#do you think he had a nu-metal phase

[recorder-dude]

What a shithead

#Rocket 2014 #rocket raccoon #gotg #guardians of the galaxy #do you think he had a nu-metal phase

[whorbidmore]

okay, so, I've fallen victim to the leon kennedy brainrot steadily overtaking me, following me from Tumblr to Pinterest, to Instagram and even the absolutely fucking dreaded application of TikTok. I don't even use it that often??? and the algorithm is just like 'wow, yeah, this little fuckers gay as hell send in the 40 year old meow meow!!' and having watched Death Island fairly recently, I'm gonna have my opinions on what this dude would be like. Cus my brain loves to rationalize shit and think ab 'what if this mf was someone real?' so... fuck it.

Leon Soft Kennedy Headcanons

SFW

accidentally bigoted. - im sorry but let's be so fucking real here. he's a 40 something year old man who spent the majority of his life in either the military, a police training academy in the 90's, or otherwise working under the U.S Federal System with minimal/no time between missions to unpack absolutely everything he's got going on... the guys gonna have some problematic tendencies. Obviously that doesn't mean he means any of that or is incapable of change, etc. etc., but I know for damn certain this dude would laugh a little at Bill Burr's borderline to blatantly misogynistic material and has probably chuckled unironically at the attack helicopter jokes. But, he's not a complete dick, and would definitely become more critical of those kinds of jokes if it's pointed out to him.

honest to God, Dad Without Kids™ - it's not simply enough for me to leave it at 'but it's the vibes!!' so, I'm gonna break this shit down. Leon is absolutely Gen X incarnate. I can fucking guarantee you that on his off days he accidentally ends up dressing as an undercover cop; I'm talking cargo shorts, light blue button up, those fucking standard issue boots cus "they're perfectly good shoes" and those stupid ass sunglasses... you know the ones I'm talking about. Let's say you're living with him, right? And you're... you, and you wanna watch something on TV. This dude would strain himself getting up like a turtle fallen backwards on its shell, stand up, walk right in front of the TV screen and stand there with his hands on his hips. It doesn't matter that he had to piss, he needs to get a better look of what's happening! Does those really loud, obnoxious coughs and sneezes, absolutely blows his back out doing one at least five times a year.

Only watches British Reality TV - Considering he's canonically a film buff, I'll say that this is purely for whatever he gravitates towards on general streaming services. I honestly don't see him being the type to regularly tune in to standard American cable TV, or only does so under specific circumstances like American Ninja Warrior or maybe Forged in Fire if there's absolutely nothing else. It's not something that's exclusive to Americans, — I'm from New Zealand and I do this too, — but Leon absolutely falls into the category of watching British Reality and Game shows purely because of the accents. I'm talking Jeremy Kyle, The Big Fat Quiz of Everything, Taskmaster, The Great British Bake Off and so on and so forth. It doesn't matter that baking isn't his forté or a passion of his, if Josephine curdles her buttercream by over mixing, his hands are in his hair in utter disappointment. 100% tries to mimic their accents too. We all do it, don't lie.

Has... very dated music tastes - I don't know if you could guess, but the last paragraph included me calling myself out and name dropping some shows I watch anyway or grew up watching, and I'm just saying that this is gonna be no different. If anything? This'll be worse! Since I'm very passionate about the music I listen to and have the inability to keep my interests separated from the other, of course my love of particular bands will bleed over into my interpretation of Leon's character! Anyway, all that for me to say that Leon fucking LOVES 90's grunge musicians, specifically Pearl Jam and Soundgarden, as well as early nu metal bands like Korn (their dubstep phase did not happen.), TOOL, and Rage Against the Machine — and no, he unfortunately doesn't see the irony of him being a fed and listening to Rage, — but would also have a soft spot for psych rock, post-punk and shoegaze. My man's definitely laid awake at night, sobbing without expression as he struggles to accept that Ada never really wanted him like he wanted her while listening to fucking Slowdive. My hottest take here is that he doesn't really listen to Deftones. Like he'll occasionally blast My Own Summer, Change, Bored or Rosemary, but anything outside of those? He just didn't listen to 'em. My second hottest take is that he does NOT like Slipknot, which kind of pains me 'cus I do, but I fucking bet you this dude would actually adopt one piece of "Gen Z lingo" or whatever just call them cringe. Though admittedly he would've been jamming the fuck out to Psychosocial and The Devil in I when they came out. Went off the deep end in Vendetta, obviously, and drunk-cried himself to sleep on the couch listening to Linkin Park.

Very confusing spending habits - On one hand, we all understand that Leon came from money, — he was implied to have been born into a mob family from my understanding? And I doubt he'd ever really had to worry about being fully, irrevocably broke, — but I'm sure that growing up in the U.S Foster Care System made him at least a little more cautious of where his money comes from, where it's going, what he's spending it on, etc. So, on the one hand, he's apprehensive to spend recklessly, particularly on perishables. But also, if he can drop over $100,000USD on a motorcycle that got absolutely fucking cheese grated into the road, and spend a perceived, metric fuck ton of money on designer leather jackets and massive watches, it's gonna be hard for me to call him 'financially conscious'. On one hand, he gets apprehensive on spending more money than he needs to on food since he's "just gonna shit it out later", but if he sees a cool watch or a nice suit in a shop window? Money's suddenly not an issue! Not because he's materialistic, but because the one thing he really maintains a sense of control over in his life are his possessions and the way he dresses. The D.S.O can call him in for another months long mission whenever they please, and all he can realistically do is allow the government to tug on his leash and put him where he's needed. He may as well spend their money on things he wants!

Gets out... enough? But also, not really? - So, personally I've pegged Leon as more of an introverted person, — amateurly typed his MBTI as possibly ISFJ? — so he doesn't really feel the need to go out and meet new people or really hang out with anyone. If somebody invites him out? Sure, he'll go. Otherwise, it rarely occurs to him to meet up with friends or colleagues at a cafe or anywhere. I think he'd prefer to just go there alone, mostly for the sake of having somebody else cook for him as opposed to actively seeking out the atmosphere. It's pure convience in his mind. And remember when I said in the beginning about him accidentally being at least a little misogynistic? Yeah, that was me trying to say that he regularly tries to hit on younger waitresses. Not because he actually wants anything to do with them, but simply because it's an ego boost. He likes that he can make girls half his age blush or offer him their numbers, because it tells him that he's still desirable, and ultimately, that gives him the power to reject them politely and go about the rest of his day. If they don't reject him first, of course. Admittedly, Leon's audacity towards women peaked during Infinite Darkness.

Since I'm planning on posting more NSFW headcanons for this guy, — and more NSFW kinds of posts, — here is the obligatory Minors DNI attachment. For your own safety, I don't care if what I have to say is tame so far, you can hold it off I promise.

#leon kennedy x reader #leon kennedy #leon kennedy fanfic #resident evil #resident evil leon #leon kennedy headcanons #babyfangs.txt #fangsfic #idk man im literally talking out my ass on all this 💀

[iheartchv]

Hello !! Can i request for a romantic cod match up? (Can be n/sfw, go ham with it!!) If thats alright aaa, its my first time asking but I love your works! >__<

✧ Im a 5'5 filipino girly (currently 22 years)

✧ Im slim and a bit on the underweight side, struggling to maintain a normal balance TT..

✧ I have a short black mullet hair with blue peekaboos, skintone's a bit on the lighter side

✧ Currently taking culinary classes, im in my 4th year

✧ an introvert but I can go up to people and talk about the things I observe about them! (For ex. The pins they have, the kind of clothes they have, etc etc) otherwise, I just stay quiet and stay put

✧ I love cooking, reading books, listening to music and oh dear god— sleep!!! Its the most rewarding thing for me as a stressed and pressured student

✧ The kind of music that i listen to is probably shocking for someone meeting me at first— they usually think I would listen to pop more but noooo they're wrong.. anyways, its Death metal, Black metal, and Nu metal :3

✧ I had an emo phase (mcr, p!atd, ptv, and so much more-) but now my style is more on old money and sometimes dark academia!

✧ Im diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder and to top it up, im also diagnosed with bpd :(( I am all over the place, i need constant reassurance on what im doing or i'll go nuts..

I feel like I overshared on this one— oh dear—

You can pair me up with anyone you deem fit for me :33

I hope you have a nice week! Muwah muwaah!!

🤔 uhmmmm.... I'll match you with...

Simon "Ghost" Riley 💀

I feel like Ghost would be your match

At first it would seem like he doesn't care about you at all;

You had told him he had a cool mask on

He just gave a soft grunt and went about his business

But once he warms up to you he'll be a lot less of a jerk

As friends, when you were out together, he'd always say something like "this isnt a date"

"Never said it was"

But you wished it was

Ghost was a nice guy underneath his cold exterior

He was there for you, a shoulder to lean on and an ear to listen and hear you out

He has your back 🖤

It took a bit but he asked you out

He got tired of waiting for you to ask

He knew you had a crush on him

You were more open than he was so he got to know more about you

When he trusts you completely he will open up to you

Further on into the relationship he will take his mask off around you and tell you his few secrets he has hid from everyone

Volunteers to be your guinea pig for any recipe of yours

No, it's not an excuse to eat your food...

....though it is the most delicious food he's ever had...

He's missed eating real food

Has noticed he's put on a few pounds

But you say he looks better

Even his close squad mates noticed

And though they may tease him having a girlfriend, he ignores them and mentions that they're 'just jealous'

#//ofc i hope you like your match ^v^7~♡ #ask #request #call of duty matchup #cod matchup #matchup #match up #cod mw #cod mw2 #cod mw3 #call of duty modern warfare 3 #call of duty modern warfare #call of duty modern warfare 2 #cod #call of duty #ghost cod #cod ghost #call of duty ghost #ghost call of duty #simon ghost riley #simon riley #ghost x reader #iheartchv

[knivestothroats]

What was buck’s “cringy stage” ? (we all had them. It’s okay to admit)

Ok I've done a lot of throwing around ideas for this because I feel like this is truly a question that informs a lot about his character lol. Because like, those phases stick with you. I never stopped being an emo kid. Also, he spent a lot of time growing up just trying to mold himself to his parent's expectations.

I don't think that he was an emo or nu-metal kid because I kind of establish that he doesn't like the hardcore music that Fletcher (who WAS an emo kid, btw) was playing. (Not that everyone gets into progressively harder music, but I sure did.) He was also deeply closeted so I think he would refrain from anything that would make him seem like a sissy in the eyes of a manly man like his dad. So no skinny jeans and painted nails. Swoopy bangs are still a possibility bc that was just in fashion.

And I thought, band kid? Should I give him some attribute like "knows how to play oboe?" But that's not really a cringy phase so much as being a nerd in school.

I thought about him having a super christian phase bc I def knew kids who went through that and would like pick fights over it and then like grew up to be nice and well adjusted people later. And it would make sense especially since he was closeted in a homophobic family that he would like double down... but that's not a fun answer to a fun question.

My partner and I threw ideas back and forth for a while, most of which was in person but I do have these screenshots

I do feel like being into Supernatual is one of the most realistic options so far lol because like kinda does fall in line with his whole survivalist shtick in a way. It's like hyper-masculine to the point of wrapping around to being camp gay. It was on air for like 15 years or whatever so def while Buck was a teenager.

Honestly, I could say Buck got into that lol so random/rage comics/bacon and mustaches on everything internet culture because. let he who didn't XD cast the first stone.

I will take input if anyone has any ideas on this bc I think it is a fun conversation lol

#buck #itws

[samyelbanette]

In May 2021, I saw some random shitpost saying “Finland’s Eurovision act is giving the emo kids everything they want.”

Being an MCR stan at the time, I was like hm? well, I’m an emo kid. let’s see what this is about.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I could watch the recording of the Semifinal, legally, on Peacock. I had watched ESC once before, in 2016. But for years after that, there was no way to watch the contest in my country (at least, not without a special cable television package that I obviously didn’t have 😭). It’s never been a popular show in the United States. But.

I saw Blind Channel perform Dark Side and I immediately thought omg, they sound just like Linkin Park. I tend to think of LP as a nu-metal band, and not an emo one. But I went through a huge LP phase back in high school, so ofc I loved the song.

I demanded that my friend (who, like most Americans, had never heard of ESC up until that point) come over and watch the Grand Final with me. He went out and ordered a copy of Violent Pop the next day.

….Ironically, it took me longer to get into BC. Like. The day after ESC ended, I watched the Died Enough For You MV on YouTube, and I thought it was great. But my mind was (hyper)focused on someone else.

Måneskin won ESC 2021, and I developed an immediate special interest in them (along with a huge crush on Damiano lol). This house was in a Teatro D’Ira lockdown. I had no interest in listening to anything else but that - and Il Bello Della Vita - on repeat. I watched all the interviews and obsessively worked on a Damiano/Reader fanfic.

