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jesssssah · 1 year

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Fool Me Again 5/5

Fandom: Queer as Folk (US TV 2022)

Ship: Mingus/Brodie

Rating: M

Tags: No Major Archive Warnings. Post-Canon. Supportive Mingus. Vulnerable Brodie. QPRs. Angst. Hurt/Comfort. Christmas Eve. Holidays Fluff. Kissing. Happy Ending. Short Reads. Prompt Fills.

Summary: Brodie hates Christmas. But on Christmas Eve, after Noah extends a mistletoe branch and with a little fairy drag-mother tough love from Bussey, there might be something to love this year too.

Written for the MF Christmas Bingo! @mfbingo

Read the final chapter below the cut!

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Chapter 5 - "You are not alone"

Brodie lifts his hands off the hollow, plastic keys. Then he changes his mind and rearranges them in the right way to start the song over. Something moves in the corner of his eye and convinced it must be Bussey finally here with the papers she said she needs him to sign, he looks up. But it’s not her who’s just overheard him.

“Please don’t stop,” Mingus says quickly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you played.”

“I’m not that good,” Brodie confesses. “Well, not on a keyboard.”

As soon as the words have left his mouth, he wishes he could take them back. He doesn’t really want to talk piano now. He’s already thought too much about the Beaumonts today, who paid for all those years of tuition on the Hallet Davis just so they could show him off like a trained seal at public events like their pretentious family Christmases.

“What are you doing here?” he asks, trying to deflect the attention. “I thought you said drag school stopped over winter?”

“It does.” Mingus adjusts the skateboard under their arm. “Bussey came by the store today and asked me to perform with her at Babylon on New Year's Eve. We’re meant to meet here now. There’s a pair of heels in the props room that are perfect for that Mariah song. You know the one that every store seems to play like there's no other Christmas song that’s ever been recorded, ever? Like, ever in the history of recording things? And I know New Year's Eve isn’t Christmas. But fuck it, it’s a good song.”

“It is a good song.”

“The best song for holiday drag.”

Mingus’ eyes light up and something hooks the inside of Brodie’s stomach, and gives it a little tug.

“Nice hat,” he says. “I’ve always been partial to trappers who can pull off wool knit skirts and studded pleather necklaces all at once.”

Mingus laughs. “Thank you,” they say, twirling so the skirt flares out. “You can be my wild animal…”

The hook in Brodie’s stomach pulls harder.

“I have something for you.” Mingus sets their skateboard down but before they set their bag down too, they pull something blue out of it. “Because… Well, maybe you’re busy tomorrow? Being Christmas Day and all. The kids and, well, everything… I might not be able to give this to you then. I don’t want Christmas to be like your birthday, when I couldn’t give you a present.”

Mingus side-steps behind the keyboard. Brodie is about to move over and make room when Mingus side-saddles his lap, draping their arm across his shoulder, and Brodie’s arm settles around their waist. They feel warm and good, snuggled there above him.

“I don’t even know if you wear these,” Mingus confesses, holding up the blue thing: the beanie Brodie saw on the mannequin in the store window.

“It’s not a habit,” he admits. “But Christmas is the season of giving up, right? I can give up my disinclination.”

Mingus laughs again and pulls the beanie down over his head. “That’s a fit,” they decide. “You look fit in that. So, seeing as I got to hear one of your songs, it’s only fair I return the favour, handsome.”

Brodie blinks in surprise. “Oh, you play?”

“Yeah.” They turn in Brodie’s lap and spread their right hand across the keys, and start to play the melody of something that to Brodie sounds heavy, hot, hopeful and sad all at the same time, and just a little bit familiar. “Taught myself once when I got this vintage Fisher Price keyboard for Christmas… I was like eleven or something, fifth grade… Watched a lot of YouTube tutorials. We couldn’t afford any actual lessons. Some grandparent I don’t think I’ve ever actually met sent it… I actually don’t remember who it was…”

They pause playing and stare out across the theatre, looking as though they’re deep in thought. “I just remember that it was a huge big deal because it was delivered to the post office. And my mom’s car was broken so we had to get a bus there that day. But it didn’t go all the way to our house. So once we got back, we had to carry this massive fucking box for like, a mile all the way home from the bus stop.”

Mingus glances at Brodie. Then they return their hand to the keyboard and start to play the heavy, hot, hopeful but sad song again.

“What is that?” Brodie asks, watching their fingers climb up and down the octaves. Their nails are painted silver today.

Mingus stops playing again and slides off Brodie’s lap and onto the bench beside him so that now they’re sharing the seat. With their own left hand, they pick up Brodie’s. His nails are painted glossy black.

He makes his fingers pliant and Mingus lays them across the bass notes, squeezing the top of his hand to guide him and then playing a single note, and then another.

“Play that C there,” they say. ”One, two, three, four times… And then play that D up there… While I play this again, ready? See if you can guess it if we both play the parts.”

“I’ll try.”

“Ready? Two, go…”

He swipes his tongue over his bottom lip, concentrating hard to keep the beat. And he watches, in between changing notes, Mingus change chords as though their fingers have played this a hundred million times.

