters, they’re still, well, kids. They’ve given each other code names to use over the walkie-talkies:

Jonathan is Thumper (like the rabbit from Bambi)

Nancy is Oakley (as in Annie Oakley)

Steve is Slugger (because of his nail bat)

Billy is Oz (Not after Ozzy Osbourne—after the Wizard of Oz because Billy is a Friend of Dorothy [if you know, you know])

The younger kids also have code names. Like, Max is obviously Mad Max, Will is Wiz, Mike is Wheels, Lucas is Rocket, Dustin is Steve Jr., and El is 007. 

The older teens have also given Joyce and Hop code names...but they never use them in front of them. Because Joyce’s code name is Mama Bear, which isn’t that bad...but Hopper’s code name is Daddy Bear. 

“Daddy Bear” was initially a joke that Billy made when he, Nancy, Jonathan, and Steve were getting stoned and coming up with the adults’ code names. Because Nancy came up with “Mama Bear” for Joyce and Billy immediately went “Does that make Hop ‘Daddy Bear’?” and the code stuck with the tacit agreement that the adults, especially Hop, would never find out. Because the implications are just...inappropriate to say the very least. 

But what they don’t know is that during patrols, Hop and Joyce sometimes tune into the walkie channel that they’re on to make sure everything is okay. 

And one night they tune in and hear the kids (it’s just the older teens that night) joking about...something—they tuned in mid-riff—and they hear Billy say “And risk pissing off Daddy Bear? I’m not that much of masochist, over.”

And Hop and Joyce’s jaws drop because from the rest of the conversation they hear, it’s obvious that “Daddy Bear” is Hopper. Joyce just bursts out laughing. 

He’s not mad—kids will be kids. But he’s absolutely going to fuck with Billy. So he turns the walkie speaker on and goes, “William, this is Daddy Bear. If you kids are done patrolling then get your asses back to Home Base, over.”

Predictably, the line goes dead. 20 minutes later, the kids are walking through the door, looking properly sheepish—Billy can’t even look Hop in eye. So Hop stares him down, determined not to laugh. When Billy finally looks up at him, Hop delivers the final blow. 

“Kid,” he says as seriously as he can. “If you wanted to call me ‘Daddy,’ you could’a just asked.”

Billy is so mortified he could die.

#harringrove crack #this is actual crack #harringrove #Billy Hargrove #steve harrington #billy and steve and nancy and jonathan #jim hopper #Joyce Byers

[natromanxoff]

Queen live at Råsundastadion Stockholm, Sweden - June 7, 1986 (Part-1)

The very last tour - it's possible that Freddie knew about his illness already at that time so MAYBE he knew it was the last time he sang live with Queen. The ending of One Vision includes riffs from Brian's Star Fleet. Tear It Up starts with a short part of Liar. Overall Queen did play quite a few surprising bits on this tour. There were some slight changes in some dates. The concert in Nice was rescheduled to Frejus which (as a fan story on this site proves) some fans almost haven't noticed :-) The final Knebworth date was added a bit later, when the promoter (Harvey Goldsmith) realized how quickly the tickets were selling. Apparently Queen were also asked to play at the Seat Beach Rock festival in Ostend, Belgium on August 10 (and they probably agreed at first). But this concert had to be cancelled because of the Knebworth date.

(x)

