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rottingflovver · 4 years

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Random relationship headcanons for the Decay of Angels boys!!

I love my evil husbands, enjoy this trainwreck

Fyodor Dostoevsky 🐁

Oh God. He smells like…a sewer rat

I'm not even joking like he probably smells unpleasant (not to the point where it's noticeable tho, only if you're really close to him)

If he's feeling fancy he'll throw on some cologne but don't bet on it

Hair is also really greasy

He scarcely eats but he's a big fan of sweet food (think ice cream and baked stuff) and trad. Russian food

Please for the love of God force this man to eat

He'll forget to eat + drink on a daily basis because he gets so caught up in work, how is he even still alive

Did I mention he also doesn't sleep

HOW is he canonically one of the smartest people yet he does stuff like this fr

If he trusts you (Lord knows how you'll achieve that) and he's tired (as per usual) he won't be opposed to the thought of just downright collapsing onto you

You'll rarely see this man anyhow, but when you do he'll just be sleeping

What a great boyfriend am I right (It's okay he needs the rest, plus patting his hair as he sleeps is kinda nice)

I believe his favorite places to have dates at are his or your apartment

Away from the public eye; just the two of you, alone

He can play his cello for you!

He'd encourage you to try it out as well, but you'd be so terror stricken by the thought of what he'd do to you if you broke it somehow that you just...would rather pass

I doubt he'd ever actually hurt you tho; yes, he's extremely distrustful and arguably heartless, but if you haven't done anything to insinuate you want to betray him…he'll be tame

Also, did I MENTION how cold he is

Maybe that's why he wears winter clothes in such warm weather ㅡ cuz otherwise he'd just freeze to death

Warm him up pls

Although he's not used to just casual physical contact so when you start holding his hands to warm them up he'll look at you like "??? Do you want to die??"

Once you explain it to him he's like "Oh"

His giant ego won't let him express it but know that he appreciates it

Also, this is a given, but Fyodor is extremely manipulative so you'll never really be sure if his feelings are sincere or not

Nikolai Gogol 🤡

I had to Google "what do clowns smell like" for this aye-

The answer: apparently cabbages and cotton candy

I really like that idea so I'm sticking with it xhsjhx, Nikolai smells like either cabbages or cotton candy; no in-between

Loves piroshki!!! Any kind!!! For reference; piroshki are small boat-shaped buns which can be both sweet and savory, as it depends on the filling (most common fillings include: ground meat, mashed potato, mushrooms, boiled egg with scallions, or cabbage. Typical sweet fillings are fruit (apple, cherry, apricot, lemon), jam, or quark)

Why did I just give a small piroshki lesson

Anyhow, yes, that's his favorite food so pls buy a lot of them for him (if you make them yourself he'll be so deeply touched, but be careful, he tends to see positive emotions towards someone as brainwashing)

Is he a bad cook??? Is he a good cook??? Does he just simply steal everything via coat and make it seem like he's the one that made it?? We don't know

His favorite places to have dates at are carnivals or theaters

He loves theaters so much omg

I have a feeling that if you told him he'd make a great actor he'd just evaporate out of joy

And he WOULD make a great one tho?? This man got talent

I'd imagine you're pretty much the only person he would ever open up to regarding the insane amount of guilt he feels

(Yet again, be careful, he's very unpredictable when it comes to people he grows fond of)

Do comfort him if he ever breaks down tho, please

Sleeping together? With this man? It's a wild experience

He moves around so much

He's also prone to night terrors (like I said, insane amounts of guilt) so if he ever stops moving you should probably wake him up, cuz that's a nightmare so horrible he just froze in place

Give him hug

Sigma 🎲

Sigma smells nice no cap

It's a mix of lavender and mint

Don't ask how that works it just does

I think he'd be the type to like any kind of food as long as it's lovingly made

He has no standards but at the same time he has extremely strict standards y'know

There's nothing specific he likes but if he likes it then he Likes It

He gets called a rock musician and people say he looks "alternative" when he's literally walking around in a suit but I digress

He'd let you do his makeup

I'd say he'd even encourage it

(Give him a punk rock alternative makeover lmao)

Also, to no one's surprise, his favorite place to have dates at is the Sky Casino

It's his home! He's proud of it!!

Please be proud of him as well it would mean the world to him

He's so cheesy, he'll stay stuff like "I feel most at peace with you, you are my home", and then get super embarrassed

If you smile fondly at him and say you like him just the way he is, cheesy remarks and all, you will be charged with murder because this man will DIE

He's so confused when it comes to a lot of stuff

Like he once asked "is interesting an emotion" and NO ONE answered him (poor bb :() but like be prepared for a lot of questions like that

Take your time and explain it to him, he'll be so grateful

Ngl, out of these 3, he's the best option bc he's not unreachable (cough cough Fyodor) and doesn't strive for emotional freedom so much that he'd kill whoever he grows attached to (cough cough Nikolai)

Soft husband

A little bit clingy but can you really blame him

Just be there for him, it'll be alright

Ivan Goncharov (bonus!) 🤕

He's in the Rat House not the DOA but I wanted to include him

(We stan Ivan in this house)

He's completely devoted to Fyodor

Idk how you'd ever even strike a conversation with him given he's constantly by the rat man's side

I'd imagine you'd have to be either a past friend (which I doubt he'd welcome) or an underling of Fyodor as well

Either way, please be kind to him

I think his devotion to Fyodor is a LITTLE bit unhealthy so if possible just draaag him away from that (will be very difficult to do)

He smells nice, like an expensive brand of shampoo and conditioner

I'd imagine his hair is really soft too, he'll gladly let you play with it

Braid it!! He'll look so pretty!!

BE GENTLE with the wound on his head, Fyodor isn't a professional surgeon, so even though the incision itself was a success he didn't really patch it up correctly

Just be gentle with it, if possible, take him to the hospital to get it checked out

He loves classical music!!

Expect to hear that playing in the background a lot

If you start helping him with the chores (like making tea and cleaning) at first he'll think of it as an insult to his ability, but after a while it'll grow on him

He'll learn to appreciate the little things

If you have any kind of favorite dish; he'll be frequently making just that

Likewise, if you ever request for something different, you'll get it made perfectly, just for you

A good, happy boye, deserves better

#bungou stray dogs #bsd #bsd Fyodor #bsd Nikolai #bsd sigma #bsd ivan #bungou stray dogs Fyodor #bungou stray dogs Nikolai #bungou stray dogs sigma #bungou stray dogs ivan #Fyodor Dostoevsky #Nikolai Gogol #Sigma #Ivan Goncharov #Fyodor x reader #Nikolai x reader #Sigma x reader #Ivan Goncharov x reader

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atthevogue · 6 years

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“Stop Making Sense” (1984)

The basics: Wiki | IMDb | TVTropes

Opened: Jonathan Demme and David Byrne’s Talking Heads concert film opened the second week of March 1985. It ran for a few weeks, and by early June was showing at Village 8, the local second-run theater. It was revived at The Vogue in July, and ran a few times a month through 1986 and 1987, usually as the second-to-last or last show of the day.

Also on the bill: Opening weekend, it shared a very unlikely bill with the slow-burning 1975 Australian film Picnic at Hanging Rock. It also shared some more tonally appropriate bills with Buckaroo Banzai, Amadeus, Fellini Satyricon and another Australian cult favorite, Bliss. A few times, of course, it was inevitably programmed before the monthly midnight screening of Rocky Horror.

What did the paper say? Given its status in years since as the great rock concert movie of that (and any) era, there wasn’t much coverage at the time. The Courier-Journal’s regular film and theater critic from the late 1940s through the early 1990s, William Mootz, didn’t appear to see it. Janet Maslin’s glowing New York Times review was run instead, as was common practice for smaller movies. Vince Staten, the vaguely curmudgeonly but always insightful TV critic of the 1980s, wrote a few years later when it came out on VHS that "quite a few people, myself included, thought it was the best rock-concert movie ever made.” In 1987, towards the end of its run at The Vogue, a weekend roundup in the paper’s Saturday edition highlighted it, calling it "a cult in the making" that was “building a faithful following in its repeated engagements at the Vogue Theatre.” The headline was “’Stop Making Sense’ is making lots of cents.”

