#namely using a billion led zeppelin songs

[shallowseeker]

Jack time travel fic idea

Mirroring Dean's speech to Mary in 12x01

DEAN (breathing heavily) Mom. Listen to me. Your name – your name is Mary Sandra Campbell, okay? You were born December 5, 1954, to Samuel and Deanna Campbell. Your father, he bounced around a lot for, uh, work, and you bounced right along with him, and you ended up in Lawrence, Kansas. MARY: How do you know all that? DEAN: Dad told me. March 23, 1972, you walked out of a movie theater – Slaughterhouse-Five. You loved it, and you bumped into a big Marine and you knocked him flat on his ass. You were embarrassed, and he laughed it off, said you could make it up to him with a cup of coffee. So, you went to, uh, Mulroney's and you talked and he was cute and he knew the words to every Zeppelin song, so when he asked you for your number, you gave it to him, even though you knew your dad would be pissed. That was the night that – that you met – MARY: John Winchester. DEAN: August 19, 1975, you were married... in Reno. Your idea. A few years later, I came along, then Sammy.

///

Jack to Dean:

I know you don't trust me, but listen. You were born on January 24, 1979 to John and Mary Winchester. You say you're an Aquarius who likes long walks on the beach, but the truth is you really hate sand.

Your dad raised you in The Life, on the road with Sam. When you were 16, you got arrested for stealing and spent time in a boys' home. You loved it there.

You've had a gun in your hands for as long as you can remember, but what you really wanted to be was a fireman, a mechanic, maybe a rock star. Your favorite song is a tie between "Ramble On" and "Traveling Riverside Blues," and you always say that all music made after 1979 sucks. You've seen the "Untouchables" over fifty times and probably "The Lost Boys" even more than that.

You know 101 ways to make mac and cheese, and you don't know it yet, but you make the best Mexican Rotel casserole.

///

Jack to Cas:

I'm Jack Kline. I'm your...your...well. It doesn't matter who I am. Just know that I...I care about you. A lot.

Your name's Castiel. You're old. At least 4.543 billion years old, but you always say being an angel is like being old and young at the same time.

You’ve been a soldier as long as you can remember. Whenever you disagreed with your mission, Heaven tortured you. Gruesomely. You told me once that it felt like how the fish looked when it got blendered in Deuce Bigalow, Male Gigolo.

You know you caused the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and defeated the Romans at The Battle of Cannae. Sometimes, you were summoned to slaughter entire armies. Other times, it was to carry out genocide against all the children of the land.

You were there during the Great Flood, and when Gabriel led the slaughter of the Nephilim and their families. You told me once that you're terrified you've had human allies before. You're scared that you'll forget us, and your life will go back to how it was before, an endless cycle of war and death.

You raised Dean Winchester to Earth on September 18, 2008. That's why you decided to rebel again, maybe even for the last time.

///

Jack to Sam:

Your name's Sam Winchester. You were born cursed. May 2, 1983. Six months later, on November 2, Azazel infected you.

You felt that burden your whole life.

Your dad trained you to be a soldier, but your brother Dean was the one to raise and protect you. You spent most of your life hopping from one hotel to the next. It was crusty and horrible and you never felt like you belonged anywhere.

But you studied hard and got a scholarship to become a lawyer at the Harvard. There, you fell in love with the most beautiful girl, Jessica Moore...but then, Azazel came after her, too.

You'd never admit it to Dean, but after that, "My Heart Will Go On" by Celene Dion got you through some of the worst moments of your life.

You--you were the first one who told me that I could be good.

///

To Bobby:

"You dressed me like you! I like how you-you dresses better than the you that I knew. Not that I knew you. You were dead before I was born."

///

Bobby's face: 🤨

How Bobby dresses Jack:

[natromanxoff]

Evening Standard - April 21, 1992

Credits to Roberto Macchi.

Freddie tribute raises £20m for Aids

By Tim Cooper

ORGANISERS of the Freddie Mercury tribute concert were today allocating the estimated £20 million raised by last night's show to Aids charities.

As money flooded in from film and TV rights, merchandising profts and public donations, Aids workers were deciding where to spend the vital funds to help combat the disease.

Freddie Mercury, the group's flamboyant leader who died of Aids last November, will never be replaced. But some of the biggest names in rock tried to fill his shoes at Wembley. They made it a night to remember for the 72,000 audience and billion television viewers in 70 countries.

And if the British have had their fill of fund-raising concerts, they did not show it. The tickets were snapped up in just three hours — before a single singer had been billed to appear — and fans queued for up to 36 hours to get places near the front of the stage.

The concert — the biggest since Live Aid — began with the familiar piano introduction to Queen's biggest hit, Bohemian Rhapsody. The three surviving group members took the stage and guitarist Brian May announced: "We are here to celebrate the life, work and dreams of Freddie Mercury." Drummer Roger Taylor added: "You can cry as much as you want."

The first half of the show featured the heirs to Queen's throne: the young rock princes of Metallica, Extreme, Def Leppard and Guns N' Roses. Hovering over them was the ghost of Freddie Mercury, addressing us from the giant video screens on either side of the stage.

And if Freddie's appearance brought the occasional tear to the eye, there was humour too; not least when Bob Geldof, who virtually invented this sort of tribute, strolled on stage like an unkempt caterpillar in a fluorescent yellow-and-green suit.

Spinal Tap, whose parody of heavy rock music has become absorbed into the heavy rock mainstream, joked that they were cutting their set short by about 35 songs in honour of the dead star. "We believe Freddie would have wanted it this way," they said.

Funnier still was the appearance of Guns N'Roses singer Axl Rose, in Union Jack jacket, his underpants, and half a tartan kilt dangling over his backside. Maybe that's the fashion in Los Angeles.

Elizabeth Taylor struck a serious note with her impassioned plea for safe sex and understanding about Aids. Looking every inch the superstar, she told the audience: "Don't worry — I'm not going to sing!" In one of the most moving performances she has given, Miss Taylor said that 5,000 people worldwide were becoming infected with HIV each day, and that the number of people in the stadium represented the number who would become infected in the next fortnight. “Please don't let it happen to you," she pleaded.

The second half of the show featured the remaining three-quarters of Queen with a succession of guest singers who had shared the limelight with Freddie in the Seventies — and some of more recent vintage.

The Who's Roger Daltrey twirled the microphone as he sang Want It All. Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant, a voluminous purple crushed velvet smock concealing his middle-age spread, wailed his way through Innuendo and Crazy Little Thing Called Love.

Lisa Stansfleld appeared in curlers for I Want To Break Free, but returned with every hair in place to duet with George Michael. David Bowie duetted with Annie Lennox on Under Pressure, then reunited with his old guitarist Mick Ronson and Mott The Hoople singer Ian Hunter for the Seventies hit All The Young Dudes — the show's musical highlight for the over-30s.

Then Bowie brought absolute silence to the stadium as he asked the audience to remember any friends or relatives with Aids. Then he mentioned a friend of his own with the disease, sank to his knees at the front of the stage, bowed his head and began to recite the Lord's Prayer.

It was a hard act to follow but George Michael did his best. He too had a message about Aids, announcing latest estimates that by the year 2000 the number of people infected with HIV would be 40 million. "And if you think that those are all going to be gay people, or drug addicts, you are pretty much lining up to be one of those numbers," he warned.

Then Elton John, with a little help from Axl Rose — now keeping out the chilly wind with a leather skirt — gave us Bohemian Rhapsody, The Show Must Go On and We Will Rock You.

There was time for only one more guest. Brian May said: "There is one person in the whole world that Freddie would be very proud to have stand in his footsteps tonight… And she's here.”

Into the spotlight strode Liza Minnelli to belt out We Are The Champions as the evening's other 95 performers joined her on stage. As they left and the audiencebegan to file away, a familiar figure in ermine robes and a crown appeared on the video screen. Everyone knew the song: God Save The Queen. Freddie would have love it.

[Photo caption: Brian May hugs Liza Minnelli on stage after her emotional performance / PICTURE: DAVE BENETT]

[fishingforsims]

URL Song Tag!

I was tagged by @berryconfetti!

rules: spell out your url using song titles, then tag as many people as there are letters in your url.

Links to the songs are included!

f - From Eden - Hozier

i - I Cover the Waterfront - Connie Boswell

s - Soy Yo -Bomba Estereo

h - Human - Rag’n’Bone Man

i - Inevitable - The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals

n - National Anthem - Lana Del Rey

g - Give Me Love - Ed Sheeran

f - Friends - Led Zeppelin

o - (One of Those) Crazy Girls - Paramore

r - Rainbow - Kesha

s - Standing - Buffy the Vampire Slayer

i - It Wasn’t a Deer Skull - Peter Broderick

m - Ma Belle Evangeline - The Princess and the Frog

s - Sugarland - Papa Mali

Tagging 14 people is a bit much, but if you haven’t been tagged and want to participate, just say I tagged you!

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #353

“well i’m a creep  /  i’m a weirdo  /  what the hell am i doing here?  /  i don’t belong here”

If you won an all-expenses paid trip to anywhere in the world for a one week vacation, where would you choose to go? For just one week, um... maybe South Africa, actually. Two weeks would probably be more ideal, but I've learned via my friend who worked with the KMP for a year that it's very isolating and you're very disconnected from society (also from the Internet, haha), but regardless, I REALLY wanna see the meerkats. Especially with the heat and all, one week might actually be all right. How often do you get notifications on your favorite social media site? That would be Facebook, and it really depends on how much I share that day. Sometimes I barely touch it, and sometimes I share a billion things and get a few notifications of people reacting. What’s something you’re actively trying to forget/care less about, if anything? Hi, have I told you about my breakup? What was the last encounter you had with a bug? Ugh, the fucking house is having an ant problem. Apparently, it's happened before here this time of year, so a couple times a days I find one on my arm or something and crush it. What is something considered “childish” that you still like or enjoy doing? I'm certain some people would consider RP childish, given it's essentially "make believe," and that's one reason I don't tell people about it. Name a song that you have a strong emotional connection to. Why is that song so important to you? The #1 song would be "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin. I've told why before and don't feel like doing it again. Is cannabis legal where you live? Nope, but it should be. How often do you walk your dog, if you have one? I don't have a dog. What is something you'd feel confident enough to give a presentation on? Me? Comfortable giving a presentation? Bitch please. Which CoVid vaccine did you receive, if any? I got Moderna. I wanted Pfizer, but supposedly they're the same thing, just different manufacterors. How do you feel you've made a difference in the world? I don't feel I have. But it's my goal in life to die feeling like I did. Do you eat any candies in a specific order? (ie: M&M's) I fucking read this as "candles" and was really confused. But anyway, yes, but not M&Ms; I only do that with candies that actually have unique tastes depending on color, like Skittles. What is one common childhood illness that you managed not to catch? I never got chickenpox. Is there an heirloom that has been passed down generations of your family? Probably, but I don't know about it. What is the most unique pet that you ever owned, or would like to? Hm. I'd say maybe a Chinese water dragon? People tend to not know what they are; they mistake them for iguanas all the time. Have you ever been in a bad car accident before? A bad one, no, but I've been in one, nevertheless. At the description of what happened though, the cop said we were extremely lucky we weren't flipped over. My mom's driving skill saved us. What is your favorite type of weather to experience? Snow! I like a steady pace of large flakes. Do you know your social security by heart? I don't, actually, but I did at one point. Now, I only know the last four digits. Would you move out your house if you could right now? Yes, even if we just moved here. Mom and I really, really don't like living in the suburbs. We miss being in the middle of nowhere. When is the last time you slept in someone else’s bed? Not since I last visited Sara's. Do you like being called baby? Not really. Like if it's from an s/o, it's all right, it's just really not my favorite. Have you ever slept in the same bed of the opposite sex? Yeah. When shopping at a grocery store, do you return the cart? I openly judge the fuck out of you if you don't. Do you think you would survive in the wilderness if you were abandoned there? I know I couldn't. Not in my shape. If you had a child at the age you’re at now, do you think you’d be a good parent? God, no. Do you eat your Oreos with milk? Yes. I strongly prefer them that way. Do you think French kissing is gross? I mean in concept I think it indisputably is, like even if you brush your tongue, it's still just... gross. But that doesn't mean I'm against it at all or won't do it when I love somebody. It's an "I accept you and your germs" thing, haha. Are you wearing make-up? What brand(s)? No. I pretty much never wear makeup anymore, even to take pictures. The last male you spoke to…is he attractive? That would be my psychiatrist, and I'm not attracted to him, no. He's like another dad to me. Have you ever had mice in your house? Back when we lived in the woods, we would have a minor mouse problem in the winter sometimes. I fucking hated it because my parents used the inhumane traps, save for one. I guess it was an affordability thing, idk. One or two got caught in that one, and I would let them go outside. Do you enjoy working with animals? It depends on what I'm doing. If I'm cleaning up after an animal, NO, because I seriously struggle with stomaching it. I canNOT touch vomit or feces, so that kinda eliminates a lot of options. Because of how physically weak I am along with hyperhidrosis, I also can't really exert myself much, so there ya go, more reasons I can't. I wish I could. Have you ever been in a tornado or hurricane? Plenty of hurricanes. If you're in a competition, are you in it to win it or just for the fun? The fun, experience, and growth. What's your favorite show on Comedy Central? I don't watch it. Which love story would you want your life to turn out like? I don't know, really. Do you usually go to sleep before or after the people you're living with? Before, at least usually. Are you into ripped jeans? Yes, though I don't wear jeans anymore. Have you ever been to any Disney parks? Yeah, Disney World in Florida. Which band has the best name, in your opinion? "Cradle of Filth" sounds pretty damn badass and unholy, I dig it. Do kids often knock on your door on Halloween? This will be our first year in this house during Halloween, so I really don't know if any will? I mean we live in a suitable neighborhood, so idk. Which one of your exes do you feel like you have the most chemistry with? Sara. Do you share the same political views as your parents? Dad, no. Mom, some. Have you ever done any internship? No. What's the last thing you got paid to do? Take pictures for someone. What's something your mother always says? "Drive like everyone else is stupid." It works though, haha. Always expect that someone you see might do something moronic and be prepared. For example, she is very adamant about us looking both ways when a light changes to green versus going immediately, and it's literally saved Mom's and my sister's lives. What's something your dad always says? To reach out to him if we ever need help with anything, and he'll do everything in his power to be there. What's your favorite thing to wear? Loose tank tops with loose-ish pj pants. What's your favorite day of the week? Nowadays, it's Fridays. Snake Discovery and The Dark Den both upload that day, haha. Do you have a favorite coloring book artist? Lisa Frank is the Wholesome Lead Bitch. Have you ever wanted to model? No. Have you ever seen someone have a seizure? Yeah, my sister. What's your favorite car? I am not NEARLY educated enough on cars to answer this. Why did you cry the last time you did? I'm seriously grieving Virginia. Her death has stricken me harder than any other I've experienced, even my own grandmother's. Who was the last person to piss you off? Probably someone on Facebook, but idr. Do you like winter? I love winter. Do you have a favorite flower? Yeah; I really like orchids. Dahlias are also gorgeous, and roses... Would you get a shamrock tattooed to your forehead for $5000? No. As great as that money sounds, tattoos are (relatively) permanent, and that would look pretty stupid imo. Are you very flexible? Not anymore. Who was the last person to tell you you looked nice? Probably Mom. Do you have the right time set on your microwave? Yeah. Do you have any old newspaper articles? Why? No. Do you have a flat screen tv or just a regular box? Flat screen. Do you like Tootsie Rolls? Ugh, no. Do you like Slim Jim’s? Oh fuuuuuuck yeah man. What color is your mousepad? Black. Do you get your eyebrows waxed? I used to, but now I just leave 'em be. Would you date someone that had a different religion from you? It would depend on the religion and the intensity. I could NOT date someone exceptionally religious. A common question: What are you listening to? Caleb Hyles and Halocene's cover of Radiohead's "Creep." Would you ever get a nature tattoo? Well, I want at least a meerkat tattoo, so. I'll probably get a snake somewhere, too. Where do your siblings work, if anywhere? My older sister is a mammographer, and my little sister is a children's social worker. Saving lives, then there's me lmao. Who do you generally talk to the most? Mom and Sara. Have you ever had a crush on someone of the same gender? Yeah, multiple times. Do you enjoy painting? Not really, no. I stress out about messing up. When, where, and why did a needle last pierce your skin? Around a week ago, left shoulder, to get my first Covid vaccine. Is there a person you talk to everyday with? Well, considering I live with my mother... I usually talk to Sara too, but a day sometimes passes where we don't. Does one of your parents ever complain to you about the other parent? Mom does that all the time about Dad. It's no shocker they're divorced. Dad's long since moved on and doesn't talk shit about her. Who was the last person you wished a “Happy Birthday” to? I actually don't remember... Someone on Facebook, I'm sure. Does your best friend have a job? Not right now, she's dealing with some wild health issues where it's much safer that she doesn't. When you move out your house (or if you already have moved out) do you plan on still visiting your parents' house? Well of course. I especially plan on visiting my mother at least once a week, either going to her place for dinner or her coming over to mine for the same. We're way too close for me to not see her. I'll still visit Dad, too. Do you usually take home leftovers if you eat out in a restaurant? It depends on what I had and if I know I'll eat it warmed up. What’s your favorite thing to have for breakfast? Cinnamon rolls. Why did you break your last promise? I barely EVER break promises, but this one I actually forgot I even made. ;_;

[milkchu]

❝anyway the wind blows❞ ♔ thirteen.

