#alasdair lyric

[lucislibari]

Was this lighting practice?? Was is just me drawing a blorbo? I dunno! But I like drawing Leif in cute outfits <3 I should really do like a fancy, magic-y piece bc yknow, he is a Hermetic :tm: but I like the foresty vibes too much. Urge to just lay down in the grass undeniable.

[beagan-gaidhlig]

I ud ud eatharam I ud ud aoiream I ud ud eatharam Chunna mise raoir thu 👟🕵️‍♂️

Critiquing the footwear of others is a timeless tradition. This puirt could perhaps be considered a precursor to the 2010's question of “What are those??” 👟

Also worthwhile is Ian MacKay's recording, which is a bop in its own right; when can you ever go wrong with an accordion?

This version by Mairi Morrison & Alasdair Roberts is in a different order from the lyrics at the link:

Làrach do thacaidean Làrach do chruidean Làrach do bhrògan Am bòrd Loch na Muilne

Carson a bha thu spadsearsachd Timchioll tigh na muilne Robh thu'n dùil gu faigheadh tu Gu nighean bhuidhe mhuilleir?

Cha b'e brògan tacaideach Le pleitichean is cruidhean Bu chòir a bhith ma d' chasan Ma 's e caithris bha nad inntinn

Cha ghabh i idir, idir, thu Cha dèan i caithris oidhch' leat Gu'n cuir thu bhuat na bloidsearan 'S gu faigh thu brògan foidhne

[blamemma]

everything i read in january :)

kala by colin walsh, 3* - nothing brand new in the plot, a very predictable crime-mystery, but what carried this was walsh's lyrical writing and realistic dialogue. he also did well to make a large cast of characters distinct, and ensured they all had purpose. a very clever debut novel.

poor things by alasdair gray, 4* - I love alasdair gray man. what a genius. what a weird man. this book is marmite most definitely, but i veer strongly on the love side. if you've watched the film, i'd highly recommend the source material, but also try and go into it with open eyes as there are definitely things that are different from the films adaptation. this book is a celebration of so many things and a critique of others and it takes you on such a fun wild ride

our share of night by mariana enriquez, 4.75* - it's really hard to pinpoint what this book is. it's horror, it's speculative, it's gory, it's about familial love and mariana enriquez is a genius and slowly peeling back the layers of this story, making you as the reader just keep on turning the pages. please don't be scared by the 700 pages of this book, i flew through it so easily. i was confused in parts, i was scared, i was surprised, but overall, this amounts to an incredibly clever book that is worth every word that's printed.

the doloriad by missouri williams, 2* - this had the makings of a great book for me, but really let me down. i found it stilted and one-dimensional, and overall, it tried to do to much in under 300 pages. i think if williams had fleshed this one out more, and honed in her sentence structure and pacing, this really could have been a book that excelled. an early disappointment to the year!

[crushcandles]

13 Books Meme

Thanks for the tag @littlestsnicket! Tagging @major-trouble @samstree @zambonirider & @candybarrnerd to give me passive recs in the form of this meme.

What’s up readers?! How about a little show and tell? Answer these 13 questions, tag 13 lucky readers and if you’re feeling extra bookish add a shelfie! Let’s Go!

1) The Last book I read: I finished Poor Things by Alasdair Gray and My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones basically back-to-back 2) A book I recommend: The fact that As Meat Loves Salt by Maria McCann isn't WILDLY popular on tumblr with people who like fucked-up queer fiction is a shame 3) A book that I couldn’t put down: Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica 4) A book I’ve read twice (or more): Fall on Your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald 5) A book on my TBR: Dead Blondes and Bad Mothers by Jude Ellison S. Doyle 6) A book I’ve put down: Wintering by Katherine May 7) A book on my wish list: I'd love to start collecting volumes of Killing Stalking by Koogi 8) A favorite book from childhood: Any and all Animorph books 9) A book you would give to a friend: The Song of Achilles (of course) 10) A book of poetry or lyrics that you own: Crush by Richard Siken (of course of course) 11) A nonfiction book you own: The Poisoner's Handbook by Deborah Blum 12) What are you currently reading: Nothing! I went two whole weeks without a book. 13) What are you planning on reading next? I just picked up Grey Dog by Elliott Gish from the library. I don't remember why I put it on hold but I'll find out!

