#kind of what I mean as well when I say lyrics are meaningless as evidence

[superfallingstars]

Hey, for the playlist ask thingy, what about:

What Peter would listen to

Remus trying to find a job

What you think the weird sisters would sound like if they existed

send me a playlist prompt!

Omg sorry it took me a billion years to get to this. The problem with making playlists is that there is basically an infinite number of songs in the world and I'm always like, well maybe there's a better song out there that I haven't heard yet and I should listen to just one more song/album/artist/etc. But that's the devil speaking. Anyway these prompts were so fun and I really really enjoyed them :-) also I wrote SO much

First up is Peter! I already have a Peter playlist (it's kinda on the silly side, aka it's rat-themed), but for this, I tried to focus more on what he would listen to, rather than songs that describe him (or rats). Since Peter is evidently very impressed by showy, tasteless displays of masculinity (aka James and Sirius), I imagined he would listen to – PROGRESSIVE ROCK! Prog rock at its best is like, really incredible musicianship and composition, and if you can buy into the drama it can be really good. But at its worst, it's just tasteless and pretentious and you're like, wow these musicians are so far up their own asses that they can't even tell that their extremely technically impressive guitar solo sounds like garbage, and also did they even listen to these lyrics, cuz they suck. And I went for specifically, like, late-70s-early-80s prog rock, when it started to get really overproduced and bad. Sorry I just kind of reamed prog rock in this paragraph I swear I legitimately like it… You can only hate something this much if you're intimately familiar with it. I should also note that I chose some of these songs for their lyrics ("The Logical Song" and "The Very Last Time" both are REALLY great songs for Peter's personality and friendship with James, respectively) and some of them are even good. They're not all bad. But they're mostly bad. Anyway! Please enjoy my garbage! 

Track list:

Supertramp - The Logical Song: "The questions run too deep / For such a simple man / Won't you please, please tell me what we've learned / I know it sounds absurd / Please tell me who I aaaam!!!"

Utopia - The Very Last Time: I love you Todd Rundgren. "Nobody sees how you treat me like dirt / Nobody knows just how badly a man can hurt [....] It's the very last time you will get on my case / It's the very last time 'cause I won't be a fool no more!"

Yes - Roundabout: this song is literally good

Rush - New World Man: man I hate Rush. But this is rather tolerable. "He's old enough to know what's right / But young enough not to choose it / He's noble enough to win the world / But weak enough to lose it / He's a new world man"

Yes - Parallels: sucks

Kansas - Point of Know Return: sucks

Asia - Heat of the Moment: sucks but it's a classic

Yes - Leave It: sucks even more than the last Yes song, which is really saying something

Electric Light Orchestra - The Way Life's Meant to Be: We're ending on a good note imo. They don't make concept albums about time travel like they used to! But really I put this on here because it made me giggle. "...I wish I was back in 1981 / Just to see your face instead of this place / Now I know what you mean to me / Ooh, and I wonder, yes I wonder / Is this the way life's meant to be?" lol. lmao even

Ok onto music that is good!

Next prompt was Remus trying to find a job! Gah I adored this prompt! That being said I kind of just made the saddest playlist ever LOL. I'm really fascinated by the time in Remus's life between the Potters' deaths and his employment at Hogwarts. Wtf did he do all those years? How did he get by? Since this playlist is about that time in his life, it's full of songs about the meaninglessness of life and just generally feeling lonely and empty and disconnected. And also working. FUN. Again I admittedly poached a lot of songs on here from my (very bloated and unfinished) Remus playlist. As far as genre goes, I like the idea of Remus having a pretty eclectic taste. But I tend to lean towards things that are lo-fi, scrappy, and less polished, as well as things that are a little jangly or jazzy (basically what I'm saying is that The Cleaners from Venus are theeee Remus band of all time). I'm going to try to restrain myself with the commentary this time

Track list:

Yo La Tengo - Everyday: One of the most depressing songs of all time imo. "Looking to forget tomorrow, looking everyday." Yeowch!

The Cleaners from Venus - Wivenhoe Bells (II): Like I said the Remus band of all time to me. Jangly, jazzy, lo-fi, + incredibly catchy songs about everyday English life

Even As We Speak - Nothing Ever Happens

Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues

Pavement - Here: "I was dressed for success / But success, it never comes" 👍

The Smiths - Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now: obviously

Nick Drake - Been Smoking Too Long

Galaxie 500 - Cold Night

The Dismemberment Plan - Come Home: The more I listen to these guys, the more I'm convinced that they're one of the best bands ever, as well as being the rare math rock band with good lyrics. Very literary.