But then in August, something happened. My laser focus on Må began to fade. Balboa was released as a single. BC performed at Allas Sea Pool. And suddenly I was reading Niko/Joonas fics every day.

My one-track mind had switched to a different track. And there was no going back.

In October 2021, I wrote Flufftober With Blind Channel (a huge reader-insert oneshot collection). As of rn, that’s still my #1 most kudos-d fic on AO3. 😅 And then in December, I wrote my first Joeleksi fic, as part of a holiday gift exchange.

I watched Blind Channel perform on Finnish television for New Year’s Eve. And when February came, I watched them perform again at UMK 2022. I cheered for The Rasmus when they won the competition, but they never stole my heart. BC still owned it.

On March 3rd, 2022, I finally saw BC live for the first time. It was in Warrendale, Pennsylvania, on Day 1 of their tour with From Ashes To New. Their first performance on American soil.

And then on April 11th, 2022, I saw them again, at their headline show in New York City. I had the honor of meeting one of my fellow fanfic writers, pastlink! And then I met Niko and Joel after the show. 😍

It was one of the best days of my life.

Time continued to pass. ESC 2022 came and went. Kalush Orchestra were…fine. They deserved to win, but they didn’t stay on my mind after the credits rolled. Not like BC did.

LOTSAD dropped in July 2022, and it was everything I’d hoped it would be.

In October 2022, I wrote Flufftober With Blind Channel 2, this time focusing on M/M relationships.

On November 18th, 2022, I saw Måneskin live for the first time (ironic, given that I loved them first). It was at this show that I had the honor of meeting another BC writer, lnights, in person. 🖤

Then, in December 2022, I moderated my first ever fandom event - BC Blood Mass. There was some controversy in the beginning, but it ended up being a huge success. I’m still so grateful to everyone who participated.

On May 13th, 2023, the ESC Grand Finals came around again. And I finally got to do something, that I hadn’t been able to do in 2021 (or 2022): vote for Finland. 🇫🇮

On May 16th, 2023, I saw BC live for the third time, when they returned to the US and opened for Lacuna Coil. This time, I got a picture with Joel, Joonas, Olli, and Aleksi. It ended up on Joel’s Instagram story, and when I checked my notifications the next day, I got emotional.

Dozens of people from Finland and Germany and other places around the world, who I would’ve never encountered without this silly band, were saying:

Look. That’s Kelley. We know her. She’s our friend.

….And now it’s September. Goddamn. I’ve been in this fandom for two years now. I’ve written thirty-four BC fics. And I’ve made so many amazing friends. There have been many times where y’all have been kinder to me than my own family. I’m so happy to have gotten to know all of y’all.

…And there’s still more to come!!!

BC Blood Mass is coming back for December 2023. BC’s fifth album is going to drop sometime in 2024.

I can’t wait to see where this Wolfpack takes me next. 🐺🇫🇮🖤

#I got emotional and rambly about BC lol. sorry. 😅

[azusaluvclub]

Ok ok hear me out,, the hand post and bedroom post gave me LIFE and now I just gotta know what kind of music you think the boys would listen too?? If you’re taking requests and feel like writing it of course ❤️

hello !!! thank you sm for the request !! since you didnt specify what characters to include i just decided to most of eunjang + a few of the union boys since i felt most confident about them, but if theres someone you wanted to see that isnt in this post, feel free to let me know and ill be happy to answer !

music is a hugeeeee interest of mine so this was rlly fun for me to write !! hope u enjoy !!

gray yeon / yeon sieun

⋆ maybe its just me, but i feel like a lot of what sieun listens to would depend on his mood or what hes doing in the moment !

⋆ when hes going about his daily life or needs a mood-lifter ? definitely gravitates to genres like soft pop + indie ! for studying ? hes probably got those lofi music streams pulled up in the background- always has the volume super low though, otherwise he finds it hard to focus :,)

⋆ still, whenever hes missing suho or feeling down, he tends to put on some of suhos favorite songs :(( in a way its healing for him; it reminds him of the good times they shared, and even if he cant exactly be around him now, he can still be connected with him through song~

⋆ since i think hes more of a genre person than an artist person, i dont think he rlly has any favorite singers/groups ! but i do think hed like stuff by IU, Heize and a lil bit of Clairo, and other similar artists~

ben park / park humin

⋆ definitely a pop enthusiast imo !! i feel like he would enjoy more upbeat stuff that gets him in a good mood, or that he can work out to lol- (also would love listening to stuff he can do impromptu karaoke or fall over dancing to when nobodys around lmaooo) hes a pretty energetic guy, so it only fits that hed enjoy energetic music as well !

⋆ would also love latin music, w a soft spot for the oldies (and reggaeton) :)) i see him having been raised on a lot of his mommas favorite artists from her teenage years and enjoying them together being a fond memory from his childhood~ but also i think he would enjoy a lot of older music in general, as its very nostalgic for him (and who doesnt love indulging in a bit of that ?)

⋆ i dont think he has a lot of favorite artists, nor is he a superfan of any, but some of them would be Crystal Kay, Selena, Kali Uchis, Red Velvet and 1st gen groups like S.E.S + Shinhwa ! but a lot of what he listens to is whatevers popular or playing on the radio (or even songs his sisters show him !) lol, so he isnt too picky :,)

alex go / go hyuntak

⋆ listen . this guy canonically had an emo phase (if u can call loitering by the ocean "emo") so if that doesnt tell u where im going w this, thennn .. :,)

⋆ listened to a lot of classic emo/screamo bands like Pierce the Veil, Of Mice & Men, Asking Alexandria, as well as Bursters ! probably found the mv for caraphernelia while scrolling through youtube one night and fell down a major rabbit hole, but it introduced him to a lot of bands that got him through middle school :D

⋆ though hes older now i dont think he would ever really grow out of that phase, so his tastes are still similar ! definitely listens to a lot of rock/metal subgenres (post-hardcore, nu-metal, alt-rock, etc-), but i also think hed really like hip-hop too ! doesnt listen to much outside of these genres tho :,)

⋆ imo, some of his favorite artists + bands would be ones like Seotaiji (including his stuff in Seo Taiji & Boys), Bursters, Dynamicduo, Sevendust, Girugamesh and a bit of Pierce the Veil !

gerard jin / jin gayool

⋆ being the music junkie that he is, gayools likes would be broad for sure !! considering the fact that music overall is such a big part of his life and his arc in wh, i cant see him being picky about what he listens to~

⋆ still, he would definitely have his preferences ! ive always headcanoned Slam as being an alt-rock/indie-rock band and so i think a lot of their style would be heavily influenced by all sorts of rock and metal subgenres (i have many opinions about this if anyone was interested in hearing lmao), so i think his own musical interests would be similar to that ! would enjoy anything from stoner metal to midwest emo to post-hardcore lol

⋆ but again, his overall taste would be pretty expansive, so he definitely has a little of everything (pop, r&b, jazz, etc. etc.) rolling around in his spotify likes :,)

⋆ his favorite bands would probably be stuff like FTIsland, The Smiths (yeah ...), Citizen, The Rose, with a dash of Deftones thrown in there for good measure (mainly their stuff post atf tho) :D

rowan im / im juyang

⋆ similarly to how his personal style + interests would be, juyangs music taste is very eclectic !! not only because i think he would love engaging with a wide varity of genres (and just a variety of things in general; he gets bored easy lol), but partly thanks to the friends he made in aus- through them and his own pursuits, hes found PLENTY of killer songs + artists-

⋆ doesnt have a favorite genre/s either ! what he does love tho is obscure music- its become a hobby of his to spend his nights avoiding studying so he can deep dive on youtube for the most underground stuff :,) rlly good at finding it too !!

⋆ although he isnt picky, i think hed gravitate a lil more towards rock + r&b :,) with dashes of indie + reggae + hiphop thrown in there for fun !

⋆ i can see him enjoying artists like Brandy, 311, Blood Orange, Missy Elliott, Tame Impala, and The Strokes !

stephen ahn / ahn suho

⋆ ive mentioned it before in the bedroom post, but i wholeheartedly believe suho would be a major gg fan </3 probably has lightsticks and signed photocards and all the like from his favorite groups lmaooo- he esp gravitates towards a lot of the more fun and feel-good concepts a lot of ggs do, and has stayed up wayyy into the night learning the choreographies more than once :,)

⋆ outside of that though, i think hed be a big fan of dramatic pop ballads + acoustic, coffee shop type music :))) hes also a frequent enjoyer of having world tours in the shower, so songs of that genre are always his go to- but also, imo, he really appreciates the actual talent that goes into some of his favorite songs, and loves listening to ones with meaning or that he can relate to~

⋆ some of his favorite artists would be soloists like BoA and groups like Wonder Girls, GWSN, 9Muses, and some bgs like Seventeen + TXT (probably has some western pop divas in his likes for good measure tho lmao)! but overall ?? he would be a die-hard Twice fan , case closed :,)

jimmy bae / bae jihoon

⋆ undercover boy group stan for SURE. saw Tvxq’s performance of mirotic on music core when he was little and it absolutely changed the trajectory of his life- hes not embarrassed about liking the music but he IS embarrassed about being a fanboy :,) so his signed Shinee album and misc bg posters are kept wellllll hidden lmao (only jack knows about this, and has gone w him to many a concert as moral support-)

⋆ he likes other stuff tho !! mainly rap + hiphop, western or korean- so think Drake + Kanyes older stuff, Gang Starr, Drunken Tiger, Jinusean, etc~ stuff that gets him pumped up when hes working out, or that he can blast when taking his motorcycle out for a ride into the darkness lmao

⋆ his favorite bgs tho ? i can see him rlly liking groups like Shinee, Block B, Exo, and BTS !! (probably has a few of their earlier albums collecting dust on his bookshelf tbh-)

wolf keum / keum seongje

⋆ this is one where i feel like yall are gonna fight me on it but ... hear me out :D between an cluster of things — union stress, caffeine, heavy smoking + drinking, etc — i headcanon seongje as being rllly prone to headaches + migraines, which noise-heavy music wouldnt exactly help-

⋆ w that being said, i can see him gravitating a lot towards more softer, chill, easy listening type tunes ! i dont think hed be too picky about genres, surprisingly (?), rather the sound itself, so his likes range anywhere from old ballads he grew up hearing, to soft rock, to rap !

⋆ because of that, i dont think hed have many favorite artists either, if any lmao- but i also dont think hed listen to music a lot outside of like,, maybe studying/focus purposes, or more often as background noise when things are just a lil too quiet for him, soooooo :,)

⋆ (that being said if i had to name an artist/group ?? i think he wouldve listened to a lot of epik high in middle school, so he still has a soft spot for their music lol)

#weak hero #weak hero webtoon #weak hero headcanons #gray yeon #ben park #alex go #gerard jin #rowan im #jimmy bae #wolf keum #stephen ahn

[born-to-lose]

more questions abt hells bells … what was the first album each member bought? wht kind of shoes do they wear? r any of thm “spiritual”? who leaves smelly socks in the van? worst tour memento purchase? roadtrip snack liz cant live without? any bands they hated (parasocially)? wht were their favorite bands?

What was the first album each member bought?

Liz: Visual Lies by Lizzy Borden (that's also where she took her stage name from)

Jack: Bella Donna by Stevie Nicks (he grew up on Fleetwood Mac and she was one of his first childhood crushes when he was 8)

Phil: 1984 by Van Halen (Hot for Teacher made him pick up the drums)

Antonio: Blood on Ice by Bathory (he had a Norse mythology phase back then and loved the vibes of this concept album)

What kind of shoes do they wear?

Mostly boots for every day wear. Phil wears sneakers because they're more comfortable when drumming. Antonio wears Doc Martens. Liz likes to wear block heel shoes for concerts but finds them too annoying to walk around in all day when they're exploring the places they visit so she goes for boots or sneakers then. Jack loves his pair of ratty cowboy boots with spurs (which he likes to use for kinky purposes as well)

Are any of them “spiritual”?

None of them really, but Liz regularly reads all their horoscopes out loud and the guys don't believe in it at all, but when something happens that fits the weekly horoscope, she insists that she told them so

Who leaves smelly socks in the van?

Jack because he deems them "fresh enough to wear again" which is totally not the case. Antonio has seen worse with former roommates and Phil is too phlegmatic or drunk to care, so Liz is the only one who's bothered by it because it's her van and she hates playing mom and washing the socks for him

Worst tour memento purchase?

At some shady thrift shop in Hungary, they bought a Russian doll and only later discovered that instead of multiple smaller dolls there was just a dildo inside. Still a good buy even if it's not in use and just decoration

Roadtrip snack Liz can't live without?

Nic nacs, those peanuts in pastry crust! Are they a thing outside of Germany/Austria/Italy? Liz is German so whatever lol

Any bands they hated (parasocially)?

