#jingle jam 2016

[vexx-ation]

365 Albums in 365 Days: 150/365

Date: Thursday May 30th Album: Tensei Jingle Artist: Sōtaisei-riron Released: 2016 Genre: J-Pop Review: Ohhhhhh baby it’s jam season again. This is exactly the bright kind of Jrock/Jpop that I adore— driving, clean guitar lines and vocals to match. It has an undeniable motion to it, cool and smooth. This is the kind of things that people make really cool animations to and put on their playlists with covers of old school manga on the front. This is the album to listen to when you want to feel like you have it all together, optimistic and suave. Or maybe I’m just a sucker for a good guitar line. It could be both :) Favorite Track: An Around

[celarewrites]

When the Crow Finds a Flock: The Prologue

CONTENT WARNING/S: Spoilers for Sae Palace arc and Akechi's motivations, Mentions of the psychotic breakdowns and mental shutdown victims (nothing graphic), Slight cussing, Small panic attack episode.

Note: All other characters shall be referred to by their last names (with the exception of Ren and Sae).

Chapter wordcount: 1,951 words

Fic under the cut

11/5/2016, Saturday, Afternoon

It's cold. Not quite snowing, as it hasn't reached the winter season yet, but it's still cold. “I should start wearing a coat soon”, Goro thinks to himself as he walks out of the train station.

The streets of Yongen-Jaya were narrow and crowded, but not as jam-packed as Shibuya is. In such an unsuspecting and inconspicuous place such as this, Goro never would have thought nor suspected the types of activities that actually took place here. Or maybe he would have? It's hard to tell, now that he knows so much now. 

“Do you truly think this is a bright decision?” A feminine voice in his head queries, skepticism and doubt coating the words. Goro holds the urge to scoff aloud. He hates getting questioned like this, especially when he's already aware of what would happen. 

“I've already told you, Forsette. Stop questioning my decisions. Do you think me a child, who has no idea what he's doing?” The detective retorts with his thoughts, knowing that the young lady in his mind (or… heart?) would hear him perfectly. He can't help but feel a petty and smug sense of pride swell in his chest when ‘Forsette’ shuts up. 

Goro hates it when Forsette actually speaks her mind and tries to dissuade him from doing something. He hates how it makes him self-conscious, how it makes him more careful of himself. He hates how it makes doubt and anxiety start to crawl up his spine like a parasite, feeding on his worries and inner negativity.

He hates how much power Forsette holds over his conscience. He hates how he knows how little power he has over even himself. 

As he walks to the humble and small cafe down the alleyway, he second-guesses himself. His heart rate spikes up, that's rarely a good or normal sign. Goro feels his gloved hands oddly shaking and hides them in his pockets, wondering why he feels so sweaty all of a sudden. It feels like he's lost all feeling in his limbs, numb but warm at the same time. What is this? Why is he experiencing this again? Is it because–

“Take deep breaths, Ace,” Forsette’s voice cuts in, though her tone is a lot more soothing. Goro can almost feel her hands patting his back, as she starts to gently guide him through a breathing exercise. The evening hustle and bustle of the street fade into the background as Forsette's voice talks him through his little episode. 

“... There we go, that's it,” The young lady encourages in a kind tone. The same tone she gets when she's pleased. Like when Goro mastered something, or when she was proven right. It's lathered in sweetness to a point Goro finds it sickening. It's almost like hearing an emotionless doll attempt to sound friendly. She just ends up sounding like a pretentious little bit-

“I can hear what you're saying in your mind, Ace,” Forsette interrupts his train of thought with an unamused and firm voice. Damn it. The moment has been completely ruined, and the mood has disappeared. Fortunately, Goro’s panicked disposition went away with it as well, and he schools his expression to appear calm and collected. 

He opens the cafe door, the bells over his head jingling to signify his entrance. Sojiro Sakura, the owner and sole worker (with the exception of the one part-timer) of Cafe Leblanc, turns his head to look at the newcomer. The middle aged man nods his head, and gestures up to the attic with a tilt of his head. 

“They're all upstairs,” Sakura-san says, a small lilt of amusement in his voice. Goro is still in a bit of shock, knowing that the old man knew of the Phantom Thieves residing in his own property but accepts them anyway. He provides them a shelter, but why would he do that? Sakura-san used to be a government worker, Goro notes when he did his research on the man, so he should be more aware of the dangers housing the Phantom Thieves would bring. 

Goro shakes away his thoughts as he gives Sakura-san a polite and pleasant smile. “Thank you, Sakura-san. I'll head up there now.” 

Without hesitation, the ace detective walks up the stairs. The wood creaks under his newly shined shoes, alerting the Phantom Thieves of his incoming presence. The chatter goes quiet, and the air is almost tense around them when the group can start to see Akechi emerging from the stairs. 

The attic was a dingy place to be, but it's become a tolerable sight for Goro the more he's been to it. A learned acceptance that no amount of cleaning could fix what's been done to this place. 

Everyone was already there. Ren Amamiya, the leader of the Phantom Thieves, sat on a chair by the northern side of the table, Ann Takamaki and Makoto Nijima on the couch to the west, Futaba Sakura (Morgana seated on the girl's lap) and Yusuke Kitagawa on a bench at the south, and Haru Okumura and Ryuji Sakamoto on separate chairs at the east side. 

Everyone had their place on the table, and Goro knew he was the one intruding. 

“Yo, what gives? You call all of us over here and you're the last one to arrive!” Sakamoto, the loudmouth of the bunch, starts. His boisterous and easily agitated demeanor is evident from how he shouts his words every chance he gets. He has the least subtlety among the group.

Goro gives a pleasant smile, his tone one of apology but he knows his face doesn't show it. “Please, forgive my tardiness. I had to take a call that held me up for a while,” The detective says, walking over to the group, pretending not to notice how Sakura-chan, Morgana, and Ren seem to look at each other. 

Nijima-chan crosses her arms, her expression as earnest as Akechi has always seen it to be. “Akechi-san, you said you wanted to tell us something? It must be rather important if you initiated a meeting like this. We've already secured the route to the treasure, after all, and we simply have to wait before sending out the Calling Card.”

Goro chuckles, the Nijima sisters have always been sharp. “Yes, it is rather important. I'd appreciate it if everyone would listen to me.” His expression turns serious and he leans against the wall by the window, looking at everyone. 

“I'd like to confess something,” Goro starts, trying to find the words. He's rehearsed this exact speech multiple times today, and yet now, he can't muster up the courage to speak. 

His eyes look around to analyze the Phantom Thieves’ faces. He feels something weighing down on him heavily as he looks at Haru Okumura and Futaba Sakura. He clenches his hand into a fist from inside his jeans pocket. He promised himself he wouldn't feel guilty or regret after what he's done. He doesn't deserve to even feel bad, not when the deed has already been done. And by his own hands, nonetheless. 

“Sae-san's Palace is all a trap,” he states. No one in the room is surprised, for some reason, but Ren stands up, hands in his pockets as always to look at him. Ren’s glasses glint from the light, and Goro wishes he could see what his so-called “rival” was thinking. 

“What do you mean by that, Akechi,” There comes the question Goro knows would be coming. The brunet takes a deep breath and explains, his crimson eyes slowly analyzing all the reactions, especially Ren's. 

“After the treasure is taken, guards and police workers from the real world will be brought to the Metaverse to ambush the Phantom Thieves,” Goro raises an eyebrow slightly when he sees a look shared between Sakamoto and Takamaki. Nijima shakes her head discreetly as she looks at Sakamoto, as if discouraging him from doing something. 

“If you're all dead set on changing Sae-san's heart, do so now while you can,” Goro says, looking directly at the leader of the Phantom Thieves. 

The whole room is in silence, until Nijima cuts in, furrowing her eyebrows a bit as she looks at Goro, “Hold on.” 

“How did you know all this, Akechi-san? Who's behind the plan?” The questions make Goro purse his lips, before deciding that he's gone too far to back down now. 

“I'm sure you all know who it is. The police and the government. The Special Investigations Unit isn't very happy with all of you, and they'd stop at nothing to get to you,” Goro says, before narrowing his eyes sharply. “Even if it means sending someone to pretend to be an ally. That someone, being me.”

Goro expects indignant remarks and distrustful glares, but he only receives an almost resigned yet begrudging expression from everyone. Well, everyone except… 

“Aha! We knew it!!” Sakura-chan exclaims, excitement filling her voice as if she witnessed a scene from a show or game. Everyone stares at her blankly, and Goro raises an eyebrow at the wording. 

“‘We’?” He asks, but Takamaki clears her throat loudly, changing the subject quickly, “A-Anyway! Oh no! You were tricking us this whole time?!”

Takamaki is a terrible liar, everyone in the room now realizes (or some have already known for a while). But Okumura manages to pick up the momentum, “Why exactly are you telling us this, Akechi-kun?” The soft-spoken heiress managed to keep an air of calm to her, though Goro can tell that she was holding something back. 

“Because I don't want to be a pawn in someone else's plan anymore,” Goro says, his voice firm and almost angry. “I've been a pawn for too long now. For almost three long years now… I don't want to go back to that again.”

The screaming, the crying, the scolding, the shouting. It haunts Goro’s conscience too much now.