“Is it ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll Suicide’?” Brodie asks.

“Yes!” Mingus sounds happy and bumps their shoulder into Brodie’s.

He nearly loses the rhythm.

“This is my favourite song ever,” Mingus gushes. “It's so anthemic. I like to imagine performing it… But it’s one of those songs I don’t think I ever would… Because it probably wouldn’t work out as good as it always seems to in my head. Plus the lyrics are so sad that whenever I try to lip sync to it, and get up to that ‘you’re not alone’ part? I always end up in tears… Which does feel good sometimes but honestly, crying is the worst for drag makeup, Brodie. The worst…”

Mingus stops playing then so Brodie does too. The sounds of the notes fade quickly.

“How come you’re here?” they ask. "How did you get in?"

“Would you believe me if I told you I’m meeting Bussey here too? She asked me to come by and sign something. Told me to wait if she wasn’t on time but so far I haven't seen her. Got a message saying she was running late though, and what the access code is. Said to just come in anyway, and unlock the back.”

Mingus opens their mouth in shock. They make a scoffing sound. “You know what? Yes. Yes, I would believe that… But, what the fuck, running late? Bussey is never running late…”

They pull out their phone from a pocket in their skirt and turn it on. “There’s a message… She says she can’t come anymore but there should be someone to let me in…" Mingus looks up from their phone, at Brodie. "Well, I guess that’s you.”

“She totally set us up.”

Mingus smiles at first. “I don’t mind that she did that.” After a moment, their face falls a little though. "Wait… Do you?"

“Of course not," Brodie says quickly. "It’s just… It’s just been a long day, that’s all.”

“Yeah?”

He sighs. “I fucking hate Christmas, Mingus. I’ve been trying to chase that thought away all day but it just feels like, the faster I try to run from it, the easier I am to catch.”

“Why do you hate it so much?”

“Like I said before,” he grumbles, “it's the season of giving up.”

Mingus frowns. “Are you talking about drugs?”

Brodie takes a moment to answer. Why is this so hard to say?

“Yeah, I guess,” he eventually admits, looking down at his fingernails. “And… I saw Noah this morning, at the gym? It reminded me of all this stuff. All this emotional stuff. I just feel like I can’t go anywhere in New Orleans without being reminded of all the shit I did wrong.” He swallows. “And… I don’t know.”

Mingus wraps their arms around him then and draws him in to hold, and Brodie bites his lip so he won’t cry but he can already feel tears welling in his eyes. He’s glad that Mingus can’t see them. He has no idea why he’s crying now.

He feels Mingus’ mouth against his ear.

“Some things are worth keeping,” they whisper. “Not everything. But I did learn that once. Before the teardown party. It’s my instinct too, to throw stuff away. We’re not perfect. Me or you. But we’re not wastes either.”

They pull away and Brodie shuts his eyes. It makes the tears spill but before he can be embarrassed about it, Mingus’ gentle fingers are wiping them away.

“I know that you’ve never really wanted me around, Brodie, but—”

He finds their mouth just by feel, his eyes still closed. They kiss then, at the keyboard. A slow kiss that isn’t like many they’ve shared before. Brodie’s lips tremor and Mingus’ don’t seem hungry for something they want from him. Instead, they feel like they’re searching for words that Brodie still can’t say but that are there, and when they find them they’re taking those in and they’re talking to them, but they’re only talking back with more kisses.

“Will you come with me to Noah’s?” Brodie asks, as though that’s something Mingus’ kisses did too, they eventually drew from somewhere in him the perfect words to say. The ones he’s been wanting to say the most.

“Huh?”

“Will you come with me to Noah’s?” Brodie repeats. “He’s having a party tomorrow for Christmas. It’s like an orphans’ Christmas. I don’t want to spend it with the Beaumonts, Mingus. Julian is away on work. It’s gonna be horrible without him. Noah invited you too, and I don’t wanna go there without you either.”

Mingus’ eyes glisten and they nod before they draw him in to kiss once more.

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Archived here on AO3!

Or start from the beginning here!

#queer as folk 2022 #Mingus/Brodie #queer as folk 2022 fan fic #post canon #mf christmas bingo #mild language

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mellifluoushood · 4 years

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manic - C.H.

A/N: I highly recommend listening to ‘clementine’ and ‘Graveyard’ by Halsey whilst reading this! It’s a fic based on my experience of eating an edible and then being driven home and how perfect the weather made me feel. It’s a super soft, fluffy piece that will hit you right where it hurts, so I’mma go cry. There’s no real plot except for a drive that ends in kisses. Thank you again to my lovely, lovely, love girl @ammwritings for the moodboard! She’s been making them for every fic I write and I adore her and I love my girl, Anne. xxxxxx Genre: angst / fluff / smut Type: blurb / imagine / series Warning: mentions of weed, mentions of exes, best friends to lovers! Word Count: 2.5k Taglist: @gigglyirwin @loveroflrh @ammwritings @calumscalm @dukehoods @toofadedtofight @babylon-corgis @spicycal @vipclifford @haikucal @talkfastromance4 @thesubtweeter

Her skin glowed in the light of the sun. She could feel the way her cheeks began to tingle and heat under the aggressive rays, but she basked in it. After weeks of quarantine, she welcomed the possibility of sun-kissed skin. Her arm hanging out of the window didn’t feel the heat of the sun quite as much, being caressed by the wind whipping by the window. She ate up the small beats, like a drum, of the breeze against her limbs. It was a sensation she would hate every other day of the week, but sitting in the passenger seat, watching as the hills came and went, glowing a bright green of grass and budding trees, she loved it.

