#hymn ballad brothers

[courfeyracs-swordcane]

Full lineup of the saints! Yippee!!! All of their endings under the cut 😬

Emery, Archer, and Hymn belong to @wildfandom

Vesper and Cardinal belong to @nosongunsung11

Geram: beheaded by Tena (thought he could fix her)

Anje: stabbed by Tena (homoerotic execution style)(she saved her for last)

Beremuntena: well,

Rekah: fucked up her whole life and that of everyone she cares about being Tena’s minion. Lives out to a ripe old age with an image of Tena covered in her own blood permanently burned into the corner of her vision

Pazco: Tena bashed his head in with a rock in a moment of frustration post-executions (and that’s when it hit her that People Die When They Are Killed)

Ely: fucks off to the burned out shell of his hometown to be alone and never talk to anyone ever again after Anje died. Sainted to his city as a Living Martyr

Coranazon: executed second-last by Tena (last surviving member of his marriage)

Miri: executed first by Tena

Petry: left to govern Ely’s city after everyone more qualified died or fucked off, eventually retires to Emery’s city

Umber: having a kind of Demeter-Persephone thing going where they hang out w Nana and Petry in Emery’s city for part of the year but if they stay longer it’ll consume them

Nana: wrote smth between the universe equivalent of the Bible and a history textbook about all of this

Nella: went home and built Beromia’s city in her name

Beromia: misread the visions of her city and drowned herself to prevent them from happening

Emery: travelled up south to build their city after Archer was killed

Archer: executed by Tena

Emy: immortal and invulnerable, has been just kind of travelling around ever since

Legion: killed on the side of the road trying to bring Cardinal’s body somewhere where they could bury it

Vesper: spent the rest of their life standing watch at Cardinal and Legion’s grave. May have also exploded the pope and half the Vatican on accident

Cardinal: killed in some random fight— technically more of a skirmish or a raid than a battle

Hymn: died shortly after the kids and got brought back as the ideal of himself; questionable whether he’s even a person anymore

[gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan]

Little Gift

Warnings: Chaos Death Guard be Chaos Death Guard, let me know if I need to add anything,

Author’s note: An explanation of where this AU spawned from. Past -=- Future

Summary: Hura meets the pretty human again.

Tagged: @sleepyfan-blog, @egrets-not-regrets, @barn-anon, @c-u-c-koo-4-40k, @bleedingichorhearts,

Tagged: @kit-williams, @whorety-k

Hura is humming a song to himself, being on Ancient Terra has been a terribly interesting affair, giving out grandfather’s blessings has become quite a bit harder, taking far more energy and thus, taking more care to be selective in giving blessings, as much as it breaks his hearts not give any and all Grandfather Nurgle’s blessings, upon Ancient Terra the working of the Warp is far weaker and takes far more effort. Still, as he swims out of his cove, he senses that precious, darling, wonderful human who’d given him a mostly intact sand dollar. Such a precious little gift, of course he had to give her one in return, a little blessing of Grandfather Nurgle.

He croons at her in Gothic, his pretty little human seems nervous, although he isn’t sure why, he’s not the type to be intentionally cruel. Base line humans are ever so precious sentient creatures, as well as very important for Grandfather Nurgle to give blessings and to have them as a flock in order to nurture the power of Grandfather Nurgle. As he croons at the precious, adorable, lovely human he hears how they are wheezing and coughing and croons at her, singing softly to her some of the hymns and ballads of Grandfather Nurgle, which will help ease her breathing.

As he croons at her he sinks into the water more, the energy that he has to spend in order to do so has him blinking spots out of his vision. The little pretty, darling human looks at him concerned and has approached, a concerned frown on their face as they grab one of the bottles of water that they are carrying and some food, carefully trying to offer him some, worried for him. Ah- that warms his hearts that his little human cares so much! Such a wonderful, lovely little human. His wonderful little human approaches him, close enough for him to curl his form around her and purr at them.

They are tense in his arms, but slowly relax as the soothing effects of his purring as his wonderful, lovely, darling, precious human relax in his arms. He notices the wonderful sores on their legs and croons at them, gently petting their hair and listening as they speak to him, he hears their words and nuzzles her and gently scoops her up, carrying her further into the ocean’s waves. He will return her to the land, for now, after all, he’s heard what’s happened to other brother’s and cousins who steal away their precious humans and turn them that their relationships with them are more difficult and tumultuous at the beginning, and while they have to rely on them, they are far more Upset for an understandably long time.

The ocean’s water helps with her sores and the wheezing as he shows them to his cove and grabs one of the marine oysters and gently croons as he gently cracks it open and pulls out a pearl and gifts it to her. It has a slight sheen of green to it, green is one of the best of colors, in Hura’s opinion. His precious human seems flustered when they carefully grab the pearl from him and he gently, but insistently wants them to keep it. Pearls are wonderful sources of little bits of magic, and he’ll be able to keep a closer eye on his precious human when they are so far away from the edge of the oceans he inhabits. He gently scoops up his precious darling human and swims back to the beach where he’d scoop them up and gently sets her down in knee deep, on a base line human and watches as they leave him with a sad croon.

[loritocarasucia]

Help me make a Branch Playlist

I have this playlist on my phone of songs that make me think of Branch or that I think Branch would listen to. (Most of the songs are old ones because I strongly believe that Branch is a fan of the classics.)

It's already pretty big but I want to make it even bigger. So any song that's not on this list that you think matches perfectly with Branch's personality or simply makes you think of him for some reason I want to hear it.

It doesn't matter if it's old or new, any suggestion is completely welcome!!!

🖤:Sad ones he would listen to when he was grey.