Summary: (Y/N) Mercury’s journey of love, fame, and pain, alongside what would become one of the most legendary bands ever, Queen.

Pairing: Borhap!Queen x Reader, eventual Brian May x Reader

Warnings: just a hint of angst.

⇦ previous chapter // next chapter ⇨

“I’m not even hurt by the fact that she’s let me go as a friend. But you can only be there so much for a person.”

“And so, Mr. Prenter, all these stories about (Y/N) Mercury and her lovers… that there were so many. Is it really true?”

“Yes, it is. Her lovers were countless.”

You stare blank-faced at the television, thinking, of course he would do this. But, you didn’t care. Not even one bit.

“So, you really did see what was behind the mask?”

Not wanting to hear any more of it, you grabbed the telephone from the table beside you and dialed a number you should have before, “Hello?”

“Miami?” You said, almost croaking.

Jim raised his brows up, definitely not expecting a phone call from you, “(Y/N)? How are you?”

“There was this Africa concert… that wants Queen to play. Is that still…”

“You mean Live Aid?” Jim leaned back in his chair, sighing, “They’ve announced all the bands, (Y/N). It’s too late.”

“I need… I need to reconnect with the mothership,” You said softly.

“(Y/N), they don’t want anything to do with you. They’re still very upset.”

Feeling your chest ache a little bit, you continued, “Maybe if you ask them… they would meet me. Tell them I want to talk. Just talk.”

Tears glossed over your eyes, you managed to let out, “We’re family.”

“You know, family have fights… all the time.”

“I can call.”

“Thank you… Jim.”

Looking back towards the television before ending the call, you heard the interviewer ask, “How would you describe her on the inside as a person?”

Paul scoffed, “For me, (Y/N) will always be this frightened little girl who’s afraid to be alone.”

Next thing you know you were sitting on one of the seats in Miami’s office, tapping your fingers on the armrest, patiently waiting. For the first time.

You tried to occupy yourself and avoid the uncomfortable feeling in your stomach by fixing your hair, fiddling with the hem of your black dress, or adjusting your leather jacket.

You looked towards Miami, who was carefully watching you the whole time, “Where are they?”

“They’re late.”

Nodding at his sentence, you couldn’t help but let a small smile grace your lips, almost chuckling at the thought. But your thoughts were soon interrupted by knocks on the glass door.

You quickly let out a breath and adjusted your position, before looking up to the three, Brian coming in first. Miami greeted, “Hi, guys.”

“Jim,” Brian acknowledged before he looked towards you, his face unreadable. Though the sight of him, especially after not seeing him for so long, never fails to make your heart beat faster than normal. Roger came in after, a glare hidden under his sunglasses, while John simply looked at his feet.

“If anybody wants any tea, coffee, bladed weapons… just ask.”

The three took their seats, Brian letting out a sigh as he sat nearest to you.

“So…” Miami started, “Who wants to go first?”

Staring at the coffee table, you spoke up, “I’ll start.”

“I’ve been hideous. I know that, and… I deserve your fury. I’ve been conceited, selfish…” You tried to look for more words but just decided on, “Well, an asshole, basically.”

“Strong beginning,” Roger retorted.

“Look, I’m happy to strip off my shirt and flagellate myself before you,” You said in a louder tone before saying softly, “Or rather, I could ask you a simple question.”

“I’m good with the flagellation.”

Ignoring Roger’s words, you let out a sigh, “What’s it gonna take for you all to forgive me?”

“Is that what you want, (Y/N)?” Brian asked, “I forgive you? Is that it? Can we go now?”

You immediately shook your head, “No.” Everyone in the room now looking at you, puzzled, before you continued, “I went to Munich.”

“I hired a bunch of guys. I told them exactly what I wanted them to do and the problem was…” You looked at them, “they did it.”

“No pushback from Roger. None of your rewrites,” You turned to Brian, then to John, “None of his funny looks,” a tight-lipped smile made its way to John’s face, Roger softly smiling at what you said, “I need my boys.” 

“I need you... and you need me.”

Hearing no response, you decided to lighten up the mood by patting Brian’s shoulder, letting out a chuckle, “Let’s face it. We’re not bad for four aging queens.” His face not changing.

“So, um, go ahead. Name your terms.”

Brian continued to stare at you before speaking up, “Could you give us a moment, please, (Y/N)?”

Your smile fell, before slowly standing up, and walking out the door. Once you were out of the room, John asked Brian, “Why’d you do that?”

Brian shrugged, “I just felt like it.” The three of them letting out soft laughs.

Meanwhile, outside, both hands in your jacket pockets, leaning your back against the wall just beside Miami’s office, you stared at the floor, a million things going through your mind. Hearing the door open and close again, Miami walked towards you.

“They’ll be all right. They just need a bit of time.”

You continued to stare blankly at the floor, “What if I don’t have time?”

“What do you mean, (Y/N)?”

Thankfully, for now, you didn’t have to tell him as John opened the door and stepped out, “You can come back in now, if you’d like.”

Sitting back down on your seat, Roger spoke up, “We decided… what did we decide?”

John sighed, “From now on… every song, no matter who wrote it, music, lyrics… it’s by Queen. Not one of us, just Queen. All the money, all the credits split four ways evenly.”

You nodded, “Done.”

“We have a problem with the people around you,” Roger added.

“Paul is out. I fired him.”

“On what pretext?”

“Villainy. What else?”

“Bob Geldof,” Miami spoke up, “I called to convince him to squeeze you guys into the lineup for the Live Aid concert but he wants an answer now. You have to make a decision. Every ticket is already sold.”

“A hundred thousand people at Wembley, hundred thousand people at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. A global TV audience around the world of a hundred and fifty countries, thirteen satellites. The Olympics only had three.”

“We haven’t played together in years,” Roger started, “It’s kinda suicide to play again for the first time in front of millions.”

Brian corrected, “Try over one point five billion,” before he scoffed, “Who are these four dinosaurs? Where’s Madonna?”

“It’s a twenty-minute set. Everyone gets the same,” Miami said, “Jagger, Bowie, Elton, McCartney, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Phil Collins, REO Speedwagon, Bob Dylan.”

“Certainly good company,” John said.

“Anybody who is anybody is doing this concert.”

“Look,” You spoke up, “All I know… is that if we wake up the day after this concert and we didn’t do our part… we’re going to regret it till the day we die.”

You didn’t know how, but you managed to contain yourself. Not in front of them. Not right now. Saying out in an almost shaky voice, “Please.”

a/n: sorry for the short chapter, i think you all know what happens next and i just wanted the next part to be its own chapter since it’s very major!

tags: @b-hardys // @hunterswearingplaid // @livingforrt // @bensrhapsody // @jennyggggrrr // @little-weirdo-13 // @kemeryyyy // @yoonlatte // @geek-and-proud // @everything-you-dont-wanna-be // @itsametaphorbriansblog // @marequeenii // @killer-queen-xo // @jedi-dreea // @achernarsaa // @nevaeh-potter15 // @banana-tree-freddiemercury // @rogertaylorssunglasses // @pyrotechnic789 // @mirkwoodshewolf // @stuff-exists // @toger-raylor // @langdonzvoid // @imamazzellhoe // @tbird20165 // @destiel-stucky4ever-loki-queen // @theswedishblonde // @oliviaharddyy // @sunflower-borhap-boys // @rocknrollsavedmysoul13 // @sincereleygmg // @mylifeissucky123 // @teenwolflover28 // @perrythefrickinplatypus // @deakysmisfire // @simonedk // @rockyroadthepastryarchy // @warren-lauren // @sarai-ibn-la-ahad // @danny-fucking-mercury

[malunedyne]

aesthetic themed ask list: you know the drill fam, all of them now!

BRUUHHH IS THIS BLACKMAIL

fairy lights: if a crystal ball could tell you the truth about anything, what would you want to know?

will i ever be a successful writer/artist of any kind? how can i achieve that?

daisies: what is the greatest accomplishment of your life?

being able to be grateful and enjoy small things in life even if i feel like i’m at the peak of my dysthymia (lol)

1975: what is the first happy memory that comes to mind, recent or otherwise?

a very random day i’m not sure why it got stuck on my head some +5 years ago when it was raining and i was outside my house, throwing lemons of my lemon tree towards the neighbors’ houses lmao

matte: if you knew that in one year you would die suddenly, would you change anything about the way you are now living?

totally, i would start writing full time and maybe planning on doing some small trips before it

black nail polish: do you have a bucket list? if so, what are the top three things?

-visiting a foreign country (japan would be my dream)-publishing a work (either a book or a photograph in a prestigious place)-be truly in love and loved back

pantone: describe a person close to your life in detail.

-she’s the only one who knows in EXPLICIT detail how my sublimation mechanism works, the biggest of my weakness, what makes me feel shame the most….. a college friend of mine, intellectually clever, emotionally not so much, shares big passion for the same EROS subject

moodboard: do you feel you had a happy childhood?

-i can’t complain about it, i remember good things mostly, i still went outside and played but also enjoyed video games and cartoons; i was a loner but never felt lonely, my imagination compensated alla that

stars: when did you last cry in front of another person?

-in the first days of the year in front of my parents lol i was so done with everything

plants: pick a person to stargaze with you and explain why you picked them.

-i’d choose my father cause he surely would tell me some good stories or about the myths….. 

converse: would you ever have a deep conversation with a stranger and open up to them?

-that’s literally what going to therapy almost is lmao jks that’s not therapy well i think if i could feel reciprocated, i would

lace: when was your last 3am conversation with someone, and who were they to you?

-3 am???? i guess it was my last best friend, but we barely think of each other now

handwriting: if you were about to die, and you could only say one more sentence to one person, what would you say and to whom?

-it would depend on a lot of things, honestly

cactus: what is your opinion on brown eyes?

-cute and it doesn’t give me the creeps to stare at directly, lmao (eyes too light give me anxiety to hold visual contact with)

sunrise: pick a quote and describe what it means to you personally.

“A Hero must struggle!” how can you know a Hero is a Hero without trouble though? isn’t life made out of trials? A Hero must not be just a muscular, strong figure who makes physical tasks, it also speaks of mental and intern fights too..... I wrote a whole paper on this and would surely write more about it

oil paints: what would you title the autobiography of your life so far?

-1000 reasons why thinking everything will solve by itself later is a lie and a bad idea

overalls: what would you do with one billion dollars?

-find another place to live with my family; travel. a fucking lot. but first, give my parents what they need to solve some financial and health issues. donate to environment protection orgs, buy shittons of gaming and anime merch like the hopeless half-arsed grown adult i am

combat boots: are you a very forgiving person? do you like being this way?

-I can forgive anyone but it takes some time. I like being like that, everything that hurts me i sublimate later through my writings, so even that displeasure, has a /creative/ function in my life

winged eyeliner: write a hundred word letter to your twelve year old self.-bitchyou’re dumb as hell, but wise as fuck. you don’t give three fucks about time,enjoy it while you can. you may have encountered yourself with people who tryto hurt you, mess with you and you feel bad about yourself, but it’s not yourfault in the slightest, nor they are right. never allow them to be in controlof YOUR emotions. you need to stand for yourself and yourself only, you don’tneed to prove shit to no one. Write. Write. Write. and never stop. use everythingand turn it into words: good, bad, fears and dreams. 

pastel: would you describe yourself as more punk or pastel?

both depending on the #mood

tattoos: how do you feel about tattoos and piercings? explain

piercings aren’t really my thing but I like tattoos (not hardcore-like tho), I’ve think of getting one but I get overwhelmed and my mom would kill me lol (if my siblings agreed on getting a small Triforce tattoo and each of us pick one part /i’d pick wisdom tho/, i’d be more than happy to get it done) 

piercings: do you wear a lot of makeup? why/why not?

I used to wear mascara (but i caught an eye infection, lol), now i just do the basics: powder and lipstick.

bands: talk about a song/band/lyric that has affected your life in some way.

uhm….. i owe led zeppelin a lot because it supported me thru the worst of my first major depressive episode, and i have a thing with Pink Floyd The Wall….. I used to listen it on repeat thru the last straw of it, so it naturally makes me feel depressive and somewhat suicidal ???? but just in thought….. I can’t listen to Dark Side of the Moon because I feel useless as well lol

messy bun: the world is listening. pick one sentence you would tell them.

we need to stop being arrogant, selfish and stupid enough to think everything is here to serve us; we can’t dissociate ourselves from nature and the environment as if we were self-sufficient.

cry baby: list the concerts you have been to and talk about how they make you feel.

oh now this is sad lol

grunge: who in the world would you most like to receive a letter from and what would you want it to say?

the person who will spend their life with me, and where to find them

space: do you have a desk/workspace and how is it organised/not organised?

uhmm….. hehe

white bed sheets: what is your night time routine?

i set /most of times/ my stuff for the next day, uniform; i eat/drink something and put a glass of water beside my bed, wear my pajamas, pray a little for the people i love, or render thanks for stuff, and think of my stories or some gay shit before till i fall asleep (if i’m lucky enough, i get to dream of it as well)

old books: what’s one thing you don’t want your parents to know?

