Lockdown! at the Disco

Hi, how are you? Come in! Get comfortable.

You’re listening to episode 4 of Lockdown! at the Disco on Comics Youth Radio with me, your very tired host, Amy Roberts – broadcasting live from her bedroom in Fairfield and Kensington in her pyjamas.

Today I’m keeping my voice a little lower than usual and I’ll be a little more gentle in my delivery because this episode is The Snoozetime Special and it’s going to be full of songs to promote rest and relaxation. And they’re songs which might hopefully help you to enjoy a nice nap or to drift off to at night.

We’ll also be talking about different things you can do for your wellbeing and to promote calm so that we can all get our sleep sorted during these difficult times. So get into your snuggiest pair of pyjamas and wrap the duvet around you. Take a deep breath in (BREATHE) and let it out. And let all the bad out as you exhale - like a nasty stench through an open window. Because everything is going to be alright in the end. And know how I know? Well, first let’s put on our Worried Shoes with Karen O and the Kids:

TRACK #1: “Worried Shoes” by Karen O and The Kids

That was Karen O and the Kids covering “Worried Shoes” by the late, great Daniel Johnston. That was from the wonderful soundtrack that Karen O did for Spike Jonze’s Where the Wild Things Are which is a beautiful adaptation of that classic children’s book by Maurice Sendak.

And I think “Worried Shoes” is one of the best songs ever written about having anxiety and working your way through those feelings. It’s a song that suggests that anxiety isn’t something you can necessarily shoo away or just shake off. It’s something you carry with you and that you have to learn and develop new habits for in order to deal with it and live with it in a way that’s healthy.

But it’s also a song that suggests that we don’t have to haul that weight around full time. Shoes are for walking but shoes can also be taken off. You don’t need to wear your troubles to get to wherever it is you want to be.

The majority of us are likely experiencing a lot of anxiety right now for any number of reasons. The world feels very uncertain and so much of our lives feel on pause and blurry. But don’t just live with that anxiety – if you can, expend that energy somehow and use it constructively. Turn that anxiety into something that can carry you and push you into peace and calm.

Put on your worried shoes and stomp that anxiety into the dirt.

And when we’re trying to get some sleep, anxiety can be the beast that tip-toes into our tummies and taps onto our skulls and keeps us awake when we’re exhausted and desperately trying to rest.

We all need to find things that can help quieten that noise in some way. And for some – myself included – simply listening to music to drift off to can really help. This is “Better Rooms” by Gorky’s Zygotic MynKi.

TRACK #2: “Better Rooms” by Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci

TRACK #3: “Over the Ocean” by Low

That was Gorky’s Zygotic Mynki with “Better Rooms” which was requested by Comics Youth head honcho Rhiannon – who has been working impossibly hard this week. And I very much hope she gets some well deserved rest and some sleep today!

And that was followed by “Over the Ocean” by Low. I’ve been listening to a lot of Low recently because they’re a really beautiful, chill band who delve into some difficult emotions with a serene gentle clarity and they just bring me back to peace. Listening to them also reminds me of someone who is very dear to me and that I’m missing a lot right now.

If you’re like me, then maybe one of the things that’s keeping you awake at night or that wakes you up far too early feeling restless and abstract - is that you feel very far away from some of the people that you love the most. And that distance can really press upon you and feel very heavy.

If you’re feeling that right now, then create playlists that summon the spirit of that person or those people close to you. Surround yourself with objects that remind you of them. Bring their t-shirt to bed with you. Or use one of their recipes to do some baking and scran the whole lot before you go asleep. It might never taste as good as how that person makes it, but you’ll still find it reminds you of them anyway.

They’re always closer than they appear.

Getting a good night’s sleep is actually a little like following a recipe, to be honest.

You know? Good sleep is about finding the familiar and rooting yourself in it. It’s about routine and structure and calm. It’s about finding the right combinations of things and sticking to them.

It’s a recipe. And everyone makes it differently.

Here’s one ingredient for mine right now. This is “Hope We Can Again” by Nine Inch Nails.

TRACK #4: “Hope We Can Again” by Nine Inch Nails

TRACK #5: “Song to the Siren” by This Mortal Coil

That was This Mortal Coil with their iconic cover of Tim Buckley’s “Song to the Siren” and I’m playing that for my dad. That’s a really special song in my family and it’s one of those songs which has continued to pop up in surprising and unexpected ways throughout our lives – as these things tend to happen. Sometimes you find patterns in life and you just have to keep following them.

Before that we had Nine Inch Nails with “Hope We Can Again” from their latest album Ghosts V: Together. That album is actually part of a double release from the band and it’s currently available for free download from their website – I think it was actually released at the very start of lockdown and ya boi Trent Reznor must have very kindly realised how beneficial this album could be for people so he just made it a free release. Probably because he can afford to. Either way, ta mate. It’s been very much appreciated over here.

But those two albums Ghosts V: Together and Ghosts VI: Locusts are a yin and a yang. They’re the dark and the light and they’re absolutely stunning to listen to back to back as a pair. I’ve been very much enjoying listening to these two albums while walking through my local park on my own, clearing my head. Keeping my feet entertained, as they say in Animal Crossing.  

If I can be completely honest with you all – and I feel like I can, we’re all friends here aren’t we? – I’m struggling with disassociation and that’s especially true right now. And maybe you’re struggling with episodes of disassociation right now too? It’s the brains way of protecting us during times of mental hardship.

Disassociation can make you feel disconnected from the world and from yourself. It can severely skewer your perception of time and identity. And it can be scary and difficult. Particularly when you’re struggling to sleep.

Ghosts V and Ghosts VI by Nine Inch Nails have been really helping me through those episodes. They make something that feels so abstract and surreal feel peaceful and almost cinematic – like I’m watching my life unfold on screen in a really beautiful and serene way. And that really helps.

So I urge all of you to find something that helps you process such feelings and experiences. And I also urge you all to remember that some of the mental health challenges that you may be experiencing right now – be it anxiety, depression, grief, or disassociation – can sometimes be your brain’s way of trying to protect you from or to try and process this collective trauma that we’re all going through as a community and as a society right now. So be patient with your brain and be kind to yourself and remember that everything is temporary. We are always in flux. And we have the power to adapt and to survive. And to sleep!

TRACK #6: “Anthems for a Seventeen Year Old Girl” by Broken Social Scene

TRACK #7: “Those to Come” by The Shins

That was “Anthems for a Seventeen Year Old Girl” by Broken Social Scene followed by “Those to Come” by The Shins. And they were requested by our art director Ste and his awesome partner Rhiannon. I also wanted to give a huge shoutout to their little baby Art A.K.A Lil’Chonk – because Ste shares pictures and videos of this big lovely lad with us and it really brings a lot of light to our team during a very stressful and tiring time.

In fact, I wanted to give massive props in general to the Comics Youth team and to our young people. All of whom are really working so hard right now and pulling together and pulling each other through this moment.

This week we’ve launched The Stay Safe Club which is a project where we’re going to be sending out a bunch of free lockdown care packages to children and young adults aged 8 – 25 across the Liverpool City Region and we’ve been absolutely inundated with messages of thanks and support ever since.

