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radramblog · 4 years ago

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Pokemon Legendary Themes Ranked

I saw a video of a youtuber I like doing this tier list so I thought I’d get my own opinions in first so I’m not biased by theirs. This list is a little incomplete- there’s a few things I know are missing, most pointedly side game stuff, but I suppose they can’t win em all. Thus, here are my objectively factual opinions, no nostalgia bias here surely. Here’s a link to the list in case you want to do the same.

(Tiers are sorted in increasing quality right to left)

D Tier

Mewtwo (FRLG): Y’all know Articuno/Zapdos/Moltres also use this, right? It’s just a marginally more dramatic version of the regular wilds music, so it gets the fail from me.

Mew (Emerald): This is the same as the last one! Except it gets the edge because it is slightly higher pitched, and because it’s in a game where it’s not a remix of a song you’ve just heard dozens of times.

Mewtwo (XY): I just really dislike the soundfont XY uses for most of its themes. This sounds like a shitty youtube remix from the late 00s with like 300 views, and most of them are the same person who really likes the song for some reason. Am I just biased against the kanto wilds theme? Maybe.

Regis (Crown Tundra): Narrowly dodges being the worst Regis theme since the Platinum one exists (It’s not on this list though). I think a lot of the more recent versions of older themes suffer since they were designed with the lesser hardware in mind. It is a shame because I do really like some of the additions to the theme.

C Tier

Dynamax Legend (Crown Tundra): Mewtwo is already back for his last appearance on the list. It’s just a remix of the max raid theme, which I don’t really care for- especially after hearing it over and over and over again grinding Lairs for shinies.

Calyrex (Crown Tundra): This song being dramatic makes no sense in universe- the player knows this is the big legendary, but the character sure doesn’t- but it ultimately feels hollow. This is deliberate, since it’s actually just one half of another song.

Steeds (Crown Tundra): h o n s e theme is the other half of that song, and it’s the better half, but its still incomplete.

Aura Trio (X/Y) and Solgaleo/Lunala (S/M): These two get lumped together because I always get them conflated, which signifies to me that neither has made a strong impact. Listening to both again, I think I like the latter more, but it’s narrow.

Regis (ORAS): It’s just not the same without the horns. My gen 6 bias is showing, but I don’t really like the soundfont.

Deoxys (ORAS): similar to the Regis, this is held back by the soundfont (why the fuck is there an organ in this??) but also by the fact that at this point, the Deoxys theme just isn’t special anymore. And that’s kinda sad.

Calyrex 2 (Crown Tundra): The full version of this theme is much better, obviously, sounding suitably regal for the king of the tundra, but it overall lands at a meh. The percussion sounds like it’s trying to rip off the Weather Trio’s, which is a big no-no.

B Tier

Eternatus 1 (SwSh): We are now entering the songs I like zone. Eternatus 1 goes in a lot of different directions, and despite how 13-year-old me would balk at it I actually enjoy the dubsteppy bits of it. Sorry to disappoint you, you edgy fuck.

Ultra Beasts (SMUSUM): I don’t know why these are separated, they’re the same theme. I really like the UB theme, but the thing is it isn’t really a legendary theme- it had to be a bit less bombastic seeing as you can just encounter a bunch of these bad bois. And while it sounds suitably alien, I still think it doesn’t belong on this list.

Weather Trio (ORAS): Why is this listed as this, its just for Rayquaza. Extremely dramatic, but a retread of one of my S-tier picks (spoilers oops) and not different enough for the remaster to make it worth it.

Primals (ORAS): the same as the previous, but I do like this much better, what with the song “reverting” to the original every so often. This should probably be higher, but I don’t want to separate it from the “full” version.

Eternatus 2: It’s kind of a shame how little time you get to hear this, because it’s a big ol “you’re fucked” and that’s pretty great. There are bits of this that sound like they’re sampling Kirby Super Star, and I mean that in the nicest possible way.

Galar Birds (Crown Tundra): While I know everyone used to adore this one, I think the honeymoon phase is over for me at this point. I still like it, but at the end of the day it’s still a Kanto Wild remix.

Legendary (BWB2W2): This is really good! The way the tempo shifts around the song is a really nice touch, and that build section is excellent. Just a solid overall theme.

Tao Trio (BW): Reshiram and Zekrom’s themes are slightly different, but even Game Freak forgot that one. Kyurem’s is the same but where they have different SFX it just has dead air, which while fitting is a bit less good. I adore the beat this one has running, almost a throbbing bit going on there. Edit: Ok on relisten I’ve heard Kyurem’s a bit closer, and it’s a little different with some record skips, but they’re pretty unecessary imo.

Zacian/Zamazenta (SwSh): This is one I kinda wish was less dramatic, considering it’s not as oh shit as the situations their other themes have. I kinda hate the opening to this, but the rest of it makes up for it I suppose.

Eternatus 3: Yeah this is a Z/Z theme not an Eternatus theme let’s be real. A suitably triumphant third act to the climax of SwSh’s (lackluster) story. This is kinda just a banger, very much appropriate for the beatdown it accompanies.

Dialga/Palkia (DPPt): Closing the tier with a song that I actually love, but it’s occurred to me that it’s a little odd sitting next to some of these other ones. I mean, it’s mostly built around this very pretty little piano line, which makes it feel less weighty than the competition. It’s a classic, and hasn’t aged poorly or anything, but it’s less of a climax than I would expect. With that in mind, I shudder to think of what would happen to this in a potential remake.

A Tier

Mysterious Being (SwSh): This is getting carried here by that bass alone. The rest of it is ok I guess.

Arceus (DPPt): Ah, the track no one ever got to hear. I really love how sparse this is, being basically only percussion most of the way through. I think the Arceus event is something we should have actually gotten to experience, I’m pretty sure it would have blown little me’s mind.

Lugia (HGSS): HGSS, the games where every legendary got its own theme. Bring this back please, I’m begging here. I understand the reason this sounds the way it does is because it’s based on the Shadow Lugia theme from XD, but I haven’t played that one, so I can’t comment. I’m sure not complaining, though- considering Lugia’s other main appearance (in the movie, of course) I wasn’t expecting such a menacing theme.

Legendary (DPPt): For a “generic” theme (fucking Rotom gets this btw) this has a lot going for it. The animation that plays when you start a fight with this music is burned into my brain. It’s fast, it’s tense, and it sounds great.

Lake Trio (DPPt): Unlike Mysterious Being, while the bass slays here, it’s not alone carrying the song. This track was always my favourite out of Diamond and Pearl, and those games have a fucking great soundtrack, so.

Black/White Kyurem (B2W2): I really love that this is a remix of the (also very menacing) theme you hear when you boot the game up- you’ve heard a version of this while staring at the fucker, now here’s the real version for when you have to fight it. The references to the regular Tao Trio theme are well placed, but this more bombastic version sounds like Kyurem is here to fucking kill you, which to be fair, it kinda is.

Legendary Beasts (Crystal/HGSS): I’m lumping these together since, although HGSS gave each their own remix, they’re basically the same theme. This was the first Legendary music ever written for the series, and it still holds up really well. As for the HGSS remixes, I don’t think Entei’s slower rockier version works as well, but I really like the punchy percussion on Raikou’s version.

Regis (RSE): Hella bass and Hoenn Horns? What’s not to love? I do think the original version of this theme is by far the best one, being an ample payoff for the puzzle that was getting to it in the first place, and it makes hurling balls at the golem’s much more tolerable. I literally never caught Registeel as a kid so I could go back and listen to this whenever I wanted.

Tapus (SMUSUM): Again, why are these separated. Considering this game has literal aliens in it, the Tapu theme in SM is somehow the most messed up sounding one, but it works extremely well. The surprise vocalisations work really well with the… I’m hesitant to say tribal, but I don’t have another word for that vibe to be honest. It does feel like you’re doing a transgression with this song, which you are (why the fuck are you allowed to catch these things in universe lmao).

Ultra Necrozma (USUM): Probably the most climactic song in the entire franchise, and it makes sense- this isn’t just the climax of those games, but the finisher to the entire 3DS era of the series. The church organs, therefore, are pretty justified. This song sounds like a Big Deal, and the organ getting pretty jazzy when it gets to some of the less intense bits is a really nice little touch. And then the percussion picks up again and oh fuck here we goooooo. A fitting track for arguably one of the hardest fights in the entire franchise.

S Tier

Dusk Mane/Dawn Wings Necrozma (USUM): Haha oops I like this one more than Ultra. I think it’s just the unstoppable percussion that opens this that does it. I don’t think anyone who went in blind saw this moment in the games coming, and the intensity reflects this- its like a prelude to Ultra but it doesn’t have as much of a low point, with the onslaught of noise fitting the sheer OH FUCK that is seeing everyone’s favourite bag-dodger getting bodyjacked out of nowhere.

Weather Trio (RSE): Anyone who understands my bias is gonna understand this one. It’s almost entirely carried by nostalgia, but I just love this fucking song. Compared to some of the other things on this list, it feels nearly minimalistic, seeing as it’s pretty much just the drums, horns, and that bell, but that’s all it needs. It’s the first song in the series for a proper legendary, and it suits that fact.

Deoxys (FRLG/E): By contrast, the Deoxys theme is pushing that GBA soundfont to its absolute limit. You can hear some of the best of both the FRLG and RSE soundtracks in this song, with the Kanto percussion and the Hoenn horns both doing their part, but whatever instruments the rest of this is going for are absolutely not slouching either. It’s somewhat telling that the best soundtracks for FRLG romhacks (e.g. Clover) sound more like this than like the other themes in the game.

Ho-Oh (HGSS): Oh fuck is that a koto I love kotos. By contrast with Lugia, Ho-oh is a more relaxed track that takes a lot from traditional Japanese instruments, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t dramatic- far from it. The groove in this makes it sound like it comes from another series entirely, being so incredibly different from anything else the series had to offer at that point. That main riff is so fucking perfect, man.

