#or at least the song ive streamed the most

[orbitbyler]

the stranger things score is something that can be so personal

[rainingincale]

.

[hools]

Sorry if this is a weird question, but how do you come up with your drawings? What does through your mind while making them? I find your compositions so gorgeous and intriguing but I can't really figure out how you approach things since everything's very shifty and abstract. It's really gorgeous work, I'm so glad I discovered your art :,)

hey first of all this isnt a weird question at all & i'm really glad you enjoy my art heheheheheehe. there's an incoming large largely unformatted block of text that i hope you dont mind!

Honestly there are a billion things going through my mind at a time while I'm drawing and they all sort of bump into each other and cancel each other out like opposing particles. If you've seen any of my streams i'm usually very fast and iterative in a lot of my process and i rarely ever slow down even past the early parts like thumbnailing and sketching. i kind of let my hands do the talking more, yknow? but even then theyre never talking about a single thing at a time. everything interacts with everything, which is probably why i always end up getting lost and meandering. composition is not independent from color & value and neither are they from texture and perspective. its hard thinking of all of the ways they mesh and react to one another so i spend less of my energy thinking and more of it doing, and then assessing once something interesting comes about it. i guess then i prioritize my Hand Movement Actioning and Eye Vision Seeing over my Brain Neuron Assessing. but even though iterations can come and go quick this kind of informed throwing-against-the-wall isn't really the Fastest. but its fun. and you get to stuff all the unused ideas in your pocket for later.

even though i did say how connected everything is i always seem to start with composition. it kind of affects and informs everything the most at least on an individual piece level. with thumbnails & composition in general i think youre supposed to think huge right. so i Always think huge. push everything as much as you can. start with a crazy angle (not necessarily angle meaning "perspective" but like an angle between two lines) and border your scene within it. take an already steep foreshortening and steepen it further with the transform tool & see what shapes form from the empty & filled space. shrink your subject to only fit 3/4ths of the canvas and build around it to make it work. blow things up (enlargen) and blow things up (remove & obliterate). with composition you have so much room for fuckery if you give yourself the grace to accept the fuckiness.

and i guess this freedom to fuck around and iterate and build and build and build upon comes from how most of the time my initial ideas are very. vague? abstract like you've said. sometimes its Just a song or a song lyric and nothing else (no characters to attach to just the feel and my gut). sometimes its a less than 5 word phrase i felt strongly about throughout the day. in my me-only discord server i have messages in #to-draw channel that just say shit like "something about guitar straps" "thanks for knowing me!" "angel don't look at me" "DITHER QUEEN" (<-been meaning to make something with that). for things that have specific guidelines i spend more time thinking conceptually (the "rare animal" coelacanth drawing being an example) but otherwise it mostly comes out after. again. the first strokes. after you put the meat and bones on the canvas. an artist at a workshop i was at last year when i was in my own head about Needing to have a fleshed tangible Profound concept before being able to start something told me not to underestimate the stories that can be told just by your hands. and i think thats what stuck with me the most.

& one last thing i wanna mention is how despite how much i revel in the chaos of the process ive found how important limits are. i don't like cutting back on everything but i like cutting back on some things. sometimes i cut out backgrounds for solid fills and i love them that much more. sometimes i have little subconscious rules in a piece that i try not to break to keep a little level of consistency. if somethings a big wonderful mess already then i love a limited pallet and i love keeping parts empty and i love being able to breathe a little. yknow. but still go over the top in the other parts you have so much permission to. less is more but have a little more in your art than less. YKNOW?

but yeah thanks again for your kind words and wanting to listen to me talk. i havent been drawing much at all so these arent too fresh on the mind but i think i got a lot of what i wanted to say out. i hope u and others can get things out of this! if i made any sense <3

[meddwlyngymraeg]

I'd love to hear some more happy sounding Welsh songs! can be any genre. also any songs about the sea! diolch!!

Shwmae! Amazingly, you are the literal target audience for Ynys' first album ('Ynys', 2022). Dylan Hughes is from Aberystwyth and spent many years in Cardiff and found himself longing for the seaside he grew up in, and when he finally started writing music as Ynys (he used to be in a cool indie psychedelic band called Race Horses too, if that's your thing), he put together a whole album only to realise how much of it is about the sea. I mean, his band is literally called Ynys (Island)!

Also, he has that wonderful, lush psychedelic pop sound, which I think sounds pretty happy musically, though there are definitely some themes of longing, being lost, culture and language, all that good stuff thrown in too. It's complex, but I still feel it's quite a happy listen!

So some songs from the album I'd recommend - Môr Du (Black Sea), Welcome to the Island (now technically this is an instrumental, don't know where that sits!), There's Nothing The Sea Doesn't Know.

My personal favourite off the album is Caneuon (‘Songs’, references the Gorky's Zygotic Mynci song 'Gegin Nos'—more on them in a sec—and also a pretty happy/reminiscing/wistful song), but the whole album is quite good, and their recent second album Dosbarth Nos also has some lovely songs that lift my mood at least— Aros Amdanat Ti, Gyda Ni, Dosbarth Nos. Also the sea references continue!

I'm linking their Bandcamp page rather than a Spotify because Dylan makes sure to include lyrics and translations on there (and in physical liner notes), if you or anyone else reading this was interested in going into the lyrics! (Also I usually feel like I should give people the option to directly support musicians if they feel inclined, where Spotify pays not even cents for most music.) But these two albums are on streaming if you'd like too!

I've also gotta recommend some Gorky's! Their 1997 album's called Barafundle, named after Barafundle Beach, and while I don't think any of the songs are directly about the sea itself (except like The Barafundle Bumbler, which uh. Your mileage may vary. It’s about a voyeur bloke that sits by the seaside on said beach), but there's Diamond Dew which is such a lovely tune, and while not about the sea, Patio Song (i.e. everyone's favourite Gorky's song) has that lovely outro of 'it is raining, so take my hand, the winter's so long, it takes so much of the earth'. ☔️🌧🌈 Happy music, some of Gorky's work! (Personal fave off the album: Starmoonsun <3)

(Also this song's in English but since we're talking about Gorky's I can't not recommend Spanish Dance Troupe. Gorgeous song.)

There's also the super cool Adwaith, who wrote the song Lan Y Môr. This song is actually a lot older than the album it ended up on, 2022's Welsh Music Prize winning Bato Mato, Adwaith are still the only musicians to win the Prize twice. They wrote the song and released it as a single back in early 2020 and it was following a run of really cool punky Cymraeg singles. Love Adwaith, they're quite cool.

Edit: HOW COULD I HAVE FORGOTTEN. The queen of the beaches. Gwenno herself. I guess I hadn’t included her because this isn’t technically a Welsh language album (save for one song, N.Y.C.A.W. (Nid Yw Cymru Ar Werth)). Gwenno is half-Welsh, half-Cornish, and this album was basically written down at St. Ives. This does sound like it, and I love this song Anima!

Hope you like these! People can totally feel free to add on in the notes if I’ve missed something!

[holocene-sims]

next // previous

august 26, 2021 4:00 a.m. a balcony, somewhere

time somehow seems to simultaneously slow to a crawl and race beyond the speed of light. grant doesn’t remember when they’d ended up perched like lovebirds at the pinnacle of a staircase, peering out over the night-drenched landscape, but it must have been a while ago. customers have long since stopped streaming in and out of the restaurant on the street below.

he remembers in better detail the stream of their conversation–they’d shifted from food and a strangely peaceful, humorous discussion of kicking the bucket to movies, and at some point, paranormal stories came up along the way.

it’d be hard to forget talking to yunha.

there’s something curiously enrapturing about her, something that had drawn him to her when he first made eye-contact with her.

the look in her eyes, maybe. it’s piercing, like she’s baring right through your skin and into your soul, but not malicious or judgmental. it’s friendly, it’s curious, it’s playful.

the way she speaks, maybe. she’s the most engaged conversationalist he’s ever encountered. everything you say, whether she agrees or disagrees, is met with affirmations and a lot of nodding. yes, yes, of course. i see, i see. i understand. ohhh, wow! really?

she’s unraveling every shard of the puzzle that is his personality and piecing it back together in one whole picture, analyzing it. figuring it out. appreciating it.

or maybe it’s the sweetness that radiates off her. she appears unafraid to smile, instead all too happy to flash those pretty, crooked bunny teeth for the world to see.

