#louis has really grown a lot in songwriting | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

louismygf · 2 years

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🚨🚨🚨 new ask game alert 🚨🚨🚨

: drop your favorite lyric from each fitf song and let us see if you have taste or not!

i was tagged by emmy @faithinlouisfuture 🌟 ty beloved mwa

The Greatest

I said you know me / Alone, we're only / Just as good as the rest / Together, we're the greatest

Written All Over Your Face

Hey babe / It's written all over your face, say it / A hurricane behind the door / So when you find out what we're fighting for / I'll be ready to talk

both verses are so so good 🫦

Bigger Than Me

So come on, call me liar / Yeah, you're so quick to judge / 'Cause, yeah, I might have changed / But everybody does

Lucky Again

I'm a hard man to find / But you figured it out and I love you for that / Look back on a time / I was lucky once, I could be lucky again

everything tbh 😔😔😔😔😔😔😔

Face the Music

Close your eyes and count to ten / If you're standin' on the edge of fallin' / Open up and looking down / Everything that matters is forgotten

this tweet destroyed me actually

Chicago

They say, "Bitter ends turn sweet in time" / Is that true of yours and mine?

All This Time

But the friends we make, the love it takes / It's worth, it's worth, it's worth the pain / The friends we make, the love it takes / It's worth, it's worth, it's worth it all this time

EVERYTHING....... everything 🥹 absolutely love this song

Out Of My System

I've lived a lot of my life already / But I gotta get through the rest

Headline

Sometimes, I wake up and I hear you through the silence / You let your pride hide all your beauty and your kindness / So fast to judge in error, you thought you knew me better / So quick to kill forever

the chorus too i'm addicted

Saturdays

Through my cigarette / A shadow of you sticks me to the carpet / Try to ignore it / Somethin' about the way / The light catches the mirror in my brain / It gives me shade

the bridge too ✊️😔

Silver Tongues

You said love was a pretty lie / And I choked when your smoke got in my eye / Bad logic and empty cans / I know nobody understands / Me like you do

She Is Beauty We Are World Class

Are we one or are we two? / Are we me or are we you?

don't ask me why idk either...., critics will bash her but idc it's a vibe

Common People

Common people / Not who you know / Just how far you're willing to go

Angels Fly

Look at the horizon / Does it make you feel small? / Put the pain behind you now / You don't need it anymore

i love every lyric btw

Holding On To Heartache

You know the party's over / When you're standin' in an empty space alone / And time can always heal you / If you let it make its way into your bones / Nothing's ever easy / To be honest, I'm not easy on myself / The second that I see you / The space between us just comes floodin' back

everything..... again!!😣 !! best-written song in the album (my opinion). i love every lyric frfr istg 😔😔😔

That's The Way Love Goes

When it cuts you, when you bleed, that's when you're feelin' it the most / That's the way, that's the way love goes

Paradise

Lately, lately it’s been so easy / To see my life completed / Instead of halfway full

So I’m not gonna spend / Another night of dreaming / Of what could’ve been

two for paradise bc im greedy 😔

not tagging anyone but if you see this and want to do it, please do!!

#so do i have taste 🤣🤣#louis has really grown a lot in songwriting #im reminded of his older songs like help all along secret heart etc and the difference is astounding. like the leap is huuuge #granted that was before walls.... walls lyrics i feel are really good!! some still hold up (otb‚ fearless‚ walls)#but they're more direct and theres a certain tenderness to that #fitf deals with more introspection and more abstract concepts #the lyrics go... deeper..... (cringe) yeah it's true!!!!#like you can tell he did a lot of self reflection during the lockdown #walls was mature but fitf was. mature-r 😭#i should be banned from making thinkpieces i sound stupid but 💕#i just really love fitf... i know he’s going to surprise us with ever record he puts out and i wanna be here to witness all that #every*#anyw for copy: there's no use crying over spilt blood / caring only kills love / a kiss won't bring it back #tagged #tag game

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whiskeyswifty · 7 months

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In your opinion are Taylor’s self-written songs usually better than the ones she wrote with co-writers?

I think it really depends. I joke a lot about how I want her to work with more no-men who will edit her work, but if I’m serious about it I think it’s more WHO she works with and under what circumstances. Other than folklore, I don’t actually know how much she balances that workload and creative contribution and collaboration with the people she works with. and on top of that, sometimes a writing combo produces absolute ass and other times it's one of my favorite songs she's ever written, so it's really hard to make a generalization like that. she actually doesn't write as many songs all by herself in a locked room or whatever as much as people think.

Let's take Lover for example because it's very interesting to me:

-of the 18 tracks, she is the sole songwriter for only 3 songs; Lover, cornelia st, and daylight. Right off the bat, i'm 2/3 for enjoyment, mayyyybe 3/3 if i'm feeling generous, but both daylight and lover are mid to me, cornelia st being the strongest of this trio imo.

-There are 3 main songwriting groups she works with on this album. Joel Little is Group A. Jack Antonoff and friends is group B. And, rather forgettable, Louis Bell and Adam Feeney are Group C. Lets break down the track listing by those subgroups + her solo work.

Group A: The Man, MAATHP, YNTCD, ME!

Group B: Cruel Summer, The Archer, I think He Knows, Paper rings, DBATC, London Boy, Soon You'll Get Better, False God.

Group C: IFTYE, Afterglow, INTHAF

Solo Written: Lover, Cornelia St, Daylight

This is a great example of how difficult it is to say who produces the best work and who produces the worst with her, and if she's better off with co-writers or not. lets get into it.

For group A, i think pretty widely we can agree she didn't work with Joel Little again after this for a reason, so that's perhaps the only simple answer which is that their creative collaboration, for whatever reason, was extremely unsuccessful. However, that's Mr. Pure Heroine producer himself so a good example of how it might not be HIS fault that the songs were bad. nor her fault either, but proof that she alone cannot carry a song to success despite a co-writer, and proof that a cowriter can't save a shit song. he's clearly capable of creating incredible work, and so is she. just only with the right creative alchemy and chemistry which he and taylor clearly did NOT have.

Group B, Mr. Antonoff a troubled figure in my eyes but here really shines. the only song's i don't like in this group are Paper Rings and London Boy, which are also not top tier songs for most swifties and the genpop. not as hated as i hate them, but certainly not top performers. that gives jackie boy a 6/8 hit ratio which is pretty good, AND some of those songs are some of my favorite taylor songs of all time. now the question begs why are these such smashes and creatively compelling songs, and other (ahem later) work so lackluster? i don't know of course, but this might be a good example of how the alchemy and chemistry might be there, but as I said before circumstances are also key. at this point, several things have happened. since their first collaboration on 1989, jack has branched out and produced several genres of music for other artists and has grown his toolset, experience, and his confidence. also, this is taylor and jack's 3rd record together, and their rapport and shorthand and creative energy has likely strengthened and electrified by now to a very goldilocks zone you could say. both of them not exactly on top of the world so they still have something to prove, and they're at a point where they likely understand each other and are energized by each other, but aren't comfortable and complacent. it's hard to say definitively if thats true, but that's certainly how it can be positioned and how the quality of the output can be explained. once again, circumstances and timing!

