#pay some wind and string instrument players for the love of god

[shrapnelstars]

What do you mean "I'm working on a movie (that is not the movie of the Sleep thing)"?

No no no, ISWM was the final boss of the whole channel. If you think I'm going to be capable of loving any new characters more than Engiemoo, you are sorely mistaken, and especially not even a year out from when he was introduced. He overpowered Warfstache, which was something I long considered to be fully impossible.

Unless he is making the Plastic Man movie himself, he will not be able to top Space/Engie for me. Straight up completely impossible. The heartwarming/blorbo slot is filled.

_________________

I think he mentioned horror, and...no. He needs to develop an entirely new kit of tricks in order to be effective there, and needs to learn how to avoid undercutting all the tension he builds up with jokes. He also uses the same timing on every scare he's done for the past 7 years. That, coupled with the predictable kit he has (same font, glitch effect, sound effects, color grading, etc.) kneecaps his ability to utilize the element of surprise.

That one-sided interview was straight up kino, even if it was for...again, a project that he undercut with silliness when it had the potential to be greater. When I put the Blade Runner music behind that, I saw a brief glimpse into him leveling up with film direction. He needs to learn more about scoring, though. I know a lot of people like the music he selects for his works, but I have to be honest when I say I find his scoring ability to be lacking. He needs to hire someone who knows a lot of different genres and instruments, and can tap into the strangeness he is good at evoking in his works. A basic piano and some simple synths won't cut it.

This is one place where his lack of knowledge about music is going to actively hold him back. Proper music allows a lot of works to punch above their weight, or even just give their moments the correct weight and tone that they require.

...I'm going full Silvia. Let me back down.

[fuckheadwitha]

Listening to Rolling Stone's Top 500 Albums of All Time

Rolling Stone released an updated list of their top 500 albums of all time and being trapped in the purgatory of covid quarantine this seems like the perfect moment to tackle what an almost completely irrelevant former counter-culture institution has to say about music (we can’t actually blame Rolling Stone for this list, a huge number of musicians and critics voted to make it). I am going to listen to every single one of these, all the way through, with a level of attention that's not super intense but I'm definitely not having them on in the background as simple aural wallpaper. Two caveats though: I can make an executive decision to skip any album if I feel the experience is sufficiently miserable, and I'm also going to be skipping the compilation albums that I feel aren't really worth slots (best ofs, etc.). In addition, I will be ordering them as I go, creating a top 500 of the top 500 (it will be less than 500 since we've already established I'm skipping some of these).

Here are 500-490:

#500 Arcade Fire - Funeral

I can already tell I'm going to be at odds with this list if one of the most important albums of my high school years is at the bottom. That being said, I haven't actually given this whole thing a listen since probably the early 2010s, before Arcade Fire fatigue set in and the hipsterati appointed band of a generation just kinda seemed to fade from popular consciousness. I actually dreaded re-experiencing it, since the synthesis of anthemic rock and quirky folk instrumentation which Arcade Fire brought mainstream has now become the common shorthand of insufferable spotify friendly folk pop. Blessedly, the first half of the album easily holds up, largely propelled by dirty fast rhythm guitar, orchestration that's tuneful rather than obnoxious, and lyrics which come off as earnest rather than pretentious. The middle gets a little sappy and “Crown of Love”, a song I definitely used to like, really starts the grate. And then we get to “Wake Up”, whose cultural saturation spawned thousands of dorky indie rock outfits that confused layered strings and horns with power and meaning. This song definitely hasn't survived the film trailers and commercials which it so ubiquitously overlayed, but the line about "a million little gods causing rainstorms, turning every good thing to rust" still attacks the part of my brain capable of sincere emotion. This album is probably going to hold the top spot for a while, because although so many elements of Funeral that made it feel so meaningful, that made it stand out so much in 2004, have been seamlessly assimilated into an intellectually and emotionally bankrupt indie pop industrial complex, the album itself still has a genuine vulnerability and bangers that still manage to rip.

#499

Rufus, Chaka Khan - Ask Rufus

Before she became a name in her own right, Chaka Khan was the voice of the band Rufus, and it’s definitely her voice that shines amongst some spritely vibey funk. That’s not to say that these aren’t some jams on their own. “At Midnight” is a banging opener with a sprint to the finish, and although the explicitly named but kinda boring “Slow Screw Against the Wall” feels weak, this wasn’t really supposed to be an album of barn burners. This was something people put on their vinyl record players while they chilled on vinyl furniture after a night of doing cocaine. “Everlasting Love” is a bop with a bassline like a Sega Genesis game, and the twinkling piano on “Hollywood” adds a playful levity to lyrics that are supposed to be both tackily optimistic about making it big out in LA and subtly realistic about the kind of nightmare world showbiz can be. “Better Days” is another track that manages to be a bittersweet jam with a catchy sour saxophone and playful synths under Chaka Khan’s vamping. This album definitely belongs on a ‘chill funk to study and relax to’ playlist.