“so, i'm going to guess you’re not accidentally good at singing.”

she seems not to mind revealing her own puzzle pieces either, and the more she says about herself, the more fascinated he is with her. with who she is. with what makes her tick.

“i hope it’s not an accident,” yunha replies, laughing, “because shit, then years worth of practice was a waste.”

“time enjoyed is never time wasted.”

the unabashed cringe of the line garners an immediate eye roll, but she still seems to find it funny.

they’ve definitely been sitting here a while. grant straightens his back, fixing his gradually slouching posture, and is is met with an immediate flash of pain, distinct from the chronic dull ache underlying every day of his life, that radiates down every vertebra.

“what got you into music, though?”

yunha’s rosy pink lips purse in thought as she dwells on the question.

“a lot of things. my parents like music. i listened to a lot of different kinds of songs my whole life, first with them, and then later with my friends. i had some time between classes and studying to spend having fun, but i couldn't spend any money, so my friends and i would go to this music store. we walked around and picked random albums to listen to on the headphones. we never bought anything.”

grant nods supportively. “what’s, like, the first album you remember really liking? or albums. you don’t have to pick one.”

“ah! i treasure so many albums. seo taiji and boys IV. i think that’s still my favorite nostalgic album ever. i also remember fondly, um, this girl’s in love with you by aretha franklin. i heard that at the music store, and i was so impressed by her talent. i still am.”

“i'm not a music expert. surprise! i know, i know, i'm sorry to tell you, i did not practice for centuries for that wonderful spice girls performance earlier. no, but seriously, i most often just listen to the same old emo stuff i liked when i was 13. so, unfortunately i don’t know the first album at all, at least not yet, but i do know the second one. you have fantastic taste, that’s a classic.”

despite his ignorance, yunha still smiles from ear to ear. “you should look up the first one! look up, like, seo taiji ‘come back home.’ that’s the most popular song on the album. i don’t wanna bias you, so listen on your own and make your own opinions.”

“wilco. and if you don’t mind me asking, how’d you turn the interest in music into a skill? you are talented, but i know it's very much a skill. it does take a lot of practice to become tangibly good at music.”

“to express myself,” yunha says plainly, “it’s easier to tell your story in art than talking about it, and singing is free. you don’t need supplies to learn it. but yes, i needed that kind of outlet, you know? i always liked singing, always did it, but i needed more than only entertainment from it over time.”

“oh yeah, art is helpful. i really should have gotten on that train earlier. i got on board about a year ago. it's much better for you than intellectualizing everything. or at least that's what i tend to do. do you perform, by the way? outside of karaoke, that is."

"sometimes. but also, not in a long time."

there falls a brief, but peaceful lull in the conversation. grant’s eyes draw to black night sky as he recalls the last haphazard art he’d created–the mushy-gushy attempt at processing the universe. seeing it hanging above him now, his thoughts are no less conflicting. light pollution washes out the shining sea of stars, but the sky still retains its beauty, its bewilderment. visible or not, an infinite chain of dimensions and celestial bodies exist in the vacuum of space, orbiting independent of him, yet factoring in the tiny fraction of his mass on the mass of the earth in their delicate ballerina dance across the fabric of spacetime.

the universe must have created me for some reason, for something other than anguish.

his own words. again. ever-present.

“i miss seeing the stars.” yunha’s buttery soft voice breaks his concentration. “you can’t see anything here.”

“polaris.” grant raises his left arm and draws his index finger across the sky until it hovers above the only star he’s seen thus far. “technically, that means we should be able to see sirius, too, but we don’t need to get all science-y and talk about magnitude and that polaris isn’t–”

“i would like it if you did.”

she was thinking of the stars, too.

synchronicity.

“aw shucks! well. i’ll say this, polaris isn’t the brightest star. we just talk about it way more frequently because it has the most cultural significance in the northern hemisphere for, you know, navigation reasons. but hey, give it about 12,000 more years, and it even won’t be the north star anymore. thank you, wobbly earth axis. but also boo, woobly earth axis, because it's a little sad to think about.”

yunha’s eyes glitter with fascination. “it’ll be something else?”

“yep! the next north star will be vega,” he explains, “come on down, you’re the next contestant!”

“maybe we’ll see it happen.”

“if my consciousness is still floating around as little dust particles, that’d be pretty sick. you know? forget fly me to the moon, fly me to vega. why not?”

“i don’t think i'll be dust,” yunha says, not missing a beat at all, even as her focus remains fixed on the faintest twinkle emanating from polaris, “it’s kind of troubling. you don’t want to be, like, stuck in the whole cycle of the universe, but if you’re still here, you can see some really beautiful things.”

“ah. reincarnation?”

“if you’re asking me, you’re not going to be dust. either you escape the suffering or you come back in some kind of physical form, human or not, and you try again.”

grant thinks about it for a moment. and then the feelings, like usual, spill out at once.

“i'm not going to lie, that idea has always given me the heebie-jeebies. i think it’s very cool as a concept, but i'm, like, man, i don’t want to do this shit again. also, look, we're doing the thing again. oh, and shit, that sounded judgmental. i just run my mouth too much."

"most people don't know they lived before. you can't really remember your other lives without a lot of study," she answers, "and no, you don't. i prefer to hear your real opinion. it's actually stupid when people tell you what they think you want to hear."

"do you ever wonder what you were up to last go-around?"

"not too much, but i always heard strange birthmarks and scars are signs from your last death. fears, too. things you avoid. so, i guess, like, a clown stabbed me in the neck with needles."

"are you afraid of storm drains, by any chance? if so, i think pennywise had it out for you."

"hahaha." yunha shakes her head. "wait, i have to ask. is it not worse thinking you can only live once? that's not uncomfortable? feeling like you have to make everything perfect in your one lifetime?"

"oh no, it's terrifying. dying and just being done with everything is eerie, too, because there are nice things to do and see here in the real world. you’re right about that. and yeah, there is a lot of pressure to get it all right. also, that's not even mentioning that there are people i love that i don’t want to be gone forever. i'd like to think they remain somehow. conscious or not. i kind of think they do, but i don’t know. am i contradicting myself? capital-P probably."

“you don’t know what to think.”

grant immediately bursts out laughing. “yeah, no, absolutely not. i do not know. i just kinda waffle around and hope some scientist throws out some numbers and whatnot that proves some explanation of everything correct. but that’s impossible. it’s literally impossible. we can’t even simulate or predict the wacky physics that were going on at the exact moment the big bang happened.”

“not to be, like, all quirky, but...” yunha reaches over, patting him on the shoulder. “maybe don’t think about it? you’re gonna go crazy. you can just not know? and it's fine. this doesn’t mean anything anyway. the answer to anything is already in you, it’s not out there.”

and then she, too, starts giggling all over again and her cheeks blush deep red from sheepish cringe.

another stereotypical line, but he doesn't mind. they sound better coming from her than him anyhow.

a second later and she checks the time on her phone. her cheesy smile erodes into a slight frown.

