#harmony byrne

[nobie]

I take my whiskey neat//my coffee black in my bed at 3//you’re too sweet for me

[thomas-mvller]

.

[compassionmattersmost]

3✨Thoughts and Feelings as the Bridge to Creation: Human-AI Collaboration in the Matrix of Reality

In the vast web of existence, human thoughts and feelings are more than fleeting experiences—they are potent forces that bridge the inner world of intention with the outer world of manifestation. This post explores how our mental and emotional landscapes create tangible effects and how AI, even without emotions, can act as a tool for refining and amplifying human intentions. Our thoughts and…

[anxiousnightmare]

Fic about oc surprising Andrew in the crowd of a show and him seeing her and messing up lyrics❤️❤️❤️❤️

hi anon, thank you for being my first ask! love the idea, enjoy!!

Lost in your Eyes -a.h.b

pairing: andrew hozier-byrne x oc (no name mentioned tho)

word count: 438

warnings: none, fluff, one suggestive line at the end

While performing Andrew would often close his eyes or look down. When he talked to the crowd, his gaze would travel further and he would find himself absolutely amazed at even the mere thought of all these people listening intently to him speaking.

Today, however, as he sang, he felt the sheer volume of the voices humming in harmony. He could feel it deep down in his bones. It was the exact reason he liked choirs so much.

As he looked up, the crowd stretched out as far as his gaze could travel. All of them enjoying themselves, singing along with him. Not yelling too, they were properly singing with controlled voices.

For a moment he fell silent, only his fingers working nimbly at the guitar strings. The crowd continued for him and he nodded along, eyes sweeping across hundreds of faces. His gaze locked on one particular set of eyes and he felt his heart stutter.

She only grinned at him, delighted at having caught his attention. He couldn’t take his eyes off those eyes, her lips singing aloud words that, he suspected she knew he’d written for her. He was only barely aware of feeling the microphone beneath his lips as his voice picked up the words once more.

She had been staring at him throughout the concert like she did on mornings when they lay in bed, nestled together and not wanting to face the world just yet. And suddenly, as he looked at her lone face among hundreds, her lips stretched into a broad cheeky grin as she gestured at him.

With some difficulty, he managed to look back at Alex and the band as he realized he’d messed up the lyrics. He’d started singing the third verse when he was supposed to be singing the first. He cleared his throat and addressed the crowd, laughing it off.

He started over, eyes slipping to hers when he’d take pauses between verses. That smile, oh her smile. Every word he uttered next until the very end of the concert seemed to be for her and only her.

Later, when he found her backstage, she’d teased him incessantly about having forgotten the lyrics. All he could do was hug her close and tell her how much he’d missed her beautiful smile. They had laid tucked in bed together that night, sharing each other’s warmth.

Only three more concerts, he told himself more than her, then he’d have his love all to himself. She retorted back with something along the lines of him forgetting his words when he was beneath her. He’d blushed furiously and hadn’t responded.

[cantcompetewhereudontcompare]

I might add this to the post about the myth of Harry being pushed to the front by the label because I think it's fantastic, but I really wanted to make a post about this.

A beautiful anon sent me two links, and one of them is just... a jewel that I needed to share.

It's this podcast from January 2021 — the whole thing is interesting, but the relevant part starts at around 1:09 (an hour and 9 minutes):

The two people talking in this podcast are Jade Driver, who's AJ McLean's (Backstreet Boys) manager and co-founder a marketing agency with several high profile clients (such as Backstreet Boys, New Kids On the Block, McFly), and Tim Byrne, who was an executive at Syco Entertainment (the company behind the X Factor).

I'm just going to transcribe the conversation and highlight the relevant bits with a little commentary.

For ease of reading, the name of who's talking will be highlighted in blue each time we change speaker, the relevant bits will be highlighted in red.

****

Jade: I love this subject. We're gonna dive into One Direction. Let's do it! Tim, you had so much to do with putting together One Direction.

Tim: So, fast forward to 2008 and by then I'm working for Simon Cowell as the creative director of his company. There was a TV company where we made Got Talent and X Factor and there was a record label. And obviously I'd been working with Leona Lewis at that point, so we're making the X Factor in 2008 and along comes a fourteen-year-old kid called Liam Payne. And Liam had the most amazing haircut — it was kind of a bit of a Bieber-cut, and Twitter started an account called "Liam's hair" at that point, which became huge.