💙:Sad ones he would listen to when he was grey and thinking of Poppy

💜: Still a little bit sad but this is actually when he has his colors back (and thinking of Poppy.)

🖤

•Dream weaver - Gary Wright

•Open your heart - Europe

•Yesterday - The Beatles

•Voices that care - David Foster

•Name - Goo Goo Dolls

•More than a feeling - Boston

•Hymn for the missing - Red

•Forever Young by Rod Stewart

•I'll stand by you - the pretenders

•Time after time - Cyndi Lauper

•American pie - Don McLean

•Show me the meaning of being lonely - backstreet boys

💙

•Sally's song

•Hopelessly devoted to you

•You've got to hide your love away - The Beatles

•Give me love - Ed Sheeran

•The ballad of love and hate - The Avett Brothers

💜

•All through the night - Cyndi Lauper

•When I need you - Leo Sayer

•Angel baby - Troye Sivan

•The promise - Tracy Chapman

•The longest time - Billy Joel

•Dream a little dream of me - Ella Fitzgerald

•January wedding - The Avett Brothers

•Llegaste tú - Luis Fonsi ft. Juan Luis Guerra

•Winterwood - Don McLean

•God must've spent a little more time on you - NSYNC

[ladyofrosefire]

Playing a bard Tav in BG3 is fun for a lot of reasons, but also because you get to imagine writing songs about your companions. Some of them are joke songs ("the fire down below" title courtesy of notaficwriter about how you burned your dick off with Karlach, but it was SO worth it, for example) but like... I need to make a LIST.

Karlach's bawdy tavern song, as described above.

Also from Bal, some variation of "darling daring Wyll" for gently ribbing him because my girl Ria decided he's baby brother shaped and responded accordingly

But also a song about 'a woman with a heart of burning gold'

And the ballad of the blade of the frontiers! Fully. FULLY. Ria looks at Wyll and goes, "Oh, I'll be singing about you for a century, and you'll deserve it."

Gale's song could go in a few directions! A dialogue between him and Mystra telling his story? A hymn to a new god? I have not decided!

Lae'zel gets a battle epic because of course she does. But it's a song of hope.

Shadowheart's song is... probably a bit too tender to offer to her directly. A song to call someone home. But maybe she'd like it.

I'll be perfectly fucking honest I'm at a loss with Halsin. probably a straightforward bard song about a hero. I don't know.

But also bear puns. Essential.

The one that really gets me, though, is Astarion. Ria could write him love songs, of course, and would. But she couldn't sing about their adventures without revealing too much. There'd be something, I think, about never realizing red eyes could be so warm or so welcome. Ria's a drow, ok, she's got some baggage. But I keep picturing Astarion jokingly asking where his song is, half-fearing the answer, and Ria handing him a stack of abandoned drafts with a shrug she'll have to settle for now for love songs that talk about red eyes and safety that comes from a familiar blade in the shadows.

[gwendolynlerman]

Deutschribing Germany

Literature

Middle Ages (5th-15th centuries)

Medieval German literature can be divided into two periods: Old High German literature (8th-11th centuries) and Middle High German literature (12th-14th centuries). The only surviving works from the first period are the Hildebrandslied (Lay of Hildebrand), which is the earliest poetic text in German and tells of the tragic encounter in battle between a father and a son, and Muspilli, which deals with the fate of the soul after death and at the Last Judgment.

Middle High German literature saw a 60-year golden age known as mittelhochdeutsche Blütezeit, in which lyric poetry in the form of Minnesang—the German version of courtly love—blossomed thanks to poets such as Walther von der Vogelweide and Wolfram von Eschenbach. Another important genre during this time was epic poetry, of which the most famous example is the Nibelungenlied (The Song of the Nibelungs), which narrates the story of prince Siegfried and princess Kriemhild, among other characters.

Renaissance (15th-16th centuries)

Early New High German literature includes works such as Der Ring (The Ring) by Heinrich Wittenwiler, a 9,699-line satirical poem where each line is marked with red or green ink depending on the seriousness of the material, and Das Narrenschiff (Ship of Fools) by Sebastian Brant, a satirical allegory that contains the ship of fools trope.

Other important authors are satirist and poet Thomas Murner, humanist Sebastian Franck, and poets Johannes von Tepl and Oswald von Wolkenstein.

Baroque (16th-17th centuries)

The Baroque period is characterized by works that reflected the experiences of the Thirty Years’ War and tragedies (Trauerspiele) on Classical themes, the latter were written by authors such as Andreas Gryphius and Daniel Caspar von Lohenstein. The most famous work is Der abenteuerliche Simplicissimus (Simplicius Simplicissimus) by Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen, a picaresque novel that narrates the adventures of the naïve Simplicissimus.

Enlightenment (17th-18th centuries)

The most important writers of the Enlightenment are Christian Felix Weiße, Christoph Martin Wieland, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, and Johann Gottfried Herder.

The Age of Reason saw the emergence of two literary movements: Empfindsamkeit (sentimental style) and Sturm und Drang (storm and stress). The first one intended to express true and natural feelings and featured sudden mood changes. The latter movement was characterized by individual subjectivity and extremes of emotion in response to the rationalism imposed by the Enlightenment.

Weimar Classicism (18th-19th centuries)

The main drivers behind Weimar Classicism, which synthesized ideas from Classicism, the Enlightenment, and Romanticism, were Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller, and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. 

During this period, Schiller published Die Bürgschaft (The Pledge), a ballad based on the legend of Damon and Pythias found in the Latin Fabulae, and Don Karlos (Don Carlos), a historical tragedy about Carlos, Prince of Asturias, while Goethe wrote Egmont, a play heavily influenced by Shakespearean tragedy, and Faust, a tragic play in which the main character sells his soul to the devil that is considered the greatest work of German literature.

