#Bass Odyssey Live

[greed-the-dorkalicious]

With the popularity of Planet of the Bass I've noticed a lot of people getting eurobeat and eurodance confused. This is understandable but also REALLY funny to me as a eurobeat girlie. Reigning Eurobeat queen Odyssey (you may know her as the girl behind "Discord I'm howlin at the moon") has a good Twitter thread on the subject, but to add my own summary that's hopefully not too jargon-y:

It's PROBABLY EUROBEAT if:

Main lyrical themes are cars/driving/going Very Fast, Touhou, My Little Pony, or Japan (though the latter is more of a grey area since Japan comes up as a theme in some eurodance as well)

Between every verse is a synthesizer riff that sounds too fast to ever possibly be played live by human hands

There's a section where all but the last word or so of every line is omitted (this is where "dancing, we wanna feel the light is flashing, I send the power to myself" becomes "dancing... flashing... to myself")

There's an electric guitar solo (may or may not be synthesized)

The rhythm is a straight four-on-the-floor beat, aka it sounds like WOMP WOMP WOMP WOMP

There's car vroom vroom sound effects

It's PROBABLY EURODANCE (at least as opposed to eurobeat) if:

There's a rapper

Themes include world peace or partying (there are SOME party eurobeat songs but not as many, and it's not like eurobeat is pro-war, they're just driving too fast to think about it)

It's more downtempo

The rhythm is a shuffle beat, aka it sounds like WA-WOMP WA-WOMP

It's in a language other than English or Japanese

It's DEFINITELY eurobeat if:

The YouTube thumbnail looks like this or otherwise involves an anime character and a car

Eurobeat songs you may know include Running in the 90s, Deja Vu, Gas Gas Gas, The Top, Night of Fire, and an honorable mention to The Living Tombstone's remix of Odyssey's eurobeat remix of Discord.

Eurodance songs you may know include Every Time We Touch, Butterfly, Caramelldansen, Cotton-Eye Joe (yes, really!), Dragostea Din Tei, and Blue.

HOPE THIS HELPS!!!!!!!

[thylionheart]

AAAAAHHH

I did not catch the live stream last night, but I listened to the Vengeance saga on my way to work today for the first time bc my car has the best speakers I own (and I wasn’t about to be trying to be quiet at midnight to not wake up the rest of my house when this dropped) and oh my god

I just have to go to work now? My vocal cords hurt not even from singing but from yelling. I physically cannot not yell every time I hear Odysseus’ last line in the Saga. I screamed when all the voices of the crew mates and I realized they were all returning. I screamed when I heard the bass of the Cyclops’s voice underneath Poseidon’s. FVCK

I’m going to watch the live stream with the animatics during my lunch break today so don’t spoil anything!!! (Okay, I’ve eaten lunch now) but OH MY GOD I thought Odysseus murked himself at first in Six Hundred Strike just so Poseidon couldn’t have the satisfaction (he’d already opened the wind bag, he’s fucked for ever getting home now) but NO DOES HE HAVE THE FISH TAIL SPEAR THAT IS THE ONLY THING THAT CAN HURT GODS AND IS THE THING THAT KILLS HIM IN THE TELEGONY??? Did my controversial Telegonus theories have some truth to them ??? (don’t answer that)

Genuinely, I’m so curious to see how Jorge is going to end his version of the Odyssey. Everything we’ve seen points to a happy reunion but…. 👀 like narratively there’s gotta be some consequences for Monster Ruthlessness is Mercy I Can’t SLEEP AT NIGHT Odysseus, right? and I wonder in what direction Jorge is going to go with it

Post-Lunch EDIT: as always… I was wrong, rip spear au. Odysseus picking up Poseidon’s trident actually makes more sense in context, which also…. ODYSSEUS WIELDING A GOD’S WEAPON??? 👀 The more he loses his humanity the closer he comes to divinity!!! Very “neither man nor mythical” of him. Wonder how Penelope is going to feel about that…

also… did Odysseus kind of DIE???

[super-marihoes]

I haven't been drawing recently and I don't want to abandon this blog lmao so here's some headcanons. (Its mostly the bowser family)

CW: cursing and inappropriate themes

Bowser:

He wears dad glasses 👓

He's bisexual

He was a fucking menace before Junior was born, probably ran from the cops

Architecture nerd

He's got sinus issues (based on lil snotty bowser from yoshi's island)

Probably gets pegged because hes a simp

Peach:

She's also bi

Monsterfucker

The kidnappings are a publicity stunt bc she and Bowser wouldn't be allowed to be together otherwise

She was scared to be a mom at first but adopted Junior and is a proud Mama

Loves sweets

Shes peach shaped and I'm dying on that hill

Junior:

That kid has undiagnosed ADHD

Ligitimately didn't know what a mom was before Peach

Prefers to be called Junior

He has no biological mom, he was made by magic on accident

He's super smart for his age

Luigi:

That boy is gay, and i really do believe that

He and daisy have gay/lesbian solidarity

He knows about the kidnappings and the true reason behind it

Very trustworthy king

Polterpup made him less scared of ghosts

Always had an interest in the paranormal but was too scared to pursue it before Luigis Mansion

Gets overshadowed by Mario but doesn't really care

Mario:

Im gonna be honest i dont like him too much

He and Pauline are secretly together after Odyssey

The games are actaully his retelling about what happened and are sort of exhaggerated

He's actually a terrible plumber

He's got a big ego but he's working on not being an asshole

Daisy:

Thats a lesbian if I've ever seen one

In my brain she's hispanic

She's Peach's bestie and Junior's Auntie

Lives all sports and gets WAY too into it (shes just like me fr)

Bowser's golfing buddy

Scares men

Rosalina:

Shes trans 🏳️‍⚧️

Loves big ole sweaters

She, Daisy, and Peach have tea parties all the time

Some books and a cup of tea is her ideal night

Collection of big crazy earrings

Pauline:

Valentina ALLY!

She sang at Peach and Bowser's reception

Something primal inside of her wants to peg the shit out of Mario

They were exes but got back together

She said "i can fix him" but actually kinda does

Is the one that eventually tells Mario that Peach is getting sloppy toppy from a lizard

Kamek:

Who is that little gay man in the blue robe?

He's kinda crazy

He unofficially adopted Bowser

They have a very distant relationship, Kamek spoiled him with things but wasn't there very often in the emotional area (thats why hes yk like.... that)

Has a "foxy grandpa" t shirt

The Koopalings (im doing them all together):

They're Bowser’s distant family but he treated them like his niblings after their parents passed away

Ages in this order: Ludwig, Roy and Morton (twins), Wendy, Iggy, Lemmy, Larry

Ludwig and Wendy have gay/lesbian hostility (affectionate)

They each have their own instrument that they excell at

Instruments go: Ludwig- piano, Roy- bass, Morton- drums, Wendy- clarinet, Iggy- ukulele, Lemmy- the motherfucking banjo, Larry- lumatone (hes gotta be quirky and different)

Lemmy talks in sign language

Morton has brain damage (hes just like me fr)

Toadsworth:

Hes old

Took care of Peach after her parents died

He micromanages everything Peach does

He knows that his daughter is getting dicked down on the kidnappings but is in denial

DE NILE IS A RIVER IN EGYPT YOUR DAUGHTER IS A MONSTERFUCKER

He comes through in the end and supports their relationship

Thats all :)

[galactic-glamour-girl-posts]

My Rosalina Headcanons

--It's pretty clear she likes to read, but I think she enjoys reading AND writing. We already know she turned her backstory into a storybook and that the events of Galaxy 2 were made into/were a story in one of her storybooks so I think most of the books in her library were written by her and are stories based on the events in her life and the people she's met. She's been alive for at least 100 years-probably way longer-she'd have a lot of material to work with.

--She can play guitar. This is based on artwork used for the 3D World soundtrack and some Mario Odyssey concept art:

I like to think she can play acoustic, but prefers the bass guitar.

--Aroace. That is all.

--She's a brilliant engineer. She'd have to be to fix a spaceship and build an entire home...whilst she was still a child.

However, the older she got, the more adept she became at using magic, and the less she'd rely on her engineering skills.

--Rosalina seems like a very patient person and and we already know she’s not a temperamental person because she pretty much never gets angry; but I imagine that in the rare instances she does she just stares in silent fury as gravity changes around her, unconsciously lifting objects in the air until she calms herself down. Kinda like what happens in her losing animation in Mario Strikers Battle League.

--I think her bond with the lumas grew so strong she is literally part luma/star now. Sorta like an Ash-Greninja situation but the other way round I guess? Stars in the Mario franchise are known to be powerful, be it super stars, power stars, etc, so I imagine that's why she can do the spin in 3D World when Mario needed a Luma inside of him (not like that) to do that in the Galaxy games. I also think that's why she’s lived for so long, and on top of that still looks young-compared to how old most stars are she IS still young (I don’t think she's immortal but I assume she will live as long as an average star does in real life).

--Originally I wasn’t gonna include this one ‘cause it’s a bit morbid but I dunno I think it’s sort of a cool idea: what if when Rosalina dies she literally becomes “one with the cosmos” and becomes the Cosmic Spirit (from Galaxy 2).

-- I still think she's one of Peach's ancestors-it makes sense! She was born into royalty (notice the crowns)

Used to live in a castle with a similar silhouette to Peach's Castle

Is likely from the Mushroom Kingdom since an old and rusted starshroom was near where she lived

And just look at her mother!

Plus the story does mention that Rosalina has (...had?) a brother, so if you're wondering how they could be fully related since Rosalina went to space as a child, he's how.

And just to be clear, when I say ancestor, I mean ancestor. Not descendent, and especially not daughter. That'd be dumb.