Group C is very interesting, as i only like one of the 3, INTHAF, however it's weighted so heavily because its, imo, one of the most beautiful, interesting production wise, and completely original works taylor has ever made. This is perhaps a good example of something else that i wish taylor would do more, which is take creative risks and work with people who encourage those risks. Afterglow is more run of the mill for her, so we'll throw that one out. but IFTYE and INTHAF are both very outside the box for her. IFTYE is sung in a predominantly spoken word way, verrrrrry conversational, often speaking off beat. and maybe the only song similar to it is TIWWCHNT, but even then, the cadence is way more freeform and reactionary on IFTYE. while i find that song unsuccessful, that same freeform songwriting structure works WONDERS for INTHAF. the song is more of a 3 part poem, with a repeating single phrase but no real chorus (which she talked about being challenging for her when writing this song), and for miss pop formula that's a bold move. the whole song was an exercise in distilling a song down to only what is most necessary, forcing her to be incredibly purposeful and thoughtful with every word. again, some words are also sung on the downbeats, but they flow seamlessly because the instrumental of this song is just stunning and perfectly paired. also EXTREMELY out of left field and experimental for her. it has steel fucking drums!!!! which you typically find in tropical/Caribbean music which could not be further from her sound. and a trumpet solo!! which comes off almost jazzy that pairs so well with how the lyrics are also that kind of meandering, unstructured jazzy freeform for her. but the real killer is how for once, she holds back lyrically when it comes to scene setting. she's very reserved in what she shares and then lets the instrumental tell the story too. she gives you some information that the song starts with the story of children, but the children's choir comes BEFORE the lyrics start to already lay that thematic groundwork. they carry through the song and at the end, the children's choir doubles as further scene setting for the church where the subjects of the song get married. but even then, before the lyric about church bells comes in YOU HEAR ONE RING IN THE SONG!!! she's purposely holding back lyrically and letting the instruments fill in the gaps of the story, which is a method of songwriting that is almost cinematic in how sound effects and sound scapes tell the story just as much as the lyrics do. it's a great challenge for her as a songwriter and really pushed her creativity, forced her to think differently about what a song can be, and imo it produced phenomenal and completely original (for her) results. Clearly Group C challenged her and pushed her in new directions. the downside of that is with taking creative risks comes a high chance of failure, and while the other 2 songs are not failures totally, they're much less successful. but that's important still!! pushing her is important and it's the only way we get to great creative work that is new and exciting and important, so to me, the failures of Group C are worth it for the delicious success of INTHAF.

As for her solo work, i will say i enjoy Cornelia St. a lot, and Lover and Daylight are ok, but imo they're like almost fully baked. there are aspects of all 3 of them that could be pushed juuuuust a little further towards greatness. clunkiness that could be cleaned up, metaphors and turns of phrased that could be polished just a bit more until they really shine. compared to all 3 groups, clearly her solo work is better than Group A, and some of Group C, but i think falls short of a lot of Group B.

idk. on the whole, i guess i can conclude that her solo work these days, while some of her best work, doesn't seem to quite reach the greatness of work she's collaborated on that truly shines. so to make a broad statement yes, i prefer when she works with someone even just a little bit. i think she has raw, incredible talent and a great mind, but i love even more when people bring out new sides of that mind and that talent and show how much she can do, or help her trim the fat and show us the most seasoned and delicious work she has to offer. but as evidenced by Lover, it's not as clear cut as just she needs to work with someone and those will be better songs always. who and under what circumstances are going to be important and unfortunately impossible to predict. i can only hope that she will take away from folklore's insane success, combined with how it was entirely collaborative in a way she hasn't been in a long time, that creative collaboration that pushes her is a good thing. and she'll try to do more of it because midnights is incredibly creatively stagnant and stale. maybe her partnership with jack is getting stale, too complacent and they know each other too well. comparatively, her work with Aaron on Midnights are the best songs on the album imo. someone new, fresh, from a different world and someone who has the chemistry and alchemy that are hard to find, but the newness of their relationship clearly challenges her again. maybe that too will grow stale and she'll need fresh blood, and so on and so forth. i don't think that's her burning through people or that means she can't write songs on her own, of course not. i just tend to see creative work as greater than the sum of it's parts. it's about all these factors, some intentional and some accidental and circumstantial, coalescing together to produce something truly amazing, and there's no other way to do it. unfortunately it can't be replicated or turned into a factory line. there's an elusive magic to it, lightning in a bottle is how a lot of songwriters refer to it when a great song comes together in the studio. and all i hope for is that no matter how big her ego grows or how comfortable and easy working with the same people over and over can be, she remembers how magical it feels like when she manages to catch it and she will never grow tired of chasing it.

#i have covid from italy so i'm going through my inbox so i don't do tasks that will make me tired a;dkfjkdsl;f #sorry it took so long to answer this but of course it's a long answer lmao

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seasurfacefullofclouds1 · 4 months

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https://www.instagram.com/reel/C1miu-FsFdK/?igsh=MWxzZTA3dmNzN2V2NQ==

I always had this question that louis wrote some really good horny songs and he has always been like that in the band(not that am complaining, i really like that side of louis) but his writing style has completely changed.. i mean look at mr. am so sweet styles writes all sorts of sex songs but louis has done like complete 180..🤔

This is actually kind of interesting.

Louis’ songwriting for his solo career has changed a lot since 2016, partly because of circumstance (Louis realized, around fall 2017, that industry wasn’t going to support him but exactly the opposite— his former label and contacts would do everything to sink him) and partly temperament (he focused on “honesty and authenticity” with a confessional style for Walls, and then changing the focus to tour-appropriate songs to the FITF).

The switch from Walls to FITF might have come from Louis’ realization that confessional ballads don’t tour well in large spaces like arenas and stadiums. His fans showed up, of course, but the big hits on LTWT were songs like Kill My Mind, Always You.

Sonics aside, the subject of songs changed from Louis himself to the world around him. Maybe the pandemic influenced this switch, and maybe there was a broadening of friends and acquaintances beyond the boyband world.

Louis doesn’t tend to insulate himself from the world at large. He meets fans, he goes to normal restaurants and pubs, he attends football games incognito, he stands with the crowd at festivals. He goes to UK pubs to watch football games and he races strangers in the streets. The “interiority” in his songs, while describing specific and intimate moments, are like the best creative works that are both personal and universal. We recognize them because they bring out bittersweet or nostalgic, human moments. They express empathy, yearning, a longing for human connection.

Recently I was thinking about Harry’s cheeky answer to an interviewer that Stockholm Syndrome (which he co-wrote) was about “a nympho.” At the time, fandom didn’t know what to think. Was Harry describing girls as sex addicts… with kidnapping / abuse fantasies?

Then came Carolina (“she’s a good girl/ she feels so good”), Only Angel (“a devil between the sheets”), Kiwi (“Hard candy drippin' on me till my feet are wet/ And now she's all over me, it's like I paid for it”), Keep Driving (“Cocaine, side boob/ Choke her with a sea view”), Make My Day (“She asked me to choke her, I play along”), and of course, Watermelon Sugar, to name a few songs with questionable lyrics.

My objection is not that Harry depicts women as human beings with sexual needs, but that he depicts them as sexual objects— that women are the sum of their sexual fulfillment for men, for men’s fantasies, for men to portray and control. In this point of view, women love sex because men want them to love sex, and women love sex more because men sometimes pay them for it.

It’s not a great POV from a teenager, but an execrable one from a grown adult man. It’s as if this man has never grown up, never had a mature relationship, never met an adult partner in real life. It’s also a POV in which women ought to love sex, in which we are expected to be grateful for it, and being compensated should be sexual turn on… a truly dangerous philosophy.

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allwaswell16 · 2 years

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I was tagged by @phd-mama to post 5 fics of mine I really like. Thank youuu for the tag, my love! (And I'll tag @pocketsunshineharry @2tiedships2 @laynefaire @disgruntledkittenface @daggerandrose to do this if you want! And if anyone else wants to do this, just say I tagged you!)

Consequences (78k)

Two years ago Harry let his powerful family come between him and the love of his life, something he deeply regrets. Louis has tried to move on from their devastating break up. Sometimes, he even thinks he has. It only takes one moment to freeze them back in time.

An amnesia au

Listen, I'm super proud of this fic, but I almost had a nervous breakdown writing it lol. I was NOT used to writing something this long and did not realize the mental toll it would take on me. I vowed never to write something this long again. However, I do love that I made this an ode to my hometown and there's just a lot of ME in this. And the moments when I dreamed up the plot and the twists, damn I felt so clever lol, I will always remember those moments fondly.

