#it's been ages since i did the image so i'm not 100% confident with it anymore BUT

[tolltale]

Band name, Persona, Manager, Besties, Wild card, 4 Sam?

THANK YOU FOR ASKING also it got distressingly long if u read it all you're a HERO

ask meme

Band name: How did they and the others come up with the band name? Has the name changed since it was founded?

"merry bones" comes from one of the first songs they wrote as a band about how happy performing together made them and how they could feel "in their bones" that's what they wanted to do forever. (didn't age well for one member specifically 😐) It was "happy bones" initially but they were unconvinced. the merry part came from an anecdote of the first (and last, until the band) experience sam had singing to an audience being christmas caroling in the neighbourhood at like 9yo, and the fact that she hated it enough she threw a tantrum and stormed off mid-performance once. so it was a little bit an inside joke for the band and another bit seven insisting she had to like. reclaim the bad first experience and associate it to something that made her happy instead dgdjdk. she thought it sounded dumb but the idea grew on her with time lol

Persona: How does their day-to-day personality compare to their on-stage persona?

mmhh on stage I would say she appears more confident and self assured, doing what she's best at and what makes her the happiest. more intense and out there too. off stage she's still very outgoing but not in an intense way. She's friendly in a way that usually puts people at ease rather than intimidate......most of the time. she's also very aware of the fact she's performing for an audience and has to present a certain way and "deliver an experience". it was a lot less like that when she was in a duet but now she feels the pressure of being the solo singer and having most of the attention. then again Sam performs off stage too lol she tries to charm and be funny and is overly aware of the way she presents herself and the kind of image she wants to project. There are few people who get to see her with her guards completely down

Manager: Do they get along with Orion? What do they think of him as their band manager?

not only does sam like orion a lot she's also immensely incredibly grateful to him and she takes every chance to say the band wouldn't be where they are without him and she means it 100%. they met when she was aimless and the only reasons why she was still trying so hard to find success with the band were not letting down her friends and because losing seven would have been meaningless if she quit. And seeing someone believe in the band and their music strongly enough to drop literally everything was like a wake-up call. because she also chose the band and music over everything else she just had to remember why. She also appreciates that he often can offer a logical point of view. when she is feeling doubtful about their music/performance (ALBEIT RARELY) she goes to him because she doesn't want the others to know. to the band she's like "okay this one is the album that gets us a Grammy I KNOW IT" and to Orion she's like . "okay should I drop everything and become like. An accountant instead. BE HONEST"

also like recognises like and when they met they were both romantically still going through it so Sam definitely had a Recognition Through the Other moment. "That guy needs help. Yes I'm sure . No I'm not telling you why." they have mutual soft spots for each other bc i say so <3

Besties: What’s their friendship with Rowan like? What are some things only he knows about them?

it's a very two peas in a pod kind of deal. they're both warm friendly people and like to joke around and are difficult to anger. they also both share the sense of humor of a 12 years old. I think he's the one she's the most physically affectionate with out of everyone in the band. He's the only one who knows the full extent of how she felt about The Vote and what doubts THAT stirred >:( Like is she only valued for her voice??? if their fans preferred seven would she have gotten kicked to the curb instead?? fun stuff like that. She's 98% over it right now . On a good day. On a bad day I'll say 68% ☠️

Wild card: Tell us something about your MC! Feel free to really just roll us over with an emotional steamroller and crush the souls out of our bodies, if you’d like. (You’re also welcome to choose one of the other questions to answer!)

the whole tattoo ordeal with seven did not stop her liking of matching tattoos At All. She is nothing if not someone who repeats a mistake fifteen times dhdkdm she's constantly pitching ideas for like. A band tattoo they should all get or they should all draw something and she gets it all tattooed or Rowan can design something etc etc. sometimes her friends think it's because she wants a GOOD matching tattoo to redeem the first bad one but she genuinely doesn't regret it it's like. What if the relationship has soured or things go wrong it doesn't MATTER because there was a point in which they believed in it so much they were willing to permanently ink it on their skin. And that's never becoming untrue. It's real and that's what matters <3 That said her face still scrunches up like she bit into a lemon whenever she sees photos/videos of herself with the tattoo on full display. Hashtag no regrets

[wisheswell]

BACK TO THE 70s \            DESERTCRUISE!

NEVADA,   late   1992.   in   the   hot   and   dusty   heart   of   the   mojave   desert,   HARLAN   ELLIS  is   the   leading   man   of   the   HIPPY KILLERS   –   a   notorious   biker   gang   of   outlaws   and   freedom   fighters   who   don’t   play   by   society’s   rules   or   conventions.   target   of   the   law,   their   rival   gang   and   the   people   of   nevada,   the   ‘beast   of   america’   is   forced   to   make   a   decision   that   will   not   only   impact   his   gang,   but   his   whole   legacy.

HARLAN   ELLIS   is   the   man   in   tight   levi’s   jeans,   the   naked   venus   on   the   buckle   of   his   belt   and   the   dirt   of   ten   thousand   miles   under   the   heels   of   his   rattlesnake   boots.    HARLAN   ELLIS   takes   the   screen   willfully   provocative,   sexually   loaded   and   with   unparalleled   confidence   which   would,   after   the   movie’s   release   in   1971,   polarize   fans   and   critics   alike   and   only   move   on   to   take   the   place   of   a   critically   acclaimed   cult   classic   upon   its   rediscovery   in   the   early   2000s.