Mount Eerie - Moon, I Already Know: I can recite this whole thing like some devastating prayer. Remus song of all time. Moon, I already know I'm small on the ground I roll around and feel menacing mountains And all depths of sorrow dwarf me All towering terrors are mine to cower below I know, I know, I know already So don't look at me like that and then Duck behind clouds I know I'm small and that I have no idea I know, I know, I know Let me be dumb again Let food drip off my chin Let me think you're a light Please please let me sleep through the night unknowing Let me close eyes. Ok I'm gonna throw up and die

Ok this was probably the most difficult prompt for me – I really had no idea what The Weird Sisters would sound like. But if there's any area of music that I'm familiar with, it's mediocre 90s alternative rock, so let's get to it. In the movie, The Weird Sisters are made up of members of Pulp (hi, Jarvis Cocker) and Radiohead, so I decided to start there. And I think Britpop is a natural place to start for a UK band that was big in the 90s. But I wasn't really feeling it with the usual culprits – Pulp was too sweeping and dramatic... I thought Oasis would be more "rock," but frankly, they were just too annoying. I wanted something a little more power pop (a genre that I can only describe as sounding like Disney TV show theme songs. Or, like, Stacy's Mom). And while tapping through related artists for small Britpop bands I've never heard of, I came across the song "1 Time, 2 Times Devastated," and I was like – THIS IS IT. Exactly the kind of mediocre 90s rock/power pop that I was looking for. (Also sorry that I keep saying mediocre I just can't imagine that The Weird Sisters are very good LMFAO! Idk wizards have not convinced me that they have a cool youth culture! Sorry bout it!) Other than that, I thought "Girl From Mars" by Ash was also a good fit. The rest of the playlist is mostly early Radiohead songs (they've got that Britpop feel, but they're a little messier and unpolished. And solidly mediocre) and the more up-tempo Supergrass songs (there's this sort of bouncy piano + drum thing they do that I quite like).

Track list:

DM3 - 1 Time, 2 Times Devastated

Ash - Girl from Mars

Radiohead - Just

Cud - Robinson Crusoe

Supergrass - Tonight

Radiohead - Anyone Can Play Guitar

Supergrass - Moving

The Stems - At First Sight

Radiohead - Thinking About You

Supergrass - Richard III

Anyway this was probably more specific than anyone would ever want but idk man. What I lack in media taste (what with my enjoyment of Harry Potter and other mediocre children's media) I make up for in, um, media taste (pretentious music nerd).

Thank you so much for the ask. Please send me more music asks I beg. There's like a 20 business day turnaround but like, I love making playlists, and getting to infodump about music is literally my dream. I hope you enjoy the playlists :-)

[canaryatlaw]