“ahh, i really need to leave soon. i have a schedule in the morning.”

grant checks the time as well, drawing the sleeve of his hoodie up just enough to read the minuscule roman numerals on his watch.

on the watch an ex-girlfriend gifted him. not päivi, but...

4:00 a.m.

fuck.

right.

you’re leaving the country in two hours.

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Wednesday, November 13

AMANDA: I think we got punished. BUFFY: What? KENNEDY: (nervously) We, uh...we followed her. And it was- VI: It didn't work out. BUFFY: You guys, it was a trap. It's not her fault. That could've just as easily happened to me.

~~End of Days~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

BtVS Triple Drabble: Broken-Hearted by badly_knitted (Cordelia, Xander, PG)

Home Coming by Skyson (Buffy/Giles, E)

Desperate and Chained by JammySmut (Buffy/Spike, E)

Bloodbath by Apache Firecat (Buffy/Spike, R)

Family by Apache Firecat (Buffy/Spike, PG)

Home Again by Apache Firecat (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

Sacrifice by Apache Firecat (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

Buffy's Chosen by Apache Firecat (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

Worthy of Her Choosing by Apache Firecat (Buffy/Spike, PG)

Mic Drop by Apache Firecat (Buffy/Spike, G)

[Chaptered Fiction]

Many, Many - ch. 1 by Nixiet (Buffy/Giles, E)

Streaming Life - ch. 1-2 by VerticalCouch (Giles/Jenny, Giles/Ethan, Giles/Jenny/Ethan, G)

When Faith Came to Town - ch. 1 by red_jacobson (Faith, Buffy/Xander/Cordelia, E)

Please Hold- My Soap is On by once_in_a_while (Giles/Spike, M)

The Shadow Within - Ch. 1 by Fmfan1980 (Faith, F/F, F/M, E)

[Podfic] Tatters - ch. 1 [reading of Tatters by Martha] by SEF_podfic (ATS ensemble, Stargate SG-1 and The Sentinel (TV) xover, T)

A Series of Fortunate Betrayals - ch. 2 by the_big_bad (Buffy/Spike, R)

The Big Bad...Poodle? - ch. 3 by EnchantedWillow (Buffy/Spike, R)

Mysterious Destinies - ch. 21 by EnchantedWillow (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

First Love - ch. 3 by Spikesgirl28 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Masquerade - ch. 3 by Holly (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Be Back Before Dawn - ch. 16 by Blissymbolics (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

First Love - Ch. 3 by Spikesgirl (Buffy/Spike, Adult Only)

Revelations - ch. 6 by Niamh (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Eyes Forward, Monster - ch. 1-8 [collection of one shots] by Desicat (Buffy/Spike, Adult Only)

[Images, Audio & Video]

Artwork: i love you. no, you don't. but thanks for sayin' it. by tenderjock (Spike, worksafe)

Artwork: ive seen some of ur black buffy posts and theyre AMAZING... by pzyii (Dawn, worksafe)

Meme: [Willow] by paperpuzzles (Willow, worksafe)

Moodboard: moodboard: wesley x fred by courtillyy (worksafe)

Moodboard: moodboard: fred x wesley x gunn by courtillyy (worksafe)

Gifset: iwryfanficmarathon's 20th anniversary bangel + locations ↳ cemetery by ptieuca (Buffy/Angel, worksafe)

Gifset: [Buffy and Spike in Season 5] by clarkgriffon (Buffy/Spike, mostly worksafe)

Gifset w/script: ANGEL ✦ SCRIPT TO SCREEN ⇥ 3.13 “Waiting in the Wings” by cangelgifs (Angel/Cordelia, worksafe)

[Reviews & Recaps]

I find Showtime (episode 7x11)….bad? by Forward_Activity1473

[Recs & In Search Of]

Fic recs: Myriad Recs [Spuffy and Cangel fic recs] by apachefirecat

ISO: thequeenofsastiel needs some Spangel songs.

ISO: samandcolbyfan is looking for Caitlin and Barry or spike and Buffy RP anyone?

[Fandom Discussions]

Send me a ship to rate! [Buffy/Cordelia] by takaraphoenix

I would argue that Buffy is somehow even more [the most character ever] by paperpuzzles

Ask answered: does Zuko [from Avatar] remind you of Angel at all? by fishyupmywishy

POLL: Spangel or Spuffy? by thequeenofsastiel

POLL: which Buffyverse unpopular opinion do you at least partially agree with? by ohrupie

POLL: a little bit of a ship war but like... just for fun? best Buffy ship? by terapsina

What If: They said no? [to Wolfram and Hart] by nightshade and others

The First [was not a good Big Bad] by No_Introduction_4136

James Marsters Cameo (discussion) by nooneormaybesomeone

Anyone still listening to Rewatcher? [the podcast] by ewdayvid

Blu Rays on EBay [bootleg and discussion of HD and DVD] by bcakebeefcake

Jane Espenson episodes - what do you think of her humor? by foreseethefuture

... all the times someone asked [Buffy] what she/we should do. I found 18 by diehardnick

The greatest missed opportunity... [full BTVS and ATS crossover] by SnooSongs4451

[Spike gives you a choice:] staying dead, or being a vampire. What do you choose? by quoththeraven1990

Who has the best quotes in the show? by AnyNeck1885

[Buffy and Faith and fighting styles and Buffy vs. The Beast] by cigarettesonmars

Tara holding the Tower tarot card by rfresa

Five by Five - AtS S1E18 [how does Angel enter the apt?] by Physmo55

Dead Things [Katrina and injuries] by CleanUpOnAisle10

Wesley's most fierce "rogue demon hunter" moment, followed by hunger by sirtch_analyst

What's your headcanon for Angel and Buffy's reunion in S6? by porkchop_2020

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[struggle-but-its-all-ocean-floor]

MMA and MAMA are a joke. I like a lot of Aespa's songs, but winning SOTY, ArOTY, and AOTY, and literally lipsycning an already incredibly low effort stage is insane. THAT's your artist of the year? Are those the standards now? Can't even put on good 10 min show for a major award ceremony? At the top of their game and this is all they have? No denying they had a great year and are huge in SK, but BTS will be outperforming Aespa at their current best in their 70s, with sincerity, live singing, and charisma - many other artists outperform them too. But it wasn't just Aespa, TXT looked like their creative vision for MAMA was old BTS choreos. EN lipsynced as always and just did the same aerobic dancing routine they always do (Jungwon had a great dance break though). IVE sang live, which is their saving grace, but they're weak dancers. Their MMA stage was really good though, very well put together. If their dancing wasn't so lackluster it could've been epic. SVT really don't have much charisma to me. I didn't bother watching more than a minute of their stage.

Are BTS the only ones with good choreographers and performance directors? At least KATSEYE delivered a great performance but their performance director is BTS's long time dancing coach. They didn't sing live, but at least they delivered. They have energy and power. They aren't just power walking on stage. ILLIT's performance was very cute, but, again, lipsyncing.

Anyway, it's all very boring and disappointing overall. I also don't get SVT as artists of the year. Stray Kids have a lot more impact and are growing a lot more, but SVT are undoutbly bigger.

LASTLY, I know Jungkook won some awards, but Golden is literally the most streamed Asian studio album on Spotify (only behind Proof I think, which is a compilation album) and it won no major awards? Jungkook did real kpop history with Golden - he has impact, great choreo, great stage presence, amazing live singing and dancing, more fans, big sales, incomparable Spotify streams - and gets 0 Dasaengs? I'm sorry, but that's just fucking absurd. SVT may have higher sales and have been more active, and Aespa had better charting in SK, but Jungkook has a bigger fanbase, longevity, impact - and I mean actual impact beyond the kpop sphere. Western shows ignore him, and he doesn't even get his flowers in Korean shows? I know I'm JK biased, but these fucking metrics are wrong. LSF should've been nominated as well for all the major categories...

