#ukrainian music is fucking great

[glorious-blackout]

My Year in Gigs

Seeing as we're nearing the end of the year, I thought I'd look back on the amazing shows I've been lucky enough to attend in 2023 and resurrect my Post-Concert Depression with a definitive ranking 😅💚

Eurovision Semi Final One - Live Show: Absolute dream-come-true experience. Loved every minute, the crowd was so kind and supportive towards every act, and I got to see most of my faves steal the show and advance to the finals 🥰 

Muse (Dublin) : My second Muse gig of the year was even more of a blast than the first! Absolutely nothing could have prepared me for the joy of finally seeing Butterflies and Hurricanes and Apocalypse Please live 😭 

Queens of the Stone Age: Josh Homme arrived onstage, called us all crazy motherfuckers, expressed a sincere desire to get fucked in the ass by a Scottish dude, then called his guitarist a 500-year-old vampire before flirting shamelessly with him. 10/10, no notes. Oh yeah, and the music slapped too.

Käärijä: Half hilarious stand-up show, half incredible party with insanely fun, energetic songs. One of the most enjoyable gigs I’ve ever been to and I would pay good money to fly to Finland solely to see Käärijä play a gig on his home turf. 

Muse (Bellahouston Park): My boys were incredible as ever and I had a genuinely great time at this gig, but it gets demoted a little due to the torrential rain cutting our setlist short and making me ill 😅 Would have been an easy third place had technical difficulties not robbed me of the chance to see Verona live... 

Go_A: If you’ve never been to a Ukrainian Folk-Rave before, I can highly recommend it! Go_A were simply phenomenal with great energy that had us dancing all night. Highlight of the show was Ihor delivering a badass flute solo while Kateryna went backstage to recharge her awesomeness. 

Sparks: These guys have been making consistently excellent music for decades and still have more energy and enthusiasm than most young bands could ever dream of possessing. Such a wonderful set filled with amazingly quirky songs both old and new. 

Joker Out: It says a lot about the high quality of shows on this list that I’ve had to rank these guys so low. In any other year they’d be a clear contender for top three! The energy from both the band and crowd were insane, the boys were clearly in awe of having a venue full of Scots singing along with them in Slovene, and I need the Demoni scream injected directly into my veins 😈 

Arctic Monkeys: This ranking has almost nothing to do with the band themselves who delivered a great show, but looking back on it I’ve just had to accept that I wasn’t having a good time during a large chunk of this gig. The crowd in my section were rowdy to the point where I couldn’t hear or see anything and I was wasting all my energy trying not to get shoved. My depression was also playing up to the point where I was struggling to get excited over songs I dearly love and I just felt unwell and burnt out all night. The second half was a definite improvement as we’d moved to a calmer area by the time they brought out The Car songs, but by the end I was just exhausted and desperate for home. Would see them again in a heartbeat in a more intimate indoor venue, but I think I’ll avoid any of their big stadium tours in future 😅 

Busted: Honestly, I had a much nicer time at this gig compared to Arctic Monkeys. The nostalgia alone of singing along to ‘Thunderbirds Are Go’ at the top of my lungs is always a special moment. But I can’t pretend for a second that Busted’s music comes anywhere close to the quality of Arctic Monkeys’ recent output, so they’re a very reluctant last place on my list of generally incredible gig experiences 😅 

Best Support Act: Nova Twins by a country mile. I may have fallen slightly in love with Georgia and her incredible bass skills. It was easy to see why Muse invited them on tour because they seemed so at-ease in a massive arena 😊  

Here's to (hopefully) more amazing gigs in 2024! I'd love to hear about some of the great shows that you guys attended this year as well 🥰💖

#honourable mention to Lord of the Lost who I had tickets for but ultimately couldn't see because I was too sick; I'm still sad I missed them #and also to Voyager who I'm sure would have put on an amazing show - looking forward to seeing them after Danny kicks cancer's ass #my gigs #muse #muse band #queens of the stone age #käärijä #go_a #sparks #joker out #arctic monkeys #busted

[longeyelashedtragedy]

last night i went to an open rehearsal for a ukrainian folk singing group. i'd had my eye on them for a while but never had the time or energy to think about it. i had such a fucking good time. i sing when i lead services of course, but that's generally solo and it's more serious than singing music in a big happy group. even though it was an open rehearsal almost everyone there was officialy in the group and knew each other, but i felt so at home so fast and i just. it would change my life to get to sing with cool people here in the city to rehearse and do workshops and get to perform...and of course they're not having auditions till september. i was like pwease???? at one of the leaders, and she was like no sorry but you can come to our workshops and also i totally remember seeing you at the [epic nyc area slavic/balkans/etc folk festival that used to be held every year]

(context: the biggest thing in my college life was the slavic/balkans folk singing group i was in...it was my everything and the 5 year reunions are euphoric and i've been singing all my life but this is the only situation where my peculiar voice has ever been useful and desired to a group of people 🥺)

i used to sing with a group of alums from my college group who lived in nyc, but most of them were Older (i can tell you, nothing is more fun than singing with some badass older ladies) and all the covid resurgences just got them too nervous and we stopped. plus we only did it once every two months.

i'm tearing up because of how much i want to sing with people again. i don't think my voice is all that great, but--i can't explain what it feels like, maybe it's like what a team sport feels like for those who like to play team sports. idk. i'm passing out invitations for the pity party, i wish i could catch a break, something, anything!

#i miss getting to sing with funky cool people like...this was my life at college #the people i sang with then are the only people from that time i'm still in touch with #we were like sisters (including the FIGHTS lmao) #originals

[salted-caramel-tea]

i listen to måneskin . i listen to Käärijä and blind channel . i watch an italian woman cook on tiktok . i watch some spanish content creators . i listen to ukrainian music and korean music and fucking japanese metal (babymetal fans rise up ☝️) . i don’t effectively know any of these languages and i rely on online translations to understand them because i don’t have the time to learn every language i interact with to the point of off the cuff translations . even i have to amend the way i speak to other people who aren’t native scots. ai isn’t perfect it never will be in fact when i’m trying to understand måneskin songs im given 3 options for translations on the same website . but it’s a starting point. it’s a platform for ppl to laugh at mistakes like the ‘i bought a bra’ moment in the recent dream video. it prompts non native speakers to ask questions about translations and learn more about the language and the country . people can get what they need to know what another creator is saying and communicate with them but it provides them an opportunity to share cultures with each other . and one thing i’ve noticed is the flack about not knowing other languages is only put on english creators, nobody is bashing a korean creator for not knowing portuguese. the only way to solve every problem would be for everyone to speak the same langauge which is the opposite of the purpose of this smp . i’m sorry that you can’t see the good in things bc you don’t understand how things can work without being perfect but even though it will not be perfect it’s still gonna be a great way to integrate these communities and encourage people to go out and learn these languages or any other language . for the love of god think about the people rather than the logistics for one minute .