“I'd like to tell you that my sky's not blue, it's violent rain,” she sighs out, eyes lazily casting to the stereo of the car, watching as the letters floated across the screen, “And in my world, the people on the street don't know my name.” She finishes, moving her glance back out the window. She watched as trees whisked away as the car drove down the street, the sun peeking through breaks in the branches and newly grown leaves. She loved the way the sun gently met the chlorophyll, the colour bursting into a new shade of sunlight and scenery. Her eyes floated over each and every silhouette and shape of the trees, the hills, and the bursts of grass with dandelions and sweet violets.

Her eyes flutter shut, completely consumed by the feeling of the world swirling around her, filling her chest after feeling like the world had completely stopped around her. She basked in the feeling of knowing the world was still moving, the earth was still spinning on its axis, and that nature was growing and growing, not at all bothered by what was consuming the human population. The lingering anxiety in her shoulders was swept away along with the wind beating at her cheeks.

Her head drifted to the edge of the open window, resting against the surface. Her mind felt light, filled with no thoughts, no worries, no feelings. It simply sat against the door of the car, welcoming the harsh movements of the windows against her face, the sun beating through her eyelids, alighting her dark mind with rays of yellow and white. A feeling eased its way into her stomach and chest, a feeling of air and lightness. Her features shifted at this moment. Her eyebrows rested and her lips halted, nothing moved. She soaked up each and every molecule of sunlight offered to her, inhaling each breath of fresh oxygen her lungs could manage.

She had very rarely felt this easiness in her chest. The easiness didn’t come from how pure the air was, or how bright the sun shone, but how everything felt at peace. No task rushed to be finished, no thought demanded to be heard, no voice telling her what to do. It was simply silent. The only thing that occurred in her head was the lyrics of ‘clementine’ floating through the air, past her head, and out the window, joining and mixing with the breeze and sun. She felt elevated, renewed like her soul just had a moment to itself. As stoned as she was, the only proper way to describe the feeling pumping through her veins, was ‘euphoria’. It felt like the sunshine was running through her veins, replacing the dark red of her blood. It felt like the breeze was the only thing in her chest. It felt like there was no cloud in her sky.

“I don't need anyone,” she sighs, “I don't need anyone, I just need everyone and then some,” her voice fades with the instrumental of the song. Her eyes blink over, her head turning to look at the driver.

“I figured I wouldn’t disturb you,” Calum muses, his arm resting on the door of the car, window open. His left-hand holds his head up, fingers threading through his hair from time to time.

“Hmmm, thank you,” she sighs, a small smile drifting over her lips. Her legs are crossed in her seat, knees raised slightly as if she was curling up in a ball to savour the feeling running through her limbs.

“You looked like you were consumed by complete and utter bliss,” he chuckles, his other hand resting on the top of the steering wheel. His arm is completely lax, tattoos illuminated by the heavy cast of sunlight through the windshield. He looks at her again, watching the way her hair tangled with each breath of wind.

“I was indeed.” Calum’s hand on the steering wheel moves from its spot briefly, spinning the dial on the volume, turning the next song up even higher than ‘clementine’ had been. She smiles at him, her eyes glassy and stained with red, a hazy look across her features, but the smile reaches her eyes and Calum can’t help but return the grin.

Her head turns back to the window, almost trying to recreate the feeling that overcame her earlier, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to. It was too special of a feeling, too one of a kind. She felt at peace with knowing she may never feel that again, and if she did, it wouldn’t be for a while. But, she still found herself pressing her head against the car door again, welcoming the same sensations that brushed her skin earlier.

Calum looked over now and then, fondly, and somewhat chuckling at her. She was stoned, that much was clear, after taking a whole cookie while he only took half. He knew it enhanced her senses and the lightness that so desperately wished to occupy her mind. Her painting sat in the backseat of his car. He loved it. It was one of the freest, colour orientated paintings she had ever created. He knew she loved to do abstract and colour exploration paintings, but this felt like something else. He could see the influence of the album they had been listening to while painting, ‘Manic’. The pinks bled into different shades, the blues delicately weaving like they were clouds in the skies. But, in the middle, where both of the colours should meet and blend, she left harsh. She let small influences of purple tickle the edge of the soft pinks in the middle, but ultimately, the two colours clashed. And Calum thought it was brilliant.

