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&a href=&http://archiveofourown.org/works/373529&&&strong&Amateur Theatrics&/strong&&/a& (26586 words) by &a href=&http://archiveofourown.org/users/galaxysoup&&&strong&galaxysoup&/strong&&/a&&br /&Chapters: 28/28&br /&Fandom: &a href=&http://archiveofourown.org/tags/The%20Avengers%20(2012)&&The Avengers (2012)&/a&, &a href=&http://archiveofourown.org/tags/Thor%20(2011)&&Thor (2011)&/a&&br /&Rating: Teen And Up Audiences&br /&Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply&br /&Characters: Clint Barton, Loki (Marvel), Bruce Banner, Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, Natasha Romanov, Thor (Marvel), Phil Coulson, Pepper Potts, Nick Fury&br /&Additional Tags: Genderswap, Bodyswap, Coma, Age Regression, Kid Fic, Powerlessness, Amnesia, Warning: Loki, Kid Loki, Angst and Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Parenthood, Siblings, Action/Adventure, Families of Choice, Magical Accidents&br /&Summary: &p&In which Thor’s primary problem-solving method (a mighty blow from Mjolnir) fails to have the desired effect on a magical artifact, and his secondary method (a mightier blow from Mjolnir) proves to be actively disastrous.&/p&
Published:Completed:Words:26586Chapters:28/28Kudos:5757Bookmarks:Hits:101057
In which Thor’s primary problem-solving method (a mighty blow from Mjolnir) fails to have the desired effect on a magical artifact, and his secondary method (a mightier blow from Mjolnir) proves to be actively disastrous.
WARNINGS: I have done extremely indelicate things to Norse mythology. Norse mythology, I can safely say, will not respect me in the morning. If you are sensitive to such matters you may not respect me either. In addition, this story has been lightly seasoned with salty language.ALSO, and on a more serious note, parts of this story involve a child in danger and other parts involve a sort of magically-induced mental illness. If either of these things upset you, proceed no further with no hard feelings on the part of the author.
(See the end of the work for
Another glamorous day in the life of an Avenger, Clint thinks resignedly as the ground heaves beneath his feet and catapults him into the air. His trajectory is impressive enough that he has an instant to reflect upon the pure spitefulness of Loki hurling him in a direction in which none of his teammates are available to catch him, and then he has to turn his attention to landing without mauling himself inconveniently.
He twists in midair just enough to miss the granite edge of a nice planter and instead destroy forever the glorious futures of an innocent patch of nasturtiums. He skids through the garden, plowing up dirt and cigarette butts, and because the universe hates him follows this up by tumbling into a decorative fountain.
He hauls himself out, spitting water and mulch (Clint has seen what dogs and small children do in public fountains, thank you very much), and is gladdened to hear a supernaturally echoing bonggg that can only be from Thor bringing his hammer down on Loki’s latest magical mischief device. Loki’s furious ”No!”, audible even half a block away, pretty much bears that theory out.
There’s another bonggg, but this time it’s accompanied by the shriek of tearing metal and a pure-white explosion that knocks Clint straight back into the fountain.
He hauls himself out again, dread sitting heavy in his stomach, and stumbles back towards the fight. If the impact of that explosion, or whatever it was, was enough to knock him off his feet...
Well. His teammates had all been considerably closer.
He rounds an upended SUV and finds himself at the edge of a perfectly circular clearing. Thor’s flat on his back in the middle, next to Mjolnir and the smoking remains of Loki’s device. Loki’s a crumpled heap of armor nearby, looking surprisingly small for someone who regularly causes so much trouble. Natasha and Bruce are lying just beyond, at the edge of the circle, and Clint thinks that since Bruce has de-Hulked it’s a pretty good bet they’re both at least unconscious.
In fact, Steve’s the only one who’s stirring at all, over near Iron Man. He sits up, his uniform hanging off him, and the part of Clint’s brain that always gets him into trouble in serious situations notes that it’s about time they encountered a scenario in which Steve does not emerge from a fight looking heroically scuffed up and instead looks like anyone else who’s just had his teeth handed to him.
And then he takes another few steps and realizes that no, Steve looks disheveled and human because that’s what happens when you put a ninety-pound weakling in an authentic Captain America suit and then rough him up a bit.
He stares in horror. Steve catches his eye and says, “Hawkeye, are you okay?” and then stops because yeah, his voice doesn’t usually do that. There’s a horrible moment in which Clint sees a lot of expressions cross Steve’s face that he never, ever wants to see again, and then Clint says “I’m fine, it’s okay,” and spinelessly changes direction to go check on Thor.
The big guy’s breathing, which is a relief, and looks like he always does, which is even more of one. He doesn’t seem to be injured, just out cold.