[cyarsk52-20]

Twitter reacts to Ukraine's defense team quoting Pusha T's lyrics

Pusha T seems quite popular in Ukraine, as its defense team cited some of his lyrics on its official Twitter account on Tuesday (Sept. 6).

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, with over one million followers, tweeted a chart illustrating Russia’s losses since the Ukrainian war started earlier this year. The caption contains lyrics from Pusha T’s “Numbers on the Boards” track from his 2013 debut solo album, My Name Is My Name. “I put numbers on the boards. @PUSHA_T. Total combat losses of the enemy from Feb. 24 to Sept. 7,” the tweet read. 

The chart displays that several Russianartilleries have been destroyed in battle, including 2,117 tanks, 4,556 armed combat vehicles, almost 300 military jets, and other heavy artilleries. The Ukrainian defense account also indicated that over 50,000 soldiers have allegedly been killed in battle.

The Virginia Beach rapper responded to the post on Wednesday (Sept. 7), pointing out Ukraine’s excellent musical preferences. “Great taste in music for the win,” he tweeted.

People on social media and hip hop fans were not shy about sharing their opinions about the Twitter account using Pusha’s lyrics. Most of the commenters were in shock at the tweet, such as Twitterer NekiasNBA, who said in disbelief, “This entire planet is a simulation.” Another commenter kay_mahapa, tweeted, “We live in a world where Pusha T lyrics are used in war.” A third person commented, “Yo, directly quoting Pusha T in the middle of a massive war is the heights of wildness. We are living in a simulation!”

Even the co-host of Hot 97‘s “Ebro in the Morning,” Ebro had to react to the unexpected tweet, saying, “Pusha T has won wars, so they [are] associating with the right rapper.”

Guapdad 4000 also responded to the viral post, saying, “The fact that there’s a Ukrainian intern somewhere designing digital assets to display a body count from [the] war in a friendly looking format is f**king wild to me. We [are] not even gone talk about the @PUSHA_T quote [goat emoji].”

How do you feel about this tweet?

The Ukrainian defense team’s post, Pusha’s tweet and its reactions can be found below:

“I put numbers on the boards.”@PUSHA_T Total combat losses of the enemy from Feb 24 to Sep 7: pic.twitter.com/mUC5NnLcpy — Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) September 7, 2022

Great taste in music for the win… https://t.co/GKG2V6Jc4S — King Push (@PUSHA_T) September 7, 2022

this entire planet is a simulation https://t.co/sjTkHb4NTc — Nekias (Nuh-KY-us) Duncan (@NekiasNBA) September 7, 2022

We live in a world where Pusha T lyrics are used in war https://t.co/KpdkCLIajD — Lesilo Rula (@kay_mahapa) September 7, 2022

Yo, directly quoting Pusha T in the middle of a massive war is the heights of wildness. We are living in a simulation! https://t.co/XpPxEb2oJj — So… what now? 💭 (@tenilleclarke1) September 7, 2022

Pusha T has won wars, so they associating with the right rapper https://t.co/p82glzbOA5 — Kojo Ebro Odogwu (@oldmanebro) September 7, 2022

The fact that there’s a Ukrainian intern somewhere designing digital assets to display a body count from war in a friendly looking format is fucking wild to me. We not even gone talk about the @PUSHA_T quote…🐐 https://t.co/ZWxUlScvFx — GUAP (@guapdad4000) September 7, 2022

Sent from my iPhone

[karnakthegreat]

Right. Here’s your karnak lore

Before we get into it this is me and my kids

And this is my petition to be the tumblr sexyman of 2023

We also have a company (not real) called RTC RP CO™️. @brunos-rat is second in command, @anony-knifey is head of fanfics and @justexistinghere122 is the lore master and Foreigner relationships Minister. I am the Bossnak. If you want a position send in what you want to be in the asks and we can go from there

I have two mothers. They both raised me in England in the north. I lived in a small cottage in the middle of no where with a farm behind it. It was about a 30 minute walk from the closest village. There was also a forest close to my back yard

Threw out my childhood I was homeschooled by my mothers (one of which was very into the occult while the other was very ‘cottagecore’)

I joined mainstream schooling when I was 11. By the time I was 13 I realised I wasn’t straight OR cis by any means. So I went from cis straight female to genderfluid polyamorous bisexual in a matter of a few months. I was also in a band for a short period of time but that was very short lived

On my first day of school I became good friends with a girl called Elizabeth. She collected haunted dolls and we bonded over my doodles werewolf and vampire erotica

In my teen years I began to enjoy the occult so I began doing tarot card reading with my friends. That was when I also found myself enjoying metal and ‘emo’ music

I then became friends with a student from Ukraine who moved to the UK for a bit called Tamara. She later moved to Canada and then back to Ukraine

Towards the end of my schooling my friends and I decided to play a prank on some of my teachers. We got puppy’s,kittens and bunny’s and let them out in the middle of lessons to distract everyone

After this I moved back in with my two mothers

I then began dating Elizabeth (we broke up later on because she shipped me and Virgil and called us Kargil)

Then came the first whipped cream incident. This was when myself, Elizabeth and Tamara tried to fill a swimming pool with it when we were 16. We were unsuccessful

We soon went on a family trip to Canada to a small town called Uranium to meet up with some family friends. We went to the Blackwood Cafe and there I met Virgil

I was sitting alone while my parents were shopping. I eventually got hungry so I went to buy myself some cake. He offered to buy it and I denied however they insisted that they buy me it.

Shortly after I got back to my original seat and he joined me with a shortbread cookie that they had bought for me. He then began asking me about the book I was reading (Pride and Prejudice) and we had a very good conversation over it

We saw each other again at the ‘fall fair’ and he suggested we ride the cyclone. I said no because it gave a bad vibe so instead we went on the Ferris Wheel and then played some games. Virgil won me a teddie bear

Eventually I had to leave so he gave me his email and address so I could contact them either way

We would email every day and they told me how they were very impulsive and had a very big family. I told him that I always wanted to go to Ukrainian, Amsterdam or France.