Liz hates Slipknot. She doesn't like nu metal in general because of the hip hop elements and samples plus she hates Corey Taylor's guts and the band's appearance

Jack hates Queen simply because in England everyone was all over them and some of their songs were constantly playing on the radio or they were on TV and it annoyed the shit out of him. He jokingly says that's one of the reasons he ran away to avoid giving people the actual reason

Phil is really not into KISS. He does like I Was Made For Lovin' You and Rock And Roll All Nite (albeit the Poison cover more), but other than that they're just image and drama with an overall disappointing discography for a band with that name and makeup

Antonio hates AC/DC because he thinks all their songs sound the same and are kinda boring and they're not as good in his opinion as everyone says. The only one he likes is Whole Lotta Rosie

What were their favorite bands?

They all have so many favourite bands that there isn't "the one" but

Liz: Vain

Jack: Iron Maiden

Phil: Guns N' Roses

Antonio: Arch Enemy (he's the one who listens to the heaviest music out of them all which is why the guitar parts have a more death influence but still subtle enough to blend in with the style of music they play)

#thank youuuuu pls keep asking more when you come up with something #ask #zigmentality #barbi #devil's bells

[thisaintascenereviews]

Disturbed - Divisive One of my least favorite things in rock and heavy music these days are the butt-rock / hard-rock bands that insist on having extremely conservative lyrics in their music these days. You got Kid Rock, Falling In Reverse, and Five Finger Death Punch, among other bands, putting out very tone deaf, whiny, and frankly distasteful songs with lyrics about being “woke” (which is just a conservative’s way of saying “anyone that isn’t a straight white guy), being “canceled” (which isn’t even a thing, it’s really being held accountable for the things you say and do), or any other myriad of issues. I mean, Five Finger Death Punch put out an anti-vaccine song a couple of years ago, and everyone gave them a bunch of crap for it, rightfully so. Some of these bands and artists are very outright with what they’re trying to say, because they want to appeal to a certain demographic (to be honest, they already had that demographic, and they know that, so they’re just keeping them happy), but what’s worse to me is when one of these bands is purposely vague in their messaging, ultimately leaving their conservatism up for interpretation. That’s the case of the new album from Disturbed, entitled Divisive, and boy, is this album something all right. Disturbed, if you don’t know and/or living under a rock, is a nu-metal / alt-metal band that was very popular in the early-00s, especially with the song “Down With The Sickness,” and only within the last few years had a bit of resurgence with their very viral cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Sound Of Silence.” I’ve only listened to their debut album from 2000, The Sickness, and that’s it, because I never listened to nu-metal as a kid, so I never had my angry white boy phase. I was into emo, pop-punk, and metalcore as a kid, but I digress. Let me be clear with everyone right now: if this were a bigger release week, I would not care about this album. I almost debated on not even listening to this, because I just have no desire to listen to Disturbed in 2022, but I thought I might as well, just because it would give me an excuse to talk about them, since I reviewed The Sickness years and years ago. I really like that album, as it’s a lot of dumb fun, but Divisive is an interesting album, and I don’t know if I mean that in a good or bad way. The elephant in the room, especially with my opening thoughts there, is that the lyrics on this record are very much up for interpretation in the worst way. The title seems to allude to the idea that the United States is very divided these days, and you can’t have an opinion on anything without it being divisive in some way, shape, and form. A lot of this LP goes into that, including ideas of people needing to “wake up,” people believing lies, people mindlessly hating everyone or each other, and very cliched and vague topics that conservatives can appeal to. It seems like Disturbed is very upset by the idea of “cancel culture,” and the idea of people being shut down for their thoughts alone (even though people just saying racist and homophobic things is worth being shut down over, but these types of people don’t get that, for some reason, and think they say can whatever stupid thought they have in their heads), and it just feels vague on purpose. The lyrics on this album mean absolutely nothing, but it’s because they say all of these buzzwords that don’t amount of anything. Just look at the title track, for instance, it’s all a bunch of random words that say something kind of vague. Because of that vagueness, conservatives can listen to that, and go, “Yeah, he’s speaking what I’m thinking, so I agree with that,” even if that’s not what he meant. I have nothing against vague lyricism, because interpretation is great. It helps people look at pieces of music, literature, and film in their own way, and when the meaning to something isn’t very obvious, it’s cool dissecting it and analyzing it, especially when people have different meanings for things. It’s when someone is vague on purpose, especially when it comes to wanting to say something extreme, that it bothers me. I don’t think Disturbed want to alienate everyone, but it seems like their members are conservative, at least to some degree, so by making their lyrics as pointless and as vague as possible, it makes their sound a bit more digestible and profitable. You can tell they want to say things about cancel culture, being “woke,” and all of that stupid conservative garbage they spew, but if they do that, they know damn well no one is going to listen to their music anymore, so they’re being purposely vague about it. It’s unfortunate that the lyrics are this bad, because the rest of the album isn’t that bad at all. The vocals are pretty good, as David Draiman is one of the more interesting vocalists of the nu-metal scene from the 00s, but the music itself is a lot of fun. They’re back to doing what they do best, and it’s just a fun little nu-metal / alt-metal album, that only clocks in at 38 minutes. It’s a very short album, and it’s easier to digest, but I can’t get past the lyrics on this thing. They’re really bad, and it’s not even that they’re saying anything outright, it’s what they’re implying, and what they want to say that really gets under my skin. Even then, this album isn’t anything special, it’s just a generic nu-metal album, especially for Disturbed standards. I’m sure this album will have its fans, but like I said in the beginning, if this was a bigger week, and this came out even just a couple of weeks ago, I wouldn’t be talking about this album, and for good reason.

#disturbed #divisive #nu-metal #alt-metal #alternative metal #down with the sickness #The Sickness #oh ah ah ah ah

[neon-junkie]

In Heat

Summary: Your species goes into heat once or twice every solar cycle, and unfortunately, you're in heat whilst co-piloting Mandos ship. With no supplements, the only way you can get rid of this ache between your legs is with Mandos help.

Pairing: Mando/Din x f!Reader

Word Count: 2809

Rating: NSFW

Tags: Nsfw, Smut, Slight a/b/o dynamics, Sex pollen, In heat, Knotting, Creampies, Multiple orgasms/loads, Reader isn’t human.

Notes: If you enjoy my work then please reblog!!

A co-pilot wasn't something that Mando had ever considered, but since he was carrying such precious cargo, and struggled to shoot and fly at the same time, he decided it was for the best. He'd hired you and told you straight what exactly he needed you for and what his mission was, and after meeting the child, you understood why he felt like it was his duty to return this infant to its breed. You'd been traveling together for a few weeks now, often sharing the load of flying and helping out with the action whenever you needed to. Mando had told you that in dangerous situations, you were to guard the child whilst he dealt with the fighting, and so far, all had been well. The two of you got along much better than expected, only because your wit and sarcasm matched his, and you were fine with the few words he spoke. There was no need for pointless chit-chat and gossiping, especially when both of you could be resting instead, so your dynamic worked well. 