If I Loved You Less (36k)

Beautiful omega Louis Tomlinson is set to make his come out in London society and determined to find a mate in his first Season. With the help and protection of his oldest friend, Lord Niall Mendes, he takes Society by storm.

Being a wealthy and titled alpha means Lord Harry Styles has grown used to avoiding unmated omegas...until now. This Season he finds himself at every Society event just for a chance to speak with the omega with the flashing blue eyes.

Louis has the aristocracy at his feet and all the suitors he could hope for, but his secrets may ruin his chance at a love match.

This fic was one of the easiest things to write ever. This is just what the inside of my brain looks like, honestly. It's just full of romance novels and a whole lot of obscure knowledge of the Regency era. And all I did was pluck out one of the stories in my head and write it down. It'll always be a fav because it feels like what I'm meant to write.

Until (series) (61k)

Rural Eagle County, Colorado wasn’t the type of place to find a famous musician or actor. At least not until songwriter Louis Tomlinson showed up with pop star Niall Horan to visit his uncle’s horse ranch, and they just happened to find themselves next door to a reclusive former movie star.

I think this series will always mean something very personal to me. It's a 3 part series, the first part is H/L, second part is Niall/Shawn Mendes, and the third part is a timestamp of H/L's wedding(s). I never intended for this to become a series, but it had a life of its own from the beginning. I thought the horses were going to be focused on and I was going to have a random llama, I think? But then somehow I started writing and a goat named Lacey showed up and made the animal parts all about her lol. And while fic taking on a life of its own is one of the most fun parts of writing for me, this fic meant a lot more to me. This story and the characters carried me through a terrible year and gave me a safe place for my mind to be.

When the Sun Won't Let You Sleep (30k)

Four years ago, Louis Tomlinson left the UK to live on an Antarctic research station for reasons best left in the past. He’s carved out a life for himself on the ice and has dedicated himself to his research, his friends, and especially the Halley VI research station. He’s less than thrilled when he learns that Harry Styles, a glaciologist from another base who once broke his heart, will be coming to Halley, and he’s definitely unprepared for the upheaval Harry brings with him.

I love to read and write about interesting places, and I feel like this fic cemented my love of researching a place. I admit I became a little obsessed with Antarctica while writing this fic. But what floored me about this fic was that I thought it was going to be about scientists and the place itself, and it turned into something much more meaningful because the more I learned about Antarctica, the more I began to understand the people who work there. And that greatly influenced the story I ended up writing. If I was going to say what I thought my best written fic was, this would be a contender.

Ace of Spades (78k words)

Living as a sheltered omega in a farming village has not prepared Harry for life aboard the most notorious pirate ship to sail the Atlantic.

Or Louis is a pirate, Harry is his captive, and no one is who they say they are.

So this is my newest fic. And it started life so long ago. I don't even know when I first started thinking about adapting it, but it's been many years at this point. I didn't mean for it to get as long as it did. Remember when I said I'd never write something long again? lol I did. Anyway, I ended up so damn pleased with how I brought that pirate crew to life in the form of familiar faces. I have so many stories about these characters. I know everything about them. I wish I could have told each one of their stories.

#ficrec #self rec #tag things

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cosmicraysandstuff · 1 year

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I posted 975 times in 2022

That's 384 more posts than 2021!

4 posts created (0%)

971 posts reblogged (100%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@outrunningthedark

@iamdeltas

@lilacblossoms

@lovecolibri

@kinnsporsche

I tagged 975 of my posts in 2022

#kinnporsche cast - 92 posts

#kinnporsche - 86 posts

#kinnporsche the series - 69 posts

#jeff satur - 51 posts

#ofmd - 40 posts

#apo nattawin - 38 posts

#🥰😍🥰😍 - 38 posts

#porsche kittisawasd - 33 posts

#stranger things - 32 posts

#🥰😍 - 30 posts

Longest Tag: 118 characters

#the fact that the tax write-off means that those movies and shows are gonna be locked away forever is fucking bullshit

My Top Posts in 2022:

*sigh* So, I started up my Louis Tomlinson blog again, after several years, cuz I finally have the mental/emotional energy to maintain it, and it looks like my blog might've been shadowbanned. The name of the blog was "let go" at one point, because I was inactive, but when I went to rename my blog, the original name was still available. So, I saved it again.

I sent a ticket to Tumblr support, but I'm wondering if I should just change the name all together. But I'm not sure if that would help? It's just frustrating, cuz a lot is happening with Louis's new song/album and I want to be able to interact with fellow fans/reblog/etc. 😢

Any suggestions are welcomed.

0 notes - Posted September 2, 2022

This song is helping to cheer me up, when everything gets to be too much.

Plus? I'm always down for a fun song about my city. 🥰😍🗽🌞

0 notes - Posted July 9, 2022

Music Recs

1. Louis Tomlinson has a new single out today - "Bigger than Me" - and it just showcases how much his songwriting and vocals have grown. I'm so happy that he got to tour this year, (after the personal and professional obstacles he had to contend with the past few years), and I'm thrilled that he'll be able to release his 2nd album in November.

His songs have gotten me through some pretty bad times and I'm so proud to be his fan. 🥰😍

2. Blackpink - "Pink Venom" - my girls are back and I couldn't be happier. 😍 They're still really the only Kpop group I follow at the moment, (though I'm starting to look into other groups), and their music just energizes me so much. I know that there are some fans who don't like the new single, but I appreciate how it's different from their previous songs, without going too far in another direction. Their talent still kills me, I swear. 😘

3. Rina Sawayama - she has a new EP out and I adore every song on it. Her vocals in "Phantoms" and "Catch Me in the Air" are breathtaking and I continue to adore her lyrics. I'm so glad that I followed up on that Tumblr post I found a few months ago about Rina, cuz I've become such a huge fan of her music, and I hadn't heard of her before that. I HIGHLY recommend checking her out. 🥰😍

See the full post

1 note - Posted September 1, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Happy 10th anniversary to Gravity Falls today!

Happy 10th anniversary to Night Vale today!

And Happy 12th anniversary to me officially moving to NYC today!

I never remember to acknowledge the day, so I'm glad I remembered this year.

🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳

2 notes - Posted June 15, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #Spotify

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tswiftisgay · 4 years

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hello! so there a lot of haylor shippers that are going around saying that exile, cardigan, the 1, illicit affairs, and a bunch of other songs on folklore are about harry styles. they're also saying that songs on fine line are about taylor. what do you think?

hello! 🤗

1) There is not one ounce of me that believes that Taylor and Harry really dated. To be clear, I do believe Harry has dated women he has been out and about with. I even think Taylor has probably dated some of the men she has been publicly paired with! So this isn’t based on a broad assumption of sexuality. This is based entirely in the facts and circumstances of that fateful time. They overplayed the whole thing with pap shots literally every single day for nearly two months. Harry never looked happy to be around her, and he never confirmed they were dating properly! Plus, the timing with the release of the Taylor and 1D albums was just too perfect. They helped each other solidify audiences across the oceans and dispel (what I obviously believe to be incredibly true) gay rumors. My haylor timeline spells a lot of that out.

2) I do not believe either of them wrote songs about each other for their most recent albums. Even if they did date, they dated so damn long ago and for such a short time! Their schedules have been incredibly incompatible in the time since then so any wild haylor conspiracies just don’t make sense logistically. (One of my friends actually mapped their schedules out so I really mean that.)) Plus they have been tied to a lot of other people with a lot better evidence.

The last nail in the coffin is that Taylor really hurt Harry’s reputation for a while with her accusations of being a womanizer, unfaithful, etc. and Harry upset her reputation when he started making his incredibly unsubtle gay comments. I do *not* see why they would have willingly done this to each other if they were secretly together.

