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lilachavoc · 1 year

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The Cultural Reset: Avril Lavigne

Introduction

These days, if you find yourself wearing baggy jeans or enjoying Olivia Rodrigo’s music, it can be largely attributed to the 2000s phenomenon of Avril Lavigne. With the release of her debut Let Go (2002), Avril Lavigne asserted a sense of nonconformity and rebelliousness in both her musical output and persona early on. At just 17, she contributed writing credits to every track in her debut and performed with her own self-taught guitar skills. From her self-written songs to her tabloid interviews, Lavigne was never afraid to speak her truth as it flowed from her consciousness. In an era largely ruled by pop stars such as Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, Lavigne yielded a new form of what a pop star could be. She publicly criticized big labels for manufacturing artificial pop stars and called out the pop stars themselves for conforming to a sellable and flat image (Willman, 2002). Lavigne was notable for attending interviews in her casual tomboy attire and minimal styling. Like many artists of the era, her music was most aligned to pop but often incorporated influences from a variety of predecessors in the rock scene. Though her status as a “punk” musician is a discourse of its own, Lavigne is notable for ditching labels and embracing her own style. Her debut album alone is reminiscent of Blink 182’s catchy guitar instrumentals, Alanis Morissette’s husky voice, and Shania Twain’s critical but independent lyrics (Bradley, 2018). Thematically, Lavigne’s earlier music concentrated on emotional lyrics showcasing independence, unspoken female issues, and the struggles associated with guys and romance (CNN, 2002). These characteristics altogether made her appealing to a generation of teenagers, who would be abandoning bubblegum pop consumerism for the darker and edgier market of pop-punk artists. Avril Lavigne is the most influential rock star of the 2000s because her debut established a new standard in rock music that is still referenced today.

Historical Discussion

The year is 2002, the music industry saw a shift from pop princess to the pop-punk princess archetype. Blonde hair streaks, low-rise jeans, and bubblegum pop were some of the prominent symbols upholstered by pop rivals Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera in the early 2000s. Spears and Aguilera catered to a new generation of teen audiences who coveted their manufactured choreographies, squeaky voices, and weekly tabloid gossip. That was until the first “anti-Britney” came around with her plain tank top and Dickies, un-styled brown hair, and borderline raspy voice, spreading as much debate as interest in her aesthetic of “punk” authenticity and rebellion (Willman, 2002). What made Lavigne’s emergence more threatening to reigning pop stars was that she was not a full-blown rock star nor was she a hyper-feminine pop star, she was just a vaguely edgy teenage girl. The conversations surrounding her name were not about her sex appeal or relationship status, but instead about how she appeared to behold a distinct, careless attitude. The Rolling Stone dubbed, “Avril Lavigne: Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong,” for an article that captures how the newcomer humbly received her newfound fame in the same manner a high schooler would be excited for spring break (Eliscu, 2003). While other pop stars were meticulously crafted from head to toe, Lavigne blurred the line between intentional and unintentional. She did not have to try hard to make an impression, making her all more of a force not to be reckoned with. What awed the music industry the most was how an artist did not have to sexualize herself to top the charts but could make headlines by just wearing a loose necktie and singing her personal thoughts. Her instruments were not particularly loud nor was her voice always aiming for high notes, everything from her artistic execution to her laid-back mannerisms challenged the teen idol industry with an oxymoron of authenticity (Pepper, 2019).

To many teenagers of the time, Avril Lavigne was a gateway figure into heavier rock music genres and associated fashions, while others claimed her as the heaviest artist in their scope of music listening (Kahn, 2022). Regardless, her music and style stood as a symbol of casualness, vulnerability, and “not trying too hard,” a concept that is most apparent in her debut “Complicated” (Pepper, 2019). Lavigne’s old-school, one-of-the-boys outward aesthetic made her appealing and seem attainable to both girls and boys compared to Spears who was more unapproachable and glamorized (Willman, 2002). Lavigne grew up in a small town in Ontario, Canada, and got her start in music singing in church choirs and country fairs (Ali, 2002). Her frugal background would factor into the theme of her debut album Let Go, which featured songs such as “Mobile” and “My World” that narrated her transition from being a small-town girl to a small-town girl in Hollywood. What most differentiated her from other teen idols of the era is how she did not try to appear as a woman nor as a girl, but simply was a teenager who felt “like a kid” according to Lavigne (Eliscu, 2003).

Critics interpreted Lavigne to be an industry attempt at manufacturing a marketable punk artist, often naming her a punk “poseur” (Pepper, 2019). After all, Lavigne’s music did not have any political messages and she was managed and produced by a label, even noting that she felt pressured to be more pop in her sound in order to reach stardom (Eliscu, 2003). Simultaneously, she expressed feeling content with the final outcome of the album despite the songs being too pop for her liking (CNN, 2002). When she was just scouted, Lavigne herself admitted she was not well-versed in her rock predecessors, crediting her industry mentors for introducing her to bands like Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins with CDs (Eliscu, 2003). Although she did not grow up listening to the rock bands she looked up to, like System of a Down and Green Day, she found rock music to be “where my heart is” (CNN, 2002). Lavigne did not claim to be rock, punk, or any of that sort, but she did claim that she was “constantly changing,” following up with “that’s me” (CNN, 2002). Arguably, it did not matter whether Lavigne was punk or not because her image was just meant to be conveyed as that of a typical teenager expressing their feelings through the lens of a girl experiencing love and misery (CNN, 2002). Moreover, she can be most closely perceived as a teenager who was developing their persona and interests in real-time—just like any other teenager her age (CNN, 2002). She was not selling an image of womanhood nor a glorified punk aesthetic but that of a teenager who was discovering who they are like any other teenager—just in the spotlight. Her persona can be compared to that of Bruce Springsteen's image as a frugal middle-class man singing about class struggles, except Lavigne was not playing a role nor did she have a social motivation behind her persona—that was who she really was at the time. Lavigne’s specialization was not rock, wannabe masculinity, or even rebellion, it was selfhood. Lavigne was able to uniquely verbalize her thoughts into songs and personify her identity into her style, making every teenager want to be like her.

Musical Analysis

“Sk8er Boi” is the second single from Avril Lavigne’s 2002 debut, Let Go, and arguably is the most pop-punk track of the album. The song starts with a guitar riff and then transitions into a first-person narration, dictating about a preppy girl who regrets shallowly rejecting a skater boy when he becomes a rock star. The narration is accompanied by a guitar playing in a staccato rhythm as well as bass and drums. At 0:48, the first chorus features an upbeat but distorted guitar and drum-heavy riff with Lavigne’s vocals leading. At 1:04, after the chorus, Lavigne continues to narrate the plot behind the song. After the second chorus at 1:58, a guitar solo emerges featuring sound distortions, slides, bends, and some vibrato. Unlike the rest of the song, the bridge at 2:12 shifts from the energetic melody into a mellow melody that builds up the intensity with a crisp electric guitar. At 2:37, the chorus is reiterated with different lyrics and in a softer vocal execution to precede the revelation about how the narrator is now the one dating the same skater boy. This portion of the song vastly contrasts the rest of the song and manages to seamlessly set a more contemplative tone without sounding abrupt. Overall, the instruments, especially the guitar, create emotional depth as much as the edge Lavigne is known for. The storytelling layout of this song establishes Lavigne’s signature straight-up but memorable style. “Sk8er Boi” boasts all the qualities future pop-punk artists would mimic in their artistry: narrative lyrics, nostalgic bridges, and contagious guitar riffs dominating songs.