“You have to come clean now,” Goro says to himself in his mind, internally thanking Forsette for not interrupting or interjecting the whole conversation. 

“The SIU isn't your true enemy, Phantom Thieves. It isn't me either. It's Masayoshi Shido. He's the one behind… well, everything. The mental shutdowns, the psychotic breakdowns, everything.” He says, hoping his voice and expression would show how serious and truthful he was. 

Ren stays quiet for a while, before speaking up again, “Can you tell us everything? How do you know all this?”

Sakamoto speaks up, “Wait, who's Masayoshi Shido? The name sure sounds familiar, but I can't put a finger on it…” To which Kitagawa replies, “I believe he's a rather famous politician. You can hear many people talking about him and his speeches recently. He's planning to run for Prime Minister.” 

Goro tunes out the conversation, turning to Ren. “I know all this because Shido made me do all the mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdowns. I did all of them, and Shido orchestrated it all. I have just as much blame in all of this as Shido does, but I'm not willing to keep being his slave anymore.”

The sheer resentment in Goro's voice makes the conversation in the background slowly quiet down, and everyone's eyes are on the detective this time. “I'll be willing to tell you all everything. But it will be a long story,” he says, crossing his arms over his chest as he leans back on the wall behind him. 

The Phantom Thieves all look at each other and share a nod, sitting comfortably and giving Goro the go-signal. 

“Give us every detail, Akechi-san,” Nijima says, nodding her head at him. Her expression was reminiscent of that of Sae's during a court hearing. 

Goro takes a deep breath. “It all started two years ago…” 

[bigboxochristmas]

Yuletidings 2023, Part Two: Christmas Jam 3

1. Overture for Shorty - Shorty Rogers 04:00

2. I'm Spending Christmas With The Old Folks 

      - Sydney Lipton & His Grosvenor House Dance Orchestra 02:10

3. Frosty The Snowman - Beegie Adair 03:18

4. Little Drummer Boy - Jeff Linsky 03:55

5. Santa's on His Way - The Town Pipers 01:53

6. Have Yourself a Merry Little Xmas - B3 Kings 04:24

7. Mister Santa - Steffi Denk & Flexible Friends 02:41

8. All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth - Urbie Green 02:48

9. Deck the Halls - Betty Glamann 01:49

10. Cool Yule - Kurt Elling 03:26

11. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town - Jimmy Bruno 02:09

12. Jolly Old St. Nick - Beth Lederman 03:26

13. Jingle Bells Boogie Woogie 

       - Will Bradley and His Boogie Woogie Boys   02:39

14. Silver Bells - Tony Bennett 03:13

15. White Christmas - Jacob Collier 00:59

16. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer - Emma Smith 02:31

17. Last Christmas - Betty's Bounce 04:39

18. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - The Jim Cullum Jazz Band 02:15

19. Merry Christmas In Eight Foreign Languages

- Family And Friends 01:37

-----------------------------

I had just enough time to throw together a new volume of Christmas Jam as a bonus for this year.  As I’ve written here before, there are always far too many great holiday jazz tracks to include in my usual Christmas compilations so every so often I try to do an extra all-jazz collection as well.

Highlights:

Shorty Rogers was a trumpet and flugelhorn player who was also in great demand as an arranger.  (He did a fair amount of work with the Monkees, among many other artists.)  Here he plays on “Overture for Shorty”, a track from his 1960 album, The Swingin’ Nutcracker.

I haven’t been able to find out much about the Town Pipers (not to be confused with the Doodletown Pipers), but they were a jazz vocal group who apparently only released one album, Christmas Greetings, in 1959.  I’m also not familiar with this song, “Santa’s On His Way”, so it may have been composed by or for them.

There aren’t many musicians who can say they’ve played with John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Spike Jones, but harpist Betty Glamann did all that and more, in addition to leading her own group.  This version of “Deck the Halls” is from her 1959 album Christmas Fantasy.

And speaking of Coltrane, in 2009 singer Kurt Elling released Dedicated to You: Kurt Elling Sings the Music of Coltrane and Hartman, a tribute to the 1963 recording John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman.  However, this version of “Cool Yule”, originally made famous by Louis Armstrong, is from his 2016 album, The Beautiful Day: Kurt Elling Sings Christmas.

Will Bradley was an American trombonist and bandleader during the 1930s and 1940s, best remembered for the original hit version of “Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar”.  He and his band, The Boogie Woogie Boys, tear things up here with “Jingle Bells Boogie Woogie”.

The harpejji is an electric stringed musical instrument that was developed in 2007 and has been described as a cross between a piano and a guitar or as a cross between an accordion and a pedal steel guitar.

The great Jacob Collier makes use of it to play a version of “White Christmas”.  You can see a video of the performance here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5T-9RPW4pg

Betty's Bounce is a trio performing acoustic American and gypsy jazz in the spirit of guitarist Django Reinhardt.  Here they offer a gently swinging arrangement of Wham’s “Last Christmas” from their 2018 album Luminous.

And finally, for no particular reason, a track called “Merry Christmas In Eight Foreign Languages” just in case you find yourself in one of these countries at Yuletide.

Cover art swiped from the internet.

DOWNLOAD

[etherealswan]

George made it!

[xephs]

[spectorsummers]

When the Yogscast raised 5mil in December for charity and they still aren’t getting the love they deserve for it

when the yogscast raised 900k in just 5 days and no one outside the fandom is talking about it

[persianblue]

Were there walls in here, 'cause all I see is jizz?

Chris Trott 2016

[dailyunsolvedmysteries]

Famous People who were Murdered

Sharon Tate -  Actress Sharon Tate was tragically murdered on August 9, 1969 by members of the notorious Charles Manson Family.

Phil Hartman - Former Saturday Night Live comedian and Jingle All the Way star Phil Hartman was murdered by his wife, Brynn, on May 28, 1998.

Christina Grimmie - Singer and former The Voice contestant Christina Grimmie’s life was cut short on June 10, 2016 after an obsessed fan named Kevin James Loibl murdered her. She was 22.

John Lennon - Beatles singer John Lennon was killed on December 8, 1980 in what is probably the most famous fan murder of all time. He was shot four times by a troubled man named John David Chapman outside of his home in New York.

Natalie Wood - Actress Natalie Wood’s body was found in the Pacific Ocean on November 29, 1981 after a boat trip to Catalina Island on board her husband Robert Wagner's yacht. Though her cause of death was declared an “accidental drowning,” many suspect she was murdered because the autopsy report revealed she had bruises on her body and a cut on her left cheek.

Jam Master Jay - Legendary Run-D.M.C. DJ Jam Master Jay was murdered on October 30, 2002 after someone shot him in a recording studio in Jamaica, Queens.

Marvin Gaye - Singer Marvin Gaye was killed by his father on April 1, 1984 after he tried to break up a fight between him and his mother.

John F. Kennedy - President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963 while riding in a presidential convertible limousine through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas.

Dimebag Darrell - Guitarist Dimebag Darrell was shot and killed on stage while performing with his band Damageplan on December 8, 2004 at nightclub in Columbus, Ohio.

Tupac Shakur - Rapper Tupac Shakur was shot four times on September 7, 1996 while riding in his friend’s car after leaving a Las Vegas boxing match. He died at a local hospital six days later at the age of 25.

XXXTentacion - Rapper XXXTentacion, whose real name was Jahseh Onfroym, was shot and killed in an apparent robbery on June 18, 2018. He was 20 years old.

Biggie - Just like his rival Tupac, Biggie Smalls (aka The Notorious B.I.G.) was killed in drive-by shooting on March 9, 1997,

Gianni Versace - Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace was murdered by serial killer Andrew Cunnanan on July 15, 1997. He was shot and killed on the steps of his Miami mansion after his morning walk

Jill Dando -  British journalist and newscaster Jill Dando was shot in the head at point blank range in front of her home.

Pop Smoke -  American rapper and songwriter Pop Smoke died February 19, 2020, age 20; and was shot to death during a home invasion

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Drone delivery crashes

When Amazon announced “Prime Air,” a forthcoming drone delivery service, in 2016, there was a curious willingness on the part of the press — even the tech press — to take the promise of a sky full of delivery drones at face value.

This despite the obvious problems with such a scheme: the consequences of midair collisions, short battery life, overhead congestion, regulatory hurdles and more. Also despite the fact that delivery drones, like jetpacks, are really only practical as sfx in an sf movie.

Now, Amazon has laid off more than 100 Prime Air employees. Departing workers told Wired UK that the division is “collapsing inwards,” “dysfunctional,” “organised chaos.” They called management “detached from reality.”

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/amazon-drone-delivery-prime-air

As Andrew Kersley reminds us, Prime Air was the centerpiece of a massive PR push, with school tours of a “secret” facility and showy promotional videos (high-sfx sf movies, really). Execs said drones would arrive “within months.”

But after the PR wins, the organization became a do-nothing boondoggle where employees openly drank beer at their desks at 10AM.

All of this raises the question: why? Why spend millions on something that was obviously not going to work out?

My theory is tech companies promise to deliver impossible things n order to cultivate an air of mystical capability that’s invoked to mask real-world awfulness.

Amazon’s automation claims — about drones, warehouse robots, and self-driving delivery vehicles — masks their ghastly labor abuses. This is especially useful when automation is used to make workers’ lives worse.