What was I doing? I was between six and eight years old. It was unrated, so I certainly could have seen it, though neither of my parents were Talking Heads fans, and I don’t think it would have occurred to them to take me -- this is the kind of thing my cool aunt would have considered taking me to see. Maybe I am giving myself more credit than I deserve, but I think I would have liked parts of it quite a lot.

In a mid-sized town like Louisville in the 1980s, I imagine fringe culture tended to consolidate itself into small, overlapping groups. Bookstores, bars, music venues, video stores, coffee shops and art galleries serving the same audiences all overlapped in their programming to some extent.

The Vogue, in addition to showing the movies we’re talking about here, was also an occasional music venue. Its musical programming served a roughly parallel function to its cinematic programming: it was an outlet what used to be called “alternative” culture. A number of Louisville’ earliest punk and new wave shows, in the late 1970s and early ‘80s, happened there.

In fact, on that note, I have an eBay alert set up for “vogue louisville” so I can grab any Vogue-related memorabilia that comes through. Almost nothing does, though recently there’s been someone trying to unload a ticket stub for an Iggy Pop show presented there in partnership with the Kentucky Center for the Arts in 1990. The sort of person who might go see Iggy would also likely be there for the showings that week, which included Pump Up the Volume and Pink Floyd The Wall. Neither of those were exactly countercultural circa 1990, but were certainly adjacent. (Incidentally, I’m a little tempted to buy that Iggy ticket, but it doesn’t even have the name of the Vogue printed on it, so it doesn’t seem like it’s really worth it for my purposes. Still, there it is below.)

Jonathan Demme’s Stop Making Sense played the Vogue for about two years. Though that was a lot longer than most rock movies, it was far less than, for example, Led Zeppelin’s The Song Remains the Same, which played for ten years, or the aforementioned Pink Floyd The Wall, which showed regularly for almost fifteen, right up until a year before it closed. This tells us that while the Vogue catered regularly to a new wave crowd, their economic bread and butter was either aging boomers or stoned college kids who remained in an oblivious dope haze throughout the events of the 1980s (or possibly both).

But a few times a month for two years indicates there was a healthy interest in Stop Making Sense among a fairly sizable portion of Louisville’s young cultural elite. There were a lot of weirdo bands in Louisville in the mid-1980s, loosely aligned with punk but a little artier, and I wonder how of them were in attendance. Once again, this is one of the big problems with this experiment: watching a lot of these movies on a streaming service on a TV all by myself is so unlike seeing it projected on film in a communal setting with a roomful of people that it barely qualifies as the same experience. It’s like trying to write about having a dinner at the French Laundry by eating a Trader Joe’s frozen quiche lorraine over the sink in your kitchen. Koyaanisqatsi loses a lot in this format, and Stop Making Sense may lose even more.

Koyaanisqatsi, which was also on the midnight movie circuit about the same time, is a fully immersive experience, like Stop Making Sense. Demme’s movie, though, goes a step beyond immersion by inviting active participation. It’s shot from the perspective of the audience, with no reaction shots or backstage interviews, and since the audio was recorded digitally, it was crystal-clear, or as crystal-clear as the P.A. allowed at the Vogue. Probably the sound and sights were, in some way, superior to those you might have seen at that Iggy Pop show live in person. Most of the reports from the time -- not in Louisville specifically, but in many places -- make note of people dancing in the aisles. I can imagine it must have been a similar scene at the Vogue.

As a director, I didn’t give any thought Jonathan Demme up until a few years ago. I’d seen Silence of the Lambs, and liked it OK, and although I adored Swimming to Cambodia, I thought that had more to do with Spalding Gray than Jonathan Demme. In a stirring reminder, though, that the internet can still cough up truly remarkable documents that change the way you see the world, I stumbled across this Jacob T. Swinney supercut from 2015. I remember opening it, and scoffing to myself, “oh, so Jonathan Demme is like an auteur now?”

Obviously I was way, way off-base. Three-and-a-half minutes later, the video had made a total convert of me. The way those faces looked at you -- clearly there was something here. I rented all of them over the course of a few weeks, through his early and middle period, from Melvin and Howard through Married to the Mob. I came away with the sensation of falling in love, partially with way of making movies but also with a whole worldview. Demme’s movies find a way to be incredible stylish assemblages of the best parts of North American culture (all accompanied by incredible soundtracks), and also turns its attention to oddballs, misfits and outcasts with a loving gaze that manages to be both amused and compassionate.

Stop Making Sense does all of these things. David Byrne is not warm, exactly, but his arch sense of humor is endearing, and of course he’s one of the great eccentrics of late 20th century American culture. And he’s surrounded by a gang of musicians that seem like they’re right of out of a Demme movie, like the house party at the end of Swing Shift or the Miami hotel pool in Married to the Mob: Chris Frantz in funny-dad mode with a very un-rock-star polo shirt, Bernie Worrell mugging at the camera, Tina Weymouth looking cool in a succession of power suits, Lynn Mabry and Ednah Holt providing synchronized commentary throughout.

It’s only at the end that Demme, as if he’s been teasing you by withholding them, allows some audience shots to sneak in. They look like the sorts of sweet, goony people you’d hope to meet at a Talking Heads show. After every Demme movie, there’s a sense that you, too, could be part of a global community of weirdos who take care of one another.

I can tell you from experience that being weird in a place like Louisville, a town that can be both rigidly conservative and indulgent of eccentricity, could be sort of a lonely experience. It was also the sort of place where there were enough of you out there that you usually found each other somehow. I hope a few of the members of that Demmian-Byrnian community, all out at the Vogue on a Saturday night dancing in the aisles, caught a glimpse of one another when the lights came on.

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alightwhendarknessfell · 7 years

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My American Satan Review

So I will place any spoilers below the read more line for those that have either already seen the film or don’t plan on seeing it.

I have been waiting for this movie to come out since it was announced. Clearly, I am a bit bias by the fact that I’m a huge Black Veil Brides fan, but I really was interested in the plot. I went and saw the film last night (in cosplay), and I have to say I enjoyed every second of it. It’s got its faults, and it’s clearly and indie film but it’s one of the best indie films I’ve ever seen.

I’ve decided to make a list of the pros and cons of the movie, so here we go.

Pros

The storyline is absolutely incredible. There is so much thought put into even the smallest of details. It’s one of those films where each time you watch it you pick up another little detail. The concept of rock bands/musicians making deals with Satan is a very popular one and it’s honestly shocking this movie hasn’t been made before. It follows the story of Job where the devil and God fight it out over who Job will ultimately follow. Andy’s character ‘Johnny’ is clearly based off Job. Clearly it also follos the story of Faust (aka why the main character is Johnny Faust) who makes a deal with the devil in exchange for knowledge and success.

There are actually plot twists that I didn’t see coming (see spoilers)

Booboo Stewart is a gorgeous man.. like seriously

I like that there are clearly things that happen or aspects of the film that are based off of Andy’s actual experiences moving out to Hollywood

There are some really funny parts to the film, but also some VERY dark parts.

Ben Bruce is actually an incredible actor

My expectations for Andy’s acting weren’t too high and there were some parts where it was kind of poor but overall he channeled the character and the character’s emotions very well

The ending leaves open the possibility that the story isn’t over

Remington was a PERFECT choice for vocals, the soundtrack and songs made for the movie are amazing. Seriously if you watch it the song ‘Let Him Burn’ gets a whole new meaning

Since there are actual musicians in the film, it really does paint a very accurate picture of what the life of a rock star is really like. The film doesn’t shy away from the pretty horrific side of it.