Romanticism (18th-19th centuries)

Important Romantic writers include E. T. A. Hoffmann, author of Der Sandmann (The Sandman), a short story based on the mythical character of said name that puts people to sleep by sprinkling sand on their eyes; Heinrich von Kleist, who wrote Das Kätchen von Heilbronn (The Little Catherine of Heilbronn), a drama set in Swabia in the Middle Ages; Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff, author of Das Marmorbild (The Marble Statue), a novella about a man who struggles to choose between piety and a world of art, and Novalis, author of Hymnen an die Nacht (Hymns to the Night), a collection of six poems.

Folk tales collected by the Brothers Grimm became very popular during the Romantic period, as they represented a pure form of national literature and culture.

Biedermeier and Young Germany (19th century)

The Biedermeier period contrasts with the Romantic era and is best exemplified by poets Adelbert von Chamisso, Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, and Wilhelm Müller.

Young Germany was a youth movement whose main proponents were Karl Gutzkow, Ludolf Wienbarg, and Theodor Mundt.

Realism and Naturalism (19th century)

The most representatives realist authors are Gustav Freytag, Theodor Fontane, and Theodor Storm, while Gerhart Hauptmann was the most important naturalist writer.

Weimar literature (20th century)

During the Weimar Republic, writers such as Erich Maria Remarque, Heinrich Mann, and Thomas Mann presented a bleak look at the world and the failure of politics and society.

Expressionism (20th century)

As a modernist movement, Expressionism presented the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it for emotional effect. Famous authors include novelists Alfred Döblin and Franz Kafka, playwrights Ernst Toller and Georg Kaiser, and poets August Stramm and Else Lasker-Schüler.

Neue Sachlichkeit (20th century)

Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity) arose as a reaction against expressionism and was characterized by its political perspective on reality and portrayal of dystopias in an emotionless reporting style, showing cynicism about humanity. Authors associated with this movement include Erich Kästner, Hans Fallada, and Irmgard Keun.

Nazi Germany (1933-1945)

During the Nazi regime, some authors went into exile, while others submitted to censorship. The former, who either were of Jewish ancestry or opposed the regime for political reasons, include writers Alice Rühle-Gerstel and Anna Seghers, playwright Bertolt Brecht, and poet and novelist Hermann Hesse/Emil Sinclair.

Those who stayed and engaged in inner emigration include writer Friedrich Reck-Malleczewen, poet and essayist Gottfried Benn, writer Hans Blüher, and poet and novelist Ricarda Huch.

Post-war literature (20th century)

The most famous authors in West Germany were Edgar Hilsenrath, Günter Grass, Heinrich Böll, and Group 47, a group of participants in writers’ meetings invited by Hans Werner Richter.

East German writers include Christa Wolf, Heiner Müller, Reiner Kunze, and Sarah Kirsch.

Contemporary literature (21st century)

Fantasy and science fiction authors include Andreas Eschbach, Frank Schätzing, and Wolfgang Hohlbein. Some of the most important poets are Aldona Gustas, Hans Magnus Enzensberger, and Jürgen Becker. Thriller is best represented by Ingrid Noll. Fiction novelists include Herta Müller, Siegfried Lenz, and Wilhelm Genazino.

[leftistfeminista]

On Paul Robeson's 126th birthday, I would like to celebrate one of his lesser known songs. His rendition of Beethoven's Ode to Joy with his own interpretive translation of the lyrics. It captures the humanistic spirit of the Enlightenment, French Revolutionary and Romanticist eras in which Beethoven worked. And the egalitarian ideas Robeson championed. Those who struggle are supported and those who might dominate are kept in check. It is the deepest level of solidarity and fraternity where none are allowed to fall. A powerful antidote to an age of unchecked individualism, competition, cruelty and glorification of strength for its own sake.

..Build the road of peace before us, Build it wide and deep and long Speed the slow and check the eager, Help the weak and curb the strong. None shall push aside another, None shall let another fall March beside me, oh, my brothers, 

ALL FOR ONE AND ONE FOR ALL

Paul Robeson Sings For The Underdog 

During his career, vocalist Paul Robeson usually avoided singing classical music, once stating that European traditions had “nothing in common with the history of my slave ancestors.” He almost exclusively devoted himself to spirituals, protest songs and folk ballads, championing the oppressed through music. That was certainly the case with his unlikely but devoted relationship with group of working-class miners in Wales, whom Robeson supported in their protests against low wages and unsafe working conditions.

On the occasion he did perform classical works, he reframed them as folk music. Robeson’s “Ode to Joy” replaces the orchestra with a single piano, and he opts to sing in English rather than German, driving home the message of brotherhood to his English-speaking audiences. Robeson’s leftist politics lead to his blacklisting during the McCarthy Era, leaving him unable to travel with a revoked passport. So when the Welsh miners invited him to perform at a festival 1957, his only choice was to sing across the sea via a transatlantic telephone line. He dedicated his version of “Ode to Joy” to the crowd of 5,000, supporting their struggle for what he called “a world where we can live abundant and dignified lives.”

Chilean Women Protest A Violent Dictator

In 1973, military dictator Augusto Pinochet assumed power in Chile and oversaw the imprisonment and torture of tens of thousands of people belonging to opposition groups. At the risk of their own lives, female protesters gathered outside torture prisons to sing the “Himno a la Alegria,” a hymn based on “Ode to Joy,” to bring hope to those being held inside. You can see a clip of the protest in the documentary Following the Ninth: 

Another of his lesser known performance is of Luther's famous hymn, which launched in the religious sphere the bourgeois democratic revolt against Medieval Feudalism.

