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wineauntie · 1 month

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WHEN WE MET THE WORLD STILLED – quinn hughes x singer!oc

masterlist

summary: quinn hughes finds himself enamoured by someone he’s convinced is far out of his league.

note: your honour, I love these two!

warnings: none really!

word count: 1.8k+

Juno Blackwood had absolutely zero idea about the logistics of hockey as a sport. In fact, if she hadn't been invited to Rogers Arena to perform the national anthems and a quick interval show, she probably wouldn't have even given the sport a second thought.

Her red-heeled, signature cowboy boots clacked across the cement floor as her head swivelled to look at everything her assigned tour guide, Michael had pointed out. She was half-listening, her thoughts more focused on running through various lyrics for her performance– she hadn't meant to zone out but it had just been so easy to.

"And obviously, we managed to get our hands on a jacket for you to wear for the anthems," the man guiding her spoke, snapping her out of her daze. "We figured the jersey mightn't be up your lane."

Feeling a sudden wave of doubt, Juno glanced down at her beige, afghan jacket that just brushed her knees. She wore one of her typical outfits— her boots, a pair of red wide-leg pants and a loose white shirt with a deep neckline, loosely knotted together in the front. Those paired with a gold belt (that she was certain was a long necklace before) seemed to be one of the only suitable options she'd had in her wardrobe.

She wasn't made for the cold weather in Vancouver or the chilly atmosphere of the hockey arena, she was a summer child, drawn to the sun and its warmth.

"Not that your jacket isn't perfect!" Michael rushed to say in a panic as his eyes bulged. Juno had realised that, once again, she seemed to zone out from the conversation at hand. "It's really nice and all, but I know you expressed interest in some Canucks apparel and—"

"The jacket sounds great," Juno cut in kindly, her ring-clad hand placing itself on top of his waving one. "May I see it?" The man flushed and bobbed his head, rushing forward, as Juno kept her strides long to keep up with him.

At the end of the hallway, a group of three people stood, idly chatting. As Juno's heels clicked and echoed, the group's eyes snapped up to meet her gaze. Her eyes remained lax as she locked eyes with the man who stood between two women. His eyes searched hers, as they softened. Juno examined the man shamelessly, taking in his navy suit and beanie, so unlike the outfit she adorned. Her gaze travelled across his stubble to his sheepish smile and his eyes.

Juno hummed, her lips quirking up as Michael stopped in front of the group with her by his side.

"Juno, this is Charlotte and Andrea, our social team," Michael explained, gesturing towards the two women who stood with their cameras and phones out, yet Juno's eyes lingered on the nameless man. "...and this is Quinn Hughes, Captain of the Canucks."

"It's lovely to meet you guys, I’m Juno." She smiled, moving her gaze away from the man–Quinn, as she shook Andrea and Charlotte's hands first. She paused as she turned to shake Quinn's, his intense stare igniting something within her.

Quinn took her hand carefully, their fingers briefly brushing as he finally cracked a smile.

"I'm going to be showing you around from here on,"

Juno almost melted at the sound of his raspy voice, her head tilting as they kept their hands connected. Realising that she had yet to speak up, she cleared her throat and released her grip.

"Great," she offered up, her eyes flitting to Andrea and Charlotte. "And you guys will be coming along for the trip too?"

"Yes!" Andrea gleamed, her eyes twinkling in excitement. "We have a few things planned, so Quinn will be taking you on a tour of the locker rooms as well as presenting you with a jacket."

Juno's eyes jumped back to Quinn, who seemed to be solely focused on her face. She cleared her throat and folded her arms, trying to block out the cold that infiltrated the arena surrounding her– although the heat stemming from his stare was creeping up her spine in indescribable warming sensation.

"You'll also get to meet some of the other guys and we'll try to linger in the background taking photos as subtly as we can," Andrea finished explaining, recapturing Juno's attention.

"You've got it all planned out," Juno commented appreciatively, "that all sounds perfect." She turned back to Quinn. "Well, I guess you're leading the way, Cap."

Quinn stifled a smile and gestured with his head for her to follow as he began to walk. "We can start with the locker room," he spoke, leading Juno further down the hall as she nodded and followed alongside him.

If Quinn's voice was a song, she wanted to listen to it on repeat because she knew she'd never get tired of it.

Now, Juno was no romantic, but with Quinn? He intrigued her...enraptured her attention and she couldn't place why.

"So, how did you get roped into giving me this tour?" Juno teased, as the media women followed close behind. "Lose a bet or were you sacrificed for the greater good?"

"Neither, fortunately," Quinn remarked, his warm eyes sparking with mirth. "I had to quite literally 'take one for the team' as the captain."

"You poor thing," She grinned, her lip jutting out in mock offence.

"That's not what the guys think," he mused, causing Juno's brows to raise in question. "A few of them begged to take you on the tour themselves." Quinn's confession caught her off guard, and she couldn't help but chuckle.

"Well, I must be quite the hot ticket item around here," she replied, her tone playful and light, undeterred by his words as they reached the locker room door.

Like a gentleman, Quinn stepped aside and held the door open for her, warning him with a dazzling and warm smile. As Juno stepped inside the locker room, she was immediately hit by the smell of sweat, disinfectant and leather. Quinn was close behind her as she scanned the room taking in the rows of lockers adorned with players' names and numbers.

"So, uh...this is where the magic happens," Quinn sheepishly spoke, his hands in his pockets. "Well, most of the time."

Juno nodded, impressed by the organized chaos of the space. "It's got a winning kind of energy tonight," she remarked, moving closer to one of the lockers to get a better look at the jerseys hanging up.

"Well, I'd hope so," Quinn mumbled as she approached a locker on the far side which was labelled with her name and displayed a vintage, navy Canucks jacket with a red stripe down the sleeves and the logo on the back.

Juno beamed and ran her hand over the material, her fingers caressing the red, feeling rather glad for her coincidentally, coordinating outfit.

Quinn watched Juno with a soft smile, appreciating her genuine excitement, as he took the jacket off of the hanger and passed it over to her.

"Welcome to the team," he teased, handing her the Canucks jacket, the pair deaf to rapid clicking and flash of the cameras behind them.

Juno shrugged off her Afghan coat and hung it up on the hanger before she took the jacket from him, her fingers running over the material.

"Thank you," she said gratefully, slipping it on over her shoulders. It was slightly oversized but was comfortable and warm, two things she loved about clothing.

Quinn nodded, a small smile playing across his lips. "You're welcome," he replied, his gaze lingering on her for a moment longer than necessary.

As they stood there, exchanging smiles, Juno couldn't help but feel a flutter erupt in her stomach as her eyes locked on Quinn's. There was something about him that drew her in, further and further.

"Well, how do I look?" Juno radiated a smile, breaking the momentary silence as she twirled.

Quinn watched her with interest, his eyes following her every move. "Looks good on you," he remarked, his voice soft.

Juno grinned, feeling a rush of warmth at his compliment. "Thanks," she said, heat rising up her neck. This was so unlike her, she never acted like this with men– or women for that matter!