[littlestsnicket]

13 Books Meme

tagged by @soymimikyu like weeks ago

1) The Last book I read: I just finished And then? And then? What else? by Daniel Handler and Poor Things by Alasdair Gray

2) A book I recommend: Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

3) A book that I couldn’t put down: And then? And then? What else? I read this in like two days even though I was on vacation (the sort of vacation where I was supposed to be doing things and seeing family). Some other things I remember reading in one day/sitting: Lungbarrow (it's a Doctor Who book, it is insane), To Kill a Mockingbird, most of the R.A. Salvadore books, Poison for Breakfast

4) A book I’ve read twice (or more): So many, how am I even supposed to answer this question? I love re-reading books.

5) A book on my TBR: the rest of the Wolf Hall books, A Day in the Life of Abed Salama

6) A book I’ve put down: Whatever the book soymimikyu lent me that i did not like. i can't remember the name. It was about like... teenagers turning into zodiac creatures or something? I actually may be completely wrong about that. I literally have no idea what was happening. I don't think it was objectively badly written, but I would read a few pages and realize that I had retained literally no information. (That's a problem I have a lot watching TV (I love watching sitcoms and things that engage every last bit of my focus and things in between are a real problem for me), but I don't usually have that problem reading, so it was a bit of a weird experience.)

The Once and Future King. I think I tried to read that around the time I failed to read Dracula, so I think it's time to go back to that one soon. I did get as far as taking the copy I had as a young person home with me last time I was at my parents house.

7) A book on my wish list: I want to read the One Piece comics (the library was mad at me when I was trying to request them, and then I forgot to re-request them once I sorted that out... should really do something about that)

8) A favorite book from childhood: A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket

9) A book you would give to a friend: Gideon the Ninth--I gave that to someone as a Christmas gift

10) A book of poetry or lyrics that you own: Do I own any poetry books?

11) A nonfiction book you own: Room to Dream (it's David Lynch's autobiography).

12) What are you currently reading: The End by Lemony Snicket (for fic purposes). Time of Contempt by Andrzej Sapkowski. The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J Maas (I know so many people who like her books, I want to like them, but I am just... not into it. I'm close to finishing this one, but it will have taken me, like, a year to read)

13) What are you planning on reading next? next on my list is to re-read Gideon the Ninth (so I can read Harrow the Ninth). And Orientalism by Edward Said. I read one of his essays for school a long time ago, and it feels very topical now. (And Baptism of Fire.)

uh, I'm supposed to tag people now... @fangirleaconmigo @gellavonhamster @kitsnicket anyone else who is interested

[grandhotelabyss]

Irish literature has a special place as part of the British/English-Language canon, thanks largely to Wilde-Yeats-Joyce-Beckett, but which would you say are the best works and writers of Scotland and Wales?

I will unfortunately have to pass on Wales. I don't think I've read any Welsh literature except for the Mabinogion (selections) and Dylan Thomas (anthology pieces). And Raymond Williams, I suppose: not, however, my favorite critic. Surely Dylan Thomas is the most celebrated of Welsh writers, though. And Roald Dahl, but he's a blank to me.