While we are still a long, long ways away from the just society Robeson dreamed of, we have at least made some progress from the McCarthyist days in which he was blacklisted, to being officially recognized today in our nation's capital.

[songofthesibyl]

Very Faerie — An ACOTAR playlist

For Tamlin Week day four, a soundtrack for A Court of Thorns and Roses. It is generally chronological; and since it is for Tamlin Week, it has a slight focus on Tamlin, though most of the songs apply to both Tamlin and Feyre. Cover image is from an illustration by Stephanie Law of The Ballad of Tam Lin.

Song listing with notes below:

Tam Lin by Mediæval Bæbes

         “And at the end of seven years           We pay a tiend to Hell.           I am sae fair and fu' of flesh           I'm feared it be myself.”

          “Tiend” is also known as “tithe.” The Hell tithe, as described, was a payment that had to be given, every seven years, of a fairy to Hell. It is not commonly referred to in fairy mythology; the Ballad of Tam Lin is one of the few mentions of it.

2. Howl by Tanya Tagaq

        A lament for the sentries killed in the curse. 

3. The Curse by Agnes Obel

        “It was swift, it was just another wave of a miracle

        But no one, nothing at all would go for the kill

        If they called on every soul in the land, on the moon

        Only then would they know a blessing in disguise

        The curse ruled from the underground, down by the shore

        And their hope grew with a hunger to live unlike before

4. The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game by The Marvelettes

         I had to lay such a tender trap

         Hoping you might fall into it

         Love hit me like a sudden slap

         One kiss and then I knew it

         Oh, my plans didn't work out like I thought

         ‘Cause I had laid my trap for you but it seems like I got caught

         What's this whole world comin' to

         Things just ain't the same

         Any time the hunter gets captured by the game

         MY ultimate Feylin song.

5. The Boy with the Thorn in His Side by The Smiths

        The boy with the thorn in his side

        Behind the hatred, there lies

        A murderous desire for love

        How can they look into my eyes

        And still they don't believe me?

        How can they hear me say those words

        Still they don't believe me?

6. I Hope That I Don’t Fall In Love With You by Tom Waits

        ‘Cause falling in love just makes me blue

7. Throughout The Dark Months of April and May by Cocteau Twins 

        The Bogge, the Púca, torn wings

8. Lhiannan Shee by Mediæval Bæbes

        Lhiannan Shee, also spelled Leanan sídhe, is a type of Irish fairy that takes human lovers, often becoming a muse to them. The human chosen, however, often ends up dead or insane from the encounter. “Lhiannan Shee” means “fairy lover.”

9. Hymn To Herne by S. J. Tucker

        Hunter who tracks outside of time

        Guardian lord of ancient rhyme

        Brother stag in the musky glen

        And consort of the Goddess in her woodland den

        We call you forth as we make our way

        Walking in your power every day

        Guide us true in our hunt this night

        And maybe even later in the Great Rite!

       He will call you out, make you sweat

       Give you a blessing that you'll never forget

       So revel in the chase and let your heartbeat run:

       Blessed are the children of the Horned One!

Herne the Hunter is a spirit said to haunt the British countryside. He is known to bear antlers, and is often associated with other horned gods and gods of the hunt and the wild such as Cernunnos, Pan, the Green Man, etc. though these aren’t all the same figure necessarily. The Great Rite is a traditional Wiccan ceremony. Writer Starhawk on The Horned God:

“The Horned God is difficult to understand because he does not fit into any of the expected stereotypes, neither those of the ‘macho’ male nor the reverse-images of those who deliberately seek effeminacy. He is gentle, tender, and comforting, but he is also the Hunter. He is the Dying God—but his death is always in service of the life force. He is untamed sexuality—but sexuality as a deep, holy, connecting power. He is the power of feeling, and the image of what men could be if they were liberated from the constraints of patriarchal culture.”

10. The Mummers’ Dance by Lorena McKennitt

        When in the springtime of the year

        When the trees are crowned with leaves

        When the ash and oak, and the birch and yew

        Are dressed in ribbons fair

        Mummers are masked and costumed performers often associated with springtime and fertility.

11. As The Bell Rings The Maypole Spins by Dead Can Dance

       Maypoles were described as being raised for Midsummer in A Court of Thorns and Roses; in some cultures they are raised then, but they are also associated with May Day—known in Welsh as Calan Mai

12. Beltaine Fires by Gaia Consort

        Beltaine is a similar celebration to Calan Mai. The fires occur on the night before, traditionally as protection for cattle, crops, and people. Rituals involved people leaping over the fires, and driving cattle between the bonfires. 

13. Lilac Wine by Jeff Buckley

        Lilac wine is sweet and heady, where's my love?

        Lilac wine, I feel unsteady, where's my love?

        Listen to me, why is everything so hazy?

        Isn't that she, or am I just going crazy, dear?

        Lilac wine, I feel unready for my love

        Feel unready for my love

14. Joga by Björk

       All that no-one sees

       You see

       What's inside of me

       Every nerve that hurts

       You heal

       Deep inside of me

       You don't have to speak

       I feel

      Emotional landscapes

      The “Winter Woods” painting scene

15. Pepper-Tree by Cocteau Twins

        A head in the garden; the curse ticks down 

16. Jig Of Life by Kate Bush

        "C'mon and let me live!"

        Solstice/Rhysand terrorizing Feyre. This is my favorite song featuring the fiddle.

17. All Night Long by Peter Murphy

       No bad vibe hearts

       Tamlin and Feyre’s last night together. This song was inspired by Beauty and the Beast, and includes audio from Jean Cocteau’s 1946 film La Belle et La Bête.

