Talkin‘ Fanfic talkinfanfic

Sara welcomes the great and wonderful Tory, best known for their reliably insightful analysis of fanfiction on the Retro Fanfic Retrospective podcast (found wherever you get your podcasts!) Tory shares their lifelong love affair with the legendary band U2, and their knowledge of the band’s history and music. Tory also digs into the amazing feat of how the band’s joyful, sublime chemistry seeps into the very music they produce, sustaining fruitful artistry for nearly fifty years. 
Other topics include: Irish history, and the Christianity of U2, along with comparisons with Oasis. We also talk Bedge and RPF! And we dig into a mini-RFR discussion of likeamadonna’s Bono/Edge fanfiction within a fanfiction, “Fictitious Characters”. 
Contact and Credits:
Intro Theme: Kyle Laurin "Oasis Supersonic Theme" (Twitter: @cobrakylemusic)
Clip used - Noel Gallagher on The Late Late Show | RTÉ One 
Outro clip - “Beautiful Day” by U2, from the album ‘All That You Can't Leave Behind’ - pulled from Youtube licensed via UMG (on behalf of Universal-Island Records Ltd. ℗ An Island Records recording; ℗ 2000 Island Records Limited
Tumblr: talkinfanfic.tumblr.com 
Instagram: @talkinfanfic
Email: talkinfanfic@gmail.com 
 
Time caps:
00:00 - Introduction
06:03 - Start of episode
16:02 - Tory’s music background
24:25 - U2 in bloom right now!
35:06 - A little Irish history 
45:19 - The Troubles, a climate for the formation of U2
56:03 - U2’s Bigness, America, and ‘What is Bono??’ 
01:02:45 - Bono’s useful celebrity, vs individualism of Oasis. Or, “do-gooders” vs “do-badders”
01:08:22 - Bono the Energizer Bunny, and U2 in Vegas
01:13:07 - The other members of U2 (Larry, The Edge, and Adam)
01:20:35 - Christianity and U2
01:31:45 - Religion, U2 vs. Oasis
01:34:50 - Religious imagery in the Achtung Baby-era, and Bono’s ‘characters’
01:41:42 - U2 fanfiction and RPF fandom
01:51:20 - “Fictitious Characters”, by likeamadonna
02:02:26 - Fitting Ali into the Bono/Edge
02:07:20 - Start of Rapid Fire! (which lasts nearly an hour, lol)
02:12:27 - Tory’s Top 5 U2 Tracks
 
Episode References
U2 Fanfiction.com (Tory mentions they used to read fanfiction from this now defunct archive; link via Wayback Machine) 
The Retro Fanfic Retrospective podcast (Podbean, you can also search for it on Spotify or Apple Podcasts)
Link - Band bio, from threechordsandthetruth.net great U2 overview and biography
U2: The Origins Of The Biggest Band Of The Early 2000s a decent youtube documentary on U2
A live performance of ‘Until The End Of The World’ from ‘Achtung Baby’, filmed during the US leg of the Zoo TV tour in 1992. Kiss for the camera at 2m34s

Summary:
Sara takes (kind of sort of) a break from talking fanfic and bandfic to talk about a different form of storytelling– music, and writing about music! shineswithyou is a familiar face around Oasis and U2 tumblr, but what you might NOT know is that she has recently embarked on a writing journey of her own, with a substack blog about music and its place as the soundtrack of her own life.
Sara and shines talk about her blog, and the difficulty of “writing words about sounds”; how music is a language in and of itself capable of telling its own (and our own) stories.
Of COURSE we loop it back around to fanfiction and RPF (or, ‘real person fanfiction’), and how bandfic is, at its core, a pure form of love for the musical artist. Other talking points include: how awesome Bono is, and how we wish we could have been at Slane Castle in 2001; the perennial dysfunction of the Gallagher brothers; and the dichotomy of the U2 and Oasis fandoms.
Contact and Credits:
Theme Music: Kyle Laurin "Oasis Supersonic Theme" (Twitter: @cobrakylemusic)
Clips from "Pop Muzik" by M (℗ 1979 Robin Scott Limited) and "Marquee Moon" by Television (℗ 1977 Elektra/Asylum)
Tumblr: talkinfanfic.tumblr.com 
Instagram: @talkinfanfic
Email: talkinfanfic@gmail.com 
 
Time caps:
00:00 - Introduction
14:52 - Interview start
23:07 - Music memories and growing up
30:40 - Tumblr and bandom
34:27 - the pf+hb blog!
39:32 - Blog entry 1 
44:40 - Tom Verlaine and Television
46:50 - Excerpt of blog entry 4
48:56 - shines’ music writing style and influences, and the difficulties of writing about music
57:15 - Art in the time of Covid and intentional listening
01:10:56 - More on Television’s style and ‘Marquee Moon’
01:22:22 - CBGB’s and ‘the scene’
01:28:29 - Music mags!
01:32:05 - Speaking of U2…
01:36:55 - The dichotomy of the U2 fandom vs Oasis fandom
01:43:01 - Rapid Fire Questions!
 