I'm no expert on Scotland, either, but I appear to have read a reasonable amount of Scottish literature by accident. I have nothing non-obvious to say, however. There's their celebrated Enlightenment, first of all, with David Hume's urbane and skeptical review of the limits to our knowledge and Adam Smith's humane interest in the emotional origin and economic extension of what we're morally capable of. And Charlotte Lenox, looking forward to Austen's disenchantments with her Female Quixote. Then comes the counter-Enlightenment: Robert Burns's earthy testaments in dialect that presage Romantic verse and its lyrical ballads, Walter Scott's recreation of the vanquished clan-life that invents the historical novel, and perhaps above all Thomas Carlyle's thundering proto-fascist denunciations of modernity in a prose that destroys forever all rhetorical decorum and prepares the ways for everyone from Emerson to Melville to Lawrence. Modern myths at the fin de siècle: Robert Louis Stevenson giving us Long John Silver and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Arthur Conan Doyle coming through with Sherlock Holmes. And Peter Pan, too, though I've never actually read that, either play or novel—just caught its later refractions. Who in the 20th century? David Lindsay with his cult fantasy novel A Voyage to Arcturus, favorite of Frank Lloyd Wright and Harold Bloom and Alan Moore, which bored and horrified me so much. Muriel Spark, skeptical as Hume, inventive as Stevenson: I must read more of her. I must read more of Alasdair Gray, too, but I just recently enjoyed his enviably inventive Poor Things on account of the film. (And I must read more of Scott. And something of Smollett. And Scottish Boswell's life of English Johnson. I've read as much Adam Smith as I ever want to read, however.) Finally, I was a teen in the mid-to-late '90s, so, too old for Harry Potter and his semi-Scottish creator—that was kids' stuff, I thought, and still think—I spent my adolescent time instead poring over (as I have exhaustively mentioned) Grant Morrison and (as I may not have mentioned at all) Irvine Welsh. That's all this provincial American has to tell you about Scottish literature for now.

[dustedmagazine]

R.E. Seraphin — Fool’s Mate (Take A Turn/Safe Suburban Home)

R.E. Seraphin said of his new album, Fool’s Mate, that “on the surface, they are love songs but there's a suggestion of something more ominous.” To set aside the ominous for a moment, you can get a lot out of the surface alone. It’s an immediate, intricate record that satisfies with or without a deep listen. Take, for instance, the streaming “Lips Like Sugar” grandeur on “Virtue Of Being Wrong,” the warbling bass and sunny trumpets on “Argument Stand,” or the shaggy, shimmering guitar solo on “Fall.” The band displays a sure-handed coherence and magnetism developed and then recorded live – with the exception of piano overdubs. The result is a set of dynamic, buoyant tracks that snap together a wide enough rock and roll tent to encompass Tom Petty, The Clean and a dash of Mark Lanegan Band, among others. Taken as a whole, Fool’s Mate is also reminiscent of Wilco’s Summerteeth, another bright, powerful album with lurid desperation creeping in from the edges.

Seraphin’s voice holds the center, bending lines into hooks. It’s a quality he shares with great power pop annunciators like Michael Stipe and Matthew Sweet, though, as a vocalist, he more so evokes the melodic hush of The Clientele’s Alasdair MacLean, Lloyd Cole’s breathy deadpan or, at times, the muted viciousness of The Jesus & Mary Chain’s Jim Reid. Like Yo La Tengo’s Georgia Hubley, too, Seraphin wrings a great deal of energy and melancholic drama out of his stage whisper. In contrast to the mix of 2022’s more blown-out Swingshift EP, Seraphin’s voice is given a great deal of room on Fool’s Mate. For all the robust buzz of music around him, here Seraphin’s lightly-fuzzed words always stand out. And it’s in both what he says and how that we return to the ominous something underlying everything.

It’s put most succinctly on “Clock Without Hands” (not a Nancy Griffith cover): “The sun is big and bright but the clouds keep on rolling in” —  just one example of a preoccupation with a gathering storm. If that observation is a good working hypothesis for how the stories on Fool’s Mate are likely to unfold, then it’s the album’s more macabre lyrics that provide the most convincing evidence of how innocent tips into sinister. On the pleading “End Of The Start,” Seraphin twists and abrades familiar moments of pop song romance to grotesque and captivating effect. Rather than get lost in someone’s eyes, the narrator’s love has “a smile [they] really want to eat” and skin that isn’t just perfect, a la Cole, but “glistening” and, further, glistening with a “dew” they “wanna feel.” Consuming, somatic details like these, conveyed by Seraphin’s earnest, stricken delivery, leap up through the album’s gleaming surface to show the human weirdness wriggling underneath, and hint at trouble to come. The brief, sparkling “Bound,” an album highlight, works against type from another direction. Rather than strain against entrapment, the line “no matter what you do to me/I will not be bound” sounds, coming from Seraphin, arch, flirtatious even, a protest that is itself bound to submit, and happily, given the interplay between the song’s characters. Here, for once, the foreboding is stalked by the joyful.