There’s a rustle of cloth and armor behind them, because of course the universe would choose to revive Loki when there’s only Clint and half of Captain America to deal with him.
“What happened?” says a voice, and it’s a child’s voice.
Clint whips around. Sure enough, Loki’s armor is now inhabited by a small boy with dark hair and a scared expression.
“Who are you?” The boy demands, his voice shaking. “This isn’t Asgard. Where am I? What have you done?”
“Loki?” Clint asks, just to be sure. The boy raises his chin in a defiant gesture he’s clearly learned from someone else.
Clint catches Steve’s eye over Loki’s shoulder. On the one hand, disguising himself as a child and pretending to lose his memory just to fuck with them would be a very Loki thing to do. On the other, Steve’s currently barely beating five and a half feet tall and Loki probably didn’t intend for his magic box thing to be hammered to death, so it’s possible that this kid really doesn’t have a clue.
Loki sucks in a breath. “That’s Asgardian armor,” he says shrilly, pointing at Thor. His sleeve covers his hand completely. “And that’s Mjolnir. That’s supposed to be in the vault!”
“Loki, kiddo,” Clint says, using his best talking-to-scared-people voice. “There’s been a bit of a magic accident. You know magic, right?”
Loki nods.
“Okay. This is going to sound kind of weird, but a minute ago you were an adult.” He points down. “This is Thor.”
Loki struggles to his feet, holding up his newly overlarge pants, and shuffles over. “He does look a little like Father,” he says after a moment. “And my clothes are too big.”
“Yeah, good point,” Clint says, relieved that the freakout seems to have been put on hold. Benefits of growing up in Asgard, he supposes - they probably get this shit all the time.
“We were in battle?” Loki asks. “Has the foe been vanquished?”
His face is earnest and worried, and Clint’s a lot of things but mean to kids isn’t one of them, even if the kid in question is normally a reality-warping sonovabitch. “Yeah, he’s... taken care of. Don’t worry about it. Hey, do you mind sitting here with Thor for a moment? I need to go check on my friends.”
“Of course.” Loki nods and sits down primly on top of Mjolnir, struggling momentarily with his breastplate. “I shall watch over him.”
“Thanks, kiddo,” Clint says, and ruffles Loki’s hair before he can stop himself. He doesn’t immediately lose a limb or turn into something slimy, which is another mark in favor of the genuinely-amnesiac-child-Loki theory.
Steve’s gamely working at Tony’s armor.
“I can’t get his faceplate open,” he says. “I’m pretty sure he’s just unconscious, but I can’t actually get at him to check. I think it’s jammed or shorted out or something.”
Clint works his fingertips under the edge of Tony’ helmet and tries to pry it up. “You okay?”
“No,” Steve says shortly, and then, “I’m fine.”
Clint snorts. “Yeah.”
Tony jerks underneath them, nearly causing Clint some severe manly distress with his left elbow. “Whathefuck?”
“Tony, are you all right?” Steve asks.
“Ow, shit. I feel dented.”
Tony’s voice is... awfully high-pitched. Steve and Clint trade looks.
“Can you pop up your faceplate for a sec?”
Tony fumbles with one hand, finally managing to release it. “Agh, why does my chest hurt?”
“Uh,” Clint says, when it’s clear Steve’s been rendered speechless. “I think it’s because you didn’t build that suit with boobs in mind, Tony.”
Tony glares. It’s... a surprisingly delicate expression, all of a sudden. “Are you saying I’ve got man-boobs? Because I know you’re an asshole but - “
The penny drops. Tony does a little shimmy in his suit and goes pale.
“Where is my dick?” he grinds out.
“Magic stole it,” Steve says seriously.
“I’m just going to go check on Natasha and Bruce,” Clint says, and bails before he can become Tony’s mortal enemy by laughing his ass off. Clint likes his credit rating where it is, thanks.
Natasha groans and rolls over as Clint reaches her. “Oh, my head...” she stops, staring at a handful of red curls.
“Natasha?” Clint asks warily.
“I’m Bruce,” Natasha says, voice deliberately even, and then her eyes go wide and she lurches to her feet. “Don’t let her wake up!”
“Wh - “ Clint says. “You - aw, shit.”
He throws himself down by Bruce’s - Natasha’s - body just as her eyes open.
“Hey, Natasha,” he says, as calmly as possible. “Lie still, okay?”
Natasha freezes obediently - like him, she’s had enough experience with regaining consciousness after a fight to do what an anxiously hovering teammate tells her to without question.
“Neutralized. Don’t talk, okay?”
“Is anyone else hurt?” she asks, and he sees the moment she registers that her voice is too low and that there’s someone that sounds like her nearby telling Coulson that the Avengers need backup and tranquilizers here yesterday.
