#It's cool thinking about musicians and how they connect to other musicians and music pieces

[sadrockandwaltzes]

Musical Musings

Sometimes I feel like the only thing that can save my heavy dirty soul is Queen

[allthislove]

On the "eyes glazing over" thing...

One time, I got interviewed by this reporter because I'd been writing this musical that was being performed in this really cool local spot... The musical was being produced by this site-specific theatre company and there was another (more prominent) playwright co-writing with me and a musician working on the music with me, and this reporter was interviewing everyone involved.

She asked me so much... about my history, works I'd written before, my process. Such a good interview, I thought! Then, the article came out. Most of it was focused on the producer/directors and then the other playwright and the musician. The whole fifteen or twenty minutes I spent talking to that woman, about my other work, about how hard I worked on the dialogue to get this time period just right, about my connection to the place where the musical is set, my experience writing historical fiction... was all boiled down to like "She worked on it, too" and a sentence-long quote from me that was not about any of the stuff we went into. It basically made me sound like a glorified intern, when reader-- reader... I DID THE BULK OF THE CREATIVE WORK ON THIS PIECE. I wrote several songs, I outlined the story, wrote most of the dialogue, researched the true events, developed the historical characters into full people (because there's not always a ton of information available about historical people unless they were very important or famous.). Like, it's basically MY work.

But yeah, nobody cares about your work unless everybody cares about your work, you know? This was my first lesson. Most people think you're not anything until you have already made it, or until you have a prominent cosigner. (I also don't have anyone on my team but me, so... that probably needs to change.)

Anyway, I'd love to tell everyone about my book, my characters... but I know nobody will care until it's out. And even then, people won't care until other people do. Nobody believes you at your word. To be fair, that's because horrible people also think they're good. But whew, is it hard when someone actually watches your musical, tells you that it was moving and amazing... and then writes an article praising everyone involved but treating you like a footnote. 🥴

[ntenvs3000f24]

Unit 7 Blog Post

If there is one thing I have definitely learned from nature, it's that it always has something to say, even if we don't always notice it at first. I've always been drawn to the sounds of the world, from birds chirping in the early morning to the rustles of leaves. The music in nature is in the patterns and tempos that fill the world around us, from the flowing rivers to the hum of the wind. Growing up, I didn't realize how musical these everyday sounds really were, but now, I can't help but see how much nature and music are intertwined and as an aspiring nature interpreter, I've started thinking about how to help other's make that connection too.

The textbook reading this week reminded me of the innovative ways technology has been used to bring people closer to nature. For instance, the "bear cams" at Katmai National Park allow people to experience the natural world remotely, and it's fascinating how viewers have created "online communities and chat rooms focused on bear management and conservation" (Beck et al., 2018b). I also recently visited the Arcadia Earth Exhibit in Toronto, which is a multi-sensory experience using creative art pieces and technology. There was also a virtual reality experience that allowed people to view natural habitats of animals and immerse yourself in their world.

As an interpreter, this makes me realize the potential we have to use media to reach a much wider audience, even those who can't physically visit these natural spaces. Similarly, music has the power to transport us to a place, to evoke the feeling of being with nature. Nature is in the melodies and harmonies that echo the sounds and emotions of the environment. The sound of rain is particularly one of my favourites. A single note can remind us of a raindrop. Interpreters are constantly learning how to use media to expand their audience, just like musicians often look to nature for inspiration. This connection, whether it's facilitated through webcams, social media, an exhibit, or music, can inspire a deeper appreciation and commitment to conservation.

For me, music has always been an escape and sometimes a bridge to nature. Two songs that instantly take me back to a natural landscape is "Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac and "Canyon Moon" by Harry Styles. Every time I hear these, I picture quiet hikes through the woods in the fall, with leaves crunching and the crisp, cool air that just wakes you up. Specifically I think of a time in my backyard in autumn. I was with my dog playing in the raked leaves with him, with gentle wind and my family's laughs and I remember these songs in the background. Both pieces are calming, reflective songs that mirror nature's rhythm itself, with all of its changes and adaptation. Nature never rushes, and that's a lesson I take with me in my work as a nature interpreter, everything unfolds in its own time.

Nature is woven in the melodies that help us feel connected to the world around us. Whether an interpreter or just an observer, I find that music and nature are bonded.

Beck, L., Cable, T. T., & Knudson, D. M. (2018a). Interpreting cultural and natural heritage : for a better world. Sagamore Venture.

[mywifeleftme]

346: Various Artists // What Now, People? 2

What Now, People? 2 Various Artists 1977, Paredon

Paredon was an activist record label founded in 1969 that specialized in protest music, largely American acoustic folk with a good helping of releases by international leftist artists. Inspired by the Cuban Revolution and the model of “People’s Singers” like Joe Hill and Pete Seeger, Paredon put out about 50 releases over their 20ish years in operation. The mid-‘70s compilation series What Now, People? (three volumes between 1976 and 1977) was a musical magazine intended to stimulate development of new protest songs for marches, rallies, labour meetings, etc. by providing complete lyrics, chords, and commentary from contemporary folk singers.

The back of the included booklet asks the purchaser to mail back a “political record review” in the form of a questionnaire. It’s a little late for me to field questions 7 through 9, which concern suggesting record stores and radical organizations who might be interested in carrying Paredon stock, but I’ll do my best with the others.

1. HOW DID YOU FIRST HEAR ABOUT THIS RECORD?

I found a copy of it in the used section of Phonopolis Records, on Rue Bernard, Mile End, Montreal, Quebec in 2021.

2. WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION TO IT POLITICALLY?

I have always liked the “musical magazine” concept, and the notion of making a body of political songs accessible for people to not only listen to but learn how to play themselves (in the manner of The IWW Songbook) is very cool. On a level of pure politics, it’s hard to disagree with the lyrics’ notions that America must become more egalitarian or it will consume itself morally, environmentally, socially, and psychically. (Thankfully this is no longer a problem today.)

I’m not sure the emphasis on ‘60s-style folk was the strongest tact however. The late ‘70s was an era with no shortage of powerful protest music, but this collection largely eschews R&B and even rock (with apologies to Red Shadows’ limp Chuck Berry rewrite “Anything Good”). While the veteran Seeger’s “If a Revolution Comes to My Country” grapples with both the promise and challenge of political change in an immediate way, the efforts of the lesser-knowns mostly feel like they’re roleplaying as the firebrands of a prior era. The most genuinely “revolutionary” sounding pieces are those that come from outside the coffee shop scene, like Cuban Amaury Pérez Vidal’s ode to Puerto Rican independence “Siempre con Puerto Rico” and Dakota Sioux activist Floyd Westerman’s “B.I.A.” song—perhaps because these artists had much more direct connections with revolutionary political movements than most of the whites here.

3. WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE BOOKLET?

Fantastic. It’s a great and in some ways inspiring souvenir of the era, and I wish more artists would include the chords and lyrics to their songs.

4. HOW HAVE YOU USED THIS RECORD?

I don’t believe that What Now, People? 2 would be of much use at a contemporary organizing meeting or rally, so largely for scholarly interest; for enjoyment of some pretty folk numbers (Dee Werner, Dorie Ellzey); for yet another reminder of the circularity of political struggle.

5. WHAT OTHER RECORDS SHOULD BE MADE?

Paredon’s focus on bringing (at the time) difficult to find foreign artists to American audiences will stand as their greatest aesthetic achievement, and I wouldn’t have been upset if there were more. Perhaps some more overtures to Black activists and musicians might’ve led to a more dynamic result with this record in particular.

6. WHAT NOW, PEOPLE?

There is no shortage of protests to go to, letters to write, plans to make. Hopefully we’ll see each other out there, with songs in our hearts.

346/365

[holly-louisexox]

Ribcage X Andy Bisersack- Part 6

Masterlist

"There's one thing you should know about me Delia Vincent, I don't date. Got no heart to break and emptiness is safe, keep it that way."

He was adamant in his choices...

...But then things changed.

Not my GIF

"Okay great job guys! Before you go... do whatever, I want you to run over the first section of Faithless please. I just need to measure up the audio recording of the bells to the drums so it's set and pre done ready for tonight." Delia explains speaking through her head set that was connected to the in ear pieces the guys were wearing; this venue was a fair bit bigger meaning the use of a head set was much easier to communicate with the guys rather than shouting and potentially causing damage to her throat.

The guys all gave a thumbs up towards Delia's direction of the sound booth to let her know they had received the message, then they proceeded to get into position for Faithless. Working with a pre recording/ background music and sounds for musicians to play alongside to was always a challenge for both musician and sound tech. Obviously the musicians had to make sure they kept in tempo for the recording but for someone like Delia controlling the sounds levels, it was a whole other story. Not only did she have to make sure the band's sound was balanced but she had to add the audio sound balance on top.

"That's perfect, thanks guys." Delia then speaks through her headset again after the band had finished performing up to the end of the first chorus as she had requested. "You're free to do whatever until VIP and show now."

Once she watches the guys walk off of stage and head towards what she was guessing the dressing room, she takes off the headset and plans to go and find Shevy. Delia was planning on going to grab a coffee quickly and she knew that Shevy would also want to do the same; over the length of tour so far, Delia had come to realise just how much coffee was a lifesaver.

Opening the door of the sound booth she was in, she was shocked to find Andy waiting on the other side of it. To say she became slightly nervous was an understatement.

"Andy, Hi." Delia smiles through her nerves.

"Hey. So um, I just wanted to say thank you again for the batman figure. It was actually a really great gift and, um, the gift giving was actually a pretty cool idea." Andy starts.

"You're welcome." Delia nods feeling extremely awkward and she could tell that Andy was also out of his comfort zone right now; hopefully this awkward conversation would not last too long and she could get going.

"Anyway, I um. I wanted to return the um, the idea, the motive, whatever. I found this little pin badge in a shop earlier. I saw it and thought I was being creative because, well, your name is Delia and it's a pin of a flower; a dahlia to be exact. I thought it would be creative but I realise now it's probably super lame and I'm sorry." Andy rambles nervously as he pulls out a small pin of a dahlia from the pocket of his trousers and hands it to Delia.

"No, Andy, this is..." Delia starts as she takes the pin from Andy's hand felling a small genuine smile creep on her face. "This is great. I really like the thought process behind it, it's quite cleverly done."  

"Look, truthfully, I've been an asshole; I know that." Andy admits awkwardly stuffing his hands in the pockets of his trousers. "I'm sorry. I realise that my actions have most likely made it difficult for you to get to know the rest of the band over these last few days. Basically don't expect me to be all chummy with you all of a sudden, but I'll try to be less rude and accept that you're a part of the team now."

"Thanks Andy, that means a lot." Delia continues to smile whilst being completely taken off guard by Andy's sudden nice gestures; never did she think that she would get an apology from this guy.

"I promise it's nothing personal, just..." Andy trails off not wanting to finish his sentence.

"It's okay, I get it. I know about Juliet." Delia nods understandably.

"Don't say her fucking name!" Andy snaps- so much for him being nice. "Whatever, I'll see you around I guess. Enjoy the flower." Andy then proceeds to storm off leaving Delia in complete shock of what just happened.

Suddenly Delia had lost her cravings for coffee. Trying to find Shevy would most likely result in her bumping into one of the band members and after that encounter with Andy, Delia thought it would be best to spend some time alone to process it all. Looking down at the pin badge in her hand again she feels that same smile spread across her face. Sure, Andy was a complete dickhead, but he had a good mind when it came to buying gifts. Delia had never had anyone put so much thought into a gift, even a small one such as this. Safe to say Delia was impressed by Andy's commitment despite his outburst afterwards.

---------------------

"There you are! Where have you been D? I haven't seen you all day!" Shevy gasps as she walks onto the bus to find Delia sitting on her bed scrolling through her phone. "Wait I can call you D right?"

"Yeah, D is fine." Delia nods shrugging as she puts her phone away watching Shevy sit on her own bed situated opposite Delia's. "I've just kind of been thinking over some things, nothing exciting."

"Awe, pretty flower, where'd you get it?" Shevy then snaps her attention to the flower pin that Delia had since attached to her denim jacket.

"Andy got it for me actually." Delia smiles awkwardly as she awaits Shevy's reaction.

"Wait what? Really?!" Shevy gasps in pure shock as she stares at Delia to see if she's joking.

"Yeah, really. He said he found it in a shop and it's a dahlia, he thought he was being creative because dahlia and Delia kind of sound similar." Delia explains to Shevy what Andy had said to her earlier that day; Shevy continues to stare at Delia in shock. "He apologised to me Shevy."

"What? Andy Biersack? The guy who has been a moody piece of shit for the last few years apologised to you?" Shevy screams slightly leaping up to join Delia sat on her bed. "You're kidding?"

"No, I'm not. He said he was sorry and that he was going to try to be less of a dick effectively." Delia explains which makes Shevy scream.

"Oh my god." Shevy gasps again. "Andy totally has the hots for you!"

"What? Shevy, no way, he does not!" Delia screeches grabbing her pillow and whacking Shevy round the head.

"Okay, rude, I'm going to ignore that you just did that." Shevy laughs grabbing the pillow from Delia and placing it back where it originally was. "But come on! Andy apologised to you. He's never even said sorry to me! There's definitely something about you that interests him."

"Oh my god Shevy, there is no way he's into me. He's simply trying to be civil after I was civil with him. Hell, I don't even know the guy and he doesn't know me." Delia becomes defensive; she was not sure why she felt she had to be defensive in front of Shevy but she had never been good at situations like this.

"Look, just be careful okay? Andy is a very attractive guy, I won't lie, but he has been known to sleep around. Obviously that's not a bad thing but it could complicate things for the tour, especially if you were to catch feelings." Shevy becomes serious as she looks out for her new friend. "I know you've only known of him for a few days but trust me when I say that tours like this bring people very close together very quickly."

"Trust me Shevy, I have no intentions of sleeping with him. I'm here to work and I enjoy my job, I don't have time for men right now nor am I interested right now." Delia explains. "Anyway, I'm ready to get some sleep, we're going to start moving soon and we have a show in Biloxi tomorrow."

"Okay yes that's very true." Shevy nods before grinning wildly. "But if anything more does happen I want all of the gossip!"

"Okay, fine, deal. Now can we please go to sleep?" Delia laughs slightly.

"Fine." Shevy groans before returning to her own bunk to grab her pyjamas that were placed under her pillow, Delia doing the same.

So it was weird that Andy apologised and has suddenly decided to try and be nicer; Delia definitely did not expect that from him. But what was his motive? Surely Shevy was not right in her ideas. It must have something to do with the fact that Delia was not about to put up with his bullshit this whole time and had stood her grounds on one occasion. Yes, that surely must be it.