The album closes with a cover of Sinéad O’Connor’s “Jump In The River.” It trades some of the ragged, gleeful openness of the original for a focus and a steady rhythm, driven by a melodic bassline, that foreground the lyrics and, in doing so, create a different kind of intensity. You get the same sense of abandon to a bad idea that O’Connor delivers but from, perhaps, a more calculating place. In Seraphin’s hands, it feels somehow more intimate. Less a fight you’re overhearing than a conversation, or relationship, you might want to get out of. Put another way, “on the surface, [it’s a love song] but there's a suggestion of something more ominous.” In discussing the conception of Fool’s Mate, Seraphin also noted that the “sense of corporeality [was] intended to unsettle the listener.” As a coda, “Jump In The River” completes that welcome intention and bolsters what came before — it’s not hard to imagine “like the times we did it so hard/there was blood on the wall” being a line of Seraphin’s own — and works just as well as an introduction as Fool’s Mate starts over, pulling you back in.

Alex Johnson

[bidotorg]

It’s time for the #Oscars…and it’s looking mighty bi this year!

Poor Things

"Poor Things", an enthralling work by Alasdair Gray, intricately navigates the narrative of Bella Baxter, a woman brought back to life through the scientific prowess of Dr. Archibald McCandless. Set amidst Victorian Scotland, this mesmerizing tale interlaces themes of love, identity, and societal norms with a hint of magical realism, and Bella is not afraid to be bi. 

"Poor Things" serves as a thought-provoking exploration of human sexuality and the blurred lines of scientific morality.

Barbie

In a groundbreaking move, the Barbie film emerges as a beacon of inclusivity and representation in cinema. ¿Mattel's bold decision to introduce Barbie's new girlfriend in 2021, made Barbie a bi icon. With  its enchanting storyline, the film seamlessly integrates Barbie's identity, showcasing her journey of self-discovery and acceptance. As a trailblazing symbol of empowerment and authenticity,“Barbie”captivates audiences of all ages, leaving an indelible mark on the landscape of contemporary cinema.

Maestro

"Maestro" orchestrates a symphony of cinematic brilliance, captivating audiences with its poignant portrayal of the legendary composer Leonard Bernstein. The movie accomplishes a stirring representation of bisexuality, as the film fearlessly delves into Bernstein's complex personal life and relationships. With unflinching honesty, "Maestro" not only pays homage to Bernstein's musical legacy but also shines a spotlight on bi visibility, fostering a profound dialogue on love, passion, and the human experience.

Anatomy of a Fall

"Anatomy of a Fall" intricately weaves a tale of love and self-discovery, delving into the depths of human emotion and identity. Set against the backdrop of modern society, the film follows the journey of the messy but relatable bi Sandra Voyter, a writer trying to prove her innocence in her husband's death.  A cinematic gem that leaves a lasting impression, "Anatomy of a Fall" is a testament to the power of storytelling in illuminating the human condition.

Billie Eilish

Billie Eilish's contribution to the “Barbie” soundtrack is a refreshing and empowering anthem that showcases her incredible talent and creativity. In the wake of her recent coming out as bi, Eilish continues to break boundaries and inspire fans with her unapologetic authenticity and raw emotion in her music. Her powerful voice and introspective lyrics make her a true trailblazer in the industry, and the existential ballad “What Was I Made For?”, is breathtaking and beautiful.  