Giratina (Platinum): I remember having my mind blown when I first heard this. Giratina went from the generic DP legendary music (which is obviously still good) to this chaotic energetic power play, and I was sold on Platinum immediately (like everything before XY, Platinum came out in Japan some months before in other countries, so I heard this well before the game dropped). This song has so many different lines, so many different builds, and yet none of them feel out of place. I almost feel like this song is what started me down the path that would lead to me being a prog fan. After the haunting ambience of the Distortion World, this sheer energy is such a shock to the system, and the climax of the song hits harder than any individual moment on any other song in the series. It’s my number 1 pick, and I love it to bits.

Thus, the full list is as follows. If you end up doing your own, link me up, I’d love to see how wrong you are your opinions.

#ramble #pokemon #music #lists #ill probably do this for other music in these games at some point

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grimelords · 5 years ago

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October Playlist

My October playlist is finished and it’s complete from Rico Nasty to Rachmaninoff. I absolutely guarantee there’s something you’ll love in this 3 and a half hours of music, and probably something you’ll hate too! Something for everyone!

If you’d like to have these playlists delivered to your inbox instead of having them randomly appear on your dash, please subscribe to my tinyletter here.

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Santeria - Pusha T: In anticipation of Jesus Is King I relistened to the entire Wyoming Sessions project a few times, and a year removed from all the hype and controversy here's the thing: it's fucking great. The individual albums ranged pretty widely in quality and felt slightly unfinished for how short they were sometimes, but taking the project as a whole 5-album 120 minute playlist it turns out it's a masterpiece. My personal tracklist goes Ye/Daytona/Nasir/KTSE/Kids See Ghosts, which isn't release order but I think makes it flow the best - both Kanye albums bookending it and the less impactful Nas and Teyana Taylor albums buried a bit further in where you can appreciate them now that you're deep in the mindset of the whole thing rather than alone on their own.

Puppets (Succession Remix) - Pusha T & Nicholas Brittel: This remix is such a perfect match: Pusha T’s corporate villainy finally given a context and prestige it deserves. It’s also short enough that it could feasible be the actual theme song next season, which would be a marked improvement imo.

Use This Gospel - Kanye West, Clipse & Kenny G: I am and remain a Kanye stan, even after everything. It’s nice to see him going back to the extremely uneven mastering of MBDTF era, it’s a sound that is uniquely his and it’s fun to see him revisit it. The thick vocoder harmony is so soupy you get lost in it, and the way it opens up to include the full choir in the No Malice verse is beautiful. Kanye reunited Clipse through Christ and we have Him to thank for that at least. The Kenny G break is great, and the grain and dirt on the whole track when the beat kicks in is so gritty you can feel it.

Man Of The Year - Schoolboy Q: I didn't love the Chromatics album they surprise released but it did thankfully remind me of the time Schoolboy Q sampled Cherry for Man Of The Year. Taken exclusively on lyrics, Man Of The Year is a triumph: he's the man of the year and it's all worked out but the sample and the beat underscores the dead eyed melancholy that runs through the whole of Oxymoron of never winning even when you've won.

Cold - Rico Nasty: This song fucking tears your face off. Imagine STARTING your album at this level of intensity. She just goes straight to 100 and burns the house down. Outside of Lil John so few rappers can get away with just straight up screaming in the adlibs but the way she just lung tearingly screams GOOOO through this is fucking sick.

Fake ID - Riton & Kah-Lo: TikTok songs are becoming their own genre, but it’s a very nebulous sort of a mood encompassing everything from aughts pop punk hooks to skipping rope raps like this. It’s a strange new way for songs to blow up that everyone seems compelled to write articles about but my take on it is it’s exactly the same as ads were in the old days. Remember how many songs did absolute numbers because someone put it in a Motorola ad? Same thing except you’re not being sold a phone this time, so in some ways it’s better. Anyway, this song bangs. The spirit of 212 era Azealia Banks lives on even if she’s doing her best ever since then to kill it.

Doctor Pressure - MYLO & Miami Sound Machine: There was a very good era in the mid-2000s where you could just put mashups out as singles and they’d chart, it was sick. My only two examples are this and Destination Calabria but I’m sure there’s more. Drop The Pressure is a masterpiece but as an alternate version this mashup is equally masterful.

If You’re Tarzan, I’m Jane - Martika: Martika is unfortunately best known for the 1989 one hit wonder Toy Soldiers, a sort of boring overdramatic ballad which is best known for being sampled by Eminem in 2004 in his quite bad super duper serious song Like Toy Soldiers. I say unfortunately because every other song on her first album is great, it’s all hypercolour 80s synthpop and I love this song especially because it is so completely stuffed with activity it becomes dizzying. It gets so lost in itself that they completely abandon the dramatic pause before “I’m Jane” for some reason toward the end and instead just layer three different tracks of vocal adlibs. Every part of this song is great, the weird ‘o we o we o’ chant before the second verse? The neighing horse guitar before the bridge? The musical tour of the world IN the bridge? The part where she says ‘I want to swing on your vine?’. This song has everything.

You Got Me Into This - Martika: Every part of the instrumentation in this is amazing. The bass sound, the main synth, the extremely athletic brass, the wonderful echoing 80s snare that’s as big as a house. I just love it. She also does some really intriguing slurs on the word ‘love’ all the way through, just moving it around absolutely anywhere.

Space Time Motion - Jennifer Vanilla: I love when someone has such a clearly defined aesthetic and mission from the very beginning. Jennifer Vanilla is the alter ego of Becca Kaufmann from Ava Luna who I've had in this playlist before but never competely investigated. Jennifer Vanilla feels like an episode of Sex And The City where Samantha gets really into Laurie Anderson and she is incredible. This video is the best mission statement I’ve ever seen and is currently criminally underviewed so please do your part and support the Jennifer cause by watching these two videos.

So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings - Caroline Polachek: Caroline Polachek said watch me write a Haim song and did it. Apparently the very early versions of this album started when she was in writing sessions for Katy Perry, but then it started to turn into something else and she took it for herself, and I think you can hear that. With more normal production and a little faster this is a hundred percent a Katy Perry song, but instead it’s completely uniquely Caroline Polachek and it’s all the better for it. And also Katy Perry must be furious because her new songs are simply not good at all.

Electric Blue - Arcade Fire: I just love the obsession of this song in the outro, chanting over and over and over “Cover my eyes electric blue, every single night I dream about you”

Promiscuous - Nelly Furtado and Timbaland: I got a youtube ad for one of those Masterclass videos the other day and it was Timbaland teaching production. This ad went for five minutes for some reason and I watched the whole thing and it made me admire Timbaland even more. He’s demonstrating his compositional technique which is basically to just beatbox, and then loop it, and then add some extra percussion layers with more beatboxing and hand percussion, then loop that and add a little melody by singing or humming. ‘It’s that simple’ he says. Then later he goes back in and puts in actual drums or synths or whatever. I was stunned because suddenly a lot of his music makes sense. Without the barrier of instrument or timbre to get hung up on it allows him to write from this instantly head-nodding place of just making up a little beat you can sing and dance to immediately. Listening to a lot of his music now you can hear the bones underneath everything so clearly, all his beats are supremely beatboxable and all his melodies are very hummable, they’ve never overcomplicated by instrumental skill or habits, they just exist to serve the song.

Serpent - TNGHT: TNGHT are back baby and this song is like nothing I’ve ever heard before. It feels like afrofuturist footwork from another dimension, the mbira sounding lead against the oil drum percussion in this cacophony of yelps and screams that just builds to an irrepressible energy without a bassline in sight.

Ghosts Of My Life - Rufige Kru: I'm reading Mark Fisher's Ghosts Of My Life right now and some good person has put together a spotify playlist of all the songs he mentions. He has a whole essay about why this song is sick so I’m not going to go into it here but it’s interesting to hear about someone growing up with jungle when it’s a genre that has always felt very niche to me. I guess partly as a result of it never really making it mainstream as a genre here, and also me being a little too young for it.

Renegade Snares - Omni Trio: My biggest introduction to drum and bass comes from the game Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition and this really great song from the soundtrack that is finally on spotify after a very long absence. At almost the exact same time as I discovered this song with its spacious piano and repitched snares, I discovered Venetian Snares and breakcore in general. Having no particular frame of reference for breakcore as an offshoot of drum and bass only amplified its appeal to me as a completely alien genre that sounded like nothing else I’d ever heard, and so my personal history with drum and bass is a story of walking backwards into it after the fact which is interesting if not helpful.

Punching In A Dream - The Naked And Famous: The Mark Fisher book also mentions the Tricky song which I’ve never heard from which The Naked And Famous got their name and I thought ‘man remember The Naked And Famous, they were sick?’. The sort of harder edged Passion Pit instrumentation mixed with pop punk, a winning combination.

Vegas - Polica: My favourite part of this song is the unexpected blastbeats after the chorus, using their two drummers to their full advantage and just shaking the song by its foundations every now and then lest you get too comfortable.

Right Words - Cults: I’m beginning to suspect I may be the last surviving Cults stan but if this be my lot I’ll gladly do it

Running From The Sun - Chromatics: The new Chromatics album got me to relisten to their definitive document Kill For Love, and something new I appreciated this time about an album I love a lot is its length. Kill For Love is almost 80 minutes long and it luxuriates in that length. It’s sequenced perfectly so it never feels like it’s long for no reason, but large chunks just completely space out and go out of focus in the soft neon light and the second half of this song is a good example. The whole thing just evaporates into smoke and it feels perfect. If this were a shorter and more concise song that had a proper ending it wouldn’t feel right, this whole album has no straight edges at all and it’s all the better for it.