"Hi guys, could we just grab a photo of the two of you?" Andrea's perky voice asked, infiltrating whatever moment she and Quinn seemed to be sharing.

"Yeah,"

"Of course!"

Quinn and Juno's words overlapped as the two of them scooted closer together. She plastered her biggest smile across her lips, her head tilting as they faced the multiple cameras facing them. They stood for another few minutes before they were allowed to move apart and move on with the tour.

"So, you're performing during one of the intervals tonight, right?" Quinn asked, glancing over at her as they walked.

Juno shrugged, a smile tugging at her lips. "I am," she hummed, "three songs during the second interval and then the two anthems before the match."

Quinn nodded, seemingly satisfied with her answer. "Well, we're glad to have you here," he said sincerely, his eyes meeting hers. "And I have a feeling you're going to knock it out of the park tonight." Juno felt a warmth spread through her chest at his words, and she couldn't help but return his smile.

"Why thank you, Cap," she joked, successfully hiding the blush she could feel rising to her cheeks as a flutter of excitement turned into a flurry of joy at the thought of performing in front of the crowd later that evening.

"Juno, we're being told to show you where you're sitting and then bring you back in a while to meet some of the players," Andrea read off her phone, her eyes apologetic at the order.

"Alright," Juno hummed before she turned to Quinn for the final time. "Well, Cap, it's been a pleasure, thanks for the tour."

Quinn felt a faint smile grow at her words, a small laugh escaping his lips. "The pleasure's all mine," he nodded, sticking out his hand once again.

As Juno accepted Quinn's hand, she couldn't help but notice the warmth that radiated from his touch. His hand was strong and reassuring, yet surprisingly gentle, despite the toughness of them as their palms met.

For a moment, Juno swore the clocks stopped and the world apart from them fell into the depths of space, leaving the two of them in their bubble. Juno felt another damned flutter erupt in the pit of her stomach, a sensation she couldn't quite explain but couldn't ignore.

As Quinn's thumb brushed over her knuckles, she couldn't help but feel a sense of comfort wash over her. There was something about the way he held her hand – firm yet tender, confident yet gentle, a feeling that seemed to scream safe, as if she had finally found someone who understood her in a way no one else ever had.

Good Lord, Juno needed to take a nap or something. She was becoming soppy and unlike herself.

Pulling away, Juno followed Andrea out of the room, but not before flashing Quinn a dazzling smile, one that was quickly reciprocated by the man.

a/n: oh and this is her outfit + the jacket I envisioned her getting!

#wineauntie #quinn hughes angst #quinn hughes fluff #Quinn hughes #quinn hughes fanfic #quinn hughes imagine #quinn hughes fanfiction #quinn hughes x singer!oc #wineauntie – juno universe!#juno blackwood x quinn hughes #nhl x reader #vancouver canucks #quinn hughes fic

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byunbaekhyunie · 2 months

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BAEKHYUN sings the national anthems at the MLB World Tour in Seoul (240321)

#baekhyun #byun baekhyun #exoedit #mgroupsedit #mgroupsnet #malegroupsedit #kpopco #kpopedit #*#neox #gifs #singer who sings singer who sings siNGER WHO CAN AND KNOWS HOW TO SING §!!!!!!!!!

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aermageddon · 2 months

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BAEKHYUN singing the US National Anthem at the MLB World Tour Seoul Series

#baekhyun #some idols go viral for shit vocals.... some are built different #and he fucking KILLED that shit

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elizaleclerc · 7 days

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How I love your writing so much! 😭 I saw that you are taking requests / ideas so maybe something of Charles x famous singer reader where they break up and everyone kinda thinks he broke up with reader or it was just a mutual breakup but then reader comes out with a song similar to midnight rain by Taylor swift and ppl piece the pieces together + the lyrics and kinda realize that Charles proposed and reader said no. Just something angsty and with Charles and reader they tried remaining friends but obvi are still in love with reader just isn’t ready for such a commitment. Thank you and love u 😭

tysm for this amazing request xoxo

float in your orbit 🪐

charles leclerc x reader

summary: famous fem singer!reader releases music about her surprising breakup with long term partner charles leclerc

songs: i can do it with a broken heart by t.swift , this is me trying by t.swift , wildflower by b.eilish , champagne problems by t.swift , chloe or sam or sophia or marcus by t.swift :)

author's note: ahhhh my first request!!!! the topic is right up my alley i love love love it. hope u love it too <3 plenty of angst ahead for u x

word count: 2k

With a heavy heart, your fingers traced the same piano note over and over again. The sound was monotonous, a stark contrast to the busy and lively world of your recent world tour. Now, back in your New York City apartment, life seemed dull and uneventful. It was even more glum now that you were alone, with no one to share your thoughts and experiences with.

You sat hunched over the piano, staring at the black and white keys in front of you. Your eyes had a distant glare, as if lost in a deep and melancholic reverie. The city sounds outside seemed muted and far away, as your mind was stuck on pause. Every memory felt like it was on repeat, playing over and over again.

In this moment of isolation, all you could do was sit and reflect on the ups and downs of your career, the highs and lows of fame. The emptiness inside seemed to grow with each passing moment, until it consumed your whole being. You were trapped in a bubble of loneliness, yearning for human connection but unable to break free from the walls surrounding you.

Charles had been your partner for five years. When you were first rising to stardom in the music world, you received an invitation to perform the national anthem at a prestigious Formula One race. As you stood on the track, your heart pounding with nerves and excitement, you caught sight of Charles, one of the esteemed drivers. The connection between you was immediate, a spark of recognition and attraction that lit up the air around you like fireworks. In that moment, you knew that love at first sight wasn't just an empty phrase, but a tangible reality. You could feel it deep within your bones, a warmth spreading through your body that told you this was meant to be.

A deep ache, like a heavy weight, settled in your chest as silent tears fell down your cheek. The emotions swirled and collided inside of you - sadness, hurt, anger, and betrayal all jostling for dominance. Despite both of your chaotic schedules, especially with your tour this year, you had always made sure to prioritize spending time together whenever possible. But during the last month of your tour is when things fell apart.

It was like a sudden storm had swept in, tearing down everything you thought was stable and secure. At first, it was hard to even process what was happening. The shock and confusion were overwhelming, making it difficult to make sense of the situation. But as time passed, the anger and betrayal only grew stronger, raging like a wildfire inside of you. You released a new song two weeks after the split, I Can Do It With a Broken Heart.

The media went into a frenzy. Fans from both you and Charles speculated on the recent events, but the lyrics in the song were simple and undeniable - Charles had ended things with you. You couldn't help but worry about the hate he must've been receiving, especially since the two of you hadn't spoken since the night everything fell apart. And to add onto the chaos, you still had a tour to finish, forcing a smile and putting on a brave face for the fans that had no idea of the turmoil within.

Being on tour was a necessary distraction, a way to keep your mind off of things. Yet as you lay in yet another unfamiliar hotel room, the same thoughts still haunted you. The rooms all looked different, but they were all characterized by the same sterile and impersonal feeling. The only thing that used to make them feel like home was the sound of Charles' voice on the phone. You would talk for hours, often until you drifted off to sleep, so even though you were physically alone, you never felt truly lonely.