alright I really need to get to bed. I was set to write this like twenty minutes ago but then I realized I hadn’t taken my pills yet so I went to do that and then swallowed them all at once because I��m impatient when I usually due it in two batches and inevitably one got stuck in my throat because my esophagus occasionally tries to choke me to death randomly when I do things like swallow too many pills at much so then I felt like I was going to throw up and had to swallow like 4 spoonfuls of honey until it finally went away. and then I returned to my computer and then got distracted by the BTS performance video and watched half of that before returning to actually write this. so that was a playback of the last twenty minutes of my life, but we can get on to the rest of it now. I had set my alarm for 11 just so that I didn’t sleep in too much but when it went off I still wanted to sleep more so I slept for like another hour then got up and discovered bagels had already been obtained, which was helpful because I thought I was going to have to go obtain them myself, so that made my life easier. so I ate a bagel that was very good. We were gonna keep some for tomorrow morning but then I think it was decided that we’re gonna go out to breakfast so hopefully I can steal a few bagels and shove them into my bag before I leave, I had some space when I finished packing on the way here and I didn’t buy anything, so I should be able to fit a few. we kinda just chilled for a while after that until around 3 when we left to go to the movies since my mom wanted to see the mr rogers movie (”A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood”) so my parents, my brother, and I went to do that. It was a really good movie, Tom Hanks portrayal was phenomenal, he embodied him so well and the whole thing was just so well done it made me really happy to see. I also may have texted a bit during the movie (but with my phone brightness all the way down so nobody could actually see it, I’m not that much of an asshole) because the dude I went on a date with last week texted me back, and I asked if he wanted to go to the jingle bash concert next weekend because I had an extra ticket, but like he could definitely say no if it was too much, and he was basically like “so I really hate pop music” and I just laughed and was like that’s totally fine, I wouldn’t want to put you through a night of torture, especially since I hadn’t mentioned there was gonna be two kpop bands there that were the actual reasons I wanted to go, and I would probably inevitably thirst after them watching them perform and this probably was not a good dating activity lol. I’ll probably ask my roommate if she wants to go and if she can’t I may just sell the ticket on stubhub and be a loner for the night (which I don’t particularly want to do because I don’t like doing things by myself, but I might not really have a choice). but yeah, after the movie we dropped my brother off at home and then went to get italian food for dinner. I had previously googled fred rogers because I wanted to see when he had died (2003, in case you were wondering), and one of the articles that popped up first was a review of the movie that was like “Christian faith is the one thing that was missing from [movie]” and I was like huh that’s an interesting take (especially when there was definitely a scene where he was praying and it was mentioned that he was an ordained minister) and it was just like this review trashing the movie as being humanistic and secularist and how all of its hope and goodwill were empty and meaningless without an acknowledgement of his Christianity and I was just like.....what the fuck movie did you watch??? Both my parents had loved the movie and I told them about this and they were both like wtf too because that’s such a shallow and short sighted perspective to think that no good can come from a piece of media without an explicit gospel message coming through. and that was like, a huge part of my college Christian artist perspective with the idea being working on “redemptive” art that doesn’t necessarily have to focus on evangelizing (and tbh, the more explicitly gospel aimed productions were usually the weaker ones). and like, reading that just irritated me so much like...imagine thinking that any kindness you express is worthless unless you’re shoving Jesus down their throat at the same time and that’s just like....that makes no sense at all and is completely unrealistic. There’s a Christian song i’m partial to called Live Like That which contains the lyrics “people pass/and even if they don’t know my name/is there evidence that I’ve been changed/when they see me do they see You?” and that’s just always what I’m focusing on- spreading God’s love without the need for words even, just through action alone. I shouldn’t have to spout off the gospel to show love to someone, it doesn’t work like that. and I mean, I don’t automatically devalue any explicitly Christian productions as there have been a few that were actually very well done (though admittedly most of them are pretty crappy). there had been a trailer playing before the movie for the movie coming out about Jeremy Camp (who’s a fairly well known Christian singer) that has KJ Apa in the lead role and it actually looks like it could be really good, but the audience that’s actually going to see that movie is barely a fraction of the audience that would go to the mr rogers movie. This was such an awesome opportunity to share love and kindness and they did it so damn well, I just thought it was so callous and ignorant to totally dismiss the movie because it didn’t contain an explicit gospel message. I’m rambling now, I know, though before I totally get off the topic I did also want to mention we also saw a trailer for the movie adaptation of Just Mercy, which was a book written by Bryan Stevenson, the founder of Equal Justice Works, which is a huge public interest law group that provides a ton of fellowships funding new attorneys who want to work do public interest work, and I know several people who had such fellowships with them (I came very close to applying but I had gotten the info about it too close to the deadline to really come up with a good proposal so I decided against it). so I’m super pumped for that movie as well, I do have a copy of the book that I received from that pro bono training we did at the fancy law firm a few weeks ago, I might have to sit down and read through it (which isn’t something I’ve really done with physical books since law school, you just do so much reading for school it kinda kills reading for pleasure for you, though I do still read plenty of fanfiction, lol). but now, anyway. the italian food was good, though when we got home I had a got a pretty bad stomach ache, but I don’t really know if it was the food or some other random reason because my body is crappy like that. but yeah, for most of the rest of the night I just chilled on the couch with my parents and a heating pad which I still have on my stomach currently, though it’s mostly feeling better. and yeah, eventually people went to go to bed and I showered and then came back here to start writing and went through the sequence of events recounted at the beginning of this post, and now I’m here. It’s now 1:30 am and I do have to wake up at some point not too late in order to go to breakfast because the car is coming to take me to the airport at 2:30 (I know that sounds so pretentious and spoiled and every time I say something like that I feel the need to explain my dad is really good friends with the owner of a limo company and he gives us free airport rides whenever we want, which is very generous of him, and my parents hate laguardia airport more than anything so I tend to get driven by them fairly often) so we’d obviously have to go sometime before that, and henceforth, I should go to bed now, so that is what I’m going to do. Goodnight friends. Goodbye November, hello December. 