Chance - Angel Olsen: I cannot belive this song. This feels like she wrote her own version of My Way looking forward instead of back. Instead of the ruefully triumphant "I've lived a life that's full / I've traveled each and every highway" it's “I don't want it all / I've had enough / I don't want it all / I've had a love." before the turn from the future to the present at the end, where she gives up on a forever love in exchange for right now. I love how raw this vocal take feels. It's not her best voice but it feels very very honest as a result. She's just singing her heart out in this huge showstopping closer. In an interview she said "I didn’t love the recording of it very much, and now I just feel in love with it as a closing statement, because it’s a way of saying, ‘Look, I have hope for the next thing in my life.’ I’m not going to anticipate negativity or hate or an end. But instead of us looking towards forever, why don’t we just work on right now?"

Something To Believe - Weyes Blood: This album just keeps paying dividends. I’m systematically going through long obsessive periods with every single song on it and now it’s Something To Believe’s turn.

Don’t Shut Me Up (Politely) - Brigid Mae Power: Without meaning to, Brigid Mae Power seems to have created some incredible fusion of folk music and stoner metal. The way this song absolutely sits unmoving on one deep and resonant chord for so long is amazing. When it does change chords it feels like a full body effort to get up and shift. She has a similar feeling to Emma Ruth Rundle, who more explicitly wears her metal influences, but Brigid Mae Powers' strength is in how much it resembles the traditional folk side of the spectrum. Her voice is also amazing, with the huge effortless runs she goes on about halfway through just coming unmoored from the song completely and floating off into space.

Sweetheart I Ain’t Your Christ - Josh T. Pearson: I had a real problem with Josh T. Pearson for a long time because of how he presents as so authentic on this album, and as I’ve previously discussed in these playlists the concept of authenticity in country music is a source of neverending anguish for me. But his newest album The Straight Hits! has largely cured that for me because it’s not good at all, is extremely contrived (all the song titles have the word ‘hit’ in them) and he’s shaved his beard and replaced it with one of the worst irony moustaches I’ve ever seen. So now I’m free to enjoy The Last Of The Country Gentlemen as a character construction, which allows me a far deeper and truer engagement than the idea of a man actually living and thinking like this which is frankly a little embarrassing.

Codeine Dream - Colter Wall: I love this song, it has that feeling that great folk songs do of feeling like you’ve always known it. The strongest moments on this Colter Wall album to me are in songs like this that chase this particular feeling of morose isolation, and where he leans away from storytelling like his biggest hit Kate McCannon - a kind of cliche country murder ballad. This song is fantastic because of the way it wallows in this black depression not as a low point, but as a reprieve from the lower previous point. Things are as bad as they get now, and they’re always going to be like this, but at least I don’t dream of you anymore.

Motorcycle - Colter Wall: I only just found out about Colter Wall this month and have been listening to this album over and over. When I first heard him I though it was strange I'd never heard of him before because he's obviously some old country veteran based off his voice, but it turns out he's 24 and this is his first album he just sings like he ate a cigar. I love this song especially because it's so straighforward. It's a simple and supremely relatable mood: what if I bought a motorbike and fucking died.

Who By Fire - Leonard Cohen: I watched American Animals a couple of weeks ago and it’s a great movie, highly recommended. This song plays near the end and I waited for the credits to find out what this great song was, and like a rube found out it’s only one of the most celebrated songwriters of all time. I’ve never had much of a Leonard Cohen phase, somehow. In my mind I always get him mixed up with Lou Reed, which I’m learning is actually way off. I love the harmony vocals in this, and the way they move around into the shadows in the ‘who shall I say is calling’ parts.

Words From The Executioner To Alexander Pearce - The Drones: Alexander Pearce was a convict who escaped Sarah Island’s penal settlement in Tasmania with seven other convicts in 1822. He was recaptured two months later alone. In 1823 he re-escaped with a fellow convict, Thomas Cox and again was returned alone.He was executed by hanging later having eaten six men during his escape attempts.

It Ain’t All Flowers - Sturgill Simpson: I found this album going through the Pichfork 200 albums of the decade list and I feel like a fool for not having heard it sooner because now I am completely obsessed. Sturgill Simpson is doing the very best work in country music right now because he's looking backwards with one eye and forwards with the other and this song is a great illustration: a perfect Hank Williams Jr type country song with big voiced hollers that morphs into a surprise psych freakout for the whole second half.

Desolation Row (Take 1, Alternate Take) - Bob Dylan: I’ve always liked Desolation Row a lot as a song but the acoustic guitar on the album version is simply not good, it's just kind of mindlessly playing this long directionless solo the whole time and over the course of a song this long it really adds up to just being annoying. Luckily because it’s a Bob Dylan song there’s a whole universe of alternate takes and mixes and this is a great pared down version I found without it. The best kind of Bob Dylan songs are the ones where he just makes an endless stream of allusions and bizzare imagery, and this and Bob Dylan's 115th Dream are my favourite examples of it.

Living On Credit Blues - El Ten Eleven: This is a groove I get stuck in my head a lot, and this is also a song I think would work well as a theme for a tv show. I've been meaning to do a 30 second edit of it just for my own amusement, maybe I'll do that soon. El Ten Eleven are a duo where one guy plays drums and one guys plays a double necked guitar/bass and looping pedals and somehow against all the odds of that description they manage to make emotional, driving instrumental music of very deep feeling, like this song which is one of my all time favourites.

Dusty Flourescent/Wooden Shelves - Talkdemonic: This is sort of a companion Living On Credit Blues, and Talkdemonic are similarly an instrumental duo with good drums. This entire album from 2005 is highly recommended, it's a sort of halfway between the post rock of the time and a kind of acoustic hiphop instrumentals that ends up sounding very rustic and homemade, like a soudtrack for a winter cabin.

Turnstile Blues - Autolux: This is a perfect song, built around a perfect beat. Every part just fits perfectly.

Fort Greene Park - Battles: The new Battles album is finally out and I absolutely love it. I cannot think of another band that has shed members in the same way as Battles; originally a quartet on their first album, then a trio for their second and third and now down to a duo for their fourth album - and somehow still performing material from their first album live. The paring down has seemingly only servers to focus them and the new album sounds fresh but still distinctively Battles, with no sense of anything lost or missing. This song is my standout so far, and the guitar line in particular is so good and interesting to me because I don’t think I’ve ever heard Ian Williams play something so distinctly guitar-y in his whole career. This is a straight up pentatonic riff with bends and everything. Filtered through his usual chopped and looped oddness it feels like he’s almost gone all the back around the guitar continuum and is this close to just doing power chords next album. And I’ll support him!

Diane Young - Vampire Weekend: I've listened to this song a lot in my life and I only looked up the lyrics the other day to find out that the opening line is 'you torched a SAAB like a pile of leaves' which I somehow never noticed. What a power phrase. There's also this very good quote from Ezra about it: "I had this feeling that the world doesn’t want a song called ‘Dying Young’,“ says Koenig, "it just sounded so heavy and self-serious, whereas ‘Diane Young’ sounded like a nice person’s name.”" and he was right to do it. This song is 100 times better because he’s saying Diane Young than it would be if he was saying ‘Dying Young’. That’s a songwriting tip for you.

Monster Mash - Bootsy Collins & Buckethead: Hey did you hear Bootsy Collins and Buckethead did a cover of the monster mash? Thank god for freaks.

The Dark Sentencer - Coheed And Cambria: There's not that many bands that I absolutely loved as a teenager that I've completely abandoned. I've moved on from a lot but I'll still keep up with them if they have a new album or something. Coheed And Cambria are one that I've almost completely turned my back on. They've had 3 apparently pretty patchy albums since I stopped listening after Year Of The Black Rainbow, which was extremely bad and really taught me what people mean when they say an album is 'overproduced'. On a whim I decided to see what they're up to now and listened to their album from last year and guess what: it rocks. It's got everything you'd expect from them: big riffs, bad and confusing lyrics, his weird high voice, overwrought and overlong songwriting, cheesy muscleman solos. Everything about this band is sort of cheesy and embarrassing and takes itself way too seriously, but I'm discovering slowly that that's what's so good about it. The weird pulp sci-fi story and mindset that underpins this whole band is ridiculous and overwrought and as a result it gives the music a reason to exist the way it does. It’s so big and dumb because the story it serves is so big and dumb. It feels exactly like reading Perry Rhodan or some increidibly long and dense but not especially good series like that, it’s pulp music and that’s what I love about it.

Romance In A (6 Hands) - Sergei Rachmaninoff: Piano works for 4 hands (where two guys sit next to each other on the same piano) have always seemed to tend towards the realm of the gimmick or party trick, and works for 6 hands (where three guys do it) even more so - but this Rachmaninoff piece is just beautiful and I can’t believe I haven’t heard of it before this month. It doesn’t overload everyone with a million things to do, it just builds this very wide harmonic bed for the simple melody to swim in - then the way the melody transfers over to the middle register is just magical before the tension of the final section takes over and builds.

Love's Theme - The Love Unlimited Orchestra: I’m so glad I got to learn about the Love Unlimited Orchestra this month. Aside from having one of the best names in music, they were Barry White’s backing band and had their own solo instrumental records too. Here’s a fun aside: Kenny G was a member when he was 17 and still in high school. This is a genre of music that has seemed to totally disappear into the realm of parody and farce only which is sort of a shame because it is unironically very beautiful and dense in its own way.

Dancing In The Moonlight - Liza Minelli: Can you believe I thought Dancing In The Moonlight by Toploader was an original until the other day when my girlfriend played this Liza Minelli version that predates it by several decades? This also isn’t the original! It was written by a band named King Harvest in 1972, with this version AND a version by Young Generation both coming out in 73 and a whole bunch of others in between (including a Baha Men version in 94) before Toploader finally had a proper hit with it in 2000. Truly the world works in mysterious ways. This version is the finest I think, it just goes and goes, frenetically unwinding at a breakneck pace before opening up into a flute solo of all things and then winding up again even and finishing in a kick line breakdown. Absolutely no limits.

Girls - Royal Headache: The sheer amount of power and melody that this song manages to pack into a minute and a half is incredible, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard a more instantly relatable opening lyric than “Girl! Think they’re to fine for me! Oh girls! And I’m inclined to agree!”