He remembers watching her paint. He remembers the way she slouched over her painting, her hair tied up in a ponytail, her fringe dusting her eyelashes. When she looked up at him to respond to his comment, her eyes met his and they lit with her high, but a sense of happiness he rarely saw from her. His chest warmed at the sight. She had been wearing one of Calum’s old t-shirts in case she got paint on herself. It went past her knees, tickling her skins. She looked so small, swallowed by the clothing, covering so much of her body as she sat, cross-legged on the floor of his living room. He watched as her eyebrows furrowed in concentration and the way her wrist flicked with each stroke of her brush. He noticed the different techniques she used, which suited the painting and which ones she went over. He watched more than he would’ve liked to admit, barely able to focus on the Bob Ross video he insisted on following. He found himself memorising a different piece of art - her.

She was a piece of art to him. On the outside, she was all about organisation. He saw the way she obsessively filed every single handout from college. He noticed the way the three bookcases in her room were alphabetised. He watched the way she unloaded her dishwasher and where every single thing in her kitchen had a place. But underneath all of that, when she was comfortable, she was free. She painted what she wanted, she wrote what she felt, she listened to what she wanted. Her inside never matched her outside and that intrigued Calum to no end. It was a hurricane, a manic mess of colours and songs and books, different moods and habits, different reactions to similar situations. But, it was a beautiful hurricane. A beautiful, manic mess.

His brown eyes always flickered towards her, watching as she mouthed the words to the same album they had been listening to before. ‘You should be sad’ came on after her favourite. He watched her chest inhale and the sad exhale prickling at her lips that followed. His hand reached to press ‘skip’, but her hand reached out for his, gently wrapping her fingers around his wrist. She didn’t look at him, but he understood her message. Instead, he swallowed and removed his hand from the screen. Before she could put her hand back in her lap, he grabbed her hand and entangled his fingers with her’s. She didn’t say anything, but she held his hand a little tighter, the corners of her lips quirking up. The warmth of her hand holding his sent a small shiver down his spine, his heart clambering against his chest particularly hard. He let his lips mirror the same smile as her’s. Her hand was significantly smaller than his, her fingers fitting perfectly in the spaces between his. The tips of her fingers weren’t callused like Calum’s were, but her palms were. The rough skin on the balls of her fingers contrasted the rest of her smooth skin, but it was a part of her.

“You aren’t half the man that you think that you are,” she whispers, eyes cast along the landscape in front of them, Calum’s glance sweeping the scenery in front of them. She moves her head, mouthing the rest of the lyrics of the chorus. And that’s when she shakes her head, keeping her hand in Calum’s and reaching forward to change the song. She skipped back to ‘Graveyard’ to Calum’s surprise. He didn’t comment, he let her hold his hand.

“Don’t wanna think about him anymore,” she mumbles, looking over at Calum.

“Good, you don’t have to.” He looks over at her, her eyes searching his for something, she wasn’t sure what exactly, but she’ll know when she hears it.

She looks at him. She looks at the way he’s wearing the shirt she had originally borrowed from him to paint in. She had stripped it off and left it in the living room and changed into her jumper before they left his house. When she returned from getting her handbag in the kitchen, he was already wearing the shirt, looking down at his phone as if the sight hadn’t made her heart swell in several different languages. His jawline was prominent, cleanly shaven, which she loved. He knew that, and made sure he shaved before picking her up for a quick rendezvous to his for painting. His time in isolation had been spent walking Duke and sunbathing, the tan hugging his skin perfectly, his cheeks rosy from too much time in the sun and too little sunscreen. Her lips quirk into a smile when he looks down at her, meeting her gaze.

She turns away again, slowly, with the windows still down, and the sun still beating, her hand in his, he takes a risk.

“I love you,” he said, admitting the feeling bubbling in his chest for the past months of being around her. Feeling her warmth, her energy. Being a part of her life. He had fallen in love with the beautiful, manic mess that was his best friend.

Her eyes looked towards him, knowing he meant something much different than usual. And she knew, at that moment, when her eyes were searching Calum’s, this is what she was looking for. And her hand gripped his harder, her smile growing as wide as the Cheshire cat.

“I love you, too.”

Calum can’t help but immediately pull the car over to the shoulder of the road, the wheels almost skidding along the pavement, haphazardly putting the vehicle in park and leaning over the console. Her hands find the sides of his face, pulling his lips to hers. It’s passionate. Calum’s brows furrow as he tangles his fingers in her hair, pulling her as close as to him as he can manage. His stomach erupts in butterflies, fanning the flames that ignited in his bones. Adrenaline shoots up his neck like it’s heroin, coating every nerve in excitement and bliss. Her skin heats up with excitement, underneath the sun beating down through the glass of the car. Her lips against his are soft, gentle, supple as they press into each crack and crevice of his. They taste like her, he’s never known what she tastes like until now, but it just makes sense.

The feeling she had felt earlier in the car rose throughout her body, pumping in her veins instead of her blood. Her fingers caress his cheeks, their lips pulling and parting, meeting over and over until they’re satisfied. When they pull apart, Calum rests his forehead on her’s, eyes opening. The crinkles beside his eyes dig into his skin, looking into her eyes, his smile widening with every millisecond she looks at him,

“I am in love with you, Cal,” she whispers, using her thumb to trace the feeling of the creases near his eyes as he smiles down at her. His skin glows underneath the sunshine, his teeth glistening in the light,

“I’m in love with you, too,” he replies, leaning down to kiss her once more.