In case you forgot, Taylor changed her entire promotional approach to 1989 which had been shaped around Harry with pointed jokes about the inspiration for Style and a huge Rolling Stone article with “insider” and “spokesperson” *cough* TREE *cough* information about their relationship. On October 30 2014, Harry and Liam were asked to describe their perfect person to date. Liam jokingly said “female,” to which Harry said, “not that important.” He also said “don’t knock it till you try it” about having sex with a man and made a variety of other gay/dick comments. To this day I can’t understand why people still think that man is straight! Regardless, Taylor stopped pushing the Harry narrative so hard and began using more generic descriptions about her inspiration for Style after that--even as soon as the next day in an interview with Ryan Seacrest! Check out this fun little analysis from @all-my-possessions here for more.** Read the prior Rolling Stones cover article here for comparison.

3) Taylor and Harry have previously written about each other, but not in the lovesick way the media would have you think. The song Perfect by 1D--written by Harry and Louis--has references to Taylor. Out of the Woods is about bearding with Harry in my opinion, which I elaborate on here. I’ve also answered an ask in the past where I shared my opinion that Taylor may take inspiration from Harry’s life since they share a lot of the same burdens, having grown up in the industry and closeted.

4) This is more controversial, but I think that Harry Styles may be William Bowery. This would account for some of the connections or coincidences found on folklore in a way that is much more believable to me. I believe Taylor and Harry have mended bridges a bit over the years and connected over their shared stories of navigating secret relationships while under the magnifying glass of fame. Writing together and speaking at some length may have been part of the inspiration for the songs. In the same way that a movie with similar themes to a story in your own life can be extremely evocative, Harry’s stories may have been a big source of inspiration.

When asked about Taylor, Harry has repeatedly said she is a great songwriter which is a good response because it’s true and because it sidesteps any drama. To my knowledge, no one has ever been bold enough to ask Taylor the same question. If they did, she might say the same thing. Keeping his name out of the credits makes sense because their long media history would have brought the wrong kind of attention to the artistic masterpiece of folklore. I expand on this a bit more here.

5) I need to acknowledge-- and ask that you also acknowledge--that there are only small coincidences linking Harry to Taylor’s album at all. Even the imagery of the cardigan music video being linked to the Falling music video is a bit tenuous. Music as a lifeline or way of communicating is a common image, as is water as a way of depicting overwhelming emotions. Yes, “thin line” in Exile mirrors Harry’s “fine line,” but those are incredibly common phrases. Our intuition as fans can be amazingly accurate or embarrassingly off. So let’s keep that in mind with any theories. For our sanity’s sake!

**Read more about the changing narratives of the songs on 1989 as told by Taylor herself in this lengthy but amazing analysis also from @all-my-possessions 😍 here.

Your message has been sitting in my inbox for a bit. I’m sorry I didn’t reply sooner. The world is on fire and so is my will to live. JK I’m okay. Not great. But okay. Hope you are okay, too <3

#ts8 #haylor #style #william bowery #harry styles #mine

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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Back to the Future: The Real Johnny B. Goode Rocked Long Before Marty McFly

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Back to the Future is a classic comedy, one of the most popular films in motion picture history. Almost every laugh line lands with a perfectly executed punch. Every skateboard flip is a motion picture wonder. It’s one of those films which is broadly silly yet still has heart, and it’s a treasure of commercial cinema. But when Michael J. Fox’s Marty McFly straps on a cherry red Gibson ES-345 he plunders the golden oldies right out of the fingers of the true original. Ignore the bit where “Marvin Berry” calls his cousin on the phone. Chuck Berry didn’t just write “Johnny B. Goode,” he was Johnny B. Goode.

The song about the country boy who could play guitar like ringing a bell could have referred to any number of musicians, from Buddy Holly to Bo Diddley or Ricky Nelson. But the singer-songwriting guitarist who penned the line was born at 2520 Goode Avenue, in St. Louis.

Berry had already made his concession to white commercialism by changing the line “that little colored boy could play” to “that little country boy.” Oh my. But then for years, the Father of Rock and Roll watched the self-styled King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley, put his stamp on Berry’s signature. The royalties were sweet though for Berry, and the respect was mutual.

But the backhanded homage in the time-traveling 1985 comedy is really a cheap gag, and the joke is at the expense of Berry’s legacy.

“Long Distance information? Get Me Memphis, Tennesse”

“Chuck! Chuck, it’s Marvin, your cousin, Marvin Berry. You know that new sound you’re looking for?” the fictional bandleader yells into a pay phone at the 1955 Enchantment Under the Sea dance in Hill Valley, California. “Listen to this!”

We then hear the subtle sound of casual racial invalidation. Not only does the line denigrate Berry’s contribution to the architecture of rock and roll; it completely sidelines guitarist Carl Hogan who initiated the opening guitar phrasing on Louis Jordan’s 1946 pre-rock and roll song “Ain’t That Just Like a Woman.” Think, McFly. Think!

Michael J. Fox already has a perfectly winning comic ending to the now-iconic scene: when his fingers stretch back to the future, and he channels Eddie Van Halen on the guitar, even the kids at the 1950s dance think he should act his age. So why does director and co-screenwriter Robert Zemeckis feel the need to shit on Chuck Berry with such a disposable throw-away gag? It is even more insulting when you take into consideration who Berry had to sue over the course of his career for stealing his riffs.

Indicative of a long-standing music industry tradition, the two biggest names in white rock and roll, the Beatles and the Beach Boys, had to cough up to the pioneering artist after infringing on his copyrights. Berry sued to get his name on the Beach Boys’ hit “Surfin’ USA” while John Lennon agreed to cover two songs owned by Berry’s publisher in exchange for copping lines from “You Can’t Catch Me” for the song “Come Together.”

But Lennon still declared “If you tried to give rock and roll another name, you might call it ‘Chuck Berry,’” when he introduced him on The Mike Douglas Show in 1972. “In the 1950s, a whole generation worshipped his music, and when you see him today, past and present all come together, and the message is Hail, Hail Rock and Roll.’”

He Could Play a Guitar Just Like a-Ringin’ a Bell

Berry was the first-ever Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, and in the same class as James Brown, Ray Charles, Fats Domino, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Presley. With songs like “Maybellene,” “Roll Over Beethoven,” “Little Queenie,” “Havana Moon,” “Wee Wee Hours,” “Rock and Roll Music,” and “Sweet Little 16,” Berry scored the soundtrack to the 1950s.

Berry didn’t invent rock and roll. Ike Turner is credited with that for his 1951 song, “Rocket 88.” Berry recorded his first hit “Maybellene” in 1955 at Chicago’s Chess Studios, the home of the blues. Berry sped up the blues to a country thump and let his fingers do to guitar strings what lips did to horns.

Berry made rock and roll fun, funny, and subtly rebellious. The teenager in “You Can’t Catch Me” is motorvating away from the cops. His “Brown Eyed Handsome Man” hit a home run with color coded racial pride. The artist who was glad, so glad, he was “living in the U.S.A.” (in the song “Back in the U.S.A.”) was barred from many of the things he found so wondrous in this country to sing about.

Almost Grown

Charles Edward Anderson Berry was born on Oct. 18, 1926. His St. Louis neighborhood, “The Ville,” was segregated. His great-grandparents were slaves. In 1944, Berry was arrested for driving along in an automobile he carjacked at gunpoint after robbing three stores in Kansas City. He did a three-year stint in reform school.

Berry began playing music professionally when he was in his mid-20s, sitting in with local bands like piano player Johnnie Johnson’s group, Sir John’s Trio. Blues icon Muddy Waters suggested Berry bring his songs to Chess Records where Howlin’ Wolf, the Moonglows, and Big Bill Broonzy were recording sides. Label owner Leonard Chess had a good feeling about the song “Ida Red.”

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Berry renamed the song “Maybellene” when he recorded it on May 21, 1955. It was Berry’s first nationwide hit. He was 28. Willie Dixon was on bass, Johnnie Johnson played piano, Jerome Green shook maracas, and Ebby Hardy beat the drums. Alan Freed and Russ Fratto didn’t do anything for the song, but their names are on the credits as co-songwriters. They effectively collected royalties for teaching Berry a valuable lesson.

