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thepandamightwrite · 4 years ago

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Jessa Wedding

Word count: 1.7k (this turned out a lot longer than I expected)

Fluff or Angst

Stuff to know: A suggen is the person that escorts a shadowhunter to their fiance during the wedding. More info here (You have to scroll down to the wedding part)

Anyway, hope y’all enjoy this cause it was super fun to write! 💕

“Is this really necessary?” asked Jem. “Oh yes, absolutely,” responded Magnus. He was really taking the wedding seriously, as were all the other Shadowhunters. Alec, Jace, Simon, Julien and Emma had accompanied him to the shop where they were getting Jem’s gear specially tailored. He felt it was highly excessive of course, he didn’t really care what he wore as long as he actually got to marry Tessa this time. However, Magnus adamantly refused to listen to any protests and took it upon himself to manage Jem’s wardrobe. “Have you decided who’s gonna be your Suggen for the wedding?” asked Emma. She was incredibly excited for the celebration, and she had nominated herself as the chief wedding planner, a job she took quite seriously. “Ummm what’s a Suggen,” inquired Simon, who wasn’t quite familiar with Shadowhunter weddings yet. “The person that escorts the bride or groom down the aisle, which is a huge honor,” responded Jace, sounding like he was reciting from the Codex. “So, what are you going to do,” asked Alec. Unfortunately, Jem didn’t have an answer for him, after all, the only person he would want to escort him to Tessa had died years ago. A few months ago, he would never have even imagined that he’d be able to get married, and if it ever did happen, he would want Will to be there. Sadly, that was unlikely to happen, so Jem had to pick someone else. Unfortunately, there weren’t many people that he was close with that were still alive. There was Magnus, Emma, and perhaps Jace, although none of them seemed right. “Voila,” Magnus exclaimed. The group gathered and nodded approvingly at the outfit. Even Jem managed a grin through his increasing worry.

“Achooo,” exclaimed Isabelle as the werewolf escorting the tulips out passed her by. “Oh dear, I’m terribly sorry about this,” apologized Tessa, as she had been all afternoon. She had entrusted Ragnor to arrange for some nice flowers, and of course he’d picked the one kind Isabelle was severely allergic to. “Oh don’t worry about it Tessa,” she responded breezily, although her nose was red and her eyes watery due to the constant sneezing. “I’m just excited you’re getting married to Jem, for real this time,” Isabelle squealed before a bout of sneezes overtook her. “Yeah,” chimed Clary, who was festooning the trees with lights. Tessa still couldn’t believe that she was getting married, again, next week. It was almost like a dream, she thought people only got to be with the love of their life once, if they were lucky. She, on the other hand, was able to marry them both. Her heart suddenly ached for her first husband, Will, whom she missed dearly. She had shared everything with him, when he was alive, and she couldn’t have imagined it any other way. It felt wrong somehow, that her wedding with Jem, something she knew Will would be thrilled about, was the one thing she would never tell him. “Tessa!” called Isabelle. “You’ve picked your Suggen, right?” “No, I actually haven’t,” she responded, slightly fatigued with the whole business. “What?! The wedding is tomorrow! You have to decide soon!” exclaimed Clary from the other end of the garden. “Yes, I know, I know,” Tessa sighed. “It’s just that a Suggen has to be someone that is incredibly special to you, and the only person I can think of is no longer alive.” Both the girls looked over at Tessa with sad eyes. “I’m sure Will knows you’re getting married, wherever he is, and he’s going to be ecstatic about it, don’t worry,” consoled Clary. “Yes, you’re right,” Tessa conceded. “I’ll just have to come up with someone else, maybe Magnus….”

Clary, Isabelle, Emma, Jace, Alec and Magnus huddled behind a tree, trying to desperately shield the pentagram from passerby. “I still can’t believe we’re doing this,” sighed Alec. “Dude, face it, this isn’t even close to the craziest thing we’ve done, am I right?” retorted Jace. “That’s true,” acknowledged Clary with the soft smile she reserved just for her boyfriend. “However, we haven’t exactly tried to bring back the dead.” “We’re not bringing back the dead, just conjuring a ghost. They’re not the same thing,” clarified Magnus, looking up from the spellbook briefly. “Alright, it’s showtime,” he said with a wicked grin.”

Jem couldn’t get his jacket on for some reason. His hands were shaking like butterflies and he lost all his usual dexterity that he’d developed over years of violin playing. “Let me help you with that fy nghariad,” offered a familiar voice. Jem whirled around at the sound of the person he hadn’t heard in a hundred years. He leaned against the doorframe, his mused ink-black hair falling into those familiar piercing blue eyes. “Will,” Jem whispered in disbelief. “How are you even here?” He asked, still unable to comprehend what he saw before him. “Magnus summoned me from the afterlife, yanked me out of an argument with Gabriel too. It was a good one actually, I was definitely winning it, you see-” Will was cut off by Jem running up and swallowing him in the most consuming hug he’d ever been given. They both murmured senseless words of reassurance to each other in hopes of processing the strangeness of it all. They whispered of the day Will won the bet that bound them as parabatai. They hummed of the day they defeated Mortmain. They mumbled of James, Lucie, Charlotte, Henry, Gabriel, Gideon, Sophie and Cecily. They whispered of their friendship and the love that extended through death. And most of all, they muttered of Tessa and the all consuming feelings they both shared for her. And- “ACK!” Will shrieked followed by a string of Welsh curses that would make any sailor whistle with appreciation. He glared down at Church who looked up at Will, his eyes flashing with recognition and mischief. Jem couldn’t help but giggle as he realized the best solution to his and Tessa’s Suggon dilemma.

Tessa stared at her reflection in her mirror. It was her wedding day. She really ought to be more excited, but she couldn’t help but miss the gaze of a certain pair of blue eyes. And then, as if she had summoned him with her thoughts alone, a familiar figure appeared next to her reflection. “Tessa, fy nghariad, oh how I’ve missed you.” She gasped, unable to believe her eyes and ears at the person standing behind her. “Will, how on earth did you get here?” “Well, the door was unlocked so I turned the handle and stepped inside, I’m sure you’re aware of how the mechanism works,” he retorted with his trademark sarcastic drawl. Tessa let out a sob and flung herself into his translucent arms, which were still somehow solid and familiar against her. His hands absentmindedly stroked her back as he murmured,“Tess, my Tessa, you know I’d never miss you and Jem’s wedding for the world for not even death can keep us apart.” Tessa gasped in shock. “Oh no! The wedding! It’s starting now! But I haven’t even picked a Suggen!” Tessa exclaimed in a panic. “What are you talking about my dear, I’m right here,” said Will with a crooked grin.

“Where are they? Jem and Tessa should’ve been here 20 minutes ago,” said Simon, his voice jittery with nerves and his eyes glancing around furtively. “I’m not sure. It’s not like them to be late to anything, much less their own wedding,” mused Isabelle. Out of the group, only Magnus seemed to be at ease, laughing at something Ragnor was saying. Suddenly, Jem appeared and started walking towards the altar. Jace observed with a curious look on his face, after all, no one appeared to be escorting Jem. As he neared their seats however, they noticed the Suggen at his feet. “Church?!?!” Emma sputtered in disbelief. Jem turned and looked at them with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. “Why yes, he’s one of my closest companions and we’ve been through thick and thin together, so why not?” Jace, Clary, and Isabelle started giggling uncontrollably and soon everyone was joining in. However, Alec was staring incredulously at Jem and soon asked, “What about the ghost we summoned?!?!” Jem looked over his shoulder and grinned. “You’ll see.”

Tessa looked over at Will and was reassured to find his eyes as bright and supportive as they had been when he was alive. He squeezed her hand tightly and they started walking towards her fiance. It was almost poetic really, her deceased husband guiding her toward his parabatai, the only other person whom he trusted to love Tessa. As she walked towards him, Jem ran his eyes over her adoringly and she saw the look of recognition in his eyes when he took in her dress. After all, it was almost identical to the one she’d worn when they slayed Benedict Lightwood, which was her original wedding gown. It felt like time slowed down as she and Will floated towards the person that completed their love triangle (and the cat they hated) and out of the 3 of them, there wasn’t a dry eye in sight. When Tessa went to stand next to Jem, she noticed the strange markings on his gear jacket. Since neither of them were full shadowhunters, they had to adapt the wedding traditions to suit their needs. In his case, what would normally be golden runes on his jacket became motifs of the clockwork angel that had protected her so many centuries ago. “Because I too will never let any harm come to you,” murmured Jem when he noticed Tessa’s expression.

After reciting their elegant vows that they’d carefully crafted for the occasion, Jem and Tessa finally exchanged rings and kissed, sealing their marriage forever. Will stood smiling off to the side, next to his archnemesis, Church, who was scowling disapprovingly at him. He was absolutely ecstatic, after all, here were two of the most important people in his life committing to a life of joy and togetherness. Although he wasn’t a particularly sentimental person, Will’s vision was warped and swimming through a lens of joyous tears. At last, the ceremony was over and everyone was dancing slowly to the lulling piano music fondly extracted from the delicate instrument by a very handsome blond man. He must be a Herondale, Will thought. After all, that self assured attitude and the love in his eyes when he saw a particularly striking red headed lady could only come from somewhere. Suddenly, two familiar hands clasped at each of his shoulders. Will turned, looked at the loves of his life who looked as content as he’d ever seen them. Wordlessly, they all clasped hands and headed off to be alone.

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doomedandstoned · 4 years ago

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10,000 Years Take Us Into The "Gargantuan Forest"

~Doomed & Stoned Debuts~

Review by Billy Goate

Album Art by Francesco Bauso

Leaving the world For salvation yonder Quest for eternity To suns beyond

Gazing upon our past Out into forever To a future obscured What glory awaits?

To begin another week of awesome original content at Doomed & Stoned, we're getting you better acquainted with the Swedish juggernaut 10,000 YEARS.

Last summer, the band dropped their eponymous debut to welcome ears and in just a few short weeks 10,000 Years come roaring back with a follow-up. Y'all know I'm a sucker for a good concept album. The eight-track full-length record 'II' (2021) picks up the trail of the Albatross research vessel, which has been galavanting 'cross the nether reaches of the galaxy on a potent rocket fuel made of sludgy stoner rock and doom metal.

If that sounds epic, wait'll you get a load of what's next for our interstellar crew. It helps if you picture the following text as a Star Wars-style screen crawl, slowly working its way up the page against the backdrop of a starry night.

After narrowly escaping the confines of the strange planet and its surrounding dimension, the Albatross and its crew finally return home to Earth. The re-entry is rough and the ship crashlands in a forest. The earth that greets them is vastly different from the one that they left.

When the ship travelled back to earth through the wormhole, it created a rift in the space-time continuum which propelled them far into the future, as well as allowing the Green King and other ancient gods from the other dimension to cross over to our dimension. They have since taken control of not only the earth, but the entire solar system.

After various harrowing experiences and encounters, the truth finally dawns on the surviving members of the crew. They are indeed back on earth, but ten thousand years in the future from when they started their journey. And to make matters worse, they find evidence that the Green King has been known and worshipped by secret cults and societies on earth for millenia, since before humankind even existed.