This is the first show of the Magic tour. After releasing A Kind Of Magic (their fifth UK #1 album), the Magic tour would be Queen's final tour, as Freddie Mercury's health would make future touring impossible. The band would perform 26 shows to over a million people over the next two months. Bearing in mind how much money the band put into the visual and technical aspects of their show over the years, this reportedly is the only tour where they would actually turn in a profit. Their light show and overall stage production on this tour was the biggest ever at the time. "I think we are probably the best live band in the world at the moment, and we are going to prove it. It'll make Ben-Hur look like the Muppets. No one who comes to see us will be disappointed," Roger Taylor was humbly quoted saying before the tour. Years later, he would recall it to be Queen's best tour. The band rehearsed in a London studio for many weeks, beginning in mid-May. Footage of the band in the teching stage in early June, likely in a new and larger location, was shown on French TV (where they are still running parts of In The Lap Of The Gods...Revisited, the only old song revived for the tour), different from the rehearsal footage seen on disc 2 of the Live At Wembley Stadium DVD. Playing (mostly) stadium shows on this tour gave Queen the platform to demonstrate how they were still very much at the forefront of stadium rock. With this kind of commercial success, a lot of the older songs were dropped. This resulted in what today seems like a mostly 'Greatest Hits' setlist, but at the time it was more simply a "state of the union" of the band. Much of the setlist contained newer material from their latest two records, while the Works tour (especially in 1984) revisited more of the older material. The average person in Europe was once again aware of Queen after Live Aid, and the band's choice of setlist for stadium-sized audiences reflected that. The band now open the show with One Vision. The first minute of the studio version blasts through the speakers, with a couple bars towards the end repeating - which heightens the anticipation and has maximum impact on those in the audience who know the song well, even before the band play a note (a tactic they used many times throughout their career). Brian May then walks on stage to play the ever-familiar guitar riff, and the show begins. The band do a series of fanfares at the end of the song, including a small bit of Starfleet, the title track from Brian's 1983 solo project. For now, the only other new songs performed are A Kind Of Magic and Who Wants To Live Forever. Both songs are much more straight-forward rock arrangements compared to the studio versions. On the latter, Brian May plays keyboards for the first two verses while keeping his guitar on so he can quickly switch over to play the solo. There are now some pyrotechnics at the beginning of Hammer To Fall, with Freddie pointing to each side of the stage almost as if he is the one setting them off. In The Lap Of The Gods...Revisited is revived for the Magic tour, sounding much different than it did in the 70s. The first verse is only guitar and vocal, with Roger and John kicking in for the chorus - a very dramatic effect. This is the beginning of the medley, leading into Seven Seas Of Rhye, Tear It Up, and finally A Kind Of Magic. Liar also remains from the Works tour medley, although it has been reduced to a short instrumental link between Seven Seas Of Rhye and Tear It Up, with Roger's drum patterns differing greatly from the original. As on the Works tour, almost every night of the Magic tour has Freddie dispelling rumours from the papers that Queen are splitting up, before Who Wants To Live Forever. The new song leads directly into I Want To Break Free, which now has a much better ending. The impromptu is now performed before Brian's solo spot. Despite its name, it would be pretty similar from night to night. The band would play their longest ever acoustic set on this tour. In addition to offering Love Of My Life and Is This The World We Created, they happily acknowledged their roots every night with the standards "(You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care", "Hello Mary Lou", and "Tutti Frutti". Recalling Led Zeppelin's legendary concert acoustic sets, Brian later said how Queen followed in their footsteps. Hello Mary Lou was probably included because Ricky Nelson had just passed away a few months prior to the tour. Little Richard's Tutti Frutti is one of the most important and ground-breaking songs in the last half-century of popular music, and Queen do it justice every night. The band begin the song at the front of the stage (like they did with '39 in the seventies). After three verses, Freddie exchanges a few "Womp-bomp-a-loom-op-a-womp-bam-booms" with the audience while Roger rushes back to his drum kit and Brian quickly switches to his Red Special. Roger then kicks in, bringing the song to a frenzied finale. Similar to past shows in Milan, Rio, and Tokyo, every 1986 concert outside the UK would have Freddie appearing on stage for the second encore of We Will Rock You with a British flag, and embroidered to it would be the flag of whichever country they were playing in. Freddie is seen with a Swedish flag in the last picture above (submitted by Janneman). Since this spectacle lengthens the song at the beginning, Freddie sings only the first verse and the final double chorus tonight and at the next show. He'd return to singing all three verses after that, making the Magic tour versions of the song the longest they'd ever perform. It's worth noting that Roger switched over from Ludwig to Yamaha drums this year, and that his overall drum sound was far superior to his setup on the Works tour. It's also worth noting that Freddie Mercury's goodbyes to audiences on this tour were generally more heartfelt (especially by July), as he was well aware that he was infected with AIDS at this point and thus was sure this would be the band's last tour. Never once did he leave the stage saying, "See you next time," as he had done on previous tours. While it is unknown to the public exactly when Freddie revealed to his bandmates that he was infected with the fatal virus, he did tell them early in the tour that he had less energy than he used to, and indicated to them in numerous ways that this certainly may be their last tour. There are quotes from interviews from around this time that indicate his state of mind, like this one: "I know there will be a time where I can't run around on stage because it will be ridiculous. I know there comes a time when you have to stop. But music will still be my thing." There would be various other indicators during the next couple months, both on and off stage, especially visible with the benefit of hindsight. However, Freddie's longtime girlfriend Mary Austin put all discussion to rest during an interview with the BBC in 2011, revealing that Freddie definitely did know of his mortality during the final Queen tour.