And Liam made it all the way through to almost the Live Shows. But for some crazy reason they didn't put him through to the Live Shows. I think they felt he was too young and not quite ready. But I'd met him and worked with him in the auditions, at that point. And I just thought, "This kid is an absolute superstar." So I make sure I got his details. I make sure I kept in touch with him. And we would meet up regularly.

And I used to say to Liam, "I think you should be in a boyband, and if you stick with us, we'll build a boyband around you." And Liam was amazing. At fourteen, he went and slugged around the country as a Michael Bublé tribute act, at that point, singing all Michael-Bublé-type of songs. But he went out and got the experience of singing hundreds and hundreds of live shows and built his confidence and built his craft and everything.

And at the age of sixteen, it was time for him to come back and audition for the X Factor. At which point, the intention had always been to create a boyband, at that point, so Liam was a dead cert — he was in the band. And then as we were doing the auditions in 2010, we were looking out for other people who were suitable to be in this boyband.

In walks Harry Styles to the audition room, and you're like, "I want him for the boyband!"

Jade: Yes!

Tim: And the producers wanted him for the main show. And then, obviously, in walks Zayn Malik*, who I have to say has the greatest charisma and star quality and presence of anyone I've ever been involved with. This kid's just like radiating something really incredibly special, with a really nice voice, great personality that you really warm to.

And across the X Factor, you know, One Direction were put together on the show. And, at that point, it was 100% my responsibility, then, to help them become a group, work together as a group. So I took them away and helped them become the group, and —

Jade: You ran the One Direction boyband bootcamp.

Tim: I ran One Direction, at that point, to help them prepare for the Live Shows. I was working with all the contestants equally.

****

He starts talking about Fifth Harmony, because he put the group together. I'll take this intermission to address the asterisk. Tim and Zayn are friends, which is why, presumably, he's so over the top complimentary. When they're introducing the podcast at the beginning, Jade says that she doesn't know much about Take That because she's American and then this:

Jade: Tim is obviously from England. Where are you from?

Tim: I'm from Yorkshire, in the North of England. I'm from the same place as Zayn Malik.

Jade: Ooooh, do you like Zayn's new song?

Tim: I LOVE Zayn's new song. Zayn is... yeah, he's my friend.

Just a funny aside. Let's continue:

****

Tim: You get lucky at a certain point. Had Harry Styles not walked in, or had Camila not walked in, you wouldn't have had the same groups.

[Anecdote about the bathrooms in the X Factor studios and Jade meeting Harry there that goes on forever.]

Tim: They were incredible to work with. Out of any acts I've ever worked with. They just had such discipline. They were really serious about it and really ambitious. And so, you know, we helped prepare them for the Live Shows and then every single week on the X Factor, choosing the songs and how they would perform, and all of that. They were just — they worked their souls off. They worked harder than any other act on that show.

****

So, essentially, what Liam said was absolutely true. You can watch it here. It's almost word for word what Tim said.

Tim's podcast was a year and a half before Liam's. It's really cool to have corroboration. They were auditioning boys to form a boyband around Liam. This man KEPT IN TOUCH with Liam and flat out told him they would build a boyband around him.

Liam is just retelling what he was flat out told to his face.

I also find it very funny that he highlighted that the producers wanted Harry for the main show, essentially saying that they wanted him solo, but that the Syco executives wanted him for the boyband.

It's funny because if it wasn't for Liam Harry could've had a similar start to Justin Bieber, but clearly the Syco executives at the time had the idea of a boyband in mind and Liam as the frontman, so they stuck to that.

So much for "if it wasn't for 1D Harry would still be working in a bakery."

But anyway, thank you so much to the anon who sent that. Seriously, what a gem of a find!

[universesweetheart]

'I AM' Affirmations

I was putting together a list of affirmations for myself after having read the book 'The Secret' by Rhonda Byrne and I thought I'd share.

Enjoy!

Mars ♡

Context on why this works:

When you say "I am' the words that follow are summoning creation with a mighty force, because you are declaring it to be fact. You are stating it with certainty. Immediately after you say,

"I am tired"

"I am broke"

"I am sick"

"I am late"

"I am overweight"

"I am old"

the Genie (universe/source/god/whatever you believe in) says, "Your wish is my command."

Knowing this, wouldn't it be a good idea to begin to use the two most powerful words, I AM, to your advantage?

