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theprogrockbstheorist · 9 months

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HAPPY 70th BIRTHDAY GEDDY!!!!

(meme credit to u/rtphokie on reddit)

OH, AND WHAT’S THAT?!?! IT’S ALSO THE 49th ANNIVERSARY OF NEIL PEART JOINING RUSH?!?!

In order to celebrate these wondrous occasions, I have compiled 70 reasons why I love Rush (especially Geddy):

70. They don't have any unlistenable albums. I can put on any Rush album and at the very least enjoy it, which is saying a lot!

69. ANDDDD they have 19 studio albums!!! 167 songs!!!

68. Alex's iconic Hall of Fame induction speech.

67. The movie I Love You, Man. The main plot of that is just two guys geeking out about Rush and then going to see them in concert.

66. The Bb5 in "Cygnus X-1 Book 1: The Voyage". For the record, the other famous Bb5 sung by a male singer in rock is the high note in "Bohemian Rhapsody", sung by Roger Taylor.

65. Geddy's range in general. Say what you will about his voice, but he had range.

64. Their pre-concert videos.

63. "Hey baby it's 7:45 and I need to go to bed soon, let's fuck"- In the Mood. The debut album was something else, man.

62. They wrote songs during soundcheck when they were on tour. This includes songs like "Tom Sawyer" and "Chemistry".

61. They went to a Yes concert while recording Caress of Steel, and almost quit making the album. I, for one, am very glad they didn't!

60. The "rap" in "Roll the Bones". Sit back, relax, get busy with the facts...

59. Gene Simmons thought they weren't into women because they didn't want to party with KISS. True story!

58. They listed their baseball positions in the liner notes for Signals.

57. Neil wrote lyrics to a song using only anagrams. The song is called "Anagram (For Mongo)", and is on the album Presto.

56. They thanked themselves in the liner notes for Hemispheres. Listed as Dirk, Lerxst, and Pratt, ofc!

55. They would challenge themselves to write last-minute songs. Results of this experiment include "Hand Over Fist" from Presto, and "Malignant Narcissism" from Snakes and Arrows.

54. The mere existence of "A Passage to Bangkok". I wonder what their thought process was to put a song about smoking weed around the world after a 20-minute long dystopian prog rock epic...

53. "La Villa Strangiato". Just... everything about it.

52. The kimonos. You know the ones!

51. Their nicknames for each other!! (see above)

50. They had the second-longest stable line up in rock music! The only ones with a longer stable line up was ZZ Top.

49. They had a 40-year career! Even longer if you include pre-Neil and their adventures since the R40 tour.

48. The synth era. I unapologetically love 80s Rush, especially Grace Under Pressure and Power Windows.

47. "The Necromancer" basically being self-insert Tolkien fanfic. I wonder who the "three travelers" are supposed to be... OH WAIT!

46. They're giant nerds. All prog bands are, but they are especially nerdy.

45. Hugh Syme's awesome album covers. He did every single one from Caress of Steel onwards, barring the front cover for Snakes and Arrows.

44. The 7/8 section in "Tom Sawyer". That was my first intermediate bass line! Thanks, Geddy!

43. They're Canadian icons. Unironically, they're the first thing that comes to mind when someone mentions "Canada" to me.

42. The horribly cheesy, terrible, but also really funny music video for "Time Stand Still". That song, btw, might be my favorite 80s Rush song, and is probably in my Top 5.

41. The triple-entendre pun of Moving Pictures. They're filming a movie (moving picture) of people moving paintings (moving pictures), while someone is getting moved by the scene (moving...pictures...).

40. They quote the 1812 Overture in the overture for "2112".

39. Geddy taught Les Claypool how to properly play "YYZ".

38. The Permanent Waves era glasses!

37. The opening of "Xanadu".

36. The weird stuff Geddy would have on his side of stage after he stopped using amps. This includes rotisserie chickens, washing machines, dryers, and popcorn machines.

35. "Music by Lee and Lifeson, Lyrics by Peart" on almost every single Rush song.

34. The ending of "Spirit of Radio". OF SALESMEN!!!

33. Their inside jokes. Example: The Bag.

32. They took French classes together, and began announcing their songs in French in Quebec.

31. The progressiveness of Counterparts. What other 40-year old rockstars were talking about healthy relationship boundaries and openly supporting gay people in 1993?

30. Their vaults are practically empty because they scrapped songs that weren't up to their standards. This is why we have no sub-par Rush material!

29. Choosing to end their careers with grace.

28. Ending the last show of their career with "Working Man", the song that got everything started.

27. "Dreamline"--"Learning that we're only immortal / For a limited time".

26. Geddy and Alex inducting Yes into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017.

25. Then, of course, Geddy playing "Roundabout" with Yes during their induction! (Unfortunately, he did not play his Rickenbacker :( )

24. No decisions were made regarding the band without it being unanimous.

23. "Closer to the Heart". To me, that song is like a musical representation of their friendship, and it always leaves me with a warm, fuzzy feeling after listening to it.

22. Neil's books. Ghost Rider, in particular helped me get through a rough time earlier this year.

21. Geddy's Big Beautiful Book of Bass. I love that thing, and I am looking forward to his memoir in November!!!

20. That incredible Rickenbacker. I know it hasn't been his main bass since the early 80s but...

19. All their other creative projects. Geddy and Alex have a solo album each, Alex is involved with Envy of None rn, and Neil had his blog.

18. All their other stage interactions.

17. "ATTENTION ALL PLANETS OF THE SOLAR FEDERATION! WE HAVE ASSUMED CONTROL!" -"2112". Just... all of "2112".

16. They got me into prog. I wouldn't have this blog right now if it weren't for Rush.

15. The Lifeson chord. The F#7add11 voicing that you can hear in so many of their songs (it's the opening to "Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres").

14. Neil's drumming. They call him The Professor for a reason!

13. Geddy's bass playing. And his singing. And playing keys. And... yeah, we would be here all day!

12. The Dinner with Rush video. I make daily references to this that no one notices...

11. "The measure of a life / is a measure of love and respect"- "The Garden". The final song on their final album, and possibly the most amazing closer of all time.

10. Their charity work. IIRC, this includes giving away the aforementioned rotisserie chickens, as well as various fundraisers.

9. Their constant strive to improve themselves. Including Geddy working with a vocal coach, Neil working with Freddie Gruber, and of course, disavowing that Ayn Rand shit.

8. They give me something to strive towards, both as a musician and as a person. If I could make records half as good as Rush, and handle the fame with half the grace that they did, I would consider myself well-accomplished.

7. Neil's lyrics inspired me to get back into writing.

6. They inspired me to become a musician, and to pursue a career in music. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't have stayed in choir or picked up bass, and I would've never considered a career in audio technology.

5. Their music helped me bond with my dad.

4. Geddy talking about his family's story of survival during the Holocaust. I think that's really important to talk about.

3. Other Rush fans. Well, okay, some of them like to brag about how many concerts they've been to, or tend to be a little gate-keep, but most of them are really chill people.

2. Their music helped me get through the toughest times in my life. Without getting too personal, I even credit them with saving my life on multiple occasions.

However, what I admire about Rush, above all else...

1. Their friendship with each other.

Once again, happy birthday Geddy! Your music has inspired me in so many ways, and I wouldn’t be the person I am today without it.

#not an essay #rush #hbd geddy!!

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meadow-dusk · 2 years

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A Few Words from Neil Young

Interview with Christian Lebrun & Francis Dordor | May 1976 | Best Magazine Excerpt, Neil Young on Neil Young: Interviews and Encounters | ed. Arthur Lizie, 2021

Holding out his bowl and spoon with childlike reserve, “No, I’ll take some more soup, please,” Neil Young is surrounded by four journalists (two from Best, two from Rock and Folk) as if for a domino game whose goal would be to prevent the fifth thief from being forced to pass his turn – this is the resonance of an interview, perfectly unexpected, made after the concert at the Pavilion and whose main motivation was undoubtedly this wonderful audience, one of the most receptive that we have seen in Paris. Talking about a set in a few lines would be profoundly unfair, as much for the indescribable density of the electronic part which culminated indifferently with “Down by the River,” “The Losing End,” or “Cortez the Killer,” as for the veil of intimacy shared with 12,000 people with the acoustic songs, that delicate harmony of receptivity compensating for the aggressive and desperate misery of this rusty and malicious arena. Two hours later, his face suspect, Neil appeared in a luxury box, repairing Giscardian youth, with a paranoid shadow in the extension of his heels. He sits in front of a vegetable soup and turns his deep gaze toward us. His eyes, like silver nails, seem to have been thrown into his head with a hammer blow; small feminine gestures accompany his measured and patient voice.

Q: Did you like this first Parisian concert?

NY: Oh yeah, that was a great time. I think it was a good gig. I think it will be one of the best in this tour. I love the audience. A very sensitive room, sensitive for the acoustic part and physically present for the electric songs. Even the audience dreams of this. A perfect mix between sensitivity and physical appearance.

Q: The Rolling Zuma review, what was it?

NY: Uh…that was a joke. We played in these clubs. I have a t-shirt from this tour: “Crazy Horse. Neil Young. Northern California. 1976. Bar Tour.” They were just free concerts in small venues. There were between fifty and a hundred people.

Q: Was that a mockery of Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue?

NY: Oh yeah! Elliot Roberts, my manager, told Rolling Stone I’d do several shows, they found out they were in clubs and they called it the Rolling Zuma Revue. It was very good for us, it allowed the group to come together for this tour. We did eight or ten clubs in three weeks. It was around my ranch. We drove there, Marin County, San Mateo County, old wooden bars…with all these people who live in the mountains and spend their money until drunk, we come up and people scream.

Q: Can you talk about the Zuma concept?

NY: It was a personal choice about breaking up with a girl, about the impressions of the subconscious, in fact it is a very romantic record. But some of the songs, of course, are very cynical. “Stupid Girl” is “get lost,” you see. They all come from a similar reality; I think each song adopts these reactions.

Q: And “Through My Sails?”

NY: The whole album is based on the same feeling, so I wanted to integrate it into my music. When I went through the breakup of my family, I couldn’t translate the feelings but if I had waited long enough, it wouldn’t have been so depressing, and I could then have used this turmoil to transcribe them. This is what I wanted to do here, experience it, finish this album.

Q: But it covers up feelings of a more positive nature…

NY: If I had taken it out when it happened to me, it would have been more painful. So I chose to extract this experience with the support of a certain strength and not with my current weaknesses.

Q: On Tonight’s the Night, in “Roll Another Number” in particular, you have this very chilly take on the hippies and the Woodstock generation…

NY: Yes…on Woodstock…but this album is too special. That’s why I didn’t play any of the songs on it tonight. I had this experience, I hardly assimilated it and I translated it, but I can’t play these songs on stage anymore. I won’t do any more. I did it in London, people were getting mad. I will not do any more, any of the songs that touch on drugs, which can annihilate you, nor the old drug songs.

(Here Neil becomes visibly feverish, his verbal flow is more precipitous, and the evocation of this tragedy seems to revive ever-fresh pains, the death of the road manager Bruce Berry for whom Neil bears the indirect responsibility since he didn’t allow Crazy Horse to reform, after several cures of detoxifications because he did not consider him able to function, made Tonight’s the Night, a painful album of remorse that mourns a guy and his incredible human potential.)

Q: You hesitated a long time before releasing this album.

NY: Yes, because it was touching an area that could destroy me. So I thought for a long time about what consequences it might have. I’m not an artist who would remake albums as “clean” as Harvest or After the Gold Rush is, although Zuma is relatively clean, in my opinion. For Tonight’s the Night, we didn't consider the technical details. We tried to recreate a mood.

Q: But you recorded Tonight’s the Night before On the Beach. Yet there is an obvious tragic progression from Time Fades Away to On the Beach and to Tonight’s the Night?

NY: Time Fades Away is the album I released after touring with the band that was supposed to include [Crazy Horse guitarist] Danny Whitten. But he died a little before we went out on the road. That’s the reason I don’t play any of these songs anymore. These three albums like the others reflect my life, its happy moments, its moments of depression. But after Harvest, I was tired of being myself, always remaking the songs on stage from this album and becoming kind of a John Denver. I couldn’t stay in this state, so I wanted to destroy this idea that I had of myself.

Q: What’s your reaction to Lynyrd Skynyrd’s attack on their song “Sweet Home Alabama?”

NY: Oh, that’s okay, I was glad to hear that. It’s like a folk song, that’s good. I say one thing, they say another. And both are very good. They are very funky, I like the band (Neil’s tone seems more conciliatory than anything else). I think we have almost the same point of view. They’re like a distorted image of a “redneck.” We’re two sides of the same coin and that’s what they’ve done here. It was not a personal attack. I represent something. I represent the hippie position for whom the redneck is bad. And they represent the rednecks for a moment and then take the other side. That’s the whole story.

Q: Do you think they represent a real change in southern mentality? Aren’t there long-haired rednecks?

NY: There will always be rednecks of one kind or another anyway. I think the hippie and the redneck are very close to each other. The hippie and the farmer are both natural elements.

Q: Listening to your songs (“Southern Man,” “Alabama”) you have the impression that you are dealing more with a young person from the south than a young Canadian, in the way you feel so forcefully this kind of rupture in this southern mentality. What are the origins of this contact with the south?

NY: My grandfather was a southerner…an old guy with red hair. It was at the beginning, then I met the people down there. The images burst into my mind. I read the newspapers, the people protesting, the oppression, I understood, then. The most important thing in this song “Southern Man” is not so much the rednecks, the most important is the reason that I sing it for: it’s a white woman sleeping with a black man. This is what infuriates white people, this is the sore spot. The human aspect.

Q: Your political commitment to McGovern, that was quite surprising coming from you.

NY: I think so, too. I went back and listened to this song again and I felt who I was really in there and that I was spreading some energy around. I’m glad I did, because this represents a typical case of mistaken judgment, but a very human error because at the time all of us needed to believe and place our hopes in someone.

(The song Neil talks about is called “War Song,” recorded with Graham Nash…We can also consider After the Gold Rush as an album dedicated to the total democratization of the United States. Even though it came out two years after the Nixon-McGovern fight for the presidency, it represented the urgent mobilization of all American youth.)

Q: More and more, your music seems to reflect the kind of music the Rolling Stones play. You say it in in “Borrowed Tune,” and “Stupid Girl” sounds like a typical Jagger-Richards song.

NY: I love the Stones. When they lost Brian Jones, I dreamed of being a Rolling Stone. I think they’re the best rock’n’roll band out there today. I think Keith Richard [sic] is a great guitarist, a great drummer, a great bass paleyer, and someone will be the new Stone, the band is still excellent. Brian Jones…it was something else.

Q: That’s why you could have replaced him.

NY: That’s right.

Q: Did you feel closer to him?

NY: No more than the others, it’s the group that I love.

Q: You played with Bob Dylan in San Francisco last year…

NY: Yes, it was good. He didn’t have to carry the full weight of the show with me by his side. But I am no longer sure about this. Because with Dylan, on stage, you immediately feel that you are just a part of the whole thing, and not the whole thing.

Q: On what instrument do you mostly compose?

NY: With different instruments. I don’t think the instrument has any influence on the way you compose. What’s important or who has used it before, or when. Like the time a friend handed me a guitar and said, “try this guitar,” I picked up that guitar and spontaneously started playing music that I had never played before, singing words I’d never sung before. I then realized that it just came naturally. I have since stopped trying to compose. I don’t try anymore, I’m waiting. The circumstances are different, but the song eventually emerges.

Q: There is an album that you recorded shortly after On the Beach that never saw the light of day.

NY: Homegrown…yes, it’s in the shed…maybe someday.

Q: There were a few unreleased songs tonight…

NY: They’re all from my new album, there’s “Too Far Gone,” “Like a Hurricane,” “My Country Home,” “It’s Gonna Take a Lot of Love.”

Q: What will be the title of this new album?

NY: Sedan Delivery…but it’s not final…it’s a more positive and romantic album.

Q: What about the one with Stephen Stills?

NY: I’ve already recorded 6 or 7 songs with him.

Q: Do you play as New Buffalo Springfield?

NY: No. That was a joke.

Q: What memories do you have of the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young [1974] tour, two years on?

NY: Oh…a nice tour…I was alone in my corner most of the time. But maybe it was too heavy, what was going on. The music was good, the people were up to the task. I would like to do it again one more time, I think we’ll do it again someday, maybe this summer. I feel like it’ll be a good time.

Q: Have you decided on anything specific for this?

NY: No. These are just ideas.

(Again, Neil adopts a conciliatory tone).

Q: Do you believe in your astrological sign? You are Scorpio, and…

NY: I think I’ve been on earth before, and I think I will be on earth again, or somewhere else. My life is my last time recorded.

It was then that his manager interrupted our discussion by pointing out that it would be time to leave Neil. In conclusion, Neil, with a knowing smile, and by looking at each one of us: “If I haven’t given more interviews, it is [because] I had nothing to say, and I still have nothing to say. If you listen to this tape, you will only know about it by listening to my music…”

#Neil Young #interview #I question the translation in parts but it makes as much sense as anything #the intro paragraph alone was worth posting this #CSNY

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frankiefellinlove · 4 years

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This is it! The whole article where John Landau writes that Bruce “is the future of rock n roll”. Long but so worth the read, to see that quote in context.

GROWING YOUNG WITH ROCK AND ROLL

By Jon Landau

The Real Paper

May 22, 1974📷

It's four in the morning and raining. I'm 27 today, feeling old, listening to my records, and remembering that things were diffferent a decade ago. In 1964, I was a freshman at Brandeis University, playing guitar and banjo five hours a day, listening to records most of the rest of the time, jamming with friends during the late-night hours, working out the harmonies to Beach Boys' and Beatles' songs.