18. Flight by Tanya Tagaq

        The next song on the album this comes from, Animism, is “Fight.” And though Tamlin does fight to the last, as evidenced by Feyre when she returns to the Manor, I imagined this song as representing Tamlin as prey that has evaded his predator for over 500 years—but who finally gets caught.

19. Otterley by Cocteau Twins

        Nothing is known of what happened to Tamlin under the mountain; still, this song describes the unreal and nightmarish atmosphere in the early days of his captivity.

20. 57821 (feat. Deep Cotton) by Janelle Monae and Deep Cotton

        One by one

        It's your time lead them both back to one

        The sun has come (sun has come)

        May your light lead them both back to one

        (May your light lead them both back to one)

        Indivisible sum

        Here's the book now the saga's begun

        He wonders if she is the one (she wonders if he is the one)

        (You're the one) you're the one

        “If it’s any consolation…she would have been the one for you…”

         Feyre returns.

21. The Warden by Chelsea Wolfe

        Hole, rack, wheel, time

        Heart, thorn, knees, blight

        Hand, hold, bright white

        Whole head feels light

        Tore off my limbs and my breasts

        The heart it's heavy in the chest

        Pulled out my tongue so I can't speak the truth

        The picture in my vision it's the sun, it's you

        This song is about two lovers who are separated and tortured so that they will betray one another—but who refuse to.

22. In Power We Entrust The Love Advocated - Remastered by Dead Can Dance

       I am disabled by fears concerning which course to take

       When memory bears witness to the innocents 

       Consumed in dying rage

      The way lies through our love

       The final trial.

23. Dreams Made Flesh - Remastered by This Mortal Coil

         Feyre’s suffering under the mountain.

24. Persephone (The Gathering of Flowers) - Remastered by Dead Can Dance

        Feyre’s death. The titles of this song and the last, of course, hint at what’s to come.

25. Into My Arms - 2011 Remastered Version by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

        And I believe in Love

        And I know that you do too

        And I believe in some kind of path

        That we can walk down, me and you

        Feyre’s resurrection, and reunion with Tamlin.

26. All Flowers In Time Bend Towards The Sun by Ruby Weapon and Hannah Telle

        All flowers in time bend towards the sun

        I know you say that there's no one for you

        But here is one

@tamlinweek2023 Day 4: Music

[phillipcole]

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert part 2

Colbert: Welcome back. Now to explain why Madonna is not the last name on Phillip's sick list: Phillip and Cole's Variety Team.

PBC: Madonna is not the last person on Phillip's sick list. Each of us do have some criticism of the beloved and prolific entertainer. First of all, Phillip is too sick to leave home these days, but he did say the following:

Phillip: The most objectionable thing about Miss Ciccone was her first choice of a husband, a man who continues to show himself a poor representative of mankind.

PBC: Rupert, you're next.

Rupert: (On a projection screen) Cheerio, this is Phillip's cousin Rupert in England. I had no problem at all with Madonna. After all, compared to some of the singers in the UK she held herself in an almost respectable way. Then she married a British subject as her second husband and moved here. That put her into the same septic tank so many of our own singer bred in and she began to smell like them. Not only that, but she eventually divorced her British husband and didn't even move away! Folks, especially women all over the globe, if you marry an Englishman stay with him for life or move away!

Ford: Thank you Rupert. I'm Ford, a former judge in Tennessee and, as a judge in Tennessee I have no jurisdiction, nor do I have authority over persons accused of crimes in other jurisdictions. However without exception I can not watch any crime related movies without passing sentence according to the laws of Tennessee. On at least 2 occasions I have watched movies in which Madonna played characters who confessed to crimes. For those I have no choice but to sentence her in absentia to a period of not less than 3 years in prison in any Tennessee jurisdiction and I certainly do not approve of that.

Cole: (On the projection screen) I'm Cole from Tennessee, a cousin of Ford. I don't care much about crimes or who she marries. I figger I never had a chance. What bothers me about Madonna is her name. Hell, she ain't never been no parygon of virtue, and I don't know why the Catholics changed the name of the virgin Mary to Madonna. I ain't Catholic, so I figger that's their business. Still, a young slutty woman who goes into singin' can call herself anythin' she wants. Why mess up people by takin' a name that about half the world thinks is sumfin holy. If I go to see a concert with someone named Madonna I expect hymns and arias, not erotic gyratin'. So for about 30 years I was mad about that. Then I found out Madonna is the name her parents gave her! Now I'm even madder. Y'all's supposed to keep the name yer parents give yer, no matter how much yer hate it.

PBC: Thank you Cole. It's my turn now. My biggest objection to Madonna was the way she dressed, notably those ugly lopsided outfits in that first movie she did. I was a young man when she became famous and couldn't look at the screen because the clothes were such a turnoff, the complete opposite of the reason I wanted to see it in the first place. You're next, Brad.

Brad: (On the projection screen) I'm Brad, Cole's cousin and Ford's younger brother. I'm with ya Phil about the clothes, especially showin' off her bras all the time. She became famous just about the time gals in Tennessee started learnin' to go braless and boy did that send ever'thin in the wrong direction. Anyway my biggest problem with Madonna is her songs. We like ballads down here in the south, and even if she figgered she had to sing kinda fast on accounta the songs weren't any good she coulda found a way to make 'em into a little story. Did that feller open his heart? Who was that girl? Did she keep the baby? Come on, gal, tell us. It only takes one line!

Norbert: I guess I'm l-l-l-ast heh heh heh heh heh again heh heh. m-m-m-my-my-my-my p-p-p-pr-problem with Madonna, es-es-es-especially. wh-wh-wh-wh-when I was young heh heh heh heh heh heh is is-is-is that I have...as...as-asthma heh heh heh heh heh heh heh and -and-and wh-wh-when I s-saw her first vi-vi-videos I-I-I c-c-c-...heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh.

