#I didn't *not* listen to Irish folk music this year

[osterby]

spotify wrapped is out and everybody is always posting their top 5 songs….. let’s see some love for number 6 that didn’t make the cut. rb and add your number 6

[labelleizzy]

I went to church today.

It has been perhaps 2 years since my last visit. I remember when they opened in person services when we started opening up after the hard pandemic. Hybrid services where they broadcast on zoom as well as allowing attendance on the outside patio.

They're still broadcasting their services on zoom, actually. And if you need a liberal church service and can't get to one in person, at this point I would recommend their Zoom service.

Exhale.

I knew I needed community. I knew I needed to really be with other people seeking hope while living in uncertainty.

The service had lovely live music. Margaret and Kristoph, on harp (!) and guitar 🎸🎶 played 2 lovely Irish tunes (one by O'Carolan) and one Welsh traditional song. The pianist, Veronika, was the kind of support that is so good at their job you can almost ignore that they're doing the job. 👏.

The choir was... Fine. After being IN the choir at my UU church in Concord/Walnut Creek, singing with friends, I have strong opinions about choral music selections, and today was fine.

That's okay though! Because between the hymnbook selections we all got to sing along with (new music! 😁🎶 YAY🎶and also 😳) and the closing piece, an Acapella where we all sang along and the chorus was "never turning back/never turning back" , the music was satisfying.

Needed that. Didn't realize how much.

And Rev. Amy Zucker Morgenstern didn't pull any punches. She was vulnerable, worried, real, and hopeful. Honest too, that the USA and all of us are facing uncertainty about the future. Including her!

She told us about running a vigil with the other church members on Wednesday night. For all the folks that needed or wanted to be in community after we all learned what's coming.

And she actually owned up to, from the pulpit, how her initial reaction to knowing they were running a vigil, was to say to herself, "I don't want to adult. I want to stay here under the blankets, and maybe invite my cat underneath with me." #relatable

She brought us into the sermon with a quote from Terry Pratchett. From the night watch. I'll need to go look up what that passage was, because I wanted to write it down so I could put it on the wall and see it every day.

Like, that's the kind of church it is. With an opening quotation from Terry Pratchett, and reading passages from Howard Zinn, and telling the truth about awful people that feel emboldened again now.

But the reassuring message is, though there are awful things happening, you are not alone, and you are not powerless. We are here, and that's what we're here FOR.

Here's the benediction, that we held hands at the end and spoke together:

Go out into the world in peace

Be of good courage

Hold fast to what is good

Return no one evil for evil

Strengthen the faint-hearted

Support the weak

Help the suffering

Rejoice in beauty

Speak love with word and deed

Honor all beings.

I'll be putting this service in my calendar and trying to attend regularly. I need to develop trust with them, let them get to know me.

But the community is there, welcoming and kind. And despite my grief and anger about the prospective shit storm of the next four years, I have a plan.

Nucleate. Build, grow, or join community

Help where I can, one place at a time.

Rest often in the company of loved ones

Make art, often as possible.

A work in progress this plan. As I make art, it helps the pain to live outside my body, and lets me develop hope.

(where's that wonderful hashtag poem and post, "hope is a practice, hope is a skill..." Where some wonderful person selected Dr Seuss images for each hashtag ...)

Okay, thanks for listening. And speaking of resting with my loved ones, I owe my 84 year old mother a call.

Bye for now, beloveds.

[spotsupstuff]

HOW are you so good at finding voice claims..give me ur power

JLKSDJSKLGJKCMK I LISTEN TO SHIT TON OF MUSIC I SUPPOSE? the more varied the better! from all over the world and as far into the years as possible and then the usual stuff like watching some videos, remembering shows that i used to like...

the Main thing i try to do when looking for voice claims is have an idea of what the characters main theme is. Disdain is an interesting case cuz i've gone thru three voices for her before settling on The One!

the key ideas with Disdain are: ghosts, england, tragedy, drowned victim, that specific ghostly blue/green which all come originally from This one. the song came first, character later

made Disdain a design and listened to this song while intensely looking at her face. figured out that this voice is too soft and too... royal, i suppose

so i focused at the song itself. it carries the specific Disdain™ vibes that i wish to respect and heed. the song is the foundation so i went on spotify and looked through the different covers of it. the Second version i landed on was this one

not bad but mmm.... lets look through some more versions. so i came to the Acapella Onion one

it was a comparison game between the two for a bit, staring into Disdain's face for like ten more minutes and then went with the Onion one because i like that it's more Brisk. a part of Disdain's thing is that she is very decisive. she wants Yes or No to her yes or no questions, she rarely uses words like "maybe" or "probably". when she Says something, she says it with Conviction. it's like a verbal karate chop to the throat. a karate chop is a fast, brisk thing, so the Onion version fits much better because of that

another reason why it's better is that it's less fancy, it's just voice and white noise, the way of speaking is more stripped/direct. interesting thing about Disdain's clothes design is that it's rather simple- her dress looks like a peasant one rather than something more worthy for a God. googling "england folk dress", you're gonna see some detailed glorious things, i could've taken inspiration There, but chose not to

so my voice claim choosing includes consideration of the personality, main theme of the design/character's story and the finalized design itself

i showed this new voice claim vid to my partner Just Now basically and he told me "you know, i feel like i would accept any voice that you would put on them" and like yeah, voice claims aren't really much of a rigid thing, you can be rather free with them. whether they fit to the character's face or not is a -so so gesture- way of going about it

so i quickly put together Zephyr's old (MALINDA) and updated (Zdenka Tichotová) voice claim

said he liked the old claim better! the thing is though that he doesn't really know Zephyr as a person

Zephyr didn't originate from a song like Disdain did. Zephyr originated from a historical religiously important person and bravery itself. she has a freer range of places to choose from compared to Disdain's tunnel vision of My Jolly Sailor Bold covers

originally i chose Malinda because Zephyr is supposed to be a mix of French and Irish inspired and the singer covers and knows a lot about Irish tunes. the protion of song chosen Feels like freedom, from singing in Irish to just belting out a single tone straight from the heart. it sounds like defiance. that's what Zephyr is about

the thing is that i listened to some more Malinda stuff later, trying to imagine Zephyr singing it and well... Malinda is originally an American person. the curse of successful Americans rears its head again in the form of superficiality/faked Booming emotions and annoying pride (not sayin that every American has this but... the successful ones especially are so so likely to fall to it) and my Gods Zephyr can't have something like that stapled to her. she's supposed to be genuine and simple

so i went searching for something that is more anchored in humanity/the earth. when i want something like That i usually head either to my childhood or my czechoslovak spotify playlist jgslkgjklsd