Real Paper soul writer Russell Gersten was my best friend and we would run through the 45s everyday: Dionne Warwick's "Walk On By" and "Anyone Who Had A Heart," the Drifters' "Up On the Roof," Jackie Ross' "Selfish One," the Marvellettes' "Too Many Fish in the Sea," and the one that no one ever forgets, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas' "Heat Wave." Later that year a special woman named Tamar turned me onto Wilson Pickett's "Midnight Hour" and Otis Redding's "Respect," and then came the soul. Meanwhile, I still went to bed to the sounds of the Byrds' "Mr. Tambourine Man" and later "Younger than Yesterday," still one of my favorite good-night albums. I woke up to Having a Rave-Up with the Yardbirds instead of coffee. And for a change of pace, there was always bluegrass: The Stanley Brothers, Bill Monroe, and Jimmy Martin.

Individual songs often achieved the status of sacraments. One September, I was driving through Waltham looking for a new apartment when the sound on the car radio stunned me. I pulled over to the side of the road, turned it up, demanded silence of my friends and two minutes and fifty-six second later knew that God had spoken to me through the Four Tops' "Reach Out, I'll Be There," a record that I will cherish for as long as [I] live.

During those often lonely years, music was my constant companion and the search for the new record was like a search for a new friend and new revelation. "Mystic Eyes" open mine to whole new vistas in white rock and roll and there were days when I couldn't go to sleep without hearing it a dozen times.

Whether it was a neurotic and manic approach to music, or just a religious one, or both, I don't really care. I only know that, then, as now, I'm grateful to the artists who gave the experience to me and hope that I can always respond to them.

The records were, of course, only part of it. In '65 and '66 I played in a band, the Jellyroll, that never made it. At the time I concluded that I was too much of a perfectionist to work with the other band members; in the end I realized I was too much of an autocrat, unable to relate to other people enough to share music with them.

Realizing that I wasn't destined to play in a band, I gravitated to rock criticism. Starting with a few wretched pieces in Broadside and then some amateurish but convincing reviews in the earliest Crawdaddy, I at least found a substitute outlet for my desire to express myself about rock: If I couldn't cope with playing, I may have done better writing about it.

But in those days, I didn't see myself as a critic -- the writing was just another extension of an all-encompassing obsession. It carried over to my love for live music, which I cared for even more than the records. I went to the Club 47 three times a week and then hunted down the rock shows -- which weren't so easy to find because they weren't all conveniently located at downtown theatres. I flipped for the Animals' two-hour show at Rindge Tech; the Rolling Stones, not just at Boston Garden, where they did the best half hour rock'n'roll set I had ever seen, but at Lynn Football Stadium, where they started a riot; Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels overcoming the worst of performing conditions at Watpole Skating Rink; and the Beatles at Suffolk Down, plainly audible, beatiful to look at, and confirmation that we -- and I -- existed as a special body of people who understood the power and the flory of rock'n'roll.

My temperament being what it is, I often enjoyed hating as much as loving. That San Francisco shit corrupted the purity of the rock that I lvoed and I could have led a crusade against it. The Moby Grape moved me, but those songs about White Rabbits and hippie love made me laugh when they didn't make me sick. I found more rock'n'roll in the dubbed-in hysteria on the Rolling Stones Got Live if You Want It than on most San Francisco albums combined.

For every moment I remember there are a dozen I've forgotten, but I feel like they are with me on a night like this, a permanent part of my consciousness, a feeling lost on my mind but never on my soul. And then there are those individual experiences so transcendent that I can remember them as if they happened yesterday: Sam and Dave at the Soul Together at Madison Square Garden in 1967: every gesture, every movement, the order of the songs. I would give anything to hear them sing "When Something's Wrong with My Baby" just the way they did it that night.

The obsessions with Otis Redding, Jerry Butler, and B.B. King came a little bit later; each occupied six months of my time, while I digested every nuance of every album. Like the Byrds, I turn to them today and still find, when I least expect it, something new, something deeply flet, something that speaks to me.

As I left college in 1969 and went into record production I started exhausting my seemingly insatiable appetite. I felt no less intensely than before about certain artists; I just felt that way about fewer of them. I not only became more discriminating but more indifferent. I found it especially hard to listen to new faces. I had accumulated enough musical experience to fall back on when I needed its companionship but during this period in my life I found I needed music less and people, whom I spend too much of my life ignoring, much more.

Today I listen to music with a certain measure of detachment. I'm a professional and I make my living commenting on it. There are months when I hate it, going through the routine just as a shoe salesman goes through his. I follow films with the passion that music once held for me. But in my own moments of greatest need, I never give up the search for sounds that can answer every impulse, consume all emotion, cleanse and purify -- all things that we have no right to expect from even the greatest works of art but which we can occasionally derive from them.

Still, today, if I hear a record I like it is no longer a signal for me to seek out every other that the artist has made. I take them as they come, love them, and leave them. Some have stuck -- a few that come quickly to mind are Neil Young's After the Goldrush, Stevie Wonder's Innervisions, Van Morrison's Tupelo Honey, James Taylor's records, Valerie Simpson's Exposed, Randy Newman's Sail Away, Exile on Main Street, Ry Cooder's records, and, very specially, the last three albums of Joni Mitchell -- but many more slip through the mind, making much fainter impressions than their counterparts of a decade ago.

But tonight there is someone I can write of the way I used to write, without reservations of any kind. Last Thursday, at the Harvard Square theatre, I saw my rock'n'roll past flash before my eyes. And I saw something else: I saw rock and roll future and its name is Bruce Springsteen. And on a night when I needed to feel young, he made me feel like I was hearing music for the very first time.

When his two-hour set ended I could only think, can anyone really be this good; can anyone say this much to me, can rock'n'roll still speak with this kind of power and glory? And then I felt the sores on my thighs where I had been pounding my hands in time for the entire concert and knew that the answer was yes.

Springsteen does it all. He is a rock'n'roll punk, a Latin street poet, a ballet dancer, an actor, a joker, bar band leader, hot-shit rhythm guitar player, extraordinary singer, and a truly great rock'n'roll composer. He leads a band like he has been doing it forever. I racked my brains but simply can't think of a white artist who does so many things so superbly. There is no one I would rather watch on a stage today. He opened with his fabulous party record "The E Street Shuffle" -- but he slowed it down so graphically that it seemed a new song and it worked as well as the old. He took his overpowering story of a suicide, "For You," and sang it with just piano accompaniment and a voice that rang out to the very last row of the Harvard Square theatre. He did three new songs, all of them street trash rockers, one even with a "Telstar" guitar introduction and an Eddie Cochran rhythm pattern. We missed hearing his "Four Winds Blow," done to a fare-thee-well at his sensational week-long gig at Charley's but "Rosalita" never sounded better and "Kitty's Back," one of the great contemporary shuffles, rocked me out of my chair, as I personally led the crowd to its feet and kept them there.

Bruce Springsteen is a wonder to look at. Skinny, dressed like a reject from Sha Na Na, he parades in front of his all-star rhythm band like a cross between Chuck Berry, early Bob Dylan, and Marlon Brando. Every gesture, every syllable adds something to his ultimate goal -- to liberate our spirit while he liberates his by baring his soul through his music. Many try, few succeed, none more than he today.

It's five o'clock now -- I write columns like this as fast as I can for fear I'll chicken out -- and I'm listening to "Kitty's Back." I do feel old but the record and my memory of the concert has made me feel a little younger. I still feel the spirit and it still moves me.

I bought a new home this week and upstairs in the bedroom is a sleeping beauty who understands only too well what I try to do with my records and typewriter. About rock'n'roll, the Lovin' Spoonful once sang, "I'll tell you about the magic that will free your soul/But it's like trying to tell a stranger about rock'n'roll." Last Thursday, I remembered that the magic still exists and as long as I write about rock, my mission is to tell a stranger about it -- just as long as I remember that I'm the stranger I'm writing for.

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solargroup09 · 4 years

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Solar on Weekly Idol

- MCs: “They’re an 8 member group, each from their own planet who have come to steal the hearts of many with their wit and spunk. They recently debuted with their first title track ‘Solar System.’ Please welcome Solar!”

- Solar joins the MCs, bowing towards them while waving and smiling towards the cameras. Once everyone is assembled, Mina begins to count down: “3, 2, 1″ and the other members chime in:

“Your rays of sunshine. Hello, we are Solar!”

- INTRODUCTIONS: “Solar’s intros” -

- Mina smiles and waves with both hands, before making a finger heart which she shoots towards the camera like an arrow: “Hi everyone, I’m your brightly shining Mina, the eldest and leader of Solar - I hope you’ll take care of us today! We’re really excited to be here, thank you for having us!”

- Skitz winks at the camera and gives a smirk while shooting finger guns between the camera and hosts: “Just because I’m the coldest doesn’t mean I can’t melt hearts. Heyo, I’m Skitz!”, she gives a two fingered salute and bow.

- Yueliang bows swiftly and smiles: "As bright as the moon, it's Solar sweetheart Yueliang!". She sends a flirty wink and a finger heart at the camera.

- Ari gives a small flirty smile to the camera and a little finger wave. “I’m the sweetest heat of Solar, you can call me Ari” She does a dramatic model pose before laughing.

- AJ smiles at the camera and cups her cheeks with both hands, “I’m Solar’s small ball of sunshine! It’s always nice to see you, I’m AJ”, she does a finger heart before the camera changes to the next member.

- Luna smiles sweetly and sends a little finger heart to the camera. "Just like the moon, I'm always there for you. Hi i'm your Luna"

- Rin scrunches her nose up at the other members' introductions and when it's her turn, flashing her gummy smile as she awkwardly does a ✌️ pose to the cameras (the wrong ones) and then - when Mina tilts her body to the camera - she just does the blank tight lipped smile: "yes, hi, uh I'm Rin! Uh....it's nice to be here! yes! yes...." she looks over to Mina to ask for help to get out of this very awkward introduction time; Mina just smiles at the younger member before noding towards the MCs to continue.

- MCs: “Your maknae, Hannah, unfortunately couldn’t make it today as she has gone on temporary hiatus to focus on her school work. Anything you want to tell her?”

- all the members nod: “We want to say that we love and miss her, and that we can’t wait for her to come back and join us again - and, of course, that we’ll be happily cheering for her to succeed in school! Hannah, fighting!” The members shoot different kinds of hearts towards the cameras, smiling and waving.

- CONCEPT -

- MCs: “So, each member represents a planet - could you tell us a bit more about that?”

- Mina flashes a smile, before beginning to explain: „my planet is Mercury, the ruler of communication, messages, eloquence and wit. But not only can I talk for hours, I can also listen for hours - so please know that I‘ll always have an open ear for you!“ Mina shoots a flirty wink towards a camera.

- Skitz smirks and points to her face. “Just like my planet Uranus I have 13 rings around my body! I represent being weird, art, science, originality, the unexpected, libido. And I symbolize discovery, not being traditional, insight, expression of self, and shock value. So don’t worry, I’ll keep you on your toes!”

- Yueliang smiles again: "In Solar I'm Jupiter which is the planet of growth and good fortune so keep me close to your heart, I'll be your lucky charm!

- Ari nods. “I represent the planet Mars, the planet of energy, action, and desire. You’re always in for a good time when I’m around”, she tries to wink a fails miserably.

- AJ: “My planet is Venus! It’s the planet of love, beauty and aesthetics and pleasure! I live by ‘Give the love around and back around it goes’ I think it’s a good philosophy that matches my planet!”

- Luna: "In Solar, I represent Earth. I am the Earth, the Earth is me, so I own everything you're walking on !", everyone laughs. "I'm joking, I picked Earth, well... it was kind of the last one", she giggles, "I'm happy I got it though, as nature, like music has a healing effect on people's souls. And I truly hope I can heal yours through my music"

- Rin, clenches fist and does a 'hwaiting' motion. "I represent Neptune. It is associated with dreams, inspiration, psychic receptivity and illusion. The members always say that I always zone out so I guess it fits me quite well!"

- TALENTS AND PROFILES -

- MCs: “Soo, about Skitz - “tired parent who carries a caffeine drink with her….where is this drink then?”

- Skitz smirks and motions toward the manager hiding behind screen. “Actually I was told I couldn’t bring one on set today.... so what you see is me fighting the urge to scream and cry and nap on the floor.”

- MCs: “Skitz can sing and rap? Like at the same time?” The group laughs as Skitz shakes her head with a snort: “I’m the rapper of the group, but I can sing as well. I auditioned as a singer at J. Tune and passed with a rap I came up with.”

- MCs turn towards Ari now: “Lived in Boston and in Korea growing up... can you do a Boston accent?” Ari starts going off in English with a Boston-accent, saying something about one of the girls stealing her candy.

- MCs smile at Mina: “It says here that you’re not only the oldest and tallest, but also the one with the biggest hands? Can you show them to us?” Mina laughs and hides her face behind her hands for a few seconds, before holding both hands towards the camera. Everyone makes “ooh” and “aah”, before the MCs give Mina a ruler to measure one hand - it’s 17cm, and Luna grins slyly while grabbing for one of her leader’s hands. “Perfect size for holding mine!”, she says, making everyone laugh, Mina hugs her lovingly.

- MCs continue: “According to your profile, Mina, you’re the main vocal and can also play the piano really well - we heard you prepared a little performance for us?” Mina smiles and nods, before getting up and walking towards the keyboard that has just been set up for her. She then sings an acoustic cover of Heart of Gold by Neil Young while playing the piano. Yue and Luna hold up imaginary lightsticks and dramatically swing their arms around to the music, while Skitz seems a bit touched by the performance of the leader. Everyone cheers and whoops when Mina finishes, and she smiles and bows towards the cameras and MCs, before taking her seat again.

- now it’s Yueliang’s turn: "We can see here that you have played the violin since you were three years old, can you show us? We prepared a violin for you!" Yueliang looks a bit taken aback but she accepts the challenge right away. When she sees the violin, though, she burst out laughing. It's a 1/32 size, basically a child violin. Despite the small and cheap instrument, she tries to play some famous pieces but since the violin is made of plastic the sound is terrible. Yueliang can't stop laughing and all the members are cheering and clapping excitedly like it was a real concert.

- the MCs look at AJ: “It says here that you do CF’s, and you have experience in MCing and variety”. AJ nods, listening attentively, “I do. I have done quite a few, mostly for make up brands”. “You actually sold out a lip tint... is that the brand you’re wearing today?”. AJ panics a bit, “Well... actually no... it’s sold out!” everyone laughs at her quick save and she smiles shyly.

- one of the MCs waves at AJ: “Come to this side, you’re going to be an MC with us for a while” they gesture for AJ to join them on the other side, where the staff brings a chair for her and a new name tag with the letters MC quickly scribbled. AJ laughs and bows before taking a seat next to the MC, trying to read the cards over their shoulders. After failing to see the questions and just swinging her legs over the chair, the MC’s dismiss her, ripping the MC tag from her dramatically.

- the MCs look at Luna’s profile now: "Grew up in London. Fluent in Japanese as well as Spanish. Could you say something to International fans watching Weekly Idol ?" She agrees to do so and starts with Japanese. "Hello everyone, I'm Solar's main dancer Luna, we hope you'll like this episode of Weekly Idol,please give it lots of love. Thank you for supporting us ! Bye bye !" And translates it in Spanish. "Hola encantadores de Weekly Idol. Me llamo Luna, soy la bailarina principal de Solar. Esperamos que les encantará este episodio de Weekly Idol y le dará mucho amor. ¡Muchas gracias por apoyarnos ! ¡Adiós!"

- the MCs applaud her and ask: "You also have a special little dance that is 'similar to the Carlton Dance'. What is it ? Can you show it to us?" She explains briefly what the Carlton Dance is and gets up to show it which sends everyone into a laughing fit as she moves her body from left to right dramatically. "Now I will show you my version." Luna says before flailing around dancing again, in a very over the top manner. Giggles happily as she goes back to her seat, like a child who was just given candy.

- it’s finally Rin’s turn, and the MCs read: "Master Bone Cracker, nickname is Crunchy. So Rin, I guess you have a really old body?" other members chime in agreement, while Rin just gummy smiles again "So before you crack any more of your bones while waiting for your turn, let's get the game started. You have to produce at least 30 pop sounds to pass the challenge." Rin nods and waves to the camera, "this is easy peasy. my fingers alone can crack 22 times in one session. guys, are y'all ready to win?"

- DANCE GAMES -

- Ari enjoys learning new dance choreos, so is having the time of her life. But makes the most dramatic noises throughout, which makes the other girls laugh and mess up

- During a song switch, Mina somehow slips on the ground and falls down, making everyone laugh. She quickly gets up and bows to the hosts and members, apologizing for messing up all while still giggling uncontrollably.

-Skitz is the one that enjoys having fun with the dances, and depending on which song comes on, will make faces at the camera or be completely serious and in the moment.

- In the end of all the dancing Skitz falls to the floor and groans. “No morrreeee.” Tries to nap instead and gets sat on by Luna.

– AJ knows lots of other groups choreos but she stays sitting and just dancing softly to herself, letting the other members showcase their talent. Nobody has seen AJ more confused in her life during the 2x version. She keeps making funny faces that the MC’s can’t help but point out and she’s basically singing to herself to remember where she’s supposed to go. Celebrates like she just won the World Cup by the time the challenge is over.

- Luna is one of the members who does pretty well unless someone starts making noises and it distracts her, which is exactly what Ari does so Luna giggles and smacks her arm in fake anger because she can barely get her moves straight. In the x2 version she is one of the members who does really well, along with Rin.