Chuck Berry wrote all the songs on his first album, After School Session, which was released in May 1957. It was the same for his next two albums. Berry didn’t include any covers on his albums at all until his fourth album, Rockin’ at the Hops, released in July 1960. Berry starred in some of Alan Freed’s jukebox movies like Rock Rock Rock!, Mister Rock and Roll, and Go, Johnny, Go! He also appeared in Jazz on a Summer’s Day, a 1959 documentary about the Newport Jazz Festival.

“No Need to Be Complainin’, My Objections Overruled”

Berry was arrested in St. Louis, Missouri, in December 1959 for transporting Janice Norine Escalan, a 14-year-old hatcheck girl at Club Bandstand in Juarez, Mexico, across state lines for “immoral purposes.” He was charged under the Mann Act. Berry argued he was offering legitimate employment. An all-male, all-white jury found him guilty on March 11, 1960. Berry appealed, but the conviction was upheld at a 1961 trial. Berry was sentenced to three years. He served 18 months and was released from prison in 1964.

Berry’s career never quite took off again. He had some hits in 1964 and 1965, “Nadine,” “No Particular Place to Go,” “You Never Can Tell,” and “Promised Land.” He was one of the artists in the 1964 concert film The TAMI Show. Berry’s last number 1 hit, “My Ding-a-Ling,” was recorded live in London in 1972 for The London Chuck Berry Sessions album.

Berry never stopped playing live. He traveled with only his guitar and a briefcase for his money, and would grab local bar bands to back him when he hit town. Everyone knew Chuck Berry songs. Simple, three-chord pangs to teenage love, cars and safety belts. Bandleaders like Bruce Springsteen and Steve Miller eagerly lent their fingers and bands to the light traveling guitar player. Most groups were thrilled to get the chance to play for a legend when they weren’t harangued for bending a string too far on an intro. Not even Keith Richards got away with that, just watch the rehearsal portion of the 1987 documentary Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll.

The Rolling Stones’ guitarist had already been brought in as a surprise backing player for a 1972 Los Angeles show where he was kicked off the stage for setting his amp too loud. Berry would also give Richards a black eye for touching his guitar after a New York City show a decade later. Richards’ early guitar work is modeled on Berry’s style. The Stones covered “Carol,” “Around and Around” and “You Can’t Catch Me.” Richards inducted Berry into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.

Back to the Future is really just a light, inoffensive, time-bending screwball comedy, and Berry has been the butt of far worse jokes. Spy magazine alleged Berry secretly filmed women in bathrooms. In January 1990, High Society claimed to be “the only magazine with the balls to show Chuck’s berries,” when it published photos of him posing nude with different women.

So when you read an article about Berry recalling the incident where the white kid played “Johnny B. Goode,” remember: it ran in The Onion. Chuck Berry could be accused of a lot of things, but he was an original.

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hlupdate · 4 years

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Ask Louis Tomlinson to name his favourite song on Walls and he’ll change his mind several times. It could be the title track, on which he shares co-writing credits with an idol. Or irresistible current single Don’t Let It Break Your Heart, which boasts his most addictive chorus to date.

Lyrically, he’s rightly proud of all twelve tracks, most rooted in real life, but in particular those that dig deep on subjects ranging from relationships and family to the folly of youth and days of self-doubt. Live, he’s most looking forward to performing the songs that reflect the indie-rock he grew up on and still adores today.

In fact, it scarcely matters which songs Louis likes best because his fans are about to get the chance to choose for themselves. After two years spent honing his sound and sharpening his skills as a heart-on-sleeve songwriter, the 27 year old simply can’t wait to release his debut album and take it on tour.

“I feel like this is the start of my career, with so much to look forward to and all the plans in place,” says Louis. “Honestly, I’ve been through every emotion possible in the past few years and come out the other side stronger and more confident than I’ve ever been.

“I know I’ve made an album that my fans will like, one that sounds like me and has its own identity. There were times I wasn’t sure if this was what I should be doing. Now I can’t imagine doing anything else.”

2019 was the year that Louis found his feet as a solo artist. He followed his award-winning return in March with Two of Us, which took the tragic loss of his mother as a touchstone and connected with fans around the world, with a run of acclaimed singles – the raucous Kill My Mind, the reflective We Made It and the soaring pop perfection of Don’t Let It Break Your Heart.

2020 is the year that Louis goes live with a 50 date World Tour, his first as a solo artist, with many dates already sold out including all the UK shows. A recent date in Madrid was his first full gig since the demise of One Direction. From early March until late July, he’ll be on tour near nightly, crossing countries and continents with Walls.

“I don’t have long to get fit,” laughs Louis. “Seriously, I played football on a shoot the other day and ten minutes in I was wheezing. Don’t worry, I have plenty people telling me to get to the gym. That’s the only bit I’m dreading.” Walls’ collaborators include the L.A.-based Brit Jamie Hartman (Rag’n’Bone Man, James Bay) and Jamie Scott (One Direction, Bieber) If Walls recalls classic, ‘90s Oasis, it’s because Louis still listens to those early albums. “It really hit home when I was in the studio to hear the strings being recorded. There must have been 25 musicians in there, all for my song. It was a proper tear-jerking moment already and I’ve never felt a shiver like it.”

Fans will find plenty to tingle their spines on 12 songs that lyrically hark as far back as Louis’ 1D days, recall relationship ups and downs and relate the life lessons learnt on the way to 27.

The fabulous Habit is a message to fans and a reflection on fame steeped in gorgeous electric guitar, with a reference to Princess Park for 1D devotees.

“There was a time I felt like I was treading water with my career,” says Louis. “I wasn’t sure if I 100% wanted to carry on. It was frustrating and, of course, fame can feel intrusive when you’re unsure of yourself, but I tried to imagine myself not doing this job, not having the support of the fans and I couldn’t.

“Music is the habit that I keep coming back to. Forget feeling sorry for myself. Habit is a thank you to fans and a reminder to me to be grateful for being given this position.”

While We Made It recalled Louis’ pre-fame days, hanging out with his girlfriend Eleanor in her student halls and their teen dreams for the future, both Walls and the acoustic Too Young recount the break-ups that ultimately made the pair’s relationship stronger.

“Too Young is about meeting ‘the one’ aged 18 and, like a lot of blokes that age, not being equipped for it,” says Louis. “I found it hard to look that far ahead. I had to make a few mistakes and go down the wrong path to realise what I had and what I thought I’d lost.

“Walls is more specific. It’s about coming home having been on tour, soon after we’d split. I found some of my girlfriend’s clothes in the cupboard and it hit me what I’d done. I love the indie sound of the song and its circular nature – it opens and closes with the same lyric.”

That lyric – ‘Nothing wakes you up like waking up alone’ – is among several on Walls that shows Louis’ progression as a songwriter ready to reveal his vulnerable side. ‘The day you walked away was the day I became the man that I am now,’ is another.

“I pretend not to be romantic, but I am,” says Louis. “Two years ago, I couldn’t have written those lyrics. I would have felt too exposed. But that’s age for you, I suppose. It sounds daft because 27 isn’t old, but I think about ageing a lot these days.”

On Fearless, which opens and closes with children’s voices, Louis looks back at the peers he grew up with and ponders what ageing means.

“I’m at this crossroads age where I look at people from past and they seem so grown up to me now,” he says. “I won’t call them boring, but I do think people could take life less seriously. Have more fun while we’re still young because it doesn’t last.”

The oldest song on Walls is Almost You, the most recently recorded the album’s beautiful, stripped-back closer Only the Brave, which clocks in at a mere 1.44 minutes.

“The reason Always You stayed is that I teased 15 seconds of it on one of my socials years back and, ever since, the fans have been desperate to hear it,” says Louis. “I owed them that one.” “Only The Brave I think may have been written for Liam Gallagher. It’s the one song I didn’t write much on. It was played to me and I instantly adored it. There was talk of making it longer, but what’s great is that it’s so short, yet gets its message across so clearly.

