#Romantic Songs of 1959

[ritualvirtuality]

please do look it up if you dont know the date bc there may be at least an approximate answer and otherwise the last option will completely dominate and this poll will be boring.

and dont be like 'but i cant sing'... just answer the earliest tune you know well enough that you COULD sing it

periods of western classical music provided only for reference

[ofswanlake]

Melting

Melting is the first full album released by Nari. It was released on May 8th, 2024 through VIE Entertainment and Republic Records. It is available digitally and physically.

GET YOUR PHOTOCARD HERE!

PLAY ALBUM HERE.

TRACK 01. Espresso (orig. by SABRINA CARPENTER) is a funk-pop English song written by Nari and produced by Julian Bunetta. On Genius, she explains that she compares herself to coffee to emphasize how energetic her partner gets with her. The lyrics further explain that she can get the guy— any guy— and she is this person’s dream come true. Nari references pop culture with Nintendo and Mountain Dew in this song.

TRACK 02. Melting (orig. by KALI UCHIS) is a dreamy love song written by Nari and Kino and produced by IO and Diplo. The song details falling in love with someone who makes you lose all your worries.

TRACK 03. Rooftop * (orig. by YOOA) is a hip-hop dance number with addictive string sounds and the booming percussion sound of an 808 bass written by Nari and Ryder Kim, produced by Jimmi. On Genius, Nari states, “Rooftop compares the line between reality and dreams to a rooftop— and a bird in the cage represents being stuck, and the bird wants to fly away and be free.”

TRACK 04. Kitty Cat * (orig. by JULIE of KISS OF LIFE) is a hip-hop based pop genre song composed of both vocals and rap. It’s written by Nari and Jennie, produced by IO. The song defies society’s expectations that a woman should be tame and submissive, and Nari is exactly the opposite. The lyrics further that while it may she like she has everything, she feels unloved and feels objectified and controlled by those around her. The societal “gaze” becomes too much for her to handle, and she just wants to break free from everyone’s expectations.

TRACK 05. Nothing (orig. by KISS OF LIFE) is a medium-tempo R&B song inspired by the 2000s written by Nari and Lainey, produced by Sade. The song is about a love reaching its end, a love that changed and the lack of emotion in the relationship.

TRACK 06. Sugar Rush (orig. by BIBI) is a playful and empowering anthem with upbeat R&B pop with a sparse hip-hop beat. It’s written by Nari and Pink Slip and was produced by Pink Slip and inverness. The song emphasizes Nari’s allure and charm while also warning those who try to take advantage. This song in particular is popular for its lyrics, hidden meaning in lyrics and surprise guest appearances by the rest of BLACKPINK in the music video.

TRACK 07. Don’t Let Me Go (ft. GIRIBOY) (orig. by JEON SOMI & GIRIBOY) is an upbeat song with a catchy whistle tune and smooth rapping featuring K-rapper and producer, GIRIBOY. The song discusses the need to be with the one you love.

TRACK 08. Teenager in Love (orig. by MADISON BEER) is a doo-wop pop song written by Nari and One Love, produced by One Love. The song references Dion and the Belmonts’ 1959 song “A Teenager in Love”. The original is about

TRACK 09. Feeling Lucky (ft. Jackson Wang) (orig. by BIBI, JACKSON WANG) is an all English sultry pop song written Kurtis Wells, Aldae & ABSOLUTELY and produced by Aldae and Kurtis Wells. The song is about a mutual attraction and the thrilling dynamics of a romantic relationship. It is the only song not written by Nari on the album.

PHYSICAL ALBUM CONTENT

1 disc + photobook (68 photos) + two versions + one random photocard out of three + one out of two random mini posters + one out of two random solo polaroids + one ot5 blackpink polaroid + stickers + one big folded poster + one swan keychain (PRE-ORDER ONLY)

STYLIST’S CHOICE

Rooftop Stages

Kitty Cat Stages

Espresso Stages

HIGHLIGHTS

Espresso was released first as a surprise with one teaser announced on social media on May 6th, 2024 at 12AM KST. The song was an English pre-release single.

The music video for Espresso had 76 million views in the first 24 hours. It debuted at #1 on Worldwide iTunes Songs Chart, as well as charting #1 on Bugs and Genie, #3 on MelOn, and #94 on Flo. On all music platforms, the single cover was what captured many attention.

Melting was soon announced with teasers posted on May 8th, 2024. It received over 200k pre-orders in the first 24 hours and within two weeks, it had 1.5million pre-orders.

There are two versions of the album, HEART and FACE.

Melting was released across all platforms on May 27th, 2024. All songs charted in the top 100 across Bugs, Genie, and MelOn. Rooftop debuted at #97 on Flo. The track Sugar Rush was banned from music shows.

Rooftop gained 59 million views within 24 hours, debuting at #1 on Bugs and Genie, #2 on MelOn and #97 on Flo. Nari promoted Rooftop on Korean music shows for two weeks, gaining seven music show wins during the time but in total had eleven wins for the song and performed Kitty Cat three times.

Nari promoted Espresso first, after she went to the Met Gala. She performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

She also went on Genius Verified to explain the lyrics, along with Wired! for Nari Answers the Web’s Most Searched Questions.

She was super excited to do the Puppy Interview with Buzzfeed, she even posted a selfie teaser before the video and some videos on her Instagram once the video was out.

When promoting in Korea, she made sure to go on a lot of variety shows, mostly because she never got the chance before.

She went on Jaefriends, Knowing Bros, Let’s Eat, XYOB, The K-Star Next Door with Jonathan, D&E’s Wanna Come Here, PSICK Show, and The Killing Voice. She really enjoyed being on all of them, making sure to show her appreciation for being invited.

Nari explained on Genius Verified about Teenager in Love, “It’s not about anyone you know.”

VIE Entertainment (Nari) posted a live performance and dance practice for Espresso, Rooftop, and Kitty Cat on YouTube. Along with a lot of vlogs after the era was over, including her GRWM video for the Met Gala (which was posted before), preparing for her comeback, videos of her in the studio, etc.

She also opened her own TikTok account and began posting dance challenges with other idols, along with current trending challenges. She was the first idol Jennie did the Spot challenge with, and likewise for Espresso and Rooftop.