[sibyl-of-space]

I haven't written any new music since I graduated, and that's entirely because I was a) getting the Amadeus demo ready for private playtesting, b) LITERALLY MOVING FROM AN APARTMENT I LIVED IN FOR A DECADE, and c) getting the Amadeus demo ready for PUBLIC RELEASE.

...But it's got me thinking that I really need to write new music soon, so I don't lose the momentum I got from school, so I can keep reaffirming what I learned about my own creative process and how to keep trying new funky stuff and connecting with other musicians and weirdos. I'm SO SO excited to share everything when the Amadeus demo goes public, especially the "demo-ready" versions of all the soundtrack pieces I wrote for it. But I'm also excited because once I get past that milestone I can start writing NEW MUSIC AGAIN!

I'm so proud of all of the music I wrote so far. But I am going to have to write a lot more narrative for the actual first episode release about a year out. And that is going to require a lot more music, too! I need to remember how to draw inspiration from wherever I can get it. Virtually all of the demo OST was homework that I found a way to work into it - it's time for me to start giving myself homework now, and push myself in lots of strange directions the way many of my classes did.

I have some ideas. We'll see where they take me. I can't think too much on this now because I still have a lot of work to just finish the public-ready demo. That's going to be probably my biggest most polished most beloved project I've ever put out there. But once it's done... it's not done! Then it's on to the full version!! Aaaa! THIS PROCESS HAS BEEN REALLY COOL AND I HAVE ENJOYED THE JOURNEY SO MUCH!!! AND THERE IS SO MUCH MORE OF IT!!!!!

[n5md]

Deepriver

Thanks for answering a few questions for us guys; let us start with the project itself: Some may not be aware, but you've worked together in the past on Trance compositions; what brought the two of you to collaborate on something in the ambient sphere?

Joni - I think we were always both interested in exploring genres outside of trance. Ambient was something we were always talking about and were both inspired by. Jason of course, has also released more music in the genre, and I eventually ended up doing work in the genre as well, so it felt very natural to create a full album together like this.

Jason - Definitely. Even back when we were making trance, whenever we’d send references over or things to spark inspiration, most of the time, it was from the ambient and experimental genre. I specifically remember Brian Eno and Stars of the Lid were big favourites.

Eno and SotL are good signposts for sure. Eno has a wandering aesthetic, where as Stars of the Lid are masters at glacial paced ambient. The works on Volume One, to me, seem to have a sense of purpose, a traversing of something, slow soundtracks to grand actions. It's difficult to actualise but It seems like there is a form of exploration in the songs and a poignant endpoint to these explorations. I might be reading too much into the nature of the tracks but they surely aren't "ambient to have on in the background" nor "tranquil music to relax to". I am drawn to this sort of visceral ambient, which sort of demands listening. Was there conscious thought from the two of you to make the album more permeable?

Joni - I do think we made all the music on Volume One for conscious listening rather than something you'd have on in the background that melts away with everything else. Perhaps we didn't say or think it outright, but there was definitely intention and purpose with each piece. I like how they flow together in such a way that requires you to listen to each piece but also the album as a whole. I think I can speak for both of us in that we have always leandt more towards mood and feeling as the main focus of our music, and that sort of sound requires a more focused approach from the listener.

So why the name Deepriver? Is there some significance to the name?

Joni - We are both quite big cinephiles and love the work of David Lynch. “Deepriver” is a reference to that as “Deep River” is mentioned in at least two of his films, Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive. One of us suggested it as a project name, and it stuck. I know there is also a Deep River in Cape Town, but I can't remember if that at all influenced the name...

Jason - The Cape Town link is a complete coincidence. There’s a suburb here called Diep River. A few people have asked if it was named after that. It isn’t, but it’s a cool connection, I think.

Cinephiles eh? Many a musician has been influenced in one way or another by cinema. I can personally call out movies that have been of inspiration to a subset of my output. Care to share any influential movies or directors (other than Lynch of course)?

Joni - There are so many! Having known Jason for some time, we've touched on quite a lot of directors and films...and we still share tips and discoveries to this day. Just this week, we were discussing Cronenberg and Friedkin. We are also both big David Fincher fans (I think the music and mood in "Gone Girl," for example, is brilliant), as well as Bergman, Kubrick, Malick, Tarkovsky, Fellini, the list continues. But there are so many, it's hard to pinpoint...I could probably ramble for a whole day on this topic.

I feel like I can hear each of your input on Volume One. Maybe I'm off base, but the album has Threads (van Wyk) meets Rymd (Ljungqvist) feel. Were these songs written from previous uncompleted works that you each had that you then allowed the other to complete? Or was the album written from the ground up with the explicit idea of collaborating on something fresh?

Joni - I think that's a very good observation. It was mostly music we wrote from the ground up by sending ideas and pieces back and forth over many years. A few of the tracks were also from the "original" Deepriver project, which was very beat-centric. That music sounded a lot different from what you hear on Volume One. I'm very happy with what we achieved and how we managed to get it to where it is.

Jason - We had a completed version as far back as 2013, but it wasn’t quite there in terms of us wanting to release it. Over the years, we kept coming back to it. Once the beats and the heavier sounds came out, things started to come together. A big part of the process also came down to choosing which tracks worked together to form the album. The track count was huge, as you can imagine from around a decade of sending ideas back and forth, so getting it down to around the 40-minute mark was a bit of a challenge.

Yeah, when things are flowing it can be difficult to edit things down to the limitations of a LP pressing. I feel you did a really great job with that though. In regards to the LP pressing and specifically the art: how did you guys find and come to agreement on such an iconic cover image? Were you fans of Karen's work prior?

Jason - We discovered Karen on Instagram actually and reached out to her on there. After days of searching, her image “Scenic Elevator” caught my eye. I sent it over to Joni, and he agreed. We reached out to Karen, and she very kindly allowed us to use it.

Coming out of the gate with an album called Volume One implies there will be more volumes. What do you collectively think we might expect from the project in the future?

Joni - We have, as time permits, talked already about a follow-up and even exchanged some ideas. There might be another concept for that follow-up, and I'm sure we will manage to do it in a shorter time than Volume One!

Jason - I think so too. Further exploration of this sound is what you can expect.

Great news for n5 and fans of Volume One! Volume One is out now: https://n5.md/318

[vitaminwaterreviews]

IU - Lilac

This is one definition of a no-skip album: an album in which every song is high enough quality that there is no filler. And that’s exactly what we got here. Even the songs that I didn’t like as much were still excellent songs. That said, it isn’t no-skip in the other sense of the phrase. Like, you could skip any given song, and still pretty much get what this album has to offer. Overall very high song quality, but I’m not sure the album as a whole necessarily connects back to itself as well as it could. But then again, maybe the lyrics fill in that gap, and I certainly don’t understand the lyrics. Average score of 8.2 which does feel about right. Very, very high quality songs. Nothing was quite a 10 for me though. Even Lilac, which is a song that I really do love, isn’t quite there.

Musically, it’s amazing how much her sound can evolve, yet she still sounds so IU. I guess it’s literally the sound of her voice that’s the throughline. But like, if we look at early IU, which was kind of indie/folk, and then we look at jazz IU, and then her evolution into pop IU, and now we have a bit of house and rapper IU? Like that’s crazy dude, never in my life did I expect to hear IU rap, but that’s what we got in this album.

I might listen to Pieces, not sure yet. We do know that she’s working on another album, so that’s exciting. But for the most part, that’s kind of the end of my main IU deep dive. And I must say, what an experience. It was just so cool to hear her grow as a musician. That’s the kind of personal story that you don’t totally get from group music.

The first IU song that I ever heard was Lilac, and the second was Flu. I also know the line “you’re my celebrity”, and I heard My Sea when Bora did it on Queendom. (Also, justice for Bora oml.) I should mention that I have high expectations for this album; this is IU’s most recent album, and the parts of it that I know are very good.

Lilac

I’ve seen this MV several times

God I just love everything about it

That bass and that guitar line beneath her voice is just So good

I love the part where the people on the train start dancing and she tries to dance along

And then of course it cuts to her in the center of the choreo

I really appreciate how they play with color in this MV. Actually like all of her MV’s. But this one in particular, with scenes of varying colors and brightness and contrast

The animated section I’m not totally sure about

Like it does feel a bit jarring, kind of just thrown in there

9/10. I love it, but not quite as much as Palette

Flu

This really is a song that you need good headphones for

So many cute little harmonies just everywhere, the “flu-u-u-u-u” stuff

The chorus is So groovy

The bridge does feel … almost out of place? I dunno, sort of

But at the same time I kind of wish there was more of it

8/10, very solid song, good song

Coin

Hey look, a song I don’t know yet!

She gambling?

Oh wow this is lower than we’re used to her singing, WOW

I like it

Also wow, bassy

MV does seem to be casino inspired, all these aces

She sounds SO different in this song, just the timbre of her voice

Holy shit she’s rapping

Holy shiT dude haha

Rapper IU might be my favorite thing in the universe now

That choreo is cute

9/10 for IU the rapper, that was so good

Hi spring Bye

Ballad time?

Haha these synths are so 80’s

Kind of haunting background vocals here

I kind of wish her voice was more prominent in the mix

Mkay, this is nice

7/10

Celebrity

Candles

Blue

Boots

Very … regal

Woah what was That

Oh wow this post-chorus is not what we expect from IU

And she’s just doing that cheeky smile that she does haha

Yeah wow that random synth line is Good

Why does she kind of look like Dahyun sometimes?

9/10

Troll (feat. DEAN)

Woah okay

Oh wow this is Cool, I like this

I dunno if I totally like Dean’s voice here

I certainly do like IU’s harmonies though

Hm… okay, I think it’s starting to make sense to me

Okay, yeah, I’m onboard

I really just love male/female harmonies, that’s like one of my favorite things in music

8/10

Empty Cup

This is a guitar right? Feels distorted though, like her vocals

Bass is nice

Don’t totally get what this song wants me to feel

Oh, “sick of your love,” it wants me to feel jaded then? Yeah, I’m getting that

Okay

This second verse is so nice, harmonies and clean vocals, mmm

It’s only two minutes?? Wait, hm. How do I rate this? On one hand I want more. On the other hand … isn’t that a good thing?

8/10

My Sea

Omg it’s Bora’s song

Man I can even picture that stupid mailbox

Fuck Mnet

Anyway, this is IU’s song

Have I ever mentioned how much I love IU’s voice?

Oh okay, we’re building now

And now we’ve got that walking piano line

And we’re building again, I hear those plucks

Oh wow, the pure vocal harmony there was unexpected

Phew, this is Anthemic

Yep, this is that high note

9/10, anything less would be criminal

Ah puh

Haha and what comes after My Sea? A surfing song, obviously

I like the vibe, causal and bouncy

Haha the waves and acoustic guitar

This is honestly So good

Not much to say, just a very enjoyable song. The perfect thing to place after My Sea

8/10

Epilogue

Kind of lofi vibes, the instrumentals at least

Her vocals of course are clean as ever

And these drums sure aren’t lofi

Haha wait what are these vocals? Is this IU doing this?

7/10 but it will certainly grow on me

[simplicius-simplicissimus]

European Itinerary - Europäische Reiseroute - Interrail

Source: Craven, Steven (1985), Boat train at Victoria station, Wikipedia, CC BY-SY 2.0 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Boat_train_at_Victoria_station_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1129401.jpg - Interrailers could always be recognized by their backpacks and train tickets.

Vacations with my parents from the 60s to 80s almost always consisted of visiting friends and family. My family (Danube Swabians on my father's side and Austrians on my mother's side) was spread across Austria, Switzerland, Italy and Germany which was handy: on one hand you were acquainted with someone who understood the local language and mentality (two of my aunts spoke Italian fluently) - and had local knowledge. But on the other hand our trips went only to those countries.

After a short trip with my younger brother to London (we stayed at the bed & breakfast of my father’s cousin...of course) I got more interested in getting to know other European metropolises on my own. A fellow student of mine (a refugee from Afghanistan) made very good experiences with youth hostels: it was affordable, you often met open, like-minded travel enthusiasts with whom you could exchange experiences or even travel a short distance together. Sometimes the contact was even maintained afterwards. So the following was soon clear: European itinerary from metropolis to metropolis, overnight stays in youth hostels and the means of transport of choice was the railway.

In 1972, the so-called Interrail ticket was introduced by many European railway companies. For a certain fixed price (500 DM at the time) you could use the entire European railway network (later many ferry connections were even added) or you were offered train tickets for certain "higher quality connections" at a fairly reduced price. The idea behind it was to enable young people to travel Europe on a small budget and thus to bring Europeans closer together. But maybe the driver was as well: cultures that know each other are less inclined to shoot at each other.

My itinerary at the time: Stuttgart - London - Edinburgh - London - Paris - Madrid - Lisbon - Barcelona - Zurich - Vienna - Milan - Naples/Capri - Rome - Vienna - Stuttgart

Special experiences and encounters that I like to look back on - besides the normal tourist program and the many small things that didn't stick in my memory:

A stimulating conversation with a French about his former student life at the Trocadero fountain in Paris, while his young daughter was splashing in the fountain there. He just wanted to alert me to pickpockets. That's when we got talking. During the conversation he even offered me some of his rose wine, which he had hung into the fountain to cool. Savoir Vivre!

At the Sacre Coeur church, the soothing, evening view over Paris - lying in the grass or sitting on a staircase and listening to the street musicians there.

The youth hostel in London's Holland Park was next to an open-air stage on which operas were performed in the summer: your favorite lecture and, incidentally, Verdi's Nabucco for free. In this youth hostel I also met the German, who then spontaneously traveled to Edinburgh with me. I learned from him how you can easily identify Germans abroad: by their Birkenstock sandals!

In the youth hostel in Vienna I met a German who traveled to Vienna for a week every year to attend classical concerts there. A casual chat about music ensued. I think it was also his tip to visit the pavilion in Vienna's „Stadtgarten“ (public park) where the small, local orchestra regularly performed old Viennese tunes: Viennese waltzes by Strauss or Lanner - with a Viennese Melange coffee and maybe a piece of cake in the associated cafe. Mental journey back to the Imperial Austro-Hungarian era of Vienna.

In the youth hostel in Cascais (nearby Lisbon), numerous conversations with the Romanian roommate about life in general and his life as a guest worker in Portugal in particular. Stories that life writes.