“Plus, it’s the twelfth song. That’s more than enough of me in one sitting.”

#Louis tomlinson #stunt mention #270120 #walls

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dailytomlinson · 4 years

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The last of the One Direction lot to release his debut album, Louis Tomlinson took his time making his first full-length.

"It's taken me the best part of four years to finish it, so naturally, you know, there's a lot of heart in it," he considers, "a lot of emotion, a lot of honesty I think. And the most important thing for me, whenever I'm writing a song, is that the lyrics are really important to me. I just want to make people feel something, and through honesty, that becomes a little bit easier, you know? So I feel like, hopefully, I've made an honest and interesting record."

A lot has happened for Louis in the past ten years. He was catapulted into stardom as part of One Direction in 2010, left that group in 2015, returned to The X Factor in 2018 as a judge, became a footballer for a bit, had a child, and sadly lost his mother in 2016 and sister Felicité in 2019. A lot of those themes make it onto 'Walls', the latter forming the lyrics for the record's lead single 'Two Of Us'.

"Honesty and vulnerability at times is relatable, and it's important sometimes talk about certain things. I'm always conscious of being as transparent as I possibly can to my fans and to any listener."

Of course, his first solo ventures, 'Just Hold On' with Steve Aoki and 'Back To You' with Bebe Rexha and Digital Farm Animals, are miles away from the music he returned with in 2019, but he maintains the change of direction was for the best. "I just don't think that those songs are true to the artist that I want to be. Although they were right to me at the time, if you put them in the middle of this album, they would definitely stand out."

Where Harry's albums channel 70s rock and artsy pop, Niall's debut had the singer/songwriter vibe a la Sheeran and Capaldi, and Liam and Zayn opted for chart-friendly R&B pop, on 'Walls', Louis goes back to his roots, doing his best to emulate the Northern indie rockers he grew up on. "I feel like a lot of influence happens subconsciously. It's what you're listening to at the time or what you've grown up with. In terms of who I look up to, Alex Turner and the way that he writes as a lyricist is incredible, especially in the early Arctic Monkeys stuff. I always talk about Amy Winehouse's level of detail, again as a lyricist, and how descriptive she was was incredible. Obviously, I'm a massive, massive Oasis fan that goes without saying."

"Coming out of One Direction, it was a bit of improvising, a bit of trial and error"

Chatting to Louis, it's easy to forget he was part of one of the biggest groups of all time, because he just comes across as a down to earth and, well, normal bloke. It's like seeing an old school friend in the pub and having a catch-up.

He's never lost his accent, and his dedication to his hometown of Doncaster is unmatched. He's returning to the Doncaster Dome on tour, was signed as a Doncaster Rovers player, and even in his early solo days, took Bebe Rexha to the Keepmoat Stadium for a video shoot.

"I always try and be as true to myself as I can. I've always been very aware of where I've come from, and very proud of where I've come from. I fuckin love Doncaster. My family still live there, I go there all't time, well, not all't time, but as much as I can. Those influences that I've grown up with were vital on my first album, they're definitely part of it's DNA.

"This was always where my heart lies. I mean, I spent most of my youth in Priory, back when it were ten quid all you could drink – which was fucking mint. That really pushed me towards big choruses and guitars, basically - you know, like a Catfish and the Bottlemen kinda record, that's the sound I really love."

Likening his experience of finding his feet after 1D's disbandment ("hiatus") to that of a brand new artist, it took Louis a while to get comfortable with the music he was making.

"A lot of developing artists when they first start their career, they spend two, three, maybe even five years in the background developing and waiting for that one moment, that one song, that one album. And I kind of had to live out that whole development period in the public eye. Naturally, after coming out of One Direction, it was a bit of improvising, a bit of trial and error and working out exactly who I should be as an artist. It took some time, I didn't want to rush it."

He did dip his toe into the songwriting waters during his time in 1D, if getting a writing credit on 37 of their songs counts as dipping a toe, but felt he needed time rediscovering himself.

"It was really important to me; it was only from the third album onwards that we really got trusted with having a real influence on the songwriting. It's something I'm really proud of, and they're definitely skills that have helped me in the solo career."

Funnily enough, One Direction's third album seemed to be the point where their music took a stadium rock-ish turn, which never really let up for the remainder of their career (see: 'Midnight Memories', 'Where Do Broken Hearts Go', 'Drag Me Down'). Maybe Louis always had those big choruses in him after all.

"I have the luxury of being a positive person"

There are plenty of references to walls and fences on (aptly titled) 'Walls', which could easily be read as feeling like he needed to break out, but he says that's not necessarily what he means.

"I normally shy away from metaphor, but it was relevant in the song definitely. I'm sure that's how some people might interpret it. But it's more about general growth in life and any problems or mistakes that you make along the way. It's more about realising that, and I'm very proud of my One Direction roots, massively."

Strangely, he says joining One Direction humbled him. As a cocky teenager, being thrust into the spotlight and feeling like a small fish in a very large, Simon Cowell-controlled pond affected the boys in different ways.

"I was a bit of a show-off, really. I came into One Direction with a bit of an ego; I did think a lot of myself, I'm not gonna lie. It was quite a sobering experience. I was a bit of a show-off when I was a kid to be fair, like I love making people laugh and all that. I wasn't very hardworking. I'd say I'm hardworking now, but I definitely wasn't when I was a young lad."

And does he feel like he's changed much since finishing with the group five years ago?

"It feels like it did in One Direction, just a diluted version really. I'm lucky I still have a certain amount of hardcore fans who follow my every move. So in terms of the difference in like privacy and stuff, that hasn't really changed too much. But, you know, it is what it is. It's what I've signed up for, apparently."

It doesn't come across like the fame gets to him, perhaps in a way it has done in the past. He seems relaxed, confident, more candid than he was on any 1D press run (e.g., he's allowed to swear now), and like genuinely, despite everything, he's in a good place.

"I have the luxury of being a positive person and seeing the glass as half full. Whenever I reflect on those times of me feeling a little bit emotional, I always do see a light at the end of the tunnel. It's just extending that idea that you know, trying to induce hope."

Louis Tomlinson's album 'Walls' is out 31st January.

#louis tomlinson #wpress #readdork #300120 #death tw #tw death #stunt mention

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louistomlinsoncouk · 4 years

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The last of the One Direction lot to release his debut album, Louis Tomlinson took his time making his first full-length.

A lot has happened for Louis in the past ten years. He was catapulted into stardom as part of One Direction in 2010, left that group in 2015, returned to The X Factor in 2018 as a judge, became a footballer for a bit, and sadly lost his mother in 2016 and sister Felicité in 2019. A lot of those themes make it onto 'Walls', the latter forming the lyrics for the record's lead single 'Two Of Us'.

Likening his experience of finding his feet after 1D's disbandment ("hiatus") to that of a brand new artist, it took Louis a while to get comfortable with the music he was making.

He did dip his toe into the songwriting waters during his time in 1D, if getting a writing credit on 37 of their songs counts as dipping a toe, but felt he needed time rediscovering himself.

There are plenty of references to walls and fences on (aptly titled) 'Walls', which could easily be read as feeling like he needed to break out, but he says that's not necessarily what he means.

And does he feel like he's changed much since finishing with the group five years ago?

Louis Tomlinson's album 'Walls' is out 31st January.

#louis tomlinson #30jan20

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elceeu2morrow · 4 years

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Published: 2:45 pm, January 30, 2020 Words: Abigail Firth.

The last of the One Direction lot to release his debut album, Louis Tomlinson took his time making his first full-length.

Likening his experience of finding his feet after 1D's disbandment ("hiatus") to that of a brand new artist, it took Louis a while to get comfortable with the music he was making.

He did dip his toe into the songwriting waters during his time in 1D, if getting a writing credit on 37 of their songs counts as dipping a toe, but felt he needed time rediscovering himself.