On social media, BLINKs were more ruthless than ever with getting rid of hate posts. VIE Entertainment also had to post a statement about taking legal action against malicious posts.

If she knew anything about said malicious posts, she never spoke out against them or seemed down at any point.

Not once did Nari answer any questions about Jungkook if she was asked by a reporter who couldn’t get the memo, known for either staring at them in silence until they changed the topic or laughing and ignoring them. But everyone knew they were still together as it somehow got out that she went to visit him.

Each time she went somewhere to a known schedule, she had multiple bodyguards with her just in case. And even for her just being out, she had bodyguards with her, no matter what. Which a lot of BLINKs (and Nari’s circle) were glad for.

All in all, it was a really good surprise comeback for Nari.

[sayitaliano]

Ciao! I've been loosely following Sanremo and I'm curious about the Topo Gigio performance. Why was it so impactful? I've seen many people reacting from nostalgia, but also someone mentioned it being very politically significant. Could you explain how it is?

Ciao!

I can only talk from my pov, and it brought me a lot of nostalgia tbh.

Topo Gigio is a famous tv personage and singer: he's been on tv since 1959, hosting and being a co-host in many famous tv shows, especially those who made Italian TV history like Canzonissima and Lo Zecchino d'Oro (both music-based), where he used to sing and duet with many guests and hosts like Raffaella Carrà and Mago Zurlì (Cino Tortorella). His most famous song is "Strapazzami di coccole" (=scramble me with cuddles). His creators indeed made him a very romantic, sweet character, always willing to cuddle and eat some groviera cheese but also very afraid of cats (and of songs about cats). His most famous quote, he mentioned during Sanremo's performance too, is "Ma cosa mi dici mai" (=what are you saying/no way... -in a very cute way-). He got to take part in a few movies, a bunch of animated series (made in Japan too), books and comics; he even got to be on US TV.

Few days ago Topo Gigio turned 66 years old. In this Sanremo he's been the first non-human joining the competition. But he's such a dear character to all, and I guess many loved Lucio's great idea of bringing him to sing on Italian tv main channel in prime time after long. Not to mention they sang "Nel blu dipinto di blu (Volare)" by Domenico Modugno who won Sanremo in 1958 with this song (sang by Bowie too, whom many got reminded by seeing Lucio Corsi) and who had been the first one to voice Topo Gigio in 1959. Lucio mentioned how he learned not to be a slave of circumstances and of others thanks to Topo Gigio (a pretty nonconformist puppet) and that the song, based on the element of air and flying, could have made the hearts of many fly as well.

In December 2024, Gigio hosted Lo Zecchino D'Oro (some kind of Sanremo for kids, let's say) with Carlo Conti and asked him to take him as a contestant in Sanremo which he couldn't do. That's why after the performance with Lucio Corsi he reminded Carlo of the fact he didn't want to bring him to Sanremo but he made it anyway thanks to Lucio.

I honestly am not sure about the politic meaning of this performance (could be that Gigio is a symbol of freedom and diversity though). I respect everyone, but I personally don't wanna be one of those people trying to see politics everywhere and being so serious all the times, looking at any possible hidden reason behind everything, even behind a puppet (especially loved by kids, and reminding me of my childhood) singing on TV. I'm already stressed enough, yk. I may be naive, but I'm okay with that. And this blog, being my blog, is not going to talk politics or at least not very much also for this reason. So, for this part, I hope someone else can help you better!

Buona giornata/serata!

[justforbooks]

Richard Chamberlain

Dashing American actor best known for his many roles in hit TV series including Dr Kildare, The Thorn Birds and Shogun

Despite becoming a lauded stage and film actor, Richard Chamberlain, who has died aged 90, carried the label of soap-opera star around his neck for most of his career of more than five decades.

It began with his huge success in the hospital television series Dr Kildare (1961-66), in which Chamberlain’s clean-cut good looks were the prime attraction, bringing him thousands of fan letters a week. Chamberlain’s other immensely successful television roles came in three mini-series, Centennial (1978-79), Shogun (1980) and The Thorn Birds (1983).

His perfectly chiselled features, which made him ideal for romantic leads in soap operas, prevented many producers from visualising him in more demanding roles. However, through talent and determination he starred in numerous films and on the stage in parallel to his television work.

Born in Los Angeles, he had a cool relationship with his alcoholic father, Charles, a salesman, but a warm one with his mother, Elsa (nee Von Benzon). At Beverly Hills high school, he excelled in athletics, and his good grades enabled him to study art history and painting at Pomona College, southern California, where he was able to satisfy his dream of becoming an actor in plays by Shakespeare, Shaw and Arthur Miller. After graduating, Chamberlain served 16 months in Korea, where he was made company clerk of his infantry company, later promoted to the rank of sergeant.

On his return to the US, Chamberlain studied acting with Jeff Corey, who became renowned as a teacher after being blacklisted in Hollywood by the House Un-American Activities Committee.

Although Corey’s sense-memory Stanislavskian method is not immediately apparent in Chamberlain’s performances, the actor claimed to have learned how to tap into his own emotions and psyche. At the time, he was struggling with having to “live a lie” about his sexuality.

In 1959, Chamberlain, Leonard Nimoy and Vic Morrow were among the founders of the Company of Angels, a repertory theatre in Los Angeles. While playing there in La Ronde and The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, Chamberlain started to get parts in television series. His first feature films were The Secret of the Purple Reef (1960), a low-voltage, low-budget thriller shot in Puerto Rico, and A Thunder of Drums (1961), a western in which he was hardly noticeable as a young cavalry officer.

Then came the role of Dr Kildare, for which Chamberlain beat 35 other candidates. In the first episode, the senior medic Dr Leonard Gillespie (Raymond Massey) tells Chamberlain, as the young, earnest, caring James Kildare, an intern at Blair general hospital: “Our job is to keep people alive, not to tell them how to live.” Kildare ignores the advice, thus supplying the basis for most of the plots of the next 190 episodes across five seasons.