The more automated an Amazon warehouse is, the more workers it injures. Amazon warehouses injure more workers than any other kind of warehouse.

https://pluralistic.net/2021/02/17/reverse-centaur/#reverse-centaur

Seen in this light, many of tech’s worst promises become less silly: Uber promises self-driving cars to distract us from its exploitative labor practices. Imaginary self-driving cars are a way to make worker misclassification seem temporary.

https://pluralistic.net/2020/12/08/required-reading/#goober

Facebook’s promise of AI-based content moderation is a good way to distract us from its dysfunctional, high-handed and corrupt moderation practices, making htem seem like a minor hurdle that will soon fall.

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20201211/15111245871/content-moderation-case-study-facebooks-ai-continues-to-struggle-with-identifying-nudity-2020.shtml

Every single thing Elon Musk says goes into this category: “It’s ok to destroy astronomy because my satellites obviate the need for fiber infrastructure.” “Tunnels (not transit) will solve traffic jams.” “I am saving the planet by keeping SUVs on the road.”

It’s all the kind of thing Riley Quinn calls “jingling keys” — a distraction for the technologically unsophisticated (and techies who have dipped into their own product) while everyday corporate crimes are committed under our noses.

[listoriented]

Chronology

no regerts

Sometimes (often) I idly wish I could go back to when I was say, eighteen, and make a bunch of different decisions that would presumably lead me to making more out of my twenties. Chronology is a 2D puzzle platformer that’s sort of about this, except instead of “playing less dota” it’s “saving the world”.

The backstory is that there’s been some sort of cataclysm and everything is ruined. Your main guy is an old scientist, or alchemist, or, I dunno, someone, who works out a way to travel back and forth in time to a moment pre-cataclysm. He determines to use his time travelling powers to go back and prevent the apocalypse by hunting down his former mentor, who happened (through some not-very-well explained thing that actually doesn’t seem to have much to do with your ability to time travel??) to have caused the whole disaster. Alas, a lot of the pathway is blocked, so, as you go about your platformy business, you need to shift between the two points in time, sometimes getting an item from one to bring to the other, sometimes changing something in the Before time so the environment will be different in the After time, sometimes just using a platform that exists in one but not the other, in any case solving a series of puzzles that eventually let you move your way from the left of screen to the right, from one level to the next.

This initial gambit is complicated slightly by the introduction of a secondary character, a large snail who happens to be able to pause time. The snail can slide around platforms but not jump, so you often end up traversing the level as the old man and continually calling the snail to teleport to you as you go. As well as being able to pause time, the snail is an extra paper-weight for levers, and a moveable platform from which to reach extra heights. You combine these possibilities with the two versions of each level and there’s quite a bit to consider, sometimes, if the answer isn’t immediately apparent. 

To that end, most of the puzzles are...fun? I mean, I quite enjoyed this. And I don’t even think it was just will to procrastinate. 

The story is fine, take it or leave it. The characters aren’t great. The old man is kind of a dick – he seems to hate the snail at first even though progress would literally be impossible without it. To be fair, though, the snail is also super annoying, voiced in overly-earnest childlike squeaks. The platforming can be a bit imprecise, but at least death by obstacle or gap result in no punishment. More tedious is when completing a puzzle that involves multiple steps of repositioning both the snail and the old man, and slipping off a platform can lead to having to do the whole thing again, which, because the process involves a lot of shifting between both characters and time-periods, it is never an instinctive task and always feels annoying to repeat. A couple of puzzles toward the end felt a bit esoteric in what they were asking me to do (read: I feel bad about having to look up a walkthrough), though perhaps that’s forgivable given the number of possible elements to each one.

Still, it’s a decent little game. A successful encounter for the list, you might even say. I liked the way it went about introducing and teaching its elements. It gets extra credit for knowing when to not overstaying its welcome, for letting me finish a game in a few sweet hours.

Chronology was one of the many games that landed in the 2016 Yogcast Jingle Jam. Merry xmas to myself from three years ago, I guess? It’s still the only Yogcast I’ve gone in on, though. This year’s one started with too much that I already had so, I dunno. I forget that the point of all this was charity.

Released in 2014, it was the first game made by Bedtime Digital Games, a Danish studio who have since put out Back to Bed and Figment.

up next is Chuchel

[argumentl]

The Freedom of Expression - Ep 32 , Radio version - May 2016 - Domestic Violence, Racial discrimination in the USA, Chiba legend 'Jaguar', Ancient mummy wearing Addidas.

Kaoru starts by mentioning that its still Golden Week in Japan (a week of national holidays that occurs every year in the Spring). Joe says that Golden Week doesn't really mean much to him and Kaoru, as they are always working anyway. Kaoru says its tough for Dir's staff, because if the band are working, the staff usually have to be working too. They do sometimes try to make it so the staff can have a break during this time, but if there's work to be done, it can't be helped. Kaoru does say that the streets in Tokyo are much less jammed with cars during Golden Week, which he likes.

Kaoru's first topic of interest is the 'Black dot' campaign, designed to help victims of domestic violence. The campaign was started by British woman Danielle Tredgett, and the premise was that if a sufferer of DV drew a black dot on thier hand, people in the community might be able to recognize it, and help them. One problem with this is that if the perpetrator of the abuse knows the meaning of the black dot, it could worsen the situation if they see it. Kaoru thinks victims of bullying face a similar situation, in that even if they want to talk to someone about it, they can't. Or if they do tell someone, the bullying might worsen. Joe mentions that in the case of DV, people often feel like there is no way out. He thinks seeing this type of thing on the news makes society face up to these issues and forces us to think about them, even if we are not directly involved in such situations ourselves. Kaoru says it is often the case that women are the victims of DV at the hands of male partners, but he recently saw on the news that cases of women abusing men are also on the rise, and male victims of DV generally have no one to talk to about it, or any means of support. Its very difficult for society to recognise that men can also be victims of domestic violence. Kaoru also thinks its very difficult for a man to admit something like that to others. Its a very tough issue, and he really thinks that community support and having a place to go to for help like a community center is very important.

Kaoru's next topic of interest is about an apparel maker (GapKids) who put out an ad containing four girls: three white, and one black. In the ad (link here), one of the taller white girls is resting her elbow on the head of the black girl. The image has caused a lot of controversy. Kaoru says how this could be seen as inappropriate. Joe says that the Civil Rights Act was passed in America in 1964 as a means to end segregation, but the reality is that even now, discrimination against black people in America has not disappeared. He says that incidents involving the police shooting young black Americans without reason are frequent. The issue of racial discrimination is a very sensitive issue within American society. Joe says he recently talked with movie critic Machiyama Tomohiro via Skype, who said that even now, there are a lot of movies which can't be screened in America - in particular, movies set in the time of the Civil War, or movies grappling with the topic of racial discrimination. Such movies usually cannot be screened in regular movie theatres. He brings up the 1946 Disney movie, 'Song of the South', set during the American Reconstruction era, where a white boy becomes friends with a black man. The movie is seen to pull a veil over the system of slavery. Disney does not curreny screen the movie anywhere at all. Joe asked Machiyama whether it might not be better for these movies to be screened in order to remind American society of its past deeds, but Machiyama told him that it is a risk that movie companies are not willing to take. If such movies were screened in theaters, boycotts would likely take place. There is no merit for theaters or movie companies to do so, only risks. The online backlash would also be intense, and so movies such as this get shelved. Joe thinks this kind of protest reaction is going a bit overboard. Kaoru comments that while racial discrimination in American does not disappear, tensions continue to escalate, but overall he agrees with Joe. Joe says that although this is not a solution to this problem, there is the growing concept of 'Slow media', taking place in America and the UK. This is where news is analyzed in depth three months after it occurred, in contrast to the instant consumption of media that goes on around us all the time. He thinks this type of approach is worth watching, as it is really important to get a good balance when looking at serious issues. Kaoru also thinks this idea is interesting.

Next they welcome Tasai for the Tokyo Sports corner. Tasai says he is covering for Dobashi this time, because Dobashi is busy taking care of his kids. Kaoru and Joe think this is a much better reason than Hiranabe's. Joe says Hiranabe is probably still in Atami, still trying to  get his revenge. (See Ep 29 and 31). Hiranabe apparently sometimes sends Joe cute stamps on Line. Joe thinks he must have sent them to the wrong person. Tasai tells the others that Hiranabe is currently talking to a Thai woman via Line. He showed Tasai texts from her saying, 'Can't wait to see you' etc. Tasai also apologizes to Kaoru once again about the 'bande desinée/bando de shinee' mix-up that Kami made last week.

Tasai's first news is about the trending artist/musician 'Jaguar', who is based in Chiba. Kaoru knows about him already, but Joe does not. Tasai says that Jaguar has been inaugurated as the face of the channel 'Chiba TV' at an event he recently attended. Jaguar originally owned a clothes repair business, and a beauty salon etc in Chiba. He has become a bit of a legend because for 11 years he bought his own broadcasting slot on Chiba TV on broadcadt his own show. He did everything himself, including filming, editing, delivery etc. At the recent inauguration event, Jaguar apparently told people he had come from the planet Jaguar, but got stuck in traffic on the way. Tasai says that Jaguar is also rumored to have hung out with Hide a lot back in the day, as Hide had done a part time job at Jaguar's business, and he has also done events with Ayanokoji Sho, vocalist of the band 'Kishidan'. He's the type of guy who knows people in the rock scene.