-

Die Urlaube mit meinen Eltern von den 60igern bis 80igern bestanden fast immer auch aus dem Besuch von Freunden und Familie. Meine Familie (Donauschwaben väterlicherseits und Österreicher mütterlicherseits) war über Österreich, der Schweiz, Italien und Deutschland verstreut, was ganz praktisch war: einerseits war man mit jemandem bekannt, der die lokale Sprache und Mentalität verstand (zwei Tanten von mir sprachen fliessend italienisch) - sowie Ortskenntnisse besass. Andererseits gingen unsere Reisen deshalb eben auch nur in diese Länder.

Nach einem Kurztrip mit meinem jüngeren Bruder nach London (wir übernachteten im Bed & Breakfast vom Cousin meines Vaters….natürlich) bekam ich mehr Lust darauf, weitere europäische Metropolen auf eigene Faust kennenzulernen. Ein Kommilitone von mir (ein Flüchtling aus Afghanistan) hatte sehr gute Erfahrungen mit Jugendherbergen gemacht: es war erschwinglich, man traf oft offene, gleichgesinnte Reiseverrückte, mit denen man Erfahrungen austauschen oder sogar ein kurzes Stück zusammen reisen konnte. Manchmal ergab sich sogar ein Kontakt, der danach noch gepflegt wurde. Also stand bald folgendes fest: Europäische Reiseroute von Metropole zu Metropole, Übernachtung in Jugendherbergen und das Fortbewegungsmittel der Wahl war die Eisenbahn.

In 1972 wurde von vielen europäischen Eisenbahngesellschaften das sogenannte Interrail-Ticket eingeführt. Man konnte für einen bestimmten Festpreis (damals 500 DM) das komplette europäische Eisenbahnnetz nutzen (später kamen sogar viele Fährverbindungen hinzu) oder man bekam Bahn-Tickets für bestimmte „höherwertige Verbindungen“ ziemlich vergünstigt angeboten. Die Idee dahinter war, es jungen Menschen zu ermöglichen, Europa mit kleinem Budget zu bereisen und damit Europäer enger zusammenzuführen. Vielleicht war der Treiber aber auch: Kulturen, die sich kennen, neigen weniger dazu, aufeinander zu schiessen.

Meine damalige Reiseroute: Stuttgart - London - Edinburgh - London - Paris - Madrid - Lissabon - Barcelona - Zürich - Wien - Mailand - Neapel - Rom - Wien - Stuttgart

Erlebnisse und Begegnungen, an die ich mich gern zurückerinnere - neben dem touristischen Programm und den vielen kleinen Dingen, die nicht so im Gedächtnis haften geblieben sind:

Ein anregendes Gespräch mit einem Franzosen über sein früheres Studentenleben am Trocadero-Brunnen in Paris, während dessen seine kleine Tochter dort im Brunnen planschte. Er hatte mich nur auf Taschendiebe aufmerksam machen wollen. Dabei kamen wir ins Gespräch. Er bot mir sogar im Lauf des Gesprächs von seinem Rose-Wein an, den er zur Kühlung in den Brunnen gehängt hatte. Savoir Vivre!

An der Sacre-Coeur-Kirche der beruhigende, abendliche Blick über Paris - im Gras liegend oder auf einer Treppe sitzend und dabei den dortigen Strassenmusikanten lauschend.

Die Jugendherberge in Londons Holland Park lag neben einer Freilicht-Bühne, auf der im Sommer Opern aufgeführt wurden: deine Lieblingslektüre und nebenbei umsonst Verdi‘s Nabucco. In dieser Jugendherberge traf ich auch den Deutschen, der dann kurzentschlossen mit mir nach Edinburgh gereist ist. Von ihm habe ich dann auch erfahren, wie man leicht Deutsche im Ausland identifizieren kann: an den Birkenstock-Sandalen!

In der Jugendherberge in Wien traf ich einen Deutschen, der jedes Jahr eine Woche nach Wien reiste, um dort klassische Konzerte zu besuchen. Es kam zu einem zwanglosen Plausch über Musik. Ich glaube, es war auch sein Tipp, den Pavillon im Wiener Stadtgarten zu besuchen, wo das kleine, lokale Orchester regelmässig alte Wiener Weisen aufgeführte: Wiener Walzer von Strauss oder Lanner - dazu eine Wiener Melange und vielleicht ein Stück Kuchen im dazugehörigen Cafe. Mentale Reise in die K.u.K.-Zeit Wiens.

In der Jugendherberge in Cascais (nahe Lissabon) zahlreiche Gespräche mit dem rumänischen Mitbewohner meines Zimmers über das Leben im Allgemeinen und speziell sein Leben als Gastarbeiter in Portugal. Geschichten, die das Leben so schreibt.

-Simplicius Simplicissimus

[tobesoalive]

r u mine? (Jake Kiszka x reader)

hey guys...so this was fun to write, thank you to the kind anon who requested it! I currently have some fun (and steamy) Josh stuff in the works right now, but still feel free to send in requests! I might slow down a little with posting since my classes started, but I promise to get to every request! Enjoy my first Jake piece!

Warnings: SMUT(oral f-recieving, fingering, penetrative sex)

Adrenaline pumped through your veins as you headed down the hallway backstage, about to go out and face the crowd of thousands of fans. No you weren't a huge famous musician or anything, just their photographer. Basically the same thing right?

For the past three weeks you had been enjoying life on the road, it had always been your dream to be a concert photographer, and your work had caught the attention of a little band called Greta Van Fleet. Well, not exactly little. Their fan base grew everyday and now they were doing yet another headlining tour that they asked you to document. Over the past few months you had been in contact with the guys and their management, and you guys hit it off instantly, they brought you under their wing as if you were part of the family.

You basically were all one big family, you had gotten extremely close to the boys. Josh, Sam and Danny were like your brothers, and Jake...he was a little different.

Brother would be an odd way to describe him, seeing as you had a bit of a crush on him. Nothing super serious, you just thought he was a cool guy who also happened to be really fucking hot. You thought he might have a little something for you too, he was always asking you how you liked the show, and when he’d catch you editing the photos you took he’d sit himself right next to you and ask if you’d show him what you were working on. He was constantly complimenting your work, but that would mostly be in private, when he’d seek you out if he couldn’t sleep. You surely weren’t complaining, you enjoyed his company. You just wish he would say something, or even better, make a move. You could be taking his actions the wrong way, he does have tons of women who want him all around the country, maybe he does just think of you as a sister. Whatever thoughts you had about Jake you’d just push to the back of your mind, you had a job to do, and your work was more important than getting laid.

You went in front of the barricade and took some photos of the crowd and talked to fans. They liked to ask you questions about the guys and what it was like touring with them. You always tried to make them feel special by saying how thankful the guys were, which wasn’t a lie, to have such amazing fans.

All of a sudden you heard some of the fans start screaming wildly. They were chanting Jake’s name, and you turned your head only to briefly meet his eyes from the side of the stage where he was standing. Within a second he was gone, most likely rushing backstage to avoid any further commotion from the audience.

What was that all about? You thought to yourself. Did he sneak over there to just look at me? Maybe he wanted to talk or something. That can happen later, it was only a few minutes until the show started, so you wanted to snap a few more shots of the crowd before running all over during the show to catch the right angles.

During the show you had a great time, as per usual. You loved being right up front, taking photos of the guys doing what they loved. You went backstage to get some photos from the wings. Jake was about to do his signature move, playing his guitar behind his head, and you were ready to capture the moment. Right as you snapped the photo, Jake turned and winked at you, arms thrown behind his head, somehow managing to play the notes of “Highway Tune” whilst flirting with you.

Butterflies erupted in your stomach, and you felt an intense need for him. Quickly you ran back out to the front of the stage to capture a few more moments before the show was over.

“God fucking dammit, I’m in deep” you muttered to yourself, before heading to the green room to congratulate the guys on the awesome show. You slipped through the crew heading on stage to clean up the equipment, turning a corner and bumping directly into Jake.

“Oh sorry! Great job out there tonight!” you say, trying your best not to blush. What was wrong with you, it was like you were a school girl or something.

“Thanks y/n! Did you get some good shots?”

“No, I made sure to get really shitty photos, especially of you”

“Are you being sarcastic?! Now that is something new!” he teased you.

“I just know how much you enjoy my sense of humor! I like to give back to the fans y’know” you quip back, causing him to break out into a smile.

“Hey the guys and quite a bit of the crew is gonna head out and probably find a bar or something once we’re done cleaning up. You wanna join?”

“Thanks for the offer, but I might just keep it lowkey tonight, I’d prefer to edit the photos tonight so I can explore whatever city we’re going to tomorrow.”

“Totally understandable, well I’ll catch you later!”

“Yeah for sure!” you say as you go off to find the rest of the guys.

After about a half hour of chatting and checking in with the rest of your tour mates, you decided it was time to change into your pajamas and spend the rest of the night staring at your computer screen, trying to edit as many photos as you can before inevitably passing out.

Getting onto the bus you shared with some other crew members, you kicked your Vans off before checking to see if anyone else was around. Seems like they all were opting to go out after the show, which meant you got the whole place to yourself. You traded out your concert outfit for a pair of shorts and a hoodie, getting prepared for your lengthy editing session.

You made yourself at home on the couch towards the front of the bus, turning on your speaker and playing music as loud as you wanted, getting straight to work.

It had felt like only a minute when you heard a knock on the door, but after checking your clock you realized an hour had already gone by. You peeked out the window only to see Jake’s figure standing there.

“Jacob! What’s up? I thought you were going to the bar?” you said as you opened the door to let him in.

“That show wore me out”

“Yeah you did amazing, I mean like you usually do” you say, stumbling over your words and internally punching yourself. God you were not smooth at all.

“Seems like we are some of the very few who decided to stay back, I was getting lonely in that tour bus.”

“Well you’re always welcome here, I was just doing some editing.”

“Wow you’re a pretty big nerd aren’t you? You know you should take a break every once and a while, I feel like you’re constantly working.”

“Well it’s not that hard when you love your job” you tell him.

“I guess that's true, can I see what you’re working on?”

“Yeah of course” you say while making your way back to the couch, Jake plopping down next to you.

“Damn that’s fucking awesome” he remarks, looking at the image on your screen. It’s the one of him playing the guitar behind his head, and winking right at you.

“I know! Thanks for being such a good model” you tell him with a small laugh.

“The guys and management are really impressed with your work. We’ve already been talking about having you come on the European leg of the tour with us.”

“Are you for real?!” you ask in awe, giddy with excitement. You absolutely loved this job and the people, and the thought that you could travel the world to do it was a dream come true.

“Yeah, don’t tell anyone though, I don’t want to get my ass beat for it.”

“Oh my god Jake I could literally kiss you!” you exclaimed, before you had even realized what you said.

You tried your best to play it off before your thoughts were interrupted by Jake’s voice.

“I wish you would”

“Huh” you stop for a second before turning to face him.

“Listen y/n, I think you’re really cool, and you also happen to be really hot. Sorry, maybe I was interpreting things wrong. I just thought if you felt the same it might be fun. It doesn’t have to be anything serious, I just get lonely on the road and -”

Before he could say another word, you took it upon yourself to answer his question, leaning in to capture his lips in a soft kiss. You pull back and look him in the eyes, closing your laptop and setting it on the counter.

“God I’m glad you finally said something, I think everyone was starting to sense the sexual tension” you grin at him.

“Well all I could think about on stage was fucking your brains out, so sorry if I’m not too great at hiding it” he says before grabbing the back of your neck and pulling you in for another kiss, to which you open your mouth to let his tongue slip in.

You move yourself so that you’re straddling his lap, your lips moving perfectly in rhythm as Arctic Monkeys played softly in the background.

“Wow it seems like you were almost expecting this to happen” he teases you.

“Shut up and fuck me Kiszka” you say before he flips you so you’re now beneath him.  

His fingers find their way under your shirt, reaching up to cup your breast. He pinched your nipple before quickly tugging at the hem of your sweatshirt.

“Can this come off?” he breathed into your mouth.

“Yes please” you said before he pulled it off you, exposing your bare chest to him. You felt very self conscious, it had been a little while since you had gotten naked with anyone.

“Hey don’t be shy, you’re gorgeous” he said before connecting your lips once more before he stood up to remove his shirt and shorts, leaving him in a pair of boxer briefs. You tried your best to not look at his growing bulge, but it was hard to resist.

Suddenly he was kneeling on the ground, body in between your spread legs.

“Jake you really don’t have to” “Oh trust me, I want to, '' he says before running his fingers up and down over your clothed core, moving his fingers to the waistband of your shorts, pulling your panties down with them.

“God you’re so fucking sexy” he mutters before expertly pressing the pad of his thumb onto your clit, his other hand pushing on your thigh to keep your legs spread.

“Fuck, Jake, I need more” you groan, your arousal now dripping between your folds.

“Don’t worry baby girl, I’ve got you”

Those words alone probably could have made you cum, but then Jake entered a finger into you, causing your hands to tangle in his long hair, slightly pulling.

“Goddamn babe you’re tight” he said, looking at you in awe before adding another finger and leaning down to toy your clit with the tip of his tongue. His fingers were pumping in and out of you at a steady rhythm, and every so often he’d curl them to perfectly hit your g-spot.

“Jake you need to stop or else I’m gonna cum” you say as you pull his head back, looking him in the eyes.

“That’s okay” he reassures you.

“No, when I cum I want it to be around you” you say.

“Fucking hell y/n” he groans out in a raspy voice.

You get up and kiss him before pushing him down on the couch, his erection straining against the fabric of his boxers. You tug at the waistband, and he lifts his hips up to assist you. You took a moment to admire his length before wrapping your hand around it. He was a couple inches above average, with a nice girth to him. His head tipped back in bliss as you continued to give him a few more strokes before positioning yourself above him, running his tip back and forth across your slit. Slowly, you sank yourself down onto him, taking as much of him in as you could.

“Fuck fuck fuck Jake, you’re really fucking big” you breath out, only able to fit about half of him in you at this angle.

“Just do what you can baby” he says before softly pressing a kiss on your forehead, telling you that it was okay.

You started moving yourself up and down on him as best you could, starting to adjust more to his size. The stretch burned but slowly started turning more pleasurable.

After a few minutes your legs were starting to hurt and his length slipped out of you.

“Will you fuck me from behind?” you blurt out, sweat running between the valley of your breasts.

“I’d be honored” Jake responds, offering a smile before getting up.

He moves you so that your hands are on the back of the couch, holding you steady and your knees rest on the edge of the sofa, sticking your ass out towards Jake. You can hear him move behind you, hands finding their way to your ass, before you feel him run his tip up and down your slit once again.

“Ready?” he asks.