There are plenty of references to walls and fences on (aptly titled) 'Walls', which could easily be read as feeling like he needed to break out, but he says that's not necessarily what he means.

And does he feel like he's changed much since finishing with the group five years ago?

Louis Tomlinson's album 'Walls' is out 31st January.

#dork #lt interview #walls promo #1.30.20 #baby stunt #rip fizzy #rip jay #literally one line with all 3 mentioned #hardworking #glass half full #1d mention #dork 2020

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seasurfacefullofclouds1 · 4 years

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Really wish that Louis (and Zayn) would also sign with Capitol US. The label seems to have done such a good job with Niall and there is a lot of respect and trust between them with both parties speaking fondly about each other. Niall has also really grown as a songwriter - he mentioned that he was lazy back in 1D - both in terms of lyrics and he has a knack for a catchy hook. Would love to see what he and Louis could come up with together as they have always seemed to get along so well.

Louis and Zayn need to leave Sony. Harry wil always be the priority, and Harry is long gone from them— not looking back.

What Capitol has done for Niall is great. Niall has been strategic in keeping good terms with everyone, too. The benefit is that his career has flourished.

#27 march 2020 #niall horan

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dogsliampaynedoesntinstagram · 4 years

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hi, I'd like to read the sun interview with louis, but don't want to click or go to their website. you tagged one of your responses with "Thanks Jen for the transcript", can you please point me to the blog of this person, so that I can read it? thank you

Hi Anon,

@jlf23tumble didn’t post it on her blog, but she did message it to me - so here it is:

AS a cheeky teenager in One Direction, Louis Tomlinson conquered the world – performing in stadiums around the globe and amassing a multimillion-pound fortune along the way.

But while he achieved pop superstardom, few 28-year-olds have suffered more trauma in their relatively short lives than the Doncaster-born singer.

In the four years since the group’s “hiatus”, Louis has faced unimaginable tragedy with the passing of both his sister Felicite aged 18, last year and his mum Johannah in 2016, before choreographing an impressive comeback with a debut solo album, Walls.

His personal journey back to full strength has been nothing short of remarkable — with the singer forced to deal with loss of his younger sibling and his mum in the full glare of publicity.

In an exclusive interview with The Sun, Louis explains: “Initially, when the news broke (about Felicite) last year, I was bitter about the fact that everybody was talking about it.

“Loads of people were speculating online about what might have happened. I was just told that it was the reality of the situation, which it is, and I had to accept it.“So that’s the negative side to it, but a positive side to it and something I wasn’t prepared to feel was the love from my fans.

“I wasn’t ready to feel like that, but I really needed it at the time.

“What was difficult was people speculating about details straight away, discussing online what might have happened when nobody really knew, and talking about my family. But actually when I looked further almost all of it was kind, and I felt loved.”

Just over two years before Felicite’s death from an accidental drug overdose, Louis’ mum Johannah tragically passed away, aged 43, following a long battle with leukaemia. It is a loss that continues to shape his life.

But he tells how, over time, he has come to learn from the experience — and now hopes to support others through his own experiences.

He adds: “I’m still getting asked about my mum now, but I’ve grown to understand it I suppose, and I feel like I can maybe help others.

“When I wrote a song called Two Of Us, I had fans talking to me about a loss they’d had, and they listened to the song and told me I’d helped them in some way. That makes it all worthwhile.“Despite how difficult it can be to deal with these things when people are watching, if I have the possibility to help even one person, that’s massive.”

Today, Louis is calm, reflective and down-to-earth when we meet in a low-key west London pub — despite him having sold more than 50million records globally with One Direction.

Louis talks with a broad Doncaster accent, and laughs as he reflects on his career, which began when he found fame with 1D at the age of 18.

He admits he has “f***ed things up” plenty of times in the past but hopes to have learnt from his mistakes.

His new single, Walls, recounts his experiences of love and loss. It is a clearly autobiographical reflection on his life over the last decade, which has seen him fall in love with his childhood sweetheart, Eleanor Calder, before splitting in 2015, and reconciling two years ago.In the years in between he fathered his first child, a son, with a US stylist but the pair soon separated and his romance with model Eleanor is now so strong marriage rumours have begun to swirl, although he’s quick to insist they are premature.

He explains: “Yeh I saw some of that. It isn’t true, but the luxury with Eleanor is I’ve known her since before our first single What Makes You Beautiful, so she’s felt the whole growth of everything.

“As I’ve got to understand it, she has too, and I have the benefit with her that we’ve seen it for what it is.”

So is marriage a possibility? He adds: “One day, yeah, I’d imagine so. If you’re asking me if I’m going to marry her? Yes, I think so! And more kids, I’d say so.”

His lyrics reflect on the ups and downs of his time in the spotlight, as he explains: “It’s about overcoming some of your problems and learning from your mistakes.

"It’s looking back at a certain time of my life and I’m sure there’s lots of people who can relate to that idea of being alone and waking up, being used to having someone there, then they’re not.“It’s a bit of, “Oh no, I’ve f***ed it up, yeah. But I’ve understood that now and I’ve come back stronger.

“You learn from your mistakes, and the song is about owning them, putting your hands up and saying ‘I know what I did was wrong, but I understand it a bit better now’”.

While in One Direction, Louis earned himself a reputation, alongside some of his other bandmates, as a party boy.

Today he’s learnt to control himself, but jokes that he can “still put a few beers away”. He’s keen to expand his mind now after missing out university when he found fame with One Direction on The X Factor.

He says: “I’ve been very lucky but one experience that I know I would have loved is university, mobbing out and meeting new people.

“Someday it will happen. I’d study psychology. And I’ve just started reading again, I just picked up this Beatles book, so I’m trying to educate myself a bit more.

“I just thought I’d pick up a few books, because I realised that I don’t read at all — and for a songwriter that’s pretty criminal.”

With a huge bank balance and global fame, there’s appears to be little to achieve. For Louis, fame has come first — but now he’s determined to prove himself as an artist in his own right, even if he is never able to achieve the enormous record sales One Direction enjoyed.

The album has been almost four years in the making. He scrapped a huge quantity of material and started over after he realised his first efforts had failed to fulfil his own ambitions.

He adds: “I’ve never been driven by money, but I’ve got a point to prove to myself. I think I was frustrated before, because I was in a few writing sessions where no matter what I said at the start of the session, the concept at the end was always something different. But after a while I decided to scrap all of that, and own this myself.

“I struggled with it for the first couple of years. I was trying to work out exactly what my sound was.

"I didn’t have the luxury every other developing artist has of making mistakes in the background until you land on that one you get excited about and that’s why it took me a second go to get it right.”

However successful his solo efforts may prove to be, alongside those of 1D bandmates Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik, the question of a prospective reunion will always loom large for Louis — who remains in contact with his former bandmates but admits they are very different people.

He adds: “I used to feel more pressure about matching up to anything any of the others do, but the reality is we have different skill sets and different fans.

“Harry’s a star, there’s no two ways about it. I’m much more reserved. If I carry myself in a slightly different way, I might be able to get a different market but it’s all about staying true to you and that’s what we’re all doing.

“I spoke to Liam a couple of days ago but haven’t spoken to Niall in a couple of months. Me and Harry don’t speak quite as much but he sent me a text about the single and I sent him one about his, and there’s a mutual respect there, definitely.

Louis debut solo album, Walls, is released January 31. His single, also titled Walls, is out now.

#There's some really interesting comparisons between this interview and the indepedent #you get a sense of what Louis' talking points were #and also how this interviewer got more out of him #Anonymous

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dreamings-free · 5 years

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Oct 24th 2019

Last April, Louis Tomlinson took to Instagram to announce that he was "turning a page" creatively, declaring that his new focus was to make music for himself and his fans rather than commercial success. Today (Oct. 24), another page is turned, as the 27-year-old singer releases his latest single, "We Made It."