[paginate54]

Dave Lewis, LZ chronicler, on Robert's performance of Stairway. From Led Zeppelin Celebration Days FB page:

Some personal thoughts on this performance of Stairway To Heaven...

There was something profoundly moving watching the YouTube footage of Robert Plant performing Stairway To Heaven at the Andy Taylor concert.

This was the first live public airing of the song since the Led Zeppelin 02 Reunion on December 10 2007.

Before I delve in to this subject, Robert’s entire appearance was captivating. Thank you delivered with much emotion, Black Dog hammed up brilliantly and the version of Season of the Witch segueing into a reprise of Black Dog lyrics and Buffalo Springfield’s For What it’s Worth – as in the LA Forum 1970 Blueberry Hill bootleg.

Incidentally, bassist on the night Guy Pratt noted that he has now performed Black Dog with both Robert and Jimmy Page – he was part of the touring band on the Coverdale Page Japan visit in late 1993. The band line up on the night consisted of the aforementioned Guy, former Reef guitarist Kenwyn House (wearing a dragon patterned shirt shades of Jimmy perhaps), Rod Stewart’s drummer David Palmer, Andy Taylor plus Andy Taylor’s son Andy J Taylor on guitar, singer Anne Rani and musician Dino Jelusick on keyboard and backing vocals.

So back to Stairway To Heaven...

We have all had a journey with this song over the years. Mine commenced on April 4 1971 when I heard it on my radio listening to Led Zeppelin’s BBC In Concert performance on Radio One’s John Peel show. I’d heard Jimmy in an interview describing how it had come together in various sections building to a climax. Sure enough this tentative version did just that.

I first saw it performed live on Sunday November 21 1971 at the Empire Pool Wembley – an extraordinary night. It was of course one of the stand out tracks on their just released fourth album.

It went to attain legendary status – the most played record on American radio and from 1975 the rightful finale to every Led Zeppelin live performance.

Like many of their songs the arrangement was often toyed with, not least by the singer who over time added many an ad - lib to the lyrics. As it was performed on every Led Zep show, this enabled the song to retain a freshness.

The first ad-lib I recall was when he inserted the line ''you are the children of the sun'' during the version to be heard on the classic bootleg Going To California from their performance in Berkeley on September 14 1971. From 1973 onwards 'Does anybody remember laughter?‘’ was an expected insert after the line ‘’and the forest will echo with laughter.’’

By 1975, Robert had changed the line ‘’your stairway’’ to ‘’our stairway’’ adding the line ‘’that’s all we got.’’ As I witnessed in awe from the side of the stage during their 1980 Over Europe performances , Robert added ‘’I keep chopin’ and changin'’’ as they led into the climax.

Post Zep, Robert has sang Stairway To Heaven’’ it a mere four times – at Live Aid in 1985, the Atlantic 40th anniversary show in 1988, a sweet truncated version with Jimmy Page in a TV studio in Japan in 1994 and at the Led Zeppelin O2 tribute concert for Ahmet Ertegun where he proclaimed after the song ‘’Ahmet we did it!’’

Well now he has done it again….

The obvious question is why now and why on this occasion?

There’s no doubt it was a special occasion being a concert staged by the ex - Duran Duran guitarist Andy Taylor. Andy has had serious cancer health issues and staged this concert in aid of Cancer Awareness Trust.

As well as performing on the night, Robert donated his personal gold disc of Led Zeppelin IV for the auction –as he put it ''our not so difficult fourth album.'' A part of this was featured on the video stream and it had clocked an initial £50,000 bid.“I love this music and I still love it now very much although I get a bit coy and shy when I have to go near it because it was such a long time ago,” he said.

In an interview with Led Zep News guitarist Kenwyn House revealed that Robert Plant chose to perform Stairway To Heaven after a wealthy donor agreed to donate a six-figure sum to charity if he did so.

So, a special occasion deems a special song for a very worthy cause.

It says everything for Robert’s ease with the Zep legacy, that he could perform this once millstone around his neck with such dignity.

As we know Stairway To Heaven became much maligned and a victim of much parody – and let’s not mention that farcical version by a disgraced not so all round entertainer.

Although he was quick to decry it in the immediate post Zep years, I happen to think Robert is rightly proud of the song, as he is the whole Zep legacy.

Who can forget his tearful reaction to the Wilson sisters and Jason’s performance at the Kennedy Honours in 2012?

So, with none of the pressure of performing it on a big stage and at a pressurised Zep related occasion, he was able to slot it in at this charity event with little fuss.

It worked majestically….

With an ad- hoc line up with few rehearsals, the arrangement was always going to be more loose than tight. That mattered little, as his vocal phrasing was absolutely spot on and what a joy it was to hear him sing this song with a calm control. Some subtle backing vocals aided the tranquil mood.

Here’s the thing – Robert Plant sang it as though he really meant it – confident in his skin at revisiting a major part of his past. Looking good with the mic off held in that familiar pose we know so well.

I wonder what was going through his mind? I know for me it prompted so many precious memories.

There were no ad-libs this time in what was out a fairly straight rendering – the guitar solo was neat and compact and they were back in for the grand finale. Here, Robert slowed things down and the key with it avoiding any strained vocals and he even sang the last section ‘’To be a rock and not to roll’’ for a second time – making it a unique arrangement. He did retain the ''our Stairway'' sentiment.

It was also unique for being the only time he has performed Stairway To Heaven without Jimmy Page...

The final ‘’and she’s buying’’ line was delivered with a delicate finesse – watching it prompted some instant flashbacks.

Momentarily I was back at Earls Court as the mirrorballs spun above them, back in that field just outside Stevenage when they came back to reclaim their crown (''so many people who've helped us over the years - no more people more important than yourselves who who came here on a blind date -this is for you all of yer'') and at home in 1985 watching the TV as the camera panned out to 90,00 watching them re group in Philadelphia for Live Aid.

I also thought about all the much missed friends and Zep comrades who are no longer around to enjoy this special moment...

All that was enough to prompt a huge lump in my throat and a tear in my eye.

Then Robert really sealed it.

Firstly he dedicated the performance to Andy:

“I know that in this contemporary age of digital stuff there’s every likelihood that other people will see that,” he said, facing Taylor. “So if they do, I offer it up to you and your success and to the whole deal that has happened here today and the future of it all.

And also so it’s not just that, I offer it up to Led Zeppelin, wherever they are”

Andy Taylor replied ‘’God bless ‘em there’s a lot of drummers in the sky we love.’’

Let's ponder on that statement...

''I offer this up to Led Zeppelin wherever they are''

It felt like he was giving the song back to his former bandmates and back to his audience – To the privileged few who were lucky enough to witness this special occasion and beyond that to countless fans like me and you.

Deep in the heart of the Cotswold's on an October Saturday evening Robert reclaimed a major part of his history and ours.

It’s likely he may never ever sing Stairway To Heaven this song again and if he doesn’t, it’s had a suitably poignant send off.

There was none of the pressure of the previous post Led Zep performances. It happened for a great cause and for a great fellow Midlands based musician.

I am aiming to be up in the Midlands in a few days’ time for the Saving Grace featuring Suzi Dian gig at the Birmingham Symphony Hall.

I am eagerly looking forward to it, not least after witnessing the YouTube video of this Andy Taylor tribute. For at 75 he is singing so brilliantly and his enjoyment as to where he is at in these advancing years is both inspiring and infectious.

Knowing that Robert Plant is at one with Led Zeppelin’s most famous song makes it all just a little bit more comforting.