Episode References
“Pf+Hb” shineswithyou’s substack blog 
Shineswithyou on Tumblr 
Music vid for The Stone Roses’ “She Bangs the Drums” (title inspiration for the blog)
M - Pop Muzik (Official Video) (Youtube) 
Book - "Heartbeat" by Sharon Creech (Goodreads) - a children’s coming-of-age story told in free verse
Music writing rec - Words by Liz Barker - Website of professional music writer and blogger Liz Barker
Music writing rec - "Strawberry Fields Whatever" - Music blog by Liz Barker and Laura Jane Faulds and illustrated by Jen May  
Music writing rec - Liz Barker's tinyletter and an excerpt from her novel 
Blog rec - Hanif Kureishi’s substack and a piece he wrote which shines recommends 
Album - Nirvana MTV Unplugged (Spotify)
Album - The Velvet Underground & Nico (Spotify)
Trouser Press - “The biblio of alternative rock”
"The Too-Muchness of Bono" by David Brooks for the Atlantic
Achtoon Baby - U2 music blog project by Kelly and PJ
Fic mentioned - "The Passing of Peggy Gallagher" by Jeevey   
Fic mentioned - “Stop the Clocks” by savageandwise 
Youtube Clip from “My Beautiful Laundrette” (1985, starring Gordon Warnecke and Daniel-Day Lewis, screenplay by Hanif Kureshi. You can stream it on HBOMax)
Film Trailer for “CBGB” (2013) starring Alan Rickman
Book - Meet Me in the Bathroom: Rebirth and Rock and Roll in New York City 2001-2011 (Goodreads)
Documentary - Meet Me In The Bathroom (2022) - Youtube trailer stream on Paramount+ or rent on Amazon Prime Video 
Documentary - "Gimme Shelter" (1970) - “A harrowing documentary of the Stones' 1969 tour, with much of the focus on the tragic concert at Altamont.”
Music Video - “Dark Sunglasses” a single off of Chrissie Hynde’s 2014 album ‘Stockholm’. The album doesn’t appear to be on streaming platforms.
Youtube - Where The Streets Have No Name (Live From Slane Castle, Ireland (2001) (you can see the heart-shaped stage that shines mentions really well at about 58 seconds!)
Shines’ Desert Island Discs: “Achtung Baby” by U2 (but on another day

Summary:
Sara sits down with the amazing, sublime, talented Jeevey, a legend in the Oasis RPF and Gcest world. Jeevey talks about the challenges of finding time to express yourself amid real life responsibilities; telling the truth through amateur writing; the joys of RPF and her start in the U2 fandom; rejecting the shame of writing taboo topics, and why she likes writing about interesting, compelling characters versus ‘unproblematic’ more acceptable figures (BORING!)
Jeevey is also a fandom expert on Noel Gallagher’s pre-Oasis career as a roadie for the Inspiral Carpets, and his friendship (ahem) relationship, with the now legendary Mancunian Clint Boon. Jeevey chronicles a Clint/Noel romance in her beautiful ongoing work, “Transistor”.
 
We also mention Jeevey’s recent trip to the UK to see both Gallagher brothers in concert; a highlight of which was Jeevey’s front row view of High Flying Birds’ guitarist Gem Archer’s rather, er, overwhelming and impressive physical presents. PRESENCE, I mean!
 
Yes, Sara brings you another 3 hour episode, but c’mon. You know. What else you doin’ today, rasta?! Don’t Go Away, Stand By Me! Some Might Say that we’re gonna Live Forever through our incestuous bandfic obsession! D’You Know What I Mean?
 