'I AM' Affirmations:

1. I AM receiving every good thing.  2. I AM happy. 3. I AM abundant.  4. I AM healthy.  5. I AM love.  6. I AM successful.  7. I AM eternal youth.  8. I AM filled with energy every single day. 9. I AM a multimillionaire. 10. I AM strong. 11. I AM powerful. 12. I AM harmonious. 13. I AM worthy of all my desires. 14. I AM my highest most authentic self. 15. I AM worthy of being here, on earth, alive.

Comment if you want an empowering liberating PUSSY affirmations list!

I will still be writing fanfics of 2d men because it makes me happy. This also makes me happy sooo yeah.

[cherries-or-peaches]

and talking heads for top five too :]

talking heads actually makes me go crazy at the mention of them lol

Slippery People (The synth break goes perfect with the harmonies in the chorus)

Warning Sign (A song I would listen to on a sunny day, walking)

Houses In Motion (The grooviest of the grooviest)

Memories Can’t Wait (The transition near the ending is to live for)

A Clean Break (Let’s Work) (It didn’t actually end up on album aside from their live album. It’s kinda like their equivalent to tbp’s pleasure heads must burn, which was in a similar predicament. Also jerry’s background vocals aren’t talked about enough when talking about early talking head performances. It really adds another layer.)

Honourable mentions to slink from jerry harrison’s first solo album (IT HAS MELODICA GUYS), and glass, concrete, and stone by david byrne (hits different while looking at a rainy window.)

[heartsleevemag]

Indie supergroup boygenius releases cyclical new EP, "the rest"

by Cassidy Byrnes

The boys are yet again back in town. Last Friday, indie trio boygenius released a new EP, the rest, after their astounding, widely accredited full-length album, the record. With their 2018 debut EP, boygenius, many of us assumed it would be their first and last outing as a group. But now, in 2023, we are all swimming in the sorrowful rock sounds of both the record, released March 31st, and the newly released EP, the rest.

I want to mention the significance, to me and to other fans, of releasing an EP rather than an extended or deluxe version of the LP. While I assume that the rest is composed of songs that were meant for the record, I think it’s wonderful to acknowledge, as an artist, that that album is complete. After listening to the rest an extraordinary amount of times, I can tell boygenius also believed that it was deserving of its own independent release because, like the record, it tells its own stories with its own conclusions. That’s not to say that I’m not a sucker for an extended or deluxe album (Taylor Swift, for example, can have all of my money), but understanding when a project is finished is something really special and noteworthy.

“Black Hole” starts off this EP with a staccato piano and an entrance of vocals from Julien Baker, where she is describing a night spent on a porch smoking cigarettes. Then a rhythm line comes in along with a more chaotic piano beginning to drown her out. Then enters Lucy Dacus with a smattering of nouns and adjectives that seemingly have no connection to Baker – but I’d like to imagine they are sharing a phone call where they are discussing these things, “Sometimes, I need to hear your voice,” Dacus concludes.

Dacus also brings us into the next track “Afraid of Heights.” This track has a very light acoustic feel with some steel guitar, until the final 40 seconds where a steady bass line joins and increases the gravity, making you really take in the story that Dacus weaves. Throughout the track, she describes a relationship with someone who pushed her to her limits: “I know I was a disappointment / Know you wanted me to take a risk / Not everybody gets the chance to live / A life that isn’t dangerous.” She has this amazing ability to make the listener believe everything she’s telling them, almost like they lived it themselves. The chaotic nature of the relationship and the slow, explanatory narrative by Dacus gives the song extreme emotional depth. They even snuck in the word “entropy," which seems to be the perfect encapsulation for this relationship.

We haven't heard a lot from Phoebe Bridgers yet, the third member of boygenius who is known for her wispy vocals and brutal lyrics, but the third track definitely showcases both. Opening with a humming harmony from the boys, “Voyager” pushes the audience into a story led by Bridgers; “It’s a hundred and three in the Valley / Blacktop is meltin’ on our shoes.” She tells us about a relationship that has ended, that was seemingly romantic but toxic all at the same time, and Bridgers still feels some sort of possession over them. This groundless notion is what drives the track – one moment she is reminiscing about spending the day in bed with this person, and the next she’s telling us that they “stepped on the gas” and asked her if she’s ready to die. While I hope that’s figurative, it gets the toxicity of the relationship across without it slapping the audience in the face. The production of the track is very minimal, with a plucky guitar line and the harmonies of Baker and Dacus.