- Yueliang is the one who shouts at the members to correct their position and identifies which section of the song they're dancing to when it's confusing. All of this while giggling.

- Rin knows every single choreo, and does the 2x perfectly too. slightly out of breath at the end and is just standing there looking at the other members panting like “👀 y'all good?”

- PAPER KISS GAME -

- Mina is first in line and stands beside Luna, using her as an arm rest and starting to tease her for their height difference right before the game starts. They’re both laughing too much when facing each other, immediately failing to proceed with the game and having to take a new paper.

- Ari stands next to Yueliang in the “pass the paper by your mouths” game and she plays up their ship so hard. Mina finally has to tell them to calm down

- Yueliang can't stay concentrate during the game because Skitz face when she tries to take the paper from Yue is too hilarious.

- AJ is the last in the line and feels slightly concerned about the game. She keeps laughing at her members failing but doesn’t wanna fail herself aka gay panic. In the end, although they succeed she still gives a loud kiss on the cheek to each member.

-Skitz is in between Yueliang and AJ, always making both girls laugh at the faces she makes as she’s trying to take and pass the paper. She gets flustered with the girls and ends up yelling at them to focus, while still laughing herself in the end because she knows how crazy she looks.

- Rin loves affection and kisses are one of her favorites. Watch her not even try so she can get a free kiss 🤩

- ENDING -

- MCs: “Well, we had lots of fun with these girls today! Thank you so much for joining our program, Solar - we’ll make sure to invite you after your new comeback, too.”

- all members thank the MCs, bowing to them, and start waving towards the cameras, shooting finger hearts and blowing kisses, before Mina counts down “3, 2, 1″ and the other members chime in: “Your rays of sunshine. This was Solar! Thank you very much!”

- THE SHOW FINISHES -

#solar #we are solar #oc girl group #solar girl group #oc kpop group #solar mina #solar skitz #solar yueliang #solar ari #solar aj #solar luna #solar rin #solar on weekly idol #solar variety

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ravenvsfox · 5 years

Text

rockband chapter 5 babey 😈🤘🏻

Neil tilts a record out of the stacks, and the sun catches the sleek surface and shows him his reflection.

“You’re not even in the right section,” Kevin calls. He’s two rows away flipping through rock-punk CDs, looking exhilarated when they fall towards him like dominoes.

The whole store is no bigger than a spacious bedroom, and the shop front is all boxy windows, letting in honeycombs of late-afternoon light. Kevin’s never looked so relaxed, dragging his fingers along the spines of albums, inspecting the equipment behind the till, smiling and chatting with the owner.

“There is no right section,” he mutters, sliding the album back into its slot. “It’s all music.”

“Right,” Kevin says. Neil glances up and finds him unexpectedly close, mouth pursed reluctantly with amusement. “Except we’re not here for all music.”

“What are we actually here for again?” Neil asks, distracted. He can see Andrew waiting outside with his back to them and his arms crossed, serious and stock-still as a bodyguard.

“Inspiration.”

Neil watches Kevin’s face. The crease that’s usually between his brows is only suggestion now, a slouchy, un-tensed line. He’s tolerable like this, Neil thinks, almost impressive, choosing music to feed his creativity.

“You love it here,” Neil accuses. “This is a vacation for you.”

Kevin scoffs. “Like you’re not the same.”

Neil shrugs. There’s an upright piano on the wall and he wants to squeeze the keys in his hands like fingers in a crowd. The sound of voices and tires on asphalt from outside spreads like frosting over the crumbling drumbeat from the stereo. The rusting brown of the wallpaper behind the counter looks almost orange with the full force of the sun on it.

He could live and die in a place like this, head down, hands full of bright new music and dark classics, never in silence, never alone.

"Come look at this,” Kevin says. Neil follows him to the far corner of the shop where there are picked-over alternative CDs and peeling tape labels. He plucks an album from the stack and wiggles it at Neil. “Old school Ausreißer.”

Neil squints at the cover art. “You look like a bad metal band.” The original four are caught in the middle of a set, dressed in all black under a red spotlight, mid-howl. The word Ausreißer is so stylized that it’s almost illegible.

Kevin rolls his eyes and puts the CD back in its slot. “Things change. When we found you you looked like you were on day ten of a bender.”

“I can go back to that, if it’s the look you’re going for. Wouldn’t want to stand out in a band full of junkies and burnouts.”

“Funny,” Kevin says flatly. “Just bring that smart mouth to song writing.” He gathers his little stack of music and a clear box of sturdy picks, and drops them on the front counter to be checked out.

Neil hesitates, swaddled in the darkest, warmest corner of the store, reluctant to splash back out into the cold. He can already see how it will play out: Andrew’s silence and Kevin’s focus, the way they take up so much of the sidewalk that Neil has to fall in behind them or walk in the gutter, the drive home like a never-ending commute to nowhere at all.

He’s listless without a stage, and Kevin won’t let him forget that he’s not a natural born songwriter. He’s waiting for inspiration like that second raindrop after you swear you felt the first one.

His eyes wander and catch on a lurid red flier stapled to the bulletin board above the stacks, and he does a double-take. Foxes. Township Auditorium. Friday, January 25th.

“Dan’s group is playing this Friday?” Neil wonders aloud, and Kevin looks at him over his shoulder, handing bills off to the cashier.

“Oh yeah, the Township gig. I think they’re hanging out in town for a week or so, too.”

“We should go.” He thinks of the way the girls had laughed about their public personas and plastic recognition. He wants to hear them for real, as magnetic and driven as they were at Abby’s, assuring him that they do pop like he’s never heard in his life.

“Waste of time,” Kevin says, accepting his bag with one of his frozen, ken doll smiles and making towards the exit.

“We’re not touring right now,” Neil argues, catching up. “We can take two hours off from the new album.”

“We can,” Kevin says, “but we shouldn’t.”

“And yet you find the time to drink six hours a day.”

“The creative process looks different on everyone,” he grits. They push out into the sunlight and Andrew looks vaguely in their direction, his face chapped from the wind.

“Great. Mine looks like going to local concerts and supporting our label, and you know full fucking well that Wymack would agree with me.” They start walking, Neil leading them in a frantic triangle down main street. Andrew doesn’t ask or care about what they’re arguing over, which is why Neil tells him, “I want to go to the Foxes concert on Friday.”

“Then go,” he says. He’d been chain-smoking while Neil and Kevin were in the shop, and he looks irritable and sick. His pallor has been almost bruised lately, like something’s wringing him out and leaving marks behind.

Neil flips Kevin off and walks further ahead of the group, buoyed by the opportunity to be part of an audience again. He loves the silky anonymity and sway of the crowd almost as much as being doused in lights and held up by a mic stand.

Kevin’s still talking about accountability and wasted talent, but he’s lost his audience.

Neil reaches the van first, parallel parked at a wicked angle. He waits for the muted click of the unlock button, then climbs into the passenger seat. There’s a parking ticket folded over the windshield wipers and Andrew sets them going so that it flutters down onto the street.

“It’s not going to be the same in the crowd as it is onstage,” Kevin says calmly from the backseat.

Neil turns his head. “I know.”

“The fans know who you are now, and I’m not sure you’re ready for what that actually looks like.”

“I’m pretty good at blending in,” Neil says, eyes narrowed.

“You’re not,” Andrew says, pulling jerkily out of the spot without looking and nearly catching a hyundai by the nose. “You’re loud.” Car horns blare on all sides like a chorus of agreement.

“You draw attention,” Kevin agrees grimly. “I’d rather you stick it out in the studio where you can’t get into trouble. And Wymack would agree with me about that.”

Neil watches pedestrians swarm and cars criss-cross beyond the window. “So what, I join a band and now I’m on full-time house arrest?”

“Shouldn’t you be used to keeping your head down, runaway?” Andrew taunts. His hands flash as he makes a left turn, ink spelling yes over no over yes. Neil gives him a look.

“You’re not talking about staying on the move, you’re talking about hiding. And in my experience, your problems catch up with you when you sit and wait for them to go away.”

“I’m not talking about your fucked up past,” Kevin says irritably. “If you want to stumble into the nearest concert, you can, but if you misrepresent us or pull some stupid shit to distract from the set, Wymack will kick your ass. If Dan doesn’t get there first.”

“Don’t worry Kevin,” Andrew says, glancing away from the road to fix Neil with a cool, knowing look. “He has winning impulse control. Right Neil?”

Neil clenches his teeth and ignores him. “I realize that you don’t trust me, but I need you to understand that I don’t care. I’m not going to stay in the cage until you figure out if you’re ready to unlock it or not. I’m not going to live that way anymore.”

“You’re on a team now, and you have to care,” Kevin argues.

Neil scoffs. “Tell that to Andrew.”

Kevin looks pained. “He’s—“

“What? An exception? I’d love to know why I’m held to a higher standard than the person with concealed weapons and an unreliable drug dependency,” Neil says, fuming. Andrew pumps the brakes so that Neil topples forward into the dashboard, then he’s thrown back again when they accelerate. He grips the headrest and seethes, “you’re fucking psychotic.”

“You—“ Kevin starts.

“Kevin,” Andrew says, toneless, barely there, and Kevin stops short. Neil recognizes that easy power, that tongue-biting obedience.

They collapse into strained silence, Andrew looking infuriatingly tranquil, the air around Kevin vibrating with how badly he wants to speak.

Neil thinks about the corner of the music store and that old album, an Ausreißer from back when Neil was still lost in between hotel rooms, when his mother was alive, and she could change the course of his life with just the tips of her fingers. He thinks, things can be so easy and so ugly at the same time.

They get out at Palmetto, Neil wrenching doors closed behind him, trying to feel like he has a raft to himself for once, like he’s not always sharing, feeling for someone else’s shifting weight.

Nicky’s spread between two chairs when he gets to the studio, and Neil’s relieved to see the easy smile on his face. It fractures when he gets a good look at him.

“Oh no. Was it unbearable? I thought music shopping would mellow Kevin out, at least.”

“It was fine,” Neil says, rolling a chair towards the table where they left all of their notes and stray music. He sweeps everything off the table, feeling a vindictive shock when it all settles on the floor; every dangling idea, stagnating chord progression, and experimental piece of garbage.

“Yeah, you seem fine,” Nicky says sarcastically.

“Better,” Neil says, rummaging in the heaps of wasted work until his hand closes around a discarded pen. “I’m inspired.”

_____

The dye burns cold on his scalp. He paints the wispy place above his ears, and tucks it up into the rest of the gummy mess. There’s a dark streak on the porcelain of the sink, and he rubs it with one gloved finger.

Someone knocks at the door, and Neil reaches behind himself to open it. There’s a beat, and a flutter of movement, and then his eyes meet Andrew’s in the mirror.

“Brown,” Andrew remarks.

“You wanted me to tone it down,” Neil says, focusing on smothering his auburn roots and pointedly ignoring the rest of his reflection.

“Don’t put Kevin’s words in my mouth.”

Neil meets his eyes again. “What do you want?”

Andrew doesn’t reply for a long moment, and then he starts to peel down his armbands. It’s like watching a snake shed its skin, and Neil’s so startled to see it happening that he turns around to watch him directly.

He’s expecting the thatch of scars, but it still knocks the wind out of him to see them, tender pinks and whites that nudge all the way up to the ink on his wrists and hands.

Andrew plucks the brush out of Neil’s limp hand and scoops up a mound of colour that looks black in the weak light.

“Head down.”

Neil complies, chin towards his chest, and feels Andrew smooth the dye from just below his ear up into the coil of loose, wet hair. He can feel the damp heat from Andrew’s bare wrists, smothered for most of the day.

“Who put you in a cage?” Andrew asks, and the hair on Neil’s neck stands up.

“What—“

“You said: I’m not going to stay in the cage until you figure out if you’re ready to unlock it. I’m not going to live that way anymore.” He says it robotically, like an automated recording.

“I know what I said,” Neil snaps, starting to look up, but Andrew grips his neck and steers his head down again.

“Then you should be able to explain what you meant. Without lying to me.”

Andrew’s initiating one of their trades, he realizes, baring a secret and nodding at Neil do to the same. He closes his eyes, flinching when the brush makes sudden contact with his neck.

“My mother.” It’s an easier answer than the reality--a web of injustice too thick to see through. A childhood spent escaping from one cell block to another.

The brush stops midway through a glide towards his hairline. “She hurt you?” Andrew asks, low.

“It’s not that simple.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“You know better than anyone that protecting someone can get bloody. Our circumstances weren’t--they were never good enough for us to have a decent relationship. But she kept us moving.”

A bare hand curls in his hair, and Neil’s eyes open. His breath catches when he recognizes the hateful look on Andrew’s face.

“Did she hit you, yes or no?”

Neil swallows thickly, trying to focus on the feeling of Andrew’s hand against his scalp. “Yes.” The hand tightens painfully. “But she’s dead now. My parents are dead.” He doesn’t know what drives him to say such a hasty, partial truth, like it has any bearing on the way it felt to be forced to the ground and pinned until his arm broke. Death gets rid of the person, not the memory.

Andrew’s hand drops altogether. He moves into the space at Neil’s side, hip to hip, and rinses his hand under the tap. “If she was beating you, she wasn’t protecting you.”

“You don’t understand what people are capable of when they’re struggling to survive.”

Andrew steps slowly and lethally into Neil’s space. “Yes, I do,” he says, nearly whispering. Neil’s eyes hitch down to his destroyed wrists.

He nods, and Andrew backs off. He feels a strange, remote disappointment watching him move away, like climbing out of a roller coaster and watching it take off without him.

“We’re not keeping you locked up,” Andrew says. “We do not own you.”

Neil shakes his head a little, running a hand over his hair under the guise of checking for dry patches, trying to reclaim the tingling, grounding feeling of Andrew’s fingers.

“Contractually, you do.”

“You’re with us,” Andrew says, “until the second someone abuses your contract, then you leave. We both know you could outrun me if you really wanted to.”

“Maybe,” Neil says, on the blunt edge of a smile. “But you might be able to outlast me.”

Andrew looks at him in the mirror for a long while. “You’re disgustingly stubborn,” he says. “And dense. I wouldn’t count on my ability to put up with you for that long.”

Neil shrugs. “It doesn’t matter, anyway. I won’t leave. We have a deal.”

“I just told you—“

“Not the contract. You and I have a deal. And I’m not ready to give it up,” Neil says, and he means it. The tenuous promise of protection, the give and take, the lure of the stage. He’s only grown more and more obsessed with the whole thing.

Andrew wavers. He reaches for his discarded armbands, and takes his time rolling them back up. Neil feels a painful rush of recognition at seeing his scars swallowed up, and he reaches out impulsively to hold him by the wrist. Andrew’s fingers are still ruddy with dye.

“This isn’t a cage. You’re nothing like—it’s nothing like my mother.”

At Abby’s, he’d told Andrew he reminded him of home, the most nightmarish insult he could lay his hands upon. And for a jarring second, Andrew’s commanding relationship with the band had looked like the dynamic between himself and his mother, ceaseless authority meeting senseless devotion. He’s been stupid enough to mistake Andrew’s promises for Mary Hatford’s threats.

At length, Andrew tugs, and Neil lets go of him.

Long after he’s gone, and Neil’s hair is washed out and limp, wet brown, he can still feel the raised scars underneath the fabric of the armband, and beneath that, a curiously rabbiting pulse.

______

And “monster” does not begin

to cover bolts and stitches in my skin

sinew held with safety pins

but you made me

the creature not the man, right?

but this lab coat’s fitting pretty tight

and if you’re living out of spite

are you a person or a feeling,

and would it hurt to look at you directly?

gunshots speak louder than words

but the warning shots you heard

don’t work for people who’d prefer

to die than to live on their knees--

“It needs workshopping,” Kevin says, tossing the notebook onto the coffee table.

“I think it’s great, Neil,” Nicky says. “The Frankenstein stuff is cool, our fans eat that shit up.”

Neil shrugs, and he gathers his notes back up from the table, out of reach from prying eyes. They’re assembled in a loose square in the living room, with Andrew at the window, a cigarette burning delicately between two fingers.

“You call yourselves the monsters so— I don’t know.”

“It works,” Kevin sniffs. “They’ll get it. They’ll like it.” It’s a more generous response than he was expecting, and he knows it’s the most approval Kevin can bring himself to show. “How soon can you match it musically?” he asks Andrew.

“I already have a melody,” Neil interrupts. He stands, walks over to the keyboard Kevin insists they always keep on hand, and presses the ‘on’ button. “It’s not very complex,” he says, walking his right hand over a couple of keys until the power catches up and the notes start to voice.

He plays the song through once, low arpeggiated chords and a sustained, high tenor line. He sings when he can’t help it, crooning until it gets too high to sing softly.

Out of the corner of his eye, he catches Andrew’s fingers drumming against the windowsill.

“You’re right,” Aaron says when it’s finished. “It’s not very complex.”

“Downer,” Nicky accuses. “It’s just keys right now, we can amp it up.”

“Is it worth it?” Aaron complains.

“Yes,” Andrew says, leaning over to put his cigarette out in the ashtray balanced on the arm of the couch. They all look at him expectantly, and he gets up, grabs the music directly out of Neil’s hands, and disappears into his room with it.

“Well that’s a good sign,” Nicky says, bemused. “Guess we’re going to that concert, Neil.” When Kevin opens his mouth to protest, Nicky says, “Wymack signed off on it. Plus we’re making headway on the b-side tracks, and Andrew’s actually working.”

“I’m not going,” Kevin says, crossing his arms.

“Me neither,” Aaron says. “Allison will have our balls if we pull focus from her.”