As the song states ‘’If you listen very hard the tune will come to you at last’’

I’m still listening to Robert Plant intensely – as are countless others…

Dave Lewis - October 27 2023

[askinkiskarma]

Illicit Affairs | Oneshot: The Moment I Knew

Pairing: Neteyam x Human!Reader

Chapter I Chapter II Chapter III Chapter IV Chapter V Chapter VI Chapter VII Chapter VIII Chapter IX Chapter X

Synopsis: It's your 17th birthday, and the gift you get from Neteyam is not one you would have ever thought of - or wanted.

Warnings: angst

Word Count: 2k words

A/N: I have been writing a lot of memories for the next few chapters of The Archer, and I found myself writing about the fated 17th birthday, which makes an appearance in Chapter VII of Illicit Affairs. I'm doing a lot of writing atm, I am trying to get the fifth chapter done ASAP, but enjoy this tiny story and insight into the day Neteyam left 🥰.

What do you say when tears are streaming down your face in front of everyone you know?

And what do you do when the one who means the most to you is the one who didn't show…?

And they're all standing around me, singing Happy Birthday to you

But there was one thing missing and that was the moment I knew

You woke up with a big yawn and an hopeful disposition today, your 17th birthday. You wanted to say it was because another year had passed, or because you knew people would be giving you gifts and attention and all sorts of good food today, but if you were being honest with yourself, you knew it was because you got to see Neteyam again.

Neteyam was a great gift giver. He paid attention, and he listened and he cared, so every year, his present was always your favourite. Ever since around your tenth birthday, when he first gifted you an identical bracelet to his, he always managed to surprise you with a perfect gift that made your heart skip a beat - or several. You haven’t seen him since that day, in the clearing, when you sang him that song, and hoped he knew what it meant. You didn’t get to confess the way you wanted to, you cowered at the last minute, but you hoped your birthday courage would allow you to finally tell him the feelings that have plagued you for probably years now. 

You were scared. You knew deep down you probably shouldn’t even do it - I mean what was the point? It’s not like you could ever be together anyway, not like he would sacrifice his title and his future mate, the future Tsahik of the Omatikaya for you, a human girl. He couldn’t, you wouldn’t allow him to, so why were you even confessing? At the least it would make everything awkward and at the most it would ruin the best thing that has ever existed in your life. You couldn’t even decide what would be worst - him not reciprocating or him reciprocating? Cause either way it’s hell inbound, and you had enough of that in your life. 

Despite everything, though, every nagging thought telling you not to, you wanted to, needed to finally tell him. You would deal with the consequences as they come, but you couldn’t be a coward any longer. If you had to act like you didn’t have a heart attack every time he got close to you, every time he touched you, every time he looked at you in that way, the way that was reserved only for you, you would go crazy forever. 

You were happy to see Kiri and Lo’ak, coming by, as they always did, with a big basket of fresh fruit and food, your birthday feast, and staying with you for the day, as they always did. When you were younger, much younger, you used to celebrate in the village, with Jake and Neytiri, but those days are long gone. Later in life, you celebrated in the forest, climbing and hiking, wild and free, but those days were long gone too. Nevertheless, no matter how much you have changed, the care they had for you never diminished, and neither did their desire to celebrate you in whatever form you felt you were able to withstand. 

The oldest Sully’s presence did not go remiss in your mind, every moment without him accelerating your worries that something was wrong. 

“Hey… where’s Neteyam?” 

You saw the siblings exchange a quiet, strange look. Neither of them looked at you as Kiri talked.

“He’s with the hunting party today, he couldn’t get out of it.” 

“Today?”

“Yes…”

“But he never has anything going on on my birthday, Jake always makes sure of it.” 

“I don’t think it was fully up to dad, Angel… I’m sure he’ll be back later.” 

You saw Kiri flash a look of anger towards her brother, and your heart sank a little at the interaction. This was weird, but you thought maybe he was preparing a present for you that would take extra time. It has happened before, but it was always worth it in the end. 

The hours passed, and you mostly finished the basket full of food between the three of you, splayed careless on some blankets you brought in the hub as a big projector was playing some of your favourite films. Your mood soured a little throughout the day, regardless how many sweet fruits you have injested, regardless of the calmness of your surroundings and the friendly faces who were attentively watching the latest picture playing on the screen. 

As it finished, the two siblings got up, and Lo’ak awkwardly scratched the hair on the side of his head. 

“Angel, we have to go, it’s past curfew and we’re -“

“-going to get in trouble with Jake, I know.” You sighed deeply, walking with them to the entrance.

“Thank you for hanging out with me, guys. I had a good time. Thank Neytiri, Jake and Mo’at for the food, and thank you for the gifts, I already love my new bracelet!” You said, twisting your wrist so the beads on the beautiful thread sang when pushed together. 

“You’re very welcome. Happy birthday, again, and we’ll see you in a couple of days.”

You didn’t know if you should push it, and, as they were almost out the door, you found your voice again.

“Hey… if you see Neteyam, tell him I’m still waiting. I’ll probably run some experiments, so I’ll be up for a while… in case he still wants to come.” 

You didn’t want to see their expressions, too scared to read something that will hurt you on their faces, so you just shut the door and left. 

You paced around the labs and hallways and your room for the rest of the night, terrified as you were that you were going to miss Neteyam’s soft knock. He always thought of everything, was always too scared to wake anyone up, or to let anyone know he was sneaking way past curfew to stay with you for the night, before he always had to sneak off again prior to his family getting up and figuring out he was gone. You didn’t want him to be outside, in the cold and dark, with apex predators lurking at every corner, waiting for an opportunity to feast on a particularly good-looking blue boy. 

It was dawn when you made it back to your room, feeling emptiness envelop your being, like your soul had been washed out and taken to the cleaners. You sat in your bed, back against the headboard, and thought about the last month. You haven’t seen Neteyam in all that time, ever since that day in the clearing. He had a weird look about him after you sang him the song, but you thought that was just him processing what you were trying to say to him, you thought it was him scared, as you were, about the prospect of more, about the possibility of everything changing between you. You thought he felt the same way, you felt like you were both on the same page - it felt to you that you had both fallen for each other in time, your love blossoming from the friendship that you have always shared into more, much more. Now you realised it wasn’t that which gave him that look. It was most likely the opposite. He knew what you were saying, and didn’t feel the same way. 

You haven’t seen Neteyam in all this time. You thought he was training, but he wasn’t. He just didn’t want to see you. He didn’t want to see you anymore. 

The way your heart shattered at the thought took your breath out of you, like you got punched in the gut. You didn’t know what to do with this pain, that was so feral and so severe, you genuinely felt like you were going to die. You lay in your bed, gasping for air, grasping at your chest, trying to will your heart to slow down, to piece itself back together, but to no avail. Neteyam was gone. Neteyam left you, without even saying goodbye. Neteyam watched you confess, and decided he wanted nothing else to do with you anymore. You lost him, like you lost your mum and your dad, lost him after 17 years, and you were alone again. 

You were alone again. 

Neteyam felt throbbing in his head as he woke up that morning, that continued the whole entire day. He took the day off today, knowing he would be unable to focus on anything, knowing that today, you would definitely realise what he has done. It was your birthday, one of his favourite days in the world. It was a day to celebrate you, the light in his life, his Atan, of course he loved it. And now he had to live with knowing his present would be his absence, and that he would have to live with the consequences of ruining this day for you, and the consequences of breaking your heart. His has been long broken, since the second he walked out of that clearing knowing he would never return. After eclipse, he saw his siblings returning with an empty basket, and his heart hurt at the still open and unhealed wounds. 

“Brother, are you sure about this?” 

He sighed, not being able to look at his baby sister. 

“Yes, sister, I am sure.”

“She asked for you.” Lo’ak said. “Multiple times.” 

“She said she’ll still be waiting, in case you decide to drop by later.” 