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Conclusion

Although her music branched out into vastly different directions upon reaching womanhood, it does not discredit her persona as a pop-punk pioneer because it was who she was at the time and it would have been more superficial if she had not evolved. Perhaps Lavigne was not a true pop-punk artist during her pinnacle, however, it is evident that she coined the concept of a mainstream pop-punk princess that would be numerously duplicated by her industry descendants. This label, in comparison to punk, embodies the concept of not wanting to grow up, openly expressing emotions, and embracing the idea of not fitting in or rejecting normalcy. She did not consider herself pop-punk or try to be, which is what made her pop-punk in the first place. In retrospect, Lavigne’s status as a sort of symbolic pop-punk queen raised her to the level of a timeless cultural icon, in return sprouting a generation of pop-punk, alternative rock, and “emo” bands that embody these labels in real time.

Annotated Bibliography

Ali, Lorraine, Christopher Bedford, Ellis Henican, Josh Hammer, Mark Davis, and Caroline Glick. 2002. “Anarchy On Mtv? Tough Gals, Rejoice.” Newsweek, December 29, 2002. https://www.newsweek.com/anarchy-mtv-tough-gals-rejoice-141321.

Provides real time insight on the media’s view of Avril Lavigne in 2002 upon her rise.

ALLMUSIC. n.d. “Avril Lavigne.” ALLMUSIC. Accessed March 28, 2023. https://www.allmusic.com/artist/avril-lavigne-mn0000762885/biography.

Basic biography with factual information about Avril Lavigne.

Bradley, Jonathan. 2018. “Avril Lavigne's Fascinating Evolution & Non-Linear Maturation: Career Retrospective | Billboard – Billboard.” Billboard, October 19, 2018. https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/avril-lavigne-career-retrospective-8480753/.

Provides a thorough analysis of Avril Lavigne’s entire career and mainstream impact.

Cannilla, Kayden. 2022. “The legacy of Avril Lavigne – The Stute.” The Stute (Hoboken), April 29, 2022. https://thestute.com/2022/04/29/the-legacy-of-avril-lavigne/.

Further support on Avril’s impact in the entire mainstream music industry.

CNN. 2002. “Avril Lavigne: Teen rocker of 2002 - Dec. 27, 2002.” CNN, December 27, 2002. http://www.cnn.com/2002/SHOWBIZ/Music/12/20/mroom.lavigne/.

Article dictating Avril Lavigne’s real-time impact in the year of 2002.

Discogs. 2023. “Avril Lavigne – Sk8er Boi (2002, CD).” Discogs. https://www.discogs.com/release/2487770-Avril-Lavigne-Sk8er-Boi.

Image of Avril Lavigne in her debut era.

Eliscu, Jenny. 2003. “Avril Lavigne: Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong.” Rolling Stone, March 30, 2003. https://web.archive.org/web/20220629102223/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/avril-lavigne-little-miss-cant-be-wrong-180369/.

Can be used to describe how she was a huge phenomenon at the time and quickly dominated the charts and award show nominations.

Getty Images. 2002. “Avril Lavigne In Concert.” Getty Images. https://www.gettyimages.ae/detail/news-photo/avril-lavigne-performs-at-irving-plaza-in-new-york-city-7-news-photo/2291171?adppopup=true.

Image of Avril Lavigne’s stage charisma.

Getty Images. 2002. “Avril Lavigne poses with her Award for Best New Artist at the MTV Video Music Awards.” Getty Images. https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/avril-lavigne-poses-with-her-award-for-best-new-artist-at-news-photo/51679754?adppopup=true.

Image of Avril Lavigne to show her personality in public.

Irvin, Jack. 2022. “Avril Lavigne Recalls Making 2002's Let Go as a Teenager.” People, May 31, 2022. https://people.com/music/avril-lavigne-recalls-making-let-go-as-teenager-didnt-know-what-hollywood-was/.

Includes quotes and real interview pieces that can be used to support my points about her persona, such as her musical influences and backstory.

Kahn, Jamie. 2022. “How Avril Lavigne shaped a generation.” Far Out Magazine, March 24, 2022. https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/how-avril-lavigne-shaped-a-generation/.

A magazine article highlighting Avril’s long term impact in pop culture and its consumers.

Lavigne, Avril. 2002. “Mobile.” Spotify. https://open.spotify.com/track/3D3B7vahQasg8rdAYrEbNT?si=717e3268244d44b3.

Used as an audio file to exemplify the sound of “Mobile,” which was mentioned.

Lavigne, Avril. 2010. “Avril Lavigne - Sk8er Boi (Official Video).” YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIy3n2b7V9k.

A music video for embedded media requirement.

Pepper, Mark D. 2019. “Revisiting Avril Lavigne: Intersections of Subculture, Gender, Youth, and Authenticity.” The Journal of Popular Culture 52, no. 2 (April): 416-435. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jpcu.12782.

A scholarly journal article that studies in depth the social impact of Avril’s music. Will likely use to brief over her influence on teenagers of the generation.

Willman, Chris. 2002. “Avril Lavigne The Anti-Britney | EW.com.” Entertainment Weekly, November 1, 2002. https://ew.com/article/2002/11/01/avril-lavigne-anti-britney/.

Gives insight on how she was compared and contrasted to other celebrities and trends of the time.

#AVRIL LAVIGNE #Youtube

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sunshinereddie · 2 years

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Head Over Feet by Alanis Morissette was suggested as a reddie song once upon a time and it has lived in my head rent free ever sense

AAAHHH I LOVE THAT SONG!!!!!! i used to jam out to this song when i was like,, 13,,, but YESS I CAN DEFINITELY SEE THIS AS A REDDIE SONG!!!!! "your love is thick and it swallowed me whole, you're so much braver than i gave you credit for" !!!!! AAAHHHH

#sunshinereddie asks

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ofviolentdeath · 1 year

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♪ peri and queenie

opening credits: Hotel California by the Eagles waking up: Where We Gonna Go From Here by Mat Kearney first day at school: Records by Weezer feat. Noga Erez falling in love: Don't Deserve You by Plumb Fight song: Torn by Natalie Imbruglia breaking up: Pieces by Sum 41 life’s ok: Beautiful Mess by Diamond Rio getting back together: Rookie of the Year by Funeral For A Friend wedding: Blame It On the Girls by Mika birth of child: Hand in my Pocket by Alanis Morissette final battle: R.I.P. by Get Scared death scene: Insomnia by Ships Have Sailed funeral song: Scream by Avenged Sevenfold end credits: Remembering Sunday by All Time Low

#linesofmagic #peri:answers #peri:queenie #crack playlists meme xD #okay but this one was SOLID until getting back together

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natalieandliam · 1 year

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Las mujeres de la industria musical de latinoamérica

Liam:

¡Hola! Este es nuestro segundo post y nosotros hablamos sobre las mujeres de la industria de la música Latinoamericana. Las mujeres no están representadas igualmente en comparación con los hombres. Según un reporte de Las Naciones Unidas, las mujeres solamente son 30% de la industria hoy, pero en el pasado esté porcentaje era más bajo. En mi post, yo destaco las mujeres que encontraron éxito en los años después de Selena.

En el primer post, nosotros centramos una gran parte de la historia y la música de Selena, y su impacto en la industria, especialmente porque ella era una mujer. Ella era como un huracán en el mundo musical y su influencia en otras artistas es más clara. Jennifer Lopez que es una artista más reconocible todo el mundo ha sido influida por Selena. En 1997, le fue ofrecido el papel de Selena en la película biografía de su vida. Después de la película, J-Lo subía en fama y su álbum primero en inglés y en español.