Mr. Capricorn plays an amazing devil holy shit, he was the perfect choice

The casting was done very well, everyone’s character is very believable

Cons

There is WAY to much story packed into two hours. The film follows the band from their start then over their 2 years rise to fame. It would often times get confusing as to how much time had passed. There weren’t dates included in different scenes so it was hard to follow the progression. Especially when it came to the drugs, rehab, court dates, etc. It didn’t feel like two years had passed.

There were some major plot holes where it felt like things were left out. For instance (minor spoiler) the band knows automatically that Mr. Capricorn is the devil right after meeting him. To me, it would take a bit more than just one talk with someone to go from not believing in the devil to thinking that you’re sitting with him.

Gretchen’s character and Johnny’s mom weren’t that good

There were some parts that were not believable, won’t get into them but some things would happen and I would go “yeah right”

The news interviews were kind of cheesy

Johnny’s rehab scene was incredibly unbelievable (more in spoilers)

All in all, though the film was very well done. The acting was, for the most part, good and the movie LOOKED good. I would recommend it if you’re into the emo/rock/metal scene or like Asking Alexandria/Black Veil Brides. It’s not so much horror/thriller but darker. I would also recommend it if you like films with deeply religious themes or important lessons.The film makes you think which I like. My mom went to see it with me (she also liked it) and we’ve both spent the whole day just going over parts of the plot. I liked that the ending isn’t exactly ‘happy ever after’ as well. And what really won me over was just the amazing plot and writing. I plan on maybe even seeing it again and I’m for sure going to buy it when it comes out on DVD. I do feel like if this film was done by a major movie company it would become a cult classic.

I’m giving the film two ratings before I go into spoilers. One from the perspective on an indie film and one for overall.

Overall: 3.5/5 Indie: 4.25/5

Spoilers below

So here are my spoilers that I just wanted to give my opinion on. I’m just going to do points and talk about them.

The ‘Let Him Burn’ Scene: This is hands down one of my favorite scenes from the movie. When the band makes a human sacrifice by burning the local asshole (forgot his name) alive in a van, it was really well done. Instantly you know that Johnny has chosen the devil. He, of course, changes his mind and frees the guy who then is electrocuted but the hesitance in that decision really shows that he has evil in him. This is the evil that Mr. Capricorn exploits. The rest of the band stands by and lets Johnny take the lead. It sets up the film perfectly because while the rest of the band members sort of keeping their souls, for the most part, Johnny completely loses his. Later on in the fight scene at the country bar where Andy once again kills is another amazing scene.

Is Lilly Mr. Capricorn?: About halfway through the film, I started to suspect that Lilly may, in fact, be the devil/Mr. Capricorn. She’s deeply involved in satanic imagery (Satanic brothel hello). She’s the one who gets Johnny to start doing heroin then fucks him and answers the phone so that Johnny’s girlfriend hears the whole thing. Also, she insists that HE be the one to shoot up, which follows with the whole the devil doesn’t make you do things, he encourages you to do them yourself. She is also never around when Mr. Capricorn is. The band even says “should we tell Lilly?”. Another important point was that she was not around during the conversation with Mr. Capricorn in the bar nor at the human sacrifice. She constantly leads Johnny into danger and temptation. In the final kill scene, Mr. Capricorn tells Johnny that he is in fact who Johnny has been fucking (also fucking his mom). The question of whether he is actually Lilly is left open. Personally, I think Mr. Capricorn does take different forms, Lilly being one of them. Which means the whole time Johnny has been literally fucking the devil (which is a pretty bad ass plot twist).

Gabriel/Mr. Capricorn: The older black man that Andy keeps running into throughout the film is Gabriel. He and Mr. Capricorn seem to take turns trying to steer Johnny in their direction. This goes back to the whole story of Job. He kept warning Johnny throughout the film but Johnny doesn’t listen. In the very beginning of the movie when he asks Johnny to watch his stuff while he goes into the liquor/convenience store I feel that it was a test. Johnny doesn’t leave the man’s stuff or steal it and instead waits for him to come back. When Johnny looks in Gabriel’s bag there is no liquor in it, just food. To me, this signifies the ability to resist temptation exists. Gabriel also gives Johnny an apple before leaving (the forbidden fruit). Gabriel also makes a comment in the final performance of how they’re both on this stage but got there different ways.

The Heroin Scene: This was another favorite scene of mine. It was pretty graphic of a scene but then again doing heroin is no joke. I felt like this was a very important moment in the film because it signify’s Johnny going off the deep end. In my opinion, I do think that Lilly and Mr. Capricorn are the same people. So that means that Johnny literally shoots up heroin and has sex with the devil.

The CNN Interview: This to me the funniest part of the movie. Vic is tripping on acid during the band’s interview with CNN and I just thought it was a beautifully done scene.

Johnny’s Rehab: This was my least favorite part of the film. Heroin is one of the HARDEST drugs to kick. It was very hard to believe (with no time frame given) that all Johnny had to do was go to this monk(?) rehab facility and meditate and then boom he’s clean. In fact, even the dope sick scene where he can’t go on stage isn’t very realistic. I’ve seen people dope sick they often are violently ill and I felt like it could have been portrayed better. Johnny was just sitting on the floor and coughed a few times then they shoot him up and boom all better.

The Ending: The ending kind of confused me. So he’s in jail for murdering Mr. Capricorn on stage but it was self-defense? Then the dad of the kid they killed, in the beginning, offers to get him off? I was paying pretty close attention but I still feel like I missed something. Is he going back to the band? He gives this kind of evil smirk at the end which makes me think that in fact, the devil is still working in his favor. He’s once again going to get away with murder. Johnny says that the devil will keep coming back, and in my opinion, I think the lawyer may be the new reincarnation of him.

And finally, I have my own kind of Andley inspired comments.

Parallels to Ashley Purdy: I have no way of knowing if this was on purpose or if I’m just reading a lot into it but I noticed a lot of parallels to Andy and Ashley’s relationship with Johnny and Lilly/Mr. Capricorn. First off Lilly is the bassist in the band. Mr. Capricorn/the devil tricks the naive Johnny into signing a contract with him essentially. Of course, it’s come out that Ashley had Andy sign a contract splitting the ownership of the band back when they first met. Lilly also tempts Johnny into doing heroin (Ashley has a past with this) and then ends up having sex with him.

#american satan #andy biersack #bvb #black veil brides #ben bruce #asking alexandria #andy black #andy six #booboo stewart #movie review

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bottomshelfreviews · 4 years

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My Top 20 Albums of the 2010s

There was a lot of great music released this decade, so narrowing my list down to twenty was incredibly difficult. The albums listed here are ranked according to my enjoyment of them and the sentimental value I attach to them.

20. Batushka - Litourgiya (2015) | Label: Witching Hour Productions

Many have hailed Batushka as being one of the most interesting black metal acts to emerge in recent memory, and I’m inclined to agree. The Polish group reminds me of everything that drew me to black metal in the first place. Their 2015 debut, Litourgiya, is atmospheric, sinister, and overall sounds larger than life. The inclusion of Eastern Orthodox chants in their sound only further contributes to the sense of doom and gloom this record evokes.

19. Knuckle Puck - Copacetic (2015) | Label: Rise Records

If any of you were into or even vaguely aware of the pop punk scene in the early to mid-2010s, then I am sure you’ll recall what YouTuber Finn McKenty and others have affectionately dubbed the “sad boy era” of pop punk. This new crop of bands, who dominated the Vans Warped Tour lineups of the first half of the decade, had more in common with emo than they did the “goofier” pop punk bands of years past. Copacetic, in my opinion, was the perfect marker for the decisive end of this era. Although the time in my life during which I mainly listened to this genre of music is over, I still find myself revisiting this record over and over again.