She sits bolt upright, looks down at herself, and Hulks the fuck out.
The next few minutes are very crowded.
Bruce was just far enough away that he manages to take cover behind a monument to some guy on a horse - it’s listing a little from their earlier battle, but still solid - even though it looks like Natasha’s body is causing him some balance issues. Clint dives to the side, rolls to his feet, and gets picked up in the nick of time by Tony, who carries him out of Natasha’s range saying “Ow, fuck, ow,” under his breath.
Steve, whose protective instincts turn out to have nothing whatsoever to do with the degree of protection he’s capable of providing, immediately bolts towards Thor and Loki. He pulls Loki down and stretches out his free arm to shield Thor’s head just as the first wave of debris hits.
There’s a sputter of green sparks and the debris patters harmlessly to the ground. Clint has just enough time to catch sight of Loki’s white face and outstretched hand, and then Coulson arrives like the cavalry with a tranquilizer gun big enough to take out - well. Exactly what it takes out.
Coulson eyes them - tiny Loki, scrawny Steve, female Tony and suspiciously un-graceful ‘Natasha’ - and says, “Huh.”
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characters leftDave Lartigue did this a while back and I thought it was a good idea, so I’m stealing it.
I am always looking for new music to add to my iPod playlist, so: recommend five songs to me. Any genre. Whatever you feel like recommending. (WARNING: I am not historically a fan of any metal that can be described as [BLANK]core, and most new-country leaves me cold.) I will listen to them, and then in a subsequent post I will say what I thought of every song that was recommended to me. (Even the metal and new-country.)
Bonus points if you include links to Youtube or Soundcloud or whatever so I can listen to it right away without having to search for it.
EDIT TO ADD: Just as an FYI, my comment moderation software auto-sorts any comment with multiple links into the “pending approval” folder because of spambots, but rest assured I am checking both the pending folder and the s your comment is not going to disappear into the ether.
SECOND EDIT: Locking comments because jeeeeeeeez that’s a lotta songs
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Oh, man! I am nothing if not a font of unsolicited song recommendations, so you’d better believe I’m going to jump on an actual solicitation for recommendations like nobody’s business. I am not proud of that sentence.
Le Jig Francais by BeauSoleil:
Big Chief Pt. 1 by Professor Longhair:
Tropicália by Caetano Veloso:
Now by Nomeansno:
The Radicalisation of D by Gareth Liddiard:
(Yes, I know it’s sixteen minutes long and only h I don’t care. It’s all about the lyrics, man!! *S contemplates the understated beauty of a
eats some nachos*)
Harder than I expected.
Once a list starts, it just wants to keep going.
I hope you enjoy at least a couple of these.
1. “Everything I Do Gonna Be Funky” (Soul) by Claudia Lennear.
2. “If You Need Me” (Soul) by Wilson Pickett.
3. “Glad I Knew Better” (Soul) by Howard Tate.
4. “The Glutton of Sympathy” (Power Pop) by Jellyfish.
5. “Orleans” (A capella hippie jazz?) by David Crosby.
Ecstasy of Gold
The Afterlife
Dinosaur Ghosts
Marrakesh Night Market
Don’t Beat Me Down
You may have heard of some of these.
1. Arctic Monkeys – When The Sun Goes Down:
2. Billy Bragg – From Red To Blue:
3. Dick Gaughan – No Gods And Precious Few Heroes:
4. Nickel – Stupid Thing:
(This is the first time I’ve seen the video for this song. Very… of it’s time, let us say).
5. Stiff Little Fingers – Last Train From The Wasteland:
[Song starts at 0:48]
Timebomb – Old 97s –
They are from Texas and may have a bit of country in their blood, but they are far removed from anything like today’s pop country.
Me & Mia – Ted Leo –
Vegan activist punkish, but don’t hold that against him
Take the mirror – White Lung –
Canadian girl punk in fine 1-minute-ish song tradition
Tony Adams – Joe Strummer –
Big risk, recommending the guy from the Clash. Have you also heard of this young upstart Elvis Costello?
Starships – Nicki Minaj –
A passion pick that I can’t necessarily defend, and the video linked is a fan edit of different spaceship scenes from sci-fi, but still fuck all y’all it’s one of the best songs ever written by a human being (or at least a close facsimile thereof)
Hopefully all these links work since I had to manually type this on my phone since my work still blocks your site for “Adult content”.
To be fair: I like all of those songs (and would generally recommend the albums they come off of) but mostly I just want to hear your opinions. ?
Well, just for you ?
1. This always says to me “The Jam if Paul Weller had been born 25 years later”. Righteous anger (and amazingly well observed character building – “he’s got a driving ban/amongst some other offences”) tied to some fantastic, kinda minimalist music.