Jennifer Lopez (o JLo) es una cantante puertorriqueña-estadounidense más celebrada de los 90s y todavía es popular hoy.

En la música de J-Lo, hay influencias claras de música latina y pop americano ambas. Por ejemplo, en la canción “Let 's Get Loud” hay un ritmo similar a los de salsa, y muchas frases improvisadas en español, pero las letras son en inglés.

Otra artista latinoamericana más famosa es Shakira. Hoy, cuando nosotros pensamos Shakira, recordamos “Hips Don’t Lie” o “Waka Waka” pero la música vieja no sueña como estas canciones pop americano. Su álbum Pies Descalzos fue lanzado en 1995, y Shakira fue llamada Alanis Morissette de la música latina. La producción del álbum no es la típica de Shakira hoy, pero me gusta. Tiene muchas canciones acústicas con guitarra y es más personal en comparación a “Waka Waka” o otras canciones populares de Shakira.

Es la cubierta del primer álbum de Shakira que incluye las canciones “Estoy Aquí” y “Un Poco de Amor”

Aunque muchas mujeres son artistas latinoamericanas populares, la representación de las mujeres en producción no es igual con los hombres. Es un problema en la industria de Los Estados Unidos también, pero es más difícil para las mujeres latinoamericanas que una mujer blanca. Solamente 2% de los productores de música latina son mujeres. Y por las mujeres que producen música, ellas no son tratadas con respeto. Beatriz Luengo, un productora latina, dice que en muchas canciones de los hombres, las mujeres son objetos, y Luengo espera que ella puede cambiar estas letras. “I never put my credits on a song where the woman is portrayed as belonging to someone” (Billboard Staff). Ella dijo cuando Billboard entrevistaba para un artículo sobre la representación de las productoras hispanohablantes.

Beatriz Luengo es una productora que está trabajando para emplear más mujeres en la producción de la música.

No es posible reconocer toda la sexisma y las contribuciones de las mujeres en un post. En el futuro, nosotros discutiremos sobre artistas y productoras porque sus cuentas son importantes.

¡Esperamos que disfrutes los segundos posts!

Referencias visuales:

www.billboard.com/music/latin/latina-female-producers-songwriters-9546283/

www.vogue.fr/fashion/article/jennifer-lopezs-top-5-vintage-fashion-moments-from-the-1990s-and-2000s

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pies_Descalzos

Referencias para la información:

news.un.org/es/story/2019/02/1450871

womenshistory.si.edu/spotlight/latin-music-legends-stamps/selena#:~:text=Sometimes%20called%20the%20%22Queen%20of,artist%20to%20win%20a%20Grammy.

www.billboard.com/music/latin/latina-female-producers-songwriters-9546283/

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mainskr · 2 years

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Matco jump starters

She’s not a volcanic belter like Whitney or Mariah or Aretha, but her falsetto can float off into the stratosphere, into deep space, and her lower register, those low notes can drill down into the core of the earth without disturbing the ground beneath her feet. If you eliminate all context, if you know absolutely nothing about her, and her collaborators, and her situation-if she’s just a random girl on the cover with a random blurry guy in the background on the cover-then this is a wonderful, mid-’90s R&B debut that establishes Aaliyah as a teenaged superstar with a smoky and sinuous voice and a truly staggering charisma-to-force ratio. I don’t know if there’s a single album in pop-music history more fundamentally cursed than Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number. I haven’t the slightest idea what to do with this record. What do we do with this record? I’m asking. It’s called Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number. Kelly’s chapter in Aaliyah’s life would be denying Aaliyah another title she so greatly deserved: ‘survivor.’”Īaliyah’s first album, largely written and produced by R. Kelly with any credit for her career, despite him being one of the main reasons we learned about Aaliyah in the first place.” But the conclusion Kathy ultimately comes to is “disregarding R. Kathy writes, “I also didn’t want to dignify R. She didn’t want to disrespect Aaliyah’s legacy. Kathy’s book starts with a brief chapter in which she says that when she started writing her book she intended to more or less write R. That is according to a new biography called Baby Girl: Better Known As Aaliyah, written by Kathy Iandoli. As Aaliyah would explain to Vibe a few years later, “I sang for him, and he liked my sound.” Kelly’s working on his first album, Barry brings his fame-hungry, superstar-in-the-making 12-year-old niece, Aaliyah, to the studio to meet R. Kelly’s on his way to becoming a superstar. So Barry’s in Chicago producing a play, and he stumbles across a young, fame-hungry, high-school-dropout busker named Robert Sylvester Kelly. He’s an artist manager, he produces theater, he married-and divorced, quite acrimoniously-Motown icon Gladys Knight. So yeah, after Star Search, Aaliyah’s uncle, her maternal uncle Barry Hankerson, at this point is a somewhat enigmatic show-business big shot. Every major celebrity’s got their own “Michael Jordan got cut from his high school varsity team” moment. Also note that Aaliyah still remembers getting three and three-quarters stars on Star Search. It’s worth noting that Craig Kilborn, historically, is not often the voice of reason, or restraint. I just wanted you to hear her voice, unadorned. She acts embarrassed, she says, Yeah, I was on Star Search when I was 10, I sang “My Funny Valentine.” And Craig plays a little clip of Chet Baker’s version of “My Funny Valentine,” and then he asks Aaliyah a really excellent question.Īny question that gets her to sing is an excellent question. She tells Craig that her name means “The highest, most exalted one-the best.” Craig brings up Star Search. She’s on Craig Kilborn’s show in 2000 to promote Romeo Must Die. Here is Aaliyah, recounting her Star Search experience, to Late Night Host You Forgot About Craig Kilborn. Did Pitbull lose to Nas on Star Search? Or when you won did Ed McMahon lead you backstage and push you into an abyss? Billy Porter won, I guess. Alanis Morissette, Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, Usher, Pitbull. Beyoncé, Destiny’s Child, Girls Tyme quite infamously lost on Star Search. Has anyone of consequence ever won Star Search? Aaliyah lost on Star Search. At 10 years old she went on Star Search and lost. At 6 years old she had one line in a school production of Annie-the line was “You’re gonna get the paddle.” She starred in 42nd Street, she starred in Hello, Dolly!, she sang at weddings and parties, she sang a lot of Whitney Houston songs, et cetera. Her family moved to Detroit when she was 5. Aaliyah Dana Haughton was born in Brooklyn, in Bed-Stuy, in 1979.

#Matco jump starters

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lunapaper · 2 years

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Album Review: 'Surrender' - Maggie Rogers

Since the release of her 2019 debut album, Heard it in a Past Life, Maggie Rogers has been trying to find herself.

She moved to Maine, cut off all her hair, cut herself off from the rest of the world and completed her master’s degree in religion and public life at Harvard Divinity School. Her performance at Coachella this past April was actually part of her post-graduate coursework.

‘If I wanted to now, I could go be a professor, or I could work in a bookshop,’ the Maryland-born singer recently told the BBC. ‘And knowing that this other life exists makes me choose music actively, every time. It's not just something I got swept up into, like, 'I went viral and here I am.’

She might be feeling more spiritually fulfilled, but on her latest album, Surrender (also the name of her master’s thesis), Rogers is still creatively in a state of flux.

Like Heard it in a Past Life, the album strips Rogers of her quirks in favour of bland pop cliches while at the same time overcompensates in strange ways.