We’re really humbled and grateful to everyone who has shared this project and who has been in touch with us about it and we’re actually completely floored by the response we’ve had overall.

We’ve had a lot of people ask us how they can help to support us and this week we’re going to be launching our Patreon so that people can become monthly Patrons of Comics Youth and help to give a small amount of money to us each month which will be a massive support to the services we provide.

It’s very tricky right now, people. But we’re carrying the light still. Keep an eye on our social media for updates on that and the small but great ways that you can support us through all of this.

And now a little something from Welsh musical marvel Kelly Lee Owens. This is “Keep Walking” on Comics Youth Radio.

TRACK #8: “Keep Walking” by Kelly Lee Owens

TRACK #9: “Jenni” by Big Thief

That was “Keep Walking” by Kelly Lee Owens followed by “Jenni” by Big Thief, which is pretty nice dreamy double bill, I’m sure you agree?

One of the things I love about “Jenni” by Big Thief is its sense of place and atmosphere. And that’s something that’s very important when trying to make a space that’s conducive to sleep. We talk a lot in our Safe Spaces group about ways that we can create and maintain peaceful, welcoming and safe environments in our homes right now. Even if the place that we call home doesn’t necessarily feel like any of these things – and I know that might be the case for some of you listening.

So wherever your space is – that room or area that makes you feel tranquil and protected – make sure that you nurture it. Put in the time to keep it clean and tidy whenever you find the energy to do so. Fill it full of things that you love and things from people that you love. Make it snug and calming. Make it somewhere you long to rest your head.

Our next two songs have been requested by a couple of our young mavericks from our Safe Spaces group. First up is “First Blush” by Locket as requested by Rosie.

TRACK #10: “First Blush” by Locket

TRACK #11: “Empty Bed” by Cavetown

That was “Empty Bed” by Cavetown and it was requested by Lucas Mannion who I would like to continue to thank for giving me weekly updates about what bread his mum Sarah has been baking while in lockdown. I’ve managed to find a somewhat decent bread from my local Lidl but it’s no sourdough. I dream of sourdough, people. I dream in sourdough. Sourdough is my love language.

A huge shout on ways to keep your body feeling restful for bedtime and for sleep is to try and find anything too high in sugar for the few hours before you go asleep. And – I know we’re all huge caffeine heads here at Comics Youth – but restricting your caffeine intake. And that includes stuff like cola or energy drinks or just basic cups of tea is also very important.

If I drink any caffeine past about 2 or 3pm then I can usually still feel it rattling my bones at around 10 or 11pm. Switch to decaff, people. Stay hydrated. And swerve the night time sugar binges if you can – that’s easier said than done though, innit?

Let’s have a little something sweet right now though, shall we? This is the wonderful “White Ferrari” by Frank Ocean and it was requested by Rosa.

TRACK #12: White Ferrari” by Frank Ocean

TRACK #13: “Dear Nora” by Girlpool

Frank Ocean’s Blonde continues to be just one of my favourite albums of recent years and it genuinely seems to just get better every time I listen to it. And it’s really an album about the trauma of adolescence and about figuring out your place in the world and finding the strength to be resilient and proud about who you are and how you exist within it.

Following that was “Dear Nora” by Girlpool, from the album Before the World Got Big and which I think pairs really beautifully in a thematic way with Blonde in how it’s an album about navigating life as a young adult and standing tall as the person you’re growing up to become.

For many young people, sleep patterns have become a very difficult thing to maintain during all of this. Maybe you’re staying up until the wee, early hours of the morning and then waking up late in the afternoon. Or maybe you’re going to bed super early and then waking up at 4, 5 or 6am wide awake and restless.

But just remember that time is but a construct. Especially right now where time is just a slippery eel of a thing that none of us is really getting a tight hold off. So whatever schedule is working for you is totally fine, you know? 9 – 5 isn’t a thing right now. However and whenever you’re able to get some kip is absolutely fine. So don’t be sweating it.

As requested by Lucas, this is “Landslide” by Oh Wonder on Comics Youth Radio.

TRACK #14: “Landslide” by Oh Wonder

TRACK #15: “Pulling Our Weight” by The Radio Department

That was “Landslide” by Oh Wonder followed by “Pulling Our Weight” by The Radio Department which is a fantastic song that I’d forgotten all about. So mega thanks to Anna for requesting that one.

The show is slowly crawling to a sleepy end right now. Which brings us to a really important vibe that I think can help us all right now in relaxing and just hushing our brains up a little bit and getting ourselves into a nice cosy state where we can sleep.

And that vibe is meditation or mindfulness. I’m sure many of you have some kind of an app on your phone that you use for this, or maybe you prefer to use YouTube videos as a guide. Whatever it is that helps you, keep doing it. It’s so good for you and great for your mental and physical wellbeing.

And if you don’t have an app or you use any online tutorials then I really urge you to give some a go. Find something that you connect with and that works for you.

One meditation that I learned a few years ago is something that I continue to practice when I’m struggling to sleep or feel restless in my mind and in my body. Maybe you can do it with me now:

So now, if you’ll allow me to get real awkward about this.

Get yourself comfortable and slowly close your eyes. Adjust your posture, keep your back straight and tall and proud and drop your shoulders. Let the weight of the world slip off them and roll out into the floor beneath you and disperse into nothingness.

Take a deep breath in and then slowly release.

Deep breath in and then slowly release.

And as you keep slowly breathing in and out, I want you to imagine you’re currently sat on the beach.

You can feel the sun bake against your clothes and your skin. You can see the brightness of the sun through your eyelids.

The sand gathers between your toes – give them a wiggle, make shapes in the grains -  and there are birds all around, calling to each other and you’re listening to them. You’re with them. And as you breath deeply in imagine that your lungs are pulling the waves of water in towards you.

And as you exhale, imagine that you’re gently pushing those waves back out into the tumble of the surf.

The air tastes salty from the sea.

And the sound of the waves crashing glistens out with each breath in and out.

Keep imagining the sun, and those birds, and the beach, and those waves – and you controlling those waves with your breath, because you are safe and you are in control and you are enough – don’t let go of those breaths or that beach as we roll into “Ocean Breathes Salty” by Sun Kil Moon.

TRACK #16: “Ocean Breathes Salty” by Sun Kil Moon

TRACK #17: “These Days” by Nico

That was Sun Kil Moon covering “Ocean Breathes Salty” by Modest Mouse from Tiny Cities, which is an album of beautiful Modest Mouse covers from 2005.

And it was followed by the ever beautiful “These Days” by Nico. And that brings our episode to a slumber lovely end.

Next week’s episode is all about Love – platonic love, romantic love, familial love, and the love that we deserve to be extending to ourselves. We’re want your shoutouts to people that you love and we want your song requests for songs about love that maybe present the idea in a new and radical way.

The episode will be all about ways to show kindness and love to other people and to ourselves, so if you have anything you’d like to share on that then please get in touch via our social media channels or directly with me via email [email protected].