2. William Bloke, Bragg’s 5th album, is not his best work overall, but it does feature 2 of my all time favourite tracks of his – this one, and “Upfield”. I put “From Red To Blue” on this list though, partially because I agree with the politics, but more because it is my favourite use of Bragg’s voice. What he lacks in technical skill is more than made up for here in sincerity and passion.
3. As this songs rolls back towards topicality (the Scottish referendum on independence is on September 14th this year), it’s always good to listen to someone who has a fair amount of clarity on what it would actually involve. (The irony here is that Gaughan didn’t write this song, but honestly, Brian McNeill’s original loses a lot in the novelty record-esque music attached to these wise words).
4. This one is pretty straightforward. The band played it in the Bronze on an episode of “Buffy”, and the way the drummer held his sticks made me laugh. But I do think it’s a superior example of mid-90s rock.
5. I first got into SLF at high school, where a teacher was a huge fan and lent me the Hope Street/All The Best CD set, and this is the song that I hold up as the perfect example of their work. The punk intensity, the personal involvement with the subject and the reggae influences all come together to produce a song that is at once hopeful, and worried, inspiring and somewhat downbeat. Jake Burns clearly wanted to write a “Everything’s wonderful now” party song, but that wasn’t the reality of the situation, and so we get a much more nuanced track, and it’s all the better for it.
Titus Jones – “Don’t Stop Believin’ in this Love on Earth”
Regina Spektor – “Fidelity”
Sara Bareilles – “Love Song”
DJ Earworm – “No One Takes Your Freedom”
Corky and the Juice Pigs – Gay Eskimo
Big & Rich (ft. Gretchen Wilson) – “Fake ID”
Pistol Annies – “Hell On Heels”
Milli Mars – “The Alarm”
P.O.S. – “Fuck Your Stuff”
Jeffrey Lewis – “Williamsburg Will Oldham Horror”
I can’t resist the chance to mention several of my favorite obscure performers.
Mustard’s Retreat: The Wreck of the Julie Plante
A lively folk setting of a 19th-century poem that pre-emptively turns the whole “Edmund Fitzgerald” thing inside out.
(part of a 9-minute live set)
Vixy & Tony: Strange Messenger
Original folk-rock ballad this time, but based on the true story of Humboldt’s parrot.
Tom Smith: Superman Sex Life Boogie
An oldie but goodie from the World’s Fastest (and most versatile) Filker.
(I was torn between linking to this one, which emphasizes Tom’s comic genius, or to “A Boy and His Frog”, which is a tribute to Jim Henson and makes me tear up every time I listen.)
Seanan McGuire Pretty Little Dead Girl
Country-roc snark wins.
(The Grooveshark version is from the out-of-print live album, but the song’s still available on the reissue of Stars Fall Home.)
Note that McGuire is a multi-talent threat, being a Hugo-nominated novelist as well as a singer.
The Scarlet Pimpernel: The Riddle
Now for something completely different: a number from the (IMO) severely underrated Broadway musical of The Scarlet Pimpernel.
(I had trouble picking here, the title song is highly amusing, and then there’s “Madam Guillotine”, and — oh, just go find the cast album….)
Radio Citizen–The Hop
Goldspot–Rewind
Graham Reynolds–Little Blue Flowers
(If you’ve seen A Scanner Darkly, and I would be shocked and dismayed if you haven’t, you’ll know this one. It’s my favorite piece of music scoring ever.)
Bad Books–Pyotr
Dr. Dog–Shadow People
Let’s do this!
1: Babymetal: Iine!
(kawaii metal, basically death metal combined with j-pop sung by 13 year old girls)
2: X Japan: Art of Life
(for my money, this is the greatest song ever)
3: Kina Grannis: In Your Arms
(mostly it’s an amazing music video, but the song is pretty good too)
4: Florence and the Machine: Breath Of Life
(it’s honestly a shame this song didn’t catch on)
5: Van Canto: Battery
(Metallica covered a capella)
Dock Boggs “Pretty Polly”
Ola Belle Reed — “Bonaparte’s Retreat”
Blue Clocks Green — “Hemmingway”
Close Lobsters — “Foxheads”
Charles Mingus — “Moanin'”
The last one is really just a bonus palette cleansing bit of classic jazz, because by this point you probably need it.
Goldie Lookin Chain: Guns Don’t Kill People, Rappers Do
Tim Minchin: When I Grow Up (from the Matilda Musical)
Grimes: Oblivion
Mississippi John Hurt: The Ballad Of Stagger Lee*
Deltron 3030(feat Jamie Cullum): Do You Remember*
*The last two aren’t videos, just audio w/pictures.
Dredg – “The Canyon Behind Her”
Robbie Fulks: “Countrier Than Thou”, because there are some problems with new country
Dan Bern: “Lightning Jazz”
Richard Buckner: literally anything from The Hill, because what could be better than songifying Edgar Lee Masters’ Spoon River Anthology?