Everything is bigger on Surrender – the production, the emotions, the hooks, the vocals. At times, Rogers tries to ape the raspy, yodel-like wail of 90s icons like Alanis Morissette and The Cranberries’ Dolores O’Riordan. The maximalism can work to its advantage on tracks like ‘Want Want’ with its punky burst of electro pop and first single ‘That Where I Am,’ which has an eerily similar backbeat to Rihanna’s ‘Umbrella.’

But bigger doesn’t always mean better, of course. What might feel liberating and euphoric at first has you feeling drained by the seventh or eighth track. Rogers and co-producer Kid Harpoon just heap on the synths and reverb and drums, and turn it all the way up to 11. Surrender really is the perfect title for this record, because you really have no choice but to surrender to these waves upon waves of sound that just pummel you into submission. I made a big mistake listening to this with earbuds on; I had to keep turning it down because it was giving me a headache. It’s only when we get to the gentle ‘Begging for Rain’ that we get any sort of respite, Rogers’ voice caressing a restless sprawl of reverb and drums.

For songs that are so big and bold in nature, they’re pretty forgettable (bar ‘Want Want’ and ‘That’s Where I Am’). 90s nostalgia is so hot right now, yet Rogers and Harpoon take from the blandest parts of that decade – adult contemporary rock, twee coffeehouse jams. ‘Symphony,’ in particular, is just a dull rehash of the Smashing Pumpkins’ ‘1979,’ stripped of its bleak and infinite sadness.

References to head and the odd ‘fuck’ thrown in also come off as rather gratuitous, while the mention of Rogers’ friend masturbating to a picture of Robert Pattinson staring at the wall is something that I didn’t really need to know. If one of my so-called friends put something like that in a song, I’d have to disown her. ‘It’s a different kind of world,’ she reflects on the ghostly final track. Yeah, no shit. Even that track has to explode into a monstrous roar of sound.

And dear God, who the fuck mixed the vocals on this record? (Jeremy Hatcher was the vocal programmer, apparently, according to the Genius credits). Why does Rogers feel the need to over-sing so much? When did she decide to start taking vocal cues from Jessie J and Rachel from Glee?

‘Horses’ is probably the most egregious example of her vocal bombast, drowning out what’s supposed to be a wistful, Tracey Chapman-style ode to heartbreak. The sound mixing is so godawful on this record, it’s like the vocals and instruments are constantly at war with each other. Rogers’ voice sounds like it could give out at any moment, she belts so damn hard. I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like to perform songs off this night after night. She doesn’t have a bad voice, but she’s no Mariah, either; it’s just not built for that.

On Surrender, Rogers sought to capture the transcendent feeling of a festival gig, having ‘massive, mouth-watering fantasies of a tent at Glastonbury, where someone was playing really heavy drums, and I could feel the bass in my collarbones and someone spilled a beer on my shoes’ in the wake of lockdown anxiety.

Like a festival gig, it can feel joyful and exhilarating for the first few songs. But the novelty wears off the longer it drags on. Soon, you’re feeling exhausted, stifled by the heat and reeking of beer and sweat. And the couple beside won’t stop dry-humping one another. It’s not nearly as fun as you thought it’d be…

The image of a loud, sweaty and defiant Rogers is a thrilling one, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired. Moments of raw emotion are let down by overwrought and generic production choices, making them feel more like melodrama. It’s like Surrender is trying to make up for the oddly lacklustre effort of Heard it in a Past Life, swinging way too far in the other direction. There’s just no in-between, which is a shame since Rogers has shown that she’s capable of producing glossy pop bangers like ‘Give a Little,’ ‘Say It’ and ‘The Knife.’

‘All I ever wanted is to make something fucking last,’ Rogers admits on the ‘Anywhere with You.’ Hopefully she one day does...

- Bianca B.

#music #maggie rogers #surrender #new #reviews #albums #Bianca B

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musicwasbetter · 2 years

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🎸NEW EPISODE🎸 The Music Was Better crew took a field trip to the Alanis Morissette concert and now they’re here to talk about it. The show starts off with “You Oughta Know”, that song that everyone thinks they know who it’s about. Well, guess what? You don’t and we’re sick of hearing about it! Why would you even want this song to be about you anyway? Hey, it’s me, the abusive dickbag from. Cool, I guess? The comment section is loaded with jagged little pills, including a dad who used this song to teach his son a lesson about how to treat women. That’s pretty nice. The only song my parents ever played for me was “Helter Skelter”. They said it was about some kind of prophecy their friend Charlie told them about? I don’t know, I wasn’t really paying much attention. We follow up that angry song with a happier one, “Head Over Feet”. Not much facts out there about this one, but the song is a banger. Nobody wants to talk about happy songs anymore. The YouTube comments are filled with the exact kind of people you’d think would be in there. Mostly men who are not okay. Grab a glass of water and swallow down this jagged little pill of an episode. To subscribe, you can find us on Apple, Google, Spotify, or whatever podcast app you use by searching “Music Was Better”. You can also head to https://linktr.ee/musicwasbetter for all of our links. Or paste http://feeds.feedburner.com/MusicWasBetter into the “add feed manually” option on your podcast app. Follow us on all forms of social media at @musicwasbetter Credit to SongFacts and Wikipedia for research. #alanismorissette #jaggedlittlepill #musicwasbetter #podcast https://www.instagram.com/p/CgffvqBuj58/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#alanismorissette #jaggedlittlepill #musicwasbetter #podcast

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scamandergenes · 4 years

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Isn’t it ironic?

Don’t you think?

It’s like rain on your wedding day

It’s a free ride when you’ve already paid

It’s the good advice that you just didn’t take

And who would’ve thought?

It figures.

#song credit: alanis morissette #hprp #hp rp #hprp community #hp rp community #my rp #lavender #lavender rp #lavender brown #lavender brown rp #lightning era #lightning era rp #golden trio era #golden trio era rp #second wizarding war #werewolf #werewolf lavender #werewolf lavender brown #scamandergenes

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theboysfanfic · 3 years

Text

Fineanddandy's 1K Bae/Smutcation Challenge | Baecation | Antony Starr

Baecation: fluffy and sweet, fluffy smut whatever you like

Smutcation: heavy smut driven, wildin the fuck out you know the vibes

Quoted from her Challenge post by @fineanddandy.

Antony Starr x Reader

Rating/ Warnings: ☑☑☑ = nsfw 18+ Sex, smutty and fluffy.

Notes: This is in celebration of @fineanddandy's 1000 followers milestone. So excited to participate and excited for you! In her challenge post she tells us we can write this with anyone we want it to be so I think this challenge is the perfect canvas for some of my Antony Starr thoughts. @kayemagistro's GIF below is the perfect opening to this, as I imagined the bar they're at in the first scene is almost exactly like this one. My GIFS are not great but I needed them. Also, I’m trying get over my fear of writing smutty so if this sucks I apologise, it is what it is.

Words: 5,035

Credits: Gif 1 by @kayemagistro : X. Gif 2 by @gargoyles42 : X. Large Comic Con GIFS by me : X | X | X | X | X . Dividers by @FIREFLY-GRAPHICS : X.

Tags: @fineanddandy, @kayemagistro, @madhatter2727

He throws his head back with a wide open mouthed laugh. Teeth gleaming, eyes crinkling. Adam's apple popping from his perfect slender neck.

''Deep love! Deep love!'' he chants as Karen and Kripke are pissed and making out with with the mural of the Deep.

Antony is laughing his dirty laugh again, he manages to compose himself just a bit in time to see you with your arms on the table cradling your cocktail and watching from afar.

''Y/N, you not joining them for Deep love?'' he smirks.