Speaking of Hide, Joe mentions to Kaoru that, 'You love Hide more than god, right?', which causes laughter as they confirm that Joe wasn't referring to 'that' god (Kami).

Joe mentions that 'quirky' characters like Jaguar are recently getting a lot more focus in the media and online. Kaoru says its just the next step on from 'yuru kyara' (those cute mascot characters). Tasai reckons Jaguar must be in his 60s by now, as he said once that he was in a band during the oil shock in the 1970s. They encourage listeners to search for Jaguar to see what he is like.

For Tasai's next story he says that he has recieved another tip-off letter, like the one he got last time. The letter is titled 'Time traveller',  and refers to a story about a 1500 year old mummy being found wearing Addidas shoes. Of course the letter was from Kami. Joe thinks Kami should focus more on his night shift, instead of looking for wierd stuff to send to Tasai. Tasai said he was going to just dismiss this story, but he realised that while Kami was busy scolding him last week he (Kami) was wearing Addidas clothes. Tasai suggests that the mummy wearing Addidas shoes is Kami's doing. Maybe he travelled back in time to do it. Kaoru says that Kami is a god after all. He did teleport himself to the studio last time, so of course he could time travel if he wanted. Tasai says that Tokyo Sports have decided to run this story. Joe says the photo of the mummy's foot does look like it has three stripes on it, but there is every possibility that it could be photoshopped. They wonder why Kami isn't joining them for this topic, when suddenly, he appears. Kami's first comment is, 'A Kansai person has to come if they are called', admitting that he is a Kansai god. Kami tells them it was him who went back in time as a god from the future bringing shoes. He says it was a favour for his friend who works for Addidas. Kaoru asks Kami to take Dir en grey's new single far back into history. Kami says people in the past would probably find it too noisy/unpleasant, so Kaoru suggests for him to just take the CD cover instead. Kami loses his train of thought a bit, and Joe accuses him of being slow today. Kami scolds Joe, and they all apologise to him (while laughing).

Kaoru finishes by saying he will play more of the jingle campaign entries from next week after he has had chance to listen to them. He Then plugs the new single (due on July 27th 2016), and his blog, DVD, and tour. Finally he comments that this show has been pretty lively. Joe says its ok because its still Golden Week.

Songs - Dir en grey/Sustain the Untruth.

[strifesolution]

actually watching parts of the jingle jam im interested in this year so i can finally recognize yogs that joined post-2016

[yogscast-confessions]

Sometimes when I'm feeling down, I'll watch the video of Lewis singing the National Express song from one of the 2016 jingle jam karaoke streams. He's just so into it 😂😂

Send me your confessions!

[rapturerecords]

Let us begin again ringing in the New Year here in Rapture. Here’s a little tribute based off Johnny Dombrowski’s marvelous illustration though with a slightly older Wurlitzer model instead. Those new Bubbler jukeboxes always seem to jam and play only a few seconds of a song.

As always, we’ll take this time to remember Patti Page, singer of “Doggie in the Window” who also passed away on New Year’s Day.

We’re celebrating another 10th anniversary of a sister game this year with Fallout 3 and a new set of sounds wafting in from Appalachia.

See if your favorite record, 8-track, cassette, or wax cylinder was featured this year:

BioShock

"Bei Mir Bist du Schön" - Andrews Sisters - Decca Records 1562

"Bei Mir Bist du Schön" - Andrews Sisters - Decca Records 23605 (reissue)

"It's Bad for Me" - Rosemary Clooney and Benny Goodman - Columbia Records 40616

"Papa Loves Mambo" - Perry Como - RCA Victor Records 20-5857

"20th Century Blues" - Noël Coward - Columbia Records ML 5163

"The Party's Over Now" (1959) - Noël Coward - Columbia Records ML 5163

"Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams" - Bing Crosby - Victor Records 22701

"Beyond the Sea" - Bobby Darin - ATCO Records 45-6158

"Night and Day" - Billie Holiday - Columbia Records 3044 (reissue)

“The Best Things in Life are Free” - Ink Spots - Decca Records 24327

"If I Didn't Care" - Ink Spots - Decca Records 2286

"Danny Boy" - Mario Lanza - The Magic of Mario Lanza - Heartland Music HL 1046/50

“Danny Boy” anniversary revisit 2015 “Danny Boy” anniversary revisit 2016 “Danny Boy” anniversary revisit 2017

“(How Much is That) Doggie in the Window” (1966) - Patti Page - Columbia Records CS 9326 (in-game version) 

"The Doggie in the Window" (1953) - Patti Page - Mercury Records 70070 (original version)

"You're the Top" (1934) - Cole Porter - Victor Records 24766 (original version)

"La Mer" - Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli - Djangology RCA RGP-1186 (reissue)

Cohen’s Quadtych: “Academy Award” vs. “The Ballroom Waltz”

"Academy Award" - Stanley Black - Music De Wolfe DW/LP 2977

“Too Young” - Nat King Cole - Capitol Records 1449

"Just Walking in the Rain" - Johnnie Ray - Columbia Records 40729

"Waltz of the Flowers"

Looking for BioShock’s Django Reinhardt

BioShock 2

"Ten Cents a Dance" - Ruth Etting - Columbia Records 2146D

"Dawn of a New Day" - Horace Heidt and his Musical Knights - Brunswick Records 8313

"It's Only a Paper Moon" - Ella Fitzgerald - Decca Records 23425

BioShock 10th Anniversary Revisit and Eclipse

"Someone's Rocking My Dream Boat" - Ink Spots - Decca Records 4045

"We Three (My Echo, My Shadow and Me)" - Ink Spots - Decca Records 3379

"I'm Making Believe" - Ink Spots with Ella Fitzgerald - Decca Records 23356

"Bei Mir Bist du Schon" - Benny Goodman with Martha Tilton - The Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert Columbia Records ML 4359

“Hush, Hush, Hush, Here Comes the Bogey Man“ - Henry Hall and his Orchestra with Val Rosing - Columbia Records FB 2816

"Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition" - Kay Kyser - Columbia Records 36640

“You Always Hurt the One You Love” - Mills Brothers - Decca Records 18599

"Paper Doll" - Mills Brothers - Decca Records 18318

"Dream" - The Pied Pipers - Capitol Records 185

"Chasing Shadows" - Quintette du Hot Club de France - Royale Records 1798

"Nightmare" (1938) - Artie Shaw - Bluebird Records B-7875 (in-game version)

“Nightmare” (1937) - Art Shaw and his New Music - Vocalion Records 4306 (re-recording)

"Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" - Bessie Smith - Parlophone Records R2481

Father’s Day in Rapture 

"Daddy Won't You Please Come Home" - Annette Hanshaw - Velvet Tone Records 1940V

"My Heart Belongs to Daddy" - Mary Martin - Brunswick Records 8282

"Daddy's Little Girl" (1976) - Mills Brothers - Ranwood Records R-8152 (in-game version)

"Daddy's Little Girl" (1950) - Mills Brothers - Decca Records 24872 (original version)

BioShock Infinite

"Ain't She Sweet" - Ben Bernie - Brunswick Records 3444

"Button Up Your Overcoat" - Helen Kane - Victor Records 21863

"(What Do We Do on a) Dew-Dew-Dewey Day" - Charles Kaley - Columbia Records 1055D

"Indian Love Call" - Sigmund Krumgold - Okeh Records 40904

"Me and My Shadow" - Sam Lanin - Lincoln Records 2628

"Black Gal" - Ed Lewis with unidentified prisoners (recorded by Alan Lomax)

"I'm Wild About That Thing" - Bessie Smith - Columbia Records 14427D

"Makin' Whoopee!" - Rudy Vallée - Harmony Records 825-H

The Cylinders of BioShock Infinite 

"Shine On, Harvest Moon" - Ada Jones and Billy Murray - Edison Standard Record 10134

 "The Bonnie Blue Flag" - Polk Miller - Edison Blue Amberol Record 2175

"After You've Gone"

"The Easy Winners"

"Solace - A Mexican Serenade"

“Just a Closer Walk with Thee” - Elizabeth’s version

“Just a Closer Walk with Thee” - Selah Jubilee Singers - Decca Records 7872

“The Grand Old Rag” - Billy Murray - Victor Records 4634

Albert Fink's Magical Melodies Presents: "God Only Knows"

“Ah! La femme il n’y que ça“ - Mon. A. Fertinel - Improved Berliner Gramophone Record 1148

“God Only Knows” - The Beach Boys - Capitol Records 5706

"Fortunate Son" - Creedence Clearwater Revival - Fantasy Records 634

Burial at Sea

Episode 1

The Complete Records Behind the Music

"Midnight, The Stars and You" - Al Bowlly - Victor Records 24700

"She's Got You" - Patsy Cline - Decca Records 31354

"Wonderful! Wonderful!" - Johnny Mathis - Columbia Records 40784

"The Lady is a Tramp" - Mel Tormé - London American Recordings HL N.8305

"Tonight for Sure!" - Ruth Wallis - Wallis Original Record Corp. 2001

"Stranger in Paradise"

Episode 2

The Complete Records Behind the Music

"Back in Baby's Arms" - Patsy Cline - Decca Records 31483

"Easy to Love" - Sammy Davis Jr. - Starring Sammy Davis Jr. Decca Records DL 8118

"Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree" - Glenn Miller - Bluebird Records B-11474

"La Vie en Rose" - Édith Piaf - Columbia Records 4004-F 

“La Vie en Rose” (English version) -  Édith Piaf - Columbia Records 38948

“La Vie en Rose” in 2007′s BioShock

"The Great Pretender" - The Platters - Mercury Records 70753

"You Belong to Me"

Fallout 2

"A Kiss to Build a Dream On" - Louis Armstrong - Decca Records 27720

Fallout 3 (Galaxy News Radio)

"Civilization" - Andrews Sisters and Danny Kaye - Decca Records 23940

“Butcher Pete (Part 1)” - Roy Brown - De-Luxe Records 3301

“Crazy He Calls Me” - Billie Holiday - Decca Records 24796

"I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire" - Ink Spots - Decca Records 3987

"Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall" - Ink Spots and Ella Fitzgerald - Decca Records 23356

“Swing Doors” - composed by Allan Gray - Charles Brull - A Harmonic Private Recording CBL 37

“Jazzy Interlude” - composed by Billy Munn - Charles Brull - A Harmonic Private Recording CBL 37

"Anything Goes" (1934) - Cole Porter - Victor Records 24825 (original version)  

Fallout: New Vegas (Radio New Vegas, Mojave Music Radio, Black Mountain Radio)

"It's a Sin" - Eddy Arnold - RCA Victor Records 10-2241

"Jingle Jangle Jingle" - Kay Kyser - Columbia Records 36604

“It’s a Sin to Tell a Lie” (1979) - Ink Spots (Bill Kenny) - CBS Special Products P 18042 (in-game version)

“It’s a Sin to Tell a Lie” (1941) - Ink Spots - Decca Records (original version)

“Why Don’t You Do Right” (1950) - Peggy Lee with the Dave Barbour Quartet- Peggy Lee’s Greatest - Camay Records CA 3003 (in-game version)

“Why Don’t You Do Right (Get Me Some Money Too)” (1947) - Peggy Lee - Rendezvous with Peggy Lee - Capitol Records 10118 (re-recording)

 “Why Don’t You Do Right” (1942) - Peggy Lee with Benny Goodman and his Orchestra - Columbia Records 36652 (re-recording)

"Big Iron" - Marty Robbins -  Columbia Records 4-41589

“Blue Moon” - Frank Sinatra - Sinatra’s Swingin’ Session!  - Capitol Records W1491

“Orange Colored Sky” - Nat King Cole - Capitol Records 1184

Fallout 4 (Diamond City Radio)

“Butcher Pete (Part 2)” - Roy Brown - De-Luxe Records 3301

“Orange Colored Sky” - Nat King Cole - Capitol Records 1184

“Pistol-Packin’ Mama - Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters - Decca Records 23277

“The Wanderer” - Dion - Laurie Records 3115

“Sixty-Minute Man - The Dominoes - Federal Records 12022

“Atom Bomb Baby” - The Five Stars - Kernel Records A002

“It’s All Over But the Crying” - Ink Spots - Decca Records 24286

“Grandma Plays the Numbers” - Wynonie Harris - King Records 4276

“Personality” - Johnny Mercer - Capitol Records 230

"The End of the World” - Patti Page - Say Wonderful Things - Columbia Records CS 8849

Fallout 76 (Appalachia Radio)

“Wouldn’t It Be Nice” - The Beach Boys - Capitol Records 5706

"Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition" - Kay Kyser - Columbia Records 36640

"We Three (My Echo, My Shadow and Me)" - Ink Spots - Decca Records 3379

Guardians of the Galaxy

"I'm Not in Love" - 10cc - Mercury Records (Phonogram) 73678 (abridged)

"Fooled Around and Fell in Love" - Elvin Bishop - Capricorn Records CPS 0252 (abridged)

“Spirit in the Sky” - Norman Greenbaum - Reprise Records 0885

“Escape (The Piña Colada Song) - Rupert Holmes - Infinity Records INF 50.035

"Hooked on a Feeling" - Blue Swede - EMI Records 3627

"I Want You Back" - The Jackson 5 - Motown Records M 1157

"Go All the Way" - Raspberries - Capitol Records 3348

"Come and Get Your Love" - Redbone - Epic Records 5-11035

L.A. Noire (KTI Radio)

“Pistol-Packin’ Mama” - Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters - Decca Records 23277

“Stone Cold Dead in the Market” - Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Jordan - Decca Records 23546

"Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall" - Ink Spots and Ella Fitzgerald - Decca Records 23356

"Manteca" - Dizzy Gillespie - RCA Victor Records 20-3023

"Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens" - Louis Jordan - Decca Records 23741

"Red Silk Stockings and Green Perfume" - Sammy Kaye - RCA Victor Records 20-2251

“Black and Blue” - Frankie Laine - Mercury Records A-1026

"'Murder', He Says" - Dinah Shore - RCA Victor Records 20-1525

"Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette) - Tex Williams - Capitol Records Americana Series 40001

“Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop” - Lionel Hampton - Decca Records 18754

Mafia II (Empire Central Radio, Delta Radio)

“Why Don’t You Do Right” (1950) - Peggy Lee with the Dave Barbour Quartet- Peggy Lee’s Greatest - Camay Records CA 3003 (re-recording)

“Why Don’t You Do Right” (1942) - Peggy Lee with Benny Goodman and his Orchestra - Columbia Records 36652 (re-recording)

"A Guy is a Guy” - Doris Day - Columbia Records 39673

XCOM The Bureau Declassified (KNOV Radio)

“Runaway” - Del Shannon - Big Top Records 45-3067

“Who’s Sorry Now” - Connie Francis - MGM Records 975 (57-S-622)

"Smack Dab in the Middle" - Mills Brothers - Decca Records 29511

“Riders in the Sky” - Vaughn Monroe - RCA Victor 20-3411

"Man of Mystery" - The Shadows - Columbia Records 45-DB 4530

“I’ll Never Get Out of this World Alive” - Hank Williams - MGM Records 11366

See the previous years’ lists here:

2014

2015

2016

2017

[lotsofsjin]

So I was watching Turps sing “Smiffy’s mom″ and it somehow turned into this So imagine Turps singing this with kazoo master Sjin playing kazoo instead of background singing _______________________________________________________________ Sips.co's boss has got it goin' on x4

Hey, Sjin, can I come over after school? (Sjin in a schoolgirl outfit kazoo) We can hang around by the pool (Sjin in a bikini kazoo) Did our boss get back from his business trip? (Sjin in a space suit kazoo) Is he there, or is he trying to give me the slip? (Sjin kazoo)

You know, I'm not a massive noob like I used to be I'm a pro now, baby can't you see

Sips.co's boss has got it goin' on He's all I want and I've waited for so long Lewis, can't you see you're just not the guy for me I know it might be wrong but I'm in love with Sips.co's boss

Sips.co's boss has got it goin' on Sips.co's boss has got it goin' on

Hey, Sjin, do you remember when I built the sign? (Sjin kazoo) Our boss came out ,as always, lookin' fine (Sjin kazoo) I could tell he liked me from the way he glared  And the way he said, "You missed a letter there" (Sjin kazoo) (Cue shot of the sign reading "Sip.co")

And I know that you think it's just a fantasy But since Lewis walked out, Sips.co could use a guy like me

Sips.co's boss has got it goin' on He's all I want and I've waited for so long Simon, can't you see you're just not the guy for me I know it might be wrong but I'm in love with Sips.co's boss

(Blistering kazoo solo proceeded by Sjin gasping to catch his breath)

Sips.co's boss has got it goin' on He's all I want and I've waited for so long Duncan, can't you see you're just not the guy for me I know it might be wrong but oh oh (Sjin kazoo) I'm in love with (Sjin kazoo) (Sjin kazoo) I'm in love with Sips.co's boss _______________________________________________________________ Yeah, not a lot of the lyrics have been changed and the ones that were changed don’t make sense but I thought this up in like fifteen minutes.

I’m sorry.

[sharpiefaceontangerine]

Harry Styles’ New Direction (Harry’s 2017 Feature in Rolling Stone)

(because apparently I didn’t have the full text on my tumblr and u can never be too careful)

January 2016. There’s a bench at the top of Primrose Hill, in London, that looks out over the skyline of the city. If you’d passed by it one winter night, you might have seen him sitting there. A lanky guy in a wool hat, overcoat and jogging pants, hands thrust deep into his pockets. Harry Styles had a lot on his mind. He had spent five years as the buoyant fan favorite in One Direction; now, an uncertain future stretched out in front of him. The band had announced an indefinite hiatus. The white noise of adulation was gone, replaced by the hushed sound of the city below.

The fame visited upon Harry Styles in his years with One D was a special kind of mania. With a self-effacing smile, a hint of darkness and the hair invariably described as “tousled,” he became a canvas onto which millions of fans pitched their hopes and dreams. Hell, when he pulled over to the side of the 101 freeway in L.A. and discreetly threw up, the spot became a fan shrine. It’s said the puke was even sold on eBay like pieces of the Berlin Wall. Paul McCartney has interviewed him. Then there was the unauthorized fan-fiction series featuring a punky, sexed-up version of “Harry Styles.” A billion readers followed his virtual exploits. (“Didn’t read it,” comments the nonfiction Styles, “but I hope he gets more than me.”)