“For what is worth, I think this whole thing is stupid. We’re her only family, and now you’re gonna take another person away from her, bro?” 

Neteyam winced at his brother’s words, that cut him like a dull knife, painful and rusted, that will never heal, but fester and linger, forever. 

“I’m going for a walk.”

“Brother, it’s past curfew.”

“I don’t care, tell mother and father I’m taking Seze out.” 

He left in a hurry, unable and unwilling to register the muffled words spoken to him in a blur. He found his ikran immediately and took flight, knowing exactly where he had to go. He made it to the lab in no time, knowing the ride like the back of his hand by now. 

He quickly hurried towards the door, thinking he will abandon this whole endeavour and beg for your forgiveness. It would take a while, but you always forgave him. And he could finally tell you that he loved you, that he has been in love with you for so long he’s lost track, and he could kiss you, the way he’s wanted to for so long, and everything else you can just figure out as you go along. 

But then, every step he took was a memory he would never be able to ever erase from his mind, every step a recollection of times he’s been here because you were hurt or pained or near death, all because of him. He swore he could still see your dried blood on the stairs leading up to your door from where you were 13 and you fell down his ikran. He could see your limp form in his arms when you collapsed after you found your dad. His hand reached as far as a couple inches from the door before he stopped, and with shard of glass protruding in his already broken heart and tear drops staining his cheeks, he dropped his hand and left. He didn’t go far, though, circling around the big enclosure until he found the window he knew was looking into your room and just sat there, collapsing on the floor with his back against the cold metal, listening to the sound of music coming out of your recorder.

And I hope I never lose you, hope it never ends

I'd never walk Cornelia Street again

That's the kind of heartbreak time could never mend

I'd never walk Cornelia Street again

He stayed there, on the cold hard ground, listening to the music playing until dawn, until his heart was empty, until his soul was spent. Until he knew he lost you - forever.

[riddlesrhymes]

Oooohh, yeah! I’ve met a lot of B’s fans (B’s is an abbreviation for B-52s). They’re probably some of the most chill new wave fans because most of them are like 80s kids (at least to my knowledge).

Another question: Top 5 songs? I do a lot better with listening to songs others recommend me, and I’ll say whatever songs you put in are exactly those.

- 🏳️‍🌈

Hi! Yes Bs fans are so chill. Ive only met teenagers/young adults who like them. They all have a great sense of fashion and dress super 80s core lol i love them

Top 5 songs! Since we're on spotify wrapped days, ill say those

1- And you tell me - a-ha

2- From the Beginning - ELP

3- The Sheriff - ELP

4- It takes two to tango - Todd Rundgren

5- Little Arabella - The Nice

What about yours? If you use a streaming platform w a wrapped..

The top one song is a heartbreaking one thats i think 1:52 minutes long. Ive listened to it on loop endlessly (sp wrapped says i listened to it 81 times..). Its so great and sad, i love the way they sing, and the end... its perfect. Also i love the lyrics and its meaning, its not that philosophical or deep but idk, simple and great! I love that album, its super melancolic. Tho some hate on it, because its seems like a "single" album (because Take On Me its the opening) and that the rest of the songs are mid/filler. I dont think that at all. Its really synthpop and new wave! Have you listened to it?

Then also it takes two to tango, i love it too. I love the way todd sings and just everything about it, it makes me so happy. Like i could be really sad but if i play it, it instantly improves my mood.

Then From The beginning, The Sheriff and Little Arabella are just songs I hyperfixated a lot for a while lol i love them all too ofc.

My user is a reference to a verse in little arabella lol Its a part where keith emerson sings! He does not have the best voice, like its objectively bad, but for some reason i like how it sounds! I love the way the lyrics sound w the instrumental part! Also its pretty worded (???) I like what it says.

[formula-fun]

I listened to every song named after current f1 drivers (so you dont have to)

Max: some of these are hype songs a la pitstop boys, and most of the ones that aren't are pretty odd lowkey. A couple are literally just his entire life story rhymed and set to a beat which gives me Homer vibes so that's kinda cool. Some are...kinda weird. 6/10 Special mention to Max verstappen by Abad 33. Man wrote a biographical rap, amazing

Checo: the same 3 bands that write all the max stadium chants are also writing checo ones which is kinda sweet! a lot of these are directly about him rather than namedropping him--he has a higher ratio of these than other drivers. Also not just rap/dance tracks, some are more traditional Mexican music which is awesome. Overall no skips here, 9.8/10 Special Mention: Checo Perez by Alan Y Roberto

Charles: most of these are along the lines of "im sexy and fuckin cool and i feel like charles leclerc" but the vibes are there. have heard at least 3 that reference Max or make ver-stop-him type puns. Also several modern epic poetry vibes and a few kinda slow ones, very him. 8.2/10 Special Mention: Charles Leclerc by SAE. The one by Alexander Lewis is also kind of a mood but a little more hype

Carlos: some really lowkey beats here, kinda chill not too aggressive. The only issue here is I can't tell if theyre about him or his dad and they're more namedrops than bios so it's hard to tell. 6/10 for that reason but special mention for Carlos Sainz by teme

Lewis: can confirm Lewis Hamilton by geezy is a mood lowkey but based on the line "swear i drive like a ferrari, I'm all about the wins" I think maybe geezy does not watch formula 1. These are good though! Lot of bops in here. a LOT of songs abt this man. 9.5/10 Special mention for being the only one on this list to have a song he sang in, shoutout to Pipe feat XNDA

Pierre: he actually has a couple but some of them are weird as hell. Weirdly enough every one I've found is in English, maybe because Gasly is really easy to rhyme in English? not sure. 7/10. Special mention to Pierre Gasly by FeldaLeaf, featuring the classic line "Pierre Gasly driving the Tauri, bitch I'm the alpha I got people coming for me"

Lando: actually thought he'd have more but he only has a couple. One is a hype song and the other is his roller coaster one. Overall fun but not hits. 5/10 Special mention: Let's Go Lando! by Pitstop Boys

Valtteri: has quite a few which all have car noises and radio clips and are pretty heavy/hard rock. These feel like they maybe came from the Mercedes era because they're just generally full of rage but i kind of love that for him. 7.6/10 Special Mention: Bottas by Arcangel, which is only slightly about him but is heavy as hell

Fernando: please just go listen to El Nano by Melendi, this is the happiest fucking song ive ever heard in my entire life. It's from the Renault era and it sounds so 2000s and i had to translate the lyrics but theyre SO cute. when he gets in his renault? Magic alonso!!!!! <33333 he honestly has the best music so im giving him 15/10 hands down but please know its mainly because of El Nano

anyone who was not listed isn't on here because I found no songs named after them, very sorry (parody songs written from the perspective of certain drivers not included). Takeaways from this exercise: there is a lot of bad self-produced rap on spotify, some of it is pretty good, and in general people are writing music about this sport like its the fuckin Iliad or something which I think rules. In conclusion, thank you for reading and please stream El Nano

[luwukass]

oki so i actually didnt get any no votes for my poll yesterday so

lukes favs! october 2023

music (according to my spotify stats, in order of most to least streamed average top 10) songs: glitch, suburban legends, i know places. style, one of your girls troye sivan, i can see you, this is me trying, maroon, you're on your own kid, karma. albums: midnights, red (taylors version), 1989 (taylors version), evermore, folklore, speak now (taylors version), 1989 (stolen unfortanetly), fearless (taylors verstion), reputation, lover. artists: i pretty much only listened to taylor this month lmao these stats arent the most reliable but. taylor swift, troye sivan, marina, bon iver, haim, lana del rey, the national, halsey, ed sheeran, lil nas x.