Despite releasing a new single, the public still didn't have the full story of what happened between the two of you, and why you had broken up. With Charles choosing to remain silent in the media, you were left to navigate through it all on your own. It was a daunting task, trying to piece together your relationship and figure out where it went wrong without any input from him. But you refused to let his silence define your story.

Throughout your life, anxiety had been a constant shadow, lurking around every corner and following you wherever you went. It wasn't until a year ago that you finally sought help and medication for it. During this time of struggle, Charles was your unwavering rock, always there to hold you up and support you. Relationships in general were uncharted territory for you when you first met Charles, and the unknown of it all scared you most.

But as the months went by, he became your confidant, someone with whom you could share your deepest worries and fears during those late night conversations. He would listen with patience and understanding, easing your anxieties with his calm presence.

Yet when fate intervened and pushed him away from you, he was not as accommodating as you had hoped. You couldn't blame him entirely, but the void left by his absence consumed you more with each passing day. In an attempt to express all that you felt and lost, you turned to your songs as a means of communication – letting the lyrics speak for your heartache and longing.

In your next release, an EP of four songs would be put out into the world, the lyrics explaining everything. In the week after the release, fans had put all of the pieces of the puzzle together. You spent the hours scouring social media reading the analysis of your relationship, all of it correct but nevertheless heartbreaking.

One particular post analyzed the meaning of the four songs perfectly:

this is me trying: This song is the beginning of the end. Y/N is clearly struggling mentally and is pleading to be understood that they are simply doing the best that they can do. It is a desperate call for affection and is riddled with self doubt. After such a long relationship, Charles could have begun to crack, and Y/N is trying to keep it all together.

wildflower: This is clearly about Charles’s past girlfriend. He dated her for many years, and was speculated to be one of Y/N’s friends. The lyrics depict her struggling to get past the thought that Charles is actually over his old girlfriend, and she feels terrible about “betraying” her to date Charles. Further in the song the lyrics showcase that Charles clearly loves Y/N, but again her internal battle prohibits her from seeing the truth in their relationship as things seem to break further.

champagne problems: This is the breaking point. Shocking to fans everywhere, this song reveals that Charles proposed to Y/N, but due to her already detailed mental struggles and anxieties, the commitment was too much for her to bear. The melody and lyrics are filled with regret and a tinge of shame for not being able to commit to Charles, no matter how much she loved him and vice versa.

chloe or sam or sophia or marcus: The aftermath of it all, she details that even though she cannot commit to marriage with Charles she still loves him deeply and wishes that they could still be together. This caused fans to piece together that after she said no to the proposal, Charles ultimately cut things off.

With misty eyes, you read the post that brought back a flood of memories. The night he proposed in Monaco, the city where your love had blossomed and thrived, was etched in your mind with crystal clarity. In your shared apartment, tucked away from the bustling streets, the two of you had a private and intimate dinner that would change your lives forever. Warm flickering candles cast a soft glow over the dining room, while rose petals adorned the table and floor.

Despite being in the comfort of your own home, you both dressed to impress, savoring this rare moment when it was just the two of you. "You look absolutely stunning, mon chéri," he whispered as he gazed at you with adoration, making you feel like the most special woman on Earth. Every detail of that night was ingrained in your heart and soul, a cherished memory that would never fade.

Your hand rested on the white tablecloth, and he gently placed his on top. The warmth of his touch sent a jolt through your body. "Thank you, love," you murmured before he leaned in to place a soft kiss on the back of your hand. As the night went on, you caught up on each other's lives - him excitedly sharing about his latest Formula One race while you reminisced about your past tour experiences. But as the dinner neared its end, you noticed his fidgeting and asked him if he was okay. Suddenly, he stood up from his chair and sunk down on one knee next to you. Your heart skipped a beat, and everything seemed to slow down as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box.

“Mon amour, I don’t want to spend another day without calling you my wife. You’re the most important thing in my life, and I want to spend the rest of it loving you and giving you the world. Will you marry me?”

Your throat constricted as sweat formed on your palms. The words caught in your throat, refusing to come out. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen - not here, not now. Marriage was never a topic of conversation between you and Charles, but suddenly it felt like an inevitable future staring you in the face at this dinner table. You weren't ready for this.

“I don’t- I can’t-”

Your fingers moved deftly across the ivory keys of your piano, playing the familiar beginning chords of "Champagne Problems." Tears continued to fall down your cheeks, leaving glistening trails in their wake. Memories flooded your mind as you played, memories of a love once strong and unbreakable.

But now, as you sat alone in the dimly lit room, you couldn't help but feel the weight of that love slipping away. You missed him with every fiber of your being. You yearned for his cheeky smile and the way his crystal eyes sparkled when he looked at you. The memory of his messy bed head first thing in the morning made you ache with longing.

The thought of living without him was unbearable. You longed for his laughter, how he would throw his head back and let out a hearty sound that always filled you with joy. You could almost see his nose crinkle in amusement at a bad joke, just as it always did.

And oh, how you missed those moments when he would wear his glasses, simply because he knew how much you loved the way he looked in them. You could picture him now, standing before you with that charming grin and those frames perched on his nose.

But now they were only memories, and you were left to play out this heartache through the melody of your piano.

The realization hit like a freight train, knocking the wind out of you. You couldn't fathom the idea of moving on from this moment, it was too pivotal, too raw. With a sudden surge of energy, you leapt up from your seat at the piano and frantically searched for your phone among the scattered sheet music and empty coffee cups. Your fingers flew over the keys as you dialed the number you knew by heart, each digit a familiar melody in your mind.

One ring, and he picked up.

#formula one fanfic #formula 1 #formula one #f1 fanfic #formula 1 fanfic #charles leclerc x female reader #charles leclerc #charles leclerc x you #charles leclerc x reader #singer #f1

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thekidsarentalright · 2 months

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literally will never be over one of the last songs played on this tour was the kids aren’t alright. the song that says that life can be hard and difficult and feel so bleak sometimes, but is worth it for the people you surround yourself with. it’s worth it if you have people you love to go through every high and low with, to maul the world like a carnival bear set free together. it almost feels like the perfect song to commemorate the tour- it can feel so easy to just hide under a blanket and think about dying, to close yourself off from the world, to live in fear to the point you arent Really living, but the people you surround yourself with? they can bring you out of that darkness, remind you what you’re alive for. that in the end, it would all be worth doing again for the love and the light life can bring. them playing it last night, i think, was a dedication to each other as much as it was to the fans- they’d do it all again to meet each other and make music together, they’d do it all again to play to us and make us feel seen and heard. if there is a healing tour anthem, i think the kids aren’t alright is the perfect one.