“So we won’t,” Nicky says. He ropes Neil in by the shoulder and tousles his newly dark hair. “No one will even know we’re there.”

______

Later, Nicky sends Neil to ask for the car keys, and he finds himself standing in the dusk outside Andrew’s room, delaying the inevitable confrontation.

Andrew comes out before he can knock, wearing boots and a black baseball cap, keys clenched in his fist. They nearly collide, and Neil staggers back a step.

“You’re coming with us?” he asks dumbly.

“You and Nicky can’t be trusted alone,” he says. It’s an insult, but it hits Neil like warm water from a shower-head, like relief.

“Did Kevin ask you to do this?” Neil asks, but Andrew ignores him, brushing past into the living room, then the entryway. Nicky pushes off from the back of the couch where he’s been waiting, looking back and forth between the two of them nervously.

“We’re all going?”

“Apparently,” Neil replies.

“Cool. Weird. Shotgun.”

“Neil’s sitting in the front,” Andrew says, cranking the screen door open.

“Family really means, like, nothing to you when Neil’s around—“ Nicky’s saying as he follows Andrew out into the night.

Neil breathes out, lacing his shoes and listening to Nicky chatter circles around Andrew, who is steady and silent, already fixed in the driver’s seat.

He’s been picturing the Foxes concert as that same ambiguous darkness from before he joined the band, skulking in the back of bars and hoping to be caught. Now he imagines Andrew and Nicky propping him up like brackets, a drink he actually paid for, the hair-raising knowledge of what it feels like on the other side of the performance.

Wind shivers through the front door and underneath Neil’s collar. He jams his hands into his jacket pockets—the leather already stiff and unyielding from the cold—squares his shoulders, and opens the door.

______

They’re smuggled in through a door backstage, already late. Nicky clings to Neil’s sleeve so tightly that it pulls down over his hand.

Renee comes to greet them, as unnervingly pleasant as the last time he’d seen her. Neil keeps expecting her even-keeled demeanour to clash against Andrew’s like icebergs meeting, but they only seem to thaw around one another.

Andrew greets her, and she knocks her knuckles into his hand and smiles.

“I’m glad you guys came. Don’t tell her I told you, but Allison’s raring to show off.”

“I bet she is, competitive bitch,” Nicky says good-naturedly. “All you foxes are such a handful.”

Renee seems to be considering whether or not he’s joking when Dan appears at her elbow. “Walk in the park compared to your lot,” she says, smiling sharply. Her eyes flit to Neil and she softens. “Still doing okay, Neil?”

“She means, have we ruined your life,” Andrew says in German.

“Quick, tell her how saintly we are,” Nicky says.

“And lie?” Neil asks in exaggerated German, as if scandalized. “I’m fine,” he says to Dan. “Excited to see a Foxes set.”

It’s a bigger venue than he’s used to, and the energy is intimidating, people whisking past them and calling instructions to one another.

Her smile quirks, and she lets her arm drape around Renee’s neck. “We’ll try our best to impress, then. As usual.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Nicky says. “You’re a big deal, we get it. Don’t you have warm-ups to do?”

Dan snorts. “Time off is making you a little mean, Hemmick. You better watch him, monster.”

Andrew stares blankly back at her, and Nicky says, “you try living with Kevin 24 hours a day and tell me how personable you’re feeling.”

Dan winces. “Point.” Someone ducks close and whispers in her ear, and her face flickers through several shades of confusion and annoyance. “Okay, shit. One of Allison’s pegs came loose and her tuning is all over the place. Sound check’s in five, and Matt’s on the wrong side of drunk, but um. The show must go on, I guess.”

Renee ducks out from under Dan’s arm, excusing herself, and Dan squeezes Neil’s shoulder in parting. “See you out there. Try not to get into trouble.”

“Yeah right,” Nicky says, and she aims a kick at his shin. He falls back a step, laughing, as she jogs after Renee. “Hey, rock and roll, Dan,” he calls. “Or whatever it is you guys do.”

He’s still beaming when he loops his arm with Neil’s and steers them towards the door. Neil looks anxiously back at Andrew, but he’s a step behind them as usual.

They wait for a lull in passersby, and then they’re out in the thick of the crowd, pushing conspicuously from the front of the stage to the side of the room. Eyes linger on them and narrow, and his throat starts to constrict until he feels Andrew’s hand thread into the shirt under his jacket, keeping him tethered.

Nicky can’t resist dancing a little to the opener, as obvious as they already are, and he bobs through the aisles, shooting furtive looks back at Neil to see if he’s enjoying himself. The band on stage is too high energy for their low energy song, jumping and twisting to a half-time rhythm.

Andrew’s hand tightens at the small of his back, and Neil glances back to see him eyeing the thrashing drummer with distaste.

“I thought you didn’t care about technique,” Neil tells him over the music, and Andrew tears his eyes away. He’s frowning, and Neil relishes that off-guard little furrow of emotion.

“I don’t,” Andrew says, “I also don’t listen to bad music if I can help it.”

“Guess we must be pretty good, then,” Neil says.

“I didn’t say that.”

“No,” Neil agrees. “You didn’t.” He knows that it’s true, though. Somewhere past the layers and layers of bandages that Andrew wears, there must be raw flesh. It’s just that Neil can’t tell if he’s healing or rotting underneath it all.

They come to a stop close to the stairs up into the stands, and Nicky gestures at an empty patch halfway up. Most of the crowd is standing already, chaotic, but they climb up into the mess and find their seats, Nicky on the inside and Andrew in the aisle, with Neil sandwiched in-between.

“Our fans are louder,” Nicky leans over to say smugly.

“That’s because they’re trying to keep up with you,” Neil says. “Decibel for decibel.”

“Fuck you,” Nicky laughs. His eyes are bright, and he grips the seat in front of him to get the leverage to see through the masses.

They ride the energy of the crowd to the end of the song, and then the group is hollering goodbyes and filing offstage, and people start to sit down or escape to concession. Nicky relaxes back into his seat and pinches Neil for his opinion.

“I don’t think we missed much,” Neil says.

Nicky shrugs. “Yeah, but we were like that once. You got to skip Ausreißer’s adolescence, Neil, you lucky shit. It was not pretty.”

“Kevin showed me your first album,” he tells him.

“Oh, Jesus,” Nicky groans. “Those were dark times. I used to wear leather biker gloves on stage, like a tool.” He rustles in his inner jacket pocket and produces his flask. “Drink to forget?”

Andrew reaches across to pluck it from his hand before anyone can drink. He unscrews the cap and points it at Nicky. “I know you’re already fucked, Nicky.”

He scoffs, making a messy grab for it that Andrew dodges. “Hardly.”

Andrew swallows a generous shots worth, then passes the flask to Neil. This is familiar by now, sharing space and booze and drugs as a means to an end. They get drunk like they’re grappling down a cliff-face together, connected by rope.

Neil hesitates. There are strangers on all sides and the sick smell of sweat and beer in the air, but there’s something about his back to the wall and a concert ahead that he trusts. This is how he spent the years after his mother’s death, anonymous and drunk, losing control in measured doses like taking medication.

He drinks, the mouthpiece still wet from Andrew’s mouth, and screws his face up at the tartness of the flavour—a salty, lemony vodka. Nicky tries to steal the flask halfway through his sip, so Neil pushes him away by the face.

He and Andrew share the rest of the liquor, and he puts the back of his hand to his face to feel it warming up. It’s a relief, to feel his edges shaved off. It’s like he’s less defined this way, less likely to be recognized.

Stagehands are fiddling with amps onstage and taping wires down, and the buzz of the crowd is suddenly deafening.

“What’s the deal with Renee?” he hears himself asking.

“What d’you mean?” Nicky asks.

“You like her,” Neil guesses, jabbing Andrew with the base of the flask to get his attention. “But she’s nothing like you.”

“She’s one of us,” Andrew says.

“But she’s not, though,” Neil says, half-frustrated and half gawking at his own lack of composure. He wants his curiosity back inside where it can fester and wonder in circles and die. “I thought Wymack only took in strays. Charity cases.”

“You have met her twice,” Andrew says coldly. “How well do you think you can judge a person’s character in that time?”

“Pretty well,” Neil says grimly. He thinks of the cross around her neck and the prim lace of her collar, attention-grabbing hair offset by dark, serious eyes. He saw Matt’s track marks and Allison’s rage before Dan had even whispered their stories to him, but he can’t read anything on sweet, prim Renee.

“Lucky she doesn’t care what anyone thinks,” Nicky interjects. “She’s waiting to be judged by God, I think. Everyone else’s opinions are just… noise.”

He can’t imagine anyone who was really like them believing in God like that, but he bites his tongue.

“Little orphan Neil Josten gets in some trouble and he thinks he knows what rock bottom looks like,” Andrew muses, and Neil’s stomach sinks. “You haven’t even hit it yet.” He looks unfocused, and it occurs to Neil that he might have taken something before they left.

“You’re right,” Neil says. “But you promised that you’d be there when I do,” he reminds him.

“What the fuck does that mean?” Nicky asks. “Neil?”

“Neil?” someone else says, and Neil looks over to see a woman and a couple of scruffy looking dudes frozen halfway up the stairs. His eyes drop to the shortest of the two, who’s wearing elbow-length armbands identical to Andrew’s. “Andrew! Nicky! Oh my god,” he says.

Nicky puts on a winning smile. “Hey!”

“I can’t believe you’re here—like, for real, there were rumours, but—oh my god— “

“He’s completely obsessed with you,” the woman gushes.

“Katie,” he hisses, and his friend shakes him good-naturedly by the shoulders.

“He’s afraid to say it, but—“

“Fuck off—“

“—every single album—“

“That’s very cute,” Nicky interrupts, cocking a flirtatious grin at the guy who’s holding his own cheeks, dismayed.

“We couldn’t believe you were just, like, changing your sound completely,” the taller guy says. “But Neil, man, I see why they’d take a chance for a voice like yours. It’s sick, dude.”

“Thanks,” Neil says stiffly.

“He’s not used to being recognized, yet,” Nicky says apologetically. “You’re taking his fan virginity.”

They titter, and the woman says, “we’re honoured.” She nudges her friend and widens her eyes meaningfully.

“We can’t really hang out though, sorry guys. Low profile tonight,” Nicky says. His smile is less believable by the second.

“Totally,” they chorus.

“I just quickly want to say, Andrew,” the first guy starts, breathless. “I know you get this all the time, but your lyrics saved my life. I couldn’t believe someone understood me like that, and—and you’re my--you inspire--I mean. I’m sorry, I’m so tongue-tied, I—“

“I didn’t write them for you,” Andrew says.

The fan’s face crumples. Nicky looks at Neil, panicked, and then he forces a loud, incongruous laugh.

“Wow, good one,” Nicky says. “He doesn’t mean it, obviously.”

“Don’t I?” Andrew says.

“We appreciate it,” Neil interrupts. “But we can’t talk anymore.“

“Right, sorry, I’m so—“

They urge one another up the stairs, apologizing and thanking them, the one guy looking on the verge of tears through the bars of his friends’ arms, until they disappear up to the next level of seats.

“You could’ve pretended to be human,” Nicky hisses as soon as they’re gone.

“They call us monsters,” Andrew says. “What do they expect?”

Nicky groans. “Please can we have fun, and not ruin anyone else’s night, especially our fans? People are gonna egg our car.”

Neil’s stomach squirms, and he crosses his arms over it. There could be well-meaning, invasive people like that everywhere, and now he’s tipsy and angry and stuck.

The house lights go down a few minutes later, and the whole crowd sucks in a collective breath before they plunge headfirst into cheering.

Neil’s arms loosen. Nicky stands up at his side, hooting, and everyone follows suit, craning towards the stage, wanting to be the first thing the band sees.

Dan comes out first, waving with both hands, and Matt follows, winking at the crowd and sliding his guitar over his head. Allison and Renee emerge from either side of the stage, Allison towering in high heels and glowing under the lights. Renee’s hair is wild, and her face is different, tongue caught in her teeth, almost cocky.

They fit behind their instruments like joints cracking into place, and they play their first chord in perfect unison, all of them operating different parts of the same body.

The crowd roars their approval. Neil sits upright. He’s surprised to feel Andrew standing up beside him, stepping into the aisle to watch. He follows without thinking.

The jangling, bopping drum line doesn’t wait for the strings to catch up, and Renee doesn’t need to watch to see that they’re following her. Her wrists are supple, and she’s lost to the music like she’s been playing for hours and not seconds.

The room goes up in flames when Dan starts singing, like the fans are all hungry, dry wood, and she’s a spark. She works the microphone free from its stand and starts running with it.

“Fucking excellent, right,” Nicky shouts, and Neil nods, mesmerized. The crowd moves together even separated by sections and rows of seats.

It’s nothing like an Ausreißer concert, where boiling blood turns into wine, and everyone turns their desperate faces up to the stage like they’re waiting to be healed. Foxes sing like they’re in love and they fought for it.

Neil can admit that they’re as musically proficient as the monsters, too, making up for lack of technical flair with a complete understanding of their sound.

Matt smiles dopily down at his guitar and then at Dan, like he can’t decide which deserves his attention more. When she floats towards him, he gets springy with it, teasing her with guitar licks, carving shapes into her oaky voice. Allison’s hand goes protectively to her tuning pegs whenever she has a break in the music, but her bass is rich and in tune.

They do an old-fashioned crescendo like it’s a classical piece, and Dan is almost conducting, hitting the air when Renee smashes the cymbals, gesturing for more when Allison starts a slippery solo, so fast that she laughs and tosses her hair, exhilarated.

Neil makes a hurt noise that gets swallowed in the din, but Andrew looks at him anyway. Neil looks back, studying his wide black pupils and wondering why he only bothers to pay attention when he’s stoned.

He remembers the wide eyes of the kid with the armbands, the agony of his disappointment, and he forces himself to look back out at the band.

One song finishes and another climbs on its back. People move and mill out of their seats towards the stage. He feels like he’s seeing double, like he’s watching a long pilgrimage that’s somehow been condensed or played back.

The first break in the music, Dan laughs her way out of the song, takes a swig of wine, and says “how was that?” into the mic, pointing out towards the place where the monsters are standing. Nicky puts two fingers to his mouth and whistles.

Her stage presence is unparalleled. She’s funny and a little hard on her audience, begging them to sing louder, drive her offstage if they can. Neil can see why she’s in charge, unofficially. She paces circles around the stage like she’s boosting morale. She barely needs the microphone to be heard.

They topple back into their set without warning, a trust fall of a count-in where Renee bangs out a few warning shots and everyone’s hands fly to their instruments.

Somewhere in the thicket of fans, Neil hears someone call, “Andrew!” He sees an incongruous flash, turned towards the audience and not the stage.

“Nicky, Nicky Hemmick! Nicky, over here—“

“Andrew,” Neil starts.

“We love you, Neil,” someone screams.

“Don’t—“

Neil’s jostled down a stair, and Andrew yanks him back up.

“Ignore them,” Andrew says viciously.

“Yeah,” Nicky agrees, but he’s clearly rattled. “What are they gonna do?”

Neil struggles to get his bearings. A few of them are still shouting, recording them with their phones or fighting their way through the crowd towards them. Nicky motions for them to stop, but a few people get close enough to beg for autographs or snap blurry photos of themselves with the band members in the background. He wonders if it was the fans from before, upset enough to tip off the whole crowd to their seat numbers.

“Bet you didn’t think we were this famous, huh?” Nicky jokes nervously.

Andrew has no problem with shoving people away, and Nicky frantically apologizes as many times as he can before he just starts shaking his head. Neil is forced painfully into Nicky’s side, and he can hear people in their row restlessly asking what’s going on.

Most of the audience is oblivious, still focused on Foxes’ raucous energy, but the three of them are surrounded for another ten minutes before people start to get frustrated enough to give up. The rest of them are shoulder-tapped by security, and the throng dwindles to nothing.

“You okay?” Nicky asks. Neil nods, but when he blinks he can still see pinholes of light from camera flashes. He knows that the photos will end up online where anyone can see him as he is right now, and they can guess at his habits or zero in on his location if they want to.

He’s been reckless for a long time, but standing pooled in stage lights feels entirely, chokingly different from wading down into the crowd and feeling the attention slither around him like seaweed.

Andrew crushes a hand to the back of his neck, and Neil inhales all at once.

“Kinda ironic that crowds freak you out so much when you sing for one every night,” Nicky says. He’s standing half in front of Neil, eclipsing the concert still unfolding in the background.

“It’s not the crowd.” Neil shakes his head to clear it. “It’s—they all know who I am.”

‘They think they do,” Nicky corrects firmly, fingers curling into Neil’s arms. The harpy tattoo peers out from under his sheer sleeve, a monster in a veil.

“They want to,” Andrew says, gaze tossed out to the back of the venue. His face is so blank and washed out under the lights that it’s like it’s been chemically stripped of colour. “You’ve caught their attention.”

Neil pulls free from Nicky’s arms and sits heavily in his seat. “I don’t want it.”

“You might not have a choice,” Nicky says, sitting next to him, smothering the distance Neil keeps trying and failing to cultivate.

“You always have a choice,” Andrew says, and when Neil looks up at him, he’s holding out his right hand with its painted yes. Neil accepts it gingerly, and Andrew drags him to his feet.

They watch the rest of the concert from backstage.

Andrew sits propped up on an amp, and Nicky alternates between trying to get the band’s attention from the wings, and mimicking Matt’s solos with vigorous air guitar. Neil suspects he’s trying to get him to laugh.

Neil has enough distance now to feel stupid about locking up during such a minor incident and proving Kevin right. The crowd has already forgotten them, or never knew they were there. The show goes on.