The Toy Dolls: “Nelly The Elephant”
Lou Barlow: “Legendary”
All right.
Let me give you a challenge.
The genre of this playlist is “Ponies”.
Don’t let that scare you, the talent in that fandom is impressive.
I’ll give a musical mix so that you’ll hopefully enjoy at least one.
“Good Girl” — House / Pop.
“Pinkie’s Brew” — Musical theater.
“Awoken” — Grunge/Metal, but not too harsh.
“20% Cooler” — Hip hop, with some embarrassing lyrics.
“Proud to be a Brony” — Progressive Rock, I guess.
Hard to categorize.
Those are five good pony songs that cover a bunch of genres.
I could give you the five best songs in any genre you’ there is that much fan-created music out there.
My Drive Thru by Santogold and Julian Casablancas
Bonkers by Dizzee Rascal
Five Minutes by Tinie Tempah
Mic Check by Hadouken!
Listen Up (MSTRKRFT Remix) by The Gossip
“Sunshine” by Little Dragon
“Pibroch (Cap in Hand)” by Jethro Tull
“Black Sheep” by Metric
“By and Down” by A Perfect Circle
“Royals” by Postmodern Jukebox (feat. Puddles Pity Party)
Webb Wilder:
“The Human Cannonball”
Frank Sinatra:
“One For My Baby”
Puddles Pity Party (Lorde cover):
“Royals”
Pavarotti: “Nessun Dorma”
Better Off Dead: “All I Got For Christmas Was Drunk”
Your “I don’t like metal” bit awoken the “challenge accepted” part of my brain. So here’s some of my favorite songs from
The Lion’s Daughter & Indian Blanket – Wolves
A collaboration between a metal band and folk group from Missouri. Works surprisingly well.
Corsair – Path of the Chosen Arrow
Magic Circle –
The Greatest Escape / White Shores
Caladan Brood – A Voice Born of Stone and Dust
Giant fucking nerds made an album about the Malazan books.
Sacriphyx – Buried Behind the Lines
Jubel, by Klingande.
Currently one of the biggest jams in Germany, but the lyrics (what there is of them) are in English. And oh, the saxophone.
Sorry, only one reccomendation.
I’m a rebel.
A tired rebel.
As It Comes – The Exploding Voids
(I really want this song to be famous- profound statement on detachment and aging)
First Day of My Life – Bright Eyes
(Most romantic song ever)
Buildings and Bridges – Ani Difranco
(also profound)
Mystery Dance – Elvis Costello
(There’s a different, more rocking version but this one has an added verse)
Satellite – Lena Meyer-Landrut
(Best Eurovision)
The Julie Ruin: Ha Ha Ha
Streetlight Manifesto: The Hands That Thieve
Neko Case: Man
Marnie Stern: The Chronicles of Marnia
Leda: Something to Believe In
Stuck with 2013
I’ll play.
My favorite tracks I heard in 2013 were:
“The Mother We Share” CHVRCHES
“Poison and Wine” The Civil Wars
“Now I’m All Messed Up” Tegan and Sara
“State of Grace” Taylor Swift
“Graceless” the National
Oh Land – Renaissance Girls
Marques Toliver – White Sails
Unseen X Delight – SuperVillain
Stony – White Whine (First World Problems)
Plaitwrights – Take
Can we submit 80s songs?
Gurrdammit. It’s bedtime, and I’ve an AGM tomorrow. I’ll come back and make a list sometime on the weekend.
But that’s cool, it’ll give me time to mull it over during all tomorrow’s tediousness.
– United Steelworkers of Montreal
– Library Voices
– Said The Whale
– De Temps Antan (and no, I can’t translate)
– Kate Rusby
“Awaken” Savatage
“Shell Games” Bright Eyes
“Hold On” Tom Waits
“Pandemonium” Killing Joke
“Last Hope” Apocalyptica
1) Laura Marling – Sophia:
(I had to seriously resist the temptation to just post 5 Laura Marling songs)
2) Drag The River – Hang Dog:
3) Saint Etienne – He’s On The Phone:
4) Sun Kil Moon – Gentle Moon:
5) Replacements – I Will Dare:
Zyzzyva — Oh my gosh, The Dinosaurs!
My parents had one part of that documentary on tape, and I was obsessed with it as a kid!
I’ll never forget that music.
Picking just five is hard, but —
I find these guys hilarious.
And to bring in something comics-related:
as you may or may not be aware, Finnish metal artist Tuomas Holopainen is creating a concept album based on The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck (yes, really — those crazy Finns!) and the
has just appeared online.
Whaddaya think?
Just five? Oh all right.