Time Caps
0m - Introduction
12:23 - Interview starts. Jeevey talks early writing and how she got into the RPF fandoms.
22:00 - Jeevey on how listening to Noel’s solo material funneled her into the Oasis fic and gcest fandoms. Baby’s first gcest fic! 
32:00 - “I don’t want to bring up the Loch Lomond kiss already, but…” aka “collective mainstream fan cognitive dissonance” aka “WOW just LOOK AT THAT SETLIST!”
37:00 - Sara asks Jeevey if she has a favorite brother to write. Complicated!Noel and Scary!Liam 
49:22 - “The Passing of Peggy Gallagher”
57:45 - “Broken Arrow River”
1:39:17 - Let’s talk about Clint Boon! And getting into “Transistor”
1:54:35 - Digging more into “Transistor”
2:08:19 - Exploring and researching LGBTQ culture and subcultures in the UK in the 1980s (Lesbians, punks, Section 28, the AIDS crisis, etc)
2:32:40 - Rapid Fire Questions!
2:43:30 - Jeevey on seeing Noel and Liam live in the UK in 2022!
2:49:45 - Jeevey on Gem Archer’s overwhelming physical beauty
2:59:26 - Last question. What does fanfiction (and RPF) mean to you?
 
Episode References
Work - "The Passing of Peggy Gallagher" by Jeevey  
Work - "Broken Arrow River" by Jeevey 
Work - "Transistor" by Jeevey 
Fanlore article on the U2 banfic website loveisblindness.net (now down). It’s sister LJ community was “U2 Slash” has been ported over to U2 Slash on Dreamwidth
Rec - "Close" by likeamadonna (U2 fic, Bono/Edge, c2002)   
Rec - "Fetish" by likeamadonna (Bono/Edge) started in 2002, then went on hiatus for 14 years until the author finished it in 2016! Incredible!!
Resource - “Gallaghercest, a Primer” by Snickfic (LiveJournal) 
Resource - “Mad for Our Kid” quote archive 
Resource - Oasis Interviews Blogspot 
Fic Archive - “Mad for Our Kid” LJ Community
Fic - "Whatever I Choose" by Jeevey baby’s first gcest fic!
Twitter post from "Mainly Oasis" on the anniversary of Oasis at Loch Lomond. Aka, "WOW What a Setlist, that!" Or, "Collective Fandom Cognitive Dissonance re: brothers kissing." 
“I AM DISTURBANCE” GQ Interview, Feb 1998 (Oasis Interviews Blogspot)
Fic Rec - "Hawkmoon" the U2 cowboy fic - Index of entries on Livejournal
Youtube -  Liam singing "Once" and looking GODLIKE at MTV Unplugged (Hull City Hall, 2019) 
Influence - Youtube - trailer for “Silent Tongue” the River Phoenix film we mention that was an aesthetic and tonal influence on Jeevey’s “Broken Arrow River”
Influence - Ford Madox Ford’s “Parade’s End” (Goodreads)
Influence - Robert Duvall’s film “The Apostle” (1997) trailer
Clint & Noel in Bed - "Aw, look at us." (Jeevey tumblr post with XFM clip, 2006) 
1993 Inspiral Car

Are ye mad fer it?! In episode 303 Sara and Laura crack open a lager and spend three hours indulging in their most problematic (or NOT) obsession yet– The Gallagher Brothers of Oasis! RPF, or ‘real person fiction’ is fanfiction based on the lives of real people. We figure, if you’re gonna get into RPF, you ‘might as well do the white line’ and in true rock’n’roll lifestyle Slide Away into the nitty gritty of one of the most complicated, fascinating, beautiful, ugly, loving, brutal, intense relationships maybe ever. D' You Know What I Mean? 
Gcest fans, this is for you. Turn your light on, take the shame out of your bread, sit back and enjoy! 
 
PS. Even in three hours we didn’t get to everything! If you’re interested in more gcest fic, we’ve got our recs listed below, and do check out Snickfic’s Gcest Primer, and the Livejournal communities “MFOK” community and quote archive. 
PPS. Spotify Playlist of our Top Oasis and Gallagher Bros. solo tracks!
 
Timecaps!
0m - Episode Intro
4m - Cold open. Laura is forced to name all the Oasis and Gallagher solo studio albums in order
10m - HOW WE GOT HERE (RPF?! Incest?! On arrive à la problématique)
25m - IRL Timeline Walkthrough, “Who are the Gallagher Brothers?”
1h33m - The fanfiction! RPF, gcest, and our recs!
2h03 - The music and our Toppermost of the Poppermost of Oasis, Liam Gallagher, and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds.
 