#sorry for the rambling i just feel so. so incredibly in my emotions about this actually i cant stop thinking about it #and how beautiful it is that they did that. they couldn’t have picked a more symbolically perfect song #tkaa really is just. Thee fob song of all time i mean it it’s so special #txt

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louisupdates · 1 month

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FULL ARTICLE ON EUPHORIAZINE

By Saskia Postema 26.4.2024

Mere days after winning “Artist of the Year” at the inaugural Northern Music Awards, Louis Tomlinson is celebrating the only way he knows how – by giving back. Tomlinson just dropped a surprise album, which includes a curated list of live performances over the past years. It’s a risky move, as live albums are notoriously difficult to make worthwhile. But there’s no doubt about it: Tomlinson is deserving of that award, and the recordings on Louis Tomlinson: LIVE deserve to live forever.

After an initial stop-start to his solo career, Tomlinson has certainly flourished since finally getting to hit the stage. He’s been touring extensively over the past few years, performing a mix of tracks from his first two albums. Both were solid records that heavily referenced anthemic, rich sonic soundscapes. In fact, Tomlinson previously admitted that he wrote certain tracks with a live show in mind. Indeed, songs like “Face The Music,” “Out Of My System” and “The Greatest,” from his No. 1 selling album Faith in the Future, absolutely benefit from the live instrumentals compared to their studio versions.

It isn’t often that live performances consistently seem to not only live up to but objectively improve the perfectly engineered studio recordings. Perhaps it’s the love that the album so clearly captures for live music that does it. The singer-songwriter is an avid fan of his own fans and gets to share a collective experience of joy with them. Just listen to the crowds serenading Tomlinson in return during “Chicago,” recorded live in – you guessed it, Chicago. From Tomlinson’s perspective, audiences across the world have always been part of breathing life into these live recordings. Now, people get to live that same experience with him by listening to this record that is woven together with impeccably mixed joyful screaming in the background.

Tomlinson’s storytelling isn’t hindered by the crowd’s reaction. Rather, it is bolstered by it. In both power ballads like “Common People” as well as raucous tracks like “Silver Tongues.” The live setting seems to function almost akin to a prism – each song shining brighter, richer, fuller. Perhaps the only track that is tighter in the original version, is the seductive “Written All Over Your Face.” Nonetheless, the instrumental break and palpable, wild excitement make for an enjoyable listen.

Similarly, right in the middle of the highly addictive “All This Time/We Are Beauty” mash-up, a fan can be heard screaming “I love you” if you listen closely. The sheer adulation of the crowd is decidedly earned. Tomlinson has worked hard to prove himself, despite never having lacked the talent. Perhaps merely the confidence that he could do it, would do it, has done it. Nevertheless, he’s been open about the tension between his own love for music, and his at times debilitating need for perfection. As he’s settled into his career, a quiet undertone of determination and grit, of relief and fulfillment – of gratitude remains in every single show.

On “Saturdays,” you can actually hear Tomlinson mumble that the view’s never been better from where he’s stood on stage. It’s a high-maintenance track with all the right ingredients for a Tomlinson classic. There’s confessional lyricism, emotive delivery, and a gradual yet powerful crescendo in musical arrangement. It needs to be sung with conviction, and it’s clear that Tomlinson pulls power from the audience to deliver.

Notably, none of the covers that Tomlinson frequently incorporates in his concerts made it onto this live album. With that in mind, perhaps this release signals that Tomlinson has finally embraced his own artistry. Because if anything, Louis Tomlinson: LIVE is a reckless celebration record. An ode to joy, the synergy between artist and audience, and the impact of well-timed, flawlessly executed live guitar solos.

#louis press #louis tomlinson #louis tomlinson live #26.4.2024 #album review

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usignedupforthis · 8 months

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sorry i’m actually not shutting up abt how louis has his own rainbow lights every night on tour likeee he did the entire ltwt seeing how the fans brought thousands of pride flags every night and organized rainbow lights projects across the world and now on his second world tour he’s decided to respond to that. to bring his own rainbow lights to the show during his version of a queer club banger too. a song that’s performance is wound together with another inarguably queer anthem, the two of them celebrating love and pain and community and joy and acceptance. and louis saw all of those values in the crowds of his first tour, and how he himself was included in that, and he decided to say yes i see you i’m here with you we’re all one here. and i think that’s a little bit insane of him 🫶🏻

#sorry had to say all that hehehe #louis is just so special

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mostlysignssomeportents · 3 months

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Brinkwhump Linkdump

I'm on tour with my new, nationally bestselling novel The Bezzle! Catch me in TUCSON (Mar 9-10), then San Francisco (Mar 13), Anaheim, and more!

Once again, I find myself arriving at the weekend with a giant backlog of links, triggering a linkump, the 15th such dumpage, a variety-pack of miscellany for your weekend. Here's the previous editions:

https://pluralistic.net/tag/linkdump/

Let's start with the latest incredible news from KPMG, the accounting and auditing giant that is relied upon as a source of ground truth for a truly terrifying share of the world's economy. KPMG has a well-deserved reputation for incompetence and corruption. They first came on my radar in 2001 when they sent a legal threat to a blogger for linking to their website without permission:

https://memex.craphound.com/2001/12/05/reason-4332442-not-to-ask/

The actual link was to KPMG's corporate anthem, which remains, to this day, a banger:

https://web.archive.org/web/20040428063826/http://chkpt.zdnet.com/chkpt/uknewsita/http://anthems.zdnet.co.uk/anthems/kpmg.mp3

Don't miss the DJ remixes (and the Nokia ringtone!) that the internet thoughtfully provided when KPMG decided that it didn't want the world to know about "Our Vision of Global Strategy":

https://web.archive.org/web/20011128153057/http://corporateanthems.raettig.org/

Now all this is objectively very funny, a relic of the old, good internet from one of its moments of glory, but KPMG? They were already enshittifying, even in 2001, and the enshittification only intensified thereafter. Nearly every accounting scandal of the past quarter-century has KPMG in it somewhere, from con-artists selling exhausted oil fields to rubes:

https://www.desmog.com/2021/06/03/miller-energy-kpmg-auditors-oil-fraud/

To killer nursing homes that hire KPMG to audit its books – and to advise it on how to defeat safety audits and murder your grandma:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/09/dingo-babysitter/#maybe-the-dingos-ate-your-nan

They're the architects of Microsoft's tax-evasion plot:

https://www.propublica.org/article/the-irs-decided-to-get-tough-against-microsoft-microsoft-got-tougher

And they were behind Canada's dysfunctional covid contact-tracing app, which never worked, but generated tens of millions in billings to the government of Canada, who used KPMG to hire programmers at $1,500/day, plus KPMG's 30% commission:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/31/mckinsey-and-canada/#comment-dit-beltway-bandits-en-canadien

KPMG's most bizarre scandal is literally stranger than fiction. The company bribed SEC personnel help its own accountants cheat on ethics exams. The corrupt officials were then given high-paid jobs at KPMG:

https://www.nysscpa.org/news/publications/the-trusted-professional/article/sec-probe-finds-kpmg-auditors-cheating-on-training-exams-061819

I mean it when I say this is stranger than fiction. I included it as a plot-point in my new finance crime novel The Bezzle (now a national bestseller!), and multiple readers have written to me since the book came out a couple weeks ago to say that they thought I was straining their credulity by making up such an outrageous scandal:

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865878/thebezzle

But all of that is just scene-setting (and a gratuitous plug for my book) for the latest KPMG scandal, which is, possibly, the most KPMG scandal of all KPMG scandals. The Australian government hired KPMG to audit Paladin, a security contractor that oversees the asylum seekers the country locks up on one of its island gulags (yes, gulags, plural).