After a while we met up again in Canada. We planned it in advance and when we met we realised we were in love. I spent the entirety of my visit with him. He showed me his home, his family and even his bass guitar.

On our 4th date he played the bass and sang some songs to me. They were country songs. That was when my mild country faze started. I learned some songs and sang him Dolly Parton to try impress him

When I went back to England they planned on coming back over to see me very soon. He took a liking to England and asked if he could move in with me. Of course I said yes and soon we both lived together in our own English farm

Then there was ‘The Great Ah Fuck’. This was when Elizabeth accidentally let slip that Virgil wanted to propose. Tamara then made the first ever version of my emergency knockout drink, gave me it and then I forgot the past 24 hours so the proposal would be a surprise. It was called ‘The Great Ah Fuck’ because when Elizabeth let it slip both her and Tamara said ‘Ah fuck’.

Virgil proposed to me on Halloween.

The night before my wedding was the second whipped cream incident. This was when they covered me in whipped cream and rolled me down a hill. Virgil had to catch me at the bottom to stop me from getting concussed

Then got married. It was a quiet wedding on our farm with our close friends and family.

At our wedding I walked down the isle to La Vie en Rose and Uranium suite was our first dance song (there was a version we made that was mainly the melody and riding the rollercoaster was a metaphor for our love)

Quite a bit of our time was spent with my telling them about my hyperfixations. They were Rammstein, the occult, Romeo and Juliet, A midsummers nights dream, Ukrainian history and culture, German history and culture, knitting and Phantom of the Opera

Yes I had a musical faze Phantom of the opera will never die fight me my favourite songs were masquerade and think of me they are beautiful

A few years later we had our first child Ophelia. Soon after came sister Nancy and then their brother Jacob. Ophelia was very kind and always wished the best for people, Nancy always wanted to stand up for what she thought was right and Jacob always wanted to be involved in everything I did. Their birthdays (in name order) were October 25th, January 15th and February the 26th. And between you and me Ocean is also one of my biological kids. She was about 1 when I got turned into a machine so I had to adopt her to re-get her as a child now.

They all loved me and their father very much and life was perfect.

I regained my interest with the occult and began doing research. I learnt lots but I wanted to know more and more

To feed my hunger for knowledge I summoned a demon to teach me the secrets of the world. The demon taught me THE LANGUAGE OF THE ANCIENTS

The demon then thought I was getting too power hungry so as punishment it wanted to turn me into a machine. The commotion caused Virgil to hear as he ran upstairs and got caught in the crossfire and became a rat. I never learnt what happened to my children…

I lost all of my memories and eventually found myself meeting Virgil for what I thought was the first time but was actually the second behind a Tesco express. Eventually we began to fall in love again. And so we traveled to Uranium with a circus

We stuck threw it all together and after the Cyclone Accident we got transported to limbo. There we regained our memories of our past life.

While in limbo we adopted Noel Jane and Ocean (and recently Ava) as they reminded us of our children.

When Mischa first came to Canada I payed for all of his medical bills and tied a welcome home balloon to his bed. This is because when I was close with his mother her and I promised that should anything happen to us the other would look after our children.

Noel taught me more about French culture (something that I wasn’t that fond of as I found it too complicated) however afterwards I soon began to love it.

I’ve adopted Mischa. He’s my son and I love him

I found out Ophelia is alive and well…very happy

At 00:21 on the 31st of October 2022 UK time I became human once again

Turning me human wiped ocean of any memories of me. Oh and just found Nancy she doesn’t trust me or believe that I’m her dad. Working on that

I agreed to turn back into a robot to save Nancy and oceans memory’s

Then I became a robot again. Stefan was being a total bitch until one of my kiddos made him change me back

And now I’m human…again

Then I had an uwu faze yeah that was weird

And now I’m going full dilf mode

Ștefan is now in love with me and profusely flirting

I have also met the cyclone they’re very nice and part of the family now

We found Jacob and now I’m so happy

Oh and the demon is moving in

And now I’m here. Adopting more and more children. I will pin this post and add things as and when (I’ll let you all know when I add things) Any questions?

#karnak rtc #dadnak #karnak stirs the pot #electricity rtc #virgil rtc #ride the cyclone #Karnak lore #dadnak for all #bossnak #rtc rp co.

[merrymorningofmay]

the music ask meme made me remember "letyt bledina" and i felt like sharing it too because i have fun translating stuff + there's something very ukrainian about the defiant saltiness of it which i love

(age restricted for obscene language, nothing scary there)

some context:

bledina is a ukrainian slang word for a russian rocket/missile/jet/whatever flavour of air raid alert we are having on a given day; roughly translates to "ugly flying fuck"

alcohol ukulele is a band from kharkiv, a city that russians failed to take both in 2014 and 2022 and have been incessantly shelling instead, out of what seems to be sheer spite, during this entire invasion. one of the band's members was KIA just two days ago. like lots and lots of ukrainian performers, they do occasional crowdfunding for the army, so consider supporting them here.

the female voice belongs to melaniya podolyak, a volunteer/activist from lviv who currently works with the prytula charity foundation, which is another great place to donate if you want. melaniya had been thought to have coined the word "bledina" on twitter, but it later turned out that it originated in kharkiv, too.

here's what the lyrics mean:

It's April outdoors

And April has so much to offer

I've locked myself inside and sit here

There's alert in my air

That's the kind of interesting

Situation we have here:

Spring is outside

And a bledina is in the sky

Fly, you bledina, to hell, to hell

I won't give you a single minute of my time,

Not a single minute of my sleep,

My city, my peace of mind, my spring.

The bledina has wings,

It won't be flying for long.

The bledina has a snout,

But no wit – where would it get that from?

You ridiculous fucked-up creature,

Why the hell do you keep bothering me?

There's some noise again

That must be the bledina.

Chorus x2

(Bledina no longer in the air.)

#mari rambles #mari songs

[blackteawithmelodrama]

I have a HUGE PROBLEM with people saying shit like "Eurovision is about politics" and "political win" and "win out of pity"...

First of all: they won not because of the judges but because of the votes from European people. Europeans liked Ukrainian song.

Second: The song wasn't about politics. Like go and check the fuckin lyrics. It wasn't a political song. And even if it was: so fuckin what? Not every song needs to be "my break up from 5 years ago fucked with me sooooo bad" and "I still love you" song. Like, grow up. Politics and war are also a topic that was, is, and always will be discussed in art.