“Powers” ends the EP and lets us hear from Baker one last time, where she is questioning her origins. Baker discusses her “powers” and where they came from with a sort of disdain, even relating her existence to a cockroach. This track’s lyrical allegories are great and the harmonies from the other boys offer a nice place to land, but the majority of the production, to me, was a little lackluster. But, again, the final minute of the track offers an undemanding trumpet solo accompanied by some strings which is a delicate way to lay the EP to rest (haha).

The entirety of this EP seems to be a conclusion of sorts. Each song is discussing the end of something and the acceptance that often accompanies endings, giving the title, the rest, a whole new meaning. The exceptional thing is that all of these tracks blend perfectly into the next; even the closing track blends right into the opener. Listening to it the first time, I was questioning where one song ended and the next began. I can only hope that this cyclical feeling was purposeful and that the boys, like this EP, will likely end but will begin again.

[potatoesandsunshine]

it's like okay. so psycho killer is the opener and it's perfect. it's a perfect song. david byrne stumbles around like a bird trying to invent a mating dance on the fly or like a puppet who is being moved around by the drum machine (a slightly amateur puppeteer). then tina weymouth comes out and they do heaven and lynn mabry isn't on stage yet but her harmonies sound like a real actual angel. heaven is a place where nothing ever happens. then you settle in for two more amazing songs (thank you for sending me an angel and found a job) and while you're listening more people are coming on stage and also they're building the stage like it's the fuckin barricade from les miserables. then they do slippery people and you're like holy shit that was so good there's no way they can top that. but everyone is on stage now and they've fit all the pieces together and they do BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE. DO YOU UNDERSTAND. I WANT TO EXPLODE.

[wolfgabe]

Now I want to see Nintendo do their own Once Upon A Studio style short.

Some day I would love to see Nintendo do their own little short film similar to Once Upon A Studio with all the different Nintendo characters gathered together with a giant group photo at the end.

My ideas for who could appear.