The surviving members of the crew come to the conclusion that the only way to set things right again is to repair the Albatross and take it back through the rift again in order to close it.

Now that's a saga I'm ready to get invested in. George Lucas, eat your heart out!

The record revs to a start with "Descent," a track that can best be described as terrific panic. It had me thinking of KOOK's "Escape Velocity" from their recent second album, though that's an eight-and-a-half minute slow burn and this is a quick twenty-six second fall from the sky. I wish this little notion had a chance to develop into something longer, but regardless what a thrilling way to open an album!

With rapt attention, I'm waiting to hear what comes next. The ship seems to have crash landed deep inside a "Gargantuan Forest." As an aside, it would be a blast to smoke a bowl o' something (anything, really) with Erik Palm (guitar), Alex Risberg (bass, vox), and Espen Karlsen (drums) just to gab it up a bit about sci-fi lit and horror flicks. I mean, check out the trove of B-movie greats referenced in their preface to the new single (which Doomed & Stoned is debuting today):

In this ABSURD (1981) video, 10,000 Years enter a FOREST OF FEAR (1980) as they access THE BEYOND (1981) and enter a BLOODBATH (1971) with THE BOOGEY MAN (1980), otherwise known as the Espbeast. The Espbeast stalks and haunts the bodies and minds of the characters in this C-grade homage to the horror movies of yesteryear.

The characters FIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE (1976) through insane NIGHTMARES IN A DAMAGED BRAIN (1981). If they survive the AXE (1974) they may still end up in an INFERNO (1980) and risk being EATEN ALIVE (1976). All the same risks face the viewer, so don’t watch with the lights out, don’t watch by yourself and DON’T GO IN THE WOODS ALONE (1981). Because after all, isn’t there an Espbeast in all of us?

10,000 Years have picked the ideal setting for the music video. The forests of Sweden stand tall and dark, the ground packed with snow. Screw you, Blair Witch Project -- this is where I want the next found footage flick filmed!

The song opens with a mysterious theme on solitary electric strings, surrounded by hazy reverberation. Drums and bass accent the motif as it's repeated several times over. Dazed by their graceless fall to earth, the crew wander about, checking one another for injuries, seeing if the faithful Albatross has even hope of another journey. As the shock begins to wear off, their hopeless plight reveals itself.

Screaming from the sky Blasting through the atmosphere

Come to rest On the forest floor Still alive What fresh new hell is this?

Surrounded by swamps A strange bleeding from the earth

Giant trees A dense horror taking root Same old sun Unfamiliar rays shine down

Is there something lurking about in the Gargantuan Forest? I'm sure no one wants to wait until nightfall to find out! The so-called "Espbeast" (which the band may actually have been first to name) is more than likely some strange amalgamation of guitar and creature, ripping through foes like a berserker of sound with scraps of High on Fire's "10,000 Years" echoing perversely through the treetops as it stalks and ultimately slays you. Nobody wants to be around when the Espbeast is on the prowl.

Now see, I'm letting my imagination get carried away! Then again, maybe that's what the band had planned all along -- for listeners to join in the fantastic adventures of these cosmonauts, to see through their eyes and feel through their body as they touch foot to strange soil. What will our adventurers find next?

The answer comes all too soon: "Spinosaurus!" This gruff beast charges angrily through the woods knocking things about, displacing rocks, snapping branches, royally pissed and ready to make somebody pay for the noise that snatched him away from a damned good nap. The repeated note riff, with its odd strumming pattern, does a nifty job of representing the crude movements of the Spinosaurus as it lumbers about the forest. Eric is a virtuosic mess of frantic tremeloes and wiry noodling against Espen's stampeding drums, as Alex narrates the scene with a terrifying shout:

Is this our earth? No time to dwell Dorsal sail cutting air Cretaceous ghost made flesh

Staring into Dead end eyes No place to hide Theropodic annihilation

Teeth into flesh!

What the crew is experiencing on their homeworld thus far seems foreign, almost ancient. Through some curse of Einstenian logic have we zipped through a wormhole only to return to the distant past? "The Mooseriders" are about to challenge our assumptions about what's possible on this Rock.

Thundering hooves crack the sky Dark robed wizards appear in the light Travellers in ether descending Protectors of the realm

These are the oath-bound eternals -- interdimensional templars, if you will -- who have arrived at this precise moment in time to take on the Green King. Complex rhythmic drumming with precisely stricken odd beats, is accompanied by a hyperactive bass and progressive metal riffmaking. Together, the band conjures the trot and hustle of the approaching entourage. A wilding guitar heralds a message from the great protectors:

The hour draws near The endgame is nigh Divine prophecy Even death may die

The mood now turns stately. A brave theme is introduced and developed with dashing prowess. This track would fit perfectly into a playlist with Mastodon, Ape Cave, and Zirakzigil. I found Alex's vocal approach especially appropriate for the frantic depiction of "antlers clashing with steel" in this battle to the finish. "Even death...may...DIE!"

"Angel Eyes" greet us on the B-side, and it's not a cover of the Jerry Cantrell song (though that would have been unexpectedly awesome). No, the hard-charging mood and raspy vocals are pointing to something far more apocalyptic.

Hooves of burning coal Let loose upon the world

Return of the warlord Eternal fire scorches the earth

Heavenly gaze Order through chaos

At times Alex seems exasperated, practically out of breath, as he gives these dire words his all. It's a style the 10,000 Years frontman owns as well as his counterpart, Simon Ohlsson of Vokonis, who has a comparable vocal attack. A bass-fortified guitar establishes a second theme that adds a Wagnarian touch of high drama, and this ushers in the song's curtain fall.

If 10,000 Years is to be compared with High On Fire at all, the rumbling riffstorm "March Of The Ancient Queen" surely merits it (to say nothing of their mutual love of alternative histories).

Her royal blood Once ruled these lands Generations Buried by time Dynasty of dust Rise from the sands Rise from the dead The Green King's servant

March!

March Of The Ancient Queen - Single by 10,000 Years

That last lyric is uttered with the most blood-curdling all-caps conviction that I was immediately drawn into its sentiment, miming "Maaaaarrrrrch!" with my ugliest war face on every time it came up in the song. The NWOBHM-style finish is so deftly executed that it comes across as orchestral. 10,000 Years paint with big, bold strokes here.

"Prehuman Walls" is a welcome shift down, with its chugging "Bury Me In Smoke" tempo. You sludge fiends will find moments of Zen here, with riffs that bend and twist and saw 'neath the summer sun. The crew have chanced upon a temple of sorts, though not one made with human hands. Nothing seems to make sense here at all. It's like Area X from the film Annihilation (2017), where everything is a contortion of reality. Then the "truth settles in." This alien monstrosity, we find, bears the mark of the sinister Green King. We thought we'd escaped him, only to find that he both followed us and was here millenia before.

Unholy worship Feed the Green King Eyes pried open Sanity stripped away

At last, we reach the final track in our journey: "Dark Side Of The Earth". So many revelations have been made in this second chapter, so many loose ends that need to be tied off. Naturally, a third chapter must be written. "We must go back, set it right," deliberates an exasperated Albatross crew. "We must go back, whence we came."

Dimension walls broken down The fabric ripped and torn apart Thread the needle once again A journey of ten thousand years

We must go back, set it right We must go back, through the tears

Insanity the only way The dark side of the earth

Following these words, the song develops instrumentally and the mood gets quite emotional. I found myself drawing parallels between this "bastard version of earth" and our own, wondering if we ever can go back and make it right. For us, perhaps it should be about moving forward, for there is no golden age or better time to which we can return. We make this world a heaven or hell tomorrow by the choices made today.

The album was recorded by Tomas Skogsberg at Studio Sunlight. Totally diggin the awesomely swamp landscape that Francesco Bauso of Negative Crypt Artwork created. It reminds the five-year old me of Luke's sopping wet landing on Dagobah, though guitarist Alex Risberg says the band's more inspired by Planet of the Apes than by Star Wars.

The album will be released on June 25th as a special vinyl "Green King Edition" by Interstellar Smoke Records pre-order here), a cassette tape "Forest Edition" from Ogo Rekords (pre-order here) and "Swamp Edition" from Olde Magick Records pre-order here), with the digital and compact disc formats handled by Death Valley Records (pre-order here).

10,0000 Years have in II their most accomplished album to date, with powerful moments that will stay with you long after the record's stopped spinning. Fans of High On Fire, Black Tusk, and The Sword listen up! You might just discover your next favorite band.

Give ear...

10,000 Years - Gargantuan Forest (Music Video)

Some Buzz

Having previously played together in the original lineup of Swedish underground heavyweights Pike, Erik Palm (Guitars) and Alex Risberg (Bass/vocals) found their way back to each other, musically, in early 2020. The creative fire reignited and stoked to a burning inferno and through a mutual love of heavy riffs and thundering stoner rock, doom, and sludge metal, 10,000 Years was born. Finding a drummer would prove to be an easy task and with Espen Karlsen the final piece lay firmly in place. The groove they fell into during the first rehearsal hasn’t stopped rumbling since.

After spending the first-half of 2020 writing and rehearsing, 10,000 Years recorded their self-titled debut EP during one weekend in June in the legendary Studio Sunlight with equally legendary producer Tomas Skogsberg. The self-titled EP was released on July 10th and immediately struck a chord with the heavy underground worldwide, and 10,000 Years garnered rave reviews and accolades.

10,000 Years by 10,000 Years

10,000 Years' musical and lyrical world revolves around the tale of the terran class III exploration vessel Albatross and its mission to explore the Milky Way and nearby galaxies in search for a possible new home for humanity. The EP tells the tale of its first foray into space and what happens when the crew accidentally travel through a wormhole and end up in an adjacent dimension populated by ancient gods and giant beings, ruled by the Green King. The EP ends with “From Suns Beyond,” where the crew make it off from the strange planet, back out into space in search of a way back home. The new album picks up the story as the Albatross blasts through the atmosphere of a seemingly unknown planet and crashlands headfirst into strange new adventures.

II by 10,000 Years

Now, less than a year after their first release, 10,000 Years are back with their first full-length effort, aptly titled 'II' (2021). Picking up right where the EP left off, II continues the story of the ill-fated Albatross mission and its exploration of time and space through a skull-crushing mixture of stoner rock, doom, and sludge metal. The album will no doubt continue to build on 10,000 Years' already golden reputation and prove to be an even bigger hit with the heavy masses.

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#D&S Debuts #10000 Years #Västerås #Sweden #doom metal #sludge #heavy metal #sci-fi #horror #music video #Interstellar Smoke Records #Death Valley Records #Ogo Rekords #Olde Magick Records #Doomed and Stoned

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your-angle-of-music · 4 years ago

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Anyone want my playlist for my dream cast version of The Phantom of the Opera?

Coming right up!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGFe3xKBIJQ&list=PLyXOfYb8cpfkWW_8EO-XHO2MIBFLMevmn

To my knowledge, this has all the songs that count as songs, but as always, I welcome other people’s additions or suggestions!

Check out under the cut for the list of songs and actors, and my notes and explanations for each of them. Enjoy!