You nod in response and instantly feel him push his way into you, letting you adjust for a second before pushing the rest of his length in you.

“Oh my fucking god Jake” you say as you bury your head in the couch cushions, his dick hitting a spot in you that you didn’t even know was there.

“Oh god you’re doing so good baby girl, taking all of my cock.” he says as he begins to pump in and out of you, starting off slow but gradually picking up the pace.

It feels amazing, better than you had imagined. You wanted him to stay in you forever, make you see stars all the time. Within a minute you were contracting around him, nearing your edge.

“Jake I’m almost there, please faster”

“Me too baby, me too” he says as he starts thrusting even faster than before, wrapping his arm around you to toy with your clit.

All it takes is a few more pumps and you can feel him explode inside you, groaning your name loudly and leaning over your back, but still circling your clit with his fingers. It’s enough to bring you to your peak, walls contracting around him, burying your head in your arms. Once you’ve both come down you stay in that position for a minute, before he pulls out of you and collapses on the couch, pulling you into his chest.

“That was way better than I imagined” he breathes out, hand stroking your hair.

“Oh so you’ve thought about this before? That's embarrassing” you say in a sarcastic tone.

“Hey I’m sure you aren’t so innocent yourself” he says smiling down at you.

“We should probably get dressed, I’m sure your brothers and the other goons will be stumbling in anytime now.” you tell him as you get up and search for your clothes.

“You’re probably right. Hey, let's do this again sometime” he says, cheeks going red.

“Hmm...I’ll see if I can fit you into my schedule” you respond, giving him a quick wink.

These next few months surely were going to be an adventure, and you didn’t want to miss a second.

[septembersghost]

red is so important to me (not a newsflash around here, i know), and as excited as i am for the other re-recordings, this one has specific poignancy and beauty for me that i will never forget, that i am endlessly grateful to have. i think there's a lot to be said on the time and space taylor has taken with the re-recording of red specifically - to be honest, and i've thought this since november, it seems like it ended up having a greater emotional impact on her than she initially expected, not only simply going back through those songs and that time when she composed it, but also perhaps in confronting the ripple effects that relationship, that album, and that time in her life had on her, that continued to influence her perspective and her reactions and even her approach to love for quite a long time (and likely still does to a certain extent). the massive pivot to 1989 wasn't only a ricochet from the situation with red at the grammys, it was a confluence of things happening to her (and i don't want to invasively list that, but it's been clear for a long time that the veneer of coolness and the edge of cynicism, mixed with other struggles she was having at that time, affected the image she was presenting and was an aspect of her approach to connection and her thoughts about love). going back through that from a more mature, more healed point of view, and in hindsight of everything that has happened to her since, unlocked a lot of insight from her about herself and her growth, about her own voice as an artist, and more universally on that period of time as a young woman when you're still very fragile and being so formatively shaped. some of the lingering pain and even shame you have over that time, over the wounds you experienced, easily turns to anger or a wish to be able to protect yourself or to a further clarity when you look back on it years later.

the thing with the re-recordings is, yes, it's very much about her ownership of her work and artists' rights, but it's also about reclamation. and that doesn't only mean reclamation of the music itself - she is literally reclaiming her life and the moments she lived through and she wrote down and shared to say, this mattered, this is how this felt, this affects me and this is real and this has VALUE. it's a massive undertaking as a musician, but it means even more when you look at it as a human being, as a woman, fighting for her younger self and reaffirming that her girlhood was important, that her experiences in life and love as she grew were meaningful. girls get written off so often. we're silly or too emotional or flighty or starry-eyed or whatever else. young women are treated like they're frivolous. taylor pushed back against that when she was a young woman, but she's fighting it even more clearly now by emphasizing how paramount that time and those experiences are.

all too well is the embodiment of that sentiment in many ways. it was rare, i was there, i remember it. she is reminding herself, assuring herself, how real that was, that moments we feel are special and precious, that our delicate hearts and our wide-eyed gazes are worthwhile. that no one can take that from us. that if we need to, whether it's in the moment or someday when we're fitting those pieces back into place, we can and should reclaim them. just between us transforms from between she and him, to between us individually as listeners remembering our own heartbreaks, and between us and taylor collectively, reflecting on those memories together. it is turning pain and memory into, if not power (and it IS power, in a way), a cathartic breath, a hand to hold. sacred prayer, i was there. we remember it.

[weelittleweasley]

guitar lesson (f.w.)

prompt: the band that the weasley siblings had formed brought new excitement to hogwarts. new music, new 

pairing: guitarist!fred weasley x fem! reader

warnings: language, allusions to sex (for like one second)

word count: 4.7k

a/n: this is literally just pure fluff. pure cute musical fluff.

George groaned and halted his drumming, “Bloody hell, Ronald, it’s not that hard to get the chord progression right after the third time drilling the song!” he cried out before tucking a drumstick behind his ear. “We go from G to B minor to E minor back to B minor. What is so hard about that?” he scolds his brother who just rolls his eyes. “Do we want to get this right or not?” George looks to the rest of the band comprised of his other siblings.

Ron just retorted simply, “It’s the first time we’ve ran this song in weeks, George. Everyone is rusty. Just give it a rest. We’ll get it right next go. Besides, aren’t we due for a five?” he looks to his sister who gives him eager eyes and a nod, signaling they were in desperate need of a break. 

George scoffs at his younger brother and says, “No, you’ll get it right the next go. Which starts now. Ginny, from the chorus. Fred, keep the chords crunchy, it sounds better that way. Ron, don’t fuck it up. Ready?” George directs the band as they all sigh. 

They had only been in band practice for an hour and a half and George was already making it a living hell. Sure, it was his idea to form a band and it seemed like a great idea. It was a way to spend more time together, to make music, to meet new people, and blow off some steam. If anything, Fred was the first one to jump on the offer. He knew that it would be a way for his family to bond, but also a way for him to show off his guitar skills that he had been honing for the past few years. Fred had once said, “Ladies love musicians. Especially the guitarists.”

But now it seemed like the band, which once was a low-key, stress free environment has changed wildly. Almost overnight things took a rapid 360. George had managed to book a gig for their band, The Burrow Bangers, at Three Broomsticks for the next weekend. George had convinced Madam Rosmerta to let them have the whole building for the evening for the gig if they promised to bring in the people. Which would not be a problem. Students were itching to see the band of siblings play. But this meant high stakes for the Weasleys. A real gig, paying them real money, to play real music. All they had ever done before was fuck around and play random music that they thought was funny. But this? This was all very new and very different than what they were used to.

With a few strikes of his drumsticks, George yelled out, “A 1, 2, 3, 4!” And the band swelled with music, George keeping rhythm on the drum kit, Fred wailing on his guitar, Ron strumming on the bass, and Ginny belting into the mic.

“She’s a Killer Queen, gunpowder, gelatine, Dynamite with a laser beam. Guaranteed to blow your mind; anytime...” Ginny belted into the mic, her alto voice resonating throughout the room of requirement as Ron and Fred stared at each other, wondering when they would get a break. Fred looked concerned at Ginny who's voice was obviously getting tired from belting for an hour and a half with no water or bathroom break.

Fred drops his guitar and speaks, “Hold on, hold on!” The band fades slowly before George throws up his hands in protest, asking why they stopped. “Do you not hear Ginny’s voice? She’s tired. We’re all tired, Georgie. We’ve been working non-stop for next week’s gig. I don’t think a ten minute break is gonna kill us,” he protests.

George rolls his eyes, “None of you are taking this seriously. We are getting paid for this. People are coming to watch us. Don’t you wanna be decent?” George rises from his seat, searching the eyes of his siblings for some agreement. 

Instead, he’s met with concerned eyes and tired expressions. Ginny looked absolutely exhausted, Fred looked exasperated, and Ron was flat out fed up. But all were equally concerned as to why their brother was so gassed up over this gig. George sighs, “I-” Fred gives him a sympathetic smile. “Of course, we wanna be good, Georgie. But we need to balance things out. Let’s all take a break for a while. Reconvene tonight after some much needed rest and we’ll talk details of rehearsals then. Good?”

Ron eagerly nods his head before slipping the bass off from around his body. Ginny turns off the mic and starts out with Ron, talks of what was for dinner in the Great Hall. Fred approaches his twin and places a hand on his shoulder. “What’s bugging you?” he asks, knowing that this behavior wasn’t typical for George. It wasn’t like George to get serious all of a sudden and push everyone to work without a break. Something was up and Fred could read it all over his brother’s face. 

Defeated, George sighs. “I don’t know, Fred. I guess I’m getting myself all worked up because I invited Angelina to the show and I wanted to ask to be my girlfriend and I guess I just want things to be perfect for her in a way.” Fred gives his brother a knowing look, wiggling his eyebrows. “Oh, shut it, you dickhead,” George laughs, pushing his brother’s shoulder. “You’d do the same if you fancied someone,” he teases Fred as his twin shrugs. “Freddie...you don’t mean to tell me no girl has walked up to you and has told you how hot it was that you played lead guitar in Hogwarts’ premiere band?” he teases.

Fred laughs, “Can’t say anyone has...yet.”

This makes George laugh and shake his brother’s shoulders. “That’s the spirit,” George slings his arm over Fred’s shoulder. The two twins carry back their band equipment as they make their way to the Gryffindor common room. “Seriously, Freddie, I bet I can set you up with one of Angie’s friends. I’ll tell Angie to bring her to the show and she can see just how sexy you look fingering those strings,” George alludes as Fred chuckles. 

“Nah, mate, I don’t wanna just have a set up of a date. I want to naturally meet a girl, you know?” Fred tells his twin as George rolls his eyes. Fred was always a hopeless romantic deep down. Although he had some flings in the past and had his fun with shagging a few girls casually here and there, Fred was looking for something more serious now. Someone he could connect with. “I’m not expecting for the perfect girl to be right around the corner, Georgie, but I’m not expecting her to be a-”

Fred stops mid sentence as he feels his body collide with another body as they walk around the corner of the hallway, making Fred and the person he had bumped into stumble back a bit. “Godric, I’m so sorry, I wasn’t pay attention to where I was going,” Fred looks around at the sheet music that was now cast about the floor. “Did I make you drop anything?” Fred asks, now looking up at a pair of eyes that made his heart skip a beat.

There you stood, a little flustered, in a hurry on your way to the library. You were late for a study group with some of your friends from your Charms class and it would be your third time late this week. If you were late again, they would surely give you shit for it. But as you took in who was causing you to run late, you suddenly didn’t mind. “Uh,” you gulp, “I’m alright, don’t worry. I should have watched where I was going. Now I’ve made quite the mess, haven’t I?” you lightly laugh as you crouch down to help him pick up the miscellaneous pieces of sheet music.

Fred joins you on the floor, picking up the scattered sheets. “It’s equally our mess,” Fred gives you a soft smile as you blush lightly. 

Fred looks up at George who wiggles his brows as if to say Oh La-La! before he winks at his brother. “Oh, hey (Y/N),” George speaks before continuing to walk down the hallway, giving his dear twin some privacy. Fred shoot his brother a look to say, Mate, what the fuck? 

“Hey, Georgie,” you laugh. The two of you continue to pick up the pieces of parchment as you inspect the scribbling on them to be the treble clef. “You’re a musician?” you ask him, referring to the sheets. Fred nods. “What instrument?”

“Guitar,” Fred beams as you widen your eyes and nod. “I’m actually in a band with George and my other siblings,” he tells you. “I didn’t know you were friends with George.”

You hand him a small pile of sheet music before you both rise to your feet. “Yeah, George and I have been friends for a little while. I helped tutor him in Divinations class,” you tell Fred who nods. Fred mentally yells that he wishes George would have told him that he was friends with an absolute stunner of a girl. “I didn’t know that you and George were in a band. That’s really cool,” you tell Fred with a smile.

As you stand before Fred Weasley, you hope he doesn’t know how flustered you were. You had always seen him in the halls with George and admired how charming and handsome he was from a far, but never said anything to him. You could have easily told George that you had a thing for his twin, but you were far too nervous to act on your little crush. You clutched your textbooks closer to your chest as Fred fixed the strap of his guitar on his chest, muscles flexing underneath his shirt as your eyes darting to watch them tug against the thin shirt material. 

Fred spoke, “We started the band a couple of months ago. So it’s a pretty recent development.”

You nod your head and awkwardly stand before him before realizing that you were just staring at Fred’s face, admiring how his lips curled into a little smirk when he looked at you. Clearing your throat, you breathe, “Wicked.” Fred chuckles. “I’ve always been fascinated by musicians. I wanted to teach myself how to play guitar, but I’ve never gotten around to it,” you word vomit, instantly regretting the words coming out of your mouth. Damn it, (Y/N), you might as well just tell him your life story, you think to yourself. 

With a cheeky smile, you watch Fred’s face light up. “I could teach you,” he suggest as your eyes widen. Fred immediately back pedals. “If you want! I mean, Godric knows that you are probably very busy, but if you ever wanted an instructor, I wouldn’t mind giving you lessons,” he retorts as you can’t help but have a lazy smile appear on your lips. Fred’s heart skips another beat as he gulps. “That’s only if you’d like me to teach you, (Y/N).”

The way he spoke your name made your stomach erupt with butterflies. His voice was like honey as words parted from his lips, the sweetest sounds you have ever heard. You watched his eyes as they looked into yours, monitoring how you reacted to his proposal. 

Guitar lessons with Fred Weasley? You would have to be mental if you said no. With a meek smile and you reply, “You really don’t have to, Fred.”

“I want to,” he jumps before clearing his throat, realizing how quickly he answered, making you giggle as Fred blushes a deep red that matched his hair. “I would like to teach you, (Y/N).”

With a nod, you say, “I’d like you to teach me.” 

Fred smiles widely. “Wicked,” he breathes out as you look away from his gaze to hide your rosy cheeks. “Just one catch,” he smirks as you furrow your brows. “You have to come to our show next week. At Three Broomsticks. And bring friends.”

Extending your hand, you tease him, “You’ve got a deal.” Fred shakes your hand firmly as you laugh. “I’ll see you around, Fred.”

You start down the opposite direction before Fred calls out. “First lesson is on Thursday! 4pm sharp,” Fred says as you flip around to look at him. “Tardiness is not tolerated,” he winks at you as you roll your eyes before walking away to the library.

As you walked down the corridors, you could help but smile to yourself. Your cheeks tingled from your large grin as you toyed with the edges of your books. The thought of Fred Weasley’s hands guiding yours as he taught you how to play guitar made your heart giddy. You nibbled on your bottom lip at the thought that danced around your head. Suddenly, you didn’t care how late you were to this study group.