But at the height of One D–mania, Styles took a step back. For many, 2016 was a year of lost musical heroes and a toxic new world order. For Styles, it was a search for a new identity that began on that bench overlooking London. What would a solo Harry Styles sound like? A plan came into focus. A song cycle about women and relationships. Ten songs. More of a rock sound. A bold single-color cover to match the working title: Pink. (He quotes the Clash’s Paul Simonon: “Pink is the only true rock & roll colour.”) Many of the details would change over the coming year – including the title, which would end up as Harry Styles – but one word stuck in his head.

“Honest,” he says, a year later, driving through midcity Los Angeles in a dusty black Range Rover. He’s lived here off and on for the past few years, always returning to London. Styles’ car stereo pumps a mix of country and obscure classic rock. “I didn’t want to write ‘stories,’ ” he says. “I wanted to write my stories, things that happened to me. The number-one thing was I wanted to be honest. I hadn’t done that before.” There isn’t a yellow light he doesn’t run as he speaks excitedly about the band he’s put together under the tutelage of producer Jeff Bhasker (The Rolling Stones, Kanye West, “Uptown Funk”). He’s full of stories about the two-month recording session last fall at Geejam, a studio and compound built into a mountainside near Port Antonio, a remote section of Jamaica. Drake and Rihanna have recorded there, and it’s where Styles produced the bulk of his new LP, which is due out May 12th. As we weave through traffic today, the album no one has heard is burning a hole in his iPhone.

We arrive at a crowded diner, and Styles cuts through the room holding a black notebook jammed with papers and artifacts from his album, looking like a college student searching for a quiet place to study. He’s here to do something he hasn’t done much of in his young career: an extended one-on-one interview. Often in the past there was another One D member to vector questions into a charmingly evasive display of band camaraderie. Today, Styles is a game but careful custodian of his words, sometimes silently consulting the tablecloth before answering. But as he recounts the events leading up to his year out of the spotlight, the layers begin to slip away.

It was in a London studio in late 2014 that Styles first brought up the idea of One Directiontaking a break. “I didn’t want to exhaust our fan base,” he explains. “If you’re shortsighted, you can think, ‘Let’s just keep touring,’ but we all thought too much of the group than to let that happen. You realize you’re exhausted and you don’t want to drain people’s belief in you.”

After much discussion, the band mutually agreed to a hiatus, which was announced in August 2015 (Zayn Malik had abruptly left One D several months earlier). Fans were traumatized by the band’s decision, but were let down easy with a series of final bows, including a tour that ran through October. Styles remains a One D advocate: “I love the band, and would never rule out anything in the future. The band changed my life, gave me everything.”

Harry Styles reveals the inspiration behind his new music. Here’s five things we learned about Harry Styles’ new album.

Still, a solo career was calling. “I wanted to step up. There were songs I wanted to write and record, and not just have it be ‘Here’s a demo I wrote.’ Every decision I’ve made since I was 16 was made in a democracy. I felt like it was time to make a decision about the future  …  and maybe I shouldn’t rely on others.”

As one of the most well-known 23-year-olds in the world, Styles himself is still largely unknown. Behind the effervescent stage persona, there is more lore than fact. He likes it that way. “With an artist like Prince,” he says, “all you wanted to do was know more. And that mystery – it’s why those people are so magical! Like, fuck, I don’t know what Prince eats for breakfast. That mystery  …  it’s just what I like.”

Styles pauses, savoring the idea of the unknown. He looks at my digital recorder like a barely invited guest. “More than ‘do you keep a mystery alive?’ – it’s not that. I like to separate my personal life and work. It helps, I think, for me to compartmentalize. It’s not about trying to make my career longer, like I’m trying to be this ‘mysterious character,’ because I’m not. When I go home, I feel like the same person I was at school. You can’t expect to keep that if you show everything. There’s the work and the personal stuff, and going between the two is my favorite shit. It’s amazing to me.”

Soon, we head to the Beachwood Canyon studio of Jeff Bhasker. As we arrive, Styles bounds up the steps to the studio, passing a bored pool cleaner. “How are ya,” he announces, unpacking a seriously cheerful smile. The pool cleaner looks perplexed, not quite sharing Styles’ existential joy.

Inside, the band awaits. Styles opens his notebook and heads for the piano. He wants to finish a song he’d started earlier that day. It’s obvious that the band has a well-worn frat-house dynamic, sort of like the Beatles in Help!, as directed by Judd Apatow. Styles is, to all, “H.” Pomegranate-scented candles flicker around the room. Bhasker enters, with guru-length hair, multicolored shirt, red socks and sandals. He was initially busy raising a new baby with his partner, the singer and songwriter Lykke Li, so he guided Styles to two of his producer-player protégés, Alex Salibian and Tyler Johnson, as well as engineer and bassist Ryan Nasci. The band began to form. The final piece of the puzzle was Mitch Rowland, Styles’ guitarist, who had worked in a pizza joint until two weeks into the sessions. “Being around musicians like this had a big effect on me,” Styles says. “Not being able to pass an instrument without sitting down and playing it?” He shakes his head. It was Styles’ first full immersion into the land of musos, and he clearly can’t get enough.

Styles starts singing some freshly written lyrics. It’s a new song called “I Don’t Want to Be the One You’re Waiting On.” His voice sounds warm, burnished and intimate, not unlike early Rod Stewart. The song is quickly finished, and the band assembles for a playback of the album.

“Mind if I play it loud?” asks Bhasker. It’s a rhetorical question. Nasci cranks “Sign of the Times,” the first single, to a seismic level. The song began as a seven-minute voice note on Styles’ phone, and ended up as a sweeping piano ballad, as well as a kind of call to arms. “Most of the stuff that hurts me about what’s going on at the moment is not politics, it’s fundamentals,” Styles says. “Equal rights. For everyone, all races, sexes, everything. …  ’Sign of the Times’ came from ‘This isn’t the first time we’ve been in a hard time, and it’s not going to be the last time.’ The song is written from a point of view as if a mother was giving birth to a child and there’s a complication. The mother is told, ‘The child is fine, but you’re not going to make it.’ The mother has five minutes to tell the child, ‘Go forth and conquer.'” The track was a breakthrough for both the artist and the band. “Harry really led the charge with that one, and the rest of the album,” says Bhasker.

“I wish the album could be called Sign of the Times,” Styles declares.

“I don’t know,” says Bhasker. “I mean, it has been used.“

They debate for a bit. Nasci plays more tracks. The songs range from full-on rock (“Kiwi”) to intricate psychedelic pop (“Meet Me in the Hallway”) to the outright confessional (“Ever Since New York,” a desperate meditation on loss and longing). The lyrics are full of details and references – secrets whispered between friends, doomed declarations of love, empty swimming pools – sure to set fans scrambling for the facts behind the mystery.

“Of course I’m nervous,” Styles admits, jingling his keys. “I mean, I’ve never done this before. I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing. I’m happy I found this band and these musicians, where you can be vulnerable enough to put yourself out there. I’m still learning …  but it’s my favorite lesson.”

The album is a distinct departure from the dance pop that permeates the airwaves. “A lot of my influences, and the stuff that I love, is older,” he says. “So the thing I didn’t want to do was, I didn’t want to put out my first album and be like, ‘He’s tried to re-create the Sixties, Seventies, Eighties, Nineties.’ Loads of amazing music was written then, but I’m not saying I wish I lived back then. I wanted to do something that sounds like me. I just keep pushing forward.”

“It’s different from what you’d expect,” Bhasker says. “It made me realize the Harry [in One D] was kind of the digitized Harry. Almost like a character. I don’t think people know a lot of the sides of him that are on this album. You put it on and people are like, ‘This is Harry Styles?’ ”

Styles is aware that his largest audience so far has been young – often teenage – women. Asked if he spends pressure-filled evenings worried about proving credibility to an older crowd, Styles grows animated. “Who’s to say that young girls who like pop music – short for popular, right? – have worse musical taste than a 30-year-old hipster guy? That’s not up to you to say. Music is something that’s always changing. There’s no goal posts. Young girls like the Beatles. You gonna tell me they’re not serious? How can you say young girls don’t get it? They’re our future. Our future doctors, lawyers, mothers, presidents, they kind of keep the world going. Teenage-girl fans – they don’t lie. If they like you, they’re there. They don’t act ‘too cool.’ They like you, and they tell you. Which is sick.“

Styles drives to a quiet dinner spot in Laurel Canyon, at the foot of Lookout Mountain Avenue, onetime home to many of his Seventies songwriting heroes. He used to have a place around the corner. As the later tours of One Direction grew larger, longer and more frenetic, he offers with irony, “It was very rock & roll.” He’s not a heavy drinker, he says, maybe some tequila on ice or wine with friends after a show, but by the band’s last tour there wasn’t much time even for that. John Lennon once told Rolling Stone that behind the curtain, the Beatles’ tours were like Fellini’s Satyricon. Styles counters that the One D tours were more like “a Wes Anderson movie. Cut. Cut. New location. Quick cut. New location. Cut. Cut. Show. Shower. Hard cut. Sleep.”