[x-heesy]

🆂🆆🅰🅶 🅰🆃🆃🅰🅲🅺

Yo... Eski-boy in the building

December madness

This ain't a fluke, this ain't a parody

I be in the hall of fame and art galleries

Vision in my head before Amy did Valerie

Gradually you felt like you knew me and added me

I am not a present, ain't nobody wrapping me

Shoulders ahead, many women they love tapping me

Chatting about how I come across unmannerly

Like I'm in a bike gang, Sons of Anarchy

Step on to the track, burn calories

Pekker got me on the higher salary

Heavier riddims, I got the clarity

Nobody pushed me, nobody carried me

Search for comparisons you're only gonna find similarity

I blaze weed, it controls my sanity

Without I couldn't defy gravity

I'd be a floater, and you'd be mad at me

I'm from the hood and I ain't new to tragedy

6 in the bloodclart morning, you follow me

I run bass, I'm the Bass Odyssey, of course you're dodging me

For me to act like I never knew you? It would be odd of me

It would be cold of me, it's the older me

In effect, directly from the L-O-N

East side tech, got bangers, got manors

But no respect for goal-hangers

Wiser the older I get

I said, nobody's fucking with the shower man flow

I said, nobody's fucking with the shower man, bro

You'd better know

Man can't handle these levels and I'm sorry bro, you gotta go

Draw from the pain that I had and the brain that I had

From the days when the money was low

Might sound crystal clear, we're like wolves

Walked in the dance, in the war you froze

My ability is a par, that's why I don't wanna use it

It's lary, start showing off with the music

Shows you, why I lived this why I do this

Shows you, if I'm complacent and abuse it

Got it installed in my skin, I was born to win

Maintain so I can't loose it

I don't know why you wanna question my flow in the game every day, man prove it

Popping, I got a vibe that's popping

Won't work blud if your vibe ain't popping

I've spent so many hours on the radio

Ask anybody car most of them locked in, popping

I get it done get it popping

Been here for years and the style ain't stopping

Got a whole back catalogue of songs, but it's a new day got a vibe what's popping

Don't get stuck, roll with the times

You're there in the past, we've grown with the times

Who do you know from the new generation?

No one, cus you don't roll with the times

I don't get blocked man roll with the lions

I will never get lost man go with the signs

When I was a kid I was in 9 mass lots

Friday night man might go to the chimes

If you hear me sound whack tell me I'll get my to bag to pack

I'll leave there and I'll never come back

I'm sure of myself

You're raw in a crew, but I'm raw by myself, I could tour by myself

If its shanks you're looking for turn back now bro

I'll bust a roundhouse kick like Shaodow

Straight in ya chest, hurling dub plates in ya chest

That flows without breaks, I'm the best

6 in the bloodclart morning, you follow me

I run bass, I'm the bass Odyssey, of course you're dodging me

For me to act like I never knew you? It would be odd of me

It would be cold of me, it's the older me

In effect, directly from the L-O-N

East side tech, got bangers, got manors

But no respect for goal-hangers

Wiser the older I get

And I think for myself, I was born on my own

I don't wanna false friend in my zone

Tell a brudda don't chat to man, it's alright

Stay on your side, don't wan' it with our side

Enough of them are too ropy

Can't cope with all the vultures

We don't want ya here you're like ulcers

We ain't vibing with you cause you're fake bro

When I speak it's truth we're like hey bruv

Let me move on step up the pace

I had to chill a bit when I got her wet in the face

Have you ever seen a devil when you step in the rave

Versace shades and screw face step in ya face

And say what

I'm too London I've realised

At 22 I was getting texts from XL and EMI

Looking like a walking pound sign

Bait as you like they saw my cold town side

Don't rub your wins in the face of the hood

The outcomes not gonna be good

I know the, real ones I don't wanna be shook

I had to, take time so the quality's good

And now I'm back in the mix back in the combo

Back with an umbrella back with a poncho

If you got a good vibe you can holler me

Six in the bloodclart morning you follow me

@ro3000 @2020blaq #bounza 🕺🏼☠️🕺🏼

6 In The Morning by Wiley

[freaxs-blog]

Celebrating Robert Trujillo's Legendary Journey! 🎂 Born on this day in 1964, this bass maestro's story is nothing short of epic! From Suicidal Tendencies to Infectious Grooves, and rocking with icons like Jerry Cantrell and Ozzy Osbourne, Trujillo's musical odyssey began with a passion that set him on a path to greatness.

His fate took a turn in 2003 when Metallica recognized his unparalleled talent, making him the backbone of their sound. Did you know, before joining Metallica, he was already melting faces with Black Label Society? Talk about a rock star resume!

One fun fact about Robert Trujillo? He's not just a bass virtuoso but also a master of the flamenco guitar!

Now, let's talk about the masterpiece that is "Moth into Flame" from Metallica's album, 'Hardwired... to Self-Destruct'. Trujillo's bassline in this track? Pure magic! The song's hypnotic groove and powerful lyrics make it an instant classic. If you haven't heard it, you're missing out on a sonic adventure!

As we celebrate Robert Trujillo's birthday, let's raise our horns and pay homage to this living legend!

[lizzybeth1986]

Headcanon: Sloane as an Author of Children's Books

• Sloane's interest in writing stories began a little late, at around 10 years of age. The thing about the way Sloane holds interest in a hobby is that she tends to hyperfocus on one or two and won't leave that till another one captures her interest enough. And for little Trudy, that initial interest was and is always going to be in science, coding and hands-on experimenting.

• Sloane has always had a bit of a fertile imagination, that she supplemented with things she read about, esp related to science and fantasy.

• Part of her inspiration came from her English teacher at the time, Jessica Bass, who felt Sloane's fertile imagination could be put into great use in fictional writing if she nurtured that talent enough. Mrs. Bass would often suggest a few assignments to Kim, Trudy's mother, who also taught at the same school.

• It also helped to a great extent that Trudy was best friends with Mrs. Bass' son Isiah, who loved writing! The two teamed up on storytelling and writing exercises together. A story on space explorers that they co-wrote featured in a science digest for kids when they were 12!

• Unfortunately, Mrs Bass and Isiah had shifted to another state when the two kids were 15, and a lot of Sloane's momentum, and drive to write fizzled out without someone to bounce her ideas off of.

• The last thing she'd tried to write at the time was a space odyssey called Across the Void. Very impressive and detailed for her age, but she still felt like she wasn't fully into writing it. She had to force herself to complete the whole thing, and often couldn't bring herself to read that draft again.

• Cut to two decades later, when Sloane is still in NY, living her best life and now the CEO of Eros. As things begin to stabilize at the company, with relations between the organisation and the Unity for Matches (Psyche) in a good place and the surviving Matches feeling comfortable enough to live functional, independent lives - Sloane gets a bit more time to pursue old interests that she'd thought she was no longer any good at.

• Like her Momma Kim, she does want to encourage more children to see science as fun. She begins to get in touch with schools and educators, eventually starting a STEM-based summer camp for kids and pre teens. As she starts caring for Hamza and then having her own children, she visits kids' libraries more, and starts getting interested in writing for children.

• A STEM-based Book Festival is planned in the upcoming year for kids in NYC, and a popular kids' publishing house comes up with a pitch for Sloane (a very famous scientist and science educator by then) to co-write a set of books in time for release at the festival. The person she is meant to partner with is her old friend from Queens - famed children's book author and illustrator, Isiah Bass.

• The two had kept in touch off and on through letters and email all through their late teens, before losing touch eventually once university and work took over. This reunion was a pleasant surprise to both of them, even though they'd kept tabs on each other from time to time.

• Sloane was understandably nervous when the offer came up, but Isiah was super proactive and helped her out with resources, writing exercises and prompts just to build her confidence in her ability to write a compelling story. He showed her what his writing process looked like, gave her a view of his concepts moodboard. Isiah told her that exercise was particularly useful in getting him to keep track of his ideas and maintain flow.

• Even after this particular project is over, Sloane is determined not to lose touch with her writing, and at least tries to participate in ChiBoWriMo* with her friends in the children's author community every November.

• She keeps a specific room in her home decorated and ready for just writing practice. Files and folders full of notes and ideas, moodboards on the wall for her writing projects, her favourite music, scented candles to keep her calm. It even has a calm down corner whenever she feels a bit stuck and needs to get out of a rut.

• Sloane and Isiah's first collaboration, a book named A Slice of Pii, was an instant hit. It was a fun math-based book, and followed by books on the chemistry of baking and physics-themed books as well. They got a LOT of publicity at the festival and Sloane shot to fame as an aspiring children's book author overnight. She became very in demand for more projects, but always maintained that it was a side hustle, with her main job still being science-specific education and heading Eros with Khaan.

• One of Sloane's greatest achievements as a writer is her collection of books on galaxies and constellations, which released around Oct (World Space Week), four years after her debut. The books were informative, but in a way that was fun and approachable. The series won her the Orbis Pictus award that year.

--

Faceclaims:

(Sloane Washington: Nelly Muse/Muses Uniform

Isiah Bass (OC): Dimitri Abold)

Tagging @sloanewashingtonappreciationweek, and host @sazanes for SWAW Day 5: Hobbies!

[my-chaos-radio]

Release: August 28, 1983

Lyrics:

We′re walking like in the dolce vita

This time we got it right

We're living like in the dolce vita

Gonna dream tonight

We′re dancing like in the dolce vita

With lights and music on

Our love is made in the dolce vita

Nobody else than you

It's our last night

Together with our love again

Another light

Before we'll drown in darkness

Say you′ll never leave me now

Say you′re gonna love me now

We made it down in the dolce vita

Wipe all your fears away

We lived it like in the dolce vita

A game of yesterday

I'm so alone in the dolce vita

Oh, baby telephone

This magic′s gone in the dolce vita

Nobody else than you

It's our last night

Together with our love again

Another light

Before we′ll drown in darkness

Say you'll never leave me now

Say you′re gonna love me

Songwriter:

It's our last night

Together with our love again

Another light

Before we'll drown in darkness

Say you′re gonna love me

Say you′re gonna love me

Paul Mazzolini / Pierluigi Giombini

SongFacts:

"Dolce Vita" is the debut single by Italian singer Ryan Paris, released in 1983 under the Discomagic Records label.

Interviewed for the book Europe's Stars of '80s Dance Pop Vol. 2, composer Pierluigi Giombini explained the song's development:

It was Gazebo who suggested me to write a song inspired by the title of the famous film. […] So I started working on it straight away, starting with the bass line on the Minimoog and then writing the melody over it. Gazebo later wrote the lyrics. […] I did the arrangement in a few days and did the vocals and mix-down in another three days. The synthesizers were basically the same - Minimoog, OB-8, ARP Odyssey and the Oberheim DMX drum machine. We also used our real hands on the snare.

In an interview in 2007, Paris described the background to recording the song:

I was fascinated by the sounds and melodies of Giombini and said to him: “I bring you one of my English songs.” That evening I composed a new song and three days later presented it to Giombini, who loved the song. We worked on my song twice and one day Giombini told me: “I wrote a song for you, but it's not a rock song.” When I heard the song, I jumped because it was very beautiful.