You're uncertain of what species Mando is, but he's human-like so human is your best guess. You'll never know as he's forbidden to remove his armor, and you're fine with that. It's not something you need to know, but you can't help but be curious. Humans are far too common out in space, they seem to be a very reproductive breed, unlike your own, a dying breed but you've still met a few like you in your time. Mando had made a comment about how he hasn't seen many of your kind before when he first met you. Funny that, your breed not being common despite things getting very... heated once or twice every solar cycle. With modern technology, those heated ruts can often be tamed and ignored, almost not feeling that urge at all, let alone the smell. But unfortunately, you'd been carrying the bare minimum on this mission and for some reason, you didn't pack the medicine needed to help calm that phase. So, here you are, crossing one leg harshly over the other as you try to calm your crotch down. It's almost burning, you can feel yourself soaking through another pair of pants but you've already excused yourself more than one to go and use the 'bathroom.' Unfortunately, you're so used to your own smell that your body ignores it, so you're not sure how bad the stench it, but from the way Mando keeps looking over his shoulder at you whilst he drives, you'd assume it's pretty bad. When you're in heat with a partner, it's fine, often becoming a very intimate and sensual time for the pair. But you haven't got a partner. You're stuck floating through space with some knight in shining armor and a small green being who's almost twice your age. Just your luck. Mando pulls down on a lever and flicks a couple of buttons, putting the ship into auto-pilot. He swivels his chair around and looks at the child, who's been quietly sat in his floating cot this whole time. "Come on, you. Naptime," he says as he stands. He picks the child up and slides down the ladders, exiting the cockpit and putting the child into the small hammock he'd made for him in his pod. You overhear the pods door shut, followed by the sound of Mandos shoes clinking against the metal stairs as he climbs back up. He closes the door as he re-enters the cockpit, sitting back down on his chair and swirling it to face you. He's silent for a few seconds before he finally says "we need to talk." "Oh? Have I done something wrong?" you ask, your mind quickly going over the past few weeks to look out for any mistakes you might have made. "No... I know you can't help it, but..." Mando begins as he waves his hand slightly, shooing away any bad tension that might have been in the air from his blunt sentence starter. "The smell you're letting off, it's... distracting," Mando tells you. "Oh, sorry! I can't exactly help it. I normally have supplements but... I forgot to bring them," you admit. "I didn't think this would happen whilst I'm out here." "Bad timing, huh?" Mando asks. "Yeah," you say with a nod. He ponders for a moment and you can tell he's thinking about how to help. "We're not going to come across any planets for a few days. Is there... any way I could help?" "Not unless you have a hidden stash of supplements, no." "...I didn't mean through the use of supplements. We know that solution is off the table. You're, erm, in heat, aren't you?" Mando questions. "I am... are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?" Mando pauses again before eventually replying "yes." You can feel an uncertain expression creep across your face as you ponder over the thought of Mando helping. "You're human, aren't you?" you ask him. "I am," he confirms. "Please don't take offense to this, but I don't think a human would be able to keep up. Those, erm... 'sessions' can last for hours, and you'd definitely be... drained," you explain. "We can try," Mando says with a shrug. You're about to respond but Mandos stood up from his seat. He walks over to you and settles down in front of you, resting his hands on your knees as he looks at you. The feeling of Mandos hands resting on your knees is setting you off much more than it should, and you're pretty certain he heard that whimper escape your lips. "What do you say?" Mando asks you. "We can try," you say with a small nod. "Good," Mando replies as he slips off his gloves, chucking them onto his chair and turning his attention back to you. Mandos hands rest on your knees again, only this time he begins to slide them up your thighs, eventually settling on your waistband. He grips onto it and lightly tugs, waiting patiently for you to lift your hips up. You do, and watch as Mando slowly pulls your pants off, pulling off your boots in the process, leaving you with just your shirt on. His hands are on your thighs again, trailing up the inside of them. The feeling of skin against skin is setting you off again, your pussy already dripping wet, accidentally beginning to soak the chair. He gently parts your thighs, exposing yourself to him. Mandos thumb rests against your clit as he begins to gently rub it, his head flicking between watching your expression and admiring your folds. "You're soaked," he informs you. All you can do is nod, your head beginning to spin from the small amount of contact. "Guess I won't need to prep you," he comments. "Nu-uh," you say as you shake your head. Mandos hands move away and you can't help but whimper. He softly shushes you as he reaches down and begins to unbutton his pants, pulling out his already hard member. He pumps himself a few times, slicking himself up with the precum that drips from his length. You never thought you'd see Mando in this state, jerking his shaft, getting ready to take you, but it's a welcoming sight that you'd love to see again. "Up," Mando says as he stands, offering you his hand and pulling you to his feet. "Wrap your legs around me, alright?" Mando says as he places his hands on your hips, his body slightly bent. You know what he's trying to do so you lightly jump, Mando picking you up and holding you tightly. He walks you over to the wall, pressing your back against the cold metal. Your legs wrap tightly around his waist, and Mando moves one hand off you so he can line himself up. The both of you sigh as Mando pushes into you, sheathing himself all the way in, the tip of his cock brushing against your core, making you whine and moan. Mando pauses for a brief moment, probably getting used to the feeling before he begins to fuck you up against the wall. His thrusts are rough and deep, his balls slapping against your ass. Despite the drone of his helmet, the moans he's letting out are so beautiful that your pussy can't help but clench every time he makes them. "You feel so good," Mando compliments, his voice husky and full of lust. "So do you," you respond as you wrap your arms around his neck, clinging onto him for dear life. Mando rests his head on your shoulder, your cheek turning cold as his helmet presses against you. It's a welcoming touch, your body radiating more heat than the sun, so the coldness of his helmet feels far too good. You feel your body slipping slightly, but Mando raises you up and presses you even more firmly against the wall, his body pressed right against yours. His hands move down to your ass, gripping onto each cheek as he fucks you. For a man that doesn't talk much, he's quite the moaner, almost moaning louder than you; but Mando manages to brush against that spot inside of you, a scream escaping your lips as you bury your head into the curve of his neck. "There it is," he says as he begins bucking against it again. His cock ruts against your g-spot perfectly, making your walls tighten around him as you feel your first orgasm nearing. "So tight," Mando moans, loving the way you're clenching around me. "I'm gonna..." he trails off. Another few thrusts and Mandos spilling his load inside of you, grunting and moaning against your shoulder, his grip on your ass tightening. You also cum, your walls clenching around Mandos length, making him whimper and stop his thrusts. He's pushed deep inside of you, his orgasm being milked as you ride yours. You're almost painfully tight around him, practically locking him into place. Eventually, you un-tense, and Mando is able to slip himself out, still panting as he gently lowers you to your feet. "You're not done, are you?" he asks. "No," you say as you shake your head, holding onto Mandos arms to keep yourself upright as your knees feel like they're about to collapse at any second. "Get against the chair," Mando orders you as he points to his pilot chair. As you walk over and get down to your knees, Mando speaks again. "I didn't realise you get that tight." "Yeah," you say with a shrug. "Some people call it knotting as we're similar to animals," you explain. "You didn't do it then, did you?" he asks as he gets on his knees behind you. "No," you reply. "Why?" "I managed to stop it. I don't want to hurt you. You humans are a bit too soft, wouldn't wanna crush you," you explain with a soft laugh. "I can take it," Mando shrugs. "Plus your species can't interbreed, can't they?" "They can't," you say as you peer over your shoulder, watching Mando lazily stroke himself as he talks to you. "Then it's fine. If you can't help it, then do it," Mando encourages you. He doesn't seem to be admitting it, but he definitely wants to feel how tight you can get around him, so the least you can do is show him as your way of thanking him for helping you out. "Alright," you agree. "Good," Mando says with a small nod. Mando lines himself up again and slips back into you. He rests his hands on your hips, holding you steady as he begins to buck his cock into you. Your hands rest on the seat of his chair, your head resting against them as you begin to moan. You can feel Mandos balls slapping against your clit, the sound of skin against skin echoing around the cockpit. It was definitely a good mistake to forget your supplements, simply because this mysterious masked stranger, who is technically your boss, is now balls deep inside of you, helping calm your heat and doing a surprisingly good job for a human. Mando continues to let out the prettiest of moans as he rolls his hips oh-so-perfectly into you. He feels rather sensual and intimate, not feral like he was 5 minutes ago, but things are about to change when Mando shuffles back slightly and pulls you with him, moving your arms and head from the chair you were resting on. "Give me your arms," Mando orders you. You move your arms behind your back, forearms pressed together, keeping your upper body raised without support. Mando tightly grips onto your forearms and pushes your chest down, your cheek pressing against the metal floor. He begins to slam into you, keeping a firm grip on your arms behind your back, his body towering over you as he begins to fuck you with an animalistic vibe. "Shit!" you whimper, enjoying the way Mandos balls slap against your clit. He already feels like he's close, his balls warm and heavy, ready to push another load into you. His previous load is mostly seeping out of you, his thick length pushing the creamy liquid from your cunt as he pounds you for all you're worth. "Good girl," Mando praises you. That comment makes your head spin and your pussy clench, and Mando picks up on it. "You like that, don't you? My praise?" he asks. "Mhmm," you say with a small nod, your eyes scrunching shut as you feel Mandos cock hit your core. "Interesting," Mando replies as he makes a mental note of it. Mando leans his body over yours even more, his spare hand reaching forward to grip his pilots chair. You're sandwiched underneath him, enjoying the feeling of no-escape as Mando pounds the heat out of you. Your hips feel like they're going to collapse at any moment, Mandos thrusts are a lot harsher than you were expecting, and eventually, you find yourself almost fully lying on the floor. Mando moves his hand off the chair and places it beside your head, keeping his body towered over you. "Come on. You're close, I can feel it," he tells you, commenting on the way your walls begin to clench around him. "Here, let me help," Mando says. He straightens his back as he moves his hand from the floor, reaching underneath you to begin rubbing your clit, his other hand still wrapped around your arms. "Mando," you moan as you feel your orgasm approaching. His cock throbs as you say his name, but he continues to hold himself back, waiting for your release. "Come on," Mando repeats. Mando continues to slam his hips against yours, hitting your g-spot perfectly. The pleasure is all too much, and you cum again, this time tightening fully around Mando as you lock him into place. "Shit!" He yelps as you tighten around him, his cock buried deep inside of you. He spills his load into you, moving his hand off your clit so he can hold his body up, his muscles going weak. You're a whimpering and panting mess beneath him, and Mando eventually hunches over, resting his head between your shoulder blades as you milk him for all he's worth. He's breathing heavily, moaning, and sometimes grunting from how tight you are around him. At least your heat has calmed down, but you weren't expecting things to end up like this - your boss locked inside of you, probably sweating from how long he's been at it. Eventually, Mando lifts his head up. He straightens his back as he looks down, giving his cock a small tug but you're still too tight for him to remove his cock without it hurting the both of you. "Here," Mando says as he wraps an arm around your waist and rolls onto his side, pulling you with him. The two of you are still panting as Mando spoons you, his arm underneath your head, and the other one around your waist. "Rest," he tells you. "You should rest too," you reply. "I will," he agrees. You want to thank him for helping you out, but you're unsure how to say it without it sounding... weird. You decide to leave it, closing your eyes instead, deciding that you'll repay him however he sees fit when the opportunity arises. Mando shuts his eyes as well, falling asleep with you on the floor of the cockpit. It's not the most comfortable place to sleep, but it's the only option available when Mando is still locked inside of you. He'll be able to slip out of you by the time you both wake up, but let's hope that nobody tries to disturb your slumber, else things are going to get awkward pretty quickly.

#swwriting #star wars #the mandalorian #mando #din djarin #din djarin x you #din djarin x reader #din djarin/you #din djarin/reader #mando x you #mando x reader #mando/you #mando/reader #the mandalorian x you #the mandalorian x reader #f!reader #fem reader #a/b/o #sex pollen #nsft #in heat #female reader #reader insert #star wars universe

[soliavenne]

What kind of music do you think gaara listens to?

Gaara's preference in music through the years

-Genre: SFW

-Word count:

-Format: Non-bulleted headcanons

Before and during Chunin Exams

Listened a lot to alternative metal, NU metal, death metal, thrash metal and occasional rap music. The rage in the lyrics and the aggresiveness in the genre's nature was a familiarity he found liberating. As ironic it may sound to some, listening to these kind of music helped him calm down. He would sometimes just bust the speakers loud and plop himself down the bed as he stared at the ceiling for hours.

Example of bands he used to listen to:

Anthrax, Godsmack, System of a Down, Slipknot, Metallica, Rage Against the Machine, Disturbed, Linkin Park and Morbid Angel.

---

Before becoming the Kazekage

Very hopeful, yet helplessly troubled and confused; at the center of it all where he wanted to do everything to fit in but he didn't know know exactly how he would do it. Still listened to occasional metal now and then, but found himself transitioning his preference to music a tad bit less aggressive, but still bearing the capacity to express his negative feelings that he has now been getting better at managing in a much calmer approach. Listened a lot to rock/punk rock bands whose music tend to focus on one's inner emotional turmoil and longing to be understood.

Example of bands he used to listen to:

Green Day, My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy, Blink-182, Paramore, The Used, Jimmy Eat World, The All American Rejects, Simple Plan and All Time Low.

Bonus fact: He had a this secret little habit where he would listen to Owl City's Fireflies whenever he wants to daydream about all the things he wanted to do to make Sunagakure a better place. The vibe of the song was rather inspirational to him.

---

After Becoming the Kazekage

He's doing better but he's gotta admit that he 's been a little moody and passive-aggressive lately. Lots of eyerolls and side-eyes out of stress brought along by the adjustment period he's experiencing as the budding Kazekage. His taste in music certainly began to explore mature aspects of his personality that he didn't really know exactly how to deal with. Frustration is the centerpiece of everything at the moment. Gaara found himself discovering grunge at this phase.

Example of bands he listened to:

Rage Against the Machine, My Chemical Romance, Linkin Park, Green Day, Nirvana, and Panic! At The Disco.

---

Still the Kazekage but he's got his shit better now

His preferred genre in music had certainly mellowed down at this point, and he's much more open-minded to having a shuffled playlist and trying out to be experimental in the categories. A notable change in the mood of the music he plays is most of the themes in his playlist now were slow, romantic indies of deep-seated sexual and intimacy frustration lingering in between the poetic lyrics. Gaara claims though that he's mostly just chasing the relaxing lull of the music. Occasional pop music now and then if it's very catchy.

Example of bands he listens to:

Tame Impala, Arctic Monkeys, Wallows, Cigarettes After Sex, The 1975, Pale Waves, Panic! At the Disco, occasional lo-fi and slowed versions of musics.

---

Plant mom Kazekage whose secret guilty pleasure is daydreaming about his retirement

Doesn't listen to music as much as he did back in his younger years, but he does like to take a nostalgia trip now and then on long, boring afternoons. Mostly listens to podcasts and radio news to pass the time. Likes to listen to Radio TTS in Youtube sometimes. Loves listening to classical piano music or slow jazz as well.

---

Aaaaaaaa I'm sorry I got to this so late, anon! :c I hope you liked it! 😊😊

#suna no gaara #sabaku no gaara #sfw headcanons #anon ask

[seojinws]

(    ✱   ㅡ  Hi again everyone. It’s Sera here with another muse! His name is PARK SEOJIN and he is a SOLOIST under Wishbone Records. His stage name is SEN but he prefers to be called his real name most of the time. He has had quite the colorful life already and plans to continue that track. Please proceed to read more information about him in the given links & under the read more!    ) 

✱   𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒆  /  𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒓  /  𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒕𝒔  /  𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕

Mini thread tracker !!

@wsdaniel​ ( replied ) @wsaera​ ( my turn ) @wsyoojin​ ( replied & replied ) @wseunbin​ ( my turn ) @wssol​ ( replied & replied ) @wsellie ( my turn & replied ) @wshwan ( replied ) @wsrohan ( replied ) @wsrieon ( replied ) @sunghoonws ( replied )

OVERVIEW !

Used to play in underground music clubs a lot

He only debuted last year. His releases are Stay Here, Start (Itaewon Class OST), Running (Start Up OST).

He is best known for his OSTs, so far and intends to release more.

Releases a lot of song covers on his channel. Which he still does to this day. He especially loves repurposing songs he thinks have more potential into his own style rocky covers but he also does regular old calm vocal acoustic covers.

BACKGROUND !

He was born on December 1st, 1998 in Ulsan. He is 100% a Sagittarius. Take that as you will!

His birth parents were teens at the time so he was put up for adoption pretty quickly. He spent a lot of his childhood in an orphanage that was pretty old-school and one of the last of its kind. Catholic and strict.

Though he didn't get adopted until 2006, the couple who chose them are very loving! As far as he's concerned, they've always been his parents.

His happens to now have 3 younger siblings ( 2 of which are also adopted ) and he will fight to the death for each of them.

He had some temperament issues ( which isn't surprising ) but instead of acting out in a negative way, he was encouraged to put the pent up emotions into exercise and music.

Got his first guitar at 11 and taught himself how to play.

Didn't get to Seoul until around 2013! He's a city boy though so it didn't bother him much to move.

His rebellious streak began here though, oops. However, instead of doing stuff like partying or being an asshole, he and his new group of friends enjoyed doing Jackass-esque stunts in their free time and skipping class once in a while. Class clown behavior. ( He might have broken multiple things during this time but no one needs to know that! )

He and his friends formed a rock band in junior high. Long story short, they went through an emo punk phase for about 3 years and even tried nu metal. They were noisy as fuck and unrefined at first, so it's no wonder they got kicked out of a music club once.

In 2016, a talent agent at a company approached him after he participated in a singing contest but the company wanted him to dance so after two years of freeloading vocal lessons, he peaced tf out.

After graduating high school, he didn't really have any intentions on furthering his education so after serving, he went straight into working. Just stuff like working at a noraebang place and convenience store. It was boring.

His band was still together so they would go to music clubs to perform now that they finally found their sound.

Eventually, he was approached by another talent agent interested in signing him to Wishbone Records. Of course he accepted but he made the condition that they would allow his band to play for him whenever he needed them. ( He couldn't leave his boys behind. )

PERSONALITY !

Like I said before: he is a Sagittarius

A bit of an adrenaline junkie. He can't stand staying stagnant for too long. Though he's getting better at knowing when to chill out as he's gotten older. (inb4 he says blonds have more fun then changes his hair again)

He hasn't grown out of the punk rock style. Leather jackets? Check. Thankfully WBR stylists have helped him refine his wardrobe so he doesn't look like a thrift store threw up on him.