And with that we say goodnight and sweet dreams. Until next time dear listeners, stay safe and stay sassy and my god, get some sleep, get some sleep, get some sleep, get some sleep (fade out)

TRACK #18: “Dream a Little Dream of Me” by The Mamas and the Papas

Hi!! It’s me your friend and Lockdown! at the Disco host Amy Roberts on Comics Youth Radio broadcasting live from Fairfield and Kensington and welcoming you to episode 3 of the show. Come in, make a brew, get the good biscuits out of the cupboard, and get super cosy and comfortable.

Today is a Liverpool special where we’re going to be celebrating the local community and local artists and generally just vibing off how creative and radical and resilient we are – not just in Liverpool – but in the north of England in general. And I can’t think of a better song to bring us into this fold than this classic by Echo and the Bunnymen.

TRACK #1: “The Killing Moon” by Echo and the Bunnymen

That was “The Killing Moon” by Echo and the Bunnymen and I continue to think that song is one of the greatest ever written. It’s so dark and dreamy. It’s like being dipped into a warm lunar bath.

I really owe a massive apology to Ian McCulloch – the lead singer of Echo and the Bunnymen – because when I was a rambunctious teenager me and my best friend used to always see him in the big Tesco on Allerton Road and we used to follow him around the fruit and veg aisle and we’d shout his name dead loud and then go pegging it as far away as possible.

It wasn’t even funny but we did it every time we saw him in there and he must have been absolutely sick of it. Also props to his commitment to wearing sunglasses indoors 24/7 – even in Tesco. Got a lot of respect for that look.

Anyway, we have a playlist today that is stacked with great music by local artists of past and present – and yes, we are absolutely including the Wirral and Cheshire and other such ‘wool’ affiliate places because come on, let’s stop with that term and these divisions - and we’ve got some nice anecdotes and shoutouts to share, and I’m gonna try not to get as emotional as I was on air last week. But I may well get just as political!

But don’t worry – nothing too heavy. Consider this show an escape pod from a lot of the frustrations and upset of what is happening right now. But that doesn’t mean we can’t still vent a little – because what’s a rant between good friends, right?

So for this episode – which may be a little bit longer than usual because we have so much to share today - we’re gonna vent, we’re gonna beam with pride, we’re gonna dance, we’re gonna feel wholesome, we’re gonna feel like we can fight back against whatever challenges are coming our way as a community, and we’re also gonna let ourselves get a bit silly and a bit angry. I

t’s kind of what we do here. This is “Our Mother’s Sons” by SPQR.

TRACK #2: “Our Mother’s Sons” by SPQR

TRACK #3: “Sissy Fists” by Queen Zee

So that was “Our Mother’s Sons” by SPQR, who are a really phenomenal local band doing great things at the moment. I keep missing them live and have been for a fair while now and I live in regret with that fact because wow, live music feels like a sacred relic from the past already and who knows when we’ll get to have it again - and that was followed by the amazing “Sissy Fists” by Queen Zee which to my mind is one of the greatest queer anthems of our generation.

I spoke to Zee of Queen Zee and they were very kind to tell us a little bit more about this song and they told us:

“The first time I played sissy fists, I was playing acoustically above a curry house in Manchester to a bar of 2 people. The last time I played it was to 5000 people at Brixton Academy. If you ever wanna have a bit of something, have a go, cos you never know where it can end up.

“The chorus of that song “Raise Your Sissy Fists” was something my boxing coach used to say to me as a kid, it’s just made me fight harder and be tougher and work harder and I think that’s what we have to do in this world.

“Go take what we want even when we’ve always been told we don’t deserve it, whether that’s a queer kid wanting to play Brixton or any struggle we might face in our life to pursue our dreams or just feel like there’s something more...”

Thank you so much again Zee. I think that’s a really vital message to be sharing right now.

And yeah, to everyone who needs to hear it during this challenging and uncertain moment: Keep those sissy fists raised throughout all of this – don’t let it change you and don’t let it stop you. The world is still yours. And you are still you.

Let’s keep this punk rock vibe going for a while with a song by long-standing Liverpool skate punk band The Hunx. Reece from The Hunx got in touch with us about the release of their new EP, 3 Bags for 50 which you can stream or download on a pay what you want basis via their bandcamp page – thehunxpunkrock.bandcamp.com - and that’s The Hunx spelt H U N X, just FYI - and Reece wanted to give a shoutout to Andy Dazzler for recording them and for generally helping the band out. This is “Golden Boy” on Comics Youth Radio.

TRACK #4: “Golden Boy” by The Hunx

TRACK #5: “Boys From the Blackstuff” by Down and Outs

That was “Boys from the Blackstuff” by classic local punk band the Down and Outs. And it was requested by our Anna from Comics Youth. She wanted to give a shoutout to Sarah Lovelock - owner and chief boss lady at Lovelocks Coffee Shop in Liverpool city centre. And Anna had this to say about them:

“Sarah puts extra love into everything she does, so much that it's in her name. Lovelocks is more than a local coffee shop it's a home away from home that feels comfy and cosy and that is all down to Sarah. She is super generous and has genuine care and compassion for all her customers and the food and coffee is the best in Liverpool. 

It was the cafe's 4th birthday on Saturday 9th May, which is so fantastic for a small business but the lockdown is hitting hard. Right now, Lovelocks are selling a boss birthday t-shirt designed Anna to help cover some costs during lockdown so please go check it out on their website lovelocks.coffee or via their facebook page.

If you can afford to buy a t-shirt then please do but if you can't right now no worries. Like the Facebook page and share it around if you can and be sure to make a mental note to treat yourself to a coffee there in the future because you won't regret it.”

Now when we did the Razorcake event with Will from Good Grief, we hosted it at Lovelocks and the whole team was so kind and accommodating and supportive and we all really appreciated it.

On a personal level, I’ve been eating and drinking the sublime food and coffee at Lovelocks for a while now and it really is a home from home. And the coffee – oh my lawd, the coffee! It really is one of the best cups in the city -  When I’ve been going through some really heavy personal stuff in the past few years, Lovelocks has been one of those places I love to go to and hide out in with my book and just feel better about life.

The staff are so lovely and it has such a nurturing vibe so yeah, happy 4th birthday to you Lovelocks and we love you very much.

TRACK #6: “Seventeen” by Ladytron

TRACK #7: “War It” by Forest Swords

That was “War It” by Forest Swords – which I’ve been smashing a lot lately. Just really beautiful, intricate stuff – nice for putting on and gaining some focus to right now. And as we all know, focus is very much in short supply in most people’s brains at the moment.

And before that was “Seventeen “ by Ladytron, which is a huge vibe from back in the days of the Korova scene. My friend and very talented DJ, David Jones – AKA Alec Tronic - used to work on the bar in Korova back then and he got in touch with us this week about the amazing weekly radio show that he does every week on melodicdistraction.com.

So every Wednesday from 8pm until 9pm he does a show called mxsticate – masticate? Mixsticate? I’m not cool enough to know how to pronounce it, sorry. I feel like Elon Musk and Grimes’ baby name has made me unable to prounounce anything with an x in forever more now -  anyways, as David beautifully puts it, it’s basically your fave queer power hour and it aims to showcase global queer centered underground electronic music – because that’s something that David reckons is largely overlooked, and I’m inclined to heartily agree.

The show gives the listener something to chew on in the form of non-pretentious dance tunes to make you move your feet. And as a footnote, David adds that in his opinion queer is who you are, not what you are – which is something he’s added because he reckons the word has been co-opted in recent times as a buzz word.