1. Prologue/Overture - Barry Clark as the Auctioneer, Steve Barton as Raoul de Chagny, Rosemary Ashe as Carlotta (Original Broadway)

To be honest, I was never too fond of this long prologue, which is never relevant again and reveals very little about the characters’ future. Clark’s Auctioneer does create a properly grand feel, and Barton’s Raoul does sound heartbroken, but what I’m really here for is that epic, bombastic, beautiful overture. No matter how many times I hear it, it will never stop being exhilarating. This track also features the Hannibal opera part. Ashe’s Carlotta sounds deliciously dramatic and her high note on “Rome” treads that line between impressive and annoying perfectly.

2. Think of Me - Katie Hall as Christine Daae, Angela Caesar as Carlotta, Simon Bailey as Raoul de Chagny (UK Tour)

God, I love Caesar’s Carlotta. She takes her time with all her lines, to excellent effect, and her “spare a thought for me” is both genuinely pretty and utterly distinct from Hall’s Christine’s. I also adore the alternating weepiness and shoutiness she puts into her “these things do happen” tirade, and you can hear her clapping during “all the time!”. And then her “this thing does not happen!” is gloriously over-the-top. Meanwhile, Hall’s Christine’s voice is so lovely here. I appreciate how quietly she starts out, barely audible, and then how sweet her voice is once she gets more confident on “that oh so distant day.” She sounds pure and innocent but yet still clearly classically trained, and damn, she can project. I love the way she sings “think of me, think of me waking silent and resigned” especially. And then that final “think of me” cadenza is perfect. She makes the high notes seem effortless and they’re buttery smooth. Bailey’s Raoul also makes an excellent first impression.

3. Angel of Music - Sarah Brightman as Christine Daae, Janet Devenish as Meg Giry, Michael Crawford as the Phantom (Original Broadway)

We start of strong with Crawford’s Phantom’s absolutely haunting “bravi, bravi, bravissimi.” And then I adore Devenish’s Meg — she has such a pure, clear, young voice that sounds perfect for her role. Devenish makes this the best version of this song in my opinion, even though I prefer the new lyric ““I watched your face from the shadows / distant through all the applause. / I hear your voice in the darkness, / yet the words aren’t yours” to the one that Devenish’s Meg sings here, “Christine, you must have been dreaming, / stories like this can’t come true. / Christine, you’re talking in riddles, / and it’s not like you” (because come on now, talking in riddles is one of Christine’s defining personality traits). Brightman’s Christine sounds gorgeous on the high notes, especially when she sings softly, and I love her on her “father once spoke of an angel” part.

4. Little Lotte/The Mirror - Sarah Brightman as Christine Daae, Steve Barton as Raoul de Chagny, Michael Crawford as the Phantom (Original Broadway)

Barton’s Raoul will always be my favorite. There’s a sweetness and a warmth to his voice that makes him always seem likable, when other musical Raouls seem patronizing or boring or manipulative or dumb. I like the mischievous, flirtatious note in Brightman’s Christine’s “you remember that too.” And most of all, I like Crawford’s Phantom’s powerful “insolent boy!” that manages to sound both scary and strangely far-off and echoey — I’d believe he was an angel too. And then the gentleness in his “flattering child, you shall know me” seems more book accurate and likable to me. Crawford has a unique quality to his voice that makes me love his rendition of the “angel of music” motif the best of any actor’s. I am a little sorry that the end of Barton’s cry of “angel” gets cut off in this recording, though.

5. The Phantom of the Opera - Michael Crawford as the Phantom, Sarah Brightman as Christine Daae (Original Broadway)

Brightman’s Christine might not be the strongest, acting-wise, but vocally? She has the range, darlings. She sings the soft, low beginning of this song and the piercing, high end of it with the same facility — I mean, just listen to that last high E. It sounds effortless. And everything in between is good too; her first “the phantom of the opera is there, inside my mind” has a breathtakingly haunting quality. Crawford’s Phantom is also very good with the high notes. I just love the way he sings the words “my power over you grows stronger yet” and “in all your fantasies, you always knew” almost too airily, and of course every time he sings “phantom,” it’s powerful enough to give me chills. And I love how soft he is on his first few rounds of “sing for me.”

6. The Music of the Night - Earl Carpenter as the Phantom (London 2006)

This is one of the few tracks on here that I have video for, and I couldn’t be happier about it. Everything about Carpenter’s Phantom’s body language really makes this song for me, in addition to his positively angelic voice. Carpenter embodies the version of the Phantom that I know from the novel, hesitant and gentle even though he’s...Like That, and he manages to make “The Music of the Night” really seem like a love song. I appreciate that he remains so quiet for so much of the beginning, almost inaudible with your computer’s volume turned up less than a third, and the sweetness he puts into the phrase “night unfurls its splendor.” Also that little hand block he does on “tremulous and tender” and the way he never quite touches Christine during “turn your face away from the garish light of day” makes me Feel Things. The crescendo fakeout he does on “close your eyes and surrender to your darkest dreams” is masterful, as is his high note on “soar” and the way he turns his masked side away from Christine’s hand on “the darkness of the music of the night” and...oh God, we’re only three minutes in. But he’s not just soft and sweet; his “let your soul take you where you long to be” is strong and powerful. I really, really like how he keeps his distance even when he has his arm around her, and the way he stops her hand during “savor each sensation.” Christine’s faint looks weird, because it always does, because it’s really dumb, but I appreciate that Carpenter actually catches her — and looks a small bit panicked about it. And then when he strokes her hair and sings that last “night” the softest and purest of all...perfection.

7. I Remember/Stranger Than You Dreamt It - John Owen-Jones as the Phantom, Rachel Barrell as Christine Daae (London 2005)

Another one with video! And oh boy, what a video. First of all, Barrell’s Christine has a very cool and interesting voice, and I love the way she sings “on the lake there was a boat, and in the boat there was a man,” delicate and unsure, before you can hear her steeling her courage on “who was that shape in the shadows?” I’m equally happy with the way JOJ’s Phantom snarls out that “you little lying Delilah! you little viper!” while still making it sound good, and that over-the-top, extremely JOJ final “damn you! curse you!” that ends in a sob ‘n growl, because if there’s ever a show to be melodramatic in, it’s Phantom. And then his hissed out “stranger than you dreamt it” and the fact that he keeps his hand over his face the entire time makes it perfect. His wounded-animal-style crawling starting on “fear can turn to love” and the roughness and pain and prettiness in his voice reminds me a lot of Erik’s characterization in the novel, as is his sobbed “oh, Christine!” right afterwards, and his “those two fools who run my theater will be missing you!” is believably scary.

8. Magical Lasso - Janos Kurucz as Joseph Buquet, Mary Millar as Madame Giry (Original Broadway)

It’s such a small song, but I really love the unique quality to Kurucz’s Buquet’s voice, as well as the anxiety in Millar’s Madame Giry’s “heat of his eyes.”

9. Notes/Prima Donna - Rosemary Ashe as Carlotta, John Savident as Monsieur Firmin, David Firth as Monsieur Andre, Steve Barton as Raoul de Chagny, Mary Millar as Madame Giry, Janet Devenish as Meg Giry, Michael Crawford as the Phantom (Original Broadway)

This song is way more of a bop than it has any right to be. I absolutely adore Savident’s Firmin and Firth’s Andre, with their humor and their bluster and their old married husbands vibes. I love that overpowering “damnable!” and that long-suffering sigh on “Wrote. Written.” All the indignant drama that Ashe’s Carlotta brings is delightful in every way, especially on her high Italian parts and that “it’s no use trying to appease me, you’re only saying this to please me.” Crawford’s Phantom’s “one last chance” is chilling, and I like how pretty his sound is here — it’s way creepier than growly anger. The “Prima Donna” section is just such a gorgeous melody, really, and Savident and Firth have such rich, lovely voices. And Barton’s Raoul is also amazing; his “is this her angel of music” especially is so gorgeous. I do wish I could hear Millar’s Madame Giry a little bit more clearly, but I love her voice. And Ashe’s last “once more” high note is really quite breathtaking, as is Crawford’s “a disaster beyond your imagination will occur.“ This recording also features a section of Il Muto that will overlap a little bit with the next track — sorry about that.

10. Il Muto - Kim Stengel as Carlotta, Elizabeth Loyacano as Christine Daae, Howard McGillin as the Phantom (Broadway 2008)

There’s some video for this one, which is good, because all the actors are hilarious. This Raoul...sounds like a bit of an asshole, but to be fair, the script shoves him pretty firmly into that role. I can’t find the name of the actor who plays the Count anywhere, but he is perfect. I love the way he holds that “observe her” note, and his hammy self-awareness in doing so. The real MVP here is Stengel’s Carlotta, with all her imperiousness and her high notes and her dramatic nervous laughter and the way she bosses around Christine and the conductor. And her croaking. The croaking is perfect, especially when she does it offstage. Loyacano’s Christine doesn’t have too much to do in this scene, but her kissing in time is amazing. Same for McGillin’s Phantom, although I like how quiet and genuinely amused he is on his “perhaps it is you who are the toad” as well as his maniacal laughter when he kills Buquet. Actually, the whole ballet section is perfectly executed (although I’m not much of an expert on dancing).

11. Why Have You Brought Us Here/All I Ask of You - Sarah Brightman as Christine Daae, Steve Barton as Raoul de Chagny, Michael Crawford as the Phantom (Original Broadway)

Brightman’s Christine is wonderful here, sounding properly hysterical on “and in this labyrinth, where night is blind” and “Raoul, I’ve been there” and beautiful and sad on the “yet in his eyes, all the sadness of the world” bit. And did I mention that I love Barton’s Raoul? Because I do. I really, really do. The beginning of this song can make Raoul look. Really bad. But this one manages to pull it off, sounding so concerned and so utterly in love. When he sings “no more talk of darkness” and “let me be your shelter, let me be your light” his voice sounds so soft and warm and gentle and my God, you can hear the smile and the hug, and then his “then say you’ll share with me one love, one lifetime” is urgent and soaring and lovely. Brightman matches his energy, and she has a lovely, delicate voice that balances perfectly with his. Her “say the word and I will follow you” sounds so tender and there’s a gorgeous intensity in her “say you love me.” Their last “love me, that’s all I ask of you” is sweet and soft, and I love the lightness in Brightman’s “I must go” and of course the warm solidity in Barton’s “Christine, I love you” that sets up the contrast that will absolutely make me cry later. Crawford’s Phantom is perfect too, right from that first haunting, echoing “Christine” at the beginning. He sounds vulnerable and almost disbelieving and on “I gave you my music” and the last repetitions of “Christine,” and that “Go!” is TERRIFYING.

12. Entr’acte - John Savident as Monsieur Firmin, David Firth as Monsieur Andre (Original Broadway)

I don’t have that many feelings about which orchestra in particular preforms this, but I definitely want to include it. I do adore Webber’s score and the switches between the different melody motifs are pretty awesome. Fair warning, though, that it does include the very beginning of “Masquerade” but cuts off in the middle of “I must say, all the same, that it’s a shame that Phantom fellow isn’t here,” which frustrates me to no end.