Rock music is his bread and butter but he doesn't mind the softer stuff sometimes. He's coke to acknowledge that more public friendly songs of his will have to tone it down.

Anyway he's a pretty decent guy for the most part. He's a romantic and writes a lot of lyrics and songs based on his feelings.

He's extremely straightforward and a tough love kind of guy. Surprisingly strict when it comes to things like worth ethic and achieving the goal he's got planted in his head. He also can be super competitive, especially in sports or fighting games.

A huge wrestling fan. As in the dramatic people running around a ring wearing spandex kind. He finds it hilarious and hype so he tunes into American and Japanese wrestling programs a lot.

Can be loud af or totally ignoring everyone and everything around him.

He is always singing. ALWAYS. It's probably annoying for anyone in Wishbone but at least you'll always know when he's in the building.

#✱ ㅡ behind the curtain. ( ooc ) #ws:intro

[patrick-hockstutter]

Modern!Bowers Gang:

Patrick:

Really into cinematography and photography of the unsettling

Never captions his Instagram posts

Goes live on Instagram a lot, even though people really wished he wouldn’t

Makes art out of dead animals or animal bones he finds

Think Banksy, but with roadkill

He’ll take some (somehow) tasteful photos of them, post them, then leave the scene there for some unexpecting bystander to find

Has a nosering (fight me)

Never uses incognito mode

If someone happens to stumble upon his search history, he’s not paying their therapy bill

He likes reading smut more than he likes watching porn

A ps4 guy

Loves spooky games like Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Until Dawn and Death Stranding

He’s not really into school, but he surprisingly reads a lot when he’s alone in his room

Only about things he likes though

Abnormal psych, criminal psych, and sometimes some zoology (u kno y)

Watches serial killer documentaries like he’s paid to

Listens to grunge, nu metal, and 80s alt

Won’t admit it, but sometimes listens to Joji

He’s not super into emo music, but he’s the only one who will listen to it with Victor (he fckn vibes to Brand New)

Ironically uses a Zune

Has an Android but lowkey wishes he had an iPhone

Doesn’t have a computer, just jailbreaks/hacks the school issued laptop

Has a black line tattooed around some of his fingers, one of his wrists, and the shell of his ear

Has a foot tattoo

Has a fucking Juul

Watches LeafyIsHere on YouTube (tell me I’m wrong)

Spends too much time on Reddit

Wears flannels, skinny jeans, and Vans (a beanie if he’s cold)

Mostly cycles through the same three or four outfits

Wears the same pair of Vans every single day

Victor:

Big into aromatherapy

He uses lavender soaps and has an essential oil diffuser in his room

Uses incognito mode to watch Vampire Diaries

A Nintendo ass b i t c h

He has the gray Switch Lite

He brings his Switch with him everywhere (yes he’s that guy)

But what else are you gonna do when you wanna ignore Patrick?

Watches conspiracy theories about ghosts, cryptids, and aliens

Also big into podcasts (mostly true crime and conspiracy ones)

He listens to them on his headphones while he takes walks or draws

Posts his drawings on Tumblr

Does art streams on Twitch when he gets really bored

Has an eyebrow piercing (but it’s a small stud one, not a ring)

Has little tattoos on his hands

Wears bomber jackets, skinny jeans, joggers, army jackets, converse, and combat boots

The boy has style okay

Had an emo phase but still listens to the music (especially Tiny Moving Parts)

The emo phase was pretty short because Henry made fun of him so much

He just fucking liked MCR and Taking Back Sunday a lot, okay?

And Pierce The Veil and Sleeping With Sirens, but he doesn’t readily admit that

Now mostly listens to new wave, synth pop, and lofi hiphop

His favorite bands are Drab Majesty and Choir Boy (look up their new album btw)

Has a black iPhone and a space gray MacBook Pro

Uses Apple Music

Vapes, but only fruity flavors

Watches BoJack Horseman

Doesn’t really eat fast food but never passes up an M&M McFlurry

Paints his (and Patrick’s) nails black

One time Patrick caught him doing a facemask, so Patrick put one on and started chasing him around screaming as a joke

Cue: hmm… this feels kinda good tho

So now Victor and Patrick have secret mini spa days

Drives a Subaru

Belch:

Makes Spotify playlists like he’s paid to

He’s just really good at putting songs together

He tried to get into music theory, but he wasn’t one for actually making his own songs

Really into metal (obvi) but also likes some classic rock and punk stuff

Has records hung up side by side all around his room where the wall meets the ceiling

Still buys CDs

His Instagram feed is full of vintage cars and custom import cars

Fast and Furious is his favorite movie series

His favorite shows are Sons of Anarchy and The Walking Dead

But he also loves early 2000s comedies

Has a mini projector to watch movies on his room wall

Wears band tees, flannels, jean jackets, Carhartt stuff, d a d  h a t s

Really wants a tattoo but always gets nervous

Uses incognito mode to watch porn and buy some of his band tees from Hot Topic

Only one in the gang that uses Facebook (Mama Huggins made him so he could keep in contact with family)

Follows a few meme pages but also some cooking ones so he can send his mom any cool recipes he finds

Victor lowkey makes fun of him for actually using the Facebook page

Invests money in really good headphones and car speakers

Has a black iPhone

It’s always at 20% battery cause it’s always connected to his headphones, Bluetooth speaker, or car stereo

Him and Victor FaceTime when they’re bored

Sometimes they won’t even say much, they just like the over the phone company

Doesn’t smoke, but sometimes hits Vic’s vape

A social vaper if you will

Watches Idubbbz and Filthy Frank on YouTube

His favorite fast food place is Wendy’s

Not really into video games but fucking slays at Guitar Hero

And when Rock Band came out nobody saw him for like two weeks

Has a black Hydroflask with band stickers on it

Henry:

He plays a lot of Xbox

Mostly Halo, COD, Destiny, any first-person shooter really

Baits people on Xbox Live cause he thinks it’s hilarious

He’s also a fucking cyberbully but we all expected that

Has Victor’s old iPhone

Never fucking charges it

He’ll text you back in 3-5 business days (if at all)

And if you try to call him he’ll block your number

Plays iMessage games like cup pong and 8 ball with Belch

The only social media he uses is Snapchat and Tinder to look at girls

In one of his Tinder photos he’s holding a fish (srrynotsrry)

Doesn’t really listen to too much music

He doesn’t dislike music, just usually prefers to do things in silence

His mind is chaotic enough, he doesn’t need background noise

But he will listen to Cigarettes After Sex and TV Girl on a really low volume when he goes to sleep

Uses incognito mode to pick and choose random soft or angsty songs that he likes to put into a bedtime playlist

Otherwise just listens to whatever Belch listens to

Has a tattoo on his wrist

Takes a lot of drives into the countryside/national forests/mountains with Belch

Takes a lot of scenery photos, but never posts them anywhere or shows anyone except Victor

Still smokes cigarettes (he thinks vaping is douchey)

Watches South Park and American Dad

If he’s willing to spend money to go see a movie, he’s going to an IMAX theater

Sometimes he likes 3D, but most of the time it just hurts his eyes after a while

Longboards everywhere

Needs prescription glasses but refuses to wear them

They’re mostly for reading, which he doesn’t do anyway

But he does listen to audiobooks sometimes

Likes Frappuccinos but will kill you before you find out

He orders them through Uber Eats under a fake name so nobody will find out

BONUS: all four!

Victor still has his childhood GameCube that they play Mario Party, Mario Kart, and Melee on

Henry is banned from playing Mario Party after breaking a controller while beating Patrick with it

Patrick only ever picks Waluigi in Mario Kart and everyone is sick of it

When they play Rock Band Patrick is on bass, Henry plays guitar, Belch absolutely slays the drums, and Vicky boy sings his lil heart out

One night a week they order a shit ton of Dominos and make a drinking game out of watching Vine compilations

Victor does everyone’s birth charts

They collectively made a fake Tinder account on Patrick’s phone and catfish guys with it

They all try to one up each other doing vape tricks yikes

They buy bags of chips and candy from Costco and lounge around eating them on weekends

They’re banned from the city metro busses because Belch’s car was in the shop for a week and that week was hell for every bus driver in the city

#it #it 2017 #it movie 2017 #it 2017 headcanons #it headcanons #bowers gang #bowers gang headcanons #modern!bowersgang #modern!bowers gang headcanons #bowers gang blog #patrick hockstetter #patrick hockstetter headcanons #modern!patrick hockstetter #belch huggins #belch huggins headcanons #modern!belch huggins #victor criss #victor criss headcanons #modern!victor criss #henry bowers #henry bowers headcanons #modern!henry bowers

[dyscrasia-eucrasia]

Part 5

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Like every day, Angel woke up to an alarm at noon. And, like every day, he considered sleeping in. But he'd established that his Instagram stories started updating at 12:30, and he refused to break that routine. 

He dragged himself out of bed and over to the kitchen. He was in a bulking phase, which meant that at least he got to eat a lot of calories, but even then he had to check the notebook he kept next to the fridge to make sure he was hitting his macros. Breakfast wound up being oats made with peanut butter, greek yogurt, and protein powder. It was ugly to look at and nearly as bland, since there was no sugar to liven up the flavors. That was the sacrifice that he had to make for the sake of his physique - giving up basically everything that tasted good and living on a diet of peanut butter, chicken, and brown rice. 

After he finished choking down his breakfast, he had to take a minute to search his apartment for his wireless earbuds. He popped them in his ears, grabbed his phone, perched himself on the window sill, and proceeded to take a dozen selfies, all with slight variations, until he got the perfect one of himself turned just slightly towards the window, his earbuds clearly showing, the street outside visible but artistically blurry. It took him a few more minutes in Facetune to edit out the puffiness under his eyes and a blemish that was forming on his chin, not to mention lighten his skin and up the saturation of the blue dye in his hair. He needed a dye touch-up, but no one on Instagram needed to know that. 

It took him a few more minutes to craft his story post, carefully weighing the benefits of a filter that gave him dog ears and deciding how many emojis he wanted to use. 

Then of course there was the matter of what to say in the story. His first post of every day was a 'song of the day' post. It took him a minute to think of what song to use. Ultimately, he wound up writing: 'Listening to Bad Guy today! Love Billie Eilish!' and then took another minute to choose the exact font style, color, and positioning. 

He hadn't actually been listening to Billie Eilish. He liked her music, sure, but lately he had been on a nostalgic kick, listening to nu metal. But it wasn't #relatable to post about listening to Coal Chamber. How many people even remembered that the band existed? Certainly none of the e-boys that followed Angel's account. 

No, Angel's brand didn't work with a maligned, forgotten genre from the late 90s. He'd made a name for himself as goth-lite. Not really goth, but not an e-boy either. Rather, he was just a touch edgy, but still firmly in the mainstream gay community. 

All the more reason to keep Bacchus to himself. It was totally against his brand to go to shows with mosh pits. 

'Tell me what song you wanna see me pole dance to!' He added to the post, making a comment field for people to respond. Within seconds, answers started to pour in, mostly Top 40 sex jams. 

He spent a little longer scrolling through Instagram, commenting on videos from other dancers. Every comment was upbeat and encouraging, even if he thought their dancing was a bit shit. There was no room to be critical on social media. He had to treat everyone as if they were his best friend, even if he didn't know them. He was still building his following, and any drama could ruin that. 

His DMs were full, as usual. Most of them were thirst-DMs, a couple were shady sounding guys offering to be his manager. Nothing interesting enough to respond to. 

A notification popped up at the top of his screen from Grindr. He automatically tapped it to go to the app, only to be greeted with a blurry dick pic. He wasn't against dick pics, but they had to have a bit of effort put into them. This one was just lazy. The guy didn't even look like he was hard. 

He tapped the back button to look at the rest of his messages. A lot were dick pics. Some were asking for a hookup. One was a message from a guy he'd hooked up with a few days ago, saying that he had a nice time and asking if he wanted to get together again. 

The guy had been alright. A nice enough bodybuilder who had been surprisingly gentle and considerate during sex. But his personality had been as bland as the meal-prepped chicken sitting in Angel's fridge. Angel knew he could do better. But it never hurt to have the guy on-call as backup if he felt the need to get laid right away, so he snapped a selfie and sent it to him, with a short note that simply said, 'I had fun!' 

With that, he'd had enough social media, and it was almost time for his workout, anyways. 

Thirty minutes later, he met with his personal trainer. He paid a hefty fine for one of the best trainers in the city, someone he trusted to help him sculpt his physique without making comments about trying plastic surgery. His trainer was cute, nice, and painfully straight, which was something Angel had specifically looked for. He didn't want to be distracted by a guy who may or may not be interested in fucking. 