----------------

Thursday rolled around slowly, but surely and Fred was checking himself out in the mirror, combing his fingers through his red hair, brushing the pieces out of his face. He nervously looked at himself in the mirror. Should he have shaved? Was he wearing too much cologne? Should he brush his teeth for a third time?

He frantically ran around his dormitory room, thinking he should change his shirt again. Maybe you liked the color green better than blue. As if the color of his shirt would determine the outcome of this lesson/date. Fred didn’t even know if he could count this as a date. 

George tapped out rhythms on his bed frame, watching Fred change his shirt for the fourth time as he shook his head. “Freddie, mate, are you really sweating that much?” he laughed.

Fred shot his twin a dirty look. “No,” he spat. “I just...I like the green better than the blue,” he lied, pulling the green shirt over his head and down his torso. Fred darted to his bed and grabbed his guitar and checked the time on his watch. He had ten minutes. “Good Godric,” he huffed.

“You alright? Haven’t seen you this shaken up since the time you thought you ate puking pastilles before your O.W.L.s,” George laughed as he tapped away on his bed frame. 

Fred nervously tapped on his thighs, “I’m fine, George. I, uh, I’m giving (Y/N) a guitar lesson today,” he reveals to his twin who's eyes widen and chuckles, “It’s just a lesson. Nothing else. But I’m bloody nervous about it.”

Sitting up, George speaks, “You got nothing to worry about, mate.” He walks over to Fred and places reassuring hands on Fred’s shoulders. “(Y/N)s a great girl. She’s sweet and funny and proper fit,” George raises his brows as Fred groans. “I’m teasing you, Freddie, calm down. You’ve got nothing to lose. Now get down there and make her swoon.”

Fred was never nervous for dates or flirting with girls. All of that stuff came naturally to him. But for some reason the thought of you was enough to make his stomach do somersaults. The palms of his hands got sweaty when your name was spoken. There was something about you that made Fred Weasley lose his senses and that was hard to do. 

Shaking it off, Fred huffs and leaves the dormitory making his way down to the common room. With each step he descended, his heart beat harder and faster against his rib cage. As he came down the stairs, your figure came into view which only made Fred’s mouth dry with anxiousness and excitement. He took a deep breath in and exhaled in attempt to calm himself down. I got this, she’s just a girl, he thought to himself. “4:00 on the dot,” Fred speaks, getting your attention, causing you to turn around to face him with a smile on your lips. “Very punctual, (Y/L/N).”

You take a good look at Fred and think about how effortlessly good he looked. Hunter green t-shirt hung on his tall frame perfectly as he walked over to where you sat on the couch, acoustic guitar in his hands. “Not to toot my own horn, but I was here at 3:55, Weasley,” you joke as he smiles. “Early is on time and on time is late.”

Fred chuckles, “In that case, pardon me for my tardiness. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive someone as foolish as me.”

His smile made your heart flutter and you couldn’t help but smile back at him. His joy was infectious. How could someone be so addictive? “Hmmm,” you pretend to think, “You’re lucky I’m such a kind and forgiving person.”

Fred places a hand over his heart and feigns relief. “Thank Merlin,” he fans himself as you chuckle. “Alright. You ready to get started?” he asks as you nod your head. “Brilliant, let’s start with the basics...”

After an hour of trial and error, you had managed to learned some chord progressions and strumming techniques from Fred. You had to give it to him; he was a great teacher. He was patient and smart and knowledgable. Not to mention, you loved listening to him talk about music and how passionate he was about playing. When he talked, he spoke with so much heart and life, it made you gently smile as you watched how animated he became. Fred Weasley really was one of a kind. 

You were nearing the end of your lesson as Fred showed you how to play an F chord on the guitar. “Best chord,” he spoke as you looked at him quizzically. “F is for Fred, keep up (Y/N),” he teases making you scoff. 

He explained the finger placements as you struggled to get it just right. “Wait, my second finger goes where?” you ask again as Fred points to the third string. You adjust and strum as an off-key chord resonates. “Now, that can’t be right,” you laugh as Fred shakes his head.

Fred gets up and moves from the chair in front of you to the seat next to you on the couch. He looks at you and asks, “May I?” He gestures to placing his hand on yours as you shake your head.

Gently, Fred places his hand on yours that holds the neck of the guitar as the other hand rests on your other elbow. Having his body is such close proximity to yours made your breath hitch in your throat as you felt his chest press against your back. Fred’s fingers adjust your placement carefully as if you were made of glass, trying his hardest not to make you break into a thousand bits. “This finger goes on the third string and this one stays on the second,” he lowly instructs. “And now, strum,” he speaks, a smile in his voice.

And so you do, a soft F chord playing as the strings underneath your fingertips hum sweetly. You two let the sound ring a little bit, either one of you not daring to breathe, scared to say or do anything. Just the position that you were in, his hands on yours, his chin resting near your shoulder, your back pressed against his chest. You gulped and exhaled softly. “Pretty,” you smiled.

Fred chuckled softly. “Yes, you are,” he spoke making your heart stop, wondering if he had just spoken those words. 

You turn to face him, a questioning look in your eyes as Fred allows a small smirk to dance on his lips. Cheeky bastard, you think to yourself as you smile at him. 

The two of you remain in this position, looking into each other’s eyes for a moment. Fred’s eyes were a rich brown, like pools of chocolate melting under the summer sun. His eyes were full of playfulness and cheer which made joy course through your veins. Fred Weasley was special. 

You didn’t even realize that he was leaning in until his forehead was pressed against yours and you connected the gap between you two, connecting your lips in a gentle kiss. As you kissed, he inhaled deeply, cupping your cheek with his hand, bringing you closer to him. His hands were calloused from the guitar strings as they pressed against your soft cheek. You pressed your lips onto his harder as Fred smiled gently into the kiss, enjoying every moment. You were first to pull away, but it didn’t last long, Fred’s lips following yours for another kiss as you giggled lightly. His lips were soft and tasted of sweet cinnamon and you wanted more, like your own drug. 

Fred gently pulled away before speaking, “I have a confession.” You hum in response. “I was planning on kissing you this whole time. I was just trying to find a good excuse to sit next to you,” he confessed.

You smiled involuntarily and laughed. “I believe that,” you speak before placing another kiss to his lips quickly. “I also have a confession,” you bite your lip as Fred looks at you confused. 

Scooting back a little, you cradle the guitar in your grasp before skillfully strumming a combination of chords that could be recognized as the beginning chords of I’m Looking Through You by The Beatles. Fred’s mouth goes agape and eyes wide as you play better than he could ever. “I lied about not knowing how to play the guitar,” you laughed. “I’ve known how to play since I was ten. I just wanted an excuse to see you again.”

Fred shakes his head in disbelief. “You sneak!” he exclaims. “A woman after my own heart,” he jokes as you laugh before he kisses your cheek. “Well, I guess you don’t need anymore lesson from a git like me. But I still think you should hold up your end of the deal,” he squeezes your hand.

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world, Weasley,” you smile. “Although, I will be coyly judging your skills from the audience.”

Fred laughs, “I’m sure you will be, darling.”

----------------

After days of rehearsing and planning and scheduling and rehearsing some more, the gig at the Three Broomsticks rolled around. Ginny had managed to convinced the entirety of the Hogwarts quidditch league to come out which already filled the Three Broomsticks at half capacity. But getting more people to come wasn’t a problem. The promise of good music and Butterbeer was enough to have swarms of students flow into the small building. 

The Three Broomsticks was soon teeming with people, chatting and drinking and laughing. The energy was high and the Weasleys could feel it from their make shift backstage (which was quite literally a curtain that Ron managed to pin up). 

However, this meant that expectations were high which in turn made the band exceptionally nervous. Ginny nervously danced around, doing lip trills to warm up her voice as Ron tuned the bass. George sat at his drumming seat and ran over rhythms in his head, Fred pacing back and forth, biting on his nails.

You shuffled through the audience and found Harry and Hermione sitting at a table in the front as you approached them. You could hear Hermione gush about how hard Ron has been practicing for the gig, a rosy hue forming on her cheeks as Harry poked at her crush. As you approach, Hermione notices you and beams, “(Y/N)! Hi! Are you excited for the concert? You know Ron is playing bass?”

Harry rolls his eyes, “Did you know Hermione has a big, fat cru-”

“Shut it, Harry,” Hermione quickly snaps as you laugh. “Anyway, what’s up?”

You smile, “Do you know if Fred is with the others still? I know he was nervous about tonight and I just wanna make sure he’s doing alright.”

Harry looks at Hermione and then back at you. “Yeah, he’s back with the others,” he says as you nod, leaving. But before you can leave, Harry stops you, “Wait, hold on, I didn’t know that you and Fred were....” he looks for the words.

“We’re not officially together, but we’ve been seeing each other,” you confess with a smile. Hermione gives you a teasing glance as she sips on her Butterbeer and Harry nudges her with an ooh. “Oh please. You think you two are slick? Everyone knows Harry fancies Ginny and Hermione is practically head over heels for Ronald,” you teases as they both wear bright red cheeks. “Mhm, that’s what I thought,” you laugh. “I’ll see you both in a minute.” You make your way to the back of the Three Broomsticks, behind the curtain to find a nervous band of siblings. Ginny catches your glances first and a smirk comes onto her lips. “Oh, Freddie,” she sing songs. “You have a guest.”

Fred turns around to face you and relief washes over his face as your heart skips a beat. Fred looked good sporting dark wash jeans and a black henley. Simple, but Godric, it was enough to make you swoon. Fred grabbed your hand and walked you over to the corner for a little more privacy. “I’m glad to see your face,” he spoke before bending down to press a sweet kiss to your lips.

“I told you I wouldn’t miss it,” you squeeze his hand. “How are you feeling?”

He shrugs and gives you an awkward smile as you blurt out a laugh. “I don’t know,” he joins in. “Nervous? Excited? Weird? All three?” 

You reach up and brush his hair out of his face as he relaxes under your touch. Just the simple gesture was enough to calm him down instantly. “It’s alright to feel like that. You are gonna be bloody brilliant. All of you,” you tell him sincerely. “You’ve been working so hard and you are all so talented. You’re gonna knock the audience’s socks off. I have no doubt in my mind,” you encourage him.

Fred smiles and without another word, he pulls you in by your waist to press your lips to his. You wrap your arms around his neck as you kiss him sweetly. His lips are pressed against yours firmly, but sweetly with passion. His touch was enough to make your head reel. Fred pulls away and presses his forehead against yours, “I’m playing for you tonight. And only you.”

Your heart skips a beat as you smile, staring into his eyes with so much adoration. It had only been a week and a half since you had started seeing each other, but you couldn’t help but have the overwhelming feeling that Fred was the one for you. He was everything you could ever ask for. Charming, kind, handsome, funny, witty. Fred Weasley was it. 

“And I’ll be cheering you on the whole time,” you tell him, extending your pinky finger to him as he loops his with yours. The two of you press kisses to your thumbs, making it a pinky promise. “Now, go get ‘em, tiger,” you encourage him. As you walk away, Fred taps you bum playfully as you scurry away, back into the audience with Harry and Hermione. 

The three of you buzz about the band and the atmosphere, sipping on Butterbeer before suddenly the audience starts wildly cheering. You turn your attention to the make-shift stage and see the Weasleys all enter. You immediately start clapping and cheering for the band as Ginny speaks into the mic. “Hello, Hogsmeade!” she laughs as the crowd cheers louder. “We are the Burrow Bangers and tonight we’ve got quite the show for you all!” she exclaims as the audience claps and shouts out. You look over at Harry and a wide grin is plastered on his face. “So, without further ado...”

“1, 2, 3, 4!” George bangs on his drumsticks before 80s rock blares through the small inn, the crowd immediately cheering and dancing the sound of the music.

And you had to admit it. They were damn good. They were all in synch with each other and blended so well together. The Weasleys were performers no matter how much they may hate it admit it. Not to mention, Fred looked hot wailing away on his cherry red electric guitar. His fingers skillfully strummed out chords and he musically added riffs when needed which made the crowd roar. 

You were overwhelmed with pride at the boy you had taken such a keen liking to you and it was palpable. Fred would catch your eyes every now and then and drop his left eye into a wink, making you blush and cheer louder for him.

Tonight, and every night following, he played for you and you only.

[ill-skillsgard]

I need Faust and Faith's reunion after he's done touring 👉👈 No pressure or anything. I just miss them a lot!

I always miss Fausty boy! I have some other prompts I wanted to incorporate into this one, but it was getting too long. I hope you enjoy!

+

Warning: 18+ mentions of public sex, mature language, anti-religious overtones, mentions of blood, violence, death, and drug use.

Summary: Faith goes to her first black metal show and asks Faust about the black circle.

- Not based on Lords of Chaos. I use Faust!Valter’s likeness only as inspiration.

Read more Faust x Faith here [x]

The duelling guitars screeched through twin stacks of speakers and filled the auditorium with malfeasance. Faith had never witnessed such a carnal reaction. As she watched from the side stage, the crowd below opened into a whirling pit of black-clad showgoers, pushing, jumping and banging against each other. The drums kicked into a blistering rhythm, and her attention turned toward the man she barely recognized with white and black makeup painting his face like the ghost of a demon.

Faust punished his drumkit with expert precision, his arms blurring in the chaos of their first song. His black hair swung as he banged his head without missing a beat. Horned and studded limbs spilled over the metal barricade, tongues lolled, and eyes lit with blissful fury. The singer's growls seemed to rise from the depths of hell, a monster shrieking at its thralls for more destruction.

Even with earplugs in, Faith felt the music blowing back in waves, shaking the column of her throat and turning her brain to mush. She dared slip one plug out to hear the true volume and quickly stuffed it back in when the intensity struck.

During the ambient interludes between songs, the crowd roared still. A few hundred people raised their hands, praising the men on stage. It reminded her of church, how they would let their eyes roll back, chanting the hymns and facing their palms skyward. This was no church she had ever set foot inside. The walls were painted black, the floor sticky from spilled beer, and its congregation made her gathering's displays of loyalty seem demure. The air reeked of salty skin and malt embedded in the paint from nights like this.

Faith saw people wearing shirts with Faust's band logo on the front, and a burst of pride warmed her belly. Though she was remarkably out of place, there was an odd sense of welcome. She could run headfirst into the crowd and get swallowed up and spit out like anyone else.

When they finished their set, Faust retired his drumsticks to a holder, chugged an entire bottle of beer and took a brief bow to the crowd before walking off stage. Faith bounced as he approached and scooped her off the floor, smearing her face with paint from around his mouth. When he set her down, his lips were partially visible through the now grey muck.