18. Lingua Ignota - All Bitches Die (2017) | Label: Profound Lore Records

Lingua Ignota (the stage moniker of multi-instrumentalist Kristin Hayter) is truly a force to be reckoned with. Hayter’s music is punishing and heavy, and her stage performances are no different. Beyond the brutality, however, there is beauty, and an important message to behold. A survivor of domestic abuse herself, Hayter pens what she calls “survivor anthems,” using her music as a method through which to process her experiences. 2017’s All Bitches Die is a hurricane of rage, delivered through both beautifully-sung vocals and harsh growls from Hayter. Lingua Ignota is an artist to keep an eye on, and although she just released another full-length, 2019’s Caligula, I cannot wait to see what she does next.

17. Vein - Errorzone (2018) | Label: Closed Casket Activities

This spot very nearly went to the 2017 release, Forever, by hardcore heavyweights Code Orange. Although it is difficult to tack a genre onto Massachusetts band Vein, they have been welcomed into the hardcore scene with open arms, taking it by storm following the release of this breakout album. After attending the record release show for Errorzone at the Billerica Masonic Hall during the summer of 2018, I immediately became entirely and utterly obsessed with this album. If you are a fan of hardcore, metalcore, or nu metal, then this album has something for you, and all of these genres are mixed in a way that doesn’t come off as tacky. After seeing Vein for the second time this past summer as one of the opening acts for straight edge hardcore legends Have Heart at one of their Worcester reunion shows, I only became further convinced that Vein are hardcore’s next big thing.

16. BROCKHAMPTON - SATURATION trilogy (2017) | Label: Empire

Okay, so I’m technically cheating with this one, but it makes sense to me to consider all three SATURATION albums as one cohesive unit. Formed in Texas but now based in Los Angeles, hip-hop collective BROCKHAMPTON took everyone by surprise when they released three albums back-to-back spanning summer to winter 2017. Since then, BROCKHAMPTON have gone on to attain considerable success and popularity, but for me, nothing they do will truly match the “magic” of SATURATION. Doing nearly everything themselves, these young men are among the hardest-working musicians in the industry today. While I may be partial to certain albums in the trilogy over others (cough, cough, SATURATION III), each album is full of bangers and appears to be a hip-hop classic in the making.

15. Chelsea Wolfe - Hiss Spun (2017) | Label: Sargent House

A seasoned musician by the time Hiss Spun dropped, the 2017 record was Chelsea Wolfe’s fifth full-length. While I love a majority of Wolfe’s discography, in my eyes, Hiss Spun is her crown jewel. This album is sludgy, gloomy, and heavy, but as always, Wolfe’s songwriting reflects her childhood roots of being raised listening to folk and country music. Wolfe has explained that the lyrical themes present on this album have to do with various health issues she has faced, and her writing’s focus on the body as a vessel can be downright unsettling at times, but in the best way possible. Hiss Spun is cathartic but uncomfortable, a space that Wolfe is more than content to dwell in.

14. Against Me! - Transgender Dysphoria Blues (2014) | Label: Total Treble Music

Punk band Against Me! were already a seasoned and established group by the time Transgender Dysphoria Blues was released, but, it was their first full-length outing since vocalist and guitarist Laura Jane Grace came out as a trans woman. The album’s lyrical focus on the struggles of gender dysphoria and not feeling like you belong in your own body is not only refreshing, but needed. Not only that, but it’s just a damn good record. Lead single “True Trans Soul Rebel” is anthemic while lyrically dealing with a challenging topic. Other tracks, like “Black Me Out” and “Unconditional Love,” are bonafide punk bangers that are all too tempting to jump around to. Transgender Dysphoria Blues is not only Against Me!’s most important record, but it also just may well be their best record.

13. Lorde - Pure Heroine (2013) | Label: Universal

In my opinion, Lorde is THE pop musician of the 2010s. Still a teenager when her debut album dropped and when lead single “Royals” was dominating the airwaves, Pure Heroine introduced Lorde as one of the most interesting new voices in popular music. Not only that, but its lyrical critiques of wealth and consumerism were a challenge to the pop status quo of the time. While I wasn’t too fond of “Royals” upon my first few listens to it on the radio, I became far more appreciative of Lorde when I listened to Pure Heroine in full for the first time. It has catchy hooks and a lot of the other usual hallmarks of pop music, but the memorability of the album established Lorde as a new kind of star and separated her from the rest of the pack. “Tennis Court” and “Glory and Gore” are still favorites of mine, and although I adore her sophomore release Melodrama, I’m still convinced Pure Heroine is Lorde at her best.

12. FKA Twigs - MAGDALENE (2019) | Label: Young Turks

British singer FKA Twigs had been quiet for a long time leading up to the release of 2019 full-length MAGDALENE. Prior to its release, her last project had been the 2015 EP M3LL155X. And oh boy, was the wait worth it. MAGDALENE is perhaps her most breathtaking work yet, everything sounding lush and ethereal. Taking inspiration for the title from the Biblical Mary Magdalene (there’s even a track on the album named for her), MAGDALENE explores emotion, womanhood, and the ways in which the two are intertwined. The lyrics to single “home with you” reflect the nurturing nature and caregiver status that women are typically expected to uphold: “I didn’t know that you were lonely / If you’d have just told me, I’d be home with you / I didn’t know that you were lonely / If you’d have just told me I’d be running down the hills to you.” Even the lyrics to radio-ready “holy terrain,” which features American rapper Future, reflect a desire to be wanted by a partner once “I’m yours to obtain.” MAGDALENE is a record that demands the listener’s attention from start to finish.

11. We Came Out Like Tigers - Agelessness and Lack (2012) | Label: Dogknights Productions

Out of the same UK town that produced The Beatles came “blackened skramz” outfit We Came Out Like Tigers. I discovered this group via Bandcamp, and they were my entryway into learning that there was an entire subgenre of bands that combined two of my favorite genres: black metal and screamo/skramz. Even with all of the wonderful music I subsequently dove into, We Came Out Like Tigers’ 2012 release Agelessness and Lack still stands out as a favorite of mine. The first track, “An Introduction,” includes folky guitar and spoken word lines before you’re thrust into the sonically complex “Sous Les Pavés La Plage.” The complexity is exactly what continues to make me revisit this album. The band is constantly switching between quiet and loud, and for a young band at the time, they had completely mastered when to make a song big and when to tone things down. Agelessness and Lack is both punishing and delicate. Sadly, We Came Out Like Tigers are no longer together, but this record will long outlive them.

10. Animal Flag - Void Ripper (2018) | Label: Triple Crown Records

I almost gave this spot to Animal Flag’s beloved 2016 record LP, however, Void Ripper was a record that I could not get out of my mind. On this record, the Massachusetts band covers genres varying from pop punk (“Candace”) to post-rock (“Fair”), and this variance pays off. Void Ripper may come off as a thematically dark record to many, but the hope present in it is palpable. The track “Stray” utilizes the metaphor of a stray dog to convey the message of feeling lost in life. Interestingly, religion and the doubting of one’s faith is a constant theme throughout the album. The track “Why” states, “No god above / There’s evil all around,” and “Fair” asks, “Do you feel close to God yet?” Questioning of faith is a common experience for those who were raised religious, only adding to the relatability of Animal Flag’s work. Sonically stunning and lyrically heart-wrenching, Void Ripper, to me, is Animal Flag’s magnum opus.

9. My Chemical Romance - Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys (2010) | Label: Reprise Records

Anyone who knows me personally knows that My Chemical Romance are, and have been, my favorite band. Their 2010 release Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys was their last full-length prior to their infamous breakup in 2013. Danger Days is not my favorite My Chem album by any means, and it was polarizing for many long-time fans when it dropped. It marked a huge musical shift for the group and sounds more like a straight-up rock and roll album than anything else they’ve ever released. The concept for the album was based around a comic book series frontman Gerard Way was working on at the time, a series that would eventually begin to be released during the summer of 2013. Like anything My Chem had ever done, everything about Danger Days was meticulously thought through and on brand. Lead single “Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)” is a slick rock and roll anthem, and tracks like “Bulletproof Heart” and “S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W” are personal favorites of mine. On this album, lead guitarist Ray Toro truly shines with some of the best musicianship he’s ever displayed during his time in the band. Danger Days is both glam and futuristic, a party at the end of the world.