Ever since, Paladin has been the subject of a string of ghastly human rights scandals – the worst stuff imaginable, rape and torture and murder of adults and children. Paladin made AU423 million on this contract.

And here's the scandal: KPMG audited the wrong company. The Paladin that the Australia government paid KPMG to audit was based in Singapore. The Paladin that KPMG audited was a totally different company, based in Papua New Guinea, who already had a commercial relationship with KPMG. It was this colossal fuckup that led to the manifestly unfit Singaporean company getting nearly half a billion dollars in public funds:

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/feb/24/incredible-failure-kpmg-rejects-claims-it-assessed-the-wrong-company-before-423m-payment-to-paladin

KPMG denies this. KPMG denies everything, always. Like, they denied creating "power maps" of decision-makers in the Australian government to target with influence campaigns in order to win contracts like this one. Who knows, maybe, this one time, they're telling the truth? After all, the company whose employees gather to sing lyrics like these can't be all bad, right?

The time is now to lead the way, We share the same the idea That may win by the end of the day. Our strength is here to stay. Identity, one energy, One strategy, with sympathy. These are the words that will lead us into a new world.

https://everything2.com/title/KPMG+corporate+anthem

You may find it strange that I'm still carrying around the factoid that KPMG once threatened to crush a blogger for linking to its terrible corporate anthem, but that's just my "Memex Method," which helps me keep track of literally everything that seemed important to me through most of my adult life:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/05/09/the-memex-method/

One of my favorite quips from the very quotable Riley Quinn is that "leftists are cursed with object-permanence" – that is, we actually remember what just happened and use it to think about what's happening now. The Memex Method is object permanence for 20+ years worth of stuff. A lot of those deep archives never see use, but there's a surprising number of leading indicators buried in the stuff that happened in years gone by.

Take James Boyle's 2014, XKCD-style comic about the experience of driving a notional Apple car:

https://www.thepublicdomain.org/2014/11/07/apple-updates-a-comic/

Apple, it turns out, spent the next decade working on just such a car, and while that car has now been canceled, Boyle's comic correctly anticipates so much about the trajectory Apple's products took. It's uncannily accurate – real "don't invent the torment nexus"/"cyberpunk was a warning, not a suggestion" stuff:

https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/torment-nexus

But no matter how many times we insist that the torment nexus shouldn't be created, the boardrooms of end-stage capitalism continue to invent them. Take HP, the poster-child for enshittification, edging out even KPMG in the race to turn everything into a pile of shit. After years of tormenting people to punish them for wanting to print things, HP has announced a new service that so mustache-twirlingly evil that it lacks verisimilitude:

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/02/hp-wants-you-to-pay-up-to-36-month-to-rent-a-printer-that-it-monitors/

Here's the pitch: HP will sell you a printer that you don't own. In addition to paying a monthly fee for your ink – which you pay no matter whether you print or not – you will also pay a monthly fee just for having HP's printer on your premises. You are absolutely, positively forbidden from using third-party ink in this printer, and must use HP's own ink, which sells for about $10,000/gallon.

But while you aren't allowed to use this printer in ways that are bad for HP's shareholders, HP is absolutely free to use the printer in ways that are bad for you. When you click through the signup agreement, you grand HP permission to surveil every document you print – and your home wifi network more generally – and to sell that data to anyone and everyone.

What's more, HP reserves the right to discipline you with punitive credit-card charges if you disconnect this printer from the internet, on the basis that doing so makes it harder for them to spy on your printer.

I'm sorry, this is just more torment nexus shit, the kind of thing you'd expect to drop on Apr 1, not Feb 29, but I guess this is where we are. I can only conjecture as to whether HP's businesses strategists are directly taking direction from my novella "Unauthorized Bread," or whether they're learning about it second-hand from a KPMG consultant who converted it to Powerpoint form and charged $1,500/day for the work:

https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/01/unauthorized-bread-a-near-future-tale-of-refugees-and-sinister-iot-appliances/

All of this cartoonish villainry is the totally foreseeable consequence of a culture of impunity, in which companies like HP and KPMG can rob, cheat, steal (and sometimes even kill) without consequence. This impunity is so pervasive that the exceptions – where a rich criminal faces real consequences – become touchstones: Enron, Arthur Anderson, Theranos, and, of course, FTX.

FTX was arguably the largest-scale corporate crime in world history, stealing more than $10 billion dollars, mostly from rubes sucked in by hype and Superbowl ads. When news that FTX founder and owner Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted of fraud and was in for a lengthy prison sentence made a huge stir, because criminals like SBF usually walk away from the wreckage with their hands in their pockets, whistling a jaunty tune.

One of the very best commentators on cryptocurrency scams generally and FTX/SBF in particular is Molly White, whose Web3 is Going Just Great feed is utterly indispensable. White's newsletter, "Citation Needed," dives deep into the wrangle of SBF's sentencing:

https://www.citationneeded.news/issue-52/

Bankman-Fried's parents – prominent law professors at top law schools – helped brief the court this week on their son's punishment. According to them, SBF faces 100 years in prison, but should be sentenced to 5.5-6.5 years at the most. Why? Because he is a vegan, who is not greedy, and feels remorse, and cares for individuals (recall that SBF presented himself as the avatar of the batshit "effective altruism" philosophy while privately admitting that he used this as a smokescreen).

The most bizarre note in the 100-page filing is SBF's mother declaring that her son is an "angel of mercy," apparently unaware of the grisly meaning of that term:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel_of_mercy_(criminology)

America's prisons are a travesty and I wouldn't wish them on anyone, but that's not the argument SBF's parents are making; rather, they're arguing that their special boy doesn't deserve the treatment America metes out to poorer, less white people who merely steal hundreds or thousands of dollars. A crook who steals ten billion should be handled the way a casino handles a whale – with concierge service.

The problem is, there are so many of these remorseless, relentless crooks that there's no way we could scale up that white-glove treatment when we finally round 'em all up and make them pay. Writing for The American Prospect, Maureen Tkacik tells us about the ransomware attack that shut down America's pharmacy system last month:

https://prospect.org/health/2024-03-01-zoomer-hackers-shut-down-unitedhealthcare/

The attack brought down Change Healthcare, part of the monopolist Unitedhealth, which serves as the "pharmacy benefit manager" to a vast swathe of American pharmacies. PBM is one of those all-American finance scams, a middleman garlanded with performative complexity put there to make you feel stupid for asking why independent pharmacies all have to pay rent to this malicious, unaccountable – and now, manifestly incompetent – gang of crooks.