Like always, working out kicked his ass, and like always, he took a sweaty selfie in the locker room mirror with his shirt lifted to show his abs and posted it on his Instagram story. 

His day was far from over, though. He had to stop by the smoothie shop and take a photo of his smoothie - milk, whey powder, greens, banana, and peanut butter - and then go out and take photos around town until he found something that made it look like he was doing something interesting that day. He eventually found a corner of a building that had been tagged with a dozen Mothman stickers and snapped a selfie in front of it, captioned it 'Hanging out with my fellow spooky kids!' and posting it to his main Instagram. 

And then the boredom set in. He didn't really have anything planned for the day, and he still had plenty of time before he had to go to work. Sure, he could go home and put on some makeup and take artful thirst-trap selfies, but he'd done that so recently. He didn't want to make his Instagram nothing but thirst-traps - he had to make sure he was attractive to multiple types of brands if he ever wanted a sponsorship. 

The thing was, trying to be an Instagram star was lonely. He had friends, but they were either work colleagues - and thus rivals - or other micro-influencers. All their conversations were about collabs and SEO and ways to boost engagement. To outsiders he no doubt looked like he lived a lavish and incredibly fun lifestyle as a stripper, but they didn't see the day-to-day boredom or the awkwardness behind running into people who knew him from the club out in broad daylight. 

He wanted someone to talk to who wasn't a part of all that bullshit. 

Of course, as soon as he had that thought, he realized that he wanted to talk to Demie again. 

He wasn't sure if he should. He'd just called him that morning, after all. 

It wasn't that he was worried about coming off as desperate, but more that he was worried about scaring Demie off. He was absolutely certain that Demie was gay, but he was also sure that Demie was a country boy, and country gays were different from city gays. Country boys had such an endearing gee-shucks quality about them, like they were trying so hard to be beer-drinkin', truck-drivin' bros, but they were just a little too soft-spoken and shy for that. 

Demie - from what Angel could tell - was a guy who wanted to be cool to other men but who was also painfully nervous around them. 

It was absolutely adorable, and Angel wanted so badly to get him into bed. 

But getting that kind of guy into bed was a challenge. It was like hunting a deer. Move too fast or too loudly, and he'd run off into the woods. 

Or so Angel assumed. He'd never actually gone hunting. That was too much a white person thing to do. 

Fuck it, he decided. Demie was the first real connection he'd made in a long time. And it wasn't like he was asking for a hookup. He just wanted to talk. 

He settled onto a bench where he could still see the Mothman stickers and dialed Demie's number. The phone rang with no answer. No shit, it was a Monday afternoon. People with normal 9 to 5s worked at that time. 

Well, at least he could leave a message and give Demie his number. He realized he'd never actually told Demie how to contact him. 

Eventually the answering machine picked up. "You've reached Demie and Elaine," Demie's voice said. "If you're trying to sell us something we don't fucking want it. If you're trying to get on our property, we have guns and we're not afraid to fucking use them. Bye." 

"Wow, your answering machine is pretty aggro," Angel said. "This is Angel, but the way. I realized I didn't give you my number. So, y'know, just in case you want to get in touch…" 

He left his number and hung up. He sat staring at the Mothman stickers a little longer. He kind of wanted to send a picture of them to Demie, since Demie in a way reminded him of a cryptid - shy and kind of elusive. But of course, he couldn't, since Demie didn't have a cellphone. Still, he took a non-selfie picture of them anyways. Just in case he got to hang out with Demie sometime.

#writers on tumblr #writing #original fiction #original characters #lgbt fiction #gay fiction #wright's writing #w:demie and angel

[grimelords]

My November playlist is finished and I've done something slightly different by actually ordering the songs into a cohesive playlist rather than leaving them in the order I added them. Listen in for everyone's favourite genre, acoustic guitar instrumentals, followed by old fashioned cowboy country, comedy and ridiculous songs, 80s and modern dance, out-there piano instrumentals, rocks and rolls, oddball rap, christian rock buried where nobody will find it, noise rock of all flavours and Mirror Reaper in full. I guarantee there'll be at least something in four hours of music that you'll like. listen here!

Deixa - Toquinho: I love how much happens in this song even before it even kicks off at about a minute in. It cycles through so many different feelings before it really powers up and the drums come on. The rhythm from then on is just mesmerizing, it's just so busy and never dwells on any section for too long, the interplay between the melody, bassline and chord rhythm is amazing. And then at about 2:20 it powers up again! Bossa Nova Strong. Also I'm feeling very disrespected because I just did some research on this song only to find out it was sampled by Nujabes on one of his bad anime youtube hip hop songs.

Just A Closer Walk With Thee - Marisa Anderson: Traditional And Public Domain Songs is Marisa Anderson's weakest album, which is a shame because I love Traditional and Public Domain songs. Her playing is on point as always, but the tremolo and distortion she's using overwhelms the recording more often than not. This song is the best on the album purely because she's playing so quietly that it only shows up when she gets loud so it works perfectly near the end as it crescendos.

The Three Deaths Of Red Spectre - Gwenifer Raymond: Gwenifer Raymond has a new 'non-holiday specific single for a cold climate' in her words and I absolutely love it. The sheer velocity of the middle section is flooring, before it breaks apart totally and reforms into a sort of shanty before metamorphosing again into a heightening mania. I love the constantly shifting structure of this, it barely stops to give you room to breathe all the way through before the very end where it almost feels like it's going to collapse entirely.

Mister Sandman - Chet Atkins: Happy to report that I've had Mr Sandman stuck in my head for three weeks now and still don't really know the words because of tumblr posts. It alternates between 'mr email / e me a mail / make the attachment a pic of a snail' and 'mr sandman / sand me a man / make him the cutest man car door hook hand'.

Do I Ever Cross Your Mind - Chet Atkins & Dolly Parton: I've never gone much on Chet Atkins but my girlfriend showed my this song and it has completely reversed my opinion and it's mostly due to Dolly Parton. She is just so lovely on this it makes me tear up - the song itself is so nice and the playing is perfect but her personality just shines through so brightly it's an absolute delight.

There's A Man Going Around Taking Names - Lead Belly: I've been doing research to try to find out what this song is referring to, or its origin but I cannot find anything concrete. A few people are saying it inspired Johnny Cash for The Man Comes Around, which is plausible and adds a mystic bent to it. It seems incomplete, like it's missing the turn at the end that reveals who exactly he is or what's happening so the whole song just ends up feeling very mysterious and ominous.

When Mussolini Laid His Pistol Down - Merle Travis: This song is from 1943, which is sort of amazing because that means it's not a song about history particularly but rather current events. A great paragraph from wikipedia: "On 24 June Mussolini gave his last important speech as prime minister. It went down in history as the "boot topping" speech, with the Duce promising that the only part of Italy that the Anglo-Americans would be able to occupy (but forever and horizontally, i.e. as corpses) was the shore-line (for which he used a wrong word to define it). For many Italians, that confused and incoherent speech was the final proof that something was wrong with Mussolini." Mussolini, truly history's greatest moron.

The Master's Call - Marty Robbins: As a result of Red Dead 2 and my own natural instincts, I've been having a bigger than usual moment with cowboy music this month which of course includes Marty Robbins' Gunfighter Ballads And Trail Songs. In my mind this song is both the true ending and end credits music of Red Dead 2. Arthur sees the face of Christ in a lightning bolt and abandons his life of crime and sin, pleading with the lord to forgive him and then God kills a hundred cows with another lightning bolt just to make damn sure Arthur knows He's serious.

Saga Of The Ponderosa - Lorne Green: I was hanging out with my old housemate a few weeks ago and it turns out we were both having concurrent Marty Robbins cowboy music phases which was great news because then he turned me onto this album by Lorne Green who was on Bonanza and apparently took it upon himself to expand the Bonanaza Cinematic Universe in the 60s with a few albums. This song is apparently an origin story of Bonanza which I have never seen. It's extremely good, very powerful music. Great story of this godlike man striding across the country and overriding his wife's decision by naming his son HOSS.

Hard Sun - Eddie Vedder: I think it's interesting in A Star Is Born that Jackson Maine doesn't seem to be a real life equivalent of any actual musician. He's not obviously an archetype of any real person and so it's hard to place how exactly famous he is in the world of the movie. He's washed up enough to be playing pharmaceutical conferences but still has enough industry respect to be playing a tribute at the Grammys. The closest I could think of was Eddie Vedder oddly enough, and this song from the Into The Wild soundtrack really does sound like a Jackson Maine original.

For Chan - Tim Heideker: I'm having a real thing with comedy music recently and I can't tell if it means I've got a brain parasite or comedy music is good to me now. I think what I like about this song is the bluntness. There's no two ways about these people, and after years of hearing about the alt right as mysterious political genius computer brains it's a nice break to just hear them called greasy fat basement guys like we used to.

That's Right I'm Five - Don't Stop Or We'll Die: More good comedy music! They played this song on Comedy Bang Bang without announcing what it was called first, so the chorus really surprised me and made me laugh a lot. "They're selling the stocks so buy them, launch the torpedoes, tell my wife I love her, and send my son to college, bury me in the desert in my osh kosh b'gosh - that's right I'm five!" might be my favourite lyric of the year.

Future Brain - Den Harrow: Den Harrow is very good. He's like a beautiful moron American man that some italian scientists built in a lab in order to conquer America from the inside. Here are some good highlights from his wiki article: "The name Den Harrow was conceived by producers Roberto Turatti and Miki Chieregato, who based it on the Italian word denaro(money)." "After years of fame and popularity, it was revealed by frontman Stefano Zandri and his producers that Zandri did not actually sing the Den Harrow songs; he was essentially a character who lip-synched to vocals recorded by a number of other singers. Furthermore, since they did not consider Zandri's name and origin to be "trendy" enough, the producers R. Turatti and M. Chieregato concealed Zandri's Italian origin, marketing him as having been born Manuel Stefano Carry in Boston. This was done so Polydor Records could market him more easily in the English-speaking world, where Italian-produced music was, at the time, viewed with skepticism"

Love A Girl Right - Little Mix: Check out this rewrite of the Thong Song they did for the new Little Mix album. It's beyond belief. My girlfriend loves Little Mix and she's right to because they're the only girl/boy band that actually takes advantage of the form and does harmonies instead of just having them all sing in turn or all at once. They've got good vocal arrangements but they have the worst fucking songwriters working for them. Songwriters that pitch 'what if the Thong Song had a crunchy nu-metal guitar in it'.

This City Made Us - The Protomen: It's interesting to hear a band change styles - most other Protomen songs are a sort of Springsteen pastiche but this one from their newer single is more like Iron Maiden or Thin Lizzy. Approaching the 80s from a different angle. It's impressive to switch so radically and still have enough of a unifying sound that it feels like the same band. 80s throwback rock is a generally pallid genre populated by freaks who can't move on but Protomen put so much heart into it it's hard to write them off.

Teardrops - Womack & Womack: I love this song because it has two choruses. The drums stay the same throughout, the chords stay the same through the verse and chorus and only change for the second chorus/bridge part ("the music don't feel like it did when I felt it with you"), which just gives the whole song this feeling of beautiful endlessness. It goes and goes and goes and you're always already living in the best part of the song.

Boys Will Be Boys - The Duncan Sisters: Very very good piece of disco with a very nice piece of country picking guitar near the start for some reason. I quit like that the chorus of 'boys, oh boys, will be boys - they can really hurt you!' goes from a lighthearted thing about relationships until the bridge near the end where it sounds more like a dire warning. She's staring straight into your eyes and saying 'they can hurt you. boys can hurt you. they can really hurt you.' while motioning toward the exit with her eyes. 

Ayaya - Bicep: I've been trying to train my ear a bit better so I got a piano app on my phone and I just try to pick out the melodies of songs now when I'm bored. It turns out this is a very satisfying song to play. The melody is very simple, but the constant build and the couple of other melodies that come in around it make you feel like a super genius for just playing the same thing over and over.

The Call - David Mayer: I completely forget how I came across this song but I'm in love with the vocals on it. The effect reminds me of the one on Problem With The Sun by Nicolas Jaar, sort of pitched down and layered over itself. Outside of the vocals it's a pretty straightforward euro house chunk but damn sometimes a song just has a really good sound in it that you can't deny.

Problem With The Sun - Nicolas Jaar: My girlfriend's brother was telling me he was riding his bike the other day and had some kind of mental break where he was riding north in the afternoon but the sun was on his right, in the east - and for some reason his first instinct wasn't that he was wrong or disoriented, it was that there was a problem with the sun and it was in the wrong place. That boy ain't right but this song is good. I love that Nicolas Jaar uses this weird down pitched voice on a few songs and I really wish he'd bring it back, it sounds great and also funny to me.