[b-sai-des]

Lush Arpeggios and Nervous Twists – “Bending Hectic”

When thinking about a song to do a deep dive in, there were a variety of really evocative ones that went through my head – the tragic, operatic, synth-filled “At the Door” by The Strokes, the epic odyssey of “Fire on High” by ELO. I almost decided to write about the wild, strange, and dangerous speed chase of “Sugar/Tzu” by Black Midi, but my mind just kept coming back to—

"Bending Hectic" music video, an animation by Sabrina Nichols and Stanley Donwood.

I talked a bunch about The Smile, the band trio of Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, and Tom Skinner, in my blog post about their tour this summer (still wish I could’ve gone in person!), and I think I already talked a little bit about “Bending Hectic” there. The Smile is going to be releasing their second album in January, which I'm super pumped about. This song is funny because I knew even before my Spotify Wrapped dropped that this would be my top track, and indeed it was with 131 listens this year.

“Bending Hectic” is immensely cinematic, beginning with hushed lyrics from Thom Yorke in this incredibly evocative, emotionally moving experience, and it eventually turns into a soaring and jagged heavy metal climax. The specific emotions that this song as a whole evokes in how it sounds are very particular. There are very specific songs I associate with that vibe like “Bending Hectic” such as "Aruarian Dance" by Nujabes (and the song that samples, "The Lamp Is Low" by Laurindo Almeida), “Night Lights (1965 Version)” by The Gerry Mulligan Sextet, “Mojo Pin” by Jeff Buckley, and “Darkest Dreaming” by David Sylvian.  

Love this song, so comforting.

It's cool to hear the original sample to get the original context and how Nujabes utilized it. This song is such a vibe too.

Bending Hectic was my top song this year. This was my top song last year.

Really serene yet pained, it also transitions between soothing chorus to more a more direct chorus.

This one makes you feel like you're floating in the night sky and lying in bed at the same time.

The ultimate comfort song, like an emotional lullaby.

Big nighttime vibes, or a rainy day, or any calm, maybe nature-oriented, atmosphere. The actual lyrics of "Bending Hectic" mention driving along the Italian mountainside. It's very intimate. Warm in that sense, also but very calm and tranquil, a cool, deep purplish blue.

I first heard this live performance of the song a few months before the studio version released, and seeing the stage lighting may have affected my perception of the "color" of the song.

There’s a lot of really interesting things about "Bending Hectic," like that genre shift, percussion, and use of strings, but its most curious feature is the lush, calming main guitar chord cycle which always ends with an off-kilter high twisting and turning, as if Jonny Greenwood is tuning the guitar. In this eight-minute track, more than four minutes have this tune playing, the first of two stretches of it being nearly three minutes, and it really informs the whole feeling of the song because of that even despite the big mood transition towards the end. 

The song begins with the guitar chords, accompanied by a deep, sentimental bass tune, low jangling and gentle, rising crash cymbal sounds. (A quick aside about the bass, it really is a big contributor to that tranquil, emotional feeling, very comforting, and it periodically rises up in a kind of searching, yearning way). When you hear that twisting higher and higher at the end of the chord cycle for the first time, it really throws you off-kilter considering how soothing the tune is. This is the backbone of the song thematically, and we’ll see how it complements the lyrics and how other parts of the song echo it. 

From what immensely little I know about music theory outside of Carnatic music (even there I have much to learn), I suspected that the chord cycle is an arpeggio, and my sister (who plays piano) confirmed this. When she heard the off-kilter guitar tuning part, she said that it was not really part of the arpeggio, but rather the same note being tuned higher and higher. With this we can distinguish the arpeggio and the guitar bending. 

On r/thesmile I came across someone pointing out the incredible similarity of the arpeggio of "Bending Hectic" and this song, which is super cool. If you were to remove the guitar bending of Bending Hectic's main chord cycle it would give a similar feeling to this.

Possible inspiration for Bending Hectic verse chords byu/smithsonian44 inTheSmile

The distinction made by my sister is formal music-theory-wise, but emotionally it’s felt too. With the particular feeling of the arpeggio, my sister mentioned a song that had a similar-sounding arpeggio as well. I bring this up because despite that similarity note-wise, it feels different, and that may come down to the type of guitar. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to find what specific guitar is used for this track, but the song my sister talked about had a sharper, acoustic sound compared to lusher sound of "Bending Hectic." The looseness of these chords makes it feel more raw. Key may play a component too, with "Bending Hectic" being in a lower key.  It evokes much more soothing feelings, as if things are okay, like you’re taking a moment to relax, just taking it all in. (Like I said before, purplish-blue, RIGHT? ....No, just me?) 

See! Purplish-blue.

Also mentioned earlier was how the song talks about driving along the Italian mountains, time being frozen as “you’re gazing at the view,” and it’s a genuinely beautiful feeling. ...Except when Thom Yorke says “Italian mountainside,” it’s “a sheer drop down the Italian mountainside.” It’s a car crash in slow motion. "I swear I'm seeing double, ohohh...." (I really love how Thom sings this line in particular - it brings this aching, accepting quality that matches the chilling string notes). It's weird because despite the danger of the lyrics, the arpeggio is telling you: "it's okay, you can rest now." You just want to float.... The arpeggio’s serene comfort is so essential to the feeling of the song, which makes the guitar bending that much more noticeable. The guitar bending out of tune goes higher and higher at some times, and at other times it goes lower and lower. Both give this growing nervous feeling, gnawing at you despite the calm. The threat of the car skidding “‘round the hairpin.” Every time the arpeggio plays out its vulnerability lulls you into a sense of security and, but then every time guitar bending concludes the arpeggio that security gets thrown off. Then when the arpeggio comes again it lulls you again and you say despite the nervousness “no one’s gonna bring me down,” but then you realize that determination is not to keep on going but instead to “let go of the wheel,” and he's fed up and wants to crash…etcetera etcetera. It’s a wobbling feeling of constantly having these two conflicting forces, and it’s unsteady despite feeling smooth overall. This three-minute beginning part of the song before the first chorus swings back and forth in tempo, starting slow, rapidly speeding up, and then slowing down. When the arpeggio speeds up with its lushness it feels like a wave of relief; when the guitar bending speeds up higher that nervousness tightens more and more. 

A pic of Jonny Greenwood, Tom Skinner, and Thom Yorke released along with the announcement of The Smile's 2nd album Wall of Eyes, which "Bending Hectic" will be on as well. The newest single released, which is the title track for the album, and it definitely has that dichotomy of calm and panic too lol.

The portion of the song (at the timestamp 4:14) following the first chorus returns to that arpeggio again, but this time at a steady tempo in line with the stable drum beat. The guitar tuning end of the arpeggio cycle plays on the down beat with the drums. Here, it’s stable, even with that off-kilter bending, which plays on the off-beat consistently. As I thought about this, I got the idea that the foreboding bending could now be something we’ve become comfortable with, but as I thought more about it while discussing with my sister, it’s more so continuing to creep up and threaten the stability that’s been constructed. The warm, optimistic strings cut out, and we’re back to just the guitar, drums and bass again. The bass stays low and steady in a foreboding manner. Lyrically it’s becoming more tense too – Thom says “the ground is coming for me now. I’ve gone over the edge. If you’ve got something to say…say it now.” With the guitar bending the song is slowly ratcheting up tension, as within the stable, narrow tempo and low wavering bass line there’s something simmering, that twisting nervousness remains even still – yes we may be used to it now but it’s also threatening to go careening off-course. 

That’s exactly what does happen after Thom concludes the verse by saying again “I’m letting go of the wheel,” and all instruments cut out as strings are re-introduced. They're at first expressing concern, and then they turn shrill, horrifying, straight out of a horror movie. (The Shining comes to mind).

Michael Giacchino cooked so hard with The Batman score...the rising strings here!

This is when the song goes full metal mode. Though the arpeggio doesn’t return again, as this is the final climactic stretch, the same bending tuning comes back in the form of Thom’s vocals and the exploding guitar. He goes “Tuuuuuuurrnnnn” as his voice twists higher and higher, and the guitar matches him. I’m reminded of Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard’s theme for The Joker in the score for The Dark Knight – the track has a similar nervous twisting off-kilter rising electric guitar. 

I think it’s really cool how the central arpeggio and guitar tuning sound of this song forms the backbone of its “bending” motif, which all comes together in its final chorus thematically. It all converges here – in the thick of the car crash, despite the “slings” and “arrows” and obstacles, the crisis that we’ve been thinking would happen, we force ourselves to push through, and that turning wheel to avoid death is expressed with the same high-pitched bending guitar we’ve been hearing throughout the song. The line “I’ve got these slings, I’ve got these arrows” in the first chorus made it seem like “I force myself to turn” was an act of wanting the crash, but now it’s “despite these slings, despite these arrows,” and trying to turn has now become an act of perseverance, an effort to survive. It’s interesting because even though the “turn” is said with hope, in the same sentiment of “no one’s gonna bring me down, no” the foreboding guitar bending we've heard all this time and now hear again suggests that the crash and burn is inevitable. Maybe you can’t escape the crash you wanted so desperately before. The song ends with that feeling in a distorted gnarl of defeat. But the merging of incoming, inevitable pain with perseverance as done using the central guitar bending and concluding lyrics give an ambiguity, not entirely shutting that hope out entirely. It’s a specific line that two of The Smile’s members have walked with their bandmates in Radiohead in songs like “Let Down,” “How to Disappear Completely,” and “Weird Fishes/ Arpeggi.” The Smile's newest single for Wall of Eyes also has that, though its sentimentality is more superficial compared to its jaded outlook.

That dichotomy of hope and despair seems to always come back. One side never quite wins entirely.

[a---z]

Thursday 9th Nov. 

8 - 10.30pm

Quasar

A---Z at Iklectik

Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/o0856a0ca324

A—Z comes back to Iklectik to present Quasar – Expect a night of live sets including immersive ambient sounds, from mystic, dark noise to electronic pulsar chaos. The event presents three acts that explore sensory/textural sounds, syncretism, displacement, cathartic tremors.