It certainly has been. I identify as queer myself and I know a few people in the Comics Youth office do, working in marketing I’ve certainly seen that word used as a way to pull in a certain audience and to slap a broad yet vague LGBTQIA+ friendly bumper sticker on a product or event which is otherwise doing nothing tangible for or even representative of that particular community. So yeah – it’s really important that we all support grassroots queer art in this city – because it doesn’t get the attention or platform or applause that it deserves, to be honest.

And now, let’s get a little weird and a little bit spooky with your local ghoul gang Zombina and the Skeletones.

TRACK #8: “I Go Psycho” by Zombina and the Skeletones

TRACK #9: “Something’s Rotten in the Back of Iceland” by Half Man Half Biscuit

That was “Something’s Rotten in the Back of Iceland” by Half Man Half Biscuit who are still one of my favourite local bands and they’re a lot of fun. And I’m playing that for a very nice man who lives in a Lancashire town with the amazing name of Oswaldtwistle, which is home to the largest pear drop in the world – and that’s a brag that Liverpool just simply can’t contend with.

This man has put up with a lot of my nonsense over the past few months and repeatedly helped to make me smile when things have felt a little frustrating or tough so that’s my shoutout for the week.

And before that was “I Go Psycho” by Zombina and the Skeletones who are local punk rock icons. They went to my school and were a few years above me and I’ve always admired and looked up to them.

They play horror inspired punk tunes and they put on a helluva show and when I was first starting out as a teenage musician they gave my first ever band – when I was 15 – our first gig and I deeply appreciate them for that to this day.

And that’s something I wanted to drop a quick note about: If you want to make music or you want to perform or you just want to get up in front of people and make a noise about the world and how you feel about it, then don’t let fear stop you.

Your perspective is important and I know anxiety and self-esteem can be massive barriers, but lean on your scene and lean on your friends and your community to find the confidence to get up and do these things. I guarantee it’ll be one of the most satisfying things you ever do.

To get back to Zombina, I spoke to Gen who is the very charismatic titular Zombina of the band and she gave us some fun comics-based facts about the band which I really liked.

And she says, “When me and Ash (AKA Doc Horror) started the band aged 15 we were obsessed with the Forbidden Planet shop on Bold St. We loved a few comics in particular and one was Patrick The Wolfboy by Art Balthazar. By the time we self-released our first album a few years later, Art Balthazar did the cd cover artwork (feat. said Patrick Wolfboy and us!) for absolute pennies as by then he was a fan of ours too!

As a final fact, Jonny Tokyo who was in the band for half of our career was drawn into The Beano as a baby because his Dad was friends with the artists.”

Which is pretty rad, thank you so much for sharing that with us Gen.

Next we’re gonna play a song by local superstar Callum Crighton. This wonderful 80’s inspired song is called “Fame” and as Callum told us it’s “about having a sense of inner fame. In believing that you are capable of chasing any dream and achieving any goal. In being authentically yourself 100% of the time and never allowing others to change you.” I hope you’ve all got your finest threads and your dancing shoes on for this bop…

TRACK #10: “Fame” by Callum Crighton

TRACK #11: “I Ran (So Far Away) by A Flock of Seagulls

I mean, of course I had to follow “Fame” up with “I Ran (So Far Away)” by Flock of Seagulls. And they’re one of those local bands who seemingly every person in Liverpool is distantly related to in some way. I’m almost certain that I have at least one second cousin who is married to a guy who was the roadie for the keyboardist or something like that.

Our marketing maven Emily wants to give a huge shoutout to her friend Ella Fradgley! She’s part of our marginal crew and she’s also the illustrator of Emily’s upcoming poetry book (which we’re soon to publish!).

Emily says, “Ella has been sending me letters and little pieces of art during lockdown and she has inspired me to write more letters and create more playlists! She’s sending letters to all of her friends and is making sure that everyone feels loved.”

Anyway, I know a lot of you like music on the darker side of the spectrum. You like it loud and you like it heavy and that’s cool, man! We kinda like that stuff too and Liverpool has always had a thriving metal scene. A lot of which is sadly not appropriate to be played on this show, but I’ve done my best. For the metalheads out there, these two tracks are for you to do a mosh around your bedroom to.

For everyone else – it’s probably best you go and make a brew for five minutes and then come back, alright?

This is “Songs in the Key of Compromise” by local anti-fascist black metal boys Dawn Ray’d.

TRACK #12: “Songs in the Key of Compromise” by Dawn Ray’d

TRACK #13: “Drone Eagle” by Video Nasties

That was “Songs in the Key of Compromise” by Dawn Ray’d – who are a really terrific and progressive local black metal band who do a lot of great stuff about class war and fighting systemic injustices and oppression which is all something that we talk about a lot at Comics Youth – and that I think various communities in Liverpool can all unite over.

And that was followed by local horror junkies Video Nasties who recently released their first full-length album Dominion and it’s kinda blown up for them. Kerrang are crawling all over them at the moment. Which is boss cos they’re really ace lads and they deserve it.

Now, how about a palate cleanser after all that because we have some very wholesome shoutouts to some local heroes.

Starting with a big shoutout to YKids – a youth charity based in Bootle – who have been sending out cakes and presents on birthdays to all the young people who use their service. If you check out their Twitter page – which is @ykids_charity then you can see all the good that they’re doing in that community – including some terrific fundraisers and stuff like delivering activity packs to kids during lockdown.

Acts like this really go a long way at the moment and I know all of us in Comics Youth love reading about other places that are doing great work like this.

Meanwhile Rosa – who you might remember from last week’s episode as being the Perks of a Wallflower superfan – has also been in touch with a really lovely story about some kindness that her family has enjoyed recently.

Rosa says, “My auntie has down syndrome and only really eats pasta because she’s supppppeeerr fussy, and she went to Tesco and they didn’t have any. She explained everything to the lady at the till because they know her and she brought the manager to talk to my Nan.

Basically the manager said he’d give my nan a call when they had more pasta in. But then obviously he realised my Nan is of Nan age and said she shouldn’t be out. So instead, he offered to bring the pasta to her house. He took her name and address and all those types of details and they said they’d get in touch.

Then my Nan went to Frankie and Benny’s and they just GAVE her a big ol bag of pasta and 2 blocks of frozen sauce too!! And then a few days later, the man from Tesco knocked on the door with loadsss of pasta and she tried to pay but he’d already covered it for her.”

Which – I’m not gonna lie – when I received this in my inbox the other day it made me proper choke up because it’s just so nice and so wholesome and exactly the kind of community spirit that I think the north has always been renowned for having. And I really think that right now people are looking out for one another more than ever. In a crisis, always look at the people who are helping.

And lastly, Lucas – who by the way, has been keeping me sane by writing some incredible pieces for us and also by giving us a running update of the daily breads that his mum is making every day and let me tell ya, that woman is a bread machine and I’m living vicariously through her baking because Oh! I miss sourdough so much.

To get back on track: Lucas has shared a really lovely shoutout to his favourite local pub which is Kash 22  - spelt K A S H 22 – in Frodshom. He says,

“since the very start of lockdown they’ve been cooking TONS of food and delivering it to the vulnerable.