Camper Van Beethoven:
Emilie Simon:
Sarah Slean:
Luigi’s Ballad by Star Bomb:
Dinosaur Laser Fight by Ninja Sex Party:
An Awful Lot of Running by Chameleon Circuit:
Zelda Medley by Lindsey Stirling:
Nothing to Prove by the Doubleclicks:
I can’t get 5 songs since I’m not the most musical person, but here are three.
Warren Zevon: Keep Me In Your Heart
Steam Powered Giraffe: Automatonic Electronic Harmonic
It’s got an unnecessary and flabby middle section, but the beginning is still very strong.
Steam Powered Giraffe: Honeybee
“Down With The Trumpets” Rizzle Kicks:
“Tennessee Tiki” Royal Ruckus (w/ Spoken NErd, J-Qwess):
“Forest Whitaker” Brother Ali:
“Inner Ninja” Classified (feat. David Myles):
“When I Was Young” Wood Brothers:
Mostly Summery Feel-Goodery songs that made me smile a lot this year. Please to enjoy.
Rescue Mister by Trust
Untitled No. 1 by David Bowie
Learnalilgivinalovin by Gotye
Shoot The Dog by George Michael
Goodblue by School Food Punishment
Don’t know if something will be lost in translation…
But here’s a little classic Argentinian rock, in no specific order:
1. Jijiji – Patricio Rey y sus redonditos de ricota
2. Tan solo – Los Piojos
3. De mi – Charly Garcia
4. Pappo – Desconfio de la vida
5. Soda Stereo – De musica ligera
(the videos are not very good though, there are few official videos)
Ah, I’ll just go one better and put up stuff you can download now.
Lily & Madeleine, “Back to the River”:
Beautiful voices working in harmony and sweet old-timey rhythm. Yes. Everytime. Yes.
Break the Bans, “Wham Bam”:
Russian garage rock at its catchiest (I mean, I guess). Don’t worry: it is about fucking.
Dada Centauri, “Untitled”
I don’t know what your opinion on noise music is, but this is ultimately a very rewarding piece.
Thomas Feiner & Anywhen, “Siren Songs”
Just a beautiful, dirge-y cabaret-theatre-feely piece, smooth like port.
Swim, “Hold On”
Here. Here is your obligatory bit of faux-80s.
Ghost – Ghuleh
Os Mutantes – Top Top
Gramatik – The Drink Is Called Rakija
Hot Sugar – The Kid Who Drowned At Summer Camp
Atmosphere – Yesterday
I normally never comment here, but I really owe you for turning me on to Gotye and Janelle Monáe and Blitzen Trapper(!), so here’s my five!
“Inhaler” by Foals:
“All Who Remain” by Beware of Darkness:
“Midnight Breaks” by Waterflame:
“Those Days are Gone” by Barton Carroll:
“?guas de Mar?o” as covered by these folks:
“Anything, Anything” by Dramarama
“No Aphrodisiac” by The Whitlams
“Little Conversations” by Concrete Blonde
“Love Walks In” by The Earthmen
“What’s Come Over Me” by Frente
Julian – great to see there are still fellow Savatage fans floating around!!
Do you listen to TSO?
Sixteen Horsepower – “Black Soul Choir” –
Abney Park – “Airship Pirate” –
Murder by Death – “No Oath, No Spell” –
Crooked Still – “Little Sadie” –
Pat Boone – “Holy Diver” –
(I can’t call it ‘good,’ as such, but holy shit it’s a thing you have to hear to believe)
Creep In A T-Shirt – Portugal. The Man
Loose Your Heart And It’s Found – Sin Fang (Fraggle Rock cover)
Yaa I Get It – Shad
Always Alright – Alabama Shakes
I Wanna Be Yours – Arctic Monkeys
, Galactic featuring Irma Thomas.
, the Clockwork Quartet.
, Mariachi El Bronx.
, Murder by Death.
, the Wombats.
C W McCall Cannibal Song (Alfred Packer)
Fighting Trousers – Professor Elemental
Mercs 2 Ad Oh No You Didn’t
Gorky Park – Bang
Geto Boys – My Minds Playing Tricks On Me (NSFW – uncensored)
Seeing as how you introduced me to July Talk, which is now my baby daughter’s favourite album, it seems only fair to return the favour, so hope you find something enjoy here –
Malibu Shark Attack! – Doing It Wrong
Melt Yourself Down – We Are Enough
The Jepettos – Water
Francophilippe – Boombox
The Joy Formidable – The Leopard and the Lung
N.E.R.D. – You Know What
Feed Me – Gravel
Battles – My Machines (ft. Gary Numan)
Wide Mouth Mason – Ease Your Mind
Starving Artists Crew – The Kick Clap
“Circles Around The Sun” – by Dispatch
“Writing A Novel” by Father John Misty
“E Watson” by The Decemberists
“Sacred Ground” by Over The Rhine
“Coffee and Wine”
by Chadwick Stokes
Bright Red Helmet by Styrofoam
Bloodied Up by Alkaline Trio
Snow Is Gone by Josh Ritter
Drowning by Hundred Reasons
Get Away by Butcher The Bar
Amplify Dot
Akira the Don — try the first track
Scroobius Pip
The Last Shadow puppets — this has got to be a Bond theme one day
Mr B the Gentleman rhymer — best chap hop artist out there
All right, let’s contribute some local Aussie stuff to the deluge, because probably nobody else will?