''Nah, I'm good.'' you hesitate but your inebriation is paying off. ''Deep is cute and all buuut...narcissistic megalomaniac creep is my thing.''

You raise your eyebrows a few millimetres, just enough to be perceptible. Looking him in the eye and taking a sip, you just bout spit out your drink over the table. You feel fuzzy and involuntarily sway in your seat, letting your face flush. Antony looks at you, is that amusement or surprise?

He abruptly leans over the table arms outstretched puts his hands on either side of your glass smiling, then pulls away just as quickly as if he touched something scalding hot and ruffles his hair with a grin looking downwards and then back at your face. You feel butterflies and your face is heating up. He looks so cute at you, you could melt.

Dominique pulls you from your seat ''Oh, Lets go dance!''

Antony's eyes follow you as you leave for the dancefloor under the canopied roof.

'It's so much easier, when sea foam green is in fashion. Are you in?'

You snake your hips side to side, satin clinging then sliding from your hips. Arms raised elegantly above your head, you're letting go of fistfuls of hair gripped at the height of your sultry abandon. Strands falling over your face, framing your features in the cascading illuminating lights of the dancefloor.

The last chords play and you make your way back to the table. She leans in to you and says.

'You should talk to him.'

'Who?'

She laughs, turns back to the table and continues walking.

Antony is watching you walk back to the table.

''You girls had fun?'' he asks.

You both smile at each other, then him. Kripke is sat by Toni now eyeing you.

''That was fun! Wish we could get a bunch more requests in but it's late for tonight, we all have a flight tomorrow!''

Kripke cuts in ''You're flyin' Homelander though?'' He's grinning.

Toni slaps him on the shoulder.

''What?!''

Toni and Kripke exchange glances but you don't stick around to find out what else they've been talking about.

''I'll be back in a bit.''

A tap on your shoulder breaks your comfort. Kripke is looking at you with concern.

''Oh shit, I'm embarrassed enough already. You gonna tell me off about workplace flirting?''

''Nah, Just encouraging you.'' He sits down on the steps to the entrance of the bar with you.

You look at him blankly.

''I'm not making fun.'' He laughs. 'Much.''

''Of course not, its not like you.''

''Between you and me, the way he's been talking about you for months...go talk to him. Don't be mad at him be mad at me. He wasn't blabbing to me, its not like that.''

You both walk back but detour to the bar and buy one last round of drinks. Returning to the table, drinks balanced, Antony stands quickly to help you with them all. He sits down across from you again.

''This is our last one guys.'' you call out.

Antony's chin subtly perks up, his mouth resting. Looks at you and says, ''Is this yours?''

''It's mine, for all of us, to celebrate going away together.''

''Good choice.'' He smiles to Interstate Love Song. He looks in your eye and chews on his bottom lip with this effortless sexy eye.

Chace walks past to get into the table with everyone, puts a hand on your shoulder and faux whispers so everyone can hear him.

''Just kiss him already. No one's making out with his poster.''

Scooping up both yours and his drinks Antony says. ''Hey, come over here.''

You follow him and he takes you to the side of the dancefloor. Your elbows leaning over the rail he looks over at you. His eyes are smiling and he's shaking his head in disbelief. He looks embarrassed.

''So umm, I'm sorry. It wasn't, like..'' he laughs nervously and waves his hands. The shape of his mouth is like something you didn't know you would notice. He hands you your drink.

''It's OK.'' You calmly observe.

''No um,'' a subtle smile touches his lips, his eyebrow rises just a little bit, looking back at you. He's really stressing out.

''I know you're friends, don't worry about it. I was the one that said it.''

''So do you like me or Homelander ? I don't think I'm overly narcissistic.''

''Homelander'' you tease and burst out laughing beckoning him to dance.

It's your first night in NZ . You've got your cabins shared out between the cast. You're sharing with Karen and once you're all settled, have had your hot shower and gotten dressed for the evening, wearing a satin smoke blue pencil skirt dress with a red oversized jumper on top, you all plan to have a BBQ out on the sands.

You and Karen got yourself comfy in the warm sand. Eric setting up the BBQ. You've got your music on and there's a karaoke set out.

''Hey ladies.'' Chace brings a tray of drinks of Pina Coladas he mixed.

''Hey!'' both of you chime and help yourselves to the drinks. He sits with you both in a circle. The sun is setting and the waves are lapping as Laz and the others walk in, but Antony isn't here.

Karen is choosing a song and lands on Prince. Chace and her have made a mini stage out of wine crates and Karen is singing and dancing up there.

''That's it! I'm up!''

Feeling the buzz and feeling no shame you know you'll kill it. Too confident to care after your countless cocktails you set the scene on the mini stage. Perching on the edge sideways, long legs outstretched.

''Dear momma's boy...'' you start off all soft innocence.

''Dear narcissus boy....and any talk...'' You begin to add gestures and you've grabbed the mic off the stand. Your confidence creeps up.

''Dear self centered boy, I don't know why I still feel affected by you, I never lasted very long with someone like you, never did although I have to admit I wanted to.''

You swing your legs up over the stage, sitting sideways to your adoring fans, but they are more like Eric and Chace cheering you on as the girls are clapping. Really having fun with this, you tip your head back and flip your hair as Antony walks up to you all. You sing your next line.

You only just notice Antony and look at him as you sing the words. ''Dear magnetic boy...''

''You've never been with anyone who doesn't take your shit, you've never been with anyone who dared to call you on it, wonder how you'd be if someone were to call you on it...and any talk, of willingness, and any talk,,,of both feet in, and any talk of commitment leaves you running for the door.''

You come back to Karen and everyone one hoots at you .

Antony walks up and sits next to you ''Hi.''

''Hey.'' you throw an arm around him and Karen at the same time.

''Where did you go we started without you.'' He puts his arm behind your back. You lean into him enough for him to notice.

''I was just setting up.''

''You gonna sing anything?''

He looks around and back to you.

''Nah..hey do you wanna go surf with me in a bit?''

''I don't surf but I'll watch you OK? I think I'll drown with the amount of drinks I've had haha.''

''I'll look after you if you wanna swim.'' he says.

''Hey I'll wait for you out here then.''

Antony goes back to get changed for his surf session and you sit by the extinguished BBQ. After a bit he comes back out, in his wet suit carrying his surfboard.

''Oh I love a wetsuit, you look good.''

''Cheers. Will you get changed, you can come in the water with me.''

''I was gonna watch you, but alright.''

Returning in your long sleeve Hurley rash vest and black high cut bikini bottoms you join his side.

You reach a secluded part of the beach with lots of lush greenery and stunning aqua water. At the waters edge, he leans on his board in the water and holds out his hand to you. The sunset gives him an illuminated glow lighting his golden hair. You float in the water for a bit with him, basking in the cooling waves, then you let go of his board so he can catch the swell. You continue on swimming then sit back on the golden sand as you watch him surf.

He walks out of the sea, his wet hair clinging to his face.

''I've never seen you look so dishevelled. They don't let you get like this at work. You're always looking pristine on set.''

''I don't know if I should be offended haha'' he adjusts his hair.

''You shouldn't.'' You look at him as he walks closer to you and sits by you.

''Cause you're sexy pristine on set, and right now you're sexy hot.''

He gives you that cute half smile that makes his eyes look too adorable.

''Out of the water like this?''

You scoot over messing his hair up playfully.

''Of course.''

You're kneeling in the sand inching closer to him, waiting until your knee touching his looks like natural proximity. He raises his face, showing you the side of his sharp jawline. You raise up on your knees just a bit, leaning up to him with a hand raking through the hair at his temple, looking at his eyes. Your gaze lingers, he looks back at you, waiting.