[harryimaginedstories]

Still in Love

Hi! Hope you’ll enjoy this short one shot. It’s a request based on the song “Somebody that I used to know” by Gotye. It’s only loosely inspired by it though, the song is despite its lyrics rather upbeat while I imagine this story to be set in a sadder atmosphere. 

Plot: H and Y/N used to have a bond until they cut each other out of their lives.

Warnings: None.

Gorgeous picture isn’t mine.

Harry found himself unable to look away. All his eyes could see was me, just as if my frame was the magnet to his attention. It was as though I wasn't surrounded by a mass of people in a barely lit room and thick, humid air. His gaze was only drawn to me because to him I was illuminated. The air around me glowed. I might as well have stood in an empty room or lain in his bed, his attention couldn't have been on me any more. Harry's jaw tensed. The sweet taste of the soft-drink on his tongue and the loud music blasted through the big speakers would normally have his shoulders relaxed and his body moving along to the rhythm. He would be enjoying his night out with friends and colleagues. But this time he couldn't. If anything Harry hadn't ever been this tense whilst partying before. The tips of his fingers twitched, his lips were raw from his teeth pulling and biting into them and his hair was a mess. All of which he truly could not understand. How was Harry's mind so incapable of finding an escape from the worry and slight fear his body was tormented with? Ever since he'd noticed me singing along to the music and laughing with my head thrown back and dancing in the middle of the floor, his blood had turned to ice and his skin heated. His eyes followed the movements of my hips swinging, feet jumping and arms raising. The tip of his tongue pressed against his teeth when he noticed my exposed neck and collarbones and his skin prickled. Harry's stomach turned with guilt because he really shouldn't be giving me that kind of attention. I wasn't his after all. Not even as a friend. Nothing. Still, if only to make sure I was fine, his pupils continued to follow my every move and they narrowed when he noticed me stumble a little, losing my balance momentarily. It seemed as though I'd had one if not many drinks too much. He moved to get up and come to my aid before his head had even caught up with it to consciously make that decision and before it could tell him not to move. Harry didn't know me. Not anymore, for the matter and it was no longer his job to come to my protection either.

And still, his hands reached out to carefully nudge people out of his way and his big feet moved quickly and steady in order to reach me faster. Harry was impatient and he couldn't have said why. One of his friends even made the effort to call after him, truly surprised at his sudden movements, but went silent the moment he noticed who it was Harry's gaze had found. He knew Harry hadn't heard him, knew there was no reaching him where his head had gone.

There had once been a time when Harry and I would lose ourselves in the other. When the whole room could feel our connection as though an electric energy was caused by it. The house could have erupted into flames, the room flooded by water or the earth broken open - we wouldn't have noticed. Not when our fingers touched the others skin, if only momentarily. We would have eyes only for the other, words meant for no one else to hear and in truth Harry missed it as much as I longed for those times to come back.

I turned around when I heard him say my name for the first time in over a year. My blood was frozen, my skin light on fire and my heart flattered in my chest as if it tried to fly away. In my hurry and desperation to see him I lost my balance once more and stumbled into his chest rather forcefully. My stomach dropped at the sight of his beautiful features and a smile forced itself onto my lips.

Harry. He visibly hadn't changed at all and lost nothing of his beauty.

"Harry." My voice was shaking but fierce, with no doubt in its tone at all.

He chuckled quietly with the softest smile on his face while his hands found my rips to rest on hesitantly. Though his hold was firm, it was a gesture meant to steady me, keep me from falling and getting hurt, but oh if it didn't weaken my knees even further. And I fell. Metaphorically speaking.

"Hi," he hummed, his face leant in so his lips were near my ear. I shuddered when his warm breath fanned my skin. His hands brought me closer to him. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," I replied cheerfully, my arms raising to rest on top of his shoulders with a wide smile. The embarrassment I felt when my voice broke was over quickly and though Harry's smile told me he'd noticed, it was alright. The kind expression he wore and the alcohol numbing my brain were relaxing me enough to not blush at the uncommon closeness between us.