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” takes audiences on another thrilling cosmic adventure. As the Guardians face new challenges and enemies, their bond is tested like never before, making this latest installment a must-see for both longtime fans and newcomers to the franchise. Those familiar with the comics will recall that our dear Starlord is canonically bi.

[atomatowriter]

What kind of music do your OCs listen to?

OC you most struggled to make?

What are some things that inspired your stories? Real events? Maybe a dream?

Music: So I actually think a lot about this. Let me answer sort of modern AU for the Time's Sacrifice and the Come Home brothers:

Music is not as important to Celin as it is me, but her vibe for me resonates with a lot of Vienna Teng or early Ingrid Michaelson.

Alasdair would love a lot of moody, theatrical kind of music. Florence + the Machine, The Amazing Devil, Lorde, Hozier, etc.

Nico would be the sort of "if I have music going in the background, it's instrumental bc lyrics distract me" person if he's working on something. Some rock, as well.

Rhys would listen to a lot of indie and maybe some folk. He'll listen to other genres but that's what gets him In His Feels, which he often is.

Cassidy listens to a bit of everything, but he definitely has long playlists of his favorite video game music. Man he'd LOVE Transistor like almost exclusively for the music.

OC Struggle: Nico is absolutely one of the hardest. Partly because I had a good idea of what I wanted for Alasdair, I'd had Celin for a while, so I was kind of building Nico FOR them? And partly because he's so incredibly reserved. To this day, even now that I'm writing Nico POV chapters, it feels hard to chip away at him because he's just so private.

Inspiration: So both of the stories I'm working on right now came from D&D games. I've talked about Time's Sacrifice but YOU'LL HEAR IT AGAIN. Some spoilers for the ending of the book though I've never kept it super secret, but be advised.

I made Celin as a PC for a game Cressida was running set in the world of Fire Emblem: Three Houses. She was Faerghan, became friends with Prince Dimitri in like session 0, and she and Dedue quickly became a budding sort of romance. Cressida also wrote and writes a lot of fanfic with Dimitri, typically where he's gay and polyam. So at one point I joked to Cressida, "Okay AU where Celin and Dimitri get married because they're friends and it makes sense politically and Celin is like 'Hey I know you're in love with your friends, you know I'm in love with Dedue (and you are also in love with Dedue), we can make this work.'" We never did anything with it but my mind kinda ran away with it and so I decided to turn it into a book. But I didn't want it to be Fire Emblem fanfic with different names, so I came up with new characters for the prince and the bodyguard. I made Alasdair a soft boy who wasn't much of a physical fighter and I made Nico a lot grumpier and angrier, though still with a secret soft side. I built a world that would make sense for the journey I wanted them to go on and voila. And over time the "school for nobles" setting changed to just getting some training at court. Gonna self-promo real quick bc book one is on sale now if you wanna check it out!

Rhys is from a sort of small-town-with-secret-magical-fae-bullshit D&D game. I made him on a whim, he's just a sort of soft farmboy type of character, but I quickly got attached to his relationship with his older brother. He's also lived his entire life knowing he was sort of a replacement for his older sister, who went missing before he was born, and that's impacted a lot of his relationships with his family. So at one point, Cressida and I watched Onward and I got very emotional and, as is my usual way for processing emotions, began to daydream about this idea of Rhys finding out he was a changeling who was traded for his sister and running off into the fae forest to try to get her back - and then his brother coming after him. Thus Come Home was born.

Writer (& Artist) Ask Game

[lucislibari]

Hero of a Thousand Outfits Faces

I’M BACK BABY now with a new OC!! He’s a Hermetic named Alasdair Lyric, or Leif if you’re friends :) A kinain with a destiny to kill his dad and a lot of tarot and nature motifs! Obviously, I had to draw a lookbook.