”The owner is called Paddy Bleakley and he’s a legend. They’ve been doing this every week – I think at least twice a week actually – and it’s so good.”

And you can look up Kash 22 on Facebook to see just how much they’ve been cooking and all the good they’ve been doing there.

Now obviously, we know there are countless more businesses and individuals and organisations and charities who deserve a huge shoutout right now and as always we’re happy to share those vibes. So please, if you know of someone or somewhere who deserves the applause then let me know via email at [email protected].

And obviously, general massive love to everyone who has been continuing to work during lockdown. To NHS staff and those working in supermarkets, bus drivers, taxi drivers, community help centres, takeaways, food banks, corner shops and to people involved in artistic events who are figuring out ways to still showcase and celebrate art to people in different ways like the Writing on the Wall festival who have made an amazing online programme for this year which includes people like Irvine Welsh and Jeremy Corbyn on the roster and stuff like Light Night as well too who have shuffled elements of their amazing programme to being online.

All of this is so vital and all of you are doing amazing work during a supremely challenging time, so we have nothing but love for you in keeping the fire burning and serving the light.

Now I’ve been talking for far too long here, so I’m gonna dish up a triple-song feast for you now. First up is “Give Me Your Dream” by Bye Louis. And Kieran from Bye Louis had this message to share with the song:

“I used to volunteer and work with Comics Youth, and some of the young people I met have found their way into my music in some ways. I love learning about what people are passionate about or interested in, especially if what you’re interested in or passionate about is a bit out of the ordinary or might be considered less cool, I suppose.

”I was always interested in trains and trams, for example. I still love imagining how new train or tram lines could make life different for us. You might be able to hear a bit of that in this song. 

“In terms of inspirational messages, I think it’s just important right now to take things one day at a time, and to do things for you.”

TRACK #16: “Give Me Your Dream” by Bye Louis

TRACK #15: “Into the Sea” by Code Break

TRACK #17: “So Nah” by 32 tens

That was “Give Me Your Dream” by Bye Louis, followed by “Into the Sea” by local melodic hardcore band Code Break, and we ended that trio of songs with “So Nah” by 32 Tens.

And Sam from 32 Tens wants to dedicate that song to Cheesecake, who is one of our beloved young people here at Comics Youth. He volunteers at the youth service that Sam works for called Cells. Sam says that "So Nah" is about when you get to that point where you’ve been doing what you feel like you’re supposed to for so long and then you finally break and release how you really feel.

Which is basically the point where you say "Nahhhh' to the way other people want you to live.

And Sam also had these lovely, inspiring words to share with everyone right now. He says:

“Keep and nourish those connections though anyway that you can right now. Be creative in using Phone calls, texts, social media, Zoom, Playstation ect. Reach out to your people and check in with them. Maybe with a piece of music, video, memes, or pictures, that have touched you and see if these things touch them too. Maybe try and collaborate with others on one of your passions.”

Which is a fantastic note to start closing this episode down on. I’ve spoken to a lot of super creative and talented and smart people this week of all ages who are feeling kinda bummed out about the fact that they aren’t being super productive right now. You know, they think they’re playing video games too much, or they’re just trapped in this cycle of sending memes back and forth to the same people.

And I get it – we all wish we could be doing more, but that’s also because we’ve developed really ridiculous ideas of what productivity entails and really strange ideas on what types of things have value and what don’t.

Which is ludicrous. Because, let me tell you all right now: Playing video games has value. Sitting and staring out the window has value. Watching movies and TV shows has value. Eating all of the snacks and not regretting a bite of it has value. Reading and dancing and walking and crying and surviving and sending memes to friends and sharing music and telling jokes and just doing nothing at all – it all has value.

You have value.

And all of that can be creative in some way and can be something that you share with another person – if you want to. We all have a range of passions and talents and they can be nourished and in a variety of ways that can uplift other people on small and major levels.

This is something that I think we do really well in Liverpool – and in the north, in general: We take what could be considered a small thing – a meal, a song, a poem, an event, a person, an idea – and we gather together as a community to support these things and to nourish them until they become huge and acknowledged and appreciated and known.

We aren’t ever quiet even when we’re silent. So, continue to be creative and continue to be kind and continue to be unapologetic about who you are, where you come from, and where you want to be. Because you deserve to have the world and deserve to face no opposition in obtaining it.

Got that? Cool cool cool.

Next week’s episode of Lockdown! at the Disco is going to be The Snoozetime Special – basically a much more chill and ambient episode focused on different techniques, affirmations, and meditations to help you sleep.

So for that I want to know what music are you currently putting on to help you relax or to drift off to? And maybe share with us your own advice for things that help you to get some sleep.

Because I know that right now it’s hard to maintain a decent sleep pattern or to even just drift off when there’s so much anxiety in all of our little heads right now.

So please do get in touch to let me know your ideas for that – this radio show is very much a collaborative effort and you’re all involved in making it happen. Get in touch via our various social media channels or with me directly over email [email protected].

And that’s it for this week. Until next time gang, gang: Stay safe & stay sassy and remember that we love you. And if your head feels like its spinning off your shoulders at the moment, just let it spin, honey. You’ll make magic from it someday, I promise. It’s kind of what we do here… <3

Byeeeeeee!

TRACK #19: “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)” by Dead or Alive

TRACK 1: “Oh Yeah” by Yello

Hi!

Bringing us into this warm lockdown nook here was “Oh Yeah” by Yello, which you hopefully recognise first and foremost from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off but maybe also from The Simpsons and a little from Deadpool.

Ferris Bueller’s old adage that Life moves pretty fast doesn’t exactly hold much weight in the current lockdown era where time makes absolutely no sense and where it seemingly has the most abstract of speed and motion.

But! His point still stands that if you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. With that in mind, give yourself space – give yourself time – give yourself slowness and calm and care and kindness and just soak up whatever enjoyment you can take from this moment.

Burrow into movies! Gorge on snacks! Crawl under blankets and read all of the books! And my lawd - don’t pay back any of the debt you owe to Tom Nook! Nook the crook as he’s known in my household. I say my household like it isn’t just me laughing into a basket of dirty socks every day at the moment…

ANYHOO this is Comics Youth Radio presents Lockdown! at the Disco with me, your host – Amy Roberts, broadcasting live from the sunny streets of Fairfield and Kensington – and for the next 90 or so mins you are locked into an episode all about Teachings from Teen Movies. And to properly kick us off, please daydream about Heath Ledger tucking some hair behind your ear and gifting you a Fender Strat and swoon for all eternity to this track by Letters to Cleo…

TRACK 2: “I Want You to Want Me” by Letters to Cleo

That was Letters to Cleo covering the almighty Cheap Trick with “I Want You to Want Me” which you hopefully all know very well and fondly as the closing credits tune for 10 Things I Hate About You. The band plays it on top of the school building and IT IS ICONIC.

Which brings us to Teen Movie teachings lesson 1: Smash the system, honey.

Now, that film is obviously a great time for anyone who will forever stan for Heath Ledger – and hello, hi, president and head cheerleader of that particular troupe right here – but it’s also supreme for presenting one of the greatest teen movie heroines of our time in Kat Stratford played by Julia Stiles.