-same as u fam @electroma89, I want my parents to know my interest in writing and such, just like my father does buuuuuuuuuuut the topics of my interest i doubt they’ll understand and it’s a total wild card trying to guess how they would react like

beaches: if you had to dye your hair how would you dye/style it and why?

have u seen MCU’s Gamora? that’s how I’d wear my hair

eyes: pick five people to go on an excursion with you. who would you pick and where would you go/what would you do?

-uh….. lol idk, i’ve always have wanted to go to somewhere quiet and watch the stars

11:11: name three wishes and why you wish for them.

-Peace and Love on Planet Earth….. is there anything that’s worth more?-having self discipline….. i swear to Hylia lots of my problems could be avoided that way-meet someone who loves me and i can love back….. my life has placed me in the worst places to know people, i swear…..

painting: what is the best halloween costume you have ever put together? if none, make one up.

-i’ve never dressed for halloween, but i’d like to; though i can’t think of any rn lol

lightning: what’s the worst thing you’ve ever done while drunk or high?

-opening up to people more than i should had

thunder: what’s one thing you would never do for one million dollars?

-hurt someone from my loved ones; steal from the poor

storms: you on only listen to one song for the rest of your life, or only see one person for the rest of your life. which and why?

-only one song??? FUCK i couldn’t say a person, but i’m sooooo special with songs i’m not sure….. maybe Le Cygne by Camil Saint-Saens, maybe that one

love: have you ever fallen in love? describe what it feels like to realise you’re in love.

-i’ve never been, i’ve been infatuated, but in love? as in love for real? i don’t think so

clouds: if you’re a boy, would you ever rock black nail polish? if you’re a girl, would you ever rock really really short hair?

-i was thinking in cutting my hair real short…. i might do it next year

coffee: what’s your starbucks order, and who would you trust to order for you, if anyone?

-i’d trust anyone who acknowledges i love italian sodas instead of coffee lmao

marble: what is the most important thing to you in your life right now?

-getting some writings done and figuring out what to do once my internship trial is over

BRUH this is some deep shit for real omfg

[dippedanddripped]

For almost 40 years, Tommy Hilfiger has changed how young people around the world dress. Pushing the boundaries of what a fashion business looks like commercially as a true global brand that just last year generated $4.7 billion dollars in revenue. In recent years, he’s collaborated with Kith and Vetements.

Business aside, the storied American brand reshaped what, and especially who, drove influence among youth culture. He was a pioneer in seeing musicians, especially hip hop artists, as powerful marketing vehicles that could culturally, and financially, create value for the business.

First it was Grand Puba from hip hop band Brand Nubian, who shouted out the brand in a song with Mary J. Blige. Then came the rest. Britney Spears, Lenny Kravitz, Aaliyah, Destiny’s Child, Snoop Dogg the list goes on.

Remember, this was at a time when fashion brands refused to work with hip hop artist, dismissing them as drivers of youth culture, and believing a too close association with predominantly black artists would be brand dilution. How times have changed for the better.

I called up Tommy who during our call early on in lockdown was on his boat. We discussed it all, from the early days of Destiny’s Child and Aaliyah wearing the brand to why he’s venturing outside of fashion, into tech, hospitality and media.

The below interview is a written version of ‘On the Record’ Season 2, Episode 8. It has been edited and condensed for clarity. The original interview was conducted in the beginning of the Covid 19 pandemic.

On the Meaning of Fashion Brands Today

When I started out in the fashion business, I always wanted to move beyond just being a fashion brand. I’ve always had the vision to become a pop culture purveyor and innovator in the world of F-A-M-E, the acronym for fashion, art, music, entertainment and sports. Because I think that in pop culture, fashion, art, music, entertainment and sports, you need to move the needle, make a difference in society and in the world of youth who are enamored with what’s going on in pop culture, whether it’s music oriented or connected to Hollywood or connected to maybe the tech world but whatever is really becoming influential in the world of pop culture is meaningful. [So] I’ve always wanted to surround my brand with pop culture, pop culture icons, pop culture movements and I continue to look forward and think very much that way.

On Merging Fashion with Sub Culture

In the late eighties, there was this phenomenon that was just beginning to surface. It was called Hip Hop. Hip Hop was really based on rap music and had never been exposed to the [mainstream] public, probably before 1988. The way [artists] formed, the way they dressed, their lyrics, their beats. In the mid eighties kids would walk down the streets of New York City with big boom boxes, pounding music. That was sort of the beginning of it. You would see a guy with a baseball hat backwards and an Adidas tracksuit about four sizes too big. It was just a different phenomenon that was beginning to take place. I was fortunate enough to be connected to the culture, and the Hip Hop kids at the time embraced my brand and viewed my brand as their designer brand.

Russell Simmons, who was starting his own brand, Phat Farm, said, “The reason these kids are really interested in your brand is because it makes them feel rich.” Because in the very beginning, in 1985, when I started creating my brand, I created clothes for myself and I wanted my clothes to be preppy, but I wanted to be very cool. I didn’t want them to be like Ralph Lauren or Brooks Brothers. I didn’t want them to be too aristocratic looking or uptight. I washed everything. I made everything oversized. I made everything super, super casual and relaxed and they embraced my brand as their designer brand.

On Creating His Signature Aesthetic

In 1985, when I started creating my brand, I created clothes for myself and I wanted my clothes to be preppy, but I wanted to be very cool. I didn’t want them to be like Ralph Lauren or Brooks Brothers. I didn’t want them to be too aristocratic looking or uptight. [So] I washed everything and made everything oversized. I made everything super, super casual and relaxed and they embraced my brand as their designer brand.

On His Early Love for Musicians

Prior to starting Tommy Hilfiger, when I was 18 years old, I opened a jeans shop called People’s Place. I sold bell bottom jeans, fringe vest, really cool hippy and rockstar type clothing. It was my dream to really be a musician myself, but I wasn’t talented enough, so I decided to supply musicians with clothing. To dress a lot of different rock bands and performers, but at the same time, build my own cool clothing company. It was always based on my love for music and my love for rock style. I mean the kind of clothing that the groups were wearing in the sixties and in the seventies when I was a young teen, you couldn’t find in stores. Jimi Hendrix would wear the most incredible jackets with bell-bottoms his girlfriend would sew for him. The Rolling Stones were dressing in women’s clothes. David Bowie was creating Ziggy Stardust outfits, Led Zeppelin and the Who were looking more like British Mods. All of that influenced me so much.

On the Hip Hop World Embracing Him

I wanted to connect my brand to the music world, [so] when I was embraced by the Hip Hop community, it was like a dream come true. Then Hip Hop started becoming incredibly popular. Guys like Puff Daddy and Jay Z started jumping into the arena and Dr. Dre and Tupac and the West Coast Rappers. There was this whole phenomenon happening around me, and I was designing into it because I would listen to what they would want [and] they wanted everything way oversized. They wanted all the jackets, all the shirts logoed and very, very bright. They wanted their jeans five sizes too big. They wanted brand new sneakers to wear with their baggy jeans and backwards baseball caps. Then they started wearing big gold jewelry and gold chains. They really created this phenomenal style that was way ahead of the fashion world. What it made me think at the time was that in order to survive, evolve, reinvent, and build a lasting brand, I had to stay ahead of the curve in terms of what was going on in pop culture.

On Staying Ahead of the Curve

I started dressing women in men’s clothes. We dressed Aaliyah in our menswear with pants too big, boy’s underwear, broad tops made out of underwear. Then I met this music group when they were in their early teens. They performed for me during my fashion shows. They were called Destiny’s Child. The lead singer was a girl by the name of Beyonce who also wanted to dress like a boy with Tommy logos. Within underground culture, it was embraced but it certainly wasn’t mainstream. After we ran advertising in magazines with photographs of Aaliyah wearing it, young women from all walks of life were asking for it. They would see it on Salt-N-Pepa, TLC, Missy Elliott. Female urban musicians. It was accepted and that led me to doing really cool clothes for women. But all of this taught me to stay ahead of the game and to stay very connected to music and pop culture.

On Disrupting the Traditional Fashion Calendar

I’d been doing fashion shows for over 20 some years and I thought they were antiquated. I thought just having editors and buyers in the audience and closing it off to the public was an antiquated idea. I didn’t think it was new or modern. I knew hundreds of thousands and millions of people wanted to come to see fashion shows. I thought this was really antiquated anyway that they would have to wait six months to get the clothes into the stores after everybody sees photographs of the celebrities already wearing the clothes during the show. I thought I should reinvent it and really create something brand new. So I wanted to invite the public. I wanted them to have a memorable experience. I wanted to be very democratic and I wanted to really change the rules. [So] I had to figure out how to change the design calendar and the manufacturing so I would have the products available during the show. And that took quite a while to re-adjust, but it’s worked. It’s been very successful. I think a lot of people will probably attempt to do it in the future, but not many people were successful in attempting to do it because of the logistics involved.

On Honing His Design Signature

I love the fact that we years ago established a look, a feel to the brand that is standing with us today. We are, if you close your eyes and you think of a Tommy Hilfiger brand, whether it’s a pair of headphones or a pair of sneakers, you see red, white, and blue. Years ago when Nike took the name off the swoosh, I think it was in ’86. I thought, okay, Phil Knight is a genius. He just took the name of his company off his logo and people know what his logo stands for [today]. I had that dream to do that at some point in time.I did it about, I think, 10 years ago when I felt that most people knew that the red, white and blue flag is. I believe in brand identity in a big way, regardless of what you’re selling or producing. I always think it can evolve and I always think it can change and be reinvented. Whereas I think a lot of people don’t think about those things because they think that the company name is the company name and they’re going to make a certain product line and stay within those confines.

Working With Celebrities as Co-Creators

Well, this all sort of happened while we were thinking of developing the see-now-buy-now fashion show extravaganza. I thought, why are we designing all of these products when in fact, some of these young people like Gigi [Hadid] who was on our runway has a sense of style that’s very cool and relevant, and she could actually influence us? I asked her to co-design with me and we did the Tommy x Gigi collections that were incredibly successful. It wasn’t just having Gigi Hadid as the face of the brand, but as the creative influencer of the brand. Then we did the same with Lewis [Hamilton] and the same with Zendaya. I don’t want to do what was. I want to do what is next. I really believe that a lot of it has to do with a digital experience. A lot of it has to do with the type of shopping experience that is modern and new, as opposed to, I don’t know, just going into a store or going on a website, looking at still images. I really believe it’s going to change. I want to be ahead of that change.

On Expanding the Brand

We’re going forward in a new way. The livestream shopping [platform] we’re creating is really allowing us to build our own broadcast channel through social media. We really believe that getting in front of the consumer in a unique way and a modern way is the best way. I’m [also] looking at new technologies. I’m looking at the digital world and figuring out how it connects with our world. I really believe that media and entertainment are such an enormous part of our lives today. I cannot stress how important it is. I want to be a fashion media entertainment brand. I don’t want to be just a fashion brand. I think being just a fashion brand is very limiting and somewhat boring even. That’s exactly why I’m reaching beyond just fashion. So we’ll go beyond just being a fashion brand. We’re developing products that are connected to one’s lifestyle like electronics, headphones, chargers, gadgets, hotels, residences, experiences, health, and wellness. I like what’s going on in Hollywood, Silicon Valley, in the VR world. [I want to] collide all of this together and come up with our own product ranges that are outside of fashion.

It’s a risk. I think that a lot of fashion brands run by large corporations are afraid of risk. I also think that many brands might not have the vision to do it and might be afraid to do it. Many of them are somewhat myopic in my estimation. Many fashion brands are antiquated. They wouldn’t really think of doing some of the things we do and that’s okay. I do believe that many brands will try figuring out how to do see-now-buy-now going forward, but not every brand. I think that you always have to find your lane and once you find your niche, you have to expand upon it and you have to build a better mousetrap than your competition.

[icarus-suraki]

Yeah, sure, why not?

TAGGED BY: @foundcarcosa on a technicality

NAME: I like to pretend that privacy still exists lmao

NICKNAME: Issy (formerly, Caru)

STAR SIGN(S): Taurus Sun, Rising Sign Libra, Moon in Capricorn; Water Dog. Whatever that all means, I’ll leave to you.

HEIGHT: 5'10" I AM AN AMAZON!!!

SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Ace/Aro; therefore, I don't exist

FAVORITE COLOR: Dark colors--black, dark blue, deep purple, dark red, wine colors, colors of night.

TIME RIGHT NOW: 4:44pm EDST

CURRENT LOCATION: The reference desk at the library at which I am employed as, wait for it, a librarian. This is basically where I live. This is my home.

AVERAGE HOURS OF SLEEP: like 7 or 8ish? but I love to sleep: I can sleep in, take a nap, take another nap, and still go to bed at 9pm. I love sleep because I love dreams, I think.

LAST THING I GOOGLED: "can section 8 renter evict" because we're dealing with some serious injustice in this neighborhood after an apartment complex got sold to a new manager and wants to evict the 150+ families living there on Section 8 housing. We're arming ourselves with information and some local community organizers are definitely involved. There are marches planned. We are angry on behalf of our neighbors.

NUMBER OF BLANKETS I SLEEP UNDER: One, which is unusual, because I used to stack up three, four, five blankets. This one blanket is like the Perfect Blanket. if it’s really cold, I’ll add a second blanket. I also like to sleep with the window open because I sleep better cold.

FAVOURITE FICTIONAL CHARACTERS: Well, see below, I guess. Stephen Dedalus is an old fave. So are most of the weirdos in Pynchon’s books. I RP’d Cain Hargreaves (Godchild) for something like 7 years. And I absolutely loved RPing that interdimensional atemporal shapeshifting wizard troll asshole Flagg (to the point of cosplaying him more than once). I fuckin’ miss him. I’ll go with them.

FAVOURITE BOOK(S): Ulysses (James Joyce), Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury), Gravity's Rainbow and The Crying of Lot 49 (Thomas Pynchon), Blood Meridian (Cormac McCarthy). Stephen King books are my guilty pleasures.

FAVORITE ARTISTS/BANDS: I suck at this. Um, King Crimson, Led Zeppelin... I have no idea, honestly. I just kind of listen to the radio and surf around. I’m not a hardcore fan of any particular artists or bands. I just know I’ll change the radio station when I hear certain songs come on.

DREAM JOB: Secretly, I would love to be an artist known for large-scale sculpture and "installation" pieces--artworks that create or transform a space. Things like an all-white room with a pond in the middle. Places that feel like a Magritte painting in 3 dimensions. Or even small-scale sculptures like a miniature red tree in a dollhouse room with a mirrored interior (and with a chessboard floor). But things that feel like being in a dream, either way.

WHAT I’M WEARING: Jeans, a gray henley, a plaid flannel shirt, brown shoes, and my typewriter key necklace. I wear this rather a lot. I wear black-on-black-on-black neo-gothic clothes all winter and then get into this "escapee from a Sergio Leone western" look once the weather warms up. The weather is warming up. It cracks me up when people ask if I’m a lesbian because I’m wearing a flannel shirt. Lesbians and non-lesbians wear flannel shirts as well as other kinds of shirts. Shirt =/= sexual orientation/identity. 

RANDOM FACT: I can remember being 2 years old. I also remember most of my dreams. I know I've gotten enough sleep if I can remember at least 2 or 3 dreams from the night before. I have very bad eyesight--so bad that my ophthalmologist continues to be surprised by it when I come in for annual exams. My mother has nicknamed me “Mycroft” because I’m observant but lazy. She also says that I would have been some kind of priestess or oracle centuries ago because of my vivid dreams and bad eyesight. I am also thinking of shaving one side of my head in advance of my birthday (a “milestone” birthday) because I think that would be badass.