Zdenka Tichotová has worked with Nedvedovci in folk-gospel band Spirituál Kvintent in the 70s and 80s. Nedvedovci often sung and wrote songs mourning not enough love in the world. or about freedom of the people here back when we had Lords here but also for example about freedom from the censorship of the Soviets. they are incredibly grounded and covered in the humane and miss Tichotová was bound to follow along with them

THAT's what i wanted for Zephyr more than anything. the fact that one could argue miss Tichotová's voice is "imperfect", not smooth, has traces of age in it makes it *even* better. because it sounds genuine. it's not some studio's idea of mechanical perfect, the One Good Take that then goes through editing and autotune and what not, it's Real and Honest

so that is also what i consider when choosing voice claims for my guys- some history of the voice, what the character symbolizes...

hope this helps at least a lil!!!

[its-a-rat-trap]

(via @/boomtownratsofficial on instagram)

The Boomtown Rats

BOOMING GOOD!

"The Boomtown Rats are 1977 pop," quoted lead singer Bob Geldof, (left), in one of the band's early press releases. He was right! Now, two years later, the band have improved with age and are ready to conquer the world. At present, they're just finishing off their massive tour of America where they've been proving to folks that Ireland doesn't just produce leprechauns!

If you've seen the Rats on television, you'll understand why singer Geldof is known as the group's 'spokesman'. In fact, he's rarely seen with his mouth shut! But then, Bob's always been used to getting his own way and letting his words convince people that he knows best.

"When I was a kid back home, I used to have this treehouse in the back garden. My mates and I would spend lots of time up there, but our main occupation would be getting all the little girls to come up and play," confessed the Rat.

"In Ireland in those days, bubblegum was hard to come by, as it was a new product on the market. But my dad used to be able to get me huge supplies of the stuff on his travels as a salesman. So I'd use the bubble gum to tempt the girls into my tree!"

And where has Bob inherited all his Irish blarney from? His dad, Bob Geldof Senior.

"All our folks just love the success the Rats have had. My dad now keeps getting mail addressed to him to pass on to me. One time someone wrote asking for a signed pic of Bob Geldof. So dad played a smart one. He dug out a photo of himself in his youth, all browned with age (the photo, not dad!), signed the back with love and kisses, and posted it! But he did attach a little note to say, 'Think it's my son, Bob Junior, you were wanting a photo of.'"

In fact, all the Rats' families are keen followers of the group. And drummer Simon Crowe's granny lives next door to guitarist Gerry Cott's parents.

"Gran used to have her radio on all the time listening out for our records to be played," explained Simon. "If one would come on, she'd start rapping really hard on the adjoining wall to Gerry's parents to let them know to turn on the radio!" Keeping it in the family extends to the group itself, too. Pete Briquette and Johnnie Fingers are cousins.

It's amazing when you find out that the boys in The Rats hadn't played seriously with any other groups before joining up to form the Boomtowns.

"I used to be a freelance writer for a rock paper… their Dublin correspondent, no less!" explained Bob. "About the time the punk boom was beginning, we used to occasionally get the bands coming to Ireland to play. One time, we all went to see Eddie And The Hot Rods. Anyway, not one of us was very impressed with them. We though [sic] 'Well, if they can do it then so can we.' So we went out and got ourselves together as a band!"

Together with their manager, Fachtna O'Kelly, another old friend, they set out to conquer London's record companies with their demotapes. The Rats didn't have far to search as everybody was soon vying with each other to sign them. The Rats were also lucky that their first major tour in England was as support to American punk heroes, The Ramones. Another first major concert they played was as support to Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers at London's famous Rainbow Theatre. Press reports after that gig said that the Rats 'stole the show'. The whole band next moved to a house by Whipsnade Zoo, which they all still share when they're not on tour around the world.

If anyone should ask 'Has success changed the Boomtown Rats?' then the answer would be 'Johnnie Fingers still walks around in pyjamas and Bob Geldof is even more talkative than ever!' The group have always said that they're a band out to conquer people everywhere and they've always classed their music as pop. They admit they don't mind doing anything to get some publicity, from the time they drove down the Dublin streets in an open truck, loud music playing, getting arrested in the bargain, to Bob doing photo sessions that call for him to pose with girls for covers of teenage magazines. Or even to bend backwards and hang his head upside-down so the photographer could snap him, mouth agape and tongue hanging out! Yep, there's nothing they won't do if you ask 'em nicely.

And now they've conquered America! They've been knocking 'em in the aisles Stateside with all the old favourites like Rat Trap (their 'anthem' now after its terrific success in Britain last year), Like Clockwork, Do The Rat and all the others.

It would be nice to have a new single from them here, though, wouldn't it? Apparently, one was planned for this spring, but America beckoned, and there wasn't time to produce it - and the boyos weren't too keen on the alternative, lifting another track from Tonic For The Troops.

So for all you Rat fans - keep hoping!

[duskoscrawl]

A break down of my 'The Voices Beneath' Series and Playlist

The entire playlist can be accessed on YouTube here and the series is on ao3 here and is summarised as following:

An exploration of the pervading influence of Dwendalian Nationalism over the Empire's citizens and how it seeps into their mentalities. Particularly through the life of Caleb Widogast.

The Playlist, Song by Song:

Mordred's Lullaby, Heather Dale: this is the song that the series title is drawn from. It draws from Arthurian myth and is pretty dark for a lullaby. The series premise draws from the lines 'And you won't understand the cause of your grief | but you'll always follow the voices beneath' which I think really feeds into the collective grief stricken nationalism of the Zemni Fields.

