New world order.

I wrote and deleted the first line three times now. Something I never do. I suppose it's hard. Starting with a ''bad day'' or a ''bad week'' seems silly. It's not a bad week or a bad month. It's a bad year, it's a bad life. Things have just been going wrong so much lately. I'm sure many of you can relate. I remember each time I write a new years post I write ''please *enter year* treat us better'' or ''please be good'' and despite it all I think 2020 just fucked us most. It may seem crazy or unbelievable but what's really killing me are concerts. My own personal and best therapy and having it taken is just the worst kind of punishment. Yes I get it, things could be worse, and concerts will be back, but y'all read my blog, you know what and how much they mean to me and without that sort of outlet, that happy place, well I'm pretty lost. 

I tried to do something fun this weekend for a change. My annual favourite event ''Night at the museum'' was going on on Saturday. But this year all the fun was taken out of it. It's been one hell of a weather with the pouring rain and weird humidity that makes people with allergies like mine choke but also the masks in the museum, the keeping distance, the depressed tense atmosphere and people glaring. It's rough. Life goes on sure, but if life goes on like this…I'd rather it stopped for a little while longer. 

While most exhibitions are permanent and I know them by heart by now, I still go check them out each year. Some things I enjoy watching all over again, like the big bear or the painted ceiling and the best preserved Roman street on this side of Europe. And there's always some small new surprises to see. Our town has very rich Roman history so each time something is repaired, a hole is dug, the river is searched, new findings pop up. 

This time there was a new exhibition I was looking forward to. About rock music in our country and former Yugoslavia. It's amazing just how many amzing musicians we have, how much good music, but it's just lost in the floods of recent crap we tend to call music. So many bands broke up by now, some died, some still exist but they weren't just musicians, at some point in time they represented hope, rebellion, change,…

It's a brilliantly set exhibition, highlighting musicians that left a statement on the Slovenian music scene, ours and those from countries around us. And the whole lay out of the exhibition is probably the closest to a concert I'll get in a long while, the rooms you walk around follow in a particular order. Like a festival it starts with a little stage where it's musicians country wide, big stage with names that are from all around former Yugoslavia, in between you find a so called ''political stage'', which may be my favourite part, showing and explaining the spirit of rock, the like I called it earlier, rebellion, being different, offering a different outlook on things and offering a way out of the boring and normal. The room layout obviously ends with a ''backstage'', that one is dedicated to our local bands, from our hometown. Might be the most important part. We have so much good music here too.

Obviously what the exhibition shows in the first place are guitars, drums  and other gear, clothes, records, some personal items from the musicians that changed our world in the time period between 1960 and 1991. I am a strong believer that music and especially rock music has the power to change the world and this is a clear back up of that idea, music can break barriers in people's minds, in politics, in cultures in everything really. It's an universal language and a statement like no other. 

It's a funny feeling walking through an exhibition looking at things and pictures of people you actually know. I don't know, should it make me feel old or…? Going through this, remembering how it's set into stages, the barricades, the guitars, the lights…fuck me I miss concerts. I don't get how people live, how do you live never going to concerts? I can't seem to understand it…

The rest is business as usual, the paved Roman street which come to think of it after seeing Pompeii last year is not as fascinating no more and I'd actually need someone to explain to me why is ours different and ''one of a kind'' in it's way. I mean in Pompeii all Roman streets are preserved and you obviously also can walk on them. I think I heard once that it's special because it's a ''highway'' in a way. And it's supposed to be unique because of that, not sure though. Gotta look into that, I suppose it's time to bug museum employees yet again, by now they all know me and by some miracle they're not sick of me yet. 

Business as usual means also going to see my bear again. Can't do without the bear…

As always the night has to end with a drink but believe me even that one feels bitter when your favourite places aren't even open and won't be anytime soon. I guess is the new ''normal'' we have to get used to now. Actually, fuck that, it's not normal, it's crazy, it's madness but I guess this madness is our new reality.  It's a fucked up world as I said so many times before but I think this kinda fucked up I didn't even dream of.

I suppose this is it for today. Another long Monday and I'm ready to fall into bed. It might be true that you don't hate Mondays but your life but so help me Jesus it feels like Mondays never end. Have a good week guys, I hope you find some sort of fun to make things seem less gloomy. I'm actually going to a local concert on Wednesday. Tiny event not even comparable to what I miss so much and I don't even know the band but I'm having such a withdrawal crisis from concerts that I'd probably go see Justin Bieber should he play here. Gonna be ''fun'', muzzled and annoyed but I'm willing to try. 

P.S. All but one picture of me are taken of my butt because I have a problem of being pictured muzzled. Feels and looks dumb...but it's okay because it's been a good hair day...