Finding a table, Styles leans forward and discusses his social-media presence, or lack thereof. Styles and his phone have a bittersweet, mature relationship – they spend a lot of time apart. He doesn’t Google himself, and checks Twitter infrequently. “I’ll tell you about Twitter,” he continues, discussing the volley of tweets, some good, some cynical, that met his endorsement of the Women’s March on Washington earlier this year. “It’s the most incredible way to communicate closely with people, but not as well as in person.” When the location of his London home was published a few years ago, he was rattled. His friend James Corden offered him a motto coined by British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli: “Never complain, never explain.”

I mention a few of the verbal Molotov cocktails Zayn Malik has tossed at the band in recent interviews. Here’s one: “[One D is] not music that I would listen to. If I was sat at a dinner date with a girl, I would play some cool shit, you know what I mean? I want to make music that I think is cool shit. I don’t think that’s too much to ask for.”

Styles adjusts himself in his chair. “I think it’s a shame he felt that way,” he says, threading the needle of diplomacy, “but I never wish anything but luck to anyone doing what they love. If you’re not enjoying something and need to do something else, you absolutely should do that. I’m glad he’s doing what he likes, and good luck to him.”

Perched on his head are the same-style white sunglasses made famous by Kurt Cobain, but the similarities end right there. Styles, born two months before Cobain exited Earth, doesn’t feel tied to any particular genre or era. In the car, he’ll just as easily crank up the country music of Keith Whitley as the esoteric blues-and-soul of Shuggie Otis. He even bought a carrot cake to present to Stevie Nicks at a Fleetwood Mac concert. (“Piped her name onto it. She loved it. Glad she liked carrot cake.”)

This much is clear: The classic role of tortured artist is not one he’ll be playing. “People romanticize places they can’t get to themselves,” he says. “That’s why it’s fascinating when people go dark – when Van Gogh cuts off his ear. You romanticize those people, sometimes out of proportion. It’s the same with music. You want a piece of that darkness, to feel their pain but also to step back into your own [safer] life. I can’t say I had that. I had a really nice upbringing. I feel very lucky. I had a great family and always felt loved. There’s nothing worse than an inauthentic tortured person. ‘They took my allowance away, so I did heroin.’ It’s like – that’s not how it works. I don’t even remember what the question was.”

Styles wanders into the Country Store next door. It’s a store he knows well. Inspecting the shelves, he asks if I’ve had British rice pudding. He finds a can that looks ancient. He collects a roll of Rowntrees Fruit Pastilles (“since 1881”), Lindor Swiss chocolates (“irresistibly smooth”) and a jar of Branston Pickles. “There’s only two shops in L.A. that stock all the British snacks. This area’s kind of potluck,” he says, spreading the collection on the counter.

The clerk rings up the snacks. In the most careful, deferential way, the young worker asks the question. “Would you  … happen to be …  Harry Styles?”

“Yep.”

“Could I get a selfie?” Styles obliges, and leans over the counter. Click. We exit into the Laurel Canyon evening.

“Hey,” shouts a grizzled-looking dude on the bench outside the store. “Do you know who you look like?”

Styles turns, expecting more of the same, but this particular night denizen is on a different track.

“River Phoenix,” the man announces, a little sadly. “You ever heard of him? If he hadn’t have passed, I would have said that was you. Talented guy.”

“Yes, he was,” agrees Styles, who is in many ways the generational opposite of Phoenix. “Yes, he was.”

They share a silent moment, before Styles walks to his car. He hands me the bag filled with English snacks. “This is for you,” he says. “This was my youth …”

Harry Edward Styles was born in Worcestershire, England, in true classic-rock form, on a Tuesday Afternoon. The family moved to Cheshire, a quiet spot in Northern England, when he was a baby. His older sister, Gemma, was the studious one. (“She was always smarter than me, and I was always jealous of that.”)

His father, Desmond, worked in finance. He was a fan of the Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, a lot of Queen, and Pink Floyd. Young Harry toddled around to The Dark Side of the Moon. “I couldn’t really get it,” he says, “but I just remember being like – this is really fucking cool. Then my mom would always have Shania Twain, and Savage Garden, Norah Jones going on. I had a great childhood. I’ll admit it.”

But in fact, all was not perfection, scored to a cool, retro soundtrack. When Harry was seven, his parents explained to him that Des would be moving out. Asked about that moment today, Styles stares straight ahead. “I don’t remember,” he says. “Honestly, when you’re that young, you can kind of block it out. … I can’t say that I remember the exact thing. I didn’t realize that was the case until just now. Yeah, I mean, I was seven. It’s one of those things. Feeling supported and loved by my parents never changed.”

His eyes moisten a little, but unlike the young man who wept over an early bout with Internet criticism, a powerful moment in the early One Direction documentary A Year in the Making,Styles tonight knocks back the sentiment. Styles is still close with his father, and served as best man to his mom when she remarried a few years ago. “Since I’ve been 10,” he reflects, “it’s kind of felt like – protect Mom at all costs. … My mom is very strong. She has the greatest heart. [Her house in Cheshire] is where I want to go when I want to spend some time.”

In his early teens, Styles joined some school friends as the singer in a mostly-covers band, White Eskimo. “We wrote a couple of songs,” he remembers. “One was called ‘Gone in a Week.’ It was about luggage. ‘I’ll be gone in a week or two/Trying to find myself someplace new/I don’t need any jackets or shoes/The only luggage I need is you.'” He laughs. “I was like, ‘Sick.'”

It was his mother who suggested he try out for the U.K. singing competition The X Factor to compete in the solo “Boy” category. Styles sang Stevie Wonder’s “Isn’t She Lovely.” The unforgiving reaction from one of the judges, Louis Walsh, is now infamous. Watching the video today is to watch young Harry’s cheery disposition take a hot bullet.

“In that instant,” he says, “you’re in the whirlwind. You don’t really know what’s happening; you’re just a kid on the show. You don’t even know you’re good at anything. I’d gone because my mum told me I was good from singing in the car …  but your mum tells you things to make you feel good, so you take it with a pinch of salt. I didn’t really know what I was expecting when I went on there.”

Styles didn’t advance in the competition, but Simon Cowell, the show’s creator, sensed a crowd favorite. He put Styles together with four others who’d failed to advance in the same category, and united the members of One D in a musical shotgun marriage. The marriage worked. And worked. And worked.

You wonder how a young musician might find his way here, to these lofty peaks, with his head still attached to his shoulders. No sex tapes, no TMZ meltdowns, no tell-all books written by the rehab nanny? In a world where one messy scandal can get you five seasons of a hit reality show …  how did Harry Styles slip through the juggernaut?

“Family,” answers Ben Winston. “It comes from his mom, Anne. She brought him and his sister up incredibly well. Harry would choose boring over exciting … There is more chance of me going to Mars next week than there is of Harry having some sort of addiction.”

We’re in Television City, Hollywood. Winston, 35, the Emmy-winning executive producer of TheLate Late Show With James Corden, abandons his desk and retreats to a nearby sofa to discuss his good friend. More than a friend, Styles became an unlikely family member – after he became perhaps the world’s most surprising houseguest.

Their friendship was forged in the early stages of One D’s success, when the band debuted on The X Factor. Winston, then a filmmaker and production partner with Corden, asked for a meeting, and instantly hit it off with the group. He became a friendly mentor to Styles, though the friendship was soon tested. Styles had just moved out of his family home in Cheshire, an inconvenient three hours north of London. He found a home he liked near the Winstons in Hampstead Heath. The new house needed two weeks of work. Styles asked if he could briefly move in with Winston and his wife, Meredith. “She agreed,” Winston says, “but only for two weeks.”

Styles parked his mattress in the Winstons’ attic. “Two weeks later and he hadn’t bought his house yet,” continues Winston. “It wasn’t going through. Then he said, ‘I’m going to stay until Christmas, if you don’t mind.’ Then Christmas came, and …”

For the next 20 months, one of the most desired stars on the planet slept on a small mattress in an attic. The only other bit of house-dressing was the acoustic guitar that would rattle into the Winstons’ bedroom. While fans gathered at the empty house where he didn’t live, Styles lived incognito with a couple 12 years his senior. The Winstons’ Orthodox Jewish lifestyle, with a strong family emphasis, helped keep him sane.

“Those 20 months were when they went from being on a reality show, X Factor, to being the biggest-selling artists in the world,” recalls Winston. “That period of time, he was living with us in the most mundane suburban situation. No one ever found out, really. Even when we went out for a meal, it’s such a sweet family neighborhood, no one dreamed it was actually him. But he made our house a home. And when he moved out, we were gutted.”

Styles jauntily appears at the Late Late office. He’s clearly a regular visitor, and he and Winston have a brotherly shorthand.

“Leaving Saturday?” asks Winston.

“Yeah, gotta buy a cactus for my friend’s birthday,” says Styles.

“My dad might be on your flight,” says Winston.

“The 8:50? That’d be sick.”

Winston continues the tales from the attic. “So we had this joke. Meri and I would like to see the girls that you would come back with to the house. That was always what we enjoyed, because we’d be in bed like an old couple. We’d have our spot cream on our faces and we’d be in our pajamas and the door would go off. The stairwell was right outside our door, so we’d wait to see if Harry was coming home alone or with people.”

“I was alone,” notes Styles. “I was scared of Meri.”