Eat Your Young, Hozier (Bekon's Choral Version): A lot of my work for this series is rooted in Irish literature - especially since my reading of the EGW suggests that the fields are mostly worked by tenant farmers - therefore I was thrilled when Hozier released a song based on Johnathan Swift's 'A Modest Proposal' which argued that as the English landlords had stolen so much from the Irish, why didn't they just eat the children too. It is this kind of energy that fuels the first half of Zemnian Days (fort, doch nicht vergessen), which is a bildungsroman of Una Ermendrud's life and explores day to day life in the fields.

The Worker's Song, Ben Robertson (Ed Pickford, arr. Dick Gaughan): this is a very good folk song about the systematic abuse of the working class. The lines 'and when the sky darkens | and the prospect is war | who's given a gun | and then pushed to the fore?' play into the Righteous Brand's recruitment of farmhands from the fields, seen throughout Zemnian Days.

Pleasant and Delightful, the Longest Johns: this is a folk song about love and grief and longing, perfect for the last section of Zemnian Days, where Una and Leofric fall in love, but Leofric signs up to the Righteous Brand to be able to financially support the child Una falls pregnant with.

Unbreakable, Keiino: this is one of my go-to songs for Caleb. It's based on the story of the Snow Queen and carries that fairytale vibe that Caleb delivers so well with Der Katzenprins and the Waldhexe. It is paired with Looking Out of the Window which is a fic in which Una watches her son grow up for sixteen years, and ends in fire and flame. When listening to the song, I often position Ikithon as the evil mother figure from the Snow Queen who is making Bren unbreakable

The Innocent, Aurora: this is where the thrumming beat of Rexxentrum starts to play. Where Bren gets his scholarship and meets the city with wonder and joy. The song slowly spirals into a kind of desperation, wherein you can imagine Ikithon taking power over the Blumendrei.

A Temporary High, Aurora: this is the song for the Blumendrei being each other's only comfort in the midst of Ikithon's torture. There's a running motif throughout the song about being cold and hoping that the love is not just a temporary high - which I think really plays into the whole story of their imprisonment in the Academy tower.

Wulf ond Eadwacer, Hanna Marti: this is my favourite Old English poem, excellently performed by Hanna Marti. It is spoken by an Anglo Saxon woman about her two lovers (historical debate and difficulty in translation makes this uncertain), but I have drawn from my favourite bits of translation to write Ungelīc is ūs (we are apart). This covers Astrid's story of the first month after Bren breaks and she is a fully fledged Vollstrucker. It is very intense about the level of control Ikithon has over her life.

The In-between (piano solo), Evanescence: this is a particularly haunting piece of music that encompasses the first part of Bren's imprisonment in the Vergessen Sanatarium. It pairs with the fic Hourglass of Ash, which is a free indirect discourse piece showing Bren's perspective of his time in Vergessen.

Me and the Devil, Soap&Skin: this covers the end of Hourglass of Ash where the man who will become Caleb Widogast comes to himself in Vergessen Sanatarium and begins to face the horror of what he has done.

The Tragedy of Widogast, Chase Noseworthy: this is a wonderful song, and in this playlist it bookmarks the birth of the man who is becoming Caleb Widogast. As a lot of this is covered in game, I have not written much for the next section of songs.

Feed the Machine, Poor Man's Poison: this song is another one about the systematic abuse of the working classes. It is my song for Nott and Caleb before they meet the Nein.

Give Me a Reason, Chase Noseworthy and Lilli Furfaro: this is a beautifully haunting song about Astrid and Caleb meeting in Rexxentrum. It keeps its context in this playlist.

Dine with the Puppetmaster, Chase Noseworthy: this song is about the dinner with Ikithon. It keeps its context in this series, and I very much enjoy the imagery that is used in the song.

This is Love, Air Traffic Controller: this song is my go-to song for Trent Ikithon. It has a relentless set of vocals that sing from the perspective of an abuser. There is also another voice that reminds me of Astrid. In this playlist, this song represents the final battle against Ikithon in the finale.

I Won't, AJR: courtesy of @leetlesapphiretiefling. This song directly pairs with the fic I do what you tell me to (and do it to death), which is a character study of Eadwulf. The fic is inspired both by the song and by a hedgerow in my village that I was walking along. It explores snippets of Wulf's childhood, paired with his survival technique during his years with Ikithon.

So Human of You, Shireen: this song is about deriding a person who bases their humanity in cruelty. It pairs with Inheritance of the Archmage, which is a fic about Astrid having Wulf, Caleb and some members of the Cobalt Soul helping her to clean out Ikithon's Candle, which she, as the new Archmage of Civil Influence, has inherited. It is about coming to terms with the cruelty that has made up the last 17 years of her life.

The Devil is Human, Aurora: this one is also related to Inheritance of the Archmage, as it carries a similar message about humanity and cruelty. It also refers to the singer and associates as becoming 'real human beings' which I tie into Astrid and Wulf being able to move out of living in survival mode and process what has happened - something that is explored in the fic by them finding a cache of genuine letters from their families that Ikithon had withheld from them.

Waldhexe, Chase Noseworthy and Ginny Di: this song directly inspired Waldhexe (spare us from your claws). This fic is a pov outsider piece from the perspective of the Ermendrud's neighbours, who see Caleb come to visit home as a ghost. It is about the collective grief in the Fields, as the War of Ash and Light (I think that's what it's called, Essek's war) had robbed the Ehlers of their three children, all of whom were called up to be soldiers. It works to reconcile the broad strokes of the campaign with the minutia of the thousands of inhabitants of the Empire and the Dynasty.

Lost Without You, Freya Ridings: this is the purest grief song on this entire playlist and it is dedicated to a goose called Peck Beck, who is the narrator for Find Familiar. This fic is about a goose who loves baby Astrid unconditionally and is then eaten when her family die, before being brought back as a familiar. I adore this fic. It was inspired by a trip round a lovely Welsh museum of culture (it's the kind of museum where they have lots of historical buildings on site and they had medieval farmhouses through to modern ones).

Gloria in Excelsis Dei, Vivaldi: I would have put the whole Gloria oratorio in here if I thought I could get away with it. This accompanies the fic Gloria, which details Essek viewing a graduation at the Soltryce Academy and exploring the role of pomp and ceremony in nationbuilding. It was inspired by watching my flatmate perform Gloria with a university choir in a particularly nice church.