Episode References
Documentary on Oasis, “Supersonic” (2016) [Prime] [Official Trailer]
Documentary on Liam, “As You Were” (2019) [Prime] [Official Trailer]
Oasis on MTV Most Wanted (18th August 1994) - “Whatever” and “Live Forever” (Liam looking ethereally beautiful, music starts 1m40s)
Tumblr post ft. pics of the amazing and infamous 'Loch Lomond Kiss' 
“Gallaghercest, a Primer” by Snickfic (LJ)
“Mad for Our Kid” quote archive https://mfokquotearchiv.livejournal.com/ 
“Mad for Our Kid” LJ https://mfokquotearchiv.livejournal.com/ 
Oasis and Gallagher Brother Timeline (public Google Doc we made)
BE on Spotify (our fave Beady Eye album)
2015 Youtube video of Liam in an Irish pub playing early versions of ‘Bold’ and ‘When I’m In Need’
Liam Gallagher - “Once” Music Video ft. Eric Cantona, and Butler!Liam
Liam Gallagher - "One of Us" Music Video or, “I miss my brother, here is my heart on my sleeve.” Try not to cry! 
Beady Eye - “Ballroom Figured” acoustic studio. Liam’s voice is raw but beautiful here. Lovely.
Liam Gallagher - "Greedy Soul" Live at Air Studios BIBLICAL
Liam Gallagher - "All You're Dreaming Of" Live on Jonathan Ross CELESTIAL
Liam Gallagher - "Gone" MTV Unplugged MAJESTICAL
Noel Gallagher’s HFB - “Holy Mountain” music video (aka Hot Daddy NG in his tiny trousers)   
Noel Gallagher’s HFB - "Dead in the Water" Live at The Late Late Show RTÉ One 
 
Contact and Credits:
Music: Kyle Laurin "Oasis Supersonic Theme" (Twitter: @cobrakylemusic)
Tumblr: talkinfanfic.tumblr.com 
Instagram: @talkinfanfic
Email: talkinfanfic@gmail.com 
 
Fic Recs (3-5)
Sara’s Recs
time's slipping away (and what will it hold for me?) by mansgotalimit (young!Liam appears in older!Noel’s world. WIP. )
“A Lot Like Gravity”, by RedheadAmongWolves (Superhero AU, SO!MUCH!FUN!)
"Let Me Be the One" by Savageandwise (angsty with happy ending, psychological excavation, amazing!!)
"don't you know you're life itself?" by liamnoel (early days, romantic, surreal, stylistic)
"Candy Floss Heart" by Jeevey  (lovely present day, Sonny meets Liam at the zoo)

Laura’s Recs
“Canter”, by cancellable (early days, short drabble, pretty, that one incredible line!)
“Trying to Find a World That’s Been and Gone” by storyshark2005, (Reconciliation, Sara’s Coma trope fic)
“Razorblade” by Jeevey (sexy, early days pre-band, rawr)
“you and I are gonna live forever” by StripySock, (sexy, first kiss, beautifully and sharply written, early days band) 
Filmstar (orp

Talkin’ Fanfic 
Episode No. - 302
Episode Title - Interview with phyn, aka RedHead
 
Summary:
Yet another incredible treat for the ColdFlash fans! On this episode of Talkin’ Fanfic, Sara sits down with phynali, better known in ColdFlash circles as (the one, the only!) RedHead. RedHead has authored two of the top five kudos’d works under the ColdFlash tag on Ao3, and their work is commonly counted as some of the most seminal in the fandom. Sara and phyn dig into three of RedHead’s works: “Tumbling Together”, “An All Too Jagged Snowflake”, and “Got A Melancholic Temperament (that’s what they said to me)”. 
Sara and phyn talk about the joys and collaborative nature of the ColdFlash community, (“Hi, Aunt Crimson!”), the challenge of balancing a PhD thesis with fanfiction obligations, how juggling multiple (and very different) stories can actually help overcome writer’s block, and also touch on phyn’s work under the pseud “dyed_red”, where they publish Supernatural works of a very different (darker, stylistic, minimalistic) nature and atmosphere, and the challenge therein of dipping a toe into a new fandom. 
 