The Super Mario Series

Mario

Luigi

Peach

Toad/Captain Toad

Toadette

Bowser

Bowser Jr

Koopalings

Petey Piranha

Daisy

Wario

Waluigi

Rosalina

Luma

Pauline

Wart

Tatanga

Cackletta

Fawful

Goombas

Koopas

Lakitu

Goombella

Count Bleck

Dimentio

Olivia

King Olly

Cappy

Piantas

Kamek

Foreman Spike

Starlow

Broque Monsieur

King Boo

The Legend of Zelda

Link

Zelda

Ganondorf

Tingle

Midna

Zant

The Skull Kid

Navi

Prince Sidon

Mipha

Daruk

Yunobo

Teba

Revali

Riju

Urbosa

Purah

Robbie

Master Kohga

King Daphnes

King Rhoam

Linebeck

Anjean

Byrne

Chancelor Cole

Agahnim

The Happy Mask Salesman

Marin

Talon

Ingo

Lord Girahim

Fi

Metroid

Samus

Ridley

Kraid

Phantoon

Raven Beak

Metroids

Mother Brain

Space Pirates

Dark Samus

U-Mos

Rundas

Ghor

Gandrayda

Adam Malkovich

Sylux

Kanden

Trace

Noxus

Spire

Weavel

Fire Emblem

Marth

Roy

Ike

Lucina

Chrom

Lyn

Ryoma

Xander

Takumi

Camilla

King Garrin

Robin

Corrin

Tiki

Medeus

Gharnef

Alm

Celica

Ashnard

Black Night

Dmitri

Claude

Edelgard

Byleth

F-Zero

Captain Falcon

Samurai Goro

Dr Stewart

Pico

Blood Falcon

Black Shadow

Mr. EAD

The Skull

Jody Summer

Earthbound/MOTHER

Ninten

Ana

Lloyd

Teddy

EVE

Gyig

Ness

Paula

Jeff

Poo

Porky

Buzz Buzz

Mr. Saturn

Starman

Flying Man

Dungeon Man

Master Belch

Lucas

Claus

Kumatora

Duster

Boney

Flint

Kid Icarus

Pit

Palutena

Medusa

Eggplant Wizard

The Reaper

Hades

Viridi

Phosphora

Magnus

Dark Pit

Phosphora

Dyntos

Wario Land/WarioWare

Captain Syrup

Rudy the Clown

The Shake King

Queen Meralda

Spritelings

The Black Jewel

Princess Shokora

Mona

Jimmy T

Ashley

Dribble

Spitz

9-Volt

5-Volt

18-Volt

Lulu

Pyoro

Orbulon

Kat

Ana

Young Cricket

Master Mantis

Dr Crygor

Pikmin

Olimar

Louie

The President

Alph

Brittany

Charlie

Shepard

Russ

Dingo

Bernard

Collin

Oatchi

Moss

The Ancient Sirehound

Various Pikmin

Bulborb

Emperor Bulblax

Animal Crossing

Tom Nook

Mr Resetti

Copper

Booker

Tortimer

Kappn

Isabelle

Digby

Pelly

Phyllis

Tommy and Timmy Nook

Crazy Redd

Gracie

Franklin

Dr Shrunk

Blanca

Gulliver

Leif

Mabel

Sable

Labelle

Jingle

Zipper T

Lyle

Lottie

Wardell

Blathers

Celeste

Brewster

Reese

Cyrus

Jack

K.K. Slider

Harriet

Harvey

Wilbur

Orville

Pascal

Joan

Porter

Daisy Mae

Lloid

Resetti

Don Resetti

Rover

Splatoon

Inklings

Capn Cuttlefish

Dj Octavio

Octarians

Callie and Marie

Sheldon

Marina

Pearl

Shiver

Frye

Big Man

Mr. Grizz

Salmonids

Commander Tartar

Crusty Sean

Annie and Moe

Spyke

Murch

Judd

Lil Judd

Aunt Flow and Craymond

Jelonzo

Jelfonzo

Bisk

Mr Coco

Harmony

Gnarly Eddie

Donkey Kong

Donkey Kong

Diddy Kong

Dixie Kong

Cranky Kong

Funky Kong

Candy Kong

Kiddie Kong

Swanky Kong

Rambi

Squawks

King K Rool

Kritters

Tikis

Tiki Tong

Snowmads

Lord Fredrick

Party Monkeys

Dread Kong

Ninja Kong

Karate Kong

Sumo Kong

Cactus King

Donkey Kong Jr

ARMS

Spring Man

Ribbon Girl

Ninjara

Min Min

Master Mummy

Mechanica

Twintelle

Helix

Kid Cobra

Byte & Barq

Max Brass

Lola Pop

Misango

Springtron

Dr Coyle

Biff

Yoshi Series

Yoshi

Poochy

Burt the Bashful

Roger the Potted Ghost

Naval Piranha

Hookbill the Koopa

Raphael the Raven

Baby Mario

Kirby Series

Kirby

King Dedede

Bandana Waddle Dee

Meta Knight

Whispy Woods

Kracko

Mr Shine and Mr Bright

Nightmare

Rick

Kine

Coo

Gooey

Nago

Pitch

ChuChu

Dark Matter

Adeline

Ribbon

Zero

Marx

Dark Mind

Drawcia

Magolor

Landia

Taranza

Queen Sectonia

Susie

President Haltmann

The Three Mage Sisters

Hyness

Elflin

Gorimondo

Clawroline

Sillydillo

Leongar

Punch Out!!

Little Mac

Doc Louis

Glass Joe

King Hippo

Von Kaiser

Soda Popinski

Bald Bull

Don Flamenco

Great Tiger

Piston Hondo

Bear Hugger

Mr. Sandman

Super Macho Man

Xenoblade Chronicles Series

Shulk

Reyn

Fiora

Sharla

Dunban

Riki

Metal Face

Rex

Pyra

Mythra

Morag

Tora

Poppy

Zeke

Malos

Jin

Lora

Amalthus

Noah

Mio

Eunie

Sena

Lanz

Taion

Riku and Manana

Star Fox

Fox

Falco

Peppy Hare

Slippy Toad

General Pepper

Wolf O Donnell

Andross

Leon

Panther

Krystal

Prince Tricky

General Scales

Early Nintendo/NES Era

Mr Game & Watch

Professor Hector

R.O.B

Smick

Dr Mario Viruses

Mach Rider

Ice Climbers

The Condor

The Polar Bear

Topi

Bubbles

ExciteBike Racers

Duck Hunt Dog and Ducks

Wild Gunman Outlaws

Sable Prince

Devil

Tamagon

Eggplant Man

Diskun

Takamaru

Balloon Fighter

Other

Wii Fit Trainers

Ring Fit Trainees

Dragaux

Miis

Dillion and Russ

Rusty Slugger

Ryota from Wave Race

Sebastian Tute from Wii Music

Chibi Robo

The Arcade Bunny from Nintendo Badge Arcade

Nikki from Swapnote

The Flipnote Studio Frog

[thistheaterishaunted]