Garden of Bones, Galdorcræft: this is a very dark sounding song about being in the garden and keeping on living. It pairs with my fic Bitter Meadowsweet, which deals with Caleb mourning the mundane aspects of his childhood, as well as the fact that he will never be able to learn skills and recipes off of his parents.

Earth Mother, Fáerhin: this is a fairly dark sounding ambient song that carries an ominous sense of peace. It is another one for Caleb's garden and the uneasy sense of peace you get when mingling the soft epilogues with the political uncertainty of Rexxentrum politics and Essek's situation.

Brave New World, Kalandra: this is a beautifully dystopian song. I associate it with Beau and Caleb beginning to uncover just how deep the Cerberus Assembly corruption goes, as well as trying to utilise Caleb's role in the Academy to curb wizard hubris. For that reason, it goes with the fic Control Flames, which is a pov outsider view of professor Widogast that I began writing in the wake of the finale.

A Good Song Never Dies, Saint Motel: this song has a very determined beat, and a very strong sense of purpose. It is a song I associate with Beau and Caleb working to take down the Assembly.

Death to Cerberus, Chase Noseworthy: this song is about taking down the Cerberus Assembly and the implications that might accompany it. It keeps its context in this playlist.

Hiraeth, Plu: this is a lovely song in Welsh that sounds almost hymnal. It is for this reason that it makes a good conclusion to the playlist and a good companion to No More Children On The Pyre, which is a love note to the impact that the Mighty Nein's ethos has had upon Wildemount, and Exandria.

All in all, I think that The Voices Beneath is the series that I'm most proud of.

[malenkaya-glosoli]

New Rugrats theory/headcanon about Chuckie and his dad

So I thought of this back in October and I know it's just a cartoon but it does make sense. Does anyone else remember that OG "Rugrats" episode "Chuckie's Wonderful Life"? It's the episode where Angelica steals Chuckie's dad Chaz's favourite CD just because she can but Chuckie blames himself for it and wishes he weren't born (and this is a two year old we're talking about!) and so he dreams that a guardian angel version of himself shows him what the lives of his friends and his dad would be like if he didn't exist and it's horrifying. But about that CD: It's specifically mentioned that it's a CD of Latvian folk dances, and when Angelica's dad Drew returns it to Chaz, he even says that Chaz is the only person he knows who listens to that kind of music. And later on in "All Grown Up!", when Chuckie decides to present himself to his crush Nicole as an alter-ego because he's too awkward and unnoticed by her otherwise, he specifically chooses that alter-ego to be a Latvian boy named Chongo.

But what I'm getting at is — as rarely as it's brought up in either "Rugrats" or "All Grown Up!", why is it that Chuckie and Chaz are so focused on Latvia in particular? My theory — and it's very realistic — is that it's all in their family name. As any "Rugrats" fan knows, Chuckie's family name is Finster. Most people who aren't familiar with this would wonder what a German name has to do with Latvia. My theory/headcanon is that Chuckie and Chaz are of (partial or predominantly) Baltic German descent, specifically from Latvia. From medieval times to up until around 1939, there was a thriving German community in the Baltic region, including in the lands that are now Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania (parts of which make up the historical regions of Courland and Livonia). Some of these people spoke German and/or the Low German dialects, depending on which part of Germany they or their own ancestors came from (mostly from northern Germany), but they also would have had varying levels of knowledge and assimilation into the native languages and cultures (Latvian and Lithuanian are Baltic Indo-European languages while Estonian and the extinct but recently revived Livonian are both Finno-Ugric languages). In-universe, generations of the Finster family ancestors probably lived in Latvia for centuries before emigrating to America at some point (I've also heard somewhere that the family has Irish ancestry on one side).

Despite Chuckie and Chaz obviously being fictional cartoon characters, it's really interesting and fun to use knowledge of real-life history and human migrations to explain the possible ancestry of even them. And yes, I do remember there was a whole "All Grown Up!" episode about Chuckie's stepsister Kimi learning about her Japanese heritage. Hope this was informative and made you think a little!

[herbs-and-poultices]

More of my stranger-than-fiction music tastes...

A Vaguely Whumptober-Themed Anthology of Folk Songs from the British Isles / Transatlantic Tradition: Part 2

(Part 1)

16) "Would you lie with me and just forget the world" / Don't go where I can't follow: Clyde Water / Drowned Lovers

Listen to my favorite recording here: X

The very next step that she went in She’s up unto her chin And the deepest part of Clyde water She found sweet William in Saying, you have had a cruel mother, Willie, And I have had another And now we’ll sleep in Clyde water Like sister and like brother

17) "Leave Me Alone": Edward / Son David

There are so many versions of this ballad, here is a sampling: X X X X

A murder ballad: "Blood on my sword, what blood on my sword? Oh, yeah, that... Wonder how that could have gotten there..."

18) Hit Them Harder: Haughs of Cromdale

Listen to my favorite recording here: X

A rousing Jacobite song dramatizing two battles on the haughs of Cromdale. The first was a humiliating defeat; the second, they were out for blood. (The historical accuracy ends there, but what it lacks in veracity it makes up in spirit.)

Day 19: I'm not as stupid as you think I am: Turpin Hero

Listen to my favorite recording here: X

The exploits of an infamous highwayman whose career came to an anticlimactic end

Now Turpin is condemned to die To hang upon yon gallows high His legacy is a strong rope For the shooting of a dunghill cock

Day 20: Found Family: Boys of the Old Brigade

Listen to my favorite recordings here: X

An Irish rebel song. I'd be remiss if I didn't manage to fit in at least one.

It was long ago we faced the foe, the old brigade and me And by my side they fought and died that Ireland might be free Where are the lads who stood with me when history was made Ghrá Mo Chroí, I long to see the boys of the old brigade

Day 21: Restraints: MacPherson's Rant

Listen to my favorite recordings here: X X

Another notorious outlaw come to the end of his luck. James MacPherson was also talented fiddler, and with his final hours he gave the world this fine tune.

Untie these bands from off my hands and bring to me my sword For there’s no a man in all Scotland but I'll brave him at a word

Day 22: Vehicular Accident: Lowlands of Holland

Listen to my favorite recordings here: X X X X

Do shipwrecks count? I think shipwrecks should count.