They’re coming up on their encore performance when Neil feels a buzzing at his hip.

He fishes an unfamiliar cellphone out of his pocket and stares uncomprehendingly at the message lingering on screen, sent from a number he doesn’t recognize.

A neat little ’60’ and nothing else.

#neil sure is mistaken about many things #the foxhole court #andreil #tfc fanfic #aftg #rockband au #mine #abuse tw #alcohol tw #self harm tw #this chapter did not want to exit my mind and I'm sorry about that #peep the love letter to dan wilds halfway through this klhgjfhdfgsf

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rainydawgradioblog · 4 years

Text

A Conversation: The Brook and The Bluff

On a street corner outside of the Columbia City Theater, an unsuspecting door opens to The Brook and The Bluff mid sound check circled around a microphone crooning an acoustic version of “Father McKenzie” off their new album First Place. For a moment, I’m transported into their world -- one full of intoxicating vocal harmonies and intimacy. Lead vocalist Joseph Settine is wearing an Auburn University t-shirt, an homage to where Settine and guitarist Alec Bolton established the beginnings of the band. Prior to their move to Nashville in 2018, Settine and Bolton rounded out the four man band with percussionist John Canada (whom they met after a gig back in Alabama) and bassist Fred Lankford (a neighbor of Alec in their hometown of Mountain Brook).

Promptly after soundcheck, the quartet and I peel off upstairs to a quiet room upstairs for a conversation about everything from their favorite cover song to realizations amidst their first national headline tour. It’s been 11 days since they’ve released their first full length project, First Place. The album acts as a canvas for both Settine’s exposition on past relationships as well as the band’s own exploration of their sound. In many ways, the album represents a step forward in the band’s maturation, both sonically and stylistically following their recent relocation to Nashville.

“If you’re not making something new, then what’s the point. You’re just recycling stuff you’ve heard before.”

At times, First Place sounds groovier with tracks such as “Shelby” and “Halfway Up” compared to their self-titled EP, The Brook and The Bluff. On the other hand, the project sounds just as warm and intimate with the addition of John Mayer-esque songs such as “Lover’s Rock.” On the track “I Could Never Draw,” Settine’s utilization of autotune is a perfect tip of the hat to one of his musical inspirations in Frank Ocean. While The Brook and The Bluff draws inspiration from other artists, Alec describes how, even with outside musical influences, “If you're not making something new, then what's the point. You're just recycling stuff you've heard before.” The choral backgrounds and performances of the four band members, which differentiate the band sonically, both act as a common thread that weave the swirling collage of work that is First Place together.

The album itself represents Settine’s process of putting past relationships into perspective. While tracks such as “Everything Is Just a Mess” speak to events 4-5 years in the past, “Off the Lawn” depicts experiences that are seemingly fresh. There hasn’t necessarily been a timeline for Settine’s revisitation of feelings of the past. “When that relationship ended, I didn't want to process it. And then sometimes when I would wake up and there'd be a line in my head, it was like, ‘Oh, this is like something telling me that I need to look back, you know. For every song, it could be different because maybe that urge is more pressing.’” he says.

It’s getting to be evening, and as the conversation wraps up and the boys ready themselves to head next door to the Columbia Ale House, I can’t help but ask Settine about the new Frank Ocean releases. The consensus landed on the fact that Frank Ocean, indeed, has too much success to not brag about it.

Alexander Wen: You guys just came from Salt Lake City? I looked on your instagram and all I saw was a bunch of people sleeping in the car, with the location tag being the Oregon Trail.

The Brook and The Bluff: The actual computer game. Yeah, it was a long day. A trick we learned is to leave early so you're driving through most of the day. When it gets dark, that's when it feels a lot longer. We left at 6:45 in the morning, or something like that. It was beautiful, mountains and stuff everywhere.

AW: This being your first time coming to the Northwest and California as a headliner, what’s been the main difference between this tour and supporting other bands? I know you guys came this March to support Ripe on their tour.

TBATB: I mean it's different in that obviously as an opener there's not as much pressure on you. You don’t have to worry about bringing the crowd. With Ripe, we had full rooms regardless of whether we brought people out. So this one is more honest, but it feels cool. The upside being that it is your show you get to tailor it. We get to play our own set, and we’ve made a show for this specific time and all those kinds of things. With Gripe, basically, they would set up seven people for their soundcheck and then we'd have to squeeze in the little tiny pockets on stage. There are trade offs for sure, and honestly the pressure of having our own show is kind of fun because people come for the songs they want to hear. And we’re going to play it for them.

“But honestly, my favorite thing that Alec used to ever play together was tribute by Tenacious D. It was the most fun. Every single time.”

AW: In the beginning, when it was just Alec and Joe, you guys started with a lot of acoustic covers, and then you started like thinking about writing original content. Do y’all still like to rewind the clock and play acoustic covers during your shows? Or is that something of your past?

TBATB: We like to do that. It's usually on a little old microphone that we have. We'll gather around and sing three or four songs in the middle of every set we do. It's a little acoustic section. It’s kind of like a throwback to how it started. We do like including some covers.

Joseph Settine: When we first wrote, it was just us two so there were some songs that were acoustic. Even on this album, Hallways was written acoustically before it became this full band arrangement. We'll play that one that way and then we’ll play it acoustically.

AW: If you could go back to like the archives, what’s one cover that you just instinctively remember playing. I guess, what’s one song that you love playing, whether it be acoustically or cover-wise?

JS: A little bit weird, but always, the really really drunk kids at the very end of the night, would always want to hear silly songs. But honestly, my favorite thing that Alec used to ever play together was Tribute by Tenacious D. It was the most fun. Every single time. And I think it was because the first time we played it, neither one of us had played it together before. And then we hit that vocal part. Literally perfect, first time we played it together...It was tailored to drunk college kids then. I would say now it's a little different. If we were doing it now and it was cover sets for what we wanted to play, I think my favorite thing that Alec and I have played together is Harvest Moon by Neil Young. I love that song.

AW: What's your guys’ experience in seeing your fans and the people who are coming out to the tour. Do you adapt to what their energy and how they interact with you?

TBATB: It's a crazy feeling when people show up. I feel like it's been a slow process from playing for people from where we’re from where it was all like friends. But in the past, it'd be a big crowd of all of our friends. Now, we’re slowly growing out of where we grew up in Birmingham and Alabama. Now coming to a city like this where I don't know anybody, I'll see whoever is in the crowd tonight. I will never have met anyone before, so they don't have the pretense of having to like my music because they know me, or feel like they have to. But the jump from friends to fans has been pretty cool.

AW: When did when did you start feeling that jump?

TBATB: Maybe recently. It started regionally for sure. Even when we play in Atlanta, and have 60 people show up. The cool thing for us is going back to Auburn where we all went to college. And now we don't have anybody that's still in school there but we play for 400 people. I feel like it's been slowly growing since the beginning. We've hit periods of like more exponential growth when we released Halfway Up at the beginning of this year. We saw a huge jump in different markets. It seems like every time we play a live show for a bunch of friends they bring their friends, and we usually end up turning a lot of those people into fans. They go home and listen to our music. It's been a lot of word of mouth. It's been a really big factor in the growth.

AW: I've seen that you guys have performed at a ton of Sofar Sounds concerts in Dallas or Chicago or New York. What's been your specific experience with one-off concerts or shows that aren't necessarily structured as a tour?

TBATB: We use Sofar as our first time going to cities that aren’t our hometown or surrounding towns to have an audience. Maybe an immediate audience of like, like 75-200 people. It was a really good way for us to go to St Louis for the first time, and play for 80 people when we otherwise couldn't have done that. So we use Sofar as a way to start touring. We would string them together on the East Coast and in the Midwest. We would hopefully be able to get to a point where we could book our own shows like this. The stuff that we did with Sofar helps because some of the tickets we sold for this, were people come back from from the Sofar shows.

AW: In a previous interview with Sofar Sounds in Dallas, you were asked the question, what food would you describe your band as. This was before you guys had released your current project..if I need a jog your memory you guys responded with fusion BBQ. Is answer still correct, or do you have a new answer?

John Canada: I don't think it would be barbecue, we’re much cleaner than barbecue now. Maybe sushi.

Alec Bolton: To me, almost bitter sweet, almost like a tart

Fred Lankford: Maybe more savory and sweet

JC: We’re talking about the duality of man

JS: I guess the answer is going to be sushi, like, really good sushi.

AB: What’s something that’s smooth, like a souffle, good and hot, but not like a burger.

JC: Let’s just go with sushi.

AW: One thing that you guys also have talked about specifically is the question of “Have you guys felt like you've made it?”. Y’all have said that you don't have a specific time where you’ve thought you’ve made it. That it’s more so baby steps or small steps that you’re looking forward to. Fast forward to now, in the midst of things, What does that next step look like for you within the realm of this current tour or after the tour?

JC: I feel like especially nowadays the whole idea of “making it” is really just baby steps on a slope. There's things that can happen and it can make it go fast, but there's times where it will go pretty slow. But if we spend five years touring the country, and keep on playing bigger and bigger clubs, by the time we're playing thousand cap rooms in every city, you could say you’ve made it. Because you're making a living playing music, but there's so many people who would think, “well what about 20,000”, you know, but based off of where we are, we are making a living doing music. But barely. One thing that Jason Mraz said that has stuck in my mind for a long time is he said, “When I first started playing music, if I could make a living playing music, everything on top of that would be a bonus.”. So that’s how I think about it.

AW: From your songwriting perspective with First Place, you’ve spoken about how the subject matter is mostly from a relationship 4-5 years ago. When you look to write, do you try to keep distance between when things happen and when you write about it, or could you write about something that feels like a fresh wound?

JS: With the album I was trying to do so much reflection and basically trying to figure out how to live or how to get back into the place where I was in that relationship and trying to get that relationship back. A lot of the album was reflection and at the same time was, I think subconscious conscious processing...It’s like the tip of an iceberg, so when I write that one line, all of a sudden I’m right back in the place that I was three or four years ago.

AW: Could you give an overview of what went into the album art? There are motifs such as the sea, or even the pastel blue background that both appear lyrically. But there are also images like the golden gate bridge and birds that don’t necessarily show up in the album.

JS: They’re actually all pictures that I've taken on tour with my film camera. I think it kind of ties into this idea that a lot of the songs came from and are centered around this reflection that I did in the past couple of years. It was like a little microcosm of the relationship that I was in on this trip to Europe. I think the way that album photos tie into that is another theme of travel. I was trying to find something in a different continent that was not in front of us when we lived in America. I think that the collage of personal photos kind of also ties into that. And then the whole personal nature of the songs.

AW: Since moving to Nashville, you’ve talked about how you’ve met producers and have had more opportunities in general. Do you think, being settled in Nashville, you’ll start to draw more inspiration from Nashville rather than Birmingham?

JC: I feel like it's so music is so global now, we all listen to the same stuff, wherever we live. Lyrically, experiences too.

JS: Yeah, and actually moving back to the processing question, I know I want to go back to that because it my thought wasn't complete. But I think that the album was my way of processing who I was. During that time, I put a lot of it away. When that relationship ended, I didn't want to process it. And then there would be days when I would wake up and there'd be a line in my head. It was like, “Oh, this is like something telling me that I need to look back.”. So for every song, it could be different because maybe that maybe that urge is more pressing. With Off the Lawn, when I wrote that it had just happened but it was something where I immediately knew I had to write. I've grown a little bit now, I'm not 22, I'm 26 and I know that it's not good to push things away for a little while.

FL: I think, yes, the environment internally, will have a big effect on it. The studio we recorded the album and had a huge impact yeah the way it sounded, just like the person we were working with too. So I think we're whoever we record the next project will have a big impact on it.

AW: Finally, what's one thing that the world may not know about The Brook and The Bluff that you’d like them to know? The floor is yours.

FL: I'll say this, We all are trying to not take ourselves too seriously. And I guess I guess what we would want people to know is that we're like human beings just like you. And the reason I even say that is because as a music lover, I’m really prone to idolizing the musicians that I love. Now, becoming a musician and getting to meet all these fans it's just like,“Oh, you're just like me.”.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and brevity.

#interview TheBrookandTheBluff

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tamboradventure · 4 years

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29 Things to See and Do in New York City

Posted: 11/21/2019 | November 21st, 2019

New York City. It’s one of my favorite cities in the world and one of the most popular destinations in the US. Sprawling, busy, exciting — there’s a reason people call it the city that never sleeps!

It has something for everyone — including lots of budget-friendly activities for travelers looking to stretch their pocketbook. I lived in the city for years and still return often. Whether you’re looking for history, nightlife, food, or art, this city won’t disappoint.

To help you plan your trip, here are the best things to see and do in NYC — no matter your budget!

1. Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island

At 151 feet tall, the Statue of Liberty is spectacular to see up close. But the real highlight of this duo is Ellis Island. Here you’ll learn about the immigrant experience and get a sense of the people who helped build the city. There’s such a great sense of history there that you can’t help but be impressed.

2. Central Park

The perfect way to relax in the city and leave the crowds behind is to spend the day in Central Park. It’s free, there are lots of paths to walk (or run), bike lanes, lakes to row in, and a zoo. The park spans over 150 square blocks (840 acres) it’s easy to spend hours wandering around. During the summer months, there are often free concerts and theater productions (line up early for tickets to Shakespeare in the Park).

From the late spring to the early fall, there are free guided walks run by the parks service on Saturdays at 11am. I’m a big fan of laying out in Sheep’s Meadow on a hot, sunny day with a book, some food, and a bottle of wine.

3. World Trade Center & 9/11 Memorial and Museum

Wander the somber memorial and then take in the view from the new “Freedom Tower.” On the elevator up, you can see pictures of the historical development of the city and how it’s changed over the years. To get a deeper understanding of 9/11 and the events that unfolded, visit the museum. It’s home to some moving exhibits that illuminate the significance of the tragedy and its impact.

180 Greenwich Street, Financial District, Lower Manhattan, +1 212 266 5211, 911memorial.org. Daily memorial hours are from 7:30am–9pm. Daily museum hours are from 9am–8pm (closes one hour later on Fri–Sat). The memorial is free to visit and entry to the museum is $24. Free admission on Tuesdays after 5pm (on a first-come, first-served basis).

4. Wall Street

Take a photo with the famous Charging Bull statue (which was commissioned in 1989 and is made of bronze) and then walk to Wall Street and see where all those bankers destroyed the economy. While there isn’t much to see here (the Museum of American Finance is temporarily closed) it’s still an iconic part of the city and worth seeing with your own eyes, if only briefly.

5. Battery Park

Named Battery Park for the old batteries (cannons) that defended the city, you can stop here for music and street performers in the summer, people-watching, relaxing, and some lounging in the sun with a good book. You can also explore the ruins of the old fort that kept watch over New York City. The Park is large and can get a little hectic but there are some tremendous views of the harbor that make it worthwhile.

6. Walk the Brooklyn Bridge

The Brooklyn Bridge offers an easy 25-minute walk into Brooklyn and the waterfront park on the other side of the bridge. Stopping to take photos and meandering along the way will make the walk about 40 minutes — which is definitely worth it! You get a lot of wonderful views of Manhattan as you make your way across. I enjoy doing this walk at night when downtown is all lit up (and there are fewer crowds).

7. Grand Central Terminal

Grand Central Terminal is the city’s historic train station. It was going to be torn down in 1975 but was saved by Jacqueline Kennedy, who raised money for its preservation. There are free historical tours on Wednesdays. I love coming to the main concourse and looking up at the “stars” in the ceiling and people-watching as everyone races to and fro.

Also, there’s an amazing eatery in the basement called the Grand Central Oyster Bar & Restaurant. And for fancy (and expensive) cocktails, visit the Campbell Apartments and step back into the 1920s (dress code enforced). The space was once the office of John W. Campbell, a member of the New York Central Railroad’s board of directors and finance tycoon from the 1920s.

89 E. 42nd Street, Midtown, grandcentralterminal.com. Opening daily from 5:30am–2am. Tours are held daily at 12:30pm for $30 per person with discounts available. Purchase at mas.org/tours or at the ticket windows.

8. Trinity Church

Trinity Church is one of the oldest churches in America. The original building burned down in 1776, but the current church is still beautiful and one of the most iconic sights in the city. It has an ornate Gothic-style structure and is famous for its colonial graveyard, where you’ll find many famous Americans (including Alexander Hamilton, one of America’s founding fathers).

74 Trinity Place, Financial District, Lower Manhattan, +1 212 602 0800, trinitywallstreet.org. Opening daily from 7am–6pm.

9. The Guggenheim Museum

This museum is home to a renowned collection of impressionist, post-impressionist, early modern, and contemporary art. The cylindrical museum (designed by Frank Lloyd Wright) is considered one of the 20th century’s most important architectural designs. It’s one of my favorite buildings (and museums) in the city.

1071 5th Avenue, Upper East Side, +1 212 423 3500, guggenheim.org/new-york. Opening Sunday–Wednesday and Fridays from 10am–5:45pm, Saturdays from 10am–7:45 (closed Thursdays). Admission is $25 with discounts for students and seniors. On Saturday nights from 5:45-7:45pm, admission is by donation.

10. City Hall

New York’s City Hall is a great piece of historic architecture. It also has a beautiful little park nearby that’s filled with office workers during lunch (in the summer anyway). To learn about the building’s history, art, and architecture, take one of the guided tours. On a tour, you’ll be able to see the rotunda, the city council chamber, Governor’s Room, and the City Hall Portrait Collection. It’s a great place to learn about the city and how it functions.

City Hall Park. Pre-reserved tours are typically offered for groups (10–20 people) on Mondays and Tuesdays at 10:30am and for individuals on Thursdays at 10am. There are also first-come, first-served tours on Wednesdays at 12pm.