Kat blasts Joan Jett from her car, she’s outspoken and opinionated, she only seems to listen to punk rock made by gnarly women, and her only friend seems to be a Shakespeare obsessed weirdo who thinks she’s romantically involved with The Bard (honestly, give me two more months in lockdown and I’ll probably at that same level myself).

Kat Stratford is just pure power, people! And via the respective journeys that her and rebel dreamboat Patrick Verona go through in the movie, we learn from 10 Things I Hate About You how to stand up against a world that we think is unfair. It teaches us to be kind while also kneeing the Joey Donners of the world down to a notch they belong at. It teaches us to be loud, to be heard, and to steal the school PA so we can broadcast our true feelings to the world – romantic or otherwise, folks.

10 Things I Hate About You says Don’t break hearts, break the system, honey – and that’s a huge mood.

TRACK 3: “One Girl Revolution” by Superchick (Legally Blonde)

TRACK 4: “Kids in America” by The Muffs (Clueless)

Yass!!! Are you feeling hyped after that? Cos I’m feeling hyped. That was “One Girl Revolution” by Superchick from the Legally Blonde soundtrack followed by The Muffs covering Kim Wilde’s “Kids in America” from Clueless.

Which rolls us into teen movie teachings lesson 2: Don’t judge by aesthetics!

Something that needs to be said and deserves to be celebrated is how both Legally Blonde and Clueless really challenge the idea that expressing femininity or proudly owning how femme you are somehow reflects weakness.

Both Cher and Elle Woods from those two films have their intelligence and depth and skill sets discredited based upon how they present themselves. Now, it goes without saying that however you identify and whatever your sexuality may be that you have the right to express that however the heck you want to without being judged or hassled for it!

This is something we talk about a lot in our Safe Spaces sessions – just how mainstream society sets a really ridiculous and often stereotypical set of parameters on people based on how they look. And it’s just nonsense, isn’t it? It’s all fiction. You know who you are, and you don’t need to prove that anyone.

That’s the basis of My Body is Not Your Business – which is the current campaign being run by our safe spaces group and we have a number of really incredible blog posts written by a few of our very talented young people up on our Youth Takeover blog at the moment on this very subject. So head to Comicsyouth.co.uk to check that out.

Which segues nicely into a British teen movie which deals really well with dealing with the topic of body image and of challenging body expectations. This is “Ultraviolet” by Stiff Dylans from Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging and we’re playing it for my amazing Comics Youth marketing co-conspirator Emily.

TRACK 5: “Ultraviolet” by Stiff Dylans

TRACK 6: “Heroes” by David Bowie (The Perks of Being a Wallflower)
TRACK 7: “ Don’t You (Forget About Me)” by Simple Minds (The Breakfast Club)

I have so many emotions today, folks. SO MANY.

So that was obviously Simple Minds with Don’t You Forget About Me from The Breakfast Club. Choose your fighter: Today, are you the brain? The Athlete? The basket case? The Princess? Or the criminal?

I am most definitely in Ally Sheedy territory today – then I again I did do a Judd Nelson fist-pump into the air during that song so maybe there’s a little John Bender in me today as well.

Before that was Saint David Bowie with “Heroes” from The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

Now, I need to talk about this. Firstly, this is a great time to plug the fact that we do a Netflix watch party every Saturday at 4pm. You vote for the film and we all get to watch it together and chat about it together and – if yesterday’s watch-party is anything to go by, sob heavily together.

If you’re aged 13+ then you can get involved in that by clicking onto our Safe Spaces Discord button on the Comics Youth homepage and filling out the form that’s on there to get access.

So yeah – we watched The Perks of Being a Wallflower in yesterday’s watch party, and I won’t lie: I’m not okay. I think I sobbed uncontrollably from minute 1 all the hecking way until – and after – the credits rolled. I’m just very sensitive right now everyone.

But it was really lovely. We all had a good cry together. And jeez, that line about how You accept the love you think you deserve? Yeah, we all lost it.

But it’s nice to watch a film like that with people that you love and that you know have your back and love you too. It’s also nice to cry at a film like that with people over the privacy of the internet so that nobody had to see me cramming several blocks of Oreo Dairy Milk into my mouth while ugly sobbing into my duvet.

I wanted to give a huge, loving shoutout to Rosa and her girl Tasha. Rosa is a huge fan of The Perks of Being a Wallflower fan – possibly the world’s number one fan - and they watched the film with us yesterday. Rosa specifically requested that we play that Bowie joint for her and she also had this to say about why the film is so important. She says:

“Basically the perks of being a wallflower is AMAZING. BEAUTIFUL. EXQUISITE. I would go as far as to say a cinematic masterpiece really. I’ve seen it over 100 times because I’m obsessed with it. Why? Because it validates so much of what everybody feels.

Got a friend who’s fella isn’t good enough? Charlie does too!

Happy and sad at the same time? So is Charlie

Is your best friend struggling with their sexuality and secretly dating a popular jock named Brad Heyes who doesn’t appreciate his love enough? That’s very specific but as Charlie says ‘same hat’!”

And yeah – that film crept into my heart and very much brought home the fact that I think we’re all at least one, if not many, of the characters from that film at various moments in our lives.

And both that film and The Breakfast Club both hit home the idea that every person has their own struggle and has a little bit of weird in them – heck, there are those amongst with a LOT of weird in us – it’s just that some of us are just better at hiding it than others.

Which brings us to teen movie teaching lesson #3: To make sense of this life we all just need to find our people – them folks who struggle as we struggle and those fellow weirdos who understand and accept us and love us wholeheartedly. Who cheer us on from the sidelines and who let us know that we deserve to demand better for ourselves.

And that’s just a whole lotta Comics Youth, isn’t it?

Now, I’ve gone all sappy. Before I start crying again – which, I won’t lie – is a real possibility - I’m gonna redirect this show to a couple of films about some burn books, fatal gobstoppers, and some mean, mean girls. This is Peaches with “Operate” on Lockdown! at the Disco:

TRACK 8: “Operate” by Peaches (Mean Girls)

TRACK 9: “Rock ‘n’ Roll Machine” by The Donnas (Jawbreaker)

That was “Operate” by Peaches from the Mean Girls soundtrack followed by “Rock ‘n’ Machine” by The Donnas from Jawbreaker – who were a band that I think were featured on every teen movie soundtrack of the late 90’s and early 2000’s. And with good reason too cos they’re slammin’

Both Jawbreaker and Mean Girls are two very dark comedies that explore the numerous ways that it doesn’t pay to be mean. Teen movie teachings lesson #4: Don’t keep a burn book about people and also, pranks are nasty: Most definitely never shove your mate into the boot of a car and ram a gobstopper in her mouth as a fun lark. As Jawbreaker proved, that scenario does not end well.

This concludes the mean girl segment of this show – because, you know what? Those are awesome films, but I refuse to waste energy talking about toxic people. Here’s one final song though from a mean girl movie – this time with added magic.

I bind you Nancy…

TRACK 10: “How Soon is Now?” by Love Spit Love (The Craft)

TRACK 11: “Chick Habit” by April March (But, I’m a Cheerleader!)