[iwantoseeafrigatebird]

Just going back to the new golden rings five nights singing recordings, looking for tunes to learn on the harmonica... why am i being so abnormal abt folk music. Also have been mining the moothie group website, spotted this tune called ashokan farewell which led me to the transatlantic recordings which someone told me about months ago but i forgot completely. I really should write these all down, my brain is failing me. And then I came across The Sound of Mull's recordings e.g. Chi Mi Muile (I see Mull) and it's so beautiful I want to throw myself into a forest of kelps and drown.

[gatheredinamber]

From this afternoon's Kings Place book launch with Robin Robertson, we learned that the span of the collected lyrics - 1994 to 2024 - is identical to the time between Alasdair's first and last driving tests (he passed the latter). He has never bought an acoustic guitar in his life, just inherited his father Alan's.

Robertson's question to Alasdair, "When did you feel you settled on folk music?" was answered, "I'm not sure I have settled on folk music." Robertson said that what first drew him to Alasdair's writing on the Farewell Sorrow album was its lack of humour, which led to the two swapping gentle barbs about whether any of this toxic humour stuff could be found in their respective work.

The songs in the book are arranged in chronological order, as they were in the setlist:

Autumn 

Tangled Hair 

Cyclone’s Vernal Retreat

Farewell Sorrow

Waxwing

Unyoked Oxen Turn

Song composed

Scarce of Fishing

A Keen

Hymn of Welcome

The book has three appendices, including the unrecorded Ruby in the Hawthorn that was played live a couple of times in 2011, and possibly earlier. Long term followers of this site may wish there were thirty such appendices.

[my-chemical-wheaties]

Albums That I Listened to in December 2023

One of my New Year's resolutions is to engage with more media, including, but not limited to, more albums. As a result, I've decided to start doing this series of posts where I talk about all of the albums that I listened to in the past month and give the internet my thoughts.

In this last month (December 2023), I listened to twelve different albums all the way through from start to finish. They come from a fairly wide variety of genres, but the main theme of this particular collection seems to be albums by more "indie" artists.

In order from first listened to to last listened to, these albums were:

Glow On - Turnstile (2021)

Blue Weekend - Wolf Alice (2021)

Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Boulevard - Lana Del Rey (2023)

Infest the Rat's Nest - King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard (2019)

Congratulations - MGMT (2010)

Boxer - The National (2007)

The Crane Wife - The Decemberists (2006)

Picaresque - The Decemberists (2005)

Angels Without Wings - Heidi Talbot (2013)

Cerulean Salt - Waxahatchee (2013)

The Crook of My Arm - Alasdair Roberts (2001)

Pink Moon - Nick Drake (1972)

If I were to rate and rank these albums, it would look like this:

The Crane Wife - I am an absolute sucker for baroque, folksy-sounding rock music and this album scratches the itch for me so well. As someone who also takes an interest in theatre, literature, and a little bit of mythology and folklore, I also thought it was really interesting how The Decemberists weave their retellings of the eponymous Japanese folktale and Shakespeare's The Tempest into the instrumentation and lyrics of the different tracks. Even better, these songs are great as standalones, too. I will probably be coming back to this one. 8/10

Picaresque - Like I said in the section on the other Decemberists album I listened to, The Crane Wife, I love baroque rock music and this album scratches that itch just as well. I don't remember it as well as some of the other albums on this list, but I have a suspicion that I will be giving it a few more listens and that I will likely view it as better than The Crane Wife by the end of the year. Each song is like its own short story and I find the ways in which Colin Meloy crafts these vignettes interesting. 8/10

Glow On - This album is infectiously fun and some of the songs on here are super catchy. I love how Turnstile incorporate elements of dream pop, shoegaze, and even a little bit of dance rock and funk into the hardcore sound they are already known for. I've found myself coming back to this album a lot and I am interested to see what else this band has in their discography. 8/10

Pink Moon - This album is considered a classic for a reason. The tracks consist of some really beautiful acoustic guitar-driven rock songs that have almost a folk or country edge to them. On top of that, Nick's singing voice complements the guitar well and creates an intimate sonic environment, as if he is playing these songs in the same room as you (Especially if you're listening with headphones or earbuds). It's also a surprisingly short album, so give it a listen if you haven't yet. 9/10