11. Rockefeller Center

Wander around Rockefeller Center to see where they film The Today Show, shop, snack, and take the elevator to the “Top of the Rock” for another bird’s-eye view of the city (which I personally think it better than the Empire State Building, since this view includes the Empire State Building in the picture). It will be busy at sunset and on the weekends, so come during the week to beat the crowds.

30 Rockefeller Plaza, +1 212 698 2000, topoftherocknyc.com. Open daily from 8am–12am (last elevator up at 11pm). Admission is $36 to visit the observation deck once, $50 to combine that with a tour of Rockefeller Center, and $54 to visit the observation deck twice in 24 hours.

12. Times Square

No matter when you go to Times Square, it will be packed with people (usually other tourists). There are a few pedestrian areas where you can sit and take in the city but if you aren’t shopping or eating or planning to see a show then there isn’t much to do in the area.

While no New Yorkers hang out here, it’s still a fabulous place to people-watch for a few minutes from the top of the red steps of the TKTS kiosk. You can really get a feel for how busy the city is from here.

13. The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met is one of the biggest museums in the world, and if you only see one museum in New York, this is the one I would recommend. It has a huge collection of art, historical artifacts, photographs, and other exhibits. There’s even a real Egyptian tomb in here! Personally, I enjoy its expansive impressionist and Greek exhibits. The museum can get a little chaotic and usually filled with people (especially on weekends) but since it is so big you can often find some quiet spots away from the crowds. You can easily spend hours here so budget a lot of time if you’re a history buff like me!

1000 5th Avenue, Central Park, Upper East Side, +1 212 535 7710, metmuseum.org. Opening Sunday–Thursday from 10am–5:30pm, Friday–Saturday from10am–9pm. Admission is $25 (includes entrance to the Cloisters and Met Breuer for three consecutive days). Free for kids 12 and under.

14. American Museum of Natural History

Made even more famous by the Night at the Museum movies, this is another museum that requires a lot of time. The exhibits on nature, human history, and marine life are comprehensive and educational so I wouldn’t try to rush your visit. Also, don’t skip the section on space at the Hayden Planetarium, which is run by science guru Neil Degrasse Tyson. They have really detailed exhibitions on the origin of the universe!

Central Park W. at 79th Street, Upper West Side, +1 212 769 5100, amnh.org. Opening daily from 10am–5:45pm. Suggested donation of $23 ($13 for children ages 2–12). Note: Even though this museum only technically asks for a suggested donation, be prepared to pay to go into any special exhibitions and/or movies.

15. The Frick Collection

This collection features paintings by famous European artists as well as 18th-century French furniture and intricate rugs from Asia. To be honest, you have to really love Dutch artists to want to spend time here (which I do). Fortunately, they also host a lot of wonderful temporary exhibits so there is often a lot of other art to see in addition to their main collection.

1 East 70th Street, +1 212-288-0700, frick.org. Opening from Tuesday-Saturday from 10am-6pm and Sundays from 11am-5pm (closed on Mondays). Admission is $22 USD, with discounts available to students and seniors. Visit Wednesdays between 2pm-6pm and the entrance fee is “pay what you wish.”

16. The Museum of the City of New York

This museum will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about New York City. Architecture, parks, streets, culture, famous sights — you name it! There are multiple rooms that illuminate the city throughout the ages via interviews, maps, interactive exhibits, profiles of historical figures, and various artifacts. It’s the best history museum in the city. Also, there’s a fun exhibit here where you can create the future NYC (a la Sim City style). It’s great for kids!

1220 Fifth Avenue at 103rd St., +1 212-534-1672, mcny.org. Opening daily from 10am-6pm. Admission is $18, with discounted rates for students and seniors.

17. Empire State Building

This is one of the most historic landmarks in all of New York City. Built in 1931, the art deco interior is beautiful and the view from the top is breathtaking. You can get a real feel for how densely populated New York is as you stare out at the city. Get here early or during lunchtime to avoid the lines and tour groups. And don’t forget to bring your camera!

350 5th Avenue, Midtown, +1 212 736 3100, esbnyc.com. Price: $36 to visit the observation deck once, $50 to combine that with a tour of Rockefeller Center, $54 to visit the observation deck twice in 24 hours. Discounts available for children and seniors.

18. Broadway Show

You can’t go to New York City, the theater capital of the world, without seeing a show. Current highlights and my favorites include:

The Lion King

The Phantom of the Opera

Wicked

Dear Evan Hansen

Aladdin

Chicago

School of Rock

Come From Away

Hamilton

The Book of Mormon

You can find discounted theater tickets at the TKTS offices around the city (Times Square, South Street Seaport, and downtown Brooklyn) for shows that day. They also have an app where you can see what they offer too! Expect to spend at least $100.

19. The Cloisters

Few people make it up to the Cloisters (it’s all the way up near 204th Street), which is a branch of the Met devoted to medieval Europe. Even when I lived here, it took me years to finally see it — and I kicked myself for waiting so long! Built with Rockefeller money, the Cloisters was made from parts of five European abbeys between 1934-1939. The building and its stunning cloistered garden are serene and beautiful and a nice break for the hustle and bustle of the city. There are free tours each day that explain the history of the museum and the paintings and exhibits.

99 Margaret Corbin Drive, Fort Tryon Park, +1 212 923 3700, metmuseum.org/visit/visit-the-cloisters. Opening daily from 10am–5:15pm (closes early in the winter). Admission is $25 (includes entrance to the Met and Met Breuer for three consecutive days) and free for kids 12 and under.

20. The High Line & Whitney Museum

The High Line is a former train track that has been converted into an urban walking park. It stretches almost 1.5 miles from 34th Street to the Meatpacking District. Lined with overlooks, gardens, public art, food stalls, and greenery, this walk is one of the best things to do in the city — especially on a nice summer day. Go for a walk, sit with a book, people-watch — the High Line is a must-see and a true favorite among locals.

21. Lower East Side Tenement Museum

This is a fascinating museum that offers visitors a chance to visit former tenement apartments on the Lower East Side. You’ll learn how immigrants from around the world lived during the late 1800s and early 1900s as they tried to make it in America. It’s an insightful museum and a good follow-up to what you see on Ellis Island. You can only visit this museum via guided tours and they need to be booked in advance. Personally, I like the “Meet the Residents” tour, where live actors portray and share the story of newly arrived immigrants.

103 Orchard Street, Lower East Side, +1 877 975 3786, tenement.org. Open from Friday–Wednesday from 10am–6:30pm and Thursdays from 10am–8:30pm. Admission is $25 with discounts for students and seniors.

22. Take a walking tour

NYC is home to dozens of walking tour companies — and many of them are free! Be sure to take one of the many, many walking tours the city has to offer to get a unique and cultural look at the city that never sleeps from a local guide. There are all sorts of focused tours on street art, history, food, and much more! I always take my friends on at least one when they visit. A few walking tour companies worth checking out are:

Take Walks

Free Tours by Foot

Bowery Boys Walks

For more suggestions, check out my favorite NYC walking tours.

23. Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)

Want to see lots of beautiful (and weird) modern art? You’ve come to the right place! Personally, I hate modern art. I just don’t “get” it. But, while I dislike modern art, the MoMA does have Van Gogh’s Starry Night as well as other post-impressionist art which makes it worth visiting. If you love modern and contemporary art, this (I’m told) is one of the best in the world.

18 W. 54th Street, Midtown, +1 212 708 9400, moma.org. Open Saturday–Thursday from 10:30am–5:30pm and Fridays from 10:30am–8pm. Admission is $25 with discounts for students and seniors. The MoMA’s Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden is free of charge to the public daily (9:30am–10:15am). On Fridays after 4pm, the museum is free

24. Prospect Park

Spend some time outside of Manhattan and go explore Brooklyn’s version of Central Park (the Brooklyn Museum is right next down and it’s worth a visit too). Opened in 1867, the park covers over 500 acres and is a great place to have a picnic, read a book, people watch, or lounge in the sun.

25. Bronx Zoo

Head north for a look at one of the oldest and biggest zoos in the United States. Opened in 1899, the zoo spans almost 300 acres and sees over 2 million visitors each and every year. Home to over 650 different species, it’s a great place to visit with kids. Gorillas, birds of prey, bison — there is a huge assortment of animals here and you’ll definitely learn a lot during your visit!

2300 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, +1 718 220 5100, bronxzoo.com. Open Monday–Friday from 10am–5pm and Saturday–Sunday from 10am–5:30pm (limited hours from November-April). Tickets are $22.95, but it is pay-what-you-want on Wednesdays.

26. See a Yankees/Mets/Rangers/Knicks Game

Like sports? Then you probably already know that NYC has some world-class sports teams. I’m not much of a sports fan but games are fun when you have friends to share the experience with. If you have a chance and the desire, grab some tickets to a game!

27. See a TV Show!

TV shows like Saturday Night Live, The View, Late Night with Stephen Colbert, The Daily Show, Last Week Tonight, and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon offer free tickets to their tapings (although they must be reserved well in advance). It can be very difficult to get tickets so try to get tickets for multiple shows to increase your odds. For more details, see the website of each show for details and to make reservations.

28. Batsu!

Walk through the narrow aisle of the Je Bon Sushi restaurant in the East Village, and head down the tiny stairway to find this hidden dinner theater. This four-person improv comedy competition takes place within the structure of a high-energy Japanese game show, with slapstick theatrical performances. Go with friends to enjoy some sushi, sake shots, and a night of ridiculous fun.

15 St. Mark’s Place, East Village, +1 347 985 0368, batsulive.com/new-york. Tickets from $30.50.

29. Ellen’s Stardust Diner

Since 1987, this diner is home to an incredible waitstaff of singers and dancers. Between tours and musical performances, actors and actresses wait tables at Ellen’s, where they belt out songs as they serve you slightly pricey, very American diner food (think shakes, burgers, and lasagna) in uniforms from the 1950s. It’s incredibly cheesy but good fun — especially if you’re a theatre fan!

1650 Broadway, Times Square, +1 212 956 5151. There’s usually a line so be sure to plan ahead!

*** No matter how long you’re here for — and no matter what you’re interested in — New York City will have something for you. While it’s not the most budget-friendly city in the country, there are plenty of free activities and lots of cheap things to see and do to keep you busy and entertained.

And if you want to splurge? Well, you’ve come to the right place!

With so many things to see and do it’s no surprise that tourists love to re-visit this diverse, lovely, and eclectic city. But don’t take my word for it — put this list to the test and let me know what you think!

Get the In-Depth Budget Guide to New York City!

For more in-depth information and tips on NYC, check out my 100+ page guidebook written for budget travelers like yourself! It cuts out the fluff found in other guides and gets straight to the practical information you need to travel and save money the city that never sleeps. You’ll find suggested itineraries, budgets, ways to save money, on and off the beaten path things to see and do, non-touristy restaurants, markets, and bars, and much more!! Click here to learn more and get started.

Book Your Trip to New York City: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Get Your Guide Check out my detailed guide to planning a visit to NYC with suggested itineraries, places to stay, things to do, where to eat, and how to get around. Just click here to get the guide and continue planning today!

Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay elsewhere, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. I use them all the time. My favorite places to stay in New York City are:

HI NYC Hostel – One of the biggest and most popular hostels in the city with a ton of space, an outdoor patio, free Wi-Fi, events, activities, and a huge kitchen.

Jazz on Columbus Circle – My favorite hostel in NYC, with comfy dorms and a friendly environment.

Pod Times Square – Incredibly tiny private rooms, but with an excellent quiet location near Times Square.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

World Nomads (for everyone below 70)

Insure My Trip (for those over 70)

Looking for the best companies to save money with? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all the ones I use to save money when I travel – and I think will help you too!

Photo credit: 11 – Joyofmuseums, 16 – Jay

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noiseartists · 4 years

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French Shoegaze, Dream Pop & Noise Pop, a quick guide, Vol. 2

In our Volume 1 you discovered / revisited Welcome to Julian (90’s), Dead Horse One, Stuck in the Sound, Venera 4, Soon she Said, Automatic Fiction, Candelabre (see our collaboration) and the Sigh (90’s).

You are here again for a other musical treat, as we continue to introduce you to some of the fantastic bands that France has (had) in our favorite genres. This second volume, like the ones to follow, includes past, present, big and small bands in no particular order.

First a big thank you to Elisabeth (Kill the Moose), Margot (Tapeworms), Michel (Lucie Vacarme), Evol (Dead & Nothing Collective), Yann (Marble Arch), Pierre (Dead Mantra) and their bandmates for taking the time to ensure that their band’s information was accurate.

LUCIE VACARME (90’s)

Lucie Vacarme, from Toulouse, is one of the main and most influential French Shoegaze (called ‘Noisy Pop’ then) band of the 90’s. This the first recorded musical experience of Michel Cloup, known for having worked in one of the major bands of the French scene of the 90s, Diabologum. They disbanded in 1993.

The band was known for their saturated and hazy sound, at the limit of the audible, especially in concert (those of Toulouse and Bordeaux in the first part of Lush were known to have caused tinnitus).

Despite the support of Bernard Lenoir (the French Equivalent of John Peel), Lucie Vacarme did not break through.

All readers of ‘Les Inrocks’ knew the band even if it was not easy to get their CD’s. I for one had the CD’s copied on tape as I could not get the CD proper (always out of stock when I looked). Unfortunately, I have lost the tape since unfortunately.

The band had more influence on the limited ‘Noisy Pop’ French musical scene as the time that they think. Many bands (my band Smiling Marianne, The Sigh, …) knew Lucie Vacarme’s music and we were inspired by some of it, if only to know that French bands could make such great music. Milkyway was to our opinion one of the best Shoegaze album around. Thanks guys.

There is a little story as Kim Gordon (Sonic Youth) featured on the band’s album, as detailed in Michel Cloup’s interview in ‘Soul Kitchen’

“We sent our first EP to Thurston Moore. He sent us a postcard back. We had suggested to Kim, at the time when they recorded ‘Dirty’ to make a featuring on our song "Kelly Kiss". She did it over the phone with a very bad sound and accent. Fortunately, we wrote her name on the booklet and people were able to know she featured”.

One of their songs, ‘Souffle incandescent’ features on DKFM ‘Shoegaze classics and rarities vol2’ that can be found here on Mixcloud.

The band’s lineup was:

David Amsellem : guitar, voice

Michel Cloup : guitar

Patrice Bellanti : bass

Valery Lorenzo : drums

The music work is as follows:

1990: Metalvox, EP

1992: Milkyway , Album

1993: Audioscope, EP

Some of the songs we love:

ALCEST

The presentation of the band on Wikipedia tells us that Alcest is a French Post-Metal band from Bagnols-sur-Cèze, founded and led by Neige (Stéphane Paut). It started in 2000 as a Black Metal solo project by Neige, soon a trio, but following the release of their first demo in 2001, band members Aegnor and Argoth left the band, leaving Neige as the sole member.

In 2009 drummer Winterhalter from Les Discrets (and formerly Peste Noire) joined Alcest's line-up, after eight years with Neige as the sole full-time member.

Since its creation, Alcest has released five studio albums and a number of EPs and split releases. Their fourth album, 2014's Shelter, marked a dramatic shift towards a distinctly Shoegaze sound, however their latest album Kodama marks a partial return to their earlier Blackgaze sound. The band are widely credited with pioneering the Blackgaze/Post-Black metal genre, particularly through their EP ‘Le Secret’ released in 2005.

Alcest's fourth effort, entitled ‘Shelter’, was released on January 17, 2014 via Prophecy Productions. It features a guest appearance by Neil Halstead (Slowdive). Stylistically the album is a radical departure for the band, dropping all traces of metal from their sound and fully committing to the Shoegaze side of their sound. Neige later said in an interview that

"We are proud of it, but I think it was maybe a bit too influenced by other things. I really was obsessed with Slowdive at that time. Shelter still sounds very ‘Alcest’, but maybe not as much as the other records.”

On January 22, 2019, the band announced that they would start recording their next studio album the following day.

The current line-up is:

Neige – lead vocals, guitars, keyboards (2000–present), drums (2000–2009), bass (2001–present)

Winterhalter – drums, percussion (2009–present)

The current live musicians are:

Zero – guitar, backing vocals (2010–present)

Indria Saray – bass (2010–present)

The music work to date is:

2005: Le Secret (2005, re-recorded version in 2011) EP

2007: Souvenirs d'un autre monde, Album

2010: Écailles de Lune, Album

2012: Les Voyages de l'Âme, Album; BBC live session

2014: Shelter, Album

2016: Kodama, Album

2019: Spiritual instinct, Album

Some of the songs we love:

NøTHING COLLECTIVE

The Nøthing Collective is a Collective of like-minded French bands within the Shoegaze / Noise Pop / Altrock / Dreampop genres. They include an extensive lineup of some of the best current French artists.

They present themselves as follows:

“No matter where, no matter who and no matter how. What matters is the sound. What brings us together is the desire to have one. What binds us is the will to defend it. What we are passionate about is the desire to reveal it to you.”

The bands part of the collective so far are: A V G V S T, Future, Dead, Dead Horse One (see our Volume 1), Marble Arch (see below in this guide), Maria False, Saintes, Seahorse Hunter, Still Charon, Venera 4 (see our Volume 1), Beat Mark, Cavale Blanche, Des Roses, Giirls's facebook, Hermetic Delight, Mara, The name of the band, San Carol, Shadow Motel, Soft Blonde, Volage, Tapeworrm (see below in this guide), La Houle, T/O, Bank Myna, Good morning TV, Big Wool, Soon She Said (see our Volume 1), Brace! Brace!, Son of Fonos, That Green, The same old Band, Boy Head, Soon, Beat Mark, Boreal Wood, Maara, My lovely underground, Shadow Motel, San Carol,

The compilations that include the bands above to date are:

2013: We want nøthing more than nøthing #1

2014: Songs from Nøthing #2

2015:nøthing #03, nothing #4

2018: nøthing #05

There are too many songs and bands to choose from and we invite you to look / listen to their Bandcamp page and enjoy the quality and variety is contains.