13. Masquerade - Anna O’Byrne as Christine Daae, Alexander Lewis(???) as Raoul de Chagny (Australia 2009)

Another song with video! And it’s good quality too, highlighting the colorfulness of this scene. O’Byrne’s Christine and Lewis’ Raoul enter at “who can name the face,” and they’re graceful dancers, and everyone reflects the high energy of the scene, especially on the quiet verse. O’Byrne’s Christine sounds young here, but in a good way, and quite scared on “you promised me,” and Lewis lets his Raoul be exasperated on “it’s an engagement, not a crime” — it feels like they’ve had this argument many times before. The part where Christine and Raoul get separated feels genuinely suspenseful, and I really love the lighting just before the Phantom’s entrance.

14. Why So Silent? - Earl Carpenter as the Phantom (London 2005 - 2007)

I do love Carpenter’s Phantom because he’s sweet, but sometimes I love him because he’s really, really scary. There’s video for this bit so we can all admire his Red Death costume and the lighting to match. He stays creepily quiet for the beginning, so that his “remember there are worse things than a shattered chandelier” and his “your chains are still mine! you will sing for me!” are all the more powerful.

15. Notes/Twisted Every Way - Sarah Brightman as Christine Daae, Steve Barton as Raoul de Chagny, John Savident as Monsieur Firmin, David Firth as Monsieur Andre, Mary Millar as Madame Giry, Rosemary Ashe as Carlotta (Original Broadway)

Honestly, Ashe’s Christine is one of the best parts of this song. The way she sings “outrage!” and “ha! here’s our little flower” and the way she absolutely snarls “she’s the one behind this, Christine Daae!” is perfection. She’s also brilliant in the “Don Juan Triumphant” rehearsal. Savident’s Firmin and Firth’s Andre are wonderful as usual, and Barton’s Raoul manages to sound gentle and good in a script that is not kind to the character here — his “you don’t have to, they can’t make you” and “you said yourself, he was nothing but a man” and “every hope and every prayer rests on you now“ are lovely. Millar’s Madame Giry sounds frail and scared and determined (I love her “monsieur, be careful, we have seen him kill”) and she reminds me a lot of her characterization in the novel, and Crawford’s Phantom is deliciously creepy in his letter, and I adore his almost sighing sound on phrases like “an office not the arts” and “her teacher.” His “your obedient friend” gives me chills. Brightman’s Christine also shines here. I actually like the quiet almost-shrillness in her “how dare you” because it sounds like she’s been trying to do what she’s supposed to all along but she’s beginning to snap under the stress, and same goes for her “I’ll go mad!” which sounds genuine and spontaneous. Her “twisted every way” section is haunting and haunted and ethereally beautiful and I could listen to it all day. This recording also includes the beginning of “Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again,” so heads up about that.

16. Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again - Leila Benn Harris as Christine Daae (London 2008)

There’s some video for this one, but the quality isn’t great — sorry about that. Harris’ Christine, however, is extremely great. Her voice contains sweetness and sadness and trauma and anger all at once and her dynamics are just perfection. The way she sings “that voice which calls to me and speaks my name” provokes instant goosebumps every time, and then the softness in her “Little Lotte thought of everything and nothing” is brilliant. The fierce anger in her “sculpted angels, cold and monumental” is what really made me fall in love with Harris’ rendition. And that strength and power in her “why can’t the past just die” and then the softness and clearness in “help me say goodbye” with the last ringing, gorgeous high note. God, she is perfect, isn’t she.

17. Wandering Child/Bravo, Monsieur - Michael Crawford as the Phantom, Sarah Brightman as Christine Daae, Steve Barton as Raoul de Chagny (Original Broadway)

Hands down, this song, at least the first half, is my favorite in the show, and these three singers’ voices pull it off perfectly. Brightman’s Christine has such a delicate voice that sounds so lovely with the two lower ones, and she puts so much gentleness and sadness into that “angel or father, friend or phantom, who is it there staring?” and she sounds beautiful and tortured on that “Angel of Music, I denied you, turning from true beauty.” Her acting on “oh, Raoul!” and “Raoul, come back!” is...not the best, but her singing makes it well worth it to me. And Crawford’s Phantom sounds, well, like an angel. There’s such a strangeness and sadness and beauty in his voice. The way he sings “have you forgotten your angel?” is lovely and soft, and I just love how he says “far from my far-reaching gaze” (and I also love the lyric itself; I think it’s really creepy when later Phantoms change it to “fathering gaze”). And his “turning from true beauty” and “come to your strange angel” are powerful and perfect in every way. His “I am your Angel of Music, come to me, Angel of Music” is properly hypnotic, and I like the steadiness of it amidst Christine’s and Raoul’s panic. And speaking of Raoul, Barton kills it with all of his harmonies, and there’s genuine worry in his deliciously soft “once again she is his, once again she returns” and in his loud and long and powerful “luring her back from the grave.” Crawford’s and Barton’s “bravo, monsieur” exchange sounds properly scary, and I almost like how over-the-top Crawford is being compared to Barton’s relative calmness — they are just on such different pages, emotionally, and are assessing the situation in completely different ways. This recording also gets into the beginning of “The Point of No Return,” or rather “Don Juan Triumphant,” and it sounds...demonic is the best word I can think of, honestly, but that is definitely a good thing. I’m not too fond of Brightman’s Christine or Crawford’s Phantom in this part, but I do appreciate their excellent voices as always.

18. The Point of No Return - Ramin Karimloo as the Phantom, Sierra Boggess as Christine Daae (25th Anniversary)

Unpopular opinion, perhaps bordering on life-threatening: I’m generally not that into Karimloo’s portrayal of the Phantom. His voice is just a bit too smooth for me, too glamorous and sexy, not an eerie Crawford or an angelic Carpenter or a tortured JOJ, and his acting usually reflects that side of him a bit too much for the Phantom I know. But in this song? It works. Holy everloving fuck, it works. I love the way he says “no backward glances” and “what warm unspoken secrets will we learn” Boggess’ Christine is absolutely mesmerizing here too — her high notes on “you have brought me” and her vibrato on “our passion play has now at last begun” and the huskiness of her “past the point of right or wrong” are brilliant in every way. I’m especially glad that I have video for this song, because these two really make it with their body language. The way Boggess’ Christine springs up and bolts away just before her “you have brought me” line and, of course, Karimloo’s Phantom’s shaking hands on “until we’re one” are perfect. And then, after Boggess’ Christine’s realization that it’s the Phantom she’s singing with at “consume us,” their dynamic is perfect, with Karimloo’s growling determination and Boggess’ anger and fear, both expressed perfectly in their “so stand and watch it burn.” I love the way their “return”s are out of sync after Boggess’ Christine reveals the Phantom’s mask, and the way Karimloo spits out his “-turn” like a challenge. And then the tenor sweetness and intensity of his “say you’ll share with me” can just about break me every time, yet it also sounds properly distinct from Raoul’s earlier version, like with the fiercely desperate edge to his “one lifetime,” and his “anywhere you go let me go too” almost has a different melody. And then I think his snarling and “no”ing when Christine unmasks him at the end is...a little much, but still very on-brand. Oh, and there’s like ten seconds of silence at the end of this recording, just to warn you.

19. Down Once More/The Final Lair - John Owen-Jones as the Phantom, Katie Hall as Christine Daae, Simon Bailey as Raoul de Chagny (UK Tour)

I love this production so, so much, and I wish I had video for it, because nothing exemplifies its understanding of the characters like the staging of The Kiss — instead of the standard staging, in which Christine kisses the Phantom, then hugs him, then kisses him again with more enthusiasm, in this production, Hall’s Christine kisses JOJ’s Phantom once, and then he falls to his knees and she hugs him as he sinks into her and then pushes her away. But I’m here for the audio, too. We start of strong with JOJ’s Phantom’s “into darkness deep as hell!” which he holds for an amazingly long time in this voice of beautiful despair, followed by a properly tortured “why, you ask, was I bound and chained” section. His “a mask, my first unfeeling scrap of clothing” is heartwrenching, and his “monsieur, I bid you welcome” section is chilling. Despite his awesomeness, I might still need to hand the MVP award to Hall’s Christine, who carries an anger and defiance into this scene that I rarely see in other Christines that you can hear in her “am I now to be prey to your lust for flesh” and her “it’s in your soul that the true distortion lies” and of course her iconic “tears of hate.” And Bailey’s Raoul is compelling, and his “free her!” and “I did it all for you and all for nothing” are wonderfully delivered. In the frantic part where all three characters sing at the same time, their voices are balanced perfectly. I absolutely adore JOJ’s Phantom’s “for either way you choose you cannot win” and Bailey’s Raoul’s “why make her lie to you to save me” and Hall’s Christine’s “Angel of Music, you deceived me.” JOJ’s Phantom’s “you try my patience, make your choice!” is scary but not deafening, and then comes the tender perfection of Hall’s Christine’s “pitiful creature of darkness” (although I wish there was a slightly longer pause before it” and her angelic “alone” and God, I love them all. Hall’s little “no please” when she sees the Phantom approaching Raoul is an excellent detail, and JOJ’s “angel in hell” sounds desperate and almost childlike. I wish his “go now and leave me” wasn’t quite so loud — my throat hurts just thinking about it, but then his “Christine, I love you.” Oh my God, that “Christine, I love you.” I think stabbing me in the heart would be less painful. And I love the lightness and gentleness of Hall’s and Bailey’s final “All I Ask of You” reprise. Yeah. I adore this production, and I adore this show.