23) Stalking: Johnny o' Bredislee

Listen to my favorite recording here: X

An intrepid poacher is ambushed while out on a morning's hunt; despite being sorely outnumbered and wounded in the first exchange, he puts up quite an impressive fight.

But he's rested his back against an oak His foot upon a stane And he has fired at the seven o' them He's killed them a' but ane He's broken four o' that one's ribs His airm and his collar bane And he has set him upon his horse Wi' the tidings sent him hame

24) Goodbye 'Note': The Cruel Sister / Wind and Rain

Listen to my favorite recordings here: X X

A chilling tale of jealousy, murder, and a haunted fiddle made of human bone and hair. Depending on the version, the fiddle only plays one tune, compels the murderer to confess, or forces her to dance herself to death.

The first string that those minstrels tried And terror seized the black-haired bride The second string made a doleful sound The younger sister, oh she is drowned The final string played beneath the bow And surely now her tears will flow

25) Storm: Three Score and Ten

Nothing compares to hearing Roberts & Barrand perform this one live some 8 years ago, and as far as I know they never recorded it as a duo. Here are my favorite of the recordings I've found: X X

October's night brought such a sight, 'twas never seen before There were masts and spars and broken yards came floating to the shore There was many a heart of sorrow, there was many a heart so brave There was many a hearty fisher lad who found a watery grave

26) Exhaustion: The 51st Highland Division's Farewell to Sicily

Listen to my favorite recording here: X

Then tune the pipes an' drub the tenor drum Leave yer kit this side o' the wa' Then tune the pipes an' drub the tenor drum Puir bluidy swaddies are wearie

27) Let Me See: Holland Handkerchief

Listen to my favorite recording here: X

A ghostly tale of love beyond the grave

 With this young man she got on behind And they rode swifter than any wind They rode on for an hour or more Till he cried, “My darling, my head feels sore” A holland handkerchief she’s then drew out And with it wrapped his aching head about She’s kissed his lips and these words did say “My love, you’re colder than any clay"

28) Bloody Knife: Matty Groves

Listen to my favorite recordings here: X X

CW: domestic violence

An old and well-traveled murder ballad: an affair ends with a lady and her lover dead at sword-point

29) "I only sink deeper the deeper I think" / troubled past: The Outlandish Knight / The North Strand

Listen to my favorite recordings here: X X

A murder ballad with a twist

Lie there, lie there, you false-hearted man Lie there instead of me For six pretty maidens have you drowned here And the seventh has drowned thee

30) Borrowed Clothing: William Taylor

Listen to my favorite recordings here: X X

A tale of betrayal, cross-dressing, bloody retribution, and women's empowerment, set against the backdrop of the Royal Navy

31) Setbacks: Johnny Cope

Listen to my favorite recordings here: X X

In which the Jacobites send the redcoat army running back with their tails between their legs. Many thanks to General Cope for his contributions to the Scottish musical tradition.

[xtruss]

I Lost White Friends When I Finally Spoke Out

— Leron L. Barton | Wednesday July 26, 2023

LeRon L. Barton (Pictured) tells Newsweek about the racist experiences he has had with his white friends over the years. Courtesy: LeRon L. Barton

Having friendships with different types of people is a wonderful concept. To learn, trade ideas, have great experiences, and grow with folks from all kinds of backgrounds is a goal that I have always wanted to achieve.

As someone who loves gaining knowledge and immersing myself in various customs, it's essential for me to expand my social circle. I have friends who are Black like myself, Chinese, Filipino, Mexican, Italian, Salvadoran, Irish, Indigenous, and Arab. We discuss politics, food, sports, music, traveling, film, and life. I love having a wealth of friends that will bring different perspectives in life, and that I can impart wisdom to as well.

However, race and racism have always been difficult to discuss with white people due to the possibility that they may deflect, or be in denial—which is why the subject of race has been the hardest to broach.

Remembering back as a young kid, my family did not have a lot of white friends. It is not because they didn't like them; my cousin married a white woman. It's just that in Kansas City, Missouri, our social circles did not cross.

My grandparents, mother, and father instilled a lot of Black pride in us. We were taught that everyone is the same, but also that Black is beautiful. For me, that was necessary living in a time that told you that you were the opposite.

My brother and I went to a predominately white school and mostly played with Black kids. Still, like many African-Americans, we welcomed white people and held no malice toward them.

I did not make any white friends until my junior year in high school. We all played sports together, listened to hip-hop, and ate the same food. Plenty of friend groups were integrated, including mine. We had Black, white, Asian, Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Indigenous folks in our clique.

It was dope to be able to learn, build, and enjoy other cultures. However, I always noticed there was a difference in how people of color interacted with each other and how my white friends did. There was a warmth in how we hung out. My family welcomed them and vice versa.

But when it came to my white friends, I felt there was a ceiling, a stopping point. A lot of the interactions were surface-level and not deep.

I was always race conscious; being in Kansas City does that to you. It was, and continues to be, a very segregated city. Still, I would try to laugh off racist jokes I heard at work and amongst people in social situations.

I can recall during an offsite lunch event, police entered the restaurant and a coworker joked: "Oh they must be looking for you LeRon." They all laughed, and me being the only Black person at the table, brushed it off and tried to laugh along with it.

My white friends and associates would ask me things like: "Do you play basketball? Do you know anyone that sells drugs? Have you ever been in a gang?"

And they even asked if it was okay for them to say the N-word in a rap song.

These were my day-to-day interactions with white people. I am not trying to paint them all as being harmful and bad, but I have to be honest.

Things began to change for me in 2012. Trayvon Martin was murdered and there was this national conversation about race. Many people had been arguing both sides of the incident.

When I would talk to my white friends about the shooting, the protests, and the uprisings that followed, they would say things like: "What was he doing out there that late? Do we know for sure if he attacked Zimmerman? Why protest and destroy property?"

It was almost as if the rose-colored glasses I had were flung off. When unarmed Black men such as Mike Brown and Alton Sterling were killed by the police, I would see negative comments on social media from friends.