Third: the song was a fuckin BANGER. The flute?Impressive. The lyrics? Touching. The style and their voices and harmonies? Beautiful. As someone from Eastern Europe, I can appreciate when people like and promote folk-pop and folk rock. And Kalush Orchestra were able to combine folk music with rap! They represented their culture very well! They understood the assignment made by Eurovision as a concept of representation and originality.

Ukraine deserves this win. Stefania is simply a great song. 🇺🇦

#slava ukraini #ukraine #eurovision #eurovison 2022 #stefania song #kalush orchestra #slovakia is with you ukraine

[thefiresofpompeii]

via this poll you are now being given the once in a lifetime opportunity to wield the ropes of fate for a random tumblr girl and decide what language they will be learning next (not through duolingo or something, but, like, hopefully, through their uni or a real tutor from next year), which could, by butterfly effect, determine the future of their life path. they’re fluent in russian and pretty decent at french, and, being a Humanities Guy they think it’s embarrassing that they don’t know at least one other language. here are the brief benefits and drawbacks of each

yiddish

as an ashkenazi jew growing up in a completely assimilated, secularised post-soviet family needless to say i’m disconnected from my heritage :)) this is all about reconnecting. it’s also about some fucking awesome songs and idioms and expressions and phrases and poems and stories that i want to know and understand so. cultural reasons. plus, it’s an endangered language that is slowly gaining more and more new learners so why not join the revival. afaik my great grandmother back in belarus spoke nothing but yiddish

hebrew

similar enough reasons, but this is specifically about rediscovering the religious side of judaism, which entails doing a lot of reading books and the torah and finding a synagogue to attend and a community to meet and a lot of googling and a lot of gathering information and also this, learning the holy language of the jewish people. my dad understands it quite well, as do my uncle and cousins, who are currently coloniser settlers in palestine. that’s the downside �� learning hebrew may convince my zionist parents that it is now acceptable to begin hounding me once more to sign up for the Free Israel Youth Propaganda Trip (it is not acceptable nor welcome. leave me alone for the love of g-d i want no part in this)

spanish

almost (not going to risk upsetting brazilians) an entire continent and a couple of countries around the globe speak spanish — versatile that way and i wanna travel someday and not act like a Shitty British Tourist…it’s similar enough, being a romance language, to french, which i already know…i’m familiar with at least a couple dozen words and understand some of it quite well…there’s a lot of bomb ass literature written in it, and why read in translation when you are able to Not Do That…also some cool fuckin mexican goth bands that i found on a spotify playlist the lyrics of which i would like to Understand… and i am currently listening to the mabel podcast

german

same point with the bomb ass literature and bomb ass music, emphasis on the music this time, again, what if i ever decide i want to get into berghain and come to the entrance dragging my lousy brit accent along…my family emigrated to germany before england and lived there all through the late 90s…older brother is fluent in it because of that, and so is granny…studied it for about a year in year8 as an extra class but have forgotten almost everything by now, however, it would be quicker to pick up having the basics down

ukrainian

self explanatory, quite. almost feels like an obligation, considering nationality, considering having fled political repression from the country of the aggressor. similar enough to my mother tongue that i can understand around 40% when written/spoken by others. could be useful for joining volunteering initiatives, charity work, mutual aid, translation help for refugees. also, beautiful slavic culture, folk music, art and literature, though i haven't yet read much of it.

#jamie.txt #languages #linguistics

[sendmyresignation]

@hotyka tagged me to share three albums I've been listening to recently (def check out nastia's post for some ukrainian artists they shared). but here are mine:

1. Kesha's Gag Order- kesha was really and truly the first artist i ever fell in love with, i've been listening to her music for like. a decade and some change at this point and i remember when high road came out saying. this album is a prelude to something truly great and cool and i was totally right. incredible record that reconciles with fame and exploitation in such bare terms. and it's such a cohesive Project.

2. Sarge's The Glass Intact- I have been listening to a lot. LOT. of 90s emo recently (its a whole thing im working on) and sarge has really stood out to me from that bc this record has a lot of layers and elizabeth elmores voice is so perfect for this poppy but vulnerable little slice of midwest emo. beguiling is a classic but fast girls bangs

3. Mindless Sinner's Turn On The Power- Classic old school heavy metal with a speed touch. It's just so fucking catchy. There's nothing that really makes mindless sinner special but i can't stop listening to the record. short sweet headbanging fun.

anyway thank you nastia for the tag <3 i'll pass it on to @raytorosaurus @antspaul @milfygerard @void-flesh and anyone else who wants to share :)

#missing from this list is a truly embarrassing amount of jimmy eat world and metallica rip #also liege lord and fisticuff bluff #but these are the Albums ive been spinning the most not just tracks #my posts #music recs

[njavj]

2, 14?

oof!

2 — album of the year. definitely пов3стка by loqiemean. it's been a long wait for this one, a big hype, and it did not disappoint. it focuses on the war and what it means to the nation of aggresors. loqi covers topics like this quite a lot: his song "болей мной" from повес2ка is about abuse from the perspective of the abuser. this "message" (the literal translation) is filled with anger and hatred, but also with hope and love. loqiemean is disgusted by russians and this war touches him to the core, but he believes in that if the russians against the war rise up, and smother the hatred with love, if they will be brave and open-minded, then this horrible event will end and the nation will live on. "it's not sunset yet, even though russia's been knocked down; it's not sunset yet, because sunsets are beautiful", he says. "gonna bring souvenir magnets to every tyrants grave, just to show that in the whole world only you fucking hated russians".

it's very cathartic. the music is great too. listen to it and translate the lyrics, you will be surprised!

14 — best book this year. i have to say I don't really read books anymore. but i did, however, find a stash of old ukrainian books from my grandma, and some of them are fenomenal. one of the favourites is definitely "повия" by panas myrny.

the way ukrainian classics write women is way ahead of their time. while europe and russia go through cycles of mysoginystic portrayals of women in art, ukrainian writers create strong and freedom-loving characters, who happen to be women, and that nuance is Big. i totally recommend checking out some of the ukrainian literature. also, a big book is "жовтий князь" by vasiliy barka. it's about holodomor and how ukrainian families go through it. it's a very dark book, but it is beautiful. definitely an important read.

#asks

[basgevers]

Desert Island Discs: Billy Bragg - Greetings To The New Brunette

Round about the same time I was being introduced to The Wedding Present by John Peel, one evening he played a track called “They’ve Got A Bomb” by delightful anarcho-punk band “Crass”.

He had a way of doing that you know, John Peel, taking you out of you comfort zone, hitting you with something completely unlistenable just when you were bopping along to the Undertones, or some Ukrainian folk music collective.