In 1962, with his popularity at its height, he recorded a hit song, Three Stars Will Shine Tonight, based on the music of the show’s hummable opening theme. It revealed that Chamberlain had a fine singing voice, which he used on a number of singles and an album, Richard Chamberlain Sings (1962), and much later as leads in stage musicals such as My Fair Lady (1993), The Sound of Music (1998), Scrooge (2004), The King and I (2006) and Monty Python’s Spamalot (2009).

When Dr Kildare ended, Chamberlain decided to prove that he was not just a pretty face, by appearing in summer stock productions of The Philadelphia Story and Private Lives (both 1966).

He then worked for three years in Britain, on television, stage and film. He was excellent as Ralph Touchett in the BBC’s six-part adaptation of Henry James’s novel The Portrait of a Lady (1968).The role got him noticed by Peter Dews, the artistic director of Birmingham repertory theatre, who offered him the chance to play Hamlet in 1969.

The play was a sell-out for its limited five and a half week run, and in the main, the British critics were positive, with the Times reflecting the consensus: “Anyone who comes to this production prepared to scoff at the sight of a popular television actor, Richard Chamberlain, playing Hamlet, will be in for a deep disappointment.” The Daily Mail commented that “the perturbed spirit of Dr Kildare may rest at last. In Mr Chamberlain we have no mean actor.”

In films, he was a noble Octavius Caesar in Julius Caesar (1970), and a striking Lord Byron in Lady Caroline Lamb (1973), and he was able to express some of his own angst and sexual liberation as a gay Tchaikovsky in Ken Russell’s The Music Lovers (1971). At this time, it was an open showbiz secret that Chamberlain was romantically involved with the US actor Wesley Eure.

The rest of the films he made in the 1970s – The Three Musketeers (1973) and The Four Musketeers (1974), in which he played Aramis; The Slipper and the Rose (1976), almost typecast as Prince Charming; and the disaster movies The Towering Inferno (1974) and The Swarm (1978) – were lucrative but hardly challenging. He was more stretched in Peter Weir’s The Last Wave (1977), shot in Australia, where he was the initially smug lawyer defending a group of Indigenous Australians accused of murder.

In the meantime, Chamberlain had made a triumphant Broadway debut in Tennessee Williams’s The Night of the Iguana (1976-77) at Circle in the Square theatre. According to one critic, Chamberlain, as the defrocked priest now a tour guide, “captures the self-lacerating torment of Reverend Shannon”. During the run, he started a relationship with Martin Rabbett, a production assistant on the play. They remained together until 2010, and later resumed their partnership.

In the 80s, Chamberlain established himself again on television, earning the nickname “king of the miniseries”. Shogun, based on James Clavell’s novel, starred Chamberlain as Pilot-Major John Blackthorne, an Englishman trying to gain acceptance in early 17th-century Japan. Chamberlain, long-haired and black-bearded, held his own among a cast of superb Japanese actors that included the dynamic Toshiro Mifune.

In The Thorn Birds, he was sexy Father Ralph de Bricassart, the Roman Catholic priest who carries on a tortured, illicit romance with Meggie Cleary, played by Rachel Ward, in the Australian outback. It was disliked by Colleen McCullough, the author of the original 1977 bestseller. She said: “It was instant vomit! Ward couldn’t act her way out of a paper bag and Chamberlain wandered about all wet and wide-eyed.” Nevertheless, the 10-hour, four-part, $23m show became one of the most watched TV series ever.

Chamberlain continued to move between films, television and theatre, and his homes in Hawaii and Los Angeles, over the next decades. He was a guest star on the TV comedy series Will & Grace (2005), and his final film role came as an acting coach in Finding Julia (2019).

In 2003, in his memoir, Shattered Love, he wrote about his dislike of himself for not being true to himself in order to protect his matinee idol image, but in coming out he “finally made friends with life”.

He is survived by Rabbett.

🔔 George Richard Chamberlain, actor, born 31 March 1934; died 29 March 2025

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

[dollarbin]

Dollar Bin #56:

Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?

It's not the most covered song of all time, but Carole King's masterful ode to romantic insecurity certainly earns an honorable mention alongside McCartney's Yesterday and Gershwin's Summertime. Indeed, I've got a ton of versions of Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow in my own dollar bin and they veer from shimmering to dull.

Here's the original. Despite the unfortunate stagger and unnecessarily busy arrangement (clearly, it was 1959 at this point) the Shirelles ably set the stage for WYSLMT's future greatness:

The heart of the soon-to-be ubiquitous song is solidly in place here: we are immediately doubtful that our hero will get the love she needs and deserves and, because of that concern, we offer her our own love in exchange.

A lot changed in music during the following 6 years. But the changes weren't enough to allow Dusty Springfield to perform the song at a pace which gave her room to sway. Even so, you've got to love her decision to scat and sigh alluringly between lines.

Perhaps because she didn't have Dusty's talent or range (who does?) Cher got an early chance to work through the song at a pace that allows for the song's actual pathos to begin emerging like Spring's first lonely flower. But the instrumental break before Cher's last refrain dumps sewage on her hopeful horticulture.

Amazingly, no one did the obvious thing throughout the 60's and just let the song fully breathe. Francoise Hardy takes her sweet time during her 68 version but once again a frantic charge reigns behind her:

Why didn't any of these 60's artists solve the song's riddle by embracing the sorrowful sway of longing and loss?

It's tempting to blame the men in charge. After all, even the great Linda Ronstadt, who had yet to wrench the helm of her own ship away from an all male cadre of producers and sessions musicians, was forced, after embracing worry in her opening phrases, to keep up with needlessly kick-ass drums, boisterous backing vocals and a stupid lead guitar. Trembling ache is present whenever Linda insists upon it, but that ache is given no room to pulse.

Ironically, the first evidence I can find of the song slowed down is barely listenable and done by men. But their dulled pace is born of their total lack of skill and style, not any kind of understanding. I want to punch each one of these dopes squarely in the nose.

How did Carole King survive an entire decade of people screwing up her song? She was all of 17 when she wrote WYSLMT and, by 1970, at the ripe old age of 28, she'd famously had it with men, including her lyric writing husband, dumbing down her work. Happily, King had that moment's best living example of feminine musical ownership right there in the studio with her when it came time to show the world the real meaning of WYSLMT:

King's own version, with Joni humbly and perfectly supporting, is, as it should be, the song's best known iteration. I can never get enough of its shared maturity and tone.