DO I HAVE ANY OTHER BLOGS: Yeah, like a shit-billion? Including @moonshadows-moonstones, @midworlder-in-exile, @windward-and-leeward, and @gauzy-space-witch

WHEN DID MY BLOG REACH ITS PEAK: Probably summer 2015 when I was heavily involved in the Fury Road fandom and blogging and reblogging a lot of Fury Road stuff (and it was a lot of fun). Either that or when the Really Obscure Nerd Reference post went briefly viral (again, Fury Road stuff). I got burnt out on it all, though, and had to excuse myself from quite so much fandom involvement.

WHO IS MY MOST ACTIVE: Reblogger? I guess? I’ll refer to Tumblr’s stats here: in no particular order, @cohobbitation, @bending-sickle, @lies, and @tmbird are my top rebloggers right now. So, yeah, I’m glad you like the junk I find, lmao.

WHAT MADE ME DECIDE TO GET A TUMBLR: I seriously think it was a case of "well, everyone else is doing it." And then I realized that I liked the visual overload, the visual glut of Tumblr. Delicious pictures.

DO I GET ASKS ON A DAILY BASIS: lmao no.

WHY DID I CHOOSE MY URL: I've been using icarus_suraki in various permutations as an "internet handle" since about 1999 or 2000 (yes, that long because I am old, really old, old as balls). I've been fascinated with flying (or being unable to fly; I tried my best and jumped off a lot of things) for most of my life--so "Icarus" seemed to suit. "Suraki" is "Icarus" reversed and spelled a little more phonetically. So it's kind of a palindrome. I like symmetry and parallels as well.

I’m tagging: You, evidently.

[notconsolation]

i was tagged by @stalk-softly​

you did not make this easy. you tagged like 2 of the 6 people I know here.

Rules: Answer the questions, add one of your on, and tag one person for every question (this sets high standards for communication that I feel may not be realistic on this site. so.)

1. COKE OR PEPSI: rum and coke

2. DISNEY OR DREAMWORKS: dreamworks

3. COFFEE OR TEA: coffee

4. BOOKS OR MOVIES: both but neither often enough

5. WINDOWS OR MAC: mac because I am a slave to the system

6. DC OR MARVEL: Heath Ledger, but neither really

7. XBOX OR PLAYSTATION: playstation

8. DRAGON AGE OR MASS EFFECT: neither, I'm a dweeb

9. NIGHT OWL OR EARLY RISER: twit-twoo hoot hoot come join me in my oaky abode and blink at scared mice with me

10. CARDS OR CHESS: chess, but only when played with my grandfather.

11. CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA: chocolate

12. VANS OR CONVERSE: converse

13. LAVELLAN, TREVELYAN, CADASH, OR ADAAR: hi my name is dweeb

14. FLUFF OR ANGST: Angst.

15. BEACH OR FOREST: forest. Just about all of my favourite moments have taken place in a forest.

16. DOGS OR CATS: cats

17. CLEAR SKIES OR RAIN: rain

18. COOKING OR EATING OUT: thinking of recipes, realising I can't afford the ingredients to make saffron wild rice and turkey burgers with spring onion, cumin and coriander, sitting sadly in the kitchen, then grabbing an apple and munching it while I sadly make alphabet soup that I won’t finish.

19. SPICY OR MILD FOOD: spicy

20. HALLOWEEN/SAMHAIN OR SOLSTICE/YULE/CHRISTMAS: halloween

21. WOULD YOU RATHER FOREVER BE A LITTLE TOO COLD OR A LITTLE TOO HOT: a little too hot

22. IF YOU COULD HAVE A SUPERPOWER WHAT WOULD IT BE: musical talent !

23. ANIMATION OR LIVE ACTION: live action

24. PARAGON OR RENEGADE: i repeat, i'm a dweeeeeb

25. BATH OR SHOWER: shower

26. TEAM CAP OR TEAM IRONMAN: eh both a bit vanilla

27. FANTASY OR SCI-FI: sci-fi for the philosophy, fantasy for the escapism

28. DO YOU HAVE 3 OR 4 FAVORITE QUOTES IF SO WHAT ARE THEY: you know I used to collect quotes, but then my list of favourite quotes rapidly evolved into copy-pasting large sections of fanfic text into my notes app (@edyluewho you had your own note) and I realised that if I were going to collect every constellation of words that appealed to me it would take forever because I'm in love with language. Having said that, I quite like Tom Waits' response to being asked whether he worries about dying from a drug overdose: “I worry primarily about whether there are night clubs in heaven"

29. YOUTUBE OR NETFLIX: YouTube

30. HARRY POTTER OR PERCY JACKSON: Harry Potter

32. STAR WARS OR STAR TREK: star wars

33. PAPERBACK BOOKS OR HARDCOVER BOOKS: paperback

34. FANTASTIC BEASTS OR CURSED CHILD: not really that much of a fan of either tbh my god this is a theme

35. ROCK OR POP MUSIC: rock but I prefer making pop or variations thereof

36. WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN YOUR LIFE: music.

37. THE LAST BOOK YOU READ/THE ONE YOU’RE CURRENTLY READING: the poetic edda, simultaneously rereading fight club and about a billion fanfics

38: SONG THAT MAKES YOU SMILE/SONG THAT MAKES YOU CRY: most songs that do one do the other as well:

Mama, You've Been on my Mind & Just like a woman (Jeff Buckley's versions)

Ramble On

Can't stand me now

Taxi Cab

Addict with a Pen

A Car, a Torch, a Death

actually like every single twenty-one pilots song except we don't believe what's on TV. that just makes me smile

39. FUNNY OR SCARY MOVIES: scary

40. RULES ARE MADE TO BE BROKEN OR FOLLOWED: ack. broken? but with forethought

41. LANGUAGES YOU CAN SPEAK: english, german, rudimentary spanish & italian, beginner-level chinese

42. FAVOURITE ARTIST(S) OR BAND(S): um here's the short version

Jeff Buckley, Twenty one pilots, the Doors, the Black Keys, Alt-j, Lorde, Son House, Led Zeppelin, Hozier, Jolie Holland, Frank Sinatra, David Bowie, Blind Faith, Arctic Monkeys, Alabama Shakes, the Rolling Stones

43. WHO LAST MADE YOU SMILE: @stalk-softly​ you’re cute

@blinded-by-fairy-lights​, @spookyjimandtyler​, @takeeittsloww​, @stray-dog-sick​, @sadlawyer​, @sorrowlicher​, @spookyjimrippedmas​, @qwp​, @slampoety​ (double tag oops love ya)

[jeroldlockettus]

How Spotify Saved the Music Industry (But Not Necessarily Musicians)

Daniel Ek, a 23-year-old Swede who grew up on pirated music, made the record labels an offer they couldn’t refuse: a legal platform to stream all the world’s music. Spotify reversed the labels’ fortunes, made Ek rich, and thrilled millions of music fans. But what has it done for all those musicians stuck in the long tail?

Listen and subscribe to our podcast at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or elsewhere. Below is a transcript of the episode, edited for readability.

For more information on the people and ideas in the episode, see the links at the bottom of this post.

*      *      *

Over the past year or two, we’ve done a couple special series of episodes. One was called “How to Be Creative”; the other was “The Secret Life of a C.E.O.” You wouldn’t think those two themes would intersect all that often. But today, they do — in a rare conversation with this man:

Daniel EK: My name is Daniel Ek and I’m the C.E.O. and founder of Spotify.

How does Daniel Ek define Spotify’s mission?

EK: So the way I think about our mission is to inspire human creativity by enabling a million artists to be able to live off of their art and a billion people to be able to enjoy and be inspired by it.

Spotify, if you don’t know, is a Swedish music-streaming service with roughly 100 million paid subscribers. Another 100-million-plus listen free on an ad-supported model. But it’s the subscribers that drive 90 percent of the company’s revenue. Ek co-founded the company in 2006, at age 23. It went public in 2018 and its market cap is now around $25 billion. Billion, with a b. For a company that doesn’t really make anything — other than making the connection between a beloved product and people who want to consume that product. The Spotify story is a singular story about the sudden transformation of an old, hidebound industry; it’s also a story about digital piracy, bandwidth, and of course about creativity; oh, also: it’s about the future of podcasting. In person, Daniel Ek is mild-mannered and unexcitable; he doesn’t soundlike an anarchist. But don’t be fooled.

EK: I think we are in the process of creating a more fair and equal music industry than it’s ever been in the past.

*      *      *

Depending on your personal perspective, Spotify is either an idealized digital jukebox or, as Radiohead’s Thom Yorke once put it, “the last desperate fart of a dying corpse.” Yorke wasn’t the only musician to hate on Spotify, especially in its earlier years. The Beatles and Pink Floyd famously kept their music off Spotify, as did some younger musicians:

ABC News anchor: Superstar Taylor Swift abruptly pulling all her albums from the streaming service Spotify, just days after the release of her hot new album 1989.

Today, Taylor Swift, Pink Floyd, the Beatles, and Radiohead can all be heard on Spotify. The barriers that might have made Spotify seem impossible have mostly been leveled. Primarily by one person: Daniel Ek. He grew up in a working-class neighborhood of Stockholm. These days, he spends about one week a month in New York, but he still lives in Stockholm.

EK: Yeah, and I have two very young kids, so one has just turned four and one is about to turn six.

DUBNER: You’re in the middle of it, aren’t you?

EK: I’m definitely in the middle of it.

One constant throughout Ek’s life has been music.

EK: So my grandfather was an opera singer and my grandmother, she was an actress but also a jazz pianist. So in my family learning music was almost an essential. It was probably more important than you going to college or university at that level. And in Sweden, we have public music education, so it almost costs nothing to get music education in Sweden and my cousin told me — he was way older than me — and was like, “You should learn how to play the guitar because that’s how you get girls.” And I was four or five at the time and definitely didn’t realize why that was a big thing. But I really thought he was really cool. So I was like, OK, well, he must know something, so I learned how to play the guitar. And then about the same time, I got my first computer. And that was a seminal inflection point because I had these two parallel interests that were both formed at a very, very young age.

For a time, Ek thought he might become a full-time musician. But the other interest began to win out.

EK: I think it was 1996 I got broadband Internet. It was like 10 megabits and when you think about it today — because it took until maybe two, three years ago until the average person in the U.S. even had that. But I had it in 1997 and —

DUBNER: And that was just a Swedish thing.

EK: That was just a Swedish thing, because the Swedes said, “Look, we believe everyone should have broadband. That’s going to be a big thing and by the way, we’ll subsidize your PC too, and it will cost $500 and you can get state-of-the-art PC.” So I had this virtually new computer which was subsidized by the government. I had this broadband that was subsidized by the government. And I went on the internet obviously all the time. The problem was there wasn’t really a lot to do on the internet except reading stuff. So I read a lot of stuff, but it wasn’t like the internet had movies for streaming or music or any of that stuff. And on came Napster. And it was a pure epiphany for me because you can search for any kind of music in the world. And within 10, 15 minutes you could have the entire album and you can listen to it, which was amazing.

Napster, which launched in 1999, became the most prominent peer-to-peer file-sharing service. And by “peer-to-peer file-sharing service,” I mean a piece of software that let a user like Daniel Ek download music files directly from the hard drives of other Napster users all over the world. Which meant that if one person bought a CD and copied it onto their hard drive, and shared it on Napster, all of a sudden, an infinite number of people could own it. For free. One problem: this is an infringement of copyright, and totally illegal. At least in most places. Sweden did not forbid the downloading of pirated content until 2005; the country became an international hub for illegal downloads and even gave rise to a political party, the Pirate Party, that won seats in the European Parliament. I asked Ek whether he had thought about the legality of music piracy.

EK: Yeah, I thought about it. But I was 14. It wasn’t like it was a big thing. And since it was so easy to access and the alternative was for me to go out and buy a record with money I didn’t have, it was like the only option. So it was this weird thing where you start off with something and all of a sudden, maybe I was — wanted to listen to Metallica and all of a sudden realized that this person also had King Crimson. Which was like, “Oh, holy shit, I didn’t know that Metallica was inspired by those guys.” And Led Zeppelin and Beatles and all the seminal ones that all of a sudden you start listening to. Or prog music or Jimi Hendrix’s entire discography. It brought me this weird sense of very broad music education and quite eclectic taste, which in turn got me even further into music. I mean, I don’t think I would have been that interested in music if it weren’t for piracy, to be honest, because I come from a working-class family. We couldn’t afford all the records that I wanted.

Napster became very large very fast. You might have thought the music industry would see this growth as a natural expression of demand for their product, and try to find a way to exploit that demand. But they didn’t see it that way. They saw piracy as nothing but theft. And as the music industry began to go the way of many fading 20th-century industries, they blamed their decline on piracy.

A pair of economists wrote a research paper at the time which found that illegal downloads in fact did almost nothing to affect music sales. They wrote: “Our estimates are inconsistent with claims that file-sharing is the primary reason for the decline in music sales.” The idea here was that the kind of people who illegally downloaded music weren’t the kind of people who were going to pay $15 for a CD anyway. Daniel Ek certainly wasn’t going to pay $15 for one CD. What he found ludicrous was that the only choice the music industry gave you was $15 for one CD versus zero dollars for all the music in the world.

EK: My view is that the music industry has always been excluding the vast majority of its potential. And what do I mean by that? Well, at the peak of the recorded-music industry, 2001, it was about 200 million people who were participating in the economy, who bought records. So was it 200 million people who were listening to music? No, of course not. That number was in the billions. So what the music industry did fairly well was they priced a product at a premium for an audience that was willing to pay for it. But it only captured a very, very small portion of the revenues. So what was obvious to me as I started using Napster back in the day, it was just, this is a way better product than going to a record store, there ought to be a way where you can give consumers what they want and at the same time make it work for artists.

DUBNER: As you got to know the record labels over time, years after Napster started, do you think they regretted not having partnered with Napster earlier?

EK: I definitely think so. I mean, in hindsight they probably realized that it was the wrong thing, but they thought by shutting it down that they’ve contained the problem and didn’t realize that it would just create seven new ones.

The music industry did get Napster shut down, but it had to keep playing whack-a-mole with a bunch of new pirated-music services.

EK: If you think about piracy for music, what it really forced in this first incarnation was the unbundling of the album.

Unbundling the album, that is, into single songs.

EK: So Apple then created a business of that by selling songs for 99 cents.

Apple, by way of iTunes, introduced the world to legal music downloading. It had taken Apple a while, but they finally succeeded in negotiating the rights with record labels. Daniel Ek, meanwhile, was having a lot of success himself.

EK: I started web-design companies, web-hosting companies, and a bunch of different companies.

He actually started doing this work when he was 14. By the time he was 18, he had a couple dozen programmers working for him. He enrolled at the Royal Institute for Technology but only lasted a couple months. Starting and selling internet companies was more fun. Ek was a millionaire by the time he was 23, and he started living like one: a fancy apartment, nightclubs, a red Ferrari. All this left him flat, and depressed. As he’d later tell Forbes magazine: “I was deeply uncertain of who I was and who I wanted to be. I really thought I wanted to be a much cooler guy than I was.” He moved into a cabin in the woods, back near his family; he played guitar, meditated, and over time thought up the idea for Spotify. It was very simple, really: an essentially infinite library of all the music in the world, available instantaneously, to anyone with an internet connection. How hard could that be? Ek and his co-founder, Martin Lorentzon, had two fundamental problems to solve: building the technology to allow for the instantaneous streaming of music; and persuading the rights-holders of all the music in the world to go into business with a brand-new company from Sweden — a country famous for its music piracy — and headed by a man who’d grown up on pirated music.