8. SZA - Ctrl (2017) | Label: Top Dawg Entertainment

SZA’s Ctrl is one of those records that possesses the power to instantly transport me back to where I was when I first discovered it. It was the fall of my freshman year of college, I had just gone through a breakup, and I was unsure of what I was really doing in life. The R&B singer’s reflections on life, love, and feeling undesirable (the song “Supermodel” is a good example) had struck a chord with me, as they did with countless other listeners. The themes present on SZA’s debut album are melancholic, but it’s through this melancholy that SZA is able to convey relatability and hope to her fans. This relatability, to me, is especially present in the song “Prom,” in which SZA laments, “Am I doin’ enough? / Feel like I’m wastin’ time.” Ctrl is great, soulful stuff, just how all good R&B should be, and above all, it’s filled with earnest honesty. Undoubtedly, Ctrl is a record that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

7. Ghost - Opus Eponymous (2010) | Label: Rise Above

Many have pegged Swedish band Ghost as the breakout metal group of the decade, and I couldn’t agree more. Hard rock and metal publication Loudwire even named frontman Tobias Forge as their metal artist of the decade. Although their debut effort Opus Eponymous is not the record that propelled them into stardom, it effectively set the groundwork for the hallmarks of their sound present on subsequent albums. Part of Ghost’s appeal is, of course, their theatrics. Forge masquerades as a demonic anti-Pope in Papa Emeritus I, and the rest of the band is filled with masked “Nameless Ghouls.” Beyond their creative “devil church” concept, Ghost just makes damn good music. Forge is an astounding vocalist and has a real knack for crafting sticky melodies. I’ll never forget the first time I heard “Ritual,” with its catchy introductory riff (great opening riffs seem to be Ghost’s “thing” now: think “Square Hammer” or “Mummy Dust”). Although themes of Satan and the demonic are common in a lot of heavy music, this was the very first time fourteen year-old Kayla had heard anything remotely of the sort. The same goes for the equally-catchy “Stand By Him,” and their ode to blood countess Elizabeth Bathory, “Elizabeth.” Anyone who is aware of my current love for black metal will likely laugh at this, but upon first listen, I was horrified yet enthralled. Even after years of being a fan of this band, I can still say with confidence that Opus is full of the catchiest metal songs I’ve ever heard.

6. Lana Del Rey - Born to Die (2012) | Label: Interscope Records

Lana Del Rey, up until her critically acclaimed 2019 record Norman Fucking Rockwell!, has historically been met with mixed reactions. However, it’s her major-label debut Born to Die that made me fall in love with her. Del Rey set herself apart from the upper echelons of the pop world with her deep, sultry vocal register and love of old Hollywood glamour. Her music has a grand, lush, cinematic quality to it—think of the track “Ride,” taken from the extended Paradise edition of this record. It’s hard to say anything about Born to Die that hasn’t already been said, but like countless other records on this list, Del Rey’s debut possesses major sentimental value to me—I’ll never forget hearing “Video Games” for the first time. Some have critiqued Del Rey for her melodrama, but I believe this melancholy attitude is what makes Lana Del Rey, well, Lana Del Rey. Born to Die was a new kind of pop record, one that was dreary and marked by a self-aware sadness.

5. Turnover - Peripheral Vision (2015) | Label: Run for Cover Records

Turnover was, and still is, a band well-loved by kids who listened to pop punk and emo. When Turnover decided to reinvent themselves in favor of a more shoegaze, dream pop-infused sound for their second record, it paid off extremely well. Peripheral Vision effectively made Turnover the torchbearers of this sonic shift within the pop punk/emo scene, but in my opinion, no band or release since has come close to touching them. Not even Turnover themselves with their later releases. Peripheral Vision is dreamy and atmospheric, and at times, feels like a warm hug. Its melodies are infectious and stay with you, like in tracks such as “Humming” and “Take My Head.” This record reminds me of a warm spring day. Peripheral Vision opened a lot of minds, including my own, and was one of the catalysts that pushed my music taste beyond the pop punk I was so comfortable with. From here on out, Peripheral Vision is the record I’ll choose to play on a sunny day.

4. The Wonder Years - The Greatest Generation (2013) | Label: Hopeless Records

The Greatest Generation marked a shift in maturity for The Wonder Years. It is undoubtedly their masterpiece, dealing with issues varying from vocalist Dan “Soupy” Campbell’s mental health struggles to coming of age in the suburbs. In my eyes, The Greatest Generation is the defining record for this era of pop punk, and I believe its appeal and relatability allow for it to expand its reach far beyond the pop punk scene. “The Devil in My Bloodstream” is a heartbreaking take on dealing with depression, and “We Could Die Like This” provides a snapshot of monotonous suburban life, even including the brand of cigarettes Campbell’s grandmother smokes and the lyrics, “If I die, I wanna die in the suburbs.” The album ends triumphantly with the seven minute-long “I Just Want to Sell Out My Funeral.” With The Greatest Generation, The Wonder Years have achieved what I think is the defining coming-of-age record of the decade.

3. Balance and Composure - The Things We Think We’re Missing (2013) | Label: No Sleep Records

Do you remember that part of the decade when it seemed that every pop punk/emo band had taken some sort of influence from 90s grunge? With their second record, Balance and Composure put out the best album to come from that era of the scene. The Things We Think We’re Missing was a huge leap away from the band’s first effort, Separation. From the immediate nuclear blast of an opening track in “Parachutes” to the slower (but still raucous) closing track “Enemy,” Balance and Composure compiled a collection of tracks that was instantly memorable and iconic. Even more toned-down moments, like the acoustic track “Dirty Head,” are still laced with the same desperation and aggression. The guitar work on this thing is incredible, and frontman Jon Simmons’ vocal performance soars. I listen to this album probably about once a week, and I foresee it continuing to be in my rotation for a long time. Make no doubt about it, this record is filled with angst, but as I get older, I feel like The Things We Think We’re Missing grows alongside me.

2. Movements - Feel Something (2017) | Label: Fearless Records

I haven’t felt this way about a new band in a very, very long time. California’s Movements are such an incredibly special band and convey emotion in a way very much unlike most of their contemporaries. After an impressive first EP with Outgrown Things, I was hoping for Movements to continue to deliver with their debut full-length project. And, oh boy, did they deliver. Feel Something mixes elements of post-hardcore, emo, and spoken word in a refreshing manner, despite the fact that this type of genre-blending was certainly not invented by Movements. Frontman Patrick Miranda’s lyrics are pensive and thoughtful, and delivered in a manner that grounds the notion that he knows what he’s talking about. The lyrics to opening track “Full Circle” are delivered with an earnestness that only a person who’s experienced the lows of depression themselves could possibly be capable of. Miranda perfectly captures the monotony of going through the cycle of depression: “It comes in waves and I’m pulled below / It’s not subjective, it’s clinical / Drown myself in the undertow of all my imbalanced chemicals / And the cycle comes full circle.” Even the song “Deadly Dull,” which is centered around living with Alzheimer’s and having all of your memories be erased “every time you fall asleep,” gives the impression that Miranda has had first-hand experience with what he’s singing about. For such a young band, Movements have perfected the craft of emotive music in a manner that few others have.

1. The Hotelier - Home, Like NoPlace is There (2014) | Label: Tiny Engines

Not only is The Hotelier’s sophomore effort my favorite record of the decade, but it might also be one of my favorite records of all time. Massachusetts’ The Hotelier marked their place in the 2010s “emo revival,” but, to me, Home, Like NoPlace is There is more than just an emo record. It’s intensely personal and conveys grief like no other. It’s personal because of the simple fact that many people likely have a topic covered on this album that they can relate to, from losing a loved one, to struggling with your identity, to being in a toxic relationship. The most popular song on the record, “Your Deep Rest,” features vocalist and bassist Christian Holden lamenting over their friend’s suicide and wondering if they could have done more. Holden sings, “I called in sick from your funeral / The sight of your body made me feel uncomfortable.” “Housebroken” utilizes the metaphor of a dog relying on its owner to convey the message of feeling stuck in a toxic relationship. The album ends on a triumphant note with “Dendron,” and with it, you get a sense of closure, as if the emotional journey the album took you on is wrapped up neatly with a nice little bow. Despite this closure, this album stays with you for a long time, and listening to it requires your full attention. The Hotelier are a special band, and Home, Like NoPlace is There is one of those records that only comes around once in a lifetime.