Thank you for stopping by! I’d be happy to talk about these choices or Phantom in general with anyone, any time :)

#poto #the phantom of the opera #phantom of the opera #phantom #angle o speak

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the-prophet-lemonade · 5 years ago

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Hi, it's me!💍I've been rereading everything in anticipation of chapter 10, like I promised, and I was wondering about everyone's super names. In universe, I assume the vigilantes picked their own names, but what about the Idris supers? And how long did it take you to come up with theirs, what made you decide on certain names? Did you end up going back to change any halfway through writing?

hello darling !!!!! i’m very excited about chapter 10, i think it’s gonna be a good one :D

the super names were probably the very first thing i came up with after i’d decided on my concept ... so, they all came long before the plot and i don’t think they changed very much after i settled on them - but a lot of thought went into most of them so i’m happy to explain!

alec | sentinel: i wanted to pick something stoic and powerful for alec, but something that reflected his presence and his willingness to watch over people from above. the name represents his protectiveness and his enduring nature, reflects his role as a soldier and a guard, and also has angelic connotations (to tie into sh canon and/or jace being arkangel) ... lastly, the word sentinel also ties into a particular line from javert’s solo (”stars”) in les miserables that he sings on a rooftop edge in the movie and that is a Very Relevant song ok, you should look up the lyrics

magnus | nightlock: i went back and forth on a couple ideas for magnus’ name, but i wanted something magical and colourful and magician-esque for him. in my mind, nightlock is a portmanteau of “deadly nightshade” and “warlock” (although the “-lock” suffix could also come from “hemlock”) . deadly nightshade is obviously very dangerous and poisonous, and causes delirium and hallucinations (which is reflected in magnus’ ability to manipulate the world around him), but the main symbolism i wanted from it is the flower’s colour - that very deep, plutonic purple matches very well with the fic aesthetic. in addition, a little historical relevance: socrates was executed through consumption of hemlock for “questioning the gods” and entertaining ideas of political insurgency and the pursuit of justice so that’s ... also very relevant.

jace | arkangel: this was the first name i settled on for jace and liked it a lot, so stuck with it. it has heavenly and angelic connotations (obviously) and is a name imbued with a great deal of omniscient power (representative of jace’s op abilities) and some golden colour symbolism too. i chose the “ark” spelling rather than “arch” because i liked the harder consonant sound, it works better for jace’s personality. also, jace can fly lol

clary | muse: clary was the one i went back and forth on a lot when i was picking her alias ... originally, she was going to have fire elemental powers like johnathan, but i decided against it, because pyrokinesis is a very violent and erratic power, and whilst clary is unpredictable and scrappy, i don’t think she’s intentionally destructive. i think her artistic manifestation suits her well and is a very adaptive ability, which matches her personality better. aNYWAY the other names i considered for her were “firestorm”, “sunfire”, and “athena” but i went with muse to match her powers. also, it’s a single syllable so sounds better in tandem with arkangel (three syllables) considering they’re often mentioned together in the text and i think lots about rhythm and sounds!

simon | 8-bit: i wanted something super geeky and given the time period, the snes and the gameboy had just been released by nintendo, so nintendocore and 8bit music was becoming a thing! plus, as simon is a technopath, i wanted a name to both represent his powers and represent simon’s playfulness and naivety when it comes to superhero business hahaha my alternative choices for simon were “cyber”, “shockwave”, and “electro” but those were all too boring

luke | wolfsbane: i considered “sabretooth” for luke but there’s a pretty well-known xmen hero by that name, so i went with wolfsbane. again, wolfsbane is the name of a poisonous dark purple plant (like nightshade), so there’s a direct link to magnus there, which is highly relevant as the two of them have history and used to be vigilante partners in the 1980s (which we haven’t yet uncovered in the fic). there’s also another member of the xmen called wolfsbane who, funnily enough, can turn into a werewolf, much like luke haha

maia | veil: this is another one i chose instantly and has everything to do with maia’s powers. now, maia as a person is pretty abrasive and unforgiving and unapologetic and doesn’t hesitate to get physical if need be (e.g. punching jace that one time lmfao), so i wanted to give her a power the exact opposite of this feisty outward persona. i think maia is an intensely vulnerable person who puts up a lot of walls and thick skin around her heart to protect herself and hide her feelings, so i wanted her to have a power that was cerebral, but also one that tied into this vulnerability and her unwillingness to let people see her real self. so, that’s why she can manipulate illusions, and that’s why her alias is veil.

catarina | witchlight: i don’t know if this one has been said outright in the fic yet, but it’s in between the lines if you read close enough! we’ll get a bit of cat in the upcoming ch 10, but magnus/nightlock has already mentioned her both by name and alias in past chapters. cat’s powers are healing magic (surprise surprise) and her name comes from a type of crystal that glows in the hands of good-intentioned and good-hearted people ... very much in-line with the phial of galadriel/light of earendil from lord of the rings if i’m honest (and a giant nerd) ... witchlight as a stone is also found in sh canon! in addition, witchlight has this great simultaneous feeling of antithesis and parallelism to “nightlock” and i don’t really know why but they sound good together! there’s a sense of balance between their names, don’t you think?

dot | salem: another one like cat, you’ll have to look between the lines for this one, but she’ll be cropping up a bit more and has a very crucial role to play in a later chapter. this matches cat’s witch motif but with darker connotations (reflective of dot’s superpowers) when taken in the context of the salem witch trials and therefore has links to the fic’s themes of persecution. however, the biblical connotations of the name “salem” are to do with peace, so that’s nice.

lydia | apex: this one is very literal - the apex of something is the pinnacle, the top, the best. lydia is one of idris’ best supers and her power is super strength, so go figure

valentine | silver tongue: we haven’t seen valentine use her powers of persuasion yet, and they’ve only been hinted at (and it seems that johnathan is doing most of the grunt work, golly gosh i wonder why that is and what it means and whether it matters for a later part of the plot ... hmm). this one’s pretty straightforward too though: someone with a silver tongue is someone who is eloquent and persuasive at speaking, and valentine is known to be a good orator as we know. honestly though i just think of that simpson’s episode where lisa finds out jebediah springfield has a silver tongue and that has nOTHING to do with this so idk why i brought it up lmfao

there are of course a few others: ragnor, aline, helen, raj, and victor, but i haven’t named them ... i think aline has electrical/lightning powers, and raj can teleport, but i don’t think i settled on what helen and victor can do, so i just didn’t bother mentioning their aliases. izzy and raphael (yet to appear) are also supers but don’t have code names ... and i’m also curious what maryse and robert’s powers and aliases might be! there’s also sebastian/johnathan who does have an alias but it hasn’t been revealed in the story yet so ... no spoilers!

your note about idris supers is interesting and honestly i hadn’t considered it ... i imagine idris supers do get to pick their aliases but they’d have to be ‘corporate-approved’ by higher ups. lydia (apex) and alec (sentinel) both have very strong and powerful names, whilst clary (muse) matches her powers, and jace (arkangel) is an odd one because the name reflects his wings rather than his adoptive muscle memory, and obviously he’s been a super longer than he’s had his wings so i guess that’s just a plothole hahahaha (maybe he had a different super name before he got his wings and much to alec and izzy’s annoyance, decided to change his name after he got his new gear? who knows)

#fic: a cold night for good deeds #lucy replies #long post #OH MAN I WROTE A LOT IM SORRY

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smallpressdistribution · 6 years ago

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10 Books to Peel the Scales from Your Eyes

IN THIS MONTH’S SPDCLICKHOLE by Trisha Low

From visionary writers to collaborations that shift our perspective, from work that sheds a light on injustice and dares us to face it, we’re happy to honor this month’s #SPDHANDPICKED theme - VISION - with a list of books that peel the scales from our eyes.

1. Vision of the Children of Evil by Miguel Angel Bustos, trans. Lucina Schell (co-im-press)

"Like the tormented Peruvian César Vallejo or the Spanish madman-savant Leopoldo Panero, Argentina's Miguel Ángel Bustos ransacks the unconscious for its darkest revelations of the inexpressible. Like García Lorca forty years before in Spain, Bustos was murdered for his politics in 1976 by his country's military dictatorship. To render his hallucinated language and his dream-nightmare visions in credible English, Lucina Schell reaches for the edges of expression and introduces us to a strangely gifted, wildly imaginative, prematurely silenced twentieth-century voice."—Stephen Kessler 2. Tela de sevoya / Onioncloth by Myriam Moscona, trans. Antena: Jen Hofer with John Pluecker (Les Figues Press)

The narrator of TELA DE SEVOYA / ONIONCLOTH travels to Bulgaria, searching for traces of her Sephardic heritage. Her journey becomes an autobiographical and imagined exploration of childhood, diaspora, and the possibilities of her family language: Ladino or Judeo-Spanish, the living tongue spoken by descendants of the Jews expelled from Spain in 1492. Memoir, poetry, storytelling, songs, and dreams are interwoven in this visionary text—this tela or cloth that brings the past to life, if only for a moment, and that looks at the present though the lens of history.

3. Television by Claire Millikin (Unicorn Press)

"In this remarkable collection, Claire Millikin has made her own persistent music of a fully felt, fully experienced life in which 'what's broken never heals completely.' Often edging into what seems unspeakable, she finds a language that remains plain, steady, scrupulous, unsentimental and unshowy. Poem after poem registers the poet's 'battle for the moral world'—illuminating not only a single life but its human and environmental surroundings. As a motif draws us to the heart of a piece of music, Millikin's recurrent emblem is the centering fact and force of television: its role—fractured, phantasmagoric and familiar—in home and family, and in the wider world, where it may exercise its 'balm of blue light.'” —Eamon Grennan

4. Actualities by Norma Cole and Marina Adams (Litmus Press)

In this lambent collaboration, visual artist Marina Adams echoes the spareness of Norma Cole's language with delicate lines that contour muscular negative spaces, sometimes stark and densely foreboding, sometimes luxuriant with color. Norma Cole dialogues with Marina Adams with syncopated poems concerned with fragmentation, transformation, love, precarity, and the tenuousness of kinship between places, things, and being. In ACTUALITIES, poet and artist meditate in tandem, moving between anxiety and reconciliation, in a call and response with one another, and with a cosmos that continuously thwarts knowing, refusing to sit still.

5. Tucson Salvage: Tales and Recollections from La Frontera by Brian Jabes Smith (Eyewear Publishing)

This book is a chronicle of the overlooked and unsung, a collection of award-winning essays based on Brian Jabas Smith's popular column, "Tucson Salvage." "A true champion of the dispossessed and forgotten. ... I can't recommend this book highly enough."—Willy Vlautin

6. Bred from the Eyes of a Wolf by Kim Kyung Ju, trans. Jake Levine (Plays Inverse Press)

Equal parts poetry, drama, and sci-fi, award-winning poet Kim Kyung Ju's verse play BRED FROM THE EYES OF A WOLF follows a post-apocalyptic family of wolves (indistinguishable from humans) forced to taxidermy their own cubs in order to survive. An allegory for the degraded social relations of the present, Kim Kyung Ju's all-too-familiar dystopia partitions the male body into monetized parts while the female body is valued only for its reproductive ability. Various mythologies and science fictions layer one over the other—from Oedipus to zombies to a cybernetic police state—in this stunning depiction of family, alienation, and contemporary capitalism, translated from Korean into English for the first time by frequent collaborator Jake Levine.

7. Thirteen Ways of Looking at The Bus by Gizelle Gajelonia (Tinfish Press)

In THIRTEEN WAYS OF LOOKING AT THE BUS, Gizelle Gajelonia discovers her muse in Honolulu's TheBus mass transit system. She takes seriously (in this seriously funny chapbook) the notion of routes—routes through Hawai'i's history and geography, routes through American poetry, routes through languages spoken in Hawai'i. Many of the pieces parody canonical poems by T. S. Eliot, Wallace Stevens, Hart Crane, Elizabeth Bishop, John Ashbery, and Eric Chock. Out of her parodies come marvelous revisions. Among the figures included in Gajelonia's revised canon are Hawai'i's last queen, Lili'uokalani, Filipina nurses, and an honors thesis writer very like the author who dreams of Columbia University.

8. USO: I'll Be Seeing You by Kim Rosenfield (Ugly Duckling Presse)

USO: I'LL BE SEEING YOU is at its core a parable of performance and service. How does one perform/serve issues of identity, race, politics, and the essential vulnerability of what it means to be human? What is language in service of and when does it go too far? What degrades? What supports? What is heroic? What does it mean to put oneself at risk or in harm's way? This book speaks via the poetry of stand-up comedy to the U.S. involvement in the Middle East and the difficulties of naming the unnameable.