#498

Suicide - Suicide

We’ve hit the first album that could be rightly called a progenitor for multiple genres that followed it. Someone could say there’s a self-serving element of this being on a Rolling Stone list (the band was one of the first to adopt the label ‘Punk’ after seeing it in a Lester Bangs article) but the album’s legacy is basically indisputable. EBM, industrial, punk, post-punk, new wave, new whatever all have a genealogy that connects to Suicide, and it’s easy to hear the band in everything that followed. But what the band actually is is two guys, one with an electric organ and one with a spooky voice, doing spooky simple riffs and saying spooky simple things. Simplicity is definitely not a dis here. The opener “Ghost Rider” makes a banger out of four notes and one instrument, and the refrain ‘America America is killing its youth’ is really all the lyrical complexity you need to fucking get it. “Cheree” and “Girl” have almost identical lyrics (‘oh baby’ vs ‘oh girl’) but “Cheree” is more like a fairy tale and “Girl” is more like a sonic handjob. “Frankie Teardrop” has the audacity to tell a ten minute story with its lyrics, but of course there is intermittent, actually way too loud screaming breaking up the narrative of a guy who loses everything then kills his family and himself. The song is basically a novelty, and I think you can probably say the whole album is a novelty between its brevity and character. But for a bite sized snack this album casts a huge shadow.

#497

Various Artists - The Indestructible Beat of Soweto

The fact that this particular compilation always ends up in the canon has a lot to do with the cultural context it existed in, being America’s first encounter with South African contemporary music during the decline of apartheid (it wouldn’t end until a decade later in 1994 with the country’s first multi-racial elections). Music journos often bring up the fact Ladysmith Black Mambazo, the all male choir singing on the album ender “Nansi Imali”, sang on Paul Simon’s Graceland like their virtue is they helped Paul Simon get over his depression and not, like, the actual music. But also like, how is the actual music? Jams. Ubiquitous, hooky guitars propel the songs along with bright choruses over low lead vocals, but I didn’t expect the synthesizer on the bop “Qhude Manikiniki”, nor the discordant hoedown violin on “Sobabamba”. “Holotelani” is a groove to walk into the sunset to.

#496

Shakira - Donde Estan los Ladrones

So this is the first head scratcher on the list. It’s not like it sucks. And I think I prefer this 90s guitar pop driven spanish language Shakira to modern superstar Shakira. But I mean, it’s an album of late nineties latin pop minivan music, with a thick syrupy middle that doesn’t do anything for me. The opener and closer stand out though.  ‘Ciega, Sordomuda’, one of the biggest pop songs of the 90s (it was #1 on the charts of literally every country in Latin America), has a galloping acoustic guitar and horn hits with Shakira’s vocals at their most percussive.

#495

Boyz II Men - II

So, if you were alive in the 90s you know Boyz II Men were fucking huge, and the worst song on the album is the second track “All Around the World”, basically a love song to their own success, and also the women they’ve banged. You can tell it was written specifically so that the crowd could go fucking wild when they heard their state/city/country mentioned in the song, and I’m not gonna double check but I’m sure they hit all fifty states. Once you’re over that hump though you basically have an hour of songs to fuck to. “U Know” keeps it catchy with propulsive midi guitar and synth horns, “Jezzebel” starts with a skit and ends with a richly layered jazz tune about falling in love on a train, and “On Bended Knee” has a Ragnarok Online type beat. Honestly this album can drag, but you’re not supposed to be listening to it alone in a state of analysis, you’re supposed to have it on during a date that’s going really, really well.

#494

The Ronettes - Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes

A singles compilation of the Ronettes, the only ones I immediately recognized were ‘Be My Baby’ and ‘Going to the Chapel of Love’, the latter of which I didn’t know existed since the version of the song I knew was by the Dixie Cups, which was apparently a source of drama since the Ronettes did it first but producer Phil Spector refused to release it. I feel like as a retro trip to sixties girl groups it’s full of enough songs about breaking up (for example “Breaking Up”) getting back together (for example “Breaking Up”) and wanting to get married but you can’t, because you’re a teenager (“So Young”).