Someone that I had known for years had complained about the protests destroying their quiet neighborhood. Other folks would say "All Lives Matter" or "What about Black-on-Black crime?"

These were the same people that loved Michael Jordan, listened to Snoop Dogg, and cheered Ray Lewis as they watched the Super Bowl. It was as if they only consumed Blackness as entertainment, not as people.

Soon after, I began to write about being Black in America. I would call out racism white explicitly and highlight the inequities of police arrests and shootings, employment, health disparities, and home ownership.

Some white friends noticed my shift in tone and faded away. My televised interviews and podcast appearances became too much for some. I was known as "militant" to a few folks and angry to others.

One friend in particular could not understand why I was so mad. I explained to him it was because as a Black man, if I scare a white woman or make a white law enforcement officer nervous, that could be my life.

He then said: "I don't see you as Black, just as a man." I replied: "That is the problem, you don't want to acknowledge the issue here, racism." He and I stopped talking shortly after.

I was the cool guy when we were going drinking, clubbing, and talking about non-serious things, but when I discuss "The Talk", a conversation that Black parents have with their children on how to survive when they reach a certain age, I am too serious or divisive.

I realized the ceiling I have with many white people and have accepted it.

I've met other Black people that do not have white friends. While I do not subscribe to nor agree with that thought, I do not judge them. Being Black, or being any racialized person in a world that tells you you are less than, is hard. Having to justify your existence every day to people you are close to is even harder.

I think back to this quote I read from Stud Terkel's masterful book Race. Terkel is interviewing a young African-American man who does not have white friends. He asks the guy: "Why do you only hang out with Black people?" The young man laughs and says: "I don't have to worry about them being racist." I think about that sometimes.

Today, I have a few white friends that are "grandfathered" in. Seriously, they are people, such as one of my best friends "Frosty," that I can have serious discussions about racism and how we can change the system. New friends are "vetted."

Writing and discussing race is a very important part of my life. If I have to argue with you about why we are upset when another unarmed Black man is shot by the police, this is not going to work. If I have to explain to you why saying the "N-word" is wrong, cultural appropriation is bad, something innocuous as the slogan "Black Lives Matter" is a positive thing, or why Malcolm X is my personal hero, then this friendship will not work out. I am not teaching "Intro to Blackness 101."

Some reading this may say: "Well LeRon, what if people don't know? We have to teach them."

To that, I say no.

I believe that Black people live in a country that constantly tries to strangle every bit of self-respect, pride, individuality, love, and life out of them. It is an everyday challenge for us to maintain our mental health.

I ask white people who are well-meaning to practice self-reflection. Interrogate your racist blind spots. Educate yourselves. Fight against the system that oppresses us and others.

Black people do not have enough time in the day to survive and help you become not racist. Being a friend is about accountability and work.

— LeRon L. Barton is a Writer, Author, and Speaker.

[bubblesandgutz]

Every Record I Own - Day 765: Lankum The Livelong Day

I developed an appreciation for Irish folk music in college.

I was by no means an expert in the field... I was mainly fixated on The Clancy Brothers. But those simple, rousing protest songs and folk narratives resonated with me on the same level as classic Bob Dylan and Billy Bragg. The irony is that while The Clancy Brothers' defiant nature paired well with the punk and hardcore stuff I was listening to at the time, the American Irish punk bands like Flogging Molly and Dropkick Murphys didn't appeal to me at all. As far as I was concerned, the only decent crossover between punk and Irish trad music was The Pogues.

Fast forward twenty years and along comes Lankum. This Dublin quartet uses traditional Irish instruments and culls the majority of their material from songs that have been handed down over the generations. But their musical approach feels more in line with bands like Godspeed You! Black Emperor or Swans. There are long droning passages, textural explorations, an emphasis on repetition, and an embrace of dissonance. Though these are songs that you could likely hear in the pubs of Temple Bar, Lankum's twist makes it sound like something you'd be more likely to hear at a modern art gallery or a European punk squat.

Take album opener "The Wild Rover." It's a fairly common Irish folk song, typically sung in a major key with an air of revelry. In Lankum's hands, the song stretches into a patient, tension-baiting, harmonically rich, and ultimately emotionally crushing 10-minute epic that negates more modern interpretations in favor of the earlier tragic and cautionary tale of the aimless drunk.

But my favorite track on The Livelong Day is an original composition that closes out the album. "Hunting the Wren" was written by Lankum member Ian Lynch in reference to the Wrens of the Curragh, a "community of unmarried mothers, free-thinkers, alcoholics, prostitutes, vagrants, ex-convicts and harvest workers... all of them women who had, in one way or another, put themselves beyond the pale of respectable society." The song also seems to reference to Ireland's Wren Day and the Isle of Man's Hunt the Wren tradition, both of which can be traced back to an old folklore story where an enchantress whose beauty lures men to harm is transformed into a wren and hunted as punishment for her actions.

Between ominous droning minor key choruses and orchestral major key choruses, Lankum vocalist Radie Peat sings of the maligned wren and the mob violence she endures:

The birds of the earth The beasts of the field By spite and by fury Are people revealed

Attacked in the village Spat on in town They come from all over To hunt the wren on the wide open ground

The wren is a small bird Though blamed for much woe Her form is derided Wherever she goes

The best folk songs, like the best punk songs, allow us to view the world from an alternate perspective, to feel empathy for someone who has otherwise been cast as a villain or a misfit. Even the Clancy Brothers, with their songs of rebellion against the British, feel dapper and approachable in their white cable-knit sweaters when compared to the ragged and scrappy members of Lankum. These are the true Irish rebels... the vagrants who busked for spare change and somehow took old familiar songs and revitalized them back to their original downtrodden intent.

[lettersforthe7thcircle]

Week 1

Good morning, listeners! You are listening to 104.3 FM's Five Minute Hotseat, the only radio show bringing you the latest scoop on all things up-and-coming in the Dublin rock and metal scenes. I'm your host, Roland Terry, here today with the lead singer and keyboardist of The Irish Lads, Daniel Condren.

R: How ya doing today, Dan?

D: I-Im doing pretty good, Roland. A little nervous but happy to be here.

R: I must say, and I mean no offense here, your appearance today came as quite a shock. You certainly don't look like the kind of lad that would enjoy metal at all!