Honorable Mentions:

- Citizen - Youth (2013)

- Daughters - You Won’t Get What You Want (2018)

- Pianos Become the Teeth - The Lack Long After (2011)

- Behemoth - The Satanist (2014)

- Title Fight - Hyperview (2015)

- Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010)

- Grimes - Art Angels (2015)

- Mount Eerie - A Crow Looked at Me (2017)

#top lists #music reviews

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nexusradiodance · 5 years

Text

JES: New Album “Memento,” 5 Travel Essentials, Diplo + more!

JES Interview.

Jes Brieden, better known simply as JES, is one of the very few women in dance music to have reached icon status not only as a singer-songwriter, but also as a composer and DJ as well.

View this post on Instagram

Searching for the tones of Tuesday

I often start a song with the melody, and the words come to me from singing the melody! What do you remember first when you think of a song, the melody or the lyrics ? #tiptuesday

A post shared by JES (@officialjes) on Apr 30, 2019 at 2:23pm PDT

The “Let Him Go” and “Get Me Through The Night” singer’s weekly radio show “Unleash The Beat” is syndicated worldwide, and she’s worked with the world’s biggest producers including Tiesto, Armin Van Buuren, Paul Oakenfold, Above & Beyond, ATB, Kaskade, Richard Durand, Cosmic Gate, and Roger Shah to name just a few.

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This trail-blazing musician’s ever evolving music career which spans over two decades, has dished out four solo albums, two Billboard #1 singles, three GRAMMY nominations, her list of accomplishments continues.

JES joins us at the BPM Supreme-Nexus Lounge during Miami Music Week 2019, to talk about her upcoming shows and album Memento, her new single “No One Else,” and of course, to take Nexus Take 5 quiz. This is Take5 with JES!

Reconnecting With Friends.

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#tbt Three happy smiling faces are better than one. Had so much fun finally meeting @jonathanmendelsohn and hanging out together backstage with @emmahewittofficial last week for our show with @realcosmicgate !

A post shared by JES (@officialjes) on Apr 18, 2019 at 5:07pm PDT

Adam Turner: This is Adam Turner here in the Nexus Lounge in Miami on Miami beach. The weather is stunning, and I am joined by someone who is equally as stunning as the weather- it’s JES. How are you!?

JES: Thank you, Farius (Adam Turner’s production alias). Thank you, Adam Turner!

Adam Turner: Are you good?

JES: I am very good.

Adam Turner: How is your Miami going?

JES: It’s going well so far. I’m alive. I didn’t get too much sleep, but I feel good.

Adam Turner: This week is not about sleeping, so I wouldn’t worry about it.

JES: It is not- I’ve done enough of them (Miami Music Weeks) to know.

Adam Turner: Are you performing this week?

JES: I just performed on Tuesday at The Rockwell with Paul Oakenfold and Markus Schulz. So, that was my first day here.

Adam Turner: Wow!

JES: It started off with a bang, but it was so much fun. All my friends were there- even Cosmic Gate was there!

Travel Essentials & The 1800s.

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#readytorock

A post shared by JES (@officialjes) on Apr 12, 2019 at 8:22pm PDT

Adam Turner: Wow, amazing! So, let’s jump straight in because I could talk to you all day. So, let’s jump straight in- five questions. So, when JES is on her way to do a gig, what are five essential things in your bag?

JES: Oh, five essential ones? Definitely- cough drops, tea, a lot of stuff for the throat [laughs]. My very great-hot outfit that I’m going to wear (that night).

Adam Turner: Obviously. That’s three.

JES: And makeup. Makeup.

Adam Turner: Yeah- me too.

JES: And throat spray. So exciting, I know! It’s all about the throat.

Adam Turner: Listen, you’re one of the most experienced people- I’m going to take your word for it. What is your favorite Emoji?

JES: Oh, I think it’s probably the kissy face.

Adam Turner: If you had a time machine, which decade would you go back to?

JES: You know what? I really feel like I was born a couple of hundred years ago. I do.

Adam Turner: [laughs] Just cause’ you feel like you didn’t get much sleep? Or…

JES: I really feel connected to that time. I feel like I should have like a bustle (mid-to-late 19th century undergarment) on and be waddling through central park with a pair of… I don’t know why!? And I feel I must’ve been a very frustrated woman back then, because I was always a fiery girl, you know? But I really do feel attracted to those times; Art, Culture; You know, like the 1800’s.

Adam Turner: Nice! I’ve had most people be like seventies with Disco, 80’s for like electronic music- and you’re like “I want to go way back.” No, that’s good! That’s good! On Instagram, who do you stalk the most? Who’s like the top of your [list]…

JES: You know what? I always look at Diplo because he’s so funny. If you need a laugh, you’ve got to go over his Instagram. He’s got a great sense of humor.

The Mother Of Dragons Dogs.

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Difficult roads often lead to the most beautiful destinations. #wakeupwednesday #wisdomwednesday #bradfordonavon

A post shared by JES (@officialjes) on Dec 12, 2018 at 5:30am PST

Adam Turner: That’s a good one. Last one, what career path would you have gone down if you didn’t go into music?

JES: Wow! Oh, God. Probably taking care of animals- I know! I’m just crazy about all types of animals. I of course, love horses and stuff like that.

Adam Turner: Do you have pets?

JES: I’m like [a] stepmom to some, like three dogs. But I travel so much…

Adam Turner: I was going to say- with your schedule, that must be a bit kind of crazy.

JES: Yeah, unless you have a tiny one (pet). My friend takes it everywhere- so I have three [including] one that we saved.

New Album: Memento.

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Adam Turner: Cute. Lastly, tell me what your plans for 2019. What’s JES doing?

JES: Wow. She’s been doing a lot. I’ve got a lot of new songs coming up. I’m working on an album called Memento. I just had [the] first [single] come out, the Will Atkinson remix (of Imagination) that went to number one on Beatport.

Adam Turner: I saw that! congrats!

JES: That was a very big song for me- even on Nexus Radio. But it’s an album with about six of my biggest tunes sort-of re-worked, and about four or five new tunes on it. The newest one will be coming out May 31st called No One Else. So, that’s like more crossover dance. You know, I write everything on guitar and piano, [I’m a] songwriter, you know. So, my heart is really […] in sort of pop. So…

Adam Turner: Yeah, Amazing! So, it sounds like you’ve got big plans for 2019!

JES: Yeah, and I’ve got another artist album (in the works) which is a little more crossover too. I have a song called Let Him Go, which I think was testing (test rotation) on Nexus.

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Adam Turner: Oh Nice!

JES: And it’s a cover of a famous Passenger song (Let Her Go).

Adam Turner: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. It was like his biggest record. Oh, so you’ve done like a dance version of it.

JES: I did like [a] sort-of chilled, down-tempo one (rendition). It’s beautiful and its sort-of me on [the] guitar and piano and it’s a little bit of what JES comes from. So, yeah…

Upcoming Shows.

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Thank you Toronto! Rocking out with @realcosmicgate at @rebeltoronto for their 20 years tour was amazing last Friday thank you to everyone who came out to support CG, Me and @rubenderonde ! It was just an incredible night. I can close my eyes and feel the energy of that night! Thank you from the bottom of my heart you all sounded amazing!

photo -Inga Sokol

A post shared by JES (@officialjes) on Feb 10, 2019 at 12:50pm PST

Adam Turner: Nice! And are you traveling? Are you playing? Are you singing around the world?