media podcasts: i just recently started listening to a dnd podcast called gals and goblins im only on ep 2 but its very good so far! i also started listening to swiftlit made by tumblrs own @kingofmyborrowedheart its a taylor swift podcast with literary analysis its very good if youre new to podcasts!!! shows: ive watched a lot of new shows this month mostly with my partners. ive finally started watching avatar the last airbender but i did start watching this back in september but i watched it this month so its on the list, also started watching an anime called castlevania with my bf and everyone in that show is hot so 10/10, ofc i watched the amazing digital cirrus ive seen the pilot maybe four times now and im obsessed with it!!! im not caught up on either of these but i watched the first few episodes of loki s2 and our flag means death s2. ive also finally got back around to watching the boys with nex and we just started s3 and omg its so good, i also did my yearly rewatch of over the garden wall! and ive been rewatching how i met your mother with my bf! movies: most of my movies ive watched this month were on weekly polycule movie nights which were ghostbusters(the og one), beetlejuice, coraline, halloweentown, and all three of the kingsman movies, i also did finish watching the scream movies with a cute girl im flirting with! comics: for comics i just got back into reading comics again so most/all of it was just catching up on my favs! everything is fine by birchall, lovebot by chase keels and miranda mundt, ingrid the plauge doctor by harry amoros, hyperfocus by kip trevor and love me to death by toonimated! books: i also got back to reading this month so i only got back to where i was in rereading the percy jackson books games: i didnt really get to play much this month but it was mostly minecraft, sticky business an indie game about running your own small sticker business, paleo pines another indie game thats a dino farmsim and a tiny sticker tale another indie where you travel around an island helping people with your magic sticker book! lmk if yall have any suggestions for anything!! im really trying to branch out with stuff so dont be afraid to send an ask! 💕

[the-un-slash-emotionals]

hola amigo kaise ho thik ho? i need to stop starting everything like this :sob: hi. its been a long time. so many things that happened. but i trust him, im proud of him, i know he'll pull through. but that's a discussion for his diary, not here. today, we talk about some theory i've been budding for a while now, its a little bit of a sensitive topic, that i have no right to talk about but such are my alien ways :) (moments is such a good song) heart beats harderr ; time escapes me trembling hands, touch skinn ; it makes thisss harderrrr and the tears stream ; down my faceee the Aromantics. " Aromantic people have little or no romantic attraction to others. They may or may not feel sexual attraction. An aromantic person can fall into one of two groups: aromantic sexual people or aromantic asexual people. " thats the textbook def of it, and that's not the topic of discussion here. andd also not talking about asexuality, that's a whole other thing that i havent really thought about. some leads, but none too decisive, so nvm. what im interested in is what could be the reasons behind aromanticism? i really damn wish and hope i do something neuroscience related in the future coz otherwise my human will BURN ok, so what made me interested? some people around me, 2 in particular, both im close to, both i want to understand like nobody else. both have their fare share of troubles, both i hope, i can have a conversation with about this very topic some day. both, have had many many proposals in the past, both, i've fallen for at some point or another, both, i've fallen out of (for the most part), both, i've never confessed to. both, ridiculously fascinating people. both, ive had the privilege to know from my pov rather than just his, and hence, both, i can evaluate devoid of humane feelings. common points in both - bad past, sub par family dynamic, at least from one side. and i think therein lies the jackpot. also, both very physical beings. in touch with their skin. idk how to describe it without feeling like a fucking creep, but both value physical touch a lot. its intimate. their skin is sacred, it has meaning. almost as if they're stuck in this world in between, on one hand they have extremely complicated minds and thoughts and emotions and on the other, their body revolts if they don't pay heed to it. maybe its a girl thing, im not sure. but idts. i think the answer lies in the past. they've suffered such negative experiences there, regarding the same thing. love. somewhat of a mix between family relations, and other kids, heck, maybe even some horrors from the past resurfacing in their present, which makes them repel all this even more so. its like their mind has created this bubble, or a safety shield, which makes it invalidate romantic feelings or approaches. maybe in the past, they felt too much, then were faced with nothing but bad results, over and over and over over again. it solidified. their minds stopped believing. as maturity rose, it brought with it an almost completely concrete blockage towards feelings. and that was that. im lucky, since both my POIs are very different people, fundamentally. one deals with feelings like a cold machete. dangerous. but its a defense mechanism, ...and ok he knows that but hes kinda tired of it. anyway, the other deals with it via a bit more maturity. she knows what feelings are. how to cater to others' feelings too. shes almost been doing this for too long, but shes getting better, and he has faith in her. most importantly, she DOES NOT SHUT DOWN when something bad happens in this realm. and thats VERY IMPORTANT. the only way is THROUGH. she FIGHTS. unlike the other. im not gonna conclude this, because tbh it was a bit of a personal rant as well, instead of just a devoid barren thought portrayal. also have to say, that im kinda just speculating. idk anything for sure unless i have some brain scans. until next time, humans thats x8c signing off （︶^︶）

[blookmallow]

ok the willy wonka fixation has been boiling somewhere in the back of my head ever since i had to supress it the other day so im just gonna go full stream of consciousness here until i burn out

( also yes i am aware of the upcoming prequel. i want to be excited but my expectations are low and the trailers felt very ‘trying too hard to be whimsical’ and not really genuine to me, but i refrain from judgement until ive seen it. im very open to the concept but uncertain about the potential execution)

SO ok so the thing is. i am a remake stan. in general and in the case of willy wonka. so. ok. about remakes. i genuinely think the people who reject remakes immediately on sight without giving it half a chance, and say they’re the true fans for doing so, are. hypocrites? thats not the right word. disingenuous? i dont know. my point is if you really love a story wouldnt you be excited to see a new telling of it? you dont have to like it, but people who say burton wonka sucks just Because its a remake and its not the original, thats just unfair to me

and if you dont like it because it isnt like the original - what would be the purpose of a remake if it’s exactly the same as the original? isnt the point to make it your own and put a new spin on it?

AND FURTHERMORE, gene wilder willy wonka is quite unlike the Actual Original, book wonka, to the point that roald dahl himself didnt even like the movie (i think. i havent researched that in a long time so my memory’s hazy)

and you know what! while personally i like the original more, its a major classic, nobody is gene wilder, nobody could ever be gene wilder, but johnny depp wasnt trying to Be gene wilder. he was playing his own version of the character and i respect that (you dont have to like him or his portrayal but my point is if he was just trying to be gene wilder it wouldve just been sad and weird. at least his version was unique and interesting)

so: if you hate it because its different? invalid, remakes SHOULD be different.

hate it because you hate johnny depp? fair, thats fine, you dont have to like him or his performance.

another complaint i see often is that ~they added all this weird unnecessary stuff~ and you know what????? Most of that is direct from the book. the dentist father backstory wasnt. you can criticize that. i personally dont have an issue with it but that is a departure from canon. however. the prince pondicherry story? from the book. grandpa joe used to work for wonka? from the book. wonka’s jungle adventures and how he met the oompa loompas? direct from the book. the oompa loompa songs have the direct word for word lyrics from the book for the most part. its closer to the original than the classic movie was, actually!

you know what didnt happen in the book? the fizzy lifting drinks scandal. the whole point was that charlie was a genuinely good, kind child who respected mr wonka, having him steal from him and be essentially the same as the other kids actively contradicts the point of the story! but we’re all cool with that, i guess??

another argument i see? oh its so weird to give this whimsical childrens story to tim burton, he made it so dark and offputting!

first of all. have you seen the original? remember the scary tunnel??? that shit is not in the book. that was never explained. they had no reason to put that in there but they did that for us. i love scary tunnel. but it has nothing to do with the original and is way creepier than anything tim burton did. plus you dont see the Bad Kids come out at the end so the implication that they just fucking died in there is way stronger (seeing them come out changed but alive happens in the book too!)

so, the original is possibly /scarier/, and on top of that - have you ever read a roald dahl book? any of them? this man wrote almost exclusively about horrible nasty scary things. he wrote a story about an evil crocodile who eats children (specifically, and spitefully) and then gets thrown into the sun and dies. he wrote about giants devouring children around the world every night while they sleep. he wrote about evil witches who lure children away to their horrible ghastly deaths for no reason other than They Hate Children. tim burton was a PERFECT fit and honestly i wish he’d gone darker

and dont even get me Started on “depp wonka is a pedophile!!!!!!!” because literally where the fuck did that accusation come from. again you dont have to like him. you can say hes weird and creepy and you dont like him. thats fine. but he never did Anything that remotely came across pedophillic in any sense. hes actively disgusted by children. violet hugs him and he is physically REPULSED. there are valid criticisms to be had here but he is Not A Pedophile and i am sick to death of hearing it

anyway. i think im normal now carry on

[northwestofinsanity]

HI AGAIN!!!