EK: There’s many different pirates, we would put it. There’s the pirates who just religiously feel like everything should be free. We were never that. Sean Parker definitely was never that either.

Sean Parker as in the co-founder of Napster; Parker later provided some venture capital to Spotify.

EK: There’s the other group who just looks at it like, this is the kind of consumer experience that makes sense and that’s how the world will look at it.

DUBNER: So then how professional of a pirate were you? What was the highest level of professionalism of piracy you ever accomplished? It was uTorrent, was that the name of the company?

EK: So actually this is probably an unknown part of the story. I wasn’t very much at all a professional pirate. At the time as I was thinking about starting Spotify, my co-founder, who’s not very technical, said to me, “Hey, there’s my friend who’s asking me about this programmer and he needs some advice.” And I was kind of dismissive about the whole idea and then he told me the name of this programmer and this guy was the founder of uTorrent.

This guy was Ludvig Strigeus, and uTorrent was a piece of file-sharing software that was particularly useful for digital piracy.

EK: And he’s a legendary engineer and I knew about him from engineering circles as being one of those persons who wins a lot of competitions for being great engineers. And I was like, “I have to meet this person.” And he had started this thing, just a fun side project, and it was uTorrent and it was growing very massively. We were actually trying to recruit him to come to Spotify. And he was like, “Well, I got this thing, uTorrent, and I don’t really know what to do with it.” So we persuaded him to sell uTorrent to us instead. And the whole idea from the beginning was actually to fold it because we didn’t really care about it.

DUBNER: Because by then you’re saying you already had a vision of how to make this the legit model work?

EK: Yeah yeah.

Spotify did install Strigeus as a top engineer at Spotify; and they didn’t shut down uTorrent — they sold it, to BitTorrent, the huge peer-to-peer protocol. I asked Daniel Ek which early task had been harder: building out Spotify’s technology or persuading the record companies to let him stream their music.

EK: Well, it’s hard at different stages. So first, you need to have a really good idea of what it is that you’re trying to solve. And in our case it wasn’t necessarily that the technology had a worth in and on itself. It was more around, how do we solve a real problem? And I think the problem that we were trying to solve was it needs to feel like you have all your music on your hard drive. So if you think about that, that means instantaneous. So we probably have to solve that. It probably means also all the world’s music. Okay, well you have to solve all the rights issues and all of those different things all encompassed in this one thing. So it was very clear to me that if we could deliver something that felt like you had all the world’s music on your hard drive, it would likely be way better than piracy, which was the dominant force of music consumption at the time.

From the outset, Spotify partnered with the record companies, first in Europe and eventually the U.S. What enticed the labels to participate? Actually, they would have been fools not to. Remember, the music industry was in steep decline thanks to changes in technology, economics, and consumer preferences. As Ek noted earlier, the industry’s model had always been inefficient: charging relatively high prices to capture only the top layer of the listening market. Most people got most of their music on the radio, which was free.

Now, before you start feeling too sorry for the record labels, let me say this: in the history of the creative arts, and in the modern history of business generally, it would be hard to find an industry that was sleazier, more exploitative, and more deserving of its comeuppance than the music industry. Through means legal and illegal, from sham contracts and bribes to strong-arming and collusion, the industry had for decades stayed fat by making relatively skinny payments to the people who actually made the music. Their royalty statements were masterpieces of creative accounting. Yes, they did provide venture capital to thousands of musicians with no money, but on the rare occasion when one of those musicians recorded a smash hit, the label made sure to capture most of the profits. What about the industry’s role in discovering new talent? That’s a bit of a myth — like saying that publishers “discover” great authors or NFL coaches “discover” great quarterbacks. They mainly cherry-pick the talented people who’ve already worked their way up, and then squeeze out as much juice as possible for their own use. Many industries exploit their labor force, but few had done so with as much vigor as the music industry.

Now that they were starting to go under, Spotify was offering a lifeboat — and a fairly luxurious one: 70 percent of streaming revenues and an equity stake in the company. The big record labels — Sony, Universal, and Warner — were reportedly each given between 4 and 6 percent of Spotify’s shares, with a consortium of independent labels getting another 1 percent. When Spotify went public, in 2018, these stakes would be worth billions. The labels would also get to keep drawing down 70 percent of Spotify’s revenues, and distributing it to their artists according to their own royalty formulas.

EK: Correct.

DUBNER: So that 70 percent flows then to the rights-holders , which are primarily still the three big music labels.

EK: Yep.

DUBNER: But in terms of the money flowing to the actual creators of the content, that’s complicated and problematic. So can you talk about your views on that and how actually involved you are or can be or want to be?

EK: Yeah, sure. Yeah, it’s — music copyrights generally is probably one of the more complicated areas of both law, just because of how copyright law is treated by society, and then just how it actually works and how it flows down. It’s pretty complicated for a lay person to understand. But the best way to start is just taking two steps back. So the birth of the music industry, and if you think about the role that everyone had, a record company was both — it used to cost a lot of money to make music. So a record company could help you by paying for the studio, the studio engineers, all the people to help you record your music. So that was a pretty big value-add. The next thing that ended up being a big problem was getting promoted onto — in the U.S. was thousands of different radio stations. And internationally it was multiplied by 10 times. It was a pretty big thing. And then distribution ended up being very expensive. So why we have major record companies ended up being — it ended up being easier for them to aggregate around distribution. And that’s how they were formed. That’s how they grew to power.

If you look at it right now, some of those things have obviously shifted. So the recording of music ends up becoming fairly cheap today in most instances because anyone can record if they have a laptop and a mic. Distribution also ends up becoming fairly cheap because you can just put your music on Spotify or Apple Music or any other service virtually free and get distributed. Now the flip side of that is the problem of then getting heard ends up becoming harder than ever before.

DUBNER: Because the supply is so much greater.

EK: Yeah. The supply is infinite, so in order to stand out you have to do quite a lot more. And where we have been as an industry just a few years ago was that you couldn’t rely on one income stream alone. So even if you felt, OK, this is digital distribution or streaming and I kind of get that. The truth of the matter is radio certainly here in the U.S. is still a massive, massive force. So you needed to do a lot of radio both for promotion but just generally distribution and even how you did royalty accounting and all those different things was a massive thing. And then physical still matters greatly. Certainly in the middle of the country. So the value-add by record companies is fairly great and is very important certainly as you’re thinking about how to get this out.

Now the roles going forward is changing quite dramatically. So you’re finding that there are a lot more younger record companies coming out that are formed by maybe being specialists in a certain genre. They’re now finding equal opportunities to get their music heard. So they’re being distributed via indie labels or they may even go and distribute their record companies through one of the major record companies in order to get the support that they’re getting. So the industry is really changing. And we’re obviously a huge part not so much in the change but just being a participant in that dialogue about where it’s going, what is the role of a manager, what’s the role of a label, what’s the role of an agent, what’s the role of a publisher. Because all of those roles are now moving along as the industry is becoming more and more digital.

DUBNER: Right. But you — from what I gather Spotify has little leverage or maybe even interest in once you turn over the royalty share in how they distribute it to their artists, correct? You have nothing to do with that, I assume.

EK: We have nothing to do with that. What we are trying to do, however, because this is such a dramatic shift in an economic model for artists, one of the big things was just how do we educate people about this. Because really even the iTunes model was fairly simple. Because I’m selling my goods and I’m getting X for it. We can argue what X should be, but it’s really that. Here with streaming it’s like I’m getting a revenue share of something and it’s streaming, and it looks like it’s a very small number per stream. But what is a million streams? Is a million streams a lot? Is it a little? Is it — how should I think about it? That ended up being a very big shift.

DUBNER: Are you saying that independent artists are over time via Spotify gaining leverage in the revenue ecosystem or not really? Because the common complaint is this: Spotify is great for customers.

EK: Right.

DUBNER: Spotify has turned out to be a life-saver for labels. Spotify has been great for Spotify, and for you. And it’s been great for some musicians. But then there are others who feel that they’re worse off than they would have been. Now every case is a little bit different. But to those who feel like, “Great, I’m glad all music is available to everybody all the time and I’m glad everybody else is making out well” — what do you say to those artists, or maybe what do you say to someone who’s starting in music now? Can it be a sustainable future for them?

EK: I think we are in the process of creating a more fair and equal music industry than it’s ever been in the past. So I’ll take an example, back in 2000, 2001, at the very, very peak of the music industry, peak of CD, all of those different things. Our estimate is that there were about 20- to maybe 30,000 artists that could live on being recorded music artists. Now, they could be touring, they could be doing other things, and the number could be far greater than that. But there were only 20- or 30,000 that could sustain themselves being that. Why? Well, because, again the distribution costs so much, which ended up being that there’s very few artists that could even get distributed to begin with. And because the costs were fairly high for a person buying the music, you ended up going with what you knew and wouldn’t take that much risk on unknown artists. So in the world with streaming, what’s really interesting is the alternative cost for you to listen to something new is virtually zero. It’s just your time. And because of that, you do listen to a lot more music than you did before and you listen to a bigger diversity of artists than you did before which in turn then grows the music industry.

DUBNER: You were saying there were 20, to 30,000 artists that could be supported. Do you know what that number is now?

EK: I don’t know what the number is now but it’s far greater. Even on Spotify itself, it’s far greater than that.

The economist Alan Krueger taught for years at Princeton and worked in both the Clinton and Obama White Houses. He was also fascinated by the economics of the music industry. Krueger once gave a speech at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame comparing the music industry to the modern economy at large. In both cases, he argued, most of the earnings were going to fewer and fewer people at the top of the pyramid. It’s what some people call a tournament model, where the winners get most, if not all, of the profits. Krueger died recently at age 58 — by suicide. He left behind a book, to be published soon, called Rockonomics. In it, he writes that there are roughly 200,000 professional musicians in the U.S. today, accounting for 0.13 percent of all U.S. workers. That percent has stayed about the same since 1970.And what’s the median annual income for these musicians? Twenty thousand dollars. The argument Daniel Ek is making sounds good in theory — that digital distribution should make it easier for lesser-known artists to find listeners and get paid. Remember how Ek defines the Spotify mission:

EK: To inspire human creativity by enabling a million artists to be able to live off of their art.

This was one of the great promises of the digital era — that you wouldn’t have to be a superstar to make a living. In 2006, the journalist Chris Anderson published an influential book called The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More. Daniel Ek, in a 2010 interview, called The Long Tail his favorite book. But Alan Krueger’s findings don’t support the long-tail promise. Social media and algorithm-driven recommendations — including Spotify’s own playlists — seem to magnify the bandwagon effect, whereby popular songs become even more popular by virtue of their popularity. In 2018, Spotify’s most-streamed artist was Drake, with 8.2 billion streams. Assuming a typical streaming royalty rate of 0.4 cents per play, that’s nearly $33 million going to Drake’s camp. But the pyramid is sharp, and things fall off really fast once you go beneath the top. Alan Krueger cites an industry survey which found that just 28 percent of artists earned money from streaming in 2018, with the median amount just $100.

So if you think about the streaming-music revolution as a sort of tournament, let’s think about how the various constituencies are making out. Spotify and Daniel Ek are doing very well; so are the company’s original funders, who got a huge return on their investment. The record labels have also been big winners: not only did Spotify reinvigorate their industry but it seems to have substantially improved their overall valuations. The Universal Music Group, for instance, which is currently for sale, has recently been valued at more than $30 billion; in 2013, its valuation was just $8.4 billion. Other winners in the Spotify tournament are customers, who get much more music than they used to get for much less money; and the most popular musicians are also winning big. One constituency that’s not obviously sharing in the winnings: the long-tail artists, of which there are many.

DUBNER: So if you weren’t you, and you were looking at this revolution from the outside, what would you say about the fact that a company like Spotify, which doesn’t produce content — well, it’s starting to, more — but is essentially a friction-remover and a distributor, is worth more than the entire music industry was about the time of its creation?

EK: Well, I mean I don’t want to — I’m actually very little focused on what a company is worth or isn’t, or if that’s fair. There’s something called a Wall Street which is really focused on that instead. I don’t really focus on that. We at Spotify are interested in is how do we get a music industry which actually participates in all of the income streams?

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Daniel Ek was a teenage entrepreneur; a millionaire in his early twenties; and now, at 36, a billionaire, having built Spotify into a streaming juggernaut that is now worth more than the entire music industry was worth at the time of Spotify’s founding. Spotify is in the news pretty much constantly these days: launching their service in India, filing an antitrust lawsuit in Europe against Apple, claiming that Apple’s App Store is unfairly favoring its own Apple Music over Spotify. For Ek, the biggest challenge at the moment would seem to be figuring out a way to derive more value — more revenue — from the massive, sprawling ecosystem of recorded music, an ecosystem whose business evolution has been very slow.

EK: So if you look at say the video industry — I say video and I really encompass the entire TV industry, the movie industry, all in video. What I find fascinating is it used to be a conversation where it started off only as paid. Then it added advertising as a component. And then there was a bunch of firms that were only focused on the advertising part of it and then a bunch of firms that were only focused on the subscription income. So most notable, you had CBS on one end, on the advertising end of the spectrum. You had HBO on the other end of this spectrum, asking for subscription income. And then if you look at it today, the truth of the matter is CBS is about 50/50. So it focuses as much on subscription income as it does on advertising. And HBO still is paid-only. But you’re — as an industry, it’s moving that both of these revenue models are equally important.

And that’s my point with the music industry too. My point it’s like, what would happen to the music industry if you all of a sudden combined the the power of advertising as a revenue model, the power of subscription as a revenue model, the power of a la carte on top of that as a revenue model. The three of them on a base of the three billion people around the world that are interested in music easily, just by virtue of looking at how much time people spend listening to music, ought to be at least multiples greater than what the current music industry is and probably larger than the music industry’s ever been.

DUBNER: And you just added 1.3 billion or so in India, yes, potentially?

EK: The Indian music market, what’s fascinating to me, is 90 percent of that market is about Bollywood films. And they are throwing off music and that’s what’s selling in India.

DUBNER: Is it being well-monetized still? I mean people buy it, or I mean —

EK: It’s not well-monetized. But the music industry is essentially a byproduct to the film industry, which for me tells a very interesting story, that there’s so much development left to do. What would happen if the ecosystem there was healthy? Then people wouldn’t think about making music just for movies.

DUBNER: So the India Spotify story could turn out to be exactly the opposite in a way of the American Spotify story, where some people feel here small artists are getting — the long tail is so skinny that you can’t make a living. And theoretically it may disincentive some people from creating. There — maybe there’s incentives to join, even the middle of the long tail there would be a step up, yeah?

EK: Yeah. Well, I mean it’s virtually non-existent. So it’s in a much earlier development stage than the U.S. music economy.