JES: I am! My next show is at the Palladium [on] April 5th with Cosmic Gate. I’m touring and their 20 years (celebration) tour will also be in New York…

Adam Turner: Are you joining them on that tour? Amazing!

JES: …in Calgary, I also have a show in San Francisco […] on April 19th, and I’ll be going over to Europe in the summer…

Adam Turner: You sound [very] busy.

JES: Yeah! You must be- that’s what makes it so much fun! You know, I like to keep moving and it’s always nice to come to Miami and reconnect with everybody. And even meet people I’ve known for so long, but I haven’t seen their face[s]…

Adam Turner: Yeah, just reconnect. JES, thank you so much for joining us in the Nexus Lounge today! Have a great Miami!

JES: Thank you. You too.

The Interview.

from Dance Music – Nexus Radio http://bit.ly/2Vctlry

#IFTTT #Dance Music – Nexus Radio

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weekendwarriorblog · 4 years

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30 Minute Experiment: Concerts #30ME

Dear Diary... ha ha... I’ve been wanting to make that joke for weeks. Sure, I kept a journal when I was younger but I never ever thought of starting an entry with “Dear Diary.” I mean, why does anyone do that? It’s not like the pages of your journal are gonna start talking and respond to you. Regardless, let’s do this...

(I’m listening to a live Blue Oyster Cult record while writing this for a reference.)

So yesterday or maybe it was the day before... you may have noticed all of the days blending into one long endless day by now... Mayor DiBlasio aka Blas stated that there would be no concerts in May or June, which probably was referring as much or more to the big outdoor festivals that start happening around this time of year, but no, I took that as ALL concerts from the tiniest clubs to the ones at Madison Square Garden. There have been a lot of exciting reunion tours this year, a few I was looking forward to that had already been postponed, including Supergrass and the House of Love.

I’m sure they’ll happen eventually, but when I opined on my Facebook that there would be no concerts in May or June, I got a whole bunch of negative nelly/debbie downer friends chiming in that I should be ready for there being no concerts until 2021 or even 2022. Everyone thinks that it will take a vaccine before people are ready to be out in public together at something like a rock concert.

I just want to point out that many of the people who responded, I don’t remember the last time any of them actually attended a concert or what concert that might be, but there are a lot of people who clearly have no clue how concerts and live music at all. I don’t know about you, but I’m not going to concerts and just making out with everyone around me. In fact, when I go to concerts at places like the Bowery Ballroom and Brooklyn Steel, moderately big venues but nowhere the size of MSG or something to that effect, I go there, maybe I buy a drink and then I just stand there waiting for the band to come on. I don’t really go to these things to socialize with random strangers or make new friends, and if I get into a conversation with someone around me, it’s a bit of anomaly. I’m there to see a band I like playing live, to feel the music coming off the stage and maybe get a different experience then hearing the songs on headphones from my iPod or computer (which I enjoy just as much).

I’m really enjoying a lot of my favorite artists (shout out to Kevin So and Mike Peters from the Alarm and Ben Gibbard from Death Cab for Cutie!) doing these at-home concerts to keep us entertained, and I love hearing them perform in any setting but it’s JUST NOT THE SAME. After a song is over, I want to whoop and applaud and show my appreciation just like everyone else in the audience, and after a song is over, there’s just silence. I don’t know how weird it is for the artist but it surely is weird for me.

There’s also the matter of these musicians/artist needing to make a living and whether you like it or not, few of them are earning a living from album sales, not when so many people (including me) are fine listening to their music on Spotify or my new favorite, Tidal. (30 Day Free Trial right now!)

But let’s get back to my friends who I love dearly but I can probably can count on two hands or maybe two hands and one foot the number of my friends that have gone with me to concerts in the 30+ years I’ve lived in New York City. It’s gotten to the point where I don’t even ask them anymore since I know they’re all busy with other things, but that’s fine. Everyone has priorities in their lives and things they need to do. I fully understand. I can think of maybe three to five times in that same period where someone said, “Hey, Ed, do you want to go see so-and-so in concert?” And I’ll tell you, I’m not sure I’ve ever declined a single one of these invitations, because I love and support live music that much. I don’t care who it is. I don’t care what kind of music they’re playing but as long as it’s a different experience than I can get listening to studio albums on my lonesome, I’m in.

I truly believe that the people I mentioned above who responded to my post about there being no concerts in May or June fully believe me what it’s like to be someone like me who has to get out of the house and see some live music every so often to keep from going nuts.

You might remember the number of times I mentioned my “lost year” in 2013 where I was stuck in Ohio getting leukemia treatment etc, but that whole time, I didn’t get to see a single concert. Believe me, I thought about it. I got a ticket to see The National when they played in Columbus that year and then thought better and resold it on StubHub. I got a ticket to see The Fixx (one of my favorite ‘80s bands) and Wang Chung (!!!) at a casino downtown but that ended up being a particularly bad weekend with a ZERO white blood cell count. Going to a concert would have been a very bad idea.

But when I returned to New York in 2014, what was one of the first things I did? I went to see The Pixies with my brother at NJPAC in Newark, a huge theater that was packed with thousands of people. Mind you, my immune system was barely anywhere near peak capacity still building itself after my transplant but I desperately needed to see a concert after 11 months without seeing one. I wore a mask while I was out in the lobby with people and until we got to our seats and when I felt comfortable that the person next to me wasn’t hacking and coughing, I took the mask off and I had a fucking GREAT time!!! And I didn’t get sick. In fact, it helped lighten my spirits after a year full of loneliness, boredom, depression... and all the other fun stuff that you get when you get cancer treatment.

Now this might be an odd example of a situation that could happen but anyone thinks that Brooklyn Steel couldn’t reopen and maybe limit the capacity/attendance to maybe half or 2/3rds to make the environment safer... that people wouldn’t attend maybe wearing masks and gloves... that people wouldn’t be conscious of not getting too close to others. (Okay, well I can’t speak or those annoying people who feel the need to dance obtrusively aka moshers)... it just shows that you don’t know anything about how live music and concerts work. Very few of the bands that i like are the ones that seem to lead to moshing and I almost never take part if and when they do.

It also makes it seem like everyone out there is just gonna come to a concert when they’re not feeling well and start hacking and coughing over everyone or that every single person is asymptomatic COVID carriers... I mean, seriously, get real.

There are musicians/artists who need to make a living and pay their rent/mortgages and eat just as much as the rest of us and as long as there are people who want to see them perform live, then they should be allowed to do live shows again. Maybe in smaller capacity venues, maybe even in a half-sold MSG, but it would be a START.

And for everyone who is saying that we can’t have concerts for another few years because THEY are afraid of being in these environments than you know what? Don’t go. You won’t be missed.

Sorry this topic has gotten me so angry but for every genius scientist out there, I’ll show you people who follow bands around from city to city surrounded at every show by all kinds of germs who seem to be able to manage fine.

If COVID is with us now, then we need to learn to live with it. Just like people had to learn to live with HIV and AIDS and take precautions from spreading it. It’s not that difficult a task. But basing everything you do and say on worry and FEAR (there’s that word again) is no way to live your life... and it’s certainly no way I’m gonna live mine.

Again, I appreciate that all my friends worry and care about my well-being but trust me, going without concerts for another ten months to a year, will make my alter ego Ed Doom even harder to live with. I’m already ready to bust.

No, I’m not gonna go out there like the fools in Michigan to protest that we’re being kept inside for another month (at least), but I also don’t want to hear complaints from people about others wanting to go see concerts or live theater (like Shakespeare in the Park) or other culture because you’re so concerned about the spread of a virus that’s already showing signs of dissipating. We cannot stay in our apartments and houses for the rest of the year, and there’s no reason we should.

I live in a neighborhood that’s normally pretty active especially at night but there just isn’t anyone on the streets anymore and there’s now been probably six or seven heavy rains that have washed away any and all signs of humanity, and that includes germs. And probably COVID.