But I suspect that King herself, and her cat, would recommend the recently heaven-sent Roberta Flack's take of WYSLMT, recorded before Flack herself was discofied and undercut by male producers, over her own brilliant effort.

At long last Flack, building on King's Tapestry performance from earlier that same year, let's us hear the true pace and tone of longing.

There's no need for either of you to wonder any long, Carole and Roberta: we'll definitely still love you tomorrow.

[hotvintagepoll]

idk if anyone else has already mentioned this, but i wanted to submit it as propaganda for jeremy brett: he's a great singer and he played the romantic lead in the 1959 west end musical "marigold". he was also in the musical "johnny the priest" in 1960. this link has a video with clips from the songs he performed, played over images of him in his various theatrical roles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_jK4k6hHj8

Jeremy Brett vs Gene Kelly

[itsstarseason]

SEYEON’S PROFILE ✰

╭┈──── ◌ೄ◌ྀ ˊˎ

╰┈➤ ❝ BASIC INFORMATION !

✰ NAMES & NICKNAMES

BIRTH NAME. Choi Se-yeon (최세연)

BEHIND THE NAME. The name was chosen by her mother. The meaning is unknown.

ENGLISH NAME. Stella Choi

BEHIND THE NAME. Derived from the Latin, Stella means 'star'. Her mother chose the name after moving to the US.

NICKNAMES. Sese, Star, Yeona, Yeoni

✰ BIRTH INFORMATION

DATE OF BIRTH. May 1, 1997

PLACE OF BIRTH. Seocho-gu, Seoul, South Korea

HOMETOWN. Manhattan, New York City, USA

ETHNICITY. Korean

NATIONALITY. South Korean

CITIZENSHIP. South Korean

BLOOD TYPE. A-

FAMILY. Choi Song-Ho (father; 1959), Kim Ji-Yeon (mother; 1965), Kang Kyung-na (cousin; 1986)

LANGUAGES. Korean (native; Gyeonggi dialect), English (fluent; New York accent), Japanese (basic), Mandarin Chinese (basic)

ZODIAC SIGN. Taurus

CHINESE ZODIAC SIGN. Ox

✰ GENDER & SEXUALITY

SEX AND GENDER. female woman

PRONOUNS. she/her

ROMANTIC AND SEXUAL INTERESTS. undisclosed

╭┈──── ◌ೄ◌ྀ ˊˎ

╰┈➤ ❝ PHYSICAL INFORMATION !

✰ PHYSICAL TRAITS

EYE COLOR. dark brown

HAIR COLOR. black

HEIGHT. 162.1cm (5’3”)

WEIGHT. 44kg (97lbs)

DOMINANT HAND. left

✰ BODY MODIFICATIONS

PIERCINGS. left earlobe - 2, right earlobe - 2

TATTOOS. left knee - 1

✰ OTHER

MEDICAL HISTORY. depression, lumbar strain (2023)

MEDICAL CONDITIONS. none

ALLERGIES. dust

ADDICTIONS. nicotine

╭┈──── ◌ೄ◌ྀ ˊˎ

╰┈➤ ❝ CLAIMS !

VOICE CLAIM (SPEAKING). Rora (BABYMONSTER)

VOCAL CLAIM. Rora (BABYMONSTER)

RAP CLAIM. Maya (XG)

DANCE CLAIM. Lisa (BLACKPINK) & Jurin (XG)

╭┈──── ◌ೄ◌ྀ ˊˎ

╰┈➤ ❝ CAREER INFORMATION !

OCCUPATION. K-pop Idol

✰ NAMES & NICKNAMES

STAGE NAME. Seyeon (세연)

NICKNAMES. the next BoA, BoA's daughter, nation’s MC, happy cat Seyeon (세냥이), Korea’a hot girl

✰ GROUP

GROUP. NCT (2016–present), Girls On Top (2022–present)

SUB-UNITS. NCT: NCT U (2016–present), NCT 127 (2016–present), NCT DREAM (2016–2018, 2021–present), Girls On Top: GOT the beat (2022–present)

POSITIONS. NCT: Dancer, Rapper, Vocalist, Visual, Center, Face of the Group; NCT 127: Main Dancer, Lead Vocalist, Lead Rapper, Visual; NCT DREAM: Main Dancer, Lead Rapper, Lead Vocalist, Visual, Center, Face of the Group; GOT the beat: Vocalist, Rapper

DEBUT DATES. 9 April 2016 (NCT U), 10 July 2016 (NCT 127), 25 August 2016 (NCT DREAM), 3 January 2022 (GOT the beat)

✰ SOLO

LABELS. SM Entertainment (2007–present)

TRAINING PERIOD. 8 years 6 months (October 2007–April 2016)

ROLE MODELS. 2NE1

SOLO FANDOM NAME. Sebyeols (세별즈)

REPRESENTATIVE EMOJI. 🌶️/❤️‍🔥

REPRESENTATIVE COLOR. N/A

✰ OTHER

KNOWN FOR. being under SM; being an SM Rookies member; her visuals; performing BoA's 'Girls On Top' and being called "the next BoA" pre-debut; being an Inkigayo MC; being a member of NCT; being the only female member during NCT's rookie years; being the most popular NCT member; her visuals; her dance skills; being an all-rounder; having extremely high spice tolerance; owning a Porsche car; having an emo phase pre-debut and in rookie years; talking to the reporters at airports; having a different hair color every era; being hated during her rookie years; hosting almost every event/award show; looking like a cartoon character; being overworked; her stage presence;

SIGNATURE.

itsstarseason 2024 ✰

[turigirl]

Could you tell us either abt ur ocs or your f/os? :-)

hi anon i love you

my ocs that ive been thinking about most lately have been those under the tag "fine & mellow" :o) theyre a 60s girl band! ive read a lot about the dynamics of popular bands, specifically in this time period, and i think the love-hate relationship that usually results is really interesting.

i think if i ever illustrated it in some way (art or writing or etc) id want it to be a comic. maybe a webcomic, maybe a physical comic. im not super sure on that.