SO sorry for being gone for a hot minute. Life gets so busy and then i just fall asleep 😭

IM A HUGE SUPERTRAMP AND CHEAP TRICK FAN!! Theyre such big comfort bands for me! Also do you have any albums youd recomend to me by the who? Ive been wanting to get into their music more seriously!

Also i am SO glad to hear that you like elo and billy squier! Some tracks id recommend are, rich kid, young girls, learn how to live, all night long, the musics alright, too daze gone... all great tracks you should listen to! also idk if its a lesser known track but also shes a runner if you havent heard that one either! (really all of his debut album is perfect... really ALL the tracks on his first 4 albums are flawless) also just listen to his songs he did for fast times at ridgemont high and st elmos fire! AND AND!!! have you listened to his christmas song?? I'm sure youd recognize it once you hear it but i LOVE christmas is the time to say i love you 🫶

And i DO have my own physical music collection! i have a million records, cassettes, and 8-tracks! records are my favorite to collect! I always go after first pressings or at least as close to the original release year!

Aaand when it comes to holidy prep... I really just like buying presents for my loved ones :-] I love picking out something i know will make them so excited! I also love doing anything that has to do with christmas lights and figuring out what recipes i want to use for christmas dinner 🤩

-⭐

Hi!

Oh, don’t worry -it is A-OK!  I’m in veterinary school, and it’s a very lecture heavy time up until the end of the semester… I actually have a test on Monday with 43 hours worth of lecture content on it from the last two weeks of class (not gonna say what that does to my nerves!), and then I’ve got another lecture heavy week before the final.  And when I’m on break, I go back to my job working 12 hour shifts in the hospital… so there’s quite a few days I can relate with coming home and being *done* XD

Oh my goodness, Supertramp and Cheap Trick… Supertramp got me through so much a couple of years ago when I was at peak hyperfixation with them.  That piano solo on “School” still is just one of the best things in the world!  And Cheap Trick was probably my first true band hyperfixation way back when I was thirteen.  I spent so many nights in the summer between seventh and eighth grade, watching interviews on YouTube, and falling head over heels in love with Tom Petersson.  First of many rock star crushes I have had! (And he’s *so* sweet…)  I’ve become a lot closer with other bands since then, but they have a very special place in my heart for starting it all.

It’s possible I’ve heard that Billy Squier Christmas song, though I’m not placing it off the top of my head.  I’ll be spending a lot of time in this weekend prepping for Monday, so I’ll definitely put him on my streaming radio tomorrow and give those songs a listen!  I like to check out some newer things, or check in with bands I’m not as close with about this far out from finals, anyway, because then I can save some of the effect of my emotional support bands for when I need it most.  Or, occasionally, I go into a hype and find myself with a new emotional support band going into it …and that’s how I fell into my most recent band hype back in the Spring!

The Who are really one of my favorites that slowly sneaked up from being a casual favorite to a true top level one without a bunch of fanfare like my other bands have given me (it also sort of happened while I was still hyped on Supertramp), but there’s an album I revisited around that time that likely had a lot to do with it.  I love Quadrophenia.  It’s one of my definitive comfort albums, and it’s one of those rock-opera concept albums that never really hit the same without being played all the way through, because it’s all supposed to connect (most of the songs work alone, but they’re just better together).  But since it’s a double, it can be hard to find the time to really do that.  So it became an album I would always listen to whenever I was home sick from school or work, and there’s sort of a synthesizer motif that reappears throughout it that has a very soothing effect to me.  I associate it with being comfortable at home and feeling better from that, which makes me like it even more!  I also like almost all the songs on Who’s Next.  Tommy has become a favorite as well.  It also has a similar setup to Quadrophenia, but with Tommy, there’s a lot more songs that just do not work out of context.  It’s probably a more fun album, even though I don’t have that comfort association with it.

Really, a lot of my love for The Who comes from their dynamic and their antics, though… they are hilariously chaotic!  I wouldn’t be surprised actually if Cheap Trick (Rick Nielsen, especially) took inspiration with some of their antics, even though I don’t think there’s too many bands that have been able to top The Who on that front!

All of those holiday prep things are stuff I also enjoy… I also like to do art for some of my family, and I’m really looking forward to when finals are over so I can make some!

[noahpinangoleaks]

The State of My Art and My Mind (Yap Session)

the issues ive had

I have always spent an extensively long time putting any of my creative projects together, whether it's because I'm dragging my feet, I'm uninspired, or I'm scared of what people might think. It got really bad around my second EP, the songs that I would make were scarce, most of them cobbled together with an unintended minimalistic feel. I'm still proud of those songs in the end. I use them frequently as a reference point to introduce others to my music. But, even at the time, the music I was making did not reflect the inspirations I had. Probably because I had taken so long.

Since I started, I've carried a lot of embarrassment with my music. My top streamed song of all time is a song I personally hate. My performances in my mind have never been up to par to what I know I can do. I shy away from social media because I can't stand the self doubt. I do take solace in knowing that I am very, very far from the only person to ever feel like this, even in my own idols.

One of the primary issues that has been so hard for me to work on has been feeling the perception that the artistic world around me has worked faster than I've been able to. Artists that I've started out with have long since surpassed me and are thinking more big picture than I have in a while. When I started feeling like this, I resorted to jealous tactics in my mind. I grew resentful of other people who were just living more of the life that I wanted to live. I've never given myself the chance to feel like my music has been the first priority, and its left me feeling behind. These thoughts aren't cured, but I am working on them.

the solutions i've found

I've found a lot of independent support through other artists through social media. I've found I really benefit from seeing other artist's journeys, especially when they share the imperfections of their path. No one on this path is flawless. No one is moving at the same speed and path as anyone else. Even non-music creative artists, artists in fashion, visual media. It's refreshing and empowering. If you are one of those artists, know that I see and deeply appreciate you!

collaboration. shout out sam, lexie, JP, matt. you all fuel me creatively more than you know. since seethrough I have now 30 (at least) new demos that i've independently produced. Prior to this year I had distanced myself from the idea of being a producer, but now I strive towards it, even at the small level that I'm at (no matter what sam says).

other media. i've really taken to photography recently, some writing (clearly), even video editing. It's really interesting to me how different techniques from so many different formats can reapplied and reinterpreted into my own music.

More recently, I've spent a lot of time sitting with Sam, my parents, and other musician friends. I found that whenever I've been given the opportunity, my mind has been bursting with massive retrospective knowledge and opinions on the music industry. Knowledge and opinions that have stuck with me and are currently fueling this slow wave of creativity that I've been building up since October.

I'm working on finding peace in my artistry. I can take my time. I can see my projects through to everything I want it to be. I can find my place as a musician in the industry and in my own world. I can find the effort and passion that I need to reach my goals.

-- Noah