“He wasn’t always alone,” corrects Winston, “but it was exciting seeing the array of A-listers that would come up and sleep in the attic. Or he’d come and lounge with us. We’d never discuss business. He would act as if he hadn’t come back from playing to 80,000 people three nights in a row in Rio de Janeiro.”

“Let’s go to the beach,” says Styles, pulling the Range Rover onto a fog-soaked Pacific Coast Highway. Last night was his tequila-fueled birthday party, filled with friends and karaoke and a surprise drop-in from Adele. He’s now officially 23. “And not too hung over,” he notes.

Styles finds a spot at a sushi place up the coast. As he passes through the busy dining room, a businessman turns, recognizing him with a face that says: My kids love this guy! I ask Styles what he hears most from the parents of young fans. “They say, ‘I see your cardboard face every fucking day.’ ” He laughs. “I think they want me to apologize.”

The subject today is relationships. While Styles says he still feels like a newcomer to all that, a handful of love affairs have deeply affected him. The images and stolen moments tumble extravagantly through the new songs: And promises are broken like a stitch is … I got splinters in my knuckles crawling ‘cross the floor/Couldn’t take you home to mother in a skirt that short/But I think that’s what I like about it … I see you gave him my old T-shirt, more of what was once mine … That black notebook, you sense, is filled with this stuff.

“My first proper girlfriend,” he remembers, “used to have one of those laughs. There was also a little bit of mystery with her because she didn’t go to our school. I just worshipped the ground she walked on. And she knew, probably to a fault, a little. That was a tough one. I was 15.

“She used to live an hour and a half away on the train, and I worked in a bakery for three years. I’d finish on Saturdays at 4:30 and it was a 4:42 train, and if I missed it there wasn’t one for another hour or two. So I’d finish and sprint to the train station. Spent 70 percent of my wages on train tickets. Later, I’d remember her perfume. Little things. I smell that perfume all the time. I’ll be in a lift or a reception and say to someone, ‘Alien, right?’ And sometimes they’re impressed and sometimes they’re a little creeped out. ‘Stop smelling me.'”

If Styles hadn’t yet adapted to global social-media attention, he was tested in 2012, when he met Taylor Swift at an awards show. Their second date, a walk in Central Park, was caught by paparazzi. Suddenly the couple were global news. They broke up the next month, reportedly after a rocky Caribbean vacation; the romance was said to have ended with at least one broken heart.

The relationship is a subject he’s famously avoided discussing. “I gotta pee first. This might be a long one,” he says. He rises to head to the bathroom, then adds, “Actually, you can say, ‘He went for a pee and never came back.’ ”

He returns a couple of minutes later. “Thought I’d let you stew for a while,” he says, laughing, then takes a gulp of green juice. He was surprised, he says, when photos from Central Park rocketed around the world. “When I see photos from that day,” he says, “I think: Relationships are hard, at any age. And adding in that you don’t really understand exactly how it works when you’re 18, trying to navigate all that stuff didn’t make it easier. I mean, you’re a little bit awkward to begin with. You’re on a date with someone you really like. It should be that simple, right? It was a learning experience for sure. But at the heart of it – I just wanted it to be a normal date.”

He’s well aware that at least two of Swift’s songs – “Out of the Woods” and “Style” – are considered to be about their romance. (“You’ve got that long hair slicked back, white T-shirt,” she sang in “Style.”) “I mean, I don’t know if they’re about me or not …” he says, attempting gallant discretion, “but the issue is, she’s so good, they’re bloody everywhere.” He smiles. “I write from my experiences; everyone does that. I’m lucky if everything [we went through] helped create those songs. That’s what hits your heart. That’s the stuff that’s hardest to say, and it’s the stuff I talk least about. That’s the part that’s about the two people. I’m never going to tell anybody everything.” (Fans wondered whether “Perfect,” a song Styles co-wrote for One Direction, might have been about Swift: “And if you like cameras flashing every time we go out/And if you’re looking for someone to write your breakup songs about/Baby, I’m perfect.”)

Was he able to tell her that he admired the songs? “Yes and no,” he says after a long pause. “She doesn’t need me to tell her they’re great. They’re great songs … It’s the most amazing unspoken dialogue ever.”

Is there anything he’d want to say to Swift today? “Maybe this is where you write down that I left!” He laughs, and looks off. “I don’t know,” he finally says. “Certain things don’t work out. There’s a lot of things that can be right, and it’s still wrong. In writing songs about stuff like that, I like tipping a hat to the time together. You’re celebrating the fact it was powerful and made you feel something, rather than ‘this didn’t work out, and that’s bad.’ And if you run into that person, maybe it’s awkward, maybe you have to get drunk … but you shared something. Meeting someone new, sharing those experiences, it’s the best shit ever. So thank you.”

He notes a more recent relationship, possibly over now, but significant for the past few years. (Styles has often been spotted with Kendall Jenner, but he won’t confirm that’s who he’s talking about.) “She’s a huge part of the album,” says Styles. “Sometimes you want to tip the hat, and sometimes you just want to give them the whole cap …  and hope they know it’s just for them.”

In late February 2016, Styles landed a plum part in Christopher Nolan’s upcoming World War II epic, Dunkirk. In Nolan, Styles found a director equally interested in mystery. “The movie is so ambitious,” he says. “Some of the stuff they’re doing in this movie is insane. And it was hard, man, physically really tough, but I love acting. I love playing someone else. I’d sleep really well at night, then get up and continue drowning.”

When Styles returned to L.A., an idea landed. The idea was: Get out of Dodge. Styles called his manager, Jeffrey Azoff, and explained he wanted to finish the album outside London or L.A., a place where the band could focus and coalesce. Four days after returning from the movie, they were on their way to Port Antonio on Jamaica’s remote north coast. At Geejam, Styles and his entire band were able to live together, turning the studio compound into something like a Caribbean version of Big Pink. They occupied a two-story villa filled with instruments, hung out at the tree-house-like Bush Bar, and had access to the gorgeous studio on-site. Many mornings began with a swim in the deserted cove just down the hill.

Life in Jamaica was 10 percent beach party and 90 percent musical expedition. It was the perfect rite of passage for a musician looking to explode the past and launch a future. The anxiety of what’s next slipped away. Layers of feeling emerged that had never made it past One Direction’s group songwriting sessions, often with pop craftsmen who polished the songs after Styles had left. He didn’t feel stifled in One D, he says, as much as interrupted. “We were touring all the time,” he recalls. “I wrote more as we went, especially on the last two albums.” There are songs from that period he loves, he says, like “Olivia” and “Stockholm Syndrome,” along with the earlier song “Happily.” “But I think it was tough to really delve in and find out who you are as a writer when you’re just kind of dipping your toe each time. We didn’t get the six months to see what kind of shit you can work with. To have time to live with a song, see what you love as a fan, chip at it, hone it and go for that  … it’s heaven.”

The more vulnerable the song, he learned, the better. “The one subject that hits the hardest is love,” he says, “whether it’s platonic, romantic, loving it, gaining it, losing it  …  it always hits you hardest. I don’t think people want to hear me talk about going to bars, and how great everything is. The champagne popping  …  who wants to hear about it? I don’t want to hear my favorite artists talk about all the amazing shit they get to do. I want to hear, ‘How did you feel when you were alone in that hotel room, because you chose to be alone?'”

To wind down in Jamaica, Styles and Rowland, the guitarist, began a daily Netflix obsession with sugary romantic comedies. Houseworkers would sometimes leave at night and return the next morning to see Styles blearily removing himself from a long string of rom-coms. He declares himself an expert on Nicholas Sparks, whom he now calls “Nicky Spee.” After almost two months, the band left the island with a bounty of songs and stories. Like the time Styles ended up drunk and wet from the ocean, toasting everybody, wearing a dress he’d traded with someone’s girlfriend. “I don’t remember the toast,” he says, “but I remember the feeling.”

Christmas 2016. Harry Styles was parked outside his childhood home, sitting next to his father. They were listening to his album. After lunch at a pub, they had driven down their old street and landed in front of the family home. Staring out at the house where Styles grew up listening to his father’s copy of The Dark Side of the Moon, there was much to consider. It was a long way he’d traveled in those fast few years since “Isn’t She Lovely.” He’d previously played the new album for his mother, on a stool, in the living room, on cheap speakers. She’d cried hearing “Sign of the Times.” Now he sat with his father – who liked the new song “Carolina” best – both having come full circle.

Styles is moved as he describes how he felt. We’re sitting in Corden’s empty office, talking over a few last subjects before he returns to England. “I think, as a parent, especially with the band stuff, it was such a roller coaster,” he says. “I feel like they were always thinking, ‘OK, this ride could stop at any point and we’re going to have to be there when it does.’ There was something about playing the album and how happy I was that told them, ‘If all I get is to make this music, I’m content. If I’m never on that big ride again, I’m happy and proud of it.’

“I always said, at the very beginning, all I wanted was to be the granddad with the best stories …  and the best shelf of artifacts and bits and trinkets.”

Tomorrow night he’ll hop a flight back to England. Rehearsals await. Album-cover choices need to be made. He grabs his black notebook and turns back for a moment before disappearing down the hallway, into the future.

“How am I going to be mysterious,” he asks, only half-joking, “when I’ve been this honest with you?”