Now, I had been listening to a lot of punk at the time - the Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Jam, The Buzzcocks, Stiff Little Fingers etc and so on, but Crass, Jesus, they made Johnny Rotten look like Johnny Mathis.

Crass were everything I thought punk stood for: politics, action, revolution and change in a way that the sort of stuff I had been listening to just didn’t. “London’s Burning” is all very well, but no one I was listening to sang about the things that Crass did on Do They Owe Us a Living: “At school they give you shit / drop you in the pit / You try, you try, you try to get out / but you can’t because they’ve fucked you about”. And even now, thirty years later, listening to “Asylum” still gives me the shivers.

Listening to Crass in the early 80’s in Britain made me stop and think about the world around me. I was only about fourteen at the time, but seeing the striking miners on the news every night as they struggled to keep their jobs and their communities together in the face of the brutal onslaught of the monetarist economic policies unleashed by Thatcher at the height of her powers, I knew that the world was not a fair place.

Punk was supposed to be a catalyst of revolution, but somehow it had failed to materialise. In bands like Crass, and to some extent Angelic Upstarts, I realised that safety pins and fashionable boutiques along the Kings Road selling swastika t-shirts are not the answer. I mean, I still listened to Prefab Sprout, but at the same time I began to look more critically at was was going on.

Having asked my dad what segment of the political spectrum Thatcher represented, I vowed that whatever she believed in, I would believe the complete opposite. So, one evening in the Central Library in Aberdeen, I picked up a copy of the Communist Manifesto and slowly worked my way through that. It was hard going, but I understood the general thrust of what Marx was saying.

A bit later on I picked up Animal Farm, 1984 and A Brave New World to reinforce my fundamental belief that the world was basically a dysfunctional place, led by a corrupt elite that had only their own selfish interests at heart and would stop at nothing to keep the status quo.

Throughout all this period, during which I must have been insufferable, I also picked up at the library a copy of “Workers Playtime” and “Talking with the Taxman About Poetry” by Billy Bragg. I’d never heard of him, but I was initially attracted by the Workers Playtime album cover, with its flag waving communists proudly on show.  

Figuring that this sort of artwork could only mean I’d found a political musical soul mate, I took the records home and played them pretty much non-stop. I loved Workers Playtime, there’s a lot of great tracks on there, but it was “Talking..” that really enthused me with it’s mix of politics (“Ideology”, “There Is Power In A Union”) and everyday life (“The Home Front” , “The Warmest Room”).

Those last two track in particular still invoke a particular sentiment nearly 30 years later, a nostalgia for an era I never knew, an era that comedian Stewart Lee would call “the post-war socialist utopia, contract with the people, Call The Midwife etc”.

But the song that stands out for me is the opening track - “Greetings To The New Brunette”. On an album that’s got some heavy moments on it, lyrically, “Greetings To The New Brunette” is like a breath of fresh air. Think of it as a Ringo Starr number, like “Octopuses Garden” just turning up in the middle of Abbey Road, and you’re like “what the hell… ”. That kind of thing.

So “Greetings” (only real fans get to call it that) is really about politics and sex. The former was a big issue for me back in 1986 when it was released; the latter less so, but not for the lack of hoping. Put it this way, it was easier to get my hands on a copy of  the collected works of Chairman Mao than it was getting my hands on Yvonne Mintie from the 5th form who lived on the end of our street and for whom I had “a thing”, as was the parlance of the day.

Interesting trivia - being a political song, I always thought the Shirley referred to was Shirley Williams, the former Labour and Liberal Democrat grandee. Tehee.

So this song is important because it happened to me at that point in time when my burgeoning social conscience met plain old crude puberty. A tense meeting of minds, as seen in a mixtape I made at the time, where “Suspect Device” is followed by Dire Straits’ “Romeo and Juliet”.

#billy bragg #music #80s music #80s #culture #pop culture #crass #john peel #angelic upstarts

[abishekmuses]

I'm reading Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Just through the first couple of chapters and I"m hooked already. I used to live like this - i guess I miss those days, somewhere deep inside.

Some part of me still buys into the glamour and sheen of that deranged lifestyle. Some part of me still feels a tinge of excitement at picturing all those adventures - well misadventures rather - scoring drugs off dodgy UKrainians in the middle of godforsaken Soviet Ghosttowns - rocking up at sweaty Ukrainian strip clubs in the wee hours of dawn - after dreary nights spent trying to cook up excitement in dead old Kharkiv.

Man I hate those times. I hate those times with a vengeance. But every once in a while the manic recklessness of those times looks appealing again - you know when you're playing GTA - being a good boy - doing all your missions like you're supposed to - and then suddenly - this manic rush overpowers you and you start killing passers by in a frenzy with a fucking chainsaw?

That's how I feel with life sometimes. Not the killing people part. But the doing drugs, fucking around and driving endlessly part. Something in me craves chaos sometimes. just let the energy loose and let it do its thing with ZERO cortical intervention. Just freeflow. Just hop on planes, go places, strip naked, fuck around, do cocaine, run around in forests, climb mountains - well you get the idea.

And when I think of my 20s as a highlights package, you could definitely see this theme running through - this theme of manic recklessness and hedonistic overload.

Do I want to go back to living like that?

Probably not. Definitely not. I don't want THAT. But I want more romance. More recklessness. Less thinking about consequences. More impromptu. More daredevilry. More crazy friends that would egg me on to join them on their quests to bring some lunatic idea/vision to life.

I mean there is definitely a lot to be said for the stability, peace and health that i've managed to make part of my life in the last few years. But sometimes I think - at what fucking cost?

I have a lot to lose now. I have a sexy red car that I need to make money in order to keep. I have a sexy red bike that symbolises the daredevil lifestyle - but I could hardly have afforded it when i DID live that lifestyle.

I catch myself telling people frequently "I want to burn with life" - I always wonder what I mean when I say that - what the fuck do i actually mean? In my head all I can think of when I say that is driving down some dark country road with some pretty girls, doing drugs at 120 KMPH, blasting some kicass tunes at obscenely high volume.

And then I realise with a sigh that i've done that a million times and that's not what burning with life probably means.

I probably crave that intensity that I get in a situation like that - speed, drugs, women, urgency, mania, aliveness - but I want those things to find a different expression. i want to try new flavours.

And then I think - to hell with it - I want to live that high voltage life.- even if i only know how to live it in that flavour.