D: [laughs] Yeah, I get that a lot. I work at an office during the week, so I tend to keep the wardrobe and such pretty mellow. I kinda like it, though. Subverting expectations and all.

R: Well, Daniel, I think you and your band would have managed to surpass any and all expectations even without the suit. I had a look at that video from your performance the other day and was absolutely blown away! An absolutely outstanding cover of Fiddler's Green's "Victor and His Demons" with quite the impressive vocal work and keyboard improvisation.

D: O-oh, thank you so much! We really didn't expect that video to blow up as much as it did. It was just some silly recording Spi- I mean, our manager - took to boost popularity.

R: Smart man. I would say that his plan most certainly worked! Were you nervous about him posting a video of your singing on the internet?

D: Honesty, I didn't even know about it until after it had well over ten thousand views! Then I was super nervous to hear about what folks thought about it. Just sat there refreshing the page for a good few hours. I think a lot of people enjoyed it, though, which was quite the relief.

R: I could only imagine. Now, I have to ask: only you and your guitarist? That's quite the bold move to form a band with no drummer. Is there any particular reason for this?

D: We, uh. It's less of 'having a reason to not have a drummer' and more of a 'we haven't been able to find one'?

R: Is that a callout for drummers I hear?

D: Oh! Um, n-no. We-. I-.

R: That's quite alright, Dan. You hear that, Dublin? Send your applications his way if you're feeling lucky. Who knows, maybe one morning you'll be on the show!

R: Well, listeners, our time is almost up. Go check out the video of The Irish Lads' latest performance up on our web page; that's 104.3FMFiveMinuteHotSeat.com. Trust me, you won't regret it. Thank you so much, Daniel, for joining us today.

R: Heard of a new local band that you'd like to promote? Shoot us a message over at 104.3FMFiveMinuteHotSeat.com. Coming up next, we have the latest hit single all the way from America. It's the Banana Bus Squad, "Façade"!

---

Got any questions? Comments? Concerns? Send us your feedback here!

Thank you so much for having Daniel on the show this week. It's nice to see him getting the big break he deserves! I've known him for over a year now, and while I knew he was making music, I could have sworn that they just performed pop covers. And that Dan only played the keyboard! I'm so happy to see them branching out in their creativity :)

Much love,

-A

[jacklefay]

tagged by @boguskudos and @ziggysgender ;) <3

rules: you can usually tell a lot about a person by the type of music they listen to. put your spotify wrapped playlist on shuffle and list the first 10 songs, and then tag 10 people. no skipping!

Stardust - Duke Ellington

The Lament of Eustace Stubbs - The Oh Hellos

'S iomadh rud tha dhìth orm / Ciamar a nì mi 'n dannsa dìreach - Rhiannon Giddens

The Whole "Being Dead" Thing, Pt. 2 - Beetlejuice (OBC), Alex Brightman, Rob McClure, Kerry Butler, Ensemble

That's How I Got to Memphis - The Avett Brothers

Nothing's Right - Birdtalker

Fare Thee Well (Dink's Song) - Oscar Isaac, Marcus Mumford

All The Things You Are - Dizzy Gillespie Sextet

Little Pistol - Mother Mother

I'll Be Your Girl - The Decemberists

I won't tag folks, but if you want to, go ahead and do this and tag me!

[like-sands-of-time]

It's Spotify wrapped season whoop whoop

Yeah you can tell exactly how old I am from this lol 👆🏻

But this 👇🏻 is pretty freaking impressive I'm proud or maybe disappointed bc I didn't listen that much so I KNOW y'all weren't out there listening either 😂

One of my top genres was "adult standard" which just means I listen to 50s and 60s r&b or jazz type music a lot which is true .

And Scottish folk because heck yeah ??! I mean have y'all listened to Talisk that shit is amazinggg I listened to their music to help me study my last two years of school. I didn't want words to distract me but I didn't want slow music to put me to sleep. They were perfect & I still listen now. Plus I've found other Scottish and Irish folk 🔥

The rock category... I blame exclusively on Thor love and thunder sjfksjd I could not get sweet child of mine out of my head after I heard the first trailer w it and as a result literally played that song and others sooo much all summer 🤦🏻‍♀️😂 its so catchy

[the-force-awakens]

I was tagged by @alwritey-aphrodite to do this, thank you hon!

Favorite time of the year: autumn, ofc! it's the time of year where the weather is bearable, where you can feel the significance and potential in the air like magic, and it's the time of year I feel the most like myself.

Comfort food: grilled cheese has a soft spot to be sure, but also mac n cheese too. and pastas! mm. pizza is good too.

Favorite dessert: apple or pumpkin pie! I'm not big on desserts because I don't have a big sweet tooth but my god I will go to bat for pie. Walmart had NEITHER the last time we were there and I consider this a personal fucking offense.

Things you collect: anything to do with poe dameron tbh, stuff about england, books on the paranormal, and pops!

Favorite drink: irish breakfast tea, water (basic, I know, and we're out of bottled water so I'm suffering bc the Taste Of the Tap Water Isn't Pleasant For My Autism), sweet tea, coca cola (hi space mom), lemonade, HOT COCOA BELOVED I need to get some, and root beer. Also I had some cool blue Gatorade last week and forgot how damn good it is so that too.

Favorite musical artist: florence + the machine, queen, imagine dragons, halsey and taylor swift are probably the ones I have most songs on spotify for. but atm it's definitely f+tm

Last song you listened to: willow tree march by the paper kites (I'm listening to my fall playlist! I'm very soft for this song bc i discovered it the same time I met my current group of friends back in 2017 here in tumblr dot com so it reminds me of all them).

Last movie you watched: multiverse of madness and it was so fucking good, so much better than I was expecting? I like that it felt like a comic book movie and the horror elements of course I ate up. I love that they didn't try to water down the ridiculousness of a comic story to make it more palatable for neurotypical mainstream audiences. It looks, sounds, and is paced like a comic book and I fucking loved it. Let Raimi do more movies!!!!!!!!!!