Needless to say, Nøthing Collective was one of our main resources to source great bands for this Guide. More bands form the Collective will be included in the next volumes of this guide.

MARBLE ARCH

As stated on the band’s social media, “Like the white marble monument -located on the West end of Oxford Street- from which the group borrowed its name, Marble Arch was cut for triumph. Having perfectly digested Shoegaze and Dream Pop's secrets, their music has been oriented toward childhood and experimentation.

After the first DIY record, Yann Le Ravazet had some time to think about the musical tone and sounds of his new record. He didn’t want it to be labelled Shoegaze nor Dream Pop. As a matter of fact, we’d be more likely to hear reverberated pop (Remeniscence), saturated pop (the infectious song “I am on My Way”), nostalgic pop (Moonstruck), synthetic pop (Instant Love) or even contemplative pop (Gold).”

The band has indeed evolved between the first and second album, though still into the music world of reverberation.

Les inrockuptibles (the French NME) did a very good interview of the front man from which this is extracted:

"In 2014, we discovered Yann Le Razavet with 'The Bloom Of Division', album entirely designed by the light of his bedside lamp. Under the name of Marble Arch, the young musician flew far away from the noisy shoegaze of his first band, Maria False, and delivered many of titles full of foggy nostalgia and twilight lyricism. Full of an elegance and finesse rather rare in France, 'Children Of The Slump' is without a doubt a very good record, and even when wholly mustering our critical mind, there is not much at fault." -- Les Inrockuptibles

Band Members are:

Yann Le Razavet, vocals, guitar and keyboard

Thomas Tan, Lead guitar

Adrien Vernet, guitar, backing vocals

Thomas Beilles, Bass

Danny Kendrick, Drums

Music work to date

2013: echidna, EP

2014: The bloom of division, Album

2016: The Sand, single

2019: Children of the Slump, Album

Some of the bands’ songs we love:

KILL THE MOOSE

Kill The Moose is an alternative rock band, strongly influenced by the British Shoegaze scene of the early 90's.

It was founded in 2015 by Elisabeth and Alex, in Nice, on the French Riviera. Kill the Moose is a concentrate of noise energy mixed with melodies that remain in the forefront. The songs are ethereal, pop and sweet, drenched in a wall of sound, full of reverb and distortion, with the beats of a deep bass and powered-up drums.

Note that the name ‘Kill The Moose’ is not a tribute to Shoegaze's British band ‘Moose’, but a reference to a Monty Python piece.

The lineup is:

Elisabeth Massena, Vocals

Alex Ornon, Guitar

Alexis Fedunizin, Bass

Nicolas Bonnet, Drums

Arthur Arsenne, Guitar

The music work to date is:

2017: Demo #1

2018: Good Girl EP; The World Is Your Oyster EP; Contented Eye (Adorable cover); To The Moon And Back EP; Suzanne (Moose Cover)

2019: Into My Arms (Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds Cover)

Some of the songs we love:

DEAD

Dead is a Coldwave / Noise / Electronic band from Rennes. Their music errs more towards the Early Cocteau Twins and The Cure (disintegration period). Their combination of synth waves and reverb guitars give a beautiful cold and dark feeling.

The band present themselves as follows:

"What more can you say about a band called DEAD that hasn’t already been made abundantly clear at first glance?

The fact that these French mercenaries of noise can conjure up such a powerfully dark aesthetic before even hitting a note is impressive, but when they finally do, they unleash a far more potent beast entirely. If DEAD aren’t already mapping out the future destruction of the planet, they’ve sure as hell written the soundtrack.

Bleak, confrontational, but with a firm command of rhythm and deep grooves, this might be the dancefloor antidote we’ve been waiting for."

The line-up is:

Berne Evol, vocals

Brice Delourmel, guitars

Bernard Marie, drum machine & keyboard

Musical work to date is

2012: Transmission, EP

2014: Verse, EP

2016: Voices, Album

2019: Dreams, EP

Some of our favorite songs from the band:

TAPEWORMS

Tapeworms is “3-piece rock band, mostly eating French fries, listening to Smash Mouth and watching Evil Dead. From Lille, they're trying their best to produce some noisy, dreamy, aggressive but kind music.”

An interview in Section 26 summarizes the band in a few words: ‘Do It Yourself’ is in the DNA of the band, which is outlined in the former student room of Theo, when they have fun with Margot covering Sparklehorse or Drop Nineteens on an online beat box, with an old cassette player as recorder. Eliott, used to play with his big brother, then started on the drums "We began to rehearse my grandmother’s attic. Tapeworms is really born at that time, fed with her pies and 90’s music. " Tapeworms has a shoegaze sound, noisy pop, immersed in the tradition of the 90's.

The band members are

Margot Magnière: Bass, Vocals

Théo Poyer: Guitar, Vocals

Eliott Poyer: Drums

The music work to date is:

2016: All Stars, EP; Tapeworms, single; macadam star, single.

2018: Everything Will Be Fine, long EP

Some of the songs we love:

DEAD MANTRA

Dead Mantra were created in 2009 in le Mans. The define their music as being “Gregorian Shoegaze”. They are part of the record label Cranes Records with Dead Horse One

The inrockuptibles give a very good overview of the band’s sound

"The maliciously saturated guitars sneak around a powerful rhythmic base. From this wall of sound, a veritable ice-cold and cavernous maelstrom, pierce the dark and delicate dark-pop melodies of The Dead Mantra. Young Manceaux, spotted by the Cranes Records label, stand as worthy French heirs of the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club for swirling psychedelism and The Jesus & Mary Chain for shoegaze violence. Perfect harmony between devastating fury and sinuous writing." -- Guilhem Denis, Inrocks

The lineup is:

Paul, guitars and vocals

Pierre Hamelin, drums

Louis, guitars

Henri, Bass

The music Work to date is:

2018: Saudade Forever, Album

2015: MXEICO Remixed

2014: Nemure, Album

2012: Split EP with Dead Horse One

2010: Path Of Confusion, EP

Some of the songs we love to discover the band:

For once we include a Music Video as ‘Mxeico’ is a genuine original piece worth watching and listening. As a warning, it contains male nudity.

#France #Guide

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thejustinmarshall · 6 years

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Collective Soul Drummer Johnny Rabb Excited About Current Tour

Interview by Danny Coleman

“We co-headline with 3 Doors Down and it’s a lot of fun. You get up there and you look at the set lists of the bands and you go, man it’s like a dang radio hit show, it’s exciting and I love watching the audience line up and say, wow I remember that song and our true followers; we still do pack’em in and we pack a lot into each set per show and it’s a lot of fun. We try to do the best every night and we never take it for granted that we’re getting to play live in front of fans as well.”

Collective Soul drummer Johnny Rabb makes no attempt to hide his excitement over the current tour they share with the aforementioned 3 Doors Down and Soul Asylum. Thus far, Rabb is very pleased with the early results and seems very optimistic going forward.

“It’s going great! I was talking with Chet (Roberts) the guitar player from 3 Doors Downand he goes, man the combination of hits and the songs between these bands and I don’t mean that we’re talking about ourselves as great writers even though Ed (Vocalist/front man Roland) is; he wasn’t being arrogant but the combo in a night of hits that have been on the radio is so great and the crowd is enjoying it and everyone is having a good time and listening to songs that everyone knows is kind of cool. You’ve got three bands with a lot of history and a lot of songs, it’s awesome.”

Collective Soul has been recording and touring for more than two decades and in today’s instant gratification society, many groups have taken to touring with their peers and performing high energy, “Greatest Hits” type sets. When asked if Collective Soul falls into that realm; Rabb readily elaborated,“That’s awesome that you asked that but again we’re coming up on 25 years and I’ve known about these guys even from back in my Nashville days and then more when they came about in the late 90’s. We are definitely including new songs in the set and of course each night we have limited time no matter what we’re doing so the crowd is getting to hear all of the hits plus at least three new songs that we’ve been in studio recording that nobody has heard. So it’s pretty exciting to play these new songs for people as well as the hits; it’s a well rounded set of music each night. We have 19 songs recorded and in the can right now ready to be released next year.”

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A possible new album with 19 songs? Sounds like the band has been busy; so when can we expect this new work to be released and will it be more than one record?“I’ve heard rumors about the double album idea. We’re big fans of still releasing on vinyl and we literally have those songs ready and it’s funny going back and listening now because we did 10 of the songs in 2017 and nine songs this year. Ed will be the final word on that but yeah, a lot of new music ready to go.”

New music is relative to one’s perspective. New to the band or new musical sounds or styles can mean different things to different people and there’s neutrality in Rabb’s take on today’s, “New” music.

“I have two daughters so the radio when I’m driving them to school is pretty much on their station but I try to expose them to what we’re doing and what bands my wife and I grew up on in the 80’s with satellite radio in the car. I think there are some great new bands out there but personally nothing that I totally rally behind but I do give them credit as far as production and the new styles that people are doing. I’m a big electronic music fan myself so I’m not anti anything, I don’t think it’s the same but again I’m 46 and I’ve got my own opinions on how bands were bands back in the day. You get together, you rehearse, you play, you know like in our band; five guys playing together, real instruments playing rock. Ed writes the songs then we get our parts going and literally rock; if one of us stops playing then that’s it you can hear it. I think today is just different, a lot of it is done on full laptops and that’s about it; nothing wrong with that but I still love just rock and old pop rock music. It’s a whole new generation of stuff, I guess that’s just how it goes but hats off to anyone who is doing it now but it’s just a different vibe for sure.”

Rabb began playing drums at a very young age and gained experience as he discovered various genres and through this has become a well rounded player; a percussive chameleon of sorts.

“I started playing as a kid when I was eight years old, was self taught at first and then had lessons. Then some friend of my brothers played, “Exit Stage Left” when we were camping and I was like; what is this stuff? I grew up with Rush and Neil Peart was kind of the main reason that I got started and then I got into Yes. Then all of these little instructional videos started coming out and that’s a whole different sign of the times as well; Steve Smith’s, “Threshold” video came out and I didn’t even realize he was with Journey, I just knew him as Steve Smith the jazz, funk, fusion drummer and he and I have become really good friends and he’s such a great guy and probably my biggest influence but that whole era of late 70’s and early 80’s drummers were my inspiration. Luckily, I’ve gotten to meet all but a few of them at either drum clinics or festivals and that kind of blows my mind now; I didn’t think I’d ever be able to meet them let alone share a stage with them. All of my influences I’ve had the opportunity to meet, see or have dinners with and talk shop. So the whole drum hero journey has been a really cool thing for me.”

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Another of Rabb’s favorite drummers comes from one of the greatest rock lineages of all time, “We got to tour with Jason Bonham and Sammy Hagar last summer and I think Jason is just slaying it with what he’s doing. I think it’s very genuine and not just only, hey look I’m Jason Bonham and I’m related; I think he’s got his own artistic value going on, he’s so good! Sometimes I’d be on side stage and I’d be jumping up and down because he’s so powerful and good.”

So with varied tastes and an education to boot; is there any period of adjustment to be made when he saddles up to perform with Collective Soul and how does he balance his predecessors styles with his own?

“I play the songs and nightly I pay tribute to the past drummers that have been with them. We’re all friends and there’s such respect and I think over the years, I’ve adapted to give them what they want whether it’s the way I’m hitting or what they want musically. My background is funk, pop, jazz, fusion and I went to Berklee and was schooled in that and I have all that background. So that just kind of comes through, I definitely try and bring to it the correct feel and approach to these gigs and I love it. This is a heavy hitting gig and I love the guys, they’re second family to me.”

Respect is key and Rabb is currently paying it to a classic drum manufacturer as well. Playing a set of drums which pre-date him, Rabb sees the value in experimentation and visiting the past as well as living in the present.

” I was doing the endorsement thing for years and I stopped and then I did it again and I just recently stopped again so I could play whatever I wanted to play whether it be new or vintage. Right now I’m playing a ’69 Rogers Holiday kit with a white acrylic gloss wrap that’s really fun. I had a sparkle kit on the 2012 tour but this one is white and our stage set up has a lot of white in it so it works. There’s so many great drum companies out there which is kind of one of the reasons why I stopped doing the endorsements because I wanted to be able to explore and go back to the reasons that I started playing.”

“The Rock ‘N’ Roll Express Tour” makes two stops in the Garden State; the first is August 11 in Holmdel at the PNC Bank Arts Center and the second is August 19 at The Borgata Event Center in Atlantic City. There are VIP packages and single tickets available for both shows and prices vary at each venue.

So what will Rabb do when this very busy tour comes to an end?“It sounds cliche but I love my family; we’ll hang out, we have a pet dog and he’s awesome. I’ll write music, I have a drum studio, I’ll teach, I do consulting for some drum companies and in the off times it’s rest. The tour will end but there will be some spot gigs like a club or a theater show; we’ll continue to do that. Also Ed never stops writing which is amazing so we may even be in the studio. There’s talk of more studio time in early 2019 and I love that he wants to keep writing. We keep in touch, we do things, so it doesn’t stop when the tours end.”

To discover more about Collective Soul, the tour or ticket information; please go to www.collectivesoul.com.

Danny Coleman (Danny Coleman is a veteran musician and writer from central New Jersey. He hosts a weekly radio program entitled “Rock On Radio” airing Sunday evenings at 10 p.m. EST on multiple internet radio outlets where he features indie/original bands and solo artists.)

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chadnevett · 7 years

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Random Thoughts! (August 20, 2017)

On vacation. Michelle and Ryan left on Friday night after supper. My activities since then have been enjoyable and relaxing. I read outside on our patio (Friday night and, then, this morning before the sun got high enough to bother me -- I really do love getting up before the sun rises enough to bother me and read the paper). Listened to a couple of podcasts. Read a bunch of comics. Watched a bunch of wrestling (with more tonight!). And watched most of the bonus features on the Twin Peaks boxset (DVD edition). And drank a ton of coffee. I am currently struggling with writing about The Ultimates 2 and listening to some 2017 albums -- just finished Times Infinity Vol. 2 by the Dears (who I will have the pleasure of seeing live in November when they come to Windsor -- one of the last bands on my bucket list of musical acts to see live) and currently have Humanz by Gorillaz on (who I could see live in Detroit, I guess, but I don't really want to). But, here's some Random Thoughts for you...

* I'm not necessarily a big concert guy. I enjoy them well enough, but I'm also older and lazier and I enjoy sitting my ass down for a concert. I'm mature enough to know that sitting doesn't mean a lack of engagement or excitement. It just means I don't want to stand all fucking night when there's a perfectly good chair. Standing does not make the music better. I figure the Dears show will be a standing affair being in a bar -- but, I've also had some good sitting in a bar shows. But, there are a small list of musical acts that I'll go out of my way to see live. The ones I've seen that fall under this category: Sam Roberts Band (five times), the White Stripes (twice -- haven't seen Jack White in any other band or solo yet -- I'd go out of my way to see him solo), the Tragically Hip (twice), Hawksley Workman (twice) the Hives, Ryan Adams, Matthew Good, k-os, Danko Jones and Neil Young (twice). I've seen other bands live, but I think that covers the list of acts that are on my "buy their stuff when it comes out automatically" list. The Dears will soon join that list. The acts that I haven't yet seen that I would like to: Metallica (I could have on their latest tour, but various factors made it seem less ideal -- which was good, because I had a terrible cold that week and it would have been a miserable experience), Queens of the Stone Age (a possibility for their next tour, but money is always an issue -- and, honestly, one of the factors I mentioned is that I prefer not to go to Detroit concerts on weeknights... too much time/effort -- because I am old and lazy), Steven Page and/or Barenaked Ladies (I'd choose the former over the latter if forced to choose), Joel Plaskett, the Black Keys, Arkells, Bob Dylan (his latest trip through Detroit was part of some festival, so no), and... that's about it, I guess. I'd love to see almost any of the bands I've seen already again -- especially Hawksley Workman, the Hives, and Danko Jones. The musicans I've missed out on because of death is a third list that reminds me that maybe I should stop being so picky about conditions for seeing people: Lou Reed, Leonard Cohen, and Motorhead (the last two were ones that I remember playing in Detroit when I've lived in Windsor).

* The comics I read yesterday were mostly some things I'd put aside and let accumulate, like the most recent Sex Criminals arc (which reads so much better in a bigger chunk like that) and the last half-year of Stray Bullets: Sunshine & Roses. That last one... man, someone said it on Twitter a few weeks ago, but why is no one talking about Stray Bullets? Ever since it ended way back when, people kept bitching and moaning for it to come back and, then, it does, and it's FUCKING AMAZING. It's the best monthly comic I read (therefore: the best monthly comic out right now, because I clearly read only the best monthly comics). It's crazy and unpredictable and rooted in these flawed, fucked up characters... The current story fills in the gaps between the first arc and the second and it just keeps going (issue 27 is out in a week-and-a-half) and you'd think you'd just go "Enough already!" but it keeps getting better. It just keeps adding on and adding on and adding on and digging into this detail here and adding onto that and... it seems like it could go forever.