9. War and Peace 4: Vision and Text, by Judith Goldman and Leslie Scalapino, Editors (O Books)

WAR AND PEACE 4: VISION AND TEXT is devoted to collaborations between visual works and poetry, includes collaborative works of Charles Bernstein with Susan Bee, Amy Evans McClure with Michael McClure, Kiki Smith with Leslie Scalapino, Denise Newman with Gigi Janchang, a film on paper by Lyn Hejinian, Alan Halsey's visual texts, Simone Fattal, and Petah Coyne. Judith Goldman interviews Marjorie Welish, Lauren Shufran interviews Jean Boully, Leslie Scalapino interviews Mei-mei Berssenbrugge. Also included are E. Tracy Grinnell's homophonic translations of Claude Cahun's "Helene la rebelle" and poems by Fanny Howe, Thom Donovan, and others.

10. How Do I Look? by Sennah Yee (Metatron) Through a series of flash poetry/non-fiction pieces, Sennah Yee's debut full-length book HOW DO I LOOK? paints a colourful portrait of a woman both raised and repelled by the media. With pithy, razor-sharp prose, Sennah dissects and reassembles pop culture through personal anecdotes, crafting a love-hate letter to the media and the microaggressions that have shaped how she sees herself and the world. HOW DO I LOOK? is a raw and vulnerable reflection on identities real and imagined.

All #SPDhandpicked books on VISION are 20% off all month w/ code HANDPICKED

#SPDhandpicked #spdclickhole

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chrancecriber · 2 years ago

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Radio NET Bulgaria (November 26, 2022)