id want to include things like interviews, magazine covers, album covers, photos of them, etc, played as from a real band (as real as a picture of furries can be). i have a list of album names and song ideas for each one (some being existing songs to pretend are theirs, some being "original" songs. meaning i made it up)

the band is founded in 1959 by dominique dalmatian, who is the main character. she's reserved- not shy necessarily but cautious of every new person she meets. she has bpd (projectionn of my symptomsss) and depression that creeps in slowly and immobilizes her. and she plays bass! she has a strong work ethic and will push her feelings (and others') aside to finish her work, in this case being f&m's albums.

fine & mellow is the name of the band, by the way, to be clear. it's named after a jazz standard and slowly becomes more and more ironic.

there are other guitarists before, of course, but the most important one is laura labradoodle. she's peppy and brings a lighter tone to their music as well as a more romantic light. shes a brilliant songwriter, despite it being really just a hobby. shes a full time photographer when they recruit her. when she joins in 1962, the band as a whole changes. she and dom write songs together, becoming closer and closer. that relationship and how it bends and breaks is especially what i would focus on. there's something so heartbreaking about getting so close, hearing a part of the others soul, only for something to backfire and send the band into a downward spiral.

clears my throat. so anyway, the drummer is named lolly lamb, and she stays from the beginning (until she's pushed out by jackie, who you'll hear about in a sec). she adores 40s and 50s fashion and has a seemingly instinctual sense of beat. drumming for f&m started out as a favor for her friend and ended up becoming so much more for her, and the rest of them.

in early 1964, after a couple months of no creative breaks, laura brings in... a hairdresser. her name is jackie jackrabbit, and she stares at the other two like they've grown new heads. but she's laura's friend, and they know the moment she sings with them that they've got something special. jackie is a little snobby and a little blunt, but manages to fit in fairly well. she can't play an instrument, but her singing ability more than makes up for it, and laura hands her a tambourine a few months later.

they release an album in july, and it seems to be the domino piece slowly falling into place. after months of arguing with jackie, lolly leaves the band.

they hire a session drummer, LAYLA, but she quickly becomes their permanent drummer for their next albums. layla (stylized in all caps) is the stage name of susie sloth-bear, a drummer who first got famous as a model. but she was good, playing as a session drummer across the states.

but the making of their next album with layla is FULL of arguments, and they go on a 5 month hiatus. the hiatus gave them the new material they were looking for, but they struggled to work together in making them. most of the songs on the next album would be mainly played by one individual member. only layla collaborated with the other three. the damage was done, and their 1967 album, fittingly titled "kill the lights," would be their last.

so that was kinda long, huh? i still don't have everything set in stone, but here's a summary probably way longer than you expected. they also all have refs! which are on my toyhouse (link). i would upload them here, and someday i might get around to it, but i dont have the energy to write ids for all of em. so. ill leave it at all this. if anyone has any questions, though, id be happy to answer :o) im still workin out the kinks!

[singingberry]

( 🎤 )  ---  don't be cruel to a heart that's true.

date: tuesday, 3th of october, 1959 location: the choir room muses: rachel berry & santana lopez // @gleebitch

rachel hadn't meant to do it. later on, she'd probably blame it on the seductive tones of 'isn't it romantic' by vic damone and patti page, which they were preparing for their duet contribution to glee club. it was an ode to the 40s, they were doing and they'd been paired and assigned this song. they had a great time preparing this, surprisingly, dancing around each other and even... gosh, was that flirting that they were doing? rachel certainly had been making eyes at santana. ever since santana started to be kind of... nice to her, she couldn't resist it whenever she had an opportunity. sometimes. when no one else was watching, or at least - not as cruel. it had triggered something in rachel. a longing.

a longing that had now escalated to her lips pressing against santana's as the song died out and the room became quiet.

[shardblaster]

Bob Dylan and his first wife, Sara Lownds

Sara Dylan (born Shirley Marlin Noznisky; October 28, 1939 is an American former actress and model who was the first wife of singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. In 1959, Noznisky was wed to magazine photographer Hans Lownds, during which time she was known as Sara Lownds.She was married to Bob Dylan from 1965 until their 1977 divorce; they had four children together, and he adopted her daughter from her first marriage. Their marriage has been cited by music writers and biographers as the inspiration for many songs Dylan created during the 1960s and '70s, and the 1975 album Blood on the Tracks has been cited by many as Dylan's account of their disintegrating marriage

Lownds and Dylan became romantically involved in 1964;[9] soon afterwards, they moved into separate rooms in New York's Hotel Chelsea to be near one another. Dylan biographer Robert Shelton, who knew Bob and Sara in the mid-1960s, writes that Sara "had a Romany spirit, seeming to be wise beyond her years, knowledgeable about magic, folklore and traditional wisdom".

Sara Dylan played the role of Clara in the movie Renaldo and Clara, directed by Dylan, and the film was described by a Dylan biographer as "in part a tribute to his wife".

[ieatadoptmepets]

Soundtrack and timeline to my fic And It All Leads Back To You, with explanations, 1-10. Check out my other posts for more info!

You Are My Sunshine (1940)- You discover this song again in the mid 40s when steve and bucky die. This song reminds you of them because for a long time they were your only family. You cry to it many nights. It's given a new meaning when you discover that howard, jarvis, and peggy are your family as well

When you wish upon a star (1940)- two meanings. A) you are grieving for steve and bucky. You wish them to be back so long, or that it'd stop hurting. B) you're on earth and have been for almost 150 years. You love Loki. You wish to see your best friend again

Dream a little dream of me (ella fitzgerald) (1950)- you've been dating howard for a while now, and you've accepted that you can love someone new and still hold your love for Loki. Howard reminds you of everything good in the world and shows you a life you never thought you could have

Fly me to the moon (1954)- a romantic song howard plays for you to express his love, and you love it, but you can't help but take the lyrics literally and dream about taking howard above the stars and to asgard. This became your wedding song with howard

Great balls of fire (1957)- one of the sillier songs you know but a testament to time. Always gets you dancing and having a good time

Johnny b goode (1958)- if you go out somewhere upbeat dancing, this song always plays somehow. howard has his ways, and knows you like this song

Put your head on my shoulder (1959)- stands as one of your favorite old love songs. Who knows how many times this plays on a vinyl in your and howards home?