I don't know. For now, I'm going to continue in my attempt at monastic life. Abstinence. Discipline. God I hate how this sounds. But there's a reason I'm doing all this - I guess - so I'm going to stick with it for now.

But I'm sure there's going to be some high speed motorcycling and public dancing in the near future.

Maybe that's the fucking thing - it's not so much that the high speed, blaring music and girls are the problem - it's the drugs. I think what I don't want anymore is the drugs part. Maybe adventure is great. sponateinty, intensity, devil may care - it's all good. But maybe, drugs are the problem?

or maybe it's the come down that's the problem?

Maybe it's the part where I would be broke that's the problem? or the part where I wanted to be this while also being that?

I don't know. All i know is when i read something like that, i feel like "man this is a book about folks like me - the crazy fuckers. - the ones who need some chainsaw action once in a while to keep doing this shit!"

Edit - a couple of hours later Something in the way of a reconciliation.

Reconciling this apparent dilemma - chaos vs control. Mania vs health and stability.

There's no contradiction actually. I went on a walk and this is what I figured - the intensity, the cars, the bikes, the beautiful women, the drugs - they make life seem game-like.

What I'm looking for is lightness. Playfulness. Joy. No stakes. Fucking about.

Except when you find only through drugs, it's limited. It's dreary. It causes dependence. And makes life without them seem anything BUT playful and fun.

I want to live like sport.

For this, you need skill. You need to get good at the game of life. You need to get rid of emotional patterns that cause heaviness and anxiety.

That makes life a drag. That makes you want to do reckless things. It's not actually about recklessness - it's about abandon. it's not about self-destructiveness - it's about losing yourself in whatever the heck it is that you're doing with no regard for any imaginary future that you might or might not be alive for. That makes life a drag. That makes you want to do reckless things. It's not actually about recklessness - it's about abandon. it's not about self-destructiveness - it's about losing yourself in whatever the heck it is that you're doing with no regard for any imaginary future that you might or might not be alive for.

this takes skill.

Skill takes time to build.

it's the Alan Watts thing - something along the lines of how kids hate the idea of discipline - it's so dreary - it makes life seem like a friggin' chore. Skill is a concept that's much more enticing. You want to get good at the game. So play it on hard mode and get good at it. That's what I'm doing now I guess.

Or I guess that's fucking idea anyway. Let's see if it works.

Off the top of my head, from where I'm standing - it feels like lots of money, a super-resilient and co-operative body and a loose, pleasant and light emotional structure seem to be the main ingredients in living a life of intensity, play and abandon. At least, for me. There might be other things that come in people's way - but for me, i guess this is what I'm working on.

Hence, the monasticism.

But soon. I'll be ready to play.

#fear and loathing in las vegas #reckless driving #sex and drugs

[girlreviews]

Review #382: Currents, Tame Impala

Yet another album coming up on ten years old that forces me to reckon with the fact that I too am also almost ten years older than when it came out. They took five years to put out another! By the time they did that we were in the throes of a pandemic. So a lot happened. I had a lot of different haircuts. A lot.

It’s another breakup album. It came out the year I got married. I’m now divorced. It’s been pretty interesting revisiting this record, because my ex-husband and I were super into it. Everyone was, at least everyone who liked alternative music and wore flannel and tiny hats. Whatever iteration of hipster was hanging around East Nashville in 2015, they were playing it in every bougie coffee shop and thrift store. So it fell out of favor for me after a while, I got a little sick of it.

I had actually just seen them live a few years prior, right before moving Stateside. In Australia of all places, where they are from! At a festival called Groovin’ the Moo, in Canberra. I was there on a WILD ride, with a guy I met in London at a NYE party at the Ukrainian embassy (????) through a mutual friend who was dating my bestie. He and I hit it off, stayed up all night doing drugs, talking mad shit, and having a great time. Mans is moving back to Australia in three days. Oh well. Never mind. Nope, four months later I’m there visiting him. This was quite literally bananas, but really fucking fun — also a fucking disaster. It was like we were falling in love, getting together and breaking up all at the same time. The absolute fucking antics we get up to on this trip. We are invited to a house party, and are so drunk before arriving we accidentally break into THE WRONG house trying to attend. We wake up one morning in our room with the bed completely wonky, two legs snapped on it, potato chips absolutely fucking everywhere, all over the bed, floor, surfaces, and there’s just a pug dog snuffling around eating them all. Do not know whose dog it was to this day. Attend this festival, remember absolutely nothing about it other than seeing Tame Impala, return to the UK with a gnarly sunburn, a powerpuff girls pillow bought as a forget-me-not and a plastic frog table marker stolen from a pizza joint. If it doesn’t sound romantic, it’s because it shouldn’t. But we were in LOVE! It was a fucking disaster and it ended quite badly and I arrived in America a broken hollow shell of a woman. This honestly cracks me up. This is exactly the kind of bullshit you’re supposed to pull in your twenties, everyone. And Tame Impala is the exact right soundtrack for it, psychedelic pop rock weirdness. It was their prior album Lonerism that scored that particular moment, with the most prominent track for me being appropriately titled It Feels Like We Only Go Backwards. Teehee.

Anyway, it’s a few years later, I have my shit together a bit now, I’m getting married or already am, and here comes Tame Impala with Currents. It seems like Kevin Parker maybe had some love adventure of his own and he’s gotta get it off his chest, he’s got some feelings. Here’s what I love about this record, and it’s gonna sound like I’m ripping on it, but I’m not. The lyrics, they’re really pretty… What word am I looking for here. They lack sophistication and depth. Man really just says what he would say to his bros when he’s trying to say how he feels about his relationship ending. They’re simple. They’re rudimentary. They’re clumsy. But they’re perfect. Are we poetic when we are messy in a breakup? Do I sound like I was poetic in any shape or form on potato chip pug hangover day? No. It is what it is. There were multiple different KINDS of potato chips, guys. It’s like we thought we were sowing potato chip seeds to grow a little garden. The pug got his head stuck in a bag for a hot second. You can’t make it what it isn’t. It’s a damn mess. But you CAN make the music and sound emote. And that he does, magically and wonderfully, carrying the lyrics. It works together so well. It’s a journey.

Let it Happen, first of all, I challenge you to run to this. It’s almost eight minutes and is great for keeping pace (I have mentioned my running playlists are wild and I’m not kidding). A friend pointed out to me this past weekend that something I tend to gravitate towards in songs — and they’re right — is ones that evolve and take you on a trip. The end of the song is unrecognizable from the beginning. I love that. This is one of those. It also just fucking slaps. Great start.