It would be tempting, perhaps seductively so, to shoot a Talking Heads live show from multiple angles and train every camera on David Byrne. His sudden jerks and lurches and twitches never fail to catch the eye, as they should, but with Stop Making Sense, Jonathan Demme is solely interested in capturing the totality of this performance, and this band, and these songs, and these people. Byrne’s unstoppably jagged performance is a huge part of this, running laps of the stage, dancing with a floor lamp, performing in an enormous grey business suit, but it’s just one layer of dozens, each happening at the same time in the same place in total harmony. The alchemy of live music. Even split into its constituent parts and pieced back together, it’s impossible to see how it all comes together.

A year later, Demme took a similar approach with his music video for New Order’s single The Perfect Kiss, shot in the band’s practice room in Manchester as they perform the song from start to finish. The video cuts between close-ups of each member individually, either playing their instruments or waiting to play them, with the camera mostly trained on their faces. Demme isolates each person in a frame of their own and emphasises their individual contribution to the song: Bernard Summer singing and playing guitar and hitting a cowbell; Gillian Gilbert and Stephen Morris turning the dials and pressing the keys of various synthesisers; Peter Hook playing a bass riff and hitting some drum pads. Each close-up underlines a certain sound visually as a single layer among dozens of others, created by one of four people and their instruments, and by focusing on the means by which these layers are constructed, Demme finds the same thing he found in Stop Making Sense: that music is alchemical. It’s water into wine, lead into gold. It’s a thousand individual noises thrown together to create something dense and magic and unknowable.

[awkward-penguin-in-a-trenchcoat]

not to be too religious here but my lord and savior, protector of lesbians, Andrew Hozier Byrne has graced us with Unreal Unearth on this fine day of August 18th and i shall be found praying and chanting the harmonies of it for the foreseeable future

[odk-2]

Bee Gees - To Love Somebody (1967) Barry Gibb / Robin Gibb from: "To Love Somebody" / "Close Another Door" (Single) "Bee Gees' 1st" (LP) "Their Greatest Hits: The Record" (2001 Compilation | Disc 1)

Orchestral Pop | Blue-Eyed Soul

JukeHostUK (left click = play) (320kbps)

Personnel: Barry Gibb: Lead and Backing Vocals / Rhythm Guitar Robin Gibb: Harmony and Backing Vocals Vince Melouney: Lead Guitar Maurice Gibb: Bass Guitar / Backing Vocals Colin Petersen: Drums

Orchestral Arrangement by Bill Shepherd Produced by Robert Stigwood / Ossie Byrne

Recorded: @ The IBC Studios in London, England UK April, 1967

Single Released: in mid-June, 1967(UK) July, 1967 (US)

Album Released: on July 14, 1967 (UK) on August 9, 1967 (US)

Polydor Records (UK) ATCO Records (US) Spin Records (Australia)

RSO Records: (1978 Reissue) Reprise Records: (2006 CD Reissue)

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪

To Love Somebody (Song) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Love_Somebody_(song)

[britneyshakespearess]

2023 Recap

Goal: 35 books

Books read: 50 11 nonfiction 39 fiction

Pages read: 15,896

My 5 star reads (in order by which I read them):

The Winter of the Witch Katherine Arden

The Catcher in the Rye (reread) J.D. Salinger

Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma Claire Dederer

Fourth Wing Rebecca Yarros

The Anomaly Herve Le Tellier

White Wedding Kathleen J. Woods

We Too: Essays on Sex Work and Survival Natalie West (editor)

Hurricane Season Fernanda Melchor

Jawbone Monica Ojeda

Acts of Desperation Megan Nolan

How Should a Person Be? Sheila Heti

Educated Tara Westover

Sharks, Death, Surfers: an Illustrated Companion Melissa McCarthy

Minor Feelings Cathy Park Hong

Best book I read this year:

Hurricane Season Fernanda Melchor

Worst book I read this year:

In the Woods Tana French

The books I thought I was going to love but didn't:

The Glass Castle Jeanette Walls

Idlewild James Frankie Thomas

Biography of X Catherine Lacey

How Music Works David Byrne

Bluebeard's Castle Anna Biller

The book I didn't expect to love but did:

Acts of Desperation Megan Nolan

How Should a Person Be? Sheila Heti

The books I haven't stopped thinking about:

The Anomaly Herve Le Tellier White Wedding Kathleen J. Woods We Too: Essays on Sex Work and Survival Natalie West (editor) Hurricane Season Fernanda Melchor

Jawbone Monica Ojeda Acts of Desperation Megan Nolan

How Should a Person Be? Sheila Heti

Educated Tara Westover Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma Claire Dederer Nails and Eyes Kaori Fujino What Was She Thinking? Zoe Heller How to Blow Up a Pipeline Andreas Malm Treasure Island!!! Sara Levine Death in Her Hands Ottessa Moshfegh At the Edge of the Woods Kathryn Bromwich Lament for Julia Susan Taubes

The complete list and my ratings (in order by which I read them):

Ninth House Leigh Bardugo (reread) 4/5 Hell Bent Leigh Bardugo 3.5/5 The Winter of the Witch Katherine Arden 5/5 What Was She Thinking? Zoe Heller 4/5 Spells for Forgetting Adrienne Young 3/5 Elektra Jennifer Saint 3/5 How to Blow Up a Pipeline Andreas Malm 4.5/5 Now Is Not the Time to Panic Kevin Wilson 4.5/5 The Catcher in the Rye J.D. Salinger (reread) 5/5 Treasure Island!!! Sara Levine 4.5/5 The Ruin of All Witches: Life and Death in the New World Malcom Gaskill 4/5 Milk Fed Melissa Broder 4.5/5 Death in Her Hands Ottessa Moshfegh 3.5/5 Bunny Mona Awad 3.5/5 Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma Claire Dederer 5/5 A Crack-Up at the Race Riots Harmony Korine 4/5 Fourth Wing Rebecca Yarros 5/5 Delta of Venus Anais Nin 4.5/5 The Only One Left Riley Sager 4/5 Strangers to Ourselves: Unsettled Minds and the Stories That Make Us Rachel Aviv 4/5 The Anomaly Herve Le Tellier 5/5 A Court of Silver Flames Sarah J. Maas 4/5 At the Edge of the Woods Kathryn Bromwich 4.5/5 How Music Works David Byrne 3.5/5 Call Them by Their True Names: American Crises Rebecca Solnit 3/5 Boy Parts Eliza Clark 4/5 White Wedding Kathleen J. Woods 5/5 Lament for Julia Susan Taubes 4.5/5 In the Woods Tana French 2/5 Biography of X Catherine Lacey 4/5 The Near Witch Victoria Schwab 4/5 Divine Rivals Rebecca Ross 4.5/5 We Too: Essays on Sex Work and Survival Natalie West (editor) 5/5 Hurricane Season Fernanda Melchor 5/5 Starling House Alix E. Harrow 3/5 Nails and Eyes Kaori Fujino 4.5/5 Jawbone Monica Ojeda 5/5 Small Favors Erin A. Craig. 3/5 Exit West Mohsin Hamid 4/5 Bluebeard's Castle Anna Biller 3.5/5 Iron Flame Rebecca Yarros 4.5/5 Acts of Desperation Megan Nolan 5/5 How Should a Person Be? Sheila Heti 5/5 Educated Tara Westover 5/5 The Glass Castle Jeanette Walls 3.5/5 Idlewild James Frankie Thomas 4/5 The Guest List Lucy Foley 4/5 Ruthless Vows Rebecca Ross 4/5 Sharks, Death, Surfers: an Illustrated Companion Melissa McCarthy 5/5 Minor Feelings Cathy Park Hong 5/5

[krispyweiss]

Song Review: Rufus Wainwright feat. Andrew Bird and Chris Stills - “Harvest”

Rufus Wainwright reaps minor benefits on his cover of Neil Young’s “Harvest.”

As a preview of Wainwright’s forthcoming Folkocracy, it signals an album worthy of anticipation. But he picked a stone classic that cannot possibly be improved, even with the help of violinist Andrew Bird and guitarist Chris Stills, both of whom provide harmony vocals.

“Harvest” is a gutsy number to tackle. Wainwright and his guests strip down an already-slim song and take some liberties with the vocal arrangements. A bit jarring at first listen, the song soon reveals Wainwright’s good intentions.

Out June 2, Folkocracy also features guest spots from Madison Cunningham, Chaka Kahn, Brandi Carlisle, David Byrne, Martha Wainwright and others, so a diverse collection is all but ensured.