At last (1961)- a beautiful song that reminds you that after all that time of searching you've finally found the love you were looking for

Sway (dean martin) (1961)- howard loves to play this song and dance to it with you, either early morning or late at night- you never could agree on what time it was when you pulled at-home all-nighter dates together

The lion sleeps tonight (1961)- not particularly a love song like the rest but it still is one of "your songs"

[litcest]

We Have Always Lived in the Castle, by Shirley Jackson

We Have Always Lived in the Castle is 1962 mystery novel by author Shirley Jackson, who also famously wrote The Lottery (1948) and The Haunting of Hill House (1959). The story is about the Blackwoods, a very wealthy family who owns a large state. Since the death of their parents, Constance Blackwood has been taking care of her younger sister, Mary Katherine (better known as Merricat) and their wheelchair bound uncle, Julian. The three of them live in perfect recluse in their manor, but when cousin Charles comes to visit, he shakes up the family dynamic.

Despite their relationship not being explicitly incestuous in the novel, Constance and Merricat share a bond closer than most sisters do. If you have read Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House, you may remember Eleanor and Theo, who weren't explicitly in a romantic relationship, but were very lesbian coded. The same applies for the Blackwood sisters, in my opinion.

In 1966 the novel was made into a play by Hugh Wheeler, and this play was used as the basis for the 2010 musical by Adam Bock and Todd Almond. But, more famously, in 2018, there was a movie adaptation by Stacie Passon, starring Taissa Farmiga as Merricat, Alexandra Daddario as Constance, Sebastian Stan as Charles and Crispin Glover as Julian.

The book is narrated by eighteen-years-old Merricat Blackwood. Despite her age, her behaviour throughout the novel is very immature and childish, probably due to the trauma she suffered at twelve, when the rest of her family (save for her sister and uncle) died. She's also very superstitious and practices sympathetic magic.

Merricat lives with Constance and Julian in the large Blackwood property in near isolation. Her only contact with the outside world is going to the village to buy groceries and visit the library. The locals aren't very keen on the Blackwood family, eyeing them with suspicion since the deaths that occurred years prior and resenting the large amount of money the family has, despite not doing any hard work.

No, really, the people in town are really nasty towards the sisters, with the children even making a mean song about them, akin to how people made that skipping rope song about Lizzie Borden.

"Merricat, said Connie, would you like a cup of tea? Oh no, said Merricat, you’ll poison me. Merricat, said Connie, would you like to go to sleep? Down in the boneyard ten feet deep!"

You see, the reason for the rhyme is that six years before the events in the book, the sisters parents, their younger brother as well as Uncle Julian and his wife were poised wit arsenic that had been mixed into the sugar bowl. Julian was the only survivor and Constance wasn't poisoned because she didn't eat sugar with her blackberries, and Merricat hadn't been in the dinner that night. Due to her being the only person present who wasn't poisoned, she was arrested and charged with murder, but ended up being acquitted and released back, much to the distaste of the village.

Probably due to her fear that Constance will be taken away again, Merricat has developed many "magical" protections around the property to avoid strangers coming in (it must be noted that Constance herself doesn't leave the house since the trial finished, so the magic could be to keep Constance safe). It's clear, from the beginning, that Merricat loves her sister and has a strong devotion to her. The feeling is mutual as evidenced by Constance telling Merricat how much she missed her, even thought Merricat had only been to village for, at most, a couple hours.

"When I was small I thought Constance was a fairy princess. I used to try to draw her picture, with long golden hair and eyes as blue as the crayon could make them, and a bright pink spot on either cheek; the pictures always surprised me, because she did look like that; even at the worst time she was pink and white and golden, and nothing had ever seemed to dim the brightness of her. She was the most precious person in my world, always."

Julian, their widowed uncle, spend his time writing his memories of the day of the poisoning, obsessively looking at the details of what happened that day and on the day before and it is through his ramblings about the event that we, the readers, learn about what happened. For exemple, he is the one who exposes the fact that Constance was the one who did the cooking, and that she has knowledge of different poisons. Not only that, but she didn't use sugar on her blackberries (although it was a known fact that she never did) and washed the sugar bowl before the police could arrive to the scene - allegedly because there was a spider in it.

Merricat is perfectly happy with Constance staying at home the whole time, as in this way she has her sister basically all to herself. When Constance starts to express some desire to leave the house, Merricat becomes upset and reacts by violently breaking their mother's fancy milk pitcher. Although she doesn't verbally express her displeasure or lashes out in front of Constance, Merricat often breaks things around the house, leaving a path of destruction on the wake of her anger.

"'We’ll always be here together, won’t we, Constance?' 'Don’t you ever want to leave here, Merricat?' 'Where could we go?' I asked her. 'What place would be better for us than this? Who wants us, outside? The world is full of terrible people.' 'I wonder sometimes.' She was very serious for a minute, and then she turned and smiled at me. 'Don’t you worry, my Merricat. Nothing bad will happen.'"

Before Constance can decide if she's ready to explore the outside world, the outside world comes knocking in the form of Cousin Charles, son of her father's other brother. Merricat dislikes him at first sight and even tries to pretend she had only dreamed about his visit and could "dream him away", but Constance seems glad to have the attention of a good looking young man, even if he is her cousin.

Charles claims he wanted to help his cousins after the tragedy that had struck, but hadn't been able because his father wouldn't allow it, but now that his father was dead, he wanted to reunite with the remaining family. Merricat is jealous of how easily Costance (whom Charles calls 'Connie') warms up to the newcomer.

"She was not at all awkward or uncomfortable; it was as though she had been expecting all her life that Cousin Charles would come, as though she had planned exactly what to do and say, almost as though in the house of her life there had always been a room kept for Cousin Charles."

To keep Charles away, Merricat nails a gold watch into a tree, and when Charles sees it, he gets angry because it was a waste of gold. His obsession with money leads Julian to start to think that Charles is only there to try to steal the family fortune.

Charles is no innocent either. When he realises that he won't win Merricat's affection, he quickly start being passive aggressive with her, even insinuating that he might convince Constance to throw her out. And at the same time he tells Connie she should not be waiting on Julian, Charles also has her cook and clean for himself.