8.30 - 9pm Gisou Golshani (live)

9.15 - 9.45pm GAKKO (live)

10 - 10.30pm Manuka Honey (live)

Manuka Honey

Marissa Malik, best known by her stage name Manuka Honey, is a multi-disciplinary artist, DJ and producer at the forefront of Latinx-infused club music coming out of the UK. US-born and London-based, Manuka’s adoration of the Latinx diaspora’s sounds is exuded by her beautifully chaotic DJ sets that have pummeled the sound systems of clubs and festivals internationally.

GAKKO

Carolin Schnurrer is a London and Berlin-based artist, DJ (alias GAKKO), designer, and instrument builder, producing sensory experiences with a variety of media, from sound performance and installation art to moving images. In her artistic research, she creates electronic instruments that incorporate human skin into her music-making process: Providing a platform for the audience to actively shape and manipulate the sounds she produces in real time by engaging in tactile interactions with one another on a transformative odyssey through synthetic, sensual, and otherworldly sonic landscapes.

Delving into the depths of profound vulnerability and resilience, this approach allows her not only to investigate the potential of healing through the powers of human touch and sound, but also challenge traditional notions of music creation and club experiences – inviting listeners to embrace the symbiotic fusions between the organic and the synthetic, to forge a path towards a speculative and fictional future where these connections transcend the confines of borders, culture, language, and other categories of exclusion that we construct.

Operating under the name GAKKO, she has cultivated an unwavering passion for seamlessly blending genres spanning from 130 to 160 BPM, weaving together sets that pulsate with the raw energy of bass-heavy music, unexpected club edits, and thunderous drum breaks. Through radio shows on Foundation FM, Refuge Worldwide, and [sic]nal, she aims to showcase forward-thinking and marginalized electronic producers within the experimental and DIY realm. Carolin Schnurrer’s artistic journey is characterized by collaborative ventures with musicians, artists, writers, and dancers like KLEIN, AUDINT (Kode9, Eleni Ikon, Toby Heyes), Julie Cunningham, and Haroon Mirza; she has performed at events such as Tate Lates, Oram Awards at Kings Place, Hyperdub’s Night Ø at Corsica Studios, intonal in Malmö, the YARD theater, 925 in Colombo and the MIRA Festival in Barcelona.

Gisou Golshani

Gisou Golshani is a London-based Iranian artist. Their work depicts abstract narratives from seemingly disparate elements. Through multilayered editing and playful uses of sampling, they investigate the intimacy of the voice, the effects of sound on the body and their mother tongue Farsi’s complexities in translation. Looking into archival found material, Gisou creates multi-sensory, immersive installations and performances. Previous work has been shown at Disturbance (Ugly Duck), London, Studio/Chapple for Deptford X, London, Nottingham’s New Art Exchange, Mimosa House, London and internationally including their home country. 

[cavegirlpoems]

I think I've worked out the common factor to my taste in music. There's a type of song that's like at least twelve minutes of playing about with a single riff, and the lyrics are probably nonsense, the production's kinda stripped back and there's like three face-melting solos.

You see it in doom metal and blues and p-funk and jazz. Shorter versions happen in underground hiphop, black metal and others. More minimalist versions happen in drone. Hell, even a good extended EDM mix veers into twelve-minute-jam-session territory sometimes.

You see a lot of this in live shows, but the really good bands constantly threaten to spend the back half every studio album just fucking jamming out indefinately.

It's often hard to tell what's even a solo, but the bass guy's been doing something fancy for like three minutes and it's very impressive, and now suddenly the singer's scatting along with it.

Basically, if there's the promise that maybe you'll take me on a quarter-hour groove odyssey and refuse to invest in a second riff, I will listen to your band.

[darksidestudio]

I am working on an illustrated series called, Death Race 2001: A Spaced Odyssey, in a Road Warrior setting.

It's an amalgamation of various movie themes and based on the short story, X Marks the Pedwalk, [Free Read No Sign Ups].

While in a head rush from a bong hit I seen Nikki Sixx as the character, Madd Maxxed!

You know Nikki wouldn't do the gig without the Crüe, besides Vince Neal would be perfect for Lord Humungus 🤭– Tommy Lee (especially in his Mohawk days), is perfect for the motorcycle riding psycho, Wez.

Something special is reserved for fans of Mick Mars, possibly a Dr. Phibes vibe–with a Herman Munster mobile!

John 5 is there also, I have a feeling his entrance might be a little grandiose–🤔–yep, when the Mothership shoots Lazer lights on the ground and starts 3-D printing John 5 while he's playing guitar to Live Wire–that would be bitchin', and a little grandiose!

Okay, in the writing of this post more of the story has come to light, so there's work to do in the Darkside Studio where "The Candle Flame of Thought Shines it's Brightest in the Dark".

4:20 Update

Alrighty, I have an Update!

The premise of the #shortstory is (think Warriors movie in a Road Warrior setting):

In this world the only difference between Heavy Metal bands and wild marauding Biker gangs is, some wild marauding Bikers played a musical instrument, others didn't.

Now Bikers get chicks, but a Heavy Metal guitar playing Bikers get Groupies, hence the rivalry between the two factions known as the Metal Heads and Gear Heads. (A third group, known just as "Heads", are straight up Stoners that don't ride motorcycles or play guitar, or drums, or bass. They're the extras you'll see running around, (the chicks have to come from somewhere 🤷‍♂️)

Again, in this world, not much entertainment with all the mayhem going on fighting over petrol and chicks, except the Headbangers Ball where a truce is drawn for the Annual Battle of the Bands ( with the Metal Heads busy it's about the only time of year the Gear Heads have a chance, so they agree to the truce, of you're wondering).

Except at this year's Headbanger's, during an Awards portion mayhem erupted when Jethro Tull was named Heavy Metal band of the Year!

Nikki Sixx started protesting that not only was Jethro Tull "Not Metal, man!" but Ian Anderson rode a Moped!

Right at that moment a shot rang out–two actually–the first knocking the flute out of Ian's hand and the second shot actually hit Ian in the foot. The foot he was standing on while he was blowing widly into the flute at the surprise win. (Ian is known for standing one foot, like crane, while playing the flute)..

Anyways, bullet hit Ian's foot, Ian falls off the stage edge–this is bad–and is impaled by the flute when he landed.

By this time the crowd was stirred when a Gear Head yelled "He did it! Nikki Sixx shot Ian!"

(We're still in Warriors mode)

Just then police riot squads (🤔 guess that makes a 4th group) hit the crowd with mega spot lights and the crowd went from Turtle to Rabbit!

Just then John 5 rushes up exclaiming, "It was Marilyn Manson who shot Ian, he was dressed up as Alec Baldwin and didn't think the prop gun was loaded!"

A police helicopter circling the crowd turned on it's spotlight and it landed right on the Motley Crüe, John 5 shouted "I have a Roadie waiting with a gig van, follow me I know a secret way out!"

And in all the mayhem, John 5 leads Motley Crüe to getaway van, but they still have to make it home and clear their name.

Next Chapter:

NO SLEEP TILL BROOKLYN

[wkilofficial]

@wkilofficial I know *nothing* about the mechanisms or In The Green but I love a good analysis/comparison of music and especially when there’s concept albums involved!! Your tags were very informative but please can you tell us more about the Mechanisms and In the Green Vs MCR and Danger Days

YEAHHHHHHH okay okay okay let's fucking do thisss

the mechanisms feature less in this Analysis post bc they're just. band that makes me go batshit insane. but to explain what they are briefly!! they were a. steampunk cabaret?? that's probably the genre. band that ran for about ten years that made story albums that were like. reduxes of famous mythologies and folk tales, often re-scoring and rewriting prior folk songs to do so. their main four albums are, in turn, a grimm's fairytales sci-fi epic, a sort of jazzy steampunk retelling of the odyssey, a western redux of arthurian legend, and a rock opera style album of norse mythology leading up to ragnarok. and i Love folk songs and modern interpretations and the genders of the band are truly so soothing to experience (loki being a she/her character played by a he/him gnc man being in a lesbian relationship with sigyn, a she/her character played by a they/them fat person of color, is still so important to me). and i can't rlly sum them up in one post?? but i recommend their music to any literature nerds shjshjs

BUT ANYWAY ONTO WHAT I'M HERE FOR

in the green, in a brief summary, is an experimental musical about hildegard von bingen that deals a Lot with trauma and abuse and recovery as it relates to a religious and misogynistic society (12th century catholic europe!). and its cast is five people playing two characters: hildegard's Eye, Hand, and Mouth, representing how trauma at a young age fractured her and made her feel broken and disconnected from herself (her aspects can fight and bicker and have wills of their own and never really sing in harmony), and jutta's Main Persona and her Shadow, the representation of her abuse and trauma that she's kept buried far underground. the music of the show is really stripped back? it's drums, electric bass, cello, dulcimer, and a looper pedal that allows jutta to layer her voice and harmonize with herself in Really Neat Ways. BUT AS IT RELATES TO MCR. it's kind of a couple different ways?

thematically, itg shares a Lot of ideas about perpetuating the cycles of abuse and also does a lot with Catholicism? i made a web-weaving post about this awhile back (linked here) but it's like. jutta gets to be free of the consequences of her abuse of hildegard because she dies. she gets to cling to that virtue while hildegard has to shoulder the burden of her teachings of "repress and work and the trauma will go away". so i think a lot about "from the razor to the rosary" and "i'm taking back the life you stole" and just like. catholicism themes and living your life in spite of what you've faced?? idk it's hildegard experiencing this life changing event at such a young age and then being taught In Isolation that the best way to deal with it is to ignore it because acknowledging it will destroy her. and then discovering that she Can acknowledge it and that's the best way to recover but the woman who taught her the opposite Dies before she can share what she's learned. jutta gets to die before the cycle of abuse she perpetuated can catch her. she dies just when she learns how she could've fixed herself. he (jutta) gets to die a saint but she (hildegard) will always be the whore y'know?

and then the OTHER similarity is just. lyrics? i'm just straight up gonna post itg lyrics that sound like they could be mcr lyrics right here:

plucked from the harvest, before you start to rot / thrust in the darkness, where everything is not / you were not born to live, you were born to be forgive / you were not born to live, you were born to be forgiven - death ceremony

isn't she lucky? she is the lucky one / she will be the seed that grows without the sun / hallelujah and amen, amen / hallelujah for the dead, amen / isn't she lucky? she is the lucky one / she will know of death before her life is done / hallelujah, amen, amen / hallelujah for the dead, amen - death ceremony

i will never go back / there's nothing out there for me / i'm here to find the truth, and the truth will set me free / because if i can teach you how to be whole / i will see the light / that is my goal / when i see the light, i will be free / when i see the light, i will erase my history / for good, and i will be made new / and i will be among the few / and i will be of virtue - the rule