Tkacik's breakdown of this scam – and how it rendered Americans' ability to get the drugs they depend on to go on breathing – is characteristically brilliant. Tcacik is fast emerging as my favorite Explainer of Scams, a print version of John Oliver or Adam Conover. You may recall her work from my post last week on how private equity has taken a wrecking ball to America's hospitals:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/28/5000-bats/#charnel-house

I always try to finish these linkdumps with some upbeat news to carry you through the weekend, and this week brought two genuinely wonderful – and totally underreported – pieces of amazing news.

The first is that Starbucks has sued for peace in the war against its workers' unions. Hundreds of Starbucks stores have unionized in recent years, but not one of them had a contract. Instead, Starbucks had waged dirty war on their own workers, from denying gender-affirming care to unionized employees to simply shutting down whole stores after they voted to unionize:

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/14/starbucks-union-company-threatens-that-unionizing-could-jeopardize-gender-affirming-health-care.html

But the workers held fast and after years of this, Starbucks has caved, promising contracts for all unionized stores and an end to its campaign of terror against workers seeking to unionize more of its stores. In a postmortem for Jacobin, Eric Blanc rounds up "seven lessons from Starbucks workers' historic victory":

https://jacobin.com/2024/02/starbucks-sbwu-contract-bargaining/

This is the kind of listicle I can get behind. According to Blanc, the Starbucks unions won by deploying worker-to-worker organizing, a tactic that many of the new unions that are shaking up formerly impossible-to-organize jobsites are using (Blanc has a book about this coming from UC Press called "We Are the Union: How Worker-to-Worker Unionism Can Transform America," so he should know).

Other tactics that made the difference for Starbucks unions: new digital training and support tools and partnering with established unions for support and infrastructure. Blanc also calls out the success of "salting" – the venerable but largely disused tactic of union organizers applying for a job at a non-union shop in order to organize it.

Blanc also mentions government policy, including the outstanding work of NLRB general counsel Jennifer Abruzzo, a shrewd and committed tactician whose understanding of the technicalities of labor law have let her push for bold measures. For example, in Thrive Pet Care, Abruzzo is arguing that when a company refuses to bargain in good faith for a contract with its union, she can step in and order them to honor the terms of a contract at comparable unionized competitors until they produce a contract of their own:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/06/goons-ginks-and-company-finks/#if-blood-be-the-price-of-your-cursed-wealth

Abruzzo is one of several smart, competent tacticians in the Biden administration who are working to kneecap corporate power. Another is Rohit Chopra, chair of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, who just announced another bold, important initiative that will help Americans fight corporate corruption and get a fair deal:

https://prospect.org/economy/2024-03-01-public-option-credit-card-shopping/

Chopra is taking aim at credit-card comparison sites that purport to show you where you can get the best deal. If you're an affluent person who doesn't carry a balance, this might not matter to you, but if you're an average working stiff, high interest rates can gobble up a massive share of your paycheck. What's more, credit card margins are higher than they have ever been:

https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/blog/credit-card-interest-rate-margins-at-all-time-high/

The most expensive credit cards come from the big, monopolistic banks, but you wouldn't know it from the leaderboards produced by Credit Karma, NerdWallet, LendingTree, and Bankrate. All of these sites take bribes from the big banks to list their credit cards above those offered by credit unions – who are typically 10% cheaper than the big banks' cards.

The new CFPB rule prohibits this fraudulent ranking, but the Bureau is going even further. They're using their administrative powers to force banks to report their rates to the Bureau, which will publish them on a publicly funded, neutral website – what David Dayen calls "a public option" for shopping for credit cards.

This policy makes a perfect bookend to the last CFPB initiative I wrote about here: a rule that forces banks to allow you to transfer your account to a rival with a couple of simple clicks, importing all your history, payees, and everything else you need to switch to a better bank:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/21/let-my-dollars-go/#personal-financial-data-rights

Combine that ease of switching with reliable information on which banks will give you the best deal and you get something that will directly transfer millions and millions of dollars from giant, wildly profitable banks to low-income people who've been tricked into paying them punitive interest rates.

So that's it, this week's linkdump. I promised you I'd end on a high note, and I did it. The world may be full of all kinds of terrible things, but workers and regulators are scoring big, muscular victories in battles where the stakes are real and important. Have a great weekend – we've earned it.

And remember!

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/03/02/macedoine/#the-public-option

Image: Stacy (modified) https://www.flickr.com/photos/notahipster/4402860361/

CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

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unholyverse · 9 months

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waterparks // marvin magazine issue #10

(full transcript under the cut)

Waterparks

WORDS by HOLLY SOLEM

PHOTOGRAPHY by DANIEL PRACOPCYK

Waterparks are places you go for fun; both pools and slides and the gloriously buzzy, pop punk band featuring members Geoff Wigington (lead guitar), Otto Wood (drums), and singer/guitarist Awsten Knight, whose neon energy matches his hair. Their music leads you down sonic chutes and up rainbow ladders with four albums, countless tours, millions of listeners and a recent signing with Fueled By Ramen, the label under which they are about to drop their highly anticipated 5th studio album. MARVIN had the good fortune of catching up with Knight—who is busy prepping for a European tour, a US tour and the release of the band's new album—to talk about all that goes into creating the bubbly world of Waterparks.

The new album titled Intellectual Property features eleven legit bangers filled with anthemic choruses. psychedelic experimentation and hooky melodies all polished to a sheen. There are hints of megalithic rock bands like Muse, inspiration from The Beach Boys and the pop punk sounds we have come to expect. But as for the "pop" part, this record goes in hard with collaborations with the likes of blackbear and songwriter/producer Julian Bunetta.

I love pop music and we got an offer to write with this dude, Julian, who has credits on 95% of One Direction's discography. I fucking love One Direction. I don't want to be dramatic but let's say I've got a top 60 favorite songs, I think four or five are One Direction songs. And Julian's written on all of them. I was just like, 'I want to do what I do but with him too.' And then I made "FUNERAL GREY", "BRAINWASHED", and "FUCK ABOUT IT", with him.

For this album, the band brought in more outside alliances than on previous albums, with Knight saying. "I think I was more open to [collaborations] on this album. Other people's opinions and thoughts and stuff like that. Normally, I don't really love writing with people that I don't know very well because it can feel very sterile. You walk in and they're like, 'what do you want to write about? You're like, 'oh fuck'—because it's a personal thing." And when it comes to getting personal, Knight is also realizing that to his surprise, the more personal he gets-the more vulnerable lyrically—the more universal the message.

I feel like I used to be kind of freaked out by [vulnerability], especially earlier, on album one. I was really nervous about it and it sounds so lame in retrospect but I didn't even want to do any acoustic songs. I liked burying myself a lit- tle bit behind a big instrumental. [The song] "21 Questions" for example. I sent that along with all the other demos to Benji because I wanted his opinion and he was like, 'this is one of the best ones.' Those wind up being the favorites, which seems counterproductive because songs are supposed to be relatable. And I never feel like I'm being relatable but I try to be less selfish with the writing. I want this to be for someone else.

When Knight refers to "Benji" he is talking about Benji Madden, one half of legendary pop punk duo Good Charlotte. Benji, along with his brother and bandmate Joel, manage Waterparks after discovering them on YouTube and DM'ing them on Twitter back in 2015. Knight received the news of the Maddens' invitation to fly to LA for a meeting while working as a babysitter who gave guitar lessons.