Ensaslayi - Cecil Taylor: I don't have the brain power to comprehend any of Cecil Taylor's ensemble work that I've heard, free jazz in a band setting is simply too much for me it turns out -but I've really been getting a lot out of this solo album of his called Fly! Fly! Fly! Fly! Fly!. This song in particular is one of the longer ones on the album, where another is only 53 seconds long and a few last around ten minutes. This is a nice midpoint, where he gives himself so much room to get lost in different directions without losing the thread entirely. I said it last time I was talking about him but I've really never heard anyone play piano like this and I absolutely love it. A lot of reviewers describe it as him playing the piano like it's a drumkit, which I think is accurate to a degree - but I think looking back from here this music makes a lot more sense within the context of black midi and things like that. The extreme edges of what a piano can theoretically do, but with a decisive and beautiful human edge and human brain that's responsible for and making sense of the chaos.

The Homeless Wanderer - Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou: I found out about this album cause Benjamin Booker was posting about her on his instagram story and it's just incredible. The TL;DR of her story is she's an Ethiopian nun that studied music in Switzerland and Cairo and wrote this beautiful piano music based on traditional Ethiopian pentatonic music. I love the rhythm of it, every note in the right hand get swirled around and around before it's settled on while the left hand moves so smoothly and delicately. Unfortunately-ish she's obviously in that genre of Searching For Sugarman secret blog music evidenced by her spotify similar artists being Karen Dalton, Alice Coltrane and Connie Converse. That's not a bad thing exactly, at least people are hearing about her, but her music is unique and amazing enough on its own without needing much mythologizing.

Carnival Of The Animals: No 12 - Fossils - Camille Saint-Saëns: My girlfriend was showing me Saint-Saëns' The Swan and then we were going through the whole rest of the Carnival Of The Animals and I'm happy to report that he not only did he do one for fossils but also centered it around the idea of a bone xylophone. I'm going to write an article for Vulture tracing the origin of the cartoon bone xylophone and my thesis is it starts here.

Perth - Bon Iver: Just thinking about how good Bon Iver is. I love how massive this song can feel, the drums combined with the big brass. It's small and soft on the grand scale, but on an album that gets as quiet and soft as songs like Holocene this song blows up like an atom bomb.

Yet Again - Grizzly Bear: This really is one of the best songs of all time I've decided. It feels like I get into a thing of listening to it on repeat almost every month now. I don't know what it is exactly - I guess it's every part of it. The lyrics are impenetrable (check) the riff is simple and powerful (check) the drums are doing a lot and keeping it simple at the same time. The the way the harmony vocals all intertwine in the prechorus part is amazing. The way the whole song blows up into a big radio static solo at the end. Every part of this song is great, I just love it.

Fuckin N' Rollin - Phantastic Ferniture: I found out that Julia Jacklin has a side project with a very shit name and they make very good music. I love when people have a whole other band for another side of their self. This is just Julia Jacklin if the lyrics were just first draft whatevers instead of incredibly poignant and beautiful and the music was just rockin and rollin with your friends. It's great!

Soft - Kings Of Leon: Number one best song ever about havin a bad dick!! I'd love to hang out lady but my dick! I'm passed out in your garden, I'm in I can't get off I'm so soft! I'd pop myself in you body, I'd come into your party but I'm soft!

Soft Serve - Soul Coughing: I played this while I was driving with my girlfriend and she said 'what the fuck is this' and she's right, as usual. It's Soul Coughing baby! The 90s 'slacker jazz' band! They sound dated as fuck, a real product of their time but I think they've still got a lot to offer. I had the chorus of this stuck in my head for a couple days which made me listen to this album more than usual when I mostly prefer their first one Ruby Vroom. Irresistible Bliss might have the worst album cover of all time though, so it's got that going for it. Google it.

Ya Mama - Wuf Ticket: There wiki article for this band says they had two songs in 1982 and that was it. Then it has a section titled Greaseman and then the article ends. Here's the Greaseman section in its entirety: "Wuf Ticket's “Ya Mama” achieved its greatest notoriety, and airplay, as a music bed for bits by shock jock The Greaseman on WWDC-FM in Washington, D.C. and later his nationally syndicated radio show where Greaseman would argue with a surly service industry worker." Anyway this is more of that very good early hip hop shit where everyone assumed songs should go for 8 minutes. It's just extremely weak sauce Ya Mama jokes for a very long time before they change tack completely and start talking about how Every Woman Is An Angel And Without Mothers We Would Never Have Been Born So Think About That Next Time.

Gon Be Okay - Lil B: I had the part of this song where he sings 'things are never gonna be the same again' along with the piano in my head the other day and spent fully an hour googling to try to find what song it was from before giving up. I woke up the next morning and suddenly remembered it was this song but was very shocked to find out that he actually never sings that line along with the piano melody, he says it once at the start and that's it. What's going on with my brain. Anyway in my searching I found out that the piano is sampled from the Spirited Away soundtrack so once more in my life I've been led to ruin by anime.

2 Minute Drills - Allblack & Kenny Beats: This whole EP is great. More sports themed rap please. Allblack is ferocious and Kenny's production throughout is great, the perfect mix of simple straighforward beats that still have a lot of space and energy in them, plus 'Woah Kenny!' has my award for Best New Producer Watermark.

Don't Gas Me - Dizzee Rascal: I don't know how he keeps doing it but somehow Dizzee Rascal continues to make extremely fun bangers without ever slowing down. The best line in this is when he says "no I don't drink Appletiser" (the sparkling apple juice) which is an extremely weird flex if there ever was one.

Acid King - Malibu Ken: It feels insane that a Tobacco and Aesop Rock collab sounds as good as this. I love that there's no drums the entire time he's rapping and I completely love the Mort Garson vibes in the instrumental which turns out to be a perfect soundtrack to the Ricky Kasso satan worship LSD murder story that Aesop's telling. Also in reading about Kasso I just discovered the very good stoner doom band also named Acid King, so expect to see them in next month's list.

Pirate Blues - As Cities Burn: As Cities Burn have reformed and put out a new single so I've been thinking about them a bit. On paper they don't sound good, over three albums they morphed from a christian metalcore band to a christian alt-rock band, and while they never reinvented the wheel I think they're a remarkable band who took a lot of risks in their own way and made a lot of rock solid music. They've got a lot of great songs but I think this is my favourite from their third album when it finally felt like they'd settled into a steady alt rock sound informed by their much heavier past.

This Is It, This Is It - As Cities Burn: The thing I like about As Cities Burn is that as much as they're a christian band (yuck) they're more of a band of guys who are christians (slightly less yuck) and the difference is huge. Rather than evangelising or preaching, their songs are about their own personal struggles with their faith (still slightly yuck). I like this song especially because the lyric feels close to gospel, 'we're all singing for our sins, unless grace be the wind' but with the added twist of being furious that you're trapped by the sin of your physical body.

Timothy - As Cities Burn: I think this song is just incredible. The lyrics are so strong and direct and heartbreaking, the vocal performance especially is amazing and it may be the only time in history that a 6 minute guitar solo has seemed good and necessary.

Face Tat - Zach Hill: There's an incredible video of the recording of this song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGi9SOFX5rc that really looks exactly how it sounds and has a very similar energy to that video of 80 guys singing the halo theme in the boys bathroom. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRG9KwvbVhk . This is what it sounds like when the boys are left alone. The biggest draw to Zach Hill's drumming is the intense primordial immediacy of it. He is just pounding away like a possessed animal and it's really on show here, especially combined with the occasional punctuating shout. Carson McWhirter's guitar is incredible too, the tone he's got where it sounds like three at once playing these incredible twisting riffs that turn on a dime. I think what I like most about this song is just how in sync they are - for such a chaotic, noisy song it sounds so rehearsed, somehow every single note is perfectly in time in the storm.

Betty's Worry Or The Slab - Hunters And Collectors: This is maybe the sweatiest song I've ever heard. It's a disgusting song about being incredibly sweaty and horny and I love the weird squeaky noise he makes after he says 'say it! say it!'. The bass sound in this is so fantastically meaty too, and combined with the brass at the end it's just great.

Worms Of The Senses / Faculties Of The Skull (live) - Refused: I cannot believe just how absolutely ferocious live Refused is. Insanely powerful without ever missing a beat in a song like this that requires incredible timing throughout. For some reason I've always thought Refused were an only ok live band after watching Refused Are Fucking Dead because all I remember of it is a clip where the guitarist accidentally hits the singer in the face with his headstock and they have to stop the show.

Mirror Reaper - Bell Witch: I got to see Bell Witch live a couple of weeks ago and it's one of the best shows I've ever seen. I can't really describe it other than it feels like the closest thing to a legitimate summoning ritual that I've ever seen. An invocation and an expelling of raw power and emotion between two people, it was really something. Also the best part was about two minutes in when they were really setting the scene with the sort of ambient beginning of Mirror Reaper and the whole crowd was dead silent and entranced as they built this mystic atmosphere and set the vibe a guy behind me said loudly to his friend 'hm pretty good so far!'

What's You Gonna Do When The World's On Fire - Lead Belly & Anne Graham: This is in my opinion the best genre of gospel song where they they just roast you for not being saved yet.​ 

listen here

#playlists

[sleazygoing]

ok but here’s some stuff about vernon kennedy’s oldest kid Indiana, who is a dipshit;

indiana miller. 25ish but baby-faced. cis male. prom-night baby. he’s 5′7′’ and has that scrawny build that got him bullied at school but also means his metabolism is fine with living off cap’n crunch and marijuana. he’s got his mom’s brown eyes and his dad’s nose back before the coke. he won’t wear anything that isn’t black and slightly too small. also he calls everything ‘gay’… despite having three queer parents.

he lives in cali with his 2 moms. they used to own a dope farm but now they’re in a nice suburban house with a kiln in the yard and make $500+ avant garde pottery. their dipshit son indiana dwells in the garage in a veritable bachelor cave featuring a beat-up couch, lame posters duct-taped to the walls, and a traffic cone bong that WILL make you vomit off of one hit.

he’s the bass guitarist and (extremely poor) lyricist for a very bad punk band. incredibly, they still haven’t settled on a definitive name yet because they’re too busy fighting. they briefly had a nu metal phase. they also briefly had a folk punk phase. it’s a fucking shitshow really. they’re very…. noisy. they’re perpetually having a musical identity crisis. despite being together since high school and having some pretty dope equipment sponsored by the bank of dad, they have yet to even finish their first album. the creative process largely involves arguing at great length about irrelevant shit like which teenage mutant ninja turtle is coolest. they’ve written iconic songs such as ‘God Is Pissing In My Eyes’ and ‘Banned From Dollar General: The Reckoning’. apparently they ‘transcend sound’. they’ll never make it any further than lame house shows. in the future, the band will piss itself out and indiana and the drummer will go on to start a bad amateur radio show with a small but pretty dedicated following. vernon is gonna be so hyped. i mean he already is, but, his son, on the fucking radio? fuck yeah.

personality-wise, indiana has next to nothing in common with his old man beyond a tendency to make not the best life choices. he’s pretty introverted and kind of an edgelord really. total smart-ass. class clown at school. perpetual slacker-offer. and did somebody say fragile masculinity? he’s working on it but he’s immature and has trouble talking to chicks he likes. he’s never had a girlfriend and might not, ever. he has no ambition at all. he smokes enough weed that performing basic tasks is quite a lot of effort. he thinks he’s stickin it to the man by refusing to get a real job ever since he got fired from hot topic for being too stoned.

his parents raised him with some pretty lax discipline and shit and uh… it kinda shows. as a kid he tended to do lame rebellious shit for attention and then got mad when it didn’t get a reaction. one time in high school he got a nose ring to be edgy and then threatened to run away from home because his parents were like ‘aw cool that’s dope’ instead of grounding him for it. he infamously got suspended from school one time for wearing a shirt that says ‘fuck’ on it. he recently got his first (legit) tattoo and it’s a wizard ripping a bong.

his hobbies and interests include smoking 10 blunts a day, stealing road signs/shopping carts/anything else lying around that might inconvenience someone, d&d, graffiti, the dumb conspiracy theories, watching TV for a minimum of 6 hours a day, and generally being a nuisance. fortunately his anxiety disorder prevents him from committing any major crimes but he did get arrested and spent the night in the drunk tank once. they let him go because he cried and it’s technically not a crime to attempt to make a crop circle.

him and his dad don’t exactly see eye-to-eye sometimes. vernon skipped town before indiana was even born because he was stealing motel TVs and definitely not prepared to be a father, came back into his life with some regularity and a shitton of money from slinging coke, and then got locked up for nine years as soon as kiddo got used to it. indiana wouldn’t even call his dad ‘dad’ until fairly recently. they’re working on it. vernon makes his cameo appearances around the holidays. he’s kinda gone from ‘disappointing dad’ to ‘embarrassing dad’, and he can live with that. they talk on the phone with some regularity now, usually late at night and about total bullshit. vernon is very proud of him.