[JUTTA] it isn't easy work. you have to get down in the dirt. [HILDEGARD] i can do that! [JUTTA] can you? [HILDEGARD] i will / i will work until I die, if I have to. [JUTTA] that's the right attitude. - the rule

i feel a bubbling in my blood / and if it boils will i drown in the flood? / i feel an overwhelming need / to put my own flesh between my teeth / i am hungry / on what can i feed? - i am hungry

i'm scared of what i feel / maybe it isn't real, but / i'm scared of who i am / a monster masquerading as a lamb - i am hungry

you have to learn how to hold your breath / you have to learn how to feel some death / this flesh is a thicket / so weed out all that's wicked / the feeling that you feel's an unwelcome guest - eve

keep the beast in a cage / on a leash / keep her locked in the cage / don't let her speak / she will scream in the cage / she will shout / let her die in the cage / don't let her out - eve

[HILDEGARD] but why dig a grave? i'm not dead! [JUTTA] are you sure that you're alive instead? [HILDEGARD] i don't know what you mean. [JUTTA] might you be somewhere in between? / outwardly living, but broken inside? / working and working while trying to hide / the feeling that you've done something wrong? / this is where you belong! / i understand what you're going through / no one out there wanted you. - little life

but when you sacrifice / give up giving in to want / you have nothing to lose if everything's gone / when life is darkness / death is dawn / life is better in death - little life

i’m not going back / i’ll run until i die / and when i can no longer run / i’ll teach myself to fly - in the green (sidenote. favorite lyric in the show, possibly ever)

my heart is a stone / my body is not my own / my heart is a stone / my body is not my own - in the green

you must be / just like me / i do not fit anywhere up there / i carry a memory / it makes me hideous / hazardous, insidious, but / underground i’m at ease - underground

you must be / just like me / tired of holding back all your widening cracks / if you carry a memory / it’s too much to bear / broke you beyond repair, then / underground in the dark / you don’t have to try anymore - underground

underground, you can be / a creature without a name / underground, you can stay with me / with your memory - underground

but you came to the underground / and walked right through your shadows / somehow in the underground / you took something obscure / made uncertainty secure / in the poison found the cure / a spark - light undercover (sidenote sidenote. this is just an ft willz poem line)

where, oh where has my mind gone? / are my feet on the ground or six feet down? / where, oh where has the time gone? / every day is a year / is a night and round and round - the ripening

haven't i done all the things I'm supposed to? / i know what i'm meant to be / and i'm grateful for the blessing / of this body that is rotting / all i've ever wanted is to be free - the ripening

wow that's. a lot of lyrics about guilt and catholicism and category 10 woman moments. ONTO THE DD SIMILARITIES

in the green and danger days are both about. people stuck in a hostile society doing what little they can to assert control over their lives?? in dd, batt city and the desert are literally deadly and the way to rebel against the scorching sun and the enforced Sameness and Separation is to be Bright and Loud and Love As Fiercely As Possible. it's basically a death wish, to refuse to conform in a world that sees vibrancy as a crime, but the killjoys refuse to be a part of that great machine that makes up their world. in the same way, jutta is a character given a horrible hand: arranged marriage (that she runs away from) and an assault that she can tell no one about. so her only way to assert control over her life is to say No to participating in the world at all. she forcibly shuts herself away from Everyone because that was the one thing she could Do Of Her Own Will. she finds power in isolating herself because it was a decision She Could Make. the world was not meant to be kind to her and so she took the only true choice available and refused it entirely. both of these courses of actions are direct contrast to the societies the stories are set in and both of these courses are deadly but also Freeing because They Made Their Choice. no one else made it for them. the killjoys rebel by being as loud as possible, forcing the world to look at them. jutta rebels by removing herself from the world as totally as possible, forcing the world to forget her until she forgot herself. she found freedom in the cell because it was a choice she got to make.

SORRY THAT WAS RLLY LONG BUT WAAAAUGH I LOVE THESE BANDS AND THIS MUSIC

[dfroza]

instrumentals at AudioTree by Unwed Sailor shared yesterday (recorded in October)

UNWED SAILOR's odyssey began in Seattle, WA in 1998, shortly after Johnathon Ford left critically acclaimed bands 'Roadside Monument' and 'Pedro the Lion'. After recruiting Dave Bazan (Pedro the Lion), Casey Wescott (Fleet Foxes), and Melissa Palladino (Danielson Famile) to play on the 'Firecracker' EP, UNWED SAILOR was born. Two decades and seventeen releases later, Ford has continued to rely on the band as a device for personal exploration and emotive storytelling. Themes of escaping the mundane and the search for meaning are heavily present in UNWED SAILOR's DNA, alongside driving, stacked bass lines; wandering and evolving song structures; soaring crescendos and moody diminuendos; and, of course, a gripping sense of cinematic storytelling. Check out UNWED SAILOR on Audiotree Live!

Tracklist

1. 00:00 Windy City Dreams

2. 05:45 Let Me Be Away

3. 09:38 Blitz

Recorded live on October 20, 2022 in Chicago, IL.

•

here in this dream of writing it is a “mystery” to see who will be open to its instrumental (silence & sound)

in the (Waiting)

but it is a beautiful thought to have & to hold deep within

as time passes in the wind…

a willing “unveiling” is the patient & kind hope of weary eye & body

somehow i think it matters to keep this bottle open to share each day, gently offering a glass of wine to a stranger who becomes a friend.

someone will come to see it “clear”

someone will be “open” to share their own

[supercantaloupe]

I posted 15,200 times in 2022

2,185 posts created (14%)

13,015 posts reblogged (86%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@gendercents

@trainwreckgenerator

@grasslandgirl

@kurtwagnermorelikekurtwagnerd

@supercantaloupe

I tagged 5,917 of my posts in 2022

#sasha speaks - 1,778 posts

#srb - 369 posts

#ask meme - 348 posts

#sasha answers - 320 posts

#frogs - 302 posts

#ask sasha - 294 posts

#oklahoma! - 256 posts

#fantasy high - 162 posts

#sleepover saturday - 147 posts

#bugs - 136 posts

Longest Tag: 124 characters

#then again maybe osf wouldnt be interesting enough since they make curly a lesbian and juds still straight ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

i really think people need to, at least once in their life, experience an orchestral concert, in person. the best headphones, speakers, surround sound systems will never capture the feeling of being in a concert hall when an orchestra is playing. when the acoustics are such that you can not only hear the music but feel it, feel it literally all around you, and you experience being fully inside the sound. it is a really magical experience that i’ve only experienced inside a concert hall and i really really wish more people could experience that, and understand that that experience is unique and important and irreplaceable. the best audio recreation equipment in the world will never replace the nuance and beauty of live performance and it’s truly a physical experience in the way that reproduced audio can never be

165 notes - Posted January 30, 2022

#4

here's an extremely stupid drawing i did months ago with literally no context. happy new year

[id: two pencil and marker drawings. the first image is a drawing of fig faeth, a pink tiefling with short hair and curved horns. she is wearing a greyt shirt with a skull design, a red skirt, and a fishnet stocking on one leg. she holds a microphone in one hand and has the other raised in the air as she sings “have you checked your BUTTHOLE?” the second image is a drawing of fig and gorgug, a tall orc in grey hoodie and sweatpants. they are both wearing sunglasses. fig is playing a light pink bass guitar and gorgug is playing a red snare drum. they sing the words “ski-dap ba-dup butthole” together.]

173 notes - Posted January 1, 2022

#3

love me a zac oyama PC. both original flavor and under new management

[image id: three pencil drawings of norman “the skipper” takamori from the dimension 20 season a starstruck odyssey. norman is a middle aged japanese man with slicked back hair, dark eyes, thick mustache, five o clock shadow, and a scar on his right cheek. the top drawing a 3/4 bust of norman looking gruffly to the left and saying “you’re all morons.” the bottom left drawing is a bust of norman with swirled eyes looking forward at the viewer with a curious expression and saying “okay.” the bottom right drawing is a 3/4 bust of norman with swirled eyes looking to the right and smiling slightly, saying “right on!” there is a small drawing in the top right of the image of two different eyes looking right. the first one is fully shaded dark and labeled “normal” while the second is partially shaded with a swirl pattern and labeled “brain slug.”]

188 notes - Posted January 21, 2022

#2

being a primarily Musicals guy getting more into Opera as of late, it really makes me kinda disappointed seeing how much One Single Production of a musical (typically its original broadway or occasionally west end run) becomes The definitive version of the show. and analysis of the show then tends to treat production and text as inseparable or even identical

like man. opera ppl...y'all have it so good...so many wildly different productions of the same (popular) operas are available to watch filmed, or at your local opera company. i can google don giovanni and find like 10 completely different productions at the click of a button, and none of them are Inherently more the "right" or "wrong" way of being don giovanni. i can have my own opinions on which ones i think work best (and boy do i), but the fact that so many different versions of the same show exist at all is a sign that you CAN have different interpretations of the same text -- and they're all still the same opera, fundamentally. production ≠ text ≠ the whole show

but with musicals i very much feel like, because of how The Industry works, One Production easily becomes The definitive vision of the show. certainly this has to do with the scarcity of filmed musicals when compared to opera (along with bootleg culture + the broader trouble of accessibility in musicals), as well as the (over)prevalence of replica productions, and i think also the age of most musicals is much younger than most operas so there's less time for new productions to be made let alone become popular. like i don't think it's a coincidence that oklahoma!, arguably the oldest true book musical, is the only musical i can think of where a radically nonreplica production gained such popularity and acclaim that it challenges the previous (Very well established!) interpretation of the text as the Definitive version of the show for many audience members. and because of that, it's one of the only shows where the analysis and discourse of the show makes a clear(ish) distinction between the text and the production itself. the vast majority of musicals do not receive the same treatment

it kinda bums me out knowing that musical ppl don't get the same exposure to new visions of a text outside the dominant broadway/west end blockbuster productions. i know regional theater exists and by gd do i feel like it is underrated in its importance to the development of theater literacy in audiences but unfortunately regional productions only VERY rarely get publicized outside of their regions, and therefore can't meaningfully contribute to conversations about a particular musical the same way a broadway production can.

idk i've Long felt that the way musicals become defined by a single production is a fault both of the industry and of the fandoms, and i've been a snob about that here for years. but getting more into opera lately has made me realize just how prevalent the issue is, bc opera Does Not operate the same way.