(x)

Part-2

#queen #queen band #roger taylor #freddie mercury #brian may #john deacon #queen concerts

[existentialmagazine]

Review: The indie trio Litvar’s new single ‘Oh My God’ wields acoustic verses and gritty choruses interweaved in a message of letting go

Connecticut’s homegrown indie trio Litvar have had quite the build up of recent releases, following their well-received tunes ‘You Should Find A New Boyfriend’ and ‘Alone (Not Lonely)’, this three-piece now look to make their biggest stamp on the industry yet with ‘Oh My God.’ Bearing their staple take on mid-00s indie-pop and a coming of age lyrical inspiration, this nostalgic musical outfit are sure to become a name on the scene you can’t forget.

Led in by a progressively building beat, ‘Oh My God’ doesn’t quite let you know what you’re getting yourself in for right away, holding its cards close to its chest and making its three and a half minute journey one you can’t quite forget - or explain. Industrial feeling electric guitar strums commence along with clashing drums for a short moment to introduce the first verse, feeling incredibly raw and harsh in a way that gets under your skin and digs in. But it soon settles down to an unexpected acoustic guitar riff, delicate drum thuds and rich vocals that tell a clearly emotionally-infused narrative with a lower-toned, pop-punk leaning range. Electronic vocal effects add a distortion to a few of the vocal lines along the way, an interesting edge to a song already seeping between genres with a carefree attitude that simply yearns to be free. Returning back to their grand, instrumental heavy sound for the dominant chorus, ‘Oh My God’ falls into thunderous drums and vigorous guitar that almost overshadows the vocals, creating a wall of sound that’s gritty in a way that feels almost pained. Between its more intimate moments and its heightened instrumentals, ‘Oh My God’ is a song willing to offer it all, taking you on an emotional and sonic rollercoaster alike no other.

As you’d expect for a track so raw in sound, ‘Oh My God’ doesn’t hesitate to offer lyricism that’s more intimate and heartfelt, personally delving into a difficult relationship that our protagonist almost seems mentally shackled within. Torn between caring deeply for a friend and crushed by their growing ego and poor behaviour, ‘Oh My God’ writes of the dissolving of a once loved relationship while watching someone become a stranger all at once. From the opening lines ‘are you really with me now? can’t seem to break this bad mood’ , Litvar immediately establish a distance in someone they once found a comforting presence, physically beside them but feeling they’re mentally estranged before even departing. Struggling to help them through their lows, lyrics like ‘pushing me away… playing tug of war but it’s not the only war’ acknowledge not just the unwanted battle between friends, but the mental war they both seem to be fighting alone. Asking ‘where does your ego end?’ , their friend seemingly has changed from someone they once knew to a shell of the past. Aware they can’t pull someone out of a rut when they don’t want to hold the rope, Litvar almost achingly sing ‘I know that you don’t want help, maybe help’s okay’ , almost reluctantly giving in at their attempts to pull them through, knowing it’s better to move on for their own wellbeing but burdened all the same. Ultimately, the layers of ‘Oh My God’ are complex and can be interpreted in a multi-faceted manner of ways, making it powerfully relatable to anyone getting through the loss of someone they once cared for.

Check out ‘Oh My God’ here to enjoy Litvar’s progressively evolving layers of sound and a message with aching realism buried within!

Written by: Tatiana Whybrow

Photo Credits: RNI Films

// This coverage was created via Musosoup, #SustainableCurator.

#music #singlereview #litvar

[qqkatie]

I drew a car that can bear a bear with a bare midriff mid-riff mid-drift

#I drew a car that can bear a bear with a bare midriff mid-riff mid-drift