#493

Marvin Gaye - Here, My Dear

This album only exists because Marvin was required by his divorce settlement to make it and provide all of the royalties to his ex-wife and motown executive Anna Gordy Gaye. It’s absolutely bizarre, phoned in mid tempo funk whose lyrics range from the passive aggressive (“This is what you wanted right?”) to the petulant (“Why do I have to pay attorney’s fees?”). There is a seething realness here that crosses well past the border of uncomfortable. I don’t think it’s an amazing album to listen to, but it’s an amazing album to exist: Marvin Gaye is legally obligated to throw his own divorce pity party, and everyone's invited.

#492

Bonnie Raitt - Nick of Time

I have never heard of Bonnie Raitt before but apparently this album won several grammys including album of the year in 1989 and sold 5 million copies, which I guess goes to show that no award provides less long term relevance than the grammys. The story around the album is pretty heartwarming, it was her first massive hit after a career of whiffs, and Bonnie Raitt herself is apparently a social activist and neat human being. I say all this because this sort of 80s country blues rock doesn't really connect with me, but the artist obviously deserves more than that. I unequivocally like the title track though, a hand-clap backed winding electric piano groove about literally finding love before your eggs dry up.

#491

Harry Styles - Fine Line

I do not think I have ever heard a one direction song because I am an adult who only listens to public radio. I’m totally open to pop bands or boy bands or boy band refugee solo artists, but I don’t like anything here. It’s like a mixtape of the worst pop trends of the decade, from glam rock that sounds like it belongs in a car commercial to folky bullshit that sounds like it belongs in a more family focused car commercial. This gets my first DNP (Does Not Place).

#490

Linda Ronstadt - Heart Like a Wheel

Another soft-rock blues and country album which just doesn’t land with me. But the opener “You’re No Good” is like a soul/country hybrid which still goes hard and the title track hits with the lyrics “And it's only love and it's only love / That can wreck a human being and turn him inside out”.

Current Ranking, which is weirdly almost like an inverse of the rolling stones list so far;

[serenewrites]

A Masterlist of Instrumental Music for DnD and Fantasy Writing

So! I play dnd (play in 2 weekly campaigns and I’m worldbuilding for my steampunk homebrew). It’s no secret that I’m a GIGANTIC nerd. For a while now, I have had a ton of playlists that I use for various aspects of my (and my cousin’s) homebrew world. I also have a few playlists for writing that I use.

For dnd players, have at it! Add them to your lists if you like them. Play them during your games to add that extra layer of immersion to your RPing experience!

For writers, I find that I write better when I listen to music that has to do with the mood or theme of my topic! And it seems that there are a ton of fantasy writeblrs out there, so I mean, a lot of these playlists are high fantasy-esque!

Anyways, why keep them all to myself; I want to share them with you! Today, I spent a bit of time (a lot, i got carried away) on each playlist to ensure that each have an appropriate title, description, and are roughly an hour long each! Some are harder to make longer, but that’s okay.

So without further ado, below the cut, I have added links to all my Spotify playlists with the Title and information for each!

Writing

Jazzy Tunes - Chill, jazzy tunes - 7 songs, 27 mins

Thoughtful - A really small playlist of super chill music that is mostly just to get me into a relaxed mental zone. - 7 songs, 29 mins

Nerdy Classical - Mostly orchestral versions of video game music - 47 songs, 2h 31m

Atmospheric - Literally just the entire The Last of Us soundtrack, which the environment of my novel is highly inspired by ( in other words, a very self indulgent playlist). - 56 songs, 1h 57m

DnD

By Location (in the homebrew world)

Cities of Chladný - Music inspired by Russian folk songs - 12 songs, 51 mins

Cities of Félgra - Music with Celtic and Irish themes - 19 songs, 57 mins

Cities of Ghaan - A playlist inspired by India’s culture - 10 songs, 56 mins

Cities of Hjarta - A playlist of music with Nordic themes - 17 songs, 1h 14m

Cities of Sokoku - Music inspired by East Asian cultures - 19 songs, 1h 16m

Cities of Vielejhüegel - A playlist for Vielejhugel, a country with German folk themes. - 18 songs, 1h 10m

the Feywild - Strings and flutes and adventuring through the mystical Feywild. - 10 songs, 44 mins

The Forsaken Mountains - Peaceful music for daytime exploration of the Forsaken Mountains. - 9 songs, 33 mins

The Foggy Felgran Moors - The mist brings with it strange things... Eerie celtic music for eerie Felgra. - 9 songs, 29 mins

The Underdark, the Abyss, and Beyond - Creepy, eerie music for the Underdark, the Abyss, and other creepy asf places. - 17 songs, 1h 3m

Tengoku Temple - Music for Tengoku, the sacred city in the clouds. - 9 songs, 30 mins