215 notes - Posted October 26, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

ooh draw me

226 notes - Posted May 22, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[solidandsound]

Etrian Odyssey II - Notes on a journey

THE PARTY

Fret, Troubadour (portrait 3)

A fret is a piece that sits behind the strings on the neck of a stringed instrument, such as the lute that Fret plays.

Long ago, when they were all young, Fret, Contra, Travis, Ossia, and Barry formed a musical group, called Frisson. They never got popular, and eventually the others lost interest or faith in their ability to break through into the mainstream, and the band fell apart. Fret was always the most devoted. After Frisson disbanded, he continued to play music on his own, scraping by as a travelling troubadour. Recently, he made his way to Etria, and while there, he heard a lot about a group of youngsters who made major headway in the Yggdrasil labyrinth attached to the town. Fret and the other members of Frisson grew up in High Lagaard, which also had a labyrinth, but he never gave it much thought. Seeing the fame afforded to these young adventurers, however, gets his wheels turning...

Barry, War Magus (portrait 1)

Barry is named in reference to baritone, a male singing voice with a range between bass and tenor.

In the days of Frisson, Barry was the group’s male singer. An immigrant to High Lagaard from the far south, his voice lent Frisson a unique edge, and he appreciated the companionship. Having come from a more musical culture, Barry enjoyed his time with the band, but found few opportunities to sing after its disbandment.

Barry has since become a city guard, and is watching the road into town when Fret comes sauntering back. Barry casually asks where Fret’s been, and Fret launches into his story about what he heard over in Etria and how he’s getting the band back together... to do some dungeon diving. Barry isn’t asked to commit to anything, only to meet up with Fret later, where he’ll explain everything. Then Fret runs off, leaving Barry confused, but curious.

Ossia, Hexer (portrait 3)

An ossia is an alternate musical passage which may be played instead of the original.

Before Ossia joined, another man held his place in Frisson, but that person was not a team player and was frequently disruptive with the aim of taking the spotlight, a habit made worse by the fact that he was in charge of the cymbal and other backing instruments. After that guy was fired, Ossia showed interest in taking his role. While the others were originally hesitant because Ossia gives off a somewhat creepy vibe, he ended up being a perfect fit.

Since the band’s breakup, Ossia has taken advantage of his creepy vibes and background as a Hexer to tell fortunes. However, everything he foretells is fabricated, as that’s not actually something that Hexers can do—most people just don’t know that. Ossia would really rather be doing anything else, and is pleased to see Fret enter his tent. The musician’s pitch leaves Ossia intrigued, and he decides to meet with Fret later, as requested, to find out more.

Contra, Gunner (portrait 4) and Travis, Ronin (portrait 1)

Contra is short for contralto, a type of singing voice with a low vocal range. Travis is a play on travesti, a term for a character in an opera or other performance that is played by someone of the opposite sex.

Contra was Frisson’s female vocalist, her surprisingly low singing voice complementing Barry’s well. Travis played a special piano configured for easy travel. Fret has been friends with these two since long before the forming of Frisson, and they were its first members, with Barry and finally Ossia joining later. Contra is quite shy, but was able to let loose in front of an audience. Travis always felt unable to express himself, except when behind the piano. These two bonded even further while playing music together, and soon fell in love and have remained together this whole time. They have stuck together through everything, from Contra’s health issues to Travis coming out as trans.

However, outside of their relationship, their lives have not been particularly fulfilling. Contra holds a mind-numbing secretarial job, and Travis does landscaping for High Lagaard’s wealthy. Their feelings are complicated seeing Fret, as they always are. Fret visits now and then, but his role in their lives is far reduced from what it once was. This time seems different, however, and so they agree to meet up later.

That evening, all five members of Frisson gather at a local restaurant. Contra and Travis haven’t had many opportunities lately to socialize with Barry and Ossia, and find the reunion pleasant, if a little awkward. Then Fret lays out the plan. As Frisson, they had a few dedicated fans who loved their sound, but had a hard time getting others to listen to them. But if they had had some fame to build off of, things could have been different.

In Etria, a guild met with great adventuring success and, subsequently, great fame. If Frisson could do the same, they could use that fame as a launching point for their musical careers. They could finally be a successful band!

Travis shuts it down, saying that those days have passed, but he is surprised when Barry and Ossia agree immediately. Neither man is happy with what they’re doing, so why not give it a go? Still, Travis doubts the likelihood of this plan succeeding. Why blow up their lives for something so risky? Right? He turns to Contra, but she hesitates. What if this could be their chance to make lives they can be proud of?

If it’s what Contra wants, he can’t bring himself to say no. Fret is ecstatic: the band is back together! The next day, they gear up and head to the guild office to register their band, nay, their guild, and tackle the labyrinth together.

FIRST STRATUM: Ancient Forest

Travis and Contra quit their crappy jobs. Fret and Ossia have no obligations to wrap up and are ready to go immediately. Barry simply ghosts the guard corps. He figures no one will miss him, or even recognize him if he runs into his old coworkers in the forest. They all look the same in their armour anyway.

In order to be allowed to explore the labyrinth further, the guild must first take on the Duchy’s introductory test, which is to map the first floor accurately. Barry is well aware of this, and has at times been the one to judge newbies’ maps. When they enter the labyrinth, a guard stops them to confirm their identities. Barry avoids eye contact, but the guard doesn’t seem to recognize him, as he assumed would be the case. The guard then takes them to a spot deep into the first floor and leaves them there to find their way back.

Contra and Travis start to panic, feeling that they have just been left to die. Indeed, some folks have died doing this, Barry says. But he reassures them: he can guide them in doing this as quickly and safely as possible, as long as they can survive any monster attacks along the way. Fret says that he has a great sense of direction and they should just head back the way they came, but Barry reminds him that that’s not all they need to do. They also need to map the area, and that includes dead ends and false paths. He remembers some of them, but in order to record them in accurate detail, he suggests they actually explore each path.

Having to engage in combat for the first time is jarring, but ultimately not too threatening. The party efficiently maps the area and returns to have the guard evaluate their work. With his approval, they report in to Minister Dubois at the duchy, who officially declares Frisson to be adventurers of Lagaard. He shares his hope that they may unveil the truth behind the myth of the floating castle at the top of the labyrinth. He also gives them a little spending money to get started, but it’s not much. Travis gets a little nervous seeing how little they’re meant to get by on, but Ossia knows from his interactions with adventurers that they can pick up some odd jobs at the tavern.

With that in mind, Frisson begins its exploration in earnest, making a bit of progress each time, avoiding tougher enemies and taking on tavern requests here and there to make a bit more money on top of selling what they find.

On the third floor, the group encounters a wolf, but it does not attack them. Instead, it seems to wish to direct them somewhere. Contra is smitten with the handsome hound; she and Travis have always wanted a dog, but have been waiting until they felt they could better take care of one. They follow the wolf’s directions and soon run into a man who calls himself Hrothgar, of Guild Beowulf. He gives the newbies some helpful tips, and then is joined by the wolf from before, apparently named Wulfgar. The two leave together; Contra is impressed by how helpful Wulfgar seems to be in the labyrinth.

The crew continues to check in with Minister Dubois every once in a while. On one visit, he expresses regret that adventurers seem, by and large, more competent than the guard corps posted in the forest, and wonders if he should be recruiting adventurers for the guard corps. Thinking back, Barry knows he never had as hard a time as a guard as he has so far as an adventurer. Maybe if this doesn’t pan out, he thinks, he can rejoin the corps and negotiate a raise...

Further into the third floor, Frisson sees Hrothgar and Wulfgar once again, guarding a door. Hrothgar stops them, and tells them to speak to the Duchy before they can proceed. When they speak to Dubois, they learn that ten guards have gone missing recently in the labyrinth. Barry feels strange upon hearing the news. Is it relief? Regret? He’s not sure. While saving the guards sounds like a lot of responsibility, Fret also knows that it is this kind of heroism that will kick off the fame they’re looking for, so the guild accepts the task.

Hrothgar lets the guild past, though his mood seems off. He warns them that the next room is filled with powerful monsters. Indeed, when they enter, they hear the cry of a beast and see, and smell, numerous corpses. Travis throws up. Barry is frozen; this could have been him... It is Ossia who gently pushes the group to continue. He counts only nine bodies.

With some careful sneaking, the guild finds a secret passage and there meet the final surviving guard. They help him escape back to town. There, Dubois thanks them with some cash, and tells them about what the guard was investigating in there to begin with. Apparently another monster, the Chimaera, is attracting more monsters than usual to the first stratum of the labyrinth. Frisson has Dubois’s trust now, and so they are tasked with defeating it.

While running errands, Fret hears the name Frisson come up every once in a while. It seems they are starting to get recognized as a strong guild... but he knows it’s not yet enough.

On the fourth floor, a guard tells the group that Beowulf have already gone up to the fifth floor to challenge Chimaera. Apparently, some of the guild’s members were killed by Chimaera some time ago, leaving only Hrothgar and Wulfgar. They lost with five members, but attempt the beast now with only two... Fret seems to miss this detail and suggests hurrying before Beowulf steal their thunder. Barry corrects him: they must hurry to save Beowulf. Contra is beside herself. “That poor, loyal puppy...”

On the fifth floor, Ossia points out a trail of blood. The guild follows it to find Wulfgar, alone and injured. Wulfgar points them westward and cries mournfully. Given that he is alone, that cry can only mean one thing... Contra wants to pet the dog, to comfort him, but cannot tell where he is injured through his thick fur, and so stays her hand. Travis shakes with rage. He assures Wulfgar that vengeance will be had.

The party confronts the Chimaera and, through a long battle with it and its lackeys, fell it. It lets out a final shriek, which nets a howling response from somewhere not too far away. Contra recognizes it immediately and rushes off, with the others hurrying to keep up with her.

Wulfgar is still where they left him, still heavily injured. However, he seems much less distressed. Upon Contra’s approach, the beast removes his collar with his paw, then lays down and closes his eyes. Crying, Contra takes the collar, Wulfgar’s final thanks for bringing peace to him and the rest of his guild.