1. Driftwood by Lincoln Le Fevre.
My boyfriend was like “no not one of the sad sack ones rec Hope and Crown” but this is the song I have the most feelings about off the album. The rest are great too though.
2. Don’t Change Your Plans by Jen Buxton
I’m just… my taste in music is a lot more sad sack than I am.
3. Jamie Hay & the Smith Street Band’s cover of Making the Noveaux Riche, although look up the original if you like your punk shoutier than this
4. I don’t know what new country is but Wil Wagner’s Laika will make you sad about a dog so let me know if that’s too close and I’ll replace it
5. and finally something a little bit less recent, in honour of them fiiiinally touring again, Gravity by the Superjesus.
Ich Erinnere Mich An Die Weimarer Republik by World/Inferno Friendship Society
Syke! Life is Awesome! by Bomb The Music Industry!
The Tide by Mallory
Day Gaunts by Days N’ Daze
Times Worth Living (The Tension) by Pat The Bunny
Radwimps – Order Made
Mystery Skulls – Money
Gotye – Easy Way Out
Pig with the Face of a Boy – A Complete History of the Soviet Union (Arranged to the Melody of Tetris)
Barenaked Ladies – Call and Answer
Trying to find some stuff that’s new/new-ish that maybe you haven’t heard. You may note there’s a theme of new bands taking an older sound (70s style blues rock, 60s mod, 80s synth rock) and really making it their own.
Band of Skulls – Blood
Easily one of my favorite bands to come out in the last few years.
Amanda Palmer & the Grand Theft Orchestra – The Killing Type
Not her usual sound, but this album is just brilliant. Another one of my absolute favorite artists of the last decade.
Black Country Communion – Beggarman
This band is a supergroup made up of Glenn Hughes (from Deep Purple), Jason Bonham (son of John Bonham), Derek Sherinian (formerly of Dream Theater) and Joe Bonamossa. With all of that, one would think they’d be getting more play.
The Black Belles – What Can I Do?
This group was found and recorded by Jack White. You’ll hear a similar kind of sound, with sparse instrumentation but really catchy hooks.
Imelda May – Big Bad Handsome Man
And now for something completely different. She does a lot of jazz/swing/rockabilly, and this song pretty much sold the album.
Digitalism – Miami Showdown:
Jason Forrest – War Photographer:
Geoff Knorr and Michael Curran – Civilization V Original Soundtrack, Epitaph of Seikilos:
Paul Leonard Morgan – Camera:
DJ Shadow – Number Song:
Linking mostly to AMVs, as some of them are better than any official music video. ?
(Note: this was on Mortal Kombat soundtrack!)
“Brother” by Murder by Death:
“Icarus” by Jason Webley:
“Golden and Green” by The Builders and the Butchers:
“The Garden of Forking Paths” by Steve Goldberg and the Arch Enemies:
“In Old Yellowcake” by Rasputina:
I confess, The Weakerthans would have made it in there with something, but I’m guessing you might have heard of them already, what with them being Canadian and great.
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy – Save My Soul
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy –
Ghost of Smokey Joe
(not sure about the link though)
Anthony Head Sweet Transvestite
Lea DeLaria, Hot Patootie
Ca?ujcie mnie wszyscy w dup? (You can all kiss my ass), a poem by Julian Tuwim
(yeah, this one is going to be weird, but what the hell)
I’m really looking forward to reading what you have to say about these:
There is possibly no Chinese-speaking person alive today who will not belt out this song the moment he or she hears it in a bar.
Beyond, “Boundless Ocean Endless Sky” –
Cher has never recorded a Jim Steinman song. This is a tragedy, as this song – the closest thing – demonstrates.
Cher, “Just Like Jesse James” –
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is an immensely popular anime that I’ve never watched. But I fell in love with this little slice of Japanese California-rock the minute I heard it.
Aya Hirano, “Lost My Music” –
I don’t know what you’ll make of this Malaysian song (whose title translates to “to live again after death”), I just hope its elegiac beauty comes across.