He has that neutral look in his eyes that you can mistake for a glare. You sit back on your knees, burying your fingers into the sand. Suddenly shy and retreating. It's getting darker and the waves are lapping at the shore in a gentle rhythm.

''Umm, you want to go back?'' He asks.

''Yeah ok.'' You say.

He gathers up his surfboard and then raising his free hand to you to take he looks to you with a smile. You think of weaving your arm with his but stop fighting yourself and smooth your fingers over the back of his wrist and onto his palm. He laces his fingers with yours slowly, and you walk along the warm sand back to the rooms. He walks you to your cabin.

''I'm gonna shower and I'll text you after?''

''Ok. Cool.'' you reply.

Karen runs you a bath and when you are out blow drying your hair there's a text from Antony.

...

Can we hang out together some more tonight? I really liked our time at the beach.:)

...

Hey, yea me too. U wanna come by mine and Karen's?

...

I'll be over soon

...

The door clicks and Antony walks in dressed in a black t-shirt with a full moon and wolf face, white on black. He comes in out of the darkness of the hall into the living room which you lit with a coffee table lamp and Karen with a laptop screen. His hair is dry and combed neat.

''Hey, so you want a drink or snacks? We have all the sweets.''

You and Karen laugh.

''I'll just grab a Pepsi.'' he gets one out of the mini fridge and sits down onto the sofa.

You're all talking and laughing, but at some point Karen excuses herself and turns in for the night. You look across at Antony as you reach for sweets on the table scattering them and Antony leans forward to take one, a lime fruit pastille, at the moment your hand is trying to gather them back up. He does a claw grabbing gesture towards your hand, as you laugh he catches your eye and takes your hand in his. Over the table you stay still for a bit, then he moves over to sit next to you.

Watching your eyes with that serious gaze he had before. You can't help but move closer to him you, moving your hand out of his, you tuck your knees up onto the seat leaning up to him. Placing both your hands on top of his shoulders, then looking into his eyes you touch your fingertips to the sides of his neck. Gently tracing towards his jaw. Antony is looking at you with a crinkled sparkling eye.

''You're beautiful.'' There is an awkward blink and a bit of a head shake that he does.

''You're cute when you're nervous.'' you tell him.

He looks sideways with a furrowed brow, looking weirded out by his own reaction. ''I don't mean to be but...''

''What is it?''

''I shouldn't be, I like you a lot, it's.. ''

''What'?''

''I don't know.. um, why you would like... Well there's Chace and the new guy,'' he laughs, ''I'd think you'd go for them first.''

''What over you, are you crazy!?''

Antony just looks at you.

He puts his hand on the side of your hair to feel the strands, his shoulders rolling forward as he does it, and his biceps peeking from under his sleeves some more. You place a hand over the top of his arm playing with the edge of his short sleeve, feeling smooth skin of his bicep just underneath the edge. You take his other hand again.

''Come here.'' He says, eyes fixed on you.

''Here?'' you ask.

Antony guides you by your hand carefully pulling you towards him confirming your movement, as you cautiously lift your left knee over his legs, grazing his jeans and landing it the opposite side of his thigh. You sit on his knees but no further.

He returns the hand he's holding back to his neck, so you continue caressing him. You walk your fingers up to his jaw, tracing it from underneath tilting his face up, then moving onto the hair at his temples with both hands. You're petting right where his hair falls above his cheekbones fingers grazing over their height, and they're so high you need to kiss them. Your lips press over the plumpness over his cheekbones, one side of his face then the other.

Antony then catches your lips to his, in a gentle peck at first. You kiss him back lightly, enjoying the subtle warmth of him. You're holding his face and he opens his lips. You kiss over them with an open mouth, his top lip between yours. You pull away just enough to lick his lips quickly and plant your face against his again. Your hands moving to the back of his hair, smoothing down and pulling the lengths that cascade down. He tilts his face into you, licking into your mouth. You meet him, licking his tongue. You taste the cool sweetness of Pepsi and sugary lime. His hands on your waist he starts to pull you, ever so gently but he's pulling you forward.

As you move away his lips follow you, his chin lifting in that sexy way that highlights his jawline and exposes his neck.

''I've wanted to kiss you for ages'' you tell him tucking his fallen locks back.

''Just you, I haven't thought of anyone else, especially not anyone from our cast.'' You raise an amused eyebrow at him and lock your fingers behind his neck.

''I'm sorry, I mean like,'' he starts, blinking and smiling. His hands coming off your waist momentarily.

''Oh shuttup Starr, you're still on about that? Don't pretend you don't know you're a babe.''

Detecting something a little bit sad behind his eyes, you ruffle the hair at the nape of his neck, the perfect contours of his haircut tempt you. You lean closer until you are pressing your nose against the clavicle under his shirt and kiss from the base of his neck up to his ear stroking the smooth skin behind his ear, weaving your fingertips through the short undercut and up over the contours of his head, burying your hand in that hair. His hands find their way back onto your waist. He flips his hair, laughs when it doesn't behave, and runs his hand over the front smoothing it back.

Those sparkling eyes look at you from such an intimate distance, then he says both sweet and sexy "Come on, kiss me again."

As he brushes his nose over yours, parting his lips, and as you notice his asymmetric cupids bow you make a 'Mmm' sound and close the distance. Between his face and yours there's no gap for what seems like hours. There’s a brush of his fingers against the sides of your hips beckoning you again towards him as you are in his lap. He leans his face away to be able to look at you, he searches your eyes while his lips are in resting position one half of his cupids bow raised higher than the other, then he presses his lips together in a kissing his own lip kind of pout and you stare.

‘’Can I get you more comfortable on my lap?’‘

‘’How comfortable?’’ you tease.

‘’As comfy as you want, but, you..wanna send me home for tonight?’’

‘’I don't want to, but..’’

He pulls you off his lap and places you beside him, raising your calves and resting them over his knees.

‘’Come on lets put some music on.’’ he grabs your iPod off the side, looking through the artists then hands it to you. ‘’You choose something, no pressure.’’ he taps your elbow as he says it, smiling gently.

‘’Right so, we have...this.. and’’ you land on Heaven & Hell ‘Double the Pain’ and he doesn’t recognise it at first but then looks surprised.

‘’Oh is this Dio?’’

‘’Oh yeah! This is one of my faves.’’

‘‘Me and you are into similar types of music then.’‘

‘’Oh yea, I'm really happy about that.’’ you smile. ‘’I've seen you in your Pixies shirts. I know, I know. Oh! Have you heard the Pixies Placebo cover, it’s wonderful.’’

‘’What one?’’

‘’It’s Where is My Mind’’

‘’Ah no, show me.’’

You play it and as the music starts, he laces his hand with yours and pulls of up from the sofa, pulling you with him. He offers his hand to you once you’re standing, and you take it. Your arm underneath his shoulder resting on his back at one point, later in the song he twirls you around and you’re both laughing and chatting as you dance.

When you throw yourself back onto the sofa you yawn and lean against Antony resting your legs onto the sofa. He strokes your hair and you drop down in a lying position your head resting on his lap. You're talking about nothing and about the day passed just listening to music. Your eyes feel heavier and you fight them to stay up more with him. Your eyes finally fail you but you don’t realise.

There is a text from Antony waiting for you on your phone this morning.

...

I made sure you were back in your bed last night. I let myself out. Hope you had a good night. See you tomorrow. Toni. x

...

You didn’t go to your room last night, the last thing you remember was falling asleep on the sofa despite fighting sleep. You definitely didn't go to your room, not by yourself to get into bed nor with Antony.