Maybe the lack of a barrier between us had become something unfamiliar, but when my fingers found the back of his neck and his soft curls to play with, I felt at home. He was truly here, in my arms. The softness of his strands was too addictive to let go of again. I normally wouldn't have ever dared to be handsy with him, which of course didn't mean that I didn't long to be. Touching your ex's hair and embracing his shoulders after not having seen him in 14 months wasn't exactly what was considered a great idea, was it?

But Harry wasn't really any ex. We'd never been an exclusive couple, never went on a date or got around to be introduced to parents. Harry and I were... in the lack of a better word Friends with benefits. It started one night mostly as a half drunken mistake and then continued until our relationship had transformed into something more. We'd hook up occasionally when we were in need for relief, then when we were in need of a shoulder to lean on and then when we were in need to be near each other. Our feelings for each other heightened and grew in strength until when we were in public and somebody asked what we were, neither of us knew what to say anymore. The term friends didn't suffice, fuck-buddies sounded too meaningless. So we avoided a label all together which was what had brought us to an end.

"Are you okay?" I asked him, trying to adapt a neutral tone. My brows knitted together and I observed his face closely, wanting to be sure he wouldn't lie. Harry didn't drink often, hardly ever got properly drunk. I feared he'd changed since we'd last spoken.

Harry nodded though his gaze darkened. Instinctively my hold on his locks tightened in fear he'd pull away.

"I'm good," Harry muttered, coming closer once more so he could talk into my ear, "But I'll be even better if you let me take you home."

My stomach dropped and I let out a shocked gasp. He flinched when I shifted, almost tumbling once more and frowned at me trying to pull away.

"You sure are forward, aren't you," I joked half heartily, my voice doing a poor job at covering up the surprise.

Harry's eyes widened, his head catching up to what he'd said.

"S'not what I mean!" Harry stressed, "M'not trying- Y/N you know m'not that sleazy. Was a stupid way of phrasing and-"

"Harry," I laughed, "I know. Didn't sound like you for a minute so I know you didn't intend it."

My hands ran down his shoulders and squeezed his arms. "But why do you want me to come with you?

The green of his orbs sparkled and my gaze dropped to the pink of his pillow lips. "Because I really miss you." ....

His room looked nothing like I remembered. And that saddened me. The soft blue colored sheets, sheets I'd loved to sleep in due to their unbelievable softness had been replaced by plain white ones. Where once the stacks of books we used to read in to one another before falling asleep had been on his nightstand, was now a quartet of scented candles. I frowned and stepped closer. I'd kept up with what he'd been up to and had only rolled my eyes at his newly discovered obsession with candles, but now that I stood right in front of four my fingers twitched.

Orange. Lavender. Hibiscus. Almond.

"Is water okay? I can make you a tea if you want. Think I even got your favorite somewhere."

Harry stood in the doorway, watching me with a mixed expression I found difficult to read. But I understood. It must have looked as strange to him as it felt for me, given that the last time I'd been in this exact bedroom we'd both been crying our hearts out.

"Water is fine," I replied with a hesitant smile, "Thank you."

His feet were slow when he approached me and the invitation to sit on his bed was spoked low. Any confidence Harry had shown back in the bar was lost, just like my bravery was wearing off with the remains of alcohol leaving my system. The more I sobered up, the stranger the whole situation became to me.

"Please, don't get sick," Harry requested quietly, whilst helping me sit down on his bed. I could only assume he was reading my pale cheeks and discomfort as a sign of too much alcohol in my blood. "Got new sheets."

"I noticed." The disappointment was evident in my voice and I forced a smile to cover it up, "And I'm alright."

Why were the sheets gone? It was silly to feel nostalgic about them, but why hadn't he kept the material we'd spent hours of sleeping under? Where we'd made plans, confessed dreams and caused giggles to fill the room? Had he thrown them away just like that and replaced them by silly blue ones? How could he?

"Where are they?"

"Who?" his face wore an expression of pure confusion.

I let my fingers touch the top of his mattress. It felt wrong. Not even half as soft as it used to be. "The sheets."

Harry didn't reply which was answer enough. I hissed and shook my head. My heart was heavy with a sudden sadness I couldn't explain and knew was stupid. There was no reason for me to feel crushed over the loss of some blue material I hadn't lain on in a long time. He'd made a decision I had no place being angry about.