Places

Campfires and Long Rests - Relaxing music for when the party takes a long rest or during chill RP moments. - 20 songs, 1h 35m

Ruins - Creepy, eerie music for exploring abandoned ruins and creepy caves. - 21 songs, 1h 11m

Town

Taverns and Pubs - An upbeat playlist with songs featuring lots of strings and flutes (or woodwinds or something i don't know instruments). Perfect for taverns, inns, and pubs. - 24 songs, 57 mins

Town & Shoppe - Music for exploring and shopping in small towns - 23 songs, 52 mins

Town, Creepy - For haunted, abandoned, or generally creepy places! - 34 songs, 1h 51m

General Adventuring - Chill, calming music for when your party is adventuring through rolling hills and other magical shit. - 25 songs, 1h 29m

Temples

Temple, Creepy (Low) - Temple and sacred music with elements of Alto/Bass (i googled that) choirs and creepy vibes. - 14 songs, 1h 37m

Temple, Elegant (High) - Temple or sacred sounding music with elements of Soprano/Tenor (i googled that, too) choirs. - 17 songs, 1h 1m

Temple Combat - Combat music that is fast paced with some songs that have elements of hymns and choirs. - 22 songs, 1h 15m

Sailing

Underwater, Chill/Eerie - A collection of whale sounds and underwater noises for underwater exploration - 11 songs, 30 mins

Sailing, Chill - Relaxed music for sailing - 9 songs, 30 mins

Eerie Waters - Literally just one really long weird whale song. - 1 song, 31 mins

I’m on a BOAT! General Ship Ambiance - General ship/sea music- flutes and piratey stuff! - 21 songs, 1h 2m

FASTER! - Sailing Chase - A playlist for all those chase scenes at sea! - 26 songs, 1h 14m

Ship Combat - A playlist full of upbeat combat music for fighting at sea! - 16 songs, 41 mins

Sea Shanties, Yo! - A collection of sea shanties for all your shantying needs. - 14 songs, 36 mins

Forests

Enchanted Forest - Ambient soothing music with natural sounds like chirping, wind, and water. - 10 songs, 58 mins

Creepy Forest - Creepy instrumental music for forests, hauntey houses, and so on. - 21 songs, 1h 15m

Combat

RUN FASTER! Chase Scenes - A short playlist for chase scenes. - 4 songs, 14 mins

Combat with the Forsaken - Combat for creepy ruins and haunted houses! - 11 songs, 37 mins

Combat, General - Fast, aggressive combat music. - 1h 2m

Combat, Boss Fight - Super heavy combat music for fighting bosses and other BBEGs. - 15 songs, 43 mins

Emotions (i’ll probs add more later)

Death of a Party Member - A short playlist of solemn music for deaths, grief and other sad shit. - 5 songs, 13 mins

.... that’s it for the playlists (for now). Here are some additional notes about the playlists.

So, I have playlists named based off cities in my cousin’s homebrew world so the titles are our fictional countries. My cousin used my Spotify to create the country playlists- each country has a cultural theme, which is in the description!

It should be noted, none of this music is supposed to represent anything other than the fact that she wanted music that has pays homage to the cultures that she has included in her homebrew worlds. She spent a lot of time researching cultures as a way to diversifiy her homebrew world. It’s not meant to actually represent an entire culture or anything of that sort.

Another note, in Spotify I literally have a writing folder, and then a dnd folder, but I use both pretty interchangeably. It’s mostly so that I don’t have to see all 500 of the nerd playlists that I have clogging up my sidebar with my other random playlists.

You may be thinking, “Where’s all the amazing Skyrim music?” (You might not, and good on you). Yes, we all know Skyrim and the other Elder Scrolls games have fantastic soundtracks, but I think a lot of the Elder Scrolls game’s soundtracks are sooo easily identifiable. And when RPing, it really takes me out of the moment when I’m trying to pay attention to another party member and a song comes on and I’m like, yeah I remember STUPID LYDIA dying for the 50th time to this song. So I try not to include them in my dnd playlists. There are so many other great soundtracks out there to choose from anyways, so why not pick them!

Anyways, I love making playlists and I’ll be adding more soon when I start creating my personal homebrew world. That will be more Victorian and Steampunk, so I’ll probably add ton more and reblog this with more down the road (if people find it useful anyways).

If you don’t have the time and would like me to make some fun playlists for types of themes or stuff that I may have missed or don’t have in our worlds, hit me up! Let me know your ideas and I’d be more than happy to give it a shot! I hope you all enjoy the playlists!

oh god i hope all these links work because i spent a ridiculous amount of time adding them in and it’ll be a real bitch to do again but i wasnt about to test them all. so let me know if they dont work.