Merricat tries her best to shield herself and her sister, but all she can actually do is small actions, like breaking Charles' watch and pouring water in his bed. Charles gets furious with Merricat's childish antics and while Constance doesn't condenes her sister, she doesn't defends her either, simply calling Merricat "silly".

"'You are evil,' I said to Charles. 'You are a ghost and a demon.' 'What the hell?' Charles said. 'Don’t pay any attention,' Constance told him. 'Don’t listen to Merricat’s nonsense.'"

During a large argument between Charles, Merricat and Julian, Charles tell them that Merricat needs to be punished, which makes her run away in fear. Upset and even more angry than before, Merricat waits until dinner time and goes to Charles room, and she finds his pipe, which was still burning. She then throws in into a pile of papers which causes a fire to start. They are in the table when Charles smells smoke.

Constance and Merricat run for safety, but Julian stays behind to gather his papers (the many manuscripts he wrote of his memories from the day of the poisoning). The firefighters come, but they eye the sisters with suspicion, causing them to run and hide in the woods surrounding the property. While all this is going on, Charles is worried about the money in the safe.

"Pulling Constance, I hurried under the trees, in the darkness; when I felt my feet leave the grass of the lawn and touch the soft mossy ground of the path through the woods and knew that the trees had closed in around us I stopped and put my arms around Constance. 'It’s all over,' I told her, and held her tight."

While hiding in the forest, Merricat says that she'll poison everyone and Constance acknowledges that Merricat had done that once before, six years before, by putting arsenic in the sugar as payback for having been sent to the bedroom without dinner.

"'I put it in the sugar.' 'I know. I knew then.' 'You never used sugar.' 'No.' 'So I put it in the sugar.'"

Morning comes and the sisters come out of their hiding spot to see the damage that happened to the house. Most of it is gone, but they decide to clean the few rooms that didn't get crushed or burned and keep living there. Due to the lack of a roof, the house now looks like a castle (hence the title) and with time, vines grow to cover the remaining structure. Charles, who had survived the fire, tries to talk to Constance again, but she rejects him.

The Blackwood sisters become a short of local legend and villagers leave offerings of food in their doorsteps. They go on with living happily in the house, having only each other's company, because they don't need anything else.

"'I love you, Constance,' I said. 'And I love you, my Merricat.'"

Like a said before, they are not canonically incestuous, but it isn't difficult to see why they are so shippable. They protect each other at all costs and can barely function when separated. Since the book ends with them going into isolation, who knows what feelings might come to light?

[kwebtv]

John Allan Jones (January 14, 1938 – October 23, 2024) Popular singer and actor. He was primarily a straight-pop singer (even when he recorded contemporary material) whose forays into jazz were mostly of the big-band/swing music variety. He won two Grammy Awards and received five nominations for Grammys. He notably sang the opening theme song for the television series The Love Boat.

Jones was born in Hollywood, California, on the night his father Allan Jones recorded his signature song "The Donkey Serenade", resulting in the younger Jones' assertion that he was "practically born in a trunk." Jack attended University High School in West Los Angeles and studied drama and singing. His mother was actress Irene Hervey.

Jones made his film debut in Juke Box Rhythm (1959) playing Riff Manton, a young singer who is involved romantically with a princess (Jo Morrow). He sings three songs in the film. He acted in minor films such as The Comeback (1978), Condominium (1980), and Cruise of the Gods (2002). He had a humorous cameo in the film parody Airplane II: The Sequel (1982); as Robert Hays' character avoids searchlights while escaping captivity, the beams become a spotlight on Jones, performing a verse from his Love Boat TV theme song.

He became a staple on 1960s and 1970s variety shows performing on The Dinah Shore Chevy Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Andy Williams Show, The Dick Cavett Show, The Hollywood Palace, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, The Carol Burnett Show, The Jerry Lewis Show, American Bandstand, This is Tom Jones, The Dean Martin Show, The Judy Garland Show, Playboy After Dark, The Jack Benny Program, The Steve Allen Show, and The Morecambe and Wise Show in the United Kingdom.

Jones twice hosted the National Broadcasting Company (NBC-TV)'s top-rated rock and roll music series Hullabaloo (1965-1966), and was featured in two prime-time specials, Jack Jones on the Move (1966) and The Jack Jones Special (1974). He appeared on the Password TV game show with Carol Lynley in 1964 and multiple times with Joan Fontaine in 1967. He provided the vocals to the theme song of Funny Face, "The Kind of Girl She Is". When the show returned renamed as The Sandy Duncan Show, he was replaced by an anonymous chorus. He also guest-starred in a cavalcade of television series of the era, such as The Rat Patrol, Police Woman, McMillan & Wife, The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries; two game shows $weepstake$, Match Game, and the sitcom Night Court.

Jones played himself in the episode "The Vegas Show" of It's a Living. He sang the opening theme for the television series The Love Boat (1977–1985), and appeared in a 1980 episode with his father Allan.

Between 1973 and 1978, Jones hosted The Jack Jones Show, directed by Stanley Dorfman, produced and broadcast by the British Broadcasting Corporation's BBC-2 network. In 1990 he appeared in the Chris Elliott television show Get a Life on the Fox television network. (Wikipedia)

IMDb Listing

Discography

[disneyswiftpolls]

Vote for Cinderella's song here (closes Thursday, 10/19)

Submit song suggestions for Ariel or any other Disney heroines

Info Post

Reasonings for each song option below the cut:

"Daylight" from Lover

A hopeful song that (to quote Taylor) recognizes past damage and pain but shows that it doesn't have to define you. This is Aurora waking up from a nightmare: learning that her entire life had been a lie, thinking she had lost the man she loved, and a pesky little sleeping curse. She can now move on to better and brighter things.

I don't wanna look at anything else now that I saw you I don't wanna think of anything else now that I thought of you I've been sleeping so long in a 20-year dark night And now I see daylight, I only see daylight

"Everything Has Changed" from Red (Taylor's Version)

This song is Aurora's first meeting with Phillip. Her life of isolation is changed in one magically romantic afternoon. Although she doesn't know much about Phillip yet, she has butterflies in her stomach and just wants to know him better now.