DUBNER: Let me ask you about consumer surplus, which is something economists love to talk about — those rare cases where you get something for much less than you’d be willing to pay. So Spotify is, relatively, super cheap, $10 a month for all the music I want. And that $10 would buy two-thirds of one downloaded album. So if you like music enough to buy two-thirds of one album per month, then to get all the music in the world essentially for that same price is ridiculously cheap. So I’m curious to know two things. What do you know about willingness to pay more? And what do you know, if anything, about the disposable income that’s now been captured by consumers by not having to spend more than $10 to consume the universe of music — where that disposable income goes, I’m curious to have any data on that.

EK: Well, I mean, obviously we agree. We think $10 a month is a very, very cheap and an amazing proposition. But the amount of people who wake up in the morning thinking, Hey, I want to pay $10 a month for music isn’t as great as most people would believe. And we believe that is because not only did piracy exist in a big way just a few years ago, but there are all of these other sources where you can access music very cheaply. Mostly free. So you can go on radio and listen to it, but you can also go on YouTube and you can find the entire archive of music, including all the bootlegs and videos and you can listen to that entirely for free. That’s what we’re competing against. So in order to do that, you can imagine then it’s a free product versus one that’s $10 a month. That’s a pretty big stretch , certainly since all of these other things may have other things like convenience — in the case of radio, works in your car, works in all those different things. And then, in the case of YouTube, it’s just, it’s everything. It’s even greater than what Spotify’s library is. So that’s where we’re, from a competitive set, wrestling with. Now obviously as cars get more and more connected, I do think streaming service is a way better user proposition.

DUBNER: Although I did wonder with autonomous vehicles theoretically coming maybe relatively soon.

EK: Right.

DUBNER: It does strike me that listening to music in a car is a perfect complementary activity. Because you need to drive, you need to keep your eyes on the road, but your ears are free. I do wonder with autonomous vehicles whether it may actually be harmful to streaming music because now my eyes are free to something that might be more interactive.

EK: Right. I mean, you may be right. I don’t know. I think that what’s really interesting, however, is that countercultural force right now from people looking into their phones is all of these well-being things, both Google and Apple released “screen time,” which is supposed to restrict your screen time. And we have the Alexa in your home, which is another device which you’re not supposed to look at, which are all great countercultural reactions to this, watching a screen, which we wouldn’t probably have imagined just a few years ago.

DUBNER: Do you have those kind of aspirations for Spotify to get into, health and wellness and hand-holding of various sorts?

EK: Not directly. To the extent that we do something like that, we’re already very big in terms of meditational music, wellness music, sleep, pink noise, white noise, everything on the spectrum. And now with podcasts obviously on the service too, there’s a lot of people who are focused on those things, which I’m very excited about.

Spotify has been streaming podcasts for years. But it made news recently by spending a few hundred million dollars to acquire two podcast-production companies, Gimlet and Parcast, and a firm called Anchor that’s primarily a podcast technology platform.

EK: Correct. Correct.

DUBNER: So that really changes things in a number of ways. Because you have been successful not being a content creator or producer — too much, at least. So I guess first question is why, and then the second question is, how will it unfurl?

EK: Right. Well, in the future, I don’t think people will make a choice whether they’re subscribing to a music service. We think that they’re making a choice whether they will have an audio service of their choice. It wasn’t this well-thought-out master plan. “Hey, we need an adjacent business, and we don’t know which one it is.” It wasn’t like that at all. What actually happened, because Spotify is a platform was we started seeing in my home country Sweden actually, we started seeing record companies buying podcasts and uploading them to the platform as another revenue opportunity for them to grow. And it resonated really well with listeners. And that was the first step. And then in Germany, record companies there had massive amounts of rights to audio books, which I wasn’t aware of. And they started uploading that to the service and very quickly, we went from no listening to that and now we’re probably if not the biggest, the second-biggest audio book service in Germany. And this is without our involvement. This just happened by proxy of us being a platform. So we started seeing it resonating really well into people’s lives. And they thought of Spotify not just as a music service but as a service where they can find audio. And it played really well into our strategy of ubiquity — i.e., being on all of these different devices in your home, whether it’s the Alexas or TV screens or in your cars or whatever as just another source where you could play your audio.

DUBNER: But why do you want to go to the trouble to pay a couple hundred million to buy a firm that’s creating it when almost everybody making podcasts would probably willingly have their content on Spotify?

EK: Yeah. Well, the reason why is really twofold. So one is that the format of podcasts, we’re still very early on into what it will be. If you really think about it, for most people, there’s all of these basic things for creators that haven’t been solved, like how well am I doing. It’s not that easy to find out. How am I monetizing the show and the value for advertisers, it’s just not that easy to find out. And thirdly, what are people saying about my show, feedback. Those are three very elemental things that if you think about it almost all other formats, if you’re a journalist today and writing in text, there’s ways to solve all three of them. We can already —

DUBNER: I mean what you’re describing does exist to some degree on Apple Podcasts, which I realize Spotify has a complicated relationship with. But that’s also, like Spotify, it’s a closed ecosystem. It’s not part of the web, quite. So if Apple Podcasts data existed in a non-closed environment would that have been enough for Spotify to not need to buy its own firm?

EK: Probably. I mean, in the end I mean it’s all about solving needs that creators or consumers are having. That’s what we’re focused on. And if someone had solved that need then obviously there would be less of a reason for us to do anything about it. And you know the same thing, if there was massive amounts of audio-book services in Germany I’m sure we wouldn’t have been successful.

DUBNER: Can you talk about Spotify customer data. What do you have and what do you do with it?

EK: Well, what we do with it now is very tightly regulated because we’re originally a European company and in Europe, I believe, five or six years ago there was a new initiative called G.D.P.R. that officially became a law some time April, May I believe last year. And obviously we’re complying with that. And what it basically says is that all the data that we have around you as a customer, you need to be able to ask us for it and we need to deliver it back to you. You need to have an opportunity for it getting deleted by us.

DUBNER: What are your abilities to monetize that data, though, to third parties?

EK: Well our ability to monetize it is obviously based on the contract that we have with our users, so obvious things that would be what genre of music are you listening to, what’s your age, what’s your demographics. And those are things that advertisers can target against.

DUBNER: Right. And how well do you monetize that currently?

EK: You mean if we do monetize it?

DUBNER: Yes. If you do monetize it how well do you —

EK: We monetize some of those aspects of course like any normal ad platform. It’s very important though to note that we’re not selling any customer data.

DUBNER: That’s what I’m asking. So there’s ads on the Spotify platform.

EK: Yes.

DUBNER: You’d be fools not to target those to listeners based on their demographics and their listening tendencies.

EK: Of course.

DUBNER: But you do have a lot of data that would be valuable to third parties.

EK: Oh yeah, massive amounts, but not even just for other advertisers. But you can imagine even for the music industry, there’s tons of data about how their songs are performing or other people’s songs might be performing that could inform them about what they’re doing. We’ve taken the stance that we don’t monetize the data itself at all. We don’t sell the data.

DUBNER: Why?

EK: Well, it’s an important one for us that users should be able to rely on us not — my fundamental view is, it’s their data. If we can use the data in order to make the Spotify experience better, then all good and great. And I think many users would say yeah, I agree with that. But because now of G.D.P.R., which I do think is the right step — we can argue about like was it the right implementation of it and all those things. But I do think it’s great for customers that there’s something like G.D.P.R. there. And you can delete the data. You can also say opt out of specific things that we are gathering about you and say, hey I don’t want you to know X or Y.

DUBNER: Yeah. I’ve read that you operate your life in a series of sort of five-year commitments. I don’t know how finite or real that is, but if it is real.

EK: Right.

DUBNER: Where are you now in the five-year cycle, and what happens next?

EK: It’s not always been five years, by the way. So when I started the company, it was a five-year commitment because being 23 at the time, having started lots of different companies before I really wanted to see what would happen if I applied myself to one thing and only one thing and do it for a meaningful amount of time, how far I could get on that problem. And the longest I could imagine spending on anything was five years. So that’s how it ended up being five years. And then when the five years passed, I was 28 so I said, Well when 30 — so it was a two-year increment. And now I said to myself, just before going public last year, is this what I want to do? And what would happen if I made a 10-year commitment? Which felt pretty daunting and what is it that we would have to do, what does the company have to look like for me to be interested to do this for another 10 years? Well what would my role have to look like in order for me to be interested?

DUBNER: Is that a key component, how interested you can remain — I mean it needs to be constantly challenging to you?

EK: Yeah, definitely so. I mean to be honest because otherwise if you don’t have that passion and you don’t feel like you’re growing and challenging yourself, someone else will probably do a much better job.

DUBNER: So where are you right now?

EK: I’m in year two now of a ten-year commitment.

DUBNER: So what did you see in the future of Spotify that you thought was going to be so amazingly, excitingly challenging for 10 years?

EK: Well, there’s really two things. So the first and more important one is really from the inception of Spotify, the assumption was that we would solve the user problem. I.e., — get people to listen in a much better way and then they’ll contribute back to the music industry. The core assumption was that the music industry would take care of all the other things — how people get signed, how they get heard. And I realized that that just didn’t happen. So we’re largely doing business the same way as we were doing 10 years ago. There’s been some evolution of that. But I want to work with the music industry. I was never a disrupter. That’s the big misunderstanding about me. I’ve — I believe the record companies are important and will be important in the future. But we believe we can be the R & D arm for the music industry, that we can develop better tools and technology to allow them to be more efficient and thereby creating more, better solutions for them and for artists.

DUBNER: Can you give an example of how the efficiency happens?

EK: Well, one of the hardest problems right now for an artist is to get heard. One of the biggest platforms to be heard at would be Spotify, right? So today the primary tool that an artist has to get heard on Spotify besides putting the music on there is getting known by one of our editors. So in a weird way, while we want to democratize music, we’ve become gatekeepers as well. So the question is: can we develop tools that enables artists to promote their music more efficiently just by themselves on the platform? And that could be in the form of being able to talk to their existing super fans that are on the platform. It could be in the form of better promotional tools for record companies in how they pitch music and get the music out there.

Spotify having become a gatekeeper — whether inadvertently or not — is an important point. A song that Spotify adds to one of its playlists will get many more streams than one that doesn’t. And streams translate into money for the rights-holders. So having that power is important, especially from a profit-maximizing perspective. If Spotify were primarily concerned with profit-maximizing, it might promote content that is cheaper for Spotify to stream. Maybe it’s content they produce themselves; or just content that comes with a lower payment rate than others. It may not sound like a big difference to pay a rights-holder 0.4 cents per stream versus 0.3 cents, but if you’re talking hundreds of millions or billions of streams, it adds up.

DUBNER: What do you listen to these days?

EK: Music-wise or podcast —

DUBNER: Well, both.

EK: So music-wise I’ve been really interested in African music lately. So particularly West African dancehall music has been something that’s been pretty cool. We launched in South Africa a year ago. So all of those playlists started bubbling up and there’s been a lot of really cool —

DUBNER: It must be so cool to launch in a new place as a means for you guys to discover what’s the music —

EK: Oh yeah, for sure, and there’s a lot of things that you just don’t even know about. So that’s been for me the biggest thing over the last year that’s been really interesting. And then on the podcast side, it’s such a fascinating format to me. There’s obviously people who can listen to Crimetown or whatever it may be, just to get entertained. For me it’s more the educational part of it. So it could be a Freakonomics. There’s one called Invest Like the Best that’s quite interesting and thoughtful about investments and how you do that. I do listen to quite a lot of history podcasts as well. Just to get an hour uninterrupted about a subject. There’s no other format that goes to the same depth as I find that podcasting does.

DUBNER: Are there still holes in the Spotify music library that you really want to fix?

EK: There are. But obviously by now the holes that we have are probably more regional holes than the fact of the big ones. I’m sure that there are — Garth Brooks being probably the best-known example right now. But most of it is really about old music, getting the archives up. I’m very proud that we did that deal with the BBC a few years ago where we’re now bringing the entire archive onto streaming. Same with Deutsche Grammophon, the German equivalents as well.

DUBNER: Would you ever consider in a case like Garth Brooks — I mean, I’m sure you’re going to say no to this, because it would be illegal — but would you ever consider saying, “Look, we’re Spotify, we’re just going to put the music there,” and then he will see how well it does. And then the first check gets written. And then that will bring him to the table in a proper way. Would you or did you ever do that?

EK: No. We’ve never done that. It goes against the ethos of what it is we’re trying to do. I mean, again, when we started, that was the modus operandi. There was all these —

DUBNER: A sort of terrorism in a way, yeah?

EK: Yeah, a lot of these services, where people just uploaded all the music and then they figured out the problem later on. That was never the approach that we took.

DUBNER: And why was that? I mean, do you consider yourself a particularly ethical person? Is that the way Swedish business is done? Because to be fair, Uber pretty much did that. They would go into cities where they knew that local authorities wouldn’t allow them to operate.

EK: Right. Well I don’t like to say that we’re more ethical than other people. It just felt like the right thing to do. And I believed that the problem for the music industry with the past had been just that fact, that it always felt like it was people who wanted to disrupt the existing music industry. I don’t believe that the music industry has to be disrupted. I believe it has to be evolved. So we like to work with them as partners. That’s always been our approach. There isn’t music on Spotify that the copyright owners haven’t authorized us.

DUBNER: I have one last question. If you weren’t doing this now — let’s just pretend Spotify really hadn’t worked, that either the technology or the rights-gathering proved impossible. You’d be doing what now, and where?

EK: If I weren’t doing this, I would probably do something in health care. And it’s a weird revelation, if you asked me ten years ago, I wouldn’t have said that. But right now it’s like I came to that realization because people always said, “Oh, Spotify is so amazing,” and my response was always, “Well, it’s not saving lives, but it’s good.” A few years ago I was thinking to myself, why am I not saving lives, and what would I do if I did that? And I talked about these technology currents, and I think in healthcare a lot of those technology currents are starting to play out. And it’s not just about the sort of digital part of these things. It’s just the advancement in biotech overall, CRISPR, proactive medicine. It’s going to be the next decade or two decades, we’re fundamentally moving from a place where we will look at doctors or the way we treated people like it’s almost witchcraft two decades from now. We’ll just know a lot more. And that’s fascinating, to think about the implications that that will have economically, because I believe in the end it means that we can spend a lot less of our GDP on healthcare and as a consequence hopefully treat a lot more people. So yeah, I’m really interested in that part, and what’s going to happen in that space.

DUBNER: Do you think you will do that, I mean, in eight years? At the end of this ten-year, quote, commitment, you’ll be only 44.

EK: Right.

DUBNER: Do you think you will try something radically different for you like that?

EK: I hope so. My interests — I love music. It’s been a passion really since the beginning of my life. And that will always be a passion and always be something that I’ll do in some shape or form. But we’re here a very, very short period of time on Earth. And I feel a tremendous amount of responsibility having — you know, it’s insane that I’m 30-plus years old and having had as much fortune as I’ve had, so I feel like I need to do a lot more than what I’m doing to leave the world a better place than what I entered it.

If you want to learn more about Spotify — including how a team of Swedish social scientists tried to reverse-engineer it to see how the platform really works — check out a new book called Spotify Teardown: Inside the Black Box of Streaming Music.

*      *      *

Freakonomics Radio is produced by Stitcher and Dubner Productions. This episode was produced by Matt Frassica. Our staff also includes Alison Craiglow, Greg Rippin, Harry Huggins, Zack Lapinski, Matt Hickey, and Corinne Wallace. Our theme song is “Mr. Fortune,” by the Hitchhikers; all the other music was composed by Luis Guerra. You can subscribe to Freakonomics Radio on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Here’s where you can learn more about the people and ideas in this episode:

SOURCES

Daniel Ek, co-founder and C.E.O. of Spotify.