#isabella writes #CH #calum hood #calum hood blurb #calum hood fic #calum hood fluff #calum hood imagine #calum hood smut #5sos #5sos blurb #5sos fic #5sos fluff #5sos imagine #5sos smut #imagined

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ificouldflytotheclouds · 6 years

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Youngblood Song Ranking

In honor of Youngblood being out for 2 weeks, this is my initial ranking of the songs. I don’t believe a ranking of songs on an album is ever solidified, certain songs have a different meaning as you go through different life experiences, a heartbreak, a memory, an appreciation to a part of the song that you didn’t notice to before, etc… I want to create a post explaining my ranking now so I can refer to it later in time to see how it shift over time.

I’d love to know what you’re ranking of the songs are, do you agree or disagree with me?

First, I am going to split the songs into 4 categories and attempt to rank them from there (their order may still shift from that position)

1. Early Release/Songs performed on 5SOS3 tour.

Youngblood, Want You Back, Lie To Me, Valentine, Moving Along, and Talk Fast

2. Top Songs

Ghost of You, Monster Among Men, If Walls Could Talk, More, Babylon

3. Lower Ranked Songs

Best Friend, Woke Up In Japan, Empty Wallets, When You Walk Away

4. Middle Ranked Songs

Better Man, Why Won’t You Love Me, Midnight, Meet You There

1. Early Release/Songs performed on 5SOS3 tour.

I decided to have this as a separate category because at this point in time the songs might not be well represented within the album ranking because I’ve heard them more than rest of the songs on the album.

Starting with the singles youngblood > want you back. The first time I heard the studio version of youngblood my jaw was on the ground, I had heard the live version prior because I was trying to learn some of the lyrics to the new songs before my show, and yet I was still blown away. Personally, I like the studio version of Youngblood better than the live version because I feel like it goes harder. Additionally, it’s a song that deserves to be danced to and you can’t do that at a GA concert.

Out of the other 4 songs, they are ranked as the following

Lie to Me

Moving Along

Talk Fast

Valentine

The thing I find interesting about 5sos’ music is how different an experience it can be depending on if you are listening to it on headphones, a stereo, live, or in an acoustic format. With headphones, you can pay more attention to each element of the song while a stereo gives you an overall feel. They do different arrangements for songs, sometimes this can be between two different live performances, but most often you notice a difference between the studio, live, and acoustic version. The live versions defs pull more to their origins of pop-punk while the studio version plays with production - different instrument and a few additional voices from people that aren’t in the band. Recently they've been playing more with backing tracks during their performances which is cool, there’s just so many different ways to perform a single song and its so intriguing how it can change the feel to a song.

I already mentioned this with Youngblood, but if we look at Lie to me and Valentine.

Lie to me: studio version < Live < On The Record (Apple Music) acoustic version < Instagram live acoustic version (this just had a guitar vs the apple music where there were more instruments) < the small snippets of Luke performing Lie to Me on the piano (on the record and ig story).

Part of this is me being stubborn because for some reason I thought the studio version of lie to me would be on the piano (even though in hindsight, it doesn't make sense because they didn’t use during the live version, but I think I also mixed it up with Luke saying many of the songs originate from the piano). The piano brings a different feel to the song. And I’m a sucker for slow ballads. I still love the studio version of lie to me, it is really cool how they mix a melancholy instrument with sad lyrics (I just want my basic self to live). I find the piano version more heartbreaking.

I was drawn to Lie to me immediately. I think some of that is because lyrically it is similar to my second favorite Taylor Swift song come back…be here. But also the lyrics just tug at your heartstrings. I think this song will actually end up lowering in my future rankings, I’ll still be the #1 piano lie to me stan but I think lie to me isn’t something I’ll replay as often as ghost of you because it requires a certain mood to appreciate it.

Valentine is so weird and it took me a while to appreciate.I had listened to the live version countless times, then I listened to the leak, sometime during that song I realized that the song was sexy???? I was so confused. Going back to Taylor Swift she has a song called the moment I knew and for the longest time, the reason I wasn’t a big fan of the song because the word Happy Birthday made me cringe, basically the entire chorus to Valentine did that to me. But with repetition, I was able to get over that. It’s still a strange song lol. I think it’ll be higher than some other songs in other categories just because the song has grown on me, but it might later shift who knows.

Talk fast and Moving Along keep going back and forth

When it was just the live versions I listened to Talk Fast the least out of the 4 non-studio only songs. Last week when I started to make a post like this but gave up because I fell asleep I ranked Talk fast higher. Talk Fast is defs more basic and the lyrics at the beginning of moving along were similar to Valentine where I was like....ummm. But I think that is now what is the appeal to moving along, it is a song that stands out, the lyrics are fun (they’re so weird)... it’s a nice contradiction where they know they’re being irrational but it’s like in the first verse their drunk self is confessing things. The drums and the bass in this song is killer, there's a weird but really cool moan?? that says awww in the background. If you’re not doing the drum bit during the transitions in and out and during the chorus you are doing it wrong.