Eventually and Less I Know The Better are prime examples of the sonic mastery and lyrical lacking just sort of working. They’re also the most obvious breakup tracks and those simple words are what make it so god damn relatable:

“She said it’s not now or never

In ten years we’ll be together

I said better late than never

Just don’t let me wait forever

Don’t let me wait forever”

Past Life. FUCK, this song is so fucking good it’s so fucking DIFFERENT. Can’t even speak on it, just go stick it on and vibe your ass off, okay?

Disciples is my absolute favorite. For a few reasons. I also love me a short track. But this one is SO fun to sing, and it’s so chirpy and upbeat for a song that’s basically about telling someone you used to care for that they’re a shitty person now (“now it’s like the world owes you, walking around like everybody should know you”). By the way, have you ever done that, told someone you loved that you officially think they suck now? Interesting experience. Not sure whether I recommend it or not to be honest, maybe one of those things that you’ve gotta try on for yourself to see if it’s for you. But anyway, also there’s just some really great steering wheel slap moments of bass and percussion that make me want to DIE and ASCEND from this mortal plain to wherever this song was born from. I said what I said.

If not for Disciples, there’s no question that my favorite track would be ‘Cause I’m a Man. I still remember driving my friend Brittney home in my Lincoln LS, and she was like, you gotta hear the new Tame Impala track. I honestly was not impressed. But she was so animated, and made me listen over and over until I got it. This is a rare song for me, because even now I like it more with each listen. It’s not a surprise, since it’s about his own self reflection on how shitty men are, how they’re always just making sad little excuses for why they don’t measure up to women, and are always letting us down. He does a good job, he really does (“Cause I’m a man, woman, I’ll never be as strong as you”). But, throughout the song he makes these kind of lazy, semi-sexual “uh!” noises and they’re honestly hilarious. They just really add something. I can’t explain why. It’s sort of a nice touch of self depreciation that I truly appreciate.

It’s a one of a kind record, really. It was different from their previous, and their follow up didn’t match it. They have a new single out with Justice and I’m told it’s very good. I saw them again in 2022 at a festival in Barcelona, much less wild and drug fueled than my previous go around (I’m in my thirties now, who has the energy). The sound was bad and my feet hurt, BUT Kevin Parker did us all a solid and covered Last Nite by The Strokes which cheered us all up, because they got COVID and pulled out last minute. Ah well, Julian’s a creep anyhow and could never write something as self aware as Currents. He’s still hitting on teenage girls in his late forties. Kevin Parker, I better not find you pulling the same shit or I will be coming for you and it will be ugly.

#album review #music #music review #rolling stone top 500 #tame impala #currents

[suomeen]

Chapter 2: Luck Awaits

It was the road that scared me the most. Since no planes fly out of Ukraine and we had little money, we had to take a bus to Poland at any rate. About 16-hour ride. We might have to then transfer to another bus then, to cross another 3 countries to Helsinki. Another 20+ hour ride. Then take a train there.

I get sick on buses. I thought I might die. With transfers, 2 full days on the road. Thankfully, I discovered that Finair |bless!| still offered a 95% discount to Ukrainians flying to Helsinki. Well, plus the airport fees so about 85%, but still a great deal. So that made the trip a little bit easier and faster, though the transfers would be even more nerve-wrecking.

I stalled and planned for a long time. It was pretty much impossible to comprehend all the contingencies of this decision. It was scary as fuck and the biggest decision I ever had to make in my whole damned life. I knew there would be no turning back. But somehow, I was ready for it.

At that point, I was barely leaving the house, going out only to buy groceries and medicine and basic appointments. I had no proper job and no money and all my friends left to find a better life long before the war. My physical and mental health were always fragile and considerably undermined by 2 years of living in a fucking war. There was little hope of things working out for me. It felt like if I don’t do something drastic, I will likely just wither away, grow old and die in sickness and poverty.

I knew if won’t be easy. I knew that if I took this step, I would be the one doing basically everything. From planning, to securing the tickets, to speaking to all officials, making sure we make it there. And, basically, every official and unofficial business inside Finland, since my mum can’t speak English.

I’ve had bad anxiety all my life. As a kid, I couldn’t even buy stuff without nervously counting my money for approximately 30 minutes. In my 20’s I was terrified of making calls and dealing with unfamiliar situations. But now, after spending most of my life trying to fix myself, I learned to get over it and do stuff. Still, it doesn’t come easy. Asking strangers for help is hard enough, harder when you don’t know their language and they may not know any other, harder still when you’re the stranger in their land.

Of course, we can always go back. We’re allowed to take 2 weeks to leave the country before we lose our dwelling. But it won’t be easy. The road would be very hard and expensive and we can’t fly, since Finair only offers discounts on flights to Finland. That’s a 2-day trip just to get there. And you’re have to plan the route back in advance too, which is hard and uncertain with things going down at the border. You have to have a very good reason for going. And, in the end, I don’t want to.

I don’t miss home. Not really. My heart bleeds for Ukraine. I’ll miss feeling like I’m among my own people. Speaking and being understood. But not my dirty poor destitute neighborhood. I know it by heart by now. In fact, it feels like a part of me is still there. It’s like that bad old movie with Gwyneth Paltrow where she missed the train and her life gets split into two threads.

It’s hard to pack when you only have one medium bag to take with you and you don’t know when you’ll be coming back.

I was very attached to my room but I also knew that, in a way, it has become my prison cell. I’m not young anymore and yet I feel like I lived so little. I needed a change. I needed to try. I had to take this leap of faith.

I didn’t take much with me. We were preparing for cold winter so it was only a bunch of winter clothes, nothing remotely pretty. I also grabbed a few practical and sentimental items, some music and videos. I could have taken more, really. But I suppose that was a conscious choice. I wanted to leave it behind and get a clean slate.

I miss my furniture, my dolls and my books the most. I can’t imagine when I’ll see them again, if ever. But it’s a small price to pay for safety.

The town we were heading for is called Tuuri, which means “luck” in Finnish. When I was ordering the tickers to our final destination, my automatic translation startled me because after I booked the tickets, on the screen it said “Luck Awaits”. I took it as a good sign.

Once I finally booked all the tickets and the trip was locked in, I got calmer. I knew no matter how much I prepared for it, I wouldn’t be ready for what’s to come and somehow, it was liberating.

It’s just for a few months, we told ourselves. Just to pass the winter. We almost believed it.