23:59 MICHAEL SILVERMAN, ERIC MARIENTHAL - In These Times 23:54 MIKAEL - Trippin Over You 23:51 NAI SOUNDS - Can't Deal 23:47 SHAKATAK - God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen 23:42 KENNEY POLSON - Black Swan 23:38 NILS - Nine2Five 23:34 VINCENT INGALA - Ready Or Not 23:30 CAROL ALBERT - Sol Ipanema 23:25 MARCUS ANDERSON - Bless The Lord 23:21 DREW DAVIDSEN - Silent Night 23:16 EUGE GROOVE - Silhouette 23:12 VINCENT IOIA - First Time (feat. Ricky Peterson & Gerey Johnson) 23:08 JACKIEM JOYNER - Later Tonight 23:04 WILL SUMNER - A Last Dance 23:00 GREGG KARUKAS - Welcome Home 22:59 TOUCH & GO - Straight To...Number One (Dreamcatcher Mix) 22:52 TORNIKE - Night Steps (Original Mix) 22:46 STAN CROWN - Not Invented Love (Original Mix) 22:44 SPOR - Pacifica (Acoustic Version) 22:38 TONY IGY - Astronomia (Chillout Mix) 22:35 ASKERY - With You 22:29 SIMON LE GREC - Decisions (Delor Mix) 22:24 ASTRID SURYANTO - Distant Bar (Original Mix) 22:21 SOUND BEHAVIOUR - Arena 22:16 D-PULSE - Velocity Of Love (Original) 22:12 SKYE - Feel Good Inc 22:07 SINOPTIK MUSIC - Black Islands 22:03 SOTY - Circle (Original Mix) 21:59 SIMON G - Crazy (Original Mix) 21:56 TRACEY THORN - Night Time (Original Mix) 21:49 TRENTEMOLLER - Miss You (Lulu Rouge Feat. Asger Baden Remix) 21:43 TRANZLIFT - Heaven's Shore (Magdelayna's Chilled Remake) 21:38 SMOOTH DELUXE - Dream Of Insomnia 21:34 TOKYO COUNTERPOINT - To The Sky (Lemongrass Free Bird Remix) 21:31 HIATUS & SHURA - Fortune's Fool 21:26 HESS IS MORE - Yes Boss 21:21 HEIKO - Miles Away 21:16 CAFE DEL MAR - Mandalay (Beautiful) 21:10 GREEN POINT ORCHESTRA - Miriam Dub 21:06 YORK, ASHENI - Iceflowers (Original Mix) 21:01 CHAKRA - I Am (Vox Mix) 20:56 REY SALINERO - Total Delight 20:51 CHICANE - No Ordinary Morning (Original Mix) 20:44 VITODITO, SARA POLLINO - The Song I Promised You (Chillout Mix) 20:41 CHICANE, KATE WALSH - Playing Fields (Original Mix) 20:38 MOTIF, LENA BELGART - Halo (Original Mix) 20:32 BEN GOLD, SENADEE - Today (Chilled Datt Remix) 20:28 POCHILL - Constanta 78 20:24 PIXALEND - Maritime Sadness 20:19 PETE MURRAY - So Beautiful (Acoustic Version) 20:16 VITO FOGNINI, CARI - True To Myself (Original Mix) 20:10 VLAD ZHUKOV - Nothing (W&D Chill Out Vocal Mix) 20:05 TITIYO - Come Along (Naid Remix) 19:59 RED - Pieces 19:53 PREMASARA COUNCIL - Sensual Ecstasy 19:48 PAUL ADAM - Backwards (Original Mix) 19:43 NUAGE, N4M3 - Sunday Morning (Original Mix) 19:40 MODJO - Lady (Acoustic Version) 19:37 CLAES ROSEN, NATALIE PERIS - Stay (Original Mix) 19:32 GABRIELA MENDEZ FUENTE - Romance In Ibiza (Orchester Lite Edit) 19:26 20SABANCI - As Faces Fade (Domenico Cascarino & Luca Lombardi Chill Out Remix) 19:22 PAROV STELAR - You Got Me There 19:18 HARD GREY, HOUSE REPUBLIC - Music Sounds Better With You (Eat More Cake Remix) 19:14 GUSHI, RAFFUNK - Travel (Lemongrass Couch Remix) 19:12 HARDWELL, COLLIN McLOUGHLIN - Call Me A Spaceman (Unplugged Version) 19:08 OCEAN DRIVE, DJ ORISKA - Without You (Acoustic Version) 19:04 COSMIC GATE, EMMA HEWITT - Be Your Sound (Live Acoustic Version) 19:00 NOMOSK - Don't Hold Back (Soty & Seven24 Chillout Remix) 18:56 CUEBRICK - Safe (C-Systems Alternative Mix) 18:50 NO HORIZONS, SHEEMA - Summer Son 18:45 NITIN SAWHNEY - Breathing Light 18:42 NIK LLOYD - Number 1 (Acoustic Cover) 18:33 RED BUDDHA, LINDA WONG ENSEMBLE - Stone Buddha 18:28 REUNITED - Sing It Back (Shazz Man Chill Mix) 18:22 RAYAN MYERS - Pleasant Calmness (Original Mix) 18:17 POLISHED CHROME - Secret Of Sound (Album Version) 18:12 RICHARD MARX - Right Here Waiting 18:08 RUSSELL SIMINS - Comfortable Place 18:05 RUTH ANN - Beautiful 18:01 DJ CHART, DOBA, PRINCESS LARISSA - Danger Games 17:55 BRAVE - The Muse (Chill Out Mix) 17:52 DISCO FRIES, NIKO THE KID - The Light (Acoustic Version) 17:49 DEEP'N PURE, RADBOY - R We Ever Gonna Be (Original Mix) 17:45 MAX MILLION - Do You Believe (Original Mix) 17:41 ZAZA, JORGE NAVA - Broken (Chill Mix) 17:38 ZARA, SNATT & VIX - No Angel (Zetandel Chill Out Mix) 17:34 JIMMY ROQSTA, THALYA HILL - Endless Summer Dance (El Gambrero Remix) 17:28 ATB - Remember That Day 17:24 FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE - Seven Devils 17:18 TENISHIA, KIRSTY HAWKSHAW - Falling (Original Mix) 17:13 YIRUMA - River Flows In You (N-Drew Fate Remix) 17:09 YIRUMA, RUVIN - River Flows In You 17:04 LEO ROJAS - Friendship 17:00 KENNY G - My Heart Will Go On 16:59 SONIX - Cloud 9 16:54 KIRK FISCHER - Shades of Gray 16:51 JOYCE COOLING - It's Feeling Like Christmas 16:47 DAVID GARFIELD - Ticket to Pittsburgh 16:42 PETER WHITE - Promenade 16:38 RICHARD ELLIOT - People Make The World Go Round 16:33 EDGARDO CINTRON - People Get Ready 16:28 CHUCK LOEB - Cotton Club 16:24 JAY ROWE - The First Noel 16:20 DANIEL CHIA - Cali Style 16:16 BOB COATE - Super Smooth 16:12 ED CALLE - Faces in the Clouds 16:08 MARCOS ARIEL - Second Chance (feat. Lulu Joppert) 16:03 WILL DONATO - You Got This 16:00 PAUL BROWN - For What It's Worth 15:55 DREAMING IN COLOUR - Keepsakes 15:51 DARRIUS JAMAR - Heaven 15:46 MICHAEL LINGTON - Oh Holy Night 15:42 DOMINIC CAMARDELLA - 4ever More 15:37 LES SABLER - Esselle's Dance 15:33 MARION MEADOWS - Twice as Nice 15:28 NORTH 2UNES WOODALL - In the Mood 15:24 BROOK ALFORD - New Day 15:20 NICK COLIONNE - Santa Claus Is Coming to Town 15:16 NILS - Tangie 15:12 VINCENT INGALA - Gimme Some 15:08 CAROL ALBERT - Gemini Sun 15:03 MARCUS ANDERSON - This Is My Prayer 15:00 THREESTYLE, MAGDALENA CHOVANCOVA, ROBERT FERTL - Better Days 14:59 SAM BASSMAN JENKINS - Bassin 14:53 EUGE GROOVE - Rise 14:49 JUSTIN YOUNG - Silent Night 14:44 THE V.I.P CLUB - Night Move 14:40 JACKIEM JOYNER - I'm Waiting For You 14:36 TERRENCE RICHBURG - Treasures 14:32 GREGG KARUKAS - Nightshift 14:27 TONY LINDSAY - Fixed 14:23 RONNY SMITH - Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas 14:18 PETER WHITE - For The Love Of You 14:14 ZACH BRIDGES - These Hands 14:10 PAUL BROWN - Nothin' But Love 14:05 RICHARD ELLIOT - Elegant People 14:00 U - NAM 13:59 BIRDS OF A FEATHER - In The Shade 13:55 ADAM HAWLEY - Risin' Up 13:52 ALEX FALDIN - Comfortline 13:48 SYLVIA BENNETT - Silver Bells 13:44 DERRICK HARVIN - When You Say 13:38 BOBBY WELLS - Count It All Joy 13:34 DANNY LERMAN - You Take My Breath Away 13:30 ERIC MARIENTHAL - Dance With Me 13:26 ANDRE DELANO - Footsteps 13:22 SMOOTH SOUL HOLIDAY - Come All Ye Faithful 13:18 FOURPLAY - Aniversario 13:13 ANDREW NICHOLS - I Love the Way You Love Me 13:09 JEREMY HECTOR - Flow 13:05 ERIC DARIUS, NORMAN BROWN - Just For The Moment 13:00 NILS - Call Of The Sirens 12:58 VINCENT INGALA - It Is What It Is 12:54 CAROL ALBERT - Angels Watching over Me 12:50 MARCUS ANDERSON - Krystle Clear 12:45 MARION MEADOWS - Little Shepherd Boy 12:42 DAVE BRADSHAW JR. - Jumpstep 12:36 EUGE GROOVE - From The Top 12:32 BEN TANKARD - Still Here 12:28 RICHARD BROWN - Stars In My Eyes 12:24 JACKIEM JOYNER - J Time 12:21 CHRISTMAS CAROLS - E' Nate Il Redentore (Piva Piva) 12:17 GREGG KARUKAS - Cruisin' Your House at Midnite 12:13 FREDDIE FOX - Thank You 12:10 PAUL BROWN - Sweetness 12:04 PETER WHITE - Time Never Sleeps 12:00 ANDREY CHMUT - Night Ride 11:58 GARY MEGGS - Autumn Leaves 11:54 RICHARD ELLIOT - Camelia 11:50 BACH & A. KILLIAN - No Next Time 11:47 DR. SAXLOVE - God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen 11:41 DEMETRIUS NABORS - Sensuality 11:37 GABRIEL MARK HASSELBACH - Heading North 11:33 JUSTIN KLUNK - Dive 11:29 MISZ - Our Place 11:25 NATE WHITE - Feels Like Love 11:21 DAVE KOZ - My Grown Up Christmas List (feat. Heather Headley) 11:17 RONALD BOO HINKSON - Making It Easy 11:13 STEVE COLE - Living Out Loud 11:09 ALTHEA RENE - Barbara Mae 11:05 HANK BILAL - Glass Slipper 11:00 BONEY JAMES - Second Nature 11:00 SAN GABRIEL SEVEN - Moment by Moment 10:56 NILS - Casablanca 10:52 VINCENT INGALA - Can't Stop Now 10:48 JODY MAYFIELD - Christmas Time is here 10:43 MOTOWN MOE - Living My Best Life (feat. Nick Stone & Nils) 10:39 CAROL ALBERT - Fire & Water 10:36 FRANK SUTTON - Travel Forecast 10:32 MARCUS ANDERSON - Espresso Shot 10:29 SEAN U - Key West 10:23 BRIAN BROMBERG - Wonderful Christmastime 10:17 EUGE GROOVE - Straight Up 10:13 JACKIEM JOYNER - When The Time Is Right 10:09 PAUL BROWN - Wine Night 10:05 STEVE WATSON - Happy Evenings 10:00 GREGG KARUKAS - Club Hopping 09:52 PETER WHITE - Endless Journey 09:47 BRADLEY LEIGHTON - Little Drummer Boy 09:43 GERALD ALBRIGHT - Hope 09:39 CHRIS GODBER - Meant 2 Be (feat. Hawc Griffin) 09:27 UNDER THE LAKE - Old Friends New Grooves 09:21 SHIN GIWON CHRISTMAS CAROL COLLECTION - The First Noel 09:17 PHILLIP DOC MARTIN - Black Shoebox 09:13 BILLYRAY SHEPPARD - Take Flight 09:08 KONSTANTIN KLASHTORNI - Look Around 09:05 MARK CARTER - Swingtown 09:00 MARCHIO BOSSA, RYU ZEE SU - Somewhere 08:58 LISA ADDEO - Deep Blue C 08:54 LINDSEY WEBSTER - I Didn't Mean It 08:50 KIM WATERS - My Gift to You 08:45 KIRK WHALUM - Inside (feat. Shanice) 08:42 WADE C. LONG - Happy Go Lucky 08:37 NILS - Red Wine & Sunsets 08:33 VINCENT INGALA - Fire And Desire 08:29 ROCCO VENTRELLA - Stay Close to Me 08:24 STEVE OLIVER - Deck The Halls 08:20 CAROL ALBERT - Sapporo Dream 08:14 MARCUS ANDERSON - I Surrender All 08:09 DAVID PETROSYAN - Feeling of Breath 08:05 PAUL BROWN - Toast And Jam 08:00 EUGE GROOVE - Summer Stroll 07:57 GERRY SMOOTH - Let's Dance 07:54 JACKIEM JOYNER - That Good Thing 07:50 NORMAN BROWN - Peace Of Mind 07:45 SHAKATAK - Christmas Time Again 07:40 GREGG KARUKAS - Summerhouse 07:36 EARL KLUGH - Crazy For You 07:32 PETER WHITE - Venice Beach 07:28 RICHARD ELLIOT - Ricochet 07:24 MARQUEAL JORDAN - Behave to Love 07:21 JOYCE COOLING - Christmas, Christmas 07:17 MARC ANTOINE - For A Smile 07:13 JAMHUNTERS - Eurabian Fantasy 07:08 GTF - Spanish Steps 07:04 GINO ROSARIA - Ride Along 07:00 HIROSHIMA - Always Tomorrow 06:57 JAKOB MAGNUSSON - Hook, Line & Sinker 06:53 JAREZ - Together Forever 06:49 KEITH ANDREW - Bayon 06:46 JAY ROWE - Joy to the World 06:41 KEN POWE - First Love 06:36 REZA KHAN, JEFF KASHIWA, MATT KING - It's About Time 06:31 YULARA - Shakti Dance 06:28 GHOST JAZZ TRIO BAND - Looking Good (feat. James Morgan) 06:23 RODNEY GREENE - Real Close 06:21 DREW DAVIDSEN - Away In A Manger 06:17 NILS - Step Into the Beat 06:12 NAJEE - Sumthin' Sumthin' 06:09 VINCENT INGALA - What Does It Take (Vinnie's Take) 06:05 LARRY CARLTON, PAUL BROWN - Miles And Miles To Go 06:00 MEZZIFORTE - Nightfall 05:56 BONEY JAMES - Detour 05:52 CAROL ALBERT - Crashing 05:48 MICHAEL LINGTON - Silent Night 05:44 MARCUS ANDERSON - Believe In Yourself 05:40 RON KING - Cascade 05:35 EUGE GROOVE - Dirty Dozen 05:31 SLIM GAMBILL - Up (feat. Charlton Singleton) 05:27 JACKIEM JOYNER - Evolve 05:24 NICHOLAS COLE - Let It Snow 05:19 NORMAN BROWN - West Coast Coolin' 05:15 GREGG KARUKAS - Walkin' in Time 05:09 PETER WHITE - Turn It Out 05:05 RICHARD ELLIOT - Sake For Two 05:00 SONNY EMORY - Latina 04:58 EJAZZ ARTISTRY - Never Too Much 04:52 JEFFERY SMITH - Visions of Love 04:48 BEN TANKARD - A Guitar for Christmas 04:44 DONALD HAYES - Front Ground 04:40 DWIGHT SIRLS - The Pawn 04:36 DIDIER LABOSSIERE - VTB Wings 04:31 JULIAN VAUGHN - A Feeling 04:27 SKINNY HIGHTOWER - Now Or Never 04:22 HERB ALPERT - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas 04:18 TIM BOWMAN - Friends 04:13 SHAWN RAIFORD - Good Vibrations 04:08 SPECIAL EFX - Beautiful Gold 04:04 EARNEST WALKER JR - Palm Avenue 04:00 PAUL BROWN - Food For The Moon 03:57 NILS - Hey Joe 03:53 NAJEE - One Note Love 03:48 NICK COLIONNE - We Three Kings 03:43 BRENDAN ROTHWELL - Drifting 03:40 VINCENT INGALA - Ridin' The Wave 03:36 BONEY JAMES - Sway 03:32 CAROL ALBERT - Sometime 03:28 MARCUS ANDERSON - Coffee Cocktails 03:22 JUSTIN YOUNG - Merry Christmas 03:17 EUGE GROOVE - Sneak A Peak 03:13 FOSTINA DIXON - Good Vibes 03:08 JACKIEM JOYNER - Elevation 03:04 PATRICK LAMB - I See it in Your Eyes 03:00 NORMAN BROWN - Sunset On Chandler 02:55 GREGG KARUKAS - Simone 02:51 MICHAEL ROSS - Four Seasons to Cross 02:46 RONNY SMITH - O Come All Ye Faithful 02:42 PETER WHITE - Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow 02:37 RICHARD ELLIOT - Boom Town 02:33 MAX HIGHSTEIN - Open To Receive 02:29 MICHAEL MANSON - You Go to My Head 02:24 NOTEWORTHY BAND - Surf to Smooth 02:20 SYLVIA BENNETT - Winter Wonderland 02:17 J3 - Hela 02:12 ILYA SEROV - My Funny Valentine 02:08 A Sultry Summers Night (feat. Greg Minnick, Ignacio Nunez & Dean Rickard) 02:03 DARREN RAHN - With You By My Side 02:00 AVENUE BLUE - Stockholm (feat. Jeff Golub) 01:56 SPONTANEOUS GROOVIN' COMBUSTION - Tribeca 01:53 PEET PROJECT - Down to the Lake 01:48 ANDRE DELANO - It Came Upon a Midnight Clear 01:42 AXIOM - Magunda 01:39 A RAY FULLER - A Coastal Breeze 01:34 ACOUSTIC ALCHEMY - Ariane 01:30 PAUL BROWN - 24 01:25 NILS - When I Think of You 01:22 SMOOTH SOUL HOLIDAY - We Three Funky Kings 01:17 NAJEE - The Way She Moves 01:13 BRENDAN ROTHWELL - Origin 01:10 VINCENT INGALA - Maybe You Think 01:05 MARCUS ANDERSON - Carmel Mocha 01:00 JAMES SAXSMO GATES - Together We Can Make It (feat. Freddie Fox) 00:57 EUGE GROOVE - Let's Get It On 00:54 JACKIEM JOYNER - Secrets 00:50 BRETTINA - Simple Pleasures 00:46 MARION MEADOWS - A Winter Lullaby 00:42 NORMAN BROWN - Up 'N' At 'Em 00:38 GREGG KARUKAS - Daylight 00:34 PETER WHITE - One On One 00:30 GARY METZ - Maneater 00:25 RICHARD ELLIOT - Coastline 00:22 CHRISTMAS CAROLS - Stille Nacht 00:16 CHAZZY GREEN - Love to Be With You 00:12 PAUL TAYLOR - Roundup 00:08 GARY PALMER - To the Top 00:04 POP'N BOSSA - Versace on the Floor 00:00 ERIC DARIUS - Soulful Stride

#Radio NET Bulgaria #Smooth Jazz #Chillout #Lounge #Downtempo #Ambient #Trance #2022 #November 2022

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wingedfabray · 7 years ago

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[Throughout January 25, 2018]

Blaine’s eyes scout the familiar landmarks of Manhattan, keeping pace with the other New Yorkers when they cross the street on a green light. Today is a special day for him. It’s marked on his calendar, reminded in his planner, and he woke up with an illusion that he had set a year ago to make sure he wouldn’t forget (although he doesn’t). However, many things have changed since a year ago. The clouds overheard start to clump up in dark piles and Blaine hurries faster. His sighs, quiet. He hopes she will have a good day today – it’s all he wants for her.