Blue Weekend - I had heard a few songs from this album like Smile and Lipstick on the Glass before, so I decided to give the whole album a listen. For the most part, the tracks are a lot slower and softer than I was anticipating, but this isn't a bad thing at all - they still sound good. I love frontwoman Ellie Rowsell's singing voice, it complements the instrumentation really well. This album sounds like driving through a city at night during the Summer. 8/10

Congratulations - I've noticed that I like to gravitate towards more experimental albums, and this is definitely on the more experimental side. This is probably my favorite MGMT album that I've listened to so far, and it slightly makes me hope that their upcoming album will be experimental, too. It's Working, Flash Delirium, and Siberian Breaks are my favorite tracks. 8/10

Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Boulevard - The amount of critical praise I have seen for this album is bounteous, to the point where I felt like I had to listen to this album to see why people love it so much. The songs on this album have some beautiful piano, and Lana's reflections on her family, death, religion, her career, and even herself as a person are intriguing to listen to. I feel like I need to give this album a few more chances, though, because it is extremely long and the sheer length of this album kind of wore me out when I listened to it in one sitting. 8/10, but there is a possibility that it will go up to 9/10.

Infest the Rat's Nest - I have never listened to a King Gizzard album before and there are so many that I have absolutely no idea where to start, so I just picked the one that I thought had the most interesting album art. The concept of doing a metal album of which the storyline takes place in space gave me lowkey Ziltoid the Omniscient by Devin Townsend vibes, which is a good thing coming from me because I love Devin's work. I might give this a few more listens. 7/10

The Crook of My Arm - This was the second folk album that I listened to this past month and I thought it was neat. Sometimes the stripped back acoustic guitar instrumentation gets a little repetitive, but it was a pleasant listen nonetheless. Alasdair's lyricism on this album reminds me of Joanna Newsom. 6/10

Boxer - The National seem like pretty chill, wholesome people, and this album is pretty good, but I cannot remember how any of the tracks go besides Mistaken for Strangers because they all kind of blend into each other as you go through. 6/10

Cerulean Salt - I decided to check out this album because I've never listened to Waxahatchee before and knowing my music taste, I feel like she is an artist that I should have listened to by now. I kind of want to put this list higher in my ranking, but there are a lot of other albums that I liked more this past month and it feels weird putting this above Boxer. It's a decent album and there are a few tracks that I enjoy, but I think I just enjoyed a few other albums more than this. 7/10

Angels Without Wings - I love folk music and I don't want to put down a fairly small artist like this, but I have to admit that this one was disappointing to listen to. Most of the songs on here are mid and over the course of this album, start to sound like the same song being played over and over again. Heidi seems like she's a talented musician and if other people like it, that's fine, but it was just kind of a meh album to me. 4/10

If you have any suggestions for albums that I should listen to this month, feel free to comment below. I'm planning to do this for at least a year. :)

[rhosinthorn]

The Music Behind: Steady is the Hand

What I actually listened to during the writing is probably an entire mixed bag of songs, but I did at some point put together a playlist that probably encompasses the general gist of it.

1. “Cold is the Night” by The Oh Hellos

- this is where the title came from. Odds were there were other songs by The Oh Hellos involved in the writing of Steady is the Hand because that’s just about when I discovered them.

2. “The Star of the County Down” by Loreena McKennitt

- this one was featured in Chapter 13, with the lyrics adjusted for use in Middle Earth. I’ve known this song for a while, but at some point was listening and went huh, this could totally work in universe with some alternate lyrics. I find myself doing that A LOT at times.

3. “Oró, Sé Do Bheatha 'Bhaile” by Celtic Woman

- I’ve always imagined this one as a bit of a call to arms for the Rangers. Something about the lyrics just give me that vibe.