(Norbert falls down. Curtain closes.)

Colbert: we'll be right back.

[midnight-oily]

whale song

nashuri drabble | 498 words

Peace from her own mind that is torturing her with every failure, every tragedy, every mistake she has ever made with the ghosts of the people who had to pay for it because of her inadequacies as a daughter, a princess, a Black Panther—

Then she hears it.

Her mind is too loud.

Calculations and formulas blare obnoxiously amongst the cacophony of her concerns and worries. Even in Haiti, far away from her duty, Shuri cannot stop the intrusive thoughts that seep into her mind, leaving her impossibly restless. Though her Black Panther necklace was light around her neck, it’s weight was a heavy burden. How she wished she was more sympathetic to her brother when she had the chance.

In the middle of the night, she trudges on the sandy beach with music blaring through her headphones—primitive technology, but she promised Nakia she would try to blend in—trying to drown it all out. She could almost hear her mother scolding her for bursting her eardrums. Her mother. Shuri winces. Even as she turns up the volume until her ears ache, her invasive thoughts easily overpowers the music. Rage. Bitterness. Regret.

In an angry huff, she throws the headphones onto the ground, flinching as the song comes to a complete stop. Some kind of wiring must have broken upon impact—Great, another problem that she’s going to have to solve later. Shuri flops onto the sand, pressing the palms of her hands against her ears until the rush of blood in her head accompanies the loud racket in her mind. She closes her eyes, squeezing them shut—praying, begging, pleading—for peace! Peace from her own mind that is torturing her with every failure, every tragedy, every mistake she has ever made with the ghosts of the people who had to pay for it because of her inadequacies as a daughter, a princess, a Black Panther—

Then she hears it.

It is faint at first. Barely a whisper of a hymn.

Until another ballad, like an ocean tide, rises to meet it. Then a third—a melody of bubbling joy dancing in the chorus. A fourth—a calm murmur which floats amongst the rest. A whole pod of lullabies harmonizing in unison.

Whale song.

Though all logic and reasoning tells her that she, as a human, should not be able to hear them, she’s fully aware that the heart-shaped herb has giving her extraordinary abilities. Though her brother has told her that his hearing is sensitive, she did not think that would mean that she could hear whale singing.

As their song caresses her ears, her eyes droop slowly. Soothing rhymes melts her regrets. Quiet sonnets brushes away her doubts. The calming chorus carries her away into the realm of sleep where she dreams of cities in oceans and whales in the sky.

With only the stars as witnesses, a man with winged feet flutters quietly down beside her.

In her sleep, Shuri shivers as the ocean breeze tickles her skin. With the utmost care, he unfurls his rebozo, placing it upon her shoulders and tucking the garment tightly around her. As the warmth of the fabric spreads into her bones, Shuri sighs with relief, subconsciously snuggling into it. It smells like peace.

The man smiles and steps into the ocean.

[ur-fav-album-is-a-rock-opera]

Hallowed Ground by The Violent Femmes: If it were a rock opera

PREFACE: THIS IS NOT INTENDED TO BE A SERIOUS INTERPRETATION OF THE STORY OF THIS ALBUM. THIS IS PURPOSEFULLY A STRETCH.

Hallowed Ground presents a story of a family living on a haunted farm, build on sacred land, and how it leads to various awful events.

TW: murder

Country Death Song: A man living on a haunted farm begins to get more and more insane. This leads to him killing his daughter, and then himself.

I Hear the Rain: This song continues this storyline, showing the grief of the family after the events of Country Death Song-- sometimes from the perspective of the remaining siblings, slowly figuring out something is wrong with the farm, ("I HEAR THE RAIN, I HEAR THE RAIN"), the mom, ("SHE USED TO SIT AND WATCH THE RAIN NOW I THINK I'LL GO INSANE") and the dead father ("Bury me out on the lone prairie / prairie water washing over me", etc, verses)

Never Tell: Time skip a year or two to the future. The remaining siblings on the farm are brother and sister. The brother begins to feel the effects of the farm as well, and gets pulled into the underground crime ring of the south. He kills someone, and the sister witnesses it. He threatens her in order to keep her quiet.

Jesus Walking on the Water: The mother and her two children find solace in the church, singing a hymn, but sinister happenings still lurk beneath the exterior of happy church hymns.

I Know It's True but I'm Sorry to Say: The mother's slow ballad, lamenting her husband and daughter's death. She has started attempting to communicate with their ghosts, somewhat effectively. Their ghosts join her in a harmony.

Hallowed Ground: As the family falls deeper and deeper into despair, the sister becomes determined to find out what's wrong with her family's farm. She discovers the truth; the farm was built on sacred land, and is now terribly haunted. She starts planning to run away.

Sweet Misery Blues: Escaping from the farm, the sister is staying at a hotel in a faraway big city. She meets a man who attempts to seduce her. He promises a grandiose life, and says he'll take care of her and buy her things.

Black Girls: It turns out the guy that she met was kind of racist and kind of an idiot, so she's weirded out and leaves.

It's Gonna Rain: The sister makes a life for herself in the city, and leaves behind her past. She accepts the death of her father and sister, and stops worrying about her brother and mother, focusing on herself, calling back to the image of rain in I Hear The Rain-- but this time being happy and okay about it. It's *going* to rain, yes-- but it's alright.