"How was it?" Faust asked.

"You guys are amazing. That's was so cool, babe!"

"Ah, you're just saying that."

"No, really! I can't believe how crazy they went for you!"

Faust sneered playfully, though their reception had been one for the books. "Probably 'cause half the crowd are friends of ours."

"Doesn't matter. You still kicked ass."

Faust's smile was unbreakable from a show well played and seeing his girlfriend waiting for him at the side of the stage. He led her to the green room as stagehands and managers nodded them through and let her dab the corpse paint off her face in the bathroom. Faust sopped up the sweat in his hair with a towel and changed his stage clothes before Faith returned. His bandmates soon joined them, and the chatter was unintelligible. People from other bands came in to talk and congratulate the young group on their first cross-country tour, and soon the back was filled with people hanging VIP badges from their pockets.

Faust pulled Faith from the bedlam before the room grew too hot. They made their way to the main floor and the rows of merchandise tables. Faith couldn't help but feel privileged to have access to the other side of the tables where Faust told her she could stash her coat and purse while a lineup of fans waited to purchase t-shirts and albums. Admirers pulled Faust away several times to take photos and shake hands. Faith watched in awe as people took turns posing with her boyfriend, who stayed looking stoic in his half-melted face paint. Her boyfriend. People from all walks of life wanted proof they'd met him, asking him to sign album covers and tour posters.

When Faust broke away from the clamour of excited metal fans, he took Faith's hand and pulled her through the crowd to a stairwell guarded by security. He flashed his tour badge, and the guard permitted them to the balcony where a few other musicians sat in a less crowded area.

"Come on, let's go outside. I need a fucking smoke," Faust said.

They went through a set of metal doors to an outdoor balcony where two men leaned against the railing, passing a joint and chatting. One spotted Faust, and a smile cracked over his face.

"Hey, Faust. Great show, man. We watched from the balcony. You guys were fucking killer," the man passed the joint to the drummer.

He hauled a significant bout of smoke into his lungs, then expelled it into the night air, handing it back with a nod.

The man refused. "Pass it to the lady."

"She's good," Faust said.

"I'll take a hit," Faith countered.

Faust glanced at her, brow raised high. "You sure?" He chuckled.

"Yes. I'll be fine."

Faust handed her the joint and turned to his fellow musicians. "Thanks. Glad you guys enjoyed the set."

As Faith inhaled, the other man turned to her and offered his hand to shake. "Hey, I'm Janne."

"Faith," she mouthed around a lungful of searing smoke.

"This is Yosh," Janne gestured at the man who'd initially offered Faust the joint. "Good to meet you."

"Is this your girlfriend, Fausty?"

"Yeah. She's my girl."

"Aw, that's cute. Didn't take you for the relationship type, to be honest. You like this scary son of a bitch?" Yosh asked.

Faith giggled as she looked up at the towering man dressed in black while he lit a cigarette. "He's not that scary. At least not to me," said Faith.

"Good man to have by your side at a show. You might get trampled down there."

"This is actually my first show."

Yosh choked on a hit and coughed, "really? And you came to a black metal show? That's ballsy."

"Well, it's not really my thing, but I wanted to see them play. I came from out of town just to be here tonight," Faith said proudly.

"Oh, right. You guys are from the green belt, right? Or should I say, the black circle?" Janne tittered.

Faust's eyes grew stony. "No. I'm not part of that shit. Bunch of fucking posers."

"We were just talking about the church fire there a couple weeks ago. You guys are known for that, aren't you?"

"I don't know. Guess so," Faust shrugged.

"They said there was a body found after they put out the fire, and it was nailed to some pieces of wood...like a cross or something. Can you believe that shit? How metal is that?"

Faith swallowed. She had heard the news break the day after the fire before they announced the unidentified body and after Faust had surprised her at the bus stop. They had prayed about it in church the following week and set up a collection to bulldoze the wreckage and reconstruct the chapel even bigger than before. Her mother was so stricken from the news that Faith had to spend a night at her parents' house consoling her while her father bad-mouthed the city's youth.

Bunch of heathen Satan-worshippers in this town. If I'd have known how disgusting some of these people are, I'd have never moved us out here.

Faith, her sisters and their mother all huddled on the sofa watching reruns of Full House while Stan stood hard-backed at the front window, peering out every few minutes as if the culprit might attack them next.

Oh, Stan, you don't know who did it. You can't point the finger when the police haven't even updated the community. Give the embers a chanced to cool. Besides, it's places like these that need the most help. We'll raise the money. I just hope to God they catch the people who did this.

All Faith could think about as she ate her sundae next to her sister was what she was doing the night after the fire. While the fire department was busy putting out the flames across town, she was pressed against a brick wall getting fucked by one of the heathen Satan-worshippers her father despised. She tried not to connect dots that had no business forming any kind of picture. Faust's appearance had been a coincidence.

I'll tell you who did this... It's that damned black circle. They've done it before, and they'll do it again.

Faust waved a hand in front of Faith's face, and she flinched from her reveries. "Babe? You there?"

"Oh, sorry," she laughed. "Kind of zoned out."

"Wanna head back inside?"

Faith didn't realize she was shivering until Faust rubbed her upper arms. "Sure. Yeah, let's do that."

"One puff of a joint, and you're on another planet, huh? Good seeing you Janne, Yosh... We should tour again."

"Yeah, man. As soon as possible. We're always on the road. We'd love to have you out for as many gigs as you guys can handle."

Faust nodded and clasped hands with both men before urging Faith along with a palm on her bottom. Once they made it inside, he snuck his fingers under her skirt and pinched her hard enough to give her a jolt but not to hurt.

"Faust!"

"What? No one's looking. Hey, you wanna check out our tour bus?"

Faith went to the balcony railing and saw the next band setting up their gear. She pointed below and turned to Faust. "Won't we miss the next band?"

"You actually wanna stay and watch?"

"Uh, yeah! This is my first show. I wanna see all the bands."

"All right. We can stay up here or go to the floor. But I'm warning you, it can get ruthless down there."

"I want to go down. It looks fun."

"Then we have to go now. We'll try to get right up front where you won't get swallowed in a circle pit."

"Really?" Faith gasped. "Like, right up front at the barricade?"

"Sure, why not? If you want the full experience. I'll stand right behind you and make sure crowd-surfers don't land on your head. Then after, I'll show you the bus, and...I dunno...Probably fuck."

"Oh my goodness, Faust. Yeah, right!"

"I'm serious. I'd fuck you right here if there weren't people around."

Emboldened by his suggestion, Faith whirled around and stared up at him with her brows lowered. "What's all this about the black circle?"

Faust scoffed. "What are you talking about?"

"I've heard it mentioned before and that you're part of it. I just wanna know. Is it some kind of gang?"

"Do I look like I'm in a fucking gang? No. It's just some dumb shit they made up in high school."

"They as in your friends?"

"It's stupid and means nothing."

Faith stood in place. "Well, they're saying that church burned down because of your friends. Aren't you afraid someone might ask you questions?"

"I'm not afraid of shit because I've been on tour this whole time."

"Faust—"

"What did I tell you about the twenty questions? Now, do you wanna go watch the show or do you wanna keep talking about irrelevant shit?"

Dissatisfied with his response, Faith clammed up and followed Faust to the main floor. They wriggled through the tightening crowd and got upfront before the lights lowered, and a gust of smoke covered the stage. Ominous chanting heralded in a band dressed in black hoods. Faith watched, awestruck, but in the back of her mind, thoughts of the black circle fermented, giving off a foul smell she couldn't ignore.

After the headlining band opened with pyrotechnics and the frontman tossing a skull of pig's blood over the crowd, Faust took Faith around back, where the tour buses formed a barrier between the street and the venue. He led her inside and turned on the light to reveal the interior in a state of disarray. Beer bottles overflowed in the sink, ramen noodle wrappers littered the floor, and spiked leather decorum hung over seats and tables. There was a shredded porn magazine, its contents pinned to the wall and drawn over with a black marker, breasts shooting fire and snakes slithering out of places that made Faith blush.

"Sorry about the smell. Touring always has a distinct odour of unwashed balls and puke."

Faith tried not to touch any surface until Faust showed her to the back lounge area, where they sat and looked at each other in prolonged silence. Faith reined in a smile while her boyfriend sat back and studied her face.

"I'm glad you came. Sorry that it's probably more chaotic than you expected."

"It's okay. I'm having fun."

"You sure? I know it's not really your scene."

"You're my scene," Faith said.

He reached for her hand. Faith thought he meant to hold her, but he tugged her closer instead, straddling her over his lap. His hands came up under her skirt and over her ass while they kissed. Faust pulled away as she rocked her hips forth and placed his hands on her hips.

"So, how's school?"

"You're really asking me about school when we haven't seen each other in weeks?"

"What? Is there something else you wanna do?"

"I think you know what I want."

"Yeah, but I want you to say it."

Faith peered down the hall, past the bunks, toward the front of the bus. "What if someone comes in?"

"Not like my band hasn't walked in on you sucking my cock before."

"Oh my gosh, don't remind me."

Faust darkened, pulled air through his teeth. "Did you miss me?"

"Of course, I missed you. How is that even a question?"

He tilted his hips up and let Faith drop when he relaxed. She tugged his shirt up to appreciate the trail of hair leading down from his navel.

"What did you miss the most?"

"Your big, throbbing heart," Faith giggled. "I missed cuddling with you and going on walks together. Waking up with you beside me. Your cooking."

Faust pulled her down for a hug. "All right, all right. I get it. You wanna fuck, just not in the bus."

"Do your bandmates fuck girls in here?"

Laughter burst from his mouth as he rocked Faith back and forth. "They fucking wish."

The couple chuckled until another silence proceeded. Faith saw the fiery look in Faust's eyes, the appetite for her body that never tapered, his joy from having her there on his tour bus. Yet, all Faith saw was a building on fire, flames flickering behind his green stare. She smothered the thoughts with a kiss Faust took for permission to explore under her skirt again. Maybe she could kill her suspicions by reminding herself how much he loved her, the lengths he would go to protect her.

Voices yelled outside the bus, distracting Faith but not Faust, who rolled beneath her hips, oblivious to the arousal shooting through his groin.

"Yeah, come on, baby. Pull my cock out and sit on it for me. It'll be quick."

"Faust!" Someone shouted outside of the bus.

Faith pushed on his chest and perked toward the sound.

"Where the fuck is that asshole? First, he fucks off for an entire day, loses his phone, makes us cancel a show, and now the prick can't be dicked to help load out because his bitch is here? Getting real fucking sick of the bullshit, Ola."

"Mordy, chill out, man."

The bus door opened, followed by a waft of cigarette smoke. Boot tread hammered across the floor, and Mordy swayed through to the back, scoffing when he saw Faust with his girlfriend perched on his lap.

"You wanna take apart your drumkit, or are you just gonna let it sit in the way of everyone's gear? Oh, sorry, should have known you were too busy to be fucking bothered."

Faust lifted Faith off his thighs, and she bounced on the sofa as he shot up and stared Mordy down. The bass player didn't flinch.

"What? What're you gonna do, Faust? Punch me out? Good thing it's our last show. Wouldn't want your personal business getting in the way of the biggest tour of our fucking lives so far."

"You don't know shit, so I suggest you shut your mouth."

"No, I'm not gonna shut my mouth. Someone has to stand up to you, and none of these pussies will. Go load out your fucking gear, man!"

Faust smelled whiskey on Mordy's breath. He was far too sober to start a fight with the bass player and nodded, shouldering past him. Mordy crashed into the wall and cursed as the drummer stomped off the bus, leaving Faith fidgeting with the edge of her skirt and unsure if she should follow. Mordy scoffed at her and exited the bus after Faust, shouting until she no longer heard him.

When Faust returned, Faith stood up and wrang her wrists. "Should I leave?"

"We're both leaving," Faust muttered as he tore open the zipper on his backpack and scrounged up his clothes and stage effects to stuff inside. He ducked into the small fridge and took four bottles of beer, sticking two in the holders of his bag and pocketing the other two inside his leather jacket.

"Come on. We're out of here."

"But, neither of us have a car, and we're far from home," Faith said.

"Call a cab."

Outside of the bus, guitar cases and boxes of merch waited for loading. Faust opened a tote, wrenched open a steel moneybox and took some of the cash inside. He found Faith's coat and purse and passed them to her before kicking a hole into the plastic container. Mordy and Ola noticed this as Faust walked away with Faith in tow.

"Hey, asshole! What do you think you're doing? You can't just fucking take off with the merch money!"

Faust turned around, grabbed his crotch and flipped them off. "Suck my dick, fuckbags. Find a new drummer."

[caguaydreams]

A thorough analysis on why Vah Medoh’s dungeon theme makes me want to cry

Yep, that’s an accurate title. Hi there! do you have a moment to hear about Breath of The Wild soundtrack? posting for yet a third time in hopes that tumblr won't hide it. I'm so tired

What started as a quick and harmless post, pretending to simply point out a couple of things, rolled downhill, out of my grasp and turned into a massive snowball of a short essay. How and why did this happen? Well, I assume a lot of people know about this song, and know what I’m talking about when I say that it makes me tear up and sob uncontrollably with every change in key as the seconds tick by and I spiral down into a dwell of misery from where I struggle to find the exit and to later recover.

……No?…..At the VERY LEAST it makes you a little uncomfortable. And I state this with much certainty, because after reading hundreds of comments everywhere online where this song is present, I picked up on a vast majority of people who expressed to feel the same way I did when it came down to our current music subject. See, statistics don’t lie… normally. So, naturally, my intrigue got the best of me. I wanted to find out exactly why this soundtrack was mercilessly stirring up everyone’s emotions, so I caved in and we ended up with this.

Buckle in, fellas.

Out of all Divine Beasts’ dungeon themes, Vah Medoh’s is the one that I can’t sit through. Not without growing antsy and wanting to turn it off as soon as possible. I find it genuinely difficult to listen to, and it’s not only because Revali is my favorite character and the song is just, plainly put, depressing, mind you.

We’ll start from 0 terminals activated.

It opens up similar to the other three dungeon themes; the pace is slow but eerie, gives off the impression that it sounds broken somehow. Something is off here, and it’s easy to figure out what that is from the get go: you’re basically entering a majestic, ancient, mechanical mausoleum, where everything went terribly wrong a century ago. Someone is gone, someone you knew, someone who was probably close to you, but it’s impossible to be sure. You don’t remember a thing, and this entire ordeal is confusing at best, and terrifying at worst. It’s your duty to make things right again.