That was the Love Spit Love cover of “How Soon is Now” from The Craft – and I think we can appreciate that cover even more now that it lets us enjoy that song without the horror of having to engage with Morrisey (yuck!).

And that was followed by “Chick Habit” by April March from – what I think is one of the most underrated movies ever made, teen or otherwise – But! I’m a Cheerleader starring Natasha Lyonne and Clea DuVall. Not only is it just loads of fun with an amazing soundtrack but it’s also that rarest of beasts: It’s a lesbian rom-com with a fairy tale ending.

That’s right, lovelies! The lesbians get a happy ending. CAN YOU BELIEVE?

Teen movie teachings lesson #5: Love whoever you want to love and be proud of it.

I know this isn’t an easy time for anyone currently living at home with parents that might not respect or support their gender identity or their sexuality so I just want to take this moment to remind you that we see you. We love you. You are valid. And we’re going to get through this together and as a community.

Remember, physical distance isn’t social distance, as the terminology incorrectly suggests. None of us are alone or without love.

And to everyone currently physically far away from the people they love most in this world, these two songs are for you. And they’re also for all the people I’m currently clutching tight inside my own heart right now who I haven’t seen or touched or danced with for so long. You’re still here. We’re still here.

TRACK 12: “Lovefool” by The Cardigans (Romeo + Juliet)

TRACK 13: “Sea of Love” by Cat Power (Juno)

That was The Cardigans with “Lovefool” from the Romeo + Juliet soundtrack which was the biggest vibe when I was like 13 and it put me onto bands like Radiohead and The Butthole Surfers and The Wannadies.  But also – food for thought – if Romeo + Juliet were social distancing then they probably would never have wound up in the disastrous very deathly predicament they found themselves in there. Just sayin.

This episode is quickly coming to a close. Which means we have a few final political pit-stops to make. And the first one we want to present is a sentiment which I want to express via a song from the movie Cruel Intentions.

The older I get – and I’m basically a fossil, in case you can’t tell. I saw this film in the cinema when it came out for crying out loud! – the older I get, the more bewildering this movie becomes! It’s nothing but truly horrific rich people being super toxic and disgusting  and setting up thirst traps for no other reason than they’re rich and they’re bored and they can.

So we do what we always do, people: We set the table, we prepare for a banquet, and we say EAT THE RICH. This is Marcy Playground with Coming Up From Behind:

TRACK 14:  “Coming Up From Behind” by Marcy Playground (Cruel Intentions)

TRACK 15: “Girl Like You” by Edwyn Collins (Empire Records)

That was “Girl Like You” by Edwyn Collins from the wonderful Empire Records – which is a great movie that serves up a powerful reminder to disavow the establishment and support independent and grassroots creatives and businesses. Which is something we’re very into here at Comics Youth.

With that in my mind, next week’s episode is all about Local Heroes. We want to know which people, artists, activists, and small businesses you think are heroes – give them a shoutout on the air because you know they deserve it.

We’ll also be pushing a playlist made up solely of local musicians from past and present so please send us your finest requests for songs by Scousers. We’ll hopefully also have some inspiring words from some local musicians to share with you all.

With that in my mind, we’re about to play a song from another anti-establishment movie which I urge you all to watch. Especially if you love power pop jams, the Archie Comics universe, and if you kinda want to start a band of your own one of these days. This is “3 Words” from Josie and the Pussycats and it goes out to our Anna – who you might know as our Dungeons & Dragons master. This is our jam!

TRACK 16: “3 Words” by Josie and the Pussycats (Josie and the Pussycats)

TRACK 17: “Time After Time” by Cyndi Lauper (Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion)

That was “Time After Time” by Cyndi Lauper and it most definitely made me do a massive ugly cry that I might not recover from during the end of this episode. I knew it was a mistake to play it, because it always gets me emotional but it’s such a beautiful and important song.

I hope you thought of the Romy to your Michele during it and that you all imagined the moment that you get to be reunited with them properly – and I’m talking the whole shebang - trashy co-ordinated outfits and impromptu elaborate dance routines in public included!  If you’re anything like me then there are probably numerous Romy’s to your Michele and many Michele’s to your Romy.

That song goes out to all of them.

And this is it, folks! We’ve come to the end of our episode for another week and it’s been an absolute pleasure hanging out with all again.

Remember that we love you. We’re here for you – ALWAYS - and we miss all of you so very much.

Until next time gang gang: Stay safe and stay sassy and – as The Perks of Being a Wallflower perfectly suggested, start preparing your living room dance NOW. Oh, and do be sure to let the beat drop and go wild with your Patricks and your Sams and your Charlies…

TRACK 18: “Come On Eileen” by Dexy’s Midnight Runners

TRACK ONE: “A New Wave” – Sleater Kinney

Hello and welcome to Lockdown! at the Disco on Comics Youth Radio. I’m your host Amy Roberts and you are with me for the next 90 minutes or so of rad tunes, sassy shoutouts, and many mispronounced band names. I can promise you that.

As is always our mission here at Comics Youth, we’ve started this station as a way to elevate and celebrate the youth voice. Now you’re probably sat there thinking to yourself, What is this old broad talking about? Chattin on about raising the youth voice and she’s sat there sounding about 80 – I’m not that old, jeez! – but that’s also fair enough…

I’m here leading this show for now. But after all this is over we want our young people to take control and ownership of this station and to produce and program their own content for it.

For now though, we want Lockdown! at the Disco to be a riotous resource during this tough, lonely and uncertain moment. And we want you to be as involved in it as possible. So if you have any song requests, shoutouts to loved ones, feelgood news or book and film recommendations you want us to share on air then you can do that!

Either slide into our DM’s on Instagram or you can email me directly via [email protected]. There are full guidelines about how to do this up on our website www.comicsyouth.co.uk via our Comics Youth News blog.

But that’s enough waffle from me. Let’s get this going.

We all might be physically distanced right now but we can still maintain amazing social connections and share kindness and love. And maybe a socially distanced dance party or two? To this? I think so. Let’s kick this off with a right lovely queer bop. This is “I Know a Place” by Muna.

TRACK #2: “I Know a Place” by Muna

TRACK #3: “Bulletproof” by La Roux

Alright, that was “I Know a Place” by Muna and that was requested by the wonderful Kay Dale – who you’ll know as the awesome artist and coffee fiend that we call “boss” around the Comics Youth office. Love ya, Kay!

Following that was “Bulletproof” by La Roux and it was requested by Natalia who you probably all know and miss from our junior activism and dungeons & dra­­­gons sessions. That’s a proper fighter of a song, innit. I hope you all flexed your biceps and struck a Jojo-style power pose and felt boss while you were dancing to it.

Since we’ve all become government enforced hermits we’ve had to make a few adjustments here at Comics Youth to make sure we can still deliver our usual sessions and hang out like we used to. If you didn’t get the memo we’ve moved our services online now and we do our sessions via Discord.

If you’re over 13 and want to join a kind, intelligent, supportive and super sassy youth community then pop over to our website where you can find out more information about all of our available sessions and channels and fill out a really simple form to join.

One lovely thing that was made in one of our virtual sessions this week is this amazing piece by Paul who has written, that “Pre-Covid felt a lot like that scene in Mean Girls. We were all at different tables not talking to each other.