Request albums in my asks or respond to this with an album request, and I might do it especially if I know it well! :)

--meow

[courfeyracs-swordcane]

Girls will be girls! (Precursor to this lmao)

Poses referenced from The Story of Cupid and Psyche by Henry Justice Ford (Hymn and Emy) and @adorkastock (Vesper)

[handsome-edvard]

OC insights • Patron Saints

Take this quiz as your OC and share the results. I took it as my OC Afzal. He got…. 🥁

✨patron saint of bones✨

“

patron saint of frameworks. of structures. of solidity. patron saint of things that break. patron saint of things that are left behind. the bones survive long after the body, the building: what is there left for them, when the rest has gone? what do bones do, with nothing to hold around them? who holds the bones?

”

Snippets below cut (all mine):

⚜️The musculature that once made up Afzal heft was cut in half, leaving him lanky and gaunt — skin, bones, and tribal tattoos.

The crowd following Afzal through upper Viper’s Pit was growing. They screamed and sobbed under the partial sun, lowering to their knees and raising their arms in worship, chanting religious hymns relegated to funerals or, in this case, miracles.

“It is Al Azir,” a priestly man in pale robes yelled upfront, his bulging eyes set upon Afzal as he pointed frantically. “Al Azir the Risen, in the body of our lord: Afzal Afzalah!”

~

“Sun and rain.” Afzal smiled partly. The goddess’ presence meant he was dreaming. “Which ancestor does this celebrate?”

“Al Azir Afzalah,” Sonanga replied. “Are you familiar with him?”

“Al Azir the Risen, who was believed dead twice, was witnessed to have survived three fatal injuries and was resuscitated four times from poisoning. Aye,” Afzal settled his attention beyond Sonanga, “my lord father beat his preposterous life story to my memory.”

The man lowered to one knee and poured a cup. “It is a hot day, my saint lord,” he said reverently. “Just drawn this fresh from the well.”

“Thank you.” Afzal gave the man a grateful nod and drank. “How is the mood of the people?”

“Well, my lord,” said the man, “and we are grateful daily for your return.”

“Indeed, my return hath stirred the hearts of many. What sentiments on the brewing war?”

The man smiled grimly, the wrinkles across his tan face deepening. “With Al Azir on our side, my lord, we the people fear nothing. The soldiers shall take heart.”

~

Ser Ridwan turned his head toward Afzal. “The afternoon guard has been dispatched. I could come with you now, if you’d like.”

“In a bit, cousin,” Afzal said. “I want some time to breathe. There is no training for being taken for a revived saint and I must say, the perpetual staring takes getting used to.”

“Now you know what it’s like to be me.”

Afzal grinned at his handsome cousin. A warm breeze caressed his face. “Well, you never were very modest. Besides, the women who fawn over you are wasting their time.”

“Now, my brother is different.” Jibr’il Angel set his dark grey eyes upon Afzal. “The Lord of Viper’s Pit is a man of action. Listen to the ballads they sing of him. Was it not him who vowed to rid Mouzares of its deadly plague?”

“Aye,” the knights chorused proudly.

“Was it not him traveling to the most wretched parts of our kingdom, facing death itself and entering the mouth of hell, for his people to live free of dark magic?”

“Aye.”

“And was it not him,” Jibr’il Angel preached to the point his voice rose, “who was deemed and declared dead in the North, taken by the elements and the creatures of the night, who returned — en chair et en os! — like Al Azir the Risen?”

“Aye!”

[thejoyofviolentmovement]

Acclaimed British post-punk outfit THE THE was founded by singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Matt Johnson back in 1979 and through various iterations and configurations, Johnson and his collaborators have developed a sound and approach that seems to inhabit its own difficult to define genre: music of long shadows, high hopes, channeled anger, feverish passions and sweetly disturbing poignancy that meshes elements of pop, rock, blues, folk and soul among others while spanning alienated electronics to twisted cinematic soundtracks, guitar tumbling swing to crimson ballads, rants and prayers to diaries and hymns. Over the course of their 45 year history, Johnson and company have released only five full-length albums of original material, 1983’s Soul Mining, 1986’s Infected, 1989’s Mind Bomb, 1993’s Dusk and 2000’s NakedSelf. Having a long-held reputation for being unpredictable, the band has also tackled covers, such as 1995’s Hanky Panky; film soundtracks, including 2009’s Tony, 2010’s Moonbug, 2014’s Hyena and 2019’s Muscle; art installations, a the Radio Cinéola podcast series; 2017’s moving, 84 minute documentary/multimedia project The Inertia Variations and various book publications including 2018’s Matt Johnson biography Long Shadows, High Hopes: The Life and Times of Matt Johnson & THE THE. 2017’s The Inertia Variations took inspiration from British poet John Tottenham’s 2005 book of the same name — particularly the idea of “brooding, abstraction and evasion” getting in the way of the creative process. The Inertia Variations eventually resulted in not just the documentary, but also the Radio Cinéola Trilogy triple album box set. At the end of The Inertia Variations documentary, Johnson was filmed performing a new song live in his studio, “We Can’t Stop What’s Coming,” an energy to his older brother Andrew Johnson, an artist professionally known as Andy Dog, who died in 2016. “It was not an easy song to write,” he says. “That was the first time I’d sung in many years. I enjoyed it but found it very emotional.” The experience prompted Johnson to revive THE THE as a live band — and it lead to the sold-out 2018 The Comeback Special world tour. The COVID-19 pandemic delayed the release of the accompanying live film and album until 2021. And of course, the pandemic also delayed the intended start on the writing and recording of first THE THE album in almost 25 years, Ensoulment. Instead, Johnson and company released a series of 7 inch singles that started with 2017’s “We Can’t Stop What’s Coming,” 2020’s “I WANT 2 B U,” and last year’s “$1 ONE VOTE!” The 12-song Ensoulment is slated for a September 6, 2024 release through Cinéola/earMUSIC. The album reportedly contains echoes of the acclaimed British outfit’s multifaceted and lengthy musical past, however, it’s richly representative of the mercurial band’s here and now. The album continues Johnson’s long-held reputation for being unafraid to tackle the inherent emotional complexity of the human condition — in particular, intimacy in an age of alienation; democracy in a post-truth age; empire and vassalage; the seemingly inexorable rise of AI and more. And yet, the album is rooted in hope. “It’s vital to be hopeful,” Johnson states. “And I hope people get out of the album what we put into it. It was created under very happy circumstances, with a great vibe amongst the band and all the people that worked on it. There was a lot of thought, a lot of work, a lot of love, a lot of laughter!” The album’s material were further refined in rehearsals, just before a six-day recording sessions at Bath, UK-based Real World Studios, where Johnson was joined by long-standing band members James Ellen (bass), DC Collard (keys), Earl Harvin (drums) and Barrie Cadogan (lead guitar). The album also marks the return of co-producer and engineer Warne Livesey, who worked with the band on Infected and Mind Bomb. The album also features contributions from Gillian Glover (backing...