Sensing my crushed feelings Harry shifted beside me, his arms ached to reach out and embrace me but his mind burned with questions he needed answers for.

"Why didn't you ever call, Y/N?"

We weren't avoiding the awkwardness, then. We wouldn't dance around the uncomfortable feelings. My chest moved and my lungs filled with fresh air. One thing I appreciated about Harry was his bravery, one I never possessed. He wasn't afraid of tackling the difficult conversations.

"I can't remember how many nights I stayed up staring at my phone with hopes I could never fully let go of."

"I needed space," I explained weakly, "Needed to clear my head."

We sat so close next to each other his knee brushed mine and though it was only a small touch, my eyes could not look away from it. His body heat easily radiated off of me, awakening every cell of my body and speeding up the rhythm of my heart. I wanted more, wanted to be reminded what it felt like to hold him right.

"Clear it from me?" Harry's quiet voice was laced with sadness, "You shut me out of your life. As if you tried to make it like I'd never touched it."

Contradicting his words, Harry's hand found my thigh, giving it an entirely non sexual squeeze, one that let me know he wasn't angry. My hand pressed on top of his and I looked up to meet his eyes.

"You know what I felt for you, Harry."

He nodded. "Which is just why I don't understand."

It'd been him who'd broken us off. Well, whatever "us" had meant. His solo career had been in its beginnings and he knew he'd need to be free to travel for it, work an impossible amount of hours and be available to anyone always. Anyone, aside form me.

Going solo meant he was busy and that meant that any feelings for him I had developed, did not have any place. Harry cared for me, wanted me and desired to keep me close, but at the same time he knew that if he let us strengthen our bond even more, we would eventually suffer a heart break. Our connection wasn't meant to be, not at that time anyway.

"I began to miss you so terribly the moment you closed the door behind you," I breathed.

Watching him walk out of my apartment was a sight I knew I'd never forget. No matter how many promises of keeping in touch, staying friends and wanting to remain close had been made, I was sure we both knew they were void of true meaning. Harry had touched my heart. How could I look into his eyes after having been rejected?

I whimpered when his body turned to face mine and shuddered when his hand fount my neck, gently turning my head so I looked up at him. Harry's brows were knitted together while his eyes pleaded with mine. My lips parted and my head spun when my own palms found their place on his shoulders, only centimeters away from his collarbones. I yearned to touch his skin.

"But that doesn't mean you had to cut me off like that," he whispered.

"Your fear of perhaps not having enough time for me didn't mean you had to deny us any chance either," I countered, arching one eyebrow at him.

Relief overcame me when a smile pulled at the corner of his lips and I felt some of the tension in the room shift. "That is true, I suppose."

His thumb gently caressed the skin of my cheek before trailing along my jaw. Harry shook his lovely head, making his slightly disheveled hair fall into his face. "And both happened despite that I loved you."

There it was again. The buzz in the air. I moved further up to sit in a crossed legged position across from him, both of my hands still pressed flat to his chest and his eyes closed when the tips of my fingers dared finding the unbuttoned part of his shirt where his warm skin was accessible.

I hummed, a shy smile on my lips.

"You know," I began in a whisper, "your choice of candles lets me hope there is no past tense to your feelings."

His nose brushed my cheek and his mouth kissed my shoulder.

My voice shook as I went on: "They are, after all, the scent of the cookies I always made for you, the soap of mine you used to hate and the oil I used to massage your shoulders with when you were stressed."

A low moan fell from his mouth at the memory and my eyes fell shut.

"And what's the last scent for?" he asked.

My body was pushed back to lie flat on his mattress and I welcomed him with open arms who finally got to hold him tight again.

"It's the smell of my hair," I whispered into the shell of his ear, whimpering when his lips pressed warm kisses to the bare exposed skin of my collarbones. "My shampoo."

"Maybe s'not in the past tense then," Harry murmured, grunting when my legs found the familiar place around his hips, "Maybe I still love you."

"That would be nice," I gasped when he pressed himself closer against my skin and wanted to cry because it still wasn't enough.

"Would it?"

"Yes," my hold tightened, "because I'm as in love with you as I was the day I told you for the first time."

Hope you liked it! It’s the first story I posted since being officially 19! Ahh!! Love everyone of you who reads my stories, your support means so much. Thank you.