RESOURCES

“The Effect of File Sharing on Record Sales: An Empirical Analysis,” by Felix Oberholzer‐Gee and Koleman Strumpf (Journal of Political Economy, 2007).

The post How Spotify Saved the Music Industry (But Not Necessarily Musicians) appeared first on Freakonomics.

from Dental Care Tips http://freakonomics.com/podcast/spotify/

[bnrobertson1]

Chin Up, Algorithms

Greta Van Fleet is known for three things: (1) Shamelessly sounding like Led Zeppelin, (2) Getting critically shat on for shamelessly sounding like LZ and (3) being the cause of people attacking the music press for, you know, just not getting it, man.* I haven’t had the privilege or desire to meet the band of Detroit teenagers, but I don’t like the thought of these up-and-comers, who so clearly have the world by the tail, being down about the cruel nature of living in the public eye. So, I decided to encourage them the only way I know how: by giving them Pump Up Speech they’ve essentially begged me for **.

*Sample quote: “It’s like an awesome new version of Led Zeppelin and refreshing for people who (like myself) are overloaded with electro-pop and generic rap that is dominating the airwaves and Spotify streams.”

** in my mind

[SETTING: BACKSTAGE @ University of Phoenix Stadium. Although the stadium walls shake with blandly enthusiastic anticipation, the band is depressed after some especially rough reviews. The label has flown me in to get them in a better headspace before they go “shred” with Imagine Dragons in front 100,000 people in the desert. They await my arrival in their green room.]

BONGO DRUMMER (I’m guessing his name is Derrrbb) [flustered]: Well, the label said they’d…

SMASH. Before anyone even realizes the door has been kicked open, Derrrbb’s head gets hit with an unidentified object and caves in like whatever politician you don’t like being questioned by whatever politician you do like.  

All are silent. There is a vacuum in the air that all present notice and appreciate, a calm before the storm heavy with some serious truth debris.

I stand motionlessly, a cricket bat (name: BAM BAM) dangles in my hand like a windchime. Finally, I animate. The next five minutes consist of me smashing any and everything that needs smashing. Vanity mirrors. SMASH. Two Man Harps. SMASH. Curling irons. SMASH SMASH SMASH. To add to the effect, my face is bleached with flour meant to resemble narcotics. Red dye, surprisingly sweet, is also on my face for even further dramatic effect, although it is mixing with the flour, making a fairly delicious combination that is difficult not to lick. I then remember I left all that fake drug crap back in my van, so we’re on the real deal, baby. My eyes start twitching as my pupils dilate. Fucking Great Van Fleet. I was saving all that for Frasier night at mom’s house. Oh well, might as well get this over with. Taking a slightly manic British affectation, I speak.

“Listen. Up. You. FUCKS!!!”

I find the closest “Eastern” instrument and spend close to half an hour tirelessly destroying it with BAM BAM into pieces so infinitesimal that it would be nearly impossible to prove that it ever actually existed. An Imagine Dragons’, let’s say, oboist(?) cries in the background, I tirelessly smash the Sitar out of its misery. Noticing I’m distracted with obliterating instruments, Greta Van Fleet’s lead singer slowly starts to gain some courage, finally speaking “Hey man! Th….”

“SHUTTTTTT ITTTTT,” I politely interrupt, picking up the lead singer, let’s call him Gene, by his VERY COOL  “Indian” apparel, discus throwing him into the sun. I finally take a deep breath. Then another. Then I seethe for fifteen minutes before speaking.

“Perhaps, I should start from scratch. I’m here because your record label paid me enough a volcano-choking amount of dough to fly here and give you boys a pick-me-up because you’ve been down in the dumps with all this negative pWess. You know, a little pep pep. Maybe a pat on the noggin, a drink at me teet. And yep, boys, it’s been brutal. Look what it says here [picking up a stray computer]: ‘derivative,’ [I throw the computer at the regular drummer like a throwing star, it sticking in his head, killing him instantly] “vampiric,” [I just punch some dude for having a pube stache], “totally passionless” [I consider how many pounds of pasta a crazy busy Olive Garden goes through the day].

I continue. “And so what? Did you really get into rock n’ roll to impress critics. CRITICS!?! Some 45-year old cumrag making in a year what you do you do in a day selling your ‘Indigenous Peoples’ Greta Van Fleet Start Pack?’ Do you think for one segment of a second that one of those keyboard warriors wouldn’t change places with you? They’d floss with the bones of their young just to have one person applaud them out loud, much less a 100,000 at one time.

Full name: Indigenous Peoples’ Greta Van Fleet Start Pack* with individually numbered Bansuri

So what do they do? They talk shit on the internet like the true desperados they are. Real John fucking Waynes, this lot. ‘Oh, they’re just some product made by record industry focus group testing?’ Oh really? Well guess what else is- EVERYTHING. But there’s hope: all the stuff you get in return does not know the difference. Let me assure you, gentlemen, breasts and narcotics…” [and this point I disappear for 45 minutes. I return very, very excited to continue our chat].

“YEEEEEAAAAAHHHHHHH. Where was I?!?! Buildings! No. Oh Greta Van Fleet. So yeah like I was saying, your record label didn’t think they were signing the new Lou Reed or the new Daft Punk or fuck even the new Seven Mary fucking Three when they got you to sign on the dotted line. They just have enough data to know people like Led Zeppelin’s sound and to know that you fill that bill quite nicely. Sure, those Steve McQueen-esque critics may call you “derivative” as they take a break from their marathon love-making, but guess what- so is everybody who has ever used the word ‘the.’ Plus, derivative or not, none of you are in your sixties going on about Satanism and asking for stupid amounts of money, so the powers picked you. Plus you didn’t seem to have any pre-existing medical conditions.  But don’t fool yourself: each and every one of you cash registers are just glorified human-shaped SONOS machines. Play these songs, get your paycheck, and then exhaust all of your senses- especially which ever one tells you to ever speak. I LOVE THE LIGHTS!

Anyway, boys, think about this: Your songs have been played billions of times. BILLIONS. Add that all up and that’s more time than the entirety of Mr. “I have a Graduate Degree Yet Make Less than $35,000” Journalist McFuckFace has been on this planet, or any other. Don’t let him sting you with limp-dicked insults, boys. You have won. Look at this [picks up $10,000 guitar]. And this [picks up a huge pile of vaporizers with both hands]. ALL THE VAPES IN THE WORLD! AND THIS! [I open the treasure chest full of jewels that is in the room for some reason. I take a few of the jewels out and starts rubbing them all over my body for, let’s say, 20 minutes.]

[I continue.] Critics get to be “smart,” you get to be “rich and famous,” which is another way of saying you get to be anything you want, except smart, which is overrated. Just ask the chess master who lives in the park next to my 9,600 sq. penthouse suite. He asks for the cheese on the wax paper of my morning bagel I’m usually far too hungover to eat. That’s the type who “know about music.” When you’re thinking about what type of ice sculpture Wedding 9 should have, he’ll be teaching a Community College Class about the “Evils of Capitalism,” and mates, he’ll know that truth as soundly as you won’t remember one fucking fact about him.  

My point, my little gold mines, [I take the bassist’s face in my hands] my beautiful little gold mines [that’s not the bassist. I don’t care]  is that none of this shit matters. We’re just here for a blip, so make it a boom. Who cares if “the right people” respect you? Or if that cute girl with the thick-brimmed glasses who keeps uncracked Pynchon nearby admires your mind? I’ve got bad news for you all: none of you are Thom Yorke. I also have great news: NONE OF YOU ARE THOM YORKE. You’re not doomed to spend your days thinking about the feelings of a vacuum cleaner replacement part or some shit. Embrace your inner hedonism- that is the true spirit of LZ. Not some stolen blues riffs and shark fucking (google it). Let your creativity run wild with how you put things in and out of your bodies. AND BECOME A GOD FOR IT.  

So sorry, people will not be studying your album notes decades from now looking for clues into your genius or how the structure of some ballad is meant to mirror some fucking world ill. And that shouldn’t bother you one bit- worrying about how the future will consider you is for academics and people who think because their current life blows that it will somehow be championed in the future because they didn’t have the gall to do anything in the present. If they’re lucky they’ll get a paper towel made in their honor. If we’re lucky, that paper towel will be produced using child-labor and earth-destroying products. Nothing wipes the shit grin off their “sophisticated” faces quite like hypercriticism, and buddy, we’ll assure you there’ll be plenty of that.  

So people are calling you just a rip-off of Led Zeppelin? Congrats, you’ve hit the gold mine. Now all that’s left to do is shine. Oh, you’re welcome. Now fuck off.”

As I start to leave, one of the band member’s asks a question about “authenticity” and whether I wondered whether aping the musicians who aped other musicians “problematic.” My brain- whose resting speed is somewhere in between a figuring out how to fly and a full blown aneurysm- weaponizes, liquifying all remaining members who are in the room. I take the liquid and make ceremonial “Energy Pendants,” where I put a drop or two in a vaguely “spiritual” rock (I call them ‘crystals’), selling them for $3,500 a piece. I become a millionaire and marry Kate Upton on the moon. Oh, and because I’m so well liked and wealthy, the actual Led Zeppelin plays the reception. They play a 14- minute version of “Kashmir.” It slays.  

THE END  

[reviverradio]

10 Times Mediocre Movies Spawned Really Good Music Videos

Before both businesses went in different directions post-file sharing, mainstream films and music hit on a synergistic peak in the ’90s since the movie soundtrack turned into a dominant pop culture type. Nowadays, soundtracks are largely irrelevant and unnecessary, as flowing playlists have displaced the industrial compilation.

The ’90s in particular were characterized by great films with wonderful soundtracks (Boogie Nights, Pulp Fiction, Clueless, etc). However, what I wished to do here was list a number of the films where sometimes music videos were much better than the source movies. There were not any shortage of them in the late 20th century. ” They would only use footage but, in some cases, they’d have some bit is performed by the actors .

The arrangement is goofy as hell because it is some sort of trailer also functions as an ad for the soundtrack the the film, and also the artist. Below are a few of the ones which are far better than the movies.

10. Aaliyah, “Are You That Somebody” By Dr. Dolittle Dr. Dolittle came out a year following The Nutty Professor, aka was the beginning of the end of Eddie Murphy. But this Timbaland and Aaliyah collaboration is one of a generation’s most pairings. I think yet and artists and music writers would concur Aaliyah is unimpeachable, typically considered as a member of a production gift is somehow underrated. And in the event that you ever wondered what happened to this infant whose cooing was sampled to this banger, nicely, music journalism has got you covered. These are the tales that thing.

9. Aaliyah, “Try Again” By Romeo Must Die Romeo Must Die is a much better film than Dr. Doolittle. But Aaliyah and Timbaland outshine another feature picture here with “Try Again.” This one merely features a very small amount of the movie crossover material, but it’s actually a video. I guarantee that this is the last Aaliyah soundtrack tune, but it will not be the last ’90s Romeo reboot.

8. Seal, “Kiss From a Rose” By Batman Forever Seal was one of the sexiest men alive according to magazine editors in the mid-’90s. And video and this romance book song was one of the few decent elements of the train wreck of a film.

7. Will Smith, “Wild Wild West” By Wild Wild West It appears as though the complete version of the was scrubbed off streaming websites (probably for the top). What would you see the movie or do: listen to the song? I think that’s all that needs to be said. Don’t actually watch this if you have some opinions about Will Smith which you would love to hang onto.

6. Puff Daddy feat. Jimmy Page, “Come with Me” By Godzilla No one recalls what happened in this turgid stinker of a Godzilla reboot, including the folks who left it. It is the equivalent of Surge soda. But something about getting Jimmy Page — famously only a terrible man — and pre-Diddy Puff Daddy together for this terrible Boyification of Zeppelin’s “Kashmir” is still preferable to seeing the pricey turd of a blockbuster that the film was, despite Godzilla’s lovers’ comparatively higher tolerance for bullshit.

5. The Cardigans, “Lovefool” By Romeo + Juliet Here is most likely the latest take on this list: Baz Lurhmann couldn’t direct his way out of a wet bag full of small underwater Leos. The Cardigans are great. I think we can all basically agree with that. But we have to be fair: Romeo + Juliet, over the remainder, is worthless without its own music. And this is the song from the soundtrack of the film. The Cardigans, since it happens, have dated nicely.

4. Coolio feat. LV, “Gangsta’s Paradise” By Dangerous Minds It cannot be overstated how huge this record and music video were in the time (such as the next one with this list as well). “Gangsta’s Paradise” featured bozo rapper Coolio doing a stunning turn to coincide with the edgy topics of the film, which is basically a mildly entertaining rehash of this Stand and Deliver template.   The video and song also got the Weird Al treatment. Although Coolio’s career has taken a weird twist — for instance, he has starred in a culinary net series named Cookin’ With Coolio— he was when the king of the mainstream world, and this video was that moment.

3. Whitney Houston, “I’ll Always Love You” By The Bodyguard Attempt naming a single scene in The Bodyguard. This absolute monster of a single dominated the charts for what felt like years in the time. It was inevitable. The Kevin Costner/Whitney Houston movie it was encouraging ended up riding the soundtrack’s success, led by this cover of the Dolly Parton classic, “I Will Always Love You.” The film ended up grossing near a half billion dollars in box office revenue in the early ’90s. But the film itself was essentially scrubbed in the cultural memory from the close of the decade (at least till it was revived as a musical in 2012). Also there’s a fairly intriguing documentary on Houston which was recently published.

2. Warren G ft. Nate Dogg, “Regulate” By Above the Rim “Regulate” was the perfect car for both Nate and Warren to showcase their abilities and, consequently, break out of the shadows of the predecessors. Among these samples is out of Michael McDonald’s “I Keep Forgettin'” — and which is not going to be the last time you visit Mr. McDonald with this list.

1. Michael McDonald, “Sweet Freedom” By Running Scared Oh here he is again. Look, I’ve nothing against Gregory Hines and Running Scared is not even which awful; it’s only totally forgettable. This video, despite the addition of Billy “Blackface” Crystal, is still a treat and undoubtedly the best part about the disposable dollar-bin leftover.

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from reviverradio http://www.reviverradio.net/10-times-mediocre-movies-spawned-really-good-music-videos/

[brido]

Mike and Vicky Go to Ecuador (Day 1)

I didn’t think I’d ever make it to Quito. That might sound like I’m stating the obvious, but if I didn’t go to Quito, that would end my self-important streak of visiting my sister in every city she’s lived in during her tenure in the foreign service. That streak has not only a weirdly competitive source of pride for me over the years, but also a weirdly consistent source of my stand-up material, from bullfights in Lima to ordering pizza in an Irish pub in Montevideo. These trips to see Susan have been a really special and surprising thing for me in my life. I mean, I pretty much had to go to Quito.    

So as my wife and I nervously dropped off our giant seven-month-old Bernese ‘puppy’ at an extended daycare, we headed out of L.A.( just as the Dodgers were hosting the World Series for the first time in 29 years) and we spent a travel day going L.A. to Houston and from Houston to Quito. I was unsure what to expect from a city and a country that was, to an embarrassing degree, a mystery to me. All I really knew was that we wouldn’t have time for the Galapagos, I should be scared shitless of the altitude and we’d be getting up early the next morning to pile into a van with my sister, brother-in-law, niece and nephew for a full day of sight seeing curated by the fam. And so that’s what we did. 