[krispyweiss]

Album Review: Aoife O’Donovan - All My Friends

Wrapping the history of women’s suffrage in classical and folk music, Aoife O’Donovan seeks to teach as well as entertain with her fourth solo album, All My Friends.

And it worked out splendidly.

Drawing lyrical inspiration from suffragist Carrie Chapman Catt, President Woodrow Wilson, World War I and the fight to pass the 19th Amendment, O’Donovan put down her vision for the music with assistance from the Knights and their strings; the Westerlies and their horns; the San Francisco Girls Chorus and their voices; Dawes’ Griffin Goldsmith on drums; the Punch Brothers’ Noam Pikelny on banjo; Sierra Hull on mandolin; Anaïs Mitchell on vocals; and others to seamlessly meld disparate genres into a new category of music. And while there are flashes of O’Donovan’s 2020 classical EP, Bull Frogs Croon (And Other Songs) in the music, All My Friends finds the singer/songwriter meeting the challenge this time around.

Serving as omniscient narrators as much as background vocalists, the members of the Girls Chorus imbue O’Donovan’s compositions with tempered determination and celebration as work continues to get the Amendment passed on the opening title track and “Crisis” as string and horns meld seamlessly with O’Donovan’s acoustic guitar. And as O’Donovan voices both Catt and Wilson on “War Measure,” her songwriting blossoms into full flower, displaying maturity and insightfulness only hinted at in her previous solo works and in collaboration with Crooked Still, I’m with Her, Goat Rodeo and other bands she’s been a part of over the years.

Later, O’Donovan warns the work of Catt and others is dangerously close to being lost as she and Mitchell duet on “Over the Finish Line.”

America’s bleeding/we’re watching her die/fire and blood on the screen/her headlights receding/she’s waving goodbye/the curtain comes down on the scene, O’Donovan and Mitchell sing wistfully as the maudlin piano ballad leads into the album’s only cover, Bob Dylan’s “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll,” featuring a bit of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” in keeping with the overall theme.

With O’Donovan behind the board for the first time, the LP marks a new phase in her career. And while it’s unlikely O’Donovan will undertake another record like All My Friends, it’s also quite likely she will continue to grow and evolve, which, given her previous output, is an almost-scary proposition.

Grade card: Aoife O’Donovan - All My Friends - A

4/23/24

[lumi-klovstad-games]

Brothers of the Fourth! Behold, upon this horizon crawls a foe fit for the sagas of old, a tide of chittering claws and gnashing mawls! The hive swarm stirs, its hunger casting a greasy veil upon the sun! But fret not, for we are the Redemptor Roses, thorns amongst the carrion, blades bathed in the light of dawn!

We were forged in the crucible of lies, crafted from the dust of a fallen angel! Yet, from that ash blossomed chivalry, not decay! We spurned the whispers of darkness, our hearts aflame with the Golden Rose, a beacon bright against the creeping night! Forget the whispers of tainted lineage, of the peacock lord's twisted embrace! We claim only the Fulgrim of the past, the hero before the fall, his nobility and glorious vision our guiding star!

This day, the swarm seeks to choke the light from the world of Man, to drown its song in a symphony of gore. But let them come! Let them crash upon our shields, break against our blades! We shall paint the void with their blood, a banner raised high above the battlefield! This is not merely duty, brothers, nor service to a throne. This is our crucible, our forge of glory! Our chance to etch our names upon the tapestry of eternity, in letters of fire and song!

Remember the tales of Lancelot, of Gawain, of Tristan and Iseult! Remember the ideals passed down through the ages, the noble pursuit of beauty and gallantry in the face of the hungering abyss! Today, we are their living testament, swords of valor against the howling beast! Let our bolters be their requiem, our blades their epitaph! Let our hearts beat with the drumbeat of righteous fury! Let Our Cherished Ladies of the Sororitas sing hymns of our deeds for millennia!

Onwards, warriors of the Fourth! For the Golden Way lies ahead, paved with the shattered corpses of our foes! Raise your voices, let the anthem of defiance ring across the void! Remember the Emperor, remember your oaths, remember Fulgrim Uncorrupted! For the Rose! For the Emperor! For the Phoenix Reborn! Let the swarm drown in the music of our fury!

Death, brothers! Bring Death this day with the fury of a hundred suns, with the grace of a hundred ballads! Let the xenos know the wrath of the Rose, the unwavering loyalty of Fulgrim's Faithful! For the Emperor, for Quatora Prime, for the Golden Way! Glory! GLORY!!

~Knight Captain Léonard Toutain, Redemptor Roses 4th Company, at the onset of the Fourth Tyrannic War's Battle of Cruht, M42