Rest of my stories: 

http://harryimaginedstories.tumblr.com/post/144920695218/masterlist

[nathanrufo]

Thoughts of Experience

A new U2 album is out - Songs of Experience - which can mean only one thing: it’s time to dust off this old tumblr account so I can post my thoughts on social media without annoying my non-U2-loving Facebook or Twitter friends too much. And believe you me, nonexistent reader: I have thoughts on this new album.

As you may recall, I really liked Songs of Innocence. Some of my takes were laughably wrong (I was way too wrapped up in “The Troubles,” which is a pretty song but not “one of the best U2 songs ever.”). And, after a few years, I will admit that Songs of Innocence seems to me a much less quality album front-to-back. I find myself skipping a decent number of tracks (California, Cedarwood Road, Volcano, Sleep Like a Baby), and the bonus tracks don’t do anything for me (except Invisible, which is a hidden track). I still think “Iris,” “Raised by Wolves,” “This is Where You Can Reach Me Now,” and “Every Breaking Wave” are great songs, some even U2 classics, and I even love “Song for Someone” when I’m in the mood. But, it’s a much more uneven album for me.

After SoI, there was a lot of uncertainty surrounding the band. I waited for months, and then years to finally hear the follow-up/sequel. Every interview was, “It’s almost done” - in true U2 fashion. Truly, I had no idea what to expect from the album. My hope was that, after revisiting their post-punk vibes in SoI, that Songs of Experience would reflect more of the Unforgettable Fire-Joshua Tree-Rattle and Hum timeframe (my personal favorite U2 - ephemeral, moody, music that envelops you).

I can say that, aside from a few songs, that’s exactly the type of music that U2 went for on this album. I’ll say up front that my initial reaction is that I love this album, and I think it’s probably their best and most consistent work since Zooropa, if not Achtung Baby. Lyrically, there are two very obvious and somewhat intertwined underlying themes: 1) Bono’s musings on his own mortality after having what was apparently a huge health scare; and 2) the U.S. election of Donald Trump. I think both of those probably served to push the album back a bit from what they’d originally expected; but at the same time, the album came out 3 years later, which is short for late-stage U2 - so I think they also wanted to be timely.

The songs, lyrically, are simple - some may say too simple, too on the nose. I mean, some of the titles are “Get Out Of Your Own Way,” “Love Is Bigger Than Anything In Its Way,” “The Little Things That Give You Away.” There’s very little double meaning there. Bono talks in the liner notes about how, after he had his health scare, he got the advice to “Write as if you’re already dead, and you only have this last chance to tell everyone how you feel and what you think.” I think that’s very evident when going through the album. A dead man doesn’t have the luxury of playing cutesy with ironies and creative titles; he needs to get his point across well enough that people will understand even if he’s not around to explain it to them. (If he were in an Indiana Jones movie, his advice would be “Pick the wooden cup!” - a less interesting, but far more useful bit of advice than the cryptic clues often offered).

It’s obvious that this lay heavily on Bono’s mind; along with the thoughts of what kind of world he’d leave behind. The anti-Trump message is obvious, even when he’s not being obvious about it (which he does - a lot - sometimes cringingly so).

So lyrically, while this might not be the most artistic of Bono’s word choices (though to be honest, many U2 lyrics have been too “artistic,” to the point of meaninglessness), it’s certainly the most earnest.

So, I’ll go track by track with my thoughts. You obviously don’t need to follow along. (Spoiler alert: you don’t need to read this at all!)

1. “Love Is All We Have Left”

I love this to open an album. It’s moody and atmospheric. I personally love the use of vocoder - I think it adds to the song. I’ve seen old school U2 fans complain, but I think it’s great. Obviously straightforward lyrics.

2. “Lights of Home”

Another great song. Bono singing about death and dying; “Oh Jesus if I’m still your friend,/What the Hell/What the Hell you got for me?” Musically great, heavy; a big difference from the opening track. I love how the backing vocals drop in and out. This song would be right at home of How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, I think. I like the inclusion of the outro from “Iris” - the first of a few SoI callbacks on the album. This song was co-written with Haim, which is a cool tidbit.

3. “You’re the Best Thing About Me”

This is a song that I have mixed feelings on.  I absolutely love the verse; I especially love the bassline and how it interacts with with electronic flairs in the second verse. I’m not as enamored with the chorus or the breakdown in the middle, or the lyrics. Still, it’s a solid pop song.