Ok so now, where do want you back and youngblood fit into that ranking?

I am going to squeeze both songs in-between moving along and talk fast. I think talk fast is a bit basic (a safe song) and these songs are more complex instrumentally.

Top Ranked Songs

This is the most difficult part because these songs KILL ME. They also have a different feel to them which makes them more difficult.

Ghost of you is my #1 (am I bold enough to stay that right now, is it premature). This song is nostalgic, it makes me think of something that would be played in an early 2000′s movie. I LOVE BALLADS. It makes me want to scream and cry at the same time. The lyrics…are heartbreaking, and the different stories can be associated with the song. Surprisingly the bridge is my favorite part of this song (not surprising because my fav part of most songs are bridges, surprising because the lyrics are so simple)

Monster Among Men - a whole different spectrum is FUN. My favorite parts are the counting and the oh no’s lol. Deep. The Drum. Luke calling himself an Asshole. This song compliments Better Man well, there are some stupid things that he’s done and he admits he’s not the perfect person, but he also admits that he has a dark passenger that he sometimes lets run ship. I like the honesty in this song. Rather than the girl making him a better man this song is about him trying to be better than a past self, trying to be better than the other jerks out there. And I think that speaks volumes compared to just having someone else who makes you want to change because of them. This song focusing more on self-motivation (they’re two similar, but different concepts).

Babylon. I don’t even know what to say about this song, but it’s brilliant. THEY DID THAT. The title, the music, the lyrics are all well integrated, the metaphor of a relationship to Babylon. It’s an intensified version of talk fast (and more mutual). They’re going to have this intense relationship but it’s going to end in burning flames. The lyrics are brilliant, not weird lol, but very original (*cough* verse two) (Rip I’m trying to explain my reasoning as much as possible but I’m doing a bad job).

If Walls Could Talk - aka a completely different feel from Babylon. It makes me want to get lost in the moment, lost in the music, in the middle of a dance floor. And thus why “I love your hair in your face” is one of my fav lyrics. This song is so vulnerable. Think about your bedroom and all of the different things you’ve gone through in that room. They know you’re everything, it goes beyond sex, it goes to crying, frustration, the best and worse versions of yourself. Oh and I forgot, Ashton’s part!!!!!

While I haven’t disclosed my ranking yet, I am surprised to say that Babylon has surpassed More, aka one of my initial stands out, I believe this is because of the complexity featured in all aspects of Babylon (you’ll be surprised what goes above Babylon though lol). Like I mentioned at the beginning of this section, my fav songs are the hardest ones to rank because they’re all just so good. It just sounds so good, the shakers, the beat is so good, this song goes hard while the vocals are soft, I love the instrumental contrast of the chorus and then it builds again. This song is relatable and reminds me of times when I was depressed. It’s a reminder that material items can only fill a small void, but in the end what we all want, what we all need is an emotional connection with another human, to have meaning in the different things that we do.

Ranking -

Ghost of You

If Walls Could Talk

Monster Among Men

Babylon

Lower Ranked Songs

When splitting the songs into categories it was easier to do favs first, but for the actual ranking I did this part first, but I didn’t want to change the order but just know I wrote this part out before the section above.

I am basing this off of first impressions. I wasn’t blown away by the target deluxe songs when I first heard them, they still made me smile like crazy but they’re not as good quality as rest of the album. And then the first time I listened to the album Woke up in Japan and empty wallets were good they just weren’t standouts compared to rest of the album.

Best Friend is at the bottom, I feel so bad because I feel like it’s an attack on Ashton, I love him with my heart but this song you really have to be in the right mood. When you are you’ll be looking stupid with a smile plastered on your face. It has a doo wop feel to it (is too lazy to grab the cd insert to figure out what instrument is creating that sound). But if you're not feeling it its kinda a strange song lol, achoo.

It’s interesting listening to when you walk away now compared to the first 24 hours after I got the target edition because it SCREAMS Reggae (heavy bass influence). But now that I listen to it, it is actually one of their safer songs?? This song is another fun song, but I’m more into the feel. I like the contrast between this song and if you don’t know. Lyrically I 100% relate to this song when I think about some old friends of mine..

My love for Japan, unfortunately, won’t make this Woke Up in Japan rank any higher. Luke’s vocals KILL this song. My favorite parts of this song are the first verse, specifically the phrase: neon weekend and the entirety of the prechorus (and don’t forget about the musical transition into this part). I feel like this song is also kinda safe, the touch on a complex psychological situation but they keep it open-ended, and lyrically I might’ve liked it even more if they took the extra step.

Empty Wallets, this one grew on me fast, defs my favorite out of the four. I think for these songs the ranking focuses on my favoritism towards the overall sonic feel. Especially for this song because maybe I’ve been on the internet too much but this gives me slight sugar daddy vibes and I’m not into that, lyrically I like the song relating more to friends and going out traveling, going to concerts, and not preventing yourself from living just because you don’t have that much money. This song positively stands out the most out of the four, sonically I LOVE “Sugar-coated brain/The fluid ain't to blame/For the sugar-coated pain” and the bridge.