So yeah, I agree that we need to get the proper testing and make sure that people can congregate safely, but to just throw away all aspects of why people like me enjoy living in New York and that includes concerts, then yeah, we have nothing more to talk about. You just do not understand. Go back to binge-watching some bullshit television show.

Looking at my timer, which I remembered to set today, I have about two minutes to settle down and end this #30ME in a more civil tone, but yeah, this subject really gets me riled up. I could probably write even more about what live music and concerts mean to me and how awful it’s been the last couple years having to cut back my concert budget drastically due to lack of work/money but I think if you’ve read this far, you get the message. Hopefully, I didn’t offend anyone but it took all of my control not to just start blowing up on my Facebook page with some of the responses I got... I mean, SHEESH!

And with that.. my time’s up. Hopefully I’ll have a more interesting or civil topic to disucss on Monday. Have a good Sunday!

#30ME #30MInuteExperiment #Concerts

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michael-radi-the-glamorous-life · 5 years

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Summertime, And The Livin' Is Easy...

Well, folks. For me, summer has now officially arrived!

Hooray!

I am now settled into Naples, NY for a three-show contract that will take most of my summer between June 1st-September 1st! (There will also be a little vacation and a week-long teaching contract thrown in the middle there as well!) And it’s all going to be super fun and not crazy or exhausting at all!

…Right?

Well, not quite. It’s all extremely exciting, but it will be incredibly busy as well!

So let me tell you a little about the exciting parts while I have your attention! :-D

Naples Is *Magical*

If you’ve ever seen Brigadoon, then yeah…it’s a little bit like that.

Naples, NY is this beautiful vacation town that emerges from the snows of winter each spring to provide the Finger Lakes Area with breath-taking beauty, fantastic theatre, delicious wine, excellent local food, festivals, art, music, lakes, nature, parks, and pie! Yes, pie gets it’s own listing here. Come visit and you’ll see why!

The town is nestled in a valley at the south end of Canandaigua Lake, which is one of the most gorgeous lakes in the entire country - backed up by the fact that it has the most expensive lake-front property in the US.

It’s also a short jaunt to Honeoye Lake, Keuka Lake, Canadice Lake, Seneca Lake…are you getting the picture? Hills and lakes and trees and gorgeousness.

The Finger Lakes Region is also one of the top Wine Regions in the country (voted #1 the past two years!).

Every larger lake is surrounded with wineries that provide incredible wine trails for some of the most fun summer days I’ve ever had. And for those of you who don’t like wine, there are now a multitude of Micro-Breweries, Distilleries, and Cideries along these trails as well!

Oh, also, Naples has two wineries right on the Main Street of town…so you don’t have to go far!

As for accommodations, there are plenty around! There are delightful Bed & Breakfasts both in town and nearby (with some insane views), and AirBnB exists all over. Plus the Naples Hotel is right in town, totally haunted, has two bars and a restaurant, and is worth a stay…if you’re daring.

(Pie. So much pie.)

And then the Bristol Valley Theater, which is what ultimately brings me back to Naples this summer!

Bristol Valley Theater - or BVT - is a brilliant and wonderful gem of a non-equity regional theater in Western NY. The people are some of the best I have ever met, the work is fantastic (far above what should be achievable at its size) and fulfilling, the audiences are enthusiastic and grateful, and the respect shown to the employees across the board is virtually unheard of for a theater this size.

It’s a delight and honor to work there, and I’m stoked to be heading back!

(Learn more about BVT here!)

“What are you doing there this summer, Michael?”

Excellent question, dear reader!

So Happy Together

The first show on which I will be endeavoring (beginning tomorrow morning) is a 1960s musical revue called So Happy Together.

For this show I will be acting as the Musical Director, which is going to be incredibly fun!

We have a cast of 4 performers who will, with myself and the director, be putting together a show that covers the musical genres and cultural topics of the 1960s. We’ll be covering genres like: Rock, the British Invasion, Protest, Motown, and more!

It’s a little bit of a hectic process - as we only have a week to create, learn, and stage the show - but isn’t that what makes summer stock theatre fun? I think so!

I’m not yet certain what the final result will yield as far as actual content, but I have done a little pre-work as the MD. For instance, I know for certain there will be a medley of 10 Beatles songs (‘cause duh!), an a cappella section, and a medley of the major dances of the era. So at least a small amount of the music is prepped and ready in advance!

Basically, if you enjoy the music of the 1960s (and who doesn’t?) you’ll enjoy So Happy Together!

More information and Tickets here!

Murder For Two

Okay, if you don’t know this show then you have been missing out!

When I saw Murder For Two Off-Broadway in 2013, it was one of my all-time favorite theatrical experiences. And you know what? It still is.

For those of you who don’t know the show, here’s the premise:

It’s a musical. There’s a murder. There’s only two people onstage. One person plays all 9 suspects, and the other plays the naive cop. What’s the catch? Both performers also play piano…for themselves, for one another, and sometimes at the same time on the same keyboard.

It’s absolute zany and delightful fun!

It’s incredibly tricky, since both performers have to be excellent pianists/accompanists, singers, and actors. I’m itching to get started! Though I’ve been practicing the music for a while now, it’s a totally different beast once both performers are working in the same space.

It’s going to be excellent!

More information and Tickets here!

The King’s Legacy

Wahoooooooo!

As I’m sure you all know by this point, my original musical The King’s Legacy will be receiving its premiere production this August!!!

I’ve been in preparation for this production since the fall: Meeting with the Director, Rewriting, Orchestrating, Preparing the Materials, doing Readings, Rewriting even more…you know, all the things!

So, to say that I cannot wait for this process to begin would be a severe understatement bordering on a crime!

“What is this show?”

Thank you for the question, clearly new reader to my blog!

Bristol Valley Theater’s website quotes:

"In his obsessive quest for a male heir, King Henry VIII careened through six wives, palace plots, beheadings and a confrontation with the Pope. And nearly tore his country apart. But it was his daughter, Queen Elizabeth I, who changed the world. A thrilling musical journey through the intrigue of the Tudor court."

And the website for the musical writes:

"The King’s Legacy is a celebration of women’s accomplishments against all odds in an oppressively patriarchal world, told through the story of the wives and daughters of Henry VIII. The show portrays how Henry’s obsession for a son tore his country apart, and how his daughter with Anne Boleyn, Queen Elizabeth I, unexpectedly saved them all. The musical is performed by a small troupe of Players in honor of the fortieth anniversary of Queen Elizabeth I’s celebrated reign (London, 1598) and spans thirty-three years between two story lines. The present consists of Henry’s attempts to obtain a son, while Anne Boleyn seizes all opportunities to forge her own path, and the subsequent consequences for Catherine of Aragon and the English court. The future centers on Henry and Anne's daughter, Elizabeth, as she grows up and learns how to become a great monarch through her mother’s legacy and Henry’s later wives."

The show includes:

5 women

3 men

1 young girl

20 characters

22 songs

4 instruments

3 musicians

6 queens consort

1 queen regnant

Intrigue

Drama

Fun

Laughs

And so much more!

And in addition to all of my duties on this show, I will also be doing some extra talks surrounding the writing and production at local libraries and events!

It’s going to be a brilliant end to the summer!! :-D

The King’s Legacy runs August 22nd-September 1st!

Tickets here!

More information here!

Well, Maybe The Livin’s Not That Easy

Summer stock theatre - and particularly 3 shows across 3 months - will mean a large amount of work and lots of crazy business.

Rehearsals are long yet compact, tech is short, and runs are a total of 10 performances. It’s certainly a whirlwind each and every time!

Therefore, dear reader, I will be cutting back my weekly blog over the summer months. A sad prospect, I know. However, you will all also be busy and having fantastic times of your own!

I will still put out a post at least every two weeks, so don’t you fret! I’ll do what I can when I can!

And in the meantime, plan yourselves a trip to Naples, NY for this summer to see one of these wonderful shows!!! (*cough* especially The King’s Legacy *cough*)

I hope to see your shining faces in the BVT lobby sometime this summer!!! Cheers!

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