When you next see him over drinks at the beach cocktail bar, he's pulling up a chair for you as he sees you approach.

‘’Hi!’’ he leans in to kiss you on the cheek.

‘’Hey, you ok?’’ you hug him.

‘’Yea I’m good.‘’

‘’Thank you for last night. Looking at the drinks menu hesitating.

‘’You fell asleep, I couldn't leave you on the sofa.’’

‘’Wait, how did you get me back, I know I didn't walk.’’

‘’I carried you.’’

‘’Aw, oh wait, you what? Carried me!? Wow, ok, it wasn't Karen that got me back then. You're a sweetie.’’

‘’Let me buy you a drink.’’

‘’No! It’s on me, let me get you something. What you want?’’

'’Ok, a Mudslide for me please.’’

The other guys file in, as soon as Antony sees them, he takes your hand holding it over the top of the table, and waves over to them. Kripke does his silly wolf whistle and Karen looks over as if she knew all along.

The drinks everyone brings back to the table inspire a mass clinking of glasses.

‘‘Cheers!’‘ clinking Antony’s pint of cider, then raising high and meeting neighbouring glasses, you’re thinking about how Antony might have carried you bridal style.

Charcoal smokiness envelops the pier in a comforting warmness. Antony is walking beside you. The water is dark and reflective, the boats are floating gently, the water being calm. You're watching his mouth move as he talks, you hear him but something is drawing you to the way he moves his lips and you can't stop looking at them. Thinking about lunging at him, pushing him up against the rail of the pier, you also find it sexy how he is always using his hands to talk. You grab his wrist mid sentence, turn round to face him by blocking his way down the path, pull on his necklace, drawing him in closer and press your lips against his. He kisses you back tilting his head, hair falling down. Pushing your fingers through, your right hand rests on the back of his head, your left flattening against his heart, sliding gradually towards and over his left shoulder. You spin him and back yourself up to the railing, forcing him to stand over you and trapping you with his body. Caressing his tongue and gently sucking on his top and bottom lip every time you tilt your face you run breathless, looking up at him his face bathed in moonlight, his cheekbones swimming in cool light. The breeze cooling your skin, him running his hands over the backs of yours arms, bare and goose-bumpy. He wraps you in his arms, holding you still.

‘’Lets walk back? I don’t want you getting cold.’’ He quietly talks into your hair.

‘‘Antony..’‘ you pull him towards your door, swinging his arm but he doesn’t let you. Backing up against the front door you look at him playfully.

‘‘Alright,’‘ opening the door and stepping in, you look out at him ‘‘goodnight.’‘

An hour after you get into bed, your phone pings.

...

I can't sleep.

...

Come round. x

...

Blue shirt and jeans walk through your door, you wonder if Antony got fully dressed before going back out. You greet him at the door, in your tank and shorts.

‘‘Hey. You wanna sleep on the sofa?’‘ you can’t help but laugh.

Antony’s hands are crossed in front of him holding them over the tails of his blue shirt. You grab his hands reaching slowly to make sure to brush your fingers against the crotch of his jeans through the untucked shirt. He presses his lips into a line supressing a smile. He follows you to your room.

He's sitting on the bed, letting you unbutton the shirt but helps you when you get to the bottom buttons. He pulls his black t-shirt at his shoulder blades and takes it off. His surf necklace is still on but he’s completely bare from the waist up. He makes eye contact with you and smiles a shy quick smile, corner of his mouth curving up revealing his gorgeous teeth. He pulls his mouth shut into a thin smile with an '’umm’' and flickers his eyelids. Strong square jawline. His hair slightly dishevelled. You touch his collarbone, looking to his eyes then to his chest, ghosting your palms over his smooth skin.

‘‘I was thinking of you, thinking of the other night in there, I wanted it to continue.. Mmm sitting on your lap.‘‘ you move closer. ‘‘I loved sitting on your lap, I didn't get a chance to..’‘

‘’What would make my lap comfortable for you?’’ he laughs.

‘’Let me check.’’ you feel the front of his jeans, feeling the beginning of an erection. ‘’That will make it comfortable.’’ you swing your leg over his hips and straddle him.

He watches you with a half lidded look, chin up a bit, the sexy jaw look. His hands snake to your jaw in a symmetrical hold, his eyes don't leave yours as he does it. You shift above him, starting to very slowly roll your hips as you're perched on his thighs, his eyes are sparkling as he’s observing you. He tilts his chin even further up looking down at you, he puts a guiding hand on the small of your back to push you towards his hips. Ever so lightly, he’s careful not to rush. You don’t avoid him this time, you don’t hesitate and slide towards him closing the gap and pushing your hips towards his stomach, your inner thighs are marking from his belt pressing into them.

You feel his erection underneath you, wiggling against him. He moves in, he lingers over your mouth and you meet him in the kiss, grinding over him. He feels your quickening pace and pulls his face from yours, resuming his stare and tilted chin. Placing your hands in his hair he stares you down . You stroke and pull his golden blonde locks, holding on as you grind into his jeans.

As soon as he sees you are starting to enjoy yourself more, your kissing becoming a bit more persistent, your hips pressing into his a bit quicker he says,

‘’You need to take these off don't you think? And me.’’ he reaches to his belt unbuckling it, lifting you up by your hips, hooking his fingers into the waist of your shorts, pulling them down your legs, you moving off for a moment, letting him remove his jeans.

‘’Come over, lets sit here’’

The pillows are stacked and you climb over the bed over to the headboard. You get Antony to sit back leaning against it. You climb onto his lap knees hitting the headboard but flush with his hips. He’s smiling sweetly, a cute eye going on.

‘‘So yo like me playing with your hair?’‘

‘‘I like your hands on me.’’

The rose leaves are creeping over his right shoulder now you have him undressed. You trace a leaf tattoo and then pull his hair back, making him raise his chin up, holding onto his hair that way .

‘’Can you look at me like this again?’’

‘‘How?’‘

You press and tilt against him, playing with the angle of your hips. He immediately has that look back, looking down at you as you pull his hair back.

‘’Like this’’ you say.

Antony smiles. You kiss him.

His hand travels over your back and brushes past the lace of your French knickers, at the hip he plays with the edge moving his fingers a centimetre under your panties and shifting his hand ever closer to your centre. He palms at your crotch, you’re wet but you don’t know if he can feel that through the lace.

Reaching for his waistband of his black boxers, you push your fingers under trying to pull them down, waiting for him to react. He brushes underneath the lace edge right underneath the gusset, making you twitch from his touch. Now he knows you're wet. His boxers come off quickly, and he helps you with yours. You hover above him once you’re both naked, locked on each others lips.

He rustles a foil and wraps up. You catch his hand at the base of his cock and hold it there, lining your clit up to his tip teasing him and teasing yourself. He lets go and begins to grip your hips, his fingers digging in to your skin more every move you make, him starting to push you down subtly. Soft moans from you as you slide down him, starting to ride him out .Your hands are over his neck into his hair , his chin is tilting up, his eyes closed no longer looking at you.

You get into a flawless rhythm sliding yourself up and letting him fill you on the way back down at different angles each time. Antony starts to breathe heavy and you tug at the back of his hair in response, caressing his jaw. He’s rolling his head back with your help, lips parted. His perfect cheekbones make you wetter, hips rocking up into you.

You moan a lot more audibly, making him flutter his eyes open, lids lusty. He watches you as you moan, each time more uninhibited and unravelled. As you reach a higher pitch his eyes are sparkling sapphires now, paying attention to your face with a deeply sexy intrigue. But his breathing is compromised and ragged. You completely lose it, riding him with absolutely no inhibitions, your hair tangling up as it whips about.