“Welllllll, helllllloooo NYADA!” It’s Chap Speakendell, of Radio NYADA’s popular show, The Chat with Chap Speakendell fame. It’s the noon-hour show that so many students tune into who need respite from hard times. It is indeed hard times at NYADA. “This is a special birthday message for the NYADA campus that The Ice Queen is turning twenty-three! This special song is dedicated to her by a close friend, who wishes to be unnamed. Now we will be playing 23 by Commons pop star, Miley Cyrus.”

It’s subdued than last year’s. It has to be, what with the rumors mill fussing about and Quinn’s new status with Hunter. Blaine has to be careful not to un-lay the laid-out, to not undo what has been done. He adds small but memorable illusionary trinkets where he knows Quinn might be; a sparkly charm in her textbooks that shine, “HAPPY TWENTY-THIRD BIRTHDAY, QUINN!" and there’s a tiny husky puppy that runs around in the sparkles, yipping quietly and gaily. The smell of her favorite flower when she enters a new classroom is something that took ages for Blaine to master, and it’s worth it to imagine her sweet surprise.

Fair-trade, organic chocolate-dipped bacon roses greet her at her place of work and pleasure – Grim & War. They come with a neat little card, and an atrocious birthday hat that says 1, because who’s number 1? Quinn’s number 1. "The card says, "A PDA from BDA! :)” There is a terrible, just awful, drawing of Quinn on it. It doesn’t even look like her except for the bright yellow of her hair. Blaine’s no artist but he enjoys doodling with all of his heart, and certainly the medium of this drawing is heart.

In her mailbox is a carefully wrapped package. It has the words FRAGILE and BE CAREFUL as well as THIS IS FOR SOMEONE ELSE PLEASE TAKE CARE written in pen. Under the wrapping is an antique Bible. It’s a 1749 ornate, Latin-written, Roman-Catholic Missale. There is a green book of Angel Voices with a cloth cover, with slight embossing on the front cover of floral motifs. There is one last book, a French paperback, the image on the cover is a sepia photograph with two women looking at each other. A letter in a light pink envelope is addressed to Miss Lucy Quinn Fabray in cursive script.

Dearest Quinn,

Blessed be your twenty-third birthday. I’ve never had a finer joy that wishing you well on your birthday. I hope I’ve shown that I’ve learned from my past by toning it down a tad hahaha. I hope if you are sharing the day with Hunter that he takes you to the nicest restaurant with the nicest view of the city, up on high. That’s how I like to picture you, looking over me with the grace of an angel. I thank another year of our friendship. Of your wisdom and wonderful heart.

For your birthday, I wanted to go with something more connected to what I noticed is a beautiful definition of you – bond. You’re both the spiritual and the earthy, the strength and the elegance. Traditional and modern.

I hope you like them, Quinn.

The first is a 1749 Missale Romanum – I know you’re excellent in your mastery of Latin, so I hope this is a treat. :) It’s in great condition. It’s a liturginal Missal with such gorgeous binding, adornments, and full page copper plates. The archivist I bought this from swears that the author was talking to angels as he bound this book, but that’s to be determined. It’s bound in original gilt embellished read leather, with ornate inset and flourished gilt borders and corners, with each corner carrying full raised relief metal corner fittings, as well as central raised metal decorations as well! The text is in Latin, black and red; illustrated in black text, with full page engraved copper-plate scenes.

I have given it a cursory flip through for authenticity and it has some interesting information of Judeo-Christian initials, music, and more, even one on crucifixion (which was quite striking to say the least). But the thing that made me excited was that it contains Catholic prayers, chants, rituals, a section on exorcisms and demonic removal, and even one about holy grounds. It’s probably something you already know, but I thought it would be interesting to compare.

The second is from Weiser Antiquarian Books. If you ever want to find rare, secondhand, and out-of-print books on magic, you should contact them. :) This book is by James Lawrence, titled “Angel Voices from the Spirit World: Glory to God Who Sends Them - Essays taken indiscriminately from a large amount written under the Angel Influence." Isn’t that a mouthful. Or is it an eyeful since you’re reading this? It’s first published in 1874, Cleveland. It seems interesting, and I wonder if this James Lawrence is a Common or from the same Lawrence bloodline.

Mémoires d'une jeune fille rangée is the last gift I want you to have. It’s from a feminist writer, existential philosopher, political activist, and all-around bright thinker named Simone de Beauvoir. It’s not one of her philosophical works like The Second Sex, but Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter is a portraiture of de Beauvoir growing up, of her adolescence and her enlightenment, and her determination to establish her own intellectual right. It’s a read I thought you might enjoy and also it’s fun to read French. :)

I will never falter when I say this. I believe in you a whole lot, Quinn.

Happy twenty-third birthday, my dear, sweet friend.

Sincerely Yours,

Blaine Devon Anderson.

[1/25/18

Quinn reads his letter first. She always reads his letters first. The gifts are beautiful, and his grand gestures are far more than she ever expects, certainly not on her birthday. But his words. His words are almost more than she can handle. She’s not perfect, although she strives to be every day. She’s not everything her father could ever want.

But a letter from Blaine makes her feel like she could be. Like maybe she’s not running a track that’s spinning the opposite direction. It’s an odd feeling. She reads the letter over, runs her fingers over the text. The words blur, and she wipes a hand over her eyes.

He always thinks she’s perfect.

He was also the only one who had wished her a happy birthday. Aside from Chap Speakendall of course.

She takes a deep breath, and turns to the gifts instead, carefully folding the note and placing it off to the side. She puts on gloves, before opening the bible. Maybe nothing else mattered, if she had books, and magic, and Blaine.]

#bday2k18 #// timelorded #submission

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englishmansdcc · 7 years ago

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Y’know those snappy blurbs that you get on the covers of comics from either well-known creatives, comics news websites or high-brown periodicals? The ones that are one part heavy-handed sales pitch, one part ‘famous-mates-back-patting-exercise’, designed to entice your hard earned cash out of your pocket and into the tills of your LCBS? We’ve yet to have one of those, mostly because we don’t review as many comics as I’d like*, but for Si Spurrier and Caspar Wijngaard‘s ANGELIC, we’re going to be cheeky and presumptuous enough to come up with one of our own:

Okay, sure, it’s no Kieron Gillen quote – he’s a lot, LOT smarter and pithier than we could ever be – but we stand by it: ANGELIC is truly one of the highlights of our regular pull list each month and Si and Casper (along with crisp design work from Emma Price and some really inspired lettering from Jim Campbell) have come up with an original creation with a lot more than just a WIZARD OF OZ motif flittering around the page. This is some really meaty stuff – if you’ll pardon the expression – that sits very nicely alongside our regular purchase of Marguerite Bennett‘s ANIMOSITY (AfterShock Comics) as a true one-two punch of fantastical storytelling and social commentary.

Admittedly, very unlike the afore-mentioned ANIMOSITY, one of the big draws of ANGELIC is that it’s an all-ages book, one of the first published by Image Comics that I’m aware of, and also one of those rare beasts that has a female lead character. This means that you can buy this for your kiddiewink, safe in the knowledge that, as well as being as a right rip-roaring yarn, there’s some strong, responsible reinforcement of social and religious themes that they can take and adapt for their own judgements. Told you it was smart.

The even better news is, even if you’ve missed the floppies at your friendly neighbourhood comics vendor, you can now pick up the first trade of the title this May. We say… Well, you can read the quote for yourself, can’t you?

See? Told you we were fans.

A BITTERSWEET ADVENTURE OBSESSION ARRIVES IN ANGELIC, VOL. 1, THIS MAY

“Eisner-nominated writer Simon Spurrier (THE SPIRE, CRY HAVOC, X-MEN LEGACY, GODSHAPER) and star artist Caspar Wijngaard (LIMBO, DARK SOULS, ASSASSIN’S CREED) present readers with an all-new Young Adult fantasy adventure in ANGELIC, VOL. 1: HEIRS & GRACES. It will collect issues #1-6 of the series and hit stores this May.

Winged monkeys! Techno-dolphins! Quantum alleycats! In ANGELIC, humanity’s long gone. Its memory lingers only as misunderstood rituals among mankind’s leftovers: the genetically modified animals they used and abused for eons. But for one young flying monkey, QORA, the routines are unbearable. All she wants is to explore. Instead she’s expected to settle down, to become a mother…to lose her wings.

ANGELIC, VOL. 1 is a powerful and timely parable about religion, repression and female rebellion, but all layered beneath joyous animal antics in the ruins of civilization. Expect WALL-E by way of Animal Farm in a watershed title among YA comics, which will tug at readers’ heartstrings.

ANGELIC, VOL. 1 (Diamond Code MAR180601, ISBN: 978-1-5343-0663-9) will hit stores on Wednesday, May 9th and bookstores on Tuesday, May 15th. It can be pre-ordered at Amazon, Barnes & Noble,, Books-a-Million, IndieBound, and Indigo.

Select praise for ANGELIC (which doesn’t include our quote, and are probably a lot better):

“Angelic is beautifully illustrated, pure imagination from one of the best writers in comics. Plus monkeys. I love it.” —Brian K. Vaughan

“It’s Animal Farm meets A Clockwork Orange, with some Watership Down, The Handmaid’s Tale and a hefty dose of the best kinds of girl-centered YA adventure.” —Caitlin Rosberg at The Onion’s AV Club

“Angelic is giddy, fierce and fun. It’s a coming of (monk-)age story in a wild post-apocalypse with rocket-propelled dandy dolphins, bickering baddies and a rebellious girlmonk beginning to question the coda of flying monkey society. My eight year old daughter and I love it.” —Lauren Beukes

“Smart, gorgeous, & weird. An epic adventure in a world without humans. Go get it.” —Matt Rosenberg

“As much as ANGELIC is about questioning authority and history in a post-apocalyptic world, it’s also full of humor. It kind of has to be, with flying monkeys and rocket-powered dolphins who sound like they’re in a Oscar Wilde play… It’s got action, jokes, and a moral compass that points towards healthy skepticism and questioning authority. It’s an entertaining read for adults and kids alike. Anyone who has a little adventure in them should read it.” —Comic Book Resources

“ANGELIC from Image Comics is fantastic. It’s the futuristic teenage flying monkeys comic that I can read with my kid.” —Gerry Duggan

“It’s easily one of the most compelling debuts of any comic I’ve read this year. Fun, thought-provoking and gorgeously drawn.” —SYFY Wire

“A lot of colourful fun with clever, playful language.” —Duncan Fegredo

“A post-apocalyptic WE3—and gorgeous looking too .” —P.J. Holden

*If you’d like to review comics for us, and you can string a sentance or two together without just, y’know, recapping the plot of the issue and saying it looks pretty, we get lots of preview materials sent to us that you can look at and appraise for us. You don;t have to glowing about everything, just give your honest opinions and we’ll do the rest. If you’re interested, drop us a line at www.anenglishmaninsandiego.com/contact-us.

Preview: @SiSpurruer / @Casparnova's ANGELIC Vol. 1 "full of magic and wonder" comes to trade from @ImageComics this May Y'know those snappy blurbs that you get on the covers of comics from either well-known creatives, comics news websites or high-brown periodicals?

#Angelic #Casper Wijngaard #Image Comics #Si Spurrier

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