It’s the same for all four Divine Beasts upon entering, save for the obvious little differences that separates them from each other and make them unique. Ruta’s is played on a major key, adhering to a sense of hopefulness. Naboris’s begins with a startling smashing of the piano keys, much like thunder of a sudden lighting strike. And Rudania’s theme starts threatening, dangerous, like scalding lava.

But now, back to Vah Medoh. The tone here is… alienating. The dissonant chords are all over the place, and feel disconnected, cold. It’s almost as if someone doesn’t want us to be here, or just like the elusive key, our presence is unexpected. Fitting, for a Divine Beast that’s high above the land, impossible for most to reach, yet we somehow made it. Apart from the piano, we have the occasional hint to rito culture, in the shape of a short, synthetic version of the rolled chords at the very beginning of Rito Village. A quiet reminder of where we come from. There is also, of course, the morse code distress signal, but we’ll talk more about that later.

As soon as this formal introduction is over, we finally get to the more, say, intimate stuff. Oh, and wouldn’t you know, it’s just tragic.

One terminal activated.

There’s no better short way I can describe this passage, other than anxiety-inducing. Especially when the strings come into play, and there’s two reasons I can think of why I feel this is an important thing to point out:

1- Characters and Symbolism.

I tend to associate stringed instruments, all of those which compose the violin family, with rito culture. And Revali, most specifically. In Creating a Champion we can see the early concept art and designs for all or most major characters in the game, and Revali’s highlighted rough design might be the one that changed the most throughout proper development of the character, out of all champions. He looks quite different from our usual depiction of him, it’s fascinating. What truly catches my eye, however, is the design of his bow.

You thought bird puns were bad? Oh boy, how do you feel about Revali having a bow that looks like a violin/cello/viola??? And do you need a bow to play it also??? Like, is it even an instrument or it’s nothing more than a mere fashion statement?-

Anyway. I believe this was originally going to be a not-so-subtle wink to rito culture, being heavily musically inclined as we can see and conclude for ourselves. Perhaps Revali was going to be a musician as well, now how cool it that!

Needless to say, the idea was eventually scrapped. But one detail I am CERTAIN carried over to the character we know and love today(okay not all of us love him but seriously if you dislike him why are you still here lol): strings. The association between bows(weapon) and stringed instruments, aside from being a quite clever and creative one, goes beyond the concept art and remains strong as part of Revali’s character, settling for having a presence via score. After all, Revali is a master of archery, so in that way it makes sense to keep strings as symbolism to reinforce the idea and drive it home.

But can you guess what other thing Revali excels at? That’s right: flying. He’s the only rito we know of who successfully managed to take advantage of wind currents and bend them to his will. And do you know what musical instruments are often used to evoke the feeling of flight and gale? If you thought of bowed strings, you’re correct! Unfortunately, I couldn’t find much support on this topic online, so you’ll have to take my word for it. I am most certain that this is fact, although not something worth discussing on the Internet, by the looks of it.

Anyhow, violins/cellos/etc are ever-present whenever we’re close to Rito Village or dealing with a rito related mission. Attack on Vah Medoh, for example, features a sequence of strings that is meant to evoke the strong winds we’re fighting against in that particular moment(*). Another great example is The Final Trial, the song that plays at the shrine of resurrection nearing the end of the Champions’ Ballad. Preceding the activation of each terminal, you’ll notice that a new instrumental element joins the crowd: the first one corresponds to the tambourines, related to the zora and Mipha; the second one are strings, referencing the rito and Revali, etc. I tell you, the moment I heard this during the trial I almost started crying like a baby. And, although strings have a lot to do with Rito culture in general, they tie most strongly to Revali, since he was the champion of his people, and his legacy carried over throughout the years. His accomplishments became material of folk tale, a legend, a source of pride and inspiration for the village. And let’s not forget that, at the end of the day, Revali is the crucial and foremost connection Link has to this place. Other than appeasing Vah Medoh, Link’s responsibility here is to free his past fellow champion’s spirit from Ganon’s malice. The soundtrack is referencing Revali first, and by extension his devotion to his home.

With all that in mind, let’s move on to our next point:

2- Nowhere to Go.

You shoot the canons, land on top of the Divine Beast, do what you gotta do, activate the first terminal and the soundtrack goes off unannounced. Like some sort of surprise anxiety bomb. The rhythm turns fast, the melody erratic, incredibly desperate in its execution. There’s this sheer despair, fear, this feeling of suffocation almost, which are so well achieved in this particular piece.

And that is, partially, because a quite familiar resource is used here as well; one that we’ve heard before in songs such as Rito Village or Revali’s theme. You could even think of it as a motif: two notes are played in an semitone interval, repeatedly and in quick succession. For the sake of later convenience, we’ll call this the Flight Motif, now let me explain why. In Breath of The Wild, this semitone loop is often followed up by some form of resolution. In Rito Village, formerly known as Dragon Roost Island(**), that resolution consists of a graceful descent of the melody, from a high that was built up previously during the motif. On the other hand, if you listen to Revali’s theme, you’ll notice that the interval repeats itself for a couple of times as thought charging up, to then rise fast and determined into a triumphal reprise of Revali’s distinctive assigned melody. This juxtaposition supposes the difference that lays between common rito flight and Revali’s trademark ability; both musical sequences are speaking of flight, albeit in two different languages depending on the way to achieve it. While the rito traditionally use their wings to glide and let themselves get swayed by the air currents Buzz Lightyear style, Revali takes full advantage of his flying capabilities to somehow create an updraft of his own, rising meters above the ground whenever he likes or needs to.

So, now that I layed out my base of thought when focusing on the strings, this’ll be much easier to explain. We’ve settled what the instruments themselves are a symbolic representation of Revali, in this scenario specifically. He was the only one inside Vah Medoh, and the score is, in a way, a retelling of what we can vaguely assume went down here during the Great Calamity, as much as it is what sets the tone and ambience for Link’s mission. But what are we hearing exactly? What we talked about, the Flight Motif, is being repeated nonstop. And that’s the thing, remember how I mentioned that this sequence usually finds resolution at the end? Well. Inside Vah Medoh,… it never does. The melody picks up in numerous occasions, but it���s not nearly as graceful, or calculated, as we’ve grown used to by now. It gets tangled and lost, and then inevitably falls to the ground in disarray. The pattern repeats itself, reaching higher after a handful of failed attempts, but no matter how much it tries, the cycle never ends. What used to tell us about flying and freedom in the skies, has morphed into an almost sinister musical incarnation of a tornado, and there is no way out of this trap. What do you think it must feel like to mindlessly flap your wings against wind currents so strong and violent, that it is impossible to get anywhere nearby, let alone take off every time you lose your balance. Or every time you’re shot down. On top of that, trying to aim and fight back in whatever short breaks and opportunities you get, at an enemy that’s much more powerful and relentless, who’s using your own element as a weapon to destroy you… it’s a risk Revali surely had to take in order to put up a fight. Even knowing full well that the odds were not in his favour, that he was most likely going to lose this battle, that he was going to die. Let that sink in. I’ll skip the activation of the second terminal, since there’s barely any change registered in the theme in general. So-

Three terminals activated.

I know this post is supposed to be a breakdown of the song purely, but that doesn’t mean there’s no place for a little theorising, and the following scrutiny is also quite relevant for our discussion. Bear with me for a bit. I’ve read almost everywhere about people’s most common interpretations on the Divine Beasts SOS signals, and how everyone thinks that Revali’s coming in last (a few seconds later than the other champions) has to do with him holding on for longer. Or, also, overconfident as he was, it means that the idea of calling out for additional support didn’t cross his mind until it was too late, and that’s why the beeping sounds more frantic and panicked than the others’ when it does appear. After giving it some thought myself, I’m betting on the latter option holding more ground, and that’s not all. I want to touch upon a detail of the piece that I never acknowledged was there until very recently(after seeing myself obliged to listen to this song fully and a handful of times, suffering every minute of it for the sole purpose of this analysis. It’s okay I didn’t need my heart anyway). Soon after activating the third terminal, the SOS signal disappears, or grows distant and faint enough that we can’t make it out from the background anymore. In its place, we’re confronted by this… shrill, piercing and painfully slow tune. It sounds synthetic, artificial, devoid of life. And it’s funny, because you know what it reminds me of? I’ll tell you:

A heartbeat flatline sound.

And I want to highlight that this doesn’t happen in any of the other Divine Beasts themes. All their SOS signals carry on, but Medoh’s is no more. This abrupt stop, followed by this bone-chilling tune…. makes me believe that Revali was the first of the champions to fall. A few days ago I came across SuperZeldaGirl’s video on a similar topic, theorising that this could very much be the case. There is not much evidence to support this claim other than some visual cues that could be suggesting to it, but after I found this in the soundtrack, and if we’re to rely on it for anything, I believe Revali was either the first champion to be ambushed by Ganon, or well…. the first to be killed. It is plausible, because short after Calamity Ganon unleashes his power, Revali parts from the group and flies directly to Vah Medoh, and he very well could’ve been the first pilot to arrive.

On this note…. we’ll have to wait and see for ourselves, when Age of Calamity provides long-awaited answers to many of our questions.

Four terminals activated.

An interesting melody is being played on what, for me, would qualify as a glockenspiel or a celesta, which are keyboard based instruments that produce a sound similar to that of a music box(***). If you want to pay more attention to it, I suggest listening to Vetrom’s Instrumental Mix Cover of the theme, where they practically zoom in on this part of the song (keep in mind that it uses the All Terminals’ time signature so it’s being played faster). For some reason, this particular addition makes me feel profound empathy. The sound of this instrument could be described as cute or childlike, magical, even. It is more often than not used to represent innocence, but I highly doubt that’s specifically the intention here. Much like the leading strings’ melody, the melodic contour of this one is trapped in a loop of going up and down constantly, but the difference is that this time around it sounds more under control. And much more uniform too. It doesn’t lose focus or takes risky, fruitless leaps, but rather chooses to stay on a path of waves that consistently rises and falls without taking detours. Like a determined battle strategy, giving it your all. You fall, but get back up again, and try again, and again. It reminds me of Revali’s approach to training, being persistent to the point of overworking himself. He had discipline nailed down to a tee, which I also think served him well in combat. It’s not just about being hard on yourself, either, but being confident and having complete faith in your abilities; believing that you’ll make it.  For this to appear now, that the SOS signal is almost completely gone, is significant because it means that by this point, being so close to success on Link’s behalf, the music is sparing genuine encouragement for once, in spite of the tragic outcome of the past and the danger of the current situation. But, in all honesty, this is probably just me reading too much into it. Perhaps the composer just thought this addition sounded pretty bitching and there’s not much else to it, which is completely fine. Although, intentional or not, sometimes coincidences do happen, and at the end of the day, interpretations like this are a form of appreciation for an artist’s work and for what they can unknowingly accomplish.

All terminals activated.

This is the moment when the song finally lightens up. Notice how the strings abandon the wave pattern for a more even contour. The beat quickens, the melody stabilizes. At first I thought, coming from our flight analogy, that this meant a cease in movement entirely, and it was partly one of the reasons why the song in general makes me anxious. But thinking about it now, …there is something different going on here. The strings are playing on a steady rhythm. It resembles a march, it’s like a pounding heart. It’s a lively, hopeful statement. And what’s interesting is that, up until this point, there was so much fear and helplessness present in the score, even going as far as to reach a dead end when we activate the third terminal. But that’s it, isn’t it? the music just keeps going further. 

It’s saying: this isn’t over yet. Even after complete and utter defeat, there’s still hope and an underlying wish to overcome this predicament, and we started to hear this as soon as a fourth terminal is activated. The melody we previously talked about? it’s here as well, and its beat is much more daring and confident.

And I just want to say… this is so powerful. Because this sentiment is deeply tied to the game’s story and Revali’s character arc. You see, he is introduced as someone who resents Link for being the manifestation of his failure, in a way, because Revali has trained arduously his whole life to be where he is, to be recognised. And yet… this hylian gets chosen by a magic sword and some tale of divine destiny and, apparently, that’s all it takes for him to be deemed the hero that will save the land. In Revali’s eyes, Link has done nothing to prove his worth before him, so it is easy to see why he despises the silent knight so much; he is yet another individual that was born into their destiny. Meanwhile, Revali has had to build his reputation from the ground up, earning him a place among the greatest warriors of Hyrule, and even then he finds himself surrounded by people who grew up praised for being born gifted.  We can see how Revali is the odd one out, and can map out the reason for him acting so antagonistic towards Link.

But once we’re on Medoh, things start to change. When Link enters the Divine Beast, Revali greets him with disdain, as per usual. Of course, Link has no recollection of whatever happened a hundred years ago, other than a small glimpse of the rito champion talking down to him, a memory that came and went in a flash. So as Link, we more than expect Revali to act cold and mocking, which he does. He provides us with as little help as needed in order to free Medoh, reluctantly, shielding his wounded pride over having to wait for Link, of all people, to come to their rescue. But you can hear him starting to open up bit by bit(I wish I could translate his dialogue directly from Japanese but I’ll make do with a couple of dubs and other numerous sources from translators online). With each little step Link takes towards success, activating the terminals, the perception Revali has of him shifts from one of resentment to one of genuine admiration and respect. By the end of it all, he is willing to not only cheer on Link during the boss battle, but to trust him with his life’s worth achievement. And once left alone, he admits defeat and lets go of his bitterness, realising that he was wrong to underestimate Link, and later wishes he could’ve had a chance to measured up to him. To take all of this into consideration and work with it in the soundtrack I think it’s genuinely splendid. And for once, I am grateful that it ends in somewhat of a positive note that puts my soul to rest. I still have a hard time listening to the first two thirds of the entire thing, but now I can look forward to a hopeful and earnestly heartening conclusion for all the pain that this composition puts me in. I must admit that it’s beautifully and brilliantly crafted, and that I am enamoured of it regardless.

That is why I wrote roughly 4k words about it! I hate myself!

If you’re as crazy as me about the soundtrack of this game, I recommend you read the published cd interview with the composers themselves! if you haven’t already. I just found it yesterday(unbelievable but it’s true) and… after writing all of this and checking it out, I felt validated. It sure is a one of a kind feeling. 

Alright folks, we’ve made it to the end. Congratulations for sticking around and thanks being interested in my nonsensical rambling! 

I also hope that you, like me, will now be unable to listen to bowed strings without being reminded of Revali. Good luck!