Pov Piti - Matana Roberts: In anticipation of Matana Roberts new volume of her Coin Coin album series that just came out I relistened through the three previous albums and they are even more powerful than I remembered. This song serves as a pretty good mission statement for the whole project, and the heartrending tortured screams that open it set the tone for the rest of it. Matana Roberts sings the injustices of slavery into being, and her sing-song delivery highlights the trauma - her indifferent delivery mirroring the indifference of the world at large. The way she rattles off this story like she’s gone over it a million times and grown numb to the facts only accentuates the pain in the telling, a pain that rises to the surface in the screams of her instrument and herself.

Kingdoms (G) - Sunn 0))): This new Sun 0))) album is one of my favourites they’ve ever done because it’s so straightforward and back to basics. Every song is just ten minutes of straight up no-nonsense, big, rich, drone. They even put the notes in the track names so you can drone along if you like.

listen here

#playlists

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putschki1969 · 5 years ago

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Hikaru Tsumugu ~ Live Report

Notes: Got a 2-hour train ride ahead of me so I thought I’d use the opportunity to write up a little report. Please note that I was very exhausted during the live so I wasn’t able to pay as much attention as I usually would. Also, I didn’t know 7 out of the 17 performed songs so I had a hard time appreciating them properly. I didn’t cry which kinda surprised me. Maybe I was too tired. Hikaru did get a little teary eyed during the Kalafina section but aside from that, she was mostly happy and excited. Overall I think this live was much more powerful and cheerful in comparison to Hikaru’s birthday event from last year. Maybe that’s why it wasn’t as tearful. Then again, I know quite a lot of people who were sobbing like crazy. Anyways, let’s get this thing started:

Goods: I didn’t buy much tbh. The pamphlet, the tapioca set, the pen and the badges. The other stuff looked a little cheap if I am being honest. A little disappointed with the quality of the pamphlet. Quite expensive but very thin and it’s made up of some sort of rough paper material. Some pages have ugly printing marks (;_;)

Stage production: Pretty simple I’d say. The musicians were lined up on either side of a small staircase. There were some walls in the back and curtains/fabrics on top. They played the PVs of Hikaru’s songs during each H-el-ical// performance, it was nice to have the lyrics on screen to sing along. and for the other songs they mostly used elaborate lighting.

Hikaru’s look: As you can see from the pictures, she had her hair down for most of the live. It was styled very nicely with big curls. She wore a bold red lipstick. The live started with her wearing the white gown/coat. Pretending to take a drink, she went to her little table and all of a sudden she started stripping XD (it was like the Blue Day “signal” performance). She quickly dropped the coat during her MC before “Fili” and revealed a sexy red dress which was very reminiscent of the old Kalafina days (laces, corset style). After the instrumental she returned with a long blue dress that kinda reminded me of Kalafina’s 9+ONE denim style outfits due to the colour scheme. For her anisong section she surprised us once again by dropping the dress and revealing the sexiest outfit ever!!! Black high waisted leather pants and a black leather bralette. *nosebleed* During the encore she wore a black denim skirt and a long sleeved H-el-ical// shirt. Her hair was up. I wish they would have sold that shirt too since it looked much nicer than the normal t-shirts she was selling. As for shoes, she wore shiny black pumps with white laces. Speaking of laces, laces were definitely the main theme of her outfits that night. The coat, the dresses, her leather outfit and even her pumps had laces everywhere. Guess it all boils down to Tsumugu = Spinning. In her pamphlet you can see all the threads spinning around so I guess she was trying to go for the same vibe regarding her fashion. So glad Hikaru was kind enough to provide pictures of everything!!

Musicians: Everyone was in such a good mood!!! Gussy (Hikaru’s composer and one of the guitarists) was particularly hyped, he seemed to be really into it. Was a lot of fun to watch them perform.

Overall sound: I think for the most part, the live sounded great. Hikaru was in good shape and sang her songs well. If you don’t like the studio version though you won’t like the live version either. Hikaru pretty much used the same singing style which she used for the recording. The backing vocals were playing in the background to create a little more harmony. I think Hikaru was far more concerned about having fun rather than delivering a technically perfect performance! Hence, she ended up sounding a little off key or frail at times. Nothing that took away from the performance though. With someone as engaging as Hikaru I really don’t mind if the singing is less than flawless. Just seeing her having a blast was making up for any missed notes XD Wasn’t a particularly big fan of her anisong section because I didn’t know the songs and she got quite shouty there but I guess that was on purpose. Apart from some slightly screechy shouts she also did some very powerful shouts!

Random observations: The live was completely sold out! BANZAI!! The goods were also sold out (including the H-el-ical// CD). So happy for Hikaru’s “major debut“. I hope many people will watch the anime so she can have a lot of success as H-el-ical//. As has already been established, Keiko and LiSA were there to support Hikaru. They sat in the first row of the second floor (at the very left). Akihiro Tomita was also there. I think he might have taken up the role of producer. Masayuki Ohashi was also there. He was the one taking the picture of Keiko and LiSA. Then we have Takeshi Kato of course. I am expecting a SPICE live report very soon. When Hikaru did her infamous goods corner she also introduced her CD. Once again she mixed up Kalafina and H-el-ical// when she said that there were eight tracks by Kalafina included (during the SPICE broadcast she also mixed up the two if you can remember). It was super cute. Old habits die hard.

Amanhecer: Great start for the live, I LOVE this song. She sat on top of the stairs and sang it beautifully. It almost seemed like she was sparkling in her white coat. Like an angel.

Splendore: The pace really picked up here. Hikaru was running around on stage, jumping up and down. It was amazing to see her so happy. You can tell she was born to be a solo performer (something that cannot be said about Wakana XD).

粉雪 (Cover: Remioromen): Didn’t know the song but it was quite beautiful. Hikaru did a great job. Definitely one of the more memorable performances of the night.

WINTER SONG (Cover: Dreams Come True): Another song I didn’t know, unfortunately I didn’t particularly like it. Can’t really remember any details.

Fili:The first unreleased song from the CD. I loved it. Hikaru said it made her think of the earth. Too bad I can’t listen to my CD while I am in Japan.

Avaricia: Probably my second favourite H-el-ical// song. Awesome performance. Her dress was perfect for the more mature and jazz-y vibe of the verses. But of course my favourite part of the song is the chorus!

yolcu: Hands down the best H-el-ical// performance of the night (and my favourite song so far). This is such a good song!! Can’t believe how much I loved it! The way she was pushing her arm in the air, I literally felt power surging through me. Also, damn, Hikaru was so sexy moving to the exotic rhythm in her red dress.

Instrumental: That was kinda all over the place, didn’t really like it. It started with some sort of extension of “yolcu” and then it became very slow with just Hirotaka Sakurada and the violinist. Then the pace suddenly picked up again and everyone was playing. No idea if it was a special song or them just playing random stuff. I didn’t recognise it.

ARIA & blaze & sprinter: The Kalafina section was super special as expected. Hikaru said that she consulted Yuki Kajiura on the matter, about whether or not it would be a good idea to sing Kalafina songs. Everyone agreed that she should sing them if she wanted to, after all, they made these songs together (as long as the songs aren’t released on DVD/BD I am guessing Hikaru is free to sinf as many Kalafina songs as she wants). Only fitting that she should sing them. Also, her live is called “Tsumugu” which means spinning. It’s about the future of H-el-ical// which she is spinning right now but also about everything that has been spun so far and of course that includes Kalafina. It was just Hikaru, Saku-chan and the violinist. They used the acoustic arrangements from past performances. “ARIA” sounded different from her Birthday Event performance though. It was even slower and more dramatic. I LOVED it. Every time I hear a new version of “ARIA” I fall a little more in love with the song and Hikaru. If you have seen that short snippet of “blaze” in the 10th Anniversary Film then you get an idea of what it sounded like. “sprinter” was super emotional. Not as tear-inducing as during the Arena Live or during Hi’s B-Day Event but still, incredibly powerful. I definitely teared up and so did Hikaru!! “ARIA and sprinter” were shortened considerably since Hikaru didn’t sing any Kajiura-go parts. For the most part she also didn’t sing the Wa/Kei lines. I think she sang“blaze” in its entirety though (except for the bridge).

History Maker & Paradise Lost & 青空のナミダ: I have a hard time saying anything about these songs. I knew “History Maker” from the Birthday Event but the other two songs were completely new to me. No idea how the originals sound like but Hikaru certainly knew how to make the songs her own. I just wish she would have chosen songs better suited for her voice. Occasionally her singing sounded quite off. Or maybe I am wrong and the original songs simply sound like that. Most popular anisongs sound quite noisy to my ears. Whenever I am in Akihabara I have to cringe due to the loud not very pleasant sounding music playing in the background (I feel like it’s always something by Ao Eir or LiSA...no idea)...Hikaru was sexy as hell with her leather outfit so I mostly focused on that. Thank God I brought my binoculars. She was really bad-ass during the anime secret so it was a joy to watch.

Existence: I don’t remember anything about this song tbh, except that it had a very rock-ish vibe. I actually thought it was another anisong at first but then I kinda recognised Gussy’s trademark style and concluded that it must be the other unreleased H-el-ical// song. I probably won‘t be relistening to this a lot.

pulsation: Nice powerful ending! Nothing else to say about it.

This is me: I had heard that song before but I couldn’t really place it. Either way, it was a very engaging performance! There are a lot of ooohhh parts in the song, Hikaru would sing one part and the audience would sing the other part. Everyone had a blast!! This was probably the most active song of the night in terms of audience interaction. Otherwise the audience was pretty tame I would say. Everyone remained seated during the entire live.

TSUMUGU: Not as emotional as I had expected, however, the lalala at the end killed me. We didn’t really sing along properly (neither were we asked to) but it was nice to have everyone waving. More teary eyes but no proper tears.