I called the guys and we're like, 'holy shit.' So we all went and bought swimsuits because…California. And yeah, that was it. After we met them, we went back to our hotel and were just like, 'what is happening? A week ago we were still passing out flyers outside of other people's shows. And we're right here, right now. This is the weirdest shit.'

A literal dream-come-true for Knight and the band, who eventually would make the move to LA from Houston while missing its Tex-Mex and Thai food, and of course, his family. But when it comes to the weather, he's all about California. He doesn't even mind the earthquakes. He was in a rooftop hot tub during one and actually found it rather exciting. For a man who has toured the world, there's a bright-eyed innocence and almost childlike wonder to him. His seeming lack of cynicism is as refreshing as freshly fallen snow which he admits he only saw for the first time not that long ago. But now, Knight talks about having stress dreams as he and the band get ready to embark on a European leg, followed by an extensive US tour.

Here's the thing, I like to play shows and I like to meet people. The other 22 hours of the day, I like having my space. I'm pretty particular, you know what I mean? I like my zone where I can sit and just do stuff. You go from peace and quiet and doing what you want all the time to sharing a small living space and a bus with twelve people. It's basically having twelve people in your living room for two months. And you're just like, 'ah, but the shows are great' as long as the shows are fun and everyone is having a great time, that makes it worth it to me.

He's also superstitious. Around his apartment there are crystals, there are obsidian and selenite wands in front of all the mirrors. He has a healer-type person come in and energetically clear his space, insisting he throw away objects that may have "dark entities" attached. "I'm luckier than people I know. They're like, 'why is the light always turning green when you go to it? Why do you always get the front spot at the store?' I'm like, it's because I don't split the pole, you know? Can't split a pole when you're walking. There's a bunch of superstitions. But I follow them and I'm crazy lucky."

In addition to music, he recently penned a well-received book of personal essays called, You'd Be Paranoid Too (If Everyone Was Out to Get You). He plans to write a novel next and has also started a clothing line called HiiDef. that fabricates small collections that sell out fast. His enthusiasm for the line is on par with music. "If everybody made the songs that I wanted to hear, I wouldn't have to do this. The same thing applies with clothing." Passion abound, he is all smiles when discussing plans for the future of Waterparks.

How do I get to the fucking moon? I think anyone who hears this album is going to love it. Cause I think it's incredible. I'm looking at the songs right now. I'm just like, 'man, straight slappers.' Even the last song, which I know wouldn't be a single or anything-that's probably one of the best accomplishments of a song that we've ever been able to pull off. I see this album in plaques on the wall. All right, we're manifesting now.

He names his goals out loud, as one is meant to do when calling them in, mentioning things like how much he'd like to play the Redding and Leeds Festivals at sunset. Then he pulls up the Waterparks US tour schedule online while musing, "I want one of those big "Sold Out" things across all the dates. It's getting there dude. Yeah, actually, it's going crazy right now." In real time, he seems to discover that the banners that cross nearly all of the show dates do indeed read, "Sold Out". And then it's clear. Awsten Knight is lucky. But luck is really about preparation meeting opportunities and he has definitely shown up to the game prolific and prepared. Five albums in, it's clear that Knight and Waterparks have only just begun.

@waterparks

#i scanned this big ass magazine and photoshopped it back together after i found out you could buy this digitally so you better reblog #awsten knight #otto wood #geoff wigington #waterparks #i.zip #anyways story time #only reason i bought this is bc i saw this at barnes and noble at the mall and it was wayyy cheaper than if i got a physical online #$25 instore vs $30 online + $20 shipping which is INSANE but the fact that this is the size of my torso is even more insane #it's just some puff piece like the rest of the shit you'd expect from a rich people magazine that brands itself as punk #and that josh madden shilled his way into again lol

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exoluxionlove · 2 months

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240321 Baekhyun performs the American and Korean national anthems before the Los Angeles Dodgers vs San Diego Padres game of the MLB World Tour Seoul Series 2024

#Baekhyun #Exo #Video #MLB World Tour

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bikinikillarchives · 11 months

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KATHLEEN HANNA ANNOUNCES MEMOIR, REBEL GIRL: MY LIFE AS A FEMINIST PUNK

7/13/23: Kathleen Hanna has announced that she’s releasing a memoir in May of next year: Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk is out Tuesday, May 14, 2024, via Ecco (a HarperCollins imprint). The book will follow Hanna’s story from childhood to her college years in Olympia, Washington.

Kathleen Hanna's rallying cry to feminists echoed far and wide through the punk scene of the 90s and beyond. Her band, Bikini Kill, embodies this iconic time, and today her personal yet feminist lyrics on anthems like "Rebel Girl" and "Double Dare Ya" are more powerful than ever. But where did this transformative voice come from? In Rebel Girl, Hanna's raw and insightful new memoir, she takes us from her tumultuous childhood home to her formative college years in Olympia, Washington, and on to her first years on tour, fighting hard for gigs and for her band. As Hanna makes clear, being in a "girl band," especially a punk girl band, in those years was not a simple or safe prospect. Male violence and antagonism threatened at every turn, and surviving as a singer who was a lightening rod for controversy took limitless amounts of determination. But the relationships she developed during those years buoyed her--including with her bandmates, Tobi Vail, Kathi Wilcox, and Johanna Fateman; her friendships with Kurt Cobain and Ian MacKaye; and her introduction to Joan Jett-- were all a testament to how the punk world could nurture and care for its own. Hanna opens up about falling in love with Ad-Rock of the Beastie Boys and her debilitating battle with Lyme disease, and she brings us behind the scenes of her musical growth in her bands, Le Tigre and The Julie Ruin. She also writes candidly about the Riot Grrrl movement, documenting with love its grassroots origins but critiquing its later exclusivity. In an uncut voice all her own, Hanna reveals the hardest times along with the most joyful--and how it continues to fuel her revolutionary art and music.

you can pre-order Rebel Girl now though bookshop.org!

#EEEK #kathleen hanna #bikini kill #2023

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hldailyupdate · 30 days

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#louis tomlinson #louis update #louis tomlinson live #euphoria #article #april 2024

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a-silent-symphony · 2 months

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The 4 songs Nightwish have only performed live once

They’ve been around for two-and-a-half decades and played nearly 1,000 shows, and through it all symphonic metal’s superstars have only performed these songs one time

You can’t talk about symphonic metal without mentioning Nightwish. Not long after forming in the mid-1990s, Tuomas Holopainen’s majestic mavens became the measuring stick for the genre. They scored regular chart success in their native Finland while at the same time earning critical acclaim, thanks to their unencumbered, all-instruments-blaring vision.

Nightwish have written upwards of 100 songs since they started, and most of them have serenaded fans during their litany of live shows in that time. Hammer’s already listed the tracks that these maximalists have never once performed, but an even more exclusive club is that of the ones they brought out once then immediately scrapped. Below are the four songs Nightwish have only played live on a solitary occasion, according to setlist database setlist.fm.