SECOND STRATUM: Auburn Thicket

Even after taking their reward for defeating the Chimaera, the mood surrounding Frisson is muted as they enter the second stratum. A trail of berries catches Fret’s curiosity, so he follows it, with the rest of the group trailing behind. Something feels off, though, so he stops short of the end of the trail. Contra, deep in her fugue, keeps on mindlessly, and before anyone can stop her, gets her foot caught in a trap. It is easy enough for Travis’s blade to remove, and Contra’s injuries are minor, but it is enough to snap her back to reality a bit. There is danger everywhere in the labyrinth.

Further on, a hemp sack is seen dangling from a tree. Wary of another trap, the group examines the area thoroughly, but finds no threat. Barry climbs the tree to grab the sack. He manages to retrieve it, but upon reaching the ground, finds that his hands burn something fierce. Traps aside, even the trees themselves seem out to get the adventurers of the forest.

The next time Frisson checks in at the Duchy, they are let in on a secret: the Duke is very ill. His daughter is doing her best to find a cure, as she already lost her mother some time ago. Following her mother’s medicinal notes, she is tracking down ingredients in the forest that may help. Frisson is asked now to retrieve an ingredient that can be used to make a so-called “miracle cure”. Fret’s eyes shine. Saving the life of the Duke will get them the acclaim they’re looking for, that’s for sure! The ingredient in question is a feather from the Salamox, a formidable fire-breathing beast.

The guild also picks up a request at the bar to map the 7th and 8th floors, as the guard corp are having trouble with the task. On the 7th floor, they run into one such guard, who happily passes off the job to Frisson. He even hands them his map so far, and Fret is happy to have a head start, but as soon as the guard is out of sight, Barry takes his map and shreds it. He knows what kinds of shortcuts these guys take and doesn’t trust their work one bit.

On the 8th floor, the guild finds the guard assigned to this floor... brutalized by monsters, his armour rendered useless. They are ambushed by the same monsters that killed the guard, but manage to take them down. Then Barry examines the corpse. Like the other guard, this one has a partial map. Barry feels bad, but he leaves the map with the guard.

Also on the 8th floor is the Salamox’s lair. It takes some sneaking, but the group manages to infiltrate its nest and steal a stray feather. They return it to the Duchy and are rewarded handsomely. Fret cares more about the ingredient’s success as medicine, however, and urges Dubois to tell them right away if it works.

In the mean time, Fret intends to take the guild back into the labyrinth. They can’t just wait around for news that might not help them, after all. But Contra stops. Her hands shake. She still can’t stop thinking about Wulfgar and Hrothgar, about that dead guard, even that trap that snared her leg. Haven’t they done enough in the labyrinth? Haven’t they killed enough forest creatures? Can’t they stop? She turns to Travis, who didn’t want to do this in the first place. Surely he will convince the others. He gently takes her aside.

Thinking back on their lives before, he was never happy toiling in the gardens of the rich. Now he feels useful, even heroic at times. He was skeptical at first, but now he feels fulfilled. It is gruesome sometimes, yes, and certainly dangerous, but it’s work that means something. Contra agrees to go back into the labyrinth, but privately she wonders how much more of this she can take.

It is an uneventful journey to the 9th floor. Partway through, however, Contra hears a chirping. She follows it to a baby monster, clearly in distress. There is a lump in its throat, and it seems to be choking. The guild has fought grown-up versions of this thing, and one less monster would make the forest that much safer for them. Ossia prepares to finish the weakened beast, but Contra stops him. She massages the monster’s throat until the object is ejected. The little beast flees. Contra clings desperately to the feeling of having saved a life for once.

Later, on a trek that lasts past sundown, Frisson runs into a guard who isn’t doing much guarding; he’s asleep. He has a heavy money pouch, and it dangles temptingly... Ossia advocates for stealing it. They’ll definitely get away with it. Barry actually recognizes this particular guard, too, and he’s a real asshole... but Barry doesn’t want to stoop to his level. He asks Ossia to leave the guard’s money alone. Ossia shrugs. He doesn’t see what the big deal is, but he complies nevertheless.

On the tenth floor, Frisson comes to a door guarded by an intimidating older man holding two guns. He seems to have heard of Frisson, but the way he speaks of them suggests he is far from their biggest fan. He ��suggests” that they turn around. Travis takes the man in cautiously, predicting a vicious fight, but Fret is oblivious and tries to brush the man off, saying that they’re definitely not stopping now. At that, the man introduces himself as Wilhelm and, at the same time, takes aim.

As Frisson prepares for a face-off, a woman appears, scolding Wilhelm for trying to start a fight. She calls herself Artelinde, of Guild Esbat. She tries to claim that Wilhelm was only concerned for their safety, as a terrible monster lies beyond the door. Ossia can see right through that; he could sense Wilhelm’s bloodlust, and something’s not right about this Artelinde girl, either. Nonetheless, she insists that the group first gets permission from the Duchy to proceed.

Back in town, Dubois confirms that he hired Esbat to guard the door. Previously, he tasked Esbat and other powerful guilds with the destruction of the beast beyond that door, but it revived days later. He urges caution if Guild Frisson intends to take on the Hellion.

Upon returning to the tenth floor, the group does not see Esbat anywhere. They are free to fight Hellion, which turns out to be a grotesque humanoid fire demon. They kill it and return to town to report to Dubois and receive their reward. Since it’s been a while, Fret asks for updates on the Duke’s health. Dubois shares that the fire plume wasn’t enough on its own. He has new information on a flower in the third stratum that may help. It seems the guards sent to retrieve these flowers haven’t been returning. While Barry wonders what happened to all those guards, and Ossia worries that they are being sent on a wild goose chase and there is no cure for the Duke, Fret eagerly accepts the mission, seeing only the guild’s fame if they succeed.

THIRD STRATUM: Frozen Grounds

The temperature drop on the first floor of the third stratum is sudden and severe. It would be easy to freeze to death. Barry wonders if that’s why the guards haven’t been returning...

When the guild shares their progress with the Dubois, he reveals that the Duke is offering nobility to those explorers who reach the top of the labyrinth... if they want it, of course. It’s worth pondering for Fret, although not for its own sake. Would being a Baron or Knight or something make him seem more notable as a musician?

On the 12th floor, the guild finds a guard, shivering violently. Barry’s theory gains credence. The guard explains that they’ve only been hunting for the flowers during the day, as it’s too dangerous at night, but they haven’t found any yet. Travis wonders how efficient they can even be when they’re reacting that poorly to the cold. He knows how much longer even a simple task can take when you’re freezing.

The group scouts out the floor a bit, but Contra has a nagging feeling that they won’t find the snow blooms either... Some terrifying monsters are napping throughout, sometimes blocking paths the group would like to take. The floor really would be more dangerous if they’re up and active at night.

They make their way through the floor until they are stopped a familiar voice. Artelinde appears and stands in front of the door to progress. She happily shares that there are no snow blooms further on, but Ossia senses something off about her; her cheer seems stiff somehow... Fret is frustrated. He tells her that they haven’t found any behind them either, but Artelinde insists that she’s correct. Fret’s fists bunch up, but before he can punch the girl, Contra speaks up with her theory: the flowers only bloom at night. They’ll have to come back after dark to spot them.

After resting up, the guild scours the 12th floor again, this time having to carefully avoid the monsters who now roam awake and hungry. Sure enough, they find beautiful glittering blooms, which they pick and take back to town. They hand the flowers over to Dubois, who disappears to report to his superior. Moments later, the princess of High Lagaard, Lady Gradriel, appears before the guild for the first time. Fret is floored, and is quick to kneel and ingratiate himself to her. Her favour would go a long way! Indeed, she is grateful for the help, but there is one more thing she needs to save her father, and that is the Holy Grail, said to be located in the floating castle. When the ingredients they’ve already found are mixed in the grail, any illness can be cured, supposedly. She begs the guild to find the grail and save her father, then flees tearfully. Most of the group is genuinely moved, but Ossia only sighs. He is even surer that there is no floating castle, there is no grail, and they are on nothing more than a wild goose chase. He can tell that no one else holds his opinion, however, so he keeps his mouth shut.

Nonetheless, if Frisson wishes to reach the floating castle, they must press on through the labyrinth. They return to where they were previously stopped by Artelinde, where she still waits. She cannot even feign enthusiasm this time. She asks them outright: will you give up and go home? Fret refuses outright. She doesn’t seem surprised. She shares a bit of the legend of the floating castle that Frisson hasn’t heard yet: that the ruler of the skies lives there, collecting the souls of those who die in the labyrinth... She says that if they want to proceed, she won’t stop them... yet. With that ominous last word, she disappears.

Frisson journeys on, making short work of the 13th floor. One floor up, they are stopped by Guild Esbat’s old gunner, his gaze as menacing as always. He warns the group not to go to the fifteenth floor, or else... Then he departs. Barry wonders aloud what Esbat’s deal is, as they seem intent on keeping other guilds from climbing too high. Fret doesn’t care what their reason is; they’re pissing him off!

On a trip back, Dubois shares that Frisson is a common topic of discussion among the guards. Fret is pleased; they’re getting famous! Barry feels weird about it. He never got along with the other guards, but now they’re following his exploits? And they don’t even seem to have clocked him as one of their own.

Deep into the 15th floor, the party is stopped again by Wilhelm, the Esbat gunner. Fret rolls his eyes and turns around to find another way, but they are blocked from behind by Artelinde. They’ve fallen into a trap. Artelinde speaks of a war magus who explored the labyrinth with her allies long ago, until she lost her life in the third stratum. Artelinde is overcome with emotion, so the old man continues for her, claiming that the ruler of the heavens gave that war magus eternal life... by turning her into a monster. Artelinde finishes: if Frisson continues, they will have to fight Esbat’s transformed friend, and she won’t allow that.

A fight ensues. Guild Esbat are tough, but there are only two of them; they stand no chance against a full party. Beaten down, they submit. Wilhelm switches tactics. Admitting that he can’t stop them, he asks them to find the floating castle, find its overlord, and kill him for his crimes, for transforming that war magus and who knows how many others. Then he leads Artelinde away, and the duo vanish. Contra thinks back to the stronger foes they’ve fought so far. Was the Hellion also...?