Tomlinson actually wrote the song two years ago, long before publicly sharing his musical awakening. But as the "We Made It" lyrics indicate, the sentiment has been on his mind for a while: "Don't need to say no more / Nothing in the world that I would change it for / Singing something poppy on the same four chords/ Used to worry 'bout it but I don't no more."

While those particular verses nod to Tomlinson's One Direction days, Tomlinson suggests that they also stemmed from his feelings on his first two solo releases, Steve Aoki's 2016 track "Just Hold On" and his 2017 Bebe Rexha team-up "Back To You." "I’m really happy with the collaborations I released, but as I look back, I don’t think those songs sonically were as true to me as they could be," he admits. "I was making music for other people, as opposed to making the music I love."

The rest of "We Made It" -- which features acoustic guitar and a beat drop on the chorus -- encompasses Tomlinson's relationship with on-again girlfriend Ele*nor C*lder as well as with his fans. He announced his debut solo album, titled Walls and due Jan. 31, 2020, the day before dropping the song, giving the song's title even more meaning. "I'm really relieved to finally be here," Tomlinson said in his reveal.

Billboard caught up with Tomlinson ahead of the "We Made It" release to hear about the song's inspiration and what else fans can expect from Walls next year.

You first teased “We Made It” in February of last year. Is there a reason it’s just coming out now, especially since you’ve released "Two of Us" and "Kill My Mind" in between?

There was a group of songs that I wrote maybe about six months ago, including “Kill My Mind” and “Walls,” which is another single and the title of the album. I knew I wanted to get an album out as soon as possible, but I wanted to be really confident with the body of work that I had. I think there wasn’t enough songs on the album that I was really super proud of. Once I’d written “Kill My Mind,” I felt a little bit better about things, which is why I’m now releasing music more frequently.

What inspired you to write “We Made It”?

It kind of has two meanings. The verses are written about the early times of me and my girlfriend, me going to visit her at university and stuff. But the sentiment of the chorus is a message that is something I know I’m going to feel on my first tour dates, for example. That feeling of achievement -- I want it to feel collective, because the fans have been really patient with me. I’ve gone through a bit, and they were super supportive. It was kind of just a message to them, really.

The chorus talks about being underestimated. How does that relate to the message to fans?

I think that’s a general message of “We Made It” when I’m referencing the fans. There’s lyrics in there that relate to me personally -- I’ve spoken about times in the past, especially in those first 18 months of One Direction, I struggled to find my place. It’s kind of just reflecting on those times. Also, like many songs, rooting for the underdog. Trying to capture all of that.

Have you had any other experiences over the past two years that have impacted the way you approach songwriting?

When I grew up, I was quite reliant on radio for discovering new songs. And what was on the radio at the time in England was Oasis, Amy Winehouse, Arctic Monkeys. In more recent years, radio has taken a slightly urban shift, and to a certain degree, for a short period of time, I kind of fell out of love with music. One day I went through YouTube and Spotify and found bands and songs that I really love, started discovering music that way. Artists like Sam Fender, Catfish and the Bottlemen.

It’s funny that you mention Oasis -- the guitar on “We Made It” sounds very Oasis-esque. Were they a big influence on the record?

I mean, of course! Oasis is the best band in the world. They’re definitely [my] favorite band, so naturally their influence is woven in there.

I love everything about the ‘90s. I certainly love the fucking clothes as well, I wear a lot of that kind of stuff. I was born in ‘91, I just really identify with it. Bands like Oasis, they were so big growing up where I was -- they have a real effect on me.

The songs you’ve released so far each have a slightly different feel to them. Is there one that feels the most like you lyrically and/or musically?

My favorite lyric is a song that isn’t out yet called “Walls.” That’s a lyric I’m really proud of, it kind of showcases me as a lyricist. In terms of sound, I just absolutely fucking love “Kill My Mind.” I’m really proud of being able to release something like that. It feels really good to perform it.

What other topics and sounds do you explore on the album?

There’s a little bit more emotional stuff. In general, I’m just wearing my heart on my sleeve, and being honest, reflecting on a breakup. As a lyricist, I always try to be as honest as possible. Once fans have heard the album, they will see a slightly different side of me.

I’m always striving for the most organic, live, real sounds as possible. Sometimes that feels like you’re fighting against the tides, because radio leans quite urban, especially mainstream radio, in the U.K. as well. We worked on a lot of different mixes to ["We Made It"]. It started out a little bit more electronic, especially in the chorus and the drop. So we just put it more in line with the album -- I wanted to make it feel a little bit more live and authentic.

You can feel a pop-punk influence in “Miss You” and a little bit in “Kill My Mind." How much has that type of music impacted the creation of the album?

When I was about 14 I bought a live Green Day DVD, and I was pretty amazed. It kind of gave me the bug. I was singing Green Day songs when I first started, so naturally my voice was molded to that kind of sound and especially that kind of chorus. It’s always something that I’m conscious of. The most important thing for me is that I don’t have too many programmed sounds on the record. I want to be able to feel the guitars and feel the atmosphere of the track.

How do you feel you’ve grown as an artist over the past few years?

It’s just been a massive learning process. The experience that I had in One Direction was absolutely fucking incredible. But it’s a very different kind of experience. For the music industry, that’s not a real-life example. There were conversations before that I never had to get involved with before when I was in the band -- I’ve had to think on my feet and learn on the job. It’s all part of making you a better person, better artist, better businessman, all that. I feel like I’ve learned a lot.

It sounds like this year has been formative for you, as far as being confident that what you’re making is what you should be making.

Definitely. My biggest goal is to get out on the road as soon as possible -- I’ve got tour dates penciled in. I’m just looking towards that now. I miss it.

#louis #we made it #billboard #article #interview #24.10.19 #solo!louis #wmi press #*edited #but only that strike-through lol #queue

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xbiwilhemina-blog · 5 years

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Music Rolling Stone

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love-ya-tommo-row · 5 years

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I fell in luv with Liam first because I was going through 1D stuff and trying to understand Louis’ role as “leader” of the band and LiLo as a creative axis is central to that (and then I was exposed to the raw adorable energies that are Liam and luv followed after ❤️)

And anyways part of what I was vaguing about last night is this UNIMAGINABLY SHADY QUOTE from Savan Kotecha I found while looking for information about how the songwriting process really worked in 1D:

“I think by album three, they — not all of them, but there was one or two, one especially — that was bitter about that fact [that they were a boy band]. And this particular one — he was not the talented one, he wasn’t the singer, he wasn’t the star… he started having something against me and [the other writers] and against that process.”

“Maybe we could have been more inviting on the creative process on album two, and not been so authoritative… Like, I came from ‘these are kids from a show and I’ll tell you guys what to do,’ because in the beginning that’s what I had to do. For me it was then hard to see them in any other way, and they needed people to see them in a different way… I was wrong to think that way, because some of them have particularly grown into really knowing what they’re doing.”

(I know this quote is 2 years old and everyone has already heard it but let a Johnny Come Lately get lost in the feels for a sec)

Like 1st of all, 2013 was definitely the year it “stopped being fun” for the boys and a lot of shit changed, but second of all the “one or two” were definitely Liam and Louis and the “one in particular” is definitely Louis, and what a shady fucking description of that change!!

I don’t think Louis was resentful of being in a band- I’m convinced he and Liam were the most strongly identified with the band and the most committed to it as a creative project. But they weren’t going to let themselves be treated as disposable or interchangeable products, they wanted music that would be remembered as theirs, which was a good decision on their parts. Like, Lennon Stella’s description of Liam’s advice to her being “At the end of the day, you’re the one who goes out and performs, you’re in the driver’s seat” gives me big feels when I think about baby Liam scrapping his way to that point.

(Also I’m still thirsty for information about how 1D’s songwriting process evolved and worked, if ur reading this and kno of good recommendations pls pass them along!!)

#one direction #louis tomlinson #liam payne

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