Here was Day 1.  

Our first stop was Hacienda La Compania de Jesus in Cayambe. And as we were greeted by women in traditional indigenous Kayambi garb offering bizcochos and blackberry juice, as well as a young tour guide in a faded Jack Skellington t-shirt, I realized I had no idea what the hell was going on.

The Hacienda isn’t mentioned in the Ecuadorian travel book I bought and skimmed before the trip, but for the past 15 years, the Jarrin family has apparently been giving tours of their old estate. That includes a big, hundred-year-old French neoclassic home with all original everything, an old barn that now functions as a showroom and a 300-year-old Jesuit chapel - all of the above ornamented in an amount of cut roses that I’d have to classify as ‘an overflowing fuckload’ of cut roses.

There were hundreds of rose pedals in the fountain out front. You couldn’t go anywhere inside the big old house without seeing at least one giant bouquet of roses. And the aforementioned showroom was where the Hacienda really flexed its rose-having muscles. They weren’t even pretending you were supposed to be impressed with old furniture or other antiques. That was just them going, “We run Rosadex, a massive rose greenhouse/plantation and export roses to about 50 countries. Look at it. It’s an overflowing fuckload of roses!” Fair enough.

On your standard FTD delivery website, you can get a bouquet of two dozen roses with a vase for about $75. In Ecuador, you can buy about a billion roses for a dollar. Really. Because of the direct, year-round sunlight on the equator and the high altitude (about 9600 feet), the roses grow perfectly straight and the setting is basically perfect. So in a pretty short amount time, these Ecuadorian roses have become one of the biggest exports of the entire country (along with oil, bananas and shrimp in case you’re some kind of nerd). They have long stem roses for the Russians, the dyed circus colors for the Chinese and even a deep blue option that I was told is popular at gang funerals in Los Angeles. I’m not kidding. The place is just lousy with the roses.

We saw the greenhouses. We saw the ‘post-harvest room’. The latter was so colorful and impressive that I almost forgot the part when our tour guide told us that the hacienda had been in his wife’s family for five generations -  ever since King Charles III of Spain kicked all the Jesuits out of Spain and its colonies in 1767. I immediately thought, “Wait. What?” And that thought kind of followed me around the rest of the tour. What type of Game of Thrones shit happened with King Charles and the Jesuits in 1767??? But I’d have to get back to that later.

I did manage to Google the Jarrin family later on and noticed that Jaime Jarrin, the Spanish Vin Scully, was born in Cayambe. So I’m thinking he has to be a member of the hacienda family. But before I could ask more questions, the tour was over and I was back in the van with my family headed off to another sight in the Ecuadorian highlands. But what the fuck happened with King Chuck and the Jesuits?   

Next, the van made a brief pitstop at a place called Mira Lago in San Pablo Del Lago, which was a souvenir shop overlooking the Imbabura volcano and (obviously) a lake. Because of Mira Lago’s name similarity to our current president’s favorite West Palm Beach cake restaurant or whatever, I thought standing by the sign with a confused look on my face would make for an amusing photo. But that’s before I saw the view… and the llamas.

Inside the gift shop, a traditional Andean band, which appeared to be a family, played charangos, guitars, seed shakers, a siku panpipe and sang in either Quechua or Aymara. I’m not sure. I don’t speak indigenous Andean. But I did fucking love them. I’ve tried to find them Online and I think their name is Ayllu Pura and they’re like the Incan version of the Staples Singers. This video doesn’t really do them justice, but whatever. It’s there and I think it’s pretty sweet. Anyway, Victoria bought some cool-looking scarves there and we left.    

Our destination lunch was at Hacienda Cusin, also in San Pablo Del Lago. The estate itself is said to date back to 1602. But the hacienda is a restored 19th Century country home that gradually added garden cottages to become a cobblestone-pathed, terra-cotta-lined, magical rustic hotel with a magical rustic ambience. Do you like Spanish tiles? Do you like more antiques? What about ancient trees? And what about more llamas? You do? Well, they got you. And it’s so dope.

All of that said, the actual food at lunch was the least impressive part of the visit. I mean, I didn’t think so at the time. It’s just that my mind would be blown on multiple lunches on this trip and I can’t honestly say I remember what I ate at Hacienda Cusin as much as I just remember being introduced to the tree tomato (a mango-ish/apricot-ish/passion-fruit-flavored tomato) and the naranjilla (an orange that tastes like a combination of rhubarb and lime) for the first time. The rest of the food was a shrug.  But that’s fine with me. I got to go to an old hacienda (the non-Jesuit kind, mind you) that made me feel like I was living in a Spanish-tiled version of the Led Zeppelin IV ZOSO cover.

The final van trip of the day was to the small village of Peguche, which is known for incredibly talented indigenous weavers and for a picturesque 60-foot ceremonial waterfall in a protected forrest.  

The weaving stores in the village were pretty incredible. So was the waterfall, but you kinda just walk up to it, get your picture taken, stand there and take in how neat it is and leave. Maybe you chicken out on climbing some rocks to get a better photo. Maybe you decide you’re too fat to try to get a photo on a llama.  Maybe all of that happened and it’s best we move on to the weavers.  

In Jose Cotacachi, the workers, all in traditional clothing, demonstrated how they made their wall hangings, shawls, scarves and ponchos from the looms all the way down to the production of the dyes they still make by hand. At one point, a woman who worked there took cochineal eggs from a cactus and smashed them in her palm, using the pigment the insects use to repel predators and added lemon juice and paprika and other stuff to create all sorts of different colors. And it was almost badass how cocky she was about it too. Like, Yeah, I just did that shit. Buy something. 

In another store, Artesania El Gran Condor, Victoria bought a beautiful multicolored table cloth and placemats, while I turned down an offer from my sister to buy me a poncho. These are the types of attire, when worn back in Los Angeles, that can get someone accused of cultural appropriation by the Woke Police. Even though, like, the entire purpose and income of these indigenous markets (especially in the surrounding market of Otavalo) is to sell their fucking wares to dipshit tourists like me.

Anyway, after our first big day of exploring, the fam, including my exhausted niece and nephew, headed back to Quito in the van. My niece, who is 7, got roaring mad at me for some reason or another along the way (I think I ate a piece of her candy), until I sang a song I made up on the spot that went, “I’m so sorry in the van. Won’t you ever shake my hand,” that became such a hit with the kids that it was requested randomly and enthusiastically throughout the rest of the trip. What can I say? Much like the real “Weird” Al Yankovic, my target audience is probably elementary school children.  

Back in Quito, the adults stayed up a bit longer, ordered specialty sushi rolls from a place called Noe and watched Game 7 of the ALCS. The Astros won and were headed to the World Series to face the Dodgers. And I was headed to bed. Thus concluded Day 1.

[postcards-from-absurdland]

aesthetic themed ask list

Blame this lovely person: http://postcards-from-absurdland.tumblr.com/post/162331593464/ehehehehe-kto%C5%9B-si%C4%99-skar%C5%BCy%C5%82-na-to-%C5%BCe-nikt-go-nie

flower crown: when did you last sing to yourself?

Right now. I am singing and humming all the time, always.

fairy lights: if a crystal ball could tell you the truth about anything, what would you want to know?

If a friend of mine feels deep down hurt by my reaction to a certain, suicide-attempt-involving situation from some years ago. Also something connected to my currently going relationshi probably ;)

daisies: what is the greatest accomplishment of your life?

Well, NOT DYING OF SUICIDE  is high on the list.

1975: what is the first happy memory that comes to mind, recent or otherwise?

First real kiss :)

matte: if you knew that in one year you would die suddenly, would you change anything about the way you are now living?

Less stress, more worshiping God.

black nail polish: do you have a bucket list? if so, what are the top three things?

No bucket lists for this girl.

pantone: describe a person close to your life in detail.

My friend M. is a petite blonde girl with hazel eyes and the loveliest upturned nose. She is my age and studies herbology. She loves heather. She has two cats. She is a devout Catholic, sets an example of faith for me and I sincerely hope an believe her to be a saint. She wears beautiful clothes and has a great singing soprano voice. And plays the guitar and ukulele. Her family is a big and loving one. She has a fiance whom we all find weird, but he loves her so much we don’t really care. She seems to be a cinnamon roll but is actually full of sass and self-causciousness. (And also cries upon seeing beautiful animals.)

moodboard: do you feel you had a happy childhood?

I had a very bumpy childhood and I was rarely happy, but when I was it was intense, like a lightning.

stars: when did you last cry in front of another person?

Three weeks ago, actually. I cry a lot.

plants: pick a person to stargaze with you and explain why you picked them.

An university friend W. because of both her enthusiasm and her inclination towards poetry.

converse: would you ever have a deep conversation with a stranger and open up to them?

Total stranger? Nope. My conversations with strangers end up as showering them with trivia, and I want it to stay so.

lace: when was your last 3am conversation with someone, and who were they to you?

A week ago, with a highschool friend and former roommate.

handwriting: if you were about to die, and you could only say one more sentence to one person, what would you say and to whom?

Since telling my parent that I love them would involve more than one person - I don’t know really.

cactus: what is your opinion on brown eyes?

They’re cool. But I find all eye colours cool. Better eyes than no eyes, right?

sunrise: pick a quote and describe what it means to you personally.

---

oil paints: what would you title the autobiography of your life so far?

The most attended to Catholic in the world - I live thanks to God and so do you! 

overalls: what would you do with one billion dollars?

Short scale billion USD equals 3,741,352,800 PLN so without even mentioning long scale billion I’d buy a new, fully furnished 3-bedroom apartment in Cracow for rent until I’d need one, a new laptop, a trip to New Zeland and back for me and my bf... and I have no idea what I’d do with the remaining 3,739,950,000 but I’d never want to actually have such a sum of money. It would literally burn my fingers. I’d probably give it all out to charities, maybe some to my family.

combat boots: are you a very forgiving person? do you like being this way?

I am a forgiving person to those further from me, but not for those closest. I want to be more forgiving, as a general principle.

winged eyeliner: write a hundred word letter to your twelve year old self.

Dear Catherine! You are a brave and open-minded person – good. Things are about to go temporarily downhill pretty soon. Be prepared, but not afraid. Stay thoughtful and merciful. Reach for people more - they are not as scary as they seem. Appreciate your self-consciousness, but do not let it drive you. Cry. Rebel. Run. Have more fun. You will not permanently damage anyone and you will not regret it. But please - stop making up stories for people to notice you. Do not be ashamed of who you are and what you feel. You are worthy of love. Stay safe.

pastel: would you describe yourself as more punk or pastel?

Certainly not punk...

tattoos: how do you feel about tattoos and piercings? explain.

I have had physical problems with piercings so far (I suspect allegries), and generally am not visually pleased with them. I love the concept of tatooing your body though, it’s so primaeval. I want to have tatoos someday, but I wait until somethng really meaningful will need visual perpetuation. Also, my Church’s thoughts on tatoos seem quite ambiguous, so the whole idea will require a lot of consideration.

piercings: do you wear a lot of makeup? why/why not?

Nope - I have no skin problems, eye dryness issues, no money for good cosmetics, no patience for maintaining a routine and therefore no time to learn how to do it properly. And I have recently smashed a full bottle of foundation on the floor. Just lipstick for me, thanks.

bands: talk about a song/band/lyric that has affected your life in some way.

Scarborough Fair (sung by Martin Carthy) has lead me, among other things, to: buying new clothing items, changing hairstyle, starting Irish dances, Led Zeppelin music, best HP and Tolkien fanfics ever, staying at the music school, meeting three most important people in my life to this day, and countless mountain hiking expeditions. I even buy perfume based on it (let me be bathed in thyme oil!). And I don’t even like it that much anymore.

messy bun: the world is listening. pick one sentence you would tell them.

*insert a Bible quote about the unconditional love of God here*

cry baby: list the concerts you have been to and talk about how they make you feel.

I have been to countless classical and folk music concerts, but as for any other sort, this summer I attended a concert of Pidżama Porno, a Polish rock band I adore. I remember that it was a relief to finally not feel overhelmed with loneliness I have had been feeling for weeks on end. Also, they performed almost all of my fave songs!

grunge: who in the world would you most like to receive a letter from and what would you want it to say?

I’m waiting for a letter from a befriended English literature professor, and as much as I wish it to contain only good news, the most important factor is for it to be long - I simply adore his writing style!

space: do you have a desk/workspace and how is it organised/not organised?

I have a small desk and it’s mostly organised (pile of books in one corner, pile of Weird Shit in another, papers underneath, medications in the drawer).

white bed sheets: what is your night time routine?

At any time between 11 pm and 2 am - taking  a shower, using a mosturizing cream, praying, setting an alarm clock, opening the window (from April to September), putting on some music/YouTube videos and drifting away :)

old books: what’s one thing you don’t want your parents to know?

That time when I made up a story involving someone’s tragic death - I consider it the worst, most harming thing I have ever done, one of two major life regrets.

beaches: if you had to dye your hair how would you dye/style it and why?

A bit darker than they are in summer, more brown than blonde - my tan and my (sun-lightened in colour) hair weirdly match so I feel I look awfully fawn all summer long.

eyes: pick five people to go on an excursion with you. who would you pick and where would you go/what would you do?

I’d take M. from the “important person description”, her boyfriend, sister, brother and father on a sightseeing trip around Rome (we’d visit all the churches, probably, and have the most delicious food)

11:11: name three wishes and why you wish for them.

I wish to finally meet my future husband, because how long am I supposed to wait, damnit!

I wish to get a PhD because academia is insanely fun.

I wish to be able to go to the Bieszczady mountains alone this year because I need to sort out some emotional issues, and also I miss the sight of sky there.

painting: what is the best halloween costume you have ever put together? if none, make one up.

When I was 9 I dressed up as air. It wasn’t the best costume technicality-wise, but I am still amazed at my creativity as a child.

lightning: what’s the worst thing you’ve ever done while drunk or high?

Never ever been drunk or high seriously enaugh to do something I’d consider utterly bad, or even mildly stupid. I only laugh too loud.

thunder: what’s one thing you would never do for one million dollars?

Dapends on how badly I’d need the money. But “killing a man” is always on the “never” list.

storms: you only listen to one song for the rest of your life, or only see one person for the rest of your life. which and why?

Song. This one. No issues, it’s great. And as much as I love music, I’d go insane seeing only one person probably after a month.

love: have you ever fallen in love? describe what it feels like to realise you’re in love.

It’s a moment of great excitement, but also great anxiety, as you are momentarily aware of the endlessness of your vulnerability. 

clouds: if you’re a boy, would you ever rock black nail polish? if you’re a girl, would you ever rock really really short hair?

My hair is my precious, I would never want to bid them farewell.

coffee: what’s your starbucks order, and who would you trust to order for you, if anyone?

Venti soy latte? Or venti soy matcha frappuccino? It’s not complicated, anyone could order this, I’d even go with normal milk if they forgot to ask for soy... What’s up with this question anyway???

marble: what is the most important thing to you in your life right now?

Doing good at work and the university. Staying sane and healthy. Maintaining the faintest traces of social life. Getting better and better at love and mercy every single day.

fin.