He grabs you by the face pulls you closer, and says. ‘’Can you come for me?’’

‘’Oh. god.’’ you manage to say. His words heightening your sensations. He strokes a finger over your clit as you continue to ride him and the bliss envelops you in waves. Him sounding out in a delicious way.

You drop your head to his shoulder but Antony lifts your chin up to his face, his frazzled eyes heavy lidded. His eyes go soft and round, cute. Eyes crinkle and cheeks plump, forming a smile.

He places a slow kiss to your lips, pulls back holding your face and says ‘’That was...wow!’’ His smile turns to laughter.

✨

💙🩹 Masterlist

Thank you for reading.

✨

#antony starr x reader #antony starr fanfic #antony starr imagine #antony starr #antony starr fanfiction #antony starr smut #fineanddandy1kchallenge #ASCU #Antony Starr Character Universe

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twh-news · 3 years

Text

The 2020 Tony Awards Preview | Broadway Direct

Like the recent Olympics, the 2020 Tony Awards arrive after a lengthy delay necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. And amid enduring uncertainty, they are all the more eagerly anticipated by fans of Broadway theater and the industry serving them.

This year’s ceremony, set for September 26 at the Winter Garden Theatre, will be different on several counts. The number of productions recognized has been limited by the March 2020 shutdown, which prevented a bunch of high-profile shows from opening, and rendered others — including Ivo von Hove’s staging of West Side Story, and Girl From the North Country, the acclaimed musical weaving Bob Dylan songs into a book by Conor McPherson — ineligible, as many Tony voters had not been able to see them.

On the other hand, a new arrangement that will make the entire event available on Paramount Plus, beginning at 7 p.m. ET — with longtime Tonys home CBS broadcasting from 9 to 11 p.m. ET — will enable viewers at home to see awards given out in categories such as design, orchestration, and choreography. “We haven’t had all of our creatives and the awards recognizing them on the special since before my time,” notes Charlotte St. Martin, president of the Broadway League, which presents the Tonys with the American Theatre Wing.

“The whole point of the show is to set an optimistic and realistic tone,” adds Heather Hitchens, the Wing’s president and CEO. “The theme of this show is that Broadway’s back — theater is safe if protocols are followed — and we have exciting new work for people to see.”

Both St. Martin and Hitchens point to the diversity of shows represented both in nominations for the 2019–2020 season as well as those premiering in the new season, which launched in August with the arrival of Antoinette Chinonye Nwandu’s Pass Over. Slave Play, another work by a Black playwright that transferred after earning praise Off-Broadway, is up for 12 Tonys, making it the most nominated play to date. Author Jeremy O. Harris was tapped for his provocative look at the roles race, gender, and sexuality play in contemporary relationships; director Robert O’Hara, leading actress Joaquina Kalukango, featured actors Ato Blankson-Wood and James Cusati-Moyer, and featured actresses Chalia La Tour and Annie McNamara are among the other nominees.

Tina – The Tina Turner Musical is also a contender in 12 categories, with celebrated Black artists including Adrienne Warren, who won raves for her performance as the titular rock and R&B icon, and this year’s Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright Katori Hall among the nominees. The other productions up for Best Musical, Jagged Little Pill and Moulin Rouge! The Musical respectively collected 15 and 14 nominations; both combine books by noted writers — Jagged Little Pill’s Diablo Cody and Moulin Rouge’s John Logan — with established music — Alanis Morissette’s for Jagged Little Pill, and various pop songs tracing several decades for Moulin Rouge!.

Consequently, none of the five candidates for best original score is a musical production. They include Slave Play and fellow Best Play nominees The Inheritance and The Sound Inside and new stagings of A Christmas Carol and Tennessee Williams’s The Rose Tattoo. (The theatrical concert David Byrne’s American Utopia is being honored with a Special Tony Award, as Springsteen on Broadway was in 2018.)

Only three revivals made the cut for Best Revival of a Play: a production of A Soldier’s Play showcasing Blair Underwood, a nominee for leading actor in a play, and David Alan Grier, up for featured actor; a Betrayal, featuring Tom Hiddleston, a contender for leading actor; and Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune, starring six-time Tony winner Audra McDonald, nominated for leading actress.

Other stage and screen stars who are candidates at this year’s ceremony include Jake Gyllenhaal and Tom Sturridge, both for leading actor in Best Play nominee Sea Wall/A Life, a pair of one-man pieces respectively written by Simon Stephens and Nick Payne, each told from the perspective of a young husband and father. In the category for leading actress in a play, Mary-Louise Parker is acknowledged for Adam Rapp’s The Sound Inside, an intimate mystery involving a cancer-stricken college professor and her alienated, prodigious student, also up for Best Play; and Laura Linney is nominated for My Name Is Lucy Barton, an adaptation of Alice Munro’s novel tracing a complex mother-daughter relationship.

Matthew López’s The Inheritance — up for 11 awards, and focused on gay men living in a New York haunted by a pandemic of the recent past, AIDS — yielded nominations for John Benjamin Hickey, for featured actor, and Lois Smith, for featured actress. (Cast members Andrew Burnap and Paul Hilton are nominees for leading and featured actor in turn, with Linda Vista’s Ian Barford also up for leading actor.) And a fifth Best Play contender, Grand Horizons — a comedy that dares to look at sex and marriage in the golden years — and the Broadway debut of Bess Wohl earned a nod for another duly cherished veteran, Jane Alexander, also for featured actress.

Musical theater favorites recognized include Danny Burstein, who earned a seventh Tony nomination for his featured performance in Moulin Rouge; Moulin Rouge’s Karen Olivo and Jagged Little Pill’s Elizabeth Stanley, completing the leading actress category; and Moulin Rouge’s Aaron Tveit, who, as a result of the relative dearth of musical productions in this abbreviated season, was the only performer nominated in the leading actor field. (He needs the approval of 60 percent of Tony voters to claim the prize.)

In vying for Best Direction of a Play, Slave Play’s O’Hara will face stiffer competition from lauded British directors Stephen Daldry (Inheritance) and Jamie Lloyd (Betrayal) and equally accomplished Americans David Cromer (Sound Inside) and Kenny Leon (Soldier’s Play). The directors tapped for their work on musicals are no less distinguished: British film and stage vet Phyllida Lloyd (TINA), Pill’s Diane Paulus, and Moulin Rouge’s Alex Timbers, who, between the two of them, have helmed some of the most admired musical productions of the past decade both on and Off-Broadway.

And thanks to this year’s multiplatform format, fans of the three musicals will get to see awards handed out to their choreographers and orchestrators — one of each, anyway. The nominees include Moulin Rouge’s Sonya Tayeh, whose collaborators have ranged from the Martha Graham Dance Company to Miley Cyrus, and Jagged Little Pill’s Tom Kitt, whose many credits as a composer include Next to Normal, for which he won both Tony Awards and a Pulitzer Prize.

Variety writer and podcast host Gordon Cox adds that the 2020 Tony nominations would likely have presented “an entirely different race” had the rush of productions originally scheduled to open in late March and April of last year had been able to do so. Still, he believes there are “a significant group of people who think the Tonys can be a celebration, not just of a season that got overshadowed by the pandemic, but of a return to performances — to being able to sit in theatres, knock on wood. There are people looking for an opportunity to celebrate theater in general.”

#Tom hiddleston #betrayal #Tony awards #charlie cox #zawe ashton

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