envisioning   an   ultra-conservative   future   that   aims   to   suffocate   the   struggles   for   independence   and   freedom   in   the   wake   of   a   changing   political   and   social   climate   and   civil   disobedience,   HIPPY   KILLER   is   a   declaration   of   war   against   a   rise   of   political   conservatism   and   the   purge   of   free   thought   and   speech.   refusing   to   compromise   or   sacrifice   anything   to   match   the   tastes   of   a   mainstream   clientele,   director   anson   lee’s   first   and   only   cinematic   release   shocked   audiences   with   daring   images   and   bold   statements,   giving   birth   to   one   of   cinema’s   most   iconic   anti-hero   archetypes.

featuring   the   controversial   shower   stall   scene   which   caused   the   film   to   be   banned   in   turkey   upon   release   and   coming   with   an   all   new   audio   commentary   from   some   of   the   70’s   most   renowned   names   in   the   film   industry,   HIPPY   KILLER   is   the   newest   installment   in   a   series   of   re-releases    from   the   unforgotten   past.

navigating   the   desert   on   the   back   of   his   1967   norton   commando,   it   is   upon   HARLAN   ELLIS   to   seal   the   fate   of   the   mojave   and   his   people,   -  FOR   BETTER   OR   WORSE.

‘ they   say    eyes   are   the   windows   to   the   soul…   you   say   if   you'll   go   tonight   its   to   find   some   truth   beneath   my   high   sunglasses.   oh,   that   ain’t   no   way,   baby. ‘ 

LIMITED   THEATRICAL   RELEASE     /    VHS   RELEASE.

[taurnachardhin]

After folklore came out I developed this crackpot theory that I really love even if it might not have been something Taylor actually did on purpose, and I forgot to post about it on tumblr so here it is, my Grand Unified Theory of folklore:

Ok, so like, we know that a lot of the songs on folklore aren't from Taylor's own POV, but some of them are. I think that, inspired by the fact that she's also been working on this project to re-record all her old albums, Taylor decided to revisit ideas from each of her old albums on folklore, maybe kind of thinking of it as like, "if I were writing this particular album today, what new song would I put on it." Some people may dispute this count, but I feel like 9 of the tracks on folklore (not including "the lakes") are actually from Taylor's own POV, and each of these 9 tracks corresponds to each of her 8 studio albums, from the debut through folklore, except that rep got two, because she wanted to represent both of the personas she used on that album. Are you ready for this galaxy brain analysis, ok:

Debut album: "the 1"

Being about a past relationship that's remembered fondly, it kind of recalls both "Tim McGraw" and "Stay Beautiful." I'm actually not 100% confident that she meant this one to be taken as autobiographical, but if it isn't entirely a real story, then that's also appropriate to the debut album, since she hadn't actually had any real relationships to write about yet, and was just kind of making stuff up. Also, if my theory is actually correct, then I think the title itself is a clue--to make you look beyond the word "one" the way it's used in the lyrics, and think of the actual number 1, as in TS1.

Fearless: "seven"

I mean, obviously this is a call back to "Fifteen," no? "Fifteen" is about a girl she was friends with at 15, "seven" is about a girl she was friends with at 7. Both look back on what it felt like to be that age, and both acknowledge the darker sides of childhood.

Speak Now: "this is me trying"

I have two takes on this one to tie it back to Speak Now. One, it's in the same confessional style she used so much on that album, and definitely fits the theme of being something she wants to say to someone. I also think (and this could be a stretch, but) it can be read as a follow-up to "Long Live"--basically a love letter to her fans, but one that reflects her older self, and is more honest about the fact that her life isn't all triumph and confetti. She talked so often during the rep era about how she'd been afraid that the fans wouldn't be interested anymore after her hiatus, and in this song she says "I didn't know if you'd care if I came back--I have a lot of regrets about that" and there's the line about "pouring out my heart to a stranger." I mean I think it definitely can also be read as a more conventional love song, so it could just as easily be addressed to her boyfriend, but I think it works both ways.

RED: "the last great american dynasty"

It's a song about real people who lived in the 1940s (like "Starlight"), and also addresses how celebrity culture chews up women and spits them out, and makes a link between herself and the woman in the song in the final verse (like "The Lucky One")

1989: "mirrorball"

This one seems to be less a reflection on the album itself, than about what life was like for her during that era--very conscious of the fact that she was over exposed, very anxious to please everyone, aware of being on the precipice of losing everything, but still trying to be the entertainer she felt she had to be. Kind of a dark side of "New Romantics," maybe.

reputation: "mad woman" + "peace"

Taylor had two "voices" on rep, one that was this sort of angry monster Taylor that was putting on a performance in response to the way her public image had been distorted, and the other that was speaking more with her "real" voice, and was just very anxious that no one would ever want to stay with her. So there's one for each, here. "mad woman" continuing the spirit of "I Did Something Bad" and "Look What You Made Me Do"; "peace" in the spirit of "Delicate" and "Dancing With Our Hands Tied."

Lover: "invisible string"

Exactly one (1) happy love song on this album, so of course it goes with Lover lol. And the line about "purple-pink skies" feels like a deliberate reference to the album cover.

folklore/evermore: "epiphany" (+ "the lakes")

I crafted this theory before "the lakes" was released, so at first I was just going to say that "epiphany" was the Taylor POV track that actually "belongs" to folklore--she's the narrator, in a way, but it's focused on putting herself in the point of view of other people, which reflects the way in which all the other tracks on folklore, as well as most of the tracks on evermore, were from the POV of characters she invented, rather than telling her own story. But taking "the lakes" into consideration, I think it also ties into that theme in a way, because it is kind of about not wanting to be observed, not wanting to make everything in her life public. Which fits with the idea of her moving toward writing songs about imaginary people, kind of saying like, yes, my life is real without me having to write about all of it for public consumption. And maybe, in retrospect, I should have taken the fact that there were actually two songs from her POV that could have "belonged" to folklore as a hint that there was secretly a whole second album that was more of the same kind of stuff, haha.

OK, thank you for coming to my TED talk.