#hikaru #long text post #no read more because I have no idea howto add it #kalafina #report #hikaru solo live tsumugu #I am writing this while half dead #sorry for the weird formatting

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zitrolena · 5 years ago

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Sick of losing Soulmates: a song-inspired Crisana fic

youtube

Decide for yourself if you want to listen to the song before, during or after reading. Hope you enjoy! :)

-----

"So how long do you think Harry Styles' hair would be if he hadn't cut it when he did?"

Questions like these have increased dramatically since Cris relistened to a song by One Direction and hadn't stopped to listen to any of their members songs yet. It's been a week.

Joana sighed and looked to the weird girl that was sitting cross-legged opposite to her looking at her phone. Cris was a fangirl now - she came to the dark side and Joana had no idea what to do with that information.

Joana was not used to fangirls and it was especially new to her to be in a relationship with one. Fangirls were like a different species for Joana. For her it seemed as if they sometimes put other people's problems over their own or often even internalsied them as if they were their own.

But thinking about it she actually loved that Cris was a fangirl, or overall that everyone kind of was. What would humanity be if we didn't adapt and think about other people's problems? It just wouldn't be the same. Joana wouldn't be sitting here, wouldn't be medicated and definitely wouldn't be with a girl that she had given a thousand reasons to run. Life wouldn't be the same. Life wouldn't be as good as it was right now.

"What a strange being you are", Joana laughed and grapped Cris' legs, sperated them and put them around her own waist.

"Are you trying to distract me from my life-changing question with your weird Dangerous Liaisons Spanish accent again?", Cris asked looking up from her phone. She tried acting annoyed but it was obvious to both of them that the smile on her face didn't help her act. Cris was never a good liar.

"Well.. no. At least not on purpose", Joana answered leaning into Cris and kissing her on the mouth. Her lips were soft, covered with a smile and she tasted like the salt of their popcorn they've both shared before.

"Well", Cris mocked Joana when she leaned back again "This isn't answering my question either"

"I don't know, Cris", Joana sighed "I'm not as great of a fangirl as you are"

"You know, I actually could be an amazing fangirl, if things were differently. I would be the kind of fangirl that had their whole walls plastered with posters and I'd know all the lyrics! And I'd be on twitter 24/7"

"You are on twitter 24/7", Joana interrupted her and rolled her eyes "But yes.. God knows where I would be if you hadn't found me sitting all alone in the dark aswell."

Cris laughed and tapped Joanas feet "Yeah. That was a weird night". Did I ever tell you that I've done a screenshot of you the same night and kept looking at it and it drove me insane?"

"Wait, what? Where did you find a picture of me?", Joana asked confused.

"You were on a picture that Viri posted and you can't tell me you didn't try to be on it because You seriously looked straight into the camera", Cris chuckled.

"Oh you mean that photo", Joana laughed remembering the photo she saw on Viris' account "And for your information I didn't try to be on the photo. I'm just that photogenic that the camera always finds me"

"Ah well, of course. My bad!". Both started laughing and all of the sudden all the memories from the past month came flashing back in Cris' head. Her looking at that photo far too many times to be straight. Their first kiss that made her not wash her hair for 3 days because she was not ready to forget the smell of the water that Joana had pushed her in. The breathtaking moment Joana told her that she broke up with Eloy. Those two days when she forgot everything bad in the world cause she was just that happy because she finally had Joana. The back and forth and the I love you's. They've built so much history in such little time and she could only dream about the future. Their future. It's going to be so different than what Cris would have imagined a couple months ago.

"What the hell would I be without you?", Cris leaned in and kissed Joanas nose then her left cheek and then her right. It was like their own kind of making the sign of the cross, their own special handshake, the things only meant for them. "I mean seriously, who the hell would I be?"

"You'd be a fangirl who's not over the fact that Harry Styles cut his hair years ago. Next question"

"No seriously" Cris grabbed Joanas face in both of her hands "You made me grow so much it's almost weird to think about the past me"

Joana looked away embarrassed and closed her eyes "I'm sor-"

"I swear to god Joana don't say you're sorry now.", Cris laughed and shook Joanas head with both of her hands as if it was the only way to make her understand it "You changed me. You changed everything! And that's a fucking good thing"

Joana grabbed Cris' hands and took them off her face. "You grew because I put you through shit. That's not a good thing"She could feel the stunning pain in her chest again and she wanted it to stop immediately but it was easily said than done. Joana knew there was no reason to freak out. Cris made her choice to be with Joana and it was no one's choice but her own to do so. But it still hurt to think about all the bad things she had to go through because of her.

"We both grew, Joana.. We grew together". Eventhough Joana didn't look at her anymore but stared at the floor instead, Cris knew that Joana was fighting a battle inside of her. "Isn't that exactly what soulmates do?".

Both were surprised by that word but still Cris couldn't whipe her whipped smile off her face. She loved how romantic Joana made her and how all the romantic movies she made her watch actually rubbed off on her. "A soulmate is someone that wants to grow with you and who chooses you over and over again and will love you through good and bad. Love is about making it work, isn't it?"

Joanas frown vanished and changed to the smiley one Cris oh so loved. "I think a hopeless romantic overtook the body of my girlfriend and I'm not sure how to cope with it"

"Well all that could have been avoided if you would just have answered my question".

Cris grabbed her phone again out of protest and started scrolling through twitter when Joana tackled her and landed on top of her with "It would be long, okay? Very very long. Rapunzel-like-long. And soft. Just like yours", she said while she brushed over her hair.

Cris chuckled and let her phone fall onto the soft sheets of the bed "You gonna be a fangirl with me, now? Sure you want to suffer through the pain?"

"Yes.. or at least I'm gonna listen to you obsess over them. Cause I'm sick of losing Soulmates, so where do we begin besides understanding that we both have problems. I know I have some and now I can finally see, you're as fucked up as me. And if letting you fangirl over Harry Styles makes you a romantic, I'll gladly take that kind of suffering". Joanas voice felt hot in Cris' cheeks "This specific fangirl right here", she said while brushing her nose against Cris' "Won't be alone again"

"I like that", Cris said before Jaona finally leaned in to give both of them the kiss they've been waiting for.

#skam españa #crisana #crisana fic

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melekseev · 6 years ago

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so i FINALLY bring you my esc19 toplist, all under the cut, with short comments.

also be aware i literally... enjoy my top 31. so twenty something places might sound bad.. BUT THEYRE REALLY NOT, I JUST LOVE A LOT. i went into this year thinking it was weak, and then after i had this playlist on so much, hello, i love a ton. nevertheless, just my taste and opinions and good luck to all of them~