Wild, wild horses couldn't drag me away.

There's a song by Niall Horan titled ''Put a little love on me''. And there's a line in that song ''I look around as my heart is collapsing, 'cause you're the only one I need, to put a little love on me.'' I thought that was beautiful. The way it's sung with emotion, the words...I'm not a fan of his music, but when a song is good...I can admit that even if it is by Justin Bieber. Ha no not really, him never, though let's be serious we all got our guilty pleasures and that's okay. All I'm saying ''Put a little love on me'' is a beautiful song, I listened to it on my headphones on reply along with Styles' ''Falling'' in the middle of the night and honestly it took a little strength to keep the tears at bay. Not because of the songs but because of the emotions they brought up. Isn't that what good music is supposed to do? Make you feel…

Don't worry though, this week it's business as usual, with an album that someone I love very much loves most. We're both huge fans of this band and this album so here goes…(I might love the cover most just to fuck around with the picture, there's been a lot of ''PG18'' pics on my phone with this cover and also Motley Crues cover. I obviously prefer Vince Neil's crotch over Joe Dallesandro).

You can't actually expect me to look at the title ''Sticky Fingers'' and not think of dirty things straight away? Which is exactly what they wanted anyways. I mean a cover with male genitalia. Literal rock n roll symbol I'd say. The back part aint bad either though I've yet to see a sexier rocker's butt than Springsteen. Tight. Lol. Back to the ''famous crotch'', I mentioned above the man behind the picture, Joe Dallesandro. Can y'all imagine that? Instead of the ''shot heard around the world'' it's the ''bulge seen around the world''. I mean we never saw his face but his dick got some serious fame. That much more making it shot by Andy Warhol. Wild.

This album was released in April 1971, I can literally hear my mother in my head just now going on about how I only love old cars, old men and old music. Makes my eyes roll all the way back into my skull. First off not my fucking fault new music and cars suck and also, y'all seen Nikki Sixx right? Fucking stud. I get off topic easy when it's about classic rock stars yes. Obviously.

While we're on this ''stud'' topic. I've seen the Stones in 2014, ironically in just 4 days it's going to be 6 years since I saw them. My dad once said ''days are long but years are short'', I never understood that better than I do now. I haven't written about this concert in detail on my other blog like I do now. Only shared some pictures. But shit it was an amazing concert. I mean not my favourite, that throne happens to belong to someone else, but this concert? Close second. Man, the energy, the music, the crowd, the fact that they have someone announce them…all of it is beyond perfect. And the fact that I the idiot am walking around the stadium foolishly thinking I'll get to ''randomly bump into Mick Jagger like he's some local wanna be singing in a bar'' and then it actually happens? Seriously, there I am walking around, a huge Mercedes with tinted windows pulls up, window down, Mick Jagger with a huge fucking smile sitting inside, vaving at fans. Did I happen to react? Smile back? Anything? Fuck no. Got a severe case of being completely star struck and frozen solid. You guys! It was Mick fucking Jagger. The best part just might be though that I call home telling family what happened and all I get is ''so? Just some old dude who cares''. I live with animals I swear.

Right back to the stud thing. Mick on stage is nothing if not sexy as hell. He has this energy, this sex appeal, there's something about him that is just to die for. I'm not joking, the man is hot. No I don't give a flying fuck about how old he is. Some guys just got IT. I'm telling you guys this is something everyone should put on their bucket list and do once ''see the Stones live'', let's face it they will outlive all of us (thank god, a world without Stones is not a world I want to live in). Hoping I get a chance to see them again too, was going to with dad, some years ago, that never happened unfortunally.

So Sticky fingers is the ninth studio album by the Stones and first release of their own ''Rolling Stones Records'' label. The album is considered as one of the Stones' best albums, it went triple platinum in US and contains the songs we all know and love such as ''Brown sugar'' and ''Wild horses'' which just so happens to be my personally favourite song by the Stones, it's just so reasuringly sad and comforting at the same time.  The original cover though was really innovative for the time, showing a sexually suggestive picture of a guy in tight jeans (as tight as I wish all men wore tbh) with a zipper that yes it does in fact work. Opening it will reveal a pair of white underwear lol. Later copies though removed the zipper and just have the picture due to the damage done to the vinyl by the zipper (try storing that with your other records) and the expense itself of producing the actual cover.

Y'all know that the Franco regime in Spain actually censored this cover and replaced it by John Pasche and Phil Judes' tacky (sorry guys but it really is) cover with some ''can of fingers'' design.  Also in the 90's in Russia the cover seemed to be quite close to the original only the jeans were coloured, there's a Soviet Army belt buckle and I'm quite certain that the model is female. Come to think of it, I could use a copy of that. Must be badass.