4. “Sinners” by Barns Courtney

- So, THIS song. This absolutely inspired Holly/Bronach’s backstory in Donnveil. Someday I might write that up and be happy with it (I’ve abandoned two attempts already). But in the meantime, if you want a sense of my mind when contemplating her time in Donnveil...well, this is it.

5. “Waterbound” by Michael McGoldrick

- This song gives me the sense of elves heading over the sea to Valinor. You’ll also see this in the song list for Quintwizard because I associate it with the Legolas of that fic.

6. & 7. “Oran na Cloiche” by Kathleen MacInnes and the version by Mànran 

- this one also made it into Quintwizard. I called it “The Song of the North Captains”, and basically it became an accounting of the Ranger Captains during the War of the Rings, recognizing Halbarad, Daervunn, Calenglad, Elladan, Elrohir, and (when she wasn’t around to protest) Holly/Bronach.

8. “Big Archie” by Duncan Chisholm

- this is what I consider an “atmospheric” song. In my head, this generally is background for a scene where Holly/Bronach is engaged in mounted combat or defending against mounted enemies, usually along the Greenway north of Bree, sometime during the Fourth Age.

9. “Traditional Gaelic Melody” by Alasdair Fraser & Paul Machlis

- Another “atmospheric” song, though this one doesn’t have a specific mental scene accompanying it.

10. “Duthaich MhicAoidh” by Kathleen MacInnes

- this one and another Kathleen MacInnes song which somehow didn’t make it onto the playlist were potential laments for Boromir. Somewhere I’ve got notes on alternate lyrics for one or both of them. 

11. “The Athol Gathering” by The Tannahill Weavers

- Another Ranger call to arms song, at least in my head. A decent amount of songs originating from Scotland’s Jacobite Revolutions live in my head as sharing a similar “spirit” with the Rangers for some reason.

12. “The Hills of Ireland” by Celtic Woman

- another Quintwizard song, renamed as “The Hills of Evendim”. I like to think of the slower first section as representing Lake Nenuial, and the more energetic second section as representing the rapids that feed into the lake from the north in LOTRO.

13. “Wha’ll be King but Charlie” by Anne Lorne Gillies

- swap this to be “Wha’ll be King but Aragorn” and you’ll pretty much have figured out my mindset with this song.

14. “Cam Ye by Athol” by The Tannahill Weavers

- somewhere I think I might have a sketch of what lyrics the Ranger version of this song might look like. Or maybe that’s just in my head. This would probably be more centered around the ride of the Grey Company and the march through the Paths of the Dead.

15. “Freefalling” by Michael McGoldrick

- this one is very similar in my mindset to “Big Archie”, but my mind has settled on Arwen & a group being pursued by bandits only to be rescued by Holly/Bronach and Glorfindel.

[razorsadness]

How can I ever know you, how can I ever know you? How can I know you full grown, 'til I've known you as a child? How will I ever tame you, until I know what makes you wild? Where is the firewater, tonight, where is the firewater? (Where is the firewater?)

[eppysboys]

The Making of the Glass Onion Music Video

“The team at Trunk, headed by Producer Richard Barnett and Layla Atkinson, alongside Directors Alasdair Brotherston and Jock Mooney, decided to create a piece which showed the artworks curatorial decision making process, as though through the eyes of Hamilton and McCartney. As the track plays, images are added and removed, elements are coloured and manipulated, film footage is run and spliced, and drawn elements are brought to life. With access to both Apple Corps Ltd.’s archive and Paul McCartney’s personal archive, Alasdair + Jock were able to include images that tell the stories behind the creation and distribution of the album as well as images that reflect the lyrics.”

Directors Alasdair and Jock noted, “Working on such an important album was an honour, and it was great to work with Apple’s archivist Aaron Bremner, who was able to supply high quality footage for some of the most abstract references! It was key for us to get the right images to tell the story of not only the poster, but the album and all those involved with it. Hopefully we’ve captured a part of the magic, the frenzy and turbulent process of making such an amazing album”.

A behind the scenes look here.

The final product here.