Butterfingers, “Mati Hidup Kembali” –
One of their lesser-known songs, but for my money, one of the most poignant breakup songs ever written.
Hootie & The Blowfish, “Goodbye” –
Five artists/bands not already listed at the time of writing…
March of Cambreadth by Heather Alexander:
Black Fox by Heather Dale:
When you’re Evil by Voltaire:
They Don’t Know by Michael Longcor:
Halfman’s Song by Miracle of Sound:
Fitzpleasure by alt-J
Future Starts Slow by The Kills
Born at the Right Time by Dappled Cities
Two Steps Twice by Foals
You’re an Animal by Jonathan Boulet
1. Heaven in her Arms – Converge
2. Dopesmoker – Sleep
3. Rebel Within – Hank Williams III
4. Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise – The Avett Brothers
5. I Know, I Know, I Know – Tegan and Sara
Aesop Rock – One of Four ()
The Antlers – kettering
The Mountain Goats – No Children
Why? – Gemini Birthday Song
DJ Krush – Song #2
No one likes Superman anymore:
Everywhere I Go:
My Evil Plan to save the world:
An Open Letter to Stephen Fry:
The Children of Sunshine – Dandelions
Jesse Garon & the Desperadoes – You’ll Never Be That Young Again
Los Campesinos! – Death to Los Campesinos!
The Raincoats – No Side to Fall In
The Shop Assistants – Safety Net
The five latest songs added to my playlist:
1. A Hebrew-Gaelic take on a Russian folk song:
2. The Spotnicks – Never Trust a Robot
3. Drakengard 2 – Growing Wings. (Re-read Dark Id’s LP of Drakengard 2 and downloaded this. Don’t think I’ll listen to it too often, it’s a bit too sad for me in context)
4. Beltaine – ?ód? by Night (I like the bands whole Polish-Irish thing in general, so this one is fairly arbitrary based on being added to my playlist last)
5. Better be one-legged than lonely (from the Russian cartoon version of Treasure Island)
Some of my favorite stuff from the past year:
Hell – End Ov Days
Inquisition – Joined by Dark Matter, Repelled by Dark Energy
Vreid – The Devil’s Hand
Watain – They Rode On
Plus the brand new track from one of my favorite bands:
Unleash the Archers – Dreamcrusher
It’s all metal, but no -core to be found here.
Okay, here we go.
Just the songs:
– The Simpletons
– Something For Kate
– Bonnie Tyler & Kareen Antonn
– John Cale
– My Friend The Chocolate Cake.
Commentary:
1. YES THAT’S RIGHT I LINKED TO MYSPACE.
… *ahem*. Actually, that’s the only place I can find this one. It’s off the , which is pretty much impossible to find these days.
I actually have it on record that I was sold the last ever new copy that Candle Records would sell. You can read more about what happened to The Simpletons at the previous link, but if you like that, you should probably try to find some of Darren Hanlon’s stuff.
2. From SFK’s debut album, this remains one of my favourite tracks of theirs. It’s a perfect intersection of their melancholic lyricism and raw sound that gets to me every time I listen to it.
3. So, I heard this on the radio not long after moving to France, and thought “Wow, that English singer is out-Bonnie-ing Bonnie Tyler.” Turns out it was Bonnie Tyler, outdoing her own self. Anyway, the fact that I heard
not long after left me with the impression that the French had a thing for awesome strange covers of English originals.
4. I know everyone knows this because of “Shrek”. I’m including it anyway, for reasons.
I hope you’re familiar with the album “I’m Your Fan”. Honestly, I could have picked almost any track from it (e.g.
– see above comment). However, this was the first Cohen cover I heard where I thought that the artist had truly made it their own, while staying superbly faithful to the original. I think that this, and the Jeff Buckley version, are the only two that stand alongside Cohen’s original. (Also, this is the version that was actually used in the Shrek film, and everyone who thinks that it’s a Rufus Wainwright song because he re-covered it for the soundtrack album because of rights issues can suck it).
5. Another under-appreciated Aussie band. With bonus chocolate cake recipe, apparently. A good song to close things with.
“Jigsaw” by Marillion
“Walking Talking Johnny Cash Blues” by the Godfathers
“When All Is Said and Done” by ABBA
“No Sign of Yesterday” by Men at Work
“Of Monsters and Heroes and Men” by James
L.A. Symphony – “Broken Tape Decks”
All Things Bright and Beautiful – “Attractive and Unattractive”
Sleater-Kinney – “Jumpers”
Mutemath – “Typical” (if only for the incredible music video)
The Brothers Martin – “Communication”
The follow up post will be the biggest post ever.
Also, I should point out, the only reason I didn’t put a P.O.S. song on my list was that Fuck Your Stuff had already been recommended way the fuck up there.
God I love P.O.S.
the big bang theory
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