I would easy call this album their peak, best work, whatever you want to call it. They were always called the ''world's greatest rock n roll band'' and on this album it's quite obvious why. I mean they're legends after all but this album shows why.

The record kicks off with ''Brown sugar'' which has this blues – rock feel to it. There's a lot of this blues, RNB, country feel to their music. I think the Stones always were somehow fascinated with American music. You can hear that here so well the blues tone in Brown Sugar, the country feel in Wild horses, the honky tonk (not woman lol) Dead flowers, Sticky fingers feels like a love letter or an ode to that kinda music.

Ironically the album was commercially a huge hit, but reviews were not as hot. New york times actually wrote if they were still ''relevant''. I guess it's how it always is bands fail to meet everyone's expectations. There's always some asshole being the critic. The fans are never happy either so pleasing everyone is damn hard work.

What I love about this album is actually the view into the amazing range of talent as a soul singer that is or better can be Mick Jagger. Like take a look at ''I got the blues''. Amazing. The voice, Watt's drumming, sweet perfection. And while ''Wild horses'' might give that honky tonk piano vibe the vocals are nothing but straight up blues music. Maybe that's why it's sad and reassuring at the same time. Blues is such amazing music, not just because without it there'd be no music now, but really, it's beautiful soulful music, one just has to understand it.

I think this album is actually amazing, the only thing about it that I hate is that it ends. It's wild, it's soulfull, it's packed with confidence and energy and it honestly feels like a great fuck, hitting all those sweet spots along the way. I'm not joking right now, I mean sex is great but did you even listen to Sticky fingers before?

This doesn't read as a review I'm aware, my head is probably too crowded with all the bullshit I'm trying to process to even focus on the task at hand. Take this as a long instagram picture title under a photo of a record I love.  I'll have to come back and rewrite at some point but untill then, put it on, play it, get lost in it, like I love to, because so help me jesus nothing hits quite as good as those ''Wild horses''. There's a lot of bands and a lot of albums out there but just one is ''Sticky fingers''.

Hard days.

Things are slowly going back to normal. ''Normal'' that's a funny word to use because there aint one thing about this world that is normal or okay. But for a change I am sharing some of the arts created during the lockdown times. Till the paper, pencils and coloured pencils ran out. It's funny how I have drawers full of things but once I need them they're never actually there. Never mind that things such as erasers and blenders in pencil forms are still impossible to get. Clearly I live in Agrabah.

Of course there were tons of drawings (for more follow my IG account ''purpleskylineart'') and tons of failed drawings. Sketches that I never finish. But these are some that I like. Might be that these are my favourite singers / actors / characters...or maybe just that I for once found positive aspects of my art. It's so stupid to compare your art to someone elses, sure I'd like to be as good as some hyper realistic artists, but I guess I'm just not there (yet).

These are all created with Staedtler super soft color pencils, Faber Castell color pencils (that are imposible and keep breaking and I keep cussing them out), Koh-I-Noor hardtmuth graphite pencils numbers from 2B to 6B (best pencils out there, soft, rich in color and they never break no matter how many times you drop them or your cat steals them). For fine erasing I use Faber Castells pencil eraser or a soft lint free eraser. Some shading is done with Derwents shading tool and colors are blended with Derwents blending pencil. The finishing touches are usually done with Pilots white gel ink pen.

Drawings from top left to the bottom are;

- Kat McNamara as Clary Fray from Shadowhunters
- Dominic Sherwood as Jace Herondale from Shadowhunters
- Tom Payne as Jesus in The Walking Dead
- Emeraude Toubia as Isabelle Lightwood in Shadowhunters
- Michael Hutchence from INXS
- Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron in Star Wars
- Henry Cavill as the Witcher in Witcher
- Clayton Cardenas as Angel Reyes in Mayans MC

Now if you'll excuse me, it's Friday which means I've got some hell to raise. Ironically not the hell raising we'd used to do on the weekends. The kind that country artists sing about. But a different kind of hell. It's time to protest. To get up and speak up. About everything. And mostly to stand up and support the fight against racism. I am fully aware that I can never understand how black people feel but that doesn't mean I can't support the cause. My heart breaks for George Floyd and all the rest that are too many to even list, that had to die because of police brutality that is no longer brutality but simply put murder and should be treated as such. It's 2020, it's time this shit ends. So guys, lets give them hell, enough is enough. Stay safe out there and fuck racism. 

P.S. How fucking perfect is that last drawing of my baby Angel? Spent months on perfecting it and I'm really happy about how it turned out.