At the moment though, we may be scared but that fear has brought us together. Neighbours are offering to help out with shopping, pub quizzes are happening over Zoom, and the often ignored essential key workers are being respected.

Post-Covid may feel uncertain and worrying. But hopefully we will come out of lockdown with a new sense of community and respect.”

*tranquil deep breath” yeah, that’s the stuff (!!!) – thanks for the good vibes, Paul!

Now, for some classic emo. This is “In Circles” by Sunny Day Real Estate on Lockdown! at the Disco.

TRACK #5: “In Circles” by Sunny Day Real Estate

TRACK #4: “To You” by I Am Kloot

That first track was “In Circles” by Seattle sad boiz Sunny Day Real Estate for our emo4lyfe art director Ste, followed by the very lovely “To You” by I Am Kloot as requested by 13-year-old artist Deborah Cavanah who says “This one goes out to my family for spearing me on with the amount of work I have had.”

It’s really hard at the moment for students, isn’t it. You’ve all been given more work than ever and if you’re anything like how the Comics Youth team have been then you’ve also likely felt foggy, tired, and a little up and down.

But we just want you all to know that you’re doing amazingly. Just remember: You should always put your health and your wellbeing first. You’re more important than anything else.

There’s actually a really great blog post up on our website at the moment by Comics Youth newspaper staff writer Jenny Speakman about how to stay hopeful as a student in lockdown. And you can read that on the Youth Takeover blog right now.

TRACK #5: “1 Thing” by Amerie

TRACK #6: “Hell” by Shamir

“1 Thing” by Amerie there which is a proper throwback bop that we’re playing for our pals Mike and Laura Pinnington who were kind enough to do a playlist feature on us this past week which you can enjoy on their website now.

Following that was “Hell” by Shamir – their whole new album Cataclysm is a lo-fi queer marvel. So if that’s your bag then check it out. We’ve played that for Jack and Mat who make an amazing graphic novel for children called Alien in the Outfield which is currently available to download for free from their website along with a few other fun creative resources that are worth checking out.

They wanted to share the message that “it's 100% okay to feel overwhelmed or scared by the pandemic, pretty much everyone is on some level. But reaching out to just talk nonsense to friends or family is one of the best methods of self-care. Mat and Jack have been doing just that apparently…’ - and my goodness, so have I, dear friends.

We’re about to get super heavy up in here, so if you’re not one for pounding drums and fat riffs and metalheads yelling about survival then you might want to go and make a cup of tea for these two tracks. For the rest of you: LET’S OPEN THIS PIT UPPPP! This is “Sulfur” by Slipknot.

TRACK #7: “Sulfur” by Slipknot

TRACK #8: “Ghost Under the Umbrella” by Utsu-P

Woooph!! I hope your respective homes survived the blast of that one. That was requested by Comics Youth regular Cheesecake who said “I want to hear this song on air because Slipknot have been helping me through quarantine massively and help me get my daily rush of serotonin. I’d like to dedicate the song to Adam as his playlist is helping me through quarantine massively.”

And that was followed by “Ghost Under the Umbrella” by Utsu-P as requested by Tabby who is currently missing everyone at Comics Youth. We miss you too, Tabby!

TRACK #9: “Fires” by Omoi

That perky little number was “Fires” by Omoi as requested by Ruben who says that it’s an underrated song that he would like more people to know about. He also shares his love with y’all.

I want to do a really massive shoutout right now to our Safe Spaces squad who have been working so hard in the past few weeks on developing some insanely good writing and artwork for their online campaign By Body is Not Your Business. But also to everyone in our junior and senior activism groups. All of you have been doing so great and keeping those fires burning and I hope all of you are keeping creativity and fight strong within you.

There are moments right now when it’ll feel easier and better for your wellbeing to go into your shell and to be silent. And that’s really important and necessary. I think we’re all doing that on some level. Because we all need to find our peace.

But if you manage to find a scrap of energy -  and by the way, have you tried checking behind the couch cushions for some? – then keep fighting and keep on making sure that you’re being heard right now, because you all deserve to be.

Write, make art, put on performances, make noise – use everything in your wheelhouse to communicate how you feel about this country and this world and make yourself heard. Take a leaf out of saint Fiona Apple’s playbook and refuse to be shushed when you have something important to say. This is “Under the Table” from Fetch the Bolt Cutters.

TRACK #10: “Under the Table” by Fiona Apple

TRACK #11: “Green Light” by Lorde

That was “Green Light” by Lorde and it was requested by a Mr Brian Roberts – AKA me dad – and he dedicates it to everyone currently struggling in the lockdown. It’s also my mum’s birthday this week and so this is a perfect time to give a massive loving shoutout to her – but also to everyone who might be celebrating a birthday under these less than idea conditions. I hope you manage to find a party within yourself whatever you all do and pls know that everyone here at Comics Youth is eating party food on the daily to celebrate ya.

I know as well that a lot of us are currently separated from our person in lockdown. It can make all of this extra tough to go through when you’re doing it without your honey by your side. If you’re anything like me and my person then you’re hopefully getting by doing island visits on Animal Crossing or binge-watching Cowboy Bebop together via WhatsApp.

Just remember that love always survives. With that in mind this The Knife with “You Take My Breath Away” – which isn’t an appropriate Covid-19 title but it is what it is, let’s just make it work – and it goes out to my person. And I hope you can share it with your people, too.

TRACK #12: “You Take My Breath Away” by The Knife

Okay, we’re winding down now. This show has flown by, hasn’t it? Which is a weird thing to say considering that time basically doesn’t exist right now. I think we’ve lived five years in four weeks.

Anyhoo, next up we’ve got “Victorious” by Panic! at the Disco as requested by Tom who adds that this song is his “way of thinking we’ll conquer the virus and slowly get out of lockdown.”

Following that gem we have “Pretty Little Distance” by As It Is as requested by Lucas who is an absolute Comics Youth hero who has been writing some spectacular stuff for us the past few weeks. He dedicates “Pretty Little Distance” to his co-workers and says  “I work at a care home for the elderly and everyone’s working really hard through such a difficult time. I especially want to dedicate it to them now as I’m self-isolating and I want them and the residents to all stay safe.”

Lucas and his mum have just had the great news that their tests came back negative for coronavirus so make sure you play these extra loud to celebrate that too. Here’s Panic at the Disco and As It Is on Comics Youth Radio.

TRACK #13: “Victorious” by Panic! at the Disco

TRACK #14: “Pretty Little Distance” by AS IT IS

And this is it folks! We’ve come to the end of the first episode of Lockdown! at the Disco on Comics Youth Radio and it’s been a blast sharing this time with you all.

We’re going to finish up with a song requested by the captain of this good ship Comics Youth Rhiannon – who is just about one of the greatest human beings ever popped onto this planet. If you know her in any way then you probably love her just as much as we all do on the team and you’ll also know that she’s probably crying right about now hearing this.

Until next time gang gang: Stay safe and stay sassy. Oh, and be sure to keep that rainbow connection shining strong cos we love you all so much. Byeeee!

TRACK #15: “Rainbow Connection” by Kermit