4. “Get Out Of Your Own Way”

This is a song that could very easily fall into the wayward lyrical cutesiness of “Get On Your Boots” or “Elevation.” But in this song, I think it works - even the shoutout to “Lincoln’s Ghost.” I think this song is more political - the first really political one on the album - imploring Americans to stop shooting ourselves in the foot. “I can sing it to you all night, all night/If I could I’d make it alright, alright/Nothing stopping you except what’s inside/I can help you but it’s your fight, your fight.” The chorus of this could sound HUGE live. This is one that could fit easily on ATYCLB.

5. “American Soul”

I...am not in love with this song, to say the least. I like the Kendrick Lamar-beatitudes riff in the beginning. The groove for the verse is okay, and I like the reuse of the “Volcano” breakdown as the chorus; but the addition of the single guitar note seems a little out of place. This is the most egregious “Bono-ism” on the album, with “Refu-Jesus.” That’s a great play on words...if you lead up to it in any way. It’s presented seemingly randomly and it just doesn’t work for me. I’ve already started skipping this one on most of my listen-throughs.

6. “Summer of Love”

This song has a great vibe. It feels like an updated ‘60s song; Edge’s guitar reminds me of “Three Sunrises,” a song that I really like. The lyrics are great, too, a rumination on the Syrian civil war; “I’ve been thinking bout the West Coast/Not the one that everyone knows.” Apparently was a OneRepublic song that he gave to U2; they did a great job with it.

7. “Red Flag Day”

War. That’s what immediately sprung to mind when I heard the opening of this song. It would fit perfectly on War, from the subject matter to the post-punk vibe. Probably the closest they get to that era on this album, and they do it well here, though it’s not one of my favorites (just a style thing).

8. “The Showman (Little More Better)”

I’ve seen this listed as people’s favorite song. I don’t get that. It’s kind of an interesting, fun song; I do like Bono’s slightly-begging tone throughout, as if he’s begging you to love him, which is sort of the undertone of every showman. Still, to me it’s “just a song” - a decent album cut.

9. “The Little Things That Give You Away”

THIS. I said it on Twitter and I’ll say it again here - and I’m much more confident about this than I was about “The Troubles” - this is a top-10, if not top-5 U2 song of all time. It starts slow instrumentally, but Bono’s vocals soar from the outset. Eventually, it transforms into an epic, sweeping piece, full of hope and despair at the same time - a hallmark of a great U2 song. I heard this live on piano during the Joshua Tree tour and really liked it; but that version doesn’t do this song justice. I can imagine fans singing along with this like at the end of “Pride” or “Bad.” This is going to sound HUGE in an arena. Easily my favorite song on the album. It could slide right into the Joshua Tree.

10. “Landlady”

A really pretty, soulful, moody song. Maybe my second-favorite on the album. Lyrically, just as good. When I first heard it, I thought the “Landlady” was God in Bono’s eyes; but he wrote it for his wife, Ali. Either interpretation works, I think. I’m not a man of faith but I can appreciate it either way all the same.

11. “The Blackout”

One of the three that was released before the album. I really, really like this song until the very end when he repeats “When the lights go out” about 12,000 times. Overall I think it’s a great vibe and really reminds me of Achtung Baby. The pre-chorus is one of my favorite segments of the album.

12. “Love is Bigger Than Anything In Its Way”

Great, catchy song. I like the electronic melody. Simple, direct, but true.

13. “13 (There Is a Light)”

A nice, lowkey song to end the album. I like the repurposing of “Song for Someone.”

Bonus Tracks (Deluxe Album)

“Ordinary Love” has been around for a while. It was in the “Mandela: Walk to Freedom” movie and has been remixed a bunch of times. Lady Gaga sang it on tour with the band  (and she was actually great for it) and helped them produce this version. I like the song a lot, this version is okay.

“Book of Your Heart” hasn’t really made an impression on me one way or the other.

The string version of “Lights of Home” is really, really good.

The Kygo version of You’re The Best Thing...I couldn’t really get into it. Cool as a dance remix I guess.

Overall

Overall...I really, really love this album. I think it’s their strongest work since at least All You Can’t Leave Behind, and I think I like it better than anything since Achtung Baby. I would place it behind Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby, and Unforgettable Fire. Probably in the same stratosphere as War and All That You Can’t Leave Behind.

That’s it. Those are my thoughts. The end.