Moondance (Oceanborn, 1998)

Nightwish��s debut, 1997’s Angels Fall First, was written and recorded with the intention of it being a demo, not a fully fledged studio album. As a result, it’s far more raw, rough and ready than anything else the Finns have ever unfurled. Followup Oceanborn swiftly chartered them down more grandiose avenues, and the instrumental Moondance is indicative of the more heroic sound the band craved: keyboardist Tuomas busts out a bombastic melody as his fellow musicians gallop along.

However, maybe because it would leave Nightwish’s vocalist with nothing to do for a bit, this segue’s only ever made the set once. It was at Club Feeniks in Turku, Finland, on February 13, 1999, performed as part of a broader instrumental suite towards the end of the night.

Sleepwalker (2000)

Oceanborn marked Nightwish’s commercial coming out party. Its lead single, Sacrament Of Wilderness, was the band’s first song to top the Finnish charts, then the album’s cover of Walking In The Air repeated that feat in 1999. Because of such success, the maestros decided to battle for a spot at the 2000 Eurovision Song Contest, hoping to represent their home nation with a newly written piece, Sleepwalker.

Sleepwalker won the public vote when Nightwish made their case on national TV to stand for Finland, but the scores of a judging panel brought them down to third place overall. The bid was disappointingly dashed, meaning that the sole performance of this song was to those stuffy judges in Helsinki on February 12, 2000.

Meadows Of Heaven (Dark Passion Play, 2007)

Nightwish brought the tour for 2007’s Dark Passion Play to an end in poetic fashion. Meadows Of Heaven is the final song on album six (the first to feature Anette Olzen behind the mic), and it ends 75 minutes of cinematic metal in appropriately operatic form. Its live debut was saved for the very last show the band played before retreating into the writing room to dream up Imaginaerum, aptly closing the main set.

Nightwish didn’t return to the stage until 2012, by which point they had 75 more minutes and 13 more songs in their arsenal. Unsurprisingly, then, Meadows Of Heaven became a one-and-done, but it served its role beautifully the one time it did rear its head.

Pan (Human :||: Nature, 2020)

Like many, many other metal bands, Nightwish saw the pandemic through by replacing the touring they should have done for 2020’s Human :||: Nature with a livestream. Actually, strike that: they hosted two. The band played a two-night set, dubbed An Evening With Nightwish In A Virtual World, which marked the debut of numerous songs from the preceding album, including Shoemaker, Tribal and Noise.

The only one that didn’t make it onto real-life stages was Pan. It’s a shame, as not only does the song continue Nightwish’s overblown ways unabated, but it flaunts some pretty gnarly riffs to boot. Sadly, though, the fact remains: this anthem was dispatched following its livestream debut. And, given that Nightwish are currently gearing up to release Human :||: Nature’s successor, it’s unlikely it’ll get its time in the sun.

#nightwish #2024 news

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itzynabi · 2 months

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born to be world tour: seoul

— if you thought a little extreme physical exhaustion was gonna stop her from performing with her members, you were wrong

— but she also rested the entire week except for practices (she only did one music show perf for until spring on mucore)

— she didn’t use as much energy as usual just because her health rn is 👎🏾👎🏾👎🏾 but best assured she is a performer

— mr. vampire is HER song guys, like, the babygirl that she is OMG😩

— and then the little break before the solo stages

— when i tell you this girl was snacking backstage during chaeryeong’s performance (after changing into her outfit ofc)

— granted her snacks were to ensure she’d have enough energy, but miss girl was swinging her feet and twirling her hair as she ate her snacks

— she’s no fucking angel, she’s no fucking goddess‼️‼️

— nobody thought she was gonna swear but she did

— and the choreo *chef’s kiss*

— then back to backstage to change and rest some more

— she almost took a power nap, but all her naps turn into 4 hours of unconsciousness

— listen she’s a dynamite truther so you know she slayed during that performance

— and she’s also a not shy girlie so… the dance was dancing

— time for ments

— nabi: honestly, the number one song i was looking forward to performing was icy. i was looking forward to performing it, but it isn’t on the tracklist 😔 it breaks my heart, but at least not shy is here 😕

— during the more freestyle stages (no choreo just fun) the members checked on nabi’s condition

— at some point ryujin pulled her to sit down together and just vibe

— during the encore stage, her and yuna swapped mics so they could hear each other in their in-ears

— and it was chaos😭😭😭

— nabi’s voice is naturally a bit loud so yuna was suffering (one reblog is one prayer for yuna 🙏🏾)

— day 2 let’s go!

— since it was the second day she was better at controlling her energy

— you can say many things about nabi, but you cant say she isnt a performer

— bcs how the hell did she turn born to be into a babygirl anthem 😭😭

— the transition from the other members being girl crush personified to her smiling so big and being so cute gave everybody whiplash

— but then she started being on her hot girl shit immediately after

— and second day of no angels and no goddesses

— dynamite was made for her

— perfect balance between girl crush and cutie girl galore

— and psychic lover her beloved

— nabi singing love is to yeji with the biggest smile the world has ever seen

— ment time lets go!!!

— “the members are very… i’m very grateful to have them in my life. i hope we stay together for a long time and continue to love each other the way we do now. thank you for allowing me to be in your lives and to cry with you, laugh with you, sing with you… thank you for everything. crazy things are going to happen this year, but all six of us will get through it together”

— and she started tearing up as she was speaking🥺🥺 but she couldn’t handle the attention so “that’s all i have to say, stop looking at me”

— then she made eye contact with lia in the crowd and started crying

— nabi: and you havent *sobs* even been *sobs* to *sobs* my apartment yet *sobs*

— then it turned into yuna and nabi hugging each other while crying

— yuna: unnie *sobs* said if lia unnie doesn’t *sobs* like her *sobs* apartment *sobs* then she’ll move out

— then you’ve got ryujin “but when we sent jisu unnie the photos, she said it was cute”

— nabi: THAT DOESN’T MEAN SHE LIKED IT *sobs*

— it was just crying and crying

— yeji, ryujin, and chaeryeong trying to get the oldest and youngest to stop crying

— chaeryeong: unnie, your parents are telling you to wipe your tears and stop crying

— “my parents are here😭😭? do you WaNt Me To CrY a RiVeR??”

— somebody please get this girl tissues bcs it was getting ugly atp😭😭😭

— and midzys are watching all of this happen mind you

— tuna crying and holding onto each other went viral and you know it!

— but then they both calmed down

— nabi: i need to take a nap

— and lets go home everybody!

tagging: @seolboba // @ateezivy // @ateezjuliet // @cafemilk-tea // @smh-anon // @alixnsuperstxr // @cosmicwintr // @girlzwfun // @txt-yaomi // @moongrlz // @novwonia

©️ kim nabi

#ficnetfairy #itzy 6th member #itzy sixth member #itzy oc #itzy addition #itzy added member #itzy extra member #itzy member au #itzy imagines #kpop oc #kpop addition #kpop added member #kpop extra member #kpop imagines #kpop au #nabi :: btbwt

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