'Cause all I know is we said, "Hello" And your eyes look like comin' home All I know is a simple name And everything has changed All I know is you held the door You'll be mine and I'll be yours All I know since yesterday Is everything has changed

"Lavender Haze" from Midnights

The dreamlike soundscape of this song fts Aurora very well. The term 'lavender haze' was 1950's slang for a 'honeymoon phase', which is exactly what Aurora is feeling after meeting Phillip. At the end of the film, everthing around the couple fades until they're alone dancing on the clouds. And who could blame Aurora for wanting to stay in the haze for a while after her ordeal? Fun fact: Sleeping Beauty was released in 1959 when this slang would have been in use.

I feel the lavender haze creepin' up on me Surreal, I'm damned if I do give a damn what people say No deal, the 1950s shit they want from me I just wanna stay in that lavender haze

"right where you left me" from evermore

Can't you just imagine Aurora in her room listening to this song on repeat and identifying with it so much? Thinking it's amazing how Taylor Swift could capture what it's like to be stuck in a sleeping spell.

I, I swear you could hear a hair pin drop Right when I felt the moment stop Glass shattered on the white cloth Everybody moved on I, I stayed there Dust collected on my pinned-up hair They expected me to find somewhere Some perspective, but I sat and stared Right where you left me You left me no, oh, you left me no You left me no choice but to stay here forever You left me, you left me no, oh, you left me no You left me no choice but to stay here forever Did you ever hear about the girl who got frozen? Time went on for everybody else, she won't know it

[szmacblog]

Orfeu Negrou Viewing response

I can confidently say that Brazilian music is probably in my top three favorites, so I am going to focus my analysis mainly in the film's use of music. Of course, Black music in Orfeu Negro is probably at the film's very core and it plays a crucial role in conveying its themes and emotions.  These can be broadly divided into three categories:

Romantic Songs: These songs, performed by Orfeu, express the deep love between Orfeu and Eurydice. Two notable examples are "A Felicidade" by Tom Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes, and "Manhã de Carnaval" by Luiz Bonfá and Antônio Maria.

Carnival Music: This vibrant and diverse music accompanies the rehearsals and parade of the Babilônia Samba School, led by Orfeu. It reflects the heterogeneous nature of the Carnival celebration in the late 1950s. The samba is represented by the theme "O Nosso amor" (Our Love), composed by Jobim, which serves as a leitmotif throughout the film. Pernambucan frevo appears in the theme "Frevo de Orfeu," also composed by Jobim. Marchinhas, a type of Brazilian carnival song, are briefly featured in the film's night carnival scenes.

Afro-Brazilian Traditional Music: This music emerges in the second part of the film when Orfeu attends a macumba ceremony. Sung in Portuguese, the macumba and umbanda chants refer to Ogum Beira-Mar, a deity worshipped in many umbanda terreiros (religious centers) in Rio de Janeiro—it is important to notice that macumba carioca ceremonies are highly important to the Black population in Rio and their inclusion in the film is paramount.

Take a look below!

From the outset, the film showcases the prominent musical genres that shaped the soundscape of the 1950s, including regional styles like frevo, which gained national prominence during the decade and was, at the time, largely unknown outside of Brazil. The remarkable diversity of rhythms reflects the debates that stirred the Brazilian cultural scene of the era, centered on the clash between "modern music" and "traditional music." In this sense, the soundtrack of Black Orpheus defies the categorizations prevalent in the White Brazilian music industry of the 1950s, offering the world a unique perspective on Brazil’s music and the influence of Black artists in the music. The seamless integration of these diverse musical styles creates a rich and immersive soundscape that complements the film's narrative and emotional core. The romantic songs capture the intensity of Orfeu and Eurydice's love, the carnival music embodies the vibrant energy and “cultural diversity” of the event, and the Afro-Brazilian traditional music adds a layer of spirituality and mysticism. 

I would, however, like to argue that I do not think the film successfully conveys the complexities of Blackness and it could be said that it romanticizes the issues in some way. Dos Santos states that “the film (1959) was produced at a time when the myth of racial democracy in Brazil was held, and it reinforced said myth”, this, of course, placed the film in the eye of criticism. Certainly, the film shines light on Blackness as an inherent part of Carnaval. Yet, audience and film critics consider this recognition to be incomplete, one-sided, and intersected (Santos 1999) because “it failed to acknowledge this celebratory event as part of the struggle of Black people.” Here is where the issue lies. The film sells the idea of a Brazil that does not exist.

[jules-has-notes]

Once Upon A Dream — VoicePlay music video

[WARNING: This video contains a jumpscare at 1:22]

Musical arrangement is an amazing art. Disney added lyrics to an iconic orchestral ballet score to create a wistful love song. Lana Del Rey took that sweet, romantic ballad and turned it into a haunting, melancholy torch song for Maleficent. VoicePlay transformed it further into something both beautiful and unsettling. Then they used it to jumpscare their friends and family, like the true Halloween tricksters that they are.

Details:

title: Once Upon a Dream

original performer: Lana Del Rey for Disney's Maleficent (2014)

written by: melody composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky for the 1890 ballet The Sleeping Beauty; music adapted by George Bruns, with lyrics by Jack Lawrence & Sammy Fain for Disney's Sleeping Beauty (1959)

arranged by: Layne Stein

release date: 13 October 2014

My favorite bits:

the extra reverb on the opening whistle and Geoff's growl note, which creates an atmosphere of being in a vast cave (or dragon's lair? 🐲)

the dramatic black-and-white style with everyone filmed separately, and constantly moving cameras

alternating between slight slow-motion and sped-up visual effects to keep the viewer off balance

all of the breathy, gasping sounds in Layne's percussion

the skittering audio panning of Maleficent's nails

those rising harmonies in the bridge

that techno remix at the end

Trivia:

Maleficent is portrayed by Alejandra Martinez, who has reprised the role in several of PattyCake's "Villains Lair" videos. She is also one of the American Sirens singers who appeared in Geoff's solo video for Mele Kalikimaka.

The jumpscare victims include Layne's step-daughters and parents, as well as VoicePlay's friend and collaborator Emoni Wilkins.

Those scoundrels encouraged viewers to "watch with your headphones on and see if you can hear Tony whisper a secret message to you right after the bridge", just to set them up for the jumpscare, too.