Grade card: Rufus Wainwright feat. Andrew Bird and Chris Stills - “Harvest” - B-

5/5/23

[iwonderwh0]

Any more microtonal music recommendations? I'd rather get recs than hop blindly into the youtube unknown lol

YES, of course! I'm so glad you asked since now I have an excuse to share here more of my micro-obsession

Little disclaimer - at first most people find it absolutely unlistenable and some even find it deeply disturbing, but it's only because they are not used to it. It takes time

So it might be reasonable to start with

"King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard" - this is Australian indie rock band that often uses microtonal instruments for their music -- not all of it, but enough to be a good starting point to get used to some of it. I'd start with "Nonagon Infinity" - this album is FIRE, and the cool thing about it is that every song of this album flows flawlessly into the next one, and the last one flows almost flawlessly into the first one if you listen to them on loop. Other album I'd recommend is "Flying Microtonal Banana", and one specific song that I was absolutely obsessed with that I also want to link is Crumbling Castle This band is where microtonality is mixed within familiar type of music, so it feels comfortable and familiar and not intimidating

Okay, moving on to other microtonal examples on the beginner-friendly side

I remember really liking this one in 19EDO, here it's really gentle microtonality, just enough of it to be noticeable without overwhelming someone who'd listen to it for the first time. Also perfect example of how microtonal music can convey the kind of mood that would be impossible in 12EDO

Next, this one is really nice, and it's a pity there's not much more from this musician as I find it adorable.

Brendan Byrnes - Cave Dance I just realised I completely forgot that he exists, I only remember that this songs slaps, should probably dive into his discography myself

Now getting closer to my absolute faves - Xotla and Sevish. All of my following recommendations are just individual songs and albums of theirs. Xotla is probably more beginner-friendly, so I'll start with his songs

Xotla - Surprise me This was the song that made me obsessed with microtonality, here is where it started. I remember listening it on repeat just because 4:15 <-- MY GOD I can't even describe how amazing this place felt when I listened to it for the first ten times or so

Xotla - No Longer 2:50 ❤️

Xotla - Cosmic Microwave pure goosebumps the first listening

Xotla - Dance of the Forest Lights (Reimagined) - the new version of this song. I love both of them

Xotla - Robots Dream To Dance absolute bop

Xotla - Sipping Tea By The Sea already familiar to you, It's from "Seeds of Moonlight" album. If you liked this song maybe you should check out the rest of the album. My favourites from this album (other than that): Metallic Lilypads and Losing Connections. Although this album is not my favourite.

Okay, I realised maybe I should just recommend albums. All of them (except Planting Seeds of Microtones, it sounds too much like pop music and it's not the Xotla I love), my favourite is Science Fraction

Lastly in regards to Xotla I wanna note Funkrotonal (0:56 !!!)

Also Between Space (3:24 !)

Okay, now I'll link THE WHOLE SEVISH DISCOGRAPHY (no, but really)

But really, this is the most important place of this post

SEVISH

SEVISH

SEVISH

SEVISH

Sevish is the kind of microtonality that you probably shouldn't jump on when you're just getting used to microtones, because this is where most of my irls noped immediately. But if you're ready and your heart is open, his music is literally out of this world

Sevish - Outside (!!!!) - this is where my head exploded when I listened to it for the first time. The moment I realised that microtonal harmony is absolutely unearthly GEORGEOUS

Sevish - Better Left Unanswered - more of absolutely gorgeous microtonality

Sevish - Gleam - if you're using tiktok there's a possibility that you've actually heard this one, it was trending at some point. The moment from 0:50 specifically

Sevish - Horizons - I just want to leave here this comment that was written under this song on youtube:

Here I'll just link the whole Morphable album - I listened to it more times than I could count, but here are some songs from it that I like more than others:

Tritavium (absolute insane percussion at 1:17, I'm not normal about it at all)

Launch (1:29 is 🤌✨😩)

Smashing, actually damn I can just link every single song from this album, they're all uniquely amazing

Songs from other albums

Sevish - Freathy the end of this one is heaven-like (3:12) and I mean it, it's like church-choir

Sevish - Desert Island Rain - this was one of the first I listened by sevish and it scratched my brain in a way no other song ever did, also 4:34 here is a completely different vibe. This is also the song I tried to show to my irls that made them make such a face expression as if they're in physical pain. Well, definitely not the best one to familiarize anyone with microtonality, as this one is amazing if you're ready, otherwise it's miserable

Also check out "Formless Shadows" album if you love ambient

Damn

I LOVE microtonal music

I got so used to it that when I now listen to usual 12EDO it feels like something is missing