1. France ABSOLUTE KIN G stuck in first place because this is undoubtedly my most listened song this year, and i'm absolutely hooked on it. i am somewhat worried about that coming revamp, but. but i fcking love this song, and he improved those vocals like d amn 2. Russia i.... am in love. every time i hear this song it gets me into that sort of dramatic ecstasy and it's so big and beautiful that it just... it kills me. i die. thats it 3. Italy soldi is still my jam, and i adore it to bits 4. Slovenia this masterpiece is one i just want to protect. so soothing, i LOVE listening to it, it's just ethereal 5. Netherlands this song, at one point, was almost at every possible spot on my list from middle to top 15, but then it stuck with me and now it's utter love 6. Hungary i adore his voice, no bias. his whole vibe, his unique delivery and technique, that folky sound, like... yes please 7. Switzerland i am not ashamed to say i am utter trash for this song. every single part i love about this. like holy shit, this time switzerland better make it thEY EARNED IT 8. Australia she is QUEEN, i considered dropping it from my top 10 when trying to readjust ONE TIME and upon relistening i instantly was like "okay no way it's going anywhere", i just unironically love it a LOT 9. Norway actual legends... this song just cheers me up to SUCH an extent! love the joiking... i love eveything, bless you norway 10. Belgium at first, i had issues with it, because i wanted a bigger drop near the end, but now i'm just absolutely... in love... it convinced me. the instrumental, the building up, the dark undertone, just. i adore this 11. Poland oH I LOVE THEM SO MU CH. li s t en. i can't explain it, but they give me like a lowkey vibe of soft punk-rock theme but also like...?? japanese pop?? but no, it's polish and slavic and traditional and i'm really really vibing with it, because some of it is familiar from my own culture, and these girls S LAY 12. Albania albania always delivering those vocals.. i love the mystical vibe with the ethnic sound, it's simply gorgeous 13. San Marino can you believe i unironically HONESTLY thoroughly enjoy this song?? serhat is an icon, but his voice actually really fits with this song and i always get super into it. i'm so happy this exists lmao 14. Azerbaijan i'm very very much into this song, and i'm EXTREMELY curious to see how he pulls this off live as it seems to be such a radio song, but i have hopes. i just dig it, like... like a LOT 15. Czech Republic this is the most chill song this year, and despite the silly, easygoing lyrics it's just... extremely fun, and it's been my jam since it came out 16. Croatia listen. l i sten. i love... theatrical. i love big strong voice explosions. this CHILD is talented as fuck. i know many people hate this, but the song actually grew on me, and then today i just honestly love it. i wish the whole song was in croatian, but even with the not so great lyrics, i'm eating it up and singing along. i know he won't make it, but oh well. it's okay Roko, i love your voice and song 17. Armenia i really love this one, too. she convinced me further in amsterdam bc she absolutely killed it (although i feel like she had a nervous slip in the very beginning) but then after that.. holyshit. such a tiny girl with such a huge voice 18. Spain honestly, if you tell me earlier it would end up this high at one point i wouldn't believe you.. i never /hated/ it per se, but i also wasn't really impressed or as into it as most people were. i think the revamp was the one that convinced me in the end, because it forced me to face the fact that i do honestly enjoy this more than i want to. also now im nostalgic towards anything spanish, even if its different, bye 19. Finland yes, this might be nothing special, but i just... enjoy it. i genuinely do, and there are certain parts i especially love, and so therefore. like. yes. 20. Estonia as much as i didn't want to like this originally, i do. like, i really do. it just happened, and i'm not mad about it 21. Romania this song is a big grower for me, and to this day the more i hear it the more i get into it still 22. UK Michael's live delivery elevates this otherwise not so amazing song like... so much. i feel like the UK does tend to send songs with this particular theme, but i actually enjoy it quite a lot when he's doing it live. his voice is impressive, and so... here he. 23. Sweden these two ^ i always moved around together for some reason, as if they were linked, which might be because John wrote both songs, although i learned that later(??? but in the end, i feel like i prefer UK a bit more. this is also really good though, it works, and it has a great vibe for esc 24. Portugal so this one slipped quite far off, as with time i sort of lost the enthusiasm for it. i still find it unique and enjoy it nevertheless though, so it could definitely be worse 25. Greece i'm in quite a pickle because after not necessarily being super into this song, i started to really like it (VOICE, BRUH) but then the amsterdam concert happened. I KNOW she was sick, though, so i sort of have this on hold. if she delivers later, which i'm sure she will, she stays, but if not, this might drop a few slots 26. Lithuania this is another song that just makes me happy and makes me smile, and i can't explain it. i love lionboy. i'm just here for it 27. Serbia her voice is quite literally pristine, i love that she's singing in serbian, and i do appreciate her a lot as i honestly enjoy this song when it's on. it tends to slip my mind, though, which i hate it does, because it's beautiful and i'm rooting for her 28. Cyprus super unpopular opinion, but i actually like this a lot more than Fuego, and don't necessarily compare the two. HOWEVER i do kinda feel like i'm seeing the same thing from the same country, like, immediately after, which makes me a little less excited about it, oof 29. North Macedonia see, the message is very nice. the song actually grew on me a bit compared to the first time i heard it, but i still just... wish it was better. i like it overall, but it's just about pushing it 30. Israel he's actually very talented and on point vocally. the only reason it's not higher is simply because it's just not really my style, but it's one i still appreciate on stage 31. Georgia there is something about this that i like. i respect him, and when near the end there's sooo much power, then especially i really dig it 32. Montenegro the revamp did help them quite a lot, but overall it still kinda feels like a high school chorus, and i'm just not really for it 33. Moldova her voice is really nice, and despite how i found it just... done several times and kind of boring (oops), her live made me appreciate this just a bit more 34. Ireland i feel like this song is just kind of... there, for the sake of being there. it's not even bad, it's just... meh? 35. Malta that chorus is a major turn off for me, and it's neeeearing that point where a song just starts to annoy me... which i feel like is worse than simply not liking something, so it's on thin ice 36. Austria first of all i think her voice is very lovely. BUT... after about the 4th yo-o-o-ouh it does tip and starts to annoy me, which i wish it didn't, but... but it does 37. Belarus i wanna talk about how they had a huge shot with Michael Soul, but i will not go down that road and focus on Zena. this song just feels like a mess to me. like... a young britney spears song, but bad. i really don't get the appeal, at all 38. Latvia hhhhhhh. this one annoys me so much, i just can't begin to explain. it's flat, repetitive, and the chorus (??) fries my nerves in a matter of seconds, IM SORRY 39. Denmark oof... o o of. i don't want to be rude but basically this feels exactly like what you'd expect a junior eurovision song to be like.... except those are actually better. it's just... no. no. way too much sugar. it’s all just... no 40. Germany speaking of songs that annoy me? i feel like this is definitely the one i can't stand the most. *screeches* SISTAH x4 41. Iceland listen i'm not going to talk about this for long but basically i really heavily dislike this for a few reasons and can never listen all the way through without like.. suffering. the funniest thing is that i love the beat. but then.. the singing (NOT even the style) it just. it makes me angry, cuz this could be good. but it's not. also i don't like the pretend-gay stuff. but that's just me

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wiser-girl · 6 years ago

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ok liv just here me out!! listen to everything you’ve come to expect by the last shadow puppets!! it’s very dramatic so maybe.... maybe you’ll like it

Everything You’ve Come To Expect-TLSP

Overall: Not really what I usually listen to but I really liked it? Like except maybe one or two songs? Definitely listening to some of their other stuff. Also I have 2 favourites I literally can’t choose which one I like more if I do I’ll update you later.

Send me an album and I’ll review it

Ok so I wrote my thoughts on each song as I listened and then gave it a score out of 10. Anything 8 or over I saved. Also take a shot each time I talk about strings except don’t you’ll die

Aviation- 8/10-Ok very horror movie start I’m already intrigued-Ok love a tone shift to a bop-I definitely really like the instrumentals, opinion on the vocals is still out-THERE ARE STRINGS HELL YES-Overall I can kinda see this as a chase scene in my head and it’s working for me? But yeah big fan of the instrumentals for sure, like I really love it

Miracle Aligner- 8.5/10-Instant nostalgia vibes it’s reminding me of an 80’s song I can’t think which one yet it’ll come to me-David Bowie vibes? No? Just me? Ok-I’m liking the vocals more in this one for sure-I really like the kind of dreamy feel to this and again really great instrumentals

Dracula Teeth- 8/10-Ok loving the bassline already-I really like the chorus-It’s more of Aviation’s vocals but they’re working for me a lot more here idk but yay?-The music in the outro bit is really cool, low-key Phantom vibes which really fits the tone of the lyrics so love that-Pretty cool, definitely paints an interesting picture I definitely would listen to it again

Everything You’ve Come To Expect- 7/10-Again with the lowkey horror vibes love it-Also it might just be bc the IT trailer dropped today but specifically haunted fair or something?-Ok the vocals are definitely growing on me, they suit the style really well-And I think at this point we can just accept that I’m going to love all of the instrumentals-The song almost feels like it would play over something happening in slow-motion and I’m digging it-Really cool vibe in the song and some interesting instrumentals that I really like!

The Element of Surprise- 8.5/10-*Literally 3 seconds in* oh this is gonna be a bop-This is my favourite so far and I’m under a minute in-I LOVE the strings omg-I can see me dancing to this in the very near future-Also the vocals are cool too but I think I’m definitely here for the music with this one.-Yep this is my current fav I loved it

Bad Habits- 8/10-*5 seconds in* Oh ANOTHER bop?-Ok not loving the vocals but LOVE the creepy strings in the background-Country horror? Is that a genre? Bc this is it-Can you tell I just loves strings in songs-But also loving the drums-Also I don’t actually hate the vocals I think they just surprised me lmao-Little bit of a “The Struts” vibe in the chorus which is a good sign-Ok that little riff after the bridge is literally in LA Devotee. Like it’s identical. And they both came out in 2016 wow that’s so weird.-Really out there song but I LOVE THE STRINGS and yes country/rock/horror is now a genre

Sweet Dreams, TN- 9/10 (equal fav)-This is your fav so pressure ok-OK I’M 15 SECONDS IN AND I GET IT-I love the music a lot ok-Also I think Alex is my favourite vocalist of the two-THE STRINGS ARE BACK HELL YES-I love how it feels like the song is slowly building I’m hyped-The lyrics are really sweet too-I think this definitely has my fav vocals so far-The drums and guitar are really killing it-I definitely get why this is your favourite, I really like everything about it!-(Second listen and the strings get another mention)

Used To Be My Girl- 7.5/10-Before I even start when I see the title and think about my current love life *insert the I’m In Danger meme* ANYWAY-Ok digging the music a lot-This guitar I’m living for it ok-I really like the lyrics of this one-The outro is great ok-Pretty chill song but I liked it!

She Does The Woods- 6.5/10-Ngl I thought this was still the last song for a second-Yeah this is seriously similar to Used To Be My Girl but I still like it so?-This one feels a bit one note musically compared to their other stuff-Horror strings making a small return is a plus-Ok this musical section near the end was nice-Yeah not one of my favourites but definitely not bad

Pattern- 7/10-Ok this is definitely changing it up and I like it-Again some almost country vibes but I’m not against it-The lyrics are pretty out there but I like it-In case it’s not clear I LOVE STRINGS-A little one note again but some cool things happening-Ok but the instrumental section at the end is pulling through with the brass aswell love it this just got it a higher score

The Dream Synopsis- 8/10-LOVE the music already-Yep Alex is definitely may favourite voice sorry Miles-Again the slo-mo vibe but also maybe a James Bond song? If it was a lil more orchestral-This is definitely a late night contemplating life listen and I appreciate it-Definitely really like this one vocally and musically

The Bourne Identity- 9/10 (equal fav)-Like the more upbeat tone and getting some Sing Street vibes which is VERY high praise from me-STRINGS-But also just the music in general is really fun-The little pre-chorus bits have a nice lil nostalgia feel to them-This song really reminds of the character The Grey Man from The Raven Cycle which is just fun-THE STRINGS IN THE INSTRUMENTAL I’M GRINNING A LOT-This song finishes really well I’m just gonna relisten to the last 30 seconds again real quick-Definitely one of my favourite musically and overall an awesome song!

#littleillusion #ask #LIV I LIKED IT #album reviews #the last shadow puppets #mobile fucked over the formatting I'm so sorry

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improbablecarny · 6 years ago

Text

The Best Good Parts of The Mystery of Time

As according to me

Knock knock, 2013! Who’s there? It’s Tobias Sammet with a fresh delivery of Avantasia, this time in the form of the spooky gothic tale that begins here. We’ve got old faces, we’ve got new faces, and we’ve got clock faces, so let’s get ready to face what lays at the heart of The Mystery of Time!

Storyline: On a cold winter night in a sleepy little village, a young scientist named Aaron Blackwell happens upon a nightmarish scene: spectral figures and the poor old victim at their center. After rescuing the Antiquarian, Aaron is gifted with a broken old mantlepiece clock, and becomes the center of a mysterious Nobleman’s plan to re-align the world’s seemingly fractured timeline.

Quick Notes:

This album utilizes a real orchestra in numerous songs.

The special edition came with a purely instrumental version of the album, which was pretty cool.