* Been doing a lot of work at home lately. Every night practically. Even if it's just 30-60 minutes, it just takes up so much mental space. It's nice to not worry about that right now. I've been struggling a bit the past two days with pushing that from my mind. It's working... slowly. I care about my job. Maybe too much. But, it is what it is. Over the past year, I've been really working on trying to leave work at work, at least mentally. Doing the overtime at home is okay, but I wish it didn't mean that work occupied my mind between when I leave and when I begin doing that extra work. That's the last space that I need to work on. Right now, it's hard to push away because of a couple of things that I'm waiting to hear about, so I've got some anxiety (good and bad). But, it's fading... Might come back tomorrow a bit more because then it's a possibility that I'll get called about either thing since they're both big enough to warrant calling me while I'm off (theoretically -- maybe my bosses don't see it that way). So... there we are. But, one thing I've learned is that putting it down in writing helps. Either like this or by making a list of some kind. Put it down in writing and it leaves your head. It's there in writing instead.

* Teen Titans Go! is my favourite superhero TV show/movie. Bar none. It's not even close at this point. That show is everything that I want from superhero fiction at this point. It does everything. It's wacky and meta and funny and serious... except not really. It doesn't take itself too seriously. It's about flawed people who are superheroes. As others have pointed out, it's It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia for kids. On the whole, it is beyond anything I currently see in superhero comics. (It's also my counterargument to everyone who shits on DC in favour of Marvel in the TV/movie realm -- Marvel wishes any of its shit was half this good).

* Tonight is SummerSlam. For the second year in a row, my vacation lines up with SummerSlam weekend -- and Michelle and Ryan being gone to do something with her family. That means I will be ordering Pizza Hut tonight. It's what I order when I get to watch a WWE PPV alone. I don't know why. I just like ordering Pizza Hut for these things. I'm looking forward to the show. I have no idea if it will be good or not. WWE is so fucking unpredictable these days with quality. Shows that look great on paper flop; shows that look dull as shit turn out to be engaging and lively. I just hope I don't begin to nod off near the end. That's my big downfall these days: any time after 7:30, I may hit a half-hour period where my body decides it's time for bed and I have to fight against the urge. Once I fight through, I'm good -- but, man, that fight is a tough one some nights. Last night, I didn't really fight it when it hit during the main event of the NXT show, because I knew how good Roode/McIntyre would be and didn't consider it worth the effort (NXT shows are continually quite good, bar the NXT title matches for the past year or so... holy fuck do they need to get that sorted). There's nothing specific that I'm looking forward to -- or dreading. Just looking forward to taking the show in. And eating Pizza Hut. (Still not decided on what I'm getting. I love their Canadian, but it's tough, because I want to maximise what I get for the cheapest amount of money. They have a daily $10 medium/large pizza and Sunday is Triple Crown (pepperoni, green peppers and mushrooms), so I sometimes get a large one of those. They also have a $15 deal that I'll get: a two-topping Panlicious pizza (a square pizza with eight slices), eight boneless chicken bites, and breadsticks. I like that, because it's a nice bit of variety (and I dig the breadsticks). I might get that, because they have some new smokehouse pepperoni that I'm curious about... This is what I spend far too much time thinking about.)

* My Keurig coffee of choice is the Van Houtte Mexico blend. I've tried just about every dark roast you can get in k-cups and it's the best. My co-workers will sometimes hit me up for a k-cup here and there, and, if I have the Mexico stuff at the office, their eyes light up. It's the good shit.

* On the August Civic Holiday, Ryan's daycare was open, so Michelle and I had a day to ourselves. We watched Fire Walk with Me, had lunch together, and saw Dunkirk. After dropping Ryan off, though, we stopped at Starbucks, and I tried one of their clover coffees -- I got the most expensive one -- $6 for a venti. It was okay. Not worth six bucks, though. Maybe $3.50.

* We watched Twin Peaks a month or so back. We both liked it a lot. Not nearly as weird as I thought it would be based on what people said. But, I also like how I knew a few big details (the basic premise, the identity of the killer, the final scene of the first season, and the final scene of the second season -- maybe a couple of other bits and pieces there, but nothing major) and it didn't impact my enjoyment at all. I didn't feel spoiled, because it's very much a show about experiencing what's happening, not where it winds up. That leaves me fairly good about not seeing the current one and not worrying about learning plot details. Who cares? It doesn't really tell me a lot about what watching the show is like. The only way to know that is to see it. And, man, am I looking forward to when we can watch The Return. (Okay, if I really wanted, I could shell out the money for The Movie Network -- as that's where it airs in Canada -- or find a way to pirate it online, but, nah... We'll just wait for the DVD, because we're old and prefer to spend money on things that are more permanent, theoretically.)

* We both had the same complaint about Fire Walk with Me -- we wanted more of the FBI stuff. The Laura stuff was good, but it fell into the same problem that a lot of prequel stuff does: you know the overall plot and the experience isn't quite good enough to make it worthwhile again.

* Currently rereading Raymond Chandler's work. I began with the two short story collections I have (Trouble is My Business and The Simple Art of Murder) and am currently up to The Long Goodbye in the novels. After I finish the novels, I'm going back to my copy of his complete short stories and will read all of the ones that weren't in the two collections (I got the two collections before I got the complete hardcover). You can really see him progress as a writer in the novels. The Big Sleep is definitely the worst-written one thus far. With each book, the prose gets better -- and there's an increasing focus on the non-plot details. It becomes more and more about how Marlowe suffers and deals with the worst fucking people and his increasing impatience with these pieces of shit. Every novel, I go "This is his best novel!" I love how his first post-Hollywood novel The Little Sister is just so fucking bitter. He took all of his feelings about that period of his life and put them on the page. One of the things I plan to do this week is watch The Big Sleep and The Long Goodbye. (If I can find the time -- or more accurately, choose to spend my time doing it, I'm also planning to watch all of Christopher Nolan's movies in a row...) James Ellroy has often said how little he likes Chandler's writing, but Ellroy writes such complementary work to Chandler's novels. More explicit, sure, and from the other side (the cops), but they work in concert quite well, exploring the same location in a similar period. And they don't contradict one another much (at least from what I remember).

* Okay, for superhero comics, what I'm digging these days: obviously The Mighty Thor. After that, what I think I'm enjoying most is The Infamous Iron Man by Bendis and Maleev. They did a scene with Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm a couple of issues ago that was fantastic. It's a very atmospheric book. Very relaxed. I have to remind myself to slow down with it. Wicked and Divine is good; as is Uber (the most recent issue was a technical bit of genius). Joe Casey is back doing a couple of books for Lion Forge's Catalyst Prime line -- Accell has had three issues and veers wildly between the best and worst of Casey's superhero work (with art that is not at all my taste) and The Incidentals starts this week. I dig Bendis's other work and... I mean, Ellis is doing The Wild Storm, which is good. I'm not sure I'm reading anything else superhero-related at this point. Oh, I really liked the first issue of Mister Miracle. More than I expected. It's the second thing by Tom King I'm reading. I got the trade of Omega Men when it came out and it was Fine. Not at all as good as everyone made it seem, but... Maybe it was built up too much. Maybe I should revisit it again. I'm waiting for Vision to be released in one chunk. And Batman... maybe someday, but... Finch... But, I figured I'd jump on board Mister Miracle as it looked like it would be my kind of thing. So far, it is.

* I had backed a Kickstarter for the Nexus Compendium and that fell through, kind of, for a variety of personal reasons for the Rudes. But, to make good, they offered a few options, one of which was the equivalent of my pledge at their store online with a discount code. So I got the two Nexus trades there (Space Opera and the ones collecting the Dark Horse Presents stuff). Then I looked online and realised that, if I got volumes seven and eight of the Nexus Omnibus, I'd have the complete series, basically. So I got them for this vacation. Looking forward to reading through those comics. The other book I'd gotten and saved for vacation was the seventh Powers deluxe hardcover, which covers "The Bureau Saga." It was good. Read it yesterday afternoon. It had been so long since the sixth volume that I honestly forgot what I had happened aside from they'd be working for the FBI now. Duh. That will be a fun series to reread some day.

* Preacher season two is really good. I've made peace with how much it deviates from the comic, I think. The two are pretty much unrelated at this point aside from some of the broad details. Which is fine. I'd rather see something that draws upon the comic but does it's own thing. I struggled with some of their choices at first (mostly the stuff with Jesse and his dad, because that was a dramatic change that seemed to fundamentally change the character in ways that I wasn't sure I liked). I do like not knowing where it's going. At this point, anything that matches the comic is the big surprise rather than points of depature. The stuff in hell is really great, in particular.

* The latest issue of Heavy Metal has no Grant Morrison comics. Only four more issues left. What a fucking waste this subscription has been. Two issues never received. My one attempt to get one of them resulted in them sending me an issue I already had -- TWICE (they sent it, I complained that they sent the wrong one and they sent it again -- three fucking copies of this one issue, man). I had high hopes for his tenure on the magazine, but it's been a bust. Okay, that's harsh. I've enjoyed some stuff in it. Even a Morrison strip ("Mythopia" is worth writing about). The "Zentropa" stuff by John Mahoney always makes me stop and look. The odd thing here and there, but... The most recent issue is full of strips inspired by songs by metal acts that I don't enjoy. FUN.

* I'm boring. Enjoy your Sunday.

#random thoughts #comics #music #books #tv #raymond chandler #the dears #teen titans go #david lapham #Brian Michael Bendis #wrestling #i am boring

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frankiefellinlove · 7 years

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Jon Landau review of Bruce where he writes "...I've seen Rick n a Roll's future

The last few paragraphs gave me happy chills!

05.09.1974: Cambridge,MA

Opening for headliner Bonnie Raitt

Critic Jon Landau’s much-quoted “I saw rock and roll future and its name is Bruce Springsteen” line emanates from this night:

From The Real Paper,May 22 1974 GROWING YOUNG WITH ROCK AND ROLL

By Jon Landau

It’s four in the morning and raining. I’m 27 today, feeling old, listening to my records, and remembering that things were different a decade ago. In 1964, I was a freshman at Brandeis University, playing guitar and banjo five hours a day, listening to records most of the rest of the time, jamming with friends during the late-night hours, working out the harmonies to Beach Boys’ and Beatles’ songs.

Real Paper soul writer Russell Gersten was my best friend and we would run through the 45s everyday: Dionne Warwick’s “Walk On By” and “Anyone Who Had A Heart,” the Drifters’ “Up On the Roof,” Jackie Ross’ “Selfish One,” the Marvellettes’ “Too Many Fish in the Sea,” and the one that no one ever forgets, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas’ “Heat Wave.” Later that year a special woman named Tamar turned me onto Wilson Pickett’s “Midnight Hour” and Otis Redding’s “Respect,” and then came the soul. Meanwhile, I still went to bed to the sounds of the Byrds’ “Mr. Tambourine Man” and later “Younger than Yesterday,” still one of my favorite good-night albums. I woke up to Having a Rave-Up with the Yardbirds instead of coffee. And for a change of pace, there was always bluegrass: The Stanley Brothers, Bill Monroe, and Jimmy Martin.

Through college, I consumed sound as if it were the staff of life. Others enjoyed drugs, school, travel, adventure. I just liked music: listening to it, playing it, talking about it. If some followed the inspiration of acid, or Zen, or dropping out, I followed the spirit of rock'n'roll. Individual songs often achieved the status of sacraments. One September, I was driving through Waltham looking for a new apartment when the sound on the car radio stunned me. I pulled over to the side of the road, turned it up, demanded silence of my friends and two minutes and fifty-six second later knew that God had spoken to me through the Four Tops’ “Reach Out, I’ll Be There,” a record that I will cherish for as long as [I] live. During those often lonely years, music was my constant companion and the search for the new record was like a search for a new friend and new revelation. “Mystic Eyes” open mine to whole new vistas in white rock and roll and there were days when I couldn’t go to sleep without hearing it a dozen times.

Whether it was a neurotic and manic approach to music, or just a religious one, or both, I don’t really care. I only know that, then, as now, I’m grateful to the artists who gave the experience to me and hope that I can always respond to them. The records were, of course, only part of it. In ‘65 and '66 I played in a band, the Jellyroll, that never made it. At the time I concluded that I was too much of a perfectionist to work with the other band members; in the end I realized I was too much of an autocrat, unable to relate to other people enough to share music with them. Realizing that I wasn’t destined to play in a band, I gravitated to rock criticism. Starting with a few wretched pieces in Broadside and then some amateurish but convincing reviews in the earliest Crawdaddy, I at least found a substitute outlet for my desire to express myself about rock: If I couldn’t cope with playing, I may have done better writing about it.

But in those days, I didn’t see myself as a critic – the writing was just another extension of an all-encompassing obsession. It carried over to my love for live music, which I cared for even more than the records. I went to the Club 47 three times a week and then hunted down the rock shows – which weren’t so easy to find because they weren’t all conveniently located at downtown theatres. I flipped for the Animals’ two-hour show at Rindge Tech; the Rolling Stones, not just at Boston Garden, where they did the best half hour rock'n'roll set I had ever seen, but at Lynn Football Stadium, where they started a riot; Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels overcoming the worst of performing conditions at Watpole Skating Rink; and the Beatles at Suffolk Down, plainly audible, beautiful to look at, and confirmation that we – and I – existed as a special body of people who understood the power and the glory of rock'n'roll.

I lived those days with a sense of anticipation. I worked in Briggs & Briggs a few summers and would know when the next albums were coming. The disappointment when the new Stones was a day late, the exhilaration when Another Side of Bob Dylan showed up a week early. The thrill of turning on WBZ and hearing some strange sound, both beautiful and horrible, but that demanded to be heard again; it turned out to be “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling,” a record that stands just behind “Reach Out I’ll Be There” as means of musical catharsis. My temperament being what it is, I often enjoyed hating as much as loving. That San Francisco shit corrupted the purity of the rock that I lvoed and I could have led a crusade against it. The Moby Grape moved me, but those songs about White Rabbits and hippie love made me laugh when they didn’t make me sick. I found more rock'n'roll in the dubbed-in hysteria on the Rolling Stones Got Live if You Want It than on most San Francisco albums combined.

For every moment I remember there are a dozen I’ve forgotten, but I feel like they are with me on a night like this, a permanent part of my consciousness, a feeling lost on my mind but never on my soul. And then there are those individual experiences so transcendent that I can remember them as if they happened yesterday: Sam and Dave at the Soul Together at Madison Square Garden in 1967: every gesture, every movement, the order of the songs. I would give anything to hear them sing “When Something’s Wrong with My Baby” just the way they did it that night. The obsessions with Otis Redding, Jerry Butler, and B.B. King came a little bit later; each occupied six months of my time, while I digested every nuance of every album. Like the Byrds, I turn to them today and still find, when I least expect it, something new, something deeply flet, something that speaks to me.

Today I listen to music with a certain measure of detachment. I’m a professional and I make my living commenting on it. There are months when I hate it, going through the routine just as a shoe salesman goes through his. I follow films with the passion that music once held for me. But in my own moments of greatest need, I never give up the search for sounds that can answer every impulse, consume all emotion, cleanse and purify – all things that we have no right to expect from even the greatest works of art but which we can occasionally derive from them.

Still, today, if I hear a record I like it is no longer a signal for me to seek out every other that the artist has made. I take them as they come, love them, and leave them. Some have stuck – a few that come quickly to mind are Neil Young’s After the Goldrush, Stevie Wonder’s Innervisions, Van Morrison’s Tupelo Honey, James Taylor’s records, Valerie Simpson’s Exposed, Randy Newman’s Sail Away, Exile on Main Street, Ry Cooder’s records, and, very specially, the last three albums of Joni Mitchell – but many more slip through the mind, making much fainter impressions than their counterparts of a decade ago.

Springsteen does it all. He is a rock'n'roll punk, a Latin street poet, a ballet dancer, an actor, a joker, bar band leader, hot-shit rhythm guitar player, extraordinary singer, and a truly great rock'n'roll composer. He leads a band like he has been doing it forever. I racked my brains but simply can’t think of a white artist who does so many things so superbly. There is no one I would rather watch on a stage today. He opened with his fabulous party record “The E Street Shuffle” – but he slowed it down so graphically that it seemed a new song and it worked as well as the old. He took his overpowering story of a suicide, “For You,” and sang it with just piano accompaniment and a voice that rang out to the very last row of the Harvard Square theatre. He did three new songs, all of them street trash rockers, one even with a “Telstar” guitar introduction and an Eddie Cochran rhythm pattern. We missed hearing his “Four Winds Blow,” done to a fare-thee-well at his sensational week-long gig at Charley’s but “Rosalita” never sounded better and “Kitty’s Back,” one of the great contemporary shuffles, rocked me out of my chair, as I personally led the crowd to its feet and kept them there.

Bruce Springsteen is a wonder to look at. Skinny, dressed like a reject from Sha Na Na, he parades in front of his all-star rhythm band like a cross between Chuck Berry, early Bob Dylan, and Marlon Brando. Every gesture, every syllable adds something to his ultimate goal – to liberate our spirit while he liberates his by baring his soul through his music. Many try, few succeed, none more than he today.

It’s five o'clock now – I write columns like this as fast as I can for fear I’ll chicken out – and I’m listening to “Kitty’s Back.” I do feel old but the record and my memory of the concert has made me feel a little younger. I still feel the spirit and it still moves me. I bought a new home this week and upstairs in the bedroom is a sleeping beauty who understands only too well what I try to do with my records and typewriter. About rock'n'roll, the Lovin’ Spoonful once sang, “I’ll tell you about the magic that will free your soul/But it’s like trying to tell a stranger about rock'n'roll.” Last Thursday, I remembered that the magic still exists and as long as I write about rock, my mission is to tell a stranger about it – just as long as I remember that I’m the stranger I’m writing for.

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