Frisson proceeds and comes to a great frozen lake. At the centre of it is a monster with various grotesque tentacles and appendages, but also the face of a woman. Contra’s heart falls. So this is Esbat’s beloved friend... The beast lets out a terrible, sad shriek. When it goes down, Travis cannot help but feel that perhaps they’ve done her a favour. At any rate, she is done. The fourth stratum awaits.

FOURTH STRATUM: Petal Bridge

The fourth stratum is filled with cherry blossoms in full bloom, pink petals falling and blowing in the wind. It is a striking sight. Not far into the stratum, the party comes upon a man with wings on his back. He seems to call upon his deity before flying off. Frisson is left shocked, awed, and confused. In all his time in the labyrinth, Barry has never seen or heard of anything like what he just saw.

The group returns to town to report what they saw immediately. Dubois hears the word “winged” and runs off to fetch Lady Gradriel. She is much calmer, and shares what she has read of them. According to ancient lore, they were created by the Overlord of the heavens and safeguard the entrance to the Heavenly Keep. There is a secret phrase that apparently works as a password to allow access, and Gradriel teaches it to the party. Travis commits it to memory. Ossia is quiet. He didn’t think the castle really existed, but if these winged folk are real, then maybe...

They proceed through the stratum, making it to the end of the 18th floor. As they are about to open the door there, they hear a familiar voice before seeing the winged man swoop down in front of them. He gives them the once over, then claims that they are unfit to use the Grail of Kings and commands them to turn back. Ever quick to anger, Fret docks an arrow in his bow, but Travis steps up before he can let loose. Travis repeats Gradriel’s phrase, the ancient pact that asks for guidance in mankind’s return to the heavens. The winged one acknowledges this and flies off, leaving the party free to proceed.

Before going further, they report back once more. Dubois shares that Gradriel has told her father about Frisson. Fret can barely contain his glee. The most powerful man in the land knows who he is! Of course, it will mean nothing if they can’t save his life.

Even outside the palace, there seems to be a lot more buzz around the guild’s exploits lately. Contra proposes that maybe they could even stop now, could shift back to music and be fine. Ossia contradicts her. He believes that, if they give up now, they will be something worse than unnoticed: hated. They have no choice but to finish what they started.

On the 20th floor, another door and another winged one blocking the way. This time the one blocking the path seems to be of a higher status, going by the way he dresses and holds himself. He seems to require a certain item before they group can proceed. Figuring Dubois may know about it, Frisson returns to town.

Dubois confirms that the one they met was the chief of the winged ones, but goes to fetch Gradriel when the group asks about the required artifact. She agrees to part with the keepsake, on one condition: the group agrees, once and for all, to find the Holy Grail. It’s a no-brainer, of course. Frisson is locked in at this point. On their way out, Dubois gives them a warning that the winged ones may be dangerous. After all, they are said to be the ones who bring people to the floating castle. Dubois does not want that to happen to anyone else.

Late at night, while the guild is preparing for the next day’s venture, they are approached by Abigail, the girl who runs the shop. She has a favour to ask, though she is hesitant to do so. Apparently, she head from another guild that they defeated a monster, but left its baby behind. Abigail wants Frisson to find it and feed it, so it doesn’t die without its mother. It is a ludicrous offer on the face of it, and Ossia protests. They’re killing monsters all the time out there. Letting a baby die now is easier than killing an adult later. Furthermore, they already spared one such baby earlier on and don’t need to do so again. Contra protests, that even if it isn’t logical, she can’t just let a baby die. Barry and Travis side with Contra, although Barry from the practical standpoint: they’ve been asked a favour, and would do well to gain Abigail’s regard by completing it. Ossia grumbles, but he is outnumbered, so he lets it go.

They find the spot Abigail mentioned on the 19th floor. There sits a small bird, all alone. Ossia challenges the party again: this is their last chance to simply leave it be. Contra ignores him and offers food to the monster chick. It eats happily and chirps graciously. It seems to be looking healthier already. Despite his protestations, Ossia can’t help but feel his heart warm a little at the sight. Maybe they will have to deal with it later, them or some other explorer, but for now it feels good to have done something human. He suggests leaving the rest of the food for it so it can feed itself, and the group moves on.

Frisson returns to the 20th floor, where the chief of the winged ones waits. Fret hands him the artifact. His demeanour changes immediately; he becomes almost gleeful. He asks for the group’s names, but Fret insists that there’s no need to remember each of their names as individuals. He can just call them Frisson.

In turn, the chief introduces himself as Canaan. He says that it is his duty to guide Frisson to the path to the heavens... but it is not so simple a task. The way is blocked by a winged beast. It is up to Frisson to defeat it if they want to continue. Canaan flies away, leaving Frisson to journey on alone.

The guild makes their way through the 20th floor, fighting off fiercer monsters than they’ve seen up to this point. At a door deeper in, Canaan reappears. He seems impressed that they were able to survive to this point, and offers to tell the group whatever they want to know. Travis is curious about what happens to the people who get carried up to the floating castle, but Canaan doesn’t know. Their orders are to fly the wounded to the entrance, but they are not allowed inside. They were created by the ruler and do as they are told, that is all. Ossia asks about the ‘winged beast’ mentioned previously. The Queen of the Skies, which lies just beyond, has massacred any winged folk who have attempted to make their way to the palace in recent years. Canaan cautions the guild to be careful in their battle, then flies off once more.

They enter the area where the Queen lies in wait. At first they don’t hear anything, but then they notice a beautiful song coming from above. It seems beautiful at first, anyway, but something seems off about it to Fret... He is about to share this observation when he notices that Barry, Travis, and Contra are utterly enchanted by the song! Ossia is on the same page, at least: he knows a siren song when he hears one. Fret breaks out his lute and sings a song of his own, which breaks his friends out of their spell. With that, the Queen of the Skies swoops down in a rage, but now that she doesn’t have a hold on anyone, the fight is easy. Frisson take her down.

Canaan returns. Shocked at the power of mere humans, he grants them passage beyond, to the heavens above. The party step into a glowing pillar of light, and are whisked away.

FIFTH STRATUM AND BEYOND: Heavenly Keep

Frisson find themselves on a bridge high in the sky, connected to a great golden fortress. As they approach the entrance to the keep, they are greeted by a haughty voice calling itself the Overlord. Fret, hyped up on his recent victory, demands to know who is speaking. The Overlord claims to be the one humans refer to as a god, for he is one who can grant eternal life. He invites the party to come to him, to claim their destinies and their immortality.

The offer is tempting for Fret. After all, isn’t that what they want? To have their music be known forever? Ossia reminds Fret that this Overlord’s idea of immortality seems to be turning people into regenerating monsters. Does he want to be the next Scylla? “Of course not,” he says, but in the back of his mind he thinks, at least the Queen of the Skies could still sing...

Back in town, Frisson share with those who are invested in their exploits that they have finally reached the floating castle. They receive much praise, with the bartender wanting to hear all about it. Dubois says he will remember their accomplishments to his grave.

On the 22nd floor, the group hears the Overlord’s voice again. He muses on death, and his own attempts to defy death. He states that Frisson will be put to use in service of that goal. A shiver runs down Contra’s spine.

On another return trip, Dubois notices that Fret’s shirt is torn, and immediately sends someone to fetch him a new one. Getting free stuff is a key part of being a celebrity, so Fret is pleased as punch.

Back in the labyrinth, on the 23rd floor, the Overlord speaks once more. He speaks again of the terror of death, and wonders at why the group do not seem keen to gain immortality. But the Overlord will prove his power to them, as one who has been granted eternal life guards this very floor: the Colossus! By this point, everyone in Frisson knows what that means, and they are not amused. They brace for a tough fight.

An army of mechanical monsters stands in the way, but the guild maneuvers past them all and into the chamber where the Colossus awaits. It is a towering beast, a many-horned behemoth. On sight, it bats Travis away, hitting him so hard he goes flying. This may be the Overlord’s greatest warrior. With Barry’s help, Travis gets back up, and so begins an arduous fight. They play defensively, slowly chipping away at the Colossus until it finally goes down.

The Overlord speaks. He is left with no choice but to face the party himselff. One way or another, he says, they will be granted eternal life...

Determined after having made it this far, Frisson climbs to the 25th floor and passes a particularly ornate door. The Overlord speaks once more, explaining that the Heavenly Keep was created as an ark to escape a calamity on the planet’s surface, long, long ago. The Earth became so contaminated that there was no way for its people to return as they were. That is when the Overlord began his research with the Grail of Kings, but it has a flaw in that it warps anyone who is granted immortality with it. The Overlord insists that he must continue his experiments, for the sake of mankind’s future. Barry is confused. He tries to tell the Overlord that mankind is doing just fine now, whatever happened in the past, but the supreme being is not willing to listen. He descends in an egg-shaped mechanical body and begins his attack.

Travis’s katana hits hard, and he slices the egg open. The Overlord backs off and shakily pleads, offering eternal life one last time in exchange for forgetting about the Grail. Everyone looks at Fret, wondering what he will say, but he refuses. The people of High Lagaard already treat him like a hero. He doesn’t need the Overlord’s help to make a lasting impression!

The Overlord retreats through a hole in the ceiling. The party finds a way up and follows him, but the egg is nowhere to be found. Instead, they see the Overlord’s true form, a towering mechanical warrior. A fierce fighter, to be sure, but no match for our band of heroes. The Overlord’s mechanical suit breaks up into a thousand beams of light, and then is gone.

Frisson return to town, victorious. They hand the Grail over to Gradriel, who uses it to return her father to full health. The Duke offers nobility to every member of the guild, but none of them want it. They’ve already gotten what they were looking for.

After only a few days of recovery, they begin their musical career anew. They play in High Lagaard, then travel the land, going to places even Fret has never been before. They always receive a good deal of attention as the heroes who saved High Lagaard. A lot of the attendees of their concerts are there for that reason alone, at least at first, but over time that particular brand of admirers gets bored, leaving only their true fans, of which there are plenty, more than enough to sustain a musical career.

In interviews, Barry speaks of his past career as a guard, and how much more fulfilled he feels now as a full-time musician. Travis and Contra get married and adopt a dog, who they name Wulfgar; Wulfy follows them on all their tours. Ossia becomes the band’s moral centre, ensuring that they never let their fame go to their heads and that they are always honest and fair to their fans. Fret has accomplished his dream of becoming a musician people will remember for generations, but that’s not the most satisfying part. As it turns out, what he wanted most of all was to play music again with his friends.