The storyline in this one hit the happy medium between The Metal Opera and The Wicked Trilogy: there still aren’t interludes or spoken parts, and the songs all stand on their own out of context, but there is a more obvious degree of dialogue between the characters. There’s a couple characters who aren’t real people but most of them are. The special edition also came with Aaron’s journal entries, which makes it much easier to follow the plot.

Relistening to TMOT and its sequel, I have to say these albums do some CRAZY cool sound design shit. Listen closely... can you find all the time/machinery motifs?

Come unravel the mystery... by listening to the album for free, officially, on Youtube! (Or Spotify)

Spectres

We all know how I feel about The Seven Angels, but I have to say that in terms of introducing the story, building the setting and setting the mood, Spectres may just be my favourite introductory song.

The dramatic 3/4 intro... it BEGS for choreography

Very strong first verse!

VERY strong second verse - again, where are the dancers at? There’s this languid, macabre sense to the pace of this song that makes it SO easy to visualize

“DANCE IN THE GLOOM / DANCE IN THE GLOOM! EVERY MOVE’S A STEP TO YOUR TOMB!” Chills! Chills! Chills!

Bring in the dancing ghosts!

The bassline before...

HARPSICHORD SOLO!

“Wiiiide open MIIIIIIIiiiiiiiii-iiinds”

The drum strikes at the end of the chorus but especially at the end of the song sound like fireworks and it does things to me.

The Watchmaker’s Dream

That time signature... of course I love it

The bright and forward-marching pace in the intro... *dreamy sighs*

The chugging of the guitars as you dip into the first verse? Divine.

“oooooh NOOOOOoooooo”

THE WATCHMAKER’S DREAM!

(The Watchmaker himself doesn’t show up until Ghostlights but Boy Howdy it’s worth the wait)

“SIMPLIFY SIMPLICITY” GOOD entrance

Arjen Lucassen guitar solo immediately followed by an insane Ferdy Doernberg organ solo... thank you for my life

Biff Byford outro lines... “for ALL the world TO see...”

Black Orchid

The intro... is sexy. That orchestration tho

The piano backing the first verse

“NO TIME FOR DREEAMIIIING”

Joe Lynn Turner’s entrance... “As above / so below!”

THE FINAL HOUR... WHEN NEVER AND NOW.. BECOME.. ONE!

“Everybody’s craving”... that beat

The unforgettable “bllLAAACK OOOOoooRCHIIIiiiiiIID... strAAAANGE and bEEEAUTIFUUUuuul”

Where Clock Hands Freeze

The orchestration takes the intro again but in a much more lighthearted, rousing melody

Which quickly becomes...

the MICHAEL KISKE POWER METAL NUMBER YEAH

The prechorus rolling back the beat with the strings and piano... ahh

“There’s no time to lose... no chance to refuse....”

“....aaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA”

The only disappointment here is still that Tobi doesn’t also go “aaaaaaaaaaaaaa” at the end of his verse

“Through your dark swamp / I walk on deductive conclusion” oh Aaron... you’ve got a big storm coming

(literally... we’ll get there)

Sleepwalking

This one was used in the promo for an airing of The Titanic on a German tv station so that’s fun

Cloudy is cool I miss her

It’s the heavier-pop duet of the album and it’s extremely good

The second verse when the momentum really picks up... mwah

Savior in the Clockwork

This is the first whopper of the album at nearly 11 minutes, and for good reason

The orchestration again gets a chance to shine in the intro - listen to those soundscapes and soak it all in!

NAH NAH NAAAAAAAAH... NAH NAH NAAAAAAAAH

CHOIR!

“I envision how you lie awake and agonize” time to groove

“Oh every MOMENT everyBODY’S gonna THINK ALIKE!”

“Mind by mind / check the pace for all mankind” time to REALLY groove

When Tobi said “Am I half-asleep or half-unconscious... half a-dream?” I felt it in my soul

This is another one with a live arrangement that fucking rules if you can find it

“Do I dream?” GROOVE TIME AGAIN

Slow down and tap that cymbal baby

“Journey to the first sun... to the BLACK WOOOMB OF SPAAAAACE”

“FATHER PRIMAL SPAAAAAAAAACE”

“WOHOHH YEAAAAHAAH”

Are you STILL GROOVIN’?

The whole back and forth starting “I’ve seen the ocean swallow the ancient harmony”

Then again at “At crack of dawn...”

“RAISE YOUR MIIIIIIND” hi again Michi

When they switch and he takes the melody and then Tobi does the background choir embellishments

That last chorus run! The POWER

Invoke the Machine

The sailing guitars in the intro... *chef’s kiss*

Introducing Ronnie Atkins! I’ve gushed about his performance as the Nobleman before and I’ll do it again!

The second verse is a primo example of what I mean with him - “these dreams that you hummed to yourself once / how far will you reach out to make them come true? Will you turn around and shirk from duty... ” A kind benefactor who may be just who you need to find answers...

“Ō̸̡̫̟̗̬̞̯̭̯͙͓̲͇̪̈́͝R̵̛̯͍̲̐ ̷͎̤̹̬̼̉̿̀́̋̕͜͠͠F̵̛͎̫̾̀͒̂͌̇̅̑̐̅̔O̵̱̟͉̾̀Ṛ̴̢̨͍̳̟̼̞̉͆̆͑́̀̅́͊̔͠C̴̢̧͓͖̝͍̭͖̯̻̯̤͈̞̓͊̀̿̓́̍̽̋̽͠Ë̷̡̮͙̒̓̿͑́̕ ̴̡̠̦͕̯̖̺̪̻̺̗̃̌́̽̑ͅͅT̷̛͉̮̲̦̭̜̭̝̝͙̭͖̗̉͋̈́͘͜͜H̶͚̖̩̪͕͌̀͘Ẻ̷̤̯̤̯̒́̑͌͘̚ͅ ̶̧̢͍̣̭͚̰̥̟̉͋̔̋͌̔̓̔̓̕͘P̶̛̮͈͗̍̿̃̎͑̃̀̀̓̾͝Ă̸̗̙͇̯̘͇̹͔̫̫͎̞̾́̒͐̊̅̕͠C̴̢͉̖̳̱͍͚̭̤̖̖̙̫͜͠Ę̴̝̦͇͈̯̬͍̖͗̃̏̃̒̔̿”

Oh haha, ok, so THAT’S definitely the bad guy

“As my glance wanders to... the far off land in the sky”

“Oh, hissing and SCREEAMIN’ - almost ALIII-III-IIIIiiive!”

IN THE NIIIIIGHT - can you hear that in the chorus? It’s happening: Meatloafification. (To transform, over time, into American rock musician Meat Loaf)

The instrumental when they actually invoke the machine... more chefs kisses

The journal entry for this one states that the Nobleman “literally exploded” into a monologue, which still tickles me

What’s Left of Me

It’s Eric Martin, baby! Despite being on a whopping 3 studio songs his involvement in the tour lineup and bluesy, hearty voice have cemented him as an integral part of the Avantasia experience for me.

The string intro... the vocal intro... the duet...

When I first saw the name of this song in the tracklist pre-release I went “oh, this song will end me”

I was right

Dweller in a Dream

“OH OHHHHHHHHHHHWHOAAAAHH”

“Memories / Of good intentions ghosting me“ Time to groove again!

“God if you’re out there / why do you make ME SPIN YOUR WHEEL?”

CHOIR CHORUS

These lyrics are wild

“Are you for real now or just a dweller in my dream?”

DO YOU HEAR ME / DWELLER IN A DREAM!

“Ooooooh.... why would your god-given will come off the track?”

“COME OFF THE TRACK?”

“DWELLER IN A DREAAAAAM”

The Great Mystery

The closer to this album is another great Bob Catley megasong, and I regularly sing the entire thing in the shower.

CARRY THE FLAME TO ACCELERAAAATE THE EVOLUTION OF AN AAAAAGE

The dramatic instrumentals behind “don’t be afraid / just look around!”

DON’T QUESTION WHAT YOUR EYES CAN’T SEEEEE

It’s extremely hard for me to just not quote the entire passage that begins at “I see a cold moon rise above those empty streets”

...AND AS YOU MARVEL AT THE ARTWORK IN YOUR HANDS / RICH IN DETAIL / SO FRAIL AND BEAUTIFUL

AND YOU FORGET THE RULES THE ELDERS ALWAYS MADE UP FOR YOU

TO SAVE YOUR PRECIOUS TIME

OH!

Both passages that begin with “I see tears shed over days...”

... and answers you DID FIND

To dare what YOU WOULD FIND INSIIIIIIDE

THE LAST CHORUS

“OOOOH IS IT REALLY NOT A DREAM?”

“THE GREAT MYSTERY”

“AAAAAAAAH”

“WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH”

waaaaaah 😭

BONUS TRACK: THE CROSS AND YOU

To my knowledge it has nothing to do with the TMOT story. It sounds a lot like a lost Edguy song more than anything.

It has a hard rock edge that sets it apart significantly from the more symphonic songs on the album

“Allllll... the ways...”

I do dig the theatrical tone at “The cautionary voice that shatters your brain”

It’s the end of the album, but the story doesn’t end there! We’ve got a world of revelations ahead of us in the next leg of the story... and you can make time for that, right?