As I was going through this I realized I was talking about them in reverse order, so he ranking is as follows

Empty Wallets

Woke Up in Japan

When You Walk Away

Best Friend

4. Middle Ranked Songs

Midnight is probably going to end up lower than a song in the lower ranked category. The reason I initially put it in this category is that I liked the song off the bat, while I had hesitations towards the target songs after listening to them. BUT it’s probs the most basic song out of all of them. It’s so basic, it doesn’ sound like them. This song makes me think of where you in the morning by Shawn Mendes (this song isn’t basic though just so we're clear). It’s refreshing because we peg men as the only people like this, only ever wanting a one night stand, but sometimes/there are men who want more even if it originated from a one night stand. While Midnight focuses more on a ‘friends with benefits’ situation or someone they commonly call upon for a hookup. This song is sonically pleasing, but like I said it's not as original as other songs. Lyrically there’s desire that’s not reciprocated, which is… sad. I really like the lyrics of this song.

Better Man is cute, but I struggle with it ever since I made the Ed Sheeran connection, it can be very distracting. Also now that I’ve made the comparison to monster among men... idk. hmmm.

Why Won’t You Love Me. #1 out of this category. The lyrics are very visual. I love the whyyyy whyyy’s at the beginning and the “why won’t you love me are fun to sing.” It’s a piano-based song, can you tell what instrument I have a preference for? This song tells a story which captivates the listener. Oh also, I like that Calum, luke, and Michael all feature on this song. I’m a sucker for layered (?parts??), which they do during the bridge, where the why won’t you love me is subtly playing in the background while they sing over it.

Meet You There this song should really stand out more considering it pushes the boundaries instrumentally the most. It has a good beat drop, lo lo lo lo love good stuff. Lyrically my favorite part is “When it's physical, I can't keep track of days/But the emotional is more than we can take” and vocally my favorite part is “I'm just waiting for, waiting for you.” The drums during Michael's part and then the piano before the beat drops again. Wow.

Ranking -

Why Won’t You Love Me

Meet You There

Midnight

Better Man

Final Ranking

Ghost of You

If Walls Could Talk

Monster Among Men

Lie To Me

Babylon

Why Won’t You Love Me

Moving Along

Youngblood

Want You Back

Talk Fast

Empty Wallets

Meet You There

Woke Up in Japan (this is so close to when you walk away)

When You Walk Away

Valentine

Midnight (I feel like this automatically gets ranked lower bc I don’t have this song in my library)

Best Friend

Better Man (I like this song better than these last few but I just can’t get past the Ed Sheeran comparison atm) (it probs goes after woke up in Japan) (to uplift this song, something that I didn’t mention before is I like the part where they sing a ‘betta’ ‘betta’ man)

Again this is difficult because some songs I like better lyrically and others sonically, for the most part, I am choosing my final ranking based which songs I would play over others. The bottom of the list has more specific, and different reasons why they’re at the bottom.

Album Review/Ranking Masterlist

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abigail-mcnatt-photography · 6 years

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Check out my write up and photos in Pittsburgh Music Magazine, here!

Let me start off by saying that last year, I never would have thought I’d be writing this right now. I mean, just reading the headline gives me chills.

September 13th was one of the best days of my life. Getting to see and cover 5 Seconds of Summer’s show was a dream come true for me. If you continue reading on, you’ll begin to see just how much this night really meant to me.

Australian alternative/pop/rock band, 5 Seconds of Summer, after 3 years of silence, finally released their newest album in June entitled, Youngblood. It was highly anticipated, especially after they released their singles “Want You Back” and “Youngblood” which are absolute bangers. Kind of fitting once you listen to the full album and realize that every single song is incredible. That’s just my opinion, but you can listen for yourself. With inspiration coming from a multitude of facets, they had massive success once the album was released to the public. Youngblood brought them their 3rd Billboard #1 album, making history. This milestone made them the first Australian act to land 3 albums at #1 on the Billboard charts.

With a new album comes a tour, almost always. They didn’t have a stop in Pittsburgh or anywhere nearby so I decided to treat myself for my birthday and buy tickets to the York Fair show. My boyfriend, having loved the album, was 100% into it too so we began our 3.5 hour drive after my class on Thursday.

On their cross country tour, they brought along alternative/indie/pop rockers, The Aces, who originate from Utah. I hadn’t heard a single thing about them prior to the show so I was interested to find out what they were all about. They began their set with a song that starts out sounding kind of like a 1975 song, “Volcanic Love“. That is a really fun song and I found myself tapping my foot while I stood in random positions to shoot. The Aces are an all female band, which is unique seeing as though you don’t see that all too often. You only really have Fifth Harmony and Little Mix that even remotely compare. Even so, they have a much more unique and funky sound which makes them stand out.