#; FACT. #im gonna make one of these for vernon's other kids too at some point but uh #here have some incoherent shit #B)

[omegatheunknown]

...In which I thoroughly (yet naively) survey Metallica.

More than a month ago I finished reading Masters of Doom, which in addition to being an interesting history of PC Gaming’s pioneering id Software and stirring nostalgia about the halcyon days of 90s first-person shooters, made frequent and compelling reference to the influence of heavy metal on the aesthetic sensibilities of John Romero (though he’s ultimately more of a Dokken fan, which I can’t speak to.) Listening to the actual soundtracks of Doom, Doom II, Quake, Duke Nukem 3D led me straight into a curious survey of Megadeth, then Metallica, briefly Slayer, Anthrax, back to Metallica, Exodus, Sepultura, Suicidal Tendencies, Overkill, back to Megadeth and then back Metallica, over and over Metallica. I am listening to Metallica now. 

Can’t say I’m sure why. Without meaning to sound condescending, I’d always assumed if thrash metal appealed to me, it might have happened when I was a teenager. Perhaps environmental factors were at play, but at my most susceptible and angst filled years, the garage rock revival was in full swing, as was something of a (perceived? I will never know if this was a widespread thing. I wasn’t nearly as online then) grunge renaissance. Grunge was locked in as tonal and aesthetic sensibility and my friends’ bands were grungy pop punk with a bit of emo sprinkled on top. As I said, the questionable excesses of youth, complete with pretension about what is good (The Stooges, The Pixies, The Strokes and NIRVANA) and what is silly and ridiculous (Nu-Metal’s relative strength and the silliness of bands like Korn and Slipknot did not help Metal’s esteem.) A respect but low level of enthusiasm for Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden didn’t manifest anything serious any time in the last fifteen years. Thrash’s underground roots put some doubt in the mind re: whatever vague supposition my teenaged peers and I had about the opposing forces of punk and metal (though I do remember actual arguments with a fan of what I described as ornate but soulless arpeggios who thought PJ Harvey’s oeuvre was unsophisticated and boring.) There’s a lot of grunge’s DNA in early Metallica. Which kind of makes it all the more bewildering that I haven’t been here before. All that wasted time listening to Mudhoney! Also, not to spoil the ending, how bewildering it is that Metallica absolutely fell to pieces in the 90s.    Kill ‘em All is a stupidly exciting record. Had I been around to hear it in the 80s, it would’ve melted my brain. I assume if I heard it in the 00s it would’ve done the same. I think part of the issue with Metallica is that when I was a precocious kid/tween they were not nearly at their best and the only second hand exposure you get to a well-established but no longer thriving band is their hits, and even post-survey I don’t particularly care for ‘One’ or ‘Enter Sandman.’ (Then again, at the height of Metallica v Napster you’d think young Zaq would’ve been a little more curious... and those mp3s would’ve be right there...) Anyway, Kill ‘em All: devastating and fun. Imagine if Mötley Crüe was ever any good (were they?) No, that’s insane. And gives a person very little to go on. High energy from the jump, utter shred. Reminiscent only of a slower, hopelessly outclassed version of the same thing, which is to say I think if you slowed a track like The Four Horsemen down you’d end up with a dreary sounding Sabbath number but why would you want that? (A different day perhaps.) Definitely the sexiest of the Metallica albums, just a little bit of the electricity of hair metal bleeding in at the edges, though the most wicked excesses are in flurries of virtuosity. “Bass solo, take one” -- much as I enjoy ‘Hit the Lights,’ ‘Jump in the Fire,’ ‘Seek & Destroy’ (and other imperative calls to action,) I think the bass solo ‘(Pulling Teeth)’ that splits the album is my favourite bit. Ride the Lightning -- actually, speaking of Cliff Burton, he of the improbable bass solos -- supposedly he planted the seeds of music theory/actually thinking about the music in his bandmates’ heads, leading to acoustic guitars, curious instrumentals and harmonies winding their way into the sophomore album. This probably also led them to getting way ahead of themselves and veering out of their lane, but in the meantime, Ride the Lightning is a lot more varied to listen to than their debut. Yes, it continues to wail, but it wails in new and exciting ways. ‘Creeping Death’ and ‘Trapped Under Ice’ are the choicest tracks. ‘Fade to Black’ is a pretty good song by the standards of a power ballad and is a nice dimension to add to the album but I’d point out that it portends Metallica’s inevitable doom.  Master of Puppets is considered (nearly anywhere I’ve looked) the undisputed champion of thrash metal albums. I would kinda love to have a dissenting opinion here, but it feels impossible to deny. It is stunningly heavy and loud and kinetic. It’s definitely a twin to its predecessor, they share a layout, right up to track 4 being a power ballad. As a set they’re the Pokemon Red/Blue of Thrash. Anything other than the subtle evolution in the playing and production would’ve been weird as hell -- album number three and they nearly perfect the genre. On the subject of Metallica’s power ballads, I’d make the point that ‘Welcome Home (Sanitarium)’ is the pinnacle of their efforts -- gorgeous and grotesque in equal measure. And like Ride the Lightning follows ‘Fade to Black’ with an extra-heavy track, ‘Sanitarium’ is followed by the vicious gatling gun of ‘Disposable Heroes,’ as emphatic an anti-war song as one could imagine. Again special mention to a Cliff Burton feature -- ‘Orion’ is an oddity in the Metallica canon, can’t imagine there’s anything else like it that I’ve missed. It’s the most appropriate space marine soundtrack I’ve ever heard, it previews a much nerdier version of Metallica that starts writing about horrors from outer space. My impression is that long after I’ve moved on to another passing phase I’ll retain a fondness for their instrumentals, all five of the main ones are excellent.   ...And Justice for All just isn’t as good as the previous two. This is becoming less about Metallica and more a tribute to Cliff Burton, but fact is -- his phenomenal bass lines are the secret sauce, and in the absence of Burton (and apparently due to Ulrich’s hearing loss?) the bass is often lost in the mix. It still wails, though relying more on arpeggios and prog-y tempo changes and layered arrangements -- with ‘loud’ as the governing principle in the mix, the instruments all have a bit of a unnatural synthetic quality, the effect is much more processed than the earlier albums and it occasionally sounds like a flat wall of sound... which is about to become a theme, oh boy. Though it does convincingly sound like a mutant off-shoot of the Ride the Lightning/Master of Puppets aesthetic, just a shaggier and excessive cousin prone to wild mood swings. Seven of the nine tracks are at least six and a half minutes long. At 9:48, ‘To Live is to Die’ is the first song in the catalogue that I would consider straight tedious (Though the title track is about the same length and it’s quite good!) At the end of the album, ‘Dyers Eve’ appears as a great redeemer, probably the best expression of what they were trying to do here. Oh yeah -- ‘One.’ Honestly it gets there. It’s a very pretty song. I think what I don’t like about the ballads is Hetfield’s voice when he’s singing (as opposed to when he’s growling, yelling, barking) may as well be someone trying to do a Brad Roberts impression. Though maybe that’s not the issue, I always enjoy The Crash Test Dummies. Metallica/Black Album. I don’t like this. Or, I don’t like it very much but I recognize it’s pretty good. Definitely has its moments (’Of Wolf and Man,’ ‘Through the Never.’) Seems like an odd stumbling block. This was a massive hit. ‘Enter Sandman’ is a classic rock song. Of sorts. It ain’t thrash, though it’s definitely still a heavy metal album in the vein of Black Sabbath and the like. Reading about the composition I understand they were tired of what they had been doing, they felt like impostors and wanted to strip it back some, and in that sense it’s an accomplishment. It’s dark and heavy and somber and pretty sad in parts. I feel like if Metallica had collapsed into the sea and never been found afterward/gone their separate ways this would’ve been an interesting finale, but as it stands, through the lens of history I have to reckon with the fact that this is the first of four albums produced by Bob Rock and it’s easily the best of them. It’s going to get worse before it gets... less worse. Which is not to say I don’t appreciate the orchestra and the cellos and a bit more variation in the compositions but... whither Thrash? ‘Holier Than Thou,’ silly as it is, captures a bit of the lost spirit, Maybe it’s exhausting to be that band for too long. It’s a perfectly natural thing to want to progress and not make the same album over and over again, but I can’t help but feel like they abandoned their perch atop a style where they were the greatest of all time to be (at first) a pretty good metal band and then a ‘hard rock’ band. This is Jordan switching to baseball and then for some reason trying ice hockey. I’m reasonably sure ‘Nothing Else Matters’ sucks pretty viciously, though Metallica writing a love song has a conceptual appeal and I could understand people liking it. Load. Gosh, what an appropriate title. I think if you asked Chad Kroeger what his favourite Metallica album is, he’d absolutely say Load. Metallica skipped over grunge and went straight to post-grunge. It’s also so long! There’s so much of this very mediocre album.  Reload. What the fuck is this. It starts off with the Soundgardenesque (well, Rusty Cage-esque) ‘Fuel’ with its fun but asinine chorus, it doesn’t do anything particularly interesting after. Just like its sibling, it’s almost eighty minutes long of sluggish, middle of the road 90s rock.  Garage, Inc is amazing by comparison to anything else put out by Metallica in the 90s. Two discs, the second compiling covers from as far back as 1984, 1987′s Garage Days EP and the b-side to some awful Load song that’s just four Mötörhead covers. ‘Whiskey in the Jar,’ of course, but also ‘Am I Evil?’ Sabbath’s ‘Sabbra Cadabra’ and an exuberant cover of Queen’s ‘Stone Cold Crazy.’ It’s not solid gold but there’s a lot of stuff to like. S&M (Symphony and Metallica, but... you know.) Definitely has it moments, particularly with the older stuff -- ‘Call of Ktulu,’ ‘Master of Puppets,’ ‘The Thing That Should Never Be’ with symphonic accompaniment is very cool.   St. Anger is the big ‘comeback’ album that came out when I was 15 and thus acutely aware of big music releases. I feel like I could’ve skipped the opening paragraphs of this essay and just written that as explanation of why I didn’t care about Metallica. I’m sure there was some good heavy metal happening around the turn of the century but at the time this was happening, Limp Bizkit, Saliva, Staind, Kid Rock, Godsmack, Sevendust, Slipknot, Drowning Pool, Korn, Trapt and Linkin Park (probably the best of the bunch? right?) were the biggest things in metal. Hence, in 2003 we are gifted... Nu Metallica. The title track is very bad. There are no guitar solos to be found. There aren’t any ballads to be found (that’s mostly fine.) I’ve done three tracks. I’m not listening to the rest of this. It’s just not worth it. Death Magnetic was a big surprise as a I soldiered on. Bob Rock is gone, Rick Rubin is in. Say what you will about Rubin (another time, perhaps) but for whatever reason, after a twenty year hiatus (1988-2008,) the thrash is back. I was beginning to grapple with the idea that Metallica had been past their prime my entire life, and while that’s still probably true, here they are at least dabbling with the style that made them such a big damned deal. Which is not to say this is an amazing album. It’s good though! But you can hear, even on the opening track, how exceedingly compressed the sound is. Everything is loud on this album! Without exception! All the time! It’s all peak! Consequently it’s a tiring thing to listen to all the way through. Apparently there are different versions available that turn down the mix a bit, but the Spotify version is evidently the original, as it is just a brutal onslaught of noise. It’s not a great album to sit through, but individual tracks are welcome. There’s even an instrumental for the first time since ...And Justice For All. Lulu (with Lou Reed) -- Laugh all you want, I don’t think this is as bad as Load and Reload. It’s really god damned weird, sure, and it’s not ‘good’ by any conception of (what is ‘the good,’ etc) but it’s at least interesting here and there.  Hardwired... to Self-Destruct suggests a certain inevitability to the path. With or without the play-acting in the 90s (Hetfield has speculated that Ulrich and Hammett were interested in being a U2-sized band complete with the frivolous and monolithic pretensions) they might have ended up here anyway, a bunch of dudes in their 50s making a heavy metal record that is doomed to be nowhere near as vital and electrifying as the groundbreaking stuff of their youth, but is practiced, professional and what the fans have come to expect. It’s pretty good, but there’s no chance it’s their best work. Read a review that called it their best work in 25 years, which is... damning with faint praise, but definitely true. Anyway they’re in the zone. ‘Moth Into Flame’ is a pretty good example of what we’re dealing with here -- thesis, antithesis, synthesis, in this case, arriving at ‘generic Metallica.’ If there’s more Metallica on the way it’ll be pretty much like this, chugging along like Springsteen or the Rolling Stones. It seems super unlikely they’ll ever surpass their first five albums, but I think that’s true of just about every band ever.  In conclusion, I’m not doing this same process for Megadeth. :P