————– Annotations/Sidenotes/Whatever

(*)The Flight Motif(in point number 2) is also present in this track. We can hear it in the background right after the Rito leitmotif, as per usual. It starts with a clarinet, I think, before the strings take the lead. (**) Note that the Flight Motif only comes into play in the Breath of The Wild rendition of the song. (***)I strongly associate this instrument with Mipha, given that it is used in her theme, in every “response” to the initial melody. It can be heard in Attack On Vah Ruta, as well, it enters the scene when the notes Mi(E) and Fa(F) are played. The initial tune, Si and Do(B and C) are played on a clarinet or oboe, wind instruments just like the flute that leads Sidon’s respective theme. The celesta can also be heard inside Vah Ruta, activating the first terminal…. when the song really takes a turn just like Medoh’s. Mipha has nothing to do with the song of this analysis, however. We must understand that instruments, although they are attached to characters/various story elements in some cases, can always be used outside of that context, for that is the nature of an orchestral soundtrack. If you have this many tools at your disposal, you will make good use of them.

[frostiifae]

Why do we hate Nintendo?

Today, organizers of the The Big House online tournament announced that they received a cease and desist order from Nintendo. 

What is Slippi?

Project Slippi is, essentially, an add-on to the existing Dolphin emulator for Gamecube games. Its purpose is to bring the features of modern online gaming to Super Smash Brothers Melee, a game which was released very nearly 20 years ago and is no longer in production, but remains a popular competitive game with an active scene. 

Slippi has been a godsend to the Melee community during the pandemic. It offers incredibly high-fidelity gameplay with random matchmaking and tournament support, and the developers have emphasized making the game experience itself as close to local play as possible. It’s been so successful that the Big House - a series of major annual tournaments that have been running for almost a decade - decided to host their 2020 tournament purely online using Slippi. 

Who care about Melee? Why aren’t they just playing Ultimate instead?

If you ask a Melee player, they will go on and on about the improved framerate, responsiveness, and other such technical advantages Melee has over Ultimate. I’m going to talk about something else instead. 

It’s culturally expected nowadays that when a new game in a franchise comes out, you stop playing the old game and play the new game instead. But if you apply this way of thinking to any other form of media it’s completely ridiculous. It’s like saying there’s no reason to watch documentaries from the 80s and 90s, because documentaries about the same subjects have been remade more recently. Media exists as a product of its time. It might contain valuable historical insight that remains precious to us for centuries to come. Or, it might just be better. Maybe the older documentaries are more informative, or maybe they’re more engaging to watch. Games work the same way; people will always have their preferences about which game in a series is their favorite, and choosing to play an older game you prefer - especially if you’ve got a lot of friends to play with you - isn’t at all an entitled thing to do. 

The problem with digital media is that having a movie or game by itself isn’t useful. Me owning a copy of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is useless if I don’t also have a Sega Genesis to run it on - and that system is useless if I don’t have a working controller to use to interface with the game. Melee has been facing this problem for years now, as copies of Melee itself and Gamecube systems and controllers become more exclusive and more scarce. There aren’t new games or systems coming onto the market to replace what’s being lost - there are only a finite number left, and when the last one breaks, Melee will effectively cease to exist. 

Ok, well, that’s sad and all, but Slippi is an emulator, right? And emulating is illegal!

Emulating is legal... sort of. Emulation has hidden behind a vague phrasing of copyright law that suggests that, when you own a piece of digital media, you have the right to make copies of it for your own personal use - you just can’t distribute those copies. Owning an emulator, or the ROMs needed to play games on that emulator, isn’t strictly illegal... but distributing those things is. 

The idea here is, in theory, you could very thoroughly mod your Gamecube to connect to the Internet and play with modded firmware using Project Slippi. Modding isn’t illegal, so if you have your own GameCube and your own copy of Melee, which you purchased legitimately, then doing this is absolutely legal. And it probably is what people are doing! Definitely, probably. I’m sure it’s not as hard as I make it sound. Don’t worry about it!

Point is; distributing ROMs is what’s illegal, not playing them. The Big House isn’t distributing ROMs, so they’re not doing anything illegal. And Nintendo knows that; they took a different approach. Instead of claiming that using Project Slippi is against the law, they instead simply informed TBH that they don’t have permission to stream or host a tournament using their game. 

Obviously, Nintendo owns the rights to Melee, and that means they have the right to decide who is and isn’t allowed to stream their game and why. The Big House didn’t break the law, but that doesn’t mean they have the legal standing to challenge Nintendo’s order - let alone the financial resources or emotional stamina needed to get into a legal battle with a company of that size.

I don’t see the problem. Nintendo has the right to do this. Isn’t this what everybody does?

No.

Age of Empires 2 came out in September of ‘99, and it has remained a niche but thriving competitive RTS game over 20 years since then. Fans had to keep the game fresh on their own via modding in new map support and even new civilizations. 

In 2012, Microsoft decided that the game’s consistent support from its fans deserved an offering, and they decided to make an HD rerelease. That’s really cool of them! They also contacted the developers of one of the most popular fanmade expansions, Forgotten Empires, and worked it into an official expansion, called The Forgotten! AOE2 has continued to grow and thrive ever since, receiving enough attention to call for TWO MORE EXPANSION PACKS, and of course leading to the Definitive Edition release last year. Embracing fan support of their outdated product has given Microsoft the opportunity to make money off of something that should be long dead, and now it’s bigger and better than ever before. 

If you ask folks within the fighting game community, you’ll find this isn’t an isolated story - for example, Arcsystems notably once incoporated a fanmade mod that improved netplay into an official patch, lending official developer resources to the group to help them get the job done. When your fans care so much about a game you’ve made that they’ll put in the time and the effort to make that game better and more accessible for everyone, a lot of developers are happy to honor and embrace that effort, and in doing so, they stand a lot to benefit - their games get better, and they might even be able to make enough money back on those improvements to keep growing the game even further.

So if other developers aren’t doing this, why is Nintendo doing it? Simple: They don’t like the idea that people are playing old games. They want everyone playing the most recent offerings, no questions asked. To them, “rereleasing” Melee is out of the question; Smash Ultimate is the only “canonical” version of Smash. Don’t play anything else. Don’t try to buy anything else. This is the only game that exists. 

So what? I don’t care at all about Melee. Why does it matter that Nintendo wants people to stop playing a 20-year old game?

The short answer is because it sucks that Nintendo holds the rights to something they don’t care about and aren’t using, and that they’re using those rights to legally bully people who love their games and want to make them better and more accessible to other people. Regardless of how you feel about Melee or its community, it’s a simple fact that the people who are building Project Slippi and running tournaments love the game more than just about anybody else. For Nintendo to order a C&D against a passionate fan project is a bummer - but for them to do so in regards to a game that they’re not making anymore is downright unfair. They would rather protect their ability to maybe make more money on Melee later, than allow the existing scene to thrive in a way that does literally no harm to them.

Nintendo’s well-known and aggressive policy of shutting down fan-made projects and communities of all kinds has only one objective in mind: they want absolute control over everything that they’ve made. From a certain naive point of view, this is fair, right? But if you take this to its logical extreme, then that means Nintendo has the right to prohibit things like fanart or fanfiction, which doesn’t really seem that fair. Where should the line be drawn?

This is just another battle in a war that has been fought over the last 200 years regarding the idea of a “copyright”, and what gives a person the right to decide how other people will consume media they publish. It has never been about the rights of writers, musicians, or game developers - it has always been about publishing rights. Publishers want exclusive control over the things they publish, because holding exclusive control makes it much easier for them to make money from their products. 

We have a legal term for when a single entity has exclusive control over a commodity in high demand - that’s called a monopoly, and it is illegal. Monopolies pose a serious threat to consumers because they can price their goods however they like, extorting their consumerbase or simply making their product inaccessible except to an elite few, which isn’t considered fair. So if that’s the case, why aren’t video game publishers considered monopolies? It turns out some people in the past believed they should be, and publishing companies have been doing all sorts of legal acrobatics for years to avoid it. Free Culture makes for a good read on the subject, if you’ve got time. (Chapters 6 through 9 are particularly relevant to today’s issues with streaming games and music.)

A lot of people don’t seem to understand the damage that Nintendo’s ridiculous monopolizing practices have done to their own gaming community. It’s absurd of them to expect people to continue to pay for new releases of the same games on virtual console, not just once but every time a new generation of “virtual console” is released - and yet they keep doing it, and it’s just one of many ways they continually screw over their customers at a chance for a few more bucks, and somehow most of their audience thanks them for it. 

So what exactly do you want me to do?

Nintendo’s tried to suppress Melee tournaments in the past, but were forced to reverse their decisions following massive public outcry by the competitors and their fans. Regardless of how you feel about Melee in particular, what Nintendo is doing is scummy and actively malicious to the people that love their games, and the fact that they’re doing it again proves that they’re not interested in learning their lesson. Folks on twitter are using the tag #FreeMelee to protest; lending your voice for a tweet or two can only help. 

More generally, though, all we can really do is be critical of Nintendo’s games and actions, and to ask ourselves whether we’re really getting what we’re paying for. Nintendo will continue to take everything you offer them and will never be satisfied; they will do whatever they think they can get away with - and if their fans never challenge them, they’ll assume they can get away with anything, and that’s bad for everybody - but it’s worst of all for the people who ostensibly love and support Nintendo the most.

[yegarts]

POPOPOPOPOP: Exploring the sounds of soda with Big Rock Candy Mountain

Photo credit:  Mitchell Art Gallery/MacEwan University

When you think about the unique properties of your favourite soda, the typical things that likely come to mind are the flavour, the colour, the smell, the way it feels in your mouth. But would you ever think to explore the sounds of soda?

This year, grade 6 students from Edmonton’s John A. McDougall Elementary School have been working with Vancouver-based flavour incubator and taste-making think-tank, Big Rock Candy Mountain (BRCM), to develop their own soda, and the thing that caught their attention was the percussive elements of the fizzy beverage. The pop of the lid, carbonated hiss, the glug as your pour the liquid into your glass, the sounds of bubbles. At first, the artists and students were exploring the visual aspects of soda, but as the project and conversations developed, they became interested in the auditory elements of pop and partnered with sound artists to delve into the percussive elements of pop. The end result, POPOPOPOPOP, is “a drinkable publication dedicated to bubbles-as-scores, carbonation-as-percussion and the many other connections between pop and sound.”

“When we met [John A. McDougall teacher] Mrs. Andrews and we were planning the soda project, we hadn’t really been thinking about sound,” reveals artist Hannah Jickling. “But then when she said she was a percussionist that kinda blew our minds!"

In this iteration of the project -- a co-production between The Mitchell Gallery at MacEwan University and the Edmonton Arts Council -- BRCM and the students brainstormed the flavours of their product; explored the links between shape, colour, texture and sounds through visual scores; used their bodies like musical instruments to produce unexpected sounds; talked about the ways marketers appeal to all of our senses; and experimented with a diversity of ways that sound can be recorded, edited, and transformed. The focus on sound opened the door for collaborations with a variety of musicians, including Andrea Shipka, Brady Marks, Biboye Onanuga & Gareth Gilliland, Carla Lenfesty, Charmaine Lee, Gina Pasaran and Mustafa Rafiq.  

“I liked that we didn’t really focus on just the simple things,” says grade 6 student, Ritvik. “We went deeper and created a soda that’s unique and different from others. And I learnt that unique sounds can fit together very well, or they can destroy each other!”

“I didn’t know a hydrophone was a thing,” adds fellow grade 6 student, Angelica. “We learned that it records sounds that are made in liquids, which I thought was really cool.”

Example of soundtrap being used to create an audio composition. Photo supplied by the artists. 

Andrea Shipka and Carla Lenfesty, students in MacEwan University’s recording program, had the opportunity to teach the students how to capture sounds and record them using soundtrap, an online cross-platform digital audio workstation that allows users to create music or podcasts. The kids were able to record their observations and sounds and create audio compositions which Shipka and Reed blended together to create a POPCAST. Like piecing together a complex puzzle, the POPCAST took 30+ hours to compose. In the end, a snippet of sound from every student will be heard in the composition, telling the story of the learning.  

https://soundcloud.com/b1gr0ckcandym0unta1n/popcast

According to Shipka, this may be the most rewarding project she has ever worked on. “I don’t think I’ll ever get to work on something like this again, and I’m very sad because I feel like maybe these kids now have a love of sounds that I didn’t even know could exist until a few years ago when I started [the program at MacEwan]. The kids are in love with sound, and I can’t wait to see how that passion develops into artistry.”  

The students also created visual depictions of bubbles in a series of drawings that were then turned into an animation by Vancouver-based animator Chhaya Naran and set to a bubble score composed by Edmonton musician Mustafa Rafiq. “The animation was so good because of how they chose to put the types of animations to the sounds,” exclaims Melissa Andrews, one of the teachers from John A. McDougall. “When there were bursts of sounds the image would burst, or when the melody would be rising, the balloons would be rising. It was so fluid, and that is soda!”

On each bottle of POPOPOPOPOP is a QR code that links to BUBBLE SCORE with audio by Mustafa Rafiq, drawings by the students and animation by Chhaya Naran; the POPCAST; as well as SIP SOUND, an interpretation of soda sounds by students and guest artists; and MMBOOBLES, a track by musical improviser Charmaine Lee who performed for the class over Zoom.

Projects like POPOPOPOPOP not only result in a fun and totally unique end product, but they open doors for students as learners to explore art and creativity in an unorthodox way. “The experiences they had, and the learning that they’ll take from this project will probably make them think about different pathways as they move on to JR high and high school that maybe they never would have thought of before,” adds Mrs. Zmurchik. “Maybe they’ll think about sound, or art, or being creative, or science in a different way. This is what learning should be like.”

“This product tells a story. It tells the story of the learning and of the journey. This is truly a piece of art, it’s so much more than just a soda!”

Photo credit:  Mitchell Art Gallery/MacEwan University

And let’s not forget about the soda itself! Brewed and bottled locally by Boocha, the students describe the pop as "a mix of sour-sweet, lingering in your throat” -- reminiscent of a mouthful of sour berry candies. Interested in trying the sonic refreshment for yourself? POPOPOPOPOP can be purchased in Edmonton starting today at TIX on the Square, Hideout Distro, Coffee Bureau, Latitude 53 and Griffins Landing at MacEwan University (starting September 1). Catch students from John A. McDougall Elementary selling POPOPOPOPOP at Habesha Market on Thursdays throughout the summer. All proceeds from the sale of POPOPOPOPOP will support future art and music programming at John A. McDougall Elementary School. With more retail locations to be confirmed, be sure to follow @bigrockcandy.mountain for updates to find out when POPOPOPOPOP is available for purchase.