The crowd was on their feet the whole time, a good bit were singing along and dancing like crazy while they played. Lead vocalist, Cristal Ramirez was very interactive with fans and made her way around stage which made for some really nice and different shots. They played some of their most popular songs in their 30 minute set such as “Stay”, “Strong Enough“, “Fake Nice”, and ending their set with “Stuck“. Overall, they put on a fun, upbeat, and rhythmic set. A great adrenaline booster, before the headlining act came on.

By this point, adrenaline was rushing through my entire body. I didn’t have any set times, so I ended up being in the pit super early. But I made friends so it was okay, haha. Before I knew it, the filler music faded and the lights dropped. My heart was racing, along with the hundreds of girls behind me. I realized who was standing before me when I saw Michael’s hair when he appeared at the mic. “Babylon” was the intro song and really got the crowd on their feet… if they weren’t already. I had a moment, when the lights turned on and they all appeared in their positions, where my jaw dropped and I felt the surrealism of the moment. I quickly had to get myself focused and start shooting. This did not come without a mini jam session as I worked, I can assure you.

They followed up with “Talk Fast” and I just need to mention how cool the lighting was. I realized, as I was in my post processing phase, that the lighting included all the colors within the cover art of the album and it was epic. I couldn’t appreciate it at the time because I automatically thought they would all need to be black and white since red light washes people out. “Moving Along” was next and was the final song in the first 3 songs I was allowed to shoot. It is also my number one favorite off of the new album because it is just a jam.

As soon as the last one was over, I went back to my seats, which were upgraded earlier and were so much better, and I broke down. I’ve dreamt of that day since I started shooting shows and it was better than I could have possibly imagined. It was at this point the full fangirl in me could be unleashed.

They continued their set with singles, “She’s Kinda Hot” and the song featured in Ghostbusters (2016), “Girls Talk Boys“. They played another oldie, “Waste The Night”, before playing a couple of the bangers from the newest album. These songs included “More”, “Better Man”, and “If Walls Could Talk”; all three of which fell super high on my rating list of Youngblood.

The next segment, as Calum Hood (bassist/vocals) pointed out, was the ballad section… aka the most emotional part of the evening. “Ghost of You” was up first. When I first heard this song, I knew it was going to be one of my favorites. It was so beautifully written and had haunting lyrics (no pun intended). Some of my favorite musical lyrics come from this song. “We’re too young / Too dumb / To know things like love” and “That my feet don’t dance / Like they did with you”. Ugh. I bawled my eyes out almost this entire part of the show, no lie. They continued with “Amnesia” and “The Only Reason“, with Michael Clifford (guitar/vocals) putting his own little twist to introduce “The Only Reason”.

The transition back into the rhythmic music, Luke Hemmings (lead vocals/guitar) played the first verse of “Lie To Me” on piano, which then transitioned to the full band, which I found to be epic.

They played a few new songs, “Why Won’t You Love Me” and “Valentine” next. Before “Valentine”, Ashton Irwin (drums/vocals) got up from his drum set, as they were introducing the next song, and sprinted across stage. And he disappears into the crowd. Next thing I know, he’s standing directly behind me holding up a sign that says ‘I’m from Australia’ (I filmed the entire thing, by the way). He then makes his way back up to the stage to continue his “I’m-your-biggest-fan, please-let-me-play-drums-for-your-next-song” comedic skit. I bawled my eyes out the second he left, mostly because he, single-handedly, was a source of my happiness for a long time. He has perfect skin, in case you were wondering (Ash, if you’re reading this, give a girl some tips).

Anyway, they continued the show with “Meet You There”, with Ash’s epic drum intro, “Jet Black Heart“, and “Want You Back”, before exiting the stage to come back out for the encore. Fans were screaming, some clearly not seasoned concertgoers since they began to trickle out.

They ended the show with “She Looks So Perfect” and “Youngblood”. With the last bit of adrenaline the audience had left, they screamed every word. That’s something I’ve noticed about 5SOS shows that I enjoy. They let fans sing every single word and give them the floor for a line or so; just to listen and let the pure energy of the room practically explode. They did that a lot at this show.

Having been 3 years since I last saw them, I was anxiously awaiting the next show. Attending the Meet You There Tour was an incredible experience. From the lighting, to the stage, to the music, to the fans and the overall show itself, it was beyond my wildest expectations. If you haven’t caught a show yet, I highly recommend catching one. It was by far the best day of my young life.

5SOS, thank you for everything you’ve done for me these past few years. Thank you for your absolute showmanship and amazing songwriting. For your dedication to your art and for never giving up. For always being there. I thought I’d felt the highest of highs, but you came and topped them all 😉

Don’t ever stop doing what you’re doing. I love you. #5sospuns

As per usual, some of my favorite photos are featured below and the rest are on my Flickr. This is the biggest and best show I’ve done to date so I highly suggest giving them a look.

Thank you for reading, I know this was a long one. I’m just so emotionally attached to this band.

5 Seconds of Summer

The Aces

5 Seconds of Summer

The Aces

5 Seconds of Summer

The Aces

5 Seconds of Summer

5 Seconds of Summer – Meet You There Tour 2018 Check out my write up and photos in Pittsburgh Music Magazine, here! Let me start off by saying that last year, I never would have thought I'd be writing this right now.

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