Last series you watched: *error noises* my memory isn't good. I'm pretty sure it was Moon Knight though because I rewatched The Friendly Type again last weekend because I was sick and needed the comfort lmfao. Last one I watched all the way through was, again, Moon Knight because I rewatched it with my mom (it was her first time watching it). Before that, I watched the first season of only murders in the building :')

Series you’re currently watching: well we were watching s2 of omitb but my folks got tired of it ldndksksl. I might try to finish it but idk yet? Aside from that, I'm still painstakingly making my way through the west wing (Josh Lyman I WILL kick my executive dysfunction for u)

Current obsession: *glances at my blog* I think it's kind of obvious nfjdfhd. Moon Knight is definitely one of my biggest spins right now, alongside Poe and the sequels. I think at this point I have to admit to myself that Oscar Isaac's filmography has slid a little ways from 'hyperfixation' to possible 'spin' as well. That guy's like catnip for the asd crowd and also the asexuals what's up with that.

Dream place to visit: so many places are you kidding? England, New York, New Orleans, and Rome!!

A place you’ve been you want to go back to: there's a comic store about an hour drive away that has sO MANY FUCKING COMICS IT HAS SO MANY BACK ISSUES but we haven't been in absolute y e a rs and honestly I want to go there so badly again and flip through the back issues and maybe find some mk stuff 👀

Something you want: currently a nap because I couldn't sleep last night lmfao. I'd also like to get to read more of seraphina bc I keep. saying I will and getting distracted (same goes with princess and scoundrel), snuggles, and pops of Marc & Steven to put by my bed...my heroes.

Currently working on: is it really fucking cheesy to just say myself? It's been a difficult year of really struggling to process the amount of bad that happened in such a short timespan for me (one of my pets passed away in january, I got and then promptly lost a job bc I was hoh), and the depression hit bad. I'm just a little bit proud of myself for where I am now (standing up for myself more, being more cautious with my energy & time), but I still have more to work on terms of really beginning to move on and find confidence in myself again and accept all the parts of me, even the oddest neurodivergent things about myself.

I tag: the usual mutuals, if they wanna do it <3

[berlysbandcamp]

Tonkori in the moonlight | OKI

“Supercool Japanese minimalism” The Observer

“Like nothing you’ve ever heard before” The Wire

Tender tonkori melodies, meditative dub excursions and Ainu folk songs combine on Tonkori in the Moonlight, an 11-track collection of mostly traditional songs performed by indigenous Ainu musician OKI.

Born on the Japanese island of Hokkaido in 1957, OKI is a contemporary of the likes of Haroumi Hosono and Midori Takada, yet as a musician who blends Ainu folk music with international influences his style is singular in the canon of Japanese music though he is quick to point out: “I might travel on a Japanese passport but I am Ainu”.

Embracing reggae, dub, Irish folk, throat singing, African drumming and music from Central Asia, it is OKI’s openness to international influences that has seen him revitalise Ainu folk music - breathing new life into a musical culture that was on the verge of extinction. He is one of only a handful of musicians who play the tonkori, a five-stringed Ainu harp, which is both the pulse of this record and the force that unifies the disparate sounds he introduces: “I’ve never seen a traditional tonkori player”, he says “They were all dead when I started”.

OKI’s father was Bikki Sunazawa, a renowned Ainu wood sculptor, yet his parents divorced when he was four: “My mum then married a Japanese man and decided to erase her past - she never told me I was Ainu. When I was 18 I received a strange phone call from a woman who said: ‘Are you OKI? Do you know your father is not your real father?’ then hung up. A few years later I came across a book on Ainu culture and inside was a photo of a sculpture by my real father – seeing his name triggered a flashback for me. I found his address, went to Hokkaido and met him”.

For the young OKI, initial joy soon turned to confusion: “I was listening to a lot of reggae music at this time which told me to go “back to my roots” so I moved to Hokkaido but it was tough as I didn't feel Ainu. My mum was also really upset and begged me to stop meeting my father”.

In 1987 OKI fled to New York to live the “Babylon” life as a director of TV commercials: “New York is love and hate. I saw great concerts – Fela Kuti, Bunny Wailer, Grateful Dead – yet I worked on TV commercials for McDonalds, Pizza Hut. I made lots of Native Indian friends though and visited the Navajo reservation in Arizona. I hung out with native Indian rude boys who were the same age as me, riding cars, smoking, shooting rifles, but when the sun went down they climbed the mountains to prey to their spirits. It got me thinking – maybe I should go back to Hokkaido”.

Once in Hokkaido a cousin gave him a tonkori – which OKI taught himself to play - setting him on the path that would turn him into a folk music revolutionary and the world’s preeminent Ainu musician. “I don’t want this to sound mythical but when my cousin gave me a tonkori, I felt it was a sign”. After returning to Japan he moved to Hokkiado and has lived there ever since. For a few years he had a role at the United Nations Committee for Human Rights, promoting indigenous culture, yet eventually decided to concentrate on music. OKI’s debut album Kamuy Kor Nupurpe was released in 1996 and since then he has recorded 11 studio albums both solo and with his Dub Ainu Band, as well as producing two albums by Ainu elder singer Umeko Ando, all released on his own label Chikar Studio. He has toured internationally – from WOMAD in the UK to the John F.Kennedy Center in Washington DC via festival appearances in Singapore, Australia and across Europe – yet remains fully immersed in Ainu culture and now handcrafts tonkoris himself, helping pass the torch to the next generation of players.

Thought to have originated in the mid 19th Century on the island of Sakhalin, the tonkori arrived in what is now the main Ainu community of Hokkaido after Sakhalin was annexed by Russia after WWII. The Japanese government had previously passed an act labelling the Ainu as "former aborigines" and with Ainu culture outlawed the Ainu are now almost fully assimilated into Japanese society - in 2011 it was estimated only 300 people understood the Ainu language. “What happened to the Ainu is similar to the Aboriginies in Australia and the Native Indians in America”, says OKI “My grandfather – a bear hunter – didn’t teach Ainu culture to my father”.

“On the shore of the rippling lake, Kamui gather from near and far

And their mightiness draws us close” (Kai Kai As To)

[inadistantworld]

I used to listen to Irish folk music all the time, it was all I listened to for almost a year, and god Gather Your Pub tonight is something I didn't realize I really missed and needed