[cyarskj1899]

Twitter reacts to Ukraine's defense team quoting Pusha T's lyrics

Pusha T seems quite popular in Ukraine, as its defense team cited some of his lyrics on its official Twitter account on Tuesday (Sept. 6).

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, with over one million followers, tweeted a chart illustrating Russia’s losses since the Ukrainian war started earlier this year. The caption contains lyrics from Pusha T’s “Numbers on the Boards” track from his 2013 debut solo album, My Name Is My Name. “I put numbers on the boards. @PUSHA_T. Total combat losses of the enemy from Feb. 24 to Sept. 7,” the tweet read. 

The chart displays that several Russian artilleries have been destroyed in battle, including 2,117 tanks, 4,556 armed combat vehicles, almost 300 military jets, and other heavy artilleries. The Ukrainian defense account also indicated that over 50,000 soldiers have allegedly been killed in battle.

The Virginia Beach rapper responded to the post on Wednesday (Sept. 7), pointing out Ukraine’s excellent musical preferences. “Great taste in music for the win,” he tweeted.

People on social media and hip hop fans were not shy about sharing their opinions about the Twitter account using Pusha’s lyrics. Most of the commenters were in shock at the tweet, such as Twitterer NekiasNBA, who said in disbelief, “This entire planet is a simulation.” Another commenter kay_mahapa, tweeted, “We live in a world where Pusha T lyrics are used in war.” A third person commented, “Yo, directly quoting Pusha T in the middle of a massive war is the heights of wildness. We are living in a simulation!”

Even the co-host of Hot 97‘s “Ebro in the Morning,” Ebro had to react to the unexpected tweet, saying, “Pusha T has won wars, so they [are] associating with the right rapper.”

Guapdad 4000 also responded to the viral post, saying, “The fact that there’s a Ukrainian intern somewhere designing digital assets to display a body count from [the] war in a friendly looking format is f**king wild to me. We [are] not even gone talk about the @PUSHA_T quote [goat emoji].”

How do you feel about this tweet?

The Ukrainian defense team’s post, Pusha’s tweet and its reactions can be found below:

“I put numbers on the boards.”@PUSHA_T Total combat losses of the enemy from Feb 24 to Sep 7: pic.twitter.com/mUC5NnLcpy — Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) September 7, 2022

Great taste in music for the win… https://t.co/GKG2V6Jc4S — King Push (@PUSHA_T) September 7, 2022

this entire planet is a simulation https://t.co/sjTkHb4NTc — Nekias (Nuh-KY-us) Duncan (@NekiasNBA) September 7, 2022

We live in a world where Pusha T lyrics are used in war https://t.co/KpdkCLIajD — Lesilo Rula (@kay_mahapa) September 7, 2022

Yo, directly quoting Pusha T in the middle of a massive war is the heights of wildness. We are living in a simulation! https://t.co/XpPxEb2oJj — So… what now? 💭 (@tenilleclarke1) September 7, 2022

Pusha T has won wars, so they associating with the right rapper https://t.co/p82glzbOA5 — Kojo Ebro Odogwu (@oldmanebro) September 7, 2022

The fact that there’s a Ukrainian intern somewhere designing digital assets to display a body count from war in a friendly looking format is fucking wild to me. We not even gone talk about the @PUSHA_Tquote…🐐 https://t.co/ZWxUlScvFx — GUAP (@guapdad4000) September 7, 2022

Sent from my iPhone

[alightineverydarkness]

John Object, Life (description)

My name is Timur, I was a Ukrainian musician, and now I am a Ukrainian soldier.

Russia has sent thousands and thousands of soldiers into Ukraine, and I joined the army on February 26th. Currently we are all being bombed, and my life is nothing like what it was two months ago. I have no idea what it is going to be like tomorrow and how much longer I have, so it felt appropriate to share an archive of my 2010-2019 works, in case I never get to do that when I'm old and it's a nice remastered package.

These are sorted chronologically except where putting certain tracks next to each other would enhance the flow (parts of the same EPs etc). Most are horribly mastered. Many are boring and self-indulgent (I'm 27 now; was younger then). However, this was my life, and this is the music I made. 

I urge everyone to do everything in their power to stop fascist Russia, send support to Ukraine, heavy weapons, fighter jets, artillery. Sever all ties to Russian people, kick them off your festivals, cancel your collabs. I want to live.

Some important information to note. We are a sovereign country, with a culture, history, language, identity and path of our own, and we have never been "brothers" to Russians. We also do not have a right-wing government or anything resembling a right-wing faction in power – our current government is actually quite liberal and we have made great progress in human rights over the past years. The combined support for the far-right parties adds up to about 2% of the vote here, when, let’s say, in France it is around 30% and a far-right candidate could realistically win a presidential election – a candidate that claims Russia is a great nation. I am saying this, because I know Russian propaganda is calling us Nazis. 

The war began in 2014 and has been a process of Ukrainian forces defending the territorial integrity of Ukraine against Russian-backed separatists, with weapons and people provided by Russia in "secret" – it was always quite obvious, but they have denied having stepped into Ukraine until this week. The so-called "people's republics" (DNR and LNR) are puppet states, established in name only when Russia saw a chance to destabilize the situation after the country-wide revolution of 2014, and could never exist without Russian weapons, money, soldiers, political support. Ukraine has not been at war with these "republics" (which are Ukrainian territories), it has been at war with Russians, who came to aid a small gang of separatists that attempted to split off two regions of Ukraine. This I am saying because I know it's not fully clear to everyone else outside of Ukraine (e.g. American twitter tankies thinking Russia is building fucking communism – it isn't). 

I know this, because I am a Ukrainian. I've lived my whole life in Kyiv, been to Donetsk and Luhansk, and I have friends who escaped the war there only for it to follow them here. 

Anyway. I hope we will all get to celebrate the end of Russia in a peaceful world, and party again. Until then, I'll try to stay safe and do my job here in the army, though every day I believe less and less that I will get out alive. With or without me, we will win. 

To the every person in the world: whatever you would do to stop Hitler in 1943, you are doing it now.

I hear explosions outside. 

Death to Putin. No gods, no masters. To everyone I ever told I loved them: I meant it, and I still love you. There is nothing I want more than to wake up next to my partner tomorrow, and it hurts me to realise every day this won’t happen anytime soon.

P.S. The quality isn't great on these tracks, these aren't .wav files. I only had access to 320 kbps .mp3 versions, and I had to convert them to .wav to put them up here. I had about an hour to do all of this on my last evening home; I had no time to get my hard disk and find the originals, I'm sorry. Let’s hope I come back and find the true originals someday.