Bulletin Items
“LEGENDS: A 2022 Clex Zine launched”. Available at https://legendszine.com/ digitally and as a PDF
“Talkville” a Smallville recap podcast, coming July 13th. At least one episode will feature Zach from “Always Hold Onto Smallville” 
Episode References
"Tumbling Together" by RedHead (Barry/Len, neighbors AU)
"An All Too Jagged Snowflake" by Redhead (Barry/Len, Soulmates AU)
"Got A Melancholic Temperament (that's what they said to me)" by RedHead (Barry/Len, deaged!Len)
Collab - “Len & Barry Ship It” collaborative group collection (ColdFlash)
An old fave: "Getting the Hang of Thursdays" by Hayseed (Snape/Hermione timeloop)
A dyed_red fic: "Squint into the Sunset | Glare into the Gloaming" by dyed_red (Wincest)
Phyn rec, author - nigeltde (Wincest)
Phyn rec - "A man with his insides out and his outsides off" by britomart_is (Wincest, time travel) 
Phyn rec - "Wire Inside Me" by merle_p (Wincest, mpreg) 
Phyn rec - elsi’s Bookmarks (elsi was interviewed in Talkin’ Fanfic: Episode 209)
Phyn rec, author - bealeciphers (ColdFlash)
Phyn rec - "Rogue Z" by bealeciphers (ColdFlash, Zombie AU)
Phyn rec, author -  Crimson1 (ColdFlash, interviewed in Talkin’ Fanfic: Episode 301) 
Phyn rec, author - DoreyG (ColdFlash, some of the earliest ColdFlash stories)
Phy rec - “Lesser Evils” by tipsybluetips (the first ColdFlash story on Ao3! comics!ColdFlash) 
Phyn rec - “Things I Cannot Control and Do Not Admire” by n_a_feathers (ColdFlash, part of the “Things” series) 
Phyn rec - “A Week on Rogue’s Mountain” by Chichirinoda (ColdFlash auction AU. phyn “loves this fic”

Talkin’ Fanfic 
Episode No. - 301
Episode Title - Interview with Crimson1, professional author Amanda Meuwissen 
In Talkin’ Fanfic’s third season opener, Sara sits down with professionally published author Amanda Meuwissen, who has openly and proudly published fanfiction on both ff.net and Ao3 for decades, as Crimson1 ! Sara and Amanda discuss how Amanda’s introduction to popular fiction (via, ironically, Anne Rice novels) almost immediately funneled her into the world of fanfiction reading and writing, and how a Dean/OMC fic she wrote during the early seasons of Supernatural quickly rocketed in popularity (it is still, staggeringly, the #7 most reviewed Supernatural of all time on fanfiction.net, out of some 121 thousand) and served as the first project she would “flip” into a published original work.
Sara and Amanda talk about two of her ColdFlash fics from the CW’s Flash fandom, her love of the characters of Barry Allen and Leonard Snart, and why in many ways, the ColdFlash fandom writes the characters better than the show itself. 
They also express a random common love for a Wellingbaum RPF coffee shop AU, Wentworth Miller’s hands, the surprising awesomeness of “Legends of Tomorrow” and Amanda gives listeners some tips and tricks on how best to break into publishing in the original fiction world! 
 
Episode References
Author Page - Crimson1 on Fanfic.net 
Author Page - Crimson1 on Ao3 
Fic - "Incubus" by Crimson1 (SPN, Dean/OMC on ff.net) Note: This is the #7 most reviewed SPN fic on ff.net (out of 121k some fics. whoa.) 
Featured Fic - “Timeless” by Crimson1 (ColdFlash) on Ao3
Featured Fic - “Lovesick” by Crimson1 (ColdFlash) on Ao3 
Tumblr Post - Crimson’s bound copy of “Timeless”
Fic Rec - "You Keep Me High" by toomuchplor (Michael Rosenbaum/Tom Welling RPF coffee shop AU)
Crimson1 Rec - “Earth Boys Are Easy” by Rose Emily (toomuchplor)
Crimson1 Rec - “Tumbling Together” by RedHead (roommates ColdFlash)
Crimson1 Rec - “Got A Melancholic Temperament (that’s what they said to me)” by RedHead (deaged!Len ColdFlash) 
Author Rec - LiselleVelvet
Author Rec - TheRedHarlequin
Collab - “In the Wrong Kind of Light” with sugarybowl (ColdFlash)
Collab - “Len & Barry Ship It” collaborative group collection (ColdFlash)
Collab - “My Father the Supervillain” (tumblr collab series ft. Michael Snart)
Crimson is Reading: “Sucker for Love” series by K.L. Hiers (M/M Mystery Romance)
Amanda Original Fiction Resources:Amanda Meuwissen Official Website
Private Facebook Group “Amanda Meuwissen Books” 
A few niche publication houses: Dreamspinner Press ; JMS Books ; Stormy Night Publications ; Harlequin
“The Case of the Boy in Blue” by Amanda Meuwissen (audiobook also available!)

Contact and Credits:
Music: Kyle Laurin "Oasis Supersonic Theme" (Twitter: @cobrakylemusic)
Tumblr: talkinfanfic.tumblr.com 
Instagram: @talkinfanfic
Email: talkinfanfic@gmail.com