Cast List:

Tobias Sammet as Aaron Blackwell Michael Kiske as The Antiquarian Ronnie Atkins as The Nobleman Eric Martin as The Beggar Cloudy Yang as She Bob Catley as Epiphany Joe Lynn Turner as Reason Biff Byford as Science

#avantasia #the mystery of time #metal #symphonic metal #music #avantasia breakdown blog

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allondonboy · 5 years ago

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you're my best friend so I would say I know a fair bit about u but I wanna know more, so have some asks: 3,12,14 (go on tell me what our apartment would look like lol), 16 (this could create discourse just fyi lmao),36,41,51, and 99

thank u for the questions friendo

3. what random objects do you use to bookmark your books?

so actually, none. i used to use proper bookmarks but i didn’t like how they’d make some of the pages bumpy/get crushed when i was transporting the book, then when i tried i think receipts?? bc that’s what my grandma did, the ink started rubbing off on the pages and it stressed me out so now i just memorise the page number/flick through the book to work out where i was

12. what’s your favourite planet?

ooh. hm. i think saturn bc rings!!!!!! but also jupiter bc the spot. and mars looks gorgeous from all the photos. i’ve always loved the idea of neptune just because of the name. but saturn most of all maybe. also saturn in holst’s planets is brutally fun

14. if you were to live with your best friend in an old flat in a big city, what would it look like?

many books. and bean bags to sit on while reading said books. tall bookcases with a sliding ladder that goes around the room like in one of those huge libraries. a kitchen not too disimilar to your parents’ actually (i really really like their kitchen) but with gas hobs bc electric hobs stress me out sorry, where the kitchen is big enough for dramatic singing (in socks so we slide around the floors) while cooking. an under the stairs cupboard turned den/reading cubby hole with a cat safe rocking chair. and so many cats! with like one of those runs for cats that goes around the tops of the walls so they can be high up and hang and inevitably fall off (and then pretend they didn’t). A BALL PIT. A HELTER-SKELTER. but the flat would still have all the eaves in the ceiling etc. and low ceilings and that really lovely old english cottage feel to it. a little balcony garden that gets the sun in the afternoon, with like reclining chairs for more reading. ooh a room like the room i stayed in at yours with the long beds (oh my gosh so comfy) with the tv. i feel like we’d end up with walls of photos and a handful of pride flags everywhere, surrounded by fairy lights. ooh it would be really cool to have a wall for like tickets for where we’ve travelled although you’d easily have more than me bc you’ve actually gone to places and all my tickets are like returns to london lol. also can we appreciate how clean our place would be?! please can we live together i’ll move to germany

16. what’s your favourite pasta dish?

lasagne. either traditional beef lasagne or the wild mushroom one that college did this term because that was incredible. or aubergine lasagne. idk what it is about lasagne but wow. goats cheese and spinach ravioli comes a close second, as long as it’s in tomato sauce and/or pesto, with enough pepper and sufficient parmesan

36. which band’s sound would fit your mood right now?

(mate. you know how i am with music.)

probably imagine dragons, but like evolve-time imagine dragons. 9 times out of 10 they always fit my mood tbh. smoke and mirrors used to be my revision music, then was my angry music, and evolve has very much been my music for this year. still not 100 % on their most recent album but i think i just need to listen to it more

or actually lifehouse, thinking about it. i need to relisten to their music too

41. what’s the last book you remember really, really loving?

Undivided: Coming Out, Becoming Whole, and Living Free from Shame, by Vicky Beeching

she’s a very well-known gay Christian songwriter-turned-activist (she had to stop writing/performing after coming out bc the world is shitty and very homophobic) and it’s her sort of autobiography and completely destroyed me in the best way when i read it back around christmas and i’m rereading it for the third time now and i still love it and i resonate so so much with it and she’s extraordinary

51. think of a person. what song do you associate with them?

you, and in a getaway car because it was your url when i properly discovered taylor swift and i think around the same time when i visited you last summer and we did a lot of driving in your car

99. list some songs that resonate to your soul whenever you hear them.

black tie - grace petrie

who am i - casting crowns

believer - imagine dragons

twenty-six summers - vicky beeching

glow - east of eli

everything - lifehouse

(...and now i’m off to make a playlist)

#asks #jjeanmoreau #thank u friend!!!!!!#this was fun thank u #i will send u some in a mo!#but first food lol #jjeanmorreau

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apocahipster · 6 years ago

Text

here’s just some author’s notes for the huge taz fic i finished today

you can read it here if you want

https://archiveofourown.org/works/13468608/chapters/30877473

Author’s notes,, i haven’t proofed these so, apologies ;000

Wow. Huge. This is literally the biggest thing ive ever written to completion. I had the whole fic planned before I uploaded the first chapter, and to accentuate the planning I had a 100+ page document of notes and also had an excel sheet which looked like this:

(the yellow on the left means summer, and blue when it was winter. The second column is day of the year, third important dates. On the right is the events which I highlighted yellow as I wrote them)

and like this

Its also the first fic I decided to upload as I wrote each chapter because I knew it would take about a year to complete. I wanted fan support (which I got and loved <3 ) and I didn’t want to sit on the whole thing and constantly re-write it and end up hating it and never publishing it.

So the way this fic began is I was listening to TAZ balance for the first time and as I different scenes or dialogue occurred I started taking notes on my phone for how they would translate to a high school setting. This whole thing started around the time I was at crystal kingdom and ironically, that’s were im up to in my relisten at the time of publishing the last chapter.

The other, very original, formative idea for the fic was this:

Magnus beats up kids who are homophobic to Taako as a way to cover for the fact that he is also bi // Thinks he’s straight and overly supportive of his gay friends

Similarly, in the original idea, it was going to be Julia who had died, not magnus’ dad. There was a really depressing scene where magnus spent the day with Julia’s parents.

Another formative idea was,

My name is Taako, you know, from Instagram.

And I suppose in the end this was the most impactful because I decided that I personally specialise in writing comedy based things. I wanted this to be a light-hearted fun fic.

In the original fiction, Travis and the other McElroys show regret that Magnus’ story is formed around the death of a woman (Julia). Similarly in sensitivity to the McElroy’s personal background I decided that this was not the right thing to write about. But I also wanted this story to be a magnus emotional journey. By choosing his dad as the character who had died I could keep many things planned such as magnus’ one year gap, Fischer as a therapy fish, Magnus’ aggression etc.

My favourite TAZ character is magnus, if that wasn’t obvious. But ironically, I feel like of all the characters his dialogue is the most OOC. While I tried to keep his thought-logic and actions to Magnus I don’t feel like magnus would say 99% of what my magnus did. Conversely Taako seemed like one of those characters who would be hard to pinpoint but I actually found him easiest to write.

Taako’s magic stone which ultimately ruined the play was introduced as I felt I was focusing too much on Taako’s appearance and not the fact he is incredibly smart and a brilliant wizard.

So I decided to make this fic mostly lighthearted. I wanted to squeeze as many highschool tropes in like the gigantic party, the school play, the football match. The last chapter has a scene in a class for every subject as I felt like I somewhat forgot to write them ever being in class for a large chunk of the middle section. But then again no one really want to read about school do they?

I almost always write my stories to a song, but in this case it was an album. Vance Joy’s Dream Your Life Away, and while I love the music I never want to hear it again for like at least a few months. I would play the whole album every time I sat down to write this thing. It set the summer-time mood for the fic. If you listen to the songs youll probably find places where each song inspired bits of the fic.

The first song Wind’s of Change begins with the like ‘I miss you more than you could know’ which began the driving idea of Magnus dealing with the loss of his father. The song ‘first time’ begins with a line about jumping in the neighbours pool which obviously… inspired magnus jumping into a pool. ‘The best that I can’ inspired Magnus and Mr Waxmen’s interaction. I love the idea of a teenage boy who keeps doing the wrong thing, feeling shame in himself and in his mentor and trying to get better.

The song ‘from afar’ was initially Taako’s song. This whole fic was going to be a Taako / Magnus / Kravitz fic where Taako convinces Magnus to take care of himself and Magnus realises Taako is in love with him and this helps him discover he’s bi and it was super dramatic. There was (an still is) some Magnus / Kravtiz scenes too mostly in the form of flirting.

As I stepped away from this being a ship heavy fic this song became Lucretia’s song. Lucretia’s unrequited love to Lup was mostly written from the heart, and I’m so sorry to Lucretia stans, she deserves all the GFs in the world. But I felt this was a very powerful thing to write in a teen story.

Taako’s fear of LDR is also taken from the heart. In a way this whole fic was a serious vent from my high school experience. Similarly as I am now 21, I didn’t feel comfortable nor did I even really conceptualise any NSFW scenes for this fic. It just didn’t seem to have a place. Besides, sex is in almost all other teen movies and books. I also wanted to keep weed out of this one bc I personally hate how drugs are in every teen story.

I actually had a planned acronym for the IPRE, the Insufferable Prick Resistance Ensemble, and a short backstory that Magnus Taako Lup and Merle formed the group in their youth to complain about annoying classmates.

Writing Lydia and Edward was the worst. I don’t know how to write cool and sassy kids. Me at me: don’t make me do it again.

Heres the entirety of my prepared barry notes:

Barry

-Oculus, opens portals?

-Likes pretty girl?!!?!?!

I had a planned thing for how each of their grand relics could play into the fic but it was far too much work.

I was also planning on writing wayyyy more Lucretia and wayyyy less Barry. Bc Lucretia was basically me as a teenager. But I started writing Barry as one of my friends and this helped me just write bundles and bundles of Barry content.

I really didn’t have anything planned for davenport. Even drawing his yearbook I was like whelp idk. The idea of him becoming a sports strategist kicked in right as I was writing the paragraph about killian being the new jock, simply bc the section needed to be longer and frankly, I love how his story turned out.

Part of scrapping the original, edgy tone of julia’s death and taako / magnus romance was wanting to continue the tradition where TAZ is a world separate of racism and homophobia. I scrapped original ideas of magnus being provoked by homophobic remarks and transphobic remarks about lup, wanting this to also be an escapist piece like TAZ is. Therefore coming up with other reasons for magnus to get into fights was hard and also I hate writing fights bc ive never been in a fight in my life.

The first half of this fic I was riding an enthusiasm high and just adding scenes and conversations as I thought of them and listened to the story. By about the end of semester 3 I still cared about the fic but I was basically writing everything I had pre-planned with little innovation.

All in all, this was extremely fun to write, and I think it made me a much, much, much better author. I love anyone who read the whole thing sm.

#my work #hhhhhhh

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